Jim's Guts

Happy New Years!

As we get ready to turn the page on another year (and what a year it was), I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. May 2009 bring us all joy, health, and peace.

Friday morning pick-me-up...

This song would make a lot more sense if you've seen the show "Striking 12" by the group Groovelily, but even without that it's still great. The show is the story of a Grumpy Guy who doesn't like New Years and the lesson that he learns from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl". The setup for this song is that he's just finished the book and is upset to find out that the girl dies, so he calls his friend to ask about it...

"Jewelry face..."

A couple of years ago GD (one of The Old Guys) mentioned that with all the jewelry commercials out there, there was no male equivalent*. There are no marketing campaigns aimed to get women to spend huge amounts of money on something, that while pretty, doesn't really have any use. As this amusing video from current.tv shows, others are noticing this trend too...

* - GD also noted that there is no quid pro quo chart either, but that's another post.

A win in Michigan...

Thanks to the efforts of a friend and fellow GYGIG rider, the state of Michigan has become the 19th state to pass a restroom open access law. Basically this law allows those of us with IBD to have access to retail bathrooms in case of emergency. I know it sounds like a small thing, but for people like me, it's huge. Great job JL!

Bowling Part II...

Week 2...

Valero Alamo Bowl (Dec 29th) Missouri v. Northwestern – This will be fun to watch for a couple of reasons. Will Missouri bounce back after being trounced in the Big 12 Championship (and have a chip on their shoulder because of all the talk that they shouldn’t have been there)? Or will Northwestern alum and 3rd year head coach Pat Fitzgerald be able to convert his team’s excitement from “were happy to be here” (1st bowl in 8 years) into the type of defense they played during the Big 1(1) season? Go Wildcats!

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl (Dec 30th) Maryland v. Nevada – Go Smurf Turf!

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (Dec 30th) Oklahoma State v. Oregon – Traditionally one of the best and highest scoring bowl games of the season, and at least the scoring  part of that tradition should continue in this year’s game. Both teams average 40+ points a game, expect the scoreboard operator to have a busy night.  Go Cowboys!

Brut Sun Bowl (Dec 31st) Oregon State v. Pittsburgh – Oh what could have been…The Angry Beavers were one win away from Pasadena and couldn’t get it done a home, so instead will be going to El Paso, Texas. I’ve never been to El Paso, but I’m guessing it’s not even close to Pasadena. The real question will be whether or not the OSU can get over its disappointment and go back to being “The Angry Beavers” or whether they’ll be thinking about what might have been and get rolled by a very good Pitt team. Go OSU!

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Dec 31st) LSU v. Georgia Tech – I was pretty bummed when Coach Johnson left Navy but it does give me another chance to watch the triple-option offense. Meanwhile the LSU defense has been all over the map this year, and if they don’t stick to their assignments it could be a long New Year’s Eve for them. Go Ramblin’ Wreck!

Rose Bowl (Jan 1st) Penn State v. USC – With the exception of Navy, this may be the game I’m most looking forward too. The “Granddaddy Of Them All” with two storied programs, to great coaches, and two really good football teams. Go Rose Bowl (because I can't pick who to root for)!

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – Let’s see, on the one hand you’ve got (very) angry Texas team that thinks they should be playing a couple days later (and should the Sooners win that game will have a gripe about wanting a share of the National Championship). On the other hand is a 10-2 Ohio State team that slid into a BCS bowl. I don’t see this ending well for “The Vest”. Go Longhorns!

Rats...

Wake Forest 29 - Navy 19. Still a great season, but with all of the mistakes (95% of them by the coaching staff) it's tough way to finish the year.

Let's go Bowling...

I love this time of year! For the next two weeks there's going to be football on almost every day! (Yeah, Christmas is nice too). Here’s a quick look at the games I’ll be paying special attention to in the first week;

EagleBank Bowl (Dec 20th) Wake Forest v. Navy – What a great way to start the bowl season! These two teams met back in Sept at Wake Forest with Navy winning 24-17. Expect another low scoring game as both teams favor the run, though I expect Navy to mix it up a little bit early. Go Navy!

New Mexico Bowl (Dec 20th) Colorado State v. Fresno State – This should actually be a close game with two pretty evenly matched teams. Both teams are lead by senior quarterbacks, and both defenses can be a little porous so in contrast to the morning game, expect this one to be a high scoring affair. Go Bulldogs! (sorry Jonesy)

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (Dec 23rd) Boise State v. TCU – There’s little doubt that BSU should be playing in a BCS bowl, but if they’re not going to Arizona, this is a pretty good consolation prize. San Diego and this game were a blast, and BSU fans will have a wonderful time. The game will be no slouch either, TCU is 10-2 but those two loses came at the hands of #2 Oklahoma & #10 Utah, and while BSU has the 12th ranked offense, TCU has the 2nd ranked scoring defense giving up only 10.9 points/game (only USC is better at 7.8 ppg). Go Broncos!

