I’d submit this as a review, but I don’t feel like elaborating much and I’d get the customary ‘disagrees’ which seem to come with my realistic and “in your face!” style of straight shooting reviews.

I’ve been a fan of this show for over 20 years, and I’ve only missed 2 episodes (1 pending in rerun) and I am completely disheartened. And if you’re SNL, this is seriously not a good thing. This show is not what I like or what it used to be.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was stripped down and forced to play characters mocking the current idiot and teen idol celebrities to appeal to the SNL crowd of today. I thought she was above that, but apparently not. If I was hosting and they asked me to play Britney Spear’s ex-husband, or Justin Timberlake or Bono or whatever trendy male celeb, I’d say “F*ck no. How about we do a real show that appeals to adults, doesn’t ham things up or have stupid trendy singing and dancing in it?” And then I’d watch their jaws drop in amazement with their resounding “we don’t know how to do a show like that!” in complete and utter confusion.

If anything about SNL these days, is the writing is bad, the characters are over-done, the acting is average and the talent is weak. It’s painfully obvious this show is CNN & E! obsessed, and they’re really over-doing it these days. As HeyStu said in his most recent SNL review, Darrell Hammond was absent from the broadcast (I turned it off at WU, then back & off for a bit for Deep House Dish, which again was awful) and it looks like the old man is finally being phased out, even more so. Personally, I always found him creepy and unappealing, and he seems to be that mid-1990s cold that just seems to clinging on forever.

But the thing is, I don’t even want to like this show anymore. “Oh wow, they made fun of Britney Spears again for the nth time, and I’m supposed to laugh at that!” It’s becoming a bewilderment to my friends that I still actually watch the show, and based on the show in the past few years, it’s embarrassing to say I even watch it. Maybe my tastes are changing or progressing, but I am not in awe with any of these cast members. As it pains me to say, this show has dumbed-down big time to appeal to the idiot teens and pre-teens & underdeveloped young adults. I think it’s pretty obvious that SNL needs to clean house big time and get some fresh young blood in there.

For those of you who still don't get it and think Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame:

"I bet on my team every night. I didn't bet on my team four nights a week," Rose said Wednesday on "The Dan Patrick Show" on ESPN Radio.

Apparently Pete Rose is illiterate, because the rules posted in the dugout clearly state that betting on games is prohibited.

In a wide-ranging interview, the banned Rose said he thinks he should be reinstated because "I believe I'm the best ambassador baseball has."

Just like Ron Artest is a great ambassador for the NBA.

You gotta be kidding me. Pete Rose is a mess. I'll spare you his horrid morales, but all the gambling, tax evasion, lying and cheating, you can't possibly think he's a good example to people nor does this kind of cheat belong in the Hall of Fame nor be embraced or tolerated by MLB or fans.  I mean, look at the extent of the gambling: every single night?? There's 162 games in a season! 

The career hits leader also said he supported Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, who fell far short in his first time on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Yeah, not exactly good company IMO.

---

Gary Matthews. Oh ya, how stupid do you think we are? Mediocre ballplayer linked with receiving HGH in the mail.

The Times Union of Albany, N.Y., reported Matthews was listed as a customer of Applied Pharmacy Services in Mobile, Ala., which is under investigation for allegedly being part of a national steroids distribution network.

Yeah, I'm sure his name was added to the customer list as an accident. Just like say Martha Stewart who I'm surprised her name didn't come up either. Yeah, you wouldn't take a substance that was neither banned nor tested for & you're a lifetime .263 hitter (.248 before '06), based on principle, right? Riiiiiiiiight.

“I been drinking muddy water / I don't know how long for / Since I been running, babe / I been treating you like a dog” ~ Yardbirds – Live in NYC 1968

Ah nothing like a British blues band feature pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy “Magic Fingers” Page. God this album sounds great. Features an early version of ‘Dazed and Confused’ and somewhat similar early version to ‘How Many More Times’.

