I suppose we're nearing the point where I'll have to write some long farewell post listing all of my McNabb memories. It's very sad. However, I'm going away for a few days, and it looks like McNabb will get at least one more start, so we'll see how it all looks next week.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

A triumph for mediocrity

The Eagles and Bengals played to a tie today. Here are two quotes from two of the men involved:

"I didn't know that," said McNabb, who played a leading role in keeping it tied. "I've never been part of a tie. I never even knew it was in the rule book. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately with the rules, we settled with a tie."

"I've never been in a tie, so I don't know how this works in the standings," coach Andy Reid said. "I know it's not good enough. We need wins, and this is not a win."

Think about this: Andy Reid doesn't know how ties work in the standings. Donovan McNabb didn't even know that ties are possible. I know that ties are rare and all, but... really? Wow. Both of them have been in the NFL for a very long time. I mean, come on, guys, that's just dumb. I love you both, I really do, but... really?

Andy's right, though: a 5-4 team in desperate need of wins can't play a 1-8 team to a tie. This game might have been it, people. Prove me wrong, Birds!

Wish me luck

Can't talk - querying literary agents as part of next step toward culmination of lifelong dream. Back in a bit.

In the interest of full disclosure

Okay first of all what is up with the Sixers? I'll tell you what's up with them, they suck, they're 2-5, and I'm totally disappointed. If I didn't currently own a blue t-shirt that says "PHILLIES 2008 CHAMPIONS" - a real shirt, not one made by me with a magic marker - I'd be much, much more upset about the whole thing. As it is, I sort of think that the next year is going to be a giant break from caring about sports for me: "What do I care that the Sixers have lost seven in a row and are now like 22-40? The Phillies won the World Series! Let's dance!"

Anyway, that's not why I'm here today. I wanted to get something off my chest, which is that I'm doing Nanowrimo again this year, for the first time since 2005, but I doubt I'm going to finish it. I'm working on my longtime on again, off again project Guided Moon - early attempts at which can be find through the link on the right - and everything I've got so far I like, but it's been a question of making the time to write, and it's just not happening. I didn't finish it in 2005 partly because I was away for a week and a half driving Jon to LA, but mostly because the thing I was working on turned out to not be all that good and I ran out of ideas like nine days in. But this year is different. Really, I don't think there will ever be a time in my life quite like November 2004 again; I spent that entire month doing almost nothing but working on Nanowrimo. It was a perfect storm of loneliness, massive amounts of free time, a fairly decent idea for a book, and an almost willfull rejection of anything resembling a social life. I lived on chocolate milk and bags of Munchies, stayed up until all hours of the night, wrote during the mornings and my lunch break, spent Thanksgiving doing it... my damn hard drive fried itself and literally died, and even that didn't keep me from reaching 50K by November 30. It was kind of messed up, but I've never been so proud of anything ever. And now, this year, I have a girlfriend, friends to hang out with, a house I want to work on, a finished novel I want to start working on selling, other writing projects I'd rather be doing... I think Nanowrimo is a fantastic thing, a great motivational exercise that everyone should try, but it might just not be for me anymore.

On the other hand, I'm probably just being lazy. I mean, the Phils won the World Series, I can write a couple hundred words a day instead of being a whiny jackass. Okay, forget everything I said, let's do this!!!

Oh, Andy

I've always loved Andy Reid - I've been watching him coach the Eagles since I was 23 (!) - and I've always defended him (though I suppose that some of that could have been just me refusing to imagine the Eagles without him). But after tonight's loss to the Giants... I don't know, I think he's probably done. He appears to be completely out of ideas, his whole staff is completely out of ideas, the players are undisciplined and sloppy and make dumb mistakes and commit bad penalties, he doesn't know how to challenge, he doesn't know how to use timeouts, his clock management remains, after all these years, no good whatsoever... as Andrew put it tonight (I'm paraphrasing), his inability to learn from his mistakes is pretty incredible at this point. Like I said, it's weird to think of the Eagles without him, and I dread the inevitable crappy transitional seasons that we're due to suffer through. (Plus, it's worth pointing out that much of the team's problem tonight was that the defense isn't very good and had no answers for the Giants, but that's another debate for another time.) But really, it's not going to get much better than this, I'm afraid.

But then, it's late and I don't feel like thinking about this, plus the Phillies won the World Series, so basically everything is fine.

Stuff I love this week

The Phils, the US, and PA.

My team and my home. Long may they reign.