Showing posts with label Dad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dad. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Seeding the Tip Cup (and the daily updates)
The other day, I was buying some groceries in my neighborhood C Town (149th and B'way!). All grocery stores in Manhattan are local, but C Town is local-er than most. All of the checkout girls (and they are all girls) live in the neighborhood and on Sunday there was at least 1 teenage boy bagging at each checkout aisle.
Now I remember reading a story in the Times a while back exposing a "scandal" prevalent in neighborhood grocery stores - baggers working purely for tips and not getting paid minimum wage. It's not clear if the kids at C Town are volunteering, looking for some spare coin to buy soda and comics*, or whether they are getting paid under the table, or what. What is clear, however, is that each station has a little plastic dish for tips.
*Do kids still buy comics? I bought pretty lame comics when I was a kid - mostly the conventional superhero type - Superman, Green Lantern, Spiderman, with lots of ads in the back for direct sale programs. I never got into the X-Men or Fantastic 4 or certainly not any of the alternative comics. If not comics these days, what are kids spending their hard earned grocery bagging tip money on?
There is a psychology to tipping that I learned as an oyster shucker in Faneuil Hall in Boston - this is called "seeding the tipjar". Lounge piano players, subway performers, panhandlers, all know that people are more likely to give someone money when they either see someone else giving, or see (via the seeded tip cup) that someone else has already. Now I am not the first to notice this, but it is not a staple solely of your local Starbucks.
The nudge blog asks what is the optimal amount seeding the tip jar to get the ball rolling. In my experience, it's not any particular amount - its more important to have a reasonable volume (but not too much, lest people think you've been tipped enough!) of small bills. A few crinkled ones in a 16 oz plastic cup usually was the routine when I worked at the Walrus and Carpenter 15 years ago.
Unfortunately the C Town kids didn't get the memo. Their tip bowl was empty when I arrived and empty when I left.
Of course, I didn't have any cash on me at the time.
The Baseball Update
President Obama did not bounce the first pitch. I don't care where Pujols was standing. President Obama's candor in the announcer booth was much more interesting ("we're out of money").
Hey, some Red Sox Blog links:
Red Sox Chick (blogging at Weei!!) on the relative lack of Red Sox participation in the ASG.
Red Sox Dad on the Sox all stars meeting the Prez.
Jere from Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory with a nice remembrance of watching the '83 ASG with his dad.
The Taxes Update
Seems like there may be some sort of tax hike proposed to fund health care reform? Anyone else know anything about this?
Recent coverage on other blogs:
Citizens for Tax Justice release (warning - pdf file). Editorially, the idea that it is tax justice for certain (but not all) taxpayers to be forced to "give back" some of the tax cuts they have received over the past decade is not "justice". That's a retroactive tax.
Don't Mess With Taxes also pointing out the multiple states in which a 50% marginal rate will be the new high.
Tax.com predicting that the surtax will never be enacted (I agree - and so does the taxgirl, I believe.
Finally, Megan McArdle with her thoughts.
The Death Update
After not blogging about my dad for a long long time, I had a weird dream last night - one of the increasingly rare dreams where he is an active present, walking, talking, like nothing ever happened - and I am always grateful that somehow he is among the living again. But this time, in my dream, I was reasoning with my brother, my mother, trying to get at whether he was really alive or not (again, in my dream). In my dream, we all saw him and thought he was there, but it turned out that we were each, separately, having Sixth Sense moments, when one of us saw him, it didn't mean the others did. We each were dreaming within my dream.
I feel like my subconcious had some sort of resolution.
Either that or I've got to cut down on the gin at night.
Your obit of the day belongs to Reggie Fleming, a hard-nosed hockey player from the 60s. He easily could have been the inspiration for Reggie Dunlop in Slap Shot, but apparently the first name was just a coincidence. He played professionally for 20 seasons (12 in the NHL) and led the league in penalty minutes his last season. Now that is dedication.
The obit is here
Monday, July 13, 2009
Death, Taxes and Such
Well it's been too long since I've updated, and it may be months again since I do another update, but I have a few minutes, so here goes..
The Baseball Update
David Pinto is doing a quick series over on Baseball Musings, reviewing each major league team at the all star break. So far, he's tackled just the AL West, but eventually he'll get to the Sox. He presents how a team ranks in several stats, OBP, SLG, etc. I remember as a kid noticing the Sox always seemed to be at the top of the league in AVG and 2Bs, but at the bottom of the pack in SBs. This is not news.
The interesting thing (to me) is how much the team has changed since those days (and even since '04 or so). Now, Sox are middle of the pack in AVG, but toward the top in SBs (the perennial success in 2Bs must be a function of the park).
Again, this is not news. Everyone knows that Theo Epstein has made a point of emphasizing OBP and, apparently, has embraced the speed game more than his predecessors (of course, it helps that he has Ellsbury who has by himself more than 1/2 of the team's stolen bases). This is to his credit, but I don't think he gets enough credit. It's one thing to espouse a philosophy, it's another to successfully implement it. And Epstein's been able to do that in spades.
The Taxes Update
For me, it's all health care, all the time. Taxgirl, the Tax Vox Blog, Kausfiles and Robert Ross at HuffPo all had interesting posts in the past few days regarding the various tax initiatives being put forth to fund health care reform
David Brooks had a great op-ed last week noting that the combination of the various tax increases leave Obama with precious little dry powder for future domestic spending initiatives.
I agree with this. To review the bidding, Obama has already proposed/assumed that the Bush tax cuts on individuals earning over $250K will expire in 2011. Added to that since he ran are: (i) a cap on the deductibility of itemized deductions for high earners, (ii) a "surtax" from 1% to 3% on income over $350,000 (ramping up based on income) which Rangel introduced last week (iii) a potential cap on the tax exclusion of employer-provided health insurance (for plans that cost > $25K/year in premiums) and (iv) rumblings about imposing payroll taxes on capital gains and dividends (i.e., nonwage income).
Neither Obama nor Congress has seriously considered any tax increases on the middle class (such as the total repeal of the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance).
The price tag for the increased coverage Congress is discussing (which would *not* be universal) is ~$1 trillion (CBO estimate from July 3 reported $600M, but the $1T number is still the one that is most widely reported). Apparently gone is the argument that reform will actually save money (probably for good reasons politically, there was already too much discussion of which end of life interventions would not be covered by government provided health insurance due to lack of "efficiencies" - see below).
I am not morally against a tax hike to fund comprehensive health care coverage, but so far, the plans put forth would not accomplish that goal. It seems to me that if you are willing to wager the rest of your domestic policy agenda (because that is what Obama would be doing if all of the above tax hikes are necessary for a credible plan to be passed, which would leave room for no further hikes, probably including the expiration of the Bush tax cuts), then the payoff had better be more impressive than even the most recent CBO estimates of the increase in the number of people covered in this country. It had better be damned close to universal coverage (Medicare for all, as Mickey Kaus calls it).
I don't think that's what we will see.
The Death Update
Michael. Farrah. Ed. Oxy-Clean. Karl. Robert. Steve. And Waldo.
That would be Waldo McBurney, America's oldest worker. He was 106. He worked from age 13 to age 104. He took up distance running when he was 65.
I was listening to an Adam Carolla podcast on the way home from work tonight and in it he said he had asked his friend Dr. Drew, what was with the health care reform debate - what all the controversy was about, why costs were rising so much. Dr. Drew's answer was simple(istic). Everyone is living longer than expected. This *can* partially explain shortfalls in corporate and public pensions and of course the coming disasters in Medicare and Social Security. The cost issue though is extremely loaded when you start to bring patient age into the equation - issues of rationing and treatment decisions made by reference to the efficiency (or necessity) of a given treatment. Who knows how much "extra" costs we all bore to help Mr. McBurney live to 106. Surely he wasn't getting there solely on "juices and berries".
It's a difficult question. When dad finally accepted his likely fate (late stage small cell lung cancer), he decided he didn't want to pursue more chemo or crap that would just make him feel sicker than he was. That was his decision though. I can't imagine (and we're a LONG way in the discussion from this) someone else making that decision for him. Obama alluded to this in a discussion of his grandmother - even when it was clear she would not make it, she had a hip replacement. He admitted that he would pay for the procedure himself, but what if someone can't pay. As a lawyer, I hate slippery slope arguments and believe that we as rational humans don't need bright lines because we should be able reason between different cases based on their own facts, but that's much easier to do in the dry world of tax where it's just money, ultimately, and not someone's cancer-infected dad.
Addendum
This conversation on Slate.com is a good primer on where the Obama Administration (and Stephen Colbert, er, Peter Orszag in particular) thinks the cost savings will come from.
In addition, this blog post by Orszag lays out the ground rules for health reform being "deficit neutral". This is the corner they've painted themselves into.
The Baseball Update
David Pinto is doing a quick series over on Baseball Musings, reviewing each major league team at the all star break. So far, he's tackled just the AL West, but eventually he'll get to the Sox. He presents how a team ranks in several stats, OBP, SLG, etc. I remember as a kid noticing the Sox always seemed to be at the top of the league in AVG and 2Bs, but at the bottom of the pack in SBs. This is not news.
The interesting thing (to me) is how much the team has changed since those days (and even since '04 or so). Now, Sox are middle of the pack in AVG, but toward the top in SBs (the perennial success in 2Bs must be a function of the park).
Again, this is not news. Everyone knows that Theo Epstein has made a point of emphasizing OBP and, apparently, has embraced the speed game more than his predecessors (of course, it helps that he has Ellsbury who has by himself more than 1/2 of the team's stolen bases). This is to his credit, but I don't think he gets enough credit. It's one thing to espouse a philosophy, it's another to successfully implement it. And Epstein's been able to do that in spades.
The Taxes Update
For me, it's all health care, all the time. Taxgirl, the Tax Vox Blog, Kausfiles and Robert Ross at HuffPo all had interesting posts in the past few days regarding the various tax initiatives being put forth to fund health care reform
David Brooks had a great op-ed last week noting that the combination of the various tax increases leave Obama with precious little dry powder for future domestic spending initiatives.
I agree with this. To review the bidding, Obama has already proposed/assumed that the Bush tax cuts on individuals earning over $250K will expire in 2011. Added to that since he ran are: (i) a cap on the deductibility of itemized deductions for high earners, (ii) a "surtax" from 1% to 3% on income over $350,000 (ramping up based on income) which Rangel introduced last week (iii) a potential cap on the tax exclusion of employer-provided health insurance (for plans that cost > $25K/year in premiums) and (iv) rumblings about imposing payroll taxes on capital gains and dividends (i.e., nonwage income).
Neither Obama nor Congress has seriously considered any tax increases on the middle class (such as the total repeal of the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance).
The price tag for the increased coverage Congress is discussing (which would *not* be universal) is ~$1 trillion (CBO estimate from July 3 reported $600M, but the $1T number is still the one that is most widely reported). Apparently gone is the argument that reform will actually save money (probably for good reasons politically, there was already too much discussion of which end of life interventions would not be covered by government provided health insurance due to lack of "efficiencies" - see below).
I am not morally against a tax hike to fund comprehensive health care coverage, but so far, the plans put forth would not accomplish that goal. It seems to me that if you are willing to wager the rest of your domestic policy agenda (because that is what Obama would be doing if all of the above tax hikes are necessary for a credible plan to be passed, which would leave room for no further hikes, probably including the expiration of the Bush tax cuts), then the payoff had better be more impressive than even the most recent CBO estimates of the increase in the number of people covered in this country. It had better be damned close to universal coverage (Medicare for all, as Mickey Kaus calls it).
I don't think that's what we will see.
The Death Update
Michael. Farrah. Ed. Oxy-Clean. Karl. Robert. Steve. And Waldo.
That would be Waldo McBurney, America's oldest worker. He was 106. He worked from age 13 to age 104. He took up distance running when he was 65.
I was listening to an Adam Carolla podcast on the way home from work tonight and in it he said he had asked his friend Dr. Drew, what was with the health care reform debate - what all the controversy was about, why costs were rising so much. Dr. Drew's answer was simple(istic). Everyone is living longer than expected. This *can* partially explain shortfalls in corporate and public pensions and of course the coming disasters in Medicare and Social Security. The cost issue though is extremely loaded when you start to bring patient age into the equation - issues of rationing and treatment decisions made by reference to the efficiency (or necessity) of a given treatment. Who knows how much "extra" costs we all bore to help Mr. McBurney live to 106. Surely he wasn't getting there solely on "juices and berries".
It's a difficult question. When dad finally accepted his likely fate (late stage small cell lung cancer), he decided he didn't want to pursue more chemo or crap that would just make him feel sicker than he was. That was his decision though. I can't imagine (and we're a LONG way in the discussion from this) someone else making that decision for him. Obama alluded to this in a discussion of his grandmother - even when it was clear she would not make it, she had a hip replacement. He admitted that he would pay for the procedure himself, but what if someone can't pay. As a lawyer, I hate slippery slope arguments and believe that we as rational humans don't need bright lines because we should be able reason between different cases based on their own facts, but that's much easier to do in the dry world of tax where it's just money, ultimately, and not someone's cancer-infected dad.
