tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65913151021677091302024-03-17T23:01:25.311-04:00Nurse The HateGreg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.comBlogger1333125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-65935666515479477562024-03-11T09:04:00.005-04:002024-03-11T09:05:36.641-04:00Nurse the Hate: My Wind Machine Scheme<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaye3l2jXN0W7Gy_yqfKoVM3ygFNZwSxwphvmE_y471niY4tajqSbRoETFdyek7QtaXnxXmPaA94Dmrn8IT4sQ4vQmNclr-E3EOthyphenhyphenLOr-iROOwO7FOmhE7ro9Y2nu_ekCjFLiwO9BctkgHn8QB1tqcRjS-gx5abcCtOlar_5Q8EN6N32Q-6fg8ScLd4SN/s300/download.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaye3l2jXN0W7Gy_yqfKoVM3ygFNZwSxwphvmE_y471niY4tajqSbRoETFdyek7QtaXnxXmPaA94Dmrn8IT4sQ4vQmNclr-E3EOthyphenhyphenLOr-iROOwO7FOmhE7ro9Y2nu_ekCjFLiwO9BctkgHn8QB1tqcRjS-gx5abcCtOlar_5Q8EN6N32Q-6fg8ScLd4SN/w394-h220/download.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I spent the day before flying home in Paris as I normally do on a France wine
trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I generally stay in Saint-Germain-des-Pres at a hotel where I know some of the staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There’s a young man that works the desk that is somehow a Seattle
Seahawks fan and likes to talk about the NFL with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always walk past the desk and give him
instructions from the 1920s that he has learned to ignore completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’ll take my post and the newspapers in the
lounge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring me a bottle of Suze, a
bucket of ice and two glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
expecting to hear from my editor so bring the phone in at once if he
calls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you Pierre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re a good man.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should be noted his name is not Pierre, and
there is no lounge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I walk around the city with a vague gameplan in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to go to an art museum in the morning,
but now tend to avoid the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay as the struggle to avoid
throngs of Asian tourists taking expressionless photos of themselves in front
of the best known masterworks is too detracting from the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would like to go to a Japanese household
one day and be shown dozens of photographs of the dour lady of the house in
front of every top of mind European landmark possible in some sort of slide
show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no idea of what happens to
these photographs after the attainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There must be some sort of private showing to their inner circle to
which I am not privy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I walk down the Seine and marvel at the sheer number of
American girls in their twenties holding giant coffee cups talking too
loudly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You cannot walk a block without seeing
a Kaitlin that is in Paris for a few months to “gain experience” before being
placed at a lofty position in the family company somewhere on the East
Coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These girls have the confidence
that comes from no economic pressure, no responsibilities, and absolute
freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They think they have the world
by the balls, and you know what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
do.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Walking by yourself gives you time to think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had spent the week in Burgundy with the
team at Albert Bichot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent a day in
Chablis where the technical director talked about the various processes and
challenges in the region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the
most northern growing extremes for quality wine, Chablis has benefitted from
climate change in the level of grape ripeness they can now achieve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The downside of climate change for them is
the sheer unpredictability and dramatic weather events that occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frost has always been an issue there with
their location, but now they are more susceptible than ever to frost
events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a great example of
climate change…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It never used to warm up
until late March/early April, but now there can suddenly be a week of 65 degree
temps starting March 5<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
plant, sensing the warming earth, begins its growing cycle and begins to
bud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the weather might revert back
to unseasonably cold temperatures a short time later and destroy all the buds
with frost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will severely limit the
amount of grapes the vineyard will produce, and therefore crushes the entire
business.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The best defense against frost now are three practices, none
of which are ideal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have deep
pockets, you can install electric wires across the fruiting zones to prevent frost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This works fairly well, but at $80,000 per
hectare to install, it only makes sense for the most expensive vineyards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second is wind machines that move the
cold air out before frost can set in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These are giant elevated fans that take warmer air from above and shove
out cold air to lower lying areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Again, it’s an expensive proposition to buy wind machines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third and most used method is using frost
candles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are just big citronella
looking candles that are set up all across the vineyard to produce just enough
heat to prevent the frost in picturesque scenes across the best Chablis
vineyards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The downside there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s $8000 in candle cost each time you do
it, and that adds up fast.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was when the idea hit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My associate Bob Lanphier and I have often
come up with various schemes like our ill-fated “Feasibility Study” business where
we take these unbelievable large sums of money like the $800,000 the City of
Cleveland paid someone to determine if it was feasible to connect the Lakefront
Loop railway with the Cuyahoga National Forest train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It isn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No one rides either of these things, and the issue isn’t because you can’t
take the train from one to the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The problem is no one especially wants to go to either destination and a
train won’t make them give a fuck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank
you and can I please have the $800,000 now?).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Miller-Lanphier Wind Machine Company would offer bargain
wind machine leasing options to cash strapped farmers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I picture myself standing around a vineyard
talking to a hard working vigneron.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Look
Marcel, I’m not trying to tell you how to run your business, but candles?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Candles?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What are we, in the 1700s?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And at
$8000 a pop?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me say two words to you…
Wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I know I know, you’re thinking “I can’t
afford a wind machine!”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
I have good news for you Marcel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
little financial innovation we have brought over right from the USA… the
lease!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now before you say “no”, hear me
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How would you like to have all the benefits
of a wind machine but at just a few dollars a day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that too much to pay for piece of
mind?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s get you signed up today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No reason to dwell on the contract, let’s get
that signed before your neighbor rents out our last wind machines right from
under you!”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now you might be thinking, “I don’t think Greg and Bob know
anything about wind machines”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>C’mon,
what’s to know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We drive around Europe
and buy up any old wind machine that’s getting replaced, tow it out to the
greater Chablis area, and have Leo and his guys at the ready for installation
when frost is in the forecast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not
like those guys will fuck that up, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sure, not one of us can speak a lick of French.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, it will be difficult to read the French
directions on how the wind machine works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>True, when buying these used wind machines we have no idea if they even
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The equation I see is Overpromising
Salespeople + Lack of Product Knowledge + Lack of Experience + Poor Middle Management
+ Unreliable Labor + Predatory Contracts= <i>Big Success</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can see us right now laughing it up in an
office outside of Nuits St Georges until the first frost hits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am fairly certain the headline will read “Les
charlatans américains détruisent les récoltes de 2024 et les entreprises
familiales détruites”, which roughly translates to “American charlatans destroy
2024 crop, family businesses destroyed”, or maybe “Les escrocs des machines
éoliennes sont toujours portés disparus” meaning “Wind Machine Grifters Still Missing”
as we try to slip across a border to Switzerland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Granted, this plan does have some large sized holes, but to
win big, you must think big.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the
various British tourists sit around trying to figure out if their Parisian
waiter is ever coming back to take their order, I’m using this time wisely
sitting at my table for one making plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Big plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I leave France tired
and jet lagged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will return to
triumph.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-29052901590928485832024-02-20T07:10:00.000-05:002024-02-20T07:10:58.027-05:00Nurse the Hate: Dexter Romweber <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGpX3i9WAwo8wY6Y_bUz94LY0_UG7TIPtbeFj_tWwmVEYJ2btIyfCGAWxLa5Qt_UDs121_rfXacPbxesn0xyVc6EWl-SHOjTXM_921GX7f84enRDqgYsEZCMgOEIewAsuHqyU96Wtpe_QnOzYZ02Ef-4ZVu6p-9-LrXk4EmSxsDPjpxyDeH27AysIvLwD/s300/A-474212-1399044096-4740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="212" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGpX3i9WAwo8wY6Y_bUz94LY0_UG7TIPtbeFj_tWwmVEYJ2btIyfCGAWxLa5Qt_UDs121_rfXacPbxesn0xyVc6EWl-SHOjTXM_921GX7f84enRDqgYsEZCMgOEIewAsuHqyU96Wtpe_QnOzYZ02Ef-4ZVu6p-9-LrXk4EmSxsDPjpxyDeH27AysIvLwD/w298-h422/A-474212-1399044096-4740.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I learned that Dexter Romweber had died in the way that one does in 2024, a social media post adorned with the tear face emoji. The news impacted me more than I would have thought. I wasn't particularily close with Dexter but we had played together ten times or so and he had stayed at my house at least three times. The impact had something to do with the combination of familiarity, my admiration for him as an artist, and that we are the same age. Wayne Kramer passes away and you think, "Damn, that's a drag." as you do the mental calculations and remember seeing the footage of Wayne playing the 1968 Democratic Convention as you buffer yourself with the knowledge of "I guess he was pretty old". Shit. I remember staying at some college party flophouse in Gainesville Florida with the Flat Duo Jets when we were all in our twenties. Clock is ticking.</p><p>When I think about Dexter it takes me through a Greatest Hits of Indie Rock venues. Like a lot of people I became aware of the Flat Duo Jets from their scene stealing performances on that "Athens GA Inside Out" documentary. I cannot stress how many times I played that "Flat Duo Jets" record, it being one of the first examples of how the "rockabilly revival" that was rearing its ugly head was an artistic dead end, and these Flat Duo Jets guys were onto something with their primal energy. I saw them for the first time when they opened up for The Cramps at the Phantasy Theater. That's the only time I saw them with Tone on bass, and even that night Dexter was yelling at the poor guy for whatever infractions he had made during the chaotic but great set. </p><p>The next time I saw them was when they played the Babylon A Go Go on some weird package tour with the Chickasaw Mud Puppies. This is probably 1991 or 92. I talked to Dexter for the first time that night and I remember thinking "this guy isn't like anyone I've ever met". He had this raw emotional edge and animal intensity even as we talked about old records. It was just obvious that he experienced things differently than everyone else, like he was sensitive to things other people didn't notice. That was right around the same time we were attempting to get the Cowslingers airborne. Within a few years we had played with them at the Magic Stick in Detroit, the Local 506 in Chapel Hill, The Covered Dish in Gainesville FL, The Grog Shop a couple times, and Stache's in Columbus maybe? </p><p>One night when they stayed at my place in Lakewood, Dexter didn't want to sleep on an available couch or futon and instead slept on the floor in the spare bedroom. I woke him up to go to a late breakfast at this brunch place near my house as soon as I could corral Crow, and he woke up so completely disheveled and lost that the image stuck in my head. It was like he had gone 12 rounds with some demon as he had slept. I named my basset hound Dexter after him when the puppy woke up from a nap at the exact spot on the floor bearing more than just a passing resemblance to Mr. Romweber about a year later. </p><p>That show in Gainesville is one I really remember. It was one of those Thursday night gigs in a room that was too big for the bill. The Cowslingers opened. We had played our way down to the Florida panhandle and I was feeling crispy. I sat in the back dressing room. Dexter was in a dark mood, very introverted and was deep in his head. I just gave him his space and sat there in the quiet. Eventually Ken walked in and felt the vibe and sat quietly as well. Crow walked in and flopped down. It was quiet for a bit until Crow spoke to Dexter. These two guys had this really quiet caring conversation about their tour, if they should be doing it, and how they felt as if Ken and I weren't there. They both revealed they felt resigned about the tour but just wanted to make sure the other guy was OK. It was so genuine. About an hour later they went out and completely destroyed, closing with a version of "Sing Sing Sing" that lasted 20 minutes + with both of them leaving everything on that stage. We ended up at some shitty college townhouse where Dexter grabbed a cold shower, threw some clothes on his soaking body, walked through the after hours party like it wasn't there and disappeared into the night with crazed eyes. </p><p>When the Flat Duo Jets ended I was bummed that Dexter seemed so low profile. I saw him solo a couple times, played with him in Atlanta and somewhere in the Midwest, but he was struggling. I saw him in a session at Kudzu at Rick Miller's place during that period where it was all just a bit off. It appeared to me that he found his stride again with the Dexter Romweber Duo with his sister. That time period produced some great music where his ability to rip the essence of obscure old songs and make them his was reignited. His spirit seemed lifted to be in the band with her. I remember an amazing set they played with us at the doomed Jigsaw stage where he played like he was in a sold out stadium. That guy was the real deal. </p><p>The death of his sister hit him especially hard as I understand it. He had many disappointments and self inflicted wounds over the years, but the loss of his sister had to be uniquely brutal. Within a short period he lost his sister, two brothers and his mother like some sort of terrible Southern Gothic curse. He had a haunted genius quality to him with an inner conflict that must have produced so much of his greatness as well as making the day-to-day life a heavy burden. I had just found a podcast he had done promoting his latest release "Got A Good Thing Going" a couple weeks ago and bought the record. It just seemed like he would always be there, doing what he did. I suppose the ending to his story was what it was always going to be, sad but with an amplified resonance. </p><p>I saw a shaky youtube clip of him doing an instore appearance at a record store. He stopped between a couple of songs and stalked around the area they had provided him for his performance. He was talking to the crowd, but to himself really. He made some awkward jokes and then said, "I'll go a little bit longer. As long as I can. I'm not sure what I want out of life any more. I've done this for over 30 years. I just don't have any other means... any other skills... I really don't... and this is the only thing I've had since I was a young man, if you call it a skill. And it's the only thing that's never left me. Women have come and gone, but the guitar? The guitar always stuck around. So... anyway..." And then he went into a sad song facing the back of the room, singing with everything he had. </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-65843152055653551592024-02-13T06:40:00.001-05:002024-02-13T16:31:08.198-05:00Nurse the Hate: A Week In The Fatherland or MW Stage 2 Seminar Blues<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDAJcjVtUbWOf-_lnUzeqZlgyAMn0IbvpOcZh_vceuBiZ0eiGaicn0yWAotaivOfwOB-DlZPKIdIhv0QK-JM2YnUQkFpgZ6r5VPvGjgGhBDoSqok9pBFGIJqzxKVWZDwyFrkB7gvJAD8Jy4HUVAztfsp5fTxsr5aabOIl5mrlKFGSyuwVThyphenhyphenxakULmFB4/s1918/231c0af7ff33a75e8446ac83f811e79c-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1918" data-original-width="1341" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDAJcjVtUbWOf-_lnUzeqZlgyAMn0IbvpOcZh_vceuBiZ0eiGaicn0yWAotaivOfwOB-DlZPKIdIhv0QK-JM2YnUQkFpgZ6r5VPvGjgGhBDoSqok9pBFGIJqzxKVWZDwyFrkB7gvJAD8Jy4HUVAztfsp5fTxsr5aabOIl5mrlKFGSyuwVThyphenhyphenxakULmFB4/w292-h417/231c0af7ff33a75e8446ac83f811e79c-1.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I was in Germany last week for the Stage 2 Master Of Wine seminar. Sorry for not getting a Super Bowl column in, but as anyone that texted me will attest, I was on <b>Kansas City +2</b>. Winner. Anyway, let's get back to my little German Blitzkrieg. For most of you reading this, it would have been a brutally boring week of sitting in a small conference room in the morning after taking a 2 hour and 15 minute test of blind wines discussing your answers. Now this would bore the shit out of any rational human being, because most of the conversation isn't even about <i>what </i>you answered but <i>how</i> you answered it. There are other Stage 2 students taking the course in Napa this week, so I won't get into the particular wines, but here's an example of what the morning was like for four days. There's 12 wines in glasses in front of me. I get a question like "Discuss the relative quality of wines 3 and 4 in regards to context of origin" as part of the analysis. I think wine 3 is better than wine 4 and I spend about 100 words in my answer. Later, after the mock exam, I'm sitting there with 12 other people and we discuss our answers. My favorite part of the process is when we get bogged down for 20 minutes discussing the validity of a certain word choice. </p><p>Let's pretend that wine 3 is "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs. Wine 4 is "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan. I say "Desolation Row" is higher "quality" than "Wooly Bully", but that doesn't mean that I like it more. It just means that I think it hits a higher level of ambition and has more depth of content, not that I necessarily don't want to crank up Sam the Sham driving around in my car. During the discussion period after the exam we get into our answers. I might write something like, "Desolation Row is the higher quality track. Wooly Bully has wild energy with the funky keyboard driving the song compared with Desolation Row which has tight dense lyrical content offering great complexity with the virtuoso uplifted Spanish guitar playing offering counterpoint to the solemn vocal delivery." We might spend 20 minutes talking about my use of "funky" in that answer, completely ignoring that I was correct overall. Imagine a posh English accent saying something like "Funky? Is that the best word choice here? I don't know what "funky" means."</p><p>Now this guy isn't wrong. He doesn't know what "funky" means, but that's because he is the product of British boarding schools and he has never been within 10 kilometers of anything remotely funky. Now I can agree that "funky" might not be the best word for describing Sam the Sham's organ in "Wooly Bully", but it's probably more widely understood than if I had used the phrase "garage punk". The problem is that phrase won't work for whoever is reading it as they probably have never seen Thee Headcoats and have a secret affinity for late Elton John recordings. So now the room bandies about different word choices to "fix" my answer. How about "frantic"? No, that's not quite it. Perhaps "primitive"? No, that's a negative connotation. "Energetic?" Yes, that's probably better the English advisor intones. We move on with me thinking "energetic" would be better used to describe one of those first two XTC records keyboards. Whatever... "Energetic" it is.