tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57706652011-09-17T04:03:19.470-05:00My blog. And what are you looking at?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.comBlogger7181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-67525178156517797752011-02-22T17:24:00.000-06:002011-02-22T17:24:45.827-06:00

Well, now Libya has decided to do the revolution rock, and we are all left in a quandary that we haven't faced in years. What is the dude's name who runs the country (or parts at this point)? I know. Who is on first. What is on second. Apparently the Colonel of Libya is playing short-center field. Anyway, the Christian Science Monitor,  a blogger at ABC News, and the Straight Dope have all

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-47293657439272322182011-02-09T17:51:00.001-06:002011-02-22T17:25:27.146-06:00

I recently started another new blog. It is here, and we'll see how it goes. WAYLA is not dead, just focused a little more, perhaps.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-50469633734072376882010-11-13T21:46:00.003-06:002010-11-13T22:23:16.235-06:00

Everyone knows anecdotes about the law not working. Hot coffee is perhaps the most common example people like to cite. Still, sometimes the law does work. At least if we use it.For instance, the Sun-Times reported that for years the City of Chicago had taken the position that it did not want to go to trial where Chicago police officers were accused of brutality. This meant that millions were paid

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-90995519929202442892010-10-22T23:08:00.002-05:002010-10-22T23:24:22.965-05:00

I have been tweeting for a few months now. I had a specific plan when I started tweeting, but I now see the problem. See, I was going to post quotes from public transportation ads. Why? I dunno. It reads well. Sort of fun. The problem? They don't change the ads on the el or bus very often. See, I have posted essentially all of the ads I see.Who would have thought that would happen? I mean, it

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-28269601459385790402010-10-18T22:25:00.002-05:002010-10-18T23:04:51.160-05:00

I was just watching the Yankees and Rangers. In the top of the 9th inning the Rangers played death by a thousand cuts. I think they hit one ball hard, but scored four runs. A few things. First, is there some reason that ARod did not dive for Nelson Cruz's single in the ninth? Because keeping that ball in the infield would have kept the runner on second. Why didn't Jeter try to knock Molina's ball

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-73852297437487646782010-10-05T22:46:00.003-05:002010-10-05T23:54:47.672-05:00

October 3 was German (re)unification day. It has been 20 years since the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany went from being two countries that never existed before World War II to being one "reunified" country that never existed before 1990. I am not sure what the state of mind in Germany was for this anniversary (they don't tend to exhibit 4th of July-style bombast),

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-43422562779173027652010-10-05T11:20:00.006-05:002010-10-05T11:42:37.054-05:00

There are people who have compiled lists of criminals with "Wayne" in their name. The lists do not even include Lil Wayne, Pauline Wayne, or Taylor Wane.In the Chicagoland area in looks as if we there is a different trend. On October 4, 2010 the Chicago Tribune reported that 53 year old Ruben Rodriguez was arrested for weapon and drug violations after police were called because Mr. Rodriguez

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-86208834273884427852010-09-29T22:41:00.001-05:002010-09-29T22:41:51.083-05:00

So, I have started tweeting, and I kind of enjoy the poetry inherent in my tweets. I also found several people that I am following. That being said, I am still not sure why people are so enthusiastic about Twitter.As a general matter, the people I follow mostly just tell me when they have posted something on the Internet. Kind of the reverse of this post. That's fine, but isn't that just an RSS

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-90514979315020784702010-09-27T21:19:00.001-05:002010-09-27T21:19:45.257-05:00

The New York Times reported that Leonard Skinner died in Florida. He was 77, and a former high school gym teacher who did not appreciate long hair on boys. He taught at Robert E. Lee high school, by the way. The North won the civil war, right? Anyway, some of those boys would eventually immortalize Mr. Skinner as Lynryd Skynyrd. I am not a big Southern Rock guy, but that's cool.Here's hoping

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-71910605095705939512010-08-27T23:27:00.002-05:002010-08-28T00:51:16.993-05:00

I have been writing a lot about China lately, but Asia has two billion-person behemoth countries, not one. Maybe it is time to even that score up just a little. After all, it isn't just that India has a bunch of languages. India has significant speakers in four major language families. Twenty-nine languages are spoken by a million or more people. That's crazy.Anyway, India was also an English

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-42750410472846651772010-08-24T21:04:00.003-05:002010-08-25T11:01:25.870-05:00

A few weeks ago I blogged about China. Actually, I "tied together" two totally unrelated items that both had "China" in the name and pretended it was a coherent post. It's what I do.Anyway, in retrospect I have decided that I don't want to be Chinese after all. Let me explain. Last week L was in Urbana-Champaign for a few days. On the way down she got caught in this. Because we live in America,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-45710937283177273252010-08-13T23:33:00.002-05:002010-08-13T23:58:45.399-05:00

I have been thoroughly unconvinced about Twitter. What little I had seen of it consisted mostly of the types of posts some my middle-aged friends posted in their early Facebook statuses . "At the store," "feeling tired," or "waiting for the L." Frankly, I could not understand why I would ever want to follow these people. I did not get it.Notwithstanding not getting it, I keep giving Twitter more

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-20272475048122417102010-07-30T23:55:00.002-05:002010-07-31T00:54:54.399-05:00

