30 September 2009
29 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (Street Lamp Detail Edition)
I missed a spectacular sunset tonight, couldn't get to a good spot to take a snap in time, oh well.
The Polanski Scale, A Quantification of Past Woes, Multiplied by Artistic Merit, Divided by Degree of Criminality...
That Polanski has been nabbed by the Swiss finally seems strange. The LA Times frontpage story today speculates that it was a call by Polanski's lawyers to get a dismissal of his guilty plea on the basis that Los Angeles prosecutors were not pursuing the matter that lead to Los Angeles prosecutors to pursue the matter.
That's a heckuva job done by Polanski's legal team right there.
But that's not what I want to comment about, instead let's talk about all this "rape rape" talk by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg.
Seems that part of the formula for why Polanski should have gotten away with what he did was cause he was a Holocaust survivor, and his hot pregnant wife was murdered by the Manson family, and he had to suffer the indignity of winning an Oscar without being able to accept it in person. All that some how forgives drugging, then having his way with a thirteen year old girl.
So, is there a quantifiable formula for this crap? (at least according to the Hollywood elite)
It would look something like this:
According to those who wish to forgive Polanski, the crap he suffered multiplied by his artistic merit, washes away large sins. Polanski's BC (bad crap) scores are off the chart (hard to beat Holocaust+Sharon Tate), plus his AA (artistic achievement) score is high (which after becoming a fugitive only amounts to Frantic, and The Pianist, and a bunch of crappy crap in between), as well. That gives him leeway for a massive CB (criminal behavior) while still being worthy of being honored and forgiven. Likewise, Michael Jackson's BC score is much lower, while his AA score is higher, and his CB is about the same as Polanski's (it could be argued as being lower given his protestations of innocence, along with failed prosecutions, or it could be argued as being higher given the serial nature, and general creepiness, of his transgressions), so his Polanski Scale score is about the same as Polanski's.
That means a director like Uwe Boll (low BC and abysmal AA scores) better keep his nose clean, cause he won't be forgiven anything. If he's going to transgress sexually, it better be with someone who is only slightly tipsy, no younger than 25, and Boll's worse offense is not reciprocating after oral favors.
As far as Polanski goes, he deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life, he plead guilty to a horrible act, then fled punishment when he feared the judge wouldn't be lenient in sentencing. His life as a fugitive has hardly been a hardship, or a punishment. What should have happened way back when was to make him a social pariah for what he had admitted to, and fleeing justice. We should have banned the release of all French films here, and the export of all American films to France until they handed him over to the custody of those pursuing him. Maybe if the film industry here and there had suffered directly for harboring this criminal, they might not have found it so ennobling to forgive and enable him. But the 70s were long ago, and seriously messed up, so that's not what happened, and I can understand why people find it strange that this is all happening now, so many years later.
That's a heckuva job done by Polanski's legal team right there.
But that's not what I want to comment about, instead let's talk about all this "rape rape" talk by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg.
Seems that part of the formula for why Polanski should have gotten away with what he did was cause he was a Holocaust survivor, and his hot pregnant wife was murdered by the Manson family, and he had to suffer the indignity of winning an Oscar without being able to accept it in person. All that some how forgives drugging, then having his way with a thirteen year old girl.
So, is there a quantifiable formula for this crap? (at least according to the Hollywood elite)
It would look something like this:
(Bad Crap That's Happened to You)x(Artistic Achievement)/(Criminal Behavior)
According to those who wish to forgive Polanski, the crap he suffered multiplied by his artistic merit, washes away large sins. Polanski's BC (bad crap) scores are off the chart (hard to beat Holocaust+Sharon Tate), plus his AA (artistic achievement) score is high (which after becoming a fugitive only amounts to Frantic, and The Pianist, and a bunch of crappy crap in between), as well. That gives him leeway for a massive CB (criminal behavior) while still being worthy of being honored and forgiven. Likewise, Michael Jackson's BC score is much lower, while his AA score is higher, and his CB is about the same as Polanski's (it could be argued as being lower given his protestations of innocence, along with failed prosecutions, or it could be argued as being higher given the serial nature, and general creepiness, of his transgressions), so his Polanski Scale score is about the same as Polanski's.
That means a director like Uwe Boll (low BC and abysmal AA scores) better keep his nose clean, cause he won't be forgiven anything. If he's going to transgress sexually, it better be with someone who is only slightly tipsy, no younger than 25, and Boll's worse offense is not reciprocating after oral favors.
As far as Polanski goes, he deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life, he plead guilty to a horrible act, then fled punishment when he feared the judge wouldn't be lenient in sentencing. His life as a fugitive has hardly been a hardship, or a punishment. What should have happened way back when was to make him a social pariah for what he had admitted to, and fleeing justice. We should have banned the release of all French films here, and the export of all American films to France until they handed him over to the custody of those pursuing him. Maybe if the film industry here and there had suffered directly for harboring this criminal, they might not have found it so ennobling to forgive and enable him. But the 70s were long ago, and seriously messed up, so that's not what happened, and I can understand why people find it strange that this is all happening now, so many years later.
