Another Bad Sportsman: Fernando Alonso


You let me down, Freddie. I have defended you and your emotional behavior for years. I saw you rise as a great driver, from Minardi, to Renault, to McLaren. Like all other F1 drivers, you have gone through a rigorous public speaking and public image education. You sharpened your English. You were taught how to handle the media. You were shown the dos and don'ts of what to say publicly. I tolerated your unease and your jealousy of your teammate, Lewis Hamilton. But now that Hamilton is poised to win the Drivers Championship, you have told the world you want to go back to Renault...back to Uncle Flavio. Fine. But keep in mind that if you do go back to Renault, you will be driving with Heikki Kovalainen, who had compliments for both you and Hamilton this past weekend (being the good sportsman he is). Don't expect Kovalainen to roll-over for you if you end-up becoming his teammate. You need to earn-back some of the respect you seem to have lost recently.

Memo To Isiah Thomas: Suicide Is An Option


** Special thanks to M for inspiring this post! **

You are a disgusting man, Isiah. From a lack of sportsmanship, to jealousy, to instigating bench-clearing brawls, you have a long history of being a complete jerk. And while it is true that you are being sued by a possible other disgusting human being, you are still a disgusting man.

Bill Simmons explains the details of the case before yesterday's word of guilty verdicts. I regret I supported you against the Lakers in 1988 and 1989.

I just want you to know that you can keep a little dignity and honor. It is called seppuku.

The Red Sox Win The AL East Division




Holy shit. The Orioles celebrated their win with fireworks. They know what they just did. They just shut the door on the Yankees quest for a 12th straight AL East title.

The Sox got some huge help from Baltimore. Melvin Mora laid down a bunt with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the 10th to squeeze home the winning run. Amazing. And it followed a thrilling stand in the top of the inning, and a dramatic (and highly improbable) 3-run comeback by Baltimore against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th.

As I and other sensible fans predicted, the Yankees lost two games during the final six-game stretch. And that was all the Red Sox needed in order to secure the AL East before the weekend. Now the Sox will probably split the final two games against the Twins. But it is now official: The Red Sox have won the AL East Division for the first time since September 1995, the month I first moved to New York City.

Celebrate good times, Boston! The Angels will come to town for game 1 of the ALDS on Wednesday.




Don't Taser Me, Bro!



Instead, taser Glenn Reynolds, for attacking David Shuster for asking Rep. Marsha Blackburn a legitimate question. And then, after that shithead General Manager of MSNBC, Dan Abrams, forced Shuster to apologize, Media Bistro did some fact checking and determined that Shuster was correct. And then Glenn comes back with a non-apology and still makes the ridiculous argument that Shuster wouldn't have asked Hillary the same question.

I don't like Hillary, but I think she could name some recent New York State casualties in Iraq. Let's have someone ask her. It is a legitimate question.

Rappelle Moi: Ringing Mobile Phones In Sub-Saharan Africa

Now I'm going to totally sound like the libertarian, amateur economist and paid blogger, Megan McArdle, but this is an interesting story about how cash-strapped mobile phone users in Africa ring their friends and pass-on their phone number without paying for a call. Then, their presumably more affluent friends decide to call back at their own expense. This is a phenomenon that doesn't happen much in western countries because most mobile phone users have contracts with a set base fee each month. But in countries where most users pay as they go and accumulate credits, this happens. Think of it as third-world paging.

Phone credit low? Africans go for "beeping"
By Andrew Heavens
Reuters
Wed Sep 26, 11:32 AM ET

If you are in Sudan it is a 'missed call'. In Ethiopia it is a 'miskin' or a 'pitiful' call. In other parts of Africa it is a case of 'flashing', 'beeping' or in French-speaking areas 'bipage'.

Wherever you are, it is one of the fastest-growing phenomena in the continent's booming mobile telephone markets -- and it's a headache for mobile operators who are trying to figure out how to make some money out of it.

You beep someone when you call them up on their mobile phone -- setting its display screen briefly flashing -- then hang up half a second later, before they have had a chance to answer. Your friend -- you hope -- sees your name and number on their list of 'Missed Calls' and calls you back at his or her expense.

It is a tactic born out of ingenuity and necessity, say analysts who have tracked an explosion in miskin calls by cash-strapped cellphone users from Cape Town to Cairo.

"Its roots are as a strategy to save money," said Jonathan Donner, an India-based researcher for Microsoft who is due to publish a paper on "The Rules of Beeping" in the high-brow online Journal of Computer Mediated Communication in October.

Donner first came across beeping in Rwanda, then tracked it across the continent and beyond, to south and southeast Asia. Studies quoted in his paper estimate between 20 to more than 30 percent of the calls made in Africa are just split-second flashes -- empty appeals across the cellular network.

The beeping boom is being driven by a sharp rise in mobile phone use across the continent.

Africa had an estimated 192.5 million mobile phone users in 2006, up from just 25.3 million in 2001, according to figures from the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union. Customers may have enough money for the one-off purchase of a handset, but very little ready cash to spend on phone cards for the prepaid accounts that dominate the market.

Africa's mobile phone companies say the practice has become so widespread they have had to step in to prevent their circuits being swamped by second-long calls.

"We have about 355 million calls across the whole network every day," said Faisal Ijaz Khan, chief marketing officer for the Sudanese arm of Kuwaiti mobile phone operator Zain (formerly MTC). "And then there are another 130 million missed calls every day. There are a lot of missed calls in Africa."

'CALL ME BACK'

Zain is responding to the demand by drawing up plans for a "Call-me-back" service in Sudan, letting customers send open requests in the form of a very basic signal to friends for a phone call.

The main advantage for the company is that the requests will be diverted from the main network and pushed through using a much cheaper technology (USSD or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data).

A handful of similar schemes are springing up across Africa, says Informa principal analyst Devine Kofiloto. "It is widespread. It is a concern for operators in African countries, whose networks become congested depending on the time of day with calls they cannot bill for.

"They try to discourage the practice by introducing services where customers can send a limited number of 'call-back' request either free of charge or for a minimum fee."

There are plenty of other reasons why mobile operators are keen to cut down on the practice. One is it annoys customers, pestered by repeated missed calls.

A second is that 'flashes' eat into one of mobile phone companies' favorite performance indicators -- ARPU or average revenue per user. Miscalls earn very little in themselves - and don't always persuade the target to ring back.


 

 

 

 

 

Orange Senegal, Kofiloto said, lets customers send a 'Rappelle moi' ('Call me back') when their phone credit drops below $0.10. With Safaricom Kenya, it is a "Flashback 130" (limited to five a day -- and with the admonishment 'Stop Flashing! Ask Nicely'). Vodacom DR Congo's 'Rappelez moi SVP' service costs $0.01 a message.

MORE THAN MONEY

But beeping is not only about money. Donner's 'Rules of Beeping' suggests a social protocol for the practice.

"The richer guy pays," he writes. It is acceptable to beep someone if you are short of cash and they are flush with credit. Never beep someone poorer than you.

Never beep someone you are tapping for a favor. You don't want to risk annoying the person you are trying to win over. Never flash your girlfriend, unless you want to look cheap.

"Most beeps are requests to the mobile owner to call back immediately, but can also send a pre-negotiated instrumental message such as pick me up now,' or send a relational sign, such as I'm thinking of you,'" the paper says.

It can go even further than that.

