With the Tour starting on Saturday, this will conclude our three-part preview of the 2009 Tour de France. You can also read Part 1 – The Route and Part 2 – The Field.
In the previous installment of our preview, we looked at some of the favorites to win the Tour de France. Today, I’ll make some predictions about who will actually win it.
I’ll answer the biggest question up front: Lance Armstrong will not win the Tour de France this year. He’s in great shape, and he certainly won’t embarrass himself, but he’s not going to win.
The favorites for the Tour, according to oddschecker, are Contador (1:1), Armstrong (5:1), Andy Schleck (7:1), and Cadel Evans (11:1).
First, let’s address the insanity of those Contador odds. The Tour de France is a three week slog through 2,141 miles. Anything can happen during those three weeks. I wouldn’t bet on Lance Armstrong in his prime at even money.
Beyond that, the Astana team dynamics worry me, as I mentioned in Part 2 of the preview. Contador seems to have issues with someone else being the team leader, and in fairness, he’s earned the title of leader. I’m just not sure how he’ll respond to three weeks of the Lance Armstrong media circus with the 7-time winner breathing down his neck. It’s a tough position to be in, and while Contador is an incredibly gifted rider, I’m not sure how he’ll handle that pressure.
As for Armstrong, he has always been the sole focus of his team, and benefited greatly from having a well-trained team of domestiques riding out in the wind in front of him except on a few select mountain stages. He always rode the most perfectly organized races, almost like a horse in the Kentucky Derby getting a perfect trip from the post. He seemed to have an uncanny knack for avoiding trouble and only exerting himself when it would have the optimal payout. As either a co-leader or a supporting rider (depending on whom you believe) this year, Armstrong won’t be able to conserve his energy for most of the Tour and rely on an entire team supporting him. He seems to be physically ready for the Tour, but I’m not sure he still has that extra gear that allowed him to accelerate up a mountain while everyone else looked exhausted.
So who does that leave? Andy Schleck? Denis Menchov? Levi Leipheimer? Carlos Sastre? Roman Kreuziger?
Leipheimer won’t get any support from his team (Contador and Armstrong will be fighting over it), Sastre won in a perfect storm, and Kreuziger is still probably a couple years away.
That leaves Denis Menchov, who finished fourth last year and won the Giro d’Italia this year. He’s a great climber who should do well in a year that de-emphasized the time trial. I also like Schleck to finish second, under the assumption that he’s in better condition than last year. For third, it’s a toss-up between Armstrong and Contador. I think experience triumphs over youth, so I’ll say Armstrong.
For a long-shot pick, I like American Christian Vandevelde (100:1) who looked good last year and should be improved.
For the green sprinters jersey, I like Mark Cavendish, who shone last year. I think Schleck will take the King of the Mountains classification, especially if he’s not contending for the Yellow Jersey. Kreuziger should take the white jersey for the best young rider.
As for the other question on everyone’s mind (Who will be the biggest rider caught doping?), I’m going to be optimistic and say that this will be the year we don’t see a major doping scandal.
Only 2 more days until Monaco!
I saw Public Enemies last night. Opening night, apparently. You could have fooled me, the mall was vacant. Sign of a Wednesday night? or one of the times?
I remember seeing the trailers in the theater and saying “damn, I’ll surely be seeing that.” With Johnny Depp and Christian Bale facing off, how could you go wrong? After seeing it however, I felt a bit disappointed. Depp played well. Bale’s part was weak, accent and all. Babyface Nelson was a hit, but it just wasn’t enough.
Michael Mann does his usual, making you sympathize with the known bad guy (Heat, anyone). What really bummed me out was the cinematography choices. Maybe they were going for mass awards later, but there was a lot of hand-held camera work, shift of focus, and jitter. It does have its place, but I’m not a big fan of it.
Interesting for sure, but not a must-see at the theater.Similar Posts:
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Just got finished reading a mildly interesting article in Forbes that blames the Orioles‘ attendance woes on the arrival of the Nats. Aside from the analysis here tending towards the overly simple, I’m astounded that the author (Tom Van Riper) actually gets the name of the Nationals’ owners wrong. It’s the Lerner family, Tom. Not “Werner”.
