vivalaultra

I think they're just stupid. Wasn't there the whole story about an ICP fan killing a bunch of people up in Massachusettes or something not too long ago? He wore the make-up and said "juggalo this" and "juggalo that". I think that the majority of ICP fans have no idea that there's anything going on under the killings and beatings and hunting of chickens. And come on, some of you aren't taking this topic seriously at all. Nothing against Pastor Troy, but...I don't think anyone would consider him to be a songwriter worthy of being rated, much less underated.

I am sick of Republicans and sports teams from Texas. I think the Astros are just like the Vikings w/r/t Triangular Mid-American Sports Rivalries. The other two at least have some sort of mutual respect thing going on, but man, nobody likes the third team. Well, if you were building a ballpark in an old train depot that was sponsered by Minute Maid, what would you put in the choo-choo train? You'd be surprised how many people think that the oranges are pumpkins. I'm sick of Republicans from most places. Texas doesn't have a stranglehold on Republicanism, but that's something else entirely.

You think it's goofy now, I hear they're gonna put a Ferris Wheel in right field and put the third baseman in a dunk tank and everytime a hot smash is hit to him, he gets dunked.

Puh-leaze. Wrigley and Fenway have charm. Minute Maid Park is a contrived grab bag of idiosyncrasies that are there for no rhyme or reason. But there are reasons. The hill is a throwback to...some old ballpark of which I have forgotten the name. The short porch in left is a tribute to the Green Monster. And Wrigley does not have charm. Unless you count guys slip and sliding in the urinals charming...

What did Mike Scott ever do to you? As far as taking Atlanta out of the playoffs the last two years, come on...how many times did you guys eliminate us from the playoffs? And that 18-inning game was killer. The rainbow jerseys, I agree with. We used to wear em on throwback days, but everytime we wore em we got blown out, so we stopped.

I know alot of people hate our bandwagon fans. Alot of hardcore 'Stros fans hate 'em, too. I don't wanna talk down about my hometown, but, my God, after we started 15-30 last season, The Houston Chronicle put a damn tombstone on the front page declaring our season dead. But, of course, after we came back and made a run, it was a sellout every nite. I also know that people like to complain about our quirky (not goofy) ballpark. Yes, we have a hill in centerfield...and a flagpole that's in play, but come on...it's part of the charm. Some people hate our train that goes off everytime we score a run. And I know ALOT of people hate our "Killer B's" bee sound effects everytime Biggio, Berkman, Burke, Bruntlett, Backe, etc. come up to bat. Also, I think some people dislike us because despite flying under the radar just about every year, we seem to find a way to be successful. Of course, the most hyped teams in baseball are the Yankees and the Sox. And the most hyped in the NL are the Cubbies and the Cards. Three of those I can understand being so hyped. The other....not so much. I dunno. And why would anybody hate Clemens? He knocked Mike Piazza out. That was hilarious.

Meh, I'm not so sure if it's a homeFIELD advantage as much as a homeTOWN advantage. Even back in the days of the Astrodome, the Astros always played much better at home, for whatever reason. And as long as you're not a Cubs fan, I wish your team luck as well.

Come on...haven't you ever put the wrong player in when you were making a double switch and had to go back and fix your lineup card?

Hey now, B-Rod's clutch. He's lost a step, but he's still one of the top 5 defensive catchers in the NL, and the last half of last season he hit like.... .325 or so. And he calls a good game. Clemens said that the only catcher he wants to work with is Ausmus. And with as many rookies as we have in the rotation, we need a veteran behind the plate. And Garner's said that having Brad is like having an additional bench coach with his encyclopedic knowledge of the hitters and what-not. The ball park's not that goofy. I don't understand how people say that the only reason the Astros play so well at home is because they have the Crawford Boxes where it's 325 and gone. I mean, it's not like when the opposing team comes up to bat the boxes move back 50 feet or anything. The other hitters have the exact same odds of hitting a ball out to left as the Astros do. And still, it's pretty deep out to left field and center fields one of, if not the deepest, in the National League. I mean, sure there's the hill and all, but not many people hit it that deep anyway. And what about all the other teams that didn't play well at home? What about their homefield advantage? Does the assumed "goofiness" of Minute Maid Park add 6 Astro runs every game? Honestly, the 'Stros have scored more than 8 runs in 5 of their last 6 games-three of em on the road. You can't say that ALL of that's attributed to MMP goofiness.

Hey, Alke...or somebody. This came up tonight during the 'Stros game. Do you know of any major league players that have played every single position including pitcher in a single game? Apparently there's been alot, but damned if I can think of any. 'Stros are hitting good again tonite, but are on the verge of blowing it because after getting up 11-2, Phil Garner thought it would be funny to play Brad Ausmus at first base. Oh well. Go 'Stros.

