Cowboys - Eagles

Romo just fumbled, leading to an Eagle TD return. At 34-3, I am ready to fire everybody. Coaches, players, Brad & Babe. Everyone.

What a choke. What a bunch of underachievers. I am disgusted. I am also turning the game off.

The rubble is flying in Gaza, again

The IAF fired on Hamas security compounds in Gaza earlier today, apparently with a great deal of success. An estimated 60 aircraft launched on at least 40 different Hamas targets across the territory. At least 155 Palestinians are dead, and many more wounded, the vast majority being Hamas "security personnel" (code for "guys who shoot rockets into Israel day after day").

However, as we all know, Hamas, in its mind-boggling cynicism, routinely places legitimate targets in the midst of civilians; generally, the closer to an apartment block, school, or hospital, the better. So, as usual, Israeli attacks on "security personnel" has resulted in civilian casualties. And, as usual, the Palestinian civilians, and the wider Arab world, fail to recognize how Hamas' bloody-minded grandstanding is at fault for their misery. They, predictably, are in the street shouting "Death to Israel".

Listen, I know I am biased on the Middle East. I am a secular Jew. I was raised during the golden days of Israel - I was 2 when the Six Day War occurred, 9 during the Yom Kippur War. I have received Israeli Bonds as gifts since I was born, and the one effective part of my Jewish education was to recognize and support the miracle of the State of Israel. I am no impartial reporter on this subject. I know that, and I try to be careful to point it out as often as I can in these diatribes.

But, with all that said, I am continuously SHOCKED at the ignorance and willingness to be led into ruin displayed by the sheep-like Palestinian populace. I am continuously shocked at the callousness and cynicism displayed by the Palestinian "leadership", none of whom seem to have any regard for the lives (or the quality of the lives) of their constituency. I am continuously shocked at the same attributes displayed on a regular, predictable basis in the wider Arab world. I am continuously shocked at the relentless dismissal of reality evidenced by European (and American) supporters of Palestine.

To me, it's this simple: If the Arabs stop shooting tomorrow, there's peace. If the Israelis stop shooting tomorrow, they are all dead. Is that simplifying things too much? Maybe, but maybe not.

Either way, stay tuned - it looks like there will be a follow-up ground operation, and no doubt additional Israeli "atrocities" about which I can vent to my hearts content.

Have I touched yet another nerve?

A comment made in response to our list of Classic Scouser Jokes from back in January:

Anonymous said...
they are bad jokes, im a scouse and im not thick and not hairy eeww, i have lived in liverpool all my life and have never been mugged and have never mugged anyone,all of my scouser mates dont work on maccys, i have a three bed roomed house and i have nevr robbed anythink, so i think ya jokes are a waste of time and have u ever been to liverpool, i hate how you have made liverpool put to be a bad place i love liverpool and would never live anywhere else so before you go telling anymore jokes like that think hang on they are people and they do have brains and feelings towards other people. good bye, i wish when you read this that you take these horrible nasty jokes off because thay are not funny.

22 December, 2008 18:02

I'm pretty sure Mr/Ms Anonymous Scouser is having me on a bit. But maybe not. Either way, I giggled...

Is there Middle East hope on the horizon?

Reading various and sundry news sources over the past few days, I've run across some ideas I hadn't considered. There are some changes on the horizon which actually may bring some hope of positive change in the Middle East.

What are these changes, you ask?

Set down your coffee cup. I don't want you spitting hot beverages all over your PC.

The Clintons are going to be running US foreign policy.

I'll give you a moment to digest that one. Feel free to power up your defibrillator. Or dab the laugh-induced tears from your eyes. Whatever you feel necessary.

Yes, that's right. Hill will be driving the Dept of State, with Bill as her trusty first mate, for the foreseeable future. And this fact gives me hope for real, positive change for Israel and their neighbors.

