Sorry, the No Index, No Follow tags are (you'll need to add the opening and closing html operators): META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"/ META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"/ Salut! […]
OK Damian, I have it working now. I also use Go Daddy, and Justin's "all in one" code also caused my server to crash, so it looks like a Go Daddy thing. I love Go Daddy though, the service is great, and this is no reason to switch (believe it or not, I also host over at Network Solutions) As for the fix: First, I did not put the rewrite code i […]
Man, thanks for the great review and info. I love that it could be argued that this movie is targeted at social workers and teachers who practice LaME. On a side-note: I hope to have that indexing turned around in 36 hours at the latest. Lots going on tomorrow. Moving furniture for wood floor dude Grandma hired for us (Christmas gift). […]
Thanks..I always wanted that comment follow-up plugin but always forget about it when I'm online. You'd think WordPress would have put that in their default code by now...How are you checking to see if it really redirects? Check Justin again and try to follow his steps. I think you may have got in too deep with the move and created a unique situati […]
Sports gambling is alive and well with various online sport betting sites. If you think about it- is sport betting any different than stock market trading? My friend CCB3 made thousands of dollars with online sports gambling, and if you know what you are doing- and are responsible- you can make money online if you use the best sport betting system.
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The SportsBettingChamp youtube videos have shown the testimonials, so you can be the judge. The bottom line is that John Morrison is giving you the tools and the picks and it’s up to you. If you don’t a lot of money, you should start by setting aside a certain amount that you can put at risk. Remember to act responsibly. You certainly don’t want to get in financial trouble. because that can really curve your focus from sports betting in a hurry. By having all your steps under control, you can enjoy your online sports betting and have fun in the process.
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My mom came across MLB pitcher’s Paul Byrd (my friend Gary’s first cousin) autobiography Free Byrd: The Power of a Liberated Life for $3 as at used book store, so I finally got my hands on this book. After 3 hours, I had finished it, and here are my thoughts:
This is not a baseball book- it’s a white non-denominational Christian book.
I think this book would go over well for men struggling with masturbation or guys in prison that want to be forgiven for their sins.
Don’t get my tone wrong, I admire Paul’s struggles and I think it’s pretty cool for a kid from Kentucky to go on a spiritual journey and be very introspective. It’s just that I wasn’t really sold on Jesus from reading this book. Some of my best friends believe in Jesus, and my wife and her family see and experience Jesus’s power and love every second of the day, but there wasn’t anything in Paul Byrd’s book to open my heart to Christianity. That being said, Paul does have a good idea about the human condition, and I didn’t have major disagreement with his views of the Bible.
Paul is a great symbol for New Age non-denominational Christians, although he’s probably a bit too open-minded and forgiving to gays to be accepted in some Bible study groups that I know.
Paul’s spiritual journey is not a rags to riches story or a criminal recanting his sins story, although he kinds makes it sound like one. Paul is a self-proclaimed Jesus freak, so anything he does is short of perfection, and he is a huge self-critic. For him, his struggles with masturbation or “negative” emotions are major events in his life, and he has anguished over these things for years. In the grand scheme of things…his “traumatic” life of dealing with family drama or HGH is nothing compared to 99% of the world’s population. I hope he realizes how blessed he is and how porn addiction or HGH is not something that deserves all of the punishment and angst he gives himself.
So how did Paul conquer the sin of masturbation while watching porn? He told his loving wife, who immediately accepted his pornography addiction, and forgave him, with no with punishment. In fact, they conceived their first child that night. Every Christian or spiritual husband always wishes they could confess their sins and be accepted by their wives..most don’t do it, and I don’t blame them. Paul did, and it turned out for the best. Although Paul still slips, he doesn’t spend time thinking about how to eliminate sin with a scorecard; he just focuses on serving Jesus and not the sin.
Paul has some great scenes about the role of a father in a boy’s life, and some great parenting stories. He even talks about how our relationship with God is based upon our relationship with our “earthly fathers”.
Paul Byrd is self-aware of the Christian subculture, and was pretty active in it, so he knows how annoying it is, like: handing out Christian tracts to people who smoke, quoting verse to people who didn’t want to hear it, blasting Christian rock, and debating passages with atheists. He says he doesn’t do that anymore…in fact, Paul admits he’s a work in progress, like all of us. So in his view, we can’t judge him as a phoney or label him (only Jesus can do that).
I think other famous post-modern fundamentalist American Christians in baseball like John Smoltz, Curt Schilling, John Wettleland, Chad Curtis, and Tom Glavine are the same way: they have a very personal love for Jesus and don’t like strict traditions or parts of Old Christianity that take way their competitive spirit or masculinity- “real men love Jesus”. That being said, Byrd improperly labeled Buddhists as having no emotions and being pacifists. In truth, Buddhists goes through the same journey Byrd goes through- we are all human and deal with emotions and we all slip. Mariano Rivera, a Christian, has always handled himself in a professional and respective way, and has kept his emotions in check, more so than the self-proclaimed Jesus freaks I mentioned a few sentences ago.
In the end, Paul Byrd’s book should reinforce your relationship with Jesus if you are a Christian. You may even feel “hip” loving Jesus. Baseball fans can pass on this book if they are looking for any history of inside info about his baseball career. Those of you who want to know more the details of Paul family or life can pass as well- he doesn’t go into that, besides some general comments.
