Moving the Blog One More Time

After moving from Blogger to Squarespace, I didn't anticipate moving my personal blog to another platform for quite some time. But sometimes, you get seduced when you don't expect it.

During the holiday break, I started playing with Posterous, and quickly became enamored. I love that I can post via e-mail, and can include audio and video clips rather easily. (The audio is especially appealing, since finding a satisfactory audio player has been difficult.)

So for the second time in less than six months, I'm moving my blog. You can now find me at The Casselbloggy (or at http://casselberry.posterous.com). I've actually been posting stuff over there for the last week or so, but realized I never made an announcement here. So if you've been clicking back here (as my friend A. has), hoping for some fresh content, I apologize. (And if you're someone who reads via RSS, here's my new feed.)

I probably never gave Squarespace a fair chance, but when you get that feeling, you just have to go with it. One thing I don't like about Posterous is that I can't install much sidebar content, and that's something I spent quite a bit of time working on in here. But I don't know how many people check out blogrolls anymore. And as much as I love Flash and Javascript widgets (especially my beloved Twitter widget), they tend to make a site load slower.

(I intend to keep iancasselberry.com alive. But it'll be more of what I originally intended: an archive of my work, an online resume, sort of a one-stop shop. In other words, a website, not just a blog. Now I just have to put some actual work into that.)

Once again, thank you for sticking with me as I keep moving around. Now that I'm not blogging at Bless You Boys full-time anymore, I plan to do a lot more writing. I'd like the new blog to be a bit more "stream of thought," with posts on all sorts of subjects - articles I've read, movie reviews, podcast clips, etc. - rather than "this is what I've decided to write about today." That approach always kept me going at BYB, and I don't see why it can't work here.

So please follow me over to The Casselbloggy (or the new RSS feed). And I should probably mention that you can also find me on Twitter and Facebook. I'll try my best to keep you entertained and informed enough to check back regularly.

We're Moving Out and Moving On

Okay, here we go. I've had this in mind for a couple of months now, but procrastination (and baseball blogging) kept putting it off. I'm going to be moving El Bloggo from Blogger over to Squarespace.

I've been playing with their platform for most of the summer, and like all the toys they have to play with. I also like that I'll be able to create more of an actual website where I can archive some of my past writing.

For now, it'll be mostly a blog (which may or may not be a good idea, depending on who stops by). But once my days and nights aren't occupied by the Detroit Tigers, I'll see what I can really do with the site.

IanCasselberry.com is a bit narcissistic, I realize, and it's not as clever (or curious) as "Fried Rice Thoughts." Maybe I'll come up with something a little more creative down the line.

I don't plan to take this site down; there's a lot here that I'm proud of. But all of the old posts will also be archived over at the new place.

Thanks to everyone who has followed this blog over the past four years. I know it's not what it once was, when I gave this my full attention. But I hope you'll follow me over to the new site (and update your bookmarks, blogrolls, or RSS feeds accordingly, naturally), which I'll try my best to keep current (especially since I'll be paying for it now).

So please follow me over to IanCasselberry.com. (Here's the new RSS feed, too.) Hopefully, I can keep you interested and entertained enough to check it out regularly.

Quick Tigers Talk with SNY.tv

I called in for a quickie chat with SNY.tv's "NY Baseball Today" this afternoon to preview the Tigers before this weekend's series with the Yankees.  Host Ted Berg and I discussed Detroit's starting rotation, especially the one guy baseball fans outside Detroit and Toledo probably don't know much about.



So who has the sexier phone voice, me or Talking Chop's Martin Gandy?

Thanks to Ted and Jeff Goldman for inviting me onto the broadcast.  It was fun to talk with them.

Coolest Trailer of the Summer?

I caught this trailer before The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 a couple of weeks ago, and I think it's the best one I've seen this year. It was certainly the biggest surprise. To me, nothing makes a better trailer than one that makes you think you're to going to see one movie, then flips you over by the end.



For the first few minutes I was thinking, "Why is a trailer for a documentary showing before a big summer action movie? Did I go into the wrong theater?"

But a new trailer for District 9 has come out since then, the movie is about a month away from and maybe you've seen more of the viral advertising than I have and weren't as surprised. I just enjoyed being genuinely fooled for a few minutes (and am always excited by potentially good sci-fi flicks).

(The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 was pretty good, by the way. Even if John Travolta can't help but overact whenever he plays the bad guy. The dialogue was especially good, which it had to be, since that's kind of the entire movie. But I want to watch the original, which is now available on Hulu.)

Vote Brandon Inge to the All-Star Game!

Okay, we've been lazy and cross-posting Detroit Tigers stuff here a bit too often recently. But since I have this other forum, in addition to Bless You Boys, I'd like to take advantage of it. Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge is one of five candidates for the last spot on the American League All-Star team, which is determined by online voting.

Inge has experienced a resurgent season, with a .269/.361/.513 average, and his 19 home runs are tied for the fourth-highest total in the AL. Combine those numbers with his usual stellar defense at third base, and you have arguably the Tigers' most valuable player this season and the second-best third baseman in the league.

Plus, he was nice to my mom back in February. How could you not vote for a guy like that?

Get Brandon Inge to the All-Star Game! Here's your ballot.

Vote often! Vote Inge!

And hopefully, we'll figure out just what we're going to do with this blog within the next couple of weeks. I've been piddling around too much over the past month.

This Week in Tigers Baseball Roundtable

West coast start times for sporting events are kind of a killer for anyone on a regular daytime schedule, so if you're craving some Detroit Tigers talk around the time they'd be playing in the eastern time zone, a few Tigers bloggers might be able to help you out with that. Motor City Bengals will host a live roundtable discussion beginning at 7 p.m. EST tonight.

