The train ride, which of course started in my beloved Philadelphia.
Obama in Baltimore
Guess where
Guess that too!
Obama in Claymont, Delaware
Security, Security
Thank you http://www.flickr.com>Flickr</a>
Flickr is a great way for people to see some other talented people. It also can be a way to see some really funky stuff, but you have to look at that quickly, before the moderator gods strike it down.
But, back to the post, here is the 2nd of Christmas with Flickr, this time from Longwood Gardens.
The playoffs started this weekend in my fantasy football league, and one mistake will mean that I am not advancing to the finals.
I personally blame work, because it kept me from making informative decisions, but that is just a cop out. I should have played Kevin Smith against the awful Colts defense, rather than Bush against the stoudt Bears.
Here I sit however, hoping that Amani Toomer fumbles twice and gains no yards. Chances of that? Slim and None
There were two bands that affected my youth. Well, really 3, since Love Seed was my favorite Delaware drunk band. But, for speaking the message of dispair and angst, it was Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins.
The Pumpkins get top billing tonight, tonight
Ok, I am on TiVo, so I am running behind, but Governor Palin has given the Obama/Biden campaign at least 3 or 4 commercial sound bites, she has decided to not answer 3 or 4 questions and she was the first person to use the word holocaust. Scary much?
Yes, ladies and gentleman, it is Fantasy Football! And yes, I won my first game out this week, thanks partly to the fact that Drew Brees and Reggie Bush decided to blow up points wise, but also because Tom Brady had a figurative arrow jammed in his knee. And really, a win is a win and I will take it.
The funniest thing is that this weeks opponent has Matt Leinart as his backup. Coincidentally, Leinhart is also the back up for the Arizona Cardinals. That is synergy and perhaps a second win for ole Sparky.
And of course, when I mention football, its time for a egregious Cheerleader picture. Courtesy of the Seattle Seagals
Its Sunday, which means the brain is all over the place. Which of course is great news for you, my lovely readers.
1.We are used to the teams from out in the Pacific Time Zone being the BCS Busters in college football. After watching what East Carolina did to West Virginia yesterday and what they did to the Hokies of Va Tech last week, they could be this years buster.
2.Joe Biden did adequate at best today on Meet The Press. It was almost like he was not awake until 11 am. Not the best start, though at least he was in front of the press as opposed to some other candidates.
3.As I type, Jake Delhomme hits some dude named Rosario to get a Carolina win. The games today were dull, but they finished well!
4.I grabbed the meatloaf from the oven last night and now it seems that I may have an alien growing out of my thumb. Or its a high 1st degree burn. Though alien sounds sexier.
5.Speaking of sexy...Google Haley Bang
Today, of course, was the first real Meet The Press without Tim Russert. And I honestly hope that until thy decide on one of the young turks or turkettes to replace him, that Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw switch off and share duties on one of the most important political shows on TV. At least until the election, because both sides, Republican and Democratic, are going to do there best spin jobs and these two anchors have the gravitas to say hey hold on a moment.
Today, it was Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina that graced us with there presence at 10:30 am Philadelphia time. And, it was not that bad a program. Biden was Biden, which means he said some smart witty things and also sort of stumbled and bumbled a bit as he spoke. Classic Biden. Senator Graham had a pretty clean show, smartly letting Biden take up alot of the hot air.
Until (and you knew there had to be an until, its the Sparky Duck blog) the discussion turned to drilling for oil off the coasts of the United States. Now, I am not sure if Biden's point about land in the ocean already leased and not used by oil companies already not being drilled, why do they need more, point was spot on. It sounded a bit like a talking point that could be skewered eventually. But Senator Graham botched one moment for sure. Briam Williams brought up two quotes from two South Carolina newspapers that pointed the Senator, and co chairman of McCains national committee, towards being against the drilling off the shores of the United States. Specifically because tourism would probably suffer, which besides tobacco and two major Universities, is one of the biggest money makers for the Palmetto state. To quote Williams, "so Senator Graham, what changed your mind?" 4 dollars a gallon, so speaketh Mr Graham.
Does anyone realize how short sighted an answer that was? How the logic is all askew? Sure, approve drilling off the coast, the oil companies get what they want and then gas prices reduce. Until, the oil companies or maybe a pharmaceutical, or heck dairy farmers what something else, and then they race the price on the commodity to get something else they want. Senator Graham kind of just said that the government is held hostage to prices and corporations. This was smart how??
