Day 1 at the new daycare went remarkably well, thanks for asking.
It didn't start that way, by any stretch. The routine used to be (used to be, mind you) that Wife would transport our son from his bed directly to his car seat, where he would be whisked in style to the sitter's house some 45 minutes away.
No longer.
Thanks to our new daycare's rules, he is to be dressed and ready for the day when he arrives in the morning. It now falls on me to get him ready in the mornings, and he was acutely aware this morning of the change in the routine. I pulled him out of bed and put him on the changing table, changing his diaper and putting his shirt, pants and shoes on him. He knew something was up, because he immediately started saying, "Daddy's house." (That is to say, "If it is all the same with you, dear Father, I would prefer to stay here and spend the day playing with you." If he only knew that I would prefer the same.)
I tried to put his jacket on him, and he fought me. I promised him something – I don't recall what it was at this point – and he acquiesced, allowing me to slide his jacket on.
The 10-minute trip to the daycare was uneventful, save for the sight of a couple of deer alongside the road. Once we arrived, however, he began to struggle some more. "Daddy's house! Daddy's house!" He began crying as I tried to gather up his belongings for leave-behind at the daycare. We made it inside, and as much as the new sitter tried to put him at ease, he continued screamed bloody murder, at an even louder volume when I went out the door. I think a little bit of me died there – this is the first time I've ever had to leave him behind somewhere (besides with family).
The end of the day, however, brought about a 180-degree change in attitude. Son had a great time today playing with some new friends, and he was looking as content as could be when I arrived to pick him up. He was quite thrilled to see me, and didn't fight leaving at all (as I had feared he would).
We laughed and talked all the way home. We got behind a school bus (a big thrill for him) and he would narrate the bus' activities as well as the sights along the road. "School bus down hill! Daddy down hill! Dozer! Tractor! Horsie! School bus up hill! School bus out!" (he would say when it would stop to let kids off).
Later on, I asked him if he wanted to go back to the daycare tomorrow. "No," he'd reply. "Daddy's house."
Monday, November 27, 2006
Crimes Against Babysitting.
Tomorrow morning, our son goes to a new daycare. We're all very nervous and scared and excited - except for our son, who right now is treating tonight like any other.
It takes a certain level of trust to leave your pride and joy with strangers - a fact that had not hit me until the last week or so, when it became apparent that a change in child care was due.
While I was constitutionally required to call our now-former babysitter a "saint" for her deeds during the time our son was in her care, the fact that she is listed in the line above as "now-former" gets me off the hook. Besides, she wasn't my friend in the first place - she was my wife's. So I don't have a whole lot of interest in continuing to figuratively blow smoke up her butt.
Although I'm grateful for all that she did - especially on the cheap - I don't think I'm talking out of turn when I state that our child care situation could have been better over the last two-plus years. Many times, especially recently, we were left scurrying for a backup on short notice. And our son was the only child she watched (other than her own), which led to being regaled with stories about "your son did this" and "your son did that" (i.e., showing favoritism toward her own children). Which is to be expected, I suppose - a lot of parents have a sort of tunnel vision that shields their eyes from any wrongdoing on the part of their children. I don't doubt that the boy can do some fairly mean things when he wants to - after all, he has my wife's temper - but I don't really think he did them in a vacuum, you know?
At any rate, tomorrow begins a new era in his child care; hopefully we'll be able to stick with this daycare (an actual, licensed daycare where there won't be any favoritism toward the other kids! No stairs where he'll slide down them on his stomach and get carpet burns on his knee! etc. etc. etc.) until he reaches school age. My fingers are crossed, anyway, and if you get a second, if you could cross yours for me as well, I'd really appreciate it.
It takes a certain level of trust to leave your pride and joy with strangers - a fact that had not hit me until the last week or so, when it became apparent that a change in child care was due.
While I was constitutionally required to call our now-former babysitter a "saint" for her deeds during the time our son was in her care, the fact that she is listed in the line above as "now-former" gets me off the hook. Besides, she wasn't my friend in the first place - she was my wife's. So I don't have a whole lot of interest in continuing to figuratively blow smoke up her butt.
Although I'm grateful for all that she did - especially on the cheap - I don't think I'm talking out of turn when I state that our child care situation could have been better over the last two-plus years. Many times, especially recently, we were left scurrying for a backup on short notice. And our son was the only child she watched (other than her own), which led to being regaled with stories about "your son did this" and "your son did that" (i.e., showing favoritism toward her own children). Which is to be expected, I suppose - a lot of parents have a sort of tunnel vision that shields their eyes from any wrongdoing on the part of their children. I don't doubt that the boy can do some fairly mean things when he wants to - after all, he has my wife's temper - but I don't really think he did them in a vacuum, you know?
At any rate, tomorrow begins a new era in his child care; hopefully we'll be able to stick with this daycare (an actual, licensed daycare where there won't be any favoritism toward the other kids! No stairs where he'll slide down them on his stomach and get carpet burns on his knee! etc. etc. etc.) until he reaches school age. My fingers are crossed, anyway, and if you get a second, if you could cross yours for me as well, I'd really appreciate it.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Need some help, please!
