I'll take cash, check, coupons, store credits, anything ... Still about $28,791.50 more than I'd give anyone for it, though.

It was worth $20,887.98 last year at this time. Inflation, I suppose.

Quote of the Day

I was working in the lab
Late one night
When my eyes beheld
An eerie sight
For my monster from his slab
Began to rise
And suddenly
To my surprise
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Monster Mash

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "This is one Dracula double feature I would love to get my hands on - I think “Satanic Rites” was Lee’s last performance of Dracula - ever."

The Saints can play a lot better than they did yesterday. Give the Ravens credit for taking advantage of the many, many mistakes. That’s what good teams do. Steve McNair looked like his old self yesterday for the first time this season and Ravens fans should be encouraged by that. That was good for my fantasy teams (I Started McNair on both of them) but not so good for my home team. In my estimation, the Saints are still trying too hard to get Reggie Bush involved in games and I think Reggie is trying too hard and maybe getting down on himself. Teams are determined to stop him. The Saints need to turn that to their advantage. There are plenty of playmakers on offense, including overwhelming rookie-of-the-year candidate, Marques Colston. I hope the Saints get another shot at the Ravens this season. The only place it can happen is in the Super Bowl. :)

Both of my fantasy football teams are 4-4 now and that’s good for last place in the division in both leagues. One has won three in a row and is possibly moving in the right direction. The other has lost two in a row but they were both hard fought ... not that it matters that much. They're just Ls now. There are still five weeks of football left in our regular season. There was a lot of scoring in our leagues yesterday led by running backs Larry Johnson and Ladainian Tomlinson, quarterbacks Drew Brees and Michael Vick, wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Marques Colston, and tight ends Owen Daniels and Desmond Clark.

Quote of the Day

But New Orleans continued to get a far better return on this season's seventh-round draft choice, receiver Marques Colston. The Hofstra rookie's six catches totaled 163 yards, and he scored twice, one on a 47-yarder.

Tom Weir, USA Today

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Things don't change much, do they?"

The Baltimore Ravens are in town today to take on the Saints in about 15 minutes. Should be a good one.

Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun:

Things get put in perspective here. Fans that are obsessed with their pro teams often amaze me. Their lives are shaped by if the Ravens win or lose on Sundays. I've always treated sports, especially on the pro level, as a game. It's a great escape from real life, and it's fun, but it's not life or death. It's not even close. After seeing some of the things I've seen in New Orleans today, I'm convinced even more to never change my mind.

He's absolutely right but I would argue that a break from real life is not such a bad thing, especially when real life is sometimes overwhelming like it is in New Orleans.

Not much of a horror film buff but I found this site/game entertaining. Warning: It's extremely addicting. I got 21 out of 50 in about 30 minutes that I'll never get back and then saved the game so I could waste more time later.

Two from the front yard on this lovely CrabAppleLane Sunday:

Unstoppable sunshine, blue skies, and temps in the 50s. Hope it's this nice where you are.

Roses are red ...

Quote of the Day

It might be superstition
But when I hear 'em in the night I say a prayer
And that's 'cause I respects tradition
Like the kind they carry on in Congo Square

Sonny Landreth, Congo Square

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "He asks the question, What's Wrong With Blasphemy?"

Friends with Money is one of those maddening movies that film critics typically love because it’s all about dialogue and flawed characters. From what I’ve read after seeing it, I am somewhat surprised that it only received lukewarm reviews. That’s about what it deserves. In a nutshell, the film depicts that life is unfair, life is imperfect, and life doesn’t always turn out the way you hoped ... you know, basically everything you might go to a movie to get away from. I suppose that’s very unfair of me because some movies get this right (See American Beauty or Ordinary People). I guess films of that caliber are the only ones that can get this kind of movie right. At least, that’s what I think. Friends with Money has moments but it just runs in too many directions, exploring some aspects briefly and others way too long. It’s worth seeing but not worth a rental or Pay-Per-View. Wait for HBO/Showtime/Cinemax.

The 2006 World Series

Detroit Tigers: I think the layoff hurt the Tigers but I think their youth and inexperience hurt them even more. And those nerves. Where did they come from? This team waxed the Yankees and A's. What happened to their confidence? On the bright side, they still have youth and they now have experience.

World Champion St Louis Cardinals: In spite of a boatload of critics and naysayers, the Cards played good enough to beat the teams they had to play on their journey to the World Championship and NO ONE ELSE did. They are a worthy champion and as Mel Allen would say, “How about that?”

It would be easy to say and a lot of people are saying that the Tigers have the nucleus of a powerful team for the foreseeable future but that’s just nonsense. In the era we’re in now, injuries, free agency, and the nature of team sports takes a toll on team chemistry and all teams pay that toll. Sports dynasties are pretty much a thing of the past and I find that refreshing. In fact, good riddance. I like that almost any team can win any year. I like that you don’t have to spend almost twice what anyone else spends on players to win although I am concerned that doing so puts you in a position to win every year. I like seeing championships going to places like Detroit, St Louis, Tampa, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Miami, and Arizona as often as they go to New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. Too bad if the networks don’t.

