The Baseball Gene

The preponderance of Jr.'s in the game today makes me wonder about whether the ability to play the game is inherent in one's genes.
Think of all the families such as the Boone's (3 generations totalling 4 players) the Griffey's, Bonds', Barfields', Fielders', Mathews' and who knows how many more.

It makes me wonder about the nature vs nurture question. Does the son of a major leaguer have an advantage due to his genes, or is it because Dad can pave the way by showing Jr. just what to do to make the majors?

Couple that with teams would probably look closer at the son of a star player than at some nobody.

But, by the same token, shouldn't there be a bunch of Mantles and DiMaggios running around?

What about Hank Aaron? Both he and his brother made it to the show, and neither had a kid (or grandkid) in the game.
Seems like somebody should be doing a thesis on this.

By the way, Yankees traded for Abreu and Lidle today.

Where in hell did that come from?

I had a good day. Took my honey to the movies to see Clerks 2 and she loved it. It was my second time, and I could watch it again. It is that funny.
I had a very nice dinner, and all is well with the world.
Then out of the blue, I get this overwhelming wave of, I don't know, incredible sadness. I had thoughts of suicide, and just felt hopeless and full of despair.
I have no idea where that came from.
So, I came on to blog about it. It seems to help when I blog about this, so I am.
I wish I knew where this crap came from, though. It isn't like it builds up, it just appears. Seems to linger for a few days, then it goes away.
I probably need drugs, but I won't take them, so no point in seeing a doctor.

I think I'll blog a little about baseball in a few minutes.

Excelsior!!!

Last night I watched a new reality show on TV. Ok, I hate most reality TV. I do like the Amazing Race because it shows a lot of the world, including things few people would get to see otherwise. And, of course, Last Comic Standing is great because it is a lot of standup, which I like.
But American Idol, Survivor, So you think you can dance, and the untold scores of other shows-well, I don't care and I don't even tune in to see how much I hate them.
Last night, Stan "The Man" Lee, launched his show, "So You Want to Be a Superhero!"
I tuned in because it looked to be so crazy, I thought I might like it.
I loved it. It is insane. Ok, the show isn't insane, but the people on it are.

And Stan Lee is still so 1950's corny that it works. I can't explain it. Even the Mrs. loved the show, which is unusual for her to like anything. She's the "Mikey" of TV viewers. How was that for a corny 70's reference?

Anyway, these goofy dozen people have become Superheroes with their own home-made costumes. They have "superpowers" and the winner will star in a movie and their own comic book. They have a "lair" which is in an old warehouse. The show only goes for another 5 weeks, so I'm guessing that they will eliminate 2 per week.

And the characters are pretty lame. A fat, black woman who eats donuts to get her power (I forgot what it was) and Monkey Girl who is kind of hot. She throws bananas at people, I think.

Some other hot chicks and a couple guys who the Mrs. really liked. She said they were good looking, and I have to go with her instincts as I can't tell. That's a story for another blog entry, though.

Anyway, the bottom line is that the show is pretty good. Corny enough to make you wince, but the cast is weird enough to keep you entertained.

Excelsior!!!

A diverse diversity

I was watching Fox News this morning. I know, it's more like infotainment, but I do like Jodi Applegate and Lucy Noland. So, if I'm getting bits of slanted news, I'd rather get it from really good looking women. That's how I roll.
Anyway, they interviewed a local politician concerning a crime in the community. Apparently, some fake blood was thrown on a building flying an Israeli flag, and a note was left nearby saying it was represenattive of the innocent Lebanese blood being shed. Ok, decent story so far. But then they got the local councilwoman to comment. She obviously had prepared for thids moment on TV. Her statement was that this "was a community of diverse diversity."

She actually thought about it, and that was her statement?

Just out of curiosity, is there any other kind of diversity?

I always had hoped that a community leader was one of the most intelligent people in the community. I truly hope that this particular woman is not one of the most intelligent in her community.

Movie review: Clerks 2

If you are a fan of Kevin Smith movies like Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Dogma, you will absofreakinlutely love this movie.

If not, give it a try anyway.

The movie can be rather ribald at tims, but it is also so funny you may just pee in your pants. I'm sure at times, I let a little bit out.

