This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on November 17, 2004 8:22 AM.
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So much of my working life is spent reading and editing, and so much of my leisure time is spent on the internet, that I don't get a chance to read books for pleasure as much as I would like. But occasionally I squeeze one in, as I just did with James McManus's Positively Fifth Street.
As a former newspaper reporter and an aspiring card shark, I greatly enjoyed McManus's acount of his 2000 visit to Las Vegas, wherein (a) playing as a rookie, he reached the finals of the World Series of Poker and (b) he covered the trial of the couple accused of murdering Las Vegas gambling magnate Ted Binion. If you're part of the current craze of watching poker tournaments on television (I'm told more people now catch poker on the tube than hockey), or if you like a good yarn, you'd like this book, too.
Comments (11)
just in case that wasn't a joke:
more people watch Curling than hockey. there is no hockey on TV
Professional hockey doesn't even realize that it is dead yet. When the strike ends, Hockey will not be bargaining with the networks from a position of power.
TV Poker is the new golf. Nearly anyone can figure out how to play it so we all relate.
Plus, there is the luck factor. Every once in a while (when the wind is blowing just right) a golfing hack gets a hole-in-one with his brother-in-law's borrowed clubs. Afterward he can convince himself that at that very moment he played the hole as well or better than anyone in the world and it connects him to a sport where the pro's play that way consistently.
Similarly, a dead money amateur can win a poker tournament with solid play and a decent run of luck.
Don't they have to call it -- notwithstanding recounts virtually guaranteed & automatic -- today, Jud? "Sounds like" odds are on Gregoire at this point, based on counties left, population # and leaning.
Drat. I voted against the old empire & for the new.
I don't think hockey is dead, it's just that it's a regional sport, unlike the NFL or MLB (or hell, the NHL in Canada). Spend some time out East and you will see some serious hockey fans - it just never caught in the NW.
"Anyone care to use this against all those 'my vote doesn't count' people?"
Ain't it beautiful, Jud. My vote counted in a few places in Washington State this year. I always have argued for participation in state & local races & issues. Who knew a gubernatorial race could slice this fine, in a state this large?!
Um, I voted in the State of Washington this year. And while the newspapers this morning report that Rossi won by 261 votes, my vote didn't affect the result. If I had not voted, the margin would be 260 votes or 262 votes (you'll have to guess which). Either way, there would be a recount.
The point is, people, no one individual's vote counts in any statewide (and usually every local) election. This doesn't mean one should not vote. But calm down on the propaganda that my vote makes a difference. I voted because I like to participate in the process and feel a connection. Sometimes the masses agree with me, other times they're ignorant. But my vote does not count.
Arguably, my vote MATTERS (in some psychological or civic sense), but it does not COUNT (in terms of making a difference in the result of any given race). Never has. Never will. But that's okay--I'll still do it.
"If everyone thought that way," you cry, "we'd be a screwed-up country." Please. If everyone DID think that way, then it would be true that one person's vote would matter. But not everyone does. Most drink the Kool-Aid and think that the future hinges on what they do behind a curtain. And as long as the voting population reaches a critical mass (which it almost always does), one measly vote won't make a difference.
And don't bother replying with the "one vote burned Andrew Johnson" or "one vote allowed Hitler to rise to power" sap. In those examples, the voting population was even smaller than Rossi's pre-recount lead over Gregoire.
One final point: some scholars argue that low voter turnout is a sign of stability. In nations where chaos reigns, voter turnout is often far in excess of what we just experienced a few weeks ago. The very high turnout in this election might suggest that America feels a little less stable than it did a short time ago.
I completely agree with Count Me In. I look at voting as the opportunity to officially register my opinion in a giant public poll.
Putting up a lawn sign or writing a letter to the editor or simply talking to friends about my political opinions will have a much greater chance of influencing an election than my one measley vote.
I have never compared voting to other available political activity with any favoritism. The math I do says in any presidential election, it isn't worth getting off a couch or going to a mailbox. In a local or tight election it is. If you convince a whole lotta people of that, will "your vote" count less -- or more?
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
So much of my working life is spent reading and editing, and so much of my leisure time is spent on the internet, that I don't get a chance to read books for pleasure as much as I would like. But occasionally I squeeze one in, as I just did with James McManus's Positively Fifth Street.
Comments (11)
just in case that wasn't a joke:
more people watch Curling than hockey. there is no hockey on TV
Posted by Steve | November 17, 2004 10:44 AM
Professional hockey doesn't even realize that it is dead yet. When the strike ends, Hockey will not be bargaining with the networks from a position of power.
