Welcome to the MarlinBlog - unvarnished, unedited and uncensored comments from your host on just about any topic you can imagine. Fishing, sports, celebrity, politics, religion - all those topics they tell you to stay away from in polite conversation. Not here, baby! I make you no promise but this - we may agree, we may disagree, but you'll always get the truth - as I see it ...
Thursday, August 30th
Holiday Weekend Eye Candy
It's a 3-day Labor Day weekend for most, but it'll be four for me as I finally get offshore this weekend. The good news is that you get your Eye Candy a day early!
Sometimes I like to tell a little story with our Eye Candy girls, and sometimes they can tell the stories themselves. This would be one of those times - it's Pussycat Dolls lead singer loosening up her ... pipes ... in yoga class. Looks painful even to watch.
Here's a thought: You guys have four days to look at this picture - why don't you come up with a title? Post your best one or ones in the comments section and we'll see who the really creative ones are!
This hasn't been a good season for the LA Galaxy. Sure, they're getting a lot of ink for the acquisition of David Beckham - heck, most of the world had never heard of the Galaxy this time last year. But this is a squad with serious problems. Their one-time marquee star, Cobi Jones, rides into retirement at the end of the season and his natural replacement, Landon Donovan, seems quite fragile. Becks himself hasn't played at 100% yet, and you have to figure that will only get worse as he gets older. GM Alexi Lalas has repeatedly pulled the trigger on trades this season that has only made the team older and shallower in talent. Since the MLS season is a lost cause for the Galaxy, a victory in last night's Superliga tourney final would represent an opportunity for redemption on many levels.
Too bad someone forgot to tell the Pachuca squad about the script, as they beat the Galaxy in penalty kicks to take the event - and the $1 million first prize. While woefully outplayed, the Galaxy actually had a shot to win. The only Pachuca goal was an own goal by Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas blew a clearing shot and put it into his own net. Later in the game, Donovan had a relatively easy free kick that was turned away by the Pachuca netkeeper. It would have been an easy goal for Beckham - had he only been available. Still playing hurt, but refusing to use injury as excuse, Becks went down hard late in the first half and was forced to leave the pitch with what was later diagnosed as a sprained knee. The actual examination will come later today, but it's expected that the knee will take 6 to 8 weeks for full recovery. That'll give the ankle a chance to heal, but seriously derails the plans of the English National team, for whom Beckham was scheduled to make a pair of appearances in the next few weeks.
Certainly injuries can't be predicted, but I suspect that the handling of both Beckham and the team's roster will in the end cost Lalas - and perhaps coach Frank Yallop - their jobs once this season ends.
With all the attention paid to the pet parenting skills of one-time Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick, it's easy to forget he's not the first big quarterback to flame out. Sure, there've been lots of college guys who simply couldn't hack it at the pro level, and Ryan Leaf, who had the physical skills but not the brain. But to find someone who pulled the pin on their own career as completely as Vick you have to go back to a name that we in SoCal remember well - and aren't allowed to forget: Todd Marinovich.
If ever a child was bred to the position, it was Marinovich. His father, an assistant coach at USC, famously forbad his child from watching cartoons or eating junk food, all to better his potential as a player. At Southern Cal, he showed the promise of his father's efforts, engineering miraculous comebacks and game winning drives. When the Los Angeles Raiders selected him with their first round pick in 1991, you thought Todd would shine on the next level stage.
Or not.
To say that Marinovich "rebelled" once he was out of his father's influence would be a gross understatement. With the Raiders, he discovered all the vices he'd been shielded from and was soon fat and stoned - earning the title "Marijuanovich" from the local media. Soon enough, he's flamed out of the NFL and CFL, and the inevitable police problems began. The last time we saw Todd it was during a seemingly successful career resurgence as the leader of the LA Avengers of the Arena Football League - only to see him led off the field in handcuffs for yet another drug bust.
Marinovich, now 38, spends his time skateboarding in Newport Beach these days, and that's where he had his latest scrape with the law. Told by police he couldn't skate at the Newport Pier boardwalk around 1AM Sunday morning, Marinovich ran and was chased down by the officers, who found methamphetamine, a steel spoon and a needle in his pocket. He's back in jail, waiting for someone to post his bail.
Vick has the chance to redeem himself, personally if not professionally, and would be well-advised to look to examples like this for guidance on how not to do it.
Tell Me They Didn't Need A Calculator To Figure This Out ...
Remember when you were back in school ... remember the geekiest kid in the class? I'm betting he grew up to be a mathematician. It's just the nature of things ... some boys look at figures, and some boys looks at figures, if you know what I mean.
A group of those grown-up geeks apparently tried to mix the two kinds of figures to come up with the perfect female dimensions. The Cambridge mathematicians determined that if the ratio of a woman's waist to her hips is 0.7, she has the perfect figure to get that alluring slink when she walks.
This ratio provides the body with the right torso strength to produce a more angular swing and bounce to the hips during the walking motion.
Therefore, a woman with a 25in waist and 36in hips would have just the right proportions to carry off a sexy swagger as she walks.
And just who has that perfectly proportioned body? None other than actress Jessica Alba, our reigning Weekend Eye Candy. If you were with us on Friday, you saw her from the front; here she is from the rear, checking out her, um ... "assets" ... :-)
Frankly, I flunked calculus, but I could've told you she was perfect ...
Mike Vick stood up in front of the judge yesterday, and later the media, and began the long process of rehabilitation from the stupidity of his dogfighting activities. The discussion will go on as to whether he is truly sorry, truly sincere, or even truly understands the depth of the damage to his career, and that is as it should be. It'll be a long road back for Vick.
