More Netflix Rentals

Here is a quick synopsis of the last five films I’ve rented at Netfix.

Laurel Canyon – A recommendation from a friend that I normally trust. While Christian Bale and Francis McDormand deliver the goods, the story itself while interesting kind of disappoints in the end. I can’t say I hated it but I can’t recommend it either.

Million Dollar Baby – I like Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hillary Swank, however I did not care for this movie. If this was the best movie last year then, it must have been a very poor year. A predictable story in which I saw the ending coming from a mile away. Again, I cannot recommend this one.

Sin City – A great looking movie. If you like blood and gore then by all means rent this one. The story line rotates between various tales involving multiple characters so if you are looking for a standard three act, point A to point B movie this is not it. However if you want to watch a great looking movie with some great short stories please rent Sin City. It is one of the best movies I’ve seen in awhile.

Crash – I heard a lot of good things about this one and overall it was very good. I had some issues with it but they are very minor. A story that deals with race and stereotypes and does so in a way, in which you actually are forced to think about things after viewing it. Because of that I would have to say, if you haven’t seen this one, rent it.

Suicide Kings – I’d seen this years ago, but I was kind of drunk when I did and I remember thinking it was over rated so, after many had told me to give it another try, I did. I must say my drunken initial response was accurate. I love Walken and thought he was great but, I just didn’t like anybody else in the movie and I thought the whole thing was not as cool as it thought it was. I know a lot of people like it, but I still don’t.

It Is Going To Be A Long Winter

Well, as much as it pains me, I have to offer my congratulations to the Chicago White Sox. They went out and did it. I have a lot of friends that have suffered with their team just as much as I have suffered with mine. So, I am happy that they finally get to get that monkey off of their back. I hope they enjoy it and realize just how special it is to win the World Series. I am truly jealous.

As a Cub fan the upside to all of this is that maybe this will light a fire under the Tribune and Jim Hendry’s ass. The Red Sox and White Sox have won the last two World Series. That makes the Cub's the only pathetic team left. I hope this will teach Cub fans to not settle for mediocrity. We deserve to celebrate and we have paid more than enough dues to do so. Now that the post season is upon us, let me play general manger for a minute.

First thing we need to do is shore up that bullpen. I don’t want to see Roberta Novoa and Michael Wuertz next year. I think Dempster is fine in the ninth but we need at least three new arms for setup roles in the pen. It has been proven over and over again, if you don’t have the bullpen you are not going anywhere.

Also, we cannot just go into next year blindly having faith in Wood and Prior. Neither one can stay healthy so, we need to address the rotation. A front line starter would be a nice pickup. Matt Morris from the Cardinal’s is a free agent and I think he would be a nice addition. He won’t cost a lot of money and I think all he needs is a change of scenery.

After the pitching has been addressed, we will need to look at the lineup. Johnny Damon is a free agent and would be a perfect fit for the Cub’s. He’s 31 so he is not over the hill and should have at least a couple of good years left. He fills two needs as he bats leadoff and plays center field. It is time to admit that Corey Patterson is never going to be the star we thought so dump him and get what you can. Murton looks legitimate, so I like him in left. Right Field is a question mark. Burnitz did an admirable job but an upgrade would be nice. I’ve heard that Darin Erstad is going to be available and while he is no star he is the perfect number two hitter.

As for the infield, we are set on the corners with Lee and Ramirez. I like Todd Walker at second and see no need to upgrade there. I personally would sign Nomar, if I could to another one-year deal with an option that automatically kicks in with a certain number of games played. I think he has something in the tank and he quietly had a nice September. If he gets hurt again you have Ronnie Cedeno who might be ready. Barrett is serviceable behind the plate. So, Nick’s new Cub’s lineup would look something like this.

CF Damon
RF Erstad
1B Lee
3B Ramirez
SS Garcipara
LF Murton
2B Walker
C Barrett

With a Rotation of,
Prior
Zambrano
Wood
Morris
Maddux

That seems like a good structure. The only question is what will Hendry do. It is going to be a very interesting off season on the north side.

Another Classy Sox Fan

http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-nws-biggio25.html

These Things I Believe

Here are my two-minute opinions on ten current hot button issues. Opinions are like ass-holes as everyone has one. However, there is nothing wrong with having strong feelings and sticking up for them. So here goes and again, I readily admit that I am over-simplifying a lot of these solutions.