I've got a stack of old 78s that I am selling on eBay, and a series of German records that I'm selling has me buffaloed. I turn to you, who I believe are the smartest readers in the world, for help.
I've usually been able to discern the age of the record by putting the label information into my favorite search engine and pulling the recording information that way ... but with these, despite the fact that most of them are on Columbia, I've had no luck.
The records are:
Columbia 5015-F - Bauern-Kapelle - "Kelfelver"/"Trompetenlander"
Columbia E-9005 - Pfalzer Strassenmusikanten - "Zecherfreuden Polka"/"Irma Walzer"
Columbia 5061-F - Franz Niernsee - "Mein Leibjodler"/"Erzherzog Johann Jodler"
Jumbola 1392/1393 - Theodor Peter - "A Lustigi Jasspartie"/"Der Wunderdoktor"
All I am looking for is date of recording for each of these songs. Any information you can provide would be extra-useful.
Any German record aficionados out there?
I've usually been able to discern the age of the record by putting the label information into my favorite search engine and pulling the recording information that way ... but with these, despite the fact that most of them are on Columbia, I've had no luck.
The records are:
Columbia 5015-F - Bauern-Kapelle - "Kelfelver"/"Trompetenlander"
Columbia E-9005 - Pfalzer Strassenmusikanten - "Zecherfreuden Polka"/"Irma Walzer"
Columbia 5061-F - Franz Niernsee - "Mein Leibjodler"/"Erzherzog Johann Jodler"
Jumbola 1392/1393 - Theodor Peter - "A Lustigi Jasspartie"/"Der Wunderdoktor"
All I am looking for is date of recording for each of these songs. Any information you can provide would be extra-useful.
Any German record aficionados out there?
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Psyche Snapshot: my favorite Pollard songs
(self-indulgent listmaking)
For anyone who cares – and I can think of only one who might – this snapshot of my psyche reveals my 30 current favorite Guided by Voices/Robert Pollard songs. Numbers 1-7 or so are fairly constant – ask me again in a month and I’ll reveal those same 7, probably in that order.
This is, of course, completely subjective, so if I’m a tool for not including “I Am A Scientist” or “Time Machines” (rats, I forgot “Time Machines”), then you’re a tool for bringing it up. Start your own blog and make your own list.
Enjoy.
1. Game of Pricks
2. Buzzards & Dreadful Crows
3. Smothered in Hugs
4. Echos Myron
5. Psychic Pilot Clocks Out
6. Huffman Prairie Flying Field
7. I Am A Tree
8. Don’t Stop Now
9. Wished I Was A Giant
10. The Brides Have Hit Glass
11. Hardcore UFOs
12. I’m A Widow
13. Color of My Blade
14. Picture Me Big Time
15. Shocker in Gloomtown
16. Systems Crash
17. Bally Hoo
18. Subtle Gear Shifting
19. Island Crimes
20. Back to Saturn X
21. Everyday
22. Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox
23. Crocker’s Favorite Song
24. Supernatural Car Lover
25. (I’ll Name You) The Flame That Cries
26. Mr. Japan
27. Towers and Landslides
28. June Salutes You!
29. Accidental Texas Who
30. Blatant Doom Trip
(Most egregious omissions: the aforementioned "Time Machines," "Subspace Biographies.")
For anyone who cares – and I can think of only one who might – this snapshot of my psyche reveals my 30 current favorite Guided by Voices/Robert Pollard songs. Numbers 1-7 or so are fairly constant – ask me again in a month and I’ll reveal those same 7, probably in that order.
This is, of course, completely subjective, so if I’m a tool for not including “I Am A Scientist” or “Time Machines” (rats, I forgot “Time Machines”), then you’re a tool for bringing it up. Start your own blog and make your own list.
Enjoy.
1. Game of Pricks
2. Buzzards & Dreadful Crows
3. Smothered in Hugs
4. Echos Myron
5. Psychic Pilot Clocks Out
6. Huffman Prairie Flying Field
7. I Am A Tree
8. Don’t Stop Now
9. Wished I Was A Giant
10. The Brides Have Hit Glass
11. Hardcore UFOs
12. I’m A Widow
13. Color of My Blade
14. Picture Me Big Time
15. Shocker in Gloomtown
16. Systems Crash
17. Bally Hoo
18. Subtle Gear Shifting
19. Island Crimes
20. Back to Saturn X
21. Everyday
22. Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox
23. Crocker’s Favorite Song
24. Supernatural Car Lover
25. (I’ll Name You) The Flame That Cries
26. Mr. Japan
27. Towers and Landslides
28. June Salutes You!
29. Accidental Texas Who
30. Blatant Doom Trip
(Most egregious omissions: the aforementioned "Time Machines," "Subspace Biographies.")
Child update.
"How's the boy?" you ask.
