Book Rec of the Day 2/28/2007

Brilliant! Humorist and pop-culture aficionado Cain has written a spot-on send-up of the Nancy Drew series. At last Nancy Drew-Nickerson, now in the twilight of her years, reveals her true history. That includes her college roommate, one Carolyn Keene, her husband, Ned Nickerson, and the whole gang. Watch Nancy solve new crimes as a grown-up and reminisce about her finest hours as a teen sleuth. A perfect gift for wannabe girl detectives of all ages and a must for Nancy fans.

CONFESSIONS OF A TEEN SLEUTH, by Chelsea Cain (Bloomsbury, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/28/2007

2/28/1955:
A silly but all-too-serious free-for-all during the pregame warm-ups precedes Kentucky's 66-52 victory over Alabama, clincing a tie for the SEC championship. State troopers are needed to quell the disturbance, which begins with an intense stare-down and woofing session at midcourt and escalates into fisticuffs. When the game finally starts, the Wildcats, led by Bob Burrow's 26 points, win easily.

Birthdays:
Frank Malzone b. 1930
Mario Andretti b. 1940
Bubba Smith b. 1945
Ickey Woods b. 1966
Noureddine Morceli b. 1970

Book Rec of the Day 2/27/2007

“A wildly entertaining read: a raucous blend of history, travelogue, and guide.”—Condé Nast Traveler

“Colorful and meandering, by turns hilarious and horrifying, often delightful.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Crammed full of a wild cast of characters and incredible experiences.”—San Francisco Chronicle

John Gimlette’s account of Paraguay is a gonzo travelogue written with a Technicolor pen. Meet the Nazis, socialites, farmers, and conquistadors that shaped the South American nation. Fasten your seatbelt, it’s going to be a bumpy—but very entertaining—ride.

AT THE TOMB OF THE INFLATABLE PIG, by John Gimlette (Vintage, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/27/2007

2/27/1974
After four seasons in the NBA and 22 straight losses, the Buffalo Braves finally defeat the Boston Celtics. Bob McAdoo scores 37 points to pace a 122-104 victory for the Braves at the Providence Civic Center. With Johon Havlicek sidelined by injury, the Celtics are outscored 37-18 in the second quarter, and Buffalo maintains this edge into the second half with six players scoring in double figures. Ernie DiGregorio, a collegiate star for the Providence Friars, has 20 points for Buffalo in a well-received homecoming.

Birthdays:
Raymond Berry b. 1933
John Davidson b. 1953
James Worthy b. 1961
Kent Desormeaux b. 1970
Duce Staley b. 1975

Book Rec of the Day 2/26/2007

YOU’VE NEVER READ CHINUA ACHEBE?

Chinua Achebe’s first novel is a triumph that works on several levels, but first and foremost it is a good story, well told. It’s a portrait of a flawed man who struggles to redeem himself in the eyes of his family and his neighbors. Simmering just beneath the surface, it is a story of Nigeria—the country’s suffering under colonialism and its attempts to reconstruct itself. Achebe is, in the words of fellow writer Margaret Atwood, “a magical writer—one of the greatest of the twentieth century.”

THINGS FALL APART, by Chinua Achebe (1958; Anchor, 1994)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/26/2007

After a poor round at the Masters during which he four-putted one of Augusta National's devilish holes, Seve Ballesteros summarized the debacle for the inquisitive media: "I miss. I miss. I miss. I make."

Birthdays:
Bobby "Bingo" Smith b. 1946
Rolando Blackman b. 1959
Marshall Faulk b. 1973
Jenny Thompson b. 1973

Book Rec of the Day 2/25/2007

LITERARY FICTION

Is three a crowd or is it just right? Salley Vickers ponders this question in a smart, literate novel that offers fresh new thoughts on love, forgiveness, and getting on with life after a crisis. The novel starts conventionally enough, with a love triangle. But the rest is utterly original, brilliantly combining a ghost story with a gentle comedy of manners. Vickers’s voice is irresistible, and her story would make for a lively reading group discussion.

INSTANCES OF THE NUMBER 3, by Salley Vickers (Picador, 2003)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/25/2007

2/25/196:
The Niagara Purple Eagles stun St. Bonaventure, 87-77, at the Olean Armory, snapping the Bonnies' 99-game home-court winning streak. Al Butler leads the winners with 25 points in the signature win of head coach Taps Gallagher's career. Ironically, Niagara was also the last visiting team to win in this cozy gym, over 13 years ago. Kentucky holds the all-time home-court winning streak record of 129 from 1943 to 1955.

Birthdays:
Monte Irvin b. 1919
Tony Lema b. 1934
Ron Santo b. 1940
Anders Hedberg b. 1951
Paul O'Neill b. 1963

Book Rec of the Day 2/24/2007

CHICK LIT

An ugly duckling in the form of a Pittsburgh matron living in London becomes a swan with the aid of a self-help manual called Elegance that she finds in a secondhand bookshop. Tessaro’s first novel is a breezy, bright, feel-good read that stands out on shelves sagging with mediocre chick lit offerings. The Boston Globe trumpets it as “hilarious,” and Marian Keyes (Sushi for Beginners) calls it “fantastic.”

ELEGANCE, by Kathleen Tessaro (HarperCollins, 2003)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/24/2007

2/24/1948:
Shrewd Yankee general manager George Weiss packages three players to the White Sox and obtains left-hander Steady Eddie Lopat. Over the next eight years, Lopat will win 113 games for the Yanks, serving as a perfect complement to fastballers Allie Reynolds and Vic Raschi. In 1951, his finest season, he'll go 21-9, pitch in the All-Star Game and register two complete-game victories in the World Series against the New York Giants.

Birthdays:
Honus Wagner b. 1874
Alain Prost b. 1955
Eddie Murray b. 1956
Simeon Rice b. 1974
Lleyton Hewitt b. 1981

Who are "they"

I've always heard that "they" say the pain gets less when you've lost someone. As each year since my mom died January 7, 1992 passes and I find I miss her more and more instead of less I wonder who "they" are. Yesterday was my daughter's 16th birthday. My mother was able to hold and love and play with Stephanie for 10 months before the ovarian cancer she'd been battling for close to five years finally claimed her. By the time she died it had spread to her spine and various other internal organs.

It's different, too, than the feelings I have about the loss of my late son. He was just over 14 months when he died June 4, 2000. I miss him, it's particularly difficult when I see kids that would be the age he is now. It hurts.

But it's different. I guess because there are times I need advice, words of wisdom, or just want to know if I behaved like that when I was Stephanie's age. I don't really have anyone to go to for that now, and I find it makes me sad more now than it did when Stephanie was a baby.

Maybe it's because I'm in a better place now. A happy marriage, happy with myself, I'm here in Fargo where my mother grew up, I see her mother frequently (my grandma is 100+) and she refers to me as Anita quite often (Anita was my mom), etc. All things I imagine that contribute to my missing her more often than not.

I look at Stephanie some days and I just can't help but feel that she was incredibly cheated not to know my mother. We have a videotape of Stephanie's first year, my mother is on it until just after Christmas 1991, but it's not the same as seeing her in person. She was so sick those last few months she was really just a shell of the great woman I once knew and admired.

I take some comfort in knowing that my mother and grandfather (who my late son was named for) are up in heaven taking care of my little Art until I'm with him again.

Anyway, that's my deep thought for today.

Book Rec of the Day 2/23/2007

In 1978 with this book of short stories, McPherson became the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Elbow Room is as resonant today as it was then. McPherson brilliantly depicts black America with depth and sensitivity, realism and subtlety, exploring what he calls “minefields of delicious ironies.” If you have never read McPherson, a treat awaits. He is one of the great writers to chronicle America.

ELBOW ROOM, by James Alan McPherson (1977; Fawcett, 1986)

McPherson received a law degree from Harvard and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa.

