Brett Favre demonstrates how best to seduce female NFL sideline reporters

Thanks for that demonstration Brett, what wonderful social etiquette you have!

Catch the...AIDS???

You know what they say:  Where there's smoke there's fire. 

It appears as though Roberto Alomar, celebrated Major League second baseman and soon to be Hall of Famer, is running out of chances to disprove the allegations of his ex-wife, who claimed he knowingly had the HIV virus when he had unprotected sex with her.  It is now being reported that Alomar's current wife, Maria Del Pilar Rivera Alomar, has filed for divorce on the very same grounds;  alleging that her husband "knew prior to his first sexual contact with (her) that he was HIV-positive."  If these allegations are in fact correct, it would be a devastating result for all parties and a tragic fall from grace for Alomar - one of the greatest second basemen to ever play.  Unfortunately, Alomar may soon be added to the long list of professional athletes involved in unceremonious endings. 

Lopsided federal subsidy to Quebec a common refrain

 

 

Having lived in Montreal for three years after completing an undergraduate degree in '02, I got a sense of the contempt some (NOT ALL) Quebecois have for Canadians by gauging various opinions on the federal subsidy of cultural endeavors in the distinct province.  I was dating a Montrealer at the time who was in the midst of her bachelor's degree at Concordia University and we got into an argument over the 'out of province fees' Canadian students from outside of Quebec are forced to pay to attend universities in the province.   Quebec university tuition for its residents is less than half of that which it charges to outsider Canadian students studying in the province.    While international tuition rates are common practice around the world, Quebec remains the only province in Canada to charge higher tuition to out-of-province students at all its post-secondary educational institutions.   It is an outright attack on the principles of a country in which all of its citizens should have equal financial access to a university education. 

Furthermore, the fact that tuition is so low for Quebecers demonstrates the province's belief that it is not their responsibility to fund their educational institutions, but rather, Canada's, which many Quebecois want no part of, financially or spiritually.   My girlfriend at the time, was of the opinion that Quebec's position was in some way, morally justified, and that the rest of Canada remained indebted to them -  that my angst was merely jealously.   I was not jealous however, I was upset.  Why should a four year undergraduate degree cost over $20,000 in Ontario and less than $10,000 for Quebecers studying in Quebec?

Clearly the rest of the country was (and continues to) subsidize universities in Quebec and today, the trend is continuing with the proposal for a new NHL approved rink planned for Quebec City.   Why is it that in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and even Montreal, NHL rinks were built privately, but now Quebec City is clamouring for nearly fifty percent worth of federal subsidy to build an arena for a city that does not even have an NHL team?  Worst of all, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Co. seem interested.  At all costs, I'm praying they stick a harpoon in this idea and spend the money where it might be useful.   How about lowering tuition for ALL Canadian students studying outside of Quebec?  That would be nice.

The fact of the matter is, this is a staid old game being played out here and it needs to be stopped.   For a long time now, Quebec has been able to stand on its own two feet, and it is time that it does so.  It is home to Montreal, one of the most culturally diverse and interesting metropolitan cities in North America that has raised international cultural sensations such as Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright, Mordecai Richler, Pierre Trudeau and The Arcade Fire.  If the province is as truly independent as it claims to be, prove it and stop crying loup!

Bombing the Museum at the Guggenheim, Bilbao

I´ve spent the last week and a half or so vacationing in Spain with my girlfriend - a much needed break from the exhausting stress of completing my degree.

We´ve spent most of our vacation in Barcelona, but made short trips to San Sebastian and Bilbao to see Frank Gehry´s Guggenheim.  It is a truly special building and is much more of a homage to the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi than I had imagined.  The Richard Serra ´The Matter of Time´ exhibition on the main floor is one of the most phenomenonologically challenging pieces I have ever come across.  I am sure this is not news to many, as the pieces were installed along with the building in 1997, but I thought it worth mentioning since I had not ever visited Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Another challenging exhibition was the museum´s survey of artist Anish Kapoor.  Developed at the Royal Academy of Art in London, the exhibition has traveled to Bilbao and been a smash success to gallery audiences for its ingenious use of materials, machinery, and space, which go as far as to physically assault gallery walls more commonly used for hanging and honouring works of art.   Kapoor´s cannon, which violently fires globs of rich red pigment into a corner, asks us to question the very nature of the exhibition space and what it has evolved to commemorate over time. As Kapoor´s bloody red pigment smears against the walls and falls to the floor, I cannot help but wonder whether he is assaulting the history of the exhibition of historical and cultural artifacts, or more precisely, the nature of representation, which has often centered its own attack on those caught within the gaze.  His is a violent performance that shocks us into questioning the purpose of the museum/gallery and the cause of the artist.

