Building The Perfect Beast (note to self)

The Avs Perfect Season is now into the playoffs here in the Family Hockey League. My Avs went 82-0-0, and are now leading Anaheim in the first round by a game. So, naturally, since I cannot be stopped, nor even contained, my thoughts have turned to the next season and what the lineup will be as I guide my other favorite team to Lord Stanley's Cup.

Therefore, I present...in theory...my future Chicago Blackhawks:

Hey...if the Avs can trade him to Philly, then I can send him to the Windy City. Forsberg spent almost the entire season on this Playstation Year out with an ACL Tear. I ran my favorite team for a full season...and barely got to spend any time with one of my favorite players. So I'm sending him to the Hawks. It's my game. So there.

I'm also trading myself (209 goals) and Skylar (184 goals) to Chicago. Obviously. The rest of the Avs, I'm leaving intact. As much as I love Super Joe, he spent less time on IR and besides, the Avs aren't the Avs without Cap'n Sakic. But I will be bringing Miroslav Satan with me, because he's fun, and he's always a great winger on the 4th line.

Now...this is the EA Sports NHL 2001 I'm talking about here, so I'm a bit limited in the Who department. Nevertheless, I'm going the nostalgiac route. I'm bringing back the boys I loved when I first starting sniffing around the sport, back in the day.

I'm not gonna go crazy and create Esposito, or Hull, or Makita, or even Savard. But I'm gonna try to revisit the team from the last Cup run in '92 to some degree, and get a little creative from surrounding eras)...

My shopping list is as follows:

• Tony Amonte (who actually should still be there from '01...I'll have to check...)
• Jeremey Roenick (back where he belongs)
• Chris Chelios (back where he belongs)
• Belfour (or Hasek...tough call)
• Alexei Zhamnov
• Steve Smth
• Steve Larmer
• Brian Noonan
• Eric Weinrich
• Adam Creighton
• Jocelyn Lemieux
• Eric Daze
• Steve Thomas
• Pat Poulin
• Keith Brown
• Rob Brown (why not)
• Mike Hudson
• Stephane Matteau
• Chris Ruuttu
• Dirk Graham
• Brent Sutter
• Gary Suter

Just how many of these guys were still around in '01, I don't know. But I'll look for 'em.

Here come the hawks...the mighty...Blaaaaaackhawks!

(Golf clap for submitter)

Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the Atlantic. Over a month late, shotgun marriage to Michael Douglas expected before the end of 2006 (Fark.com)

Earthquake In Panama

If I'm not mistaken, it's not far from where they're filming the next Survivor on CBS...

Garland gets PAID

Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes.

Garland, 26, avoided arbitration and also gave up the opportunity to explore the free agent market after the 2006 season. He will receive $7 million in 2006, $10 million in 2007 and $12 million in 2008.

This leaves Joe Crede and Rob Mackowiak to get sorted out, and then we have a serious shot at maybe repeating...?

Presidential Coins

Cute...

To read later...

Thread about the greatest live rock acts of all time.

Vincent Schiavelli Dies

ROME - Vincent Schiavelli, the droopy-eyed character actor who appeared in scores of movies, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Ghost," died Monday at his home in Sicily. He was 57.

He died of lung cancer, said Salvatore Glorioso, mayor of Polizzi Generosa, the Sicilian village where Schiavelli resided.

Bummer. Great character actor. Loved his work.

The Death Of Tradition

Tonight, the NFL bids farewell to ABC, with the New England Patriots playing the New York Jets.

Seeing Monday Night Football somewhere other than ABC is going to take me a long time to get used to. It's just not right. It downright smacks of disrespectful.

King George VII

His Majesty George the Seventh, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and His other Realms and Territories. King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

Why is this even being discussed? Is the Queen ill or something? Does anyone really believe the Royal Tampon will ever actually wear the crown?

“I think Prince Charles would be much more likely to go for George rather than his other two forenames. He would be the first King Arthur and be the first King Philip. I think George VII sounds better. It is a popular name within the Royal Family and would be a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, whose husband also chose the same regnal title.” (Times)

The Star Wars Holiday Special, 1978

Go ahead. Revisit one of the worst ideas in marketing history...

Dick Hatch To Get Screwed

If convicted he could face a fine of up to $1.35m (£776,000) and a total of 73 years in prison.

It's a fairly simple concept: you make money, you live in a country that demands a share of it...you fork it the hell over. I've been doing it for years.

