Charles Barkley is a funny man

Maybe it's because I love a good internet troll (incidently, this is why I usually understand that Justice is just being an asshole - doesn't mean I like his troll-fu, because it's terrible, but I understand the bastard), but this interview (you have to look for it) with Charles Barkley is freakin hilarious. And I don't think that the interviewers "get it" until about the time the Round Mound of Rebound insists that he was always in great shape during his Rockets years.

Great Parts:
(1) Calls Yao Ming a Communist
(2) Says Tracy McGrady probably wasn't able to get out of the first round of his softball tournament. He also would get hurt playing connect four.
(3) Calls out Rafer Alston for his streetball crap (this is a legitimate beef, actually, but Rafer doesn't do that too often anymore).
(4) Says the Rockets will finish 10th (but because it's the city of Houston, he'll bump them up to 9th).
(5) They're hurrible and turrible

Barkley's commentary last night was more serious: if the Rockets have T-Mac and Yao healthy, and if Artest doesn't fuck up, they'll be awesome. That's essentially the line that everyone has been parroting, but it's the truth. I honestly think that this crap with Artest is overblown - he clearly enjoys playing here (did you see how quickly he came to Yao's defense last night?) and the Rockets have given him a minder. He'll be fine. As I've said previously, injuries are unpredictable. They can sideline any team.

Hells Yeah! Eat Shit Dallas!

Not really a pretty win for the Rockets, but I suspect they'll take it. Defense was not "Best in the NBA" quality, but Artest was in Tru Warier form, instead of Crazy Pills form. However, he was called on a COMPLETELY BULLSHIT technical foul. He runs into the crowd of players forming around the site of a controversial call, attempting to pull Yao to the free-throw line. But first he touches Howard on the arm, sending the Dallas shittards into a frenzy. So he gets called with a technical for no fuckin reason but the fact that he's Ron Artest.

Everyone shot incredibly well from the line. Artest is actually fairly good at capitalizing on free-throws, so that's not entirely surprising, but T-Mac was 10-11. Yao has yet to miss a free throw shot thus far. Pretty cool.

What this game really highlited was how ridiculously deep this team is. During the fourth-quarter Rockets surge, neither Tracy nor Yao played. It was Artest and and the rest. And even whilst being matched up against the Dallas starters, they pushed Houston ahead. This team is so chock-full of great role-players, it's heart-warming.

As has been noted elsewhere (rather humorously in Free Darko's season "preview":

While watching Golden State struggle to get rebounds, Joey Dorsey wonders aloud why the team that already has Luis Scola, Carl Landry, and Chuck Hayes was the one that drafted him.

and in Basketball Prospectus' season preview for the Southwest Divison), we've got a lot of highly-skilled power forwards that we acquired for cheap. And while it's cool to be able to have Scola, Hayes, Landry, and now Dorsey at the position, one wonders what Morey could turn Hayes or Landry or Dorsey into. A truly solid point guard? A new knee for McGrady?

Still, it really illustrates how awesome Morey has been. He's drafted incredibly well out of the second round. And he's used those picks to either solidify an already awesome bench or add to the team's other weapons. I mean, he can't turn Joey Dorsey into Chris Paul, but he might be able to get something better than what we have.

On the other hand, Alston and Brooks are doing alright. In that same BP preview, you can take a look at the expected WARP values for all the Rockets. What's intriguing is that none of them project to be anything less than average. That's incredible, especially given the reputations of Alston and Head.

Anyways, an exciting win that showcases the Rockets' new scoring threats. This is going to be a great season.

Sometimes I wonder why I pay attention to this crap

So I'm watching that Around the Horn crap, and Bill "What the hell is he talkin 'bout" Plaschke says that Lidge's season was the best by any closer he's ever seen. Now, I'm willing to believe that, because I doubt that Plaschke has seen much. He seems to just talk out of his ass.

But this wasn't even Lidge's best season. That was his second season in the league - 2004. He posted a WHIP of 0.919 and an ERA of 1.90. Now, he wasn't the full-time closer that year, so maybe we shouldn't count it. But this season wasn't that much different from his 2005 season - it just ended differently.

