Ben Affleck is Not Tough

I'm not usually one to poke fun at someone's medical condition, but I just couldn't let this one slide. According to news reports, actor Ben Affleck, known for a series of "tough guy" roles, was hospitalized Monday due to a migraine headache.

Now I understand that migraines can be a bitch - I get them myself - and can put a real crimp in your style. But I can't imagine the migraine so bad you need your wife to drive you to the ER. C'mon, Ben - sack up!

You don't suppose it's an attempt to get a little sympathetic publicity on the eve of his directorial debut, do you? Nah ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 01:52 PM PST [link]

Something to Believe In

I'm a sports guy. I love most sports, and the ones I don't love I still like. I love the subtle nuances of sports, and digging into the details to really understand them (Aussie rules footie aside - no one really understands those rules!). I've never been much of an athlete, but I do have a soft spot for golf and cycling, as those are two sports I can understand as someone who has participated in them.

As someone who has followed a lot of sports, I understand that sports is not a place to find heroes. It is not a place for your kids to find role models. These are entertainers, folks who often chose their sport over their education and, while rich in money, can be penniless in character.

There are exceptions, of course. At the head of the list is Lance Armstrong, the once-brash Texan who got kicked in the balls by cancer (literally) only to come back a stronger - and humbler - individual. You all know the story - decent rider before cancer, epic rider after. Retires after a mind-boggling seven consecutive Tour de France victories to become an advocate for cancer survivors. Practically invented a new business model with those yellow bracelets (one of which is on my left wrist as I write this).

Of course, not everyone is a LA fan. Armstrong wasn't even on the plane back to Austin last July before the organizers of Le Tour pushed the anti-doping police to open an investigation into his first victory in 1999. Why 1999 and not any of the races after? Because 1999 was before the strict drug testing on the tour - testing which Lance passed every time.

The point in all of this? Today, the third-party investigators brought in to look at the allegations cleared Lance of all suspicion. Not only did they clear Lance, but they recommended that a criminal investigation be launched against those who initially brought the claims.

I gotta tell you - I had faith in Lance. He's not Barry Bonds or any of those spoiled athletes looking for an artificial edge. He has those seven jerseys because he earned them using the only advantages he needed - his brain, his muscles, and his heart.

Vive' Lance!

Posted by MarlinNut @ 10:53 AM PST [link]

The Learning Curve

LARadio.com is not usually known as a funny site. Informative, yes, but funny? Maybe not.

Lately, though, they've been asking readers for their favorite jokes, and have had a couple of great ones. Here's another:

When I was 14, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend.

When I was 16 I got a girlfriend, but there was no passion, so I decided I needed a passionate girl with a zest for life.

In college I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency; she was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. So I decided I needed a girl with stability.

When I was 25 I found a very stable girl but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided that I needed a girl with some excitement.

When I was 28 I found an exciting girl, but I couldn't keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. So I decided to find a girl with some real ambition.

When I turned 31, I found a smart ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground and married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned.

I am now older and wiser, and am looking for a girl with big tits.

Posted by MarlinNut @ 05:18 PM PST [link]

Steve Westly and Phil Angelides are Not Friends

Remember when Steve Westly and Phil Angelides, the two main Democratic candidates for governor here in California, pledged to run clean, positive, campaigns? Seems like a long time ago, doesn't it. Lately, you can't tune into any form of media without one or the other slinging the slime. Westly is in the pocket of big business. Angelides is in the pocket of developers. Westly won't stand up to Arnold. Angelides will tax you into the poor house. They even trade ads about who launched the negative ads first. And did you watch the two of them this weekend at the same service in the same South Central church? They couldn't have looked any more out of place - or uncomfortable - than if they were wearing Klan hoods.

The whole time, current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man whose own political missteps brought him down to Bush-like poll numbers, just sits back, lights one of his trademark stogies, and smiles ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 04:30 PM PST [link]

Welcome to the MarlinBlog - Round Two

OK, if you're reading this and wondering, "hey - why's he writing another welcome message," then I thank you for being an MNAC member who took the time to check out the MB during its first two weeks of existance. As I said in the original welcome, this is a relatively new technology that continues the mission of providing opportunities for the community to interact. Problem is, the feedback we received was lukewarm at best, with the inaccessability of being in the Member's Section being at the head of the line. So we're taking a mulligan and relaunching the MarlinBlog as part of the main site, visible to all.

For those of you making your first visit, I encourage you to read and participate. Even though you missed two weeks of scintillating commentary by yours truly, you can quickly catch up by using the "Archives" link to your right. We'll talk more in the future about what this is and how it works, but for now, welcome to the MarlinBlog!

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:33 AM PST [link]

What ... No Fishing?!?