You may know that there is a guy who claims that the Chinese came to North America in 1421. Certainly there are people who disagree with him, but it is an intriguing notion. I mean, had the Chinese had colonial designs in North America (as opposed to "Greater China," but more on that later), maybe we would all be Chinese now.Speaking of Chinese colonialism, the Economist had an interesting

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-65822129761310600972010-07-19T20:47:00.002-05:002010-07-19T21:34:37.967-05:00

The French have an interesting relationship with the French-speaking world. Thankfully, they have not followed the German example of the interwar (actually interwar plus, you know, the entire Hitler regime) period of gathering all of their linguistic compatriots under one polity. However, they do have the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, which is sort of funky. However, two

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-30077432907376929772010-06-19T23:51:00.003-05:002010-06-20T00:51:02.492-05:00

Trains are one of U's obsessions. In fact, transportation in general is an obsession of his. I like trains just fine, but I really like maps. When trains and maps come together, it is game on in our house. We already have this book that we sometimes flip through.n We are always on the lookout for more information.There are a few basic models for classic transit maps. Some of the biggest transit

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-82552806725267126532010-06-07T22:40:00.002-05:002010-06-07T23:05:01.617-05:00

I saw an article about a man who was a professor at my law school when I was a student there. I did not take any of his classes, since he had a reputation, deserved or not, of being a grade point killer and relatively unpleasant as a professor. I say again, that was all reputation, which may or may not have been deserved. Although, I think it probably was.Anyway, if you read the article, it seems

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-55969185664345710612010-06-07T21:49:00.002-05:002010-06-07T22:37:28.644-05:00

I won't rehash the Helen Thomas debacle. Her theory that Jews should leave Palastine and "return"to their "real" countries (e.g. Germany, Poland, and the United States) is . . . interesting. Interesting that she expressed it to a rabbi with a video camera. I guess it is safe to say that she is either off her meds, or didn't recognize why people would find that offensive.Except. Except that the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-45417824407965324992010-05-26T12:23:00.002-05:002010-05-26T12:44:11.129-05:00

Here's another obsession. There are secrets below us. Secret tunnels. Well, not usually "secret" but unknown to most of us. In Chicago we all know about the old small gauge rail network that was used to deliver coal and the like to buildings. We know about this from the Great Chicago Flood of 1992. It is not open to the public, but it is a pretty cool thing.Apparently in New York there may (or

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-22274210527818479932010-05-21T06:30:00.001-05:002010-05-21T06:30:42.135-05:00

We all know that the Europeans did not like G.W. Bush. However, left wing German politician Joschka Fischer, while seemingly complimenting Bush may have said the most insulting thing EVER in today's New York Times:"We Germans, we love principles," he said. "Principles are fine, but in the moment of crisis even George W. Bush transformed himself into an American Lenin and nearly nationalized

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-68389193290508260372010-05-18T22:37:00.004-05:002010-05-18T23:32:49.347-05:00

It turns out that a Dutchman is not a Dutchman when his family has been gone for three hundred years, and have been citizens of the British Empire and (at least) two different states in South Africa. What, you may ask, am I talking about?Well, the Monitor reports that there is a smallish group of Afrikaaners seeking status as refugees and/or Dutch citizenship. They are afraid that South Africa

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-6567177702432626322010-05-17T12:07:00.003-05:002010-05-17T12:10:01.214-05:00

Today on my way to work I stepped up the curb in front of my building and noticed . . . an open condom wrapper and a cigarette in the gutter. I thought, "someone had a party."Then, and I am not making this up, a guy got out of a cab behind me. He was wearing a shiny silver shirt and was carrying silver bowling pins. And I continue to not make this up, he walked across Columbus WHILE JUGGLING, got

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-2066992696101981852010-05-06T22:48:00.005-05:002010-10-03T22:10:06.190-05:00

Today I got to go past the Lawrel at Lawrence and Elston. There's a picture on the foto blog. Since I posted about this naming convention I have had suggestions pouring in. I guess what interests me is where the name is derived from the streets, but that is not painfully obvious. The Belford rocks because of the history. The Lawrel and Elmont are cool. Golf Mill shopping center at Golf and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-46454158887936617832010-05-03T10:51:00.001-05:002010-05-03T10:53:30.925-05:00

ANOTHER OBSESSIONFor some odd reason L does not enjoy Sunny as much as I do. Really though, I just find Charlie unbearably funny and the rest of the show fine.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-7515436576400362162010-04-30T22:11:00.002-05:002010-05-03T10:06:47.552-05:00

CHICAGO NAMING CONVENTIONI posted two new pictures on the foto page. One is of a bar called the Belford. It's at Pulaski and Belmont in the city. Seems like a nothing name until you recollect that Pulaski was called Crawford in Chicago until the 1950s (or 1960s, pending the litigation). The second picture is of the El-Mont (telephone MULberry-1666) at Elston and Montrose.This is actually a pretty

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-14600177876623031612010-04-23T23:10:00.001-05:002010-04-23T23:10:21.073-05:00

Facebook is an interesting animal. I have been on for a while, and feel like I "get" how it works. A few realities: the two biggest groups of "friends" I have are family and high school friends. The third largest group is grade school friends. This is not a "normal" distribution of my friends and relations.It turns out that even with regard to the school friends the people I am Facebook "close"

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-56925995824293891982010-04-23T22:51:00.001-05:002010-04-23T22:51:45.358-05:00

