Frosty Beverage Required

Man, it was hot out today. The first day it's been really swelteringly “middle of summer” hot rather than the rather pleasant warm spring weather. Really makes it hard to get things done during the day.

And I'd stay and say more but, again, just a week to Script Frenzy and I've been feeling the urge to write tonight. So, I'm going to get right back to it.

I Really Wish I Had The Time To Talk About This More

Case study in why we don't need to occupy Iraq indefinitely. Cultural Imperialism in action.

The Good Kind of Shrill

I, like many liberals, am pretty disappointed in the latest appropriations bill. Which is, as I see it, everything the president wanted with only a milksop towards benchmarks in a measure that Mr. Bush can and will wave away with a flick of his imperious hand.

I understand the Congress has to deal with a willful and disrespectful executive with a bunker mentality, unlikely to change its mind or offer a compromise any time soon. I understand that this war can't be halted on a dime and it takes a long time to right the ship of state after it's been so expertly driven into the shore by the Bush Administration – their only expertise seems to be in ruining thing, after all. And I understand that the legislative battles have to be waged slowly so I've been content to wait and let the pressure mount. But, frankly, by this point I expected more results. This war, this president, this course, is deeply unpopular so I don't understand why there's such timidity on the part of the Democratic leadership. Beyond that they're still listening to all the wrong people.

But, really, it's been hard to put my outrage into words. Thankfully, on tonight's Countdown, Mr. Olberman saved me the trouble. His commentaries have been, well, special in the past but, hot damn, he was breathing fire while his eyes went all swirly tonight. “Shameful and bi-partisan betrayal”, indeed. We cannot afford, by any unit of measure that matters, to wait until another September for yet another showdown on this. It's time. Now. To end this. And if it takes sending another message to our supposed leaders, well, then, it's time to make our voices heard once again.

I Enjoy Being Right, Sometimes

Interesting article in the Washington Post about how the Democrats (Or the Liberals, the Progressives, or whatever it is we're supposed to call ourselves before Rush, Hannity, and the rest of the chattering idiots figure out how to shame us with it and force us to rebrand once again.) have established a stronger foothold on the web than their conservative counterparts. Which, with the spirit withering effects of the past six or more years, it's not hard to see why people have flocked to the web in order to find like-minded souls. And, it should prove a good resource for years to come.

However, what caught my eye is down at the bottom of the first page (online, anyway.) around the tenth paragraph or so. Namely, this passage:

"What was once seen as a liability for Democrats and progressives in the past -- they couldn't get 20 people to agree to the same thing, they could never finish anything, they couldn't stay on message -- is now an asset," Leyden said. "All this talking and discussing and fighting energizes everyone, involves everyone, and gets people totally into it."

-Washington Post, Online - GOP Is Playing Catch-up May 21st, 2007

Which, as an idea I've long believed myself, is nice to see getting widerspread acceptance. I've been struggling for months to put it into writing but, basically, the chief advantage the Democratic Party has over the Republicans is how distributed it is. As Mr. Zuniga goes on to say in the following 'graph, he functions as his site's “mayor” with everyone else “doing their own thing, managing their own projects, while I keep the plumbing running.”

As someone who's had some experience running and maintaining large sites (Though, of course, nothing on the scale or success of Daily Kos, of course.) I think that's an apt metaphor. Not only for how to successfully ride herd over the assembled masses of the internets, but how to guide and nuture any group.

Our leaders aren't there to guide us by the hand, to make our decisions for us or to dictate our course of action, they're put in place to keep the machinery running while we all enjoy the benefits. And we all contribute. Motives for taking part matter less than participating in whatever it is that lets our many various interests find a common purpose, a common cause, and a common destination. Some people are out to make a profit, some people are out to be generous, some people you have no clue, but, as a leader, what you care about is the final result. That somehow, someway, the machinery finds a way to keep ticking and you wake up the next day with things better, somehow, someway, somewhere, than they the day before. Your role, the job of leadership is to establish the rules, to enforce them if necessary, that make all that possible. To do the policing, to put out the fires, to make the trains run on time, to sit people down and work out their differences, and to somehow make it all work while everyone gets to do their own thing. It might be easier to rule by fiat, to grab every and any shred of power because no one else can be trusted with it, but it's nowhere near as effective – happy cows give more milk. And there's no way to make people more happy, more productive, than to let them have a stake, a say, in the outcome of things.

Whether that's for the squabbling fanboys and girls I've had personal experiences with or for a broad, national political party without a single, unifying principle or even a vast, democratic nation, it's as good a governing principle as any I've seen for being diverse and inclusive. The leaders serve the people, the people power everything – it's been called a lot of things, but I like “democracy” the best. Can't beat a classic.