Hmmm...interesting. I guess I would have to agree and say that while I'm not a big fan of their music anymore, I always thought they had a good talent of taking their beliefs and viewpoints and expressing them in a way that appeals to a large mass of people. However, I think that they might have done too well in packaging their open-minded, Christian ideas in a violent, "fuck the world" package, in that I don't think there's alot of kids listening to ICP records going, "Wow. That's deep.", as much as they're listening and being attracted to the violent package. Now, the wrapping of a peaceful, altruistic worldview in a mysogynistic, violent exterior is something kind of interesting in and of itself. I always thought Noel wrote the lyrics.

ASTRO POWER!!!!! Seriously, the 'Stros are lookin' good this season. 9-4. Ensberg, Berkman, and Lane are looking monster. Wilson's looking pretty good, except tonite. He struck out five times. Does anybody know if it's stastically more likely for a player to strike out swinging five times in a game or get five hits in a game? Ya gotta think, that in five at bats, you gotta put it in play once....And that is my Astros comment of the week, which will soon be ignored in favor of more marketable teams. It's quite easy to figure out. Just check if a player's rate of strikeouts over plate appearances is higher or lower than his batting average. In Preston Wilson's case, he's struck out more often than he's collected hits in his career. So five strikeouts are more likely. Still, the odds against collecting five strikeouts, even for Wilson, are extremely low. This is one of the easier statistical methods. I'm using Wilson's career stats up to this year. He has come to the plate 3,831 times, and struck out 947 times. That means he strikes out in approximately 25% of his at bats. All you need to do to find the probability of a streak is carry that number to whatever power you need. So .25 to the fifth power is .000976. You can round that up to one/thousandth if you prefer. So if we gave Preston Wilson 1,000 sets of five plate appearances, we'd expect him to strike out five times once. And he just did it. I find that fascinating and wish to subscribe to your newsletter. Do you, offhand, know which ML team has the lowest combined WHIP throughout their history?

I agree with the pro-Camus sentiments. I don't feel that it's an extremely interesting plotline, as much as it's an extremely interesting set of ideas proposed through a moderately interesting story, as opposed to something like Ayn Rand, which is a series of half-baked, heavy-handed set of ideas presented through a poorly thought out and lackluster story. Going back to Camus, I prefer The Fall to The Stranger, but if you're just starting out, The Strangeris probably a better bet. In other news, I'd like to recommend two books recently finished: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe-about the trials and tribulations of a Nigerian tribe facing encroaching colonialization. Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? by Edward Albee: a highly bizarre and disturbing play about various things. Albee was actually a guest professor for several years at University of Houston, but I, not being a Theatre major didn't ever get to partake in any of his classes. Oh, and I'd like to recommend some more stuff in addition to the stuff I just recommended, because I like recommending things because it makes me feel important... Anything by Don Delillo, specifically his earlier output Music for Torching by A.M. Homes-a highly disturbing book about suburban strife written by a female with a very wicked and dark sense of humor.

This one is definitely top ten of all time for me. At the moment, I'm busy with schoolwork to a degree that casual reading has become difficult, although I'm currently reading Naseua by Sartre during my down time. "Camus can do, but Satre is smartre!" Yeah, people should read Camus, too. There's not enough Camus going on these days.

Meh, probably nobody, but I was listening to 69 Love Songs (Disc 3) at the time that I wrote it, and I thought to myself "Damn, this CDs really good." Nobody I know likes The Magnetic Fields, but I guess that's a byprodcut of my environment.

ASTRO POWER!!!!! Seriously, the 'Stros are lookin' good this season. 9-4. Ensberg, Berkman, and Lane are looking monster. Wilson's looking pretty good, except tonite. He struck out five times. Does anybody know if it's stastically more likely for a player to strike out swinging five times in a game or get five hits in a game? Ya gotta think, that in five at bats, you gotta put it in play once....And that is my Astros comment of the week, which will soon be ignored in favor of more marketable teams.

This is great. My first post in the music folder and I've already hijacked a thread and gotten in good with the afficionados. Uh, yeah...you should get into some Townes. Like I said earlier, Live at the Old Quarter is really good. It has most of his best songs on it. It's just him and a guitar. Our Mother the Mountain is really good, too. It's his second CD and I think it's just amazing how world-weary and tired he sounds, being that he was only like...24 when he recorded it. And most of the songs on it are somewhat orchestrated and such, but Townes still has one of the most stark, achingly sad voices I've ever heard, so it creates an interesting mix. I think Josh Darnielle from The Mountain Goats said that "Tecumseh Valley" is the saddest song ever written, for whatever it's worth. Oh, and while I'm thinking about Townes, there was a biopic that came out recently called "Be Here to Love Me". It's a pretty good summary of his career with interviews from the guys he ran with and some home movies and such. They have this one really great scene in it where Townes is hanging with his old lady and giving a tour of his house...he's like...26 or something at the time...and he's standing there with his blonde ladyfriend and his dog and he's holding a shotgun, a bottle of Jack, and a can of Coke. He tries to get his girlfriend to hold something, but she won't, so he's walking around giving an interview toting this gun and taking swigs of Jack and chasing 'em with Coke. Pure badassness.

No problem, but you should really be thanking what's-his-name for talking about the All American Rejects, which served as the impetus for me to recommend that people listen to Townes van Zandt.

