GhostOfAutumn's Xanga

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:23:00 GMT

Well, I've decided it's time to move past the "my first blog-ness" of Xanga to a real blog site, so the Perennial nightmare of a subterranean bloodbath will live on, just not in it's present form.

Join me over at http://pnofasb.blogspot.com/

Friday, August 18, 2006

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:01:00 GMT

In an effort to make baseball an event, something special, a league on par with the NFL in buzzworthyness and gambling possibilities, less of a slog, I’ve completely destroyed most baseball traditions to present to you:

THE 104 GAME BASEBALL SEASON

In order to create the proper 104 game season, we have to do a little realignment

Contract the Kansas City Royals
Combine the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Move the Florida Franchise to the AL
Move the Brewers back to the AL
Create two divisions in each league of 7 teams each
Hockey style scoring to determine standings
Division winners, and two wild card teams make the playoffs with the highest number of points in their respective leauge
26 weeks of baseball, with weeks solidly defined, much like in the NFL

The first 12 weekends of the season consist of 4 game intra-league series, played on Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun with 1 NL and one AL series being Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon.

The two Monday games, will consist of an evening and a night game, with scheduling designed around making the wrap-around Monday series the two best of the weekend

Hockey Style Scoring.

Lose the series = 0 points
Win the series = 2 points
Sweep the series = 4 points
Split = 1 per team

The following 4 weekends of the season would allow for interleague play, 3 game series, Fri-Sat-Sun with two series Fri-Sun-Mon or Fri-Sat-Mon

Lose = 0
Win = 2
Sweep = 3

The following six weeks follow the same pattern as the first 12 weeks of the season

The final four weeks are five game series Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun-Tue (to avoid MNF) All Sunday games would be afternoon games.

Lose = 0
Win 3 = 2
Win 4 = 3
Sweep = 6

The Interleauge series will consist of two home series and two road series, based random draw before the season, with one of each team’s 4 series devoted to a regional matchup.

The four 5 game series at the end of the season are always divisional matchups games. Two home, two road, based on points standings heading into the final month. The top 5 teams in each division play each other one time each, the bottom two teams in the division will play each other twice, and the bottom two teams in the opposite division in the same league one series each.

The remaining 18 series will consist of home at home within the respective division, and one series against six of the seven intra-league teams.

The all star game is abolished since it no longer matters, however, during the interleague stretch, players will convene on the four Tuesdays at neutral sites for the BALCO home run derby, the Adidas running bases tournament, the Rollings 500 tournament, and the Tom Emanski throw-a-ball-from-centerfield-into-a-garbage-can-tipped-over-at-home tournament. Each of the 28 teams will submit a player to each of the four tournaments, the players will compete on both an overall scale, and against their division, The four division winners will take home 3 points for their teams, the 2^nd place 2, and the 3^rd and 4^th place 1 point each, the overall top highest scorer in each league will earn their team an extra 1 point.

Players to watch, Chicago Bears 2006 pre season

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:04:32 GMT

It's that time of year again. Having followed the team like a madman this off season I decided to write up a little scouting report for some of the deeper guys on the Bears that will likely see a lot of PT during the pre season, maybe this will help keep your intrest during the later stages of these oft-times brutal pre season games. Feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested, and feedback, as always, is most welcome. Enjoy!

#1 Josh Houston
Position: Kicker
Reasoning: Robbie Gould was downright dreadful from 40+ yards on his field goals last season, Houston played only one year at Ohio State sitting behind New York Jets 2005 2^nd round pick Mike Nugent all but his senior year. Houston hasn’t impressed much in camp but it will be interesting to see how he performs when the chips are down.

#19 Reggie Harrell
Position: Wide Receiver
Reasoning: With WRs #2 and #2a Bernard Berrian and Mark Bradley both coming off of injuries and being slightly banged up thus far in training camp, don’t expect to see much from either, especially in the 1^st pre season game. Expect to see bears backup QBs throwing a lot of balls to guys who will be on other rosters or bagging groceries before the leaves turn. One with an outside chance to snag a roster spot is undrafted rookie free agent Reggie Harrell who caught almost every pass thrown to him the first week of camp. Every year one Bears receiver on the bottom of the depth chart has a huge pre season, and then usually gets cut, occasionally they catch on elsewhere. Harrell probably won’t make the final 53, but he could land on the practice squad.

