Vote on Quotes

As promised, a poll based on two of my favorite quotes from the NYT Tea Party article.

The Quotes:

“I just feel he’s getting away from what America is,” said Kathy Mayhugh, 67, a retired medical transcriber in Jacksonville. “He’s a socialist. And to tell you the truth, I think he’s a Muslim and trying to head us in that direction, I don’t care what he says. He’s been in office over a year and can’t find a church to go to. That doesn’t say much for him.”

“That’s a conundrum, isn’t it?” asked Jodine White, 62, of Rocklin, Calif. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” She added, “I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I’ve changed my mind.”

poll by twiigs.com

Connection Issues

Perhaps the link between education, income, and intelligence has been broken. That is what an article in the NYT about the Tea Party would seem to suggest. The main subject of the article is a poll that shows that Tea Party members are more educated and more wealthy than the general public.

The author then goes on to speak to many of these Tea Party members, and the resulting quotes would seem to suggest that intelligence is highly overrated in one's ability to be educated or one's ability to be wealthy (or, admittedly, that comparing a group to the general public isn't much of a comparison).

The two best quotes will be featured in a poll in the next post.

Not Forgetting Where You Came From

Good for Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling:

I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s.

....A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism.

Via Kevin Drum.

Cilantro

In an article in the NYTimes about people who don't like Cilantro:

“When your brain detects a potential threat, it narrows your attention,” Dr. Gottfried told me in a telephone conversation. “You don’t need to know that a dangerous food has a hint of asparagus and sorrel to it. You just get it away from your mouth.”

I used to dislike cilantro, but I have grown accustomed to it. I think I associate with Latin American food and Vietnamese food, both of which I love. I never knew that spring rolls were all I needed to eliminate a perceived threat.

That's the Culprit

The Royals are batting well with fifth best team average of .290. They aren't yet last in the league in home runs (Jose Guillen is even off to a good start with four homers). The OPS numbers are good at .787.

They have committed 5 errors, which puts them in the middle of the pack defensively (though I can't imagine there is a team that has had more ill-timed errors). The starting pitchers are also middle of the pack with a 4.29 ERA.

So why are Royals fans already despondent about the team's season once again? Could be the bullpen and their 7.96 ERA. This group has blown leads in four of the Royals five losses. And they have mostly done it in explosive fashion not seen here since the days of Todd "Gas Can" Wellemeyer.

But I fully expect the bullpen to get it together. They'll improve some and have some good stretches. The problem will be that when they do, the bats will go quiet, or the starters will suck, or the team will boot the ball all over the field. After all, it takes a true team effort to be as bad as the Royals are every year.

A Poem About Knowledge

You think you know,
But you don't know.
You don't know even
Half of what you think you know.
But you stand there like you do know
Talking about what you don't know
As if we should know that you know
About these things that you
Clearly do not know.
I find it very irritating.
But what do I know?

The 2010 Nonsense Festival

Question:

If Vegas set an over/under on the number of bald-faced lies at this event what would it be?

Whatever it is, I'll take the over.

Chart of the Day - Personal Political Timeline

From this very long but very interesting post on the trouble with the Democratic big tent. These numbers would suggest I am headed into my prime Republican years. I am unconvinced.

Your Average Family of Ebadipdip

If you find numbers, Amazonian tribes, human cognition, first-graders or dots interesting, read this excerpt from Alex Bellos' "Alex's Adventures in Numberland."

It is Pica's belief that understanding quantities in terms of estimating ratios is a universal human intuition, due to the fact that ratios are much more important for survival in the wild. Historically, faced with a group of adversaries, we needed to know instantly whether there were more of them than us. When we saw two trees, we needed to know instantly which had more fruit hanging from it. In neither case was it necessary to enumerate every enemy or every fruit individually. The crucial thing was to be able to make quick estimates of the relevant amounts and compare them; in other words to make approximations and judge their ratios.

I had no idea that children were born counting logarithmically rather than linearly. I am now informed.

Opening Day Post

Well, the Royals are getting ready to open the season in about 2 minutes. I normally like to get all excited this time of year, only to be let down in a month. But this year, we have an opening day lineup featuring a guy who hit 11 home runs last year batting clean-up.

Prediction: 67-95.

Which I suppose is still optimistic considering what has happened the last few years.

Here's to hoping they surprise me... in a good way.

For the Star Wars Fans

I suppose this has a pretty decent shot at being funny... if you're a Star Wars nerd.

In a statement, Mr. Green said: “The ‘Star Wars’ universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined. And it’s even crazier to think of what those problems might be, since it’s all set in a galaxy far, far away. What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing Empires?”

I happen to be a Star Wars nerd, so I'm looking forward to it.

Imagine That

I'm stealing this from Matt Yglesias, who took it from John Holbo:

Suppose you have a two-party system.

One of these parties enjoys/enforces total party discipline, the other, not: members of the latter party side with their own, or cross the aisle, on individual issues/votes, as conscience or self-interest dictate. Let’s call the completely disciplined party the Partisan Party. The completely undisciplined, the Bipartisan Party (to reflect its principled commitment to always keeping the door open to the higher value of bipartisanship!)

Over time, both parties will push positive proposals/ legislation. Quite obviously, the Bipartisan Party will be at a tactical disadvantage, due to its lax discipline. Less obviously, it will have an ongoing optics problem. All the proposals of the Partisan Party will be bipartisan. That is, a few members of the other party will, predictably, peel off and cross the aisle to stands with the Partisans. None of the proposals of the Bipartisan Party, on the other hand, will ever be bipartisan. No Partisan will ever support a Bipartisan measure. In fact, all proposals of the Bipartisan party will face bipartisan opposition – as a few Bipartisans trudge across the aisle (there are always a few!) to stand with the Partisans. Result: the Partisan party, thanks to its unremitting opposition to bipartisanship, will be able to present itself as the party of bipartisanship, and be able to critique the Bipartisan Party, with considerable force and conviction, as the hypocritically hyperpartisan party of pure partisanship.

Takes an awfully big imagination... or access to any form of U.S. media whatsoever.

No Final Four

For, I believe, the first time ever, I have no teams in the Final Four on the bracket I filled out. As long as Duke doesn't win the title, I am fine with that.

Technology!

I think I might write a post like this every year, but this is the time I love technology.

The fact that you can watch every NCAA tournament game from your computer, FOR FREE, is the kind of thing that makes technology totally worth it. Even if it does end up in robot domination of the world.

Just When You Think...

... you can stop hating Duke, they go and get the easiest bracket in recent memory despite theoretically being the fourth #1 seed. Classic Blue Devils.

What's worse is that because DUke is still pretty suspect despite that bracket, I have placed Baylor in the Final Four in my brackets. I can't even believe I just typed that.

Also, a pox on the committee for putting so many mid-major teams against one another in the first round. Don't protect the big boys!

Times Have Changed

This was the #1 play on Sports Center last night. It is Trey Starks, a player from Springfield's Hillcrest High School. When I played high school basketball in Southwest Missouri, I don't recall anyone ever flying over me.



If you can't see the video, go here. And get your browser updated... BSD!

Good God

I don't really have the heart to write about this on a friday afternoon, but here are the basics.

After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday voted to approve a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Father’s commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

Read and be depressed.

