tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15036007292101656702012-02-02T20:47:31.210-05:00"Books show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all." Abraham LincolnKeatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.comBlogger1591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-27970443620931126552012-01-30T20:09:00.006-05:002012-02-02T20:37:58.031-05:00

There's a lot of plays on that call sheet. I have a confession to make. I don't really understand football. I know a lot about football. I know that 4 yards a carry is a good average, that a facemask penalty is 15 yards, and that a slot receiver lines up off tackle. I could break down, in enormous detail, the differences between Dan Marino's 1984 season, Peyton Manning's 2004 season, and

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-19569636219343145662012-01-23T16:16:00.011-05:002012-01-23T19:56:13.165-05:00

Remember the Coffee Klatsch? The Klatsch is a bunch of friends I worked with in the 90’s. Shin, Cormie, Stod, and I had many things in common: we worked in publishing, were literary dilettantes, admirers of select female colleagues, and nostalgic sports fans. We also differed on important subjects, like war and economics and modern literature and Jennifer Aniston (for the record, I'm in favor

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-87899763345788654362012-01-17T10:01:00.009-05:002012-01-18T08:07:14.300-05:00

About the New York Football Giants...I feel like the backup second baseman on a team where the pitcher has a perfect game going. Nobody is supposed to say anything to the pitcher for fear of jinxing it. But especially not an insignificant person like the backup second baseman. The catcher might obliquely discuss strategy with the pitcher, the star hitter might exhort the lineup to score more

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-37784455234838610082012-01-12T20:06:00.009-05:002012-01-13T14:30:33.270-05:00

Here at FreeTime, we like to kick them when they're up and lift them when they're down. This is partly because we're pathologically obsessed with The Overrated and The Underrated*, and partly because debate is sort of like Olympic diving - degree of difficulty matters.* In fact, when I was coming up with a name for this blog, one idea was Overrated/Underrated, with every story focused on

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-91062111026417436802011-11-26T17:41:00.002-05:002011-11-26T17:53:58.693-05:00

A few people have asked me why I haven't written about Penn State. They figured this topic was perfect for FreeTime. I haven't written about Penn State because I have nothing original to say. In fact, I never have anything original to say about crimes of the moment. Natalee Holloway, Caylee Anthony, even O.J. Stories like these have played out millions of times in human history, and all the

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-44667969188537053512011-11-17T14:00:00.001-05:002011-11-17T14:14:50.591-05:00

And finally, Part 3...(go here for Part 1 and Part 2)But before I go on, since Part 2 was posted Mrs. Keatang has challenged the notion of this list. "So it's a list of your favorite songs," she said."Not exactly," I replied. "Double Trouble isn't my favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song. It's Gimme Three Steps or The Ballad of Curtis Loew or live Freebird. They are all better songs.""So, then, it's a

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-66447407162694412792011-10-14T07:52:00.015-04:002011-10-20T08:25:25.694-04:00

The Latest Twist in Manning-Brady RivalryQuarterbacks, more than any other athlete performing any other task, rely on their teammates. Up to half a dozen man-mountains block for them. Freakishly large-handed speed demons catch the passes thrown by them. QBs hand the ball off to quick and powerful men who run for them - which helps make it easier for them to throw. They are guided by a team of

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-70386578320453601722011-09-11T17:19:00.011-04:002011-09-12T19:38:00.990-04:00

Another Remembrance of September 119/11/11I'm not sure you've heard, but the tenth anniversary of September 11th is today. Well, of course, you've heard. Every magazine has cover stories on it. Sporting events from the U.S. Open to our local rec soccer league are honoring the day. Radio stations are going DJ-free for the weekend. And of course, the politicians will wrap themselves in flags

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-34891236928944990822011-08-16T08:24:00.007-04:002011-08-16T22:24:57.496-04:00

The other day, the great Joe Posnanski* wrote a piece about how in sports we don't need a reason to choose what we celebrate, we just need a consensus. In other words, if we all agree that hitting streaks are worth celebrating, we celebrate them. But if we all agree that 10,000 rebounds, a feat achieved by 34 men, isn't such a big deal, we don't celebrate them. * When I do these little asterisk

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-18999722020544689742011-07-23T20:25:00.001-04:002011-07-23T20:31:12.458-04:00

In Part 1 of the No-Skip Songs, I discussed how technology has changed the way we listen to music. As we've evolved from LPs to CDs to Walkmans to MP3 players, our ability to skip songs has multiplied. And now, in my mid-40's, I hit the Skip button on my iPod a lot. Either technology or age has made me a fidgety, impatient listener.The No-Skip songs are tunes that consistently hold my attention

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-46591045922720612402011-07-11T10:24:00.005-04:002011-07-11T10:43:06.036-04:00

I have to admit that even I, a card-carrying Yankee hater and full-fledged member of the "Jeter is Overrated Club", got a kick out of that 5-for-5, dinger for 3k, game-winning RBI performance on Saturday. It's true that if Michael Kay said "the Captain" one more time, with that mix of teen-girl breathlessness and religious awe that one associates with lunatic cult members, I would have thrown my

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-9040939685364013112011-06-22T12:19:00.009-04:002011-06-25T21:01:25.253-04:00

[This started out as an intro to a list of favorite songs. But the intro grew into a post of its own, so now it's Part 1 of a 2-part piece.]Music listening has gone through 5 technology phases, sometimes overlapping:1) Live music (400,000 BC - today)2) Records (early 1900s - 1980's)3) Walkman/Cassettes (1960's - 1980's)4) Compact Discs (1980's - 2000's)5) MP3 players (2003-today)This is a