Garlic on my breath. Today I attempted my first white pizza, consisting of freshly grated mozzarella cheese, basil, fresh mushrooms marinated in balsamic vinegar & EVOO overnight, crushed garlic, in a parmesan alfredo sauce made w/ butter, milk, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic and about ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, stirred, whisked cooked / brought to a boil, stirred for 5 minutes blah blah blah. Spooned the sauce on two flour tortillas which sat on foil under a cookie sheet, added cheese, mushrooms, more garlic, basil, popped it in the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes until the edges were crispy brown & the cheese was bubbling. If you want to see the final product, click here and here. I was inspired by Freschetta’s Brickhouse Portabella Mushroom & Spinach pizza which had a white sauce and tons of garlic in it, and suffice to say, my efforts were not for naught, and it tasted exactly the same, even if I didn’t have any spinach on hand.

I find the flour tortilla is the perfect crust if you want a fast and easy super-thin crust pizza. Normally I’ll add either tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, taco sauce or my favorite: salsa, which really adds a lot of flavor to it, and you don’t have to add additional spices. Keep in mind, I’m a guy and I have almost no cooking experience or any training, so basically everything I do was learned from cooking websites or shows, or experiments I came up with. That said, cooking is exhausting. Total prep time was like 30 minutes and I had basically like 30 things out at once.

Yesterday’s homemade Big Mac wasn’t nearly as difficult, with 1000 Island dressing already made on hand for the sauce. With your basic heel bun, dressing, chopped lettuce, grilled burger pattie w/ cheese flipped over, diced onions on top, piece of Sara Lee honey wheat bread with dressing and more chopped lettuce, grilled burger pattie and more onions, then top bun. The McDonalds version tastes like garbage compared to this. And a much better meat-to-bread ratio than the bread lovefest with the McDeth version.

I don’t know what the hell I’m going to make next. I got a small tub of concentrated chicken base paste which I’ll probably make chicken noodle soup with & carrots, onions and celery.

Wow I'm bored, and the new SNL isn't until WHEN?  Ah once again, crybaby Cubs fans are moaning that Ron Santo got shunned by the Hall of Fame.  Career .277 hitters don't belong in the hall, you know.  If the diabetes doesn’t kill Ron, then the Hall of Fame Committee will.

What a strange month of weather this February.  89 Tornadoes were reported, compared to 9 in ’04, 10 in ’05 and 12 in ’06.  Not to mention that upper-midstate ISU got the most snow in over a century, at 22 inches.  I can’t even imagine what a mess campus must be.  And I sure as hell don’t recall a February where most of it was below freezing, some 10 to 12 inches of snow fell, then it all melting twice from the rain, only to immediately snow and freeze again.  When your February Tornado total goes up 742% (or something like that) some terrible sh*t is gonna happen this year.  Tho note we didn’t have any Hurricanes hit U.S. land in 2006. 

Yesterday was a great day.  I finally found that organic all-natural White Cheddar Cheetos.  Suffice to say, they’re pretty damn tasty.  And the more you eat, the better it tastes.  Even tho they’re in puff form, which I hate, but these aren’t greasy nor have that chemical aftertaste like the regular orange puffs do.  So that’s it… I’m done with the orange Cheetos.  Along with the puffs, I really don’t like the Flammin’ Hot Cheetos, or the regular Crunchy ones anymore, it’s just too salty in taste for me.  Tho I am up to suggestions for other cheese curls & cheese snack products, if anyone has any favorites.


Current music:  Jimi Hendrix, the Stooges

Once again, the baseball Veterans Committee did not elect anybody, including Ron Santo. Which is fine by me, Santo doesn't deserve to go in. But stupid Cubs fans and Tribune sportswriter Phil Rogers once again was showing off his hard-on of Ron Santo-love. It's really nausating and I'm tired of hearing about it. Old man Santo doesn't belong, plain and simple. The following is a mockery of Phil Rogers and basically sums up what he's been writing lately (and every year around this time).

"Veterans Hall of Fame committee are poo-poo heads" writes Phil Rogers, baseball writer of the Chicago Tribune.