A-ROD Ain't No Baby Ruth

To dope the racer is as criminal, as sacrilegious, as trying to imitate God; it is stealing from God the privilege of the spark.  
Roland Barthes



Is there anything Roland Barthes hasn't commented on?  In this instance, Barthes makes a very prescient observation regarding the competitive environment of athletics as it would unfold in the decades that followed.   Barthes is quoted (above) in 1964, speaking about performance enhancement in relation to athletes.  One of the reasons elite athletes are culturally revered is their 'super-human' or Demigod-like abilities; they can do things physically that the average person cannot and for this, we praise them.  They elevate the games we played as children to such great heights they become an art form, rather than mere child's play.  Most of us don't care whether our bodybuilding next door neighbour is juiced, or whether Sly Stallone injected his butt with steroids while training for Rock IV, but our sports heroes?  God forbid!


Now, let me preface this by saying I am very much not a fan of Alex Rodriguez.  Though he finally won a championship last year with the New York Yankees, for me, he is an incredible player who put his own personal/statistical accomplishments ahead of his team's success.   I believe he would have been a great player without his use of PEDs, but he abused his privilege as a professional baseball player and for that, his statistics should be documented with an asterisk.  Would George Herman Ruth be the historical figure he is today,  had he abused PEDs in the 1930s?  Imagine that, The Babe, a mere mortal.    

That's more like it.

It always seemed odd that when the Jays brought in General Manager J.P. Ricciardi in the fall of 2001, the team gradually got lighter and lighter - yes, I'm talking about skin colour.  Though he was forced to trim payroll during his tenure, Ricciardi nevertheless reduced his Latin American scouting budget down to six figures (in baseball terms, that's a pittance), and sometimes - according to Ricciardi's former lieutenant Keith Law - withdrew money from that budget to pay signing bonuses to American college players.  To the best of my knowledge, the only baseball player drafted by Ricciardi during his tenure that was not White, is Ricky Romero; the current ace of the Jays' starting pitching staff.   Now, I have nothing against college players.  When they become draft eligible, they're generally more advanced in the development and therefore, easier to project as players, unlike high schoolers who are more raw, but present a higher potential to become stars.

After jettisoning the future core of the Jays middle infield in Felipe Lopez and Cezar Izturis (both Latin American), Ricciardi let All-Star Carlos Delgado walk in 2004.  He also traded African American Orlando Hudson after the gold glove second baseball jokingly called him "a pimp" in reference to his fancy suits.   My detractors may point to the signing of African American center fielder Vernon Wells as proof that Ricciardi wasn't preferential to White players however, Wells' contract was more the result of then President Paul Godfrey's insistence then Ricciardi's.   Other than African American Frank Thomas, I don't recall Ricciardi signing any players of colour during his eight year reign of incompetence.

What I am getting at is the fact that since Ricciardi was fired, the new Jays regime - under young G.M. Alex Anthopolous - quickly began drafting and investing in players from diverse backgrounds.  They are plowing moneys into scouting staffs in Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican.  They acquired African American Fred Lewis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, just traded for Yunel Escobar, are keeping Jose Bautista, signed Cuban shortstop Adieny hechavarria, etc...   It's a new Jays philosophy that markedly different from that of the previous regime and harkens back to the Jays of the 80s and 90s who were stacked with Latin American All Stars like Tony Fernandez and Roberto Alomar.

In an article written by Toronto Star baseball columnist Richard Giffin, he talks with Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston about the culture change in the Toronto clubhouse:

Gaston has also been impressed with the changing culture in the clubhouse, going from solid, stolid, bland and boring to diverse, vibrant and multi-cultural. 

“It’s good to see,” Gaston smiled. “You’ve seen it the other way. (This is) the way it should be. We’ve got a good clubhouse in there....

I'm NOT going to come outright and say Ricciardi was (or is) a racist, but his drafting record is suspicious at best.

Let's hope the new Jays regime stays the course and develops a championship caliber roster that is as diverse as the city it is home to.

BACK, finally!

Hello everybody (if anybody is out there at all...),

My sincere apologies for the extended absence.  I've finally submitted my thesis paper and after a requisite week's rest, I'm looking forward to contributing to Defending Champions on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.