Still, what was the best single season for a closer? I think we can narrow this one down to three seasons: Eric Gagne's 2003 season, Billy Wagner's 1997 season (maybe 2003, too), and Mariano Rivera's 2008 season (again, maybe 2005 or 2001).

So what do we find when we look at the statistics (I'll be looking at WARP on this one; it's not perfect but it's pretty good)? Well, as I said, this wasn't Lidge's best season: 2004 was (9.0 vs. 6.3).

Gas Can's 1999 season was his best (though not by much: 8.1 in 1999 vs 8.0 in 2003). Mariano Rivera's 2008 season was his best ever (an incredible 10.3 wins above replacement) while Eric Gagne's 2003 season was obviously his best (10.1 WARP).

Now, I don't think WARP tells the whole story, but it does a damn fine job of it. And Lidge's "perfect season" is an impressive accomplishment. But Lidge wasn't even the best closer this season! Rivera blew only one save this year, right? What's the difference between that and Lidge's extra save? Rivera (and as much as I loathe the Yankees, he deserves props for this) possibly had the best season for a closer ever (again, this would require a lot more statistical analysis), but he's been overshadowed by Francisco Rodriguez and Brad Lidge. That's too bad.

Going to watch the Rockets-Mavs game. Fuck Dallas, baby!

Anus-Clinchingly Awful

Holy shit, that looks painful. One of UH's receivers (and apparently one of the better ones) SNAPS HIS LEG ON IMPACT with some band carts. Ouch. I don't know what kind of damage that does to his career. Obviously, he's out for the season, but who knows how he'll do down the line?

Hey everybody, turns out we're pretty good

Daryl Morey is probably the best GM in the NBA. That's a bold statement for a guy who's still relatively new at this, but the man has shown he knows what he is doing. He inherited the Rockets' two big pieces - the Yao Ming - T-Mac tandem - and he has constructed a deep lineup of role-players around them. Shane Battier, Luis Scola, Carl Landry, and Brent Barry add secondary scoring threats and stellar defense to a team that already has two of the NBA's elite. The addition of Ron Artest has made (if everyone stays healthy come playoff time) the Rockets a true force in the Western Conference. Morey was instrumental in replacing Jeff Van Gundy (a great guy and a superb coach, but one whose defensive style added little to the Rockets) with the offensive-minded Rick Adelman. Adelman has constructed an efficient offense around our players, and his offensive philosophy will only further add to the Rockets' scoring threats.

Now, however, Morey is out of the picture. He can't really add anything to the team. Deke will probably be signed around the deadline for what will probably be one of his final seasons. But after that addition, there will be little that Morey can do.

It's up to Adelman to use the tools that Morey has given him. The Rockets are deep enough to exploit virtually any matchup their opponents throw at them, and Adelman's style will make sure that everyone gets time on the court. There won't be any dead weight on the bench. Like I said - efficient.

Of course, the Rockets have two major weaknesses. Both are really up to luck at this point - point guards and injuries.

They can't change anything at point guard. Steve Francis is here to stay. Rafer Alston is usually pretty bad, but he has moments of greatness. Aaron Brooks isn't terrible. But we don't know. Maybe Alston has a good season. Maybe Francis comes back from his injury and recaptures some of his youthful greatness. These are unknowns, and the Rockets can't do anything about them now.

Injuries can be protected against - making sure that Yao and T-Mac don't overextend themselves in the regular season. But it really comes down to luck. If we are unlucky, both injur themselves and are out for the season, leaving us with only Artest. If we are lucky, both stay healthy and are monsters in the playoffs. Again, there is nothing the Rockets can do about this - it's just luck of the draw.

But this should be a good season. This is their year to win it. I don't believe the Lakers are as good as everyone thinks they are. I think we can match up well against New Orleans. I think the Spurs don't have it in them, the Mavericks suck this year, and the Suns are a joke. The Jazz will falter. The Blazers will make the playoffs, but will fall victim to a much better team. My prediction for the Western Conference Championship - Hornets vs. Rockets. The Final will be between the Rockets and Celtics. The Rockets will win it all.

