My day started by finding out I had a slow leak in a tire and it was on its way to going flat. Well, that kinda sucked. I'll have to go Monday to the Slow Leak Shop to take care of that.

BTW, the Halloween candy goes like this for 2010 (a bag each):

Kit-Kat
3 Musketeers
Snickers
Hershey
M&M's
Twix (One kid said, "Twix, yeah!")
Milky Way
Reese's
More Snickers

Standout costumes tonight:

Lady Gaga
Julius Caesar (I asked him, "Et tu?")
Rugby Guy
Lots of Spideys
A Penguin
A toddler as a lamb

Meal of Links

Some of these are gems. The 100 Best Signs from the Rally to Restore Sanity.

Dressing up for Halloween? "Jerry, it's a new relationship killer!"

Roger Ebert talks about lists. He doesn't like 'em.

The future of local commerce. Facebook + Foursquare + Yelp + Groupon. FYI, I rarely look in on Facebook, I mean rarely. I'm not familiar with Foursquare. I use Yelp a lot. Groupon has some good deals every once in a while.

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Ashton Kutcher. NCAA rules violator. Huh?

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None, on a Halloween Sunday.

A grand total of 8 took in the early viewing of "Transporter 3" at Crocker Park earlier today. Kevin, Shaun and I were in attendance for what we hoped was a typical Jason Statham affair. The consensus was: "It was horrible." Yes, this franchise has been effectively killed off after this effort. It appeared that Luc Besson wrote this during a lunch hour with the TV on, looking out a window, knowing he had no shot to make a "Transporter 4".

You see, I don't like plot getting in the way of my Transporter movie. I want Frank Martin beating up guys and driving his car really fast. That's all I ask. Pretty simple. I'm even willing to suspend reality for some of the driving stunts as long as they seem somewhat plausible. But even that didn't happen, as some of these stunts were really out of left field. And I'm not even talking about the "driving between two trucks" stunt from the trailer. I'm totally into that. Some of the others were just idiotic.

Oh sure, he had a fight scene where the weapons were his clothes. Yeah, he beat up a gang of guys with his suit jacket, followed by his shirt, then his tie, and later he whipped a guy with his belt. All good "Transporter" stuff. But then he starts breaking his rules. Rules he lived by explicitly in the first two Transporter movies. Uh oh, if he starts suspending rules, that means plot enters the picture. Aaaaargh!

There were some environmental polluters (Huh?) and then the Bad Guy kidnaps a daughter of a diplomat dealing with those guys (So, where's my Audi?). Frank Martin finally realizes (after the audience had known, oh, since the start) the package he needs to deliver is this girl. The most annoying character I've had to deal with in a movie in a long time. Couldn't he shut her up with a cufflink or an ascot or something? Anyhow, they become a love interest by the end. WTF? If he wants to break his rules, fine. But to end up with this one? Ay yi yi!

Oh yeah, he and the girl are also wearing bracelets and if they end up 75 feet away from the car, they go boom. Easy to forget, because they were never really in danger of doing that. I mean, he has to drive the car, doesn't he?

Then, of course, we have the Bad Guy. First of all, why doesn't the Bad Guy and his henchmen drive the girl without the middleman. Seems infallible to me. Then with all the sophisticated tracking equipment they have, they are driving around with it housed in a UPS-type truck. That's laughable. Then when the girl is delivered, they decide to ride into Odessa (Oh yeah, Budapest and Bucharest were just false destinations. I guess they ran out of ests.) on a train instead of driving there in their cars. Even a henchman asked that question and the Bad Guy pulled a gun on him as his answer. I guess that's better as a symbolic answer instead of saying, "Well, that would be the smart move, but because we have some more stunts to do, we need to involve the car and a moving train. Plus, the Bad Guy Rulebook dictates I have to do something utterly stupid so my plan is foiled, he gets the girl, and I meet my demise in a rather exciting fight to the finish. And if we drive into town in our comfortable Range Rovers to deliver the girl, we can't do that."

