Watch or Read the Watchmen?

Watchmen- y'all know that I don't mind dating myself. I read the Watchmen one by one over the course of a year. This was June 86 to June 87 if I recall. I had since bought the compilation and reread that every few years. I recently gave a new copy to my girl friend and I am rereading the old one again. yes there is a movie coming out. I can be quite anal sometimes when it comes to remakes and reinterpretations. This work is so good it's best left the way it is. But I know it so well that I will watch the movie to see what kind of a train wreck it is.

The story is so good that I will let others describe it since I don't know where to begin. If you look at pictures you might think its another X-Men/ Dark Knight kinda story/ flick. But it's not. With the notable exception of Dr.Manhattan everything else could happen . Alan Moore has been so against this project and in a way I can relate. Thomas Harris as far as I know has never seen any of the film adaptation of his books. One reason I am against adaptations despite the fact they tend to suck is that all these people jump on the bandwagon. If the original was good enough to inspire the remake and re adaptation then the original should be worth reading. If I had my Fuhrer ways, everybody must read two years worth of Iron Man and one years worth of Avengers before watching Iron Man.

Harry Potter for me should have remained a series of books. Mainly cause I rather it be a mystery for the doorknobs who don't read. Also because its such a better experience.

Bill Kelly back in high school first poked me in the ribs on how brilliant a writer Alan Moore is.And he truly is since 20 plus years later he remains my favorite comic writer. Alan Moore has this gift of taking something almost ridiculous then adding a kick to it that is downright serious yet does not bastardize the original.

Read anything by Alan Moore, read the Watchmen before the movie comes out. It will be rewarding on it's own.



Ed



Special note: sorry for accidentally releasing the incomplete version of this entry a few days ago.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/primer-alan-moore,2199/


http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/07/comic-con-exclu.html

http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/03/the-watchmen-a.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/trivia
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20213004,00.html

http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Alan-Moore/dp/0930289234


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/maindetails
http://comics.ign.com/articles/666/666025p1.html



Absolute Watchmen Review
The greatest comic-book ever written has been made even better.
by Hilary Goldstein


November 10, 2005 - No comic book has been the subject of more essays and serious literary discussion than Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. It recently was named one of the 100 greatest novels of the past century by Time Magazine. Released 20 years ago, the 12-issue maxi-series was a groundbreaking achievement for comics. Written "for adults," Watchmen opened the doors for thought-provoking and intelligent comics in the mainstream. Two decades after its arrival, there is still no greater comic book.

In honor of the 20-year anniversary, DC Comics recently released a $75 oversized hardcover, Absolute Watchmen. For the first time, the series can be enjoyed at a considerably larger size and with completely re-mastered color. Few would argue the brilliance of Moore's book, but get this -- the Absolute Edition makes this epic tale even better. That's right, the story lauded by critics and loved by fans is now more powerful than any version you have previously read.

The bigger size is certainly a plus and the 50 pages of supplemental material is an excellent bonus. It's almost disquieting to see Moore's page-long descriptions for each panel in his script excerpts. But these bonuses are not what make the new edition the true Absolute. Wildstorm FX and original series colorist John Higgins re-mastered the color for the new hardcover. While it may not be obvious to the casual reader, the new coloring makes a surprising difference.

Compared to the standard softcover edition that has been floating around for a decade, the new colors allow for greater contrast. The color tone has been adjusted on almost every panel and some background colors have actually changed completely. While Gibbons' art has always translated Moore's emotional sentiment, the re-mastered colors make this all the more powerful. The final issue begins with six one-panel pages, which were shocking even back in 1985. Now, on a bigger scale and with adjusted colors, the six silent pages are explosive. The story builds to this moment and more so than in previous printings, this climactic scene reverberates with power.

Moore's tale of a world without heroes is eerily relevant to today's America. Set in 1985, eight years after costumed vigilantes were outlawed, Watchmen is part murder mystery, part political drama. When America's only regulated super-being, the god-like Dr. Manhattan, decides to leave Earth, Russia begins a series of bold moves that could lead to nuclear proliferation. While the world at large is facing crisis, someone has begun killing the retired costumed heroes of America. A few of the old guard begin an investigation, one that leads to a shocking revelation and an unexpected finale.

