Blowing Like A Hurricane: Sandy Trash Talk

There are so many current, and extant, memes and winds with which to open up that which is the Emptywheel blog Trash Talk. Ima gonna get in such HUGE problems from Marcy for not featuring Meat Loaf right here on the cover of our own Rolling Stone.

Sandy, the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this warm [October] night
Down in the town, the Circuit’s full of switchblade lovers,
so fast, so shiny, so sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open
like Latin lovers on the shore
Chasin’ all them silly New York virgins by the score

But I can’t do it. Not gonna do it. Probably gonna be fired from this blog, as a degenerate itinerant. I am a so screwed.

Did you hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie
For tellin’ fortunes better than me

And, you know, I could have used Madame Marie so far this year. My predictions have been seriously for shit.

Okay, I will deal. And move on to the games in play for the bookie at the joint underneath the boardwalk.

I don’t know where Sandy is going to get off, i.e. hit on the coast, but if you are anywhere on the projected path, then let preparation and safety come first. Our friend Cindy Kouril lives in the danger zone, and she has some thoughts.

But rigging for bad weather is not the only thing going on, we have sporting competition afoot!

The biggest story is the World Series where, somewhat surprisingly, the Giants have jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Tigers. As the series opened up in San Francisco, it might not be that surprising, the shelling put on Justin Verlander in game one sure was. But now it moves to Detroit. Since Bud Selig and MLB simply will not allow a day game to be played any longer, the temperature come game time should be in the vicinity of 36-38 degrees. It is more than possible for the Tigers to run off a couple of games before going back to San Francisco. We shall see.

As to the student athletes, we are just about to hear the big prediction from the ESPN Gameday crew. Is there anything more idiotic than their new practice of having a guest celebrity “help” them? Today it is some al-Qaida looking dude apparently (I think) from “Kings of Leon”. Seriously, it has just gotten asinine. At any rate, the big game this week is the Domers at the Sooners. Love to stop having to say the game of the week involves the Irish, but terrified at the prospect of having to root for freaking Oklahoma to stop said trend. GO SOONERS!

Big Blue invades Cornfusker land. The King of Leon picks teh Bo Merlots. I dunno bout that, think the Nebraska can take the Merlots. THE Ohio State University goes to the Not JoePas; Penn State has been a pretty good story this year, starting out the year 5-2 and 3-0 in conference. Think the Buckeyes will put a dent in that record, though OSU’s starting QB is nicked up so it may be close. Not all the good matchups are in the Big 10.X, Gators at Dawgs will be a real test for Mr. White’s boys and the Texas Tech not quite yet Dead Raiders at Kansas State game may be good too. Colin Klein is something.

In the pros, I’m actually pretty interested in the Fish at the Jets, Jets, Jets. Miami is way better than anybody thought, and their defense may actually be ahead of Rex Ryan’s. Gonna roll with a Fishy upset. The Dirty Birds at the Santa hating Iggles should be an epic throw down. The Falcons outclass Philly in every category and pundits are saying both Andy Reid and Mike Vick are goners. So Iggles it is then!! Seattle at Detroit should be interesting, assuming Matt Stafford can get the grass out of his hat. The Good Elis go down to the Jerry Dome to visit Mr. Romo. Do the ‘Boys have anything for the Gents? I don’t think so. The seemingly rejuvenated Saints travel up to Mile High to take on the Peytons. Later in the year I’d probably pick the Donkos, but right now, think the Saints will smoke them. Aaaannnd, believe it or not, the Cardinals are on Monday Night Football! Yep, hell has frozen on over. The Niners will be in town to visit Spidey Dude Fitzgerald and whatever schlub is going to try to pitch him the damn ball. I think it’s Red Skelton this week. Look for the Niners to roll.

