vivalaultra

On the Braves' run: I don't see how it couldn't be considered "excellent". I mean, sure, they only got that one WS title, but still...14 times winning the division...and they had some good Marlins and Phillies clubs alot of those years, although, if the strike didn't happen, the Expos probably would've got the division that year. Just as I was about to say that Roy O was going for a complete game 4-hit shutout, he gave up three hits in the bottom of the 9th. 'Stros are still up 5-1, but...Roy's coming out. As long as they don't put in Lidge, the Astros should take at least one game of the series, which would suck, but be better than getting swept.

Saying that Malkmus's's's's's's involvement was minimal, I meant that...I don't think he really wrote any of the songs very much. I mean, it was Berman's group. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I like The Natural Bridge more than American Water, although both are great. I liked the mumbling. I guess he outgrew the mumbling now that he's old.

My favorite post-Pavement Malkmus moments are the work he's done with the Silver Jews, which is quite minimal. Yeah, but I really like the Silver Jews. David Berman's a great lyricist. The first line on "Slow Education" kills. "When God was young, he made the wind and the sun. And since then it's been a slow education." And "When the sun sets in the ghetto all the broken stuff gets cold." from "Smith and Jones Forever". And lesse..."Pretty Eyes" has some good lyrics. Yeah...I like David Berman. He's kinda like a less nihilistic, more whimsical Bill Callahan...sorta.

Nah, see, I don't even have enough to fill out a Top 8. The only friend requests I get are from pornbots and lame scruffy white guys that play acoustic blues rock.

It's a good thing that I have graduation from college this December and my teaching of English 1300 to college freshman to occupy alot of my time these last few months/weeks of the baseball season or I might be a very, very sad person. Ah well, I still think even if the 'Stros don't get to the Postseason this year, they're gonna have a Hell of a team in 2007...Hey, Clemens might be back. And Lidge might be gone! Sorry, Brad...

Pujols-3, Brad Lidge-9. Pujols has three game winning hits against Lidge with 2 regular season hits and one postseason hit. Those are his only three hits against Lidge.

How can the people who get paid to write about baseball be so unqualified to vote on awards given out for players in baseball? And don't they have the Hank Aaron Award to give to strictly the "best" hitter in each league?

Don't tell that to Clemens. He'll crack your head open. Very true...I think Clemens deserved it in 86, and, looking at the numbers, it looks like Johan Santana's so far ahead from every other pitcher and hitter in the AL that he probably deserves it this year. What are the odds that Johan gets the MVP and Verlander or someone else gets the Cy Young? That would be weird.

Neglected to purchase it? Pity. It doesn't have anything to do with a follow-up to Paris 1919, but it has everything to do with Baroque. I just got out of my Latin American History Thru the Novel class where the topic was Garcia Marquez and the Baroque, so you mentioning Baroque made me mention Garcia Marquez. Although, I'm not quite sure that Garcia Marquez is/would be a John Cale fan, I know that he's close, personal friends with Shakira. I, for one, am astounded by your admission of never getting into Pavement. Is it because you just haven't listened to them or do you just not enjoy them?

I'm having a BBBQ. The extra B is for BYOBB. That extra B is a typo. I should put my myspace on my rear windshield. Someone sent me a link for how to get a Top 16, but I barely have a Top 8. Why does nobody want to be my Myspace friend?

If you like Baroque, you'll enjoy Garcia Marquez. Did you ever happen upon a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude? I listened to "Pet Sounds" this morning, and I don't see how anyone can dislike an album that contains "Caroline, No", "Wouldn't It Be Nice?", "Don't Talk, Put Your Head on my Shoulder", "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" and the penultimate love song-"God Only Knows". Even the unnecessary "Sloop John B." doesn't detract from the album's greatness, methinks. "Pet Sounds" is the soundtrack to young love. It's nostalgic and beautiful and sad and happy all at the same time. "Slanted & Enchanted" is a good album, too.

Am I the only one that thinks it's kinda unfair to give the MVP to a pitcher? I mean, David Ortiz, Jeter, Hafner, Dye, Thome, or even Bobby/Bubba Crosby could never win a Cy Young. Give Johan the Cy and either Ortiz or Dye the MVP. But there is the problem that nearly as many pitchers deserve the AL Cy Young as position players deserve the AL MVP...

Well, I guess my planned weekly series of "Your favorite" third through nine-hundredth album(s) won't be received well...

...Threadkiller.

or possibly...

That's gotta be the most confusing relationship of all time. To be poetic for a moment: Young love is never simple. And at least when Kevin and Winnie broke up, they stayed broke up for several episodes and didn't get right back together like...two episodes later, ala Boy Meets World. The relationship on that show had to be one of the most melodramatic and ridiculous relationships ever...the one between Cory and Topanga, I mean. The one between Cory and Shawn was good. The latent homosexuality of it all...

I can see his point, but that does sound uncharacteristic of David "Big heart. Big effort. I guess that's why they call me...Big Papi" Ortiz. In other news, tonite begins another criticl series (it seems like every series these days is a critical series) for my Houston Astros, as they do battle with the St. Louis Cardinals. Tonite's pitching matchup is Pettitte vs. Carpenter, so it should be good. Pettitte's won both of his starts against the Cards this year, both against Carpenter, although Carpenter only got the loss in one of them. The way Andy's been throwing the last couple months, he should be fine, but the offense might not be.

I, like many others apparently, played the Hell outta some Oregon Trail, but my whole family always got dysentry and I always broke axels. I also used to play the hell outta Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego?, but I didn't have the book for it, and you'd have to like...enter the word at the top of page 73 to continue on to the next level and stuff. Let's see...also played all of the King's Quest games...uh...Burger Time...yeah fuckin' Burger Time...Lode Runner....uh...the old Jeopardy and Family Fued. Man, that was...a long, long time ago. I miss the days when to start up every computer game you first had to go to a C prompt.

The fact that, in the end, Winnie and Kevin don't end up together makes the whole relationship that much better and truer to life, at least that's my opinion.

The two relationships by which all of my past and future relationships will be judged: Kevin and Winnie AND Cliff and Claire

Kenya? Either you mean Kemah (the place with the boardwalk, and the best steakhouse I've ever been to, T Bone Tom's) or Houston's new mass transit system can really move. It's good to hear that you had a pleasant time, and it sounds like you had an equal mix of culture and sexual abandon, so that's a plus. And hey...you can't beat drunk Texan women for taking your virginity.

Is that the same network that runs Billy Ray Cyrus's old show where he's a country doctor with a heart of gold, and that talent show for 12 year olds with 12 year olds as the judges hosted by Joey Gladstone? In other news, the past few days, I've been rewatching my collection of The Wonder Years on VHS, and it's gotta be the greatest show ever. I'll probably try to retape the series when it comes on again, as my collection isn't in 100% order, as I started taping halfway through the run it had on Nick-at-Nite and had to pick up the first few season when it started showing on the old Nashville Network. Yeah...The Wonder Years...quality programming there. And they had alot of sexy women on that show, too.

Didn't the 64 Phillies have a 10 game lead with 6 games to go? And wasn't Jim Bunning pitching like...every other day and twice on Sundays?

I can't really give you shit for being a Texans' fan. I'm not a big football guy, but when I do root for a team, I root for the Saints. I grew up watching them in the late 80s/early 90s when they were REALLY bad. Maybe if I had lived in Houston during that time period, I would've gotten into the Oilers or something, but meh. Uh...just to make this baseball related....Go 'Stros!

In my experience waiting tables for Denny's for about 3 years, 2000-2003...inclusive, I've learned that only Nigerian men, little old ladies, and hipsters drink hot tea with any regularity.