Quote of the Day

And if you feel that you can't go on
And your will's sinkin' low
Just believe and you can't go wrong
In the light you will find the road
You will find the road

Led Zeppelin, In The Light

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "I guess I’m not quite ready to stop blogging. I just need fresh."

Word to St Louis Cardinal hitters: Hit the ball to the Tiger pitchers. Or the outfield. Just put it in play. I surely didn’t expect the Tigers to play like this. It aint over till it’s over but I think you should close the deal tonight, guys.

Quote of the Day

Us little guys, we don't care how hard they throw. We're going to take a nice little swing and put our bats on it.

Aaron Miles, St Louis Cardinals

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Friend and Cardinal fan Chris and his son Casey went down to Game 4 of the World Series tonight. Unfortunately, the game was called after two hours because of the constant drizzle."

I love this photograph at Disarranging Mine. I've been looking at it since she posted it. I especially love the pea coat on the little girl and the fielder’s glove on the boy next to her. My first baseball glove looked like that. It was my dad's originally. I hated it then because it wasn't new or modern like the ones all of my friends and teammates had. He got me another one almost immediately but I think that old glove is kinda cool now. Mom probably still has it. Mom? It was at least 30 years old (I’m only assuming it was new when he got it) but my recollection of it was that it was hardly used. Dad was more of a football guy than a baseball guy.

I’m a little sad about this. TravelingMermaid is a delight. AllTheBest, TM, from CrabAppleLane.

Quote of the Day

Everybody loves them, and deservedly so. You go in and beat them, you might as well go and beat up Mother Teresa - you know, 'You scums, what are you doing here?"

Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens Head Coach

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "The Ravens may have defeated San Diego, but the Chargers delivered the game plan on how to beat the Ravens' defense."

CrabAppleLane Observations of the World Series: Pitching has thoroughly dominated this series so far and I expect that trend to continue. I don’t want to get too far ahead of this but this Cardinal fan can’t help thinking that with Suppan pitching tonight, Reyes pitching again tomorrow night, and the way Detroit is swinging their bats in this series ... from my seat in Bush, I'm wondering if maybe the Tigers might be the only team flying back to Detroit Thursday night. That would be fine by me but I still tend to think this thing goes seven and I like having Carpenter on the mound Sunday night if it comes to that. When was the last time Albert Pujols walked up to the plate in a big game with the bases loaded? Nothing good can come of that for the Tigers. That said, I thought Zach Miner was going to get Pujols after he tied him up with those two nasty inside strikes but he couldn’t finish the job and the Cards tacked on another run. Could have been a lot worse, though. Gateway Pundit's take on smudgegate (Great pics, too). Via Dave at Fish Fear Me. Oh, yeah, one more thing:

There are losers and then there are losers.

Quote of the Day

If we don't swing the bats better, they'll go up, 3-1. That's as simple as it is.

Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers Manager

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "It's the first time since 1970 (Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati) that a World Series game was played in a venue's first season. Other stadiums: Forbes Field (Pittsburgh Pirates) in 1909, Polo Grounds (New York Giants) in 1911, Fenway Park (Boston) in 1912 and Yankee Stadium in 1923."

Patsy and I were waiting at my sister’s house Sunday. Too late for one event and too early for the next. There’s a Catholic church and school a few blocks away and they’re having a fair of some sort with rides. Rock music is blaring and we can hear it loud and clear from where we are. Church bells go off. Must be noon. Patsy looks at her watch and it is noon. A few minutes later, they go off again. I wondered what was going on and then I heard the unmistakable guitar intro to AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells. This was quite surprising to me. I went to Catholic schools for 13 years from kindergarten through high school and the word Hell was not used very often. On reflection, I don’t think the powers that be from my days in Catholic schools were wild about loud rock music, either.

Patsy: “Why do you think they’re ringing the bells again?”
Me: “It’s not the bells. They’re playing a song.”
Patsy: “The bells are moving.”

She can see them in her rear view mirror. I listen again. Sure enough, someone is ringing the church bells in unison with the song. I think it’s quite possible that now I’ve heard everything.

Just a FYI: Another song from that CD, You Shook Me All Night Long, is our song. It’s not necessarily our favorite although we both like it. It’s just that when Patsy and I were dating, that was the song that was on whenever we turned on the radio. It was inescapable. After about the 15th time this happened, I said they’re playing our song. I think we both laughed and that was that.

Quote of the Day

I'm rolling thunder
Pouring rain
I'm coming on like a hurricane
My lightning's flashing
Across the sky
You're only young but you're gonna die

AC/DC, Hell’s Bells

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "NBC seems to be getting a bit panicky about this show, and the mainstream press (including USA Today) has published complaints about the series thus far."

So what was on Kenny Rogers hand in the first inning last night? He says it was dirt. Whatever it was, the Cards maybe should have let him keep it. Better have the lead in the series if/when you face him again, guys. He’s unconscious.

How pitching has changed. Two sentences. Two eras. From the AP via USA Today:

Rogers became only the second pitcher to have three scoreless starts in a single postseason. Christy Mathewson had three complete-game shutouts (27 innings) for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1905 World Series.

