It was almost 4 years to the day since I had seen Roger Waters in town. Last time was 9/27/06. This time, Gale and I went to see his presentation of “The Wall”. Waters had performed this barely thirty times in the past. This tour will at least double the amount of performances when he’s finished with this round.

But what I saw on Tuesday was easily one of the best I’ve seen. Part rock concert, mostly stage show, but certainly all spectacle. But it seemed right to dust it off now. Thematically, it’s a good time to stage “The Wall”. And it did not disappoint.

The Venue: The former home of LeBron James, the Quicken Loans Arena. Big enough to have a wall constructed. I’m glad I’m not Asian, as signs posted at the entrances read: “Pyro and Strobes in use during show”. In a pricing quirk, I saw beer ($7.25) priced higher than cocktails ($7.00). Although I didn’t see any booze, only wine. BTW, t-shirts were going for $40 and $50. Needless to say, I did not buy anything.

Roger Waters: Waters is one of the most politically overt entertainers out there. At 67, he hasn’t backed down one bit. But, if you check your politics at the door, the stuff he says should not be favored by one party or the other. For example, during “Mother”, he asks, “Mother, should I trust the government?” Then, on the portion of the wall that was built up to that time, the answer appeared in bright red letters read: “No Fucking Way”. Later on, during the song, “Bring the Boys Back Home”, those words appeared on the wall, and spontaneous applause broke out while there was a pause in the lyrics. Man, it was a moment that was truly lump-in-the-throat time.

I’ll contrast Waters with what you see at a U2 show. When Bono gets on the soapbox, you know it’s coming and, at times, you roll your eyes and realize OK, it’s a timeout for the political bullshit. But with Waters you know he doesn’t speak as an American, or a Briton, but as someone who understands what it means to be a citizen of the world. The message is bold and heartfelt and I like it very much.

One other thing. Waters is very appreciative of the crowd. He is serious when he has to be, but not afraid to smile and wave to the crowd when appropriate. At the end, he said this, “Thank you so much, from the bottom of all our hearts. You’ve been a fantastic audience, and it means a lot to us.”

Tickets: We went full fare this time (cost ticked over the $100 mark—think of it as a Broadway show, if it’ll make you feel better) and were in the Club seats. We had Section 109 in the Clubs, which was the second section from the stage. Aisle seats with a perfect view.

The Band: There was an array of eleven musicians and vocalists with Waters this time. Roger barely plays his bass, but remains in front of the wall most of the time. So, when they were building the wall, he had his Gilmour sub, Robbie Wyckoff, to the left, with four other backup singers in the middle. Drums were to the left, not on a riser. Plenty of guitars in the back, including my favorite whipping boy from the Browns games, G.E. Smith, on one of them. Yes, there was a G.E. Smith sighting at “The Wall”! Keyboards were on the right.

Of course, there were local kids who got to sing, “We don’t need no education…” Had to be from Cleveland, because maybe they need that education. They were supposed to sway together, but some were going one way and the others, the opposite direction. And they couldn’t stay in a straight line to save themselves. But their shirts read, “FEAR BUILDS WALLS” and that makes up for a lot.

The wall is finally constructed right before intermission. So, the first song afterward, “Hey You”, is done behind the wall. Waters is the focus for the next several songs. During “Nobody Home”, the wall folds out and there is Roger sitting in an easy chair in his hotel room, with the crowd chiming in to sing, “Got 13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from.” This leads up to what is one of my favorite songs.

"Comfortably Numb"/From Chicago



For “Comfortably Numb”, Waters is on the stage, while separate scaffolds carry Wyckoff and another guitarist to the top of the wall. Yeah, it takes two guys to replace David Gilmour! Talk about wishing you were here. I absolutely love the way Gilmour sings the chorus on this song. But they did an awfully good job on this song on Tuesday. Gilmour is rumored to make one appearance on this American tour. If he does it for this song, without any intro, and rises above that wall, I swear people will crap their pants.

After that, all of the songs are performed in front of the wall, until the wall comes tumbling down after “The Trial”. We all chanted, “Tear down the wall!” Sort of like “Let them play!” from that hideous “Bad News Bears” sequel. For the finale, ”Outside the Wall”, the lights go up and the band is dressed colorfully for the first time, dumping the black.

The Crowd: No chaperone hat, because this was truly an all ages show. Aw, these kids today. They didn’t seem to appreciate what they were seeing. My God, the row in front of was a revolving door. And, of course, there was a helluva lot of smoke with the hippy lettuce debuting by the end of song two. But, it was well-behaved and we saw only one person carried out by stretcher. He seemed to be, ahem, comfortably numb.

Props: When any Floyd member is involved, you have lots of visuals and, obviously, they did not disappoint. We had balloons representing Mother, the Teacher and the Wife. The actual wall allowed all sorts of graphics and film to be shown.

Once again, he had pics of his father who died in WWII during “In the Flesh”. This morphs into a photo of a new American soldier, then an Iraqi boy, a Somali woman, a New York City firefighter, all dead. At the conclusion of that song, a war plane crashed into the wall. We were on that side and it was cool to see.

He had photographs of fallen heroes, in war and peace, from all sides that he rotated during intermission. I even spotted Gandhi. It had a picture, when they were born and when they died as stats. Really an amazing visual.

The circular screen that Floyd seems to favor was also on hand. It showed a lot of the animation from the film version. Flowers having sex, marching hammers, etc.

"Run Like Hell" (with the Pig!)/From Chicago



Guess who else made an appearance during “Run Like Hell”? The pig!!! Yes, that old warhorse was put into service again. I love that pig and his red eyes that blink on and off. He has it labeled with RUN and "Trust Us". Plus, it displayed a Shell Oil logo, one of Roger’s favorite targets.

Also there were shots on the wall during “Run Like Hell” that mocked Apple. For instance, sheep (with their iPods) appeared followed by the word “iFollow”. Plus creepy terrorist-looking guy with an “iTeach” immediately followed by kids with “iLearn”.

During “Empty Spaces”, the animated bombers dumped out corporate logos among nation logos (Stars of David, Crescents, Dollar Signs), as well. I saw the Mercedes and Shell Oil (again) logos.

And the wall collapsing was something to see. I think the people in Row 1 may not have been completely sure it was safe, as it came hurtling at them. But it piled up in the pit between them and the stage.

