For my 600th post here...

...a pleasant thought from Jamais Cascio, on measuring the different levels of apocolypse:



(found via Warren Ellis...easier to read at his website, or the source)

XLI

Yes. We're ready for some football.



Very cool. And our town is smack dab in the Interstate Highway World between the two. Each team has tons of fans all over the place, including in my own family. Hell, I love 'em both.

Electric Vibrant Happiness Love, Football-style, going on out here in The Bend. And the rest of the country probably couldn't care less. But fuck them. It's our turn.

Beauty And The Belly

This morning on email, my Producer's Network was briefly discussing Jennifer Love Hewitt. In particular, member Michael's unfettered love for her...which I countered with my opinion that she'd be hotter in my Pantheon Of Chicks I Have No Shot With if her boob job didn't cause her to resemble a broom handle with two water balloons tacked onto it. Pretty, yes, but I'm not a fan of the Big Boob Vanity thing.

My contribution:

Funny story, then, for Michael.

About a year ago, a couple of friends of mine got married, and I was the best man. The Bride was a veteran of the 90's Miss Teenage USA pageant scene, mostly in California. Including some tours of Europe.

Her roomate on the last tour? Jennifer Love Hewitt. "Love", to her friends.

JLH was, as I understand it, approached to be the Maid Of Honor at the wedding, but had to decline due to her shooting schedule for Ghost Whisperer.

I nearly walked Jennifer Love Hewitt down the aisle, and nearly danced with her at the reception.

Her huge rack and my fat gut would have fit together like South America and Africa on some bizarre global dance floor...

MLK Day

Someone at YouTube posted the entire 17 1/2 minute I Have A Dream speech.

Find it here if you want to hear it. And you should.

Lunatic Fringe. I Know You're Out There.

That video we've all seen of Apollo 11? The grainy, craptacular quality one that keeps conspiracy nuts screaming about it actually having been filmed in the Southwestern Desert?

There's better tape somewhere. And NASA frickin' misplaced it. No. Make that LOST it.

Clickity here... (wired)

A Fish Called Batman

(discovered at WarrenEllis.com)

"Otocinclus Batmani is named after the Caped Crusader of Gotham City...the name batmani, alludes to Bob Kane's hero Batman of the comic adventures..."

Angular Banjos Sound Good To Me

Happy 59th Birthday today to Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, one of my primary creative influences, and an underappreciated genius.

A full WKRP episode

Hooray!

Note to self to look for more of them on YouTube.

The Sons Of Jacob Unzip Their Fly

How nice. Nifty little headline in my FNC Breaking News Email:

ISRAEL REPORTEDLY PLANNING, TRAINING FOR LOW-LEVEL NUCLEAR STRIKE AGAINST IRAN

Starting 2007 with a bang!

2007 Could Be Warmest Year On Record

(BBC)

The global surface temperature is projected to be 0.54C (0.97F) above the long-term average of 14C (57F), beating the current record of 0.52C (0.94F), which was set in 1998.

Any wonder why it's rainy and 47° this morning, on January 5th, in South Bend Indiana?

Olympic Flame to Top Everest

Interesting. The torch will be carried twice to the roof of the world. Once this year in a televised rehearsal, I would assume to make sure the high-altitude torch will work...and again on the world tour of '08 before the Beijing Games.

I find this fascinating, because to me, there is no deeper expression of athleticism (or insanity) than climbing that 29,000 foot motherfucker. If you aren't at your peak performance, you are most likely dead. Hell, even at your peak performance, you might die. That's a sport, right there.

It's about time the Olympic Torch makes the trip.

No Sugar Tonight In My Coffee, No Sugar Tonight In my Tea

Nah nah-nah nah nah-nah-nah-nah...

This town is holding its collective breath tonight, waiting for the Notre Dame streak to go back on the line against LSU in the Sugar Bowl.

Notre Dame has not won a bowl game since 1.1.93. Far too long. Whether or not that streak is over rests pretty muchon the shoulders of the Irish Defense, which couldn't pick a better time to have a huge game.

It would be nice to see Brady win a huge game before he gets picked up by, say, Detroit in the NFL Draft...where he will have only faint memories of what it's like to win a big game.