Both of my fantasy football teams are holding on to tenuous leads this morning heading into tonight’s Giants-Cowboys game. Ragpickers have to survive the Giants Eli Manning and Jay Feely while Erasers have an even closer one trying to survive Jeremy Shockey. I’m a big fan of the Dallas D tonight but I won’t watch the game. I’d prefer to just look at the standings when I get up tomorrow morning.

Quote of the Day

I’m no Christy Mathewson, that’s for sure.

Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Ever since I first peeled back the plastic wrap from a cheap store brand cassette and dropped it into the small personal tape recorder I got for Christmas in 5th grade, I’ve been fascinated with the art of the mix."

Then - After Katrina

Now

My first bottle brush bush was down in the backyard after Katrina. I pulled it up, staked it, and pruned it to within an inch of its life. It’s not perfectly straight any more but I think it will survive once it completely gets over the shock. It would have broken my heart to lose it. Pre-Katrina, it put on a very nice show twice a year that attracted bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. I like it so much that I bought three more for the front yard..

Note to Major League Baseball: Have someone look into the broadcast schedules and make sure every market has radio and TV coverage for the World Series. Last night, I went out to pick up a pizza just after the first inning. The game was nowhere to be found on my AM or FM dial. Well, that’s not entirely true. I found it on some far away station sharing bandwidth and mostly being drowned out by one or two other stations but it was so frustrating that I had to turn it off. This is your showcase event. You have a fabulous product with young and exciting players out the wazoo. You have many shiny new stadiums (I just can’t say stadia). The two participants this year are playing in spectacular new venues. You have newfound management/labor accord. Fans are coming back. You finally seem to be doing things right again but not having radio coverage for those fans who can listen to but not watch for various reasons is a grievous oversight. Do you think the NFL would allow that to happen for their showcase event, the Super Bowl? Get it together guys. You’re almost there. You will probably never catch up to the NFL in popularity but you really don’t want a return to this, do you?

Speaking of new stadiums: The only thing I can say about Comerica Park is WOW.

About the game last night: It appears that both teams and at least one manager didn’t read the script. Pitching to your opponent’s lone threat with first base open? That wasn’t in the script, Jim. Anthony Reyes was supposed to blow up in the third or fourth inning and a parade of tired relievers were going to come in for the poor National Leaguers while those hard throwers for the Tigers were just going to overpower the weak Cards. That was the script. Well, you can throw that one on the pile with the one that had the Yankees hosting the Mets last night.

CrabAppleLane and the NFL today: The Saints have a bye this week. With Carolina playing the Bengals, Atlanta playing the Steelers, and Tampa playing the Eagles, the Saints could easily gain ground this week in their division but I’m not counting on it. I think Carolina and Tampa will win.

Quote of the Day

It worked out pretty nice for me.

Anthony Reyes, St Louis Cardinals

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Louis Riel follows a Canadian freedom fighter as he toils for fair representation for his people."

The World Series gets underway tonight and most of the smart money is saying Detroit in five. Or four. Of course, smart money also chose Padres in four against the Cards, Mets in five against the Cards, Yankees in three or four against the Tigers, Twins in five against the A’s, and the A’s in six or seven against the Tigers. Money aint all that smart. That said, I like the Cards in seven. I aint all that smart, either. And, once again:

Probably the last time we'll ever hear the Dixie Chicks perform the National Anthem (Right-click and save, please). It’s our loss. This recording was from the Super Bowl a few years ago and it is the best rendition of it I've ever heard. So they swam against the political tide. Once. BFD. Who hasn’t? And to those who think they should stick to music and stay out of politics, that’s absurd. If you disagree, don’t bother to say so because someone will just say you should stick to whatever it is you do for a living.

Another web phenomenon. This time via Lisa. I had no idea. Apparently, this list has been appended many times. Some of them are hilarious. My fave is #89:

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

Presented without comment.

Rocketing rabbit is the best I could do after an embarrassing number of attempts. I can thank my sister for that 30 minutes that I’ll never get back.

Quote of the Day

There's one more kid
That will never go to school
Never get to fall in love
Never get to be cool.

Neil Young, Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "But the Cardinals are a good team, it's time for LaRussa to win another World Series. It's time for Jim Leyland to win a World Series, and the Tigers are a good team too."

I might have remembered the Mets-Cardinals 2006 series for Endy Chavez’s spectacular catch in the sixth inning. That is one of the best plays I’ve ever seen. What I think I’m going to remember, though, is Carlos Beltran frozen at the plate by a Adam Wainwright curveball. Tom Timmerman of the St Louis Post Dispatch:

Reliever Adam Wainwright, who had dug himself a big hole, climbed out. He struck out Beltran on three pitches, the last of which was a curveball that Mets general manager Omar Minaya said was "unhittable."

