SITTING WITH SCOUTS

I had this cartoon pasted on the door to my freshman year dorm...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:55:02 -0500

I had this cartoon pasted on the door to my freshman year dorm room. My recollection is actually that it was not a “horrible car accident” but that someone had been run over by a BICYCLE but my memory may be faulty … I DO think it was a New Yorker magazine cartoon. And later on I framed it and had it in my old apartment. Somewhere along the line, in one move or another, it was lost. I see it referenced online periodically but have never been able to find the cartoon. Would really, really love it if anyone found it and could reblog it.

u1oo:

A cartoon in New Yorker magazine had two panels.

The first depicted a horrible car accident, with a bystander saying, “Better call the Uh-oh Squad”.

The second showed several official types standing around the crushed cars, with badges saying “Uh-oh Squad”, wringing their hands with worried faces, saying “uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh”.

TRULY. AWESOME. AD-FAIL.

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:08:24 -0500

lovesetfire:

mrscphillips:

Look at this guy

he has three fucking arms

if that doesn’t sell clothes I don’t know what will

At first I thought, “No, that’s the mom’s arm.” Then, I SAW IT.

mgn8r: McKayla is Not Impressed with these White People...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:31:14 -0500

mgn8r:

McKayla is Not Impressed with these White People Mourning Romney

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/

Hottest Dr. Who ever? Or am I a wee tad...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:28:58 -0400

Hottest Dr. Who ever? Or am I a wee tad biased?

lovesetfire:

Did somebody say “Wholloween”?

"THIS!!!!!!!!! But now that we’re 18 days out from the election, Mr. “Severely Conservative” wants..."

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 19:59:12 -0400

“THIS!!!!!!!!! But now that we’re 18 days out from the election, Mr. “Severely Conservative” wants you to think he was “severely kidding” about everything he’s said over the last year. He told folks he was “the ideal candidate” for the Tea Party, now suddenly he’s saying, “what, who, me?” He’s forgetting what his own positions are, and he’s betting that you will too.

I mean he’s changing up so much—backtracking and sidestepping. We’ve gotta name this condition that he’s going through… I think it’s called “Romnesia.” That’s what it’s called. I think that’s what he’s going through.

Now, I’m not a medical doctor but I do want to go over some of the symptoms with you because I want to make sure nobody else catches it.

If you say you’re for equal pay for equal work, but you keep refusing to say whether or not you’d sign a bill that protects equal pay for equal work—you might have Romnesia.

If you say women should have access to contraceptive care, but you support legislation that would let your employer deny you contraceptive care—you might have a case of Romnesia.

If you say you’ll protect a woman’s right to choose, but you stand up at a primary debate and said that you’d be “delighted” to sign a law outlawing that right to choose in all cases—man, you’ve definitely got Romnesia.

Now, this extends to other issues. If you say earlier in the year I’m going to give a tax cut to the top 1 percent and then in a debate you say, I don’t know anything about giving tax cuts to rich folks—you need to get a thermometer, take your temperature, because you’ve probably got Romnesia.

If you say that you’re a champion of the coal industry when while you were Governor you stood in front of a coal plant and said, this plant will kill you—that’s some Romnesia.

So—I think you’re beginning to be able to identify these symptoms. And if you come down with a case of Romnesia, and you can’t seem to remember the policies that are still on your website, or the promises you’ve made over the six years you’ve been running for President, here’s the good news: Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions.”

- President Obama, coining a phrase in Virginia this morning (via barackobama)

That last line is AMAZING.
(via lovesetfire)

This was too perfect not to share. badlipreading: “THE...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 10:57:58 -0400

This was too perfect not to share.

badlipreading:

“THE HUNGER GAMES” — A Bad Lip Reading

Blërg - 30 Rock

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 10:56:45 -0400

I know that the new NBC T-shirts say “blurgh” but remembering this (awesome) scene from “30 Rock” is why I used “blerg” for my license plate.

productdisplacement:

thesochillnetwork: The only good thing about synchronized...

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:27:51 -0400

thesochillnetwork:

The only good thing about synchronized swimming is the photos.

