For the record, we looked, but did not buy. That D-Rose is creepy. He he.

1. Buerhle Highlight
Mark Buerhle's incredible play of the year on opening day: Yahoo video, MLB video

QOTD

"That one's going to be on highlight reels all year long."
- Steve Stone

2. Chicago Cameras
Truly sad state of affairs as our society comes under more and more surveillance.


And nobody gives a hoot.

QOTD2

"[Chicago] could put 10,000 more cameras up and nobody would say anything."
- Paul Green, Roosevelt University

3. $2M Coach at DePaul
DePaul hires a new basketball coach:


How does DePaul University justify paying a basketball coach $2M. They must run the numbers, right? I just can't get my head around it. They shouldn't even be in the Big East.
chicago rules... yow, bill

Labels: myphoto, politics, qotd, sports

Windmills in Palm Springs, CA

LA Spars over Green Energy

LA's push to "green" energy has two effects:

• LA power bills are up over 10% to pay for "green" energy options like the windmills
  
• LA residents are treated to the eyesore you see above

Environmentalists, I presume, are all gung-ho on this windmill thing. But how can you look at the photo above and not call that an eyesore? I don't get it.

Baseball is back. Ahhhhhh. Red Sock beat the Yankee 9-7 in Sunday's season opener. Papelbon with the save.
QOTD

“It’s good to get a win opening night. It’s good for the city. It’s good for the fans. It’s good for the players. It’s good for everyone. … But it’s still just one game.”
- K Youkilis, Red Sock

And fantasy baseball is back. Double ahhhhhh.
Speaking of, the Naperville Watchmen will rely on the fine closer corp ever constructed: Papelbon, Mariano, and K-Rod.

Papelbon!

...

...


The finest closer corps... on paper. Now we play the games.
papelbon... yow, bill

Labels: globalwarming, politics, sports

Nice.

1. Apple's iPad
Apple spam on their new gadget:
Man, them Apple boys are smart.
Like I'm going to run out to the Apple store and stand around to look at their crappy new toy.
I'm not going because the place will be overrun with other people going to look at Apple's crappy new widget.

2. Cisco's Valet
Cisco has a new gadget too. It's supposed to be a kinder, gentler, easier to setup/use wireless router:

It's called Valet, www.thevalet.com.
It works for iMac, so I might try that one out.
Now, all we need is a kinder, gentler home entertainment setup dealie. Man, that would scoop up the dollars.

3. Obama's Crackberry
Our ever-so-serious President has religious gadget:

QOTD

"I get a daily devotional on my BlackBerry which is a, is a wonderful thing."
- President Obama on not attending church services

Religion aside, that's a fave metaphor for President Obama, period.

4. Bill's Fantasy Baseball Team
I have Brandon Webb on my fantasy baseball team... a mid-late round flier.

QOTD2

"Webb (shoulder) threw seven pitches from the front of the mound on Sunday morning, the Arizona Republic reports."
- Brandon Webb news update

You follow that with a quote from Webb's AZ manager, AJ Hinch: "He's not game ready or anything like that."
Um. Duh.
he he... yow, bill

Labels: fun, myphoto, politics, qotd, sports, technology

CA $$$
CA government spending a lot of $$$, right?
Courtesy my fave Mad Hedge guy (source), CA is spending a ton of money on prisons:

• CA spending on prisons has "soared from 3% of the state’s domestic product in 1979 to 11% last year"
• And "80% of that spending is going to compensation"
• "It costs $6 billion a year to pay 60,000 prison guards, most of whom make over $100,000 a year with overtime"
• CA prison spending is "more than it costs the state to educate 670,000 college students"

And how can this crap like this happen?
CA prison guards have "the state’s most powerful" union.
And IL's most powerful union: teachers?
And USA's most powerful union: federal employees?

Cormac 2
Book: "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

I was 250 pages into an easy 5-star book. Then, dop. The last 50 pages.

Cormac also wrote "The Road", and his writing style is so emotive of the material he is covering. "The Road" was bleak, so his style was bleak and barren. "Pretty Horses" is set in the rugged west with a couple of teenage cowboys escaping to Mexico for, I don't know, for some air, some freedom. Anyway, his style is rugged and wonderful to read. Some examples:

• Sparse punctuation with no quotation marks. Conversations just flow with the story and you figure out who's talking.
• Few apostrophes... sort of like how people talk.
  
• Some Spanish is thrown in here and there as the cowboys head into Mexico. It wasn't tough to follow what was going on.
  

Alas, the ending died. The plot got squirrely. The descriptions got a bit winded. The last 50 pages were a struggle.

Oh well. This is still an outstanding book and a great vacation read. This is great guy reading with cowboys and the outdoors and riding free and hot Mexican chicks and... There are two more Cormac books in his "Border Trilogy". I'll hit em and let you know.

