- I can't believe the freakin' Cardinals won the World Series. Neither team really deserved to be there in the first place, but at least the Tigers were on such a hot streak during the ALDS and ALCS that they probably would've bowled over the '27 Yankees. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were busy making guys like John Maine and Oliver Perez look like October aces. Has the fact that the Cards only won 83 games been mentioned enough? People made such a big deal about a mediocre team like last year's Padres even making the playoffs, and I'm pretty sure they had more than 83 wins. Is anyone surprised that the ratings were abysmal? You had two teams that no one gave a crap about, and to add insult to injury, both teams suck. Let's just get this straight: this postseason, we had spectacular pitching performances by John Maine (rookie,) Oliver Perez (deadline trade throw-in,) Jeff Weaver (with his 6+ ERA in the Varsity league,) and Kenny Rogers (an older Jeff Weaver, at least to Yankee fans.) April can't come soon enough.
- Speaking of baseball, looks like St. Louis and Detroit finished first and second in this too.
- Continuing my analysis of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series, we study The Battle for China. Again, this film was prefaced by a disclaimer, stating that the film was only a historical document, and that anything nice we had to say about the now-Red Chinese back then was just something we said to help the war effort. A few points:
And finally, and this point refers to the entire Why We Fight series: demonizing the Japs and the Nazis was NOT a hard sell. While the Germans were trying to demonize the "decadent" Allies for listening to jazz music and how we were racially impure, and while the Japs were trying to sell their "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," we were simply stating the facts. Indisputable facts, like the Japs bombing Shanghai and Pearl Harbor, or committing atrocities in Nanking. The narrator stated that the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor because they wanted to cripple the US fleet, to put them in a better position when they make their push across the Pacific to capture oil and other resources. If you asked the Japs why they bombed Pearl Harbor, and they'd give you THAT EXACT SAME REASON. The film mentioned the Tanaka Memorial, which was a sort of a Mein Kampf-esque grand scheme for Japanese world domination, which, shockingly, I had never heard of in my years of studying World War II. As it turned out, the reason why I never heard of it because it was bupkis. It was a piece of Chinese propaganda, designed to demonize the Japs, ala Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. But again, I ask, why did they feel the need to demonize the Japs? How can an alleged war plan demonize them any more than authentic footage of them burying people alive at Nanking, or footage of dead children lying in the rubble of Shanghai? By any standard of society, what the Japs did was wrong, just like no one can argue that taking Jews, gassing them and incinerating the bodies is absolutely wrong. Even the Germans realized that it was wrong, so wrong, that most Germans had no idea that these Jews who were being taken away by the trainload were being killed, instead of simply being relocated. The Allies, despite our faults, like segregation and colonialism, simply did not have to demonize the Axis like they did us. Frank Capra shouldn't have to try to sell us on any ideas, all it had to do was show what these people were really like.
- I dressed up as the guy from Falling Down again. Most people say the glasses make the outfit work. I should try being Vince Lombardi next year.
- I'm applying for a few more pistol licenses. While the state is smart enough to not fingerprint me again, they want two references again. Two references, people who aren't related to me, who don't work for the West Windsor police department, and who have known me for the past five years. Six years ago, I used Nick and Brian as references. If I use them again, wouldn't they just say the same thing? Instead of being people who I've known for five years who aren't related to me, they're now just people I've known for eleven years who aren't related to me.
- Gary Sheffield needs to grow up. Sheff, use your head: any team that can afford to trade for you next year won't be in a crappy town, so don't worry about being stuck in KC or Pittsburgh.
- Speaking of baseball, looks like St. Louis and Detroit finished first and second in this too.
- Continuing my analysis of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series, we study The Battle for China. Again, this film was prefaced by a disclaimer, stating that the film was only a historical document, and that anything nice we had to say about the now-Red Chinese back then was just something we said to help the war effort. A few points:
- No mention of Chiang Kai-Shek's fight against the communists, or even a mention of communists. We're supposed to believe that China was one big happy family.
- I never heard the Generalissimmo's voice until I watched this film. Wow, it was really high pitched. How did this guy control hundreds of millions of Chinamen? Oh yeah, he didn't.
- I guess the audience wasn't supposed to notice that every single shot of Chiang Kai-Shek had him wearing a military uniform. And they never referred to him as "Generalissimmo Chiang." And about that uniform...
- I guess the audience was just supposed to ignore that fact that the Chinese were wearing German style uniforms. As in, Nazi style uniforms. True, most people wouldn't notice the German style caps and tunics, but the German "fritz" helmets that the Chinese troops wore were unmistakably German. Not just German looking, but actual German M1935 Stahlhelms. The film failed to mention that the Chinese army had been supplied and trained by the Nazi war machine in their fight against the communists, which, again, was also ignored. Later on in the film, the Chinese army switches to American M1 steel pots, understandably.
And finally, and this point refers to the entire Why We Fight series: demonizing the Japs and the Nazis was NOT a hard sell. While the Germans were trying to demonize the "decadent" Allies for listening to jazz music and how we were racially impure, and while the Japs were trying to sell their "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," we were simply stating the facts. Indisputable facts, like the Japs bombing Shanghai and Pearl Harbor, or committing atrocities in Nanking. The narrator stated that the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor because they wanted to cripple the US fleet, to put them in a better position when they make their push across the Pacific to capture oil and other resources. If you asked the Japs why they bombed Pearl Harbor, and they'd give you THAT EXACT SAME REASON. The film mentioned the Tanaka Memorial, which was a sort of a Mein Kampf-esque grand scheme for Japanese world domination, which, shockingly, I had never heard of in my years of studying World War II. As it turned out, the reason why I never heard of it because it was bupkis. It was a piece of Chinese propaganda, designed to demonize the Japs, ala Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. But again, I ask, why did they feel the need to demonize the Japs? How can an alleged war plan demonize them any more than authentic footage of them burying people alive at Nanking, or footage of dead children lying in the rubble of Shanghai? By any standard of society, what the Japs did was wrong, just like no one can argue that taking Jews, gassing them and incinerating the bodies is absolutely wrong. Even the Germans realized that it was wrong, so wrong, that most Germans had no idea that these Jews who were being taken away by the trainload were being killed, instead of simply being relocated. The Allies, despite our faults, like segregation and colonialism, simply did not have to demonize the Axis like they did us. Frank Capra shouldn't have to try to sell us on any ideas, all it had to do was show what these people were really like.
- I dressed up as the guy from Falling Down again. Most people say the glasses make the outfit work. I should try being Vince Lombardi next year.
- I'm applying for a few more pistol licenses. While the state is smart enough to not fingerprint me again, they want two references again. Two references, people who aren't related to me, who don't work for the West Windsor police department, and who have known me for the past five years. Six years ago, I used Nick and Brian as references. If I use them again, wouldn't they just say the same thing? Instead of being people who I've known for five years who aren't related to me, they're now just people I've known for eleven years who aren't related to me.
- Gary Sheffield needs to grow up. Sheff, use your head: any team that can afford to trade for you next year won't be in a crappy town, so don't worry about being stuck in KC or Pittsburgh.
posted by J. Yeh | 01:47
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