papsrus

Where I work, we're now emptying our own trash cans at our desks at the end of the day. There are big bins located around the office for us to do this. We also have our own little swiffers now to keep our floor space tidy and free of crumbs. ... The lights in the office still stay on all night though, and the sprinkler system outside fires up every damn day without fail.

Knew it was an expensive place, but didn't realize it was the most expensive place on earth to buy property. Surprised Tokyo is down at No. 10.

Having listened to both now -- Butterflies last night and Irrational Numbers today -- they are quite similar. Lots of counterpoint and polyrhythms and such. Strong writing holds it all together nicely on both discs. Irrational Numbers has a little more energy to it. Butterflies leans a little more toward that familiar downtown thing, to my ear. Couldn't go wrong with either one.

We ended up being unexpectedly taken out to dinner by Mom and Sister-in-Law so I missed a good portion of the game, plus I was keeping an eye on the Yankees, too, so I can't comment on the umpiring too much and I didn't see all that much of Masterson either. But I was curious how he came across to you. Two homers allowed is surprising for a guy with such a downward sink on his pitches but he did well enough and the lineup came through (thank God that Hinske was playing left - if he'd gotten any experience there when he was on the team, he might have gone back to the wall and caught Coco's hit). But I thought Masterson wasn't as good as he had been his first two starts so if you think he looks like the real deal, I'm happy! I like the way he throws so hard with seemingly little effort, and the leg kick and sidearm motion has to be tough on righties. And the way he gets groundballs is really impressive. He seemed pretty calm and in control -- steady -- even when the Rays did get to him. Frankly, he seemed a lot more in control of his pitches than Garza, who never did find a rhythm and got himself into trouble more than once. Drew took him deep on a first pitch changeup ... ?? ... Hinske in left was kind of a surprise. The Rays outfield looked a little lost at Fenway trying to chase down some balls. Smoltz to have season-ending surgery. Ouch. Wants to come back next year.

Well, Garza did not have his best outing last night. Honestly though Dan, did it seem as though home plate umpire Chad Fairchild was giving a little too much to both pitchers off the plate? The center field camera angle isn't completely in line, but it seemed as though that plate was pretty damn wide -- for both pitchers. Inside, off the plate at the knees. Tough pitch. Last night's game shows why the Red Sox remain the beasts of the East -- big innings that get away from the opposing pitcher real quick, and the long ball. And Masterson looks like the real deal.

Well, Berne is certainly more ... I don't know if "lyrical" is the right word, but more melodic than certainly I'm used to from him. I'd say the writing is the thing with these albums, more than fine musicians showing off their chops. I recall these as well-crafted albums. I'm not super familiar with Alessi, but shaking the old memory banks, I'd say he follows the writing here in the same way. Gonna cue up butterflies now. I'll weigh in a little more later.

Yep. Got 'em both. Been a little while since I've spun either, but both are very nice albums. Inside/outside with nice grooves and top-notch playing all around. Cohesive and thoughtful albums, both. Think I'll cue them up soon.

Bummer about Ortiz but ... it's almost uncanny the way things are falling into place for the Rays (one man's ceiling being another man's floor, and all). ... Should be an interesting series. Not gonna count any chickens before they hatch just yet though. Enjoyed watching Delmon Young tonight. Guy's got talent. Too bad he was such an a-hole while he was here.

Do you mean Scarlett Johansson? The Buckeyes cap is just ... weird.

Yup, guys talk about women sometimes, generally in direct inverse proportion to the level of intimacy they're experiencing. And women have been known to talk about men from time to time, I've heard -- even famous ones they have no hope or expectation of encountering. Not too unusual. Although, as you get on in years the whole desert island thing gets less and less appealing -- kind of like some marriages.

The broken bat epidemic.

Berigan, let us know when the time machine's up and running ...

I can imagine my conversation: Me: Uh, um ... gabbledeegook schlupity culdmecheck gabblegarf ... heh hem. I mean, ah, gloshgibberish shleck de moishy moo? Kate: help?