In the meantime, amongst all the serious hand-wringing, I found this cartoon that accurately conveys the message without having to beat you over the head with it. Makes you miss the great cartoonists of the past ...
Good news - I'm fishing next weekend, so no Sports Rant. Bad news - you get one today ...
- There was a professional sports team from Los Angeles in a league championship match this weekend. What - you didn't know? Probably because it was Major League ... Lacrosse. Lacrosse? They have a professional league for lacrosse? Yep - and the Philadelphia Barrage defeated our hometown Los Angeles Riptide to take the title. In front of an "announced crowd" of 5,000, too. Go figure.
- Is there anything as dangerous as a sports superstar in the wake of a comeuppance? Last week, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh nipped the world's #1 beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, marking only the second time all season someone other than May/Walsh got to hoist the big check. Big mistake. Misty nearly missed her opening match when her plane back from visiting with husband Matt Treanor of the Marlins was late, but she didn't let that - or anything else - stand in her way. They marched through the draw without so much as a ripple of trouble, and were rewarded with a rematch of last week's final. The results were much different this time, though, as May/Walsh delivered a 21-18, 21-16 beatdown to EY and Nicole. Any thoughts that the miles might be getting to the defending Olympic champions were left in the Brooklyn sands ...
- With all the controversy that surrounds Major League Baseball these days, it's easy to forget that it was once the American Pastime - that game we all played as kids. We were delivered a reminder this weekend with the finals of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Already a classic with extra inning games and clutch hitting, it became one for the ages in the finals as two undefeated teams - Warner Robbins, GA and Tokyo, Japan - met in the final game. Keeping with the tone of the series, this one went to extra innings, and in epic fashion was won by the US team when 12-yr old Dalton Carriker hit an opposite field walk-off home run.
"I felt like I was flying, like Peter Pan," Carriker said. "I didn't know what I was doing."
Remember that the next time you watch those spoiled bastards in the MLB ...
Here at the MB, we take a lot of pride in the entries you read here. They're intelligent, well-thought-out nuggets designed to make you think or make you smile, or at least make your day better for having stopped by. But we know that's not why most folks come here. Nope, they're here for the Eye Candy.
You have no idea what pressure that brings to us. We must get the right girl for the right situation week after week after week. Exhausting casting sessions where one hot chick after another competes for the right to declare herself "Miss Eye Candy". It's brutal.
But some weeks, it's easy. Take this week, for example. I could tell you that Jessica Alba (making a rare return appearance) represented the end of summer, or had a new movie coming out, or somehow tied in with some kind of theme. But the fact of the matter is that a couple of folks said, "Hey - how 'bout some Jessica Alba?"
Between my jobs as a software developer and a webmaster, I spend a lot of time on the internet. Even though the World Wide Web has become a mainstream necessity over the past decade, it's still wild and wooly in places. So, after a few years as a dedicated web surfer, one tends to think they've seen it all, especially when it comes to the tricks advertisers use to lure you to their website.
Or not. This morning, while checking out a favorite blog site, I saw the image shown as right, which was accompanied by the statement, "Technology never felt so good."
OK, you got me.
Turns out its an advertisement for something called a Toto Washlet, a bolt-on bidet you can add to your existing toilet for that "fresh all over" feeling. Now being neither cultured nor French, I have no experience with bidets and, frankly, a stream of water unexpectedly hitting my where I sit is liable to just make me jump. But the site makes an eloquent case for their product as an essential part of normal daily hygene - not to mention it's potential as a marital aid for a legion of lonely housewifes out there.
If you, too, bite on the advertisement, be sure to tell them I sent you. And if you see the girl with the tribal tat shown above, be sure to tell her, "Stan says 'Nice Ass'!" ... :-)
No, this isn't Eye Candy for our lady anglers (although, if there are any lady anglers who read this blog, feel free to chime in!) ... :-)
Russian leaders haven't traditionally been seen as athletic or outdoorsy types. Usually, they're more bear-like - huddled in the snow in a thick fur coat, looking like they're grumbling about one thing or another. They'd take their shoe off and bang it over your head, but it's too damned cold.
Vladimir Putin, the current Russian President, has never fit that mold. The first leader of that country after the fall of the Soviet Union, he's more of a progressive thinker than his predecessors. Yet he's not afraid to pull out the big guns and squash the occasional democratic uprising when necessary.
But we're not here to talk about his tradition leadership skills. No, today we're talking about his mastery of a traditional Western leadership trait - the photo op. Here we see Putin fishing in Siberia - Siberia! - with his shirt off, enjoying a little Russian sunshine. Somehow, I just don't see Bush or Cheney pulling this one off.
As you might imagine, Putin is taking a lot of flack from pretty much all sides over the pictures, which were taken during a visit by Monaco's Prince Albert. I say the press should lay off the guy. If Hillary Clinton can show her cleavage for votes, then why can't Putin take off his shirt. And the spinning outfit is probably worth it's weight in gold. After all - how can you bomb a guy who fishes?
A friend of mine is going through a tough patch in her marriage ... hell, who am I kidding - it's Armageddon. Both sides have pulled out the flamethrowers and are hosing down anyone and anything. It's pretty ugly. Anyway, she and I have been talking a lot lately about relationships and what makes one work versus fail, and all the little nuances. As a single guy, it all seems pretty straightforward to me, but I say the same thing when I watch a guy race a car around a track at 200-mph - it looks easy right up to the point when you put it into the wall.
