Random Stuff From the Web (with only mildly related mp3's)

The Electronic Book Burning - an essay on how the increased digitalization of books, whether it be via google books or the electronic reading device which I shall not name here, is having a negative effect on bookstores and the culture of books.

Perils of Positive Thinking - taken from here, it is an interview with author Barbara Ehrenreich where she talks about her book "Bright-Sided"


Stand By Me - many people may remember the video that made the rounds a couple months ago of numerous people across the globe playing together in a cover of this song. This isn't it. This is Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer and bassist of MOTORHEAD along with the drummer from Slayer. If someone feels like making an mp3 out of this let me know because I'd love it, but I'm to lazy to do the necessary work.

NOTE: If you enjoy seeing blog entries that are links to cool things someone has found on the internet, Sean Bonner does it pretty frequently and better than I (though with less mp3 goodness).

Turn the TV Off And Read A Book Please - Deny Everything (Electronic Book Burning)
American Errorist (I hate hate haters) - NOFX (Perils of Positive Thinking)
Train in Vain (Stand By Me) - The Clash (This one's pretty obvious isn't it?)

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Deny Everything
NOFX
The Clash

Race Day!!!!! Recap a.k.a. Keegan's Gloatfest

Just to follow up on the last posting, this Breeder's Cup may have been my most successful day of watching horse racing ever. Of the 14 races this weekend, I picked 4 winners. They were: Man of Iron, in the Marathon; Midday, in the Filly and Mare Turf; Life is Sweet, in the Ladies Classic; and finally Conduit, in the Turf. Those of you with sharp memories will wonder what happened to my original pick for the Ladies Classic, Rainbow Veiw. And to those of you I will say that I decided not to back a horse on the outside with the first turn where it was in the course, but I did manage to change my pick on the NTRA website in time so they credited me with the win. For those of you with a mind toward numbers and economics, I did the math. If I had placed a 2 dollar bet on each of my choices, I would have finished the weekend with a profit of $66.80. Should I have gone hog wild and bet 5 dollars per race, this prize would have sky rocketed to $167. So we can add 'Professional Gambler" to teh list of possibilities on the old five year plan.

Race Day!!!!!

Today is the first day of the Breeder's Cup Championship of Horse Racing. As I was explaining to someone last night this is one of my big holidays of the year. Here are my picks:

Marathon: Man of Iron
Juvenile Fillies Turf: Lillie Langtry
Juvenile Fillies: Devil May Care
Filly and Mare Turf: Midday
Filly and Mare Sprint: Sara Louise
Ladies' Classic: Rainbow Veiw
Juvenile Turf: Codoy
Turf Sprint: El Gato Malo
Sprint: Gayego
Juvenile: Alfred Nobel
Mile: Goldikova
Dirt Mile: Mastercraftsman
Turf: Conduit
Classic: Rip Van Winkle

I haven't been following racing very closely, so especially in the early races, I mostly went by odds and jockeys. And in the latter half of the races I appeared to let nation of origin rule my choices since my last five picks are all Irish. This is of course in part based on my sole theory of betting which is 'never bet American in the turf classic.' Enjoy race day (weekend).

A Tribute To Our Nation's Aquatic Armed Forces

Courtesy of Craig Ferguson the greatest of all late night talk show hosts. Also, maybe get on this one early kids because I can't imagine CBS just leaving this up for very long.

Montreal Expos Rule!

Before there was an awful baseball team called the Washington Nationals, there was a slightly less awful team called the Montreal Expos. They were pretty near and dear to my heart because they're minor league team played in Burlington, Vt. This is however not a really a post about sports. It's really just an introduction to this video by the Montreal metalcore band Desposed Icon. And the only reason I'm posting the video is because both lead singers are wearing flat-brimmed Montreal Expos hats. And that's awesome. Also, since when do guys in metalcore bands dress like they're in a rap video?

