voices

I've been stuck listening to my own voice lately... my current aspiration is to become a Personal Historian - recording people's memories and writing them into a narrative for posterity's sake - and in listening and transcribing my first interview with a helpful cousin, I had to listen to me talking in addition to her. I realize that I'm not the first to say this, but I don't like the sound of my voice!

It's always surprising to me which other people don't like listening to their voices; two recent celebrities that I've learned feel this way are actress Charlize Theron and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. I think Charlize's voice sounds intelligent and sexy and there is nothing wrong with Peter's voice. They have no reason not to like their voices!

But mine, on the other hand...

cereal alchemy

Yes, I like eating breakfast cereal in the mornings. Not every morning, but maybe every few days when I have a taste for it. There were many years when I couldn't because of my lactose intolerance, which started sometime in my mid-teens. I'd be so jealous of people that could enjoy cereal, such as when I was in the dining hall in college and other students could choose cereal whereas I couldn't.

I posted on this blog sometime ago a product that has allowed me to enjoy cereal again called 'Rice Dream.' Being completely non-dairy, it works for me! It tastes good and substitutes for milk very well.

What I've noticed as I've gotten older is my inability to eat sweets as much as when I was younger. Not so much in a dietary sense, but I just don't like the taste of food that is too sweet. So when it comes to cereal, for example, I don't like a bowl full of straight frosted flakes, but rather I prefer frosted flakes 'cut' with regular corn flakes, something like half and half.

And more so than when I was growing up, I enjoy mixing and matching different cereals into the same bowl. I'm getting more like my late mom, who would mix all kinds of different cereals together. I'm not yet to the level in which she would do it, but I sense that I am getting closer and closer. For now, different kinds of flakes mixed together works pretty well, but I can see myself enjoying a real mixture of flavors and textures as time goes on, i.e. flakes mixed with chex mixed with puffs, etc.

Tim Lincecum lookalike

There was a nice segment on the local cable sports channel about a cab driver from Brazil who seriously looks a LOT like Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. He's a tad bit shorter, speaks with a rather strong accent, and I guess his nose is a little different as well – but at quick glance and even after some time spent studying him, he really looks like he could be 'The Freak'!

The segment showed this guy, Luiz Lins, walking around San Francisco wearing a Giants cap and a Giants jersey, getting all kinds of looks from fans and non-fans alike. I don't know how much of it was for this particular show, but people on the street were asked who he was and they replied unilaterally, "That's Tim Lincecum." Many folks were taking pictures with him as well.

Now this Luiz guy says that he never lies to people claiming to be the baseball star, but he still causes a stir with his appearance. And he also states that he's been wearing his hair long ever since he was in high school; his flowing locks make him look even more like the real Tim Lincecum as well. Still, one must ask: 'Would the real baseball star walk around in public wearing a Giants baseball cap and jersey?' I don't think so.

Which leads me to an idea: wouldn't it be fun if the real Tim Lincecum worked on appropriating a Brazilian (Portuguese?) accent and insisted to fans that his name is really Luiz and that he's not Tim Lincecum? He could even don a store-bought Giants cap and jersey to look even more like he's not the actual baseball player. I imagine that once he's insisted to someone that his name isn't Tim/Timmy but rather Luiz, that someone would point out that the real Timmy wouldn't walk around with that silly cap and shirt advertising his presence, and that they've heard about a lookalike anyway. If Tim were able to ace the accent, then this sort of ruse just might work!

And more than that, wouldn't it be even more fun to imagine Tim trying to fool his teammates?

NL All-Stars

Well, now the shoe is on the other foot... and it feels so good!

To my knowledge, it's the prior baseball season's world series managers that are given the choice of whom to select for the All-Star game, aside from the starting position players. So Giants manager Bruce Bochy was given the honor (and headache) of filling out the National League roster this year. Besides closer Brian Wilson, chosen by his peers I believe, Bochy went ahead and made three Giants starters All-Stars for this year's Summer Classic: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Ryan Vogelsong.

In previous years, I've only looked at whether or not a player deserved to go based on their performance for the first half of the season leading up to the All-Star game. Leading up to this year's contest, however, I was finally made privy to the other school of thought that says that selection should be based on the second half of the previous season in addition to the first half of the current season.

Well, in that case, then, stellar post-season performances should weigh in too! I'm all in favor now of rewarding players that were part and parcel of a championship run. It makes sense now... I've seen the light. Lincecum and Cain are stars in the league and should be recognized by their manager for helping their team win the World Series last year. Go Giants! And as for Vogelsong, of all the San Francisco players, I wanted him to go most of all. One of the best stories in baseball.

