LeBron James hosts Jay-Z in Last Chance for Change

Last night, Gale and I saw Jay-Z. I had not seen Jay-Z in the flesh before, but thought this would be a great opportunity to check him out. Of course, this was under the guise of a concert sponsored by the Ohio Democratic Party. The agenda was encouraging people to vote and all, but really everyone was there to see Jay-Z.

The Venue: Quicken Loans Arena. This was a General Admission show where gates opened at 6:30 for an 8:00 start. Even the uppers were opened for this one.

Stage Banter: Quite frankly, LeBron looked like a fool for most of the night. He was on stage for virtually all of Jay-Z’s performance. If Jay-Z was on the left, LeBron would be on the right and vice versa. Never really getting in the way, but inserting himself into the proceedings was downright strange. Thank God, he didn’t have a mike. Let me be sure everyone understands. He rapped along with Jay-Z on virtually every song, but did not have a mike. I mean, Jay-Z already has one “rap partner”, Memphis Bleek, on a few tunes, he doesn’t need another. LeBron would stroll to the front or side of the stage and wave his arms, point, or in general look out of place.

Imagine, if you will, you on stage with your favorite artist. You can’t sing, you can’t play an instrument. You’re just there, hogging the spotlight. While people utter, WTF?

Here’s what LeBron said: “You know who I'm voting for, I'm voting for Obama…For real!". Ugh!

Jay-Z chimed in with a: “We're here to have fun tonight, but there's an important election coming up. We the youth are going to show them our power." For real, I say! He also pulled a “Peace and love” comment a la Ringo Starr.

And, of course, he shouted out to all the “niggaz” and “muthafuckas” in the house. More than once. I got lumped into the “Westside” comment.

The Tickets: As I said, this was a General Admission show. I got my tickets from the Obama Election Office in Kent last Friday. I got floor seats. Lower-level and upper-level seats were also distributed, but if you wanted to get a prime location, you had to get there early. No way would we do that. We were able to watch the Obama commercial and then stroll in about 8:40. We set up near the press location near the back of where you could stand on the floor. Wasn’t really that bad back there, lots of room to move and drink my beer in peace.

The Crowd: I have never been in a venue with that many black people before. No lie. Of the 20,000 in attendance, I estimate maybe 1,000 were white. And thank God, Frank Jackson was there. Yes, the mayor saved me from chaperone status. Although the PD interviewed some 63-year old, who was probably cowered in a loge somewhere.

My brother and I saw George Clinton many moons ago at Peabody’s. I’m not sure if the ratio of black-to-white was greater, but the sheer scope of the crowd was something to see.

The Sound: The sound was excellent once again at the Q. It’s all in where you sit (or stand) these days, I believe. Jay-Z has a band that really rocks out and those guys were in fine form. No worries here.

Opening Act: There wasn’t any. Oh yeah, that had a lame DJ who tried to keep the crowd occupied until 7:55, from what I heard. Then the Obama commercial was shown from 8:00 to 8:30. As we walked in, the Politician Parade started. First, Frank Jackson came out. Don’t believe the hype, he got booed. A lot. Then Chris Redfern, the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, came out representing the white people in the hizzy house. After him, an unknown man came out. Jay-Z came on about 9:10.

The Stage: Awesome setup. He has a video screen on each side of the stage. And a much larger video screen hovers above, almost the length of the stage. Jay-Z has a “rap partner” with him up front. And his band is dressed in ties, black vests and pants, and white shirts.

This band was unbelievably good. In the back, left to right, he has three horns, percussion, drums and keyboards. In the front, left to right, it’s keyboard/DJ, bass, and guitar. Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek roam around the front of the stage, with Lebron there for good measure. Great mix of sound and visuals.

The Music: Jay-Z played for around 80 minutes, the show lasting from 9:10 til about 10:30. I must say, if you ever get the chance, you need to see him live, he is the real deal. I put him on par with Springsteen or U2, where mostly everyone knows the words and sings along to every song. It is quite the spectacle. I know tickets were free, but whatever he would charge for a concert, is fair. The man knows how to put on a show. It’s not hard to see why his music still resonates with the youth, he is an amazing entertainer.

Setlist:

“Say Hello”
“U Don't Know”
“Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)...”
“Jigga My Nigga”
“Can I Live”
“Blue Magic”
"Minority Report"
“Public Service Announcement (Interlude)”
“Swagga Like Us”
“Put On (Remix)”
“Dirt Off Your Shoulder”
“A Billi Freestyle”
“I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)”
“Jigga What, Jigga Who (Originator 99)”
“Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”
“Can I Get A...”
“Show Me What You Got”
“I Know”
“Excuse Me Miss”
“La, La, La”
“Song Cry”
“Memphis Bleek Song”
“99 Problems”
“Jockin' Jay-Z”

Encore:

“Big Pimpin'”
“Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)”

Last Chance for Change Video



Meal of Links

Harry Shearer checks in. Catch Le Show, Sundays at 1:00 on 90.3, if you can. I still marvel at how good of a radio show that is.

How can you not like "Rounders"? Great on the big screen. Which reminds me, I should program that Playhouse Square summer movie schedule. I'd get asses in the chairs for sure. This movie turned my opinion, to the better, on Matt Damon. And, absolutely sold me on Edward Norton's acting ability. For being a supporting actor, his scenes absolutely leap off the screen in this one.

Roger Ebert with advice for film critics. Very funny.

The Onion had Roy the Forklift Driver from Ohio 15 years ago. History repeats.

Kids today are not ingenious enough to use the Halloween Candy Code. Of course, they love me around here.

Exercise Yard

I guess this is how you celebrate winning the World Series. With a bottle to the head!



Visitor

36 Across: First name in country (5 letters) Answer: Merle

We've been hearing a lot about early voting this year. I am either a traditionalist or sadist, so I wait til Election Day to cast my votes.

But I must tell you, as I was in the Obama office in Kent last week, they were really stressing that everyone should vote early. I think this is a direct appeal to the youth, who have been termed "erratic voters". You know, folks who say they are gonna show up at the polls, but never do. It's a pretty effective strategy and from the responses I witnessed, a lot have already voted. That ground game of Obama's will be the latest gold standard if they pull this win out.

Meal of Links

What movie should I watch next? Two ways to find something similar.

GM and Chrysler want help to merge. Two wrongs do not make a right.

I Want My MTV. Yes, they are finally putting up the archive of music videos. So, to celebrate:

"Kool Thing"/Sonic Youth



Exercise Yard

Phillies fans are looking for stubs. What if you found one on the ground on your way out the other day?

Visitor

1 Across: Jazzman Stan (4 letters) Answer: getz

The Browns have won two games without Kellen Winslow, so there's been a lot of talk about dumping him. It's pretty much a given that he's gone after this year, because of his actions last week and his obvious desire of a new contract.

But let's see what tidbits the Browns leak to the press. Currently, it's Winslow's lack of blocking. I'm not sure anyone thought he was a great blocker, but we didn't hear much about it the last two years when he set a team record for catches by a tight end and last year when he was All-Pro. A year in which Jamal Lewis went wild running the ball, BTW, with Winslow on the field a lot.

But what I've heard lately is that the Browns are of the mind that Winslow doesn't run the correct routes. Not that he's a bad route runner, mind you. No, they are trying to say he runs the incorrect pass pattern that is called. All I can figure with this type of smear is that they are setting us up to not get what the fans perceive as fair value for him.