The Music: I’m quite surprised at some of the early reviews that say Waters is sounding pretty good. Um, I think there may be some behind-the-scenes dubbing going on that make it sound that way. And I’m OK with it. As a matter of fact for “Mother”, he played a duet with an old film of himself that had the vocal tracks from 30 years ago. So, who knows? His voice was shot 4 years ago and I’m skeptical now. But, again, I don’t care.

Highlights were what you think they would be. “Comfortably Numb”, “Run Like Hell” were both stellar.

All in all, a fantastic effort.

Setlist:

“In the Flesh”
“The Thin Ice”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 1”
“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”
“Mother”
“Goodbye Blue Sky”
“Empty Spaces”
“What Shall We Do Now?”
“Young Lust”
“One of My Turns”
“Don't Leave Me Now”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 3”
“The Last Few Bricks”
“Goodbye Cruel World”

(20-Minute Intermission)

“Hey You”
“Is There Anybody Out There?”
“Nobody Home”
“Vera”
“Bring the Boys Back Home”
“Comfortably Numb”
“The Show Must Go On”
“In the Flesh”
“Run Like Hell”
“Waiting for the Worms”
“Stop”
“The Trial”
“Outside the Wall”

Next stop...Boston.

Meal of Links

I happened to see "Wall Street 2" at the Capitol on Monday. This surprised me. It was much better than I thought it would be. I don't know if it's Michael Douglas near the end, but to revive Gordon Gekko was pretty sweet. Basically, he still loves the game, knows how to play, but he doesn't have a stake. That's where his daughter, Carey Mulligan comes in. Good job by Shia Lebeouf and Josh Brolin, once again, steals the show. New York is beautifully photographed and you get a score with Byrne/Eno tunes, with "Naive Melody" over the closing credits, as in the first movie.

When Der Bingle met the Thin White Duke. Or "When Crosby Met Bowie". Even more Bowie.

Mick Foley reveals Tori Amos changed his life. And this is why Mick is still the most beloved of all wrestlers.

Thermos probably has your favorite lunchbox displayed. Pretty cool site.

The MacArthur Genius Grants were announced earlier this week. David Simon got one. Deserved, I may add.

Finally. It took the Senate, of all places, to lower the volume on commercials. It was unanimous and they agree on nothing.

Quentin Tarantino's longtime editor, Sally Menke, died the other day. She was the only editor he worked with. Cast and crew always had time for a "Hi, Sally!" as she edited.

"Hi, Sally!"



The Flintstones turn 50. This, on the day Stony Curtis died.

Pee-Wee Herman will host "Raw". Now that could be funny.

Today's WTF?



"Death Wish 3" really sucks. Trust me, it's bad.

Roger Waters already in trouble over "The Wall". ADL not liking those "Stars of David" dropping like bombs.

Being Glenn Beck. Kudos if you get through it.

Exercise Yard

Reds win division. Reds celebrate in locker room. Reds smoke cigars. Uptight fans call smoking ban complaint hotline.

Visitor

1 Down: 1997 Depp title role (6 letters) Answer: Brasco

Well, the Browns are getting closer, but still do not have a win after three games. That is three straight years and four of the last five that the Browns have lost their three games. So, when we say we've seen this before, we have. Once again, they grabbed a lead in the 4th quarter, only to have the defense fail again at the most important point of the game.

Good things today:

Peyton Hillis ran for 144 yards. Doubly important because it was against the Ravens.

Phil Dawson nailed his first field goal of the year.

Bad things today:

Eric Wright was bad defending Anquan Boldin today. Very bad. Boldin had 8 catches for 142 yards and 3 TDs, mainly against Wright. Wright will be the whipping boy this week.

Joe Flacco had his best game for the Ravens this year. Beautiful throws on all three TDs.

8 penalties this week. I'm sure everyone has noticed. No laps being run in training camp equals more penalties.

4 of 11 on third down conversions.

Seneca Wallace with 5.5 yards per pass attempt. QB rating be damned.

Browns lose, 24-17.

Meal of Links

Deal News has posted their Black Friday predictions. This isn't exactly a primer on what to buy, but helps you plan for the deals you will probably see come November. You know, that 52-in. TVs will see better prices than 55-in. TVs.

F-R-E-E. That spells free. As in free stuff.

Polls:

Jack Conway pulls close to Rand Paul.

Ted Strickland is within the margin of error with John Kasich.

Reid ahead of Angle in Nevada.

A history of malt liquor. Plus, a look at the advertising.

Exercise Yard

Another dead wrestler. This time it's El Gigante.

Wrestling is real. The Browns are fake.

Visitor

None, on a cloudy Sunday.

I had a bottle of Frank's Wing Sauce just sitting around. So, I was on the lookout for a really good chicken wing recipe. I've done wings in the past decently, but wanted to step my game up. Well, Serious Eats did the job with this recipe. OK, science is involved, but they tasted really good.

You can adjust the salt, as the baking powder has to be the key. And I put parchment paper over the rack and poked holes in it, while the rack sits on a foil-lined baking pan.

Like the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.

Meal of Links

25 strange credit card designs. What's with that EPOS stuff?

Man takes pictures of a water tower. Then fear happens.

Maybe God Doesn't Like Kansas State Football
















Did you know they finally closed the Liberace Museum? Remember him at Wrestlemania? I can't remember if it was at Wrestlemania I, but it was an early one.

Have you have ever heard of Arthur Anderson? He's the voice from the Lucky Charms commercial and has written an autobiography. More importantly, he was the me of "Me and Orson Welles".

When artists lie. Does it affect how their work is viewed?

Exercise Yard

Ken Burns has added a "Tenth Inning" to his "Baseball" series. This has been widely mocked over the years, but I didn't mind hearing about the old days.

The new program details action since 1995. PBS has it Tuesday and Wednesday.

Visitor

16 Across: Foe of Marc Antony (6 letters) Answer: Cicero (Tricky puzzle today)

Stephen Colbert testified before Congress today. Obviously, some people thought he shouldn't testify, especially in character.

Most importantly, here's what Colbert said to conclude his testimony, on why he thought the plight of the migrant worker was important:

"I like talking about people who don't have any power. And this seems like some of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come and do our work but don't have any rights as a result. And yet we still invite them to come here, and at the same time ask them to leave. And, you know, whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, these seem like the least of our brothers, right now. And I know that a lot of people are the least of my brothers because the economy is so hard, and I don't want to take anyone's hardship away from them or diminish it or anything like that, but migrant workers suffer, and they have no rights."

Now that's how a celebrity can use his soapbox for something he believes in.

