Caddy is Rookie of the Month

Tampa Bay running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and Cincinnati linebacker Odell Thurman were named as the NFL's Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month for September.

Duh.

My biggest concern, however, is that he won't be able to sustain this pace. Because he can't possibly sustain it. Let's not burn him out like the Cubs do with their pitchers, okay Chucky?

Beatle Thought...

As I sit here working on scripts today, listening to a mix from the last five Beatles albums, something occurs to me.

 

For so many years, I've been a huge Lennon fan. If you listen closely...you can tell who wrote which song, even though they're all attributed to Lennon/McCartney.  And obviously, George's stuff was genius.  I'm not discounting him at all...I love his stuff too.  But of the two main songscribes...I've been a John guy since I can remember.

But I'm noticing, as I get older, that I've become a bigger fan of Paul's stuff than John's. I wonder if that's common among Beatles fans.

YESSSS!!!

September 29, 2005
Chi. White Sox 4, Detroit 2 at Comerica Park

Winning pitcher - Freddy Garcia (14-8)
Losing pitcher - Jason Grilli (1-1)
SV - Bobby Jenks (4)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Chi. White Sox	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		4	10	1
Detroit	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0		2	10	0

HR: CWS: P. Konerko (40) DET:
Chi. White Sox Record: (96-63)

Next Game: Sep 30, 2005 06:05 PM CT vs. Indians

Now, if Cleveland can just lose tonight...the South Siders clinch the division!

Another win, too late...

September 28, 2005
Washington 11, Florida 7 at Dolphins Stadium

Winning pitcher - Esteban Loaiza (12-10)
Losing pitcher - Brian Moehler (6-12)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Washington	0	0	2	7	0	2	0	0	0		11	15	1
Florida	1	0	2	1	0	2	1	0	0		7	12	0

HR: WSH: N. Johnson (15) P. Wilson (25) FLA: M. Cabrera (33) J. Hermida (2)
Washington Record: (81-78)

Next Game: Sep 30, 2005 07:05 PM ET vs. Phillies

Just fighting to stay above .500 now. I still like the foundation we have.

Killer Dolphins

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

Wasn't this a Simpsons episode?

#23 Spoiled For D-Train

September 27, 2005
Washington 11, Florida 1 at Dolphins Stadium

Winning pitcher - Mike Stanton (3-3)
Losing pitcher - Dontrelle Willis (22-10)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Washington	0	4	2	0	3	1	1	0	0		11	15	0
Florida	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		1	9	3

HR: WSH: M. Byrd (2) FLA:
Washington Record: (80-78)

Next Game: Sep 28, 2005 07:05 PM ET vs. Marlins

 

Meanwhile...the White Sox are trying awfully hard to hand the Central over to Cleveland, dropping another one to the Tigers...

 

September 27, 2005
Chi. White Sox 2, Detroit 3 at Comerica Park

Winning pitcher - Nate Robertson (7-15)
Losing pitcher - Brandon McCarthy (2-2)
SV - Fernando Rodney (9)

HR: CWS: DET: O. Infante (9) C. Monroe (20)
Chi. White Sox Record: (94-63)

Next Game: Sep 28, 2005 06:05 PM CT vs. Tigers

 

 

Finally...500

September 25, 2005
N.Y. Mets 6, Washington 5 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Winning pitcher - Juan Padilla (2-1)
Losing pitcher - Travis Hughes (1-1)
SV - Aaron Heilman (3)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
N.Y. Mets	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	2	0		6	8	2
Washington	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0		5	9	1

HR: NYM: M. Jacobs (7) M. Piazza (18) D. Wright (23) WSH:
Washington Record: (78-78)

Bucs 17, Packers 16

Sweet win, a squaker, with some of the worst officiating I've ever seen, against both sides. And yes: I said "seen". The game was actually televised up here. And it was a great one to watch...