Supposedly I can post via email now. Let's see.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-40486215498294885842010-04-23T22:45:00.001-05:002010-04-23T22:45:34.995-05:00

TO STAY OR GOThat is the question. It seems like Facebook has really become the outlet for my random thoughts. That makes this less useful.That being said, it is nice to have an outlet to write. I wonder if I should refocus the blog into something other than my random thoughts. Maybe a catalog of my current obsessions.P.S. I am experimenting with posting using MMS. We'll see.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-75726067350851404272009-12-11T23:05:00.002-06:002009-12-11T23:27:14.033-06:00

A LACK OF PERSPECTIVEOK, this article is from December 1, but still. The piece is a New York Times op-ed discussing the similarities between John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and 9/11. It seems a little stretched:Brown was a bearded fundamentalist who believed himself chosen by God to destroy the institution of slavery. [Brown] hoped to launch his holy war by seizing the United States armory at

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-60539640125730349692009-11-09T22:21:00.002-06:002009-11-09T22:44:33.932-06:00

TRADITION OR SENSE?Mental Floss had an entry that explained the background of each NBA nickname. The names and their genesis are pretty wild for some of them. On the other hand, the newest names are all the result of some stupid "name the team" contest, which generates stupid names like the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder.Some of the more interesting names:The Atlanta Hawks were

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-70022753365838635452009-11-09T21:25:00.002-06:002009-11-09T22:21:39.161-06:00

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR WORLDThree stories in the last three weeks have highlighted the difficulties that can occur when countries and cultures intersect. It isn't quite the clash of civilizations, but the difficulties can be significant.First, there is an article about the relationship between Asia's giants. China and India both have populations so large that rounding errors create or erase 100

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-54962477825940164102009-10-16T23:11:00.002-05:002009-10-16T23:32:34.232-05:00

THINGS THAT SURPRISED ME LAST WEEKThe Huntsville Times says: A Marshall County (Alabama) woman is in the city jail here for having her 13-year-old daughter ride in a cardboard box atop her van. When asked about the child's safety, Smith said Knott told the officers that she had the box secured to the van with a clothes hanger.The Straight Dope has undertaken a survey of street numbering systems

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-75610954648556726712009-10-16T22:25:00.002-05:002009-10-16T23:09:44.095-05:00

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHTThere are a bunch of cities in the Chicagoland area that have changed their names. Some of the changes make sense without even knowing the issues. Joliet was initially names Juliet. A neighboring town named itself Romeo. When Joliet changed its name, so did Romeoville. Really. The story is here.The interesting thing is that a bunch of cities changed their names for similar

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-50364935360572442662009-09-25T22:01:00.002-05:002009-09-25T22:36:01.364-05:00

IT'S ALL NEW (TO ME)I was out of town on bidness at the end of the week. While seeking entertainment during my down time, I decided to check hulu out (again). In the past I was not very impressed with it. This time it took. Oh, did it take. I watched about half a season of New Amsterdam, as well as the Season Five premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It was . . . awesome. I am hooked,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-51454708169999390052009-08-15T13:03:00.002-05:002009-08-15T13:51:11.401-05:00

A STRANGE, ISOLATING LITERACYIf your language is not and never has been written, and you decide to start writing it, you have a few options. One is to wait for someone to invent an alphabet (or set of signs) for your language. A second option is to wait for some missionaries or conquerors to apply their alphabet (or set of signs) to your language. A third option is to create your own alphabet (or

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-35160521399730511562009-08-04T07:10:00.000-05:002009-08-04T07:10:45.826-05:00

A BYGONE ERAI just finished John Drummond's "Thirty Years in the Trenches Covering Crooks, Characters, and Capers." I can't say that it is a tremendous piece of literature. It is real, like Bulldog always was. It does capture a series of turns of phrase that you don't see so much anymore. Check these out:"As time went on the park became a haven for jackrollers and male prostitutes."Apparently a "

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-45448298753102825182009-07-30T12:10:00.000-05:002009-07-30T12:11:24.072-05:00

IS THIS FUNNY, RACIST, OR BOTH?Police Still Searching For Missing Productive, Obedient Woman

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-59503157359514807352009-07-29T12:17:00.004-05:002009-07-29T19:07:06.671-05:00

STRANGEST FACT CONTEST I was talking to someone at work when Stalin's alleged plan to breed a race of human/apes (humanzee) came up. What were we talking about that segued into that? I have no idea. However, I do love stuff like that, so I had to do a quick google search. Turns out that there are a number of citations to a story run in the Scotsman in 2005. See here, here, here, here, and here,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-84645403465379418452009-07-29T09:54:00.002-05:002009-07-29T09:57:21.908-05:00

PRIORITIES, PRIORITIESHeadline today:Lawmakers to propose ban on driving while textingUh. How about proposing TEXTING while DRIVING? The way the headline is currently written it makes it seem as if driving is endangering your texting."Damn it! That car stopped unexpectedly and I typed LoooolllL instead of just LOL. I have GOT to stop driving while I text!"