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-91464494070722141472011-05-26T11:03:00.002-04:002011-05-26T11:14:41.779-04:00

An Obscure Lyric Debate, ResolvedSo I went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland recently. There is much to quibble with about the Hall. The layout of the galleries is uninspired and doesn’t live up to the promise of I.M. Pei’s architecture. Favorite acts of mine (and I assume anyone who visits) are short-changed or ignored (Van Morrison, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty). And unless you’re a

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-33849659315365227332011-04-16T16:51:00.004-04:002011-04-16T19:57:11.246-04:00

150 years ago this week, General P.G.T. Beauregard of the newly formed Confederate States of America gave orders to fire on Fort Sumpter, starting the Civil War.People think I'm a Civil War buff, and have asked me about the Anniversary. I don’t consider myself a Civil War ‘buff’, but I am a student of the war. What’s the difference between a buff and a student? A student knows that the 20th

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-19757059419927503162011-04-08T10:58:00.011-04:002011-04-14T21:06:36.622-04:00

All tastes are subjective.If your tastes run to bluegrass music, biographies, bratwurst, and brunettes, that’s what you like – and no amount of persuasion will change your preferences to rock and roll, romance novels, Ratatouille, and redheads.That’s why I never defend Bob Dylan. Many people hate Dylan’s music – or at least, don’t understand his appeal. They acknowledge his greatness as a

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-20505274211291504502011-03-30T08:59:00.002-04:002011-03-30T09:26:26.406-04:00

There are three kinds of baseball teams. There are teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies that, barring catastrophe, are likely to win 90+ games.There are teams like the Pirates, Mariners, and Diamondbacks that, barring a miracle, are likely to lose 90+ games. Then there are the What If Teams. The What If teams are those that, if everything breaks right, something magical could happen.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-91287137760029515172011-02-25T07:51:00.010-05:002011-03-01T08:34:22.296-05:00

Some of the greatest minds in history have tried to define courage.Ernest Hemingway said, "Courage is grace under pressure." That is an excellent description of the courage of Captain Chesney Sullenberger, who landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River Runway in January 2009. Hemingway was seriously wounded driving an ambulance in the First World War and hunted Nazi subs off the coast of

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-52260674158015276142010-12-21T20:36:00.010-05:002010-12-22T08:30:39.464-05:00

In 2002 Bill Simmons wrote one of his most famous columns, The 13 Levels of Losing, updating it five years later with 3 more categories (one for my 2007 Mets. Ug.) The incredible, devastating, painful, shocking, humiliating, debilitating, mind-numbing, gut-wrenching, soul-destroying loss – no, loss is too weak a word - murder suffered by the New York Giants this past Sunday doesn’t quite fit one

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-1315398826444616002010-11-11T13:26:00.005-05:002010-11-12T16:33:35.590-05:00

The reputations of historical figures are not static things; sometimes they rise and fall, long after that person has exited the world stage.Thomas Jefferson was revered for a century and a half after his death – he was considered the most brilliant of the Founders, an ideal for all Americans to live by. In 1962, John Kennedy, addressing a roomful of Nobel Prize winners in the White House, said

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-3369125527807575422010-11-05T08:48:00.004-04:002010-11-06T09:50:23.745-04:00

In 1999 I made my first – and still only – contribution to a political candidate. I gave fifty bucks to John McCain for his first Presidential run.McCain’s policies were not in sync with mine – very few voters get to vote for a candidate they agree with on everything – but I was truly seduced by McCain’s honesty, the Straight Talk Express and all that. After eight slippery years with the Clintons

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-39324964005486150492010-10-19T09:04:00.007-04:002010-10-19T13:42:48.459-04:00

We humans are stubborn creatures. We form an opinion, grab hold of it, and over time tighten that grip until “changing your mind” becomes nearly impossible. This is true if it is something trivial, like believing defense wins NFL championships, or of life-and-death importance, like believing holistic medicine cures disease better than modern medicine.When we receive new data about the issue, we

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-39589111129467515532010-09-23T12:38:00.002-04:002010-10-01T06:25:29.390-04:00

Part 2 of my review at HomerJones is up.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-88589736903336084332010-09-17T08:22:00.002-04:002010-10-01T06:26:49.756-04:00

I went to Opening Day at the New Giants Stadium and wrote a review of it for the Giants fan site, Homer Jones. Part 1 is here.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-29678735904163882262010-09-03T08:07:00.006-04:002010-09-04T11:09:35.920-04:00

1. In The Creative Urge, I talked about how nearly all children have the desire to create art - a desire that withers in adults. At one point I even wondered if the creative urge is, at some level, childish.Well, I just stumbled upon a quote from Pablo Picasso which captures this beautifully. "The greatest artist in the world," he said, "is an uninhibited child at play." He also said "Every

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-66574991646790659212010-08-03T15:14:00.008-04:002010-09-04T11:23:50.893-04:00

The director Tim Burton was on Charlie Rose recently talking about his art show at the Museum of Modern Art. The show is a collection of Burton’s drawings, doodles, and paintings over the years. Rose asked Burton if he started this at an early age:"Well, like every kid, you know? I think most kids draw. I mean, the fascinating thing to me is by the time a lot of kids are ten years old, they say '

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-62844811946764778972010-06-28T12:17:00.012-04:002010-08-14T08:33:14.925-04:00

[This is the fifth in an unplanned series called The Volunteer Commissioner, in which I fix broken sports. In previous installments I singlehandedly fixed pick-up basketball, women’s softball, and men’s lacrosse. You’re welcome. Unfortunately, swimming is unfixable.]Soccer, obviously, isn’t broken. According to ESPN, 147 zantillion people on 64 planets spread over 9 galaxies will watch every

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-48515218032270793132010-06-04T12:59:00.003-04:002010-06-04T13:10:58.553-04:00

I generally surf the web at lunch, and these two sports-related things both brought me pleasure:1. A beautiful piece by the great Joe Posnanski about Armando Galarraga's "perfect" game: The Lesson of Jim Joyce2. This link was sent by KMac in Chicago about Blackhawks fans getting on the bandwagon. I was in Chicago the week they won the Conference Finals (is that what they call it in hockey?)

