1. Michael Vick indicted on dog fighting charges- Another NFL player gets into trouble with the law. While Vick obviously has not been proven guilty, if these allegations are true, Vick is in massive trouble, especially with a dog-loving America. It doesn't matter if he grew up with dog fighting, as he apparently did. It's inhumane how cruelly dog-fighters treat these animals and Vick deserves every bit of his sentence, again if he is proven guilty.
2. Tim Donaghy bets on NBA games- Less disgraceful than Vick in the matter of life and death of sentient beings, but in regards to sports much more serious. Apparently he reffed a Spurs-Suns playoff game, and who knows what might have happened if the NBA had a clean official working (probably not much, as the Spurs were far superior in that series anyway, but it's the principle of the matter). Moral of the story: stay away from the mob.
3. Chili recalled for fear of botulism- When will the FDA get its act together and pass tougher guidelines for food processing, especially when it comes to meat? If there is something in food that causes abnormalities in a person, that food should not even hit the open market, much less still be on the shelves in stores after being recalled.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19994676/
4. Barry Bonds one away from tying Hank Aaron's home run record- While I don't care for Bonds much more because of his sour personality and attitude to fans, reporters, and even teammates, and wish that this situation were not happening, it's inevitable that he's going to break 755. I wonder how he's gotten past performance-enhancement tests, but if one looks at his stats, his recent drop-off correlates with when MLB put more stringent tests into place. Perhaps he's stopped using, if he did (innocent until proven guilty), but again, the inevitable will happen.
5. Simpsons Movie comes out- Finally, after nineteen years, the long-awaited feature film of America's favorite bumbling yellow family. Hopefully, they don't turn it into three continuing season-ending episodes like Family Guy did with "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story". It's a clever formula though: being lazy by using the movie for regular work and making more money by selling the episodes as a movie.
My 5 Points
1. Test tomorrow- Hopefully I'll be able to bounce back and do well. This semester again has been eerily similar to the last one so far, with the first test being just below the cutoff, and gaining back one point due to grader error to be a little less below the cutoff but above the average nonetheless.
2. Tpeak-Tend project- The beats and the times are lined up for the EKGs in my research project at the HRV lab that I've been doing for the past three years. Hopefully things will finally work out, as the aforementioned problem has been the biggest roadblock so far.
3. Working out- I don't nearly exercise as often as I should (due to needing to devote all my time to orgo, I believe). I've been trying to get a six-pack since freshman year of high school, and never succeeded. Somehow I've lost ten pounds since being at home, which usually happens because I don't eat as much at home as I do at school. However, the process has been slower than usual, which probably means I need to work out sometime.
4. Missed Lion King to study- While I did waver when asked initially if I wanted to see it because I didn't know my schedule then, as time went on I got excited at the prospect. And then my professor had to schedule a test on Monday when the tickets were for the Saturday before. I love my life sometimes.
5. Cafe Napoli- Went to lunch with Ai-Lin on Wednesday. The waiter warned me that the insalata caprese that I had ordered was really small, so I added an appetizer to that, which ended up being served as my main dish somehow. Anyway, the tomato and mozzarella salad was perfect, almost like Italy, with think tomato and cheese slices and a nice balsamic vinaigrette and fresh basil. The eggplant parmesan was two huge slices of eggplant smothered in tomato sauce and melted cheese, and would have been good as an appetizer, but too simple and heavy as a main dish. The bread was fantastic (I love bread) with the right touch of sourness and a hint of cheese, and the fact that the bread was not warm actually worked in its favor. Props for having olive oil and parmesan cheese on the table for dipping/seasoning.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
5 Points for 7/27
My fault. Just haven't been up to posting lately, and been busy with class. So for the next few weeks posts are going to sporadic. Sorry. And it was a slow news week three weeks ago in the outside world, but we'll make it up today with ten (count them, ten!) points each. So here we go.
10 Points-
1. Lady Bird Johnson passes away- Everybody has been talking about her legacy as an early environmentalist before being green became popular, and rightly so. She was a forerunner to the modern environmental advocate, even having a bill named after her, the Lady Bird Bill, because of her tireless efforts to help beautify America. What should not be overlooked is the fact that she was a strong supporter of her husband, President Lyndon Johnson, during a tumultuous time in the nation's history, even overcoming her fear of public speaking so that she could campaign for Johnson.
2. Wildfires across California- Just devastating, especially when hundreds are asked to leave their homes for fear of safety, and firefighters trying to control the blaze for days, sometimes even weeks at a time in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources. Is there any way to control these fires before they get out of hand, even if it is started by nature (lightning strike)? Or should people not live so close to such potentially dangerous places?
3. Los Angeles Archdiocese settles sexual abuse cases- $660 million for 500 people. Money really solves everything, huh? Of course, Cardinal Roger Mahoney had to make the obligatory statement of how he could not give the victims their innocence back, but those are just words, really. And their innocence obviously can't be given back. Thus the only option left is money. A sad situation all around.
4. Earthquake hits Japan- Kashiwazaki, in northwestern Japan, was hit with a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. As devastating as this event was, Japan is no stranger to these disasters unfortunately. So why is it that these tragedies cannot be mitigated with preparation and foresight? I doubt it is because people get complacent when nothing happens for a while (read: 9/11 in the United States). And then reports are that a nuclear power plant is having trouble due to radioactive leaks, flooding, fire, and electrical problems because of the earthquake. Shouldn't such a place be ready for even the worst-case scenario?
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-24-01.asp
5. Final book of Harry Potter comes out- More than eight million sold in the United States, and seventy million in the whole world in the first 24 hours. Is Harry Potter really that good? It's a quick read, with compelling storylines (that get ridiculously crazy as the series goes on; it seems like Rowling is adding stuff to make things she wrote earlier make sense) and interesting characters, but is it so magnificently grand that it requires the largest first printing of a book and thus holds the record for most books sold in the first 24 hours? I like my Huckleberry Finn, thanks very much. Maybe in a hundred years the series will be considered classic children's literature, but it shouldn't deserve that much attention now.
