While wondering whatever became of Robert Benigni...

I'm listening to the Tribe game. Tom Hamilton is describing what sounds like an earthquake. I don't feel a thing. Apparently, the East Coast was in a panic. Or wanted a free day on a nice summer afternoon.

Of course, it was near a nuclear power plant. Fuck.

Meal of Links

Jerry Lieber died yesterday. How would you like to have your name attached to that songbook? Think of the Elvis hits, the Coasters hits and on and on. Lieber and Stoller also produced "Stuck In The Middle With You". This is my favorite Lieber and Stoller tune:

"Spanish Harlem"/Ben E. King



Nickolas Ashford died yesterday, as well. He, and his wife, Valerie Simpson wrote many Motown hits. Listen to Marvin Gaye just kill on this Ashford and Simpson record.

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"/Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell



The odd death of Arturo Gatti. Next week, a P.I. gives his findings. Never bought the suicide for one moment.

15 arcade games we miss. They are all there. Circus never makes these lists, but damn, I ruled that game.

Art of the Title with the classic, "Catch Me If You Can". One of the best title sequences ever.

10 songs ruined by advertising. "Saved by Zero" not on the list? Bah.

"Snakes On A Plane" is 5 years old. Only made $34 million at the box office.

The Rock plus Bruckheimer equals...'80s Wrestling Show! Dust off Ron Garvin running up those stairs.

Speaking of earthquakes. What's up with Haiti?

Versus is getting more NFL on its network. Mike Florio has a Friday at 6 show, with Darren Rovell following. Now, NFL Films is producing "Turning Point". This looks like old-style NFL Films stuff, Thursdays at 10.

Exercise Yard

Pat Summitt has early onset dementia. At age 59. Fairly obvious she can't coach much longer. But damn, that's an early diagnosis.

Visitor

43 Down: Hairy TV cousin (3 letters) Answer: Itt

Housh Still Rules Fantasy



Kills me every time.

Meal of Links

The Dude lives. At the NYC Lebowski Fest.

Nate Silver on Rick Perry's electability. I just can't see it. I actually like what Jon Huntsman (However, he blew the Iowa debate) and Gary Johnson (He skipped Iowa every way possible) have to say, but they have worse than a snowball's chance.

Edmunds has a new car inventory tool. Instructions here.

Time has the Top 50 Websites of 2011. Pretty nice selection.

McNulty from "The Wire" is in a BBC America show like "Mad Men" with a bit of "Rubicon". I watched the first episode. I'm in.

The summer of the Woodman continues. "Midnight In Paris" is actually adding theatres. It is a good one.

Exercise Yard

The legend that was, or could have been, of Arvydas Sabonis. The greatest Lithuanian hoopster of all time.

Visitor

42 Down: Laker teammate of Magic (6 letters) Answer: Kareem

Hey, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup last night. Well, that only took 40 years.

How about that city? In the last decade, each of their major sports team has won a title. We are still waiting since 1964. For any team.

Look out for the riots in Vancouver. Apparently you riot-win or lose.

Meal of Links

"Spider-Man" officially opened on Broadway. Oh, it still sucks, but in more of an official way.

The 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books. I haven't read a lot of these.

NPR lists their 25 favorite albums from this year, thus far. That's a lot of unknowns there.

E! has a show tonight on commercial stars. The Most Interesting Man in the World is featured.

Facebook lost 6 million users in the USA during May. Even Bill Gates couldn't take it.

Exercise Yard

Progressive Field will host an Ohio State-Michigan game. In hockey!

Game will be held on January 15.

Visitor

21 Down: Actor Matthau (6 letters) Answer: Walter

"The Fortune Cookie"

Can't say enough about three things. Drew and I attempted to save the world once again at O'Reilly's at Cedar Center. I think I had the coldest beer I've had this year last night, a Harp. Man, that hit the spot. And I had their Steak Quesadillas. They never disappoint.

And with March madness in the air, you have to see the docs that aired this past week. Clearly, the star of "The Fab Five" was Jalen Rose. They did a fairly decent job of the Fab Five's journey from high school through Michigan even without Chris Webber's particpation. Now, Jalen appears to be getting in trouble for some comments he made about Duke. It was his thought, at the time, that blacks who played ball at Duke were Uncle Toms. I thought he made it clear that those were his long ago thoughts. But Grant Hill felt compelled to reply

The other doc was an HBO production on the Runnin' Rebels of Nevada-Las Vegas. You have Tark the Shark in all his defiant glory. Remember his quote, "The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, they gave Cleveland State two more years of probation." Lots of nice footage of their style. The best line was when the word "Thugs" was being tossed around (a lot) to describe them. One guy said, "Thugs? Their point guard was head of the Young Republicans!". Indeed, Greg Anthony was.

