It's more of a quest, really.

I made my annual trek to see my beloved Red Sox this weekend, and though it's a three and a half hour drive to Arlington (and, I can attest, just as long back again), it was worth it.

I chose center field bleachers which turned out to be an excellent choice - I got to be among the crazies, who immediately took a liking to me and asked me about the Red Sox, what I thought of the Manny deal and did I think the Red Sox would win the Series (they seemed 100% convinced that the Sox are a lock, whereas I remain skeptical. This has to be the first time a Rangers fan has out-believed me, but there it is).

Last time I merely sat back and took the game in, but this time I got to be a bit more involved, hanging out with a crew that knows all the pitchers in the bullpen and shouts helpful advice about how not to suck this time out. The Rangers bullpen, it should be noted, bears this advice with remarkably good grace.

They may have been mild fans of the Red Sox ("We like any team that's not the Yankees" - the baseline principle behind many of my friendships), but the Sox were the opposing team, and so as more and more beer was imbibed, players started getting heckled. The main object of these fans ire was of course the player closest to them, Coco Crisp, the Sox's light-hitting center fielder.

Let me tell you, after nine innings in Arlington, I can now report with certainty that a number of very insulting and occasionally disturbing things rhyme with "CoCo."

Here's video:

There was also one involving an Irish jig.

The "planned community" in which I reside has built a new plaza with a large, dramatic fountain dominating it. At some point there are supposed to be restaurants and commerce buzzing all around this plaza, but right now it's just a big lit-up fountain, the planning committee apparently subscribing to the Ray Kinsella method of economics.

I hadn't stopped by the plaza until last night and immediately regretted not seeking it out sooner. The whole plaza was picturesque and filled with plenty of mostly empty benches overlooking the fountain, but the selling point was when, about ten minutes after I'd arrived, the lights went off suddenly and a lone voice drifted out of an unseen speaker:

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows...?"

It was Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection." And incredibly, the whole fountain was synched to do a light show corresponding to the song. I immediately commented to a friend, "I love this so much I think I unironically love it."

Here's video:

The picture is what sells it.

In my excitement at the discovery of the GOP Ticket = "Battlestar Galactica" Theory, I forgot to mention the continuation of the "The West Wing" = Current Political Situation Theory.

In Season Six of "The West Wing," the Democratic candidate selects an older, weathered politician with Washington credibility and loads of foreign policy experience (along with a checkered past and a slight hint of masochism to his personality), to counteract accusations of his own naiveté. Meanwhile, the Republican goes against the longstanding expectations of his party and selects a young, rising-star governor from a lightly populated backwoods state to be his running mate. While his candidate's main object is to help shore up the base, his VP choice immediate goes on the offensive against the opposition as their dedicated hatchet man. In particular, the VP's eye-opener of a speech at the RNC raises the ire of the Democrats, before the Presidential candidate gives a less partisan, "I promise to work for the American people" speech to close the event.

So really, the similarities between the show and real life seem to have disappeared, eh?

By the way, has anyone else noticed that Obama's tax plan is the one Aaron Sorkin proposed in Season 4? They're even defending it in the same way.

It IS eerie, isn't it?

This will mean nothing to a lot of you, but if you've ever watched Battlestar Galactica, the parallels here are truly frightening:

I'd been holding to the current Presidential race = Seasons 6 and 7 of The West Wing theory, but I think I may have to abandon that strategy and go for this new theory. After all, Sen. McCain and Col. Tigh are both former POWs, and Palin and Roslin both come from education backgrounds.

Though, I suppose there's something to be said for people just naturally looking for leadership from wizened old military vets and capable women wearing spectacles.

Some of you might have to think about it for a while.

A teenaged friend of mine had been keeping her sexual preference hidden from her parents, knowing that they’d react badly. Her parents discovered her secret, blew sky-high, and sent her off to Amsterdam to straighten her out.

I’m sure I should feel sympathy more than anything, but instead, all I can think is, “my God, so many jokes!”