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-8683981850796520402010-06-01T19:35:00.010-04:002010-06-02T21:10:34.439-04:00

" Don't Shoot!"Lacrosse bills itself as “the fastest game on two feet”. But if fans of hurling (“the fastest game on grass”), hockey (“the fastest game on ice”), and jai-alai (“the fastest game on earth”) tuned in to yesterday’s NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Final, they can be forgiven for scoffing at this notion. Because the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame slowed the game down so much it could have been

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-90265916154152210542010-05-14T13:17:00.006-04:002010-05-14T16:58:12.234-04:00

In late March I wrote a piece called The Duper Level in which I argued that Lebron James needed the Big Apple to launch himself from mere Superstar to Super Duper Star (The Duper Level). At the end I speculated about how this year's post-season could affect his decision:"I think the results of this year's playoffs could impact his decision. If, for example, the Cavs choke in the postseason, he

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-59755209333765016302010-05-11T20:38:00.002-04:002010-05-11T20:56:24.572-04:00

How 1850s Presidents are like 21st Century Supreme Court JusticesWhen James Buchanan was elected President in 1856, his previous twelve years of job experience looked like this:1845 – 1849: Secretary of State1849 – 1853: Did not hold public office1853 – 1856: Ambassador to EnglandWhy is this interesting? Because in 1856 the political issues roiling American were entirely domestic.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-2523879964457886712010-05-04T17:18:00.006-04:002010-05-05T18:10:55.611-04:00

I am a Lost fan. In response to that statement you probably have one of three reactions. They are:a) Who cares?b) You poor sap. You’ve given six years of your life to that narrative nightmare?c) Me too! How do you think it will end?!I am not a hard-core Lostie. I don’t post on fan sites or download podcasts, and even though I blog I’ve never mentioned it in the 130 posts I’ve written since 2007.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-19171028639370551942010-04-22T15:30:00.005-04:002010-04-23T14:42:33.853-04:00

As I’ve said before, I often feel like a moderate in a land of extremists. I know that’s not actually true – there are many more moderates than extremists, but moderates don’t shout quite as loudly or get quite as passionate about things as extremists, so we tend to leave the stage to them.My moderation extends towards many things. To politics, where the discussion is dominated by partisans and

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-35983632208860066112010-04-06T15:26:00.009-04:002010-04-07T18:21:25.350-04:00

The United States government is going bankrupt, unemployment remains at 10%, and the NBC series Chuck* is at risk of being cancelled. But as far as I’m concerned, all is right with the world because, ladies and gentlemen, baseball is back!* Seriously, I have completely fallen for Chuck. I’m mildly embarrassed by this; should I be?So as I bask in the glow of the Mets' ritual Opening Day victory (

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-19472516635573080762010-03-23T20:54:00.009-04:002010-06-02T21:42:59.848-04:00

Last week I found myself at Shaw's Crab House in Chicago, drinking beer and talking sports with a couple of work friends, JK and Brando. JK is Chicago born and bred and Brando is an Ohio boy now in the Windy City. And we got on the subject of Lebron James' future.I suggested that Lebron James will be tempted by the Big Apple and make his way to the New York Knicks. They dismissed this as typical

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-27510902477929193792010-03-22T15:28:00.003-04:002010-03-22T15:36:31.235-04:00

In the past I’ve been a bit of a bully, picking on lesser sports like swimming and softball. But today I’m going to take on one of our most popular sporting events, college basketball.Don’t get me wrong. I totally get the appeal of March Madness. I watched the last ten minutes of Northern Iowa-Kansas and was captivated by every possession. I watched in wonderment yesterday as an Ivy League school

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-31388832154091318182010-03-12T11:21:00.007-05:002010-03-16T12:28:04.093-04:00

[I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Unless you are strongly interested in the Civil War, I suggest you skip it and go play with the Subservient Chicken.]I recently watched Gods and Generals, a 2003 Civil War movie based on the novel by Jeff Shaara. It attempts, in the span of 3 hours and 45 minutes, to cover the two years of fighting in Northern Virginia between April 1861 and

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-67248196077516259802010-02-16T19:06:00.009-05:002011-04-22T23:07:29.568-04:00

I did not grow up with small dogs. Our first dog was an Airedale named Tara. Tara was as beautiful as her name, but she had the size and temperament of Sherman’s army. Visitors to my childhood home would walk by the front windows before reaching the door and Tara – ever alert – greeted them with an artillery roar of barking and combined infantry and cavalry assaults on the windows. By the time

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-33377900777442289462010-01-26T17:41:00.007-05:002010-01-27T14:06:15.990-05:00

Two larger than life figures – one literally, one figuratively – went down this weekend: Rex Ryan and Brett Favre. And I’m conflicted about both of these guys.Let’s start with Rex. I want to hate Rex Ryan, I really do. As a Giants fan, I am predisposed to hate him. His father Buddy coached the early 90’s Eagles, one of the dirtiest teams of all time and a team that gave the Giants fits. On the