Gay Marriage – I for one could care less if gay men or women want to get married. I just don’t understand why this bothers people. Us heterosexuals have done enough to sully the institution that maybe the gay community can restore some pride in it.

Abortion – A woman’s choice pure and simple. It seems to me these anti-abortion zealots care more about an unborn fetus than an actual living breathing human being. If you don’t want to have an abortion then don’t. To get up all in some one else’s grill about it just seems wrong.

Stem Cell Research – If this is what the scientific community feels is a gateway to helping in finding cures for cancer, parkinson's and other deliberating diseases why would anyone be against it? Sometimes I wonder just how we got to be such a puritanical Christian land, where back-assed centuries old nonsense and half assed “logic” mandates law. What truly unenlightened times we live in.

Gun Control – Hey keep your shotgun for all I care. However, there is no need to make armor piercing bullets and semi-automatic weapons. Yes, we need to take them out of criminal’s hands so I say we stop producing them.

Right to Die – It is every person’s right to die. If one chooses to bow out gracefully than by all means one should be allowed to. For all the small government preaching of the right, I don’t get why they would want the fed’s to tell you how to die. I don’t know that kind of sounds like a flip-flop.

War In Iraq – Just proves how small of an attention span America has. We were told we went to war because Iraq had WMD’s. They did not, so the story changed that we went to war to fight Terrorism and remove an evil dictator. The truth is that we went into Iraq with no plan and like everything Bush does no way to pay for it. It has been a year and a half since he claimed “Mission Accomplished” how come the liberal media hasn’t called him on to the carpet on that? With all that said we are there and we made this mess so we owe it to the people in Iraq to at least attempt to wipe our own ass.

Capital Punishment – This is a tricky one. As for me I would much rather die than have to go to prison and get ass raped for the rest of my life. In the state of Illinois we have had a number of cases with innocent men on death row that fortunately were freed before they met the gas chamber. The reason and argument I hear most is that the death penalty deters crime. However, there is no evidence that it does. So, instead of being barbaric as the criminals themselves, I say we eliminate the death penalty and make life as much as a living hell as we can for the murders and rapists of the world.

Entertainment and Violence – Another misguided attempt by the knee jerk reactors of the world. Blaming Movies, music or TV for the ills of society is such a waste of time. Instead of looking at the real problem, the simple minded waste valuable time ignoring the real issues. Stop letting TV raise you kid and go out and teach them right from wrong. That is how we are going to stop violence. By banning shows that adults want to watch because some kid might see it is moronic and mis-guided.

The Patriot Act – In all the fear and war mongering that went on right after 9-11 there is nothing worse or more obscene then the “Patriot Act.” I understand that we have to give up some civil liberties to fight terror. However, law enforcement at every level in this country is abusing these powers to get around to finding out information that should be private. There are so many atrocities contained in this, that time does not allow me to list them all.

Prayer in School – Listen, if you want to designate a two-minute individual time where students can choose to pray then I see no harm in that. However, to have a teacher led classroom prayer, well I am dead set against that. I am an atheist. Therefore, I should not be made to pray if I don’t want to. If you really want your kids to pray then send them to a religious school, where they can learn al about Adam and Eve and how to properly create an abortion protest sign.

An Open Love Letter

My wife has started to take classes on Saturdays from 8-5 to get all of her certifications from Microsoft. She takes these classes in Lombard. I am very proud that she has taken the initiative to better herself and broaden her horizons. However, because of this I am left in the house by myself. This has caused some different feelings for me. Mostly, I have to come to realize just how dependent I have become on Joyce.

At first, when she told me, I was kind of like, cool I can have the house to myself and walk around naked, drinking milk right from the carton, peeing with the door open and passing gas without fear of offending her. While I can do all of those things mostly, I am bored off of my ass.

I always start out with a list of chores I want to get done, like mowing the lawn or cleaning out the gutters. Then I will run some errands and what not. I usually finish most of this buy one o’clock leaving the rest of the afternoon for me to do nothing. I sit back and watch TV but I can only do that for so long. After awhile I get antsy and start missing having somebody to talk to.

