What's Missing?

That's the current state of the Furious Mantle. You know what's missing? I mean besides photos of the second child? That's right—Weblog Awards.

Mrs F continues to hang tough in the middle of the "Best New Blog" pack, and I've called in just about every favor I can to drum up votes (ie: shamelessly shilled for votes in comment threads). Wherever she finishes, it's pretty damn cool that she made the cut as a Top 10 New Blog, period.

That said, we still want a top half finish, so go vote!

Here are my picks for some other categories:

BEST BLOG Malkin led this one for a while, but now everyone is getting their ass kicked by PostSecret which is a site I'd never heard of before. Apparently it's the "biggest ad-free site" on the web. People write down a secret on a postcard and mail it in. The site is updated weekly. Sorry. That's crap. Probably should have been in "Arts & Letters" or something. I've been voting for Andrew Sullivan, and Huffington Post has pulled ahead of Malkin for the silver.

BEST INDIVIDUAL BLOG None of these are blogs I frequent, hell I've only even heard of a few of them. Throwing Lindsay Beyerstein a bone here.

FUNNIEST BLOG: Not familiar with any of these,and not blown away with what I've seen.

BEST COMIC STRIP: Voted for xkcd. It's the stick figures strip you've probably seen. I don't know if it's the ""best" or not, but I've actually heard of it, and it's a block against "Day By Day".

BEST ONLINE COMMUNITY: Little Green Assholes is dominating this one. Go vote for Kos.

BEST LIBERAL BLOG Hullabaloo. Digby is one of the best writers online. Period.

BEST CONSERVATIVE BLOG Also known as "Tastiest Dogshit." I'm actually boycotting this category since Balloon juice was inexplicably yanked from it—which would have been a tremendous upset. The excreable Malkin is currently leading.

BEST POLITICAL COVERAGE Talking Points Memo and Carpetbagger Report should be battling this one out. Neither are finalists, and I don't know any of these. Pass.

BEST CELEBRITY BLOG Wil Wheaton is running away with this one, even though he is clearly the farthest removed from fame... He deserves it.

The rest are like voting for school boards and judges...Hit Kissing Suzy Kolber for Sports, and scroll waaaay down-ballot for Balloon Juice for Top 250, and The Carpetbagger Report for 251-500.

A Fucking Clue for the Democrats...

The reason Congress' approval numbers are spiraling down the bowl, is NOT because you are "weak on terror" or "don't support thr troops" it's because you refuse to fucking stand up to the Administration and the GOP and refuse to do anything of substance to slow down the slow and steady destruction of Constitutional Democracy.

The confirmation of an Attorney General who thinks torture is fine and dandy, and the President is above the law is just the latest in a long list of failures. It's not even what I would call a "disappointment", because it was inevitable.

I actually wish we never regained the Congress. At least the Republicans knew they were rubber-stamp, and didn't pretend otherwise.

You guys are a fucking joke.

There is much more to write on this, but I'm not sure I have the energy. Nor is there any point.

--

Recovering Republican and would-be Conservative John Cole joined the Democratic Party this week. Sorry I won't be there to welcome you, John. I am leaving. I will stay long enough to vote for Chris "The Only Guy Who Remembers the Constitution" Dodd in MI's primary and then I am out.

"I'd Like to Thank the Academy..."

I was listed as a 2007 Weblog Awards Finalist this morning.

"Woo Hoo!"

But, there's a problem. I was listed under "Best New Blogger" and I've been blogging for years.

So, I 'fessed up and pointed out that there's been a mistake—either I'm in the wrong category (nominated as "Individual") or they meant Mrs. Furious (who was nominated in the "New" category)..

Yup. it was a typo. Mrs. Furious is the finalist. I'm out...

But, I'm like the Bill to her Hillary, so go vote for her when the time comes!

Obit: Robert Goulet

For a split second I actually mistakenly thought "Benson" when I read the headline (that's Robert Guillaume). Then I realized, "Aw, man, Robert Goulet—love that guy, he was a fucking badass!

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Goulet, the singer whose rich baritone voice and classic tall, dark, dashing good looks made him a star on stage and television, has died. He was 73.