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-38780429351267217942009-07-28T11:36:00.000-05:002009-07-28T11:38:02.601-05:00

PRETTY COOL OLD FILM

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-62326011126914436532009-07-24T22:39:00.002-05:002009-07-24T22:55:34.135-05:00

WHALE WIMPSI have been watching Whale Wars sporadically. The gist of the show is that the Japanese continue to hunt and kill whales in the ocean surrounding Antarctica. The Japanese claim that this is valid research under the rules established by the International Whaling Commission. I have no idea whether the Japanese interpretation is reasonable.Anyway, the crew of the Steve Irwin (formerly the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-49318837440769220032009-06-15T19:59:00.003-05:002009-06-15T20:35:21.329-05:00

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?Hey, I posted again in under a month! Look at me!I have not been posting here as often as I would like. Of course, it doesn't help that all of the news seems to be either "green shoots" economic stories or "brown shoots" economic stories. Seriously, the market tanks on a given day because that day traders are concerned that the stimulus will cause inflation? Yesterday they were

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-55009897879903038042009-05-23T14:18:00.002-05:002009-05-23T14:51:11.675-05:00

BASEBALL STARS YOU DON'T KNOWI was reading an article on Japanese baseball a week or so ago and came across the name of one of Japan's 300-game winning pitchers. His name was Victor Starffin. I was not so surprised because many Japanese baseball accomplishments have been made by non-Japanese. I assumed that Starffin was an American I had never heard of.* Then I saw that Mr. Starffin won 26 games

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-67270746316868324132009-05-07T22:44:00.002-05:002009-05-07T22:52:50.389-05:00

HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLENRemember when this simpering weirdo was the face of a brand:Well, now they are reduced to having the ass of a brand:What were they thinking? And, did nobody in any focus group mention that hanging asswipe on a bear's ass was . . . gross?By the way, I LOVE the tone of this commercial. Show pride and support for President Obama with . . . a Chia Pet!

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-33196718230160943522009-05-06T22:03:00.001-05:002009-05-07T22:53:20.931-05:00

THE EXPERIMENTI did not realize that blogger had a means to post via phone. Of course, I can't create bold, hyperlink, or add pictures.Anyway, it seems to me that twittering, blogging, and other social communications are coming together. I understand that tweets are much shorter, but I think that's partly due to the medium (SMS messaging), but between the iPhone, Blackberries, Palms and others,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-85359827407742716222009-05-05T20:13:00.003-05:002009-05-05T20:57:00.192-05:00

VICTORIAN STIMULUS PACKAGE?We have become big train fans in this house. The Boy really, really likes trains. Whether they be freight trains, Amtrak trains, or L trains, one never passes without eliciting an excited "train!" That happens pretty often because we live on the northwest side of the Chi, and as the map below reflects, we are surrounded by train lines. We live near Portage Park, and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-33196098024667876832009-04-27T20:41:00.002-05:002009-04-27T21:05:17.681-05:00

JOURNAL ROUND UPI sometimes take a quick look at the Wall Street Journal so that you don't have to. I mean, seriously, "Markets in Retreat: Fear Swine Flu" sounds like the Weekly World News, not economic journalism. Still, three interesting, but otherwise unrelated tidbits.First, on April 17, 2009 the Journal SCOOPED (!) the universe by running essentially the same story that the New York Times

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-24376317307169303662009-04-15T09:28:00.002-05:002009-04-15T09:55:32.732-05:00

PAIN I FEELThe Wall Street Journal (!) had a very interesting little piece on the pronunciation of names. Apparently even by looking at name spellings from immigration to the second generation it is clear that the pronunciation of family names changed. In my own family the French "s" at the end of the name was dropped in the United States in the 1840s or so. This effectively changed the spelling

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-80758039134128388112009-03-17T20:16:00.002-05:002009-03-17T20:32:50.262-05:00

GOOD THING WE GOT THEM OUT OF CANADA!The Washington Nationals are just the Montreal Expos rebranded and paid in American dollars with English over the PA system, and feet instead of meters on the walls. And they moved. OK. Maybe it seems like a lot of changes, until you realize they are still a middle of nowhere, unloved franchise. Proof? They just signed Julian "Punches Like a Six Year Old"

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-56860311325849049402009-03-10T12:06:00.002-05:002009-03-10T12:11:06.370-05:00

GEOGRAPHY AND DESTINYOne of the stories that has come up again and again during this recession is the long-term effect on cities across America. I think this may be more true in this recession because housing is a major (the major) part of the contraction. It seems beyond doubt that places like Las Vegas, parts of California, and places like Coral Gables, Florida will be scarred for years to come

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-30267870063420422862009-03-06T10:19:00.002-06:002009-03-06T10:29:58.141-06:00

MAKING MY WISHES CLEARThe New York Times is another of the media outlets beating the endless drum of gloom and doom on the economy. However, they did find a bright spot. Here they talk about companies that pursue debt collections against the deceased. These are mostly personal debts, so that for the most part the living are not obligated to pay. But apparently they do. “You get to be the person

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-19947425169406021722009-03-05T13:29:00.002-06:002009-03-05T13:31:52.650-06:00

WAIT, DID SOMETHING CHANGE?In the 1980s Top Gun did not really seem like a gay movie. In fact, my recollection of the reaction at the time was that the Navy was quite happy and cooperative. Twenty-five years later it is all too easy to recast that movie as a big, churning, bubbling pool of homoerotic homoeroticism. Check out the recut trailer below:

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-61545126674807243022009-02-28T23:21:00.002-06:002009-02-28T23:37:40.700-06:00