Meal of Links

Danny McBride talks about Season 2 of "Eastbound & Down". Two Sundays ago, I had one appointment to view, "Rubicon". Now, I have five, as "Eastbound & Down", "Bored To Death", "Boardwalk Empire" and "Dexter" join the schedule.

Barry Zuckerkorn is now advertising Reverse Mortgages.

Now that school is back in session. Here are many lies told by your teacher.

America is retarded.

The strange case of the new Sufjan Stevens album. The record label wants you to buy it, of course, but maybe not from Amazon, who will offer it a steep discount. Or maybe you should buy it there. Aw, no one seems to know what to do.

Exercise Yard

Title IX is still forcing colleges to choose their poison. I'm still perplexed that UCLA does not have a men's swim team.

Visitor

7 Down: Volleyball star Gabrielle (5 letters) Answer: Reece

Now, here's a contest we can all get behind. Consumerist.com is looking for the worst ads in America. The great thing is the links take you right to the commercial.

Look at these categories:

Absolute Worst Ad in America

Most Grating Performance By A Human Being

Most Annoying Animated Spokesthing

Duo Or Group That Most Needs To Be Broken Up

Celebrity Who Must Have Lost The Most Money In Housing Crash

Creepiest Commercial

Many of my "favorites" are included. Flo and the Agreeing (or should I say Annoying) Guy. The State Farm Guy, too! I was talking during last week's Browns game how I can take the good insurance ads: The Funny Lizard, President Palmer and abhor the bad ones: Flo, State Farm Guy. And I even dig Mayhem!

I am surprised that the Ed Burns Guy from 5-Hour Energy didn't make it. But his sub, the "2:30 Guy", did.

The jerkface McDonald's guy who hasn't had his coffee was nominated. Sadly, that one was in heavy rotation this past weekend.

Jimmy Johnson may be OK on "Survivor". But on those Extenze commercials, he makes me a tad uncomfortable.

I know Jamie Lee Curtis shills for Actvia. But I'm not sure I wanna know what's in that product.

And then, there's that "low price" Staples campaign. Sheesh.

Meal of Links

Tim Goodman hates "Shit My Dad Says". Calls it unwatchable. The Toronto Sun is pining for the GEICO Cavemen series to return. That's how bad this is.

They foreclosed on this Florida guy. Wait a minute though, he didn't have a mortgage.

Woody Paige has some wise words after the suicide of Bronco wide receiver Kenny McKinley. You see, Paige wanted to kill himself a while back.

Nate Silver has the latest senate polls up. His prediction is 52 Democrats after the election. But the R's will take over the House.

Paste lists the 40 Best Little Radio Stations in America. Locally, WAPS 91.3, The Summit, makes it.

Exercise Yard

The bad economics of European soccer. "Huge debt, cash crunches, mismanagement -- all the warning signs are there of an economic collapse, of the dominoes falling." Yikes!

Visitor

10 Down: Jessica of "Sin City" (4 letters) Answer: Alba

The Indians played this afternoon and they lost, 5-1. It wasn't on TV, so we listened to the game on the radio. Homer Mike commented on how the Twins take 20 minutes for bunting during batting practice. He said they make it a game and "they bet for Cokes". Homer Mike sounds like a very nostalgic kinda guy.

Former Indian Russell Branyan has channeled his inner Paul Shuey. His latest injury is one he got from trying to pick up his kid's flip-flop. See, he was at a pizza parlor and when he bent over, while on the edge of his chair, it slid out and he went boom. Of course he did.

This rivals Branyan's earlier injury just after the Tribe sent him back to Seattle. In that gem, he was attacked by a hotel room table.

Meal of Links

The best and worst things at the Toronto Film Festival. Not so much love for Edward Norton.

David Fincher has "The Social Network" arriving in a couple of weeks. This starts a look at his style. This reviews the title sequence of the "Alien" trilogy. Fincher directed the third installment.

1 in 5 Americans think President Obama is a cactus. Probably born elsewhere and brought here illegally, I'm sure.

The latest Pop 19 poll is in. 47% Yes, 38% No. That is legalizing weed in California.

Jim DeRogatis talks about "The Wall" coming to Chicago. It will be here next week and I'll be attending.

Exercise Yard

To be honest, I didn't know they still held the Commonwealth Games. For that matter, do the Pan-American games still exist? Anyhow, they are being held in Delhi in about 10 days.

The Scots think the accommodations suck. They called it "unsafe and unfit for human habitation". Uh, that can't be good.

Visitor

26 Down: '50s Red Scare gp. (4 letters) Answer: HUAC

Hope you got to see another "30 For 30" tonight on George Steinbrenner by the great Barbara Kopple. Images of Thurman Munson abound. As usual, Kopple did not shy away from some topics (ticket prices for example) in the film. Really good stuff.

Upcoming topics include:

9/28 Terry Fox (this Steve Nash film premiered at TIFF last week).
10/5 Red Sox-Yankees 2004
10/12 Drazen Petrovic/Vlade Divac
10/19 Tim Richmond
10/26 Bartman
11/2 Marion Jones
11/9 SMU

And I think that finishes it up. Can't say enough about the series. It ranks with the best ESPN has offered over the years.

Meal of Links

Mmmmm. Peanut butter.

We haven't even seen the first episode of the new season of "Community". But we are already talking about their Christmas episode.

Leonard Skinner died. And if you have to ask, well...

Do not mess with "The King of Kong". The Wiebe-Mitchell rivalry is one of the greatest ever.

Save the gibbon! Many species are nearing extinction.

I saw a bit of "Annie Hall" last night. This scene kills me. "What am I, your son?".

"Annie Hall" Spider Scene



Lyle Lovett is returning to acting in "Castle". But, here's a look at his music. It's stuff you don't hear very often. "If I Had A Boat" gets some love. As does the terrific "L.A County". But I absolutely love his version of "Tennessee Flat Top Box".

"Tennessee Flat Top Box"/Lyle Lovett with Raul Malo and The Mavericks



"Don't Ask Don't Tell" failed today for the estimated 48,000 gays still in the military.. The WSJ had an impressive column on why conservatives should vote for repeal. Costs $42,000 to honorably discharge someone and they have booted out 14,000 gays from the military. That's a cost of almost $600 million.

This is another reason to get your dander up. Tim Geithner wins as Larry Summers announced today he is leaving his post at the White House. And that's a good thing. But President Obama's new Budget Director is Jacob Lew, Clinton's old Budget Director. Lew is part of the Summers/Robert Rubin gang who wanted the repeal Glass-Steagall, and led us into this economic mess. So, our President cannot possibly replace Summers with a Wall Street guy, can he? Let's hope not.

