Category: Uncategorized

Fill out your Pope Brackets!

VM contributor Sirk sez, “I’m taking Duke.” C’mon, Sirk! There’s no way Poland will win back-to-back papacies!

Made it to Dallas last night, dear reader. The flight had some bumps, so I popped a little Vicodin on the way up, which helped me turn into a piece of rubber. I really do need to get to a doctor sometime so I can get a prescription for a little anti-anxiety med for flights.

Fortunately, this conference is for clinical research personnel, so I didn’t feel I was in much danger when I tossed down five gin-and-tonics during the NCAA hoops finals last night. At the very least, they’d be able to determine the exact drug-drug interaction that would lead to my state of inebriation.

Tonight, I’ll likely hit the Mavericks home game. I’ve only been to 4 or 5 different arenas, as far as I can recall, which means I’m lagging behind the number of baseball stadia I’ve attended games in (7).

Like, as ever, you needed to know.

Commemorating the death of Pope John Paul II, the official VM girlfriend and I went out to see Sin City today. I enjoyed the flick, but not for any sense of emotional resonance. It was fun to look at, and felt like a roller-coaster ride at times. I was amazed that Mickey Rourke has devolved to the point at which he was a plausible choice to play the role of Marv.

Frank Miller’s comics tend not psychologize, so it’s no surprise that the movie was more thrill-ride than deep exploration of criminal personae. We don’t have a new Pulp Fiction on our hands, but those don’t come around too often.

Now, though, she’s back at her place in the city, and I’m home, watching the first game of the baseball season. We both sighed pretty heavily as we passed Yankee Stadium on the FDR Drive. Being a pretty even-handed guy, it’s been tough for me to deal with last year’s baseball playoffs. I’m willing to say, “My favorite team suffered the worst choke-job in the history of American professional team sports.” I’ve offered kudos to the Red Sox for playing hard and forcing that choke. Doesn’t make it easier to deal with.

Hearing the announcer say, “Randy Johnson is now taking the field for the New York Yankees!” was pretty freaky. I don’t like the strategy of signing the biggest free agents available and, as much as people goof on the Yanks for that, during their recent World Series run (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000), they didn’t really bring in significant free agents. They built through trades while they admittedly DID have a larger budget than other teams, so they could accommodate more players. But they didn’t just offer big money to bring guys in. That only started as the core got older, and it’s led to gaudy stats, but no World Series.

All of which is to say, I’m waiting for another Paul O’Neill to show up on this squad. I probably oughtta read Buster Olney’s recent book.

And, mark that I am, I do cop to sitting here on the sofa, cheering for Jeter.

But screw A-Rod.

It’s the NBA All-Ugly team! Glad they gave a shout out to that classic Celtic squad of 1985-86, but still found room for Keith Closs AND his freckles!

I’m disappointed that the Hubie Brown entry doesn’t mention his real likeness: the dudes from Alien Nation.

My music-maniac alter ego has posted a new Mad Mix! Check it out!

A little while ago, I wrote about a science-fiction author friend of mine who suffered complications from an appendectomy and now has a GAW (Gaping Abdominal Wound) to deal with for the next 6-10 months.

He’s recovering well, and it was his birthday today, so the official VM girlfriend & I took him and his partner out to a restaurant around the corner from his home in the Upper West Side. He was in good spirits, and happy to celebrate his 63rd with us.

I called a few friends of ours before dinner and let them know that we’d be at the restaurant, if they wanted to drop by or call to wish him a happy birthday/get well. A few called, which made him even happier. I love doing good things for my friends. Be a fool; just love people.

Here’s a pic of him (the bearded guy) and his partner:

I can only hope that this story — about Terry Schiavo’s parents selling the names and e-mails of their supporters/donors to a direct-mail firm — isn’t true. Because if it is, it might count as the single most disturbing aspect of this whole episode.

New York Press reveals its annual list of the 50 most loathsome New Yorkers.

Today, the U.S. Congress held hearings about the use of steroids in Major League Baseball. It takes some work, bending my brain around that concept. While the House and Senate are debating over the federal budget and whether to deny the White House’s proposed cuts to Medicare funding, our duly elected representatives are able to take time out to grill Rafael Palmiero, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s translator.

The impetus for the hearings wasn’t the spate of home runs getting belted out of stadia in the past 10 years. Nor was it the BALCO trial, in which transcripts of Jason Giambi’s secret grand jury testimony were leaked. (No one’s holding hearings to find out where the leak came from.)

No, these hearings are being held because Jose Canseco wrote a book in which he “named names” of MLB steroid users.

Again, try to wrap your head around that concept. It’s especially daunting for those of us who didn’t think Jose could even read or write. Regardless, Congress decided that enough is enough, and set the stage for today’s grandstanding.

Every question of substance was dashed by the use of the Fifth Amendment, as anyone with half a brain knew they’d be. But Jose did manage to utter a great comment, in his prepared statement:

Why did I take steroids? The answer is simple. Because myself and others had no choice if we wanted to continue playing. Because MLB did nothing to take it out of the sport.

That’s right: Jose (and others) took steroids because the league didn’t make him stop.

Would you dickheads please get back to gutting Social Security or something, and stop wasting time with this idiocy?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.