6. National League loses All-Star Game again- And for the second year in a row, there is controversy over managerial decisions late in the game. Arguably the best hitter in baseball, and the only Cardinal representative, Albert Pujols, doesn't even get to play at the discretion of his own manager, Tony La Russa. The argument is should Pujols have batted for Aaron Rowand with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. And my answer is: don't question Tony. There's a reason he's won two World Series, been to the playoffs seven of the past eleven years, and the third winningest manager of all time: he knows what he is doing. St. Louis should really give him a break; he's done much better than fan favorite Whitey Herzog already.
7. Roger Federer wins Wimbledon again- The best tennis player hands down currently, and arguably one of the best all time. His dominance over most aspects of the game and his professionalism and class (read: absolutely minimal controversy surrounding him, if at all) make him a wonderful role model for all tennis players and others. Eventually, someone's going to accuse him of cheating. What a sad world we live in.
8. Tour de France- Even after all the accusations of doping and cleaning house of all the top riders in the world who are alleged to be cheating (is there a correlation?), apparently those in charge still have not done a good job saving the sport from controversy. Now Union Cycliste Internationale president Pat McQuaid, the head of cycling's world governing body, says that it would be best if Michael Rasumssen, the Dane accused of alleged doping who is the current leader of the 2007 Tour de France, did not win the race. So now the body that governs the sport are rooting against their own athletes? Even Bud Selig isn't so stupid as to say he hopes Barry Bonds has a career ending injury sometime in the next few days so that he won't break Hank Aaron's record. And then Rasmussen is taken out of the race for "violating team rules". I think we all know what that means.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2007/news/story?id=2945911
9. David Beckham comes to the United States- The only controversy caused by his arrival is how amazing his wife's show, "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" was, that NBC decided to make it a special instead of the six week run it was originally scheduled for. Seriously, most people know that Beckham will not single-handedly push soccer to the top of the list of sports in America, and quite possibly Major League Soccer will maintain the status quo, but at least the Los Angeles Galaxy got some exposure, which was the point all along: to let people know that there's actually a professional soccer league in the United States.
10. Padraig Harrington wins British Open (or the Open Championship, depending on who you are)- What a finish. Sergio Garcia goes into the final day leading, then loses his lead, and a bunch of people who are atop the leaderboard drop out one by one, including Harrington with his double bogey on the eighteenth hole. And Garcia missed a put for par on the eighteenth to go into a four hole playoff, which Harrington won by one. As dramatic as golf can get.
More 10 points
1. Finally done with half of Orgo- Great. Now five more weeks to go. Did okay, almost as well as I would've liked, but still fell short. Story of my life. At least much better than last year, and this proves that I actually learn material despite my grades, as everything was quite familiar.
2. Brio and Waitress- Went to one of my favorite restaurants, Brio, in Plaza Frontenac, and saw Waitress with friend Ai-Lin. There were some cheesy moments (in the movie mind you) but got a good laugh.
3. Saw Sicko- Actually saw it the next night with Ai-Lin because she needed to see it for her Med Prep class. While it's obvious that Michael Moore only tells his side of the story, the facts he presents about the American health care system, especially compared to those in other countries, are disheartening to hear. The system is cruel, especially with the insurance companies and their tactics, and shows one of the downfalls of the current capitalistic system with all the money-grubbing. If Cuba can treat its own patients and others (people that Moore brought while trying to get them medical attention at Guantanamo Bay), and have inhalers there for five cents that cost over $100 here, something is definitely wrong. Especially with the grim pictures that we paint of Cuba, this is ironic.
4. First two weeks of Orgo 2- Didn't do that well on the first test, but beat the average (by one, but it still counts) after getting one point back on grader error. Exact replay of first semester. Let's see if things play out to be exactly the same, except hopefully a little bit better this time. Shouldn't be too hard, considering how close I was.
5. STARS students done- Had two STARS students (Students and Teachers as Research Scientists, a summer program that assigns students to do research at labs in St. Louis I attended before senior year of high school) this year working in the Heart Rate Variability lab at the Washington University School of Medicine, and they finished last week. Hope the papers that they wrote, which are judged by professionals in their respective fields of research, turn out well.
6. Temple- Worked on restoring the brook and pond at the new location for Fo Guang Shan St. Louis Buddhist Center, which really was carrying rocks from the parking lot and placing them in the brook. Others tried to clean the pond at the bottom, and when we turned on the water again, it was still as dirty as ever, though I'm sure we made some headway. There's actually a fish living in the pond. I don't know if there's anything else, but even one fish is cool.
7. Saturday Tour- Andrea from the Washington University Admissions Office called me on a Friday Afternoon to ask that I give a tour Saturday morning last week. Probably the best group I've had; they asked no questions and just took every word I said. Polar opposite from the one I wrote about last time. Lab Sciences 300 was not open, so that was the one mishap (someone rolled her eyes when I talked about the sorority suites and the old law in Missouri, but usually people chuckle, so I'm going to ignore her reaction), but otherwise it was a nice, relaxing stroll, though I had to do it backwards. Even ended on time this time, which usually never happens with me.
8. Kemper Art Museum- Dropped into the Kemper Art Museum after the tour just to see what it was like, and it was pretty nice from what I saw. The coin collection was a bit disappointing; I was expecting more of a display of various different numismatic materials rather than a select few that are shown for informative purposes above anything else, and the hologram of Ben Franklin is scary. The other parts that I saw were actually quite interesting, and the docent who asked me to leave my water bottle at the front desk was very cordial, unlike most in his position. I'll be returning to check out the whole museum, definitely.
