I kinda feel bad for Jim Thome. He hit his 600th homer and it barely scratched the surface of coverage. It didn't help that he banged out 599 and 600 in the same night. After I saw 599 on MLB Network, they said they would show everyone of his at-bats until he hit 600. Well, that didn't last very long.

Today, all the talk nationally asked if Thome is a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. I say he'll get in, but maybe not on that first ballot. He lacks a ring, no MVP, only 5 All-Star games. It's true that Thome never won an MVP, but look at that 2002 season while he was still a position player:

52 HR, 118 RBI, 101 Runs, 122 BB, .304 BA, .445 OBP, .667 Slugging, 1.122 OPS

and he finished SEVENTH in the voting that season. OPSed by more than 200 over FOUR guys in front of him (Tejada MVP, Soriano 3rd, Garret Anderson 4th, Hunter 6th). With voting like that, it's hard to hold the lack of an MVP against him.

Locally, of course, the venom is still out on sportstalk radio. The common theme seems to be that somehow Thome lied to us when he opted to go to Philly. I may have been in a coma, but is this some sort of perceived slight? I recall the Indians being really late to the table with legitimate offers, which were easily trumped by the Phillies.

The Indians were originally around $45 million for four years and eventually tapped out between $62 and $64 million for 5 years. The Phillies easily added another year and he eventually signed for $85 million for six years. Unless we came up with something and named it "Thomeville", I don't think he could refuse that Philly offer. And weren't the Dolans happy he didn't sign?

And let's not forget 2002. The Tribe dumped Robbie Alomar in the offseason and made the Colon trade that year. Even a blind man could see the rebuilding. Thome's signing was the start of the renaissance of the Phillies as David Bell and Kevin Millwood arrived as free agents, as well. Outside of World Series appearances in 1980, 1983 and 1992, the Phillies only made the playoffs in '81.

The 3 years before Thome, the Phillies had 77, 65 and 86 wins. But he didn't get them in the playoffs in the three seasons he was there and the emergence of Ryan Howard made him expendable. He's hardly played with a glove since.

And you really can't dismiss any non-steroid use for sure, can you? There is a famous PD photo of 1995 World Series Thome that looked a helluva lot different than the behemoth I saw up-close walking out of a Wrigley Field dugout a scant few years later. When you hear Hammy waxing about Thome "doing it the right way" or "country strong", there has to be some doubt, no?

So, there are bound to be some doubters on the Hall of Fame. And it proves, once again, that no one holds a grudge like Cleveland Fan.

Jim Thome's First Homer



What do you notice on that clip?

Ex-Indian Steve Farr on the mound.

Thome wearing Number 6.

Thome is a bit thinner then.

Hey, what's with those socks?

OK, it's late season (October) and the Indians and Yankees both suck, but where are the people?

Baerga's haircut.

That's Reggie Jefferson congratulating Thome at home plate.

Meal of Links

Deviled eggs at the movies? For only 50 cents more...

Here are your TV premieres for fall. Both new and old. Have not picked my "Terriers" of 2011 yet. It will NOT be "New Girl", which should just be named "Zooey Being Zooey".

A new solo album from David Lynch. I wanna do "I Know" at karaoke.

The 5 best car commercials. No way. "Time to unpimp ze auto" is easily on this list. Joe Isuzu golfing, as well. "Birdie".

If you have never seen "Children's Hospital", there is good news. It got renewed.

Remember that show where Bobby Flay helped judge someone to a new restaurant? He blames Chipotle for the failure.

The art of seat poaching. What really sucks though, is when the poacher is around you. Someone comes in late, claims their rightful seats, then the poacher moves. I've seen these guys disrupt at least five rows at a game. "We'll sit here until someone arrives" is not necessarily a bad line to hear at a game, but it's downright awful, if you know there is a crowd.

Even the right is getting tired of Palin. Playing the "victim" again.

Great Improvised Scenes



Exercise Yard

Next on the NCAA's list? The U.

Visitor

45 Down: Sea-dwelling superhero (7 letters) Answer: Aquaman

It's a thankless job.

Some overeager student from my alma mater tries to get me to donate money.

The question which always sets me off is: (Alumnus first name here), when was the last time you visited campus?"

I wonder when the glow from Bubble City actually ebbs for this kind of person. So, I always reply with, "The point of this call is you are trying to get a donation, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can't do that right now."

"It doesn't have to be a big donation. You know, any donation matters."

"Yes, I know."

Awkward silence ensues.

Call ends.

Not trying to be cynical, but maybe it comes off that way. I don't care.

Meal of Links

Newspapers are always finetuning the Comics. But the Denver Post yanked "Doonesbury", and there was nary a peep. Hard to figure how "Beetle Bailey" and "Blondie" survive though.

Trippy movies. Why there's "Inland Empire".

Bachmann announces her candidacy. And, so it begins.

Inside "TMZ". I must say, a guilty pleasure is stumbling into the one-hour weekend show.

Throw-up time. One of the biggest costs of committing to wars in Afghanistan and Iran? That would be air conditioning. To the tune of $20 billion annually.

Do you realize cereal consumption in the US is dropping>? Special K was down 16% from 2007 to 2010.

Breaking down the US Gold Cup loss to Mexico. Naysayers, like here, say it's the coaching. Others say, they almost had 4 goals themselves to tie Mexico. But they didn't.