Exercise Yard

Mo Williams contemplated retirement after LeBron left. Wow, that's not a reaction I wanted to hear.

Visitor

10 Across: Country music pioneer Ernest (4 letters) Answer: Tubb

Today was the first Sunday since the 20th century that I did not possess tickets to a Browns home game. And, as it turned out, I'm kinda glad I didn't. The first half was one of the longest in memory and the overall length of the game was made up for only by one of the fastest third quarters I could recall. But the sense of inevitability of a march to defeat was quite overwhelming at the half.

As for the game, it's sort of the same old same old. The Chiefs waited until the second half to realize that it was the Browns they were playing, and that's when they started to run with authority. For the game, they had 140 yards on the ground, but while not gaining a whole lot in the second half, they were setting up the pass with that commitment, and Matt Cassel threw the ball much better.

It only resulted in 6 points for the Chiefs. However, when you are the Browns and not making any necessary adjustments, that's enough.

Seneca Wallace was OK at QB for the Browns, I guess. But he threw the fatal interception for a TD, that was mindful of the worst throws of the past.

The defense played OK, I guess. But they still don't make the plays at the end to save any game.

Special teams played OK, I guess. But Reggie Hodges saved his worst punts for his last two. Josh Cribbs and the return game are currently non-existent. Phil Dawson missed a makeable field goal, as well.

Other problems remain. The Browns couldn't even average 3 yards a carry. Wideouts caught only 6 of the 17 balls thrown their way. Josh Cribbs caught a 65-yarder for a TD that was drawn up great, but never attempted again. The passing game again, outside of a nice throw to Benjamin Watson, seems to ignore the middle of the field.

Even though it was a "sellout", you do realize the attendance was only 65,377.

So, the season is over in mid-September once again. Sure, there are 14 more games, but 87% of the teams that start 0-2 do not make the playoffs, so take that Mr. Glass Half-Full Guy.

Browns lose, 16-14.

Meal of Links

Randy Quaid and wife in trouble again. This time for being squatters.

Plaxico Burress talks about jail. He has only 9 months to go.

6 reasons this guy is not on Facebook. And they all make sense.

You know your team sucks when tailgaters garner headlines. Look for the 4 a.m. vs 7 a.m. Muni Lot answers in tomorrow's PD.

Exercise Yard

Beadlemania continues. I think it's her laugh.

Visitor

None, on a Browns home opening Sunday.

Let's see what the Browns do with the Chiefs tomorrow. Lots of the early picks seem to be going the Kansas City way. Weather may be a factor, 50% chance of rain. Let's not forget the Chiefs played in a monsoon on Monday and it didn't seem to bother them.

I think this is a good test. Once again on paper, a beatable team at home. The X Factor tomorrow is Seneca Wallace. Over the years, he has been a steady performer, so let's see how he does. Keep in mind, in last year's game against KC, despite Jerome Harrison gaining 286 yards, the Chiefs had a chance to win on the last play of the game. BTW, Wallace will be the 15th QB to start for the Browns since their return.

The other 14:

Detmer, Couch, Pederson, Wynn, McCown, Holcomb, Garcia, Dilfer, Anderson, Frye, Quinn, Dorsey, Gradkowski and Delhomme.

Announcer Alert: Don "Eric Wright is a shut-down corner" Criqui and Steve Beuerlein.

Meal of Links

Baltimore celebrates Frank Zappa Day tomorrow. Today is the 25th anniversary of his PMRC testimony. "Anal vapors"...Hah!

Lemurs as pets. Good God, that look would freak me out every time it greeted me at the door.

"As The World Turns" closed up shop yesterday. My favorite soap, "Ryan's Hope", is long gone.

"As the World Turns" Final Scene



Rolling Stone lists the 25 best record shops. Gotta go to Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati or Louisville to find one close.

Who knew that Gwyneth Paltrow had a website called "Goop"? Worth it for the GO section. She knows her food.

Kindles for kids. School saves money.

9 regrettable sports tattoos. That Mickey Mantle look is as freaky as a lemur.

Chocolate recipes.

Exercise Yard

Might wanna hold back on the Michigan resurrection talk. It's not a Rich Rodriguez problem anymore. It's a defensive coordinator Craig Robinson problem now. Whatever mojo this cat once had defensively, is long gone. Jeezy creezy, they gave up 217 yards rushing today.

Michigan gives up 37 to an FCS school, UMass. At home. Ugh!

Visitor

21 Down: Moe, for one (6 letters) Answer: Stooge

Does it make sense to spend $100 billion a year on a war which is 7 times the GDP of the country we are helping? Guaranteed, this is the most interesting read of the week.

Rethinking U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. At least read the myths and realities section.

Meal of Links

The new Hollywood? It's Detroit.

Life insurance myths. And they will all cost you money.

Check out the new album from Justin Townes Earle. It is cool and it's called "Harlem River Blues". He even writes a train song about a subway. I love the guy. He'll be in Kent in November.

Have you seen "(500) Days of Summer" yet? How this escaped me when it was in the theaters, I have no idea. But this one shocked me. I can't believe how good it is.

This college yearbook photo made me laugh out loud. Brothers. And no one really cares about a college yearbook, do they?

'70s sitcoms! And they include "The Odd Couple" episode where Oscar and Felix go on "Let's Make A Deal"!

Exercise Yard

Life in the NFL regarding concussions. They'd like to get this new policy working, but it's tough for player and management for someone to keep missing games.

Look at the Eagles. For a few years, they groom Kevin Kolb to take over for Donovan McNabb and when he gets his shot, he gets a concussion and has to sit. For how long, who knows?

And, of course, he'll get hit again later.

Visitor

42 Across: Sitcom pal of Fred (4 letters) Answer: Desi

These are wise words. Let's calm down about Christine O'Donnell winning the Delaware Republican primary for Senate.

I happened to see MSNBC last night and watched Chris Matthews make these comments that made it seem like disgruntled Hillary Clinton voters were voting for female candidates this political season, simply because they were female. How he made the leap of Democratic Clinton voters voting for the Republican O'Donnell seemed like a large WTF? Good for Rachel Maddow for calling him out on it.

I like Matthews, he's as passionate about politics as anyone on TV. But he tends to overstate these things when it comes to the younger Republican female candidates. I noticed this earlier in the primary season when he talked about Nikki Haley in South Carolina. He goes absolutely gaga over her.