I watched a documentary with my wife yesterday called Holy Land Hardball. It was about the struggle by Boston businessman Larry Baras to found a professional baseball league in Israel in June 2007. Baras hired former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette and other advisers to scout players and hold try-outs around the world to put together a 6-team league to play 45 games.
Baras is a dreamer, to say the least, as the whole experience would was not a financial success due to the cultural differences between American Jews and Israeli Jews. The Israeli MEDIA killed the dream from the start…if you think New York Daily News reporters are tough, head over to Tel Aviv and be prepared to get jacked up.
Anyway, the documentary was very engrossing because the focus was on the players as well- washed up college students, released Dominican players, a 41-year old Bronx fanatic, and other players who made try-outs and left America to play in Israel for $2,000. The conditions they lived in were a shock, too.
Israeli custom agents were way too strict, and held all of the uniforms, balls, and equipment until the last moment (with a $30,000 fee). A Muslim player was detained. Getting 3 stadiums was tough. The whole project was organized chaos. However, the players enjoyed going on tour in Old Jerusalem, and bonded with each other.
Unfortunately, the Israeli fans had no interest, and no season was held in 2008 or 2009.
Although this probably should be posted in the DailySkew baseball news blog, I decided to post here because the book is mainly about addictions and society.
For those of you who don’t know, Doc Gooden was the toast of the town in New York in the 1980’s, as their ace pitcher, and broke all sorts of records for the New York Mets. He was a teenage sensation as a prospect, and won a world championship in 1986 and later in 1996 after battling drug and alcohol addiction.
This is his story.
Dwight was the youngest child, and was raised in a Tampa, Florida community where crime and mischief reigned. His mother was strict but loving, as was his dad who encouraged him to pursue baseball.
Dwight was born as an Enneagram Type 9 (Peacemaker)- he showed these traits at the very beginning (avoiding chores, laid back, watching TV, playing video games, shy around women, liked to get into mischief with his buddies, but hid secrets from his strict parents, gets along with everyone, impressionable, content with being a follower- not a leader, unconcerned about school, authority figures like coaches and parents needed to get tough with him to motivate him).
And guess what? This same kid is all of a sudden on the best team in baseball in the biggest city in the world. The MEDIA built an image of Doc- an innocent and polite skinny black kid from the ghetto who had the most awesome fastball and curveball in the world, with the potential to be the best pitcher who ever lived.
And Doc resented that. He hated the perfect do-gooder image because he was just a normal guy, not a role model, and not a saint. But the MEDIA liked to build him up as one. And the Mets organization wanted him to be an ambassador, something that added pressure to him.
He never grew up. Never had a chance to. He wasn’t properly educated or motivated. He “quit” many times in high school, and at his (very brief) minor league level, but his dad and a pitching coach talked him back into it. Doc was not an intimidating pitcher when he was first starting out. He had to learn how to put on the game face and pitch inside to intimidate hitters. He had no killer instinct. At the lower levels, he felt weird and an outcast because of racism and being only one of a handful of black players in the Mets farm system.
Fast forward to the big leagues. He met Daryl Strawberry, the black superstar hitter. Straw Man the opposite of Doc: he was cocky, streetwise, and outgoing, always looking to fight. (Think Denzel Washington in Training Day when it comes to ’street smarts’). Straw would give Doc advice on how to carry himself, and to get out of his hotel room. Of course, the advice was bad, but it sounded good at the time. Also, the rest of the Mets were jocks: strip clubs, affairs, bars, late nights, alcohol, and cocaine: all the vital ingredients for a 1980’s NY team. The Mets manager Davey Johnson let Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter police the clubhouse and was a permissive authority figure. The team was comprised of a bunch of animals, and they would have rebelled against any authority figure. Johnson was the perfect manager for the team when it came to focusing their energies on beating their opponents, but not for imposing a clean lifestyle.
Mel Stottlemyre, the old pitching coach (also a Type 9) treated Doc like his own son, and truly loved him. It broke his heart when Doc got into trouble in later years, since Doc kept his secrets.
Doc started with alcohol to escape from the pressure and to be more outgoing with girls, and to fit in with the guys. Yes, it’s called peer pressure, something people don’t like to admit. In 1987, due to injuries, Doc wasn’t feeling well, and his cousin hit him hard with the peer pressure to try a line of coke. And that was it.
The book is short- only 200 pages of easy reading. The scenes are intense: we are taken to dark and scary places on the streets, and in the dark tainted soul of a drug and alcohol addict. We feel when he blows 2nd and 3rd chances, when Commissioner Bud Selig Fed Ex-ed a letter saying that he was suspended for a year. We are sorry when Doc relapses, and doesn’t listen to the lectures at the rehab clinics, and let down his parents, wife, and kids. The cycle continued, the lies continued, the double life continued, and the addiction was too much.
There are other scenes in the book..true crime scenes. White police beat Doc up, and after he was released he and a bunch of his friends and cousins (and his nephew Gary Sheffield) had semi-automatic weapons. They were speeding in Tampa and were going to kill any white cop that pulled them over. Doc thanks God now that no police office pulled them over that night.
In another case, one of his childhood friends was getting sentenced and he asked Doc to assist in a courtroom breakout.
In other scene, Doc’s wife Monica walks in his room with a pistol in his mouth.
While on the Mets, teammate Kevin Mitchell decapitated his girlfriend’s cat in front of her and Doc thinking there was a conspiracy against him.
It’s a great mainstream book, but it’s loaded with tidbits about how badly the Mets were run in the 80’s and 90’s, in addition to how Joe Torre treated him like the invisible man during his 1996-1997 Yankees run.
