Saturday, June 26, 2010

the Swingin' A's (Kurt hits a dinger!)

Tonight was throwback night at the Oakland Coliseum in the game between the Oakland A's and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not only were the A's wearing throwback uniforms (a garish yellow for both their jerseys as well as their pants), but the Pirates wore old-style uniforms too. The green on the A's caps were the lighter lime green they used to have; the Pirates had the boxier-shaped caps with the horizontal lines on them. And the A's coaches even wore the white caps that the coaches of yesteryear wore.

Players from the World Championship teams from the 70's also participated in festivities, with many of them riding around the field in convertibles prior to the game. The television broadcast featured appearances from Billy North and Vida Blue joining Glen Kuiper (who wore spot-on 70's clothing, a wig and a mustache) and Ray Fosse (himself a member of those championship A's teams) in the booth. Also in the booth to call play-by-play for the 5th inning was longtime favorite A's broadcaster, Monte Moore. It brought back great memories of way-back-when, when he and Fosse worked as a team calling A's games.

In a perfect synchronicity, as Monte Moore was describing the origin of him using the word 'dinger' to describe home runs hit by the A's back then while having an actual favorite bell he used to ring that he brought on a whim to tonight's visit to the booth, with two outs, A's catcher Kurt Suzuki hit a home run! So both Moore and Fosse got to ring the bell as Suzuki was circling the bases - just like old times.

The entire broadcast was geared towards recreating the 70's, including the graphics that were used during the game: the old-style box scores using
yellow-colored type was really well done. Many fans dressed for the occasion wearing wigs and donning mustaches, some wearing the Joe Rudi (#26) jerseys that were given out to early arriving fans.

It was one of the most enjoyable games I've watched in a long time... and by the way, the A's won too. :-)

P.S. - as I mentioned in my previous entry, I've signed up to submit articles to a website called Associated Content (recently bought by Yahoo!). My first submission was an entry I posted on this blog first (with minor changes). Here's the link if you're interested in checking it out.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Associated Content

Hello readers, all handful of you - I recently discovered an online repository for writers called Associated Content. I've signed up (no worries, it was free) and will be submitting things to them to see if I can reach a larger audience for my 'musings.' Part of the sign-up process included the option of choosing a pen name, and after some consideration I decided "why not?" The nom de plume I came up with is Chandler H. Alan. Yes, it does have meaning to me, such as the middle initial standing for Harry, a late uncle who died during World War II. The plane he was on was shot down somewhere over Southeast Asia. I don't think he even got a chance to cradle any of his many nieces and nephews that came to be with the baby boom.

Thanks to those of you whom have complimented my writing style - it means a lot. And maybe increasing the exposure of what I have to say will lead to bigger and better things!

Also, I won't be as consistent in adding to my blog as I devote more of my time to this other venue. Thanks for visiting Gold Mountain Musings as much as you have, and I'll try to add thoughts here periodically!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

unusual names

I used to think it was such a disadvantage growing up with an unusual name: Apple Martin, Moon Unit Zappa, Rumer Willis, Scout Willis, et al. Crazy celebrity parents! And I suppose even non-celebrity parents have given their kids the most creative of names too. But in modern times, with the world getting ever 'smaller' from the Internet and its ubiquitous searches, having a unique name can be an advantage. Even on Facebook, it seems that typing in virtually any name will come up with over 500 results, which makes it more difficult to find someone in particular. I've tried locating old classmates and have been unable to pinpoint them. It's a big, big world with lots of people and having a few-if-any kind of a name can actually be an advantage.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

orioles of yore

The Baltimore Orioles baseball team's caps have an oriole on them. Makes sense, doesn't it? But they look so serious and staid. I've been waiting for years for them to go back to their more playful, happy logos, the ones that they wore way back when.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

the Crimson

Many years ago, my brother and his best friend traveled along the East coast and brought me back a T-shirt from one of the universities. It was a subdued crimson color with a single word printed across the front of the chest in refined type:

HAHVAHD

Classic!

Monday, June 14, 2010

who you callin' inscrutable?