In Watchmen, Moore shows us a world that has gone completely mad. Not only is the escalation of Cold War hostilities and the idea of nuclear annihilation insane, but the characters driving this tale are all touched with madness. Nixon, the perfect mixture of power and paranoia, has managed to remain President through the '80s. Everyone's favorite hero, Rorschach, is a violent, delusional sociopath. Even the pragmatic Dr. Manhattan cannot escape the manic nature of the human condition. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world and Moore depicts its darkest corners.

Watchmen is the greatest display of Alan Moore's gift for juxtaposition. Employing parallel storytelling, often through a kid reading an old swashbuckler comic book, Moore manipulates the emotional pitch of Watchmen. A great deal of time is devoted to the common man on one specific street corner. It seems, at times, almost like a waste, distracting from the murder-mystery plot. The relevancy of one street corner, of the lives of a handful of New Yorkers, becomes tragically clear in the final two issues. Much like D.M. Thomas' novel, The White Hotel, Watchmen illuminates the ordinary lives of a few so that we can understand the tragedy that strikes the millions of others just like them.

As much as the story of Watchmen shaped the future of comics, Dave Gibbons' art altered the way people viewed the graphic medium. Gibbons isn't afraid to leave central characters off-panel or focus on an object in the foreground, making the speaking characters visually obsolete. There's little action in Watchmen, a story that runs more than 350 pages, so Gibbons uses cinematic tricks to keep our focus through pages upon pages of dialogue. My favorite is a short scene between Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre, where the two are pushed to the edges of the panel and we watch their conversation unfold in the mirror behind them. Gibbons' art is the perfect compliment to Moore's words. It's hard to imagine Watchmen with different partners.


Much smarter folks than myself have provided in-depth analysis of Watchmen over the years. I won't even try and plunge into the depths of this major work. Suffice to say it's quite a dense read and not the kind of book you pick up for a fun time. This is my fifth or sixth reading of Watchmen and I've found that each time I read through this book, I discover something new. Now with the Absolute edition, I've gained an even greater sense of Moore's story. This is a masterpiece. One that has inspired just about every writer since its release. Just as Citizen Kane was the father of modern cinema, the techniques in Watchmen can be seen in dozens of comics on the rack today. Still, after 20 years, no other work comes anywhere close to Watchmen. It remains the best comic-book of all time and the new hardcover is easily the best collection ever released.

That's What I Call A Saleslady link to Heart 2 Heart

This is one of the best blog entries ever. I even told the author herself a minute after I read it. It's best if you experience it the way I experienced it so click the link . 'Heart 2 Heart ' is a pleasant, well circulated and good-natured blog . Translation the complete and absolute polar opposite of mine. Just read Rica's entry. That's all you need to do. Credit to Rica for being extroverted enough to ask for the picture. I am not sure if I would.

Ed




http://heart-2-heart-online.com/2009/01/08/meet-aiko/

And yes, the video is related but only watch and listen after Rica's post

Ed again

Chess is Sexy

And the city don't know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner.

Bangkok, just another stop in
The chess world circus -- masters drop in,
Play, checkmate, check out and then you
Move on to another venue.
One Night in Bangkok from Chess.



Chess is sexy. That is one title I thought I would never write or even never see. One just need to be a novice player to come up with the obvious chess jokes. And since I claim to be a family blog I will leave it to your imagination. Still does anybody doubt that sex sells? It sure works for her. None of us would be paying attention otherwise. And so goes my argument about paradox. Why in this world it is not enough to be excellent in your chosen field? Why distort your accomplish by crossing over to the lowest common denominator. Well not the first time I dealt with this topic and it won't be the last.

Ed

Compare

Alexandra Kosteniuk

Not that big a leap to Eva Longoria

http://www.kosteniuk.com/

http://www.funagain.com/control/product/~product_id=016315

http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/golden-globes-red-carpet/2572?nc

Chess Goddess Newsweek

Uncle Jay Summarizes 2008 in 3 minutes using Song

My uncle sent this to me and it is what it indeed claims to be. Explains current events in a very simple way and musically. Just to prove you that my blog is not solely sports I have included links to the topics Uncle Jay sings about.

Ed


http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/481/Sofa_ad_cheap_shots_Obama_cohort


http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/tag/olympics%20non%20event

http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/2008/06/hillary-math.html

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/tag/obama


http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/tag/fear


http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/415/Alternate_view_about_the_economic_crisis

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/150/Fanning_the_flame_of_controversy
(Tibet)

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/274/What_Attacks_Can_Teach_You_
(Palin)

http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/2008/08/will-i-ever-get-used-to-this.html
(Gay Marriage)

http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/2008/09/here-comes-groom-warp-factor-6.html

National Champion Tebow Could Have Been Aborted in Makati

Once in a while two distinct interests collide. Y'all know that I love to write about pro life issues and football. Well this is both. Tim Tebow who is likely the only Heisman/ National Champion QB born in the Philippines if the doctors had their way could have been aborted in the mid 80's. Well Tebow's Gators succeeded in limiting Sam Bradford's mighty Oklahoma offense yesterday to win the BCS championship. Oh yes I feel sorry for Utah but that's the system and that's a story for another time.
How many Tim Tebows were there whose mothers exercised the so called choice to be vacuumed and have their skulls crushed by forceps? The unborn are vulnerable and defenseless. Yet everybody''s hero Obama calls them a punishment . Watch the third video below.
Well Tebow was a punishment all right. A punishment to the Oklahoma defense and to the Oklahoma fans.



Ed




http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-tebow010909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


http://www.lifenews.com/nat3523.html

http://www.xanga.com/mcdanell99/688865118/the-marriage-of-faith-and-fame-tim-tebow-and-the-glory-of-god.html

http://pro.lifewithchrist.org/permalink/37435.html

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/01/08/father-raymond-j-de-souza-tim-tebow-superman-s-hero.aspx


http://www.timtebowfans.org/using-influence.php

In one interview, Pam Tebow related that during that pregnancy, a Philippine doctor suggested that she abort the fetus because the strong medications she was being treated with for amoebic dysentery, which she had contacted early in the pregnancy, could cause serious disabilities to the fetus.

"We knew that we could not do that," she said of the suggested abortion. "We all prayed to God for a healthy baby," she recalled. "And God answered our prayers when Timmy was born."

Those comments have paved the way for her to find a new platform to use her influence. Since that interview, Pam Tebow has been contacted by pro-life organizations requesting her to keynote upcoming conventions and gatherings. She said she is excited about the opportunity to share her pro-life beliefs and has already been scheduled for appearances and speeches in Dallas and Louisville.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/wires/01/06/2060.ap.fbc.t25.bcs.tebow.philippines.0938/
His mother Pam, suffering from an ailment that she says led her local doctor to suggest an abortion, left General Santos and went to a hospital in Manila's Makati district, where she gave birth to Tim, her fifth child. She and her husband, longtime missionaries, repeatedly told him he was a "miracle'' baby as he was growing up, and he seems determined to live up to it.




http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-tebow010909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Tebow one of best ever


Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI – Tim Tebow grabbed Dan Mullen, his offensive coordinator, and made it clear that the second half wouldn’t be like the first.

Florida had scored just seven points, was fortunate to be tied with Oklahoma (the Sooners had two red-zone failures) and wasn’t controlling momentum or the home-state crowd. Tebow wasn’t going to let Thursday night’s BCS championship game slip away without a fight.

“Don’t be afraid to give 1-5 the ball,” he demanded.

Old 1-5 (No. 15) got the ball in the second half, factoring on almost every play. His arm, his legs and his lowered shoulders lifted the Gators to a 24-14 victory and their second national title in three seasons. He finished with 109 yards rushing on 22 carries, 231 yards passing and two touchdowns on 30 throws.

He further cemented his legacy as one of the great winners, if not players, in college football history.