QOTD

You still aint told me what answer you give her, said Rawlins.
I told her I'd do whatever she asked.
What did she ask?
I aint sure.
They sat watching the fire.
Did you give your word? said Rawlins.
I dont know. I dont know if I did or not.
Well either you did or you didnt.
That what I'd of thought. But I dont know.
- "All the Pretty Horses", page 138-9

En homage... an wild, wild west (cough) picture from AZ:
Cub Lose
Who's got the better team in 2010: Cub or Cardinal?
Well, let's go position by position:

• C - Molina, Stl
• 1B - Pujols, Stl
  
• 2B - Lopez, Stl
• 3B - Aramis, Cub
• SS - Lugo, Stl
• OF - Holliday, Ludwick, Rasmus, Stl, Stl, Stl

And F pitching. That's an even worse rout than the hitting comparison.
The dang Cub stink.
Next year.
he he... yow, bill

Labels: 4stars, books, myphoto, politics, qotd, sports

Why in the world would the Cub want a crappy Toyota sign in the left-field bleachers at Wrigley?!?
Oh yeah... the estimated $2.5M a year. Dop.


Businesses large and small are responding to the recession by getting lean and mean, and offering their customers more for less.
Individuals are tightening their belts and working hard to find a gig or get from under their mortgage, etc.
Government responds with dirty and smelly bus and train rides.


QOTD

"The more complicated and powerful the job, the more rudimentary the preparation for it."
- William F. Buckley, source

yow, bill

Labels: politics, sports

QOTD - the truth

"I don't spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the House or Senate"
- President Obama on the rule-bending being considered to get ObamaCare passed

And you gotta love a bald-faced lie.
Right there on the national TV.

QOTD - the whopper

"That provision, which I think should remain in, said that if a state has been affected by a natural catastrophe, that has created a special health care emergency in that state, they should get help"
- President Obama on "The Louisiana Purchase", ObamaCare pay-off to get the vote of LA senator Blah-blah

Whew. What a whopper. Big fat greasy Obama-whopper!
sucks... yow, bill

Labels: healthcare, politics, qotd

1. Ozzie
I remember this old post: I Heart Ozzie
Ah, so great.
Well, I still heart Ozzie.

QOTD

"That (bleep)! (Bleep) the (bleep) (bleep)! Don't go to Venezuela for two days, surrounded with bodyguards, look around, and say, 'It's good!' It's not good!' ''
- Ozzie Guillen, on Sean Penn's girlish crush on Venezuela dictator Hugo Chavez, source

Ozzie is Venezuelan, BTW.

2. Intolerance
As your average 40-something can tell you, everything is better in America than 40 years ago... cars, houses, health care, food, racial harmony, less drugs, technology, etc.

The only downside: we live in a time of great intolerance, prohibition, and political correctness:


In this case, prohibition of "scented products, including but not limited to colognes, after-shave lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body/face lotions, hair sprays or similar products." And all this accomplished by gaming the American with Disabilities Act.

Reality is stranger than fiction. Jeez.

3. The Worst
And I still heart Investor's Business Daily... here's there editorial on "the worst bill ever":


I don't know if this is the worst bill ever.
But I don't recall such a corrosive piece of legislation and president.

4. And the Oscar goes to...
Movie: "The Hurt Locker"
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... OK.

My expectations were too high for this film. I accredit this to a) other people's comments, b) won "Best Picture" at the Oscars, and c) I just saw some "Private Ryan" on the tube.

Hey, it was OK. There were some long stretches that were slow. You could easily have shaved time from the 2 hour, 15 minute movie.

I was glad it wasn't a political/anti-war movie. I'm even gladder to see that yet another anti-war movie, "Green Zone", is failing at the box office. Hate to wish people ill, but huzzah to that!

En homage to Ozzie... Venezuela bikini
huzzah once more... yow, bill

Labels: healthcare, politics, qotd, sports

1. Steve Forbes, the anti-Obama
Book: "How Capitalism Will Save Us" by Steve Forbes
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... good.

I agree with most of what Forbes writes about... economic freedom and limited government. That's the good part. But the bar part is that his book is very dry. It's pretty much a straight line recitation of stats and facts supporting his case... one after the other.

I was cranky about this. A few chapters in, I finally connected the dots, that Steve Forbes is the anti-Obama.

• Forbes ain't much to look at,
• He's not much of a sweet talker (cough),
• He's cares about individual freedom, and
• He's right.
  

Forbes' summary in the epilogue contains 14 points that summarize the book. It's the wrong level of detail for a summary. Give me your top 3 or top 5 principles, not 14 long-winded "do-this, do-that" points. This QOTD is a better summary of Forbes' book than that.

QOTD

"Bottom Line: Trust we the people. We are the economy!"
- Steve Forbes, the last line from "How Capitalism Will Save Us"

2. Census nonsense
How much are they (we!) spending on the census this year?
Just a cool $14B. (source)

Well Bill, you might say, maybe that's not so much.
OK.
The census cost $2.5B in 1990 and $4.5B just 10 years ago.
Let's see... 14/4.5... that's more than a triple of the amount spent on the previous census.