28 September 2009
RESULTS: Weekly NFL Related Humiliation: Week 3
The Picks:
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-4) over Atlanta Falcons (BS ATL)
Tennessee Titans (+2.5) over NY JETS (BS TEN)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-6) over Miami Dolphins (BS MIA)
ARIZONA CARDINALS (-1.5) over Indianapolis Colts (BS IND)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-9) over Carolina Panthers (BS CAR)
The Results
Atlanta Falcons 10 New England Patriots 26 (Woohoo!)
New England looked like New England for a change. Don't know that it will last, and they didn't put this away till the 4th quarter. Their defense looked good (or so I heard, didn't catch this game as FOX pulled a switcharoo and showed the Vikings-49ers game, which was awesome, so great call FOX!) and Brady became Brady again in the 4th quarter. Still think they're mediocre and will fade as the season progresses, though. This is a bump in the road for Atlanta, they're still a very good team, and should bounce back from this.
Tennessee Titans 17 New York Jets 24 (D'oh)
Tennessee falls to 0-3, while the Jets have managed to start 3-0 with a rookie QB. The Jets defense are why they're going to win the AFC East this year, not Sanchez at QB, but as long as he doesn't make any horrible mistakes, they'll be in every game. The Titans are in a bit of trouble, but they have the talent to turn things around. Doesn't mean they will, but they should.
Miami Dolphins 13 San Diego Chargers 23 (Woohoo!)
The Chargers won, but they've got major problems with red zone scoring. Three field goals of less than 30 yards is not a good sign, and will cost them when they face more potent offenses. Luckily for them, the Dolphins offense is terrible. Not much to say about Miami, they suck, but Ricky Williams looks rejuvenated, so that's something, and losing Pennington for the season may not be that big of a deal.
Indianapolis Colts 31 Arizona Cardinals 10 (D'oh)
Maybe the Cardinals aren't very good, or maybe the Colts are very, very good. Didn't watch this past the three TDs by Manning in the 2nd quarter. Blowouts aren't fun to watch.
Carolina Panthers 7 Dallas Cowboys 21 (Woohoo!)
At halftime, this looked like the second straight disaster at the Jerry Jones Memorial Edifice, but luckily Jake "the Human INT" Delhomme gifted them a few picks that turned things around after a lackluster first three quarters.
Week 3 is over, and I did a slightly less horrible 3-2 this week while My Nemesis Bill Simmons went down in 1-4 flames (woohoo!). Home teams covered in all five contests. Detroit managed to win a game, finally, but looks like the St. Louis Rams are determined to match the Lions' sorrowful season last year, they look like a lock to go 0-16.
Season Totals: My Picks 7-8, BS picks 10-5
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-4) over Atlanta Falcons (BS ATL)
Tennessee Titans (+2.5) over NY JETS (BS TEN)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-6) over Miami Dolphins (BS MIA)
ARIZONA CARDINALS (-1.5) over Indianapolis Colts (BS IND)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-9) over Carolina Panthers (BS CAR)
The Results
Atlanta Falcons 10 New England Patriots 26 (Woohoo!)
New England looked like New England for a change. Don't know that it will last, and they didn't put this away till the 4th quarter. Their defense looked good (or so I heard, didn't catch this game as FOX pulled a switcharoo and showed the Vikings-49ers game, which was awesome, so great call FOX!) and Brady became Brady again in the 4th quarter. Still think they're mediocre and will fade as the season progresses, though. This is a bump in the road for Atlanta, they're still a very good team, and should bounce back from this.
Tennessee Titans 17 New York Jets 24 (D'oh)
Tennessee falls to 0-3, while the Jets have managed to start 3-0 with a rookie QB. The Jets defense are why they're going to win the AFC East this year, not Sanchez at QB, but as long as he doesn't make any horrible mistakes, they'll be in every game. The Titans are in a bit of trouble, but they have the talent to turn things around. Doesn't mean they will, but they should.
Miami Dolphins 13 San Diego Chargers 23 (Woohoo!)
The Chargers won, but they've got major problems with red zone scoring. Three field goals of less than 30 yards is not a good sign, and will cost them when they face more potent offenses. Luckily for them, the Dolphins offense is terrible. Not much to say about Miami, they suck, but Ricky Williams looks rejuvenated, so that's something, and losing Pennington for the season may not be that big of a deal.
Indianapolis Colts 31 Arizona Cardinals 10 (D'oh)
Maybe the Cardinals aren't very good, or maybe the Colts are very, very good. Didn't watch this past the three TDs by Manning in the 2nd quarter. Blowouts aren't fun to watch.
Carolina Panthers 7 Dallas Cowboys 21 (Woohoo!)
At halftime, this looked like the second straight disaster at the Jerry Jones Memorial Edifice, but luckily Jake "the Human INT" Delhomme gifted them a few picks that turned things around after a lackluster first three quarters.
Week 3 is over, and I did a slightly less horrible 3-2 this week while My Nemesis Bill Simmons went down in 1-4 flames (woohoo!). Home teams covered in all five contests. Detroit managed to win a game, finally, but looks like the St. Louis Rams are determined to match the Lions' sorrowful season last year, they look like a lock to go 0-16.