Addendum
This conversation on Slate.com is a good primer on where the Obama Administration (and Stephen Colbert, er, Peter Orszag in particular) thinks the cost savings will come from.
In addition, this blog post by Orszag lays out the ground rules for health reform being "deficit neutral". This is the corner they've painted themselves into.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Taking a Deep Breath
Lots to talk about today, first and foremost:
The Red Sox
It's amazing how something can go on for more than 6 months, night in, night out, and then be over in a flash - like the previous 6 months never happened. That's how I feel today after the Sox swept the Rockies. Forgotten are the calls to bench Pedroia for Cora, to trade for Jermaine Dye at the deadline and bench Drew, to go back in time and reverse the Beckett/Lowell for Hanley Ramirez/Anubal Sanchez trade, to inquire whether Ortiz and Manny have been juicing all these years. Forgotten are the picayune and picky - whether Beckett should have pitched Game 4 of the ALCS, whether Tito should have pulled him in Game 1 after 5, whether Julian Tavarez should have been on the postseason roster instead of Gagne. Today, there is just joy and relief and the fulfillment of expectations. That is the biggest change since '04 and the reason why many people now think the Sox are the new Yankees. Becuase we expect success and are gratified when it is achieved, instead of hoping for success and overwhelmed and surprised when it happens. A great change.
some wrap up thoughts:
-- This team was built, as Joe Posnanski so aptly pointed out before the ALCS, on imrpoved starting pitching, an improved bullpen and an improved Mike Lowell. Those three things, plus the emergence and contributions of Ellsbury and Pedroia were on full display the last week.
-- Someone at MLB - PLEASE order FOX to replace McCarver and Buck with an announcing team that actually is involved in the game, doesn't just promote the hot storyline and isn't reduced to spouting totally empty platitudes (actually Buck was not that bad this year, but McCarver has been reduced to a caricature of his already shopworn self).
-- I was not at all interested in the World Series last year - partly because work was absolutely insane, but more because the Sox were not involved and my dad had just died. I didn't think of him a single time last night. I'm not sure if that's progress or just life, but there it is.
The Blogs
Soxaholix are note perfect
Jere has his head in the clouds and has a really cool recording of the call of the end of last night's game. Give it a listen. Man, I miss Castiglione.
Away Team has a cool set of pictures celebrating last night's win.
If this video doesn't bring tears to your eyes, I don't know what to tell you (via Sox & Dawgs)
That's it on the Sox. I'll leave you with one picture (woke up this morning and had this greet me on the cover of the NY Times):
The Bills
Is it o.k., as a fan, to be extremely happy your team won, but still have dissatisfied, wondering how they did it, and worried for the rest of the season?
That's how I felt about the Bills 13-3 win over the Jets yesterday.
It's as though Jauron and the coaching staff (more Fairchild than anyone else) was trying to take away the Bills' chances of succeeding as well as screwing up. It's like when you're raising a kid (I can say this now that I have one) - you can't put them in a bubble - yeah, they'll fall, bump their heads, get hit by a car, whatever, but they'll also have a chance to succeed. Watching the first 3 quarters, it was apparent that while Edwards had been designated the starter, he wasn't "A Starter". Some examples:
-- Calling a shovel pass on 3rd and 8 in the Red Zone on the Bills' first successful drive. Yeah, they were in field goal range, but again, what is the risk of taking a shot at the end zone there? You throw a pick, you throw a pick - they're not making the playoffs so they should take more chances (note, this is exactly the OPPOSITE of the horrible call against the Cowboys when they were AHEAD by two scores to pass on a similar down, distance and situation).
-- Another conservative call in the third quarter when they were driving - 3rd and 4 and they call a flanker screen - it was busted anyway.
-- 3rd and short late in the game, and they run straight up the middle for no gain - the third consecutive handoff up the middle. A run is the right call, but why not a sneak, or an inside handoff (they got a FG to go up 6-3, but could have sustained the drive with a better call).
Luckily, they called a few downfield passes for Losman which put the game away - one which Roscoe Parrish should have hauled in, one that Evans improbably did.
Like I said, I like the result, but I doubt the plan.
The Bills blogs:
Goose's Roost has a great picture of Losman.
The prolific Brian Galiford over at Buffalo Rumblings has the game story and a piece on the "QB controversy".
My take on the "controversy" is that the team was built to run an offense that features a lot of downfield passing and a power running game. It was not built for a game manager, dink and dunk style game such as they have tried with Edwards. That woudl argue for Losman to start; however, either way, they HAVE to pick one guy or the other and run the offense they think gives the team the best chance to win WITH THAT GUY.
I'm happy they're 3-4 with the injuries they've had, but they should be 5-2, and that failure is due to a failure of process.
The Red Sox
It's amazing how something can go on for more than 6 months, night in, night out, and then be over in a flash - like the previous 6 months never happened. That's how I feel today after the Sox swept the Rockies. Forgotten are the calls to bench Pedroia for Cora, to trade for Jermaine Dye at the deadline and bench Drew, to go back in time and reverse the Beckett/Lowell for Hanley Ramirez/Anubal Sanchez trade, to inquire whether Ortiz and Manny have been juicing all these years. Forgotten are the picayune and picky - whether Beckett should have pitched Game 4 of the ALCS, whether Tito should have pulled him in Game 1 after 5, whether Julian Tavarez should have been on the postseason roster instead of Gagne. Today, there is just joy and relief and the fulfillment of expectations. That is the biggest change since '04 and the reason why many people now think the Sox are the new Yankees. Becuase we expect success and are gratified when it is achieved, instead of hoping for success and overwhelmed and surprised when it happens. A great change.
some wrap up thoughts:
-- This team was built, as Joe Posnanski so aptly pointed out before the ALCS, on imrpoved starting pitching, an improved bullpen and an improved Mike Lowell. Those three things, plus the emergence and contributions of Ellsbury and Pedroia were on full display the last week.
-- Someone at MLB - PLEASE order FOX to replace McCarver and Buck with an announcing team that actually is involved in the game, doesn't just promote the hot storyline and isn't reduced to spouting totally empty platitudes (actually Buck was not that bad this year, but McCarver has been reduced to a caricature of his already shopworn self).
-- I was not at all interested in the World Series last year - partly because work was absolutely insane, but more because the Sox were not involved and my dad had just died. I didn't think of him a single time last night. I'm not sure if that's progress or just life, but there it is.
The Blogs
Soxaholix are note perfect
Jere has his head in the clouds and has a really cool recording of the call of the end of last night's game. Give it a listen. Man, I miss Castiglione.
Away Team has a cool set of pictures celebrating last night's win.
If this video doesn't bring tears to your eyes, I don't know what to tell you (via Sox & Dawgs)
That's it on the Sox. I'll leave you with one picture (woke up this morning and had this greet me on the cover of the NY Times):
The Bills
Is it o.k., as a fan, to be extremely happy your team won, but still have dissatisfied, wondering how they did it, and worried for the rest of the season?
That's how I felt about the Bills 13-3 win over the Jets yesterday.
It's as though Jauron and the coaching staff (more Fairchild than anyone else) was trying to take away the Bills' chances of succeeding as well as screwing up. It's like when you're raising a kid (I can say this now that I have one) - you can't put them in a bubble - yeah, they'll fall, bump their heads, get hit by a car, whatever, but they'll also have a chance to succeed. Watching the first 3 quarters, it was apparent that while Edwards had been designated the starter, he wasn't "A Starter". Some examples:
-- Calling a shovel pass on 3rd and 8 in the Red Zone on the Bills' first successful drive. Yeah, they were in field goal range, but again, what is the risk of taking a shot at the end zone there? You throw a pick, you throw a pick - they're not making the playoffs so they should take more chances (note, this is exactly the OPPOSITE of the horrible call against the Cowboys when they were AHEAD by two scores to pass on a similar down, distance and situation).
-- Another conservative call in the third quarter when they were driving - 3rd and 4 and they call a flanker screen - it was busted anyway.
-- 3rd and short late in the game, and they run straight up the middle for no gain - the third consecutive handoff up the middle. A run is the right call, but why not a sneak, or an inside handoff (they got a FG to go up 6-3, but could have sustained the drive with a better call).
Luckily, they called a few downfield passes for Losman which put the game away - one which Roscoe Parrish should have hauled in, one that Evans improbably did.
Like I said, I like the result, but I doubt the plan.
The Bills blogs:
Goose's Roost has a great picture of Losman.
The prolific Brian Galiford over at Buffalo Rumblings has the game story and a piece on the "QB controversy".
My take on the "controversy" is that the team was built to run an offense that features a lot of downfield passing and a power running game. It was not built for a game manager, dink and dunk style game such as they have tried with Edwards. That woudl argue for Losman to start; however, either way, they HAVE to pick one guy or the other and run the offense they think gives the team the best chance to win WITH THAT GUY.
I'm happy they're 3-4 with the injuries they've had, but they should be 5-2, and that failure is due to a failure of process.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Late Thursday Night Update
First off, again, a shout-out to my boy Kevin Pritchard at Bflo blog for slapping a link to the Taxman up on his site. For those of you from WNY, I grew up in Newfane (north of Lockport), went to HS at Willy North (go Spartans) where my dad was an English teacher (Mike Naylor) and now live in NYC. Still root (painfully) for the Bills and Sabres and want to hear thoughts and suggestions for coverage of Buffalo sports. Please email me.
No posts yesterday as I was out golfing.
Please head over to Fire Dick Jauron to see my breakdown of how Dick Jauron, despite all evidence to the contrary, still has a head coaching job. It's a sordid story of secret societies and school ties (with apologies to Brendan Fraser).
Anyway...
The baseball Update
Just linking around tonight to some friendly blogs.
Jere at Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory is talking about Suzyn Waldman's crying jag.
A good back and forth from Fire Brand of the American League between a Sox blogger and Indians blogger. Y'all know where i stand - Sox in 6, mostly scoring early runs, the Sox win the battle of the bullpens.
Keep your Sox On's breakdown of the Sox-Indians.
An awesome post from Surviving Grady wherein he hopes that the Sox win the series so the Repo Man won't come take his furniture away.
And it comes with this awesome picture:
Go Paps.
So that's it for the baseball update for now. Again, for the hard of reading (i.e., Yankees fans), Sox in 6. Manny = MVP.
The Taxes Update
No Taxes update tonight as I have lost access to my work email with my summary of tax notes updates.
The Death Update
Red Shipley passed away last week. He was 70. I note his passing because of his promotion of bluegrass music, the same kind of music that led my dad to move to Missouri in 1973, pregnant wife in tow. He had some crazy idea that he and some buddies would start a bluegrass band and make their fortune (or at least fame). It didn't work out, and southwest Missouri was apparently desolate. Amish or fundamentalist Ozarkians ruled the area and my parents were woefully out of place (even though, as Vermonters, they should have been used to that). Anyway, he kept listening to bluegrass, but didn't live his dream.
As for Red, like my dad, he died from cancer, but lived a long productive life promoting the art he loved. The obit is here.
No posts yesterday as I was out golfing.
Please head over to Fire Dick Jauron to see my breakdown of how Dick Jauron, despite all evidence to the contrary, still has a head coaching job. It's a sordid story of secret societies and school ties (with apologies to Brendan Fraser).
Anyway...
The baseball Update
Just linking around tonight to some friendly blogs.
Jere at Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory is talking about Suzyn Waldman's crying jag.
A good back and forth from Fire Brand of the American League between a Sox blogger and Indians blogger. Y'all know where i stand - Sox in 6, mostly scoring early runs, the Sox win the battle of the bullpens.
Keep your Sox On's breakdown of the Sox-Indians.
An awesome post from Surviving Grady wherein he hopes that the Sox win the series so the Repo Man won't come take his furniture away.
And it comes with this awesome picture:
Go Paps.
So that's it for the baseball update for now. Again, for the hard of reading (i.e., Yankees fans), Sox in 6. Manny = MVP.
The Taxes Update
No Taxes update tonight as I have lost access to my work email with my summary of tax notes updates.
The Death Update
Red Shipley passed away last week. He was 70. I note his passing because of his promotion of bluegrass music, the same kind of music that led my dad to move to Missouri in 1973, pregnant wife in tow. He had some crazy idea that he and some buddies would start a bluegrass band and make their fortune (or at least fame). It didn't work out, and southwest Missouri was apparently desolate. Amish or fundamentalist Ozarkians ruled the area and my parents were woefully out of place (even though, as Vermonters, they should have been used to that). Anyway, he kept listening to bluegrass, but didn't live his dream.
As for Red, like my dad, he died from cancer, but lived a long productive life promoting the art he loved. The obit is here.