It was vintage Tebow. He wasn’t always pretty or perfect (there were two bad interceptions and plenty of poor tosses). Wideout Percy Harvin (171 total yards himself) was more explosive.

Yet in the end Tebow demanded a leadership role and made the plays, especially on third down, that won the game.

“It was not great execution by me,” he admitted.
ADVERTISEMENT

Tebow’s heart gets a lot of hype – too much for some. The television announcers are often over the top in their praise and the stories of Tebow’s off-field heroics as a devout Christian can be fatiguing.

It’s a strange phenomenon of the modern media. Fans can find themselves rooting against a good guy just because they keep being reminded of how good he is. A little fallibility can go a long way.

So at least Tebow earned a taunting penalty in the fourth quarter to prove he’s human after all.

“He’s running tomorrow at 6 a.m.,” coach Urban Meyer laughed. “We’re teaching him a lesson.”

There’s plenty of debate about Tebow the player. He’s uniquely skilled – Bobby Bowden called him the quarterback version of Bronko Nagurski. His arm is suspect but his will to win isn’t. He believed Thursday that he could impact the game by crashing into defensive players and getting the crowd fired up.

“If trying to run some people over [would get] the crowd into it, get the momentum, then that was what I was going to try to do,” he said.

You won’t find that in nearly any other quarterback; mainly because few can take the abuse like the 235-pounder. It’s why the Gator offense is geared around him.

“They’ve got players going left, players going right and then he keeps it,” OU coach Bob Stoops said, shaking his head at the thought.

Tebow’s impact can be doubted until you watch him go. The Gators defense deserves plenty of credit for slowing down the once-vaunted OU passing attack, but this was Tebow’s title in so many ways.

He made a victory lap around Dolphin Stadium after the game, slapping hands with Gator fans who begged for one more season. He couldn’t promise that. The junior might jump to the NFL, starting one of the great draft debates of all time.

Is he a quarterback? Is he a running back?

“I’ve heard H-back,” he said. “My goal is to play in the NFL; I’ll do whatever the team asked me.”

He’s a quarterback though, he insisted.

“I love to lead the team. I love to be in charge. I feel that is my personality.”

The NFL has been historically cruel to quarterbacks who lack a cannon arm. And the idea of running 22 times – let alone seeking contact with tacklers – is a recipe for disaster. Those defensive players are grown men, not college kids.

Yet Tebow is correct, his best attribute is leadership. His teammates follow what he says and what he does. His speech after the Gators’ lone loss of the season about being the hardest working player in the country and assuring UF would be the hardest working team will go down as legend in Gainesville.

“That was something we [could] control,” he said. “[Working hard] is a conscious decision.”

Whether or not Tebow returns for a shot at another championship – UF has won two during his three years on campus – he’ll go down as a seminal figure in the sport. This oversized quarterback with the even bigger legend. He’s a hero to Christians and an often too-good-to-be-true role model.

He’s also a winner for the ages.

Right there at halftime, with a title in the balance, he proved it again. Give me the ball, he told his coaches. They knew better than to doubt him.

Man What A Speech!!!!

Not that junior senator from the great state of Illinois, the guy who will move to a certain office in Pennsylvania Avenue Jan 20, 2009. This guy I will feature has only one thing in common with Barack Obama. They both spring boarded from the state of Illinois.

Here is where they differ:

Sandberg kept his mouth shut then performed for a long time at the highest level at his vocation. Then waited out the eligibility period then qualified for the hall of fame then made his speech.

Obama - made his speech, then wrote his books then declared himself fit for the highest office in the land. Everyone from communists, terrorists, potheads, liberals, pro abortion people, atheists all in tow. Not me .

Enough of me pointing out something obvious . Read and listen to Sandberg's speech. I don't care how little you care about sports. It's all about respect and values and doing things the right way .

Sandberg is not perfect. That glowing tribute to his wife loses it's sheen for me when I found out that is his second. Looking his speech and what I could of his biography nowhere does he value formal education that does not involve the diamond. Even a ignoramus like Barry Bonds went to college. But that is my viewpoint.

