Did you know that, of all things, Topix has it's own patent attorney?
Yep. His nom de Topix is Sublime1 but rather than handle copyright issues for the company, he does pro bono work as the unpaid intern.... of the Troll Mod as a professional victim and the Lifestyles And Entertainment editor of various threads on Topix. In short, he trolls to be trolled for the sake of trolling.
In reality, this guy actually is a patent attorney. It must be as booooorrrrrring as it sounds because he spends an inordinate amount of time on Topix telling people about the wonderfulness of his being. He seems to be on Topix as he awaits his boss coming in and maybe asking him to check if other companies making safe, boxy cars might infringe on their own making of safe, boxy cars. Stuff like that. I understand it pays well enough but, it's kind of a dead end, boring job as far as lawyering goes. Not all lawyers can try murderers (or defend them) and tons of them eek out a living handling mundane divorces, wills and the like. I know a lot of poor lawyers. You have to remember that, like doctors, fifty percent of them graduated at the bottom of their class.
In the news this week, the US Patent Office decided that the NFL's Washington Redskins franchise could no longer hold a parent on the "Redskins" part of their name. They ruled that "redskins" is a slur and you can't patent a slur. So, forget about it, New Jersey Niggas- that's not going to happen.
In layferrerman's terms, I understand this to mean that the Washington Redskins can continue to be known as the Redskins but anybody who wants to can profit off of that as well. This would include t-shirts, pennants- souvenirs for some lucky fans. Folks are free to take a bite out of their marketing pie without fear of legal ramifications. That's all it means. If they want a patentable name (like the Chicago Bears) they could change their name to "The Washington Foreskins" since the owner seems to be a dickhead himself and the politicians of the nation's capital would be better represented by that than they were by a slur against Native Americans.
Seems fair to me. The reichwingers are pitching a fit , blaming it on Obama and big gubmint but this was a Patent Office decision on one case, not a revocation of all capitalist rights. What irks me though is that I- a Ferrerman- have to explain this to you all because a certain patent attorney is too busy bullying a senior citizen, cancer survivor on Topix rather than offering his legal expertise. Not one word about the ruling. What are we not paying this clown for?
There's nobody who holds the patent on assholiness. It may seem like they do but, life long ago ruled that that was to be spread around the masses. That's not a legal opinion. It's just the way it is.
This blog is in recess until the next time. Until then, the penal code will be strictly enforced.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Minority Report
I read a piece this morning about some conservative christian gathering that drew all of 300 people of that persuasion to a hotel in Washington, not counting a whole slew of reporters, to hear possible GOP presidential candidates, Rand Paul and Chris Christie. Evidently they were discussing whether they should take the approach that the country is going to hell and they should do something about that or whether they should concentrate their efforts on helping folks in need. Guns v. butter, I reckon.
I'm not sure what they concluded but, the conversation seemed to be more of the former, peppered with a bit of the latter. Not so much old time religion as more of the new-time religion that says that the country needs to concentrate more on undoing the hellfire and damnation of the Obama administration before they can get around to healing the sick and helping the poor in the name of Jesus. I coulda seen that coming a mile away.
What I didn't see coming was the decision by these good Xtian folks to replace the urinal cakes in the men's room with figurines of President Obama. Yeah. Nothing for the ladies? No Hillary Clinton pads? Why are women always afterthoughts with our Christcons?
Whattaya gonna do? Well, I'm not going to post the pic for one thing. Three hundred-some very odd people, some of them of which were peeing on the POTUS is not exactly a majority in thought or deed. We are really not into majorities in this country as the brochures might indicate. In fact, I'm going to argue that we are heavily into minorities, just not the minorities typically portrayed in the aforementioned brochures.
For example, how many Americans really- really- want to go about their daily lives with semi-automatic assault rifles slung on their bodies and a sidearm on their hip? We're talking about walking the dog, driving to work and barbequing with the Swanson's this Saturday night. How many of our nation's 310 million citizens want to conduct their everyday lives as if America were Beirut on a Tuesday?
The answer is: not that many. I really doubt if it's one percent. If my Math School skills are correct, 1% of (rounding off to 300) would be three million people. While that is a lot, it's still just one percent compared to ninety nine percent (297 million) who absolutely do not want to tote firearms as if they were handbags and cellphones.