For the longest time, whenever I heard the phrase "those inscrutable Chinese," well frankly, I took offense. That's because I took the word inscrutable to mean unscrupulous. So when I finally realized what inscrutable meant, I was like, oh okay, I can see it, no big deal. Sometimes, I can't figure myself out.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Chinese faux-paus (pardon my French)

Okay, I'm American-born Chinese, or ABC. I had different places to live during my college days, and different sets of roommates. The first place I lived after my one year in the dorms was perfect, but the roommate whose father owned the condo unit we were in got married and we all had to find somewhere else to live. The condo was good while it lasted... actually, it was great! Peaceful, near downtown, I miss it.

So anyway, one of the other places I lived in during college was an apartment I shared with two Chinese roommates, one also American-born, and the other from China. Besides both of them being much better cooks than me (they were much more talented with stir-frying), they were both much better versed than me when it came to Chinese customs. For example, one night there was a bowl of rice sitting on the table (as opposed to each of us serving ourselves out of the rice cooker), and I decided to be, uh, "creative" and stuck a pair of chopsticks standing straight up in the middle of the bowl. The collective gasp! I heard from my roommates was oh-so-palpable. A BIG no-no, just like the number 4. Chopsticks sticking straight up like that is symbolic of funerals. What else? Oh yeah, never give a Chinese person a watch or a clock as a gift, particularly a hospital patient. It indicates the counting down of the seconds of their life.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

unlucky (and lucky) number

There is a local heating and air-conditioning company whose phone number is: 444-4444. It is easy to remember for sure, but I wonder if they've ever noticed that they rarely have any Chinese customers (I'm assuming). Because as Americanized as I am, I am quite familiar that in the Cantonese language, the number 4 is very bad indeed. Something about it sounding like the word for 'death.' I bet if you were to check out the addresses or phone numbers for Chinese restaurants and businesses in the yellow pages, you would very rarely find the number 4 in any of them. And lucky for the Chinese? The number 8! Here is the address and phone number for Restaurant Peony in Oakland Chinatown for example:

388 9th Street, Suite 288
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 286-8866

Lots of 8's, and hardly any 4's (the 4 in the zip code being hard to avoid).

Friday, June 11, 2010

the NFC 'West'

I like how the NFL is divided into the different divisions now, a North, South, East, and West for each of the conferences. For the most part, they make sense. It's odd thinking about which teams comprised the NFC West not too long ago (the late 1990's): the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, the St. Louis Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers. Counterintuitive, isn't it? No wonder the 49ers logged in so many miles in travel.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

the blind side: left tackles and right tackles

A lot is made of football teams getting a star left tackle, being that they have the key responsibility of protecting the quarterback's blind side during passing plays. It's a big deal nowadays - the left tackle is often portrayed as the most important position on the offensive line.

But what if the quarterback throws left-handed? Doesn't that mean a team has to go about securing the services of a great right tackle? If the backup quarterback throws opposite the starting quarterback, and for whatever reason has to start leading the offense in the middle of a game, does the offensive line adjust accordingly?

It's not until rather recently that I've started wondering about this. Looking back, the 49ers once enjoyed having both Joe Montana (right-handed) and Steve Young (left-handed) at quarterback, during many years that overlapped. I wonder how the offensive line was configured depending on which one of them was playing - did the tackles simply remain in their spots or were adjustments made? For all the football coverage I watch now, I can't remember ever hearing about the right tackle having to protect the blind side of a left-handed quarterback.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

still the San Francisco 49ers

only located in Santa Clara, near California's (formerly Marriott's) Great America.

Hey, as long as they don't move out of the Bay Area, I'm fine with it! The 49ers organization took the first step in building their new home stadium down in Santa Clara with yesterday's vote on Measure J. It's less than 40 miles from their current location at Candlestick Park, which for those of you not familiar with the area, is not exactly in downtown San Francisco as it is. There are several franchises that have their home stadiums in locations other than their namesake, the Dallas Cowboys coming to mind. They play their home games in Arlington, TX. And the New York Giants and the New York Jets both play in... New Jersey? So really, as long as the San Francisco 49ers remain the San Francisco 49ers and play in the Bay Area, it's all good. My only question now is, how far will the new stadium be from where Frontier Village (here's another link I found) used to be?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

do you know the way to Frontier Village?

