Barb's Burblings

These pictures are less upsetting

I finally got a bunch of rolls of film developed. Here's a whole album of the trip Brent and I took to Pittsburgh.

I've also added pictures from the Orioles Photo Day to my Orioles album, a few of Colin (and some extra cats) to the Colin album, and a few of Long Beach and DC to the scenery album.

Ohh, my poor car

Look what that evil tire did to my baby. At least the insurance people are being really nice.

Ouch.

Fantasy update

Because I know you all care about my fantasy baseball team, here's an update. I managed to pull off a tie last week and am back in third place after a brief sojourn in fourth. Woo! But what really amused me was the latest note on Brian:

Views: Roberts and his futuristic contact lens should be in your lineup all the time.

Hee. Although I would like to point out, again, that the contact lenses are only good in day games.

Reading recommendation

I've spent some time lately being entertained by McSweeney's. Two I've found particularly amusing are The Seduction of the World's Wildest Beasts: A How-To and Baseball Knowledge Will Not Help You Pick Up Girls (although with me it sure wouldn't hurt; I'm particularly fond of "I would trade Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero for a date with you. Why are you laughing? That's a combined 70 home runs a year!").

For non-Internet reading, you should check out Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. She explores the first three presidential assassinations (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley) by going to various sites associated with them and their deaths. It's all terribly amusing. No, seriously.

Current song in my head:
"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley

Well, that was craptastic

I should've just listened to my body this morning. I woke up and felt icky. Not anything specific; just a lot of coughing and my throat felt weird. Plus, my legs hurt (and that's what I get for actually exercising yesterday). But instead of staying in bed, what did I do? I got up to go tutoring. And that was my mistake.

I'm driving up 270 and there's a tire in the road. It obviously is coming from the left shoulder and is making its way across the four lanes--right toward me. I hope it'll miss me, but it seems very determined. It gets close; I swerve. And...it slams into the side of my car. Then bounces away. But it left its mark. Literally. There are, essentially, tire tracks on the side of my car. Right on the big dent. I am, needlessly to say, not pleased. I should be grateful. The car still works, it didn't hurt my back tire at all (it hit right in front of the rear tire), it didn't cause me to lose control or anything. I'm not hurt. But...man. My poor, poor car. I don't know how that tire was going down the road, but I'm sure annoyed about it.

But, on a Saturday afternoon, there was little to do about it. So after tutoring I came home and lay on the couch, as I still physically felt ucky. The coughing? Continued. I watched my boys make a brilliant comeback in the top of the 9th inning (which they totally need, as they apparently have no confidence on the field at the moment), only to see them lose on a walk-off home run. Steve's party was fun (yay, pigs in a blanket!) and then I watched a bunch of Arrested Development.

Now it's 2 a.m. and I should be in bed. I still feel crappy and my throat is really bothering me, but I'm not really tired. And am bothered by the fact that my hair seems very flat. I'm going to blame that on having it pulled back most of the evening.

Current song in my head:
"Where Does the Good Go?" by Tegan and Sara

I guess my tastes haven't changed

So I was flipping through the channels the other night and come across the climax of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I pause, partially because I just like the movie, and partially because young Tom Riddle--Lord Voldemort himself--is featured heavily at that part. And as I watched, I realized that Christian Coulson reminds me a lot of Jeff Bateman, this guy I liked in high school. I think it's the hair, really. I must point out, however, that Jeff was not at all evil. He was a very nice boy who made an adorable sheep in a play we were in together.

Here's a picture of Christian Coulson as Tom Riddle:

Here are a couple of Jeff from my yearbook (and man, seeing pictures of myself from then...I'm impressed that any boys even talked to me):

Ah, high school. Good times. ... Kind of. Anyway, Jeff was nice. My big move with Jeff was when he graduated (he was a senior, I was a junior) and after the ceremony, I hugged him. Yeah, I was wild in those days. Hey, it made me happy. I hope he's doing well.

Why I Love Minor League Baseball

In what I believe is a first in professional sports history, two video gamers will play the first two innings of a baseball game for the teams. And it will count. The first two innings of the July 16 game between the Kansas City T-Bones and the Schaumburg Flyers will be played on X-Box. It will be shown on the JumboTron and the stadium announcers will provide play-by-play. To make it more intriguing, apparently the T-Bones and the Flyers are rivals; the Flyers came from behind to beat the T-Bones in the playoffs last year. This must be pretty frustrating for the players. But wow, technology has come so far from the days of basic Nintendo.

Well, we didn't die...

