I've been out of town on business and didn't hear about Ed the Tuba Guy until last night, but I've been in a state of shock and horrendous disappointment in the human race over what happened to him. My family and I once had the opportunity to stand in line with him for 3 hours waiting for Buhner Buzz Cut Night, and ever since I've looked for him at every Seattle sporting event I've been to. My little brother (who was all of 10 at the time) is a great impressionist and has joked for a decade "So, you wanna hear 'Little Rascals'? Well money talks!" in his trademark drawl.

That this would happen to someone who brought so much joy to so many is the definition of atrocity. To show our respects tomorrow on the day of his memorial it's been suggested in the local media that any Seattleite who has appreciated Ed's presence, fandom, and music wear a funny hat on Wednesday. I work in a corporate office where this sort of thing won't fly regularly, but I'm rocking a bell-tipped jester hat tomorrow. I hope everyone who crosses me asks about it, so I can share with each and every one of them how deeply saddened I am with this terrible tragedy.

(Home) Opening Day in April will be an extremely bittersweet event for the first time in my life, because the joy I've always felt in the return of Mariners baseball won't be the same knowing that I won't hear Ed's tuba outside the gates. I know that this topic has already been brought up on here, but my grief needs an outlet and I know that if anyone out there associates with the sorrow I feel it will likely be someone here. Please wear a funny hat tomorrow, and please don't forget Ed.

Apparently Joker Pub in Issaquah is a great place to go if you're interested in meeting some Mariners. A girlfriend of mine lives out that way and was drunkenly hitting on Lowe and Morrow in the bullpen on Monday's game. After the loss she ended up at Joker around midnight, where there were 5 Mariners sitting around having a beer. Norm Charlton recognized her as "that hot girl from the game" and proceeded to hit on her.

Turns out he, Lowe, Morrow, and a couple other guys my friend wasn't able to remember as well all live out that way and frequent the Joker, which is pretty much the only bar that side of I-90 in the 'Quah. Anyway, I think I might need to start having a few beers there after Mariners games now. Preferably while the GTE is still fired up... They should not be allowed to enjoy beer after losing. It is reserved for those of us objective observers who do a lot of booing.

I got a call from the Mariners today... I won! Will be on top of the M's Dugout with the Moose and a camera crew on Friday to lead the stretch.

Sadly I don't get much freedom of wardrobe - they're giving me a Bullpen Jacket to wear and if I wear a hat it has to be an M's one... Something tells me writing "SIGN BONDS" on said hat with a sharpie will not be permitted. I really don't think shouting it at the end will end well, either... I have an image in my head of Safeco Field erupting in boos and the M's front office using that event as justification not to sign him.

I know you guys voted for me with the stipulation I do that, but I just don't think I have it in me. I'm open to other, slightly more subtle ideas though.

Apparently I'm in a contest on the Mariners site. Got drunk at the 2nd game of the season and sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game for a camera, and now there's some online voting going on for who gets to sing it at next Friday's game against the A's. I only found out it was part of a contest when the bartender at Rock Bottom (my usual Tuesday night spot) told me he'd seen me in a commercial during Tuesday's matinee.

Anwyay, I finally tracked down the details and it's at www.mariners.com/ballgame. I'll be the first to admit I can't sing, but the opportunity to be on the field during an M's game is a little too much to pass up - even if it means taking some shit from all of you ;-) So how about it... Help out a fellow LL'er and throw a sympathy vote or several my way? I know how good this group is at ballot box stuffing... If I win I'll try to show some love by wearing an LL shirt or something.

If you take the time to vote (I'm Brendan, the first one on the left, btw), I really appreciate it - so thank you. I'll let y'all know how this thing turns out as soon as I hear about the results.

Holy shit, I could be on the field during a Mariners game.

Snow in March isn't something I'd usually expect in Seattle... Global Warming my ass!

Update: I was trying to do a screen capture of the Weather.com severe weather alert, but it's taking too long and my laziness has won out. link.

In the diary from a couple weeks back there were a few of you who mentioned not having cable to watch a lot of South Park, or simply not getting around to it. Well now, in case you've ever wanted to have your head explode from too much of it, every episode ever made (including new ones) has been made available online for free. Did I mention they were uncensored, too? Thanks Matt Stone and Trey Parker!

South Park Studios

Huge front page coverage on Player A's recent personal issues in today's USA Today. You always hate to see someone go through something this terrible, but with slight pangs of guilt I like to think this could be karmic retribution for what he put Seattle through during his tenure here. Should I feel bad? Should any of us? The question I guess ties in with that is, did he ever feel bad about how awful he was?
Story.

Yep, that's what the latest (? - I haven't seen it mentioned before, and it's good for a laugh) poll on seattlemariners.com asks. The potential answers?
A World Series ring
Games in October
Thrills in September
A hot summer of baseball
Ask me again at the All-Star break

I can't believe over 20% of respondants pick option A. Wow. There's either some serious optimism brewing, or a lot of people read "Carlos Silva" as "Cy Young" and are looking forward to the dynamic duo of grit as Tug joins Wee Willie.