The People Have Spoken

A little over a year ago, I posted on the most popular posts that have ever occurred on this blog. At the time the top 3 looked like this:
3. Premier League Fan Zone
2. Great Places to Eat in Kansas City
1. Movie Quote of the Week - License to Drive Edition

I mentioned that I was surprised at the fact that an 80's movie widely recognized as terrible could generate twice the traffic of a list of places to eat in my hometown.

Well, I am now more surprised. The top 3 today is very similar in content. Soccer fans have overcome Kansas City eaters, but they are still relatively close.

BUT... the movie about a couple of underage kids driving a fancy car has become the blog phenomenon. The License to Drive post now has over 6 times more hits than do either of the other top posts.

This was, of course, aided and abetted by the death of Corey Haim yesterday. This blog had its largest traffic day ever yesterday by a factor of about 4.

So I, and the other contributors to this blog, must now realize that we will never find glory and fame from any witty, thoughtful, learned, or creative writing on any interesting or important topics. Barring insanity (insanity more insane than the insanity of the overdose of an 80's teen star creating favorable conditions for blog readership on a blog not based on the lives of 80's teen stars), this post will forever be the most viewed post on the blog.

The people have spoken.

In Case You Actually Believed Him

Perhaps you thought that Representative Paul Ryan really was interested in balancing the budget when he proposed his widely discussed "budget roadmap."

You obviously have not spent enough time following the modern GOP. Turns out it doesn't really balance the budget. It does, however, do something far more important, namely further widening the gap between rich and poor in America.



So, if you're scoring at home, that means that about 90% of Americans would see both less government services and higher taxes. Those guys really do have brass ones don't they?

screwed by OSCAR

for as long as i can remember, OSCAR nominees for best original song have been allowed to perform their numbers on stage during the big show. however, this year for some reason they were not. instead, the audience was treated to a very lengthy dance montage that, while very skillful and entertaining, left this viewer thinking: huh?

here's what you need to know: up for best song were two lame randy newman songs, two songs from a high-powered musical, and one incredible song, "the weary kind", that was written by a virtually unknown songwriter named Ryan Bingham (co-written with T-Bone Burnett). Clearly, this category was decided long before the ballots were even issued.

Oscar loves the little guy, and in this case, Ryan Bingham did in fact walk away the statue. however, instead of performing live on stage in front of millions of potential music buyers, he had to settle for a 30 second speech. on a night where his career could have been launched into another stratosphere, he was merely allowed to thank a few friends, his band, and of course, the academy.

now granted, it is still awesome that he won. for a small potato to walk away with such a huge honor is incredible. he will still reap many benefits, and will probably move from the bar circuit to the small theater circuit. but i still can't stop thinking of what could have been. i bet he can't either.

part of the reason i even care at all is that i had the privilege of being in the opening act for Bingham a few years back. just passing through town, he played to an enthusiastic crowd of about 10 people. there were actually more people there to see us than him. from the way he performed, however, you would have thought he was playing the Garden.

after the first verse of his first song that night, i leaned over to the guy next me and said, "this guy is for real. he has got the goods and he WILL make it someday." shortly after that he did make it. with a record deal from Lost Highway in tow, i was soon delighted to see bingham popping up on conan, letterman and leno. to top it all off, he sounded EXACTLY the same as the night i saw him in that dingy little bar. simply amazing.

in spite of my disappointment in oscar's decision, at least they made the right call and gave him the award. if nothing else, he will always be known as academy award winner ryan bingham. surely that will mean something down the road.

if you have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing this artist, please do so asap. both of his albums are great from start to finish, and if you like one of his songs you will probably like them all. while his gravely, growling voice sounds like it would come from a man twice his age, there is also a weary tenderness that make him a true original.

while "the weary kind" was written specifically for the movie CRAZY HEART, it was made possible by years of bingham's own hard-living, vagabond lifestyle. as a musician, i am always pleased to see an artist finally getting their due-credit, especially one as gifted as he. though he may not have been allowed to perform last night at the oscars, he has certainly begun his permeation into main stream society. unfortunately, it just may take a little longer to get there...

Well, At Least They Know It

The RNC held a fundraising presentation recently in Florida. Go here to read about it because it really is pretty incredible. To get a taste here is a slide demonstrating what they think of their own.

Been Awhile

Since something so stupid has made me laugh so hard...

UPDATE: Go here to see the .gif that I'm not smart enought to make work above.

So You Say You Want to Cut Government Spending

On what exactly???



Via the Monkey Cage.

Greatest Research Job... Ever

An article in the New York Times explains that movie makers are getting better at pacing movies to correspond with a rhythm that occurs all over nature.

This is something scientists are studying, and I believe I was cut out to help:

“For two days straight, I went through the movie, ‘Spies Like Us,’ with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase,” said Christine E. Nothelfer, who worked on the project as an undergraduate intern. “I went through it frame by frame, I knew where every single cut was.” She added, “I still haven’t seen the movie as a real filmgoer.”

I think I could tell you where every cut was with my eyes closed! They have definitely hired the wrong person for this job. This whole thing makes me think of one of my favorite Spies Like Us quotes.

Austin Millbarge: Show some balls, man!
Emmett Fitz-Hume: I think it's too late to try and impress them.

College Basketball Update

A few notes about college hoops:

Syracuse is #1! Unfortunately, because they are a host school for a region in the NCAA tournament, that will not translate into the usual home court advantage during the tourney that #1 teams often receive.

I keep hearing that John Wall is the player of the year. I agree that he is awesome, and that he will probably make the best pro of the guys playing college basketball today. However, Evan Turner is having an unbelievable year and now has Ohio State atop the Big Ten. Ohio State really depends on him too. I say maybe he is player of the year at this point.

The Missouri Valley Conference is going to need Northern Iowa to lose in the tournament if they want more than one team in the Big Dance.

I haven't quite figured out the RPI still. Currently Kansas sits at #1 in RPI with a record of 27-2 and a strength of schedule of 17. Syracuse is #3 with a record of 27-2 and a strength of schedule of 10.

Joe Lunardi has 7 at-large teams from mid-major conferences. After a 6 year decline that culminated in only 4 mid-major at-large teams being selected last year, I'll believe it when I see it.

I hate the ACC. Lunardi has them slated to get 7 teams in the tournament (and I don't doubt it) despite the fact that Wake Forest and Duke are the only two that had any significant wins outside of the conference. Somehow, this is Billy Packer's fault.

I am afraid Mizzou is in trouble without Justin Safford... but I hope not.

Why the NBA Would be Better for KC than Baseball

Bill Simmons has an article at espn.com that talks about how the NBA's business model is broken and what could be done about it. It's a good piece, but I'm most interested in one small aspect of it:

This is how the NBA differs from any other professional sport. In a league with 12-man rosters, in which only five guys can play at once, you're really only as good as your franchise guy. If you don't have one, you're screwed.

This is something a buddy and I talk about regularly. NBA teams are built around a guy. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James.

This should interest anyone who would like to see a playoff win from a Kansas City team in their lifetime. It should interest them because a professional basketball team has a wildly better chance of contending for a championship than do the Kansas City Royals (or perhaps the Chiefs, but that isn't because of the structure of the sport). Baseball is the most difficult sport for a team with small resources to field a winner. That is because it takes so many players to put together a team that can compete.

