Emmy nominations, edited

DRAMA SERIES:
"Boston Legal," ABC "Friday Night Lights," NBC
"Damages," FX*
"Dexter," Showtime*
"House," Fox
"Lost," ABC
"Mad Men," AMC

*I've never seen "Damages" or "Dexter," though I hear the "The Wire" is probably better than at least one of these, but I never really got into it enough to justify using my awesome strike out html code to add it to the list. And "House" is pedestrian -- we can live with five nominees.

COMEDY SERIES:
"Curb Your Enthusiasm," HBO
"Entourage," HBO
"The Office," NBC
"30 Rock," NBC
"Two and a Half Men," CBS "Flight of the Conchords," HBO

And come on: where is the love for "Jon and Kate Plus 8?"

Jew hoo...

Chosen people update, MLB All-Star edition:

The Jewish faith was in play.....There are three Jewish players in the game: Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler of the Rangers and Ryan Braun of the Brewers. Kinsler said that Youkilis will say stuff to him during games. Like "Happy Passover,'' he said. --Posted by Gordon Edes, Globe Staff July 14, 2008 02:27 PM

Mission accomplished

Look at that. Throw down a little sarcastic complaining and irrational panic and the Sox are back in first place, with a nice six-game lead over the Yankees.

I am drunk with power.

Goal re-setting, or How I lowered my expectations in July 2008

Sure, it would be nice to be in first place at the All-Star Break. But I will be content with a five-game lead over the Yankees before seeing my cousin Jon (and other Yankee-loving relatives) in the Hamptons in two weeks.

Yes, it would be good if Jason Varitek could get a hit. Or a walk. Or a sacrifice fly. But I will find solace if he stops swinging and missing by two feet in a way that makes me cry out in total despair.

I concur that it would be better if Manny Ramirez started producing RBI in the manner to which we are all accustomed. But at this point, I'd be satisfied if he would take his bat off his shoulder during a critical at-bat against Rivera in the top of the 10th inning.

And hey, at least the starting third baseman isn't an adulterer who "emotionally abandoned his wife and children."

Gr-oan.

Happy McBirthday

On your 21st birthday, we took you to Lansdowne Street. We visited at least two bars, and the last one was Mama Kin, which was basically empty, except for us. It was a Wednesday night, and most of your boys had summer jobs and no IDs, so you were stuck with a bunch of girls. I don't think you minded, or remembered. We all did, McGroper.

On your 25th birthday, it was so hot that we went to a movie in the very middle of the day, just to find some air-conditioning. We saw Summer of Sam, which is a movie about the stuff that happens during a really hot summer. Clue: bad things. We came out of the movie and it was still so hot, so we drove around a bit, ended up at the Meadow Glenn Mall, and saw a special screening of American Pie.

Where were you on your 29th birthday? I went to the Foo Fighters concert at the Bank of America Pavilion, although I think it was called the Fleet Boston Pavilion then. It was such a hot night and Taylor wore shorts and no shirt, but he was so sweaty you could see the sweat fly off his body with every beat of the drums. Ditto for Dave Grohl, whose shaggy hair was soaked. Such rock stars. It's weird that I saw the Foo Fighters on your birthday, without you.

On your 34th birthday, I watched Wimbledon and went to the gym. Your kind of day. And then I thought about you and tried to remember your other birthdays, but could only think of three.

Sign of the (good) times

It feels silly to be bummed about Good Times Emporium closing its doors. I have not been there in years. Maybe even a decade. It was a place that lived inside carefree summer evenings and that youthful "let's go to Good Times!" enthusiasm. Despite my absence, there was comfort in knowing it was there, just off I-93 in Somerville, with its mythical batting cages and plethora of pool tables. And of course air hockey. Specifically, doubles air hockey tables, where you could play with a partner. I have never seen those in any other venue.

Is this the end of my air hockey dreams? Air hockey, the kind of game you can play in a bar, but somehow feel sort of athletic at the same time. I was once so determined to beat Bill that I literally threw out my shoulder -- the dreaded cousin of a tennis elbow: the air hockey shoulder. It hurt for a day. If Bill and I had a rematch today, we'd probably stretch first. Maybe it's best that Good Times won't be around to see that.