With all of this in mind, I thought it appropriate to reprint an joke from LARadio.com this morning:
HOW TO MAKE A WOMAN HAPPY
It's not difficult to make a woman happy. A man only needs to be:
1. a friend 2. a companion 3. a lover 4. a brother 5. a father 6. a master 7. a chef 8. an electrician 9. a carpenter 10. a plumber 11. a mechanic 12. a decorator 13. a stylist 14. a sexologist 15. a gynecologist 16. a psychologist 17. a pest exterminator 18. a psychiatrist 19. a healer 20. a good listener 21. an organizer 22. a good father 23. very clean 24. sympathetic 25. athletic 26. warm 27. attentive 28. gallant 29. intelligent 30. funny 31. creative 32. tender 33. strong 34. understanding 35. tolerant 36. prudent 37. ambitious 38. capable 39. courageous 40. determined 41. true 42. dependable 43. passionate 44. compassionate
WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:
45. give her compliments regularly 46. love shopping 47. be honest 48. be very rich 49. not stress her out 50 not look at other girls
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:
51. give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself 52. give her lots of time, especially time for herself 53. give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes
AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:
54. Never to forget: * birthdays * anniversaries * arrangements she makes
HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY
1. Show up naked 2. Bring food
Wish my friend could have seen this about a year ago ...
I'm looking forward to the day when my marlin fishing will interfere with my ability to watch sports on the weekends ...
- You knew it couldn't last, and this weekend another streak came to an end as the seemingly unbeatable tandem of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh lost in the finals of the AVP Boston Open to Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh. May/Walsh had a string of victories in event finals that ran back to July of '06 - a total of 21 AVP and FIVB tourneys. Truth be told, the streak should have ended last weekend in Manhattan Beach, where a clearly road weary May/Walsh only got past EY/Branagh when Youngs suffered a leg cramp. With this being the qualifying year for the '08 Bejing Olympics, leading teams are forced to make the trip overseas to FIVB events to earn points towards their Olympic berth. I can see where that could leave you seriously jet-lagged, but hey - all the top teams are facing the same pressure. I think the real story is the emergence of Nicole Branagh as a force on the AVP Tour. EY has been looking for a partner who could help her go toe-to-toe with the best in the world, and she may just have found her ...
- The Becksmania Road Show, otherwise known as the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS, rolled into the Big Apple this weekend and the fans weren't disappointed. Following his 63-minute performance last week in the SuperLiga semi-finals, David Beckham started for the Galaxy and played the whole game and came away with a pair of assists. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Galaxy was bested by Red Bull New York in what many soccer fans are calling an instant classic. It was exactly what MLS execs must have prayed for when the Galaxy laid out the dough to bring Becks across the pond - a back-and-forth high-scoring match that showed the best of what the MLS has to offer. And if you think Beckham doesn't have an effect on the bottom line, consider this - the match pulled in 66,237 fans, compared to the team average of 11,573, and there were literally thousands of Beckham jerseys in the crowd. Yep, they're laughing all the way to the bank ...
- In all likelihood, today is the day we find out just how badly Uncle Sam is going to give it to Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. All of the codefendants in his dogfighting ring case have rolled over and taken deals, leaving Vick to twist in the breeze. He was supposed to tell the government if he would accept his own deal by last Friday, but the decision is apparently still pending. Sources say the offer on the table includes at least 18 months of jail time, and if he turns it down they're going to add racketeering charges on top of the existing ones. The best suggestion I've seen so far is the one from Gene Wojociechowski (whew!) of ESPN.com - make Vick spend his days cleaning out the kennels at the Atlanta SPCA - and write'em a big fat check, while he's at it ... :-)
Not that I have any practical experience, mind you, but I'm going to bet that it's tough being a hot chick actress in La-La Land. Papparazzi to the left, autograph hounds to the right, and all you want to do is take out the trash - what's a girl to do?
Well, in the case of actress Jessica Biel, you apparently take it out yourself. No manservant to carry her garbage - no sir! Fresh from the shower and without a stitch of makeup, she runs the media gauntlet to the trash barrel just like the rest of us - well, like the rest of us would if we looked good in pink and owned fuzzy zebra slippers.
On a related topic, Biels is said to have agreed to show off a few of her, ah, "assets" in her next film. According to the gossip pros at the NY Post's Page Six, Jessica's contract for the upcoming film "Powder Blue" - in which she plays the classic "stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold" - "explicitly details the bare minimum fans will see - including shots of her breasts and butt." Works for me!
For the past eleven days, we've been watching the unfolding tragedy at the Crandall Mine in Utah. On August 6, six miners were trapped in a cave-in during what the owners refer to as a "seismic event" at the coal mine. Despite significant effort to reach the men - trapped over 1,000 feet underground - there is no sign that they survived the initial collapse or are still alive now.
Last night, the story took another tragic turn as a second collapse killed three miners working to rescue the initial group. All week long, we'd heard about over a dozen miners who had requested reassignment off the rescue duty; at the time they were painted as "unloyal" or "weak" - suddenly, their concerns don't seem so unwarranted.
Tragedy is nothing new to the mining industry, or to America. Years ago, if a mine shaft collapsed and was too unsteady to be reopened, you sealed it off - dead miners and all. But somewhere along the way, we reached a point where that's just not an acceptable outcome - we need bodies, dammit. Widows need closure, and lawyers need clients, and the news media isn't going to go away until they've squeezed the last drops of life out of a story. So men go back into the ground - men who know far better than any of us the dangers - and keep digging for their fellow miners, knowing that with each second, the chance of the trapped miners being found alive decreases while their own chance of being killed grows. Last night, it was time to pay the toll.
