If This Really Happens…

I’d feel bad for my friends in Chicago, some of whom post on this fine blog. Rod Blagojevich as America’s newest shock jock?

My first reaction when I saw this link at work was “you’re kidding about this, right?” I mean, “mastery of public policy, newshound-like familiarity with the events of the day, and remarkable facility with banter,” as program director Kevin Metheny claims. Sure, we can say Blago has shown mastery of arrogance, stupidity, and if the criminal charges against him are proven, corruption. The other qualities? Not so much. Besides, doesn’t radio already have enough people like this? By the way, WGN-TV was famous for carrying that character. And now a modern version would star on WGN-AM.

Believe it or not, a rival station already offered him a show.

Credit to Taegan Goddard for spotting this story. He always seems to find the good nuggets of political news, plus some witty quotes on the side.

That’s it for now. Off to watch the Australian Open and whatever else is on TV tonight.

Seemed Like a Good Idea…

Visited my grandmother’s house for breakfast this morning. On the way back, I saw a Ford with this license plate: GOTFAVRE

Well, people did want to flaunt that fact back in July! All the way to a Madden ‘09 mock-up cover.

Now, not so much. With apologies to my Jet-fan father, brother, and Scott Gourlay. Giants fan myself… don’t ask how.

More later tonight.

Lower Manhattan

I went into lower Manhattan for an interview today. And I mean literally at the bottom, down by Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry. As I came up from the subway station to begin walking towards the building I needed to go to, I paused for a moment to take in the scenery. It occurred to me that I had never been down there in my life- at least for as long as I can remember. Actually, I haven’t seen many of the noted tourist sites or communities of Manhattan in years, if at all. Growing up, I was often told that other New Yorkers rarely went to those places either. Whether you lived in the city or the suburbs, those places just seemed ordinary because we lived in the region. What was the big deal? We’d tell us ourselves that we’d see the museums and sample the cuisine eventually, but we never would.

After visiting other cities and seeing their famous venues, thus becoming a tourist myself, I came to realize that this oddity actually has some truth to it. That’s why I did take a minute to look around. Lower Manhattan did not disappoint on this sunny afternoon. It’s a gorgeous cross-section of the city’s history- ironically found at the place where NYC began. There are small-town buildings dating to at least the 1800s; some probably go back to the Colonial era or even earlier. Not that many of them looked in need of much paint! Right next door, you can also see skyscrapers for the financial institutions centered on nearby Wall Street. Many of them are tall and bold enough that they would not look out of place in Midtown, epicenter of the construction/engineering marvel of 20th century New York.

I didn’t have enough to dig deeper and really explore, but as I got back onto the subway to head for Penn Station and ultimately a train home, I vowed to see as much of Manhattan as I can in the next couple of years- if not sooner.

Before I go, I’ll ask you the same question. Do you have the same attitude about famous places near where you live or grew up?

And So It Begins

Just a few thoughts as the parties go on into the night across Washington.

Butchered oath of office or not, change has come to America- and maybe the world. Barack Obama is now President of the United States. The speech wasn’t spectacular in terms of pithy lines, but his point rang loud and clear. Much is possible, and we can solve our many problems if we are prepared to sacrifice, cooperate, and work together. That stretches from a change in American political culture to a renewed spirit of Americans serving their country in some way at the grassroots level. I also was impressed that some of his staff really is already at work, as I mentioned in last night’s blog links. No time like the present to start making change happen.

Can’t say I loved Michelle’s dress tonight, but seeing flashbulbs and digital cameras greet the Obamas’ every appearance tonight is pretty cool. Just as I typed part of this, CNN showed attendees of the Youth Ball (18-35 year-olds) erupting into a chant of “Yes We Can” in response to one of President Obama’s speeches. And if he can harness the enthusiasm, belief, and dedication of his supporters and staff every day, he just might be saying “Yes We Did” in a few years. So might every single one of us.

Even if a fraction of his campaign promises come true, America is going to be in much better shape than it is now. Despite the economy and the war, that’s saying something because this is the greatest nation on Earth and I’m proud to call it my home.

Pre-Inauguration Fun

More snow here in the 516 today. It’s rained or snowed for the better part of two weeks here now, except for the couple of days where it was dangerously cold. This isn’t supposed to be Seattle or Syracuse! At least tomorrow, it’s supposed to finally dry up some for the inauguration, which I will undoubtedly watch online at work. Change we can believe in? We’ll start to find out quickly, because at least one published report indicates that some Obama staffers will head straight from the swearing-in to the White House to start work. And yes, the rest of the week will be pretty busy too, thanks to the economy and Middle East.

In the meantime, check out Mike Polak’s new NY sports blog. I was an intern alongside of him at SNY in 2007, and boy does he bring the passion and knowledge everyday. But as a Colgate alum, I must object to his tributes to Cornell Men’s Hockey! Okay, I’ll be a sport. You can read them here and in more detail here.

Go Raiders!

The Beer Lodge crew starts a series on college restaurants with Colgate’s most well-known pizza place. Wasn’t a huge fan of Slices (‘come plain only’) myself- but the village of Hamilton isn’t a cuisine capital, even by Upstate NY standards.