Beyond that, it seems to me that any kind of real analysis of attendance issues with either team is impossible until one of them gets good. If the O’s are in contention next year in August and are still only drawing 15-20 thousand per game, then maybe we’ll have something.
Somewhat related, here’s a long and absorbing piece on Peter Angelos, courtesy of the Daily Record. Some interesting nuggets in there, particularly Angelos’ assertion that he’d “insist [people] refer to me as a competent lawyer first. The Orioles are strictly secondary. Or maybe third or fourth.”
No doubt one of the whiners will grab that statement and complain that he’s not giving the team enough focus. This will be the same person who previously insisted that he had ruined them by meddling.
Meanwhile the black-and-orange are headed to California and a date with the Angels. It’ll be Jeremy Guthrie and John Lackey tonight in the first game of a seven-game west coast swing.
(photo via — you have to check out more of this fella’s work)
Here is your opportunity to take a virtual tour on the Summer International Food Show that was held the beginning of this week in New York City. Foods from around the world as well national are spotlighted, sampled and promoted. As an experienced attendee taster, I tend to stick with the savory items, not the sweets.
The phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is certainly true, but have you ever taken a moment to think about why these old dog can’t be trained. With age comes wisdom, acquired experience, and greater self awareness. You would think that the proverbial “old dog” would actually be the first to learn a new trick, be able to learn it faster, and maybe even improve upon its methodology as opposed to his younger counterpart. Sadly, this is not so, and for all of the advantages that comes with experience the tragedy is the brain is less plastic and less apt at processing new information.
Unfortunately, this proverb also holds true for humans as it does for canines. In fact brain function on average begins to decline at around age 30 for most of us. Nevertheless, the other side of this parable, the training of children is very fascinating. Acupuncture and infantile Tuina have an amazing capacity for exploiting the plasticity of children’s brains. In my most recent case dramatic results were achieved within the first treatment, with the child being able to bring both of her hands to midline, something she had been unable to do for the first two years of her life. There is an almost 1:1 ratio with the amount of effort that you put into the patient’s care and the curative effect that you achieve. This makes treating these young patients so rewarding. With further treatment she quickly began to develop her course motor skills, gain cognitive abilities, became more aware of her own body as well as her environment, and gain some measure of independence and the desire to do things for herself. The treatment process over the last two months has been extremely exciting to watch, and our hopes for the future and her continued improvement remain high. The only individual that has not benefited from her treatment is her stuffed giraffe whom she is now able to shake and maim with even greater vigor then before. But honestly isn’t that what stuffed animals are for?!?
Though it is hard not to dwell on your own cognitive decline and your decreased ability to “learn new tricks”, it is a pleasure to watch these young pups expand their horizons and push the boundaries of their abilities. The role that acupuncture and infantile tuina can play in this process for those children with cerebral palsy is pivotal, and the sooner treatment is administered the better.
Brian Jackson, L.Ac. 30.06.09
ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 2, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of Donald R. Osman to the Harford County Board of Education.
“I am proud to appoint Donald R. Osman to the Harford County Board of Education,” said Governor O’Malley. “I am confident that Mr. Osman possesses the skill and the leadership necessary to ensure every child in Harford County receives the quality public education they deserve.”
Donald R. Osman is a Teacher Mentor at Elkton High School, Perryville High School, Perryville Middle School and Rising Sun Middle School. Prior to that, Mr. Osman was an English teacher at Havre de Grace High School where he taught for 32 years. He was also an English teacher at Havre de Grace Middle School from 1967 to 1973, and prior to that was a teacher at Oakington Elementary School. Mr. Osman is the coordinator of the S.M.I.L.E.S (Service Makes an Individual’s Life Extra Special) program, which teaches its participants to give back to the community.
Mr. Osman also serves on several community groups in Harford County, including the Susquehannah Museum Board of Directors, the Steppingstone Museum Board of Directors, the Harford County Community Service Day Committee, the Harford County Language Arts Parent Advisory Committee, the Havre de Grace Arts Commission, and the James R. Harris Stadium Board of Directors, among others. He is also a recipient of a number of awards and recognitions, including Harford County Public Schools Service Learning Star for the years 2004 through 2008, and the Harford Council of Community Services Unsung Hero Award in 2000. The Mayor and City Council of Havre de Grace declared the week of June 1 through June 7 “Don Osman Week.”
