Phillies and Pirates

I LOVE the beginning of baseball season. It's the unofficial beginning of summer in LA. While not normally a fan of the team, I was pleased to see that the Dodgers kicked the shit out of the Giants in their home opener. The Angels are scuffling a bit, even though they took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox, but will be fine once they get some of their pitching healthy.

When I was a kid we went to Philly EVERY summer for at least a week or two. Being a baseball fan, we'd go to games at the Vet and listen to Harry Kalas on the radio. His style was always similar to Vin Scully, the Dodgers' announcer and I really enjoyed listening to him (he also did national NFL games on the radio). I was sad when I heard of his passing. It serves as a reminder to enjoy Vin (who's significantly older) while we still have him.

I'm generally a pacifist, but there are occasions when people have earned the violence they get. Like those Somali pirates. I'm very impressed with the marksmanship of the Navy SEALs for three of them to get those dudes with one shot while on a bobbing boat. I spoke to a friend of mine who used to be in special forces. He was pretty impressed as well.

These guys aren't Al Quada ideologues. They just want to make some money. Of course, the guys on the boats are the ones getting rich from the activity. I think if a few more of them get their heads blown off at sea that recruiting will start getting a bit tougher. We'll see.