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-78968354414366623812010-01-15T10:15:00.002-05:002010-01-15T10:24:14.060-05:00

Happy National Hat Day! I bet you didn't know it was National Hat Day. But that's why we here at FreeTime exist - to share facts with you that you didn't know you cared about it till the moment you read it.In honor of National Hat Day, I'm re-posting a piece I originally wrote in December 2008 called Men Without Hats, in which I argued for a glorious return to our head-covered past. Here ya go:

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-48766096955587626932010-01-07T14:26:00.008-05:002010-01-07T16:41:17.881-05:00

It’s time for the FreeTime NFL playoff predictions!While other “analysts” and “experts” try to predict who will “win” the “games”, we go about things a little differently here at FreeTime. That is because we have no idea who will win the games. This is a league, after all, in which the 5/6 seed has won two of the last four Super Bowls, and four of the last twelve.Bengals-Jets: who knows?

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-54546955269348401362009-12-23T11:28:00.006-05:002010-01-27T17:16:32.575-05:00

The suspense is over. It is time for the 2009 Johnny-Bingo Awards, given annually to the Best Books Read by Yours Truly this year.(Go here for last year’s awards)The award is named for the first book I remember calling my favorite – something about two boys, a dog, and a bank robber. Or maybe it was two bank robbers, a boy and a dog. Or maybe two dogs…anyway, the point is that I am the judge,

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-90389480961222415742009-12-15T09:19:00.006-05:002009-12-21T08:37:29.900-05:00

Moments ago, I walked by the desk of a colleague, Casey Clark. Casey is a remarkable man – a video golf instructor, a juggler of home repair tools and the organizer of the only NFL Elimination Pool that provides email pool updates peppered with Shakespearean quotes.Casey and I occasionally talk golf – he’s a real golfer and I’m a hacker – and as is my wont I popped into his office, picked up his

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-55592557631539754552009-11-19T17:32:00.004-05:002009-11-19T17:41:33.967-05:00

Most commentators are drawing the wrong lesson from Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on 4th and 1 against the Colts. They think it was about Belichick. In fact, it was all about Peyton Manning.As I argued last year, Manning-Brady is the greatest individual rivalry in team sports history. At first, it followed the usual Stats Monster vs. Mr. Clutch debate; Manning put up the monster

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-92155140972309195142009-11-07T09:14:00.004-05:002009-11-09T20:31:14.080-05:00

Which of the following Yankee Dynasties was the greatest ever?+ The Ruth/Gehrig Yankees+ The Joe DiMaggio Yankees+ The Mantle/Berra Yankees+ The Reggie/Billy Yankees+ The Jeter/Mariano Yankees(Yeah, it’s questionable including Reggie/Billy since 2 titles does not a Dynasty make. But I think that 2 consecutive titles qualifies, otherwise you couldn’t include the Big Red Machine. If you disagree,

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-59238475170044302372009-11-06T11:56:00.004-05:002009-11-09T20:33:07.875-05:00

Political commentators– whether they are conservative or liberal; thoughtful or angry; intellectually honest or hopelessly partisan; penetratingly insightful or galactically stupid – and whether or not they ply their trade in television, print, or radio - have one thing in common. They analyze election results in terms of which political party won the day.The read on Tuesday, generally, was that

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-79583198731073160012009-10-29T20:28:00.009-04:002009-10-30T13:14:16.647-04:00

A Surprisingly Short Baseball Post with only One Goofy StatisticMany people believe that Sandy Koufax's run from 1963-1966 was the greatest in baseball's history. They are wrong.As spectacular as he was (and I'm not saying he wasn't), Koufax played in an era when spectacular pitching performances were commonplace. He posted ERAs under 2.00 3 times, but from 1962 to 1972 the league leader in ERA

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-30838738225210366092009-10-15T22:25:00.014-04:002011-06-27T10:29:28.038-04:00

The Yankees equipment manager, Rob Cucuzza, is getting ready for the playoffs. He’s gathering up dozens of pairs of polypropylene* thermal underwear, cold weather batting gloves made with Aegis Micro Shield technologies, officially licensed New York Yankees earmuffs, and fur-lined parkas for the coaching staffs.*The polypropylene material used in some cold weather gear was developed by a Nobel

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-6541830751427843312009-10-09T15:40:00.005-04:002009-10-15T16:18:56.129-04:00

Thorbjørn Jagland. Kaci Kullmann Five. Sissel Marie Rønbeck. Inger-Marie Ytterhorn. Ågot Valle.Do you know who these people are? All of them are Norwegian politicians. All of them at one time or another was a member of Norway’s Parliament, the Stolting. Jagland was even Prime Minister of Norway for a couple years in the mid-90’s.Oh, and they are also the folks responsible for selecting the winner

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-52031193630183682492009-09-26T14:15:00.007-04:002009-09-26T17:38:13.890-04:00

Iran's Nuclear Plant is Obama's First Great TestWhen John F. Kennedy was running for President – and in his Senate career before that – he was primarily interested in foreign policy, and generally indifferent towards domestic policy.There were several reasons for this.  It was partly, most biographers believe, to distinguish himself from his powerful father, who had a nearly infallible hand in

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-91099633219586086642009-09-15T17:30:00.010-04:002009-09-18T20:51:07.213-04:00

