repository

I figure I can make more use out of my blog if I use it as a repository for all the news articles I read and find interesting enough to share with others in person.

The streak continues

In games where the Giants allow 5 or more runs, they have lost every game. So essentially when the pitching falters, the result will be a loss.

On the plus side, global warming has also heated up their long dormant bats.

Opening day lineups and where they came from

 

 

player	origin
boston	10	new york	9	baltimore	6
dustin pedroia	bos	damon	kc	brian roberts	bal
youkilis	bos	jeter	nyy	melvin mora	nym*
ortiz	min	abreu	phil	nick markakis	bal
manny	cle	arod	sea	kevin millar	fla
mike lowell	nyy*	giambi	oak	huff	tb
brandon moss	bos	cano	nyy	ramon hernandez	oak
varitek	sea*	posada	nyy	luke scott	bal
ellsbury	bos	matsui	japan	adam jones	sea
julio lugo	hou*	melky	nyy	luis hernandez	bal
toronto	9	tampa bay	8	chicago	9
eckstein	bos*	akinori iwamura	japan	swisher	oak
shannon stewart	tor	carl crawford	tb	orlando cabrera	exp
rios	tor	carlos pena	tex*	thome	clev
wells	tor	bj upton	tb	konerko	lad*
trank thomas	chisox	cliff floyd	exp	dye	atl
overbay	ariz	willy aybar	lad?	alexei ramirez	chisox?
aaron hill	tor	eric hinske	cubs	pierzynski	min
scuataro	oak	dioner navarro	nyy	crede	chisox
greg zaun	bal	jason bartlett	sd	juan uribe	col
kansas city	7	cleveland	11	minnesota	9
dejesus	kc	sizemore	exp*	carlos gomez	nym
Grudzielanek	expos	jason michaels	phil	joe mauer	min
alex gordon	kc	pronk	tex*	cuddyer	min
jose guillen	pit	victor martinez	cle	morneau	min
billy butler	kc	jhonny peralta	cle	delmon	tb
teahen	oak*	ryan garko	cle	craig monroe	tex
ross gload	fla	asdrubal cabrera	cle	mike lamb	tex
john buck	hou	franklin guiterrez	cle	brendan harris	cubs
tony pena jr	stl	casey blake	tor*	adam everett	bos
detroit	4	los angeles	5	texas	10
renteria	fla	chine figgins	col*	ian kinsler	tex
polanco	stl	gary mathews	sd	michael young	tor*
sheffield	mil	vlad	exp	josh hamilton	tb
magglio	chisox	garrett	laa	hank blalock	tex
miguel cabrera	fla	torii hunter	min	milton bradley	exp
carlos guillen	sea	casey kotchman	laa	marlon byrd	phil
pudge	tex	howie kendrick	laa	david murphy	bos
jacque	min	mike napoli	laa	gerald laird	oak
inge	det	maicer izturis	exp	ben broussard	cin
oakland	14	seattle	8
travis buck	oak	ichiro	japan
mark ellis	kc*	jose lopez	sea
daric barton	stl*	raul ibanez	sea
jack cust	sd*	richie sexson	cle
emil brown	oak	adrian beltre	lad
bobby crosby	oak	brad wilkerson	exp
jack hannahan	det	jose vidro	exp
kurt suzuki	oak	kenji johjima	japan
ryan sweeney	chisox	yuniesky	sea
		betancourt
florida	9	new york	8	philadelphia	9
hanley	bos	jose reyes	nym	jimmy rollins	phil
uggla	ariz*	luis castillo	fla	shane victorino	lad
mike jacobs	nym	david wright	nym	chase utley	phil
josh willingham	fla	beltran	kc	ryan howard	phil
jorge cantu	tb	delgado	tor	pat burrell	phil
cody ross	det	angel pagan	nym	pedro feliz	sf
luis gonzalez	hou	ryan church	cle	jayson werth	bal
matt treanor	kc	brian schneider	exp	carlos ruiz	phil
atlanta	10	washington	13	st louis	7
kelly johnson	atl	christian guzman	minn	skip schumaker	stl
yunel escobar	atl	lastings milledge	nym	ryan ludwick	oak*
chipper	atl	zimmerman	nats	pujols	stl
teixeira	tex	nick johnson	nyy	glaus	laa
francoeur	atl	kearns	cin	rick ankiel	stl
mccann	atl	lo duca	lad	yadier molina	stl
matt diaz	tb	elijah dukes	tb?	cesar izturis	lad?
mark kotsay	fla	ronnie belliard	mil	aaron miles	hou*
milwaukee	10	chicago	6	houston	7
rickie weeks	mil	theriot	cubs	michael bourn	phil
tony gwynn jr	mil	soriano	nyy	hunter pence	hou
prince fielder	mil	derrick lee	sd	lance berkman	hou
ryan braun	mil	aramis	pitt	carlos lee	chisox
bill hall	mil	fukudome	japan	miguel tejada	oak
corey hart	mil	mark derosa	atl	ty wiggington	nym
jj hardy	mil	geovany soto	cubs	mark loretta	mil
jason kendall	pitts	felix pie	cubs	brad ausmus	nyy
cincinnati	3	pittsburg	9	los angeles	11
corey patterson	cubs	nate mclouth	pit	furcal	atl
jeff keppinger	pitts	freddy sanchez	bos*	andre ethier	oak*
griffey	sea	jason bay	exp	matt kemp	lad
brandon phillips	exp*	adam laroche	atl	jeff kent	tor*
dunn	cin	xavier nady	sd	andruw jones	atl
edwin encarnacion	tex	ryan doumit	pit	russel martin	lad
hatteberg	bos	jose bautista	pit	james loney	lad
javier valentin	minn	jack wilson	pit*	blake dewitt	lad
san diego	7	san francisco	3	colorado	9
giles	cle	dave roberts	det	willy taveras	hou
tadahito iguchi	japan	aurillia	tex*	tulowitzki	col
kevin kuzmanoff	cle	randy winn	fla	helton	col
adrian gonzalez	fla*	bengie molina	lad	holliday	col
scott hairston	ariz	ray durham	chisox	atkins	col
khalil greene	sd	rowand	chisox	brad hawpe	col
josh bard	col	jose castillo	pit	torrealba	sf
paul mcanulty	sd	brian bocock	sf	jayson nix	col
arizona	8
chris young	chisox*
orlando hudson	tor
byrnes	oak
conor jackson	ariz
chris snyder	ariz
mark reynolds	ariz
stephen drew	ariz
justin upton	ariz