Let's step into the WayBack Machine for a moment and revist the late 90s. The world was a pretty spiffy place, all things being equal. No real wars to speak of. Some terrorism, but nothing to speak of in the Western world. The Irish were all lovey-dovey, Russia seemed to be heading towards some sort of democracy, Bosnia had quieted down, the Chinese were focusing inward, and the Palestinians and Israelis were thiiiiissssss close to a workable two-state agreement.

Bill Clinton fostered a great deal of this rosy picture. He was instrumental in Ireland. You can argue about his effectiveness and wisdom in Bosnia, but the fact remains it cooled off relatively rapidly. The Russians certainly had their own issues to settle, with organized crime and corruption rampant, but the jury was out on Putin, and the Kremlin seemed interested in joining the family of nations, and Clinton did nothing to dissuade them from the idea. What impact Clinton had on terrorism and China can be debated, but the sitting US President gets to take credit for anything positive happening on his watch.

And what about the diplomacy between the Barak government and Arafat? It's difficult to remember those days clearly, since so much violence has occurred since, but those were heady times indeed. The idea of a two-state solution was threatening to become reality. Israel had loosened the grip on the occupied territories, the Palestinian economy was literally booming, the West was falling all over themselves to fork over aid and assistance of every description. No rocks or bullets were flying, no bombers were blowing themselves to pieces.

The negotiations were literally down to the street level. The worker bees on both sides were pouring over the Jerusalem MAPSCO, drawing the new border.

It was a close as we have EVER come to a real, workable, implementable compromise.

Clinton got it to that point.

If it weren't for Arafat, it would have worked.

So, now, eight years later, Arafat is worm food. Hamas may be worse in a lot of ways, but they also aren't duplicitous, grandstanding liars who are completely disassociated from the people they claim to represent like Arafat was (at least, I think they're not). And Bill knows this issue as well as any American politician/diplomat has ever known it.

Clinton knows how close he came to greatness. Argue his legacy all you like, if he had pulled off a solution in the Middle East, he would have gone down as one of the all-timers, up there with Jefferson, Lincoln, those Roosevelt boys, you name it. Hell, he would have RETIRED the Nobel Prize.

And now? He, and the little missus (THERE'S an image for you!), gets a do-over.

While Hillary may be looking towards the White House someday in the future, Bill is working for the history books. He's got a real opportunity to burnish his long-term reputation to the shiniest of shiny bright-bright. She has the opportunity to be mentioned in the same breath as Kissinger, and probably get a few nice pieces of hardware for the mantel while she's at it. He knows the issue. There is as much at stake as ever. Both Israel and the Palestinians are motivated to achieve some sort of solution, although I admit at the moment the respective ideas of that solution don't look very much like each other. Everybody can win here, and the Clintons can become legends of humanity.

There's some Holiday optimism for you!

The dumbest spam ever

Occasionally, I will look thru GMail's Spam folder, just to see what's getting screened off. I must say that GMail's spam detection really is first rate - I almost never see spam in my Inbox, and almost never lose a legit message to erroneous filtering.

Today, I was looking thru the junk, and found what has to be the DUMBEST piece of spam ever. It's supposedly from the FBI, and is a twist on the venerable Nigerian "We are going to transfer millions into your bank account" spam that everyone in the world has received 200 times.

Some of the dumber elements:

1. Why is the FBI sending me email from Mexico?
2. Robert Mueller, the FBI Director himself, is sending it? Really?
3. Robert Mueller doesn't have an fbi.gov email address?
4. Robert Mueller probably has spell check.
5. Robert Mueller probably has a somewhat better grasp of grammar and the written word.

This crap works enough to keep it going, which AMAZES me. People, seriously. If you can get yourself out of bed, get dressed, and find your workplace each day, you are NOT stupid enough to fall for this nonsense.

