I'm still around!

Out of a potential 8 soccer matches I could see this week, I've seen 6 of them, with one more to choose this afternoon. Probably gonna lean toward Chelsea vs. Bolton. The best of the bunch was the Arsenal/Chelsea match on Monday. The Gunners may have tossed off some demons with a 3-1 win. It's a good time of the year with many matches, including a full slate on New Year's Day and more on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

I've seen two movies this week and it took me a long time to recognize actors in two key parts. In "True Grit", Barry Pepper plays Ned Pepper. I didn't get him until the credits.

In "The King's Speech", I didn't get it until his abdication speech, that Guy Pearce was playing Edward VIII.

As for the movies, "True Grit" is faithful to the book. This is the Coens at their best. Delicious language out of the characters mouths, Roger Deakins filming it quite beautifully, superior acting all around. This is a far cry from the John Wayne/Glen Campbell flick. A lot darker. Not sure it's going to have enough oomph for the Oscars, but it would be a shame to be overlooked.

"The King's Speech", however, is what the Oscars lap up. A personal journey of an historical figure overcoming an affliction to achieve greatness. This is the story of Queen Elizabeth's dad, King George VI, who overcame his stuttering to lead England after his brother's abdication, into the Big One, WW II. It's the story of Lionel Logue (played by "Shine Guy"), the speech therapist who helped him with his stammering. This movie is good, really good. My God, people applauded at the end. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are shoo-ins for nominations. Helena Bonham Carter is the Queen Mother.

I think it's gonna be a generational showdown at the Oscars. "The King's Speech" is clearly your frontrunner and it will butt heads with "The Social Network" come award time.

Both of these are excellent, but make sure you see "The King's Speech".

Meal of Links

Geckos as pets. My question would be "Why?".

Paris may ban SUVs within its city limits. Let's see if that works.

Best of TV 2010. With a "Terriers" mention for Best Theme Song. And "Rubicon" is here. And Mayhem.

Porter Wagoner. I actually do an imitation of Porter, "You can only find them in boxes of Breeze." Listen to the classic, "The First Mrs. Jones". Now, THAT'S a song.

I received a few gift cards for Christmas. How not to waste them.

Nate Silver shows us how snow and air travel do not mix. It's all about airline capacity.

Exercise Yard

Tucker Carlson subbed for Hannity last night. Fairly routine until he said Michael Vick should have been executed for killing dogs.

Visitor

16 Across: Stubbs of The Four Tops (4 letters) Answer: Levi