So yes, this is a sad book. Actually a very depressing book. But I never got frustrated with Doc, though. He’s just too humble and human to judge him. He never fully appreciated or remembered his success in baseball. The only moment that had any true emotional significance occurred in 1996 when he was with the Yankees, when he threw the famous no-hitter against the best hitting team in baseball, the Mariners. That happened while his father was on his deathbed, and he wanted to do it for his dad. Although Doc was way past him prime in 1996, for one night a miracle happened and he had all the abilities and talent when he was Doctor K.
When A-Rod proclaimed to the world that his “cousin did it” (supplied him with drugs from the Dominican Republic), my first thought was CCB3. [For those of you who don't know CCB3 is one of my best friends who is now running from LA gangs thanks to a DailySkew post, and was in Korea before getting kicked out of a band for hitting on the lead singer.]
The reason being: in the official CCB3 Handbook, it says to use your “cousin” as an excuse for anything. “Cousin” is a very ambiguous term anyway, as it can refer to 1st cousins from either side of the family in addition to 2nd or 3rd cousins. When you add remarriages, you have access to half-cousins as well. Many “cousins” are out-of-state and many are out of the country. Throw in some in-laws, and you can have a whole host of new cousins via marriage. Additionally, some close friends can be considered cousins. SO, to say your “cousin did it” is CLASSIC.
But lo and behold- the MEDIA has actually uncovered A-Rod’s cousin. He goes under the name of Yuri Sucart, and lives in Miami.
“Yuri is his driver,” the source said. “He takes care of him all the time. His clothes, his food; he’s with Alex every day.”
The problem: it’s CCB3. I don’t know what kind of scam CCB3 in running now with Alex Rodriguez, but the last time he made contact from me after Korea was from Africa (he had a Pan the Goat sighting there, but I didn’t get around to publish his report.) As far as the name “Yuri Sucart”, that is an anagram of “A Curry Suit”, which means CCB3 is probably in India now.
Anyway, here is the photographic PROOF Yuri Sucart = CCB3
You may hear a lot of falsehoods about me, Alex Rodriguez, but I want everyone to rest assured- I will get custody of my daughters, and I did want this marriage to work!
The sad thing about this whole situation is that Cynthia didn’t give me any emotional support. She didn’t go to as many games as the other wives, and didn’t like to travel. Towards the end of our marriage, she didn’t even show up. You know, I am bi-polar and need to feel loved on the road.
Anyway, I know my fans in New York, and the millions of A-Rod’s fans around the world will continue to support me in my pursuit of the homerun record.
Well, it’s official, C-Rod (Cynthia Rodriguez) is going to turn A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) into D-Rod.
The divorce papers will be filed in Miami-Dade County today.
Both have retained high-price divorce lawyers, all coming out of A-Rod’s pocket. (Ya gotta love modern day America where the husband pays for he AND his wife’s divorce lawyers, right?)
Anyway, the story gets more MEDIA attention than it should have. People want to know the details. People want to know about the soap opera drama, and how Madonna and Lenny Kravitz are involved in all of this. Rumor is that Madonna’s managers like all the publicity she is getting because she has a tour coming out.
The New York Yankees players don’t care, with the caveat of them being sure that A-Rod’s production will not decrease on the field.
For all of you armchair psychologists, scientists that like to predict market trends and apply logic to economics or human behavior, take a look at Alex Rodriguez. All of his life he was concerned about image and money, and yet in recent years his reputation has been sullied by his cheating ways, the way he walks out on teams for more money, and now he stands to lose half (or more!) of his fortune. The man just had another kid 3 weeks ago. Talk about irrational.
And for those who want to judge C-Rod and A-Rod, or make fun of A-Rod for being illogical or unable to manage his personal life (he happens to be the most productive baseball player on the field), you’d probably be best to look hard at your own life, and the life of family and friends; you’d certainly see how human behavior is most illogical.
And here is another dose of Perspective ™, Babe Ruth was just as “bad”, and is still regarded as an icon. But since A-Rod comes off as being arrogant, ruthless, and a prima dona (and Babe Ruth was known to be generous and down to earth) the MEDIA has a field day with digging up the dirt.
Heck, it sells papers and gets hits on the Internet.
A lot of people are asking me what I think of Alex Rodriguez’s wife getting revenge on A-Rod by cheating with Lenny Kravitz, especially with the revelation that A-Rod and Madonna are an item.
The truth is that, as a Yankees fan, all I care about is A-Rod’s production on the field. A-Rod may lose half his earnings, property, and future salary if he gets a divorce. I really don’t feel like judging Cynthia Rodriguez or A-Rod at this point.
A-Rod has received a Free Pass from the MEDIA this year, and I joked to Paul Byrd’s cousin about it last week. Looks like A-Rod is #1 on the MEDIA’s microscope again for a while.
I actually think this is a GOOD thing for the inconsistent New York Yankees right now. Maybe this MEDIA circus will divert some attention away from the struggling offense, and they can quietly go about their business while A-Rod gets all the attention.
The Roger Clemens drama just continues to become even more of a circus, as Roger said he taped McNamee in a phone conversation last week.
“I’ll go to jail, I’ll do whatever you want,” McNamee said during the conversation.
“I need somebody to tell the truth,” Clemens said.
During the tape, McNamee never said he lied when he told baseball investigator George Mitchell last year that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
“I’m in your corner,” McNamee said. “I’d also like not to go to jail, too.”