The trip to Pittsburgh was good. Pittsburgh managed to exceed Brent's and my expectations (which, admittedly, were not terribly high to begin with). It helped that we stayed in a fabulous hotel, paying something like a third of the actual rate. Sure, they constantly pointed out that we booked through Hotwire, but if it annoyed them, then, well, maybe they should stop taking bookings through there.

We rode the Monongahela Incline, meandered around Station Square, then relaxed at the hotel a bit before heading over to PNC Park for the Nationals-Pirates game. The park was great and we had fantastic seats. I got Ryan Church and Brad Wilkerson to sign the game ball Dave and I got at the game we went to. The Nats won, 7-4, and Jose Guillen helped out my fantasy team with two home runs (side note: the fantasy team is not doing so well; I'm now in 4th in my league).

After the game, Brent and I decided that we wanted some dinner, so we asked at the front desk of the hotel and the girl there sent us to the Strip District. Well, theoretically. In practice, Brent and I wound up wandering around a very deserted area next to the river. There were scary loading bays and hoodlums and highway overpasses and we walked and walked and walked and definitely did not find any sort of restaurants, shops, or bars. So we hoofed it back to the hotel, thankfully unmolested, and wound up eating at the hotel. It was crazy expensive, but we were thankful to not be wandering the mean streets of Pittsburgh.

Yesterday we went down to the point where the three rivers meet, the site of the original Fort Pitt. It was closed. (Typical.) But it was pretty. And there were nice dogs.

Anyway, it was a lovely trip. The city was very walkable and it worked out fantastically. Except for the walking the mean streets of Pittsburgh (we passed the Greyhound station, people). But other than that little blip...

Current song in my head:
"Saving All My Love For You" by Whitney Houston

A brief detour into seriousness

This op-ed piece, written by a former Repbulican Senator from Missouri, does a really good job articulating how I feel about faith and politics. Basically, just because conservative Christians say they represent Christians doesn't mean that they do.

By contrast, moderate Christians see ourselves, literally, as moderators. Far from claiming to possess God's truth, we claim only to be imperfect seekers of the truth. We reject the notion that religion should present a series of wedge issues useful at election time for energizing a political base. We believe it is God's work to practice humility, to wear tolerance on our sleeves, to reach out to those with whom we disagree, and to overcome the meanness we see in today's politics.

The cutest monster

Grover is currently participating in a chat on washingtonpost.com. He's talking about eating better. He is the BEST. I love Grover.

Note: This post may not make much sense. I'm hopped up on sugar from the Munchkins that my boss brought in for me and I'm less than 10 minutes from fleeing the office for the weekend. The 4-day weekend. Hurrah!

Note 2: Grover responded to me! Yay!

Silver Spring, Md.: Grover, I just want to say thank you for all the cuteness you have brought to the world. I'm 26, and you've always been my favorite. I am slightly resentful of Elmo--who was not around when I was a child--because he seems to be overshadowing you a bit. But I'll always love you! -From one cute kid to another

Grover: Thank you for recognizing my cuteness! I will now recongnize your cuteness! Oh there it is! hello, cuteness! Now let us all take a moment to recognize Elmo's cuteness! he is so cute and red and fuzzy! he really is very cute!

He thinks I'm cute! Awww. Except for the acknowledgment of Elmo, who is still vastly inferior to Grover.

For a Friday

Want to spend your Friday doing nothing but throwing paper into a trashcan? I'm here to help. I think I really could just play that all day.

Also for your amusement: Stories of working at a Barnes & Noble (speaking of which, man, I still have to reserve my copy of the next Harry Potter).

Current song in my head:
"Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley

It's what day?

Last night...

Carrie: And I got that in stage combat tonight.
Barb: Oh, did you not have the auditions?
C: Those are tomorrow night.
B: I thought you said they were Wednesday.
C: Barb, it's Tuesday.
B: ...

Photographic evidence

Dave has helpfully emailed the pictures to me, so we can prove that we did have fantastic seats. He also pointed out that I somehow managed to forget that we also got a game ball. At one point, it just came rolling over the dugout toward us. It even says "Nationals Inaugural Season" on it. It rocks.

OK, pictures.

Here's Frank Robinson, watching the game progressing.

This is Ryan Church, who Dave apparently likes, after an at-bat. Church is the left fielder. He went 1-4 (a double), with a walk, a run, and an RBI.

And our buddy, James Carville. You can see that's me next to him. Very nice guy, and apparently he was Bill Clinton's campaign manager in 1992. Huh. Thanks again for the peanuts, James!

