Sacramento Scenes #4

The State Capitol building, just before 6 p.m., Friday, January 29.

Dreams

I can always tell when my stress level from work is getting too high, because I start having one of two dreams. In one, I dream that I'm back at my job as a grill man at McDonald's (a job I got when I was 16, and one which financed the bulk of my college expenses), and I'm the only one on the job, and buses pull in to the parking lot, and of course I can't handle the volume. In the other, I'm back at my job as a waiter for Chuck's Steak House, and the theme here is usually that the restaurant is packed, I'm the only waiter, the chef is refusing to put the meals up...you get the idea.

Last year, I added some new variations to the portfolio, this time featuring people from work in scenarios that usually ended with huge arguments or major crises. There was no logic to any of these dreams, and the only thing they really had in common was a high level of panic.

With last night's dream, I believe I may have reached a new level of depravity/insanity/psychopathy (take your pick), because for the first time, a blogger appeared in one of my dreams. Those who are familiar with Ann Althouse know that she is probably one of the most prominent bloggers in the country, with a vast readership that makes mine look like nothing more than a blip on the radar screen. To give you an idea, I'd be willing to bet that her site has received more hits in the time that it's taken me to write this than mine gets in an entire day. Those who read her regularly know that one of the things she does best is dissect a speech, or a column, or an article that she finds fault with (the latest example coming just yesterday).

In my dream, I am attending a training being offered by the Association that I work for, which for some odd reason is being held in a bar (not a bad idea, but I doubt that we'll ever go there). A speaker is delivering a presentation, and Althouse is loudly critiquing it, in much the same fashion that she eviscerates the Glenn Greenwald column in the post linked to above. This is resulting in much laughter from the audience, and much horror from the staff. It goes on, until a gentleman in the audience rolls up a newspaper, and whacks Ms. Althouse in the back of the head. And it was about that time that I woke up, which is too bad because it would have been really interesting to see what happened after that point.

So there you have it. I can't explain it, so all I am left with is to share it.

American Top 40 Flashback - Petula Clark

The #1 song 35 years ago this week – “Downtown,” Petula Clark. The video is either a bit out of sync, or Petula is doing a particularly poor job of lip-syncing – I’m not sure which. But the song remains the same.

A few years later (13 or 14, to be less than exact), The B-52s chipped in with their version:

Sacramento Scenes #3

The Freeport Bridge over the Sacramento River, as seen through my windshield.

Sacramento Scenes #2

West Sacramento, to be precise. The view walking out of my office, Tuesday January 26.

And So It Begins Again...

Let the record note that on January 25, Brett Favre commented that it was "highly unlikely" that he would return for another NFL season.

Be sure to remember that in March, April, May, June, July, August...

Welcome to the Future

OK, someone make a case to me why this isn't the best damn song to be released in 2009.

More to come...

Early Prediction

I may not have gotten the scores exactly right, but hey, as far as I'm concerned I got close enough to declare victory. Before getting to the Super Bowl prediction, some random thoughts about yesterday's games:

- There have been a lot of great quarterbacks playing in the past 20 years, but outside of Joe Montana, I'm not sure if I've seen a better game than that played yesterday by Peyton Manning. It didn't set any records on the statistical front, but it was a magnificent performance. I love watching Manning play; the way he takes over a game, reading the defense right up to the last second, and then taking whatever the defense allows. Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, and Joseph Addai were also great, and given how infrequently Manning gets hit hard, you have to think that the Colts are going to be around for a while.

- It dawned on me yesterday that I've never heard Colts Coach Jim Caldwell say anything - not a single word. It's almost a perfect parallel to George Seifert taking over from Bill Walsh, and the 49ers not missing a beat.

- Man, I am so glad I'm not a big Vikings fan, because that was the sort of game that stays with you for a lifetime (for 49ers fans, the obvious parallels are the 1983 and 2000 NFC Championships, painful losses to the Redskins and Giants). I'm thrilled that New Orleans is finally in the Super Bowl, but the Vikings should have won that game, and I'm sure they know it today.

- Brett Favre is coming back. I just hope he spares us the agony of another season of "Will He Or Won't He?"

- What the heck happened to Robert Meacham, the guy who was positively tearing up the league in November? I can only remember his name being called once yesterday. Odd.

On to the prediction:

The Colts were up against it yesterday, sucked it up, and won going away over an opponent with absolutely nothing to lose - the most dangerous kind. The Saints are capable of great football, but I worry a bit about their ability to put four great quarters together under the biggest spotlights any of them have ever been under. They could win, and it won't be until the game begins to flow that I'll know who I'm rooting for, but in the end I don't think they will. Manning will play another great game - he'll study those Saints rushes, and figure out a way to outmaneuver them - or at least, often enough to make things work.

Final Score: Colts 27, Saints 17

And For the Defense...

In the spirit of fairness, I wanted to link to Mark Evanier's well-written, well-reasoned defense of Jay Leno.

Evanier has written extensively on the latest NBC late-night brouhaha, and being in the business himself, has noted that (much like The Godfather) nearly all of this is business, not personal.

The only thing I wonder about what he's written (and he's said it more than once now) concerns the 10 p.m. lead-ins. Obviously Conan had a terrible lead-in with Jay's show, which was tanking at 10 p.m., but Evanier writes that for most of his tenure, Leno suffered from bad lead-ins as well. I'd like to see the evidence for that, because for all their faults, NBC has had some pretty successful shows at 10 p.m. over the years, including Law & Order and ER. It's one thing to write that, and while it could be true, I'd like to see the evidence.

Of course, why all this matters is anyone's guess. I find it fascinating.

This Bird You Cannot Change

Sacramento Scenes #1

Esquire IMAX Theatre, K Street Mall, taken just after 5 p.m. Friday, January 22 from the parking lot of the Hyatt Regency.

Predictions

And trust me, all of 30 seconds of thought went into these:

Colts 24, Jets 13

Saints 38, Vikings 28

The Last Show

I probably shouldn't have stayed up Friday night, since I knew I had to be up at 6 a.m. for a board meeting, but I'm glad I did. Conan O'Brien's last show was great, and a perfect example of what might have been had NBC given him a fair shake.

Closing out the show with a funny and heartfelt version of "Free Bird" was a stroke of genius, but the part of the show most worthy of comment was Conan's gracious, heartfelt goodbye. He acknowledged the current differences with NBC, but also thanked the network, essentially for making his career possible. Being a bit of a cynic myself, his comments on cynicism were particularly memorable - he urged his fans not to feel cynical about what happened, and closed with a plea that if you work hard and be kind, amazing things will happen:

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

I can only hope that if ever faced by a similar situation, I would be able to react with such class and grace.

Once the dust settles we may learn more details about how all of this happened, but right now it is crystal clear that Conan played the end game brilliantly, and emerged from the wreckage as the good guy. NBC execs are the buffoons, and whether he likes it or not, Jay Leno is the bad guy. I suppose that last point could be argued, but I don't know how else to explain the upcoming appearance on Oprah.

I'm sure Conan will land on his feet, and when he does, I'll be rooting for him to kick Jay's ass in the ratings wars.

American Top 40 Flashback - B.J. Thomas

The number one song for the week of January 24, in 1970.

Gotta love that set design. Can't imagine what ol' B.J. thought about that when he stepped into the studio!

In the Rain

Quick NFL Note

Chan Gailey?

Really?

Good luck, Bills fans. I hope it works out.