I agree. It was a nasty pitch. For a rookie pitcher to get a big league hitter, particularly that big league hitter, to watch a called third strike with the game, the series, and the season on the line is incredible. It’s the dream every aspiring ballplayer has from about age 4. About something I said earlier about preferring National League baseball to American League baseball and how I always pulled for the National League team in the series unless it was the Mets. I take that back. I like Carlos Beltran and these Mets. They’re nothing like those 1986 Mets that I couldn’t stand. Too bad someone had to lose this one. I don’t know how much the Cards have left in their tank for Detroit but they’ve been playing with house money for two weeks now. Oh, and one other thing:

Quote of the Day

I tracked it all the way to the glove, and I was hoping the umpire would call a ball.

Carlos Beltran, New York Mets

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "StudioSTL helps students discover, develop, and celebrate their individual voice through writing. All of our youth services are founded on our belief that a literary toolbox and writing skills -- whether for fun, for school, in personal and professional life -- are indispensable gifts."

This New Orleans case is now getting national attention. The local media and populace are consumed with it and rumors of post-Katrina stress and even VooDoo have surfaced. To me, it’s just another sad case of domestic violence. Speaking of domestic violence, the upcoming O.J. Simpson book, in which he "hypothetically" confesses, won’t be found at CrabAppleLane.

Quote of the Day

You see people and never know what's going on with them.

Priestess Miriam Chamani, Voodoo Spiritual Temple and Cultural Center

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "So Taguchi looks older in high definition."

Tried to stay awake last night to see the finish but zonked after the eighth inning. That’s usually when all hell breaks loose and my team loses. Thankfully, not this time and I’m glad the Cards held on. I like their chances to close out the series tonight but I don’t see how either of the National League teams beat the Tigers.

It’s all about respect for some people. ESPN has the Saints ranked 7th in their power rankings this week. That’s cause for celebration in some parts. Last week, they were ranked 13th and that was cause for consternation in some parts. The other portion of this silliness is the “Are they for real? Are they legitimate?” questions. I can’t get myself too worked up about any of this. The Saints are in the NFL. ESPN’s opinion doesn’t matter, AP’s opinion doesn’t matter, my opinion doesn’t matter, and polls don’t matter. You qualify for the playoffs on the field. That’s the rules. If you get to the playoffs, you have to win to keep playing. That’s the rules, too, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I know he was disappointed at first but my guess at the moment is that Reggie Bush must now be thanking his stars that he’s in New Orleans and not in Houston. The Texans are a wreck.

The Washington Parish Free Fair opens today in Franklinton, LA. Patsy and I plan to attend one day or night but we haven’t decided when. Anxious to see how they've progressed since last year. Hurricane Katrina wiped out one of their buildings. Nothing but a slab when we were there last year. Franklinton is about 35 miles northwest of CrabAppleLane as the crow flies and about 100-120 miles inland to give you an idea of what kind of punch Katrina packed.

Quote of the Day

We thought she wasn't deaf enough.

Stefano Scarna, Gallaudet University student

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Croton AYSO is looking for ALL OLD UNIFORMS AND GENTLY USED SOCCER GEAR to donate to other youth soccer programs in need."

I love "GENTLY USED". -Rob

I wasn’t expecting AVP: Alien Vs Predator to be anything but cheesy mindless entertainment. OK, I’m a sucker for cheesy mindless entertainment sometimes. For CME to work, the film has to take itself way too seriously. This one clears that hurdle with a few inches to spare. I’ve only seen Predator and the first two films in the Alien series. Predator introduced a great monster that had a purpose but was not entirely evil. His purpose was essentially big game hunting. The game then was human. Alien introduced us to a fantastic monster that was nothing but evil and Aliens, which is the second in that series, is one of my favorite movies. This film proposes that the Predators brought Aliens to Earth for the ultimate in hunting pleasure. I suppose it says something about me that I found this film to be a bit more fun than the average Woody Allen movie but I don't care. I enjoyed it.

Saints fans, just say NO.

Quote of the Day

Well, yeah, it is a good thing, cos' this is like finding Moses' DVD collection.

Graeme Miller, AVP: Alien Vs Predator

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Say it five times in a row, preferably out loud: Blog. Blog. Blog. Blog. Blog. Has there ever been an uglier word?"

I lost a good bit of Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon to a head cold / sinus headache. The Saints win didn’t cure all that ails here but it did fuel the soul. The best part of yesterday’s win was what happened after the Eagles went ahead in the fourth quarter. Past Saints teams would have folded up and gone home. This Saints team scored an in-your-face touchdown to tie it, stopped the Eagles after the ensuing kickoff, and then just kept the ball for the rest of the game until it was time to kick the game winner. A 16 play, 8½-minute drive to win the game against a good team. I’ve been watching them since the beginning and I don’t ever remember the Saints doing that. There is still a lot of football to be played and I’m cautiously optimistic that this team can compete for the rest of the season. I feel that way mainly because of the guy playing quarterback for us now. Drew Brees has made all of the difference. He’s worth every penny they’re paying him. If you don’t believe me, ask Nick Saban and Miami Dolphin fans. For more, see the Quote of the Day.

Quote of the Day

It's official: Miami blew it when it passed on free-agent quarterback Drew Brees. All he did was complete all seven of his passes during a magnificent 72-yard drive that clinched Sunday's upset of Philadelphia. Oh, yeah, the Saints also held the ball the last 8:26. Yep, Miami, he could've been yours; instead you traded for Daunte Culpepper. Have a nice life.