Those were two very nice throwbacks down memory lane.

Meal of Links

An excellent primer on drinking early in Cleveland. These gems are rare these days. Unless it's St. Patrick's Day.

Has any company reinvented itself more successfully than Netflix? They now own 61% of the streaming market.

Charlie Sheen. The Anatomy of a Winner.

Gilbert Gottfried got sacked by AFLAC because of some lame jokes about the tsunami. Fairly stupid, because he probably gets a decent amount of cash for saying one word. Now he says do the opposite of of what I do.

Clash of the Titans. Hee Haw vs. Soul Train.

Did Batman go to college? Yale thinks so.

Evan Bayh. Hypocrite.

Exercise Yard

One of the nagging thoughts going into March Madness is this. Does Jimmer shoot too much?

OK, here are Thursday's winners (get your brackets out):

Clemson
Old Dominion
Georgetown over VCU (USC over Georgetown)
Temple
Kentucky
Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
San Diego State

Florida
BYU
Connecticut
Wisconsin
UCLA
Gonzaga
Missouri
Kansas State

Visitor

12 Down: Nicolas Gage memoir (5 letters) Answer: Eleni

Gathered the troops for a late morning viewing of "Unknown" with Liam Neeson. Good morning, Liam. This is the one where Neeson is a doctor visiting Berlin for a conference, who gets rapped in the head and suffers some memory loss. The only thing he remembers is a picture of him by a window with his wife, January Jones. Showering with January Jones. And having sex with January Jones. And then January Jones with a different hair color. Maybe that's what we all picture before our own demise, who knows.

But it takes Neeson a long time to realize who he is, but then it's not who he thought he was or something that Dennis Green would say:



Neeson is actually decent in his role as a doctor seeking his true identity. Bridget von Hammersmark (OK, the lovely Diane Kruger) plays a Bosnian cab driver who saves Neeson's life after a car accident, who later befriends him and joins in his search. January Jones doesn't really do much and is basically January Jones, standing around and looking pretty. Aidan Quinn is along to confuse matters as the guy Neeson thinks he is, and provides enough shenanigans to cloud the picture even more. Hitler, I mean, Bruno Ganz, plays a former East German spy who still has connections beyond the Cold War to also help Neeson. Good work from Frank Langella who calmly shows up late as Clarissa, and explains it all.

So, what do we have here? A short comment on the immigration problem in Germany via Kruger. A car chase in which Neeson, allegedly in Berlin for the first time, driving around as if he owned the streets. With complimentary reverse driving. We have the lamest German assassin ever, who fails to kill Neeson not once (because the guy was late to a train), not twice (Neeson was able to extricate himself from being tied up), but three times (Kruger and Neeson combine to kill the guy). Ex-spies still use cyanide. Biotech conferences have never been this action-packed.

Not a wait for cable type movie. Because there are some great throwbacks done well here. The second time the assassin tries to get Neeson is rather Hitchcockian and full of suspense. I thought a scene at a photo exhibit was straight out of the De Palma Guide. Not worth a full fare, but extremely enjoyable for a matinee price.

Meal of Links

Clarissa explains it all. For those who missed it.

Brett Butler remembers when she was the 20th Century Charlie Sheen. But I'm sure hardly anyone remembers her show.

I assumed "Rango" was in 3-D. But it's not. Gore Verbinski explains.

Shortest break-even periods for diesels and hybrids. Remember, no more tax credits for these.

15 great jingles for fake products. "Cheesy Poofs" and "Log" make the list.

The Cleveland Film Festival is nearing. I've circled two must-sees for me. One on Polkas and one on Bobby Fischer.

Has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker lost the war. We'll see.

The Northwestern sex show...er...after-class assignment, at least introduced everyone to the (NSFW) "fucksaw". Now I know why she needed a partner. Black & Decker would be proud. Here's an account by someone who was there. Seems there was supposed to be a demo on female ejaculation.

Comparing the Qaddafis and the Bluths. Very funny.

Why bad teachers survive? "Cannot play with them. Cannot win with them. Cannot coach with them. Can't do it."

I recommend Jersey Mike's. The Big Kahuna was quite good.