Exercise Yard

Joe Pos with a beautiful sendoff for Nick Charles.

Visitor

52 Across: Mule's parent (3 letters) Answer: Ass

Look Who's Back...The Rock!!!



Just when you think you're done with wrestling, they pull you back in.

Meal of Links

Chuck Lorre had another funny vanity card after "Two And A Half Men". It was about Charlie Sheen.

Kenneth Mars died. OK, I'll give you his "Young Frankenstein" quote. Complete with eyepatch AND monocle: "To the lumber yard!"

I heard the commercial last week. "This American Life" may have found the formula for Coke.

Bonnaroo releases the 2011 lineup. Buffalo Springfield?

Snowmobiling...in Detroit...on the Lodge!



Did anyone find it, oh, I don't know, oddly karmic that one of the guys who never missed a Super Bowl, actually missed this year's Super Bowl? Now he's dead.

Birthers. Again.

Billy Ray Cyrus is a nutbag. And David Lynch gets some blame.

Exercise Yard

The NFL is now like that Rangefinder on "Price is Right". The price for the Super Bowl fiasco keeps going up.

Visitor

35 Down: Poker Flat creator (5 letters) Answer: Harte

I was at the CSU-Butler game and now we know how many people it takes to fill the Bart with its curtain in place. Word is it was considered a sellout at 8490 and, even the last rows of the upper were filled. That, by far, is the largest crowd since North Carolina visited several years ago. It was a Blackout day where everyone was encouraged to wear black and even the players got to sport spiffy new black jerseys.

Don't let the casual fan describe what happened today. The refs today were not that good, but I am a firm believer they never really cause you to lose. You have to play through these things. And I find it unacceptable to follow the "homered at home" crowd when CSU was 19-25 from the line. CSU had Butler in some early foul trouble, as Matt Howard sat most of the first half with 2 fouls and for some reason, CSU did not attack Andrew Smith when he remained in the game with 2 fouls in the first half.























People have to realize that Butler is a bad matchup for CSU. Kind of like Orlando vs. the Cavs two years ago. Today, CSU moved Tim Kamczyc to guard Howard and Aaron Pogue took Smith. With Howard out, Kamczyc drew Khyle Marshall and that puts him in a quandary. Not big enough to guard Smith, and not athletic enough to guard Marshall.

Butler had an excellent floor game today with only 6 turnovers (1 in the first half) and 55% shooting in the second half helped a lot. That's tough to beat. And, obviously, very disappointing for the newbies and grizzled old veterans of the home crowd.

Butler forced CSU into a halfcourt game and it's not how the Vikings get the job done. I hope the people come back.

CSU loses, 73-61 .

Meal of Links

Melissa Leo goes rogue for her Oscar campaign. Let's see if it works (or was even necessary).

Super Bowl wings? Use Frank's, of course. Or you can get some hot dogs from places featured in the Rachael Ray Hot Dog Bracket. Those would be from Skyline, Seti's or Steve's.

Landing in LA



It's David Lynch. Sorry, I'm hooked on the guy.

Exercise Yard

Insane day of soccer. Most goals ever in one day of Premier League play. It was like hockey scores on a rainy day in England.

Biggest win: (Last place) Wolves 2, (First place and unbeaten) Manchester United 1.

The big one tomorrow, which deserves the Big Breakfast on Super Bowl Sunday: Liverpool at Chelsea.

Visitor

16 Across: Actor who said "Some people have youth, some have beauty. I have menace." (15 letters) Answer: Edward G. Robinson

The Browns escaped with one-point win over Carolina. Geez, this one was nerveracking.

What did we learn today?

I like Jake Delhomme. And it looked like he was going to have a fine day. His passes to the middle of the field were superb. But his first two passes in the second half brought Carolina right back into the game. In fairness, these were routes that were not run in the first half. But that second pass. Yikes! Rated with the worst we've seen since the Browns return.

Oh yeah, that was really funny. Rob Ryan almost intercepted a pass late. Big laughs. Watch the replay, this idiot had his foot in play right before he gets hit. Jackwagon.

The end of two Browns drives in the 4th quarter were really bad. The 4th-and-1 when Peyton Hillis was stuffed at the Carolina 25 was painful. Quit calling for Lawrence Vickers election to the Pro Bowl, if you don't use him in that situation. My God, they had no Vickers and Evan Moore, noted in the PD as a bad blocker, and Royal Roberts in. No wonder it didn't work.

And the quick snap and QB sneak by Delhomme on 3rd-and-1 for no gain was ludicrous. Thank God, Phil Dawson hit the go-ahead field goal. Just when you think Brian Daboll had turned the corner as a playcaller.

Evan Moore fumbling inside the 5 was a killer. You knew right after the Browns went up 21-7, it was gonna be a long day. They have no right to think they'll stomp anyone until they do it regularly. You could see it in the body language that they relaxed.

Josh Cribbs was nowhere near being ready today.

Hillis should have run the ball 30 times today. Carolina could not stop him early.

Conversely, the Browns could not stop the fuckin' run either. 151 yards and a 5.5 average for Carolina.

The Browns had a trick play, the halfback option with Hillis, that should have worked. I'm not sure I'd have called it inside the 10, but Hillis had a terrible throw.