Sports Fact of the Day 2/23/2007

2/23/1972:
Spotting the California Seals a 6-1 lead at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the high-scoring Boston Bruins roar back with seven unanswered goals to win, 8-6. Bobby Orr has a goal and four assists to lead the onslaught on Seals goalie Gilles Meloche. Fred Stanfield has three goals and Phil Esposito adds a pair, including the tying and go-ahead markers late in the third period. The Bruins will lead the NHL in scoring with 330 goals, register 119 points to lead the regular-season standings and eventually win their second Stanley Cup in three years by beating the New York Rangers in a six-game final.

Birthdays:
Dante Lavelli b. 1923
Fred Biletnikoff b. 1943
Ed "Too Tall" Jones b. 1951
Flip Saunders b. 1955
Bobby Bonilla b. 1963

Book Rec of the Day 2/22/2007

HISTORIES

Before Christmas in 1776 the British had all but won the American Revolution. By New Year’s Day, their confidence was so shattered that the price of government bonds in England fell. What happened in those two weeks that changed everything? Washington crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey. His actions upon arrival paved the way to American victory and helped define everything that the new country stood for.

Fischer’s brilliant, complex investigation earned him the Pulitzer Prize for history.

WASHINGTON’S CROSSING, by David Hackett Fischer (Oxford University Press, 2006)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/22/2007

My baby turns 16 today ::sniff::

Washington's Birthday

2/22/1970:
Ilie Nastase of Romania rallies from a two-set deficit to capture the U.S. Indoor Tennis Championship with a five-set triumph over Cliff Richey. Playing brilliantly and not clowning around as he often did in his later years, Nastase serves his way out of a6-7, 15-40 double match point predicament in the fourth set and proceeds to win the last nine games of the match. After helping Romania reach the 1969 Davis Cup finals, he cracks the world's top 10 list this year and will remain a headling in tennis for the next decade.

Birthdays:
Julius Erving b. 1950
Amy Alcott b. 1956
Vijay Singh b. 1963
Pat LaFontaine b. 1965
Michael Chang b. 1972

Are you a Sociopath?

You Are 4% Sociopath

You're empathetic, loyal, and introspective. In other words, there's no way you're a sociopath... but you can spot one pretty easily!

Are You A Sociopath?

Book Rec of the Day 2/21/2007

“On the last day of January 1915, under the sign of the Water Bearer, in a year of a great war, and down in the shadow of some French mountains on the borders of Spain, I came into the world.”

Merton’s autobiography is one of the most extraordinary accounts of faith ever written. Its quality and its influence places it in a class with Saint Augustine’s Confessions. Merton, who in his twenties converted to Catholicism and became a Trappist monk, was a philosopher, writer, and activist. He wrote many books, but this spiritual memoir may be his very best.

THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN, by Thomas Merton (1949; Harcourt, 1999)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/21/2007

Ash Wednesday
2/21/1979:
A bench-clearing brawl featuring rival enforcers Nick Fotiu of the Rangers and Steve Durbano of the Blues enlivens a 7-3 New York win over St. Louis at Madison Square Garden. The two protagonists square off in a brutal, stick-swinging melee in the third period that spills off the ice and into the corridor leading to the locker rooms. After Fotiu and Durbano are finally separated, it takes ushers, police, linesmen and the rival coaches to quell numerous other skirmishes. When order is finally restored, Fotiu and Durbano are ejected and the Rangers win easily despite a hat trick by Brian Sutter of the Blues.

Birthdays:
Tom Yawkey b. 1903
Jack Ramsay b. 1925
Alan Trammell b. 1958
Brian Rolston b. 1973
Steve Francis b. 1978

MySpace Launches Comic Books Community

Tuesday February 20, 2007

MySpace Launches Comic Books Community

Categories:

Social Networking

Tags:

contest, MySpace, NY Comic Con

In conjunction with the New York Comic Con event Feb 23 to 25 in NYC (which Appscout will be attending), MySpace has launched a Comic Books Community where fans can gather to read the latest comic book news, interviews, contests, events, and more. MySpace Comic Books will spotlight promising artists and MySpace members' comics as well.

For all of those Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans out there, MySpace and Dark Horse Comics are hosting a "Buffy Changed My Life" contest. In 250 words or less, explain how Buffy has affected your life. If your entry is chosen, you will make an appearance in an upcoming issue of Buffy The Vampire: Season 8, receive a BTVS litograph, and Joss Whedon's autograph.

Entries must be submitted by Midnight (PDT) on March 14th, 2007. The winner will be announced by April 4th, 2007.

Can Jessica Simpson save the NHL?

Can Jessica Simpson save the NHL?

Alanah McGinley-Downie / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 3 days ago Sex and sport; some may not like the mixture, but there's no denying the effectiveness. So I thought I'd have a little fun with the idea...

A post at the always-entertaining Freakonomics blog a while back got me thinking about the issue indirectly when they emphasized the differences and similarities between Canada and the USA. Using the top 2006 searches on the Yahoo! search engine as the basis for comparison:

You'll note - perhaps not surprisingly - "NHL" was the #1 Canadian search term in 2006. By contrast, Americans were most in need of information about "Britney Spears". (Good grief, America. Although to make fun of Canadians, look no further than #s 6,7 and 8 on Canada's list. Britney Spears might be an improvement.)

But Freakonomics pointed out there is one individual person that both Canada and America had in common in their queries: Jessica Simpson.

Is this information useful? Absolutely. It's a marketing bonanza that should take all of North America by storm: take Jessica Simpson, plaster her into every NHL television advertisement produced, and voila! Magic!

And if you don't think selling sex has any place in the NHL, you'll have to pardon me for disagreeing. Or at least insisting that you're a few days late to the trend - sex already sells the NHL in cities all over the league. (Hello, Ice Girls! Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, New York Islanders… and so on.) And furthermore, while the NBA isn't a professional league I'd want to see the NHL emulate in many ways, you've got to admit they know how to run their marketing efforts.

One more thing: if you look at the list above, you'll see one other match between nations: WWE.

I'm no fan of the wrestling world, but I think it's a telling commonality, and what it tells me is this: people everywhere love a good whooping. Bring on the hockey fights!

Sex with a touch of violence. Is it My NHL? Sure, I'm cool with it.

Does FOXSports.com contributor Alanah McGinley-Downie have the proper qualifications to bring her hockey musings to the world? Of course she does. She has so much experience she could practically run the NHL. Check out her hockey resume and then go read her outstanding blog, Canucks and Beyond.

Goodies I've discovered thanks to Netflix

I've been a member of Netflix for a while now. I can't say enough how much I love this service. I tried Blockbuster's program, but I left it before my trial membership was even up. The way they organize stuff, their selections, their recommendations, etc. None of them compare to Netflix. They tout now you can return your movies to the store and pick up a new one there, but for someone like me who doesn't go out hardly ever that's not an incentive. And, I don't' want to go to the store and have to sift through a million movies I've already seen or have no desire to see. I want to see ideas that I'd like because I rated and liked A, B, C, and didn't like X, Y, Z. Netflix does that.

So, things I've discovered on Netflix:
Smallville, Gilmore Girls & Battlestar Galactica. I'm anal retentive about starting shows from the beginning. It's just the way I am. So, despite the wonderful things I heard about these shows I never watched them. Until Netflix. The same with DEADWOOD on HBO. And Highlander the series. I started watching it, and almost didn't finish the first three disks that had been sent to me. It's kind of hokey, and Queen blaring at me in the theme music was a little annoying. But it grew on me, I'll probably continue inserting the various seasons in my queue. Unlike Smallville, Gilmore Girls & Battlestar Galactica, I have no desire to sit down and watch all of Highlander's seasons in rapid succession.