#21 Dante Wesley
Position: Defensive Back
Reasoning: The Bears did little in free agency this off season, but one of the additions was this 5^th year pro from Carolina. Wesley was expected to contribute on special teams compete for the starting spot at Nickel. He’s had a training camp that has exceeded all expectations and some have suggested that he could challenge Chris Harris and bears top draft pick Danieal Manning for the safety spot opposite Mike Brown. While that may be a bit overzealous, Wesley is a player who will likely get a lot of playing time this pre season due to his position on the depth chart and will undoubtedly be a tangible presence of the Bears D during the regular season.

#23 Devin Hester
Position: Return Specialist
Reasoning: Remember Willie Gault? Hester’s that fast. Listed position is cornerback but unfortunately is dumb as a box of rocks. If you see him lining up on D this season something went horribly wrong, but he can catch a kick and run really, really fast with excellent wiggle. The bears punt returns were abysmal last year with the long since departed Bobby Wade dropping punts left and right. Hester was the bears 2^nd overall pick in this years draft and he’ll prove his worth in the return game this year. Might get to run a few fly patterns on offense in the regular season too.

#24 Rickey Manning Jr
Position: Cornerback
Reasoning: Best known for being arrested for allegedly beating a guy because he was using a laptop and looked like a “nerd” in a Denny’s not 24 hours after signing a contract worth a guaranteed $7 million with the Bears, Manning could compete for the starting Cornerback position opposite Nathan Vasher.

#38 Danieal Manning
Position: Safety
Reasoning: The bears first overall pick out of D2 Abilene Christian Manning could also start opposite Mike Brown on D. Very few had heard of him going into the draft but most expert opinion and scouting say the Bears might have a real steal on their hands. Likely to see extended playing time

#45 Dwayne Slay
Position: Outside Linebacker
Reasoning: MY GUY! Slay was converted from safety to OLB late last week An undrafted free agent from Texas Tech, Slay’s biggest question is his speed. Projected to be a 3^rd or 4^th round pick, he fell off of most draft boards after the combine when he posted a god awful 4.78 in the 40 yard dash. A modern day Doug Plank, there is zero question where Slay’s talent lies. Quite simply, Slay can lay the wood. Nicknamed “Bullet” in college he was the Big 12 defensive player of the year last season along with forcing 8 fumbles. If he sticks, Slay could be to fumbles what Nathan Vasher is to interceptions in the Bears D. Unfortunately, Slay only carries 215 pounds on his 6’3’’ frame, undersized to say the least, but then again, so is 6’0’’ 223lb Bronco Ian Gold. It will be an uphill battle for Slay to make this team, and even if he does stick, he’s not likely to see the field much this year, but you will see him de-cleat a few 49ers on Friday night. He might be wearing a number in the 50s or 90s come Friday night thanks to the position switch, though as of Monday the only such number available is 50.

#48 JD Runnels
Position: Fullback
Reasoning: Bears starter Bryan Johnson can’t stay healthy and Bears backup Jason McKey isn’t very good. Johnson might not play, look for the 6^th round pick out of Oklahoma to assume the starting fullback position and never receive a handoff because Ron Turner’s offense doesn’t use the fullback for much besides blocking and the occasional swing pass.

#81 Rashied Davis
Position: Wide Receiver
Reasoning: Davis is the Bears other position project. A defensive back last season he played Wide Receiver during the Minnesota game and during the playoff game vs the Panthers because of how thin the bears were at the position. Pleased with his progress they made the switch official during the off season, slapped an 8 on his back and sent him out with most pundits picking him to be camp fodder and in the first round of cuts. Everything went as planned until Davis started catching everything thrown his way in mini camp and thus far in training camp. Davis looks like a good bet to make the team make the team and could return kicks until the coaching staff feel Hester has “earned” his position which will likely take about 9 seconds, the same amount of time it will take Hester to run a ball 70 or so yards.

#s 86 Tim Day and 89 Cooper Wallace.
Position: Tight End
Reasoning: Many were critical of the bears for neglecting the tight end position in the draft but the truth is it’s just not utilized for very much besides blocking in the Ron Turner offense. Oregon’s Day and Auburn’s Wallace were signed after going undrafted. The rub: Day can’t block and Wallace can’t catch, so expect the bears to keep Wallace if they end up keeping either in favor of 3^rd TE Gabe Reid.

#98 Dusty Dvoracek
Position: Defensive Tackle
Reasoning: For as deep as the bears are on the defensive line, especially on the inside, no one predicted the Bears would draft another DT, especially as high as the 3^rd round. The Bears drafted the 305 pounder from Oklahoma for one main reason: he’s a mean son of a bitch. Kicked off the team after almost beating one of his roommates to death, he was reinstated after going through anger and alcohol counseling. If not for the off the field issues, Dusty likely would have been a first round pick, he posted one of the highest Wonderlic scores of any player drafted last year (41 if memory serves) and is explosive right out of his break. The bears like Ian Scott an awful lot, but are looking for more big play ability out of the guy that plays next to Pro Bowler Tommie Harris. Tank Johnson was supposed to be that player but he’s had injury problems in each of his first two seasons and hasn’t seen the field much. Dvoracek was Harris’ teammate in college and the Bears hope that reuniting the two can bring the D line to a level not seen since the days of Mongo and Fridge. I expect Dvoracek to be a starter by seasons end.