It's fairly clear that 1% of our nations wealthiest pretty much run this country. There have been Supreme Court decisions to back this up and, they really don't bother to hide it much. If you were a billionaire Koch brother, wouldn't you want your hand on the stick stirring the governmental stew? Of course you would. As Steinbeck pointed out, we Americans see ourselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires. Secretly, we go along with the rich running the show because we are one lotto ticket from being amongst them. What kind of idiot would want to raise taxes on his future self? Besides, rich people are always murdering each other in delightfully wicked ways that are highly entertaining on television and film.
We also are constantly being told that we are a Christian nation even though we aren't. There are lots of Christians in this country, for sure, but, the founders did not set this place up to be a theocracy despite what you might hear these days. In fact, they were against that. Freedom of religion is also freedom from religion. That's really how that works. Of course, if you are of a certain religion you think that yours is the one and only and that yours should be the one running the show. Hey- if you don't, they will. And you know how they are....
So, again, with religion we have a minority of folks believing they are the majority. They want to do one hundred percent of our thinking for us. If you put any of these things to a vote, the majority would vote them down. We are not a nation of gun-toting Xtian millionaires. You can stop printing those brochures right now. These minorities may be pissed off but we are not to be pissed on.
I'm not sure what they concluded but, the conversation seemed to be more of the former, peppered with a bit of the latter. Not so much old time religion as more of the new-time religion that says that the country needs to concentrate more on undoing the hellfire and damnation of the Obama administration before they can get around to healing the sick and helping the poor in the name of Jesus. I coulda seen that coming a mile away.
What I didn't see coming was the decision by these good Xtian folks to replace the urinal cakes in the men's room with figurines of President Obama. Yeah. Nothing for the ladies? No Hillary Clinton pads? Why are women always afterthoughts with our Christcons?
Whattaya gonna do? Well, I'm not going to post the pic for one thing. Three hundred-some very odd people, some of them of which were peeing on the POTUS is not exactly a majority in thought or deed. We are really not into majorities in this country as the brochures might indicate. In fact, I'm going to argue that we are heavily into minorities, just not the minorities typically portrayed in the aforementioned brochures.
For example, how many Americans really- really- want to go about their daily lives with semi-automatic assault rifles slung on their bodies and a sidearm on their hip? We're talking about walking the dog, driving to work and barbequing with the Swanson's this Saturday night. How many of our nation's 310 million citizens want to conduct their everyday lives as if America were Beirut on a Tuesday?
The answer is: not that many. I really doubt if it's one percent. If my Math School skills are correct, 1% of (rounding off to 300) would be three million people. While that is a lot, it's still just one percent compared to ninety nine percent (297 million) who absolutely do not want to tote firearms as if they were handbags and cellphones.
It's fairly clear that 1% of our nations wealthiest pretty much run this country. There have been Supreme Court decisions to back this up and, they really don't bother to hide it much. If you were a billionaire Koch brother, wouldn't you want your hand on the stick stirring the governmental stew? Of course you would. As Steinbeck pointed out, we Americans see ourselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires. Secretly, we go along with the rich running the show because we are one lotto ticket from being amongst them. What kind of idiot would want to raise taxes on his future self? Besides, rich people are always murdering each other in delightfully wicked ways that are highly entertaining on television and film.
We also are constantly being told that we are a Christian nation even though we aren't. There are lots of Christians in this country, for sure, but, the founders did not set this place up to be a theocracy despite what you might hear these days. In fact, they were against that. Freedom of religion is also freedom from religion. That's really how that works. Of course, if you are of a certain religion you think that yours is the one and only and that yours should be the one running the show. Hey- if you don't, they will. And you know how they are....
So, again, with religion we have a minority of folks believing they are the majority. They want to do one hundred percent of our thinking for us. If you put any of these things to a vote, the majority would vote them down. We are not a nation of gun-toting Xtian millionaires. You can stop printing those brochures right now. These minorities may be pissed off but we are not to be pissed on.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The GOP is NUTS!
I read the other days that House republicans are confident that they have the votes to impeach President Obama. To paraphrase Joe Biden: "Big fucking deal." It's the political equivalent of saying: "I'll sue you!". You still have to be able to go to court, present a viable case and win. Impeachment happens in the senate and it's not supposed to be taken lightly, like when adulterous congressmen were aghast about Bill Clinton getting a presidential blow job. If they were of the same party, Newt Gingrich would have been asking for Monica's phone number instead of impeaching Bill. And impeachment is not like in the war movies where the lieutenant threatens the private with a courts martial. That too is a process rather than a verdict. None mean that you can just take your opponent outside and shoot them.