</p><p>That's the tricky part. There's only a few minutes per wine and you have to capture the essence of the thing in a few lines that can be agreed upon regardless of your cultural background. I got lit up by a guy because I was scrambling at the end of a mock exam and wrote "Euro tourists make up an important market for this wine region and the entry level quality of this wine would have broad appeal to these consumers." The person that reviewed my paper said "Euro Tourists? Euro Tourists? What does that mean? Do Bulgarians come buy this wine?". Now I have no fucking idea if Bulgarians drive to Alsace France to buy affordable white wines, but I read that a shitload of tourists drive through and load up their little campers as they go. The guy reviewing my paper was adamant I missed the mark and killed me on points. It should be noted that three days later I was in Alsace and a producer there said to me "We get tourists from 17 countries, all over Europe mostly, and they all buy wine." It didn't matter that I was right. The person grading me didn't think I was, so that means I'm wrong. Had I put "An important market for this wine are primarily French, German and Belgian tourists that travel though the region on holiday and make purchases via the cellar door.". Am I saying the same thing? Yes, but now I'm saying it the way the reader wants to read it. </p><p>It can be very frustrating for me, and English is allegedly my primary language. My cultural shorthand doesn't work. Now if I'd used a phrase like "pear drop", that is completely acceptable because there is an English candy flavor called "pear drop" and most of these blokes are English and they write the rules. Americans dominate world culture, but not here. The Brits have planted their flag and will make their last stand extolling the glories of port and sherry, I try to remember to type out answers like I'm role playing being a British business middle manager for a consumer goods company. There are people there so gifted that they are doing this in their third or fourth language. I'm struggling to come up with the right word and some guy from Singapore is knocking it out in a language he barely knows. It can be disheartening to be a filthy ape like myself. Yet, I soldier on and sit in a conference room watching German chemists present reams of data regarding TDN formation in wild chemical fermentations as I pretend to grasp what he is saying. It's really a hell of a thing.</p><p>I made a quick day trip into Alsace with my associate Felix. There are these unbelievably charming little villages built in the 1400-1500s where at any moment it looks like a gnome is going to jump out and do a little jig. A winemaker we visited was the 14th generation winemaker and his family lived in a house built in the 1470s. Afterwards we hustled back to have dinner with Jochen/Evil and crew knocking back a half dozen regional wines and some local beer. I woke up early after going to bed late, my sleep schedule a complete disaster. My plan had been to escape to Frankfurt and spend the day regrouping, but as I watched costume clad young adults in their Fasching gear jumping on trains to whatever street party was happening I thought "I gotta get out of here". I booked a train to the airport from my phone and muscled my way into an open Premium Plus Business Class seat on the 530p back to Washington-Dulles. I caught the second half of the Super Bowl in the United Club lounge and had to hustle to my gate when it went into OT. I streamed the overtime on my phone as we readied for takeoff. Just as the Chiefs went to make the winning score, I lost the signal. I fell asleep in my seat secure in the knowledge that my KC +2 had hit. All and all, a successful trip. </p><p> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-91539570265440101052024-01-28T12:32:00.002-05:002024-01-28T12:33:44.545-05:00Nurse the Hate: Fatherland Preparation and NFL Conference Finals<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIh_dSL63gj-jbzW8wr9bGm-Yox9ctBN1CaPTGxAzviN4QoCsSCzfTbN0mRdMydpKaCh2neVikpEYklwuG9XBOduNrMabi7tQgd0PBd_kNOorz5P54cFy8Lm-Gxbz8ENPc6DboaUFq5ta2Zkg6i2r8hrslBEfKrr7E2ZL_i7iRKFRwsf-A0p7gKSeXUsWd/s972/TSwift2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="972" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIh_dSL63gj-jbzW8wr9bGm-Yox9ctBN1CaPTGxAzviN4QoCsSCzfTbN0mRdMydpKaCh2neVikpEYklwuG9XBOduNrMabi7tQgd0PBd_kNOorz5P54cFy8Lm-Gxbz8ENPc6DboaUFq5ta2Zkg6i2r8hrslBEfKrr7E2ZL_i7iRKFRwsf-A0p7gKSeXUsWd/w410-h231/TSwift2.webp" width="410" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I am heading over to Germany soon, and have been trading emails with a number of my associates in The Fatherland. I have always operated smoothly over there as I respect the cultural need for precision and punctuality. There is no such thing as meeting "around 10:30". You meet at 10:30 or 10:45. That's it. I remember a number of times where we played club shows that were slated to start at 8pm. At 7:30 there is NO ONE in the club and you're thinking "Fuck, this is a disaster", but then at 7:50 the club is full like a bus just dropped off a hundred people. That is because of a cultural set of norms where everyone knows that if a show is supposed to start at 8:00p, it is not starting at 7:59 or 8:01. That fucking thing goes off at 8:00 on the dot. </p><p>There was a gig we played one time where the local soccer club had a match that was supposed to be ended by the start of our set. Something happened in the match that resulted in a bunch of extra time and it was going to run over by 30 minutes or so. Now in the United States, the club promoter would tell one of the band members, "Hey, let's wait til the game ends and then go on when the club fills up". It's a gray area based on the situation. Now this German scenario was much more high stress. First the club promoter huddled with the bar manager. Then, after ten minutes of animated discussion, they were joined by a third club employee for even more intense discourse. Finally, a decision reached, the promoter came over to me and leaned into my ear to say "OK. We are going to push the show back. We will have you go on at 8:10.". It can take 10 minutes to find Leo/Sugar at any given time, but rather than explain that to the clearly stressed event promoter, I just said "OK" like we had just pulled off a major logistical obstacle. </p><p>As ridiculous as that is, you have to admire an entire nation that runs with the expectation that everyone has their shit together and will do what they say they are going to do. I don't know about you, but my daily life consists of trying to work around most of the people I deal with, none of which ever do what they say they are going to do. The other day I was trying to get a FedEx shipment that had inexplicably stalled out for four days at the drop point. The entire concept of "overnight" shipping is to get something from point A to B in one day, but the FedEx representative didn't seem too concerned that the package hadn't moved in days. "What probably happened was that someone put it in the incoming box instead of outgoing.". Now, she had decided this was the root cause of the issue despite not having talked to anyone about it, and had done nothing to see what the situation was for the delay. She just made that shit up, and my role was to go along with it like there was some sort of factual basis for the horseshit she had trotted out. When I suggested she needed to be more proactive as there was no reason to think this package would move again today, she said, "Well, I could call over there. Do you want me to do that?". No, I would prefer you don't do anything except keep my money and I just go back to hoping the package miraculously arrives. </p><p>I can't get an overnight shipping company in the United States to even inquire to why they haven't executed their service, and in Germany they thoughtfully tell you scheduled dates of an upcoming rail strike so you can plan accordingly to be on time with alternate transportation. The key part of being onboard with the mindset of American Exceptionalism is to ignore the glaring examples of how badly basic standards have eroded by never going anywhere outside of the United States. "USA is the best country in the world!", says the person that has never traveled anywhere except DisneyWorld and Las Vegas. I mean, don't get me wrong, at any given time some German can go off on you because you ordered the wrong sausage at the wrong time of day or don't know how the bakery line works, but the key is <i>there is a system and dammit we are following it</i>! </p><p>I was thinking about these systems regarding the NFL Conference Championship Games today. Home teams have gone 16-4 in the last decade. Overs are 9-3 in the last 6 years. Home teams are 13-7 ATS in the last decade. Home favorites of more than 7 are 6-14 ATS. What does any of it mean? I dunno. I will tell you this... I am not going to bet on Jared Goff playing outside in a big game. The Lions are definitely a sentimental favorite, but let's be reasonable here. They snuck by a crappy Tampa team at home, and could have lost to the Rams at home. This is a road game against the undeniably best team in the NFL all year. With the exception of that weird three game losing streak, the 49ers have looked elite. I think we can all agree that San Francisco is going to score on the Lions. If Tampa moved the ball on you, the 49ers are going to as well. The big question to me is how well will Detroit rise offensively. The narrative is that this will be a high scoring, who has the ball last game. I don't think that's going to happen. I think SF dominates if Debo Samuel gets shot up with enough goo goo juice to play effectively. Unless Detroit gets lucky with a bunch of high variance decisions like making risky 4th downs, turnovers going their way, etc., I think San Francisco outclasses Detroit. <b>San Francisco -7</b>. </p><p>The Ravens v Chiefs game is a minefield. The Ravens are the better team. They have been all year. Lamar is the MVP, yet he's the QB I trust the least in this game. Despite Baltimore having the better offense, better defense, better kicker and being at home, are you eager to drop money against Mahomes? If you are like me, your Doomsday Scenario is two weeks of Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce Super Bowl hype. I don't understand why Taylor Swift is so popular, and I can't seem to summon up the energy or empathy to embrace why others are so taken with her. Do you want to see speculative media on how Taylor is getting into the stadium to watch the game from a luxury box perch? I'm sick of those Kelce Brothers too, and they are hometown boys. Mahomes wife? Enough. It's too much but I don't feel like I can stop it. I'm thinking about tossing a few sheckles on Kansas City, so when the harsh reality of Super Bowl Taylor Swift Hype enters my life, I can at least count a few dollars on a win. This is a wager based on hate and negativity. <b>Kansas City +4.5</b>. </p><p><b>Current record: 32-27-2 </b> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-10744396690575291432024-01-21T13:14:00.006-05:002024-01-21T13:15:52.649-05:00Nurse the Hate: Wine Tasting Magic + Divisional Round Day 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1JPTuz9Svmmrba6iBSveW5_uMAqwAq65RXQu_eDRYhKCLrO6mDGZH9dGEKTiVqOpnAZKGTOTI9YZSO54j8oqakXqFVkT-z7LHEDyIsstd5mrwQKom2_oK0f4P9HI5BV4P9jnjKkftpqyjjmWg6pN948RgSrx9Qz2SzdsWJOiROe_J10Kt5Zfnw17AJUM/s1920/c65274ef-0ca8-4d1b-89ac-8a832674e1f4_1920x1080.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1JPTuz9Svmmrba6iBSveW5_uMAqwAq65RXQu_eDRYhKCLrO6mDGZH9dGEKTiVqOpnAZKGTOTI9YZSO54j8oqakXqFVkT-z7LHEDyIsstd5mrwQKom2_oK0f4P9HI5BV4P9jnjKkftpqyjjmWg6pN948RgSrx9Qz2SzdsWJOiROe_J10Kt5Zfnw17AJUM/w396-h222/c65274ef-0ca8-4d1b-89ac-8a832674e1f4_1920x1080.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">I have played in a rock band for a long time. As a result, there are a number of people in my life that ask me about the band when they see me as their fall-back conversation topic. I run into someone at a restaurant or grocery store or whatever, and very quickly it becomes “How’s the band?”. It’s my “thing” to them. It’s important to note that 95% of the time, these questions are not sincere, they are simply the way to fulfill the social contract of feigning interest in an acquaintance. It’s like asking, “How are the kids?”, when, in fact, you couldn’t identify their kids in a police lineup. In the case of either question being asked, the required answer is “Great!”. No one really wants to strap in to hear about how your kids got arrested in a fentanyl sting operation, is considering joining a cult or in my case the difficulty of securing studio time for our kazillioneth record that the person asking me will never under any circumstances listen to.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">I now also get a fair amount of questions about when my next wine exam is in this Master of Wine quest. The MW is a very small little dork subculture, not that different in being Master of Cheese or a Dungeon Master really, so the protocols of test taking and the required tasks are murky to outsiders. I’m finally at the last exam. When people ask me about the “test”, what they generally want to know about is the Practical Exam. This is the tasting part, where you get 12 wines poured into glasses, and you are expected to be able to identify the wine and discuss the inherent quality level in context of its place of origin. Day 1 is a white wine flight. Day 2 is red. Day 3 is the dreaded “mixed bag” where it can be anything but is usually sparkling, rose, sweet and fortified wines like port, sherry, and madeira. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">The first time people see you correctly identify a wine “blind”, meaning it is sitting in a glass in front of you without any other clues, they think you are a witch. It’s a great parlor trick. What most people don’t understand is that it isn’t some innate ability, but rather a learned skill. I could teach you too, if you had the patience. Anybody can do it. It’s referred to as the “deductive tasting method” or as I like to say, “figuring shit out by paying attention”. I’ll show you how it works.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">Let’s say you have a red wine in front of you. It is not a deep almost black color, but rather more of a light ruby. If you hold the glass up, you can see through it. This suggests that it was made from a light skinned grape, not a thick skinned one as wine gets the color from the skins of the grapes. So, this means I am already thinking about light skinned grapes like grenache, Nebbiolo, sangiovese and pinot noir as being distinct possibilities. Now you smell the wine. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">The biggest obstacle for most people at this point is that usually no one spends the time to pay attention to details in life. Slow down. Concentrate for a second. What does that liquid in the glass smell like to you? Good wine tends to smell like multiple things at once. Smells are usually personal too. For example, Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joes usually smells like the gum that was in packs of baseball cards to me. White wine from the Rhone Valley in France often smells like the juice at the bottom of a fruit bowl when you are the last one to get a crack at it at the Cancun resort breakfast buffet. In the case of the wine in the glass, it smells like cherries, mushrooms, and the cedar closet I had in my old house. Grenache tends to smell like strawberries, so I am beginning to suspect it’s not grenache at this point, but I’m still not going to rule it out.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">Let’s taste the wine. What I look to do first is to figure out the structure of the wine. OK, what the hell does that mean? Food tends to have flavors and textures that work together to make it taste good. Like a McDonald’s cheeseburger has the fat of the beef mixed with cheese. The pickles provide a tart lift. The ketchup gives sweetness as does the bun. The onions give a textural crunch. It all works together. Wine is the same thing. The acid in the wine has to balance the lushness of the fruit. Just like a good glass of orange juice should have equal parts sweet fruit and mouth watering acid, wine should have the same idea. Red wine also has tannins, which is like the skeleton to support the flavors. Tannins are what you feel in your gums, that drying sensation that you get in things like wine and black tea. I want to get an idea of not only the levels of these three components but also the nature of them. I am looking for clues.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">In this case the wine has slightly elevated acid, which suggests that this wine came from a cool climate that wasn’t able to ripen the fruit to the point where the sugars in the grapes were able to overtake the acids. This has too much acid to be grenache, so that grape is out of consideration. The tannins are soft and it is hard to notice them at first because they have a silky quality to them instead of a fierce grip. They really blend into the wine. This eliminates Nebbiolo and Sangiovese because those grapes tend to be very high acid and tannins that rip your face off. This wine gracefully moves across your palate. There is a finesse to it, something that used to be called “feminine” but I’m not sure if you’re allowed to say that in 2024 without consulting with HR first. I’ll have to check. Anyway, this is probably pinot noir. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">This is when I dial into what the wine actually tastes like. The fruit is very fresh, like fresh picked cherries, but it also has a little raspberry vibe to it. If you pay attention, after that initial cherry taste hits you, it recedes and turns into a "savory mushroom, cedar and dried leaves on an autumn day" thing. This also suggests a cooler climate from where the grapes came from because the nature of the fruit wasn’t black cherry, cherry cola, or baked cherries like in a pie. The fruit doesn’t finish with a sweet sensation like a candy or soda. This is pointing me to a cool climate in Europe somewhere because pinot noir from places like the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Chile are usually more fruit dominated instead of the finish of secondary flavors like mushrooms and leaves. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">The wine is really good. What’s the difference between a “good” and an “ok” wine? An “OK” wine would be a short little taste of cherry dominated fruit and then the taste would be gone pretty quickly. Yellow Tail chardonnay has a little burst of apple candy flavor and then it's gone. It's fine. It's pleasant. Then, poof! This isn’t like that. It’s giving complex flavors. It tastes like one thing, and then it turns into something else, and then it is three things at once. It’s like that candy on the Willie Wonka movie that kept changing flavors. It is perfectly balanced between the acid, tannin and fruit. At this point, I figure it has to be pinot noir. We have ticked most of the boxes for that to be the grape. This had to come from a place that makes top quality pinot noir in Europe. That means it is probably from Burgundy in France, but you have to consider places like Baden or Pfalz in Germany, Alsace in France, or Alto Adige in Italy. This quality is extremely high though. The wine is concentrated with flavor but at the same time is very light and airy on the palate, a hell of a trick. There is only one place on the planet that can consistently do that. It’s got to be Burgundy.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">Now at this point in the Master of Wine program I’m expected to be able to tell you what little village it came from in the Burgundy region, which is really splitting hairs. This task is just a matter of immersing yourself into great tasting expensive wines, and I’m just the man for the job. It's not magic though. Basically, it’s like getting a fast food burger and saying, “This has that fake charcoal grill taste on it, so I know it’s Burger King. The ketchup tastes a little weird, so I bet it’s not Heinz, so that means it’s probably from East 30<sup>th</sup> and Carnegie because the guy that owns that franchise is always trying to cut costs by using cut rate condiments.” In this case the wine I'm identifying is a $475 retail Domaine Faiveley Latricieres Chambertin Grand Cru 2014, a wine I could easily mistake for a Volnay Premier Cru, sort of like saying you thought it was from a very desirable street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, not a Central Park penthouse condo on the Eastside. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">I drill at least once a week to identify wines blind. Sometimes I do better than others. The most important thing for you to remember is when you ask me how the MW program study is going, I am going to launch into the character of the tannins of an obscure wine from a tiny village in France while you are thinking "My God. Why did I make the mistake to ask him that?". What you should have asked me was about the games today.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">A number of football gambling degenerates I respect love the Chiefs today. They do not buy into the narrative that Buffalo has fixed their issues they had when they were 6-6, and that Kansas City with two extra days of rest is going to crush their dreams yet again. I think that this is the year the Bills finally slay the dragon. They're at home, the fanbase will be out of their minds, and Kansas City just isn't very good. Let's go Bills. <b>Buffalo -2.5 </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b>Current Record: 32-26-2</b></p><p> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-73862094952452248342024-01-20T15:13:00.001-05:002024-01-20T15:13:23.150-05:00Nurse the Hate: Hate Hackney Diamonds and NFL Divisional Round <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdVRzaqDh6rjT3sTsZ3evg7qKcEi_zwDhHCerB0GtqFdBAMJP9DywftJweMrO2kR5NCwRXVXiJfvf_e8EmkjXwkPZOYJuz98RBfS_kl8F3a1LhY7BQKre95oy_WTXBRDWoV1kRi5hU266CIJU6woskaLwNnGQJ6wvKkPxbUM1EVQkfnW7GWto18fJCCFa/s1200/140417113556-01-delaney-texans-bl1t7795-single-image-cutjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="907" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdVRzaqDh6rjT3sTsZ3evg7qKcEi_zwDhHCerB0GtqFdBAMJP9DywftJweMrO2kR5NCwRXVXiJfvf_e8EmkjXwkPZOYJuz98RBfS_kl8F3a1LhY7BQKre95oy_WTXBRDWoV1kRi5hU266CIJU6woskaLwNnGQJ6wvKkPxbUM1EVQkfnW7GWto18fJCCFa/w320-h423/140417113556-01-delaney-texans-bl1t7795-single-image-cutjpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I still buy a lot of records. Well, to be honest, I actually buy a lot of CDs. I might be the only person keeping that format afloat, but dammit, I have old cars with CD players and no bluetooth. I still prefer the album format to the digital playlist/streaming option. For example, most people that listen to classic rock radio formats have no idea that an album like "Love It To Death" by Alice Cooper has more songs than just "I'm Eighteen". You have to get in there and listen to the whole thing to see what's going on with the band. "Exile On Main Street" is a great example. Sure, there are singles on there like "Tumbling Dice" and "Happy", but the reason that Rolling Stones record is so great is the thing in entirety. It's the greasy sleazy feel of the whole. </p><p>This brings me to my latest purchase, the Rolling Stones "Hackney Diamonds". Look, I went in with moderate expectations. The last four or five original Rolling Stones records have been a little underwhelming to say the least, but that blues record they put out last was fucking killer. I also feel like I might as well buy the new LP because at this point I have all of the studio records except strangely enough "Emotional Rescue" for no particular reason except I got tired of hearing Mick say "I will be your knight in shiiaaaning Ahhhhmour cumming to your eeeeeeemotiooonal resssssscewww" on the radio in the summer of 1980. As I recall, I also unwittingly walked into a room with a friend's older sister in nothing but sensible cotton panties dry humping a fellow student to that song that August that left me a little rattled. </p><p>I have copies of the Rolling Stones last three studio records. I'll be honest, I would have difficulty picking out random songs on "A Bigger Bang", "Bridges To Babylon" and "Voodoo Lounge" and placing them in their correct LP. I listened to "A Bigger Bang" a couple months ago, but I found myself thinking like most people probably do, "Why am I listening to this when I haven't listened to (insert classic period record here) in a long time?". How was "A Bigger Bang"? You know... it was OK. It's like any Stones record that has been released after Exile. There are a bunch of songs that sound like that signature two guitar Stones thing and a few where they chase trying to sound "contemporary", which is always a mistake. There is nothing worse than when Mick tries to jump on whatever trend is happening like he's waving his hands around screaming "Hey! Look over here! We are still culturally relevant! Lookit!".