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Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:54:20 -0700

The morning after. The 2009 British Open ended with a whimper yesterday, and waking to a beautiful dawn in my vacation house, instead of feeling refreshed, there is an odd feeling mixed of achiness and melancholy.

What a story for three and a half days. Golf fan or not, any casual sporting sort was drawn in. Having met him once, he is a nice guy, that Tom Watson, nice smile, nice demeanor. If you have ever swung a club, you have to marvel at the golf style, too. What grace, tempo, and reserved strength.

If you like history and drama, imagine reading the synoptic review of this theater event. Old master attempts to do the unprecedented in all of recorded human sports chronicles. Capturing the imaginations of all ages, his battle against the young lions on the field of play is carefully intertwined with an audacious challenge to the gods of the sport and of life itself.
Older audiences will find themselves particularly riveted.

On the 72nd hole, with the Champion's fabled Claret Jug within an easy par effort, the wise old veteran looks like a fairy tale wizard. Somewhat diminutive, but larger than life. Age lines around burning, focused eyes. Driven off the tee with a confident, been-there swing, the ball traveled long and into perfect play. This viewer has been in the cheap seats before, pulling for a favorite player to nail it, wanting to see a saga for the ages to unfold, to be able to retell the tale, I remember when. But clutching a pillow, my eyes welling up, there is another battle on the flank. The epic of staring down mortality.
The wizard has a chance to stare down the dark side.

Old Tom's second shot on the 18th will be the one I remember forever. He hit it as perfectly as any mortal could strike a golf ball. Headed right for the pin, it lands and begins to run. And run. And torturously run. Off the back of the green. If. If it had landed a bit shorter, if it had a bit more bite. But for if, it would have held the green. Easy par, victory.

Theater of Shakespearian proportions, albeit tragic. Watson speculated afterwards that perhaps a 9-iron instead of the 8 he used may have been the difference maker. The difference would have been in the momentous and momentary joy of a fleeting, odds-beating victory. And even if it should have been, we all should remember to know better. At the end of the long day, the gods always win.

jmini 7.09

John Minutaglio

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/33982889/

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:17:53 -0700

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Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:15:26 -0800

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/17527620/

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:28:15 -0800

In the interests of putting something that is actually useful in my blog; I present to you, this sticky post...

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/29196292/

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:29:02 -0800

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/28924486/

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:13:51 -0800

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/26524085/

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:46:10 -0700

For folks worried about a nationalized health care system, see my favorite Canadian's blog:
Daphoenus:

http://daphoenus.stumbleupon.com/review/26518593/

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/26053748/

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:23:00 -0700

Fact checking the debate:

WARSHINGTON - Facts went adrift on taxes, deregulation and more Thursday when Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden clashed in the vice presidential debate.

Some examples:

PALIN: Said of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama: "94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction."

THE FACTS: The dubious count includes repetitive votes as well as votes to cut taxes for the middle class while raising them on the rich. An analysis by factcheck.org found that 23 of the votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all, seven were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, 11 would have increased taxes on only those making more than $1 million a year.

___

PALIN: "Two years ago, remember, it was John McCain who pushed so hard with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform measures. He sounded that warning bell."

THE FACTS: Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska led an effort in 2005 to tighten regulation on the mortgage underwriters -- McCain joined as a co-sponsor a year later. The legislation was never taken up by the full Senate, then under Republican control.

___

PALIN: Claimed she has taken on the oil industry as Alaska governor.

THE FACTS: Palin pushed to impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies and distributed the proceeds to the state's citizens to offset rising energy costs. However, she has also sided with the industry on a number of issues. She sued the Interior Department over its designation of polar bears as an endangered species. That puts her on the same side as the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's chief trade association. She also supports the industry's desire to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- a position at odds with McCain.

___

PALIN: Said the United States has reduced its troop level in Iraq to a number below where it was when the troop increase began in early 2007.

THE FACTS: Not correct. The Pentagon says there are currently 152,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, about 17,000 more than there were before the 2007 military buildup began.

___

PALIN: "Barack Obama even supported increasing taxes as late as last year for those families making only $42,000 a year."

BIDEN: "The charge is absolutely not true. Barack Obama did not vote to raise taxes. The vote she's referring to, John McCain voted the exact same way."

THE FACTS: The vote was on a nonbinding budget resolution that assumed that President Bush's tax cuts would expire, as scheduled, in 2011. If that actually happened, it could mean higher taxes for people making as little as about $42,000. But Obama is proposing tax increases only on the wealthy, and would cut taxes for most others. In the March 14 budget resolution supported by Obama and Biden, McCain actually did not vote.

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http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/25458189/

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:37:14 -0700

iTunes 8 - new music visualizer is even sweeter iCandy than before!
The visualizations morph and change in syncopation with the music that iTunes is playing at any given moment. Who could imagine that these stunning visions were even possible; all of them algorithmically created with astonishing speed?

These two are timed screen shots captured with Grab, an Apple Utility for easy screen captures.

http://Starbuck1.stumbleupon.com/review/25456102/

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:01:16 -0700

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