Comic for Tuesday, March 21st, 2006

Posted: 7:45 am, Tuesday, March 21st

Actually rounded up a good amount of links today, for this first full day of spring. I ended yesterday by griping about Gatorade's asinine new "Rain" line-up of flavors. What that's all about it anyone's guess. I should come forth and 'fess up, however, that I am - embarrassingly so - a fan of Vitamin Water's Formula 50 flavor, which bears a striking resemblence to the Rain that they advertise during the March Madness. Yes, that's right, I like the 50 Cent drink. Lo, I am shamed. To my meager defense, the label is pretty funny, since the drink contains 50% of the RDA of whatever nutrients it possesses (this chart is by serving - there are 2.5 servings per bottle). Also, they have the common decency not to advertise the hell out of it during March Madness, and to not name it after anything flavorless (not the first time Gatorade has done this, of course, as I just remembered their 'Ice' line from a few years ago - just bring back Bold Lime and I'll get off your back, guys).

I think U2's greatest triumph is the first thirty seconds of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.

Here's a story on a lady who remembers *everything.* I can't remember the joke I originally had planned to accompany this story.

The president of Turkmenistan evidently writes philosophical tracts and promises those who read them a ticket to heaven. First off, I don't think anything is cooler than the title "president-for-life." Clearly, it is a title that should not exist on this planet, as it basically amounts to "dictator," but it makes me think of G.R.O.S.S., and that's always fun. Second, I promise all you who read this that you will be recorded in the little IP address log that RAW set up so I can track the site traffic. I know it's not quite the same thing, but it's the best I can do. We have a limited budget over here.

Speaking of heaven, a nice but ultimately fluffy piece op-ed in the Boston Globe about how the Catholic church is woefully wrong on its stance on gays.

Read a few Dispatches from Nowhere in Particular after Deadspin linked to them yesterday - the dude was complaining about NCAA ads, which, as you well know, is something I can appreciate. Anyway, he has a few other entries I liked, such as Bush checking out Condi, who is wearing a tarp or a tablecloth or something; the Oakland Tribune's effort at sending a copy of 1984 to everyone in Congress (nice!); and a huge manatee bursting aflame.

Onto baseball - I've always kind of liked Al Leiter, except for when he played for the Goat Fuckers, and even though he's a Republican. Al hung it up the other day, and I'm dismayed to learn that he's going to be an announcer on YES and not whatever the hell the Mets channel they're trying to start is. I've listened to a ton of Mets broadcasts in the five years I've lived here now, and probably my favorite moment other than Bob Murphy night (I'm a sucker for long-time announcers retiring) was this one post-game interview with Leiter in which he referred, sarcastically, to a pitch being in his wheelhouse, which allowed him to get an RBI groundout to break a tie. Leiter was an .085 career hitter over 19 seasons (most of which were in the National League) and had nothing resembling a wheelhouse. Anyway, happy trails, Al, since I'm not about to be encountering you on YES. Here's a picture your boss may like to see. Steinbrenner no doubt approves of his announcers playing beer pong in frat houses. (I think I grabbed that photo from On the DL, which is just a fantastic site of girls talking about lecherous ballplayers.)

I'm rereading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd right now, because I didn't feel like tackling anything serious and didn't think I would remember the murderer. I was wrong - I remembered by the end of the first page. Still, I love British cozies and it's always a delight to settle down with Ms. Christie for a few afternoons. The woman sold three billion books worldwide, which is just mind-blowing to me. Anyway, my favorite part of the book so far was the description of a game of Mah Jong on a rainy British night, with the fire roaring and the tea brewing. Ah, to be of reasonable means and live in 1920s Britain. The world still had so much mystery left in it.

Should one of my readers ever get a yen to put in for a transfer to New York, she should know that her company's new building will have quite a view.

I made mention of it yesterday, but if you missed it - Threadless has their whole stock on sale for ten bones 'til tomorrow morning. Their tees are rockin', highly recommended.

bullfrog

are ron and jen shtumping??!!

Well, if the view didn't tempt me, the rainwater-powered urinals might :) Oh, wait, I don't use those.

Slate had an article this weekend about organic foods and the myth that is Whole Foods. http://www.slate.com/id/2138176/?nav=mpp

All produce is organic.

that's true, but there *is* a USDA standard:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/brochure .html

...though who knows if anyone actually does the homework anymore.

I don't object to the concept of organically-grown food, just the term 'organic'.

The same builiding precludes my transfer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/nyregion/20c onde.html

The best way to get decent, cheap, good produce is a local farmers' market. It may not be organic, but it didn't travel nearly as far, generally you're supporting a local business/farmer, and anyone who hauls their stuff to a local market generally cares a lot about their produce. Anyway, if the whole world were to switch to "organic" food we would have to deforest all of the land and turn deserts into arable land because of the low-yields on organic acreage. Oh, and only buy stuff in season… tastes better and didn’t travel as far. Tomatoes in January? Only in the southern hemisphere, please.