Favre couldn't stop making small mistakes despite looking like the Favre of old in the 3rd Quarter. Caddy grabbed another 158 Yards to put himself on the top of the All-Time Best 1st 3-Game Performances by a Rookie RB List. The D looked good, but still needs a little more consistency. Galloway scored two TDs. Clayton was key. Hilliard even contributed. Kid Stuff was uneven as always...

And Kelly had two picks. So did Will Allen.

It's The New Mother Nature Takin' Over

This was sent by email from a friend I won't name, who was born and raised in New Orleans, and now lives in the Pacific NW.

(reprinted without his permission)

Well Kids…

I have a friend that lived in the same house for over thirty
years in New Orleans.
He really worked hard all his life, so did his wife.
A big storm took away all they had.
Now their email is "dead", their cell phone doesn't answer.
Last I emailed with him, he was living in his RV, several family
members were missing.
I hope he's coping well, I don't know.

NOW…
My sister is evacuating her home in Lafayette, LA.
She's afraid she may lose everything too.
She's packing the house and taking the dog.

These two lives are a microscopic portion of the misery
affecting hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens.

Watching the television news about all the evacuations in Texas
and Louisiana sickens me.
Why can't the powers that be do something about people sitting
in cars in 95+ degree heat by the tens of thousands wasting
enormous amounts of gasoline, old folks dying, ??? It is
apparent the United States is totally unprepared for anything
but Desperate Housewives, bleached hair and horrid manners.

Don't mean to sound despondent… just belching vitriol.

Maybe…just maybe… if we all agree to ask the higher powers for
new leadership all at the same time… a miracle may indeed
happen. I am thankful (his wife) and I are safe for the moment.

Meanwhile, you may have read….
Researchers are gathering at the confluence of the Pacific and
North American continental plate.
They're drilling for samples of the earth's and charting the
area to ascertain the reason for thousands of small quakes
occurring there. Japan is also launching a vessel capable of the
same research along a similar rift upon which Japan sits atop.

And Mount Saint Helens continues to bubble and boil….

Iranian Opium Addicts

"I believe this is the policy of the state, to make all the youth addicted," said Hamid Motalebi, 22, a police officer on duty in a south Tehran park almost overrun by junkies sleeping on the grass or staggering like zombies."

Large, Angry Bitches (Class Of 2005)

Here is the projected path of Hurricane Rita, which wavers between Cat 4 and Cat 5...


Here's how goddamn HUGE she is...


And for the sake of perspective...here's Tigger (with help from Winnie The Pooh, below) demonstrating how it will feel at the gas pumps next week...


Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina are going to seriously mess with the way this winter shakes out in this country. Heating oil prices will jump like a frog on a hotplate. Everyone's rent will go up next year. Unleaded Regular Gas may "level off" at $3-something after the initial crunch is over.

And President Bush is going to look like even more of a total choade.

Two Hurricanes will bring down the strength of the Republican White House. How weird is that?

From WFTV - Caddy has a flat

Bucs' Williams Probable For Sunday

POSTED: 6:03 pm EDT September 21, 2005

Tampa, FL -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams is listed as probable with a sprained foot for Sunday's game in Green Bay.

Williams was limited in practice on Wednesday, but head coach Jon Gruden fully expects the rookie to play on Sunday.

"He didn't practice full-speed," said Gruden. "He'll practice [Thursday]."

Williams suffered the injury just prior to halftime of the Bucs 19-3 win over Buffalo in Week 2. He remained in the game and finished with 128 yards rushing and a touchdown.

"It's doing good," said Williams of the injury. "It feels a whole lot better than two days ago. I'm still getting treatment, still resting it, and just getting ready to go this week."

In his rookie debut in Week 1, the Auburn product had 148 yards and a touchdown in Tampa Bay's 24-13 win over Minnesota.

Copyright 2005 Courtesy of SportsNetwork.

Oily Website

Everything you could possibly need to track the bullshit which will add up to pumping regular unleaded for $5.19 a gallon next week. Those bastards.

