Beautiful New Jersey [24 Dec 2007 | 1120 EST]
It's sunny, beautiful and warm (it might hit 50 F). And of course, the weather had to turn perfect after our car dies on us abandoning us in the middle of a freezing storm.
There is much more of a Christmas-y feeling out here on the East Coast. Somehow the lights, the decorations, the good cheer all seem much more organic here than out there in SoCal where it all seems a bit forced (especially in Orange County).
Of course, we're about to to go watch the macabre and bloody Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street today - all in keeping with the Christmas spirit.
24 December 2007
23 December 2007
Stuck in Jersey! [23 Dec 2007 | 1930 EST]
It's freezing. It's raining...hard. It's windy, really windy.
And we're stuck in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey.
Our fancy Chrysler PT Cruiser quit on the way back from Rosanne's sister's place. We waited for about 45 minutes, but no one from Budget came a-callin'.
Luckily, we got another of Rosanne's sisters to drive her mother home and we tried to make our way to the mother's place.
The car stopped thrice, and each time we would coast to the side of the road, wait for a little bit, and start it up again.
Finally, it died right at the intersection before the 295 South (whew...imagine if we had actually gotten on the 295 South).
A Good Samaritan stopped to help us push our car off the main road and now we sit here waiting for the tow truck to come all the way from Philadelphia.
To summarize: it's raining, it's freezing, it's windy, it's the Holidays so no one is around, we're a couple of kids stuck in the middle of nowhere...right in front of a behavioral health care facility...
OMG!
Isn't "behavioral health care facility" an euphemism for an insane asylum.
OMG!
Isn't this how horror movies begin...
It's freezing. It's raining...hard. It's windy, really windy.
And we're stuck in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey.
Our fancy Chrysler PT Cruiser quit on the way back from Rosanne's sister's place. We waited for about 45 minutes, but no one from Budget came a-callin'.
Luckily, we got another of Rosanne's sisters to drive her mother home and we tried to make our way to the mother's place.
The car stopped thrice, and each time we would coast to the side of the road, wait for a little bit, and start it up again.
Finally, it died right at the intersection before the 295 South (whew...imagine if we had actually gotten on the 295 South).
A Good Samaritan stopped to help us push our car off the main road and now we sit here waiting for the tow truck to come all the way from Philadelphia.
To summarize: it's raining, it's freezing, it's windy, it's the Holidays so no one is around, we're a couple of kids stuck in the middle of nowhere...right in front of a behavioral health care facility...
OMG!
Isn't "behavioral health care facility" an euphemism for an insane asylum.
OMG!
Isn't this how horror movies begin...
17 December 2007
The Mitchell Report: Krazy Krish's Final Word
Here you go, Krazy Krish and his commentary on the Mitchell Report:
Agreed, this report merely scratches the surface. I think most outsiders with any insider knowledge would attest that steroid use is considerably more widespread than the names implicated in Mitchell's probe. So where do we go from here? The sport needs to clean itself up. The media does have a responsibility to report the truth as they know it. It becomes very tricky when you try to separate players who were prescribed HGH or similar agents for "health purposes" from those who were simply "juicing." Byrd is just one example and I don't know his full story, so I can't comment on his case one way or another. But it's no secret that many of these guys were receiving HGH or whatever as a prescribed medication to treat an illness from a supposed health-care professional who possesses a license to prescribe such meds, and let's face it....the whole thing was a sham. One such instance comes to mind, Matt Williams receiving HGH for his ankle, prescribed by a dentist?!?!? I may not have all the facts straight, but you get the idea. A lot of these players are claiming that they only took the substances under the medical direction of a doctor, but let's face it......if you're an established professional athlete who makes millions of dollars based on what you do, don't tell me you're not going to know what you're taking, regardless of who prescribes it and then pretend like you don't know what it really is (anyone remember Bonds with the Cream/Clear vs. flaxseed oil and/or some type of arthritic balm)? I also have a big problem with the so-called medical professionals who are prescribing these meds in this manner.....in my mind, they are a disgrace to the medical profession and should be held accountable by their peers, state medical board, etc. Whether they lose their license, or have to serve some sort of probation, whatever. This whole steroids mess extends well beyond the athletes, to include everyone on down from the owners to the GMs to the commisioner's office to the managers, to the coaches/training staff, anybody who turned a blind eye or feigned ignorance of this, as well as to the suppliers (i.e., the chemists, the distributors), the so-called docs whose names are on the Rx for patients they have never even seen! This is a big stain on our beloved sport. Only time will tell if this is viewed with as much notoriety as the strike or the infamous Black Sox scandal, which you hit upon earlier, Pakki. It helps that baseball is our national pastime and has an avid fan base, despite its past and present problems. I think the sport will survive. But it needs to be cleaned up and could start by following the examples already set by some of its peers (i.e., track and field, cycling, etc). Granted, those sports have become embarrassments too, with positive drug tests turning up on almost a semiregular basis, but at least they were aggressive in recognizing the growing problem and acting on it. So what if we can't remember who won the Tour de France because so and so ahead of him got kicked out? Who cares, at least they rigorously tested anybody and everybody who participated. Baseball needs to act in a similar fashion. And I don't mean they should necessarily crack down on guys who tested positive in Mitchell's report. This likely won't do much, as it still won't punish those who were cheating, but just weren't stupid enough to get caught. What's done is done. And one fell swoop isn't going to clean the sport up. Selig is a buffoon. I would like to see him replaced by someone with even an ounce more intelligence and integrity to champion the cause for a cleaner league. These are just my two cents. I know some of you don't care whether or not these guys even cheated to begin with and may even think it's OK that they did, because so many others around them were doing likewise. Regardless of what you may or may not think, steroids have been banned for quite some time now and are still illegal. Baseball just wasn't checking for it.....and they still have no reliable test for HGH. So there is no quick fix to this mess. Despite the report, people will continue to cheat. Because it is more than just a game. It is a business. And when $$$ and people's careers are involved, then people will do what they think is necessary to survive, as long as they think they can avoid getting caught. The Mitchell report only touches on the degree of steroid use. We knew the problem existed. The ball is now in Selig and MLB's court. What are you gonna do, Bud? For a start, how about you read the damn report, before giving a press conference! Thanks, Pakki......I was unaware of Selig's latest feat of incompetence until you mentioned this. OK, that's it from me, folks. Have a Happy Holiday, everyone! Oh, one last thing......how about showing Pete Rose some love for the HOF? Does what he did really look so bad now......not that it ever did in my opinion.