But more than that, I think it's a possible way forward for the whole liberal/progressive movement as a whole. A unifying force that anyone who'd fall under the Democratic umbrella could accept. A message – that government is there to keep the machinery of modern civilization running, to ensure a basic fairness and equality whether it's in business or civil rights or whatever other issues you might like not to tell you how to live your life. You want to be part of it, great, join in and help out whereever and however you can.

Such an arrangement isn't stable. If by stable you mean everyone's on the same page and agrees about absolutely everything. It's anathema to the totalitarian mindsets that are attracted to conservatism, for one. And, as the quoted passage says, it's been painted as a flaw in the Democratic makeup for so long, it's almost a given. Internalized in the liberal narrative. That we're weak and disunified, that we squabble, bicker, and can never seem to speak with one voice.

But that's not a weakness. That's a strength. We speak in many voices. We're a choir. Singing to ourselves, in harmonies and resonance, each of us with only part of the overall tune. It's beautiful when we sing about the same thing because not only do we know how to disagree, how to argue and fight for our points and beliefs, we also know how to agree. How to compromise and find a way forward. In short, we're practiced at the kind of things you have to do to, well, govern.

There's no one version of the Democratic party. No one line for everyone to tow. And that's a good thing. Because it certainly beats the alternative.

It's Time Like These I Wish I Knew a Celtic Fan

Mr. Simmon's column does not disappoint. If, of course, you're in the market for diehard, “woe is me” Celtic whining about last night's draft. I'm not, really, outside of the schadenfreude factor, but it's to Mr. Simmon's credit as a writer that he can keep me enthralled even on such a topic.

However, really, at this point, it's wearing a little bit thin. I mean, it's been at least 15 years since the Celtics were credible. I barely remember it, myself, since the Bad Boy era was my particular formative point when it comes to basketball. It's tabula rasa before then. And the only reason I carry around such deep seated antipathy for the Celtics is not because I've personally seen them tearing up the league, but from absorbing the hatred and derision of other, older Piston fans who remember the Celtics in their prime. Mostly, I'm going to guess, the Bird era. But, man, that was like the 80s. When 89~90 is quickly become the distant past, that's the Stone Age. Maybe it's a Boston thing (Since, at least in recent years, for a Detroit fan, there's been no shortage of success. Except for the Lions of whom we will not speak again. Although even there you had those Barry Sanders, Herman Moore teams in the early 90s. It's just, unfortunately, those were also Scott Mitchell teams but they weren't just not a joke, they were close.) but exactly how long can you go on nostalgia?

Anyhow, as for the actual games being played, it seems Utah is in big trouble. I know I was bullish on them and, from what I've seen, so is virtually everyone else (I think San Antonio has used up any karma points they might have had, for one thing, and every neutral fan's set to despise them now by default.). It's always a bad sign when everyone's prefacing things with something along the lines of, “You know, Utah's not as bad as everyone thinks. In fact...” You can't be the pick everyone's sleeping on if everyone thinks your a sleeper pick! The series heads to Utah now and the Jazz were in a similar spot against the Rockets but, you know, I think my estimate of the series going six games was optimistic. And, again, the Pistons/Cavs series depends on if the Pistons actually show up for games. They didn't on Monday, we'll see what happens tomorrow night. They seem to be in cruise control mode now and that's when they get in trouble but it's more a matter of how many games it takes them to close this out and if they can avoid any big injuries before the Finals.

Speaking of Finals, I was thinking of the Ottawa/Annaheim NHL Final today. Because, well, I wanted a quick nap. My money, as it is, is on Ottawa if only because I'll root for the Canadian small market team over the American one. And the series promises to be a good one between two excellent teams. But I really can't work up any enthusiasm for it. And I'm not the only one. Generally speaking, I'm not of the mindset that the league is in huge trouble. It needs to get back to its core competency and maybe get rid of a few teams, sure, but what I think the best thing for them to do is to just put the best product on the ice. Chasing after big markets and media dollars is what got them in trouble in the 90s. So I'm not of the knee-jerk opinion that a series featuring two small markets – one Canadian, and one from a fair weather area with little in the way of hockey tradition – is automatically bad for business. But, thinking about it, I really would be much more excited if, say, the Finals featured the Rangers and my Wings. Not just because of the match-ups but because of the history, the pedigrees, the storylines involved (It's not a traditional rivalry but it's two original six teams. You've got Avery, who used to be a Wing. Shanahan, who used to be a Wing. Those long Cup droughts. And so on...). Hell, I remember the Wings/Flyers series and that was a blast compared to the ones against the 'Canes and the 'Caps. And it was largely because of the fans and media attention. So maybe there's something to the idea that the Finals are bad for the league after all and they should be tilting things, ever so slightly, in the favor of a handful of teams.