If Jeremy Shockey gets a second and a fifth-round draft pick in return, Winslow deserves at least that much in return. They are very similar. Mouthy, oft-injured, non-blocking tight ends whose teams perceived they could win without their services. But to paint Winslow as a non-blocking, inept player that the league knows can't run a route, is setting us up for a bad trade. Let's see what happens.

Meal of Links

Sarah Palin thinks Barack Obama is a socialist. Is it really a bad word? And let's not forget about the check that every Alaskan gets each year before we answer.

BTW, Palin had a policy speech on science late last week and said some strange things. Hitch chimes in. His last paragraph is one that reminds me why I like his writing so much:

"This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just "people of faith" but theocratic bullies. On Nov. 4, anyone who cares for the Constitution has a clear duty to repudiate this wickedness and stupidity."

Craig Ferguson hosts Punk Week on his show this week. X, The Dolls and the Damned show up.

All about "Night of the Living Dead". There's a ton here, all week.

Exercise Yard

Mike Singletary, he of those crazy eyes when he played for the Bears, has a memorable first post-game news conference as coach of the 49ers. As a fan, it's great theater. how it works with players is anyone's guess.

Coach Singletary Goes Off



This ranks up there with all of the previous favorites:

"Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs. Are you kidding me? Playoffs? I'm just hoping we can win a game."
"You play to win the game!"
"They are who we thought they were...and we let 'em off the hook!"

Visitor

52 Across Down: Youngest Masters champ (10 letters) Answer: Tiger Woods

"F-R-E-E, that spells free.

Tickets for Jay-Z, baby!"




















Yes, I'll be in attendance at Jay-Z presented by LeBron James for the Last Chance for Change. I'll have the chaperone hat at the ready, but I'm going strictly for the material. This typical white person has floor seats, so this should be fun.

My prediction. It doesn't start on time, and LeBron is on stage a total of 30 seconds and Jay-Z does 5 songs. Maybe.

Meal of Links

You see many Volvo Trucks zipping around the landscape here. In Europe, their orders dropped to 115 last quarter. That's a 99.7% downturn! That seems almost impossible.

McCain must have looked at those O'Reilly maps. He guarantees victory.

Tom Jones drinks a lot during this interview.

Exercise Yard

The Browns saved their season today. Again. Next week should be interesting, as Baltimore and Denver visit within 5 days of each other.

Today's game was a weird affair. Browns up by 10 at the half, then hardly had the ball in the third quarter, played insipid offense near the goal line once more, kicked two late field goals and survived a winning TD that was bobbled by the Jaguars' Matt Jones with hardly any time left.

Browns win, 23-17, in a game I didn't think they had a shot. The thing that is keeping them alive, no turnovers. And today, only one penalty. Oh, it was a big Roughing the Passer call, but ultimately did not cost the Browns.

Visitor

None, it was a sunny, cloudy, dark, sunny Sunday.

Today is always one of the best days of the year. The men in my family came over for another viewing of The Breeders Cup. This event now incorporates two days of racing. Friday is for the ladies, Saturday is for the Men. So, we men watched six hours of horse racing from Santa Anita, where it was a nice 92 degrees with no fires locally.

Didn't bet this year, as I really had watched very little racing since the Triple Crown and hardly read anything this week. But the juices got flowing while watching some races a few weeks ago and I suggested we put the big TV to work today. The broadcast was split between ABC and ESPN. My God, ABC's bass was working terribly. I could not figure out if this was a Channel 5 problem, an ABC problem, or a Time Warner Cable issue. Anyhow, the sound was incredibly bad and I could not wait for 3:30 to come around to see the rest of the races on ESPN. The sound issue went away, thank goodness, on ESPN. But that sound issue remained a problem throughout the Michigan-Michigan State and Ohio State-Penn State games on ABC, so I have no idea who was at the switch.

Since the racing was from Santa Anita, we get Trevor Denman and his "Away they go." calls. he did a much better job this year. And even without wagering, you get to see the most unique venue for a race in the States. And that is the turf course at Santa Anita where they employ the hill. When they start the race on TV, you don't even think you're watching a race from the same course. It's almost like "over the river and through the woods" racing. They used it for one race today, a 6-1/2 furlong sprint on the grass, where Richard Migliore, "The Mig", won on Desert Code:

Breeders Cup Turf Sprint



Later on, of course, they asked Frankie Dettori, a European jockey, about the difference between American grass and European grass, where I always get to reply: "I'd say it's less harsh." Oh, we said many jokes today.

Here's Frankie leaping after one of his two wins:



























You know, in his younger days, Dettori used to really get up in the air on these, where it could be legitimately called a flying dismount. Looking at this picture, it looks goofy, as if he tripped getting out of the saddle or something. Hopefully, it's the camera angle. I fear it is age creeping in, however.

Since it was near Hollywood, we saw: Kurt Russell, Dennis Hopper, Turtle, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Bo Derek (still gettin' it done, BTW), Ahnold, Gary Player, Stacy Kiebler, the All-Star Buglers (with "Bohemian Rhapsody" before a call to the post) to name a few.

But we had lots of fun this year and hope to attend Churchill two years from now. Hell, it's back in Santa Anita next year and hey, let's think about that one, while we're at it.

Meal of Links

Halloween candy is purchased. Here is the list:

Butterfinger
100 Grand
Milky Way
Dark Chocolate 3 Musketeers with Mint
Snickers

Speaking of Halloween. Try your hand at Cat Bowling.

Sarah Palin is a "diva". That quote comes from the McCain camp, incidentally.

Check out O'Reilly's Electoral Map. Hahahahahahahahaha!

Unlimited solar power. Wouldn't that be nice. Somehow cheap and easy to implement sounds good, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Exercise Yard

This is what makes boxing so interesting, you never know. ShoBox had a fight on last night with a finish that looked very fishy.

The ref explains himself.



Visitor

28 Down: "The Getaway" actress (10 letters) Answer: Ali MacGraw

Good to see Opie, Andy Taylor, Richie Cunningham and The Fonz in action.

Ron Howard (and Friends) on the Election



Meal of Links

I've said for weeks, the books are being written right now on how John McCain had such a terrible campaign to be President. Well, it's starting. Fascinating stuff from the New York Times Magazine, especially about the choice of Sarah Palin.

"Office Space" is a movie I've tried to like. Sure, there are some laughs (I admit, I laugh more at the first hour of "Men at Work" than this) but some folks swear this is the funniest thing ever committed to celluloid. I'm still fairly lukewarm, although my actual viewings have been few and came pretty late in the game. Here's some love.

A giant spider eating a bird. No, really.

Hey, science to get me drinks faster. Whoo hoo.

How to make a Phot-O-Lantern. The example they use is Dwight Schrute.

A little colder in hell today. GNR's "Chinese Democracy" will come out. Now about that free Dr. Pepper.

Larry David worries about the election. I know of where he speaks. And if some clown declares a 2012 candidacy on November 5, I will seek him out and punch him.

The 25 Greatest Movie Soundtracks. I actually have a copy of "Beat Street".

Check out Dubai!

Exercise Yard

Next Tuesday, it's free tacos, everyone. Well, they got that out of the way early this year.