Of course, the republicans started calling for Obama's impeachment pretty much from the moment he won, a couple of months before he even took the oath of office. Six years later, many still don't comprehend what impeachment means. They likely never will. We're talking about a party where 1/3 of the republicans in Louisiana blamed President Obama for the poor response to hurricane Katrina. The hurricane, you may recall, happened in 2005, three years before Obama became President.
Well, no matter. Never mind, for example, that 97% of scientists know that global warming is a threat to the entire planet, if you don't believe that based on your religious and/or political beliefs, you are as *right* as they are. That's politics today. It's a belief system that suspends all logical belief for some people. Rick Perry can say he's not a scientist (duh) but he can debunk climate change or homosexuality based on gut feelings. Well, there you go. Go play in traffic. If you believe you won't get run over, surely you won't.
I would like to believe that the DNC was behind this video but I know that it was from the GOP and has the Reince Preibus seal of approval. I believe it is nutty though!
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-rnc-goes-squirrely-direction
The GOP is after your nuts because they don't have enough.
Of course, the republicans started calling for Obama's impeachment pretty much from the moment he won, a couple of months before he even took the oath of office. Six years later, many still don't comprehend what impeachment means. They likely never will. We're talking about a party where 1/3 of the republicans in Louisiana blamed President Obama for the poor response to hurricane Katrina. The hurricane, you may recall, happened in 2005, three years before Obama became President.
Well, no matter. Never mind, for example, that 97% of scientists know that global warming is a threat to the entire planet, if you don't believe that based on your religious and/or political beliefs, you are as *right* as they are. That's politics today. It's a belief system that suspends all logical belief for some people. Rick Perry can say he's not a scientist (duh) but he can debunk climate change or homosexuality based on gut feelings. Well, there you go. Go play in traffic. If you believe you won't get run over, surely you won't.
I would like to believe that the DNC was behind this video but I know that it was from the GOP and has the Reince Preibus seal of approval. I believe it is nutty though!
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-rnc-goes-squirrely-direction
The GOP is after your nuts because they don't have enough.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
What A Fool Believes....
This photo is making the rounds on Facebook as *proof* that most or all of the shootings and bombings that happen here in America are staged. Well, of course they are! Anyone who doesn't think so can just walk off the edge of the earth.
Evidently, dozens of people on the internet believe the shootings are staged by the government, using crisis actors who portray the victims, grieving family members and- I guess- the 315 million gullible citizens who read, see and hear about these things, as well.
Now, why would the government do this? These dozens of fucking idiots believe that Sandy Hook and the 74 school shootings since Sandy Hook, have all been perpetrated by the government to create an excuse to confiscate our guns. That's something they haven't gotten around to doing in any way, shape or form. Staging 75 murderous rampages must take up a lot of time! Republicans in particular are constantly complaining that government (which they are part of) can't do anything right. So, how is it that government can pull off all these horrible shootings and fooling all but several dozen people in this country and entire rest of the world into thinking this is one dangerous country full of gun-crazed psychos, yet they can'f win one Academy Award in the process?
Look at the young woman in the meme. She could be triplet step-sisters! No blondes or redheads available to portray hysterical bystanders? No African Americans? Chinese? Where's the diversity of perversity? That's no government production, folks.
Now, I say there are "dozens of assholes". Maybe that's just what the gubmint wants you to believe. There might be hundreds. It just seems like a stretch for the government to do this to do nothing about guns, doesn't it?
Now, if the NRA was hiring people to kill kids at schools and people at theaters and work places, that would make sense! THAT sells guns! THAT is capitalism in action! Serious action!
Ya know, I think I saw that girl at a gun show, now that I think about it. Which one? All of them....
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Stop and smell the forums
I've gotten a different perspective on Topix since the Troll Mod threw up it's hands in defeat and banned me. Topix hasn't changed but it's interesting to just be a reader now with no option of replying and, thus, effecting the dialogue. Or, as I am legally obligated to ask, is it affecting?