</p><p>Did you ever see that concert film and companion record they did with Scorcese? "Shine A Light" I think it's called. In the beginning there is this fake drama where the band hasn't told Scorcese what they are playing and he doesn't know how to position the cameras and it's supposed to be this dangerous rock and roll moment. "Good God! Those rascals haven't let anyone know what's about to happen!" Then they do the move where they bring out the Old Bluesman in Buddy Guy for "Champagne and Reefer", the new rock guitar hero in Jack White for "Loving Cup" and the chart topping female siren in Cristina Aguilera singing along to "Live With Me". It's the least dangerous rock show ever, especially since it is all industry biz people and their satellites making up the theater crowd. That show was the execution of a business plan.</p><p>That's sort of what this new record is, a reason to promote yet another greatest hits package tour with obscenely priced tickets. Yet, I'm begrudgingly going to admit, the record is pretty good. Look, it's not "Beggar's Banquet", but that was a half century ago. Let's cut these guys some slack. This Stones Product, where quite a few of the songs require us to enter the willing suspension of disbelief that 80 year old Mick Jagger is out prowling around for ladies but always being done wrong. He's tough, but you can hurt him emotionally. I wish he would write about 80 year old famous rich guy problems, but that probably won't move units. This is perhaps the most middle aged man album purchase I have made in a few years, and I almost feel like I need to justify the purchase by filling in some weird indie stuff I bought too. "Hey! A Hermanos Gutierrez disc was in that bag too!" </p><p>I suspect this release will slide on the shelf next to "Steel Wheels" to be partially forgotten. I still appreciate the fact that these guys went and made another full length. They can do whatever the hell they want, and it would be much easier to just rehash "Satisfaction" every summer in football stadiums, which I guess they do, but hopefully now with "Here's one off our new album!" so the suburbanites can hit the toilets in time to get back for "Brown Sugar". Everybody just needs to stay in their lane and do their job I guess. I am hoping that's what happens today in the NFL. I'm feeling pretty chalky.</p><p>That's exactly what I am expecting the Ravens to do this week. I think the Ravens are going to push the Texans around. The Ravens have easily been the best team in the AFC. Despite the Texans kicking the crap out of the Browns last week, let's not forget that they stumbled into winning the shitty AFC South thanks to a Colts dropped pass and a Jacksonville meltdown. The Ravens like to be bullies. I am on <b>Baltimore -10</b>.</p><p>I think the Packers are a live dog. If they can get a lead early, this will be a game. If they fall behind? Uh-oh. I'm not sure how the Packers deal with a healthy 49ers offense. The big question is can the Pack reliably score on San Fran. I think if they hang in there early that they can turn it into a track meet. Love has somehow quietly become one of the best QBs in the NFC down the stretch, and their receivers are finally relatively healthy. As long as SF doesn't have the opportunity to rush without concern for a running play, Green Bay should be able to score some points. <b>SF/Green Bay OVER 50.5 </b></p><p><b>Season record: 31-25-2</b> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-68247888962117447872024-01-13T14:35:00.005-05:002024-01-13T14:35:57.619-05:00Nurse the Hate: Wild Card Weekend <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxMVb2d39g6YsnnqMDRMhK6DWljPYmaXmUrZf4Bmx7jKraf_g2op8RHh4LJRkwDymxYeoDwNUzuTFBFC6jcvrgj42WX4tX8AMUFgcj1TyjkI7q3z1ccYZUbJP6Vi_lNlMBF6JEu3NoQLcvHq86kwgzk9E7sPJB7iOH1tiCXg0T4QG_KzADzi0J9u7TIN1/s640/sddefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxMVb2d39g6YsnnqMDRMhK6DWljPYmaXmUrZf4Bmx7jKraf_g2op8RHh4LJRkwDymxYeoDwNUzuTFBFC6jcvrgj42WX4tX8AMUFgcj1TyjkI7q3z1ccYZUbJP6Vi_lNlMBF6JEu3NoQLcvHq86kwgzk9E7sPJB7iOH1tiCXg0T4QG_KzADzi0J9u7TIN1/w385-h289/sddefault.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>What's with the word "journey"? Every person I fucking hear talk about whatever they are doing is on a "journey". "When I first began my wine journey..." or "My journey at the company began when..." or "When I first started my fitness journey...". Look... You aren't on a "journey". You're just into wine, or started a job, or got off the couch to workout. Stop pretending that everyone is as enraptured by your current interest as you are at the moment. It's like the new word that replaced "obsessed". "Suzy is just obsessed with these jeans from Saks." What do you mean? Like she can't leave the house or stop looking at a pair of fucking pants she bought because it's all she can think about? Maybe Suzy needs some goddamn mental health help. They're just pants. Let it go. </p><p>I have a woman at work that uses the word "literally" all the time. Every thought out of her head contains the word "literally". She can't get through a story without saying it. "I literally just walked up stairs." It's this point of emphasis but everything apparently needs to be emphasized. "Holy shit. Kendra just walked up the stairs. No... she told me that she <i>literally</i> just walked up the stairs. I know! I thought for sure that someone helped her up there because there is NO WAY someone could get up a flight of stairs, but she assured me that she <i>literally </i>walked up here. Fucking blew my mind."</p><p>There's a group think that surrounds everything. Once enough people start saying something, others grab onto it and think, "this is what we say now". A new word or idea slips into the culture and it just takes hold. I hate to think I might have to start referring to some clothing item as my "drip". You never know. One day you are standing around minding your own business and then suddenly you're telling people about your "drip". I think it's the same thing all these talking heads start doing with their NFL Playoff predictions. Group think on these games comes to together very swiftly. The Browns with Flacco will roll to victory. The Cowboys can't lose at home. There is no way Miami can go into a cold weather game and win. Buffalo is going to win, but by how much? </p><p>The key is to look past the group think. The most universal truth going into these playoffs is that Pittsburgh has NO CHANCE. Buffalo is favored by a whopping ten points. Buffalo beat Dallas and the Jets by ten this year. After they clipped their offensive coordinator, they have gone to a ball control offense that keeps scoring down. It's not a team built to generate separation. The Steelers had that weird three game swoon in November where they looked awful (with MVP Mitch), but even with that they've only lost 4 of their 17 by more than 10. I was hoping this game was going to go off in that horrible snowstorm with wind out the ass so I could slam the under. Since they moved the game to Monday I will wait to see what the weather conditions look like before betting it, but I'm leaning <b>Pittsburgh +10.</b></p><p>The Browns are such a Cinderella story, it's hard not to jump on board, especially since I live in Cleveland. Things have lined up pretty well for the team getting to play the Texans again after just kicking their ass last month. This game should be much closer as CJ Stroud appears like a legit premier starting QB, and they had to have made some defensive adjustments to prevent Cooper from getting 786 yards receiving like last game, right? Still, the Browns should be able to pressure Stroud. Stroud does not play well when A) pressured and B) playing against man-to-man coverage, what the Browns run about 75% of the time. With Ward healthy for the Browns, I think that mitigates Houston downfield and they will be forced to try to grind out 12-15 play drives. I think the Browns beat these guys in the middle of the field. I am going to regret doing this as the Browns exist only to crush the dreams of their fans, but I'm going <b>Cleveland -2</b>.</p><p>There's always an upset in this round. It could be the Bucs, but Mayfield is a physical wreck. I am going to take a flier on the Rams. Hear me out on this. Sean McVeigh is going to outcoach Campbell. That's not a prediction. That's just how it is. The Lions defense blows, and when the Rams have had Kyren Williams in the lineup at running back, they are an elite offense. Williams was out for a chunk in the middle of the season, so people don't look at the stats in a Weeks 1-4 + Weeks 10-17 way. The Rams look mediocre overall, but this version of the Rams offense is a problem for the Lions. In a high pressure game, who do you want to run an offense through? Super Bowl Champ Matt Stafford or Jared Goff playing in a high profile game versus the team that traded him for almost nothing that knows exactly all of his weaknesses? I need to do the math on the moneyline, but I'm taking that or the <b>LA Rams +3</b>.</p><p>Miami can't beat a good team. I don't think Kansas City is any good, but Miami is so banged up that they should have enough to beat Tua in his first playoff game in 2 degree game time temps. They talk about how Kansas City is used to this type of weather, but it's not like these guys grew up in Missouri and run around in the woods shirtless. What, like half of these players are from Florida or California anyway. Did Tyrek Hill go from being able to be comfortable in the cold when he was in a red shirt to being uncomfortable in a turquoise one? Miami doesn't have the offensive line to run the ball down KC's throat. It's hard to see Kansas City lighting it up here but it's not enough points to go the other way. <b>Kansas City money line</b>.</p><p><b>Season Record: 29-24-2</b></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-44845937088188302722024-01-06T15:03:00.001-05:002024-01-06T15:03:42.742-05:00Nurse the Hate: Hate the News and NFL Week 18<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZMBqiT-dDVWLvCQFnKNib52Okb74woyP23QabOoucjhiP01FOXeZj3HseKH0f_KZGwFbhZ3ery3zREwkBWEgugbZcIkIoQ1cDJDVW2vgYzdnCfGyYE_GeFgKeuPVfwC_C-pxHePnPp4yk0Vr5xcuWshJNKqOXqDOtVTF9cWP21IyyPoXCBsZC3T_Aslg/s1440/01hc7rs80v8h93e433gq.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZMBqiT-dDVWLvCQFnKNib52Okb74woyP23QabOoucjhiP01FOXeZj3HseKH0f_KZGwFbhZ3ery3zREwkBWEgugbZcIkIoQ1cDJDVW2vgYzdnCfGyYE_GeFgKeuPVfwC_C-pxHePnPp4yk0Vr5xcuWshJNKqOXqDOtVTF9cWP21IyyPoXCBsZC3T_Aslg/w402-h226/01hc7rs80v8h93e433gq.webp" width="402" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I haven't been reading the news as diligently lately, mostly because it's fear mongering and tedious. For example, I know that climate change is probably past the tipping point, but my using the recycling bin isn't going to make up for relentless Chinese construction or the clearing Amazon rain forests. I don't need a confirmation of helplessness each morning by reading "7 Billion tons of tires set on fire in ocean by oil company" or whatever the new self destructive headline reads. Yet, I'm becoming more interested in the next election, not because of my position on any policies really, but rather to see if my pessimistic views about the American public get confirmed. </p><p>This is an interesting time in history as individuals can choose their own reality. There is an enormous group of people in the United States that refuse to engage with the idea that Donald Trump tried to overthrow the election and keep power with whatever stupid ideas he and his boys came up with post election. It's not like you even needed to pay attention or do independent research. I mean, it was on live TV for God's sake. You've got Trump facing 91 felonies for his various crimes. He keeps being found guilty time and time again because, and this is easy to follow, <i>he did all the things he's accused of.</i> Yet, it doesn't matter. In my community there's a guy that drives around with enormous flags of Trump on his car equating Trump with Jesus. That guy lives on an entirely different planet than I do. He didn't like what he saw around him and found a world that fit his needs. To any rational person, that guy with the flags is a kook. He probably thinks of himself as a hero. No one is ever the bad guy in their own story. There is no way to convince him of what Donald Trump is, because that would destroy his whole world. </p><p>If you would have pitched a movie script in 1990 that a cult would envelop about a third of the United States that worshipped Donald Trump, you'd get laughed out of any room before you got halfway through it. He was a pompous clown that would be a last guest on the David Letterman Show. He was a joke, but he was a good TV guest. No one ever thought, "what if people didn't get the joke and forgot he was a rich kid fuck up?". It's reminds me of a scenario with a little fella with a mustache you might have heard about. We live in 1936 Germany, but everyone is less educated, drives monster trucks and drinks energy drinks. As a kid I always wondered how people got duped by Hitler, but this is the same shit with different details. I get it now. </p><p>The Supreme Court is going to hear the case about Trump being found ineligible to be on the ballot because of the totally logical argument that he had violated his eligibility to run for office with that little coup attempt. However, there is concern that a large part of the country will freak the fuck out if Trump can't run because they live in a world where there was no insurrection, Georgia election interference, etc. How can you operate a system of governing the population when there is no such thing as shared reality? The Supreme Court, not exactly thought of as a bastion of legitimacy at the moment, is in a tricky spot. Who knows what the hell they will do, but my guess is they do what anyone in a good paying job with great benefits will do, which is "we are going to hand this hot potato to someone else and punt. Who wants to go out for salmon?". How this thing shakes out is anyone's guess.</p><p>Something I do have a sense of confidence in is the Ravens won't roll over for Pittsburgh today. Baltimore is going to rest a bunch of players, but this is the Ravens. Harbaugh plays to win preseason games. I can't think of any reason why he won't play to knock Pittsburgh out of the Playoffs. Frankly, they lost to the Steelers earlier this year, and they probably don't want to see them again down the road. Hundley is a decent backup, but he's no Lamar obviously. Still, I'd rather have him than Rudolph at QB. The weather is supposed to be shitty. Gimme the points at home. <b>Baltimore +3 </b> </p><p>The narrative of "needing the win" to be a reason to bet a team is flimsy. There are a bunch of teams that have a "win to get in" this week, so I reflexively want to bet against them. The one that stands out as being almost impossible to pull the trigger on is taking Carolina +4.5 over Tampa. If Tampa wins, they win the NFC South and Mayfield finally gets a big contract. If they lose? That's bad for everyone. Still, having watched Carolina play a few times, I just can't do it. I know I should, but I can't. How about the Eagles? They've lost four of the last five and now are laying points to the Giants. If Dallas beats Washington (which I assume they will), Philadelphia is the five seed. I'll tell you this. If Dallas is up big at halftime, the Eagles will rest everyone that matters. Tyrod Taylor is the best QB the Giants have had all year. They might win outright. <b>Giants +4.5. </b>The Jaguars need to beat the Titans to get the #4 seed and host the Browns. If they lose, they need Pittsburgh and the Raiders to win to get in as the #7. The Jags are sorta shitty. They've lost 4 of their last 5 ATS. Vrabel always has his team motivated. He's a red ass. I'm sure they'd love to send Jacksonville home. <b>Tennessee +4.5</b>. </p><p>It's almost impossible to get past the "Buffalo is back!" narrative, despite barely getting past New England last week even with four turnovers. The counter narrative about Miami is "it's too bad they are so injured, the dream is over". Everyone and his brother is going to bet Buffalo. Are we really on board with this idea that Buffalo just figured it out in the last month? I'm looking for a devastating Josh Allen turnover to be the difference just like it's been all season. I'm getting on <b>Miami +2.5.</b></p><p><b>Current Record: 28-22-2</b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-85152401755659264682023-12-30T13:51:00.006-05:002023-12-30T13:51:50.668-05:00Nurse The Hate: The Difficulties Of Language, Social Media and NFL Week 17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3MOIWI_Z2mWgpdOdQJteonnq1gb0nv-nOb1I2CNns98-G-r4Sgx2k0KRd0SD5MgqrgFjaAoEQlnyFF8Y5WyLGNDjewNN3muAPSHdSehZ985FSfbWdDRjV7w9tHzO4xczKn-g4aQJmo9mSAZ1h4iRVr5oyJrIz1vuiU5ukPKwDhjcVfnIZCkYG2SorDA7/s2560/thumb-105-scaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="2560" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3MOIWI_Z2mWgpdOdQJteonnq1gb0nv-nOb1I2CNns98-G-r4Sgx2k0KRd0SD5MgqrgFjaAoEQlnyFF8Y5WyLGNDjewNN3muAPSHdSehZ985FSfbWdDRjV7w9tHzO4xczKn-g4aQJmo9mSAZ1h4iRVr5oyJrIz1vuiU5ukPKwDhjcVfnIZCkYG2SorDA7/w388-h204/thumb-105-scaled.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>One of my resolutions this year is to spend less time looking at social media. I have two basic accounts, a Facebook and Instagram page. When I started the Instagram one I decided that would be more wine centric with some of my more travel focused friends that photograph new and interesting places. I spend too much time scrolling through reels on Instagram which the algorithm has decided I am only interested in Fireworks disasters, construction mishaps, basset hounds, big wave surfing and midgets. (I knew I shouldn't have lingered on that Mini Kiss post I saw, but dammit, I couldn't help it. It was good.). Also, I don't think I am allowed to use the word "midget" at this point in society, so I am going to click open a new window to check. Give me a second...</p><p>OK. I looked it up... According to health.com, which may or may not be an authority on this subject, the word "midget" is indeed offensive. I can use "little people" and "dwarf" as descriptors but not "midget" as that was a term used in 19th Century Freak Shows and is considered derogatory. I would like to apologize now to any person of short stature whom I may have inadvertently offended by my ignorant word usage earlier. Frankly, I would have guessed "dwarf" was a no-go too, but it's hard to know what is on the hit list at any current point. Language is always evolving, so you need to stay up with the times. I just became my grandfather calling someone "Oriental" not knowing he was fucking up, but in my defense I did just see an ad for "midget wrestling" at a local microbrewery so the transition on little person lingo is apparently still evolving. I'm not interested in that wrestling event either either, but I would like to confirm I do have a curiosity in Mini Kiss. I don't know how I can make the Lil Jacob Walker videos stop coming my way, so I just need to limit my time on that platform.</p><p>The Facebook (as I like to call it) is almost all friends of mine with some musicians tossed in. Something I discovered in the harsh dividing line of time that was the Covid epidemic was that almost all of my same age friends totally retreated into late middle age lifestyle. People that used to post pictures of late nights at concert venues, wild travel adventures, and group fun now make posts along the lines of "We made jam" or "Janet brought the baby". As Facebook would say, "I am regressing in engagement". I'm sure the jam came out great, but I need better content from you Meagan. Brad, I don't give a shit about Janet or her fucked up looking kid. Pick it up. Give me something more. Don't make me look at little person videos.</p><p>This is, of course, the weakness of The Facebook. Almost everyone you know is boring. The only thing worse are "influencers". These are still life versions of reality TV that only exists to move product. No matter how you cut it, there's not a great deal of real communication there. It's only going to get worse on an election year where The Facebook will undoubtedly confirm some of your secret fears that many of your friend circle are NeoFacist Christian Right Kooks. It will be an exciting year of disinformation and fear. Buckle up. I am going to read more books. I used to read more than I do now, and I am getting back to it. I've already finished one book this week and plan to get another one done today. I am going to read as much as possible this year before the Suede Denim Secret Police start the community book burnings in 2025.</p><p>The other thing I am going to do is ratchet up the sports betting. It's one of the few things that bring me joy. I can't tell you how happy I was when David Njoku went over 55.5 yards to bring in my three part parlay on Thursday night with the Browns/over. What a time to be alive! I might go out and buy mink shoes later today. Having all this free time this week has allowed me to concentrate on this week's NFL slate. I'm planning on a frenzy of New Year's Eve betting, so let's get started...</p><p>I like Denver this week. Look, the Broncos benched Russell Wilson because Wilson has become a middle of the road player but he's being paid like a Top 5 NFL QB. That would be one thing, but he also seems like he's a pain in the ass. Denver is going to make sure he doesn't get hurt to save a potential $35M+ payment this Spring and take the hit allowing them to move on from the guy. Will it be financially painful? Yes. That tells you how much they believe the move to starting Jarrett Stidham will be a lateral. The Broncos liked Stidham so much that they outbid the Raiders for him last offseason. Denver was at home giving the sack of shit Chargers 5.5, and now the line is 3.5? I don't believe Wilson is worth two points. In 2015 he was, but not in 2023. I took an alternate line of <b>Denver -3</b> at -130 and look forward to watching the Chargers be the Chargers and give me this win.