Visitor

21 Down: Saints' quarterback Drew (5 letters) Answer: Brees

Well, not only are the Browns sucking currently, this year's version of "As The Elf Turns" begins. I'm sensing this is going to end badly. I understand why the Browns suspended Kellen Winslow, but to introduce discipline to this bunch now is a bit ridiculous. I'm not sure Winslow's comments were as "disparaging" as Browns management thinks.

And it's now a given, unless we see a new coach around here, we won't see Winslow in the last two years of that contract. It's really a shame. I don't see anyone else on the squad as talented or hungry as this guy. Really a super player. Don't get me wrong, we have some talent at his position if he does leave, but I think he's too good of an asset to toss aside. And if you think I have a double standard on that, yeah, I probably do. If it was Brandon McDonald, I'd probably be sharpening my pitchfork.

Meal of Links

Crap. More creatures I have to worry about. What are the odds I will encounter the deadly Cone Snail?

Do Sarah Palin's children ever stay home? It seems they are on the campaign trail an awful lot and it appears this isn't a new practice.

10 good reasons to grow a giant beard. Hiding place for weapons, tools and snacks is a pretty good one.

"Dexter" reups for two more seasons. I think that's a good move.

Exercise Yard

EliteXC, you know Kimbo Slice's promoters, are out of business. Losses were in the tens of millions.

Visitor

40 Down: "The Bonfire of the Vanities" author (8 letters) Answer: Tom Wolfe (I have a copy if you need it)

As you can tell, my tree is the first one to shed all of its leaves.

















That would mean the end of raking, no? There's something called wind that makes that impossible. Anyhow, I detected a little frost this a.m. That means crank up the "Edmund Fitzgerald' song...fall has arrived, and winter is on the doorstep.

Meal of Links

My Dad and I went to see the movie, "W." yesterday. It painted a somewhat sympathetic view of old George W. Bush, considering it was Oliver Stone behind the camera. Josh Brolin was very good in the title role. This movie made me hate Dick Cheney, even more, and he was played by Richard Dreyfuss. Thandie Newton played Condoleeza Rice and annoyed me to no end. I'm sure she was close to Rice's cadence, but it bordered on parody. Babe's Dad played W.'s Dad and he was good as usual.

Best line of the movie was not on screen, but from a woman behind me. When trying to determine what was up with WMDs, Bush asks, "Who's in charge?", the woman says, "You are, you moron."

One other thing about the movies. We were at the Regal Beagle in Middleburg Heights. Got there early for what is now "First Look", which used to be "The 20". This was a series of three to four vignettes including behind-the-scenes stuff with interviews about upcoming TV programs or feature films. Now, it is basically full-length commercials for each show or movie without the interviews and stocked with endless amounts of commercials. Just so you know.

Votes are flipping on West Virginia machines. Homer Simpson was right!

A history of home values. Look for the market to bottom out in 2011.

Creative Lamps. That is some cool stuff there.

Exercise Yard

Really, what did you expect from the Browns? Hard to imagine they actually had a chance to tie at the end. Was there any sort of a carryover from Monday? It appeared not. Although, we still can't defend the run. That's a constant. Yesterday, it was Clinton Portis (old Coach Janky Spanky from a couple of years ago) running amok with 175 yards and the Redskins totalling 193 as a team. Well, that made for a quick game. Ugly, but quick.

It seemed the Browns offense reverted back to the pre-Monday Night games. With only one week to prepare, we never tested the Redskins secondary deep. At one time, Derek Anderson was 3-15 passing, before ending 14 out of 37. Not even 4 yards per completion. Braylon Edwards drops a few passes. Again. Jamal Lewis had a decent day running, but only after they decided to mix it up and run outside a bit. But it's unlike the Redskins, who continue to use the running game knowing those 3 and 4-yard gains turn into bigger gains later when the defense tires.

I think the biggest issue yesterday was during the Redskins goal line stand in the 4th quarter. All of a sudden, odd personnel packages started showing up for the Browns. I don't mind them, if these guys had at least had some plays before called upon. But Charles Ali and Jason Wright had passes thrown to them when they hadn't been in at all. Where is Jamal Lewis down there? Unbelievable, that Syndric Steptoe and Josh Cribbs also had goal line play. Let's keep Lewis in, with Darnell Dinkins and Steve Heiden in for added blocking. How about that for a change?

Anyhow, Browns lose, 14-11, in a game they didn't deserve to win but almost tied late. A loss at Jacksonville next week and we're right where we were before the Giants game, which presently looks like an aberration.

Visitor

None, a nice sunny Sunday.

Last night, it was another version of Polka Happy Hour at The Happy Dog. We hadn't had one in a few months, so it was a good test to have many drinks over several hours. I think I did about three shifts worth. And the burger and tater tots I had hit the spot.

And I tried a wheat beer, that was new to me. Magic Hat No. 9. No, not a Beatles song, sounded Halloweenish, but I had it on draft. I had several, I thought it was pretty good.

Meal of Links

Michelle Bachmann, congresswoman from Minnesota, is a nutbag. Liberal equals anti-American? She's daft and should not be re-elected.

A book about texting. Maybe he could have texted to it to us.

Yep, it's a Nuge World Order.

The "Pain Train" is back!



Exercise Yard

Uh oh. Kelly Pavlik lost last night. Now, I didn't see it, I'll wait for the replay next Saturday. But at first glance, it looked like he got his ass whipped by Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins is 43 and may have just fought the fight of his life. The non-title fight, for the cash obviously, was at 170 and Pavlik admits he has to go back to 160.

Visitor

20 Across: 1964 Olympic boxing gold medalist (10 letters) Answer: Joe Frazier

Through the raindrops last night for the music of...

Nick Lowe

Last night, my brother and I saw Nick Lowe. It had been several years (decades?) since we had seen him. The last time was at, of all places, the old Variety Theatre on Lorain.

The Venue: The venerable Beachland Ballroom. Hadn’t been to the Beachland in a while, but it remains one of the best concert settings in town. They had the chairs set up for this one, with standing room along the sides and back, for this sold-out show.

Stage Banter:: I’ve always liked Lowe. He has an awesome sense of humor. I recall when Bowie came out with the “Low” album, he came out with one named “Bowi”. Last night, he looked like your uncle. Hair even whiter now (he's 59), he wore a white shirt and dark slacks and seemed to be having a great time. And last night, he had two soliloquies that made me laugh.

“Thanks so much for coming out tonight on this tour. It’s not really a tour, as I’m really on my way home. I came out to San Francisco to do a benefit with my two good friends, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner. Then I appeared on two programs, “Prairie Home Companion” and then filmed a segment for “Austin City Limits”.

It is really an honor to be asked to appear on those American programs. They have been around for, what, 35 years? They are national treasures, really.

But I realized it was a terrific opportunity for me to present my music to an enormous audience of “Joe Sixpacks and Hockey Moms.”

Later on, before introducing a new song, he said this:

“I’d like to play a new song for you next. I understand when people pay good money to hear you play, there is always a pause when you hear that. Now whenever I’m in the audience and I hear something like that, there are two schools of thought. Much like you’re thinking right now.

The first is: “My God, start playing it already. I really want to hear this. The man’s a genius. Really, when does he sleep?”

The second is: “How long is this going to take?”

I tend to fall into the latter category. Trust me, I feel your pain. But, keep in mind, most of my songs run only about 2 minutes, 30 seconds. And remember. All of the songs you have come to cherish were at one time...unplayed, untested, unloved.”

Then he sang the new song, "I Read A Lot". Not that that's a tagline of mine or anything.