Let me take a moment to heap an extra helping of disgust on the owners of this mine. The method of mining they were practicing is called "retreat mining", and is particularly dangerous. As you hog out the coal from a vein far underground, you leave pillars of coal in place to support the tunnels. But, since you want to squeeze every penny out of the ground, in the end you mine the pillars themselves - "retreating" out of the area as you do, since you leave it dangerously unstable and subject to collapse. These "seismic events" the owners keep referring to are nothing more than the underground tunnels collapsing explosively due to the weight of the ground above.
Now, it's the right of the owners to do what they want within the laws that govern their industry, but at least be man enough to admit the facts. The owners claim they weren't pulling down the pillars, and that the activity is actually seismic in nature. Look, I may not work for Caltech, but I understand where the earthquake faults are in the world - and you ain't got one, pal. The only thing worse than a greedy pig is a lying greedy pig.
The right thing to do now is to bring in a priest, say a prayer, and seal off the mine. No one should have to risk their lives just to retrieve the crushed remains of miners who died long ago. But will the owners of the mine do that? I doubt it. They'll wave the banner of brotherhood, proclaiming how no miner will be left behind. They'll bang the drum of patriotism, reminding us that their coal helps decrease our need for foreign oil. And they'll send more men back into the ground to face their deaths, all in the name of money.
There was a time when, if you wanted an airliner, you came to America. Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed all built successful airliners that flew to every corner of the world.
It wasn't long, however, before the Europeans realized it made a lot more sense to build their own planes than to by them from the USA. With generous help from the local governments, several European aerospace companies merged to form Airbus. You gotta tip your had to them - they've been very successful, and even topped Boeing for a couple of years. They've gotten a lot of press recently about their new megaliner, the A380, and it seemed that Airbus was poised to rule the market.
Not so fast, fellas. The A380 - admittedly, an impressive technological achievement - has had a lot of birthing pains, leading to the demise of several successive Airbus CEOs. Worse still - at least for Airbus - was the decision by Boeing to not try and copy the A380 model and instead produce the 787 Dreamliner. The 787, a highly-efficient, long range airliner, has booked more orders faster than any plane in history, and the July 7th rollout (7/8/07 - get it?) was quite a celebration.
Airbus has had their successes, but there's one thing that Boeing has that they can't match - history. Much like old money, Boeing is proud of its history but is hesitant to flaunt it. When they do decide to remind folks, though, they do it with style.
As part of the 787 rollout weekend, there was a dinner for representatives of the airlines who have placed orders for the Dreamliner. The event was held in a tent on the grounds of the Museum of Flight, which is adjacent to Boeing Field, where final assembly and customer delivery is performed.
Shortly after 7pm, as dinner was served, an airliner appeared on final approach to Boeing Field. As it landed and taxied towards the museum, the guests saw that it was a historic Boeing 707 - the first intercontinental jetliner. It rolled to a stop on a taxiway next to the museum at exactly 7:07pm.
Ten minutes later, another jetliner appeared - a Boeing 717. This jet started life as the Douglas DC-9, and it rolled into place behind the 707, stopping at 7:17. Every ten minutes thereafter the process was repeated: a 727 tri-jet; a 737 - the most popular airliner in history; a 747 jumbo; and, at 3 minutes before eight, a 757. The parade continued into the next hour with a 767 and finally a 777 landing and rolling into place to form the shot you see above. Without the need for a single executive to approach the podium, the message was sent: We're the Boeing Company, and we've been at this airliner thing for quite a while.
Sometimes it takes flowery speeches to impress people, and sometimes you don't need words at all ...
Los Angelenos - at least those who cared - got a chance to see their newest millionaire athlete do his thing last night at the Home Depot Center. David Beckham - the Great White Hope sent by the Europeans to save the Colonies from American Football - had been limited to token appearances in a pair of games since he arrived in America last month. But with an ankle still on the mend - less than 80%, according to Becks himself - Beckham made his first start for his new team, the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, in the semi-finals of the SuperLiga tourney. Their opponent, fellow MLS squad DC United, had defeated a clearly inferior Galaxy team 1-nil only a week earlier. But even in his short time in that game, Beckham showed flashes of the style and experience that led the Galaxy to shell out $25 million.
Not only did Beckham start the game, but he was also wearing the captain's armband - at the insistence of its previous owner, Landon Donovan. Donovan's classy move showed that he understood fully that armband or not, Beckham would be the focus of the team. And Becks didn't disappoint. When a DC United foul led to a Galaxy penalty kick from 26 yards, all Beckham could do was smile. This was right in his wheelhouse, and truly his bread and butter. It didn't matter that he hadn't so much as practiced such a set piece in nearly two months - everyone in the stadium knew what was coming. Facing a line of cringing United defenders, Beckham gracefully booted the ball over their heads and watched as the backspin made it bite the air and change direction. Even the DC United goalie simply stood and stared as the ball angled down and sliced into the lower left corner of the net - goal scored, and history made.
The shot was probably best described by Donovan, an experienced international player:
"It was something special," Donovan said. "We all watch on TV, and think, 'They [Beckham's free kicks] can't be that good.' I turned around and thought, 'Holy Jesus! You've got to be kidding me. Unbelievable.'"
Early in the second half, Donovan became a beneficiary of the foot of Beckham, as he received a forwarding pass in stride, setting him up to score on a breakaway. That goal set the final score at Galaxy 2, DC United 0.
One man does not a revolution make, but even hurt it was clear Beckham is head and shoulders above the talent and, more important, experience of those he will face in MLS. Anyone playing the Galaxy will have to change their style, since a foul in your own end will lead to a near-automatic goal.