That's nice, but what did Robert Goulet do that was so great as to be eulogized in this fine establishment? Only a series of the finest television advertisments ever produced.

Back when ESPN was good, before college hoops became the NBAs farm system, and the sidelines were paced by a veritible Mount Rushmore of larger-than-life coaches, the Worldwide Leader™ needlessly blew the budget to remind me what I already knew—park my ass on the couch Monday and Wednesday nights...in January, not just March.

Here's a taste...



Goulet's website has high-quality videos of all sixteen ads—they're a total flashback to a carefree time of watching ungodly quantities of sports for me, and you should at least check out numbers 5, 9 and, oh...15, I guess...fuck it—they're all great. Dig.

Nobody was more smooth than Mr. G., baby. So smooth he had a candy bar, capische?

Tacoby Bellsbury

You better believe I was collecting on the free taco. Thanks Jacoby!

Baseball: Red Sox (Domi)Nation

Congratulations to the Red Sox, who swept their way to their second title in four years. I'm just sorry I can't watch as often as I used because this was an enjoyable team to watch. At times frustrating, and they certainly made things interesting in the ALCS, but they had a plan, and they came out every night and stuck to it, and it worked.

It's a good thing I'm not the GM, because if I was, I'd be handing out ludicrous contract extensions along with the champagne last night. This team got gutty performances from nearly everyone that was on the roster, from Beckett to Kielty, but especially from the guys whose contracts ran out as they donned the celebratory goggles—Curt Schilling, who showed he has something left in the tank, Mike Timlin is simply a freaking warrior, and Mike Lowell* was a deserving Series MVP and a class act all the way. Wherever you guys end up next year, you'll be Sox for eternity with me.

Special congratulations to J.D.Drew and Julio Lugo, who turned in valuable contributions after suffering through diifficult seasons and plenty of doubts, all is forgiven and let's move on from here.

And Terry Francona who just did a phenomenal job. He is 22-9 in the playoffs, and 8-0 in the World Series. He had a stubburn approach through the season that at times seemed too slow to adjust, or too cautious, but he was managing for the long haul and it showed this postseason—when other pitchers and teams seemed out of gas, the Sox were still throwing it. A fantastic job, and he should never hear any shit from fans in Boston as long as he stays.

Oh, and I'm going to really enjoy the Beckett Era.

*UPDATE: Please re-sign Lowell and spurn the preening two-headed egomonster Boras-Rod. If Lowell has to play the last two years of his contact in a wheelchair it would make me happier than having A-Rod on this team.

Baseball: Game Three Time-Delay Blogging

Yes, that's right, watching the game on TiVo. Getting ready for Kid F's birthday party tonite, and it's time to unwind. the fun starts in the comments...

Baseball: Roamin' Holliday

Perhaps the biggest play in Game 2 was when Matt Holliday got picked off first base by Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon in the 8th inning. It might have seemed like a fluke, or a lucky play—but the truth is, Holliday was out before he even got the hit...

David Pinto excerpts a fascinating story about how advance scouting led the Rockies to think they could steal on Papelbon, and how the Sox outguessed them—picking Holliday off in a key situation where they would never normally try. Check it out, really, really interesting look at the game behind the game.

Game Two: Random Thoughts

In no particular order... "Shut the fuck up, McCarver." (repeated ad infinitum) ... "What the hell are you talking about, Buck?" ... "I guess Pedroia's wrist is feeling better." (predicted line that didn't materialize) ... "That bank robbery ad is a good one. And that new Malibu looks promising." ... "So, Chris Myers, do you regret leaving a post as respected, serious ESPN guy to become the jackass in the stands for FOX Sports?" ... "Papelbon is a downright embarrassing on-field celebrator."

"Curt Schilling, why do you have to be a Republican jackass, it's the first thing I think of when I see you." ... "No, of course they are not taking Manny out for defense in a one-run game, with his spot due up in the ninth, McCarver you stupid jackass." ... "Oh...busting out a second White Stripes tune..." ... "I hate these hi-tech vented batting helmets that the Rockies are wearing, I'm glad the Sox (and Yanks) have not made the switch." ...

