add the congressional dem leadership to the indictment and i'll go make the citizen's arrest...

By the way, Brattleboro is the coolest little town too:

A group in Brattleboro is petitioning to put an item on a town meeting agenda in March that would make Bush and Vice President Cheney subject to arrest and indictment if they visit the southeastern Vermont community.

You go, Green Mt. Boyz! ... and Grrlz!

seasonal falicitations...

Merry Christmas!  Happy Hanukkah!  Falice Navidad!  Happy Holidays!  Merry Kwanzaa!  All of the above and below.

Am tooling up to Maine and don't know when I'm back online.

Friends & Family:  I'm getting stronger by the day, now on my 2nd cup of decaf.  I bought a pair of boots yesterday to keep my feet dry in the myriad Nor'easters already fallen, and this is only the first day of winter?

Good!  I too shall enjoy the Solstace.

clarence the cross-eyed justice...

It's unanimous then:

Clarence Thomas: "I wouldn't say I Like" Being Supreme Court Judge.

Do us all a favor, Clarence: Go bungee-jumping. Leave the cord. Take the canoli.

for the record: today's asshole health insurance carrier is CIGNA... !!

Two words: "Wrongful Death"!

A 17-year old died just hours after her health insurance company reversed its decision not to pay for a liver transplant that doctors said the girl needed.

And here I am fresh off a 10-day fun-filled adventure in the ICU.

somehow it's always the other shoe that makes the story more interesting...

Alycia Lane is really a piece of *cough* work. Sending bikini shots by email to Rich Eisen, where his wife can (and did) intercept them. (And I woulda paid-per-view on that conversation.) Then she gets busted for busting a "dyke" cop across the chops (all alledgedly, of course). Then she puts in a call to PA governor Ed Rendell to, what, get a little sympathy? Fun stuff, all of this -- especially since she's a hottie.

But, well, there's the other side of the story, and it fits fairly nicely with my general narrative of America slouching toward a police state worthy of the Soviet Union:

Exactly. In fact, Lane's case -- tabloid lurid though it may be -- is a prime example. Without her pictures, we only have the damning and one-sided account of the police officers on what actually precipitated the alleged assault. American citizens have a right to film public police activity -- whether it's a potty-mouthed nightclubbing TV news sex symbol or the man who filmed the arrest and beating of Rodney King.

What we haven't seen yet is a cop getting videotaped tasering the camera op for taping the cop tasering the camera op.

Meanwhile, here's betting this story doesn't go away soon. It's got it all, Sex & Violence!  ...  and Sex.

Still hate Philly, Naahm, old buddy?

dropkick murphys: i'm shipping up to boston...

Just reminding myself I ain't done w/the city. I'm just recuperatin'.

a chronically offended dinner guest is no more welcome at the table than a chronically offensive one...

'Tis the season to punch somebody's holiday lights out...

Bill O’Reilly and Focus on the Family have been waging an aggressive campaign to pressure people to use “Merry Christmas.” In the past, O’Reilly has argued that saying “Happy Holidays” to people “absolutely does” offend Christians.

Really? It offends the Christianists when you say to them "Happy Holidays!"?

Well fuck 'em if they can't take a glad tiding.

sliding slowly seaward...

The scale says I'm at 248 today. That'd be down 6 lbs from yesterday, a shitload of water that. Lasix would be the miracle drug, i.e., diuretic helping me shed said water.

Meanwhile, back at the Lawyer's office, Brotherman the Elder finely tuned the bet via email today:

First, you have to stay at or below that weight throughout the duration of those three lessons for me to pay for all three of them. For example, if you schedule the lessons over three consecutive weeks, but you make your weight for only the first lesson, then fall off the wagon after that (and into a large pot of chili, say), I only pay for the one lesson. Second condition, your weigh-in has to be on a scale we both agree is accurate -- your gym locker room or mine, either one works for me.

All of which presupposes I'll be right at/around 225 and not 5-10 lbs less on May 1, a bit of exactitude I find fairly amusing.

And even as I would like those golf lessons, my true motivation is to save my life... and score chicks... uhm, in that order.

----------
Update: Wait, chili is fattening?

----------
Update II: And, yes, scoring chicks would be a whole lot easier if I could find the sunny side of 200 and not hang around at 225... 

And hold down a job:  Yeaaaaah!  That's it! 

more CEOs agree...

They're overpaid!

Two words: "Salary Cap." Regulate the bastards. Max a percentage they can receive relative to the lowest paid employee.

Works for the Japanese, works for me.

nixon had sex... ?

Flynt Claims Nixon "Couldn't Get It Up" with Hooker During Bombing of Hanoi

I did not! have to visualize this (but you may)!!

in that case, nobody'd care who shot J.R...

Ok! If I'm not the only person in the world who doesn't find Ben Stiller funny or even interesting, then why is he in so many goddamn movies? J.R. Ewing? Excuse me?

I'd rather see a zillion year-old, baggy assed Larry Hagman come back to reprise the role. Why not the A-list Rat-Pack, i.e., Clooney, Pitt & Damon, and not the B-listers, Stiller, Vince Vaughn and the Wilson brothers (a virtual guarantee the production will slide into camp)? In fact let's lose the B list altogether and move on, shall we?

focus...

Just off a conversation with Big Brother, i.e., R. He has offered to buy me 3 golf lessons should I get my weight down to 225 by May 1. Having just hit the scale, that'd require I drop 29 lbs. in 5 mos. and a week. Easy, no?

Dunno. I haven't seen the sunny side of 245 in a few years. I have one more day here in NH and then drive to ME, all part of my recuperation from Cardiomyopathy and Pneumonia. My BP, at last check, was 100/70, artificially low, given the meds I've been, er, given upon leaving the ICU at Cheshire Medical in Keene a week ago Monday.

R. & D. have put me up since then and are my favorite people at the moment. Leaning on Mom in ME starting Friday; shoulda been tomorrow but yet another Nor'easter is promisin' to party, so we're playin' it, like, conservative.

I get by with a little help from my fffffamily.

hillary once again disses the base...

As a former talk show host & producer, I totally grock Ed Schultz's frustration when he spouts:

I am done with the Clintons. I’m done with the cheap shots. I’m done with the innuendoes. ... Hillary, I do not want you to be the nominee. Biden, I do not want you to be the nominee.

From a distance, then, I see Hillary for what she is: a queen-wannabe with a flinty heart, particularly when as applied to the great unwashed of her party, where she expects she'll be held to account for the across-the-aisle collaborating (i.e., with those who won't collaborate back). What's interesting is she's fearless when facing the dark side of the media, but when it comes to real Dems wanting answers, none are soon to be forthcoming. Why is that? Because she'd be exposed as a Republican in Dem clothing that much more easily?

Bah! And to her I say, "Feh!"

Save yourself the aggravation, Iowa. Vote for John Edwards.

a former anti-dixie chicks protester repents...

