Thursday, December 30, 2004
Week 17 NFL Picks, Final 2004 Regular Season Edition.
Cincinnati at Philadelphia
Cleveland at Houston
Detroit at Tennessee
Green Bay at Chicago
Miami at Baltimore
Minnesota at Washington
New Orleans at Carolina
N.Y. Jets at St. Louis
Pittsburgh at Buffalo
San Francisco at New England
Atlanta at Seattle
Tampa Bay at Arizona
Indianapolis at Denver
Jacksonville at Oakland
Kansas City at San Diego
Dallas at N.Y. Giants
8:37:00 AM
Week 16 NFL Picks Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Week 11: 11-5; 68.75% (My second best week.)
Week 12: 12-4; 75% (My best week.)
Week 13: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 14: 12-4; 75% (Tearing it up since Week 11.)
Week 15: 12-4; 75% (Continuing on my late-season push.)
Week 16: 9-7; 56.25%
Overall: 148-92; 61.66%
8:31:00 AM
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
The New York Times offers a look inside the world of literary journals and talks about one journal, Quick Fiction, and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, which has a member directory.
11:49:00 AM
Books I Picked Up Recently.
"McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales," ed. Michael Chabon
"Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003," ed. Zadie Smith and Dave Eggers, series ed.
"Lapsing into a Comma," by Bill Walsh
"Choice: The Best of Reason," ed. Nick Gillespie
10:07:00 AM
Monday, December 27, 2004
I wonder what the Mothers Against Violence in America would have to say about this.
9:20:00 PM
Kevin Melrose points out the post-"Demo" interview at Newsarama with Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan.
6:55:00 PM
Glenn Reynolds offers some thoughts on Hugh Hewitt's new book about blogs, "Blog : Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World."
6:53:00 PM
What will I do with the test once I get it?
I was flipping through the channels last night on the television when I came across a commercial "advertising" the beauty of taking an HIV test. However, at the end of the commercial, there was a screen shot with the logo on it. Down at the bottom, I think, it read, "Get an HIV test." I'm not sure what I should do with it after I get it.
1:19:00 PM
Unused Spam.
Worry no more: something unusual
being bugged?
last notice to help you sit back and relax
can you make my party broke
like me? get back to me please
Actually see yourself looking
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Learn how to design your own
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don't wait another year;
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Don't get caught without protection:
Fill 'er up on us.
Addicted to gnomish cost?
Relax help is here.
1:07:00 PM
Saturday, December 25, 2004
To Read List, Third Update.
"The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life," Ralph Keyes
"All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime," William Rehnquist
"Atlas Shrugged," Ayn Rand
"The Politics Presidents Make," Stephen Skowronek
"Presidential War Power," Louis Fisher
"No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days," Chris Baty
"Who Let the Blogs Out? : A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs," Biz Stone
"Choice: The Best of Reason," ed. Nick Gillespie
"Mimesis and the Human Animal," Robert Storey
"Literary Darwinism: Evolution, Human Nature, and Literature," Joseph Carroll
8:27:00 PM
My Christmas Present to Myself?
Probably most of these:
A.K.A. #1 & 2
All Flee
Attic Wit
Dinosaur Song
Kharma Comic
Monica's Story
One Line
Reporter and Little Black
Sisyphus
White Elephant
3:25:00 PM
Stop Me Before I Blitz, Special Christmas Eve Edition.
Game tied at 31, Green Bay had the ball and was facing 1-and-10 from the Minnesota 38. At that spot, it would be a 55-yard field goal attempt for the win. If Minnesota holds them, the figgie is no sure bet. Anyway, it's a blitz! Quick flat completion to Javon Walker, who put a move on the defender and ran 31 yards down the sideline before being pushed out of bounds at the Minny 7.
9:10:00 AM
The tastefully named Gregg Easterbrook has written in his Tuesday Morning Quarterback column that the playoffs should be held with the teams with the best records, not necessarily making an even split among conference lines.
For example, this year, as of today, the representatives in the playoffs would be Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New England, San Diego, Indianapolis, Atlanta, New York B, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Denver and Buffalo -- assuming that the division winners do not get an automatic berth, as Seattle leads its division with a 7-7 record. This would mean that of the 12 playoff teams, nine would be from the AFC and only three from the NFC, a disproportionate number.
Now, I tend to agree with the tastefully named NFL.com columnist, but I have a question regarding his argument for the above playoff restructuring: How would the playoffs be restructured?
If this were to be instituted, it would be the instant death of the AFC and NFC Championship games -- not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, however, it's just a natural conclusion. If an even split of teams were to enter the playoffs, six from each conference, the championship games could be held, but there's no guarantee that they will be held each year. I don't have a problem with losing the championship games so long as it means the best teams enter the playoffs each year.
However, I think that simply eliminating an even split for playoff teams from the playoffs would not be a far enough push. With 12 teams earning playoff bids, that's currently 37.5% of the teams who earn a spot in the playoffs -- way too many. The playoffs should be for the elite football teams -- and that's what Easterbrook is pushing with his argument. I think only eight teams should earn playoff berths in the new system, meaning only 25% of the teams earn a playoff spot.
However, if the league were to implement that, it would be hard to format the post-season scheduling. Consider: say only the top two teams earn a first-round bye, that would mean six teams must play. But three games? That would give an odd number of winners.
With 10 teams, 31.25% of the league, either two teams would need to play twice in one week or the top two teams would earn byes for the firs two weeks, both of which are fringe scenarios. With six teams, 18.75% of the league, the format would work out nicely, but only six teams would earn playoff spots, meaning the playoffs would be quite short. I'm not sure where I was going with this other than to put my thoughts in words.
8:39:00 AM
Friday, December 24, 2004
Have I ever written about how great Scott McCloud is? He's only passed on information about BitPass and, now, Mperia.
8:30:00 AM
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Week 16 NFL Picks.
Green Bay at Minnesota
Oakland at Kansas City
Denver at Tennessee
Atlanta at New Orleans
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Chicago at Detroit
Houston at Jacksonville
N.Y. Giants at Cincinnati
San Diego at Indianapolis
Buffalo at San Francisco
New England at N.Y. Jets
Arizona at Seattle
Carolina at Tampa Bay
Washington at Dallas
Cleveland at Miami
Philadelphia at St. Louis
1:40:00 PM
St. Louis Post-Dispatch fired staff writer Daniel P. Finney after company brass found out Finney had been working on a blog from work in which he posted under a different name and wrote about happenings in the paper, including some of the stories on which he was working.