I've got a few other goodies coming to me: Rome, The L Word, MI-5. I've never seen any Star Trek's, a handful of episodes here and there. Maybe I'll even add them to my queue one day *s*

What are you watching?

It's been a while since I've talked about the shows I'm watching. For those that don't know, here's a list of the shows I'm a fan of, including the ones that are gone: Angel, Battlestar Galactica, Bones, Buffy, The Closer, CSI, Days, Dead Zone, Dexter, Firefly, The 4400, Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls, Heroes, The Inside, Joan of Arcadia, Law & Order, LOST, Medium, Monday Night Football, Numb3rs, Psych, Sex and the City, Shark, The Shield, Six Feet Under, Smallville, The Sopranos, Sunday Night Football, Tru Calling, Twin Peaks, Ugly Betty, Veronica Mars, Witchblade, Wonderfalls, X-Files.

I'm a season behind on: Battlestar Galactica, Gilmore Girls and Smallville.

New shows that I thoroughly enjoy: Dexter on Showtime, Friday Night Lights on NBC, Heroes on NBC, Psych on USA, Shark on CBS, Ugly Betty on ABC.

Shows on my season pass list: Bones, The Closer, CSI (original only), Dead Zone, 4400, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, Lost, Medium, Psych, Shark, The Shield, Ugly Betty, Veronica Mars.

Lost has been progressively losing my interest since last season. It started with a bang, but they just don't resolve ANYTHING. Questions, questions, questions with no payoff and I've just stopped caring anymore. With Lost moving opposite Medium, Medium wins out for me.

Ugly Betty & Psych are just guilty pleasures for me. I love them. Shark is just nifty. I love James Woods and I enjoy how the characters on the show are "real". None of them are perfect or flawless. They all have room to grow and things to learn.

I've removed Days from my season pass list on TiVo for the time being, I'm just not watching it right now.

Steph turns 16 Thursday!

Yikes! I'm the parent to a 16 year old, or will be in 2 days anyway. No driver's license yet, they don't offer it as a class during the school year. So, summer school in June she'll take it. Yikes! I did let her drive for a bit a couple weekends ago when we went to visit my dad. She did okay until she had to stop and then try to start again. My vehicle is a manual transmission. I taught myself how to drive, so instructing her doesn't come naturally to me. Hopefully, someone at BTW will have a manual.

She went to her first formal a couple of weeks ago, Snow Ball. Five girls went stag together. They got all dressed up and looked so nice. I'm proud of them for going without dates, good for them!

Claire is talking more and more every day. It's so amazing, really. It's such a joy to be home with her and see her grow and develop, her personality develop.

That's about it I guess. Nothing too new otherwise going on around these parts. Football is over, baseball spring training has just begun, basketball and hockey while I keep up with just don't get my enthusiasm the way football and baseball do. Great to see Pat Riley's back on the sidelines of the Heat bench though.

Brett Favre Going to the Chicago Bears?

http://sportsyndicate.blogspot.com/2007/02/brett-favre-going-to-chicago-bears.html

Brett Favre Going to the Chicago Bears?

Somebody get Ted Thompson on the line! Pronto!

I’ve got an idea that’s going to blow your mind. I am firmly convinced Rex Grossman is pretty much the worst quarterback ever to (dis)grace a football field, and that the Bears are going the way of the Super Bowl Shuffle if they keep Mr. Gross-man as their quarterback.

So who should step up and be the 21st different starting quarterback for the Bears since Packers great Brett Favre started his consecutive-games streak back on Sept. 20, 1992?

Why, how about Mr. Favre himself?

Yeah, I know, this is like Babe Ruth going from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees (and playing in seven World Series, winning four), or Adam Vinatieri leaving the Patriots for the Colts (Super Bowl XLI), or Ray Bourque going to win his first Cup with the Avalanche. Geez, poor Beantown. But this would be worse, right? You can’t have the most iconic football player of the past 15 years leaving the Packers for another team! And for the Chicago Bears, no less! Can this happen?

You “Brett” your sweet bippy it can. I’ve got a doozy of an idea for a trade that just might work out for everybody.

First, let’s consider the state of each franchise.

Chicago just lost the Super Bowl, and risks falling into the dreaded curse of the Super Bowl loser next season. At the same time, take out the quarterback, and the Bears have themselves a pretty good team — one that legitimately could call itself the strongest team in the league — and most definitely that of the NFC.

On the other hand, Green Bay’s roster has more holes than a cart full of Swiss cheese. Favre’s a halfway decent option at quarterback, but he’s no Tom Brady or Peyton Manning anymore. And let’s face it: While he certainly gives the Packers a chance in 2007, No. 4 won’t be around forever (contrary to popular belief around the state).

The Bears need nothing but a decent quarterback, and the Packers need a plethora of good players to build for the long haul. Do I smell a deal? Ya Brett-cha. Ah yes, I can see it now, on the SportsCenter bottom line…

BREAKING NEWS: Packers QB Brett Favre has been traded to the Bears for the rights to every draft choice Chicago owns in the 2007 and 2008 drafts… and $50 million. (Actually, I would probably not trade more than a few late late round draft picks for Favre.)

Seriously. Sometimes, my own brilliance frightens me to no end.

Tell me this isn’t genius! The Bears are almost certain to win Super Bowl XLII, Favre can retire with a second championship ring (along with all those passing records … here’s a tissue, Mr. Marino, and a bottle of anti-depressants, Mr. McGrath), and the Packers — as terrible as they may be next season — are on the fast track to winning a couple of Super Bowls in about four or five years.

My guess is Bears fans would jump on this bandwagon a lot quicker than Packers fans. Even the most die-hard supporters are usually welcoming when a star player comes to town, no matter where he’s been or what he’s done. But in speaking with Pats fans about Vinatieri’s newest bling, my guess is Cheeseheads would sooner swear off brats and Miller Lite than see Favre play for Da Bears.

How’s this: Favre sticks around for the first half of the season or so, breaks Marino’s touchdown record, yadda yadda yadda. Then, at season’s midpoint, when the Bears are 7-1 in spite of Rex and most definitely not because of him (I’m talking to you, Lovie), Chicago offers all their draft picks up to the then-2-6 Packers, who at this point are more than willing to let Brett end his career on a high note instead of a weekly debate as to whether Aaron Rodgers should start in place of the Packer legend.

There, now everybody’s happy. Right?

Right?

Thanks to Aaron Brenner

Book Rec of the Day 2/20/2007

The languid decadence of the Big Easy has inspired writers for decades, and this compilation showcases the best writing on the city from the best writers—a perfect read for Mardi Gras. Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Zora Neale Hurston, Walker Percy, and others offer their takes on the atmosphere, jazz, food, and people of one of America’s most seductive, sensuous, and resilient cities.

NEW ORLEANS STORIES: GREAT WRITERS ON THE CITY, edited by John Miller (Chronicle, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/20/2007

2/20/1948:

Ezzard Charles of Cincinnati knocks Sam Baroudi of Akron unconscious in the 10th and nfinal round of their light heavyweight bout at Chicago Stadium. Despite immediate medical treatment, Baroudi will die of a massive cerebral hemorrhage and Charles will become a changed fighter. His style will be less aggressive, and although he'll become the heavyweight champion of the world (1949-51), he'll never again feel the joie de vivre of his chosen profession.

Birthdays:
Roger Penske b. 1937
Phil Esposito b. 1942
Charles Barkley b. 1963
Livan Hernandez b. 1975
Stephon Marbury b. 1977

In 1969...

