I'm back. What have we learned lately?

Facts for economic arguments: Here is a graph describing Obama vs. Bush effects on the deficit. Half of Americans do not pay federal income tax. (Hat tip to Paul).

Last I heard today, the Dow was down 330. Oops! A really bad day for the markets. Is it time for extending the payroll tax holiday? It's one of the easiest quick fixes out there.

Breakstone's Zesty Blends Jalapeno Sour Cream is wonderful.

Hey, the Skinny Cow has moved into the candy aisle. Really good.

This year's Taste of Cleveland was cancelled. Not really a surprise. The Taste of Cleveland started in 1995 at Nautica with Cheap Trick as the headliner. So, they've handled this event at that venue before. I'm not buying the construction spin so much as a lack of interest by all concerned.

This event peeked the year George Clinton was the Saturday night entertainment. Without incident, I may add. Since that time, the Saturday musical acts have tended to be more mainstream or local...Michael McDonald, Squeeze, Blues Traveler, Michael Stanley, Donnie Iris.

The amount of vendors has dropped (last year, maybe 18-20) and the prices have gone up. Even the firemen, who used to have steak-on-a-stick for MD have been long gone. I think losing Giant Eagle as a main sponsor killed the entertainment piece. Marc's did a nice job as a sponsor and, for sure, Ohio Natural Gas Taste of Cleveland sounded funny, but I don't think the event had the same funding commitment.

The Taste of Cleveland, much like larger events like Taste of Chicago, has been spiralling downward for a few years now. Curious to see if a 2012 event makes it on the calendar.

Meal of Links

Speaking of food, I found myself watching back-to-back reruns of "Man v. Food", with Man losing. I thought his record was more invincible. But Adam Richman is only 37-22 against Food.

Oh, no. The "Shawshank Tree" suffered damage.

Rolling Stone lists the Top 10 Punk Bands of All Time. Better list than you'd think.

The NYC Lebowski Fest has a cast reunion. Where's Turturro, doesn't he live in New York? Didn't mean anything by that, because "nobody fucks with the Jesus".

Just what the world needs. Another tallest building.

The easy way to keep track of the flip-flops of Mitt Romney. It's Multiple Choice Mitt.

Exercise Yard

Ed Sabol gets his due as he is inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame this weekend. But here's how the NFL Network is neutering the gold standard that was NFL Films.

Visitor

32 Down: Citi Field team (4 letters) Answer: Mets

As the Cavs go after Tom Izzo,

David Geffen tries to mess us up.

And the Indians DFA'ed Mark Grudzielanik.

What's the bigger news?

Meal of Links

How did Bonnaroo get its name? It comes from a Dr. John album. Bonnaroo is loosely translated from Creole meaning "good stuff".

Yeah. Those lines at BK can be tiring.

Looking at new candy and snacks. Hey, there's Perky Jerky.

BP kinda sucks.

Exercise Yard

Even The New Republic covers the World Cup. Today's subject: The coach of Chile, El Loco.

Visitor

36 Across: 1971 Sutherland title role (5 letters) Answer: Klute

The Cavs beat the Lakers again. Clearly, they are the best team in the East and it's starting to become no contest. We'll see how they do without Mo Williams for a time, but it didn't have much of an effect this evening.

Anyhow, this guy loved it:



Meal of Links

Looking good on the dance floor. The Sexual Politics of Dancing.

"The Politics of Dancing"/Re-Flex



Apple announces something next week. probably a tablet. So, until then, you'll be reading lots of stuff like this.

A look back at "Requiem For A Dream". Saw it late-night, over the holidays, and it is still terrific. Strong performances by everyone (Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn), even from a Wayans Brother (this time, Marlon). A score that has become familiar. If you watch Sky Sports, you know what I mean. But, man, it's a tough one to watch.

How come their Cadbury's tastes better than our Cadbury's. Have not had a Caramello in quite a while.

One inch at a time...

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2:15



Exercise Yard

Owner says the Pistons may be for sale. With lots of other stuff, like theaters and arenas.