This last Saturday I tried to think about what I used to do back in 1998 before I met Joyce. I guess I was different then, because I was usually just waking up at one o’ clock. I would usually then shower and grab some “breakfast” and then make some calls to see what was going on that evening. Back then I was usually hung-over so I needed that zone out TV time to recover from the previous evening. Now, I just sit back and realize just that I am no longer that guy.

Now, I have a house and have settled into the couple lifestyle. My sheets on my bed now get washed. I no longer own underwear from the Regan administration and when I put on a sock there is no longer this hour search to try and find a pair in a basket full of them. Now, I simply go to the drawer where Joyce puts them and she has them already paired up for me.

I guess it took missing her on these weekends to realize just how much I have become to need her. As much as I love to look back with nostalgia at my single years and going out with my buddies to all hours of the night, I would never want to go back to those times knowing what I know now. I never thought I would become that guy. The guy, that worries about his lawn and gets a hard on when he walks into a hardware store. Somehow, I’ve become that boring married guy that I used to make fun of.

But you know what, I have never been happier in my life. Sure, Joyce and I have our moments when we just get on each others nerves but, for the most part we get along now better then we ever did when we were just dating. I am at my happiest when it is just she and I doing nothing. Just sitting at home and doing nothing more than being boring. We finally fig red out the other person and we’ve accepted the other’s faults. We have found that precious compromise and the middle ground. For all of that I guess for the first time in my life I am actually content. I no longer feel I am missing out on something. I hope this didn’t come out as too mushy as I realize just how boring hearing about someone else’s relationship can be. So, if you feel I have been too sentimental please stop reading as it is only going to get worse.

To, Joyce since I know you read this, I say thanks. Thanks for everything you do for me and thanks for taking care of me. I am a better person today then I’ve ever been and I owe that to you. Thanks, for indulging my friends and going out of your way to make friends with them. Thanks for fitting in with my family and taking them all in with humor and genuine caring. Thanks for sticking with me and having the faith in that I would come to my senses. I know I say it a lot so the meaning gets lost but I really do love you, and I couldn’t be happier than I am when I am with you.

Hell's Hollow

It is the Halloween season. As, I’ve stated, this has always been my favorite time of year. I guess it harkens it back to my teen years when I worked the Bridgeview Haunted House. I got to work it by being friends with Mike Doyle. His family had been involved in it for years and after being involved with the Park District eventually one year I was asked if I wanted to work the thing, so I did.

I was a guide. This meant that I would lead groups through the maze of the Haunted House. I did not earn any money for this but the gig did have some benefits. The first and biggest was that, being that I was usually leading a bunch of teenage girls through a place where they were going to be scarred shitless. So, they would usually grab on tight to the thing closet to them, me. I would always line my group up so that I had a dateless hot girl in front. Even without that benefit it was still a blast. I laughed with my friends, and got to help work on the setup of all the rooms. On top of all that on the last night, there would usually be this massive blowout followed by a party thrown by the park district a month later.

My first year working we all went to this lady Brenda Johnson’s house for the last night party. There we danced to Wang Chung and drank Stroh’s. Trust me when I say, it was better than it sounds. The next year would be memorable as it coincided with my departure with Nancy. It was funny as it fell exactly on Halloween, 1987. I remember it well and to this day I regret missing that party.

At this point all I did was argue with Nancy. I guess I realized that I was sick of her using me for rides and playing games with me. For her part, she just got sick of me. She met me when she was fourteen and I was sixteen. She now was older and started noticing that guys were checking her out and probably wanted to meet and be with other people. Looking back we had zero in common and as much as I didn’t see it then, now I realize just how different we are. However, at that time I was not seeing things as clearly.

Anyway, the party was to be held at this guys house that lived in Berwyn. The original plan called for me to just follow my friend Dell in his car. However, at some point during the night Nancy, spilled water on her pants, which were white. This caused them to be somewhat see-through. She asked me if I would give her a ride home so she could change. What could I do? So, I got directions from somebody (I’m still not sure who) to the house and drove Nancy home so she could change telling all my friends that I would meet them there.

I drive her home and she changes. I start talking to her Mom. Nancy and her mom were not on good terms at that point but I figured it is always good to get in with a girls mother. At some point just as Nancy was getting out of her bedroom after changing Nancy’s mom made some crack about her daughter and I laughed. This was not met with kindness by Nancy. As we left I knew it was going to be a long ride to Berwyn.