Also up is the Indian Grand Prix from the Buddh International Circuit. Sebastian Vettel has taken a six point lead on Fernando Alonso. Vettel is on pole with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber joining him in the front row. Hamilton starts in P3 on the grid. Looks like Vettel is going to sprint to another driver’s crown unless a shunt or mechanical problems stop him. Vettel is very smooth and good from pole though, so not likely at the Indian.

Okay, let it be known that Marcy MADE me put some Loaf in this oven. Paradise By The Dashboard Light it is then. Hey, forget the Meat, Ellen Foley can flat out wail baybeee! Don’t sleep on it, rock this joint.

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66 replies
  1. Peterr says:

    Since Bud Selig and MLB simply will not allow a day game to be played any longer, the temperature come game time should be in the vicinity of 36-38 degrees.

    When the Cubs were scheduled to play their first night game at Wrigley Field, it was all the talk of the baseball media. Cameras were there in droves to capture the event, and it was televised as a special Monday Night Baseball event. Halfway through the fourth inning, the game was delayed because of rain. Two hours later, the umps called the game.

    I took this as a sign that God is a fan of day baseball, and tampering with a cathedral like Wrigley Field in this manner is blasphemous.

    If they’re going to play night baseball in October and November, they should prohibit MLB big-wigs from sitting in climate-controlled skyboxes.

  2. Peterr says:

    Also up is the Indian Grand Prix from the Buddh International Circuit.

    I’m trying to imagine a Buddhist F1 race. Hmmmm . . . from PBS, on the Basics of Buddhism:

    The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing with the suffering humanity faces — suffering of a physical kind, or of a mental nature. The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering. In Buddhism, desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. Ignorance, in comparison, relates to not seeing the world as it actually is. Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains, one’s mind is left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of things. Vices, such as greed, envy, hatred and anger, derive from this ignorance.

    The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, has dual meaning, suggesting either the end of suffering in this life, on earth, or in the spiritual life, through achieving Nirvana. When one has achieved Nirvana, which is a transcendent state free from suffering and our worldly cycle of birth and rebirth, spiritual enlightenment has been reached. The Fourth Noble truth charts the method for attaining the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Moreover, there are three themes into which the Path is divided: good moral conduct (Understanding, Thought, Speech); meditation and mental development (Action, Livelihood, Effort), and wisdom or insight (Mindfulness and Concentration).

    Becoming one with one’s vehicle surely fits in there somewhere. Of course, the F1 strand of Buddhism probably implies that only one driver is allowed to achieve Nirvana per race, as those who do not win appear to suffer greatly.

  3. bmaz says:

    Say Peter, my TeeVee tells me Herkie the Hawkeye might be getting his ass kicked and beak broke by……

    The Fighting Journalists!

    Don’t fuck with a football team that buys ink by the barrel // bmazTwain

  4. JohnT says:

    Whorns are lossssiiinnnnnngggggg again, 14-7 to Kansas

    lol

    PS Run down of the Vikings getting their ass kicked. This was funny

    The Offensive Line: You guys…you friggin’ guys. Although I applaud your unconventional ‘Olly Olly Oxenfree’ blocking scheme, it tends to give your quarterback no time to set up in the pocket, even though it is entertaining to see Ponder run for his life, much like a helpless Christian in the Roman Coliseum when they loosed the lions. Christian…Ponder…lions…Roman Coliseum…did you see what I did there? DID YOU SEE THAT???

  5. bmaz says:

    Holy Crap Batman!

    I was noodling around in U-Tube from the point I took the Springsteen Sandy video at the top of the post from and…….found a clip from a concert I was very much at. In 1978. Couldn’t pick my mug out in the video, but was right there about 10-12 rows back. One of the chicks who mad a dash for Boss cash at the end came from right in front of me.

    Jesus, I have never seen this video before.

