I'm Baaaaccckkkk

Back from Vermont and as usual I have lots to say.

I did ok in the marathon. I was behind my normal time after one hour but was still running at a healthy pace. Then things suddenly went sour 60% into the race.

Prior to the race I broke a cardinal rule by breaking in a new pair of shoes and after 7.5 miles they were making me pay for that decision as the friction under my foot nagged enough for me to slow down. My leg also bothered me cramping up. Long story short, I finished the race 15 minutes later than I aimed for.

I was disappointed but my wife reminded me I accomplished a good thing. She went on and on about something blah, blah. I don't speak Spanish. /Ron Burgundy tone.

Oh well. At least I snagged me a free Moe's Southwest Grill chili.

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Drove though University of Vermont...let Operation Send Subliminal Message To Daughter begin.

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Had a great Italian meal at Dellia Trattoria. We also at an organic lunch after the race at Magnolia's.

The beauty of all this is Vermont has a 6% sales tax. Poor, left-wing, hippie Vermont charges less than its giant provincial (and I do mean the term literally) neighbor that charges an obscene and stupid 15% sales tax. Retarded. We've adjusted our lifestyle accordingly.

I don't understand how small-businesses don't band together and fight the silliness.

As for Italian restaurants, you ain't gonna convince me Montreal has "better" ones than New England or New York as it's often boasted. The last five outstanding Italian meals were all in those states.

My buddy, who is an educated bon-vivant (and who has to put up with a Pequiste boss. Boy, the stories about her attitude...ketaine and clueless) of Tuscan origin has grown frustrated with the quality of Italian restaurants here. Way too traditional and ALL follow a similar blue print. Those who try to deviate go out of business. Yet, we're told Montrealers know food. Methinks they know what they want to know.

Conversely, I observed several Italian places in NYC within a fifteen block radius EACH with its OWN UNIQUE menu. 

French bistros is a different matter. Montreal does better with those.

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Speaking of French bistros. Leunig's (which I've been too a couple of times over the years) is a popular restaurant on Church St. Its signage on the windows advertising its specialties was in....FRENCH! Oh my God! Wha? Can. Can that mean freedom of expression? Can't have that! Where are the Vermont language police!

Meanwhile, here in Quebec a man can't have 'Fish & Chips' on his window.

But, T.C. We're surrounded by 300 million English people! We have to protect ourselves from such an onslaught!

If you can't see the loopholes in the logic, absurdity and outright bull shit of it all, then what can I say?

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Burlington is filled with neat, original cafes and stores. As usual, the grocery shopping experience was great. This time the organic store City Market. And once again, nothing like it in Montreal. Tau is the closest thing and they don't carry or offer anywhere near what CM does. And boy were the fruits, vegetables and meat beautiful looking.

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Last night I was watching MSNBC and that chick who basically suggested parents stop thinking along selfish private terms and more for the community.

I forget the show but the host was showing on a nice little graph (oooo, color graphs!) the amount of hours dedicated to this story in the right-wing media versus on MSNBC. Something like 62 hours to 1 or something. As if that makes any substantial point. 'We didn't talk about it so why are they?"

They went on their weird Abbot and Costello routine wondering what was all the fuss about without ever, you know, TACKLING THE ISSUE. It just one of those rolling of the eyes and look at those crazy right-wingers routine.

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Ever notice how the narrative frames a bad economy with people wanting free things like free education?

How could that possibly work?

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Was listening to Fran Tarkenton's show today. He made a point many bloggers and sports fans like myself have made repeatedly: The media continues to close its eyes to drugs in sports.

It's more rampant than we think.

Like journalists did with baseball, I have a feeling something along those lines will happen again soon enough. And then we can all listen to some of the idiots act with faux-outrage and moral indignation and bad Rick Reilly pieces about how he was "duped." Ugh.

"Well, he's not getting my vote for the Hall!" Fuck off. Do. Your. JOBS!

They just don't want to report it lest they lose special access and privileges. And when bloggers pick up the slack all they can do is smugly chastise them - with egg on their faces.

He also talked about a lawsuit by former NFL players against the league for basically covering up the concussion problem. There are 12 000 former NFLers a full 30% (4000) are part of the class action suit. That's MASSIVE.

I often wondered what was going to dislodge the NFL's supremacy (because nothing lasts forever and feels as though its reached its apex in power and popularity) on the American sports landscape. Looks like concussions may be it.

The NFL itself will knock itself out?