short attention span, number 429
random linkage from the past few days for good little girls and boys, and my two readers, too.
romney, you better fucking talk about magic underpants, says wonkette. it’s all fun and games to poke fun at mormonism, but what i found more disturbing about the substance of the speech was the emphasis on freedom of religion—so long as you have one. i take issue with this: “Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.” suggesting that absence of religion as an influence on government is the same as a ‘religion of secularism’ is disingenuous at best; he’s equating neutrality with opposition. just because the government should want nothing to do with religion does not in any way, shape, or form serve to impinge upon one’s own enjoyment of it. not that i find this surprising, and neither is he the first to imply this, but i still find it repellent. i’d still like a pair of magic underpants, though.
in other news, here’s a cogent explanation of why the revs are so easily perceived as being cheap (oh, and they are, don’t get me wrong), and at the same time why rumors of them signing someone like shevchenko are that and nothing more. not that i wouldn’t like to be surprised, but at the same time, it’s worthwhile perspective to bear in mind next time i get frustrated at the lack of quality players on the bench or uncle bob’s refusal to build us a soccer stadium.
what can be helped, however, is how the mls is marketed. going to a dozen or more matches over the summer, one can see this in action, as i’ve no doubt mentioned; my dad and i have nearly ideal seats, but are surrounded by as many parents wrangling hyperactive kids as we are by soccer fans. it certainly doesn’t have to be this way, and while it is improving, there’s still more that can be done.
since this was written, the santana-to-the-sox action has calmed down, but i thought eric wilbur had a really interesting take on the divide between the haves and the have-nots. on the other hand, maybe this is what yankee fans say to themselves too, in justifying their own juggernaut. some have noted that prospects are a renewable resource, that of course you give them up, even in mass quantities for a santana. i’m not saying that i don’t make that deal, but let’s be fair here. these aren’t the prospects that you acquire a dozen of every year, these are the best of that bunch, culled, ripened, aged; the wheat, not the chaff. their value mustn’t be underestimated, particularly given the emerging culture in the red sox’ farm system, wherein these kids are groomed to understand exactly what’s going to happen when they get to the big leagues in boston, things that free-agent signings and traded players don’t always have.
finally, a big fuck you to people who eschew sidewalks to walk or run in the street. this becomes extremely evident when the snow piles up. sidewalks can be unevenly shoveled or icy, the roads, less so. it’s tempting, and let’s be fair, i do my share of it, too. but the big difference is, when i’m walking or running on the street, and a car comes, i hop up onto the curb. because unlike everyone else, i’m making it my responsibility to keep myself safe, not the oncoming car’s. and frankly, beyond being an obnoxious thing to do (especially when one brazenly claims several feet of the road), it’s just fucking stupid to put your life in someone else’s hands like that. listen, i’m tall enough that overhanging branches are a constant obstacle even in the summer, i don’t like running on ice or uneven snowpack, or up and down ramps and curbs, but the road ain’t mine to use. it’s mine to borrow if no one else is using it. others would do well to remember that.