9. Pizzeria Uno/Wapango- Had a craving for Uno deep dish pizza lately, and satisfied it when I went there with my mom last Tuesday for dinner. Uno is quite an underrated restaurant, in my opinion. I don't know why it never has a packed house when I go (on weekends, obviously, not on Tuesdays). Also tried out this South American-inspired restaurant in Chesterfield Mall called Wapango. The salad my mom ordered was huge, so I didn't get to finish my dish (which is really sweet for an entree of vegetables and rice, but good nonetheless). The appitizer we ordered reminded me of high quality crab rangoons without the crab, and the mango salsa on the side was very good. Even the cute little and the accompanying dips (black beans and a cilantro oil) were good. I don't quite remember the names, unfortunately, but it comes with a high recommendation. Service was kind of lacking, but it's a new restaurant. It'll work out its kinks.
10. Facebook- This requires a rant all by itself. Definitely will talk about my qualms relating to Facebook (and others) sometime before the summer is over; possibly in my next column if nothing of note comes up before then, whenever that will be.
10 Points-
1. Lady Bird Johnson passes away- Everybody has been talking about her legacy as an early environmentalist before being green became popular, and rightly so. She was a forerunner to the modern environmental advocate, even having a bill named after her, the Lady Bird Bill, because of her tireless efforts to help beautify America. What should not be overlooked is the fact that she was a strong supporter of her husband, President Lyndon Johnson, during a tumultuous time in the nation's history, even overcoming her fear of public speaking so that she could campaign for Johnson.
2. Wildfires across California- Just devastating, especially when hundreds are asked to leave their homes for fear of safety, and firefighters trying to control the blaze for days, sometimes even weeks at a time in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources. Is there any way to control these fires before they get out of hand, even if it is started by nature (lightning strike)? Or should people not live so close to such potentially dangerous places?
3. Los Angeles Archdiocese settles sexual abuse cases- $660 million for 500 people. Money really solves everything, huh? Of course, Cardinal Roger Mahoney had to make the obligatory statement of how he could not give the victims their innocence back, but those are just words, really. And their innocence obviously can't be given back. Thus the only option left is money. A sad situation all around.
4. Earthquake hits Japan- Kashiwazaki, in northwestern Japan, was hit with a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. As devastating as this event was, Japan is no stranger to these disasters unfortunately. So why is it that these tragedies cannot be mitigated with preparation and foresight? I doubt it is because people get complacent when nothing happens for a while (read: 9/11 in the United States). And then reports are that a nuclear power plant is having trouble due to radioactive leaks, flooding, fire, and electrical problems because of the earthquake. Shouldn't such a place be ready for even the worst-case scenario?
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-24-01.asp
5. Final book of Harry Potter comes out- More than eight million sold in the United States, and seventy million in the whole world in the first 24 hours. Is Harry Potter really that good? It's a quick read, with compelling storylines (that get ridiculously crazy as the series goes on; it seems like Rowling is adding stuff to make things she wrote earlier make sense) and interesting characters, but is it so magnificently grand that it requires the largest first printing of a book and thus holds the record for most books sold in the first 24 hours? I like my Huckleberry Finn, thanks very much. Maybe in a hundred years the series will be considered classic children's literature, but it shouldn't deserve that much attention now.
6. National League loses All-Star Game again- And for the second year in a row, there is controversy over managerial decisions late in the game. Arguably the best hitter in baseball, and the only Cardinal representative, Albert Pujols, doesn't even get to play at the discretion of his own manager, Tony La Russa. The argument is should Pujols have batted for Aaron Rowand with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. And my answer is: don't question Tony. There's a reason he's won two World Series, been to the playoffs seven of the past eleven years, and the third winningest manager of all time: he knows what he is doing. St. Louis should really give him a break; he's done much better than fan favorite Whitey Herzog already.
7. Roger Federer wins Wimbledon again- The best tennis player hands down currently, and arguably one of the best all time. His dominance over most aspects of the game and his professionalism and class (read: absolutely minimal controversy surrounding him, if at all) make him a wonderful role model for all tennis players and others. Eventually, someone's going to accuse him of cheating. What a sad world we live in.
8. Tour de France- Even after all the accusations of doping and cleaning house of all the top riders in the world who are alleged to be cheating (is there a correlation?), apparently those in charge still have not done a good job saving the sport from controversy. Now Union Cycliste Internationale president Pat McQuaid, the head of cycling's world governing body, says that it would be best if Michael Rasumssen, the Dane accused of alleged doping who is the current leader of the 2007 Tour de France, did not win the race. So now the body that governs the sport are rooting against their own athletes? Even Bud Selig isn't so stupid as to say he hopes Barry Bonds has a career ending injury sometime in the next few days so that he won't break Hank Aaron's record. And then Rasmussen is taken out of the race for "violating team rules". I think we all know what that means.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2007/news/story?id=2945911
9. David Beckham comes to the United States- The only controversy caused by his arrival is how amazing his wife's show, "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" was, that NBC decided to make it a special instead of the six week run it was originally scheduled for. Seriously, most people know that Beckham will not single-handedly push soccer to the top of the list of sports in America, and quite possibly Major League Soccer will maintain the status quo, but at least the Los Angeles Galaxy got some exposure, which was the point all along: to let people know that there's actually a professional soccer league in the United States.
10. Padraig Harrington wins British Open (or the Open Championship, depending on who you are)- What a finish. Sergio Garcia goes into the final day leading, then loses his lead, and a bunch of people who are atop the leaderboard drop out one by one, including Harrington with his double bogey on the eighteenth hole. And Garcia missed a put for par on the eighteenth to go into a four hole playoff, which Harrington won by one. As dramatic as golf can get.
More 10 points
1. Finally done with half of Orgo- Great. Now five more weeks to go. Did okay, almost as well as I would've liked, but still fell short. Story of my life. At least much better than last year, and this proves that I actually learn material despite my grades, as everything was quite familiar.
2. Brio and Waitress- Went to one of my favorite restaurants, Brio, in Plaza Frontenac, and saw Waitress with friend Ai-Lin. There were some cheesy moments (in the movie mind you) but got a good laugh.
