"Right Now, I Hate Baseball" *

I've had my share of baseball disappointments and heartbreak. But this ... this just might be the worst ever.

It isn't as crushing as last year's Game 7 loss. Last season was magical and everything seemed like it was going to turn the Mets' way after Endy's catch. Then in a flash, it was over. And the World Series victory to be didn't happen.
But this is worse. Over 17 excruciating games, I watched this team self-destruct. Hell, it feels like this has been going on for a month now and kind of has been if you include the four game sweep in Philadelphia at the beginning of September. But then the Mets built back their lead and took a 7(!) game lead with 17 games left. The playoffs tickets were printed. I know because I have them.

What went wrong with this team? What happened? The offense was for the most part very good but couldn't get the big hit when it mattered. Look at today. They had Willis on the ropes but left 8 runners on in the first 3 innings. What the fuck? That little league play in the first inning that plated three Florida runs was an embarrassment. This whole thing is embarrassing. But, of course, the pitching and boneheaded defensive plays were the real culprits. Other than Pedro, I can't think of one pitcher on the staff that didn't do his best to sabotage the season at one point or another during the last month. The bullpen has been much maligned but no excuses can be made for Glavine's last two starts and Perez's hideous performance on Friday. Disgusting.
And that is why this is worse than last year. The '07 Mets will be forever linked with the '64 Phillies. For the record, I don't care what anyone says - that still remains the worst choke of all time. 6 1/2 with 12 left is worse than what the Mets did. If the Mets had only 12 games left rather than 17, they would have won the division. Still, this team will never be forgotten in baseball history for its ineptitude.

The Mets play the Phillies 19 times a year. Philadelphia is only two hours away. Mets fans will never ever hear the end of this. The Yankees, after stumbling through the first half of the season, look poised to do big things this postseason. I want to console myself that the Yankees blowing a 3-0 lead in the '04 ALCS is worse than this but it isn't. At least they were in the playoffs. And at least they lost to a great team. The Mets lost 6 out of 7 to end the season to two terrible teams and a mediocre one. Truly embarrassing.

Yesterday was a tease. How amazing would it have been if after all of this, it was the Phillies who blew it? But it wasn't meant to be. Not this year.

Stone Groove called to leave a message that it was better to have contended and lost than to have never contended at all. I agree but when the disappointment is so profound, it is hard to look at the positive right now.

*A quote from Moises Alou

A Jukebox for SHR

My honey has wanted a jukebox for as long as she can remember. Perhaps it was after liking the one that was on Silver Spoons? I know that I've always liked them since I was four-years-old and I fell in love with how cool the Fonz was.

For many months, I've been trying to figure out where to get one. Luckily, a few weeks ago, a woman came into Go Fish and asked Erik if he was interested in buying a jukebox for the store. He told her that he had a friend who did and immediately got in touch with me.

This past Sunday, I bought it. Erik, the woman's husband, and I navigated the 280 pound '77 Wurlitzer out of their basement, up a few stairs, and into Erik's van.

The sellers - Loraine and Nat
I called Jim and Marc for some help. I called SHR and told her to come outside for a surprise. As she turned the corner, she saw the jukebox in the back of the van. She was so shocked that she didn't even know what to say. She said that she didn't know what to think after finally getting something that she has wanted her entire life.
Celebration dinner at Graziella's.

Now all we have to do is get a 15 dollar belt for the turntable and we'll be set. I can't wait to start loading it up with 45's.

I also am excited to be excited about record shopping again. That used to be one of my all time favorite things to do but over the past number of years, I either order my music online or listen to what SHR brings home. I miss the feeling of going into a record store and not knowing what treasure I might stumble upon. Now I'll be on a mission to stock my jukebox.

Who wants to make a trip to Pittsburgh with me to go to Jerry's?

War = Dodgeball

Bumblebee Girl asked this question today:

How do people decide when a war is over? Is it like dodgeball when everyone is out on one side? Is that how they know?

Caramel Apple Sugar Babies!

Oh my god! Has anyone else had these? They are amazing!

I was introduced to them yesterday by (who else) Mitch. Where have you gone Handwashings? A lonely candy nation turns its eyes to you. We need a full fledged review on your blog!

Sunday Night Hearbreak?

I think not.

On Friday, I was down in the dumps. The Mets had lost 6 out of 7 and suffered an excruciating loss on Thursday night. I fully expected that by Monday, their tenuous 1 and 1/2 game lead would be gone by Monday morning.

But after a shaky three game weekend sweep, the Mets hold a less tenuous 2 and 1/2 game lead.

On Friday's weekly end of the week quiz, I asked my students to draw a picture of how they thought I would look on Monday morning if the Mets were no longer in first place. Here are a few of my favorites.

A bonfire of Mets gear would have occurred.

I'm paddling away?

An unsuspecting student would find me crying at the computer.
I hate the Mets bullpen!

Hmmmm ....

5 Things On My Mind Right Now

1. Trapped in the Closet II is absolute crap. Easily the most disappointing sequel since Return of the Jedi. R. Kelly might be in on the joke now but it is a bad joke.

2. I'm loving my move to fourth grade but I'm damn tired. I'm staying at school close to 7 pm almost everyday. Yet I am enjoying every minute.

3. I'm becoming kind of obsessed with the new M.I.A. record.

4. The Mets are really depressing me. But this video makes me happy. Thanks Dave for sending me the link.

5. Tell Me You Love Me is not very good.

Ahpa's Birthday

After some outdoor bocce in Bensonhurst, it was time to head to Fort Lee for some serious Ahpa celebrating.

I'm still not sure what this gift is all about but I can't take my eyes off of it.


Could the Buddha be the cutest kid ever? Perhaps. Sorry Peanut.



The Buddha movie that SHR can't stop watching.