It's the little things

Late Saturday night/early Sunday morning (around 1:45) I was channel surfing between a few things. And then I discovered that TVLand was airing the Scarecrow & Mrs. King pilot. Which was, let me tell you, excessively exciting for me. I love that show. I am biding my time until a Lee Stetson-like secret agent pulls me into his world. This is why I live in the DC area. They aired another episode Sunday afternoon, but it was part of an evil plan to air shows that they don't air that often. Whuh? Please, please stop taunting me. I now know that you own the show. You can air it if you want. Please air it! Or at least make them release it on DVD. On Sunday, after SMK, they showed Sisters, another blast from the past. Also exciting. Sadly, it wasn't one of the George Clooney episodes. I was so sad when he left Sisters to go on ER. And now the back of my mind is trying to remember his character's name. I could probably figure it out fairly easily.

Anyway, today I found another small pleasure. I was at Target returning a couple things when I walked by their pharmacy section. I saw a logo I recognized. It was only when I was a few steps past it that I realized it was all stuff from Boots--essentially, the British CVS. Whee! Target called it their "British aisle." It was so cool that I had to call Carrie and share. And this is the same Target that carries Orioles merchandise. Hurrah!

Current song in my head:
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2

ETA: Falconer! Clooney's character was Falconer.

Best. Seats. Ever.

Pardon the Interruption on Friday was really quite cool. And I mean that in both the literal and slang senses. The studio? Freezing. And yet that didn't stop Wilbon from wearing shorts with his suit shirt and jacket. My coworker's friend (MCF) was really, really cool. PTI doesn't have a studio audience, so me and a couple guys just sat on some chairs along the wall of the studio. It was neat seeing how the taping went.

Then MCF gave us a tour of the facility, showing us various technical rooms and the newsroom and the other studio where The Daily Show actually filmed for a week, so there were pictures of Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, etc., around. Cool! We met some of the other folks that were around, and MCF showed us where she works--she does editing. Anyway, she pulled out a couple of tickets for that night's Nationals game. I snagged them, figuring I could probably rustle someone up to go with me. Or just go alone. Whatever. I was told they were really good seats, just behind the Nats' dugout.

After leaving the studio, I called around and Dave wound up joining me at RFK. And..."good" doesn't even begin to cover how good these seats were. We were in the first row behind the dugout. We were closer to home plate than the pitcher. The on-deck circle was blocking Dave's view of the batter. It was, to put it mildly, awesome.

Then, apparently in response to my complaint earlier this week that I've lived around DC for almost 5 years and have never just seen a famous person around, we wound up sitting next to James Carville. Who, it turns out, is awesome. He gave us his bag of peanuts and managed to get every kid in the section a game ball. Then gave the bat boy his card, "in case you ever need anything." Plus, he was a very amusing heckler. We chatted about baseball throughout the game, and he wasn't really noticed by anyone until the end of the game, when some folks asked for pictures with him. I also got his autograph.

And the Nats beat Seattle, so it was all good. Although Dave and I did decide that as awesome as it was, it would've been a lot cooler had we been in the row behind the Orioles' dugout at Camden Yards.

My weekend of baseball wasn't over. On Saturday night a group of us went up to Frederick to see the Keys (the O's A team) play the Nationals' A team. I was psyched, as Adam Loewen, a top O's prospect, was pitching. I got another free duffle bag to add to my collection. Another very enjoyable night; the Keys also won. The seats weren't as good as the night before, but...well, when are they ever gonna be?

Anyway, good times. And if Dave can figure out how to email pictures from his phone, I'll post some for everyone's enjoyment. Now I have to email my coworker to thank her.

Current song in my head:
"Being Alive" from Company

Set your Tivos

...Or not. It's not like I'm going to be ON tv. But I will be watching a show taped today. Thanks to a friend of a coworker, I'll be seeing Pardon the Interruption taped today. I'm pumped.

It seems like I have a few tenuous connections to cable television, between this coworker's friend at ESPN and Brent's friend Dave at CNN. And my dad's been a guest on MSNBC and other such business-type cable channels any number of times.

Anyway. PTI airs at 5:30 on ESPN, and again at 6:30 on ESPN News.

More national exposure

The CBS Evening News did a piece last night on those spiffy contact lenses some players wear to allow them better vision during the day. Brian was featured at the beginning of the story. You can go here (scroll down to "Super Lenses for MLB Stars") to view the piece.

