I saw two movies this week. The first was "Horrible Bosses", and tonight "The Tree Of Life" made its initial appearance on the West Side. Let's talk about that one first.

"The Tree of Life", of course, is the latest from Terrence Malick. Malick and David Lynch are probably the two most unique American directors left. Lynch always jolts you with color. And Malick does, as well, but his films always shoot from different angles. Angles that most people hardly see in a movie. Close ups, framing a subject from behind, trees from the ground up, etc.

So, yeah, I've been waiting for this one for a while. And I could tell right away that we were gonna have people hit the eject button, it was only a matter of when. Old couple sits directly behind me and I hear the woman say, "I thought it would be more crowded. You know with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in the movie." OK, my Spider-sense is tingling. Also had to hear "This is weird." and "Do you want any gum?". I give 'em credit, though. They actually made it to the end. We had 15 at the start and this is your Up-To-The-Minute "The Tree Of Life" Walkout Scoreboard:

We had 2 leave before the dinosaurs.
We had 1 leave during the dinosaurs.
We had 4 leave after the dinosaurs (one guy letting us know he was asking for his money back).

That means 7 of 15 left in the first 35 minutes or so. You may be wondering why I mentioned dinosaurs. After Pitt's family suffers a loss, Malick decides to show us (sorta like 2001) his vision, at length, of how the earth was created and took us through some various early life forms. This tends to honk off the Car Chase crowd. It also points out the ignorance of today's movie crowd. Do you just open the Friday Magazine and see the picture of Pitt and Penn and say, hey, looks like a good one. Seriously, how do you not know this is a Malick film? Trust me, for its alleged offensiveness, I didn't see one person walk out of "Borat". Yet, 7 of 15 walk out on this one? Baffling.

Too bad, because the scenes that immediately follow the dinosaurs is awesome. It shows a kid growing up and makes you wonder how that happens exactly. First steps, starting to talk, etc. Amazing sequence.

Now, I'm not gonna pull a Jack Buck and say, "I don't believe what I just saw!". I understand Malick is not everyone's cup of tea. But, as a moviegoer, I think you owe it a look. But it's not exactly "Happy Days" here.

Pitt is not exactly a great father and he and his wife are constantly battling for the kids affection. And the whole house knows who wins on that front. And, for almost three hours, the characters rarely smile, although I think near the end, when Penn (Mostly a dour figure) believes he's come to grips with his life, there is a faint smile. As for the acting, Pitt and the kids have most of the dialogue. Jessica Chastain and Penn have more narration of their parts, as does the oldest son.

So, again, it's a different type of movie experience. But one you have to see.

For a movie where your brain doesn't suffer from overload, I give you "Horrible Bosses". This isn't by any means "Hangover"-funny, but there are enough laughs to keep it going.

Charlie Day and Jason Bateman basically play themselves. Jason Sudeikis plays a horndog. And their bosses are, respectively, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. The latter two are especially funny, while Aniston is a sex harasser. Hilarious cameo by Jamie Foxx.

The plot is the three guys want to off their bosses. Hilarity ensues. That's really about all you get here.

Meal of Links

Playhouse Square finally released their summer movie schedule. They need me to program this. I hardly see anything of note. Although, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and "Jaws" are the standouts. I say this every year. You want asses in the seats? Gotta be an early Tarantino selection. How 'bout a Richard Pryor comedy? "Silver Streak" would do. Have a Bond movie. "Ghostbusters", "Caddyshack". It ain't difficult.

Nick Gilbert has a Fathead. Seriously. For charity.

Alan Sepinwall talks Emmy nominations. Still baffled by "Community" being ignored.

Wal-Mart starts selling "Cheesy Poofs"next month. Yes, it is South Park-related.

Lots of Soda Pop



If the debt ceiling is not raised, which side wins? Maybe neither.

Dads on Vacation.

Exercise Yard

What is Sunday's biggest sporting event? Last round of the British Open? USA-Japan at the Women's World Cup? How about the WWE PPV?

Visitor

48 Across: "12 Angry Men" director (5 letters) Answer: Lumet

I want to like Diet Sun Drop, I really do. But I'm not sure about it. Sometimes it tastes really good and other times I can't wait to finish it.

Upon further review, who knew it had that much caffeine? Shit, more than Mountain Dew? Yikes. Of course, try and find the caffeine-free variety. I know Mountain Dew has caffeine-free varieties, as well, but they aren't stocked everywhere either. Looks like Canada's Diet Montain Dew is the USA's Caffeine-Free Diet Mountain Dew.

OK, next roadie to Canada includes a visit to Tim Horton's and a soda run.

Meal of Links

Michael Sarrazin died today. And they didn't even mention his greatest role, "Josh Ramsey, VD Caseworker".

Seriously, is this what being a Browns fan has become? Getting gleeful about Peyton Hillis gracing the cover of Madden '12. That's what happens when your fanbase gets pumped up by beating Pittsburgh in a 4-12 season.

Seven hotly debated movie questions. And their answers. I thought "Pulp Fiction" and "Lost In Translation" were somewhat disappointing.

What's up with Low-Sodium Campbell's Tomato Soup? It has the same sodium amount as regular tomato Soup. Ah, you need to read the label.

"Treme" starts this week. Can't wait for the John Hiatt song. We also get a look at HBO's series on horse racing, called "Luck". That's the Michael Mann/David Milch effort.

Exercise Yard

Who would have thought that two weeks into the season, Indians-Royals is a big series. For all things Royals, for years the place to go is Rany on the Royals.

Visitor

37 Down: Wrestling duos (8 letters) Answer: Tag Teams

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

Although, I didn't place any bets this this year, my Dad and I had our annual ritual of watching the Breeders Cup today. All the focus was on the quest of Zenyatta to finish her career at an unbelievable 20-0. That race was the Classic and it actually lived up to the hype.