There were 6 players who came from Japan and made starting day lineups.
Exp – Expos where combined with the Nationals.
* – although they were drafted by the listed team, they acme up with another.
? – Player was not drafted but came up with team.

Itinerary for wine tasting in Napa

Since working in Napa, friends have asked for recommendations. I’ve even been told that I should make a living by bringing 20 somethings out on tastings. That ‘d be the life.

Start at Beringer

Lunch at Taylor’s

Provenance

Mondavi

Opus One

Cosentino

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

Darioush

Dinner at Don Giovanni

 

Icons

Beringer

Mondavi

 

Top Picks

Provenance (SH) – really good cabs

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (SL)

Opus One (O) – just go for the architecture, it’s way too pricey for a tasting

Nickel and Nickel (O) – reservations required

Cosentino’s (Y) – is nice because they have a large selection to taste from, a chance to taste some expensive stuff

Darioush (N) – modern day Persepolis

Why Charlie Rose is a national treasure

Far better than a lousy Nicolas Cage flick, Charlie Rose features a band like Dillinger Escape Plan.

Top 50 albums of 2007

1. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2. Okkervil River – The Stage Names
3. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
4. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
5. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
6. Radiohead – In Rainbows
7. The National – Boxer
8. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer
9. Justice – †
10. Cool Kids – Totally Flossed Out
11. Feist – The Reminder
12. Deerhunter – Cryptograms
13. Ted Leo – Living With The Living
14. Oh No – Dr. No’s Oxperiment
15. Caribou – Andorra
16. Battles – Mirrored
17. Au Revoir Simone – The Bird Of Music
18. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
19. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
20. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
21. The Field – From Here We Go To Sublime
22. Iron and Wine – The Sheppard’s Dog
23. Kanye West – Graduation
24. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
25. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
26. Kevin Drew – Spirit If
27. Liars – Liars
28. Lucky Soul – The Great Unwanted
29. !!! – Myth Takes
30. Black Kids – Wizard of Ahhhs
31. The Black Lips – Good Bad not Evil
32. Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond
33. Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
34. Jay-Z – American Gangster
35. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
36. The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
37. The Tough Alliance – A New Chance
38. T.I. vs. T.I.P
39. Voxtrot – S_T
40. Nels Cline – Draw Breath
41. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
42. White Williams – Smoke
43. Wu Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams
44. Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
45. Phosphorescent – Pride
46. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
47. Grizzly Bear – Friend
48. MIA – Kala
49. The New Pornographers – Challengers
50. Ola Podrida – Ola Podrida