I was rooting for this guy waaaaay back in the first Survivor...because he was interesting, and he outplayed everybody else. But he's an ass. And he's gonna get slapped.

"The common enemy of the people"

Chad is today in a state of war with Sudan

More "Fun With Africa".

Chad is an interesting little nugget in the Central African Question. Wasn't in charge of it's own house until 1960 (after several of it's neighbors had already shaken loose the European Coil), then spent twenty or thirty years fighting itself and Libya. Mostly Muslim, not friendly with anybody...but they'll probably start screaming for our aid when the Sudanese whup their asses.

Eritrea v. Ethiopia

The Horn of Africa neighbours' two-year conflict led to some 80,000 deaths.

War, with lawyers.

"It's MY shitty, arid, useless piece of land."

"No! It's MY shitty, arid, useless piece of land!"

(rifle cracks echo across the desert)

Fred Bowen's Half-A-Billion Dollar Christmas List

I hope he gets it, too: clickity

A spooky anniversary...

I'm a fan of the movie based on this event. Quite a story...

(website)

The List(s)

(found through Rocketboom)

The Year In Media

(Boston Phoenix)

Nats talking pitching...

...since, y'know, we only have three of them and stuff...

Dec News Items I missed from the BBC

A Cooler Europe. After years of record, fatal heat waves...this may not be such a bad thing. (12.1)

Earthquake near Tanganyika. Dr Andrzej Kijko, South African Council for Geoscience: "There may not have been much to destroy." His comments are hurting. Has he ever come to this region? Human lives are the most precious and important. Let him know we value each other in this region and it is very sad for a learned person to talk ignorantly he should apologise to the people of this region. - Faith Njoroge, Kenya, Nairobi (12.5)

Somali aid not getting to Somalis. "It is 25-30% cheaper to bring our food aid in by sea and boats can carry much more, but we have had to resort to this land route because ship-owners feel it is too risky to sail to the south," said WFP Somalia Country Director Zlatan Milisic. The coast off Somalia has become one of the world's worst areas for pirate attacks, shipping experts say. (12.5)

New Animal discovered. The creature, believed to be carnivorous, was spotted in the Kayan Mentarang National Park, which lies in Indonesian territory on Borneo. (12.6)

Eritrea kicks out UN Peacekeepers. Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea are poor and there are fears of a new war over their disputed border. (12.7)

Vampire. (12.7)

Lennon remembered. (12.8)

Hamas and Israel. "I say it loudly, we will not enter a new truce and our people are preparing for a new round of conflict." (12.9)

57 Muslim Nations concerned about Terrorism. The meeting in the holy Muslim city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia called for changes in national laws to criminalise financing and incitement of terrorism. (12.9)

Tamil. Sri Lanka's military is ready for battle with the Tamil Tigers although it does not expect a return to full-scale war, a top official says. (12.9)

Orcas. Killer whales have become the most contaminated mammals in the Arctic, new research indicates. (12.12)

Magnetic North Pole moving. The shift could mean that Alaska will lose its northern lights, or auroras, which might then be more visible in areas of Siberia and Europe. (12.12)

North Korea. I remember seeing this on CNN. (12.13)

Whoa. (12.14)

Diabeties and Cancer. The US National Cancer Institute found high insulin levels and increased resistance to the hormone were associated with a higher cancer risk. (12.14)

Eritrea follow-up. The United Nations peacekeeping head has warned of a "crisis" in the Horn of Africa, as western UN troops left Eritrea after being ordered out. (12.15)

2005 Warmest year. Their data show that the average temperature during 2005 in the Northern Hemisphere is 0.65C above the average for 1961-1990, a conventional baseline against which scientists compare temperatures. (12.15)

Chenya radiation. Prosecutors in Chechnya have opened a criminal investigation after finding "catastrophic" levels of radioactivity at a chemical factory in the republic. (12.16)

Bolivia. Mr Morales has vowed to end free-market policies and legalise the growing of coca, which has traditional uses but is also used in the production of cocaine. (12.16)

Ariel Sharon. NOT the guy anyone wants to see have a stroke. Well, I'm sure there's SOME people...

British take on American obesity. (12.19)

Death of The Chin. Denying he was a gangster, Gigante would wander the streets of his native Greenwich Village neighbourhood in nightclothes, muttering incoherently. Relatives, including a brother who was a Roman Catholic priest, insisted Gigante suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. (12.20)

These are the ones that caught my eye.