You judge someone by what they do and not what they say or write. For Ryno Sandberg, the speech is the icing not the cake. His hall of fame career was the cake. His treatment of his coaches, teammates and the game of baseball was the cake. Can all these people who love Obama so much point to any kind of cake??


Ed

The following is the text of Ryne Sandberg's Hall-of-Fame induction speech. Sandberg was inducted to the Hall on July 31, 2005.

RYNE SANDBERG: What a beautiful day this is. I stand here today before you humbled and a grateful baseball player. I am truly honored and in awe, honored to be in the class with my fellow inductee Wade Boggs. And as I look behind me here, wow, at the greatest players in the history of the game, I am in awe. I know that if I had ever allowed myself to think this was possible, if I had ever taken one day in pro ball for granted, I'm sure I would not be here today. This will come as a shock I know, but I am almost speechless.

The reason I am here, they tell me, is that I played the game a certain way, that I played the game the way it was supposed to be played. I don't know about that, but I do know this: I had too much respect for the game to play it any other way, and if there was there was a single reason I am here today, it is because of one word, respect. I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am.

CROWD: We love you, Ryno.

RYNE SANDBERG: I love you too. I was a baseball player when I was ten or 12 years old pretending to be Willie Stargell or Johnny Bench or Luis Tiant, when my bat was an old fungo, my ball was a plastic golf ball, when the field was the street and my older brother Del and I would play all day. I was a baseball player at North Central High School in Spokane, Washington even though I was all city in basketball, even when I signed a letter of intent to play quarterback with Washington State. That's why Del advised me to turn down the chance to play football and sign with the Phillies out of high school. I had too much respect for the game to leave it behind or to make it my second or third sport in college.

Everything I am today, everything I have today, everything I will ever be is because of the game of baseball, not the game you see on TV or in movies, baseball, the one we all know, the one we played with whiffle ball bats pretending to be Yaz or Fisk or Rose, in dirt fields and in alleys. We all know that game. The game fit me because it was right.

It was all about doing things right. If you played the game the right way, played the game for the team, good things would happen. That's what I loved most about the game, how a ground out to second with a man on second and nobody out was a great thing. Respect.

I was taught coming up in the Phillies organization to be seen and not heard by people like Pete Rose, my hero growing up, and players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton and Manny Trillo. I understood that.

My parents, Derwent and Elizabeth, who are no longer with us, understood that. My mom was at every single game I played as a kid, rain or shine. My dad always said, "Keep your nose clean, your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open because you might learn something." My sister Maryl and my late brother 2 Lane knew this too, so did my first professional manager, Larry Rojas, a guy who was always in my corner as I climbed through the Phillies organization, guys like Bill Harper, the scout that signed me, Ken Eilmes, my high school coach, PJ Carey, a Phillies coach, they taught me to respect the game above all else.

The fourth major league game I ever saw in person, I was in uniform. Yes, I was in awe. I was in awe every time I walked on to the field. That's respect. I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponent or your team mates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform. Make a great play, act like you've done it before, get a big hit, look for the third base coach and get ready to run the bases, hit a home run, put your head down, drop the bat, run around the bases, because the name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back. That's respect.

My managers like Don Zimmer and Jim Frey, they always said I made things easy on them by showing up on time, never getting into trouble, being ready to play every day, leading by example, being unselfish. I made things easy on them? These things they talk about, playing every day, that was my job. I had too much respect for them and for the game to let them down. I was afraid to let them down. I didn't want to let them down or let the fans down or my teammates or my family or myself. I had too much respect for them to let them down.

Dallas Green brought me to Chicago and without him, who knows? I couldn't let him down. I owed him too much. I had too much respect for him to let him down. People like Harry Caray and Don Zimmer used to compare me, they used to compare me to Jackie Robinson. Can you think of a better tribute than that? But Harry, who was a huge supporter of mine, used to say how nice it is that a guy who can hit 40 homers or steal 50 bases drive in a hundred runs is the best bunter on the team. Nice? That was my job. When did it become okay for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?

