Links: September 25, 2009

Maybe I'll be able to get back to this while job-searching ...

This is just scary stuff ...

Avalanche Skier POV Helmet Cam Burial & Rescue in Haines, Alaska from Chappy on Vimeo.

Patriots-Falcons and the premieres of these two shows: Sunday is going to be a great TV day.

I really don't see why Bruce Pearl had to apologize for this joke, I thought rural white folk were the last ethnic group one could make fun of ...

I really thought it was Dr. Phil's viewers who were the idiots, but it turns out the guests aren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the pack either.

Only in Arkansas.

Photos tell the story of the Atlanta floods. You can find a lot more from this link, this is just a recent gallery.

Who's crazier?

Stephon Marbury?



or Ron Artest?

Links: July 29, 2009

A shocking crime, even for Los Angeles. A wonderful piece of in-depth crime reporting, however, shocking for the L.A. Times ...

Why can't I be down with people like this?

I've read about a lot of teacher-student relationships in the last decade, but never involving two females. Until now. The fact that she's a softball coach isn't going to stop that stereotype anytime soon ...

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this story, which is basically the police storyline in Superbad brought to life ...

Links: July 27, 2009

Every word on this sign is misspelled except one. If you can't pick out the one, you're even dumber than the guys who made the sign ...

An excellent retelling of the path medical marijuana has taken since its passage in California. Easiest way to uncomplicate everything? Completely legal pot.


Stephon Marbury is fn crazy ...

Rant: Yes we can! ... continue to make stupid education decisions

President Barack Obama is promising to throw money at schools that will follow his lead on "change" in education.
How is this different from previous administrations? Every president comes into office with ideas on how to fix our schools, usually buzzwords such as Obama's "charter schools" and "performance pay."
For President Bush, it was "testing" and "accountability," which is how we ended up with No Child Left Behind, which is leaving thousands of children and schools behind. Now, as schools are still struggling to forcefeed children answers to federal tests in order to keep needed funding, they'll have to figure out how to satisfy the new president in order to obtain new funding.
But how is opening new schools that parents can opt to send their children to really going to improve education? What about when the next administration focuses on strengthening public schools and leaves these charter schools out in the cold?
And tying teacher pay to student achievement seems like a great idea, but then won't good teachers choose to only teach at schools with high-income students -- who usually have higher educated parents able to do more to help them achieve -- leaving struggling low-income and minority students falling behind once again?
Changes in administration, at the state and county levels as well as the federal, continue to force schools into adopting different goals and ideals, causing fractured education structures that leave administrators focused on the wrong things, teachers confused and students uneducated. Many schools have goals and ideals that look like the California law books -- filled with the well-meaning but shortsighted rules set forth by countless politicians that counteract each other and leave everyone in a vortex of unpredictability.
President Obama is working to create more common academic standards nationwide, which is laudable, but the rest of his goals are just empty ideas that seem great now but will fall apart in the future. Meanwhile, as the quotes in the Washington Post story from state education officals prove, he will get enough lip service from schools to hand out the money, and they will use half of it to halfass their way to what he wants them to do and use the other half to actually educate their students.
And the cycle continues ...

Links: July 24, 2009

No comment on this picture, I just like it.

Keep an eye on the California papers today as the Legislature continues to battle on the budget. The Senate passed it late last night/early this morning, but the Assembly is still debating. I still think it' stupid that they refuse to raise taxes to help offset a little of the pain, but California's spineless (and useless) politicians will never let that happen.

The follow-up to the best story from yesterday includes some more explication on the delicious details of the New Jersey political-corruption case. Plus a picture of handcuffed rabbis being led into a prison bus. TOO much fun.

I think I may like baseball too much because I would watch this game.

Thank god for shady lawyers and Photoshop because this story and accompanying art is too damn funny.

On another baseball note, Dave Zirin perfectly expresses why yesterday's perfect game was a sweet candy in a sports world of dogshit sandwiches.

This is not going to end well.

A Slate writer is asking Jon Stewart to change his name back. Well, at least he isn't asking him to permanently change it to Jewey Von Jewenstein ...

Even this acknowledged dog lover thinks this idea is sick sick sick sick sick.

Links: July 21, 2009

Sorry for the delay, but at least I have a fully functioning kitchen to show for it!