Frontier Village was a theme park my father took my family to when I was a little boy. I barely have any real memories of us going there. I have a faint picture in my mind of some of the Wild West looking buildings, the gunfight re-enactments done by actors dressed as cowboys (my older brother, also a little kid then, was picked up out of the crowd by one of the actors and included in one of the performances, although I don't know if what I'm picturing in my mind is an actual memory or from just hearing about it - were there ever pictures taken??), and me riding a mule (or donkey) in a little circle. There was such an old-fashioned charm to this place compared to modern attractions.

What also remains with me is our father driving us there. I recall miles and miles of farmland and agriculture, a beautiful drive through the open country until we arrived at our destination. San Jose was undeveloped back then and was simply the area we passed through to get to Frontier Village.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Lakers vs. Celtics

It was long ago, during the Magic and Bird days of these Lakers vs. Celtics finals, when I was watching the TV in my father's den. I had the game on and as a Warrior fan almost instinctively found myself rooting for the Celtics... beat L.A.!, you know? But then, a couple of my relatives talked me into rooting for the Lakers: "Look at the Celtics, they're so ugly!" "You gotta root for the Lakers, they're so cool!" "West versus East" etc. And from that day on, I found myself rooting for the Lakers come playoff-time (as a proxy for the Warriors). I'm still no Lakers fan, but still, Rona likes them.

So it's the Lakers and the Celtics in the finals again - the more things change, the more they stay the same. And really, if the Lakers win the championship, fine, and if the Celtics win, fine. Enjoy it while you can. Go Warriors!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

collateral damage

I watched The Bourne Identity for the umpteenth time last night. Obviously, I really enjoy it... the entire Bourne series actually. It reminded me though of how we, as viewers, get accustomed to so-called collateral damage in action movies. Jason Bourne is often in peril and doing whatever necessary to preserve his life. Still, all the traffic accidents that occur as he zips through crowded streets could certainly result in death, yet who pays attention to that? Innocent police officers, simply doing their jobs to protect the public, could be losing their lives as they crash their vehicles.

Another favorite movie I like to watch whenever I come across it is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And here's a movie that glorifies a couple of outlaws! (amiable as they are). It took me awhile to look at the Bolivian police officers that get shot as people simply doing their jobs often being killed by a Sundance Kid whom we've come to root for: "C'mon Sundance... good shot, yeah!" Oh well, as long as I remember it's a movie.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

perfect for tailgating!

What do you think when you first see the phrase, 'perfect for tailgating!'?

My first thought turns to one of my greatest sources of anxiety: being tailgated while driving. I once worked as a proofreader for a free paper that advertised used cars for both auto dealerships and private sellers. Some of the time, there was hardly enough room to fit the entire requested description in the space provided, so we had the option to do some editing. Well, one dealership was very verbose in their descriptions and had included 'Perfect for tailgating!' for one of their pickups. I was so put off by seeing that imagery that I took it out. It wasn't until much, much later that I realized they meant the other kind of tailgating, as in bbq'ing, setting out food on an open tailgate, etc. At least, I hope that was what they meant. Yeesh!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Strange But True...

Baseball Stories by Furman Bisher was a book I enjoyed throughout my childhood. There was even a second volume called More Strange But True Baseball Stories that we also had.

With all the news about the perfect game that wasn't a couple of days ago due to a blown call, I was reminded of one of the stories from the first Strange But True book. I remembered the name of the pitcher, Harvey Haddix, the team he played for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that he pitched a perfect game for more than 9 innings, but lost! To sate my memory, incredibly I knew just where to look in our house for this old book (it has a copyright of 1966). So filling in some of the details, the game took place on May 29, 1959 in Milwaukee against the Braves, a lineup that featured such greats as Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Haddix pitched a perfect 9 innings, but unfortunately had no run support; although the Pirates got runners on base, none of them scored. So the game went on until Haddix had gone 12 perfect innings: 36 up, 36 down. That's when things fell apart and the Braves started a rally in their half of the 13th inning sparked by a throwing error. A sacrifice, an intentional walk, and a deep drive later, the game was over. Baseball can be such a tough-luck game.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

no perfect game...

but plenty of character and sportsmanship.