Blizzard Wants All Your Money

Oh sure, they have the most popular MMO of all time. What else can they do to siphon money out of gamer's pockets? How about a long awaited sequel to the greatest RTS of all time?

So, Starcraft 2. Everyone and their retarded kid brother has commented on this by now, though, so I'm late to the party but, what the hell?

I actually caught wind of it early Saturday morning but I just couldn't find the time to set down more than a few scrambled thoughts and since then I've been waiting for a bit more information to come down the pipe. Like, for instance, a release date. There isn't one yet and given how Blizzard's worked in the past, I can only assume it's set for 2010 and will be pushed back to 2012 or later.

Nothing doing, though, so my initial impression that the game's not much more than a 3-D overhaul of the original game with some new mechanics and features layered on top, not unlike what the Brood Wars expansion did to the original game. Of course, since the original game was balanced to a razor's edge and about as close to RTS perfection as can be, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Tinkering with the formula got us things like Heroes in Warcraft III. I can live without that and actually good innovations in favor of updating a classic. Face it, the game's going to sell like mad either way, but the question is whether we'll still be playing it in 10 years time or not. Decisions like sticking to the game's original trio of races are, I think, a promising sign.

The race that's been the most detailed is the Protoss which makes me happy since, if I preferred any race, it was the Protoss (These days I'd probably go for the Zerg but, at the time, I liked to turtle and tech up and the slow, heavy, but powerful Protoss were right up my alley.). But the big thing they're doing with handful of units and abilities I've heard about is placing a heavy emphasis on movement. With the teleporting Stalkers and the swift closing of the Zealots, the promise of tactical uses for Phase Prisms and Warp Gates, along with things like the Terrans' Reapers (The Zerg have a unit that's about rapid deployment, too, but I forget exactly what it is.) who'll be able to jumppack between levels, it seems like there's going to be a premium on movement and rapid response. That dropping your troops where the enemy isn't expecting them will be a major strategy. Since being trapped by static defenses were one of, for me anyway, the big drawbacks of the Protoss that's a welcome twist, I think. It might be nothing but if it's a major design feature then it should make for quick paced games and maybe even a high degree of “swing” if you're willing to roll the dice. Sounds good so far.

Looks good so far, anyway, and I'll be keeping my eye on it.

Back At It

Haven't been blogging as much lately but only because I haven't had the energy after being dragged to and fro for various birthday related functions. Almost managed to avoid them – it's taken years of carefully downplaying and nonchalantly ignoring my birthday but I'm finally at the point where most people have forgotten all about it – but no such luck with the relatives. See, there's this church fair near my old house. Always falls around my birthday. Never fails. Sister was driving by, noticed it, and news spread like wildfire.

Not that I'm ungrateful or anything. I like a good time and all. I just don't see much in celebrating the fact that I'm another year older and haven't accomplished much of anything. Anyhow, that's largely done with and although I'll be drinking myself into a stupor following tonight's hockey game I should be back to regular blogarythmns shortly.

Also, little more than a week until Script Frenzy.

Sports Tonight

Ah well, so much for the Red Wing's season. They made a game of it by the end but not to be.

At least I had the draft and the wonderful mental image of thousands of Celtics fans across the nation committing sepuku as the results were announced. Although, oh god, it's been 10+ years of listening to them whine about missing out on Duncan, now they're going to add not having Odom/Durrant to the reasons why they're unjustly awful. I was kinda hoping, however, that Phoenix would fare better – they lost out on Atlanta's pick because it was in the top 3 – because, man, that team would be scary with another blue chipper coming off the bench.

As for the Pistons game last night, well, it's not what I expect the rest of the series to look like. Hopefully, anyway, because that was painful to watch. The Pistons sleptwalked into it but still managed to pull out the win, which is both good and bad. But LeBron's not going to be an offensive non-factor (scoring-wise, anyway) even with the Pistons draped over him the way they were last night. And neither should the Pistons be as cold as they were, too. Oh, and as for the final play (Which gave me nightmares of 'Sheed leaving Horry alone for a game winner a few years ago, by the way.) – of course LeBron should make that pass. He wasn't hitting his shots last night, he was double-covered, and Maxwell was wide open for the three. Kick it out and take your chances with the uncontested shot. The problem is who you have taking that shot. But that's the Cavs' problem in a nutshell, they don't have anyone they can rely on beyond James.