-John

It’s been a long-ass time, Xanga.

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 22:23:52 GMT

Looks like January 4^th was my last “real” entry, and there’s only been a few since.

So where are we now?

Well I started interning at WSCR the Score, Sportsradio 670 two weeks ago. Thus far I love it. Granted I don’t have many responsibilities, but it’s a great experience just being there, being able to network and spend time at a real radio station. For the first time I really feel like my life is progressing.

I also quit my job at The UPS Store after almost 3 years of working there. In less than a week, I went from working a very blue collar job on the northwest side at a one-story flattop roof strip mall to the 6^th floor of a downtown skyscraper. I still haven’t completely gotten over the shock of the change. I still work my “studio time” job at Columbia. It doesn’t pay much, but it involves so little work, and zero stress, something that was abundant for me at tUPSs.

I went to the doctor on January 20^th, and was put on antidepressants. I had fought off the idea of going on meds for over a year and a half, but I realized that I wasn’t going to merely think myself out of my haze. It is easily one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. I had a massive serotonin imbalance and it’s mostly corrected now. In addition my doctor stressed the need for weight loss, something else I was very aware of but hadn’t done much about. Thanks mostly to portion controls and consistency, I think I’ve succeeded fairly well. I’ve lost 27 pounds since then, and if one were to factor in what I lost last summer, I’ve lost 39 since graduating high school.

Still missing the special someone on the personal side, but… not nearly as upset at this fact as I once was. I take this as a good sign.

I’m going to try and update this a little more frequently, but we all know that’s rather unlikely.

Softball tonight.

Life is about change.

(It's a tumbleweed)

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 04:40:07 GMT

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 20:03:40 GMT

HJ0125 LRB094 20306 RLC 58347 r

1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

2 WHEREAS, Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of
3 the United States House of Representatives allows federal
4 impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of
5 a state legislature; and

6 WHEREAS, President Bush has publicly admitted to ordering
7 the National Security Agency to violate provisions of the 1978
8 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a felony, specifically
9 authorizing the Agency to spy on American citizens without
10 warrant; and

11 WHEREAS, Evidence suggests that President Bush authorized
12 violation of the Torture Convention of the Geneva Conventions,
13 a treaty regarded a supreme law by the United States
14 Constitution; and

15 WHEREAS, The Bush Administration has held American
16 citizens and citizens of other nations as prisoners of war
17 without charge or trial; and

18 WHEREAS, Evidence suggests that the Bush Administration
19 has manipulated intelligence for the purpose of initiating a
20 war against the sovereign nation of Iraq, resulting in the
21 deaths of large numbers of Iraqi civilians and causing the
22 United States to incur loss of life, diminished security and
23 billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses; and

24 WHEREAS, The Bush Administration leaked classified
25 national secrets to further a political agenda, exposing an
26 unknown number of covert U. S. intelligence agents to potential
27 harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to
28 investigate the matter; and

29 WHEREAS, The Republican-controlled Congress has declined

HJ0125 - 2 - LRB094 20306 RLC 58347 r

1 to fully investigate these charges to date; therefore, be it

2 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
4 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the General Assembly of the
5 State of Illinois has good cause to submit charges to the U. S.
6 House of Representatives under Section 603 that the President
7 of the United States has willfully violated his Oath of Office
8 to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United
9 States; and be it further

10 RESOLVED, That George W. Bush, if found guilty of the
11 charges contained herein, should be removed from office and
12 disqualified to hold any other office in the United States.

You know what I hate

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 01:41:32 GMT

I hate when a company *Cough*OfficeDepot*Cough* bills you for something you bought. Then you look at your bank statement and think "hey cool, I've got more money than I thought I did" then you go back a few days later and find you actually don't have as much money as you originally thought because said company decided to remove the charge then bill you again a few days later. Apparently running a batch upload on a credit card machine takes a masters degree and a keen sense of electrical engineering or something.