Cameroonian researchers Victor W.A. Mbarika and Irene Mbarika identified a different kind of beeping-powered relational call in a study for the technology association the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

"Lovers often communicate with text messages or beeping'," said the study. "One party dials another's number and then hangs up. One ring could mean, I am here,' two rings, Call me now.'"

And the name they gave this new entry in the beeping lexicon? Borrowing a street slang term for an appeal for sex, they christened it "the booty call."
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited

Is That Champagne I Smell?


Creator/Editor SG at the second-tier Yankee blog, Replacement Level:

I still think the Yankees are the favorites to take the wild card, which I don’t really care about. To me, winning the wild card is the cheap way into the postseason, and even if they do get in, they get the Angels in the first round.

If it is the cheap way into the postseason, then how do you explain this?



I thought the Yankee fans ridiculed the Red Sox for doing the same thing when they won the wild card in 2004?

Oh, and you probably have Clevelnd in the first round. But still, the Yankees are by no means a lock to appear in the ALCS.

M's Review Of Genesis At New York Madison Square Garden, 09/25/2007




M reviews last night's Genesis show at MSG:


Saw the show...and I got almost exactly what I expected.

Here were the pleasant surprises:

1) Phil's banter the crowd was at times amusing
2) Tony's keyboards sounds were significantly better than expected
3) the overall sound was better than expected
4) the visuals were cool
5) DS died of massive heart failure while ruining Firth of Fifth (ok that didn't actually happen)

Show opened strong. I liked the Behind the Lines instrumental. Turn it On Again was good but the tuning a whole step down hurts the song...although live it still packed more of a punch than the VH1 special or YouTube clips (but that isn't really saying a lot). I still think the Three Sides Live version kicks ass...original key, slightly up-tempo.

No Son of Mine and Land of Confusion were also good. I knew what would be my favorite part of the show was coming next. In the Cage/Cinema Show/Dukes' Travels was great...the live setting again helping the obvious key change. I've never understood why people like Afterglow so much but it was performed well.

Hold on My Heart was fascinating for me. Of course I don't like the song but what struck me was the need to extend it and jam on it a bit. I can't even get the original length of my favorite tunes but I can get an extended version of a shitty one. In a word...awesome.

Home by the Sea/Second Home by the Sea. First part good...Second Home was great. Definitely a high point of the show and basically what I had hoped for when the tour was announced. A great performance of one of the great tunes from the three man era.

Follow You, Follow Me. I can't complain. Not one of my favorites but obviously knew it was coming when the tour was announced.

Firth Of Fifth/I Know What I Like. I walked out during this as the anger overcame me. Tony's keyboard solo sounded horrible. Phil's drumming (while good for most of the show...Chester was the doing most of the drumming during the show...even when Phil was behind a kit) was totally lame here.

Even from the concession stand DS's performance was horrendous. I kept looking on the menu for thorazine to kill the pain but they didn't have it.

Read my previous rants about this. In short never ever perform this song again....(unless its the original five and the song is performed in its entirety). And kill Darryl Stuermer. This is not a joke. Kill DS. REDRUM!! REDRUM!!

And yes Phil you can still play the tambourine with your bald head and your feet. But so can a trained monkey. And to see images of Steve Hackett on screen while listening to the band rape his music was really more than I could take. I'm still seething.

Mama - yes it was good...very good I guess...but couldn't save the pattern of the show which was good song, shitty song, good song chopped to shit and ruined by DS, shitty song

Ripples - excellent. Not one of my favorites but at least they did it complete and DS restrained himself....wow we're up to two good songs in a row

Throwing it All Away. Ok I guess. Yes a hit but not one that really was essential to play (like Invisible Touch) Not one of my favorites but the camera thru the audience was entertaining. It made the joy of the rest of the crowd somewhat infectious...although a "Kill Darryl" chant would have worked better for me

Domino - the anger started to swell again. I have no understanding for this. Its a long song off an album that was thoroughly represented that evening. And Phil's head with the Doctor Who swirl on the screen was tough to take...but maybe that's just me. Nothing about the performance of this song quieted the screaming "why the fuck are they playing this" voice in my head. But let's cut Cinema Show a little bit shorter to fit this in.

Drum Duet - yes it was very good...but for me couldn't make up for the good/bad back and forth of the night.

Los Endos - also was good but not enough to win me over

Tonight Tonight Tonight - we're going to make it right tonight...too late for that. I think was performed in the Key of Zzzzz

Invisible Touch - great crowd pleaser (for most)...my brother and I made it to the screen during the camera shots. I think my enthusiasm was the catalyst for the crowd here

I Can't Dance - wow they did the funny walk thing. That was awesome. And it was really fucking awesome when some drunk NYC dudes starting doing it in the aisle daisy chain style. Wow I love being surrounded by cool drunk dudes. Especially when its clear they get the actually lyric of song. I had to keep telling myself, "you have a beautiful wife and child at home...you have a beautiful wife and child at home". Its the only reason I didn't go out in a blaze of glory last night.

Carpet Crawlers - ok. The only reason I didn't leave after the In the Cage bit.

So yes the show was better than 92...but so is a Solo Ray Wilson acoustic performance. Yes the sound was better than expected....but shouldn't it be good considering the technology available and the ridiculous $$$ being made on this tour. I'm tired of giving performances credit for what should be a given. And Phil sang great (if you can forgive that he's not 30 anymore...which I can). The visuals for the show were good too. But the set list is fucked beyond ridiculous. Two hour show, 20 minutes of enjoyment.

Yes part of that is my responsibility because I'd be a fool to think they're going to skip their hits. But I Can't Dance was never really a hit. Domino was never a hit. Firth of Firth was never a hit and this performance was a complete fucking disgrace as was I Know What I Like, and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight was also dull as hell. And extending Hold on My Heart...WTF? How long do I need to pee?

Brian Bruney And Jeff Karstens Lose It For The Yankees


I think last night's loss was the first time since June that the Yankee bullpen blew a lead and lost a game on the road. An amazing run.

I also think that Brian Bruney and Jeff Karstens won't be on the Yankee postseason roster next month. Just my guess.

With Wang, Joba, and Mo available tonight, I expect the Yankees to win and secure the Wild Card spot.

But in just 48 hours, we have seen the Yankees' chances of winning the AL East slip from 40%, to 19%, to 6%. All Boston has to do is win 3 more games out of the remaining 5, and the AL East is theirs, regardless of what the Yankees do.

And if they blow that, then yes, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman, and Michael Kay can mention it all they want. But if the Sox win the AL East, I don't want to hear about them blowing a 14-game lead ever again.

The Red Sox magic number is 3. When they wake-up Saturday morning, the AL East title should already be theirs.

"Hey Beautiful...The Backdoor's Open"

And I'm not talking about Normar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm. And no, "backdoor" is not what some of you may be thinking. It's part of the story below.

Busted for the last time (with his estranged wife anyway)...I give you Shane Warne, a great cricket bowler, and a first-class womanizer. The British tabloids are having a field day with this.

It was bad enough when stories of parties and having sex with more than one woman a night went around. It was embarrassing when he took diet pills in an attempt to eliminate his paunch, and got banned from the game for a year as a result (he even said that it was his mother's idea when she saw his belly on the telly). But an errant (probably drunken) text message to his wife instead of a girlfriend is the final nail in a disastrous 12-year marriage.

Huge Yankee Game This Afternoon


The Yankees have a game-in-hand over the Red Sox and it is being played this afternoon at 1pm. If they win, they will be just one game behind the Red Sox and both teams will each have 6 games left to play. Boston has two potential breaks - all of their 6 remaining games are at Fenway, and they won't be seeing the best pitchers from either Oakland or Minnesota. The Yankees have to go to Tampa Bay for 3 games, and then Baltimore for 4 games. I would expect both Tampa and Baltimore to win one game from the Yankees. I would also expect the Red Sox to lose 2 of their next 6.

