Famous Comedians are WoW Geeks Too!

Dave Chapelle admits it in a stand-up appearance - he plays World of Warcraft.

Balk This Way

The Orioles have now been called for 8 balks now this season, twice as many as the #2 balking pitching staffs in the league, Toronto and Chicago. I 've seen games in which 2 of those 7 previous balks occured, that ended up helping to decide the outcome of Baltimore losses. Those were both widely viewed as legitimate balk calls by both TV and radio announcers, but not this evening's call. Steve Kline was waiting for his sign, stepped off the pitching rubber, was called for the balk, appeared to be (politely) questioning the parentage of the umpires, and was ejected. HOFer Jim Palmer was on the TV side tonight, and couldn't have been more definitive in dismissing the call as wrong. The balk ended up leading to a Yankees run.

Times like this make me wonder why baseball can't have some kind of replay system. It's a rhetorical question, of course, because the umpires are so involved with the mechanics of the game, if you added instant replay you'd be that much closer to electronically determining the strike zone and calling balls and strikes using a computer. So......why can't baseball have some kind of a replay system?

Now I hear from the announcers that the NYY starter, Carl Pavano, was evidently called for a balk earlier in the game (I wasn't watching until the 5th inning), that helped the O's score a run. So maybe the umpires this season are working on commission, bonuses for every balk call?

That Baltimore has not been playing well lately is a gross understatement. Emblematic of that, the fact that tonight the excellent defensive catcher Sal Fasano had 3 passed balls? It's a strange game, baseball.

Game 7

I'm not a big NBA fan by any measure, but I did watch Game 7 of the Finals last night. The NBA playoffs are a universe away from the NBA's regular season, because you get the sneaking suspicion that during the playoffs, the players actually care. Well, the players in this game definitely cared, as The Spurs beat the Pistons in an ugly but intense game. Tim Duncan was awesome. I remember seeing him a few times at Cole Field House when I was in school, leading Wake Forest to victory over the home team. No shame for the Terps, though, WF with Duncan won a lot of games in the mid-90s. Back then, everyone could see that he was good, a future NBA starter. But this good? He's been All-NBA 1st team for 8 seasons! (he's been in the NBA for...8 seasons). Anyway, Tim did everything last night in the second half after a less-than-impressive first half. And the Spurs are champs, not those thugs from Detroit, which is cool.

Unfortunately, I'm operating on 5 hours of sleep (I prefer at least 6) since the Finals games don't tip until around 9:30. What's up with that? And I know they were playing in San Antonio, but what's with Brooks & Dunn singing the National Anthem? Do NBA fans and country music fans really come from the same demographic pool? I wouldn't think so, but what do I know. About Brooks and Dunn, because I know you're all dying to know more about them; after some research this morning, I found out that Ronnie Dunn is the taller blonde one who looks like a country singer, while Kix (Kix?) Brooks looks very unlike a country singer when he's not wearing his black cowboy hat - actually I thought he looked a lot like Mandy Patinkin when I saw him on TV. It's smart of them to go by Brooks & Dunn though - I'm betting they'd sell a lot less records if they were known as Kix & Ronnie.

Maybe Renting Is Better After All

The Supreme Court ruled today that local governments can use eminent domain to condemn and seize private property to give to other private interests, such as developers or industry. If that's true, how can anyone actually own their property? If it's the will of the local government that your property is more valuable to 'the public' (in terms of tax revenue generation for said government) as a strip mall or some shiny new condos, then there's nothing you can do about it but take what they offer you for your home?

OK, for those who haven't followed the link to the Post story yet, quick, guess which Justices were on the side of the local gov't/developers! Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, etc., the 'Republican' justices who are all about protecting states' rights (except in Florida during an election year)? Wrong! Those 3, plus O'Connor, were the dissenters in the 5-4 vote. The more liberal judges sided with usually-wealthy developers and potentially greedy (not to mention potentially corrupt) local governments. Say what you want about the Court, at least they're not predictable.

Justice O'Coonor summed it up well at the end of her dissenting opinion:

...the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result. "[T]hat alone is a just government," wrote James Madison, "which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own."