Overall, it's hard to squawk, because the Browns did win one at home. After so many close ones early that went for losses, hey, I'll take any win. But let's face it, at 21-7, plus Moore's fumble, the Browns should have put this one away early. As it turned out, they let a 1-9 team hang around and sometimes you don't escape those types of games.

Lucky to win? Maybe. I prefer to say they missed an opportunity for a big win and barely hung on for the victory. Browns win, 24-23.

Meal of Links

The Plain Dealer decided to run a travel piece from the Orange County Register on Kauai today. It's 2 months old, but still fits. Here is a view from Brennecke's, which the guy called his quintessential Kauai:

















Here is an interesting photo collection. Where gun crimes have occurred in London.

David Lynch. Pop Singer!

Speaking of Lynch...

Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit



Where we spend our money. Food. Damn food.

Enrico Pallazzo did not die today. But Leslie Nielsen did.

"It's Enrico Pallazzo!"



Goal celebrations! First, it's the Western Conference. And the Eastern Conference. Ric Flair, hah!

Exercise Yard

Cleveland State is really on a roll right now, upping their record to 7-0. Was at last night's game after my heat came on. The opponent was St. Bonaventure from the A-10 Conference.

Cleveland State shot a dismal 22% in the first half, but somehow were still ahead by 1. Then, over the next 10 minutes, the Vikings played their best stretch of ball since the 2008-09 season. They completely demoralized the Bonnies by cranking up the tenacious D (yes, like the band) and attacking the rim on offense. It was something to see. Then they cruised to the finish.

CSU wins, 69-51. And the Bart debuted three new concession stands, which I will test soon.

Next up: Bob Morris comes to town, tomorrow at 6.

Visitor

None, on a sunny Browns Sunday.

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

Early this morning, while watching some soccer and addressing the crossword before Beck-A-Palooza, two noteworthy things occurred. The first is, I got a call on my cellphone which actually had the ringer on, so I answered.

The second was that Cousin Kevin was on the other end of the line and he had some news. He actually got engaged to Lisa. He said she finally put him into submission. I asked if it was the Figure 4 Leg Lock that finally got him, he admitted it was the Sharpshooter.

So, congrats to the happy couple. Looks like some 2011 nuptials for them.

Meal of Links

Katrina anniversary coverage. From the locals.

Major Garrett talks about moving on from Fox News. He and Shepherd Smith were about the only islands of sanity on that network.

A look at some guests on a new episode of "The Simpsons". Includes Flight of the Conchords.

Hungover owls! There are some gems here.

As I mentioned, I watched some of Beck-A-Palooza. You should always watch the other side, so you know what they are up to, and C-Span obliged. Anyhow here are some musings on the strange appeal of Glenn Beck. I think the guy is bonkers.

Parts of Mexico are pretty violent these days.

"Twin Peaks" revisited. Again. And I lap it up. Again. I love the clip they included. Lynch lingers on the pain of Laura Palmer's mother, where other directors, especially on TV at that time, would have cut away much sooner.

Sufjan Stevens has a new record. I will buy it, of course.

Chicks dig the geeky gadget guy. I think there is a TV show about that.

Public photo shoot turns into personal video shoot. Then the word "goober" is used.

Exercise Yard

Was over at Paul's for the Browns third exhibition game aka the GLC, or as Jake Delhomme called it, the dress rehearsal. Delhomme looked pretty good, however, this appears to be the same offense the Browns ran last year. Although, we now have someone at the helm who goes through the progression quickly.

As evidence, I point to the fact the Browns have not really thrown the ball deep in this preseason. Keyword may be "preseason" and they are not showing anything, but what are they doing? Mainly the Dink and Dunk of years gone by. The only medium-range throw, and it has been effective, is the tight end running the seam downfield. We've seen Evan Moore and Royal Roberts make that catch. Otherwise, it's a ton of the short stuff mixed in with dumpoffs. The only other pattern is the sideline up route that cuts off as the ball is thrown to the outside. We see no wideouts running deep over the middle. The only time the Browns do attack through the air are some redzone patterns.

That type of offense can be effective. But you have to keep the chains moving or it becomes a snoozefest. And as Gary said, if the Browns fall behind by 10-14 points, there are not a lot of signs currently that point to any big comeback ability. That, combined with an obvious lack of speed on defense, allows hope for only some slight improvement by the team this year.

Visitor

19 Across: Mystery author whose work has been translated into more than 100 languages (8 letters) Answer: Christie

Floyd Landis finally comes clean. But then decides to take down Lance and everyone else on the former Postal Service team with him. I'm not sure what the answer is to the why now question, I take him at his word that he's tired of lying and maybe he thinks this is his Jose Canseco moment. I watched that stage in 2006 where the test came back positive. I've never seen anything like it before or since. So, maybe that day haunts him more than we know.

In typical fashion, WADA seems very interested in what Landis has to say. Especially if he has kept any sort of meticulous records. And, of course, US Cycling continues to discredit him. I'm not saying Lance did or didn't, but as the de facto face of cycling in the US, it's easy to see why US Cycling lines up with Lance. And there are a huge number of people out there who say his off-track work with LiveStrong far outweighs any on-track doping.

I think the overlooked word in all of the PED talk, is that Landis mentions a dalliance with insulin. Bodybuilders use insulin a lot as a PED and it's use as such is generally an unknown to the public. Estimates claim as many as 25% of athletes use it for doping because the tests aren't really there yet and it gets out of your system really quick.