Mr. Osman received his Bachelor of Arts in English from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1965 and received his Masters of Education from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a resident of Havre de Grace.
I decided I would go on a mad curtain-hemming spree, and hem a ton of curtains at once. So the living room curtains are hanging with pins in them as I type. And I moved on to … the dining room:
Isn’t the fabric lovely? Guess where I got it … Ikea! It’s perfect. I’ll have to detail how I made did the casing for these -it has a more modern look … I’m tempted to change my living room curtains to match.
Artwork on the wall opposite the mirror, thanks to Alex. Photos from Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore.
July 1, 2009
News reports indicate that one of the highest-profile eminent domain lawsuits in the country will go all the way to New York’s highest court, where it will be argued in October.
Developer Bruce Ratner, of Forest City Ratner, wants the Empire State Development Corp. to condemn and seize dozens of properties in a low-density neighborhood near an old rail yard in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, so that he can build a new arena for the relocation of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, plus 16 high-rise apartment towers. He already has a $200 million-a-year sponsorship deal for the arena with investment bank Barclays. The project is called Atlantic Yards (and Barclays Arena), named for the disused rail yards on the western edge of Brooklyn where it is proposed.
Although about half of the buildings needed for the more-than-$1-billion project have already been demolished, in August of last year, nine property owners sued the ESDC, saying that the grounds for eminent domain were not valid. That suit was dismissed, then appealed, which brings us to today.
Forest City Enterprises, the developer’s parent company, is controlled by the Ratner family, and is also running the show over in East Baltimore, where so far more than 800 families have been displaced by Forest City Science + Technology Group’s East Baltimore Science + Technology Park. In this case, Forest City has leveraged the support of Baltimore’s housing department to condemn and seize hundreds of properties, many of them using the controversial “quick-take” method of eminent domain. We published a series about this type of thing last year.
One of the main arguments made by the anti-Ratner camp is that the benefits of the whatever Ratner could bring to Atlantic Yards are negligible compared to the destruction of the neighborhood. A number of similar cases (.pdf), even in Maryland, have used the same rationale, and it really gets to the heart of the matter as far as eminent domain is concerned: According the landmark Kelo vs. City of New London, if the economic benefits of a project are not so great that they’re in the “public interest,” then an eminent domain taking is unconstitutional.
Every developer has a business model, I guess, but when you really think about it, I wonder just how many companies there are in the country, aside from Forest City, that make a living out of seizing large swaths of property that they’ve convinced local authorities are “blighted” and redeveloping them as mega-projects like this. Are they so few and far between that there’s no consensus on the pros and cons of such a model? A cost-benefit analysis of property taxes versus incentives dangled? A comprehensive look into the profitability of the sorts of projects that come and replace the so-called blight?
Yeah, it sounds like a book idea, I know, but I’m going to look into this.
You remember that little old lady who kept talking about Depression-Era cooking on YouTube? I made Clara's recipe for Poorman's Meal. It really doesn't taste very good. But hell, are you gonna care about that if you're living through a depression? Considering that, it's damn near haute cuisine!
The Cincinnati-based Kroger's food chain spans much of the Midwest and South. The one in Hinesville, GA, has just about the best ready-to-eat food of any spermarket deli counter I have ever ordered from. I got three BBQ ribs (which actually amounted to six), mac & cheese and Western fries. I could only finish half of it.
The fried pickles were definitely different from those you might find at Sonic: saltier, lighter, picklier, a little less greasy. This is the type of thing that I would eat all day, even though I know it would kill me.
Their sampler plate was very filling, and again I could not finish half of it (I left for home before I could finish it, and James finished the rest for me). The meats really outshone the sides - the cole slaw was tasty and had a flavor I can't quite place, though the mac & cheese was okay. I just can't begin to describe the ribs, sliced butt and chicken. Soooooooo good.