It's definitely not as interactive as it was about ten days or so ago! That's not bad. Nor is the timing bad. I think the days of Topix as we've known it are numbered. In my recent post here about net neutrality I wanted to point out that- as I see it- Topix would probably be one of those sites that the service providers sloooooooow down until Topix would pony up some cash. They probably don't want to do that and I doubt that even the most ardent of trolls would pay to post on Topix. So, the future doesn't look good even if the powers that be don't choose to fuck up the internet.
I hear that the new, improved Topix requires registration and (maybe) has mods that aren't trolls, and probably isn't troll friendly to poster's either. The new one seems to be making an effort to be more Facebook-like (even linking registration to FB) with cute cat videos and politics. I'll stay with Facebook for that stuff. Topix has already proved themselves to be careless in their hiring of mods, perhaps having taken their cue from old westerns where the townsfolk thought it wise to let the outlaws run the town so as to give themselves the notion that it was at least their idea.
Looking at the threads, you'd think I was still posting. It's going to be that way for a few months. Judging by the comments of the usual suspects, you might think I was still there. Well, I'm not. It's the same shit as it's always been- seeing Ferrerman everywhere they want to see me, everywhere there is someone posting gray. You know how it works: Every Illinois poster has to be Ferrerman and every other gray has to be too because, Ferrerman would use a proxy! Those accusations got old years ago and it looks like they will continue to grow older.
Today, for example, I was thumbing through Topix There was the usual fighting and taunting. And I saw where Sublime (who considers yours truly his arch-rival in life) was motoring to a BBQ when they happened upon an accident. Sub's posting the play by play at the time, on his phone.In the midst of all this, a long time troll starts going on about Bill and Hillary Clinton. They weren't at the accident. Whether it was a segue or a non-sequitur, it was stupid! But, evidently Sub's wife (a Certified Nursing Assistant- CNA) sprung into action when they saw the body, organs hanging out, covered by a blanket(?!?) and she began....performing CPR.... None of that shit makes sense to me. Well, it never did. It's just more manufactured Topix drama. There probably was a wreck. We know there is a Bill and a Hillary Clinton. But, I'm not getting where a blood-covered wife and traumatized children continue on to a barbeque after saving dude's life. Just another day in the Topix life for some....Forget it Ferrer....it's Topixtown....
It's definitely not as interactive as it was about ten days or so ago! That's not bad. Nor is the timing bad. I think the days of Topix as we've known it are numbered. In my recent post here about net neutrality I wanted to point out that- as I see it- Topix would probably be one of those sites that the service providers sloooooooow down until Topix would pony up some cash. They probably don't want to do that and I doubt that even the most ardent of trolls would pay to post on Topix. So, the future doesn't look good even if the powers that be don't choose to fuck up the internet.
I hear that the new, improved Topix requires registration and (maybe) has mods that aren't trolls, and probably isn't troll friendly to poster's either. The new one seems to be making an effort to be more Facebook-like (even linking registration to FB) with cute cat videos and politics. I'll stay with Facebook for that stuff. Topix has already proved themselves to be careless in their hiring of mods, perhaps having taken their cue from old westerns where the townsfolk thought it wise to let the outlaws run the town so as to give themselves the notion that it was at least their idea.
Looking at the threads, you'd think I was still posting. It's going to be that way for a few months. Judging by the comments of the usual suspects, you might think I was still there. Well, I'm not. It's the same shit as it's always been- seeing Ferrerman everywhere they want to see me, everywhere there is someone posting gray. You know how it works: Every Illinois poster has to be Ferrerman and every other gray has to be too because, Ferrerman would use a proxy! Those accusations got old years ago and it looks like they will continue to grow older.
Today, for example, I was thumbing through Topix There was the usual fighting and taunting. And I saw where Sublime (who considers yours truly his arch-rival in life) was motoring to a BBQ when they happened upon an accident. Sub's posting the play by play at the time, on his phone.In the midst of all this, a long time troll starts going on about Bill and Hillary Clinton. They weren't at the accident. Whether it was a segue or a non-sequitur, it was stupid! But, evidently Sub's wife (a Certified Nursing Assistant- CNA) sprung into action when they saw the body, organs hanging out, covered by a blanket(?!?) and she began....performing CPR.... None of that shit makes sense to me. Well, it never did. It's just more manufactured Topix drama. There probably was a wreck. We know there is a Bill and a Hillary Clinton. But, I'm not getting where a blood-covered wife and traumatized children continue on to a barbeque after saving dude's life. Just another day in the Topix life for some....Forget it Ferrer....it's Topixtown....