So, with Landis today and Dr. Galea yesterday, it's a big week for the anti-doping crowd.

Meal of Links

Wow. Google TV looks cool. Me (remember I have Time Warner Cable) wants it.

Bret Michaels cannot catch a break. Gotta slow down just a bit.

Pee Wee goes to Broadway. I predict that will be a hot ticket.

Craig Kilborn is back on TV. Well, in some places. When he was on CBS, I had a long stretch of coming home late on Fridays and he would be on the TV, regardless of what time I arrived. Very strange, uncanny phenomenon.

It's the latest David Lynch movie! Well, sorta movie, it's a lengthy ad for Christian Dior.

American scientists did something awesome. They developed the first synthetic living cell.

I don't know if it's the worth of the paintings, the actual planning and process used or whatever. But in the world of theft, isn't stolen art from a museum the neatest crime?

Spaghetti westerns! And, yes, Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West" is mentioned. Saw it again a few weeks ago on Turner. Bronson is unbelievably good here as Harmonica. Only have to mine the Comments for a short time to grab this all-time quote by Henry Fonda: "Never trust a man who wears a belt with suspenders. Man can't even trust his own pants." Jason Robards as Cheyenne is superb (hell, it's a great movie) and his line in his agonizingly painful death scene is choice; "Hey, Harmonica, when they do you in. Pray it's somebody who knows where to shoot." If you have a spare three hours, watch this one. Or if you have a spare few minutes, the quotes that are quoted in the Comments are worth it.

Nice Birthday Surprise for a Bus Driver



Exercise Yard

The Indians are having a rough go of it. They have lost two games within 24 hours for the second time this week.

But the schedule afforded me the opportunity to hear two games on the radio. You have to listen to Hammy and the return of Homer Mike. Hammy ripping the opponents and Homer Mike paddling upstream once more. It's hilarious to hear the sell job they are saddled with, calling games for the last-place Indians.

Visitor

30 Down: Frontiersman Carson (3 letters) Answer: Kit

I admit it.

To this day, if there is anything written about "Twin Peaks", I just gobble it up. So, here's another one dissecting the third hour and then chronicling the rise and deep, deep fall of the series in Season Two. It includes many clips, including perhaps my favorite subtle one where Johnny Horne is eliminated in the Tibet sequence. You had to be there. And, if you only have time for one clip, watch the dwarf. BTW, read the Comments. It certainly jogs the memory. I think I had forgotten about Harold Smith. Geez, that subplot, one of many in Season Two, just sucked the wind out of the series.

Meal of Links

Ernie Harwell died the other day and there were many good things written about and by him. We were very lucky to be within listening range of his voice. His Hall of Fame speech. Ernie allows a sportswriter to shadow him. Mitch Albom with some memories. Joe Posnanski shares some thoughts. Hard to believe his first game with the Tigers was right after the Harvey Kuenn-Rocky Colavito trade.

Drinking Songs! I actually have several of these in my collection. I'm a huge fan of "The Alabama Song". Richard Butler does an awesome version on that Kurt Weill tribute album I have laying around here somewhere.

More reality series. Starring Hasselhoff, Saget, Danza and Dee Snider. The Hoff may actually die in his. I heard this week he was in some sort of Gumball Rally. Yep, it visited Canada this week. I wish I had a spare $45K. I would do that in a heartbeat.

Jack White says Meg White has conquered her anxiety. No reunion yet.

Remember George Costanza's fiance, Susan? She now plays the ukulele.

Doofus who can't spell ruins stock market for a time. Whoops.

Exercise Yard

His best rant since last year's grades. I think it was Kobayashi who got an F-Minus on that one.

Drennan Goes Off On The Tribe



Visitor

58 Across: '50s-'60s TV Earp portrayer (6 letters) Answer: O'Brian

How did you like the Browns draft? I thought the picks of Joe Haden in Round One and Colt McCoy in Round 3 went well. I'm very curious to see if the second rounders consisted of reaches or if the Browns are just smarter than everyone else.

Paul had that relative of Jumpy Geathers circled as late draft pick, so kudos to him, as the Browns used their last pick there. And we also got a guy named Asante, but not Samuel. And South Florida’s all-time leading receiver Carlton Mitchell, whoever that is. So, all in all, not a bad start.

Meal of Links

Forget the VCs. Buy a lottery ticket.

Female. Model. Astrophysicist. Poker player. I'm all in.

Dexter killed cancer. Now get back to work.

"South Park". The most patriotic show on TV. Last week's censored broadcast was unbelievably good. But they are not showing the replays nor is it online.

This looks like a must-see for me. Especially with Linklater, Sayles and David Lynch.

"Great Directors"



There is a guy who plays Joni Mitchell in a one-man show. And Joni Mitchell likes it. She does a number on Dylan, too. Mitchell, that is.

7-Eleven now has its own beer, Game Day. Talk about a Big Gulp.

Speaking of beer. Paste reveals the best 30 beer bars in America. None in Ohio.

Exercise Yard

Kevin Kennedy took care of some wacko on an airplane. He had help, but give him credit.

Visitor

21 Across: Costanza portrayer (9 letters) Answer: Alexander

Pee Pipes

It surprised me that it snowed today. WTF? As I was heading home it changed from rain to snow instantaneously. I've seen some spring snows with heavy totals, so a dusting was OK. I guess.