The Tickets: Got the tickets ahead of time for this General Admission show. We grabbed a couple of seats at the end of a row on the left. The back cushion of my chair fell off early, but we slid it back in with no further mishaps.

The Crowd: Absolutely no need for the chaperone hat. They could have called me “Sonny.” But, when we walked in, I said, “Gee, does Nick Lowe have any female fans?” A disarmingly male-to-female ratio at the start, got a little better as the night continued. Maybe with good reason.

Because this loud-mouthed bitch would not stop yapping. Seriously, this was a person who must wake up each day and say, “How can I be even more obnoxious today?” The type of person you want to tell that I’m lookin’ at my ticket and I don’t see your name on it. Very annoying. Finally, someone about 40 minutes into Lowe’s performance suggested that she be quiet.

The Sound: This was a solo show. Just Nick Lowe and his guitar. There was a terrible buzz during his first two songs, the second in which he abruptly stopped and said, “Can you hear that? I thought I was the only one.” A replacement microphone was installed and the sound was fantastic from that point forward.

There was an opening act. Greg Townson, who is in some local band (?), the Hi-Risers. He was solo, as well, with his guitar and played about 30 minutes. Most of his songs were in the Jonathan Richman mode. His high point was probably “One Note Joe”, a song about a guitar player.

The Stage: The setup is about as basic as you could get. Nick Lowe, in the center of the stage, with his guitar and a small amp in the back.

The Music: Lowe played about 85-90 minutes and covered a lot of material. This show was a terrific showcase of his songwriting ability. I was not familiar with most of his recent material, but he touched upon all phases of his career. There were times these songs were so beautifully constructed, you could hear a pin drop. Yes, even the loud-mouthed one knew when to shut it during these interludes.

Setlist: (I think)

"People Change"
"Soulful Wind"
"When I Write the Book" (from the Rockpile days)
"What's Shakin' on the Hill"
"Heart" (also from Rockpile)
"Lately I've Let Things Slide"
"Has She Got a Friend?"
"All Men Are Liars" with the lyrics:

“Do you remember Rick Astley?
He had a big fat hit that was ghastly.
He said I’m never gonna give you up or let you down.
Well I’m here to tell ya, that dick’s a clown
Though he was just a boy when he made that vow.
I’d bet it all that he knows by now.”

"I Trained Her to Love Me"
"I Read A Lot"
"Cruel to Be Kind"
"The Kind of Man That I've Become"
"I Live on a Battlefield"
"Hope for Us All"
"Without Love"
"Rome Wasn't Built in a Day"
"I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)"
"(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" You tend to forget that Lowe wrote this song, as Elvis Costello has co-opted it all these years. But to hear it this way, solo, acoustically...Man, the melancholy just oozes out of the record.

Encore:

"Heart of the City"
"The Beast in Me"
"7 Nights to Rock"

Meal of Links

Top "US Celebrities in Japanese Commercials". The Ben Stiller one made me laugh. Peter Falk, who I love, but as a bartender, WTF?

Matthew Modine talks about his movie roles. I happened to catch the end of "Full Metal Jacket" the other day. It still rocks.

Al-Jazeera, of all places, exposes Ohio racism at a Palin rally. These folks actually reside in our state. “I’m afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over." Good God!

I have the debate recorded and have not watched it yet, but are we sick of Joe the Plumber yet? I heard the Couric interview today and he says, "At least with McCain, you know where he stands." Dude, Obama cannot be clearer. If you make more then $250,000, you'll have higher taxes. That's where he stands. Turns out Joe may have connections to Charles Keating. Ha ha.

The red squirrel. One tough bastard of a rodent.

Exercise Yard

Super Bowl tickets have reached the $1,000 level. That is more than I pay for a season's full of Browns tickets. Football is king.

Visitor

45 Across: "Law and Order" staple (6 letters) Answer: Lineup

Randomness from last night's Browns home game:























Special Guest: Gale. This time without blankets. We ended up taking a cab to get close to the Stadium last night. With all of the late traffic, we were dumped out on West 9th. On the corner of West 9th and St. Clair, I sent out a shoutout from my window to Felix the scalper. Would have looked better coming from the window of a limo, but you take what you can get.

So, we had to navigate the parking lot between West 9th and West 3rd to get near the Stadium. Had not been there in ages. At night near gametime, it is much like descending into Dante's Inferno. I was looking for a sign, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here". I trust the cops who are on-duty down there hope no one gets killed.

Then it was up to the seats, where the crowd was pumped for the game.

Tonight's Opponent: The New York Football Giants. Cue "Eli's Comin'". Not much of a rivalry between these two teams lately, not like the '50s and early '60s. I'll be honest, I can't remember the last game we played against the Giants. But it's Monday Night Football and the Giants have a lot going on coming into the game. They are the defending Super Bowl champs. They are unbeaten in 4 games this year. They have not lost on the road since last September, covering 11 games. They are a very good team.

Browns Version 2.3, however, is in danger of becoming a non-entity if they do not win this game. The Browns have had two weeks to prepare and that's a good thing. The offense has been real spotty and coming off a rather tepid effort at Cincinnati, so there's not a whole lot to crow about. The defense has been playing OK lately, but these are the Giants. My biggest fear going on is the Giants running game. Eli Manning has been effective this year throwing the ball, so unless the Browns resuscitate themselves, I don't think it looks good.

I give the Browns the slightest opportunity to win the game, but that was based solely on some of the strange results from Sunday's games. They still have a lot to prove with this game.

The Browns are actually wearing the throwbacks that include the numbers on the helmets this evening. Maybe that will change some luck.

Parking: East 6th between Superior and Bolivar. I consider that not so bad.

Browns Player on Ticket: It was not a player, but the Browns Legends logo. Legends inducted last night were Warren Lahr from the '50s, Paul Wiggin from the '60s, Walter Johnson from the '70s and Eric Metcalf from the '80s. Lahr and Johnson are no longer with us, BTW.

Pre-Game Festivities: The Browns Spirit Flag was unfurled again. National Anthem duties were handled by Akronite, Melina Kanakaredes, from "CSI:New York". I think she was on hand, just in case the Browns were DOA.
























At halftime, the Browns Legends ceremonies took place. After intros, the new plaque was unveiled. Those plaques are on the south side of Cleveland Browns Stadium, if you are ever in the vicinity. Hall of Famers get their own recognition.

Worst Feature (For Me): "Hang on Sloopy" at the end of the third quarter. I think there were several drunks spelling "O-L-E-O".

The Weather: Hollie Strano, once again, neglected to show us the Channel 3 Dual Doppler radar, always a feature from the Marky Nolan days. I like my radar at the games. Anyhow, it was wonderful to be at a game in October, at night, wearing shorts. Weather was outstanding.

Today's Giveaway: Surprisingly, there were no material goods proffered. The Browns gift of a wonderful Monday Night Football win warmed everyone's hearts. Apparently, that was enough.

Section 345: Few Giants fans around. But everyone was into the game, no one got tossed. Fairly tame. Helps that they cut off beer sales at halftime.

