In 1969 (the year you were born)

Richard Nixon becomes president of the US Mary Jo Kopechne is killed when Senator Edward Kennedy veers off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, crashing into a pond US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to set foot on the moon while commanding the Apollo 11 mission Breathtaking pictures of Mars are transmitted to earth from NASA's Mariner 7 as it passes within 2,200 miles of the Red Planet Woodstock music festival begins in upstate NY, featuring performances by Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and many more artists 250,000 Vietnam War protestors gather in Washington for the largest anti-war rally in US history The first draft lottery since WWII is held in New York City The Beatles' performance in public for the last time, on the roof of Apple Records The Stonewall riots mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the US Marilyn Manson, Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger, Edward Norton, Christian Slater, and Linus Torvalds are born New York Mets win the World Series New York Jets win Superbowl III Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup Sesame Street premieres Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for best picture David Bowie's debut single, "Space Oddity", becomes a huge hit - in part due to the US landing on the moon Sharon Tate & the LaBiancas are found murdered by Charles Manson & "family"

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

ADVANCED REVIEW: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 8) #1 (SPOILERS)

Please pardon the cross posting, but I haven’t seen too much information about this being passed around on the fic lists and since according to Joss these comics will be canon (unlike the Angel comics that are currently being put out), I figured I’d pass the info. along. Feel free to forward it on to any person or group you think would be interested. You can see a preview of the first 5 pages: http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=14-111&p=1 Jo Chen is the illustrator working on the comics, you can see the audition pencil drawings of Buffy that got her the gig at: http://www.jo-chen.com ~Susan

http://forevergeek.com/comics/advanced_review_buffy_the_vampire_slayer_season_8_1.php

ADVANCED REVIEW: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 8) #1 (SPOILERS)

Thanks to the fine folks at Dark Horse Comics, we got a chance to take an advanced look at Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 8) #1 "The Long Way Home - Part One".

This new Buffy comic book series picks up where the last season of the show left off. Joss Whedon is back at the helm, and a great deal has changed since we last saw Buffy and company standing at the edge of a Hellmouth consumed Sunnydale wonder what would happen next...

Just a WARNING: Thar Be Spoilers AHEAD!

I'll do the best I can not to spoil the book for you, but if a revealing sentence or two creeps out along the way...you have been warned...

This first issue, like most comics these days, feels like the first act of the the first episode of Season 8...and in some ways that can be disappointing. Mainly because we get a lot of necessary set-up in these 24 pages, but it's not what I would call a completely satisfying read. Having said that...it is a very good first act, and I'm sure when the first four issues are read in one sitting (where the set up and pay off can be read together) it will be a much more satisfying experience.

Now, let's dig a little deeper here...

The Story

Joss Whedon is in full form here, although the exposition at the beginning of the issue slows him down just a bit. You can see the first five pages on Dark Horse's official site, and I have to say, those first 5 pages don't exactly feel like the Buffy we know and love, but starting on page 6, things start to feel more familiar.

In this issue we get an understanding of where Buffy, Xander, and Dawn have been since we've seen them last, and we finally get to see Xander taking on the role that I'd hoped he would play since the series was first running on television in the 90s. His dialog is the first that truly felt familiar, and the first time I could hear the actor's voice in my head delivering the words.

As soon as he and Buffy begin interacting, she began to "sound" normal again too, and suddenly everything felt right. Buffy and Dawn's interaction (dealing with Dawn's "big"
problem with a former boyfriend) also felt completely like the character's we've known and loved...although I do hope these two either stop bickering with each other soon...or Dawn finds somewhere else to be. I was tired of them fighting in Season 6. We're in Season 8 now. Enough already.

We also see in this issue the beginning of a mystery that I'm sure will be part of the overall arc of Season 8, and the Military's not-so surprising reaction to Sunnydale being wiped off the map. Again, lots of set up...but good stuff.

Finally, the issue comes to a close with that good-old first commercial break reveal of an old "friend" that I'm sure will be scurrying up trouble next issue.

The Art

The Art team of Georges Jeanty (pencils), Andy Owens (inks), Dave Stewart (Colors), and Richard Starkings (Letters...that's RIGHT baby - Lettering is ART and if you don't think so...you try doing it...that'll change your tune but quick!...ahem...sorry...) are all in top form here. The characters look exactly the way I would want them to in comic form. I hate it when characters in comics don't look ANYTHING like their on-screen counterparts...and I hate it EVEN MORE when the characters are obviously traced from screenshots of the actual shows (I'm looking at YOU IDW)...but the artwork in this book is the perfect mix of comic book art and the actor's faces. You can tell who is who by looking at them, but they dont' look so much like the actors that they appear stiff of distracting.

I hope this artistic team has a long run on this book. The artwork works on every level, and I can't wait to see more.

The Verdict

So...in a nutshell, if you're a Buffy fan AT ALL...this is a MUST BUY from the word GO...but don't get yourself over excited about it. It's a very good start, but it is just that...a START.
Don't expect anything more than that, and you should be very happy when you plop down your $2.99.

Final Score: 7 out of 10 - Add it to the Pull List

Book Rec of the Day 2/19/2007

FANTASY

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe meets The Lord of the Rings, as five university students get mixed up in a world of wizards when Loren Silvercloak lures them to Fionavar where they will meet their destinies. Vivid settings, quick plotting, and Arthurian flavor make Kay’s book a fantasy favorite. “Immense scale, literary richness and dazzling heroes,” raves the Toronto Sun.

THE SUMMER TREE, by Guy Gavriel Kay (1984; Roc, 2001)

The Summer Tree is the first book of The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy.

Sports Fact of the Day 2/19/2007

Presidents Day

2/19/2004:
In a stunning deal at the NBA trade deadline, Detroit general manager Joe Dumars obtains 6'11" All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace from the Atlanta Hawks, who had just acquired him from Portland last week. Wallace's scoring and defensive skills will fuel the Pistons' run to the league title this June over the favored L.A. Lakers.

Birthdays:
Eddie Arcaro b. 1916
Forest Evashevski b. 1918
Paul Krause b. 1942
Dave Stewart b. 1957
Hana Mandlikova b. 1962

ESPN Dumps Michael Irvin

http://nfl.aolsportsblog.com/2007/02/17/espn-dumps-michael-irvin/

ESPN Dumps Michael Irvin

Posted Feb 17th 2007 8:04PM by Ryan Wilson
Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East, NFL Fans, NFL Media Watch

It's official: the Michael Irvin Era is over in Bristol. From the Dallas Morning News:

Two weeks after his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Michael Irvin is out of work. Irvin and ESPN have officially parted ways, ESPN spokesman Bill Hoffheimer said Saturday.

"Michael will not be with us this fall," Hoffheimer said.

Hoffheimer stressed that Irvin had not violated any contractual morals clause. Irvin has been a regular on ESPN's two primary NFL studio shows, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night NFL Countdown.

"This was a decision that came from our annual review," Hoffheimer said.

Irvin was not immediately available for comment.

The New York Post speculated in Friday's edition that Irvin's days might be numbered, and ProFootballTalk.com confirmed as much earlier today.

It's worth reiterating that ESPN pointed out Irvin hadn't "violated any contractual morals clause." Which leads me to believe he's now unemployed strictly for his on-air performance, unlike Harold Reynolds, who ESPN allegedly canned for being a little too hug-happy. The difference: Reynolds was actually good at his job.

Whatever, Sunday mornings during the football season will now be much more enjoyable. Thanks to this AOL FanHouse reader for the tip.

Book Rec of the Day 2/18/2007

Superb...This is an exciting debut,” raves The Times (London). More literary than a thriller but more exciting than a literary novel has any right to be. A Little Death is set in Victorian England, told in alternating voices, and concerns a murder in a wealthy family; it might remind you a bit of Wilkie Collins’s classic mystery The Moonstone.

A LITTLE DEATH, by Laura Wilson (Bantam, 2000)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/18/2007

Contrasting the quiet efficiency of the San Antonio Spurs with the marquee allure of the Los Angeles Lakers, Spurs swingman Bruce Bowen took the 31 flavors approach: "We're just vanilla, whereas the Lakers are chunky monkey or something like that."