California has a budget! Well, actually it's just an agreement between the governor and legislative leaders, mostly Democrats, which Republicans can block, as they have done time and again. The L.A. Times and Sac Bee are leading the coverage on this issue, as is typical with California legislative stuff: check out the effect on prisoners, a near-useless state board, state parks and everything else. One of the best recaps, however, is from Dan Balz at the Washington Post, who also attempts to take a lesson from the idiocy.

Is Charles Schumer the only politician in America willing to talk about immigration? It's a tough issue, but Schumer has the big picture: Do everything short of militarizing the border (which is almost there already) to stop illegal immigration, then welcome with open arms the illegal immigrants already here. Of course, each side hates one part of this plan, so I'm glad there is one nationla politician who cares so little about his future that he's willing to step up and take care of it. Go Chuck!

No more wasting money on F-22s! Truthfully, this might be the best thing this Congress has done since being seated, refusing to waste more money on equipment we just aren't using in today's military environment. Of course, it took a Republican Defense Secretary to stand up and yell about it to make it happen, but at last it finally did.

Links: June 29, 2009

Another dead. He hasn't done much in the last twenty years, but this is pretty funny ...




Let me break down the most interesting part of this article from the NYT on firefly mating habits. Basically, male fireflies have protein pieces in their bodies that females can see. Females will look for males with the largest "packages," which will be their only nourishment during their two-week adulthood. The males will then fill these packages with sperm and feed them to the female. I am really glad I know this.

When I was in high school, the only time teenagers were around the rest of society was at the Fourth of July celebrations, when everyone in town got together for a crappy carnival and a half-decent fireworks show. Now, these American traditions are dying.

I don't know whether to consider this an inspirational story of overcoming personal tragedy or the story of a self-centered athlete using the sad death of his friend to garner sympathy from the public. I'm leaning toward the latter, and it makes me sick.

Links: June 25, 2009

Apparently, people in India believe marrying frogs through a Hindu ritual will bring rain. Whatever, good excuse to dress up some frogs and party!

It's about time somebody stood up and shouted from the rooftops: "Our young basketball players are not learning the game!" While talented hoops prospects in other countries are being taught in national programs to play the game as a team, our top young players are told to act for self and show everyone what they can do. Finally, Michael Beasley, last year's No. 2 pick, is making the case, after he received a rude awakening in the NBA last year: Someone actually asked him to play defense. GASP!

Glad my traveling is done, because airfare is headed back up.

Attention, high schoolers: Shove your stash in your underwear. They can't look there.

Billy Graham hates Jews.

Revelations: Sanford an actual person, The State an actual newspaper

Politicians are not real people.
Real people don't mask everything about themselves, act on rational thoughts at all times and pretend to be perfect human beings. At least not the people I know.
Politicians do, however. If you've ever met one, talked to them for a while, you know that all their actions and words are carefully measured to be what they think others want to hear from them.
Mark Sanford, however, acted and spoke exactly as I would expect most people I know would in the same situation. He cheated on his wife, eventually told her, attempted to get past it, couldn't, and then freaked out, took off, came back and is pretty much a broken man because of it.
It's depressing to watch but also refreshing. Slate did a great job of comparing his situation with those of Bill Clinton, John Edwards and John Ensign to show the differences between a politician doing damage control and a man facing his mistake and breaking down in the process.
Before this story broke, I knew little about Mark Sanford. Now, I'm actually a fan and hope that he can continue his career in politics. It's not often politicians actually dwell in this realm we call reality and it seems more than possible that Sanford actually lives in it.


The State was not a real newspaper. At least not in my eyes.
I've been forced to drive through South Carolina many a time, having lived in North Carolina and Georgia for years, driving through to visit the other on occasion. I thought it was a joke that the state had only one newspaper and it wasn't really connected to any specific city. The State? Even the name seemed like an Onion joke in practice.
But the way they handled this situation was masterful. They received emails between Sanford and the woman months ago, but couldn't verify them, so the reporters and editors rightfully sat on them until they could.
When Sanford disappeared, they figured he had gone to see the woman. Knowing that he would fly through Atlanta if he wanted to go to Argentina, they staked out Hartsfield International Airport and nabbed him flying back in.
By the time he was admitting an affair in a shocking news conference, The State was ready to roll with full versions of the emails, minus identifying information about the innocent Argentinian woman. Their stories hit the Web fast and were referenced in just about every national story, and their front page was measured and very well-done.
Then, they pulled back on their editorial page. While other local papers, such as the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, called for the governor's resignation, The State was reserved in its editorial, showing true sadness at the governor's situation and stating that Sanford deserved the chance to show he was able to serve the rest of his term.

