A composer in England is developing an instrument you can play with your mind.
Move over, theremin
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Why I get arm wrestling press releases
I got that arm-wrestling press release earlier because I applied for credentials to an arm-wrestling event back in 2008, to shoot one of my earliest web videos on SNY.tv. This was shot on my personal camcorder and the cameraman/producer and I were both very hungover from bachelor parties the night before, but this is still one of my favorite things we’ve ever done. Really captures the essence of Adam T. Intern:
Baseball Show with Matt Cerrone
Just different
DePodesta’s entire chat with Baseball Prospectus is worth reading, but this quote caught my eye. I’ve noted numerous times that I struggle with xFIP. I have no trouble believing that most pitchers’ home runs per flyball rates will normalize over time, but I find it hard to assume that the same will be the case for all pitchers. In other words, I wonder if there are some guys, like Johan Santana over the past couple of seasons, that figure out a way to induce consistently weak fly-ball contact. Seems like DePodesta implies here that Young has.
“Remember that movie Kramer vs. Kramer… what was it missing? Oh, wait… I know! Arm wrestling!”
The New York Arm Wrestling Association announced today that the Village Pourhouse (Award winning NYC Sports Bar) located at 64 Third Avenue at 11th Street in NYC, will host the 34th Annual NYC Big Apple Grapple International Arm Wrestling Championships on Saturday, April 30, 2011 beginning at 1 p.m. — Entry fees: $20 amateurs, $30 pros -– General admission is $5 Restrictions are 21 years-old and contestants should register and weigh-in early.
The event will feature over 100 of the world’s best arm wrestlers, both male and female, as they compete for the chance to be crowned NYC’s King and Queen of Arms. The day’s feature event is the 1 p.m. Charity Benefit Master’s 50+ years-old $2,000 BEST 3 OUT OF 5 MATCHES between 2010 World Arm Wrestling Champion Bobby Buttafuoco (Yes, Joey’s brother) from Rockville Centre, NY and Power Hand Strength Performer Frank ‘Iron Hands’ Malis from West Islip, NY who could bend bolts in seconds and rip two decks of cards in half. The winner will donate the cash winnings to charity – Buttafuoco: Paralized Vets of America –- Malis: Japan Relief Fund. Sponsors are Captain’s of Crush® Grippers and GBG Vitality, which is a liquid or chewable vitamin that promotes health and well-being from its vitamins and mineral enzymes.
– New York Arm Wrestling Association, press release.
Poor Bobby Buttafuoco. Guy’s just trying to establish himself in New York’s competitive arm wrestling ranks while raising money for charity and he still can’t escape the shadow of his brother. I bet he wishes he had a less distinctive surname.
Full disclosure: I am also from Rockville Centre, NY, as you might know, and though I’ve never met either Buttafuoco brother, a friend of my used to babysit for Bobby’s kids. Apparently he was a very nice guy and not at all lecherous.
More a mathematical anomaly than anything!
Excellent. Via Jonah Keri.
Going going, back back to Port St. Lucie Port St. Lucie
So on Monday I take off for Florida again. I’ll catch the last couple of days of Spring Training in Port St. Lucie, be there for the travel day on Thursday (not sure if the Mets have media availability that day or what), then head to Miami for the Mets’ opening series against the Marlins.
Last time I was down there, it was still in the early phase of camp — before any roster cuts, just as games were starting up. I am interested to see how things are different with the team nearly set and the season looming.
But more importantly, what are you interested in seeing? I’m flying solo on this one so there won’t be much in the way of video besides the occasional Skype chat. What do you want to read about on this site? Did you enjoy the content from my last trip to Port St. Lucie? What could I have done better?
All suggestions and feedback are welcome. You can comment below, or use this handy suggestion box if you prefer privacy:
Doug Sisk: Shea Stadium’s most wanted
Oddly, the same man once prohibited from pitching at Shea now understands. A couple of years ago, while watching a Seattle Mariners game on TV, Sisk found himself irked by the performance of J.J. Putz, at the time a reliever with the club. Putz was scuffling to get through the inning, and Sisk thought his body language conveyed surrender.
“Then the weirdest thing happened,” he says. “I was all alone, but I started booing at my television. That’s when I realized what those fans felt with me.
– Jeff Pearlman, Wall Street Journal.
Good read about former Mets reliever Doug Sisk, perhaps the most hated man in Mets history.
Sisk actually posted a 117 ERA+ in his five year career with the Mets, but he allowed a ton of baserunners, many on free passes. He also holds the distinction — and I suppose this isn’t surprising — of being the first player I ever booed.
I’m pretty sure it was during introductions for Opening Day of 1987, the first game I ever attended. I was with my brother, uncle and grandfather, and when Sisk’s name was called everyone started booing. I don’t remember the exact details of the conversation, but I asked why we were booing, and either my brother or uncle said something along the lines of, “Because it’s f@#$ing Sisk!”
And so began a life of booing crappy Mets relievers.
Graziano: Big East still awesome
Dan Graziano argues that one weekend’s worth of disappointing outcomes should not be extrapolated to mean the Big East was overrated. I’m biased, but he’s right as far as I’m concerned. Doesn’t excuse Georgetown’s pitiful performance though.
Journalism means getting high and eating Jamaican food
Two experiential pieces in today’s Daily News. Irving Dejohn smokes salvia and reports an “underwhelming” experience — though it looks from the video like he had a pretty good time — and Simone Weichselbaum eats Jamaican food on the subway.
Man, people wonder why the newspaper industry is in trouble. You needed two separate reporters to get high and eat Jamaican food? Doesn’t it seem like maybe the natural order of business would be to have Dejohn first smoke the salvia and then eat Jamaican food on the subway?
Anyway, the real story here as far as I’m concerned is the curried fried shark that Weichselbaum enjoys. I lived in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a huge West Indian population for four years and enjoyed a ton of Jamaican food*, and I’m not sure I ever saw fried shark available. Has anyone had it? The fried part sounds pretty delicious.
*- If you’re ever in Prospect Heights, go to The Islands on Washington Avenue. It’s outstanding. Also: Eat-in and dine upstairs. It’s a bizarre Being John Malcovich experience. Not the portal to Malcovich’s brain part, the half-floor part.
Tedquarters 