This team has the potential to exceed the greatness of the 1995 Rockets. And just like the Dream-Glide Rockets of more than a decade ago, the Yao-T-Mac-Tru Wariar Rockets of 2009 are doubted by the media. It's their year to win it.

Ugh. I'm sick as hell. Indigestion or something. Thrown up three times. Awful.

Anyways, I watched the Indy-Sister Fuckers game. I'm always surprised by how the MNF announcers fellate certain teams. Typically, the Colts are on the receiving end of that fellatio, but tonight Tennessee took their place.

They couldn't shut the fuck up about how much shit the Titans had to go through after the move from Houston. Yep, they didn't have a stadium ready. Yep, they didn't have practice facilities. I wonder where they could have had those things? Fuck Bud Adams. Fuck hick country. Bunch of inbred assholes.

Texans get their first 3-game win streak ever.

And they get their largest margin of victory ever (29 pts), highest QB rating (145.0), highest completion percentage (86%), Dunta broke the franchise record for career interceptions (12), and Andre Johnson made 11 receptions for 143 yards. Jacoby Jones got his 2nd punt-return TD of the season (another franchise record). Damn. The Bengals made the Texans look good.

Granted, AJ was playing against the worst team in the AFC, but he continues to show that he's the best receiver in the conference, if not the NFL. I've read many commentators who have said he's a young Terrell Owens. I'd agree (he drops more passes than TO - though that's just my impression, so it's probably not true), plus he doesn't have Owens' psychological issues. But because he's not a prima-donna, AJ doesn't get the same national exposure. It's too bad.

Anyways, it was a good win. The defense looked good. The offense was awesome. Special teams were excellent. But it was just the Bengals. Next week, they go up against the hapless Vikings. It will be a real test, even if the Vikings are awful. Their awfulness is largely confined to their special teams and QB situation, however, so we'll see how bad they are against the Texans.

It sucks being a Texans fan

Not only do we root for a shitty team, we get fucked by the NFL. NOLA's CBS (and Fox, too) feels that bull riding brings better ratings than the Texans, so the only Texans game I've seen on TV is the tragic Indy loss.

And, this week (and for most of last week's) I can't find a stream on the internet. Fuckin sucks when two shitty teams play each other - nobody on the internet bothers to stream it.

So I've got to listen to Mark Vandemeer. Which could be worse, but it still sucks.

Maybe we won't lose this one (the Bengals have a good passing game, and our pass defense is awful, however). But the Bengals just went 3-and-out on the opening drive, and Jacoby Jones took the punt return in for the touchdown. Sweet.

Vidjagames and Such

I'm faced with something of a dillema: I want to get Fable 2 (I enjoyed the first Fable, despite the fact that it was nothing like what it was promised to be), but Fallout 3 is coming out in a week. Add to that the fact that NBA 2K9 is out, and I have three major games on the to-play list. NBA 2K9 can wait a while, but the other two are kind of a toss-up. I can buy both, of course, but then I'm liable to get absolutely nothing done between now and finals. Difficult choice.

Both Fable 2 and Fallout 3 are supposed to be really awesome RPGs. They don't make many of those any more - Black Isle is dead, BioWare is making RPGs that are more like adventure games, anyways, and only Bethesda is still making real, American-style role playing games.

I still think, eight years after the fact, that Baldur's Gate 2 was the greatest CRPG ever made. I still play the fucking thing. It's awesome. Never gets old, especially with all the mods available for it these days.

What's a shame is that no companies are making this type of game anymore. BioWare makes party-based games, but you have little control over your party and less over the story (don't get me wrong, Mass Effect is great, but I'd like to be able to, you know, pick whether or not I'm going to let the weird aliens tag along with me. I'd especially like to be able to take them with me when I'm on a mission. This "party of three" thing they pull with all of their games these days really pisses me off.) Their Dragon Age game might be cool, but it still seems like it will pull that same bullshit.