A recent quote from him, from a few weeks back, describing Sarah Palin's choices during the primaries: "Yeah, I also, I also think and I gotta be careful, she’s picking women candidates that men are ready to vote for too."

Meal of Links

"Big Bang" stars make "Big Cash". That looks like Ted Danson money.

Need a laugh? A classic "Judge Judy" case about a toilet...at half speed! "...and then I got high...".

The times they are a-changin'. Best Buy cuts space for CDs and DVDs for the holidays. More video games and more electronics.

1001 albums. An album per day. She did not like "Aja". Huh?

I haven't though about "Jeopardy" (except for Don Pardo) in quite a while. But someone just beat Ken Jennings one-day record.

Exercise Yard

It's only Week 1. But the Browns are 1 of 5 NFL teams that need to hit the panic button.

Seems like old times.

Visitor

9 Across: Tunesmith Porter (4 letters) Answer: Cole

I don't normally cook a lot of fish at home. But, I must say, I got some perch from Buehler's a while back and I finally fried those babies up today. Really, really good.

I let the perch sit in some buttermilk for a while.

Then I throw them into a bag.

Mix up Zatarian's Fish-Fri and Old Bay and toss that into the bag.

Then I shake, shake, shake.

Have that oil heated up in a skillet and fry the fish.

Hits the spot.

Meal of Links

Let's look at some more People of Walmart. As always, many laughs.

Russ Feingold on October 12, 2001. On why he voted against The Patriot Act.

I watched exactly one episode of "My Boys". I'm not sure how it lasted 4 seasons. It's cancelled.

Polls say people are tired of reality TV. But the ratings don't say that.

Another piece about Christopher Hitchens. "You have to take a stand."

Exercise Yard

The Indians shock the world by already announcing their 2011 schedule. This is, without question, the earliest date they have released it.

Opening Day is on a Friday, which is April 1. Against the White Sox.

The Yankees are in for July 4. Red Sox show up in late May.

Interleague at Home: Pirates, Rockies, Reds

Interleague on Road: Giants, Diamondbacks, Reds

Visitor

3 Down: Education pioneer Maria (10 letters) Answer: Montessori

The good news is Mr. Mix and I headed out to the Rusty Barrel to watch the Browns game today.

The bad news is we were actually watching the Browns game.

Quite frankly, you can't underestimate the agony of today's Browns loss against Tampa Bay. Virtually the entire community had the Browns pencilled in for 2 wins at the start of the season, and now, after one game, it appears all hope may have been lost.

What did we learn today?

Kellen Winslow Waving His Flag























The dreaded Jake Delhomme interception didn't even wait a half to rear it's ugly head. That interception he threw to Ronde Barber ranks with some of the gems we've seen around here from our other QBs. It was some sort of, my body is at a 45-degree angle toss to the other team. Not so much the ineptitude of the toss, but the timing. You're ahead 14-3 before the half, driving in Tampa territory. Perhaps going up as much as 21-3, then that throw. Tampa Bay converts it into a score and now it's 14-10.

Having said that, the Browns tried to sneak in an insanely long Phil Dawson field goal before the half that had the distance, but was no good. And in their first drive of the second half, Evan Moore caught about 65 yards worth of passes, before the People's Choice, Peyton Hillis, fumbled in the Red Zone.

Then it was Tampa Bay just hanging around and hanging around and hanging around and eventually they scored the go-ahead TD late.

Cheerleader Waving Her Bucs





































But the problem today was what we saw in the preseason. Not many outside threats at wide receivers on the Browns, and I defy anyone to tell me these second-year receivers have improved enough to be solid contributors for all 16 games. Let's face it, the Tampa Bay safety took a rather dumb route to the ball on Mohammed Massaquoi's TD. He only caught one other pass. Stuckey had 4 catches, mostly on the underneath crossing routes. Great if he breaks a tackle, he gains 8, instead of the usual 5. Cribbs and Robiskie combined for 3 catches for 16 yards. And then there are the dumpoffs to the backs

The only semblance of a medium passing game is through the tight ends again. Moore and Ben Watson as the targets. BTW, Delhomme averaged 6.2 yards per attempt, in case you needed more proof of the dink and dunk.

Return game provided nothing today.

The defense? Say all you want about they played good enough to win. But I tire of a defense that continually breaks down when they need a stop the most.

Maybe I need to sleep on it, but I can't think of an opening game that was more disappointing because they should have won today, against what we all thought was an inferior opponent.

Browns gag, 17-14.

Meal of Links

Form September 12, 2001. Hunter S. Thompson talks about 9/11. Outside of a drastically inflated number of deaths (remember there were early rumors of 20,000 dead in the WTC), he was spot-on in his analysis. Yes, children, he did write for ESPN.com at the time.

"Honor killings" are growing rapidly. Horrible.

The New York Jets may have harassed a female reporter yesterday. Then when you realize it's Ines Sainz, well, things get interesting. That woman knows how to fill jeans.

I dig Rebecca Hall. Yep, you've seen her, too.

Exercise Yard

Nicole Bobek. From figure skating queen to meth addict. Now on the road to recovery.

Visitor

None, on a nice, sunny Sunday.

Everywhere I went this morning, it was pumpkins.

Marc's is selling punkins for $3.99. Does that seem early to be selling pumpkins? I am not sure, but they looked pretty good.

I got a pumpkin muffin at Giant eagle for 99 cents and it was awfully good.

As I passed a Dunkin Donuts, they were trumpeting their pumpkin muffins are back.

It's only 38 days to the Pumpkin Festival.

Meal of Links

I've actually seen this for myself. Rottweilers as great pets.

Check this out. "Dexter", "Bored to Death" and "Eastbound and Down" all return on September 26.

A 9/11 widow speaks about lots of things. And the mosque.

The Matrix Dude



What does Lou Reed have to with Susan Boyle? It's a "Perfect Day".

Last night, they screened "2001: A Space Odyssey". One audience member decided to relive the past by dropping acid during the flick. Not fun for the other audience members.

Roger Ebert resurrects "At the Movies". It's back to PBS. Now the key is airing at a time when most humans are awake.

Hollister and immersive retail. I think this is why I avoid department stores and malls.

Exercise Yard

I know very few probably saw it. But that looked like the 2007 Fausto Carmona last night. He threw a pitch in the 9th, that was reminiscent of "Eight Men Out":

"Did you see that pitch?"

