Please leave a comment here if you want to read the "good" stuff.

I cannot emphasize enough how much more awesome the Olympics are when you're watching them via eyeTV (or TiVo, I suppose). Set it to record, start watching from about an hour and a half in.

Commercials? Sappy interviews? Boring sports that you don't care about? Fuck no. Fast forward.

Sweet-ass pommel horse performance? Rewind that bitch and watch it again.

Gotta pee right before a medal event? No big deal, just hit pause. Get some popcorn while you're up.

Bela Karolyi having an aneurism right there in the studio? Put that shit in slow mo.

Awwwwwwww yeeeeeeah.

Steve Henson of Yahoo!Sports says:

Ramirez wore No. 99, not to honor Barbara Felton or Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams or even reprise Wayne Gretzky wearing 99 for the L.A. Kings two decades ago. Ramirez couldn’t have the number he wore in Boston, 24, because it was Walter Alston’s and is retired. Then he asked for 30 but missed it by a week because newly acquired third baseman Casey Blake grabbed it. His next choice was 34, but that was worn by Fernando Valenzuela and is retired. So he said he didn’t care, and the Dodgers gave him 99.

Aw, he asked for Papi's number. Third choice, but still.

Meanwhile, Bay is wearing #44, just like another superstar-replacing-midyear-acquisition (for whom I still have much affection). Probably a coincidence, but I like to read into these things. Especially since it worked out pretty well for the Sox last time. :)

But I am pretty sure he has never high fived a fan in the middle of a double play. We'll miss ya, Manny. Try not to be a jackass in LA.

So, yesterday, I betrayed my generation (and my presumptive income bracket) and voted for Hillary.

I stared at the ballot for about ten minutes before I made the decision, but I think it was the right one. I spent a while looking at their platforms online on Monday night, and hers just has a lot more specifics, and I like them all, more or less. For example, she proposes doubling the number of NSF graduate fellowships and increasing the funding to $40K per year to make science careers more attractive (along with doubling the budgets of the NIH and NSF) - that level of detail tells me a lot. I am also a fan of her school-loan-forgiveness-for-public-service programs, it appears that she's thought out health care specifics more than just about anyone in the country, and while I'm not entirely cool with her voting to authorize the Iraq war, I think her plan for pulling out is intelligent and measured. I do get the sense that she's truly ready to "lead from day one" and it isn't just a campaign slogan. She also hasn't said that her religion makes gay people marriage give her the heebie jeebies, unlike some people - and as a pro-gay rights atheist, I like that a lot.

Moreover, I think she has a very keen sense of how to work within the country's political framework to get these specifics implemented. She's built up a pretty good reputation in the Senate for working across party lines, and even has a lot of credibility on military issues via her seat on the Armed Services Committee (I seem to recall a quip from a general who was asked who had the best understanding of the modern military and replied "you mean, besides Hillary Clinton?" but I can't find a real source for that except a couple blog posts who say it was relayed by Joe Klein (?).

A lot of people have brought up the electability issue, but a) I think that's a bullshit reason to vote for someone (see also Kerry, John) and b) I don't buy it, anyway. Various polls show her about even with McCain in a hypothetical general, and it's difficult for me to imagine her numbers going down - every ounce of mud that could be thrown at her already has been thrown, anyone who is going to hate her already does. I think she's more than demonstrated her resilience and ability to survive attacks from the GOP, whereas I have no idea how Obama will fare, particularly if McCain is the Republican nominee and can heavily emphasize the experience gap. And, perhaps I am cynical, but I am fairly sure that the number of hard right conservatives who will come out in a general election to vote against Hillary is approximately the same as the number of hard right conservatives who will come out in a general election to vote against a black guy.

The last issue, then, is the inspiration factor. And, okay, hearing her speak doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. But honestly? Neither does Obama. And really honestly? Warm fuzzies aren't enough for me, anyway. This country has a long history of voting for people whose personalities they like, and while that doesn't always end terribly, I still prefer to vote for someone who has experience, and has proven herself to be extraordinarily hard working, intelligent, and committed to getting shit done even if she isn't the world's best public speaker. In many ways, I think it's fitting that she is up against a well-spoken and inspirational individual, since as far back as 1968 she's been working for change through small, concrete steps versus full-blown revolution:

After Dr. King’s assassination provoked riots in cities and unrest on campuses, Ms. Rodham worried that protesters would shut down Wellesley (not constructive). She helped organize a two-day strike (more pragmatic) and worked closely with Wellesley’s few black students (only 6 in her class of 401) in reaching moderate, achievable change — such as recruiting more black students and hiring black professors (there had been none). Eschewing megaphones and sit-ins, she organized meetings, lectures and seminars, designed to be educational. “I was rooted in a political approach that understood that you can’t just take to the streets and make change in America,” Mrs. Clinton said in an interview. “You can’t just give a speech and expect people to fall down and agree with you.”

Maybe it's silly for me to read into that, since after all it was 40 years ago, but a lot about her time at Wellesley (this article, for example) seems reflective of her life and career thereafter, and this election in particular.

Of course, as I said above (oh so long ago), it was a difficult decision. I think Barack Obama would be a very good president. But the bottom line is, I think Hillary would be a better one. She's brilliant, she knows what she wants to get accomplished, and she knows how to do it. And that is the kind of change that *I* can believe in.

