Sunday, March 26, 2006
Welcome back, Carlos?
"My friend," Carlos Pena, was released yesterday by the Detroit Tigers. Knowing nothing about the situation, I am going on record to predict that the Red Sox will sign him to a contract. The Sox could use the first base depth and will enjoy Pena's smooth left-handed swing at Fenway. Plus, the Sox can sign guys and not bat an eye over the money, so Pena should mean nothing to the payroll. And he's local, having played his college baseball at Northeastern.
I once interviewed Carlos Pena at an event called "Team Harmony," which used to be held at the old Fleet Center (can't remember what they call it now) in Boston. Pena was a senior at Northeastern and the kids TV show I was on wanted me to interview him.
I was quickly given a microphone, and the executive producer said "Go!". The cameras went on, and there I was, interviewing a smiley 20-year old whose identity I was not familiar with.
That's not totally accurate--I knew Pena played baseball for Northeastern. But after that...nothing. I didn't know what position he played or anything about him.
And so began one of the most awkward 5 minute interviews I had in my illustrious 4 year run as kid sports reporter. I tried thinking of the most vague questions possible, trying as hard as possible to seem like I knew who I was talking to. I also tried to get as much information about him as I could on the fly..."So, did you play a lot of positions growing up, Carlos? How did you end up where you are now?"
After five minutes, I was exhausted and said a silent prayer of thanks that I didn't just break down half way through and blurt out, "I HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE!"
But apparently, my obviously awkward questions made quite an impression on Carlos, who either thought a) I was a 'Make a Wish' case or b) my questions were well-suited to his broken English (i.e. he could understand what I was asking). For some bizarre reason, he seemed to really like me...(A c) answer is that he had never been interviewed before and d) is that he had never been interviewed by a 16-year old before).
It turns out that Carlos was going to be the studio guest on our show three weeks later. It was a very slow week.
Carlos made me promise that I'd be at the studio during his guest appearance. I said, "sure!"...I actually had no idea if I'd be on that particular show. But since I was absolutely sure he'd not remember the conversation three weeks later (or who I was) and because his English was mediocre, I figured "sure!" was a better answer than "well, Carlos, it depends on how the producers would like to rotate the various kids on this show..."
Three weeks later, Carlos is on the show, and I am not. I think nothing of it, besides a quick thought as to how strange Pena's query/request that I be at the show was.
The following week, I was back on the show. The executive producer handed me a note..."Carlos Pena left this for you..."
She handed me a sticky note. It said something like, "Dear Alex. You said you would come. You were not here. You disappointed me. Your friend, Carlos."
I still have the note and have frequently picked up Carlos Pena in fantasy baseball since that occurrence (the opposite of the Brady Anderson story, really...).
So, come on, Theo. Carlos will bring another World Series. That short porch in right is perfect for the sweet swing of...whoever this guy is.
I once interviewed Carlos Pena at an event called "Team Harmony," which used to be held at the old Fleet Center (can't remember what they call it now) in Boston. Pena was a senior at Northeastern and the kids TV show I was on wanted me to interview him.
I was quickly given a microphone, and the executive producer said "Go!". The cameras went on, and there I was, interviewing a smiley 20-year old whose identity I was not familiar with.
That's not totally accurate--I knew Pena played baseball for Northeastern. But after that...nothing. I didn't know what position he played or anything about him.
And so began one of the most awkward 5 minute interviews I had in my illustrious 4 year run as kid sports reporter. I tried thinking of the most vague questions possible, trying as hard as possible to seem like I knew who I was talking to. I also tried to get as much information about him as I could on the fly..."So, did you play a lot of positions growing up, Carlos? How did you end up where you are now?"
After five minutes, I was exhausted and said a silent prayer of thanks that I didn't just break down half way through and blurt out, "I HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE!"
But apparently, my obviously awkward questions made quite an impression on Carlos, who either thought a) I was a 'Make a Wish' case or b) my questions were well-suited to his broken English (i.e. he could understand what I was asking). For some bizarre reason, he seemed to really like me...(A c) answer is that he had never been interviewed before and d) is that he had never been interviewed by a 16-year old before).
It turns out that Carlos was going to be the studio guest on our show three weeks later. It was a very slow week.
Carlos made me promise that I'd be at the studio during his guest appearance. I said, "sure!"...I actually had no idea if I'd be on that particular show. But since I was absolutely sure he'd not remember the conversation three weeks later (or who I was) and because his English was mediocre, I figured "sure!" was a better answer than "well, Carlos, it depends on how the producers would like to rotate the various kids on this show..."
Three weeks later, Carlos is on the show, and I am not. I think nothing of it, besides a quick thought as to how strange Pena's query/request that I be at the show was.
The following week, I was back on the show. The executive producer handed me a note..."Carlos Pena left this for you..."
She handed me a sticky note. It said something like, "Dear Alex. You said you would come. You were not here. You disappointed me. Your friend, Carlos."