Gas stations are guilty of this too.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:45:02 GMT

With Nothing Else

So those ships turned away
And a few more people died
Not at that moment
But their executioner signed

Signed on the dotted line
The same line that’s been signed
So many times

“Kill Castro
Kill Chavez
They’re not the American way”

And measured by sports cars
And sports bars, and sports bras
You’re right

But I’m not with the have-nots
And I’ve still got none of those things
And that’s not what I want
That’s not what I’m after

But is it so wrong to want some more food on my table?
I know it sounds trite but I’m no longer able
To listen to the tripe of those who talk
About why the have-nots should-not
And why the haves prevail

“So don’t let them fight us
They’ve got all the power”

“We’ll show them how they’re different
Their voice and their skin
They say their God’s more important
Let’s even use him”

“We’ve got what they really pray for
It’s wrinkled and green “

“We’ll give them just enough to make them give it all back
-Then we take all the rest-
Just walk straight into their homes
Through their TVs
Their radios
And cellular phones”

“They won’t even notice
They’re all trembling with fear
For their sons are all dying
So we can all hear
How someone can live the American way”

A way that we never knew cause they took it all first
But how can it be
When all you have is want
And all you want is free?

So you tell us freedom isn’t free?
But it’s right in the word
It’s easy to say, when it’s not you who’ll have to pay
It’s ours who are in debt

But we’ll gladly credit
With a wink and a smile

Because one day we’ll just be like you
At least that’s what you say
And when we don’t; we ask
Why didn’t things turn out our way?

“You’re not the person that this is for
You’d be here if only you’d took our advice
So give us a little bit more
And we might lower the price”

But one day you will let your foot off my chest
And when that day comes
You will come to regret
Just how fat you have gotten
Off my work and my back

I’ll push you back down
And hold your life in my hands
And you’ll look in my eye
And you’ll beg with your lips
But not a tear of relief will you cry
As I walk slowly away

You’d be better off dead
It would justify everything you’d ever said
About you and about me
I won’t give it to you

I’ll make you live in fear
Like you’ve done to us
For thousands of years

All you have is want
But you’ve never felt
The love that I have
When you’re left with nothing else

I don't like the olympics!

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 13:44:56 GMT

So I’ve decided that the winter Olympics are fucking boring and I’ve come up with a few ideas to fix that

Biathlon: Ok, do you care how many targets these guys can shoot while skiing? I sure don’t, so let’s spice this up a bit shall we? We make it two separate events. You get all the contestants, put ‘em in a giant forest on their skis with their guns. Fuck targets, let em shoot each other, the three that live get to race to the finish for bronze, silver and gold None of this .22 shit either, I want ‘em firing NATO standard 5.56 rounds.

Ski Jumping: I really don’t care how far these guys can fly. Get TWO ski jumps, and have ‘em face each other. Put a jumper at the top of each and give them JOUSTING LANCES! They go down at the same time and try and joust their opponents out of the sky. You land, you get to go again, you fall, you’re out, last 3 standing get medals.

Professional Water Slide (AKA Luge): A few years ago, a tamer me would have suggested they go down face first stomach down, but they already have that, it’s called skeleton. Nothing a few roller coaster style corkscrews and loops couldn’t fix though, and if it works for luge, it’ll work for skeleton, and it definitely won’t work for Bobsled, but we’re sure as hell gonna try it and see.

Curling: Can’t be helped.

Snowboarding: Ok, you get a big room, and you put everybody in the room, you give em each a bong and as much pot as they can handle. Pile up a 6’tall mound of cheetos and twinkies in the center of the room, last three to go for the snacks get the medals. As far as I’m concerned they’re already doing this in the dorms, so they might as well award something for it.

Speed Skating: Two words: Roller Derby

Figure Skating: Ok, this one’s going to take a LOT of work, first, get rid of pairs, nobody cares, we’re going with QAUDS, wouldn’t you like to see two guys each throw a girl at each other, have ‘em spin around in mid air, and then have to catch the one the other threw?

For men’s and women’s, two new rules. You either must weigh over 200 lbs to perform, or you have to perform in a gorilla suit.

Ice Dancing: Come on, this is dry humping in skates, let’s just cut the bullshit, take the clothes off, call it Ice Porn.

Downhill/Super G/Mougls: Ever see Indiana Jones? If you can run away from a boulder, you can ski away from an avalanche.

Ratings fixed.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 19:57:10 GMT

UPSET BCOZ OF UR SHORT DlCK? LONGER 2" WITH THIS whom

black commit shining light added. bad find different?
he across window window whom. the happened edge tying shining added.
shining wrong edge a rich. we human bought development again anything?
somewhere whom we how a. she goes similar you anybody. sandwich fire immediate motor mischievous,
hard make principle steps window music. human back added supposedto.

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That was in my Gmail junk folder...

Sometimes spam can be downright poetic.