Last year, the Royals had a pitcher who posted one of the 10 best seasons in baseball history... and they finished 32 games under .500. There is 0 chance of that happening on an NBA team. A nice example is Kevin Durant. This season, he has become one of the league's top 5 players and the Oklahoma City Thunder are sixth in a tough race for the Western Conference playoffs.

Let's say the Charlotte Bobcats (who have had some attendance woes) decided to move to KC. They have some pretty decent pieces in place already, and they are currently sitting about .500. Now let's say they win the lottery. You add a guy like John Wall to that team and within a couple of years you have a top half of the east playoff team.

I don't care how much Kansas Citians tell sports talk radio stations they don't want an NBA team. They'd be ecstatic to have a winner.

Nightmares for the Rest of Your Life

I seriously can't think of anything that would traumatize an 8 year old much worse than this:

An employee at SeaWorld Orlando has died after being attacked by a killer whale...

...Park guest Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience the show they were about to see.

Biniak told the station the whale suddenly came up from the water, grabbed the trainer around the waist and "thrashed her all around" to the point that the trainer's shoe fell off.

There is an entire crowd of kids who will never ever set foot in the water again. I know I wouldn't.

Quote of the Day

From Kevin Drum, commenting on research presented in Washington Monthly regarding the relationship between consolidation and job creation (or lack thereof).

One of the pathologies of modern conservatism — a pathology that's shared more often than I'd like by mainstream liberals — is that they're pro-business, not pro-free market. The difference is critical. Pro-business means passing laws that your business pals like, and as economists since Adam Smith have observed, what businessmen mostly like is lack of competition. The operation of a true free market, conversely, depends crucially on competition and plenty of it. And just as crucially, that requires government intervention to prevent a few behemoths from taking over every sector of the economy. Keeping a free market free takes a lot of work.

The whole post is interesting, as is the piece it is based on. Read it and remind your pro-market friends what they really mean.

Stuff for a Friday

As I continue my near complete disregard for fresh content on this blog, the least I could do is pass along interesting stuff that other people are doing. And hopefully, once I finish the seemingly interminable project I've been working on, I'll start getting some posts up again.

In the meantime:

-

Kevin Drum passes along a Newsweek article about Republican Hank Paulson's thoughts on Republicans during the financial crisis.

Paulson delivers a continual and biting critique of Republicans....Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning is a “cantankerous conservative” (page 275). Meetings with Senate Republicans were “a complete waste of time for us, when time was more precious than anything” (page 275). Ideas that Republicans do add are “unformed,” like Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor’s plan to replace TARP with an insurance program. In a rare moment of sarcasm, Paulson goes off on the minority Whip: “I got a better idea. I’m going to go with Eric Cantor’s insurance program. That’s the idea to save the day” (page 285).

Could be a fun book.

-

At Gone Mild, Dan has posting with some regularity about the kinds of issues that you would think about if you thought about beer with same frequency most people think about sex.

But I don't want it called "domestic" any more. It's inaccurate, it's insulting to real American brewers, and it siphons money to foreign corporations. SABMiller and AB-InBev are NOT domestic corporations. There are thousands of true "domestics" crafting great beer, and the American beer scene deserves to be recognized as a point of national pride. When you claim that Miller Lite and Budweiser are the "domestics", you are saying that Boulevard and Schlafly are somehow less American. It's just not right.

For what it's worth, I agree.

-

Have you ever listened to Minnesota Public Radio's The Current online?

You should.

-

Kansas City sucks. At least that is what Forbes Magazine says. And it is the Chiefs and Royals fault:

"High taxes and crime rates hurt Kansas City's standing, but what moved them up our misery list were its two awful pro sports teams. The Royals and Chiefs combined finished outside of last place only once in the past three years."

I suppose this means that if you don't like sports, you may not be so miserable. Plus, we aren't St. Louis. They have a really good baseball team and they still came in 5 places more miserable than us.

-

Matt Yglesias points out that ABC tried to do a piece on the economists who thought the stimulus worked versus those who did not... but they couldn't really find any in the second group.

“The stimulus worked,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Bank. Without it, “the unemployment rate would probably be closer to 11 percent” and the economy might not have grown at all last year.

Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com thought the nation would be “still in recession.”

“It played a significant role supporting recovery,” said economist Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial.

Not all the economists who responded to our survey agreed the stimulus was necessary.

“Throwing a trillion dollars at anything will move it,” said Standard and Poor’s David Wyss, “but the recovery would be beginning and the unemployment rate nearing a peak” without it.

“The economy would probably be recovering,” argued Jay Bryson of Wells Fargo, just maybe not “as fast as it is.”

Unanimity!

Happy Friday.

Nothing to Do With the Decade

Since I missed the boat on the turn of the decade musicality, and since both AA and BSD are much better equipped to deal with the best albums and tracks of the decade, I chose a different path. Thus, the following list of the Top 50 Tracks on my Sansa MP3 player, right now, that are Least Likely to be Skipped, Ever (in alphabetical order by Artist):

Aberfeldy - Tie One On
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
The Beegees - Jive Talkin'
Big Smith - Quarry Anthem
David Bowie - Golden Years
Built to Spill - The Plan
The Clash - Train In Vain
Coconut Records - Nighttiming
Danger Doom - Old School
The Darkness - I Believe In a Thing Called Love
D.V.D.A. - Now You're a Man
Bob Dylan - Days of '49
Bob Dylan - Went to See the Gypsy
Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down
Fatlip - What's Up Fatlip?
Flight of the Conchords - The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)
Genesis - That's All
Ben Gibbard - You Remind Me of Home
The Gourds - Caledonia
Eddie Grant - Electric Avenue
Group X - You Would Give Me Kiss
The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
Dallas Jones - Johnny Tyler
Damien Jurado - Tragedy
Marcy Playground - The Vampires of New York
Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
Paul McCartney - Comin' Up
Modest Mouse - Float On
Mos Def - New World Water
The New Amsterdams - Bad Liar
Ol Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Walls
Wilson Pickett - Land of 1,000 Dances
Rogue Wave - 10:1
Eric Sermon featuring Redman - React
Paul Simon - You can Call Me Al
Simon and Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York
Todd Snider - Alright Guy
Spoon - The Fitted Shirt
The Streets - Could Well Be In
Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
Vitamin String Quartet - Tangled Up In Blue
Ween - Voodoo Lady
Whiskeytown - Drank Like a River
Wilco - Handshake Drugs
Wild Light - California On My Mind
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On a Gravel Road
Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.
Warren Zevon - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner

[Bonus] Last track out: Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

[Double Bonus] Awesomest Lyric Currently on MP3 Currently: MCA of Beastie Boys from the track Hey Fuck You of the album To the 5 Boroughs - "I've got billions and billions of rhymes to flex, I've got more rhymes than Carl Sagan's got turtlenecks"

Worst Date Movies

According to an article in Slate, the worst date movie of all time is Closer.

In my book, that dubious distinction belongs to the Julia Roberts/Natalie Portman/Clive Owen/Jude Law psychodrama Closer. The movie isn't gross like Antichrist, or menacing like The Comfort of Strangers, and no one gets raped. But the movie is deeply cynical about love—each character uses romantic connection as fuel for his or her ego. Fans of Pretty Woman or even Erin Brockovich might have gone to see the film because it starred Julia Roberts. They were expecting the toothy grin of America's sweetheart and the happy ending that usually follows her around. But in Closer, Roberts and her dashing lovers (Owen and Law) are selfish and manipulative. It's an alienating viewing experience, one that diffuses, rather than facilitates, romantic connection.