He's well. He's 2 1/2 now. This is a really special time, because he is learning so much every day. He's really a sweet little boy, and I hate to think that in future years, he'll be corrupted by the world and by other kids. Regardless, I cherish these times greatly. Three snippets that may or may not provide insight into our day-to-day:
He loves Thomas the Pain Train. We put one of his Thomas DVDs into the player and set it to "extended babysitter version" (continuous play), and he seems to be pretty content. "Choo-choo!" he'll say.
Last weekend, some football game was on, and he came into the living room, looked at the TV, and said, "Football!" My heart swelled.
Last evening, I was giving him a bath, and he would take a plastic bowl, fill it with water, then ask me if I wanted chocolate milk. He asks this by saying, "Chocolate milk?" I say, "Sure!" He goes, "oooOOOO-K!", pretends that the soap suds are chocolate powder, then scoops some into the bowl, "mixes" the concoction, then pours some into my cupped hands. "More?" he asks hopefully. "Yes, please!" I reply. And the scene repeats itself.
I'll try to think back on these times when he's yelling at me for not letting him have a cell phone when he's 12.
He's well. He's 2 1/2 now. This is a really special time, because he is learning so much every day. He's really a sweet little boy, and I hate to think that in future years, he'll be corrupted by the world and by other kids. Regardless, I cherish these times greatly. Three snippets that may or may not provide insight into our day-to-day:
He loves Thomas the Pain Train. We put one of his Thomas DVDs into the player and set it to "extended babysitter version" (continuous play), and he seems to be pretty content. "Choo-choo!" he'll say.
Last weekend, some football game was on, and he came into the living room, looked at the TV, and said, "Football!" My heart swelled.
Last evening, I was giving him a bath, and he would take a plastic bowl, fill it with water, then ask me if I wanted chocolate milk. He asks this by saying, "Chocolate milk?" I say, "Sure!" He goes, "oooOOOO-K!", pretends that the soap suds are chocolate powder, then scoops some into the bowl, "mixes" the concoction, then pours some into my cupped hands. "More?" he asks hopefully. "Yes, please!" I reply. And the scene repeats itself.
I'll try to think back on these times when he's yelling at me for not letting him have a cell phone when he's 12.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Here's what I think of your retirement gift!
Dang, I love the Seymour Tribune’s website. I’ve detailed in the past their overzealous use of the acronym “SOB” when talking about a sexually-oriented business that was started in Uniontown.
In the screen capture below, the Tribune details in loving detail the end result of a Seymour school librarian’s gratitude toward the student body for … well, you just have to read the caption and compare it with the obviously incorrect picture, which appears that McIntosh was … errrr … decidedly less than grateful.
“Here’s what I think of your golden leaves!” McIntosh was rumored to say while loading them into the shredder truck. “35 years and all those little shits give me is a golden leaf. A golden fucking leaf! Thanks a million for 35 years, assholes! I can't exactly take this shit to the casino, can I? 'Here, I'd like to cash in this golden leaf for $100 in chips.' NO! I don't think it works like that, fuckers!"
In the screen capture below, the Tribune details in loving detail the end result of a Seymour school librarian’s gratitude toward the student body for … well, you just have to read the caption and compare it with the obviously incorrect picture, which appears that McIntosh was … errrr … decidedly less than grateful.
“Here’s what I think of your golden leaves!” McIntosh was rumored to say while loading them into the shredder truck. “35 years and all those little shits give me is a golden leaf. A golden fucking leaf! Thanks a million for 35 years, assholes! I can't exactly take this shit to the casino, can I? 'Here, I'd like to cash in this golden leaf for $100 in chips.' NO! I don't think it works like that, fuckers!"
Thursday, November 16, 2006
March of the Pansies:
The yelling over the recent Bob Knight non-incident continues unabated.
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann was formerly a respected newsreader on ESPN before he decided to try his hand at real news and become the joke of the industry. Never missing an opportunity to make an ass of himself, he awarded Knight his nightly "Worst Person in the World" honor. On the other hand, Olbermann's program gets the worst ratings in the world, so it's not as though people are paying attention to him.
The Knight story was like a kick in the ovaries to FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman.
This blogger - I don't know what the hell this blogger is all about. I can say with confidence that the future of Knight-centric journalism is in good hands, what with the ad hominem attacks and outright lies that his post "Bob Knight ... Need I Say More?" contains. I'd like him to detail Knight's "extreme violence" (!) - especially, but not limited to, that "toward opposing players." (!!!) Moreover, I can also point out that plagiarism is still alive and well, seeing as how the blogger lifted directly the AP-created list of Knight "controversies" that I linked to a couple of days ago, and passed it off as his own. Nice work!
The Chicago Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti stepped into the restroom for a moment, powdered up and shat out this masterpiece, in which he opens with, "Sorry to oppose the twisted mentality of his nationwide defense team ..." The arrogance of the media is astounding, and no finer example exists than in that line. You know why he has a "nationwide defense team," Jay? Because they're all common folks just like me, and they're tired of the constant haranguing of Knight in the media - and you're the media, Jay, given your position at the Sun-Times and frequent appearances on ESPN's "Around The Horn." This isn't Jay Mariotti's one-man crusade against Knight - this is Jay Marriotti in an echo chamber, part of a big sportswriter circle-jerk.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor adds absolutely nothing to the argument other than to drag out the tired old timeworn "bully" argument. In case you weren't aware that he thinks Knight is a bully, he titled his article, "A Big Bully." You can expect that later, Taylor will pen a thought-provoking piece titled "9/11 Was Bad."