Panelists scheduled to join host Joe Dexter include J. Ellet from Eye of the Tigers, John from Tiger Geist, Greg from Where Have You Gone, Johnny Grubb and... me.

The show, called This Week in Tigers Baseball, can be heard through USTREAM. And if you can't listen to the live stream, a podcast will be available shortly thereafter. We'll be done in plenty of time before tonight's Tigers-A's game.

You can find the show here, and I believe you can submit questions and comments via Twitter through the podcast's main page. We hope you can tune in.

Talking Tigers on the Radio!

Yesterday, I appeared on WSGW (790 AM) in Saginaw to chat with our old friend Pat Johnston about the suddenly resurgent Detroit Tigers.  (You might remember Pat had me on his old sports talk show a couple of times during the winter.)

Of course, the Tigers' recent play is a timely story, but I'm betting Pat also wanted a break from the news of the day (yesterday morning, that was Gov. Mark Sanford's indiscretions). A winning local baseball team is like opening the window to bring in a breeze.

So just how are these Tigers winning these ballgames?  Who's been a surprise?  Who's been disappointing?  That's mostly what Pat and I talked about, along with discussing what improvements they could make in the weeks to come as they make what appears to be a solid playoff run.

Thanks again to Pat for inviting me onto the radio again.  I always enjoy talking to him.  (And I apologize for knocking him off balance with one of my comments during our conversation.

You can listen to an embedded audio clip below or download the file from the accompanying link.



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Barack Obama, Insect Assassin

For those who haven't seen this, do not interrupt Barack Obama when he's talking. The President of the United States will swat you into oblivion, m'er-f'er.



Coooollld blooooooded!

I highly doubt CNBC's John Harwood dared attempt any tough follow-up questions after that display. Notice him trying to compliment the President and get on his good side, lest he also find himself crushed with a smack of the hand.

Here's The Daily Show's take on it, in which Jon Stewart wonders if Obama has one of those "Terminator targeting systems" in his eyes.

Talking Tigers on RBI Radio

I'm a few days late in posting this, but if you need something to listen to this afternoon or evening, and have about 24 minutes to kill, here's some audio from my appearance on RBI Radio last Thursday night.  Basically, we had a "State of the Detroit Tigers" discussion up to this point of the season.  No rants about Dontrelle Willis's eight-walk performance over the weekend, since we recorded before the Tigers-Pirates series.)

If you want to hear the whole show, you can listen via streaming audio at the RBI Radio home page or through TalkShoe.com.  Of course, you can also download the podcast from the link at the bottom of this post.  (Boy, I love listening to myself talk when "jogging" on the treadmill.)

Thanks to Joey H. for inviting me onto the show.  It's always fun talking to him. And check out RBI Radio when you get a chance.  (He's sick at the moment - which I'm pretty sure I had nothing to do with - so you can catch up on old shows for now.)

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Great Moments Are Born From Great Opportunity

I'm sure Mike Babcock's pre-game speech to his Detroit Red Wings before tonight's Game 7 with the Pittsburgh Penguins was pretty good. But I'm still hoping it went something like this:



GO WINGS! Keep the Cup in Detroit!

One Thing I Like About Getting Older...

When you're a kid, you never have time for the birthday cards that come with the presents.

Couldn't be less interested. Can't toss 'em aside fast enough. You read them because your parents reminded you to (or because you hope there's money in there).

But now that I'm older, I think I like the cards more.

(Don't get me wrong; a thoughtful present always hits the sweet spot. Or a really good meal.)

You know who you are. Thanks and love to each of you.

Familiarity in the Year 2009

Clearly, we live in a new day and age when conversations like the one I had earlier today at Borders can take place.

Bookseller: [looks at my credit card, looks at me, squints] Is your name familiar to me?

Me: Um... Ian Casselberry?

[Bookseller shakes her head slightly.]

Me: Do we know each other? [I have never seen this woman in my life.] I... really don't know how to respond to that.

Bookseller: [laughs] I'm sorry. That is a weird question.

Me: Yeah.

Bookseller: Are you Facebook friends with [former co-worker of mine]?

Me: Yes!

Bookseller: Okay.

And that was it, folks. Nowhere we could really go from there, apparently. Signed the credit card receipt, took my bag, headed out the door, and walked through the parking lot in a daze, pondering what this life and culture has become in a very short time.

Today's Photo - 06/03/09

I meant to post this earlier today, but a hilarious sidelight to last night's Tigers-Red Sox game was a wild squirrel chase. Unfortunately for Tigers fans, it was really the only entertainment of the evening.

The squirrel spent so much energy eluding the Comerica Park groundskeepers - running from one end of the outfield to the other, back to the infield, out to the bullpen - that the poor varmint eventually had to take a break. Here's a screen shot from the FOX Sports Detroit broadcast:


I'm not sure I've ever looked that relaxed in my life, though I've certainly tried.

You can read the whole story at BlessYouBoys.com, where we've also posted video of the chase.

Got to Get This into My Life

I'm not a gamer (mostly for my own good), though I occasionally feel pangs of interest for playing Rock Band. The intro for The Beatles Rock Band doesn't necessarily make me want to run out to Best Buy and pick up the whole package. But damn, it looks really cool.



Is there any chance this could be made into a full DVD someday? (Or how about an IMAX film?) Just produce animated films for every song in the Beatles catalog. That wouldn't be too gargantuan a task, would it?