Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
The Power 12: Post-Convention Edition
1.) Southern Cal
2.) Sarah Palin
The Real 2.) Florida
3.) Oklahoma
4.) Ohio State
5.) Georgia
6.) Missouri
7.) Texas
8.) LSU
9.) East Carolina
10.) Wisconsin
11.) Auburn
12.) Alabama
DROPPED OUT
West Virginia
2.) Sarah Palin
The Real 2.) Florida
3.) Oklahoma
4.) Ohio State
5.) Georgia
6.) Missouri
7.) Texas
8.) LSU
9.) East Carolina
10.) Wisconsin
11.) Auburn
12.) Alabama
DROPPED OUT
West Virginia
Monday, September 08, 2008
Foot In Mouth Syndrome
I think that one of the better things about being an introvert is that you don't stick your foot in your mouth as often as extraverts do. Introverts are cursed with a different kind of folly. Most often, introverts will be in situations where what they want to say doesn't come to them quickly enough. And later, after these encounters have ended, they typically toss the conversation around in their head & aggravatingly figure out what they SHOULD have said (e.g. Costanza's "The Jerk Store" line). Not extraverts, though. They always get it out. Problem for them is that they can't take it back if the "it" is offensive.
I have a couple of friends from high school who I meet every so often for dinner just to hang out & shoot the bull. The husband (let's call him "Nick") and I enjoy cutting up together. Nick is such a naturally funny guy that he makes me want to be just as hillarious as he is. I do my best to raise my game in his presence.
Generally I don't think of myself as a comedian. To me, there are two kinds of people in this world: jesters & laughers. I'm generally a laugher. It takes all kinds of discipline & strength for me to not giggle at my own jokes when I'm trying to get them out. I'm just a laugher. But when I'm around Nick, I step up my game. He makes me want to be a better jester.
Anyhow, Nick's jestering & extraversion get him into trouble on occassion. Several months ago, at the end of May, I enjoyed dinner with this couple and Nick's wife told me a story about an encounter Nick had had at the grocery store with someone we all knew from our high school graduating class. You have to understand, Nick & his wife are very cute, and they were the first couple in our group of friends to get married (still no kids... kind of strange, no?). Anyway, Nick is at the grocery store getting milk & bread, and he runs into an old HS pal of our's (let's call her Ashley). Nick strikes up a conversation & asks how she was doing. Ashley, who apparently could not muster up the strength to feign joy, briefly explained that she was about to get a divorce. Nick, without missing a beat, said, "So are Hannah & I!" Awkward pause. "No, not really..." Crickets...
So awful. He might as well have continued, "Nah, our life is actually just fine. Sucks for you to be all broken up, huh..."
Anyway, eating dinner with them again this past Friday night, Nick told me his latest gaff. Nick does the kind of work where he occassionally goes on the road. There is a woman in his office in her 40's who also has to do work on the road for their company, and so they were in their boss' office discussing their next trip. This particular woman just got married a month ago, and Nick & his wife attended. They were proposing making the rounds of their next trip by renting a car together & swinging through all the places they needed to hit in about a 5-day span. So in the middle of the meeting, Nick says, "Yeah, boss, the real reason she wants to get away with me is that she's tired of this new husband & one month of marriage has just been too rough," or something to that effect. This was on Thursday. On Friday, this woman goes to Nick & has to explain how her marriage is actually having difficulty and how she's in the process of divorcing her new husband.
Foot right back in mouth. MAN I'm glad I'm not an extravert!
I have a couple of friends from high school who I meet every so often for dinner just to hang out & shoot the bull. The husband (let's call him "Nick") and I enjoy cutting up together. Nick is such a naturally funny guy that he makes me want to be just as hillarious as he is. I do my best to raise my game in his presence.
Generally I don't think of myself as a comedian. To me, there are two kinds of people in this world: jesters & laughers. I'm generally a laugher. It takes all kinds of discipline & strength for me to not giggle at my own jokes when I'm trying to get them out. I'm just a laugher. But when I'm around Nick, I step up my game. He makes me want to be a better jester.
Anyhow, Nick's jestering & extraversion get him into trouble on occassion. Several months ago, at the end of May, I enjoyed dinner with this couple and Nick's wife told me a story about an encounter Nick had had at the grocery store with someone we all knew from our high school graduating class. You have to understand, Nick & his wife are very cute, and they were the first couple in our group of friends to get married (still no kids... kind of strange, no?). Anyway, Nick is at the grocery store getting milk & bread, and he runs into an old HS pal of our's (let's call her Ashley). Nick strikes up a conversation & asks how she was doing. Ashley, who apparently could not muster up the strength to feign joy, briefly explained that she was about to get a divorce. Nick, without missing a beat, said, "So are Hannah & I!" Awkward pause. "No, not really..." Crickets...
So awful. He might as well have continued, "Nah, our life is actually just fine. Sucks for you to be all broken up, huh..."