Really, I could go on and on. But you get the gist. Sports journalists, many of whom couldn't cut it covering real news but are still inspired by the ghosts of Woodward and Bernstein, turn to the sports world for targets to pursue. A lot of them are bitter, failed ex-athletes who got cut from their junior varsity wrestling team because they just weren't tough enough, and they've held a grudge against men like Coach Knight ever since. Sure, there are some good sportswriters - usually the ones without agendas are the ones you can trust - but by and large, you can post a dozen of them on eBay and still not get a dollar out of them.
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann was formerly a respected newsreader on ESPN before he decided to try his hand at real news and become the joke of the industry. Never missing an opportunity to make an ass of himself, he awarded Knight his nightly "Worst Person in the World" honor. On the other hand, Olbermann's program gets the worst ratings in the world, so it's not as though people are paying attention to him.
The Knight story was like a kick in the ovaries to FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman.
This blogger - I don't know what the hell this blogger is all about. I can say with confidence that the future of Knight-centric journalism is in good hands, what with the ad hominem attacks and outright lies that his post "Bob Knight ... Need I Say More?" contains. I'd like him to detail Knight's "extreme violence" (!) - especially, but not limited to, that "toward opposing players." (!!!) Moreover, I can also point out that plagiarism is still alive and well, seeing as how the blogger lifted directly the AP-created list of Knight "controversies" that I linked to a couple of days ago, and passed it off as his own. Nice work!
The Chicago Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti stepped into the restroom for a moment, powdered up and shat out this masterpiece, in which he opens with, "Sorry to oppose the twisted mentality of his nationwide defense team ..." The arrogance of the media is astounding, and no finer example exists than in that line. You know why he has a "nationwide defense team," Jay? Because they're all common folks just like me, and they're tired of the constant haranguing of Knight in the media - and you're the media, Jay, given your position at the Sun-Times and frequent appearances on ESPN's "Around The Horn." This isn't Jay Mariotti's one-man crusade against Knight - this is Jay Marriotti in an echo chamber, part of a big sportswriter circle-jerk.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor adds absolutely nothing to the argument other than to drag out the tired old timeworn "bully" argument. In case you weren't aware that he thinks Knight is a bully, he titled his article, "A Big Bully." You can expect that later, Taylor will pen a thought-provoking piece titled "9/11 Was Bad."
Really, I could go on and on. But you get the gist. Sports journalists, many of whom couldn't cut it covering real news but are still inspired by the ghosts of Woodward and Bernstein, turn to the sports world for targets to pursue. A lot of them are bitter, failed ex-athletes who got cut from their junior varsity wrestling team because they just weren't tough enough, and they've held a grudge against men like Coach Knight ever since. Sure, there are some good sportswriters - usually the ones without agendas are the ones you can trust - but by and large, you can post a dozen of them on eBay and still not get a dollar out of them.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Knight Fails to Flush; Media Histrionics Ensue
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bobby (because he hates being called "Bobby") Knight today angrily defended himself against accusations that he intentionally failed to flush after leaving the men's room stall at a local restaurant.
Knight admitted no wrongdoing in the incident, saying that he "forgot" to flush the toilet after lunch at Lubbock's Big China Wok restaurant didn't particularly agree with him. He claims that he was just getting up from the toilet when he took a cell phone call from a recruit and lost his train of thought.
"This is not the way civilized society operates!" ESPN's Tony Kornheiser yelled on his nightly program "Pardon the Interruption." "It wasn't OK for George Patton, it wasn't OK for Woody Hayes, and it's not OK for Bob Knight to be so disconsiderate of others. To leave an unflushed present in the toilet for the next user merits a suspension or a firing, but as always, he's got the president and athletic director of the university covering up for him. When will this madness stop?"
When confronted with the allegations, Knight said "&%#$."
Knight admitted no wrongdoing in the incident, saying that he "forgot" to flush the toilet after lunch at Lubbock's Big China Wok restaurant didn't particularly agree with him. He claims that he was just getting up from the toilet when he took a cell phone call from a recruit and lost his train of thought.
"This is not the way civilized society operates!" ESPN's Tony Kornheiser yelled on his nightly program "Pardon the Interruption." "It wasn't OK for George Patton, it wasn't OK for Woody Hayes, and it's not OK for Bob Knight to be so disconsiderate of others. To leave an unflushed present in the toilet for the next user merits a suspension or a firing, but as always, he's got the president and athletic director of the university covering up for him. When will this madness stop?"
When confronted with the allegations, Knight said "&%#$."
Knight Takes 12 Items into 10 Items or Less Lane; Media Calls for Resignation
LUBBOCK, TEXAS (AP) - Embattled Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bobby Knight angrily defended himself today against accusations that he went through a local supermarket's express lane with more than the maximum number of items allowed by store policy.