Visitor

13 Across: "April Love" singer (5 letters) Answer: Boone

I am getting quite perturbed with the LA Times Crossword Puzzle on the weekends. With the last two Saturdays being so easy and probably a six-month slide down a slippery slope, I am officially declaring it dumbed down. Oh, the Times editor refers to it as "eased-up", but I call 'em as I see 'em. Anything beyond the most basic geography, history and mythology has been eschewed on the weekends for more modern stuff. The Saturday puzzle used to be a challenge, sometimes I'd have to leave it and come back, finishing it later that day or maybe even waiting until Sunday when something finally clicked.

Now if I don't finish it quickly, it's a rarity. Today's was way too easy. It included two cities in Texas, El Paso and Waco, that shouldn't happen. Uriah Heep and Descartes were also included, because they were long (and easy). Crap answers like that abound now! I saw one site that compared this week's Friday and Saturday to a Wednesday puzzle. Which was better than last week's, which was a Tuesday!

Look, I empathize with those who start doing the crosswords. There is nothing like finishing the harder ones as the week goes on and you figure out the nuances and certain words that pop up all the time. But where is the learning and, I might add, fun, in achieving that status simply because the puzzles are easier. And I understand the newspaper's plight in attracting new people to these puzzles. But, my God, this is really a sad commentary on what passes for intelligence these days. And i would wager to say the NYTimes would not do this.

Actress Tea _____, are you effin' kidding me on a Saturday puzzle?

Meal of Links

You like autumn? Well, here's your autumn. I think we call it fall, in these parts.

I thought this would start when the Limbaugh Rams takeover got public play. Would black players sign with the Rams? Probably not. Then again, these are better players talking and they have choices.

More fun with Google maps. This time in Toronto.

If you haven't started reading Letters of Note, you should. This one about The Beatles and the implied Beatlemania was really funny. "I'm 15 and feel like 80."

Guess what you can get at Wal-Mart? Kiss M&Ms!























Exercise Yard

The Baltimore Marathon is being run today. The Baltimore Sun has printed a map of where the most dangerous parts of the marathon route are located. Including the homicides.

Visitor

10 Across: Hero at the Battle of Cabra, 1079 (5 letters) Answer: El Cid

The Cavs start up the Conference Finals against Orlando tomorrow. Here are the basic things we will hear during this round:

Dwight Howard is Superman.

How to pronounce Hedo Turkoglu. Impress your friends, he’s a Turk and it’s Turk–a-lou. No "g" sound.

Rafer Alston honed his craft on the playground.

Coach Stan Van Gundy looks like Ron Jeremy.

Orlando loves the three-pointer.

The Cavaliers do not match up well with Orlando.

But keep this in mind. We have the #1 player in the league. We have the #1 defense in the league. We have the #1 offensive rebounding team in the league. Having said that, we know the Cavs will lose a game in this series. Maybe 1, hopefully only 2, probably not 3, and certainly not 4 games, but they will lose a game during this round. So, we may as well refute ahead of time, all of the crap we will be hearing when the Cavs eventually drop a game.

The Announcers Are Biased

Whenever any Cleveland team makes it this far into the playoffs, this is the go-to card for idiots. I’ve heard this since I was a youngster. Most prominently, Bob Costas, Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker were anti-Cleveland Indians during 1995 and 1997 World Series. This glosses over the fact that Mike Hargrove was the only person in America who did not know Atlanta would bunt in Game 1 in 1995. And the fact that Jim Poole batted in Game 6 in 1995. Let me repeat that, Jim Poole was sent to up to hit in Game 6. And the fact Tony Hernandez had an error late in Game 7 in 1997 that he thanks God every day for Jose Mesa's debacle.

In 2007, it was C.C. Sabathia struggling in Game 1 against the Yankees, but yet the TBS crew hated the Indians. It never ends. It’s already started with Charles Barkley. His “Mistake on the Lake” comments are going to overshadow anything he says about the Cavs in this series, good or bad.

Marv Albert and Doug Collins will call the games on TNT. Marv still has it and is as good as it gets. Doug Collins is OK, but I’m telling you, wait for that first loss. These guys will get their share of criticism.