That is a bad one to be sure. But I think there are worse ones. Generally, I think horror movies are bad date movies because I'm a wuss and I don't want to jump/hide/scream/cry in front of a date. The worst horror movies, though, are ones where a seemingly normal (and often very attractive) woman turns out to be the monster.

Species is one of the classics of this sub-genre. Nothing ruins a date more than the suspicion that any amorous activity might end in the removal of your spine through your mouth.

Because I Think It's Funny

From The Onion.

The WHO still got it!

tomorrow morning, you might hear that the Who's performance at the superbowl was just so-so. you will probably hear people saying things like: daltrey can't hit the high notes like he used too, townsend looked silly in sunglasses, and they both looked out of breath. these people are morons. morons!

the WHO melted faces like a brick-layer lays bricks: one at a time, until everyone gets laid. and judging from the women in the crowd, i am sure they had plenty of offers.

now i will be the first to admit--i wish they would have played a more obscure set, but that was always wishful thinking. they gave us the hits, and tomorrow morning (if not already) sales of Who albums will sky rocket. and that seems to be the whole purpose of the "superstar at the superbowl" concept anyway, right? to have one more career boost to carry an artist for the rest of their existence? mission accomplished.

i also found it interesting that 3 out the 5 selections from their 15 minute show were currently theme songs for TV shows on CBS (CSI, “Who Are You,” CSI: Miami, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and CSI: NY, “Baba O’Reily.”). i suppose "interesting" is the wrong word choice. "no-brainer" is probably more appropriate. surely, i am not the first person to make this connection.

now, on to the performance: i thought it was great. really great. i thought they sounded tight, looked like they belonged there, and proved they still got the goods, man. even the light show was stunningly relevant for once! yes, of course i wish entwistle and moon were still alive to have played the gig. can you imagine keith moon at the superbowl with access to an unlimited amount of explosives and pyrotechnics? one word: awesome!

some will also argue that the WHO are no longer relevant: they are has-beens. they are hacks. they no longer rock and should just quit trying to recapture their youth.

to the naysayers, i say suck it. The WHO are to rock-n-roll what earnhardt is to NASCAR: as long as people speak the word "rock" they will speak of the Who. and for that, and that alone, they deserved to be on that stage tonight. the fact that they also kicked major ass was just the icing on the cake.

while i won't comment on pete's sunglasses, i will say this about roger: he TOTALLY nailed the high note scream at the end of "won't get fooled again". that alone would have been worth the trip to miami...

At the Red House!

I used to believe that local commercials were feces by default, then I went here. Behold!

I'm not saying this dude is wrong, but...

I have couple of questions for the toter of this protest sign before I join the cause:

1. Do you think consistency is important?

2. How about apostrophes?

3. I am very much opposed to the high fullutent, but I've never been able to identify a definition of 'fullutent.' Could you please expound?

4. Is this list in order of damnation? As I am only sophisticated swine and a sports nut, this is very important.

5. Also, could you please clarify whether devil lovers are avid sports fans or leisure activity genitals?

6. What does P. K's mean? If it means either philandering kittens or phat kids, then I'm in.

A quick comparison

Watching the President deliver the SOTUA the other night made me think of the following excerpt:

There was once a party that came out against concentration of wealth. They called for regulation of food, drugs, and big corporations. Called for a square deal for the average American. And their robust spokesman, the leader of their party, said this of his countrymen:

"There is not in the world a more ignoble character than the mere money-getting American, insensitive to every duty, regardless of principle, bent only on amassing a fortune."

That quote was delivered by Teddy Roosevelt as leader of the Republican Party. Seems pretty similar to the other night, right? At the time, I wondered why Biden was wearing a Panama hat and a moustache, but now I know.

What's in a name? Apparently, a lot.

The legal name of this man is Julius Andreas Gimli Arn MacGyver Chewbacka Highlander Elessar-Jankov. But set aside the name for a moment, and try to see the man for himself. Please also try to stifle your laughter.

Maybe adultery isn't so bad

...if the alternative is a complete lack of compassion. Recent comments by South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer likened government welfare for the poor to feeding stray animals. I presume that the Lt. Gov didn't think through the logical progression of that train of thought, which is the suggestion that poor people should be left to starve, turn feral, or be euthenized.


So if you're like me and wondered why Governor Mark Sanford wasn't immdiately removed from office after betraying his deep conservative values by spending tax dollars to fund personal international travel, the answer is simple. All he wanted to do was fornicate with an Argentine on the sly. Who among us can cast the first stone on that one?

Denny Matthews Could Debate Pat Buchanan

Baseball references abound in politics. You can play hardball. You can step up to the plate to get things done. You can hit one out of the park. Judges are just there "to call balls and strikes."

But last night watching the State of the Union address, I realized I could describe it with another metaphor (albeit a more specific and less pithy one). I believe instead of saying, "The President delivered the State of the Union Address," you could say, "The President went to Kansas City Royals spring training."

Here's why:

- Both require the participants to say things they can't possibly believe, but they know people want to hear.

- Both require fans to acknowledge that progress is possible, and critics to denounce all as illusion.

- And both give me a fleeting sense of hope. Hope that will be dashed within weeks or even days.

I'll end up more disillusioned than the year before, until the next season rolls around and the whole process starts over again.

Play ball.

Chart of the Day

Kind of speaks for itself, but here is the context.

I Didn't Know I Couldn't Do That

I really think ESPN blew it. They cut former NBA player Paul Shirley from his bloggin duties after Shirley posted what might be one of the best bits of career immolation in the last few years. In his post about Haiti, and why he wasn't giving, Shirley said:

As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Anyway, back to my thoughts on ESPN. They clearly screwed up. Everyone knows you don't cut a player you could get some value for in a trade. And imagine what the 700 Club might have been ready to give up to get their hands on Shirley. Pay attention ESPN.

Growlers Are Back!

So says the New York Times:

“In the beginning we tried to figure out, ‘Who’s going to be our market?’ ” said Ben Granger, 32, an owner of Bierkraft, which began filling growlers in spring 2006. “We thought, mullet-heads and beer-bellied dudes. But the first run was ladies with strollers. They will tell you they’re buying them for their husbands. Three weeks later, they’ve got two. One’s his and one’s hers. The next one that caught me by surprise was dads coming in with their kids. Then there’s the beer crowd who’ll rush in to get on this or that before it’s gone. There’s no age limit.”

There are several interesting pieces of this quote, but perhaps the question that first came to mind for me was, "Has this guy ever met a mullet-head?"

I have, and I can unequivocally tell you that unless he's serving Keystone Ice in those growlers, his business plan was way off.

Strange goats are delicious

The growing trends of local and exotic cuisine are feeding the new industry of rare breed preservation. There are obvious reasons to protect biodiversity, chiefly the fact that decades of inbreeding and over medication have made our industrial food supply shockingly vulnerable. Perhaps a less obvious reason is shown by the Tennessee fainting goat:

They have a habit of seizing up and falling over when frightened or excited (just like me). While a terrible threat response, I find this reaction hilarious! They're like Soupy Sales on all fours with fur and a Van Dyke. That's disgusting. Still I say 'Cheers to you Science' for guaranteeing this daffy breed will never leave us.