The -stans

Digging through old email on this day off from work, including a month's worth of unread BBC News. They did a special report at the end of last month about Central Asia.

Interesting stuff. To me, anyway.

Since I'm doing this today...there will no doubt be plenty of crap to read later posted here today. Including this one: another Central Asia story. This one involving the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Not sure why the rest of the world fascinates me like this. Perhaps it's because I have strong doubts that I'll ever manage to see it...

Trip To Pluto

Even under the best-case scenario, with New Horizons launching as planned and problem-free on Jan. 11, the journey to Pluto will take 9 1/2 years. The trip includes a slingshot maneuver by Jupiter in 2007 for an extra burst of speed.

(mind the irritating Discovery.com pop-ups)

I'm all for projects that further the interests of scientific discovery...but a trip to frickin' Pluto...seems like a colossal waste of time, money, resources, and effort.

We don't even have a solid handle on our own little rock yet. Why are we going to screw around with one that takes a decade to get to, and is so remote that it's atmosphere lays in frozen sheets on it's surface?

Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair

On Dec. 30, it'll flip the power off on the remaining servers, and an entire world will blink out of existence.

Beautiful Shot

I'm no Skins fan...but I like them better than I like the Cowboys.

And I loathe Bill Parcells. So I felt I had to post this when I discovered it...

EMail The Future

And why not?

Bhutan

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck is to abdicate in 2008, when his tiny Himalayan country is to hold its first democratic elections.

For more details: http://www.bbcnews.com

Such an interesting country. I wrote a project about it in High School a few centuries ago. Isolated from the world in location and politics, never really dominated by China or India, utterly neutral and dotted with impossible monastaries. Bhutan has undergone baby steps of modernization in the last fifteen or so years. Maybe they're trying to avoid the troubles Nepal has...

Simms taller after multiple smooshings

The Bucs laid a friggin' goose-egg today in Foxboro Mass.

The O-Line let in everybody but the Patriot Cheerleaders. Simms was getting hit over and over and over again. It was brutal, even on tape delay (Sky and I went to Harry IV during the game, the VCR continues it's domination of the Bucs...who lose BIG every time I tape them). We made mistakes almost every time we touched the ball.

Our suckage was extremely high. Our season is extremely doomed.

Can't fault the man his honesty...

PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS HE AUTHORIZED NSA'S SECRET EAVESDROPPING PROGRAM IN U.S.

**Watch FOX News Channel or go to http://foxnews.com/for more

The West Wing's John Spencer Dies

Spencer played Leo McGarry, the chief of staff to President Jeb Bartlet (Martin Sheen) through the first few seasons of the NBC series. In a sad parallel to life, his character suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White House job.
(CNN)

This sucks. I really like this guy. His character was one of those guys that makes a show work. When they took his character out of the West Wing, the show started to go really flat. He was very much a part of the success for the show, and I suspect he was a key to it's future, as well.

I have suspected from the beginning of the season that something was going to happen to Jimmy Smits' character Matt Santos after the election. This would make Leo the President who gets out of the limo at the Bartlett Library Dedication (which they teased us with, never giving us a name or a face).

This cripples the show in a big way, just when it was getting a second stride going...

Statement and Obit.

Iraq

Is it just me, or is there this underlying feel of Bullshit wrapped completely around the media coverage today of the Iraqi Vote results?

The shot of our leering President shaking hands with an Iraqi Official. The horribly hearts-and-flowers commercials about The New Iraq.

It all smacks of utter bullshit to me today...

Yet more sports crap

The first story I've seen about The Bhoys in a long bloody time...

All Hail The Frank

A new one year deal is on the books...

However, the 70-year-old Robinson will be returning without most of last year's coaching staff as hitting coach Tom McCraw, first-base coach Don Buford, third-base coach Dave Huppert and roving coach Jack Voigt were relieved of their duties. Bullpen coach Bobby Natal took a roving catching instructor's job with the Mets. (mlb.com)

Cue the Hawk...

ChiSox making some nifty moves. El Duque and Vizcaino sent to cactusland for Vazquez. Pitching looks pretty damn good. Plus signatures from Thome, Konerko, even Mackowiak.

Looking like a good year already.

Are The Bucs For Real?

There are good reasons to answer in the affirmative. (WFTV)

Texas says Sayonara, Soriano!