Nats fading fast

Oh, for all intents and purposes, the season is over. But there is a lot to be happy about after this inaugural effort.

We may only have three pitchers worth of rotation, but most nights, they perform pretty well.

Preston "President" Wilson has ignored gripes from fans and performed pretty well.

We have Jose Guillen and Brad Wilkerson. Brandon Watson, too.

And we have a pretty damn good manager, and a fan base in the Beltway that has made this franchise feel truly loved for the first time in a long time.

There's a lot to build on here.

Jesus...

-- Hurricane Rita reaches Category 5 status with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph, the National Hurricane Center says. (CNN)

Trying Times For Evil

In this time of recovery, won't YOU do everything you can?

(I now wander off to vomit in an envelope and send it to her. I had hot dogs last night, so it should be especialy foul...)

(oh yeah: Rita reached Cat 3 overnight, Cat 4 this morning...she could be a Category FIVE by the time she sticks her dick into texas)

White Sox

September 20, 2005
Cleveland 6, Chi. White Sox 7 at U.S. Cellular Field

Winning pitcher - Dustin Hermanson (2-4)
Losing pitcher - David Riske (3-4)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cleveland	0	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	1		6	14	2
Chi. White Sox	0	0	2	1	0	0	3	0	0		7	11	0

	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18		R	H	E
Cleveland	0										6	14	2
Chi. White Sox	1										7	11	0

HR: CLE: C. Blake (22) A. Boone (16) T. Hafner (28) CWS: J. Crede (19)
Chi. White Sox Record: (91-59)

Next Game: Sep 21, 2005 07:05 PM CT vs. Indians
 

 

Magic number is 8.  If the Indians lose to us tonight, they'll have to pretty much win out to steal the ALC...

 

Watched it last night after the 7th.  Pitchers still struggling...

More Lovely Rita, Meter Maid

-- Hurricane Rita expected to reach category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico by 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, forecasters say.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com and watch FREE video.
More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.

Rita Needed Just 4 Hours

To go from TS to Category 2:

 

RITA BECOMES CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE, WITH WINDS OF 100 MILES PER HOUR
 

No Hejduk

Damnit!

Hans Island

This story has come to my attention today.  It's a particularly boring tale of international intrigue and thumbing of noses.  Just this morning, an agreement was reached...but it didn't resolve anything, other than eliminating the possiblity of hostilities.

 

Canada vs. Denmark .  Genius.

 

Two NATO allies fighting over a pancake of barren rock that spends most of the year trapped in ice.  If it had a hockey team, it would be more interesting.  As it stands, it has only a tiny amount of influence in the Kennedy Shipping Passage...which again, is virtually useless.

 

And, oh yeah: The Hans Island Liberation Front .

 

Shine on, you crazy diamonds.

 

And Again Now...

TROPICAL STORM RITA BECOMES CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHES FLORIDA KEYS

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

The NFL, Christ-like, welcomes all the troubled and weary.

OK. We get it. New Orleans needs our help. And I dearly hope that the telethon during the Monday Night Double-header goes very, very well tonight...

...but Suzy Culver (or whatever the hell her name is) reminded us of the showboating bullshit of Joe Horn the last time these two teams played...and literally said: "And what's wrong with saying, here I am, look what I have done, I'm proud of scoring this touchdown." in regards to his pulling the cell phone out of the pads and making that call.

Enough is fucking enough already. The Saints are not saints. They do not walk on water (pardon the pun). I'm not going to have my intelligence insulted to that degree by some hairdo who was probably one of the first to go on the air and decry that play when it first happened two years ago.

Then again...

North Korea says it will not give up nuclear arms before getting a civilian reactor, a day after agreeing to scrap its weapons.

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

North Korea

North Korea agrees to give up its nuclear activities and return to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, say delegates at talks in Beijing.