It should be fun to watch ...
UPDATE: Somehow, you just knew it'd end up on YouTube ...
And the keeper never moved. Like I said ... fun ... :-)
Let's be clear - it's not Friday, and this damned well isn't Eye Candy ...
Kirstie Alley is a talented comedienne and a funny lady, but lately the joke seems to be on her. After blowing up (literally) her career with her weight gain, she managed to develop a positive spin on herself - first with the short-lived series "Fat Actress" and later with her Jenny Craig commercials. But there's clearly nothing funny about the Kirstie we see here - old, bitter and fat, but not funny. We'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt, however, so here are a couple of possible explanations for this photo:
- Someone just confused her for cross-dresser and fellow Scientologist John Travolta.
- You'd be pissed if you were pushed aside for that perky bitch Valerie Bertinelli.
- No, the Chinese food isn't from Jenny Craig, wiseass ...
- She's trying to tell us that, no matter how it looks, she's still eating for one.
Frankly, this shot is so scary I'm not sure that any explanation can fully justify it. All I know is if she comes to your door, just give her the contents of the fridge - it's not worth dying over ..
Let's cut right to the chase: Van Halen is one of the greatest rock and roll bands ever. Now when I say "Van Halen", that means one and only one lineup: Edward Van Halen on guitar, Alex Van Halen on drums, Michael Anthony on bass and the inimitable David Lee Roth and his assless pants out front. Sure, there have been different lineups over the years, and some of them (notably the "Van Hagar" version") produced some good music, but there's only one classic. All you have to do is listen to the first few bars of any song on their first album from 1976 if you need confirmation.
Political infighting, alcohol and ego always managed to both drive and divide the band, and in 1985 Roth got the boot, starting a virtual revolving door at the vocalist position. Over the years, Roth would make an appearance at some news conference with the band to announce a reunion of the classic lineup, but then he'd open his mouth and the rest of the band would remember why they kicked his ass to the curb in the first place.
So it was with some trepidation that I saw an item about a Van Halen reunion tour coming later this year. Nothing makes me cringe worse than over the hill bands trying to regain lost glory, either by asking geriatric members to try and play and sing like they did 30 years ago, or by replacing them with young studs that reduce the band to little more than a copy band.
In this case, you apparently get both. Roth has rejoined the fold and will sing, although he hasn't done anything worthy in at least 20 years - and let's not even talk about his stint trying to replace Howard Stern. Alex, now in his mid-sixties, will be back on the drum throne along with brother Eddie on guitar - and fresh out of rehab. Joining them on bass? Not Michael Anthony and his soaring harmonies. Nope, it's gonna be ... wait for it ... Eddie's 16-yr old son Wolfgang. Puleeze.
I have fond memories of VH, having played their first few albums to death during my college dorm days. I saw them twice in the late seventies - one at a festival and one in the "Fabulous Forum" - and it was spectacular. The thought of this tour makes my skin crawl ...
Here's your irony for you ... as I was writing this entry, VH's classis "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love" came up at random on my iPod Shuffle. One of the greatest songs in the history of rock and roll, I can only look at this a some kind of sign of divine intervention. Man, if that doesn't seal the deal ...
Celebrities are no different than any other group of highly motivated people - they want to look their best at the most high-profile moments in their lives. That's why there are so many personal trainers in Los Angeles, for example ...
Here we have a clear example of that principle at work - a ripped Kelly Ripa from a recent pictorial spread in Shape Magazine. The 37-yr-old mother of three obviously took a little time out from the normal schedule to make sure she is in the appropriate shape for "Shape". Looks like she also hit the bottle, too - the instant tan bottle ...
Look, I think we should respect anyone who works as hard as Kelly does. Not only does she have to sit next to Regis Philbin every morning while resisting what must be an overwhelming urge to slap him, for several years she was also juggling a second TV role - first on "All My Children" and later her own "Faith and Hope". And she's managed to do it all while keeping her marriage healthy - and out of the tabloids.
If nothing else, let's applaud her for the itty bitty bikini! Hear! Hear!
How nice is it to hear a story about baseball that doesn't involve either Barry Bonds or steroids? Long before either, baseball was the national pastime and had the ability to capture our imagination like no other sport (other than maybe fishing ... ). Here's one reason why ...
In 2000, Rick Ankiel was a 19-yr-old lefthanded flamethrower for the St. Louis Cardinals. He won 11 games in his first full season after being selected as he starter for the Opening Day game. All things looked bright for the young pitcher.
Then, it all fell apart.
Pitching is as much mental as it is physical, and somehow, Ankiel lost it mentally. He set a MLB record with 5 wild pitches in a single inning, and threw nine more during four innings in the 2000 Playoffs. He struggled the next year, and was sent to the minors. His troubles didn't stop there, and a combination of ineffective pitches and injuries caused by his attempts to compensate for his troubles led him to give up on pitching in 2005.
But not on baseball. Ankiel had always been a decent hitter - he hit .250 with two home runs during his rookie season - and he announced that he wanted to switch to the outfield. Such changes have happened before (most notably Babe Ruth), but are as uncommon as a perfect game. But Ankiel was determined to succeed.
After hitting .267 and leading the Pacific Coast League with 32 home runs, Rick got the call on Wednesday and was in the Cardinals starting lineup yesterday against the Padres. He received an ovation from the home crowd before his first at-bat - and promptly struck out. Worse yet, he struck out in his next two plate appearances, looking very much like - dare I say - a pitcher. But in the seventh inning, he drove a 2-1 pitch into the right-field bleachers for a three run home run, earning a second ovation and a curtain call.