Hail

Looking out from the window of Roche Bros., my car, so strategically parked in the first space after handicapped parking, seems about a half mile away. Useless. Stranded shoppers flash expressions of resignation, bewilderment, impatience. We all are weighing our pros (leaving Roche Bros.) and cons (getting really, really wet and possibly electrocuted).

While devising my own plan, I notice we're dealing with rain and hail. What is hail? Is it ice? Salt? Why does it fall in the summer? What dictates the size? This hail is about the size of a small marble, which is not exactly impressive. Isn't golf ball-size the gold standard, the size when we feel compelled to report it and take pictures?

I need an earth science teacher with some answers. If you also happen to have an umbrella and are in the Roche Bros. neighborhood, that would be great, too.

Good seats still available

Friday, June 27, Dolphin Stadium. A thousand of my closest friends and I somehow managed to find tickets for the Marlins/Diamondbacks game. That's Major League Baseball, fyi. It was a lovely evening of well-pitched baseball and timely hitting, with a pleasant cooling breeze and clear skies. Not that anyone was there to see it. I took this picture in the first inning, even though the loyal Marlins fan next to me (a.k.a. my mom) defensively noted it would probably look more full a little later on in the game. Um, the game starts in the first inning, people. And your team is in second place! My team is in second place, too. (Groan.) Can you imagine this many open seats, excuse me, open sections, at Fenway? I especially enjoyed the frequent bang of foul balls bouncing off empty seats. What a lovely noise and harmonious complement to mom's now infamous cheers of "Straighten it out!" and the classic "Way to watch it!"

And just so mom does not pout, here's a picture I took of the other side of the stadium, in the third inning, when she said it was starting to fill in. Alrighty. Florida Marlins "fans" (except for M and D), you are on notice.

Safety first

Watching the sky light up during yet another summer thunderstorm, my thoughts turn to some important life lessons that, though slightly dated (pay phones?) seem to still ring true today. In the interest of public service:

How to survive a thunderstorm (Tapawingo rules, a.k.a. the Becky Schumacher commandments):

1. Get out of the water. Now!
2. Don't use the phone. Especially land lines. Especially the pay phone in the counselor shack.
3. Get inside and stay there.
4. DON'T WALK ACROSS AN OPEN FIELD. Please, people.

Night of wonder

As expected, Stevie Wonder put on an excellent show at the Tweeter, excuse me, Comcast Center. Vocally strong, with talented musicianship, he played a very long set (more than two hours) of new material and mega hits. I needed the full set to settle in and overcome a serious bout of internal giggles, after I noticed that Stevie, while still sporting his trademark hair braids, has succumbed to the inevitable receding hair line that plagues so many men his age. In fact his hairline is almost exactly in line with my Dad's own follicle pattern. It's hard work, fighting the giggles after picturing your father with long, Stevie Wonder-esque braids. I am still exhausted.

Cloudy, with a silver lining

We saw a frustrating loss to the Cardinals and had to wait out a surprisingly long rain delay. But we did cheer for the Celtics on duck boats, witness a lovely rainbow over the right field grandstand, and found fine seats despite our standing room status. Oh, and this.

Right place, right time

Duy Linh Tu

For the record, I still hate the Today Show. But after working two 15-hour days, my Sunday morning mental capacity left me powerless to turn the channel to anything more challenging. So imagine my delight when old friend Duy Linh Tu popped up on the "Financial tips to empower Generation X" segment. Duy and I shared giggles and a computer in the offices of The Tufts Daily; he was smart and fun and cute, and he always made me feel cool, just because he was so cool himself. And, I loved saying his name: Duy Linh Tu. (I still do!) We were nothing more than random college acquaintances, and since I still refuse to deal with Facebook, he had long slipped off my radar screen. So it's so great to see him, even on the dreaded Today Show, and find out that he's married, started his own business, and um, in a lot of debt.

My Papi

Happy Father's Day, Dad. Love ya!

Gross!

Fenway food stands failed inspections

Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross!