I went out for "a drink" with Bruno Richard Gulla last night and I am not hungover today.
I consider myself a lucky man. Apparently I am maturing.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Another Reason To Hate Winter
My cats become prisoners in the harsh New England winter. We have a screened in porch which they absolutely love. On those three or four good days that we get during the year, they spend the whole day out there being entertained by chipmunks, squirrels, birds, bears, rhinoceroses and woolly mammoths. Winter hits and they no longer want to be out there. I let them out because I want it to be their decision. Invariable, after five minutes, they are huddled up against the door meowing "Let us in, let us in." This has already happened a number of times in the harsh cold of September and young October. But the need to be entertained remains. I have come home from work to find tiny kitty beer cans and roaches scattered about the house. Crumpled bags of Doritos, squeezed out limes and salt residue next to miniature Jose Cuervo bottles.
I am worried about their health and sanity.
Damn you winter.
I am worried about their health and sanity.
Damn you winter.
Words and The Image Projected
I would like to incorporate the term "much obliged" into my everyday speech. If movies are an accurate indicator, apparently this was a much used term in the wild west. I like the image of me tipping my hat and humbly mumbling much obliged to someone instead of saying thank you. However if I do this I risk setting myself even further apart from people typically described as normal. And I would have to start wearing a hat.
Lord have mercy is another great term. You hear it all the time in great old blues tunes. I would like to use it, but it would have to come from a place of profound belief. In other words, if I truly believed that there is a god floating around up there gleefully waiting to judge my life, if I truly felt the need for his forgiveness, then it would be cool to say Lord have mercy in certain circumstances. I will work on that.
Lastly, I am still inspired to make "he's relentless............like the honey badger" a natural part of my conversation.
Lord have mercy is another great term. You hear it all the time in great old blues tunes. I would like to use it, but it would have to come from a place of profound belief. In other words, if I truly believed that there is a god floating around up there gleefully waiting to judge my life, if I truly felt the need for his forgiveness, then it would be cool to say Lord have mercy in certain circumstances. I will work on that.
Lastly, I am still inspired to make "he's relentless............like the honey badger" a natural part of my conversation.
A Brief Moment Of Clarity
At precisely 8:16 a.m. this morning I put down the book I am currently reading, a biography of Keith Moon, to rest my eyes and revel in the warm and comforting feeling of not having to go to work today. Maka was sound asleep in my lap, Lakota perched on the back of the couch.
I looked through the sliding glass doors and saw sunshine. I did not immediately recognize it as such; had to do some online research, but I was eventually able to confirm that it was indeed sunshine dancing on the dead and dying New England leaves.
I was thrilled, stunned, amazed and amused.
I looked through the sliding glass doors and saw sunshine. I did not immediately recognize it as such; had to do some online research, but I was eventually able to confirm that it was indeed sunshine dancing on the dead and dying New England leaves.
I was thrilled, stunned, amazed and amused.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
September 11
On September 11, I was driving home from three days of peace, love and understanding at Old Orchard Beach. Feeling rested and content having grabbed a fleeting piece of independence from responsibility and life's general boredom.
Passed a couple of places where flags were flying at half mast and I felt sad, reflective, still in disbelief even after ten years. It is so hard to accept that hateful religious fanatics (similar to many republicans who are currently running for president) breached this country's security and killed so many innocent people in such dramatic fashion.
Further on down the road, we passed a pick up with two big American flags waving in the bed of the truck and I was disgusted. There is a huge segment of this population who engage in mindless flag waving and call it patriotism. These are the people who operate from hate, who judge entire countries and religious sects by the actions of a few, people who will spit in your face or wave their goddamn guns around if you dare question anything about this country, people who use vile racist words to refer to President Obama, people who compare him to Hitler. People like Hank Williams Jr., who's music I will delete from my Ipod. I am not going to talk about Ole Hank, he is not worth my time.
You have to approach your love of this country intelligently. America is a great country and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else except, maybe, Jamaica, for obvious reasons. Are you with me Craig? I think it makes sense to be outraged at the scum who perpetrated so much suffering and death on September 11 with continuing repercussions to this day and to make sure they pay for their crimes, but it does not make sense to allow yourself to be overcome with emotion and decide that all Muslims must die or to believe that this country is innocent. By the way, I never use the term 9/11. We have to convert everything in this country into a jingle or a slogan or a catchy phrase; referring to it as 9/11 like a catch phrase trivializes one of the most horrific moments in this country's history.
We are at a dangerous intersection in 2011. There are intelligent people praying for a better way and there are fanatics content to spew hatred and threaten violence. Only one side can win. Mindless judgements can only hurt us. I was not joking with the republicans reference; many of them are religious fanatics with close minded points of view, who criticize and condemn without batting an eye. The same qualities we use to define our enemies.
This country indulges in many of the same unacceptable practices that we criticize other countries for and we run around pretending to a higher moral purpose. We used to lead the world in all the meaningful categories or measurements of civilization; now we lag far behind, even in categories like infant mortality. That is completely insane.