/steps down from soapbox (and thanks sarcasticpixie for inspiring her to come out)

Because I am a loser.

( A loser with PHOTOSHOP! )

Part the second is HERE.

I posted something like this for Opening Day 2004... I'm curious to see if Sox fans, as a group, are any less insane now than they were then. I know I'm not.
( Poll is under here )

Feel free to elaborate on the "something else" answers in the comments!

AL EAST CHAMPS, BITCHES!!!

That is all.

ETA:

Baaaaaaaaby albino pygmy monkeys!



Awwwwwww. (article here) That's what y'all get for making me waste 2 hours on lolcats yesterday.

What else could we do with $456 billion?

*sigh*

Just in case anyone isn't aware, CHIEN MING WANG HAS A PERFECT GAME/NO-HITTER GOING THROUGH SIX. I'm enjoying listening to the M's radio guys; they're mentioning it at every possible moment. :)

I find it really ironic that the day after a 15-11 slugfest, the Yankees and Mariners are 1-0 through 5.5 innings. *facepalms*

ETA: Nevermind about that 1-0 bit. *sigh* But still, NO HITTER.

ETA again: HAHAHAHA YES. Nothing better than a perfect game AND a shutout getting broken up at the same time. Hooray for Ben Broussard.

Oh, the things one finds when one is procrastinating and also trying to decide which CSA to join: (Organic) Store Wars. Obi Wan Cannoli and Cuke Skywalker... oh goodness.

For the record, we're going with Terra Firma Farm, mostly because they have a really cute (and apparently also quite handy) mascot. I wrote quite a bit more about CSAs and why I love them over in the food blog. I know you all read BTR religiously anyway, but I figured I'd post the link just in case. ;)

I know, I know, this one's getting a little old, but hey, it's another opening day at Fenway. And it still never fails to make me tear up (or, um, bawl like a little girl).


This one just makes me smile. :)

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
ONE.
Word.

(Not as easy as you might think.)

1. Where is your cell phone? counter
2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O.? perfect
3. Your hair? incorrigible
4. Your mother? worrier
5. Your father? confusing
6. Your favorite item? laptop
7. Your dream last night? strange
8. Your favorite drink? coffee
9. Your dream car? mini
10. The room you are in? dining
11. Your ex? friend
12. Your fear? clowns
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? happy
14. Who did you hang out with last night? CJ
15. What you're not? motivated
16. The last thing you did? slept
17. What are you wearing? jeans
18. Your favorite book? impossible!
19. The last thing you ate? cadbury
20. Your life? good
21. Your mood? worried
22. Your friends? everywhere
23. What are you thinking about right now? work
24. Your car? nonexistent
25. What are you doing at the moment? meme-ing
26. Your summer? working
27. Your relationship status? excellent
28. What is on your tv? Sox
29. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
30. Last time you cried? yesterday
31. School? distressing

Now.
Yours.
Please.

Pajiba commenters pick their five "Desert Island" albums: "...this isn’t a list of what you think are the best albums ever, nor is it a list to show off your wide and diverse musical tastes. It is your true comfort albums. The discs you know you could listen to for the rest of your life, in between cracking coconuts and pushing buttons in the hatch."

Mine:
Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple [.tgz]
Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos (Andre Previn) [.zip] (note, the zip file only has Disc 2, so it's the 3d and 4th concertos. I'm more partial to the 2nd concerto than the 4th, but oh how I love the 3d. I had the privilege of seeing it performed at the BSO once; I totally cried at the end. It was so amazing. But I digress.)
Led Zeppelin IV [.zip]
Living With Ghosts - Patty Griffin [.zip]
O - Damien Rice [.zip]

Honorable mention:
Veronica Mars S1 Soundtrack [.zip]
Welcome Interstate Managers - Fountains of Wayne
'Huh?' - the mumbles [.zip]
Christmas With the Rat Pack
Next - Tufts Beelzebubs [.zip]

Go.

(ps to slayerinthedark, I was fully expecting this to break your brain, but then it occurred to me that you probably have a list of "top 100 albums of all time" ready and waiting. And that thought made me smile.)

The last teeny shred of respect I might have still had for John McCain just disappeared.

Oh well.

Just in time for Christmas, buy this videogame that really spreads the message of Jesus.

Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart, a major video game retailer, should yank it off its shelves... Left Behind Games' president, Jeffrey Frichner, says the game actually is pacifist because players lose "spirit points" every time they gun down nonbelievers rather than convert them. They can earn spirit points again by having their character pray.

So let me get this straight: it's totally fine to murder teh infidels, just as long as you pray afterward.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? *tears out hair*

In case anyone cares, here's a link to the online version of the latest Berkeley Science Review - figured some people might be curious since I've been bitching writing so much about it lately. I wrote this article and edited these two, but all the articles are awesome. It's not as cool as the glossy print version, though. ;) Enjoy!

I HATE THE NEW CREDITS. I thought I'd give them a few weeks to grow on me, but they're just... not.

OMG I HATE THEM SO MUCH AUGH.

Got the last AD disc in the mail today. *sniff* I want mooooooore. MOOOOORE! Fox bastards. I can't believe there is no more. I want to cry. I want to buy five copies of all the seasons and send them to all my friends. And I increasingly want to do naughty things to Jason Bateman. (CJ's reaction: "... him?")

That is all.

Oh wait, no: Bill Clinton is going to be on The Daily Show next week? Really? Shit.