Those who follow the Giants could even look back now and say that Barry Zito's injury that caused him to be placed on the disabled list in the first place was a most fortuitous event: it gave Vogelsong the opportunity to take his place in the rotation, solidify it, and accomplish all that he did. Plus, it gave Zito a chance to go back and recapture his 'stuff' to become a more effective pitcher himself. Win-win. If Jonathan Sanchez also comes back from the DL stronger than ever, well, I'd rather have too many good pitchers than not enough. A great problem to have.

Giants fans and players have gone through years and years of slights by World Series managers playing favorites in choosing their own players – now the Giants are in that position to have the choice, so go ahead and take it! Maybe in future years, I'll be more understanding of the obvious bias. And sad but true, managers do have to live with their own players after All-Star selections and snubs, so why make things difficult?

On another note, should the results of the All-Star game decide home-field advantage for the World Series? I prefer the idea I heard the other night that whichever league has the better win-loss record for interleague play during the season should be awarded home-field advantage. If that results in a tie, then perhaps they can go to the winner of the All-Star game, but hopefully it would never come to that.

hit the ball and run!

I'm watching the Giants play the Cubs right now, and am reminded of the biggest hit of my baseball playing days:

I was in my first season in the league, playing for the Braves. Okay, okay, so it was Jr. Optimist, akin to Little League, and I was in grade school. Now back to my reflection: I was playing in a game and I was at bat - and this one time I hit the ball harder than I had ever hit a ball before. I hit that ball fully square and it felt good... it felt right. And I put my head down and ran.

I rounded first base, and then kept running towards second base. And being that I had put my head down and ran from the time I hit the ball, I had no idea where I had hit it. NO idea. And luckily the kindly man that was umpiring at second base that day, and who I happened to know because he was the father of one of my teammates, said: "Congratulations Arthur! You hit a ground-rule double!"

It was a good thing he told me that. Mostly because, like I mentioned, I had no idea where I had hit the ball in the first place, and I likely would have kept running until someone tagged me out. And also, well, I've never hit a home run, ever, in my life, but a ground-rule double was a nice consolation prize! That means it must have been darn close to being a home run. Not a home run, but pretty close! Right?

what Willie Mays would make today

So this is the story I heard:

Willie Mays, in my opinion, the greatest baseball player ever, was recently asked what he thought he would be paid (per year) if he played baseball today. And he replied, "Oh, I'd say about $300,000."

Aghast, the questioner told him, "But Willie, players nowadays are making millions of dollars!"

And Willie said, "Well, I am 80 years old!"

three picks

In yesterday's NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors selected three players: Klay Thompson, Jeremy Tyler, and Charles Jenkins. I had forgotten that in last year's draft, the Warriors sold their 2nd round pick, so this year they made up for it by purchasing an additional 2nd round pick! New ownership, indeed.

Klay Thompson was the name I was expecting to hear announced as the Warriors pick when he was still available at #11. Although one never knows for sure in drafts! But he was being mentioned as the guy the team had their eye on, as well as a favorite of Jerry West's, which is an added feather in Thompson's cap.

He too is the son of a former NBA player, Mychal Thompson, who won several championships with the Lakers some years ago. Which got me wondering if Stephen Curry's father, former NBA player Dell Curry has any kind of history (teammates, or rivals in any memorable games, etc.) with Mychal Thompson. I'll have to look that up...

Even though there is plenty of talk that Thompson plays the same position as SG Monta Ellis, and therefore increases the likelihood of Ellis being traded, I buy the explanation that Thompson strengthens the bench and Curry, Ellis, and Thompson can all make for a very strong backcourt. Besides, Curry and Ellis can't play entire games without getting some minutes of rest, especially during a long NBA season. Plus, the Warriors coaching staff and management should get at least a season to see how they mesh with each other on the court. It's still June, of course, so anything can happen.

The trade for the rights to sign Tyler (that extra second pick they purchased in the 2nd round) came as a surprise. When the Bobcats chose him originally, I was barely paying attention to what the commentators had to say about him. I wish now that I was listening; all I caught was something about how he's been around, including playing in Japan. What I've read since is exciting - he's got a lot of size and raw talent that if harnessed and developed correctly, could be the presence the Warriors have been looking for near the basket.

The Warriors' final pick in the draft got plenty of cheers from the crowd. 'What?' I thought to myself. Well, it turns out he's from Hoftstra, and there were plenty of Hoftstra supporters in the crowd, waiting to hear the name 'Charles Jenkins' announced. Reading about him too, he could well be a steal himself. We'll just have to wait and see how things all pan out. As an aside, I wonder if his nickname is 'C.J.' Back in the '70s, the Warriors had a player named Charles Johnson, whom was known as 'C.J.'