"Unbelievable," Ankiel said. "You almost can't put that into words."
"Short of winning the World Series, it's the happiest I've seen our club," a misty-eyed manager Tony La Russa said. "I'm fighting my butt off to keep it together.
Rick Ankiel is back in the majors. How long remains to be seen - he's still far too agressive at the plate - but his presence at all speaks volumes to the desire and hard work he's put in. Too many players' egos would never let themselves consider changing positions or having to learn a new way of doing things. After all, they're stars - they shouldn't have to work for something. Instead, they turn to a needle or a bottle to find that extra edge that Ankiel found in the weight room and the batting cage.
There was a time when NASA could do no wrong. They were the ones with the can-do attitude and the right stuff. Even when they failed, we respected their efforts.
Those days are behind us now, and more often than not, the publicity NASA receives is bad. From astronauts driving cross-country to go Tonya Harding on a romantic rival to reports of astronauts drinking before flights, the stories haven't been kind to the space program. And of course, there were the twin tragedies of Columbia and Challenger.
On a cold January morning in 1986, a large crowd gathered to watch the launch of the space shuttle Challenger and the flight of Christa McAuliffe, the much-touted Teacher-In-Space. Among those watching was Barbara Morgan, a 34-year-old teacher from Idaho who had trained as McAuliffe's backup. Along with friends and family, she witness the horror of her friend's fiery death moments after liftoff.
Morgan returned to teaching, but never lost the dream she shared with McAuliffe. Twelve years later, when NASA offered her the opportunity to fly on the shuttle - not as just an observer but as a trained astronaut - she jumped at the chance. In the interim years, she has been training with her fellow astronauts in Houston and handling the various tasks they perform when awaiting a crew assignment.
Yesterday afternoon, Barbara Morgan finally achieve the goal first pursued by Christa McAuliffe when she was launched into orbit on the space shuttle Endeavour. Perhaps fitting, considering the failure of the first teacher mission, this launch was picture perfect, and as I write this Morgan is working with her crew in preparation of docking with the International Space Station. A fully trained mission specialist, Morgan will operation the shuttle's robot arm in support of ongoing space station construction. But that pales compared to her real reason for flying in space - the dream that she has pursued for two decades. Morgan will speak from space to students at an elementary school in her home state of Idaho, and if the mission is extended, will have additional opportunities to speak with schoolchildren.
Today's lesson: Dedication. Somewhere above, Christa McAuliffe must be proud.
The Barry Bonds Freak Show has finally dragged itself hacking and wheezing across the finish line. Last night, in the game against the Washington Nationals, Bonds drove a Mike Bacsik fastball deep into the center field bleachers for his 756th home run, eclipsing Hank Aaron as the all time home run leader. The record has been established ... now it's time for history to weigh in.
I, like most baseball fans, find myself very much conflicted at this point. There is no denying the magnitude of the feat, or the talent and achievement of the player. But the controversy that continues to swirl around Bonds - Commissioner Bud Selig opted to miss the moment in order to meet with investigator George Mitchell, whose prime duty is to bring down Bonds and his fellow cheaterss - can't help but taint the moment. The fact that Barry brought most of the controversy on himself does nothing to help. Even in the glory of the moment, when the eyes of the world were upon him, he couldn't bring himself to say he never cheated or he never took steroids. The best we got was "This record is not tainted at all. At all. Period." A pretty weak denial.
Bonds used products from BALCO, and worked out with their staff. He's allowed his trainer, Greg Anderson, to rot in prison for his loyalty while doing nothing to relieve his situation. The weight of evidence pointing to Bonds persistent use of illegal steroids is so great, and yet he refuses to even acknowledge the possibility. With every silent moment, he chips away at his own ego-driven legacy.
Time will tell how we view this achievement. I'm certain we'll never view Bond's final home run tally the way we did Aaron's 755 or the Babe's 714, much as we don't see Barry's single-season record of 73 the way we do Roger Maris' 61. Again, this is the price Bonds pays for his decisions.
For now, Barry will stumble his way through the end of the season, adding maybe another half-dozen dingers to the record. The Giants have all but said they'd release him at the end of the year, opting instead to go with youth. It's unlikely a National League team will pick him up, as his fielding skills have significantly eroded. Perhaps Bonds will latch on with an American League squad and squeeze out the last few drops of glory much as Sammy Sosa has this year with the Rangers.
The deed is done and now the spotlight will move on. With luck, this will be the last time we'll have to witness Bonds and his surly attitude until the inevitable Hall of Fame speech five or six years from now. I for one won't be watching, though ...
If you're a fan like me, then you'll appreciate this bit of irony associated with last night. Mike Bacsik of the Nats was the victim of Bonds' 756th home run, and will be remembered the way we remember Al Downing of the Dodgers for giving up Aaron's 715th. But back in 1976, as the Hammer was winding down his career, several pitchers had to face him as he sat on 755 home runs - his eventual total. One of those pitchers was Mike Bacsik - father of last night's victim. Had Aaron gotten the right pitch, then the 756th home run for both Aaron and Bonds would have come off of Mike Bacsik. Man, you gotta love baseball!
Usually, people are asking questions about fishing techniques or, now that the season has started, perphaps they'll shyly ask if we have any info on where the fish are ... info that we haven't yet shared with the site. We get a lot of emails about issues with the site itself - questions about features, or problems with passwords and such. Getting email about the site is nothing new.