Get Back Scuffy

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:37:47 -0400

DAD: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT (WHO WHO WHO WHO WHO)
DAD: Seriously though the dog’s missing

THE BIG LEAGUE ALL-STAR GALA AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' ON TRIPLE-A!

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:50:24 -0400

I’m pretty sure that my first-ever road trip for the sadly-departed USA Today/Baseball Weekly was when they sent me to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the summer of 1993 to cover the Triple-A All-Star Game.

From that year through 2008 in Louisville, Ky., (with the exception of being assigned elsewhere in 2007 when I could have had a return trip to Albuquerque, damn you ex-employers!), the Triple-A event was an eagerly-anticipated event for me.

A chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones. A chance to see players I’d been watching and others I’d yet to see, from up-and-coming prospects to veteran journeymen.

A chance to visit new parks and new cities.

And, always, a highlight was watching the ever-escalating game of “Can You Top This?” when it came to the host teams putting on a great event.

A few of the most memorable moments?

The Home Run Derby in Toledo in 2006 where sluggers Andy Marte and Ryan Ludwick squared off in one of the most legendary duels in HRD history (well, at least in Triple-A HRD history), as Marte blasted 29 home runs in his three rounds, mostly of the tape-measure variety.

Watching Ryan Klesko, Billy Ashley and Ryan Thompson engage in tarp-sliding in the puddles created by that rarest of events, a huge rainstorm prior to the 1993 game in Albuquerque.

Acting as field/dugout reporter for ESPN during the TV broadcast of the 2002 game in Oklahoma City.

And, possibly the single most memorable and all kinds of awesome events, being present at the on-field pre-game wedding of Norfolk Tides fan favorite Benny Agbayani at the 1998 event in Norfolk. If memory serves correctly, he had actually declined a pre-break call-up by the parent Mets so that he could fulfill his commitment as planned. He and his bride had fresh leis shipped in from their home state of Hawaii and, as one of the few women on the field, I got to wear one. (Yeah, yeah, I got lei’d at Benny Agbayani’s wedding. Whatever. It was awesome.) Oh, and the gala that year was held on an AIRCRAFT CARRIER.

The gala is always eagerly anticipated, and my guess is the host team starts planning as soon as they are awarded the game, more than a year in advance (next year is in Reno and you KNOW the Aces are going to come up aces.)

So I’ve been out of the loop for a few years. I missed the Portland, Oregon, game in 2009. The Lehigh Valley (Pa.) event in 2010. The return to Salt Lake City last summer, which I would have enjoyed since the 1996 game was one of my favorites ever (due to the participants, not the gala – that was kind of lame, actually. I heard last year’s was much better.)

But there was no way I was missing Buffalo. There was just so much to be there for. The fact that it was the 25th anniversary of the game, which was launched in 1988 at Buffalo’s Pilot Field. Still a part-time sportswriter at the time, I wrote up a preview of the game for my local paper because one of our “local boys” was the starting pitcher for the American League, Roy Smith of Mount Vernon, N.Y. (now a scout for the New York Mets, who just happen to be the parent club of the Bisons).

Plus I have had a long-time connection to the club, dating back to covering them through a series of stories in 1997 as they marched to the final American Association championship before that third Triple-A circuit dissolved, and the 1998 club, which won the championship in its new home, the International League, and competed in the first Triple-A World Series in Las Vegas.

Knowing the Bisons front office, which has remained remarkably intact over these last 15 years, I had a feeling they’d win any game of “Can You Top This” to which they felt challenged.

And even so, they surpassed my expectations at Tuesday night’s gala.

Held at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, guests entered on a small red carpet and then had the luxurious and expansive old lobby, the seats in the theatre and, most notably, the stage itself to avail themselves of an array of food and drinks, including Buffalo wings, of course, as well as locall crafted beer.

To say the dessert bar was a hit would be an understatement. Check out the baseball-designed chocolate-covered strawberries, and the candy buffet provided by Eaton Chocolate (www.eatonchocolate)!

With the big league game being played on Central Time in Kansas City, there was some “down time” before the big hanging screens lit up with the game, so during that span, as folks milled and mingled, six All-Star players competed in one of – okay, THE most – creative event I’ve seen at one of these: a relay eat-off of Buffalo’s spiciest wings.