Included in this is a $340M marketing budget that includes the following nonsense:

• A mailer sent to everyone announcing that your census mailer was coming. The tab for mailing a letter to everyone in the United States... $57M (source)
• From the above link: "To coordinate this campaign, the Census Bureau awarded a $212 million contract to a New York City-based advertising firm."
  
• A Super Bowl ad that cost $2.5M (source)
  
• A ridiculous rap commercial with the tag line, "We can't move forward until you mail it back" (source)
• Sponsoring a car in Nascar at $1.2M (source)
  
• Sponsoring by Dora the Explora (source), but I couldn't find Dora's take of this mega-kitty
  

The census guys (the ones snarfing the dinners and strip club visits from doling out all this PR/consultant work) claim that this marketing budget is making us money. The census saves money with an increased response rate.

Dude. C'mon.

3. Insulting
The Obama administration is going after, of all people, Israel.
David Axelrod says of Israel's announcements of new settlements: "This was an affront, it was an insult... and for this announcement to come at that time was very destructive." (source)

Let's see. Choose between Israel (democracy and staunch ally) or David Axelrod... easy call.
trust we the people... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, books, politics

Chart #1 - Funding obesity
Hey, this is a great chart.


Ya get it? The feds don't tax obesity; they fund it.
Oh, don't worry they'll tax obesity, and then funnel the money back into more subsidies.

I don't know the real source for this graph, but I found it using this weird Google Reader Play.
I don't think this link will help you, but if you use Reader, try Reader Play. Just for fun though.

Chart #2. Tracking the cult of personality
Looks like Evita, I mean, President Obama is taking a bit of a popularity hit.

Well, huzzah to that.
Hopefully, that Obama approval rating will continue heading due south. ***

QOTD

"Over the last year, we’ve gone through the budget line by line looking for places to trim the fat out of government."
- President Obama fibbing yesterday, source

chart this... yow, bill

*** footnote - I'll bet it doesn't go down much more... the stock market is telling us that jobs are coming around the corner. If that happens, that popularity will pop back up somewhat.

PS - BTW, "hope I die before I get old"... this article is FUCKING BRUTAL!

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

1. Bill Awards
Zero Academy Awards time for me last night.
And the Oscar goes to... www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html

Of the "Best Picture" nominees that I saw, here's my ranking:

1. "Up in the Air" 4 bill-stars
2. "District 9" 4 bill-stars
3. "Up" 3 bill-stars (barely)
   
4. "Avatar" 2 bill-stars (barely)
   

Of course, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" was a 5 bill-star effort, so there. Ha!

I'm glad "The Dude" won for Best Actor, and "Crazy Heart" won best song with "The Weary Kind". Excellent!

2. Forbes Shape

QOTD

"One state retiree, 49 years old, paid, over the course of his entire career, a total of $124,000 toward his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life and nearly $500,000 for health care benefits--a total of $3.8 million on a $120,000 investment. Is that fair?"
- Chris Christie, gov of New Jersey, source

Steve Forbes' outstanding article on the New Jersey state government budget and what new governor, Chris Christie, is doing to fix it.


Here's the 2nd (stupefying) anecdote from the article.

QOTD2

"A retired teacher paid $62,000 toward her pension and nothing, yes nothing, for full family medical, dental and vision coverage over her entire career. What will we pay her? $1.4 million in pension benefits and another $215,000 in health care benefit premiums over her lifetime. Is it 'fair' for all of us and our children to have to pay for this excess?"
- Gov Christie on Jersey budget woes

Christie uses the term "fair".
I dislike it.

1. These teachers and state employees just signed up for the deal they were offered.
   
2. The term is inflammatory, only used to appeal to the emotions.
   

Of course, fair/unfair/whatever are the modus operandi of the left... but to get things fixed in Jersey, maybe it's worth using this crappy tactic.

This is the same setup we find in many programs: social security, medicare, etc.
Many (most) people get more out than they put in, but the price is risk... you're name isn't on the money, so some pol some day might come saying that your deal is not "fair".

OK, last QOTD from Crazy Heart's winning song.

QOTD3

"And this ain't no place
To fall behind
Pick up your crazy heart
And give it one more try"
- "Weary Kind" lyrics from "Crazy Heart"

weary kind... yow, bill

Labels: movies, myphoto, politics, qotd

1. Intentionally Funny
Funny satire by Christopher Buckley offering some new tax ideas to the Obama administration.


My fave: taxing non-smokers. He he!



Just as funny, but unintentionally so:

Did you catch those stats?

• Latinos own 6.8% of all US business, but have received only 1.6% of the Obama stimulus kitty.
• Blacks own 5.2% of all businesses, but have gotten only 1.1%.
  

