Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park turned out to be a perfect place for an extended family picnic and Saturday's weather couldn't have been better for it. Considering I haven't been to the gym in over a month now, I should have known better than to jump into a game of two-hand touch without stretching at all. Especially after an hour of rowing a boat had started blisters on my thumbs and tightened up my shoulders. But it was Saturday evening, we were leaving soon, and given the company, it felt too much like a Fresh Air Fund moment to skip.…
Pumpkin Seeds: Anti-Corporate America Edition
1. In a bizarre turn of events in the Yummy Sandwich saga, I bumped into its President/Owner, Avi, on Tuesday afternoon as I was heading out for lunch and a walk in the park. He was standing out in front of my office building, wearing a Yummy Sandwich t-shirt, and stopped me, asking my name with a gleam in his eye. It took a second for my brain to process everything as I answered, "Guy. Why? Are you kidnapping me?" He laughed and we talked and he apologized for the infamous Powerpoint presentation, "We’re a new company and we’re making…
eBay is evil! Like the internet that shelters it, it is one of the roots of all evil and people with addictive or competitive personalities should stay far, far away from it. People like me, for example. It all started so innocently this morning, when I found myself searching the internet for my favorite Yankee ever, Graig Nettles. I'm not even sure why but perhaps it was destiny? I came across an interesting site, Baseball Almanac, that had some great stats for him as well as links to other sites. One of the featured Google Ads linked over to the…
S!W!E!E!P! FIRST. EVER. SWEEP. Yeeeeeah, baby! And how fitting was it to have Pay-Rod make the last out? Very fitting. Punk. Richard Hidalgo is turning into the best Mets trade since Piazza and might single-handedly wipe away the bad taste still lingering from Vaughn, Burnitz, Alomar, et al. Now Duquette needs to get some solid middle relief and a legitimate 5th starter (Keep Jae Seo; give Stanton and Ginter the old heave-ho!) and we might be able to make a serious run for the division. Much as I want to see Boston take the Yankees out, I'lll forgo that dream…
Fahrenheit 9/11. Pretty much everything that's been said about it is true. It's heartbreaking; it's manipulative; it's old news; it's a powerful evidentiary hearing in the case against the Bush administration. Ultimately, it's simply frustrating. While it won't likely change the minds of the staunchest Bush supporters - who wouldn't see a Michael Moore documentary if their lives depended on it - anyone else sitting near the fence can't possibly walk away from it without having their eyes opened. Wide open. The problem is what happens when you walk out of the theater. We're still at war with no end…
louder than words: reloaded differed from the Matrix sequel I jokingly subtitled it after in two significant ways: 1) It didn't completely and unnecessarily alter its tone from its original incarnation; 2) The turnout was much lower. In fact, the paid turnout was exactly the same as the last show back in May: 21. One difference was that it didn't adversely affect my mood as I wasn't adding up how much money was coming out of my pocket this time, thanks to a renegotiated deal for the door to something more appropriate for a Tuesday night slot. Another was that…
Pumpkin Seeds: Butterflies in my Stomach Edition
1. Tonight is another louder than words and yes, it's true, it could very well be the last one. That's my attitude going into it, at least. A lot of it is riding on how I feel by the end of the show. 2. Right this minute, I feel like it could go either way. But I'm a cynic, so that's not really saying anything. 3. The major tweak for tonight will be me stepping more fully into the center ring and taking charge from beginning to end. I'm going to treat it like it's MY show this time and…