You can find these at convenience stores all over Georgia and South Carolina, in the same type of hot containers you might find nacho cheese. Margaret Holmes' Boiled Peanuts - I got a small container for about $1.50 in several places. Available in original or Cajun. Oh good Lord, I feel like I'm shilling for peanuts now.
We may not have a Sonic closer than 50 miles to Baltimore, but we could one day. We will never have an In-N-Out anywhere near us. For my last meal before setting foot on the plane to BWI last month I had to stop at the Ontario Mills In-N-Out, the fabled hamburger place that makes everything from scratch and to order, and makes the BBQ ribs I got from Kroger's look like health food. Some of you may know that In-N-Out serves three value meals, and that's it: the hamburger, the cheeseburger and the fabled "Double Double" (two patties). By default, each comes with tomatoes, lettuce, thick onion slices and "special sauce" (it's Thousand Island Dressing). It comes with fries that are cut on site from actual potatoes, and a drink that is either soda or milkshake. Their milkshakes are fabled, too.
I wanted to order the Animal Burger - a patty with mustard mixed into it, and extra sauce. But I forgot the name so I didn't want to sit there for five minutes trying to remember, holding up the drive thru line and missing on dropping off my rental car and, from there, catching my flight.
I devoured the burger in the airport, plus half of the lackluster fries (I'm not a fry person anyway). And you should've seen me suck down that milkshake, since they wouldn't have let me take it through the security line. Ice-cream-headache-induced painful bliss, that's all I can say.
Unlike most major cities, Baltimore's Gay Pride Parade is kind of, um, (What's the word I'm looking for?) low-scale. Though I did get pelted by paraders throwing both Mardi Gras beads and Tootsie Rolls in festive rainbow-colored papers. Was I the only one who thought it strange that Chipotle had a float? Ah well, at least we're in the age when corporations are more likely than they used to be to even show their faces in a gay pride parade! And you gotta love that slogan - yes, the guy's T shirt does say "¿Homo estás?"
What famous Thai Mexican Food do they mean, anyway? Much better was the gelato I got at Marie Louise Bistro (I'm glad I gave them a second try), though their mimosas were pretty watered down for my tastes.
Because it wouldn't fit into my luggage, I had to mail some food back to Baltimore. Most of it was from the Chinese-American supermarket chain 99 Ranch and the British-based supermarket chain Fresh & Easy.
My last day in SoCal last month, I went crazy with non-perishable groceries in the Fresh & Easy. I haven't had a chance to try any of these goodies yet, but I did score some brownie mix, raspberry-chipotle and peanut sauces, chai and chocolate black teas - all Fresh & Easy brand - and Singapore Noodles from the Sof'ella Food Company, whose products I have never seen this side of the Mississippi River. I look forward to trying them all, especially the brownie mix. I had an actual brownie from Fresh & Easy, and if it's from the same ingredients then the mix should be good.
From 99 Ranch, I picked up some loose tea in a lovely decorative jar (Gil already had some and made some for us at his place). I also picked up two cans of Chaokoh coconut milk, a highly recommended brand, before realizing that you can, in fact, find this brand in Maryland after all. I also got some desserts. One was a confection of taro paste covered in white chocolate. It tastes better than it sounds. Actually, it tastes pretty good.
The other thing I got was a heart-shaped plastic container filled with - you won't believe this - candied olives.
E. Joseph And The Phantom Heart with The Jagged Hearts, Freeway 111 at Sonar
Demivolt, Rev. Jack Starr Band, BlairBush at Sidebar
The “rep Yo’ City” Concert at Iguana Cantina
The Guggenheim Grotto at the First Thursday Concert Series at W. Mt. Vernon Park
Steep Canyon Rangers at The 8×10
Amel Larrieux at Rams Head On Stage
Information from Pollstar and Localist.
Related posts:
Spider-Man, 7/2/09
After a few terrifying and disorienting days in which super-powered characters were locked in something resembling combat, Spider-Man has returned to its more reassuringly typical fare of whining and overblown anxiety. Like many a disappointed visitor, Wolverine is discovering that there are literally only two entertainment options in New York: feeding pigeons or seeing plays featuring the stars of direct-to-DVD superheroine films.
