The Second Greatest Canadian Song

Number two on our magical illogical look at top great Canadian songs is Heart of Gold. This is Neil Young's second foray into this top ten list. Surely there are other artists who merit attention in such a prestigious list you might opine.

True.

But it's my list and I like Neil Young.

Three Years Yesterday

I saw at Thoughtful Conservative that a few blogs were celebrating anniversaries. So I checked my begin point and was shocked to see that my first post was January 13, 2006. That post can be found at BRASS League, a Strat-0-matic baseball site I run for a couple of leagues. It used to be The Other Side. Then I renamed it. Then I got the itch to blog again and so restarted my original blog.

It gets confusing at times.

Interestingly, the first person to leave a comment was my mother. She has not left another.

Guns and Cowboys

I'm guessing it was a couple of "Bubbas". From ESPN:

DALLAS -- Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin says he calmly chatted with a gunman in another vehicle after the armed passenger turned out to be a Dallas Cowboys fan.

Irvin, who was not harmed, says he was "very afraid."

A Dallas police report says Irvin was stopped at a red light Monday night when two men in a truck pulled up next to him.

The driver rolled down his window, so Irvin did the same, thinking the two men recognized the radio talk show host and television commentator.

The passenger flashed a gun. Then the retired NFL star heard one of them call out his name and mentioned being a "huge Cowboy fan."

Irvin says he began talking with the men about the team's disappointing 9-7 season and Dallas not making it to the Super Bowl.

The pair eventually drove off.

This is exactly why conceal and carry should not be passed here in Wisconsin. For every responsible gunowner there is a dipshit (a number of local bloggers would be included in this description) who thinks what happened to Michael Irvin is funny. Unfortunately, what those who rally for conceal and carry forget is even one incident like this is too much.

Loathsome People

h/t Jay Bullock.

From the Beast, here are three of the mosty loathsome creatures from 2008. These would be my top three.

47. Michelle Bachmann

Charges: Exemplifies the simmering, all-American fascism lurking behind the forced smiles of uptight church ladies throughout “real America.” Echoing Sarah Palin’s alarming hints about “helping” the media do its job, Bachmann’s casual call for a “penetrating” press investigation into “anti-Americanism” in Congress was so fucking dumb it made Chris Matthews seem smart. Once it occurred to the Oral Roberts University graduate that calling for witchhunts against Democrats might be a tad extreme for election season, she decided to just pretend she didn’t say it, and then she blamed Chris Matthews. Then she just blamed words. Then she denied it again. Then she won. Way to go, Minnesota’s 6th.

Exhibit A: BACHMANN: Actually, that's not what I said at all. COLMES: Well, I'm just — I'm reading your exact quote. BACHMANN: Actually that's not I said. It's an urban legend that was created. That isn't what I said at all. COLMES: We have — it's on tape.

Sentence: Assigned to conduct her own “expose” on anti-American views, in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

I saw her on television with Mathews when she made that statement. My jaw dropped. I could not believe an American politician would say something that incredibly dumb -- and frightening. Though in retrospect, I thought, after the past eight years and after having been involved in blogging for three years and reading the tripe that passes for commentary on the right, I should not have been surprised.

33. Jeremiah Wright

Charges: It’s said that in politics, a gaffe is when someone tells the truth, like connecting 9/11 to blowback from America’s long history of Middle East meddling. But then again, sometimes they just say something incredibly fucking stupid, like that AIDS was created by the U.S. government to kill black people. Seriously, you don’t think the U.S. government could do a better job than AIDS? AIDS takes years to kill, spreads relatively slowly, and kills white people all the time. A CIA super-virus that can’t beat Magic Johnson? Unlikely. But beyond past statements of viral delusion, Wright’s weird-ass grandstanding at the height of the sound bite frenzy seemed to indicate he really didn’t give a shit whether Obama was elected president, and might even be jealous.

Exhibit A: “And I stand before you… with the hope that this most recent attack on the black church is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright; it is an attack on the black church.”

Sentence: Sickle cell anemia.

One might have thought this clown was a conservative plant.

1. Sarah Palin

Charges: If you want to know why the rest of the world is scared of Americans, consider the fact that after two terms of disastrous rule by a small-minded ignoramus, 46% of us apparently thought the problem was that he wasn’t quite stupid enough. Palin’s unending emissions of baffling, evasive incoherence should have disqualified her for any position that involved a desk, let alone placing her one erratic heartbeat from the presidency. The press strained mightily to feign respect for her, praising a debate performance that involved no debate, calling her a “great speaker” when her only speech was primarily a litany of insults to city-dwellers, echoing bogus sexism charges when a male Palin would have been boiled alive for the Couric interview alone, and lionizing her as she used her baby as a Pro-life stage prop before crowds who cooed when they should have been hurling polonium-tipped javelins. In the end, Palin had the beneficial effect of splitting her party between her admirers and people who can read.

Exhibit A: Waving her embryo-loving credentials, in the form of her Down syndrome baby, at "But ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy."

Sentence: Hand-to-hand combat with Vladimir Putin and a pack of wolves.

