I went over to Cathi’s and Tyson’s farmstead deep in the heart of the hippest neighborhood in America. We carved pumpkins. Actually, I didn’t carve a pumpkin. I just nibbled on food all day.

There was a trip to Donut Friend, a place where you can add toppings to your donut. I got the “Jets to Basil” which is a donut stuffed with goat cheese, strawberry jam and basil leaves topped with a sugar glaze and balsamic reduction sauce. We at LAist did a photo gallery of the place a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday I powered through all episodes of the second half of Breaking Bad. It was great, although I really hated the ending. I hate that such a loathsome character like Walter White got to be the hero and the martyr. I hate that Skylar was left so vulnerable after all of the sacrifices she made. I hate that it tried to tie everything in a nice little bow.

At least, that’s what Rolling Stone is telling us today.

Lou Reed is 71, so I suppose his death shouldn’t be surprising. But you know how sometimes a person is old as shit, and you’re not ready for them to die?

I was late to the Lou Reed/Velvet Underground party. It wasn’t until after I moved back to LA from Santa Barbara that I really started to listen to them. I think it was when I read Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son that I listened to that landmark Velvet Underground and Nico album.

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

When the album first came out they said not a lot of people bought it, but all of those who did formed a band.

I don’t want to believe that Lou Reed is dead. But I suppose that is the case.

It was obstruction that ended Game 3 of the World Series. You can talk about the coulda woulda shoulda, Will Middlebrooks obstructed Allen Craig.

First of all, it was a great play by Dustin Pedroia at second base with all of the infielders drawn in with runners on second and third with one out. He was able to get Yadier Molina out at the plate.

Second of all, it was a shitty fucking throw by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to try and get Craig out at third.

While this was happening, I was driving home. I was listening to the call on ESPN Radio where play-by-play man started yelling about interference. So I thought Craig was called out for interference.

Then he said that the run counted. So then I started shouting “OBSTRUCTION, NOT INTERFERENCE!”

Runners interfere, fielders obstruct. Simple. That’s one of my pet peeves in baseball, people who can’t tell the difference between obstruction and interference. So there.

The only question to ask after this game: why the fuck did it take almost four hours? No wonder no one wants to fucking watch baseball.

This New York Times article almost made cry: “Gay Couples, Choosing to Say ‘I Don’t'”.

Not really, but it really did put a smile on my face. Finally there was a story about some of us fagolas who reject the idea of marriage.

For some, marriage is an outdated institution, one that forces same-sex couples into the mainstream. For others, marriage imposes financial burdens and legal entanglements. Still others see marriage not as a fairy tale but as a potentially painful chapter that ends in divorce. And then there are those for whom marriage goes against their beliefs, religious or otherwise.

“It’s a very, very archaic model,” said Sean Fader, 34, an artist in New York who is single and asked to be identified as queer. “It’s this oppressive Christian model that says ‘Pick a person that’s going to be everything to you, they have to be perfect, then get a house, and have kids, and then you’ll be happy and whole.’ ”

A-fucking-men.

tony is the reason i am at laist.

tony went to ucsb and was editor of the nexus. clarification: he lost the eic by one vote

tony is from chicago and likes the cubs and bears but he does root for the doyers and raiders.

tony has connections with the nefarious organization known as xbi.

i once told tony he bore a striking resemblance to jay bakker. see?

tony blogs in all lower-case.

tony likes poutine.

tony has a song written about him by a really famous rock and roll band.

all of the pretty girls of the world should stick their tongues into tony’s mouth for his birthday.

This didn’t fit in with LAist stuff. It really is like Rivers Cuomo and Weezer were ahead of their time.

When “I’m Tired” came out in 1996, I wondered how anyone could be tired of sex. But I was 17 at the time, so of course I would think that.

But it looks like people in Japan have had it with sex and relationships according to The Guardian. I have to say that I completely identify.

The trouble of trimming and douching, not only the online courtship of hooking up makes masturbating with a dildo more appealing than dealing with that crap.

From the article:

Japan’s under-40s appear to be losing interest in conventional relationships. Millions aren’t even dating, and increasing numbers can’t be bothered with sex. For their government, “celibacy syndrome” is part of a looming national catastrophe. Japan already has one of the world’s lowest birth rates. Its population of 126 million, which has been shrinking for the past decade, is projected to plunge a further one-third by 2060.

Really, I’m not worried about it.

