Funeral Party

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece out about going to funerals, in a stretch where I am probably beginning to face mortality. Right now, in the wake of several deaths of my peers, I am looking hard at life, and crazy-grateful for the turn it has taken over the last few years. For the longest time, I didn’t really care if I lived. I wasn’t going to go put a bullet in my head, but I wasn’t taking care of myself at all, and I have gotten in the worst sort of shape, but at least am still breathing.

My fitness is coming back, and mentally, I am solid, like never before. I just wish that those that have passed could see me, or know what I know now. Maybe it is my daughter, maybe it’s just some different manifestation of mid-life crisis, but it’s good.

As I’ve alluded too, a little time has passed since this was written, but I found it hiding in my Zoho stacks, and wanted to post it. Since this batch of funerals, there have been more, but the feeling about them hasn’t passed.

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Jason Kendall - Just in Time.

I've been watching Jason Kendall throughout his career, mostly when he was with Pittsburgh and owned the Cubs. More than once he beat us all by himself, and for some reason he was always out of the Cub's grasp.

Now, this season, on what hopefully is a still rising wave, he has come to the Cubs. Like many Cub fans, I am wary of good signs. Maybe I shouldn't be, they really HAVE made the playoffs, and even advanced a round, but when things are going good, we all look for a shoe to drop. This isn't the shoe dropping, this is us getting a very good catcher, probably past his prime, but with serviceable stats over the last month, much better than what we've been getting. AND, he can catch the damn ball.

Jim Hendry made the announcement during the game this evening, that Jason Kendall had been acquired from the Oakland A's for Rob Bowen, the catcher we got for Barrett, and Jerry Blevins, a relief pitcher that has spent this season putting up decent stats for the Cubs' A and AA teams.

Losing Michael Barrett was a good addition to this team, for whatever reason you want to believe, witness the won-loss record since he left, now filling the hole he left behind with Kendall starts to put this team on the roll that will take them into the post-season.

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Annoying Commercials, Why?

Listen/watch/surf anything, most noticeable for me on the radio, because of my remote and pop-up blockers. I listen to Sports radio in Chicago, usually the Score, because it tends to annoy me the least of what I put on. Apparently, ad execs come up with some template for a commercial, and continue to seel it until everyone is sick of it. Even though they might sell it only a few times, it is amplified by the constant replays. There is some very small amount of time that radio people consider a regular listening cycle, like 30 minutes, and maybe you will only hear the damned commercial one time if you only listen within their tested demographic, but if you sit and listen to the radio throughout the day, or a ball game, well, you find yourself wanting to wring the life out of some disembodied voices.

Which templates am I talking about now? Okay, here's the two commercial types I'm completely csick of:

First, it's the guy calling into the consumer help line. It started out as a beer commercial, where the guy was calling to ask where the taste was, and I got sick of that one quickly and am still often treated to it.ow coke zero has the same setup, you yawn at first, then want to just delete the commercial like a pop-up. But oh no, it's radio, all you can do is switch stations.

Then, it is the couple team, with the doltish husband and the condescending, high pitched wife. If I hear her say, "Tell them about the discount, Herb," , once more, I'll ... I feel like that every time, by the third time she chirps over his voice, and before she does it several more times. They are also everywhere, on several manifestations of that simple, stupid, setup.

I took some media writing classes, and though I don't care to exercise most of what they told me in those classes myself, I also am not spending millions on advertising. One thing I distinctly remember is that you DON'T TRY TO ANNOY THE AUDIENCE. Someone has forgotten that.