Anyway, eating dinner with them again this past Friday night, Nick told me his latest gaff. Nick does the kind of work where he occassionally goes on the road. There is a woman in his office in her 40's who also has to do work on the road for their company, and so they were in their boss' office discussing their next trip. This particular woman just got married a month ago, and Nick & his wife attended. They were proposing making the rounds of their next trip by renting a car together & swinging through all the places they needed to hit in about a 5-day span. So in the middle of the meeting, Nick says, "Yeah, boss, the real reason she wants to get away with me is that she's tired of this new husband & one month of marriage has just been too rough," or something to that effect. This was on Thursday. On Friday, this woman goes to Nick & has to explain how her marriage is actually having difficulty and how she's in the process of divorcing her new husband.
Foot right back in mouth. MAN I'm glad I'm not an extravert!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
What's the Appeal?
Okay. Beverly Hills 90210 started it. Melrose Place furthered it. The O.C. continued it. "Laguna Beach: The 'Real' Orange County" exploited it even more from a reality angle. And now we have The Hills and the CW's new 90210.
What is it with Los Angeles? I don't get it. Are people so intrigued that they'll watch the fantasies on TV just itching to be there?
I really don't understand the appeal. It's like I'm missing a chromosome that everybody else has.
What is it with Los Angeles? I don't get it. Are people so intrigued that they'll watch the fantasies on TV just itching to be there?
I really don't understand the appeal. It's like I'm missing a chromosome that everybody else has.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
The Rays Will Fall
Friday night, Mike Lowell returned to the lineup by smacking a homer in his first at bat. Josh Beckett returned to pitch 5 innings and, for the first time this season, look like Josh Beckett. And the Sox are now just 2.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East.
Hope is alive! I suspect that this will be a fun month of baseball in that division. I should have probably written it here, but I guess I didn't quite have the coconuts to go so far out on a limb in public. But here's an E-mail I wrote this past weekend to my buddy Jordan, who's a regular reader here & can vouch that this E-mail is true & accurate:
Subject: Calling a Top
From: Philip Cunningham III
Sent: Sun 8/31/08 9:46 PM
To: Jordan Powell
Alright, here it is. August 31st. Rays have a 5.5 game lead on the Red Sox in the East. They play all but 10 of their remaining games on the road.
* This will be the largest lead they keep on the Sox from hear on out.
* The Red Sox will come back & overtake them to win the East.
I'm putting it out there. In stone. Or, at least to the extent that E-mail can be considered stone...
Philip III
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18
Hope is alive! I suspect that this will be a fun month of baseball in that division. I should have probably written it here, but I guess I didn't quite have the coconuts to go so far out on a limb in public. But here's an E-mail I wrote this past weekend to my buddy Jordan, who's a regular reader here & can vouch that this E-mail is true & accurate:
Subject: Calling a Top
From: Philip Cunningham III
Sent: Sun 8/31/08 9:46 PM
To: Jordan Powell
Alright, here it is. August 31st. Rays have a 5.5 game lead on the Red Sox in the East. They play all but 10 of their remaining games on the road.
* This will be the largest lead they keep on the Sox from hear on out.
* The Red Sox will come back & overtake them to win the East.
I'm putting it out there. In stone. Or, at least to the extent that E-mail can be considered stone...
Philip III
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Bama is Back?
Three years ago, right after Alabama had a big blowout victory over highly-ranked (and clearly over-rated at the time) Florida, Sports Illustrated made a bold declaration:
Now, two years and 11 months later, following a big blowout victory over highly ranked (and clearly over-rated) Clemson, Sports Illustrated has evidently decided to do it again:
There's a strong sense in which, to Alabama fans, this pub is unwarranted & unwanted. We don't want it, and it really chaps our behinds.
'Bama hasn't really done anything yet. Sure we beat Clemson, and looked good doing it. And, as the mag cover says, we served notice that we're among the ranks of the "contenders" again. But we still haven't beaten Auburn since 2001. We've won our conference division only once in the last eleven years. And some of us are tired of celebrating smaller victories (e.g. recruiting "National Championship," etc.) in place of ultimately consummating the rebuilding process into something real and substantive.
And Nick Saban feels the same way. Here is his attitude concerning the mindset that Alabama can start to feel confident & good about itself:
(Warning: A little profanity)
That man has got a fire in his belly! I love it!
Here's how one guy put it on an internet forum I read:
It's fun to go through a season as the underdog with a perpetual chip on your shoulder. More fun than having an early coronation only to discover later that it was premature.
There’s another sense in which this SI cover is unwelcome to me. I’ve become almost completely cynical when it comes to my view of the mainstream media. They all hated on us when we hired Saban (aside from a select few -— Herbstreit, and maybe a couple others). And I just knew they would start to pump us up again once we started winning. And here it is already. The media is so transparent. They’ll build us back up so they can tear us back down. I’m still harboring some seriously awful feelings for mainstream media.
'Bama is on a mission. And it's about ACTUALLY being back. Not just a magazine proclaiming that we're there.