</p><p>The Rams have quietly become a top NFL offense. Since committing to Kyren Williams as the lead back, the Rams are 6-2 and move the ball at will. They are the #6 offense in the NFL in the second half of the season. They still have a potential playoff berth to play for and now they get to play the New York Giants. The Giants can't stop good teams from scoring, and I think Tyrod can create enough offense for New York to be competitive and make sure the Rams keep the foot on the floor. The Saints just scored 24 on 'em. The Saints! The Rams should light these guys up. <b>LA Rams OVER 23.5</b>.</p><p>To make a couple of dogshit games interesting I am going to tease Carolina over Jacksonville and the Saints over Tampa. I think Jacksonville is dead in the water. They've taken too many injuries and don't have the depth to cover it. Either Lawrence starts for the Jags with his high ankle sprain and sprained shoulder AC joint two weeks after a concussion OR CJ Beathard with whatever he's nursing after that Bengals game. Neither option is good. Jacksonville has scored 12 and 7 in the last two weeks. Meanwhile Carolina has quietly put together a Top 10 defense on a real piece of shit team. I think the Panthers can keep this game closer than anyone in Jacksonville suspects. Carolina +10.5. </p><p>Meanwhile, all the metrics show the Saints to be a pretty good team. They just can't win games. In the last month they've been pretty good though. They hung in there with the Rams last week coming off two straight wins over the Giants and Panthers (holding both to 6 points). They lost to the Lions by 5 a month ago. Tampa is on a four game win streak, but that's also against Jacksonville/Green Bay/Atlanta/Carolina. This game should be close, so give me New Orleans +8.5 in the back half of the teaser. Saints will probably lose despite outplaying Tampa. <b>Carolina +10.5/New Orleans +8.5</b> </p><p><b>Current Record: 26-21-2</b></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-45981103285805380112023-12-23T15:55:00.000-05:002023-12-23T15:55:33.527-05:00Nurse the Hate: Working For The Man and NFL Week 16<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLEM78SX-pom4w0P_8RBF1twQYW8zW6MHtHh0rOss3aGbe2qBuQL1dR63cMug0xljnHCqHhOUjBW7KZkvVhuOz2Bn1XMi1wrtjWDvpn0BYhZz2zzFh0KuIrcbPwdZQEssvW6KvUClL9_xWatfZG6jcU_l2RDDhOODrg-0jc0pzA9xA0bFvO9IkklnT9lz/s695/15-Creepiest-Santas-and-the-Kids-they-Terrorize-58514cc430727__605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="605" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLEM78SX-pom4w0P_8RBF1twQYW8zW6MHtHh0rOss3aGbe2qBuQL1dR63cMug0xljnHCqHhOUjBW7KZkvVhuOz2Bn1XMi1wrtjWDvpn0BYhZz2zzFh0KuIrcbPwdZQEssvW6KvUClL9_xWatfZG6jcU_l2RDDhOODrg-0jc0pzA9xA0bFvO9IkklnT9lz/w375-h430/15-Creepiest-Santas-and-the-Kids-they-Terrorize-58514cc430727__605.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I made a mistake while at the supermarket. I had forgotten the milk. I don't normally drink milk, but as it is the holidays I was getting crazy and making a recipe that needed milk. This gave me two options. I could return to the local grocery store or stop at a convenient store going home. As the grocery store resembled the chaos of the Fall Of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War, that was out. I therefore made a stop at Discount Drug Mart, a store where you can buy transmission fluid, heart medication, Christmas decorations, box wine, a regulation volleyball, and yes, milk.</p><p>I don't go to Discount Drug Mart often as I assume whenever a business does everything it does nothing well. I met a guy back when I was selling radio advertising that had a sports bar called "Rhinos". The meeting was unforgettable for a couple of reasons. The owner's name was "Ron", and when he introduced himself to me he said, "The name is Ron. Take the "R" out of "Ron" and it's on!". That alone was worth the trip out there. When we had our delicate negotiations to put his meager ad schedule together I had asked him about what the hook was for the bar. He then laid out how Rhinos was a sports bar, restaurant, dance club, live music venue, cigar bar, trivia night destination, karaoke contest and brunch place. He was in many ways the precursor to Mephistos (https://nursethehate.blogspot.com/2016/05/nurse-hate-mephistos.html) and doomed to failure. This milk situation was an outlier though. I broke my policy in the name of convenience.</p><p>As I was walking in, there was a man with his young boy in the parking lot. The kid was getting strapped into his car seat and was melting down. It was full on crying and losing his shit. The father then said, "Look, when I get home I can call Santa and tell him that you haven't been good. Do you want me to have him put you on the naughty list?". Wow, that's harsh. You're three or four years old, have completely lost your composure and then you find out your father has a direct line to Santa and is willing to rat you out? You are just a couple days out from the biggest payday of your short life and it's all going down the shitter just because you're having a moment of weakness at the Discount Drug Mart? And your own father is the one that turns on you? It's heavy.</p><p>In many ways it's a life lesson that is extremely valuable. The boy had learned that at any given time you are supposed to fear a distant authority figure that can strike with great vengeance and fury at the smallest indiscretion. In school you need to follow the rules or it will follow you forever on "your permanent record". The Catholic Church taught me that Almighty God monitored not only my actions but also my thoughts. In college the smallest misstep could derail you from "potential employers". Of course, once you are hired somewhere "Corporate" could decide your fate with an ever changing equation of factors. That kid had just stepped on the track of the rest of his life and he didn't even know it. Three years old and already fearing The Man.</p><p>I felt bad for the kid, but I had other things to worry about. Things like if Mason Rudolf could possibly be worse than Mitch Tribisky for the sack of shit Steelers offense. I'm going to take a flier on the Steelers today because I'm buying low. The Steelers are getting so little regard that there's open discussion about firing Mike Tomlin, this after their in season firing of the OC. Things are not going well in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile it's all coming up roses for Browning in Cincinnati. The Bengals have looked better on the surface than they have all year since Browning got thrust into the starting QB role. I'm not sure what to make of that, but I'm going to double down against the Bengals in a game both teams are motivated to win. I'm hoping Pittsburgh makes this an ugly slog and the points are enough. <b>Pittsburgh +3</b>.</p><p>The Browns are a team of destiny. Of course, being the Browns, that means the destiny is they will crush their fans dreams at the worst time in the worst way, but I don't think that's this week. Both the Browns and Texans have double digit injuries, so the question is "Which random group of strangers from the practice squads is most likely to win?". The Texans have a weak receiving corps and are starting Case Keenum, a guy just itching to toss a couple picks on fluttery passes across the field. The Texans don't run the ball well either at 27th in the league, so they'll have to try and pass the ball against the Browns #1 pass defense. Let's stick with the hot hand of Flacco. <b>Cleveland -2.5</b></p><p>I think Minnesota is an OK team. They're not great, they're OK. OK teams don't get blown out very often. I don't need the world here. I just need the Vikings to hang around. I am going to tease Minnesota with Pittsburgh in two divisional games that I expect to stay at one score. I'll take both home teams with points even though I'm suddenly very tied to Mason Rudolph. I need a Xmas miracle. If Pissburgh goes south on me today, I'll tie Dallas in tomorrow. <b>Pittsburgh +9/Minnesota +9 or Dallas +8/Minnesota +9. </b></p><p><b>Season record: 23-21-2</b></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-15218825137088240312023-12-16T16:11:00.003-05:002023-12-16T16:11:27.844-05:00Nurse the Hate: Life Is Cruel and NFL Week 15<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6htP1bylNEzWMUNngBsM8IOM2qQGmm_VPk56eHqaQkFQ5H4mT1bKS5hb_PPS6LoAAL8PLKKoC92OSTWoYHfUpAqJ7s-EBrIlGmpa9gFkQpfMrW5ViF40egcEUnEtjD_euZI9AAMDi4L0W6-b3DASki4STEhMktSlXMiE4I9WE9Vs96iSMybIfhn8qSuqa/s1280/Chili%20Pepper%20Rams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6htP1bylNEzWMUNngBsM8IOM2qQGmm_VPk56eHqaQkFQ5H4mT1bKS5hb_PPS6LoAAL8PLKKoC92OSTWoYHfUpAqJ7s-EBrIlGmpa9gFkQpfMrW5ViF40egcEUnEtjD_euZI9AAMDi4L0W6-b3DASki4STEhMktSlXMiE4I9WE9Vs96iSMybIfhn8qSuqa/w397-h223/Chili%20Pepper%20Rams.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>There was this kid I knew named Joey. He was a scary kid who I assume is now in prison. He was the youngest of four boys. His older brothers were always suspended from high school and I believe were the last boys on earth to be sent to state funded reform school. I'm not sure but it seems like now if you have an out of control kid and you are from a family of some means you send them to a boarding school that in the past would have beaten the shit out of your kid as a last ditch effort to get them under control but now probably come to the same failed result via group therapy sessions. There was a school that used to have a billboard on I-90 out by Ashtabula OH that advertised some terrifying sounding institution with a vaguely military vibe that noted they "helped boys who didn't want to be helped through structure and discipline". I assume that means torture in some kind of pretend military school. Yikes. Anyway, Joey was the last and ignored kid of this family. I don't even know if he had parents. I never saw them. </p><p>We all avoided Joey because he was dangerous and scary. The great thing about being 12 years old is you can identify when a kid is going to be a felon, but when you tell an adult about it they laugh you off as you just being a stupid overly dramatic kid. That's the way it was in the 1970s. "Mom! Joey threatened us with a knife!" Oh you boys! Go back out and play! A 12 year old is surprisingly resilient. You just get used to the fact that a dangerous kid could be lurking in the woods and you just keep your head on a swivel. </p><p>So one time a group of us wandered down to the railroad trestle at Walnut Creek. There was a deep hole in the creek where the tunnel dumped the water. Daredevils were known to jump into the 10-12 foot water (depending on the rainfall) from the 20 foot high trestle. As soon as we got close we heard boys yelling to each other. Older boys. High alert. We peeped through the bushes like an infantry patrol closing in on a highly guarded German position. It was Joey and his brothers with their terrifying friends in and around the creek yelling for Joey to jump off the trestle. </p><p>I don't want to shortchange this. I wouldn't have done it then and I sure as hell wouldn't do it now. The deep part of the creek was surrounded by shale that had been eaten back by the current. If you jumped off and fucked it up, it would be bad. Very bad. Now I had heard about kids jumping off into the water but had never seen it. I was terrified about being discovered and likely tortured in some way by the older delinquent kids but still transfixed about seeing what would happen. "Pussy! Jump you pussy!". Joey was almost crying. This was maximum peer pressure. He was afraid to jump because, let's face it, he should have been. However, if he didn't jump he might get a beating from the older boys. He was in a fix. Now the fear was if he saw <i>us</i> see <i>him</i> in this position of weakness, he would likely deliver a beating to us when he would capture any of us alone. This was high drama.</p><p>In the end, he jumped. I could tell from the second he jumped the angle was wrong. He had overcorrected to miss the concrete lip of the tunnel and jumped too far left. He hit the water with a smack. He went under very briefly and then his head was above water with a high pitched scream that didn't sound like a noise that should be coming from him. A small pool of blood rose to the surface. His brother pulled him over to one of the huge rocks on the side of the creek. Joey kept screaming. I could see a bone sticking out of his leg. Holy shit. The older boys stood there and stared for a second and then launched into damage control, immediately blaming Joey's brother for browbeating the kid into doing it. I saw it though. They were all to blame, but the brother was the only one that seemed to care about Joey even a little bit. We knew this was bad so we did what 12 year olds do, we ran away. I didn't see Joey for weeks. He had a filthy cast on his leg when he got on the bus for school that Fall. He moved away shortly afterwards.</p><p>It is a reminder of how cruel life can be, just like the NFL. A few weeks ago Joe Burrow was the leading man in Cincinnati. Joe had a bum leg, but he was getting healthy. Then he pops a tendon in his wrist and suddenly the city is fawning over Jake Browning. Who? That's right. Jake Browning, a guy that I couldn't recognize in a police lineup, is being priced like he is as good as Joe Burrow, a guy that got a 1/4 Billion dollars to play QB. You are telling me the Bengals are going to give Minnesota, a team that is better than Cincinnati anyway, three points? Minnesota keeps winning games without Cousins or Jefferson. They won games with Dobbs for fuck's sake. Gimme <b>Minnesota +3</b>.</p><p>I like Detroit. The bloom is off the Lions in regards to competing to win the NFC. I have no faith in the Lions at this point. However, after two bad losses they get to come back to the Dome and play Denver. Denver has been on an insane run of getting fortunate turnovers. That has to even out sometime, like how it has with Pittsburgh. The only way they can win is to grind and hang around in low scoring games. The Lions defense blows, but if they can just give them <i>something </i>or if Detroit gets out front early, I think the Lions win and cover. The Lions need this game and I think Dan Campbell gets them focused. Side note, Russ Wilson has been bad in domes over his career (whatever that means). I am going to buy a couple points and go <b>Detroit-3 at -155.</b></p><p>Washington is a mess. Ron Rivera is a dead man walking. The defense has either quit or has been exposed. I don't know if Washington's offense can do anything versus the Rams. I do know the Rams are still alive in the playoff hunt and McVeigh is coaching his ass off. With that Ram rookie RB playing, these guys can move the ball. I'm taking a team total over to eliminate the questions about the Commander offensive effort. <b>Rams OVER 27.5</b></p><p><b>Current Record 21-21-1</b> </p><p><br /></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-12867964350551685782023-12-09T18:27:00.002-05:002023-12-09T18:30:37.284-05:00Nurse the Hate: Thoughts, Prayers and NFL Week 14<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCQ1gereF76ccsxi1AtQP_NIYLjT-i_aft_nOHnZDB7ARc7fLl_RZ9WKlAW8D8jtaGfaASLQoa7c1iKdHLSKZOe0BsL_lUo9Mgu4fjKTE07NLSNKfxibV8UKNqmJRSYckp4VaOV-SiUU0w6Wvle0V2AqAxa6UXvmJp9rXFDpeIxrlxQQSVQEcoDky9fgm/s275/cowboys%20gun.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCQ1gereF76ccsxi1AtQP_NIYLjT-i_aft_nOHnZDB7ARc7fLl_RZ9WKlAW8D8jtaGfaASLQoa7c1iKdHLSKZOe0BsL_lUo9Mgu4fjKTE07NLSNKfxibV8UKNqmJRSYckp4VaOV-SiUU0w6Wvle0V2AqAxa6UXvmJp9rXFDpeIxrlxQQSVQEcoDky9fgm/w353-h235/cowboys%20gun.jpg" width="353" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>As some of you may or may not know, my brother Krusty teaches at UNLV. This is normally a great gig as it allows the faculty to hone in on the true keys to Las Vegas living such as Player's Card free coffee hustles, insider sports betting "tips" from casino bartenders, and free lunch with video poker machine play. The downside is having a second mass shooting in recent memory in Vegas, this time on the UNLV campus last week. Krusty didn't come in contact with the gunman, but heard the gunshots ring out while students and faculty scurried to safety or stood bewildered as to what to do. He works in the building next door, so the shooting wasn't conceptual. Three of his colleagues got gunned down for no reason at a place he goes every weekday. </p><p>An active shooter on campus is so common now that everyone drills for the event. What was once so unthinkable an event like the Texas Clock Tower shooter is so expected that every school (and large public space for that matter) has protocols in place with how to handle someone randomly murdering strangers with guns. It's hard to imagine. As a society we have decided that it is acceptable to have a daily mass shooting rather than adjust any gun policy. As of last week, there were 627 mass shooting events in the United States this year. The same people that are losing their minds about a woman terminating a dangerous pregnancy in Texas and losing a fetus will not under any circumstances discuss changing gun policy that is so ineffective that 328 people were killed by guns <i>last week.</i> It's insane.</p><p>Something struck me as I watched the "thoughts and prayers" and reactions to the "unthinkable" shooting episode that might not have even made your radar. This shit is so common now that I think the New York Times relegated it to well down the page by the Holiday Cookie Recipes and theater reviews. What we are doing now in response to these events isn't working. Let's embrace it instead. As we have decided as a society that this is just the way we do business, why do we close down the school for the semester after this shooting? If I'm UNLV, I send those kids back in to take their finals as soon as the cops dragged the shooter's body away and loaded the morgue with the victims. You're traumatized and can't take a Marketing 202 Final? Toughen up kid. In this country we don't give a shit about a random murder spree. That event wasn't a "mass shooting". That was "an expression of Constitutional rights". Your exam starts now. </p><p>The students and parents will go wild. "You can't make me take an exam. I'm fucking freaked out." Too bad. This is how we live in the USA. Get used to it or change it. Vote these gun lobby toadies out. The minority has decided that everyone gets a gun, can carry it around with concealed carry, and any change in that policy would somehow piss on the grave of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John Adams, three guys that apparently loved a good automatic rifle shootout. Look it up. God Bless America. Until someone really demonstrates the insanity of acceptance of mass shootings have become, we will repeat it just like we have been doing. Doing what we are doing now IS NOT working. </p><p>Moving on, let's look at this week's games. There are so many QBs hurt right now, the people of Cleveland are celebrating the performance of Joe Flacco last week like the Browns just signed 1981 Joe Montana. It was so odd to see the Browns have QB play that looked... professional? Sure, they lost to the Rams, but Flacco didn't even seem to know the plays yet. The fact we are debating about who has the edge in QB play this week in the Jacksonville v Browns game- 38 year old Joe Flacco or injured CJ Beathard/really injured Trevor Lawrence- shows you were the league is right now. Jacksonville on a short week in a shitty cold front rolling in off Lake Erie is a bad spot. I don't really know if either of these teams is any good. EVERYONE is hurt on both sides. I'm taking Cleveland at home with Ward back as #1 corner to eek out a close, sloppy, probably unwatchable game. <b>Cleveland -1.5</b></p><p>I don't know if you have noticed, but the Bears have quietly morphed into a "sorta shitty" team, a big notch up from "maybe worst team in the league" status where they were back in September. When I have an opportunity to bet against the Lions playing outdoors in December in Chicago GIVING points, I take it. I got this at 3.5, and that's a big half point. My love for the Bears isn't, "they're going to kick the Lions ass". It's more along the lines of "I bet they lose in heartbreaking fashion late but Detroit doesn't cover" area. <b>Chicago +3.5</b></p><p>Gimme <b>Philadelphia +3.5</b>. Look, I think Dallas is good but I'm not sure how good. They usually beat the crap out of bad teams but are they in the circle of trust to cover more than a FG against a good team? Philadelphia has been running a gauntlet in their schedule, but this is a big game for both teams. The last thing the Eagles want to do is lose home field advantage and a Playoff bye. Meanwhile the Cowboys are still alive to win the East. This is max motivation on both sides. Hurts looks banged up, but I believe in him in a big game more than I do Dak, and that's only because I watch a lot of football. </p><p><b>Current Record 19-20-1 </b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-25718270263504159522023-12-03T08:32:00.005-05:002023-12-03T08:32:43.195-05:00Nurse the Hate: MW Training Action and NFL Week 13<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWydUUPL_nfXXjaOShfMyzdlEi-WWU1Vdyv4m5dCfg2sgJ5v23me6Ull8PMudgTFiqOWGauhyphenhyphen5V5qQoqcQ7T2Ud5Se8XC8s1sWwi6bjeN-lBKti-AV2lDILG66xaj3WhLJCe39pMyi_GtsPZM7C7KvEgYCgIGCkLfkEXvfM1vo-ka79o695J-FnP2h2H9H/s1448/green-bay-packers-fans-wearing-bikinis-in-20-degree-weather.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1448" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWydUUPL_nfXXjaOShfMyzdlEi-WWU1Vdyv4m5dCfg2sgJ5v23me6Ull8PMudgTFiqOWGauhyphenhyphen5V5qQoqcQ7T2Ud5Se8XC8s1sWwi6bjeN-lBKti-AV2lDILG66xaj3WhLJCe39pMyi_GtsPZM7C7KvEgYCgIGCkLfkEXvfM1vo-ka79o695J-FnP2h2H9H/w406-h305/green-bay-packers-fans-wearing-bikinis-in-20-degree-weather.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>It's been a big weekend of MW training as I have been staring down flights of obscure wines that no one in America would order under any circumstances. Perhaps I am being too presumptuous and maybe you were also trying to figure out if the white wine in your glass was a Grosse Gerwachs Rheingau made in an uncompromising dry style. I don't really know what you do with your weekends. Me? I'm writing at length trying to justify why the tannic structure in some big asskicker red wine is cabernet sauvignon from Argentina. It wasn't by the way. It was tannat. But let's get past all this and focus in on what is happening after I finish my mock exam this morning.</p><p>I have watched Philadelphia win game after game pulling it out of their asses late. There is NO WAY they should have beaten Buffalo last week, especially since Buffalo ran 97 offensive plays in the five full quarters that game went last Sunday. My thought is that if teams get banged up playing a full game, playing 1.25 games is even worse. It's certainly not an ideal situation when having to play what appears to be the best team coming to your place in a revenge spot. If Philadelphia wins here, it's hard to imagine them not winning it all. It's just a horrible spot for them. <b>San Francisco -3.</b></p><p>Kansas City is the best team in the AFC I guess? I don't know though. They keep winning despite not looking very impressive. Public perception is that the Chiefs are this offensive juggernaut but that offense is Patrick Mahomes, 34 year old Kelce and a bunch of guys. I think that the Packers are making the move from "the Packers suck" to "the Packers are sorta OK". Don't get me wrong, the Chiefs will somehow win the game, but Green Bay at home in December should be able to hang around. <b>Green Bay +6</b></p><p>Washington is about as low as they can be in Public Perception after getting their asses kicked while everyone looked on during Thanksgiving. Ron Rivera is a Dead Man Walking, and Washington's players must be looking at the schedule thinking "Fuck, when is this going to be over?". In theory, this is the perfect time to bet on Washington, when everyone else wouldn't dare. I just can't do it though. I can't. This is probably a mistake. I am going to go into this thinking the embarrassment by the defensive unit results in max effort today. I'll take the overrated <b>Miami offense and Washington to go Under 49.5.