In typical fashion, ABC took the first two hours of coverage until 3:30, when ESPN would take over. Except for one thing. Michigan couldn't stop Illinois and vice versa, so we had to watch 3 overtimes to determine that Big Ten football winner. Then 22 minutes later, it was the Juvies almost finishing their post parade before they switched. Geez, horse racing always gets the shaft. I remember once the Travers, the Summer Derby, getting shuffled around because a Little League World Series game was rain-delayed. WTF? Maybe it's the dearth of non-US companies paying the freight of advertising of this event. Except for Sentient Jet, it was Fly Emirates and Grey Goose all day. Where is Budweiser?

Anyhow, there was some excitement before the big race, but not a whole lot. No jockey fights today! And, really, how hard is it to break up a jockey fight?

The Juvie Turf was won by Pluck. That was good, because I got to say, "Oh, Pluck!" after the win. They had to euthanize Rough Sailing after she slid into the first turn.

In the Sprint, it was one of those rare ones, when it was over early. Big Drama rolled wire-to-wire in that one. Give it up for the old master, D. Wayne Lukas. He got a winner of a claiming race last out into a second-place finish.

The BC Turf Sprint



I liked Bridgetown in the Turf Sprint and thought he had it in the bag. Central City on the hedge to his inside moved toward him a bit, and he got all discombobulated. Chamberlain Bridge picked up the pieces.

The BC Juvenile



My Dad picked Uncle Mo in the Juvenile. Look out. This is your early Derby favorite. Just an awesome move to win it. Notice how far the top 2 finishers are from the rest of the field. Stay Thirsty was also in this one.

Next up was the Mile. Goldikova won that race for the third time in a row. That's never been done before.

The Turf Mile had the longest shot of the day, Dakota Phone, hitting the board.

The BC Turf



The Turf was kind of a weird race. Not many greats here and no one wanted the lead. So, it was basically Champ Pegasus and Dangerous Midge going out for a ride. They were 1-2 the whole way, with Dangerous Midge and Frankie Dettori moving up to get the win late for a nice $172 exacta. This race was won at the 1:15 mark. Watch Rosario on Champ Pegasus give a peek behind him. That signalled to me that he realized he was sitting on a pokey pace and that he had a lot of horse and might win on the lead. Note how Dettori pushes the pace down the backstretch and both Champ Pegasus and Dangerous Midge start to separate from the field. Just a terrific tactical race from two of the longer shots in the field. That's why they call it gambling.

The BC Classic



Watching the coverage, it was definitely The Zenyatta Hour of Power. My God, Steve Cyphers was assigned Barry Bonds duty and had to watch her all day. Where she stood around and ate grass for the most part. My Dad wondering if we would get updates if she took a shit. So, it's very easy to get cynical about her.

As for the race, we were both all over Blame. Zenyatta had so many strikes against her. A better field than last year's Classic. She hadn't raced east hardly at all. She ran mostly on synthetic surfaces. And her running style of laying back and just getting to the wire at the end is tough to do, but she does it all the time. You have to figure some time, somewhere, some horse will beat her. Today, we thought it was Blame's turn.

And, as it turned out, we were right. But the charge of Zenyatta coming like a train at the wire and not getting the win this time just sucked the air, not just out of the room or Churchill Downs, but the whole world of racing. I can't tell you how many times in horse racing over the past several years (or couple of decades), when the Triple Crown is on the line or horses with huge winning streaks like Cigar are reaching for history, they all seem to fail.

Even a cynic like me, after that ending in the Classic, decided it would have been not only a good thing, but a great thing, if she had won. And it sure would have made a helluva movie.

Now she'll have to perhaps settle for just being the best filly ever. And, in today's world, probably disappear faster then you can say her name.

Recaps are here.

Meal of Links

Hitch firmly believes there needs to be cancer etiquette. "So I get straight to the point and say what the odds are. The swiftest way of doing this is to note that the thing about Stage Four is that there is no such thing as Stage Five."

Growth and trends of online spending. It's the way to go.

Response to LeBron James Ad



I'm sure we all did this today. Turn back your clocks and change smoke alarm batteries. Actually, I did my battery thing last week. And, obviously have synchronized my time devices already.

Berkeley Breathed talks about everything. Hard to believe it's been 21 years since "Bloom County" ended.

Studying Mexican Coke. This is now starting to show up at Giant Eagle for one dolla. Love that bottle.

I know I shouldn't have, but when David Cross stumbled upon the deaf tour of the House of Parliament in the season finale of "Todd Margaret", I loved it. One guy actually threw a shoe at him. I believe the line was, "Sir, these people are deaf, not retarded."

Exercise Yard

Windy says the Hornets showed the NBA the blueprint for beating the Heat. I'll be at the Cavs-Nets game on Wednesday. (Hat tip to Paul)

Visitor

33 Across: 16-time Gold Glove winning pitcher Jim (4 letters) Answer: Kaat

Jeff and I headed over to the Capitol this afternoon to see the second of the three Stieg Larsson adapted flicks. This one, "The Girl Who Played With Fire". Yes, everyone's favorite bisexual hacker is back in action. She starts off living in the Caribbean and if I owned that villa, I would not have returned to Sweden, but she does.

I liked this one, but not as much as the first one. Although Lisbeth and Blomqvist are working in tandem, they are obviously not on screen together until the very end, because she is wanted by the law. Although she is wanted, she seems to be roaming Stockholm without much of a pursuit. We don't have much hacking going on this time and there certainly appears to be more gumshoe work this time around than actual thrills. We do get to meet her Dad ("Hello, Daddy.") and her somewhat amusing (to me) half-brother in this go-round.

This is a tough recommend if you haven't seen the first one, because there are recurring characters from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". If you read the books, feel free to jump into this one. And those Larsson books are burning up the charts presently. I'm looking forward to part 3, which rolls into theaters in November. Should be a more satisfying wrap to the trilogy.

Meal of Links

Who knew? Derek Anderson and Kim Novak live/lived in in Scappoose, OR.

Pluto. Brontosaurus. Now, they have debunked the really cool-looking Triceratops. What next? Dino?

LeBron gets the Miami Heat sales staff fired. Well, sorta.