Now, two years and 11 months later, following a big blowout victory over highly ranked (and clearly over-rated) Clemson, Sports Illustrated has evidently decided to do it again:
There's a strong sense in which, to Alabama fans, this pub is unwarranted & unwanted. We don't want it, and it really chaps our behinds.
'Bama hasn't really done anything yet. Sure we beat Clemson, and looked good doing it. And, as the mag cover says, we served notice that we're among the ranks of the "contenders" again. But we still haven't beaten Auburn since 2001. We've won our conference division only once in the last eleven years. And some of us are tired of celebrating smaller victories (e.g. recruiting "National Championship," etc.) in place of ultimately consummating the rebuilding process into something real and substantive.
And Nick Saban feels the same way. Here is his attitude concerning the mindset that Alabama can start to feel confident & good about itself:
That man has got a fire in his belly! I love it!
Here's how one guy put it on an internet forum I read:
I think feet and I are in total agreement here. I want people to continue to downplay our excitement by pointing out what a dismal team Clemson is. I don’t want the media on our side right now. I want to beat Georgia and have them claim they were a paper tiger. I want to beat Tennessee and have everyone point out what could be a dismal record by then (Florida, Auburn, and Georgia all before they play us). I want to go into Baton Rouge and beat LSU. After ending the streak in Tuscaloosa (he's talking about the Auburn game here), tell us how Florida is going to show us how the big boys do it.
It's fun to go through a season as the underdog with a perpetual chip on your shoulder. More fun than having an early coronation only to discover later that it was premature.
There’s another sense in which this SI cover is unwelcome to me. I’ve become almost completely cynical when it comes to my view of the mainstream media. They all hated on us when we hired Saban (aside from a select few -— Herbstreit, and maybe a couple others). And I just knew they would start to pump us up again once we started winning. And here it is already. The media is so transparent. They’ll build us back up so they can tear us back down. I’m still harboring some seriously awful feelings for mainstream media.
'Bama is on a mission. And it's about ACTUALLY being back. Not just a magazine proclaiming that we're there.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Power 12
1.) Southern Cal
They look goo-oo-oo-oo-ood.
2.) Florida
A good, fast ballclub. Defense didn't look half-bad against Hawai'i, either. They may be a little soft, though.
3.) Oklahoma
The Sooners scored 50 in the first half of their cupcake opener.
4.) Ohio State
Buckeyes aren't as good with a hobbling Wells.
5.) Georgia
UGA keeps racking up the injuries.
6.) Missouri
Chase Daniel appears to be the real deal.
7.) Texas
8.) LSU
Bengal Tigers looked tough against App State.
9.) West Virginia
Conceded 21 points & 399 yards to Villanova. They can't play defense.
10.) Wisconsin
11.) Auburn
Spread Eagle Auburn meets Spread Eagle Southern Miss this weekend. Gotta root for my Dad's Alma Mater this weekend -- Go Golden Eagles!
12.) Alabama
'Bama isn't soft anymore. And they looked good enough Saturday night to compete right now. And yet, the conference is so good that they could finish third in their division.
(The SEC is just as dominant as it ever has been, or really as it ever will be. The ACC is going to start selling itself as a place where a championship program can be built. There is too much of a vaccuum there in the ACC & too much skill in the SEC for there not to be a coaching exodus over to that conference.)
DROPPED OUT
Clemson
Somebody wrote, "There's a decent chance they could lose their opening game of the season against a certain crimson-clad school." Does that count as an upset prediction? ;)
They look goo-oo-oo-oo-ood.
2.) Florida
A good, fast ballclub. Defense didn't look half-bad against Hawai'i, either. They may be a little soft, though.
3.) Oklahoma
The Sooners scored 50 in the first half of their cupcake opener.
4.) Ohio State
Buckeyes aren't as good with a hobbling Wells.
5.) Georgia
UGA keeps racking up the injuries.
6.) Missouri
Chase Daniel appears to be the real deal.
7.) Texas
8.) LSU
Bengal Tigers looked tough against App State.
9.) West Virginia
Conceded 21 points & 399 yards to Villanova. They can't play defense.
10.) Wisconsin
11.) Auburn
Spread Eagle Auburn meets Spread Eagle Southern Miss this weekend. Gotta root for my Dad's Alma Mater this weekend -- Go Golden Eagles!
12.) Alabama
'Bama isn't soft anymore. And they looked good enough Saturday night to compete right now. And yet, the conference is so good that they could finish third in their division.
(The SEC is just as dominant as it ever has been, or really as it ever will be. The ACC is going to start selling itself as a place where a championship program can be built. There is too much of a vaccuum there in the ACC & too much skill in the SEC for there not to be a coaching exodus over to that conference.)
DROPPED OUT
Clemson
Somebody wrote, "There's a decent chance they could lose their opening game of the season against a certain crimson-clad school." Does that count as an upset prediction? ;)
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