12/30/04: Anybody that doesn't want to get killed best clear on out the back

The computer gets stronger every day. I have reloaded my music (albeit with a 300 song discrepancy), my pictures, my old emails, and my other assorted old files.  It hasn't crashed yet, although I'm sure it'll be just a day or two before it does.  I am going to enjoy that time.

RIP Jerry Orbach. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and he was a master at straddling the line between truly embarrassing, terrible acting and really enjoyable acting. Just an old-fashioned dude beating the odds and succeeding in a modern world. I've never seen one minute of any of the "Law & Order" shows, but I've seen him in movies and I went to junior high with his son Chris. Chris could fucking act, too.  He played Mr. Whiteside when we did "The Man Who Came to Dinner" in 8th grade and it was a freaking tour de force. The rest of us could barely memorize lines, but Chris was up there busting out some legitimate acting skills.  I always wondered why he never made it in the business himself.  My condolences to the Orbach family.

The boss gave us the day off tomorrow (Thurs), and acknowledged our hard work over the last month.  Good bossing right there

In the meantime, with apologies to Pete B., let's get started on the Verbungle.com Things of the Year for 2004. Perhaps there will be more. There's still another full day left after today.

Sportsman of the Year: Grant Hill, Orlando, FL - I've always hated Duke but I've always liked Grant Hill.  He's not only a really good guy, but he somehow doesn't reek of superiority like most of those dickheaded, squeaky-clean Dookies (Elton Brand also gets my respect). I was always a fan, but I had given up on him ever being a factor in the NBA again.  So I've been tickled all season as he continues to play without pain.  He's not the player he was five years ago, but he's plenty good enough.  I hope he starts the all-star game. I was already rooting for Hill before I read an article on him in ESPN the Magazine last week  in which I learned that not only has he had to deal with the well-documented ankle disasters, but he also nearly died from an infection after his most recent surgery.  OK, he had won me over at that point, and then I learned that his wife, who has supported him through all his health problems, started feeling weak last year  and was diagnosed with MS. What a struggle for these two. She's doing well, and you can read their story here as well.  He gets bonus points for not mentioning God in any of the interviews I've seen.

Entertainer of the Year: Clint Eastwood, Carmel, CA - I haven't seen "Million Dollar Baby" yet, but I have heard nothing but great things about it. This award is not just a lifetime achievement type dealie.  It's in recognition of what he's done in the last ten or twelve years, the years that are usually quite unkind to major Hollywood players. Just that he's made "Unforgiven", "Mystic River", and "Million Dollar Baby" after the age of 60 is a wonderful achievement. "A Perfect World" wasn't bad, either. 74 and still getting the job done. An inspiration.

Most overrated show and host of the Year: "The Daily Show"/Jon Stewart, New York, NY - good show, funny host.  Probably about one fiftieth as funny as generally accepted to be. And even though I took delight in his assault on Tucker Carlson on "Crossfire," he really came across like a smug, humorless asshole when you think about it for two seconds.

Professional Athlete who most strongly resembles Hans Bungle (of the year): Jake Delhomme (pictured at right), Charlotte, NC - possible Halloween costume for next year.

Professional Athlete who most strongly resembles D. Lee (of the year): Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles, CA - the facts are the facts.

Band of the Year: My Morning Jacket, Louisville, KY  - even though they didn't release a proper record this year, this is the band that has most moved me in 2004.  Thanks to Eugene P. for getting me hooked and for buying me two CD's for Xmas. I truly believe that the singer guy, Jim James, is a unique talent.  Of course, I said the same thing about Taylor Dayne.

Hypocrite of the Year: Rush Limbaugh, New York, NY  - a real-live New York City hillbilly

Moment that made me mad but I can't really justify my anger (of the year): The Oprah car giveaway.

Game of the Year: Two really good guys against Eugene and Hans, Capistrano, CA, 12/26/04 - when my brother and I went out to play hoops on the day after Xmas, we just wanted to get a few games of 1 on 1 in and call it a day.  We had plans that afternoon and had only about an hour to squeeze in our game. We went to the nice courts right off the beach in Capistrano, and played a few games of low-stress one on one.  We were getting ready to leave when two ballplayer guys showed up and started shooting around. We could tell they wanted to play 2 on 2, but we knew time was short so we went back to our car and prepared to take off. Then we saw we still had about 20 minutes to kill, so we walked back onto the court. Sure enough, one of the guys asked us if we wanted to play twos, and we got started right away. Unfortunately, we were ice cold, and both of these guys turned out to be real good players. They went up 11-1 in a game to 15 (win by two), leaving us panting and looking stupid.  It was at this point that the parking cops came by the court and started writing up tickets.  We had assumed since it was Sunday we didn't have to pay, so now we had to sprint to the muni-meter ticket dispenser thing and put that ticket on the dashboard. After this short break, we came back refreshed. Eugene started hitting threes (actually worth two), and I started playing with the desperate aggressiveness of the over-30 warrior.  We made backdoor cuts for layups.  We stole the ball.  And we sliced away at the lead.  As Eugene went up for a layup, the bigger of the two guys, who was probably 6'3" 250, came down on poor Eugene's neck, probably breaking it in several places. But he kept playing, and we actually took the lead at 14-13. They tied it, and then we had a couple of two-point shots to win it but couldn't connect.  Finally, they took the lead and then won it when the big guy buried a turnaround in my face.  But our parking violation-inspired comeback deserves recognition, and so here it is.

Putz of the Year: George W. Bush, Crawford, TX - he just does every little thing wrong. And this Iraq war is going to be remembered as a colossal fuckup. The only bright side about his reelection is that he will have to deal with his own mess.  I'll say we'll have major troop allotments in Iraq through 2007, when we'll semi-quietly pull out, claiming a victory for democracy despite the fact that the country is obviously still in complete turmoil. Runners-up: Mel Gibson, Curt Schilling, David Stern.

More Harm Than Good? Award - Michael Moore, New York, NY - I want to like you but you make it very hard.

Man of the Year:  Let the readers decide.

Woman of the Year (besides the wife):  Likewise, please make your own suggestions.

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OK, here is IMAGE #27 for those of you still playing the GISG. Answers at noon, I suppose.