Touching story about a mother who regrets her reactionary ways vis a vis the Dixie Chicks.  (h/t to DK).

oedipus call yer office...

Bill says George the XLIst will seek to repair the damage caused by George the XLIIIrd, and do so on behalf of Hillary.  

Would love to hear that next conversation between father & son.

----------

Update:   41 says WTF??  Count Bill as another idiot killing his wife's campaign.

a bout of "huckenfreude"...

Enjoying the hand-wringing by the Corporatistas on the right, fearing an actual loss of party control if Huckabee gets the nomination, but can you imagine, should Huckabee actually get elected, the severe damage those Christianist yayhoos could cause if they go marching as to war unfettered?

who framed roger rocket (A: nobody)...

Callahan sums it up for me:

Are we supposed to believe [Brian] McNamee is lying about [Roger] Clemens but not about Andy Pettitte?

I was listening on Boston talk radio saturday. Apparently friends of Roger Clemens are buzzing New England's capital with whispers that Roger wants one more (1/2) year to close out his career, and he wants to play for the Hose.

1) The Sox don't need him.

2) Baseball doesn't need him.

another one bites the dust...

Dan Fogelberg... 1951 - 2007

I see a Bad Moon a' Risin'...

----------

Update:  Acknowledging my profound ignorance on this one:  Confusing Dan Fogelberg with John Fogerty.  Like, arf!

the cartoon mike huckabee wants u 2 c...

now if there are any "christianity" cartoons out there that mitt romney would like u 2 c...

no man is rich as he who has friends...

I am overwhelmed with good wishes in response to my email. Thought I'd share.

But first, An excerpt R. sent out updating friends on my situation:

D. and G. and I just watched the Pats beat the Steelers on the TV in G.'s hospital room in Keene. Fun game, although the nurse came in once when we yelled over one of the plays. She threatened to turn off the TV, as she felt the game was getting G.'s pulse up too high. G. pointed out to her that his pulse would likely get much higher if she turned off the game. She agreed to leave it on, but said "no more yelling" as this was an intensive care unit, not a football stadium. I asked if she could bring us a couple more beers, but she said the old lady with the heart transplant in the next room had just finished the last of it.

And, now, back to the good wishes...

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Annie in Topsham:

WOW G.! Your spirits are great! - exactly what you need to tackle whatever comes your way.

Hopefully we'll be able to get over to your Mom's for Christmas and see that you are doing just fine ('cause we were a bit worried ...).

Annie

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Naahm in Philly:

Jesus H. Christ, G. And to think my browser tried to screen you out. I think I am fibrilating just reading this.

Bout of pneumo seemed to have gone around my house as well, but no suffering the likes of what you have endured.

Pointless to ask if you are okay, and I need not admonish you to take better care. Lord knows, I gotta do the same and you are the latest cautionary tale.

Sorry about the job; sucks that they would hold a bout of pneumonia and congestive heart failure against you. Heartless cretins.

Well, relax, get well, and enjoy the Patriots laying the lumber to the rest of the league.

Commander Guy deux

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Holly in Santa Cruz:

How frightening! Thankfully, it sounds like you're in good hands, both among family and doctors. I hope that you enjoy this holiday season knowing that you're on the path to health. Take good care of yourself, and please keep me posted!

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Suzette in D.C.

So, clearly I've looked away for entirely too long. Look what trouble you get yourself into!\?!

Dude, I sure hope you get better soon. This is some serious stuff. Please keep me updated, and call me when you can in the evening.

Oh, and a word of advice, DO WHAT THE DOCTORS TELL YOU TO DO. (I know you)

Take care dude, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Suzette

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Jim in D.C.:

My goodness... I'm glad to hear things are a bit better now. When is your procedure?

I'll let the team know, if it's ok with you - I think some would like to send their well-wishes.

Take care, and feel even better...

Jim

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Chris in Wiscasset:

amen, you ARE a lucky man.

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Saadia in D.C.:

I am glad to hear you've been diagnosed and are in treatment. I was worried when you emailed me that you might have pneumonia. One of my work colleagues has similar conditions to yours -- blood clot, heart problems but no pneumonia -- and was in the hospital twice in the summer. But though her blood clot is still around, she's doing much better now.

Where are you going to be living in the next few months? Do you need anything?

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Steve in Wiscasset:

Hi G., glad to hear you are out of the hospital. Sounds like you had quite an ordeal. We all were and still are very concerned for you.

When you get up to your moms, maybe we can get together for a coffee or some lunch. Nothing to serious, just a little hand holding and gazing into each others eyes..... oh wait, wrong G. Maybe we can watch a football game or something.

Seriously though, your big bro has asked us to stop by your moms on the 21st. I am not sure if that will work out or not, but hope to see you over the holidays.

Having been through a similar escapade as yours on a couple of occasions, I may have some resources available to you. Cook books, tips etc. Let me know if you need anything. Take care of yourself.

Steve-O

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P. in Portland:

Hi G.,

What an ordeal for you! I'm glad you're out and resting at Rick and Diane's now - following a sensible diet and such. I imagine you have many thoughts and feelings that could go into some very creative writing now. I hope you can get it down because you have a talent for this.

I also imagine you have some major life changes to make and paths to discover. I'm routing for you. I wish for you to find your way.

Until then, I'll be seeing you at mom's in the near future.

Be well,

P.

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D. in Biddeford:

Greg: I'm so pleased that you are out and about. In the long run, this scare may be the early warning that keeps you vital so that you can help steer our political awareness toward truth.

take care, enjoy each minute.

D.

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Chaatoes in Alexandria:

G.,

Amen to that, I'm ever so glad yer on the mend -- I was indeed worried and apprehensive since talking to you last Thursday. Now, take care of yerself!!!!!

Talk to you soon.....

D.

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Bruce in D.C.:

Yo G.,

Sorry to hear about all your health problems--sorry, but not too surprised. I hope you take this as a wake-up call to lose a whole lot of weight.

I'll be joining you in that endeavour. About a year ago, I hit a personal high of 261 and lost 20 pounds in 40 days using a strict South Beach diet--no alcohol, no sweets, small portions. I'm back up to about 258, so it's time to start thinking about getting back on my diet again.

Hope you're up and around soon. Walking a lot is key too.

Bruce

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Mark in Winston-Salem:

G.,

Sounds like quite a ride. Glad you are still here. Have a Merry Christmas and hope it is all better from here on out.

Mark

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Karen in Memphis:

Hi, G.--

So sorry to hear of all you are going through. What heart procedure exactly are you scheduled for? a bypass? a heart replacement? Do you still have health insurance since you had to leave work? Let me know if you need a place to recuperate after you've worn out your welcome with R. and D.. There are a couple of rooms in my place or my Mother's in Memphis if you need time and attention to recover. I hope you make a full recovery very soon and that you have good doctors. My prayers are with you.

Sincerely,
Karen

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Laura in Fairfax:

Not a hey howa ya been? Just a hey I almost died? Well hello to you too!