And so this game today is very important for the AL East race. Toronto has been very effective in running-up the Yankee pitch counts and forcing the Yankees to work their bullpen. If Toronto should somehow win today, they will give the Red Sox the cushion they need to win the AL East title at the end of the week against the Twins.

If the Yankees win, then the Red Sox still have a 1-game lead. However, their margin for error will be very small. The Red Sox will have to win at least 4 of their remaining 6 games. They will need a lot of moral support from the home fans. It is crunch time.

Apparently Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling are acting as if the Yankees have already won this game. They are yapping away on WCBS-AM. They won't stop. Unfortunately there is no point in muting a radio. I might just keep an eye on the stoic and silent Gameday.

The late-breaking news that Blue Jay pitcher AJ Burnett had to miss his start only heightened Sterling's and Waldman's expectations for a victory.

"A game that means nothing for Toronto and everything for the Yanks." - John Sterling

Translation: The Blue Jays had better forfeit for their sake. The Yankees are entitled to the AL East!!!1!!!111

Toronto takes a 3-0 lead. I hope they win this one...

And how can there be only 20,000 fans in the seats? On an absolutely beautiful day, with this much at-stake, and with this game added to the schedule many weeks ago, the Yankee fans couldn't fill half the stadium today? This is the final September game at Yankee stadium! Even Sterling and Waldman are stunned.

The Passion Of The Blue Jays


The Blue Jays threw-away the game (actually Aaron Hill threw away the game) in the bottom of the 9th tonight. But then they stretched the Yankees to 14 innings. Then Gregg Zaun got a solo home run to give them a chance to redeem themselves.

Quote of the night:

Pandemonium67 on Sons of Sam Horn: "I'm sure these cocksucking bluejays understand this weekend is their last chance to reduce the lead-piping Santa's bringing them for xmas."

A lot of Yankee fans have gone home. That would never happen at Fenway.

The Yankees lose! THAAAAAAAAA YANKEES LOSE!

Wow. What a game. I hope they are all hurting. Thank Luis Vizcaino for giving-up the game-winning home run to Gregg Zaun.

Aaron Hill, did you try to throw this game? You failed, jackass. You get a lump of coal this Christmas.

Red Sox Concede Division, Rest Okijima & Manny, Focus on October, Panic Fans


With apologies to Heat, the President, and Oceans 11.

Mr. Cheesesteak and The Don have made their decision. They are the deciders. You might think they are leading us to disaster. But they have a plan to achieve victory and complete the mission. We will prevail.

We are not going to play for the division. This is how it's going to play-out. History will forget about how we gave-away the Division. The Red Sox are going for Red 7 - their 7th World Series victory.

You will hear a lot of shit from Yankee fans, Michael Kay, Suzyn Walkdman, John Sterling, and all ther other assholes in the NY sports media. But this is the plan. We will give-up what would have been our 6th AL East banner for a healthier squad that will go all the way in October.

Yankee fans will say that losing a 14.5 game lead is one of the biggest chokes in baseball history. But you can handle them. Simply point-out that the Red Sox never had a 14.5 game lead in the division. Spin it like Scott McClellan, people!

The Sox' biggest division lead at one point was 11.5 games over the Baltimore Orioles. That won't shut them up? Remind the Yankee fans of their historic, never-to-be-repeated collapse in games 4 thru 7 in the 2004 ALCS. That won't shut them up? Oh, well. We're moving on...

The Yankees can either cool their jets, or risk injuries if they continue to push for the division. They would be foolish to put the champagne on ice, prep lower Broadway for a parade, and plan postseason first pitch ceremonies at this point. Some of their fans are? Oh, well. We're moving on...

You have a decision to make right now as a member of Red Sox Nation.

The World Series is worth the risk. The division is not.

Our choice right now is to go with this plan, or 30 seconds from now we are gone on our separate ways.

Are you in?


UPDATE: Jose Melendez becomes the first to write about both the Sox and Professor Jared Diamond in the same post. Proof that we Red Sox fans are well read and wicked smaaaaaat.

The Red Sox Predicament: Stop The Eighth Inning Meltdowns Or Else


A few observations on the current late-season woes of the Red Sox. I'm no Bill Simmons, and the fanboys over at Sons of Sam Horn are dissecting this from every angle. But if I don't comment, it will look like I'm avoiding the issue. I've just been in a lot of pain this week and it is only Wednesday.

Some random thoughts:


  • The past month has been an absolute roller coaster for the Sox and their fans. On August 27th, the Sox completed a sweep of the dismal White Sox in Chicago, and it looked as if they had wrapped-up the AL East. All they had to do was play .550 baseball and they should squeak by. But since then, they have gone 10-11, with 5 of those losses coming at the hands of the Yankees.

  • Even more alarming: At least four of those 11 losses were the result of 8th inning meltdowns by the Boston bullpen. It happened Sunday night...it happened again Tuesday night. We Sox fans have been going to bed with headaches and heartburn. And yes, it sucks.

  • As of this morning, the Red Sox literally have a 99% chance of making the playoffs. But if they fail to win the division, and fall-back as a Wild Card entry, it will be a source of shame and embarrassment for the Sox and their fans for years. Do the Yankees seem phased that they suffered the biggest postseason collapse in history? They seem to have gotten over it. But if the Red Sox fail to win the AL East this season, it will take a while to get over.

  • Part of the reason it will take a long time to get over is the Red Sox fans themselves. We want the AL East title desperately. Several times before they won the 2004 WC, I said winning the division title was all I really wanted - to show that we could produce a better season record than the MFYs. This current crisis is being exacerbated by the New York media and the Red Sox fans, who are both using the AL East title as the biggest litmus test for the Red Sox in a generation. Win the title, and all is well. Lose the title, and it is 1978 all over again...the Red Sox can hang their heads in shame and contemplate the failure for years. I think the New York sports media wants the Red Sox fans to suffer a complete depression, so it makes sense that they are fanning the flames. Amazingly, I hear no such doomsday comments coming from NESN, and that says a lot. Oh sure, we hear the NESN folks talk about how the Sox should have sealed the AL East title last week. We also hear them speculate about how Terry Francona is trying to keep the Sox rested and healthy for the playoffs, without going into a morale-sucking slump. But we don't hear NESN talking about how the Red Sox are losers if they enter the playoffs as the Wild Card.

  • Sox fans need to stop worrying about who they will face in the playoffs. If they cannot beat Cleveland, Anaheim, or New York, then they have no business playing next month. Counting on the Angels to eliminate the Yankees is not a good way to enjoy the playoffs. The Yankees pitching staff will be so shot by October, that anyone will be able to beat them in the first round. And if not, then hope the Sox make it to the ALCS to take care of matters themselves. Worry about your own team, and stop worrying about who the Yankees are going to play the first week of October.

Rejuvenated Genesis Excite Hartford




Genesis at the Hartford Civic Center, 09/16/07. All photos courtesy of my girl, taken with her Sony T100 compact camera.

Considering how my last post was meant to lower expectations, this is fantastic news. I am very happy to report that whatever lack of energy or enthusiasm Genesis seemed to have in YouTube videos posted in Europe, the band has arrived in North America with their best performances in 20 years.