    WOW of WOW. Springsteen and the E Street were seriously freaking good live back then. #Sonofabitch

  6. JohnT says:

    @bmaz: Yup. lol

    I was expecting 8-8, hoping for 9-7. I don’t know what the deal is with “Spaghetti Arm” Ponder. Lack of receivers (ever since they traded Moss they’ve been beyond shitty. Two words: Bernard Berrian)? Bad blocking? Bad footwork? FEAR? Dunno

    But like my link said about the receivers, he better “unfuck his shit”

  7. P J Evans says:

    @Peterr:
    I wish they’d shorten the regular season so the World Serious is over by mid-October. Especially if they’re going to have three weeks of playoff games beforehand. (It ain’t football, commissioner: the season is more than 16 weeks long.)

  8. Peterr says:

    Love to stop having to say the game of the week involves the Irish, but terrified at the prospect of having to root for freaking Oklahoma to stop said trend. GO SOONERS!

    I was with you right up to those last two words. Mrs Dr Peterr’s favorite two teams are Nebraska and whoever is playing against Oklahoma. I’m already bucking her #1 team — even more now that Nebraska has joined a real conference — and I can’t root against BOTH of her teams.

    whispering

    Go Domers.

  9. Peterr says:

    @JohnT: And the Horned Ones pull it out with 12 seconds to go. There will be much sadness on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence. Tears will be shed. Teeth will be gnashed. Beers will be quaffed. Excuses will be made. No smiles will be seen.

    Except, I suspect, on the face of Bill Self. The more losses on the football field, the hungrier the fans will be for hoops.

  10. Peterr says:

    I can’t help but notice the lack of any mention of games involving teams from a certain conference to the west.

    No love for the #17 Primary Color That Is Not Blue or Green?
    No love for the #9 Prophylactics?
    No love for the #7 Dambuilders?
    No love for the #4 Quackers?

    I’m not complaining, mind you. I’m just surprised.

  11. JohnT says:

    @Peterr: Not as much there, there (intrigue), as in past years. Maybe because the power’s shifted to Oregon?

    No Luck. The Bears suck (are bi-polar (Polar Bears?)). Prophylactics aren’t as good as people thought. Ducks are as good as people suspected. And the Beavers are a sneaky good under-the-radar surprise that aren’t getting their deserved respect because of lack of coverage

  12. Peterr says:

    Looking at tomorrow’s schedule and the projected rainfall in the next 24 hours from Sandy, the NFL really dodged a bullet. The Jags and Fish are on the road, as are the Panthers and Redskins, and the Ravens have the week off. As close as the NFL will get to nasty weather on the East coast is Philly as the Iggles host the Dirty Birds. The Jets Jets Jets are also home, but Sandy won’t reach that far north for another day.

    A nightmare Monday night game would have been in Baltimore or DC.

  13. Peterr says:

    the Texas Tech not quite yet Dead Raiders at Kansas State game may be good too. Colin Klein is something.

    19/25 passing for 233 yds and 2 TDs, plus 12 carries for 89 yds and 2 TDs on the ground . . . Yeah, I’d say Klein is something.

    55-24 Manhattan Wildcats.

    If Florida can’t get their act together and beat Georgia (17-9 GA with 4 minutes left), and maybe even if they do, it looks like K State may move up to #2 in the rankings. The fact that Kansas let one get away in Lawrence would only make it that much sweeter for the folks in the Little Apple.

  14. prostratedragon says:

    @Peterr:

    More support! Though unlikely to happen, because the stereotype about overgrown boys seems to apply to the ones running these leagues more than to the players in them. Night games in the frost, when days this time of year are usually still at least early spring-like. Series starting with zero rest days preceding.

    Going back to 156 games would give them at least a week, even without doubleheaders. And there must be some kind of deal they could do with the players’ union that would get them to agree to a few scheduled dheaders per season.

  15. CTuttle says:

    Wowsers, what a wacky day of College ball…! Georgia beating Jim’s Gators and Arizona getting the improbable victory over SC…! The Aggies of Tejas is beating up on Auburn too…! ;-)

  16. Jim White says:

    Well that sucked. Despite the first five turnovers, Gators were still in the game until Reed’s fumble into end zone with about two minutes left. Day isn’t a total loss though. We adopted two wonderful kittens.