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Something to not think about....
You'd think that after Ferrerman was banned from posting on Topix that there would be trolls dancing in the streets of Topixtown. Well, as Josef Stalin may have said: "If Ferrerman were not posting, it would be necessary to troll people and then say that Ferrerman IS doing it, via private messaging or hints in the threads." The trolls don't seem to know. If they do, they aren't telling.
SusanA770 (the Troll Mod) banning us was the cowardly, foolish act of a beaten troll. It was dumb! What idiot takes their best enemy out of the equation?
I suppose Troll Mod figured we'd get new profiles, although I don't know that that is possible in my case since I'm IP banned from that site. That's where it gets stupid. I can't post there yet, they continue to claim that I do. They always did. The easiest thing to do is get a proxy server, make troll posts and then sign into your account and tell other people that "so and so" is really making the posts...with a proxy.... The person who plays Billy R has been doing that for years. It's really Trolling 101. Get a proxy, troll, accuse someone else of trolling with a proxy. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
So, if you ban a Ferrerman and a Hegel, how do you convince easily convinced idiots that they are still posting? Proxies!!!!
That will work on Walmart shoppers and jackleg lawyers. Sublime, in particular, can disavow reams of bandwidth evidence of his unseen friend's obvious years of trolling as long as s/he calls him handsome. He might even believe TM770 if s/he says he has flowing locks of hair. But, he's definitely buying it if TM770 says Hegel and Ferrerman are trolling him with proxies. This is why he never is allowed near courtrooms. This is why his own family seeks counsel outside of the bloodline. He is an idiot.
To be fair, he's not alone in his stupidity. Topix is rampant with people who so readily know stuff, they don't even have to think. Not even for a second.
SusanA770 (the Troll Mod) banning us was the cowardly, foolish act of a beaten troll. It was dumb! What idiot takes their best enemy out of the equation?
I suppose Troll Mod figured we'd get new profiles, although I don't know that that is possible in my case since I'm IP banned from that site. That's where it gets stupid. I can't post there yet, they continue to claim that I do. They always did. The easiest thing to do is get a proxy server, make troll posts and then sign into your account and tell other people that "so and so" is really making the posts...with a proxy.... The person who plays Billy R has been doing that for years. It's really Trolling 101. Get a proxy, troll, accuse someone else of trolling with a proxy. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
So, if you ban a Ferrerman and a Hegel, how do you convince easily convinced idiots that they are still posting? Proxies!!!!
That will work on Walmart shoppers and jackleg lawyers. Sublime, in particular, can disavow reams of bandwidth evidence of his unseen friend's obvious years of trolling as long as s/he calls him handsome. He might even believe TM770 if s/he says he has flowing locks of hair. But, he's definitely buying it if TM770 says Hegel and Ferrerman are trolling him with proxies. This is why he never is allowed near courtrooms. This is why his own family seeks counsel outside of the bloodline. He is an idiot.
To be fair, he's not alone in his stupidity. Topix is rampant with people who so readily know stuff, they don't even have to think. Not even for a second.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
If they build it, will they come?
Though a life-long Cubs fan, I am also old and wise enough to no longer pin my hopes and dreams on groups of men who may or may not be up to the task. This includes Congress as well as sports teams, all of which technically represent us but, do well financially regardless of how they perform so, there's always a question of whether their hearts are in it.
The Chicago Cubs have been under new ownership for a few years now and I have to say I don't like the Rickett's family that owns the team. Tom, the spokesman for the family, the face, looks like Ted Cruz. Joe, the father, might as well be Ted Cruz. He's a bit of a wealthy reichwinger who sunk a lot of money into anti-Obama activities. The other kids are more active in regular business (daddy founded TD Ameritrade) and Tom is the face because he has the backstory to be the face. More of a free spirit than his sibs, Tom spent many summers after college sitting in the bleachers, watching his beloved Cubs. He met his wife there!
So, I don't care for their politics. And, like people who might move into a neighborhood where there is a Major League ballpark and complain that there is a Major League ballpark here, I have to point out that the Rickett's family should have talked at length to the neighbors before they moved in and maybe gotten a home inspection too.