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Dec 24th) Hawaii v. Notre Dame – If for no other reason than to root again the damn Domers.

Emerald Bowl (Dec 27th) Miami (Fla.) v. California – With this game just across the Bay expect the “Ted-Heads” to be out in force. Miami dropped their last two games by giving up big yards on the ground which bodes well for sophomore RB Jahvid Best who’s averaging 126 yards per game. Go Bears!

I’ll be back later with week 2 and the BCS, till then Happy Bowling!

Friday morning pick-me-up...

Here's another artist courtesy of my friend Mr. Jones - Ben Lee writes pop songs, but their smart and fun pop songs and here's a great example of that - "American Television" (featuring Tiffani Thiessen);

Speaking of pop songs (and any Nu Romantics folks out there will scream at that description), here is a great one from ABC - Poison Arrow;

Information overload...

A former coworker of writes has a great blog focused on the environment called Crunchy Chicken where she recently posted the talking to people about environmental issues can be like “talking to a room full of pugs” (her site has the accompanying video);

“In the meantime, take a look at the video below. Sometimes I feel like this is the sort of confused response expressed by the majority of Americans when faced with the issues of environmentalism, peak oil, agriculture and consumerism. From here on out I'm going to just refer to it as "talking to a roomful of pugs". It's best to watch it without the sound and just imagine the conversation going on in their heads.

"Rising sea levels? Endangered species? Melting permafrost? GMO foods? Food miles? Spending within your means? Peak energy? Dead dogs in my kibble? That's it, I'm outta here.”

The post really made me think about what’s going on here and I think the issue is information overload.  There are so many environmental issues, most of them at critical levels, that it's just too much for a lot of people to process. Add these issues to the current economic and global stability (wars, terrorism, natural disasters) problems and you rapidly get to the point where people just cock their heads to the side and stare blankly at you.

To be perfectly honest, it's a little overwhelming for me too, and I can understand where the easy response would be to "turtle" and try to focus on stuff that's simpler to digest (i.e. One may not understand the current economic crisis, but it's easier to see the impact of that then the impact of global climate change). This has always been the history of mankind, to focus on what is right in front of us instead of looking long term, even when that is to our detriment.

Intellectually most of us know we can’t ignore these issues, so the real question becomes – How do we get people to pay attention issues without giving them so much information that they just give up and turn on the TV?

"Lemmings on wheels"...

Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post is quickly becoming a must read for me, and again today he nails it...

"It may be that General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are lumbering, Jurassic beasts that deserve their looming extinction. But only a free-market fundamentalist, a lunatic or a Senate Republican -- perhaps that's redundant -- would conclude that now is the moment to hasten Detroit's demise. "
...
"The thing to do is give the automakers the money to buy some time. This is obvious to the current administration, the incoming administration, a majority in the House of Representatives and the Democrats in the Senate -- but not to the Senate Republicans. They killed the bailout measure by demanding that the United Auto Workers agree to sharp, almost immediate cuts in wages and benefits.

"Funny, I don't recall a cry from Senate Republicans for salary caps on the stockbrokers whose jobs were saved in the Wall Street bailout. Nor, to my knowledge, have they demanded that white-collar workers in the auto companies take pay cuts. I do recall lectures from some Republicans in the Senate about how inadvisable it is for government to meddle in the workings of the free market. In my book, renegotiating labor contracts qualifies as meddling. "

We "support" the Troops, part 492...

More of the Bush Administration's "Support (for) the troops" (tm);

In 2004, the office of then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld set up ASY as a six-month effort to showcase the U.S. public's backing for the troops and their families. "If you're serving overseas, and you watch the mainstream media coverage, sometimes you can't tell if America knows you're there," one official overseeing the program says. America Supports You was seen as a way to counteract that sense.
...
Meanwhile, ASY began to spend millions — not to help the troops, the Inspector General says, but to help itself.
...
From fiscal years 2004 to 2007, the Inspector General's report notes, Barber funneled $8.8 million in contracts to the public relations firm Susan Davis International — to set up the myriad events, and to promote the ASY "brand." The work was incredibly lucrative; Davis' executives made as much as $312,821 to $662,691 per year. "Paying a public relations contractor annual salaries approaching three-quarters of a million dollars does not appear to be a cost-effective means to support the ASY program and the war fighter," the report observes.

You may remember 2004 as a time when front line Marines and Soldiers were purchasing their own personal body armor because the stuff the were getting from the DoD was horrible. Yep, "Support the Troops"... (h/t Balloon Juice)

Friday morning pick-me-up

A couple of quick ones this morning - Here is Tokyo Police Club with "Tessellate"

And for the classic - Big Country with "Look Away"

A must read...

Lisa Miller at Newsweek has written an excellent article titled "Our Mutual Joy" that looks at what the Bible really says about the issue of gay marriage. The opening paragraph really sets the tone;

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

Of course not, yet the religious opponents of gay marriage would have it be so.