Should be showing up on Worst 10 lists soon.

Meal of Links

Most popular Top Tens. From Lifehacker.

What do auto workers really make? Well, it's not that $70/hour figure that has been making the rounds.

Did Winona Ryder steal some jewels? And what does she exactly act in recently?

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Another rather indifferent card on HBO Boxing After Dark tonight. While everyone is not paying attention, Chris Arreola is now the best heavyweight boxer in the United States. If you ask who, well, you're not alone. He came into tonight's bout out of shape and boxed a stiff. So, he gets knocked down in Round 2 and then knocks his opponent down twice in the same round for the uncommon 9-8 round. Then finishes off his opponent early in Round 3. We've been down this path before, let's see how he does against the top flight.

In the main event, Paul "The Punisher" Williams threw a shutout at Verno Phillips for 8 rounds before the ref ended it. Nasty cut on Williams by the unintentional headbutt in Round 1 made it interesting for about 5 seconds. But Williams went about his business with his typical high workrate and dismantled Phillips from that point forward.

Next week is the big one. Oscar de la Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao. It's on PPV but I hope to get a look next Saturday.

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50 Down: "Project Runway Canada" host (4 letters) Answer: Iman

Without any boxing on the Olympic broadcast when I arrived at home after work, I decided to tune into the train wreck that is MSNBC's lighter look at the Olympics. This program is already an Internets legend. Bad scripting, awful ad libs, bickering between hosts results in a fantastic collision of things that result in perhaps the worst television production ever.

It is hosted by Tiki Barber and someone named Jenna Wolfe. They have as good a chemistry as Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman had in "The Avengers". They are hideous together. I happened to see a segment on Olympic fashion. OK, whoever the producer was who decided this was a good idea should have known how the hosts would handle it. They had a highlight of synchronized swimmers and Jenna asks Tiki if the sequined outfits would influence the judges. He went from a firm "No." to "Maybe." in the course of 40 seconds, which included stammering, dead air and further insipid prodding by his co-host.

Then they bring up what Michael Phelps wears, basically saying he's in the pool half-naked. First of all, he has no judges in his sport, and second, the clip they show is Phelps at an event where he is wearing the full bodysuit! I mean, is anyone in charge or at the very least, paying attention to the crap they are putting on the air. It's only day 13.

I guess they also have a piece of the "Today Show" as well. I saw a clip where the talk surrounds medal count. Jenna reports she doesn't care about medals, because unbeknownst to Tiki, she's been wearing his Super Bowl ring all week. Tiki then dutifully replies he's never won a Super Bowl, rendering that joke immediately lame. Later on, it's Jenna and Tiki joined by Brian Williams to talk about medal count. Jenna gives Tiki some grief for arguing with her, but not the exalted Brian Williams. I believe Tiki then tells Jenna, "See you next Tuesday!".

I'm telling you, this is epic TV.

Meal of Links

Keeping on the Olympic theme. The 50 Hottest Female Olympians. I conducted the Hope Solo Test and was about to render the list incompetent. Then I saw Hope Solo (gold medalist, BTW) at #2. The list is now deemed, "Very nice!".

We were talking about Pop Tarts at work yesterday. I am always confounded by the fact it is difficult to find the non-frosted ones, of which I believe there are three flavors remaining (Strawberry, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Cinnamon). Now they've gone to the ones with the tops split into two types of frostings. Sheesh!I am not buying these every quarter or anything like that, but once in a while, they taste OK toasted. But here are some foods that probably tasted better when you were young.

Hey, Snoop got busted for weed.

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Gene Upshaw died today. Of course, keeping with the Cleveland tradition of getting the lesser relative, the Browns didn't get Gene, we got cousin Willie.

When I was a kid I was a huge Raider fan and Upshaw was a large part of the Raiders success for a long time. Played in Super Bowls in three different decades. Clearly one of the best guards to ever play in the AFL, then NFL. Should be on tons of all-time teams. Think of that left side of the line: Jim Otto at center, Gene Upshaw at guard, Art Shell at tackle. I think even I could gain positive yards behind those guys.