Birthdays:
George Gipp b. 1895
Dick Duff b. 1936
Manny Mota b. 1938
Judy Rankin b. 1945
Andy Moog b. 1960

Book Rec of the Day 2/17/2007

Ludwig Bemelmans achieved fame and fortune as the author and illustrator of the beloved children’s book Madeline. Few people know that Bemelmans had a day job when he was starting out—as an employee of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York. Hotel Bemelmans is a collection of some of his most witty and wonderful essays of that time in his life. Posh customers, bumbling staff, it’s a fascinating look behind the scenes of a grand hotel during the swanky interwar era. Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential) calls it “absolutely sensational.”

HOTEL BEMELMANS, by Ludwig Bemelmans; foreword by Anthony Bourdain (Overlook, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/17/2007

2/17/1972:
Marquette center Jim Chones leaves his undefeated and second-ranked Warrior teammates in the lurch, signing a five-year, $1.5 milion contract with the New York Nets. Intent on building a strong frarnchise in New York, ABA executives authorized the Nets to make their pitch to Chones, and on the advice of Marquette head coach Al McGuire he accepts their cash offer even though he won't be able to play until next season because technically he hasn't been drafted yet.

Birthdays:
Red Barber b. 1908
Jim Brown b. 1936
Rick Majerus b. 1948
Michael Jordan b. 1963
Luc Robitaille b. 1966

Book Rec of the Day 2/16/2007

HISTORICAL FICTION

Jack Frake is a British boy who falls in with a band of ne’er-do-wells who are plotting a revolution. The American Revolution, that is. By the end of the book Jack is boarding a ship bound for the colonies so that his adventures may continue in subsequent volumes of this six-book series. Publishers Weekly calls Sparrowhawk “enthralling.” It’s a perfect series to try if you are a frustrated Patrick O’Brian fan. It has a salty flavor, vivid period details, and an engrossing plot that will ring bells.

SPARROWHAWK BOOK ONE: JACK FRAKE, by Edward Cline (MacAdam/Cage, 2002)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/16/2007

2/16/1997:
At age 25, Jeff Gordon (right, with crew chief) beomces the youngest winner of the Daytona 500, surviving an accident-marred competition including a 12-car pileup near the end of the race that caused drivers to finish in serpentine fashion under a yellow flag. With Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven finishing second and third, it's a sweet 1-2-3 sweep for popular owner Rick Hendrick, who on this special day is confined to his home in North Carolina while being treated for leukemia.

Birthdays:
Bernie Geoffrion b. 1931 (how sad, he died last year!)
John McEnroe b. 1959
Kelly Tripucka b. 1959
Mark Price b. 1964
Jerome Bettis b. 1972

Book Rec of the Day 2/15/2007

FOR ARGUMENT’S SAKE

The cliché is true: More is less. Turns out our happiness is at risk when we have too many options available to us. Social scientist Schwartz illuminates why having to choose between, say, relaxedfit and easy-fit jeans creates stress and unhappiness where there should be control and liberation. “Wonderfully readable,” says The Washington Post. “Simplify, simplify,” says Thoreau.

THE PARADOX OF CHOICE: WHY MORE IS LESS, by Barry Schwartz (Ecco Press, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/15/2007

2/15/1953:
All-American senior guard Johnny O'Brien scores a personal-best 53 points to lead Seattle to a 109-68 rout of Gonzaga at Spokane. Just 5'8", O'Brien finishes third nationally this year with over 26 points a game as the Chieftains move up to Division 1 competition. Johnny and his twin brother Eddie each excel as two-sport stars for three years at Seattle and move right into major league baseball after college. Originally from South Amboy, New Jersey, Johnny will play six years and Eddie will play five seasons of big-league ball, primarily as infielders with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Birthdays:
John Hadl b. 1940
Darrell Green b. 1960
Jaromir Jagr b. 1972
Amy Van Dyken b. 1973
Ugueth Urbina b. 1974

Book Rec of the Day 2/14/2007

FOR ARGUMENT’S SAKE

“A timely, entertaining cherry bomb of a book...smart, witty and withering.”—The Boston Globe

Down with love! Kipnis, a professor of media studies, thinks love stinks and she tells you why. Acerbic, wry, and provocative, it’s the curmudgeon’s antidote to a day of hearts and flowers.

AGAINST LOVE: A POLEMIC, by Laura Kipnis (Vintage, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/14/2007

Valentine's Day

2/14/1975:
Epitomizing the freelance, defense-be-darned style of the short-lived but fondly remembered American Basketball Association, the San Diego Conquistadors outlast the New York Nets, 176-166, in four overtimes despite a career-high 63 points by Julius Erving. Fewer than 3,000 at San Diego are on hand to watch the Good Doctor shoot 25-of-46 from the floor, grab 23 rebounds and play all but two minutes of the exhausting affair. The teams combine to shoot 57% from the floor for the entire schoolyard-style game. One-time NCAA scoring champion Dwight "Bo" Lamar leads the Q's with 45 points and Travic "Machine Gun" Grant adds 30.


Birthdays:
Woody Hayes b. 1913
Mickey Wright b. 1935
Jim Kelly b. 1960
Drew Bledsoe b. 1972
Steve McNair b. 1973

Book Rec of the Day 2/13/2007

HISTORIES

Kotkin, a planning consultant and journalist, boils 7,000 years of history into some 200 pages in his neat survey of cities. What makes a city work? What makes it fail? How important are sacred spaces? And how do politics give them shape? A wonderful, brief primer whose only failing might be that it leaves readers wanting more.

THE CITY: A GLOBAL HISTORY, by Joel Kotkin (Modern Library Chronicles, 2005)

Learn more about Kotkin’s work at his Web site: www.joelkotkin.com.

Sports Fact of the Day 2/13/2007

2/13/1989:
Harvard captures the coveted Beanpot hockey tournament with a wild 9-6 win over Boston University at Boston Garden. Mike Vukonich and John Weisbrod each score twice and captain Lane MacDonald earns MVP honors for the Crimson as longtim head coach Bill Cleary earns his 300th lifetime win. The real payoff will come next month when Harvard beats Minnesota for the NCAA championship, the first national title in any sport for the prominent Ivy League school.

Birthdays:
Patty Borg b. 1918
Eddie Robinson b. 1919
Mike Krzyzewski b. 1947
Mats Sundin b. 1971
Randy Moss b. 1977

Book Rec of the Day 2/12/2007

“[Niemi’s] prose buzzes with wonder, fearlessness and ecstatic ignorance.”—The New York Times Magazine

“Haunting and glorious.”—The Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Marvelous.”—Seattle Times

One of the bestselling books in Swedish history is the coming-of-age story of Matti, who grows up in a tiny Swedish town in the Arctic Circle. By turns tender and hilarious, it is at once everyone’s story (the first kiss, the first drink, dreams of being a rock star) and starkly unique. A sleeper that doesn’t disappoint.

POPULAR MUSIC FROM VITTULA, by Mikael Niemi (Seven Stories Press, 2004) LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY

Sports Fact of the Day 2/12/2007

Lincoln's Birthday

2/12/2005:
On his way to a fourth NBA scoring title in only nine seasons in the league, Allen Iverson scores a career-high 60 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-99 victory over Orlando. Barely six feet tall and 165 pounds, Iverson delights in shredding defenses with feathery long-range jumpers and devil-may-care drives to the hoop. He goes to the foul line 27 times tonight, making 24.


Birthdays:
Chick Hafey b. 1903
Dom DiMaggio b. 1917
Joe Garagiola b. 1926
Don Stanhouse b. 1951
Chet Lemon b. 1955

TV Series Meme/Quiz thing

Some of these I've never heard of. And the kids shows, I owe being able to bold them to my kids, I never watched them as a kid cuz, well, I wasn't allowed to watch much TV.