Meanwhile, Spidey is worried about Wolverine discovering that he’s married to Mary Jane for reasons that he can’t even bring himself to speak aloud as he web-slings his way aimlessly through Manhattan. Honest question, from someone less conversant in the superhero genre than you might think: do superheroes need to hide their secret identities even from … each other? I mean, did Superman and Batman hang around the Justice League and Batman would say, “You know what really bugs me? The liberal media! Like, have you read that Clark Kent guy? He’s so obviously biased!” and then Superman would say “Well, what about that jerk Bruce Wayne? Inherited all that money and is he doing anything worthwhile with it? He’s probably putting most of it into overseas tax dodges!” That all just seems awkward.
On the other hand, Spidey may just be worried that Wolverine will figure things out, and after seeing MJ’s latest wooden, unlikable performance, think, “Geez, Spider-Man married that no-talent hack? I think so much less of him now!” Don’t worry, Spidey: he can’t possibly think any less of you than he already does.
Apartment 3-G, 7/2/09
OK, Nora, we know it’s a woman’s prerogative to tweak her both the style and color of her hair on a whim, and normally I’d say that I like what those highlights are doing for you. But look, hair is literally the only way we have to tell Apartment 3-G characters apart, and so when a single character goes from a Marilyn Quayle flip to something short and spunky to this shaggy number with bangs here, it makes it hard for us readers to get our grip. Please, the men are already a lost cause; don’t encourage the women to become wholly unrecognizable as well!
Crankshaft, 7/2/09
Aww, did someone’s editor finally get a complaint from the syndicate’s legal department about his main character’s pyromaniacal tendencies? I think that, rather than annoy us with this pissy, passive-aggressive caption, the strip should have taught us a valuable lesson by showing us the consequences of violence, particularly if those consequences include the horrible, hateful Crankshaft being blinded, or at least losing a hand.
Some things are so funny they just have to be passed on. I’ve been a fan of Lewis Samuels’ PostSurf blog since he started it a few months ago. I can’t really say for certain whether getting sacked by Surfline has contributed to his cavalier, unadulterated writing, but he certainly tells it like he sees it. That makes him the only one that is not afraid to buck the bro-brah glad-handing attitude that pervades the surf media. Kudos for that Lewis.
I came across his current Comment of the Week yesterday, and I had to repost it here. Thank you Lewis, and credit due to jiggy jig, the PostSurf reader who sent this comment:
Rasta (Dave Rastovich) took the easy way out. He could be top 5 talent, or maybe top ten, or maybe even a world champ. (Remember this site was born from power rankings of the pro-tour so spare me all the “competition isn’t the only measure of talent greeniebro rants. It is the only true measure of talent in the sport.
The truth is, will never know the extent of Rastas competitive surfing talent because he never stepped up to the plate. I’m sure there are “Babe Ruths” out there who have never touched a bat. Do they count? Nope. Not for sh!t. Is it even worse to be a fringe element media boy milking manatees and putting lotion on turtles nipples every time they get a rash dragging themselves up the beach while claiming world class talent? Yep. It’s like some guy doing baseball videos where he hits ball out of the park and does ads for gloves and bats like he’s a contender but come game time he is running around telling everyone not to tear up the grass with their cleats because it leads to global warming. And flying around the world to different stadiums to do so.
Wanna be green? Stay the f$*# home and grow vegetables. Bodysurf naked with no fins. Get a normal job in your hometown and do volunteer work. Don’t prance around the world acting like buddhas bitch and preaching holier than thou BS about “saving the earth”. You are the problem, not the solution. Don’t go posing in ads that sell petro boardshorts while riding a “wooden finless board shaped on location” in some far flung indo spot that is being destroyed by “eco surf tourism” unless you f%ck!ng swam there from Sydney and carved the plank with your own teeth.
“green pro surfers” are the ultimate hypocrites. Should I buy their products because Rasta brushes his teeth with turtle sh!t? Not so much. The only joy the surf industry ever brought me was selling 50,000 shares of zqk short right before it plunged to f&*k all. Took the money, bought a hummer, went to Bali and had a turtle steak and some satay eagle.
