Odds and Sods
When I go long stretches without writing entries, things build up. Ideas build up for entries that I just don't have time to fully flesh out so they never become entries. So in a period of relative calm with my classes such as this, it would be a good idea to get it all out there. So this entry is a mishmash of various things on my mind (one might call them "bloglets"), much like a B-sides and rarities album by your favorite rock band. And here we go...
I've Really Gotta Start Writing These Down: My ability to predict things astounds me. This is a rare case of my ego on display but I just have to brag when I get things right. There was that excellent Super Bowl prediction of mine, when I picked the Giants to upset the unbeaten Patriots. I didn't quite foresee the big night Amy Winehouse had at the Grammys, but I know the reason is correct... controversy = awards. That very fact was controversial in itself, as many established musicians had a problem with someone who had so many personal problems winning so many awards. I also am quite delighted with the fact that my guy won the Republican nomination, and I feel good about Senator McCain's chances in November.
With that said, I have to start getting some other things I've predicted out there before they happen so I can properly take credit when they do happen. Back before Hugo Chavez's big referendum in Venezuela that would have him consolidating more power into the hands of his socialist government, I predicted 2 things at the time, though not here in this blog: 1) If he loses, he'll try to circumvent the process; 2) He will rally support behind him by invading Colombia, who he's had problems with over prisoners. Also, history shows that the next step for a dictator when he has reached the limits of his power over his own people is to start taking over other people. Look it up: Hitler, Mussolini, etc.
Well, these two recent items from Venezuela are serving to prove me correct once again: First, Chavez has threatened to nationalize food distributors to fix shortages of food with his people. While this was not one of the items in his referendum, Chavez has apparently decided that when the people say he can't do a couple things, he can still do EVERYTHING ELSE.
But the more frightening story comes today... Chavez has started massing troops on the Colombian border and closed his embassy there. The quote from him would be hilarious if it wasn't so scary: "We do not want war." BS, El Presidente. Of course you want war! These Marxist rebels who have been causing problems in Colombia are no doubt backed by Chavez; why else would he inject himself in something that on the surface does not involve his country? Colombia kills a rebel leader in Ecuador; how does this affect Venezuela? Answer: It doesn't, but it DOES affect Hugo Chavez in his attempts to spread socialism throughout Latin America. He has his own twisted version of the Monroe Doctrine now in that he feels the need to intervene in South America when his interests are threatened. And since we back Colombia, a Venezuelan invasion may force our hand on dealing with Chavez which may cause him to make good on his threats to cut off oil to us. Hello, $6 a gallon for gas... oh and did I not mention not too long ago that Chavez also has friends with Iran and Hezbollah?
And it won't stop here, folks... here's another prediction. The recent transfer of power from Chavez buddy and idol Fidel Castro to his brother Raul brought shrugs from our State Department, and rightly so. Nothing will change in Cuba in the short term, but the scary part is in the long run, when the Castro brothers pass on. I predict that before Fidel Castro dies, he will either state publicly (or privately to Mr. Chavez) that Cuba must always stay a communist nation and that any attempts to bring democracy must be crushed. This will give Chavez a license to intervene in Cuba should the people ever try to install democracy once the Castros are dead... because he would be honoring his friend's "dying wishes". And when that happens, it will REALLY get scary.
The Strike Is Over... Has Anyone Noticed?: We're finally starting to assess the damage from the writers strike. I'm glad they reached a deal, because I do feel that the writers should be compensated for their work getting online. The irony of the strike is that with shows off the air and absolute crap like "The Moment of Truth" and "Amne$ia" replacing reruns, people are going online to watch the increasing number of current and older shows being offered by the networks and partners such as Hulu and Joost. This proved the writers' case perfectly.
However... now we're in a situation where we'll have new shows coming back in limited runs starting in a few weeks, and it's been so long since new episodes have been on that our viewing patterns are all out of whack. The networks' move to spread their few remaining pre-strike episodes out at a rate of one every 3-4 weeks threw me off big time. I got to the point where I would forget a show was on because I didn't want to watch reruns, then it turned out they aired a rare new episode that night, and now I'm behind. It's happened with just about all of my favorite shows. Then there's the fact that "Heroes" will not be back until next year and "24" won't come back until next January (and without its creator).