Nice going, President Obama.
funny... yow, bill

Labels: fun, myphoto, politics

I heart minor league baseball
Minor league baseball teams really, really want your business. They cater to you. They try hard. This is the exact opposite approach than you see at MLB teams like the Chicago Cub.

Here's a great story about the Peoria Chiefs, the Cub class A minor league team... they're leasing out their skyboxes to fantasy baseball leagues for their draft meetings. For $35 a guy, you get the luxury (cough) suite, all-you-can-eat buffet, beers, and a ticket to a future Chief game. Sweet!


I heart minor league baseball.


I heart my crock pot
RIP Mable Hoffman... author of “Crockery Cookery”, an early and popular crock pot recipe book.


I heart my crock pot... and Mable too, I reckon.


I heart Ronald Reagan
Book: “Tear Down This Wall” by Romesh Ratnesar
Review: 2 bill-stars (out of 5)... meh

This book is very dry and kinda boring. This is hard to fathom, given how interesting the subject matter is. The other irritating thing is the guy sprinkles in his politics into the thing here and there. The big two that bugged me:

1. Reagan's optimism was naivete
   
2. Gorbachev ended the cold war, not Reagan
   

OK, poindexter.
Reagan's optimism and belief in the human spirit defined him.
The author's incredulity likely defines him, and maybe this is a defining trait of your average leftie.

One of the best anecdotes from the book was by a girl attending a talk Reagan gave in Moscow. Russian security officials picked which students would sit where for Reagan's speech. They were told, "Don't make any movements with your body. If you get up, you will be shot." Well, that'll discourage those distracting potty breaks during an event, eh.

QOTD

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
- Ronald Reagan, Jun 12 1987, speech at Brandenburg Gate in (then) West Berlin

I believe the difference between Reagan and other presidents was an actual set of values which drove his decision-making. His values: small government, personal freedom, optimism. If you know what President Obama's values are, please chime in and enlighten me.

Reagan was stricken with Alzheimer's a few years after leaving office. He penned a final correspondence, a sort of goodbye, before losing his faculties.

QOTD2

“In closing, let me that you, the American people for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”
-Ronald Wilson Reagan, Nov 5 1994 letter

I heart Ronald Reagan


I heart our great sunny weekend!
run faster... yow, bill

PS - A couple photos of Reagan in front of the Berlin Wall on Jun 12, 1987.

...

Labels: 2stars, books, fun, politics, qotd, sports

1. Retro Sheet
I turned on the tube after the market closed yesterday, and there it was on some MLB channel that I don't know why I have...

Excellent.
So, google, google, google... and giggle, giggle, giggle... here's the boxscore from that game:


Checkout the "Play by Play" section at the end of the file... every batter and move in the game is detailed. Amazing.

Read, read, read... the guys that pour in the time to do this are:


QOTD

"Retrosheet was founded in 1989 for the purpose of computerizing play-by-play accounts of as many pre-1984 major league games as possible."
- Mission statement of RetroSheet, source

Couple observations:

• Jack Brickhouse was the broadcaster... perfect guy for a simpler time.
• The Cub crowd was decidedly younger... the voices chanting "We want a run" sounded like a school choir.
• I remember that game... or I think I do... because I would turn the Cub on after coming home from school. When you come home, and the score is 22-22, there's a good chance you'll remember it.
  
• The Cub today are not as much fun as those ever-losing Cub of yesteryear. Either that, or I'm an old goat. Who can tell?
  

2. Financial Fasting
Certainly, confusing economic times... tough tough tough, and then you can't get into a restaurant on a Tuesday night. I don't know what the heck is going on.

This is a fun article on a 20-something doing a "financial fast" for 21 days... basically cutting back on all discretionary spending.


3. Bumper Sticker of the Day (BSOTD?)
Saw this (too funny) bumper sticker last week:

He he.
peace out... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, sports

Today's Puritans are busy.
I just posted this QOTD on Facebook:

QOTD

"Individuals are prohibited from possessing deadly weapons while performing any services for MLB"
-new (mandated) signs outside every MLB clubhouse. Idiots.

This fucking stupidity is, of course, in response to the Gilbert Arenas gun nonsense. For merely carrying a gun, Arenas will face legal charges and lose millions of dollars as part of his NBA suspension. A number of Arenas' teammates were fined by the NBA for laughing at Arenas clowning about the incident.

Now, this photo got a snowboarder sent home from the Olympics:

Source: www.tmz.com/2010/02/19/olympic-medalist-packs-up-after-biting-photo/

Here's the story: www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=9892724

The big winner in the snowboarding, whatever the hell his name is, got slammed for swearing off camera after learning he won the gold.

Did you know that the US Olympic Committee (USOC) has a new required "Ambassador Program" that is "aimed at improving the etiquette of Olympic athletes". Source

Tiger just spent 20 minutes groveling for the world.

Can somebody tell me what the fuck is going on?
What's happened.
What's happening.
It's like we're regressing.
We're progressing in every area, except tolerance for each other.
Tough to figger out, to be honest.
It seems to be bigger than left or right at this point... the sanctimony.