The entire email, for your edification:


FROM: fbi.02@alestra.net.mx

ANTI-TERRORIST AND MONITARY CRIMES DIVISION
FBI HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535-0001
Website: www.fbi.gov
ATTENTION FUND BENEFICIARY,
THIS IS AN OFFICIAL ADVICE FROM THE FBI FOREIGN REMITTANCE/TELEGRAPHIC DEPT. IT HAS COME TO OUR NOTICE THAT THE C.B.N BANK NIGERIA DISTRICT HAS RELEASED $10,500,000.00 U.S DOLLARS INTO BANK OF AMERICA IN YOUR NAME AS THE BENEFICIARY,BY INHERITANCE MEANS.THE C.B.N BANK NIGERIA KNOWING FULLY WELL THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FACILITIES TO EFFECT THIS PAYMENT FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM TO YOUR ACCOUNT,USED WHAT WE KNOW AS A SECRET DIPLOMATIC TRANSIT PAYMENT S.T.D.P TO PAY THIS FUND THROUGH WIRE TRANSFER,THEY USED THIS MEANS TO COMPLETE THE PAYMENT.THEY ARE STILL, WAITING FOR CONFIRMATION FROM YOU ON THE ALREADY TRANSFERRED FUNDS WHICH WAS MADE IN DIRECT TRANSFER SO THAT THEY CAN DO FINAL CREDITING TO YOUR ACCOUNT. SECRET DIPLOMATIC PAYMENTS ARE NOT MADE UNLESS THE FUNDS ARE RELATED TO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES WHY MUST YOUR PAYMENT BE MADE IN SECRET TRANSFER , IF YOUR TRANSACTION IS LEGITIMATE,IF YOU ARE
NOT A TERRORIST, THEN WHY DID YOU NOT RECEIVE THE MONEY DIRECTLY INTO YOUR ACCOUNT? THIS IS A PURE CODED MEANS OF PAYMENT. RECORDS WHICH WE HAVE HAD WITH THIS METHOD OF PAYMENT IN THE PAST HAS ALWAYS BEEN RELATED TO TERRORIST ACTS, WE DO NOT WANT YOU TO GET INTO TROUBLE AS SOON AS THESE FUNDS REFLECT IN YOUR ACCOUNT IN THE U.S.A, SO IT IS OUR DUTY AS A WORD WIDE COMMISSION TO CORRECT THIS LITTLE PROBLEM BEFORE THIS FUND WILL BE CREDITED INTO YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT.DUE TO THE INCREASED DIFFICULTY AND UNNECESSARY SCRUTINY BY THE AMERICAN AUTHORITIES WHEN FUNDS COME FROM OUTSIDE OF EUROPE, AND THE MIDDLE EAST, THE F.B.I BANK COMMISSION FOR EUROPE HAS STOPPED THE TRANSFER ON ITS WAY TO DELIVER PAYMENT OF $10,000,000.00 TO DEBIT YOUR RESERVE ACCOUNT AND PAY YOU THROUGH A SECURED DIPLOMATIC TRANSIT ACCOUNT (S.D.T.A). WE GOVERN AND OVERSEES FUNDS TRANSFER FOR THE WORLD BANK AND THE REST OF THE WORLD. WE ADVICE YOU CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY,AS THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN STOPPED AND ARE BEING HELD IN OUR CUSTODY, UNTIL YOU CAN BE ABLE TO PROVIDE US WITH A DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY SEAL OF TRANSFER(DIST) WITHING 3 DAYS FROM THE WORLD LOCAL BANK THAT AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER FROM WHERE THE FUNDS WAS TRANSFERRED FROM TO CERTIFY THAT THE FUNDS THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE FROM NIGERIA ARE ANTI TERRORIST/DRUG FREE OR WE SHALL HAVE CAUSE TO CROSS AND IMPOUND THE PAYMENT, WE SHALL RELEASE THE FUNDS IMMEEDIATELY WE RECEIVE THIS LEGAL DOCUMENTS.
We have decided to contact you directly to acquire the proper verifications and proof from you to show that you are the rightful person to receive this fund, because of the amount involve, we want to make sure is a clean and legal money you are about to receive. Be informed that the fund are now in United State in your name , but right now we have ask the bank not to release the fund to anybody that comes to them, unless we ask them to do so, because we have to carry out our investigations first before releasing the fund to you. Note that the fund is in the BANK OF AMERICA right now, but we have ask them not to credit the fund to you yet, because we need a solid proof and verifications from you before releasing the funds. So to this regards you are to re-assure and proof to us that what you are about to receive is a clean money by sending to us FBI Identification Record and also Diplomatic Immunity Seal Of Transfer(DIST) to satisfy to us that the money you are about to receive is legitimate and real money. You are to forward the documents to us immediately if you have it in your possession, if you don?t have it let us know so that we will direct and inform you where to obtain the document and send to us so that we will ask the bank holding the funds the Bank Of America to go ahead Crediting your account immediately. This Documents are to be issued to you from the World Local Bank that Authorized the transfer, so get back to us immediately if you don't have the document so that we will inform you the particular place to obtain the document in United Kingdom U.K, because we have come to realize that the fund was Authorized by H.S.B.C Bank in London. An FBI Identification Record and Diplomatic Immunity Seal Of Transfer(DIST) often referred to as a Criminal History Record or Rap Sheet,is a listing of certain information taken from fingerprint submissions retained by the FBI in connection with arrests and, in some instances,federal employment, naturalization, or military service. THESE CONDITION IS VALID TILL 10 WORKING DAYS AFTER THE EXPIRATION WE SHALL TAKE ACTIONS ON CANCELLING THE PAYMENT AND THEN CHARGE YOU FOR ILLEGALLY MOVING FUNDS OUT OF NIGERIA .GURANTEE: FUNDS WILL BE RELEASED ON CONFIRMATION OF THE DOCUMENT.
NOTE: We have asked for the above documents to make available the most complete and up-to date records possible for the enhancement of public safety, welfare and security of Society while recognizing the importance of individual privacy rights.. If you fail to provide the Documents to us, we will charge you with the FBI and take our proper action against you for not proofing to us the legitimate of the fund you are about to receive. The United States Department of Justice Order 556-73 establishes rules and regulations for the subject of an FBI Identification Record to obtain a copy of his or her own Record for review. The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services(CJIS) Division processes these requests to check illegal activities in U.S.A. An individual may request a copy of his or her own FBI Identification Record for personal review or to challenge information on the Record. Other reasons an individual may request a copy of his or her own Identification Record may include international adoption or to satisfy a requirement to live or work in a foreign country or receive funds from another country
(i.e., Diplomatic Immunity Seal Of Transfer, letter of good conduct, criminal history background, etc.)
Email: robertmueller_fbi@infohq.com
fbi.robertmueller@ymail.com