If I were making a new RPG, here's what I'd do:
1) Real time, but pausable. Baldur's Gate innovated this, so why do companies keep half-assing it a decade later?
2) Party-based. Lots of party-able NPC's available, and I get to take 5-6 of them with me. Again, this has been around since the 1980s, so why does everyone fuck this up?
3) LET ME FUCKING CONTROL MY PARTY MEMBERS! - Christ, I'm tired of seeing my party members run into my line of fire (I'm looking at you Fallouts 1 and 2). Just let me control the dumb bastards. Makes it more tactical, to boot.
3) Non-epic story. Games don't always have to be "save the world." I'd like to see storylines pursue slightly more down-to-earth goals, like save the country or whatever. This makes it easier to add sequels, too, since you didn't just wreak havic on your fantasy world.
4) Non-linear, lots of side-quests. I like to take my time. Let me. I paid $50+ for your fucking game, after all.
5) If you're going to pursue the moral angle, give me more than "good and bad." I'd like to see a legitimate difference between a Utilitarian world view and a nihlist one - all too often, games try to pigeonhole the player into pursuing only two paths. That sucks.
6) Elves with guns. Arcanum was cool.

See? It's simple. They should pay me to do this shit. I'd be pretty good.

Astros sign some dude from Taiwan

Apparently, the Astros' Asian scouting division is getting something done, and the Good Guys now include Chia-Jen Lo. He's 22 years old, and this would be his first professional gig. He tops out at 95 mph on his fastball and throws a curveball, according to BR Bullpen. So it seems like he's a reliever. I can't find anything else, stats-wise, about him. We also only paid $250,000 for him, beating out Boston's offer of $200,000. Cool.

Allison Footer - atypically chipper this week - douses fans' hopes for a Peavy trade:

Now it's time to step back into my glass-half-empty mode. Would that be enough for the Padres to deal Peavy to Houston? Maybe. But to deal those aforementioned pitchers sacrifices the future and overall health of the organization. Insiders are really excited about the '08 Draft class, and I believe that the team is on its way to rebuilding what has been lost over the last five years. But they need depth. They need to develop their own players. And getting rid of them -- all of them -- for Peavy, who has a ton of money coming to him over the next four years, may not be the best route to take.

This is the point I've been trying to make for the last week about this potential trade. Any trade will invariably hurt the Astros organization more than it helps the big-league club - particularly if it involves trading Spaz or Bogusevic or what little young pitching we have. As I posted over at the Crawfish Boxes (yes, I'm enough of an asshole to quote myself):

But from everything I’ve read, Wade blends both “traditional” evaluation and statistical evaluation, which should mean that given enough time, the Astros will improve. I know we Astros fans are eager to see immediate change (it’s why so many of us want to see Ben Sheets in an Astros uniform), but it’s going to take some time.

I've said it before: give the Astros a few seasons, and we will once again be a powerhouse. Just give it time, folks.

Hey, remember Drew Sutton?

I mentioned him about two months ago, when I was attempting to show how Ed Wade could cut payroll significantly and blow up the roster. Well, turns out he's tearing up the Arizona Fall League: he's batting .636/1.125/1.761 in 10 games. Granted, that's a small sample size, but if he has a strong showing, the Astros' 2B situation is going to be very interesting. If Sutton hits well coming out of spring training, I'd hate to see Ed Wade treat Sutton like Purpura did with Pence - if he's good, put him in MLB games right away. Kazuo is going to go down at some point next season. Even if he doesn't get injured, Sutton should get the opportunity to compete for the starting spot. Really, I wouldn't mind just calling Sutton up and trading Matsui - if Sutton is a disaster we can still use Loretta.

After Bogusevic recovered from a slight hamstring tweaking, he's gone .357/.435/.792 in 8 games. Not destroying anything, but that's alright. If he has a strong showing this fall, he's probably going to give Bourn a run for his money during spring training, too.

Vince the Idiot

Da Good, Da Bad, and DeMeco has a pretty hilarious post up about Vince Young's most recent press conference. The best part:

"[Collins] and me, we talk all the time. All the time. For anything. Not just football but off the field things, business-wise, accounts. All kinds of stuff.'"