Exercise Yard

You still can't applaud in the pressbox. SI's freelance NASCAR writer found that out the hard way.

Visitor

17 Across: Five-time All-Star second baseman (10 letters) Answer: Chase Utley

Well, they said the airport got 8.9 inches of snow today and I firmly believe it. Because I shoveled it for a long period of time today. I had the plow come by twice today. The first time was the small deposit, as usual, at the end of the drive.

The second time? Yikes! It was as if the guy wanted to get to the exact measure of the curbside. I can't recall a dumping well up the driveway like that. I saw it up the street where he had not earlier because of a parked car and man, it just poured over the sides like a tsunami.

All we can do now is wait for the flooding.

Meal of Links

The Cavs made some interesting moves before the NBA trade deadline. But has the NBA become the EPL? There are parallels.

This may be why the App Store and Google Apps beat RIM's App World. It is a difficult process to become a developer.

50 ads starring Oscar winners. F. Murray Abraham and Richard Dreyfuss as tough New Yorkers. Dustin Hoffman for VW! George Clooney in a rather obvious Nespresso ad. Al Pacino likes coffee.

A look back at the movie version "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Johnny Depp is perfect as Hunter S. Thompson. I thought the scene where Depp is thrashing away with the fly swatter was genius.

Ken Jennings is still talking about Watson. Trebek was not happy.

Sympathizing with both Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen. I expect Charlie to visit just about every radio show in existence.

Americans is stupid. Only 52% think the healthcare reform act is the law of the land. 22% of our idiots think it has been repealed.

Would you pay a congestion fee at the supermarket. If it gets you ahead at Disney, why not the Iggle?

What is the real Best Picture? I think my last pre-Oscar task is the Live Shorts on PPV.

Kathleen Parker finally leaves "Parker Spitzer". I happened to catch a snippet of a program earlier this week and it was uncomfortable to watch. Spitzer asked multiple questions of Libyan experts while Parker sat there calmly, adding nothing to the proceedings. This continued when Spitzer even took the audience to the commercial break, which I thought Parker would do, to remind people she was still there. Unwatchable.

Exercise Yard

While the owners and the NFLPA are still meeting with the mediator, what to do about that schedule? Should it be 18 games or go back to 16 game in 18 weeks?

I think we are on track for the Super Bowl to become a Presidents Day Weekend tradition. Which would supplant Black Thanksgiving and the already-moved Daytona 500.

Visitor

19 Across: Danish poker star Gus (6 letters) Answer: Hansen

I finally recovered from the Tron Fest that was the Black Eyed Peas.

On to the Super Bowl commercials. Overall, I thought things were pretty tame or lame, I guess. I can't name one that you'll think about during the coming year and say, oh, yeah, that was a Super Bowl highlight.

Traditionally, there are two types of ads that suck. Those for cars and those for movies. That pretty much held this year. And, oh, how those car manufacturers really tried to get out of their rut. Clearly, the best car ad was Eminem touting Detroit for Chrysler, the first two-minute ad during a Super Bowl:



Now, most people will tout the VW ad with the kid as Darth Vader as the best one for cars, but for art's sake, the ode to Detroit was awfully cool.

I, for one, was very happy to see that CareerBuilder was back on board this year. And they brought back the original guy who works with chimps in clothes! Nebraska plates!



As for the good ads, that was about it. Honestly. Nothing else resonated and there were some really strange efforts.

OK, the Doritos ads. I thought the pug was going to go through the window. And the guy sucking fingers was awfully gross. Not funny.

The other car ads. Audi with Kenny G. just took too long to tell the tale. The new generation of rich prison escapees prefers Audi instead of BMW. Got it. Yawn. Chevy missed badly on the seniors who couldn't hear and the Silverado that replaced Lassie. The worst had to be Mini with the "Cram it in the boot". The suggestiveness of the ad (with a Craig Ferguson-like host) reaches over-the-top status with the "Cram Cam" showing the guy shoving the extra long sub into the rear of the Mini:



Go Daddy is really wasting money at this point, aren't they?

Best Buy has Ozzy and Bieber and produces a WTF?

Snickers showed how tough it was to follow the Betty White/Abe Vigoda classic. The casting of Richard Lewis and Roseanne as whiners is spot on, but it had a sense of been there, done that.

Even the beer commercials were so-so this year. The Bud Light one where the guy was dog-sitting scored very high, but I'm not sure that some of the others were not worth the effort. Bud, especially, previewed their ad during the Conference Championship games and the possibilities were endless. I actually perked up when I saw that Peter Stormare (Buscemi's partner form "Fargo") entered the bar as the cowboy. To have them eventually sing "Tiny Dancer" was a major letdown.