When confronted with the video evidence of his obviously-intentional miscue, the fiery coach said, "I had one coupon for 4 2-liters of pop; I thought that only counted as one item."
On ESPN's "Around The Horn," a hysterical Woody Paige called for Knight's resignation from the Texas Tech head coaching position.
"He should resign, or at the very least, be suspended for the rest of the season," Paige shouted over the three other sportswriters who were also shouting on the program. "This is just the latest example of Bob Knight's disregard for the rules that common people should live by. He honestly believes that he is somehow 'above' Safeway store policy."
When told of Paige's comments, which were typical of the media reaction to the Knight mistake, Knight said, "$%#^."
When confronted with the video evidence of his obviously-intentional miscue, the fiery coach said, "I had one coupon for 4 2-liters of pop; I thought that only counted as one item."
On ESPN's "Around The Horn," a hysterical Woody Paige called for Knight's resignation from the Texas Tech head coaching position.
"He should resign, or at the very least, be suspended for the rest of the season," Paige shouted over the three other sportswriters who were also shouting on the program. "This is just the latest example of Bob Knight's disregard for the rules that common people should live by. He honestly believes that he is somehow 'above' Safeway store policy."
When told of Paige's comments, which were typical of the media reaction to the Knight mistake, Knight said, "$%#^."
Mountains out of molehills: same song, new verse.
Bob Knight doesn't need me to provide him a defense (there's some sort of defense-related punchline that would fit there), but I will anyway.
Surely, if you've been paying a minuscule amount of attention to the news in the last 18 hours, you've heard about the latest hubbub surrounding the Hall of Fame coach. To wit:
Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers insisted today that Bob Knight did nothing wrong when he “quickly lifted” the chin of Michael Prince in the latest clash between the hot-tempered coach and a player.
Prince and his parents also defended Knight, who confronted the forward and pushed his chin upward, as if to make him look the coach in the eye, during a timeout late in the Red Raiders’ 86-74 victory against Gardner-Webb on Monday night.
I'm flabbergasted that this is even an issue that merits the coverage it's received thus far. THIS WAS NOTHING. Nothing! Especially nothing that merits 11 minutes at the top of ESPNews' 4:30 CST airing - an amount of time usually reserved for the death of a very important sports figure or Super Bowl coverage.
You know something? It occurs to me as I'm writing this that the problem is not with Bob Knight. I think the problem is with the ESPN-ization of sports. They have 120 hours of programming per day (note: corrected from earlier version when I mistakenly said "week") to fill, with the five ESPN-branded networks, and it's inevitable that there will be folks there who will believe that they are Very Important Sports Journalists - a horseshit term if there ever was one - and the fact that Knight is anything but a white-bread, vanilla, plain ol' basketball coach leads some of these pantywaists to cry foul at the fact that he doesn't "play nice" as often as they'd like.
I have a great idea. Let's take some cameras and follow some ESPN journalists around at their job every day for a decade and see if we can find anything worth writing about. By applying the same heavyhanded horseshit standards, I'm sure we could uncover some supposedly aberrant behavior. (I suspect, for instance, that there is plenty of crack use in Bristol, given the Worldwide Leader's clouded judgment in continuing to allow the hemmorhoidal Bill Simmons to write for their website.)
Here's an Associated Press-compiled list of "controversies" surrounding Coach Knight over the last 30 years. You'll note that the further the timeline delves into the '90s, the more often that Bob Knight's every supposed misstep is meticulously detailed, which coincides with the meteoric rise of ESPN as an arbiter of "sports journalism." You'll also note that the bulk of these are nothing! "Playfully fires a blank shot at a reporter"? Hell, more journalists should have blanks fired at them - it's really the least they deserve, to have a target on their back for once. "Brought a donkey wearing a Purdue hat onto his television show"? Pretty funny, really! "Knight takes the public address microphone and recites a profane verse directed at his critics"? Cover the kids' ears - he said "ass!"
Knight didn't hit anyone (in spite of the banner headline on ESPNews that screamed "Bob Knight Strikes Player During Timeout"), didn't murder anyone, didn't advocate the destruction of the West in favor of a shari'a state. Not that you'd pick this up when you hear these angry failed athletes and pseudo-journalists tell it.
I'm so glad I'm out of the journalism business. I'd hate to think what kind of bitter, hateful person I'd be today if I stayed in it.
Surely, if you've been paying a minuscule amount of attention to the news in the last 18 hours, you've heard about the latest hubbub surrounding the Hall of Fame coach. To wit:
Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers insisted today that Bob Knight did nothing wrong when he “quickly lifted” the chin of Michael Prince in the latest clash between the hot-tempered coach and a player.
Prince and his parents also defended Knight, who confronted the forward and pushed his chin upward, as if to make him look the coach in the eye, during a timeout late in the Red Raiders’ 86-74 victory against Gardner-Webb on Monday night.
I'm flabbergasted that this is even an issue that merits the coverage it's received thus far. THIS WAS NOTHING. Nothing! Especially nothing that merits 11 minutes at the top of ESPNews' 4:30 CST airing - an amount of time usually reserved for the death of a very important sports figure or Super Bowl coverage.