Meal of Links

From the land of cheap. Sur La Table will sharpen two of your knives for F-R-E-E. And Pfaltzgraff has an insane sale for a few days.

Electric cart runs over 4 people at Houston airport. That is a nice, large airport with a lot of people who can get in the way of these things. But this cart was driverless. Hah!

"Twin Peaks" twenty years later. "I'm worried about Coop."

Iggy retires from stagediving. Oh, he'll take his shirt off at the drop of a hat, but no more diving off stages.

"At The Movies" gets cancelled. But Roger Ebert has plans.

The Pope is in trouble. Accompanied by creepy photo I recommend viewing with full light present.

Exercise Yard

Not much to report on March Madness as it cranked up again. Big win by Butler, but I only picked one game correctly.

My Winners:

Syracuse (I had them losing their next game)
BYU (I thought they would take Kansas State)
Wisconsin (This is the game I thought would hold down Kentucky. They had 62 tonight)West Virginia (My only correct pick)

Friday's Winners:

Kansas (Did not see UNI coming, had them winning one and out)
Ohio State
Duke
Baylor

Visitor

43 Across: Coward of the stage (4 letters) Answer: Noel

One thing that bugs me about cleveland.com lately is headlines that contain criminal's names, crime victims' names and yesterday, of all things, those who commit suicide. Even the lady who bashed in the fawn got a headline with her name in it. I finally wrote the reader representative an e-mail about this.

What bugs me is the name in the headline is used as if it's a famous person. Then you click on the page and find out it's a civilian. Then you hope to God the family has been notified. Scuttlebutt from the PD is that that putting the name in the headline gets more search engine traffic. That doesn't seem a proper way to do business though. I've noticed the change online for about 2 months, but I don't see that policy adopted by the print version. Yet.

Meal of Links

This opinion about Palin is the best summary of why she is so bad. Could not agree more.

If you know nothing about Townes Van Zandt, watch this movie, "Be Here To Love Me". It's only up for a week, but worth the time. It's amazing how these legends talk about Townes.

Wha, wha, wha? Morgan Freeman to marry his step-granddaughter.

All about "Lost Highway". Whatever you do, do not tailgate Mr. Eddy.

This week's mugshot roundup. #14 makes me laugh.

Exercise Yard

This week's SI is one of their best issues of the year. It's the annual "Where Are They Now?" issue. Great look at the AFL.

Visitor

7 Down: Fawcett's "Charlie's Angels" successor (4 letters) Answer: Ladd

I found myself watching some absurd movie on Channel 5 yesterday afternoon. It was called "Abducted". I had mowed the lawn and just finished grilling some burgers when I joined this flick about 30 minutes in. I don't know, this plot is right out of Lifetime (I guess it is), but a warden allows an inmate to escape with the proviso that he kidnaps and then kills the warden's wife.

Of course, when the woman finds out about the plan (the inmate had a tape the warden had made inadvertently while blackmailing him. Yeah, that bad.), she falls in love with the guy and has mad abduction sex with him. Did I forget to say the inmate was framed by his ex-wife and her boyfriend for killing a man who wasn't really dead. Oh, the prosecutorial malfeasance of that case! Anyhow, they go on the run for a while and try to find the "dead" guy.

Now all of that isn't why this movie will be memorable for me. It's this scene they had at the local Western Union-type office. The inmate and warden's wife stroll in and ask the clerk to check on a transfer made two years ago. They had the receipt, but remember the inmate has no ID. The clerk tells them she can't do it, "How do I know you're not dumpster diving for identity theft?" Ooh, cutting.

Then the warden's wife notices the clerk was eyeing a shoe ad. So, she slips her some cash and says, "Nice shoes." The clerk gets the hint and says, "Oh, transfers that big will definitely remain in the system. Here it is." She says the guy's name and then says, "I can get you an address and a drivers license number."

I know, I know. It's only a movie. But the clerk seemed awfully principled on identity theft 30 seconds prior and I get that everyone has their price. But why not just give the name and address, why go with the drivers license number, as well? I wondered if they even read the script. It seemed to go way beyond what a bribed low-level clerk would do. I'm surprised she didn't join them and look for the guy.

Meal of Links

A picture of a men's bathroom in Vancouver.

"1984". The book that killed George Orwell.

The NBA finally admits it. They blew a call. But then do nothing about it.

If David Lynch Directed "Dirty Dancing"



Exercise Yard

The Indians are really bad. Now they have resorted to the inevitable "team meeting". Let's see where they stand at the end of May, but right now, the ship be sinkin'.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are rolling.

Only Tiger Woods can get the headlines, while being 5 shots back

The Bruins are in trouble.

Visitor

None, it's Mother's Day.

I saw "Wolverine" this evening. I headed over to Cinemark where they seem to have this movie running every 30 minutes or so. Now this was the origin version of Wolverine. As you know, he's our favorite cigar-chomping, motorcycle-riding Canadian wiseass superhero. So, we get the backstory on how Logan became Wolverine. Not a lot though. I think he was a kid, he got mad and somehow claws appeared out of his hand. But why let plot get in the way of fighting later on.

