The Sky Is Falling!

That's it, its over, time to pack it in. Okay, maybe not. We don't handle success very well here.

The Bengals lost to the Texans on Sunday 28-17 in a game where the Bengals D completely disappeared in the second half. I chalk that up to the lack of pass rush on Matt Schaub, which was due to large part to injures to Antwon Odom and Domata Peko. Push rush was a major problem last year and seemed to be righted this season. Now, I don't know. Rookie Michael Johnson, who was a beast in college at Georgia Tech, is going to need to step up fast. And since neither tight end can seem to hold onto the ball, Chase Coffman might need to step up fast as well.

Speaking of Georgia Tech, thanks to their victory of Virginia Tech on Saturday, Virginia is currently in first place in the ACC Coastal Division, sitting at 2-0 in conference play, the only team in the Coastal without a conference loss. Sure, they still have to play Georgia Tech, Miami, and Virginia Tech, but for now (and at least another week, since Georgia Tech is going to Charlottesville this week and the worst that can happen is they lose and remained tied), the Virginia Cavaliers are a first place team. I told you the sky is falling.

Alabama is hands-down the best team in the country right now and Mark Ingram should be leader in the Heisman clubhouse. Not that any of it means anything in the middle of October.

A six-part docu-series on IFC debuted last night called Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut). I haven't seen it yet, but from the reviews, its looks really good. IFC's also showing a lot of old Monty Python stuff right now as well, which is always a good thing.

After it was referenced in last week's episode of Castle, I saw The Sting again for the first time in a while on one of HBO channels over the weekend. Is there a better con-man movie? I don't think so. I think people tend to gravitate toward Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when then think of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I like The Sting better.

Finally, my thoughts on the so-called Balloon Boy and his family. I have to admit, when this story first broke, I didn't care about it. I didn't care that some kid in Colorado might be flying away in some balloon. I didn't care when the balloon was found sans kid and it was thought that the kid might have fallen to his death. And I didn't care when it was discovered that the kid was just hiding in the attic the whole time. But now that its been revealed (allegedly) that this thing was a complete hoax, I'm all in on this story. Faking a missing child situation with an accidental launch of balloon contraption in an effort to leverage yourself your own reality show after you've already appeared on a reality show? There's nothing about that that isn't awesome (you know, in a completely deranged sort of way). The sheriff in this case needs to be right. These allegation have to be true; I think I'll be crushed if they aren't. Its the reality show angle that pushes this story over the edge. This was all (allegedly) a publicity stunt? Really? What part of making people think your kid may have floated away on a balloon would a reality television producer look at and say, "Yup, those people need to be on television more often."? People have done some crazy shit to get their own reality show, but fake sending your kid up in a balloon is a whole new level of crazy. The sky is falling indeed.

Odd Day

I just got back from watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, with the full intention of writing a review here on the blog, only to come home and find out that Michael Jackson died. Nothing against Ed McMahon (who I only know from Star Search; too young for him on The Tonight Show) and Farrah Fawcett (who I only know as someone who was once super hot; too young for Charlie's Angels), but Michael Jackson was bigger than both of them combined. Times thirty. And then some. Its wild. I always thought that he would have one last great comeback moment before he died (think Elvis "Aloha From Hawaii"). Even now, just after his passing, there's talk about how he'll be remembered; will his recent legal troubles/bizzare behavior overshadow his monumental impact on music. I say no way. We got past fat, drug-addicted Elvis, we'll get past Michael's issues. Yeah, so he was borderline functional as a person; he was an absolute musical genius. As ESPN's Matthew Berry (@TheRealTMR) tweeted this evening- Say what you want, but when most people die, they don't have four minutes as good as this:



Couldn't agree more.

(And by the way, Transformers was exactly what you'd expect it to be- giant robots, big explosions, hot chicks, minimal story/plot. Go in with those expectations and you won't be disappointed. Go in expecting anything more and you're a moron.)

I Need To Find This Guy

Seriously. If we have masked vigilantes running around Cincinnati, I need to get downtown more often.

Glow-Hoinking Lives On!

The ongoing saga of whether or not Western Bowl will be closing has finally come to an end- Western Bowl will remain open.

This is huge news. Western Bowl will be under new ownership AND still be called Western Bowl (after all, what's the point in saving the place if you up and change the name?). From the article, it looks like the site could have become a fitness center; how much would that have sucked? Also, the Hoinke Classic is set to make its triumphant return in 2010. Perhaps this is a sign of better days to come.

Passing Of An Icon

First, it looked like it was in danger of closing.