Anyway- god that is awful and I hope you are feeling better! And 1 glass of wine a day is supposed to be good for your heart. Just ask my 97 year old grandma.

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J. in Portland:

Word, man. I'm so glad you're on the upswing. I was rootin for you. I'm off to yosemite early wednesday, but when i get back in january we should hang...meditate together, eat some raw kale, and then pick up some chicks and go on a long bikeride.

Cheers,
J.

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Paul in D.C.

wow. that's fukking intense. thanks, first of all, for letting me and others know. too often i think people don't, for whatever list of reasons, and i'd much rather know so that i can share the concern across the cosmic pathways... keep taking care of yourself, and keep eating and exercising well... we need you and your voice out there...

oh and get some rest...

cheers, paul

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The Harvster in D.C.

G.:

That its the worst (but best written) e-mail I have ever received. I am so sorry about your ordeal. I cannot imagine the fear and difficulty you experienced and continue to experience dealing with the physical issues and the related mental and financial stress. I got a little taste of prolonged illness when I missed two months of work with vertigo earlier this year--but only a taste. Your situation is in a completely different league. I am terribly sorry. I wish I could say more, but words fail me. Please know that we are pulling for you. You are a good man. You deserve some good luck.

My prayers are with you,

The Harvster

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Gil on Bailey Island:

hi g.,

so, it takes this kind of drama to persuade you to visit brunswick? you need to get out more!

let me know when you've settled and interested in a visit. bailey island is near. perhaps i'll come by. we'll go for a walk, introduce ourselves to the natives and terrorize them at a later date.

onward,
gil

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Beth in Portland (via R.):

Thanks for keeping me updated on G.. I did call him again on Tuesday, but he was pretty drugged up and I told him I'd just keep trying until he was able to talk. But please let me know if you think it's not a good idea for me to call. I know even with just pneumonia a simple conversation can wear one out, so I don't want to tax him further.

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Kathleen in South China (ME) via Rick:

Good to hear from you with updates. Glad he is getting stabalized. This is a shock as it's the first we have heard about G. being ill. Crimy he's my age!!! Give him our very best.

love kathleen and david

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Mike in Boston via R.:

Tell him we love him and need him back for the holiday rush

Thanks R.
mike

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Mark in Topsham via R.:

Hi R.,

Tell G. we are thinking about him and your family during this time.

Mark

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Dan in Pittsburgh:

I'm glad to hear that the problem has been diagnosed and the prognosis sounds positive. I was concerned with the "from a NH hospital" quote and was hopeful that you had just stuck your foot in your mouth or something.

Please keep us updated on your health and know that you are in my prayers that God's healing hand would touch your heart.

- Droid

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Susan in Alexandria:

Hi there!

I just tried to call, but your line was busy. As I don't check my e-mail too often, I just got the message you are in the hospital. Thank goodness you have Rick & Diane there to help "take care" of you. How frightening. I hope the doctors are able to figure out all that is wrong and get you up and well again soon.

Am going out with a friend this evening, but am thinking of you and hope that are steadily getting better by the moment.

Love you!
Susan

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I also received very nice falicitations from Ingrid in Alexandria and H.A. in Darnestown, but I'm switched to find them to post them. Sorry, guys!

Also: Cannot -- CANNOT -- leave unacknowledged other brother J., who helped me cover the cost of the pharmaceuticals and, with his 2nd son, moved me out of my one room cell over the bar in Southie over the wknd.

Family! You dig?

Thank you all. Very much!

on the mend...

Email sent out last night:

----------
Family & Friends…

Roughly 'round 2:45 p.m. this afternoon I was discharged from the Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, NH, after spending 9-1/2 days in the Telemetry and Intensive Care units. The initial diagnosis was Pneumonia in my right lung, such that I had to leave work for an indefinite period, thus subsequently losing my position for lack of being available to work.

I drove up to R. & D.'s on Thursday, the week after Thanksgiving, where he urged me, at her suggestion no less, to come and stay for a little while so that they could look after me. I had been suffering since late September and was only slowly getting worse. I spent one fitful night trying to sleep but with little success. That Friday, I was struggling mightily to breathe and with a persistent though mighty dry cough. Rick insisted on taking me to the E.R. in Keene. I didn't resist.

It wasn't long before the medical staff on duty discovered that not only was I suffering from "atypical pneumonia", but my heart was in A-Fib, i.e., Atrial Fibrulation, meaning the top part was beating considerably more rapidly than the bottom half, a decidedly unhealthy development. They treated me with antibiotics for the lung, and blood thinners and pressure meds for the heart.

Long story short, I was given a variety of drugs for a variety of symptomatic ailments. One of the intended procedures, after having been admitted, was to put me under anesthesia whereupon they could take the electric paddles, yell "CLEAR!" and shock my heart thru my sternum (vs., say, shocking my heart, then yelling "CLEAR! Oops!! Sorry!"). Except when they scoped me in the O.R., they discovered my atrium was harboring a blood clot. Shocking it could then possibly dislodge said clot to where it might cause an embolism or stroke. My diagnosis was downgraded to "Congestive Heart Failure!" I'm only 48 and must say, those words scared the hell out of me.

So I'm scheduled for the procedure in January, after the clot is made gone; meanwhile the blood thinners, the diuretics, and more antibiotics and vitamins. The good news in all this is medical technology: it makes for a possible near complete recovery. 20 years ago? Not so much.

I write this while sitting at the dining room table in Rick & Diane's home in Troy. She's preparing a low-sodium chicken soup for dinner, and I am drinking water while fantasizing it is wine.

I suspect I'll be collecting disability for at least a couple of weeks before being ready to go back to work, wherever that'll be. I just wanted to thank those of you Rick contacted about my situation, in response to which you kindly wished me well. Believe me – it was greatly appreciated. I was careening the emotional sturm & drang for certain, fearing life was indeed way too short. I found great comfort in your sympathies.

Suffice it to say, I have a fantastic family – The Best! – some of whom visited me at the hospital and the rest of whom called and text-messaged to wish me well.

Thank you, all. Please know this one believes more than ever no man is rich as he who has family & friends.

g.

a guy's gotta draw a line somewhere...

This is so wrong:

101-year-old Briton Poses Topless For Calendar

Look, I doubt that I'd care to scope out Olga Kurylenko at 101.

joe klein: at it again...

Fortunately, substantive journos like Ryan Singel and the blogosphere in general are hot on his trail:

Because when it comes to these topics, Klein is well beyond stupid. He's dangerous.

Glenn Greenwald, too, nips at his heels:

For the sake of its own credibility, Time Magazine needs immediately to prohibit Joe Klein from uttering another word about the eavesdropping and FISA controversy. He simply doesn't know what he's talking about and he publishes demonstrably false statements.

Notable here is not merely the immediacy of the responses but also the vehemence. Joe Klein is presented as Time Magazine's "liberal" writer. As such, this kind of liberal needs henceforth to be pounded each and every time he puts pen to paper or opens his yap on television, lest the genuinely progressive mind be forever misrepresented.

paris, je t'aime...