So, bold the series that you've seen for 3 or more episodes. Underline the series that you've seen them complete. If you want, add three more series (keep it in alphabetic order).

24
227
7th Heaven
A Bit Of Fry And Laurie
A Different World
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Adam-12
Aeon Flux
ALF
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
Ally McBeal
American Idol/Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol/Latin American Idol/etc.
America's Next Top Model/Australia's Next Top Model/Britain's Next Top Model/Germany's
Next Top Model
Anything But Love
Angel
Animaniacs
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Arrested Development
As:If
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: Crusade
Batman (1966)
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman Beyond
Battlestar Galactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beavis & Butthead
Beauty and the Beast
Beverly Hills 90210
Bill Nye: The Science Guy
Blackadder
Black Books
Bleach
Blossom
Bonanza
Bones
Bo'selecta
Bosom Buddies
Boy Meets World
Brimstone
Brothers and Sisters
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Case Closed
Chappelle's Show
Charlie's Angels
Charmed
Cheers
City Guys
Clarissa Explains It All
Code Lyoko
Cold Case
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Coronation Street
Coupling
Cowboy Bebop
Criminal Minds
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dancing with the Stars
Danny Phantom
Daria
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci's Inquest
Dawson's Creek
Days Of Our Lives
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Degrassi
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dexter
Dexter's Laboratory
Dharma & Greg
Diagnosis Murder
Digimon
Different Strokes
Doctor Who: New
Doctor Who: Old
Double Dare
Dragnet
Dr.Phil
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Due South
Earth 2
Eastenders
Emergency!
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Loves Raymond
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Facts of Life
Family Guy
Family Ties
Farscape
Father Ted
Fawlty Towers
Fear Factor
Felicity
Firefly
First Wave
Forever Knight
Frasier
Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Project
Friends
Full House
Full Metal Alchemist
Futurama
Gargoyles
Get Smart
Gilligan's Island
Gilmore Girls
Gimme a Break
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Ghost in the Shell / Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Ghost Whisperer
Good Times
Gravitation
Green Wing
Grey's Anatomy
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Hangin' With Mr. Cooper
Hannah Montana
Happy Days
Hawaii Five-0
Heroes
Highlander
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
Hogan's Heroes
Hollyoaks
Home And Away
Home Improvement
Homefront
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
How I Met Your Mother
Hell's Kitchen
Hex
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
In Living Color
Inuyasha
Invader Zim
Invasion
JAG
Jackass
Jericho
Joan of Arcadia
Joey
John Doe
Judging Amy
Justice
Justice League / Justice League Unlimited
Killer Instinct
Kindred: The Embraced
King of Queens
Knight Rider
LA Law
Law & Order
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: CI
Laverne and Shirley
Little House on the Prairie
Little Britain
Living Single
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
Loveless
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Malcolm in the Middle
Married... With Children
Martin
Medium
Melrose Place
Men In Black
Miami Vice
Mission: Impossible
Moesha
Monk
Moonlighting
Mork & Mindy
Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood
Murder, She Wrote
Murphy Brown
My Life as a Dog
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
My Wife and Kids
NCIS
Nip/Tuck
Numb3rs
One Tree Hill
Out All Night
Outlaw Star
Oz
Padres forzosos
Paranoia Agent
Perry Mason
Pinky and the Brain
Pokemon
Popular
Power Rangers
Primos lejanos
Prison Break
Profiler
Project Runway/Project Catwalk
Psych
Punky Brewster
Robin's Hoods
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (British)
Queer eye for the straight guy (US)
Queer eye for the straight guy (UK)
Real Stories
Reba
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Ren & Stimpy
Rescue Me
Ripley's Believe it or Not (original)
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Rove Live
Sailor Moon
Salute Your Shorts
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Scarecrow & Mrs. King
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sesame Street
Sex and the City
Shark
Sister Sister
Six Feet Under
Skins
Sliders
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
So Weird
South Park
Spaced
Spongebob Squarepants
Starting Over
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1
Starsky and Hutch
Student Bodies
Superman
Superman: The Animated Series
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Sweet Valley High
Taxi
Teen Titans
That 70's Show
That's Incredible
That's So Raven
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
The 4400
The Adams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bill
The Bionic Woman
The Brady Bunch
The Catherine Tate Show
The Closer
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Honeymooners
The Incredible Hulk
The Inside
The I.T. Crowd
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jeffersons
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Pretender
The Professionals
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Steve Harvey Show
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Teletubbies
The Tweenies
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
Three's Company
Top Gear
Torchwood
Tru Calling
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Two and a Half Men
UFO
Ugly Betty
Ultra Maniac
V
Valerie
Veronica Mars
Veronica's Closet
Webster
Werewolf
What's Happening?
What's Happening Now?
What's New Scooby-Doo?
What I Like About You
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Will and Grace
Wings
Winnie the Pooh
Witch Hunter Robin
Witchblade
Without A Trace
WKRP in Cincinnati
Wolf's Rain
Wonderfalls
X-Men
X-Men: Evolution
X Factor
You Can't Do That On Television
Yu-Gi-Oh

Book Rec of the Day 2/11/.2007

INVESTIGATIVE NONFICTION

A white-knuckle survival story set in the Amazon, a love story fraught with insurmountable obstacles, a lively history of exploration, The Mapmaker’s Wife has it all. It’s the story of explorer Jean Godin and his wife, Isabel Gramesón, and their frightening jungle adventure. The writing is as vivid as the story is extraordinary. It’s adventure with a historical, nuptial twist.

THE MAPMAKER’S WIFE: A TRUE TALE OF LOVE, MURDER, AND SURVIVAL IN THE AMAZON, by Robert Whitaker (Delta, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/11/2007

2/11/2001:
Rising tennis star Roger Federer defeats American Jan-Michael Gambill in four sets at Basel, Switzerland, clinching a first-round Davis Cup tie for the Swiss. Federer won all three of his matches here, topping Todd Martin in his first singles rubber and pairing with Lorenzo Manta to win the crucial doubles point yesterday. Premier American stars Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras could not be persuaded to represent the United States in this event, but by happenstance or irony their animated caricatures (with accompanying voice-overs) appear on a first-run episode of The Simpsons this very night on American television.

Birthdays:
Eddie Shack b. 1937
Sammy Ellis b. 1941
Ben Oglivie b. 1943
James Silas b. 1949
Brian Daubach b. 1972

Book Rec of the Day 2/10/2007

Renovation can be murder, sure, but Jacobia Triptree is surprised nonetheless to find a corpse in her Victorian fixer-upper. The former financial adviser turns detective to find out whodunit in her sleepy Maine village. The result is a sweet, frothy treat and a clever new twist on the cozy mystery. THE DEAD CAT BOUNCE, by Sarah Graves (Bantam, 1998) The Dead Cat Bounce is the first book in Sarah Graves’s Home Repair is Homicide series.

Sports Fact of the Day 2/10/2007

Must be another slow sports history day.

Somewhat taken aback by the new hip-hop image of young basketball prodigies, noted high school talent scout Tom Konchalski commented: "Players have become as much cultural icons as they are athletic icons. You almost have to be a performance artist. It's not good enough to be Michael Jordan. You have to be Michael Jackson, too."

Birthdays:
Bill Tilden b. 1893
Mark Spitz b. 1950
Greg Norman b. 1955
Lenny Dykstra b. 1963
Lance Berkman b. 1976

Conservative or Liberal?

You scored 61% which means you are

moderately conservative.


You believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values.