3. Saw Sicko- Actually saw it the next night with Ai-Lin because she needed to see it for her Med Prep class. While it's obvious that Michael Moore only tells his side of the story, the facts he presents about the American health care system, especially compared to those in other countries, are disheartening to hear. The system is cruel, especially with the insurance companies and their tactics, and shows one of the downfalls of the current capitalistic system with all the money-grubbing. If Cuba can treat its own patients and others (people that Moore brought while trying to get them medical attention at Guantanamo Bay), and have inhalers there for five cents that cost over $100 here, something is definitely wrong. Especially with the grim pictures that we paint of Cuba, this is ironic.
4. First two weeks of Orgo 2- Didn't do that well on the first test, but beat the average (by one, but it still counts) after getting one point back on grader error. Exact replay of first semester. Let's see if things play out to be exactly the same, except hopefully a little bit better this time. Shouldn't be too hard, considering how close I was.
5. STARS students done- Had two STARS students (Students and Teachers as Research Scientists, a summer program that assigns students to do research at labs in St. Louis I attended before senior year of high school) this year working in the Heart Rate Variability lab at the Washington University School of Medicine, and they finished last week. Hope the papers that they wrote, which are judged by professionals in their respective fields of research, turn out well.
6. Temple- Worked on restoring the brook and pond at the new location for Fo Guang Shan St. Louis Buddhist Center, which really was carrying rocks from the parking lot and placing them in the brook. Others tried to clean the pond at the bottom, and when we turned on the water again, it was still as dirty as ever, though I'm sure we made some headway. There's actually a fish living in the pond. I don't know if there's anything else, but even one fish is cool.
7. Saturday Tour- Andrea from the Washington University Admissions Office called me on a Friday Afternoon to ask that I give a tour Saturday morning last week. Probably the best group I've had; they asked no questions and just took every word I said. Polar opposite from the one I wrote about last time. Lab Sciences 300 was not open, so that was the one mishap (someone rolled her eyes when I talked about the sorority suites and the old law in Missouri, but usually people chuckle, so I'm going to ignore her reaction), but otherwise it was a nice, relaxing stroll, though I had to do it backwards. Even ended on time this time, which usually never happens with me.
8. Kemper Art Museum- Dropped into the Kemper Art Museum after the tour just to see what it was like, and it was pretty nice from what I saw. The coin collection was a bit disappointing; I was expecting more of a display of various different numismatic materials rather than a select few that are shown for informative purposes above anything else, and the hologram of Ben Franklin is scary. The other parts that I saw were actually quite interesting, and the docent who asked me to leave my water bottle at the front desk was very cordial, unlike most in his position. I'll be returning to check out the whole museum, definitely.
9. Pizzeria Uno/Wapango- Had a craving for Uno deep dish pizza lately, and satisfied it when I went there with my mom last Tuesday for dinner. Uno is quite an underrated restaurant, in my opinion. I don't know why it never has a packed house when I go (on weekends, obviously, not on Tuesdays). Also tried out this South American-inspired restaurant in Chesterfield Mall called Wapango. The salad my mom ordered was huge, so I didn't get to finish my dish (which is really sweet for an entree of vegetables and rice, but good nonetheless). The appitizer we ordered reminded me of high quality crab rangoons without the crab, and the mango salsa on the side was very good. Even the cute little and the accompanying dips (black beans and a cilantro oil) were good. I don't quite remember the names, unfortunately, but it comes with a high recommendation. Service was kind of lacking, but it's a new restaurant. It'll work out its kinks.
10. Facebook- This requires a rant all by itself. Definitely will talk about my qualms relating to Facebook (and others) sometime before the summer is over; possibly in my next column if nothing of note comes up before then, whenever that will be.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Is Every Special Event in Baseball a Classic?
Fall Classic, Midsummer Classic, Spring Classic, Opening Day Classic, Free Agent Classic, New Player Classic...okay, maybe only the first two are real, but should the Major League Baseball All-Star Game be considered a Classic?
It does happen in the middle of the summer, so the "Midsummer" part is not a misnomer, at least, but fans do not really pay attention to the game anymore. Nor do the players, as a matter of fact. They are only there as an obligation as the faces of Major League Baseball, and when you are Manny Ramirez, that is up in the air too.
Can something be called a Classic when Major League Baseball has to make an exhibition game meaningful by putting home-field advantage in the World Series on the line to get fans to be interested in the game? The players could care less either, as they are joking around on the field and apparently are not that interested in winning at all.
The biggest issue with the All-Star Game, year in and year out, is the matter of who made the team and who got snubbed. And as usual, this year is no exception.
The fans got the starting lineup in the American League mostly right, as each of them lead or are near the top batting average-wise at their positions. Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are virtually tied in home runs and RBIs, but Posada is hitting forty points better than Rodriguez, so that is one qualm I have with the fans' decision. But hats off to them for choosing someone from the Midwest rather than another Yankee.
Most of the pitching staff for the AL deserve their invitations also, except for Gil Meche, who is below .500 and has a middling ERA. Mark Teahen and David DeJesus, with their decent output and making bigger contributions day in and day out for the Royals, would have been better choices for the Royals' representation, and Mark Buehrle, who has put together a nice year for a struggling White Sox team would have been a better selection than Bobby Jenks, who is also below .500 and also has a middling ERA. Add Jeremy Bonderman to fill the last pitcher's spot, since having three closers is enough for an all-star team.
Of course, if DeJesus or Teahen were added, that would mean one person from the bench would have to be taken off. Grady Sizemore is batting about ten points better than DeJesus and Teahen, and has considerably more home runs and stolen bases than either of them, but somebody has to take a hit because Meche should not be on the team at all. And Victor Martinez represents the Indians contingent quite adequately.
Usually, relievers who are not closers should not be on the team, because their stats could be easily duplicated and surpassed by starters and closers, who also are more important to teams in the grand scheme of things. Hideki Okajima with his stunning ERA and the number of homers he has given up barely makes the team because of the fan vote, and rightly so, just beating Jeremy Bonderman and others less deserving. Okajima has been dominant this year, but as a setup man, Jim Leyland made the right decision to let the fans vote if he should make it or not.