By the way, my “uncles” were guys like Harry Hackman and Jose Angel and and they used to bring home huge turtles and we ate them on the north shore in the 60s. Tasted great and kept the shark population down. Before leashes, before sponsors, before 4oz cloth, before thrusters, before internet surf checks, before Blue Crush.
Back when men were men and turtles were scarce.
Of course our boards sucked and so did our surfing.
But man, those turtles knew their place.
MP3: Old 97’s - Color Of A Lonely Heart Is Blue
The Old 97’s played a sold out show at the Recher this past Saturday night. This show was a special night for those fans of Old 97’s because on this tour, Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond (both members of Old 97’s) opened with solo acoustic performances. The Recher filled early with fans eager to hear the openers as well as the main act. Murry started the evening playing either guitar or harmonium with his very quiet and haunting, old style country melodies. Rhett took the stage next playing many new songs from his latest release, Rhett Miller, as well as some great classics. Old 97’s played a lengthy set to close the evening. For Rhett Miller fans: he will be playing the Black Cat in DC on September 17th. Tickets for this go on sale THIS Friday (July 3rd).
Enjoy the photos from the evening.
Save the Dates for upcoming Restaurant Weeks
Make plans now for Summer Restaurant Weeks in Howard County! July 27 - August 9
Save the date for this summer's Baltimore Restaurant Week- August 7-16, 2009
Televisions are getting bigger and better every year. The latest technology is also becoming more affordable, but a TV can still be a major investment. It’s easy to drop a significant amount of money when you purchase a TV, so it’s only natural that consumers want to make a smart choice. There is a lot to choose from and it can be a little overwhelming when you start investigating all the possible makes and models.
This post will answer a very popular question to help you make an informed decision: What’s the difference between an LCD screen and a plasma screen television? We’ll start with a few basics then discuss the differences.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. It’s the same technology found in many cell phones and computer monitors. It’s composed of two layers of rod-shaped polymers. When you apply an electrical current, these crystals act as shutters to block / allow light through forming and image. Then, the entire screen will refresh (see refresh rate) and present the next image. LCD’s require an external light source such as a CCFL or LED’s because they do not create their own light. This is a benefit because these screens require less power. The screens are thin, flat and available in many different sizes.
Plasma screens are another type of flat panel display, although they are generally a little thicker (about 6 inches thick). They are created with many tiny cells. Each cell has two panels of glass with an inert gas injected (in plasma form) between. The gas then excites red, green, and blue phosphors to emit light, creating an image. Plasmas require significant power because they still burn phosphors (just like CRT’s), this is especially true for brighter content.
These are the advantages the LCD screens have over plasma screens. Determine what you think is most important and select a TV accordingly.
Requires less powerAnd here’s the advantages of a plasma screen over an LCD.
What do you think? What type of TV do you have?
Image courtesy of Johannes Freund
Sorry for the delay on getting you this post. I was working from the MAC Store at 5th Avenue and Central Park at 1 a.m. I wasn't up to the cut and paste. So here were some quick notes for the International Fancy Food Show.
(Sushi opens one eye to watch as I run around like an idiot. I am disturbing his nap.)
I was challenged by a friend I haven’t seen in awhile to write a 500 – 1000 word piece of semi-fiction in 24 hours that had to have these three qualifications:
1. It had to be semi-autobiographical but still fictional.
2. No more than 1000 words.
3. No edits other than spelling and grammar.
I gave it a shot:
He woke on a Friday as he always did, naked and angry.
The blackout shades of the room fooled him into a state of false time. The alarm was a petulant child demanding immediate attention and he was, at that moment, seriously considering infanticide. Surely the alarm was wrong.
Of course it wasn’t.
Another day crashed down on him; another day of wasted time for little pay; another day of cheap, bitter coffee and fast food. Another day where the only pleasure he would get was in sneaking away from work to contemplate life near the creek that ran near his Soviet Bloc-inspired wage prison.
He shuffled off what remained of the covers and moved toward the edge of the bed. His feet hit the cold March floor inspiring every ounce of fluid in his body to rush to his bladder causing an immediate cramp requiring even more immediate relief. His back hurt him, the price of actually living a life in his earlier years. Pain shot down into his legs and he winced. Pain was the one constant and consistent thing he knew and he was surprisingly at peace with that.