Of course, he'll never top "German engineering in da house, yah" when he was unpimping autos way back when:



The Stella Artois ad was, well, um, different:



And, lastly, the Groupon ad with Timothy Hutton. It may have missed being a classic by this much. Christopher Guest has directed all of their ads and there is a charitable bent to the ads. However, when you have to explain the joke, it's probably not funny. But, oh, so close. The opening line especially: "The people of Tibet are in trouble. Their very culture is in jeopardy. But they still whip up an amazing fish curry."



Not my rule, but the bottom line is you can't make fun of Tibet.

Meal of Links

Keith Olbermann goes to Current TV. Raise your hand if you've ever watched Current. I watched it a long time ago when they had home movies of U2. That was it. Sorry, Al.

Liam Gallagher has stopped fighting his brother and has a new band. It's called Beady Eye.

The Top 100 British Films. "Don't Look Now" is Number One. Boy, there are a lot at the top I haven't seen. "Trainspotting" was 10. "24 Hour Party People" checked in at 94.

A detailed look back at one of Richard Pryor's classics, "Blue Collar". And that ain't no comedy.

Confession? There's an app for that.

Sexiest Cinematic Psychos. The popcorn-feeding Cameron Diaz is on the list from "Vanilla Sky".

Great observation on the AOL-HuffPo merger. SEO Speedwagon.

No wonder the "Basterds" had trouble in that movie. How you tell time in Germany clues everyone in to where you live.

Prince takes a stand.

Is the Super Bowl getting out of hand for those who attend. How about that half a million flyover of an unopened stadium?

Exercise Yard

I heard Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk this morning, talking about NFL relocation. He said the new CBA would allow for not one, but two teams to relocate to Los Angeles. Acknowledging that would be the Chargers and the Vikings.

The topic of the Jaguars came up and he said don't sleep on London. If Lord Football moves there, I'm convinced there is no way that home team plays at Wembley, considering its hallowed ground status. However, the new Olympic Stadium is allegedly going to seat 60,000 for the EPL team that moves there. Be it West Ham or Tottenham Hotspur, so I think that's where they would play.

The London games at Wembley have been selling out and the Super Bowl had record ratings there.

Visitor

8 Across: Buster who played Flash Gordon (6 letters) Answer: Crabbe

The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday. And, for the most part, I think they got it right. I was a bit surprised of the love for "The Fighter". I did not think it was Best Picture-worthy, thus eliminating David O. Russell out of the Best Director category. But they both made it, unbelievably leaving out Christopher Nolan for "Inception".

Also, Amy Adams must now be the 21st century's Meryl Streep. She was good in "The Fighter" and for once, didn't play a nun. That somehow got her a nomination.

For me, the best nomination was the brother of Kenny Fuckin' Powers, John Hawkes, who was nominated for "Winter's Bone". Not onscreen that much, and I thought it would kill his chances, but he was one tough hombre in that role and deserved the nomination.

Other than that, I thought it was ludicrous to think "The Town" would get any nominations outside of Jeremy Renner. And it didn't get any other major consideration.

And the documentary nominations differed from the DGA list quite a bit. "Inside Job" and "Restrepo" made both lists. But Oscar went with "Gasland", which aired on HBO over the summer, "Waste Land", about a landfill in Brazil, and "Exit Through The Gift Shop" which if it wins, how do we know the real Banksy picks up the award? That's why the DGA didn't go for it. "Client 9", "Last Train Home" and "Waiting For Superman" were the other DGA nominations.

Where to see all this stuff? Crocker Park is the place to be this weekend as many of the nominated films and actors are out there. Even Franco, Kidman and Michelle Williams. Meanwhile, I'm psyched and will be there for "The Mechanic" with Jason Statham. The Capitol has the Oscar Short Films starting Feb. 11.

You can also catch these films on Time Warner On-Demand:

"Inception"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"The Town"
"Toy Story 3"
"Winter's Bone"

Turner starts 31 Days of Oscar on February 1.

Meal of Links

Leave it to Hitch. "The King's Speech" contains some untruths.

Yep. He's my congressman.

You don't hear much about Charley Pride these days. But he was big.

It's the last column for The Miminalist. Oh, Bittman will stay with the New York Times, but he'll be doing other things.

America's Top 10 New Sandwiches. I want the Crispy Drunken Sandwich immediately.

