bluescityref: Boston’s comeback thursday night…Are we witnessing a miracle in progress?

tampa bay are not world beaters. they are not even very good. they have some young bucks but so what. on top of that they play in the AL, which is like college baseball. in the college world series, much like in the little league world series, anything can happen: even jd drew deciding to show up. i give it a yawn. a good yawn but a yawn.

Bob D: What was the greatest baseball game that you ever saw in person? Do you like apple juice and apple cider or just apple juice?

when i sold hot dogs and beers at candlestick in 97 i saw a no hitter, an unassisted triple play and 80+ other games. but i never saw one really great game that i can recall. interesting question bobby d. i like anything apple except apples themselves. pie, cider, juice, sauce, anything. but it must be a bastardized version of the original.

sass: So what’s the secret you used to score your dream job? And dream babes. And how are those 2 processes different?

the secret i used to score everything that ive ever wanted: dream job, dream babe, dream apartment, dream blog is to first dream it. think about the things that you want. think about it a lot. then dream out loud. if i had an archive on this blog youd see that often id write posts calling out the LA Times. id say things like “you should let me blog for you, im awesome.”

i also did that with babes, apartments, lifestyles, everything. first have it in your head, then talk about it a lot, preferably in public, then contact the people who can make it happen. i always wanted to blog for a living, i always thought i was a better editor than writer, and i always wanted to love what i did. it took a long time for it to happen, but it happened and i hope it happens for you and everyone else cuz its way different in real life than it was in my head: its better.

Keira-Anne: Choose your own adventure: 1) Blonde, brunette or redhead? 2) French maid, cheerleader or cowgirl? 3) Tokyo Disneyland, deserted island or front lawn of the White House? 4) Missionary, side-by-side or bow-wow style? 5) Whipped cream, cookie dough or mustard?

brunette cheerleader in tokyo disneyland in love eating cookie dough.

xtx: Why does [loving myself] to porn seem so heavenly, yet is something that is supposed to prohibit you from getting into heaven? And why did women get [a senstive lady part] if we weren’t supposed to love ourselves?

i dont know what bible youre reading but the only thing that gets you into or out of Heaven is the Grace of God. we’re all sinners, thats the bad news. the good news is Jesus died for all of our sins. that leaves salvation sitting on the fence. it could go either way.

in the bible that i read, God judges us by our hearts. if whats in your heart is evil as opposed to horny, then He probably doesnt want you in Heaven. but if your heart is normal and sexy and sweet and creative and all the things that you appear to be from what we’ve all read in your blog, id bet big bucks that you will be warmly welcomed on the right side of the Pearly Gates.

Aaron: how do you follow a question about the heavenly [sensitive lady part]?

i usually follow it with an insightful question about love or war. but thats me, i see things in black or white. which might be a fault of mine. either i see much beauty or little beauty. either i see genius or failure. either i see overstatement or laziness. i know life has many shades of gray, but its hard for me to always see it. raymi sees many shades of gay which is why i heart her.

Joe: Tony – What did you think of your employer’s cover story this week on the “decline” of Howard Stern? What is up with Northern California’s condescending attitude toward LA? Why such a bad rap for a great town?

my employer didnt write that story, a coworker did. sorta a big difference. anyways, as would be the case in any company of more than 700 people who create thousands of articles and blog posts a week, its safe to say that i dont agree with all of them.

im a huge fan of howard, the show, and satellite radio. i disagree that he has lost his mojo, his edge, his audience, or whatever you want to look at (and many of our readers agree with me). also, before he left for truly uncensored radio he had the #1 show in several major cities around the nation. a feat he had accomplished for a very long time.

anything compared to that going to pale in comparison when you charge people money for something that they can get for free. but what the article left out is the fact that before howard was signed less than a million people subscribed to Sirius, and now millions of people do. somewhere around 6-8 million. now after the merger, howard has a potential of double that. infact right now anyone who buys a new car has the option of listening to howard stern in that car because every new car has either Sirius or XM. no talk show host on terrestrial radio has that potential. meanwhile, what hot shot filled the void on regular radio when howard left? no one.

therefore i think that what howard has done and is doing is pretty amazing. which is why i think it was foolish of him and his people not to talk to the Times when they were trying to do that feature.

