you, dave, and everyone he knows

continuants: summerpunx:gazeatyourshoe:delawareareyou: the...

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:47 -0400

continuants:

summerpunx:gazeatyourshoe:delawareareyou:

the promise ring - nothing feels good

Heck yes. In my last band, we had a song with lyrics primarily about my experiences with this album.

matt-t: johnwilkestooth: DOO DAY DOO DA DOO DA DOO DA DOON...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:51:16 -0400

matt-t:

johnwilkestooth:

DOO DAY DOO DA DOO DA DOO DA DOON DA DOO DA DO DA DUN DUN!

- Master of Puppets Intro.

\m/

The first four Metallica albums still rock my world.

winstonwolfe: Reagan & Kennedy: Political foes of a...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:23:09 -0400

winstonwolfe:

Reagan & Kennedy: Political foes of a magnitude which we may never see again in our lifetimes

matt-t: knowthisplease: Zack Greinke, 15K’s last...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:05:06 -0400

matt-t:

knowthisplease:

Zack Greinke, 15K’s last night…

The man is a beast. I just hope the Yankees don’t dangle a huge contract in front of him at some point - I don’t think he has the New York demeanor. But he is a beast.

Ida Maria - Stella Saw these folks headline at Maxwell’s...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:27:05 -0400

Ida Maria - Stella

Saw these folks headline at Maxwell’s a couple of weeks ago. It was intense live performance, and I didn’t suspect that the album could live up to it (I’d only heard their big single, “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”, prior to the show). But oh, how it does.

America's 25 Douchiest Colleges

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:16:06 -0400

America's 25 Douchiest Colleges

Some sad news...

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:20:00 -0400

venicesunlight:

VS Faithful,

It is with regret that we announce that Scott Charles will be leaving Venice Sunlight at the end of August for personal reasons. I’ll let Scott elaborate in this space if he so chooses, but suffice it to say that we will be sad to see him go. Scott has been a bandmate of mine in some form for almost 9 years and, more importantly, a dear friend throughout that time, and I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone else over here when I wish him all the best in all of his future endeavors.

With that said, we’re going to give Scott the best send-off we possibly can. This Thursday, August 27th, Venice will be rocking Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge St., New York NY (between Broome & Grand; B, D to Grand St, walk two blocks east to Eldridge) at 10 PM. Please come out and support and make Scott’s last show in Venice his best!

That’s all for now, but we’ll keep you posted in the next few weeks as we get fired up for a big fall and a bigger winter.

Love as always,
Dave & VS

If you are in the NYC area, it would be awesome for you to come down to this show. There is going to be a very celebratory atmosphere on Thursday for this show to give Scott a proper send-off. And I may, just may, break out the playing guitar with the teeth move. I’ve been practicing.

After 25 years of waiting...

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:16:00 -0400

…Dave finally got his Rangers season tickets.

Section 218, Row E. Because they didn’t have anything, you know, cheaper. Nonetheless, I’ve been waiting for this day since the womb.

Joe Morgan: Douchenstein (Cont'd)

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:16:48 -0400

Last night, in reference to Jacoby Ellsbury’s base stealing prowess, Joe Morgan remarked that Ellsbury’s success rate of 85% (his season and career figures) was good, but not particularly remarkable or laudable. Morgan claimed that a success rate of 75% was passable, and to be considered a good base stealer, it had to be at least 80%. As always, Morgan’s “logic” and “math” is laughable.

Morgan is generally right with his levels, in that, sabermetrically, a 78% success rate is required for a base stealer to improve his team’s chance of winning. A 75% stealer will be given the green light in situations where he is less likely to hurt his team with an out (e.g. 2-0 count, 0 out), so that is typically a passable percentage, yes. But as we all know, percentage points in baseball can make a world of difference. And if, as Morgan claims, 5% is enough to separate “good” from “passable”, how is it not enough to separate “great” from “good”? Analogy: .265 is a passable average for most positions and .295 is a reasonable threshold to be a considered a good hitter - about 20% of everyday players are hitting .295 or above this year. Joe Morgan is essentially saying that .325 isn’t good enough to be considered a great hitter. Only 8 guys are hitting .325 or above right now - to me, that seems like a fair threshold. (Keep in mind that even frequent base stealers generally have 4 times as many plate appearances as base stealing opportunities, so a smaller percentage in batting average can have a bigger impact on seasonal performance.)