He opened the bedroom door and looked down the hall towards the bathroom. The bathroom might as well have been in a pocket universe as it was the one room in his home that offered a constant quiet. There is nothing more peaceful than the toilet. It is the one place where you can truly be yourself. Everyone is truthful in the loo. You simply cannot lie and take a shit at the same time. The only downside to such truth is the mirror that hangs on the wall just waiting for you to show yourself to it. Mirrors have the power to distort all they see. He flushed and faced his reflection.
He is in his thirties. There is the body of what was once an athlete but now a little softer after injury, abuse and ennui. Two or three workouts a week could restore it but that requires a persistence that he just doesn’t have. His hair is shoulder length, raven black and worn in a ponytail that accentuates a bit of a widow’s peak. His hair is thinning; the only one in his family who has. Two tattoos adorn an otherwise plain frame. His eyes, even when so bored and angry at the world still look young. He still laughs easily. Humor is his favorite drug and the gateway to genius. Today, however, he was not into humor and it was hard to look himself in the eye.
The day-to-day activities of life are so automatic. Brush hair. Apply deodorant. Wash face. The only one he looks forward to is brushing his teeth.
He remembers as a child how magical brushing his teeth was. The sound it made was so strange and the results were instant gratification that didn’t just please him but his parents as well. He doesn’t use a manual toothbrush anymore. It was replaced by a very grown-up model that reminded him of a handheld screwdriver with a bristled attachment. You could probably use it as a sander. It didn’t clean teeth as much as it punished them. Rinse, spit, repeat.
He took a cat-like stretch and went back out into the drafty hallway without bothering to turn on the overhead light. He didn’t need it. Habit drives his life and he knew that today’s clothes were waiting for him, shirt on the closet hook and pants and socks over the railing. He never wore underwear. It was a silent rebellion against his very serious and conservative job. He figured the day would come when he had enough and would walk into a staff meeting, drop his pants and put his balls on the conference table while announcing to the powers that be that they can keep their fucking job. The image of it brought a brief smile to his face as he dressed.
Clothes feel so foreign to him. He was born naked and it is only social convention that keeps him in garb. He especially dislikes button down shirts with ties. It is as if you are being slowly strangled and often makes him feel light headed and tired. If forced to wear clothes he almost always prefers jeans, skateboarding shoes and some offensive t-shirt with such slogans as “I dig chicks with big tits” or “What kind of meat does the Pope eat? Nun!” His head is covered by the ever-present cap. He wears the cap mostly because he likes to but it also helps to hide his bald spot. It is a sore point for him to say the least.
Friday, he thought, would be a very inconvenient day to die.
I have a special cat friend named Kitty-Witty. I got Kitty-Witty from the Maryland SPCA when she was a wee kitten. We had a real mice problem in our house ever since we moved in ten years ago. Finally I got tired of the mice just laughing at me and nibbling on my toes while I sat here at the computer. I got Kitty-Witty on the hopes that she would take care of the mouse problem, and she did. All the mice are gone. She really did her job! Sometimes she has a spat with my four-year old daughter- she bites my daughter or claws her. Nothing serious. After all, they’re close friends. Kitty-Witty keeps me company when no one else is around. She always wants to be in the part of the house where the people are. It’s fun to see her in full sprawl/relaxation mode.
I look forward to checking out this site
to see if I can find any cat care tips for Kitty-Witty. Kitty-Witty has gotten a bit fat and I’m wondering, should I feed her less? I’m sure there’s a lot of cat lore and care tips that I could learn from this site!
Eventually I will post photos of Kitty-Witty. She is a beautiful gray tabby with bewitching green eyes.
I’m not going to attempt to fully recount what happened last night. Truth is, the comments on yesterday’s post do a better job than one person ever could. That’s an organic, real, exhilarating read right there. True fans doing what you all do best.
Even in the light of day I feel no less excited. This fan base — the dedicated and frustrated alike — both needed and deserved a night like that. I wish I could eavesdrop in every office building, on every street corner, and in every pub today. For one day, at least, this really is Birdland.
