Month: November 2003

So there we were in our “on-camera” seats at the PBA Geico open, on the right hand side of the lane, about four rows back. Understand, it costs extra money to get the on-camera seats. Last year, though, we had seats all the way at the far end, down by the pins, and friends and family who tuned in to see us said they never did. So this year I figured, y’know what, spend the extra money, Ariel will get a kick out of it, you only go around once.

So who did the cameramen spend most of the time focusing on when they weren’t close-up on the pros?

Four blondes in tank tops holding up individual letters that spelled “ESPN.” Where were they sitting? In the cheap seats at the far end down by the pins.

Guess I should have seen that one coming.

The games themselves ranged from blowouts (the guy we were rooting for, Jeff Lizzi, got blown out of the water by about sixty pins in the semi-finals) to squeakers (rookie Chris Johnson was cruising as he opened with six strikes. Then he left a 7-10 split and failed to pick up either pin with his second ball…a costly error when he wound up losing the match by one stick.) The winner was Pat Healey Jr., for those who keep track of such things.

Frickin’ blondes. Bet they had more fun, too.

PAD

Is common sense more common than the common cold? And are either found to be more common in England’s House of Commons? And is it true that the sentence, “Carmen Miranda had a common veranda?” reads exactly the same forwards and backwards if you’re insane? Or illiterate? Or both?

Spent a good chunk of the day at the Big Apple Convention, meeting and greeting fans and signing a ton of comics. Everyone was gracious and friendly, and quite a few had nice things to say about both “Captain Marvel” and, most gratifyingly (considering where it stands in the sales rankings) “Fallen Angel.” Also quite a few said they read this blog, so a big hello to all who do. It was great to see you all.

Won’t be at the convention tomorrow. As noted earlier, if you want to see me, put on ESPN between 1 and 2:30 PM and maybe you’ll spot us at the bowling competition. We’ll probably be wearing our “Pirates of the Caribbean” shirts.

PAD

If you should let sleeping dogs lie, should dogs who are awake be compelled to tell the truth?

PAD

As aggressive as mankind is about not learning from his mistakes, there is at least one valuable lesson that’s been learned insofar as shameful behavior by Americans go.

When soldiers returned from Vietnam, they were treated like each and every one was a war criminal. Remember? “Baby killers!” people would shout at them. Many soldiers who come back from wars have to deal with the difficult readjustment, but it was far tougher for the Vietnam vets because they returned to such a hostile environment. It was disgraceful.

Now, no matter how unpopular the war in Iraq may get (and that’s what we have, make no mistake), it seems that one theme is justly recurring: Support the troops. At least now there’s an understanding that these guys are just trying to do an impossible job under impossible conditions. Although there may be strident disagreement as to why we’re in Iraq and whether we should be or not, let’s be thankful that at least there’s–as near as I can tell–a total lack of condemnation of the people who are over there and consistent support for them when they return.

And if Bush was going to visit them, as he did, certainly the manner in which he did was the eminently smart way to go about it. In general I’m not a big fan of the press being lied to, but in this instance, advertising his dropping into a war zone would have been madness.

PAD

It’s not whether you win or lose…it’s whether *I* win or lose.

PAD