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Day my Dad Died
This should have posted yesterday, but internet issues got in the way
One third of the focus of this blog is suppposed to be "death". When I sat down and composed the first post and set the settings (including adding the picture that is at the bottom of the first page), I thought that I would use this blog to post reflections of my dad (so as to keep his memory fresh and deal with sadness about his death that seemed to come and go like phases of the moon). I also thought how "neat" it would be to focus on the passing of one person a day - picking an obituary almost at random, and trying to learn more about that person. Because, while it is cliche, I am a strong believer that the dead have a lot to teach us.
Obviously this focus is only on one third (and some days less than that), and obviously, I have only scratched the surface of the things my dad and I did, or that he taught me (but again, this ain't no Big Russ blog). But before I continue with that stated focus of the blog, the time has come to write down, for my own sanity, and also for posterity, what happened on September 21, 2006.
As I have mentioned before, my dad had lung cancer. He was diagnosed in July, 2006, after going to the hospital with what appeared to be a relatively mild heart attack. The diagnosis seemed, to a certain extent, to be a bit of dumb luck (as many disgnoses of lung cancer are), as without the heart attack, it never would have been caught. Unfortunately, it came too late (as many diagnoses of lung cancer do) to be of any real use to my dad. He was diagnosed as terminal almost from the beginning. The beginning was the end.
I know he groped toward acceptance of his situation over time, and with the help of a good friend, Father James Massey (even as he eschewed his cynically held belief or trust in god). It never seemed real to any of us, though, even as we were researching non-small cell cancer studies and experimental drugs.
He was in and out of the hospital in August and early September, contracting pneumonia along the way. He decided not to proceed with chemo (radiation and surgery were not options). He was given a few months to live.
I decided in early September to go visit him, even though he told me it wasn't necessary, don't worry about it (he originally did not even want to tell close family members he was sick. I think he was embarassed). I bought my ticket on American Eagle.
I flew out on a bright, warm September Friday morning on an American Eagle puddle-jumper. (As an aside, I find it interesting that the suspense movie trope is not a bright and sunny morning (You just KNOW something back is about to happen) rather than a "dark and stormy night" (now mostly a cliche to be mocked in movies like Scary Movie 3).)
I landed mid-morning, picked up my rental car, and headed for Burt, NY. I called ahead and learned that dad was getting out of the hopsital after stopping off and visiting his doctor, so I stopped by my brother and sister-in-law's house and saw my nieces. It was the first time I had seen their house. It's cute - small, on a corner lot at an intersection, but a nice yard and lots of space in the basement.
I drove home to an empty house and waited for mom and dad. There was some medical detritus sprinkled about, but for the most part, the place was in good shape.
After what seemed like hours, mom and dad got home. Dad looked terrible. He had to be helped from the car and had what looked like a somewhat scared (or at least surprised) look on his face. I now know what the word "Ashen" means. He was gray and his hair had gone gray as well. He had trouble walking, and as we led him up the steps, he had to stop to breath. It seemed like he couldn't catch his breath and had to cough into a cup, but my mom said that he would be better once he was able to sit down.
We sat on the porch for a bit before my mom said she had to go get some medicine that the doctor prescribed for dad. Now if you don't know the geography and demographics of Niagara County, you don't understand that you can't just run down to Duane Reade or CVS. A trip to the pharmacist can take 25 minutes each way. Mom said that he still had the pneumonia and needed some sort of fog machine to help clear his lungs. We got dad inside and she left. This was the first even that I think could have changed the outcome - if she stayed and I left.
So dad and I sat on the couch. Actually, he was in his chair (a somewhat beat up glider) and I was on the couch, watching him struggle. He was clearly not well. Selfishly, I was annoyed that I had come all this way and that we were not going to have time to talk and hang out (baseball was still on tv, although the Sox were out of it). Obviously I was a jerk for even thinking that, but as George Benson sang, hnidsight is 20/20.
He had to move from the chair, to the couch, to the couch in the living room, to sitting up, to lying down, all in an effort to get more comfortable and assist in his breathing. I gave him water, tried to get him to cough into his cup. He couldn't eat anything. He asked me where mom was. I said she would be on her way. He seemed a little out of it.
I called mom and told her that he was asking for her, and she said she would be there as soon as she could. She needed to get the medicine.
Dad was gasping a bit, struggling, telling me a couple of times that he couldn't breathe. This was mistake #2, not calling 911 right then. I thought he would be o.k. once mom got home, that she would give him the medicine, hook him up to the fog machine and he would be o.k. I told him that and he said that she had better hurry.
I read a bit from an survey on American dialects, while I sat with dad. We watched a replay of the previous night's Jays game. I callled mom again and told her to hurry. She did. When she got home, I was more worried. Dad was on the living room couch.
She unpacked this breathing machine which was supposed to open up dad's lungs. At this point, I don't recall the medical reason for the machine, other than it was supposed to help. I think it produced a fog that helped fight against the pneumonia. In any event, it wasn't really working and dad started to silp away. Mom said "I'm worried about you Mike", as she felt for his blod pressure. She raced upstairs and grabbed the BP machine as I stood there and tried to get my dad to breathe. She strapped it on him and tried to get a BP, but couldn't.
His eyes started to flutter as she grabbed the phone and called 911. He was still with us, but barely. By the time the paramedics came, I'm not sure he was still really conscious. They moved him to the floor as the room filled with the volounteers and professionals. It did not seem real. They tried to get a response from him, but I think the most they got was perhaps a hoarse whisper. He had stopped breathing. They did CPR. They gave him a shot of adrenaline. They eventually moved him to a backboard and into the ambulance. I was suddenly on the phone, dialing my brother and sister, as my mom accompanied my dad in the ambulance. I raced to the hospital too after a quick call to Daphne. My voice caught in my throat as I did.
I got to the hospital and raced into the emergency room. They were doing serious compressions on him as my mom stood there silently. Two docs and a bunch of nurses and paramedics. His belly was grotesquely distended, shaking violently with each downward compression. They brought out the paddles which was when I realized that he may die. Until then, I had been shouting encouragement, hoping he could hear me, knowing he would pull out of it and worst case - he would be in the hospital again. In reality, he was probably gone before he reached the hospital (the paramedics were not precise with the timeline). They called it a little after 3 pm.
Melissa (Justin's wife) was in the parking lot when I walked outside. I just shook my head back and forth. In a total state of disbelief. She started crying. I went back in and tried to console my mom. I just couldn't believe it. I had just landed a few hours earlier. I called Jessica. Justin was already on his way. He absolutely lost it when he saw dad. I talked to Daphne and talked to a partner at work. We all stood around dad for two hours before starting to move on.
The single worst day of my life. And many immediately after that were in the top 10. I try to remember him and try to move forward, but those two are mutually incompatible. As long as I remember him, I will feel sorrow, but I wil be able to remember him. I guess the cost of being able to remember and cherish someone is the pain that took that person away from you. The further away from his death, the less that cost is, but it is, and always will be, there.
One third of the focus of this blog is suppposed to be "death". When I sat down and composed the first post and set the settings (including adding the picture that is at the bottom of the first page), I thought that I would use this blog to post reflections of my dad (so as to keep his memory fresh and deal with sadness about his death that seemed to come and go like phases of the moon). I also thought how "neat" it would be to focus on the passing of one person a day - picking an obituary almost at random, and trying to learn more about that person. Because, while it is cliche, I am a strong believer that the dead have a lot to teach us.
Obviously this focus is only on one third (and some days less than that), and obviously, I have only scratched the surface of the things my dad and I did, or that he taught me (but again, this ain't no Big Russ blog). But before I continue with that stated focus of the blog, the time has come to write down, for my own sanity, and also for posterity, what happened on September 21, 2006.
As I have mentioned before, my dad had lung cancer. He was diagnosed in July, 2006, after going to the hospital with what appeared to be a relatively mild heart attack. The diagnosis seemed, to a certain extent, to be a bit of dumb luck (as many disgnoses of lung cancer are), as without the heart attack, it never would have been caught. Unfortunately, it came too late (as many diagnoses of lung cancer do) to be of any real use to my dad. He was diagnosed as terminal almost from the beginning. The beginning was the end.
I know he groped toward acceptance of his situation over time, and with the help of a good friend, Father James Massey (even as he eschewed his cynically held belief or trust in god). It never seemed real to any of us, though, even as we were researching non-small cell cancer studies and experimental drugs.
He was in and out of the hospital in August and early September, contracting pneumonia along the way. He decided not to proceed with chemo (radiation and surgery were not options). He was given a few months to live.
I decided in early September to go visit him, even though he told me it wasn't necessary, don't worry about it (he originally did not even want to tell close family members he was sick. I think he was embarassed). I bought my ticket on American Eagle.
I flew out on a bright, warm September Friday morning on an American Eagle puddle-jumper. (As an aside, I find it interesting that the suspense movie trope is not a bright and sunny morning (You just KNOW something back is about to happen) rather than a "dark and stormy night" (now mostly a cliche to be mocked in movies like Scary Movie 3).)
I landed mid-morning, picked up my rental car, and headed for Burt, NY. I called ahead and learned that dad was getting out of the hopsital after stopping off and visiting his doctor, so I stopped by my brother and sister-in-law's house and saw my nieces. It was the first time I had seen their house. It's cute - small, on a corner lot at an intersection, but a nice yard and lots of space in the basement.
I drove home to an empty house and waited for mom and dad. There was some medical detritus sprinkled about, but for the most part, the place was in good shape.
After what seemed like hours, mom and dad got home. Dad looked terrible. He had to be helped from the car and had what looked like a somewhat scared (or at least surprised) look on his face. I now know what the word "Ashen" means. He was gray and his hair had gone gray as well. He had trouble walking, and as we led him up the steps, he had to stop to breath. It seemed like he couldn't catch his breath and had to cough into a cup, but my mom said that he would be better once he was able to sit down.
We sat on the porch for a bit before my mom said she had to go get some medicine that the doctor prescribed for dad. Now if you don't know the geography and demographics of Niagara County, you don't understand that you can't just run down to Duane Reade or CVS. A trip to the pharmacist can take 25 minutes each way. Mom said that he still had the pneumonia and needed some sort of fog machine to help clear his lungs. We got dad inside and she left. This was the first even that I think could have changed the outcome - if she stayed and I left.
So dad and I sat on the couch. Actually, he was in his chair (a somewhat beat up glider) and I was on the couch, watching him struggle. He was clearly not well. Selfishly, I was annoyed that I had come all this way and that we were not going to have time to talk and hang out (baseball was still on tv, although the Sox were out of it). Obviously I was a jerk for even thinking that, but as George Benson sang, hnidsight is 20/20.
He had to move from the chair, to the couch, to the couch in the living room, to sitting up, to lying down, all in an effort to get more comfortable and assist in his breathing. I gave him water, tried to get him to cough into his cup. He couldn't eat anything. He asked me where mom was. I said she would be on her way. He seemed a little out of it.
I called mom and told her that he was asking for her, and she said she would be there as soon as she could. She needed to get the medicine.
Dad was gasping a bit, struggling, telling me a couple of times that he couldn't breathe. This was mistake #2, not calling 911 right then. I thought he would be o.k. once mom got home, that she would give him the medicine, hook him up to the fog machine and he would be o.k. I told him that and he said that she had better hurry.
I read a bit from an survey on American dialects, while I sat with dad. We watched a replay of the previous night's Jays game. I callled mom again and told her to hurry. She did. When she got home, I was more worried. Dad was on the living room couch.
She unpacked this breathing machine which was supposed to open up dad's lungs. At this point, I don't recall the medical reason for the machine, other than it was supposed to help. I think it produced a fog that helped fight against the pneumonia. In any event, it wasn't really working and dad started to silp away. Mom said "I'm worried about you Mike", as she felt for his blod pressure. She raced upstairs and grabbed the BP machine as I stood there and tried to get my dad to breathe. She strapped it on him and tried to get a BP, but couldn't.
His eyes started to flutter as she grabbed the phone and called 911. He was still with us, but barely. By the time the paramedics came, I'm not sure he was still really conscious. They moved him to the floor as the room filled with the volounteers and professionals. It did not seem real. They tried to get a response from him, but I think the most they got was perhaps a hoarse whisper. He had stopped breathing. They did CPR. They gave him a shot of adrenaline. They eventually moved him to a backboard and into the ambulance. I was suddenly on the phone, dialing my brother and sister, as my mom accompanied my dad in the ambulance. I raced to the hospital too after a quick call to Daphne. My voice caught in my throat as I did.
I got to the hospital and raced into the emergency room. They were doing serious compressions on him as my mom stood there silently. Two docs and a bunch of nurses and paramedics. His belly was grotesquely distended, shaking violently with each downward compression. They brought out the paddles which was when I realized that he may die. Until then, I had been shouting encouragement, hoping he could hear me, knowing he would pull out of it and worst case - he would be in the hospital again. In reality, he was probably gone before he reached the hospital (the paramedics were not precise with the timeline). They called it a little after 3 pm.