Marriott bids adieu to porn. I guess people are bringing their own.

I don't know what it is. But I wouldn't put my lips on it.

The Old Spice Guy returns.

Taco Bell. It ain't all beef.

You do realize there is a May 2 GOP debate? No one has declared yet. What if no one shows up?

I will be watching this series. Simply beacuse I was the only one in the theater to get the Stirling Moss reference in "The Crying Game".

Exercise Yard

Since I have tickets to March Madness this year, I am intrigued by the most recent Bracketology. Both CBS and ESPN have agreed.

If Ohio State and Pitt maintain how they're playing and both get No. 1 seeds, they will play here. That means we will see a No. 1 seed in both sessions on Friday and probably see them both again on Sunday. Not bad.

Visitor

17 Across: Diana Prince's alter ego (11 letters) Answer: Wonder Woman

Hey, I was hacked by the Chinese. Yep, my iTunes account was drained of the remaining total I had (pumped up by gift cards, no less) yesterday morning. I could not even access my account to change the password until this morning. It's like they took the account over for their exactly prescribed 12 hours.

I was able to change the password back, but I felt just enough pain here to get a new credit card. I didn't need that number floating about in China (not sure it really was as they negated the card on iTunes), so I opted for a new one. Not a lot of pain, as Apple is investigating, and I have already been compensated. But it's not a way I wanna spend a few hours on a day off, chasing things beyond my control.

Meal of Links

While watching some of the NFL playoffs that were blowouts this weekend, I noticed some things about the commercials:

Motorola has an airport scene where a guy is going through security. The security screen shows his phone as a PC, because it's so damn powerful. The security guy? Eddie Charles from that old Martin Tupper show, "Dream On".

When the iPad clicks on a TED lecture, that's Jamie Oliver walking across the stage.

The Sprint commercial with the injured football player and the team doctor with a Sprint phone? They must be channeling the Browns. There are three lameass "Division Winners" banners on the wall. One is from 1971-72, another in the '90s, the last one in the oughts.

Not liking the Bud Light "schmeplicate" ad. Don't like the women left behind at all in this commercial.

Borders. Tick...tick...tick. I suggest using gift cards from there quickly.

Matthew McConaughey has trouble standing.

The Horseshoe. Lego-style!

Uh-oh. I started watching "Lights Out" on FX this week. Here we go again. It's ratings-challenged at the start.

More commentary on 2010's bad movies. Ballots are here. Very funny.

Exercise Yard

Strange way to boost attendance. Lap dance contest for the mascot at a lacrosse match. Love the "boing" sound effect!

Visitor

None, on a cold Sunday.

On the First Day of Christmas

I am typically not a fan of these videos. I think the most famous one was a Mannheim Steamroller or Trans-Siberian Orchestra song that got posted, went viral, and got co-opted by a beer company. So, it was nice to see something different. Might be an old video, but the song is worth it just for the line, "world's smallest turkey...".

Sign o' the times. This year, only two displays on my block.

"Christmas Wrapping" (Lighting Display)/The Waitresses



Meal of Links

Dissecting "The Larry Sanders Show". It's on DVD again. This time in its entirety, and the reaction is very positive.

Inside Anonymous. A glimpse into the world of hacking.

"Zoolander 2". It's getting closer.

The 20 Best Live Acts of 2010. Missed 'em all this time around.

Racist cupcakes? I dunno, certainly goofy-looking, but Duncan Hines pulls the ad.

Another icon destroyed. "Cash Cab" is fake.

Exercise Yard

Akron beat Louisville, 1-0, for its first NCAA soccer title. Their only loss? Why, it was Cleveland State.

Visitor

15 Across: Ruthless J.R on "Dallas" (5 letters) Answer: Ewing

I just finished watching the last episode of "Terriers". If it's gotta end this way. I can live with it.

I thought they did an excellent job of tying up the loose ends. And with the appearance of the man behind all the schemes, they have something to build on for Season 2, if there is one.

If not, it all the right notes.

Meal of Links

ESPN.com has a story on Believeland. An unnamed appearance by Happy Dog and co-starring Dennis Kucinich. And Dan Gilbert is still pursuing tampering charges against LeBron and the Heat.

30 Freakiest Ads of 2010. Yes, the Better Marriage Blanket is here. And a few Skittles.

Paste has its Top 50 Albums of 2010. NME has 75 of its own. LCD Soundsystem gets a #1 and a #4.

