While having some time off during the holidays, I was astounded at how many bad movies show up during the day. Plus, the commercials are not any better.

Just this morning, Billy Mays is selling me a Jupiter Jack. You know, I think he IS going to be late for that meeting. I'm going to keep track this year of how late we go into 2010 and still have him on the air.



Are the Luke Wilson commercials for AT&T running their course? I don't mind him as an actor, but these ads are not very good.



The new GEICO ad with one of the Brothers McMullen. Is he really doing a bad Robert Stack? I am still not convinced he says "Charlie Daniels". Anyhow, the Charlie Daniels part is actually funny, look for him grabbing the breadstick. Then, I saw Elmer Fudd on another one and I may have to rethink this campaign.



Meal of Links

50 things we did not know last year, but now know. Eat more broccoli and rehydrate with watermelon.

The 2009 Darwin Awards.

Conspiracy theories that turned out to be true. I just happened to see a doc on that CIA drug running in LA. It was quite good.

Exercise Yard

I avoided attending the Browns game today, basically because I was tired of being cold. Hard to determine how to rate the last month this season, as the Browns won 4 straight for the first time since their return. Again, was it catching certain opponents at a good time? A new commitment to the run? A sense of routine as the Browns were in town, for the most part, since Thanksgiving? I can't say. Even so, I think Holmgren goes with his own men and we should know this week. If it happens, Eric Mangini would join Ray Rhodes as the only coaches fired in back-to-back full seasons.

By not going to the game, I was able to see a new Becks at Old Trafford early this a.m. Leeds beat Man U in a stunning F.A. Cup upset, with Jermaine Beckford getting the gamewinner in a 1-0 match.

Leeds Fans Go Nutty



Visitor

None, on a cold Browns Sunday.

My Dad and I headed over to the cinema this evening. We were gonna see Clint Eastwood in "Get Off my Lawn". But, in a last-minute swerve, we saw "Doubt", because it looked like it was leaving the west side after today. And it picked up some Oscar nominations, as well.

"Doubt" is another play turned into a movie. So, there are some rather lengthy scenes. Acting, of course, is top-notch. Hoffman, Adams, Streep are very good. Viola Davis snagged a Supporting Actress nomination in limited screen time.

For me, the memories of a Catholic school education came flooding back. No one got whapped on the hands with a ruler, but there were enough cuffs to the back of the head that made me sit up straighter in my chair. And if you've ever had to kneel down with your arms spread wide holding a huge dictionary in each hand for the major sin of talking in class, you may wonder why that was not depicted in the movie. I guess it wasn't considered torture.

Anyhow, the depiction of wind in this movie is about as subtle as a a sledgehammer. Ooooh, wind....bad things. And I don't think Philip Seymour Hoffman did what he was alleged to have done. You see, I have "Doubt"s.

Meal of Links

Google and the future of books. One of my goals this year is top read more books. I am in the middle of "Nixonland" right now. Pretty good stuff.

Will no "The Dark Knight" as Best Picture ruin Oscar ratings. I don't know, would it make any difference these days? Seems like plenty of stars got nominated. And I'll talk about those over the weekend.

Two priests embezzled $1 million. I have no "Doubt" they did it.

Exercise Yard

Bruton Smith floats the idea of NFL-style blackouts for races at his NASCAR tracks. NASCAR politely says, "Are you insane?". That idea is duh-umb.

Visitor

10 Across: Spice Girl married to Beckham (4 letters) Answer: Posh

I went to Cinemark in the valley to see "Rachel Getting Married". Lotta buzz about Anne Hathaway (and who doesn't like her?) in this movie and she'll probably get Oscar consideration. Speaking of Oscar, what else is worthy up to this point? Only Heath Ledger, I'd say.

Anyhow, Hathaway plays a drug addict who gets a pass out of rehab for her sister's wedding. Anne's an "It's all about me" kinda gal, so it's interesting to see how the family interacts. And we get to see the rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself and the reception. You're in tight with the group, because Jonathan Demme used a lot of handhelds in filming it. It's very different and Altman-like. Not exactly a laugh riot, but there is some humor. Hey, Fab Five Freddy and Robyn Hitchcock make appearances and the TV on the Radio singer was the groom, so there were many forms of music represented. The wedding ceremony was some of sort of Jewish/Hindu/Rasta. I somehow see my Dad at this type of wedding saying, "What the hell is this?".

Meal of Links

The perils of "Populist Chic". OK, I am checking myself into Palin rehab.

They may have found a cure for AIDS. Bone marrow plays the leading role.

Chrysler has talks with Hyundai. Yes, we all saw that coming, didn't we?

Exercise Yard

Salma Hayek paid for ball juggling lessons from Becks at an auction. And now he's off to Europe. She paid $350,000. You'd think they could sneak in a hour somewhere, don't you?

Visitor

62 Across: 1950 Tony winner born in Rome (9 letters) Answer: Ezio Pinza

It's so tough being Becks.




























































Although it appears to be from two different time events (venues? years?), he has that, "Oh, Christ! How much is this gonna cost me?" look going on at the end.