The National League team is an entirely different story. There are too many Mets in the starting lineup, especially at the expense of those putting up better numbers this year. Miguel Cabrera is beating David Wright in many of the main hitting statistics, and is contributing more to the Florida Marlins than Wright is to the Mets. Bonds, Griffey, and Beltran, while having decent seasons, are not the best in the NL, and Griffey should not have received the most votes out of anybody, especially since he's not having a sensational year. Matt Holliday, with his league-leading batting average, Carlos Lee, and Eric Byrnes or Aaron Rowand would have been better choices, as their averages are higher and other stats are about the same as the starting three.
The pitching staff also requires a look. Brian Fuentes, with his 4+ ERA should not even be considered, especially if Colorado already has a representative with Holliday. While his bad outings all came after the announcement of the rosters, he didn't have all-star caliber stats before anyway. Understandably, Tony La Russa was looking for a lefty to play with the matchups just like he always does, but on a roster full of starters and closers who routinely pitch to left-handed hitters, adding southpaws just to be lefty specialists is not as necessary as it is during the real season. Everybody else looks decent, although no names pop out as sensational short of Jake Peavy and Brad Penny. Jason Isringhausen has been hurt by the lack of save chances from the struggling Cardinals, but considering his remarkable turnaround from last year, only blowing two saves, and with the Cardinals still winning those games that he blew, would be a suitable replacement for Fuentes. Or, with four relievers already on the roster besides Fuentes, Chris Young should not have been subjected to the fan vote. At least Fuentes is injured and has been replaced by Brandon Webb, though he is having a good, not great, year.
The bench for the NL seems okay, especially since those who were named are better at their respective positions or teams this year than those who weren't, no matter how unsensational their stats are. Eric Byrnes is a worthy candidate, maybe even over Alfonso Soriano, but the difference is just details. Edgar Renteria would have been a better candidate for backup shortstop than J. J. Hardy, with superior stats and a bigger name, but Hardy was the players's choice, and the players know more than we do, so it's hard to question their decision.
Chris Young, again, should have been named in the first place, with a 2.00 ERA and a good won-loss record. Jason Isringhausen would have been a good candidate to take his place. Also, Carlos Zambrano, no matter how many wins he has and how big of a name he carries, should not have been considered, especially with his mediocre start and an ERA still above 4.00. But that doesn't matter, as he apparently finished last in voting anyway.
Once again, the American League seems to have the stronger team, both in stats accumulated this season so far, in name, and in quality. The American League should have no trouble continuing their ten game unbeaten streak, even with LaRussa's penchance for exploiting every matchup he can.
It does happen in the middle of the summer, so the "Midsummer" part is not a misnomer, at least, but fans do not really pay attention to the game anymore. Nor do the players, as a matter of fact. They are only there as an obligation as the faces of Major League Baseball, and when you are Manny Ramirez, that is up in the air too.
Can something be called a Classic when Major League Baseball has to make an exhibition game meaningful by putting home-field advantage in the World Series on the line to get fans to be interested in the game? The players could care less either, as they are joking around on the field and apparently are not that interested in winning at all.
The biggest issue with the All-Star Game, year in and year out, is the matter of who made the team and who got snubbed. And as usual, this year is no exception.
The fans got the starting lineup in the American League mostly right, as each of them lead or are near the top batting average-wise at their positions. Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are virtually tied in home runs and RBIs, but Posada is hitting forty points better than Rodriguez, so that is one qualm I have with the fans' decision. But hats off to them for choosing someone from the Midwest rather than another Yankee.
Most of the pitching staff for the AL deserve their invitations also, except for Gil Meche, who is below .500 and has a middling ERA. Mark Teahen and David DeJesus, with their decent output and making bigger contributions day in and day out for the Royals, would have been better choices for the Royals' representation, and Mark Buehrle, who has put together a nice year for a struggling White Sox team would have been a better selection than Bobby Jenks, who is also below .500 and also has a middling ERA. Add Jeremy Bonderman to fill the last pitcher's spot, since having three closers is enough for an all-star team.
Of course, if DeJesus or Teahen were added, that would mean one person from the bench would have to be taken off. Grady Sizemore is batting about ten points better than DeJesus and Teahen, and has considerably more home runs and stolen bases than either of them, but somebody has to take a hit because Meche should not be on the team at all. And Victor Martinez represents the Indians contingent quite adequately.
Usually, relievers who are not closers should not be on the team, because their stats could be easily duplicated and surpassed by starters and closers, who also are more important to teams in the grand scheme of things. Hideki Okajima with his stunning ERA and the number of homers he has given up barely makes the team because of the fan vote, and rightly so, just beating Jeremy Bonderman and others less deserving. Okajima has been dominant this year, but as a setup man, Jim Leyland made the right decision to let the fans vote if he should make it or not.
The National League team is an entirely different story. There are too many Mets in the starting lineup, especially at the expense of those putting up better numbers this year. Miguel Cabrera is beating David Wright in many of the main hitting statistics, and is contributing more to the Florida Marlins than Wright is to the Mets. Bonds, Griffey, and Beltran, while having decent seasons, are not the best in the NL, and Griffey should not have received the most votes out of anybody, especially since he's not having a sensational year. Matt Holliday, with his league-leading batting average, Carlos Lee, and Eric Byrnes or Aaron Rowand would have been better choices, as their averages are higher and other stats are about the same as the starting three.
