'Bred Crumbs

04:18 PM At the risk of upsetting some friends and readers: I am not a fan of The West Wing. Like everything else by Aaron Sorkin that I've seen, it strikes me as tedious, forced, and phony. Thus, I enjoyed the West Wing writing formula on Ironminds (which I am always startled to find is still alive).

·  ·  ·

It's interesting to watch, from an increasing mental distance, the effect sports has on what's acceptable to people. San Franciscans are increasingly rallying behind a known hyperegocentric, Barry Bonds, because he's approaching the just-barely-established major-league single-season home-run record.*

Now Sports Illustrated has reminded the nation that Bonds is, well, a
jerk -- a callous human who does nothing more for or with his team than hit. In the Bay Area, this is a long-acknowledged truth. But the cheering continues anyway, and those on the sidelines and the stands leap through intricate logical hoops to justify it. (At least he's not assaulting anyone, one argument goes.)

Here's a better option: why not, rather than heap glory upon him, reward Bonds with the disdain he deserves?

* Disclaimer: Yes, I'm a Cardinals fan. This is not a factor here.

Send e-mail

12:33 PM As if the gay controversy weren't enough, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back has launched "Because I Got High," a music hit that MTV and other uptight folks don't know what to do with because it's a song all about drugs that doesn't come down clearly for or against them. Maybe somebody should smoke a h*** pipe and chill a little.*

I'm set to see the flick tonight. Bracing for Mallrats II but hoping for better.

* This is a joke. Of course, 'Bred Crumbs -- which has tried pot only three times in its life, all within this calendar year, and only once effectively -- does not endorse or encourage drug use. Exactly.

Send e-mail

09:30 AM Scott's link to "Christian Metal Band or Star Trek Episode?" prompted a long overdue visit to Brunching Shuttlecocks. Other newish highlights there: "The Star Wars Title Generator" and the rating of punishments in Dante's Inferno (it's easiest to start with the last part and link your way backward).

Send e-mail

12:15 AM FX showed Clerks last night. We had to wonder, why bother? Thanks to basic-cable broadcast standards, the experience of watching it was that of your TV audio constantly cutting in and out.

Send e-mail

11:26 PM After arriving for the weekend at our Reno hotel, we found out that the chief suspect in the killings of two gay men in Florida had been arrested in that very hotel the night before.

Gulp.

·  ·  ·

On a lighter note, I was delighted to find something I'd never seen before on a hotel-room door: a fire evacuation flow chart (reproduced here). How turn-of-this-century.

Send e-mail