Living (and writing) here in New Jersey as I do, there really is only one topic that is dominating news headlines and conversation at the moment. For once, it has nothing at all to do with the upcoming Presidential elections, which at least provides us something of a break. Of course, I'm referring to...
Hurricane Sandy
It is finally here. We have been hearing about it since last week, and now, we are feeling the impact.
Still, it's just the beginning, and so I cannot say with any certainty the full extent of the damage that the storm caused.
At least to this point so far, all that we have seen really are winds, and the winds have not even been that strong. Here I was, half-expecting this super apocalyptic storm to begin, and thus far, at least, it feels like a normal night. You might never know we were expecting a storm or anything at all, if it had not been announced over and over again on every radio and television program available.
Not much to say about this Frankenstorm at the moment, frankly. Obviously, the worst has not hit, yet. The winds are supposed to pick up strength, and we are supposed to get a lot of rain. We'll see how it goes, but it's a subject that I'll let go at the moment.
Besides, I already dedicated yesterday's blog to the storm, and there is only so much that I can say about it right now, since it is still only beginning, and the main thrust of it has yet to hit. But if another blog entry is dedicated to it, then you will likely get the idea that this storm was, indeed, truly huge and lived up to it's monstrous nickname of "Frankenstorm".
The 2012 Elections
Still too close to be called, it seems. In the Presidential elections, Ohio seems to be the biggest prize, and it is still an incredibly tight race. I don't really know how the national projections shape up for the Congressional races, and whether or not either the Democrats or Republicans can sweep to power, or whether they will have some power sharing arrangement. It's so close now, that there's not much to say on my end, but let's see what happens.
Around the World
Western Canada/Pacific Ocean - There was a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck off the western coast of Canada late Saturday night. It caused a small tsunami that reached Hawaii, but apparently nothing that would cause severe damage.
Syria - violence erupted yet again in Syrian, leaving the temporary truce as an irrelevant part of past history. The air force resumes strike, and the "truce" is largely irrelevant again. It hardly seemed relevant in the first place. The civil war rages on there, and things continue to deteriorate.
China - former leader Bo Xilai has been stripped of his legislative membership, adding to the list of titles that were stripped away from him. Also, it was announced that he is under criminal investigation. This controversy has proven to be the biggest headache that the ruling Communist Party has faced in many years.
Italy - Flamboyant former Prime Minister Sivio Berlusconi was given a 4-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
Israel - Numerous missiles by Hamas struck Israel, and Israeli leaders vowed to "work with patience and level-headedness" in response to rocket attacks by Hamas, in order to punish them.
The United Nations - The UN estimated that over 28,000 have been displaced due to violent clashes in Malaysia in recent weeks.
Side Notes:
An Indiana man tattooed his face with the Romney logo for $5,000. I know I'm not alone in thinking: What a
moron!!! I just posted this because it seemed unbelievable that anybody would
actually be stupid enough to do this. And for the $200 million dollar man, to
boot? Really? What's he going to do if his man loses? Or does he not think of
the future beyond a few weeks from now, like our politicians (both major
parties) don't think of a future beyond the next election cycle?
Here's the link:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/25/man-tattoos-romney-logo-onto-his-face-video/
I'm no fan of Obama, but the paranoia of those
opposed to him goes to such lengths that it really is startling and alarming!
We have a billionaire CEO claiming that he will fire his employees if Obama
wins (something that I wrote about in an early blog entry), and here we have "Another Catholic Bishop" claiming damnation
if his congregation votes for Obama? Seriously folks, you need to chill.
Here is the link below:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/26/another-catholic-bishop-threatens-damnation-if-congregation-
If the majority of Americans desire more adequate and affordable healthcare, why hasn't it become a reality yet? Why is it still continuously threatened by various political opponents? I still believe that it should be viewed as a basic human right. After all, we all get sick, and accidents do happen. It seems the measure of society to take care of their weakest members, and these people are, quite literally, the weakest. Of course, they should be taken care of, as they are in literally every other industrialized society in the world. The United States stands alone as the only country in the industrialized world where medical care is unaffordable to the point that some people literally cannot afford it, and either have to go without, or lose everything, including things like their homes and ways of life that they have always known. This is the same principle as social security, which is another thing that is constantly being threatened.
Sports
Baseball/ The World Series - The San Fransisco Giants really wanted that second title in three seasons! I was kind of pulling for the Detroit Tigers, since that city could use a break, and that team has not won the World Series since...well, I'm not entirely sure. I think they won it in the 90's (something tells me 1984, or maybe 1982), but I can't remember, and it would be cheating right now to look it up. For those of you who know me, and know my memory, I just want to show that my memory for such things does have flaws, or at least limitations. Perhaps Super Bowl scores and facts tend to come easily to me, and I usually can remember things like this from other sports. But I never closely followed baseball, and have only a sketchy idea of who won the World Series in relatively recent years and decades. I can tell you definitively with hockey dating back to the 1970's, basketball since the early 80's, and all of the Super Bowl scores an such, but baseball is a little more iffy.