Well, the Olympics are finally over. I'm typically not a fan of the closing ceremony. You know, the athletes all come in as one under no flags and everyone's supposed to be happy. Just gives people an excuse to look stupid in front of the cameras. But, it was nice that NBC finally aired boxing on the big network today and showed the finals. And they even showed a "Teddy's Corner". Cool.

Meal of Links

Here is a woman who has 200 orgasms a day. This was from an article a while back, there doesn't appear to be an update. She was probably busy.

Blaine is back! This time, he's hanging upside down on a highwire for 60 hours and obviously the finale is on TV.

Check out SI's series on what their writers will remember about the Olympics. Nice stuff under the "Olympics Memories" header. Great quote from a Chinese soccer player: "We play soccer like the Brazilians play ping-pong."

This is so funny, you would think it's fake. Fox News sends a reporter into the middle of a protest at the Democratic Convention in Denver. Reporter: "Hey, that's not necessary." after "Junior Melendez" swears at him. He keeps saying, "Don't you believe in free speech?". Yeah, they have the right not to talk to you, clown. And nothing like asking masked protesters, "What's your name?". Then a "Fuck Fox News" chant starts.



Exercise Yard

I happened to catch the USA-Spain game for the basketball gold medal this morning. Not live, but on the HD Olympic Basketball channel when I woke up. It was a surprisingly close game, at times, in the 4th quarter until Kobe Bryant took over.

But what I take away from the basketball tournament was the medal ceremony. The Argentina team with their bronze medals and Spain with their silvers, and both squads looking absolutely tickled with their medals. No disappointment there. And the U.S. team, all of those mini-corporations, looking like little kids who just won their first prizes of any kind. Makes you wish for the good old days in a way, when sports was not run like the big business monster it has become.

Visitor

None, perhaps the laziest day of the year.

Today pretty much concludes Olympics viewing, except for men's basketball (at 2:30 a.m.) and water polo. Saw Argentina win the gold in men's soccer. Saw some men's diving. Happened to catch the last round of dives. A USA guy hit the water shaped like a 7 on his last dive. Now, I'm no Klaus Dibiasi, but even I know when you hit the water shaped like a 7, that ain't a good dive.

And no one calls a field event better than Dwight Stones. So, what does NBC do with the women's high jump? Gives it short shrift, that's what. Women's jumpers, of both the high and long varieties, have the best female athletic bodies going and they show, I don't know, six jumps. Idiots! I want more jumping shown from London, dammit.

Other than that, I saw a bunch of Kenyans win medals. Men's marathon, men's 5,000, men's 800, women's 1500. Thank goodness, the USA won both 4 x 400 relays, that was good stuff.

So, with the Olympics winding down, what did we learn? Change the scoring in boxing! No trampolining. No BMX racing. My reply to the greenlighting of "action sports" to increase viewership among the young, is why not have competitive eating? You could have a different food item each day for two weeks, ending with hot dogs. That is how preposterous some of these events are. And with 2012 from London, how about more live events? Of course, by then, who knows how they will be delivered.

This may be my favorite moment from the games.

Cuban taekwondo guy, a former gold medalist mind you, gets banned for life for kicking a judge in the head! You get a minute for injury time and he took longer. The dude's coach later said the ref was too strict. Hah!

(I take no responsibility for the soundtrack.)



Leona Lewis sings and Jimmy Page plays "Whole Lotta Love" later. And even Becks shows up.

Meal of Links

I like Obama's choice of Joe Biden as VP. Sure, he can be verbose. But he's got the judiciary and foreign relations credentials that look very appealing. Probably forces McCain to go with Romney, but he knows.

Toronto's infamous bike thief is behind bars. Reminds me of that Flobots song I hate, "I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars..."

Creep factor ratcheted up to high last night. So much so, I had to turn the Olympics off and watch. Why? Because IFC decided to show "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". In primetime, no less! That's usually slated, literally, for the graveyard shift. But there they were at 9:30 p.m. Henry, joined by his friend Otis once in a while, littering the Chicago landscape with bodies. Apparently, the entire police community of the Chicagoland area was on sabbatical for months at the time. This is one of the disturbing movies ever.

Siskel and Ebert review "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"



Exercise Yard

What's to say about the Browns? They didn't look so good today. I will stick by my guns and say it's only exhibition season, let's not panic yet.

We have to realize we didn't have some starters at the skilled positions on offense. That will be more worrisome against the Cowboys in the opener, but not today. Brady Quinn looked so-so. And not much happened on offense. They really didn't show a lot, either, but the execution was not good.

On defense, the first-string looked pretty good against the run, except for one bad pursuit that resulted in a 35-yard TD. That also happened late in the game on a 40-yarder. What remained shaky was the pass defense, especially at the corner. Not ready to say we are in serious trouble there, but that may be an issue come September.

I'll be at Thursday's "playing for spots" game.