Ok, maybe I am not like Mickelson, since he went to college on a golf scholarship in Arizona and has won millions upon millions of dollars. Sparky on the other hand had to pay to go Delaware and is still buying powerball tickets. Yes, the title is an overstatement.
Yet for one brief moment, Phil and I were alike. Mickelson hit a 9 on a hole on the back nine, which was a quadruple bogey I think. I hit 9's all the time!! Phil and I are simpatico. Just remind me not to compare bank books.
As of 7:30, it was still Rocco Mediate, though Tiger and Davis Love III were in the US Open hunt.
Everyone and there grandmother will be wagering on Big Brown tomorrow at the Preakness down in Maryland. Its kind of a no brainer pick that will not win you much money. And, I even agree with it. But, there is one other thing that I also do when it comes to the big race at Pimlico, look for the local talent.
For Maryland Breeders, this has to be the Super Bowl of races for them, so this year I know I will be laying a few bucks down on Ichabad Crane, at least to place or show. He is trained out of the Fair Hill Training Center, which for me is about as local as you can get. Plus, apparently, he has a pretty good record in the races that he has run in his career. While I have not done all of my research yet, I will save that for after work tomorrow, I can say without a question that I think Ichabod can hit the board and score, especially with some nice odds. Might be worth some milk money.
Way way back in 07, I mentioned the odd case of the boy found at the Christiana Hospital in Delaware and how the boys mother was still missing. Unfortunately, it seems that my original ideas were kind of right, as now Rosario DiGiralamo has been arrested in the apparent murder of Amy Giordano. This is after DiGiralamo had fled to Italy and lived on the run for many months.
The Big break in the case may have come over this weekend. In what seemed to be just a throw away story, the news told us how another person had been arrested in the Giordano case for lying to the police. Now, conveniently after that arrest, police divers in Staten Island are finding body parts in a lake there and Digiralamo is under arrest and being held under for 3 million dollars worth of bail.
Deep down, we all knew that this was not going to go well, and the story for Amy's child is even worse, since he will have to live with the actions of his own father.
I have absoulutely no idea why this song is in my head, besides the fact it was played when I got my haircut the other day, but it is. Though I do like rubies and soho always sounded cool. Lets enjoy a little Rancid</span> together.
which is not a surprise, really. But Obama wins Delaware, which is why NJ has still not been called. South Jersey and Delaware have a heavy Philadelphia influence, and they are going to go Obama.
Missouri & Oklahoma still too close to call on the Republican side, Missouri is more surprising then the Okies, Oklahoma is close to Arkansas, Moonshines former home.
Mrs Duck:"McCain won Delaware"
Sparky: "Yea I am not surprised. They have liked Biden for this long"
MD:"Oh and its also because over here (the east coast) we are not crazy fucking religious freaks"
Man I am glad I did not even bother watching Delaware tonight. I kind of knew it would be bad.
Though I must say, security in Chattanooga, not doing a bang up job tonight. The whole town of Boone is on both sidelines. Not the best plan...
To Me, College Football season really does not start until next weekend. Labor Day weekend is usually the last blast of summer, which means beach, BBQ, picnics and still baseball. 
So yes, I will pay attention to games if they are on, but I am not about to change my plans to watch some of these games. More times then not, the NCAA Division 1 powers usually just look at this first game as something like a exhibition game, except it counts. Lets look at some of the scores from the past weekend.
Louisville 73 Murray State 0
Hawaii 63 Northern Colorado 6
Appalachian State 34 Michigan 32
Penn State 51 Florida International 0
Wait? Did that say Michigan 32, Appalachian State 34??!! Why yes, yes it did.
In one of the biggest upsets that I can remember the Appalachian State Mountaineers of Boone, NC and Division 1-AA (they call it something else now but it will always be 1-AA to me) defeated the Michigan Wolverines, in The Big House.
It is the first time in history that a 1-AA team defeated a nationally ranked 1-A team. Yes, somehow, Michigan was the #5 ranked team in the country and allowed the Mountaineers to come into there stadium, get an 11 point lead at half time, then block a field goal, kick a field goal of there own with 26 seconds remaining and then block another field goal to send the state of North Carolina and probably all fans and alumni of division 1-AA schools into shock and euphoria.