Season Totals: My Picks 7-8, BS picks 10-5
Your Daily Photo (Got a Light? Edition)
Urban Light, by Chris Burden, taken from the middle of Wilshire Blvd.
Here's a Flickr Group organized by LACMA of photos of that installation.
27 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (Coffee and Cake Are the New Wine and Cheese Edition)
The reason for all the folks milling about LACMA after closing on a Saturday night was the members preview for their Luis Melendez exhibition. It was very crowded, so will go back later to properly soak in his work. But from the cursory perusal, it's clear that dude could rock the still life (it took years of art history courses to bring you such insightful and eloquent commentary as the previous sentence).
26 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (I've Heard This Stretch of Road Gets Very Interesting at Speeds Over 90 MPH Edition)
Not that I'd ever advocate speeding like that.
(speeding on a big wide open stretch of road where you can see for miles in both directions, on the other hand, seems ridiculous to not allow folks to push their cars as fast as conditions allow safely)
(and even though the speed of these cars is causing them to blur in the photo, that's not because they are speeding, it's cause it's a 1/15 sec exposure)
25 September 2009
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation: Week 3, The Picks
BS: Here
My picks (Home teams ALL CAPS)
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-4) over Atlanta Falcons (BS ATL)
Tennessee Titans (+2.5) over NY JETS (BS TEN)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-6) over Miami Dolphins (BS MIA)
ARIZONA CARDINALS (-1.5) over Indianapolis Colts (BS IND)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-9) over Carolina Panthers (BS CAR)
In what bizarro world do I pick the Pats and BS doesn't? This is the week that he goes down in flames, and I correct my losing ways. The Pats will put together a decent game, and Atlanta will struggle on the road, Pats will cover easily. The Titans will have no trouble in the Meadowlands as they beat a Jets team that will believe too much of its good press. The Chargers will roll, give the hometown fans something to cheer about, while Miami will have trouble running against the Bolts' defense. In the Sunday Night game, the Cardinals will beat up on the Colts and control this game from start to finish on both sides of the ball. On Monday night, Dallas, and Romo will settle down and play mistake free ball while romping against a crappy Panthers squad. Yes, the line is ridiculous in that game, but Dallas will still manage to put up over 30 points while Carolina will struggle to score more than 17, so that big spread isn't a problem.
Should be another entertaining week of football, so far this year, lots of excitement, especially in the night games. Don't think that trend will last this week as both night games will be routs, but maybe next week...
Also, it looks like the playoff picture is already taking shape. I have a feeling all five 2-0 teams in the NFC (NYG, MIN, ATL, NO, SF) are making the playoffs, and all four 0-2 teams are headed for awful seasons, so that leaves just one berth being fought over between Dallas, Philly, Green Bay, Chicago, and Arizona (DC and Seattle don't count, they aren't doing anything this season). Dallas and Philly are hurt by being in the best division in the NFC, so anything better than a 9-7 record will be a struggle, which will doom their wildcard shot. I think Green Bay or Chicago should put together a 10-6 season, which should give either of them the last wildcard, leaving the defending NFC Champs sitting home. So my prediction for playoff teams after two weeks of NFL action looks like this for the NFC
Division winners NYG, MIN, NO, SF with ATL and GB picking up the wildcard slots. I think NO will upset MIN in the Championship game making this Saints squad the first in team history to play in the Superbowl.
The AFC is slightly muddier. I think the Jets will continue to do what they're doing and win their division. Baltimore will rule in the AFC North, the Titans will turn things around while the Colts will sneak in with a wildcard, and the Chargers will easily win the AFC West with Denver snatching the other wildcard slot. Baltimore will earn homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs and easily win both their games at home, against any possible opponents.
That sets up a classic Great Defense (Ravens) versuses a Great Offense (Saints) Superbowl this February. Should be fun. Current odds for Baltimore (according to Vegas Insider) are 15/2 to win the AFC, while New Orleans are at 10/1. Both those lines seem at odds with their performances so far this season. Strangely, New England remains the favorite to win the Superbowl at 4/1, even though they suck, while Pittsburgh is second choice at 15/2, and the Giants and Eagles are both 8/1 while the Chargers are 10/1. Both the Ravens at 18/1 and Saints at 20/1 aren't getting much Superbowl love from the oddsmakers at the moment, but that should change if they both keep posting impressive victories.
My picks (Home teams ALL CAPS)
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-4) over Atlanta Falcons (BS ATL)
Tennessee Titans (+2.5) over NY JETS (BS TEN)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-6) over Miami Dolphins (BS MIA)
ARIZONA CARDINALS (-1.5) over Indianapolis Colts (BS IND)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-9) over Carolina Panthers (BS CAR)
In what bizarro world do I pick the Pats and BS doesn't? This is the week that he goes down in flames, and I correct my losing ways. The Pats will put together a decent game, and Atlanta will struggle on the road, Pats will cover easily. The Titans will have no trouble in the Meadowlands as they beat a Jets team that will believe too much of its good press. The Chargers will roll, give the hometown fans something to cheer about, while Miami will have trouble running against the Bolts' defense. In the Sunday Night game, the Cardinals will beat up on the Colts and control this game from start to finish on both sides of the ball. On Monday night, Dallas, and Romo will settle down and play mistake free ball while romping against a crappy Panthers squad. Yes, the line is ridiculous in that game, but Dallas will still manage to put up over 30 points while Carolina will struggle to score more than 17, so that big spread isn't a problem.