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

THIS is another shining example of why I get the bulk of my information from the BBC.  It's non-partisan, and it covers the world far better than any of the empty suits on the Big Three cable news houses here at home.

 

THIS story is extremely important.  And not one email came to me from CNN, FNC, or MicrosoftNewsBC.  Sadly typical.

Bucs beat Bills - Wk 2

Game just ended. 19-3 Bucs. Kid Stuff was 16/22 for 126, but the engine was finely tuned in the Caddilac: 24 carries, 128 yards and a touchdown. A-Train went up the gut for a 1 yard TD but was otherwise quiet today. Clayton had a decent day catching but not outstanding. The first score was a safety in the 2nd when we spooked Losman out of the back of the endzone. Poor little guy...

delightfully tacky

Brace yourself.  The Smoking Gun has published, online, The Hooters Girl Employee Handbook...

OLN vs. ESPN

VOTE IN THE AD AGE WEEKLY ONLINE POLL
> BACKGROUND: Despite its failure to win Wednesday's bidding match against ESPN for one portion of Major League Baseball's cable programming, Comcast's Outdoor Life Network is still hot in the running for the remaining portion of tht league's package. At the same time, OLN, which has already bought the two-year, $135 million National Hockey League telecast rights, is a serious contender for the National Football League's Thursday-Saturday cable package. At ESPN, executives have no doubt about the meaning of OLN's sudden expansion plans and bidding efforts: The reigning king of cable sports has an up and coming new competitor with deep pockets. Do YOU think OLN has a realistic chance of challenging ESPN as cable sports leader or is ESPN so well established as a brand that it is invulnerable?

> THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Can Comcast's OLN successfully take on the ESPN sports juggernaut?

> VOTE & COMMENT for publication in next week's print edition of Advertising Age at http://www.adage.com/poll.cms

hmmm...

Six hours ago, Fox News:

DELTA AIR LINES FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

An hour later, same source:

NORTHWEST AIRLINES FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION

still fightin'

September 14, 2005
Washington 6, N.Y. Mets 3 at Shea Stadium

Winning pitcher - Esteban Loaiza (11-10)
Losing pitcher - Kris Benson (9-8)
SV - Chad Cordero (46)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Washington	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	1		6	10	1
N.Y. Mets	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0		3	8	0

HR: WSH: V. Castilla (12) P. Wilson (23) NYM:
Washington Record: (75-71)

Next Game: Sep 15, 2005 01:10 PM ET vs. Mets

I still gotta say...I'm very encouraged about next year. Let's just get some more pitching to make a real run at it next year.

And let's NOT get them from the Cubs, please.

email note from a friend on the outer banks

"Over lunch I just heard on the news that a Katrina Evacuee and her kids are once again heading into a storm shelter, as she just arrived here to North Carolina a week ago, she was just starting to get things on track and was going to set up homestead for her and her kids here in North Carolina :( 

 

talk about bad freakin' luck!!!!"

innnnnteresting...

Coin Flips Determine

MLB Playoff Sites

POSTED: 7:41 am EDT September 13, 2005

NEW YORK -- A series of coin tosses were conducted by Major League Baseball on Monday to determine the sites for potential playoff games in the event of ties in division and wild card races.

If the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox finish tied in the American League East, a one-game playoff would be held at Yankee Stadium. Boston, which hosted the infamous 1978 one-game playoff won by the Yankees, entered Monday's action three games in front of New York after the Yankees took two of three from the Red Sox this weekend.

The teams are scheduled to meet for the final three games of the season in Boston.

Should the Cleveland Indians make a miraculous comeback to tie the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central, the teams would meet for a one-game playoff at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The White Sox started Monday with a 5 1/2-game lead over the Indians and the teams are slated to meet six times in the final three weeks, including three to close the season in Cleveland.

If the Angels and Athletics tie in the AL West, the one-game playoff would be held in Anaheim. Oakland started Monday two games behind the Angels. The teams will meet for a four-game series in Oakland during the final week of the campaign.