Visitor

38 Across: Nickname of 1950s Reds slugger Ted (3 letters) Answer: Klu

Not sure what puzzles me more. Frank Russo finally indicted or Marc's not having a weekly ad this week.

Thoughts during Saints-Vikings:

Are you ready for some football?

What exactly is Harry Connick, Jr.'s job these days? I haven't seen him behind a piano in years.

After the Saints first drive resulted in a TD, it became much clearer. They will kill the Browns.

Jonathan Vilma made some tackles for the Saints and I didn't hear the word "Haiti".

Kevin Butler's ads for the PS3 are outstanding. Check out his Tweets.

Vikings coach Brad Childress, aka Mr. Noodle, seems determined to get Adrian Peterson 800 touches this season.

They showed the "little piggy" GEICO ad, but I love the woodchuck one better. "Hey, Woodchuck! Quit chuckin' my wood."

Do you ever notice the Saints injured and practice squad players? They really stood out last year, because of their gold shirts. Well, the Gold Shirt Posse was back tonight!

Saints defense played much better in the second half. Vikes were really shut down.

Do you get the feeling Al Michaels really enjoys his New Orleans visits?

If the Saints kicker had missed 10 field goals, would Cris Collinsworth say "He must need more pressure." 10 times.

Old Carl Weathers makes me laugh.

Meal of Links

The Koran-burning pastor pulls a Brett Favre. Burning On. Then Off. Now it might be back on. A look at his past.

Sometimes you just stumble into watching things. Zipping through the dial after the Russo 6:00 news on the local channels, I watched "Let's Get Lost" on Sundance. This is the doc about Chet Baker. Absolutely a must-see. Airs again next Saturday, the 18th, at 6 and three times on Wednesday, 9/22.

Everything I know about love, I learned from the Beastie Boys. That and White Castle fries only come in one size.

SNL-The Game. And Don Pardo is 92.

Stephen Hawking is still alive. He wants more funding for science.

I really wish "Arrested Development" was a bigger hit. For those that remember, here is a look at the "Good Grief" episode.

Men's pants. Oh, how they lie! And what the hell is going on at Old Navy?

Exercise Yard

Uni Watch delivers this season's NFL jerseys. Hey, look who is now featured on the Browns visor tabs!

Visitor

7 Down: Tucker of country (5 letters) Answer: Tanya

What is with this pastor who's going to burn Korans on Saturday? I take it, on a good day, he speaks to about 50 people at most. Yet, he can parade around on TV and get more than the 15 minutes he's due, when the world thinks he's a tad overzealous?

Gainesville has a Florida Gator home game this weekend. So, they have to deal with the security of 90,000 at the game and addressing this nutjob at the same time. Could you imagine being in law enforcement and get taken off stadium detail to deal with this crap? I wouldn't be happy.

My sense is that God puts Glenn Beck on hold and tells this pastor to cool his jets on this subject by Saturday. Because he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to call it off.

Meal of Links

What a way to go. The bassist from ELO died by getting crushed by a hay bale.

You think you have problems. Check out these frustrating relationships from literature.





























I don't watch "Psych" very often. But a "Twin Peaks" episode intrigues me.

Now, this is art. A 600-member Hanna Barbera Cartoon Character Matrix.

They watch TV in Canada, too. The best Canadian shows of the past 25 years. "Degrassi", of course, and "The Kids in the Hall" make it.

Jeezy creezy. The judge in that Don Johnson "Nash Bridges" trial doubled his damages to $51 million.

Cannot wait. Donal Logue is back on TV tonight with the debut of "Terriers".

A look back at Tammy Wynette. Of course, they include "D-I-V-O-R-C-E". I think she is very under appreciated these days.

A review of "I'm Still Here". Yep, the Joaquin Phoenix doc draws nigh.

The importance of David Bowie. And a re-release of the 6-song masterpiece, "Station to Station". I just heard "TVC15" a week ago and I marvel at how good it still sounds.

"TVC15" (Live Rehearsal)/David Bowie



Exercise Yard

Lord Football starts tomorrow. Saints vs. Vikings. Look for Drew Brees to start the "Who Dat?" chant.

Visitor

12 Down: Punk rock icon Joey (6 letters) Answer: Ramone

"Judy Is a Punk"/Ramones

Happy Labor Day! Hope you enjoyed some time off.

President Obama didn't take the day off. Maybe it's the unions that get him fired up.

Meal of Links

I noticed the number one movie at the box office this past weekend was "The American". Before George Clooney can do the happy dance for his first Number One film, the opening was comparable to "Leatherheads". Aw, geez. The pacing of "The American" reminds me a lot of "Rubicon", so I decided to post an action scene from that show:
























28 gleeful breakup songs. Including the awesome "Thank God and Greyhound" by Roy Clark. Some Elvis, Rilo Kiley, Nancy Sinatra, Ben Folds and even Garth Brooks make it worthwhile.

The most viral videos of 2010, thus far. I would have thought, with all of the attention it garnered, that the Old Spice Guy would have been higher, although I realize it had an astounding limited run.

All Shows Should Be Like This



Who needs a cineplex, when you have alfresco movie viewing. I think we have these around here in extremely limited fashion.

The D's are going Darwinian this fall. If odds don't look good for your re-election, help goes elsewhere.

You are having a heart attack. Stop tweeting!

Exercise Yard

Dick Enberg is calling US Open Tennis for CBS because, quite frankly, who knew he would have taken a departure from announcing the first-place San Diego Padres. Since he left, the Padres have lost 10 straight.

Only 2 other teams have done that and made the postseason. The '51 Giants and the '82 Braves.

Visitor

23 Across: John who played Basil Fawlty (6 letters) Answer: Cleese

Basil Fawlty Waits on the Germans

The sea was angry that day, my friends...

















Despite the unusually cold weather yesterday, my brother and I did something we had been longing to do for quite some time. Attend a football game at our alma mater! You see, Rhodes is in the Senate Athletic League and because it's a city school (meaning they don't have lights), they rarely play the Saturday home game. Most of their league games start at 3:00 on Fridays. And as Michael Stanley sang last night (another story), "Folks like us, we gotta work...", so it's really not conducive to attending these games.

As a matter of fact, it was the first time I had been back on campus since I left. I mean, when I was there, we didn't even call it a campus. We called it "school".

Anyhow, it turned out to be a blast. Not exactly a huge throng in attendance. The opponents were the Braves of Berea. They've been on hard times lately, as they only had one win in 2009. Against? You got it, the Rhodes Rams. Berea opened the season getting rolled by John Hay and Rhodes shut out neighborhood rival, Brooklyn, in their opener by a score of 27-0. So, an intriguing matchup ensued for the 1:00 Saturday start.