The Nationals have acquired Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriano in exchange for outfielders Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge and Minor League pitcher Armando Galarraga.

Excellent. Fan-freakin'-tastic. I'm likin' this move a lot. How could I not?

Ironically...I wore the Nats hat today for the first time in ages. Weird.

Please mark your atlases

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Bangalore, long known as India's Garden City and now a global technology hub, is set to change its name to Bengalooru, reverting to a centuries-old title that means "the town of boiled beans".

The city of 6.5 million, capital of southern Karnataka state, is the latest to drop a colonial name British rulers found easier to pronounce than the original.

The financial centre of Bombay has become Mumbai, the southern city of Madras is now Chennai, and Calcutta is Kolkata.

"The decision has been taken. Most likely it will be from November, 2006," a spokesman for state Chief Minister Dharam Singh said on Monday.

Farewell, Mudbone

Ground-breaking US standup comedian Richard Pryor dies aged 65 after many years with multiple sclerosis.

For more details: http://www.bbcnews.com

Update: His wife said he went quickly, and with a smile on his face.

-- Groundbreaking Comedian Richard Pryor died Saturday of a heart attack, his wife told CNN. He was 65.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com

Soundtrack

A friend of mine recently posed the question: "You have a 74 minute blank CD. Put the soundtrack of who you are on it. Not your favorite songs...the songs that tell your story."

I've given this matter a bit of thought and have come up with the following, in no particular chronological or biographical order:

1. John Lennon, "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"

This is my Skylar song. I sang it to him nearly every night when he was a baby. Today, he turned 10...the same I was 25 years ago yesterday, when I heard John Lennon was dead.

Life truly is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans...

2. Squirrel Nut Zippers, "Meant To Be"

Hardly my favorite from this band when I first heard the Hot album back in the Radio X days. But I can't deny that every time I've heard it since I met Kim, the lyrics put her squarely front and center in my mind. Especially the ending:

When I learned I found my eyes/Were opened long ago/I had a dream that quickly faded/Goes to show/How tricky dreams can be/But wouldn't you agree that those who know/Will whisper when they see us walking/"There's a love that's always meant to be."

3. Harry Chapin, "W-O-L-D"

Perfectly encapsulates the parts of my industry that I fear the most, and shows every poch-mark in it's face. In 1988, I chose a career I loved, but failed to uncover one hell of a caveat...

4. XTC, "Another Satellite"

A fine example of my continuing quest to evaluate my value to the people I love, and my tendency to do things that push them away, and my frustration at both.

Why on Earth do you revolve around me?/Aren't you aware of the gravity?/Don't need another satellite.

5. Toy Matinee, "Remember My Name"

Sure, I'm pretty level-headed compared to most people in my industry. But I have a desire to be recognized, like everyone else. This song is that part of me, howling loudly, when it and I are alone in the car. And I think the lyrics in this song are brilliant. I find it sad that this little project of a band has vanished, unnoticed, in the landscape of cookie-cutter pop crap that followed in the 1990s.

Some things are never the way they seem/Bury our century's wasted regrets/And remember my name.

6. The Police, "Canary In A Coal Mine"

Excellent cooker from Sting, Andy & Stewart. This song describes both halves of my relationship with myself. Uncertainty and fear, and my stern disappointment that I spend so much time obsessing about uncertainty and fear, which gives me (shames me into) my bigger moments of courage.

You live your life like a canary in a coalmine/You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line.

7. Soul Coughing, "Maybe I'll Come Down"

Dumb bah did du dumb/I need time to scrounge the rent, need time to contemplate the accident/I got to drag my ass to now, how did I come to stop here?/And oh I knew the gas was gone but I had to rev the motor/Pull back the hand you might get it cut off in the rotor/Maybe I'll come down/She's on Laureate's turf, she's on Laureate's side/She's in a better state, she feels a better fire/And oh I dreamed a great parade, shooting all the guns in Brooklyn/The man who had a spare held out two and then you took one/Freeze or burn, all else is only icing

That's me. That's the style I write in when I'm really feeling it...when I write the shit no one else ever gets to see. This song is me.

8. The Pursuit Of Happiness, "I'm An Adult Now"

It's funny, and sad, and hopeless, and honest. And it has great thoughts like:

I can't write songs about girls anymore/I hafta write songs about women.