Let’s take a look at numbers for some of history’s great base-stealers, or at least the guys that get talked about:
Rickey Henderson: 80.8%
Lou Brock: 75.3%
Tim Raines (Sr.): 84.9%
Jackie Robinson: 75.1%*
Vince Coleman: 80.9%
Willie Wilson: 83.3%

*Jackie Robinson’s Caught Stealing numbers are incomplete in two seasons, and his percentage is based only on seasons where full data is available. Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner were left off this list as very limited Caught Stealing numbers are available for their era.

Some of these numbers were somewhat surprising to me. In general, most of these players’ percentages actually improved later in their careers, as they slowed down and were forced to become more selective. Raines, for instance, was actually always selective, but Henderson was not - he lead the majors in times Caught Stealing five times in his career, all in his first eight years, and his success rate was only 75.6% in his famed 130 SB year. Similarly, Coleman lead the NL in CS in three of his first four years before significantly improving his percentages by the time he got to the Mets and Royals. Not surprisingly, Coleman was considered a bust at this point in his career, even though in four of his six years with the Cardinals, Coleman’s base stealing actually cost the team runs.

In the meantime, Ellsbury’s career success rate of 85.0% (including his pickoff in last night’s game) is better than any of the great base stealers above. And his percentage may actually improve as his career goes on as he learns to be more selective and is forced to compensate for slowing speed years down the road. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him retire well ahead of the others on the list.

And what about Morgan himself? After all, he was no slouch on the basepath, and is actually 11th all-time in career Stolen Bases. Jon Miller asked him this very question last night, to which Morgan responded (paraphrasing), “I’m not sure of the exact number, but it was definitely 80%, definitely over 80%,” set up of course to make sure that he would be in the “good” category. Morgan turned out to be correct - his lifetime percentage was 81.0%. Of course, had only one call at second been flipped the other way in every other full season in the bigs, Morgan’s lifetime percentage would only be 79.9%. Not so “good” anymore.

An open letter to Joe Morgan

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:03:01 -0400

winstonwolfe:

randomsox:

camanda:

Page 481 in The New Bill James Historical Abstract. Think of this as a petition. A sad petition, because this edition is from 2001, and yet Joe is still an ass.

Dear Joe:

Does the phrase “Get over yourself” mean anything to you? This is not to deny that you were a major league player, and even that you were a better player than Harold Reynolds, who I suppose must have been an All-Star sometime; hell, Dave Chalk made two All-Star games. This is not to deny that you were a brilliant player, Joe, but you are becoming a self-important little prig. Grow up, you little weenie. People make fun of one another; this is called friendship. This is life; only self-important twits take offense at that kind of thing. Jeez, man, get a life. Preferably not on television.

Your friend,
Bill James

cosigned

itsalwayssunny: rackattack: ‘It’s Always Sunny in...

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:38:11 -0400

itsalwayssunny:

rackattack:

‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ season five preview (via thelastsemester)

Awesome.

winstonwolfe: (via soupsoup) Vincent: Have you ever given a...

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:25:42 -0400

winstonwolfe:

(via soupsoup)

Vincent: Have you ever given a foot massage?
Jules: [scoffs] Don’t be tellin’ me about foot massages. I’m the foot fuckin’ master.
Vincent: Given a lot of ‘em?
Jules: Shit yeah. I got my technique down and everything, I don’t be ticklin’ or nothin’.
Vincent: Would you give a guy a foot massage?

"This tendency to simply deny inconvenient facts and invent a fantasy world isn’t new; it’s only..."