</b></p><p><b>Season Record: 17-19-1</b></p><p><b> </b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-46917420611261812702023-11-26T09:22:00.002-05:002023-11-26T09:55:34.598-05:00Nurse the Hate: Anarchist Dog Walking and NFL Week 12<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qtm8a2YSOdhP74ovZU0BbsBUFe2UfGAKgWPkTVzYZR80degkm5HfXt71JqPYCVTaa6RpDon118t9JrbgC3wZ26pRCsWyM4glCEUANkpXZeFfnwOKVkGwGLU47PK8jAezpBwfy8Wm_E0dOQCWEK719x-txSwkYJ2Er1-XcfUjkdPHmXq1P4yeOR5T4Pdg/s275/images-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qtm8a2YSOdhP74ovZU0BbsBUFe2UfGAKgWPkTVzYZR80degkm5HfXt71JqPYCVTaa6RpDon118t9JrbgC3wZ26pRCsWyM4glCEUANkpXZeFfnwOKVkGwGLU47PK8jAezpBwfy8Wm_E0dOQCWEK719x-txSwkYJ2Er1-XcfUjkdPHmXq1P4yeOR5T4Pdg/w398-h264/images-2.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I walk the bassets most mornings in a park near my home. I am an excellent target for assassination as I keep almost the same schedule daily. I think my assassination risk is minimal though, and perhaps the sweet release of death might be preferable to yet another sales tracking report. Thus, I go on the walk at the same time and see many of the same people. The weekends tend to be the wild card as many of the "regulars" get replaced by different people I have never seen. This can sometimes create a conflict as we find ourselves operating under different rules.</p><p>A couple quick opening notes about dog ownership. I am in full agreement with the idea that dogs need to be under control at parks and public spaces. I think I differ from the public policy making bodies in what the definition of "control" means. For example, when I would walk Monty and Ryver, especially in their senior years, they were incapable physically of running off. They didn't jump up on people and act aggressively towards other dogs under any circumstances. If we were all walking in the woods together, "control" meant that I would steer the direction of our walk away from potential hazards. Now people like Metroparks Rangers and late middle aged women I encountered would be especially adamant about the rule structure and lose their minds because A) the bassets were not on a leash and B) I would tell the appointed and self appointed guardians of policy that I would not be leashing the dogs because that rule did not apply to me. When I made this statement it generally resulted in great pushback until I firmly communicated that I did not recognize their authority and did not recognize the existence of a problem, thus I would continue doing what I was doing. Good day Sir/Madam.</p><p>When someone that believes they have authority, regardless if that is from a uniform or a lifetime of generally getting their way, discovers that the person standing across from them is going to ignore them, THIS now becomes the primary issue. I recall saying "I understand what the technicalities of the rules are but we are not out of control so the problem doesn't exist. I understand that you think you are some sort of authority here but let me assure you I don't care about you or what you have to say" to a Bay Village woman. Bay Village Woman has not operated under a reality that they do not perch atop the hierarchy so this can be a jarring moment as two basset hounds sniff the nearby brush as they stroll away. I had to play a cat and mouse game avoiding that woman for about 60 days until she undoubtedly moved on to a neighbor's sprinkler usage or a street parking situation. I can only imagine the lengthy debates that raged on the local social media page about my blatant disregard for law and order. A black person can't even drive through Bay Village without getting pulled over. What kind of reckless game was I playing flaunting the law?</p><p>Yesterday I was walking the bassets by myself. There were no other people in the park as I went early, and the wind coming off Lake Erie was what is technically referred to as "cold as fuck". These goddamn puppies cannot be trusted yet, and I try to burn off as many calories as possible by letting them run on the trails chasing squirrels and doing "basset stuff" but having to latch them up when I see other people/dogs. It was ideal yesterday as we had the entire woods to ourselves. Normally we will run into nervous "my dog is aggressive" lady. I think one could argue that if your dog is aggressive perhaps you shouldn't walk him/her where other people/dogs are walking, but it's her park too so we roll with it. I was standing all alone in the totally empty high school parking lot when I spotted a woman walking towards us. </p><p>The bassets were fighting over a plastic cup, rolling around doing puppy stuff. It is fairly common to see people walk towards us as basset puppies are insanely cute and draw a lot of attention. My car door was open and I was trying to get the bassets focused on "ride" as opposed to "Wendy's plastic cup". It had been unsuccessful so far as the woman closed the gap heading over. Oh well, there was time for a quick meet n greet. I passively stared as Elaine trotted over to see the woman heading towards her. "I'm scared of dogs! I'm scared of dogs!" This was an unexpected development.</p><p>I cannot explain why a woman that was afraid of dogs was walking directly towards two playing puppies. She had the option of multiple other routes to avoid any chance of contact but yet soldiered on directly to The Puppy Zone. Maybe she was just totally fixed on her preferred route she was mentally unable to adjust. I can't say. Yet, here she was completely melting down because a basset hound puppy was approaching her. Did I have "control" over the dog? No your honor, I did not. I probably could have jogged over and prevented Elaine from coming within five yards but I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. Who is afraid of a basset hound puppy? It's like being afraid of a duckling. The woman was really freaking out though. I squatted down and yelled out a stern "COME!" and Elaine bounded back to me. </p><p>Once again I find myself a pariah on the community message boards. There will be a breathless account of this horrifying close call with a dozen "You are so right Sally" responses about irresponsible dog owners like myself. This is the true beauty of the suburbs, where a non event can be debated for 1-4 days from the safety of everyone's mobile phone with increasing emotions until the next "disaster" happens, perhaps a late garbage pickup after the holiday weekend. I will, of course, continue to disregard the rules and now begin a cat and mouse game with "Afraid Of Dogs Woman" with my head on a swivel. </p><p>The real issue becomes that I will not have full focus on today's NFL games. Good Lord have I been doing poorly. I have gone through some cold streaks in the past, but not like the one this year where it's been missed extra points and weird coaching decisions at the end flipping wins into losses. I'm going to "trust the process", which doesn't really mean anything, and press ahead. With that in mind, I am on Pittsburgh +1. When I saw the Steelers getting points against Cincinnati, I would have probably taken it with a healthy Joe Burrow starting for the Bengals. The Bengals have been unable to run the ball and their offense was totally dependent on Burrow making plays. They will now have to move ahead with the same script but with "Browning" instead of "Burrow". Put it this way, even assuming Pittsburgh can't move the ball, they almost beat Cleveland with the Browns backup rookie QB. Cincinnati isn't on the same planet defensively as Cleveland. <b>Pittsburgh +1</b>. </p><p>Speaking of the Browns, they are in a natural letdown spot. They slay the dragon and beat the Ravens on the road. The next week with Watson done for the year, DTR leads them on a late drive to beat Pittsburgh in an emotional win. Now they fly out to Denver to play an vastly improved Broncos team. I just don't see how the Browns don't take a breath on this game. It's not possible to stay that high emotionally for a month. This game will be an ugly grind with each team hoping the other makes mistakes. Unless Denver turns the ball over, I see Denver squeaking out a win. <b>Denver -1.5</b> </p><p>Gimme the Raiders! Kansas City's offense stinks. Vegas is at home and they are having fun. Sure, they have no QB play but they are at least abandoning whatever Josh McDaniel was trying to do to move ahead logically. <i>Give the ball to Jacobs and Adams</i>. Now there's an idea! Kansas City will probably win the game, but this is a lot of margin for a team that has trouble scoring. They can't run the ball very well, the receivers stink, and Kelce is aging out right before our eyes. I just need the piece of shit Raiders to score a couple touchdowns today. <b>Raiders +9.5</b></p><p><b>Season Record: 15-18-1</b></p><p> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-15388810483261957902023-11-23T07:51:00.001-05:002023-11-23T07:51:10.364-05:00The 2023 Thanksgiving Galaxy Of Wagers<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOJliKoWL6llSSnXjsaLtoCXLl_0GMWwxFSc2zTdVxhyphenhyphenx2iAQbeTsVIMKYAhM1I7_5jIyGDdUSf6Cd-gLtadsRLhd7pdfy_J5scBpeI4-vf9_NoLaLQhrCij4JjL3Chy999VyC0v2wNIcIplU8PkBwoP_S9oLL006AlFuP5GUtgy_zY2PZK7SJlPvf-NC/s660/apollo-lander-1963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="660" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOJliKoWL6llSSnXjsaLtoCXLl_0GMWwxFSc2zTdVxhyphenhyphenx2iAQbeTsVIMKYAhM1I7_5jIyGDdUSf6Cd-gLtadsRLhd7pdfy_J5scBpeI4-vf9_NoLaLQhrCij4JjL3Chy999VyC0v2wNIcIplU8PkBwoP_S9oLL006AlFuP5GUtgy_zY2PZK7SJlPvf-NC/w409-h318/apollo-lander-1963.jpg" width="409" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>It is odd not to be playing a gig tonight. "The Biggest Bar Night Of The Year" was/is the night before Thanksgiving. The band had reliably received the call from one of our partner venues each year to play that night for a couple of reasons. 1. The people that follow the Whiskey Daredevils are much like the band members themselves, people that will run up mammoth bar tabs with no thought to the future family get together the following day. 2. We will play on other nights when softer bands won't. Having always followed the concept of "it's better to play than not to play", I will pull the trigger on any gig unless the karma surrounding it is so obscenely negative that no rational human being would take it. I leave that to Dennis Bell from the Lords of the Highway. I kid Dennis, I kid. </p><p>Tonight still might be "The Biggest Bar Night Of The Year", but most of our friends don't hit it like that in 2023. I don't know about you, but my world is now filled with hearing statements like "The boys are on their way back from school" or "We have 27 coming over tomorrow and I have to slaughter the ox". It's hard to do Jager shots at 1:30am if 27 relatives (of which you like 4 of them) will show up hungry at your doorstep in less than 12 hours. Life was certainly easier when you either just got to show up at a family dinner like Elvis or had no commitments whatsoever. I haven't done that move in a long time with the exception of a doomed Vegas Thanksgiving when Krusty got covid about 11 minutes after we had landed. I have usually cooked. I can't tell you how many times I rolled in from Youngstown at 415am and just started to make stuffing. I'd have that nice dull headache behind the eyes and get myself in position to fall asleep watching the Lions not cover the early game. It was my little tradition. </p><p>I have cooked the Thanksgiving meal 23 of the last 25 years. Despite all the "let's hear it for Mom" lip service that gets tossed around, a traditional Thanksgiving meal is shockingly easy to prepare. It's probably even easier if you deep fry the turkey, assuming of course that you don't burn down the garage and inflict grease burns on various nieces and nephews when that operation goes south. I am so full of free time this year not having to worry about driving the van home from some distant club, that I am even going to bake a pie this Thanksgiving. I am a lot like Martha Stewart but with no jail time. I can't even remember why she went to jail? Was she tied into that Jeffrey Epstein sex ring thing? Hey, say what you will about Martha selling teenage girls into the sex trade, she still bakes a whale of a pie. </p><p>As a result, I am more eager than ever to fully embrace the Thanksgiving Galaxy of Wagers. To review, this is when Krusty and I bet on every single sporting event on TV, creating intricate multiple moving part wagers with almost no chance of success. An example? How about this sucker bet? <b>Green Bay +13.5/Washington +18.5/San Fran -.5</b>. Green Bay makes me the most nervous here as they sorta suck. I'll need them to score about 20 points to have this come in, but the Lions defense has faded so that seems reasonable. So what happens if Green Bay lays an egg? No problem! How about a <b>Lions money line/Washington +12.5/SF money line/Mississippi v Mississippi St UNDER 55.5</b>? This is a key to the Galaxy of Wagers. One outcome will not completely sink the ship, and with luck you can middle it with a Lions seven point victory. I do like Washington. They lost to the Giants last weekend, so you're really buying low here. Nobody watched that game because, why would you? It's Washington v the Giants. However, if you check the box score you will note that Washington was a stunning -6 in turnovers. In the modern era only two teams have won games at -6 in turnovers. They outgained the Giants in first downs 28 to 10. I think Washington can hang around in this game and all The Rubes will bet Dallas. I will take <b>Washington +12.5</b> straight up too. </p><p>Geno Smith got hurt in the Seahawks v Rams game exiting briefly and reminding us all how badly Drew Locke sucks. Geno is going to play, but having to play the best team in football with a restricted throwing ability isn't a great situation. Hence, I got on <b>San Francisco -6.5</b> before this line inevitably moved to -7. Yet, that is not the only game on in Prime! I'm talking Egg Bowl, The Battle for Mississippi, as the Rebels and whatever the hell Mississippi State is duke it out. Mississippi State just fired their coach, but he seemed doomed to failure anyway. They promptly went out and beat Southern Miss, one of their only wins over a school you've heard of. These in state rivalry games are insane, but Ole Miss seems like the right side. I just don't know if they cover 10. I am going to assume they grind out a physical win and keep the scoring low, <b>UNDER 55.5.</b> The real move though is to parlay the <b>Egg Bowl Over/Santos Laguna -160</b>. Thanksgiving doesn't end until you've seen if your Egg Bowl hedge in the 10:10p Mexican League fares. In my perusing the very emotional Mexican soccer league boards, it appears that Santos Laguna <i>should </i>beat Mazlatan FC, a match even more exciting on Univision when you can't understand a fucking word. The college basketball lines aren't out yet, but I look forward to launching three or four multi moving part parlays that have NO (zero) chance of hitting, just so I can be faithful to tradition. Some people enjoy Thanksgiving tradition by tucking into a bowl full of ambrosia and scooping green bean casserole in giant heaps onto their plate. Me? I step into The Galaxy Of Wagers. </p><p><i>This just in... You'd be a damn fool not to parlay Boston College/North Carolina basketball and somehow tie in the early Mexican League soccer match!</i> </p><p> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-88079430622053031662023-11-19T11:03:00.006-05:002023-11-19T11:03:59.227-05:00Nurse the Hate: Bad Luck and NFL Week 11 <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7kKNTB4JkijRl9N_34GL2c8l_nLdAUKhppeppwAPaqqqfqXDaTui4CcjiFx2NMatDMUr2p0ton1QpelYTY5C8x2xSzBMGac8zKOs3EHLFvVc77pBqMUSS0mojLnI5hS6A70XRx4Gf8e9-uoxlBWPFp152IwS3BtOk2d7q94UX37LZ8HCEIKqUpBvX5OE/s1280/0906_oag_raiders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7kKNTB4JkijRl9N_34GL2c8l_nLdAUKhppeppwAPaqqqfqXDaTui4CcjiFx2NMatDMUr2p0ton1QpelYTY5C8x2xSzBMGac8zKOs3EHLFvVc77pBqMUSS0mojLnI5hS6A70XRx4Gf8e9-uoxlBWPFp152IwS3BtOk2d7q94UX37LZ8HCEIKqUpBvX5OE/w396-h265/0906_oag_raiders.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>I have some concerns about my good fortune today as I started it with about as strong a sign as The Gods can give that things might not go your way. I walked into a Starbucks mere steps behind a gaggle of 16 year old girls. What I had anticipated as a four minute detour for an espresso became about a third of my morning as the girls made and then waited for their orders before mine. My order is two words, "double espresso" which I could clip down to one, "doppio", if I totally gave into the fake Italian coffee house culture Starbucks so efficiently portrays. If I walk into a storefront and do that order, it's like an F1 pitstop. I am out of there so fast my visit is more of a rumor than an actual event. Let's contrast that with the almond milk caramel brulee latte double caramel extra foam. You might as well order a roast duck it's going to take so fucking long to prepare. But I get it...</p><p>Starbucks cracked the code and became a monster for one simple reason. They made it acceptable to get dessert in the morning. The young girls in their flannel pajama pants aren't there for coffee. They are there to knock back a Dairy Queen item at 8:45 in the morning and not get looked at crosseyed because they are slurping down 1200 calories of whipped cream and caramel. As a cranky man of advancing years, I almost wanted to pass along the wisdom "it's a slippery slope ladies". One day you are a cute little girl with your posse having a harmless little indulgence, and the next you are waiting 35 minutes in the drive through line for your hit because you can't bear the thought of the struggle it is walking out of your car. It's easier to get hooked on an Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Chi than it is fentanyl. Look it up. </p><p>As a result, I huffed and puffed as I looked for a place to stand to wait for my own hit. I stooped over and doom scrolled looking at various websites looking for answers with the NFL. I have had a couple really bad losses in the last weeks, missed extra points late being especially hard hitting. I am now sort of at that point where I am convinced that God Is Out To Get ME. I have been through bad patches with NFL gambling before, but this is right up there. It's no place to be going into Thanksgiving with the now traditional GALAXY OF WAGERS on tap. I'm doing my best over here, but let's be honest. I don't know ANYTHING right now. I gotta turn this thing around. </p><p>The Raiders have been smoking cigars and rolling around in confetti after getting two wins and cutting Josh McDaniels loose. McDaniels did what he has always done, and quickly install his "Culture Of Losing". There are two things to count on after hiring McDaniels on as the head coach. 1. The players will all hate him. 2. The team will start losing. McDaniels accomplished all his goals in Vegas, so it was time to part ways. Then the storybook Raiders went out and won two straight. It looks like all is well in Vegas until you remember that they beat the Giants and Jets. Now they play Miami in Miami after a bye. Miami needs to right the course after that loss to Kansas City in Germany. Miami should kick the fuck out of the Raiders. This is not a contrarian viewpoint as they are favored by two touchdowns. <b>Miami -13.5</b>.</p><p>There are quite a few games like that Miami game on the slate today. Dallas is on the road at Carolina -10.5. San Francisco is -12 at home versus Tampa. It would be stunning if any of those three underdogs came out with a win on Sunday. If you tie all three favorites into a 3 team parlay it's <b>Miami/Dallas/SF money line -200.</b> I've been so snake bit lately I will yield to the multiple favorite parlay, the true wager of a man that has lost his nerve. </p><p>I am going <b>under 40 on the Buffalo/Jets</b> game. Zack Wilson has led the Jets to a TD once in the last 55 drives. The only way the Jets score a bunch of points is with a couple costly Josh Allen INTs, something he's done quite a bit this season. However, Allen's turnovers have been such a monster topic of conversation that it is inconceiveable that he puts the ball at risk, right? Right? Right? All Buffalo needs to do to win this game is play conservative offense and let the Jets be the Jets. Buffalo needs a win right here, and not one with style points. Robert Saleh won't have any answers as he stares straight ahead emotionless like he's drifted out of his body. Let's just hope Wilson doesn't goose the total up with catastrophic turnovers of his own. </p><p><b>Season Record: 13-17-1</b></p><p> </p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-1550565444261729662023-11-10T14:44:00.000-05:002023-11-10T14:44:30.375-05:00Nurse the Hate: Lee Rocker and NFL Week 10<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUeNOVRLfdi-ulrWPzbmOAnQykalm6pAfJ9ccnrrsWDZOblMAt8xZCxWR6eBA3VFaPws5-azlV2Lw7fl6R4aaY7PczAec4kXXUfKV2XuPkGT0itZeUNZNCjOuaFsFyD5gxdfenAzpAsIQcc1IMza0Oe1Wv9yByVtKPGknMM74D-jyZVU2M8s-LcIUkWSR/s460/stray%20cats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUeNOVRLfdi-ulrWPzbmOAnQykalm6pAfJ9ccnrrsWDZOblMAt8xZCxWR6eBA3VFaPws5-azlV2Lw7fl6R4aaY7PczAec4kXXUfKV2XuPkGT0itZeUNZNCjOuaFsFyD5gxdfenAzpAsIQcc1IMza0Oe1Wv9yByVtKPGknMM74D-jyZVU2M8s-LcIUkWSR/w415-h248/stray%20cats.jpg" width="415" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I remember first becoming aware of the Stray Cats like most American kids did in the early 1980s, on MTV. Their videos were this weird combination being totally unlike the corporate Quiet Riot/Def Leppard rock of the time, yet not totally divorced from the Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant, and Polecats videos that also were included in the early MTV playlists. I grew up in Erie PA, perhaps one of the least hip cities in the country at that time. There was one FM rock radio station, K-104. That station must not have had a paid music consultant. I bet they went cheap and skimmed their playlists from the trades which made for an unholy mix of East Coast Mega Market FM radio infused with some sort of fucked up gut feel locally. I remember hearing Toto's "Africa" and Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" every 25 minutes blended in with Journey, Supertramp and Styx. These MTV "New Wave" artists that suddenly appeared on our cable TV blew our fucking minds. It was like an alternate universe appeared fully formed on our doorstep like some sort of alien landing.