CHICAGO - Nooooooooooo! Not fair!! Why won't they let Ron Santo into the baseball Hall of Fame??? Every other year, the Veterans Committee has a chance to elect more ex-players, managers and executives to the baseball Hall of Fame, and they're not electing anybody!!! NOT FAIR!!! Let him in!!! He'll be your friend! Put Whitey Herzog in there too!! Bert Blyleven! Jim Rice!!! Jack Morris!! Goose Gossage! Tommy John!! Dale Murphy!! Alan Trammel!! Lou Whitaker!! Don Mattingly!! Pete Rose!! Heck even put Billy Martin in there!! We shouldn't have to hurt anybody's feelings!! Every ballplayer should have his day!! Even if it means lowering standards even more!! You're being big poo-poo heads, Veterans Committee!!! I'm going to write every Tribune sports column about Ron Santo deserving to go in until you do it!!! Oh wait... my editor just said something about how i can't do that... but would if i could!!!

Take that, Phil Rogers, you big poo-poo head. God he's such an idiot.

Quoted from nytimes.com:

“Mr. Daley’s victory came despite a short and lackluster campaign, the loss of traditional support from organized labor and his place at the center of a ballooning federal inquiry into the administration’s hiring practices. Mr. Daley, a Democrat, has not been accused of any crime, but some of his top aides have been indicted.”

I don’t have to tell you that Mayor Daley’s administration is a political nightmare from a Republican viewpoint. Chicago has some of the highest property taxes in the country, a $500+ million Cook County budget deficit where the city sits in, constant battles from “Big Box Stores” who finally were allowed to build stores & supply jobs, which the mayor overturned the heavy opposition which was voted banned from the Wards and Union opposition, Daley stating that all of the tax revenue can’t just come from State St (downtown). Mayor Daley is one of these “tax and spend” politicians, constantly raising taxes on everything, where sales tax, cigarette tax (a pack of cigarettes shouldn’t cost 8 dollars) and gasoline tax (about $1.50 and higher per gallon) are all extremely higher than surrounding cities. Plus he has all these misguided plans to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago while having no proper stadiums or necessities in place, which would cost multi-millions and create havoc on already clogged roadways. And according to Mayor Daley’s opponents, crime is up, test scores are down, there’s police brutality and corruption, racial profiling and no relief in site. And yet, the people are fed up in Chicago, but too stupid and lazy (hence the lowest voter turnout in decades; possibly worst ever) to put together any real challenging opposition to boot him out of office. Mayor Daley refused to debate or even acknowledge his Mayoral opponents, and spent almost little money or time to the campaign, and basically went through this re-election on auto-pilot. “Gee, my taxes are so high, money is going towards stupid things like elaborate city parks (over budgeted and years late) and Olympic bids, there’s potholes all over my roads, I can’t smoke inside any restaurant or ballpark, restaurant business is down due to these bans, nor can I eat foie gras, everything is so expensive that I have to go shop outside to the cheaper suburbs. What is the problem here???” Well it’s because they’re Democrats, stupid! You’re spending beyond your means and your poorly mangaged. While I acknowledge there is absolutely no way a Republican will ever get elected as Mayor in Chicago, the best you can hope for is a clean and knowledgeable Democrat party that has some common budget and funding sense. Oh ya, the Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, home of the Bears, and they considered raising the price of parking at the stadium to $100. $100 to park your car for 3 hours!! Am I crazy, or is that ridiculous? Thank god I don’t live in the city.

1. I am an only child. And I find my parents to be two of the stupidest, retarded and ass-backward people I have ever met on the planet. I am the result of a warm six-pack on a hot July night in a Kansas campground.

2. I have never seen the ocean or the mountains. I’ve also never ridden on an airplane (planes crash, you know) or have been inside of an airport or to a concert, and I haven’t attended church since 1982.

3. Nobody has seen me sneeze since 1987 in 3rd grade. There is a reason for this. When I sneeze, my eyes tear up like crazy and I need to blow my nose & wipe the eyes for a good 10 minutes. I got tired of people saying, “why are you crying??” right after I sneezed. I’ve stopped literally thousands of sneezes in public with the basic “index finger to the right nostril and holding the breath” technique.

4. I do not own a cell phone, nor do I ever want to. I still think it’s not safe to put something like that so close your head. I will cry the day I have to get a cell phone. Plus there’s the other issue of annoying cell phone rings, not wanting to be bothered while I’m out and doing things, battery recharging issues, cell phone plans, “anytime minutes” and all that b.s.