Another example of why reasonable and well thought out conservative dialogue is necessary to America's future, if anything to shut out the claptrap from the Palins, Bachmans and most of the conservative blogosphere. Unfortunately, there are so few conservative intellectuals, and there are so many who think Palin is the hope for America.


The Beast 50 Most Loathsome People in America in 2008 was written by Allan Uthman & Ian Murphy

Another Argument for a Cigarette Ban

Saw this on a bumper sticker:

Isn't a smoking area in a restaurant like a peeing area in a swimming pool?

Yech.

Trevor Hoffman Agrees to Deal With Brewers

While it's good news the Brewers have apparently signed all-time MLB saves leader Trevor Hoffman, don't go planning your World Series tailgate parties just yet. No longer the hard thrower he once was, Hoffman now relies on a nasty changeup to get the job done. He should help, but there is a lot more work needed before the Brewers become real contenders.

According to ESPN, Hoffman has signed a one-year deal rumored to be for $6 million, with an option for the second year. Hoffman, who saved 30 games last year for San Diego and has accumulated a record 554 saves is no longer considered an elite closer, probably not even top ten. However, his addition should provide some comfort to fans and players. Last year, even with the arrival of Salomon Torres in the closer role, the ninth inning often resulted in bleeding fingertips as leads disappeared faster than $6 beers. The failed $10 million Eric Gagne experiment (a shame because Gagne was a class act) nearly contributed to the Brewers missing the playoffs, so the money ponied up for Hoffman looks like a deal.

But let's look at the numbers to gauge whether this is a good pickup, or a panicky grab.

It is troubling that Hoffman only pitched 45 inings last year. As relievers have become more specialized in their roles, the number of innings that the designated closer pitched has decreased. But not that much. Forty-five innings means that maybe Hoffman is reliable every other day. He'll need to pitch more innings. Plus he's 41-years old and relies almost entirely on guile to succeed. One has to wonder if the league doesn't eventually catch on -- lefties did beat Hoffman up a bit in 2008. They hit .291 and slugged at a .532 clip.

Hoffman also suffered a serious injury as recently as 2007 so it's not a stretch to question his stamina and ability to pitch more than every other game. Given the sorry state of the Brewers' bullpen – come on, they've only signed Jorge Julio – Hoffman may be needed a lot.

People often look at a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) to determine how the pitcher fared. Hoffman's ERA in 2008 was a career-high 3.77. Not good – however, I did some checking and found if you took away one unfortunate outing April 2, his ERA dropped to a more respectable 3.02. I point this out to show that ERA is not really a reliable number for determining effectiveness because there is a lot still impressive about Hoffman's numbers.

What is impressive about Hoffman? Well, he allowed only one baserunner per inning (1.04) and he only walked 9 batters all year while striking out 46 in 45 innings. Contrast this with Torres who allowed 1.35 baserunners per inning, walked 33 and struck out only 51 in 80 innings of work. This is not a slander of Torres, he helped save the Brewers' season, but it does just how much more efficient Hoffman was.

Interestingly enough, Hoffman yielded seven of his eight homeruns at San Diego's Petco Park, one of the stingiest places to hit a ball out of the park. It's probably a statistical anomaly.

It appears the Brewers are willing to go with a starting rotation of Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan (ouch) and the Unknown Comic. Actually, they'll probably go with Seth McClung or Carlos Villanueva in the fourth or fifth spot. Using either one of them however, will weaken an already suspect bullpen. Hoffman only pitches the ninth. The Brewers will have to find reliable setup relievers to protect the lead until then.

Hoffman is a nice, inexpensive pickup and if he performs at last year's numbers with a few innings added and a better performance against lefties, the Brewers will have done well. Don't discount the added effect of having the all-time saves leader as your closer. Last year there was palpable fear on the field and in the stands when the ninth rolled around with any sort of lead. Here's hoping that hearing AC/DC's Hells Bells when Hoffman jogs in to finish games is good for indigestion, relieves nail-biting and helps send the Brewers to another playoff match. Don't count on it if acquiring Hoffman is all the Brewers accomplish.

Cross-posted at Wigderson Library & Pub

The Third Greatest Canadian Song

Thanks to grumps for pointing me in the direction of Crash Test Dummies, a Winnipeg folk-rock group popular in the 90s. I'd never heard our number three greatest hit, Superman's Song (for which they won a Juno Award in 1991) until just a few moments ago. What country do I live in?

Oh yeah, not Canada.

A Rare Moment

Peaceful turnover of power -- it's something we can all be thankful for. This really is an extraordinary photo.














Photo: Doug Mills/ The New York Times

The Fourth Greatest Canadian Song

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was written by Robbie Robertson, one of four original Canadian members of The Band. The other three were Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko. The four were joined by drummer Levon Helms, an American by birth.

This has always been one of my favorite songs. Being an avid reader of Civil War history, the songs lyrics, rendered by Helms with mixtures of sadness and hope, are haunting.

As always on this illogical march to number one, suggestions are welcome.

The Fifth Greatest Canadian Song

At the request of Jay Bullock, here is These Are the Daves I Know by Bruce McCullough of the Canadian sketch comedy group, Kids in the Hall. These guys were worthy successors to the Monty Python tradition of zany and often nonsensical comedy.