1:34:00 PM
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
News about the next "Real World" season has broken. What I found really interesting was this:
Murray also wouldn't say where the house is, and he was tightlipped on the identities of the seven strangers, though he said his casting staff did "a bit of an outreach to people returning from Iraq." "We always look for a diverse cast," Murray told the AP. "The idea of someone who was in Iraq, well, that would certainly meet that criteria. Ultimately, we choose from people who apply."
6:19:00 PM
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Week 15 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Week 11: 11-5; 68.75% (My second best week.)
Week 12: 12-4; 75% (My best week.)
Week 13: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 14: 12-4; 75% (Tearing it up since Week 11.)
Week 15: 12-4; 75% (Continuing on my late-season push.)
Overall: 139-85; 62.05%
10:11:00 AM
Monday, December 20, 2004
I always seem to be a few days late catching up to the Carnival of the Recipes, but they're usually well worth it. Highlights this week: Sicillian Meatloaf and Poor Man's BBQ.
3:22:00 PM
Friday, December 17, 2004
Week 15 NFL Picks.
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Giants
Washington at San Francisco
Carolina at Atlanta
Buffalo at Cincinnati
Dallas at Philadelphia
Denver at Kansas City
Houston at Chicago
Minnesota at Detroit
San Diego at Cleveland
Seattle at N.Y. Jets
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
St. Louis at Arizona
Jacksonville at Green Bay
Tennessee at Oakland
Baltimore at Indianapolis
New England at Miami
6:44:00 PM
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Week 14 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Week 11: 11-5; 68.75% (My second best week.)
Week 12: 12-4; 75% (My best week.)
Week 13: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 14: 12-4; 75% (Tearing it up since Week 11.)
Overall: 127-81; 61.06%
7:21:00 PM
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
NFL Post-season Predictions.
Here's my take on the post-season picture:
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
Wildcard: New York Jets
Wildcard: Buffalo Bills
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
NFC West: Seattle Seahawks
Wildcard: Minnesota Vikings
Wildcard: Carolina Panthers
10:57:00 AM
Sunday, December 12, 2004
A couple of days ago, the Toronto Star offered a good read on how films about history generally tell more about the time in which the film was made than the time in which the film is set.
(Link via ArtsJournal.)
10:42:00 AM
The Washington Post offers How to Start a Winning Blog.
(Link via Instapundit.)
10:40:00 AM
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Class Registration Spam.
Don't get Scrooged; Super deals are alive!
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Never sweep again into the orchestra and
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Get ready to roll: Earth is not round;
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9:23:00 AM
Week 14 NFL Picks.
Chicago at Jacksonville
Cincinnati at New England
Cleveland at Buffalo
Indianapolis at Houston
New Orleans at Dallas
N.Y. Giants at Baltimore
Oakland at Atlanta
Seattle at Minnesota
Miami at Denver
N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh
Detroit at Green Bay
San Francisco at Arizona
St. Louis at Carolina
Tampa Bay at San Diego
Philadelphia at Washington
Kansas City at Tennessee
9:08:00 AM
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Wikipedia is a great, great site; have I ever mentioned that? It's been the only place I can remember where I learned about the slight, subtle difference between panspermia and directed panspermia.
7:21:00 PM
Stanley Kauffman at The New Republic has a review of the movie "Sideways."
Yet, unlike the earlier film, Sideways is a comedy. Its comic beginnings are what delay its serious impact, not because they are comic but because they seem to predict a somewhat familiar story. Miles is a schoolteacher in San Diego, a would-be novelist and a wine lover, who goes off to northern California with an old college chum for a week of wine tasting. (Casually drinking while they drive, too.) The chum, Jack, is a good-looking fellow, full of sun-kissed charm, big and a touch overripe, a former soap-opera actor who is congenitally cheery. Jack is engaged to be married on the next Saturday. When he and Miles set off together, we know the film wouldn't have been made if changes were not coming for both of them, but little in the opening section makes us expect more than tolerable entertainment--from this pairing of an introvert and a hearty good fellow.
7:19:00 PM
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Week 13 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Week 11: 11-5; 68.75% (My second best week.)
Week 12: 12-4; 75% (My best week.)
Week 13: 9-7; 56.25%
Overall: 115-77; 59.90%
8:17:00 AM
Monday, December 06, 2004
The Chicago Sun-Times sits down with Bill Rancic, the winner of the first season of "The Apprentice".
This exchange was pretty amusing:
He's getting pretty used to people recognizing him, but the interest they have in his personal life still weirds him out a bit. The "what happened with Jen?" question is among his least favorite, he says, as I make a mental note to try getting the real story out of him. Later.
He says people also frequently ask "if there's anything I would have done differently."
"Look," he says after a comic pause, "I won the damn thing!"
The second season is scheduled to end Dec. 16. Only two episodes left.
8:31:00 PM
Factsheet 5 touts itself as "your guide to zines and alternative publishing." I've been looking for a listing of Wisconsin literary zines, but haven't done a lot of searching. Hopefully this site will have what I need.
(Tip NeilAlien.)
8:30:00 PM
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Week 13 NFL Picks.
Arizona at Detroit
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
Buffalo at Miami
Carolina at New Orleans
Cincinnati at Baltimore
Houston at N.Y. Jets
Minnesota at Chicago
New England at Cleveland
San Francisco at St. Louis
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Denver at San Diego
Kansas City at Oakland
Green Bay at Philadelphia
N.Y. Giants at Washington
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville
Dallas at Seattle
9:03:00 AM
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
The Washington Post also had a story on how newspapers may inflate circulation numbers and how circulation numbers nationwide have been falling since 1987.
7:21:00 PM
This is a great article, and a good insight into covering this administration.
7:13:00 PM
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
I would agree with these sentiments.
10:54:00 AM
Week 12 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Week 11: 11-5; 68.75% (My second best week.)
Week 12: 12-4; 75% (My best week.)
Overall: 106-70; 60.23%
10:29:00 AM
Monday, November 29, 2004
Monday Night Football Spam.
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10:17:00 PM
Saturday, November 27, 2004
I'm re-reading Watchmen and this site is a great tool as I follow along.
2:27:00 PM
Take a look at Peter Bagge's Buddy Does Seattle over at Graphic Novel Review.
10:07:00 AM
Darren Aronofsky drops himself from Watchmen movie? What rock have I been living under?
(Thanks Near Mint Heroes.)
9:23:00 AM
Friday, November 26, 2004
Scott McCloud is right, again. This site rocks. This is particularly great.
3:08:00 PM
I didn't even know there was a Vietnam Magazine, but I'm wrong again. Regardless, that article is a good account of Dien Bien Phu.