Should be another entertaining week of football, so far this year, lots of excitement, especially in the night games. Don't think that trend will last this week as both night games will be routs, but maybe next week...
Also, it looks like the playoff picture is already taking shape. I have a feeling all five 2-0 teams in the NFC (NYG, MIN, ATL, NO, SF) are making the playoffs, and all four 0-2 teams are headed for awful seasons, so that leaves just one berth being fought over between Dallas, Philly, Green Bay, Chicago, and Arizona (DC and Seattle don't count, they aren't doing anything this season). Dallas and Philly are hurt by being in the best division in the NFC, so anything better than a 9-7 record will be a struggle, which will doom their wildcard shot. I think Green Bay or Chicago should put together a 10-6 season, which should give either of them the last wildcard, leaving the defending NFC Champs sitting home. So my prediction for playoff teams after two weeks of NFL action looks like this for the NFC
Division winners NYG, MIN, NO, SF with ATL and GB picking up the wildcard slots. I think NO will upset MIN in the Championship game making this Saints squad the first in team history to play in the Superbowl.
The AFC is slightly muddier. I think the Jets will continue to do what they're doing and win their division. Baltimore will rule in the AFC North, the Titans will turn things around while the Colts will sneak in with a wildcard, and the Chargers will easily win the AFC West with Denver snatching the other wildcard slot. Baltimore will earn homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs and easily win both their games at home, against any possible opponents.
That sets up a classic Great Defense (Ravens) versuses a Great Offense (Saints) Superbowl this February. Should be fun. Current odds for Baltimore (according to Vegas Insider) are 15/2 to win the AFC, while New Orleans are at 10/1. Both those lines seem at odds with their performances so far this season. Strangely, New England remains the favorite to win the Superbowl at 4/1, even though they suck, while Pittsburgh is second choice at 15/2, and the Giants and Eagles are both 8/1 while the Chargers are 10/1. Both the Ravens at 18/1 and Saints at 20/1 aren't getting much Superbowl love from the oddsmakers at the moment, but that should change if they both keep posting impressive victories.
24 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (Some of These Shots Aren't Half Bad Edition)
Finished tweaking the rest of the shots I snapped on Tuesday, below's a slideshow of the whole flickr set.
23 September 2009
22 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (I've Got Your Panoramic Shots Taken While the Sun Sets on the Autumnal Equinox Right Here Buddy Edition)
Both stitched with Microsoft ICE, and tweaked in photoshop.
21 September 2009
RESULTS: Weekly NFL Related Humiliation: Week 2
The Picks:
New Orleans Saints (PK) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (BS: NO)
NEW YORK JETS (+4) over New England Patriots (BS: NYJ)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-3.5) over Baltimore Ravens (BS: BAL)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-3) over NY Giants (BS: NYG)
MIAMI DOLPHINS (-3) over Indianapolis Colts (BS: IND)
The Results
New Orleans Saints 48 Philadelphia Eagles 22 (Woohoo!)
The Saints really are the best offense in the league, and if the other team's offense coughs up the ball, then there's no stopping them. Eagles weren't at full strength, so it's hard to know if the Saints' defense is actually any good. But, with their offense they only need to be adequate.
New England Patriots 9 New York Jets 16 (Woohoo!)
The Jets have a solid defense, and they don't make mistakes on offense (even with a rookie QB). That's a winning combination in this league. I said it last week, and I'll stick with it this week, looks to me like the Jets should be favored to win the AFC East, and the Pats are looking like an 8-8 team, even with a healthy Brady.
Baltimore Ravens 31 San Diego Chargers 26 (D'oh)
The Chargers tried to play it cool by wearing their white unis in the San Diego heat on Sunday. Didn't work, they almost overcame two turnovers, but against the Ravens defense you can't afford to give up any possessions. If there's such a thing as a quality loss at home, this was it for the Chargers, they showed something in this game, they just didn't win. The Ravens may be the team to beat this year, if they stay healthy, these two teams just might be playing each other again in the AFC Championship.
NY Giants 33 Dallas Cowboys 31 (D'oh)
Ha, ha, I may have picked incorrectly, but it was still somewhat satisfying to see the Cowboys blow their opener in the house that Jerry Jones' Ego built. When they get around to building an LA stadium, hopefully it won't be a grandiose monstrosity like that thing in Texas. Dallas still managed to almost win after four turnovers and a terrible game in general from Romo. The Giants never look very good to me, yet they keep on winning. Still going to pick against them most games.