Well, you can always come over to The Castle and swear and drink and take pictures with hot chicks or whatever you'd like.
regress... yow, bill

PS - That's one hot Puritan to the right over there. Oops, that's inappropriate. Jeez, glad I'm not in the NBA... or MLB... or Olympics... or golf... or...

Labels: politics, qotd

1. NBA Nerds
Only foreign-born NBA players read... American players play video games. Sigh.


The two causes are obvious:

1. Crappy public schools
2. Coddling of athletes from a very young age

Ah, nuts to that, here are some awesome dunks:

1. Vince Carter literally jumping over some poor schlep in the Olympics: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMrPjl-927Q
2. Michael Jordan, with two hands, dunking on 7'4" Mark Eaton in Utah: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhdMHcI2dRo
3. Kevin Johnson dunking on Hakeem: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kidpegzfFc

2. Obama Malaise
My fave, the Mad Hedge Fund guy, puts the odds at 50/50 for a Jimmy Carteresque ending to the President Obama story:


QOTD

"If you’re over 50, and all of this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because we’ve been through it all before. Remember Jimmy Carter? Remember the “misery index,” the unemployment rate plus the inflation rate, which hit 30, and catapulted Ronald Reagan into an eight year presidency?"
- the Mad Hedge Fund guy, source

Who knows?
In any case, it may not be the best time to buy and hold in the stock market. IMHO.

3. Poll wording
Finally, it's nice to confirm the obvious... the wording of a poll can dramatically effect the results.

QOTD2

"Seventy-nine percent of Democrats said they support permitting gay men and lesbians to serve openly. Fewer Democrats however, just 43 percent, said they were in favor of allowing homosexuals to serve openly."
- Poll results based on "gay" or "homosexual", source

Good one.
peace out... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, sports

EARTHQUAKE!
Magnitude 4.3 earthquake rattles Illinois

Definitely felt it at The Castle.
Cool.

Oh, and a pol/global warming quickie...

• $2B in stimulus money
• 6,000 jobs
• That's more than $300K/job
  
• And they're temporary
• And... (drum roll)... the jobs aren't even in the United States

Good one:
Wind Energy Stimulus Money Not Creating US Jobs; Most of $2 Billion Going Overseas

That's Obamanomics (?!?) for you.
Ok, maybe we'll just stick to ObamaCare. He he.

And windmill farms are a blight...
earthquake... yow, bill

Labels: fun, globalwarming, politics

1. Pols, Beautiful Pols
Ah, my fave... pols.

QOTD1

"I know I'm the people's senator, but do I have to hang out with them?"
- John Edwards on attending county fairs, source

Here's a snarky review of a silly book about John Edwards in the WSJ.


It's silly because the author is a knucklehead named Andrew Young, former chief sycophant to pol John Edwards. Neither of these guys is the least bit credible.

It's snarky because the WSJ takes the book semi-seriously.

So, why mention it here at williamt?
A stupid book but these QOTD's are too delicious to pass up.
Pols are different than you and me.

QOTD2

"It used to be civilized.
The media was on our side.
We'd get our work done by one o'clock and by two we were at the White House chasing women."
- Teddy Kennedy, source

pretty crappy myspace site: www.dcbikiniteam.com

2. Health Care Anecdote
Here's an amazing health care anecdote for Australia, where they've had some flavor of socialized medicine for years, I guess.


QOTD3

"But the politicians who pushed through the National Health Scheme are no longer around to see the effects of their good intentions. The very people the National Health Scheme was intended to assist are its major victims. Standing on the sidelines now, observing what has come to pass, I can only wonder if the US will follow the same path as Obama attempts to resurrect his own National Health Plan."
- Ray Barros, source

3. Favorites
It's funny how I'm starting to squirrel away favorite links here... it's easy to search and find them later.

• Cool photos from my birthplace (dop) Joliet, IL in 1914, courtesy the Joliet Historical Museum (huh?): www.jolietmuseum.org/history/jolietphotos-fulllist.htm
• Top 50 cool nerdy, quirky blog posts from 2009 (thank you, Holly): scienceblogs.com/clock/2010/01/announcing_the_posts_that_will.php
  
• Is Google in the process of wrecking gmail? Google adds Facebook-like features to gmail

peace... yow, bill

Labels: healthcare, politics, qotd

1. Mortgage Banker Payback
Funniest story of the day:


Even funnier QOTD...

QOTD

"We have come to the inescapable conclusion that owning our own building was the smartest long-term investment for the association."
- Mortgage Banker's Association in 2007, on buying their building

I guess foreclosure would have been more appropriate, but still... pretty funny.

2. Hopey Changey
Sarah Palin's "Tea Party" speech was chockful 'o Obama zingers.
Back to that in a second.

QOTD2

"Now, a year later, I got to ask the supporters of all that...
how is that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you,"
- Sarah Palin, source

Hopey, changey... jeez. good one.