  17. Valley Girl says:

    @bmaz

    Wow, that second Bruce link made my evening. It’s wild compared the others I’ve found. Electrical.

    Holy Crap Batman! You were SO lucky to have been there!

    Echo this: WOW of WOW. Springsteen and the E Street were seriously freaking good live back then. #Sonofabitch

    And, never seen the Big Man in a red suit before! The parts of vid with Bruce and Clarence were AbFab!

  18. Bob Schacht says:

    Denard Robinson on the bench in second half, injured late in first half (nerve in right elbow), but could be back later in the second half if he can grip the ball OK. Meanwhile, MI second string quarterback is having lots of trouble. Currently Cornhuskers ahead 10-6. Michigan defense committing stupid fouls.

    Bob in AZ

  19. rosalind says:

    @bmaz: my first Bruce was 2 years later for “The River” tour, thanks to the great ticket on-sale debacle of 1980. I was one of many would-be ticket buyers camped outside the record store doors watching as the employees inside printed off hundreds of tickets for themselves before they deigned open the doors to the lowly public. About 6 people in my line actually got tickets before the shows sold out.

    Furious, I went home and wrote a letter to Bill Graham decrying the unfairness. To my amazement a few days later I got a letter back inviting me to come up to the SF office and purchase tickets for the show. In true Bill style, he had demanded every ticket back from the record store employees, and then sold them to the fans who’d written or called him with complaints.

    The beginning of my BGP journey, and a chance to finally experience Springsteen & Co. in their 3+ hour show glory.

  20. bmaz says:

    @rosalind: Whoa, that was the start of it all? That’s incredible.Actually, 1978 was my second Bruce. The first, was maybe even better (hard to believe, but really maybe true).

    The first was in 1975 and it was an infamous show at the one and only Grady Gammage theater, a Frank Lloyd Wright joint. I was a freshman at ASU and student tickets were just dirt cheap. Blew the doors off the house he did. In the linked article, it says cracked the foundation, but that is not quite right. It was the balcony, and it was literally swaying and flexing because the crowd was so amped up. I was in the lower level about halfway back and when I looked up and saw it, swear to god I thought the sucker was gonna give and crash. Also, they probably had to fumigate it to clear out the pot smell afterwards. Unreal show.

    I thought his studio stuff was fine and all, but was not nearly as excited by him as all my new friends from New York and New Jersey I met in the dorms. They made me go. And, well, once you see E Street live, you know the rest…

  21. rosalind says:

    oh dear, the Super Geek’s brother’s night with the wife at Comerica Park did not go as planned.

    while i’m rooting for the Giants i’m also rooting for a good series.

    or for Detroit to, you know, score.

  22. rosalind says:

    completely OT, but holy fuck: 7.7. quake off British Columbia. my schooner, Zodiac, is in the San Juans tonight.

    oh man, please no tsunami…

  23. rosalind says:

    from twitter: Sarah Miller ‏@scba – #tsunami confirmed by WCATWC via deep ocean pressure sensor. Warning area same as before. #bcquake

    edit: Michael van Poppel ‏@mpoppel – UPDATE: Tsunami warning center says “small tsunami” recorded on a deep ocean pressure sensor

  24. Quebecois says:

    Great drive by Vettel, amazing start from Alonso. Webber got a bad Kers once again. That track is real nice, it will be a different race when they give them tires that will degrade faster next year. Should be sad about Schu’s very bad ending to his career, but, no, still giddy about that.

    Saw Springsteen first in 79 in Montreal, didn’t like it, it was a big messy garage band with no soul. I was dragged back until 1988 on three more occasions, my judgement never changed…

  25. GulfCoastPirate says:

    Nice Bruce reference. That Phoenix show floated around on bootlegs for years and years. In fact, I think that particular clip used to turn up on MTV in their early years from time to time. One of the live DVD’s included on The Promise Deluxe Edition where that clip of Phoenix comes from is the full Houston show from the same year.