Actually they did. They knew what they were getting into. Beautiful Wrigley Field has landmark status. You can't replace the iconic, manually operated scoreboard, for example. Changes must be approved by persnickety people. There is also the matter of a contract with the people who own the rooftops out beyond the left and right field bleachers. When the Tribune Company owned the team, they made a 20 year agreement with the roof top owners. So, Rickett's plans for view-blocking signs and jumbotrons have been met with lawyers. Frankly, they should be. New ownership does not void previous agreements. Even a Topix lawyer would know that. So, he'll probably have to buy them out or wait another ten or so years until the agreement is ended. And that's assuming all other plans are approved by the persnickety folks in charge of approval. Ricketts wants to build a hotel (I think where that McDonalds was/is) aside from the accoutrements inside the ball park because he figures you have to spend money to make money to buy better ball players....
Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Braves are getting a new stadium to replace perfectly good Turner Field. They want to move 10 miles further north to Cobb County "to be closer to their fan base". Turner Field is 20 years old. Wrigley is 100. There are some shenanigans going on in Atlanta. I think the neighborhood around Turner is too urban for the suburban fans. I don't know the neighborhood though. I think there's plenty of parking though! The two oldest ball parks in baseball, Wrigley, and Fenway in Boston, were built before automobiles and suburbs became our way of life. Both are sorta land-locked.
If you know sports you know that there is no commitment in life more easily broken than that between team and city. Atlanta's story is interesting. Usually a team has to threaten to move further than the next country to get new digs. Years ago the Chicago White Sox were about two literal minutes away from moving to Florida when then governor Jim Thompson freed up state funds to build them a state of the 1970's cookie cutter of a ballpark that was out of date when they broke ground.
Everybody loves Wrigley. Only the most soulless bastard could step inside and not feel the beauty of the baseball love. But, ya know, it's a hundred years old. There's no parking. Whereas other teams have spacious locker rooms, the clubhouses are so small you can barely change your mind. State of the art today is batting cages for the players. The players at Wrigley get a batting tee and a net inside the clubhouse if a pinch-hitter (for example) wants to take a few warm-up swings. The amenities are nowhere near state of the art. The players- home and visitors- love the ball park but....they've seen better everywhere else but Fenway. From a fan's perspective, it's a great place to visit, but there's no parking. The last time I was there I used one bathroom that was more *modern* but I think the trough urinals are still grandfathered in. Code won't let you build them like that anymore but for the masses getting in and getting out between innings, it's the way to go. The women's facilities have always been more modern, I should add. But, not much room to expand that either.
Move the team to one of the suburbs offering acres of free land. Build it to look like a brand new Wrigley Field. Build condos and rooftops that you own or control. Smart investors would clamor to build restaurants, bars and hotels in the area around the ball park. And...PARKING! There could actually be parking. If you build it, they will come...
Probably. The Ricketts family didn't so much buy a baseball team as they bought a ball park. The attraction is Wrigley Field, not so much the men who play there. That's pretty much it. Story for another day but, the Ricketts are business men. They've already lowered payroll and that' as American as apple pie. It's euphemistically called "rebuilding". People come to Wrigley because there is no place on earth like it. Would a replica be better? Sure but, no, it wouldn't be the same. Tourists might not plan yearly trips to Schaumburg or Naperville like they do to Lakeview/Wrigleyville. You can't build 100 years of baseball love.
Well, so what? Even pouring money into it, how many more decades can Wrigley Field last? While not exactly paying the Federal minimum wage to his players, Ricketts can't fucking wait to get rid of 29 year old pitcher Jeff Samardzia to save paying him the big bucks and only 2 players (Castro and Rizzo) are signed beyond '16. We're going to be rebuilding as long as he can get away with saying "We're rebuilding!" Other teams manage to build new stadiums AND better teams at the same time. The Cubs can't do either. This makes it very hard to be a fan. Very hard to love.
So, move! What will become of Wrigley? Sell it to Nicole Curtis for $1. Let her rebuild it. I hear she's the only one who can pull off such a task....
The Chicago Cubs have been under new ownership for a few years now and I have to say I don't like the Rickett's family that owns the team. Tom, the spokesman for the family, the face, looks like Ted Cruz. Joe, the father, might as well be Ted Cruz. He's a bit of a wealthy reichwinger who sunk a lot of money into anti-Obama activities. The other kids are more active in regular business (daddy founded TD Ameritrade) and Tom is the face because he has the backstory to be the face. More of a free spirit than his sibs, Tom spent many summers after college sitting in the bleachers, watching his beloved Cubs. He met his wife there!