You know something? It occurs to me as I'm writing this that the problem is not with Bob Knight. I think the problem is with the ESPN-ization of sports. They have 120 hours of programming per day (note: corrected from earlier version when I mistakenly said "week") to fill, with the five ESPN-branded networks, and it's inevitable that there will be folks there who will believe that they are Very Important Sports Journalists - a horseshit term if there ever was one - and the fact that Knight is anything but a white-bread, vanilla, plain ol' basketball coach leads some of these pantywaists to cry foul at the fact that he doesn't "play nice" as often as they'd like.
I have a great idea. Let's take some cameras and follow some ESPN journalists around at their job every day for a decade and see if we can find anything worth writing about. By applying the same heavyhanded horseshit standards, I'm sure we could uncover some supposedly aberrant behavior. (I suspect, for instance, that there is plenty of crack use in Bristol, given the Worldwide Leader's clouded judgment in continuing to allow the hemmorhoidal Bill Simmons to write for their website.)
Here's an Associated Press-compiled list of "controversies" surrounding Coach Knight over the last 30 years. You'll note that the further the timeline delves into the '90s, the more often that Bob Knight's every supposed misstep is meticulously detailed, which coincides with the meteoric rise of ESPN as an arbiter of "sports journalism." You'll also note that the bulk of these are nothing! "Playfully fires a blank shot at a reporter"? Hell, more journalists should have blanks fired at them - it's really the least they deserve, to have a target on their back for once. "Brought a donkey wearing a Purdue hat onto his television show"? Pretty funny, really! "Knight takes the public address microphone and recites a profane verse directed at his critics"? Cover the kids' ears - he said "ass!"
Knight didn't hit anyone (in spite of the banner headline on ESPNews that screamed "Bob Knight Strikes Player During Timeout"), didn't murder anyone, didn't advocate the destruction of the West in favor of a shari'a state. Not that you'd pick this up when you hear these angry failed athletes and pseudo-journalists tell it.
I'm so glad I'm out of the journalism business. I'd hate to think what kind of bitter, hateful person I'd be today if I stayed in it.
Monday, November 13, 2006
IU Basketball: The Rebirth?
Wow - that escalated rather quickly, didn't it?
It's still a rather sad state of affairs surrounding Indiana's basketball program when I, as a fan who formerly bled crimson and cream and now don't bleed at all for them, took a break from watching tonight's IU-Lafayette season opener to check on my Internet profiteering interests. Even worse, I took that break when IU was up by a basket in the second half and looking to lose another game they shouldn't have lost.
I returned a few minutes later to see that the Hoosiers had blown the game open and were up by 24 in the last 6 minutes.
***
The last few years have brought about a 180-degree change in my enjoyment and fandom of IU basketball. True, maybe the previous coach's original sin was that he wasn't Bob Knight, which only exacerbated all of the other crap that he pulled in his short tenure at the helm. It had gotten to the point where I would even hold my nose and root for Purdue and Kentucky when they played IU, which was unthinkable a mere 10 years ago.
A new era began tonight for IU, as He-Of-The-Questionable-Recruiting-Tactics put an Indiana team on the floor for the first time. There was plenty to like and plenty to dislike, but for now, I'm going to give Coach Sampson the benefit of the doubt. No, he's also not Bob Knight, but he's not the previous coach either. As long as his kids play hard, they run an offense and he recruits well (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), and as long as he can get IU back to the Sweet Sixteen regularly while running a clean program, then he'll do OK in my book. That's a lot to live up to, but it's obviously been done before.
I did still catch myself rooting for Lafayette a time or two tonight, though. Time to relearn some old habits I once had, I reckon.
It's still a rather sad state of affairs surrounding Indiana's basketball program when I, as a fan who formerly bled crimson and cream and now don't bleed at all for them, took a break from watching tonight's IU-Lafayette season opener to check on my Internet profiteering interests. Even worse, I took that break when IU was up by a basket in the second half and looking to lose another game they shouldn't have lost.
I returned a few minutes later to see that the Hoosiers had blown the game open and were up by 24 in the last 6 minutes.
***
The last few years have brought about a 180-degree change in my enjoyment and fandom of IU basketball. True, maybe the previous coach's original sin was that he wasn't Bob Knight, which only exacerbated all of the other crap that he pulled in his short tenure at the helm. It had gotten to the point where I would even hold my nose and root for Purdue and Kentucky when they played IU, which was unthinkable a mere 10 years ago.
A new era began tonight for IU, as He-Of-The-Questionable-Recruiting-Tactics put an Indiana team on the floor for the first time. There was plenty to like and plenty to dislike, but for now, I'm going to give Coach Sampson the benefit of the doubt. No, he's also not Bob Knight, but he's not the previous coach either. As long as his kids play hard, they run an offense and he recruits well (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), and as long as he can get IU back to the Sweet Sixteen regularly while running a clean program, then he'll do OK in my book. That's a lot to live up to, but it's obviously been done before.