Three players each from the International League and Pacific Coast League were seated with napkins at their neck and large bottles of water in easy reach. Hosted by the Wing King, , so perfect for Buffalo, an eat-off of Buffalo’s most spicy wings. Each guy had water bottle and a bobble head of the event’s host, nationally famous Drew Cerza, aka “the Wing King.”

Though the IL would have seemed to have an advantage with two Bufffalo–based players, in Bisons (Mets) first baseman Val Pascucci and Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals) infielder Jim Negrych, a Buffalo native, the PCL rallied from behind as anchorman Jim Henderson, the closer for the Nashville Sounds (Brewers) edged out Charlotte Knights (White Sox) catcher Josh Phegley down the stretch to give the PCL the victory. The other two members of the winning team, Iowa Cubs infielder Josh Vitters and Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers) pitcher John Ely took home the title, Wing King bobblehead dolls and undoubtedly a case of heartburn.

Now, minor league baseball players are a tough bunch to impress.

But they were still raving today about the sleight of hand performed by Buffalo-based magician extraordinaire Lou Cirulli, aka “Magic Lou” (www.magiclou.com) Now back home after nearly a decade on the west coast in Los Angeles, he took table after table of skeptics and turned them all into dazzled believers. I am not kidding. Players, wives, owners, whatever. Just ask Charlotte infielder Dan Johnson and his wife Holly. They will totally back me up on this. He should be on the big stages in Vegas. Or late night TV shows.

Whoever had the idea “hey, let’s have a magician stroll through the tables and do tricks during the game” might have been looked at like he was crazy, but whoever it was, give that man (or woman) a bonus.

Coming tomorrow, more notes from the big day and main event, including notes from the luncheon which featured guest of honor, Hall of Famer and, may I add, my husband’s all-time favorite baseball player, Tom Seaver.

PUTTING ON MY DERBY

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:28:00 -0400

Sitting here in the press box at Coca Cola Field in Buffalo, New York, about to watch the Triple-A All-Star Game Home Run Derby festivities (a few people have mentioned on Twitter that there is apparently some other All-Star Game going on somewhere this week but I am all about the Triple-A event so that’s what you can look forward to reading here over the next few days!)

A little more this week on my history with the Triple-A game itself and my beloved Buffalo in particular, but for now, let’s get to the event at hand.

After nearly two decades of covering minor league All-Star Games and the associated Home Run Derbies, you might think that you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Most of the time, you’d be right (it’s sad that for me the most memorable HRD came in 2005 in Frederick, Md., at the Class A Carolina-California League event when a foul line drive by Miguel Montero nailed me in the right shin … the resulting case of cellulitis almost cost me my leg. But hey, I got the ball.)

But there is a reason that the Buffalo Bisons have been considered among the crème de la crème of Minor League Baseball’s organizations over the years, a reason the club got the 25th annual Triple-A All-Star Game (well, partly because they also hosted the very first one!). Great ownership and management and some creative out-of-the-box thinkers have resulted in an unusual tweak to the proceedings tonight that have me kinda wishing I was just a regular old fan so I could be in the mix for the prizes!

Anyway, one of the highlights of a Home Run Derby tends to be the hordes of kids (and yeah, more than a few “kids at heart”) who stake out territory on the outfield berms to chase down the home run balls.

At Buffalo, however, that territory is taken up by the entrance/exit ramps to I-190 in left field and a parking garage in right field (though there are a few rows of the Bully Hill Vineyards party deck in right field – which is where I’d want to sit if I were just at a Bisons game for fun. Another glass of Love My Goat, please.).

So instead, the Bisons posted a series of “targets” in different locations, attached to the fences towering over left field (ostensibly to keep passing cars from getting hit, but according to Bisons beat writer Mike Harrington, who is the font of all things Buffalo and one of the best in the biz, former Buffalo slugger Jeff Manto used to aim for – and hit – passing cars during BP back in the day), center field awnings and right field locations.

If a contestant – celebrity or Triple-A slugger – hits one of the targets, a seat number will be pulled at random with the holder of that seat winning a prize package from the sponsor.

The prizes range from gift certificates from local and national restaurants or businesses to a two-year lease for a 2012 Lincoln MKZ from local dealership Towne Auto (that can only be won if the target, at the top of the fence in left-center field, is hit in the final round of competition).