The address I was given had an address on Narragansett. As I would later find out the house was actually on Austin. This was in the days before cell phones so, I had no way of getting a hold of anyone. So, as we got to what we thought was our destination there was a warehouse were a house party was supposed to be. Not one to give up easy, I kept driving around looking for the house. All the while Nancy is yelling at me and calling me a dumb ass because I could not find the place. My Italian blood was beginning to boil.

I tried to hold it for as long as I could but she just wouldn’t stop. Finally in a fit of rage I exploded. I called her every name in the book and reminded her that if she didn’t need to go home we would have simply been bale to follow Dell as planed. She yelled back and on and on it went through the streets of Berwyn.

Eventually, I had enough. I told her I was driving her home and to shut the hell up. For once she did. Not a word was spoken the entire ride home. I pulled into her driveway, she got out of the car and for the next couple of years we barely spoke to one another. Later, when I asked my friends about the party I heard nothing but how great of a night it was. To this day eighteen years after the fact I am still pissed about missing that one. It was one of those legendary blowouts that withstands the test of time.

Looking back at that night, that fight with Nancy was a long time coming and the events of the evening were just the excuse we needed to have it out. I had held back a lot of things and I let them all out that night. She quickly moved on and was soon dating some other guy.

As for me, I spent the rest of 1987 in kind of a funk. I was enrolled at Moraine and was so screwed up about losing what I felt was my first love that I got the worst grades of my life. After like a week of not talking to Nancy I figured I would try and see if I could melt the ice. I couldn’t, as she realized I was holding her back and she just simply wanted to explore her life with new people. I eventually got over it and moved on to bigger and better things.

Some years later, Nancy and I would have a very brief moment or two of passion in a drunken induced set of circumstances. She eventually moved away which was a very good thing. I lost more than one relationship simply because I had a hard time putting my feelings for her in the past. When she moved, I finally got over it and looked at our relationship for what it was. We had some good times but we were young. Not that I know anything about women now, but I knew even less then. Nancy in her own unintentional way taught me about women and how to not deal with them. I made a lot of mistakes with her that when I look back at them, I cringe. I used those experiences and applied the lessons I learned from them to all of my future relationships including my current one. So as painful as it may have been at that time, in the end it was all worth it. Because without those lessons learned I would not be the man I am today and would not be the man my wife fell in love with.

Here, Here

CAN CUB FANS SUCK IT UP?

I No Longer Fear Satan's Wrath

Well, what can I say? My worst fear has been realized. The Chicago White Sox are in the World Series. To Sox nation I offer my congratulations. I hope you realize just how sacred and special this is. I also will hope beyond hope that they take this time to enjoy it and not use it to bash the Cubs. I am hoping that they will exhibit class and use this as a showcase for what a great baseball town this can be. Somehow, I think I will be disappointed.

As for my own personal feelings, yes, I am in hell. Listen, I realize that good teams make their own luck and when a break arises they take advantage of them. However, the breaks this team is getting go beyond words. Let’s list them all.

Game 2 of the ALDS – A ground ball that in my littlie league years I could have fielded goes between the legs of ex-Sox second baseman Tony (why is this guy starting) Grafininno. Of course this leads to a 5 run inning, which propels the White Sox to a victory. If the Red Sox hold on and win that game it is a whole new series.

Game 3 of the ALDS – Sorry, I’ve seen numerous replays, Damon did not swing. In the bottom of the 6^th the Red Sox had the bases loaded and no one out needing only one run to tie the game. The next two hitters popped up when Damon came to the plate. On a 3-2 pitch he clearly checked his swing. However, the umpire rang him up. Again, another huge break and again it could have been a whole new series if not for that call.

Game 2 of the ALCS – They scored their first run thanks to a two base throwing error on the pitcher. Then the worst call I’ve ever seen took place. I’ve been watching baseball for thirty years. In all of that time I’ve never seen a play like I saw at the end of the game. That umpire quite simply blew that call. Let’s forget the whole did he catch the ball or did it hit the dirt. The ump signaled the out sign meaning the batter is out. His lame “that is my strike three call” bullshit is just that. He choked pure and simple. If the White Sox go down 0-2 it is a whole new ballgame.