The pitching staff also requires a look. Brian Fuentes, with his 4+ ERA should not even be considered, especially if Colorado already has a representative with Holliday. While his bad outings all came after the announcement of the rosters, he didn't have all-star caliber stats before anyway. Understandably, Tony La Russa was looking for a lefty to play with the matchups just like he always does, but on a roster full of starters and closers who routinely pitch to left-handed hitters, adding southpaws just to be lefty specialists is not as necessary as it is during the real season. Everybody else looks decent, although no names pop out as sensational short of Jake Peavy and Brad Penny. Jason Isringhausen has been hurt by the lack of save chances from the struggling Cardinals, but considering his remarkable turnaround from last year, only blowing two saves, and with the Cardinals still winning those games that he blew, would be a suitable replacement for Fuentes. Or, with four relievers already on the roster besides Fuentes, Chris Young should not have been subjected to the fan vote. At least Fuentes is injured and has been replaced by Brandon Webb, though he is having a good, not great, year.
The bench for the NL seems okay, especially since those who were named are better at their respective positions or teams this year than those who weren't, no matter how unsensational their stats are. Eric Byrnes is a worthy candidate, maybe even over Alfonso Soriano, but the difference is just details. Edgar Renteria would have been a better candidate for backup shortstop than J. J. Hardy, with superior stats and a bigger name, but Hardy was the players's choice, and the players know more than we do, so it's hard to question their decision.
Chris Young, again, should have been named in the first place, with a 2.00 ERA and a good won-loss record. Jason Isringhausen would have been a good candidate to take his place. Also, Carlos Zambrano, no matter how many wins he has and how big of a name he carries, should not have been considered, especially with his mediocre start and an ERA still above 4.00. But that doesn't matter, as he apparently finished last in voting anyway.
Once again, the American League seems to have the stronger team, both in stats accumulated this season so far, in name, and in quality. The American League should have no trouble continuing their ten game unbeaten streak, even with LaRussa's penchance for exploiting every matchup he can.
5 Points for 7/7/2007
A little late (by half an hour), but I haven't gone to bed yet, so it still counts.
I thought I'd do a week-in-review sort of thing on Saturdays because there are only so many topics I can cover in a weekly column in the blog, so every Saturday I'll touch on a few things from the week both in the outside world and my life (hey, it's still a blog, isn't it?).
5 Points for the Week ending 7/7/2007:
1. Bush commutes Scooter Libby's sentence:
-Probably happened under pressure from his conservative buddies, especially Karl Rove, since Libby took the fall for Rove in the trial and Rove probably doesn't want to owe a huge debt to Libby, although the $250,000 fine and the two-year probation is still pretty big. Bush probably also wanted to reward one of his few remaining loyalists, especially with an approval rating below 30% that sends an obvious message about what most people think about this president.
2. Muslim doctors behind thwarted UK bombings.
-Scary, isn't it, that those who are charged to take care of and heal the sick and wounded would themselves try to do the total opposite, to kill and hurt innocent victims. I have always wondered what would drive people to commit crimes that are absolutely mind-boggling, even if they have their own made-up reasons. The fact that these would-be terrorists were supposedly well-educated (through books, obviously not through common sense) and more well-off would even think of performing such a heinous act makes me wonder even more.
3. America celebrates another birthday.
-Happy Birthday America; let's see how much longer we will be able to keep celebrating. Whomever invented fireworks and decided to make them a staple of July 4th is a genius.
4. Rosters for next week's Major League Baseball All-Star Game chosen.
-Now time for the usual debates: who got snubbed, who shouldn't be going, should all teams be represented, are players obligated to go, etc. The rosters are mostly right every year, and I actually think fans mess up the roster more than the team-representation rule. More on this later today.
5. New 7 Wonders of the World named.
-Who knew that Latin America would take up almost half of the new list? And if the Pyramids of Giza get a free pass, why isn't it the 8 Wonders of the World? Maybe that's why these people are in liberal arts and not math. While I had not heard of the Statue of Christ Redeemer before this list was announced (I've probably known it's existence, but never connected it with a name), it is a pretty worthy member, as are all the others, of this acclaimed list considering the time period in which it was built and the material it was made with.
5 Points in My Life:
1. Still not doing as well as I'd like in organic chemistry.
-Performing much better than previous attempts attempting to master this notoriously difficult subject, but there's still room for improvement. Getting 90%s on the next test and the final next week would help, but unless you're a genius or are not taking organic chemistry at Wash U., how is that possible? Besides staying up 24/7 and going bald from tearing your hair out, obviously.
2. Ratatouille is very good.
-Went to see it with my parents, and if the scene with Anton Ego reminiscing doesn't send chills up your spine, then you obviously have no love for your mother. Pixar triumphs again with it's eighth feature-length film; the characters are well-developed and perform their roles quite adequately, the graphics are a visual treat, and the story, while obviously unrealistic (but then, remember it is a Disney movie) is very well written. Definitely the best movie I've seen all year, and my early prediction is that it receives the Oscar for best animated feature film to make up for the one that Cars should have won last year. Happy Feet, while cute, just wasn't as good, but Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman have more star power than Owen Wilson and Bonnie Hunt, I guess.
3. Attended Paul Kariya's press conference.
-The Blues are really trying to be a fan-friendly team, trying to bring back the fans who abandoned them these past two years, and so far, they're on the right track. Opening the press conference to introduce one of the bigger stars in the NHL to the public was an unprecidented and very suave move. I was actually really impressed that Kariya, after performing multiple interviews and with the many Blues people trying to guide him back into the arena, would stick around and sign autographs. He even brought his own silver Sharpie (good for signing black pucks). And John Davidson got in the act too, signing autographs in a zone that the security staff deemed off limits to the public, and even shaking hands with fans, talking to them and answering questions. Very classy. Too bad all I had for them to sign was a receipt from Racanelli's that I dug out of my wallet, but it beats running to the team store to buy an overpriced item and then coming back to find the opportunity missed.
4. Got a new washer and dryer.
-After 17 years of the same washer, and about 7 of the same dryer, my mom decided to donate them while they still worked and buy totally new ones. They still look weird, especially the white, sleek, new style with front-loading clear doors and many, many buttons replacing stoic old-style top-load tan washer and pull-down door dryer with a few buttons and one big knob on each, but at least the washer won't make a massive racket while washing bedsheets and pillows, hopefully.