Melissa (Justin's wife) was in the parking lot when I walked outside. I just shook my head back and forth. In a total state of disbelief. She started crying. I went back in and tried to console my mom. I just couldn't believe it. I had just landed a few hours earlier. I called Jessica. Justin was already on his way. He absolutely lost it when he saw dad. I talked to Daphne and talked to a partner at work. We all stood around dad for two hours before starting to move on.
The single worst day of my life. And many immediately after that were in the top 10. I try to remember him and try to move forward, but those two are mutually incompatible. As long as I remember him, I will feel sorrow, but I wil be able to remember him. I guess the cost of being able to remember and cherish someone is the pain that took that person away from you. The further away from his death, the less that cost is, but it is, and always will be, there.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Where have I been?
It's not appropriate for me to have this blog and take a week off, but that's what I've done.
In my defense, it was a tough week (first anniversary of dad's death - more on that later today (promise)), mom was visiting, sis had the new kid, etc., etc.
Anyway, Three posts today - first up NFL picks. Disgusting week last week - 5-8-3, which just further proves to me that I should never bet on sports, ever. Hopefully this week will be better.
Second post will be baseball and football related with a little tax news thrown in.
Third and last post of the day will be my recollections of the day dad died.
On to the picks. As always, home teams are in ALLCAPS and I don't know what the &%$# I am doing...
BILLS (+3.5) over Jets. Again, I don't pick against the Bills. They actually could do well against the Jets. They've shown, at least against Denver and NE and in the first half against Pitts, an ability to bend but not break on defense. Given the Jets' lack of a solid running game (I don't count Thomas Jones's day against the banged up Fins last week), they hopefully should be able to limit Pennington to underneath stuff. Key will be third downs. I see a low scoring affair 13-10 Jets. Also, Deadspin.com's Will Leitch will be in attendance, so the Bills have that going for them.
Raiders (+4) over DOLPHINS. The whole "it's hot in Miami and Oakland will be wearing black" card is ridiculous. Miami's O-face is less competent than Lunberg and Oakland's D is staunch as advertised. Combine that with Daunte getting the start and Miami's D being banged up and I see an Oakland win outright.
Ravens (-4.5) over BROWNS. Jamal Lewis looks good so far, although I don't think anyone has really run on the Ravens yet this year (nope - 62 ypg). Everyone is awfully down on the Ravens, but this team still went 13-3 last year, has basically the same team back (plus McGahee) and a stout offense as well. Derek Anderson is going to have a good day? I don't think so.
FALCONS (+2.5) over Texans. Joey Harrington is turning into a decent QB. Matt Schaub already is a decent QB. This one should be close.
Bears (-3) over LIONS. Brian Griese is better, statistically, than people remember. He went 16-12 as a starter in '01-'02 with a very good TD/INT ratio in '01. The reason why he got kicked out is that he didn't have the confidence of his teammates - lacked the leader instinct. Maybe that was just youth. Seems like Manning had those problems early in his career (Eli too, Chris Simms too - wonder if it is a son of a QB thing). Anyway, the Lions certainly are high-powered and the Bears are missing a ton of guys on D, but this seems like one the Bears will gut out.
Packers (-2) over VIKINGS. I am picking against a lot of home dogs this week, which will probably come back to bite me. Anyway, Packers look like the much better team and that line is within a FG, so I can't imagine not picking them.
Rams (+13) over COWBOYS. I hate these 2 TD lines. In a lot of cases, they've been covered (including a couple last week). And I know that Bulger is hurt and S-Jak may not play, but still. 13 is a lot of points. Rams are capable of putting up garbage time points, so I'll take them.
Bucs (+3) over PANTHERS. David Carr against a Bucs D that has been in shutdown mode so far this season? (12 ppg so far). And they're a dog? Sounds good to me. LOCK OF THE WEEK.
Seahawks (-2) over the NINERS. The Niners are proving to be what people said they would be. A little bit smoke. A little bit mirrors. They are 2-1, but they have been outscored on the season (granted the Steelers game was lopsided). I still stand by Seattle as my SB pick from the NFC and say they win this one in a laugher.
BUZZSAW (+6) over Steelers. I hate the &#!@*&! Steelers.
CHARGERS (-12) over Chiefs . This is the only +10 line I am taking this week. The Chargers must be pissed and are much better than how they have been playing. The Chiefs are awful, last week's win notwithstanding.
Broncos (+9.5) over COLTS. Another high line, although I can see a 27-17 win. The Colts have played teams close thus far and the Broncos haven't been that impressive; however, again, I think the Colts are due for a gashing 150 yard rushing performance against them, and this is the team to do it.
Eagles (-3) over GIANTS. Again, I hate the Giants as well. I also cannot go against the Eagles after the display last week and going up against the Giants weak D. If McNabb gets time, they should light the Giants up.
Patriots (-7.5) over BENGALS. As usual, I use the SG's lines which he prints on Friday. It opened a 7 and now you can find (-9) on some websites. I was leaning toward laying the points anyway (only thing that worried me was Bengals ability to keep the score close with their weapons), and with the movement of the line, my decision is solidified.
A few links to kick off this great Sunday:
Indispensible for fans of Buffalo sports is Bflo Blog. Many of the stories are now transitioning to the Sabres (thank God), but this link will take you to the "tailgate" summary for today's Jets-Bills matchup. Excellent work by these guys, including an open thread during the game.
Here is the open thread for today's game on Buffalorumblings.com, and here is the excellent summary of "what to watch for".
Unfortunately, many of the other Buffalo-themed sportsblogs (such as the funny Goose's Roost) have transitioned to Sabres coverage.
That's all for now. I'll be firmly planted on the couch today watching the Jets-Bills game. Unfortunately, we're stuck with Ian Eagle and Crazy-Eyez Solomon Wilcots. To wit:
Why can't we get Gus Johnson.
In my defense, it was a tough week (first anniversary of dad's death - more on that later today (promise)), mom was visiting, sis had the new kid, etc., etc.
Anyway, Three posts today - first up NFL picks. Disgusting week last week - 5-8-3, which just further proves to me that I should never bet on sports, ever. Hopefully this week will be better.
Second post will be baseball and football related with a little tax news thrown in.
Third and last post of the day will be my recollections of the day dad died.
On to the picks. As always, home teams are in ALLCAPS and I don't know what the &%$# I am doing...
BILLS (+3.5) over Jets. Again, I don't pick against the Bills. They actually could do well against the Jets. They've shown, at least against Denver and NE and in the first half against Pitts, an ability to bend but not break on defense. Given the Jets' lack of a solid running game (I don't count Thomas Jones's day against the banged up Fins last week), they hopefully should be able to limit Pennington to underneath stuff. Key will be third downs. I see a low scoring affair 13-10 Jets. Also, Deadspin.com's Will Leitch will be in attendance, so the Bills have that going for them.
Raiders (+4) over DOLPHINS. The whole "it's hot in Miami and Oakland will be wearing black" card is ridiculous. Miami's O-face is less competent than Lunberg and Oakland's D is staunch as advertised. Combine that with Daunte getting the start and Miami's D being banged up and I see an Oakland win outright.
Ravens (-4.5) over BROWNS. Jamal Lewis looks good so far, although I don't think anyone has really run on the Ravens yet this year (nope - 62 ypg). Everyone is awfully down on the Ravens, but this team still went 13-3 last year, has basically the same team back (plus McGahee) and a stout offense as well. Derek Anderson is going to have a good day? I don't think so.
FALCONS (+2.5) over Texans. Joey Harrington is turning into a decent QB. Matt Schaub already is a decent QB. This one should be close.
Bears (-3) over LIONS. Brian Griese is better, statistically, than people remember. He went 16-12 as a starter in '01-'02 with a very good TD/INT ratio in '01. The reason why he got kicked out is that he didn't have the confidence of his teammates - lacked the leader instinct. Maybe that was just youth. Seems like Manning had those problems early in his career (Eli too, Chris Simms too - wonder if it is a son of a QB thing). Anyway, the Lions certainly are high-powered and the Bears are missing a ton of guys on D, but this seems like one the Bears will gut out.
Packers (-2) over VIKINGS. I am picking against a lot of home dogs this week, which will probably come back to bite me. Anyway, Packers look like the much better team and that line is within a FG, so I can't imagine not picking them.
Rams (+13) over COWBOYS. I hate these 2 TD lines. In a lot of cases, they've been covered (including a couple last week). And I know that Bulger is hurt and S-Jak may not play, but still. 13 is a lot of points. Rams are capable of putting up garbage time points, so I'll take them.
Bucs (+3) over PANTHERS. David Carr against a Bucs D that has been in shutdown mode so far this season? (12 ppg so far). And they're a dog? Sounds good to me. LOCK OF THE WEEK.
Seahawks (-2) over the NINERS. The Niners are proving to be what people said they would be. A little bit smoke. A little bit mirrors. They are 2-1, but they have been outscored on the season (granted the Steelers game was lopsided). I still stand by Seattle as my SB pick from the NFC and say they win this one in a laugher.
BUZZSAW (+6) over Steelers. I hate the &#!@*&! Steelers.
CHARGERS (-12) over Chiefs . This is the only +10 line I am taking this week. The Chargers must be pissed and are much better than how they have been playing. The Chiefs are awful, last week's win notwithstanding.
Broncos (+9.5) over COLTS. Another high line, although I can see a 27-17 win. The Colts have played teams close thus far and the Broncos haven't been that impressive; however, again, I think the Colts are due for a gashing 150 yard rushing performance against them, and this is the team to do it.
Eagles (-3) over GIANTS. Again, I hate the Giants as well. I also cannot go against the Eagles after the display last week and going up against the Giants weak D. If McNabb gets time, they should light the Giants up.
Patriots (-7.5) over BENGALS. As usual, I use the SG's lines which he prints on Friday. It opened a 7 and now you can find (-9) on some websites. I was leaning toward laying the points anyway (only thing that worried me was Bengals ability to keep the score close with their weapons), and with the movement of the line, my decision is solidified.
A few links to kick off this great Sunday:
Indispensible for fans of Buffalo sports is Bflo Blog. Many of the stories are now transitioning to the Sabres (thank God), but this link will take you to the "tailgate" summary for today's Jets-Bills matchup. Excellent work by these guys, including an open thread during the game.
Here is the open thread for today's game on Buffalorumblings.com, and here is the excellent summary of "what to watch for".
Unfortunately, many of the other Buffalo-themed sportsblogs (such as the funny Goose's Roost) have transitioned to Sabres coverage.
That's all for now. I'll be firmly planted on the couch today watching the Jets-Bills game. Unfortunately, we're stuck with Ian Eagle and Crazy-Eyez Solomon Wilcots. To wit:
Why can't we get Gus Johnson.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Baseball Update
Well, of course the Sox. 1.5 up with 9 to play. The odds are still on their side to win the division and the wildcard is practically in the bag.
Still, these Sox remind me of the 1987 Blue Jays who blew a 3.5 game lead with 7 left (going 0-7). Parallels abound....
1. Key injury to a key player? Tony Fernandez in '87, Manny/Youk in '07. Fernandez went down in a collision with about a week left, forcing Manny Lee into the lineup. Lee made critical errors down the stretch which cost the Jays at least one game. In '07, Manny's been out, forcing Crisp and Drew to play more and forced guys like Brandon Moss into the lineup.
2. Key power hitter going into a funk? George Bell in '87, David Ortiz in '07. Bell went something like 1-21 over the last week of the eason. Ortiz is on a 1-14 jag right now.
3. Ugly ass second baseman? Nelson Liriano in '87, Pedroia in '07. 'nuff said.
4. Solid starting staff? Steib, Key, Clancy in '87. Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K in '07. Unfortunate pitchers whose pens let them down time and time again.
5. Overmatched manager? Jimywocky in '87, GradyTito in '07. Seriously, what the hell is up with Tito's decisions the past few weeks? Better than Grady, but possibly worse than Jimy. At least he's not asleep like Cito.
6. Gritty veteran catcher? Whitt in '87, Varitek in '07. Varitek is a dead ass hitter. Whitt was always great.
We will see what happens the next week, but I'm inclined to call this season Manny Lee's Revenge.
Some links:Coming Soon.
Keep your Sox on has a good piece advising everyone to just relax. Good tonic to the ridiculousness of Mike Adams on EEI last night. His math? If you are more concerned about the playoffs than the division, then you must want the Yankees to win. No, Mike. I would love for them to win the division, but it's not that important in the grand scheme of things.
Kind of in the same vein, but expressing the frustration is Over the Monster who still have revenge/Yankee hate on their minds. The sentiment is understood, but eyes on the prize people.