Best Browns Play: Eric Wright's 94-yard interception return. This was at the Dawg Pound end, opposite my seats. You see the play developing and Eli Manning throws the ball to Amani Toomer. But you can see it's slightly behind Toomer and Wright jumps in and snares it. He then has a wide-open field in front of him. The place is going nuts because the Giants drive is over, but you realize almost immediately after the interception, he may score. He starts blazing up the sideline towards our end of the field and then Eli is the only one he has to beat. It appears Manning has the angle on him, but Wright outruns him at the Giant 40. There is no one left! For the next 40 yards, it's a given, he's going to score. The Stadium, by this time, is insane. Wright starts high-stepping about the 12 and it's pandemonium. Game over. Football is back in this town (at least for a few days)! May have been the best crowd reaction since "Run, William, Run!"

Best Giants Play: For me, it was the Giants first touchdown by Brandon Jacobs. If you ever wanted a classic, textbook example of power running, this 7-yard touchdown run was it. The guy is a beast.

Worst Browns Play: The early throw from Derek Anderson to Donte Stallworth on third down in the red zone. Anderson was in a pattern early in the game of doing the short drop, get rid of the ball quickly thing. On this play, he barely surveyed the defense before unloading the ball. Not even close to first-down yardage. They needed 15 yards, they got 6. The Browns, of course, then settled for a field goal.

Second Worst Browns Play: On the Browns final offensive scoring drive, Anderson decided, all of a sudden, to start throwing to Darnell Dinkins. Two incompletions resulted. Not sure what happened with the play-calling there. Although, the drive continued and resulted in a Braylon Edwards TD.

Worst Giants Play: After cutting the Browns lead to 17-14 on their final drive of the first half, the Giants inexplicably called for a long pass on their first play of the second half. This was the Manning pass that Brandon McDonald intercepted. Plexico Burress was open, but it was really a terrible throw. The Browns proceeded to drive for Phil Dawson's second field goal to take a 20-14 lead. I thought if the Giants had stuck with the run at this point, it would have been a different ballgame. Although they threatened later, the Giants never scored after that interception. A very strange call.

Best Line from Me: After watching a drunk guy in a Cribbs jersey stumble and fall over a curb pre-game: "That's great. I have Cribbs on my Fantasy Drinking team."

Second Best Line from a Me: When Eric Metcalf joined the group awaiting the coin toss. "Wouldn't it be cool if the ref called not heads nor tails, but "Metcalf up the middle!"?"

Best Line from a Random: After the doctor (some old guy wearing a suit) finally arrived to take care of the Giants' Aaron Ross: "It's about time you got your ass out there. Get him off the field!"

Oddest Browns Jersey: 5 Garcia, 31 Green, 34 Droughns, 41 Prentice, 48 L. Johnson, 58 Rainer. There was also 1 Dad, although I don't know how official any of these rankings really are.

Food Items: None. Had my pre-game Corona Lights at Alesci's. Also, some stuffed chicken with pasta. Then I became stuffed, as well.

Best Fan Cam Feature: I think the guy who wore a pumpkin head, with Browns colors, was the winner. Could you imagine the smell and the size of that pumpkin to fit comfortably on your head so you could see?

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns gave up 181 yards on the ground. I realize many of these yards came late, but the game was still in doubt when the Giants continued to bust runs up the middle. The Giants averaged 7 yards a carry. Under normal conditions, that won't get it done.

Worst Stat: It would be extreme nitpicking to find something egregious.

2nd Worst Stat: But in a game with several runs up the middle, Shaun Rogers had only two tackles. That was his lowest output of the season. It may be a sign that the loss of Shaun Smith in the rotation is bigger than we might think.

Most Interesting Stat: The Browns had ZERO punts. This is the Browns Version 2.3 with the legacy of punter Chris Gardocki as team MVP. Amazing. BTW, the Giants only had two punts for the game.

Penalties: Another Browns specialty. The false start, two men in motion type of penalties. Had a lot of them last night. I think my favorite was Braylon Edwards jumping the start of a play by at least two seconds. It was funny to see him as the only man moving while everyone else stayed put.

















No question, the Browns saved their season last night. Trust me, the crowd was ready to pounce early and as a matter of fact, the boos were starting especially after the short third-down pass to Stallworth wasn't even close to first down yardage. But it was the Browns best offensive display of the year. Everyone was involved in the running game and the passing game.

But before we start doing a Winston Wolf on each other, there are still some issues that need to be addressed. The Browns run defense was awful. I am not sure why the Giants didn't pound the ball even more, especially in the first half. And, let's face it, the Giants did drive the ball pretty much the whole game as two of the Browns interceptions were after long drives. The Browns defense had not one three-and-out. The stupid penalties of the nagging variety must stop. Last night, these were overcome.

Also, the Browns had two weeks to prepare for this game. Let's see how they do in DC this week, with a short prep time.

Make no mistake though. Last night's game was pretty special. Browns win, 35-14.

Meal of Links

Here come those Santa Ana winds again.



Palin as President. Uh-oh.

Chris Buckley gets removed from National Review for endorsing Obama. Not news, until you realize his famous father, William F., founded the magazine.

"All the President's Men" gets the Turner Classic treatment a couple of days before the election. With John Dean. Watch it if you can, just for Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee when he says, "Run that baby."

We made another list. Cleveland is Number 5 on the Worst Bang for Your Buck Cities.

How to keep those fruits and veggies fresh. Always store those tomatoes on the countertop, my friends.

Exercise Yard

Steve Bartman, five years later. If you ever watch the replay of that moment, look how many people go for the ball and are now thankful they didn't catch it.

Visitor

69 Across Down: Activist Medgar (5 letters) Answer: Evans

I'm starting to kinda like these Sundays without any Browns football. Got what could be the last grilling of the year out of the way today. Chose a steak of the Porterhouse variety.

But what about those games today. An incredible ending to both Fox games, Chicago-Atlanta and Dallas-Arizona. Each game with such bizarre endings, it's amazing the Browns were not involved.

In a strange way, it gives me more hope for Monday night's game against the New York Football Giants. A game that I've upgraded from absolutely no chance to the slightest of maybes for a win. Hopefully, the Giants watched some of these games today and get tight.

Meal of Links

Getting the details of McCain's health plan. Any way you cut it, it's not good.

The "Obama-is-an-Arab-Lady" speaks to some press after her televised embarrassment. I am not sure whether to feel sorry for or angry at this misguided soul. She maintains "he's still got Muslim in him." after being told Barack Obama is a Christian.

Fighting the Ticketmaster fight. Still.

50 Beautiful Movie Posters. A terrific compilation including a couple of the Dark Knight. I actually saw him today outside of the local costume shop, drumming up business. I tossed him a salute. And check out the great work on "Unforgiven".

Porn industry checks in on the election. "Who's Nailin' Paylin?" starts shooting....uh...begins filming.

Exercise Yard

The best sports journalism. If you have some time, follow the link to "The String Theory". It remains utterly fascinating.

Visitor

None, on a beautiful fall Sunday.

Breaking News
















After a short stint at Fat Fish Blue last evening, highway logistics forced me to to come home through the hood. So, I stopped at Steve's to grab some hot dogs. When I got there, there were a couple of urban kids getting dinner. The older was about 10 and the younger kid about 6. So, I sat at the counter next to them and waited my turn. The older kid saw my buttons.

UK: "Give...fear...a...chance."
Me: "Yep, that's our President. Not for much longer though."
UK: "What's your other button say?"
(I turned so he could read it.)
UK: "Polar bears....against...Pal-in. Does that mean you're voting for John McCain?"
Me: "No, I'm voting for Obama."
UK: "If I could vote for him, I would. Last time, when I was younger, I would have voted for George Bush. I'm not sure I liked that guy he was against. John F. Kenne..."
Me: "You mean John Kerry?"
UK: "Yeah, him. But I'm for Obama this time."