Love your country. I do. It may be hard for you to believe me because I am willing to criticize, but I do love this country. I can be who I am, I can do what I want, and even though it is shrinking and becoming almost impossible to do, there is still an opportunity to achieve your dreams.
But love it intelligently. Recognize it's faults and do what you can to fix them. Think. Don't get caught up in hate filled emotion just because your life is small and you need someone to take it out on.
This country has gone backwards because we have indulged in all the wrong things and ignored all the right ones. We are so far away from the principles this country was founded on, that if James Madison and Benjamin Franklin took a walk around, they would think they were in a foreign land. And they would probably be attacked for the way they were dressed.
Passed a couple of places where flags were flying at half mast and I felt sad, reflective, still in disbelief even after ten years. It is so hard to accept that hateful religious fanatics (similar to many republicans who are currently running for president) breached this country's security and killed so many innocent people in such dramatic fashion.
Further on down the road, we passed a pick up with two big American flags waving in the bed of the truck and I was disgusted. There is a huge segment of this population who engage in mindless flag waving and call it patriotism. These are the people who operate from hate, who judge entire countries and religious sects by the actions of a few, people who will spit in your face or wave their goddamn guns around if you dare question anything about this country, people who use vile racist words to refer to President Obama, people who compare him to Hitler. People like Hank Williams Jr., who's music I will delete from my Ipod. I am not going to talk about Ole Hank, he is not worth my time.
You have to approach your love of this country intelligently. America is a great country and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else except, maybe, Jamaica, for obvious reasons. Are you with me Craig? I think it makes sense to be outraged at the scum who perpetrated so much suffering and death on September 11 with continuing repercussions to this day and to make sure they pay for their crimes, but it does not make sense to allow yourself to be overcome with emotion and decide that all Muslims must die or to believe that this country is innocent. By the way, I never use the term 9/11. We have to convert everything in this country into a jingle or a slogan or a catchy phrase; referring to it as 9/11 like a catch phrase trivializes one of the most horrific moments in this country's history.
We are at a dangerous intersection in 2011. There are intelligent people praying for a better way and there are fanatics content to spew hatred and threaten violence. Only one side can win. Mindless judgements can only hurt us. I was not joking with the republicans reference; many of them are religious fanatics with close minded points of view, who criticize and condemn without batting an eye. The same qualities we use to define our enemies.
This country indulges in many of the same unacceptable practices that we criticize other countries for and we run around pretending to a higher moral purpose. We used to lead the world in all the meaningful categories or measurements of civilization; now we lag far behind, even in categories like infant mortality. That is completely insane.
Love your country. I do. It may be hard for you to believe me because I am willing to criticize, but I do love this country. I can be who I am, I can do what I want, and even though it is shrinking and becoming almost impossible to do, there is still an opportunity to achieve your dreams.
But love it intelligently. Recognize it's faults and do what you can to fix them. Think. Don't get caught up in hate filled emotion just because your life is small and you need someone to take it out on.
This country has gone backwards because we have indulged in all the wrong things and ignored all the right ones. We are so far away from the principles this country was founded on, that if James Madison and Benjamin Franklin took a walk around, they would think they were in a foreign land. And they would probably be attacked for the way they were dressed.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Terry Francona
I watched Terry Francona's press conference and I watched the Epstein/ Lucchino/Werner press conference. My initial reaction was one of overall sadness. It is the end of an era in Red Sox baseball, a very short, spectacularly successful era.
I was a little surprised at the emptiness I felt; sometimes you don't realize how big a part of your life something is until it is gone.
You would think two world championships in four years would give you what you need to overcome any differences, but this is sports in 2011. Nothing means anything.
How many MLB coaches have won two championships or more? I guarantee you it is a very short list over the history of baseball.
The press conferences reinforced what I have felt for a very long time - they are an absolute waste of time. If a journalist has the balls to ask a tough question he will get a softball answer. If they ask softball questions they get condescension. That's why people like Ozzie Guillen and Charles Barkley are so valuable - they speak their minds. Might not be the truth, might not be accurate, but at least they have the guts to say what they think. And it makes you think or respond or pay attention, as opposed to nodding obediently and sheep-like to meaningless drivel.
It feels like this was largely Francona's decision. I can handle that better than if he was forced out. I woke up briefly, and with fire in my soul, when he talked about not connecting with or being able to motivate some of the players (which was repeated by ownership later on). I HATE this about professional sports. It is not a managers job to motivate athletes or "connect" with them. They should motivate themselves, just like they did in high school and college and the minors when they had a burning desire to make it to the majors. Fat paychecks result in fat egos which results in complacency and babysitting. I got two words for you - Manny Ramirez. He should have been fired the first time he didn't run out a ground ball; not benched - fired. He wasn't because he is a rich, pampered athlete who has more clout than his manager and can do whatever he wants to do. Francona should have been allowed to punch him in the face with the rest of the team lined up behind him for their turn.
A manager should be the guy with all the knowledge to try to make all the right moves in every situation. He should be the guru who can look ahead as well as think on his feet to put his team in the best situation to win as often as is possible. That's why I have always hated coaches pre-game or post game talks, especially in football. One out of a hundred are intelligent or motivational; the rest come across like a third grader trying to compare and contrast the political advances of the Mesopotamian Empire with the those of Ancient Greece.