I still have the note and have frequently picked up Carlos Pena in fantasy baseball since that occurrence (the opposite of the Brady Anderson story, really...).
So, come on, Theo. Carlos will bring another World Series. That short porch in right is perfect for the sweet swing of...whoever this guy is.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Where does all the money come from?
I went to Atlantic City last night...first time in about a year. In that time, I forgot about how ridiculously expensive every casino in AC is on a Saturday night. Every blackjack was 25 minimum. Every roulette table was 15 minimum. It's absolutely absurd. In twenty minutes, I was down $300 after a few roulette spins. 90 minute drive...5 bucks to park...20 minutes, -300.
Now, of course, you have to continue to gamble. But it's getting to the point where I can't even "dabble" in any other game besides poker. It's the only game you can actually play for a few hours without risking losing your life savings (besides slot machines, of course)...
Which brings me to the obvious question: There were thousands of people at table games last night. Each table was completely full, and most were double-deep, at every casino we visited.
Where are these people getting all of their money?
Are people gambling money they can't afford to gamble? Or are there just a lot more wealthy people than I realize? I honestly don't know the answer to this...Keith, do you get any sense of this in Vegas? Is your typical 50-dollar a hand blackjack player a tourist just blowing through a couple grand on a weekend or is he wealthy? Or, is he so desperate that he actually is tied to the hope that he wins, for his livelihood and sanity? I wish casinos gave all their patrons a questionaire so that there were some statistics on this...I'm very curious.
Now, of course, you have to continue to gamble. But it's getting to the point where I can't even "dabble" in any other game besides poker. It's the only game you can actually play for a few hours without risking losing your life savings (besides slot machines, of course)...
Which brings me to the obvious question: There were thousands of people at table games last night. Each table was completely full, and most were double-deep, at every casino we visited.
Where are these people getting all of their money?
Are people gambling money they can't afford to gamble? Or are there just a lot more wealthy people than I realize? I honestly don't know the answer to this...Keith, do you get any sense of this in Vegas? Is your typical 50-dollar a hand blackjack player a tourist just blowing through a couple grand on a weekend or is he wealthy? Or, is he so desperate that he actually is tied to the hope that he wins, for his livelihood and sanity? I wish casinos gave all their patrons a questionaire so that there were some statistics on this...I'm very curious.
Friday, March 03, 2006
A break from nihilism to enjoy the scenery
You know, most of the time, I'm disappointed in people--on an individual level, that is. The trouble is they are usually too nice, which is boring, and thus leads me to disappointment.
But I wanted to interrupt my consistent people bashing with an important message. People are awesome.
I was thinking today about how buying a large DVD collection is probably dumb because technology will advance so much in 10 years that DVDs will be archane.
I realized that I think of "technology" as a natural occurrence--like the sun coming up. But really, it's just a bunch of ridiculously smart people doing crazy things with intangible ideas and making inventions that people can only imagine.
"That's awesome!" - Nye, Bill. Science Guy. 1998. PBS.
Seriously...there are so many people on this earth. I mean, I know a lot of smart, well educated people...but I can honestly say I don't think I know anyone who is going to invent the cell phone that also plays movies, broadcasts live TV, checks my email when I ask it to and reads my mind, automatically dialing when I want to speak to someone. But someone's gonna do that. And others are going to help and almost do that...like, for every success, there have to be a ton of near failures too. But each of those will...
"I lost my train of thought." Costanza, Frank. Seinfeld. 1996.
So, here's to you, people. I think you're great, as a species. I'm going to start studying for the GREs pretty soon (LSATs weren't enough...), so here's an anology to chew over.
PEOPLE : INDIVIDUAL as ... ummm...
"I lost my train of thought." Costanza, Frank. Seinfeld. 1996.
But I wanted to interrupt my consistent people bashing with an important message. People are awesome.
I was thinking today about how buying a large DVD collection is probably dumb because technology will advance so much in 10 years that DVDs will be archane.
I realized that I think of "technology" as a natural occurrence--like the sun coming up. But really, it's just a bunch of ridiculously smart people doing crazy things with intangible ideas and making inventions that people can only imagine.
"That's awesome!" - Nye, Bill. Science Guy. 1998. PBS.
Seriously...there are so many people on this earth. I mean, I know a lot of smart, well educated people...but I can honestly say I don't think I know anyone who is going to invent the cell phone that also plays movies, broadcasts live TV, checks my email when I ask it to and reads my mind, automatically dialing when I want to speak to someone. But someone's gonna do that. And others are going to help and almost do that...like, for every success, there have to be a ton of near failures too. But each of those will...
"I lost my train of thought." Costanza, Frank. Seinfeld. 1996.
So, here's to you, people. I think you're great, as a species. I'm going to start studying for the GREs pretty soon (LSATs weren't enough...), so here's an anology to chew over.
PEOPLE : INDIVIDUAL as ... ummm...
"I lost my train of thought." Costanza, Frank. Seinfeld. 1996.
