Badass

You want a clear definition of "Crowning Moment of Awesome"?

Here ya go.

(In fairness, it should be pointed out that this has happened to Tagon before; last time, it was a fork.)

The Worst

Right Wing News, a conservative blog, recently polled other conservative bloggers to compile a list of the worst Americans in history. The list is, frankly, laughable; if nothing else, the fact that about a third of the twenty-five people named are still alive (and most of those are still politically active) suggests a certain lack of historical perspective.

If I were to compose such a list, I'd probably start with John Calhoun and Andrew Jackson, then turn to a handful of the perpetrators and villains of the Slavers' Revolt: Alexander Stephens, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Henry Wirz certainly, and I could add a few more names without difficulty. I could probably be persuaded to add Presidents Buchanan and Polk to the list as well.

Oddly, there are a few names on their list that I might also include: John Wilkes Booth, perhaps, and possibly Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon - but I suspect my reasons for including those last two are not the same as those of RWN's friends.

Crystal Gayle

I'm listening to my Crystal Gayle album, Best Always. She's not my favorite female country singer - Mary Chapin Carpenter still tops that list - but she has a fine voice. Of course everyone remembers her signature tunes, like "Talking in Your Sleep" and "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue", but I find myself most liking "Beyond You" and "Ready for the Times to Get Better". Wistful regret: that's the ticket.

They're Still in First

Here it is, mid-August, and the Padres are still in first place - in fact, still with the best record in the league.

This weekend was especially sweet. It's pretty much a two-team race now; the Giants have been surging while the EBE and Rockies have collapsed. Coming into this weekend's three-game set, the Giants were two and a half games out. One of their pitchers predicted a Giants sweep, putting them in first place, where (he said) they would stay for the rest of the season.

The Padres took two out of three; the prophetic pitcher lost one of those two.

I'm beginning to believe. It will probably end in tears, but I'm beginning to believe.