Musings from Brian J. Noggle
Sunday, November 06, 2005
 
Second Verse, Same as the First
By the rules described by the Hockey Whoopass Jamboree, I must once again post the Red Wings logo to placate Michelle and David, who selected that team whereas I selected the St. Louis Blues and that team, like all other NHL teams and a couple of high school girls field hockey teams, j.v. at that, continue to beat the Blues like a bongo at a San Franscisco coffee shop circa 1967:




- posted by Brian J. @ 10:44 PM   0 comments
Saturday, November 05, 2005
 
Cronyism in the White House
Say a politician wins the presidential election and then installs his little brother as attorney general. Would never happen, ainna?

Already did, my fellow young people. Already did.


- posted by Brian J. @ 11:41 PM   0 comments
Friday, November 04, 2005
 
Safety Warning
When out for a romantic evening with your spouse, choose "If You Wanna Be Happy" at the karaoke bar at your own risk.


- posted by Brian J. @ 4:55 PM   2 comments
Thursday, November 03, 2005
 
Another Public and Private Partnership Triumph
In Oakland:
    It's official. The deal that brought the Raiders back to Oakland 10 years ago is an unmitigated disaster. At Wednesday's news conference announcing the extinction of personal seat licenses, city and county officials smiled bravely.

    And why not? It's better than crying.

    As it stands right now, Oakland is clinging to the Raiders with a hope and a prayer, neither of which have proved to be an especially effective tactic in dealing with Raiders owner Al Davis. The team's lease on McAfee Coliseum expires in 2011, which means it has until then to complete one of the greatest marketing turnarounds in the history of the NFL or the team will almost certainly leave.

    As Davis said at the news conference, "We have a deal we can live with -- at least for the next five years."

    Now there's a rallying cry.

    The facts are these: Personal seat licenses, which were supposed to painlessly and effortlessly retire the $200 million bond issue used to spiff up the Coliseum-Arena complex, were the worst idea since drafting Brigham Young University quarterback Marc Wilson. The licenses not only weren't selling, they were less popular than the Denver Broncos. Even the stopgap idea, proposed by several pundits, that the Raiders should take the 10-year licenses and turn them into lifetime licenses, wasn't going to fly.
So a professional sports team has screwed its fans with the "Personal Seat License," nothing more than a convenience surcharge on the convenience surcharges inherent with buying season tickets, and has screwed its host city with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

And the cities come back for more.


- posted by Brian J. @ 9:30 PM   0 comments
 
Profit Tax On Media Companies!
An era of record movie prices, record newspaper prices, and record cable television rates coupled with increasing revenue?
    Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, reported an 80 percent increase in third-quarter earnings Wednesday and raised its stock repurchase program to $12.5 billion from $5 billion in an effort to meet shareholder demands to lift its slumping stock price.

    The New York-based company, whose properties include the Warner Bros. studio, HBO, CNN, a major cable TV company and Time magazine, posted net earnings of $897 million versus $499 million in the same period a year ago.
Time to levy a federal punitive tax on these businesses! After all, what's good for the oil companies should be good for the media companies who cheerlead immoral (even if rendered not illegitimate by faux populists in the legislature) profit confiscation and redistribution, ainna?


- posted by Brian J. @ 6:28 PM   0 comments
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
 
Sensitivity Note
To spare the feelings of afflicted persons, this blog shall hereafter refer to the little Irish men in green with pots of gold as Hansensdiseaseachauns.

Thank you.


- posted by Brian J. @ 6:20 PM   1 comments
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
 
Book Report: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (1999)
I inherited this book from my aunt. She might have read it, she might not have. Almost a year after her death, I cannot remember whether she particularly liked Stephen King amongst her reading within the horror genre.

This book chronicles the story of a nine-year-old girl who gets lost in the Maine Woods and is stalked by something called the God of the Lost. She has only her wits--inflated through the magic of fiction--and Tom Gordon, her hallucinated rendition of the Boston Red Sox reliever.

Pretty much, that's it. It's a short story for King--a mere 210 pages--but it moves along quickly and draws the reader along with its simple Girl against Nature (and Girl against Supernatural, or maybe Girl against Herself) conflict and its long paragraph descriptions. King could probably write a shopping list and make it compelling and enjoyable reading. As it stands, his hike one day inspired a story that kept me preoccupied a couple of nights.


- posted by Brian J. @ 7:35 PM   0 comments
 
Burning Villiages, Saving Villiages
Senator Harry Reid has confused them again:
    "I demand on behalf of the American people that we understand why these investigations aren't being conducted," Democratic leader Harry Reid said.

    Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political stunt.

    "The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership," said Majority Leader Bill Frist. "They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas," the Republican leader said.

    Reid demanded the Senate go into closed session. The public was ordered out of the chamber, the lights were dimmed, and the doors were closed. No vote is required in such circumstances.
UPDATE: Just to be clear, and more pithy, always beware the elected official who, on your behalf and for your own good, does things behind closed doors or without telling you what it is. One would almost expect the elected official to add, furthermore, that it hurts him/her more than it hurts us.


- posted by Brian J. @ 6:10 PM   0 comments
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."