Game 4 of the ALCS – Again Pierzynski is at the center of controversy, as he was not called for catcher’s interference. The Umps blew that one. It would have caused a run to score for the Angels and it’s a whole new game. Then, later Podsednik was out on a pick off, again the ump missed the call. So, then when he steals second every replay shows he is out. Of course, the ump blew the call and called him safe. He later comes around to score. If those calls are made correctly it is a whole new game and who knows who wins.

Game 5 of the ALCS – It’s the top of the 8^th The Sox have runners on first and second. Up steps Joe Crede with Rodriguez on the mound. The count is 2-2 and Rodriguez throws a knee bending perfect curveball that fooled not only the hitter, but also the ump. He calls it a ball and of course with the count 3-2 the runners get a head start. On the next pitch Crede hits a 15-hop ground ball up the middle that somehow scores the winning run.

Sox fans can say all they want, however, if these calls had gone against them their tune would be a whole lot different. I am going to look this up, but I have to wonder when the last team without a .300 hitter or a 20-game winner got to the World Series? If this sounds like a bitter rant, well, it is. I admit I am jealous. I am jealous that they get to have all the fun of the World Series. I wish all the players on the Sox no ill will. I also am happy for all the good Sox fans that have lived and died with this team over the years. However, to the other “fans” who never support this team, that barely average 20,000 on weeknights, that sit and openly and viciously rooted against my Cubs in 2003 and to Jerry Residorf, to them, I say eat me. The more I think about it wasn’t an all-bad weekend, at least Norte Dame lost.

The Sure Thing

One of the great things about growing up in the suburbs in the 1980’s was the introduction to cable. Because with cable came tity movies. I have to admit that as a young man I watched H.O.T.S. and Porky’s over and over until I could quote every line. I would always check the cable guide to find movies with young girls naked because, well I was fifteen and like any young male at that age my hormones were raging.

So, one night as I lay in my bed flipping the channels on the cable box I strolled onto a movie called The Sure Thing. With that title, it sounded like typical soft porn mid 1980’s skin flick. So, with baby oil in one hand and my remote in the other I put it on. What I got with that movie was much more than some masturbatory inducing cinema.

For those who have not seen the movie it stars John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga. Cusack starts as a freshman in a small Northeastern college who isn’t have much luck with the ladies. His friend invites him out west with the purpose of hooking him up with a girl who is a “sure thing.” Along the way he is stuck taking a road trip with Zuniga’s character.

Now, I am not a fan of the whole romantic comedy genre. As a matter of fact I find them to be predictable and boring. However, this movie is different. It’s comedic moments were actually funny and the interaction between the characters felt genuine. Sure it had the whole opposite’s attract thing going on but there was more to this story. In the end when they wind up together you actually believe it as opposed to most bad movies of this genre, where other than saying so in the script you wonder why the two characters are together.

In any good relationship that I’ve had you take something from the other person and adopt that as your own. In this movie Zungia’s character, learns to not take life so seriously and to enjoy her freedom and youth. Cusack’s character learns what it is to actually love another person.

As I sat back watching this story unfold, my hormones stopped raging and suddenly I was engrossed in the flick. I realized that this was not a teen comedy but instead was a movie in which I saw people I could relate to falling in love. I mean to get a fifteen year old with a boner to stop, sit down and actually watch a movie it had to be pretty good.

So, as the movie kept going I put down the baby oil and started concentrating on the flick. I learned a little something along the way and maybe I grew up a little. I realized that women were not just there to drool over. They were real people with real feelings. I can honestly say that, and this is rare, that this movie changed me. Which was a very good thing.

Columbus Day Fun

There are not many benefits working for a bank. However, getting the lame holidays off is one of them. This Monday was Columbus Day so I had a nice relaxing three-day weekend. Here is a brief rundown on the events of said weekend.

Friday 10/7 - After work, went home and it was raining thus canceling my plans to get one last mow of the lawn in. So, instead the wife and I went to Pepe’s in Countryside for dinner. I was hoping to avoid as many Sox fans as possible but they were out in full force Friday night, even t a Pepe’s. I ate and decided to seek shelter at home. I popped in Laurel Canyon form netflix. After a slow start, I kind of got into the movie and would recommend it.