Clemens was mostly expressionless while the tape played, even when McNamee said, “You treated me like family.”
Clemens said McNamee initiated the conversation, which was laced with emotion and profanity. McNamee, a former strength coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, sounded as if he were a desperate man.
“I’m firing my lawyers. I’m getting rid of everybody,” McNamee said. “My wife is gone. My kids are gone.”
So, there you have it…Clemens says he now has the smoking gun that proves McNamee lied about everything.
So why does this sound suspicious?
Did Clemens threaten him?
Pay him off?
Make him promises?
Create a new reality selling a false truth to McNamee?
It’s amazing that Clemens called him up and taped everything without McNamee knowing. Last time I checked it was illegal to tape a phone conversation without permission.
Clemens never said anything like, “I want you to come down to Houston and tell the world the truth – that I never took steroids.”
When asked Monday why he didn’t do just that, Clemens said, “I would be afraid for him, because my family’s very upset. I’m trying to keep my composure through all this.”
Clemens has yet to establish why, exactly, McNamee would betray his multimillionaire meal ticket and friend if, as Clemens repeatedly asserted on 60 Minutes, “It never happened.” If McNamee knew Clemens never took steroids, and that he himself never injected Clemens with steroids, then what pressure could the feds exert? If McNamee is the only evidence here, how could the feds prove the unprovable? If it didn’t happen, how could McNamee be prosecuted for perjury for telling the truth?
I watched one of my favorite VCR tapes with my family yesterday: Pinstripe Dynasty, which featured the 1996 New York Yankees championship year.
Of course, one key moment of the season was when Jim Leyritz hit the go-ahead homerun in Game 4’s 8th inning of the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. The Yanks were trailing 6-0 in that game, after Yanks’ starting pitcher Kenny Rogers got knocked out early.
Talk about a lifestyle that just catches up with you. After earning around $11,000,000 in his career, he has around $600,000 left, and is facing a prison sentence for DUI manslaughter here in sunny Fort Liquordale.
The MEDIA never reported what went on behind the scenes:
And your co-workers and friends always like to say that we shouldn’t judge their lifestyles. They like to believe that their reckless actions featuring drugs, alcohol, and sex with numerous partners don’t have any consequences. They think all of those things happen in the vacuum called “Friday and Saturday night”. They are wrong, and always will be wrong.
Accidents happen, there is no question about that. But getting behind a wheel of a car stoned or intoxicated is dangerous to other people who are not involved in your crazy life.
Jimmy Leyritz, let’s face facts, you were a backup player and pinch hitter for your entire career, even though you wanted to be starter. You had a couple of lucky high-profile hits. But you were a trouble-maker for all of your 11 years, squandered away your fortune, used performance enhancing drugs (HGH or steroids) and never admitted it until AFTER you retired, openly lashed into your former teammates and organization at any opportunity you got, and effectively ended your own life by taking the life of a fellow driver on the road.
Clemens was accused in the recently released Mitchell Report on steroid use in Major League Baseball of having been injected with steroids and human growth hormone 16 times from 1998-2001 by his trainer, Brian McNamee.
When asked by Wallace if McNamee had ever injected him with any drugs, Clemens responded, according to the release: “Lidocaine and B-12. It’s for my joints, and B-12 I still take today.”
Clemens then calls the accusation that he used steroids or HGH “ridiculous” and says he “never” used any banned substances.
“Swear?” asks Wallace.
“Swear,” says Clemens.
For those of you who don’t know, 60 Minutes is a taped show, and Roger Clemens was interviewed today, which will air on Sunday.
Please keep in mind- steroid use doesn’t mean jack to me. The frustrating part is that Roger just won’t admit he did it, and Roger has a history of being one of the biggest conceited and violent jerks in baseball.
Let’s pretend for moment that you were a baseball player who took [vitamin] B-12 and Lidocaine [a pain-killer] injections (perfectly legal). Wouldn’t you have TOLD Senator Mitchell and MLB’s investigators when questioned originally? Wouldn’t you have told the MEDIA this last month when your name came up as taking illegal substances such as HGH and steroids?
If you follow Roger’s logic, and use the details from the Mitchell Report this is the logical extension of his lies: ~~Roger told his trainer that the substance he was shooting him with was steroids, not B-12 I guess so he wouldn’t look like a pansy? Roger also knew the feds would be after him in the future.~~
Uh-huh.
Does that make any sense?? There is no need to be neutral or give Roger the benefit of a doubt. Those who have followed his career know his history:
He asked his manager to come out of a 1986 World Series game, which the Mets eventually won.
He was ejected in the 1st inning of a 1990 playoffs game for continuing to yell at an umpire, costing his team the win.
He is known as a HEAD-HUNTER in the game (a pitcher who aims for the head).
He twice attempted to murder Future Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza- once with a head beaning, and once with a bat.
He and his agents have always gotten the highest contracts and endorsements, and always played things on HIS terms, not the team’s. His ego and cockiness are LEGENDARY. He scammed the Yanks out of millions last year, and then left a playoff game injured.
The guy is a businessman who like to keep his fake image intact all the time, like Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, and The Realtor.
The bottom line is Clemens and this trainer were TIGHT. Real TIGHT. Clemens got this guy a job with the Yanks, after he was traded from the Blue Jays. They remained TIGHT until last year. Roger’s best buddy Andy Pettitte already confessed his sin with this trainer, yet Roger doesn’t make any apologies- he never had or never will.