When we went home every winter, they warned us not lift heavy weights because they didn't want us to lose flexibility. They wanted us to be baseball players, not only home run hitters. I played high school football at 185 pounds and played big league baseball at 182. I'd get up to maybe 188 in the off season because every summer I'd lose eight to ten pounds. In my day, if a guy came to spring training 20 pounds heavier than what he left, he was considered out of shape and was probably in trouble. He'd be under a microscope and the first time he couldn't beat out a base hit or missed a fly ball, he was probably shipped out. These guys sitting up here did not pave the way for the rest of us so that players could swing for the fences every time up and forget how to move a runner over to third, it's disrespectful to them, to you, and to the game of baseball that we all played growing up. Respect.

A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn't work hard for validation. I didn't play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel. I played it right because that's what you're supposed to do, play it right and with respect.

If this validates anything, it's that learning how to bunt and hit and run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light at the dug out camera. If this validates anything, it's that guys who taught me the game, coaches like Billy Williams, Chuck Cottier, John Vukovich, Jose Martinez, Billy Connors and Ruben Amaro; teammates like Larry Bowa who took me under his wing, Rick Sutcliff who was like an older brother, Bob Dernier, the half of the daily double, they did what they were supposed to do and I did what I was supposed to do.

There was Gary Matthews, the Sarge. He wouldn't let me down. He was always in the on-deck circle when I was batting and if there was a pitch who that almost hit me or knocked me down, Sarge would be halfway to the mound coming at the pitcher, "Get the ball over the plate or face the consequences." I saw a lot of fast balls down the middle because of Sarge and I had too much respect for how hard he played to give it any less than he did.

Sure I worked hard to get the most out of my God given ability, but that's what we all did back then. That's what every one of these guys sitting here did. There were a lot of players who worked just as hard as I did and if you didn't, you didn't stay in the big leagues.

There were guys like Bill Buckner, an incredible big league hitter, the first pure hitter I spent time with in the big leagues. I saw him come through town with the Spokane Indians in Triple A with Tommy Lasorda and a whole team full of guys who went to the World Series. They all worked hard.

There was Shawon Dunston and Mark Grace, and together we were a double play combination for ten years. Shawon Dunston, who knew three weeks in advance if we were facing Nolan Ryan and always had a hamstring pull playing the day before. Mark Grace, who made sure Shawon knew he was supposed to get every popup from foul line to foul line on the infield. We could read each other's minds on the field and off. They worked hard. How could I let them down? By not being prepared for everything that might happen in the field, at the plate or on the bases? Respect.

Andre Dawson, the Hawk. No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He's the best I've ever seen. Stand up Hawk. The Hawk. I watched him win MVP for a last place team in 1987 and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here 4 someday. We didn't get to a World Series together but we almost got there, Hawk. That's my regret, that we didn't get to a World Series for Cub fans. I was in the post season twice and I'm thankful for that. Twice we came close.

It reminds me of the guy walking down the beach. He finds a bottle, pops the cork and a genie comes out to grant him one wish. The guy says my wish is for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Here's a map of the Middle East. Genie takes the map, studies it for hours and hours. Finally gives it back to the guy and says, is there anything else you want to wish for? This is impossible. The guy says well, I always wanted to see the cubs in a World Series. The genie looks at him, reaches out and says, let me have another look at that map. In baseball, there's always the next day. I always thought there would be another chance. It didn't happen, but I feel fortunate for the two chances we had and it's just a shame we didn't go to a World Series for Cub fans. You can't do it on your own.

And I want to say thank you to every teammate, coach, manager and just as important my opponents who made the game fun for me. I want to say thank you to friends like Doug Dascenzo, Yosh Kawano, Arlene Gill, Jimmy Farrell, John Fierro, my cubs trainer for ten years, and Marty Hare, an old high school teammate. To Jimmy turner, Kathy Lintz and Peter Bensinger, advisors, confidants and close friends, thank you. Also, Barry Rosner, great writer and good friends. It's fun talking baseball with you, Barry. Thank you.