21st Century Protesting

It's not easy to protest these days in the U.S. - you're likely to be confined to a protest area that's a quarter-mile or more from your target, while supporters of the Bush regime/administration are allowed to get much closer to the president. Dissent may as well be a four-letter word to 'W'. That's why I was surprised that D.C. cops and the Secret Service let a small group of protesters - waving signs about religious freedom for Vietnam and Bush not negotiating with dictators - congregate in front of the Mayflower Hotel's side entrance (which is almost directly below my office window). These are the doors through which they shuttle VIPs such as Ariel Sharon when they're at the Mayflower.

Of course, they were later moved to the end of the block. And despite being on my way to 30, I'm not that old that I could recognize this flag, which protesters were waving, without some online searching. Perhaps the Vietnamese prime minister, who is meeting with our beloved president, is within the hotel?

They have now been moved around the corner, almost out of my line of vision, so that they can't even see the Mayflower doors. This is a group of 15-20 obviously dangerous protesters, waving menacing-looking flags. Ah, Democracy!

(You've no doubt noticed that any mention of the president includes an appropriate change in font size. I've decided that he just doesn't deserve the full-sized font when mentioned in my blog. I apologize if this makes it difficult to read, but it's the price that must be paid for freedom.)

FE Exam Revisited, Music Reviews

OK, so I was apparently wrong about bombing the FE Exam, because I passed after all. A source of pride? Not really, more like relief that I don't have to re-take it, and can move on to the PE exam. Yay. Too bad these exams don't actually test your competency as an engineer. How can any multiple-choice format test do that? It's a good way for state licensing boards and the test prep industry to make some money, meanwhile years after the college application process and initial job-seeking, I'm still playing the "it will look good on your resume" game. I've grown to hate that game. However, a PE license will make it much easier to jump to another firm should I want to do that in the future (to shorten my commute, primarily).

I'm also not thrilled that I'll probably end up taking the Civil Engineering test. That test and the Environmental test includes topics such as transportation systems and air pollution that my Biological Resources Engineering program did not include, but the environmental test is 20 questions longer over the same time period, and there are fewer available study materials by far than for the Civil exam. I guess the labels aren't that important, but it still annoys me for some reason.

The White Stripes' Get Behind Me, Satan - two thumbs up. Just what one would expect of this band. They're a blues band as much as a rock band, IMO, and when I hear the Stones or Zeppelin, especially earlier stuff, it's no wonder that the White Stripes sound like such a throwback - those bands we're playing the blues back then, too. The Stripes keep it simple, and it works. Meg's drumming really comes through on this album, too. Sometimes it's like that bass drum is pounding on your skull. In a good way, though.

Coldplay's X&Y - eh, not so great. It's pleasant enough music, but after two solid-if-not-spectacular albums, I expected more than pleasant. There's nothing all that noticeable, new, or catchy here, and too many soft spots.

The Dark Knight Returns

Of course there are natural tendencies to compare creative works that share a protagonist. Batman Begins will be, appropriately enough, compared with Tim Burton's 1989 Batman. But most people will want to pick a 'winner', and that's unfortunate because I think there's room for both movies at the top of the pile. They are such dissimilar films, set in different universes, yet I think they both hit the mark in their portrayals of a billionaire with lots of neat toys and the lunatics that he battles (both externally and within his own head).

I'm not going to make any of those comparisons now. I'll just say that I loved Michael Keaton as Batman, Nicholson's Joker obviously hit the mark, and Tim Burton's vision of Gotham City was fantastic. It didn't hurt that a decent Batman movie was a long time coming (50 years), but when it finally arrived it sure blew Superman out of the water.