That's right. They are better than they were in 1992-1993. They were absolutely fantastic last night. Oh, and a mind-blowing drum duet didn't hurt their show, either. Last night could have been a candidate for the DVD. It was that good.

Let's get the weak points of their performance out of the way:


  • Daryl Sturmer still plucks annoying, extra notes into the Firth of Fifth solo.
  • They still perform Hold On My Heart.
  • Medleys still have the effect of pleasing the long-time fans in the audience and annoying them at the same time.
  • Tony's keyboard setup is very good and compact overall. However, while the low-range sounds (organ, mellotron, bass synth) are awesome and inspiring, his high-range sounds (mini moog, In The Cage solo) sound cheap and underwhelming.


And really, everything else was great. Even if you hate Throwing It All Away, it was one of the most amusing and fun parts of the evening, with candid videos of the audience members on the big video wall. Follow You Follow Me was appropriately sentimental, with the video wall showing animations of some of their album covers (Nursery Cryme, Selling England By The Pound, Trick of the Tail, Duke, and We Can't Dance) along with archival photos of the band dating back to 1970.

Their performance of Mama was a highlight, as it was their best performance of the song in 20 years.

It was the band's technical superiority, musicianship, humor, and interaction with the audience that made this a truly great show. Genesis are back!

Phil had to take it easy on his voice in Europe. Here, he is belting out the songs, restraining himself only occasionally, and certainly not on the very old songs.

The set list remains the same from the European leg:

Behind The Lines / Duke’s End (medley)
Turn It On Again
No Son Of Mine
Land Of Confusion
In The Cage (complete) / The Cinema Show (truncated) / Duke’s Travels (truncated)
Afterglow
Hold On My Heart
Home By The Sea
Follow You Follow Me
Firth Of Fifth (truncated) / I Know What I Like (complete)
Mama
Ripples
Throwing It All Away
Domino
Drum Duet
Los Endos
Tonight Tonight Tonight (truncated) / Invisible Touch (complete)
I Can’t Dance
---------------
The Carpet Crawlers

That's about a two-and-a-half hour show. They took the stage at 20:30 (the scheduled start was 20:00).

Surely I would have loved to hear more material from the great 1976-1982 box set that was released this spring. I would have wanted to hear a song from Abacab, a complete song from Duke, and another song from And Then There Were Three. But essentially, they took the 1992 set list, dropped the long 70s medley in favor of three small medleys (two of which included complete songs, In The Cage and I Know What I Like), kept the biggest hits, cut the number of songs from WCD from six to three, kept Domino and Home By The Sea, and then squeezed-in Ripples, Follow You Follow Me, Afteglow, Los Endos, and Carpet Crawlers.

I should be excited to see so many old songs squeezed in. But I feel let-down because these are old songs they have done before (if you are old enough to remember). I'm not really into Afterglow. I love Ripples, and it was their best song of the night, along with Mama. Follow You Follow Me is good, but what would really make me excited is any (and I mean ANY) other song from And Then There Were Three.

And there were two surprises (surprises if you don't read all the Genesis blogs, that is). First, Daryl Sturmer used a beautiful Les Paul for Ripples and Carpet Crawlers. The warmer sound of the Les Paul was very welcome, and according to Archetype, it was the first time he had ever seen Daryl play a Les Paul in a Genesis show. When I closed my eyes during the Ripples solo, I pictured this guy. Daryl did a fine job when he used the Les Paul and remained faithful to the way Steve would have played it. Otherwise, Daryl did not respect Mr. Hackett's music.

The second surprise was the drum duet. Everyone knew it was going to be good. I simply had no idea that it would be faster, more athletic, and more impressive than the 1992/1993 version. Phil and Chester are simply incredible. Their speed, technique, stunts, and the resulting reverb through the arena were all breathtaking. It was the Cirque du Soleil of drum duets. You just have to see it for yourself.

Maybe Genesis were rusty in Europe. Maybe Phil did complain about being on-tour. Perhaps he is still bitching. But their hard work to get back out there is paying off. What I saw in Hartford on Sunday night was a band that is getting stronger, and could be preparing for a bigger tour in the near future. They still have tricks up their sleeves and seem to know that the fans are going to expect more old songs the next time around.

Well done, lads, well done. That shit I said earlier? I take it all back.

The purpose of this tour is to get the rust out and get back into form. Apparently they had gotten back together last year in case Peter Gabriel was able to join them and work on a new live production of The Lamb. Of course that fell through, but they decided to tour anyway. We can only hope that this tour is in preparation of Peter Gabriel's eventual return. Archetype dreams of a reunion of the classic 5-member lineup for a live performance of The Lamb in Central Park next summer or in 2009.

So long as they are all alive, the demand for a reunion will remain.

It would be incredible, but I have to keep my expectations in-check. Peter seems to be fine with the idea, provided it does not involve recording a new album or taking too much time away from his future solo albums (he has enough material for two new albums, and is working hard on the one he hoped to release two years ago).

The hurdle in getting the classic Genesis lineup back together is the 30 year-old spat between keyboardist Tony Banks and former lead guitarist Steve Hackett. That's my opinion, but consider how Tony talks about Steve. Here is how I imagine it:

Hi, I'm Tony Banks. I founded Genesis in 1967 along with Mike Rutherford and Peter Gabriel back in high school. Members have come and gone, but one thing remains constant - this band belongs to me and Mike. Let's make that clear.

"It's my band. Mine. I didn't have to go to Phil. He had to come back to me!!!11"

Now regarding that classic lineup. The way I see it, Peter had a good reason to go. He got married young. Had a baby soon afterword. He had new pressures of family life and removed himself from the band for his own good. Although he didn't tell us he was leaving until we were in the middle of our 1975 tour, I forgive him. Besides, I could see it coming. I can ready my friends fairly well. I knew Peter was distracted and was going to go. It was a sad time. But Mike and I decided to keep Genesis going. Phil and Steve could come along or not.

Now as for Steve, his departure was different. He wanted to contribute more acoustic songs to our two post-Peter albums. But I felt that we had some singles that deserved to be committed to wax. It's what the fans wanted. It's what the majority of us wanted. I like to think that Genesis is a democracy, and Steve would just have to wait to get more of his songs on our albums. Still, he got songwriting credits for a third of the songs on his last album with us. And looking back, Blood on the Rooftops is one of the best Genesis songs ever. Steve and Phil wrote it themselves.

But Steve couldn't wait. He was writing more songs and had more material. So he stopped-by the studio one day in 1977 and told me and Mike that he was leaving the band. And that was that. He was gone. And Mike and I were left with a crisis. Then Phil walked in and he was clueless about what had just happened. Mike and I once again had to decide the future of Genesis.

Now being the quiet gentleman that I am, I didn't hold a grudge. Oh, I did make sure that Steve didn't appear clarly on the cover of our 1977 live album. The photo I selected had him in a dark shadow most fans would not notice. But he and I are still friends. I still see Steve in concert. I always go backstage to shake his hand and say hi. He's not an egotistical front man. I'm certainly not. It is interesting how he tries his best to sing songs with some good results. I guess he has found his happy place. So I'd be, um, surprised if he came back and performed with us.

From my perspective, once you quit, you quit and can't come back. You have to preserve your pride and not ever get caught with your tail between your legs or something. That's how we upper classes do it. Never talk out your problems, or talk to people we don't like. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be talking. Cheers.