38 Cliches is back and reports (via Scott's shots) that the unbearable Glenn Gefner will see his role calling Sox games greatly reduced next year. Thank God. I'd prefer the color guy from Major League.
The Taxes Update
The biggest news from my perspective was the announcement that the US and Canada are signing a protocol to their treaty, extending treaty benefits to LLCs and their owners.
Until now, Canada did not recognize LLCs as residents of the US for purposes of the treaty with the US, and it did not look through the LLC to the owners to determine if they were entitled to treaty benefits. The result was that, for investments into Canada that resulted in a withholding tax (like an investment in shares of a privately held company), an LLC that made the investment would be subject to a full withholding tax, even if all of the members of the LLC would have been eligible for treaty benefits had they invested in the shares directly.
The protocol is long overdue and will make it much easier to structure investments into Canada.
Thedeath Life Update
TaxSis is in labor as we speak. Very soon TaxNephew will be born. We are all very excited. No idea what the name will be. The dad wants him to be a junior. My sis wants to name him Jackson William. We will see. A good night for the tax family in advance of the one year anniversary of my dad's death.
Well, of course the Sox. 1.5 up with 9 to play. The odds are still on their side to win the division and the wildcard is practically in the bag.
Still, these Sox remind me of the 1987 Blue Jays who blew a 3.5 game lead with 7 left (going 0-7). Parallels abound....
1. Key injury to a key player? Tony Fernandez in '87, Manny/Youk in '07. Fernandez went down in a collision with about a week left, forcing Manny Lee into the lineup. Lee made critical errors down the stretch which cost the Jays at least one game. In '07, Manny's been out, forcing Crisp and Drew to play more and forced guys like Brandon Moss into the lineup.
2. Key power hitter going into a funk? George Bell in '87, David Ortiz in '07. Bell went something like 1-21 over the last week of the eason. Ortiz is on a 1-14 jag right now.
3. Ugly ass second baseman? Nelson Liriano in '87, Pedroia in '07. 'nuff said.
4. Solid starting staff? Steib, Key, Clancy in '87. Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K in '07. Unfortunate pitchers whose pens let them down time and time again.
5. Overmatched manager? Jimywocky in '87, GradyTito in '07. Seriously, what the hell is up with Tito's decisions the past few weeks? Better than Grady, but possibly worse than Jimy. At least he's not asleep like Cito.
6. Gritty veteran catcher? Whitt in '87, Varitek in '07. Varitek is a dead ass hitter. Whitt was always great.
We will see what happens the next week, but I'm inclined to call this season Manny Lee's Revenge.
Some links:
Keep your Sox on has a good piece advising everyone to just relax. Good tonic to the ridiculousness of Mike Adams on EEI last night. His math? If you are more concerned about the playoffs than the division, then you must want the Yankees to win. No, Mike. I would love for them to win the division, but it's not that important in the grand scheme of things.
Kind of in the same vein, but expressing the frustration is Over the Monster who still have revenge/Yankee hate on their minds. The sentiment is understood, but eyes on the prize people.
38 Cliches is back and reports (via Scott's shots) that the unbearable Glenn Gefner will see his role calling Sox games greatly reduced next year. Thank God. I'd prefer the color guy from Major League.
The Taxes Update
The biggest news from my perspective was the announcement that the US and Canada are signing a protocol to their treaty, extending treaty benefits to LLCs and their owners.
Until now, Canada did not recognize LLCs as residents of the US for purposes of the treaty with the US, and it did not look through the LLC to the owners to determine if they were entitled to treaty benefits. The result was that, for investments into Canada that resulted in a withholding tax (like an investment in shares of a privately held company), an LLC that made the investment would be subject to a full withholding tax, even if all of the members of the LLC would have been eligible for treaty benefits had they invested in the shares directly.
The protocol is long overdue and will make it much easier to structure investments into Canada.
The
TaxSis is in labor as we speak. Very soon TaxNephew will be born. We are all very excited. No idea what the name will be. The dad wants him to be a junior. My sis wants to name him Jackson William. We will see. A good night for the tax family in advance of the one year anniversary of my dad's death.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I'd prefer Greg Gagne
.... if i had to choose...
The Baseball Update
The Sox made a tremendous showing tonight, going down miserably 4-3, mainly due to Eric Gagne's incompetence. He ruined a fantastic start by Jon Lester. I question why he was even in there - Papelbon had not pitched since Saturday. Now should not be the time for experimentation, Tito.
From Brooklyn to Boston has the game story, as usual. Well done recap, by the way. I think the Sox are the Scanners.
And Jere at Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory has a similar take. I love the characterization of Gagne "pulling a himself".
Update: Drunk Jays Fans just posted their take from tonight's game. It's apparent what Ricciardi was paying for in Burnett. His hook was, well, off tha hook tonight.
The Taxes Update
I must be a pretty shitty tax/sports blogger to not have posted thoughts about whether Bill Belichick can deduct his fine. Personal income tax really isn't my bag baby, but the consensus among tax profs and commentators seems to be that it should be deductible on the theory that it is an ordinary and necessary business expense under Section 162 (subject to Secttion 67 and 68 limitations). The Tax Profs Blog had a discussion here and here.
And the always enjoyable TaxGirl (no relation) has her discussion with comments here.
Of course, the Patriots are not allowed by league rules to pay his fine, but they could gross up his salary for the fine and deduct the bonus as a comp expense.
The Death Update
So today is September 18, 2007. One year ago was a brutal week at work. One particular deal was out of control. I was looking forward to visiting mom and dad for the weekend. Dad was in and out of the hospital at that point, with, let's see.. the cancer, a heart arrythmia, and at this point, pneumonia from the hospital stays. He still sounded relatively o.k., if down, and had recently finally come to grips with his diagnosis, through conversations with a relatively down to earth priest. He had decided no chemo or radiation treatment, so the diagnosis was down to months.
Anyway, I was figuring that the visit would be one of the last times we would be able to hang out and talk before he ended up in a hospital for good (maybe Thanksgiving, and we were thinking, maybe, maybe something for their anniversary in October, but only if he was feeling up to it). I did not have an agenda or anything in mind - just wanted to see him, to talk movies and sports, to mow their lawn.
The Baseball Update
The Sox made a tremendous showing tonight, going down miserably 4-3, mainly due to Eric Gagne's incompetence. He ruined a fantastic start by Jon Lester. I question why he was even in there - Papelbon had not pitched since Saturday. Now should not be the time for experimentation, Tito.
From Brooklyn to Boston has the game story, as usual. Well done recap, by the way. I think the Sox are the Scanners.
And Jere at Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory has a similar take. I love the characterization of Gagne "pulling a himself".
Update: Drunk Jays Fans just posted their take from tonight's game. It's apparent what Ricciardi was paying for in Burnett. His hook was, well, off tha hook tonight.
The Taxes Update
I must be a pretty shitty tax/sports blogger to not have posted thoughts about whether Bill Belichick can deduct his fine. Personal income tax really isn't my bag baby, but the consensus among tax profs and commentators seems to be that it should be deductible on the theory that it is an ordinary and necessary business expense under Section 162 (subject to Secttion 67 and 68 limitations). The Tax Profs Blog had a discussion here and here.
And the always enjoyable TaxGirl (no relation) has her discussion with comments here.
Of course, the Patriots are not allowed by league rules to pay his fine, but they could gross up his salary for the fine and deduct the bonus as a comp expense.
The Death Update
So today is September 18, 2007. One year ago was a brutal week at work. One particular deal was out of control. I was looking forward to visiting mom and dad for the weekend. Dad was in and out of the hospital at that point, with, let's see.. the cancer, a heart arrythmia, and at this point, pneumonia from the hospital stays. He still sounded relatively o.k., if down, and had recently finally come to grips with his diagnosis, through conversations with a relatively down to earth priest. He had decided no chemo or radiation treatment, so the diagnosis was down to months.
Anyway, I was figuring that the visit would be one of the last times we would be able to hang out and talk before he ended up in a hospital for good (maybe Thanksgiving, and we were thinking, maybe, maybe something for their anniversary in October, but only if he was feeling up to it). I did not have an agenda or anything in mind - just wanted to see him, to talk movies and sports, to mow their lawn.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
The Baseball Update
All glory be to Rick Ankiel on a truly massive day today. 2 HRs, 7 RBIs. Cards win. Still have hope. He was the first starting pitcher I took in my roto draft the year after he melted down in the playoffs (I had taken Benitez before him - ugh). Needless to say, my pitching was not fantastic that year. Anyway, it really is a tremendous story - not quite the real life Natural (maybe Tommy John is a better analogy - someone who truly had to reinvent himself), but quite impressive.
The Viva el Birdos blog captures the true excitement and joy of a fan watching an amazing event involving his team better than I could. Check today's thread out here and scroll down to the comments around 4:30. Just tremendous.
Sox, as I write this, are p 7-6 in the top of the 9th against the Orioles. Covelli (a/k/a Oscar Gamble Jr.) is having a tremendous night - 3 run HR, 2 singles, stolen base, fantastic catch of a Tejada liner on a dead sprint toward the centerfield wall. I like him better and better each game, even with his struggles. Three things I noticed: (1) I think we are seeing the beginning of the inevitable Mike Lowell slow-down. I think at age 33 (my god - I am older than someone who has gray hair in his beard), on pace for high ABs, and based on his second half track record, he appears to be slowing down and needs rest down the stretch, the race for top 5 in the MVP vote notwithstanding. (2) The Sox have at least 3 guys who do not use batting gloves - Crisp, Mirabelli and Kielty. This must be some kind of high among major league teams. I wonder if they all do the Alou to keep their hands supple. (3) Gary Thorne is possibly the worst play by play guy in MLB (yes, I am including Michael Kay who at least tries to instigate discussions among his myriad color guys). He insists on calling a three run home run a "3 RBI home run". He also continually misidentifies hitters, pitches, etc. Palmer is especially prescient, so he almost covers for him, but yeesh. Awful.
The Taxes update
Huge day in Congress as twenty witnesses testified before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee regarding all manner of tax issues, from taxation of carried interest in investment funds to AMT to taxation of publicly traded partnerships. I'll have a full report later once I am able to review the testimony, but initial thoughts after reading prepared remarks and seeing initial commentary is that nothing will get done this year unless it is part of an enormous tax bill which proposed a major overhaul of the AMT, nothing will ultimately end up getting done on taxation of carried interest because (1) not enough revenue there to make it worthwhile and (2) lawmakers will be convinced that taxpayers will just develop a workaround anyway (which they will) and (3) they're deathly afraid of doing anything to harm the economy in the current climate. This is an initiative that would have better been taken up when consumer confidence was higher, people could feel comfortable spending against the equity in their houses and the debt markets weren't in the crapper.
IRS also released more liberal rules on reverse 704(c) allocations for hedge funds. I am reviewing.
The Death Update
Former DC first lady Effi Barry passed away today at the age of 63. She had been suffering from Leukimia. To paraphrase Dave Chappelle as Rick James, Cancer is a hell of a disease. One could argue that Ms. Barry did more for the poor of DC than Marion ever did. Anyway, the story is here and of course my thoughts and prayers go out to her entire family.
It was about a year ago, after we told that the TaxBoy was in fact going to be a boy (and hopefully a lefty), that I decided I'd better fly home and see dad. We knew he was terminal at this point, but didn't know how long he would have. Patients with small cell lung cancer at his stage have an amazingly short life expectancy so I figured 6-12 months, even with treatment. Maybe double that if we were lucky. Anyway, I hadn't seen him since the July 4 holiday (and a stressful one at that) and so wanted to see him. I booked a flight on American Eagle for the week of 9/22. I really wanted to show him the movie review book Ernest Ng and I had put together (ranking the Top 10 movies each year since the advent of commercial film - to see how many I had wrong). Didn't get to really show it to him.
All glory be to Rick Ankiel on a truly massive day today. 2 HRs, 7 RBIs. Cards win. Still have hope. He was the first starting pitcher I took in my roto draft the year after he melted down in the playoffs (I had taken Benitez before him - ugh). Needless to say, my pitching was not fantastic that year. Anyway, it really is a tremendous story - not quite the real life Natural (maybe Tommy John is a better analogy - someone who truly had to reinvent himself), but quite impressive.
The Viva el Birdos blog captures the true excitement and joy of a fan watching an amazing event involving his team better than I could. Check today's thread out here and scroll down to the comments around 4:30. Just tremendous.