Why, just the other day, Kerry and Vince held court in the lockerroom regarding the current financial crisis, during which Vince opined that the largest problem is the lack of consumer confidence in the value of mortgage-backed securities. Vince advocated riding out the stock market fluctuations if you are still in at this point, though Kerry proposed that you should always have a stop-loss selling point in mind. Vince countered that, were someone still in, they likely passed a realistic stop-loss number a while ago.

Hah. As I've said previously, I think Vince Young can still be a good QB. His completion percentage rose last year (though he didn't get any increase in yards from it), and he might still be able to develop further. There's a pretty small window on that, however, I think it's doubtful he'll get the coaching he needs. That's not a knock on the Titans' coaching staff, it's just that the guy probably requires a very specialized touch.

Just to make things absolutely clear:

Eat shit:
1) Boston / New England
2) Cowboys fans (and, by extension, Dallas)
3) Dallas (deserves its own)
4) Indianapolis

Houston wins (was WAY too close for comfort by the end, there, but a win is a win), Dallas loses, Boston loses. Great day. Now I don't really give a shit about what happens in the World Series, since I hate neither team, but I'd rather have the Phillies win. Having the Rays accomplish in 10 years what took the Astros 42 years is painful enough, but having them win a World Series would suck. Of course, those fucks in Arizona and Florida have titles, so fuck them. In any case, having the Yankees of the 21st Century lose some is pretty awesome, since we all hate those fucks in New England.

But the Cowboys lost to the fucking Rams. And the Colts got blown out. The only thing that would have made this better would have been if the Tennessee Sister-Fuckers had lost, too.

I've been fucking around with Madden lately

I started a franchise game where I upped Slaton's stats slightly (79 -> 82) and traded Schaub and a 3rd round pick to the Titans for Vince Young. They were more than happy to take the trade and have someone other than an alcoholic with the shakes running the offense, and I was more than happy to see what virtual-Vince could do with some real receivers.

Thus far, I've been impressed. Obviously, video games are no way to evaluate players, but virtual Vince has added a fairly interesting dynamic to the Texans' offense. And with guys like Owen Daniels, Andre Davis, Kevin Walter, and (most importantly) our man Andre Johnson there to bail virtual-Vince out, it leads to interesting plays. The AI prefers to blitz virtual-Vince, but virtual-Vince is faster than the defense most of the time, which usually buys enough time for the receivers in the secondary to get open. My favorite play is using play action (Slaton is scary enough for most defenses to guard against his run, too), scrambling outside towards the line of scrimmage, and then throwing a long pass out to AJ or KW. Pretty cool.

Obviously, virtual-Vince isn't as mind-bogglingly stupid as real Vince. So he doesn't throw into coverage as often. But it's a fun experiment.

I think the real Vince Young might yet develop into a good QB. Unfortunately for him, he's been the victim of being rushed into the starting position and probably being retarded. It's really too bad that Bud Adams forced the Titans management to draft the poor bastard, because they have totally botched his development.

Hey, now I'm the hipster douche!

I was a communist before it was cool.

And then I dropped it right as it got "mainstream." Shit, I knew I was a trendsetter. Pretty soon, everyone is going to leave Communism and become Syndicalists, and then I'll drop that for neo-feudalism. It'll be great, I promise.

Seriously though, anybody attempting to read Capital as a guide to what is going wrong in the current crisis is a fucking fool. That is some dense reading material, and anybody without at least some economics training is going to be lost.

Anyways, anyone looking for a slightly better evaluation of orthodox Marxism needs to read:
1) Marx's Revenge by Meghnad Desai
2) Beyond Marxism by Sidney Hook

Good discussions of the classic misinterpretations of Marx's work. I think Hook might be a little off, given that he thought Marx really had some sort of moral considerations, but he puts up a good argument. Desai is a relatively famous economist, and he shows where (particularly in Capital) Marx may have realized that Capitalism was not necessarily doomed to failure. On the other hand, the failure of Keynesianism and the victories of the neo-Classicals like Friedman might mean that Marx was right, after all. Keynes' work really fucked with what Marx thought was necessary, and Friedman's work shows that Capitalism really can't be "fixed."

