Dave James

I haven't listened to anything but samples of TWGMTR on iTunes, but those struck me as if the guys were trying a little too hard to recapture their youth. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it seems to me that no matter what they do post Pet Sounds and maybe Holland, they'll always be prisoners of the California culture they so completely and conclusively captured in the 60's. I've always thought they should have made like the Beatles and tossed in the towel early, leaving in their wake a legacy of tunes that are unquestionable classics...the soundtrack to the lives of those like me who grew up with their music. As P.T. Barnum once said, "Always leave 'em wanting more." In the case of the Beach Boys, at least IMO, they sort of left 'em wanting less.

I'm probably as big an AW fan as there is, and I believe her to have been a singular talent, but this seems pretty excessive for someone whose flame burned brightly for only a handful of years.

Here's Marc Myers' blog entry on the Bill Evans LP I mentioned yesterday. Looking forward to this one. http://www.jazzwax.com/

Wow, that's a loss. This guy has to be one of the more underrated musicians ever. Some of the stuff he did with Fleetwood Mac while they were transitioning to the unlistenable pop group they became is as solid as anything you'll ever hear. "Church", "Bermuda Triangle", "Hypnotized", "Hot Love, Cold World", "Sentimental Lady"...these are great songs. A wonderful and talented guitar player as well. Here's an example. RIP, man. You had it all.

Even though the Yanks lost to Detroit tonight, it was a hell of a game. The top of the 8th was one for the ages. New York sent 13 guys to the plate but scored only one run on two walks, two hit batters and a single single. The bases were loaded with no one out, but Cano, Tiexiera, and then Ibanez, all failed to deliver. A microcosm of the Yank's 2012 season. With a beaver on every log in 2010 and 2011, the team hit in the mid-.300's. This year, it's clocking a .155 average. Another game that was there for the taking but wound up an "L".

http://www.dump.com/biggestant/

Here's a list of 25 players by position who are currently on the DL. You could make a fair to middlin' team out of the guys in this group. C: Carlos Santana, Jonathan Lucroy 1B: Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman 2B: Chase Utley, Brian Roberts SS: Troy Tulowitzki 3B: Chipper Jones, Evan Longoria DH: Victor Martinez LF: Carl Crawford CF: Matt Kemp, Jacoby Ellsbury RF: Jayson Werth SP: Roy Halladay, Jered Weaver, Michael Pineda, Chris Carpenter, Neftali Feliz RP: Mariano Rivera, Brian Wilson, Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, Andrew Bailey, David Robertson

I read someplace today that the teams in MLB are paying out $3.1 million a day to players who are on the DL.

He threw 134 pitches, the most he's ever thrown in one game. Hopefully, there are no lingering after effects. I know it would have been unthinkable to pull him when he's pitching a no-no, but, man, that is really pushing the envelope.

Johan Santana throws the first Mets no-hitter tonight in the 51 year history of the franchise.

Not Stanley Cup related, but I would be remiss not to mention the retirement this morning of Nicklas Lidstrom. For the past 28 seasons, the Red Wings and their fans have been blessed by the on and off-ice leadership of Stevie Yzerman and Lidstrom, two guys who brought way more to the table than just their games.

I think David Stern just had make-up sex with the New Orleans Hornets.

And the rich get richer. Surprised Jim isn't all over this. ESPN reports that Roy Oswalt has signed with the Rangers.

I don't comment much on the NBA since I have little use for basketball, but when Dwight Howard says ( and with a straight face, mind you) that he had nothing to do with the firing of Stan Van Gundy in Orlando, it's so incredibly, asininely, ridiculously stupid, that only someone who's dumber than a sack of hammers would have the stones to say it. If they picked an all-pro team for stupid, he'd be on it every year.

I'm sure the league would have killed for a New York Los Angeles final, but this will do just fine. If the Devils win the Cup, what a great way for Marty Brodeur to go out.

Try finding a portable CD player these days with an AC adapter.

Jim, don't forget that many times an asshole is in the eye of the beholder.

There is definitely a dichotomy. For instance, I've always found there to be a higher proportion of assholes among the managerial class, and at least as much incompetence. Incompetence is by no means limited by the status one has achieved in an organization. I've reported to really bright, capable, personable people and I've reported to some who'd have trouble finding their ass with either hand and a mirror. And sometimes, depending on a given situation, assholes do make the best managers.

A great example of the employee management dichotomy. I'm not saying that some internet utilization is a bad thing, but at what point do reasonable levels of use cross the line and become abusive? When I started working in 1973, there was no internet. When it did became available, you had to apply for and be granted access. Then, the company opened it up for purposes of employee benefit enrollment and then to general availability. While you may disagree with me, the internet is not a workplace entitlement, it's a privilege. And, just like with any privilege, there's an expectation of that folks will manage themselves appropriately. The problem, at least in my experience, is that they don't. No great shock considering the highly addictive qualities of the medium.

Car, home and portable CD players will soon become the early 21st century equivalent of cassettes.

Oops. I overlooked the biggest time waster of them all, the internet. At my company, everyone has virtually unlimited access to the web. A few sites are blocked but others, the ones like ESPN, CNN, Amazon, eBay and, of course, Organissimo, are freely accessible. In spite of the fact that the company knows how often and how long these sites are visited in the aggregate, and can even break it down to individual utilization, there are no limits placed on employee access. When a company has the ability to block, say, the top 10 non-work related websites and they don't take advantage of it, it's like they've consciously chosen to shoot themselves in their own foot. Didn't get it then. Don't get it now.

Some of this depends on how you define work. If "work" means being where you go to earn a living, that's one thing. If, on the other hand, it means how much actual productive time you spend doing what you're paid to do, that's something else entirely. While someone may say they "work" a 60 hour week, if you screw around 20 of those hours, then you've really only worked 40. Work means work. I was in management for most of my 36 year career. After a number of years of paying attention to what actually went on in the office I began espousing the 4/8 theory. This postulates that you're doing pretty well if you can get four hours of actual work out of an average employee in an eight hour day. Next Monday morning, see how long it takes more than a few of your co-workers to actually get down to business. What with recounting their weekends, sports talk TV talk, baby/child talk, most people don't really get underway for at least a half an hour or even more. Also take into account the "drop ins" who come by to talk about all manner of things not involving work during the day. Then there are the 15 minute breaks that turn into 30, 45 minute lunches that go an hour or more and, God help us if you have smokers working for you. Further, consider this. Even if you spend just 10 minutes getting ready to go to work in the morning and 10 minutes getting ready to leave in the evening, in an average year consisting of 50 five day weeks (reduced by two for vacation) then you've just "wasted" 20 minutes a day, 1.8 hours a week, 7.9 hours a month and 95 hours a year, or almost 12 days just getting ready to go to work and getting ready to leave. Hence, the 4/8 theory.

I like the commercial narrators who try to spiff up their products by pronouncing luxurious with a "g" sound. This is especially prevalent in automotive advertising. Speaking of cars, ejp626 mentioned Jaguar. How anyone can coax Jag-wire out of that is beyond me. My S.O. pronounces sherbet with an extra "r' at the end like "Herbert". That never fails to draw a comment from me. I suppose that could be why she does it.

Don't know about you but every time Charles Barkley says "tarabul" a.k.a. "terrible", it cracks me up. Seriously though, the bastardization of the language is now so complete that, for all intents and purposes, any remaining rules are out the window. Anything goes. It's the Wild Wild West of words.