Roger’s hand-held palm-pilot looks something like this:
-Get up at 4:30 AM and jog 15 miles - Do 100 sit-ups - Eat a hardy breakfast - Call my agent - Call my attorney - Have the kids do chores - Lie to my wife - Lie to the MEDIA - Lie to my fans - Check on new restaurant - Give a speech at a local school about staying off of drugs - Leave Andy Pettitte another message telling him he’s a pansy for telling the truth - Do another 100 sit-ups - Check bank account to see if royalty checks from Cingular are still coming in - Meet that Brazilian stripper that keeps calling my cell - Hint to MEDIA that I’m coming out of retirement again - Pay a visit to my restaurant and give a pep talk to the lowly workers - Sign an autograph for a kid, as long as his dad takes a picture, and puts it on myspace.com - Do another 100 sit-ups - Hunt some animals in Texas with some old fishing buddies - Attend celebrity gold tournament - Perform another 100 sit-ups on the gold course
2007 Skew Review Damian Hospital 12-31-2007 Going into 2007, Tony Vahl and I had high expectations that the Year of the Pig would be a year of chaos and unpredictability. Sure enough, we were correct. Below is a list of some events from 2007:
Politics
The battle for Presidential nomination started at the earliest point ever. Candidates have been using the Internet more than ever to spread their message, and live debates gave YouTube all the recognition and validity it needed to be an instant way to reach out to the people.
New Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sure set expectations high that the Democrats would put this nation back on course after taking over Congress.
Senator Larry Craig got busted in a men’s restroom, and denied making homosexual advances to an undercover policeman. Former male prostitutes or other men Larry came onto in the past have since come out, to verify that he is gay, but Larry stands firm that it was all a misunderstanding.
President George W. Bush: his popularity is the lowest for any president, and many senior advisers resigned from his administration. I will not waste anymore space talking about all the things GW and his cronies did this year.
Crime
Shootings grabbed headlines- from Virgina Tech to children’s school to a mall. In all cases, the Internet played a key as a forum for the killers’ rants. And the MEDIA had a field day with it.
The MEDIA still focused and gave way too much attention to missing persons and alleged kidnappings for certain families. The MEDIA has continued to pick-and-choose who gets the coverage. MEANWHILE, thousands of others never get MEDIA attention because they are not marketable enough.
Craigslist and MySpace’s murder, rape, kidnapping, and prostitution rates have increased.
Global
China has been accidentally poisoning and exporting toys and dog food to the United States.
China has been testing long-range missiles, and space weapons.
China continues to execute government officials and dissenters.
The military regime in Myanmar severely beat and arrested protesters, many of them monks. The world shrugs.
The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, continued to have a pissing contest with the West over its right to harness and produce nuclear energy. He had threated to destroy Israel several times, but always denies it when speaking to Western reporters. His public Iranian speeches always contain his threats that he would destroy the West, but he seems to change his tune when talking to the U.N.
An earthquake in Japan released 300 gallons of radioactive water into the sea. Can Godzilla be far behind, now?
Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize and two Oscars for spreading the word about the dangers of Global Warming.
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf was forced to step down as military leader, but was sworn in as a civilian president. He has been losing control all year.
The death tolls and unrest due to the war in Iraq has increased.
Bombings in Iraq and Israel are commonplace.
Boris Yelstin passed away.
So did Jerry Falwell, Lady Bird Johnson, Tammy Faye Bakker, Ingmar Bergmann, Tom Synder, Bill Walsh, Hank Bauer, Joel Siegel, Clete Boyer, Phil Rizzuto, Merv Griffin, Leona Helmsley, Richard Jewell, Pavarotti, Jane Wyman, Norman Mailer, Evel Knievel, and millions more.
War in Somalia: And still going…
Hong Kong continued to create laws to be environmentally-friendly, now that it is a economic superpower.
Microsoft released Vista and became under fire for forcing this operating system on all new Dells and other computers instead of Windows XP or a “blank” system.
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez was granted the power to rule by decree, publicly attacked capitalism and democracy, allied with Cuba and Iran, and unsuccessfully tried to rewrite the constitution.
Russian leader Vladamir Putin has been headed back to his KGB roots…
Dubai is the in-vogue place to invest in real estate and visit- just don’t commit any crimes there…or get raped.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto was assassinated.
Pop Culture
Harry Potter is still hot.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a FRANCHISE.
Ana Nicole Smith…why did her death get so much MEDIA attention?
American Idol took a major hit in ratings and relevancy. So did most TV shows.
The music recording industry has turned to the Internet to try and make profits, after experiencing record lows in CD sales.
Network television has been offering free TV shows online for the same reasons.
Spider-Man 3 grossed a world-wide total of $890,871,626, yet other Marvel movies (Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Surfer) weren’t as hot.
Michael Moore’s Sicko opened a lot of eyes about the U.S. healthcare system.
The Transformers live action movie made over $300,000,000 in the U.S. TMNT wasn’t even close.
Don Imus was fired for making racial jokes on air.
He eventually got a new show.
Bob Barker retired from the Price is Right. Was replaced by Drew Carey.
Led Zeppelin reunited.
Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen still running strong.
Britney Spears is officially recognized by the MEDIA as being done.
Comic Books
Marvel
Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) is the new Captain America, after Steve Rogers was assassinated by Crossbones, who was hired by the Red Skull.
