DISQUS

that's so cool

out of curiosity, why do you keep resubscribing? i hear from people all the time that "it gets harder every year," but nobody seems to be able to cut loose.

That should read "ocean" or "beaches." I do realize we only have the one ocean.

Aw haaaaaaaaale no! Not that I'm defending our disgusting oceans, but I'm just saying: I've been to Oklahoma. At least our stench is limited primarily to one spot.

If the above story bothers you, I'd urge to you click Rachel's link and read the transcript. A spokesman for the Army's Recruitment arm, Douglas Smith, at one point is forced to admit that another recruiter who had threatened a recruit with a warrant should he fail to show at an appointment was "reprimanded." And by reprimanded he means promoted to be head of his recruitment center. Awesome.

Dave, that comment nearly makes up for 24 years of Gwardabaskio, Grabinskio, and inexplicably, on a soccer trophy, Vuardbuskilo. Consider that final passed with flying colors.

And Dwight, I only use my real name because I wrote for the District for some months after they first started up, and I'm trying to sate the demands of my rabid and adoring public by throwing them a few scraps here on the website. If I hadn't worked for them I'm sure I'd post comments under LBSxBoY or something.

Dave, because you've always seemed like a swell dude, I'd hate to have to think of you rooting for the Celtics. Here is how I forgave Kobe (and I really, truly hated him for a few years):

It's the same way I manage to read T.S. Eliot despite the fact that I find him to be a reprehensible man. I try to take a New Criticism approach to his work, and only consider his poems within their own boundaries, without letting outside considerations (such as his anti-Semitism and religious orthodoxy) sour my taste too much. Of course, the argument can be made that his orthodoxy (and to a lesser extent his anti-Semitism) had a profound influence on his writing, and that it's impossible to ignore its presence, just as it can be argued that it's impossible to ignore Kobe's personality and arrogance on the court. It's part of what makes him the competitor he is. But the fact is that on the court, Kobe can be as poetic as Eliot; I do my best to simply appreciate that for what it is.

So that's my method: employing New Criticism, the literary theory designed by the horrid anti-Semite T.S. Eliot, to shave away the SportsCenter coverage as best I can, and focus on the parts of Kobe that are truly beautiful. Specifically--ok, maybe solely--his basketball abilities.

Thank you Rachel. By standing aside and letting these soldiers tell their own story, you've written one of the most moving pieces about a war that, through editorializing and stump speeches, too often becomes impersonal. I think we all want to write epic treatises on our own outrage and horror and sympathy, but as we approach Memorial Day, I appreciate the opportunity to stop and put myself in my place.

i can't imagine how weird it would be to walk into acres somewhere else...one of the appeals has always been breathing in that decades-old book dust, or pointing out to friends visiting from other parts of the country, "oh, that's where Bradbury used to sit," etc. i love the business itself, and have given more money to it than i probably ought to have over the last several years, but in a newer building with bright shiny lights? i don't know...weird weird weird.

From Canalis' commentary: "Another reader, who wrote in by hand, asked why I bothered posing questions in the first place if there was not going to be an election."

Wonderful!

Also, you have to love responses like this one from O'Donnell: "Streets and sidewalks are the glue that hold a city together."

If you're running unopposed, can't you afford to venture a little more than a pro-asphalt and cement message? It's not like proposing something bold or original would hurt him in the election.

shudder...

There is no television viewing experience more frustrating than regular FOX News coverage, and none more gratifying than watching them try to figure out how to walk back their mistakes.

Dave i disagree with you fundamentally about an NFL team in southern california, but I understand where you're coming from.

On the other hand, this statement: "That’s also why all the best NFL games are on free local television" is totally false.

Because we still have confused and angry NFL fans here who love the raiders, we get way more raiders games than we should; we also get lots of chargers game now that they're good. one of the best three games of the whole seasons, Cowboys Patriots, was pre-empted by raiders/chargers, when neither of those teams were playing good football. this was, in cbs 2's judgment, because both teams are quasi-local teams. instead of one local team, we have a number of "fan favorite" franchises (including the niners, rams, raiders, and chargers) who soak up local airtime with their often subpar play. furreal.