After getting wanded and frisked, we take our seats. The first thought that enters your mind is Rhodes doesn't have a lot of players. As a matter of fact, they suited up only 25 guys. Uh-oh. My pre-game speech involved the old, "Not the size of the man in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the man..." and other such nonsense.

















The second thing you notice is the Berea band's front line has more people than our football team. Rhodes doesn't have a band. They have something called a drum line. Maybe 5 drums, 3 cymbals and some brass only heard on the National Anthem. No uniforms.

















The vaunted Rhodes offense goes on the attack.

















I'm not sure why this happened, but on a 4th-and-1 from their own 31, the Rhodes coach decides to go for it. WTF? They hand off the ball to Justin Sangster and he goes 69 yards for a touchdown. Again, WTF? Rhodes has no kicker (isn't their a local mule anywhere?), so they miss the conversion. Then, weird shit started happening all over. Berea is driving on the ground and decides to throw their first pass. But Rhodes intercepts and Lorenzo Walls runs it back 72 yards for a touchdown! Two huge plays before the locals even realize there is a game today. Next possession for Rhodes, Sangster rips off a 43-yarder for TD. WTF, indeed! Visions of The Greatest Show On Turf are dancing through everyone's heads after this score.

















But, wait. There are still three more quarters of football left. Berea scores a TD. Then Walls rips off another huge play for Rhodes with a 51-yarder for a score. Berea decides they are just going to pound the ball up the middle. It works against an outmanned team and Rhodes starts getting pushed around on defense, for a 26-13 halftime score. This continues into the third quarter, as Berea scores another TD on a 19-yard run.

















So, as the game wears on, Rhodes is doing absolutely nothing on offense. The defense has been pushed around for almost two straight quarters. Berea is driving again. They threw their second pass of the game and the QB hit a wide-open guy right in the hands and he dropped it. An omen, perhaps? Quite possibly, as they tried to hit a pass near the goal line on a 4th down play. Working the tip drill to perfection, LeKeith Harper grabs the ball and runs 103 yards for the interception return! 103 effin' yards! It was unbelievable! Berea has now thrown 3 passes and two of them have been intercepted and returned for TDs. Breathing room returns, as they got the 2-point conversion.

















The Rhodes defense continues to be a sieve and Berea scores another TD in the 4th quarter. Less than 8 minutes remain and Rhodes is once more, hanging on.

















Look out for that man Sangster again. In another bit of go-for-it-in-your-own-territory-on-4th-down insanity, he goes around end for 59 yards! Rhodes is a huge play machine today. The score is now 40-27, with just over 6 minutes to go. Come on, clock!

















Berea scores with only a short amount of time left. Rhodes recovers the onside kick and secures the victory. In an absolutely wild game, the final has Rhodes beating Berea, 40-34.



















As I said, it was loads of fun to go the game and to watch such a mind-blower was the cherry on top. But I gotta mention the refs. I know it's tough to find people willing to ref and you're gonna get a mixed bag. But the refs yesterday were too old and out of shape to be refereeing. The speed, even at the high school level, is just too much.

I saw a guy spot a ball with his foot wedge, because he could not bend down. He also tossed a ball for another guy to spot by underhanding a ball directly into the Rhodes defensive huddle. Same guy hadn't called one holding penalty all day. Then when Rhodes is trying to put the game away, up by 13, he calls holding on two successive plays, one nullifying a game clinching first down.

They never called for a tee after a Rhodes TD. The kicker just dug a divot on the 40 and kicked that way the rest of the game and they scored 6 TDs! The Berea kicker had to wait for his tee, as well. On another occasion, the tee was still on the field, two plays later.

On Harper's 103-yard interception return, it was horrible. He could have stepped out of bounds 7 or 8 times (he did not, but it was tight) and it would not have been called because no one was in position nor could keep up. Shocking.

Clock management was an absolute joke. With no play clock at the field, time is kept on the field. Not one delay of game penalty called on either side, when they were obvious. Very late in the game, the game clock was abused and not one referee took sight of it. One Berea pass downfield took all of two seconds. Another one took (gulp!) 16 seconds.

The end of the game was a joke, as well. Rhodes falls on the Berea onside kick with 5 seconds left. As they line up, the game clock is somehow reset at 10 seconds. As Rhodes takes a knee, the ref throws a flag for illegal motion. Game can't end on an offensive penalty. Doesn't mark off the yardage, basically lets it go, the clock expires, game over. Huh?

Look, I commend the guys for giving back, but that performance was subpar.

Rhodes is now 2-0 for the first time in many years.

Meal of Links

Our annual visit to the Taste of Cleveland was last night. The entertainment was Michael Stanley and the Resonators. Sorry, the guy just does not resonate with me. While others seem to enjoy his take on "Sweet Jane/Wichi Tai To", I am rather bemused by it, as it seems unnecessary. Anyhow, the food I had was pretty good. Chico's Deli has not opened yet, but I had some really good Spanish rice with chicken from there. And the beer (and weather) were cold.

I would have posted this earlier, but I forgot. Ten tricks on improving your memory.

People Walking Into Glass Doors



Arthur C. Clarke predicts the future. In 1964.

I'm in Giant Eagle yesterday and got all excited. The cover of The Globe says Annette Funicello is in her final days. Then I was told I don't have her in The Dead Pool. I did last year.

Naughty by nature? How about dwarfed by nature. Awesome stuff.

A look back at rigging game shows. Today, most of the questions are way too easy.

Hat tip to Paul. For it's Mrs. LeBron Wade!

Exercise Yard

Browns made cuts yesterday to get down to the 53-man roster. I'm not a pessimist, but a realist. If you are still tinkering with the roster at this point and when you keep 12 linebackers, you are, you're in for a long season.

And, once again, two draftees didn't make it.

Visitor

None, on a sunny Sunday of a holiday weekend.

OK, it's Air Show practice time. I think I may have been attacked by a jet or was that the New Zealand earthquake....

What kills me about the R's is that every time they think they've found new blood and praise them as forces to be reckoned with, these people have a tendency to implode. From Rand Paul earlier this summer to Chris Christie of New Jersey just this past week. Well, here's the latest from Gov. Jan Brewer. During the immigration law fiasco, she was getting praised to high heaven about her abilities. But take a look at this performance from the Arizona gubernatorial debate on Wednesday.