With the world knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, the Kingpin put a hit on Aunt May. With Aunt May dying, Peter made a deal with the Devil (Mephisto) to save her life. The deal: Peter’s marriage and memories of love for Mary Jane Watson would be erased from continuity. Mary Jane also makes a deal with the Devil to erase Spider-Man from ever removing his mask in public. So: everything is back to status quo. Harry Osborn (Green Goblin) is also back in this new Marvel time-line, since he would have never died if Peter and Marry got married.
Tony Stark (Iron Man), who, for all intents and purposes, had been portrayed as a villain (George Bush style) in 2006, is now in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D., and has a movie coming out next year.
DC
DC has continued to fill in details about it’s New Earth and New Multiverse. It is NOT the same as the old multiverse, and many fans are still confused, complain..but still buy the comics.
The Anti-Monitor has returned, and former Green Lantern Kyle Raynor is Parallax.
Professional Wrestling
John Cena was given a huge WWE Champion’s push for the most of the year, defeating all comers, but was sidelined with an injury. Women and kids love him; guys hate him.
Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker are still Main Eventers.
A week after Vince McMahon faked his own death for ratings, Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy (former valet) and son, before committing suicide. This was the #1 pro wrestling story of the year.
Other deaths: Bam Bam Bigelow, Bad News Brown, Ernie Ladd, Mike Awesome, Arnold Skaaland, John Cronus, and more….
Hulk Hogan and his wife Linda filed for “divorce” after their son Nick got involved in a DUI, seriously injuring his friend, whose parents are suing the Hogans.
Chris Jericho returned, after publishing his awesome autobiography.
Bret Hart published his tell-all autobiography in Canada.
The growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (UFC, K-1) is threatening WWE’s grip on the Pay-Per-View market and young male demographic.
United States
A bridge collapsed during rush hour in a major city, and it was revealed that MOST of the nation’s infrastructure is POOR and ready to crumble.
Race relations are still easily stirred in any case where the police uses force… or if any comedian makes a joke.
Keywords: Wildfire, Malibu, rich folk, MEDIA
$1.2 TRILLION dollars worth of property value decreased, and the number of home foreclosures DOUBLED from last year.
Terrorist plots were prevented (thankfully).
The Writer’s Guild goes on strike. TV shows goes on hiatus. Jay Leno can’t write his own material. Can we please get hired?
Sports
Barry Bonds made history by breaking the all-time homerun record, and only the San Fransisco fans and a certain blog cared.
Bonds was indicted on perjury.
Football quarterback Michael Vick originally denied any wrongdoing in running a barbaric dog fighting venture, but finally plead guilty. He also killed dogs that didn’t fight well.
Former Marlins closer U. Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder in his home country.
Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship.
An NBA referee was caught betting on games.
Marian Jones pleaded guilty to steroid use after denying it.
The New York Mets had their biggest collapse.
Yankees relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain became an overnight sensation, although flying ants ruined his moment.
Roger Clemens’ return was overhyped, and didn’t translate into a ring.
A-Rod was MVP.
Red Sox win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Red Sox win the 2007 World Series over the Colorado Rockies.
The Boss, George Steinbrenner, was revealed to be a non-entity. His son Hank took over, and proceeded to pay hardball with the team.
Yankees manager Joe Torre quit, followed by bench coach Don Mattingly. Joe Giraldi was named new manager.
The Mitchell Report reaffirmed that we live in a Grim Earth, as 88 players were named. Roger Clemens’ legacy is forever tainted.
The New England Patriots finished 16-0.
Former Yankees World Champion Jim Leyritz killed a woman while DUI.
Tashman Technologies (tm), a fictional universe
After The Loyalist finally retired, he had achieved a dream…and then lived through a nightmare.
The Lone Teleporter was killed, brought back for a one-shot cameo, and forgotten about.
The Lobo Bros. disappeared.
The Latino World Order invaded Tashman’s office, had a coup, and demanded “Fair Play and Fair Pay”. They got it.
Tashman had its slowest year, and tensions were high, as backstabbing and cliques were solidified.
Luthor lost everything.
Third shift stopped for a while after V. quit when work was slow, and Raw went to 2nd shift.
C.E.O. and Overmind had a major, final, career-threatening blowout in January, but things cooled off (mostly) for the rest of the year.
Tashman’s main rival folded.
Captain Fascist, Arse, Character Assassin, and Gazelle are still running strong in another company.
The Fossil and The Stork are looking for work. So’s J.A.P.
Mrs. Overmind celebrated her one-year Tashman anniversary.
Overmind somehow survived nine.
Phive was fired.
Christmas party was BYOB.
Feel free to add your 2007 events in comments! And your predictions for 2008- The Year of the Rat.
Former Yankees World Champion Jim Leyritz (backup catcher) killed Fredia Ann Veitch, who was an ordinary citizen like you and I, working night shift. He was DUI, and he drove his car fast and blew threw a red light down here in Broward County (she was driving home from Fort Lauderdale to Plantation.)
I’ve followed Leyritz’s career since he came up in 1990. I thought he was a great hitting catcher, pinch-hitter, and part-time designated hitter for the Yanks. But according to many baseball history books and autobiograpies I have read, he dubbed himself “King” and wanted to be a full-time player. Eventually, managers Buck Showalter and later Joe Torre grew to dislike Jim.
