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By Brendan Loy
We're two weeks past the climatological peak of hurricane season, but still in the "active" part of the season historically, and it looks like things could get a bit more active this week. Dr. Jeff Masters says "three tropical depressions may form by Wedneday in the Atlantic."
UPDATE: One down, two to go!
MORNING UPDATE: T.D. 12 is now Tropical Storm Karen.
By Brendan Loy
I neglected to note that, a week ago Sunday, the second anniversary of Sarah LeFoll's death came and went. I think I subconsciously knew it, though: I've thought of Sarah several times in the last week or so, and until now I wasn't sure what caused my mind to wander in her direction. But of course: it was this time of year in 2005 -- the night after the Michigan State game, no less -- that I got that awful call from Steve Kenny. I was getting ready to head out to Dmytro's "3-0" party (reconstituted as a "2-1" party after the Irish's overtime loss) when tragic news arrived via cell phone like a bolt out of the blue. Needless to say, I never made it to the party.
For Sarah's immediate family and close friends, I imagine the grief is still acute and constant. For me, "closure," whatever that means, has long since come. And yet: every now and then, I still think about her, and about what happened to her, and it makes me so sad. Death is so damn permanent. Sarah had much yet to offer this world when she died, and no trite turn of bloggy phrase can ever resurrect that potential, forever lost.
Rest in peace, Sarah. We still miss you.
By Brendan Loy
Becky just roasted her first chicken.
It was delicious.
Mmmmmmmm... chicken.
Aww, Becky is becoming all domestic and stuff. :)
By Brendan Loy
So says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It would be funny, because of its blatant absurdity, if it weren't coming from someone whose government executes gays as a matter of policy.
Also, it seems Columbia President Lee Bollinger gave Mad Mahmoud quite a mouthful in his introductory remarks. (Hat tip: InstaPundit.) I haven't watched the video yet, but it sounds like a pretty awesome, and well-deserved, "string of insults," as Ahmadinejad put it later, taking umbrage just as he took umbrage at Mike Wallace daring to ask direct and forceful questions on 60 Minutes. (You'll have to forgive Mahmoud; he's not too familiar with the whole "free speech" thing.)
Less awesome is the fact that, apparently, Ahmadinejad got a good reception from some of the far-left idiots in attendance at the Columbia event. Anybody who childishly mimicks anti-Bush talking point is okay by them, I guess. Some think he's "entirely reasonable." Some even have crushes on him! And some were utterly humiliated by President Bollinger's factually accurate "insults," and cheered and applauded Ahmadinejad when he criticized Bollinger's lack of "manners." I guess some folks weren't really interested in a free and unfettered exchange of ideas, including harsh criticisms and tough questions for Dear Leader Mahmoud?
But hey, although they might not realize it, those Ahmadinejad-apologist fools are actually an unwitting testament to what's great about America: in this country, you have the unalienable right to be an idiot -- and more to the point, the unalienable right to speak out against your government, no matter how wrong-headed your views might be. Imagine if George W. Bush (or, ahem, perhaps a slightly more articulate American leader) came to speak at a university in Iran, and started reciting anti-Ahmadinejad talking points. There might be some Iranian dissidents who would cheer, but they would do so at great personal risk, as they could potentially be arrested or even killed if the government deemed them enough of a threat. Certainly, the government would do everything in its power to exclude them from the lecture hall if it could identify them in advance, thus producing a mirage of monolithic anti-American sentiment. In this country, by contrast, no such effort was made; the government did not try to "manage" the event so as to make sure the audience response was uniformly anti-Ahmadinejad. The marketplace of ideas was allowed to do its thing, unfettered and unimpeded, and thus, unlike in Iran, and unlike in the fanciful dystopia that some radical lefties erroneously believe they are currently living in -- y'know, Chimpy W. Hitler's fascist police state of Amerikka -- the result was the gloriously messy cacophony of viewpoints that can only happen in a free country. Somehow I suspect the amazing virtue of that reality will be lost on Mahmoud, but we shouldn't let it be lost on us.
By Jay Johnson
For those of you who've already seen the Britney breakdown of Chris Crocker on YouTube, here's one for the straight male Mac enthusiast.
Heh.
By Brendan Loy
If the Vegas oddsmakers to be believed, the biggest upset in college-football history was not the Michigan-Appalachian State game three weeks ago; it was the Louisville-Syracuse game this past Saturday! The Orange was a 37-point underdog to the Cardinals -- one point more than the 36-point spread in the 1985 Oregon State-over-Washington stunner that is generally regarded by gambling types as the biggest upset ever.
Appy State, by contrast, was "only a 22-23 point underdog, depending on who you listen to," according to Brian Cook. I'm not sure where he's getting those numbers, since there is generally no "official" point spread on games between I-A and I-AA teams. But this article says Jeff Sagarin had Michigan as a 25-point favorite. So whatever the exact spread (or would-be spread), I think it's fair to say it was (or would have been) less than 37.
And rightfully so, I'd argue. For all the histrionics, here and elsewhere, about the Appy State upset ("This is frogs raining from heaven. This is physically impossible"), the Mountaineers are a good team that just happens to play in a lower division; they would probably finish in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, and they might win the ACC Coastal Division. Okay, maybe not, but you take my point: whether you call them I-A or I-AA, "Bowl Subdivision" or "Championship Subdivision," the reality is that Appalachian State is better than Syracuse.
None of which, of course, changes the fact that Michigan lost to Appalachian State. HAHAHAHAHA. (Pay no attention to the 38-0 drubbing of Notre Dame behind the curtain!)
Anyway, the broader question this brings to my mind is: how many more milestone games can college football possibly give us? The last three seasons have been a veritable goldmine! We've seen the biggest upset ever by point spread (Syracuse over Louisville, 2007), the first-ever Div. I-AA win over a ranked Div. I-A team (Appalachian State over #5 Michigan, 2007), the most consequential and utterly thrilling David-over-Goliath upset in bowl history (Boise State over Oklahoma, Fiesta Bowl, 2007), the biggest comeback in history (Michigan State over Northwestern, 2006), the biggest comeback in bowl history (Texas Tech over Minnesota, Insight Bowl, 2006), arguably the greatest championship game ever played (Texas over USC, 2006), and arguably the greatest game ever played, at least until the Boise-Oklahoma game (USC over Notre Dame, 2005) on arguably the greatest day in college-football history (October 15, 2005). It's really getting a little excessive at this point. Can college football possibly keep up this insane level of excitement? Or are we in for a few boring years ahead, as karmic retribution?
By Brendan Loy
Blue Plate Special hosting Grammy winners Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's a huge crowd to see such a big act perform for free. I should have gotten here sooner!
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