Jan Brewer Is Puzzled



How do you defend that performance?

Then, during the debate, one of her opponents, Terry Goddard, tried to get Brewer to admit she was wrong on quite a simple fact. See, Brewer conveniently noted during the immigration controversy that crime was so bad there that there were beheadings, yes, actual headless bodies found throughout Arizona. A simple polling of all the coroners in the state rendered that statement patently untrue. But she wouldn't recant.

Afterward, reporters tried to ask her about the beheadings and she would not address it, pulls a Fonzie and walks away.

Of course, we have to deal with Yawn and Yawner for our Ohio Senatorial race. Portman widens his lead.

Meal of Links

Here are the 25 best fall tours. No Roger Waters, but I know Deerhunter is actually at the Beachland in October.

Medical stats. Win an Oscar and you'll live longer than the loser nominees.

Time Warner Cable and Disney made nice yesterday. For me, the benefit is clearly the ability to get ESPN3. Word is, that will be up and running this evening. I think I'm also a Sports Pass subscriber, so allegedly I get a college football (ESPN Goal Line, which sounds like the RedZone Channel for the NFL) and basketball highlight channel. Plus, ESPN Deportes in HD, as well.

Here are your Labor Day Weekend Marathons. "Hawaii Five-O" on Spike looks interesting. And Sunday, there is a catch-up of "Rubicon" on AMC.

Sadly, it has come to this. Pepsi didn't even negotiate with War for the "Why Can't We be Friends?" ad.

Bourdain talks about himself. And with his 100th episode, talks about other programming. He likes "Top Chef".

If you want to get a nice Philly Cheesesteak, go to Original Steaks and Hoagies in Twinsburg. Really good stuff. Bay fries (fries with Old Bay), too.

Uh-oh. One of those Chilean miners has a whole lot of splainin' to do when he gets out.

How Christian Bale was not nominated for an Oscar for "American Psycho", I'll never know. You'll never listen to Huey Lewis the same.

There are some things I don't get. Like this couple.

Awkward first day of school photos. Dogs humping in the background is tough to beat.

How does Netflix endure? Critics have been beating them up for a while, but they keep succeeding.

Exercise Yard

I was just thinking about the Browns escaping the preseason without major injury. Then Monterio Hardesty tears his ACL.

Visitor

31 Across: Three-time French Open champ (5 letters) Answer: Seles

I've seen two entirely different movies the last couple of days.

Mr. Mix was up from Nashville and we ventured over to Cinemark to see "The Expendables". This was directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also had a hand in penning some of the most absurd dialogue I've heard in a really long time.

You have to admit, there is something cool about seeing a bunch of action heroes getting together to create mayhem. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews make up the team. Oh yeah, Mickey Rourke is the guy who gets them the jobs. But it was Stallone and Statham who had the most screen time.

So, the boys go off on a job bankrolled by Bruce Willis. But only before Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up as an old rival of Stallone, to also bid for the job. Arnold backs off and Stallone gets the job. This is somewhat of a cheap thrill, highlighted by the fact I don't think Stallone and Arnold were in the same room while being filmed. Looked like Arnie had a little CG going on.

The bad guy hierarchy was Eric Roberts as the ex-CIA main baddie, with Steve Austin as his muscle. David Zayas (Batista from "Dexter") played a General gone bad, who Roberts enlisted to help him carve out a drug trade. The boys have to take out the bad guys. BTW, Couture and Austin have a a fight scene where I don't think they were together either. They basically fought each other's stuntman. Stallone's direction was a dizzying array of constant cuts, so combined with a lack of lighting, they were able to disguise a lot of who was actually doing what.

Let's cut to the chase. The dialogue and lack of over-the-top action really killed whatever chance this movie had for me and whatever plot existed was simple to figure out. Of course, it's ridiculous to think these old hands could still do their old tricks. Dolph Lundgren was horrible and should show up next in "The Replaceables". Stallone shows his age. Couture was an afterthought. Crews fares better in the Old Spice commercials as the bouncing pecs guy (not the new guy). They kept making jokes about Jet Li's height, which combined with his subpar English, renders him useless for any action roles he may have left in him. Statham is the only one who even comes close to being half decent and probably has the best fight scene. I swear in Mickey Rourke's "Go For The Oscar Speech", he either made it up as he went along or he was high. Amazingly bad. Eric Roberts hams it up as the bad guy and probably comes in behind Statham in the maintaining of self-respect category.

This is super-discount matinee viewing. Probably makes enough money for an "Expendables II", however.

My Dad and I took in a first-day showing (imagine that) of Anton Corbijn's "The American". Corbijn is the one-time music video director (U2 and Johnny Cash) and last time out directed "Control". This movie stars George Clooney in the title role. It seemed "The Expendables" was bankrolled by a Brazilian and "The American" looks like it had Italian money behind it. I can see Clooney agreeing to the role, because he lives over there. I see him working.

I'll say this, the three lead women in this movie all have great asses. No doubt that was a characteristic necessary for these roles. Or maybe not, but very nice. And a nice mention of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West" was unexpected.

But, "The American" is a throwback to those movies where an assassin has to be alone, constantly on the lookout and exhibit paranoia at every turn. This is not Jason Bourne beating up a guy with a phone book.

Therein lies the problem. I liked this movie as a character study. Works great on that level. And Corbijn shoots this movie wonderfully. Lots of geometric detail and it looks fantastic. But I can quite easily see all of the arguments against it. The main one being there isn't a whole lot of action, which is going to kill any box office it may get. I joked that we just saw George Clooney build a gun for two hours.

If you like Clooney, it's a must-see. If you have muddled through the early slow-paced episodes of "Rubicon" and stayed with it, again, this may be up your alley. If you want a better story about an assassin, revisit the original "The Day Of The Jackal".

Meal of Links

It's interesting that cricket becomes very interesting when there is a betting scandal involved. Otherwise, I still don't get it.

Have you been keeping up with Brazil? It is now one of the world's great breadbaskets.

David Cross Is Funny



Top movies with twist endings. Top 6 are pretty good choices.

Vodkas. Including Cotton Candy!

I see Ed Schulz on occasion. But he's delusional if he thinks he can outdraw Beck.

Speaking of delusional.

Exercise Yard

UEFA bans the vuvuzela. Their charm has dissipated rather quickly.

Visitor

71 Across: "When A Man Loves A Woman" singer Percy ______ (6 letters) Answer: Sledge

"When A Man Loves A Woman"/Percy Sledge