Jim is highly charismatic, cocky, arrogant, and a joker. Quite honestyly, if he was an African-American player, he would have been labeled a “clubhouse cancer” in 1990. Instead, the MEDIA always referred to him as “clutch”, a “New York Icon”, and “scrappy”. Nice double-standard. The MEDIA and announcers never told us the bad things about “The King”, so fans such as myself and my family couldn’t help but like him, and awe at his sheer “determination”. After Jim finally retired after making a few failed comebacks (and bouncing from team to team) he got an announcing gig for MLB.com, and still continued to give quotes to radio shows and newspapers to run is mouth off. See, Jim was bitter and was opinionated about a lot of things. He’d like to say things against his former teammates and managers.
He also said he admitting taking HGH or steroids during his great 1995/1996 clutch pinch-hitting campaigns, in which he saved the Yankees’ post-season dreams. He also admitted being drunk a lot while playing. Unfortunately, his wild baseball antics spilled over into real life. Frieda Ann Veitch was a mother of two, just trying to make ends meat, by working in a steakhouse in Broward County. Her friends told her to switch her shift or to get another job; she was all set to switch- starting in the new year. So here is Frieda, driving home after a rough week, having never achieved the fame and fortune as Jimmy “The King” Leyritz. She goes through the green light, like you’re supposed to, but here comes Jim blasting through the red light.
It’s a shame that there are questions about if Jim will serve any prison time. I guess because he is a millionaire he can afford an attorney-at-law who will somehow get his client off with probation or timed served, even though he is guilty as sin.
For those of you who do not know about Broward County, Florida- it is one of the worst places to drive in the world. People like Jim Leyritz have taken over the roads and highways. That’s why I’m at home bloggin’, folks.
I had one of those dreams last night, that just seem so realistic and believable.
Tony Vahl and I were sleeping upstairs in a fictitious house being rented out by Tashman Technologies Hall of Famer Captain Hardware. Tony and I came up with another catch-phrase after having an intense conversation for 10 minutes. We both noticed a pattern in people’s speeches. Similar to the phrase that we had Barry Bonds’ coin: “that’s fine”, we came up with a similar quote that symbolizes people’s behavior. As much as we were both excited to come to this new revelation, I forgot it when I woke up, of course. It has something to do with “that’s true”.
It was very late in the dream, past midnight, and we both had work the next day. I tried to get some sleep, but Captain Hardware and his seemingly endless number of family members came in downstairs. Hardware told them not to go upstairs, but didn’t say why. I figured out that it’s because I’m RENTING upstairs, and that my bedroom is off-limits. It still didn’t stop him from walking up the stairs and chatting with Tony Vahl about some DVD movie. Tony was being polite or was unaware of the time. I pretended I was sleeping after he ignored me the whole time. Suffice to say, I felt uncomfortable not having any privacy, so I told Tony pretty loudly: “TDA- He’s a CARD-CARRYING MEMBER OF THE TDA!”
The End
Definitions:
TDA: Time Displacement Authority. Ever have someone who “makes” you be late? Don’t you ever just want to do your own daily routine without being sidetracked? Did you ever wish you could throw your cell-phone in a river? Well, if you find your time-line getting screwed up by someone over and over, there’s a great chance they are members of the TDA. They exist solely to ruin your original time-line. They are the people that call you up and cause you to forget something or kill an hour of your productivity. They are the ones who force you to watch Star Wars marathons when you really need to be going to sleep. They are the ones that keep saying “goodbye” when you try to leave their house, and wind up causing you to be late or get into an accident. Sometimes it’s perfectly harmless; other times your time-line can be ruined.
Tashman Technologies: A fictitious office created and copyrighted by Damian Hospital and Tony Vahl that sells teleporters. The Tashman Hall of Fame is a parody of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Captain Hardware: A great friend and a great worker in Tashman.
“That’s fine”: Barry Bonds said this quote when he was informed that baseball commissioner Bud Selig may not be planning an official celebration for his record breaking homerun, and may not even be in attendance. “That’s fine” means that Barry accepted a situation out of his hands, and simply shrugged it off instead of expressing unproductive feelings.
Perhaps the most notable new name to emerge from the affidavit is former Mets pitcher Sid Fernandez, who wrote a $3,500 check to Radomski in 2005, almost eight years after the lefty’s last appearance in a major league game. The affidavit doesn’t say what Fernandez got for his money.
El Sid was one of my favorite New York Mets pitchers back in the day. He was known for battling weight issues, having no stamina, and being an immature spoiled brat- but also for being an excellent pitcher who you couldn’t help but root for and love. For his name to be forever “keyword linked” to steroids truly shows the grim reality we live in.
For the record, there is no evidence Sid Fernandez used steroids while he was playing. One can speculate why El Sid would buy ANYTHING from a drug dealer 8 years after he retired. I recall El Sid trying to make a comeback around that time, and pitched in a New York Yankees minor league, but wound up breaking his leg or something on a line-drive. It just shows you how desperate guys can get to be back in “the game”, no whatever what “the game” is…and he’s no different than you or I, truthfully.
This how Curt Schilling Repays Clemens- who turned his career around
Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling reminds me of a co-worker of mine that can’t seem to keep his nose out of business that is none of his concern (even if he’s right). In fact, Curt’s nickname (behind his back) is “Assistant General Manager”, because he is known for going straight to the General Manager to voice his “concerns” about certain players or policies.
The fact that Curt has a blog and routinely “gives his opinions” about his co-workers by name, and his “suggestions” to “clean up baseball”, just adds to his arrogance, holier-than-thou attitude, and hyprocacy. Curt, you are a PLAYER, not an owner, manager, announcer, journalist, or commissioner.