1:36:00 PM
Bookslut has a link to an interesting read on yaoi comics, a gay manga niche.
9:43:00 AM
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
"The Urbz," the new "Sims" spinoff game from EA, offers comics, too. Check out those from James Kochalka, Dave Crosland, Peter Bagge and Jay Stephens.
10:56:00 PM
Raised by Squirrels is good. Matt Brady of Newsarama profiles the piece and others in a post-SPX review.
9:42:00 PM
The Packers signed RB James Jackson, who was recently cut from the Cleveland Browns, Tuesday afternoon.
Woot.
8:09:00 PM
Week 12 NFL Picks.
Indianapolis at Detroit
Chicago at Dallas
Cleveland at Cincinnati
Jacksonville at Minnesota
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants
San Diego at Kansas City
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Tennessee at Houston
Washington at Pittsburgh
New Orleans at Atlanta
Baltimore at New England
Buffalo at Seattle
Miami at San Francisco
N.Y. Jets at Arizona
Oakland at Denver
St. Louis at Green Bay
6:39:00 PM
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Statisticians will study anything, I guess.
(Link via TMQ.)
1:04:00 PM
The Arizona Republic reports that the Arizona State University journalism faculty have passed a resolution in support of the State Press, the student newspaper that was under fire from the ASU president for publishing a picture of a woman's breast being pierced for a body piercing article. The photo ran on the paper's front page. I had an earlier post on the situation here.
University officials, starting with President Michael Crow, were incensed when the Oct. 7 issue of the State Press Magazine published a cover photograph of a breast pierced with a tiny barbell, illustrating an article about body piercing.
The unanimous faculty resolution, passed by 17 members in attendance (out of 21 on the faculty), resolved:
"That the faculty of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication unanimously supports the efforts of the State Press, ASU's independent student newspaper, in exercising its First Amendment rights. The faculty commends the leadership of State Press editors and the guidance of faculty and staff who work with students in their efforts against censorship."
ASU President Michael Crow responds near the end of the article:
"I don't think we want them off campus," Crow said. "I think as an investor in the business, we want some say in how it's run."
12:37:00 PM
Poor Clock Management.
What was up with Dick Vermeil on Monday Night Football last night? He used poor clock management at the end of the game, which in part lead to the New England Patriots defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
Let's take a closer look:
The Patriots had the ball with about five minutes to go leading 24-19. Facing 2-and-5 from their own 41, the Pats handed off to Corey Dillon, who ran for nine yards and the first down. Vermeil should have used his first timeout here; it would have stopped the clock with about 5:30 left and given the KC defense a couple minutes of rest, as by the fourth quarter, they were looking tired. The Pats would have scored earlier in the fourth had Dillon not fumbled at the KC 5-yard line. Had they taken a timeout there, then one after the next running play and kept the last timeout for offense, assuming KC would have stopped the Pats on that series of downs, they would have gotten the ball back deep in their own territory with about 3:10 left on the clock, give or take a bit. Of course, that's assuming the Pats did not throw an incompletion or otherwise stop the clock in that span.
11:17:00 AM
Leftover Spam.
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Turn your ground floor opportunity
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10:39:00 AM
Week 11 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Week 11: 11-5; 68.75% (My best week.)
Overall: 94-66; 58.75%
10:24:00 AM
Sunday, November 21, 2004
I have approximately no patience left.
I'm about to pull out some whoop-ass.
Brevity is necessity.
6:11:00 PM
I'm digging drew's Beard of the Month paintings.
1:26:00 PM
Adam L. Penenberg at Wired News speculates that the next round of media buyouts may include blogs.
According to Sam Whitmore, editor of Sam Whitmore's Media Survey, over the next 12 to 24 months you will probably see big media companies scarf up these cult destinations, where a growing number of people are going for opinions, analysis and community. "Look at what happened politically," Whitmore said, when blogs hit the big time during the presidential campaign. "The same thing will happen in business, because people know they don't need to head to branded sites for good information. Bloggers can be trusted to be independent and people will turn to self-published experts for information."
1:23:00 PM
The Phoenix New Times ran an article a couple of days ago about Arizona State University president allegedly putting pressure on administrators to coerce and intimidate the the State Press, the independently run campus newspaper. The president allegedly was pressuring the editor and others because of a story the paper ran about body piercings, including a photo of a woman with a nipple pierced. ASU top donor and alum Ira Fulton saw the photo and was allegedly irate. He called the president, Michael Crow, who then began to pressure the paper.
Apparently, the magazine cover caught the eye of Ira Fulton, ASU's most generous donor. The founder of Tempe-based Fulton Homes has given $58 million to the university in the past year and a half, including a $3 million gift announced earlier this month. His first gift of $50 million in June 2003 spurred the renaming of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
The photo of a bare breast, erect nipple and all, on the cover of the student newspaper's weekly magazine, prompted Fulton to contact Crow's office directly to voice his displeasure, according to internal e-mails obtained by New Times. But rather than informing Fulton that the State Press, an ASU institution since 1890, was editorially independent of the university and that the administration had no right to dictate the paper's content, Crow reacted by ordering a subordinate to intimidate the State Press and its student editors -- threatening to sever all financial support for the newspaper, according to e-mails and State Press editor in chief Cameron Eickmeyer.
Later:
According to more than a dozen interviews with faculty, students and university administrators, along with hundreds of pages of e-mails and correspondence New Times has obtained, Crow is compromising academic freedom and First Amendment rights in order to curry favor and entice wealthy donors into giving millions of dollars to the state's largest public university.
Whether it's keeping the Commission on Presidential Debates at bay, cowering to Fulton -- who also happens to be a George W. Bush elector in the Electoral College -- or coddling Fulton's fellow members of the Mormon church, Crow is obviously so determined to maintain such a controlled environment that he's trying to scare the campus of 55,000 into submission.
And that includes the university's free press.
The report is rather lengthy, but it is an interesting read nonetheless.
1:19:00 PM
Another GTA: SA glitch.
While running away from the police, I was in Fort Carson by the save point, and a police truck drove past me (I was on the pier out back) into the water. The truck eventually sunk and I shot it with a rocket. For whatever reason, this caused a group of yellow fish (about five or six total) to swim ... out of the water. They were swimming overhead and I was sniping them, but they wouldn't die.
11:42:00 AM
Friday, November 19, 2004
Week 11 NFL Picks.
