A while ago, a popular mass-produced beer had some commercials that revolved around the line, “Why ask why?” While most beer commercials seem on the stupid side to me anyway (one brand’s only selling point seems to be “coldness”), those especially bugged me. Actually, as I recall, the commercials were pretty cute; it was the idea that asking Why? is pointless that bugged me.
I believe that asking Why? is a uniquely human trait. Animals accept existence; humans question it. And while there is a certain important Zen-like quality to accepting existence, I believe the questions are also important.
Science is really nothing more than the process of asking Why?
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12 Comments | tags: Carl Perkins, communication, dumb mistakes, dumb questions, Frankenstein, questions, science and spirituality, spirituality, Terry Pratchett, why, why ask why | posted in Science
World Series bound?
Yesterday featured, not one, not two, not three, but four MLB baseball games to watch. Normally there is nothing unusual about four baseball games in a day. During the regular season, when all 30 MLB teams play (which happens most days), there are 15 games on the day. The big difference yesterday was that these were post-season playoff games, and all four were televised in national markets at times that almost didn’t overlap.
And how about them Royals?! First they give the Tigers fits during the season after fighting their way above the pack — even taking first place in the Division for 30 days late in the season. Then they make it to the playoffs as a wildcard and have played amazing baseball in the three games so far. Quite a story; I hope they go all the way!
Plus, I’ve realized what really annoys me about NCIS: Los Angeles.
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6 Comments | tags: ALDS, Boston Legal, Caitlin Todd, Eric Hosmer, JAG, James Spader, Kansas City Royals, Kensi Blye, Los Angeles Angels, Marty Deeks, Mike Moustakas, NCIS, NCIS:Los Angeles, Salvador Perez, The Blacklist, the Mendoza Line, Yadier Molina | posted in Baseball, TV
The New Horizons spacecraft on its lonely way to the planet Pluto.
As far as I’m concerned, Pluto is — and will always be — a planet. I don’t at all dispute the 2006 decision of the IAU (International Astronomical Union) to classify planets in a way that excludes Pluto (and a lot of other rocks out there). Clearly without that classification, we’d end up with hundreds of new planets. I’m just saying that Pluto gets honorary planet status; it gets “grandfathered in” as one of the original nine.
Why am I writing about this now? Well, it came up in a (real world) discussion recently, so it’s on my mind. The reason it came up was due to a discussion about the New Horizons space mission, which will visit Pluto (the planet) in July of next year — a mere 190 days away. We’ve been waiting since January of 2006 — over eight years!
And I’m not alone in insisting on Pluto’s planetary status; far from it!
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1 Comment | tags: Clyde Tombaugh, Disney dog, dwarf planet, IAU, Illinois, Lowell Observatory, New Horizons, New Mexico, planet, Pluto, Pluto is a planet, solar system, Venetia Burney | posted in Opinion, Science
The other evening I had the very weird experience of watching a very good, smart TV show followed immediately by watching a very bad, stupid TV show. And, admittedly, it may have been a study of contrasts; the latter may have suffered in comparison to the former and come off worse than it is. On the other hand, at that point in the evening, I had several (okay, four) beers in me, so I should have been predisposed to enjoy the show.
But instead of hootin’ and hollerin’ with delight (as I’d done for the first show), I was hootin’ and hollerin’ with derision about how mindlessly, utterly stupid the second show was. As it turns out, critics seem to agree. On Metacritic, the first one has 21 positive critic reviews, nine mixed and only one negative. The second show? Only four positive, 15 mixed and five negative reviews.
The first show: Madam Secretary. The second show: Scorpion. Both new and on CBS.
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42 Comments | tags: Barbara Hall, Bebe Neuwirth, intelligent TV, Madam Secretary, stupid TV, Téa Leoni, Željko Ivanek | posted in TV
Congrats to the Kansas City Royals for winning the MLB American League Wildcard game!!
And what an awesome game it was — an amazing kickoff to the 2014 post-season. Oakland off to a quick start with two runs at the top of the first and Kansas City answering immediately with one in the bottom. Royals take the lead in the third only to lose it in what seemed a game-losing pitching change in the sixth. By the time the dust settles Oakland drives in five runs. Royals get three back in the eighth, tie it up in the ninth, and we’re off to extra innings.
The A’s finally get a run in the twelfth, the Royals tie it up again and then a walk-off hit by catcher Salvador Perez (who has a .167 batting average) wins the game for Kansas City!
Good going guys!! Party like it’s 1985! Go Royals! Go all the way!!
Addendum (later that day): With the Royals win, I’m 1-for-1 on hopes. If the Pirates win tonight, I’ll be 2-for-2!
I’ve decided I want to see a “Central Hoedown Showdown!” Pirates take the Giants tonight (and another Bay Area team goes home); Royals somehow beat the Angels; Pirates somehow beat the Nationals; Tigers take the Orioles; Cardinals take the Dodgers (I’m iffy on that; not a Cards fan). Ultimately it comes down to Royals and Pirates with the Royals taking home the bacon.