State of Mind

A question for fun:

If they actually redivided the country based on the criteria below, would you feel blessed or cursed that Missouri would be one of very few states essentially unchanged?

This map is by Neil Freeman from FakeIsTheNewReal.org. It's based on a division of the country into 50 state units with more-or-less equal population -- 5 to 6 million apiece -- and preserving existing boundaries where possible.

For my part, I'll say at least KC doesn't end up in Kansas.

The Elway, er, Marino Theory?

Years ago, my good friend AA and I formulated a theory that describes the correlations between procrastination, panic, and practice. For a name, we settled on 'The Elway Theory.' Basically, it breaks down like this: the fourth quarter is all that matters.

With sufficient mental faculties, and enough practice at harnessing panic into a high degree of intense attention to one task, it is possible to, for example, acquire the knowledge presented in half a semester of a university philosophy class in the span of roughly 90 minutes.

We found that this practice leaves the bulk of the day free to focus on the really important stuff in life, such as composing Top 10 lists, imagining how awesome it would be to hang out with Curtis Mayfield, or determining whether it's the biscuits or the gravy that holds the most energy.

Since each of us has largely lived our lives according to this theory, I was very much shocked to learn that, if you trust the numbers and logic, we may actually be living according to the ways of Dan Marino. Can it truly be that a fatherless skidmark like Marino is the inspiration of my life? The numbers don't lie; it's Superhead by a slight margin.

So, theories sometimes requiring revision, I've made a small concession in crafting: 'The Melway Theory.' The improved collection of concepts gives a nod to Marino's fourth-quarterness. However, it also incorporates the assertion that even if you're not technically as proficient as the competition, your chances of success increase greatly when you're not a shitheel Like Dan Marino. Do yourself a favor by practicing the 'The Melway Theory,' just don't forget to send me thanks for making your life non-stop awesome.

Sucking the Hind One

That's what Kansas City is now officially doing. With the Saints' win yesterday, New Orleans officially became the 31st of the 31 other cities with at least 2 professional sports franchises (the big 4, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) to have one of its teams play in a championship game since one of KC's last did in 1985.

Below is the updated list of what other cities have had to root for since the Royals won the I-70 series. The first number is appearances is title games. The second it the number of times they won the championship. Read and weep.

Atlanta 6 app. (1 title)
Baltimore 1 app. (1 title)
Boston 14 app. (7 titles)
Buffalo 5 app.
Charlotte 3 app. (1 title)
Chicago 10 app. (8 titles)
Cleveland 4 app.
Cincinnati 2 app. (1 title)
Dallas 6 app. (4 titles)
Denver 8 app. (4 titles)
Detroit 12 app. (7 titles)
Houston 4 app. (2 titles)
Indianapolis 3 app. (1 or 2 titles)
Los Angeles 13 app. (8 titles)
Miami 4 app. (3 titles)
Milwaukee/Green Bay 2 app. (1 title)
Minneapolis 3 app. (2 titles)
Nashville 1 app.
New Orleans 1 app. (? Title)
New York 22 app. (13 titles)
Oakland 4 app. (1 title)
Philadelphia 6 app. (1 title)
Phoenix 3 app. (1 title)
Pittsburgh 7 app. (4 titles)
San Diego 2 app.
San Francisco 5 app. (3 titles)
Seattle 2 app.
St. Louis 5 app. (2 titles)
Tampa 3 app. (1 title)
Toronto 2 app. (2 titles)
Washington D.C. 3 app. (2 titles)

A trickle of a ray of hope

Much like AA, I've recently been feeling downtrodden by our collective political situation. But, I felt somewhat better about our prospects following President Obama's announcement regarding limitations on large, vertically integrated financial institutions.

Is this movement by the president a decisive step towards progressive change that carried him to the Presidency? Is it an outright indictment of a Congress that has yet to enact meaningful legislative change despite a previously commanding Democratic majority? Is this a populist movement for the betterment of the regular folks and all Good Americans? Promises kept and paid in full?

It's too early to be certain, but one thing is for sure, I will be selling my Bank of America stock right..........now!

In Keeping With Yesterday's Theme

There is a long, but very interesting email from a Democratic Congressional staffer posted over at TPM. Here is the gist:

The worst is that I can't help but feel like the main emotion people in the caucus are feeling is relief at this turn of events. Now they have a ready excuse for not getting anything done. While I always thought we had the better ideas but the weaker messaging, it feels like somewhere along the line Members internalized a belief that we actually have weaker ideas. They're afraid to actually implement them and face the judgement of the voters. That's the scariest dynamic and what makes me think this will all come crashing down around us in November...

... This is my life and I simply can't answer the fundamental question: "what do Democrats stand for?" Voters don't know, and we can't make the case, so they're reacting exactly as you'd expect (just as they did in 1994, 2000, and 2004). We either find the voice to answer that question and exercise the strongest majority and voter mandate we've had since Watergate, or we suffer a bloodbath in November. History shows we're likely to choose the latter.

Take 5 minutes and read the whole thing. I promise you, you'll find it depressing.

How I'm Feeling Today

Republicans - Cynical and Malicious

Democrats - Feeble and Feckless

I may need to stay away from political coverage for awhile.

kings of the sad bastard

yes, today has been a good day for music. in addition to the albums mention by AA, another one of my favorite bands released their 9th full length studio album today: Eels.

okay...so is it eels? the eels? Eels? EELS? no one really seems to know for certain, and i have see all sorts of incarnations of the moniker which is represented (for the most part) by one man. mark oliver everett (also known as E) is one weird dude and his latest album is no exception. "End Times" gets back to what E does best: sad bastard lyrics that sound both pretty and fun, though not necessarily at the same time. E is one of the rare exceptions in music that can break your heart right before you dance your ass off. or vice-versa.

recorded primarily on an old 8-track machine in his basement, E has given perpetual hope to a generation of at-home musicians who dream of one day holing up in their basements for 6 months and delivering a studio quality album to the masses. with this aspect in mind, "end times" is spot on. this is arguably the best sounding album from an old 8-track that i have ever heard. nice work, man!

if you have never indulged in the world of Eels, do yourself a favor and jump right in: the water is fine. and to be honest, "end times" is as good a place to start as any. yes, today was a good day for music indeed...

New Music

As I begin my 10 year prep for the next Best Music of the Decade list, 2010 has already produced two albums that will at least be in consideration.

Vampire Weekend's first album was on the previous best of the decade list, but it seemed idiosyncratic enough that they might not be able to produce another as good, or at least as interesting. But the new album, Contra, is better and I think more interesting. The songs are just as catchy, but there is a little more going on beneath the surface.



In the 2000's, Spoon was an incredible band. They put out four albums that I considered for my decade retrospective list, and one made the top 5. Their first album of this decade, Transference, just came out today (I think, but I've been listening to it this morning and they are off to a pretty good start to replicate their previous success. The album seems a little darker, but it still has the signature Spoon bounce and swagger.



Perhaps it's going to be a good decade.

Until They Remake BJ and the Bear...

.. this will be the most exciting remake of something I watched as a kid.

I know it will probably be terrible. Even what you see here looks kind of silly. But that doesn't really matter when you have a problem,no else can help, and you can find them.