FBI Director
Robert S. Mueller, III

Daily YouTube: Long-overdue Hanukkah songs

We have been remiss in posting videos about the Festival of Lights.

First, the fake Mariah Carey - I'm a bit put off by the bit about killing the Savior, but the rest is mildly entertaining.



And, of course, the all-timer from Adam Sandler:



My favorite Holiday Season song of all - the one that made a bunch of MTV goofballs sit up and take notice of the world around them:



Happy Hanukkah, dear readers!

World news roundup for Christmas Day

Ah, Christmas morning - for a Jew, it's a day when you are guaranteed to have time to enjoy the coffee and the paper to your heart's content. No pressing errands, no sports to tune in; a nice, relaxing morning is a virtual certainty.

So, today I use this time to catch up on events from around this lovely little planet of ours (or not, if Keanu Reeves is to be believed), and the usual spots are all popping as much as ever.

In the Middle East - which, on Christmas Day ought to be a quiet, contemplative spot, but never is - Israel and Hamas are supposedly attempting to renew the recently-expired truce in and around Gaza. Someone (Good Lord, it couldn't be anyone from Hamas, now could it?) is tossing rocket after rocket into the Negev and southern Israel. The Israelis are trying to turn the other cheek, but the picture in this morning's DMN is of crying Israeli children running from a blast site. I remind you that Israel is a modern, democratic, industrialized nation, not unlike Western Europe in terms of lifestyle of its people. Do you think the Italians or the Danes would sit still for neighbors firing explosive devices across the border at their populaces? I know this is not an apples-to-apples comparison, but its not as far off as some of the Palestinian apologists would have you believe.