The problem Marx presents is that he had such an ambivalent view towards Capitalism. He saw it, I suppose, as something similar to a walk in baseball - a good thing, but not the best thing. It made real surplus of wealth possible for the first time in human history, but it came at the cost of exploitation and inequality.

In any case, anybody who's turned off of Capitalism from this little spat in the economy needs to get a grip. But if they're looking for some sort of answer to the damn thing, don't look to the classical Communist parties. They're a bunch of tools.

As usual, nobody knows what the hell they're talking about.

For the last week of so, the Jake Peavy rumors have been flying. And the Crawfish Boxes has a good post about the possible effects of such a trade.

Look, a trade for Peavy is pretty unlikely. As in, about 1000 to 1. But Peavy has stated that he'd really like to pitch in Houston. No doubt that the presence of Roy (with whom Peavy owns a hunting ranch in Michigan) is a big part of that.

While I think Wade could do worse than gathering Roy and Lance's hunting buddies into a team (remember how hard they were lobbying for Sheets?), the Astros really should be focusing on rebuilding. The only way I can see this working is if the Astros concoct some three-way trade for Peavy, which would be exceedingly difficult. If we were able to get rid of Tejada in such a trade, all the better. Otherwise, I have no clue as to how such a trade would happen.

A chronicle of everything wrong with my generation.

College life has exposed me to a larger cross-section of my generation. It's a really astounding thing. Maybe it's that Tulane is filled with a bunch of wealthy Yankee fucks, but the whole experience has been rather disturbing. It really makes me question the optimism with which I typically view the future.

And there is no better example of the douchebaggery of our youth than in the Tulane Hullabaloo. Let's take a look at this week's editorial page, shall we?

Let's start off with a piece on abortion. Now, I know the guy who wrote this, and Will's a great guy, but he's totally fucking off base on this.

Add to that the belief that unless we get a chance to dip a soul in water, the all-knowing and all-powerful God is forced to make that soul burn for an eternity of torture. If you believe that, you're definitely going to have problems with abortion, and it makes sense that you would want to prevent others who happen to have different beliefs from having a say in the matter.

Unfortunately for the pro-life folks, it seems a majority of America doesn't agree - otherwise we would have stopped debating Roe v. Wade and started shooting doctors a long time ago.

Seriously? First he mischaracterizes the views of billions of religious people, then he insinuates that pro-lifers want to shoot doctors. Look, man - if you're attempting to critically examine the abortion debate, then do it. But this crap only further hurts the situation.

Then he gives Don Marquis' famous argument against abortion and argues against it with the basic shit we learned in Professor Courtland's Ethics 103 class. I'll skewer this shit another time. But suffice it to say that I'm sure Will isn't ready to really look at the ontology of embryos and humans. And if he can't do that (nobody really can in 500 words), then maybe he should stop trying.

Then we have a pair of political pieces that offer nothing new and simply parrot their respective parties' lines. I never said that this generation was politically disaffected. Just stupid.

We have the "Campus Question:" What do you think about the recent increase in sexual assault on and near campus? Well, Hullabaloo staff, I'm sure everything thinks it's pretty shitty. Some of the answers given:

"It sucks!" (No shit, really?)
"I don't know. I think it's awful."
"I think it's something that obviously and absolutely needs to be prevented."
"I think it's scary."

How insightful!

And, finally, we have the coup-de-grace. A piece by our resident hipster douchebag. Honestly, you can't make this shit up. And I'm sorry to all of those who won't get to see the writer's awesome staff photo, because this shit really needs to be seen. He's got the ironic smirk, ironic mullet, and ironic v-neck. Christ, I hate this school.

Really, I love his characterization of himself and his hipster friends as "young intellectuals." Yeah fucking right. Schedule of the hipster douchebag:

1:00 - Wake up, snort coke
2:00 - Walk around the quad with my shirt off and wearing cowboy boots (I've seen him do this, it's awful).
3:00 - Snort coke
4:00 - study about something. Just kidding, look ironic
5:00 - repeat ad nauseum.

He's not an intellectual. Intellectuals come up with new ideas. Even the postmodernists had something new to say.

