September 30, 2005

A Brewer's Dozen

September 30, 2005, 9:42 pm, CST.

That's when twelve years - twelve years! - of futility finally came to an end. The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 tonight to guarantee themselves at least a .500 record, giving long-suffering Crew fans a welcome bit of respite from the seemingly endless string of losing seasons that has haunted this city for well over a decade.

It was great to see the Brewers' bench completely empty in the closing moments of the game, with players and coaches alike lining the dugout fence in anticipation as Turnbow the Kid calmly slammed the door on the Pirates, earning his 39th save in the process.

Good job, Brew Crew. Now if you'd be so kind as to give us the old uniforms back, we just might forgive you for the tragedy that has been the last twelve years.

September 29, 2005

They chose love

This topic's already been covered here and here, so I'll keep it short 'n sweet.

Congratulations, Bryan and Judy. You're the best.

September 27, 2005

If you don't know him by now...

For those who aren't yet familiar with him, this is Ricky Gervais. Ricky is one of the funniest British imports you'll ever see. Already incredibly popular from his stint as the offensive yet oddly likable "David Brent" on the BBC's short-lived hit sitcom, The Office, Ricky now lends his talents to the new HBO/BBC joint venture, Extras.

If you're not easily offended by hilarious examples of social awkwardness, I highly recommend checking out Extras sometime.

Welcome back, Ricky.

September 25, 2005

Get off our side of the lake!

The state of Wisconsin is a little giddy this morning. Our very own Wisconsin Badgers went Wolverine hunting yesterday and left Camp Randall with some impressive trophy pelts. Scoring the winning touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game, the undefeated Badgers find themselves in a pretty position heading into the heart of the season.

Let's go Red!

September 22, 2005

What the...?!?

Goodbye, Morgan. Way to represent.

We're only two weeks in, and both of my Survivor office pool contestants are already history.

Well, that was fun. What's next?

Chaos!

What an incredible story developing in Germany right now! The above picture is a group of CDU supporters shell-shocked by the stunning early election results from a few days ago. Angela Merkel and the Christian Democratic Union were once expected to crush Chancellor Schröder and his Social Democrats in last Sunday's elections.

Merkel and the CDU were then blitzkrieged by a chilling dose of reality.

People in the struggling eastern part of Germany weren't quite ready to make it easier for companies to fire their employees in a nation already wallowing in unemployment woes, and they let Merkel know it. This is an unmitigated disaster for Merkel, who should have won this election hands down. Despite her initial popularity, opinion polls clearly handed the debate edge to Schröder (sound familiar?). Once leading by some 20 percentage points, the mighty CDU barely squeaked out a margin of "victory" of less than 1 point - hardly the mandate for governmental change that Merkel (below) and the CDU were hoping for.

Now scrambling to assemble a winning coalition in Germany's parliamentary system of government, both Merkel and Schröder have a daunting task ahead of them - getting the government back on track while fighting for their political lives.

Good stuff.

September 21, 2005

Imagine

Happy International Day of Peace, everybody.

September 20, 2005

"It is very important to let people know that our enemies are not forgotten."

Austrian Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal died today. A Holocaust survivor himself, Wiesenthal dedicated his life to the pursuit of Nazis in hiding. His crowning achievement was his role in the capture of Adolf Eichmann.

Simon Wiesenthal
1908 - 2005

September 19, 2005

CCXXVII

September 18, 2005

Gerhard vs. Angie

Another pivotal moment for the Europeans today. Concerns over Germany's nearly 12% unemployment rate have pushed challenger Angela Merkel's poll numbers through the roof. Merkel and the conservative Christian Democratic Union are banking on stagnant German economic growth in recent years to carry them through today's elections. Merkel is a pro-Iraq War candidate whose political success has been somewhat of a surprise. As the picture suggests, many liberal and moderate Germans are fearful "Angie" may be another pushover European head of state for the Americans, ala Tony Blair.

But Chancellor Schröder and the Social Democrats aren't dead yet. The last couple of days have seen his numbers creep back up. As of this moment, it's virtually a dead heat.

C'mon SPD. It should be a fun Sunday morning - when I wake up in a few hours, I'll be glued to fantasy football scores and election results.

September 17, 2005

Niobe

From "Hermann the Malevolent's 101 Reasons to Watch HBO's Rome":

Reason #57 - Indira Varma. Mix a little Swiss and a little Indian, and you've got yourself one helluva knockout.

September 16, 2005

Damn it, Jim!

My first of two Survivor office pool candidates got booted last night. Retired firefighter Jim Lynch, 63, snapped his biceps pulling on a rope. Good job, Jim.

So now I'm down to one. Go Morgan!

September 11, 2005

Those were the days

Today represents a very special anniversary.

I'm speaking, of course, of Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd major league hit. Twenty years ago today, Charlie Hustle wacked Eric Show's pitch straight up the gut in front of an adoring hometown crowd, achieving a lifelong goal by toppling Ty Cobb's seemingly insurmountable record. The ovation that followed was one of the most touching moments in the history of professional sports.

And then, just a few short years later, my childhood idol Pete Rose forever ruined baseball for me.

Way to go, Pete.

September 10, 2005

A different kind of company...

Big thanks to the good folks at Saturn of Rockford. They essentially overhauled my car this past week. The extended warranty is a wonderful thing - I highly recommend it.