Saturday, August 07, 2010

I.T.'s Baaaack



As you may have heard, the Knicks have rehired Isiah Thomas as a consultant.  Well, why wouldn't you want someone who, when he was president of the Knicks never saw the team win more than 33 games in a season and in the two years he was coach led the Knicks to a combined 56-108 record.  Oh, yeah, let's not forget that $11.6 million he cost Dolan and MSG in the sexual harassment suit brought by Anucha Browne Sanders.

And we won't even mention the Stephon Marbury fiasco for which we were still giving up fisrt-round draft picks this year and put the Knicks so far over the salary-cap they have just now dug their way out.

Sadly, everyone is predicting that Thomas is poised to take over the team again once Walsh is out of the picture, and that is liable to be sooner rather than later.

At least this time the New York papers didn't fall all over themselves praising this brilliant move, like they did for a certain quarterback a few years ago.  The headlines (yes, this kind of thing does make front page headlines in New York) were all disparaging.

"ARE THEY KNUTS" screamed the front page of the New York Daily New.  And inside you saw "SNAKE BACK IN THE GARDEN" and "Zeke gets rewarded for being a creep and loser."

The New York Post, by comparison, was relatively benign with "Thomas slithers in as Knicks consultant."

Even the staid New York Times headed their column on Isiah's return "A Bad Movie Is Getting A Sequel."

About the only thing Isiah hasn't been accused of, yet, is sending pictures of his penis via cell-phone to a former model and Sports Illustrated columnist.  That would be Brett Favre (the sender of the photo, not the former model).  But at least Brett isn't coming back.  Or is he?

On the bright side, the Brooklyn Cyclones defeated the Batavia Muckdogs in extra innings last night.  I will post about my day at the beach either later today or tomorrow.  Tonight I head to Staten Island to watch the Staten Island Yankees play the Williamsport Crosscutters.

Oh, just as a final aside, Isiah led Florida International to a 7-25 record last season.  Now you don't think their might be a conflict of interest regarding a college coach also working for a professional team in a capacity where he is "an evaluator of basketball talent," do you?

Friday, August 06, 2010

Just Meandering

One day we decided to just kind of meander around with no particular destination.  We decided we would just take one of the cute trams to wherever it went and then come back and get off if we saw somewhere interesting.  Before catching the tram, however, we had to catch the subway to the tram.

The Train To The Tram


Comfortable Seats, Though


We got off at Restaurades, just three stops and about fifteen minutes from where we are staying and caught the tram.

And Old-Fashioned Tram


The seating isn't quite as spacious and comfortable as on the subway.

A Tight Fit


But you get an interesting view from the rear.

Somewhat Like San Francisco


It was an interesting ride.  You went through a lot of older neighborhoods and wound your way through narrow streets.  Occasionally you caught glimpses of the river and we spotted a place where we wanted to stop off at on the way back.

Hey, The Yellow Umbrellas Just Called Out




Of course yellow umbrellas often mean touristy and this was no exception.  But not a bad touristy if you were just having a beer.

Touristy + Thirsty = Big Beer


And Soft Drinks For The Sisters


But the menu didn't look too appealing.  Typically tourist type of stuff and on the pricey side.  But it was a pleasant enough place to sit.  It was by the river and there was a nice view.

A Pleasant View


After quenching our thirst we wandered around a bit to take in the sights and to find someplace not quite so touristy for lunch.

Some Of The Sights








That last picture was of a whole school of fish going nuts right up by the pier.

We did find a nice looking semi-outdoor restaurant not too far away and it looked like there were a lot of business types eating, always a good sign. And it turned out to be a really nice place.

Very Nice Place, Indeed


Although it was quite hot and sunny outside, a very cooling breeze blew through. Much better than air-conditioning.

I wish I had taken more pictures or paid more attention to what we ate, but I didn't. I know I had clams in a white wine sauce, and they were excellent. We had a nice leisurely lunch, shared a bottle of wine, and I had an espresso and port as my after-lunch treat.

Living Like King And Queens


Of course there is always time for a day to turn a little sordid. I had spotted a tiny bar and had my heart set on popping in.  And I had obviously found a part of town where there was graffiti.  But the sidewalks are clean.

Kind Of Hard To Spot


It Just Called To Me


There weren't any other customers in the place, but somehow I felt right at home.

Not Touristy At All


All in all, it was a very nice day of sightseeing. And the tram, as good as any sightseeing bus, was the same price as the bus or subway. If you ever visit Lisbon, buy the one-day passes. We sure got our money's worth out of them.

Heading out to Coney Island for a Coney Island Cyclones game and party at Peggy O'Neill's. We are going out a bit early to stop at a beer garden in Brighton Beach. Then I will probably pop into Ruby's, and I want to check out the brewpub next to the Freak Bar.  A Bar Man's work is never done.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Interesting Timing

The day First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Spain for a vacation the State Department removed a travel advisory warning African-Americans to be careful about going there.

The advisory had said "Racial prejudices could lead to the arrest of Afro-Americans who travel to Spain."

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Come Again?

This blurb was in the New York Daily News today:

Space evaders:  Adrien Brody leads a group of humans being hunted by aliens on another planet in "Predators."

Hmm, if Adrien is on another planet, wouldn't he be an alien?

And. as long as we are talking movies, I saw "Inception" yesterday.  At last Sunday's barbecue there was much debate, among those who had already seen it, about whether or not Cobb was dreaming or awake at the end of the movie.  Me, I think he was awake (didn't the dreidel start to wobble?).

Now, is Deckard a replicant in "Blade Runner"?

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

A Visit To A Palace

One of the "must see" things when you visit Sintra is Palacio da Pena. It sits on one of the highest peaks of the Serra de Sintra and is quite spectacular, in a Disneyland sort of way.

Palicio de Pena








Palacio de Pena was built in the 19th century for Queen Maria II, Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. But I really have no idea who that is or what part in history she may have played. It is a cool castle, though.

Nice Views Too





As you may have surmised, the Mysterious Chinese Lady reads my blog, so here you go dear, one of those cute couple pictures I know you love.

Cutest Couple Of The Palace


And they even had a snack stand thing where you could buy a beer. Now this is the kind of palace I like.

Master Of All I Survey


There was a balcony that was extremely windy, for some reason. But the view was nice and I managed to get a couple of good fly-away-hair shots.

The Mysterious Chinese Sister-In-Law doesn't read my blog.

I Hope


On The Other Hand


The interior of the palace was very interesting as well, but you weren't allowed to take pictures. Because it was built in the 19th century it did have indoor plumbing. It was a bit disconcerting to see toilets and bathtubs in a castle.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Mysterious Chinese Sister-In-Law likes to climb towers and stuff so she was at it again here.

King Of The Palace


I Reign Supreme


It was quite an interesting palace to wander around in. And small enough so that you don't have to spend all day. A couple of hours, and that includes a beer break, is plenty.

This Would Look Good On My Wall


Unlike Quinta da Reglaeira, this isn't a place I would go back to again, but it was worth seeing once.

Still more to come on Lisbon, we packed a lot into this trip, so stay tuned.