DESPISED ICON - Day Of Mourning (OFFICIAL VIDEO)


Despised Icon - Furtive Monologue (I know it's not the song from the video but it's the only song by them i even come close to liking. Because it has whistling)

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Despised Icon

Boston Sports Changeover

With the Red Sox limping into the post-season with a playing style that is anything but promising, I'm very excited about the first game of the Boston Bruins season being tonight. While the guys didn't really play to their potential in the post-season last year (they really seemed to have what it took to go all the way before getting handled by the hurricanes), this year looks like it should be exciting in that we might have a chance to see some young stars in Boston start coming into their own just as Milan Lucic did last year. First of all, we have lost a player I held in fairly high regard; Phil Kessel. I considered Kessel's speed to be an excellent weapon in the Bruin's offensive arsenal. My uncle, who knows more about Hockey than I do, says that the NHL is moving away from speed and more towards size and aggression (think Lucic or Alex Ovechkin). We can all remember two years ago when Kessel was benched for a few games in the post-season series with the Montreal Canadiens for lack of aggressive play, so perhaps this is not as big a loss as I think. It should also be noted that Boston received two first round and a second round draft picks from Toronto in exchange for Kessel, so hopefully this move will enable us to strengthen our system for years to come.

And speaking of the future, here are the four young Bruins players that I think have the potential to establish themselves as rising stars this season, from oldest to youngest:
Byron Bitz - The 25-year old Right-Winger from Saskatoon was the Bruins 4th round draft pick in 2003. He's got the size to not get pushed around on the ice and he aquitted himself fairly well in the postseason last year, picking up a goal and an assist in the only game he played. Paired with the right Center he could do some impressive things this year, either finishing drives at the net or feeding a shooter.
Matt Hunwick - The 24-year old Michigan Defenseman was drafted in the 7th round by the Bruins in 2004 and has played in parts of the last two seasons. He saw increased action last year with injuries to several Boston defenders. With Aaron Ward's departure to the Carolina Hurricanes (another player I will sorely miss) Hunwick will probably see a great deal more ice time and will have a chance to show that previous successes were not a fluke and can be reproduced.
Blake Wheeler - At 6'5", 205 lbs this Minnesota-born right winger is a big guy and I believe has the biggest chance to make it big this year. He was first-round draft pick for the Coyotes in 2004 and he played like it last year, putting together a decent run at rookie of the year. He is a competent skater and is too big to be run off a puck he goes where he wants to and he can make others go where he wants them to. He essentially started for the Bruins last year and given his performance, I can't see anything changing this year.
Tuukka Rask - 22-year old Fin, Tuukka Rask is my youngest pick, the only non-North American and the only goalie. He was Toronto's first-round draft pick in '05 and he's been doing quite well in Providence. Now that the Bruins have cut-away the anchor that was Manny Fernandes and his salary, Rask looks to have a garuanteed spot backing the pride of UVM, Tim Thomas. With Thomas slated to play for the US Olympic Team, Rask should get plenty of starts for the Bruins. A final note on Rask, headcase-wise he should make an excellent back up to the occasionally pugilistic Thomas, if his performance last march is anything to go by.

So there you go and here's hoping the B's have another great season.

Born To Play - Dustin Pedroia

At some point this summer I read Dustin Pedroia's book Born To Play, My Life In The Game and I thought "I should review this for the old blog. Now I'm not going to write too much because to be honest it wasn't that great a book. It was exactly what you would expect it to be: ghost-written, mostly stuff you already knew if you have an above average interest in the Boston Red Sox, with the occasional interesting tidbit thrown in here and there. The stuff about him growing up, mostly his time in high school and college was pretty good, and occasionally he had some insight to offer on some of the other beloved Sox players (the scene where Jon Lester finds out that he has cancer is especially poignant). If you really like the Red Sox, then you'll probably enjoy reading this book. If you don't like the Red Sox, then I can almost guarantee that you won't at all.

Now Greg over at Confounded Fret Buzz already posted the now infamous MLB The Show commercial, so I thought I'd post another of my favorite Pedroia commercials:


The Dropkick Murphys - Tessie

LaGrecia - You Like Baseball I Like Ghosts

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The Dropkick Murphys
LaGrecia