Conservative or Liberal
Create MySpace Quizzes

Book Rec of the Day 2/9/2007

MEMOIRS

Glamor and tragedy are played out against glittering backdrops of aristocratic Europe and tony New York City in Gray’s memoir of her parents. Gray’s Russian mother and French-Jewish stepfather fled France for New York after World War II and took the town by storm: She became a fashionable hat maker for Saks; he became a publishing luminary at Condé Nast. Francine, bookish and shy, watched as they were swept up in a swirl of high society. Thank heavens she took notes! Them makes for heady, engrossing reading.

THEM, by Francine du Plessix Gray (The Penguin Press, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/9/2007

2/9/1980:
The Soviet Union's national hockey team outclasses Team USA, 10-3, at Madison Square Garden in a tune-up for the Olympic Games to be held in Lake Placid, New York. The polished Russians jump to a 4-0 lead and outshoot the youthful Americans 35-20 tonight, but two weeks from now the intrepid collegians will stun the sports world by defeating this same team, 4-3, in the semifinal round of the Olympics and go on to win the gold medal.

Birthdays:
Dit Clapper b. 1907
Phil Ford b. 1956
Mookie Wilson b. 1956
Vladimir Guerrero b. 1976
Jameer Nelson b. 1982

Book Rec of the Day 2/8/2007

“A level of writing, very rare, that takes your breath away.”—Houston Chronicle

“Deep imagination, stylistic verve, and psychological acuity...It just might strike you as a masterpiece.”—The Washington Post

“The Divine Husband confirms Goldman as one of America’s most significant living novelists.”—Bookforum

Goldman’s acclaimed third novel sees María de las Nieves Moran, an Irish-Central American woman thrown out of the safety of her convent and on a journey to New York City. A sweeping saga of 19th-century ambition and desire by a master fiction writer.

THE DIVINE HUSBAND, by Francisco Goldman (Grove Press, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/8/2007

2/8/2004:
The Golden State Warriors set an NBA record for fewest points in the fourth quarter-two!-as they squander a 16-point lead and lose to the Toronto Raptors, 84-81 in overtime. Erick Dampier has their only bucket. The Warriors also tie the NBA record for fewest points in any quarter, matching the deuce by Dallas in the third quarter of a 1997 game against the Lakers.

Birthdays:
Joe Black b. 1924
Clete Boyer b. 1937
Marques Johnson b. 1956
Dino Ciccarelli b. 1960
Alonzo Mourning b. 1970

Book Rec of the Day 2/7/2007

BIOGRAPHIES

Remember those wonderfully long, juicy articles that appeared in The New Yorker years ago, often in several installments? Duveen’s first life took such form and was acclaimed by critic Edmund Wilson as “the best profile [the magazine] has ever printed.” Art dealer Joseph Duveen based his whole career on one simple observation: Europe had plenty of art and America had plenty of money. A fascinating story of how many of America’s mansions and museums came into their holdings.

DUVEEN: THE STORY OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR ART DEALER OF ALL TIME, by S. N. Behrman (1951; The Little Bookroom, 2003)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/7/2007

Oh, I remember this one, was a big DePaul follower growing up. Ron Mayer was the man!

2/7/1984:
After trailing second-ranked and unbeaten DePaul by 10 points at the outset, St. Joseph's puts a blanket on the Blue Demons and rolls to a 58-45 victory at the Palestra. DePaul shoots only 26% from the field as St. Joe's takes charge with a 13-0 run at the start of the second half. Tony Costner has 18 points to lead the Hawks as they reprise their stunning upset of (then) top-ranked DePaul in the opening round of the 1981 NCAA tournament.

Birthdays:
Dan Quisenberry b. 1953
Rolf Benirschke b. 1955
Carney Lansford b. 1957
Juwan Howard b. 1973
Steve Nash b. 1974

Are you a Republican?

I am: 56% Republican.

"Congratulations, you're a swing voter. When they say 'Nascar Dad', they mean you. Every Republican ad on the TV set was made just for your viewing pleasure. Don't you feel special?"

Are You A Republican?

Book Rec of the Day 2/6/2007

Marquand’s novel of Boston Brahmin privilege was published seventy years ago, but its pleasures still abound. Here are prep schools and Harvard-Yale games, private clubs and Beacon Hill brownstones, and amid the details of high society is the story of a man and the measure of his life. Marquand won praise (“a very searching novel of America”—The New York Times Book Review) and the Pulitzer Prize for his novel.

THE LATE GEORGE APLEY, by John P. Marquand (1937; Back Bay Books, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/6/2007

2/6/1969:
Ernie Stautner, Leo "the Lion" Nomellini, Joe "the Jet" Perry, Greasy Neale and Turk Edwards are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio. Stautner starred for 14 seasons as a defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Defensive tackle Nomellini and running back Perry were longtime teammates with the San Francisco 49ers. Neale, a one-time major league baseball player, coached the Eagles during the 1940s, winning the NFL title in 1948 and '49, while Edwards was a lineman for the Washington Redskins in the era immediately preceding World War II.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Stautner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Nomellini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Perry_%28American_football%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greasy_Neale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk_Edwards

Ernie Stautner Hall of Fame Profile
Leo Nomelline Hall of Fame Profile
Joe Perry Hall of Fame Profile
Greasy Neale Hall of Fame Profile
Turk Edwards Hall of Fame Profile

Birthdays:
Babe Ruth b. 1895
Smoky Burgess b. 1927
Don Cockroft b. 1945
Richie Zisk b. 1949
Kim Zmeskal b. 1976

Book Rec of the Day 2/5/2007

QUIRKY HISTORIES

“Abley deals not only in words but in the people who speak them, and he does so vividly and eloquently...Illuminating.”—Chicago Sun-Times

Most travelogues chronicle the people, the food, the architecture, the famous sites. Abley’s focuses on the languages, with fascinating results. Of the six thousand languages spoken today, only six hundred or so are expected to survive another hundred years. Abley crosses the globe, from tiny islands off Australia to Maine to explore why languages fade and how that affects culture.

SPOKEN HERE: TRAVELS AMONG THREATENED LANGUAGES, by Mark Abley (Mariner Books, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/5/2007

2/5/1995:
Running back Marshall Faulk of the Indianapolis Colts, the only rookie in the game, sets a new rushing yardage record to lead the AFC to a 41-13 route of the NFC in the Pro Bowl at Honolulu. Faulk gains 180 yards on only 13 carries to shatter O.J. Simpson's previous mark of 112 yards, set in 1973. Chris Warren also betters Simpson's total with 127 yards as the AFC rolls to 400 yards on the ground. It's sweet solace for the AVC, whose champions have lost the last 11 Super Bowls to the NFC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Faulk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Warren_%28football_player%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.J._Simpson

Birthdays:
Hank Aaron b. 1934
Roger Staubach b. 1942
Craig Morion b. 1943
Darrell Waltrip b. 1949
Roberto Alomar b. 1968

Book Rec of the Day 2/4/2007

Beattie is a master of negative space. She is at her best when exploring misfired human connections. Follies is her eighth book of stories, and it is classic Beattie. Even when her characters actually collide with one another (a car accident brings two people together), they still find a way of pulling apart and spinning into their own separate orbits. Beattie fans and anyone else who loves clean, spare prose and sharp realism will fall for Follies.

FOLLIES: NEW STORIES, by Ann Beattie (Scribner, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/4/2007

Go Bears!

2/4/1983:
Billy Olson of the Pacific Track Club sets a new world record for the indoor pole vault, clearing 19'3/8" at the Toronto Star Maple Leaf Games. Using a fiberglass pole with 200 pounds of torque, Olson clears the milestone height on his second attempt, becoming the first to vault 19 feet indoors. Only world record holder Vladimir Polyakov of Russia (19'3/4") and Thierry Vigneron of France (19'1/4") have done it outdoors.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925925,00.html

Birthdays:
Byron Nelson b. 1912
Lawrence Taylor b. 1959
Denis Savard b. 1961
Dan Plesac b. 1962
Oscar De La Hoya b. 1973

SATIN TIGHTS NO LONGER. Joss will not be fighting for our rights after all.

http://whedonesque.com/comments/12385

February 03 2007

SATIN TIGHTS NO LONGER. Joss will not be fighting for our rights after all.