Put Paris Je T'aime on your DVD queue. It is a gorgeous, charming collection of vignettes all filmed on location in the City of Lights. All-star cast, ranging from Gena Rowlands to Steve Buscemi to Gerard Depardieu to Natalie Portman, et al.; including a heretofore unknown lovely -- to me, that is -- named Olga Kurylenko (pictured above), who plays a vampire in a particularly moving manner.

Certainly takes the ache out of being under the weather for the holiday.

separated at birth... ?

Georgie Bush & Ted Bundy.

'Nuff said.

wrapping one's mind for the holidays...

Dr. Heisenberg, call your office:

The good news is: the longer the universe survives, the better the chance that it will mature into a stable state. We are just beyond the crucial switching point, Mr. Krauss believed.

The bad news is: the quantum effect, a truly weird aspect of physics that says whenever we observe or measure something, we reset its clock.

I've heard the uncertainty principle summarized thusly (and I'm sure if you amateur physicists can set me straight, I'd be much obliged): The mere fact of observing something changes that which is observed.

So little time.

----------
Update: Does this help?

The uncertainty principle is stated in popular culture in many ways, for example, by some stating that it is impossible to know both where an electron is and where it is going at the same time. This is roughly correct, although it fails to mention an important part of the Heisenberg principle, which is the quantitative bounds on the uncertainties. Heisenberg stated that it is impossible to determine simultaneously and with unlimited accuracy the position and momentum of a particle, but due to Planck's Constant being so small, the Uncertainty Principle was intended to apply only to the motion of atomic particles. However, culture often misinterprets this to mean that it is impossible to make a completely accurate measurement.

Agh... !! So little time... !!

----------
Update II: Oh swell! My grasp of the uncertainty principle was erroneous. What that is is the Observer Effect:

In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observing will make on the phenomenon being observed. For example, for us to "see" an electron, a photon must first interact with it, and this interaction will change the path of that electron. It is also theoretically possible for other, less direct means of measurement to affect the electron; even if the electron is simply put into a position where observing it is possible, without actual observation taking place, it will still (theoretically) alter its position.

But never mind that! The Tree Falling in the Forest thingy is starting to unravel my mind-wrap!!

Perhaps the most important topic the riddle offers is the division between perception of an object and how an object really is. If the tree exists outside of perception (as common sense would dictate), then it will produce sound waves. However, these sound waves will not actually sound like anything. Sound as it is mechanically understood will occur, but sound as it is understood by sensation will not occur.

Time's up! Put down your pencils!

happy thanksgiving...

Giving thanks the bird's beak is steel-tipped.

(h/t to C&L)

manifest destiny (not unlike deja vu) all over again...

Pottersville deftly draws a comparison between the Iraqi occupation and the genocide perpetrated by the white man on the native Americans not so long ago:

Many Middle Eastern peoples, principally the Iraqis, had long since learned that lesson during our own gold rush, this one on their oil fields. As with the native Americans, the Iraqis would come to be viewed by the foreign invaders as being in the way, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As with the Lakota Sioux, who had had their food rations cruelly cut by the federal government, a quarter of all Iraqis are now on some kind of food subsistence program, food rationing that is all but unconditional.

friday follies...

Bill Simmons, a.k.a., The Boston Sportsguy:

Come on, you missed having the Pats around a little last weekend. It's OK. You can admit it. Meanwhile, here's an intriguing e-mail from Jim in Boston: "I want the Patriots to bring back Doug Flutie out of retirement for the sole purpose of kicking an 'eff-you' drop kick. This will hopefully occur in Week 15, just before halftime with the Pats up 84-0 against the Jets. During the postgame news conference, Belichick will deadpan to the reporters, 'Hey we're just playing the game -- what did you want us to do, kick a field goal?' This has to happen."

All in favor?

Ayeeiii... !!

chris dodd emails me (because i'm so very special, y'know)...

This retroactive immunity fight, and yesterday's result, were different than most we've had since our party took control of Congress. Not because we won one, but because of the unprecedented cooperation with the grassroots.

We didn't allow the Bush Administration to shape a false debate -- security vs. Constitutional rights -- both nationally and within our own caucus. It took the kind of leadership and action delivering results that is easy to talk about, but increasingly hard to find.

And with your help, that's the leadership you'll have in the White House.

Your contribution will help us do the things we need on the ground to get us there. January 3 is getting real close.

Please make a contribution now: http://chrisdodd.com/goal

Thank you again,

Chris

"the american mark twain"... ??

Here's a real head-scratcher:

"Vonnegut was the American Mark Twain. He even looked liked him. Everybody loved Vonnegut, whereas Norman was a much more controversial figure," says J. Michael Lennon, the literary executor for Mailer, who died Nov. 10 at age 84.

Last time I checked, Samuel Clemens, a.k.a., Mark Twain, was an American. It's like saying "He's the British William Shakespeare," or "She's the Russian Fyodor Dostoevsky!"

Kinda redundant, no? Ridiculous for a literary type, yes?

physician, heal thyself...

I think I know what's been buggin' me:

Clinical depression (also called major-depressive disorder or unipolar depression) is a common psychiatric disorder, characterized by a persistent lowering of mood, loss of interest in usual activities and diminished ability to experience pleasure.

While the term "depression" is commonly used to describe a temporary decreased mood when one "feels blue", clinical depression is a serious illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that cannot simply be willed or wished away. It is often a disabling disease that affects a person's work, family and school life, sleeping and eating habits, general health and ability to enjoy life.[1] The course of clinical depression varies widely: depression can be a once in a life-time event or have multiple recurrences, it can appear either gradually or suddenly, and either last for few months or be a life-long disorder. Having depression is a major risk factor for suicide; in addition, people with depression suffer from higher mortality from other causes.

... either that, or maybe it's middle aged angst?

another one bites the dust...

Norman Mailer: 1923-2007

The line from Finding Forrester -- Sean Connery to the kid: "You'll get laid if you write a bad book!"

Norman Mailer was a giant. Ergo, Marilyn.

But I digress...

it's gotta be the beans...

Hey, World! If you thought having a World Series champion and early SuperBowl favorite was more than enough for one backwater burg, get a load of The Green in tennis shoes:

The party was over, the piñata was in tatters, and the Boston Celtics were one win closer to reestablishing themselves as the most electric team in the NBA.

*Sigh* Just another reason to hate on loving that Dirty Water.

foreclosure on the republican party...

As I was a Realtor once in Northern Virginia, this story really caught my eye:

In 2005, Loudoun County recorded a total of 12 home foreclosures. Thus far in 2007, there have been 643.

The reality of growth and wealth is that almost nobody in Loudoun really feels like they're living in the wealthiest county in the country. Because we're not sharing in it.

Could it be that suddenly, the voters on what was supposed to be the explosive front of the Republican "permanent majority" realized that the idea all along was for the super-wealthy to grab all they could, and leave the wanna-bes -- who were voting their aspirations if not necessarily their reality -- out in the cold?