Indianapolis 27 Miami 23 (D'oh)
That Peyton Manning kid (aka, "The Sheriff"), he ain't half bad. The Dolphins dominated the game, but they had trouble scoring TDs. Time of possession is usually a good indication of success in this league, yet Miami won that battle 45:07 to 14:53 and still lost. It was the first time since they kept track of that stat in the mid 70s that a team with less than 15 minutes of possession won a game. That's a record that may never be topped, so I guess that's something Miami can be proud of, or not.
So, I feel good about my 2-3 this week. I think my estimation of the relative quality of the Chargers, Cowboys and Dolphins compared to their opponents was accurate, they all just made too many mistakes, or suffered from questionable coaching decisions (in Miami's case). I could have easily been 5-0 this week instead of 2-3, and the same goes for My Nemesis Bill Simmons, in reverse (he managed an impressive 5-0, but he was wrong about those three teams where our picks differed, or at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).
Season Total: My picks 4-6, BS picks 9-1
New Orleans Saints (PK) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (BS: NO)
NEW YORK JETS (+4) over New England Patriots (BS: NYJ)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-3.5) over Baltimore Ravens (BS: BAL)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-3) over NY Giants (BS: NYG)
MIAMI DOLPHINS (-3) over Indianapolis Colts (BS: IND)
The Results
New Orleans Saints 48 Philadelphia Eagles 22 (Woohoo!)
The Saints really are the best offense in the league, and if the other team's offense coughs up the ball, then there's no stopping them. Eagles weren't at full strength, so it's hard to know if the Saints' defense is actually any good. But, with their offense they only need to be adequate.
New England Patriots 9 New York Jets 16 (Woohoo!)
The Jets have a solid defense, and they don't make mistakes on offense (even with a rookie QB). That's a winning combination in this league. I said it last week, and I'll stick with it this week, looks to me like the Jets should be favored to win the AFC East, and the Pats are looking like an 8-8 team, even with a healthy Brady.
Baltimore Ravens 31 San Diego Chargers 26 (D'oh)
The Chargers tried to play it cool by wearing their white unis in the San Diego heat on Sunday. Didn't work, they almost overcame two turnovers, but against the Ravens defense you can't afford to give up any possessions. If there's such a thing as a quality loss at home, this was it for the Chargers, they showed something in this game, they just didn't win. The Ravens may be the team to beat this year, if they stay healthy, these two teams just might be playing each other again in the AFC Championship.
NY Giants 33 Dallas Cowboys 31 (D'oh)
Ha, ha, I may have picked incorrectly, but it was still somewhat satisfying to see the Cowboys blow their opener in the house that Jerry Jones' Ego built. When they get around to building an LA stadium, hopefully it won't be a grandiose monstrosity like that thing in Texas. Dallas still managed to almost win after four turnovers and a terrible game in general from Romo. The Giants never look very good to me, yet they keep on winning. Still going to pick against them most games.
Indianapolis 27 Miami 23 (D'oh)
That Peyton Manning kid (aka, "The Sheriff"), he ain't half bad. The Dolphins dominated the game, but they had trouble scoring TDs. Time of possession is usually a good indication of success in this league, yet Miami won that battle 45:07 to 14:53 and still lost. It was the first time since they kept track of that stat in the mid 70s that a team with less than 15 minutes of possession won a game. That's a record that may never be topped, so I guess that's something Miami can be proud of, or not.
So, I feel good about my 2-3 this week. I think my estimation of the relative quality of the Chargers, Cowboys and Dolphins compared to their opponents was accurate, they all just made too many mistakes, or suffered from questionable coaching decisions (in Miami's case). I could have easily been 5-0 this week instead of 2-3, and the same goes for My Nemesis Bill Simmons, in reverse (he managed an impressive 5-0, but he was wrong about those three teams where our picks differed, or at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).
Season Total: My picks 4-6, BS picks 9-1
19 September 2009
18 September 2009
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation: Week 2, The Picks
BS's column, here, home teams ALL CAPS.
New Orleans Saints (PK) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (BS: NO)
NEW YORK JETS (+4) over New England Patriots (BS: NYJ)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-3.5) over Baltimore Ravens (BS: BAL)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-3) over NY Giants (BS: NYG)
MIAMI DOLPHINS (-3) over Indianapolis Colts (BS: IND)
The early games, should be entertaining. The Saints have the best offense in the league, while Philly will have to make do without McNabb at QB. Saints will score at least 4 TDs, don't think Philly's offense will keep up, unless their defense scores a few TDs to keep them close. I think New England are as bad as they looked for the first 50 minutes of last week's game, and the Jets are as good as they looked, so Jets should have no problem winning on the road. The one late being shown in the LA market ought to be good, too. LaDanian Tomlinson being out might help San Diego as Sproles should be more effective against the very aggressive front seven of the Ravens. That is, if he survives. I think the Chargers offense has enough tools to get the job done, and their defense will play better than they did against the Raiders last week. The Sunday night game is the opening of Jerry Jones' shrine to himself. Dallas might start a bit tight with all the build up and hype, but I still don't think the Giants are particularly good. Dallas will control both sides of the ball, and romp in this one. The Monday night game will probably be a snooze fest. The Dolphins will rebound from a lousy game last week, and the Colts are about to start a 4 game losing skid.
