Saturday, April 29, 2006

Caveat Scriptor...

...or something. I'm trying to say beware of what you post online, because you NEVER know who's reading, or how they might react. You'd think someone in a sensitive profession like law would think long and hard about whether to blog about an ongoing case, complete with enough details for readers to piece together the identity of the writer and of those being written about.

At least I would think so, but what do I know? I'm not a lawyer. Maybe that's a good thing...

The Internet Patrol: Blog Postings Cost Lawyer His Job When Read by Judge

USATODAY.com - Old Man at Shea

This one isn't "strange," per se, just unusual. The New York Mets' Julio Franco, 47 years old, has just set a record for the oldest player to hit a home run in a regular-season game. Says he wants to hit a homer at 50. More power to him. (OK, that wasn't intended to be a pun.)

USATODAY.com - This player is really, really old school

Update: on Thursday 4/27 Franco stole a base. It wasn't the best situation to steal a base in -- he left first base empty with one out and Carlos Delgado, a power hitter, at bat -- but I like that hustle, especially in an older... make that the oldest player. The only player in major league history older than him to have stolen a base, did it almost 100 years ago. For the Mets' sake, I hope Julio continues to NOT act his age.

Too bad Rickey Henderson didn't have that kind of hustle in him when the Mets had him. His conviction that he is and will always be a SUPERstar is what did him in. He's a year older than Franco, but Franco's been playing continuously since he joined the majors, even going to Japan and Korea when he had to, taking nothing for granted. Superstar Rickey "bided his time" in the minors, convinced that a major-league callup was just minutes away. Well, it's been two years now, and no one's calling. Better hang up that pride, Rickey: retire, and take a coaching or TV job somewhere, instead of hanging around ballparks looking desperate.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

At the time, it seemed like the thing to do...

Four Jobs I’ve Had:

  • Newspaper subscription telemarketer
  • Credit information verifier
  • Cashier
  • Bus driver

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

  • Silverado (the 'form' is Western, but they pack mystery, action, romance, comedy, and a fair bit of intrigue into it)
  • Better Off Dead (from John Cusack's teen-movie phase)
  • Independence Day (Judd Hirsch is great in this, as are Randy Quaid [yes, really!] and Bill... Pullman? Paxton? I get them confused)
  • Canadian Bacon (no explanations, no excuses, I just like it. Michael Moore needs to make more narrative movies. And it's great the way he got Canadian actors to play up Canadian stereotypes -- John Lithgow, Steven Wright, etc.)
  • BONUS: The Core (hey, with Stanley Tucci [The Man], Delroy Lindo [also The Man], and Alfre Woodard showing the others how to act, how could I NOT watch?)

Four -- no, Three Places I’ve Lived:

  • White Plains, NY, USA
  • Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, NC, USA (just a couple of weeks, from what I'm told -- it was supposed to be longer, until my mother saw a mouse!)
  • Mount Vernon, NY, USA

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:

  • Monk (Tony Shalhoub is yet another Man)
  • My Name Is Earl (small-screen Raising Arizona)
  • Half and Half (mostly to stare at Essence Atkins and Rachel True, I admit)
  • Caliente (outdoor Spanish-language Soul Train)

Four Places I’ve Been on Vacation:

  • Disney World
  • Myrtle Beach (SC)
  • Virginia Beach (VA)
  • Martha's Vineyard (MA)

Four of My Favorite Dishes:

  • Beef stroganoff
  • Corned beef
  • Lasagna
  • Stewed chicken (with curry)

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

  • Hawaii
  • Grand Canyon
  • Mount St. Helens (Washington State, US -- that is, if it's not about to erupt again)
  • US Virgin Islands

Last four CD's I bought:

  • Different Strokes by Different Folks, by Sly & the Family Stone with new music added by current stars (some great stuff here, and some stuff better left unlistened to)
  • Can You Dig It?: The Ultimate Isaac Hayes, by Isaac Hayes
  • Soundtrack from Shaft, by Isaac Hayes (I bought Can You Dig It specifically hoping that it would have the 19-minute-plus version of "Do Your Thing," where the musicians live up to the song's title. But it only had the three-minute radio version. The CD liner notes said the full-length song was on the Shaft soundtrack, so I went out and bought that the next day)
  • The Cosmic Game, by Thievery Corporation