As the dust clears this morning, Sanford looks like a flawed but believable person in a bad situation of his own making. The State appears to be a real newspaper, worthy of praise. I would not have believed either result just last week, but applaud both for proving me wrong.

On Sport: Is win against Spain a positive sign for U.S. World Cup 2010 hopes?

The United States men's soccer team defeated No. 1 ranked Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinals Wednesday, the Spaniards' first loss in 36 international matches and one of, in not THE, biggest wins ever for the U.S. team.
But does this make the Americans a contender for the 2010 World Cup title?
In a word, no.
Nine times out of ten, the Spaniards win or tie a game played the way Wednesday's match was. The Americans' offense was spotty, relying on just one or two touches for scoring chances, and their midfield defense was nonexistent. If not for the back line of the U.S. and keeper Tim Howard, Spain would have scored at least two goals, if not three.
However, no matter what happens in the Confederations Cup final, this could put the U.S. on a path to contention.
Their young players now know what it feels like to beat a better team, and have an idea of how hard they have to play to get there. The older players can have confidence that the young players, especially their young strikers, will step forward when they need them.
And confidence is the key word. If the U.S. can take their experience from this tournament and dominate the Gold Cup, playing like the best team on the field and expecting to win every match, they would be considered a favorite to at least advance from group play.
However, they must shore up their midfield defense, as Spain had no problem advancing the ball from the midfield stripe to the penalty box during the entire game. Granted, Spain is one of the best possession teams in the world and excels at one-touch passes that throw defenses off, but the U.S. cannot allow that type of play if they want to win against the best the world has to offer.
As well, they must be able to hold on to the ball better. The Spaniards enjoyed nearly a 60-40 edge in possession, most of that in the attacking third on the U.S. side, and led in shots (11-4), shots on goal (6-2) and corner kicks (9-3). As earlier stated, those stats typically lead to victory for the other side.
It may take many more victories such as this for the American populace to wake up and take a look at their international team, but for those of us who already live and die with this squad, it is a day to celebrate. Hopefully, there will be more to come.

Star of the match: Tim Howard, goalkeeper
One stat shows why this man is the reason the Americans are moving on to the final: Six saves for the U.S., zero for Spain. For visual evidence, however, turn to the firs ten minutes of the second half. Only down 1-0 at the time, the Spaniards came out in full attack mode, spending almost the entire span in the attacking end, throwing shot after shot toward Howard. But the ferocious Howard battled back, keeping the score steady until the Americans could score the clincher and earning his first Confederations Cup win.

Other stars
Oguchi Onweyu: This award could almost certainly go to the entire back line of the United States team, who were asked to cover up for horrible defense in the midfield and did so beautifully. Onweyu always seemed to be in action in the box -- blocking passes and shots, defending wings and clearing out dangerous balls.

Landon Donovan: The obvious leader of this team held his young teammates together, played tough defense and made some great runs.

The young strikers: Jozy Altidore scored the first goal -- the eventual winner -- but he was not as tough as Charlie Davies, who was much better at advancing the ball down the pitch. Together, they created all the offense in the first half and showed the Spaniards that the match would not be easy.

Links: June 24, 2009

Stupid people deserve pain.

FIREWORK NUTSHOT FAIL - Watch more Funny Videos

More detail about the fight to save passengers on the crashed Metro train. Even an embittered old soul like me chokes up at the description of helpless emergency workers trying for nearly an hour to extricate a young woman in horrific pain ... and failing.

Dan Balz does a decent job putting Mark Sanford's disappearance into context, explaining why anyone cares nationally. However, I feel that this makes the man a little more human, since I can guarantee that any of us in a high-stress, high-profile occupation with the wherewithal to take of for Argentina on a whim might do it as well. No matter what, I still think we need to use this to make a name for an off-the-cuff, off-the-radar vacation. I propose: A Sanford Siesta.
UPDATE: And now Sanford has admitted an affair and said that he went to Argentina with the woman. This story keeps getting better and better ...

