OK, I am still alive. S. and I were over at the House of Blues on Sunday to see the Dropkick Murphys. I'll talk about that tomorrow. Since then, I've seen two movies, had really good paczki, had my first fish fry for Lent and had a flat tire.

Gale and I saw "The Adjustment Bureau" at the Capitol on Monday. Sort of a "Men With Hats" thriller. This starred Matt Damon and Emily Blunt and they had some really good chemistry to sell this one. Damon was a politician and Blunt was a modern dancer. They decided they were meant for each other, while The Adjustment Bureau's data said "Nope."

Until the Bureau realized they should have been together and that caused the whole mess to become messier. This is probably the best movie for adults so far in this calendar year. Not a classic, but entertaining enough. And you'll be on the lookout for men wearing hats for a time after seeing it.

Last night, my Dad treated all of us, including my niece, for a showing of "Rango". My niece did a great job of not spoiling it, as this was already the second time she saw it. This starred Johnny Depp as a chameleon turned gunfighter in "Rango". Absolutely loved this one, as this was the best overall movie so far this calendar year.

Old Western references abound and you even had a bit of "Chinatown" thrown in there. Because when you control water, you control everything. There was even an homage to the fly swatter scene from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Other references from "A Fistful of Dollars", "Once Upon A Time In The West", "Apocalypse Now", "Raising Arizona", "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly". Even "The Spirit of the West" is represented by a poncho-wearing Clint Eastwood.

Not really for the kiddies, this one might attain classic status. It's that good.

Meal of Links

I still can't believe the city of Detroit does not want a statue of Robocop. I would definitely go there, if this became a reality.

Early Bowie photos. I mean early.

NPR has 50 great voices. Nice list.

Wisconsin passed the collective bargaining bill. Boy, this looks court-worthy.

Keith Olbermann says Charlie Sheen is doing an impression of Brian Wilson. hearing him interviewed in the offseason, I think he's right. BTW, a bar around the corner from me is advertising "Tiger Blood Shots".

Jason Bateman thinks the "Arrested Development" movie sounds great. He's anxious to get filming.

Great year for music? How about 1977?

Mel Gibson The Rude Warrior.

Exercise Yard

Well, it looks like Saint Tressel is taking a beating these days. Two things you've already heard from the OSU acolytes: "Every school does this." and "A coach cannot control his players for 24 hours a day."

One thing that bugs me about this is Tressel said he feared for the players during this investigation and that trumped following the rules. Huh? Really? You don't take that concern to the AD or GC of the University?

Second, Tressel knowingly playing potentially ineligible players is mind-boggling. If he acknowledges this e-mail in April, the players selling of memorabilia becomes known, OSU self-reports, and I sense maybe a one-game suspension at the start of 2010. So, now he doesn't do that, it now becomes an NCAA issue, that organization will probably add to his supension and fine, and I think the 2010 season is probably on its way to being vacated.

Certainly not a fireable offense nor one requiring Tressel to quit, but jeepers, the guy is 58 and this is really one dumb move. Will it hurt OSU? Only if scholarships get pulled and a limit on TV appearances or perhaps a season without a bowl game. Other than that, it's only Tressel's reputation that suffers and around here, that will only be a little bit.

Visitor

32 Down: "Mad Max" star (9 letters) Answer: Mel Gibson

Trying to cram in a lot this weekend. Yesterday, I found myself at two places I had not been to in a really long time. First, I had to go to a shoe repair place, as I had a blowout on one of my shoes. Obviously, kicking a lot of ass around here. Yes, these places still exist. Look, I'm not gonna pay triple digits for a replacement pair, if this one can be fixed.

The other place was Borders. Hadn't been there in so long, I did not realize they now open at 10:00 a.m. Of course, they drove me out of there because my entry and exit were bracketed by these jewels from Neil Diamond, "Yesterday" and "Alone Again Naturally". Bah!

I spent the early afternoon on Saturday taking care of my lawn for the last time this year. Trimmed and mowed. I cannot remember the last time I had to do this in mid-November, but we really didn't have any Indian Summer until this past week, so I had to deal with it. I think I gave Mother Nature the go-ahead to release the hounds!

Also, this weekend, Cleveland State started their schedule by hosting a tournament for 4 days. I attended Friday with my Dad to see Bryant and Local Chuck went with me yesterday to see Iona. Already exchanged tickets out of Monday's game, but opted out of tonight's Kent game, after the Browns OT game.