Arizona at Carolina
Dallas at Baltimore
Denver at New Orleans
Detroit at Minnesota
Indianapolis at Chicago
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
San Francisco at Tampa Bay
St. Louis at Buffalo
Tennessee at Jacksonville
Miami at Seattle
San Diego at Oakland
Atlanta at N.Y. Giants
Washington at Philadelphia
Green Bay at Houston
New England at Kansas City
9:24:00 PM
Thursday, November 18, 2004
I posted yesterday about a glitch I found in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Well, the glitch centered around the fact that I had stuffed a garage too full. Last night, when I was playing, I somehow managed to squeeze my way in between the two cars and eventually pushed one Remington out of the garage. So now that garage can be used again. Yay!
9:17:00 AM
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
To Read List, Second Update.
"The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life," Ralph Keyes (Still on my list, however, I was able to obtain a copy of the book, so now I do not have to forage through my local library.)
"All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime," William Rehnquist
"Atlas Shrugged," Ayn Rand
"The Politics Presidents Make," Stephen Skowronek
"Presidential War Power," Louis Fisher
"No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days," Chris Baty
"Who Let the Blogs Out? : A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs," Biz Stone
"Choice: The Best of Reason," ed. Nick Gillespie
"Mimesis and the Human Animal," Robert Storey
"Literary Darwinism: Evolution, Human Nature, and Literature," Joseph Carroll
11:21:00 PM
GTA: San Andreas Glitch.
I was playing last night, just fooling around, trying to extract a car from a garage in the Dillimore property. I had inadvertantly put two Remingtons in there and couldn't get one out. As CJ ran into the garage, he got stuck between the two vehicles. I kept having him jump up so he could get to the back of one vehicle and slowly push it out of the garage. As I jumped, CJ went straight up ... into the attic. Except that he wasn't supposed to be there, so the game showed CJ, half his body in the attic of the garage, the other half sticking out of the roof. I couldn't get him to jump back down, but I could take a rocket and shoot it at his feet. That certainly got him out in a hurry.
6:24:00 PM
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Wired magazine showcases the potential future of HR2391, the Intellectual Property Protection Act, as it may "undo centuries of 'fair use.'"
The bill lumps together several pending copyright bills including HR4077, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act, which would criminally punish a person who "infringes a copyright by ... offering for distribution to the public by electronic means, with reckless disregard of the risk of further infringement." Critics charge the vague language could apply to a person who uses the popular Apple iTunes music-sharing application. The bill would also permit people to use technology to skip objectionable content -- like a gory or sexually explicit scene -- in films, a right that consumers already have. However, under the proposed law, skipping any commercials or promotional announcements would be prohibited. The proposed law also includes language from the Pirate Act (S2237), which would permit the Justice Department to file civil lawsuits against alleged copyright infringers. Also under the proposed law, people who bring a video camera into a movie theater to make a copy of the film for distribution would be imprisoned for three years, fined or both.
Now that is harsh.
9:22:00 AM
Week 10 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Week 10: 6-8; 42.86% (My first losing week.)
Overall: 83-61; 57.64%
9:12:00 AM
Sunday, November 14, 2004
The Washington Post tackles National Novel Writing Month.
NaNoWriMo started with 21 people and each year it grows bigger. This year there are about 40,000 people across the country and around the world attempting it, Baty says. Participation is free, though people are encouraged to make donations if they can. They register on the Web site, http://www.nanowrimo.org/, and share thoughts and ask questions on the message boards. WriMos, as they're known, share excerpts of their work, which reveal the NaNo approach to writing: enthusiastic and over-caffeinated, and minus the benefit of revising, because the experiment's time constraints don't allow it. They are, at the very least, imaginative:
"Vaamanan would have thought after the twelve years Teira was with him, she would have learned that she couldn't escape or defy him. Yet she continued to dredge up those incessant displays of sporadic backbone."
"With glee he shook, as his tongue lolled out the ending sound of his words in a disgustingly slimy way that made you feel like a old, wet, flea-ridden dog with worms just hearing it."
(Link via ArtsJournal.)
1:43:00 PM
Saturday, November 13, 2004
NFL Week 10 Picks.
Baltimore at N.Y. Jets
Chicago at Tennessee
Detroit at Jacksonville
Houston at Indianapolis
Kansas City at New Orleans
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Seattle at St. Louis
Tampa Bay at Atlanta
Cincinnati at Washington
Carolina at San Francisco
Minnesota at Green Bay
N.Y. Giants at Arizona
Buffalo at New England
Philadelphia at Dallas
3:39:00 PM
Friday, November 12, 2004
I've been behind on comics since I started attending college classes again.
Just today, I bought
Demo #10
Demo #11
Jack Staff: Soldiers
3:47:00 PM
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Week 9 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 9: 7-7; 50%
Overall: 77-53; 59.23%
8:57:00 AM
Monday, November 08, 2004
Reason has a detailed round-up of alleged voter fraud.
Also, those handy folks at Bookslut pointed out the new blog Regret the Error.
9:47:00 AM
Sunday, November 07, 2004
'He Must Be Tired' Play of the Day.
Just on NFL.com in the New England-St. Louis game:
Leonard Little, 0 Yd fumble return (Jeff Wilkins kick is good), 14:46.
3:59:00 PM
Friday, November 05, 2004
Week 9 NFL Picks.
Arizona at Miami
Dallas at Cincinnati
Kansas City at Tampa Bay
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo
Oakland at Carolina
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
Washington at Detroit
Chicago at N.Y. Giants
New Orleans at San Diego
Seattle at San Francisco
Houston at Denver
New England at St. Louis
Cleveland at Baltimore
Minnesota at Indianapolis
10:13:00 AM
Thursday, November 04, 2004
This from a previous post:
Just as a quirky experiment, I'm trying to locate as many American newspaper-associated blogs as possible. This is, by no means, limited to one post; it will take several to fully track all blogs. Due to the volatile nature of this project, I'm going to limit those to current and on-going blogs. Certainly, if I wanted, I could try to include all blogs -- and I just may at some future date -- but for now, those papers with blogs left by the wayside will simply have a "*" next to the paper's name. (A hat tip to the Newseum, which I am using to track down as many American papers as possible.)
Arizona
Arizona Republic (Phoenix)*: Plugged In (Editorial Page)
California
Fresno Bee*: Elections 2004
Los Angeles Times: Video Game Blog
Orange County Register (Santa Ana): Election Blog (reg. req.)
Sacramento Bee: California Insider, Convention Weblog
San Diego Union-Tribune: Political Lunacy, Remote Control, Weather Watch; Other San Diego weblogs
San Jose Mercury News: Backstage with Marian, Dan Gillmor's eJournal, Silicon Beat
Colorado
Denver Post: Bloghouse
(Completed through Delaware.)