"Sitting Ortiz or Youk in Colorado really is a Sophie's Choice." ... "That said, I think I'd sit Ortiz in Game 3." ... "I can't believe I just thought that. But, it's true." ... "Dice-K is going to get lit up in Denver." ... "OUCH!" (as Drew hits the canvas after taking fastball on the ankle) ... (watching stupid Verizon ad) "Do some (non-Apple) laptops really require that retarded external wireless card/antennae thing?" ... "J.D. Drew is officially off the hook for his crappy season." ... "What's with Manny and the helmet flipping." ... "The Rockies are going to be kicking ass in the sucky NL West for years to come." ... "What the hell was Holliday doing?" ... "Look at Manny's ridiculous uniform pants...I love that freak."

"How crazy must it be to have Manny Ramirez as your dad?"

(at left) Boston Red Sox's Manny Ramirez hugs his oldest son Manny along with younger son Manny Jr. during the team's batting practice before Game 2 of the baseball World Series against the Colorado Rockies. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

"Why am I not surprised that Manny named both his sons Manny..."

Um, yikes?

Time-lapse photography from NASA of this winter in the Arctic.



I'm not really sure what to make of that.

It came from Andrew Sullivan, but without a link or attribution. I assume it's real, but I don't know. If it is real, somebody's losing their job over collecting the data, never mind releasing it—the Bushies like their NASA neutered and working on Mars Missions, not underscoring Al Gore.

But there's no context to that video. Is that a typical seasonal shift? Can you show me a video (or simulation) from ten years ago? Twenty? More? It almost looks like a third of the ice cap melts, how is Manhattan still above water?

I hate to sound like Bush, but, I think I need more info on this...

Laughable

Job posting I saw today...

Art Director
Publication or Company: The Washington Monthly
Industry: Graphic Design/Art Direction, Magazine Publishing
Job Location: Washington, DC USA
Salary: Under $30,000

LOL! Are they fucking serious?!? In D.C.?!? Who do they think's taking that job? Johnny Tremain's not walking through that door... Do you seriously think the right-wing rags pay that shittily? I'm speechless. No wonder the Left gets its ass kicked.

MeTube

Deep in an unrelated thread (on sleep) at Toast's place, the topic of television was raised. It started with "Greatest Sitcom of All time" and became a general debate on television in general. I thought I'd sit down for a moment and throw my thoughts down.

First of all, it should be noted that between my Kids' Bedtime Duty, and my freelance workload, I hardly watch television at all right now. Even with the Sox in the Series, I am TiVoing, and/or catching games online, not always live. So any judgements on current television are going to be speculative or based on year old data (at best).

Sure-fire shows I would watch if I had the time: The Daily Show, Colbert Report...um...that's about it.

Shows I enjoyed recently, but may have slipped: The Shield, Rescue Me, Definitely Slipped: Grey's Anatomy, 24, Scrubs, Without a Trace

Shows I've heard really good things about that I wish I could see: The Wire*, The Office, Heroes, Deadwood*, Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock, Prison Break, Jericho

Fantastic (recent) shows I mourn the loss of: Arrested Development, Firefly (which I never saw, but I loved "Serenity"), actually good Simpsons

Recent guilty pleasures: Everwood, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars

Shows that seem to me to be utter crap/overrated: South Park, Family Guy, CSI: Miami, Entourage

All-Time Favorites: Homicide, good Simpsons, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Star Trek (original and TNG only)

*I imagine all these HBO-type shows are good, but I will NEVER pay for them, so if I ever see them, it will be on DVD from the library.

So that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Feel free to have at it in the comments, and I will add things as they occur to me...

Resting On My Laurels

So, here I am feeling all good about myself for riding my bicycle to work, and losing ten pounds, but the truth is, I'm really have another ten to lose, and I've been stuck in the mid-170s for probably a month or more. And now we head straight into the toughest stretch of the year: cold weather (less biking) plus Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (more chowing) equals return to Huskyville...

The state of my complacency was brought to vivid light with this morning's bit of trivia from Mrs. Furious: with her steady erosion down to a fantastic 113 pounds, I now weigh more than the rest of my family combined.

By one pound.