Anyhow, for a Canadian, he sure fought a lot of wars for the U.S. And with his brother Sabretooth at his side, played by Liev Schrieber. Eventually the army, well, the evil Col. Stryker, picks both for a unit he's compiling. Sort of a mutant Dirty Dozen. Anyhow, Logan quits, moves to Canada and then eventually has to go back to the world he knows, when his brother starts shaking things up by turning more evil than Logan cared to remember. But there is lots of trickeration as he gets injected with Adam Ant. No, I think it was adamantium or something. Anyhow, that's how he got that sharper stuff coming out of his hands. If you remember the trailer, "Ooh, shiny."

So, it was typical comic book stuff. Lots of special effects, bad military villains, fight scenes, unbelievable lack of security at government installations, you know the routine. We get appearances by Gambit, Deadpool, Agent Zero, Bolt, and the Blob. Decent movie and it was mildly entertaining. A nice kickoff to the summer schedule.

Meal of Links

Porn star Stormy Daniels may run for Senator from Louisiana. Change we can all get behind.

Jack White says not so fast. The White Stripes have not broken up and are, in fact, recording.

The cast of "Fawlty Towers" reunited. A very funny show. Haven't seen it lately, I wonder if it holds up.

Awkward family photos.

Look at how a Roomba moves. Kind of like a funky Spirograph.

Who do you carry a lifetime grudge against? Gotta be that idiot Nissan guy on the radio commercials.

The background on how Luc Besson became a producer. Loved the guy since I saw "Subway" lo those many years ago.

A look back at another favorite movie. "Wings of Desire".

David Lynch presents "The Interview Project". Could be interesting.

More polling. It's tough being a Governor.

The Indians are still bad. I get a look at Pavano on Monday.

Exercise Yard




















Manny Ramirez was busted for a drug on the MLB banned list. You can tell he was on something, because his locks are three times as long over the last few years. Or since it was a women's fertility drug, I guess it's a case of "Manny Being Tranny". OK, I stole both those lines, but it's still damn funny.

I'm just disappointed with the news. I suspected he was on it, hoped he wasn't, so it's not that much of a surprise. The real surprise is what he was caught with, hGC (similar to Clomid). That's so old-school of him. hGC itself doesn't manufacture testosterone, it just helps the body produce it again. Which is obvious after cycling down from steroid use. He could have achieved the same results using other things out there which aren't banned. It's probably what everyone else is using currently.

Visitor

3 Down: Red fez wearer (7 letters) Answer: Shriner

Actually saw a crime on my way home from the CSU game this evening. Nothing earth shattering, I guess it's a big deal if it happens to you, but it was a bike theft. There is some laundry or pizza place or some takeout joint near Denison on 25th and a few blocks earlier, while at a stoplight, we saw a youth riding a bike while guiding a riderless bike next to him. I told my Dad I guess if you're gonna steal one, that's the way to do it.

As we motored near Denison, we noticed another youth hauling ass out from this storefront, running next to a bike. Wouldn't you know it, a guy came out chasing him, but couldn't keep up. I felt bad for the guy, because who knows if that's his main mode of transport. I'm guessing he was inside and had his back facing the bike and the kid decided to take a chance and pilfer it. Real shame, because it must be tough to catch these kids.

Meal of Links

Salma is employing her Hayeks for the greater good. Does she have to do this everywhere she goes from this time forward? I'm sure she'll be approached by lots of hungry men.

Peter Gabriel says, "Nope." to performing at the Oscars. Seems the new producers want the nominated songs to be sung as a medley (Halle-fuckin'-lujah) and Gabriel thinks he doesn't have enough time to convey the song properly.

Mindfuck Movies. The title is self-explanatory. There are some gems in here. I still like "Jacob's Ladder" when Danny Aiello gets all pissed off. I have seen "Memento" in the last several months and this holds up extremely well. And, of course, "Mulholland Drive", which I saw at the Cedar-Lee with a small crowd and had some of the weirdest experiences I've ever had at the movies. I still can't shake the appearance of this old couple who wandered into the theater about halfway through. They resembled the old couple in the movie and absolutely freaked me out as they kinda wandered around for a few minutes, then left. Bizarre.

This Michael Phelps case with the bong is getting way out of control. They should watch his SNL appearance, which was enough punishment for all involved, then drop the witch hunt.

I thought the Joaquin Phoenix appearance on Letterman last night was pure genius. It has an air of Andy Kaufman to it and it's Dave at his prickly best. I don't think it's sinister at all. You can see Phoenix almost bursting into laughter after some of Dave's zingers. And more importantly at the conclusion, he seems to be offering if not an apology, at least an explanation of what happened. He takes off his glasses and offers Dave a handshake as he starts to talk to him.

Remember when Lance Armstrong said his comeback would be monitored by the most vigorous dope testing available. Not so fast, my friend.

Exercise Yard

My Dad and I were "Greening the Wolstein" or whatever tonight's promotion was. It was 8-5 Cleveland State and 9-4 UW-Milwaukee in another big game for CSU in the Horizon League. CSU has set its eyes on third-place which guarantees a home league tournament game.

CSU had another excellent first half, leading by 19 at one time. But Milwaukee came back early in the second half and eventually got within 3 at 46-43. Then it seemed the foul calls turned in CSU's favor. I think by game's end, it was 11 for Milwaukee and only 3 for CSU. The Milwaukee coach basically gave up at the 5-minute mark, seemingly frustrated by the refereeing. He left 4 timeouts on the table and even the Vikings had two left at the end. Hence, we were well on our way home before 9:00.