5. Led the weirdest tour ever in the history of my giving campus tours.
-So it's only been four so far, but I started out with a group of about fifteen, and ended with two (plus the admissions officer in training who was shadowing me). On most tours there's always the one parent who will constantly ask questions, which is a good thing, so that every possible bit of information that students need to know about the school is extracted, but I swear I had four of those parents on Friday. When I paused in the Lien Library to talk about housing, we were in there for a good twenty minutes (fifteen more than usual) due to the massive number of questions, and I probably saw five tour groups go in to see the rooms and walk back out. And another ten minutes or so was spent in the room itself talking about alcohol (an important point, but seemingly unrelated to the topic at hand), and after I gave the general school policy, more questions were asked digging deeper into the obviously touchy topic (now they were just being nitpicky), and the person who was shadowing me had to jump in and respond (thank goodness she was there, as she had done tours for four years and was an RA for two). She also jumped in when a girl very pissily asked why freshmen weren't allowed cars (community bonding, explore St. Louis more in depth, and just not enough parking spaces, easy city access by Metro) when my answers did not satisfy her (apparently she lived near Kansas City; whoop-de-doo, I live in Chesterfield and don't have a car). And most of the group split because they needed to grab lunch before interviews/info sessions/other appointments, since the tour ran forty minuts longer than it should. How about taking the tour guide's answers at face value and not nitpick? It's okay to ask questions, but don't ask more than necessary if you want the tour to end when it should, right?
I thought I'd do a week-in-review sort of thing on Saturdays because there are only so many topics I can cover in a weekly column in the blog, so every Saturday I'll touch on a few things from the week both in the outside world and my life (hey, it's still a blog, isn't it?).
5 Points for the Week ending 7/7/2007:
1. Bush commutes Scooter Libby's sentence:
-Probably happened under pressure from his conservative buddies, especially Karl Rove, since Libby took the fall for Rove in the trial and Rove probably doesn't want to owe a huge debt to Libby, although the $250,000 fine and the two-year probation is still pretty big. Bush probably also wanted to reward one of his few remaining loyalists, especially with an approval rating below 30% that sends an obvious message about what most people think about this president.
2. Muslim doctors behind thwarted UK bombings.
-Scary, isn't it, that those who are charged to take care of and heal the sick and wounded would themselves try to do the total opposite, to kill and hurt innocent victims. I have always wondered what would drive people to commit crimes that are absolutely mind-boggling, even if they have their own made-up reasons. The fact that these would-be terrorists were supposedly well-educated (through books, obviously not through common sense) and more well-off would even think of performing such a heinous act makes me wonder even more.
3. America celebrates another birthday.
-Happy Birthday America; let's see how much longer we will be able to keep celebrating. Whomever invented fireworks and decided to make them a staple of July 4th is a genius.
4. Rosters for next week's Major League Baseball All-Star Game chosen.
-Now time for the usual debates: who got snubbed, who shouldn't be going, should all teams be represented, are players obligated to go, etc. The rosters are mostly right every year, and I actually think fans mess up the roster more than the team-representation rule. More on this later today.
5. New 7 Wonders of the World named.
-Who knew that Latin America would take up almost half of the new list? And if the Pyramids of Giza get a free pass, why isn't it the 8 Wonders of the World? Maybe that's why these people are in liberal arts and not math. While I had not heard of the Statue of Christ Redeemer before this list was announced (I've probably known it's existence, but never connected it with a name), it is a pretty worthy member, as are all the others, of this acclaimed list considering the time period in which it was built and the material it was made with.
5 Points in My Life:
1. Still not doing as well as I'd like in organic chemistry.
-Performing much better than previous attempts attempting to master this notoriously difficult subject, but there's still room for improvement. Getting 90%s on the next test and the final next week would help, but unless you're a genius or are not taking organic chemistry at Wash U., how is that possible? Besides staying up 24/7 and going bald from tearing your hair out, obviously.
2. Ratatouille is very good.
-Went to see it with my parents, and if the scene with Anton Ego reminiscing doesn't send chills up your spine, then you obviously have no love for your mother. Pixar triumphs again with it's eighth feature-length film; the characters are well-developed and perform their roles quite adequately, the graphics are a visual treat, and the story, while obviously unrealistic (but then, remember it is a Disney movie) is very well written. Definitely the best movie I've seen all year, and my early prediction is that it receives the Oscar for best animated feature film to make up for the one that Cars should have won last year. Happy Feet, while cute, just wasn't as good, but Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman have more star power than Owen Wilson and Bonnie Hunt, I guess.
3. Attended Paul Kariya's press conference.
-The Blues are really trying to be a fan-friendly team, trying to bring back the fans who abandoned them these past two years, and so far, they're on the right track. Opening the press conference to introduce one of the bigger stars in the NHL to the public was an unprecidented and very suave move. I was actually really impressed that Kariya, after performing multiple interviews and with the many Blues people trying to guide him back into the arena, would stick around and sign autographs. He even brought his own silver Sharpie (good for signing black pucks). And John Davidson got in the act too, signing autographs in a zone that the security staff deemed off limits to the public, and even shaking hands with fans, talking to them and answering questions. Very classy. Too bad all I had for them to sign was a receipt from Racanelli's that I dug out of my wallet, but it beats running to the team store to buy an overpriced item and then coming back to find the opportunity missed.
4. Got a new washer and dryer.
-After 17 years of the same washer, and about 7 of the same dryer, my mom decided to donate them while they still worked and buy totally new ones. They still look weird, especially the white, sleek, new style with front-loading clear doors and many, many buttons replacing stoic old-style top-load tan washer and pull-down door dryer with a few buttons and one big knob on each, but at least the washer won't make a massive racket while washing bedsheets and pillows, hopefully.