My Final Word on Derek Jeter On August 16th, Derek Jeter had 3 hits. Two of them were significant as he tied and passed Luis Aparicio for the most hits by a shortstop. Three weeks later he passed Lou Gehrig on the all-time Yankee hits list.Except for a few passing references, I haven’t spoken much about Derek Jeter on this site. But among my friends and email correspondents, I am well known as a

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-75816818509418463412009-08-10T17:09:00.002-04:002011-03-02T07:46:42.430-05:00

Yeah, I've basically taken the summer off from blogging. But I am publishing elsewhere. Here's a piece about the difference between food snobs and chefs, published in the August 3 issue of Nation's Restaurant News:Click here for article.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-18555336416660297662009-06-16T08:32:00.003-04:002009-06-16T08:49:50.101-04:00

In February 08 George Clooney was at the height of his powers. Michael Clayton was up for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, he himself was nominated for Best Actor, and Time Magazine ran a cover story calling him "The Last Movie Star". If "last", that would logically imply that he was the 'biggest', not to mention the 'only.'I wrote a post suggesting that, perhaps, he's not a movie star at all.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-81142509531868145392009-06-04T10:50:00.014-04:002009-12-21T11:54:10.946-05:00

A Coffee Klatsch ConversationWhat follows is an email conversation among The Coffee Klatsch, a group I introduced to y’all in the last post. The participants are Yours Truly (Keatang), Cormie, JShin, and Stod.I’ve lightly edited the transcript. The flow is occasionally awkward because some emails crossed each other and are not a direct reply to the one above. Also, I pick up the thread somewhat

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-88293964393953782592009-06-01T15:56:00.006-04:002009-06-05T14:53:03.399-04:00

Way back in, oh, 1993 or so, my company, a San Francisco based magazine publisher, installed an email system. This brought a wonderful improvement to workplace communication – and a new way to gossip and b.s. with co-workers. It was the first truly valuable cyberslacking tool.Soon, I and three other guys – Cormie, JShin & Stod - began an email conversation, one that that has continued to this day

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-21322337127923311902009-05-27T09:44:00.006-04:002009-05-28T11:28:38.244-04:00

Some friends of mine have a new book out – and what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t shamelessly plug it?Harvey Newquist (or as he’s known in print, HP) and Rich Maloof have just published This Will Kill You: A Guide to the Ways in Which We Go (MacMillan). Jim Shinnick, designer extraordinaire illustrated the book. I can’t improve upon the promotional copy:No other book has ever peaked under

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-67038426260769682722009-05-20T11:33:00.004-04:002011-03-02T07:58:12.104-05:00

I wrote an article for the May 18th issue of Nation's Restaurant News. I submitted it with the above title, but the editors changed it. The rest of it is pretty much unchanged from what I submitted. Anyway, click here if you're interested.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-57203693538184484402009-05-08T12:51:00.006-04:002009-05-10T18:33:41.891-04:00

My last post was March 30th, which means for the first time since I started this thing in 2007 I've gone a whole month without posting. Sorry, but as Luther says to the parking garage attendant in 48 Hours, "I've been BUSY!!"** That line is not funny, creative, or even relevant to the plot; but the actor says it with such freaky vehemence it has become an oft-repeated crack among my friends.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-27226131561327199462009-03-30T18:04:00.020-04:002011-01-20T13:00:18.632-05:00

A while back I wrote a piece called Swimming is Boring in which I made the case that swimming was, well, boring. Sure, Michael Phelps was a huge star in the middle of an awesome accomplishment, but the actual sport – long lean hairless guys swimming back and forth – was kind of boring.Is it possible that the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is the opposite? The actual games are thrilling. Anybody

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-46009924798150232672009-03-11T17:25:00.002-04:002009-03-11T17:37:14.637-04:00

What do Robert E. Lee and Derek Jeter have in common?For a couple years now I’ve been wrestling with an important question - why do Yankee fans hate Alex Rodriguez so much?It’s not because of the steroids. He was being booed at Yankee Stadium long before the steroids story broke. And admitted steroids users like Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi have been welcomed back with open arms.It’s not

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-56074684109175744112009-02-20T15:02:00.008-05:002009-02-20T15:29:24.846-05:00

[A slightly different version of this piece appears in the February 16 edition of Nation's Restaurant News.]In the 1983 film The Big Chill, Michael (Jeff Goldblum) and Sam (Tom Berenger) have the following exchange:Sam: You're rationalizing.Michael: Don’t knock rationalizations. I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-22966086599424201612009-02-02T13:23:00.009-05:002009-02-03T07:54:38.414-05:00

A couple of bitter, whiny Super Bowl observations from a Giants fan who still can't believe Plax shot himself...The Greatest Ever?Everyone from Roger Goodell to Peter King to NBC is rushing to call SB43 the "greatest ever". Really?The greatest thing in sports is the upset. There's a reason every sports movie ever made - from Rocky to The Bad News Bears to Hoosiers - is about upsets. Even the

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-45749318138605834642009-01-29T18:00:00.009-05:002009-01-30T13:21:34.133-05:00

Billy Powell, the keyboardist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, died this week at the age of 56. That’s him, with the bird in hand.Skynyrd has seen more tragedy than the Kennedy family. Ronnie Van Zandt and Steve Gaines died in rock and roll’s second most famous plane crash in 1977. Guitarist Allen Collins was paralyzed in a car accident in 1986 and was dead from complications four years later, at 38. Bassist

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-55642938787746088762009-01-25T14:18:00.009-05:002009-02-13T13:23:33.359-05:00