Probably gained more fame as head of the NFLPA, hammering out the current labor deal. But he was one of the all-time greats. Al Davis chimes in:

"The Raider Organization, the National Football League, and the world have lost a great man. Gene Upshaw’s career successes as a professional football player and a union leader are unparalleled. He is as prominent a sportsman as the world has known. He was and will remain a part of the fabric of our lives and of the Raider mystique and legacy. We loved him and he loved us. We will miss him. Our hearts go out to Terri and the boys.”

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62 Across: Manfred ___ Richthofen (The Red Baron) (3 letters) Answer: von

As the Rev. Jeremiah Wright continues his spotlight tour, Obama finally cuts him off. If you get a chance, check out the extended versions of some of Wright's appearances over the last several days. The guy has one massive ego and is telling everyone he isn't going anywhere.

Meal of Links

Sometimes these lists I run across are really good for argument's sake, while some miss the boat entirely. I think I have a couple of examples today. This list on the Worst Candy of All Time duplicates my own personal hate list, it's scary.

Conversely, this list is sorta lame. It's the best opening credits of '80s action shows. I think there were 25, so most of them made the final cut.

If you dislike "Idol", Example A is here. Ratings are down this year, but it's still a popular show.

Those Miley Cyrus photos have caused quite the stir. I think everyone sees their individual franchises threatened. But interesting theories abound on why she shot them in the first place.

Thank goodness. Roger Waters found his inflatable pig. I've seen the remote-controlled pig. I like that pig.

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Lee Elia's rant, 25 years later. Still the classic blowup of any manager or coach ever.

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25 Across: Ed and Mel of baseball (4 letters) Answer: Otts (Fact: Ed Ott can sign an autograph 3 times faster than Asdrubal Cabrera.)

It seems that the Mitchell Report will come out this week, as MLB now has a copy today. Let's see how quick that leaks out. I'm pretty anxious to find out what's in it, but I think I am probably going to be disappointed because it won't go far enough. I believe it will concentrate on those who are already out of the game, as opposed to a current list of offenders. And how could they not interview Jose Canseco? Must have been regarded as someone who would talk about their methods of interrogation and probably passed on some useful info.

Both ESPN and SI have the pregame lowdown on what to expect.

Meal of Links

Time has jammed a whole bunch of Top 10 lists into one handy gateway. Some interesting stuff resides here.

Chris Elliott writes novels now. I remember "The Conspiracy Guy" used to make me laugh a lot.

From all appearances, Led Zeppelin put on a great show last night. The lure of the dollar may be too intense to resist next year.

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Omigod. Look who WWE brought back for a Battle Royal on the 15th anniversary of "Raw" last night. Are you kidding me? Howard Finkel introduces:

Al Snow (with Head)
Bart Gunn (Thank God, it's not Mr. Ass.)
Doink the Clown (Oh, no.)
Repo Man (I think he stole a belt once.)
Steve Blackman (The Lethal Weapon!)
Pete Gas (From the Mean Street Posse. Yes!!)
Bob Backlund (Age check, please.)
Skinner (The poor man's Steve Irwin.)
The Goon (Who? Where is The Mountie? I don't care if he's dead.)
I.R.S. (Always liked this guy.)
Flash Funk (Who?)
Gangrel (Huh?)
Scotty 2 Hotty (I absolutely HATED this guy.)
Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart (One of my all-time faves.)
Sgt. Slaughter (Almost as old as Backlund.)
Gillberg!!! (I am now on the floor.)



This has all the Battle Royal goodness you would expect. Well, except it's old farts runnin' around. Well, more like huffin' and puffin'.

Wait a minute, it's the MILLION-DOLLAR MAN!!!!!!! "Fifteen years later, everyone still has a price." That was a fun trip down memory lane.

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16 Across: "Sesame Street" giggler (4 letters) Answer: Elmo