By having a 6:00 start last night, I was afforded the opportunity to visit a couple of my favorite places. Who can resist the Becky Burger at Becky's? Seriously, try to. Postgame found it kinda warm, so I went over to the local gem of an ice cream shoppe and that is the Honey Hut. The peanut butter sundae was beckoning me for my last visit of the year.

As for the games, CSU is still shaking off the rust. They struggled both nights, although the transition defense was much better against Iona. Norris Cole is now a senior and clearly he is the rock of the team. Looked very good, so far. The Vikings have been picked to finish third in the Horizon League and I think that's a proper prognostication. Crowds still suck though. For CSU-Iona which was Game 2 of the doubleheader, I think there was 600 people in attendance. Kent should change that today.

The good news is CSU starts with 2 wins.

Meal of Links

Who did not see this coming? "Rubicon" got cancelled. Clearly, the agonizingly slow first 4 episodes killed it. By the time it found its feet, the audience had moved on. Let's face it though, zombies are in. One of the few who liked it. I will say, it probably is worth viewing in an on-demand setting or a summer rerun, as I doubt there will be a DVD release.

The phone call is dead. Seriously, texting is much easier.

I am not sure who constructed this list of 55 Hollywood Babes. Maybe, a 13-year old. Jolie is listed at 29. Now here's a woman.

A David Bowie Primer. Feel free to crank "Sound and Vision".

For all the women who want to stand to pee.

Does your TV viewing lean left or right? I'm definitely right.

You think you're smart? You fix the budget.

James Blunt, of all people, stopped World War III.

Who makes the best sour cream and onion chips? Looks like Ruffles takes the plain category.

Mystery surrounds Terrence Malick. That's not new news.

WTF? I was witness to this midday stunner. Sunderland beat Chelsea, 3-0. At Chelsea.

BTW, I'm always awed at how quiet the EPL crowds are during a minute's silence for Remembrance Day. It's almost creepy, then you get this massive applause. It's something to witness.

Remembrance Day at Villa Park



Exercise Yard

It has been a long time since I've been fired up for a Browns regular season game, as I was this past week. I think we have to go to the last century. But after today's game, we've been down this path with the Browns before, haven't we?

We are going to have to see how the team responds after today's OT loss against the Jets. For all the horrible seasons the Browns have had upon their return, there are parallels with what happened today. Most people can't remember Jeff Garcia actually winning games as the Browns QB. But in 2004, the Browns had a 3-3 record, and things were looking rather decent. Then the Eagles came to town and beat the Browns in an overtime game, 34-31. The Browns had a bye the next week and then they waved bye to the whole season and won only one more game, finishing 4-12.

In 2008, the Browns were 3-4, coming off a surprise win at Jacksonville, and had home games against Baltimore on a Sunday and Denver on a Thursday. The Ravens beat the Browns late, 37-27, with a Derek Anderson interception adding to the defeat. He got benched for Brady Quinn for the Denver game and the Browns got torched by Jay Cutler, 34-30. Accusations of players quitting were launched, every QB got hurt from that game forward and the Browns ended up 4-12.

Based on what I saw today, I don't think the Browns are headed to 4-12. But as Bill Parcells once said, "You are what you are." and right now, the Browns are 3-6. And to hammer this point home once again, the defense NEVER comes through for the Browns. NEVER.

So, what did we learn today?

Colt McCoy's a keeper. The game-tying drive late looked awfully good.

The Browns depth on defense is sold as a strong point. But they seemed to miss something with Scott Fujita and Sheldon Brown out with injuries. Let alone, the offense seemingly dormant for a time without Josh Cribbs available. The defense didn't get the turnovers they had been blessed with the last two weeks, so that made a tough job even tougher today.

Looks like the Eric Wright Hate Factor goes way up after his, I don't know, nonchalance in going after Santonio Holmes on the game-winning TD. He needs to be more chalant next time.

I thought the Browns were on their way to a win, but then Chansi Stuckey fumbled. Great that Nick Folk took him off the hook with a missed field goal, but my goodness, they looked like money before that play.

The Browns gave up 456 yards today, with 172 of them on the ground. Just sayin'.

For all of the talk about the Browns wide receivers, isn't it obvious from today's game, they still need a serious upgrade at that position. Granted, they almost won a game while completely ignoring their own wideouts, but with a serious threat at that position, things will get easier offensively.