    Those guys were great.

  26. What Constitution says:

    I love the music that gets shared here, and the memories. I, too, first saw Bruce in 1975, at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento and it was a week after he got his mug on the covers of both Time and Newsweek. White hot and unbelievable. The clincher, though, was the fourth encore, when Bruce sat alone at his piano and played a soft and personal rendition of For You to the most silent, awestruck and mesmerized crowd I’ve ever been in. Thanks for this.

  27. rosalind says:

    feeling left out, L.A. up just now with a little wake-up call (earthquake).

    edit: preliminary 3.9, near Santa Clarita. showing a depth of “0”.

  28. scribe says:

    Dear God in Heaven, What Have I Done To Have Been Punished Like This: Steelers to wear bumblebee throwbacks today.

    On a national game.

  29. scribe says:

    I am glad to say that I was out of the house doing stuff with out-of-town guests, for the entire game. I did not see a second of it and did not know the result until I returned home from dropping them at the airport and turned on the Giants-Cowboys and saw the scroll.

    I still have my eyes – I never gazed upon the bumblebee costumes.

    Kind of appropriate the League compelled them to wear them on Halloween.

  30. scribe says:

    Romo throws another pick. This one a pick-six for Pierre-Paul.

    Mmmmm. Dallas fans’ boos raining down from the farthest reaches of the Victoria’s Secret store in the JerryWorld Mall.

  31. Peterr says:

    The Stillers may be wearing some God-awful throwback uniforms, but the Chefs are playing like a throwback to their pee-wee league days.

    The announcers have been commenting throughout the second half that back in the day, teams like the Raiders would come to Arrowhead and not be able to hear a single snap count all day long. Today, it sounds like a graveyard.

    Oh, and after weeks of the fans demanding that Brady Quinn start over the less-than-stellar-but-very-expensive Matt Cassel, Quinn gets the start and then has to leave with a concussion in the first quarter.

    But Mrs Dr Peterr — the big Chefs fan in this house — doesn’t particularly care. She’s still enjoying the combination of Nebraska’s win and the Sooners’ loss yesterday. She can revel in a combination of games like that for a looooonnnnggg time.

    Sign seen in the stands at Arrowhead today: “All I want for Halloween is a reason to keep these seats.” I hope they’re not holding their breath.

  32. bmaz says:

    @Peterr: I miss the Chefs. Len Dawson must be rolling over in the grave he but half a foot from. And the last time the Chefs were relevant was when Joe Montana parachuted in for two twilight years to make them so. I still had hair then, and it is such a distant memory…..

  33. Peterr says:

    @bmaz: He still does color on the radio broadcasts for the Chiefs games (he was honored for a second time in Canton this past August, this time for his work behind the mic), and he is trying very, very hard to hide his disgust.

    It’s not working.

    But the man’s only human, for crying out loud. I didn’t listen to today’s game on the radio, so I don’t know what he had to say today, but like a lot of old line Chefs, he’s not terribly pleased with what’s going on at Arrowhead (both in the offices and on the field).

  34. Bob Schacht says:

    @bmaz: I think the die was cast in game 5 or 6 of the NLCS, when the Giants beat St. Louis AND Chris “Carp” Carpenter, their World Series stalwart and guru. But it just wasn’t Carp’s year. That loss took the wind out of the Card’s sails, and at the same time made the Giants believers. They started the series with Detroit with a very high level of confidence, and it showed.

    At least the Kittens made a stand in Game 4, pushing it to the 10th inning before giving in.

    Bob in AZ

  35. bmaz says:

    @matt carmody: May be DeVito’s body, but it is Foley’s voice! And, man, that girl can sing. Some of her early solo work, after she got a little famous from the Bat out of Hell album with Meatloaf, was produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, better known back then as Mott the Hoople. And it is absolutely killer.