Clark Judge, CBS SportsLine.com

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "I did have a woman tell me once that I looked a little like Russell Crowe. I proceeded to throw my cell phone at her…"

We watched The Manchurian Candidate yesterday. I had seen the remake with Denzel Washington and I thought it was OK but nothing more than that. I didn’t find it all that plausible. This original is even less plausible and all of the actors were overly melodramatic. I find this one the same. OK, but nothing more.

Fun game today in the Superdome.

One from the road today:

Country road about a mile from CrabAppleLane. .

Quote of the Day

Before the game, Coach Payton looked that unit dead in the eye and said, "No sacks today"

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints QB

Blog of the day here.

Quote (October 15 entry) from said blog: "Or, if you will imagine, I feel about as gainly and elegant as a pterodactyl hatchling recorded taking its very first steps in poorly executed time-lapse photography (alas, I Googled, and couldn't find an appropriate image)."

Fun game last night in New York. I just love the way the Cardinals are playing baseball right now. They just won’t go quietly into the night much to the dismay of Padres fans and Mets fans. I love teams that play like that. The part I like best? They’re fouling off pitches with two strikes making every opposing pitcher work his butt off. If they beat the Mets, it’ll be because they wore out the Met pitching staff. Go Cards.

One from the road this afternoon:

Roadside color. Hemphill Roadside in Bush, LA to be exact. Looks like Christmas.

Quote of the Day

I couldn't recognize what happened. I didn't know, what should I do. So I just run.

So Taguchi, St Louis Cardinals

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "When Tabloids Attack, Part 2,215: Bullock vs. InTouch"

I'm wondering why at least a third of the Cory Lidle plane crash tragedy stories have to mention that his start in baseball came as a replacement player aka the less-kind "scab". I can't believe anyone is still hung up on that. Little boys have been dreaming of playing in the big leagues for a hundred years. When his opportunity arose, when his Moonlight Graham moment arrived, when his manager finally said "Lidle, get in there", MLB baseball players were on strike. That was beyond his control. For anyone to expect him to pass up that opportunity, the opportunity that less-talented ballplayers and dreamers like me would give almost anything for, they're asking too much. For them I say it's unnecessary to bring it up now and GET OVER IT.

Quote of the Day

But your thoughts will soon be wandering
The way they always do
When your riding sixteen hours and there’s nothing much to do
And you don’t feel much like riding
You just wish the trip was through

Bob Seger, Turn The Page

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "More Free Time + Closer Proximity to the Fridge = A Susan Who Never Stops Eating."

My arthritis is flaring up now that the weather is changing. It’s no big deal. In my case, it manifests itself as stiffness in the joints and some pain in my left knee. This occurs mainly after periods of stillness like a night’s sleep, an hour’s commute to work, an hour or more uninterrupted at my desk, etc. It is not anywhere near unmanageable yet but sometimes I move like a person beyond my years. Ibuprofen, warm showers, and exercise all do wonders for this but I like to stay up on other remedies like Tylenol and Tylenol for Arthritis. My wife, also suffering from arthritis, likes to keep up on it, too. She sent me this article yesterday. The money quote:

Despite the widespread use of Tylenol, scientists do not know exactly how it suppresses pain.

What????? Doctors and hospitals pass Tylenol out like candy. It’s been a best seller for years. It’s a staple in just about every household. No one knows how or why it works? Not a comforting thought. I think I’ll stick to ibuprofen, warm showers, and exercise.

Quote of the Day

That's really the importance of not playing today, is that you play five in a row. Actually, it's a better test because that's kind of what you do throughout the season.

Tony La Russa, St Louis Cardinals

Blog of the day is a blog neighbor from Slidell, LA. It's here.

Quote from said blog: "This park offers the opportunity to witness four different ecosystems AND a first hand look at an historic example of crooked Louisiana politicians."

Although The Coalition says it pretty good (ths always beats me to the fun stuff), I thought I’d add just a word or two about the runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks: In case you hadn’t heard, she’s suing her ex-fiancé for half a million dollars. Only in America can you run away from your wedding, be presumed missing and the subject of an intense manhunt, have your fiancé fall under suspicion of kidnaping and murder, then recant saying you fled because of personal issues, have your numbskull fiancé take you back, plead no contest to telling police a phony story, sell the story of all of that nonsense for a bundle, break up with numbskull fiancé, and now accuse him of fraud. There are a handful of lawyers and a judge who will take Jennifer Wilbanks and this suit seriously but I can’t. One of the things she’s suing for is her share of the wedding shower gifts ... for the wedding that never happened ... twice.