Cleveland, which entered Monday leading the AL wild card race by 1 1/2 games over New York and by 2 1/2 over Oakland, would host the Yankees and Athletics in the event of a tie. Yankee Stadium would be the site if Oakland and New York are tied for the wild card.

The National League set tiebreakers for the wild card race.

If Florida and Houston finished tied, the one-game playoff would be in Miami, while Houston would host a tiebreaker against Washington. Philadelphia would be the site for a tiebreaker against Houston or Florida. Washington would host one-game playoffs versus Florida or Philadelphia.

Copyright 2005. Courtesy of SportsNetwork.

vasectomy

STILL not looking forward to this.

british view of 9.11 anniversary

...Rightly or wrongly, Iraq changed the equation. The struggle against terrorism became muddied with divisions over aggression. The loss of life troubled even those who supported invasion...

yasser, that's my baby...

...nossir, don't mean maybe...

...Speculation on the cause of Arafat's death has continued with many Palestinians believing that he was poisoned by Israel...

stevens and messier

Scotto dropped off the NHL map last week, Mark Messier (one of the finest captains in the history of the game) bowed out earlier this morning.

china

Simpson is a very interesting columnist, usually, and I don't have time to read this right now, so I'll post it for later when I do. It's about a subject I've been prattling on about for years...

Addendum: another article from a week later.

bbc story about doomed new orleans

Dated 8.30.05

robertson's godly fuck-up

..."I announce that my government is going to take legal action in the United States... to call for the assassination of a head of state is an act of terrorism," Mr Chavez said in a televised speech...

This was GENIUS. Pat Robertson practicaly wrote a morning show for me by suggesting we should kill the President Of Venezuela on his nightly propaganda program, The 700 Club.

He and Katie Couric should be locked away and studied.

uzbek snub

...Washington's rivals for regional dominance, Russia and China, have made it clear they do not want to see US forces in the region on a permanent basis...


This story snuck past the American media completely, days before the hurricane hit Louisiana. I never saw a single thing about this story, which looks pretty frickin' important. Not one word.

Not surprisingly, it was buried in the Asia-Pacific Headlines of the BBC News...the only real source for news anymore that doesn't make me want to retch.

making human lungs

...As well as eventually being used to help make whole lungs for transplantation, the cells could also be used to repair parts of damaged lungs...

...the ghost of hamlet's father was unavailable for comment...

...The dispute seems rather odd, when scientists say the region around the island is unlikely to be rich in oil or other natural resources...

Canada vs. Denmark. And why not?

didn't take long

-- AP: Mike Brown says he has resigned as director of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com and watch FREE video.
More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.

Bucs beat Vikes - Wk 1

Trailed early, came back with a big 17 point 2nd Quarter, and showed just how valuable Randy Moss really was to the Queens. Kid Stuff was 18 for 29, 213 yards, dropped behind the line twice, 2 picks, 2 touches. Not too bad. He could end up being the guy after all...

I'm still pretty skeptical about how we'll do this year. Gruden Premature Elation of First Year Super Bowl is rapidly cooling to a What Have You Done For Me Lately Other Than Bring In Former Raiders Who Don't Have Impact situation...

up to "o"

"M" and "N" are spinning harmlessly over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

 

-- Ophelia regains hurricane strength and could make landfall in South Carolina on Monday or Tuesday, says National Hurricane Center.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com and watch FREE video.
More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.

...however...

...(regarding that last post) it's worth noting that Nobody scored a win over the division leaders tonight, and Vinnie went yard!  Nice...