It dawns on this addled observer... why is Sarah Palin the only one calling this guy out?
Even this crappy blog pulls punches, I must admit.
Why?
Is it a black guy thing? Or social pressure? Fear of not dating hot 40-somethings?
I honestly don't know.
Processing...

QOTD3

"I think instead of lecturing, he needs to stop and he needs to listen on health care issues, on national security."
- Sarah Palin

Cha.
I read that now Obama is calling for a meeting with repubs on health care.
Now.
NOW!

Fucking idiot.
You've had a year... the Senate... the Congress... 53-47 victory over an 80 year-old stiff... 10% unemployment... few trillions in debt... and NOW you want to talk about health care reform.
Pathetic.

I have a better idea... more talks with Iran.

3. Book Review
Book: "The Night in Question" by Tobias Wolff
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good

Good read.
I am much more a novel guy than short stories, but still good.
Thanks, Matt for the rec.

QOTD4

"He was big in every direction - tall and rotund with a massive head, a trophy head."
- Tobias Wolff, "The Night in Question" page 191

BTW, the best short story of the bunch was the shortest and the last, "Bullet in the Brain"... about a guy who... well, just read it.
He he he.
hopey changey not... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, books, fun, politics, qotd

1. Betty White
Best Super Bowl commercial... Betty White.


Dammit, that's funny.
All the Super Bowl ads are at that link, BTW.
How do young people even know who Betty White is?

2. Argentina
Ah, the world would be so much better off if hot chicks were running things.
Um. Don't tell that to Argentina, where the girls are just as corrupt as the boys.



I will say this... it looks like they're having fun.
I don't know how much fun hyper-inflation is going to be for your average joe (jose?) in Argentina, but whatever.

3. Milwaukee School Choice
Speaking of corruption... Dear President Obama. Dear Arnie Duncan. School choice is working in Milwaukee and DC and NYNY and...


QOTD

"In 2008 the graduation rate for voucher students was 77% versus 65% for the nonvoucher students, though the latter receives $14,000 per pupil in taxpayer support, or more than double the $6,400 per pupil that voucher students receive in public funding."
- School choice stats in Milwaukee, source

So great that money can't buy results.
So great to see freedom working.

It's a smooth ride... arguing for choice and personal freedom.
How's that anti-freedom argument working... Obama and Arnie and the teacher's unions and other lefties.

All you have to do is allow for a little risk... the risk that people will take care of their own stuff (like kids) better than anyone else.
No risk with the gov plan... you know it will suck.
an easy choice... yow, bill

PS - "bikini school choice"

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, schoolchoice, sports

1. Crazy Heart
Movie: "Crazy Heart"
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... really good

Let's see...

• Outstanding performance by Jeff Bridges.
• This is a fun, slow movie with lots of fun country music
• Good ending
• I'm definitely buying the soundtrack
  

It's a great date movie... or maybe I just had a great date... who can tell?

QOTD

"Falling feels like flying... for a little while"
- some good, ole, hard-drinkin and hard-livin country lyrics from "Crazy Heart"

2. Crazy Pol
Book: "End the Fed" by Ron Paul
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... worth reading

OK, Ron Paul isn't crazy, and the book is OK.
Ron Paul is an ideologue who takes his beliefs and extrapolates... gets kind of old after a while.

Here's Paul's basic argument, as I see it... "The Fed", since it was established in 1914 or something, has too much power and is corrupt and has led to the ruination of the United States.
OK.
Well, the obvious problem with this argument is that, under our current system, we have ascended to being the lone superpower in the world, both economically and politically.

To his credit though, Ron Paul puts his money on the table. He says that unless we go to a gold-based monetary system pronto, we're doomed.
So, when the US crashes in flames, I'll come back and give Ron Paul his props.

That said, I absolutely agree with Ron Paul's call for an end to Fed secrecy and shenanigans. There is no reason for the Fed to operate outside of scrutiny and without being audited.
I also absolutely agree with Paul's implication that far too much power has shifted to Washington DC in our country.


3. Quirky links
A couple-a quirky links por vu...


It's so tough to be an artist, right? You can be completely amazing and you're likely to be completely poor and obscure at the same time. In just a few minutes of trolling, I found some really cool stuff on "Art blog". Check it out... these click are definitely worthy:

• Redesign of the dollar - bunch-a artists create their own dollar bills
• A single sheet of paper - amazing designs from just a piece of paper... the hand below is an example
  
• Egg shell art - thousands of tiny holes in an egg, jeez
  

This is a weird, fun music site. Click away on the squares and enjoy.
crazy, crazy, quirky... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, books, fun, movies, politics

1. The Global Warming Terrorist
A classic.
Global warming believer, Osama Bin Laden chimes in on cap & trade...

QOTD

"... bin Laden warned of the dangers of climate change and says that the way to stop it is to bring "the wheels of the American economy" to a halt."
- OBL, Bin Laden blasts US on climate change

Applying the Obama doctrine that we're provoking these poor guys, I hope I'm not out of place suggesting that OBL's motivation here may not be pure. It's possible that he's just jealous of Gore and Obama and is gunning for a Nobel Peace prize of his own.