Browns last drive of the game in OT can be debated. I like the fact they went for it with a throw on first down. And I understand the Jets timeout situation factored in to running on second down. My thought was, let's throw it on second down, as well. My thinking was one first down probably eliminates the Jets from winning, but allows the Browns a chance at a win. After the second down run, I thought it was only a tie for the Browns.

And certainly after the punt, a good one by Hodges, I didn't think a TD would beat them and was setting myself up for a field goal loss. So that made the Holmes catch even more tough to take.

Browns lose in OT to the Jets, 26-20.

Visitor

None, on what appeared to be the first sunny Sunday of winter.

Thanks to all the Veterans for their service. Nice to see Veterans Day getting a much larger profile in recent years.

I started the day by listening on XM to a terrific program by Bob Edwards, "Surviving the Fallen". This was all about remembrances and descriptions of what happens to the surviving family members, when a soldier dies in combat. How they are notified, what preparations they make before they go to combat (wills, insurance forms) where to bury them (near home or Arlington), etc. Extremely poignant.

As always, there are many organizations that could use your help. Three of them that I follow are the IAVA, the USO, and The Pat Tillman Foundation.

I got an e-mail from the Tillman Foundation promoting their good work, especially the Tillman Military Scholars. Cleveland State is one of 31 participating universities, BTW, that allow Veterans to further their education. And CSU is one of only 8 university partners with the Foundation. This year, 60 Veterans were chosen nationally, and 2 of them are CSU students.

Anyhow, this prompted me to check (for the millionth time, I think), when and if "The Tillman Story" was going to make it into town. I have been waiting for months to see it. Lo and behold, it finally snuck into town today of all days, albeit to the Atlas Theatres in Mentor. So, I went after work and grabbed an early show. Actually, it turned out to be a private showing.

It was as good as I heard it would be. You get background on Pat and his family. And you get details on how he was killed and how his family just wanted a simple explanation on how it happened. The government originally said he had been killed in a heroic firefight and then had to backpedal when family pressure determined that was not what occurred. Congressional testimony was also included.

Can't recommend it enough. Probably in town for a week.

Meal of Links

What's happening in Pittsburgh? One thing that becomes an issue as you get older is weather. Combined with all of Pittsburgh's charms, they average about 40 inches of snow. It's not a bad place to live.

What's up with Bowie? Iman has the scoop.

25 Classic TV Title Sequences. Nice list to look at.

Jack White hints at a White Stripes reunion. He's also producing a Wanda Jackson record. Now that should be great.

Exercise Yard

Last night, Nomar Stalker and I went to the Cavs-Nets game at the Q. The Cavs did a nice job by saluting veterans throughout the evening, but when it comes to this, they still can't beat the Browns. For they have flyovers. But the Cavs still have fire coming out from the scoreboard and it's still hot.

The atmosphere has really changed down there, obviously, as we experience Life Without LeBron. Oh, Q Tube is still in effect with Oblivious Cam and the Joe Tait Sweater Cam, and Moondog is still dunking and taking off multiple shirts to get alternating cheers and boos.

Over the last several years if you attended a Cavs game, odds are they were gonna win. Now, however, when a team like New Jersey comes to town, you have your doubts. So, last night, it was the back end of an NHL-style home-and-home with the Nets here in town. The crowd really wasn't into it, because, well, it was the Nets. But they better get used to it and not take anything for granted this year.

We had club seats. Center court stuff. A really nice find I got about a month ago. Thanks, StubHub! Pretzel and a pop cost me $7.50.

The Cavs ended up losing this one. They had a double-digit lead early and were up comfortably at the half. Then the third quarter woes reared their ugly head once again and the Nets kept chipping away, eventually getting the lead late in the third quarter.

However, Mo Williams went down with an injury and even with his on-and-off shooting, they could have used him down the stretch. While the Cavs had a fairly active lineup including Varejao, Gibson, Sessions and Parker, they could not make a shot. And it irritated me that the Nets outrebounded the Cavs for the game. The Cavs had no answer fo Devin Harris and let people like Kris Humphries and Anthony Morrow provide big contributions.

Then there was the mysterious absence of J.J. Hickson in crunch time as well, as the Nets held on for the win. Curious. If Hickson is one of your best players and Williams is out, Hickson probably needs to be in there. At the very least, an inside presence is available with him in the lineup.

My take is the Cavs have a lot of work to do. They can't let up on an opponent like the Nets, who had lost 5 straight coming in and were winless on the road. Not a stunning loss, by any means, but a bit of a puzzling one, I'd say.

Cavs lose, 95-87.