Considering the so-called experts considered Northern Virginia as essentially bubble-burst proof, what with the turnover Congress endures every 2 years, not to mention the military every day -- and it may yet still be the case in Arlington/Alexandria counties (I haven't looked at the numbers), this is mighty cold water for 1st-time home-owners who put little money down and instead signed up for sublime-to-ridiculous interest rates on their home mortgages.

The Loudon County board, up to yesterday, was run by Republicans. Yesterday, it went Democratic.

Irrational exhuberance indeed.

this one's fresh'n new...

Chaatoes always had a clever, if subtlely scathing, mimic of the union striker, s/he with the overly familiar, tired and decidedly unoriginal chant:

"Hey hey! Ho Ho! Fill-in-the-blank has got to go!"

A slight twist, then, heard from the Hollywood writer's strike:

"Hey hey! Ho Ho! Package delivery can't write this show!"

... ... ...

Well, I thought it was funny. Writers, after all.

----------
Update: Actually, as I recollect, Chaatoes had an even better line, or, I should say, sadly, he told me the story of a striker, who, while trying to hang a sign off the Golden Gate Bridge, fell to his death; his last words quite possibly being...

"Hey hey! Ho hoooooooo... !"

2nd cover in 4 weeks...

What SI jinx??

Footnote to the Big Win Sunday: All Indy's talk of "We didn't have Harrison, we didn't have our line healthy," Blah! Blah!

Here's what it is: Pats got the Colts' measure. The refs tried to give it to 'em, and they had a 10-point lead with 9:35 remaininig.

Indy had their chance. They blew it!

Come January in Foxboro, if Indy makes it that far? There won't be any piping in no crowd noise at the Razor. No need to. That stadium sound be organic -- you dig?

And the ice & snow? That'd be real too. Foxboro ain't no ski resort!

Blow out!! 19-0!!

----------
Update: matt v said:

Boston has been on the cover of SI so many times recently. 5 out of the last 5, and 7 of the last 12!
Sept 17: Randy Moss
Oct 1: Jonathan Papelbon
Oct 22: Tom Brady
Oct 29: The Celtics "Big 3"
Oct 31: Josh Beckett
Nov 5: Jonathan Papelbon
Nov 12: Pats Linebackers

dennis the menace...

Did I say "menace"? I meant Superhero!

Concerning the possible resolution against Bush, Swanson said Kucinich "wanted to let everyone know that he will not only continue pushing for the impeachment of Cheney but will also take up the impeachment of Bush with a new resolution."

The beauty of his efforts here involves doing an end-run around the vile 3-toed sloth that is Pelosi, Hoyer and Emanuel. And -- Oh my Gahd! -- he's getting the Republicans to help:

Although the roll call vote had initially appeared to favor Hoyer's motion to table, Congressional Quarterly's Ed Epstein told CSPAN that Republicans had switched their votes at the last minute in an attempt to embarrass the Democratic leadership, who is not keen on seeing further action on the impeachment resolution.

I'm all in favor of embarrassing Dem leaders, raggedly limp-members that they be, but the bet here is Republicans are once again overplaying their hand (their raison d'etre), assuming their only reason to table the table is to "embarrass the Democratic leadership" while not considering the American people may get behind this effort like they never would for Clinton's impeachment.

Considering the M$M hasn't picked it up yet, another bet here is this will take on a life of its own. A majority of Dems in the House cannot possibly not vote to Impeach if it gets thru committee. And by the time it gets to the Senate, it'll be bigger news than Iraq.

Game on!

----------
Update: Okay, civics lesson for me:

So the bill goes to the Judiciary Committee. Where it will sit next to Kucinich's other resolution calling for the impeachment of Cheney, which was offered through regular channels back in April.

But didn't I read somewhere that Conyers might be itching to pull the trigger too? Ah, yesss... !

whilst i drive... and dream...

I think I've developed a pathological hatred for cab drivers. Though I wouldn't call it a proper statistical sampling, I've had my share of encounters nonetheless.

New York: Are 10 out of every 12 cars in this town actually large yellow taxis pedal-to-the-metal? Pedestrians, by definition, can't be too bright attempting to cross 5th Avenue... or 1st Avenue or Madison Avenue, whathaveyou. These psychotic bastards blaze and careen in fleets; 3 or 4 wide, 6 or 9 deep. Traffic lights be damned! We are the champions, my friends, and we'll keep on flying to your end. I swear, some of them have humanoid silhouettes pasted on their doorsides.

Washington D.C.: The most timid little wankers on wheels (courtesy of Fred's two feet). Slow. Slower. Slowest. You honk at 'em from behind -- Get a move-on, fucker! That only slows 'em down. I fantasize being on one of those Cop-video shows where I tap their bumper and watch 'em fishtail off the side of Key Bridge.

Boston: These are the most maddening sonsabitches. Drive in the left lane. Always. Go the speed limit. Never more (quothe the Raven), never less. Unless, of course, you try to pass 'em; then they fuck with you. Which ought to make for a tidy summary of their collective conciousness: "We drive to fuck witchu, mahn!"

And which brings me to my other fantasy, sort of a Double-Oh-Seven-Dr.-No feature: An anti-grav ray that I can activate with a button. My grill recedes under my hood and a beam fires out at the car in front of me. Nothing happens at first, but then, subtlely, the targetted chassis lifts up, then the wheels come off the ground.

Up, up... up... a tiny blip in the sky. And then... gone.

Sometimes I imagine the car returns gently back to the lane from whence it came and continues onward -- after I'm long gone. Other times it rises to the stratosphere and then comes crashing violently back to Earth. And then there are the times I will the car to reach escape velocity, leaving the planet entirely. Of course the Sun's gravity-well grabs hold of it, drawing it toward its inevitable doom. The bet then is whether the car and its passengers burns to a cinder before or during its crash into the Sun's corona, or maybe the vacuum of space makes them bloat beyond capacity, eyeballs bulging and protruding outward...

... just before they go *Pop!*

safe than sorry, better to be...

Decided to bag the drive north this morning. Hurricane Noel is already kicking ass along the eastern seaboard, and I figure three hours of wind gusts and steady rain is a hair too treacherous if not inadvisable.

See you next weekend, Mom?

well, he's right...

Cesca's header in HuffPo: Crazy Bush Compares Democrats To Nazi Appeasers

Not in the context he implied, but as far as where Schumer & Feinstein giving the ole to Michael Mukasey, I'd say Dubya was spot on.

Of course, that means the Bush Administration = the Nazis in this equation.

friday nite lite... wishing i was lit...

I suppose I could've said something about the Sox winning the thing, but I've been fighting a persistent dry hack for two weeks now and, well, I'm just not that into the Sox as I used to be. Oh, I enjoyed the right proper stomping of the Christianist Rockies, but my Sox fever was broken and has been for some time, which I realized once Grady Little farted away an appearance in the '03 World Series to the Yankees -- and I didn't rage, but merely steamed. Thank Bill Buckner for that innoculation oh so long ago, eh?

