TV and Movies

This is an excerpt of an email concerning TV and Movies and the recent switch to digital TV.


Regarding the TV issue and converting from an analog reception to a digital reception, I am "spoiled" or lucky in that my parents have Comcast, where it's a non-issue. If I was living on my own, I probably wouldn't have a television, because unless I were to get cable, it wouldn't be worth it to me to own a television, as most of the programs that I watch are on cable television, such as TBS, ESPN, FNC and Fox Sports Northwest (FSNW).

The world is much different today than it was a generation ago, where the access to "shmutz" or dirt was limited to adult newsstands and certain adult channels on cable on late night television.

Interleague play

I am not a fan of Interleague play in Baseball anymore. The reason is that it only benefits three or four cities, LA, Chicago, NY & DC/MD. Who else gets excited about Interleague play. Do Texans get excited when the Astros and Rangers play, or when the Royals and Cardinals play? I as a Seattle fan, am supposed to get jacked up for the Padres? I think not.

Also, I don't like the fact that the NL stubbornly and foolishly doesn't use the DH. They're a league of small-ball, old fashioned dead ball era tactics like bunting and running and team pitching.

open letter re: closing of LWB and construction on Rainier Ave

Here is my letter to Jan Drago of the Seattle City Council regarding the poor state of transportation for motorists from Seward Park into downtown Seattle. Incidentally, Miss Drago is running for Mayor this fall.

June 12, 2009

Hon. Jan Drago
Council Person
Transportation Committee
Seattle City Council
PO Box 34025Seattle, WA 98124-4025

Re: Transportation from Seward Park/Rainier Valley into center of city substandard

Dear Ms. Drago:

It is my understanding that you are on the Transportation Committee of the Seattle City Council. The reason that I am writing to you is because the transportation from Seward Park/Rainier Valley into the center of the city (i.e. Downtown, Capitol Hill, etc.) is substandard. First, for some unfathomable reason, Lake Washington Boulevard is closed every Sunday and Thursday during the summer, to accommodate the bicyclists. Secondly, on Rainier Avenue, between Martin Luther King Blvd. and McClellan, the city is doing a lot of construction and repaving of the road. I feel that the citizens of the Seward Park/Rainier Valley Neighborhood are being ill served.

In my humble opinion, Lake Washington Boulevard should be open to motorists on every other Sunday. There is no reason why the motorists should have to accommodate the bicyclists like this and deprive themselves of access to the center of the city.

Thank you kindly for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Joshua Normand

good program

Today I attended Mitzvah Day, as part of MenschWorks, a division of the Jewish Federation of Seattle's YLD (Young Leadership Division). We met at the JCC at 10:30 am, and at 11 am headed down to Camp Solomon Schechter. We spent a couple of hours cleaning up the camp, whether weeding the lawn or cleaning the boating/water equipment, as camp is scheduled to start this week. This is a good program and good organization and I was glad to be a part of it.

Shooting at Holocaust Museum

Obviously, I was horrified to hear about the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in DC. I hope that the gunman will be brought to justice. I hope that we as a people are on guard against terror and more specifically anti-Semitism.

A couple of months ago, the Department of Homeland Security put out a list of profiles of people who might be prone to terror attacks. Some conservatives were upset, because it slandered veterans. I don't think that all veterans would fall into this category. This guy had a history of anti-Semitism and racially bigoted behavior, if we are to believe reports.

Crime doesn't pay, at least for Baltimore

Yesterday, I came across an article that I saw on Rush Limbaugh's website, how a big East Coast city lost a Venture Capital firm to the suburbs. Here is the link.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.mountvernon06jun06,0,6437748.story

This story is very sad, but illustrative of what happens when a city is run by people who don't make law and order a priority. It drives away capital from the city and into the suburbs, where the investors feel safer and more secure, physically and emotionally. By the way, this can happen in other cities as well, so I am NOT picking on Baltimore. I like Baltimore, actually.

Let's start a discussion about quality of life and civil society with this article.

Interesting mentality

Well, I notice that a lot of the sports fans here are just thrilled to have a team in whatever league we're in. I don't think that winning a title is the primary motivation. It's almost like the league puts a team in Seattle for marketing purposes and to advertise its product to people in the Northwest and that's good enough for 85-90% of the fans here. In my former cities, that wouldn't be good enough.

Anyway, after seeing Game 2 of the NBA Finals, I came to the conclusion that while the Lakers will win, they won't sweep the Magic simply because they're not as dominant as they used to be. I fully expect Orlando to win tomorrow and even on Thursday. Expect to see a game 5 and probably game 6, but a Lakers win.

While I dislike Yuniesky and Adrian Beltre, I think that Cedeno isn't the answer. He's hitting about .150 and got caught stealing yesterday by Joe Mauer.

Tomorrow is the MLB Draft. The Mariners are supposed to take this kid from North Carolina who's a power-hitting first baseman. We need sticks, not pitchers, if we're to improve on our 29th rank in runs scored.