5. Led the weirdest tour ever in the history of my giving campus tours.
-So it's only been four so far, but I started out with a group of about fifteen, and ended with two (plus the admissions officer in training who was shadowing me). On most tours there's always the one parent who will constantly ask questions, which is a good thing, so that every possible bit of information that students need to know about the school is extracted, but I swear I had four of those parents on Friday. When I paused in the Lien Library to talk about housing, we were in there for a good twenty minutes (fifteen more than usual) due to the massive number of questions, and I probably saw five tour groups go in to see the rooms and walk back out. And another ten minutes or so was spent in the room itself talking about alcohol (an important point, but seemingly unrelated to the topic at hand), and after I gave the general school policy, more questions were asked digging deeper into the obviously touchy topic (now they were just being nitpicky), and the person who was shadowing me had to jump in and respond (thank goodness she was there, as she had done tours for four years and was an RA for two). She also jumped in when a girl very pissily asked why freshmen weren't allowed cars (community bonding, explore St. Louis more in depth, and just not enough parking spaces, easy city access by Metro) when my answers did not satisfy her (apparently she lived near Kansas City; whoop-de-doo, I live in Chesterfield and don't have a car). And most of the group split because they needed to grab lunch before interviews/info sessions/other appointments, since the tour ran forty minuts longer than it should. How about taking the tour guide's answers at face value and not nitpick? It's okay to ask questions, but don't ask more than necessary if you want the tour to end when it should, right?
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Let's Get Started
At first I thought that blogging was just a fad. It seemed like an easy way for people to get on the internet and have a web page dedicated to themselves, to talk about anything they wanted. It was a skewed way to provide news, information, and opinions, especially since these were coming from outside sources, people who had no checks to monitor what it was they were saying and how they were reporting it. "Oh, it's just a phase, it'll pass by, and eventually it'll settle into it's niche little community on the internet," I thought.
And now, blogging is a popular and inseparable part of the internet. Where one goes online, one finds blogs that discuss absolutely every imaginable subject possible. Of course, you, my good reader, probably already knew that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Obviously, my opinion has changed about this "fad". If a reputable newsman like Brian Williams can blog, there is no reason why my previous feelings about untrustworthy sources and whatnot should linger any longer.
Blogging apparently started even way before most of us knew what the internet was, before it became a mainstream and ritualistic part of our daily lives, apparently right when the internet was developed. For those who weren't shy and wanted their fifteen minutes of fame, they could talk about absolutely anything that was going on in their lives and in their minds. Events, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and random junk appeared just because it could, and no one could stop them. It was like they had their own personal Us magazines following them around, reporting all their movements, except these "magazines" were online and edited by the subjects themselves. For those who didn't care, what better way to let the outside world know "Hey, I'm here! I matter! And I'm going to make you mind me!"
Of course, with the boom of the internet age, with the ease of obtaining any bit of information one can imagine, also came the ease of posting any bit of information one can imagine, thus explaining the surge in popularity of blogging. The openness of the '90s obviously helped, with more and more people revealing themselves to the outside world, their personal lives and opinions, and the outside world, so captivated by this newfound wonder, gobbled up every bit of information possible. A classic cycle of supply and demand.
As blogging spread, more ways of engaging in this newfound art were explored. Different subjects, from the regular of reporting the news, to the formerly very taboo, such as one's sex life, found their ways onto this global message board. Nothing was off limits, and the people have taken full advantage of that. Of course, the online personal diaries remain a popular staple; the juicy stories of people's personal lives will always remain a hit with our nosy human race.
In the future, this blog looks to explore anything and everything, from worthy news stories and other current events, sports, entertainment, and other exciting things, all with what I believe to be a common sensical point of view, as evidenced above. This blog may excite you, it may depress you, it may anger you, and it may make you feel something unexplainable. But the main thing is that this blog will make you think. Hopefully. At least these subjects will make you think. And just like what a blog was originally meant for, this blog may feature some personal tidbits. And obviously opinions are always included.
You read because I wrote.
And now, blogging is a popular and inseparable part of the internet. Where one goes online, one finds blogs that discuss absolutely every imaginable subject possible. Of course, you, my good reader, probably already knew that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Obviously, my opinion has changed about this "fad". If a reputable newsman like Brian Williams can blog, there is no reason why my previous feelings about untrustworthy sources and whatnot should linger any longer.
Blogging apparently started even way before most of us knew what the internet was, before it became a mainstream and ritualistic part of our daily lives, apparently right when the internet was developed. For those who weren't shy and wanted their fifteen minutes of fame, they could talk about absolutely anything that was going on in their lives and in their minds. Events, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and random junk appeared just because it could, and no one could stop them. It was like they had their own personal Us magazines following them around, reporting all their movements, except these "magazines" were online and edited by the subjects themselves. For those who didn't care, what better way to let the outside world know "Hey, I'm here! I matter! And I'm going to make you mind me!"
Of course, with the boom of the internet age, with the ease of obtaining any bit of information one can imagine, also came the ease of posting any bit of information one can imagine, thus explaining the surge in popularity of blogging. The openness of the '90s obviously helped, with more and more people revealing themselves to the outside world, their personal lives and opinions, and the outside world, so captivated by this newfound wonder, gobbled up every bit of information possible. A classic cycle of supply and demand.
As blogging spread, more ways of engaging in this newfound art were explored. Different subjects, from the regular of reporting the news, to the formerly very taboo, such as one's sex life, found their ways onto this global message board. Nothing was off limits, and the people have taken full advantage of that. Of course, the online personal diaries remain a popular staple; the juicy stories of people's personal lives will always remain a hit with our nosy human race.
In the future, this blog looks to explore anything and everything, from worthy news stories and other current events, sports, entertainment, and other exciting things, all with what I believe to be a common sensical point of view, as evidenced above. This blog may excite you, it may depress you, it may anger you, and it may make you feel something unexplainable. But the main thing is that this blog will make you think. Hopefully. At least these subjects will make you think. And just like what a blog was originally meant for, this blog may feature some personal tidbits. And obviously opinions are always included.
You read because I wrote.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)