His latest comments are against someone who deserves to get ripped: Roger Clemens. Curt says his opinion of Roger is from a “fan’s perspective”. Okay…Looks like Curt waited many years to finally find some dirt on Roger, and to finally say this:
“Roger has denied every allegation brought to the table, so as a fan my thought is that Roger will find a way in short order to organize a legal team to guarantee a retraction of the allegations made, a public apology is made, and his name is completely cleared.”
“If he doesn’t do that then there aren’t many options as a fan for me other than to believe his career 192 wins and 3 Cy Youngs he won prior to 1997 were the end. From that point on the numbers were attained through using PED’s (performance-enhancing drugs)….(I)f that is the case with Roger, the 4 Cy Youngs should go to the rightful winners and the numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations.”
Considering that Roger Clemens took Curt aside years ago (even though they were on opposite teams) and “dressed him down” to motivate him to get on the right path of work ethic (this was before Curt found Jesus), this is some “thanks”.
Curt fails to mention that
1) Clemens’ attorney-at-law already denied the allegations, and 2) just because the Court of Public Opinion found Roger guilty, does not mean that a Court of Law would find Roger guilty.
It’s a shame Curt believes we live in a society where citizens have to defend themselves from allegations. In other words, Curt doesn’t seem to believe in “innocent until proven guilty”. There is PROBABLE CAUSE that Roger did steroids, as uncovered by the Mitchell Report. That probably cause promoted me to rip Roger, but Roger never helped my career, and I’m not his co-worker. The probable cause is good enough for me “as a fan”, who is not on the “inside of the game”, but Roger has not been legally charged with any crime, and will not be. It’s the word of a drug dealer vs Roger Clemens. Is there any way to prove that Roger used PED all of these years?
Baseball is NOT like the Olympics. The 1919 Black Sox purposely lost a fixed World Series against the Cincinnati Reds to help out gamblers. Well, the Reds’ World Series trophy and place in the history books was never erased, because to paraphrase the rule book: “Unless a manager files a formal protest immediately following the game after notifying the umpire of his intentions, whatever happened on the field STAYS on the field- and the record books.”
Clemens should NOT be stripped of his awards, because it has not been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt it he used HGH/steroids, and even if he did, there is no evidence showing how long he used them, and no evidence showing HOW HGH/steroids can help statistics (there were 50 SCRUBS listed in the Mitchell Report, that even regular fans had never heard of, or if they did, they had forgotten about them).
So as much as I am happy Clemens’ REPUTATION is ruined, I am NOT happy that Curt Schilling has to CHIME IN and take this opportunity to rip a fellow member of the Player’s Union (I believe players should always have each other’s back against owners and the Commissioner’s Office). I sure hope Curt has no skeletons in HIS closet. Is Curt perhaps a little envious that Clemens has won SEVEN CY YOUNG awards, and Curt has won…let’s see..uhm…ZERO.
It doesn’t matter if Curt is right about a lot of things- the fact that he hides behind the facade of moral righteousness, and makes PUBLIC judgments against his fellow players by name is what frustrates me. Be honest Curt- you’re jealous of Roger’s success, and you want to go into the Hall of Fame yourself since you are “clean”.
Until YOU come out and say that, I think you’d have to give back all of your Cy Youngs…all ZERO of them.
Tampa Bay Rays MVP shortstop Simon Delaghetto, Jr. admitted that he did in fact use steroids, as revealed by the Brenner Report- as a kid.
When Junior was 5 years old, doctors prescribed steroids to help heal a rare pulmonary and skin disease. Simon was hospitalized for over a week due to his deteriorating condition.
“Yes, I used steroids,” he said in a teary-eyed confession at a press conference.
“This will damage his reputation, that’s for sure,” said FOXNet commentator Mike Lupica, Jr. “Even though he admitted it- so what? Giambi and Pettitte admitted it years ago, and look what happened to them. Are we expected to believe Simon used it ONCE for some RARE and FATAL disease? Please…”
William Montgomery, spokesman for the Hall of Fame said, “I don’t speak for the voters, but based on their lack of elections these past two decades, I’d say Simon Delaghetto, Jr. will be on the outside looking in when he retires.”
Delaghetto has become the second youngest player in the history of baseball to hit 500 homeruns. The first was steroid user Alex Rodriguez, who is not in the Hall of Fame.
Let’s give a round of applause to ALFREDO ACEVES, who is now leading the pack (as of Monday @ 1:47PM) for the 2010 New York Yankees 5th starting pitching slot (ERA of 0.90 in 10 innings). Based on ERA and innings pitching, Aceves is 1st, Sergio Mitre is 2nd, Phil Hughes is 3rd, Chad Gaudin [...] […]
On today’s DailySkew Radio Podcast Tony Vahl discussed tomorrow’s FCC ruling about broadband Internet access in the United States, as reported by NPR. Specifically: - a Harvard study commissioned by the FCC to find out why broadband access is cheaper and faster in East Slovakia than in the U.S.A. - a C-Span interview with the inventor of [...] […]
This time around I realized that the raccoon was free from suffering now. It's a shame its life had to end like that- it was blameless; humans built roads in the middle of his ancestor's forest. Progress and technology broke that raccoon's legs and took his life tonight. But now the suffering has ended for it. I mourned the raccoon and the way […]
ust a quick observation before I run: I jumped from watching 1980's pro wrestling to the 1991 Survivor Series because WWE put up the whole PPV online for a limited time. It never fails to amaze me how much things change. It was like I was in a time machine from 1987 to 1991... […]