Long story short, it appears a military move is likely on the Israelis side. Another useless intervention which will further embitter the civilians on both sides and lead to more "Israeli butcher" headlines in the Euro and Arab press.

Will Obama be the game-changer here? It's hard to imagine how, and I STILL don't really understand his position on this one. But there sure isn't any hope anywhere else at the moment.

In southern Africa, Desmond Tutu has called for Mugabe's removal, by force if necessary, and has bashed his own government for sitting on its hands. The cholera news hasn't improved one bit, nor will it. Mbeki clearly isn't making any difference, and clearly won't unless someone lights a bonfire under his a**. And the rest of the world just doesn't have enough at stake to do more than make some noise and levy questionably-effective sanctions. Is it hopeless? No, Zimbabweans have been thru plenty of tough times, although nothing like this in the past 100+ years, and the place is at least still in the news, even if it page 17A of the DMN.

Up on the Horn of Africa, Somalia's warlord-turned-statesman (WHAT?) president Abdullahi Yusuf may or may not be stepping down, which may or may not either kick off full-scale civil war or pave the way for a unity government. This full-scale civil war sort of intrigues me. What, exactly, has been going on in Somalia for the past 20 years if it wasn't full-scale civil war?

The only reason Somalia hasn't become Helmand-South is, I think, it's too hot even for Al Qaeda. Think about that for a moment - the most effective international terror organization in the history of the world hasn't moved into a lawless, ungoverned, wide-open spot in a meaningful way because even they can't be sure they can protect themselves effectively.

That, my friends, is a FAILED state.

In slightly lesser news, some unknown Army captain (a CAPTAIN?) marched into Conakry at the head of a few thousand troops and announced himself as the new Grand Poobah of Guinea. This west African nation had been something of a quiet spot amidst the regional fireworks of the past 25 years, mostly because Dictator for Life Lansana Conte had kept his boot on the the lid pretty firmly. Conte recently keeled over, and now it's the traditional Sub-Saharan Africa scramble, with the guy who has the most guns and the least compunction about using them winning. The US is "examining options", which I take to mean we, at the senior State Dept level, don't know what the hell is going on there at the moment, and don't care too terribly much either.

Yes, indeed, the World pages do make for interesting reading. Count your blessings, fellow Americanos. We're in the midst of relatively tough times, but its one HELL of a lot worse in many, many places this Dec 25.

Why Isn't Matt in Colfax?

I stumbled upon this and I have smiled and smiled and smiled and smiled for so long my lips fell off (but they landed in one of the dogs' food bowls which made him smile and smile and smile).

This is how we should all be spending our time.

Thank Goat for Matt!

Daily YouTube: The Mugabe Song

This might be funny under different circumstances...

Today's comedy joke

Not that this describes my house or anything...

A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

I love the Internet

In another example of the creativity of humans, here are a bundle of animated gifs (which don't copy/paste worth a darn, darn it) of President Bush dodging shoes and other goodies.

I especially like the Three Stooges clip.

Blackcomb gondola collapse

A tower on Blackcomb Mountain's Excalibur gondola collapsed this afternoon. No one was seriously hurt, and all seems relatively well this evening at spectacular Whistler-Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia.

I have been whisked up Blackcomb on the Excalibur lift a few times in my trips up north and out west. By gondola standards, its not terrifying - for example, the Whistler Village gondola, located about 100 yards to the right of Excalibur, scares the crap out of me. Several spots on that one have you hanging what feels like 50 stories over creeks and ravines.

I have always suffered from serious pucker-factor (if you will excuse the crudity) while on chair lifts and gondolas. The whole hanging from a wire thing is a bit difficult for me to grasp.

