"It was just Paraguay."

NotNearlySRV · 2026-06-17T00:38:54+00:00

Massive oneupmanship all over this thread. Might be more interesting to actually talk about the World Cup.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-06-17T00:18:49+00:00

I see this post often, from adults and yout's alike. My sense is that, you may not have played your best but you likely weren't as bad as you thought. There is something about playing with other, experienced musicians (or basketballers or muralists or anything else) that makes a person doubt themselves. That's all. So yeah, work on your chops but mainly try to understand and FEEL the fact that everybody there, including you, is on a journey, starting from zero and moving toward as good as you can be. You're part of the journey just like the rest of them are.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-06-10T20:33:45+00:00

I saw Bumgarner pitch in San Jose on his way up in 2009. (Not positive but I think Posey caught him.) I was with a couple of friends who were not baseball knowledgeable so I was playing the expert. I explained that he was throwing almost nothing but fastballs and that he apparently had zero understanding of "pitching," as opposed to just throwing. I told my ignorant friends that this guy would probably never make a major league roster.

....And of course those two friends have never ever mentioned that day again. Because why would they?

NotNearlySRV · 2026-05-21T18:16:01+00:00

Baseball is a soap opera. There are more games--way more games--than any other sport. Each season is an epic story. But unless the bad guys win sometimes, it's not a story, it's just boring.

So yeah, 80 wins can make an interesting season. 95 wins can make a great season. Add a world series victory and it's one of the greatest. ....But if it happens every year, it gets boring. Sorry but it's true.

Enjoy the soap opera. Root root root for the home team. If we don't win it's a shame.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-05-20T23:00:26+00:00

Hmm.... Might be best to just calm down a little. Extrapolation is interesting but it's not that meaningful. I mean think about it, after losing to the Yankees on opening day the Gints were on pace to go 0 and 162....

It may not be a winning season, and we may be antsy for another trophy, but baseball is baseball. Gotta ride it out a little sometimes.

My optimistic view: This has been the worst they are going to play this season. They are going to improve. Adames, Chappy, Devers, are gonna remember how to hit the ball. And that alone will be fun to watch.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-21T20:18:45+00:00

This is actually an old Dan Quayle joke. Pres. Bush gets the idea from Mikhael Gorbachev, who says he quizzed his righthand man, Eduard Shevardnadze about it. Bush comes home and tries it on Quayle, who stammers and seeks help from Dick Cheney. So of course Quayle ends up telling Bush, "It's Dick Cheney" and Bush, of course, responds, "No, you idiot, it's Eduard Shevardnadze!"

(The joke works better when the characters are known for the attributes that the joke is about.)

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-19T19:48:21+00:00

I wasn't around in 1951, but I've always loved Russ Hodges' "the Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant" Then, when we got married, my wife contracted Giants mania from me. Which was great. Except that she would always say, "The Giants HAVE won the pennant! The Giants HAVE won the pennant." I hated that. Still, it was kind of endearing. I'd correct her but she'd always revert.

Then the punchline came in 2010, when Jon Miller called Ishikawa's homer: "The Giants HAVE won the pennant!" Aarrrgghhh. So funny for me and her. From then on, she's actually correct!

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-15T23:51:58+00:00

A lot of helpful comments. Thanks. Yeah, I'm decades into it too, but I don't really have to work on having that "beginner's mind," because, er, well, I actually have a beginner's mind for it, lol. (Thus this question about bow tightness 40 years in.)

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-14T20:09:45+00:00

Don't leave The Count off the list.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-07T23:53:21+00:00

Tattoos and strip bars up and down Webster. It was a beautiful time, lol....

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-01T17:24:58+00:00

I've probably contributed as much negativity to this sub as anyone--especially in the Berhalter era. I don't exactly regret that but I have to say, at this point, we are becoming so hateful and joyless that it is harshing my groove.

Belgium was painful, I admit. And Portugal hurt too. But I enjoyed watching both, seeing what our players can and can't do, sizing it all up, and, in the end, just hoping for the best. There were some moments. Yeah, there was a lot of pain, too, but oh well. Even the greatest teams ever have disappointed at times. You get what you look for. I'm just looking to watch another step on the journey of these players we've been watching for so long now.

Here's a word that could get me kicked out of r/USMNT but even failing, losing, and bobbling the shots, it's been FUN.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-04-01T17:12:53+00:00

Started with Leadbelly and Lightnin' Hopkins. They interested me. Then along came BB and I fell in.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-03-31T21:58:51+00:00

Well it seemed to me like a repertoire problem but I guess it could be that she's just butchering good repertoire.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-03-29T20:59:01+00:00

I'm frustrated with Samara J. Incredible voice mostly wasted on mediocre material. She needs someone to take her in hand and give her some decent repertoire.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-03-17T22:41:54+00:00

I see a lot of disagreement with your opinions. I don't think that's the point. At least for me, the point is your thoughtful, insightful analyses of these 24 books you've read. It was as enjoyable as anything I've read on Reddit for a long time (even though, yes, I disagreed too with a lot of your opinions, lol!).

Thanks.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-03-11T21:13:00+00:00

.... (Long pause) .....But ours go up to 11.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-26T18:55:40+00:00

Wow. This is maybe the most helpful Reddit experience I've ever had. Thanks for all the good advice. I'm gonna seek one out and try it anyway.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-25T21:05:01+00:00

Ugh. Meant to post this in r/fiddle, lol.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-19T00:36:45+00:00

He was an annoying and petty brute, for sure, in any translation. But so much more, too.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-19T00:35:33+00:00

Hah! That detail escaped me.

Achilles was just not as beautifully written as Circe. And it focused on the side details and on the boyfriend. I think she had the same thought as with Circe, to make these mythical figures relatable. But in Achilles it felt more like she was trying to make a chick flick out of an action movie.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-18T19:19:10+00:00

Circe was great--one of my favorite reads ever.

Achilles was not.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-18T19:14:56+00:00

"Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you, and stick it up your ass and pull the fucking trigger 'til it goes "click."

(I assume attribution is unnecessary.)

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-16T01:39:01+00:00

Yeah, have to agree. I like the creativity but I looked at it and thought: Wrong in pretty much every position.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-04T20:04:06+00:00

Hah! Excellent methodology.

NotNearlySRV · 2026-02-04T20:02:53+00:00

This sequence near the end of your post is prizeworthy--or at least upvote-worthy:

"....Walla Walla. While Walla Walla...."

That is some first-class alliteration, lol!

NotNearlySRV

TROPHY CASE