To the Baseball Writers Association, I thank you for granting me this incredible honor. I think a large part of this is the fact that I was a great interview and gave you so many quotes you could wrap a story around. Seriously, I know I wasn't the best interview for many of those years, but I wasn't trying to be difficult. I had other things on my mind. Baseball wasn't easy for me. I struggled many times when maybe it didn't look like I was struggling and I had to work hard every day. I had to prepare mentally every day. I had to prepare physically every day and I didn't leave many scraps for the writers.

I hope you also understand why I would not campaign for this or help you sell this. It's the best award in all of sports and I think if I had expected anything, if I was thinking about it too much or crunching the numbers, it would have taken away from the prestige of this incredible honor.

To the great folks here at the Hall of Fame, Jane Forbes Clark, Dale Petrosky, Jeff Idelson, Kim Bennett, Brad Horn, Ted Spencer and Evan Chase, thanks for making this entire year a joy for me and my family, one we will certainly never forget.

I've been lucky enough to be welcomed into three new families since I arrived in Chicago. As great a public speaker as I am, I don't have the words to describe Cub fans who welcomed me as a rookie, were patient through my 1-for-32 start 5 and took me into their homes and into their hearts and treated me like a member of their family. You picked me up when I was down. You lifted me to heights that I didn't know I could reach. You expected a certain level of play for from me and you made me play at that level for a long time.

I know there are a lot of Cub fans here today. I feel like every Cub fan in the world is here with me today. And by the way, for what it's worth, Ron Santo just gained one more vote from the veteran's committee.

Thank you to these men here, these Hall of Famers, the greatest players in the history of baseball who have welcomed me in and treated me as an equal. It's going to take some getting used to, but I thank you for your kindness and respect. This is the second best thing that's ever happened to me.

Lastly, I joined a new family when my wife Margaret, BR, Adriane and Steven took me, Lindsey and Justin into their family and together we have made quite a happy family. I love all of you.

You are probably wondering what was the first when I said this honor is the second best thing that's ever happened to me. My wife Margaret is the best thing that's ever happened to me. She is my best friend, she is the love of my life. She is my salvation. She's my past, my present, my future. She is my sun, my moon, my stars. She is everything that's good about life and I thank her for entering my life at a time when I needed her most. I love you.

The feeling I've had since I got the call is a feeling I suspect will never go away. I'm told it never does. It's the highest high you can imagine. I wish you all could feel what I feel standing here. This is my last big game. This is my last big at-bat. This is my last time catching the final out. I dreamed of this as a child but I had too much respect for baseball to think this was ever possible. I believe it is because I had so much respect for the game and respect for getting the most out of my ability that I stand here today. I hope others in the future will know this feeling for the same reason: Respect for the game of baseball. When we all played it, it was mandatory. It's something I hope we will one day see again.

Thank you, and go Cubs.
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http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/

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http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Pro-Abortion Moments of 2008

Thanks to the great blog for alerting me to this.

http://proecclesia.blogspot.com

Read it yourself. Notice the theme running through that list? Pro - choice the cool liberal stand to make. Well allow me to stick up for my values.

Ed

http://www.all.org/article.php?id=11740

Red Faced and Red Handed: Top Ten Pro-Abortion Moments of 2008
by Katie Walker
Released January 7, 2009

Washington, D.C. (7 January 2009) – 2008 was a down year for the pro-abortion movement's talking heads. As you read the quotes below, despite the seriousness of the subject - after all, we are talking about matters of life and death - it's hard not to laugh at their ridiculous attempts to justify their position.

1) NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!

Dear leader, President-elect Barack Obama at a town-hall meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in March:

"Look, I got two daughters – 9 years old and 6 years old," he said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."

Comment: President-elect Obama demonstrates his disdain for the sanctity of preborn babies by stating that children are "punishments" instead of miracles and blessings.

2) HOLDING OUT FOR A RAISE?

President-elect Barack Obama answers Pastor Rick Warren's question "At what point does a baby get human rights?" at a Saddleback Church interview:

"Answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade."

Comment: The future president will swear to uphold and defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights - hard to do when you can't decide who gets rights and who doesn't because it's above your "pay grade."

