UConn James

Don't know if you've watched since about Week Five of season. From the first halves (I can't make it past that, usually), Madden has been pretty good. The repetition and the bumbling have been at a minimum and he's offered some good insights. I think it's got something to do with the addition of Sam Ryan () as a hot sideline girl who actually knows something about the game. Maybe she puts some fire in his loins. Maybe it's some better games on MNF instead of 38-3 suck-fests.

Having majored in the print industry, that stuff is going to get newspapers, books, etc. back into the fore over the next 10 years. And it'll make copy editing/layout fun again. From what I've read and just in some theories I floated around in my head while working on some papers about the future of print, there would be massive potential in savings and a great thing for the environment to cut out/down the use of paper. The amount of paper in a Sunday NYT costs ~$9 and is probably about 1/10th of a tree.

ESPN is getting MNF in a sideways switch w/in Disney Corp. ABC won't have any pro football. Agreed that Theismann won't last long w/ Michaels. It'll be two 'play-by-play' straight men butting heads and no one doing 'color.' NBC is getting Sunday Night Football. That's where Madden is headed.

Recommend "Holidays on Ice" (there's a picture of a glass of scotch on the cover ) by David Sedaris. Funniest holiday stories you ever heard. BTW, it's a book.

My mouth was agape for a few minutes after I heard that tonight. Got into WW late, but it has/d turned into one of the two shows I had to watch. Last season and this year have been a little disappointing, post-Sorkin. His character is running for VP, and they've been fast pulling the past stars off the stage with the cane. Somewhat precient that his character suffered a major coronary that required him to step back from his position as chief of staff.... With this news, I don't know how the hell they work it into the show and who might try to fill his shoes (regardless what you think of TWW's slant, JS was a damn fine actor). They've filmed episodes up to the title of "Two Weeks Out [until the election]" meaning that John Wells and his writers are going to have some tough decisions and/or some serious tap-dancing to do. Truly, I think this may be the final nail for its cancellation/non-renewal at the end of this season.

Some of the biggest enviros I know are hunters (vested interest) that no one would ever accuse of being liberals, socialists or commies. This isn't a red/blue issue, even tho he tries to make it so. George Will can stick his bowtie up his ass.

In the medieval times, they did a lot of things by maternal provenance. There was a very serious distrust that women would sleep with anyone and everyone. Often, things were passed down the family to a nephew born to your sister rather than what were supposedly your children --- b/c you can at least be certain that they share your blood. You can be sure of who the mother of a child is b/c her part was 9 months; you can't be sure of who the father was b/c his part was about 10 minutes. Maybe.

Yeah, it's possible. Hell, I'll even say it's very possible. But the fact that they've learned to close their eyes and mimic Billy Graham's preaching voice doesn't change the fact that he killed four (and likely more) people. B/c he now believes in an invisible entity, a murderer is supposed to get a pass? I'm more of an Old Testament guy, myself.

Perhaps they're adopting the Olympic athlete model for which country you represent. A girl who went to my high school back in the day played for Greece, as she had one grandparent who hailed from that country. Pretty laissez-faire election rules if you ask me, but I didn't write the constitution, and thankfully I don't have to live in that sh---smelling country.

Liked Brewster's Millions and Moving and he was a good comedian. Drugs won't hurt you.

Nope, not two years. The league requires teams to submit changes by September of the previous year. I'd like to know for sure whether TD did this.

Would be nice if someone could ask TD in his "Ask the GM" thingy whether the team has petitioned to change to the throwback, or what the current plans are. Response was overwhelmingly positive to the throwbacks and now that it's been so long since they were worn, they've faded from a lot of people's thoughts. I, for one, hope they sh--can the abortions they have now; I look at them and all they remind me of is GW, Bledsoe and TD.

I remember that their DVD prices hovered in the $22+ range that the other stores had for the standard $19 and the online places had for, like, $17. I guess they thought they'd attract a higher-class crowd with their needless markup and "Media Plaaa-a-ay... is fu-u-un" jingle?