Now that is something Tony would never say out loud. He keeps it all inside. The silent treatment means you are out. I used to admire that about Tony. He is still my favorite member of Genesis. He lacks the technique and strength of Keith Emerson, but is arguably a more successful composer and songwriter. His solos have evolved over the last 35 years, and I like them all. Tony's great. And I hope someone gives him another chance to do a television theme song or movie soundtrack.

But from the clues he gives in his interviews, I think it is Tony who is blocking the big reunion. Let's see some real Tony quotes regarding a possible 5-member reunion:

There has never really been anything organized...It tends to come from other people more than us, really. I never rule out any kind of reunion thing, it could always happen. We’re all good friends, and we get-on ok. It would be fun to revisit some of these early things perhaps, but there has really never been a plan...I’m not itching to do it, particularly, but I’m not dismissing it either.

That was Tony in 2004. And what did Steve say last year?

Unfortunately I'm not in a position to comment on things...and of course the ideal time would be [now] if there was a band reformation but I don't think anyone is any the wiser. The band isn't any the wiser than the fans are and so with regards to that we have all given our pitch and let's just say that most of us are hoping it is going to come off. I would love to be able to say 'Yes, I'll be there on Thursday!' It is the question on everyone's lips, including mine. If it doesn't happen, I won't be to blame.

Hmmmm. We have someone who would like it to happen, and someone who isn't too crazy about the idea. I think the signs pointing to Tony as being the sticky wicket.

""Well, we managed to sack the lot of you!" - Tony to all former members of Genesis in 1999. At the time, that included Phil.

Now I have to be respectful of the artists I admire. Chances are, a classic reunion will not happen. But surely the fans are dreaming of this the same way I dreamt of the Red Sox winning the world series in my lifetime. And this has been written about by authors far more passionate and informed than I am.

So I will close this post with the obvious - if you are a fan of Genesis and admire their work, you have to get yourself to one of their remaining North American shows. They are well worth your time and money.

Live Blogging The Sox-Yanks Penultimate Regular Season Game


OK. Diving right in. The Sox are not in a must-win situation, but a win today would settle the Boston fans who treated last night like Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

We need to keep in mind that the Red Sox did have a 14-game lead over the Yankees. But that was in May. At the All Star break, the lead was nine. Given that the lead today is four games, it doesn't seem so bad, does it?

Archetype is here with me. He literally just arrived from Boston. We're basking in front of my HD plasma on a sunny and beautiful New York afternoon. We've got our beverages and possibly thin crust pizza later. It's all good. Play ball.

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16:03 Top of the 1st. One out. Derek Jeter hits a solo home run to deep center. Bad start, Josh. "What a BOLT to center field." - Tim McCarver

16:06 Sodenj5 on Sons of Sam Horn: "Great, for the rest of the game we get to hear about Jeter's power."

16:06 Indeed, I might have to mute my TV if Tim McCarver starts talking about Jeter's greatness.

16:10 "Is this the Yankee broadcast? I just want to make sure." - Archetype.

16:12 Posada is at-bat. Two outs. Tim McCarver: "A lot of the time, catchers are the toughest hitters to pitch around, because they call pitches to pitch around hitters." Good Lord.

16:14 End of the first. Please, Red Sox, can we get some payback?

16:15 Clay Buchholz reads the starting lineup for the Red Sox.

16:16 Sodenj5 on Sons of Sam Horn: "Can anyone deny the fact that Buchholz is a dead ringer for Beavis?"

16:21 Bottom of the 1st, Pedroia is on first (walked) and there's one out. Ortiz at the plate. A hit! Dustin now on second. Ortiz at first. Keep it up. Produce runs.

16:23 Lowell gets an RBI single with a liner down the 3rd base line. Johnny Damon is playing left and we know his arm is not great. Dustin scores.

16:24 JD Drew grounds out. Ortiz advances to third.

16:24 "Can we sell JD Drew to Atlanta for half price? Or the Sox can sell him on Half.com." - Archetype

16:31 Dustin Pedroia stops a grounder, turns to his right, and fires at first for the out. Beautiful. Golden Glove nominee, I think. Remember what he did in the Clay Buchholz no-hitter two weeks ago.

16:32 A 1-2-3 inning for Josh Beckett.

16:40 Sox go down in order. End of the second.

16:52 Beckett strikes out A-Rod. His pitch count is getting higher, though. 58 pitches through three innings.

16:53 Mets just lost a second straight game to the Phillies. Their NL East lead falls to 4 games. Pedro Martinez struck out 9 in just 6 innings, and his effort was wasted.

16:59 Bottom of the third. Two out. Ortiz walks.

17:02 Mike Lowell walks. JD Drew is up. This won't end well, right?

17:02 Stephen King is in the house. So in Rene Russo. And Steve Martin is sporting tinted bifocals and it looks like he cut his chin shaving just before the game? Wow.

17:04 JD Drew walks! Three straight walks issued to the Red Sox. The bases are loaded. But watch Veritek ground out...

17:06 Tek pops out. I need my first drink.

17:15 Beckett deals his way through the top of the 4th. Nice. Pitch count is up to 73 as the shadows get darker in the outfield.

17:20 Sox go in order in the bottom of the 4th.

17:30 Yankees go in order in the top of the 5th. I just ordered pizza. Waiting for something big to happen. Please score runs. Plural.

17:40 Bottom of the 5th. Kevin Youkilis is hit in the hand. He is replaced by Ellsbury. Ortiz gets a hit. Ellsbury advances to third.

17:44 Now JD Drew is up with 2 outs. And Ho-Ly-Shit! He lines one down third for a hit! Ellsbbury scores. The Sox take the lead! Jason Varitek swings at balls and then chops out. Boooooo!

17:53 Pizza is here. Sparkling shiraz is flowing. Aw yeah! For anyone who is into wine, you gotta try sparkling shiraz with pizza. Step away from your highbrow pinot and have some fun.

17:55 Three straight Yankees ground-out to Julio Lugo. Another easy inning. BUT WE NEED MORE RUNS!!!

17:58 Hinske hits a wall double! Nice start to the bottom of the sixth.

18:00 Coco gets a hit to center! But Eric Hinske wasn't running? He only advances to third. Sigh.

18:01 Julio Lugo flies out. One out.

18:03 Coco steals second! Now we have something brewing.

18:06 On a grounder, Hinske runs home to find Posada with the ball. He plows into Posada. It's an out, but I like to see a collision like that. Looking at the replay, it was a realy big hit. Nearly took Posada's head off.


18:10 Jacoby Elssbury gets a hit! Coco scores from third. Boston now leads 3-1.

18:12 David Ortiz gets a HUGE double to the center gap. Jacoby Ellsbury scores from first. The ball reaches Posada's glove as Ellsbury slides, but Posada does not apply the tag! Ellsbury is safe! Boston takes a 5-1 lead! Oh good times! Good times!


18:24 Top of the seventh. Beckett passes 100 pitches. But he is throwing great stuff. I assume this is his last inning. Finish it strong, Josh!

18:28 Josh Beckett strikes out Melky Cabrera! Take a bow, Josh.

18:33 Bottom of the seventh. JD Drew walks. This guy is the offensive player of the game so far.

18:36 The Yankees make their second pitching change of the day. Edwar Ramirez is out. U Mass alum Ron Vallone is in. JD Drew is on first and there is one out. Eric Hinske is next to bat for the Sox. He asks Jorge if he is OK following their collision. That's nice. He still rolled over Jorge like a truck, which will earn him a lot of respect from these passionate fans.

18:41 Hinske walks. Another pitching change. Brian Bruney comes-in for the Yankees.