Sox, as I write this, are p 7-6 in the top of the 9th against the Orioles. Covelli (a/k/a Oscar Gamble Jr.) is having a tremendous night - 3 run HR, 2 singles, stolen base, fantastic catch of a Tejada liner on a dead sprint toward the centerfield wall. I like him better and better each game, even with his struggles. Three things I noticed: (1) I think we are seeing the beginning of the inevitable Mike Lowell slow-down. I think at age 33 (my god - I am older than someone who has gray hair in his beard), on pace for high ABs, and based on his second half track record, he appears to be slowing down and needs rest down the stretch, the race for top 5 in the MVP vote notwithstanding. (2) The Sox have at least 3 guys who do not use batting gloves - Crisp, Mirabelli and Kielty. This must be some kind of high among major league teams. I wonder if they all do the Alou to keep their hands supple. (3) Gary Thorne is possibly the worst play by play guy in MLB (yes, I am including Michael Kay who at least tries to instigate discussions among his myriad color guys). He insists on calling a three run home run a "3 RBI home run". He also continually misidentifies hitters, pitches, etc. Palmer is especially prescient, so he almost covers for him, but yeesh. Awful.
The Taxes update
Huge day in Congress as twenty witnesses testified before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee regarding all manner of tax issues, from taxation of carried interest in investment funds to AMT to taxation of publicly traded partnerships. I'll have a full report later once I am able to review the testimony, but initial thoughts after reading prepared remarks and seeing initial commentary is that nothing will get done this year unless it is part of an enormous tax bill which proposed a major overhaul of the AMT, nothing will ultimately end up getting done on taxation of carried interest because (1) not enough revenue there to make it worthwhile and (2) lawmakers will be convinced that taxpayers will just develop a workaround anyway (which they will) and (3) they're deathly afraid of doing anything to harm the economy in the current climate. This is an initiative that would have better been taken up when consumer confidence was higher, people could feel comfortable spending against the equity in their houses and the debt markets weren't in the crapper.
IRS also released more liberal rules on reverse 704(c) allocations for hedge funds. I am reviewing.
The Death Update
Former DC first lady Effi Barry passed away today at the age of 63. She had been suffering from Leukimia. To paraphrase Dave Chappelle as Rick James, Cancer is a hell of a disease. One could argue that Ms. Barry did more for the poor of DC than Marion ever did. Anyway, the story is here and of course my thoughts and prayers go out to her entire family.
It was about a year ago, after we told that the TaxBoy was in fact going to be a boy (and hopefully a lefty), that I decided I'd better fly home and see dad. We knew he was terminal at this point, but didn't know how long he would have. Patients with small cell lung cancer at his stage have an amazingly short life expectancy so I figured 6-12 months, even with treatment. Maybe double that if we were lucky. Anyway, I hadn't seen him since the July 4 holiday (and a stressful one at that) and so wanted to see him. I booked a flight on American Eagle for the week of 9/22. I really wanted to show him the movie review book Ernest Ng and I had put together (ranking the Top 10 movies each year since the advent of commercial film - to see how many I had wrong). Didn't get to really show it to him.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
I am NOT Etta James
But at last..the updates.
The Baseball Update
Nobody reads this blog, but if they did, they would say "wow you suck at blogging" and "why are your baseball updates Red Sox updates?" Point taken.
My man Yovanni Gallardo pitched great for the Brewers tonight as they took the Astros to the woodshed 14-2. It appears that his confidence was not bruised that much by being left in to be pasted by the Rockies a few weeks ago.
Yankees. Screw them.
John Maine continues his downward spiral tm NIN in the second half of the season. Doesn't matter though as the Mets are in like Flynn to the postseason.
And yes, the Sox blew it tonight against the freaking Jays (ahhhh my first love. Wherefore art though Jorge (nee George) Bell?). I didn't see the bloodyshow aftermath, but it appears that Okie-dokey is Okie-Nofuckingwayhehaveupanotherhit. Mildly worried about pen depth now. Three things I noticed: (1) Varitek has become an all-or-nothing guess hitter. More of his ABs have resulted in the Three True Outcomes lately than ever before (check it out - last 10 games, 41 PAs, 3 HR, 10 BB, 9 Ks. More than 50%. (2) Ellsbury stands to become a folk hero in Boston, almost regardless of performance - a Dykstra/Hudler type, which would be unfortunate because he could be so much better and deserves not to instantly get labeled with the Damon, Jr. stereotype. (3) Schill isn't sharp, but generally will keep teams in games (like tonight) until the Sox have a chance to come back. Anecdotal jibber-jabber, I know (who said jibber jabber besides, or better than, Mr. T, anyway?).
Links - A funny riff from Jere at a Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory (dude, I feel your pain) on the disconnect between certain commercials and the show they are interrupting. I hear that, although I never run into that problem when I'm watching lifetime. The flammable mattresses must be a big seller...
A view from across the border at Drunk Jays Fans. That is. Just wrong. Some view.
The Taxes Update
Big day tomorrow as the House holds a marathon hearing on the taxation of carried interest, impact on the investment world, impact on workers, etc., with two tax professors, Jack Levin, pe folks from Carlyle, etc. I actually asked our legislative affairs liaision whether it would be televised on C-Span.
In any event, the whole thing is smoke and mirrors. The JCT and CBO have come out with estimates of the revenue raisers from changing how carry is taxed - hold on to your hat, $3 to $5 billion. Total. A far cry from a dent in a chink in the armor ... o.k.. anyway, a far cry from the amounts that would be required to substantially reform the AMT (estimated in the $100 billion range). Click here for a link via Victor Fleischer's Conglomerate blog to a paper estimating the revenue that could be raised.
Update (11/9): These numbers need clarification. The estimated revenue raised is $25.6 billion over 10 years
The Death Update
Finally, the death update. Not a household name, but William Hudgins died last Friday in New York. He, along with Jackie Robinson founded Carver National Savings Bank, the largest black-owned bank in the country (there is a branch in the building at 145th and Bradhurst, I believe). He helped move the black community in Harlem in the mid-20th century into the traditional bank lending market and away from traditional lending arrangements. A fantastic success story and a man who did good for his community and his Community. He was 100. The obit is here.
Coming up shortly on the 22nd. Can't believe it has been almost a year. Mom leaves town tomorrow to go home for the weekend. I felt worst for her when dad died last year. Will feel extremely bad for her as the anniversary approaches. Hopefully little Jackson/Luis Junior/Sam (a friend suggested Samuel Luis Jackson as a compromise - funny) will come before then and occupy her.
All for now - need to fix the links.
The Baseball Update
Nobody reads this blog, but if they did, they would say "wow you suck at blogging" and "why are your baseball updates Red Sox updates?" Point taken.
My man Yovanni Gallardo pitched great for the Brewers tonight as they took the Astros to the woodshed 14-2. It appears that his confidence was not bruised that much by being left in to be pasted by the Rockies a few weeks ago.
Yankees. Screw them.
John Maine continues his downward spiral tm NIN in the second half of the season. Doesn't matter though as the Mets are in like Flynn to the postseason.
And yes, the Sox blew it tonight against the freaking Jays (ahhhh my first love. Wherefore art though Jorge (nee George) Bell?). I didn't see the bloody
Links - A funny riff from Jere at a Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory (dude, I feel your pain) on the disconnect between certain commercials and the show they are interrupting. I hear that, although I never run into that problem when I'm watching lifetime. The flammable mattresses must be a big seller...
A view from across the border at Drunk Jays Fans. That is. Just wrong. Some view.
The Taxes Update
Big day tomorrow as the House holds a marathon hearing on the taxation of carried interest, impact on the investment world, impact on workers, etc., with two tax professors, Jack Levin, pe folks from Carlyle, etc. I actually asked our legislative affairs liaision whether it would be televised on C-Span.
In any event, the whole thing is smoke and mirrors. The JCT and CBO have come out with estimates of the revenue raisers from changing how carry is taxed - hold on to your hat, $3 to $5 billion. Total. A far cry from a dent in a chink in the armor ... o.k.. anyway, a far cry from the amounts that would be required to substantially reform the AMT (estimated in the $100 billion range). Click here for a link via Victor Fleischer's Conglomerate blog to a paper estimating the revenue that could be raised.
Update (11/9): These numbers need clarification. The estimated revenue raised is $25.6 billion over 10 years
The Death Update
Finally, the death update. Not a household name, but William Hudgins died last Friday in New York. He, along with Jackie Robinson founded Carver National Savings Bank, the largest black-owned bank in the country (there is a branch in the building at 145th and Bradhurst, I believe). He helped move the black community in Harlem in the mid-20th century into the traditional bank lending market and away from traditional lending arrangements. A fantastic success story and a man who did good for his community and his Community. He was 100. The obit is here.
Coming up shortly on the 22nd. Can't believe it has been almost a year. Mom leaves town tomorrow to go home for the weekend. I felt worst for her when dad died last year. Will feel extremely bad for her as the anniversary approaches. Hopefully little Jackson/Luis Junior/Sam (a friend suggested Samuel Luis Jackson as a compromise - funny) will come before then and occupy her.
All for now - need to fix the links.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Once again, I've been away/busy, so haven't posted... Here are today's updates
The Baseball Update
Since my last post the Sox have gone from 5 up to 8 up back to 6 up, just the typical late season swings. Their pitching is still, for the most part, their main strength as the offense comes and goes. Watched most of yesterday's game against the O's. Three Things I Noticed: (1) Lester still doesn't have a lot of arm strength back. His fastball isn't really fooling anyone and his control isn't really there right now. Luckily he was able to strand 8 of the 10 baserunners he allowed. (2) Ellsbury looks like a real player which will make personnel decisions interesting for next season. Everyone knows the club has a 20M option on Manny next year, Coco is signed through '09 at 10.5M (plus a 500K buyout for '10). Drew... well, let's not talk abut Drew. Unless the Sox let Manny go or deal Coco (which wouldn't make a lot of sense because he is the cheapest of the incumbents), Ellsbury will be without a position next year. 4th OF, coming in for speed and defense, and to spell Drew, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but the kid has nothing left to prove, except my contention that he doesn't really look like Damon. (3) Pedroia is the AL ROY. There are about a half dozen legitimate candidates. Here they are in a fancy chart (please scroll down - not sure why there is such a huge gap):
10/4/07 - Just figured out how to format so there are not breaks - table fixed
Pedroia has the best OPS of any AL rookie, and, as I write this, is tearing Jays pitching a new one tonight - 3-3 with 2 RBIs. He's also had some memorable defensive plays in the middle of a pennant race, which voters can't help but ignore (as an aside, I love how the bar is set higher and higher each year for winning any of these awards - individual excellence itself is not enough - you need to perform in the crucible of a pennant race. Tough luck if you're a Royal competing for one of these awards - or as the TV voice over guy used to say, "Sorry Tennessee").
In any event, as I (now) finish this, the Sox are up 7-1 and the Yanks have lost, so it's 7 games up with 24 left. Go Sox.
The Taxes Update
Quiet last couple of weeks on the tax front. There were various reports that came out the last couple of weeks indicating that tax revenue from a tax on carried interest would be a few billion at best, and likely less (perhaps even revenue neutral) because of likely tax planning around any new bill. So any idea that a tie-in to AMT relief (which would cost hundreds of millions to even Band-AidTM) is just plain silly-talk. Horse-hocky, if you will.
Also, Lee Sheppard looked appropriately stlyish, if a little deer-in-the-headlights in a NYT business section profile earlier this week. Click here for the story an a look at her gorgrous Gaultier outfit to which page C6 did not do justice.
The Death Update
Michael Jackson died. No, not that Michael Jackson (hee-hee). Michael Jackson, the beer conniouseur and advocate. I used to own one of his beer guides through which I learned that mead wasn't just what Beowulf had for dinner. It was an actual brew still in prodiction in various vampire-infested areas of Central Europe. Anyway, the obit is here. Raise a glass to Mr. Jackson.
Also, in the death update, mom is in town this weekend, getting ready for sis to have her baby. It was about one year ago (Sept 6 actually), that we found out Rex was going to be a boy, and that I found out my dad definitely was terminal with small cell lunch cancer - advanced stage. I remember how bummed out he was on the phone talking to him and remember how happy he was when we told him we were having a boy. I knew then that it was extremely unlikely he'd ever get to meet his grandson, but I was happy that at least for that day, some sunshine broke through the gloom. I miss him.