Regardless, the good news here is that no one got hurt badly. In addition, this happened far enough out from the Olympics that no one will remember it when the flame is lit on Feb 12, 2010, and the fine folks at Whistler will have plenty of time to give everything a once, twice, and thrice-over.

I just thank the sweet, clean Lord God Almighty I wasn't on the thing when it happened!

Looking for a Holiday Gift Idea -- Try Kiva

Do Something Good in the World.

Make a Gift to Kiva

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.
Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, they gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Their partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, their partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

How Kiva Works:

1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, our partners also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur's chances of success.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.

As all our belts grow tighter and we all get caught up in our own personal misery, sometimes it is good to think of others. For $25, you can change someone's life. Now that should be what the holidays are all about.

Go to!

Cholera? What cholera?

We can all stand down from our concern about Zimbabwe. According to Robert Mugabe, there is no cholera. Zimbabwe's doctors, working with the World Health Organization, have it cracked, so you can call off your emergency.

Well, thank God for that. It must be true, right? Because we all know what a firm grip Robert Mugabe has on reality.

I don't think it helped his credibility that he was shooing flies away from his face throughout the entire, hour-long, televised speech. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I sorta think it doesn't speak well of the state of sanitation in Harare if the President is being swarmed by vermin.

Update from Zimbabwe: A disaster that keeps getting worse

We're way past the point of any good, or even encouraging, news coming out of Zimbabwe. The only question one asks when stories come across with Harare in the dateline is: How much worse is it now?

The answer today is: Lots.

The cholera epidemic has taken hold, with the official death toll now approaching 600. Unofficially, the number is MUCH higher. The total collapse of Zimbabwe's health-care and communications systems means there is no way to really count the number of sick, dying, and dead.

The rainy summer has started and will continue through Feb. Malaria will appear. Cholera will spread faster. The population, already weakened by lack of food and medicine, will become more susceptible to both. The ruined economy, ultra-hyper inflation, and 80% unemployment rate ensure the general population has no hope of escaping the despair or obtaining help. Mugabe's "government" continues to see invading foreign troops behind every tree, and will never open the country up for the kind of international humanitarian aid which would have any hope of averting catastrophe. Mugabe himself will continue to stall and stymie regional and international efforts to get him out of power, or to even share some power, and the situation will not change, except to get worse.

We are witnessing the death of a nation, one conceived less than 30 years ago amidst high expectations, higher hopes, and positive initial results. Looking back to the early 80s, although there were rumors of atrocities in Matabeleland, the average Zimbabwean, white or black, enjoyed a thriving economy, plenty to eat, international goodwill, and a seemingly brilliant future. Now, disaster is upon us, and the only questions are how many will die and how long will it take for them to die.

What can we do about it? Not much. Give to Oxfam and the Red Cross. Pray. If you're ambitious, you might write a note to Kgalema Motlanthe or Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. Write your representative. Suggest to Sir Bob the Knob or Bono the Dog Biscuit they get Band Aid back together. The West isn't going to fix this one. I'm not sure anyone is.

Daily YouTube: Today's entry from the Theatre of the Surreal

Sarah Palin waxes rhapsodic about her blessings from God, while some dude snuffs turkeys behind her.

I'm just trying to picture the conversation as they set up the shot...

Daily YouTube(ish): My son will love this

Some knucklehead dresses up as a Nintendo character and acts out the game. I only post this because my 8-year-old is currently obsessed with Mario.

MARIO KART (REMI GAILLARD)
by nqtv

How did this seem like a good idea?

Story here.

Bonus YouTube: Now THIS is history!

Our soon-to-be ex-President, back in the 90s when he was nothing more than a very successful Governor of Texas. Also featuring local sports-media legend Norm Hitzges.

Norm's prophcy didn't come true. Draw your own conclusions...

Daily YouTube: Yes, I work with these people...

A bit of fried gold from Bill Lundgren (GENIUS) and the friendly folks at Catapult - Dallas...