Visitor

53 Across: ______ Tunes (6 letters) Answer: Looney

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

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

Excellent news for me. Setanta USA is folding and will become Fox Soccer Plus. It looks like Time Warner will actually pick it up, but it's anyone's guess if Fox Soccer Channel in HD will start. Maybe it will as the HDs move from the 400 channels to the 1000 channels in March.

Plus, the English get blamed for poor World Cup sales, even though they are the Number 2 country in ticket sales. Germany, as well.

But England also thinks Germany's new black shirts are Nazi throwbacks. Lines like "one goose-step too far" seem rather inflammatory.

Speaking of the World Cup, ABC has decided to show the national anthems of the two teams. About time. They will also get USA-England. ESPN Classic replays all of the matches daily starting at 6:00. So, it looks like I will be unavailable the latter half of June.

Meal of Links

It's bad for the R's when even someone at the Wall Street Journal says they better start governin'. Are they going to wait 4-8 years for their own guy to get back in there? And did you see any of the State of the Union coverage on CNN? The set with all of the assorted pundits is now resembling a game show.

How to suck at Facebook. I'm on there. Sort of. Kind of. I just seem to ignore it.

J.D. Salinger died. Talk about a recluse. Stories from The New Yorker are here. The Onion chimes in here with a classic.

Bowie photos and French temptresses and the strange faces of Gary Oldman!

We heard so much shit about ACORN during the 2008 campaign. But this is the best summary I've read about its troubles. I certainly did not know it's federal funding started up again. Very good stuff.

Exercise Yard

The Cavs have the best record in the East. But only one All-Star. And we all know who that would be.

Visitor

30 Down: "What You Need" band (4 letters) Answer: INXS

"Hancock" was on the bill tonight, as my Dad and I ventured over to the Regal at Crocker Park. I thought the trailer for this one looked pretty good and it sorta snuck into theaters today for the "Special Advance Showing". Ads keep touting July 2, so it's a way to beat the crowds and catch it early.

I am running about 60-40 on old "Hancock", which clocks in at a snappy 92 minutes. The good parts involved Will Smith destroying things while saving LA from disaster. Therefore, most of what little humor there is, fell into his lap. I thought Jason Bateman was pretty good as the PR guy who wants to remake Hancock into a more well-liked superhero. Charlize Theron is just OK in her role as Bateman's wife.

I'm still trying to figure this movie out. The CG was pretty lame, I thought, and the plot takes an unexpected turn about halfway through and I'm still determining if it was for the better. At this point, I'm leaning towards no. The plot veered off into heady territory, as if they didn't know what movie they wanted to make. So, the movie suffers from that point forward, at least for me. Like I said, Hancock in any form, before or after makeover, is good. I'm just not sure there was enough of him.

Meal of Links

WOXY counted down the Top Modern Rock 500 again this year. I think it's a good list and you can listen to the archived broadcast.

Bowie, oddly enough, talks about songs by Bowie. This article accompanied a compilation distributed in Sunday's Daily Mail. My Sunday paper contained an Aldi's circular, for a reference point.

AMC is remaking "The Prisoner" into a miniseries. Why not just rerun the originals again? Caviezel plays Number 6. Ian McKellen plays Number 2, lending a ton of credibility to the project.

We may never see a Starbucks on every corner. They've decided to slow down on expansion.

Over half of those who participated in a psilocybin study say the experience was great. Cosmic, if you will.

The New York Times had some info from Heinen's the other day. Looks like Trader Joe's is now competing with something called Fresh & Easy. Sounds like a women's product.

Exercise Yard

I thought this was interesting. An article on baseball in Venezuela.

Visitor

39 Down: Singer Tori (4 letters) Answer: Amos

Last night, Drew and I headed over to O's. Gotta go to O's. When you arrive at Cedar Center going west on Cedar, that Whole Foods Market and parking garage have practically engulfed all of the landscape over there. It's kinda scary. Last night they had andouille florentine as the soup of the day. My God, was that good. And, of course, there was beer.

I don't think Drew and I solved the issues of the world, but we touched on many topics. I wondered about priests on airplanes. Do they wear their collars? We decided: Business, yes. Vacation, no. That evolved into a discussion about priests on an airplane that's about to crash. My question is that if you're goin' down and you know there is a priest in your row, when is the appropriate time to start making your last confession. I think the guy is going to get lots of requests, if things look bleak. My take is you have to turn the iPod off ("What? We're crashing?") and make the first move and say, "Padre. Last rites. Let's go!". None of this "Make sure the children are taken care of, before proceeding with your own" stuff. Then if he didn't have water, could he crush a peanut on your forehead for those last rites? Or throw it at you. It's probably something we should all know.

