"Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something." - Thomas A. Edison
"I have found that people who can successfully resist temptation invariably lead depressingly stunted lives." — C.D. Payne
"So don't weep for me now, my friends, because science insists that I have not died. Energy just always changes state and I refuse to believe that human consciousness is the sole exception to this universal law." - Mark Millar
"Do only butterflies die in flames? What about those devoured by the flames within them?" - E.M. Cioran
Good news first. Adam Miller survived the Rule 5 draft and will continue his comeback within the Indians organization. The Tribe gambled and won here and, if all goes well, we can expect Miller in the bigs sometime over the summer. Also, the bad news is not so bad. The first 2 picks of the draft both came out of the Indians farm system, but neither is what I could describe as a real loss. Pittsburgh selected IF Josh Rodriguez 1st overall. They like to call this kid "J-Rod" down Columbus way and he had some offensive success and a lot of press about a potential call-up last season. His ceiling, though, is low. He projects as a reserve that could add some pop at 2nd or short and not as an everyday player, although neither did Wilson Valdez. With the 2nd pick the Mariners grabbed RHP Jose Flores. It's a real shot in the dark move as Flores has never pitched above low A. He has good size and velocity, but the jury is definitely still out on him. The Indians, as expected, did not select anyone themselves.
While we're on the subject let's catch up on MLB transactions --
Carl Crawford to the RedSox - 7yrs, $142mil. Boston's getting scary.
This is piecemeal so don't expect any grand revelations.
1) We all, and rightly so, search for common ground. If you honestly share conventional mores or you are blessed without the need to question them, then the fishing the mainstream in an outstanding idea. For others, the task becomes much more difficult. True, the freedom to exist counter-culturally is glorious. We never think about it, but the term actually means exactly what it says -- there are cultural norms and some behave counter to these. It's not just the hippies, although I'm cool with them. This is the freedom that we have truly been given. As much as some might pontificate on gun ownership or gay marriage or flag burning, the grace we have received is that of free expression. That's how I can write (almost literally) whatever I want here without fear of reprisal. The issue that comes into play is how the like-minded, yet disconnect, discover each other and build something together. I have found it excruciatingly painful. Regardless of how much one protests to be OAR, the throbbing vein of it is that we all return to the comfort of commonality, doing what is least likely to be judged wrong by our fellows. Over the summer I posted the following to my Facebook page (Mark Zuckerberg is awful)
We're all so selfish, so afraid, so much like little children cowering behind absent skirts. The magic and the music is to share this with each other, but how can we if all of our gestures are painted with a timid, callous brush?
Not only is it mildly topical, but the response thereto elucidates my point. The only one of my 200 some friends (I'm such a social butterfly) that liked it is the girl that I took to homecoming my freshman year of high school (1992 for anyone who doesn't feel like doing the math) and then never had the fortitude (read as balls) to reach out to again. Sadly she's one of a group of people that I can count on one hand who, in 32 years, ever "got" me. Hell, I think she got me before I did. Now she lives in the UK MWC. Alas. This is not intended as a sob story rather as a caricaturish caution. I have tried, in my own abnormal way, to hold tight to those who might populate a world where I was not counter to the culture and yet they all seem to flutter away. The trappings of modern life are simply too tempting. The poison tastes too good. None of this is meant to imply that I haven't made my own mistakes along the way, but it does leave me with a great many questions. Most of the time I try to either tear down myself or the world around me in order to discover any semblance of explanation. I try to see the bigger picture. If I could only perceive the gears of the watch, then maybe I could get it keep time. Alas, for all of my ranting I am lost at sea in a very small boat and taking on water. I am abysmally lonely in this place. Sure, not playing by the rules is fun, I'm the first guy in that line, but, mostly, I just want to go home. Wherever that might be.
2) Science:Magic::Planning:Luck
3) Did you ever wonder why you found a girl (at what age can I no longer call my peers girls? by that I mean those of the same age for in all other respects I am peerless) attractive? There are a bunch of factors to be sure: societal standards, chemistry, etc. One that is rarely considered is that we are attracted to the women that we initially defined beauty by. Soon I'll return to this and explain how 1 girl that I dated and 2 more that I should have look just like the 1st 3 celebrities that I found sexy.
Enough is enough.
Here's Haley Williams. I had to misappropriate this code. Talk about not playing by the rules.
And, to think, Billy Mumphrey was just a simple country boy.