Another gloomy Monday in Sportsville

The Cowboys spit the bit like champs yesterday, blowing a 10 point lead in the last 8 minutes to lose to the Steelers 20-13.

What a life-force drainer this one was.

While the defense seems to improve with each passing game, special teams remain in the toilet, the offense swings wildly from great to horrible, Romo swings wildly from Jedi Master to erratic, and sideline chaos becomes more of a factor each week.

You can't ask more of a defense than what we witnessed for three and half quarters yesterday. Pressure? Yep. Outstanding coverage? Check. Hard-hitting, near-maniacal play from the linebackers? Got that too.

The only thing the defense lacked was the legs to finish. And its hard to blame them, as the offense and special teams put them in bad situation after bad situation.

The defense played well enough yesterday to win this game or any other you care to name.

While Tashard Choice turned in an exceptional performance in his first start, and exceeded everyone's expectations, we now have to question Marion Barber's toughness. I know that's easy to do from the warmth and cushiness of my couch, and I don't want to meet him in a parking lot after writing this, but EVERYONE expected him to play. What's up with that?

However, I don't know that it would have made any difference if Barber had been in there. Choice did fine, and I doubt Walter Payton could have overcome the outrageous mistakes made by Romo and the rest of the "skill" players.

Romo threw two of the worst looking interceptions you'll ever see, and the third (actually, the first sequentially) was a direct result of TO Owens giving up on a route. Witten made mistakes (where did that come from?), Williams made mistakes, Crayton was his usual non-factor, and it added up to a lot of missed opportunities.

Can someone tell me what the hell the coaches are coaching? I haven't seen such chaos on the field since Kent State (that was dark, no?). Romo looks like my son's 2nd grade teacher, directing confused children to their proper places. How the hell do two key players on opposite sides of the ball (Romo and Henry) try to call a 4th time-out in the first half? And what on Earth is up with 12 men on the field on a crucial third down? Wade seems to have lost complete control of this team. What is going on down there?

And a word about the special teams: DISASTER!

It's nut-cuttin' time now, friends. The Cowboys have to win out, and pray for help. This bunch has a good chance of becoming the most disappointing team in DFW sports history. Think for a moment about what that encompasses, and tell me I'm wrong.

That's the World of Warcraft That You Play!

A quick note about World of Warcraft:

Our whole family (myself, my wife, and my 11 year old son) have all gotten on the WOW kick now. Many evenings are spent pw3ning noobs, farming for epics, camping Horde, and wasting our lives. The game is highly addictive and it does, in its own special way, bring the family together. It gives us common goals, a hierarchical power structure, and a clear set of rules to follow. That, and believe it or not, it ROCKS! Remember when the family all sat around together playing Monopoly? Well, this is sort of the same bonding experience, except this time your father won't make you cry when he wipes you out -- we're killing Hoard and running through instances TOGETHER!

All that, and after awhile you can get the following song stuck in your head:



And you will ROFLMAO to this Video:




So now it is time to put some Liferoot up for auction in Stormwind. As my son says, "Quick Robin, to the Rolfomoblie!" Then again, he says a lot of things like that after we have been playing for an hour or so.

So WOW, get on the horse (once you hit level 30 that is)!

Today's giggle: 130,000 fake boobs lost at sea

The publisher of Australian men's magazine Ralph (I have no suitable comment on the name...) was all set to include a fake, inflatible boobie in their Jan issue. Unfortunately for them, the 130,000 blow-up teats have gone missing in transit. Apparently, they left the dock in Shanghai, but never arrived in Sydney.

I love it when this blog writes itself...

The Mets' new field is still going to named "Citi"

After two massive government bailouts and a total crash in stock price, my former employers at Citigroup are still going forward with their plans to pay through the nose for naming rights to the Mets' new ballpark.

Citi Field is scheduled to replace venerable Shea next year, and Citigroup is reportedly paying upwards of $400 million to have their name on the marquee.

Does this sound like good use of our dough?