Incidentally, when I went to YouTube to watch this, it recommended I watch the trailer from another of my childhood favorites. I was at first disappointed to see that it wasn't real, but you'll see that I pretty quickly didn't care. Awesomeness.

Please forgive me for this post

I've often wondered why religious organizations don't directly address problems like pollution and naked disdain for the environment. As a result, while likely old news for the well informed Catholic, it was certainly surprising to me to find recently that the Church has updated the deadly sins for the new millennium.

Included are the sins of environmental pollution, inflicting poverty, accumulating excessive wealth, drug trafficking and consumption, morally debatable experiments, and violation of fundamental rights. At this point, conversion is seeming like a pretty good idea. Then, just as the thought that 'morally debatable experiments' might mean gene therapy rather than animal testing, I read the last new deadly sin: genetic manipulation.

An internal dialogue that trys to understand the thinking that damns the polluters that end lives, while simultaneously damning the physicians that use genetic manipulation to save lives, is beginning to brew when further reading reveals a quote that just blows the top right off my head. The same Archbishop Girotti that initially delivered these new sins during a teaching session named abortion and pedophilia as two of the greatest sins of our time, then promptly brushed aside cases of sexual violence against minors committed by priests as 'exaggerations by the mass media aimed at discrediting the Church.'

Wow! Now that's some double talk! It appears to me unlikely that this push to update the Church will draw few intelligent converts or enhance adherence if in nearly the same breath Church leadership exhibits a total disregard of reality, fairness, and positive change. The cliche of 'the more things change, the more they stay the same' seems appropriate. It also seems that the dangerous lives of altar boys will remain dangerous, and I will remain reprobate for writing posts like this.

A Few Things Going On

A lot of interesting stuff while I was out of commission:

One year after the team lost like 800 pounds or something, the Chiefs gained the weight back by hiring new offensive and defensive coordinators.

The Raymore city council decided not to become the OK Corral.

Watching TV is bad for you.

To combat the television, here are some foods that are good for you.

Sarah Palin still makes me cringe, and now she's a Fox News Analyst!

NBC is mucking things up with Conan O'Brien, for the questionable goal of putting Jay Leno back in his time slot.

Driving Cross the Land, Kickin' Up Sand...

Back from a 3,000 mile journey for a very sad event that you wouldn't want to go to if it were 3 miles away. But, as usually happens at such times, you learn a lot about the people with you on the journey. I am happy to report that part of the experience was pleasant. Hopefully, regular life may now resume for a bit.

best albums of 2009

a bit late on this one, but soon enough to remain relevant i suppose. i thought 2009 was a pretty good year for music, with a couple of these making my top 50 of the decade list.

1. ryan bingham- roadhouse sun
2. the avett brothers- i and love and you
3. iron and wine- around the well
4. ben kweller- changing horses
5. away we go- soundtrack
6. bob dylan- together through life
7. son volt- american central dust
8. wilco- wilco (the album)
9. monsters of folk- monsters of folk
10.the decemberists- the hazards of love

i should also mention that the 4 disc Tom Petty Live Anthology is unbelievable, but i didn't feel like it qualified for this list. otherwise...TOPS!

Hey, I can see the desert from here!

I don't know why it fascinates me, but it does. This is one really, really tall building.

First Post of the Year (Income Chart)

Kinda late, but here it is. And since I don't use tagging, I thought using the first post to put up a chart I might want to refer back to would be useful.

So here it is:



I've referred to these numbers on several occasions, but this is the nicest depiction I've seen. If you're almost anyone, you are economically disadvantaged by voting Republican.

top 10 favorite movies of the decade

i am running a bit behind on my list making these days, but i felt compelled to at least throw up my top 10 favorite movies of decade. like AA before me, many of these are certainly classics in the making, while some of these may only appeal to me and me alone. these are certainly not THE BEST movies of the decade by any means--just the ones that i enjoy the most. a top 50 might surface, but this is all i got for now...

1. Almost Famous
2. High Fidelity
3. School of Rock
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (also cheating!)
6. Juno
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Moulin Rouge
9. The Royal Tenenbaums
10. Love Actually

A Christmas Wish from The Onion and Me

The Onion, funny as usual.

SOUTHFIELD, MI—Bored with scaring elderly misers, the Ghost of Christmas Future is spending the holiday season taunting modern children with visions of Christmas 2016's hottest toy: the Sony PlayStation 5, a 2,048-bit console featuring a 45-Ghz trinary processor, CineReal graphics booster with 2-gig biotexturing, and an RSP connector for 360-degree online-immersion play.

Silly Liberals

Kevin Drum noticed the following Mike Potemra quote at National Review online in a piece about Jean-Luc Picard.

I have over the past couple of months been watching DVDs of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show I missed completely in its run of 1987 to 1994; and I confess myself amazed that so many conservatives are fond of it. Its messages are unabashedly liberal ones of the early post-Cold War era — peace, tolerance, due process, progress....

Sometimes I try and convince myself that part of the problem with liberals and conservatives is that we see cartoonish versions of one another that aren't a true picture. Then I read something like this.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Playing with the blog look a little over the holidays. May stick, may not. Hope to add a few more things to the sidebar as well. Suggestions welcome.

Garfunkel was Merely a Pawn

There is an individual I work with who comes around a couple of times a week to explain to me what new nefarious plots the government and the "New World Order" are up to currently. Today, I found out that the government is working on controlling our minds via HDTV and "the sound of silence."

This technology is about to be used, albeit in a more subtle fashion, against American citizens in a highly classified and covert operation to mind control and manipulate the entire population into 'compliance' with our New World order overlords. The technology will utilize a combination of HAARP transmitters, GWEN towers, microwave cell phone towers, and the soon-to-be-mandatory High Definition DIGITAL TV that will enter your home via A) Cable, B) Satellite, C) HD TVs, or D) those oh-so-easy -to-obtain "Digital Converter boxes" that the government is so anxious to help you obtain and underwrite most of the cost on your behalf...

...Moreover, what if televisions across the U.S. and Canada all went 100% DIGITAL [E.g. the mandatory HD conversion to take place in Feb. 2009] in their signals (which must happen in order to successfully link to pre-positioned, interconnected GWEN (Ground-Wave Emergency Network) Towers) which of course would allow the unrestricted use of the Sound of Silence frequencies in a complete and massive control of the nation’s mind and consciousness?

I made a crack about Paul Simon being in on the deal, but as it turns out after going to the Internet, the joke was on me.

Paul Kane's (Paul Simon) musical work in the early 1960's was primarily as a contracted songwriter in the famed "Brill Building machine." He would write songs for other artists to record. He did try his hand at performing, however. Assuming a new stage name - Paul Kane - he wrote many ballads and rockabilly tunes which were recorded, both by Paul and as a member of the mildly-successful Tico and the Triumphs. Paul also had a famous collaborator - Carole Kane (who changed her name to Carol King). Paul Simon, a Jew whose family was part of the 'military-industrialist complex' was very likely a product of the early 1960’s military experimentation in Silent Sound mind control –which is clearly what the lyrics of “The Sound of Silence” convey to those 'in the know'.

I'm starting to fear that the bridge over troubled water is actually a bridge to let those dirty communists Julio, Cecilia, and Mrs. Robinson into the U.S. to convert the country into some sort of dystopian Graceland.

