I had to re-post this on Facebook (due credit was given).  Thank you.

The Rum Diary was written early in his career (pre-LSD), and is a very easy, enjoyable, less "weird" read then his later stuff for those that aren't into the whole drug-induced psychedelia thing- although you should be, because it's damn entertaining. 

Other HST recommendations:  a lot of his ESPN stuff is still available for free in the espn.com archives.  Its not as fun as vintage Thompson, but still worth browsing through.  For those with Netflix, there is a great documentary, Gonzo, available to watch instantly.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/07/bosh-wade-reportedly-headed-to-heat.html

Let the David Lee/JJ Redick era begin!

The Cardinal of the Kremlin is his best in my opinion, although I'd put Without Remorse up there as well.

I just started to read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn for a class I'm taking, which is considered a modern classic.  It's about a WW2 vet who is wrongly accused of treason and sent to a Siberian labor camp; hilarity ensues.  Might be something of interest.


***SPOILER ALERT***




Soviet Gulags were not pleasant.

It's official:

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100204&content_id=8020352&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

Hoff-power and Chad Tracy are both younger, better, and play more positions.  My only guess is the organization feels they are lacking in "outspoken and obnoxious". Oh well, chances are he'll be cut in spring training and never heard from again.

IFC shows back-to-back episodes on Thurs nights (they may have already done a marathon) and you can watch some full episodes for free on Hulu.

http://www.hulu.com/arrested-development

Barring that, you can find it for sale for less than $20 a season, which is well worth it considering the repeat value of the show.

I forgot Mike Fontenot was in that movie.

Carl Sandburg's wife was also named Cindy, and supposedly slept with Hack Wilson and Kiki Cuyler, among others.

If this was all it will take to get the team hitting again, why didn't they get a new one during the season?  Couldn't team sponsor Walter E Smith have hooked them up?  I hope they give the old one to Cindy Sandburg; she got the most use out of it.

This.  I thought Josh Beekman played surprisingly well last year, not sure why he is in the doghouse.

I think his giant head is too big for public transportation.

http://bountybowl.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/peterking1.jpg

Not to mention the other guy on the bench who can only play one position, Hoff-power. Granted his left-handed bat is sorely needed as a pinch hitter, but its another roster spot that fails at versatility.  So if you add in Koyie Hill, you effectively have no one on this bench that is competent at playing more than one position at the major league level (assuming "outfield" is one position).  I'm not overly concerned, decent bench (as well as bullpen) help should be readily available come July as crappy teams get desperate to cut payroll, let's just hope the Cubs don't dig themselves too big of a hole by then.

Three straight walks than a grand slam?  Was this guy throwing for the Giants?



Also, I believe the final of that game was a "heartbreaking" 9-0 (although the Cubs don't look like they're done yet.)

Just signed up...not sure if I'll be able to stay the entire draft, depending on how long it is, but I'll stick around as long as I can.