As an Oakland A’s fan who follows the careers of ex-Athletics (no matter where Billy Beane trades them), there appears to be a clear-cut choice for who I should root for in the upcoming World Series.

Philadelphia Phillies

• Pitcher Joe Blanton was recently acquired from Oakland
• MVP shortstop Jimmy Rollins is from Oakland
• My friend & fellow pop culture blogger Cinematically Correct is a die-hard fan

Tampa Bay Rays

• First baseman Carlos Pena was one of my favorite A’s
  
• DH Jonny Gomes is a local boy (born in SF, raised in Petaluma)
• My buddy Tom is a huge fan & Sports Producer in Tampa Bay; he’s even sporting the team mohawk (“rayshawk”)
  
• I’m an American League girl; always have been, always will be
  
• They emerged as divisional champs over the perennial favorite Yankees & Red Sox (whom I dislike almost as much as the Angels)
  
• Rays coach Joe Maddon is a Lost fan!

So there you have it. Everyone has their own criteria. Feel free to share yours.

I am now at a hotel with turtle-speed Internet access in Santa Barbara, but I wanted to send out a quick note about last night.

I am often asked to compile songs using a specific theme or for a certain locale. So for this trip to LA, I was inspired to create a set list for my iPod with a few tracks that either focus on or make reference to the area. Here they are, accompanied by a sample of lyrics from each.

Come a Long Way (Michelle Shocked)

The sun was sinking into the sea
But a ball of fire inside of me
Was burning my motor and driving me hard
Past the big hair on the Boulevard

Dogs of LA (Liz Phair)

The canyon air is like a breath of fresh L.A.

I was a Star Trek crew member, with my Beatle boots and my Super-8

And I raced you to the top, the camera gets a stuttered shot

Of me approaching a painted shrine

I kissed the Buddah and made him cry

Electrolite (REM)

If you ever want to fly

Mulholland Drive

Up in the sky

Stand on a cliff and look down there

Don’t be scared, you are alive

First of the Gang to Die (Morrissey)

You have never been in love,

Until you’ve seen the stars

reflect in the resevoirs

Going Back to Cali (LL Cool J)
* Guilty Pleasure Alert! Oh please – you know you had the Less Than Zero soundrack on cassette back in ’87 too.

I’m going back to Cali, rising, surprising

Advising realizing, she’s sizing me up

Her bikini – small; heels – tall

She said, she liked the ocean

She showed me a beach, gave me a peach

And pulled out the suntan lotion

Heartbreak World (Matt Nathanson)

Let’s move out of Los Angeles

Just drive until this summer gives

And forget the lies we use to live

‘Cause we’re gone

Los Angeles, I’m Yours (The Decemberists)

There is a city by the sea

A gentle company

I don’t suppose you want to

And as it tells its sorry tale

In harrowing detail

Its hollowness will haunt you

Its streets and boulevards

Orphans and oligarchs it hears

A plaintive melody

Truncated symphony

A Sorta Fairytale (Tori Amos)

Things you said that day

Up on the 101

The girl had come undone
I tried to downplay it

With a bet about us

You said that

You’d take it

As long as i could
I could not erase it

Screenwriter’s Blues (Soul Coughing)

Your Cadillac breathes

Four hundred horses

Over blue lines.

You are going

to Reseda

to make love

to a model

from Ohio

whose real name

you don’t

know.

Why You’d Want to Live Here (Death Cab for Cutie)

I’m in Los Angeles today

Asked a gas station employee if he ever had trouble breathing

and he said, “It varies from season to season, here.”

It’s where our best are on display

Motion picture actors’ houses maps are never ever current,

So save your film and fifteen dollars.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some rest so I can be a proper tourist before the event tomorrow night.

Just a friendly reminder for those of you in LA area that I will be hosting a Pop Culture evening at 55 Degree Wine in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

Today I have reached two milestones. This is my 500th blog post (on this site), and I have 815 Facebook friends as of this morning (Lost fans will recognize why that number is significant)!

It’s all about perspective. As I’ve mentioned on this site before, a very good friend is undergoing chemo and radiation for a brain tumor. I am blessed to have her in my life, and her strength and spirit are an inspiration. Thus, I consider myself very lucky to have a benign mass, and am not afraid to endure both the procedure and long recovery.