PREOCCUPIEDI have been preoccupied lately and have not blogged. My bad. I blame Facebook in part, and the Boy in part.First Facebook. I have not been on Facebook all that long, but I have to admit that it is much better than I expected. I find the burden of having a relatively paltry 90 or so friends to be minimal. On the other hand, I have communicated with people much more than I did in the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-23695863058029923652009-02-07T22:55:00.002-06:002009-02-07T23:15:26.724-06:00

PERSPECTIVEI just realized that this is my 667th post on this blog. That means that the one before this was SATAN'S post! Davos must be SATAN'S gathering! It all makes sense now.Anyway, that's not what I wanted to post about. I wanted to post about the vital importance of perspective. Today it was 52 degrees in Chicago. 52 is not really all that warm. Nevertheless, we opened windows upstairs and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-81928583104896461652009-01-28T09:51:00.002-06:002009-01-28T10:15:42.062-06:00

ECHO CHAMBEROne of the things that has been most shocking to me about the banking crisis and the subsequent recession has been the extent to which "business leaders" have turned out to be lemmings. For all of their "leadership" when the economy was good, it is now apparent that many of them were just riding the bubble and looking like geniuses.The latest proof? This article about the Davos

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-82076381944631146532009-01-21T22:25:00.002-06:002009-01-21T23:50:01.135-06:00

OBAMA AND SILLY ANALYSISYesterday was a day that we will never forget. Millions of words have been written about it, and I won't add many. I have great hopes for the Obama Administration, and look forward to a pragmatic domestic policy and a good liberal internationalist streak in foreign policy. Still, the navel gazing about race is stupid.What I want to talk about is the silliness that the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-51241062829326887282009-01-16T09:56:00.002-06:002009-01-16T10:08:51.625-06:00

CONFUSION ON THE HUDSONYesterday's plane crash and rescue on the Hudson River was pretty amazing. To have a commercial airliner crash into a river in winter makes you think of the Air Florida crash in Washington in 1982. Remembering that 75 of the 80 people on that plane died makes it all the more amazing that not one person on the New York flight died. Tremendous credit has been given to the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-80329576436438341372009-01-11T01:40:00.002-06:002009-01-11T01:54:51.035-06:00

EFFICIENCYI just finished Mark Kurlansky's "Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World." It was fine, and probably worth reading. As I was reading it, I was thinking that the book had an awful lot to do with the Basques. They were huge cod fisherman in the early (1400s) days, and continued to be so until the cod went away. I read Kurlansky's "The Basque History of the World" and thought

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-70254473566927901432009-01-11T00:53:00.002-06:002009-01-11T01:01:00.828-06:00

SHAMELESSToday I read a report regarding Obama's stimulus plan that included this quote, "but it needs restrictions, Republicans say, to ensure prudent spending."The quote is just so absurd. The Republicans inherited a $128 billion surplus from Clinton and turned it into $482 billion deficit in eight years. They pissed billions away in an ill-conceived, unnecessary war in Iraq, and allowed the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-61754787376093996012009-01-06T10:48:00.002-06:002009-01-06T11:00:02.586-06:00

SS PICK UP LINESI like history. I tend to read lots of World War II history, and European World War II history to boot. Like so many people interested in this area, I am fascinated by the Nazis.Finding the Nazis interesting can be annoying for people who do not share the interest. I mean, what else is there to be said? They were crazy, they murdered eleven million people (not counting war dead),

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-64621977301314432512009-01-02T13:35:00.002-06:002009-01-02T13:46:38.712-06:00

WINDING UP THE HOLIDAYSSo, the outside decorations are down and in the basement, and the last of the straggler presents has been opened. The holidays are really winding down. I guess I'll go back to work on Monday. Sigh.In more exciting news, L got me the ice cream maker attachment for the Kitchen Aid Mixer she got when we got married. That, along with David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop" should

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-80706550442069520312008-12-22T09:57:00.002-06:002008-12-22T10:09:56.228-06:00

WELL, NOW WHO DO WE COMPARE THEM TO?Just a short note. When bashers of the American auto companies bash GM, Ford, and Chrysler, they often point to Toyota as the kind of company the Americans should be emulating. That argument has just gotten a little weaker. Toyota is not only on the verge of reporting an operating loss, the company is also saying:"The tough times are hitting us far faster,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-1025841565765533272008-12-18T13:36:00.002-06:002008-12-18T13:43:02.439-06:00

BEEN THERE, STILL LAUGHEDA friend sent me this video of Hitler previewing baseball's winter meetings. I understand that youtube has Hitler on the Reds, Cowboys, and who knows what else. However, the Kerry Wood bit at the end of this one is brilliant.By the way, there *is* adult language, as you would expect when discussing Sammy Sosa, Cliff Floyd, Jacque Jones, and Fukudome in right field for the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-76726975654086483022008-12-11T15:39:00.003-06:002008-12-11T15:47:50.206-06:00

BLAGOJEVICH UPDATEIt seems that this is still a national story. What do you know about that? Now that he's been arrested and a criminal complaint has been filed against him, G-Rod's approval rating in Illinois stands at 8%. Who are these 8%? I mean, I assume his wife and kids, plus a Deputy Governor or two, but seriously, who approves of Blago's performance?For those of you all Facebooky with me,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-41097907995810196392008-12-11T13:24:00.002-06:002008-12-11T13:33:20.767-06:00