Totally psyched I am, however, to catch the Pats/Colts mid-season SuperBowl on Sunday. Not certain where I'll catch it, but I figure I'll be on the road back from Maine prior to. Gotta visit my mom, who's in the hospital recovering from an elderly fractured pelvic girdle. Brutal! But what a tough nut she is, me mum, even if cracked. She fell and she got up!

I read today Schumer & Feinstein caved on the torture-apologist AG nomination today. No surprise. Schumer has ever been the pathetic milquetoast and Feinstein needs to shave her ears. Like, how 'bout it, California? Let's kick that old, whiskered tree-shrew to the curb, shall we?

So, what say to a bottle of red; pick up the DVDs (Spiderman 3; episodes of The L Word and The Rockford Files) at the P.O.; drop off the watched vids (Rescue Me and The Sopranos) at the store, grab a hot sub and turn in?

It's been a week.

great!! news on a friday...

The question here is: when does Hillary sic her goons on him?

Less than a week ago, shortly after he announced for president, Stephen Colbert was favored by only a little more than 2% of Democrats as the favorite for the nomination. Now, a Rasmussen Report national telephone survey has found that he gains 13% of voters in a matchup with Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

With former Sen. Fred Thompson substituted for Giuliani, the host of Comedy Central's Colbert Report still got 12%.

If he keeps gaining over 10% a week, Colbert should be leading the field before November is out.

----------
Addendum: Had to add this bit of insightful insight:

But [one] observed: "I know that Colbert's candidacy is a joke, but the fact remains that he is the only "candidate" to directly confront George Bush and the media elite. I think that's why he is gaining support.

Even though he is a comedian, he has heart, brains and courage. That separates him from the rest of the pack."

lions & tigers & bears, oh my... !

Some right-wingnut group called Family Security Matters has come out with a Top-10 list, i.e., The Top-10 Most Dangerous Organizations. Of course, I've provided links to all of them (some of which have been linked for some time by this site -- Ooooo!!):

10) ThinkProgress
9) Muslim Student Association
8) CodePINK
7) American Civil Liberties Union, National
6) Family Research Council
5) Center for American Progress
4) League of the South
3) MoveOn.org
2) Universities and Colleges
1) Media Matters for America

Nos. 6 & 4, I find curious. The former is the rightwing Christian group run by Tony Perkins. (You remember Psycho? -- no, not that Tony Perkins; this is a different kinda psycho.) The latter is a secessionist group of chuckleheads who just can't get over the fact they lost.

So if I were to guess, then -- and I'm not at all familiar with Family Security Matters (except that it's name and list of board-members implies it's pro-police state) -- I'd say the FRC & the League are viewed by this group as loose cannons and will have to be put down when the balloon goes up.

Meanwhile, what to do with the Universites and Colleges -- those bastards!!

the more things change...

Sydney Blumenthal has a marvelous essay on Walter Lippman in Salon, illustrating well the corporate media as being ever thus:

By substituting propaganda for truth, brandishing jingoism to enforce conformity, and asserting arrogance and certainty over skepticism and humility, Lippmann contended, the manufacturers of consent confounded democracy. "In so far as those who purvey the news make of their own beliefs a higher law than truth, they are attacking the foundations of our constitutional system. There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and shame the devil."

headline of the day...

RUDY THE YANKEE FLIPPER
MASS.-KISSER ROOTS FOR RED SOX

Okay, so what if it is the NYPost? It's a hoot!

why do they hate us so... (not a question)...

Given that tonight presents Game 1 of the 2007 World Series, let us keep in perspective:

[I]t was impossible for me to deny that Boston is enjoying what may be the most mind-boggling run in modern sports history.

Not only are the Red Sox in the World Series for the second time in four years (thanks to an epic comeback against the Cleveland Indians), and not only are the 7-0 Patriots looking utterly invincible, and not only have the Celtics managed to assemble a trio of all-stars (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce & Ray Allen) to rival the Big Three of yore, but even the Bruins are off to their best start in years. Oh, and the Boston College Eagles are ranked Number 2 in the nation.

The allegory here, of course, is the way Boston sports fans are viewed by the rest of America, i.e., precisely the same way Americans are viewed today by the rest of the world.

----------
Addendum: Wow! Steve Almond really speaks my language:

They have all the passion and knowledge you could ever want. No argument there. But they're also tragically attached to their own martyrdom. If you gave the diehards truth serum, I suspect at least a few would admit to some disappointment at having won the World Series after '86 years. They used to be Major League Baseball's most famous hard-luck case. Now, they're just another big-market bully with cash to throw around.

Oh sure, the fans still complain. But it's just not the same.

And so, oddly, even as an avowed Red Sox hater, I sometimes find myself rooting for the team. If triumph is the worst punishment they can suffer, let them suffer all week.

now that's entertainment... !!

This oughta make Olbermann 2nite (link to video):

"Blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands," the protester told Rice, who was President Bush's national security adviser when he decided to invade Iraq.

"War criminal! ... War Criminal!" the black-clad, "blood"-soaked protester screamed as authorities dragged her from a hearing room on Capitol Hill. "Take her to the Hague."

california fires...

tar & feathers otherwise...

MoveOn And Top Bloggers To Launch Campaign Pressuring Hillary And Obama To Back Dodd On FISA

This could get interesting.

----------
Update: Glenn Greenwald, doing his part:

The Clinton and Obama campaigns should still be called today and an answer to that question ought to be demanded. They can be reached here:
* Clinton Presidential: (703) 469-2008
* Clinton Senate: (202) 224-4451
* Obama Presidential: (866) 675-2008
* Obama Senate: (202) 224-2854

----------
Update II: Looks like it's working:

Obama Camp Says It: He'll Support Filibuster Of Any Bill Containing Telecom Immunity

No definitive word from Hillary yet. And no surprise there.

stark apologizes for being spot on...

This is so damnably annoying:

Republicans talk the most vile shit about their political enemies and never bend. Democrats talk truth to power and are forever made to apologize.

Another very good reason to smoke pot: it curbs the throes of nausea.

----------
Update: From Firedog Lake:

I called Stark’s office in DC to complain about his apology. The person answering the phone told me that Stark had no choice; Stark was told before the vote was taken that should he not apologize, the vote to censure would pass. According to his office, that is the only reason he apologized.

but then...

Shirley MacLaine says Dennis Kucinich is a UFO devotee? No biggie, says I. But then I'm not an hysterical Republican.

Responding to David Kurtz' latest comment:

I would draw a distinction between assuming there is other life in the universe and thinking it is sending you messages.

I agree wholeheartedly. But then (again) I'm none too shy in dismissing Christianity as the greatest and cruelest hoax ever perpetrated upon humanity.

pete stark rocks... !