18:45 Coco Crisp doubles. JD Drew scores. Hinske goes to third. Still just 1 out. This is wonderful. 6-1 Boston.

18:48 Julio Lugo walks. Bases are now loaded. Please someone score!

18:50 Dustin Pedroia strikes out. Two out. Oh no...

18:51 Pitching change for the Yankees. Sean Henn comes to the mound.

18:54 Jacoby Ellsbury singles. Two score. The man is 2-2 since coming into the game for the bruised Kevin Youkilis. El honbre es en fuego. Sox lead 8-1. We can breathe easy now.

18:58 David Ortiz walks. The bases are loaded again. When I think Sean Henn, I think more runs. And more runs have come.

18:58 Joe Torre comes to the mound for the fourth pitching change for the Yankees this inning. The Sox needed another big inning and this seems to be it. Even if no more runs score, the game seems to be in the bag.

19:00 Uclis20 on Sons of Sam Horn: "Somewhere, Michael Kay is complaining about this."

19:00 NYCSox on Sons of Sam Horn: "So does anyone think that Michael Kay would be bitching about all these pitching changes?"

19:02 Mike Lowell walks. Julio Lugo scores. Sox are up 9-1. I am breathing easier. But with the bases loaded for JD Drew, I want to see something great happen.

19:06 Oh well, JD Drew strikes out. End of the 7th. The Sox scored on 2 hits and 5 walks. The Yankees made 4 pitching changes. The inning lasted 36 minutes. That should be it for the Yankees today.

19:11 Now is the time for Fox to stroke Derek Jeter and replay his solo home run from the top of the first.

19:22 Top of the eighth. Two out. Mike Timlin strikes out A-Rod!! Take a bow, Timmeh!!!!

19:25 The Yankees make 5 defensive substitutions. Joe Torre lets the kids play and effectively concedes the game. Joba Chamberlain is warming-up in the bullpen. We probably won't face him, unless we score more runs here.

19:27 Eric Hinske homers into the Yankee bullpen! Joba almost caught it! Boston's first homer of the game. They now lead 10-1.

19:30 Obscure Name on Sons of Sam Horn: "Joba spraining his shoulder trying to catch that would have been the greatest thing ever."

19:30 MartyBarettMVP on Sons of Sam Horn: "How funny would that have been had Joba hurt his wrist going for that homer?"

19:35 The Red Sox are about to win this game and the Fox commentators are talking about the Sox former 14 game lead again. My head hurts.

19:38 Game over. The Sox win. We beat Wang. Now we have to put the hammer down tomorrow night. The magic number is 9. And get this - it will be Roger Clemens against Curt Schilling. Set the DVR. This is going to be great.

Consequences For Two Cheating Teams

Two big cheating stories to report on today. Details are still developing, but the basic facts are known.

On one side of the Atlantic, we have the New England Patriots. On the other side, we have the McLaren F1 team. In both cases, we have reputations, future success, and revenues at risk.

First, the Patriots. It has been determined that the Patriots spied on the New Jersey Jets and stole / read their signals before plays were executed. It is blatant cheating and the Pats are going to have to be penalized in one or more ways. Bill Belichick might have to pay a very heavy price. He may have gone from Hooded Jedi Master status to Richard Nixon status in less than 72 hours.

Bill Simmons:

Here's the thing that shocks me: I always thought Belichick cared too much about his legacy to risk tainting it like this. He's a history buff and someone who allowed [David] Halberstam to follow him around simply because he understood the intrinsic value of a great writer capturing his "brilliance" in a widely read book. The whole thing is just bizarre. I'm a big Watergate buff, and there are some eerie parallels to last Sunday's Jets game and the '72 presidential election -- not just the spying symmetry, but that neither the Patriots nor Nixon needed to take the risk. Nixon had the '72 election locked up but was so paranoid, he allowed his guys to basically defame Edmund Muskie and George McGovern and tried to break into the Democratic headquarters multiple times. Belichick knew he had a better team than the Jets, but he tried to steal their signals anyway. Let's hope this doesn't lead to a disgraced Belichick climbing on a private jet in 18 months and raising his arms defiantly in the air.

Don Banks:


You know who should be the maddest at Belichick and the cloud of suspicion that his actions have cast on the organization? The Patriots players themselves who were a part of those three Super Bowl championships. If those successes were all legitimate, as they very likely were, then those players have every right to be furious at the notion that this damage to their legacy was entirely self-inflicted. And for what? A competitive edge that they already have in spades, in most cases, thanks to their superior players, coaches and preparation skills.

MLH contributor M:

Ok, both you guys follow football way more than I do...frankly I can't be bothered until after the Sox season winds down. The NFL has confirmed the Pats cheated with the camera thing. How bad is this? To me its simple...you cheat you lose. The Pats should be given the loss and the Jets the win. Any other penalties on top are probably ok too. I realize that the Pats players are innocent here and that the guilty is so far just a cameraman and probably the coaches.

But how tainted are they now? Did they cheat to win superbowls? Will that question be raised?

Or is all of this just an idiot with a camera and totally overblown?

Archytype:

One: They all cheat. Players, coaches, owners. With the money dolling out, all teams will employ whatever methods it takes to win games. Football, baseball, whatever. Steriods, HGH, video coaching in the dug to analyse swings (a la Big Papi)....I mean why does a third base coach have 27 different hand cues to convey the play? Why should football feel so violated that someone might try and figure out the blitz package? Why WOULDN'T you try to figure out what the other team is doing? These sports dicks use war terms so much why would trying to figure out what the "enemy" is doing in order to properly counter not be completely justified? Christ an average lineman weighed 265 pound about 15 years ago....now they are as fast as the runnings backs of that time and are twice as big! Something stinks here.

Two: This is EXACTLY like stealing signs. To me I am sure it helps to know what pitch is coming but how much it helps is another thing.

To me it is the culture we live in. Why would we believe sports to be any different from real life. Winning is all that matters and losers go home.

Another thing that struck me, if the Pats have been up to no good for a long time (previous Super Bowls etc) why didn't Mangini know that? My guess is they all do it. It just that the Jets were too stupid to change up the signals.

I guess I just feel that sports is just like everything else, integrity, purity, and fairness be damned, just win the damn game.

M:

There's no question our value system particularly in sports culture is fucked up to high heaven. But to me that's no excuse. Ususally when these controversies arise it has something to do with "unwritten rules"...ie stealing signs, throwing at a hitter, giving payback for a hit batsman by throwing at somebody else (but not at their head). Its tough to keep up or be objective since these rules are "unwritten". But this one is written and its pretty clear they cheated. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this camera business is fairly common place and Mangina just had the inside scoop because of his time with the Pats. I also think that yes the issue of performance enhancing drugs is very out of control. I find the Mitchell MLB investigation amusing. To me who cares who did steroids...for the most part they are not doing them anymore....they're doing HGH and other designer drugs now....and one look in the eyes of Giambi will tell you he's drugged to the gills. MLB is way behind the curve on that one...and the NFL isn't doing much better. Its like conducting an investigation into who had a nightcap before bed during Prohibition...its irrelevant now.

So yes to some extent "they all cheat" and unfortunately in our society where winning is everything people will continue to cheat. But when an individual or team is caught as blatantly as the Pats seem to have been the governing body (in this case the NFL) has to set an example. It can't just be an old boys club where everybody knows this goes on and crime is just the getting caught...it ought to be having committed the crime in the first place.

The notion of taking away draft picks seems harsh...just take the W away.
The Pats are good enough to overcome the loss....but not so good they'll try it again. Lesson learned and we move on.