CSU wins, 70-61. Next up: Second-place Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday. Home schedule closes out next Wednesday against the Fighting Penguins of Youngstown State.

Visitor

15 Across: Golfer Mickelson (6 letters) Answer: FIGJAM

I have had a bit more time to digest McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as VP. And I'm still not sure I understand it. It is hard for me to fathom that there are Clinton Democrats who would go with the R's just because there is a woman, any woman, on the GOP ticket. I thought recent polling had McCain doing OK with Independent voters, so I'm not sure the choice adds more voters to his side with Independents. We always hear about female Reagan Democrats, I mean, is Palin enough of a choice to get that bloc, whatever those numbers are? Seems puzzling to me. And to add a pro-lifer with abortion as the number one topic with only 3% of the voters is a reach.

And to take Obama's experience off the table by adding Sarah Palin could be a major mistake. As I say, forget about the 3 a.m. phone call, what if McCain can't wake up for his 6 a.m. alarm? She's the next President? I don't think so. Personally, I see it as a major blunder.

And the creepy rumors have begun. Was Palin really pregnant for a fifth time or was
she covering for her daughter? I can't even believe someone came up with that one, but thought I'd let you know. It seems all the stops are gonna be pulled out with this election.

Other thoughts on the choice:

From Politico.

From The Huffington Post.

From an Alaskan.

And, of course, a MICHAEL Palin reference:



Meal of Links

Mr. and Mrs. Mix are in town and we headed late over to The Harp last night. They seemed to have a partially new menu there, I could be wrong. Any, I tried their Root Beer Float. This is Three Olives Root Beer with cola. It was just OK, there needs to be a better companion than cola.

The 20 Best Seasons in the last 20 years of TV. Thought there would be a "24" or a "Seinfeld" in there. I'll vouch for "Arrested Development" and "Twin Peaks" Season One made it. BTW, Monday's ride to work was most enjoyable. Bob Edwards re-ran interviews with David Lynch and Terry Gilliam in the same hour. Great stuff. A list of Bob's recent shows.

Let's hope not. It looks like Nawlins is about to be tested again. This seems like a diagonal hit and not a direct path like Katrina, which means lingering effects.

Exercise Yard

NFL Cuts. Browns let go Travis Wilson, no surprise to me. David McMillan and Lennie Friedman the other names to go. Terry Cousin made it.

Visitor

45 Down: _____ Callender's restaurants (5 letters) Answer: Marie

Last night, I was at the Omar Vizquel Lovefest. They had almost 30,000 in attendance, so fans like Gale could go see their hero.

It was an awful game, to be honest. Of course, I go on a two-minute rant about pinch-hitting Casey Blake for Andy Marte without a pitching change. So, what does he do? Almost homers, that's what. As I said, that Eric Wedge is quite the manager!

Getting back to Omar. Uh, he's done. He's battling some injuries right now and age. He has absolutely no bat speed presently. He hit two weak grounders and a lazy fly ball, while stranding five runners in his first three at-bats. He also put down an excellent suicide squeeze in the ninth that Blake dropped, but still almost managed to throw him out.

I was concerned about Vizquel's defense. He was late on a grounder through the hole early and didn't dive for it. Apparently, that's been an issue with these injuries. However, he made a nice play late, backhanding a ball in the hole and leaping to throw a guy out at second.

Not sure he's got much left. He's hitting .167 and defense alone can't keep him in the lineup.

Meal of Links

SNL will rerun the first episode with George Carlin. It airs this Saturday and Andy Kaufman is on it.

19 stellar cinematic one-hit wonders (with some video). This is a great list. Alec Baldwin in "Glengarry Glen Ross", "Fuck you!...That's my name!". David Lynch is represented twice with Dean Stockwell in "Blue Velvet" and "Billy Ray Cyrus in "Mulholland Drive". Chris Rock in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" kills me each time I see it. Bowie in "Zoolander" also makes the list. A personal fave of mine, Wilford Brimley in "Absence of Malice" did not make the list. He starts handing out "subpeenies". Thought I could find a clip of that, but cannot.

Figuring the Exxon Valdez case had been adjudicated years ago, this came as a surprise. The Supreme Court knocked down Exxon's punitive damages to $500 million. The original award of $5 billion had already been halved by an appeals court to $2.5 billion.

Exercise Yard

The semifinals of Euro 2008 started today. The Germans beat the Turks, so there is no party in Istanbul (not Constantinople). Did you know that the Turks are the largest ethnic group in Germany, that'll win you a bet someday. So, Germany plays in the final on Sunday. BTW, it's a soccer thing, but I am digging how the crowd has been singing along to "Seven Nation Army" throughout this tournament when the combatants enter the pitch. It will be the official song in World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Why the South Africans haven't picked up on this for 2010 is beyond me.



Today's match was pretty good and ended up with a score of 3-2. Looked like the Germans had it wrapped up late with their second goal, but the Turks were awfully resilient in this tournament. They tied it up late 2-2. Philipp Lahm (Lahm, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am) had the game winner in the last minute on a great run. That was his first goal for Germany since he scored the first one in World Cup 2006.