... and of course the repos are whining about it; and of course nancy pelosi belches words like "inappropriate". Feh!

taking the vichy out of the democrats...

If there was any doubt about Harry Reid being a snivelling wretch of a "leader," his office's announcement that he'd ignore Senator Dodd's hold on the Fuck Americans Act, i.e., the caving to the giant telecoms by granting them amnesty for their wholesale eavesdropping on Americans, ought have removed it; ironic given he once referred to Alan Greenspan as "one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington." Now that the latter is out of everyday politics in our nation's capital, perhaps Reid is jockeying for position?

So Progressive Americans clearly have a two-front war: Fighting the criminally vile Republican party, and the now open expansion of the corporate LeiberDem/DLC wing of the Democratic party. No more pussy-footing about it:

Reid must honor and support Dodd's hold on FISA.

But it's not just about this one action from Reid. Democrats have got to quit supporting Democrats who haven't got the spine or the temperament for a fight. We need Democrats who understand that even when you don't have the votes to get the job done, making a public case with passion and purpose is just as important.

Dodd's stock is rising quickly with Progressives after he announced his intention to filibuster the FISA legislation as a counter to Reid's intended betrayal of one of his own. It might also behoove the sound-bite specialists in Dodd's presidential campaign to start peppering Hillary with the nickname "Loyal Bushie" a few times. See if it doesn't stick.

who's cooler under pressure... ?

Tom Brady or Josh Beckett?

keep this handy (he said to himself)...

House Passes Federal Journalist Shield, Includes Bloggers

If I should die before I wake... click!

ladling soup to nuts...

Sports talk in this town is as would be expected, and just how the sandwich maker allowed while the game was on last night: "I'm so pissed!"

I had to laugh.

It's complete: I can't be bothered with what happens to the Sox. I can't even help but admire the Indians. This kid Peralta at shortstop is a stud. I expect Theo to sign him to a multi-year contract after next year, after he signs yet another flameout shortstop to replace F'ing Lugo.

And speaking of Vincent's l'il brother, is it me or does his signing of J.D. Drew for an obscene amount of money for too goddamn many years resemble too closely the Dems in Congress bending knee repeatedly to the War Criminal in Chief?

We all KNOW its wrong. We all KNOW its stupid! And yet we're relegated to watching the little tweeting birdies revolve about our heads while wondering WTF??

Pats 19-0!! Right here! Right now!

the wknd that was...

Blessed are New Englanders, if for no other reason than for its sports teams, which have served as a grand paliative, providing a distraction from the everyday trials & tribulations of living a life of quiet desperation, from having to witness the wanton and vile corruption of our federal government and our society as a whole, the rampant lawlessness of the haves and much less so of the have-nots.

And then it occurred: Must really suck being a New York fan these days!

Graphic courtesy of The Boston Herald

natalie portman?

I groove on art.

larry craig hangs tough, hangs low...

Here's what I want to know: When Idaho Repo Larry "Wide Stance" Craig called Bill Clinton a "nasty, bad, naughty boy," was he sporting wood?

My interest is purely intellectual.

No, really!

new york state of mind...

Those poor poor Mets fans...

... and, uhm, Jets fans...

Oh, the humanity!!

file under "christ, jesus h."

Jeffrey Toobin illustrates the sky as indeed falling:

Mr. TOOBIN: You know, I went to a speech that Justice Scalia gave at a synagogue here in New York a couple of years ago, and someone asked him, `What's the difference between your judicial philosophy and Justice Thomas?' I thought a very good question. And Scalia talked for a while and he said, `Look, I'm a conservative. I'm a texturalist. I'm an originalist. But I'm not a nut.' And I thought that...
GROSS: Meaning that he thinks Thomas is one.
Mr. TOOBIN: Well, that was certainly the implication.
GROSS: Mm-hmm.
Mr. TOOBIN: It was pretty amazing. I mean, Thomas is well outside the mainstream, even of the conservatives on the court.

And who else knew Scalia, the Tony Soprano of the judiciary, wasn't a nut?

(Mental Note: NOT... a nut!)

oh, please... !!

Listening to UMass make a game of it w/Boston College. I say "listening" because local Boston TV ain't broadcasting it. I mean Jesus! -- we can watch VA Tech v. North Carolina, or Yale v. Holy Cross, or Notre Fucking Dame crap themselves yet again, but not B.C. v. another university from Massachusetts IN BOSTON!?? Must be true what they say about the Amherst campus never getting its due respect with the local media here. But at the cost of blowing off their beloved Eagles?? WTF?

Gave me a good excuse to go hit some golf balls. Nice day.

But back to the broadcast at a commercial: "This is Doug Flutie here to talk about [some generic jewelry store]. I always go to [some generic jewelry store] for all my fine jewelry needs!"

C'mon, Dougie! All your "fine jewelry needs"? Let's assume you do haul yer white-bred suburban ass to go buy rings'n things more than twice in a decade, yer still a freakin' football player ferchrissakes! Can't you even use the word bling?

flashback...

Sox fans: Good seats available: Just $495 a pair

Which reminded me of senior year, Somerville High, in '77. L'il bro, he a frosh at B.C. High, & I decided to play hooky, first time in my life, to go to opening day at Fenway. Bleacher seats: $3.00 a pop! I kid u not!

This, of course was just after the Sox signed one of the first free agents right after the reserve clause was overturned: Bill Campbell, state-of-the-art closer, formerly of the Minnesota Twins.

A gorgeous day as I recall, Cleveland in town, Dennis Eckersley starting for the Tribe. And y'know, I can't even recall who the Sox gave Cleveland for the Eck, but I do remember the Sox trading Eck to the Cubs for Bill Buckner, but that's another insane story.

Anyhoo! Bleachers! Fenway Pahk! Opening day!

Sign on the back wall: "Sell Campbell! Bring back $1.50 bleachers!"

had 'em all the way...

Sox clinch A.L. East!

maybe w/a hair less smarm...

Diane Feinstein: The new Lieberlips...

2nd Choice: Lieberman Wears A Dress

don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes...

Nice piece in the Globe on the current Minuteman RB Matt Lawrence.

Given UMass has a Nat'l championship, '98 v. Georgia Southern, and came within a quarter of a second last January against Appalachian State, I've taken a keen interest in realizing their talent, particularly at RB, is of NFL caliber. Two of Lawrence's predecessors, for example, are with the AZ Cardinals: Marcel Schipp, back-up to Edgerrin James, and Steve Baylark, rookie on their practice squad.

Gotta think their QB Liam Coen stands a chance of getting drafted when the time comes.

Meanwhile, HUGE game saturday at Chestnut Hill against the #11 B.C. Eagles. 'D'be a mighty tasty follow-up to App State's bouncing Michigan opening day this season.

... or be square!

Oreo Pizza Moustache

Agreed upon at the 6 House: This is the most disgusting commerical seen this century. Oreo Cookie Pizza? With accompanying mustache face?

Won't be long before Domino's comes out with their new Feces Pizza.

quote of the day...