AUTO LOANSSo, for the time being it appears that the deal to provide Federal loans to GM and Chrysler is dead. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says "A lot of struggling Americans are asking where their bailout is. They wonder why one business would get support over another. When it comes to the auto industry, many Republicans in Congress have asked these same questions."Exactly. When it comes to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-76143126395664965132008-12-11T09:55:00.002-06:002008-12-11T09:58:16.308-06:00

WOODY REDUXApparently Kerry Wood is about to sign a $20 million, 2 year contract with the Cleveland Indians. This is as good as it could have gotten with Woody. He's getting paid, he is in the American League, and if we are lucky he will spend two years tormenting the White Sox.Win, win, win.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-60166189493451612972008-12-10T10:30:00.001-06:002008-12-10T10:31:04.826-06:00

MORE FOTOSI could write for hours about the humor of the Blago indictment. Instead, there are five or six new, post-New York pictures on the fotoblog.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-88177191786890117322008-12-09T09:15:00.004-06:002008-12-09T12:48:26.216-06:00

JOB OPENING IN ILLINOISApparently the governor of Illinois was taken into custody today by the Feds. That would be two consecutive Illinois governors taken into Federal custody. George Ryan was convicted and is in Federal prison. Blago (the current governor) has not yet been convicted of anything.The criminal complaint is here. It seems as if the main allegations have to do with Blago bullying

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-21659866522476480792008-12-09T09:07:00.002-06:002008-12-09T09:15:04.785-06:00

THE BOYI rarely write about U. There are plenty of mommy blogs for that, and if you know us, you know that we have a page about the child. However, in writing about last weekend I will make an exception.So, first of all, I made most of the food for a few friends to come over on Saturday. I made, among other things, Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guiness cake. The whole thing is basically mixed in a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-44595671014956900742008-11-29T07:11:00.002-06:002008-11-29T07:20:08.648-06:00

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONWe spent Thanksgiving in Western Michigan, specifically in Ludington. Not for the first time, we had a real small town moment in Ludington. Friday morning we stopped by McDonald's because L wanted a hash brown and a coffee. The drive thru line was huge, so I walked in. My mistake:"Are you guys still serving breakfast?"Little did I realize what an error that was. The answer

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-90170532443481623972008-11-22T13:44:00.002-06:002008-11-22T14:27:27.924-06:00

THE TIBET QUESTIONIn the United States the current recession has mostly caused people to worry about U.S. issues. For instance, how easy a ride can we give wealthy New York bankers out of the crisis, and how badly should we screw blue collar manufacturing workers in the Midwest. As if some of the banks that will get money from the Feds are "viable" without the FDIC insuring their deposits, and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-70778218727305933042008-11-20T11:35:00.004-06:002008-11-20T13:23:26.841-06:00

FLYING HIGHER AND FASTERI just got back from a three day visit to New York City. I will put my pictures of the Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and South Seaport area on the fotoblog when I get a chance. Maybe tonight. However, I had some odd experiences flying.Going to New York (really Newark, aka EWR) was uneventful. Good flight. Half empty plane. There was a woman with two kids across the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-64574383224595545232008-11-14T23:08:00.002-06:002008-11-14T23:21:11.444-06:00

WOODYSo, the Cubs decided that they will not be able to sign Kerry Wood after he had a reasonably successful season last season. They got Florida's closer, and they keep Carlos Marmol. Obviously they are assuming that one of them will take Woody's job as closer, and they don't want to give Woody a long contract.Apparently Woody and the Cub's brass have been all-class. That is as it should be.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-78695958009502762572008-11-11T12:57:00.000-06:002008-11-11T12:58:25.320-06:00

NEW PICSI put some new pics on the fotoblog. In case you are interested.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-15370433391679839612008-11-08T20:25:00.002-06:002008-11-08T21:07:54.899-06:00

TIDYING UPThe map of the northern world has become much more tidy in the last 60 or so years. Between the end of the Age of Empires in 1919 and the redistribution of populations to match borders undertaken by Stalin, the north has relatively few latent issues pending.That being said, there are some historical oddities. For instance, Liechtenstein still exists. It was created so that the powerful

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-26174175831817817272008-11-05T20:19:00.003-06:002008-11-06T15:21:43.424-06:00

THE POST MORTEMSo, if you are more interested in the process of campaigns than in the speeches and all that stuff, you are about to enter a glorious phase. Now is when all of the insiders start spinning their stuff. On the Republican side everyone will explain how their ideas were good, and everyone else screwed up. On the Democratic side everyone will have had perfect knowledge at all times and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-49474121719548426822008-11-04T14:23:00.002-06:002008-11-04T14:31:21.487-06:00

MY OBAMA EXPERIENCEOn June 9, 2005 I posted the below. My only regret now is that I did not act like an ass and get Obama to sign something for me. Well, that's the problem with being cosmopolitan (as I am).YOU'RE ON VACATIONIf you fly from Washington to Chicago on Thursday nights, you have a decent chance of flying with politicians. I flew with pre-conviction Rostenkowski (he was in first class,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-21680558433739175312008-11-03T21:04:00.002-06:002008-11-03T21:16:49.752-06:00

HALLOWEENThis is the first year that the Bird went trick-or-treating. We made it to two houses. We went two doors west, and one door west, then he saw mommy on our porch and we were done. Of course, it takes him a while to get up a flight of steps, and I have to help down steps, so it was just as well.What is really fun about Halloween in our neighborhood is all of the people who are experiencing