But there is no doubt that this will stick in my head, because the San Fransisco Giants really just pounded the Detroit Tigers in sweeping the World Series, right after the Tigers themselves had swept the fabled Yankees to qualify for the championship round. The Giants had continually had to survive tough series and odds just to make it to the next round, and they had to overcome a 3 games to 1 deficit against the defneding World Series champion Cardinals to get to this World Series. But man! Once they were here, they took care of business quickly and thoroughly! They obviously wanted it more.
So, what's next? Are the Giants on their way to a dynasty? What about the Detroit Tigers? Two tough World Series losses in recent years means that they are in serious risk of having that inability to win at the very top level be their albatross. Can they return and finally win one? How about other teams? Will the Bosox bounce back and become competitive again? How about the aging Yankees? Are they well past their prime, with a lineup of aging men who's glory is mostly restricted to the past, or will they perhaps go on a spending spree to bring in new talent? Will the Washington Nationals follow up on the tremendous promise that they showed? How about the Cardinals? Will they bounce back from the enormous disappointment of their postseason collapse to regain the crown? So many questions, but I will leave that to people more qualified than myself, since I really know little about baseball.
Football - The Giants pulled off a huge win in Dallas, hanging on after blowing a 23-0 lead in the second half with 24 unanswered points by the Cowboys, until the Giants finally got a couple of field goals in the 4th quarter. Dallas still had some opportunities late in the game, but one drive ended with an interception, and the final drive came very close (at one point, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant scored an apparent touchdown, but in bringing his hand down to break his fall, his fingers landed out of bounds, which negated what had seemed to be the game winning touchdown). The Giants defense held off the Cowboys drive, and time expired, to secure a New York win. The Giants remain unbeaten at the new Dallas Stadium, with a 4-0 record dating back to 2009.
The win gives the Giants a suddenly sizable lead in the NFC East, as the rest of their division rivals also lost. We know about the Cowboys, but the Redskins lost in Pittsburgh, and the Eagles at home lost as well to the still undefeated Atlanta Falcons.
Speaking of those Falcons, they also enjoy a huge lead over their next closest rival in the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Bucs won an impressive game in Minnesota, but remain four games behind the Falcons in that race, with each team having nine games remaining. The Carolina Panthers lost yet again, in another heartbreaker. They were in command for almost the entire game in Chicago, and about to pull off the upset of the day. Instead, it was another crushing defeat, with the 6-1 Bears edging them out with a one-point victory. In the meantime, the Saints, who seemed to be recovering from their horrendous start, got blown out in Denver last night.
The Broncos gained in the AFC West against the Chargers, who lost yet again, this time in Cleveland to the Browns, who added to their woes with a one-point victory, 7-6. The Raiders pulled off their second win in a row, beating the lowly Chiefs, who will have a real shot at the first round draft pick, evidently.
I mentioned the Bears, and they had a very decent week, winning a game that, by all rights, they should have lost, and now have tied the Houston Texans with the second best record thus far in the NFL, at 6-1. They put some distance between themselves and the Vikings, who lost unexpectedly to the Bucs on Thursday night. But the Packers are still lingering, winning against Jacksonville. The Detroit Lions also got a big win against Seattle to snap out of their doldrums, and keep their wavering chances alive.
The 49ers and Cardinals will meet tonight, so we shall see if the 49ers expand on their suddenly considerable lead in the NFC West. The Seahawks, as already mentioned, lost at Detroit, while the Rams, "hosting" the Patriots in London, got absolutely crushed, 45-7, in what would appear to be a major step backwards for them.
So New England upped their record to 5-3, and the Dolphins finally broke through to get a winning record at 4-3 with their big win at the Jets. Yup, that means that Coach Ryan's Super Bowl expectations not only seem in real danger, but perhaps, so does his job. Sanchez had yet another forgettable game again, and many now are openly wondering when Tebow will get his chance as starter. The Jets will get their bye week next week, while the Bills got to enjoy their weekend off this weekend. The loss brought the Jets sole possession of last place in the division at the moment, and the loss, coming right on the heels of a narrow (but seemingly promising) loss at New England last week, suggests that this team now has some real problems that it needs to address, and in a hurry. Otherwise, this season will be lost.
The Texans had their bye, and mentioned already was Jacksonville's loss at Green Bay. But the other two teams in that division had a big showdown, and it was tight! So tight, it went to overtime, where Luck led the Colts to win it in sudden death by winning the toss and getting the touchdown, to reach a winning record, while simultaneously handing their division rivals a very dispiriting loss.
After being humiliated in Houston against the Texans shortly after losing Ray Lewis for the season (and perhaps forever), the Ravens mercifully had a bye week to try and gain perspective and momentum. The Bengals also had a bye week, but the Steelers did not, winning against Washington to gain ground against the Ravens, as they are now 4-3. The Browns beat the Chargers, as already mentioned, to get their second win of the season.
Tennis - Roger Federer pulled out of the Paris masters in order to prepare for the ATP Final. He risks losing his Number one ranking to Novak Djokovic in the final two weeks of the season.
PS - I would have finished this sooner, but I found an addictive and challenging game site that might help me keep on my toes with things that I wanted to remember, such as geography and history and such. It's pretty cool, but fair warning: it's addictive!
http://www.sporcle.com
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