CNN has a good look at President-Elect Obama's official portrait (the picture that will go up in most federal government buildings and such), check it out here.
My first thought: did they have to photoshop the American flag lapel pin in?
Second thought: check out some of the comments that follow the picture... I especially like the cotton fields one (don't worry, it's a reverse-racist joke, one aimed at white racists).
And final reaction: man... isn't it great to have a president who doesn't look like a buffoon?
15 January 2009
13 January 2009
ponzi scheme
A lunchtime article I thought was very worth reading, probably one of the best opinion pieces I have come across since I started reading the NYTimes and WaPo with any regularity.
Just a taste:
Very well done, Mr. Cohen
Just a taste:
But think: Was there a better Ponzi scheme than the one that ensnarled countless underfinanced homeowners? Who has gone to jail? Nobody. Who has paid back the huge amounts of money made in financial services? Nobody. Where's the former financial genius who has vowed to return his bonus -- or donate it to charity -- because he was overseeing a huge dream factory that produced nothing more than a stack of three-dollar bills as high as the sky? "Here, sorry, I didn't earn it." Words you will never hear.
Very well done, Mr. Cohen
11 January 2009
post-game reaction
Well...
I am not sure what to say right now. Disappointed isn't quite the word to describe the way I feel. I think there is more anger than anything else right now. I am angry because the offense utterly shat the bed. Eli was less Super Bowl MVP and more Eli ver. 2006. That is, the Eli that was godawful in the playoffs and not quite the quarterback we all thought he could be. I think there is also a good deal of blame to be assigned to some Jim Zorn-esque playcalling from Tom Coughlin down the stretch there. 4th down is not a down you need to go for that agressively when your defense is playing well and keeping the other team to mostly field goals. The fact that the running game wasn't very effective was confusing to me, as they had been effective for most of the year to this point.
Ultimately... this loss was not entirely unpredictable. The Giants ended the season very weakly and only impressed against the also-eliminated Panthers. Going 1-3 down the stretch is no way to get to the playoffs. Now I know the Cardinals are looking good right now, but they have actually changed strategies in the playoffs, which has sort of made them into a new-team. Adding the run game has been a sort of offensive stimulus package for them that has helped balance out the loss of Anquan Boldin. The Giants came into the game with a very predictable gameplan that has been their mother's milk for the whole season. Pound the ball with Jacobs+Ward and let Eli get some throws in where he can. That worked when they were 11-1. Then they went 1-3... what happened then and now?
The loss of Plaxico Burress ultimately doomed this team. Many thought that after the Redskins win that his absence wouldn't be as important as once thought. "The impressive defending Super Bowl champs aren't even letting the Plaxico situation get to them... they are a team to be reckoned with," the sports pundits claimed. I was guilty of a similar line of thought. This loss an the other 3 highlight the fallacy of this logic, though. Without the big play threat of Burress, the Giants were a neutered team. Without Plaxico, Eli was without his go-to receiver. No matter how valuable his catches can be, Amani Toomer is no Burress. You can put Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon together and they don't add up to a Plaxico. Plainly put, the Giants were not a Super Bowl caliber team without him.
Now what? Well for the immediate future I will root with all of my soul against the Eagles. I hate them so. I am officially endorsing the Cards as Super Bowl champs. I know its a long shot, but that will only add to the spice.
In the long term, its clear that the Giants need to replace Burress. I am not sure how they are going to do this, as it took a few years for Eli and Plaxico to build their valuable repoire. What I do know, though, is that the road back to the Super Bowl will be long and arduous for the Burress-less Giants.
Immediate post-loss prediction for next year: Giants finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs next year.
Sigh.
I am not sure what to say right now. Disappointed isn't quite the word to describe the way I feel. I think there is more anger than anything else right now. I am angry because the offense utterly shat the bed. Eli was less Super Bowl MVP and more Eli ver. 2006. That is, the Eli that was godawful in the playoffs and not quite the quarterback we all thought he could be. I think there is also a good deal of blame to be assigned to some Jim Zorn-esque playcalling from Tom Coughlin down the stretch there. 4th down is not a down you need to go for that agressively when your defense is playing well and keeping the other team to mostly field goals. The fact that the running game wasn't very effective was confusing to me, as they had been effective for most of the year to this point.
Ultimately... this loss was not entirely unpredictable. The Giants ended the season very weakly and only impressed against the also-eliminated Panthers. Going 1-3 down the stretch is no way to get to the playoffs. Now I know the Cardinals are looking good right now, but they have actually changed strategies in the playoffs, which has sort of made them into a new-team. Adding the run game has been a sort of offensive stimulus package for them that has helped balance out the loss of Anquan Boldin. The Giants came into the game with a very predictable gameplan that has been their mother's milk for the whole season. Pound the ball with Jacobs+Ward and let Eli get some throws in where he can. That worked when they were 11-1. Then they went 1-3... what happened then and now?
The loss of Plaxico Burress ultimately doomed this team. Many thought that after the Redskins win that his absence wouldn't be as important as once thought. "The impressive defending Super Bowl champs aren't even letting the Plaxico situation get to them... they are a team to be reckoned with," the sports pundits claimed. I was guilty of a similar line of thought. This loss an the other 3 highlight the fallacy of this logic, though. Without the big play threat of Burress, the Giants were a neutered team. Without Plaxico, Eli was without his go-to receiver. No matter how valuable his catches can be, Amani Toomer is no Burress. You can put Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon together and they don't add up to a Plaxico. Plainly put, the Giants were not a Super Bowl caliber team without him.
Now what? Well for the immediate future I will root with all of my soul against the Eagles. I hate them so. I am officially endorsing the Cards as Super Bowl champs. I know its a long shot, but that will only add to the spice.
In the long term, its clear that the Giants need to replace Burress. I am not sure how they are going to do this, as it took a few years for Eli and Plaxico to build their valuable repoire. What I do know, though, is that the road back to the Super Bowl will be long and arduous for the Burress-less Giants.
Immediate post-loss prediction for next year: Giants finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs next year.
Sigh.
big game
Short but sweet:
If the Eagles win today, it will be a loss for civilization as we know it. The universe nearly collapsed on itself when a Philadelphia team won a championship, and to have another take one step closer is simply a risk we can't afford.
Go G-Men.
If the Eagles win today, it will be a loss for civilization as we know it. The universe nearly collapsed on itself when a Philadelphia team won a championship, and to have another take one step closer is simply a risk we can't afford.
Go G-Men.
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