Saturday 10/8 – Joyce has school on Saturdays now, so I have the homestead to myself. I got up and took my truck in to get an oil change. I also had them replace the fuel filter as I think it was the original that came with the car. After leaving Oil Expert’s I headed to Dominick’s to grab a soup and salad. There I ran into my Uncle Dan. I chatted with him and then headed home to eat.

After eating lunch, I cut the lawn and put together a leaf blower I had bought at Menards. I figured it would be easy to put together however since no one gives you directions with words anymore it was a little more difficult that I anticipated. However after some struggling I did get it together.

Joyce got home from school and we went to Top Notch in Oak Lawn. For my money Top Notch makes the best hamburger I have ever had. They use fresh ground beef and homemade french fries. I also got their Strawberry shake, which might be the best tasting thing on earth. After dinning at the Notch, we headed home. Where we watched bad cable and eventually fell asleep.

Sunday 10/9 – I got up and put in my final lineup for my fantasy football team. I then headed to Walgreen’s to get some money and grab a paper. I got home, farted around and then eventually headed up to Zante’s Lounge in Palos, to watch the football games. My crew and I used to go to the Dome in Bridgeview every week, but it has closed leaving us homeless on Sunday’s. I have now gone to four different bars to try and find a new home. Zante’s was ice but it is no home. Still, I had a couple of Miller High Life’s and chowed on some bad pizza while watching the Bears lose. After yucking it up with some friends there, I headed home.

Eventually Joyce and I headed to her mom’s house as we were going to dinner with her, her brother and her nephew A.J. We went to this South American restaurant, which had a lot of meat on the menu. We all shared our plates and it had this real good chicken, rice and bean combo. After sinner the five of us got desert at Dairy Queen, being entertained by A.J’s antics. After desert Joyce bought some jewelry from her mom and we headed home for the evening.

Monday 10/10 – Joyce and I got up early and grabbed breakfast at Lumme’s in Palos Heights. The place was hoping however, the food was just average. After breakfast, Joyce had an eye doctor appointment so, she headed there while I headed home. After awhile I again headed to Dominick’s as I am hooked on their salad bar. I grabbed a salad and headed home wand waited for Joyce.

Joyce got home and we headed to the theater to watch Flight Plan. It was another typical, recycled, forgettable Hollywood plot with more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Let’s just say I didn’t like it. From the theater we headed to Cub Food’s to go grocery shopping. We picked up are goods, unpacked them and Joyce made a couple of dishes for the week. I was not really hungry so, later that night I popped in a frozen dinner and just ate that. I then sat back and watched the Angles beat the Yankee’s thus making me an Angel fan this week.

Strike Another Blow For Tyranny

This is written from the perspective of a non-smoker. While I have many bad habits smoking is not one of them. As soon as next month, Chicago will more than likely join New York and Los Angels by banning smoking in bars and restaurants. This is just another example of how our civil liberties continue to get trampled on and no one seems to give a shit any more.

You see we live in a country where if you want to smoke something that causes cancer you are allowed. Just like you can drink alcohol, eat big macs, and listen to Bon Jovi. It is your right to do that. Sadly, the anti-smoking brigade has brain washed society into believing that it is in our best interests to curb smoking due to second hand smoke. It is all bullshit.

Again, study after study has shown absolutely NO EVIDENCE linking second hand smoke to asthma, cancer or the blue flu. You never hear this because all we hear is how bad second hand smoke is for you. Instead of eating up bullshit why not look up the facts yourself. Unlike the lazy politicians, I have looked up the facts and no one has ever been bale to link second hand smoke to anything. As a matter of fact studies have shown the exact opposite, that it really causes no undue harm.

In America we have the freedom of choice. I say let the individual restaurant or bar owners make a decision for themselves as to whether to allow smoking. As a patron I than can make a choice to frequent an establishment based on their smoking policy if I want to. I realize when I go into a bar that yes, people in bars smoke. So, I have to deal with it. I don’t need to be a pussy and whine about the smoke bothering my eyes. Again, if you don’t like smoke than find a place that is smoke free.