Lorenzo Neal, fullback for the *cough* Super Chargers:

"They jumped on us like a spider monkey."

Eee! Eee!!

proud to be a patriots fan...

Posted on my Fantasy Football message board:

"Dan--- Please make sure you change [g.'s] team name to 'Cheater-town and Maine'."

My first reaction, as the owner of the "Boston & Maine" fantasy football team, was to take this as tongue-in-cheek. Q is a good guy, whom I've known for several years. And even though he's a J'ints fan, he's honorable if highly competitive, and the jibe looks to be nothing more than a dribble of testosterone, a hardy fellow's pot-shot across the bow as it were. No big deal.

But there's a part of this business that annoys. In case you didn't hear, we the people of New England are not defending the crap Bill Belichick pulled with the video camera. Moreover, his taciturn disposition in expressing his remorse, or the lack thereof, has made him no friends and could very well have set Patriot Nation to actually reconsider its reverence for "The Genius". In fact, my sense is he could very well be done at season's end. His contract is up, and, even before this shinola hit the fan, talk was he was indicating, though not directly saying, a need for new vistas. At this point, one can easily consider this a good idea; all of which makes the head spin at how quickly the world has turned inside-out.

How it plays, of course, depends upon whether or not the team can maintain its level of excellence. The players, by association, are besmirched by this scandal. Of course, they've shown many times in the past that any such distractions are other people's problems and not theirs. Having said that, it is suspected each and every warrior clad in Red, White, Blue & Silver will be wanting to prove mightily that it is, and always has been, more their talent and discipline comprising the main ingredients of their 3-Championship elixir, and less the insider's knowledge.

Given they were deemed heavy favorites to win the '08 Super Bowl entering this season, they were also viewed as needing something a little more tangible in the way of an us-against-them motivation anyway. Well, they certainly have it now.

Meanwhile, Giants & Jets & Skins fans, oh my, are treating this seamy and unseemly grist as manna from heaven. Perhaps they ought pay heed to ESPN commentator and former NFL signal-caller Sean Salisbury, for example, who quite rightly dismisses anyone who contends the videotaping of an opponent's hand signals and then, within a 12-minute halftime window, can correctly decode and translate that information into a successful 2nd-half plan-of-action, all the while assuming the opponent's signals weren't changed, and is even indirectly responsible for the Patriots winning three (3) NFL championships, as absurd. Which means those clamoring for their "ring back," Hines Ward, need to redivert themselves from what amounts to nothing more than rank and venomous envy.

But it is indeed sad these also-rans see fit to take license in conflating Belichick's apparent lack of character as a flaw in the city itself.

Boston is America's "Cradle of Liberty", and has been around for quite some time, exhibiting to the world a gold standard of living, of education, civil liberties, fellowship, and -- yes, Goshdarnit! -- Sportsmanship!... or perhaps you've never heard of those Celtics fans of lore, say, who, upon realizing the '82 Dr. J. 76ers would prevail over Larry Bird and the Celtics in the NBA Eastern Finals, began chanting at the Garden as the seconds ticked down: "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!"

Funny how I don't recall New York or Philadelphia fans as doing something like that. Ever! And today, Boston sportsfans are making absolutely no excuses for their "Genius" coach, but are, in fact, coming down hard on him.

I've written in this space before on the passion cum mania of the Boston sportsfans. It is overwhelming, and, having witnessed it as one who attended many games in Baltimore, it can be most obnoxious.

But this is my town and these are my people. They are me.

I am a Bostonian!

And today the Patriots are mine.

----------
Update: Sunday, early eve. Just back from the driving range in Lexington. Have about an hour to kill before I head over to Uno's in Harvard Square to catch the double-header: Pats v. Chargers on one channel; Sox v. Yankees on the other. Both are national broadcasts. Playoffs for ev-ry-bo-dy!

Well, not everybody. Heh!

Eatcher hearts out, fellahs!

----------
Update II: Pats Stomp Chargers

"This might be the most satisfying win of all," said an emotional Tedy Bruschi. "I've never been in a situation where people were doubting us, our integrity. I care about that logo, as much as anyone in here. And I care about how we're perceived. What we do is win football games. What we did tonight speaks volumes about who we are."

-----------
Update III: Pats Extend Belichick's Contract Thru 2013

And that, as they say, is that!

maher de har har (revisited)...

He go:

Republicans sex scandals are getting to be like Iraqi car bombings. By the time you hear about one, there's been another. Ted Haggard, Mark Foley, Bob Allen, Vitter, Craig... It's like "Clue" only the answer is always "A Republican... in the washroom... with his cock."

separated at birth... ?

Saw a headline this morning where Bin Laden is calling for a "Caravan" of martyrs. I thought it sounded familiar, and then I remembered that's essentially what our Dear Leader has been saying, although so badly at articulating.

Bush & Bin Laden: Both are quite sanguine to let many others die for their cause(s), but are apparently loathe to put their own necks out there.

Lovely!

one of yer better sundays...

Who ever objected to hand-me-downs didn't have mine as brothers.

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago, younger brother gave me a complete set of used, although newly-gripped, and just plain mighty fine golf clubs, while elder brother provided an old pair of fairway spikes and passes to one of the nicer public-18s, i.e., in Brookline, with which the three of us, along with elder's old army buddy, tee'd off this morning at 8:00 a.m. The forecast promised t-storms, prompting elder to suggest that, should it indeed storm with the usual bolts from the gray/blue, I should stand still holding my 3-iron aloft. I grinned and said, "and do it over there?"

But the skies withheld, although the humidity had already dropped precipitously from yesterday, and made for a right pleasant morning of recreation and exercise. Don't ask me the score, I'm new at the game and I've been assured rookies receive a year's reprieve from the golfing Gods.

So we had some fun and felt pretty good about ourselves, then off we went caravanning the surface streets of Beantown to Southie and Amrhein's for a fabulicious brunch and the pleasure of watching your! New England Patriots stomp the ever-loving beJesus out of the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. Take that New Yawk!!

Is why I moved back up here, don'tcha know: Days like this.

le'me help ya' there, oscifer...

Here's a fellah who needs just a little time:

"I don't see a funny side to what's happened today. I don't see a funny side at all," NSW Police Minister David Campbell said.

Well, it's like this, Officer Minister Sir: The joke's on YOU!

h/t to HuffPo

mac this... !

You spend $2Gs on a MacBook Pro, and your power adaptor frays right at the magnetic coupler little over a year after purchase. The thing is worthless and, of course, the battery won't last for more'n a coupla hours. Then you hear the coupler is commonly understood to be a piece of shit, and you're nobody special. You wanna spit.

Back from lunch am I. Just dropped $69 on a new adaptor/coupler because no Mac repair shops in the greater Boston area specialize in that kind of repair. I wanna spit.

Glad I'm holding out another two years before I get an IPhone. I hear the price has already gone down $200 since the first-run idiots stood in line for days back in the spring.

Suckahs!