If my generation's Students for a Democratic Society, the classic student activist group, composed our own Port Huron Statement, it would begin: "we are people of this generation, bred in substantial comfort, housed now in universities and gentrified neighborhoods, looking quite indifferently to the world we inherit."

You're all a bunch of fucking Randians. That's the only explanation. How can someone grow up in this society and not be convinced that something is grossly wrong? How can you look at the absolute poverty of New Orleans and not think that there are major problems in our everyday lives? How can you experience the iniquities of modern society and not see that there are still real battles to be fought? How can you look at the world - a world where most people live without real political power - and say that you are indifferent? You are a bunch of spoiled children. Perpetual children, who will always be living off of mommy and daddy's estate.

They (or we, if I may be so bold to include myself among today's apathetic wunderkinds) would rather steal V-necks and lament the implications of post-modern ontology than bother with such trivial things. We have no counter-culture because we have no cause.

No. You don't know what "post-modern ontology" means. You just like the way it sounds when it comes out of your pie-hole.

Look, compared to the hipster douches of the world, the Egoists as likeable. This guy is just full of himself. He's no wunderkind. He's a kid with too much free time and no sense of personal responsibility.

He's not the equivalent of Abbie Hoffman. Hoffman stood for something, even though life was pretty good. He's the equivalent of the characters in the Great Gatsby. And the only way his little clique will ever produce their Fitzgerald will be when some of them wise the fuck up.

I'm reminded of the Oingo Boingo classic "Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me." They are this generation's yuppies. But they don't produce anything. They're just a cancer, a parasite on society. The Marxist in me wants to line them up against a wall.

Jesus, I just feel sorry for my English-major friends. They have to deal with this shit every day. These dicks stay out of the philosophy and economics departments, for the most part.

Urge to kill rising

Fuck you, Bud. Goddamnit, you're the worst fucking thing since Pol Pot. And, I swear to God, if you play in Houston wearing the damn things, it'll be your head. Christ, the NFL better deny them their request. Fuck them.

This has gotten me thinking: if the opportunity to take back the Oilers legacy arose, would you take it? If Bud Adams died tomorrow, and whoever inherited/bought the team offered the Oiler name and records to Bob McNair, would we accept it?

My natural reaction is yes. I still think the "Texans" nickname is a stupid one, but it's one I've grown accustomed to. It would be nice to have the Campbell/Blanda/Moon etc. legacy back where it belongs. Actually, just having Campbell's records back would be cool. Moon is a drunk wife-beater. Campbell is an official Hero of Texas.

But I almost feel like that legacy is tainted goods. Those fucks in Tennessee tarnished it. And it kind of feels like accepting it and becoming the Oilers once again would somehow be a bitch thing to do. I don't know.

Whatev. That fucker better not show his jabba-the-hut face on the streets.

Maybe our secondary won't be so bad this weekend...

'Cause Dunta is back, baby!

Never seen anything like that before...

I'm sure I'm not the first (or second, or hundredth, or thousandth) person to point this out, but Obama's campaign is freakin creepy. Obama is the first political candidate (in my short lifetime, admittedly) whom I remember attaining legitimate status as a pop-culture icon. Growing up, I never saw people wear t-shirts with Clinton's face on them. I never saw Gore or Bush posters prominently featuring either's visage. What the hell is going on?

Is it just my generation? Is it just that people my age are predisposed towards this? I don't know, and it's a frightening thing.

Politicians should not have this sort of devotion attached to them. This is not simply a devotion to his ideas or ideology (he fails to articulate either, anyways), but a real idealization of the man. That's a troubling phenomenon, because it means that the likelihood of his supporters analyzing his policy decisions in the future is much less.

Politicians should be ugly. They should be uncool. They shouldn't have mainstream people hanging up their pictures.

I wouldn't compare this to a real cult of personality, because it's not even close. But Obama has become an actual icon, and I think that contributes to the weird ideas people associate with him - he'll fix all our problems, foreigners will love us, race relations will be solved, poverty will be gone. These expectations would not be associated with anyone else.

People just need to stop treating the guy like a movie star. It's disturbing.