New Orleans Saints (PK) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (BS: NO)
NEW YORK JETS (+4) over New England Patriots (BS: NYJ)
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-3.5) over Baltimore Ravens (BS: BAL)
DALLAS COWBOYS (-3) over NY Giants (BS: NYG)
MIAMI DOLPHINS (-3) over Indianapolis Colts (BS: IND)
The early games, should be entertaining. The Saints have the best offense in the league, while Philly will have to make do without McNabb at QB. Saints will score at least 4 TDs, don't think Philly's offense will keep up, unless their defense scores a few TDs to keep them close. I think New England are as bad as they looked for the first 50 minutes of last week's game, and the Jets are as good as they looked, so Jets should have no problem winning on the road. The one late being shown in the LA market ought to be good, too. LaDanian Tomlinson being out might help San Diego as Sproles should be more effective against the very aggressive front seven of the Ravens. That is, if he survives. I think the Chargers offense has enough tools to get the job done, and their defense will play better than they did against the Raiders last week. The Sunday night game is the opening of Jerry Jones' shrine to himself. Dallas might start a bit tight with all the build up and hype, but I still don't think the Giants are particularly good. Dallas will control both sides of the ball, and romp in this one. The Monday night game will probably be a snooze fest. The Dolphins will rebound from a lousy game last week, and the Colts are about to start a 4 game losing skid.
Your Daily Photo (Dine Al Fresco Edition)
Take a chance and eat sushi at a place with a "B" from the health service, I dare you, I double dog dare you.
(I went a bit crazy with the saturation level on the reds in photoshop for this snap)
17 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (20th Anniversary Edition)
The Third Street Promenade celebrates its 20th year this week.
Our local commies make it difficult for any but the biggest chains to take advantage of the prime location (that was an unintended consequence of their anti-business policies), plus they make getting in and out of the area as much of a chore as possible (somehow, they think that if it's hard to drive to a place, more will take public transport or bike into the area, instead it just means fewer people with real money to spend come).
It's successful, but it could be so much better if we had better leadership in this town.
16 September 2009
15 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (The Man Who Wasn't There, Or at Least His Upper Half Edition)
Stitched shot taken at the Promenade. People were walking by, and the Windows Live Gallery Panorama software decided to erase only part of one of the walkers.
And, yes the title is a reference to Antigonish by Hugh Mearns
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away...
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door... (slam!)
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away
14 September 2009
RESULTS: Weekly NFL Related Humiliation: Week 1
The Picks:
Dallas -6 over TAMPA BAY (BS: Dal -6)
Washington +6.5 over NY GIANTS (BS: Was +6.5)
TEXANS -4.5 over NY Jets (BS: NYJ +4.5)
Chicago +3.5 over GREEN BAY (BS: GB -3.5)
NEW ENGLAND -10.5 over Buffalo (BS: NE -10.5)
The Results:
Dallas 34 Tampa Bay 21 (Woohoo!) BS: 1-0
No doubts about this one, Dallas probably aren't that good, but the Bucs are rebuilding, and had some recent turmoil to deal with.
Washington 17 NY Giants 23 (Woohoo!) BS: 2-0
Got to love late covers. Neither team looked particularly good. The Skins coaching staff clearly has no faith in Jason Campbell as they took the ball out of his hands in a lot of key possessions.
Houston 7 NY Jets 24 (D'oh) BS: 3-0
Rookie QB looking great. Didn't expect that. Houston's defense didn't put the pressure on that I expected them to. I think it's going to be another mediocre season for a mediocre Texans squad. The Jets prospects for the season are much better, however. They might even win their surprisingly crappy division. I don't buy that New England is back to being dominant, Miami is going to slip back this year, and the Bills are the Bills, so that leaves a Jets team with a solid defense and a decent offense assuming Sanchez keeps playing well.
Chicago 15 Green Bay 21 (D'oh) BS: 4-0
Something about being the QB for the Bears that causes players to throw the ball to the wrong team I guess. Cutler gets picked 4 times in his debut, and to top it off Urlacher is out for the season. The Packers didn't look much better, they barely won, even with all the gifts from Cutler. Could be a long season for both teams, the Vikings are going to run away with this division.
Buffalo 24 New England 25 (D'oh) BS: 4-1
Didn't see that coming. Buffalo controlled this game, played well on both sides of the ball, and gave it away at the end on an ill advised runback from a kick-off late in the game. That's been the story of this Bills team, they find a way to lose, especially against the Pats. Brady was rusty, but put up big stats, and the Pats' defense doesn't look particularly formidable. Even with a healthy Brady, they look like a 9-7 or 10-6 team right now.
So, that was a terrible 2-3 week for my picks, while The Sports Guy went 4-1 with only his beloved New England Patriots letting him down by not covering the spread.
Good thing there were no cheap rooms in Vegas this weekend, would have been expensive for me.
