Cultural Cuisinart

Well, tomorrow morning I get on a plane to lovely Hawaii, so this may be my last post before I head off. I upgraded to first class for almost all my legs (except for the first one out to LAX), so hopefully that will make the trip there and back much more tolerable. I enjoy traveling, which is good because I've done a lot of it. The key, to me, is to have an assortment of toys to entertain myself with. Here's a list of the important diversions I'm packing on this trip:

1. PSP - a must. This little baby has completely changed the way I travel. I can play PS2-quality games, listen to mp3s, watch TV shows or DVD that I've ripped from my computer, and look at photos. The battery life is crazy good, even when watching full video on full brightness, and carrying an extra battery is no problem at all.
   
2. Books. For this trip, I've got Ammonite by Nicola Griffith and The Commitment by Dan Savage.
3. Notebook. Something to scribble all my crazy ideas in.
4. Laptop. If I want to do work (ha!), or perhaps play a game or watch a DVD, I bust this out.
5. Snacks. Nothing takes your mind off travel like a delicious Snickers bar. Mmmmm....

Now for some general commentary on news around the world:

Barack Obama says he'd support the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. This is big news for me. It's about 8 years overdue. I hope that he follows through on this promise, though he's been largely abstaining from courting the gay community. DADT is one of our most idiotic policies in the military today (aside from the egregious overuse of Stop-Loss) and is actually making us more unsafe. I've already ranted on this issue in a previous post. Basically, I expect either Dem, if elected, to repeal this ridiculous policy posthaste, so we can focus on more important things.

The Dolphins are now reported to be talking with Jake Long for the #1 pick. This surprised me at first, since I figured they go with Chris Long. Then I read this passage from the article:

“(Chris) Long is the safest player in the draft,” one team executive said, echoing comments made by many NFL personnel people. “But with him, you have to ask yourself if you’re going to be happy with a guy who’s probably going to be like (Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl defensive end) Patrick Kerney. That’s a good pick, but when you have a quarterback there who could change the future of your team, it’s a tough choice.”

The quote seems implies that it would be hard to pass up Matt Ryan, but what I really think it indicates is that the Dolphins will go with Jake Long. Matt Ryan is a decent quarterback, but isn't a sure thing. He's certainly not that much better than many of the quarterbacks that will be available in the second round or later. And as David Carr can tell you - having the quarterback of the future in your lineup means diddly if you can't protect him. Jake Long would shore up the line and ensure that who ever the Dolphins pick in the second round (and I'm guessing they'll shoot for Brohm, Henne or Flacco) will have the protection he'll need to succeed.

Rumor also has it that the Dolphins will be influenced by which player is committed to signing a reasonable contract prior to draft day, in order to avoid situations like JaMarcus Russell, who ended up sitting almost all season because he held out for so long. What I hope the players consider is which team they want to end up playing for, because that will impact their future a lot more than the first burst of guaranteed money. Is an extra million worth the headache of playing for a franchise like the Raiders? Does the thought of playing for a legend like Parcells (granted he's not the coach, but his influence will be all over that organization) entice a player? Or perhaps Arthur Blank's congenial nature would sway them. It'll be interesting to see how the draft plays out this year. There's no real obvious superstar - the Top 5 will all be very good, of course, but are fairly even with each other.