Commander Riker curls!
In a recent interview with the Indianapolis Star, Jonathan Frakes was asked what he is passionate about. His response?
"I'm always reading. I'm on a curling team. I go bass fishing as much as possible. I like to take the dogs into the woods. And we travel as much as possible." Frakes also owns a home furnishings store with his wife; teaches film directing at a multi-arts center (his students include a teenager, the local gynecologist, TV producers and a 70-year-old); and plays the trombone (he's featured on the Phish album "Hoist," in the song titled "Riker's Mailbox").
Apparently, he lives in Maine, so that makes more sense than curling in LA.
I miss curling. I'm taking the year off, and I miss it. It would be my fifth full year of curling, and since I wouldn't be able to travel because of the new baby, I decided to take the year off to preserve my "eligibility." The northeast curling association (the GNCC) has special bonspiels (tournaments) for people who have been curling for less than five years. They are held in various clubs throughout the northeast (Maine down to Maryland), this year being in Rochester, NY and Wayland, MA, both too far to travel to with a 3 month old. So in order to give it one last shot, I will wait until next year to curl. It looks like one of the bonspiels might be held in Cape Cod, so that could be a lot of fun. And now you know why I haven't been writing anything about curling this year.
As Expected
No surprise to anyone that MSU lost last night to Boston College. They are just a young team, and they made a LOT of mistakes last night. Every turnover was killing me, so I'm sure Tom Izzo was none too happy. But this is to be expected when you return only one starter from the previous year. Hell of a game between Ohio State and North Carolina too. Imagine if Greg Oden were playing for OSU. They're gonna be tough to beat.
I have no idea what the Yankees are doing any more. $25 million to negotiate with a guy who might be a #4 starter? I at least agree with resigning Mussina, though again, I still think they paid too much, but that seems to be going around the league this year. Seriously, 5 years, $50 million for Gary Matthews Jr? Last year was the first year he hit above .275. Can you say "contract year?" And Alfonso Soriano's contract is looking more ridiculous every day. Six tickets to every game, a luxury suite on all road games, no-trade clause, etc, etc. Sheesh.
Albert Pujols is now bitching that he should have been the MVP, saying that the MVP should at least lead his team to the playoffs. Guess what Albert? Put the Cardinals in any division but the NL Central, and you don't make the playoffs. After the Phillies traded Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle, everyone thought they were giving up on the playoffs. But thanks to Ryan Howard, they made a serious run. Put the Phillies in the NL Central, and they would have beaten out the Cards. Ryan Howard is the MVP this year. Shut up.
Tröegs Mad Elf
I had a cold almost the whole time I was off helping take care of Evan. Now that I'm over that, I can finally review the beers that have been in my fridge for a couple of weeks, starting with this fine brew.
Deep amber color with a short bubble head that didn't last or lace. Now that I'm over my cold, I can pick up a whiff of cherry and some alcohol. The taste does have a bit of honey to it (as the label suggests), and that same cherry that was in the smell. The alcohol is pleasantly not overpowering, even at the advertised 11%, leading to a drinkable brew. It adds a touch of bitterness to go with the tart cherry and sweetish honey. Still, the aroma is a big part of this beer, so I'm glad I waited to review it at a time I could savor it.
Overall rating: 3.75
The Ax
The Ax by Donald E. Westlake
My review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Do the ends justify the means? That's the issue at the crux of "The Ax" by Donald Westlake. What would you do if you were "downsized?" How far would you go if you were out of a job for two years? Burke Devore decides to eliminate the competition, and goes about it in brutal fashion. Along the way, Westlake offers a fascinating look inside the head of a desperate man, and looks at how his life has been changed, and how he is still changing it. It's a really well-written book, and deserves every one of the rare five stars I've given it.
I've now gone through all the books from my last trip to the library, and I'm waiting on a couple to come in. It looks like Only Revolutions by Mark Danielewski will be up next. As always, if you have any book suggestions, send them in, please!
The Curse Continues
It took a while this year, but as usual, one of the new shows I started watching, "The Nine," has been put on hiatus. ABC has not ordered any more episodes beyond the original 13, and it doesn't look like they will. This figures, as I just caught up on all the episodes in a marathon weekend, and now that I'm caught up, they're ditching it. Oh well. I was waffling over whether to continue watching anyway. It was getting decent, but it was going to be hard to continue a show about a 52 hour hostage standoff.
At least my favorite new show, "Heroes," is still going strong. NBC is very cool about the show, offering all the episodes online, and running an accompanying graphic novel online each week as well. The show is rapidly surpassing "Lost" as my current favorite.