5. I have Tinnitus, which is basically constant low-pitched ringing of the ears. I’ve had it all my life, and it’s gotten worse. I only hear the ringing (sounds like when volume is turned up on blank cassette tape hiss or a furnace running) when there’s no background noise, but it makes it hard to hear convos in loud crowded places, as well as whispers and low sounds. Strangely, my right ear is worse than the left ear, which typically doesn’t happen when it comes to hearing loss, it’s usually evenly distributed. I’ve also failed every hearing test I’ve ever taken, which also resulted in numerous tests & hours of missed c l a s s time. I can hear fine in most situations.

6. I was right-handed for the first 4 years of my life. Right-handed scissors, right-handed glove, right-handed drawing & writing. Then one sunny early afternoon day out in the backyard, I was playing catch with my dad (plastic bat, whiffle ball) and I went after the ball, picked it up and threw it. Suddenly I heard screaming, and I was terrified and shocked as hell with both of my parents screaming at me. Then I hear, “do you know what you just did??!?!” and I was like, “ummm, no?”, and my dad said, “you threw that ball left-handed!” “Oh,” I thought. So into the trash went the right-handed scissors & glove, and now suddenly my right-handed chicken scratch handwriting had turned into left-handed legible English literature. Yeah I was only 4, so what. 1 out of every 9 people are left-handed, I’m special, damn it. Tho later on I learned to do things with both hands.

7. I have a re-occurring nightmare of tornadoes. I’ve have hundreds of them in my life, and they all basically end up with the sky turning dark, the wind picking up, and then the funnel cloud appearing from the sky, the sound of wind, the feeling of me tensing up and trying to run to the basement / for cover and then waking up exhausted. But I’m also a weather buff. Weather has always fascinated me, and when you live in the Chicago area, weather is always a topic. I think that NOVA special I watched on PBS in 1984 about these killer 1984 Wisconsin tornadoes is what probably caught my interest in the genre. I’ve wanted to be a Meteorologist since I was 6, but ya know, too stupid / don’t wanna go for the 8 years of college & end up reading off a teleprompter in a warehouse with a bunch of stupid phony idiots newscasters in some one-horse town.

And if you already knew # 5…

8. I have never tried an illegal substance (including Mary Jane), nor do I have any desire to. I’ve seen enough destruction in people’s lives & my own to know better.

God, some of these Spring Training / batting practice jerseys are hideous. I noticed the Yankees finally broke tradition and are wearing the new ST/BP hats. Some players, like Eric Gagne of the Rangers, is already sporting the new gameday hat (since he likes to wear the same hat all season) and teams generally re-issue hats up 4 times or more per season. And now, the American League version of perferred color schemes for teams.

A.L. West

Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles >> California Angels – navy blue, red with a hint of silver or gold. I think the name change is the first thing to do, here. Despite its modern makeover on a retro Angels look, I like it. Tho the thing that always bothered me, was the red caps. The crown needs to be navy blue. I’d also make the alternate jersey navy blue, and come up with some kind of retro-esque ‘state of California w/ city location star’ sleeve patch like they did from ‘70-’85. I don’t understand why they chose silver over gold, but if you must use a dreaded metallic color, it should be gold in this case.

Oakland A’s – kelly green & old athletic gold. This is another no-brainer. Darkening the kelly green they’ve worn since ’63 while still in K.C., the A’s made a mistake darkening it in ’81, tho Topps baseball cards show you otherwise until the 90s. Green and yellow look great together, if not the best color scheme there is. But the A’s current forest green is just way too dark. Plus the home jersey should be plain white, kelly green “A’s” trimmed in yellow on the left side of the chest, green placket piping and the Elephant On Baseball patch on the left sleeve, with a sleeveless version w/ green undershirt. I wouldn’t mind seeing a yellow or green alternate jersey, either. And I’d keep the stirrup green, the sock yellow and the shoes white.

Seattle Mariners – navy blue and green. While I prefer the royal and yellow ‘77-’86 looks, navy and green are Pacific Northwest colors. Tho what they use right now is a “Northwest green”, but it really looks more like a blueish light teal. I’d probably bring back the old home navy crown & green brim cap.