top 20 songs of 2007

1. LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends

Just an incredible tune. The Franz Ferdinand version is also nice.

2. Spoon – Get yr Cherry Bomb

The Underdog should give Jon Brion a grammy for best production, but this is THE song from the beset album of the year.

3. Okkervil River – Plus Ones

8 Chinese brothers? There may be one too many references here, but that’ll never keep me from loving this song.

4. Jaikishan – Title Music From Merchant Ivory’s Film Bombay Talkie

From the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack, it’s an amazing tune that’s ripe for a remix.

5. Lucky Soul – My Darling, Anything

Skip, skip, skip, skip, skip, skip, skipping this song would be a crime (sorry, I had to). I drove my friends crazy repeating this part of a song on a road trip.

6. Justice – D.A.N.C.E.

Dance song of the year

7. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – La Costa Brava
8. Beirut – Forks and Knives (La Fête)
9. Radiohead – House of Cards
10. Oh No – Heavy
11. Feist – One Two Three Four

Forget iPod, this is still an awesome number.

12. The New Pornographers – Unguided
13. Jens Lekman – Sipping on the Sweet / I’m Leaving You Because I Don’t Love You.
14. Amy Winehouse – Me & Mr. Jones
15. Timbaland – Way I Are
16. Cool Kids – Black Mags / 88
17. Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
18. The National – Apartment Story
19. Arcade Fire – Ocean of Noise
20. Kanye West – Good Life

Plan San Jose

So it’s pretty lame to link to another blog that I write, but yeah, that’s what I’m doing here.

Plansanjose.com

Top 50 albums of 2006, and others worth checking out

Top albums of the year

1.         Glenn Kotche – Mobile

Best drummer today, by a clear mile. Someday he’ll be mentioned in the same breath as Buddy Rich, Keith Moon, and Jack DeJohnette. But for now he’s just that guy who plays for a little band called Wilco. Peerless technique combined with a fearless will to experiment makes for a most amazing album.

2.         Xiu Xiu – The Air Force

Simply beautiful.

3.         The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls

If they were a regular bar band, I’d have already packed my bags and moved to Brooklyn.

4.         Joanna Newsom – Ys

With Van Dyke Parks arrangements and Jim O’Rourke production, you knew it was going to be a stellar album. It more than lives up to it’s pedigree.

5.         Phoenix – It’s never been like that

An album that just gets better with each spin.

6.         Asobi Seksu – Citrus

After seeing them live, I stopped by the merch booth and picked up a CD. While there I took a picture for a fan of her with the lead singer. My handling of the all too brief session made the singer laugh. Ms. Yuki Chikudate, feel free to holla back.

7.         Band of Horses – Everything all the Time

8.         Mastodon – Blood Mountain

9.         J Dilla – Donuts

Highly personal, a rarity in hip hop.

10.     Willie Nelson – You Don’t Know me: the Songs of Cyndy Walker

11.     Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out Of This Country

I’m also ready to be heartbroken.

12.     Final Fantasy – He Poos Clouds

13.     Mono – You are There

14.     E40 – My Ghetto Report Card

Brings hyphy to the rest of America, and gets no respect at the end of year on top album lists? E40 is the Rodney Dangerfield of hip hop.

15.     I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness – Fear Is On Our Side

ILYBICD not emo like the name would suggest, but no less dramatic.  

16.     Beirut – Gulag Orkestar

Cant’ wait to hear what’s next.

17.     Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit

18.     Girl Talk – Night Ripper

19.     I’m From Barcelona – We’re from Barcelona

Yay Indie Pop collectives!