If there is such a huge demand for smoke free bars than they will spring up. We do not need the government (remember this is a Democrat writing this) legislating bars and restaurants to ban smoking. You can pass all the laws you want, smokers are going to smoke. It is their right and no matter how much you don’t like it you can’t stop them. I certainly don’t like when people bitch at me about eating an occasional pizza or when a vegetarian starts giving me shit about eating meat. As a non-smoker you have no right to bitch about a smokers choice to smoke. They know it is bad for them, they know they should quit, but they don’t want to. It is their lungs and I will again emphasize this, second hand smoke posses no health risk to you.

The last argument I will hear is that “Well, my child has asthma and he can’t be around smoke.” Well, than don’t put him in situations you know their will be smoke. If I am allergic to strawberries, than I don’t eat them. I don’t make society ban the sale of the fruit because of my condition. Again, if the demand for non-smoking establishments becomes viable than you will start to see them become more popular. So, I urge my great city to wake up and stop buying into the bullshit that is the non-smoking brigade. I don’t want big brother telling me what I can and cannot do. I want to be able to smoke, fart, eat, and shit when I want. Isn’t that what freedom of choice is all about?

Will The Real Sox Fans Please Stand Up

The baseball playoffs have arrived and the Chicago White Sox have found their way into them. Of course this has brought out the worst in Sox nation. It seems to me that if your team makes the playoff’s you should be happy with that and move on from all this Cub’s-Sox nonsense. Sadly, some Sox fans just cannot resist acting like spite-filled fools when it comes to the Cubs.

You know I realize that the nonsense occurs on both sides of town but I ask you, go to a Game at Wrigley and count the Sox suck shirts. You may see a handful. Now, go to the Cell and count the anti-Cubs shirts. Maybe it’s just me but there is a lot more anti Cub shirts there. You see the Sox fans are obsessed with their perceived lack of respect. I’ve heard more bitching and moaning this year about the lack of media coverage and if this was the Cubs in the playoffs the city would be going ape shit. Well, all I can say is you are right.

Chicago is always going to be a Cubs town. Get over it. Maybe if you could draw some fans for a September game while you are in the middle of a pennant race you might actually register some media respect. Instead you draw 28,000 for mid-September games and well there is just no excuse for that.

You see, the Cubs are the happening team and Jerry Reinsdorf has only himself to blame for this. When he bought the team he bought it from the much-loved Sox owner Bill Veeck. His first order of business was to fire Harry Carry. So, when Harry went to the Cubs he brought everything that comes with him to the North side. His second huge mistake was putting the Sox on cable before cable was ready for them. In 1982, when he made the inexplicable decision to force Sox fans to purchase cable to see the team, cable was not available in the city of Chicago.

So, a whole potential generation of Sox fans had no way to watch the team. So, needing a baseball fix they tuned into the Cubs and Harry on WGN. Thus, the Cubs who back in the early 80’s were lucky to draw 10,000 let alone 40,000 became the number one team in this city over a period of time. For some reason the anger and jealousy that the Sox fans have over this is completely mis-placed.

Instead of being angry at the ownership they choose to hate the Cubs, because they can’t think of anything better. The Cubs have never been the issue for the Sox. As a Cub fan let me tell you in 2003 when we made the playoffs the White Sox were the farthest thought from my or most Cub fans minds. However, I will guarantee you if you head out to the Cell today it will be a mixture of a celebration of their team and a chance to knock the Cubs. The fact that they are not playing the Cubs will be of little consequence to these fools.

Sox fans will never get it and it is sad. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being the second team in this city. Instead of having an inferiority complex about it, if they embrassed it, they might actually start to realize it has advantages. Getting a ticket to Wrigley is a pain in the ass, while getting a ticket to a Sox game is never a problem. (Unless they are playing the Cubs.) You have parking and your park is not nearly as bad as the media makes it out to be. You can tailgate and once inside the park the food is better than Wrigley’s. So, I say enjoy your team and stop being so bitter when it comes to the Cubs. You are in the playoffs and you got real lucky in that you drew a weak Red Sox team. I said all along to all my Sox friends that a White Sox – Red Sox matchup was your best bet to reaching the ALCS. Enjoy this because let me tell you the playoff’s don’t come around often and when you get there you better enjoy it, because it may be awhile before you get there again.

For what it is worth here are my half assed predictions.
Red Sox over White Sox in 4
Angels over Yankees in 5
Astros over Braves in 5
Card's over Padres in 4

Angels over Red Sox in 7
Astors over Card's in 6

Angles over Astros in 7.