MichaelLortz.com/JordiScrubbings.com

Here are a few links I found interesting today as I was catching up on my Google Reader feeds.

First, a great read on Etta James by Rebel Frequencies. I never got into Etta James, but I think it is damn past time for me to do so, especially after reading this.

A really cool description of political songs in Sierra Leone and their effect on elections (with videos).

Rebel Frequencies interviewed Egyptian political hip-hop group Arabian Knightz. Very cool insight on the Egyptian scene and the message coming from there.

Finally, a video from several Columbian hip-hop artists in a song that translated means “Conspiracy for Peace”. Interesting to see such a wide swath of the Columbian hip-hop culture. There are parts that resemble the LA scene, there is the skateboarder scene, and all four of the “essential” elements of hip-hop: MCing, DJing, break dancing, and graffiti.

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Besides seeing the future of Major League Baseball, and besides the game’s casualness and coziness, one of best things about baseball in the Bus Leagues is promotions. Every year there are some great promotions throughout the Minors, from cannon-shot stuntmen to actors masquerading as former Mexican legends and of course dozens, if hundreds, of culinary exhibitions.

Although I won’t be attending any minor league games this year, there are a several promotions I would like to see happen. I’m far from a promotions expert, so some of these may have actually happened, but if so, then I would like for them to happen again, because I think they are great ideas.

Minor League Movie Day

This is an easy promotion I am surprised I have never seen done yet. There are a lot of movies out there that do with minor league baseball, from the great Bull Durham to the not-so-great Summer Catch. The team could hand out blank forms numbered 1-18 to every attendee and the PA announcer would say a quote from a minor league-based movie between each inning and asks the fans what movie the quote is from. The fan who fills in the most answers on their answer sheet wins free movie tickets to a local theater. The team could even bring in an actor or actress from one of the movies to throw out the first pitch. Seriously, what is Freddie Prinze, Jr doing these days?

Major League 3 Demolition Day

Major League 3 is by far the worst minor league baseball movie ever made. Whereas Major League is a classic in baseball cinema and Major League 2 is passable, Major League 3 is a scar upon our collective cinema consuming culture. Therefore it should be removed from public consciousness forever.

Taking a page from Disco Demolition Day and the Shaq-Fu Liberation Movement, I would like to see one team, or maybe more, promote a Major League 3 demolition day. Fans that bring in a copy of Major League 3 would get in for free and all the copies would be put in a giant garbage pail. During the seventh inning stretch, this garbage pail would be wheeled out to centerfield and all the Major League 3 copies would be smashed by a trash compactor. Of course, all the contents would be brought to the most convenient recycling facility.

Traveling Gnome Day

Like the Travelocity Gnome, gnomes are always popular. And people love taking pictures of them in different places. I even have one and will be taking it to Afghanistan with me.

From my little bit of research, I think the origin of the traveling gnome lies in a combination of the Swedish folklore of Tomte, a little man who looked over the home and protected the people from misfortune while they were away or asleep, and the Australian-derived practice of “liberating” (aka stealing) garden gnomes and taking them on trips. Perhaps the thieves believe that Tomte needs a vacation from house protecting.

Minor league teams can capitalize on this odd phenomenon by creating traveling (18in or so) gnomes emblazoned with the team’s logo. (They have them for Major League teams.) Teams can then encourage people to take their gnomes with them on trips and email the pictures to the team or post the pictures on Facebook and tag the team. Perhaps the best picture, or the fan who brought his or her gnome to the most or most exotic places can a sponsored trip through a local travel agency. Bonus points for taking pictures of the team’s traveling gnome at other stadiums.

Date a Mascot Day

Although the buzz on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is not as high as they used to be, if they haven’t done so already, I think there is a lot of potential in having “mascot dating” shows. Teams could work with local modeling agencies, local Hooters, or other areas where people are trying to put themselves over and could use the publicity of “dating” a mascot.

