The Whole Freakin World is Out of Order

March 15, 2008

It was Einstein’s birthday yesterday. Happy birthday to the Good Doctor.

I have felt for literally decades now that everyone else is reading from a script, but I spend all my time furiously improvising.

I wish I had something Irish to write about, so I could mention County (Ohmygodyou) Kilkenny.
(You bastard!)

It’s St. Patrick’s Day on Monday. Or, as they call it in Boston, Evacuation Day, or, “Excuse we use for getting St. Patrick’s Day Off Day”

Christiane Amanpour on NPR’s Word for Word-Excellent interview. One of her points is that journalism is about giving both sides a fair hearing-not about simply setting up equivalencies where none exist.

I definitely plan to watch “John Adams” on Sunday. It sounds absolutely awesome.

Fantasy Baseball Questions from CBSSportsline.com-Player vs. Player

Kazmir vs. Sheets? Kazmir. Healthy, Sheets may be a bit better, but Sheets is never healthy.
McCann vs. Posada? McCann, by a mile. You can’t expect Posada to repeat 2007 at his age.
Fielder vs. Howard? The first tough one. Howard, maybe, because he gets more RBI chances and protection from Rollins and Utley.
Kinsler vs. Weeks? Kinsler maybe. Too close to call. Weeks is probably going to blow up this year, though.
Reyes vs. Ramirez? Reyes. I’m worried about Hanley’s shoulder issues.
Cabrera vs. Wright? I like Cabrera fine, but Wright is nearly perfect.
Ramirez vs. Lee? Manny’s a Bad Man, but I’d take Lee.
Upton vs. Granderson? Granderson.
They don’t seem to have done a right fielder.


I wonder why, if the free market is the solution to all our problems, companies like Bear Stearns are coming hat in hand to the Federal Government asking for help?

Typical Bush government priorities-we’ll bail out big banks, but if you’re just a poor schmuck who owns a home, fuck you.

Left Right and Center’s Tony Blankley tries to compare Bush’s visit to Bob Jones University to the controversy about Obama’s pastor. Sorry, Tony. Bob Jones University had a rule about interracial dating, for pity’s sake. Obama’s pastor is said to be anti-American. Well, African Americans have good reason to be-50 years ago it was acceptable in parts of this country to hang black people from trees if they annoyed you.

KCRW’s “Left Right and Center”, as much as Tony Blankley annoys me, is probably the most consistently enjoyable podcast, save maybe “Car Talk” and “Wait Wait”, I have subscribed to.

An excellent “To The Best of Our Knowledge” about language-talking about the famous “Bite The Wax Tadpole” story from Coke being introduced to China. I have always loved stories like this, about cross pollinations of language and culture and thought.

“Only by learning another language can you understand your own.”-Goethe

Also covered the six word memoir story again, which I have heard about and blogged about before, but still love hearing about. Supposedly, the idea came from a challenge supposedly given to Hemingway, to write a story in six words. His answer: “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.”

I haven’t come up with a good one yet, other than my crib from Kurt Cobain: “Angst Served Well: Now Bored, Old”

Other possibilities:

“Not saving money: die at work”
“Didn’t plan anything: then God decided.”
“Always hiding something: icebergs of thought.”
“So many people-can’t help all.”
“Left her then: Still ache now”

Just saw someone with a T shirt that says, “If You See Da Police, Warn A Brother.” Now I have made no secret of how I feel about the historical treatment of African Americans in this country. But come on-not everyone being pursued by the police is innocent.

I think it was a scene from The Practice, a law drama I watched during its first season. A lawyer is leaving a conference with a client, and as he passes along a passage beside a holding cell, he cries out, “Anybody else in here innocent?” The place erupts, and he says, “I thought so.”