About baseball: The Tigers got off to a good start but that’s a long series and the A’s are tough. I expect that one to go the full seven games. The series I’m much more interested in starts tonight. Growing up in a market with no baseball team, my baseball watching was relegated to the NBC Game of the Week and the World Series, which we got to watch during school hours. The World Series was played during the day then and I’m not really sure that I like seeing that in print. Anyway, the Red Sox and Cardinals played a great World Series in 1967 that I got to watch and I fell in love with both of those teams. They’re still my two favorites. One other thing: I prefer National League baseball to American League baseball and usually pull for the National League team in the World Series ... except when it’s the Mets. If there was going to be another “subway series”, I would have had to watch Three’s Company reruns on another channel. Thanks, Detroit, and Go Cards.

Quote of the Day

I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far

Joe Walsh, Life’s Been Good

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "On June 17, 1946, the first mobile telephone call was placed by a driver in St. Louis."

Speaking of the devil ... I was just commenting on the YouTube phenomenon not long ago. Yesterday, it was announced that Google is buying them for a whopping sum. This is every startup’s dream. The YouTube guys figured out a way to get people to their site in droves but hadn’t figured out how to make money at it. Now, they don’t have to.

Thought I’d share an image from my Sunday’s Saints victory bike ride.

Don’t know why these are called Canadian Geese. I don’t think they ever leave the subdivision across the street from CrabAppleLane. They’re a breathtaking sight when they take off. I think hunters and animal lovers are slowly changing migratory instincts of some species, geese and deer in particular. One group feeds them and the other shoots at them and I think that may be responsible for keeping them in the path of one group and out of the path of the other.

Quote of the Day

This is the next step in the evolution of the Internet.

Eric Schmidt, Google CEO

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Geeze, a little obsessed with your job, eh, Judie? After the jump, a bunch more excerpts to ease the pain of a Monday."

So Reggie Bush finally found the end zone yesterday and it was a game winner. My hope is that it opened the flood gates. Like to see more of it this Sunday versus the Iggles before the Saints bye week. My favorite theory this year is that the NFL has rigged the season so that the Saints will do well. If so, can I ask the NFL why they waited 40 years? And why did they give all of those championships to Dallas?

Hats off to Jon Gruden and the Bucs coaching staff for having Bruce Gradkowski prepared to play. They did an excellent job and that rookie QB looks like a find. To Bucs fans: Don’t get too excited yet. Saints fans thought the same thing about Aaron Brooks when he almost single-handedly beat the world champion Rams in his first start.

Is anyone going to beat the Bears this season? The Vikes had them on the ropes so I think it’s possible but ... man, do they look great ... I dare say Super.

Like Dave, I’m pulling for Detroit in their series with Oakland but it will be uphill for the Tigers. The A’s are just as hungry as the Tigers and probably a little more talented. Go Tigers.

I surely hated to see Chris Carpenter starting last night for the Cards. After the Cards won the first two games in San Diego, I would have liked to have him on the mound to open the series with the Mets. I can’t be too mad about it, though, because I surely didn’t expect them to win the series with the Padres. They’re playing with house money. The pressure is on the Mets. Go Cards.

Quote of the Day

It was so wide open the slowest guy in the world probably could have scored that touchdown. The monkey’s off my back now.

Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "So my team didn't win - who cares? Our theme kicked ass.....oh, and I'm totally keeping Lucy Liu's body."

It’s a beautiful autumn day here at CrabAppleLane. Autumn in Louisiana is about yellow and purple roadside and woodland flowers sharing the spotlight.

These delicate wildflowers are all over the CrabAppleLane yard. I believe them to be Tall Goldenrod but I am no expert on the matter. They could be any one of a number of Goldenrod varieties. They don't mind spotty sunlight and I kind of like that effect on this image. .

In addition to the roadside flowers, we have some CrabAppleLane garage-side flowers. A struggling, straggling Vinca tries to steal the spotlight from the freshly planted mums. We got this mum and another one from Franklinton High School for a $10 donation. Franklinton is one of the more agricultural communities in Louisiana and they have been putting on a spectacular free fair every year for over 100 years. Patsy and I go every year and will be there this year although we don't know which day or night yet. They had a “husband calling” contest one year about ten years ago and it is one of my life’s regrets that we missed it. I keep hoping every year that they’ll do it again but no luck so far.

Time to run ... have Savoie’s Boudin (The one pictured is red. I have the white although I eat both ... with gusto) in the oven and a Saints game on the tube. Life is good.

Quote of the Day

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Doug Menefee has found something fun. He says a friend sends it our way..."

I am very saddened to hear that Buck O'Neil has died. Baseball has never had a better ambassador. In fact, I don’t think they’ve had that many I would consider even a good ambassador. He was delightful in every sense of the word and it is one of baseball’s many abominations that he is not in their Hall of Fame. I had many, many problems with Ken Burns’ documentary “Baseball” but I gladly concede that Buck O'Neil is the best reason to watch it. R.I.P., Buck. Baseball needed you much more than you ever needed baseball.

After mentioning it two months ago, I finally got around to upgrading Quicken this morning. What I marveled at was that I was able to download it (At a $5 savings) rather than wait for a disc in the mail. This is not new in the internet age but it is still cool beyond words. I am a big fan of convenience. The 54mb file took about 4 minutes and as someone who bought our first real personal computer (Remember Prodigy and Compuserve?) in the 2400 baud days, this feat still amazes me. I love technology.

