Monday, October 15, 2007

Your Superbowl MVP, Al Gore

Sadly, that doesn't seem that far-fetched to me. Gore has won an Oscar and the Nobel Peace Prize already for his tireless campaign to have everyone but him fight global climate change. I bet he flew coach and took a Prius to the....sorry, I'm laughing to hard to finish the cheap shot.

Back up...the Nobel Peace Prize? Ah. Of course. The one or two degree change in mean surface temperature will have a corollary effect of longer growing seasons, yielding more food across the globe, which will lead to starvation and conflict...

He read the IPCC report, right? Oh well, why let facts get in the way of a good award ceremony?

In all fairness, it is a meaningless award after Kofi, Carter, and Arafat have won...but still. I'd like to have a couple illusions of grandeur in the world.

Eagles Win, Cowboys Lose

Despite the win, many negadelphians are crying that it was ugly, and that Donovan will not be here next year. Some of the problems this offense has are due to 5, but not in the way that many think.

For years, McNabb has been exceptionally quick and elusive. His scrambles frequently bought the receivers another 5-7 seconds to get open. This has actually hurt the team, in my not so humble opinion. Because he can buy that time, he has made awful receivers look average, and average receivers look good. When he got to play with a legit #1 target, the team ran over the conference.

After injuries, he is no longer the escape artist of the past. Sadly, the team has not surrounded him with weapons, but has traded a first round pick to the Romosexuals, and picked up a possible quarterback of the future.

Contrast that if you will to the New England Video...err, Patriots. Despite having 3 rings, and just missing another Superbowl appearance, they added two quality receivers in Moss and Stallworth. Ugh.

If McNabb is not here much longer, I'll say right now that he will win a ring elsewhere. Given a coach who doesn't fear running the ball and a legit target for his passes, he's more than good enough.

Just look what having a running game and real receivers has done for a fraud like Romo.

The Newspaper of (Last Month's) Record

As I've mentioned before, Israel destroyed a purported Syrian WMD site on September 6th of this year. Over the weekend, the NY Times finally got around to reporting it. Next week, look for the 2004 election results.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Anti-nuke Strike on Syria

In early September, Israel destroyed a Syrian weapon facility. This incident has had a number of interesting repercussions. First, it has called into question the effectiveness of the latest Russian anti-air systems.

Syria has spent billions upon billions building a comprehensive AA network to thwart Isreali attack. It's reasonable to assume that other countries like Iran are using the same technology. The silence coming from Syria, Russia, and Iran was deafening. Russia may be adopting a let the buyer beware mentality, and Syria and Iran are more aware than ever that they are not safe, despite their investment.

Domestically, the part of the story that disturbs me came from a blurb on ABC News. It seems that our government spent so much time obsessing over the quality of the intel that the window almost closed. Thank God for Israel.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Superbad

This review is late, but this movie deserves to be checked out. Sadly, the main title music is not the "jump back, wanna kiss myself" awesome James Brown tume. That said, the movie is over the top, and balls out funny.

My coworker Justin summed it up best. This movie is the Citizen Kane of dick jokes. Take it for what it's worth.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Rage, Fury, and Family

First, if this post offends anyone, I am sorry that they feel offended. This post is going to be intensely personal, and there is a good chance that I might be unfair. As a general rule, I try to be fair, even handed, and a frequent devil's advocate. Here, I make no such promises.

I have had issues with my father's wife for years. By years, I mean decades. Plural. That's okay, people are what they are, I usually have the patience of Job, and I was raised not to talk back. I've been so adaptable, that for almost 30 years, I've lived two distinctly differently lives, in which I am completely different people. In some circles, all I wanted was quiet, so I often pulled back, and was most alone in a crowded room. Later in life, I've seen the negative side effects there. Shown pictures of extended family, I'm hard pressed to identify most of them. Awkward.


It's exhausting, and it sucks. More importantly, I'm done with it. From here on out, I am living my life, one life, with my best friend/wife, friends, family, and whoever else is willing to be a part of it.

That phrasing sounds odd, I know. But there is a reason for it. There was a path that led to this point.

Let's rewind the clock to my brother's wedding. It was a beautiful, elegant, impeccably orchestrated affair. The bride was radiant, my brother a king in his court, all was better than one could have hoped for. I was the best man, which inspired no small amount of terror. An honor it may be, but that meant that public speaking was involved. I would rather shave my chest with a cheese grater than speak in public. Yes, you are welcome for the visual. Moving on.