Now, onto Batman Begins. WOW. I absolutely loved this film. I'll get my only two complaints out of the way first: (1) It was a bit long and (2) Katie Holmes looks like she's 15, that does not make her a very convincing district attorney. Christian Bale as Batman - yeah. It works, big-time. He's got the look, he has a fantastic voice (the voice he gives his Batman is creepy as hell! Plus they amplified it somewhat I think, to give his raspy bellow more...bite?), and his transitions between Bruce Wayne and the Batman are seamless. Supporting cast? Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman aren't on screen enough to steal any scenes, but Caine as Alfred is the butler we all wish we had (I know my butler can't hold a candle to him, that's for sure), and Freeman is his usual charming self. Gary Oldman as Gordon wasn't really given that much to do, which surprised me - you cast an actor of his caliber, I would figure he'd be a bit more interesting. But as always, a solid performance. The bad guys? I don't want to give anything away, so I won't comment on them directly, other than to say that it's nice that Christopher Nolan chose two lesser-known but still intriguing baddies for his (hopefully first of many?) Batmans. Casual fans won't even recognize either of these villains, but they're worked into the plot quite well, and the performances behind the masks are solid, if unspectacular. But that's OK, because for this film, the focus is all on the Batman. None of the bad guys are half as scary as the good guy with the point ears, and that's how it should be.

Ok, I have to get my ass going this morning to help friends move. More on Batman Begins later...

Busy Weekend

• Out for Cal's birthday Friday night. Franklins on Route 1 in Hyattsville, very good beers but the decor was too cheerful, in my opinion.
  
• Shopping for patio stone, movie Saturday (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I thought it was great, lots of fun)
• 7-mile race early Sunday morning. I was pretty happy with my results, 1:01:57 for a pace of 8:51 (don't ask me why the pace they have on the results page is the gun time pace, the net time pace is what really counts). Not bad for me, especially considering how miserable it was that morning (heat, humidity), and that I didn't exactly have the luckiest bib number - 666. On the other hand, it was a very flat course. I'd sure like to move up in my division though, 27/47 is OK but not great.
• Six Flags America trip w/Jenny, Tammie, Liz, and Jarriel the rest of Sunday. A good time, we hit all the major coasters very quickly; because of how hot and humid it was, we suspected that everyone was at the water park. Later, we visited said water park and it was pretty damn crowded (we didn't stay long). Their Batwing coaster featured a car design that I hadn't seen before, where you're sitting, but completely horizontal with the track. When the cars invert below the track, you're basically hanging from the various restraints. It's a freaky feeling that wasn't all that comfortable at first, but I got used to it after 30 seconds or so. Neat idea, but why isn't it a Superman themed ride? Because it looks and feels like Superman flying more than anything Batman-related.
  

Nats Win!

Finally, at my third Nats game, they finally win. The Mid-Atlantic is currently the center of the MLB universe, with Baltimore and Washington both leading their divisions, and Philadelphia the hottest team in either league right now.

Third Nats game, only one O's game? Well, I usually don't go to many games early in the season. I'm going to try to get to a few games on the next homestand though, before anyone else goes on the DL.

Who Is PixelFish?

Several people have already asked about the new blog link that I added just this morning: she is Lis, Jenny's childhood friend from Utah (that sounds so picturesque, doesn't it?). She and her b/f Lee are both artists who currently reside in the artisit-hippy utopia that is San Fransisco.

She's also into these newfangled online communities more than anyone I know. Of course, since I don't know too many people who are blogging, forum-posting fools (that's a compliment, Lis), I'm not sure how much meaning that has. Seriously though, rumor has it that our esteemed president was ready to give Lis her very own Internet, but then he found out that she wasn't exactly his biggest fan.

Bah, who needs his internets anyway?

The Artist In The Family

These are some glass tiles that my sister Em has been working on recently. I would have to say that my favorites are the one in the top right corner, and the one in the first column, third row. Although they're all quite groovy.

As you can see, I've finally figured out how to include pictures in posts, using a Google-affiliated app called Hello that links directly with Blogspot. The Hello icon is that little white and blue box above. It's primarily for sharing pcitures without using a website. If anyone starts using it, let me know; eventually I'll be adding more photos to my Hello profile (name: underchuckle).

Revenge is a Dish Best Served on Ebay

I don't know whether it's a real auction, but either way it sure is creative.


Yes, in case you were wondering, it IS a slow (and rainy) Friday at the office...