Anthony Weiner, who can get pretty impassioned, cuts to the heart of the Party of No. By blasting R's on not voting a healthcare provision for responders to 9/11. Many of whom are from his district. An opinion on Weiner and Alan Grayson. More about the politics behind the 9/11 bill. R's wanted to put in a crazy illegal immigrant amendment, D's said uh-huh, forcing the vote to go to a 2/3 majority. It didn't pass, as only 12 R's voted for it. Seemingly, a good measure, until the R's introduced the idea of illegals. So, it goes down in flames, as the R's blame the D's for not accepting the amendment while supporting the original bill.

"The Gentleman Will Sit!"



Would the world miss mosquitos? Even Mother Nature says no.

Cinema at the Square is back. The only definite? Oh, it'll be difficult because I'll be reciting the movie, but it's "The Natural" on 8/20. Only a handful of others look OK, but we'll see.

This is a fun online game. Airport Madness! My first attempt ended up at a salary of $60,000. I had one midair collision.

I was at Marc's last night. I saw the return of Pepsi Throwbacks. This time around, they had the 20-oz. plastic bottles for 89 cents. Considering their Cokes from Mexico are a dollar, it's a steal. And these seem to be legitimately new with go-bad dates of Jan 24 2011 on my cans of Mountain Dew, not some "past their expiry date" crap. No announcement, so maybe a test for full-time status? I know Sierra Mist gets the real sugar treatment soon.

Speaking of bisexuals, I've always had a thing for Saffron Burrows. So, how did I only discover last night that she's been on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" with Jeff Goldblum. Like for a few months. I don't watch any of the "Law and Order"s, so maybe that's the problem. Although, I think it's because I recognized Prez from "The Wire" and decided to watch.

Exercise Yard

For me, Mark Shapiro's ability to dump Branyan, Peralta, Kearns, Westbrook and Wood before the deadline is nothing short of a miracle. Obviously, what we got in return is up for debate, but three guys on that list were clearly not wanted by any fans. Kearns was a cheap signing and with his OPS plummeting the last month, it was time to flip him. For all of Westbrook's time here, he was oft-injured and a .500 pitcher. So, remember we always overvalue our own. I'm not sure we could have received more than we got from these deals.

But Shapiro has really cleared the decks to allow Chris Antonetti to work any magic he may possess.

Visitor

None, on a sunny Sunday start to Shark Week.

"Stay Thirsty, My Friends"

Why do we torture ourselves by following these teams? Because we love to be tortured! I mean, would we really know how to act if we ever won one of these things? But this Cavs loss was a killer. I can't believe they were knocked out a round earlier than last year. It just doesn't make any sense. They are regressing with better talent.

Oh, there will be lots of blame to go around. I'm not sure we'll have Mike Brown to kick around anymore. He is the third longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference behind Doc Rivers and Mike Woodson. Doc is making noise about leaving the Celtics and I suspect Woodson and Brown are on shaky ground. Avery Johnson is available and I love the way he talks. Hire him.

And I think LeBron stays, so there's your Cavalier summer.

Cavs lose, 94-85. Game over. Series over. Season over.

Meal of Links

The 40 Best Cartoon Characters. With Video. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is Number 8! OK, no Pink Panther, no Foghorn Leghorn, and Daffy Duck is much, much better than Number 19.

The music from "Treme". Shows up every Monday.

New Coke machine gives you a choice of 104 flavors. 335% more flavors than Baskin Robbins.

Look what else you can get in a vending machine. Pizza!

I dunno. I think I'd be more impressed if movies were not his job. But he's viewing "100 Movies in 100 Days". I am probably jealous.

This guy loves flushing toilets. I am not sure if there any members of the Brown Trout Club, but I think it's safe. Literally, Toilet Humor.

7 things you need to stop doing on Facebook. Perhaps, joining should be on there.

A Warhol self-portrait goes for $32.6 million. The new owner is Anonymous Bidder.

Great news. The "Rockford Files" remake is floundering.

Exercise Yard

Drew Bledsoe scores. With wine. Robert Parker rates it a 91-94. Outstanding.

Visitor

44 Across: Comic Cheech (5 letters) Answer: Marin

I had to DVR the Cavs game today and it's a good thing I remembered to record the following show in case the game ran past its prescribed time. So, while everyone was watching the agonizing finish, I was preparing to watch the start of the game.

I think it's easy to pinpoint this one. Just a really bad start to the 4th quarter. The Cavs had clawed their way back into the game, but played a fairly pedestrian defense for the first 4 minutes of the last quarter. And then they finally scored their first basket in the quarter with about seven minutes left in the game.

Too bad. The Cavs mainly went seven deep but wasted a supreme effort by Shaq today and they still can't guard Rondo. But they got outrebounded and shot poorly (4 of 21 on threes).

Cavs lose by 10.

Meal of Links

My brother and I decided we were gonna see "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Thought we'd see it at the Capitol, but had to motor to the Cedar-Lee because of a lack of an early afternoon showing. You know, because of the Cavs. This was a Swedish thriller. Yes, we had to read it. I wasn't sure how to react because there were more than 20 people in the theater.

Kudos to the Swedes, it was a good one. Some rich guy hires a disgraced journalist to solve a family mystery. With the help of the goth chick in the title (who had tats, piercings, and some deep secrets), the mystery deepens. Geez, we had Nazis, a sadistic legal guardian of the tatted girl, great research techniques (spycams, hacking, etc.) and a really good story. Definitely more than an episode of "CSI: Hedestad". The title character has that really intense appeal we haven't seen since, oh, I don't know, Nikita, way back when or maybe Lola more recently. Of course, the American rework is already being discussed.

We also got to see trailers for The Good, The Bad and The Weird" (a 2008 South Korean western), "Looking For Eric" (finally the 2009 Cantona movie arrives, "I am not a man, I am Cantona"), and "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" (the new doc). They all looked worthwhile.

Is there a cure for alcoholism? It might be baclofen.