Visitor

49 Down: Tomahawk twirler in a memorable "Tonight Show" segment (6 letters) Answer: Ed Ames

What I've been listening to:

"Watch Us Work It"/Devo (Yes, it's on the Dell ad)
"Do The Strand"/Roxy Music
"Back In Your Head"/Tegan and Sara
"Take Out The Trash"/They Might Be Giants
"Jesus Christ"/Brand New
"You Don't Know What Love Is"/The White Stripes
"Detroit Breakdown"/J. Geils Band
"Dad's Gonna Kill Me"/Richard Thompson
"Princess of the Universe"/Utopia
"Discovering Japan"/Graham Parker
"The Pretender"/Foo Fighters
"I Love It When You Call Me Names"/Joan Armatrading
"The Simpsons Theme"/Green Day
"My Moon My Man"/Feist
"I Know You Got Soul"/Eric B. and Rakim
"I Predict"/Sparks
"Shoot The Runner"/Kasabian
"Face The Face"/Pete Townshend
"Fish Ain't Bitin'"/Lamont Dozier
"God Is A Bullet"/Concrete Blonde

Meal of Links

A guide to how long some fresh foods should stay in the refrigerator. I always keep mayo til the expiry date on the jar. Other than that, these seem reasonable. Pasta sauce, on the other hand, has been a source of many experiments.

NBC will show 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympics coverage. Still falls well short of ESPN's poker shows.

Tom Brady has been designated the world's best-dressed man. Are you kidding me?



















Did you see Becks on the bench the other day? In a suit! Come on, he didn't get that at Richman Brothers, no matter how many fussy tailors they have. Er...had.

Exercise Yard

A rather humorous preview of some EPL teams. Including Randy Lerner's other team.

Visitor

51 Across: _____ Wicked Ale (5 letters) Answer: Pete's

Last night, the lure of a suite ticket got me to the Indians game. Got the late call, with a promise of a seat in a loge. Called my brother, picked him up, zipped Downtown in record time. Stopped at Alesci's to get the tickets. As we were walking down the alley, I looked at the ticket. It read "Section 316". Then it hit me, we aren't sitting in a loge, we are in the mezzanine. Damn.

But Captain Cheeseburger threw a nice game, Hafner homered, and the Tribe won. As I said after the game, it was free, it was fun, but it sure would have been nice to sit in a loge.

Meal of Links

It's Pearl in her farewell performance "Game on, holmes."

The Trib with its annual look at their favorite magazines. You can pick a new one to look at with what they list.

You have to watch "Shaq's Big Challenge". Shaq tries to get six overweight kids to drop a few pounds. I love Shaq and his sense of humor really comes through in this series. "It's Boot Camp time."

Exercise Yard
























Becks tries his hand at American football. And Reggie Bush tries his hand at futbol. And, somehow, Peyton Manning will still make better commercial.

Visitor

28 Across: "Batman" director Burton (3 letters) Answer: Tim

Becks is coming to LA! They certainly aren't paying for his footy skills, but they are paying for this kind of publicity:




















David Beckham is apparently getting $250 million for five years to play soccer in LA. Obviously paying for Beckham the Brand, because today in 2007, there has to be at least a hundred players better than him. Still, he is the most recognizable player in the world, and the kids seem to love the guy.

So, for him, it's a great move. Can he save US Soccer? Doubtful, but he can certainly raise its profile. He enters a situation with no on-field pressure, gets to go out on the town with Posh and will surpass the ink wasted on Paris Hilton in no time. I mean, they are friends with the Cruises. And Posh will be bored enough to go on "Dancing with the Stars" and make some "American Idol" appearances. And she can find some new soccer WAGS and hit Rodeo Drive often.

And if you can add a few more soccer fans in the process, what the hell? I'm not payin' him.

Meal of Links

Need to get rid of stuff? This site can help.

Steve Martin is writing a memoir. A chronicle of the early days should be a big hit.

Folks argue about lots of things. Sometimes while brandishing guns. It happened again. This time, over James Brown's height. I thought it was clear he was....here it comes...wait for it...six-feet under. OK, I stole that, but it's go-o-o-od.

Video of the Week

This is a Beck song that I've been hearing a lot of lately, and I like it very much. It's an unusually straightforward lyric from him. Probably have to turn the volume up here, too. Things to look for: Is that Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, Version 2007, in the back? He lip syncs some vocals near the end. I like the cool lyric "Whispering hello through a smoke ring smile." There seems to be off-camera stuff going on, especially at the start and with the "doo doo doo" part and when he talks about the photo booth pictures. And when he has the money from a shoebox lyric, I sense about $22. We got guys dressed like chicks and what's with the smoker? We also have chicks dressed like chicks, except they have fake hair. A neat video.

Beck-"Think I'm In Love"



Exercise Yard

Last night, S. and I wandered over to the Bart to watch CSU lose again. Now 0-5 in the league, they lost to Milwaukee, and that wasn't your father's UW-Milwaukee team they were playing either.

It's the point in the season where the post-game eats, this time at the West End Tavern, are becoming the highlight. And the scheduling is strange, as CSU has three home games lumped together this week for their only January home appearances and repeat the process once more, in a few weeks. I like it. Torture in quick doses.

Visitor

15 Across: Celebrated smiler (8 letters) Answer: Mona Lisa