Barb’s Burblings

Army of cats to launch attack on Atascaderos, Mexico.

I needed new nice black shoes for work, so I went out and bought some. And they have heels. We’re talking 2 inches, which for me is a lot, in that I think the highest heel I’ve ever bought before was maybe half an inch. I feel like I look horribly awkward walking in them, partly because I feel horribly awkward walking in them. It’ll take some getting used to. At least I haven’t killed myself walking in them…yet.
Anyway, the big news in these parts is the return of baseball to Washington, D.C. I admit I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve never had much exposure to a National League team before, so that’ll be cool. Of course this doesn’t mean I’m giving up the Orioles. Hardly. (Though my boy appears to be in a bit of a slump, sadly.) I’ll try to make it to a few Washington games, but most of my energy will be spent on the O’s.
I do feel bad for the Expos fans. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to say goodbye to a team.
Current song in my head:
“Accidentally in Love” by the Counting Crows

Hahahahahahaha. Nothing brightens my morning like hearing that the Redskins lost. And I was impressed that the Washington Post Express didn’t have a ‘Skins picture on the cover. Though I imagine there would’ve been one if the Redskins had won.
In other good news, it looks more and more likely that the Montreal Expos will be moving to DC. That would be really cool. I’ve never been to a National League game before. I’ll still support the Orioles, of course, but it’d be neat to see Washington get a baseball team.

Looks like some very smart television executive wants Reserve Oriole Boyfriend Larry Bigbie to be on The Bachelor.

This morning on the radio the newscaster was giving the weather forecast. Looks good, and then he started discussing whether or not Hurricane Jeanne will hit our area. Right now it looks like it might, probably early next week. “Hopefully it’ll weaken by then,” said the radio announcer. “But right now it looks like it might interfere with Monday night’s [Redskins-Cowboys] football game.” Because with a hurricane coming, its effect on a football game should clearly be everyone’s concern.

On Friday, Jon Stewart appeared on The Bill O’Reilly Factor. I’ve long found Bill O’Reilly to be a complete, for lack of a better word, diktad, but this just cements it. The transcript can be found here. The man comes off as completely petty. Chunks of it appear that he’s joking, but really, when one of the first things you say to a guest is, “I mean, you’ve got stoned slackers watching your dopey show every night, OK, and they can vote” that just comes off poorly. Stoned slackers? Man, I didn’t realize I–and many of my friends–are stoned when we watch The Daily Show. And he harped on the fact that John Kerry chose to do TDS instead of his show. Dude. Get over it. Also, “Eighty-seven percent are intoxicated when they watch it. You didn’t see that?” Ugh.
At least Jon and crew won an Emmy last night.

So another Emmy Awards has come and gone. I don’t even know why I watch. The whole thing is annoying and Carrie and I spent the whole evening bitching at the tv.
My main complaint about the Oscars is that series on HBO (and Showtime, though they’re fewer and far between) directly compete with series on the networks. Completely unfair. Series that air on the networks have to come up with ~22 new episodes every year, whereas series that air on HBO have seasons that last closer to 13 episodes and appear when the creative teams behind them feel they’re ready. I imagine it’s a heck of a lot easier to put out a consistently good show when you have 2 years between seasons to work on them. I mean, the fourth season of The Sopranos ended on December 8, 2002. The fifth season began March 7, 2004. That’s a year and a quarter. The whole thing just frustrates me.
And what was up with the announcer pointing out when Sarah Jessica Parker won that she was married to Matthew Broderick, an Emmy Award winner? It what way does that matter? When Bradley Whitford won, did they point out that he’s married to Jane Kaczmarek, an Emmy nominee?
It was kind of neat that they brought in “real people” to present the reality show award (yay, Amazing Race!), though the whole thing seemed a bit condescending. Like, “Ooh, look at the Real People! Aren’t they cute?” And the stars seemed a bit unnerved by them being there. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston looked like they wanted to make sure the Real People stayed at least 50 feet from them at all times.
All that, combined with the terrible job done by Gary Shandling and the painful patter from the presenters (I was squirming during the Chris Noth/Sarah Jessica Parker one), I’m sad that for some reason I watched this instead of Jack & Bobby. At least the thing ended on time.
Current song in my head:
“Wonderful Night For Oscar” because of that clip in whatever montage

My boy Brian broke a 103-year-old record yesterday when he hit his 47th double of the season. He now holds the record for most doubles by a switch hitter in the American League, and has tied Cal Ripken, Jr., for the O’s club record. Go Brian! It’d just be nice if they could give him a little assurance about next season.

I don’t know why, but for the past few nights I’ve had some really disturbing dreams. On Tuesday I dreamed that I was kidnapped (though I managed to escape pretty easily). On Wednesday I dreamed that I was in New York and there was another terrorist attack (they flew a plane into the New York Public Library). Last night I dreamed that aliens were invading. Of course, I also dreamed that I went to a party that was sort of a high school reunion. That was a bit more pleasant. But I was quite disturbed about the alien invasion thing.
And this morning I had the Tiny Toons theme in my head. Talk about disturbing.

The four widows of 9/11 victims known as the “Jersey Girls,” the ones who essentially got the 9/11 Commission created, have backed Kerry for the presidency (this is a Salon article, so to read it you’ll have to watch an ad):
Gathering at the National Press Club in Washington on Tuesday, the widows announced their endorsement of the Massachusetts Democrat for president, a move made “in good conscience and from our hearts,” as former Bush supporter Kristen Breitweiser told the news cameras. “In the three years since 9/11, I could never have imagined I would be here today, disappointed in the person I voted for, for president,” she said. Added fellow Jersey Girl Patty Casazza: “It was President Bush who thwarted our attempts at every turn.”