I did still catch myself rooting for Lafayette a time or two tonight, though. Time to relearn some old habits I once had, I reckon.
A thought about "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
It was the local angle on this particular episode that drew me in, but I allowed myself to sit down and watch an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on Sunday night. The episode featured the Farina family from St. Meinrad, which is about 45 minutes from here.
The premise of the show is that Ty Pennington and his crew shows up, knocks down a crappy, rat-infested, or otherwise asbestos-laden house, and rebuilds on the site something bigger and better. Usually the recipients of this home makeover are folks that have been down on their luck, hit a rough patch in their life, or are otherwise deserving of a new home.
Pennington and Co. built a gorgeous new home for the Farinas, but the upgrade in living quarters is only half the point. The undercurrent of the family's story that ran throughout the show – Mom raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for Relay for Life, only to be end up fighting (and surviving) cancer herself – was one that would touch all but the truly heartless. And I'll be damned if I didn't get something in my eye on at least two different occasions over the course of the hour.
The "Extreme Makeover" crew really did good work, and not just with the new home.
No, I don't have much of an interest in the glut of home remodeling shows that are currently littering the airwaves, anymore than you might have an interest in an 8-hour "Beavis and Butt-Head" marathon. As such, I don't ever foresee the series becoming "appointment television" for me. But I can promise you this: I'll never knock or otherwise belittle the show again.
The premise of the show is that Ty Pennington and his crew shows up, knocks down a crappy, rat-infested, or otherwise asbestos-laden house, and rebuilds on the site something bigger and better. Usually the recipients of this home makeover are folks that have been down on their luck, hit a rough patch in their life, or are otherwise deserving of a new home.
Pennington and Co. built a gorgeous new home for the Farinas, but the upgrade in living quarters is only half the point. The undercurrent of the family's story that ran throughout the show – Mom raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for Relay for Life, only to be end up fighting (and surviving) cancer herself – was one that would touch all but the truly heartless. And I'll be damned if I didn't get something in my eye on at least two different occasions over the course of the hour.
The "Extreme Makeover" crew really did good work, and not just with the new home.
No, I don't have much of an interest in the glut of home remodeling shows that are currently littering the airwaves, anymore than you might have an interest in an 8-hour "Beavis and Butt-Head" marathon. As such, I don't ever foresee the series becoming "appointment television" for me. But I can promise you this: I'll never knock or otherwise belittle the show again.
Friday, November 10, 2006
A night with the Captain Emeritus.
Last evening was the first night of Robert Pollard's tour to support his new Normal Happiness album. Captain and I made the trip to Bloomington to take in the show and spend the evening with our friend who just got back from Iraq.
I hadn't seen Pollard since Guided by Voices' Do The Collapse tour, some 5 or 6 years ago, so I was very excited to see my Rock Hero #1 live and in person again. Pollard didn't disappoint, mixing songs from his recent solo work with some more obscure GbV tunes that were probably about the last ones I would have ever expected to see live ("Drag Days," "Ghosts of a Different Dream") before encoring with a set of old GbV "hits" ("Motor Away," "Game of Pricks," etc.).
For me, the highlight from Pollard's more recent work were my two favorite songs off Normal Happiness - "Rhoda Rhoda" (which really stoked the Captain's embers also) and "Supernatural Car Lover," a song that evokes genuine feelings of happiness in me, moreso than any other tune in Pollard's oeuvre.
There weren't really any clunkers in last night's 2-hour set. Pollard has surrounded himself with an able supporting cast that he calls the Ascended Masters (though I made the joke at one point that we were seeing Robert Pollard and the Interns). Deeper theories, I suppose, could abound about the impetus for dissolving GbV yet continuing to make music with an entirely new cast of characters; why not continue to make music under the GbV name, since the band was really Pollard and a mostly-interchangeable group behind him (not unlike his current setup)?
At the end of the day, The Old Grunt just likes to make music. Whether it's Guided by Voices, or Robert Pollard and the Ascended Masters, or Robert Pollard and The Assistants to the Deputy Shit-Scrapers, Pollard still has a compulsion to Rock. One can hardly fault him for that.
I hadn't seen Pollard since Guided by Voices' Do The Collapse tour, some 5 or 6 years ago, so I was very excited to see my Rock Hero #1 live and in person again. Pollard didn't disappoint, mixing songs from his recent solo work with some more obscure GbV tunes that were probably about the last ones I would have ever expected to see live ("Drag Days," "Ghosts of a Different Dream") before encoring with a set of old GbV "hits" ("Motor Away," "Game of Pricks," etc.).
For me, the highlight from Pollard's more recent work were my two favorite songs off Normal Happiness - "Rhoda Rhoda" (which really stoked the Captain's embers also) and "Supernatural Car Lover," a song that evokes genuine feelings of happiness in me, moreso than any other tune in Pollard's oeuvre.