 

September 9, 2005
Atlanta 6, Washington 8 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Winning pitcher - Gary Majewski (3-3)
Losing pitcher - John Foster (4-2)
SV - Chad Cordero (44)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Atlanta	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0		6	10	3
Washington	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	4	X		8	10	1

HR: ATL: A. Jones (46) WSH: V. Castilla (11)
Washington Record: (73-69)

Next Game: Sep 10, 2005 01:20 PM ET vs. Braves

st. thomas speaks the truth

The Nats' situation is so desperate that Frank Robinson has discussed using a four-man rotation for the rest of the season with some pitchers -- probably Estaban Loaiza and John Patterson -- each pitching a couple of times on three days' rest. That stop-gap arrangement would, as the schedule now stands, get Washington to Sept. 27, just five days before the end of the season. If the Nats still have a wild-card chance, then Hernandez might also be asked to pitch once on short rest, too.

What is this, 1958?

He's absolutely, 100%, right on the money...

7.7

Pretty close to the shore of the island...probably some local waves but it's a sparsely popularted region.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake IN THE NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G. has occurred at:
4.54S 153.40E Depth 91km Fri Sep 9 07:26:44 2005 UTC

Location with respect to nearby cities:
40 km (25 miles) E of Taron, New Ireland, PNG (pop N/A)
140 km (85 miles) ESE of Rabaul, New Britain, PNG (pop 17,000)
870 km (540 miles) NE of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea
2535 km (1580 miles) N of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

bah

September 8, 2005
Florida 8, Washington 4 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Winning pitcher - Josh Beckett (13-8)
Losing pitcher - John Patterson (8-5)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Florida	1	0	0	1	5	1	0	0	0		8	14	0
Washington	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2		4	10	1

HR: FLA: J. Beckett (1) M. Cabrera (30) WSH:
Washington Record: (72-69)

Next Game: Sep 09, 2005 07:05 PM ET vs. Braves

if i were lance armstrong...

...well, obviously, the first thing I would do would be fuck Sheryl Crow again. A lot. Sorry, I know she's kinda got the horse-face thing going to a small degree but she's a beautiful person inside and out with a lot of talent who would be into my body. What kind of cad says no to this?

(As it stands, I am NOT Lance Armstrong and I'm married with no complaints...moving on...)

Second, I would train like Rocky IV. I would push myself to the limits, short of injury, and get plenty of cardio time in, with and without Sheryl...mostly with. Because I would have work to do next summer.

The French...who would have loved nothing more than a large lorry running down Lance Armstrong in the Alps...are still all over this alleged steroid use by the 7-time Tour de Lance winner. He's been villified in the press everywhere but the USA, and if it were me, I know exactly what I would do.

You think I'd dominated that race last year? This year I'd lead every goddamn leg of it. C;mon...i whupped cancer's ass AND won your Ironman Race 7 consecutive goddamn times, you bastards. The 8th time would be a skate. And each time when I went up to get my yellow jersey, giant cheese-scented Teddy Bear, and bouquet of flowers that smell like a Vichy Whore's Armpit...there would be no waving for the cameras. There would be no interviews.

Not

a

damn

word.

No pre-race chats, not even with ESPN. No words from anyone on my team, no endorsement or acknowledgement of squat. Fuck all of you. Fuck France in it's all-too-willing asshole. Get a President who isn't an embarassment and loses you the Olympics when you seemed to be a cinch to get them. Get Figure Skating officials who won't accept cash and fuck up the Pairs Medalling because Russia dangled baubles and vodka and god knows what. In fact...just die. All of you. I'm here to win a race again, but this time, I'm rubbing your pale, unshaven, pox-laden faces in it.

Enjoy the view of my back tire. Because this time, it really IS the last time you'll see it. And after I'm gone, after I've won #8 and started fucking Sheryl full-time...no one outside of your borders will give two shits and a fuck for this race, period.

Blow me. I've still got one ball full of mangravy in there...

I'm Lance Goddamn Armstrong. Show me some respect.

...and pandora's box creaks open a bit more

UK scientists win permission to clone a human embryo with genes from two women.

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

the engine

The Dark Lord Warren Ellis has started a new forum where we little gnats around his head may buzz incessantly. The potential for topics is deep. Like about how his writings make us stare a little too long at disgusting shit that makes Iowa Republicans vomit up $50 dinners.