5:29:00 PM
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
NFL Week 8 Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 8: 8-6; 57.14%
Overall: 70-46; 60.34%
10:33:00 AM
Indy Magazine has a couple of interesting reads up in its newest issue: the first about Peter Bagge and his work at Reason magazine and the second about editorial page cartoons.
10:22:00 AM
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Sour Play of the Day.
Down 21-3 in Pittsburgh, the Patriots found themselves looking at an early game deficit. Do they pound, pound and run it out on the ground? Nope, only three attempts for minus 2 yards mid-way through the second quarter. Do they try to go back to the run, despite missing running back Corey Dillon from the line-up? Pass by Tom Brady into triple coverage, interception.
4:23:00 PM
Surprise Play of the Day.
Trailing 17-7 at the start of the third quarter, Washington was set to kick off to Green Bay ... onside! Green Bay recovers, but this is an alert play call. Certainly Green Bay did not expect the onside; only by the heads-up play from cornerback Bhawoh Jue did the Packers recover.
1:45:00 PM
Friday, October 29, 2004
Week 8 NFL Picks.
Arizona at Buffalo
Baltimore at Philadelphia
Cincinnati at Tennessee
Detroit at Dallas
Green Bay at Washington
Indianapolis at Kansas City
Jacksonville at Houston
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota
Atlanta at Denver
Carolina at Seattle
New England at Pittsburgh
Oakland at San Diego
San Francisco at Chicago
Miami at N.Y. Jets
10:57:00 AM
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Week 7 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 7: 10-4; 71.43%
Overall: 62-40; 60.78%
9:43:00 PM
I don't have anything substance to add to the discussion, but I would note to Ann Althouse that it's the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, not the Milwaukee State Journal or the Milwaukee Journal.
6:30:00 PM
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
I bought it. Yep, San Andreas. I haven't used any codes yet -- I'd like to beat the game without them -- but I may start a second game using them.
1:41:00 PM
Monday, October 25, 2004
Goal-line stand.
There's this from the Monday night game:
1-10-DEN 14 (6:39) R.Johnson right guard to DEN 15 for -1 yards (A.Wilson; J.Lynch).
2-11-DEN 15 (6:02) R.Johnson left guard to DEN 12 for 3 yards (D.Williams).
3-8-DEN 12 (5:24) C.Palmer pass to C.Johnson to DEN 5 for 7 yards (C.Bailey).
4-1-DEN 5 (4:41) R.Johnson right guard to DEN 5 for no gain (K.Herndon; A.Wilson).
8:36:00 PM
IGN has a preview of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, due out this week.
8:35:00 PM
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Spam, Late Sunday Edition.
It happens to all of us:
you matched my profile,
the secret is out!
No more lies:
You'll finally consolidate
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while husbands are away.
acclaim approved:
we have the solution
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This dispatch must alter your life!
Enjoy the summer breeze:
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too tall for the shelf,
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assess and address:
looking for some
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violence, i have tried to
make contact lucky lips.
10:47:00 PM
Pass-Wackiness.
In the Atlanta-Kansas City game, there was this series of downs:
1-9-KC 9 (12:45) M.Vick left end ran ob at KC 1 for 8 yards.
2-1-KC 1 (12:23) M.Vick pass incomplete to A.Crumpler.
3-1-KC 1 (12:19) M.Vick pass incomplete (S.Barber).
4-1-KC 1 (12:19) J.Feely 19 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-D.Rackley, Holder-C.Mohr.
Maybe they should have tried to run.
1:12:00 PM
Saturday, October 23, 2004
NFL Week 7 Picks.
Atlanta at Kansas City
Buffalo at Baltimore
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Detroit at N.Y. Giants
Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Philadelphia at Cleveland
San Diego at Carolina
St. Louis at Miami
Tennessee at Minnesota
N.Y. Jets at New England
Dallas at Green Bay
New Orleans at Oakland
Seattle at Arizona
Denver at Cincinnati
9:30:00 AM
Thursday, October 21, 2004
To Read List, Updated.
"The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life," Ralph Keyes (Still on my list, however, I was able to obtain a copy of the book, so now I do not have to forage through my local library.)
"All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime," William Rehnquist
"Atlas Shrugged," Ayn Rand
"The Politics Presidents Make," Stephen Skowronek
"Presidential War Power," Louis Fisher
"No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days," Chris Baty
"Who Let the Blogs Out? : A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs," Biz Stone
"Choice: The Best of Reason," ed. Nick Gillespie
11:07:00 AM
Oh my.
I have lost my mind, and with it, any semblance of sanity. Forgotten in all this mess is my commitment to finish my third National Novel Writing Month in a row.
The entire site has been remodeled, even the forums. And even Blogger is getting into the act by hosting Na-No-Blog-Mo, the mother blog of NaNoWriMo, hosting links to all those who feel compelled to share their NaNoWriMo -- or perhaps just thoughts about the process -- to the world.
Good luck to everyone; I'm going to need it.
10:26:00 AM
A Sad Week in Fantasy Football.
Week 5: 0-3
Overall: 6-12; 33.33%
Re-draft: 3-3; 50%
Keeper: 0-6
Dynasty: 3-3; 50%
9:00:00 AM
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Reason magazine editors and writers detail their recent presidential voting records here.
9:17:00 AM
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
NFL Week 6 Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 6: 8-6; 57.14%
Overall: 52-36; 59.09%
8:42:00 AM
Monday, October 18, 2004
Thank you, Marc Bulger and Torry Holt.
Your early TD combination in the Monday night game put me at 0-3 for the week, fantasy football wise.
8:18:00 PM
Sunday, October 17, 2004
The Football Gods Shall Smite Mike Sherman.
Up 31-10 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Packers were driving on the Detroit Lions. The drive started late in the third and the Packers were going rush-heavy, calling six rushes compared to four passes, including one incompletion. Packers face 2-9 on the Detroit 20. A rush, right? Nope, halfback pass from Ahman Green to Donald Driver, TD, and the game is all but clinched.
However, the way the Packers were rushing, it was likely that they'd get the TD without trickery, run down the clock and not appear as if they are running up the score.
As a Packer fan, I'm ashamed.
2:52:00 PM
Why Are You Passing?
There was this series in the Kansas City-Jacksonville game, with KC leading 16-14:
Jacksonville Jaguars at 04:40
1-10-JAC24 (4:40) (Shotgun) B.Leftwich pass to J.Smith to JAX 33 for 9 yards (S.Fujita).
2-1-JAC33 (4:05) (Shotgun) B.Leftwich pass incomplete to K.Brady.
3-1-JAC33 (3:56) (Shotgun) B.Leftwich pass incomplete to F.Taylor (V.Holliday).