The Baseball Update
Since my last post the Sox have gone from 5 up to 8 up back to 6 up, just the typical late season swings. Their pitching is still, for the most part, their main strength as the offense comes and goes. Watched most of yesterday's game against the O's. Three Things I Noticed: (1) Lester still doesn't have a lot of arm strength back. His fastball isn't really fooling anyone and his control isn't really there right now. Luckily he was able to strand 8 of the 10 baserunners he allowed. (2) Ellsbury looks like a real player which will make personnel decisions interesting for next season. Everyone knows the club has a 20M option on Manny next year, Coco is signed through '09 at 10.5M (plus a 500K buyout for '10). Drew... well, let's not talk abut Drew. Unless the Sox let Manny go or deal Coco (which wouldn't make a lot of sense because he is the cheapest of the incumbents), Ellsbury will be without a position next year. 4th OF, coming in for speed and defense, and to spell Drew, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but the kid has nothing left to prove, except my contention that he doesn't really look like Damon. (3) Pedroia is the AL ROY. There are about a half dozen legitimate candidates. Here they are in a fancy chart (please scroll down - not sure why there is such a huge gap):
10/4/07 - Just figured out how to format so there are not breaks - table fixed
| Player | Team | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedroia | Bos | 68 | 137 | 32 | 1 | 6 | 42 | 5 | .324 | .393 | .447 |
| Willits | Ana | 65 | 107 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 25 | .292 | .394 | .342 |
| Iwamura | TB | 67 | 111 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 10 | .282 | .359 | .410 |
| Gordon | KC | 55 | 115 | 29 | 4 | 14 | 50 | 13 | .249 | .319 | .420 |
| Player | Team | IP | H | ER | BB | K | W | L | SV | ERA | |
| Dice-K | Bos | 176.1 | 151 | 76 | 66 | 174 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 3.88 | |
| Bannister | KC | 148.1 | 135 | 52 | 36 | 72 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 3.12 | |
| Okajima | Boston | 63.1 | 41 | 11 | 16 | 55 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1.56 |
Pedroia has the best OPS of any AL rookie, and, as I write this, is tearing Jays pitching a new one tonight - 3-3 with 2 RBIs. He's also had some memorable defensive plays in the middle of a pennant race, which voters can't help but ignore (as an aside, I love how the bar is set higher and higher each year for winning any of these awards - individual excellence itself is not enough - you need to perform in the crucible of a pennant race. Tough luck if you're a Royal competing for one of these awards - or as the TV voice over guy used to say, "Sorry Tennessee").
In any event, as I (now) finish this, the Sox are up 7-1 and the Yanks have lost, so it's 7 games up with 24 left. Go Sox.
The Taxes Update
Quiet last couple of weeks on the tax front. There were various reports that came out the last couple of weeks indicating that tax revenue from a tax on carried interest would be a few billion at best, and likely less (perhaps even revenue neutral) because of likely tax planning around any new bill. So any idea that a tie-in to AMT relief (which would cost hundreds of millions to even Band-AidTM) is just plain silly-talk. Horse-hocky, if you will.
Also, Lee Sheppard looked appropriately stlyish, if a little deer-in-the-headlights in a NYT business section profile earlier this week. Click here for the story an a look at her gorgrous Gaultier outfit to which page C6 did not do justice.
The Death Update
Michael Jackson died. No, not that Michael Jackson (hee-hee). Michael Jackson, the beer conniouseur and advocate. I used to own one of his beer guides through which I learned that mead wasn't just what Beowulf had for dinner. It was an actual brew still in prodiction in various vampire-infested areas of Central Europe. Anyway, the obit is here. Raise a glass to Mr. Jackson.
Also, in the death update, mom is in town this weekend, getting ready for sis to have her baby. It was about one year ago (Sept 6 actually), that we found out Rex was going to be a boy, and that I found out my dad definitely was terminal with small cell lunch cancer - advanced stage. I remember how bummed out he was on the phone talking to him and remember how happy he was when we told him we were having a boy. I knew then that it was extremely unlikely he'd ever get to meet his grandson, but I was happy that at least for that day, some sunshine broke through the gloom. I miss him.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Jimmy Fund Telethon
I would be remiss if I didn't at least post a link to the Jimmy Fund Telethon going on right now in conjunction with WEEI. 
Click the link or just call 1-877-738-1234 to donate to an extremely worthy cause.
Click the link or just call 1-877-738-1234 to donate to an extremely worthy cause.
Thanks to all who have stopped by, please send me an email at jmnaylor33 at yahoo dot com with any comments or thoughts
The Baseball Update
Didn't see the Sox game yesterday - just listened to it online while toggling back and forth between Yankees and Sox coverage on mlb gameday. I never thought I'd say this, but I am really missing Jerry Trupiano. Castiglione's partners are either boring, humorless or try too hard - even the consummate professional Dave O'Brien. Guess the devil that you know ("Way Back") is better than the devil you don't ("zzzz").
In the "Thats why they play the games" department - junkballer Sonnanstine with an ERA over 6 outpitches (dramatically) Matsuzaka and the beleagured Rays bullpen improbably holds on. I am a little worried about the Sox bats - not the ability to "come through in the clutch", but actually their ability to beat teams' best pitchers. Seems as though they've been shut down quite a bit lately by teams' starters and only make hay (when they do) against the 7th and 8th (and occasionally 9th) inning guys. Again, just anecdotal evidence for this proposition - I'll look into it more closely later when time permits.
Three Things I Noticed But Didn't See (radio edition): (1) Sounds like Manny chased a high one to end the game - this is a disturbing theme - he isn't striking out at a higher clip than last year, but he is chasing more bad pitches (and letting more good ones go by) than in the past. His walks are down compared to last year (but are in line with historical numbers) - disturbing trend - power drop accompanied by less strike zone control - something to watch as the season finishes (and an enhanced Gameday project for those with the time). (2) Lugo is on fire. Enormously streaky this year and his defense is pitiful, but glad to see he is stepping up (along with Coco) while Ortiz and Manny (and Youk to some extent) are scuffling. (3) Not related to the Sox game, but I was extremely pleased that "Money", as John Sterling referred to him after Monday's near miss, blew the game for the Yankees yesterday. Especially after that monster (seriously - is there an uglier player playing right now than Shelley Duncan - Tavarez obviously excluded as he is not human) tied it in the 9th (Duncan, meet Maas, meet Spencer, meet Muelens, etc., etc.) Put a hop in my step.
Sox off today - Angels this weekend. Here are some good links from yesterday:
Sawxblog trenchatly [ Ed: "Trenchantly", even] captures the optimism and excitement of realizing there's a pennant race on and we're in the lead.
Soxaholix Don't agree with their take, but funny nonetheless.
The Bradford Files Must reading. Daily. By the second most listenable baseball expert on EEI (after Sean McAdam and WAAAAAYYY ahead of Buckley and Massarotti).
The Taxes Update
Slow day in the world of taxes. One interesting thing of note - Pope Benedict XVI apparently is going to come out with a papal encyclical that will "condemn tax evasion as 'socially unjust' and denounce tax havens". The encyclical reportedly will argue that tax evasion and tax havens that seek to "illegitimately" (whatever that means) limit taxes paid unfairly reduce state revenue, making governments less effective and shifting an unbalanced share of the tax burden to poorer citizens less able to pay. Once again - this is from Tax Notes, so can't link, but here is a story in the public press.
The Death Update
No deaths that particularly interest me yesterday, so I will talk about a remembrance of dad. First baseball game - September 1, 1983 (I was 9). We went to old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto and saw the Jays take on the Orioles (Jim Palmer v Doyle Alexander). The Jays were just starting to get good and we went with family friends - the Samsons (Lee and Sean). I was a typical dorky 9 year old, complimenting Palmer on a 55 foot curveball by yelling that it was a "change-down".
At one point I got so excited about a play (don't remember what it was, but looking at retrosheet.org (god they're awesome), it must have been a Jesse Barfield home run) that I jumped out of my seat and when I went to sit back down, fell on the concrete floor and smacked my head against the folded seat behind me (it had snapped up in place - man Exhibition Stadium was a pit). I think I was pretty close to crying, but dad helped me up and put me in my seat and that was it. It wasn't anything special. There was no "there's no crying in baseball" speech or motivational poster platitude ("Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgement that something else is more important than fear"). Just something simple. That was dad - no grand flourishes. Just dad. The Jays won, by the way.
The Baseball Update
Didn't see the Sox game yesterday - just listened to it online while toggling back and forth between Yankees and Sox coverage on mlb gameday. I never thought I'd say this, but I am really missing Jerry Trupiano. Castiglione's partners are either boring, humorless or try too hard - even the consummate professional Dave O'Brien. Guess the devil that you know ("Way Back") is better than the devil you don't ("zzzz").
In the "Thats why they play the games" department - junkballer Sonnanstine with an ERA over 6 outpitches (dramatically) Matsuzaka and the beleagured Rays bullpen improbably holds on. I am a little worried about the Sox bats - not the ability to "come through in the clutch", but actually their ability to beat teams' best pitchers. Seems as though they've been shut down quite a bit lately by teams' starters and only make hay (when they do) against the 7th and 8th (and occasionally 9th) inning guys. Again, just anecdotal evidence for this proposition - I'll look into it more closely later when time permits.
Three Things I Noticed But Didn't See (radio edition): (1) Sounds like Manny chased a high one to end the game - this is a disturbing theme - he isn't striking out at a higher clip than last year, but he is chasing more bad pitches (and letting more good ones go by) than in the past. His walks are down compared to last year (but are in line with historical numbers) - disturbing trend - power drop accompanied by less strike zone control - something to watch as the season finishes (and an enhanced Gameday project for those with the time). (2) Lugo is on fire. Enormously streaky this year and his defense is pitiful, but glad to see he is stepping up (along with Coco) while Ortiz and Manny (and Youk to some extent) are scuffling. (3) Not related to the Sox game, but I was extremely pleased that "Money", as John Sterling referred to him after Monday's near miss, blew the game for the Yankees yesterday. Especially after that monster (seriously - is there an uglier player playing right now than Shelley Duncan - Tavarez obviously excluded as he is not human) tied it in the 9th (Duncan, meet Maas, meet Spencer, meet Muelens, etc., etc.) Put a hop in my step.
Sox off today - Angels this weekend. Here are some good links from yesterday:
Sawxblog trenchatly [ Ed: "Trenchantly", even] captures the optimism and excitement of realizing there's a pennant race on and we're in the lead.
Soxaholix Don't agree with their take, but funny nonetheless.
The Bradford Files Must reading. Daily. By the second most listenable baseball expert on EEI (after Sean McAdam and WAAAAAYYY ahead of Buckley and Massarotti).
The Taxes Update
Slow day in the world of taxes. One interesting thing of note - Pope Benedict XVI apparently is going to come out with a papal encyclical that will "condemn tax evasion as 'socially unjust' and denounce tax havens". The encyclical reportedly will argue that tax evasion and tax havens that seek to "illegitimately" (whatever that means) limit taxes paid unfairly reduce state revenue, making governments less effective and shifting an unbalanced share of the tax burden to poorer citizens less able to pay. Once again - this is from Tax Notes, so can't link, but here is a story in the public press.
The Death Update
No deaths that particularly interest me yesterday, so I will talk about a remembrance of dad. First baseball game - September 1, 1983 (I was 9). We went to old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto and saw the Jays take on the Orioles (Jim Palmer v Doyle Alexander). The Jays were just starting to get good and we went with family friends - the Samsons (Lee and Sean). I was a typical dorky 9 year old, complimenting Palmer on a 55 foot curveball by yelling that it was a "change-down".
At one point I got so excited about a play (don't remember what it was, but looking at retrosheet.org (god they're awesome), it must have been a Jesse Barfield home run) that I jumped out of my seat and when I went to sit back down, fell on the concrete floor and smacked my head against the folded seat behind me (it had snapped up in place - man Exhibition Stadium was a pit). I think I was pretty close to crying, but dad helped me up and put me in my seat and that was it. It wasn't anything special. There was no "there's no crying in baseball" speech or motivational poster platitude ("Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgement that something else is more important than fear"). Just something simple. That was dad - no grand flourishes. Just dad. The Jays won, by the way.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Your Taxes Update
Two things today as well. First, the IRS is suiing Darryl Strawberry for $115K in unpaid taxes and $350K in penalties. This after he's already spent 6 months in home confinement after pleading guilty to criminal tax fraud charges. The unpaid taxes derive mostly from unreported earnings at card shows. Sad. He still hit 8 homers in the Simpsons softball game, so he's got that going for him. Maybe his son can help bail him out with that second round NBA money.
Next, Senator Charles Schumer is reportedly working on a bill to tax carried interest as compensation. He's flip-flopped on this issue, having previously come out against Rep. Sander Levin's bill. He claims that he has always supported the tax increase in theory, but wanted it applied to all industries (oil and gas, etc.), not just private equity and hedge funds. This is worrisome news, but I still think nothing will happen on this in '07.
Your Baseball Update
Watched the last few innings of the Sox last night. Even though they were 1-41 in "comeback" games this year (i.e., games where they were trailing after7 8), I just knew the D-Rays pen would blow it.
Three things I noticed: (1) Gagne's slider/curve/change was nasty. The pitch he struck out Pena on was just filthy. If he can spot his change like that and use his heat effectively (he was hitting low to mid-90s with his fb), he'll be fine. I think the high leverage closer-type situation also suited him well. (2) Varitek is an immensely boring interview. I know this isn't news, but man, he can't even show a little emotion on the night Lester returns to Fenway and the Sox finally come from behind and win? And I am certain that he toned it down even further once he realized the NESN feed was being played over the stadium loudspeakers. I'm not asking for Kevin Millar-style antics, but cut the Bull Durham cliche crap. (3) What happened to Gagne's goggles. He's wearing regular glasses now? Maybe that's his problem.