Considering the movie is almost three years old now, shouldn't the Jesse James Hollywood trial be over by now? Oh well, it's still fun to read ...

Calm down, Apple stockholders, Steve Jobs is going to live.

Another good report from my favorite current reporter, Dana Milbank. Milbank had no problem calling out President Bush for having control over his questioners and now shows he is bipartisan in his oversight of the White House. Nice story, as always.
The Huffington Post, however, doesn't see it the same way. Since it was their reporter asking the staged question, I can see why ...

I understand putting the man's head into the soup, but duck?

I have long said that broadcast "journalists" are idiots, but I doubt anyone in the United States would have fallen for this. So, at least they aren't as stupid as some of their South American counterparts ...

The Associated Press gets strict. I will withhold judgment and not post this link to my Facebook nor comment about it on Twitter so as not to preclude myself from a future job with AP.

The new Wu-Tang track actually has me excited for their new studio album, due out July 30.

Hate to give Burger King some free publicity, but this is too funny. Thanks to Margaret for the heads-up.

Links: June 23, 2009

I love commuting by train. When I moved to California after college, I spent nearly a month on Amtrak to get there and plenty of other places; when I arrived, I found I could get anywhere I wanted to go on foot and by rail, and did so for eight years.
Now, the second deadly commuter-train wreck in a year has me scared. I know, logically, that trains are safer than cars, and I believe in transit-oriented development for cities, in which high-density neighborhoods surround rail stations. But this kind of news rattles loose an illogical fear, and all the descriptions and pictures of the accident feed into it.

Life goes on for Dirk. Meanwhile, his crazy ex-fiancee, oops, I mean his "little jailbird," lives in prison. I usually don't care about athletes' private lives (strip clubs and crazy parties hold little meaning to me if I'm not the one partaking), but this story is too interesting.

Can an unannounced vacation from now on just be called "A Sanford"?

Great political theater in the New York Legislative chambers ...
And here's the New York Times' version of that story.

Heeeeeeeeeeeere's a dead!

Links: June 22, 2009

So true it's sad ...



The St. Petersburg Times and Scientology hate each other. This war has been going on for a long time, basically since Scientology bought a historic hotel in Clearwater as a base for operations. Now, it seems the Times has the goods on the "church" and its "pope." Carve some serious time out to read this, as chapter 1just took me about a half-hour, chapter 2 came out today and chapter 3 will hit tonight. Really good stuff.

Some thoughts on this story, getting big play this morning on latimes.com: 1) Nobody in San Francisco government thinks about whether someone is an illegal immigrant or not when it comes to government services, etc., so its not a big surprise; 2) Kamala Harris goes to sleep at night and wakes up in the morning wondering what the highest office she can possibly hold is, and I have no sympathy for shallow, ambitious politicians; and 3) It is still sad that the Los Angeles paper broke this story instead of a Bay Area news source, in part because readers in SoCal who have never heard of Harris just got a rather rude introduction.

Jerry Crowe, you have almost made me projectile-vomit my breakfast at my computer screen with your touchy-feely column on Jerry Glanville. I don't know which of his quotes was worse: "I promised the good Lord that if I got home, I would coach these 19-year-olds," or "In pro football if a guy made those mistakes you'd get him a comic book, an apple and a bus ticket. He heads down the highway and you get somebody else." Which, in effect, is what Glanville did to Brett Favre after the Falcons drafted him. Horrible coach, annoying person, despicable story subject, ridiculous column. In the words of Don Martin, BLEEEEEEEEEEECH!

Way to sidestep the issue, Supremos. And it's good to know that Clarence Thomas, the only justice to experience Southern hatred, thinks the South has moved on. Yeah, right, the white power structure would never try to fix an election again ...
And, while we're on the issue of the Supreme Court, Slate is on point, as it usually is when it comes to the judicial branch of our federal government.

I'm one of the biggest Jon Stewart fans on the planet, but a prophet? I don't know the rules for being classified a Hebrew prophet, but I think Stewart's Jew jokes would knock him out of the running ...

Stopped collusion, helped cause the 1994 strike, fought steroid testing -- Donald Fehr has a mixed-up legacy. But now he is no more.