71) Peeing your signature in the snow. Masochist!

I would argue that, absent a cohesive population with common roots/struggle or the general apathy enforced by 16-hour workdays like we now have, there's nothing like two strongarms holding an AK to keep your citizens straight. Such is why KJ-I is still in power, why Pinochet lives it up in sunshine, I could go on.... People should appreciate the BoR and that our soldiers and police work, at the heart of things, to enforce OUR unalienable rights (like any other profession, tho, there are some bad apples), rather than whatever rights that a contemporary leader might grant us. Early on in Tiannamen, the protestors fought back hard when officers first arrived on the scene, and if you read Simpson's(?) account of it, you're in shock as he describes one officer getting pulled out of the police van and literally getting his brains smashed out, others being burned alive.... (Which begs the question, at what point is shooting at/killing a 'law enforcement officer' a matter of self-defense, even in our country?) And then the Chinese army came in and put up black sheets around the square.

Maybe I was wrong about Jimmah. Anyone who hates Janis Joplin and Doug Flutie can't be all bad.

Moorman and Lindell? That's about it....

I hate to be out of place here, but the song from the hatch that Desmond blared, "Play Your Own Kind of Music"... Was that Petula Clark? Sounded like Petula Clark. I've since heard that in a commerical, sung by a man. On edit: Mama Cass, released in October 1969.

Southern Africa has given them a run for the money, tho, is what demanded the qualifier. Ebola, HIV/AIDS, monkeypox, etc. But at least those govts recently haven't actively refuted that they have a problem despite all evidence to the contrary and have been asking for help. Or is this flat wrong?

Yep. Singer is probably the best brand. (G.Host and I aren't ladies, either ) But if you want to be safe, go with the gift certificate and let her decide, as apparently she'd know more about what she's looking for than you. When she opens it, you can explain that you heard about Singer but wanted to leave it up to her on such a buy. $200-300 is an expensive "But I really wanted one that'll...." buy.

Well, take a look at what they do to the mainland's rivers --- their fuggin' drinking water --- combined with the fact that SE Asia is fast becoming the world's bacteria/disease trap. And then shudder as you realize that it's just a matter of time before they're the world's next superpower.

When I was at UConn/Yukon, it would take an Act of Congress to get that place to close. The only time it did was during a true blizzard.

My earlier post here was in the vein of the broader issue at hand. Here's another example of the so-called "War on Christmas" that doesn't exist. Calling a Christmas tree a holiday tree is weird, I admit, but it's simply a changing lexicon --- and if enough people use it, that becomes the standard. Similar to how the adjectival "everyday" is now used by many people in the place of "every day." In our house, my dad always called it a "Hanakah bush." (No, we're not Jewish). The White House Christmas card is now getting flack for its lack of religiousity. Link. "Their cards in recent years have included best wishes for a holiday season, rather than Christmas wishes, because they are sent to people of all faiths," said Susan Whitson, Laura Bush's press secretary. Imagine that! Sending one card to cover everything rather than sending six cards over the course of a few weeks. Saving money from the federal budget (it's a frivolty and a drop in the ocean, but there still are people who believe in principles)! Those frugal bastards! LAURA BUSH BAD!

Growth in some other sector will eventually replace the housing bubble for things that drive the economy by being over-valued. Crediting or blaming a president for something that happens in the economy on his(or her!) watch is practically a non sequitur. They can fine-sand it using various tools like interest rates, but the economy is rough-hewn by the collective decisions of 290M Americans. In "1984" it was a razor blade bubble. Who knows? Pet Rocks may now make a comeback.

You'll have to ask someone else --- a true conservative neo-Dem (only b/c they generally seem to be the party who's advocating social positions where people can make their own choices) here. But from everything I've read of it, I'd be keen on resurrecting the Bull Moose party. Aside from the political issues, you get to use "I feel as strong as a bull moose!" as your slogan.