4-1-JAC33 (3:52) (Shotgun) B.Leftwich pass incomplete to J.Smith (D.McCleon).
2:48:00 PM
Spam From All Angles.
Fix those negatives,
sniff out The Yes People.
Please let me know,
is it funny?
Store everything in a
steel building; Are you
battling Fashion that fits?
Serenity will improve your
moods; A circle of love and
respect shines some light
on the party.
The first to visit good times;
would you like to Rock her world?
yay there here; before you quit:
I hate it!
1:55:00 PM
Glenn Reynolds points to the full text from a speech given by Alan Nelson of The Command Post to a gathering of the Associated Press Managing Editors.
1:45:00 PM
Saturday, October 16, 2004
CNN's transcript of Jon Stewart's appearance on "Crossfire" is full of some great gems.
CARLSON: Kerry won't come on this show. He will come on your show.
STEWART: Right.
CARLSON: Let me suggest why he wants to come on your show.
STEWART: Well, we have civilized discourse.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Well, here's an example of the civilized discourse.
Here are three of the questions you asked John Kerry.
STEWART: Yes.
CARLSON: You have a chance to interview the Democratic nominee. You asked him questions such as -- quote -- "How are you holding up? Is it hard not to take the attacks personally?"
STEWART: Yes.
CARLSON: "Have you ever flip-flopped?" et cetera, et cetera.
STEWART: Yes.
CARLSON: Didn't you feel like -- you got the chance to interview the guy. Why not ask him a real question, instead of just suck up to him?
STEWART: Yes. "How are you holding up?" is a real suck-up. And I actually giving him a hot stone massage as we were doing it.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: It sounded that way. It did.
STEWART: You know, it's interesting to hear you talk about my responsibility.
CARLSON: I felt the sparks between you.
STEWART: I didn't realize that -- and maybe this explains quite a bit.
CARLSON: No, the opportunity to...
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: ... is that the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: So what I would suggest is, when you talk about you're holding politicians' feet to fire, I think that's disingenuous. I think you're...
CARLSON: "How are you holding up?" I mean, come on.
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: No, no, no. But my role isn't, I don't think...
CARLSON: But you can ask him a real question, don't you think, instead of saying...
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: I don't think I have to. By the way, I also asked him, "Were you in Cambodia?" But I didn't really care.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Because I don't care, because I think it's stupid.
CARLSON: I can tell.
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: But my point is this. If your idea of confronting me is that I don't ask hard-hitting enough news questions, we're in bad shape, fellows.
(LAUGHTER) This was a good exchange, too:
CARLSON: Well, I'm just saying, there's no reason for you -- when you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy's butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It's embarrassing.
STEWART: I was absolutely his butt boy. I was so far -- you would not believe what he ate two weeks ago.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.
CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.
STEWART: You need to go to one.
2:01:00 PM
Wonkette, Kos and Powerline bloggers are set to speak today at Moravian College which, I presume, is located somewhere in Pennsylvania.
1:49:00 PM
NFL Week 6 Picks.
Carolina at Philadelphia
Cincinnati at Cleveland
Green Bay at Detroit
Houston at Tennessee
Kansas City at Jacksonville
Miami at Buffalo
San Diego at Atlanta
Seattle at New England
San Francisco at N.Y. Jets
Washington at Chicago
Denver at Oakland
Pittsburgh at Dallas
Minnesota at New Orleans
Tampa Bay at St. Louis
1:43:00 PM
Fantasy Football, Week 5.
Week 5: 1-2; 33.33%
Overall: 6-9; 40%
Re-draft: 2-3; 40%
Keeper: 0-5
Dynasty: 3-2; 60%
1:37:00 PM
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Bone ... in color?
10:19:00 PM
Mary Fitzgerald of the Washington Post reports on a loan bill just passed without opposition by Congress:
Democrats and student loan watchdog advocates have criticized as inadequate legislation passed by Congress to address loopholes that allow student loan companies to collect huge subsidies from the government. The bill ending the federal guarantee of a 9.5 percent rate of return to student loan lenders was passed Saturday without opposition by the Senate. The House passed it Thursday, also without opposition. Later in the article, there was this:
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said the legislation failed to address what he called the "full interest rate gouging" that loan companies had engaged in. "What the Congress has done is only a down payment, because it does not close the entire, notorious 9.5 percent student loan loophole, and because even this reform will expire after one year," Kennedy said in a statement. "We will be back through on the first available vehicle to shut down this wasteful corporate subsidy once and for all." However, what really piqued my interest was this sentence (emphasis mine):
The bill, supported earlier by the administration, expires in one year, with sponsors pledging to find a permanent solution when the higher education law is renewed next year.
8:35:00 AM
Week 5 NFL Pick Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Week 5: 8-6; 57.14%
Overall: 44-30; 59.46%
8:16:00 AM
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
To Read List.
"The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life," Ralph Keyes.
"All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime," William Rehnquist
"Atlas Shrugged," Ayn Rand
"The Politics Presidents Make," Stephen Skowronek
"Presidential War Power," Louis Fisher
8:34:00 AM
Monday, October 11, 2004
I really want to enter this contest. Too bad I'm already registered.
9:06:00 AM
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Why Are You Celebrating?
The Minnesota Vikings are at the Houston Texans with a 21-0 lead with 6:58 left to go in the third quarter. Newly groomed Texans QB David Carr passes to Andre Johnson for a 2-yard TD pass. Johnson is knocked to the ground, but stands up, spreads his arms and then jumps into the first row of endzone seats.
Mr. Johnson: Your team is losing by two touchdowns; why are you celebrating?
2:07:00 PM
Saturday, October 09, 2004
The Washington Post reports that the House of Representatives has adopted legislation that makes it illegal to record a movie in the theater and then circulate it outside, particularly on the Internet.
The bill is dubbed the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2004.
As an interesting side note:
But when it came time to vote, lawmakers did a little editing of their own and added language to the measure that would give federal protection to a special type of DVD player that can play cleaned-up, family-friendly versions of popular Hollywood movies. The DVD player comes from a small Utah-based company called ClearPlay. Using the $70 player, it's possible to rent or buy a DVD such as "Cold Mountain" and watch it with the kids, without having to squirm through the scenes with sex or violence in them. ClearPlay's software filters contain a list of such scenes in certain movies and command the player to simply skip over them. At its Web site, ClearPlay lists hundreds of movies that the company has filtered in this way.
10:03:00 AM
Week 5 NFL Picks.
