Wait 'Till Next Year

As was previously reported here, my dad lost the election for NY State Assemblyman, 51st District to the incumbent, Felix Ortiz. No surprises.

He did, however, get that writeup by the CUNY student.

You can read that here.

Turn the Page. Wash Your Hands.

Syracuse's Dinosaur BBQ reopened this week. Huzzah.

And apparently, they narrowed down the cause (though the origin is still unknown):

"The Onondaga County Health Department has determined that a norovirus sickened patrons of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, but health officials couldn’t pinpoint the origin of the disease.

...

"Noroviruses — gastrointestinal illnesses that typically cause nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramping — are spread through vomit or feces. The viruses, which are highly contagious, cannot be transmitted through coughing or sneezing, Morrow said."

They did throw out all the food and sanitize the place. Nonetheless, it will be a good while before we reconsider ordering the Big Ass Pork Plate.

Say It Ain't So

[Dr. Ellie Sattler has dug through a pile of dino-droppings with her hands]
Dr. Ian Malcolm: You will remember to wash your hands before you eat anything?
-Jurassic Park (1993), directed by S. Spielberg

From the AP (via the Washington Post): 600 Sickened After Eating at N.Y. Bar

"SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- At least 600 people came down with a gastrointestinal illness after eating at a popular biker bar and restaurant, health officials said Friday.

"Bacteria have been ruled out as the cause, meaning last weekend's outbreak linked to the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is probably viral and could have spread through air particles, said Cynthia Morrow, health commissioner of Onondaga County.

...

"The county health department on Thursday ordered the restaurant closed for at least 72 hours. Workers threw away hundreds of pounds of prepared foods."

From the Syracuse Post-Standard: Dinosaur Illnesses 'Epidemic'

"Onondaga County health officials Friday declared the illness caused from eating at Syracuse's Dinosaur Bar-B-Que an epidemic.

"More than 600 people have contacted the department to report their symptoms and tell when they ate at the restaurant and what they had, Health Commissioner Cynthia Morrow said."

(Thanks to Pat for ruining Christmas prematurely by interrupting my blissful ignorance with this news. Jackass.)

Utter Disbelief.

Thy name is "If I Did It":

Fox is planning a two-night sweeps event whose title says it all: "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened."

No, really.

Publisher Judith Regan has taped a wide-ranging interview with Simpson that will serve as the basis for the broadcast, set to air in two hourlong segs Nov. 27 and 29, at 9 p.m. both nights. In the interview, Fox said Simpson "describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade."

Simpson was acquitted of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, but found liable for both murders in a later civil suit.

Regan is publishing the Simpson-penned "If I Did It," which goes on sale Nov. 30 -- the day after the special's conclusion airs. ReganBooks is based at Harper Collins, which is owned by Fox parent News Corp.

At least there's no word of OJ as a guest judge on American Idol. Yet.

Election 2006

Ok, it's been a week now. Just in case you were wondering, here was last week's results according to the New York Post:

Now, admittedly, it is the New York Post. And the results haven't been certified by the NY Board of Elections just yet. And I don't think my dad has called to concede.

But he's also not looking up apartments in Albany, either. Nor is anyone taking this seriously (not that we really did to begin with).

Thanks to all those who showed support. All 1,156 of you.

No, you don't understand... it means more there. Their city. Their team.

This is the actual splash photo (aka the first thing you see) upon visiting the home page of the Philadelphia Flyers:

I legitimately don't know what's more awesome about this photo: the authentic lack of enthusiasm coming from the Flyers and their fans, or the fact that the girl sitting in the upper right hand corner is clearly wearing an airbrushed Rangers jersey.

This is the best photo they had?

Flyers hockey. It doesn't get any better than this.

We would like to start our Election Day endorsements right here.

Meet my dad, Washington.


(No, not the priest.)

You can call him George, though. It's not his legal name - but it's a heck of a nickname for someone named Washington.