Then his dogs were ready and he hit me up for a quarter, so he could grab a pop. Of course, I obliged. He politely thanked the woman behind the counter and he and his brother went off into the night. Then I got my dogs and went home.

Meal of Links

McCain-Palin is the first ticket to have both participants guilty of ethics violations. Of course, we will hear how no laws were broken.

All about "Jolene". One of Dolly Parton's best. Many covers, including The White Stripes, are out there.

Here is a live version from The White Stripes:



It isn't Fannie or Freddie. it appears to be the private sector who is responsible for this mess.

Exercise Yard

Lots of sports viewing this evening. LSU-Florida turned out to be a dud. Missouri-Oklahoma State turned out to be pretty good. NASCAR had a funky race from Charlotte, where the frontrunners took off and there wasn't a whole lot of racing. And Boston-Tampa were doing the playoff baseball thing. And preseason NBA basketball outdoors from the Indian Wells Tennis Center, where it looked like it was getting cold. So, the remote got a workout.

But I hung mostly with boxing. Sort of blew off the Peter-Klitschko fight, but watched "Bad" Chad Dawson win a light heavyweight title, actually two, over Antonio Tarver.

Dawson's handspeed was the difference. Tarver threw a lot of punches but they had no power, Cap'n. Dawson with the unanimous decision. Steve Albert called it "An exciting, one-sided fight." and it was.

His best line was in reference to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. after an on-camera appearance: "I know he's retired and one of the all-time great boxers, but you'd think he could have better seats. He's in the nosebleeds...Bob Uecker territory."

Visitor

17 Across: Pre-WWI naval historian Alfred Thayer _____ (5 letters) Answer: Mahan

I installed my new home printer this evening. I got it from Newegg.com. It's a Canon, one of the Pixma line of printers. Setup is pretty tame, but they do a page alignment when first installing that is fairly annoying to sit through. I assume my pages are aligned. At least they look like it.

But I had a good experience and price from Newegg. I'd recommend them.

Meal of Links

How to save some cash. Hey, I need every one of those damn channels I never watch. All of 'em. You never know.

Come on. We've all done it. You fell asleep while watching a DVD.

Dogs are so cool. Welcome back from the war.

Nice Palin Sign


















Behind Jon Voight, it reads: "Hey, Sarah! I can see the end of your political career from my house!"

Exercise Yard

This is how you catch up with the designer PEDs. Keep the samples and retest them.

Visitor

23 Across: N.L. Central player (5 letters) Answer: Astro

A bit of a rainy day, so nothing like X to perk things up.

"Blue Spark"-X



Meal of Links

A handy-dandy guide to see how your representative grades out on Veterans Affairs. One of the myths of the present campaign is McCain's record on these matters. Uh, it really isn't very good. BTW, he is losing it. In PA today, he uttered the phrase "My fellow prisoners..."



You know, I kinda got the creeps when I saw Craig T. Nelson reprise his "Poltergeist" role in the DirecTV ads. Not because it was super scary, but because the child actor who played his daughter met an untimely death years ago. I'm glad someone else noticed.

The 10 Best Product Placements in Movies. Some obvious ones, but I really liked those in "Minority Report".

Ohio's Secretary of State talks about voting security. We get to see if it works in 27 days.

BTW, AIG borrowed more money. They have already burned through $60 billion of the original $85 billion. They came back for $38 billion this time.

Who owns hummus? Seriously, Lebanon and Israel at odds over this.

Exercise Yard

The Ernie Davis movie, "The Express", opens this week. Seems there are scenes in the movie that are not true. Well, it wouldn't be a sports movie if it totally relied on the truth.

Visitor

25 Down: Charlie of country (7 letters) Answer: Daniels

Tonight's Presidential Debate comes from Belmont University, a place I have actually seen, in Nashville. This is the "Quasi Town Hall" format, favored by Senator McCain, who makes a point to mention that he finally got Senator Obama in this format. I watched CNN this time, so I could see the Men/Women Pulsemeter chart as the candidates spoke. It'll keep me awake. The moderator this evening...Tom Brokaw of NBC. Here are my notes:

McCain

He may have looked at Obama upon entering the arena. I repeat, may.
Looks like he got stuck with the high barstool. I know, I know, when he was in a box for 5-1/2 years, he didn't have a barstool.
"Good to be with you at a town hall meeting. Hi, I'm Senator Snarky."
"Energy independence."
"My friends." God bless ya, if that was in your drinking game.
"Not you, Tom." WTF? Was Brokaw the banker at a Monopoly game once? He should have said, "Phil Gramm" to make Pulsemeter go crazy.
eBay mentioned and Pulsemeter almost crapped out to the negative.
"Oliver, I prefer rescue to bailout. Now go to your room."
"Never heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Don't assume, we'll just skip over my MLK Day vote.
"Cronies." I love that word.
He has more voices than Bernie Kosar.
"The American worker is the best in the world."
Lieberman! I thought Pulsemeter died right there.
"I have reached across the aisle..."
$3 million overhead projector. Small business loan, anyone? That was for the Adler Planetarium, you know. Not the South Park Planet Arium.
"I think you can work on all 3 at once..." I won't choose yet.
"My hero, Ronald Reagan." He's dead.
"Internets. Huh? What?"
"Not rifleshots here." Cheney?
"Nailing Jello to the wall!" Pulling mussels from a shell!
"Herbert Hoover." Young folks scratch their head.
"I got some news for you, Senator Obama. The news is BAD!"
"Double tax exception for each child." Again, what about me?
"Tip O'Neill." More head scratching from the young.
"Nuclear power is safe." The French do it. I thought we hated the French.
"THAT ONE!" Oh, no he dint. Too much racialism.
"Hair transplant." Too much Bidenism.
"Can we hear the size of the fine?" Crickets.
"Teddy Roosevelt, my hero." Nursing home residents perk up.
"It was a joke. Come on. I joke about war."
"Rotten stinking corpse." Not McCain.
"Second Holocaust." Aw, jeez, not this shit again.
"I have a secret plan, but I won't tell anyone until I'm President."
"Russia? Evil? Uh, maybe. I don't want Putin rearing his head."

The thing that bugged me about McCain was that flippy thing he kept doing with the microphone. He kept dropping it into his right hand. And his jokes were really lame. He should quit now. This was allegedly his best format, but Obama just looked better. The age difference was very prominent tonight. And for Palin to say forget looking to the past, you Democrats, her boss invoked Reagan, KGB, Hoover and Teddy Roosevelt to Obama's safe JFK. He has the potential to get dusted.

Obama

Obama wins the toss. He does not defer (NFL Joke minted 2008).
Allan from the no-hair section with a question.
I think Obama ignored the old timers on that one.
"AIG? We own it now. Fire their asses."
He said, "Junket..." heh heh hehe heh heh heh
Warren Buffett as Treasury Secretary? Doesn't he have a job?
"Senator McCain is right."
Brokaw tries to enforce rules. Ha! The role of the moderator went out the window in the VP debate.
"Not surprisingly." Attack him!
"No one is innocent..." about the current economic crisis.
"JFK."
"You've got to prioritize, you can't say 'all at once' and think that's okay."
He said, "9-1-1." first!
Brokaw just said we're all drunk!
Brokaw invokes rules. This is not good.
"The Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one!" That made me spit.
"He's been there for 26 of them." But he's a Maverick.
"I'm just trying to keep up with John" and his mumbo-jumbo lies.
"Rwanda."
"Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran." Good one.
"Green behind the ears." An alternative energy, I presume.
"We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda." And that's coming from a Democrat, my friends.