We need one of these around here. The Soda Pop Stop. I mean the dude still sells Jolt.

Exercise Yard

CNN has a list of the Top 20 Sportscasters of All Time. Hard to see any major omissions here.

BTW, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the present-day Indians link to their past, Sandy Alomar. Here is Sandy coaching first base really hard yesterday.

















Visitor

None, on a brisk, sunny Mothers Day.

Boy, Toyota finds itself in a mess. Safety concerns have caused them to stop production on several models. I just happened to hear an interview with a car expert last week and he was going on about the quality issues at Toyota.

Quality is (was?) considered a hallmark of that company. It used to be that Toyota would slowly develop manufacturing facilities in places where they wanted to expand. But, apparently that expansion had become too widespread and quality was suffering big time. They have made executive changes to stem the tide a bit, but the bloom is of the rose now. This production halt being the latest problem.

Meal of Links

I don't think of haggis all that much. But who knew the Scottish version was banned in the US? Not anymore.

A few months ago, Newsday put its Internet content behind a pay wall, Guess how many people decided to pay for that content? 35 subscriptions! The owners? The Dolans, of course.

Dr Pepper is now 125 years old. And that Heritage Dr Pepper tastes pretty damn good.

It's hard to believe I saw David Bowie on what is probably going to be his last tour. I even have a bootleg of that Cleveland show. It was that great. We haven't heard all that much from him since 2004, but there is a DVD of that tour that came out today. It's the "A Reality Tour". Oh, and "Paris, Texas" got the Criterion treatment.

Yes, I have unabashed love for The Who. And, yes, they will do all of the CSI songs.

"Won't Get Fooled Again"/The Who



Old country? Ladies and gentlemen, Kitty Wells.

Twitter fun. About Brett Favre.

What if Comcast lets NBC die? They should put that "Red Zone Channel" on football Sundays and watch the ratings zoom.

Exercise Yard

Two things about that Saints win the other day. The Times-Picayune keeps selling out of their Super Bowl editions.

And the ratings were tremendous. The highest ratings of any show since the "Seinfeld" conclusion. And the highest rated non-Super Bowl since "The Catch", played during a deep freeze in much of the country.

Lord Football does it right these days. It wasn't that long ago where Wild Card and even Conference Championship games were still played at 12:30 and 4:00.

Visitor

16 Across: Big name in tequila (10 letters) Answer: Jose Cuervo

Randy Lerner has apparently gone off the reservation. Yesterday, he does the old staredown at his own team in the tunnel to the locker room. "I want them to see me.", he says.

Then today, I find out he is meeting with the two "fan protesters". Great PR move on his part, I guess. But these two jamokes think they can actually change things. I can't think of anything they can tell Lerner that he doesn't already know. My guess: He'll charm the rubber masks off of these guys and the protest will be quashed after this meeting.

To cap it all off, the Kok of ManKok got canned. Yes, George Kokinis, the Claude Rains of Berea, was fired today by the Browns. Obviously, Lerner asked the question, "Who's responsible for this roster?" Then Eric Mangini produced a copy of George's contract, while pointing at George, where it stated explicitly he had control of the 53-man roster.

So, the man least responsible for this mess gets the axe. Lest we forget, Randy Lerner also had this type of internal strife after Year One of his reign, when it looked like Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel might be out in a power struggle with John Collins. Collins was prepared to fire Savage, with Crennel then resigning in protest. In a giant swerve, Collins was then asked to leave.

As Bruce Hornsby likes to say, "Some things will never change..."

Meal of Links

This guy hates soft drinks. Bastard.

If you donate a kidney, look out. You'll now have the dreaded pre-existing condition.

An ode to old dogs.

Pearl Jam closed the Spectrum in Philadelphia on Halloween. Naturally, they dressed as Devo.

"Whip It" by Pearl Jam



Walken Reads Lady Gaga



Exercise Yard

Manu Ginobili had great success taking care of that bat the other day. Now for the bad news. Rabies shots.

Batman



Visitor

50 Across: "The Avengers" heroine, to Steed (7 letters) Answer: Mrs. Peel

For me, this news is very exciting. With Setanta imploding, ESPN has picked up, for the 2009-10 season, two of Setanta's EPL matches. The return of the 7:45 a.m. Saturday match on a channel I actually receive. Plus the Monday afternoon match. Both to be shown on ESPN2. I guess Charlie Moore just got beat. Outstanding!

Randy Lerner's Other Team, Aston Villa, gets 4 TV slots.

Here is the early Fox Soccer Channel schedule. Oooooh. Sunday night replays before "Dexter". Cool.

It all kicks off Sunday with the traditional Community Shield match for charity this Sunday.

Meal of Links

Perennial Dead Pool fave of mine, Ronnie Biggs (The Great Train Robber) is going to be released from prison. Ostensibly to die. But I've seen this before with Kevorkian. Dammit.

John Hughes died today. For someone who seemed like he had as many movies out as Judd Apatow, he only directed 8 movies. I remember in "Pretty in Pink" that Molly Ringwald was literally a girl from the other side of the tracks. "Do you realize that if we played by the rules we would be in gym class right now?" was my favorite line from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", although we all still know who Abe Froman is. "Sixteen Candles" was pretty good, I thought. I hated "Weird Science" though.

Coke vs Pepsi. Logo style.

Dylan does Christmas. Including "Must Be Santa", which I assume is the Brave Combo tune. Brave Combo? I am seeing them on Friday.

Christopher Walken has a message for you.

Cheaper prices vs. bad customer service. Does it influence our purchases?

Exercise Yard

Donte Stallworth says he's sorry. But as my Mom always told me, "Sorry doesn't clean it up."

Visitor

10 Down: Four-time ABA/NBA MVP, familiarly (3 letters) Answer: Dr. J "From! The University Of Mazzachushetts, number six, Captain of the Philadelphia 76ers Julius... The Doctor... Errrrrrrrrrving!!"

