Timmy!

Good sports day. Derrek Lee was huge today (4-4, 2HR, 6RBI) and Corey Patterson came through in the clutch with a walk-off shot. Lee, a notoriously slow starter, is now batting .430 and has an OPS of 1.297. He's also on pace for 208 RBI. Highly unlikely he'll reach it, I know, but wouldn't that be something? Despite numerous injuries the Cubs are only 4 back of the Cards, who have been on an absolute tear of late. It's early and, like any good Cubs fan, I'm still confident that this will be the year of the Cubs.

In even better sports news; the Spurs bounced back big-time. This was total domination, holding Denver to just 76 points on 36% shooting. Meanwhile, San Antonio was nearly flawless. The FT shooting still isn't cutting it, but what's new? Duncan looked like his old self dropping 24 points in only 28 minutes, while handing out 5 assists and sending back 3 shots. The entire team was playing smart basketball, as evidenced by a 47% reduction in TO's from Game 1. There isn't much analysis to give other than to say San Antonio gave notice that one poor 4th quarter does not a series make. So stop your yelling K-Mart. Timmy just shut you up.

One last thing: Has there ever been a single word in the history of television that even comes close to being as funny as TIMMY!? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Do you know what a duvet is?

I'm not sure where this term "shout-out" came from, but I wish it would go away. In perusing various boards devoted to television shows, I come across this word far too frequently. For instance, if a character who acts in a way contrary to how most characters on that show typically act, then it must be a "shout-out" to the fans who've commented on the typical character actions. What causes these people to draw this delusional conclusion? It's probably the same thing that causes people to make blogs and start their own websites; an over-inflated sense of self-importance. (I'm fully aware of the irony in my characterization of bloggers et al. in a blog of my own.). This is also why people inform you on bulletin boards of their reasoning for editing something they've said. It's wholly unimportant, but they think people care. The reality is that most people don't. Then again, some people do.

This leads, invariably, to Fight Club:
We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty -- these things don't concern me. What concerns me is celebrity magazines, television with five hundred channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra...

Fictional character Tyler Durden is spot on in his assessment. So what drives this sort of behavior? Is it the same over-inflated sense of self-importance that drives the "shout-out" crazed fan or the *whatever*-conscious blogger? No, it's quite the opposite. It's a sense of self-unimportance that leads people to care about the irrelevant. It's what drives them to read Us Weekly and Star Magazine, as if any information found in those pages is going to affect their lives in any meaningful way. It won't. It's a search for fulfillment in things that can never be fulfilling. In your quest for completeness you'll lose weight, grow hair, and get an erection, only to find that now you need to change shirts, cut your hair, and drive a nicer car. The line is always moving and you're never going to cross it.

I say never be complete. I say stop being perfect. I say let's evolve and let the chips fall where they may.

And, yes, I'm further aware of the irony in quoting a movie in my condemnation of America's obsession with popular/celebrity culture. This post is just cholk-full of irony.

That's weird...or is it?

One of my ex-girlfriends used to have a Live Journal. I'd read it occasionally and, from time to time, she would have posts about me. That was weird. And then we broke up. More specifically, I broke up with her. Now, she still had posts about me, only these were different sorts of posts. That was weird. All this to say; posting about people who might actually read what you write is...weird. I know you saw that adjective coming. That's not something I will have to worry about, though, being as I'm not one to make posts about people (the first 7 sentences not withstanding). Of course, since no one is reading this, I could post whatever I want and not worry about the weirdness of them reading it; thus nullifying the weirdness. Still, I've been told a number of times, and as recently as last night, that I'm weird. So I imagine that no matter what I say here, it's likely that I'm going to be perceived as being weird. Then again, maybe not.

Van Spurs Van

Spurs choked big-time tonight. 10+ minutes w/o a FG is not going to get it done. Still, the defense was generally solid, holding Denver to under 42% from the field. However, they were careless with the basketball (17 TO's) and sent Denver to the line way too often. Nevertheless, Spurs fans should remain confident. Their team played about as poorly as possible in the 4th Q and they were still in it until the last minute. Timmy should only improve before next game and Brown is one step closer to returning, giving them another young body off the bench. While I typically loathe the extended scheduling in the NBA Playoffs, I welcome it for this series. The Spurs have 2 days off, which is 2 more days for Duncan to get his rhythm and 2 more days for Pop to drill the boys. It's great how careful analysis can turn a loss which never should've happened into a reason to be confident.