  36. angry bitter drunk says:

    Surprised no one noticed that Meatloaf has been out campaigning for Romney in Ohio.

    “Bat Out of Hell” is still amazing though. Just a fat guy sweating and screaming theatrically, performing really well-written songs. It’s not the greatest thing ever, but there’s never been anything remotely like it, before or since.

    As a Vikings fan, I’ll always dislike the Chiefs over Super Bowl IV, even though I was only pushing 6 years old at the time and my only vague memory of the game is my father yelling at the TV. (Postscript: To this day he will only refer to Hank Stram as That Little Toad.)

    That Chiefs team had some great players, especially on defense, but that was the one Super Bowl that the Vikings should have won. And because they didn’t, we spent the 70s — when there were only four TV channels — watching Stram put NFL Films on the map with his legendary miked performance during that game. People tend to forget the impact of that now, but that was the first time a coach was ever miked on the sideline. It was huge. The four Super Bowls as a whole, and that game in particular, kept some Vikings out of the Hall of Fame.

    This year’s team was playing way over its head. With their brutal remaining schedule and some injuries starting to hit, the over/under on wins the rest of the way is one. Should that win come against Green Bay though, I’ll be totally cool with it.

  37. bmaz says:

    @angry bitter drunk: Actually, it was discussion of the Meatloaf/Romney deal on Twitter and elsewhere that caused Marcy to “force” me to include the Meatloaf video. Probably should have noted that better. Bat Out of Hell was really, really good, as was Meatloaf himself on it. But a lot of the writing credit, most of it, goes to Jim Steinham, who also did the keyboards. And, as said above, having Ellen Foley didn’t hurt. Oh, and Todd Rundgren did the majority of the studio guitar work. That is a lot of talent.

    As to the Chefs, how can anyone not love Hank Stram? “Matriculating down the field” may be my favorite football line ever!

  38. angry bitter drunk says:

    @bmaz: When Stram died a few years ago, Bud Grant and his former players were — how can I put this? — almost joyous. That’s all due not to the loss, but to what came out on NFL Films.

    Despite the fact that George Halas and Vince Lombardi were profane lunatics, I think, prior to Stram’s Super Bowl IV utterances, fans just assumed that NFL coaches in their nice suits were all stoic gentlemen who totally respected one another. That’s what made the Stram film so compelling.

    Seeing the Vikings lose that game, and the Super Bowls that followed, was bad enough, but being mocked and taunted really scarred the psyche of Minnesota sports fans. I’m not being over-dramatic about that, either. We felt quite honestly bullied by Stram — and then the sports media in general as those Super Bowl losses mounted. There’s really a link from that to the volcanic response to the Twins winning the World Series in 1987. (That’s how Scandinavians roll. We expend all that effort and energy to seem normal, and it makes us crazy.)

    Anyway, I actually liked Stram as a color commentator with Jack Buck on NFL radio broadcasts. But I don’t tell my dad that.

    And while I knew Steinman wrote Meatloaf’s songs (he’s listed on the album cover, which is pretty extraordinary), I wasn’t aware of Rundgren in the studio. Cool.

  39. bmaz says:

    @angry bitter drunk: I loved Buck and Stram on the radio. I used to turn volume down on TV and listen to them. At least you had Grant and went to a bunch of Super Bowls……I have the stinking Cardinals. So cheer up!

  40. JohnT says:

    @angry bitter drunk: 87 was crazy. One Saturday, I spent three or four solid hours calling a 1-800 number trying to get tickets to the WS

    My Mom, her friend, her son, my younger brother, and myself went to the final series against the Royals when they cliched the West. We sat on the third base line about halfway up the lower level

    There was a definite connection between that team and the fans. To suffer all those years with Calvin Griffith pinching pennies like they were made out of gold or something. And then to pretty much come from nowhere to take a bad division, then get on an unbelievable carefree roll in the playoffs (sorry Tigers, and Cards fans) was something

    Homer Hankies rule!

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