20.     The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine

Best straight ahead rock album of the year. Great guitar based songs and hooks. Along the same lines as The Kinks, Cheap Trick, Ted Leo.

21.     Mates of State – Bring it Back

Adding some guitar and bass have really rounded out their sound, their best album to date.

22.     Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/ LoveSounds

Timberland and Timberlake – so good I want to put my dick in a box.

23.     Boris – Pink

24.     Cat Power – The Greatest

25.     Peter, Bjorn, and John – Writer’s Block

26.     Johnny Cash – A Hundred Highways

27.     Gotan Project – Lunatico

Being from the southern hemisphere, they do things backwards. These two Argentinian DJ’s stepped away from the turntables. A sexy Nuevo Tango album that’ll have you grabbing for a rose instantly.

28.     Drive By Truckers – A Blessing And A Curse

29.     Islands – Return to the Sea

30.     The Appleseed Cast – Pergerine

Post-Emo? I’m pulling a Colbert and trademarking that term.

31.     Ghostface Killah – Fishscale

32.     Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies

Forget Neko, Bejar is the best Pornographer.

33.     Built to Spill – You in Reverse

34.     Yo la Tengo – I am not afraid, and I will kick your ass

35.     Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope

36.     Califone – Roots and Crowns

37.     M. Ward – Post-War

38.     The Mountain Goats – Get Lonely

Old sad bastard music, like chicken soup for the aging hipster soul, but really really good.

39.     The Decemberists -  The Crane Wife

Chris Funk can’t shred, yet they’re still considered prog? What gives?

40.     Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy – The Brave and the Bold

41.     The Flaming Lips – At War With the Mystics

42.     John Legend – Once Again

43.     AFX – Chosen Lords

44.     +/- – Let’s Build a Fire

It’ll have to do until the next Postal Service album.

45.     Jack & Jeffrey Lewis – City & Eastern Songs

46.     Thom Yorke – The Eraser

47.     Yeah Yeah Yeah’s – Show Your Bones

48.     The Walkmen – Hundred Miles Off

49.     Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat

50.     Prince – 3121

51.     Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury

52.     Isis – In the Absence of Truth

53.     Murs & 9th Wonder – Murray’s Revenge

54.     Calexico – Garden Ruin

55.    Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped

56.     Annuals – Be He Me

57.     Mogwai – Mr. Beast

58.     Tapes’n Tapes – The Loon

59.     Aloe Blacc – Shine Through

60.     Bob Dylan – Modern Times

61.     Lady Sovereign – Public Warning

62.     Sean Lennon – Friendly Fire

63.     Rhymefest – Blue Collar

Top 20 songs of 2006

1. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
2. Phoenix – One Time Too Many – but never played enough
3. Asobi Seksu – Thursday
4. Willie Nelson – You Don’t Know Me
5. Xiu Xiu – Boy Soprano / Eau de Claire
6. Camera Obscura – if looks could kill
7. Band of Horses – Monsters / The Funeral
8. Beck – New Round
9. Final Fantasy – This Lamb Sells Condos
10. I’m From Barcelona – Treehouse
11. Aloe Blacc – I’m Beautiful
12. Beirut – prenzlauberg
13. Belle and Sebastian – funny little frog – There’s something about that hook that kills me.
14. Drive By Truckers – goodbye
15. Peter, Bjorn, and John – Young Folks
16. J Dilla – One for Ghost / Ghostface Killah – Whip You With a Strap – Listed twice since it’s the same beat
17. E40 – Tell Me When To Go
18. Justin Timberlake – My Love – Sexy might be the hit, but My Love is the jam.
19. Yo La Tengo – Mr. Tough – The Falsetto vocals juxtaposed with the lyrics are sinfully delicious
20. The Thermals – st rosa and the swallows
21. Glenn Kotche – Monkey Chant – Takes a traditional Indian Chant that is usually performed by a chorus of up to 200 men and then performs it on drums, solo.

And I just had to mention one more, like a baker’s dozen. Watch the video: click http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/index_frameset2_alpha.cfm

then scroll down to Glenn Kotche > Discography > Mobile > Listen to this album > Watch Monkey Chant for solo drum kit live. For your reference, they have a clip of what the Monkey Chant sounds like when performed by a choir of about 100 men.