Way to go, Seth Stevenson, on realizing the Black-Eyed Peas sold out. Oh wait, you mean you're not talking about when they stopped making progressive hip-hop, brought in a talentless, hot white girl and started creating dance music for 13-year-olds that they sold to every willing bidder. Do you not remember "Let's Get Retarded," which they turned into "Let's Get it Started" and sold to the NBA and several other outlets for commercial use? These idiots sold out years ago and are just continuing down the road to future MC Hammer status, and anyone paying attention doesn't need to be told so now.

Still can't decide if I'm going to like this or not ...

Links: June 19, 2009

Can these guys get a Daily Show segment? I'm not an auto-tune fan, but I'm totally down with this ...

Speaking of "The Daily Show," Dick Cheney and future vice presidents everywhere are apparently very scared of Jon Stewart ...

As a University of Georgia graduate and Athens lover, the fire at the Georgia Theatre greatly saddens me. Movies, concerts, game days, this was one of the best venues I've ever been associated with and I sincerely hope it comes back better than ever.

However, another theater on my list of favorite places in the world is going to reopen soon. Ahh, the cycle of life ...

All the facts in this story lead me to believe it could be a big one ...

A great piece by Tim Kurkjian on the matchup major leaguers want to see. It backs up the fact that everyone loves to watch Albert Pujols hit, but surprisingly shows how much respect there is for Roy Halladay around the league. I would have expected Johan Santana to get more respect, but love to see everyone, including two teammates, dissing a Met.

Does Texas have its answer to Bernie Madoff?

Spurned lesbian kills puppy. Need I say more to get you to read this? OK, how about "She turned it into a belt"? Would that do it?

Staying with SFGate and sad canine news, China hates dogs. Well, actually, this places dogs on equal footing with children in that country ...

L.A., eat your heart out: Atlanta might have TWO urban gators.

Stay inside on September Saturdays in New York.

Not a huge TMZ fan, but this is just funny ...

Links: June 18, 2009

Picture of the day:
Bicyclists were going too fast on this stretch in London, so instead of putting up a sign or some rumblestrips, the government commissioned an artist to paint this hole on the ground. Effective, attractive and damn funny. Good job, London.


Newsweek's Joshua Hammer has written a good profile of Mexico's Pablo Escobar. Good, not great, because he did not actually get to speak with the reclusive El Chapo, and I don't feel he did a good job in getting across to readers how horrible the situation in Mexico is right now in regards to the drug violence. Even in Escobar's most powerful and sadistic days, many typical Colombians knew they would be safe, especially those in his home state. But nobody feels safe in Mexico these days, as anyone could be caught in the crossfire of one of the horrible battles the drug cartels seem to have every day in Sinaloa, Tijuana and elsewhere. And for those who say articles such as this glorify drug dealers and do nothing to help end their reign, I remind htem that it was Escobar's notoriety that eventually helped bring him down and will do the same for El Chapo. A good read, by the way: Killing Pablo, an excellent retelling of Escobar's rise to power and the American/Colombian effort to take him out.

I understand the Supreme Court's ruling today, since this is a state issue and not a federal one. But considering 46 states and the federal government have laws ensuring inmates access to DNA tests that could prove their innocence, there is no excuse for Alaska, Alabama, Oklahoma and Massachusetts to be so far behind the curve. Massachusetts has same-sex marriage laws, but not a law allowing convicted felons a chance to prove their innocence? Ridiculous.

I love the NBA Draft, despite knowing that being obsessed with such an inane event is odd. However, ever since I stood in front of a TV at my office yelling "Chris Paul or Deron Williams, you idiots!" when the Atlanta Hawks were drafting Marvin Williams in 2003, I've been completely hooked (and completely right). Anyway, one of the best articles of every year involving the NBA Draft is John Hollinger's Draft Rater, which came out today on espn.com (Insider only). His basic premise: Ty Lawson, not projected to go in the first 15 players selected, is the second best player in this draft, if not the best. Considering I have spent the past week advocating for the Hawks to nab Lawson if he is there when they pick at No. 19, I feel vindicated. Hopefully, they don't mess this one up like they did in '03.

More to come when I'm done previewing the Las Vegas 51s' upcoming series at 51stoday.blogspot.com.