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Detroit at Atlanta
Miami at New England
Minnesota at Houston
N.Y. Giants at Dallas
Oakland at Indianapolis
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Buffalo at N.Y. Jets
Jacksonville at San Diego
Arizona at San Francisco
Carolina at Denver
St. Louis at Seattle
Baltimore at Washington
Tennessee at Green Bay
9:51:00 AM
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Don Wycliff at the Chicago Tribune laments on past cases in which news media -- newspapers in particular -- published verbatim news, such as the Watergate documents and Ken Starr's self-titled report. He proposes to re-enact this meme of news reporting:
It's no secret that we in this business have a credibility problem. You could fill a good-size bookshelf with the reports that have been produced over the last decade or so by scholars and journalism organizations on how to restore our credibility.
To be completely truthful, the solution to this problem is only partly within our control. There is a cynicism abroad in America nowadays that is as thick as the clouds of smoke and ash that have been issuing the last few days from Mt. St. Helen's. And on the basis of some of the phone calls and e-mails I routinely receive, it's clear that a certain highly vocal percentage of Americans is cynical because they like being cynical--it's what they do, it's who they are.
But some of what hurts newspapers' credibility is clearly within our control, and our retreat from verbatim presentations of important public statements is part of the problem and symbolic of the whole.
And so, a modest proposal: Why not try it once a week? Take a page in some part of, say, the Sunday paper, label it "Verbatim" or "For the record" or some such thing, and print there the text of one or more major speeches or reports or documents that were in the news the previous week.
And I agree. I think this would be a great feature for print media to begin anew. Certainly it would work well as a tie-in to more diverse on-line content, although it would be great to fit as much into print as possible.
1:27:00 PM
Fantasy Football, Week 4.
Week 4: 1-2
Overall: 5-7
Re-draft: 2-2
Keeper: 0-4
Dynasty: 3-1
8:58:00 AM
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Two Spams in One.
Think big with
your own retort:
be the first in
your area
to go off
the beaten path.
Light up her
life; no need to
be embarrassed.
Your opportunity has
arrived.
Will you accept it,
a dream come
true?
11:36:00 AM
Tuesday Spam.
Make more stank:
A brilliant blood splattering
fest of violence.
gainage of male
part naturally;
Scientific breakthrough
or dumb luck?
its the day
For good girls only!
Looking for someone,
chairman;
can we catch up?
Give the girl
what she needs:
Breaking news.
11:06:00 AM
Monday, October 04, 2004
Week 4 NFL Pick'em Results.
Week 1: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 2: 9-7; 56.25%
Week 3: 10-4; 71.43%
Week 4: 8-6; 57.14%
Overall: 36-24; 60%
Not too bad.
11:11:00 PM
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Steven C. Munson at Commentary magazine reviews The Rape of the Masters: How Political Correctness Sabotages Art.
His book examines eight examples of contemporary art-historical revisionism, tracing its roots to the writings of the French philosophers Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida. Kimball also offers useful insights into how one should think about art. Above all, his book stands as a record of protest against intellectualism run amok. (Link via ArtsJournal.)
9:38:00 AM
NFL Week 4 Picks.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
New England at Buffalo
N.Y. Giants at Green Bay
Oakland at Houston
Philadelphia at Chicago
Washington at Cleveland
Atlanta at Carolina
New Orleans at Arizona
Denver at Tampa Bay
N.Y. Jets at Miami
Tennessee at San Diego
St. Louis at San Francisco
Kansas City at Baltimore
9:22:00 AM
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Fantasy Football Update.
For the week: 1-2
Overall: 4-5
Re-draft: 2-1
Keeper: 0-3
Dynasty: 2-1
8:43:00 AM
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Tom Oliphant says that Michael Badnarik could hold Bush's Nevada future in his hands.
7:14:00 PM
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
NFL Week 3 Pick'em Results:
This week: 10-4, 71.43%
YTD: 28-18, 60.87%
As the season continues, most teams have shown how they approach the game, and I believe that led to a greater percentage of correct games this past week.
8:52:00 AM
Monday, September 27, 2004
Just as a quirky experiment, I'm trying to locate as many American newspaper-associated blogs as possible. This is, by no means, limited to one post; it will take several to fully track all blogs. Due to the volatile nature of this project, I'm going to limit those to current and on-going blogs. Certainly, if I wanted, I could try to include all blogs -- and I just may at some future date -- but for now, those papers with blogs left by the wayside will simply have a "*" next to the paper's name. (A hat tip to the Newseum, which I am using to track down as many American papers as possible.)
Arizona Republic*: Plugged In (Editorial Page)
7:57:00 PM
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles the outreach of literary journals.
Traditionally, a literary journal comes out in an academic setting twice or three times a year -- some in book form, others as magazines -- and may include poetry, book reviews, short stories and narrative nonfiction. Because most do not carry ads or make money from subscriptions (with circulations generally under 5,000), they bleed red ink. Editors spend much of their labor drumming up financial support from arts councils and foundations. The majority of start-ups do not last beyond a few years, Casper said. Venerable models include the Paris Review, Graywolf Press, Plowshares and the Kenyon Review. (Link via ArtsJournal.)
9:46:00 AM
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Football Haiku.
Packers vs. Colts:
Burned by Manning's arm at half,
Brett could not reel in.
Javon: Hold on, man!
One TD, could have tied it;
instead, second loss.
New York G-Men next;
I wonder: Slowik to blitz,
yes = another loss.
10:35:00 PM
Sunday's Spam.
Bonjour!
Could you use a boost?
Up, up, and away.
pure cooling bliss once in a blue moon,
Let's do lunch ... I want to meet you tonight.
What about me what they wanted to
In full color, Take eight friends, find the edge.
Visit me: married ladies urgently need
Attention!
good stuff.
10:49:00 AM
Friday, September 24, 2004
NFL Week 3 Picks.
Arizona at Atlanta
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Chicago at Minnesota
Cleveland at N.Y. Giants
Houston at Kansas City
Jacksonville at Tennessee
New Orleans at St. Louis
Philadelphia at Detroit
Pittsburgh at Miami
San Diego at Denver
Green Bay at Indianapolis
San Francisco at Seattle
Tampa Bay at Oakland
Dallas at Washington
10:43:00 AM
Thursday, September 23, 2004
There's a couple of upcoming PS2 games that look interesting: first, Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, the sequel to the N64 game (screenshots here); and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, also a sequel (screenshots here).
2:45:00 PM
Fantasy Football, Week 2 Results.
After week 1, I was 1-2 in fantasy football, with the win in my dynasty league and losses in keeper and re-draft league.
This past week, I won in the re-draft and dynasty leagues, but lost in the keeper league; my record this week was 2-1.