So, I don't care for their politics. And, like people who might move into a neighborhood where there is a Major League ballpark and complain that there is a Major League ballpark here, I have to point out that the Rickett's family should have talked at length to the neighbors before they moved in and maybe gotten a home inspection too.
Actually they did. They knew what they were getting into. Beautiful Wrigley Field has landmark status. You can't replace the iconic, manually operated scoreboard, for example. Changes must be approved by persnickety people. There is also the matter of a contract with the people who own the rooftops out beyond the left and right field bleachers. When the Tribune Company owned the team, they made a 20 year agreement with the roof top owners. So, Rickett's plans for view-blocking signs and jumbotrons have been met with lawyers. Frankly, they should be. New ownership does not void previous agreements. Even a Topix lawyer would know that. So, he'll probably have to buy them out or wait another ten or so years until the agreement is ended. And that's assuming all other plans are approved by the persnickety folks in charge of approval. Ricketts wants to build a hotel (I think where that McDonalds was/is) aside from the accoutrements inside the ball park because he figures you have to spend money to make money to buy better ball players....
Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Braves are getting a new stadium to replace perfectly good Turner Field. They want to move 10 miles further north to Cobb County "to be closer to their fan base". Turner Field is 20 years old. Wrigley is 100. There are some shenanigans going on in Atlanta. I think the neighborhood around Turner is too urban for the suburban fans. I don't know the neighborhood though. I think there's plenty of parking though! The two oldest ball parks in baseball, Wrigley, and Fenway in Boston, were built before automobiles and suburbs became our way of life. Both are sorta land-locked.
If you know sports you know that there is no commitment in life more easily broken than that between team and city. Atlanta's story is interesting. Usually a team has to threaten to move further than the next country to get new digs. Years ago the Chicago White Sox were about two literal minutes away from moving to Florida when then governor Jim Thompson freed up state funds to build them a state of the 1970's cookie cutter of a ballpark that was out of date when they broke ground.
Everybody loves Wrigley. Only the most soulless bastard could step inside and not feel the beauty of the baseball love. But, ya know, it's a hundred years old. There's no parking. Whereas other teams have spacious locker rooms, the clubhouses are so small you can barely change your mind. State of the art today is batting cages for the players. The players at Wrigley get a batting tee and a net inside the clubhouse if a pinch-hitter (for example) wants to take a few warm-up swings. The amenities are nowhere near state of the art. The players- home and visitors- love the ball park but....they've seen better everywhere else but Fenway. From a fan's perspective, it's a great place to visit, but there's no parking. The last time I was there I used one bathroom that was more *modern* but I think the trough urinals are still grandfathered in. Code won't let you build them like that anymore but for the masses getting in and getting out between innings, it's the way to go. The women's facilities have always been more modern, I should add. But, not much room to expand that either.
Move the team to one of the suburbs offering acres of free land. Build it to look like a brand new Wrigley Field. Build condos and rooftops that you own or control. Smart investors would clamor to build restaurants, bars and hotels in the area around the ball park. And...PARKING! There could actually be parking. If you build it, they will come...
Probably. The Ricketts family didn't so much buy a baseball team as they bought a ball park. The attraction is Wrigley Field, not so much the men who play there. That's pretty much it. Story for another day but, the Ricketts are business men. They've already lowered payroll and that' as American as apple pie. It's euphemistically called "rebuilding". People come to Wrigley because there is no place on earth like it. Would a replica be better? Sure but, no, it wouldn't be the same. Tourists might not plan yearly trips to Schaumburg or Naperville like they do to Lakeview/Wrigleyville. You can't build 100 years of baseball love.
Well, so what? Even pouring money into it, how many more decades can Wrigley Field last? While not exactly paying the Federal minimum wage to his players, Ricketts can't fucking wait to get rid of 29 year old pitcher Jeff Samardzia to save paying him the big bucks and only 2 players (Castro and Rizzo) are signed beyond '16. We're going to be rebuilding as long as he can get away with saying "We're rebuilding!" Other teams manage to build new stadiums AND better teams at the same time. The Cubs can't do either. This makes it very hard to be a fan. Very hard to love.
So, move! What will become of Wrigley? Sell it to Nicole Curtis for $1. Let her rebuild it. I hear she's the only one who can pull off such a task....
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