Jay and Silent Bob, as usual, have a huge role in the movie.

Kevin Smith intersperses some silly dance numbers that are hysterical. And for those unfortunate enough not to live in New Jersey, you do get to see a tiny portion of our state.

Lastly, don't worry if you didn't see Clerks. It isn't a story line that is dependent upon the characters that have been developed. Of course, Jay and Silent Bob are a little bit more enjoyable if you know their characters from past flicks.

The movie is rated R, and mostly it is for language. Not just that the "f" word is liberally sprinkled, but some concepts, such as a "donkey show" are definately not appropriate for younger viewers.

State Police Issues

I read in yesterday's Star Ledger that the NJ Stae Police have made a great effort to make the force more diversified. The problem they have had is that the African American recruits can't pass the written test, the women can't pass the physical, and the Latinos can't pass the background checks.
Now this makes me wonder about a few things.

First, are the tests biased? If so, how?

Second, whom of these minorities are we recruiting? Is it an open call? If so, then maybe we should target African American college graduates, or create a system where top high school kids can get a State Police scholarship.

I hope that the test is never skewed to make it easier for minorities. I want the best and the brightest, not the pretty good, in our State Police force.

What exactly is a sport, anyway?

ESPN used to be a pretty good channel. It showed alternate baseball teams, so I could watch other games when the Yankees or Mets weren't on. Of course, TBS also showed other teams, but, you get the idea. They also showed football games after enjoying the Giants or suffering with the Jets. Stiil, it was all good.
So many sports like soccer, they needed ESPN2. A slight drop in what I liked to watch, but it was still all good. I like watching the extreme stuff once in a while. Then they started showing classic clips. Gradually, it became classic games. Then they launched a classic sports channel. Ok, now it is becoming a little more difficult to find interesting things to watch. I don't like basketball, auto racing, or soccer. I don't like watching classic games, though I will watch a classic boxing match. Once in a while, bowling is on. I can almost call bowling a sport. But I do sometimes question how someone can be an atlete competing in a sport while smoking and drinking beer.
Now, fast forward to today. What was on ESPN? The Soapbox Derby. It was on for 2 hours. I watched 5 minutes, and I got my fill of Soapbox racing. 5 Minutes was enough to last me the rest of my life. Who the hell watched it for 2 hours?
Coming up is some Poker showdown. Ok, when the hell did poker become a sport?
I guess is was the same time the dominoes championship that was on the other day was declared a sport. The next big thing on ESPN is darts.
Ok, a sport that is also accompanied by smoking and beer. What the hell happened? How did this happen?
I'm waiting for "Sitting on My Ass and Watching TV" to attain the level of professional sports. Then I can add "Athlete" to my resume.

What is up with sports fans?

At this point in the season, A-Rod is struggling. And the fans are booing him unmercilessly.
I don't get that. A-Rod is trying. It's not like he's not hustling, and working his ass off. And yet the fans boo.
I don't get it at all.
I used to work at a job with a boss that was an asshole. No other way to put it. Anything that I did that was not perfect, was subject to intense criticism. It was difficult to perform in that environment. The job was stressful because of the boss. Rather than instilling confidence, she made me doubt myself.
To me, A-Rod is in the same situation. His job is playing baseball. He is trying hard to do his best. Anything short of a homerun, his best, seems to elicit boos from the Yankee faithful. That is stupid. Sure, if he fails to run out a ground ball, scream your head off, but anything else, he should be encouraged.
Think about the outcomes:
A Superstar, having a great year, in a 3 game series, will average one (1) home run in the series, maybe three (3) rbi's, two (2) other hits, and will strike out once or twice. Maybe walk once, and will make 8 other outs. A superstar, going really well, will fail at least 2 out of 3 times.
It just doesn't make sense to "boo" one of our guys. Absolutely nothing positive can come out of it.
It takes a special person to stand in front of 50,000 people and hit a 90 mile per hour ball with movement.
I can guarantee that few of the jerks booing in the stands could hit the ball off a tee with the pressure of TV and all those people screaming.
Why make it harder for our guy? Save your boos for the Red Sox.