First, fans could make videos on why they should date the mascot. Teams could have filming rooms at the ballpark and the fans could “star” in videos similar to those hilarious 1980s personals videos.

Then there could be vote to select the top candidates to”date” the mascot. Which opens a whole other world of possibilites.

Picture this: a romantic beach backdrop, a beautiful woman, a candlelit dinner, and slowly emerging from the dark, a big-nosed, goofy walking representative of your local minor league team. The youtube possibilities are endless. Teams could post the videos on their websites and have fans votes on the best “match”. It would also be great to see mascots be on their “best” behavior at the ballpark with their “date”.

Foursquare Season

Although the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs had a Foursquare special last season, I think Foursquare is completely undertapped as a promotional tool. Teams can incorporate Foursquare to raise the “buzz” of their games. Fans who “check in” the most in a month, half-season, or through the whole season can win a gift certificate or other exclusive prizes. Teams can post check-ins on their website or on a board at the ballpark. The check-in contest would add an element of competition to attendance.

Here is a list of all the stadiums on foursquare.

Star Wars Day (FSL only)

Although there have been Star Wars-themed days across Minor League and Major League Baseball, there has not yet been a Star Wars Day in the Florida State League. As a huge Star Wars fan, this bothers me greatly. I still get chills when I see Darth Vader and company and I really want to see them throw out the first pitch. I know there is an element of the 501^st Battalion in the Sarasota area and I know they have done museum openings and pro wrestling shows in Florida. They might have even also done the Florida Marlins Star Wars Night last season. So there is no reason why a team of the Florida State League can’t make the call to a galaxy far, far away and host a Star Wars Night.

Yesterday I posted an article I wrote about my time at Camp Bedrock in Bosnia in 1998-99. While I was posting it I googled “Camp Bedrock” and found this really cool video. While not as cool as “Flash vs The Aliens” (humble brag), it is pretty awesome and brought back some very cool memories.

Here is another essay I wrote 10 years ago for an Article and Essay class. It is about my experiences while deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1998-99. Being that I am headed for another long trip working with the military, I think it is fitting to post this here now.

Everything was in place for a good meal: good food, good conversations, good people, and machine guns.  The fortunate, like me, had 9mm pistols instead of M16 rifles.  Thousands of miles from home, it was time to eat at Camp Bedrock, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

To this day I am thankful the Army knew the importance of food on the morale of a soldier.  The dining facility (aka cafeteria) was nothing to laugh at.  It was one of the few semi-permanent buildings on a makeshift basecamp on the top of a rock quarry.  Possibly its best feature was that it was open 24 hours a day.  Bland white walls with our unit crest –the 1st Cavalry Division horse head- posted throughout, marked its interior like a bad attempt at brainwashing.  In the corners of the dining facility sat two large screen televisions, permanently set on the Armed Forces Overseas Network.

We took shifts from duty throughout the day to enjoy a meal made by local Bosnian workers.  Usual American entrees graced the buffet-like area.  An array of vegetables, starches, and meats were on my plate as I walked out to the seating area.

Work in the command post introduced me to many of the other soldiers in my unit.  After a second perusing who was in the dining facility, I knew exactly whom I wanted to eat with.  I walked over to the long white table and took a seat on the plastic white chair right across from Sergeant First Class Smith, Uncle Kev to his friends.

Uncle Kev was an army “lifer”, with about 16 years in service.  A short guy, with a bit of an attitude, he loved to rub people the wrong way.  To his friends and others who may be fortunate enough to share his extremely dry wit, Uncle Kev was the man.

Sitting besides me at the table was Specialist Wayne.  Wayne was very unique, to say the least.  He was one of the few people I have ever met who called his beer belly a “Buddha Belly” and claimed it attracted women.  Wayne’s physical “attributes” didn’t end there.  He would often have trouble eating due to the fact that he lost his two front teeth.  This unfortunate predicament led Uncle Kev and I to dub him the OTB, or Old Toothless Bastard.