The Republicans refuse to cooperate. As this says, "Mister President, Call Their Bluff!"

Speaking of "Terriers". Tim Goodman has an excellent piece on networks and their brands.

Your 2011 Grammy nominees are here. Black Keys with some nominations.

Exercise Yard

World Cup bids are bestowed tomorrow. England is up for 2018. The US and Qatar are duking it out for 2022.

Qatar is literally Africa hot.

Visitor

32 Down: Madison Ave. figures (5 letters) Answer: Ad Men

After bolting from work early today, a huge crowd of 8 saw Russell Crowe in "The Next Three Days". It was worth it to hear my Dad bitch about the Senior price at the Regal.

Anyhow, Crowe is a teacher at a community college in Pittsburgh. Yes he is, and they actually filmed it in Pittsburgh. He's married to Elizabeth Banks who conveniently gets arrested, charged and convicted of the murder of her boss rather quickly. This allows the appeals process to peter out, as Banks is housed at county during that timeframe. Without makeup.

After that, Russell has to decide how he's gonna get Banks out of jail and he sets up a meeting with Liam Neeson, a prison breaker turned author. Liam has broken out of seven jails. That sounds good on paper until you realize he keeps getting sent back to to the hooskau.

So, Crowe goes about plotting how he can spring Banks. He needs cash, passports, IDs, weapons, and most importantly, a plan on how to get her out. Neeson sets expectations at 15, then 35 minutes. You see, roadblocks, train stations, airports will all be set up to stop you, by those times. Now Neeson is onscreen for maybe 5 minutes but he outlines what Crowe needs to do, even telling him to pick a destination where Americans don't normally travel. "Think Yemen." Then we see Crowe for about the next hour or so do just that. Plot.

In the meantime, I get to stare at Olivia Wilde who shows up in a rather thankless role. Brian Dennehy is also here as Russell's father, but I don't stare at him. Then we get onto the prison break and the start of the lam.

Not bad, by any means, but not much potential to do much else with it. No one is great in it and no one is terrible.

Meal of Links

A slideshow of 40 people from "Twin Peaks". Of course, I read every word. Even David Lynch is sorta still acting.

Thanksgiving facts. I hate Green Bean Casserole.

Go ElfYourself! This time with a float.

21 ads from the '80s. Did Taco Bell really serve tacos that large?

It depends on what your definition of an earmark is.

Motor Trend named the Volt its Car of the Year. Rush Limbaugh didn't like that and attacked Motor Trend. Motor Trend fought back. It really is a brilliant rebuttal.

Salon just finished its list of the hackiest pundits. Definitely worth reading.

Don't Stop Believin' in Robocop



Remember when you could shop for records? Check out the Black Friday vinyl. Lots of Christmas-y stuff, including Sinatra. Local participants here.

Exercise Yard

Hustler loses the case of publishing photos of Nancy Benoit. No damages yet.

Visitor

39 Down: Aniston's ex (4 letters) Answer: Pitt

I took today off, because I still had over a week of vacation that was untouched. Wouldn't you know it, I wake up and I'm having trouble walking. This is very reminiscent of the time I had plantar fascitis.

That sounds like the dumbest thing you can get. But as someone who has flat feet, it can be a royal pain. So, I'm tryin' to stretch that puppy out and keep moving. And I got my repaired shoe back today, so maybe that will help.

Or alcohol.

Meal of Links

Every now and then, I check the Programming Notices on Time Warner Cable. Mainly so I can complain about what I don't have. But, lookee here, Fox Soccer and Fox Soccer Plus seem to be arriving in HD before the holidays.

Boxing and movies do go together. that's why I'm also anxious about the FX show, "Lights Out" in January.

Home stretch for "Terriers". Here's why it should not get cancelled. It's gonna be a fight to the finish, ratings-wise. For the first time ever, I am joining the crusade and writing FX.

(NSFW) Here is how your Playboy centerfold pics are done. It's a thing called Photoshop. As if you did not know.

Your guide to NFL Concession Stands.

All of Pee-Wee's Secret Words are here. Around, whoo-o-o-o-ooo!

Time for Turkey Day TV Marathons. Highlights: "Phineas and Ferb" on Wednesday. "Man vs. Food" on Thursday seems apt. TBS has "Seinfeld" on Friday, same day as "Hitler's Bodyguard".

Black Friday shopping? How about a free Slurpee? 7-11 is calling it "Purple Friday".

Bizarre entries from the ""2011 Guinness Book". Longest handshake was over 12 hours.