Temps

An article in the New York Times helps highlight an under publicised problem with our current labor situation:

Halfway across the country, in Burlington, Iowa, the recession bypassed the Winegard Company. That is perhaps because Winegard makes television antennas and satellite receivers, and in hard times people watch more television, said Denise Baker, Winegard’s director of human resources. Whatever the case, to keep up with new orders, the company has added 70 workers in the last two years — all of them temps.

“An actual employee with benefits costs more than a temp or a contract worker,” Ms. Baker said, “and as long as I can still get highly skilled temps, I’ll go that route. It gives me more room to reverse course if the economy weakens again and sales do finally sink.”

Unemployment is certainly bad, but people don't just need jobs. They need jobs that come with some sense of security (and hopefully benefits). Trends like the one in the article are the kind of thing that will keep the income gap in the U.S. high and will keep many Americans in a dangerous situation.

Best of the 2000s: Movie Analysis

Because making a list of your favorite 50 movies of the decade isn't nerdy enough, here is a little analysis of the list to take it the extra mile.

A little by the numbers for your entertainment:

1 western

2 animated films

3 Wes Anderson movies

4 movies with George Clooney

4 kung fu movies

5 fantasy or sci-fi movies

6 movies that have virtually no chance of making any critics' top tens

7 movies from each of 2003, 2004 and 2005 (tied for top spot)

8 or so crime dramas

12 films from the years 2006, 2008 and 2009 listed without producing a top 10 designate

14 as a total score for the year 2001 if you inverted the top 10 list and assigned each movie the number the next to it and then added all the movies from the same year (2001 is #1 by that system)

Best of the 2000s: My Favorite Movies

Here are my favorite movies of the 2000s. I'm not claiming them to be the best movies of the 2000s from a critical perspective. Some really are testaments to great film making (Traffic) and some are ridiculous movies I just happen to really like (The Transporter). There was a pretty big list of movies that I had to leave off to pare down to 50. Feel free to comment on any serious omissions. (Note: I did cheat by listing both the Lord of the Rings movies and the Kill Bill movies as group entries. But it's my list.)

As an aside, I think 2009 is getting the shaft here because I haven't seen enough 2009 movies yet. From everything I have heard (and the quantity of George Clooney movies on this list), Up in the Air is going to be on this list once I see it, and perhaps there will be some others as well.

2000 – Traffic
2000 – High Fidelity
2000 – Gladiator
2000 – Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
2000 – Almost Famous
2001-2003 – Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2001 – The Royal Tennenbaums
2001 – Amelie
2001 – Monsters Inc.
2001 – Ocean’s Eleven
2002 – Road to Perdition
2002 – The Pianist
2002 – The Transporter
2002 – Punch Drunk Love
2003-2004 – Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
2003 – Lost in Translation
2003 – Old School
2003 – Bad Santa
2003 – Seabiscuit
2003 – Shanghai Knights
2004 – Hero
2004 – Shaun of the Dead
2004 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004 – Miracle
2004 – Napolean Dynamite
2004 – Layer Cake
2005 – The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
2005 – A History of Violence
2005 – Good Night and Good Luck
2005 – The Matador
2005 – Wedding Crashers
2005 – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
2005 – Kung Fu Hustle
2006 – Pan’s Labyrinth
2006 – Volver
2006 – Children of Men
2006 – The Lives of Others
2007 – 3:10 to Yuma
2007 – Michael Clayton
2007 – The Darjeeling Limited
2007 – No Country for Old Men
2007 – Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
2007 – Charlie Wilson’s War
2008 – The Dark Knight
2008 – RocknRolla
2008 – In Bruges
2008 – Gran Torino
2008 – Forgetting Sarah Marshall
2009 – Away We Go
2009 – Star Trek
2009 – Fantastic Mr. Fox

Top 10:
1. Traffic
2. The Royal Tennenbaums
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
4. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
5. Lost in Translation
6. Hero
7. Amelie
8. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
9. 3:10 to Yuma
10. Monster’s Inc.

Back to School

Brandon Jennings has had a great rookie season thus far for the Milwaukee Bucks. After spending a year in Europe instead of college, he has offered us yet more proof that the NBA's rule that forces players to wait a year after high school before entering the draft is dumb.

On the other hand, perhaps Jennings should take a little of the money he is now earning and take a few college courses. He was recently fined by the league for a tweet that fell too close to the prohibited tweeting time around a game. But I think the timing should probably be excused before the message itself:

"Back to 500. Yess!!! "500" means where doing good. Way to Play Hard Guys."

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I think maybe an English class is in order.

So Russia is like, "I don't want to say I told you so, but..."

It was reported today that militant insurgents have found a way to hack U.S. drones in flight over conflict areas using a $26, off-the-shelf computer program. This seems both terrifying and hilarious given that an unnamed government official related that the unencrypted signals represented a flaw that was noticed during Bosnian operations in the '90s. Furthermore, the officials related that "...the Pentagon assumed local adversaries wouldn't know how to exploit it."

I'll leave broad interpretations to others in favor of a simple comparison of these separate intelligence approaches. The U.S. Government spends roughly 4.5 Million on each predator, plus expenses for maintenance and operation. The insurgents spend $25.95 plus shipping on software and something like $40 on a used Dell laptop attached to an old umbrella for an antenna.

In Cahooters

The Chamber of Commerce wants you to be aware of "how to protect your family's future and bring common sense solutions to the health-care debate." More to the point, they want you to help them fight healthcare reform.

Just in case you can't be motivated by protecting your family's future, however, they have another offer for you:

To qualify for your $150 Amex gift card for use at Hooters you must continue through our survey below and complete the participation requirements. Click "Yes" to as many offers as you like and please make sure you click "No" to offers you don't.

Person of the Decade Bracket

The Washington Post has a bracket up allowing readers to help pick a most influential person of the decade. George Bush, I think stands a pretty decent chance to win this thing. On the other hand, it may just turn out to be a popularity contest, in which case he has no shot.

For my money, I think the technology guys, Steve Jobs, the Google guys, and Mr. Facebook have to at least be in the discussion. Hu Jintao probably has to be considered pretty highly as well, though he realistically has no shot in an American poll starting out against Obama.

I must say, as contrived gimmicks go, this is one I'm willing to follow.

Dreams are Weird

And here is my proof.

Last night in my dream, I wrestled Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt for a newspaper containing the box score of a game I had just watched in an old church gymnasium.

Get out of my dreams Hewitt!

Best of 2009: Songs

As we've been mentioning, songs are a little more difficult than albums. Your favorite songs can change daily, and there are so many good songs that narrowing a list is a chore. Perhaps, however, doing the decade list was like training to run a mile by running a marathon. The song list seemed much easier than in years past, and I'm attributing it to the task of putting together a song list for the decade first.

Enough narrative, here are my top 10 songs of the year:

1. Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
2. The Fixer - Pearl Jam
3. Hysteric - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. Got Nuffin - Spoon
5. Animal - Miike Snow
6. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits
7. Dylan's Hard Rain - Ryan Bingham
8. Pendergast Machine - Ha Ha Tonka
9. Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
10. When I Died - The Thermals

25 favorite songs of the decade

unfortunately, this list was compiled totally off the cuff without the assistance of my cd/digital library. i also limited myself to only one song from each artist. again, this list is ever-changing, and could be drastically different tomorrow. it is, however, a damn fine list...