It would appear, though, that we've set a new record for the number of separate emails generated over a particular part of the site. But it's not fishing information or password resets that these folks are looking for. No, they all have the same question in mind:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume the contents of that posting are why we set a new one-day access record here at the MB last Friday ...
Hate to disappoint you, fellas - I have no idea she it. Not only that, but I don't even recall where I dredged up the picture, so I don't even have a clue to follow in the hopes of tracking her down. Of course, the readership of SCMO is a worldly bunch, so perhaps one of you recognize her. Maybe you saw her down at the end of the bar late one evening, or wandering down the aisle at the supermarket ... or even strolling down the beach. If you have an idea, please - let me know!
No, those of you who have only seen her in your dreams don't count ...
Since I'm stuck on the beach, I'm pretty desperate for anything to keep me from listening to all the fish being caught on Ch 72 ...
- We all like people who are confidant, and in athletics there no shortage of them. Sometimes, though, you should really make sure you can back up what you're saying. Otherwise, you look like the idiot poking the bear with a stick looking for a reaction - or, in case of Rory Sabbatini, poking a Tiger. Already famous for getting beat down after his comment about how Tiger Woods "looks beatable", Sabbatini found himself at -4 and 1 stroke ahead of his nearest competitor going into the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. Unfortunately, that competitor he'd be paired with for the final round was none other than Eldrick himself. Never one to back down or take a common sense break, Sabbatini once again shot off his mouth. And Woods, never one to miss an opportunity to deal out punishment, tore off Sabbatini's head and shoved it down his neck. Woods went from one-down to one-up on the first hole, and had built an eight-stroke lead by the turn, ending up with a 65. Sabbatini, meanwhile, cursed and shanked his way to a pedestrian 74 that left him in Tiger's dust. Just to top it off, Sabbatini lost it at a fan that asked him at the turn, "So, does Tiger still look beatable now?" This weekend is the final major of the season, the PGA Championship, and remember - Tiger hasn't won a major this year. Betting against him? Don't ... just don't.
- I've seen a lot of stupid things done in NASCAR, but Robby Gordon may have topped them all with his performance Saturday night in the Busch Series race in Montreal. His antics caught the attention of NASCAR officials, as well, who suspended him for the Sunday Cup race at Pocono - only the second time in series history that's happened. Gordon failed to yield to a black flag after disagreeing with a scorer's decision, then deliberately spun out the race leader, and topped it all off by doing burnouts alongside eventual winner Kevin Harvick, because Gordon believed the black flag to be unjust and that he was, therefore, the winner. News flash, genius - this isn't the court of law. You don't get to appeal here - you do it NASCAR's way, or you hit the highway. The irony is that he was probably right about the black flag - the officials did screw the pooch. But it doesn't matter - when you get shown a flag in motor sports, whether a caution, a "move over" or a black flag, you obey - period. Far too much is at risk at those speeds to let your ego get in the way.
- We got a good look at just how much is really at risk during the IndyCar race as Dario Franchitti and his racer went airborne like a leaf in a hurricane. In one of the scariest moments in recent memory, Franchitti and Wheldon were dicing for the lead when they touched wheels - a disasterous thing for open-wheel racers. Wheldon simply spun out, but it was a lot worse for Dario as he got sideways and the 200-mph airstream got under his car and lifted it skyward. He did a couple of barrel rolls and came down just in time to get submarined by Scott Dixon and A J Foyt IV and send flying again. Just how wild was it? Foyt had tiremarks on his helmet ... yikes! Even more amazing was the fact that having landed upside-down, Franchitti was nothing more than a little sore.
- So, the Pumpkin-Headed Freak finally did it, driving a Clay Hensley pitch into the stands at Petco Park in San Diego Saturday night. That gave him 755 home runs, tying Hank Aaron for the all-time record. This achievement is just dripping with irony. Bonds remained in the game after hitting the blast in the second inning, risking the chance that the only fans who will ever love him - the loonies in San Francisco - would be denied seeing him tie the record. Hensley had no intention of that happening, walking him every time he saw him thereafter. Of course, Hensley is no stranger to controversy - as a Giant minor leaguer, he was suspended in 2005 for violating MLB's minor league ... wait for it ... steroid policy! I wonder if he and Bonds ever passed in the hallway at BALCO? Of course, the most uncomfortable person in the house was Commissioner Bud Selig, who stood grudgingly with his hands in his pockets as the Padre fans gave Bonds a respectful ovation that was clearly marked with boos. Selig gets a lot of grief for his handling of Bonds, but fans should be grateful he's not the NFL's Roger Goodell or NBA's David Stern - either one of them would have sacked Bonds years ago.
I grew up with baseball and football, so I'm probably a bit too old to fully appreciate action sports. I'm one of those guys who cringes when I hear of skateboard events being considered for the Olympics. But there's no question that the events can be entertaining.
If you were watching the opening few minutes of ESPN's X-Games coverage last night, you saw Jake Brown survive a wipeout he had no right to survive, much less walk away from. Rest assured that I'd never share this footage if the outcome had been bad, but believe me - a minute into the clip, you'll think "Man - I just saw someone die." Be sure to watch the clip all the way through for the replays - see if you can figure out where his shoes go.
You can question the sports or the athleticism - or the sanity - but never question the courage ...
Note: I picked the topic of "Equipment Failure" for this week's Eye Candy well in advance of Wednesday's tragic example in Minneapolis. Even I'm not that much of an asshole. However, rather than cancel the entry, I will instead dedicate it to all of those hard working rescue workers, who right about now could really use a little distraction ...