Overall this season, I'm now 3-3, a .500 manager.
Re-draft: 1-1
Keeper: 0-2
Dynasty: 2-0
9:18:00 AM
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Recently I bought Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires, the newest game in the ongoing DW line, and was excited by the game. The gameplay is pretty much the same, except that Koei has added an appropriately named Empire mode, in which the player attempts to take total control over the 24 provinces of early AD China, right after the fall of the Han Dynasty.
Gamespot is rife with screenshots -- and a lot of them.
9:45:00 AM
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Joey Manley reviews the one-volume Bone edition over at the newly created The Graphic Novel Review.
9:46:00 AM
NFL Week 2 Pick'em Results:
This week: 9-7; 56.25%
YTD: 18-14; 56.25%
8:36:00 AM
Monday, September 20, 2004
Paul Adamski of the Green Bay News-Chronicle depicts the woes that bogged down the Packers yesterday:
In the aftermath of Green Bay's impressive win over Carolina in Week 1, the defense was praised and highlighted for its blitzing schemes that first-year defensive coordinator Bob Slowik installed. After successfully ousting the defending NFC champion Panthers in front of a "Monday Night Football" audience, many believed Green Bay would easily win its home opener and get a 2-0 start for the first time since beginning 3-0 in 2001. The Bears stymied many of the Packers' blitzes and often seemed to outguess Green Bay. When Green Bay blitzed right, Chicago ran left. When Green Bay blitzed left, Chicago bootlegged right to hit a running back in the flat. With Chicago turning to the run to milk the clock, Green Bay was forced to cut back on the blitzes and play more of its base defense. It was here that the Bears and Jones were able to take full advantage of Jackson's absence.
7:46:00 PM
The Packers lost yesterday to the Bears, 21-10, in a game that should not be quickly forgotten. There were two major themes in this game: the first being Ahman Green's costly goalline turnover that swung the game 14 points (from the Pack being up 10-7 to being down 14-3; +3 to -11) and the constant blitzing by defensive coordinator Bob Slowik.
Green's fumbling can cause many headaches, and I'm loathe to say that his running ability offsets his fumbles, but to an extent, they do. Yesterday's game was an instance where his fumble probably cost the Packers the game, but if he fumbled in an instance where the game wouldn't be as threatened, let's just say I wouldn't sweat it as much.
As for the defense, Slowik has to learn that blitzing is a great situational tool -- not one that should be used every down. If you do, Thomas Jones will rush for 150+ yards, it's really that simple. The defense looked completely different from the Carolina game; they were tired, giving up big play after big play, first down after first down, and the absence of Grady Jackson was really noticable. That said, I really like the pick up of Truluck from Kansas City, I think; he looked good for the most part and should really help on passing downs.
Next week it's off to Indianapolis, where there's going to be some defensive screws tightened if the Pack hope to escape with a win.
9:27:00 AM
NeilAlien reviews Strange #1.
9:10:00 AM
Friday, September 17, 2004
Comics To Buy List:
Buddha
Egg Story
Salmon Doubts
Flight
McSweeney's #13
Giant Robot #33
Ojo #1
On a related note, ninety candles sounds interesting; A few perfect hours and Lackluster World do too ; slowly I seem to be buying fewer and fewer trades to long-running titles and more and more graphic novels.
11:18:00 AM
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Today I grabbed:
The Complete Bone, by Jeff Smith
Same Difference and Other Stories, by Derek Kirk Kim
Unfortunately, I've still got a back-log of "to read" stuff, including items purchased months ago. I do have a three-day weekend, though, so maybe I'll make the most of that.
1:35:00 PM
Return of the Spam: "You knew that I'd be back."
Find a bench to work on
Menopausal Women and good girls only.
We can't keep this a secret
every daughter should have
Something she can't refuse:
Guilty conscience.
Heaven on earth is
Patriotic Biker Bears,
harmful errors lurking inside your computer,
The only natural lip plumper,
cheap high-quality software.
can this be true?
is that really you?
You forget to respond?
Bored with your job?
9:47:00 AM
NFL Week 2 Picks.
Carolina at Kansas City
Chicago at Green Bay
Denver at Jacksonville
Houston at Detroit
Indianapolis at Tennessee
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
San Francisco at New Orleans
St. Louis at Atlanta
Washington at N.Y. Giants
Seattle at Tampa Bay
Buffalo at Oakland
Cleveland at Dallas
New England at Arizona
N.Y. Jets at San Diego
Miami at Cincinnati
Minnesota at Philadelphia
9:18:00 AM
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
NFL Week 1 Pick'em Results:
This week: 9-7; 56.25%
YTD: 9-7; 56.25%
9:52:00 AM
Is Mike McKenzie ending his holdout today, or is he simply meeting with top Packer officials, including head coach Mike Sherman? I guess we'll know more as the day passes, but if McKenzie is rejoining the team and is looking to help the team, and not himself, this could be a nice boost the the Packers' defense, one in which I had little confidence entering the season.
Sure, they played great Monday night and they played like a team, but with lots of blitzes on the menu, it could be short order until the plan backfires and the Packers find themselves in a huge hole.
Either way, this story should be a good one.
9:37:00 AM
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Week 1 of the NFL has concluded and Green Bay has a win. Unfortunately, that win came at the expense of injured players: Grady Jackson and Najeh Davenport. Jackson is expected to miss extended time and Davenport's availability is unknown.
As for week 1 of the fantasy football season, well, I started out a lackluster 1-2. I notched my win in my dynasty league, but lost in both the keeper and re-draft leagues.
9:28:00 AM
Monday, September 13, 2004
The Green Bay Packers begin their season tonight on Monday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers, the defending NFC champions. It's hard to expect big things from this team with the way the new emphasis on rule enforcements and the shape of their defense. Realistically, I think this team has enough to win the division and get into the playoffs with the game on Wildcard Weekend. Anything beyond that, however, is reaching for the sky.
I really think Mike Sherman needs to step down as general manager, however. After the late '90s trend of hiring head coaches as general managers has winded down (former Packers coach Mike Holmgren has abdicated his general manager powers), Sherman remains, I believe, the only coach who concurrently serves as his team's general manager. The Packers will not win a Super Bowl with Sherman serving as general manager.
I wish I could sit here and write that they will finish 12-4 or 13-3 and wrap up the NFC and Super Bowl, but I think that 10-6 is the best record with which they could finish the season. A tiebreaker annoits them NFC North champions over the Minnesota Vikings once again, and they lose at home in the first round of the playoffs (I know; I have them beating the Vikings at home in the Wildcard Weekend, but I'm quickly losing faith).
9:18:00 AM
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