The Epstein/ Lucchino/Werner show was boring and had that phony corporate feel. I guarantee you that those three refer to baseball as product. I was amused at John Henry's absence; I think he would have been the most emotional, most outspoken and honest of them all. Although I can understand him injuring himself on his yacht; happens to me all the time. They echoed the babysitting/ connecting/motivating bullshit, which continued to disgust me. However I was infinitely amused when they expressed surprise at Francona's comment that he wasn't sure he had management's support. That is the issue right there. I think Francona could have stuck around to continue changing diapers, because that is the nature of professional sports today. It is unavoidable. I think The Holy Four were unhappy with Terry's player relationships and with the teams colossal failure, even though The Sox dealt with devastating injuries during the year. Many key players who lost a lot of time, especially on the pitching staff. You can only have so much depth.
I feel empty. I don't know where The Sox go from here; I think they are in for a bumpy road. The phrase "there's always next year" holds no comfort for me this time around.
Went out to see Moneyball last night. There is a scene where Billy Beane has been invited to Fenway to interview for the GM job, which he eventually turned down, opening the door for Epstein. The scene shows him walking up the runway into Fenway Park. The woman sitting next to me said in wonder "That's Fenway", when she recognized the ballpark. She audibly gasped when the view opened up from the runway to reveal the field in all it's glory.
That's what's missing from professional sports today. That's where it started, but it has gotten a long way away from that over the years.
Good luck, Terry Francona and thank you for two precious, Boston baseball memories. 2004 and 2007. They are part of my soul and no one can ever take them away.
I was a little surprised at the emptiness I felt; sometimes you don't realize how big a part of your life something is until it is gone.
You would think two world championships in four years would give you what you need to overcome any differences, but this is sports in 2011. Nothing means anything.
How many MLB coaches have won two championships or more? I guarantee you it is a very short list over the history of baseball.
The press conferences reinforced what I have felt for a very long time - they are an absolute waste of time. If a journalist has the balls to ask a tough question he will get a softball answer. If they ask softball questions they get condescension. That's why people like Ozzie Guillen and Charles Barkley are so valuable - they speak their minds. Might not be the truth, might not be accurate, but at least they have the guts to say what they think. And it makes you think or respond or pay attention, as opposed to nodding obediently and sheep-like to meaningless drivel.
It feels like this was largely Francona's decision. I can handle that better than if he was forced out. I woke up briefly, and with fire in my soul, when he talked about not connecting with or being able to motivate some of the players (which was repeated by ownership later on). I HATE this about professional sports. It is not a managers job to motivate athletes or "connect" with them. They should motivate themselves, just like they did in high school and college and the minors when they had a burning desire to make it to the majors. Fat paychecks result in fat egos which results in complacency and babysitting. I got two words for you - Manny Ramirez. He should have been fired the first time he didn't run out a ground ball; not benched - fired. He wasn't because he is a rich, pampered athlete who has more clout than his manager and can do whatever he wants to do. Francona should have been allowed to punch him in the face with the rest of the team lined up behind him for their turn.
A manager should be the guy with all the knowledge to try to make all the right moves in every situation. He should be the guru who can look ahead as well as think on his feet to put his team in the best situation to win as often as is possible. That's why I have always hated coaches pre-game or post game talks, especially in football. One out of a hundred are intelligent or motivational; the rest come across like a third grader trying to compare and contrast the political advances of the Mesopotamian Empire with the those of Ancient Greece.
The Epstein/ Lucchino/Werner show was boring and had that phony corporate feel. I guarantee you that those three refer to baseball as product. I was amused at John Henry's absence; I think he would have been the most emotional, most outspoken and honest of them all. Although I can understand him injuring himself on his yacht; happens to me all the time. They echoed the babysitting/ connecting/motivating bullshit, which continued to disgust me. However I was infinitely amused when they expressed surprise at Francona's comment that he wasn't sure he had management's support. That is the issue right there. I think Francona could have stuck around to continue changing diapers, because that is the nature of professional sports today. It is unavoidable. I think The Holy Four were unhappy with Terry's player relationships and with the teams colossal failure, even though The Sox dealt with devastating injuries during the year. Many key players who lost a lot of time, especially on the pitching staff. You can only have so much depth.
I feel empty. I don't know where The Sox go from here; I think they are in for a bumpy road. The phrase "there's always next year" holds no comfort for me this time around.
Went out to see Moneyball last night. There is a scene where Billy Beane has been invited to Fenway to interview for the GM job, which he eventually turned down, opening the door for Epstein. The scene shows him walking up the runway into Fenway Park. The woman sitting next to me said in wonder "That's Fenway", when she recognized the ballpark. She audibly gasped when the view opened up from the runway to reveal the field in all it's glory.
That's what's missing from professional sports today. That's where it started, but it has gotten a long way away from that over the years.
Good luck, Terry Francona and thank you for two precious, Boston baseball memories. 2004 and 2007. They are part of my soul and no one can ever take them away.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
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