On Saturday, amongst all the sporting events on TV, HDNET reran the Godfather Trilogy. Usually, I beg off after the first two. But something compelled me to watch "Godfather 3", you know, the one that never really existed. Unfortunately for me, the damn thing started at 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

But to give it a fair shake, I decided to watch it until the end. That meant, around 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning, I am now 100% certain that "Godfather 3" sucked. A rather large one, I might add.

I am convinced it's memorable for only two lines. One by Michael, which Costanza made his own: "Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in."
The other when Michael tells Kay, "I used to look out this window and think of you." to which Kay replies, "Yeah, then you married someone else."

I actually suffered for this art, because I developed a bad sore throat, which is always the omen of a cold coming on for me. I hate it. I go all winter without a cold and now that it warms up, bam, I get one. I'm curious. If I did not watch the movie, would I have developed that sore throat. I wonder.

Meal of Links

Devo goes to the UK. A look back.

How the late-night shows circumvent the Writers Guild. Freelancers fax jokes to the program for $75 to $100 for each joke used.

Guy thinks he found the formula for Dr. Pepper. He paid $200 for the ledger which might get $75,000 at auction.

Exercise Yard

Malcolm Gladwell offers lengthy advice for underdogs in basketball. Press, man, gotta press.

Visitor

54 Across: Verne captain (4 letters) Answer: Nemo

Today is the 71st birthday of the Sausage Shoppe. I was just there this past Saturday. After not going there for a while, I have been visiting about once a month for the last few. Two things I noticed quickly. Not as crowded as it once was and prices have clearly gone up. But the quality of the food there is still superb.

We gotta support the locals.

Meal of Links

Vanity Fair profiles "Comedy's New Legends". Danny McBride who was so good in "Pineapple Express" and "Tropic Thunder" makes an appearance.

Will Shortz talks about, what else?, puzzles. Including KenKen.

What is the ideal number of friends? Average number is about 150.

David Simon talks about covering the police in Baltimore. Things have changed since he had that beat.

Calling Tim Geitner.

Hey, was that an asteroid? Yep, without much warning, too.

What do you think about that new Pepsi logo? I'm not sure yet, just bring on those Throwbacks.

Maurice Clarett has a blog. Seriously. It sounds like his new job will be preaching.

Exercise Yard

We actually had a Horizon League tournament in town tonight, sponsored by the good folks at Speedway. My Dad and I were part of a crowd of 1988 who watched Cleveland State take on the Titans of Detroit. And since it was the post-season, Detroit brought the full compliment of band (in the section next to us), dance team and cheerleader squad

And since it was Detroit, that called for another ugly game. In two previous games, CSU kept them in the 40s, and that was the case again tonight. It's just a struggle to play them because of their walk-it-up style of play on offense and physical defense. But they are extremely offensively-challenged. In the first half, Detroit had no three-pointers nor any offensive rebounds, but they outshot CSU 41% to 31% and only trailed by 2.

In the second half, Cleveland State shot much better at 48% and that was really the difference. Detroit had 1 three, 3 offensive rebounds and 0 fast break points for the game and shot 36% for the game.

There you have it. CSU wins, 56-43 in what may be the last home game this season. On to Indy to continue league tournament play this weekend.

Visitor

41 Across: Immortal slugger Hank (5 letters) Answer: Aaron

My brother and I were at the Bart tonight to see CSU, in their final regular season game, take on the Fighting Penguins of Youngstown State. Y-town is not the pushover they have been in recent memory. Meanwhile, CSU needs to keep winning to get the highest seed possible for the Horizon League tournament. They have won 6 in a row coming in.

The game started out as a romp. CSU had a 17-4 lead after 6 minutes, mainly because YSU kept turning the ball over. Then it became a struggle. The first two shots for the Vikings were threes. They didn't hit one the rest of the game. Then they shot only 31% in the second half. It was one of only two games all year that CSU won while being outshot.

YSU eventually cut the lead to 3 with 23 seconds to go. On what I perceived as a bad call, a jump ball was ruled. Coach Waters proceeded to put his team in a bad spot, getting a technical foul. YSU hit only one of the technical foul shots. CSU then played staunch defense while YSU got a decent look and missed a shot, the ball was tapped out to Cedric Jackson for a game-ending layup for CSU. Although they never trailed, it was a sense of escape with that outcome.

CSU wins a rather intense game (their 20th), 58-54.

Next up, the Shockers at Wichita State on Saturday. Then it's on the road to Valpo and Butler next week to close it out.

Meal of Links

Jack Black heads to the Opry. For a little bluegrass session.

In a couple of months, Mountain Dew and Pepsi will have Throwbacks that contain sugar. Sweet Jesus, that's great news.

The world's best food blogs. All of a sudden, I am very hungry.

Tickets go on sale for this year's Cleveland Film Fest next week and I haven't heard a peep. I hate when they start it the same weekend as March Madness. As they do, once again, this year. They have "Tyson" (on the dreaded Stand-By) and "Kassim the Dream" to fill my Sweet Science needs. And "The End", a movie about 107.9. I'm not kidding.

Exercise Yard

Kids eat free at two minor league parks. Well, it's a dog, pop and chips. But it's a start. Watch cotton candy get jacked up to about 7 bucks.

Visitor

46 Across: Four-time discus gold medalist Al (6 letters) Answer: Oerter

Happy Valentine's Day to all.



Think romance. Think Paris. Just a normal drive through Paris 30 years ago. Listen to that Ferrari engine! I'm thinking Frank Martin's Dad is behind the wheel.



Here's the scoop.

Meal of Links

Speaking of All-Stars, Michael Lewis ventures to Houston and finds Shane Battier? Lewis has become one of my favorite writers and delivers the goods again.