It just launched early this morning, and has already suffered a number of tech collapses, possibly resulting in a few deaths. Certainly resulting in amusing emails.

I have high hopes that the suckage will be extremely low there...

...bury them mets...

A little help for Washington. Thanks, Atlanta. Now lose to us.

September 7, 2005
N.Y. Mets 3, Atlanta 4 at Turner Field

Winning pitcher - John Foster (4-1)
Losing pitcher - Braden Looper (4-7)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
N.Y. Mets	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	12	0
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1		4	9	1

	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18		R	H	E
N.Y. Mets	1										3	12	0
Atlanta	2										4	9	1

Atlanta Record: (81-59)

Next Game: Sep 09, 2005 07:05 PM ET vs. Nationals

dontrelle gets 20 in a big way

September 7, 2005
Florida 12, Washington 1 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Winning pitcher - Dontrelle Willis (20-8)
Losing pitcher - John Halama (1-4)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Florida	1	0	2	2	1	2	2	0	2		12	17	0
Washington	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		1	5	2

HR: FLA: C. Delgado (28) WSH: R. Short (1)
Washington Record: (72-68)

Next Game: Sep 08, 2005 07:05 PM ET vs. Marlins

 

Holy poop on a stick.  What a beat-down...

oily food

OIL-FOR-FOOD PANEL FINDS 'ILLICIT, UNETHICAL, CORRUPT BEHAVIOR' BY U.N. OFFICIALS; ANNAN ACCEPTS 'DEEPLY EMBARRASSING' REPORT (FNC)

 

...deeply embarassing...especially given that his son was involved...

is nothing sacred?

Agents Made Exploding Chocolate For Campaign Of Sabotage

POSTED: 8:06 am EDT September 6, 2005 (AP)

LONDON -- It's enough to make you lose your sweet tooth.

German agents designed an exploding chocolate bar during World War II. According to documents released Monday by the British National Archives, the exploding candy bar was to be used for a campaign of sabotage against the United Kingdom.

A sketch of the device shows a bomb made of steel covered with a thin layer of real chocolate. It was designed to blow up seven seconds after someone tried to break off a piece.

Historians said there's no evidence the Germans ever actually used the exploding candy bar. But other disguised bombs, including explosive cans of peas, were issued to German agents.

Six Feet Under

Sid Smith NAILED this. Can't disagree with a single syllable...

Six Feet Under finale was a benediction

By Sid Smith
Tribune arts critic
Published August 22, 2005

Unlike every preceding episode, which opened with a kind of mortality cocktail, the last installment of "Six Feet Under" began Sunday with a birth.

Not to worry. Death was waiting patiently in the wings, poised for a resonating last word. The 5-year-old serial drama, set in a Los Angeles funeral parlor, bit the dust in more ways than one.

Like the 62 or so victims that launched the other chapters, all of the major characters would be dearly departed by the entry's conclusion. True to form, this lead character massacre came about in a stylistic tour de force. Though not altogether original (novelist Michael Cunningham did something similar back in a 1990s novel), the stratagem involved a time trip well into the future and the later years of the 21st Century.

As Claire, the youngest adult in the Fisher family, drove to a new life in New York, the story flashed forward through time, revealing everyone's fate:

Ruth dies in old age in a hospital bed, Keith is shot during a robbery, acquisitive Rico keels over on a cruise and David passes out at a picnic, lured lovingly by a ghostly Keith. Brenda slumps, as if bored to death, by self-absorbed, prattling brother Billy.

Claire, the baby, misfit and artistic refugee, endures the longest. Her end in bed, after about a century of life, is enviable.

The tempting analogy to the cathartic pile-up of Greek tragedy is misleading. The death of the Fishers is more the stuff of a medieval morality play, an "Everyman" more than a "Hamlet." The Fishers died not from their tragic flaws (and God knows they had plenty of them). They died because everybody must: A benediction for the human condition as much as an end to a TV show.