On the way back to Brooklyn, we stopped at the warehouse - my first visit. It's too bad that Hot Tub Eric doesn't live here because I definitely could see him working early mornings, weekends, and holidays hauling fish just like he always says he would if he still lived in NY.

I scored some nice shirts and a jacket on the visit.

Bocce in Bensonhurst

Marc and the rest of the bocce folks have played bocce on outdoor courts many times over the past year or so. For various reasons, I've never been able to make it. Even though I had to leave a bit early from this outing, I still got a lot of playing time in.

Jim should really wear visors all the time.
The kid wearing red was a big fan of SHR and Beth. He implored them to roll well and gave them good advice like "Aim slow" or something like that.

We were having a bit of fun but nothing out of the ordinary. That is until three older gentleman asked if they could take us on. We said sure. They went to their storage space and put on their game wear. They dumped their own balls onto the court and then told us we could use ours if we wanted. Um, not after you just dumped yours on top of ours. I began to get worried.

From left to right: Grumpy guy who wanted to have nothing to do with us, Frank, and Lenny.
Marc went over the ground rules with our new pals. He was quite afraid that we were going to get hustled. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded getting hustled by a guy wearing a "Grandpa: An American Classic" t-shirt.
We had the Mets game on at both ends of the court.

They spotted us a 1-0 lead to make us feel good. Then they absolutely destroyed us by a score of 12-1. Ouch.
This shot might have been the only bad shot of the day by the old-timers. I wish that I had taken more movies but this will have to do. I like the grumpy guy's rolling style.

I also really like their pallino.

Frank helps Lenny with his balance as he measures the distance between two balls.

Frank (the one of the right) watches his protege roll. As we were choosing teams for the second game to mix things up after the first game drubbing, Frank made a beeline to SHR, pointed at her and said, "I'll take you."
I loved playing with those guys and really need to get back there soon to see what Frank and Lenny are up to.

If Someone Steals Your Newspaper

Is it okay to take someone else's seeing as how you made it to the lobby before they did?

Happy Birthday Darling

The festivities were held a day early at Sidecar.

The B 69

With the new school year right around the corner (the kids show up tomorrow) I realized it was time to post a couple of my bus experiences from last spring.

From September '99 to April '07, I was lucky enough to be able to walk to work. I still could but it would probably take me 35+ minutes so I take the bus. I share the bus with a lot of middle schoolers. Some of whom always sat behind me for a good portion of the ride.

Every morning, they were quite loud and they cursed like drunken sailors. Gotta love middle schoolers! One morning, a woman on the bus decided to talk to them. She got up from her seat and sat down next to them.

Women: You are so nice. You are great kids. You are so full of energy. I hear you everyday having so much fun. But you know cursing is not nice.

The kids were all silent.

Woman: When I see you tomorrow you will be happy. You are good kids but no cursing, right? God bless you. No one wants to hear you curse. Plus it makes you look bad. God bless.

The kids were still silent. When they got off the bus, they all started cracking up in the universal middle schooler's way of saving face.

Another time, another kid called out to me, "Hey white dude! Hey white dude!" I pretended not to hear but I guess I should have responded just to see what he wanted. I won't make the same mistake this year.

Lastly, I also overheard a great conversation amongst a few of them about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. One kid kept asking his friend if he had seen it. He kept trying to describe it to his friend. "Oh man, that shit was funny. It had like Abraham Lincoln and some other guy in it."

What's will this year's bus adventures yield?

Summer Reading

Sweet Soul Music by Peter Guralnick, 1986
The past few years I've gotten more and more into finding out about old soul music. SHR bought me this book to help me in this endeavor and I appreciate it. The book had some great stories of some of the giants - Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Otis Redding, Stax Records. My favorite section was the one about Solomon Burke. That man is out of his mind. I need to know more about him.

The book was good but I think I'd prefer a straight up oral history like Please Kill Me to this. Guralnick just doesn't strike me as that engaging of a writer - at least back in 1986. I am interested to read some of his other books as well to compare to this one. I also would take a Hot Tub Eric mix any day over simply reading a book about music - maybe as a companion piece to the book would be the ideal solution.


The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, 1997
I've wanted to read one of Murakami's books for awhile but this was the only one we had in house and the book's length (600 pages) scared me away. But Summer Dan has time for such endeavors so I picked this book up in mid June.

I'm glad that I did because this is one of the best novels I've ever read. The plot is so intricate and so fascinating that I can't stop thinking about it. I don't even want to get into trying to describe the plot because there is so much to it. But it is always completely readable and only seldom confusing - but confusing in a good way. I would love to see HBO make an 8 part miniseries of this movie directed by Tsai Ming-liang or Michel Gondry. So dreamlike. So frightening at times. So incredibly amazing. I was blown away by this book.


South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami, 1998
After reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I had to read more Murakami. Whereas The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was an epic, this book was a nice cleansing of the palate. It was a super quick read which was nice since it took me weeks to read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Since this came out a year after Wind-Up Bird, I wonder if this was Murakami's intent.

The book is about a jazz club owner, happily married with two kids, and what happens when his one true love reappears in his life. He hasn't even seen her since they were twelve-years-old. I enjoyed this book but compared to the previous one I had read, it wasn't even close. It had a little mystery but it wasn't magical like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. But then again, I really don't think that Murakami was shooting for a similar kind of book.


Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami, 2001
The third of my trilogy of Murakami Summer '07. And my least favorite. If South of the Border was slight, this one was even slighter. I was blown away by Wind-Up Bird and breezed through South of the Border. This one was rather pedestrian and took me longer to finish than I expected it to because it just didn't excite me much. I'm not anti-Murakami in the slightest. I'm ready for more. But I'm going to take a little break.

Camera Obscura at South St. Seaport