On Thursday evening, the NFL handed down its punishment:


  • Patriots coach Bill Belichick will be personally fined $500,000
  • The Patriots organization will be fined $250,000
  • The Patriots will lose their 2008 first-round draft pick if they make the playoffs this season. If they somehow miss the playoffs, then they will lose their second and thrid round draft picks. Not a light penalty.

I was almost certain that the Patriots would have to forefit last Sunday's game against the Jets. I still think they should. It is shameful that they were caught cheating against the Jets.

I have been saying for years that the Jets are a terrible team - popular and overrated only because of their rabid fans and the New York media. Like the Knicks, they may never win another title.

I'm getting off-track again. OK, I'll lay off the Jets for today. After all, they were the victim here.

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Ron Dennis is not pleased at all.

And now the more complicated story of McLaren, the F1 team that was having a monster comeback year in 2007. Following an awful season in 2006 in which the team lost Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Raikkonen to Ferarri, and points were hard to come by, 2007 was becoming the greatest rebound year the team could hope for. The team was successful from the first race March 18th in Australia with its two new drivers, defending F1 champion Fernando Alonso and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton. McLaren, the favorite team among UK F1 fans, and still designated as a British car constructor, were dominating sports headlines and dominating race results from the beginning of the season. They were well on their way to winning the Constructor's Championship with Ferrari a distant second. And surely one of their drivers would win the Driver's Championship. In fact the biggest controvery in the team was whether Fernando could handle the possibuility of Lewis Hamilton scoring more points than him.

But as spring became summer, we learned that the team's chief race car designer, Mike Coughlan, was caught with a CD-ROM containing 780 pages of Ferrari technical documents - all intellectual property and trade secrets of Ferrari. It turns out that Coughlan obtained the CD-ROM in April from Ferrari Race Technical Director Nigel Stepney, a disgruntled senior team member in the final year of his contract.

News of the data transfer broke when Coughlan's wife alledgedly took a hard copy of the documents to a shop near Surrey to have them photocopied. The employee at the shop, realizing that they were genuine Ferrari documents, made a copy for himself and contacted Ferrari in Modena directly.

[It has been said many many times - stupid mistakes get people caught.]

In June, both Stepney and Coughlan approached Honda inquiring about job opportunities. Nothing substantive came out of those meetings. But it suggests the possibility that the leak of trade secrets was meant to eventually take Ferrari knowledge to Honda.

On July 3rd, Ferrari fired Stepney, and had criminal charges filed against the Coughlans after a warranted search of Coughlan's house produced the documents and CD-ROM. The Coughlans soon made a deal with Ferrari to tell them everything they knew. By late July, F1's governing body, the FIA, concluded an investigation which ruled that while the McLaren team had possession of the Ferrari documents, there was no evidence that McLaren used any of Ferrari's secrets in its 2007 car design.

Then came the FIA's ominous words - the investigation could be re-opened at any time, and McLaren could be penalized if new evidence was brought to the FIA regarding this espionage scandal.

In August, new evidence emerged suggesting that team McLaren used or looked at the Ferrari data, and today, an expensive punishment was handed-down to them. Their Constructor Championship points have been voided for the entire 2007 season. Ferrari are the new Constructor Champion points leaders. Furthermore, no McLaren team member, orher then their two drivers, may appear on the podium for the remainder of the season. But the drivers, Hamilton and Alonso, keep their championship points, and will be able to battle each other for the championship in the four remaining races this season. Plus McLaren will pay a $100 Million fine, which will include estimated lost revenue due to failing to win the Constructor's Championship.

Confusing? Yes. Is Ron Dennis pissed? Yes. But he has to take responsibility for the actions of his chief designer.

One Of The Last Taboo Arguments: Human Overpopulation Is Bad For Planet Earth



One can write a book about this subject. But given the recent attention to Alan Weisman's book The World Without Us, it is time for this blog to add its two cents.

First, a tangent, something I have difficulty avoiding when embarking on a long post.

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Now I try my best to ridicule and attack people known as Wingnuts. These are people who make irrational, usually right-wing or even fascist arguments covering a wide range of subjects, and often combined with angry, personal attacks on their opponents. They often embellish or exaggerate the threats, problems, and dangers they see around them.

They write scathing opinions about 'dirty hippies' (i.e. people who were against invading Iraq), Mexican immigrants, the unfounded desire of militant Muslims to conquer the west and enslave its women, the exaggerated threat of bigger terrorist attacks happening on US soil (they seem to frequently fantasize of left-leaning, coffee and wine drinking cities like Seattle and San Francisco being destroyed), and our offensive and shameless pop culture (and its role in weakening us for an incoming Muslim invasion). They use equally angry and irrational arguments to defend Bushworld policies like wiretapping, rendition, indefinite imprisonment, and torture. Simply put, they are fascists who write like eigth graders, cheer the people who run Bushworld, and are almost always wrong about everyhting.

Most have blogs. They write books. They write for magazines and newspapers. Some have radio or TV shows. The most educated ones are hired by right-wing think tanks and groomed to become policymakers and lobbyists. Some are regarded as scholars and experts on various topics and appear on cable news shows. As a result, they are usually paid more than more rational writers of the same age and demographic. They have names like Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, Jonah Goldberg, Michelle Malkin, Rich Lowry, Debbie Schlussel, Bill Kristol, John Podhoretz, James Lileks, Dennis Prager, Megan McArdle, Professor Mike Adams, Pam Atlas, Ace of Spades, Confederate Yankee, Andy McCarthy, Ben Shapiro, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Glenn Reynolds, Michael Medved, Maggie Gallagher, Dan Riehl, Jill Stanek, Jeff Goldstein -and those are the ones I can name right away. Since the rise of the original contemporary Wingnut, Rush Limbaugh, there has been the development of a Wingnut industry.

You can even see young Wingnuts developing in the Wingnut farm system. One Wingnut farm is the magazine formerly known as The Atlantic (look for Matthew Yglesias and the already-mentioned Megan "I've only been a journalist for a few years." McArdle under the "voices" menu). It's a Wingnut incubator over there. They aspire to be famous pundits someday, writing about Important Things, and appearing on news networks saying Important Things. Yup.

As the links above suggest, I think greatest website to learn about Wingnuts is Sadly, No!

Calling All Wingnuts is also very good. Jesus' General is great. Actually there are a ton of blogs that attack Wingnuts. Hmm. There is a non-profit left-wing blogosphere thanks in-part to the well funded Wingnut industry.

I'm mentioning this because what I'm about to write about could get me labeled as a wingnut. So I have to keep this as rational as possible. It's not like walking in a minefield, but it is a slight risk. So here goes -

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In 1907, the world had close to 2 billion people. Today it has 6 billion. By 2050, it is expected to have 9 billion.

(Yeah, I know you know where I am going, but you've made it this far, so hang-on).

In the last 100 years, the levels of greenhouse gases have risen even more dramatically. The scientific consensus is that CO2 emissions account for most of the global warming trends we have observed over the last century. And while it is true that we are still exiting a relatively recent ice age, the rate of polar ice melting has dramatically accellerated alongside human industrial activity, especially coal burning for electric power. As a result, sea levels could rise between 6 and 30 inches this century, depending on whether the glaciers in Greenland melt, the ice in Antarctica melts, or both.

Now it would seem obvious that since the dawn of the industrial revolution in the 18th century, growth in human population and greenhouse gas emissions are interrelated. But we require science to to prove that. So far, the scientific consensus agrees that human industrial activity, the rise of developed nations, human population growth, and accelerated global warming are all related.

