papsrus

Yep. ....

There was a discussion elsewhere at the time of the Tonic's closing a year ago that touched on some of the things the Voice article alludes to here (specifically, the lamenting of the lack of downtown performance spaces for alternative musics and what should/could be done about it). The discussion very quickly turned to the question of why "downtown" artists don't simply go elsewhere? Marc Ribot's somewhat vigorous stance on the issue (if I recall, he urged the city to help finance a space) caused some mild blow back. Brooklyn has a thriving scene, after all, does it not? If gentrification is sapping downtown Manhattan of suitable and/or affordable performance spaces for alternative musics, the answer -- if not the willingness to depart -- seems clear.

Depends on the event. ... security at bigger events is a lot tighter these days.

Well, that didn't take long. Floyd and Garza both placed on 15-day DL -- Floyd with a meniscus tear in his right knee, and more importantly Garza with an irritation of the radial nerve. EDIT: ... which brings to nine the number of Rays on the DL ... yeesh.

Thanks for the tip. Will search this one out.

Wonderful story. Thanks ...

How are the umps doing? Rays have had two awful calls go against them (in NY) and one highly questionable call (in their home-opener last night) already. The two calls in NY were clearly blown calls (runner called out at first when the tag missed by a foot after the throw pulled Giambi off the bag; the second was one where the base runner had clearly made it to second before the throw on a force-out. No question on either of those. ... Last night on a closer play, Upton slid into third on a would-be triple before the tag and was called out. OK ... human error. It was a close play in real time. But in a tight game it was a big factor. These things are supposed to even out over time, so I'm looking forward to some favorable calls here soon.

Nice to see Buckner getting some love today.

This, of course, is good news for buyers, and should entice some activity. ... I'm in the process of buying a home (in the U.S.) and was able to secure a very favorable deal, including the seller agreeing to pay closing costs (which saves me about $5,000) and extend me some flexibility on the closing date (which I need due to an unrelated issue). They basically accepted my terms on a counteroffer without further negotiation. Locked in a nice interest rate, too. ... All in all, a bit of a sweet spot for buyers. I will say that while looking around I did find home prices were all over the map. Sale-by-owner prices are still way too high, from what I saw. But I expect they always are.

That Second Amendment is a tricky one. But the government already has some degree of control over the sale of firearms, doesn't it? I don't think it's unreasonable to require criminal background checks for the purchase of firearms. The government does bear some responsibility for the general safety, after all. At the same time, law-abiding citizens should have the right to own firearms (as long as they agree to participate in a well-regulated militia).

Welcome. ... This place is kinda like retirement. You might feel a little off-balance at first, but give it a few months and you'll wonder why you waited to take the plunge. Nice folks, all of 'em. (Now, if only I could figure out a way to retire early).

Yeah ... but MLB is popular there already. It's not hard to find MLB games on TV in Japan. Fox is available on satellite. Putting MLB franchises in Japan would be challenging for the reasons we're discussing. Maybe it's partly a gesture for taking all their best players. ...

I think you're right about this. Heading east is harder on the old internal clock than heading west. Maybe it has something to do with gaining a little time as you head west? Even flying to Europe (not a terribly long flight) can be tiring once you arrive. Coming back seems much easier. In any case, what is gained from these trips to Tokyo? Baseball thrives in Japan. It's not like anyone needs to promote the game there.

The A's have little to complain about. They were back in their own beds within a day of the Tokyo games, with a nice little homestand. Its the Red Sox who got screwed with the 15000+ mile road trip, getting to their own beds in Boston only yesterday, ten days after the A's. Having made that Tokyo flight myself, the transition going over is a breeze. You sleep on the plane, wake up, a few hours later arrive in Tokyo late afternoon, eat a light dinner, sleep again, get up early the next day and you're good to go. The way back, for some reason, is an absolute killer. Took me about a week to recover.

I gave up worrying about snoops long ago. ... having said that, I do delete cookies regularly, and I tend to visit the same dozen or so web sites without straying too far. I hardly ever click on ads. Can't remember the last time. I kind of view the internet as 2/3 of it being one big come-on anyways.

Jumping on board for a bit late night ... very nice.

Back on Basin Street on KCSM late Sunday night (Monday morning Eastern time).

... ruh roh ... And now the Orioles are sneakin' in some wins against the mighty Mariners, who come to Tampa next. Yankees win 2-0. Shields leaves a changeup too fat and Matsui takes him deep. That's the difference. On the plus side, Upton made two g-r-e-a-t plays in center, laying out for a catch in right center and later throwing a bullet to the bag to nail Betemit trying to advance from first to third on a double. Rivera was lights out, unfortunately. Untouchable. Chamberlain too.

Ah ... nobody's perfect. I'm sure he was a fine fellow. RIP.

Another party! Fantastic. Happy birthday!

Interesting about Giambi. ... Jays look tough, I guess. But my money's on Beckett. ... Pretty excited that the Rays already have the split in the bag with the Yankees and can go for the series win Sunday. Gomes taking Pettite deep with a couple of baserunners was nice ... the ball juuuust made it over the left field wall. Rays escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs situation in the eighth giving up just a pair of runs (whew). ... Even though Pena and Crawford were held hitless, the Rays are getting contributions elsewhere up and down the lineup, which is nice (for a change). ... Jackson seemed to want to start Yankee batters off with a couple of balls before throwing some strikes. Got himself in trouble a few times (bases loaded in the second) but he managed it, also good. Overall ...

I think we'll see Longoria soon. Middle of the month is the trigger that pushes his free agency into 2014. Yankees just looked ... old ... tonight. Jeter should have had two errors, Giambi was unwilling to even throw from first to third to try to nail Hinske after he took a wide turn, and their pen, I dunno, pretty shaky ... what do you think? ... Fourth place wouldn't shock me for them. Wishful thinking maybe, and I'm not going to get too excited after one blowout, but still, I wouldn't be shocked.

Yeah, well I thought that the umpire saw the ridiculous calls that Hughes was getting the night before and reminded himself that these are rookies. They're not entitled to close calls yet. And it really wasn't Kennedy getting squeezed anyway - the ump was consistent in his strike zone for both teams, from what I saw. And most importantly, after the unknown youngsters kept it close, Hawkins and Farnsworth combined to blow it open in the eighth inning. 13-4 Rays, which takes away some of the sting of tonight's debacle in Toronto. Agreed on the strike zone. He was consistent. Huge 8th inning. I'm liking this Rays lineup so far. Hinske and Floyd look like great additions. And what a bomb by Pena in the 8th! ... Nice start to a four-game series.

Watching the Rays try to give it away to the Yankees after running up a 6-0 lead and knocking Kennedy out in the third inning. ... Crawford looks shaky in left again, getting to a ball in deep center-left but missing it while feeling for the fence. Same thing happened in Baltimore. (as a Rays fan, it looked to me like Kennedy wasn't getting any calls at all. Tough outing.)

Powerful ...