Quote of the Day

God was very good to old Buck.

Buck O'Neil

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "It's elimination Saturday as three teams can clinch berths in the LCS. The Cardinals get the first shot at advancing as Padres fans get baseball with their breakfast this morning."

All eyes on the LSU-Florida game at The Swamp in Gainesville tomorrow. The visiting 9th-ranked Tigers are a slight favorite over the home-standing 5th-ranked Gators. I think the oddsmakers know things the pollsters don’t know. Or vice versa. Geaux Tigers.

The Saints are 4-0 versus the point spread this season. I’d like to see that record go to 5-0. Club sideline tickets for this game are going for $6900 a pair according to the radio yesterday morning. If I’d have held on to my club sideline tickets a few years ago, I’d have paid for the last few years tickets and the next few years tickets by just selling my tickets to the last two games. Hindsight and all that.

Randy Moss says no one cares about what’s going on in Oakland. Should be a dream come true, Randy. You found a whole organization full of Randy Mosses.

I offer an image from New Orleans East as it looked when I left work yesterday.

Quote of the Day

If you live on the road
Well there's a new highway code
You take the urban noise
with some dirt with poison
It's gonna lessen your load

Humble Pie, 30 Days In The Hole

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "On the solo record front I'm still in a holding pattern. Some well-meaning souls in the comment section have expressed concern and even dismay that my recent forays into the world of proper vocal technique may render my whiny, nasally, head-clogged-up-with-snot voice a little too smooth for their liking."

Once again, good blogging material comes from another blogger. Yesterday, it was Marie. Today, it’s Sheila. I’ve blogged about Queen before. They are one of my favorites and I have all of their early vinyl albums through A Day at the Races.

I was late getting started on my album collecting. I had 45s and 8-track tapes for a time and I can’t say with any certainty when I got a turntable but I’m guessing it was sometime in 1975. That brings me to the pictures below. I bought A Night at the Opera in 1975 at Lenny’s Records. More about that in a moment.

Lenny’s was a forerunner to today’s electronic pirates. He sold bootlegs. I must confess I bought a handful of them featuring Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and The Who. A bootleg in 1975 was a ripoff not so much for the artist but for any person dumb enough to buy one. He charged a dollar more for bootlegs than for regular records. About bootlegs: Concert sound equipment was not then what it is now. Recording equipment, particularly amateur recording equipment, was not then what it is now. In addition to those limitations, people that made and marketed bootleg albums were shady. Lenny’s proclaimed “ALL bootleg record sales are final”. What you got when you bought one was anyone’s guess. Most of them sound like a person snuck in an old reel-to-reel tape recorder and turned it on whenever their favorite songs started. One I have of The Who is just a compilation of studio recordings that I already had along with two horrible live performances stuck in. One is of Led Zeppelin at the Whiskey A Go Go. That’s probably the best bootleg I have in terms of quality recording but it’s still pretty bad. I haven’t listened to it in 30 years. Lenny’s is long gone and my days of buying illicit music, however short (Two Deep Purples, two from The Who, two Led Zeppelins, and one Queen) they were, are over.

Anyway, back to the Queen album pictured below (Pardon the not-so-good lighting in my computer room): I was in Lenny’s looking through my favorite bands when I came across this one in 1975. I had all Queen albums then but I didn’t have this one yet. In fact, I’m not sure it had even been released to the general public. Record companies used to pass out promotional copies to radio stations, record stores, and other assorted VIPs a few days before their mass release. The record stores were supposed to spur sales of said albums by playing them for their customers. Lenny had other ideas with this one, I suppose. He took this freebie and put it in his rack for sale. I bought it like any other album. Telling this story probably kills any Ebay value this album may have had and I really do wish I could say Freddie, Brian, Roger or John handed it to me while on tour in New Orleans. Sorry, not the case. This one is one of my well-played ones. It has scratching, popping noises where I used to clumsily put the stylus down on my favorites; Death On Two Legs, 39, and Bohemian Rhapsody. If you don't know this sound and are not one of my young nieces/nephews, I think I hate you. I’ve since bought the remastered CD version of A Night at the Opera but I won’t be parting with this one any time soon.

Quote of the Day

You talk like a big business tycoon
You’re just a hot air balloon
So no one gives you a damn
You’re just an overgrown schoolboy
Let me tan your hide

Queen, Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to ......

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Coming next: a car which gets really quite cross if someone tries to break into it, and a fanny which shouts “gerroff!” if it’s being raped."

Before I get started on today’s silly rant, I just want to direct you to one of the coolest nostalgic pics I’ve seen on the web. Falstaff was huge in these parts and that emblem is so recognizable to anyone my age or older. Reminds me of my youth when you could see the Falstaff Brewery sign from anywhere in New Orleans and also reminds me of the waitresses at Ye Olde College Inn in New Orleans bringing brown longneck Falstaffs and little Falstaff coasters to just about every table. Thanks, Marie.

On to the rant: Do we blame the machines or their programmers?

Example Number 1: I received a letter in the mail yesterday that has the following message imprinted on the outside of the envelope:

Home sweet home - but is your mortgage as sweet as it could be? Check inside to find out.