Rant: Fighting catastrophe with bureaucracy

Before you work yourself up in a lather about President Obama's plan for an overhaul of financial oversight, ask yourself one question: Do you feel safer than you did eight years ago?
Yes, I hate to steal the key platform plank from the Bush 2004 campaign, but when all the right-wingers start ranting about more federal bureaucracy and the lefties start shining their Obama statues, they will be missing the fact that our current president is using the same tactics against the financial fallout that the former president did after Sept. 11.
President Bush's main response to the terrorist attacks that occurred early in his first term was the creation of the Homeland Security Administration, which took over aspects of government that were previously assigned to other agencies, such as the FBI and NSA, and federalized a massive private industry (airport security).
As a reaction to the financial industry's colossal failure, President Obama is now proposing to create almost the exact same thing: an agency that will take over some responsibilities from other agencies, specifically the Federal Reserve, and take away a lot of oversight that was formerly left to the self-policing strategies of the financial industry itself.
I am never one to advocate for more bureaucracy, as they typically leave Americans drowning in a sea of paperwork and confusing directions. But the Homeland Security Agency, minus the stupid color-coded warning system and "Save yourself with duct tape!" advice, has managed to streamline protection issues that were previously lost in the shuffle between different agencies and -- at least superficially -- made the airports safer.
In this case, it was obvious that there was a need for more stringent oversight of the financial industry, since the government now seems to own most of the firms involved in that business. And while the proposal would create a large new bureaucratic entity, it would also "merge the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create a single agency to oversee banks with national charters (and) propose to eliminate a special charter for firms that specialize in mortgage lending," according to The Washington Post, so at least there is a reduction in other federal bureaucracies.
On the bottom line, we must realize that our financial structure failed completely, leaving the American people broke in some cases and on the verge in many others, taking away our jobs and our homes and out safety nets. Much as Sept. 11 showed us we are never safe from attack, the credit crisis showed us we can never be safe from financial doom; so, as Homeland Security was created to shield us as much as possible from terrorists, we should accept the Consumer Financial Protection Agency as a chance to protect us from malfeasance in the financial sector.

Links: June 17, 2009

The alliterative headline: Cute clones could cause controversy

Ensign jumps ship. I'm not a huge Ensign fan, but he was one of the most level-headed GOP voices in the Senate (not saying much, but still), so I'm puzzled at why the Republican leadership would allow this to happen. These days, it seems everyone admits an affair and, as long as it's with an opposite-sex partner, it doesn't seem to do much harm. Why not let him ride out the wave of negative publicity until everyone forgets and moves on?

Hmmmmm, who to believe, the former reality show contestant or the former president. Sadly, given their histories, I may have to go with the "morocha pulposa." Decide for yourself.

Methinks this reporter wishes he had asked a different question right about now.

I WANT IT!

Right on, Jody Rosen: The white guy rapping joke long ago passed its prime. So has its cousin, the old person rapping joke.

Links: June 16, 2009

Picture of the day:
This guy is protesting a new line of buses in Guadalajara, Mexico. Nobody knows why he is against these buses or what hanging out in a hammock over a busy intersection has to do with them. I like Hammock Man and wish to get to know him.

Run up your credit! Refuse to pay! You'll get away with it for cheap!

A very nice look at the Obama administration's plans for Iran and North Korea, especially in the points that show how different the two situations are. The big question I have is how they came to the conclusion that the best way to confront the struggling, paranoid nation is to put "overwhelming pressure" on the only structural necessity working well for the country. With actions such as this, the scenario described within the piece seems extremely likely:

“Right now, our biggest worry is the North Korean captain who does something very, very stupid,” a senior military officer in the Pacific Command said Monday. “... Then we can find ourselves back in the old days.”

Needless to say, but this is NOT what the U.S. wants.

Also included in the NYT's Iran coverage is this blog post about a Daily Show correspondent's trip to Iran. I can't wait.

The best Tuesday morning treat possible: Being about a quarter-mile behind this guy when he crashed, getting there before the cops. I think I could have gotten about 50 beers in my trunk and been back on the road before the cruisers showed ...

Lou Dobbs is causing violence against Hispanics. Just so you know.