[This is a sort-of follow up to a piece I wrote last April called Great Expectations. I started it right after the inauguration but then got distracted by important stuff like Skynyrd pianists and the Super Bowl. I think it's still relevant, though not as relevant as it might have been Inauguration Week. ]When Barack Obama took the oath of office he did so with the highest incoming approval

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-48434541498576700632009-01-21T11:48:00.004-05:002009-01-21T12:01:30.183-05:00

Back on Election Day I promised to write a piece called "10 (or so) Reasons that Conservatives Should Lie Back and Enjoy the Age of Obama - or at Least not Move to Australia." Well, it’s Inauguration Day, so it’s time to start this piece…Why Australia? Well, obviously a conservative isn’t going to move to France, that promised land of Streisands and Baldwins, who are forever promising to leave

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-91649178766709741692009-01-19T13:31:00.006-05:002009-01-19T15:23:31.776-05:00

A Couple of NFL ThoughtsLast year, as the Giants made their historic Super Bowl run (yes, I said historic; want to make something of it?), this site was pretty much taken over by my NFL ramblings. This year, not so much. But with the Super Bowl set, I wanted to share a few thoughts with you.Nobodies RuleIn February of 07 I wrote a piece called Losers & Nobodies in which I argued…well, here’s what

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-61171966603733897352009-01-01T08:17:00.003-05:002009-01-04T08:49:02.262-05:00

Yes, it’s time for the least-anticipated literary awards of the year – the Johnny Bingo Awards!The nice thing about being judge and jury for an award nobody cares about is I can change the rules every year without protest. And I’m changing the rules again. Last year I gave out a bunch of different awards in different categories. And in the years before that I simply gave out one award. But this

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-28501309701936163752008-12-29T11:57:00.010-05:002009-04-04T14:26:51.234-04:00

Eric Mangini has had his ups and downs as head coach of the New York Jets.His first season was all up. He took over a Jets team that was 4-12 the year before and coached them to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. He became a New York folk hero, dubbed ManGenius by the tabloids. He even made a Sopranos cameo.But season two was a downer as the Jets fell back to 4-12. And season three was a roller

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-81731434225364916862008-12-23T11:42:00.012-05:002009-01-22T13:41:48.902-05:00

Foul ball!On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the youngest elected President in United States history. As he went through the carefully orchestrated ceremony of the day, he did so hatless. Kennedy believed hats made him look old so he refused to be photographed in one. Considered the most glamorous and sophisticated man in the world, JFK’s bare head was a dagger to the hat

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-63031004545328259092008-12-12T09:38:00.008-05:002008-12-12T14:15:43.507-05:00

I haven’t written much about the economic crisis. As near as I can tell, the sharpest economic minds on earth have no earthly idea what is going on, how it happened, who gets the blame, what to do about it, or how it’s going to end. So what can an English major like me possibly add to the conversation?Then again, the whole purpose of having a blog is to offer uninformed opinions nobody asked

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-74401213339472247062008-12-09T16:53:00.002-05:002008-12-09T17:16:47.690-05:00

As I wrote recently…of the twelve NFL head coaches elected to the Hall of Fame during the Super Bowl era, ten coached a Hall of Fame quarterback and one coached a guy who should be in the Hall and may yet make it(Ken Stabler). Only Joe Gibbs went to Canton alone.In yesterday’s Monday Morning Quarterback, Peter King identifies 7 head coaches who will be Hall candidates in the coming years. Five

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-5921103171225812862008-12-08T09:36:00.003-05:002008-12-08T10:01:47.197-05:00

A few weeks back, I wrote a piece wondering why the McCain campaign never made a campaign issue out of the absence of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11.In today’s Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan has a piece called “At Least Bush Kept Us Safe”. (You may or not like Noonan’s world-view, but she is arguably the best writer in the punditocracy today. Its pure poetry compared to the snarling

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-25542091869612438772008-11-28T16:07:00.011-05:002009-04-04T14:35:47.488-04:00

[This blog is usually impersonal, but today it’s all about me. Enjoy. Or skip it. Whatever.]I celebrate two anniversaries today.First, and infinitely more important, is my wedding anniversary. 17 years, baby. Couple of kids and a dog. There's even a white fence.I don’t know if Tolstoy was right – that happy families are all alike and every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. It's one of

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-15346684867162816172008-11-23T17:47:00.003-05:002008-11-23T17:59:37.085-05:00

Probably not[I know. The day after the election I said I’d write a post titled “10 (or so) Reasons Conservatives Shouldn’t Move to Australia”. But as Luther said to the parking garage attendant in 48 Hours, “I Been Busy!” In the meantime, I’ll write this, yet another post demonstrating how people say all kinds of stupid things when they are unfamiliar with history…]There has been much commentary

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-44128850989608491592008-11-03T16:39:00.013-05:002008-11-05T10:09:52.508-05:00

What Qualities do Great Presidents Share?It's finally over. The end of what some have called the longest (certainly), most entertaining (arguably), and most historic (unlikely) Presidential campaign ever.We’ve spent some of this campaign talking about policy. In fact, those who say that campaigns are all style and no substance these days should relax. We ask our candidates to spell out their

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-85216156689654432782008-10-31T11:39:00.003-04:002008-10-31T11:59:28.753-04:00

It takes some combination of guts and foolishness to make predictions. The world moves so fast now that anyone who climbs out on the prognostication limb gets it sawed off right behind him.You want proof? How about The Tampa Bay Rays, Sarah Palin, and Bear Stearns. Anybody see those 3 coming?In an unpredictable world only fools make predictions.However, some of us cowardly online pontificators