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:05:09 -0400

“This tendency to simply deny inconvenient facts and invent a fantasy world isn’t new; it’s only becoming more heightened…The American media then presents itself as an umpire between “the rival sides”, as if they both had evidence behind them…How do they train themselves to be so impervious to reality? It begins, I suspect, with religion. They are taught from a young age that it is good to have “faith” – which is, by definition, a belief without any evidence to back it up. You don’t have “faith” that Australia exists, or that fire burns: you have evidence. You only need “faith” to believe the untrue or unprovable. Indeed, they are taught that faith is the highest aspiration and most noble cause. Is it any surprise this then percolates into their political views? Faith-based thinking spreads and contaminates the rational.”

- via The Independent (via millertime83)

'Arrested Development' movie is nowhere near happening - KTV: Korbi TV - Zap2it

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:32:36 -0400

'Arrested Development' movie is nowhere near happening - KTV: Korbi TV - Zap2it:

peterwknox:

(via)

Weak.

peterwknox: sabine: (via seagull:lizlemon:ohhleary) If you...

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:29:55 -0400

peterwknox:

sabine:

(via seagull:lizlemon:ohhleary)

If you watch one video from a Health Care Town Hall this summer, make it this one.

I really want to high-five this man.

I feel like Barney Frank would have been a good substitute teacher.

My initial thoughts when I heard the audio of this clip earlier:

1) I really do like Barney Frank a lot. Not like that.
2) No other Congressional District in the country would ever elect this guy.
3) People like that woman actually live in that part of the country? This is the People’s Republic of Cambridge we’re talking about!

HOLD STEADY REFERENCE/NAMEDROP SONG #20: The Sex Pistols -...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:35:00 -0400

HOLD STEADY REFERENCE/NAMEDROP SONG #20:

The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the Sun (Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols; 1977, Warner Bros.)

“I’ve been trying to get people to call me Johnny Rotten.” - Knuckles

One more before the deep analysis…

Why the hell is this song not considered among their pantheon (Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen)? Was it because Sid was already in the band when they wrote it? Was it because it wasn’t circulated heavily until the album was released, at which point their mark had already been made? Or was it that the whole Holocaust thing really crossed the line?

Mike Florio @Pro Football Talk: Favre "definitely" starting Friday night

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:52:18 -0400

Mike Florio @Pro Football Talk: Favre "definitely" starting Friday night :

winstonwolfe:

So basically the past month was all bullshit.

Vikings fans prepare yourselves for an 8-8 season in which Favre forces throws to Percy Harvin in in double coverage, rather than just handing the ball off to THE BEST RUNNING BACK in the N.F.L.

Alternatively, it opens up AP to not having to face an 8-man front on every single play.

tsexrexhockey: kickstand: Hey Red Wings remember when this...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:48:06 -0400

tsexrexhockey:

kickstand:

Hey Red Wings remember when this goofy fuck didn’t do anything for us the last time we signed him to a year contract? Good fucking job picking him up again. I’m pissed.

he’s a bum.

One of the problems with the vast majority of sports journalism, whether in print, online, tv or radio is that too much coverage assumes that once a player has a good year or good run, he is automatically a star player to be reckoned with. Sure, some players legitimately are, but some also have flukishly good years and are never quite as good as a particular performance indicates. Bertuzzi had only one 40-goal season, 2002-03 (hell, Glen Murray had a 40-goal season that year). He has had only one 20-goal season since. Isn’t it time that we stop looking at Bertuzzi as a star who hasn’t played up to potential for a variety of reasons over the last few years and start looking at him as an average player that happened to have a pretty good year once.

thisismyfavoritesong: “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:00:06 -0400

thisismyfavoritesong:

“I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye from In The Groove (1968).

Whenever I hear this song, I always get nostalgic for the California Raisins.

(True story: Marvin Gaye added the ‘e’ to his last name to imitate his idol Sam Cooke, who did the same thing.)

Until I was about 3.5 years old and first cognizantly heard Led Zeppelin IV, Creedence’s 11-minute version of this was my favorite song of all-time. At the time, I adamantly refused to believe my parents that it wasn’t a John Fogerty original.

I will be sorely disappointed if there is no extended tribute to the Douchebag of Liberty on...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:29:24 -0400

I will be sorely disappointed if there is no extended tribute to the Douchebag of Liberty on tonight’s Daily Show.