Among the six Triple-A sluggers, four – Texas Rangers outfield prospect Joey Butler, Houston Astros veteran DH Mike Hessman (who has 369 career homers), Cleveland Indians former Olympian Matt LaPorta and Buffalo’s own hometown hero, Valentino Pascucci – are right-handed so seem the only candidates to win someone that sweet ride.

(NOTE 7:41 p.m. Butler has just hit a home run over that left field fence that landed just shy of the interstate. And yeah, there are a few fans stationed out there racing for the ball.)

But some of the other more memorable prizes include a suite for the Bisons 25th anniversary celebration game in August; $1,000 cash; a two-night stay with a $250 spa certificate and dinner for two at Western Door Steakhouse courtesy of Home Run Derby sponsor Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel; a $100 grilling basket from Wegman’s (hope my husband is reading this); and a Bully Hill Party Deck event for 25 people (if someone wins that, I can be their new best friend!)

AAAAAAAAAAND WE'RE BACK!

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:29:32 -0400

Way overdue, but what better time to relaunch the baseball part of my blog than sitting here, eyes still bleary, first cup of coffee in hand (a second one coming before I even think about reaching for the car keys) before getting in the car and heading eight hours north (okay, northwest if you want to be picky about it) to Buffalo for the 25th annual Triple-A All-Star Game!

One of my favorite events in one of my favorite cities with GORGEOUS weather forecast on tap (remember, please, I’m coming from D.C. where we’ve had triple digits and power outages since I came home from Cary, N.C., almost three weeks ago!).

And armed with a new camera, look for plenty of photo-blogging, Tweeting (@LisaWinston if you are interested), Facebook updates (facebook/LisaWinstonBaseballDigest) etc. Or just stay tuned here. I’ll have internet in the hotel AND the pressbox. Just like a real reporter (j/k).

And yeah, from here on in, I’ll try to make the content ratio 70:20:10 in terms of baseball:pop culture:Dana’s dog Rilo. Okay, maybe 50:40:10. Or something.

Math class is hard said teen Barbie as she pissed away a potential $50,000 payday because she couldn’t do math in her head on live TV in front of millions of people.

In the meantime, my last time in Buffalo? Voici. See if you can identify the only person in this picture from 1997 who is currently playing in the major leagues.

lovesetfire: This is my puppy Rilo. He may be the cutest thing...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 13:24:26 -0400

lovesetfire:

This is my puppy Rilo. He may be the cutest thing in the world.

Is there ANYTHING better than a cute puppy pic?

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 00:29:53 -0400

No, of course there is not, which is why I will wave a fond pageant-queen type of wave farewell to the first day of June by posting this awesome instragram borrowed from none other than my daughter, Dana Wells.

While we were skyping today, her puppela Rilo was pretty much getting into EVERYTHING. And luckily Dana is only in a cute little studio and I think it’s pretty clean so there wasn’t THAT much He could get into.

But this picture of his latest “find” when it comes to a place to chillax, be comfy and look up at his mommy and her camera and say “what? you got a problem with this?” is the best yet.

I present to you Rilo in his mom’s guitar case.

And with that, since Twitter is being a pill and not let me add more people to follow on my NEW AND SHINY account, I will bid you farewell and will dream that I am riding a bike down the beach in North Carolina with both of my fluff-bunnies in the basket of my bicycle.

Blah blah blah and yada yada yada ...

Mon, 28 May 2012 11:41:29 -0400

I just realized that not only have I been remiss in writing and catching everyone up on everything — something I do plan to do very soon … but in doing so, anyone who happens to surf by my page sees a photo/gif (I think that’s the right techie term) of someone pouring sparkles on a very buff butt that is not my butt.

Maybe I need to add something new here … oh, and the reason for that particular “reblog” of the sparkly butt was that it was something deep and complicated reblogged from the awesome Fernando Perez, and at the end of his post he mentions that he had read and loved the great memoir “Candy Girl” by Diablo Cody on my recommendation. And he thought the sparkle-butt would be a good logo for the book. Okay?