Some links: Surviving Grady's Take - celebrating the "at last" feeling - I agree - I was pumping my fist when Coco hit the gamewinner. Although I didn't think it was really ever in doubt.
Singapore Sox Fan rightfully notes the Al Reyes-Nomar connection. I had forgotten about that. I can't believe that guy is a major league closer.
Yanksfan v SoxFan Scroll up though for the nice remembrance of Rizzuto
Your Death Update
Which brings us to your death update. The first thing the Taxbabe (D-Nice) said to me when I mentioned that Rizzuto had passed away was "The Money Store" (take a look at Phil in action here). Not to get all Ruth Fisher on you, but it's little remembrances like that that help deal with death and loss. I almost forgot, and had to be reminded by someone, about one of the things I found most endearing about someone who just passed away. His hilarious Money Store commercials. Never mind that he was shilling for a bunch of predators. He was our shill. Here is a nice remembrance of his work for the Money Store.
I wonder what the first thing people think of when my dad's name is mentioned. I wonder how many of those things are things that I would remember or immediately recall. As it gets further and further away from his passing, there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to reminisce. I need to take better advantage of the ones I have.
Your Bonus REX Update
He hit the 15 lb mark yesterday (double his birth weight) at 6 months and 16 days. Very excited given how slow he was to put weight on. He gets cooler and cooler every day. Hard to remember how tiny he was when he was born even though it was just 6 months ago. Pictures help, but they're not perfect (picture-perfect? no such thing).
Two things today as well. First, the IRS is suiing Darryl Strawberry for $115K in unpaid taxes and $350K in penalties. This after he's already spent 6 months in home confinement after pleading guilty to criminal tax fraud charges. The unpaid taxes derive mostly from unreported earnings at card shows. Sad. He still hit 8 homers in the Simpsons softball game, so he's got that going for him. Maybe his son can help bail him out with that second round NBA money.
Next, Senator Charles Schumer is reportedly working on a bill to tax carried interest as compensation. He's flip-flopped on this issue, having previously come out against Rep. Sander Levin's bill. He claims that he has always supported the tax increase in theory, but wanted it applied to all industries (oil and gas, etc.), not just private equity and hedge funds. This is worrisome news, but I still think nothing will happen on this in '07.
Your Baseball Update
Watched the last few innings of the Sox last night. Even though they were 1-41 in "comeback" games this year (i.e., games where they were trailing after
Three things I noticed: (1) Gagne's slider/curve/change was nasty. The pitch he struck out Pena on was just filthy. If he can spot his change like that and use his heat effectively (he was hitting low to mid-90s with his fb), he'll be fine. I think the high leverage closer-type situation also suited him well. (2) Varitek is an immensely boring interview. I know this isn't news, but man, he can't even show a little emotion on the night Lester returns to Fenway and the Sox finally come from behind and win? And I am certain that he toned it down even further once he realized the NESN feed was being played over the stadium loudspeakers. I'm not asking for Kevin Millar-style antics, but cut the Bull Durham cliche crap. (3) What happened to Gagne's goggles. He's wearing regular glasses now? Maybe that's his problem.
Some links: Surviving Grady's Take - celebrating the "at last" feeling - I agree - I was pumping my fist when Coco hit the gamewinner. Although I didn't think it was really ever in doubt.
Singapore Sox Fan rightfully notes the Al Reyes-Nomar connection. I had forgotten about that. I can't believe that guy is a major league closer.
Yanksfan v SoxFan Scroll up though for the nice remembrance of Rizzuto
Your Death Update
Which brings us to your death update. The first thing the Taxbabe (D-Nice) said to me when I mentioned that Rizzuto had passed away was "The Money Store" (take a look at Phil in action here). Not to get all Ruth Fisher on you, but it's little remembrances like that that help deal with death and loss. I almost forgot, and had to be reminded by someone, about one of the things I found most endearing about someone who just passed away. His hilarious Money Store commercials. Never mind that he was shilling for a bunch of predators. He was our shill. Here is a nice remembrance of his work for the Money Store.
I wonder what the first thing people think of when my dad's name is mentioned. I wonder how many of those things are things that I would remember or immediately recall. As it gets further and further away from his passing, there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to reminisce. I need to take better advantage of the ones I have.
Your Bonus REX Update
He hit the 15 lb mark yesterday (double his birth weight) at 6 months and 16 days. Very excited given how slow he was to put weight on. He gets cooler and cooler every day. Hard to remember how tiny he was when he was born even though it was just 6 months ago. Pictures help, but they're not perfect (picture-perfect? no such thing).
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Your Taxes Update
Two interesting articles today in Tax Notes. First is by Lee Sheppard, scourge of tax planners everywhere. In yet another summary of the current mess concerning the examination of taxation of carried interest in private equity funds (bottom line: should what walks, talks and looks like comp be taxed as such, rather than as capital gains?), Ms. Sheppard focuses on a smaller technique used in funds - the management fee conversion. In this technique, managers of funds waive their entitlement to management fees (which are taxed at 35%) in exchange for a speculative interest in future profits of the funds they manage (which they hope will be taxed (1) later, and (2) at 15%). She ackowledges that the technique (if not some of its more aggressive offshoots) should work under current law, but then argues that service partners be "booted ... out of Subchpater K" and treated as any other service provider to an entity under Section 83. This would be the simplest answer to the carried interest debate as well, but would require an enormous change to current law governing partnerships. In any event, Ms. Sheppard rightly points out that the issue "has legs" in Washington. More wait and see. My client alert isn't stale yet!!
Second, and much more interesting (and relevant to this blog), is a piece, again in Tax Notes, so I can't link, regarding the potential taxation to Queens' own Matt Murphy who caught Barry Bonds's 756th home run ball. In 1998, the IRS (stupidly) came out and noted that the person who recovered McGwire's historic home run ball would be subject to gift tax if he returned it to McGwire (the IRS quickly reversed its position). Similalry, there has been talk recently as to whether Mr. Murphy, even if he decides to keep and not sell the ball should be subject to tax on an "accretion to wealth" concept. Typically, taxation applies only to "realized income", but catching a home run ball is, in many tax practitioner's view, akin to walking through Central Park and stumbling upon a Monet. Seems the IRS is smartly staying out of this one. For now (note to Mr. Murphy - make sure you file your taxes on time and don't take any silly deductions - wouldn't want to get audited.
Your Baseball Update
I watched the end of the Sox 3-0 win over the D-Rays last night. I had mixed emotions because I have James Shields in my "expensive" fantasy league and was hoping for a win (I'm in a dogfight right now), but obviously was rooting for the Sox who really needed a solid win to right the ship. Best of both worlds, I guess - good outing by Shields and a solid win for the Sox. What I noticed: (1) Papelbon looked nasty. He seemed to overthrow on the 1-2 pitch to Upton, but came back and got Pena on a weak grounder to second to end it; (2) Totally anecdotal, but Lowell seems to have a lot of big hits for the Sox; and (3) Tampa will never be close to good until it finds arms who can throw strikes in the pen. They've got some hard throwers (Balfour, et. al.), but they get themselves into trouble unnecessarily. I should know having had four separate Rays starters on my team at some point this year (Shields, Kazmir, Hammel and Sonnanstine).
Some good links:
Over the Monster, and read down for a "relax, keep breathing" (TM Dre) review of the situation viz a viz the Yanks.
Red Sox Fan in Pinstripe Territory. Good take on the ridiculousness at Yankee stadium too. Damn O's couldn't close the door.
Your Death Update
First, I feel guilty for starting this blog two weeks ago and not mentioning one thing about dad since then. I will try to make sure that one entry in the death update each day is a remembrance or something about how I am feeling. Don't worry, it will come after your death and taxes updates for the day.
September 22, 2006 was when he passed away. I'll tell the whole story some time, but I was there when it happened. In any event, the anniversary (what's the word for a bad anniversary? sadiversary?) is coming up in 5 weeks or so, and I feel like I used to feel when I had to get up in class and speak, or had to do something I really didn't want to do - like time is pulling me forward, dragging me, kicking and screaming. I feel resistance in my body as I don't even want to come close to a date, or an event, or any thing really, that will force me to remember that day and how I felt and how everyone felt and HOW MUCH IT FUCKING SUCKED and still does. Why I still won't watch Field of Dreams. Anyway, that's how I feel today.
Also, Brooke Astor finally died. I guess she was a NY big shot. Whatever. Reminds me of an interview sketch from college - Abe Vigoda was the guest - the host was surprised to see him and said "are you sure you're not dead. I could have sworn you were dead". All the legal wrangling around Ms. Astor's will - shit - I thought that was post-mortem. OH well. she was 105 and did some serious good for a boatload of people, including many in my 'hood. The obit is here.
Two interesting articles today in Tax Notes. First is by Lee Sheppard, scourge of tax planners everywhere. In yet another summary of the current mess concerning the examination of taxation of carried interest in private equity funds (bottom line: should what walks, talks and looks like comp be taxed as such, rather than as capital gains?), Ms. Sheppard focuses on a smaller technique used in funds - the management fee conversion. In this technique, managers of funds waive their entitlement to management fees (which are taxed at 35%) in exchange for a speculative interest in future profits of the funds they manage (which they hope will be taxed (1) later, and (2) at 15%). She ackowledges that the technique (if not some of its more aggressive offshoots) should work under current law, but then argues that service partners be "booted ... out of Subchpater K" and treated as any other service provider to an entity under Section 83. This would be the simplest answer to the carried interest debate as well, but would require an enormous change to current law governing partnerships. In any event, Ms. Sheppard rightly points out that the issue "has legs" in Washington. More wait and see. My client alert isn't stale yet!!
Second, and much more interesting (and relevant to this blog), is a piece, again in Tax Notes, so I can't link, regarding the potential taxation to Queens' own Matt Murphy who caught Barry Bonds's 756th home run ball. In 1998, the IRS (stupidly) came out and noted that the person who recovered McGwire's historic home run ball would be subject to gift tax if he returned it to McGwire (the IRS quickly reversed its position). Similalry, there has been talk recently as to whether Mr. Murphy, even if he decides to keep and not sell the ball should be subject to tax on an "accretion to wealth" concept. Typically, taxation applies only to "realized income", but catching a home run ball is, in many tax practitioner's view, akin to walking through Central Park and stumbling upon a Monet. Seems the IRS is smartly staying out of this one. For now (note to Mr. Murphy - make sure you file your taxes on time and don't take any silly deductions - wouldn't want to get audited.
Your Baseball Update
I watched the end of the Sox 3-0 win over the D-Rays last night. I had mixed emotions because I have James Shields in my "expensive" fantasy league and was hoping for a win (I'm in a dogfight right now), but obviously was rooting for the Sox who really needed a solid win to right the ship. Best of both worlds, I guess - good outing by Shields and a solid win for the Sox. What I noticed: (1) Papelbon looked nasty. He seemed to overthrow on the 1-2 pitch to Upton, but came back and got Pena on a weak grounder to second to end it; (2) Totally anecdotal, but Lowell seems to have a lot of big hits for the Sox; and (3) Tampa will never be close to good until it finds arms who can throw strikes in the pen. They've got some hard throwers (Balfour, et. al.), but they get themselves into trouble unnecessarily. I should know having had four separate Rays starters on my team at some point this year (Shields, Kazmir, Hammel and Sonnanstine).
Some good links:
Over the Monster, and read down for a "relax, keep breathing" (TM Dre) review of the situation viz a viz the Yanks.
Red Sox Fan in Pinstripe Territory. Good take on the ridiculousness at Yankee stadium too. Damn O's couldn't close the door.
Your Death Update
First, I feel guilty for starting this blog two weeks ago and not mentioning one thing about dad since then. I will try to make sure that one entry in the death update each day is a remembrance or something about how I am feeling. Don't worry, it will come after your death and taxes updates for the day.
September 22, 2006 was when he passed away. I'll tell the whole story some time, but I was there when it happened. In any event, the anniversary (what's the word for a bad anniversary? sadiversary?) is coming up in 5 weeks or so, and I feel like I used to feel when I had to get up in class and speak, or had to do something I really didn't want to do - like time is pulling me forward, dragging me, kicking and screaming. I feel resistance in my body as I don't even want to come close to a date, or an event, or any thing really, that will force me to remember that day and how I felt and how everyone felt and HOW MUCH IT FUCKING SUCKED and still does. Why I still won't watch Field of Dreams. Anyway, that's how I feel today.
Also, Brooke Astor finally died. I guess she was a NY big shot. Whatever. Reminds me of an interview sketch from college - Abe Vigoda was the guest - the host was surprised to see him and said "are you sure you're not dead. I could have sworn you were dead". All the legal wrangling around Ms. Astor's will - shit - I thought that was post-mortem. OH well. she was 105 and did some serious good for a boatload of people, including many in my 'hood. The obit is here.
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