Then, it got a last second reprive.

Now, it appears that Western Bowl will indeed be closing.

Damnit. Western Bowl is an iconic landmark on the West Side. I'm not even a Westsider and I think this sucks.

Okay, This Has To Stop

Seriously, its just getting ridiculous.

Barack Obama was the inspiration for the character of Matt Santos (played by Jimmy Smits) during the final seasons of The West Wing- we get it. And throughout the campaign, there were several other similarities to the show, from the difficult nomination process to the Republican opponent. Its a neat story and for uber-fans of The West Wing like me, its kind of cool to follow. But now its just going too far.

Turns out, Barack Obama's newly named Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, was the inspiration for The West Wing character of Josh Lyman (played by Bradely Whitford). Given that most, if not all, of the main characters from The West Wing were based on members of President Clinton's staff, this isn't all that surprising. For the non-West Wing fans, Josh Lyman was the Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) who eventually left the White House to convince then-unknown Congressman Matt Santos to run for President. Josh ended up running the Santos campagin, and after they won the election, Santos named Josh, yup, you guessed it, Chief of Staff.

No joke- Joe Biden, call your cardiologist, get checked out.

Again, this just has to stop.

Being Aware Of History As It Happens

A comic by Jim Borgman from back in the summer:

Politics really isn't my forte, so I tend to say out of the conversation. I know what I believe in and I don't really care about your opinion, not because I believe that you are wrong but because I believe differing opinions is the basis upon which this country was founded. The two-party system (or, at least the non-single party) ensures that the minority opinion is always heard, regardless of which party happens to be in the minority (and if that sounds like something out of The West Wing, it is). Now, I get the concept of "unity" and all that, but there's a difference between "falling in line" and "working together." "Working together" is what politicians need to do- accept that they differ in ideology but still work toward a common goal. Now, we all know that rarely happens in Washington, but ideally, that's how it would work. However, I never understood the concept of "falling in line" behind a candidate you don't support. I don't believe you need to support your president just because he (or she, someday) is the President. As a democrat, I never supported President Bush, so why should John McCain's supporters back Barack Obama? Why shouldn't they hold onto their beliefs and stand firm on their issues? They're entitled to their opinions (this is America afterall), and they should stand by them (although, it was a little classless for them to boo Obama during McCain's concession speech, not because they shouldn't boo if they believe it, but because it just makes your candidate look bad). However we may disagree, the minority opinion is important in America (though I'd be lying if I didn't say it feel good to finally be in the majority).

Anyway, I don't want this post to be about politics; I want it to be about the event. For him or against him, its obvious to everyone that the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America is historic. Regardless of what happens while he's in office, the event of his election is what will be remembered. And what I mean by that is, Jackie Robinson was an incredible baseball player, but his numbers on the field get shadowed (as they should) by his status as the first African-American player in professional baseball. Him being the Majors is far more important and more widely remembered than any of his stats.

Its rare to live through history and be aware of it as its happening. Many people feel that Tuesday's election will become a "where were you" moment in history, and I tend to agree. Usually, events of such magnitude are tragic, like Pearl Harbor, the assassination of Predident Kennedy, or September 11th, but thankfully that't not always the case. I remember talking to my dad about the Apollo 11 moon landing when I was younger; he was working at a motel in State College, PA that night and he remembers letting himself into an empty room and watching the telecast. I think at the time he told me this story he even remembered what room he was in. Moments like that are too few and far between. But I guess if they happened everyday, they wouldn't be worth remembering.

I'm glad Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. I'm glad I went down to Nippert Stadium on November 2 to see him speak in person. I'm glad that when I'm older, I'll be able to say that I was alive when America elected a racial minority to the highest office in the land. It makes me proud, both as a minority and as an American. Great day to be alive.

One final note- as a rabid fan of The West Wing, I find the parallels between this campagin season and that of the shows final years simply mind boggling. I'm sure there are websites out there that have driven the comparisons to death, but I am still amused at how life can imitate art, which was imitating life to begin with. Here's hoping that life doesn't imiate art too much and that Joe Biden doesn't suffer a massive heart attack between now and Inaguration Day. Though if John McCain is named Secretary of State, I might start to get concerned.

Election Day

A classic scene from The West Wing for Election Day:



I voted first thing this morning, before I went into work. I was hoping to avoid the long lines and mass chaos that's sure to ensue as we get later in day, and I think I did. I showed up at my polling place at 6:40 (polls opened at 6:30), and there were a fair number of people there, but not an outrageous number. I was inside by 6:50, voting just after 7:10, and out the door by 7:15. Thirty-five minutes, not that bad in my book. The only issue I had was with the parking. I voted at an elementary school, as I'm sure many people do, and there just isn't enough parking associated with an elementary school to handle election day traffic. People get pretty dumb when they are forced to start making up their own parking spaces; I'm surprised there weren't any accidents while I was there.