Ali: With so many businesses closing up shop, what does that mean for our beloved concert venues? Crash Mansion, Safari Sam’s…what next?

i never went to Crash Mansion, however Sam’s was in walking distance from my beautiful home. seems to me that there are more than enough places to see new music in LA. im not real sure how i feel about Club Nokia because i really like seeing shows at the Orpheum and the Mayan when im downtown. i dont really think i need a new venue downtown thats all fresh and clean. i like it grungy. but whatevs, rock will live forever in LA. im sorry that sam’s moved or closed or whatever, especially since he went though hell to get that club open, but times are very competitive out there particularly since new music isnt as good as it once was.

Sarah: What’s the secret to your young face?

black doesnt crack.

timmay!!!!!: when are you coming to san francisco?

for work i need to go up there very badly. i need to meet with google, twitter, digg, reddit, six apart, yahoo, flickr and several others. but it doesnt look like that will happen any time soon. maybe first quarter of next year.

Alys: Unicorn vs narwhal!! Who wins and why?

unicorns are wimps which is why the dinosaurs ate em all. so narwhal forevers.

4rilla: Joe partially stole my question. I was also wondering about the LAT Stern story and the blowback from Stern ranting about it many times this week, Steve Langford calling LAT HQ. What is with the LAT attempting to buy terrestrial radio stations? etc… Also from Boston it certainly seems that TJ Siemers was put up close and personal with ManRam during his time in LA to be his personal PR mouthpiece to tout his value to LA fans and pressure the Dodgers to resign him. Thoughts?

the LAT is definately not trying to buy any terrestrial radio stations. i dont know where that rumor came from. as for Manny and TJ, anyone who has read TJ knows that he would love a guy like Manny to write about every day. however i dont believe that GMs or owners can be pressured by newspaper columnists to spend millions of dollars on aging sluggers.

i wouldnt be surprised to see Manny get signed by either the White Sox or the Cardinals.

Sharp (aka Azreal Darkskies): It’s my birthday today. What can a fellow Libra do to stay awesome?

read the bible a lot, be nice to people, and tap into the creativity inside every Libra.

pic of raymi in a blond wig and pic of raymi in a mask via raymi, pic of sass in her halloween costume via zucket

what he thinks about life, the universe, and everything, but today is friday, time for Ask Tony

so lets rock

maybe he can be comedian in chief

i had to stay at the office a little late tonight because i had to finish up my weezer concert review and someone said yo tony hey can you turn up the tv

and there was obama and mccain and hillary and all these other politicians in tuxedos and bro was pretty funny.

so here is what i think was a roast for sen. mccain, but i dont really know what it was so maybe someone can explain it below. whatever it was, bro had me LOLing quite a few times. but whats most interesting is how differently he speaks when hes reading off notes as opposed to last night when he was simply talking into the camera.

i think mccain last night called it eloquent.

along with them in the suit is one current Times employee, mr. dan neil.

you might ask yourself, how does a guy get away with suing his boss, basically, while keeping his job. i’ll give you one clue – write like this:

from “Corvette ZR1: Gas guzzler of the gods”

By DAN NEIL, RUMBLE SEAT
October 17, 2008

Dear Future: We’re really, really sorry. Kinda got carried away, what with all the petroleum and all. You’re probably wishing that we had saved a few barrels of oil for you, for airline travel and making fertilizer. And those little plastic swim fins would come in handy, now that Greenland has melted.

I know, “sorry” doesn’t feed the bulldog. What’s that? You’ve eaten your bulldog? OK, you’re just making this harder.

—

If gas is our combustible heroin, cars like the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 are our big needles. This 638-hp, 205-mph, $105,000 affront to all that is good and decent and respectable, this angry strake of carbon fiber and aluminum turns gasoline directly into moments of teary bliss. Let me tell you, it’s one thing to mouth the pieties of alternatively fueled transportation — hybrids, diesels, electrics. It’s quite another to feel the arch-adrenaline of dinosaur-fueled horsepower and say, “Never again.”

—

With 320 pound-feet of torque at the flywheel at a breath off idle (1,000 rpm), the ZR1’s engine is supremely tractable, quiet and refined around town. The close-ratio six-speed gearbox is slicker than a Glock soaked in KY jelly. The net of it is, then, that the ZR1 sacrifices very little to the war gods, not even fuel economy. You can stick the gearshift in sixth and get 20 mpg at highway speeds.

But you wouldn’t do that, Future, oh no. And neither would we.