Here you go, Krazy Krish and his commentary on the Mitchell Report:
Agreed, this report merely scratches the surface. I think most outsiders with any insider knowledge would attest that steroid use is considerably more widespread than the names implicated in Mitchell's probe. So where do we go from here? The sport needs to clean itself up. The media does have a responsibility to report the truth as they know it. It becomes very tricky when you try to separate players who were prescribed HGH or similar agents for "health purposes" from those who were simply "juicing." Byrd is just one example and I don't know his full story, so I can't comment on his case one way or another. But it's no secret that many of these guys were receiving HGH or whatever as a prescribed medication to treat an illness from a supposed health-care professional who possesses a license to prescribe such meds, and let's face it....the whole thing was a sham. One such instance comes to mind, Matt Williams receiving HGH for his ankle, prescribed by a dentist?!?!? I may not have all the facts straight, but you get the idea. A lot of these players are claiming that they only took the substances under the medical direction of a doctor, but let's face it......if you're an established professional athlete who makes millions of dollars based on what you do, don't tell me you're not going to know what you're taking, regardless of who prescribes it and then pretend like you don't know what it really is (anyone remember Bonds with the Cream/Clear vs. flaxseed oil and/or some type of arthritic balm)? I also have a big problem with the so-called medical professionals who are prescribing these meds in this manner.....in my mind, they are a disgrace to the medical profession and should be held accountable by their peers, state medical board, etc. Whether they lose their license, or have to serve some sort of probation, whatever. This whole steroids mess extends well beyond the athletes, to include everyone on down from the owners to the GMs to the commisioner's office to the managers, to the coaches/training staff, anybody who turned a blind eye or feigned ignorance of this, as well as to the suppliers (i.e., the chemists, the distributors), the so-called docs whose names are on the Rx for patients they have never even seen! This is a big stain on our beloved sport. Only time will tell if this is viewed with as much notoriety as the strike or the infamous Black Sox scandal, which you hit upon earlier, Pakki. It helps that baseball is our national pastime and has an avid fan base, despite its past and present problems. I think the sport will survive. But it needs to be cleaned up and could start by following the examples already set by some of its peers (i.e., track and field, cycling, etc). Granted, those sports have become embarrassments too, with positive drug tests turning up on almost a semiregular basis, but at least they were aggressive in recognizing the growing problem and acting on it. So what if we can't remember who won the Tour de France because so and so ahead of him got kicked out? Who cares, at least they rigorously tested anybody and everybody who participated. Baseball needs to act in a similar fashion. And I don't mean they should necessarily crack down on guys who tested positive in Mitchell's report. This likely won't do much, as it still won't punish those who were cheating, but just weren't stupid enough to get caught. What's done is done. And one fell swoop isn't going to clean the sport up. Selig is a buffoon. I would like to see him replaced by someone with even an ounce more intelligence and integrity to champion the cause for a cleaner league. These are just my two cents. I know some of you don't care whether or not these guys even cheated to begin with and may even think it's OK that they did, because so many others around them were doing likewise. Regardless of what you may or may not think, steroids have been banned for quite some time now and are still illegal. Baseball just wasn't checking for it.....and they still have no reliable test for HGH. So there is no quick fix to this mess. Despite the report, people will continue to cheat. Because it is more than just a game. It is a business. And when $$$ and people's careers are involved, then people will do what they think is necessary to survive, as long as they think they can avoid getting caught. The Mitchell report only touches on the degree of steroid use. We knew the problem existed. The ball is now in Selig and MLB's court. What are you gonna do, Bud? For a start, how about you read the damn report, before giving a press conference! Thanks, Pakki......I was unaware of Selig's latest feat of incompetence until you mentioned this. OK, that's it from me, folks. Have a Happy Holiday, everyone! Oh, one last thing......how about showing Pete Rose some love for the HOF? Does what he did really look so bad now......not that it ever did in my opinion.
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