Texas Rangers – royal blue & red. The Rangers don’t need any black in their cap or jersey, which they started adding in ’03. The Rangers looks are a combo of retro and modern. The all-uppercase text is from a jersey worn only year in ’83, the cap logo with a dropshadow consistent of the original ‘72-’82 home jersey, and two caps reflecting both royal versions of the past (white T, red accent / red T, white accent). Of course, almost everything stinks about this team that still has no identity. While a regionally relevant name, there was already a well-known team named the Rangers, who sported the royal and red first. Honestly, the Rangers should just change their name to “Longhorns” and go with a burnt orange & white look. Just kidding. Or am I?…

A.L. Central

Minnesota Twins – navy blue & red. The Twins right now are painfully stuck between two uniform & cap eras, with the M & TC caps and the home sleeve patch meshing both old-and-current primary Twins logos. They should just go back to the ‘61-’71 era jerseys: home navy pinstripes, navy cursive script / red outline. Road grey with same script. Both jerseys with navy caps with the interlocking white T & red C. Tho I do have a soft spot for the red crown / navy brimmed cap, so that’d be your alternate cap with a navy jersey. I can’t wait to see the Twins play outdoors in the snow in April against the White Sox when they open their new outdoor stadium sometime around 2011.

Kansas City Royals – royal blue, white & powder blue. Management wised up last year and realized they didn’t need black cluttering up their c l a s s i c royal look, plus black looks horrible with blue. The only change I’d do is adding a powder blue home alternate jersey, with white script outlined in royal, with royal / white / royal sleeve & collar trim. This would only be worn at home, ‘cause the powder blue would look awkward with the road grey pants. I’m also toying with the idea of matching the powder blue jersey with a powder blue cap w/ a white KC on it. Tho I wonder if a royal KC would better.

Cleveland Indians – navy blue & red. I personally found the addition of silver pointless and almost unnoticeable (it’s the outline around the red jersey scripts & the Chief Wahoo on the caps). I’d drop the “I” alternate cap along with all of the silver, also.

Detroit Tigers – navy & orange. The home is perfect, I wouldn’t touch it. The road, I would strip all the orange off the uniform and preferably, the white outline too. If single-navy works at home, why not on the road?

Chicago White Sox – kelly green & white. St. Patrick’s Day everyday! I prefer their green version over the bland black & silver (black is not a color!) and I think it looks so much better with the green grass and the dark green wall & seats. Plus this whole point is to bring more color to baseball. Of course, the current Sox home look in the past dating back from ‘49-‘75 was in a black / white version, black / red version, a navy / white version, a royal blue / white version and a red / white version. I think maroon / white would work, along with orange / white, dark purple / white, hell even brown / white. And if this kelly green / white combo needed a third accent color, it’d be orange. The White Sox haven’t changed their look (minus alternate jersey tweeks) since ’91 (hence the extremely dated fat stripes & trim on the road jersey), and it’s driving me crazy. They went thru 6 changes between ‘64-’87. They were known for change. What I’m saying is, “it’s time for change”. And if you couldn't tell, I prefer the old silhouette batter logo, the one in my profile, used from 1976-90.

A.L. East

Boston Red Sox – navy blue & red. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Baltimore Orioles – orange & black. One of the worst owners in all of sports. The Orioles really don’t need to do much, but I’d go back to the old smaller & narrower script used from ‘55-’88, add orange stirrups / socks, and put “Baltimore” back on the road uniforms. I’d get rid of the “O’s” alternate cap, and go with an orange alternate jersey. And as for the cap, I’d like to go back to a happy cartoon birdhead logo, a different version than the one used from ‘66-’88, on a black cap with an orange brim.