There weren't really any clunkers in last night's 2-hour set. Pollard has surrounded himself with an able supporting cast that he calls the Ascended Masters (though I made the joke at one point that we were seeing Robert Pollard and the Interns). Deeper theories, I suppose, could abound about the impetus for dissolving GbV yet continuing to make music with an entirely new cast of characters; why not continue to make music under the GbV name, since the band was really Pollard and a mostly-interchangeable group behind him (not unlike his current setup)?
At the end of the day, The Old Grunt just likes to make music. Whether it's Guided by Voices, or Robert Pollard and the Ascended Masters, or Robert Pollard and The Assistants to the Deputy Shit-Scrapers, Pollard still has a compulsion to Rock. One can hardly fault him for that.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
A Daylight Saving Time conspiracy theory:
Sitting here at 4:30 in the afternoon - here in the post-Daylight Saving Time era in southwest Indiana, that means it's getting dark already.
I really didn't give two poops about the time zone/Daylight Saving Time debate until this past weekend, when the state of Indiana as a whole "fell back" an hour. So it got daylight about an hour earlier on Sunday, which wasn't too much of a big deal ... but then I noticed that, at around 4:45 in the afternoon that day, it was practically dusk.
"... the hell?" I thought to myself.
So, it's going to get dark even earlier up until the first day of winter on December 22 or 23. And I am pissed.
Yeah, it's daylight an hour earlier around here - but I don't do anything outside in the mornings! I get up and go to work. Like most of you do as well, I'm sure.
Anyway, standing in front of my house in the dark on Monday afternoon, a little after 5:30, it all became crystal clear to me. Follow along if you're willing - this has a little bit of "conspiracy theory" to it, but play along!
1. Before running for and attaining the governorship, Mitch Daniels was formerly on the board of a major pharmaceutical concern in Indianapolis - I believe it's Eli Lilly. We'll say, for argument's sake, that it is Lilly.
2. It's assumed that Governor Daniels is still in Lilly's good graces. He probably still eats at White Castle with his colleagues there.
3. The Governor was adamant about shoving Daylight Saving Time down an unwilling populace's collective throat - a populace that, really, was doing just fine without moving its clocks twice a year. The reasons were stated as purely economical - to make Indiana a more business-friendly environment. But it runs deeper.
4. The board of directors at Eli Lilly looked at their sales of Prozac - an Eli Lilly product! - and determined that sales of the drug in southwest Indiana and northwest Indiana weren't nearly as strong as they could be.
5. Hence, Daylight Saving Time was legislated in Indiana, and the time zone boundaries were set, with blocks in southwest and northwest of the state being placed in the Central Time Zone, while the rest of the state ends up in Eastern.
6. With an hour at the end of day lopped off - where it is now dark at 5 in the afternoon in my county - even earlier in the middle of December - the residents of southwest/northwest Indiana will be more susceptible to seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder, thereby increasing the number of Prozac prescriptions, and in turn, Lilly's revenues - all because the Governor wanted to help out his pals at Lilly!!!
Sure beats any nebulous "to make the business climate in Indiana better" argument, I think.
I really didn't give two poops about the time zone/Daylight Saving Time debate until this past weekend, when the state of Indiana as a whole "fell back" an hour. So it got daylight about an hour earlier on Sunday, which wasn't too much of a big deal ... but then I noticed that, at around 4:45 in the afternoon that day, it was practically dusk.
"... the hell?" I thought to myself.
So, it's going to get dark even earlier up until the first day of winter on December 22 or 23. And I am pissed.
Yeah, it's daylight an hour earlier around here - but I don't do anything outside in the mornings! I get up and go to work. Like most of you do as well, I'm sure.
Anyway, standing in front of my house in the dark on Monday afternoon, a little after 5:30, it all became crystal clear to me. Follow along if you're willing - this has a little bit of "conspiracy theory" to it, but play along!
1. Before running for and attaining the governorship, Mitch Daniels was formerly on the board of a major pharmaceutical concern in Indianapolis - I believe it's Eli Lilly. We'll say, for argument's sake, that it is Lilly.
2. It's assumed that Governor Daniels is still in Lilly's good graces. He probably still eats at White Castle with his colleagues there.
3. The Governor was adamant about shoving Daylight Saving Time down an unwilling populace's collective throat - a populace that, really, was doing just fine without moving its clocks twice a year. The reasons were stated as purely economical - to make Indiana a more business-friendly environment. But it runs deeper.
4. The board of directors at Eli Lilly looked at their sales of Prozac - an Eli Lilly product! - and determined that sales of the drug in southwest Indiana and northwest Indiana weren't nearly as strong as they could be.
5. Hence, Daylight Saving Time was legislated in Indiana, and the time zone boundaries were set, with blocks in southwest and northwest of the state being placed in the Central Time Zone, while the rest of the state ends up in Eastern.
6. With an hour at the end of day lopped off - where it is now dark at 5 in the afternoon in my county - even earlier in the middle of December - the residents of southwest/northwest Indiana will be more susceptible to seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder, thereby increasing the number of Prozac prescriptions, and in turn, Lilly's revenues - all because the Governor wanted to help out his pals at Lilly!!!
Sure beats any nebulous "to make the business climate in Indiana better" argument, I think.
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