Did I mention I have two kids? At least it doesn't include the dog.

Future weigh-ins will take place at the playground. On the see-saw. Mrs, Kid and Baby F on the other end...which way does it go?

BONUS: Searching for the photo yielded this funny post.

My Last Post on the War

Go read this story and guess what I'm most annoyed by / sick to death of. Go ahead, it's not long. I'll wait...

What? Too fucking lazy to click? Okay. Here are the choices:

Bush wants another $42 billion for wars
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration on Monday asked for an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the 2008 request for total war funding to $189.3 billion. [blah, blah, blah]

"Congress should not go home for the holidays while our troops are still waiting for the funds they need," he said.

This tired shit again? Jesus. Sure, that's a bunch of crap, but this pisses me off more:

Minutes after Bush spoke, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, warned the president not to expect Congress to "rubber-stamp" the latest request.

"In the coming weeks, we will hold it up to the light of day and fight for the change of strategy and redeployment of troops that is long overdue," Reid said.

Oh, just shut the fuck up already, Harry. Please. I've had i t with this bullshit. Do everybody a favor and just rubber-stamp it. Stop pretending. We all know you're gonna cave. Just be honest about from the start—I'd rather the new Democratic strategy just be "Here. Finish your fucking war, Bush. This is all on you. How much do you need? A twenty? Just take it and stay out all night if you want. Because next year you're out and shit's gonna change.*"

* In theory. I'm not even confident a Democratic President will change anything anymore.

Baseball: Open Enrollment

An email I received today...This kind of thing goes back and forth annually in the Northeast, but this one is newly updated and has some good lines.

It's long, so I'm putting it in the comments. Enjoy or inflame—your choice.

"Aaahhhgg! Mutherfu..."

That has been the number one thing coming out of my mouth as I too have been crippled with the same mysterious hand pain as Mrs. F today. It happened to me this morning while simply reaching for the baby sling (carrier) off the coat rack.

Me: "Aaaahhhhowwwwww!"
Mrs. F: "What's wrong?"
Me: "My hand. I was just reachin--"
Mrs. F, finishes the sentence, "...up like this? And it hurts in here...?"
Me: "Yeah. Is this what you have? Oh, shit."

Mrs. F said it feels like her hand is broken. It doesn't. I broke my hand two years ago. This is worse.

There's never been much question who around here is the stoic and who is the pussy...and let me just say, I have a new respect for Mrs. F after today.

It seems we have the exact same situation with the radiating pain in the thumb/forefinger area, that just kills with one false move. Caused by a pinched nerve in the shoulder, to which I am assigning blame to that fucking Baby Sling.

How else would we each have the same freak nerve injury?

Piece of shit.

I hope this is better tomorrow. Mrs. F's had it for days at a time before, and I might be too big a wimp to handle that...


If I could make a fist, I'd knock that smile off your face Sling-Lady...

Redemption

I've been hoping for it all month. A chance for J.D. Drew to erase a season of disappointment with a big postseason. Putting your team up 4 in the first inning of an elimination game does just that. Two out, bases loaded...exactly the kind of situation he's NOT come through on all year. Each time Drew's been in one of these spots, I'm talking to the TV, "Come on, J.D., now's your chance!" Only to have the weak cut at strike three or the 4-3 groundout.

The Sox are alive for Game 7, and J.D. Drew is the reason why. Nice to see you smile...

We Interupt This ALCS...

...For a political post I started earlier in the week. Not to worry, there'll be more Sox posts to come. I can feel it.


Let's start with this great quote from a reader at Andrew Sullivan's...

If worst comes to worst, we might get a president like Hillary, who is that girl nobody really likes but everyone wants in their project group anyways because they know she is smart and will do all the work.

Yeah, that's probably true, and I could live with that. There's no doubt that Hillary is preferable to any possible Republican candidate and would be a dramatic shift form the previous Administration. But she is locking horns with Biden for the last Democrat I actually would personally want in the Oval Office. I have a whole host of specific issues and complaints about Hillary, and I'll get into them at some point, but it really boils down to this: Change. Or, in Hillary's case, lack thereof...