Weird baseball injuries: A compilation

Because we just can't get enough of other people's miseries, here are some links to more bizarre baseball injuries:

Baseball Injury Hall of Fame: "Giants head-case third baseman Chris Brown once begged out of the lineup because of a strained eyelid. He claimed he 'slept on it wrong.'"

Rash of Strange Injuries Afflicts Baseball: "San Diego Padres pitcher David Wells, whose colorful personal life is the stuff of legend, tried out a number of explanations for the severed tendon in his right wrist and the cut on his left palm before deciding on this one: He tripped over a bar stool while playfully chasing a buddy who had tapped him on the back, falling on a glass and bottle he was carrying."

Top 10 Weird Injuries in Professional Baseball: "Nolan Ryan was bitten by a coyote."

All-Bizarre Injury Team: "The master of all bizarre injuries, [Kevin Mitchell] once injured himself while eating a cupcake."

The Weird World of Baseball Injuries: "Though he seems to have tried, Wells has never truly challenged the all-time-record missing-in-action excuse of Cardinals pitcher Flint Rhem, but who has? Rhem went AWOL at the height of the '30 pennant race. It wasn't his fault, he explained to Branch Rickey. Gamblers kidnapped him and forced him to drink bootleg whiskey for two days."

Blair and baseball

My company has tickets to the Distinguished Speaker Series at the Kennedy Center, and each time they raffle off the tickets. Which is to say that last night I saw Paula Zahn and Cherie Booth Blair. It was a pretty interesting discussion; there were some things I may incorporate into my First Ladies tour at the Smithsonian.

But the highlight of the night would have to be that they were introduced by Hillary Rodham Clinton. It was very exciting; I'd never seen a President or (former) First Lady in person before. She didn't talk much, but she was amusing.

It's one of the neat things about living around here; you can randomly one night go and see something like this. For free (well, other than parking). Hurrah!

Moving on, it looks like another baseball player has fallen victim to a random injury; this time, it's Colorado Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes who broke his collarbone while carrying groceries to his apartment. He fell while climbing the stairs, as he didn't want to wait for the elevator:

"I figured, I'm an athlete, I can walk up the stairs, it's not that big a deal," Barmes said in an interview Monday, his left arm hanging in a sling. "Obviously, if I had to go back, I would have waited, or at least been a bit more careful going up."

I didn't realize that Cordova was on the O's DL because he burned himself tanning. That's just sad.

In positive news, it looks like Brian may be heading to the All-Star game; he leads the voting at 2nd base by a good 42,000 votes (up from last week, when the margin was around 1,400). Hurrah! He's still out of the lineup due to a strained rotator cuff, but should be back in by Friday at the latest.

Current song in my head:
"Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel

Lazy summer Sunday

We're heading into the third summer that Carrie and I have lived in the same apartment complex, yet yesterday was the first time we went to the pool (the pool that is so close, we could probably throw a stone from our balcony into it). Usually it's swarming with loud, annoying children, but yesterday it was delightfully empty. Well, not completely empty, but there were only a few people there. And since it was around 90 out, we thought we'd head down. It was a great way to spend the afternoon; very relaxing. Of course, I'm still pasty white. Either I wear sunscreen and stay pasty white, or I don't and wind up completely red. I went with the choice that doesn't lead to skin cancer.

Current song in my head:
"I'll Follow the Sun" by the Beatles

Update

Because I know everyone's foaming at the mouth for an update on Brian...

He's actually leading the voting for 2B at the All-Star Game, which is exciting. It's not a big lead, but it's there. And a good sign that people other than O's fans have noticed him. From the Baltimore Sun:

Roberts said he's honored to lead American League second basemen in the early All-Star voting, but he doesn't consider himself the favorite. That honor, he believes, goes to the Texas Rangers' Alfonso Soriano.

Roberts has received 433,461 votes and leads Soriano by 1,450.

"I'm sure a lot of those are our fans and that shows we have a lot of our support back for this team," Roberts said. "Soriano always ends up with a million votes, so I'm not worried about it at this point. That's the least of my concerns."

Aww. Of course, Brian does have other concerns at the moment. He was out of last night's game due to a sore shoulder. One can only hope that he'll be back today or tomorrow and that it's nothing serious. The O's can't afford to lose another starter. Of course, Brian wanted to start last night's game, but better to miss a game or two than a week or two.

...And wow, my writing today bites. Oh well! Such is life.

Side note: I got a ticket to see Brian Stokes Mitchell in September. Woo! Love him!

Current song in my head:
"I'll Follow the Sun" by the Beatles