In the Army, everyone has their share of nicknames and I wasn’t an exception.  While in Bosnia, I was known as Lawdy Law (a play on my last name), Busta Zit (for a never forgotten large pimple I had on my forehead for a day), to the HEB- Hoagie Eatin’ Bastard (for my habit of getting late night dining facility sandwiches).

There was never any of the stereotypical military speed eating when Uncle Kev, Wayne, and I were together.  We would constantly poke fun at any target we could find, to include each other.  None of it was malicious; it was all good-natured fun.  Being quick with either a comeback or a new subject was a necessity.

Although we rarely went to the dining facility during prime meal time hours when the dining facility was packed with people, we were never alone.  Because of the around the clock nature of the US peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, there were always soldiers coming to and going from the dining facility.  These soldiers provided some of the most ample targets for humor.

One afternoon, for example, a soldier with an extremely large head entered the dining facility.  Uncle Kev was quick to whisper to Wayne and I that we should look to our left.  Whispering was a very handy tool used quite often when talking about people in our vicinity.  Sure enough, when we saw what Uncle Kev was referring to, Wayne and I laughed.  He did have a huge head.  Then Uncle Kev joined us in laughter, with others in dining facility left to wonder what was so funny.  Situations like that made it very hard to get any food eaten so we could return to work.

After our seven months being stationed in Bosnia, my unit deployed back to the states.  Although Wayne, Uncle Kev, and myself would get together to eat sometimes, nothing we said or did would compare to the times when humor got us through the day thousands of miles from home.

Here is an essay I wrote 10 years ago for an Article and Essay class. I recently found it and decided I would share it here.

She stood, her back towards me as I entered.  I saw the others scurrying about, but she was a fixture.  Although I knew better, her hands on the hips posture oozed command.  Her delusions of grandeur were shattered, however, when her manager pointed out my presence.

As she slowly turned towards me I felt the contempt building from behind her black-rimmed glasses.  I was an inconvenience.  She strolled towards her post, staring me down, hoping for my demise.  “Welcome to Burger King, would you like to try a Whopper Value Meal?” she dutifully sung to me.

I tried hard not to reciprocate her hostility.  “Can I have a Double Whopper…”

“Would you like cheese with that?” she interrupted.

“Please. And a large fry and a Coke.”

“For here or to go?” she boringly responded.

“To go.”

“That’ll be $6.03.”  I handed her the only money I had, a twenty-dollar bill.  “You don’t have three cents on you?” she asked as if fully expecting me to.

“No, sorry.”  I shook my head to reaffirm.  She breathed an exasperated sigh as she counts my change.  “I’m sorry, can I get no onions on my Double Whopper if its not already too late?” I ask.

Her return gaze made me shiver.  She turned her head towards the grill and yelled, “Did you make that Double Whopper order yet?”

“Counter or drive-through?” the young, high school age grill person responded.

“I am on counter, why would I ask for drive-through?” she snapped in return.  “Of course I need counter.”

“No, I haven’t made it yet,” the grill person’s tone began to match hers.  I worried for my food, hoping it would get to me safely.

“Well, when you finally get around to the Double Whopper for counter, I need it with no onion,” she commanded of the grill person.

“Whatever,” came a muffled response.

After her exchange with the grill person, she slid a large cup in my direction.  “Coke is over there,” she gestured in the direction of the soda fountain.

I walked over to the fountain, filled my cup, found a lid, and returned to the counter.  “Excuse me, can I get a straw?”

“There aren’t any over there?” she replied, as if questioning my eyesight.

“Nope.”

“Here.”  She whipped out a straw from under the counter and laid it in front of me.

I thank her as she walked over to the fry station to assemble my large fry.  She nonchalantly tossed the fries into the bag and collected my burger a second after the grill person finished making it.  Carelessly, the burger joined the fries in the bag.

“Thank you.”  I walked out, sipping my coke, fully expecting to have to remove the onions from my Double Whopper when I got home.