The Mayor of London suggests W. avoid a European book tour. Something about that pesky thing called torture.

Alec Baldwin is doing commercials for Wegmans! Fairly straightforward, too.

The payroll tax holiday sounds like a good idea. But what if it didn't expire after one year. Uh-oh.

It's the latest Pew Research News IQ Quiz. Come on, it's not that tough.

Exercise Yard

Yesterday was a great day for statheads. For King Felix won the AL Cy Young Award.

Visitor

19 Across: Cash in Nashville (6 letters) Answer: Johnny

It's that time of the year.

It's Mixmas.

Ugh!

Meal of Links

W. has been making the rounds this week. Revisionist history taking place on the question of how bad was he? Uh, really bad.

Palin still lies. Plus, the producer of "Dancing With The Stars" says this gem, "I don't really see any particular gain for them in skewing a ballroom dance competition." From everything I've heard, Bristol Palin is terrible.

Alcohol. And what it does to your body.

"Wheel of Fortune" had a puzzle solved the other day. Not really news, until you realize it was a seven-word answer with only one letter revealed. Contestant next to her cannot believe it.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Mr. Peanut



Combined with Nissan ads and "Due Date", his voice is all over the place.

Danny Pudi talks about "Community". He had a line two weeks ago in the Halloween episode, when Troy was fighting the zombies, that was choice: "Troy, make me proud. Be the first black man to get to the end."

Diabetes myths debunked. Some think it's contagious?

Exercise Yard

Look at the Browns this week. they are all growed up. Nantz and Simms with the call. "Let him have a life."

Visitor

17 Across: High jump technique created by 1968 Olympic gold meadlist Dick (11 letters) Answer: Fosbury FlopTEXT

The world of soccer went nuts this week. First of all, Montenegro tied England in the Euro qualifiers. Then Serbian fans went batshit crazy the same day and forced a postponement of their match against Italy. Not only did the Serbian fans bring flares into the stadium, they attacked their own team bus.

Seems they didn't like the goalkeeper switching teams back home, so they decided to harm him for the Italy match. He actually hid out in the Italians dressing room to prevent further trouble.

Here is the backstory.

Serbian Fans Go Nuts



BTW, they arrested the masked guy with the tats before he left the country. Even Belgrade is worried.

Meal of Links

Sufjan Stevens talks about his new record. It's a departure.

25 Anti-drug PSAs. That is Rachel Leigh Cook in #8. Even MacGruff makes an appearance. Or two.

An interesting take about seniors. How hard hit are they by the recession? The two main issues, unemployment and healthcare, don't really affect them.

Might be longer lines at the local Starbucks. Baristas have been told to slow down and only make two drinks at a time. Seems quality has been an issue lately.

Dropping In On The Big House



The absolute joy that is "Kung-Fu Hustle". Gotta watch the clips!

While you're at it, take a look at the career of Martin Scorsese. In addition to the obvious ones, deserved props to "The Aviator" and it's probably time to take in another viewing of "The King of Comedy".

It's nearing Halloween. Therefore, time for AMC to crank up "Fearfest" again. Starts on Monday. Hey, "Jeepers Creepers 2" is on the schedule.

Exercise Yard

Did you see that Indy put 33 winning cars on the grid to commemorate its 100th anniversary?

Standouts include:

Row 2: Al Unser's 1970 Johnny Lightning Special

Row 5: Jim Clark's 1965 Lotus

Row 6: Mario Andretti's 1969 STP Brawner Hawk (the original is in the Smithsonian, BTW)

Row 8: Mark Donohue's 1972 Sunoco McLaren

Visitor

1 Across: Hip-hopper who married Beyonce (4 letters) Answer: Jay-Z

Check out Banksy's opening for "The Simpsons" from last Sunday. Absolutely skewers Fox. Pretty dark. And it was originally darker.

"The Simpsons" Opening by Banksy



Meal of Links

Lots of times, financial issues are really difficult to grasp. But this is the best primer on the current foreclosure crisis.

You know the old saw about Canadians who cross the border for healthcare. Well, it isn't true.

Wes Anderson helps shoot an ad for Stella Artois. That is a beer I seldom drink. BTW, "The Darjeeling Limited" gets the Criterion treatment.

Alec Baldwin texts during a movie. Deservedly, he gets the M&M treatment.

"Castle" Bids Farewell to Stephen J. Cannell



Wal-Mart is already discounting toys for the holidays. Ten bucks for Monopoly seems reasonable.

