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July 19, 2005
the end of an era
It has come to my attention that the link at the beginning of my entry from July 12th is no longer any good. For that, I apologize. Stupid CNN, moving things around. The gist of the story was that some fella with so much money that he feels the need to use it as kindling in his backyard barbecue paid $18,000 for a bar of soap. The details regarding the soap are inconsequential, as the only excuse for such an act would be if that bar of soap was made during the filming of Fight Club a la Megan's suggestion. This was not the case. Thus, the details of the story are irrelevant, which is good cause I don't remember them now. 18 grand on a bar of soap. And I'm not thinking that using it increases its resale value.
In what some may consider an awful tragedy but others see as a mind-expanding opportunity, my XBox decided it had had enough over the weekend and stopped working entirely without warning. It froze, then it froze again, then it worked, then it gave me the ominous Error 21 message, which, according to the technological experts at the XBox customer service desk, means that the shit don't work no more. Since my warranty is expired, it'll cost the ripe sum of $80 to get it fixed, not including the cost of shipping it to wherever it is that they fix these things. So I'm looking at $100 to fix something I bought for like $180 about a year ago. I'm not thinking that's worth it.
And thus begins the post-video game era. Theoretically, this involves completing schoolwork ahead of time and spending my free time reading for pleasure and working out. I really enjoy reading for pleasure. I just don't really do it. David Sedaris is pretty funny. He writes short stories, which is perfect for my reading needs. Any other title suggestions are more than welcome. I'm thinking A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius should be on the short list. What else? I've heard good things about Vonnegut's short stories, but I don't know much about them. Is there a collection that is particularly good?
In other news, the Cubs have officially traded my favorite young guy in their system. Jason Dubois was sent to Cleveland last night for Jody Gerut. Dubois is a slugger in the making, but his defense is really not good. His arm is subpar, even for a left fielder, and his range is extremely small. He was born to DH, and thus I am happy that he gets to go fulfill his destiny in the AL. Jody Gerut, on the other hand, has a reputation for being a strong defender and appears to have the potential to hit for average. He has an on-base percentage around .350, which is not bad at all for a fourth outfielder. He's another lefty that can come off the bench late in the game and he can play all three outfield positions. He should be able to give Burnitz a rest every few days, which that old man really needs. He looks like he's huffin' and puffin' out on the bases. Gerut's a bona fide fourth outfielder, which is something the Cubs lacked. It's a small piece, but it's a good trade overall. More speed, more contact, better arm, better range, less power. Trades are easy to sum up if it's one-for-one and outfielder-for-outfielder.
Another interesting thing I read about Gerut is that he really likes to read in the clubhouse. According to a story on MLB.com, a journalist saw him reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams in the clubhouse and the two discussed it at length. There's not enough that can be said about smart ballplayers. Baseball is a smart game. I'd trade for the bookworm any day of the week, as long as he's got skills.
Posted by ben at July 19, 2005 5:31 PM
Comments
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I believe it is worlds better than Cuckoo's Nest, though most members of the general public would disagree with me.
Jody Gerut went to Stanford, which explains a lot of his nerdiness. I'm not sure how much less power Geurt has than Dubois though. True, Dubois has the "potential", but Gerut hit something like 20 HR a few years ago, although he hasn't been in the lineup consistently since. Over a full season at Wrigley, I bet he could hit 25 HR; of course, he won't be playing fulltime so who knows.
Posted by: Ferrario at July 20, 2005 7:29 AM
True about Gerut. Maybe he can take over for Burnitz after this year. I consider Burnitz to be important to the success of the team, but ultimately replaceable in the future.
Thanks for the book recs. I'll check those out. I like Kesey's writing style a lot.
I have learned that the aforementioned bar of soap was created from Mussolini's fat. The only thing weirder than making soap from a dead man's fat is buying that soap at auction for the price of a small car.
Posted by: ben at July 20, 2005 1:19 PM
oooo, i lied to you last night. The soap was made from the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. I knew it was some italian politian. Thought that makes it weirder from the money point of view. Maybe Mussolini's fat is worth $18,000, but Berlusconi?
Posted by: christina at July 20, 2005 3:53 PM
I think it's weird enough that soap sold for 18 grand. I'm not real familiar with Italian politics, but apparently they don't have any major issues to deal with if they're making soap out of their prime minister.
Posted by: ben at July 20, 2005 4:31 PM
Forget science... I am "willing" my body fat to the high-end soap industry and starting a scholarship fund in my own memory with the profits. Ben, will you check with your Pa on the legal procedures for transfering power of attorney for body fat?
Posted by: Megan at July 20, 2005 9:29 PM
I remember the article, and the bar of soap was part of a work of modern art.
Posted by: Drew at July 21, 2005 4:09 AM
Modern art is (for the most part) bogus. There was an exhibit in San Francisco not too long ago, where an iMac was the piece of art. Maybe I just don't get it, but computers and body fat/soap are not pieces of art.
Posted by: Ferrario at July 21, 2005 7:39 AM