Lisa Edelstein and Rena Sofer

I can't be the only one who didn't realize that these were two different actresses. Here I had been thinking for years that Zack Morris picked up Bobbie Bernstein in a Hawaiian airport and nope that's not true.

Somewhat related I also thought for some time that Paula Marhsall and Carla Gugino were the same person. I picked up on my mistake faster but just now realized that Marshall is seven years older than Gugino.

The El Word

I've been thinking something over lately as I take my morning train ride to work, and to a less extent during the ride home as well. It's the idea of chivalry vs. feminism.

I get on the train early enough in the route that I have a seat on all except the rarest occasion when the train is irrationally late. There's a joke to be made here about the train always being late but seriously unless it's a half hour behind I'm just too close to the end to be on a full car.

So then it falls to me that when the train fills up at say Belmont or Logan Square that I have to decide if I'm going to stand up and offer my seat to someone.

Now I always do this in the case of an elderly or handicapped person without question. But many times I find myself sitting while a woman is forced to stand. There was a time when such an act would have me branded an uncouth ruffian and forcibly removed from the Hunting Lodge that very evening. There was also a time when people died of ptomaine poisoning and blamed it on ghosts.

I'm a staunch advocate for women's rights and gender equality. So by not giving up my seat I am treating a woman no different than I would a man. However I'm also a firm believer in just being a nice person so giving up my seat to a woman is just something polite I can do for a weary traveller on her morning commute.

Many times I'm too tired to make any rational decision or too focused on my reading to let the outside world interfere. Still I find myself more often than not just sitting and riding it out. Does that make me ungentlemanly? What's the consensus view on this?

Another quandary: does anyone else get worried that when they get off the train they spend the whole day smelling like the train?

Stone Cold Gunner

I don't have many other places to post this but I need to talk Arsenal.

So obviously I'm upset today. We lost to an inferior team in a game that we controlled throughout. It's frustrating to be sure but some fans are basically bagging the season already. This is insane to be sure and I'm certainly not ready to do that. They are also saying that Wenger should be sacked. This is profoundly insane.

Sacking Wenger means starting over from scratch as I'm positive that at least half the roster would leave. Many players come play at Arsenal just to play under Wenger and losing him means losing the core of the team as well as the youth. Sacking him is not an option. Restructuring his position could be. Wenger is known for two things: being a great manager and unwilling to spend an extra penny on what his determined value for players are. (Ok third thing: the "I didn't really see it" post-game interview.) If we want to change his decision making power in terms of personnel decisions that might be worth considering. But at the same time he is a tremendous judge of talent in general so he definitely still needs to be involved.

With regards to the season I think it's ridiculous to start making judgments. Many of our significant signings have been playing with the team for two weeks. To make an assessment of their abilities as a team now is rushing. That being said I thought that was a major mistake at the time. The signings should have been locked up much sooner to give the team time to adjust and understand each other prior to the season.

The Fabregas saga drug on too long though and Wenger wouldn't spend until that was over. (Nasri drug out too but that wasn't as distracting, although it was frustrating.) I wish it would have gotten done in the early summer to avoid this very problem but here it is. Related to that I am super pissed now that Gas is tearing things up for Barca that their president realizes that Wenger had him valued correctly and he was worth more than they paid. Thanks for saying that, wanker.

Regardless the main issue is how is this team going to be better than last year? We lost the middle of the field in Fabregas and Nasri?

I said when we sold Fabregas that we have to sign someone spectacular to replace him. That hasn't happened. Fabregas is an elite level player and Nasri is a good player who's shown signs of brilliance. Looking at who has come in there is Arteta, Benayoun and Chu-Young. All good players but no one of the elite talent of Fabregas. I said at the time that replacing an elite player with two or three good ones will not make this team better. My hope was that they spun the money directly and bought Wesley Sneijder. I still wish they had.

You can't count the defensive signings because those needed to be made anyway. Mertesacker is decent but can't be the anchor of the line. If Vermaelen were back there it would be different but he's made of glass and instead we have Koscielny, who is terrible. I'd be so much happier with Cahill but of course that meant spending an extra $4 million or so. Wenger didn't think he was worth that much. The difference though is that Cahill is much better than Mertesacker and to get that you have to pay for it. It's the market not the player sometimes.

Hazard would have been a nice addition but that fell apart. Supposedly he'll come in January and that might be a nice midseason upgrade. Still I maintain that Arteta, while good, is a player in a downswing of his career. Benayoun and Chu-Young are fine but really how much better than Arshavin or Ramsey are they? I'd take Sneijder and either of those two over any combination we can throw out right now. I realize that would mean spending more money. Great players are worth more money.

And how great would Van Persie play with Sneijder behind him?

Sorry for ranting. I needed to say some of that.