So. Things I will be blogging about really soon:

My cool new job
The amazing and inspirational experience of doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (as soon as I finish making my Flickr album that I can link)
Dana stuff, of course (new EP coming soon, etc.)
Pictures of my grand-dog Rilo
How amazing it’s been sorting through old family pictures, expanding my family tree and learning about relatives I didn’t know existed.

In the meantime, here is my Poppy’s passport photo from when he came to the United States from Russia:

Can’t wait to get one! corgiaddict: CORGIS WON...

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:54:41 -0400

Can’t wait to get one!

corgiaddict:

CORGIS WON SQUISHABLES!!! Here is the prototype / mock up.

Shiba Inu owners are crying foul play on facebook. Maybe they should cry into their new CORGI squishable!

BEYOND awesome. Hoping those cute smart Corgi genes extend to my...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:41:21 -0400

BEYOND awesome. Hoping those cute smart Corgi genes extend to my granddog Rilo and Dana can teach him this kind of megacuteness soon.

corgiaddict:

Holy sweet mother of corgi. If anyone has any doubts that corgis are ridiculous smart stubby creatures, show them this movie. That footwork! Lance is amazing!

BTW the music to this video is absolutely perfect.

My grand-dog. :) I think he’s also part Tibetan Spaniel....

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:25:28 -0400

My grand-dog. :) I think he’s also part Tibetan Spaniel.

corgiaddict:

This sleepy pup is my buddy Rilo. The rescue from which I adopted him thinks he is a Corgi-Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mix. Rilo is whip smart, very obedient, and is as happy playing hours upon hours of fetch as he is lounging around the house. All in all, he got the best of the breeds!

I am “old school” when it comes to certain things....

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:03:00 -0400

I am “old school” when it comes to certain things. Among those things? Having to read the newspaper — you remember those, right? — every morning with my coffee.

First I skim the sports and national/international news sections (sports: my eyes can’t read the agate as well as they used to so I tend to only stop on really great stories — see link below for one that ran today about newest Washington Wizard Cartier Martin — and save the boxscores for the internet; news: usually really depressing.)

I give a lot more attention to the Metro section — a combination of local news, some depressing, some uplifting, some just darn fascinating (one such story today, not available online, about the long tradition of the Washington, D.C.-area’s African-American “church ladies’” wearing of the wonderful hats on Sundays and especially on Easter — worth signing up for the Washington Post just to read this).

And en route to the back page for the 5-day weather forecast, I always look at the obituaries.

And I often see the face at the top of this entry looking back at me. Stoic, sensitive, ready to do his duty. A duty during which he was gunned down just over 15 years ago.

Brian T. Gibson, a Washington, D.C. police officer, died in the line of duty on Feb. 5, 1997, picked off for no reason while sitting in his police car at a red light.

His family has faithfully placed “In Memoriam” notices throughout the years ever since on special days — the anniversary of his passing, his birthday, special holidays. One ran again today from his sister.

I am no one to them, but I want them to know that as they faithfully remember him by placing these notices, they ARE sharing his loving memory. I remember him — I remember the day he died — and I thank them for continuing to make sure we all remember and respect his memory and thank him for the thankless job he did to try to make the rest of us safe.

http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1233,q,539829.asp

Another great read from today was Rick Maese’s story about newest Wizard, Cartier Martin, who joined the team in late March on an elusive 10-day contract, scooped up from his D-League team in Iowa to fill in some empty spots caused by injuries. I won’t tell you how the story ends — you need to read it yourself — but it shines light into the itinerant world of the 10-day contract guys. If you don’t root for Martin, well, you’re just cold.

http://tinyurl.com/6u9roag

For realz?????????? And because I am the kind of person who...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:29:00 -0400

For realz?????????? And because I am the kind of person who actually CARES about this sort of stuff, I’ll just throw out there that “MINOR LEAGUE GUY” is Eugenio Velez, aka “VC.” Did a feature on him a few years ago. ETA: I am demoting myself from Queen to a Court Jester. I ID’d Geno (since there was no roster) by actually reading the play-by-play from that game. However apparently when the once-fleet Velez made it to third, the Cards inserted mega-prospect Oscar Taveras as a pinch-runner. So “MINOR LEAGUE GUY” is actually Taveras.

outfielding:

via the chinaman