Speaking of graphic novels, Joss Whedon is coming out with a new "Buffy" comic book series starting in March. Oh, the awesomeness of it all. The story will pick up a bit after where the show left us, the Hellmouth is closed, and new Slayers have scattered across the globe, but evil is still around. I can't wait.
Good to be Back
I swear, another week at home, and we might have been left with only one child again. Ellie was really driving me nuts. I realize that she's a toddler, and toddlers are all about repetition, but if I had to listen to one of her "music class" CDs one more time, I was going to lose it. Honestly, she's been a bigger issue that Evan. She insists on climbing up on the armchair where Lisa is trying to feed Evan, she has to pick out the Cookie Monster diaper every time he gets changed, and umpteen other little things that were driving me crazy. At least now I get 9 hours of peace.
I hear this morning that MSU is going to hire Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio as football coach. Another so-called "up and comer" rather than an established name. I only hope it's not a John L. repeat. But hey, if he can coach a basketball school to a winning record, maybe there's hope. I've only seen him coach one game, the win over Rutgers, and I was impressed, but we'll wait and see how it goes.
While I maintain my Eli criticism of last night, after watching the highlights, you have to pin a lot of the loss on Mathias Kiwanuka, who had Vince Young wrapped up on 4th and 10, but inexplicably let him go. What an awful play, one that could cost the season and Tom Coughlin's job if they don't beat Dallas this week.
Eli Sucks
Leave it to Eli to lose a 21-0 lead with two picks, a three-and out, and a one first down drive, all in the 4th quarter. Sorry bitch. Of course, Tiki had better shut his mouth now too. We gave you the ball, Tiki, and you didn't get it done. Shut up. An NFL playoff team has to be able to run more than 4 minutes off the clock with 4 possessions in the fourth quarter.
Good bye playoffs.
Red Thunder
Red Thunder by John Varley
My review
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I believe that the best science fiction doesn't get bogged down in the science part. If you try too hard to make your science believable, your readers will try harder to disbelieve it. The thing about Ringworld was that Larry Niven constructed a very interesting, but potentially flawed, so much that he was compelled to write the sequel, Ringworld Engineers, to try to rebut some of the criticism he received.
In Red Thunder, there is little science to defend, as John Varley makes up a device that manipulates the fifth and sixth dimensions to create free energy. The key to the book is that it is character driven, and the characters are a fun motley crew. The space race has continued, and the Chinese are going to beat us to Mars. Not only that, but our ship is fatally flawed and in danger. It's left to our crew of kids and Cajuns to beat the Chinese and help the American crew. Varley succeeds in creating a largely Earth-based tale of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and makes the science part of the science fiction just another interesting character rather than a flaw. I've added the sequel "Red Lightning" to my list.
Next up is The Ax by Donald Westlake.
Sports Catchup
We lost our semifinal baseball game on Saturday. I actually got to play since Lisa's parents were in town. I made a lot of plays in the field at third base and shortstop, but like the rest of the team, I only got on base once, on a bobbled grounder to third. We lost 7-0, or something like that. The worst part was that we waited for an hour plus on a cold November morning for the field to get cleaned up. The grounds crew had previously said it was unplayable, but since we weren't going to play on Thanksgiving weekend, we had to get the game in. Unfortunately, tracking them down and convincing them took a while, and we never warmed up.
The Giants have sucked the past two games, haven't they? The defense has been banged up, and the new left tackle sucks.
Michigan State had a good win against Texas, and had a chance to win a game they played poorly in against Maryland. That game was unfortunately decided by the non-call of a shot clock violation, but they at least showed the heart to get themselves to the point where the call mattered.
Alfonso Soriano is officially gone to the Cubs, for 8 years, $136 million. That's a year and $17 million more than the Mets paid Carlos Beltran a couple of years ago, and Beltran was 2-3 years younger and a natural centerfielder. Soriano will be 31 before the season, and playing only his second year in left field. They also are going to probably hit him somewhere from 3-5, while he spent most of last year leading off. Good luck with that Cubbies. This could lead to some crazy numbers for guys like Carlos Lee, Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt.
Ringworld Engineers
Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
My review
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ringworld Engineers takes us back to the bizarre circular Ringworld to find it off kilter and nearing collision with its own sun. Louis Wu is back to try to prevent the calamity. Larry Niven quickly brings us back into this world and right into the action. Louis and his companions explore a bit more of the vast Ringworld, looking for the repair center to get the Ringworld back in the proper rotation. The action doesn't stop, and Niven keeps us rapt in the story. A fascinating read, especially for anyone who read the original.
Next up, I'm staying in sci-fi with Red Thunder by John Varley.
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