Is It Stuffy In Here?

I re-read each entry after I post it, and usually go back and do some editing on every post. Most of the time, it's to attempt to make the post friendlier. I have a tendency, especially with serious topics like war, politics, the president (oops, I said serious, so that excludes that asshat), to write like I'm writing an essay for an English class. I don't necessarily think that way, nor do I use that extensive a vocabulary every day - I much prefer grunts and snorts as means of communication - but I re-read some of these entries and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I phrased a certain sentence with 6 commas, or went out of my way to avoid a contraction. I can't promise that I won't lapse into the heavier prose on occasion, but from here on out, I'm really going to try to be more conversational. Well, as conversational as one can be when writing a monologue.

In other news, I re-designed the page layout a bit (mostly link colors, more colors=cool) and added more sites to the LINKS section. I'm also looking to add more sites to the OTHER BLOGS sidebar, so suggestions are welcome. I have a few in mind, but need to ask the owners first. I'm also thinking about removing an inactive blog that's rarely updated (you know who you are) - gotta clean house occasionally.

The Fog of War

Jenny and I saw this Oscar-winning documentary this past weekend; it's essentially a long interview with its subject, Robert McNamara. Talk about a well-made film, I can understand why it won the Oscar instead of higher-profile films like Michael Moore's more entertaining but less coherent Fahrenheit 911. The archive footage that was chosen really hit the mark, but McNamara himself is a very able performer. I sure hope I'm that coherent when I'm 85 years old. He's extremely blunt and in-your-face, but just below the surface there's a lot of regret? Frustration? Defiance? All of the above, perhaps. He doesn't take full responsibility for anything (his roles in the firebombing of Japan in WWII and as Secretary of Defense for most of Vietnam are well-documented), but at the same time admits that he was at the center of this huge military decision-making apparatus that went horribly wrong when mixed with Cold War politics.

McNamara is a paradoxical figure. He was a master of efficiency and optimizing who helped develop the bombing technique that destroyed most of Japan long before the Bombs were dropped, but acknowledges in the film that if the U.S. had been on the losing side of WWII he would certainly have been convicted of war crimes. He was the public face of one of the most controversial military operations in U.S. history, but behind the scenes was working to extricate us from that mess long before the troops came home. At the end of the film though, he remains guarded, unwilling to directly address the emotional toll that's been taken, or any feelings of guilt or remorse (I'm assuming those feeling do exist, btw). He doesn't want to visit those places publicly, because he doesn't think that anything good will come of it. Likewise, as well made as this documentary is, it's unlikely that anything good will come of it anytime soon - the 'leadership' of the U.S. seems to be making the same mistakes in the Middle East that were made in Vietnam.

The footage of Lyndon Johnson was most striking - the president with the thick Texas accent, speeches filled with rhetoric about stopping tyranny and preserving freedom. Sound familiar? Too bad that our current president was busy getting drunk and doing lots of drugs while Vietnam was happening, otherwise he might have actually learned something! One of the most memorable scenes in the film was of McNamara meeting with the former North Vietnamese foreign minister in 1992. He told McNamara that the North Vietnamese leadership considered the conflict in their country as simply a civil war, and the U.S. as a colonial power looking to take the place of former occupant France. They never saw it as part of the Cold War, and were not concerned about Chinese influence. Big surprise, a U.S. war for no good reason! Hey that reminds me, have we found those weapons in Iraq yet?

That scene did remind me of something though - Brian Schweitzer, the current governor of Montana (of all places), a Democrat who spent time as a businessman in the Middle East and can speak Arabic, said this in a Salon Interview last month when asked about Iraq:

I had misgivings from the very beginning. We were told that this incursion was going to make the world a safer place. But that didn't square with me because I knew, in the Middle East, the days of the Crusades are like they happened just a few years ago. Any incursion of the West into Islamic cultures is going to be met with resistance.

Anyway, I could write four more pages on this film, but I've probably already lost some people. Check out the movie yourself, especially if you plan on supporting a war anytime soon - McNamara's eleven lessons (they serve as a loose framework for the film) may give you pause.