Here are a few music links I found interesting from around the world. Some of these links are from Global Voices Online and the rest from other sites I read regularly.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Master Drummer JaJah Onilu passed away. Here is a good bio on him and his career. He turned down touring with Bob Marley and The Wailers to stay in his homeland.

Here is an interesting book called “Live from Dar es Salaam” about the Tanzanian music economy which has grown from nothing to something in 16 short years.

The 2011 Neilson Soundscan report came out recently listing album sales. Purchased music actually went up, lead by digital downloads. iTunes is changing the game. Total album sales went up by 4 million, which is coincidentally exactly how many albums Adele’s 21 sold. I, meanwhile, found more sites to download free albums and added over 1,000 free songs to my collection.

This site explores the independent music scene in Puerto Rico.

There is a dance called “Azonto” gaining popularity in Ghana and spreading worldwide. It looks complicated. I have trouble with the Hokey Pokey.

In Columbia, there is a Salsa song criticizing the public transportation system in Bogata.

Finally, from the mean streets of Orlando comes rapper Wes Fif’s latest video “International Drive”. I’ve talked to Wes Fif on twitter a few times and he seems like a cool dude. Unfortunately, I can’t get into a song where he is rapping about peeling caps on a road more known for tourist traps. It’s gangsta, yo.

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Last week, Scott ended an amazingly prolific alphabetical look at some of the most interesting prospects in minor league baseball. He profiled the interesting, the famous, and the unfamiliar. I don’t know about anyone else, but I learned a lot.

In order to organize all of the great posts in Scott’s series, I figured I would list them in one post. So here they are in order:

Prospect A-Z Day 1: Nolan Arenado

Prospect A-Z Day 2: Trevor Bauer

Prospect A-Z Day 3: Yoenis Cespedes

Prospect A-Z Day 4: Travis D’Arnaud

Prospect A-Z Day 5: Edwar Cabrera

Prospect A-Z Day 6: Nick Franklin

Prospect A-Z Day 7: Grant Green

Prospect A-Z Day 8: Bryan Harper

Prospect A-Z Day 9: Jose Iglesias

Prospect A-Z Day 10: Jurickson Profar

Prospect A-Z Day 11: Casey Kelly

Prospect A-Z Day 12: Hak-Ju Lee

Prospect A-Z Day 13: Matt Moore

Prospect A-Z Day 14: Derek Norris

Prospect A-Z Day 15: Oscar Taveras

Prospect A-Z Day 16: Matt Purke

Prospect A-Z Day 17: Kevin Quackenbush

Prospect A-Z Day 18: Robbie Ross

Prospect A-Z Day 19: Tyler Skaggs

Prospect A-Z Day 20: Tim Beckham

Prospect A-Z Day 21: Yu Darvish

Prospect A-Z Day 22: Arodys Vizcaino

Prospect A-Z Day 23: Zack Wheeler

Prospect A-Z Day 24: Xander Bogaerts

Prospect A-Z Day 25: Yoan Alcantara

Prospect A-Z Day 26: Zack Cox

I’m starting to read things about Afghanistan in preparation for my upcoming trip. Apparently in Afghanistan there is a huge stigma against the number 39. It seems some people of Afghanistan are more frightened by 39 than Americans are about the number 13. 39 seems to have more of an insulting connotation, whereas 13 is more or less “unlucky”.

Interesting.

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Before the 2011 minor league baseball season began, RaysProspects.com asked several Rays bloggers and Minor League bloggers their thoughts on players in the Rays system. As a writer here and at RaysIndex.com, I was honored to be part of the collective.

After the season, Kevin of RaysProspects reviewed everyone’s picks and talked about how they did. Here are my picks and Kevin’s responses to how I did:

Upper-Level Breakout:

Mike Lortz (of Bus Leagues Baseball) both hit and missed on Tim Beckham. Hit: “I also think this is year he breaks double digits in homeruns (12-15?)” (A late-season surge got him to 12) Miss: “I think he will be an all-star at Montgomery, and among the leaders in walks and OBP. He’ll also probably hit around .300.” (Walk rate took a step back; hit .271).