I do like a good commercial

I'm not going to say that I like watching the same commercials for the umpteenth time, but I do appreciate some well made commercials. For example, I really like the Banker's Pen commercials for Wamu Bank. Yes, I hate banks and bankers as much as ever, but I like the commercials. They are usually funny, and a few are clever. Super Bowl time does produce some really incredible ones, also. Again, the best ones are unique and as long as they don't get repeated over and over, I accept them as a necessary and sometimes entertaining evil.
On the radio, I absolutely get a kick out of the Budweiser "Real Men of Genius" spots. Again, they can be very humorous "We salute you Mr. giant toilet paper roll inventor," or "Mr. Taco Salad Inventor."
But I need to know who ever came up with the campaign for OnStar on the radio? What the hell is up with those commercials? It's a frantic mother, screaming that her child is locked in the car and the Mom reacts as if the kid was being consumed by a giant squid. I mean, cut me a break, lady. The car has glass windows, so she can see the kid, and if absolutely necessary break the windows to rescue the kid. Ok, I suppose if she doesn't do anything within a few hours, we could have a dangerous situation, but talk about over reactions. Oy vey.
And then you have the idiot in an accident. So your car crashed. Everybody is ok. Instead the person starts crying and carrying on. I don't want to buy OnStar, I want to slap the crap out of the people in the commercials. Is that the reaction OnStar wanted?

Hummer Commercial

The new Hummer commercial is absolutely laughable. The guy is in line, waiting to purchase some Tofu. The next guy in line is buying ribs and large hunks of red meat.
The guy in the commercial then goes out to buy a Hummer. The tagline is along the lines of "Increase your manliness."

Holy crap. What a bunch of BS. I guess it's kind of Freudian, "small" man compensates by buying a big truck.

It's the beginning of the end for the Sox

The Yankees are just starting to hit their stride. While Godzilla and Sheff are recovering, Bubba and the newest outfielder of the week are filling in admirably.

They are tied in the loss column with the Sox, and with the Yankees superior pitching, they should take the lead within a few weeks, at most.

Yankees will win by 3, unless the Sox collapse will be even worse than I expect.

This will be the year of a Subway Series, and the Yankees will humiliate the Mets in 5 games.

Anybody heading towards Vegas can put money on that today.

I need a job soon

It's looking like I'll have a job for September, I just wish someone would make up their mind soon and offer me a position. It gets frustrating waiting.
But I am going to a party tomorrow. That's a good thing.

A 27th World championship comes to the Bronx

I am absolutely positive that the Yankees will win it all this year. Here's how it will all unfold in the last part of the season:
The Yankees have to make up a three game deficit. No problem. They have 11 games left with the Sox, piece of cake. Just have to win 6 of those. That puts us 2 games out. Somewhere along the way, the Sox are due for a losing streak of a few games and the Yankees are long overdue for a big winning streak. So, the Yankees win the pennant (again.) This Yankees team is just built for the playoffs. They have three strong starters-Randy (My Last Hurrah) Johnson, Mike Mussina, and my favorite "The Wanger." The bullpen will be straightened out by playoff time, Dotal will be back and then the real Mr. October, Derek Jeter, will be hitting his stride. A-Rod will look like the MVP that he is, while Sheff and Godzilla will be smashing the ball like usual.

Get ready for the parade in the Canyon of Heroes.

Guitarbeque

Yesterday we went to a festival in New Jersey.
We have a bunch of them throughout the summer. But this one was different.
It featured a BBQ contest and music (mostly blues) and it was free (except for the food, of course.) The 2005 festival was featured on the Food Network.
But the surprising part is that it was in Asbury Park. Asbury Park has become a dump, and they are trying to bring it back. The festival is a few blocks away from the shell of what was once a great seashore amusement area. The famous merry go round building is still there, but ready to be torn down. The area looks more like Baghdad than New Jersey, but it is a start.
They are turning to music to save it.
This is not surprising considering the music heritage of the town. This is the home of the Stone Pony one of the legendary music venues in the world. And Bruce immortalized it with his first album "Greetings from Asbury Park." Believe me, it doesn't look like the album cover any more.
The bottom line, though , is this: we had a great time in Asbury Park, and have already bookmarked the website so we don't miss it next year.www.guitarbeque05.com