The great thing about Obama was that he tore a page out of Palin's playbook, where he ignored the rules. To answer the questions, mind you, but since all future moderators are neutered, what the hell, go for it. And he stayed and shook an awful lot of hands afterward. It looked like McCain could not wait to get to Strongsville on Wednesday and departed early.

Folks, I think this race is almost over.

Meal of Links

The voice of "Frontline", Will Lyman, talks about his gig. You can also hear him on the BMW ads. He possesses one of those unique voices. Look (or hear) for him in "Mystic River".

Christmas is coming. So to speak.

Liz Phair live from LA. She revisits "Guyville".

Berkeley Breathed ends "Opus" in a month. I am pretty sure "Bloom County" was the last daily strip I read with any regularity.

Exercise Yard

If you've been watching the baseball playoffs on TBS, you know what is coming. Yep, it's the return of Frank TV.

Visitor

17 Across: 1974 kidnap victim (11 letters) Answer: Patty Hearst

Gas was at the unheard-of-for-a-while price of $2.79 today. As the world goes to hell in a handbasket, at least we'll be getting there on a full tank that is a bit cheaper. Speaking of that, I had 46 cents off on my latest GetGo visit yesterday. But I still think it is not worth it to go to Giant Eagle for all of my grocery needs. They've ripped me off for so long, you know. So, I have been spreading the wealth around.

I'm on a mission to consume what I have lying around to avoid these trips. Sure, I'll pick up some meat or chicken or greens or fruit or soda along the way. I have been making some dents. But this is what I have presently. In my freezer, I am down to:

Crab Cakes
6 1/4-lb. Hamburger Patties from GFS
Trader Joe's Chicken Stir Fry
Hash Browns
Steamfresh vegetables

Refrigerator:

Condiments: Ketchup, Mustard, Stadium Mustard, Tartar Sauce, Cocktail Sauce, General Tso's Sauce, Horseradish, A-1 Marinade, Teriyaki Sauce, Light Mayo, Ortega Taco Sauce
Salsa
Gatorade
Eggs
Water
Vodka
Two Bottles of Bloody Mary Mix
Bigass Kosher Dills
Stuffed Olives with Jalapenos
Jalapeno Slices
Hamburger Dills
Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing from Ken's
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Turkey Pepperoni
Olivio (squeeze and tub varieties)

Pantry:

Progresso Soups
A Bag of Cousin Willie's Popcorn
Brown Rice
5 Boxes of Toasted Crackers
3 Boxes of Zatarain's
Hot Sauce (Tabasco and Frank's)
A-1 (Cracked Peppercorn and Regular)
Worcestershire Sauce
2 Ken's Dressings-Lite French and Lite Italian
Skippy Natural
Chicken Broth
Redpack Diced Tomatoes
2 Kool-Aid Packets
2 Taco Seasoning Packets
3 Tuna Cans
Mid's Pizza Sauce

And there's a lot of spices and cooking oils, etc.

Not exactly eatin' great in the neighborhood, but in case of attack, I can sustain for a while. Amazingly, I have no science experiments, except for two limes that look they are not going to make it. I also have 2 Bananas and a Honey Crisp Apple left.

Meal of Links

Catching up with Diane Lane. With a very nice photo. They mention "Streets of Fire". OK, it bombed, but I love that movie. Hey, the Blasters are in it. Look at ol' Michael Pare playin' the tough guy in this scene.

"I Can Dream About You"-Dan Hartman from "Streets of Fire"



Is Kimbo Slice marketable? I say definitely not. That display on Saturday still honks me off.

Really neat photos.

If you're feeling a little bit down, watch this episode of "Family Guy". It has it all: "Surfin' Bird" endlessly, Fifties references including polio, "Midnight Cowboy", Star Jones, Allan Sherman, the printer-smashing scene from "Office Space", Tom Cruise dropping from the ceiling in "Mission: Impossible", Jesus, Marlee Matlin calling Moviefone, George W. Bush, Jay Leno, Dane Cook, Pussycat Dolls.

"I Dream of Jesus"-Family Guy



Exercise Yard

Five Most Overhyped Athletes. This list is actually wide open for debate. Ryan Leaf and Brian Bosworth should be up there.

Visitor

18 Across: Reggae singer Peter (4 letters) Answer: Tosh

I had a strange thing happen regarding my car, the Scion xB today. I get in and start it up, throw it into reverse and three warning lights appear, including traction control and check engine. I ran a couple of errands including a stop at Giant Eagle. Start the car up there and no warnings. I'm wondering if the engine was cool or just a faulty sensor.

But it was like hitting the side of your TV to get it to work or rebooting your PC. "I'll just turn the ignition off and see if it works when I restart." It's the first time those lights came on, so I'll see if it recurs.

Can't let an October go without watching Manny. I believe he is attempting to slide in this photo:

















Meal of Links

You never know what you'll find on the Internets. How about Rate My Turban?

Could not figure out Sarah Palin's attack on Obama using William Ayers this weekend. Well, I guess I can. It was a lame attempt to cite the New York Times, you know part of that nasty Mainstreet Media, pointin' out she actually read it once or sarcastically sayin' it must be true if it's in there. Or, the even better, let's throw shit at the wall and hope it sticks. I'm sure Reverend Wright makes a return visit soon. BTW, Obama leads Ohio by 8. Using the 5% racist buffer that you know we have to employ on November 4th (read the final quotes in that Dispatch piece), that's a good lead.

My Dad and I watched a bunch of horse racing on Saturday and some horses from Dubai were entered throughout. But there is a dark side to Dubai.

Exercise Yard

Did anyone see the Kimbo Slice farce on CBS last night? The worst fraud perpetrated on the public since, I dunno, Sarah Palin. It's why I've always had doubts about getting into MMA. I realize Elite is not exactly the best promoter when it comes to MMA, but my goodness, Slice is a joke. Elite probably runs out of money after this stinkbomb of a main event.

Slice was supposed to have a bout with the washed up Ken Shamrock. Shamrock gets injured and pulls out the day of the event. Elite moves Seth Petruzelli to the main event and all he does is whip Kimbo Slice in the mind-boggling time of 14 seconds.

Kimbo seemed really broken up about it by saying, "It's all good.", meaning "Hey, I got mine." I think he was paid more money after he learned Shamrock was out and then proceeded to advertise his afterparty immediately after getting his ass kicked. Now Petruzelli gets nominated to be a modern-day Rocky Balboa. Unfortunately, he just beat a tomato can with dollar bills poking through the top.

It was a joke.

Visitor

None, it's a Bye Week.

Last night, I was outnumbered by women downtown about 250-to-1, because of all things, New Kids on the Block were in town. Gale and I were at Alesci's and it kinda got put in perspective by the young woman sitting next to me. I could only name three of the dudes in the group and she filled in the remaining two. She said, "You don't understand, when I was 9, I had these guys on everything in my room." I guess posters, sheets, the whole nine. She also felt a little funny 16 years later actually attending the show. But felt that even though those guys were older, look at all the women in the audience. The other thing that was amazing was how many guys knew the song "Step By Step". That's crazy.

