That’s all for now. I’ll check in again after the inauguration fun.

A Quiet Saturday Night…

One more very cold night here in NY, and since it hasn’t been this bad in a few years, let’s hope it’s at least that long before it happens again. That’s really supposed to happen Upstate, or in the interior of the country, not the Coast or Southeast!

So just staying in and taking in loads of college basketball and news coverage. Plus a tuna melt (with onions, mustard, and even a little horseradish) and dessert. Yum. Oh, and I spent an hour or so explaining HDTVs to my grandmother, who is thinking about getting one for her apartment.

One other thing. Did anyone else see those Chevy Silverado ads with this guy? One of them says Silverado gets 21 MPG on the highway with a V-8 engine, while either the Ford or Dodge equivalent is V-6 and gets 19 MPG. Excuse me, but do you really buy a truck for MPGs or to floor it on the highway?

Saw these ads during at least one game today, and just had to post about them.

Or do you get one because it’s useful for towing stuff, carrying supplies or crops to where you need them, and other tasks like those? If you really want fuel efficiency, you get something smaller, or a hybrid version of an already popular and eco-friendly car. My car doesn’t qualify as green, but I’d never deceive myself about that fact.

Skies are Gonna Clear Up…

No, I won’t humor you with American Idol-style singing of “Put on a Happy Face” or anything else. Just not into reality TV, especially when they like to show you everything about the contestants- and the ones who are too awful to even make the cut. My mother and sister watch it, but then I’ve never claimed we were all incredibly alike in our tastes!

Anyway, short posting tonight. Chatting with some friends via Facebook and looking into a few interesting possibilities. The former does tie into some good news hinted at in the post title. Looks like the spyware I’ve been dealing with lately is gone for now, because my computer seems to be running more smoothly. Hopefully it stays that way for a while. Mom suggested I download AVG and it seems to have picked up and quarantined a ton of stuff which nothing else I had on my computer was doing. Hey, I didn’t say mothers don’t know best, just that our TV watching habits are different!

That’s it for now.

Random Coincidences

Since I graduated from college last May, I’ve been surprised how many times I’ve run into people from high school or the ‘Gate in some of the most random places.

Like tonight. I got tickets for Rangers-Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum (aka Mausoleum) as it’s not too far from my house (within 30 minutes). When I was younger, these games used to be pretty intense with split crowd loyalties. Now there’s still fighting amongst some of the fans- I saw some from my seat- it’s mostly tons of fellow Blueshirts faithful like myself as the Isles have become maybe the most craptacular team in any pro sport this side of the Pond. And whereas you couldn’t imagine Ranger fans getting off all of their favorite MSG chants back then, now we do, and pretty easily. A good game, Rangers didn’t play extremely well but did just enough to win. Anyway, at intermission, I’m milling about on the concourse before going back to my seat and suddenly somebody yells “Danimal”! It’s four guys from Colgate who made the trip from NYC, three of them huge Ranger fans (which I knew). Why is it so random? Getting from the city to the Mausoleum is not easy to do, as you have to drive or take a bus/cab from a train station elsewhere in Nassau County. Plus I could easily have been anywhere in the arena except where I was at that moment in time. Same for them, and in other scenarios. We’ve all been there. Yet it still happens.

Regardless, nice to catch up with people I hadn’t spoken to in a while. Oh, and also to see that Colgate students don’t just like hockey when they’re watching the Raiders play Clarkson or Cornell!

Back to the Grind

Mostly a quiet day at work today. A part-serious, part-irreverent profile of me is now ready on the “About Me” page. You decide which is which!

So much for the Giants. Can’t say I’m completely shocked though, plenty of hints leading up to the game that they were beatable, and simply getting a team they already face twice each year seems to be a bad omen in the NFL. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardinals clip the Eagles though. Man can they pass the ball, and they’re at home for the game. Steelers-Ravens will probably be the more compelling game though.

And from what I read/saw of Bush’s press conference today, believe me, we are going to miss him when he leaves office. Lots of comedy fodder in a time when we clearly need it. I suppose we really have misunderestimated him over the past few years.

What do you think? What do you want me to add to this blog? Feel free to post comments on both of those, if you like.

Not Exactly a Saturday in the Park…

As the Northeast begins a week or two of truly miserable weather, the kind I thought I’d mostly seen the back of after leaving Colgate, I find myself half-blogging, half-trying to get rid of spyware. So much for relaxation and reading before the NFL Playoffs tonight.

With any luck, maybe things will warm up and brighten up a bit by Inauguration Day. Nothing like literary symbolism for the start of what we keep hearing will be a new era in this country. Color me a little unsure about that- maybe it’s the classes on U.S. government I took at school to supplement my English and History majors, or the headlines this week about wasted TARP funds and nearly trillion dollar economic recovery plans. Hey, I suppose Barack Obama’s fiscal management can only be an improvement on what we got from George W. Bush! Forget the comparisons to Truman. Bush and his advisors have made enough serious errors that history will not absolve them, whatever happens in the Middle East. Plus early indications are we might now have a government led by some competent people. No more fiascoes like this!