3) DATE-NIGHT OPTIONS: DINNER? DANCING? ABORTION?

Justin Timberlake/Jessica Biel

"Nobody should be able to say what you can do with your body," Biel told cheering crowds at Last Chance for Change, a rally endorsing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. "I give Jess the right to choose where we go to eat all the time," Timberlake added.

Comment: Just when we start to have a sliver of respect for our Hollywood elite, they say something like this. Justin sees no difference between choosing where to eat or which child to kill.

4) KILLING BLACK BABIES – 'UNDERSTANDABLE, UNDERSTANDABLE'

Planned Parenthood of Idaho – A Live Action Films exposé video exposed Planned Parenthood's deep-rooted racism. A caller posed as a potential donor and the following conversation ensued:

Actor: I want to specify that abortion to help a minority group, would that be possible?

Planned Parenthood employee: Absolutely.

Actor: Like the black community for example?

Planned Parenthood employee: Certainly.

Actor: The abortion – I can give money specifically for a black baby, that would be the purpose?

Planned Parenthood employee: Absolutely. If you wanted to designate that your gift be used to help an African-American woman in need, then we would certainly make sure that the gift was earmarked for that purpose.

Actor: Great, because I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don't want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids. I just had a baby; I want to put it in his name.

Planned Parenthood employee: Yes, absolutely.

Actor: And we don't, you know we just think, the less black kids out there the better.

Planned Parenthood employee (laughing): Understandable, understandable.

Comment – The apple doesn't fall far. Planned Parenthood hasn't strayed much since the days of its racist founder Margaret Sanger, who once spoke to a Ku Klux Klan group and was a member of the American Eugenics Society.

5) HEY LOOK, MOM, HERESY!

Ca. Rep. Nancy Pelosi in a television interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw:

Tom Brokaw: Madame speaker, when does life begin?
Rep. Pelosi: As an ardent, practicing Catholic, …I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins.

Comment: That's like saying, "As a vegan, I would like my steak medium rare."

BEING 'PRO-CURE' IS BEING PRO-LIFE! ... EVEN IF WE HAVE TO CANNIBALIZE PREBORN CHILDREN FOR IT

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in support of Proposition 2, a bill that now allows embryonic stem cell research:

"As a Catholic, I can say to be pro-cure is to be pro-life."

Comment: What about this statement is Catholic? Not a thing.

6) FIVE-FINGERED DISCOUNT FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD C.E.O.

PP C.E.O. Miriam Inocencio

Despite a six-digit salary drawn from Planned Parenthood's tax- and abortion-gorged pockets, Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island CEO Miriam Inocencio must have really liked that Macy's blouse!

Comment: Clearly her day job – helping to kill preborn babies – has affected her moral judgment. If Miriam is hurting for cash, perhaps we can redirect some of Planned Parenthood's extra Title X taxpayer funding her way?

8) MODERN CHIVALRY

Comedian Doug Stanhope

These are not empty words. I, Doug Stanhope, am offering you, Bristol Palin, the sum of $25,000 so that you can abort your child and move out of that draconian home. I have also set up a PayPal link so that others around the world can help increase this amount to ease the burden of starting out on your own at such an early age.

Comment: We love it when pro-abortion radicals show their true colors. Stanhope can't fathom why a young couple would actually want their baby. Nope. Clearly, Bristol doesn't need love and compassion – she needs $25,000!

9) MORE THAN WE CAN SAY FOR SOME POLITICIANS

South Carolina Democrat chair Carol Fowler

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's "primary qualification seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion."

Comment: South Carolinians overwhelmingly voted for the Palin ticket. That's got to hurt, Fowler.

10) KEEP IT CLASSY, OLD BOY

Comedian Bill Maher

Refers to Sarah Palin's Down syndrome baby as "it" three times in a monologue citing why she isn't qualified to be vice president and then ends with "Does anyone in that party understand the concept of pulling out?"

Comment: What can we say, really? We'll just let Maher condemn himself.

American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.

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http://edrlopez.blogspot.com/