Later at the Clevelander, Kevin and I split $5 to play some rounds of Keno. We chose to play 5 games at a dollar each. We picked the four number method. Two of the five games netted us two numbers, so we made $4, for a total loss of a buck. Games start three minutes apart. You fill out a numbers ticket like the regular weekly lotteries. They print out a ticket with your choices and in the lower right, the games you are eligible for are printed. When you're done, you hand in the ticket to claim any winnings. They insert the tickets and you get the resultant payout. It's quite simple.

Meal of Links

All the presidential elections in map form. Still cannot figure out the 1824 election.

Redford on Newman.

Ten everyday things people do that ruin their cars. I never use the parking brake, doesn't enter my mind to use it.

Good news. Last Sunday's premiere of "Dexter" got good ratings. I'll cling to anything that keeps the show on the air.

Shows that should not have been cancelled. Good shoutouts to "Dead Like Me" (the first season is really good), "Frank's Place" (I absolutely loved that show and we got a Louis Armstrong theme, too), "Arrested Development" (with a collection of the Bluth family's chicken dance).

Homer Simpson Tries To Vote for Obama



Exercise Yard

Lance Armstrong's comeback is not going over well with lots in the cycling world. Greg LeMond is still on his case, the French aren't exactly thrilled, the anti-dopers are a bit perplexed (the thought of retesting old samples from 1999 has come up.)

It's been a rather fascinating few weeks since Armstrong announced he's coming back for the Tour. It appears he is in it to promote Livestrong. Not sure why he is coming back, I think no less than a first is a failure, simply because of all the doping talk. He's gotta prove he can win without a cloud of suspicion. As we've seen with baseball, that's tough to do.

Visitor

18 Down: "Only The Lonely" singer (7 letters) Answer: Orbison

Stumbled upon a couple of things lately.

First, gas was $3.02 on the Hudson-Stow border today. Can you believe it...$3.02!

Saw a rainbow on Tuesday about 5:30. Right by 480 and 77. There he was, Roy G. Biv, in living color right there through my windshield. I tried to see where it ended for the pot o'gold. I think it was Jimmy Dimora's house in Independence. Well, at least it was close enough.

Dave's Mercado had an insane price on pints of Pierre's this week. Only $1.25. It's been ages since I've seen pints of any brand that low. Also had a voter registration table there, too.

I completed my pre-VP debate dinner tonight. Sloppy Joes and a piece of Sara Lee cheesecake. OK, could you do better? Not just Ground Beef plus Manwich, either. An actual timeworn recipe.

Here are my notes on the Vice Presidential debate. BTW, the bar has been lowered for Sarah ("Things She Can Name") Palin from the height of a standard bar height for female high jumpers to a box of Cheez-Its to a matchbook to a blade of grass to a pea.

Immediate afterthoughts. Biden way off his game early, but came on like gangbusters in the last 50-60 minutes. Actually cleaned up on the foreign policy. Palin obviously performed better than what people thought, but that was just it. She performed, completely ignoring the questions and reading talking points with a folksy attitude that made me numb after 90 minutes. 2012 goes back to the old rules for VP debate, I'd bet. Loser was Gwen Ifill. Really a bad performance. Softballs to both really and no followups were a killer. You don't have to be rude, but suggest to one of the participants that people are watching and you might wanna answer a question I actually ask. Too many passes by Gwen.

Palin

"Can I call you Joe?" (As in Sixpack.)
"Joe Sixpack". He's good at any party.
"Hockey Moms". Bingo, I win already!
"I'm not going to answer the questions the way you and the moderator may want."
"Man activities." Trust me, I am not watching this on the pay channel.
"Climate change." What, did she say that 40 times. In one answer.
Name a question and she'll give you a talking point. Any talking point.
Has no clue about Kyoto. Bring other countries along, my ass.
"I don't want to argue about the causes." This is a debate, eh?
"Drill, Baby, Drill."
"Hungry markets."
"Senator O'Biden." Oh, no she dint.
"Nucular." Many times. Good God!
No rape kit for the Continental Shelf.
Will the Continental Shelf keep the baby?
"Energy-producing state."
"Clean green natural gas."
Gay question. Palin DOES NOT support equal rights for couples. Ifill/Biden: Crickets!
"I know a lesbian soccer mom that I saw at a hockey game who lives in the state I govern, Alaska, and well, I have many diverse family and friends on my team of mavericks."
Here we go. Surge.
"Opposed funding for troops.' Blah blah blah.
"White flag of surrender." Did I read that right, Dinosaur, I mean, Senator McCain.
"We will end this war."
Did I hear Talibani? Snap. He is the President of Iraq. She is smarter than a 5th grader.
"Second Holocaust." Who comes up with this shit?
Reading from notes. Busted!
Those crazy Castro Brothers. Seriously, that makes me laugh.
"No preconditions." Someone told me to say that because it was bad.
"Naivete." Somehow pronounced correctly.
"Respect for women's rights." Oh, you and your geezer kill me.
"They hate us for our freedoms." Zzzzzzzzzz.
No one brings this up, but doesn't Israel have nukes?
"Embassy in Jerusalem."? Oh boy, here we go.
"Finger pointing backwards instead of looking toward the future." From the party that still yaps about Bill Clinton.
"Wasilla Main Street."
"I'm not used to how you guys operate..."
"I'm not a big fan of government, but I want to work there."
"Doggone it."
Teachers. Yawn! Shoutout to 3rd graders. Yawn! Extra credit. Snore!
Wait a minute, more VP powers? Who IS this woman?
Mainstream media, I hate it.

Biden

Come on, Joe. Man, this short format is killing him.
"If you don't understand the cause, how can you solve the problem?"
Coal-Yesterday's energy...Today!
"Drill, Drill, Drill, We must!"
Which one said rape? Someone raped the Continental Shelf? WTF? Was that on Channel 19?
"Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere."
"He's for everything as long as the free market takes care of it!"
Gay marriage is a no.
Finally, foreign policy. Biden had a weak first 25 minutes or so there.
"I didn't hear a plan."
Hey, George Bush comes up. Finally.
"John McCain voted not to fund the troops. Let me repeat that!"
"God love him, but he's been dead wrong!"
"McCain hates Spain."
"Nobody has EVER been a bigger friend of Israel than Joe Biden."
"Abject failure." Say it, everyone. Sounds good.
"Past is prologue." That was a nice right hook there.
"Bosniaks". I think one of them founded Apple.
"Biggest election since 1932." Seems random, but McCain voted for Hoover that year.
"I'm at the Home Depot a lot." Building what, may I ask?
Cheney! Hahahahahahahaha.
"Scranton. I saw Michael Scott returning a Foreman Grill at the Home Depot once."

Meanwhile, McCain bags Michigan.

Meal of Links

If you know some people still pulling that "I can't vote for a black guy" routine, I urge you to show them this. Here is an impassioned plea from AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, Richard Trumka. This guy nails it.



Huckleberry Hound is 50 today. Not Val Kilmer, the cartoon.

Get a load of these New York Dolls photos from Bob Gruen. The second one blows me away because they look so young.

Another look at the life of John McCain.

Exercise Yard

Helio Castroneves better pay his taxes before Obama gets in there. And he thought he had a bad year on the track.

Visitor

39 Across: Goddess of the dawn (3 letters) Answer: Eos