In sports coverage, Bruce Jenkins' view of the Warriors draft is so bad that I actually felt the need to post a comment on this blog post. Look down for the comment from "bulldawgj" for my full view, but in short, it is this: Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry would make excellent backcourt partners offensively and be horrible defensively, which fits everything the Warriors are doing right now.

Um, considering typical Chinese tactics and the torture the U.S. doled out at Gitmo and elsewhere, this seems pretty tame.

Anybody who shops at Abercrombie & Fitch needs to stop. Now.

Not a huge Michael Moore fan, but he's pretty funny in the trailer for his upcoming movie. Unfortunately, he's gotten so old that he looks like a fat Larry King ...

Since my girlfriend is my only "follower" right now, I'll post one that is right up her alley ...

I would think that a simple clerical error causing this much trouble was funny if I didn't think back to how much an extra month of school would have sucked when I was a kid ...

If this turns out to be true, what a story it will make ...

Lots of fun hatred directed at Joe Buck's new show on the Web today, but here's a nice roundup on Slate that includes a link to the further adventures of Buck and Artie Lange.

One day he's Jesus (see yesterday's links) and the next he's a "fly-killing badass."

Links: June 15, 2009

Here's a great follow-up to the recent porn HIV scare. A lesson from this story and the one that spurred it: Porns should have condoms, and regular viewers (not pointing fingers here) should demand it. And the best part of this story:

By April 2004, he was at the pinnacle of his career, traveling to foreign countries to shoot films, sometimes working six days a week and two or three scenes a day.
"You're like Superman." (James said).

Superman, indeed ...


This will be the set-up for way too many jokes on late-night television ...


Quote of the day, from an LAT article on the election protests in Iran: ""I want to stay because they beat us." Words of a defiant activist or just a sadomasochist?


Big news from the Las Vegas sports scene: Sports Illustrated's cover boy is skipping two years of high school for a chance to be the No. 1 pick in the 2010 MLB draft.
I don't know what to think of parents allowing their children to get a GED and attend a stellar institution such as College of Southern Nevada instead of maturing at a normal rate. I also don't know why someone who could get paid millions of dollars RIGHT NOW for doing what he enjoys should be denied the right just because he's a minor. I'm a fencesitter on this one, for now, but give me a good argument on either side and I could be swayed.


Didn't hear about this story until this SFGate blog post today, but it is absolutely sickening. "B" should now stand for Banned from Blogging ...


Wow, it would suck if this was your mom ...


Three things to note from this severely underwritten court story: 1) Dude's name is Manlove. Heh heh. 2) The judges basically told these kids "Go get arrested for a noise ordinance and come back later." 3) Even with the easy out of saying the kids had no right to bring the suit, three judges still voted for them. If they appeal (or go get arrested) and are successful in a future suit, then noise restrictions on music would be unconstitutional. PARTY TIME!


I'm not a cat lover, by any means, but I still don't condone this. But the most interesting part of the article is the last paragraph:

Experts say cruelty toward cats, as opposed to other animals, can fulfill a deeper need for control. Cats, unlike dogs, can be more difficult to control. They don't come when they're called and are often more independent, said Dr. Randall Lockwood of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and author of "Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty."

I don't know what to make of that statement, but I like that the only part they directly sourced the expert on was that cats "don't come when they're called." Yeah, wouldn't want to go out on a limb and not source that info ...
UPDATE: As would be expected, The Miami Herald is leading the way on this story, including the information that the kid's dad is a dentist and his mom is a "life coach." Starting to make sense ...

Picture of the day:
So if you didn't think Obama came off as a new Jesus before, check him out with the "Let's rise up" motion and the name on the podium to the left. If you don't get it, do some Googling or grab a bible ...


Yet another reason to avoid Tennessee. Besides the toothless hillbillies, bad homemade moonshine and Volunteers fans ...


Um, air guitar is fine, but air sex takes it too far ...


America's craziest summer camp.


A photographer makes scientists jump up and take notice. Nice to know that one image can still change our understanding of the world.


Now that the pirates are going after oil, the U.S. has to step in. Right?


Congratulations, Trisha Bishop, for writing one of the most interesting and informative follow stories I have seen in a long time. This just goes to show that lawyers will do their best to mess with the possible outcome of a trial, but it is always the people who make the final decision. And we should pair it with today's Non Sequitur strip ...


Finally, welcome back O Captain, My Captain ...