Dallas -6 over TAMPA BAY (BS: Dal -6)
Washington +6.5 over NY GIANTS (BS: Was +6.5)
TEXANS -4.5 over NY Jets (BS: NYJ +4.5)
Chicago +3.5 over GREEN BAY (BS: GB -3.5)
NEW ENGLAND -10.5 over Buffalo (BS: NE -10.5)
The Results:
Dallas 34 Tampa Bay 21 (Woohoo!) BS: 1-0
No doubts about this one, Dallas probably aren't that good, but the Bucs are rebuilding, and had some recent turmoil to deal with.
Washington 17 NY Giants 23 (Woohoo!) BS: 2-0
Got to love late covers. Neither team looked particularly good. The Skins coaching staff clearly has no faith in Jason Campbell as they took the ball out of his hands in a lot of key possessions.
Houston 7 NY Jets 24 (D'oh) BS: 3-0
Rookie QB looking great. Didn't expect that. Houston's defense didn't put the pressure on that I expected them to. I think it's going to be another mediocre season for a mediocre Texans squad. The Jets prospects for the season are much better, however. They might even win their surprisingly crappy division. I don't buy that New England is back to being dominant, Miami is going to slip back this year, and the Bills are the Bills, so that leaves a Jets team with a solid defense and a decent offense assuming Sanchez keeps playing well.
Chicago 15 Green Bay 21 (D'oh) BS: 4-0
Something about being the QB for the Bears that causes players to throw the ball to the wrong team I guess. Cutler gets picked 4 times in his debut, and to top it off Urlacher is out for the season. The Packers didn't look much better, they barely won, even with all the gifts from Cutler. Could be a long season for both teams, the Vikings are going to run away with this division.
Buffalo 24 New England 25 (D'oh) BS: 4-1
Didn't see that coming. Buffalo controlled this game, played well on both sides of the ball, and gave it away at the end on an ill advised runback from a kick-off late in the game. That's been the story of this Bills team, they find a way to lose, especially against the Pats. Brady was rusty, but put up big stats, and the Pats' defense doesn't look particularly formidable. Even with a healthy Brady, they look like a 9-7 or 10-6 team right now.
So, that was a terrible 2-3 week for my picks, while The Sports Guy went 4-1 with only his beloved New England Patriots letting him down by not covering the spread.
Good thing there were no cheap rooms in Vegas this weekend, would have been expensive for me.
Your Daily Photo (Some Cafes Are More Interactive Than Others)
I can't vouch for the relative interactivity level of this particular establishment. I rarely go to cafes in general, irrespective of their supposed level of interactivity.
13 September 2009
12 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (Dusty Old Valencia Orange Tree Edition)
Been awhile since we've had any sort of rain, as you can tell by photos like this.
11 September 2009
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation: Week 1, The Picks
Trying something a bit different, first, the teams picked are the TV games in LA like before (most weeks there are 5 games, so I'm skipping SD at Oakland), but I'll just write a group encapsulation for my picks rather than individually. Here's a link to Bill Simmons column, his picks are the BS picks in parentheses next to mine. Home teams in ALL CAPS.
Dallas -6 over TAMPA BAY (BS: Dal -6)
Washington +6.5 over NY GIANTS (BS: Was +6.5)
TEXANS -4.5 over NY Jets (BS: NYJ +4.5)
Chicago +3.5 over GREEN BAY (BS: GB -3.5)
NEW ENGLAND -10.5 over Buffalo (BS: NE -10.5)
It's football time, if I can get a super cheap room for Saturday and Sunday night, I may run off to Sin City to have some legally sanctioned gaming action on these contests. As mentioned by BS, Tampa and Buffalo fired their offensive coordinators within the past 10 days. Not a good sign for them, Dallas would normally be a risky pick as a near TD favorite on the road, but the Bucs are in disarray. The Pats are going to want to prove that they are the team to beat, so expect them to wallop their division rival Bills on Monday night. I just don't trust the Giants, so I'm going with the Redskins, even though they have lots of question marks, too. The Jets are starting rookie Mark Sanchez against a formidable Texans defense, that game could get ugly for the Jets. That leaves the big game of the week that wasn't on a Thursday night. Sunday night's Bears at Packers contest should answer a lot of questions, or at least as many questions as can be answered in the first week. What's not to like about that Bears defense wedded to an offense with a legitimate QB? That's enough for me, but Green Bay might screw up this pick by being as good as they looked during the pre-season. Rodgers might be the best QB in the NFC, and if the Packers defense improves over last year's performance, they're a threat to do some damage when the games really count in January and February. I'm going with the Bears this week, but I wouldn't be surprised if Green Bay plays well.
That's it for week one picks, it's always fun to have the NFL back playing games that count. Thursday game was low scoring, but entertaining. Hopefully all this week's games will provide as much excitement.