And I am not even going to get into early species extinction, which scientists have extensively studied and argued that human development and industrial activity is shrinking or destroying wild animal habitats.

Assuming that the scientists are correct (and people like Chris Mooney will argue that they are), then how should environmentalists address the need for us humans to change lifestyles in order to slow the damage being done to our planet?

There are so many ways. Here are just a few -

1. Advocate recycling. This finally caught-on in the 1990s after a 20-year effort to do so. Some of us, including me, thought that recycling would be the biggest hurdle to cross, but in fact it is a comparitively small hurdle, and it is not nearly fully-mastered nor implemented.

2. Advocate less energy use. This is slowly catching-on in the G7. Compact fluorescent light bulbs, while containing mercury, do use less electricity and last a lot longer than conventional light bulbs. Sales of CFLs have risen sharply in the last 3 years or so, and I myself have begun to buy them. Their use in the European Union has caught-on fast since the 1990s.

3. Invest more in renewable energy. Wind, solar, hydro-electric, and new hydrogen-based fuel cells for automobiles are all making advances in their use and practicality. Much more needs to be done - beginning with a promise that is yet to be made: Not one more coal-burning power plant should be built in the developed world. That is a promise no one here can keep yet.

4. Make cars more fuel efficient. Hybrids are nice, it would be nicer if every 4-cylinder car got 35MPG or more. I love 4-cylinder cars. They dominate the streets of Europe and come in many flavors to suit just about every taste. But the four-banger I dream of owning, the Subaru Impreza WRX, only musters 25MPG. Now while it is not an SUV, we ought to have the technology to get more miles out of a small sports car. Legislation can force the issue on carmakers. Of course, I could reduce my need for speed and aim for a car with less horsepower. The non-turbocharged Honda Fit gets about 35MPG, for example. The new Scion xD also musters 35MPG. Even the Mini Cooper provides fun and a guilt-free economy rating. Cars with better economy are out there, but they are still in the minority. Until we get practical hydrogen fuel cells in our future zero-emission cars, we should aim to get only as much car as we need, and only use them as much as we need. We can still make a car reflect our personality, but ideally that should not include a desire to ruin our air quality.

5. Make buildings more energy efficient. Most of the electricity consumed by our cities is used by big buildings. We can reduce our electricity use at home, but we need to tackle inefficient or wasteful power consumption by our commercial spaces. Shopping malls, airports, and office buildings can all be much more energy efficient. But that requires new engineering and new architecture that developers and owners need to embrace. There is a fight today to get more capitalists to build green-certified buildings, as as my friend Archetype has written here, it is a serious and frustrating struggle.

6. Eat less meat. I am guilty there as I resumed eating burgers after a 10-year hiatus from beef in 2003. The developed world's appetite for chicken and beef has increased chicken and cow populations dramatically. This adds to inhumane treatment of livestock and massive increases in methane, which is a greenhouse gas (as bad or even worse than CO2 depending on which scientist you listen to).

But there is a taboo subject most environmentalists dare not touch. It would be the next logical item on my list (or at least be further down the list after many more suggestions). If there are too many chickens and cows in the world, farting greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, then what about us? Isn't global warming tied to our numbers? Aren't we carbon-based creatures with big carbon footprints?

Which brings us back to global human population.

You can see where this is going. I'm going to touch the taboo subject that suggests that there are too many people on this planet.

I'm not suggesting a cull. Nor am I hoping for a calamity that kills millions. I am nothing like those who obsess over the book of Revelation. I never advocate limiting the number babies we can produce. To see where I am coming from, read my comments at Slate.com here.

I think I made sense. I know I offended a mother of several children who responded.

I'm going to try to state again what I think. A list might be best.

1. We know that with higher human populations, the higher the potential for massive calamities and disasters. The bigger the aircraft, the bigger the accident death tolls, for example. The more dense the population in a flu pandemic, the higher the death tolls. The more dense the population in an area hit by an earthquake or typhoon or tsunami, the same thing.

We can't predict the future, but one popular prediction for the 21st century is that we could see some very deadly pandemics in the third world. The Ebola virus in Africa is a small yet very frightening example. Certainly the notion of a modern plague is a popular theme in literature. Earth Abides, The Stand, and The Road are three popular examples in the last 60 years. But lets stick with science. Science says that we may see an increase in pandemics this century. While the jury is still out, there are historical precedents we can look at. While the threats may be over-hyped, SARS and Avian Flu opper glimpses into future virus challenges, while on the microbe side, we have seen alarming resiliency and survivability of so-called 'super-bugs.' There are many warning signs, as outlined in books in the past decade such as The Coming Plague.

But the bigger picture is that fundamental resource shortages are tied to disease. The world's fresh water supply is shrinking, and of course, it is the third world that suffers the most. Over 5 million children die each year, mainly from preventable diseases, and many of them from water-based disease and/or lack of sanitary drinking water, which can lead to cholera and diarrhea. About 1 million of these deaths occur in India each year alone.

Now couldn't you make the argument that overpopulation is one reason there is such a large loss of life? Just stating what seems to be a fact. The bigger the population, the bigger the numbers all-around.

2. It is highly likely that rising sea levels will cause a phenomenon contemporary history has not seen before - massive environmental refugee crises. The most likely site of such a crisis is in southern Bangladesh, where millions of people will probably have to move many miles north sometime during this century. Many of the old and the sick among them will die. Disease might spread. Fresh water might be scarce. Famine might even ensue. A refugee border crisis with the Indian state of Bengal might also occur. Isn't it fair to ask if this pending catastrophe is linked to global warming, which in-turn is linked to human overpopulation? Again, I never blame the victims of past, present, or future calamities. It is not their fault that they might have to pack-up and move north. It's 'ours', right?

Now given these two types of 21st century calamities -more disease and rising sea levels, both coupled with a shortage of fresh water- shouldn't honest and logical environmentalists address the relationship between global warming and a human population that has tripled in just 100 years?

I think so.

I think the most 'ideal' environmentalist is someone who doesn't own or rent a car, doesn't eat meat of any kind, uses as little electricity as possible, walks as much as possible.....and also takes into account the effects of reproducing.

In an ideal world, a couple would not produce more than 2 children together.

I advocate not population control, but family planning. I advocate Zero Population Growth. This organization can help you to learn more about it in a rational way.

This is not a war on families. This is not an anti-religious initiative. I completely understand that in some religions, the production of 'as many children god will give' is strongly encouraged. I am an atheist, but I am not immoral or insensitive to anyone else's religious beliefs.

And looking over my comments at Slate, I should advocate something that is very, very green: adoption.

That might be the greenest thing you can ever do in your lifetime. You are saving a life, and you are not making a net addition to the world's total population at that moment in time. Of course, you will probably increase the adopted child's carbon footprint by raising him or her in the USA, and especially if he or she owns a car someday. Daniel Engber makes that argument. But I would add that there are plenty of kids who need homes right here in North America already.

Given this definition, would Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fit my ideal? If you took away the excessive travel, private jet, and extra vehicles, I'd actually say yes....sort of.

I don't advocate creating a model UN in your house by shopping around Africa and Asia for babies. But adoption can be a great thing.

And a side point - if they are setting-up a model UN, then when the hell are they going to get a kid from South America? That continent needs representation in the Pitt-Jolie family.

The issue of overpopulation needs to be addressed. We need to get it out of the closet, so to speak.