It's well past time that these Biblical literalists be called out on their hypocrisy. They can no longer get way with saying that "the Bible is not open to interpretation" and yet treat it like an ala carte menu ("I'll be against gay marriage, but I'll have divorce). Seriously, go read Ms. Miller thoughtful work.

The uniforms...

For my dear friend Fina, who properly called me to task for not including picture links, here are a some of shots of the team uniforms from Navy's win over Army last Saturday...

Notice the Globe & Anchor on the shoulder, there's a Navy Anchor on the other shoulder (AP Photo)


Here's Ram Vela sealing the deal with his late interception (AP Photo)


I couldn't find a better picture of the pants, which said "Duty. Honor. Country." on one side, and "West Point" on the other. Still, from the jersey you can see why the play by play guy was having a difficult time reading the numbers... (GoArmy.com Photo)


I think all the paintballers will be wearing this next year (Photo Riddell)

109th Army v. Navy Game and other random sports notes…

Because the game was so lopsided the biggest story from Saturday has to be the uniforms. My initial reaction to Army was “WTF”?!?! Really? Camo pants and helmets? They looked like they should have been out playing paintball. Then I saw Navy run onto the field and my first thought was “We’re on a six game winning streak, who the hell changes their uniforms during the middle of a win streak!?!?!” Worked out okay in the end, and while I’m not too fond of the jerseys (the L&T thinks they looked like CFL jerseys), I did like the pants which looked a little like Marine Corps dress blues.

Other ramblings…

Speaking of "ramblings", Bill Simmons was as funny as he's been in a long time, there were several laugh out loud lines. Well worth a read.

Undefeated and 9th ranked Boise State Broncos were screwed. Don't get me wrong, they'll be going to the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl to face the #11 TCU Horned Frogs and will undoubtedly have a great time. I loved the game last year, and TCU should be a great match-up, but they should be going to the Fiesta Bowl to play Texas instead of the lower ranked 10-2 Ohio State team. Go Longhorns.

I'm willing to get on the Jim Mora as the new Seahawks' head coach bandwagon under one condition - That he hires a new defensive coordinator. When I'm up in the stands and can successfully call the opponents' next play, but the person whose job it is to defend it is surprised, it's time for a change. In the military there's an acronym ROAD, Retired On Active Duty. It means you're still showing up and getting paid, but you've long since checked out. The Seahawks' coaching staff is ROAD.

Finally, congratulations to the L&T's alma mater on what looks to be a great choice to be the UW's new head coach. The one good thing about being in the wilderness is that it feels great when you get back on the winning side.

Navy 34 - Army 0

I'll have more later (including commentary on the uniform choices by both teams), but for right now I'm just gonna sit over here being happy...

Friday morning pick-me-up

Bill Cosby has a great line "I told you that story so I could tell you this one..." and that's sort of the case with this morning's FMPMU. "Conditions are perfect" for this combination - First up is a very funny song by a couple of very funny guys, here are New Zealand's own Flight Of The Conchords with "Business Time"

Now the reason for showing you that (I mean besides the fact that it's funny) is so that I can show you the last Spirit Message of the year. Here are some of the 2007 Brigade of Midshipmen with their homage, "Game Time"

Time for another Spirit Message...

How about a couple of them. First up, an upcoming sequel to an Academy Award winning movie...

For those of you who remember Terry Tate, here's the Navy's answer;

Race Report – Seattle Marathon 5k…

This was not the Seattle Marathon, this was a new event, a 5k run the day before the marathon. Held down at Pier 70 in Seattle, the run was a simple out and back starting north along the waterfront. It was a pretty good morning for a run, no rain and temps in the upper 40's, the only downside was the wind which was in your face for the return.

Mile 1 – 9.03 – This is the first real run that I've done since the Pumpkin Push about a month before, so when I looked down at my watch I noticed I'd started a little faster than usual for me. Time to slow it down a bit.

Mile 2 – 9.42 (18.46) – Okay, that's a little too slow, I was hoping for something in the 9.20 area.

Mile 3 – 9.27 (28.14) – Better, but into the wind a little bit and I had trouble finding someone to draft behind to stay out of the wind, still not too bad.

Mile 3.1 – 1.08 (29.22) – I really need to figure out why I can run 30/10ths of a mile at a sub-1 minute pace but can't run the 31st inside of 60 seconds.

Still, it was fun to get out there, and my time was below 30 which was my goal for the morning, so I'm glad we went. Many thanks to the L&T for running along!

I also wanted to send a quick shout-out congratulation to our friends Ry & El for completing the 2008 Seattle Kids Marathon. It's actually a really cool idea, the kids are responsible for running 25 miles on their own between Sept and the day of the finish and then the last 1.2 miles are run together, with numbers and all the rest of the normal marathon accouterments. Congrats you guys!