Towne's is great. I believe it was Steve Earle who said something to the effect of, "Townes van Zandt is the best songwriter of all time, and I'll say that on Bob Dylan's coffetable with my cowboy boots on." Seriously, he's got kind of an outlaw country type vibe to his stuff. He hung out with Willie and Waylon and the boys, but my God, every single song of his sounds like he could just...off himself at any minute. An interesting anecdote-When he was 14 or so, his parents thought he was depressed, so they sent him to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX where he got electroshock therapy. Consequently, he was unable to remember most of his childhood for his adult life. Another good anecdote-When he married his first wife, he told her he was gonna write her a song. So, when he finished and went to play it for her, it was this song called "Waitin' Around to Die" about how he doesn't have anything to live for so he's just gonna sit around and do lots of codeine. He was quoted as saying that his main goal in life was to write a song that nobody would understand. For my money, he's the most underrated American artist of the last half-century. If you're interested in hearing his stuff, I recommend "Live at the Old Quarter". It's Townes at his best in the late 60s before he got even remotely famous. It's a live CD and he has to crack jokes to keep the audience from bursting into tears because his songs are so depressing. Sorry to hijack the thread. Please continue talking about the All American Fall Out Reject Boy.

I've got lots of book recommendations. People I know don't read, so I have all these recommendations built up and I've had nary a place to use them. Most of these are Latin American authors, because that's who I've been reading lately. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez-if more people read Garcia Marquez, the world would be a better place. This is easily the best book ever written. Seriously, this book is so magical and fantastic and wonderful. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me a better person. Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges-a collection of short stories and non-fictions about the nature of time and infinity. Seriously, everything in this book takes a while to "get", but damned if they don't make you go "Wow." The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende- Another "magical realism" text. Similar to Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. This one's about political turmoil in Chile. It's very feminist and wonderfully moving. Those are the three books that I've read this week by Latin American authors. I've read "Solitude" several times and it's always great to re-read. There's just so much depth. Other good authors are Louise Erdrich (who writes about love in a gushy way which is extremely poetic), Tim O'Brien (as mentioned before. My personal favorite O'Brien novel is In the Lake of the Woods), Stephen King (his "Dark Tower" series is great.), Nabokov, Chekov, and most other writers whose names end in "ov", William Trevor, James Joyce, Frank McCourt to fill out the Irish contingent, and everyone could use a little more Faulkner.

Go for The Lucksmiths. They're Austrailian. And The Silver Jews. They're not Austrailian. And Townes Van Zandt. He sounds nothing like any of the forementioned bands, but more people should listen to Townes. God, he's friggin' great. He wrote "Poncho and Lefty".

I'd say The Buzzcocks. They're British and have "cock" in their name, so they're my first choice. My second is The Exploding Hearts because not even death could stop that CD from being great. And possibly Jawbreaker or Jets to Brazil, before they started sounding like All American Rejects or Fall Out Boy.

Can you blame them? Oswalt would rather be landscaping with his brand new Caterpillar than conducting interviews anyway. You can't blame us big city folk for not caring what goes on out in cow country You're just calling it cow country because we were founded by a cow. You wanna hear country, check this out.... While he was pitching in AAA, Roy's shoulder was giving him trouble, and he thought he was gonna have to have surgery on it. While he was contemplating his future, he started working on his rusty old pick-up. He was changing a spark plug when he exploded his battery. It knocked him clean out and he's never had shoulder trouble again. And you don't even wanna hear his "fishing with dynamite" story...

...why should we? Just kidding dude. Welcome to the thread. You should take about the 'Stros because they're not the Yankees or the Red Sox. Seriously, the Yankees/Red Sox feud is like two rich kids in high school slap fighting each other. The respectul pseudo-rivalry between the 'Stros and Cardinals is alot more entertaining. More entertaining to some. Meh, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. It's just bothersome how, especially during the 2004 NLCS, the non-East Coast teams get no love at all from anybody except fans in their respective areas. I guess I'm just irked by the marketing and commercialization of baseball. It just seems like the Yankees and Red Sox are oversaturating the population to where their more brand names than baseball teams. Like, people that don't even follow baseball wear Yankees caps that match the rest of their outfits just for the emblematic logo. But yeah, I have nothing against the Sox or Yankees as teams, I'd just...like to see some more parity. But anyway, back to my shameless (Curt) S©hilling. The 'Stros are looking good this season so far. Roy Oswalt=2006 Cy Young. Taylor Buchholz=14-6 with an ERA under 3. And when that happens, ESPN will interrupt coverage of Roy's Cy Young announcement to tell the world what Derek Jeter and Manny Ramirez had for breakfast.

...why should we? Just kidding dude. Welcome to the thread. You should take about the 'Stros because they're not the Yankees or the Red Sox. Seriously, the Yankees/Red Sox feud is like two rich kids in high school slap fighting each other. The respectul pseudo-rivalry between the 'Stros and Cardinals is alot more entertaining.