My stepmother has never been able to hold her tongue when it comes to my mother. My mother has been disparaged at family gatherings, directly to me, etc, etc. One moment, years ago, when I gently asked for my mother not to be insulted, I was quickly dressed down, and read the riot act for suggesting what my father's wife should or should not say in her own house.

The issues I have had with her are legion, but this one fills me with cold fury. I know, and always have, that these two should never be in the same square mile, if only for my sanity, and to prevent my incarceration. When I was younger and dumber, I was engaged to another woman. The most frustrating part of the wedding planning process? Trying to determine who could be near whom, and if there would be any trouble.

That chapter closed, mercifully, and I found my soul mate. As we started to plan a wedding, the same issue came up. Call me old school, but anyone confronting my mother has a fight coming to them. It might not be right, nor rational, but there it is. With that in mind, we started to look at destination weddings. Distance could be a great equalizer. Lower attendance + distance = less chance for conflict.

Well, the best thing happened. We eloped. When asked by my father much later if an issue with my stepmother was the reason for doing it the way we did, I obfuscated. I said it was a concern, irrational as it may be, but not the reason. Well, it's not a total lie. It's not the reason we eloped, but it might be in the top 3.

Might? Christ, I'm a liar. Anyway...I went to both sides of the family before my brother's wedding, and made a simple wish clear. All I wanted was for both sides to coexist for a couple of hours. I even went so far as to threaten my mother with a ban on future grandchild visitation if she started anything.

Everything was set, and was going so well. Relatives from both sides of my family were chatting, catching up, and generally being pleasant. I was running around like a maniac, checking on people, babysitting where needed, and saw that it was working. I allowed myself to hope.

I'm a f'n idiot. In a quiet moment, my stepmother approached my mother and gleefully got in a passive aggressive, snarky crack. The crack wasn't even that bad, for all that could have been said. But it was made.

What kind of person risks ruining a wedding for a small minded verbal riposte? Did alcohol play a factor? It doesn't really matter. The only thing I have ever wanted was for this to go well, and this event nearly ruined my evening.

There was still a speech to give, and I was not going to cause a scene. Ever try to hold a microphone when all you really want to do is bounce it off someones head? Despite myself, I didn't totally screw up the speech. The night went on, again, magnicently, and time went forward.

So here I am, furious with my stepmother for what happened, reawakening everything that's gone before, yet trying to understand the why.

Why would someone risk ruining a wedding? Is it possible that she thought she'll never encounter my mother again? That this was the last chance to get a shot in? Hmm.

Earlier, I mentioned living two lives. For years, I have had two separate families, two Christmases, multi Easters, twin Thanksgivings. Hell, I even had two different wedding receptions. Those days are done. I'm too tired, too pissed off, too cranky to keep up the bullshit.

When my wife and I finish the house, there will be one housewarming party if we choose to have one. If we have a child, there will be one christening. I will not agonize over who has the ability to behave. My mother is part of my life, and always will be. This means she will be part of the landmark events in my life.

People can choose to understand that, and act accordingly, or they can choose not to be a part of my life. I'm so filled with fucking rage right now that I really don't care.

This is the beginning of a tirade, and not very well written. For that, my apologies. More rage will follow, I just cannot see straight or type well at the moment, let alone form cogent thoughts.

Phillies

Ugh..I've said it before, but I will post it now. I would gladly trade the Phil's presence in the playoffs for a do-over and win for the Eagles over the Giants this past Sunday.

Those who know me have heard this ad nauseum, but baseball died for me in 1994 when the bastards cancelled the World Series. Wars don't cause the cancellation of the Series. Hell, an earthquake only cost the Series one game. But that year...that year, a strike called a halt to the season. I would have been fine with that if both sides hadn't started the predictable "..it's a shame that this is happening, because the fans are the ones who are suffering..."

If either side really cared about the fans, it never would have gotten to that point. Compound that with the home run friendly parks, corked bats, juiced balls, roided out freaks, and a Phillies team that took over 10 years to get to .500, and hell, it's been easy to stay away.

If their is a dark lord of sports, hear my offer now. I will gladly trade every future Phillies win for 3 Lombardi trophies for the Eagles over the next 10 years. Seriously. The Phillies can go 0 for the next millennium, just give me a couple Superbowl wins.

Al Gore Chides Bush for Overlooking Saddam's Terror Connection

Welcome to the YouTube world. If you said it, someone might dredge it up and post it. Of course, this will not change any hearts or minds, but it is an interesing speech.

Bush the former was once Saddam's protector, and Al Gore was once a measured, calm, well spoken hawk? My, the difference a few years makes. Ever feel like you woke up on Opposite Day?