All these perfect games lately are becoming rather ho-hum. So much so that fate and the oh-so-human element came into play to prevent the third perfecto within a month's time. Although it cost the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga his place in the record books (unless the call is unprecedentedly reversed by the league office), the exemplary sportsmanship and class displayed has made what happened more positive than negative.

Pitcher Galarraga's immediate reaction to the bad call was not one of anger, but simple incredulousness; it was his teammates that displayed the understandable anger. Umpire Jim Joyce's handling of his blown call has been heartfelt and responsible - he truly is the one that feels the most awful. He took the time after the game to personally apologize to Galarraga, and Galarraga has risen so far above the situation that he recognizes that it's more about human compassion than a stat in a record book. Whether or not the call is reversed, I hope the way the pitcher and the umpire have handled this unfortunate circumstance serves as an example of class and sincerity (not to understate how much losing a perfect game sucks!).

Prior to today's game between Detroit and Cleveland, Armando Galarraga brought the Tigers lineup card out to home plate to hand it out to Jim Joyce, today's home plate umpire, and as Joyce took the card, he wiped away tears. There's something to be learned from all this.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

silver and gold

One thing I've always found appealing about the Raiders and 49ers is their color schemes - not only are they both precious metals (the silver and gold of the helmets), but they complement each other so well. They wouldn't have as much appeal if, say, they had the colors of the Vikings (purple) and the Chiefs (red), which are not bad alone, but not complementary and representing more or less the same geographic area. Together with the oh-so-awesome silver and gold helmet colors are those fantastic Raiders and 49ers logos, which are timeless, or at least should be.

Looking around the Internet, I am amused to see that lots of fans also have strong opinions about the aesthetics of team designs. The striped helmets of the Cincinnati Bengals elicit passionate debate, and some even prefer the old helmets which I thought were simply pathetic: they looked like Cleveland Browns helmets with the word 'Bengals' printed on them - and sometimes, not even??

I may even have mentioned this before, but I can't imagine the Patriots or the Buccaneers ever winning the Super Bowl championships they did with their old logos/helmets. Some logos are timeless, some have thankfully changed, and some should still be changed.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

silver and black jerseys

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that football-wise, I'm all about the 49ers... yeah, Niners! Growing up here in the Bay Area, I found myself naturally cheering for both local teams. However, in the 1970's, it was the Raiders that were televised more often (they were the more successful team, not coincidentally). So although I rooted for and cared about the Niners, I lived and died more by how the Raiders did and have many more memories of them from back then.

Then they moved to Los Angeles. Ouch! And around the same time, the 49ers got real good with Bill Walsh as head coach. The Raiders moving down to L.A. was a tough pill to swallow - that's Dodger country. And they were the Los Angeles Raiders when they won one of their Super Bowls, defeating the Washington Redskins. I never did bond with players such as Howie Long and Marcus Allen.

Now with the Raiders back in Oakland, I'm sort of interested, happy when they win but not terribly upset when they lose. Anyway, I'd like to talk about... retiring jersey numbers. The 49er organization has retired several numbers and as far as I know, the Raiders none. Some have complained about it, that with as many great players as the Raiders have had, many numbers are worthy of being permanently retired. But I think they're on the right track here - after all, so many of the same numbers have been worn by important Raider players, for example: #12 was worn by both Ken Stabler and Rich Gannon; #16 by both George Blanda and Jim Plunkett; #32 - Jack Tatum and Marcus Allen; #21 - Cliff Branch and currently Nnamdi Asomugha; #83 - Ben Davidson and Ted Hendricks; my point being, it's rather too late for the Raiders to start retiring jersey numbers now. Besides, at some point in the future for a great team that retires numbers, there won't be any jersey numbers left to choose!