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-90548319207737357392008-10-27T18:11:00.006-04:002008-10-28T09:03:14.063-04:00

Quick question: can Jon Stewart survive an Obama Presidency? Indeed, is political humor in general in peril?For whatever reason, comedians have barely laid a glove on Barack Obama during this eternal campaign.It’s tempting to blame it all on liberal bias – except that the Clinton Era was a bountiful feast for political humorists. It’s not race – Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Marion Barry have

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-1014254864755140522008-10-20T15:22:00.004-04:002008-10-23T09:11:58.749-04:00

I appreciate that this election is based entirely on the premise that the United States of America has done absolutely nothing right these past 8 years.George W. Bush gets most of the blame, but as Tom Cruise said in Top Gun, it’s a target-rich environment. Approval ratings for the Democrat-controlled Congress are even lower than Bush’s (some trick, that). The Secretaries of State and Defense

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-90968541007198173872008-09-23T22:36:00.007-04:002008-09-25T08:38:25.985-04:00

The Spanish philosopher and poet George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it.” I would add that those who cannot remember history are condemned to be baffled by current events.Take the Presidential election. There is a lot of hand-wringing among Democrats these days. They are mystified – utterly mystified – that the Republican candidate for

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-69727740497440973462008-09-12T12:18:00.010-04:002008-09-12T16:04:18.741-04:00

TOM BRADY'S INJURY MAY ANSWER SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONSWhen Tom Brady went down in the first quarter of the first game of the 2008 season, I had two immediate reactions.The first was: “Shoot, there goes my fantasy football season.” Only 5 days earlier, I had used the #3 overall pick in the Murray Fantasy League on Brady, hoping he’d repeat his spectacular 2008 season (4800 yards, 50 TDs). So

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-4368618492206199562008-09-04T09:06:00.005-04:002008-09-04T13:02:12.934-04:00

Back during the 2004 convention season I thought Republicans had one huge overlooked advantage over Democrats: celebrities.No, not Hollywood celebrities. That peculiar crowd will always provide their dubious support for Democrats. I’m talking about political celebrities. And in 2004, the biggest political celebrities in America were Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudolph Giuliani, both of whom were

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-65577457943078847682008-09-01T20:36:00.009-04:002008-09-03T09:31:22.134-04:00

In 1824, John Quincy Adams faced Andrew Jackson in the Presidential election. They were nominally of the same party (it was a brief period of single-party dominance) but had little else in common.Adams was the ultimate American elitist. The son of a President (a Founder, no less), he went to Harvard, spoke many languages, lived and traveled extensively in Europe, and was an accomplished American

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-21629250234053113152008-08-30T08:28:00.006-04:002008-09-12T13:15:18.428-04:00

What to make of Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin?The Democrats have helpfully given me their opinion. Everyone from Chuck Schumer to Rahm Emanuel to an Obama spokesman have attacked Palin’s lack of experience – a potentially risky strategy for the party whose ticket topper was sworn in as Senator, bought supplies for his Senate office, and on the way back from Staples announced his

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-59267252328990029112008-08-26T08:30:00.006-04:002008-08-27T12:55:06.857-04:00

I was born in the 60’s, raised in the 70’s, educated in the 80’s, married in the 90’s, and find myself staggering toward early middle-age here in the 2000’s. So you’d think I’ve seen my share of divorce.But I haven’t. None of my closest twenty friends, including my entire college crowd, have cut the marital bonds. None of my siblings, or my wife’s siblings, or their spouse’s siblings, have torn

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-52787382545143400832008-08-20T09:22:00.005-04:002008-08-27T08:42:56.683-04:00

Some sports, like swimming and golfing and nearly all track and field events, feature an athlete competing against himself. You put up the best score or time possible and hope it is good enough to be the best.But in many other sports, like boxing and tennis and nearly all team sports, you compete against another team or athlete, and react to their actions. In those cases, the entertainment value

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-84245180778969859422008-08-15T08:58:00.007-04:002008-08-31T10:10:19.424-04:00

I’m trying to get into this Michael Phelps thing. I really am. But I just can’t shake the fact that swimming is kind of, well, boring.Here’s what I see when I watch a swim meet: a bunch of guys who look exactly alike (long, lean, hairless and white), all doing exactly the same thing, all at roughly the same speed. Then one of the guys, who NBC helpfully informs me is Phelps (because really, how

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-32771089653138227072008-08-11T08:29:00.004-04:002008-08-11T08:45:04.021-04:00

Last Tuesday I wrote a mediocre blog post about traffic in which I shared my buddy Jordan's theory about Wuss Drivers being the primary cause of traffic.Five days later I get the New York Times Book Review, and on the front cover is a review of a book called Traffic, which proves Jordan's theory (sort of). Here is the opening paragraph:"Traffic jams are not, by and large, caused by flaws in road

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-14882669460410043142008-08-09T09:17:00.006-04:002008-08-09T21:23:37.032-04:00

I’ve always had a soft spot for Mike Mussina. His first full year as a starter, 1992,was the first year I played Rotisserie Baseball. I selected him in the draft that year, proclaiming he would be “the Scott Erickson of 1992”. (That may sound like faint praise, but the year before Erickson exploded on the scene with a 20-8 record). Moose proved me right, going 18-5 with a 2.54 ERA. I continued to

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-1168178427041627902008-08-05T12:41:00.006-04:002008-08-05T15:22:57.741-04:00