Yeah, I know. It’s more likely to end up Nats and Tigers (or maybe Nats and O’s), but I can dream!
∇
8 Comments | tags: American League, Kansas City Royals, MLB, Oakland Athletics, Salvador Perez, Wildcard game | posted in Baseball
Gardy ejected – permanently!
The big surprise news for Minnesota Twins fans was the firing of manager Ron “Gardy” Gardenhire on Monday. In some ways the move was not surprising — the Twins have endured some of their worst seasons in the last four years, starting in 2011 when they came only one game short of losing 100 games. Even Gardy himself seems to agree the move is a good one, telling reporters, “I think this is the right thing.”
Gardenhire coached the Twins under former manager, Tom Kelly, from 1991 to 2001 and became their manager in 2002. That year the Twins made it all the way to the ALCS by beating the Oakland A’s, only to lose to the Anaheim Angels in five games. Since that time, Gardy brought the Twins to the post-season five times, but lost each time in the ALDS.
The surprise is more that Terry Ryan, the Twins GM, actually made such a bold move.
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6 Comments | tags: batting, Mental Floss, Metrodome, Minnesota Twins, MLB, pitching, Rick Anderson, Ron Gardenhire, run differential, Target Field, Terry Ryan | posted in Baseball
The regular season of MLB baseball ended yesterday. As it turns out, no one has to play a game 163. As recently as Saturday it looked like there could be up to three game 163s, but the final games played Sunday settled matters. On the personal plus side, the Pittsburgh Pirates and — perhaps more significantly — the Kansas City Royals are going to the playoffs. On the flip side, both teams are getting in as wildcard teams, so the journey may be short (but it would be pretty cool if the Royals went all the way).
And your Minnesota Twins, once again, aren’t going. It was another losing year for the Twins — fourth in a row — but they did manage to do a little bit better than they have in the last three. As I wrote earlier in the season, this year’s team showed some potential not seen those last three years. Unfortunately, in the end (as usual) our pitching brought us down. But at least we ended the season on a fairly nice note.
Post-season baseball begins this week and ends with the “Fall Classic” — the World Series.
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2 Comments | tags: ALCS, ALDS, Derek Jeter, Minnesota Twins, MLB, NLCS, NLDS, Phil Hughes, World Series | posted in Baseball
Exhibit A: Raymell Mourice “Ray” Rice. NFL running back for the Baltimore Ravens since 2008. He was a 2012 Super Bowl Champion and has a number of other accolades: three-times to the NFL Pro Bowl all-star game, AFC Champion and the NFL Play of the Year award in 2012. He’s also the 200-pound pro football player who delivered a knockout punch to his fiancée, Janay Palmer, while they were riding in an elevator in Atlantic City this past February.
Exhibit B: Two new TV shows, Legends (TNT) and The Mysteries of Laura (NBC). There are many other examples I could pick, but these stuck out, perhaps because I’ve always liked Ali Larter and Debra Messing, who star in them. The problem I have is the way in which both shows sexualized their female stars.
Casual violence against women. Women as eye-candy sex objects. No connection?
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13 Comments | tags: Ali Larter, Debra Messing, football, Legends (TNT), Ray Rice, Sean Bean, The Mysteries of Laura, violence, violence against women | posted in Rant
If “we are what we eat,” then what about what we consume with our minds? If the food we eat becomes the substance of our muscles and bones, doesn’t the information we absorb become the substance of our thoughts and emotions? We understand that it’s not healthy to live on junk food alone; do we have a similar sense regarding our mental health?
I think a lot about the media content we absorb so casually day in and day out. In the last three or four decades, we seem to have come to an ugly, unfortunate place for entertainment dining. Our diet now is rich in violence and sexuality, and it’s served in a visceral emotional stew of force and conflict.
I think it’s disturbing, especially considering how few seem disturbed by it!
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14 Comments | tags: Ali Larter, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brian Dennehy, CSI, F/X (movie), F/X2 (movie), Final Destination, movie violence, Quentin Tarantino, Sherlock Holmes, Total Recall, TV violence, violence, violence in movies | posted in Life, Movies, TV
If you’re wondering about the Gravitar change, it’s because I’ve temporarily switched my email notification address. I’m switching to a new service provider for my main email and personal website, so there needs to be an alternate for WordPress during the cut-over.
I could have used the Gmail account I set up for this blog, but Gmail and Goggle+ are too complicated for my taste. Maybe I’m getting old, but I’ve found it extremely challenging to learn my way around Google+ and YouTube.
Anyway, the Gravitar image is from a trip to Disney World — Epcot, to be specific. This would have been back in 1999, I think (wow; fifteen years!). They had a thing that would take your picture and merge it into one of several possible animals. Naturally, I picked the dog (my first dog as a child was a beagle, in fact).
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22 Comments | tags: acedia, DisneyWorld, email, Gravitar, ISP, selfies, Weltschmerz | posted in Life
Logos con carne 