However, the highlight of the match for me was the difference in how the physios treated one of their players. After a clash of heads, there will be blood! The German had a cut over his eye, while the Turk had a cut on the top of his head. The German physio takes a look and immediately gets the stitching equipment out to patch the guy up. The Turkish physio gets a wipe for the guy's head then opts for the staple gun treatment. Yes, he stapled the guy's head together right there on my widescreen HDTV. We always joke about the magic spray and now the staple gun enters the picture.

Visitor

49 Across: "Roots" Emmy winner (7 letters) Answer: Ed Asner

I was at Marc's and wanted to use the dreaded Express Lane. You know, pay cash on 12 items or less. I think you can go the socially acceptable 2-3 items over, but that's about the only slack I cut anyone in the line.

I don't know, maybe people can't read, never look up at signs, or just love to plead ignorance. But how do you get in line with a full cart and then have the cashier let you get away with it? I ended up fourth in line behind these scofflaws and said loudly, "Hey, is this some sort of new Express Lane?" Deaf woman in front of me turns around and says, "It's supposed to be." It was as if the scofflaws intentionally put this audibly-challenged person in front of me as a distraction.

Before I could turn my wrath on her, I hopped to a different line. Just in time to see scofflaws needing a price check. Hah! Take that! I zipped out of there as the line had not budged an inch, as I left.

Meal of Links

Lara Flynn Boyle talks about "Twin Peaks". Full episodes can be seen here. That show never gets old for me. Especially if you view the ones that David Lynch directs. I took a look at a few minutes of an early episode with the "Baguette Scene", and it still delivers.

Ten drunk photos you don't want to be in. "Candid, you know, candid photography."

Amsterdam goes smoke-free on July 1. That's only for tobacco though. Cannabis? Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Exercise Yard

Typically, you have to do something pretty unique to have a rule named after you. Justin Miller of the Florida Marlins has one named after him. The Justin Miller Rule is for pitchers with tattoos. And he has a whole lot of ink on.

At Euro 2008, Italy gets through by beating the French, who played most of the match a man down. So, we bid bonsoir to France, who had terrible results in this tournament. That also means we get to hear the Italians sing "Fratelli d'Italia" some more. Everyone gets into that, it seems.

Some "Group of Death" (France, Romania, Italy) Anthems



But the Dutch won again and should we start calling them Clockwork Orange and have visions of "total football" running through the pitches of our minds?

This guy thinks so.




























Visitor

60 Down: Rebellious Turner (3 letters) Answer: Nat

St. Patrick's Day was a modest success in Gateway, from what I learned. The prevailing opinion is that with most everyone having this Friday off, due to Easter, and Opening Day a short time away, people had to pick and choose their time off wisely. I know that applied to me, and I didn't arrive Downtown until 6:30.

By that time, it wasn't very crowded. I understand pre and post-parade was jammed, but not much activity in the a.m. compared with previous years. I can attest by the time my imbibing started, the celebrating looked to be mostly over. For instance, one of my favorite things is seeing the late-day drunk blowing a long, green horn. Missed that this year.

Although, I had a car bomb (don't mind the leakage), I was not close to auditioning for that role. I think the highlight was eating half of Uncle F-Bomb's corned beef sandwich, seemingly the last one in town. And it was good.

Meal of Links

"Let's talk about race, bay-bee. Let's talk about you and me." Obama delivers a speech about a racial stalemate. Mostly positive reviews follow.

HBO cans the head of their entertainment division. They are having a bit of a slump over there, besides "The Sopranos".

I do not watch "Dancing with the Stars". But here's a critique of the men.

The Raconteurs new album drops next week. Another release that tries to change the model of music delivery. Apparently, it was finished just this month.

Really cool beds. Some of these with the home theater incorporated, look like the view you get in Row 1 at the local cinema.

David Lynch donates a million dollars to MIU. Plus, he has his own weekend there.

Exercise Yard

SI puts all of its content online, for free. That means easy access to the best cover ever:


















Visitor

5 Across: Rapper Shakur (5 letters) Answer: Tupac

Today, my Dad and I took in the Tribe game at Art's Pub. We were joined by Ron, Lisa and Gale to see the Indians lose, 3-2. Gee, they have good food there, and I went with the Cajun Burger.

I think the Tribe actually hit the ball prety well today, but had a tough time getting the big hit. Casey Blake, for instance, hit a big drive to the wall for a scrifice fly with the bases loaded. It appeared if that fell in, we would have cleared the bases, and probably romped. But no, Cuddyer caught it and we didn't score the rest of the way. Indians left 10 men on, and the Twins bullpen threw 5 shutout innings.

Looks like we will yo-yo with the Tigers for a while.

Meal of Links

Last night, I was able to get my eggplant on at Lure Bistro. Per Best Friend's suggestion, we headed outdoors to the patio out there. I really like eggplant. It made me long again for Giovanna's when it was on Clifton, as they are the same owners. Oddly enough, our waitress had some combination "American Idol" and Ben Franklin fixation that was somehow alternatively charming and startling at the same time.

OK, if you've followed the history of "Twin Peaks" since it went off the air, you know DVDs have been a long time coming. But it appears someone has finally got it right with a version that includes the American pilot and the European version. Oh, and David Lynch is involved.

NBC tried to "Catch a Hacker" at DEFCON. It didn't work.

Exercise Yard

Could it be? The return of El Guapo.

And, oh yeah, Bonds hit 755.

Visitor

16 Across: Explorer of the Southwest (8 letters) Answer: Coronado