Consumers are cutting their spending on food. I visit Marc's now more than ever. For instance, Ken's 8-oz. salad dressing at Marc's today was 98 cents. I had a coupon to buy two and get a dollar off. So, I got 2 bottles for 96 cents. I don't see how Giant Eagle can compete with that. Look at the continuing saga of pop prices. Giant Eagle had some 2-liter prices today at inner-city Dairy Mart prices, while offering "specials" at 3/$4.00. They also raised the 2-liter Giant Eagle brand to 99 cents. Specials were usually at $1 each, while the house brand was at 89 cents for a very long time. Even Marc's is offering more soda at a 4/$5.00 price. I don't visit the warehouse clubs, but that seems more of a luxury than ever to me. But there's always Mickey D's.

Folks are still buying Mardi Gras beads, however. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Exercise Yard

Randy Moller is a play-by-play guy for the Florida Panthers. He is a treasure trove of pop culture when the Panthers score via the radio audience of Dan LeBatard. The Penguins announcer does something similar but he's from Pittsburgh and just makes up weird phrases on their goals, so there.



I think "I'm a lead farmer!" is my favorite. But I must say, "O-o-o-oh, good for you!" and "We're gonna need a bigger boat!" made me laugh out loud, as well.

Visitor

40 Across: Contemporary of Bela (5 letters) Answer: Boris

I closed out the Best Actor category for the Oscars to see Richard Jenkins in a PPV of "The Visitor". I guess this falls into the realm of each major acting category has to have one nominee from a movie no one has seen. This was released last April and I'm willing to bet it played here for one week. It was written and directed by Tom McCarthy, who played a reporter on "The Wire". McCarthy also wrote and directed "The Station Agent", so he has that experience of getting major publicity for a film that slips under the radar.

This story involves a professor who has to go to New York for a conference. Upon his arrival, he finds his apartment occupied by an illegal alien couple. He befriends them and one of them eventually gets picked up by immigration. It was pretty good, and although Jenkins was nominated, I must have missed why his performance was such a standout.

Meal of Links

I was over at Luxe after the CSU game last Saturday. I liked their pizza very much, especially when I had leftovers the next day. I opted for my standard pepperoni and jalapeno. And the music was outstanding. Early Prince was featured. Neat bar, as well.

Thankfully, Tom Daschle gave up his bid to be HHS Secretary. The Obama administration can't preach change, then let all these tax scofflaws keep their posts. And the Press Secretary got absolutely roasted yesterday, so there were signs he had to go.

Not to be outdone, Bonnaroo releases its lineup. Where else are you gonna find Springsteen, The Ting Tings and Merle Haggard at the same place? They have an outstanding lineup.

Ridge Park hosts this year's AMC Oscar extravaganza. All the Best Picture nominees in one day. That's a ton of popcorn and a shitload of ICEEs. It's not a bad deal. All the movies and a large popcorn with unlimited refills for $30 ($25 for members). I'd probably go to one if it had all of the short films.

Free Diet Dr. Pepper.

The set of "General Hospital" is getting redone. Hell, I remember when Amy Vining was manning the gossip...er...nurses station.

Car Bombs. Not drinks. Cupcakes!

The Christian Bale Soundboard. "What don't you fucking understand?" amongst other gems.

"Idol" singers. Fake or delusional?

Exercise Yard

The US is actually bidding once again for the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Back in 1994, I never thought I'd have to wait this long to see another one. BTW, less than 500 days to next year's World Cup in South Africa.

Today was also the day that the English Premier League received bids for the next three years of TV rights for the UK, 2010-2013. BSkyB says what recession and bids around $1.3 billion pounds. In 1992, the rights went for 38 million pounds, so good times for the EPL owners, including Randy Lerner.

US rights are determined at a later time.

Visitor

23 Across: Smart, to 99 (3 letters) Answer: Max

Happy Headbanging New Year! No, it wasn't a Browns game playing AC/DC, but Gale and I actually saw the real AC/DC tonight on their "Black Ice" tour. Major tours coming here in early January are kind of rare. I recall Bowie several years ago touring at this time of the year, but not many others. Anyhow, my ears will be ringing til Groundhog Day.

AC/DC

This is your typical hard rock show. I have never seen AC/DC before. Outside of the occasional yelling of "Thunder!" at a Browns game or doing my "Highway to Hell" imitation (Screeching First Line: "Omyeevah, oolyeabu"), they fly outside of my radar. They are not yet a parody of themselves, but they are getting close.

The Venue: Quicken Loans Arena. The home of the $8.50 beer. I drank my beer and had my Washington Apple and Hot Apple Pie shots before entering. Happy New Year!

















Angus Young: This dude is what, 93 years old? He doesn't appear to be aging well. He still does "Angus Young Stuff". You don't have to be a rocket scientist to mimic his playing. Right heel up, head down, left heel up, head up. Then he does his duckwalk. Still does his striptease, too. Might wanna rethink that. So, he's 93 and shirtless for most of the show. Plays "Highway to Hell" wearing devil horns (AC/DC Lighted Devil Horns set you back $15.00).

And you know what? The people still go crazy over it.

















The Tickets: We were in Section 113, Row 15, on the aisle. Does not sound like much, until you realize we are level with the first row of the clubs. That means no one in front of us, stage left. Booyah!

The Crowd: AC/DC is fun for all ages. Next to me I was able to use a coat chair. When I asked the guy two seats down if anyone was sitting there, he said, "Only my invisible wife." I replied, "Oh, Mrs. Claude Rains?". Even in his drunken stupor, the old guy got it and laughed. That's what we had to deal with. It was considered a sellout as 14,000 people showed up.

















The Sound: Fucking loud. Hey, it was AC/DC, I guess, but the first time in eons I think I may have suffered permanent hearing loss. Huh?

The opening act was The Answer. I am not sure what The Question was. Anyhow, we did not arrive in time to see them.

















The Stage: The setup is a somewhat normal arrangement. We have Bryan Johnson (looking like he just ended a shift delivering beer), "dancing" like Tom Jones these days, singing mainly front and center. Angus Young is mainly stage left, but moves around a lot. Two guitarists stay mainly in the back on the same level flanking the drummer, moving mid-stage only for vocals. The drummer assumes the "Bonham Position" in the middle, but not on a riser. Video screens in the back and way up on the sides. Frankly, we were almost under a screen, so I was oblivious to most of the videos.