Got caught in a traffic jam last night.Landed at JFK around 10:30, with carry-on luggage and my car in short-term parking. I was behind the wheel and zipping out the airport exit by 10:45. Then I hit the Van Wyck.Suddenly, I was in heartbreaking, bone-crushing, soul-destroying traffic. It took me over an hour to travel the next 3 miles, and finally stumbled into bed after 1.During that time I did

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-32558233808252034502008-07-29T15:33:00.010-04:002008-08-27T08:55:15.175-04:00

Of course they can. History has already furnished us with an awful example of huge Teutonic crowds cheering wildly for a compelling orator seeking power.And yet...I can’t get quite get that scene in Berlin out of my head, and can’t help but think that it is good for America.I’ve been very skeptical of the Obama phenomenon. I read his first book and find him to be deeply thoughtful, intelligent

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-39035119336249639302008-07-09T09:05:00.002-04:002008-07-09T10:45:52.946-04:00

I’m a naturally disputatious sort. Put me in a room full of liberals and I’ll state the case for an invasion of Iran. Put me in a room full of conservatives and I’ll make a passionate defense of gay marriage. Sometimes, like an Olympic diver I’ll increase the degree of difficulty just for fun. I’ll make the liberal case for invading Iran (women’s rights, gay rights) and the conservative case for

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-18225470372285299352008-05-07T15:52:00.007-04:002008-05-07T16:48:14.353-04:00

On Saturday I had about 75 people over for a party, and since it was Kentucky Derby Day, we ran a pool. About half the party got in on it, and at 6:03pm we had 30 people wedged into my den, gearing up for the fastest 2 minutes in sports.29 of these people don't think much about horse racing the other 364 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes of the year. The 30th is a casual fan at best. But this didn't

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-23799211732919374162008-05-05T07:41:00.007-04:002008-05-05T08:46:11.293-04:00

The past eight months I've had a lot of free time.I've used this time wisely. I've watched every episode of Scrubs, seasons 1-4 (a highly underrated show, but not for everyone). I became an avid listener of audiobooks. I set up a modest basement gym and actually used it once in a while (while watching Runnin' Down a Dream on DVD, which I highly recommend). I even went on a game show, where I won

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-70976811331992818302008-04-30T10:10:00.003-04:002008-04-30T20:32:27.691-04:00

I’ve been fortunate, lately, in the teams I root against.Rooting against a team delivers the same thrills and agonies as rooting for a team, in slightly muted form. As a Mets and Giants fan, I have the particular honor of rooting against the most hated/loved franchises in professional American sports: the Yankees and the Cowboys.Some people argue that it is silly for Mets fans to root against the

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-71783745798521993192008-04-27T10:00:00.014-04:002008-05-01T08:47:12.667-04:00

All week long I have felt like a Sitcom Dad:“This week on Dad’s House, Dad uses increasingly wacky techniques to battle a pesky bird.”You see, a Robin has been pestering me all week. At least I think it’s a Robin. My ornithological knowledge mostly comes from baseball hats. I can recognize Cardinals and Blue Jays from the St. Louis and Toronto sub-species, whose natural habitats are, respectively

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-77079854666920366552008-04-22T08:20:00.009-04:002008-04-26T11:33:15.810-04:00

In her review of William Styron's memoir Havanas in Camelot, the New York Times' Michiko Kakutani slipped in the following parenthetical aside:"How many Marines today, one wonders, turn to Keats, Housman and Emily Dickinson in stressful moments?" Kakutani's question was rhetorical, and the implication was that today's jarheads are immune to the wonders of literature.As it happens, I'm involved

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-69470718221561053392008-04-19T20:16:00.014-04:002008-04-22T08:12:19.826-04:00

I am a fan of the counterintuitive. I’m attracted to counterintuitive ideas and intrigued by counterintuitive events and trends.This election season a fascinating counterintuitive trend will get another test. For four consecutive Presidential elections, the candidate with the superior military background has lost to the candidate with a questionable military background. In three of them, a

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-58734910772889276402008-04-14T17:14:00.007-04:002010-04-12T13:34:44.503-04:00

In nearly all things, I am a moderate.I have voted for Republicans and Democrats. I drink, but not to excess. I exercise but I’m not a fanatic about it. I go to Church, but not every Sunday.In one thing only do I have a radical opinion – a position so outside the mainstream that I am looked upon with disdain. Strangers inch back in mute disgust and friends wonder if I harbor other immoral and

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-27691083175835181442008-04-12T09:24:00.008-04:002008-05-01T08:56:17.826-04:00

This July, Billy Joel will play the final concert at Shea Stadium – most famous (musically) for the Beatles’ 1965 concert.There are two kinds of people in this world: those that think Billy Joel is a cheesy pop singer utterly lacking in street cred; and those that can’t imagine why Joel – who has sold 150 million records, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by the coolest musician of

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-16433100989154141452008-04-10T08:31:00.004-04:002008-04-10T08:39:44.525-04:00

Last week Madonna and Mariah Carey both passed Elvis Presley on all-time singles lists. But this week I'm pleased to report that the great Van Morrison has, for the first time in his illustrious career, a Top 10 album. Keep It Simple barely slipped in, charting at #10 in Billboard's Top 200.

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503600729210165670.post-29542050389896373782008-04-09T10:03:00.004-04:002009-10-10T10:14:39.877-04:00

Last week I wrote that true conservatism or liberalism is driven by our view of human nature, and the type of government that is best suited to it. I linked to a piece by David Mamet in which he realizes that his view of human nature made him a natural conservative.In the April 17th issue of Rolling Stone, the musician Dave Matthews gives an interview on Barack Obama in which he shows how many

Keatanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417469078442517914noreply@blogger.com0