Lower-Level Breakout:

Mike Lortz also went with Josh Sale, getting things backwards. He thought Sale would struggle with plate discipline but otherwise live up the hype, but Sale drew a decent number of walks.

Wildcard Prediction:

Mike Lortz: This is going to my BusLeaguesBaseball.com leanings, where we celebrate the minor league experience: On Monday, July 4^th a young father with take his son or daughter to their first ever baseball game at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. They’ll see Matt Moore strike out 10 Tennessee Smokies; Tim Beckham go 1 for 3, with a double, a walk, and a run scored; and the Biscuits win 5-2. The kid will be given a foul ball caught by a nearby fan, stay for the fireworks, and become a fan for life.

Verdict:

The Biscuits won 10-1 on July 4 thanks to a strong start from Jim Paduch, who fanned 9. Tim Beckham was 0-3 though he did walk and score. No word on foul balls.

Last week I started work at the same building I was laid off from nearly a year ago.

I’m not going to lie, it’s a little weird. It’s weird driving the same roads, parking in the same parking lot, walking into the same building, opening the same doors, and sitting at the same type of desk, albeit one a floor above my old position. During my first week, I felt almost detached as I walked down the same halls, saw the same offices, and even smelled the same smells that I was acquainted with for the last few years. They were all the same, yet I was different.

I know not working made me appreciate “being me” more. It made me have a stronger sense of self outside of the workplace. When I tell people I used to work in the building, many have asked what I have been up to. I’ve told them that I took a year off to pursue my interests. Although that’s not 100% true, I like the way it sounds.

What I did not anticipate upon my return was that getting laid off would make me appreciate the work environment more. I don’t think I will be so quick to complain about the lack of parking or the traffic on the way to work. I don’t think I’ll even bicker about the time I have to be at work. I think before I was so accustomed to the environment I almost considered being in the workplace a right, and not a privilege.  I know now that the powers that be made my workplace what it was and what it continues to be and there is no way I can change that. That’s the corporate culture of that environment and corporate cultures don’t usually change from the bottom up.

Another thing I have appreciated more in the few days I have been back working in the same building is the outpouring of support from former work acquaintances. So many familiar faces have smiled when they saw me and said things such as “great to see you” and “welcome back”. Those comments definitely made me feel good and appreciated. Although I stayed in touch with a handful of ex-work acquaintances, many of the people I’ve run into while walking the hall in the last week are people I haven’t seen in nearly a year. So to know that they not only remember me, but are honestly glad I have returned is heartwarming.

That said, I am in no way going to march through the building announcing my return. That would be foolish and arrogant. And besides, there may be people who were happy to see me go. Because I was laid off, there were decisions made by people in power who decided that I wasn’t of maximum value at the time of my dismissal, that keeping me around in my former position was not cost-effective for the organization. These people might think I am not cost-effective in my current position either. So with that in mind, I think it is best to stay out of the line of fine and keep my head down. And if I do run into anyone who is critical of my return, I should stay humble, acknowledge any lessons learned or second chances, and move on quickly.

Fortunately for those situations, I won’t have to avoid any negative encounters for too long as I am headed overseas for business for a year in late January or early February. Although it might mean not seeing all my friendly former work acquaintances or being able to say hello to everyone I would want to say hello to, hopefully my short time in my old building will be to my advantage. Hopefully I won’t have time to take anything for granted or get in my own way. Maybe I’ll even be able to accept the corporate climate and culture for what they are and keep my opinions to myself. Maybe I’ll stay humble and show people that I have learned quite a bit since I was last in the building of my new and old job.

One month isn’t too much to ask for. But in this case, in a familiar place with familiar complaints, temptations, and adversaries, staying positive and looking at employment only for its bright sides – the friends, the new challenges, and the income – is a large step for me.