2. The Nuke-ular President
And our leftie dream President chimes in on nuke-ular power:


QOTD2

"I see an evolving attitude on energy by the president... up until now, the administration has been pursuing a national windmill policy instead of a national energy policy, which is the military equivalent of going to war in sailboats."
- Sen Lamar Alexander, source

It'd be "the best" to see nuclear power actually gain traction under President Obama. Hey, I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

BTW, Wikipedia says this about power output:

• Your average nuke plant puts out 500-2000 MW (mega-watts)
• Your average wind turbine generates 1.5 MW
  

So, you pick... one nuke or 1,000 windmills littering the landscape.

Osama global warming and Obama nuclear power... too funny.
nuke me... yow, bill

Labels: globalwarming, politics, qotd

1. Movie Verdict
Movie: "The Verdict"
Review: 5 bill-stars (out of 5)... outstanding!

Why 5 bill-stars for this tiny, tiny movie?
Paul Newman, Jack Warden, Charlotte Rampling, James Mason... directed by Sidney Lumet.
Magic.

QOTD

"I know how you feel. You don't believe me, but I do know.

I'm going to tell you something that I learned when I was your age. I'd prepared a case and old man White said to me, "How did you do?" And, uh, I said, "Did my best." And he said, "You're not paid to do your best. You're paid to win."

And that's what pays for this office... pays for the pro bono work that we do for the poor... pays for the type of law that you want to practice... pays for my whiskey... pays for your clothes... pays for the leisure time we have to sit back and discuss philosophy as we're doing tonight. We're paid to win the case.

You finished your marriage. You wanted to come back and practice the law. You wanted to come back to the world. Welcome back."
- "The Verdict", (evil) James Mason on paying Charlotte Rampling to back-stab Paul Newman

I can't find (and snarf) a good picture of Charlotte Rampling from "The Verdict". Dang it.
I did find a fun article on some dude's fave scene in "The Verdict": The Paul Newman Scene I Can't Get Out of My Head



2. Global Warming Verdict
Ah, crazy 2 byte characters: Bjørn Lomborg.
øøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøø

I heart Bjørn Lomborg.
He's a common sense voice on global warming and in today's WSJ points out the obvious: even if you believe in global warming, the answer isn't carbon taxes or caps or whatever... it's innovation!

Lomborg calls for a sort of international research effort. None is needed, of course. As long as big money lies at the end of the rainbow, companies and countries will vie for the prize to the best of their abilities.

Funny one... I saw an op-ed by Joe Biden in today's WSJ titled, "The President's Nuclear Vision", and had a quick flash on President Obama (finally) calling on nuclear power as a part of our energy solution. Dop. No, it was some crap about nuclear weapons. Sigh. Other than the vapid "green jobs" mantra, the Obama administration continues the tradition of not having an energy policy in the US. Dop.



3. Socialism Verdict
Is America in the process of telling socialism's most buxom salesman to pack her bags and hit the fucking bricks? Golly, wouldn't it be great. Almost too much to hope for. But aren't we leaning that way? Just a little?

The President Obama buzz/cult of personality seems to be waning a bit. Not his personal popularity. That will not be impacted by anything. Look at Bill Clinton. But President Obama's agenda is ebbing: health care, can & trade, massive government spending and intervention.

And where are the repubs during this void? I mean, Obamacare has been knocked on its ass... where's the repub retort?!? Competition across state lines. Tax credits for people who can't afford it? Malpractice reform?

Or, where is the Newt Gingrich for 2010's redo of the 1994 elections?
Where is the dang Contract With America for 2010?

I heart America and her defining tradition of freedom and rugged individualism. I believe!
peace... yow, bill

QOTD2

"Your Honor, with all due respect, if you're going to try my case for me, I wish you wouldn't lose it."
- Paul Newman, "The Verdict"

Labels: 5stars, globalwarming, healthcare, movies, politics, qotd

1. Blatant bias
There has been a shift. I think.
In the last decade, the notion of even pretending to be an unbiased news network has been completely discarded. FoxNews leans to the right. CNN is now the FoxNews of the left. MSNBC is a train wreck. ABC/NBC/CBS... who cares.

A little anecdotal evidence of this (from a rightie site, Newsbusters)...
The MA election of Scott Brown was "important" and was expected to have a substantial impact going forward, especially if the repub guy won. The Newsbusters article below shows how much of each candidate's acceptance speech was covered by each network:


I detailed here at williamt what jags CNN were when this Scott Brown guy won.
At this point, I know of no unbiased news source on the tube.

2. Movie Review
Movie: (500) Days of Summer
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... just ok.

Pretty vanilla girlie movie about a girl named Summer. It was pleasant enough... hence the 3 stars. Yawn. It was a good date movie, I reckon.