So much of it captures how I feel, here, in the midpoint of my 30s.

9. Rush "Losing It"

A song from my youth, reminding me that who I was, is gone now. But who I am could be a lot worse off. Actually, one of my least favorite songs from my favorite band.

10. Queen, "I'm Going Slightly Mad"

I live with a recurring dream that I will eventually lose my mind, much later on, in my dotage.

11. Rage Against The Machine, "No Shelter"

Again, not a particular favorite song from a favorite band. And the fact that it was sold out to that god(zilla)forsaken piece-of-crap movie doesn't do much to tout it's usefullness. But the lyrics have a spot in my temple. "Wake Up" might have been a better choice, but I'm not quite to that point with society yet. Close, but not yet.

12. Rollins Band, "Inhale Exhale"

This is the song that slaps song #4 across the face and hands it a steak so it can man-up a bit. It cuts song #5 down to size and keeps me humble. It tells song #6 that Sting was (and is) a pretentious dick and I should shut the fuck up. It tells songs #8 and 9 to quit bitchin'. And it tells #10 to enjoy the ride, as loudly as possible. This is a song of strength, when I feel weak.

Inhale/What I am/Exhale/What I think I am.

13. Pink Floyd, "Hey You"

I have always felt a connection to this song, which opens act two in the story of the fictional Pink, when the wall is up and looks so impossibly formidable.

Hey you/Don't help them to bury the light/Don't give in without a fight

Upon review...I have decided that this album would sound like shit. None of these songs really work together, except in my own self-definition. And there's not a single hit to be found anywhere on this list, further proof that radio has destroyed popular music for me forever. What the world embraces, I tolerate. What the world casts aside, I embrace and raise a flag in support of.

What's on your album?

Poor, Poor Lobsang

(originally posted this morning to my QT group)

Dispatch: Notre Dame, North Pole region

I pray this message reaches you all in time. I have arrived at the outpost, and much business has ensued already. The children, including the birthday-child Skylar, were delivered with little difficulty through the inches of system snow that blanketed the path. We paused at one point, and ate one of the huskies for strength. Later, we will head further north and deliver the birthday boy to the waiting arms of his mother.

After a brief moment on the air this morning covering for Yukon Dickson when his attention was needed elsewhere, I began my ascent of the treacherous north face of the stairs, using the fixed ropes of previous climbers. I'm fortunate that Lobsang stayed up late last night sharpening the crampons on my size 9 1/2 Classic Trail Loafers. It's a shame he fell into a crevasse this morning, disappearing into the icy, fog-shrouded mist of the tectonic displacement at the edge of the cwm. I will think of him wistfully as I sit here, listening to The Beatles. I can only hope his family will appreciate his sacrifice.

Now that I have summited, I will rejoice in the Hot Chocolate option that was laid out amidst the coffees this morning, eat the rest of my cinnamon donut, and try to get enough crap doneto leave at a decent hour. Alas, there were no mini marshmallows among the options at the coffee station, but when roughing it in the wilds of winter, I suppose one must make certain sacrfices.

As always, I couldn't have made it this far without the help of all of you. And Lobsang. Good man, that Lobsang.

On to the work! Vim and vigor!

Sir Thomas, H.R.H. Indiana Surveyors

Unhappy 25th

25 years ago tonight, I was visiting my Dad's office. He worked at Job Control at the Air Force Base, and when there was nothing happening on the flight line for him to monitor, his night shifts would be long and boring. Mom would bake something, Hollie and I would grab some toys to play with in the other office, and we'd go hang out for a while with Dad before going home to go to bed. The Dolphins & Patriots were on Monday Night Football. I was ten years old, but I had already been a football fan for a few years by this point. And even though I could take or leave the two teams I had a deep appreciation of seeing any game with Dad. More the better in his office, which was always dark, mysterious, and just flat-out cool to be in.

And then Howard interrupted his play-by-play with these exact words:

"In case the folks missed the earlier news flash, ABC News has confirmed that John Lennon, a member of the famed Beatles, maybe the best-known member, was shot twice in the back outside of his apartment building in the west side of New York tonight...rushed to the Roosevelt Hospital...dead...on...arrival...an unspeakable tragedy, details on NightLine, 30 minutes after the end of this contest."