They say a craftsman never blames his tools, and yet we often see people try to do just that. It's no different in fishing. Every day here at the SCMO Home Office, we get reports of people fighting a big fish only to have their pole snap or their reel fail - most often with catastrophic results.
Now, I could lecture you about reel maintenance or how to determine if a pole has been compromised, but I'd get about two sentences into that topic before you nodded off - and I couldn't blame you. Not exactly the most riveting topic. So instead, let's put it into terms we can all understand - and will remember.
Check out our Eye Candy friend here. She's pretty hot, isn't she. She did her time working out to get that bikini body in time for summer, and she's picked out just the right suit to insure a memorable day at the beach. Unfortunately, just when the paparazzi arrive to capture the moment - oh, no ... equipment failure and a nipple makes a run for it! It's a memorable photo, all right - for all the wrong reasons!
The next time you're getting ready to set out in search of that once-in-a-lifetime billfish, remember our friend and her escaping nipple. You want your trip to be memorable for the achievement, not the failure, so take the time to make sure your equipment is prepared and up to the challenge.
Another public service message from your friends at SCMO ...
All of us are witnessing with amazement and shock the recovery efforts currently underway at the site of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. The death toll is currently 4, but will go much higher as the cars still trapped under the tons of debris are pulled out of the water of the Mississippi. With all the devastation it could have been much, much worse, as the number of cars on the bridge at the time of the collapse was relatively small.
We as a society are quick to spend money for new things, but not nearly so interested in maintaining what we already have. As we saw in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, infrastructure requires ongoing investment if you expect it to be there when you need it. It doesn't matter if it's levees and dams, or bridges and roadways - if you don't spend the money required to maintain your property, it will fail.
The press will hammer the politicians for not allocating enough money to insure the safety of the bridge in question, and the pols will promptly show the examples of bond measures that would have provided the funds - had they been approved by the public. It's no different that the roof over your house. It's not enough to pay to have one installed - you need to inspect, repair and, when necessary, replace it. Otherwise, you get rain in your face. In this case, a questionable bridge remained unrepaired, and people died. As was the case in LA after the Northridge quake, when there was a big push to retrofit highway bridges after several collapsed, there will be a call to upgrade the hundreds of thousands of bridges that span America. Remember this day when the ballot comes out next time asking for money.
On a personal note, I actually drove over the bridge in question last spring. I was attending a week of software training at our supplier's facility in Eagan, a suburb just south of Minneapolis. It was February, and colder than a welldigger's ass, which kept the sightseeing to a minimum. On the last day in town, though, I decided to take a driving tour of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I mapped out a tour up I-35W that went through downtown Minneapolis, past the Metrodome, and crossed the Mississippi using this very bridge. The bridge itself wasn't memorable, but I can recall the crossing for two reasons - it was the first time I'd ever seen the Mississippi River frozen over, and there was a shipping lock just to the left of the bridge, something I'd never seen before (ironically, I just saw another set of locks last week in Seattle). I'd love to tell you there was something strange about the bridge, but there wasn't - just another of the hundreds of freeway spans I've driven in my life. Only this one decided to fail yesterday. Makes you wonder - and worry - about the rest ...
SoCal isn't famous for acknowledging it's past. Normally, we're too busy bulldozing history to take the time to celebrate it.
One key element of SoCal history that is quickly disappearing is the proud tradition as a center of excellence for the aerospace industry. Going back to the days before World War II, many of the leading technical advances in aviation and aerospace were developed in the Los Angeles Basin. In fact, as I write this, I'm sitting in the Brick Pile, a building that was once the headquarters of North American Aviation. Today, it's just another nondescript building occupied by Boeing, but it was here that the P-51 Mustang fighter was designed.
With the consolidation that has hit the military industrial complex in the last few decades, many once-proud names have gone by the wayside - names like TRW, Hughes, McDonnell-Douglas, Rockwell, Vought and many more have been lost as they were absorbed Borg-like by the remaining players in the game. Sometimes, you wish someone would stop long enough to take a look back.
Fortunately, someone is. This Friday and Saturday, USC and the Huntington Library will be cosponsoring Rocket Science and the Region: The Rise, Fall, and Rise of the Aerospace Industry in Southern California. This conference will look back at the impact of aerospace on the growth of the SoCal economy and culture, as well as ways to preserve its history. There's a large list of participants - among the notable are Thomas Jones, former CEO of Northrop during the glory days; William Graham, former NASA Administrator, and Major General Curtis Bedke, commanding officer of the Air Force Flight Test Center Commander at Edwards Air Force Base, where most of the wonderous developments were first tested.
)
This hasn't been a good season for the LA Galaxy. Sure, they're getting a lot of ink for the acquisition of David Beckham - heck, most of the world had never heard of the Galaxy this time last year. But this is a squad with serious problems. Their one-time marquee star, Cobi Jones, rides into retirement at the end of the season and his natural replacement, Landon Donovan, seems quite fragile. Becks himself hasn't played at 100% yet, and you have to figure that will only get worse as he gets older. GM Alexi Lalas has repeatedly pulled the trigger on trades this season that has only made the team older and shallower in talent. Since the MLS season is a lost cause for the Galaxy, a victory in last night's Superliga tourney final would represent an opportunity for redemption on many levels.)
)
Between my jobs as a software developer and a webmaster, I spend a lot of time on the internet. Even though the World Wide Web has become a mainstream necessity over the past decade, it's still wild and wooly in places. So, after a few years as a dedicated web surfer, one tends to think they've seen it all, especially when it comes to the tricks advertisers use to lure you to their website.)
)
)
So that's what the fuss is all about.)
)
). Here's one reason why ...)
)