That will end all talk of Michigan getting anywhere 
near sniffing a National Championship in the first week. This is going to be terrific fodder for the Fire Lloyd Carr websites that have to be popping up all over Michigan now, because you just do not allow that to happen in your home stadium in front of 100,000 people. Though I am sure there are plenty of football players in Boone, NC right now that are still getting lucky with coeds, 24 hours later.
For a little perspective that is like Ron Paul or Dennis Kuchinich winning the White House, or a local church choir winning a Grammy for best song. Yes, they are talented and can sing, not usually on that level.
On the Sparky Duck rooting front, Oregon used a QB option run and a blocked punt to finally put the University of Houston away 48 to 27. This is going to be a semi down year for the Ducks, at least in my opinion, the defense is very young. I will be happy with a win over Oregon State and a bowl game by the end of the season. Also, Delaware defeated William and Mary, thats one of the Alma-Mater.
Finally, Virginia Tech had there first major sporting event since the shooting there last spring. Yes, they have had Baseball, Softball and Soccer games since the tragedy, but in Blacksburg, football is king. Its the thing that binds the community together and while the Hokies struggled to get a win over East Carolina, 17-7, it was a good sign to see the community back and celebrating something, anything.
Oh yea, and Clay Buchholtz decided to go out and throw a no hitter for the Red Sox last night in just his second career start. Gonna be hard to top that.
I have all these memes that I have gotten tagged for and what do I do? I do one that has no tags at all. When Yoshi talks about being a procrastinator, I am right on the top of his list.
One Gal's Musings had this meme on her blog this week and it is back to school season here in Philadelphia, at least in the colleges here. And that of course makes me very nostalgic. So, the Grown Up meme seemed to be perfection. No tags, but if you do it, please let me know and I will point some eyes that way.
1. Do you have a college degree?
Yes, a bachelor of arts in history. Alot of good thats done me
2.What was the amount of your last electric bill?
$142
3. Do you have life insurance?
Yes, for now at least
4. How many hours per week do you work?
and get paid for it 0; the cooking cleaning etc stuff around the house, 15 or so
5. Have you ever attended a Toastmasters event?
No, but I think those are like roasts right? Those always look fun on TV
6. Favorite place to attend Happy Hour?
In the old days, the Stone Balloon in Newark, De. Nowadays, if not my kitchen, 2021 in the city.
7. How many miles is your commute to work each day (one way)?
Down the stairs. Though the wife has an hour commute everyday by train. My old commute was almost an hour and a half one way.
8. What time do you get up every morning for work?
7:15 AM
9. What is your definition of sleeping in late?
10:00. If I sleep any later then that, my whole morning is all screwed up, like I am in a fog or something.
10. Do you check your cholesterol on a yearly basis?
Oh hell no
11. How large was your first cell phone bill?
$49 or so
12. Does your employer provide good health insurance?
Eh, I am on Mrs Ducks plan, it was better then mine but the co pays still suck
13. Did you use the internet to write a research paper?
No, the internet was still just something that you could just check email with when I was in college. It was a novelty, not a tool.
14. Have you attended a High School reunion?
Nope, I actually just missed my 15th anniversary last year.
15. How many jobs have you held in your professional career?
3 different companies, with one company I had 3 different jobs, so I guess thats about 6
16. Have you ever been fired or laid off from a job?
Yes, problem with being in banking was that mergers mean layoffs. I am on layoff duty as we speak, though no one wants to listen to me when I internally scream, no more BANKING
17. What is your favorite drink?
Mountain Dew and in the alcohol variety, it would be a Stoli Martini with olives, Up
18. What is the most expensive bottle of wine that you have in your refrigerator?
Now, this bottle of Riesling was a gift, heck from the wedding last year, but I am sure its a $18 bottle of wine. The cheapest one on the wine rack is $6. Gotta love the Aussies.
19. Have you been divorced?
Yep, boy that was fun ;p
20. How old were you when you stopped getting ID-ed for Alcohol?
I got ID'd last month at one of those TGIF, Ruby Tuesday places. Hell, I got ID'd for smokes last week.
21. Favorite casino?
I have never been to Vegas, so I guess it would be the Taj in AC. Though the Resorts was a favorite because I actually won money for the weekend.
22. Are you happier now than you were in high school?
Yes, I get laid now ;)
23. Did you ever have Hypercolor shirts?
No, but my brother had one. So I know what they are, its just that it seems I am always to old for new trends.