It's the Friday leading into Memorial Day Weekend, and I'm not going to be fishing this weekend. I barely know how to handle it.

Growing up in a fishing family meant long weekends and vacations were spent on the boat. Other people had picnics or camping trips or other activities - we had fishing. One of my strongest memories of childhood was of listening to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio while working coves at Catalina.

So it is with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I find myself on the beach this weekend. The good news is I can watch the race live, and I've got a whole stack of projects to do. But it's gonna feel strange ...

Somehow, I talked myself into pulling the carpet out of my living room to expose the hardwood floor underneath. As an ex-rental, my house came fully carpeted. A couple of years ago, I pulled the carpet in the dining room, and was pleasantly surprised to find decent hardwood floors underneath. I always said I wanted to do the same to the living room, which adjoins the dining room. This weekend, we're gonna find out just how good those floors are - assuming I can figure out how to get the carpet out from under two 40-gallon fish tanks ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 05:19 PM PST [link]

Teenagers Are Stupid ... But Resilient

Heard one of those stories on the news this morning that, at first blush, could be really, really bad:

"A Nissan with 8 teenagers drove off Mulholland Highway early this morning, plunging two hundred feet to the bottom of a canyon. Two occupants of the car were ejected."

This is you classic train-wreck article - you want to move on, but you just can't not look.

Amazingly, not only did no one die but, as of this writing, most of the kids - aged 13 to 19 - weren't even seriously injured. Apparently, the kids were on their way home to Anaheim from a party in Hollywood when the 19-yr old driver missed a curve on the notoriously dangerous highway - home of the legendary "Dead Man's Curve".

How, exactly, does one fit 8 kids into a little bitty Nissan? Good question - just ask your kids. They'll tell you it's by sticking two of the passengers in the only place left after all the seats are taken. It's called "trunking," and it's common enough that there's a law working it's way through the California Legislature that would make the practice illegal.

There are those things that seem so obvious that you wouldn't need a law, but apparently not. According to the cops at the scene, it's a pretty common practice among teenagers today. The two in the trunk were amazingly lucky, since the trunk popped open during the plunge and they were pitched out. Not only were they not killed, they were the ones that hiked up to the highway and flagged down a passing car for help.

You may want to blame this one on the gas prices, but I'm thinking it's just being stupid ... or young ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 07:28 AM PST [link]

Joke Of The Day

A lesson in American History, courtesy of our friends at LARadio.com:

It was the first day of school and a new student named Pedro Martinez, the son of a Mexican restaurateur, entered the fourth grade.

The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American history. "Who said 'Give me Liberty, or give me Death?' "She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Pedro, who had his hand up. "Patrick Henry, 1775."

"Very good!" said the teacher. "Now, who said, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth?"

Again, no response except from Pedro: "Abraham Lincoln, 1863."

The teacher snapped at the class, "Class, you should be ashamed! Pedro, who is new to our country, knows more about its history than you do!"

She heard a loud whisper: "Screw the Mexicans!"

"Who said that?" she demanded.

Pedro put his hand up. "Jim Bowie, 1836."

At that point, a student in the back said, "I'm gonna puke." The teacher glared and asked, "All right! Now, who said that?"

Again, Pedro answered, "George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991."

Now furious, another student yelled, "Oh yeah? Suck this!"

Pedro jumped out of his chair waving his hand and shouting to the teacher, "Bill Clinton to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!"

Now, with almost a mob hysteria, someone said, "You little shit. If you say anything else, I'll kill you!"

Pedro frantically yelled at the top of his voice, "Gary Condit to Chandra Levy, 2001."

The teacher fainted, and as the class gathered around her on the floor, someone said, "Oh shit, we're in BIG trouble now!"

Pedro whispered, "Saddam Hussein, 2003."

Finally someone throws a eraser at Pedro, someone shouted "Duck"! The teacher, just waking, asked "Who said that?

Pedro called out, "Dick Cheney 2006!"

Posted by MarlinNut @ 10:30 AM PST [link]

Upon Further Review ...

OK, so maybe the snark was a little hard on American Idol. After all, I've never seen the thing, and when half the homes in America - and 100% of the trailers - are tuned in, maybe that's not all bad.

It may be a schmaltzy knockoff of a number of concepts all the way back to Ted Mack and spend a lot of time just a half-step above the Gong Show, but it is bringing people together in a way that I didn't think was possible in this day of hundreds of satellite channels and numerous other entertainment options.

And Kat Mcphee is hot ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 07:19 AM PST [link]

And The Winner Is ...

So, did you watch the big "American Idol" final last night?

Me, neither ...

"Lost", on the other hand, rocked ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 05:37 AM PST [link]

Run, Katie, Run

OK, I promise this isn't gonna become a gossip blog - good news for you, based on some of the feedback I've been getting. It will delve there periodically, though, because I enjoy a good laugh at someone else's expense as much as anyone else.