He's running for State Assembly, 51st District of New York. He's running against the incumbent, Felix Ortiz, who has held the position since 1994. (Ortiz is the guy who proposed the fat tax in New York a few years ago. Yes, that tax on foods the promote a sedentary lifestyle. Twinkies. That sorta thing.)

We went through this election business before, in 2002. That didn't end well.

Why is he running, you ask? Why go for it again? Why not, he'd tell you. The Republicans in the district need a name on the ballot, and he's as good as you'll find. Now, he's not going all out here. There are no commericals or flyers. However, in the internet age, you can find all sorts of info about a candidate nowadays. Crazy stuff.

Like bios with photos presumably from before I was born.

Or, that the NRA says my Dad is a D+ candidate, which means:

D = An anti-gun candidate who has frequently voted for restrictive gun control legislation or made strong statements in opposition to Second Amendment rights, and regardless of public statements can definitely not be counted on in key votes.

Perhaps you'd like to read a questionnaire that someone got him to fill out. From the responses, I'm not sure he did.

Heck, he's being trailed by some CUNY students who will write an article about him when this is all said and done.

I'm fairly excited about this Tuesday. I moved, but haven't changed my voting address so that I can still vote for him. Sure, I'll have to cross party lines... but I know I can make an informed decision thanks to the ol' internet.

And maybe, after reading this, someone in the 51st district might flip the switch for him, too.

He's a good man. Moved to the US from Guatemala at age 10. Served his country as a member of the US Army Reserves. Married a lovely woman (they've been together for 41 years), put seven kids through high school, five through college. Bought a home and stayed in the neighborhood in the height of the white flight of Sunset Park. After retiring from the MTA which he dutifully served for 28 years, he got tired of how things ran and got involved with local politics. Going door to door getting signatures, mailings, things that "aspiring college graduates" are supposed to do.

He's going to be blown out on Tuesday, this we know. We write this just to remind you that these candidates aren't just ballot fillers. They're good people, that believe in something. That are just as interested in fighting the good fight. People like my dad. Or Jimmy McMillan, the disabled veteran whose running on the "Rent is Too High" ticket because... well... he thinks the rent in New York City is too damn high. There are others.

The beauty of the democratic system lies in its ability to empower those willing to take initiative to attempt to make a change. So, good luck to the dreamers on Tuesday. You've got my vote, and this humble blog's official endorsement.

Film Industry = Fragile Business.

Why do we do it? In hopes of creating a true masterpiece, movie magic such as this gem reported in today's Variety: Pairing Up for Poetry

Lindsay Lohan is joining Keira Knightley in the "The Best Time of Our Lives," which John Maybury is in negotiations to direct for U.K.-based Sarah Radclyffe Prods.
...

Script by Knightley's mother, playwright Sharman Macdonald, is based on the true story of the relationships among Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, his wife Caitlin (Lohan), his childhood friend Vera Phillips (Knightley) and her eventual husband, William Killick. It centers on the curious incident in which Phillips and Killick opened fire on the Thomas home with a machine gun and a hand grenade.

I don't know which excites me more - armed poets, or Lindsay Lohan with a British accent.

I'm getting giddy just thinking about it.

I will now start my routine of running eleventy billion miles a day.

From the NY Daily News:
The Lazy-Bones Nabe - Sunset Park Tagged in City Health Survey

I swear, I spent my youth playing wiffle ball. Maybe there is some nurture in laziness after all...

There are no words.

I was there. Game 7. Shea Stadium. Mets v. Cards.

I surrounded myself with my closest friends. I saw every pitch. I never left my seat. I chanted. I hooted. I hollared. I waved my towel. I kept hope alive, believed when reality should've set in, never stopped dreaming. I did everything I'm supposed to do as a fan to make this night perfect.

I got a hell of a ballgame. I didn't get the fairytale ending.

Cards, 3-1.