What you would do is line up the ZR1 on some empty straight of tarmac and nail the throttle. To do so is to throw yourself on a horsepower grenade. Even with traction control engaged, the wheel spin is enough to cause the ZR1 to sidestep in a cloud of Michelin-flavored smoke and thunder. A half-second later, the tires hook up and you’re drowning in your own spit and hallucinating speed. In less than four heartbeats (3.4 seconds), you’ve gone through 60 mph and you’re grabbing second gear.

Now the four-lobe Eaton supercharger is fully angered, the gas is pouring down the V8 gullet, and the exhaust flaps are wide open. Can you hear me now? In 8 seconds — long, loud, delirious seconds with a soundtrack from every NASCAR movie ever made — you’re in three-digit territory.

It’s around here I discovered a fascinating thing. If you punch the throttle at the top of third gear, around 6,500 rpm, where all 638 supercharged horses live, you can well and truly break the rear tires loose. Oh. My. God.

read the rest here, from the Pulitzer-winning writer in the best newspaper in town

it doesnt matter where i work, or how many soda machines there are in a building. no matter what happens, someone always finds a way to screw me out of my apple juice.

i am a fairly healthy man. i think its in part due to the fact that i drink a lot of juice every day. usually apple juice. however ive been downing those Naked Juice Blue Machine’s lately.

problem with the Blue Machines is they cost $4 each and theyre far too delicious. therefore i sometimes find myself wanting a second one. but thats just crazy. so usually i go to the vending machine and grab a $1.35 apple juice.

today i was met with this horrible sight: GRAPEFRUIT JUICE where the apple juice should be!

now who on earth selects grapefruit juice on purpose? or not in a mixed drink?

how can you not have apple juice in a machine filled with sugar water beverages?

i paid for the orange juice today, but as you can see no one has chosen any of the grapefruit juice. and i dont think they ever will which will leave that row filled and thus juice-blocking my beloved apple juice chances.

i will document this horrible scenario as it develops.

i wanted to tell him about the band tv on the radio but when i was telling him that i went to see weezer on tuesday he chuckled and said how do you keep up on all those bands?

i said, love.

last night i went to the meet and greet at the bar across the street. we have a guy from tribune corp in chicago who is a really good guy. started off i thought as an intern, then became a reporter, then everyone realized he was a social media genius. goes by the name Col. Tribune.

the Colonel is a young guy who visited us last month and one of the things he asked us was how often do we meet the readers at either formal or casual meetups. he suggested that part of social media is being social, which even to me, boy genius, was revelatory.

deep down im extremely shy and i prefer to do most of my dealings online. even when approaching the fairer sex i like to do most of the due dilligence online where things feel more comfortable for me than in person or even on the phone. so when the good Col. suggested that we omg meet the people who write in to us or who call or read us i was all, hmmmm.

last night we met a couple of young readers and drank and chatted and i gotta say it was not just eye opening, but really fun. even our waitress seemed to have a good time and next week i think i wanna celebrate my 102nd birthday in the establishment.

afterwards sarah and i ate tacos from my favorite echo park taco truck and i passed out before i could even hit the play button on the Tivo so i could watch what happened on the debates. this morning i woke up early so as to catch up, and i gotta say, who knew thered be a joe the plumber drinking game?

from the 5th floor of the building to the 3rd floor newsroom. i was one of those who moved

not that i watch a lot of tv at work because well because i have enough to see online

and there are the emails and the phone calls and the meetings and the writing

but today they put up a sweet tv pretty much right in the perfect place for me, and i thank you

its sorta a trendy bar downtown

but not really.

its fancy, they wont let you in if you have jeans on if its after 8pm, they wont let you wear tshirts, the women who work there dress like flappers, the dudes wear zoot suits

but its like what the bat cave would look like if robin had a gay decorater help him remodel it.

im going there for work. to schmooze in a way, but not really. but sorta.

i dont like schmoozing. i dont like doing very much other than blogging and talking to people about blogging. which in a way is what i will be doing because otherwise for sure i wouldnt be going, id be watching the debate or watching manny try to get the dodgers back into this playoff series.

ive learned that sometimes you hafta do a tad amount of schmoozing and a tad amount of things that you really dont wanna do. a famous person named tony once said that life is about the struggle between doing the things you love to do and the things you feel like you have to do.

im lucky that my girl sarah from metromix wants to go to said bar also so i wont be there naked, as it were, i will have someone to hang with and eat sweet potato fries with.

what would i be doing tonight if i didnt have to go to this cool bar that often has hot women? probably nothing. probably playing PSP madden 08

like a loser

and one next weekend

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