24. Do you remember when Michael Jackson was black and was attracted to older people?
Yes, he was still black in Thriller and that was a great album. The change was happening though.
25. Do you remember when MTV actually played music videos?
Yes, which is why I like Fuse now, because they still play videos. Videos were my summer soundtrack when I was a teen.
26. Have you had a will made?
Sort of. There is no will now, but before I got married, my boss had a if I die in a plane crash will, which said who would take the cat and where the small pittance of money would go. Now, Mrs Duck knows I want to be cremated, but thats it.
27. What music was in your cd / cassette player when you were 16?
Guns N Roses, Living Colour, U2-Rattle & Hum, INXS, Bobby McFerrin, Troop, Keith Sweat. So much more.
28. Favorite fancy / upscale restaurant?
Roy's, asian fusion cooking, a nice little taste of Hawaii in Center City
29. How long has it been since you attended a kegger?
Ok, technically it was 1996. But, few weeks back, the Senator had a birthday party with a keg and I had to go back on Sunday to help him kick it.
30. Where were you when you found out about 9-11?
Work. I was listening to Imus in the Morning on the radio in my office and Chuck McCord the news guy said that a plane had hit one of the towers. They thought it was just one of those piper cubs. When they said a 2nd plane hit, we scrambled to get the old TV set up at the branch. Its amazing how fast 2 guys can get a 30 pound TV up when its really important. The whole branch just stared agast. Being in Central Jersey at the time, you could see the smoke from where we were. Still give me shivers.
Like I said, if you do the meme, let me know, I would love to see it.
This is a song of my youth and it actually was a song that I was able to hear while in college and picture one particular red head coed. Short part of a long story, I was an idiot when it came to women in my sophomore year of college and did not know how to read the signs of a chick that wanted to hook up. While forward, she was not forward enough. So in the end, two semi shy college students just got drunk and neither one of us managed to get lucky that night. We stayed friends and for whatever reason, this song reminds me of the girl from Upper Darby.
Get more Poetry Train here...
Found Out About You by the Gin Blossoms
All last summer, in case you don't recall,
I was yours and you were mine; forget it all.
Is there a line that I could write
That's sad enough to make you cry?
And all the lines you wrote to me were lies.
Months roll past the love that you struck dead.
Did you love me only in my head?
The things you said and did to me
Seemed to come so easily.
The love I thought I won you give for free.
Whispers at the bus stop.
I heard about nights out in the school yard.
I found out about you.
Rumours follow everywhere you go,
Like when you left and I was last to know.
Well, you're famous now and that's no doubt.
In all the places you hang out
They know your name and they know what you're about.
Whispers at the bus stop.
I heard about nights out in the school yard.
I found out about you.
Street lights blink on through the car window.
I get the time too often on A.M. radio.
Well, you know it's all I think about.
I write your name, drive past your house;
Your boyfriend's over; I watch your light go out.
Whispers at the bus stop.
I heard about nights out in the school yard.
I found out about you.
About a month or so ago, I mentioned here a story about a 18 month old boy being left at a Newark, Delaware hospital and the fact that it seemed a bit fishy in regards to where his mother was and why she would huff all the way down to Delaware to abandon her son.
Well, things in this sad little story have become a bit more twisted and almost fictional. Newsday did a fine job of laying out some new details that have been learned. We have figured out why she did not leave her little boy at a more local hospital, well whoever left the child there. The father actually lives in the town next to where the hospital is located, it is probably his local hospital, making it a bad idea for him to have anything to do with.
Turns out also, that Amy and Maria DiMaggio, who is the wife of Rosario DiGiralmo, the father, did not know about each other. In fact, Rosario was leading a double life, with one child with Maria in Millstone and one child with Amy in Hightstown. Not that smart on his part, since the two towns are less then a half hour apart and seperated by one major highway. Of course, the way things are seeming to lay out, Rosario was not a rocket scientist.
And now for the Sopranos twist. DiGiralmo booked a flight to Milan, Italy and has disappeared off the face of the earth once he got there. Oh, and did I forget to mention that he bought his new house in Millstone from a consiglierie of the second strongest mob family in New Jersey. Needless to say, authorities are investigating any kind of mob ties.
So, now, the boy is in foster care, Mom is missing and Dad is either missing or fleeing of both. I see why MSNBC has finally started reporting on this story and spreading at least some of the word around.