Red Wings Lose Game 5

I am sad now.


Basically, all the things I said earlier about the team doing all the right things and not winning is how the Wings lost this game. Things were going fine, they had a slim one goal lead, they had plenty of chances but just couldn't bury one, but it was okay because the game was winding down and the Ducks weren't doing much of anything. The Red Wings were again, carrying the play, rolling more lines, and generally being the better team. Then, all of a sudden, penalty in the last two minutes, the Ducks pull Guigere for the extra attacker, and the Wings can't clear the zone at all. I watched with a sick fascination because it was only a matter of time before they found the back of the net. Head to overtime and the Wings, again, were just doing all the little things, getting their scoring chances and, sure enough, bad giveaway, some Ducks pressure, Selanne steals the puck, and game over.


Have I mentioned lately how much I hate the Ducks? I'm going to go drown my sorrows now.

Playoff Series Update

With the NBA Conference Finals set to begin, it's time to check back in. My predictions, again, aren't looking so hot although, in a general sense, I did manage to get the overall picture of the NBA playoffs rather correct. I figured we'd be in for a Detroit/Cleveland series but in the West I was predicting a Phoenix/Houston final which didn't exactly happen. What we get is a rather less appealing Spurs/Jazz series. But the reason I presaged the Suns/Rockets was guessing that one of the middle of the pack in the West would break through with a solid playoff run – which has happened, just with Utah not Houston – and the winner of the looming Suns/Spurs series would be the team to beat. I just happened to pick the Suns because of my undying and inexplicable hate of the Spurs. Oh, sure, I could say I dislike them because they're incredibly dirty but as an old school Bad Boys fan, that's not exactly going to hold much water. I just can't stand them.

Anyhow, the expected outcome of those series isn't really in much doubt. We're headed for a Spurs/Pistons final which, while it's not exactly going to be a ratings blockbuster is going to feature a lot of hard fought, intense basketball between two experienced and tested teams. You have to give the Spurs the edge in such a matchup - if only for the Duncan factor – but I think it's going to depend a great deal on just how each team gets to the finals. If the Pistons can close out the Cavs quickly and rest up while the Spurs suffer through another close and physical series, well, the odds shift away from them.

Of the two series, I think the San Antonio/Utah one is going to feature the best games. It's not exactly a sexy marquee matchup that the NBA execs are loving but, that's because they prefer to market the sizzle and not the steak. It's going to feature some good basketball. Utah is, I suspect, better than people are giving them credit for. And they should be able to play with the Spurs and keep things close. The Spurs should win, but I think the Jazz will steal a game or two so I say San Antonio in six.

The Pistons/Cavs series is going to depend in large part on just how focused the Pistons are. As we saw last round, when they put the pedal down, they're tough to beat. And Cleveland is a much weaker team than Chicago so this series could very well end in a sweep. However, the Pistons have a distressing tendency to let off the gas when they're up in a series. If they take a night off then LeBron can put the Cavs on his back and lead them to a victory or two. Personally, I don't think the Pistons have learned their lesson, despite saying all the right things about it, so, again, I say this series goes six with my Pistons, of course, pulling it off.

Over in the NHL, one half of the final is set with the Senators advancing past the Sabres. As a Red Wing fan I know how hard it is to see a President's trophy winning team go down in flames the way the Yellow Slugs did but Ottawa was the much better team. I actually like Ottawa a lot (Maybe it's just because I like to stick it to the Maple Leafs, though.), they've been on the cusp of winning it all several times even though this is their first trip to the finals. They remind me a lot of early Detroit teams – knocking on the door only to have it slammed shut on them. And they've been playing great in front of solid goaltending with a wicked offense – Alfredson's been great, for one.

Meanwhile, my Wings and the suck-a-Ducks are still playing. They're tied two games a piece so it's Detroit and Ducks in a best of three now. I like the Wings chances, though. They've been carrying the play the last few games. I'm still trying to figure out how they lost the last game but, you know, that's hockey. You can do everything right and still not win. Pucks take strange bounces. Crazy stuff happens. You can be circling in the opponents zone for minutes on end, sending shot after quality shot at the net only to have the goalie swat them aside like King Kong batting away a bi-plane, only to have them grab a rebound, get a rush, and get some bloopy little shot past your minder. But over the course of a lengthy series it evens out. And like Calgary, Annaheim's been killing themselves with penalties – not just the suspension worthy stuff, either – while Detroit's power play has been fearsome. Game 5 is this afternoon and, as likely is going to be beaten into my head while watching, the team that wins that goes on to take the series most of the time.