I can't quite describe this feeling. It's a combination of a straight gut punch and the depression from realizing it's just a game and the world's still on its axis. It feels slightly off, though. I want to come up with some analogy of baseball as life, but I realize I'm grasping at straws tonight. Making much ado about very little, but this feeling reminds me thoroughly that it's definitely not nothing.

I search for words to elaborate, and I can think of one moment... sophomore year of college, October. I finished watching the Mets lose in 5 in the World Series to the Yankees. That stung. I couldn't find words - but searched the internet reading everything to find them. And I found these two quotes. And they said it all for me.

I thought about them on the way home, the longest ride home. They still ring true. While I cope with the hurt and sadness of Game 7... I keep it in perspective with these few words.

"I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it's more than there'll be a tomorrow, it's that I want there to be a tomorrow. That's the big difference, I want tomorrow to come." - Sparky Anderson

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." - A. Bartlett Giamatti

It's raining tonight, you should know. Started during the game.

Welcome back.

I can't speak for all of you, but speaking as one guy who grew up a little dork... I know I for one am happy to see Weird Al's still doing it after all these years.

Wow.

The only word I can use to describe KT Tunstall's performance yesterday at Webster Hall. I'm a believer now. Leave your house right now and go buy her CD immediately. Go.

It's alright, I'll wait.

(waiting)

Stop reading this. Believe me, if the hooks don't get you, her voice will. And if her voice doesn't, nor her successful use of a kazoo during the performance, then her keyboardist's/trumpeter's washboard tie will.

Go.

Don't Bet the House on Me

Right.

So apparently, I goofed up my LDS picks. The NLDS? When I said Padres in 4, I should've said Cardinals in 3. And when I said Mets in 5, I should've said Tom Glavine is the Dodger Daddy.

I had my ALDS games mixed up, too. When I said Yankees sweep, I meant the As. And when I said As in 5, I should've said the Yankees are awful. My apologies to anyone who took my predictions to Vegas.

Guys, please accept this as a token of my remorse.

Girls? Uhh... don't.

PS - We've got jury duty! Updates to come just as soon as they're legal.

Mere Moments Away...

I'm sitting on the couch on a sunny afternoon here in the big BK, mere minutes from the Mets gettin' down with the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. And I'm nervous.

I wanted to write a "what I expect from the LDS series" blog, but ran out of time (games started by the time I got halfway - for the record, I had Oakland in 5, Yankees in 3, and the Padres in 4). That leaves one series. The one that means more.

I spent the last Mets playoff experience in relative obscurity, getting my education about 300 miles away in scenic Syracuse, NY. I watched a small 13" tv, which gave me the grand slam single, the bases loaded walk, the one-hitter, and Timo Perez. I'm back in New York now. Living it. Hell, I've got tickets to Game 5.

Mets in Five. How do I know? Why would I back them even after they lost Pedro AND El Duque? Why am I a glutton for punishment?

I'll tell you why.
- The pitching never mattered. The Mets were 10-13 in games this season started by Pedro Martinez. El Duque? 11-8. Between them? 21-21. Number of games the Mets finished above 500? 32. It took them 13 different starters to get their wins. A patchwork rotation is clearly the least of their worries.

- The bats mattered. The Mets finished in the top 5 in the NL in runs scored, RBIs, HRs, OBP, and OPS. Score runs - and you win ball games. Some might argue a September swoon, but stats will show you there is no direct correlation between September and postseason performance. And, for good measure, the Mets finished the season winning four in a row - including sweeping the Washington Nationals by a combined score of 23-5. Yes, it's the Nationals - but they beat up the team they're supposed to beat up. We look for good signs in small places.

- The Dodgers are suspect. Penny's iffy, they lost their star lefty reliever Bemiel. They can hit with the best of them - but nobody in that lineup scares you.

- Grady Little.

- Because it's time.

