Joseph M. Jamison: September 2008 Archives

After a much parley and anticipation, the first Presidential Debate that almost didn't happen took place this past Friday night at the University of Mississippi. Moderator Jim Lehrer led the candidates through a series of lead questions that involved foreign policy, the economy, and national security. No haymakers were thrown; instead, the two candidates spent the first round dancing around the ring feeling each other out with a lot of 'he said/she said' nonsense.

Here we are, ladies and gentleman. The Major League Baseball season officially comes to an end this Sunday with many things still being undecided as teams fight for their playoff lives in the race to win the pennant. Below are my predictions, division by division, along with playoff predictions and regular season awards.

I saw this commercial last night, and I have to tell you, I was pretty annoyed. Now, I don't know much about the articles and story headlines referenced in the commercial. I didn't read them and won't pretend that I did. But what I can tell you is that there is one candidate in this election that is wrong for education, but it sure as hell isn't Barack Obama.

Editor's note: Whenever I can't think of one specific topic to focus and elaborate on, I just choose a few and discuss each one a little bit. Read iDigress, Part 1.

This

The NFL season kicked off this weekend with a bang. Atlanta Falcons RB Michael Turner left no doubt that he is a legitimate every-down running back, Philadelphia Eagles rookie WR and punt return specialist DeSean Jackson had his coming out party (6 receptions for 106 yards/8 punt returns for 96 yards), and Patriots may be in big trouble with QB Tom Brady possibly being lost for the season. And I finally found validation in Brooke's iPhone, having every game's scores and stats at my fingertips. My favorite part of Week 1, however, was NFL referee Ed Hochuli getting tongue-tied during Thursday night's New York Giants-Washington Redskins game. Hilarious.

That

There are many things in life that are not quite what they seem. Politicians and big hitters who come up small in big spots are usually the culprits of being called a sham these days. Last week, however, on a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, I learned about the truest sham of them all: pillow shams. What a freakin' joke. We have them already, but do know how much these things cost? We paid $120 for two pillow shams, and apparently, I'm not allowed to even use them. Now that, my friends, it a complete and utter sham.

The Other Thing

Google turned ten years-old yesterday. In this world of flash-in-the-pan internet companies and trendy ideas, for your company to actually be referred more as a verb than an actual company is quite and accomplishment. Slowly but surely, they are taking over the world, one web application at a time. Ironically, while at a social gathering yesterday, I overheard two older women discussing a brownie recipe.

Woman 1: Wow! These are amazing! Can I borrow the recipe?

Woman 2: I got it on the Internet. Just Google it; it was the first result.

Woman 1: What's a Google?

The little lady and I are saving to buy a house. Well, actually, we bought one two weeks ago, but it unfortunately fell through. So, we are back to building our nest egg in order to by a home that suits us. Anyway, in order to save money for anything, one must eliminate unnecessary purchases. We are both making a consistent effort to eliminate certain pleasures and luxuries in life.

The conversation turned to music, as it always does with Brooke. Instead of really focusing on the task at hand, we ventured off into creating lists of 10 records that we cannot live without. It's tougher than you think; it took me two weeks. And I couldn't even do it! Cutting one more record was too much of a chore, too heart-wrenching, so I kept it. Sure, the first seven or eight were easy, but then you start to think of records that you really like. You like them, but are they sponge worthy?