</p><p>It's hard to place context on the lack of cultural access in the 1980s to people today. Today you can type anything into your computer and see it. Leo and I typed "Clown Porn" into Gary's phone one time just to see if such a thing existed (and it does). This might explain Gary's total disappearance as he might have been snapped up by The Authorities. There was no way to even dream up an alternative to K-104's playlist beyond the deep tracks of everyone's stoner older brother's record collection. You were a music geek if you knew Pink Floyd had a record prior to Dark Side Of The Moon. The music geek debate around the lunch table was about if Yes was better than Pink Floyd because their musicians played more complicated arrangements and solos. That was now all up in the air. Suddenly there were all these mystery bands that played undeniably catchy songs that upended all the established thinking about what bands were "good". These Stray Cat guys couldn't be "real" musicians because that drummer only had two drums for God's sake! (Or so the prevailing wisdom of the locker room contended) </p><p>It seems crazy now, but it was once considered "dangerous" to listen to Elvis Costello, Modern English and the Stray Cats. They were so far away from the established corporate rock that had ruled the previous decade that everyone's peers had to take inventory to see where people stood. In my high school, Talking Heads was considered cool, sort of lumped in with The Police as natural extensions of Corporate Rock bands. Meanwhile The Ramones were definitely a signifier of being an outcast. They were very dangerous. None of it made any sense. The bands that were "New Wave" that had radio hits bubbling up like Adam Ant, Men At Work and the Stray Cats were brushed off as being "for fags". A comment like this could get a kid banished from a school district today, but in the early 1980s this did not signify men having sex with men, but an indication that the music being made was not overtly macho enough to be listened to by growing teenage boys looking to assert their masculinity. Oddly enough, to be a "real man" and not "a fag" was aided greatly by owning Judas Priest records. It was a different age. I can't recall an open incident of homosexual behavior at my school, but at any given time someone was being call a "fag" for daring to listen to the B-52s. It's just the way it was.</p><p>I was interested in the Stray Cats from the outset, but I held them at arms length. One had to approach these bands delicately to make sure that the various cliques that circled the school like sharks would not turn on you like a pit of vipers. One day you're on top of the world. The next you're labeled a fag because you have "Built For Speed". Who knew what the prevailing opinion was on these bands? The shit moved fast. "What? Miller likes "Stray Cat Strut"? KILL HIM!!!!". I still think of my friend Darin planting his flag on the Ramones being great in 1981 as being a true act of courage in the Court of Versailles that was Fairview High School. It was all pretty confusing how all these brand new bands and sounds fit together. I lumped the Stray Cats in with the other weird videos that pandered for my attention in 1982 like The Go-Gos, Flock of Seagulls, Dexy's Midnight Runners, INXS, and Adam Ant. The Stray Cats seemed like some cooler version of Sha Na Na that rocked harder but was sort of Happy Days obsessed. I just didn't have the tools to understand what was really going on there. I'm 15. I don't who the hell Johnny Burnette is yet!</p><p>When MTV breathlessly announced the new Stray Cats video "Sexy and +17" was going to be debuted, I did note it. Though that song's lyrical content didn't age well, that initial groove on the track sold me. Setzer was clearly writing lyrics that mirrored the Chuck Berry/50s rockabilly playbook as a tribute to his influences (or maybe trying to copy his record collection blueprint as best he could). Sexy and 17 wasn't an odd idea in 1982. The idea that men shouldn't fuck kids is actually new in rock music. If you listen to rock music from the 60s, almost all those bands are singing about having sex with REALLY YOUNG girls. Didn't anyone notice that Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's hits "This Girl Is A Woman Now" and "Young Girl" are creepy as shit? In context, "Sexy and +17" is pretty harmless. Put it out now, you go to jail. Then? You put that little + sign next to the 17 and everyone stays out of jail. It really didn't appear weird at all. In the video, the Stray Cats seemed super cool how they strutted into the club to play a gig and the "Sexy and +17 girl" was 100% sexier than any of the girls in my high school. Between you and me, I don't think she was actually 17 but probably a 24 year old model from London. I was sold. The Stray Cats had moved in my internal ledger from "Keep An Eye On" to "Cool Band".</p><p>It's odd how things work out. We have played with Setzer solo a few times. We are playing a show with Lee Rocker from the Stray Cats on Sunday the the Music Box. 15 year old me would never believe any of that. 15 year old me assumed all people that worked/lucked into million selling record careers were of a different species than myself and my friends. I think Lee Rocker was 21 years old when the Stray Cats hit. I never even considered that the guys in the video were approximately my age. Then again age 21 to 15 seems like a galaxy apart whereas age 56 to 61 is the same advertising demographic age cell. The idea that someone like you could have a video in mind numbing rotation on MTV and be a "rock star" was unapproachable. That wasn't the path for guys like us. Making a band seemed outrageous. I don't think I could get my arms around the idea that I could travel to London, much less that these Stray Cat guys flew over there and worked to become big names. Erie PA is very small and residents see a trip to Cleveland as exotic and dangerous. London? Good Lord. </p><p>I haven't considered before how young the Stray Cats were when they started popping up in my living room TV set. I don't know about you, but if I was 21/22 years old with a few hits on the radio and headlining a tour of 20,000 seat sheds, I would not have handled it well. I don't even know how that band got such an expert grasp on the genre while they were so young. How did those guys ferret out and recognize that cool old shit? Being someone that gravitated to punk rock, the Stray Cats were always on my peripheral vision. Of course, I liked them more once the general public moved on to other things like Richard Marx and Corey Hart. I bought up the Stray Cats catalogue as I went, my personal favorites being "Blast Off" and "Choo Choo Hot Fish" perhaps because the band was forced to commercially slink back to The Rockabilly Ghetto and the clubs I frequented. I remember a show on that Blast Off Tour at Peabody's (or was it Empire?) as being fucking great. The band always delivered.</p><p>This Lee Rocker show should be fun. The Cowslingers played with Lee Rocker a couple of times. I don't think I ever even spoke to him. Once he was with his band Big Blue and had the unfortunate timing to play Wilbert's during an Indians World series run. I had tickets to that World Series game. I watched six innings and had to dash over a few blocks to play our set to the lightly filled room. I don't remember the show itself at all. We did pick up a copy of his Big Blue record that lived in our van for a couple of years. Big Blue's cover of "The Hucklebuck" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7ZHjOrp1o ) was an instrumental that we attached our own lyrics of "lick my/ball sack" to the intro and would consistently sing as we had to muscle heavier gear up staircases during bad load ins almost like a traditional work song in the fields. Ear worm warning. I still do it now and that was almost 30 years ago. Click that link and sing our lyrics at your own peril.</p><p>The good thing about the show being Sunday, most of my degenerate Sunday gambling will be winding down. I am going to get on the <b>Packers +3.5</b> over Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has a winning record yet can't score. They get outgained week after week, but somehow keep winning. It doesn't seem sustainable. It makes me very uncomfortable betting on Green Bay. Jordan Love stinks, which everyone but the Packers seemed to know two years ago. I don't know, maybe Aaron Rodgers is that big of a pain in the ass that it's worth going out with Love and probably losing instead of going to the Playoffs with Mr. "Hey, Get That Camera On Me, I Am Throwing The Ball While The Rest Of The Jets Stretch Out On The Field". Pittsburgh probably pulls out another win, but that half point hooked me. </p><p>I'm on Arizona over Atlanta. You can't buy any lower on Arizona who barely looked like an NFL Football team last week in Cleveland. However, Kyler Murray is a massive upgrade over Clayton Tune, a man that looked as about over his head as I would if forced to pilot a 747. The Cardinals are likely trying to show the rest of the league that Murray is healthy and can be YOURS TODAY AT A LOW, LOW PRICE so they can draft a new franchise QB this April. Atlanta is a great team to "get right" on. These guys allowed Josh Dobbs to play backyard football and beat them, make Will Levis look like the best QB in the draft, and go 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games. Atlanta is especially shitty on the road too. <b>Arizona +1.5</b> </p><p>In the last 15 years the Browns have won in Baltimore 2 times. For them to win this week they will need to overcome both starting offensive tackles being hurt and the right tackle replacement being hurt. The Ravens defense has allowed the least amount of points per game in the league at 13.8 ppg. Deshaun Watson will need to overcome his league worst accuracy percentage and play through his shoulder injury. That's a lot of "ifs" against what appears to be a top 3 team in the league playing at home. <b>Baltimore money line</b>. I'm going all in on Baltimore and tying them up into a teaser with Denver, who has quietly evolved into being "below average" from their previous standing as "fucking terrible". The Bills stink right now. Move that Denver line to <b>Denver +13/Baltimore -.5</b>. Time to get this ship going in the right direction.</p><p><b>Current Record: 12-15-1</b></p><p><br /></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-16842125448861667822023-11-04T09:01:00.000-04:002023-11-04T09:01:35.160-04:00Nurse the Hate: Thoughts On Jesus And Such <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzn2Lni9zBkbZZPlyXi8ol4ARg_bFTpru-tKbq-uISetse6ITO_8YIbDgjvIQ-bJM3l7oIhKJT5rrG3-xMtln3ajOAvg5zSuP_jfeSahw8N0gNpMScusrvuiTiyNMTKY1TxEQ0YxlM_fO0xN_yuU0p0nmr3Q2j7LDq5aoCrcXtzuB9GW4xRqsnrz8f4wf/s2500/GettyImages-451764463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1652" data-original-width="2500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzn2Lni9zBkbZZPlyXi8ol4ARg_bFTpru-tKbq-uISetse6ITO_8YIbDgjvIQ-bJM3l7oIhKJT5rrG3-xMtln3ajOAvg5zSuP_jfeSahw8N0gNpMScusrvuiTiyNMTKY1TxEQ0YxlM_fO0xN_yuU0p0nmr3Q2j7LDq5aoCrcXtzuB9GW4xRqsnrz8f4wf/w401-h266/GettyImages-451764463.jpg" width="401" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>I was struggling on stage recently with this cough/cold/flu/"How can I be sick if I tested negative for covid" thing. It does slip my mind that it is possible to become ill with the 13,765 other potential ailments floating around other than covid. In the past when you would get a bad cold/chest cough, it was "something that's going around". This is commonly referred to as "it", as in "Yeah, my sister had <i>it</i> and then a few people from work had <i>it</i>. <i>It's</i> been going around.". You knew you didn't want to get "it" and if you didn't, you could refer back to this good fortune as "I didn't get <i>it</i> last Fall, and I thought a couple weeks ago I was going to get <i>it</i>, but I fought <i>it</i> off.". Unfortunately, I had "<i>it</i>".</p><p>It might have been the dangerous self-prescribed mix of ibuprofen, mucinex, Rolling Rock, and bourbon, but I had some weird thoughts floating around as I concentrated on how to work past vocal notes I had no chance of hitting. I can't explain why, but I thought about Jesus at one point. Not, "our Lord and Savior will look after me". No, my thoughts were a bit more specific. It had hit me, in all of the centuries of serious paintings of Christ, I can't recall seeing one where you can see his teeth. All of those crucifixion paintings that line the Prado museum in Madrid, not one that shows his teeth. That's when a concept began to dawn on me. </p><p>What if Jesus had fucked up teeth?</p><p>I am sure Biblical scholars can argue that being the son of God, there will be a certain level of perfection with your body. That's reasonable. However, if all of these painting are consistent showing Jesus with a six pack, luxurious mane of hair, and attractive facial features, why leave out the teeth? What if he had buckteeth, and early on there was a gentleman's agreement to just not show the teeth? "Look, we are trying to get this Catholic Church off the ground here, and it's been brought to my attention that it's a hard sell if we start whipping out these bucktooth Jesus etchings. From this point on, give him a good looking set of teeth, or better yet, just keep his mouth closed. Paul was telling me just the other day he was in this village spreading the word, and the entire time he's fending off questions like "If he's the son of God, how come he has a mouth like a mackerel?" From this point on, no more teeth. Got it?". </p><p>In any period piece drama set in the time of Christ, there are plenty of folks selling rugs, money changers, and tents to get a quick bite to eat. You know what you never see? Orthodontists. You also never see anyone brushing their teeth. "OK Centurions. We are going to go nail these dudes to crosses, but before we go, let's make sure everyone brushes their teeth. The last thing we need before you all rotate back home to Rome is a bunch of gingivitis. Let's go. Brush 'em boys." I'm telling you, there's no way Jesus had a good set of choppers. Guy wanders around in the desert for 40 days, there's no way he's attentive to his dental health. These are the type of things that hit you when you are jacked up on Bookers/Mucinex and think past the accepted narrative.</p><p>Here's another narrative I'm not buying. The Ravens are one of the best teams in the NFL. Hear me out on this. The Ravens are 6-2 with a signature win over the Lions that I'm admittedly still a little bitter about. However, those wins also include Texans with Stroud making his first NFL start, Browns with DTR starting on short notice, Bengals with injured Joe Burrow, and Titans with Malik Willis. That's not exactly murderer's row. They beat Arizona last week by 7. This week the Ravens are favored over Seattle by 6? I'm not saying the Ravens aren't a good team. They look like a surefire playoff team. Then again, so does Seattle. A case can be made that Seattle is the best team to get this many points all season. I don't get this line. It's too many points. This feels like a FG game to me. <b>Seattle +6</b>.</p><p>Baker Mayfield has an injured knee. The Bucs are reporting it as a "contusion". There are a couple things I can tell you about Baker Mayfield playing through injuries. 1. The guy is tough as nails and will get on the field regardless of how injured he is. 2. He will not play very well while doing so. Mayfield cost himself multi generational money when he played through that horrific shoulder injury he had in Cleveland. Mayfield's fear now is that if he gets off the field and his backup comes in, he won't ever get back on the field. He will get relegated to "former starter washout that will now linger around as a backup". Mayfield is playing no matter what. For those of us getting on the Texans -3, this is good news. Tampa has lost their last 3 games and they aren't scoring points. They have two touchdowns in their last three games when you take out the meaningless garbage time TD late against the Bills last week. The Texans are in a good spot. They just lost a public embarrassment game versus winless Carolina on the road, but have covered four of their last five. They've beaten Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. I think the Texans are better than The Public does, sort of bubbling around that Browns/Seahawks/Jets level. I think this is a team on the rise and they handle Tampa easily. <b>Houston -3</b>. </p><p>I'm going to make a small wager on Kansas City over Miami in the Sunday morning game in Frankfurt. This isn't a football handicap so much as an NFL marketing handicap. The Chiefs are the biggest profile team in the league at the moment. You've got the best QB in Patrick Mahomes, a TE dating Taylor Swift, a recognizable coach, and the Super Bowl title. The league flew the whole circus over to Germany last year, and for some reason Tom Brady seemed to have a lot of penalties go his way late to secure an unlikely Tampa win. I see the same thing going for Pat Mahomes as long as KC can hang around. Miami is good but seems to bully bad teams. KC has a good defensive front (just like the Eagles), and Miami has problems with that. The NFL wants a smiling Mahomes jogging off the field with a furiously clapping Taylor Swift visible from the luxury box. <b>Kansas City -1.5 </b> </p><p><b>Current Record: 11-13-1</b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-18890397708532002912023-10-27T13:32:00.002-04:002023-10-27T13:35:09.996-04:00Nurse the Hate: Getting Checked Out, An Old Daredevils Record, and NFL Week 8<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Jz94HhMItBGOa1SxlqZ6FKZc4m5WiZY0oUyMgPH-uX3gEyg0pdtfIVrazKR_M2hP7Cx0LhIy1J8cTG9652-gWDR8RoY2v7ECaAksNTJg8qhaUFzayXKrSasgpHrpf_dQWH8MhTCJxYjaPfi5M0bOh8uwUJAWRu9jyPz_EtZEldDoW12TIzvBziUwylS0/s777/Steeler%20fan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="666" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Jz94HhMItBGOa1SxlqZ6FKZc4m5WiZY0oUyMgPH-uX3gEyg0pdtfIVrazKR_M2hP7Cx0LhIy1J8cTG9652-gWDR8RoY2v7ECaAksNTJg8qhaUFzayXKrSasgpHrpf_dQWH8MhTCJxYjaPfi5M0bOh8uwUJAWRu9jyPz_EtZEldDoW12TIzvBziUwylS0/w322-h377/Steeler%20fan.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I was at the dermatologist. It's not a place I normally go, but had been scolded that "you should be checked out" by so many various friends that I succumbed. The great thing about being my current age is that medical calamities have now crept under the gates of my peer group and threaten unforeseen disaster at every turn. There is now a smaller degree of separation from various physical misfortunes and the cozy confines of your inner mental security. Regardless of the symptoms, someone will now pop out of the woodwork with a cautionary tale. "Oh, you've had a cough? My brother-in-law had a cough just like yours, didn't get it checked out, and he was dead in four days." Wait... what? The person telling you the story will probably leave out that the guy had been installing fiberglass for three decades without a mask, but it doesn't matter because now the thought has crept in "shit, maybe this isn't a cold after all".</p><p>I am not eager to switch my small talk with acquaintances from weather/local sports teams to medications/ailments as appears to be inevitable with the onset of age. There is nothing worse than a group of seniors taking turns recounting their medication history and doctor's office visits with each other. My fear is this is how it starts. The "go get checked out" visit to the dermatologist turns into me talking about struggles with my insurance company for payment. Next thing you know, all I am talking about with strangers is how I have to go pick up my special cream, and how I applied my special cream, and how much my special cream costs. I just don't want to go down that road.</p><p>Still, in this moment of weakness, I did "go get checked out". It turned out that the skin blemish I wanted to have looked at was no big deal. But just like if you have a mechanic get under the hood of your car at a car dealership, they're going to find <i>something</i>. I got a couple of things biopsied and then one of them was "A little irregular. Not cancerous. But it's a little irregular. So we should probably remove that. But it's not something you should be concerned about. But let's remove that just to be sure." Let's be honest, when I walked in there I was going to leave with a follow up for some sort of revenue generating procedure that could be rationalized to my insurance company. Hence, I found myself reclined on a medical chair with a couple hillbilly girl assistants prepping me for a minor surgery while talking about their Halloween single mother lifestyles. </p><p>When you have become an object like I have, Procedure #5 on the Thursday docket, the workers forget you are there. The two women had a depressing conversation about how one of them had won Machine Gun Kelly tickets. Both Mom and Child loved Machine Gun Kelly, but she would be selling the tickets. This greatly disappointed the kid, but what are you going to do? She needed the money for Christmas presents. That's when the other one asked about trick or treat, and there was discussion about a community event where the kids went from sponsor table to sponsor table getting candy and had a page of a book read to them as they went. She was intending to take her kid(s) herself as the father of the child was busy "doing something for his Mom, and plus he really likes the freedom of his new place", which I took to mean he liked getting wasted and having intercourse with similar women as the one talking. I had a vision of a guy with a goatee, beat up truck, threatening decal about guns/America, and Speedway Shopper Card.</p><p>Both women agreed that it was great that the kids heard a story as they went table to table, at which point I spoke up, slightly startling the ladies who had forgotten I was a person. I asked, "What's the book? Like if it's "Crime and Punishment", they better wear comfortable shoes because that's gotta be 587 pages long.". I was quickly put at ease when they let me know it wouldn't be "Crime and Punishment", not because reading Dostovesky to 6 year olds in costumes wasn't a good idea so much as the community of Lagrange OH didn't have the necessary 587 vendors to work through all the pages. With that cleared up to their satisfaction, they went back to jabbing my rib cage with a numbing agent.</p><p>The doctor finally came in, an older woman I had never met who said, "It's nice to see you again.". She told me that I would have to take it easy for a few days after this skin removal thing. I let her know I was playing a gig the next night and would be jumping around a bit which captured her interest. "You're in a band?" is one of the deadliest questions someone that toils in a rock subgenre can be asked. There is no way for the doctor and hillbilly assistants to have any grasp on what we do. To them "a band" is either Machine Gun Kelly or a wedding band. There is no way to conceptualize to them the idea of a scaled down concert tour circuit of clubs featuring original music that cater to weird subcultures. It also feels a little ridiculous to try and explain how you make music based on some of the previous ideas of a bunch of bands they have not and will never have heard of in their lives. </p><p>The doctor was working away and asked "what's the name of the band?". After I replied, she directed one of the hillbilly assistants to switch the music (I had requested Miles Davis) to the Whiskey Daredevils on the Pandora feed. I don't know why she thought I wanted to hear myself during a minor surgery, but that's what happened. Thus, I found myself suddenly listening to the Whiskey Daredevils rarity "A Lid Of Bluegrass" from The Essential Whiskey Daredevils as a woman cut at skin on my rib cage with a scalpel. This was an unexpected turn of events.</p><p>As you can imagine, the Machine Gun Kelly fans didn't suddenly embrace the idea of country punk even as "A Lid Of Bluegrass" gave way to "Jack Evans Wants His Lighter Back". As they started to stitch me up I was thinking about that guy that was trying to find his Bic disposable lighter in the drunken chaos of a Charleston IL bar on a Saturday afternoon in the late 1990s. The women had moved on from their curiosity of me and the music I was doing to joke around about all the mistakes they had made this week. Hahahaha. I had morphed back into an object again. I sat there staring at the ceiling listening to the recording thinking "We probably could have done that better.".</p><p>Speaking of doing things better, I could have done better on my NFL picks last week. It was Black Sunday over at my house. But just like recording songs, you have to keep trying to improve. I have a few ideas about the games this week, and I am hoping that last week was an abberation and not an indication that I don't know what the hell I am talking about. I think the key to not knowing what the hell you are talking about is to keep pressing ahead with the idea that you do and if you just keep swinging away, eventually you'll be right and then scamper up again to the high ground.</p><p>The Browns are 4-2 and feeling good about themselves. If not for two consecutive games where the officials inexplicably gave them the wins, they would be 2-4 and the fanbase would want to burn Deshaun Watson at the stake. But, a win is a win in the NFL and the Browns are right in the playoff mix as planned. The problem is that you can't move ahead with a gameplan of "play good defense and hope the refs blow some calls late". PJ Walker might have gotten a couple of wins, but he's not The Answer. The bad news for the Browns is that they are on the hook to a guy for $60M+ the next three years that isn't much better than Walker, the 33rd-40th best QB in the league. I don't see how they win a grimy game in Seattle against a pretty good Seahawks team with Walker probably turning the ball over 2+ times. <b>Seattle money line.</b></p><p>The Jets are sort of like the Browns in that they felt like they were one QB away from their dreams coming true, and it turns out their 2023 is going to be a repeat of 2022. Yet, Wilson has played above his "that guy can't fucking play at all" level to a "that guy isn't very good" level, which doesn't sound like much but it is. A Jets vs Giants game isn't exactly the peak of excitement when it's a Tyrod Taylor vs Zack Wilson game, but it does level the playing field when both teams have their backup. Taylor's upside is that he doesn't make mistakes with the ball. The downside is he doesn't take chances, so it's tough for his team to score. The Jets are an average football team, and the Giants kind of suck. The only way the Giants win is if Wilson makes some big mistakes. I hate betting on Wilson to not make mistakes, but this is where we are on it. <b> Jets money line.</b> </p><p>For my weekly teaser, I am going to tie Pittsburgh into it. The Steelers are doing what the Steelers do, which is win ugly by sheer force of will. They are getting +2.5 at home versus Jacksonville, who is coming off a TH night game and extended rest. I don't know if Pittsburgh wins, but they don't lose many games at home by double digits. San Francisco is the only team to do it to them, and that was in Week 1 when the 49ers were healthy. Pittsburgh +8.5 against a Jags team I can't quite get a handle on feels pretty good. </p><p>I will take the Lions at home Monday night against the Raiders. The Lions got smacked around and embarrassed last week vs Baltimore in a game I was on the wrong side on. This is a Dan Campbell "let's be manly men" spot where a max motivated Lions get to go out on a national stage and play a crappy Raiders team led by Josh McDaniel And His Culture Of Losing and either Jimmy G trying to come back from a back injury that put him in the hospital or Aiden O'Connell. I don't need the Lions to cover a touchdown +, I just need a win with the tease. <b>Pittsburgh +8.5/Lions -1.5</b></p><p><b>Current record: 9-12-1</b> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-2834062886235987552023-10-21T14:13:00.001-04:002023-10-21T14:13:20.537-04:00Nurse the Hate: Welcome to the Silo and NFL Week 7<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnqY9av2q5pUoZ4Z8mG6yGjMJoh38pTsx4hkcV6UC7W7ivZzaWvfWTqxaYD2WE_-NLNQ6DoEBjPWjL7Cni_sOesOZDgZ9qjnyK4LDzD1z2qJPj8LGvLk5vgKp4jiRWsQwLHg_xxiwvr7ax3z-XrzKGz0AVSeF0JUrFYpnti5x3hZ28vjKjjrEx2ry9G0X/s1200/1243147636.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnqY9av2q5pUoZ4Z8mG6yGjMJoh38pTsx4hkcV6UC7W7ivZzaWvfWTqxaYD2WE_-NLNQ6DoEBjPWjL7Cni_sOesOZDgZ9qjnyK4LDzD1z2qJPj8LGvLk5vgKp4jiRWsQwLHg_xxiwvr7ax3z-XrzKGz0AVSeF0JUrFYpnti5x3hZ28vjKjjrEx2ry9G0X/w388-h259/1243147636.0.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>It's interesting that when you speak with people at any sort of length, you can quickly make a logical guess as to where they get their news. For example, I was speaking with a woman this week that told me how the car dealership she represents is selling every $70,000 pickup truck they can get in stock. She and her husband had just returned from a ten day vacation in the Caribbean at a swanky resort. She had to cut the call short because she was driving over to another car dealership to allow her son to take delivery on the new KIA they had just purchased for him. But before she left, she whispered to me "The economy is so bad...". Despite her just giving me anecdotal evidence to the contrary, she was adamant on repeating Fox News/Far Right talking points. This is her reality, and she is absolutely convinced Doomsday is just around the corner because Joe Biden is president.</p><p>It's interesting how everyone lives in a silo now. There is no such thing as shared truth, but more importantly, no desire to even know what the truth is. I spend most of my week talking to people that blissfully don't know anything about anything and talk about reality TV stars like they are personal friends. There was a guy that was telling me that Climate Change isn't a real thing, and is just a scam by "The Left" to sell solar and wind power schemes. Let's just set aside that the Fossil Fuel Industry is the group with ALL of the money and lobbyists. It's not like powerful Wind Farm Barons are coming to town like New Age Boss Hoggs. All the anti climate change misinformation is placed by special interests, i.e. "people that make money when you burn fuel". </p><p>I offered to let him log into an agriculture webinar I was attending where farmers were talking about how to deal with the various challenges the climate is presenting them. If you're growing a crop for money, all you care about is bringing a profitable harvest in, right? No one is going to sink the family business because they are so committed to left wing dogma. Yet, I could not convince this person to take in real information on a topic they were so emotional about (for some reason). The guy did NOT want anything to get in the way of his daily Fox News/social media feed narrative. He had his reality, and the threat of that being shaken up clearly made him uncomfortable.</p><p>Let's talk about misinformation that REALLY matters. There is this narrative out there that Gardiner Minshew is a really good quarterback that comes in as a backup and wins games. Now "the guy" in Indianapolis, the common belief is the team is better with Minshew as the starter. Look, that might be true, but he's still 2-10 as a starter in his last 12. This week he gets to play the Browns and their historically good defense that has only allowed 1000 yards in the first five games. Yes, the Browns offense is sort of shitty, and PJ Walker stinks. However, give me the shitty QB with the great defense instead of the shitty quarterback with the average defense. I got on this at <b>Cleveland -2.5</b> and it's moved to 3.5. I'd consider Cleveland money line if the math works. </p><p>OK, I think the Lions are legit. It's weird to even type that out. The Lions are one of those teams that are like the Browns Jr. You know they will find a way to lose in heartbreaking fashion, but you just don't know how. I was trying to push for Detroit and Cleveland to merge and make one average team a few years ago, and maybe play the games at Cedar Point. Maybe the dipshit Haslams and dipshit Ford families could just argue and let the football guys do their thing. But this Lions team is really good. They went down to Tampa last week and took care of business. Now they catch Baltimore coming back from London, a great letdown spot. I think the Ravens sorta suck, and the Lions defense can keep Lamar in check. Give me the <b>Lions +3.</b></p><p>Denver is probably the worst team in the NFL. Their defense is either just plain awful or has given up. I think the ownership group is going to blow that whole thing up after this year and let Sean Peyton do his thing, and I think the players know it. I am going to use them in my now traditional weekly teaser and go Green Bay over Denver and tie them into the Rams over Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's offense is stunningly bad. I think the Kenny Picket era will come to a merciful end after this season, but until then we will watch them limp through trying to win low scoring games with big defensive and special teams play. That's not exactly a formula for success. <b>Green Bay +6/LA Rams +3</b>. </p><p><b>Season Record: 9-9-1</b></p><p><br /></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-90630032094276462582023-10-14T22:55:00.002-04:002023-10-15T08:56:24.090-04:00Nurse the Hate: A Shit Progressive Insurance Ad and NFL Week 6<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aVkd9na2iD3eniZ6kaCVzit1OPA55p0-WjwfTfrGECjiRmCr9YqQR50JYwqENCkP3uwAktFHbX_ckZJA4OeuhohMNpdnIQCRYBiUukU8RS5bVj8UtIGkZRMfzVJ58aPJ3q_T9W6_4EamyVg7Lex2ZecOT7VBDztNiZgEeNL6zAaaP_a1n7H4Bf9978AL/s1000/default-large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aVkd9na2iD3eniZ6kaCVzit1OPA55p0-WjwfTfrGECjiRmCr9YqQR50JYwqENCkP3uwAktFHbX_ckZJA4OeuhohMNpdnIQCRYBiUukU8RS5bVj8UtIGkZRMfzVJ58aPJ3q_T9W6_4EamyVg7Lex2ZecOT7VBDztNiZgEeNL6zAaaP_a1n7H4Bf9978AL/w376-h212/default-large.jpg" width="376" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I've worked in marketing/advertising for a long time. If you ever want someone to ruin a TV viewing experience for you, I'm your guy. I can tell you exactly why the station is doing what they are doing, or what ill advised marketing campaign the advertiser is driving. Almost everyone in marketing is a C student that went to a lot of parties in school, has read almost nothing, and is blissfully unaware of their surroundings. If you ever want to feel like a genius, sit in on a marketing meeting. You'd be stunned at how stupid everyone is yet is convinced they are cracking some sort of code.</p><p>One of the real downsides of watching NFL Football is absorbing the multi kazillion dollar ad campaigns of the big corporate players. By Week 6, you're sick of Flo, Danny Devito, GMC Trucks, and all the other corporate pitch people. What becomes evident rather quickly is how reactive and afraid Corporate America is of cultural blowback as each client skews towards what they perceive as "safe" messaging while trying to dance on the edge of being "fun". Instead of delivering a message that resonates with their key target customer, they regard these paid ads as little movies they hope everyone will respond to with excited clapping. Now me, if I'm selling cars to men, I don't care if women don't respond to my advertisement. That's not what I'm paying for. I want to reach my consumer and make money. "Attention dudes. Here's a truck that makes you seem manly. Go buy it. It's kickass."</p><p>I'm about as far from a Trumpy Right Wing Heartland New Facist as possible, but I do find that the swing to finger wagging "you can't think that" has turned off a wide swath of the lunchbox normal population. Our society is so concerned about being "safe" that now all corporations will err to the side of ineffective ads. It's tough in light hearted advertising as you are trying to get a chuckle but at minimal risk. Perfect example... There is a Progressive Insurance ad in rotation where they spoof the idea of the challenge flag in football. The concept is that people in normal life toss a challenge flag and review the tape to see who made the mistake that led to the unfortunate situation. The one that caught my eye after running in every game I watched last weekend, a couple gets in the car and discovers the seats are wet. The woman is driving and the man in the passenger seat adamantly insists the woman driver left the sun roof open leading to the seats being wet. </p><p>There are quite a few ads like this running and there is a common theme. It is ALWAYS the man that is the bungling doofus that not only made the error that led to misfortune, but also can't seem to remember he's the one at fault. The man is always white and middle aged. He's incapable and laughable. He's also almost always a member of an unlikely looking interracial couple where his patient partner puts up with this buffoon. It's interesting for a couple of reasons. 1. These ads have been put together by corporate committee that want to play it safe, tick numerous demographic boxes and make the messaging appear "diverse" and "inclusive". 2. All of these corporate entities are blissfully unaware that they are unified in presenting a mosaic to a huge audience weekly that their key target customers are stupid and worthy of scorn. For three broadcast hours Corporate America spends a fortune to tell the highest prized potential customers that they are stupid and laughable. Can you imagine if the reverse happened? Progressive runs an ad campaign where the middle class 45 year old white guy straightens out the stupid Hispanic woman. Sit back and watch the fireworks. Shiver me timbers. </p><p>If Progressive really wanted to cut through the clutter, they'd run that ad where the man returns to the car to find the seats wet and points out "Hey, I didn't fucking drive. It's your car. You left the sun roof open. Why are you pointing the finger at me? Do you see a sun roof control over here? Get me a fucking towel.". I mean, c'mon... What passenger is in charge of the sun roof? Also, how many times has a guy gone to a football game and a woman drove over to his house to pick him up? Did the guy lose his license to a DUI? The whole situation is absurd. If Progressive wanted to really resonate with the target audience on a football game ad, they'd have had the guy say "I told you so!" to his girlfriend when they found the seat wet and she suffers a comeuppance. I mean, that's the fantasy ending the NFL viewers want to see. Instead this fear of blowback ruins the entire point of the advertisement. What a waste of money. Lord, I hate corporate America. </p><p>There's no escaping reality. That's what the Cleveland Browns are going to find. The SF 49ers might be one of the best NFL teams of the decade. They have multiple weapons that can line up in multiple positions leaving the offense undefensible. The pass rush is brutal. The 49ers haven't lost a game after trading for McCaffrey except when they had zero (0) healthy pro QBs in that game versus Philadelphia. The Browns are in their familiar spot of being on the precipice of yet another lost season. So now we have to pretend the Browns with PJ Walker at QB is going to beat San Francisco? Ummm... I got on this early on the week at <b>SF -5 </b>and now its at -10. I don't see how Cleveland scores in this game. </p><p>I am confused as to why the narrative on the Bears switched from "Holy shit do they suck" to "They turned it around" based on a Thursday night game where Washington came in after playing an extra OT quarter the week before to provide the Bears a victory. I am very much a believer in the Bears being awful. Minnesota is the polar opposite of last year, getting a total reversal of last year's consistent good fortune. I think the Vikings are an 8-9 sorta team, and the Bears are a great place to get one of those 8 wins. <b>Minnesota -2.5 </b></p><p>Here's today's teaser idea. How about getting on the Lions, who I think are the 3rd best team in the NFC right now, and tie them into Dallas? Tampa has been clipping along winning games thanks to a fortunate schedule and shockingly competent play. The Lions are going to be a test though. Meanwhile we can tie in a Dallas team fresh off an embarrassment on a national stage and taken them to +4 over a Chargers team that never wins by more than three. The other key trend to bet on is the "Chargers coach making a shit stupid decision late" that will somehow cost them the game. <b>Lions +3/Dallas +4</b>. </p><p><b>Season Record 7-8-1</b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-37001338189060570812023-10-08T07:41:00.000-04:002023-10-08T07:41:05.457-04:00Nurse the Hate: Southern Culture On The Skids, Taylor Swift, NFL Week 5 and Me<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D9qhnITJ8ERXBb1vsYGqQk5axsBQzb9c1XWpSCGmDdvsLHNvpwg8sNHeIU6q5QteDTnLT6vHvcOW1Xmw4GvO2-jELaTKeUY_bc0pkDA69rvBf7UZtiWsdkqB2zXU-l7e7KH0Dv-HdGHF_dcvsr2xkJh9U6k9O49xVuTLgtwcB7kW2zWBRfQGwotvTLxt/s742/r1233482_742x417_16-9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="742" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D9qhnITJ8ERXBb1vsYGqQk5axsBQzb9c1XWpSCGmDdvsLHNvpwg8sNHeIU6q5QteDTnLT6vHvcOW1Xmw4GvO2-jELaTKeUY_bc0pkDA69rvBf7UZtiWsdkqB2zXU-l7e7KH0Dv-HdGHF_dcvsr2xkJh9U6k9O49xVuTLgtwcB7kW2zWBRfQGwotvTLxt/w387-h217/r1233482_742x417_16-9.png" width="387" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>We have a couple of shows this week with Southern Culture On The Skids, like ourselves, one of the last bands standing from the roots garage tidal wave of the early 1990s. Yes, there was a time in America when you could find in every town a band that took early rock n roll/garage rock and then twisted it up with a punky sensibility and made their own songs up. It seems quaint now, a simpler time, when it was subversive to drink Pabst in a can and everyone in the club knew Link Wray and Sonics songs by the first few notes. That was a long time ago. To put it in perspective, it would be like if I was graduating high school and was pining for Perry Como and Patti Page to rule the charts again. It's a period of time that keeps fading. Yet, 30 years after the first time we played with SCOTS, we are both still here. It's either a testimonial to both of our bands belief in what we do or just plain inability to stop. Hard to say which really...</p><p>The early 1990s were an odd time. I heard some early 90s chart topping songs recently. You know what was on the charts in 1993? "Whoomp There It Is" by Tag Team and "I Would Do Anything For Love" by Meatloaf. Not exactly the Golden Age of Rock and Roll on the radio. Those sounded dated a few years later, and for my money "Voodoo Cadillac" by SCOTS still sounds like something that could have come out in 1968, 1988, 1998, or 2008. The songs and the recordings hold up. I think what was true then is even more true now. If you want to find the real stuff, you have to look a little harder. However, when you find it, it's that much more rewarding.</p><p>I have no clue why people have such horrible taste in music, yet The People have always been predictable in that way. I worked at a radio station once where people lost their minds because we did an appearance with Geraldo, the guy that did the song "Rico Suave". I wonder what that guy is doing now. It's odd why some shitty music hits and other shitty music misses. While suburban America goes apeshit for Taylor Swift, I can't figure it out. There have always been pop stars, but I usually understood why they exploded after the fact. For example, when Lady Gaga was white hot and everyone was all flustered about her, I understood it. It was a smarter and edgier Madonna. Got it. Beyonce? Yeah, I get it. This Taylor Swift thing is baffling. I don't dislike her. I'm totally indifferent. Disliking her music is like disliking cardboard. It's something that is just sort of there. How can you get all worked up about it one way or another? </p><p>The real issue I have is that Taylor Swift has done something unforgiveable. She has infiltrated my beloved NFL Sundays. When I am deeply involved in an otherwise meaningless late NY Jets drive to cover the spread versus KC, the last thing I want is to see a cutaway to Taylor Swift in a crisp red Chiefs jacket fresh from the team shop clapping like a lunatic for her boyfriend of 16 minutes. Look, Taylor Swift lived outside Philadelphia until she was 14 and then moved to Nashville to chase the dragon when she was 14. The fact that she isn't in Eagles gear or wearing an ugly ass Titans shirt tells you all you need to know about her loyalty. She's no Chiefs fan. She's just passing through. This Travis Kelce fella is flying too close to the sun. When their inevitable breakup happens every white bread suburban woman in America is going to turn on Kelce and his sponsors. Is Corporate America ready for the moment when The Swifties say "Fuck Travis Kelce and fuck Chunky Soup!". I think not Dear Reader. Those soup guys are going to be scrambling. Yet until that moment comes, all NFL degenerates like myself will live in this media firestorm.</p><p>The only form of penance that I think is acceptable is that Taylor Swift and her world now be forced to endure something from my bubble. She's all up in my world, now my world can get all up in hers. This is why I am putting forth the proposition that Southern Culture On The Skids open for 7-10 dates on the Taylor Swift Tour. During this opening slot all ticket holders must remain in their seats and absorb the full set of music before scampering off to the Taylor Swift merchandise huts to purchase whatever the fuck they're selling in there. If the resulting fan outcry doesn't force Swift off of my NFL Sundays, the opening slot will then fall to the Black Lips, and then to The Oh Sees and so on. Hell, I will get on stage and deliver a lecture on Burgundian winemaking methods and philosophy complete with powerpoint and handouts if necessary. Whatever it takes. It has to stop. </p><p>With this in mind, I'd like to point out that I don't think I am alone in this anti-Swift sentiment. Somehow the KC Chiefs are only a 3.5 favorite over the 1-3 Minnesota Vikings after opening up -5. I am becoming more anti-KC every single day, and with each numbing Travis Kelce commercial sponsorship and Taylor Swift cutaway shot, I think American NFL junkies are joining me. I think people might be actively betting against Kansas City, driving this number down. It seems like a slam dunk, doesn't it? KC <i>should </i>cover a 3.5 spread easily! It's an eel. I don't understand it, so I am backing away slowly and observing. </p><p>I am going to continue to bet against peg leg Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Burrow is the 29th rated QB right now, which is amazing that he's that high considering he can't move or drive the ball downfield playing on a fucked up Achilles. The narrative that Arizona is tanking is false. This team is playing hard and giving effort each week. Sure, they kind of suck but not as badly as perceived. Meanwhile the Bengals are still thought of as AFC elite. They're not. At least not right now they're not. This team is going to have to come to grips with the fact that Burrow needs time to heal and that time is most of the season. Give me the Cardinals and the points at home. I got on this at the open with five, but I think Arizona might win outright. <b>Arizona +3 </b> </p><p>San Francisco is head and shoulders the best team in the league right now. Since they traded for McCaffrey, they have done nothing but win, with the exception of when they had no quarterback in that doomed NFC Championship Game last year. Dallas is a good team. They might even win the NFC East. They just don't have enough to go on the road and beat SF right now. San Francisco hasn't been tested yet this season, so I think they'll be max focused. I have some concerns about the hook on this line, but I'm taking <b>San Francisco -3.5</b>.