Jakit

MJ, E.T. and The Payd

mj.et.di
Originally uploaded by Chris Horvath

Why Steroids are Destroying the Game

People often try to excuse the steroid era by saying it's no different in its essence to all the other eras because there was always cheating.

Bullshit.

There are two big differences between current steroid usage and all other previous forms of cheating; including greenies, spitballs and corked bats:

1. Steroids offer a dramatic and irrefutable improvement of one's skills.

2. Steroids are incredibly damaging to one's health.

Put those two things together and what you get is enormous pressure put upon players to risk their very lives in order to compete. Therefore, you not only remove the integrity from the previously held records, but you also remove the integrity from the players themselves because only those players who are willing to both cheat and inflict damage upon their bodies will succeed.

That's why steroids are destroying the game.

YouTube is Fascist!

I tried to upload my student film to their stupid website and it wouldn't let me because I have an unlicensed Oasis song in it! It's some new policy. How dare they!

Yeah, I know that YouTube has been hosting my videos for free and that I used the Oasis song without permission and that I've downloaded countless albums since then illegally and so on, but...

Alright, it's cool. They have every right to do what they're doing.

However, it's also stupid. Because all I did was hike my ass down the block to DailyMotion's site where I could not only post my video without removing the Oasis song but I could also post the entire 17 minute film in one piece. That's much different than YouTube, who only allow ten minutes per video.

And I'm not the only one wandering elsewhere. By removing unlicensed music from videos posted on their site, YouTube is removing their best material. It's one thing to remove the music videos and film clips, but quite something else to erase all the creative original content that people put up that happened to contain songs from major artists.

Alas, YouTube's days of dominance are over. The fall begins now.

Dear Guy on Bicycle

Dear Guy on Bicycle,

I completely understand why you ride down the middle of the street in front of me going exactly half as fast as I am. You are, after all, superior to me. You are riding a bicycle while I am driving a car. You are saving the Earth while I am destroying it.

Yes, I know that you drove from your house in order to get to the trail where you could ride your bike and I also know that you take five hour car trips to go hiking in the mountains every other weekend but, come on, you're going to the mountains and that's, like, nature, so, it's totally okay. Besides, you probably drive a Prius and that is almost 2% less polluting than my car. Or, even better, you drive an Outback and Mother Nature definitely prefers gas fumes from an Outback!

Yay! You rule!

Unfortunately, it is from this state of admiration that I write to you of my concerns. No, it's not about your style of dress. I'm sure that if a grown man is wearing neon-bright, skin-tight clothing in public he must have a fine reason. In fact, I'm quite sure that all those corporate logos you're advertising must be very lucrative, indeed.

The reason I'm concerned here is the complete lack of fat that you seem to have on your face. I must admit, it is extremely impressive that you are able to maintain such a skinny and muscular frame. All those journeys up and down (and up and down, and up and down) the hill have paid off. Alas, I'm afraid that it's within those morsels of fat that God decided to put the happiness molecules.

This must explain why you're so damn bitter all the time, Guy on Bicycle, you've got no happy fat!

Therefore, I think that you might want to consider taking it easy for a day. Just one day. Sleep in. Leave the bike on the rack. Maybe swing by your local GameSpot instead of REI. I know money is to be hoarded like granola on a trail, but just try tipping the pizza guy more than two bucks for once. You might actually find that friendly interactions with people can be rewarding in their own way.

What about that mountain that you need to climb just because it's there? It'll still be there tomorrow. And then you can return to blocking traffic all the time because, hey, you deserve to. After all, you are Guy on Bicycle.

Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

An aspect of Lugano that I never knew existed.

Boxer Represents

Senator Boxer has taken a firm stand on keeping the A's in Oakland.

Dear Commissioner Selig:

I appreciate the announcement you made yesterday that you are forming a committee to review the various proposals regarding the future of the Oakland Athletics. As your committee does its work, I urge you to do everything possible to keep the team in Oakland.

As you may know, Oakland has recently gone through some difficult times and families there deserve some good news. As someone who splits her time between Washington, DC, southern California and Oakland’s Jack London Square neighborhood, I have seen first hand that Oakland is teeming with new young families and major developments that present endless possibilities. My children learned to love baseball through the Oakland A’s and our family was so fortunate to develop that common bond. We must give a new generation of families that same chance.

Oakland is witnessing a downtown renaissance, with new residences, restaurants, art galleries and entertainment venues opening weekly. Two new office towers are in development and the Port of Oakland recently announced a private investment of close to $1 billion. Major League Baseball can play a key role in continuing this momentum by working to keep the A’s in Oakland.

Through their rich history and shared experiences, the identities of the City of Oakland and the Athletics are forever linked. For more than 40 years, the people of Oakland have backed the Athletics during good times and bad. In the 1970s, Oakland celebrated the Athletics’ glorious run of three consecutive World Series victories. And, together, the city of Oakland and the Athletics mourned the devastation caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake that took place during the team’s 1989 championship run.

Now that the team has ended its consideration of Fremont as a possible home, the time is right to renew the focus on keeping the Athletics in Oakland.

It is critical that Major League Baseball and the A’s ownership do everything possible to keep the A’s in Oakland and I stand ready to help in any way possible, including attending and setting up meetings for you and the Committee. Please do not hesitate to call me at 202-XXX-XXXX to discuss this issue.

Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

How about them apples? Go figure. I knew she was living in JLS, but I had no idea she had gotten so pro-the-O.

She, actually, makes this seem like an okay place to live.

Huh...

Anyway, it makes me positively giddy to see that Wolff and Selig might not get to achieve their dastardly goals of relocating the A's out of Oakland.

Happy Birthday to the Sultan of Swat

Babe Ruth would've been 114 years old today if he hadn't spent all his time eating greasy hot dogs, downing cheap beer and running with loose women.

Alas...

He's the best, in my humble opinion.

Steroids? Homeboy never even worked out!

Thoughts on Trash

When I was a kid, we had one type of trash; garbage. Now there are three cans to navigate; garbage, recycling and compost. Is life getting easier or more difficult?

Good Game

That was a great Super Bowl.

I wasn't sure who I was going to support until I was listening to the actual game on the radio. That's when I discovered that my heart was with Kurt Warner. He, singlehandedly, led my fantasy football team to a league victory some ten, or so, years ago. That was the only fantasy sports trophy that I've ever won.

So, I was rooting for Arizona.

At one point, I was in the store at Rustica and Francisco, one of the cooks, asked what the score was. I wandered over to Crogan's to look through the window (I've witnessed many a sporting event this way.) Just as I stepped onto the sidewalk and looked at one of the TVs on the wall, Kurt Warner snapped the ball and threw the interception that would be carried back for a touchdown and the longest play in Super Bowl history.

I was a little bit bummed, but that was one of the most amazing plays that I've ever seen.

Then there was the back and forth in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Very intense. Good stuff.

The Next Generation