Talk about closure. Meanwhile, the last episode hinted at plot resolutions and reconciliations in the perplexing, open-ended, bittersweet manner that distinguished the series. All summer, water-cooler debate puzzled over Nate Fisher's callousness toward pregnant wife Brenda. Several weeks ago, he died, unexpectedly at 40, after sleeping with another woman, telling Brenda he wanted a divorce and hinting much of the season their coming baby might be abnormal.

That left Brenda less than a weeping widow. She even for a time turned Nate's daughter by his first wife, Maya, over to her mother-in-law, Ruth, a kind of bloodless echo of "Medea." But the baby's birth and precarious, premature existence change everything. Thanks to a dream, in which Nate and his long-dead father, whom Brenda had never met, cradle the infant with unconditional love, Brenda finally forgives Nate, free to embrace her surviving Fisher in-laws as the only loving family she has known. Let the dead bury the dead; life is about the living.

David's panic attacks, born of last season's violent kidnapping, also give way to a purgative dream, wherein the monster of his imagination, in a beautiful bit of cinematic poetry, segues into a smiling Nate, enabling David to thwart his mental illness and commit to saving the Fisher family trade.

Family business and family bonds both survive, even if the nuclear Fisher clan is replaced by an extended interracial gay one, the kids' and Brenda's inclusion in it two very different types of adoption.

Even Rico and wife Vanessa, scions of their own family dynasty, will happily attend Keith and David's wedding.

Though at times weepily over the top, "Six Feet Under" concluded with class, voluminous surprise and a tempered hope. Most of the Fishers die in the company of loved ones. Only Claire, the sweet, vulnerable, hot-tempered outsider, dies alone, surrounded by photographs -- her art, her life mission and, as she draws that final breath, her everlasting memories.

I would add that I haven't seen a finale this perfect since M*A*S*H. This was brilliant television.

Live 8 DVD

I seldom ever read the tripe on Fox411...but this was too interesting to pass up.  Read:

 

Live 8 DVDs: Where Will the Money Go?

Sir Bob Geldof is announcing today that the "Live 8" DVDs will come out on Nov. 8.

The four-disc set includes all of the big performances from London, Philadelphia and Edinburgh. Separate discs from the Paris, Berlin, Rome and Toronto shows will also be available.

That means the DVDs feature Sting, U2, Paul McCartney, R.E.M., Madonna, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder , The Who and the entire set of five Pink Floyd performances.

Live 8 was a huge achievement. But since it was not a charity fundraiser, where will the proceeds from these sales go?

According to a press release, "EMI and the Live 8 organization have agreed that a generous royalty from sales of the Live 8 DVD will go to the Band Aid Trust for the relief of hunger and poverty in Africa ."

"A generous royalty"? Not "all royalties"? That should be interesting. I'd like to be in the accounting office at EMI and at Buzzacott, Band Aid's chartered accountant, when they figure that out.

The goal of Band Aid is listed with British Charitable Trusts as "to relieve hunger and poverty in Ethiopia and the surrounding area." Will the money go there?

According to a BBC report last December when the DVDs for the original Live Aid concert were issued, Band Aid Trust has disbursed $144 million since 1985 to famine-relief projects across Africa.

The projects are chosen by the trustees, who include Geldof, Midge Ure (his partner in Band Aid and leader of the great Scottish group Ultravox) and producer Harvey Goldsmith .

And the rest of it? At the London show, it was generally thought that Bill Gates had donated much of the money to make the show happen. There were also corporate sponsors involved.

And where will the royalties from the songs themselves go? This would be separate from royalties from discs sold. Will the writers of the performed songs donate the publishing royalties to charity, and if so, which one?

Look for a bit of a mess here as a lot of questions are asked and few are answered.

Fascinating.  And to think people said the show was pointless...