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-6239176721534965362008-11-03T20:26:00.003-06:002008-11-04T14:45:28.253-06:00

TOMORROWSo, tomorrow is election day. It is the first presidential election in quite a while during which I will not have to hold my nose when I vote. I just missed the 1988 election, but sheesh, did Dukakis really inspire anyone? 1992 and 1996 were fun, but Gore/Lieberman were very, very hard to like. I mean, listening to the two of them speak back-to-back was like a scene from Solzhenitsyn. And

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-14780332481499804422008-10-16T08:28:00.002-05:002008-10-16T08:44:32.031-05:00

WALL STREET OR WAALSTRAAT?We have heard a lot lately about securities made up of bundled mortgages (or parts thereof). This financial instrument has been characterized as a new way of distributing risk, and giving people more opportunties for profit. Of course, when it turned out that the mortgages in some of these securities turned out to be worse than average (i.e. higher default), lots of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-7939072475691896182008-10-15T22:51:00.002-05:002008-10-15T22:55:20.317-05:00

SOME STAFFER JUST GOT FIREDI did not watch the third debate. I was otherwise occupied with young mister walking pneumonia and his hilarious bedtime antics. However, I did just watch the clip below, and I have to say it: some McCain staffer just got fired. You cannot, cannot, cannot send your guy out there to spin his own hypothetical and then have him be gobsmacked like this.My goodness, McCain

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-11121713716729419932008-10-11T13:11:00.002-05:002008-10-11T13:37:56.794-05:00

IT'S ALL IN THE DELIVERYI have been hearing reports about crowds, particularly at Palin events, getting a little . . . vocal. Yelling "traitor" and "liar" when Obama's name is mentioned is a little outside the mainstream (booing is more typical, although as an adult, do you REALLY react to someone's name?). Sarah Palin's speeches have probably helped to get people riled up. When she insinuates

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-60888279276737135152008-10-09T09:32:00.002-05:002008-10-09T09:47:03.994-05:00

ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLEToday the Nobel people awarded the Nobel in Literature to Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio. He's a French writer, and is apparently an author of "new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization."I have to admit that I have no earthly idea what the quote above means. I have not read any of le Clezio's works

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-86583554709985918682008-10-08T15:31:00.003-05:002008-10-08T15:42:28.169-05:00

SHADES OF A BYGONE ERAYou might have noticed that the economy is in serious trouble right now. Forget the Dow, and try to get banks to lend to each other, and to others for a change. Sheesh. The banks seem to have gone from a bizarrely reckless disregard for loan risk to a bizarrely paranoid risk analysis.Anyway, in a news story that seems like it is out of the Dust Bowl or something, Crain's is

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-51651535076790935252008-10-04T21:01:00.003-05:002008-10-05T00:24:34.208-05:00

THE CONSPIRACY FILESI have been reading a lot of Green Eggs and Ham, and Curious George Plays Baseball of late. Like, probably 20 times each in the last 10 days. Frankly, I do not have huge issues with Green Eggs and Ham. Sam-I-Am is a pain in the ass, and railroad construction in Whoville seems substandard, but otherwise, meh.Curious George Plays Baseball, on the other hand, is rife with

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-1024779958890685892008-10-03T10:42:00.002-05:002008-10-03T11:32:56.683-05:00

THURSDAY NIGHTSo, the Cubs are making me throw up in my mouth right now. Four errors in a playoff game is just bizarre. Sadly, because I am a Cub fan deep, deep down, all I can do is hope and suffer. If this were the Bulls or Bears, I could be disgusted with the play and move on. With the Cubs it hurts much deeper down. So, now I root for a huge comeback, and I hope and pray they avoid a sweep (

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-842292536697373642008-10-01T16:25:00.002-05:002008-10-01T16:39:22.703-05:00

BASEBALL PLAYOFFSSo, the Cubs start playing tonight. They have been the best team in the National League this year. They play the Dodgers, who played in the worst division in baseball, and finished 84-78, on a schedule that allowed them to play more games against the likes of the Pads, the Giants, and the Rockies. The Dodgers had 13 fewer wins than the Cubs, playing an easier schedule.The Dodgers

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-78395000010695498102008-09-29T09:26:00.002-05:002008-09-29T09:40:23.897-05:00

OUR LIVING LANGUAGEU is growing like a . . . toddler. He needs his THIRD Cubs cap, since the one he has now is starting to pinch his little brain and make his eyes bulge out. I employed strategery in buying both a bigger cap, and a Cubs winter hat for him at the same time. Lower shipping, and the cap was on sale.Unfortunately, I misunderestimated the time it would take to get the merchandise.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-2287976735180466272008-09-29T09:13:00.003-05:002008-09-29T13:52:59.073-05:00

THE BAILOUTThe news is reporting that Americans do not support the Wall Street bailout agreed to in Washington yesterday. This is fine, but frankly probably misguided and pointless. I suspect that almost all of us are disgusted by a culture that was giving $100,000 bonuses eighteen months ago, and is now in need of tax payer money to remain viable at all. Sort of a poor little rich girl thing.If

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-60137694222285699312008-09-25T21:11:00.002-05:002008-09-25T21:17:32.911-05:00