Seriously, what the fuck SEC? The story of the conference as it unfolded yesterday:

• Home underdog Vanderbilt literally stole the game against #15 Georgia 31-27 thanks to the Dawg’s fumble-happy ways.
• Tennessee jumped on South Carolina early, Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw got hurt, a last second field goal gave the Vols the 23-21 win.
• Sure Missouri was ranked higher than Florida, but it’s Missouri with a backup quarterback! They still got the win 36-17.
• Johnny Manziel got hurt, and Auburn had more bullets in the gun in their 45-41 road win against the Aggies.
• Ole Miss won the Magnolia Bowl 27-24 as LSU looked completely unprepared in Oxford.
• Alabama held serve.

Perhaps the epitome of SEC football at its worse came on Sept. 13, 2008 when Auburn beat Mississippi State 3-2. But five years later from perhaps the worst football game in modern history, SEC football is pretty entertaining to watch.

Okay, they had to import a Big 12 team to their ranks in Texas A&M to become fun, but we saw the headwinds start to change in 2010 with Auburn and Gus Malzahn/Cam Newton.

But now things are unpredictable in the conference. Mizzou in their second year in the conference has shot to the top of the SEC East. The mainstays Georgia, South Carolina and Florida in the East are fumbling all over themselves.

The only reliable team is Alabama, as boring as they can be. I already have them winning the SEC West and in the SEC Championship game. So at least that narrative keeps going.

But everything else?

Here is the new AP rankings which bring up another what-the-fuck. Why are there no female voters for the poll? I know there are plenty of female college football sportswriters, reporters and such. So why no representation on the poll?

I’m sure there have been female voters before, but looking at the list of voters today sort of caught my notice.

Anyway, here are my rankings.

The same guy who wrote the bizarre piece on Grantland comparing Nirvana and Counting Crows is at it again. This time Steven Hyden wrote more than 3,000 words about Pearl Jam. Now it’s beginning to make sense.

Aside from a song or two, that is 3,000 words too many for this band. That’s it.

Really? What the fuck is it?

I first heard about it this morning on Deadspin. Apparently the Atlanta Braves posted about it on Facebook, and fans showed their displeasure. Hardball Talk noted the same reaction by Dodgers and Mets fans.

But we all know most people online are complete scumbuckets who should probably be forced to be sterilized, preferably without anesthetics or pain killers. It’s like the Twitter account Baseball’s Best Fans. Sure it’s fucked up, but all fan bases have fans that are that fucked up.

So whatever. No skin off my ass. But I really wanted to know what the hell this Spirit Day is all about.

My first note that this is bullshit is the fact it’s the work of GLAAD. If anyone deserves to be bullied, it’s those people in organizations like GLAAD and HRC.

The whole goal is that by wearing purple, bullying will go away! From the GLAAD website:

Millions wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by high school student Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy — participants are asked to simply “go purple” on October 17th as we work to create a world in which LGBT teens are celebrated and accepted for who they are

How fucking insufferable.

Wearing purple is not going to stop bullying. Wearing purple is not going to stop queer kids from offing themselves. Wearing purple won’t spark the dawn of the age of Aquarius.

If kids are getting bullied, help them. If kids are so depressed they are thinking about ending it all, help them. Painting yourself in purple and repeating the asinine marketing lines like, “It gets better,” won’t help these kids.

What gives organizations like GLAAD and HRC hardons is the photo-op and the sound bites. Years ago when I emailed these groups about doing “A Day without a Gay” similar to “A Day without a Mexican”, GLAAD didn’t respond and HRC said that it was too extreme.

My thinking was that if they didn’t want to give us queers equal rights, let’s see the breeders try and live a day without us. Perhaps that was too direct and confrontation for them. It would force them to get a little dirty and could possibly soil their pristine suits and Prada loafers.

So really. Fuck Spirit Day. Real life problems can’t be solved by a fucking pep rally.

To help keep myself sane, I decided this year to cut down on college football coverage on LAist. So instead of doing the rankings there, I’m doing them here. Don’t worry if you don’t follow that logic. I don’t follow it either.

I have long said that preseason polls and the first four weeks of polls are bunk. You can’t judge a team based on their performance the prior year. Take USC last year. They were the preseason no. 1 after going 10-2 the prior year. USC crapped the bed to go 7-6 including the loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. Yeah, good going.

Also, in the first few weeks, there are a lot of cupcakes being played. Can we really judge Oregon on how they played Nicholls State? Is Alabama the same monster they are after beating Georgia State 45-3? Did Louisville strain a finger while playing Eastern Kentucky?

Here’s the new AP poll and below is my rankings