They had a long ramp down the center of the floor section that led to a circular platform probably two-thirds of the way through the crowd. The ramp's main use was for Johnson to basically walk down there and shake or slap hands with the crowd, while growling. Angus Young went down there near the end of the evening, and the circular platform ended up being a lift that carried him well above the crowd. Where, of course, he decided to lay on the floor and then walk in a circle while playing. Sort of a Curly Howard move.

Props: The show started with an overtly suggestive video. Again, no surprise there. Two hot chicks walking through a train, then we have cartoon Angus as a devil with a tail...wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And they have to stop the train as it is charging toward it's inevitable destination...your local arena! Then onstage, a bigass locomotive rises from the back with steam coming out of it!

Later on, we had fire (maybe borrowed from the Cavs) coming out of the train during one tune. We were close enough to feel that heat.

They also had a huge bell drop down with an AC/DC logo on it for some song. Oh yeah, "Hell's Bells".

For "Whole Lotta Rosie", they had a 30-foot inflatable chick riding the train. Poor stagehands had to work hard on that one to keep the balloon moving to the rhythm.

For the finale, "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)", they had cannons. yes, cannons. Six of 'em. Constantly firing. Eardrums bombarded.


















The Music:: I'd say you get what you pay for here. Some spectacle, not much, but really loud rock music that anyone would be familiar with. No surprises and who would want them at an AC/DC show.

Setlist:

"Rock n Roll Train"
"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
"Back in Black"
"Big Jack"
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
"Thunderstruck"
"Black Ice"
"The Jack"
"Hells Bells"
"Shoot to Thrill"
"War Machine"
"Anything Goes"
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"Let There Be Rock"

Encore:

"Highway to Hell"
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"

Overall, it was a good time.

Meal of Links

2008’s Most Annoying Liberals. Obama could not even crack the Top Five.

Prince is certifiable. Following Ryan Adams’ lead, he is releasing three albums in 2009.

The Greatest Jeopardy! Game Ever. Didn’t see it.

Are we in another Depression? Uh-oh.

Speaking of Mexican Coca-Cola…PepsiCo isn’t exactly taking a shine to a company that distributes Mexican Pepsi. All about the cane sugar, baby.

Can you live without these products in 2009? Hey, I don’t use Yammer, but I have a t-shirt from them.

I like Billy Mays selling just about anything, and his new ESPN 360 ads are really funny.



Exercise Yard

I had never heard of George Kokinis until yesterday. The startling thing is the line that Kokinis and Eric Mangini shared an apartment when they worked for the Browns. Great! It’s like Balki and Larry are going to be in charge of the Browns. Anyhow, here’s the background on Kokinis. Inspiring, eh?

Meanwhile, the NFL playoffs materialized pretty much how I thought they would go. I somehow got stuck on Indy’s winning streak, instead of actually looking at the games in that streak. My God, they looked terrible against the Browns. But it was difficult to pick an 8-8 team like the Chargers. The other games were easy pickings, I thought

Visitor

20 Across: Nickname for Joe DiMaggio (13 letters) Answer: Yankee Clipper

I finally had a Coke today from Dave's Mercado. Not just any Coke. Nope, this is your father's Coke. You know, the Real Thing. As I visited old Da-veed's last week, I noticed they were stocking Coke in bottles from south of the border. Not Kentucky, but from Mexico. Finally. OK, they charge extortion prices of $1.69 a bottle, but they are so good.

I only bought a couple and have treated them like gold. Waiting for the appropriate time to open them up with my Cleveland Indians bottle opener. Oh, they were good. It's all about the cane sugar, baby. Not that corn syrup crap.

Meal of Links

Time is doing their Top 10 of Everything lists again. The Top 10 Ads are pretty choice. Number One with Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley is an excellent choice. That Nike ad with Polamulu-LT, I had no idea David Fincher directed that. The Scorsese AT&T movie ad is a killer, too. Politics and Hilary's "3 a.m. Call" are also represented.

Jay Leno stays at NBC. In primetime. That is a very interesting move.

Wanna drive the Wienermobile? They are looking for drivers.

The Merrill Lynch CEO wants his 2008 bonus to be $10 million. His company got saved, Lehman didn't.

Sort of an unfortunate parking experience.

Hey, it's a Betamax Christmas! Use the channel changer on the right. I just saw a Christmas-themed Parkay commercial that was so long, they gave a recipe. Then one for Velveeta and other members of the Kraft family of food products. And Cher dropped in on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse"

I was watching "Family Guy" on Sunday. I guess Laura Bush really did kill a man.

Hitler's maid says he was a good boss. A charming man, if you will.

Exercise Yard

PETA lists the most vegetarian-friendly stadiums. Oakland, Philly, and Green Bay in the Top 5.

Visitor

1 Down: Kevin of "Tin Cup" (7 letters) Answer: Costner

For a snowstorm that was supposed to last for 36 hours, most of the little snowfall I had, occurred between 7:00 and 9:00 last night. Barely had to shovel and probably could have gotten away without having to pick that new shovel up at all. However, the plowing yesterday morning left a lot to be desired. Even the turnpike didn't have its normal pristine surface. Let's hope this isn't a sign of things to come this winter.

Very strange. I noticed the weather folks in town were not going out on a limb as far as snow totals go. I mean what can you do with a forecast that calls for between 1 and 6 inches of accumulation. Can you narrow that down a bit. Knock on wood though. That's two snow events that called for major accumulation and I hardly participated in either one.

Meal of Links

Sometimes you have 57 channels and something IS on. I stumbled upon "End Of The Century", a doc about the Ramones this a.m. and it was well worth the time.

Let the conspiracy theorists take hold. Rothschild Investment Bank makes record profits. I guess they do run the world.

Pick up your free Dr. Pepper. Starts at Midnight tonight. Thanks, Axl.

Where in the world can you smoke Hippy Lettuce legally? Pack the Reynolds Wrap.