This decidedly 20-something movie is replete with 70's and 80's music.
Why don't 20-somethings have their own music? Curious.

The role of Summer is played by a girl named Zooey Deschanel. She's quirky hot, I reckon (again):

Zooey?

Anyway, she sort of reminds me of quirky hot 40-something Nancy Kerrigan:


Please don't email me that I said Nancy Kerrigan is hot. I know I said she's hot. Look, I'm not saying she's brilliant or a role model for my many children or going to win the Nobel Peace Prize (on second thought)... I'm saying she's a quirky hot little 40-something.
So get bent.
cranky in the morning... yow, bill

PS - Fun spam this morning... courtesy www.modcloth.com, here's a dandy outfit for that trip you're taking to the psychiatrist to up your meds.

Labels: 3stars, movies, politics

1. Air America Crashes
Tough week for the lefties.

1. Health care wilting: Obama health plan in doubt
2. Stock market crashes on Obama hating on the banks: Market plunges on Obama bank crackdown
3. Yet another global warming oops: UN climate chief admits mistake on Himalayan glaciers warning
   
4. And more symbolic than anything else... adios, leftie radio:

I don't think I've ever heard Air America, to be honest. I think they're in Chicago, but I don't know. I must say, however, if your claim to fame is Al Franken and Rachel Maddow used to work there... um, Houston, we have a problem.

2. Alternate Sarah
I saw Sarah Palin on FoxNews for the first time.
Sigh.
She's getting bad advice.

She was answering questions on what she does to relax. I'll paraphrase. Run. Hunt. Fish. Relax.
The friendly interviewer (O'Reilly) looked at her like she was an alien.
"So, you've got like a refrigerator full of animals you've hunted or something?"
"Yeah."

There's an alternate universe where Sarah Palin asks me for advice:

• Stay as governor of Alaska. You can do that for 12 more flipping years, kick ass, and still be a young presidential candidate.
• Sell your books. Make some $$$. Get paid to lecture. Make more $$$.
  
• Don't be a FoxNews girl. Don't play the game for max cash... play the game for max longevity.
• Stay in Alaska. Let the world come to you, rather than vice versa.
• And guess what. If the world never comes calling... you've got millions of $$$, and a wonderful family and lifestyle.
  

I heart Sarah Palin.
peace out... yow, bill

PS - Throw this one into the fire: Jobless claims rise in latest week. The economy and employment turns on President Obama, then... yikes, it's gonna get ugly. I don't think (or hope) that that's going to happen though.

Labels: politics

1. Some repub guy won!
So, some repub guy from MA won... hopefully stalling Crappy ObamaCare. I ought to trademark "Crappy ObamaCare (TM)". Who knows if this election is really important, but it certainly garnered the news spotlight last night.

The guy is Scott Brown. He had that great "the people's seat" tag line.
So, pretty big deal.
Pretty big Obama setback.
So, I invested 10 minutes in "legitimate" media.
CNN.
And CNN's coverage:

1. The repub guy won.
2. Showed some bizarre nearly naked photos of him from the 80's (no, I not kidding)
3. Called the guy a few names, like "obscure", "inexperienced", "populist", etc
   
4. Blamed the loss on the guy's dullard dem opponent, Marcia Coakley or something
   

CNN is the Fox News of the left. No diff.
MSNBC is so stupid, I don't think they call themselves a news channel any more. I don't think.

Oh and Teddy Kennedy... who's your Daddy, loser!

Ah, that felt good.
Anyway, I still believe, hook or crook, they're going to pass something. I mean they're not just going to flush the whole first year of hope and change down the crapper. Right, President Obama? Right!!!

2. Buffet QOTD
Warren Buffet, a big Obama guy, chimed in on President Obama's proposed bank tax.

QOTD

“Look at the damage Fannie and Freddie caused, and they were run by the Congress. Should they have a special tax on congressmen because they let this thing happen to Freddie and Fannie? I don’t think so.”
- Warren Buffet, source

Cha!

3. New feature: Recipes!
First off, my fave recipe site is www.allrecipes.com.
Here are my first two reviews.

Recipe: Lasagna Alfredo Rollups... recipe link
Review: 4 bill-stars... excellent!

YUMMY!
I had help from the beautiful and tiny M in preparing this bad boy. Fun fun fun.
Add more garlic next time, but it was great with red wine. Like everything else, I know.

Recipe: Hearty Chicken and Noodle Casserole... recipe link
Review: 3 bill-stars... very good!

Ty and I whipped this one up.
I need to spice it up a little, but it was a good start.
Ty had seconds! And didn't puke!
yow, bill

PS - I watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" again last night. 5 bill-stars. Wonderful!

PPS - That hot bikini girl is some actor's girlfriend. Who cares. He he.

Labels: 3stars, 4stars, politics, qotd, recipes