Greatest comeback in Team history. Biggest comeback ever by a last place team against a first place team. Proof that Oriole Magic not only has a pulse, but is prepping for a massive reunion tour.
Speaking of Oriole Magic — I’d say now is a good time to link this again (mp3).
Phew. What a night.
And now we have Day Baseball on tap, with the Berger Cookie (he’s nearly earned that moniker) up against Josh “I have a hemp necklace, brah” Beckett. Let’s go get ‘em.
If you’ve been looking for a way to celebrate Michael Jackson’s life, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better one coming up. We’ve got a pair of free tickets to giveaway to Who’s Bad, performing a sizable number of MJ’s hits at Rams Head Live on Jul 8th. BYT covered the 9:30 Club performance and seemed to have a favorable opinion on proceedings.
Entering is simple: comment or email us at auralstates at gmail dot com with your most vivid, moving or hilarious MJ memory. Winner will be chosen on Jul 7th at 5PM.
I wrote this morning about the first steps in a sliding glass door replacement: preparing the slider rough opening. In addition to ensuring that the rough opening is right sized, you must also ensure that the bottom of the rough opening is 100% flat (both front to back, and from left to right). If the bottom of the opening isn’t flat, the sliding door will likely struggle to open or close, and may be structurally unsound.
While our door is flat from left to right, you can see in the picture at the right that our bottom opening was not flat from front to back. The tongue from the plywood ends mid-way through the door opening. In order to fix this, we purchased 1/2″ pine slats from the local big box store and used shims to raise the height of the 1/2″ pine board. But first, we cut out the plywood tongue.
Cutting out the plywood tongue was a pretty simple task and we employed our Skil 18V Circular Saw. Simply set the depth on the circular saw shave off the tongue without going through the board beneath and run the saw the full length of the door frame. For areas close to the left and right sides were the circular saw wouldn’t fit, we used a simple wood chisel to remove the tongue. We used a handheld grinder to create a smooth surface.
After the tongue was removed, we used shims and out 1/2″ pine to level the opening. We ripped the pine down to size using a light duty table saw, and fastened the pine and shims to the floor boards using construction adhesive and finish nails.
When finished, the bottom opening of our rough opening is 100% flat and ready for the patio door to be installed.
If your door has an uneven bottom from left to right, you have two options: if you have the space, you can shim appropriately and add 1/4 plywood over the threshhold. If you don’t have the room in the rough opening, you can shim underneath the door directly but it can be challenging to get this perfect.
Rex Morgan, M.D., 7/1/09
Ho ho, it looks like this new RMMD plot will be about the adventures of Peter the Sex Chameleon! Currently, he’s blond-headed and white-suited, the better to match the fair complexion of his wife. But when we saw him attempting to bust a move on a sexy nutritionist on Monday, he had brown hair and a blue coat! My guess is that his hair and suit were fully black as he attempted to woo his raven-haired co-worker; when Becka surprised him, he began to color-shift involuntarily, and we caught him at a transitional stage.
Mark Trail, 7/1/09
It’s a sad but all too common story: man loses money gambling, man redirects waste disposal budget to his casino account, man hires lowest bidder to dump toxic barrels in nature preserve. Of course, Mark will have no sympathy for the gentleman; not only are his environmental misdeeds unforgivable, but Mark holds deeply Manichaean view of the world, in which everyone and everything is neatly divided into good (clean-cut, clean-shaven) and evil (beard, sideburns, and/or shaggy hair), so games of chance and probability enrage him into a distinctly punchy mood.
Mary Worth, 7/1/09
As she did with Lynn the skater who didn’t want to skate anymore, Mary is teaching Delilah that the greatest pleasure comes from ignoring and suppressing one’s own desires to fulfill the needs of others. The young lady is resisting, but she’s already begun to come around; in panel two, she’s finally acceded to Mary’s request and started wearing a drool cup instead of just dribbling defiantly all over the tablecloth.
Marvin, 7/1/09
So, if the choices are Marvin peeing everywhere or dogs talking wistfully about their castration, which do you prefer? Would dogs peeing everywhere have been a more palatable middle ground? Discuss.
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