It’s from my own mortgage company. Wouldn’t they know if my mortgage is as sweet as it could be? Why waste even third class postage sending this letter to me?

Example Number 2: We have a printer/copier/fax machine in my office. There are three buttons on it for you to press to put it in the mode you want it to be in. It is used as a fax machine the vast majority of the time. To use it as a copy machine, you press the copy button, place your document on the glass, and press the start button. If you want more than one copy, you press a number representing the number of copies you want and then press start. OK, let’s connect the dots. My office is in New Orleans, which is area code 504. Many of our clients are in St Tammany Parish as is CrabAppleLane, which is area code 985. In order to fax to a St Tammany Parish client, the phone number will begin with 1-985. You have to enter that as 1985. You still with me? WOW. Anyway, sometimes someone will make a copy and leave the machine in “copy” mode. The next person will not notice it, put their document in place, dial his/her 1985xxxxxxx phone number and press start. The machine will then try to make 19 million, 850-something thousand copies. For best effect, put your phone number in and walk away as if you’re done so the machine will make copies until it runs out of paper.

Quote of the Day

I just tried to put the ball in play and give it my best swing. That's what I did, and it went out of the park.

Albert Pujols, St Louis Cardinals

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Geeks across this great nation are waiting in eager anticipation for this weekend, and the grand two-hour season premiere of Battlestar Galactica."

We watched Being Julia a few nights ago. I don’t know why. It’s based on a book by William Somerset Maugham. I read Of Human Bondage in high school and I found it to be tedious and overly melodramatic. Not a big fan of melodrama. Melodramatic in a movie is only barely tolerable, melodramatic in a book will send me off in search of the nearest fire. Being Julia (The movie. I didn't and won't read this book) has some humor mixed in with its melodrama but not quite enough. Because of one scene, Annette Bening makes this movie worth seeing single-handedly although I think it’s still a close call. When you see the final scene, you realize the whole movie was a setup for it. That scene is very funny but I don't know if it's worth waiting an hour and a half for.

Quote of the Day

I've decided to retire and let myself go. I'll have potatoes for lunch and potatoes for dinner and beer. God, I love beer!

Julia Lambert, Being Julia

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Front door Friday is back!! I found this door a few miles from here in a neighborhood that "estates" in the name! But when I think of "estates" I think of lots of land and these houses were not on lots of land but they were big."

No such thing as a pretty loss. They turned the ball over and they missed opportunities. Hopefully, they’ll learn from it and be a better team the next time they face the Panthers in New Orleans. On a brighter note, the Saints have two legitimate Rookie of the Year candidates if 1st round pick, Reggie Bush, ever gets started. 7th round pick, Marques Colston, would be higher on my ballot right now, though. What a find.

Fantasy Football: Erasers in decent shape tonight. Ragpickers not so good.

Baseball: Go Twins, Go Cards, Go Dodgers, Go Tigers.

Golf: Not long ago, some thought Tiger Woods had cracks in the foundation.

Quote of the Day

We didn't play to our full capability. We made mistakes. I made mistakes, and you just can't do that in a hostile environment.

Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "This is serious money. Hence, the ruthless suppression of my report. I have suffered chronic stiff-necks over the years, just from watching my back."

Football Sundays and at least one football Monday night are fun again at CrabAppleLane thanks to the over-achieving New Orleans Saints. The team was a mess at the end of last season. From then to now, the transformation has been absolutely amazing. In fact, most of us fans couldn’t get over the transformation just from the last exhibition game to the first regular season game. In one week, their coaching staff produced a pretty decent defense. I told Patsy this morning that I’ll stay quiet until noon if she wanted to get in a nap. Saints have a tough one today in Carolina. Go Saints.

Katrina fatigue in Charlotte. Most of us in this area have Katrina fatigue fatigue. Original Katrina fatigue was about all of the downbeat news coming out of the gulf coast area. It now includes all of the upbeat news, too.

658 yards and 10 touchdowns in a 64-0 high school victory. A lot of people are saying WOW. I’m saying unnecessary and excessive. Shouldn’t the head coach have determined at, say, 400 yards and 6 touchdowns, that their opponent was hopelessly undermanned and maybe take their high school All-American running back out? Well, I think he should have.

Cards and Astros, Twins and Tigers not done yet. Today is the last day of the regular season and those teams may not be done after today, either. Go Cards, Go Twins.

Tiger Woods goes into Sunday with a 6-shot lead. Methinks he’s going to be difficult to catch.

One of the images I look forward to every year from CrabAppleLane on this misty Sunday morning:

The blooming Blue Ginger greets us at our door from early September through the first freeze in December. They are my favorites. Simply gorgeous and ZERO maintenance.

Gotta go. Time to fire up the grille.

Quote of the Day

Who knew that steak would turn to liquid and seep through the floors and walls?

Ti Martin, Commander’s Palace

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Apparently, Fabbri was an amateur photographer. The North Carolina Collection recently purchased an album of photographs that Fabbri made during that 1905 visit to Biltmore."