Songs that mention other songs. Appearances by "Bowie" and Shooter Jennings.

Everything you wanted to know about "The Empire Strikes Back".

Jenn Sterger. The perfect harassment victim?

Anderson Cooper. The accidental gay activist?

Exercise Yard

Confessions of an agent. Good read, but I wish the guy had represented some better-known players.

Visitor

25 Across: Stand-up guy who played Tobias Funke on "Arrested Development" (10 letters) Answer: David Cross

Browns lose to the Falcons, 20-10.

What did we learn today?

How could we possibly be duped into thinking that Jake Delhomme was healthy enough to start today's game. There was still a legitimate question a couple of hours before kickoff on who was going to start at QB for the Browns. So, again this was Mangini trying to fool the opposition. Let's see how this is handled after they had to play the Delhomme card today. Pittsburgh knows both Delhomme and Seneca Wallace have injured ankles and there will be no mobility from either next week. Maybe it's Joshua Cribbs! Yeah, sure. After his interception against the Steelers last year out of the Wildcat.

Delhomme is taking a lot of heat from the fans today, but there is no way he was healthy to play. Makes you wonder what is going on with Colt McCoy's progress.

Wallace didn't make any mistakes today and maybe the outcome would have been different if he stayed in the game. I doubt it though.

Why do we continually give credit to the Browns defense? Sure, they held the Falcons to two redzone field goals and a blocked FG, but look at the horrendous playcalling by the Falcons down there. First FG came after two Michael Turner runs get stuffed, including a weird looking misdirection on second down. Then a third down pass was incomplete. The second FG comes after Turner gets a first down at the Browns 14, then a run, a really short completion and an incompletion. The blocked FG comes after Turner rips off a 55-yard run to the Browns 12, then one run, an incompletion, followed by an incompletion on an insane shovel pass. Therefore, once again proving my theory of Offensive Coordinators: "It's not enough to beat you, I have to show everyone I'm smarter than you." Shovel pass, are you kidding me? It's the Browns, they cannot stop the fucking run. 165 yards by the Falcons today, if you need 'em.

Oh, and the only time the Falcons go deep today, it's a Matt Ryan-to-Roddy White special for a 45-yard TD. Ryan was 6-18 at the half, but ended the game 16-28 for 187 yards.

We got nothing from Joshua Cribbs and Joe Thomas, who most would consider the Browns best two players. Cribbs is getting nothing in the return game and the Wildcat is basically non-existent. Cribbs had a catch for 8 yards and two runs for 11. Had one chance at a punt return for 3 yards and had 3 kickoff returns for 64 yards. Very blah.

Joe Thomas had a bad day at the office today. Too many times, he was beat on the left side today. John Abraham doing most of the damage. Abraham had only 7 tackles in the first 4 games, today he had 5. Abraham had a sack early, his sack of Wallace put him out of the game, and he basically punched Delhomme in the head contributing to Delhomme's second interception. Just awful.

Then there is the walking contradiction known as Peyton Hillis. He fumbles early. Runs 10 times for a paltry 28 yards. But makes a beautiful 19-yard TD catch.

Three turnovers including a pick six, the third one this year from the Browns. Absurd penalties. Remember Jerome Harrison running for 286 yards against the Chiefs last year. At today's pace, it would have taken him 286 carries to do that. Plus, the Browns had bad clock management at the end of the half with Delhomme basically wasting 18 seconds without running a play from the 50.

Then, at the start of the third quarter, the Browns OC, Brian Daboll, decides that a gimpy Delhomme is well enough to start firing the ball over the place. 10 of the first 14 plays in the second half were passes. So much for the Browns "identity".

This game left me sour. The final score was in no way indicative of how poorly the Browns played today. Only helped by Atlanta playing to their level.

Next up, it's the Steelers.

Meal of Links

Solomon Burke died today. One of the best.

The next 10 years. From a radical pessimist. Say goodbye to the middle class.

The truth about Titanic is finally revealed. The guy made a wrong turn.

Must be Christmas. The ice rink at Rockefeller Center opened today.

Truly Awful Onside Kick



Exercise Yard

Mariano Rivera. Hall of Fame pitcher. Probably the best closer ever. All-time Yankee great. So, for his first national TV ad, he decides to star in a commercial for...Taco Bell?

Mariano Rivera for Taco Bell



As Leonard Pinth-Garnell would say, "Monumentally ill-advised!".

Visitor

None, on as beautiful of an October Sunday as you'll see.

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.

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