Sadly, I have to watch the game on ESPN. Meaning Joe Morgan. I will be periodically punching myself to compensate for the stupidity.

Let's Go Mets.

I appreciate that most folks get their NY Sports from more reputable sources...

But I will say this might not necessarily be the worst idea I've ever heard:

From the NY Sun: Mets Should Use All Their Starters in Tandem

The argument? The Mets essentially schedule two starters for every game. Allowing each starter to go 3-4 innings. They have enough mediocre starters that turning each of them into long relievers would:

A) they wouldn't burn out the arms in the bullpen prematurely
B) the starters could just go all out, knowing they don't need to go all that deep
C) depending on the matchups, you could change the opposing team's strategy towards you earlier (like the Mets going from Glavine, a lefty, to Maine, a righty)

I don't know that I'm on board with this idea, but I've heard worse. (Lima Time comes to mind.) This doesn't solve the Mets' inability to hit lefties, or their general lack of gusto the last few weeks. But it could be a start.

Tomorrow marks my first day in a foray of unemployment.

With exception of one week for Christmas break, I literally have worked every Monday-Friday (and in some cases an extra Saturday and Sunday) since the middle of last September.

I worked too hard and spent the last month focusing on nothing more than getting to today. This isn't unemployment I'm starting tomorrow. It's a vacation.

Many's the time I've been mistaken, and many times confused
Yes and I've often felt forsaken, and certainly misused
Ah but I'm alright, I'm alright, I'm just weary to my bones
Still you don't expect to be bright and bon-vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered or driven to its knees
But it's alright, it's alright, for we lived so well, so long
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong, I can't help it I wonder what's gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying, I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me, smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying, and high up above my eyes could clearly see
The statue of liberty, sailing away to sea, and I dreamed I was flying

But we come on a ship they called Mayflower
We come on a ship that sailed the moon
We come in the ages' most uncertain hours and sing an American tune
And it's alright, oh it's alright, it's alright, you can be forever blessed
Still tomorrow's gonna be another working day and I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying, to get some rest

Where have I been?

I mean, I don't really know. I can't really explain where I've been hiding. My routine's been... well, routine. I work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. I don't do much outside of that. I don't get out much, maybe catch a ballgame here or there. All the signs would point to a thriving blog. I mean, look at what's happened in the meantime:

- Chicago actually stood up for the working class and forced WalMart to pay a living wage to its employees. It pissed Walmart off for sure:

“It’s sad — this puts politics ahead of working men and women,” John Simley, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in a telephone interview. “It means that Chicago is closed to business.”

Score one for the little guy. Even if it's done just to make Cubs tickets more affordable.

- The NYPD and their marijuana busts apparently have racism as a motive, according to the New York Daily News. In other news, the pot called the kettle black.

- Oh man, is this funny or what...?

- JetBlue flies to Aruba. I have a free round trip to anywhere JetBlue goes, and a vacation coming up. Yes, it's under genuine consideration.

- The Mets have a magic number. Rapture.

- I'm reading Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America." Apparently, we haven't learned all that much from history. More on this as it develops.

I mean, it's been almost a month. Well, in the meantime, I'm going to work on that excuse for you.

Howard Dean flies JetBlue.

How do I know this? I met him at the airport last night. We waited for the same plane.

Which they scheduled for 10:40pm.

It didn't depart until shortly before 2AM.

He's shorter than you think. Not short. Just shorter. Charismatic as hell, though.

Not so much the JetBlue attendants.

Oh, Tsuyoshi Shinjo... you're still a cad!

Shinjo, we always knew you were awesome. But if you had tried anything like this at Shea, you'd still be a Met...


Good luck in your future career as a nude model.

Could we have found the internet phenomenon to follow "Snakes on a Plane"?

No, probably not.

But we did find a movie starring Nicholas Cage and 50 Cent. A boxing movie. Called "The Dance."

And to think, I can't even get a meeting regarding a script...