Dallas -6 over TAMPA BAY (BS: Dal -6)
Washington +6.5 over NY GIANTS (BS: Was +6.5)
TEXANS -4.5 over NY Jets (BS: NYJ +4.5)
Chicago +3.5 over GREEN BAY (BS: GB -3.5)
NEW ENGLAND -10.5 over Buffalo (BS: NE -10.5)
It's football time, if I can get a super cheap room for Saturday and Sunday night, I may run off to Sin City to have some legally sanctioned gaming action on these contests. As mentioned by BS, Tampa and Buffalo fired their offensive coordinators within the past 10 days. Not a good sign for them, Dallas would normally be a risky pick as a near TD favorite on the road, but the Bucs are in disarray. The Pats are going to want to prove that they are the team to beat, so expect them to wallop their division rival Bills on Monday night. I just don't trust the Giants, so I'm going with the Redskins, even though they have lots of question marks, too. The Jets are starting rookie Mark Sanchez against a formidable Texans defense, that game could get ugly for the Jets. That leaves the big game of the week that wasn't on a Thursday night. Sunday night's Bears at Packers contest should answer a lot of questions, or at least as many questions as can be answered in the first week. What's not to like about that Bears defense wedded to an offense with a legitimate QB? That's enough for me, but Green Bay might screw up this pick by being as good as they looked during the pre-season. Rodgers might be the best QB in the NFC, and if the Packers defense improves over last year's performance, they're a threat to do some damage when the games really count in January and February. I'm going with the Bears this week, but I wouldn't be surprised if Green Bay plays well.
That's it for week one picks, it's always fun to have the NFL back playing games that count. Thursday game was low scoring, but entertaining. Hopefully all this week's games will provide as much excitement.
Your Daily Photo (Patriot's Day Edition)
I don't think September 11th should be an official holiday, but I do think we should never forget the attacks of that day, the nature of those attacks, the folks who perpetrated those attacks, and the cultural cesspool that spawned those attackers. Rudy Giuliani's words from 2006 still remain relevant.
I think things like Pres. Obama's call for a 'national day of service' today smell like an attempt to twist the meaning and obfuscate the memory of that day.
After poking around 911DayOfService.org, I see something that looks like a typical liberal-minded whitewash of the events.
Their mission statements sums up all that's wrong with their approach:
Our mission is to honor the victims of 9/11 and those who rose to service in response to the attacks by encouraging all Americans and others throughout the world to pledge to voluntarily perform at least one good deed, or another service activity on 9/11 each year. In this way we hope to create a lasting and forward-looking legacy -- annually rekindling the spirit of service, tolerance, and compassion that unified America and the world in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Screw that. We must not forget the horror of that day. We must remain angry at the scum who caused such wanton destruction. "Tolerance", and "compassion", aren't going to prevent the next attack. The attitude exemplified by that mission statement are the same ones manifest by those whose kneejerk reaction was to pose the question, 'what did we do to cause them to hate us so much?'. Guess, what, even if we were ten times as compassionate and tolerant as a nation, or even one hundred times, those impotent, tiny membered, rage filled excuses for piles of goat dung would have had a desire to bring those towers down. We must continue to chase them down, destroy their ability to plan, and transform, contain, or destroy the places where jihadi terrorist fester.
We can improve ourselves, and service in of itself is a good idea, but tying this theme into remembering the events of September 11, 2001 is just part and parcel with the usual fuzzy headed bleeding heart, blame America first, nonsense.
I'll let them get the final word, though, I think the about section from the press release regarding ServiceNation sums up the creepiness of all this pretty well:
ServiceNation (www.servicenaton.org) is a national campaign to increase service opportunities and elevate service as a core ideal and problem-solving strategy in American society. Reaching an estimated 100 million citizens through its 200-plus member groups, ServiceNation played a leading role in the drafting and April 2009 enactment of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which authorizes the greatest expansion of national service in America since FDR created the Civilian Conservation Corps. Now that the Act has passed, the ServiceNation coalition is working to inspire a powerful culture of volunteerism in our country through the promotion of national days of service and strategic partnerships. We envision an America in which a commonly asked question is, “Where do you serve?”
10 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (I've Got Your Background Right Here Gizmodites Edition)
The folks at Gizmodo posed the question, what's your background?
I uploaded a flickr set of the 12 pics I'm using currently.
Windows 7 has a background slideshow built in (all but the Starter edition, anyway), some of these shots are in other sets, some weren't uploaded otherwise, all have been cropped to 16x9 to match my TV's aspect ratio (my desktop's 16x10, but the autocrop works better going from 16x9 to 16x10 than the other way around, I find).
Here's a slideshow of the 12, just because...
NFL 2009: The Humiliation Begins...
So, I'll try to keep up with making NFL picks this season, I'll choose five games each week, mostly the games televised in the LA Market, I'm skipping tonight's game, and will get a real post up on Friday. I'll use Bill Simmons as a measuring stick once again, and use the lines he uses in his weekly picks as the lines I use for my own picks.
09 September 2009
08 September 2009
07 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (Did You Avoid Labor Today? Edition)
Shot taken three months ago at the beginning of 'summer' posted at summer's end (the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day seems to define summer better than the summer solstice and vernal equinox, but here in SoCal, summer is whenever the weather is right).
06 September 2009
05 September 2009
Your Daily Photo (Tiny Park Edition)
Another stitched shot, this of a pocket park in Santa Monica. Just four shots, composited together by Microsoft ICE.
04 September 2009
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03 September 2009
02 September 2009
01 September 2009
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