I want change. I want as much change as possible—not just Anybody But Bush. She's too much "more of the same." More Washington insider. More DLC. More triangulation. More retreads hanging on from the 90s. More Chris Matthews and everyone else and their bullshit—and they're the "liberal" media.

Hillary as President will mean that two families have been in the White House in some capacity for 32 years (starting with Poppy as VP). Even if she were a great candidate, I don't think I could get excited about her for that reason alone. And she is NOT a great candidate. In fact, she's far worse as a candidate than she actually will be as a President.

And by crappy candidate, I don't mean crappy campaigner—she has exceeded expectations there—I worry about her negative impact based only on who she is. Candidate Clinton could actually rally Republicans to turn out for whichever chump they nominate. Enough to cost us the White House? I don't want to find out. But she will also hurt down-ticket as well. Every Republican motivated solely to vote against Hillary will also vote Republican down the line. I want those people staying home. We need to increase our hold on Congress, not slip.

Baseball Tonight

ACE BANDAGE
3 Ws, 26Ks, 1 BB, 1.17 ERA. Is there anything else that needs to be written about Josh Fucking Beckett? This is a Bob Gibsonesque performance. In fact, Gibson had it easy. Three postseason wins? You've already got your ring back in the 60s. This is vintage Pedro stuff. Beckett's three games have been utterly dominating. He can't win the ALCS for this team by himself, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Beckett come in from the 'pen to pull Dice K's ass out of the fire in game 7 and have the Indians collapse into a collective fetal position at the sight of Commander Kick Ass striding to the mound.

BEING MANNY
Thank God, he's swinging at a .500 clip and carrying half the offensive weight of the team or Manny might get under my skin. No, not for his comments the other day that had all the morons in Boston all fired up. Manny was refreshingly honest when he noted that losing "isn't the end of the world." It's not. And recognizing that is probably why he stays loose, and is the all-time leader in postseason HRs, and rides a fifteen game hitting streak (tied with Pete Rose for the all-time record) into Game 6.

Should Manny have gotten down on the play at the plate early last night? Absolutely. When David "Already Scheduled My Knee Surgery" Ortiz hustles 270 feet to score from first, should Manny have made more than 90 feet of baserunning progress? Absolutely. Has his showboating crossed from mildly amusing to actually embarrassing? Yes.

But as long as Manny's producing like this: .440 BA, .611 OBP, .960 SLG with 4 HRs and 12 RBI in 8 playoff games, I'll pretty much forgive anything. I love that goddamn goofball.

CLASS DISMISSED
At risk of being labelled a concern troll, I'll throw my two cents in on l'affaire de Torre... No, I don't think the keys are Torre's for as long as he wants them—his contract is up, and by the (unrealistic) standards of his employer, his performance has been a disappointment, and nobody should be "manager for life."

I think the time was right, with the team headed into a bit of a youth/rebuild-on-the-fly mode, for a new manager. But the whole way Torre was handled this postseason was pretty disgraceful. This is a man who has presided over a stretch of success unmatched since the days of Casey Stengle, and in a much, much more difficult environment in every way. He has been nothing but professional and gracious and deserved to be treated with a lot more respect than the corpse of George Steinbrenner and his two douchebag sons gave him.

Not that I wouldn't wish this anyway, but I hope the Yankees suck next year. Specificallly, I hope they hire Mattingly, fail to make the playoffs, and Cashman finds himself without a job next October.

Here's Torre's press conference. Classy even after flying down to Tampa to get slapped in the face.

MAVERICK
I hope Mark Cuban buys the Cubs. No group of tired old owners and douchebag Commissioner could deserve an in-your-face guy like Cuban more.

FANTASY A REALITY (or vice versa)
Speaking of greedy motherfuckers running baseball, a federal appeals court denied MLB their ridiculous attempt to restrict other entities from using player's names and statistics for fantasy leagues. In its infinite closeminded- and shortsightedness, MLB tied to create a monopoly and shut down all the other fantasy operators. As if the advent of fantasy baseball isn;t the greatest thing that's happened to that sport in a generation. Morons.

Kick in.

MoveOn.org is going to run the Bethany ad (below). You can contribute here.