The worst news that came from this mess is NBC's decision to dispense with the traditional notion of a "new fall season". Well, now they're just messing with the natural order of things. The new fall season is what we TV enthusiasts look forward to most, and it just makes sense to happen when it does. Summer is over, either you or your kids are going back to school, and you need something new to get excited about. Also, you're more likely to be inside in the fall for the debut of a new show because the weather is getting colder. But now, NBC has decided that they can just roll out new shows whenever they feel like it instead of at least having a core group that starts in September. I think this will backfire on them big time, because people still set their viewing habits in September and if you're debuting shows all the time, they won't switch unless it's REALLY better than what they're already watching. It just looks like chaos to me... but I'm an organization freak...
The Son Also Rises: Nice to know that we're only 2 weeks into spring training, and the Mets and Yankees' fight for the back pages of the New York papers has spilled over into fighting over whose rivalry is more important. Last season, the Mets-Phillies rivalry really came into its own with Jimmy Rollins' boast that the Phils were the "team to beat". Then, the Mets choked away a 7-game lead with 17 games left, the Phillies won the division, and the redeemed Rollins won National League MVP. So, Rollins topped himself and predicted the Phillies would win 100 games this year. Then, the normally soft-spoken Carlos Beltran opened Mets camp by proclaiming to the press that they should tell "J-Roll" that the Mets are the team to beat. The Fightins' response to the Amazins' so far has been to yell, "Scoreboard". Suffice to say, the gauntlet has been thrown down and (another prediction) don't be surprised when we don't make it out of the first Mets-Phillies series of '08 without a pitcher for one side drilling someone from the other side and a bench-clearing brawl resulting.
Meanwhile, new Yankees big boss Hank Steinbrenner is applying all he's learned from father George and making headlines with his big fat yap. First, he sent Joe Torre packing and said that Torre's managerial career was nothing without the players that Daddy Dearest provided him with during his decade of dynasty in the Bronx. Now, he's attacking the Boston Red Sox. He proclaimed "Red Sox Nation" to be... "a bunch of (expletive)" and a creation of "ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans." Then, he said that we are a Yankees country and that anywhere you go, people are wearing Yankees gear and not Red Sox gear. Not to be repetitive, but... BS, El Presidente. I live in Syracuse, widely acknowledged to be Yankee Country, but on the Syracuse University campus, I see MUCH more Red Sox gear than Yankees gear. The Red Sox are what's hot right now... and oh by the way, Mr. Steinbrenner, they've won TWO more championships than your team has since 2000. While he's not going to "restore the universe to order" by putting the Yankees back on top (and Brian Cashman's head will roll for that, according to another recent proclamation by Hank), he has restored the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry back ahead of Mets-Phillies for the title of baseball's best rivalry. For now.
I've Really Gotta Start Writing These Down: My ability to predict things astounds me. This is a rare case of my ego on display but I just have to brag when I get things right. There was that excellent Super Bowl prediction of mine, when I picked the Giants to upset the unbeaten Patriots. I didn't quite foresee the big night Amy Winehouse had at the Grammys, but I know the reason is correct... controversy = awards. That very fact was controversial in itself, as many established musicians had a problem with someone who had so many personal problems winning so many awards. I also am quite delighted with the fact that my guy won the Republican nomination, and I feel good about Senator McCain's chances in November.
With that said, I have to start getting some other things I've predicted out there before they happen so I can properly take credit when they do happen. Back before Hugo Chavez's big referendum in Venezuela that would have him consolidating more power into the hands of his socialist government, I predicted 2 things at the time, though not here in this blog: 1) If he loses, he'll try to circumvent the process; 2) He will rally support behind him by invading Colombia, who he's had problems with over prisoners. Also, history shows that the next step for a dictator when he has reached the limits of his power over his own people is to start taking over other people. Look it up: Hitler, Mussolini, etc.
Well, these two recent items from Venezuela are serving to prove me correct once again: First, Chavez has threatened to nationalize food distributors to fix shortages of food with his people. While this was not one of the items in his referendum, Chavez has apparently decided that when the people say he can't do a couple things, he can still do EVERYTHING ELSE.
But the more frightening story comes today... Chavez has started massing troops on the Colombian border and closed his embassy there. The quote from him would be hilarious if it wasn't so scary: "We do not want war." BS, El Presidente. Of course you want war! These Marxist rebels who have been causing problems in Colombia are no doubt backed by Chavez; why else would he inject himself in something that on the surface does not involve his country? Colombia kills a rebel leader in Ecuador; how does this affect Venezuela? Answer: It doesn't, but it DOES affect Hugo Chavez in his attempts to spread socialism throughout Latin America. He has his own twisted version of the Monroe Doctrine now in that he feels the need to intervene in South America when his interests are threatened. And since we back Colombia, a Venezuelan invasion may force our hand on dealing with Chavez which may cause him to make good on his threats to cut off oil to us. Hello, $6 a gallon for gas... oh and did I not mention not too long ago that Chavez also has friends with Iran and Hezbollah?