25 songs favorite songs of the 2000's
1. bob dylan- mississippi
2. wilco- pot kettle black
3. ryan adams- sweet carolina
4. iron and wine- naked as we came
5. son volt- afterglow 61
6. damien rice- cannonball
7. damien jurado- window
8. rilo kiley- with arms outstretched
9. jenny lewis- the charging sky
10. jay farrar- voodoo candle
11. eels- packing blankets
12. ben kweller- wasted and ready
13. bonnie prince billy- ease on down the road
14. ryan bingham- don’t wait for me
15. tom petty- flirting with time
16. the shout out louds- the comeback
17. SSLYBY- modern mystery
18. she and him- sentimental heart
19. sun kil moon- glenn tipton
20. bright eyes- another travelin’ song
21. band of horses- the general specific
22. the national- fake empire
23. spoon- the way we get by
24. gillian welch- red clay halo
25. moore-healey- good fortune

Best of 2009: Albums

Almost lost in all the hoopla over end of decade lists was the fact that 2009, in fact, had some good music in it. I don't think it matched up with 2007 or 2008, but I also think there is much that I just haven't been able to absorb, and much much more that I haven't heard at all.

Anyway, I still liked quite a few albums and here are the 10 I liked the best (and a couple of the best tracks on each).

1. It's Blitz - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
(Hysteric, Soft Shock)
2. Roadhouse Sun - Ryan Bingham
(Dylan's Hard Rain, Country Roads)
3. Backspacer - Pearl Jam
(The Fixer, Supersonic)
4. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
(Lasso, 1901)
5. It's Frightening - White Rabbits
(Percussion Gun, They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong)
6. Farm - Dinosaur Jr.
(Ocean in the Way, Plans)
7. Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective
(Summertime Clothes, Taste)
8. Metric - Fantasies
(Twilight Galaxy, Help I'm Alive)
9. When the Devil's Loose - A.A. Bondy
(Oh the Vampyre, On the Moon)
10. Technicolor Health - The Harlem Shakes
(Strictly Game, Nothing but Change)

This list is subject to change, of course. The beauty of these things is that there is always more music out there. Metric actually just made the list this week when I started listening to them after seeing them in concert. There will surely be someone else who I find out about in the next few months who easily could have made the list. Other people's year end lists are often good sources to find those new albums.

I also wanted to mention a great live album, Nirvana's Live at Reading and a fantastic greatest hits album of sorts, The Vaselines' Enter the Vaselines. Neither fit my criteria for a best of 2009 list, but both were really, really good. What did you like in 2009?

In Which Hulk Hogan is Played by Nick Saban

Once again, the most furious month of the U.S. sports season is upon us. It's the college football postseason where competition has no place when there is money involved.

As usual, the national title game will be played by the champions of two BCS conferences, Alabama and Texas. And as usual, there are a few other teams who have a quite a case that they should be there instead.

Texas beat by a single point a Nebraska team that basically won the woeful Big 12 North by default. They beat two ranked opponents this season; Oklahoma State on the road and Nebraska.

Meanwhile, there are three other undefeated teams who will not be playing for the title in Cincinnati, Boise State, and TCU. Cincinnati beat 3 ranked opponents on the year, 2 of those on the road. Boise State beat the only ranked opponent they played this season in #7 Oregon, and then beat the crap out of everyone else on their schedule. And TCU beat 2 ranked opponents, one on the road, and went and beat two ACC schools on the road.

None of this is to say that these 3 teams are definitively better than Texas. But Texas certainly isn't definitively better than them either. Which is, of course, the problem with college football. Texas is essentially in the title game because they were ranked higher to start the season. That is stupid.

College football is stupid actually. Fortunately, it will be over in a month.

25 Songs from the 2000s

Alright, this is much harder than an albums list. The number of songs I like over a period of 10 years is really, really high. I decided to just pick 25 songs I really love. This list could have 15 different songs on it if I did it again next week, but you have to start somewhere right? I decided to limit each band to one song, so I didn't end up with 2/3 of the list taken up by 3 or 4 bands. So here it is:

12 Inch 3 Speed Oscillating Fan – Big Smith
12:51 – The Strokes
Anything You Want – Spoon
Back in Your Head – Tegan and Sara
Banquet – Bloc Party
Black, Red, Yellow – Pearl Jam
C’mon C’mon – The Von Bondies
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight – The Postal Service
DLZ – TV on the Radio
Donde Esta la Playa – The Walkmen
Hey Ya – Outkast
I Burn Today – Frank Black
The Late Greats – Wilco
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues – Eels
Party Hard – Andrew W.K.
The Runner – Kings of Leon
Sister Do You Know My Name – The White Stripes
Solid Gold – Eagles of Death Metal
Summertime Clothes – Animal Collective
Too Drunk to Dream - The Magnetic Fields
Trashcan – Delta Spirit
Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show
Young Folks – Peter Bjorn & John

Interesting Maps

I like maps, and this Slate slideshow features a selection of odd maps from across history. There is even one map that unifies Kansas City.

There is also the map above, which charts different soil types and craters on the far side of the moon. Pretty neat stuff.

Assorted Items

- Start looking for rum drinks at fashionable places everywhere.

- Kansas City Star reporter Kent Babb should probably acknowledge the complete lack of pass rush when writing an article that criticises the secondary.

- In case you didn't know and you like rockabilly music, tune into KKFI on fridays from 5-7.

- A.I. a Sixer once again.

- Perhaps it is too early to tell if the Missouri State basketball team is really a contender in the MVC, but it is not too early to say that they are exponentially more fun to watch than they were last year.

But It's Less Fun When You Do it to Me

Republicans are mad at Al Franken.

The Republicans are steamed at Franken because partisans on the left are using a measure he sponsored to paint them as rapist sympathizers — and because Franken isn’t doing much to stop them...

...At issue is an amendment to the Pentagon spending bill that would bar “future and existing” federal contracts to defense contractors and subcontractors “at any tier” who mandate employees go through a company’s arbitration process for workplace discrimination claims — including claims of sexual assault. The measure passed 68-30, with 10 Republicans voting yes and 30 voting no.

The story goes on to say that Republicans voted no because of concerns over the cost of trials for discrmination claims. That, in and of itself, is pretty irritating considering the dubious history of the mandatory arbitration process.

But the ridiculousness here comes from the fact that Republicans are angry that the left is mischaracterizing their motives and using the episode for partisan gain. If the last decade has taught us nothing else, it is that Republicans can find a way to mischaracterize any Democratic action and use it for partisan gain. If they didn't want Democrats to do it, they shouldn't have taught them how.

The Christmas Spirit

Some charities in Houston are into it... unless you're a kid whose parents are illegal immigrants.

The Salvation Army and a charity affiliated with the Houston Fire Department are among those that consider immigration status, asking for birth certificates or Social Security cards for the children.

The point isn’t to punish the children but to ensure that their parents are either citizens, legal immigrants or working to become legal residents, said Lorugene Young, whose Outreach Program Inc. is one of three groups that distribute toys collected by firefighters.

“It’s not our desire to turn anyone down,” she said. “Those kids are not responsible if they are here illegally. It is the parents’ responsibility."

Well, there is no better way to punish parents than to make sure their kids can't get Christmas presents. Maybe someone should introduce a law that says for every speeding ticket a person gets, their kid loses a candy cane.