The vote to override the veto is tomorrow (Thurs 10/18).

Unfortunately they are going to have to cut the ad down fo fit a 30-second slot, but it should still be good.

Heartbeat of America

Wow. This quite simply the most powerful, provocative, and (hopefully) effective advocacy ad I've ever seen.



There is not a parent alive (except Michelle Malkin) who would be unfazed by that.

Will I be surprised if the right-wing tries to smear this family too? No, but I think they do so at their own peril. If this ad gets the exposure it deserves, the S-CHIP battle is over. If Bush wants to continue to fight the inevitable and hurt his party in the process, let him. This is a good program that works, and this is the best way to put a face and positive results out there.

[h/t: Carpetbagger]

UPDATE: That video is produced by TrueMajority.org, but I can't find anyway to contribute to getting it on the air. Their site allows you to "send to your friends" but I want that thing on prime time. Or during Oprah. Or something.

Rather than chest-thumping, base-placating, self-affirming bullshit ad buys like "General Betray-Us" and other MoveOn-type stuff, this video is one of the rare cases where I think an advocacy ad might actually be impactful and effective—and not only on this issue, but in framing the debate and the GOP going forward. I'd feel much better parting with cash to get that ad on during "Dancing with the Stars" than donating towards some oblique "$100K for Peace."

I just wrote TrueMajority and urged them to mount a campaign. Make it fucking happen, Ben.

ALCS Game 2: Tape-Delay Blogging

Gonna give the old liveblogging-the-game thing a shot. But of course, I'm not doing this live, and nobody is going to be reading it, but I don't care. I wanna rant about shit, and I'm gonna do it. At least until I get bored...

Since the front page already has about forty-five column inches of baseball, I'm going to do this in the comments. Come on in...

Mr Furious Heartily Endorses…

PINK PANTHER
The old-school Pink Panther cartoons are great stuff. Stumbled across these a month or two ago on Boomerang™. Saturday mornings at 11 are a date for me and The Kid. A pleasant childhood flashback for me, sure, but in may ways they're even better than I remember—great Mancini soundtrack, classic sound effects, inspiring graphic design and typography and, best of all, the slapstick violence absent from the neutered 'toons of today. The pure, unbridaled laughter that rolls out of Kid Furious during these cartoons is just so fulfilling. Throw in an "Ant and Aardvark" or "The Inspector" to keep things interesting and you're talking pure entertainment. Plenty of these on YouTube—but stick to the ones from '60s...


HOSTESS 100-CALORIE PACKS
It's a documented fact that the greatest snack food on Earth is the classic Hostess cupcake, but those bastards are like 500 calories or so. But now there are these 100 calorie packs that contain three mini cupcakes (they're about the size of those Mini Muffins if you've ever had those) that are pretty damn good, and plenty satisfying. I'm a fan of all these new 'portion control" products. That's my problem—I am completely unaware of how much I eat in the moment, and could easily pound down six cookies (or whatever) and the accompanying 600 calories without even knowing it. These products give me a finite quantity and a stopping point.

EVERY MAN JACK FACE LOTION
Early results on this are good. I've only used it one time, but I love it—the best post-shave product I've ever used. I'm loving the packaging/design as well. Get it at Target.

LAUNDRY-PURE
It fucking works. Mrs. F lobbied for one of these after reading about it around Earth Day, and I was pretty damn skeptical. Well, we got one, and it's a success. For everyday laundry, we simply don't use detergent anymore, and clothes come out totally clean and fresh. For tougher laundry we stain-treat or use a small amount of detergent, but this thing rocks. No, we will never save enough on detergent to make the thing cost-effective, but if you can afford it, it's a good move environmentally and supposedly really good for your clothes as well. No detergent means no abrasives, which (additional bonus) also means almost NO lint in the dryer.

The Frost "Estate"

[photo: Baltimore Sun]

Pretty much exactly what I was picturing from my wanderings around Bal'mer. The fact that Malkin could drive up to that stoop, look at it, and then go home and write the fictitious smears she did just boggles the mind.

"Oh, the humanity"

Noted without comment: Suzyn Waldman cries during the Yankees postgame show the other night...