Toronto Blue Jays – royal blue, red with a touch of powder blue. Oh man, this team is in serious need of help right now. Their colors of black, “Metallic Graphite”, “Metallic Sliver” and greyish blue seriously blow. The colors are just awful, there’s no Toronto royal or Canada red, the cap logo is way too big, they call themselves the “Jays”, and the font is horribly clunky, huge and ugly. Plus the names on the back of the jersey are way too big. Last midseason they ditched the home graphite grey caps, the players citing “they were bad luck” and hence, their banishment permanently starting this season. Seriously, if you’re called the Blue Jays, you really need to wear blue. For the Blue Jays, I’d design a full-body logo of the blue jay, to show off all those blue, powder blue and white stripes & spots (do a Google image search of blue jay and you’ll see what I mean). A royal cap with the blue jay head on it. And for the uniform script, I’d go with either a fancy cursive script in royal blue outlined in powder blue, or go with vertically arched block letters spelling “BLUE JAYS” in alternating royal and red letters, a la Molson Canadian’s Beer label. And of course we’d have to incorporate the red maple leaf, too.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays >> Tampa Rays. There is a change coming..was supposed to happen in ’06, they ran out of time, then for ’07, ran out of time, and now it’s ’08 that the Devil Rays will be getting a new name, logo and team colors. The whole idea of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was flawed from the beginning. First, the use of “devil” in a region of old farts is never good. Secondly, colors were a mess, basically using black & the gradient rainbow, and gear started popping up in ’95. Then in ’01, they cleaned up their look, but it still looked too dark and dreary. Tho today, the easiest choice is Rays after Sun rays, and the colors would be red & old athletic gold, with a possible orange thrown in (ties to the old Tampa Bay Buccaneer colors). It wouldn’t be too hard to come up with some Sun logos (perhaps put a red-lined face in it) and make it tri-colored. That holds up with the team plan of making the next look “new and bright future”. As for colors, I’d go with a red cap & a yellow brim, with an interlocking white / orange outlined TR. No ideas about what kind of script. Of course, I’ve had other mascot ideas like the Tampa Terrapins w/ green & royal, much better than the old Minor League Tampa Tarpons, who were red and name looks too close to "tampons". Or maybe one of my personal favorites: the Screaming Beavers. Tho that does sound more College Football-esque.

New York Yankees – navy & white. You wouldn’t dare touch the home. But the road? Would you get rid of the white outline on “NEW YORK” and drop the sleeve & collar trim that made its first appearance in ‘73? I think I would.

So this is open to discussion, so if you have any thoughts or ideas, let's hear them.

Very little Turn Back the Clock games in baseball this season, tho a bunch of retro nights. Here's the TBTC info:

Fridays - Milwaukee Brewers - Retro 1982 day
Thu., Jun. 14 - Indians at Marlins -1997 Throwback Night (Marlins to wear 1997 uniforms)
Sun. Jul. 29 - Athletics at Mariners - Turn Back the Clock Day - '77 Mariners Caps

White Sox, Padres, Giants, Pirates have retro nights, retro bobblehead giveaways, tho no mention of uni's. Tho ATL, CLE, NYM, WAS, BAL, BOS, DET have yet to put up promotional schedules.

Other:
Mon., Apr. 23 - Yankees at Devil Rays - 10th Season Cowbell
Fri., May 25 - Devil Rays at White Sox - 70's Night/White Sox Cap
Fri., Jun. 8 - Phillies at Royals - Commemorative 1980 World Series Lapel Pin
Fri., Sep. 14 - Angels at White Sox - White Sox Caps - Halfway to St. Patrick's Day (tho that's the wrong date)
Mon., Sep. 17 - White Sox at Royals - Half-Way to St. Paddy's Day Celebration Green Royals Cap
Sundays - Rangers have $1 Drumstick Ice Cream Sunday (ultimate diabetics mockery)

wtf, I can't comment in my own blog??  What the hell is wrong with this stupid site?  I tried to comment in one of Mel's blogs, it worked, and in another it didn't work, all within 2 minutes of each other.  Come on, tv.com...get your stupid **** together.  Is this website some stupid assignment given in a high school classroom that you all forgot about?

In response to thecomedianky 's question about the N.L. color blog from yesterday:

mp34mp said:
"well, New Era has discontinued all their 5950 gameday wool caps, so now all the caps are made of polyester, are sweat resistant, pre-curved brim, don't shrink, feature a 3-D MLB logo in the back, etc.  Spring Training caps have been polyester for years.  Yes, technically, everyone is getting new ST & gameday caps.  Only the Reds, D'Backs, Pirates and Blue Jays changed / added the design of their gameday caps."