You (hopefully) heard it here first: I'm no longer slated to make Wonder Woman. What? But how? My chest... so tight! Okay, stay calm and I'll explain as best I can. It's pretty complicated, so bear with me. I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked. Hey, not that complicated.

Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. I don't think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.

The worst thing that can happen in this scenario is that the studio just keeps hammering out changes and the writer falls into a horrible limbo of development. These guys had the clarity and grace to skip that part. So I'm a free man.

Well, sorta. There is that "Goners" movie I can finally finish polishing, and plenty of other things in the hopper I've wanted to pursue. I'm as relieved as I am disappointed, and both of those things lead to drink, so that's a plus. Truly, you may be hearing some interesting things brewing in the coming months. But all potential jets therein will be visible.

But most importantly, I never have to answer THAT question again!!!! And you don't have to link to every rumor site! Finally and forever: I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistant front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air-balling on the script. (No! Rim! There was rim!) That's the greatest relief of all. I can do interviews again!

Thanks for your time. You are the people who make the world go 'round. Or, no, science does that.

-j.

ps All right, it was Cobie Smulders. Sorry, Cobes

Book Rec of the Day 2/3/2007

IF YOU LIKE JOHN GRISHAM,
YOU’LL LOVE...

A young woman is robbed and murdered. A Harlem hood is charged. It seems to be an open-and-shut case. But public defender Arch Gold senses there might be more to the story, so he does a little investigating of his own and discovers layers of corruption in the highest reaches of New York’s financial community. It’s a formula, yes. But few writers of courtroom dramas bring Heilbrun’s sharp characterizations and nuances to it. Offer of Proof is filled with “blood-boiling excitement” (The New York Times Book Review). If you can’t wait for the next Grisham, don’t. Read this.

OFFER OF PROOF, by Robert Heilbrun (HarperTorch, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 2/3/2007

2/3/1990:
Freshman Shaquille O'Neal posts a triple-double to lead LSU to a 148-141 overtime win over the run-and-gun Loyola Marymount Lions. O'Neal has 20 points, 24 rebounds and 12 blocked shots, helping to offset 48 points scored by Hank Gathers, last year's NCAA scoring leader, and 32 by Bo Kimble, this year's eventual leader in that category.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_o%27neal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Kimble

Birthdays:
Emile Griffith b. 1938
Fran Tarkenton b. 1940
Bob Griese b. 1945
Vlade Divac b. 1968
Retief Goosen b. 1969

Report: Packers' Favre to return for his 17th season

Report: Packers' Favre to return for his 17th season

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Brett Favre will return for his 17th NFL season, undeterred by his injuries and hoping to lead the Green Bay Packers back to the playoffs.

"I am so excited about coming back," the 37-year-old quarterback said Friday on the Web site of the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Mississippi. "We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year, and that's encouraging.

"My offensive line looks good, the defense played good down the stretch. I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team."

The team had no immediate comment on the report.

As he has done in the past several offseasons, Favre returned to his home in Mississippi after the season to deliberate about his future. Last year, Favre waited until late April to tell the team he was returning.

The league's only three-time MVP, Favre left the field in an emotional scene in Chicago after leading the Packers to a victory over the Bears to finish the season 8-8.

Favre has started 257 consecutive games including the playoffs, an NFL record for quarterbacks. He broke Dan Marino's record for career completions (4,967) in 2006 and is closing in on Marino's marks for career touchdown passes (420) and yards passing (61,361).

Favre complained about nagging injuries and the drudgery of practice toward the end of last season, then choked back tears as he talked about missing the game and missing his teammates in a television interview immediately after the regular-season finale in Chicago -- leading many to believe he intended to retire.

Apparently, he couldn't resist one more chance to try to lead the Packers back to the playoffs after the Packers won their final four games and was in playoff contention until the final weekend of the regular season.

Favre has led the Packers to 10 postseason appearances, six division titles, three NFC Championship games, two Super Bowls and one championship following the 1996 season.

Favre, traded to Green Bay after one season as a backup in Atlanta in 1991, has had just one losing season in his career.

Happenings

I haven't updated much, because to be honest, not a lot happens around here. Lee goes to work, I write and work, Steph goes to school and work and does her social stuff, and Claire gets bigger and learns more every day. Pretty dull. So, lack of writing is a GOOD thing, that means nothing's going on! Right?

We visited my dad this past weekend for a belated Christmas. He lives about 120 miles east of us in Minnesota. It's always nice to visit him. We had a nice dinner at the restaurant we usually go to. They sent us back with so much food I couldn't stop at Wal-Mart Supercenter on the way home like originally planned because there was no room in the car for anymore stuff!

Lee is adjusting to his new job. He got stitches about three weeks ago now, 9 of them in his head. He was unloading a container and a piece of lumber with nails hit the rail, bounced off and nailed him (no pun intended) in the forehead. This was on a Thursday, he went to work Friday, and the stitches were removed the following Tuesday. I haven't noticed a scar, so they must have done a good job with the stitches.

Last Friday he was on the verge of quitting. The other guys that work there are in their 20s and 30s and he had been talked to earlier in the week saying he was a little slow. I told him to give it time. It's a bad time of year, weather, cold, Christmas with a lot of waste (he works sanitation, hauling garbage for anyone that doesn't know). He just felt like he couldn't keep up with the younger guys. Well, he called his boss (it was the supervisor not the boss that talked to him about being slow) and the boss said he wasn't giving himself enough of a chance. So, he stuck with it. This week his supervisor told him he was doing better. He said to me yesterday that he wished he had my ability to look at things calmly, rationally. He gets so stressed out easily, and worries that Claire is going to be that way, too. He's just not too happy, and wishes he could find something else. He will eventually I'm sure.

Stephanie got a small part in the high school's play. The school put on their Christmas all-choir concert in December, which was very nice. A lot of these kids have been going to school with Stephanie since we moved here in 5th grade. So, I've watched them go from being a rather cringe worthy choir to sounding most delightful and finding the hour passes too quickly! Stephanie has indicated this may be her last year of choir. She has too many classes she wants to take planning for college - she wants to go into business/marketing/advertising, put her drawing to work for her.

Claire is doing great. She's like a sponge, soaking so much up and just spitting it back out. It seems like every hour she's saying something new. She's got the alphabet down pat, now she's trying to sing the song. She can count to 14, know there's more to go to get to 20 she just can't get them out right. She loves to recite the family: Mommy, Daddy, Stephy, Kitty, Birds, Grampa, Gramma, Anna, Jerry, Bret, Carol, Sean, Max, Luke, Stacey. She never includes herself though!

Speaking of Bret, Carol, Sean, Max & Luke - that's my brother, his wife and their three boys (the oldest just turned 4 in December). They've had a bit of excitement the past few weeks. My brother went to the hospital with staph infection, which it seems he got from the newest boy, Luke. They think Luke contracted it while in the hospital (he was born in Sept.). Carol had brought Luke to the doctor for a boil on his chin and the doctor said babies don't get boils. So, all 5 of them went in for testing on Saturday. While Bret was in the hospital for staph, Carol had to go to the ER to get an ingrown toenail removed. Max, the middle boy who will be 3 at the end of Feb., has a double infection. And I just found out today that Carol had to go back to the hospital because her toe got infected! Sean, the oldest boy, seems to be the only healthy one ::knocks on wood::

It sure makes me glad we're all healthy here!

That's about it for today. Steph & I are getting excited about the Super Bowl. Claire loves to watch Inside the NFL on HBO with me. She sees the helmets and says "football". Hee! I'm such a bad influence.

Go Bears!