</p><p>There are a couple of teams that have great difficulty scoring that are favored this week. I am going to tease the underdogs and move the spreads into comfortable zones past key numbers. Denver shouldn't be favored against anyone. They are the worst team in the AFC. While I do have great reservations about putting money on Zach Wilson and the Jets under any circumstance, I'm doing it. Denver can't stop anybody. If the Jets coaching staff has any sense, they will try to grind out a low scoring boring game that I have no intention of watching. </p><p>The other piece of this poorly conceived teaser is the Colts. The Titans are on the road, and this is an offensively challenged team. The Titans might feel good about themselves after beating a toothless Bengals last week, but the Colts have the look of a team that is shockingly middle of the pack, i.e. a mirror image of the Titans. I don't know or really care who wins this game, but it should be close. Let's move the line for <b>Colts +8.5/Jets +8.5</b>. I look forward to launching forth a fountain of profanity when Wilson tosses a pick six late to allow the Broncos to cover.</p><p><b>Season Record: 5-7-1</b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-48578664989258418812023-10-01T09:07:00.002-04:002023-10-01T09:08:26.843-04:00Nurse the Hate: Nashville Gig and NFL Week 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyg9nskRMSCUfii3JggytARd539pGmJY9x31mYK0iwTInhIoia87W7QWBNGEF7zF686mCk5MkG4tr4xWCBqB5A0EQghWzltj7waFO0hjhVQALOq5F00yngcJU50O9ETr1ny9N8Gt8P8fDC-bDKjoayjN_jLy1ovjPgjkgAwgYeST-YgPlWu7kUkcVk67z/s1000/1000_F_422791686_tQiw0RpmGHORdXynSdcjUNTzqDG3j6bT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1000" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyg9nskRMSCUfii3JggytARd539pGmJY9x31mYK0iwTInhIoia87W7QWBNGEF7zF686mCk5MkG4tr4xWCBqB5A0EQghWzltj7waFO0hjhVQALOq5F00yngcJU50O9ETr1ny9N8Gt8P8fDC-bDKjoayjN_jLy1ovjPgjkgAwgYeST-YgPlWu7kUkcVk67z/w408-h274/1000_F_422791686_tQiw0RpmGHORdXynSdcjUNTzqDG3j6bT.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>We played a show at the 5 Spot in Nashville on Friday night. I love to play in Nashville. The sound systems are always good, the people are enthusiastic and informed, and we often get to play with our friends in Hillbilly Casino. When you have done it as long as we have, there aren't many people that are on the same wave length as you, and I count the Hillbilly Casino boys in on that ever shrinking circle. The best part of playing a show with them is it forces you to play well so you don't look like an asshole in comparison, and you also get to watch them play when you're done. </p><p>Nashville is so different than when we first played there in the late 1990s. Back then it was a sleepy mid sized city with some quaint local customs and surprisingly half assed local music scene. There were not very many venues for people playing rock music to crowds of less than 500. We would show up, play a disappointing show in a weak venue, and then get to Atlanta to where the real action was located. Once in awhile you'd find a good cowboy shirt in a thrift store and have a filling meal in a "meat-n-three". I bought an Earnest Tubb Record Store shot glass once. That was about it.</p><p>Nashville now exists to host Bachelorette Parties. It's a place for people that look at Lower Broadway as Jason Aldean Fantasy Camp and think the Real Housewives shows are documentaries. Then you pop across the river. When you get into East Nashville, it's a sea of 25 year olds that a couple decades ago would have moved to Atlanta/Chicago/LA but now goes to Brooklyn/Nashville/Austin to live their best Instagram Lives. Nashville is now the apex of "hipster service", where if you go order an overpriced coffee someplace, you'd better buckle up because that coffee isn't coming any time soon from the indignant help that feels that this job is beneath them and they don't have to shower or put on clean clothes before going to work. You'll get the coffee when they feel like making it, and it's almost like you asked them to make you the $8 espresso as a personal favor. I do find something satisfying about pressing the "amount of tip-ZERO" button when I go to pay for something. Chances are I've taken the purchased item from a cooler just like I was at a 7-11 yet the business feels justified in suggesting tipping their employees. If you don't do anything but ring the register or hand me a cup, it's not a professional service. Fuck the business for asking and fuck the employee that doesn't feel embarrassed in begging for the tip. I'm a crank now and this is my role.</p><p>In the morning I picked up Basset #2, Elaine. The breeder was located in Jackson TN, which was a great bit of serendipity. Hector and I met her right outside of the hotel and after a brief conversation she drove off, leaving Hector and I to walk inside the hotel with the puppy and all the dog gear. We were both aware of looking like Nashville's Newest Gay Power Couple. As people inevitably stopped to greet the puppy, I felt like needing to explain we weren't a couple. "Yes, we are in a band and played a show and it just worked out that we could pick up the puppy and we aren't a couple not that there's anything wrong with that..." It didn't really go well. We scrambled to get the van, Leo/Sugar and prepare for an eight hour drive with a 16 week old basset hound.</p><p>At the elevator I saw a couple walk out in matching Cincinnati Bengals gear. I remembered that Cincinnati was on the road, in town to play the Titans. I suppose there are worse ways to spend a weekend than watching one legged Joe Burrow play a toothless Titans team after a long wait for hipster coffee and digestive system churning hot chicken. Nashville is a perfect road trip town. It's important to know where the real places are so you don't get fleeced like a tourist Rube. Of course, a better weekend would have been to go to London to see the Jags play the Falcons.</p><p>The Jags play in London annually, the ownership group happy to take the team on the road as no one in Florida really cares about the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville is Toledo on the ocean. It's a great place to buy meth, but not ideal to be a pro football fan. Rooting for Jacksonville is like being all in on Olive Garden. It's a faceless corporate concern meant to provide slightly entertaining but ultimately disappointing experiences for their customers. However, since the team goes there each year, it does provide them a modest edge. While the Jaguars opponents are trying to remember to not get run over by cars on the wrong side of the road and discovering "chips" are "fries", the Jags are over that excitement. It's a modest edge. And when you play the Falcons, how big of an edge do you need? The Falcons can do one thing, run the ball. The Jags stop the run relatively well. I'm hoping the Jaguars aren't as bad as they've looked so far this year and can win a poorly played and forgettable game. <b>Jacksonville -2.5</b></p><p>Full disclosure. I got on the <b>Browns -2.5 </b>early this week as I assumed it would go to 3. Of course, I didn't know Watson had an injured shoulder and wouldn't practice and David Njoku would light himself on fire with a fire pit/grill or whatever the hell he did. Who else but the Browns has a key player go on the IR because he lit himself on fire? If a dude was going to miss a game because of a "falconry accident", it would be a Brown. I might buy myself out of this position if I can get a sense of how hurt Watson is. There is no way the Browns are beating the Ravens with a rookie QB and no Nick Chubb. </p><p>Here's an easy handicap. I am betting against the Bears because they are fucking terrible. It was a real gift that Denver got historically blown out by 50 points last weekend, because that's the only time this year the Bears will be sitting around a 3 point underdog. These NFL players do not take being a laughingstock well. The Broncos defensive meetings must have been a bit tense all week. I think Denver comes out with a max defensive effort which should be helpful against a Bears team that is fundamentally inept. Justin Fields in three weeks went from "Dark Horse MVP Candidate" to "Total Bust" in a month. The Bears defensive coordinator resigned "to focus on his family" which I take to mean "he pulled his weinar out at work". It's a new regime in Chicago, so this feels like a total slash and burn coming. They are three games in and already everyone is talking about the #1 pick in the draft. The Broncos have to win somewhere, so why not here? <b>Denver -3.</b> </p><p><b>Season Record: 4-7</b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-60095653047804999572023-09-24T09:09:00.001-04:002023-09-24T09:09:46.609-04:00Nurse the Hate: My Head Cold and NFL Week 3<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcokxQcYEyhzJ2K5HHjZ-5WklzYDOcv5ogYV87gpxo17KGI4ZVy2aFpk212wKKU3iPPEuw_nxtNgKiVNvVTuIBNw4eBNZYXticGn7ADN9yTlHdahFQo8ejMLD3xyC8J0J_NdxBtCx1PUSJuiJ3UQRTAui9j9MgR8lJ-i0iWzurVTz7-pCb2FBDtOLKDOl/s769/medium_1982_1449__0013_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="769" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcokxQcYEyhzJ2K5HHjZ-5WklzYDOcv5ogYV87gpxo17KGI4ZVy2aFpk212wKKU3iPPEuw_nxtNgKiVNvVTuIBNw4eBNZYXticGn7ADN9yTlHdahFQo8ejMLD3xyC8J0J_NdxBtCx1PUSJuiJ3UQRTAui9j9MgR8lJ-i0iWzurVTz7-pCb2FBDtOLKDOl/w377-h283/medium_1982_1449__0013_.jpg" width="377" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I got some monster head cold midweek. At first I was convinced it was covid. That is because any symptom for almost any ailment is potentially covid. I used to go on WebMD when I thought that was a useful tool, but every time I used that the prognosis came back as "stomach cancer". Now I take one of the million covid tests I have laying around and it comes back negative. That's when you can count on someone popping up to tell you, "My co-worker's sister-in-law came up negative on a covid test, but it was a false negative and now she's in an iron lung!". The key is to limit your contact to the MAGA crowd, the ones that create their own reality where climate change is a somehow well funded scam from the flimsy solar panel companies, San Francisco is 1946 Calcutta, and covid was a confusing pyramid scheme dreamt up by Bill Gates so the poor guy could finally make a buck. It's best to stick the head in the sand.</p><p>We were on tour in Switzerland once and a head cold ricocheted around the tour van. Leo, of course, got it first as he fully committed to his "streaking comet across the sky" lifestyle as soon as his boots hit the ground. Staying up overnight on a Redeye flight and then partying your ass off for the next two days essentially guarantees getting a cold, and that's what happened. In retrospect, that's exactly what I did as I flew in from San Francisco last Sunday night/Monday morning watching bad movies and then rolled into work like nothing happened. I'm too old and rickety to pull the same shit Leo did a decade ago.</p><p>Anyway, Leo gets this cold and since you're all cooped up in a tin can together, it's only a matter of time before we all get it. We had this guy Richard driving us around on that tour. I can't remember why Christoph wasn't "driving the tank", but it was Richard that time. Anyway, after the incident immortalized on the Daredevils song "Just The Thing", I was sitting feeling sorta shitty staring at a cup of tea with Richard in this Euro Hostel breakfast room. It's all plastic chairs, tiny cups, and little yogurts. Richard, at about the same point in his cold that I was, stroked his beard and said the following words of wisdom. "It doesn't matter if we sit here or get on with it. Either way, we will feel like shit. We might as well get on with it."</p><p>So, let's get on with it. I don't know if it's the leftover buzz of NyQuil, but I am making some very questionable choices on this week's slate of NFL games. Check this out. I am going to bet on the Carolina Panthers with Andy Dalton starting over Seattle in Seattle. I think the Panthers are better with Dalton instead of Young here in Week 3. Those rookie QBs get their ass kicked early. The game moves too fast for them. Dalton is going to dink and dunk the Panthers between the 20 yard lines like he always does and keep it close. Seattle is a little concerning. Geno Smith has been playing like Old Geno instead of New Geno, so I don't think these teams are too far apart. Also factor in that the 12th Man thing from the old Seahawks is a myth at this point with Seattle covering less than 50% at home. I took this early in the week at +6, and the line is sitting at 5 now. I loved it at <b>Carolina +6</b> and still like it at +5.</p><p>With a quivering hand, I placed a bet on Baker Mayfield and the Bucs. It's incredible that the reliably stupid grifting Browns ownership is paying a king's ransom for a QB that isn't as good so far this season as Baker Mayfield. This isn't so much a testament to Mayfield, but more of a karmic payback to the Haslams. Arguing Watson vs Mayfield is like arguing over which burger is better, Checkers or Burger King. They both are crappy. I'm gambling on Mayfield not doing anything stupid and playing the role of game manager vs the Eagles, a team that appears to be lovingly embracing the "Super Bowl Hangover". Syndicate money has been pouring in against Philly all year, and I like going where that money is. I took <b>Tampa +6 </b>at the same time I did the Carolina bet, and the line is sitting at 5 and dropping fast. This feels like a backdoor cover game.</p><p>I put money on Zac Wilson. I recognize this was the NyQuil working. I was sitting in bed thinking "I bet this Jets v Patriots game will be a slog". The over/under is sitting at 35 right now if you dare. (I don't). However, the over/under does suggest points will be at a premium. I tied the Jets into the Rams who might be better than the Bengals right now and took the points. I regret doing it now, and to be honest I don't remember doing it, but I'm on<b> Jets +8.5/Rams +9</b>. Yes, I know Wilson will throw a pick six to lose this wager for me. Yes, Wilson will generate 76 yards of offense all game. I know... But I did it anyway.</p><p>Ye Gods.</p><p><b>Season record: 3-5</b></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591315102167709130.post-62045494294519428012023-09-15T11:54:00.008-04:002023-09-15T11:56:08.158-04:00Nurse the Hate: Master of Wine Results and NFL Week 2<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjai7QIlnyI_vMN_NG-fRhqH7qaae1h8sl5PXxa6Zf3Xn2_8cSTJUIvIv2g1CQOUMTn_jZtylLtJNY3AYUEBhTj9LXIjviiMcB4DMmXkHw7K-oCx9TQzEaEo429dmSXNR0zjTzZzp87whuFYZfBGDQkIbyWkMJVyEE6xlxgiHNXuuDGaWaSyj5_Dx5NGkzG/s500/b16bd5a232ca11be23e07171af875262.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="500" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjai7QIlnyI_vMN_NG-fRhqH7qaae1h8sl5PXxa6Zf3Xn2_8cSTJUIvIv2g1CQOUMTn_jZtylLtJNY3AYUEBhTj9LXIjviiMcB4DMmXkHw7K-oCx9TQzEaEo429dmSXNR0zjTzZzp87whuFYZfBGDQkIbyWkMJVyEE6xlxgiHNXuuDGaWaSyj5_Dx5NGkzG/w384-h255/b16bd5a232ca11be23e07171af875262.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The news came to me as all important news comes to anyone in 2023, via an email. In my inbox an entry appeared from the Institute of Masters of Wine. I looked at it for a minute as I sat in my work cubicle. I took in my surroundings for a second. Various office drones tapped into their machines, the keystrokes allowing for a half dozen people they’ve never met to be rewarded with millions of dollars a year. The significance to me of whatever news this email brought couldn’t be properly communicated to any of the dozen people in the immediate area. It’s not just that they wouldn’t get it. They don’t give a fuck even if they wanted to understand in the first place. I looked at the screen. There it was. The result of over 18 months of intense effort. I clicked on the email.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Thank you for sitting the S1A in June. The Institute’s Education Committee has reviewed your performance, and we are delighted to confirm that you have reached the required standard to progress to stage 2 of the IMW study programme. This is a considerable achievement and one that has been hard earnt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Holy shit. I did it. I can’t believe it. I fucking did it. Now granted, my reward for passing this insane test is I get to double up on my prep to try and past the next test, the last test, the Grandaddy of All Tests, allegedly one of the most difficult exams in the world. I looked around. There wasn’t anyone I could tell the news that would get it. I stood up, filled with adrenalin. I sat back down with nowhere to go. I felt like letting out a “FUCK YEAH!” and kicking my company mandated work station chair across the room, but it seemed sort of pointless. A call came into me. “Greg, your guest is down in the lobby.”</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I walked down to the security desk to direct the stranger to the studio so they could record a two minute TV segment. It wasn’t my client. I was filling in for an ill colleague. I introduced myself to the client and escorted them to the studio. The woman asked me how I was doing today. “You know…”. I paused before continuing, weighing if I should even get into it. Eh, fuck it. There aren’t too many victories to celebrate, and this was one of them. “I’m doing outstanding. I just passed the S1 Master of Wine exam.” She looked at me a little blankly, trying to figure out what any of this meant. Who is this strange man and what did he just tell me? Why is this TV sales guy talking about wine? She’s just trying to be polite, looking for a comment on the weather or the Browns or other small talk, and I toss this curveball to the plate. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">“Does this mean you are a soma…suma…soma”. Sommelier? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is the same conversation I have with 99.75% of the any normal human beings that haven’t become obsessive about wine. The unpronounceable “sommelier” word suggests total command, and nobody knows what this MW thing is except fellow obsessives. People are always disappointed that I’m “not a sommelier yet”. It’s like when I worked in radio and people would be deflated when they learned I wasn’t a DJ. This is in no way a value judgement. This is my “thing” and one can’t expect people to carry in the same enthusiasm. Like if someone told me they just had a research piece on a brown recluse spider accepted by the most important peer review journal in that field, I would respond with “that’s like spiders and bugs, right?”. Meanwhile, the bug guy’s people would be high fiving him, blown away that he’d gotten that loxosceles reclusa research he had been working on for three years into “International Arachnid Quarterly Journal”.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I then tried to explain the difference between a sommelier and an MW, the various stages of somms, and then just bailed out before she glazed over. She had asked me what time it was, and I had started building her a fucking Rolex. It was selfish. That’s when she leaned in after sensing an opportunity. “Let me ask you… When you’re at a restaurant and they hand you the cork, what am I supposed to do?”. Let’s be honest. This is what people want to know, not the enzyme protocol possibilities in barrel fermentation of cool climate chardonnay. (BTW, regarding that restaurant thing, you are just meant to inspect the cork to see if it’s fucked up or gross. The pro move is to just smell the glass of the small pour of the wine sample, and nod approval to pour as long as it doesn’t smell like a wet basement or rotten eggs or anything else offensive that suggests the wine is out of whack.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She asked me the wrong question. What she should have asked me was “Is Miami going to cover over the Patriots?”. It’s amazing the way the NFL works. Week to week perceptions about teams totally change. Miami scored a million points and racked up a stat sheet a mile long against a Chargers defense that somehow refused to get out of basic coverage schemes on The Cheetah and paid a terrible price. They can never be stopped again. It is the greatest offense of all time based on this one sample. Meanwhile the Patriots almost pulled out an ugly win against an elite Eagles team, but the only headline is “Patriots lose again”. I am going full contrarian on this and taking <b>New England +3</b> at home. I have faith in The Hoodie coming up with some complicated blitz schemes and taking Hill out of the game. Looking for an ugly game with the points with the home team in a divisional game.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I watched that Browns v Bengals game last week with great interest. The Bengals had been so murky about Joe Burrow’s “calf injury” it didn’t smell right. Burrow missed not only all the preseason games but also all the drills. He hadn’t played football in 8 months. I’ll tell you what I saw. I saw a guy that got rid of the ball very quickly and wanted no part of running. Burrow had two chances to take off for first downs in the Cleveland game and didn’t consider taking off. That guy is playing on one good leg and the other waiting for a tendon to finally fray. Six first downs from an offense expected to be elite. The Bengals don’t look right on offense.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Meanwhile Baltimore has implemented a “new offense” designed to turn Lamar into some sort of passing QB that netted less than 200 yards against the Texans. They lost Dobbins for the year (yet another achilles tear), their center and their right tackle. They gave up four sacks to the Texans. As the team spent all offseason designing this “new offense”, they aren’t going to jettison the blueprint after an initial bad outing. Who knows if Lamar makes the transition into this new vision, but until I see it, I ain’t buying in. They will try again and undoubtedly have more turbulence. I don’t know where the points are coming from in this Bengals v Ravens game. I am in at <b>Baltimore/Cincinnati Under 46.5.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">OK, I really missed on that Steelers pick last week. I’m going back in on Pittsburgh though. SF destroyed Pittsburgh and Cleveland destroyed Cincinnati. Public money will flood in on the Browns. I’m going to wait and see if I can get 3.5 on Pittsburgh. Teams that get embarrassed at home tend to respond the following week. Tomlin coached teams do well as underdogs compounding this further. Tomlin is now 16-5-2 ATS at home as an underdog. The Browns looked out of sync on offense mostly because Watson looks sorta shitty. This could be a grind of a game. <b>Pittsburgh +3</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Current Record: 2-3</b></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Greg Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846119003055532672noreply@blogger.com0