TV Poker is the new golf. Nearly anyone can figure out how to play it so we all relate.
Plus, there is the luck factor. Every once in a while (when the wind is blowing just right) a golfing hack gets a hole-in-one with his brother-in-law's borrowed clubs. Afterward he can convince himself that at that very moment he played the hole as well or better than anyone in the world and it connects him to a sport where the pro's play that way consistently.
Similarly, a dead money amateur can win a poker tournament with solid play and a decent run of luck.
Posted by PanchoPdx | November 17, 2004 12:32 PM
Speaking of wagering, anyone want to lay 5 bones on this race?
Christine Gregoire Democrat 1367886 48.87%
Dino Rossi Republican 1368019 48.87%
Ruth Bennett Libertarian 63121 2.25%
Jud
Posted by Jud | November 17, 2004 12:42 PM
Don't they have to call it -- notwithstanding recounts virtually guaranteed & automatic -- today, Jud? "Sounds like" odds are on Gregoire at this point, based on counties left, population # and leaning.
Drat. I voted against the old empire & for the new.
Posted by Sally | November 17, 2004 1:36 PM
I don't think hockey is dead, it's just that it's a regional sport, unlike the NFL or MLB (or hell, the NHL in Canada). Spend some time out East and you will see some serious hockey fans - it just never caught in the NW.
Posted by Erik | November 17, 2004 4:11 PM
Sally, I believe the deadline is (was) 4pm today. I tried to guesstimate the results based on the leftover counties but just couldn't do it.
As for 4:49 pm today, Gregoire is the "winner" by 28 votes.
Christine Gregoire Democrat 1369608 48.87%
Dino Rossi Republican 1369580 48.87%
Ruth Bennett Libertarian 63253 2.25%
Anyone care to use this against all those "my vote doesn't count" people?
Jud
Posted by Jud | November 17, 2004 4:58 PM
"Anyone care to use this against all those 'my vote doesn't count' people?"
Ain't it beautiful, Jud. My vote counted in a few places in Washington State this year. I always have argued for participation in state & local races & issues. Who knew a gubernatorial race could slice this fine, in a state this large?!
Posted by Sally | November 17, 2004 7:33 PM
Um, I voted in the State of Washington this year. And while the newspapers this morning report that Rossi won by 261 votes, my vote didn't affect the result. If I had not voted, the margin would be 260 votes or 262 votes (you'll have to guess which). Either way, there would be a recount.
The point is, people, no one individual's vote counts in any statewide (and usually every local) election. This doesn't mean one should not vote. But calm down on the propaganda that my vote makes a difference. I voted because I like to participate in the process and feel a connection. Sometimes the masses agree with me, other times they're ignorant. But my vote does not count.
Arguably, my vote MATTERS (in some psychological or civic sense), but it does not COUNT (in terms of making a difference in the result of any given race). Never has. Never will. But that's okay--I'll still do it.
"If everyone thought that way," you cry, "we'd be a screwed-up country." Please. If everyone DID think that way, then it would be true that one person's vote would matter. But not everyone does. Most drink the Kool-Aid and think that the future hinges on what they do behind a curtain. And as long as the voting population reaches a critical mass (which it almost always does), one measly vote won't make a difference.
And don't bother replying with the "one vote burned Andrew Johnson" or "one vote allowed Hitler to rise to power" sap. In those examples, the voting population was even smaller than Rossi's pre-recount lead over Gregoire.
One final point: some scholars argue that low voter turnout is a sign of stability. In nations where chaos reigns, voter turnout is often far in excess of what we just experienced a few weeks ago. The very high turnout in this election might suggest that America feels a little less stable than it did a short time ago.
Posted by Count Me In | November 18, 2004 10:24 AM
No one's vote counts because everyone's vote counts. Whatever. And I thought I had some lonely conversations sometimes.
Posted by Sally | November 18, 2004 1:36 PM
Not really that lonely.
I completely agree with Count Me In. I look at voting as the opportunity to officially register my opinion in a giant public poll.
Putting up a lawn sign or writing a letter to the editor or simply talking to friends about my political opinions will have a much greater chance of influencing an election than my one measley vote.
Do the math Sally.
Posted by PanchoPdx | November 19, 2004 5:38 AM
I have never compared voting to other available political activity with any favoritism. The math I do says in any presidential election, it isn't worth getting off a couch or going to a mailbox. In a local or tight election it is. If you convince a whole lotta people of that, will "your vote" count less -- or more?
Do the philosophy with the math.
Posted by Sally | November 19, 2004 1:38 PM