Exercise Yard

I was in attendance at the Cleveland State-Kansas State game this evening. First visitor to the Bart from a big conference since Cal came here several years ago (excluding OSU at the Q last year). And 800 more people showed up this week than last for a crowd of 2800. And they all seemed to be in our row, as it was one of the few times my brother and I lost our coat chair. That's a sign of the times when that happens. All of a sudden I'm looking forward to "friends and family" games later in December to get my personal space back.

As for the game, well, CSU has some things they need to work on. Especially coming out of the gate and shooting well. Again, a dismal first-half effort had the Vikings down by 12 at the half. CSU shot 22% from the field to start. That's becoming a broken record in the first three games. They were also outrebounded, although they had 14 on the offensive end and many of those I apparently chose not to remember, because I thought the number was much lower.















Two side notes. K-State's coach, Frank Martin, I think might have the best stare I've seen in a long time. Besides, no question, he's psychotic. I had to yell at him, "Hey, Coach Bates, Relax.". Haven't seen a coach rip his players like that since Bruce Pearl was at Milwaukee. Although Coach Huggins is always good for that, too. Martin was an assistant under Huggins, so he learned from the best.

And right when it appeared CSU was making a run in the second half, the officials got involved and called an intentional foul on J'Nathan Bullock. strange call in that the K-State player clearly retaliated and escaped unscathed. thought for sure the double foul was coming. So, K-State turned a three point lead into an eight-point lead with the subsequent foul shots and three on the next possession. Game over, man, game over!

Maybe they need to get back to the Horizon League, because the Vikings are currently leaking oil. Bad starts, decent second halfs, but not much out of the star players, Bullock and Cedric Jackson. Jackson shot 1-for-12 tonight. Ugh.

A disappointing loss drops CSU to 1-2. The final was K-State 69, CSU 59.

Visitor

15 Down: '80s Peppard co-star (3 letters) Answer: Mr. T

Everything you need to know about the Cavaliers Number One Draft Pick, JJ Hickson. He led NC State in scoring, rebounding and turnovers as a Freshman. Biggest weakness is foul shooting.

Looks like a wait for him to develop.

Meal of Links

Jones Soda, who aways comes up with unique items, has done it again. This time, it's Campaign Cola. Three different types: "Yes, We Can", "Pure McCain", and "Capitol Hillary".

From someone who has directed some awesome videos of his own, Michel Gondry picks his 25 favorites. Lenny Kravitz with "Are You Gonna Go My Way? makes an appearance. Always thought that was a bit underrated videowise. It is amazing how many times Aphex Twin shows up on these things. Lots of Spike Jonze (I especially like "Drop") on here, too.

A comparison of food prices. Covers the difference of the month of May between 2007 and 2008. Eggs, milk and cheese up significantly. No shit, lemons have gone up a ton. That used to be a bargain.

Exercise Yard

I had to see at least one of the Euro 2008 semifinals, so with a bit of flex time I got to watch today's Spain-Russia match as it happened. Spain beat Russia, 4-1, earlier in Euro 2008. Strangely, the "New Russia" team seemed to be getting the favorable pub coming in, having turned it around since that match. BTW, no one sings the Spanish National Anthem...there are no words.

However, Spain was the best technical team left in the tournament, but there was a scoreless first half. But they knocked in three in the second half and beat Russia, 3-0. Xavi had the first goal. It's not pronounced "Ex-av-ee", it's "Shav-ee".

That sets up a Germany-Spain final, which should be entertaining. There's enough shaky goaltending by Jens Lehmann and enough shaky defense by Spain, which could result in some goals on Sunday.

Visitor

16 Across: Grammy winner Bryson (5 letters) Answer: Peabo

While at work today, the topic of Greenwich, CT, came up. Of course, that led to a discussion about the "Mean Street Posse", which I think remains one of wrestling's funniest gimmicks. A bunch of sweater-vested guys who grew up on the "mean streets" of Greenwich! Anyhow, that resulted in finding this clip, which chronicles the Posse trying to get the Hardcore Title (remember the title was on the line 24/7) from Crash Holly. It's not just that they seek Holly out in his hotel room, at the airport, or at Fun Time USA, it kills me that the ref accompanies them just in case they pin Holly at these various locales.



Meal of Links

With summer around the corner, why not try a beerita. And the occasional Shandy will do you good with all of its lemony goodness.

Amy Winehouse won a songwriting award for "Rehab". I really like that song. It's Jewtastic!

Jones Soda will be poured at all events at Qwest Field in Seattle, including Seahawk games. They will be the only NFL stadium not to serve Coke or Pepsi. Let's hope they do not bring out the Turkey and Gravy flavor for their Thanksgiving week game. Still waiting for Cherikee Red at Jacobs Field.

A tip of the hat to the "hearty entrees" and "friendly staffers" at Alesci's from Scene Magazine's C-Notes Blog.

Exercise Yard

While the Cavs were frittering away a third quarter lead this evening, I saw Casey Blake triple with the bases loaded. I immediately made plans to purchase lottery tickets.

The Cavs played a so-so first quarter and an excellent second quarter to have an 12-point lead at the half. Then they only scored 13 points in the third (with a three in the final minute from both Gibson and Marshall), a recurring problem. Halftime adjustments not their forte.

Cavs had a 69-65 lead in the 4th, only to turn it over 5 times in a row, giving up nine points. Thought that was gonna be it, but then it got even uglier as the Cavs lost, 79-76, for the second straight game. A game where Detroit had one basket in the final five minutes and the Cavs tallied an abysmal 26 points in the second half.

Observations:

The refs are refusing to call fouls both ways and that's why the scoring is down. Easily five fouls per team could result in 10 more points and it is not happening.

Guard play is terrible, thus far. For both teams.

Chris Webber is sitting during crunch time.

Anderson Varejao seems to be the most active guy on the court.

The Cavs are not pushing the ball up as much as I would like.

The Cavs use of timeouts was really bad in this game.

Visitor

63 Across: Nine Inch Nails founder Reznor (5 letters) Answer: Trent