Reds rookie Jay Bruce! Apparently this guy played in single-A Sarasota last season, before moving on the AA Chattanooga and AAA Louisville. Don't remember him, but probably saw him play. Nothing like this, of course. As teams get a book on him and pitchers adjust, we'll see how he does. But so far, unreal start. Makes the Reds worth watching again. (Griffey and Dunn too, of course).

Just noticed the Red Sox are 21-5 at home this year. ... Not too bad. ... best in the AL. Cubs are 25-8, and the Braves are a white-hot 22-7 at home but are just 7-20 on the road. ... Yikes! Rays aren't exactly road warriors either, at 11-12, so I'd be happy taking one out of three in Boston, leaving them essentially tied atop the AL East. And I know the Rangers are going to be looking for some payback at home right after that Sox series. Said it before, but this is really going to be a tough month, I think.

Came at a nice time, too, giving the Sox a nice 2-run cushion. Kazmir was pretty much locked in tonight for the Rays against the White Sox (from what I could follow online -- game was blacked out). 3-hitter over seven. 6 K's. ... The third sellout of the season was heartening to see -- helped by a C&W concert after the game. Whatever they have to do to put fannies in the seats, I'm for it. Once folks go to one game, they'll be back. The Cubs series mid-June is shaping up like it might be a real nice matchup. But before that, BoSox on deck in a battle for first place at Fenway. Garza (no Boston starter listed) goes in the fist game, then Jackson vs. Beckett, and Shields vs. Lester. Kaz vs. Beckett would have been nice, but .... Damn Yankees won in extras. ... at least they're not gaining any ground -- yet.

Bottled water. Lots of it. ... I'm weaning myself off soda, which does nothing but layer the fat on.

Have a good one!

The government would be much less uptight if they did a few bong hits now and again.... Yah ... whatever they're takin' ain't workin' ...

The final response in the sort of "reasoning" that would ban beer caps with the word "weed" always seems to be, "But what about the children!!!??? We have to protect the children!" First of all, it's beer. Second of all, why is everything in this country -- right down to beer caps -- geared to protect children (whose parents, apparently, can't be bothered)? What's the deal with that?

Good thing the gov't is around to protect us. Wouldn't want a handful of beer drinkers to get corrupted by a bottle cap or anything.

Apparently, they are actually up something like 20 percent so far this year, so I guess it's not so terrible. And there have been good some crowds of 20,000 - 30,000, but not consistently. It may have been the Memorial Day weekend that sapped the crowds away to other "outdoor" activities. We'll see. An outdoor stadium on the bayfront would help. But as bad as the dome is, they've dressed it up pretty nice inside. And you can't argue with air conditioning when it's like an oven outside. I think the general economic blues may also have something to do with why the crowds are sporadic. People are just watching their dollars more closely lately, waiting for the damn economy to turn. At the same time, I think you can get in the dome for as little as $12. And there's plenty of room to upgrade your location as the game moves along.

We ran a nice story in the paper today about how he turned his life around by going to what is basically a Christian baseball boot camp in Clearwater. Cleaned toilets, slept on an inflatable mattress, couldn't practice until all his obligations were taken care of, and was free to leave at any time. He stayed. There was a great photo of him sort of tipping his cap to the Rays dugout prior to their first game here Monday. I think he's being paid about $300,000 this season. I hope he tears it up for years to come. I just have to say I'm disgusted with the attendance that the Rays are getting right now. My God, if I lived up there I'd be at the stadium at least once a week. As it is, living more than an hour away, I make it to half a dozen games a year or so. May go up for the White Sox this week. ... If they can't draw regularly now, I wouldn't blame them for trying to leave for greener pastures. In fact, I'd be all for it. They deserve better than 13,000. Shitty. Really shitty.

Fun with numbers: D-Backs and Rays share the best record in baseball at 30-20. Both are also 19-8 at home and 11-12 on the road. Both franchises were born in 1998.

How's Coltrane doing Dan? Recovery on schedule?