Anyway, go vote.

End Of An Era

Borgman Starts New Chapter

This sucks. People aren't reading newspapers anymore, so newspapers have to cut back on staff. There are casualties when an industry is dying, I get that. I just can't believe that Jim Borgman is one of those casualties. "Voluntary severance program" my ass. He is hand's down the best editorial cartoonist in the country and he's getting laid off. Look, I know I claim that Cincinnati has a lot of great things, but this one's no joke. Jim Borgman truly is great. He's won every award possible for his profession, including the Pulitzer back in 1991. He was a liberal voice commenting in a ridiculously (and sometimes stupidly) conservative town, but he wasn't afraid to call out the left when they deserved it. People here loved and respected his work, even when they disagreed with it. Whether he needed to be funny or moving, subtle or overt, I always felt that Jim Borgman gave the perfect tone for the topic he was drawing.

I guess there is some consolation in that he'll have a new weekly feature that will run in Sunday's Forum section (where he's Sunday comic normally runs), but in the grand scheme of things, this is bad news. I'll miss his daily take on not just what's happening here in Cincinnati, but on what's happening around the country and around world (and there would be plenty of material for him in the coming months, with the election moving full speed ahead and the Bengals almost certain ineptitude). Reasons for getting The Enquirer were running thin to begin with; this most certainly does not help.

Huzzah!

Western Bowl lives on!

As you may recall, a few months ago, the Westside mainstay was in danger of being bought out and demolished to make way for a new development. Well, Westsiders (and all Cincinnatians, really) can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Western Bowl and, more importantly, the Hoinke Classic, are safe for the time being. There is a God, and he is fair and just, for he has saved Western Bowl.

Who Wants A New House?

So Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has come to West Chester. Here's an article about the family. And while I've never actually seen the show (as in sat down and watched an entire episode start to finish), I think it's pretty cool that they're here, and I think, at its core, it a show that truly does mean to do good.

But reading the comments to that article, I am reminded once again that on the Internets, people will hate on anything. Really, you're going to hate on a family that has three kids, one with Crohn's disease and two (TWO!!) with spinal muscular atrophy because they want things like digital cameras and laptops? Shame on them for wanting things! You're going to hate on a television program that wants to actually help these people and others like them? Shame on them for wanting to help!

I think my favorite comment was the one that said the family should be ashamed because they had already gotten a trip to Disneyland through Make-A-Wish and now they're getting this. As if there's a quota on the charity you're allowed to receive.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do for you. Someone's already cared about you once."

Some claim that there are other families "more deserving" than this one. What the fuck does that even mean? And why does that even matter? Is it about helping only the "neediest" families (and really, who's place is it to make that call), or is it about helping anyone at all? I'd like to think its the latter.

Casey: Hey, you solved your problem yet?
Dan: On how to be guilt-free altruist?
Casey: Yeah.
Dan: It's easier being a miser.
Casey: Can I say something?
Dan: Sure.
Casey: You're not going to solve everybody's problems. In fact, you're not going to solve anybody's problems. So you know what you should do?
Dan: What?
Casey: Anything. As much of it as as often as you can.

Work-related sidebar: I found out today that my company is doing the footing inspections and compaction testing for the new house (which I think is pretty cool). We keep telling our man who's going to be on site that he needs to continually fail the fill material that they'll be placing in an attempt to get on TV. Bad fill is a headache on regular job sites, and at times, it can be a costly problem to fix. So I wonder how the show would deal with it? How long would they try and work with the material they have before deciding to move on to a different solution? They have 106 hours to finish the job; they can't spend a whole day fucking around with crappy material like normal job sites can. I guess most people don't think about things like that.

Edit: Apparently, my company was also involved the last time Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to the area. So we're 2 for 2.

Home of the Hoinke Classic

Western Bowl in Developer's Sights

I know I'm not a Westsider (never have been, never tried to be), but this is bad. Cincinnati can't lose Western Bowl. Where will West Side adolescents go if they can't hang out at Western Bowl ('cause let's face it, there's not much to do here if you're under 21, or even 18 for that matter)? And more importantly, what will happen to the Hoinke Classic?!?! I would hope the West Side would rise up as one and save Western Bowl from the wreaking ball. Like I said, this is bad...