For a couple years before this night, Hollie and I had been given older stereos for our bedrooms, including turntables. We then proceeded to raid the massive collection of 45s our parents had accumulated over the years. Hollie snared a ton of Beach Boys 45s, and I steered mostly in the direction of those Orange and Yellow-labelled Beatles 45s from Capitol Records (the same label most of the Beach Boys stuff had).

By December 8th of 1980, I was very much aware who John Lennon was. Hearing about his death was quite a blow, and as I got older, I dove headlong into his work. Discovered that for all his genius, he had some serious miscues (the Lost Weekend stuff, the way he handled Cynthia and Julian, the Rock & Roll album, Yoko's hypnotic hold, etc...) but that under everything...he was a man of peace. When he wrote about peace and love and respect...it came from where he was and who he was. Not from a need to have a bigger house and fancy jewelry. When he stepped away from it all to "stay home and bake bread" and raise his second son, it was also important time for him to get the Dad thing right and recharge his own batteries. The proof of that is in the Double Fantasy album.

Over the years, I have become more of a Paul fan in terms of writing, but I've always loved the work John did, and drew influence from it in my own meager attempts at writing music years ago. He wasn't everyone's cuppa tea, and his antics (the bed-in, the Two Virgins cover, etc...) caused people to tire of him. When my infant son (who turns ten tomorrow) couldn't sleep as a baby, there were two songs that would usually lull him right out. And one of them was Beautiful Boy by John Lennon. Now, he sings it back to me.

A quarter of a century ago, we lost more than a singer, guitarist, or songwriter. We lost a caring, talented artist with a damn fine soul. And I think we need all of those we can get.

All you need is love.

Nooze On Parade

Jackasses.

Wolf Blitzer is wetting himself in his little Situation Room on CNN, interviewing people from Homeland Security about the shooting of a man on a flight from Columbia to Florida. The man allegedly made a bomb threat, and refused to comply with orders to keep his hands out of a carry on bag.

Pow pow pow pow.

Smell the coppery urine smell. Not from the corpse. That's from Blitzer, and from that Neil Cavuto (between plugs for Fox shows and his own book). I haven't tried MSNBC yet because I'm tired of the smell already.

Ah. NFL live on ESPN. That's better.

For the record: I think the shooting was justified. Irate passneger talking about a bomb. SHoot his stupid ass.

Yeah...Good luck with that...

AFN Adds Franken

AMERICAN FORCES NETWORK adds AIR AMERICA RADIO's AL FRANKEN to its lineup. FRANKEN's first hour will be carried among AFN's offerings worldwide; "I am absolutely thrilled that the 'AL FRANKEN SHOW' will be carried on the AMERICAN FORCES NETWORK," FRANKEN said in a statement, adding facietiously "though, of course, that means I will have to stop criticizing President BUSH. After all, he is our commander-in-chief." (AllAccess)

Bucs win. Yawn.

A squeaker victory against one of the best teams in the league, and now suddenly we can threaten to win the division again since the Panthers are struggling, too. We face them next week.

Sweet hat trick for Ronde Barber, though, with three great grabs.

The Bucs could win out, storm into the postseason with 12 wins...and STILL have no prayer. The first real team we face will obliterate us.

Rah.

Question

I'm filling in on the afternoon show today, and a thought occurs to me.

Did the former Soviet Union have a band called The Georgia Satellites? They were every bit as entitled to one as we Americans were.

Just wondering.

Why I love the man.

Just Like Christmas
warrenellis @ 5:27 pm

“I ate the reindeer,” I told the children. “And Santa’s in Abu Ghraib with a hood over his head and a dog in his ass.”

Thornton to San Jose

The second time in five years that the Bruins have traded away a Captain (the other being Raymond to the Avs in time for a Stanley Cup).

It's a huge surprise, given that Thorny is one of the best players in the world.

It's no surprise, given that he's had some problems on the Bruins, because they suck. No one can make anything serious happen on that team.

- IMPORTANT -

For you four or five people who read this blog...click on this and spread the word.

50 Greatest Indie Films Ever

According to Empire Mag. I have to admit, I agree with this list for the most part 9and I never agree with these kinds of lists). I would have placed some of them higher (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Buffalo '66, The Passion Of The Christ, Grosse Point Blank ) and others lower (Sex Lies & Videotape, Lost In Translation, Sideways)...but overall this is pretty well put together. I can't pass judgment on Donnie Darko at #2 because I never saw it (I would have stuck Eraserhead up there) but beyond that I think the Top 5 is dead-on...