The National Media Are Biased

The inferiority around this place can become suffocating, at times. Be prepared for a dose of this when the Cavs lose one. I think the media have been very fair with the Cavs. I have seen and heard many pundits picking them to win this round. There is an ulterior motive, however. It’s a huge final if it’s Cavs-Lakers. A passing of the torch, perhaps, from ex-Olympic teammates, Kobe to LeBron. So, it benefits the networks if indeed, this does this happen. It’s a fairly compelling story. Don’t think for a moment the media want Orlando to win. Yet, this is what we’ll hear after a loss.

The Refs Are Biased

Probably the toughest to refute. This is a league that had “Mister Don-a–gee, that rogue official” go to jail for gambling. And they had the referee, who they admitted blew a call at the end of a Dallas-Denver game, ref a game only a few days later in the Laker-Rocket series. So, the NBA really doesn’t help itself when the perception of their officiating is the worst of the major sports.

And I’ve witnessed some incredibly bad officiating in the history of Cavs playoff basketball. Nate Thurmond fouling out in Boston and a 1992 game against New Jersey, which remains the most heinous turnaround in officiating from one half to another I’ve ever seen.

Sure, LeBron goes to the line a ton and should go more. He gets hacked on virtually every drive to the hoop. But there will be a game where the Cavs might go to the line 15 times and Orlando 35 times or something like that. Then Mike Brown will address the stat sheet at the postgame presser and the town will cry bloody murder.

To prepare everyone for the refereeing, look, it happens every year. It self-corrects in the next game and we can all live happily after ever.

If you hear any of this crap after the Cavs first playoff loss, you’ve been warned.

Meal of Links

F-R-E-E, that spells free. As in chocolate.

A complaint about food snobbery at food kitchens. Where does it say the homeless can't have a good meal every now and then? Why is that so bad? I don't get it. The place, MEND, does not take stimulus money, BTW.

Jerry Springer leaves Chicago. He'll find a whole batch of new weirdos in Connecticut.

OK, That's Spacey



Stewie Hates Fox Ads



Exercise Yard

Rich people suck at sports. Maybe that's why they buy teams?

Visitor

5 Across: Italian-American singer Jerry (4 letters) Answer: Vale

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

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

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

Breeders Cup Turf Sprint



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

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



























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

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

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

Meal of Links

Halloween candy is purchased. Here is the list:

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

Speaking of Halloween. Try your hand at Cat Bowling.

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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

The ref explains himself.



Visitor

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

My neighbors are moving, it appears. The U-Haul pulled up this morning. Isn't there something in the Neighbor Code that they need to tell you when they are moving, or did that go out in 1972? (Aside to Paul: If you waited, we coulda been neighbors!) Hopefully, Guitar Hero doesn't move in. I get enough music with Neil Peart living on the other side of me.

Meal of Links

I don't eat a lot of candy. And I certainly had trouble with this quiz. You try to identify candy bars via a cross-section. I regret to report I was 10 for 20 (/hanging head in shame) and that was with a late rally.

The art of the Thank You Note. I sent my goddaughter a gift for high school graduation recently and got a very nice Thank You in return, with humor. I liked it a lot. It's not that hard, but you gotta commit.

God knows I love monkeys. Spain does the ape world a solid by giving them some human rights.

Unless Warren Sapp surprises me, his time on "Dancing With the Stars" will be short-lived. Guaranteed his act of "Mean Face" followed by laughing will grow old quickly. I got tired of that about 10 years ago. Sapp answers questions.

NPR wants to know the Best Music of 2008, thus far. Here is the poll. My five choices were:

Drive By Truckers
MGMT
The Black Keys
The Raconteurs
The Ting Tings

Right now, Death Cab for Cutie and Vampire Weekend, which I also like, are running away with it.

"How To Get Into Any Club"



Exercise Yard

UGA VI died. He was almost 10 and handled University of Georgia mascot duty for 9 of those years. He'll be buried with the other UGAs. I'm surprised the press release didn't say "UGA VI has been moved to a farm in Pennsylvania."

Visitor

Across Down: Language family that includes Tamil (9 letters) Answer: Dravidian The only reason this was a Saturday puzzle was because of the phrases. Otherwise, it was not that tough.)