And it won't stop here, folks... here's another prediction. The recent transfer of power from Chavez buddy and idol Fidel Castro to his brother Raul brought shrugs from our State Department, and rightly so. Nothing will change in Cuba in the short term, but the scary part is in the long run, when the Castro brothers pass on. I predict that before Fidel Castro dies, he will either state publicly (or privately to Mr. Chavez) that Cuba must always stay a communist nation and that any attempts to bring democracy must be crushed. This will give Chavez a license to intervene in Cuba should the people ever try to install democracy once the Castros are dead... because he would be honoring his friend's "dying wishes". And when that happens, it will REALLY get scary.
The Strike Is Over... Has Anyone Noticed?: We're finally starting to assess the damage from the writers strike. I'm glad they reached a deal, because I do feel that the writers should be compensated for their work getting online. The irony of the strike is that with shows off the air and absolute crap like "The Moment of Truth" and "Amne$ia" replacing reruns, people are going online to watch the increasing number of current and older shows being offered by the networks and partners such as Hulu and Joost. This proved the writers' case perfectly.
However... now we're in a situation where we'll have new shows coming back in limited runs starting in a few weeks, and it's been so long since new episodes have been on that our viewing patterns are all out of whack. The networks' move to spread their few remaining pre-strike episodes out at a rate of one every 3-4 weeks threw me off big time. I got to the point where I would forget a show was on because I didn't want to watch reruns, then it turned out they aired a rare new episode that night, and now I'm behind. It's happened with just about all of my favorite shows. Then there's the fact that "Heroes" will not be back until next year and "24" won't come back until next January (and without its creator).
The worst news that came from this mess is NBC's decision to dispense with the traditional notion of a "new fall season". Well, now they're just messing with the natural order of things. The new fall season is what we TV enthusiasts look forward to most, and it just makes sense to happen when it does. Summer is over, either you or your kids are going back to school, and you need something new to get excited about. Also, you're more likely to be inside in the fall for the debut of a new show because the weather is getting colder. But now, NBC has decided that they can just roll out new shows whenever they feel like it instead of at least having a core group that starts in September. I think this will backfire on them big time, because people still set their viewing habits in September and if you're debuting shows all the time, they won't switch unless it's REALLY better than what they're already watching. It just looks like chaos to me... but I'm an organization freak...
The Son Also Rises: Nice to know that we're only 2 weeks into spring training, and the Mets and Yankees' fight for the back pages of the New York papers has spilled over into fighting over whose rivalry is more important. Last season, the Mets-Phillies rivalry really came into its own with Jimmy Rollins' boast that the Phils were the "team to beat". Then, the Mets choked away a 7-game lead with 17 games left, the Phillies won the division, and the redeemed Rollins won National League MVP. So, Rollins topped himself and predicted the Phillies would win 100 games this year. Then, the normally soft-spoken Carlos Beltran opened Mets camp by proclaiming to the press that they should tell "J-Roll" that the Mets are the team to beat. The Fightins' response to the Amazins' so far has been to yell, "Scoreboard". Suffice to say, the gauntlet has been thrown down and (another prediction) don't be surprised when we don't make it out of the first Mets-Phillies series of '08 without a pitcher for one side drilling someone from the other side and a bench-clearing brawl resulting.
Meanwhile, new Yankees big boss Hank Steinbrenner is applying all he's learned from father George and making headlines with his big fat yap. First, he sent Joe Torre packing and said that Torre's managerial career was nothing without the players that Daddy Dearest provided him with during his decade of dynasty in the Bronx. Now, he's attacking the Boston Red Sox. He proclaimed "Red Sox Nation" to be... "a bunch of (expletive)" and a creation of "ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans." Then, he said that we are a Yankees country and that anywhere you go, people are wearing Yankees gear and not Red Sox gear. Not to be repetitive, but... BS, El Presidente. I live in Syracuse, widely acknowledged to be Yankee Country, but on the Syracuse University campus, I see MUCH more Red Sox gear than Yankees gear. The Red Sox are what's hot right now... and oh by the way, Mr. Steinbrenner, they've won TWO more championships than your team has since 2000. While he's not going to "restore the universe to order" by putting the Yankees back on top (and Brian Cashman's head will roll for that, according to another recent proclamation by Hank), he has restored the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry back ahead of Mets-Phillies for the title of baseball's best rivalry. For now.
Labels: baseball, predictions, television, Venezuela
posted by Dave | 2:05 PM
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