“Hal’s a smart businessman,” the source said. “And I’m just not sure that he considers baseball to be a smart business. I think he looks at some of these other owners, throwing $200 million at players and thinks they’re idiots — idiots that unfortunately can affect the way he does business. [...]“

This makes total sense to me. The Steinbrenner kids were never fans like their father, and with the amount that the Dodgers sold for, they’d be stupid not to listen to offers. The potential problem is that some large corporation or group of investors will buy it, will have no passion for the game (like the Steinbrenner kids), and will just run the team as an investment. How did that work out for CBS? I might like to see some sort of public ownership, à la The Green Bay Packers.

Update: Unsurprisingly, Hal Steinbrenner denies the rumor.

I saw a Megolodon’s jaw at Underwater World. It could eat you even though you’re a giant turd.

How I believe he views me:

Family Portrait

The favorite rumpus room of the pigeon, New York City, is thought to contain anywhere between 1 and 7 million of the flapping rats of the sky.

So where are all the dead ones?

The dog I had when I was young would chase after pigeons for her first year. Never did catch one. That was probably a good thing after seeing some of the videos accompanying this article.

Fast-food outlets have increasingly sought to trial new initiatives, including new technology and food products, at a number of selected restaurants, in a bid to gain competitive advantage over their rivals.

Perhaps they should make their food better, or include better toys in their Happy Meals? Just a thought.

The private garage at 66 E. 11th St. costs six times more than the national-average price of a single-family home.

Buying it would be the same as paying a $115 ticket for illegal parking every day — for 24 years.

For moguls or celebrities, however, the rare commodity of a Manhattan parking space inside their building, with a curb cut at the street, is a huge status symbol and selling point.

It’ll sell. No problem.

Almost all are easily recognized.

Watson said he was surprised by a lower-than-expected total. “Compared to the aliens in Independence Day, for example, these guys were amateurs,” he told THR. “Of course, the Chitauri/Loki alliance were more interested in conquest and ruling, whereas the ID aliens were just looking for lunch or something.”

While that’s what it would cost in normal universe money, they failed to take into account that in the Marvel Universe (in which “The Avengers” takes place), there are many extremely wealthy philanthropists, amazing technology, and a construction company dedicated to cleaning up the messes caused by super villains and superheroes, so I doubt the costs would actually be that high. You know, a movie about Damage Control has some potential.

• Freakonomics (web site, iTunes) – From the authors of the books of the same name, this podcast uses general economic theories to take a fresh look at everyday life. I find it fascinating, and listen to new episodes as soon as they are available.
• Stuff You Should Know (web site, iTunes) — If you loved David Macaulay’s The Way Things Work, you’ll enjoy this podcast. Basically, two guys, Josh and Chuck, have an unscripted conversation about how different topics work. There’s one topic per show and each show is usually between 20 and about 40 minutes long. They aren’t experts, and they don’t pretend to be, but they do a good job of taking a topic and presenting it. It’s The Discovery Channel for your ears.
• WNYC’s Radiolab (web site, iTunes) — Somewhat similar to Stuff You Should Know in that it takes a topic and explains it; includes interviews and other narrators as well as music, TV, & movie sounds bites that are part of the story. It’s very well put together.
• NPR: Planet Money (web site, iTunes) — A 15-30 minute show about money and economics presented to a layman.
• ProPublica: Podcast (web site, iTunes) — Interviews with the reporters about the stories they publish on their web site.
• The Truth (web site, iTunes) — This is a dramatic fiction show that I just recently started listening to, but it’s quite well done and entertaining.

The magazine was most unhappy, and publicly complained and ridiculed Mr. Cleese on his bricklaying skills, saying, “If Mr. Cleese performed comedy the way he lays bricks, he would have failed as a comedian and would probably have become a decent bricklayer.”

When asked about his bricklaying skills, Mr. Cleese explained that he had thought they hired him for his interpretation of a pile of bricks and added, “If you want bricks installed properly you hire a bricklayer, not a bloody minister of funny walks!”

I’ve already been asked by quite a few bat-nerds (and I use that term endearingly, as I, too, am a bat-nerd) why I didn’t include the [insert Elseworlds/alternate universe/Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps] bat-suit in the infographic. The fact of the matter is, fellow bat-nerds, if you were to ask anyone not completely frothing over with bat-lore what the fuck a Sinestro Corp Batman was, they would just stare you in the face like the crazy person you are. And they’d be right to!

Personally, I think “The Animated Series” is how I picture Batman…grey and black suit with the oval logo. On that note, “The Animated Series” is fantastic, and if you’ve never seen it you’re missing one of the best incarnations of the caped crusader (even though Robin is in a few episodes here and there).

Asked today if the Titanic II could sink, Mr Palmer told reporters: “Of course it will sink if you put a hole in it.

He added: “It is going to be designed so it won’t sink.

“It will be designed as a modern ship with all the technology to ensure that doesn’t happen.

“But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen.”

Let’s hope it fares better than the last Titanic II.
Hopefully, it fares better than the last Titanic II.

Disclaimer: I cannot draw, which I think is pretty obvious.

Many (or maybe most) of you were probably letting “hopefully” slip in your conversation and maybe even your prose. For instance: “Hopefully, I will remember to tell the editors in my life about this change from the AP.” Technically, that’s incorrect.

In response to the AP’s announcement, one commmenter wrote:

“When enough people fail to learn the rule, the mistake becomes the rule. This is change but not progress.”

Well, that’s what the English language is. It’s an amalgam of other languages, and therefore can never be static or adhere strictly to its rules. Its usage defines its rules. How many people use the word “peruse” in the wrong way? In my experience, most. And one day, far in the future, you may see “peruse” soften it’s definition, and maybe even be reversed.

On a side note, I’ve used “hopefully” as an adverb four times on joshmadison.com. Hopefully, I’ll be more mindful of its use in the future.