Guess Who's Back... Back Again?

Lemmon's back. Tell a friend.

While I'd like to tell you I was aimlessly wandering the highways of America, acutely lonely with only my superpowers as company, I actually never went anywhere outside the escapist corners of my own mind. Life, as it tends to do, blew up in my face entirely this month, and I'm just now finding myself with a Saturday fit for a little bit o' bloggin'. So much has happened since my last post that I want to comment on...

I'm still running: I'm up to 16 miles, only 10 from my goal. The break in the ridiculous heat has helped my stamina, as have the fancy-pants new shoes I ponied up for a couple of weeks ago (it's amazing how old shoes feel like running on cardboard.) The last week has worried me a bit, as I'm having some significant pain in my right knee (the outside portion, connecting the knee to calf. Whazat, biology majors?) So I've been cutting my weekday runs short and icing at night. We'll see how it does tomorrow morning, which is a 10 mile run.

Barry Bonds: It was with almost feverish tenacity that I watched every single Giants game until he tied and broke Hank Aaron's record. As a self-respecting baseball fan, I felt it was my duty to watch what will surely be one of the most-talked-about home runs in the history of the game. (Actually, I've been paranoid of missing big baseball moments ever since I went to bed before this home run 19 years ago.) My take on Bonds? Let it go. He broke the record, he's one of a bajillion players who juiced over the last 20 years... let it go. Prosecute him for whatever you want, but let the records stand--and cheer like freakin' crazy when A-Rod passes him six or seven years from now.

Work, work, work: Not too much to say here, but the exciting news is that I'm now Web Editor for the whole of Whitaker Publishing, Inc., in addition to my existing duties as GO Magazine editor. Exciting, or suicide? We shall see. Be sure to check out 417mag.com and springfieldgo.com early and often; exciting changes begin soon!

More corporate-export deaths in China: Suicide now. Seriously. When your government executes officials for taking kickbacks, how long until they start cutting out the middle men? Either way, I had to return my lead-tainted Dora the Explorer figurines. How pissed am I? Pretty pissed.

The Cardinals' August resurgence: It's a mirage, but a beautiful one. I was dreading a September in which baseball didn't matter to me--now I'm at least forced to pay attention. Thank you, Albert Pujols.

This makes me laugh a whole lot: dugout.progressiveboink.com.

Props: I absolutely have to give a shout out to my best friend, Nathan. He's an Ozarks Democrat who fled for the relative sophistication of the Triangle area of North Carolina (he lives in Chapel Hill). Not only does he have a rapidly growing birders' blog, The Drinking Bird, (you can't miss his "Single-Issue Voter" column, where he breaks down each presidential candidate by how birder-friendly he or she is, he's now starting a reader-driven blog called Joe America's America. Do check them out and comment often.

I've got my yearly fantasy football draft tomorrow with a group of buddies from college. Last year my team (name not safe to print here, alas) finished third. I'm aiming for even better things this year. More tomorrow (if I'm not too plowed/tired from my run to type.)

Peace.

ML