Case in point: The latest adventures of TomKat ...

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reportedly got into a big fight — that ended with Holmes deciding to take baby Suri to Ohio to introduce the infant to family and friends. Tom, who is rumored to have a rocky relationship with Holmes’ parents, won’t be joining them, according to Life & Style Weekly.

“He told Katie he wasn’t going, considering the bad relations between him and her family,” an “insider” told the mag. “Katie was really happy he said that, because she’d been afraid to admit to him that she didn’t want him to go.”

The couple allegedly had a “huge argument” which ended with Katie declaring, “I’m doing this and you can’t stop me.” Her rep denies the story.

The episode, however, may be giving Holmes second thoughts. A “confidant” of hers told the mag: “Katie’s very unhappy and beginning to realize she may have made a major mistake being with Tom.”

At this point, even the Scientologists must be thinking he's a nut. Of course, the Holmes clan is probably only thinking about cashing in that pre-nup ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 03:25 PM PST [link]

Stand Up For The Little Guys

Found a better picture of the humorous gas sign that no one at Shell found funny. That's Steve Grosse in the left, along with one of his now-ex employees.



Just for perspective, the picture I shot was taken from next to the building with the tile roof in the background.

Posted by MarlinNut @ 12:53 PM PST [link]

Too Much Time On Her Hands

Could someone please find a role for Heather Locklear? It doesn't need to be much, just something to keep her off the streets for a while ...

The actress is evidently upset that her estranged husband, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, has hooked up with Denise Richards, the estranged wife of Charlie Sheen. Denise was at home minding her own business the other day when she heard Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" playing from the street outside. She peeked through a window and saw Heather and a girlfriend in her car with the song blasting. Heather and her friend thought their prank was hilarious. Denise called the stunt "very high school."

They say celebrites are just like us, but I disagree. 'Cuz when I parked outside blasting Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," all I got was a restraining order ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 12:03 PM PST [link]

I Know What You Are Thinking ...

No, really - I do.

You're thinking, "what is this whole blog thing about, and what is my role in it?" I know this because I promised to tell you, and I know you just can't stand not knowing. Or not.

In a way, a blog is a contract. My part of the contract is penning witty, insightful or informative blurbs that make your day a better place to be. Your role is to read and comment. "How," you ask. Allow me to elaborate.

Reading, I suppose, is the easy part. Just come to the blog and read the entries. Congratulations are in order, as you've obviously mastered this first essential task. If you do no more that just this one step, you've essentially met the minimum requirements of the contract.

But you're not a minimum kind of guy, are you. No, not you - you want to go for the gusto (or the vendi, depending on where you are reading this ... ) You want to comment!

Comments are an essential part of the process. I tell you what I think in the blurbs - you tell me what you think in the comments. It's easy, really. At the bottom of each blurb, you'll see a links that says "1 comment", "2 comments", etc. More likely than not, it'll actually read "No comments," but it is what it is. Click on it to get a comment form and go to town.

Do I care what you say? Absolutely not - feel free to bring whatever you have to the table. What I care about it that you take the time to have your say - that's the real key to your part in the contract.

Next time - more about the blogosphere ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 11:10 AM PST [link]

I Guess It Beats "Sue" ...

I'm not a parent, so I've never really put a lot of thought into potential baby names. But considering it's the single word by which your child will be know for the rest of its life, I'd assume that parents would spend time to assure their child's name was meaningful and pertinent. Maybe not ...

"In 1999, there were only eight newborn American girls named Nevaeh. Last year, it was the 70th-most-popular name for baby girls, ahead of Sara, Vanessa and Amanda.

The spectacular rise of Nevaeh (commonly pronounced nah-VAY-uh) has little precedent, name experts say. They watched it break into the top 1,000 of girls' names in 2001 at No. 266, the third-highest debut ever. Four years later it cracked the top 100 with 4,457 newborn Nevaehs, having made the fastest climb among all names in more than a century, the entire period for which the Social Security Administration has such records.

Nevaeh is not in the Bible or any religious text. It is not from a foreign language. It is not the name of a celebrity, real or fictional.

The surge of Nevaeh can be traced to a single event: the appearance of a Christian rock star, Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D., on MTV in 2000 with his baby daughter, Nevaeh. "Heaven spelled backwards," he said.

If your name is Heaven backwards, does that mean you should grow up to be a hell raiser? I guess I should be happy my parents favorite word wasn't "ssabmud" ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 05:32 AM PST [link]

Mea Culpa Marlin-Style

I think it's important to be able to stand up and admit when you are wrong. When it comes to Chris Badsey's World Championship Billfish Release Tournament, I was wrong. The inaugural event, which was contested earlier this week in Cabo San Lucas was a huge success and has set the standard for future events.