ONCE A MONTHI find lately that people really prefer a once-a-month blog, rather than any more often. Actually, that may or may not be true, but I either go with that, or with the "I've suspended this blog to rush to Washington" angle. Of course, if I foresaw all of this in August, when I last posted, I probably should have said something.Anyway, what's happened since I last wrote? Well, the Bears

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-56646946428540554702008-08-27T15:39:00.003-05:002008-08-27T16:17:02.889-05:00

THIS IS WHY WE TRAVELWe travel to see what is different, and what is the same. We travel to experience history, and cultures, and to learn more about ourselves. We travel because people in other places are insane. Proof?In Villa Park, Illinois (home of a branch of the B family) a law is being considered that would (a) ban people in bars from dancing on the bar, on tables, or on chairs, and (b)

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-79053646438679218062008-08-27T14:39:00.002-05:002008-08-27T14:57:43.757-05:00

BYE, BYE JAYJay Mariotti, whose only mention on this blog was in 2005, where I called him "resident asshole Jay Mariotti" quit his job with the Sun-Times today. Jay put out a fair amount of crap about realizing during the Olympics that the internet is the future, and not wanting to be dragged down by the mainstream press model.If this seemed like an idiotic revelation from someone who just signed

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-72981583594386152008-08-25T09:43:00.003-05:002008-08-25T09:53:16.301-05:00

I'M WAYLA, AND I APPROVED THIS MESSAGEI generally do not post about politics. Generally I just don't think they are that entertaining, and I think that too many politicians are jackasses. However, John McCain and his team are really reaching a new level of silliness. Today they put out an ad questioning why Obama did not choose Clinton as his Vice Presidential candidate. The ad is embedded in

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-24405395693919812902008-08-15T15:08:00.006-05:002008-08-15T15:50:21.830-05:00

IN CHICAGO IN THE LAST WEEKThat title might be too grand. I mean, a lot of things happened. Some good, some bad. Nevertheless, both of the items below happened in Chicago in the past week, so there.Yesterday I went to lunch at the Palm. It is one of these places that has caricatures of the famous (and not so famous) on the walls, so it definitely plays kissy face within anyone famous who comes in

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-10461159989231542252008-08-06T10:40:00.003-05:002008-08-06T11:00:31.263-05:00

THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG CAMPAIGNIt is hard to get very excited about the race for the presidency living in Illinois. Obama is going to win Illinois. By a whole bunch. We probably won't even really get campaign commercials. As was true in primary season, it'll be like there's no campaign being run.However, we are all going to have three months of "insight" about race and politics before we vote

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-86860885971202796922008-08-06T09:49:00.002-05:002008-08-06T10:02:19.976-05:00

ALWAYS NAME YOUR BABIESI know that it seems obvious, but there are real benefits to naming your child. Even if the name is "Filipina," "Lemonjello" (le-MON-juh-lo), or "David" (DAY vid), there is still benefit to be had. For instance, this sentence will never be written about your child: "Chicago Police shot and killed an unnamed man late last night in a shoot-out in the Auburn Gresham

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-80235957561468749062008-08-05T09:49:00.002-05:002008-08-05T09:57:24.513-05:00

TALK ABOUT THE WEATHERNo posts for three weeks? That's not good. I was on a nice run there for a while.Anyway, last night I think our 'hood got hit by some sort of microburst, or other extreme weather event. For the first time I remember tornado sirens were actually triggered in the city, and a few hours later we could feel bursts of wind and rain slamming into the house. Trees were downed

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-80117341618084197372008-07-16T11:41:00.002-05:002008-07-16T11:51:43.106-05:00

LOSING THE EDGEWGN Radio has a show called Extension 720. It is hosted by a man named Dr. Milt Rosenberg, who must be about 80 years old. He's been hosting the show since 1973, and in some of the older shows he was sharp. He isn't anymore. In his July 10 show he read that a group called Recreate '68 is threatening to protest at the Democratic National convention.Rosenberg didn't understand the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-31959933103380347142008-07-11T21:58:00.002-05:002008-07-11T22:30:27.273-05:00

VAY KAYYou know how you know I'm on vacation this week? Because (a) I have not been posting, and (b) what I am about to post about.First, the EA Baseball 2005 for PSP season that I started almost two years ago is over. I played the full 162 games plus playoffs as the Colorado Rockies circa 2005, with a few free agent additions (Estaban Loiza, Magglio Ordonez, Barry Larkin, and Robbie Alomar). The

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-76109882015480046252008-06-29T12:12:00.002-05:002008-06-29T12:27:50.290-05:00

WHY BASEBALL RULESBaseball rules because you can't predict it. Instead of having a clock to tell you when the game is going to end, you have 27 (or 24, or more than 27, depending) outs to get through. If that takes two hours, super. If it takes six hours, super. Furthermore, baseball is so full of quirky parks and quirky rules that there is always a chance to see something you've never seen

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5770665.post-72585161134289640252008-06-23T10:02:00.003-05:002008-06-23T10:23:33.948-05:00

MAYBE COACH K SHOULD TAKE OVERAthletically speaking, Duke University is undeniably a basketball school. The Blue Devils have had tremendous success on the basketball court, with three national championships and 14 Final Four appearances.Before anyone can debate that the Duke football team has been respectable (if not as successful as the basketball team), know that Duke has already indicated that

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03957203396555442465noreply@blogger.com1