Then we saw Paul McCartney was taking up with some chick and we decided we could kick his ass quite easily in a fight. Which led to if you had to fight a Beatle, how would you fare? Now, I am talking Beatles in their prime, not present day, as two of them wouldn't answer the bell for Round 1, as we know. And we are not talking about a boxing match, this would be in the no-holds-barred category.

John Lennon: Didn't he used to carry a switchblade. But then became a peace monger. But, back in the day, we decided Lennon would kick our ass. Probably more on principle, than any size ratios or eye gouge capability. The Daily Racing Form Comment: Savaged.

George Harrison: Kind of a wiry fellow. We decided that we would win. Oh, you know you'd be in a battle, probably be bloodied perhaps injured, but would win by enough of a margin that he would give up. The more I think of it, you'd shake his hand, say "Well done!", and proceed to a pub with him. DRF Comment: Fully Extended.

Ringo Starr: No question, we would prevail. Oh, it would be boring, because you know you would eventually win. You'd suffer maybe a scratch or two, but nothing serious, before opening a can of whoop ass on him. DRF Comment: Wore Down Rivals.

Paul McCartney: Minimal effort and no surprise the beatdown on this guy would happen very quickly. Absolutely no contest. DRF Comment: Failed to Menace.

Drew had to bring up the topic of monkeys. You know my credo: "Monkeys make me laugh. Monkeys in clothes make me laugh harder." Sure enough, as we were leaving, a CDW commercial with a monkey was on. Then, of course, there's always Whiplash!



Meal of Links

I visited Marc's today. You know it's the place where you need two cans of beef broth and $40 later, you leave. But there is an Ice Cream Alert: Pierre's pints for $1.25 for another week or so. That's not too bad.

Hey, it's a twofer. First, I find that Conan O'Brien has a stalker who happens to be a priest. And then a Bowie mugshot.

I normally do not watch "30 Rock". But tonight's episode was very funny.

Exercise Yard

11 free agents are named in the Mitchell Report. It seems that this revelation should be bigger news. There is the possibility that a guy you sign might be suspended. Here is the free agent list.

Visitor

41 Across: Acting family name (8 letters) Answer: Redgrave

Have we run out of ideas in every phase of entertainment? The Proclaimers, yes, The Proclaimers, are at the top of the charts this time around. If I could walk 500 miles, I'd be in Illinois, I think.

With all of the new music out there, yuck! Modest Mouse with "Dashboard" and the Kaiser Chiefs with "Ruby" are two newer tunes I hear quite a bit. BTW, Coachella is getting closer.

Meal of Links

Pee-wee Herman, the last celebrity to be punished significantly, before simple fake apologies and rehab became the rage, gets more roles. I saw him on a "Raymond" rerun a while ago, and he was damn funny as a comic book dude.

You just knew Bowie was gonna have Arcade Fire at the Gotham Festival. Ricky Gervais, too.

I would be remiss without recommending "This American Life" on Showtime. It's a half-hour program from Ira Glass of NPR. I don't listen to NPR, but the TV version's first episode hooked me. It's online, as well.

Exercise Yard

In case you have not seen Peyton Manning for United Way:



Visitor

20 Across: "The Raven" poet (3 letters) Answer: Poe

During a weekend of trying to get out of a funk, staving off a cold, and watching a shitload of English and American football, I was reminded that this week is the week of the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld. I'm curious to see what Apple is coming out with tomorrow with rumors about a phone, iTV, and a new video iPod, which I've been craving. But I am also intrigued by Sharp's 108-in. TV. Whoo-hoo.

I can now go camping, as well.

Meal of Links

The Rock Hall inductees were announced today. I think the only surprise for me was The Ronettes over Iggy Pop. That baffles me. BTW, today is David Bowie's 60th birthday, and here are 60 Bowie facts. I really dig #37, for some reason. And, he does dig Arcade Fire.

Bad Tigger? Come on, he barely pawed that kid, but check out the kid. He appears to be grabbing Tigger's neck, and I can't believe I'm this concerned about it.

I was elated when I saw Bruce Campbell in the new Old Spice commercial. If you don't know him...well, you should.

Exercise Yard

Stephen Hawking wants to go to space. No laughing.

Visitor

28 Down: Vladimir of the Kremlin (5 letters) Answer: Putin