It was barely six months ago that Chris and a group of friends decided they could built a better tourney mousetrap. It would be all circle hook. It would be all release. It would be world class. And it would be soon.

I was asked to participate in the early planning phase, and frankly, I thought they were smoking crack (no doubt why I was soon dropped from the process! ) I've seen the half-assed tourneys that are run by different folks here in SoCal - any one of which would get it's ass kicked by the real events of CSL. But there was the Committee telling their story and moving forward.

To their credit, they picked the right time, got the right sponsors, included the right people - basically nailed it. And got it done in six months. Frankly, I'm just stunned.

The bar has been set for the rest of the organizers. No longer can they whine about lack of sponsor support for an all-release event. No longer can they say the public will not be interested in an event where there's no fish weighed in at the dock. Basically, the Committee kicked the barstool out from under their fat asses and said "OK, poser - show us what you've got."

Soon we'll see. But for now, let's all raise a toast to the Committee!

Posted by MarlinNut @ 07:41 AM PST [link]

Good News for All Single Guys

Georgia's Runaway Bride is single again ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 03:24 PM PST [link]

Talk About A High-Flyer ...

I'm not much of a movie guy, and even if I was I don't know that I'd be attracted to Superman Returns. After all, they pretty much wrung out everything they could with the Christopher Reeve series (as one wag put it, "Reeve chose death over watching this movie be released.") So why am I even talking about it? Because, according to reports, it's about to become the most expensive movie ever made.

"From what I gather, it will be the most expensive film ever," Movie City News editor David Poland said to the New York Post. "There's no way the picture could cost less than $250 million. I figure it anywhere between $290 and $300 million at this point."

Holy Waste of Money, Batman! And remember that they're not even having to pay for a real star as the lead (ever heard of Brandon Routh? Me, neither ...). One can't help but wonder how many Katrina survivors that money could feed ... or how many miles of border fencing it could buy ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 02:19 PM PST [link]

I Hate LA

Gee, do you think the Phoenix Suns are sick of balling in LA yet? First the Lakers push them the full seven games; now the Clippers - yes, the Clippers - have forced a Game 7 as well. I'm betting if Steve Nash has to hear Randy Newman sing about 6th St one more time, he'll barf ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 05:26 AM PST [link]

So, What Is A Blog, Anyway?

I spend an inordinate amount of time engaged in two activities - working with computers, and convincing myself I'm younger than I really am. It's not very often that those two collide, I gotta tell ya. This is one of those rare cases, though.

This is a blog, which is trendy geek shorthand for "weblog". Once upon a time, all news and information came from big monolithic sources like Walter Cronkite or the Los Angeles Times. We believed them because, well, they were big monoliths. Also, we had no real choice but to believe, since there were no alternatives.

Of course, as we've all learned the hard way, monoliths lie - usually in proportion to their monolithicness. Man was desperate for an alternative. Fortunately for all of us, Al Gore invented the Internet, which begat the blog.

The earliest blogs were just little scratchpad entries put together by someone who had something they just had to say. It didn't really matter if anyone read them - just so long as they got written. Two things changed all that. The first was RSS - Really Simple Syndication. In a nutshell, it's a code protocol that allows content to be shared among a number of websites, effectively expanding the audience of all. The other was the ready access to point-and-click blogging sites such as Blogger and Blogspot. Now you didn't need to be a geek to maintain a blog - you just had to have something to say.

I, of course, am a geek, so I set up my own blogging program. Whether or not I have something to say remains to be seen.

Next entry - or at least the next meaningful one - will talk about your role in this grand experiment ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 06:02 PM PST [link]

New Toy

OK, I'll admit it - I'm a blogaholic.

A lot of new technology has come about since the Internet first crawled from the digital ooze onto the beach of public opinion, but most of it has gone away just as fast. A couple of ideas have managed to stick around, though, and even impact our way of thinking. You're looking at one right now - the blog.

I remember when the first blogs popped up a few years back. The mainstream media dismissed them as the product of some whack job newsmen wannabees. Oops. Today, blogs are the only real source for unfiltered news, and are often the first source for many big stories.

Of course, you still have to use an internal filter and take everything you read with the appropriate measure of salt. But you can learn a lot that you won't learn anywhere else.

Since I spend way too much of my limited free time perusing other folks' products, I figured it was time to launch my own - the MarlinBlog. Don't assume that it'll only be about fishing - marlin might only be a tangental subject. It's going to be about whatever is on my mind, whenever it's on my mind. And, since you can comment on the entries, you can empty your mind as well.

The basic rules apply - be nice and play well with others. But if you have an opinion, don't be afraid to let it out.

Should be fun ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 11:11 AM PST [link]