Glenn Close "Bring change to mind" schizophrenia commercial does the opposite of what it's meant to?

I first saw this ad last summer, and have had this idea on file ever since.  Now it's back on TV, so I'm going to write about it:




This commercial is absolutely terrifying (which can't be on purpose right?  If it is I'm so confused...), and I'm including the part that is supposed to make you feel safe and at home in the nice sunny kitchen.

The way the guy looks blankly into the camera is a little scary, and his pair of earrings definitely doesn't help.  Neither do the two women sitting at the table creepily staring straight ahead.  And when Glen Close jumps into the frame with that deathly white hair the first thing that comes to mind is Cruella De Vil, and the second is the crazy rabbit killer from Fatal Attraction.

Just a complete failure on so many levels.  How did the people at bringchange2mind.org not see this?


RELATED: What the $#*& is going on in this creepy Old Spice mom song commercial???

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Why does it have to be 38 degrees out for Opening Day?

I'm going to the Red Sox home opener at Fenway today, followed by the Celtics vs the pathetic Sixers at the TD Garden.  I'd like to wear these and change shirts in between:

Or possibly my green outfit that works for both teams:

Unfortunately I don't think the cold weather will allow for either.  Why does MLB do this?  Less than half of its teams have outdoor stadiums in places that are still cold in early April.  Why not just always play the first few weeks of the season indoors and in warm weather?  I just don't get it.

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Better streak: Dick Bavetta or Cal Ripken?

I'll admit I was skeptical when I first read the headline "NBA ref Bavetta betters Ripken with streak" on espn.com.  Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 consecutive Major League Baseball games spanning 16 seasons from 1982-1998.  On Wednesday night in New York Dick Bavetta refereed his 2,633rd contest in a row.  But what does that mean for a ref to have a "consecutive games" streak?

Well, apparently they are scheduled for 82 per season, just like players are.  And going back to 1975, the 74-year-old Bavetta has never missed an assignment.  That includes 270 postseason games (Ripken played in 28), as well as a stint in the Olympics that's not even part of his run.

Obviously officiating in the NBA doesn't take the same toll on the body as playing in MLB does.  But that's 39 straight seasons that Bavetta has never called in sick.  He's got stories of renting cars and driving all night through snowstorms when airports were closed.  Plus there's the fact that referees don't have half their games at home like players do; they're constantly travelling.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the guy is 74 years old?

Bavetta reffed the Celtics vs Raptors contest I went to last week, and I was amazed to see the way he still runs around out there.  I'll never forget when he famously raced Charles Barkley at the All-Star game in 2007 (this clip is long, but it's totally worth it):





In discussing my consecutive days blogging for LucidSportsFan.com (now at 1,129 I believe) I've always referenced Cal Ripken.  From now on I'm only going to measure myself against Dick Bavetta.

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Is it too early to create a Grady "Size-mometer"?

Since I first speculated a month ago that Grady Sizemore could win the Red Sox starting center field job, I've been all-in on the Sizemore bandwagon.  After his 2-4 with a home run performance on Opening Day, I've decided it's time to debut the Sizemometer.  Who knows if he'll continue to have an earthquake like impact (what a seismometer measures, for anybody who didn't already get the pun) for Boston; but whatever he does do, I'm going to follow it.

Click to enlarge.

I've come to the conclusion that the best way to chart Sizemore's progress is through fantasy points (which basically awards one point per base, run and RBI), and to make it interesting I'm going to put him up against Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Yankees lured Ellsbury to New York for just over $21 million per season.  For the time being the Red Sox have replaced him with Sizemore at the bargain price of $750,000 (although there are options in his contract that should allow him to make $5-6 million this year if he stays healthy and plays regularly).

Sizemore earned 7 fantasy points on Tuesday, while Ellsbury went 0-4 in his Yankee debut last night, but did manage 2 points by walking and scoring a run.  It's a ridiculously unfair standard to expect Sizemore to match Ellsbury's numbers.  But imagine if he does?

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Red Sox visit White House, David Ortiz takes a "selfie" with President Obama

With the World Series champions playing in Baltimore yesterday and tomorrow, they had some free time today to swing by the White House and hang out with the President.

What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/y5Ww74sEID
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 1, 2014

It's funny to note that standing in the background of Ortiz's photo is Edward Mujica, a new member of the Red Sox bullpen who was actually on the World Series-losing St. Louis Cardinals last October.

Jonny Gomes ditched his military helmet for a patriotic blazer.

Normally I don't like to just regurgitate the top stories of the moment without adding any unique insight of my own, but this is just too good.  The President also gave a speech in which he invoked memories of his spectacular post-marathon address almost one year ago.


RELATED: Looking back at the magical ride of the 2013 Boston Red Sox


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Opening Day inspired Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Mrs. Robinson" performed by the Lemonheads

While this song isn't really about baseball, it does reference Joe Dimaggio on multiple occasions.  My father will be annoyed I'm not using the original Simon & Garfunkel version, but it's been over 21 years since the Lemonheads covered it (in December 1992), so I'm pretty sure that qualifies as old too.

And while I'm on the subject of Opening Day, take a look at my Bleacher Report article from this morning: Snubs, Surprises and Grades for the Red Sox Final 25-Man Roster Selections.  Also here's my list (along with each player's chances) of the top 10 Red Sox All-Star candidates in 2014.



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Why does the NCAA insist on playing every tournament game on the same boring floor?

This is Spokane, Washington. Can't you tell?

As I'm writing this, UConn is battling Michigan State for the chance to go to the Final Four.  The game is being played at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena, and a building where Connecticut had some very memorable Big East Tournament moments over the years.  But you'd never know from watching on TV where this contest is taking place, because the NCAA imports the same generic court for every single tournament matchup.

What would the NCAA have to lose by using the orange and blue surface featuring the New York Knicks logo?  Don't worry, nobody is going to forget the name of the organization running the college hoops tournament (and they could easily just add their letters to the existing floor).  If the NCAA is worried about competing with the pros, trying to pretend the NBA doesn't exist probably isn't the way to go (and it's not only NBA courts, it's often logos of schools that represent the NCAA which are removed).  When the tourney came to Boston two years ago they managed to take all the character out of the TD Garden by even removing the championship banners from the rafters.

A better way for the NCAA to promote their product might be to make each and every tournament game as memorable possible; something that is definitely not accomplished by having all of them look exactly the same.

The NCAA made the switch away from using local floors in 2008, and I'm shocked they haven't yet realized the error of their ways.  Next weekend the Final Four will be played in Arlington, Texas.  I have absolutely no idea what that court would normally look like, and it's unfortunate that I won't get the opportunity to find out.



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