Yakyuu on the mind

broderic on July 6, 2009

It’s a Sunday. It’s a day game. It’s the finale of a series. It’s a loss. With the home team, Orioles, continuing their less than mediocre ways, it’s time to look in to the game around as its played in Japan.

Here’s the NY Times writing about the
atmosphere in the stadiums of Japan. Very much different than the quiet of Camden Yards. If we could only get as rowdy, we wouldn’t have to worry too much about the awful Red Sox fans who visit our lovely park.

Then there is the adopted team of BrowserMetrics, the Hiroshima Toyou Carp. They’re playing better than the O’s but not much better. They too are below .500 in winning, but the distance to respectability is shorter for them than for the hapless O’s. Plus they’ve got a new stadium, Mazda Zoom-Zoom Park.

Finally, about some manga and anime. Mitsura Adachi’s Cross Game is an amazing manga. The anime only slightly less. We’re going to the Koshien! Taishou Yakyuu Musume is just starting up. I’m not sure I like it, but it’s got baseball, anime girls, sailor uniforms, and kimonos. It’s got the game.

Le Tour begins 2009

broderic on July 4, 2009

I’m sitting on my couch catching the prologue stage to this year’s Tour de France nursing my sore body. I lamed out because of all this soreness.

Currently, it’s a time trial stage with Team Astana ruling the standings Levi Leipheimer in the lead with the old man, seven time winner, Lance Armstrong sitting in third. I can’t believe that Astana is running with three leaders, Armstrong, Leipheimer, and Contador. A fourth, Andreas Klöden, is dangerous himself. That team is stacked. They are dangerous, but with too many cooks, will they spoil the broth and not get the win.

Everyone’s darling team from last year, Garmin-Chipotle, seems to have disappeared from the radar. Hopefully, they can come back and remind the world that the sport doesn’t need the drugs. Dave Zabriskie is their most renowned rider along with Christian Van de velde. Maybe they can do something special this tour. Perhaps fight off the Astana juggernaut.

Then there is the story of the two japanese riders. They hope to be the first finishers from the land of the rising sun. Banzaii! to these guys as three weeks is a long time on the bike. (I can’t even do two straight days.)

Here’s to a good tour.

Best thing since Brooks Robinson?

broderic on July 2, 2009

My dad used to have season tickets pretty close to section 34, perhaps section 35? And when we’d go we’d cheer along. “O! R! I! O! L! E! S! ORIOLES!” Just dig it. Baseball, beer and cheering ain’t that the fun. Funny thing, they lost to the Red Sux that day as well.

Link of the Day [6.29.09]

broderic on June 29, 2009

A few weeks back, me and Marge from the FishTank went to catch Seattle at Baltimore down at the yard. We got very good seats. The best ever.

I went, because I wanted to see two future Hall of Famers, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ichiro. Although, Griffey is no longer the kid, and he did not have a good outing, going 0 for 3 with a walk (I think), it’s still good to see the last of the great Mariners play. Then there is Ichiro. Ichiro! He’s awesome. He hit a double that looked to be a homer into deep right center. There’s no one who’s a better hitting machine than him. And he’s got a cannon for an arm. He threw a frozen rope from the corner in right field to home plate. Wow! Ichiro!

The home team lost that night, but it was a fun time.

I wore my Ichiro jersey and cheered for him whenever he was up. On the way home, Seattle fans were cheering. One of them saw my jersey. He looked at me and began to cheer again, “Mari-?” He saw my Orioles cap. “Hunh?” The look of confusion on his face was priceless. “WTF?!”

Anyway, watching Ichiro play is just about the best thing in baseball.

http://www.flipflopflyin.com/flipflopflyball/ichiro.html

The Hangover

broderic on June 29, 2009

The Hangover is rather dark for a summer movie. It’s no light-hearted romp through a bunch of friends bachelor weekend in Vegas, but a delving in the disturbance in men’s souls as they are freed from the nagging and the loving of women. It was almost too dark to enjoy on a lazy Sunday, but with some easy jokes, it doesn’t bum your day out.

3 of 5 stars.

I ♥ 

broderic on June 28, 2009

Nice.

UPDATE: Here’s what it looks like on XP running FireFox. Hee. Hee.


UPDATE 2: Here’s what it looks like on my MacBook Pro running Camino. WTF!

UPDATE 3:And here’s the latest Safari!

“Remember the Time”

broderic on June 26, 2009

In college, the first one, I had a real good friend whom I ate dinner with. She would usually drop by my dorm room to pick me up, and I would usually be watching MTV. That’s what you did as a college student watch television. And drink heavily, but that is another story.

It always seems she dropped by whenever Michael Jackson’s video would be on. First, it would be that morphing video for “Black or White.” White guys turning into black girls with the asian dude thrown in as an afterthought. Next, it would be “Remember the Time.” She would note that Eddie Murphy hadn’t done anything in a while and that Imam is not as hot as Naomi Campbell. Then she would say that Magic Johnson should not wear those Egyptian clothes at all because his knees look funny. Then we would laugh as Jackson would turn into a million balls. He was always a showman.

And he’s gone. At 50.

RIP Michael Jackson. You moonwalked into music history. Pop music is officially dead. Long live the King of Pop.

5 More

broderic on June 25, 2009

The Academy has gone to 10 Best Picture nominees instead of the usual 5. Isn’t 10 too much to choose from? And will it have even more suckier films to choose?

The Academy should just take a page from the Globes and have different categories for Best Picture. Best Picture for Drama. Best Picture for Comedy. Best Picture for Impenetrable Foreign Film. Best Picture for Will Ferrell Comedies. Best Picture for Lame Action Movies. Best Picture for Non-lame Action Movies. Such and such.

This will make creating the spreadsheet for BrowserMetrics Annual Oscar Pool a little bit more inconvenient.

Is 10 too much? I think 7 would’ve been ideal.