Welcome to the Jungle, Gordon Brown

I've had a busy week at work and have more or less let the passing of the guard  in the UK pass my attention, but we will see, now, what the new PM is made of.  The coincidence is lost on no one that before moving to Downing Street, Mr. Brown is a native of Glasgow.

I was planning to tune into the Beltway Boys, but Geraldo is manning the desk at Fox now.  From the tone of his voice, I think it's a good thing the camera is only showing him from the chest up.  He's quite excited to be reporting for duty.

Grateful Dead Performing Ripple at Radio City Music Hall

This tape is from the awesome Radio City run the Grateful Dead did in October of 1980.

Ripple is, perhaps, the prettiest song ever recorded.

Now hit play and get your little dose of crazy.

How Can I get This Hour and Fifty-Five Minutes of My Life Back?

I understand and enjoy some serious movies.

I understand and enjoy some downright silly movies and other entertainment.  I've posted many times that I'm basically a Howard Stern Superfan, for cyring out loud.

But one thing I really can't stand is a movie that has simply been dumbed down.

That is what Man of the Year is and I implore you not to waste a second of your time or a penny of your income on it.  I won't even waste the space here giving you much of a synopsis.

It seems to want to make a serious point about the so-called corruption of political discourse in this country while playing on (primarily left-wing) fantasties of a fixed election and, for good measure, a bit of a love story.

It's a poorly written story from the first moment and acts moreso as a tapestry of isolated standup routines by star Robin Williams and Lewis Black to recyle parts of their standup acts.

My thumbs are down...I'm wondering where theirs were.

Random Post of the Day With The Obvious Observation

I posted here earlier in the week about how the NYTimes really had it out for Rupert Murdoch and his proposed buyout of the Wall Street Journal.  They used up a lot of real estate laying out the case that as owner of his media empire, he uses it, in part, to advance his agenda.

Since I've had my head planted snugly up my ass for the bulk of my life, I was shocked to be made aware that something like this could take place.

It's a good thing the Times has no ideas it advances and I will always be able to rely on them for the straight poop on how it is in the world.

Now Keith Olbermann, who works for a little mom-and-pop outfit that some people know as General Electric, has jumped on this bandwagon, too.  

He's been crying bloody murder the last week or so on the proposed purchase.

I have no problem pointing out how one disagrees with Murdoch's political viewpoints, but I knew the bride before she was a virgin...and so did you.

Islam...The Religion of Peace

Apparently, Farfour is dead.  He was killed by one of those filthy Jews.

I don't have this episode yet, but here's an earlier one in case you forgot to TiVo it the first time around.

Hillary...Just Like Green Eggs and Ham?

WASHINGTON - More than half of Americans say they wouldn't consider voting for Sen. Hillary Clinton for president if she becomes the Democratic nominee, according to a new national poll made available to McClatchy Newspapers and NBC News. The poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found that 52 percent of Americans wouldn't consider voting for Clinton, D-N.Y.

Salt Lake Tribune

Joe Biden Says the Darndest Things!

Poor Joe Biden just can't catch a break. Check out what he told the audience last night at the Democratic debate out at Howard University.

"I got tested for AIDS, I know Barack got tested for AIDS. There's no shame in
being tested for AIDS. It's an important thing."

US Senator Joe Biden (D-DE)

Even though he surely knows what a total nutbag Biden is, this seems to have thrown Obama for a loop. He felt compelled, justifiably, to confirm to the audience that he gets tested with his wife Michelle.

Interesting First Day on the Job For New British PM!

This could have been spooky....

I've Seen Less-Obvious Airbrushing in Playboy!

At work today, I actually just needed to grab a New Mexico ZIP code for something. The first thing that came to mind was the address used for the Richardson for President campaign.

Was I surprised to see how airbrushed the chubby little former baseball star was when I went to his site!

Check out this screenshot from his frontpage. For context, I have included screengrabs from some of the other candidates, none of whom so dramatically airbrush closeups of themselves!

Ann Coulter....Morganna "The Kissing Bandit" In Disguise?

Ms. Ann Coulter is back in the news for a recent spat over some more jabs she's taken at the Edwards campaign and Mrs. Edwards' counterattack.

(Yawn)

It occurred to me this morning that Ms. Coulter really is, in some ways, the political equivlalent of Morganna the Kissing Bandit.

For those who may have forgotten, Morganna is a very-blessed woman who use to run out onto the baseball field during MLB games in the 1970s and 80s to plant a kiss on various superstars of the time like George Brett (above.)

Morganna offered nothing real to the game, but she was a mildly sexy blonde who diverted our attention from what was really going on. People who liked to fancy themselves serious complained about how she ruined the integrity of what was going on....but they forgot that what was going on was still, in one way or another, just a bunch of chronological adults playing a kids' game.

Selah.

Great Blast From the Past

Yesterday on the Howard Stern Show, they were playing clips from Scott Ferrall's show (a really talented sports guy on evenings on Howard 101 on Sirius).  He had the World Wrestling Federation star of the 1980s, The Iron Sheik.

He got really loaded and then unleashed on callers.  He started crying when someone brought up how Sheik was a champion when Classy Freddie Blassie was his manager.  (Blassie died 3 years ago).

This was just the kind of train wreck we tune in for!

Keeping my calendar cleared for 2-August when he's slated to be on Howard's show!

Oven Fried Chicken Recipe

Off on the right-hand side of my page, I have a link over to an RSS feed at Epicurious. It grabs their newest few recipes and links them up.

One up there now is for spicy, oven-fried chicken.

I may have to try this for no other reason than they use my favorite tip for 'regular' fried chicken....marinating in buttermilk for 24 hours. You have no idea how much juciness that adds to the chicken once you cook it.

Do yourself a favor and try this technique...whether with this recipe or augment your existing recipe!

Who is Jon Klein?

Funny you should ask.

Jon Klein, according to the corporate website, is "president of CNN/U.S., responsible for management oversight of all programming, editorial tone and strategic direction of the network."

Here's what Jon has said publicly about the quality of CNN's programming, compared to its competitors (presumably MSNBC and Fox):

"Our editorial chops are alive and well. We're kicking butt everyday. The American people want serious news -- and they're not getting enough of it from cable…We are the most essential source of information for Americans. We've aligned all of our day parts to be the newsy alternatives."

Klein in 2005

"Sizzle is out – audiences expect substance and we deliver that in a way no one else does. We are feeling very good about the momentum we have gained and the fact that we are showcasing our reporting. Our gimmick is news."

Klein in 2006

Be sure to check out Paris Hilton on CNN for the full hour starting at 9PM tonight.

(Nod to Miami Herald's blog, linked above, and TVNewser for putting this out there.)

New Word of the Day

The celebucon is set to appear on "Larry King Live" tonight, sharing her first post-pokey interview with the suspender-wearing chatter box at CNN's Sunset Boulevard studios.

New York Post

FoxNews.com Going POSTal

The New York Post is widely-known for for their attention-grabbing headline style. Fox News, one of Rupert's other big outlets, seems to have started to follow suit lately with their increased use of sensational pictures on the homepage.

I posted yesterday a complete nonsense item they had on their homepage about naked sunbathers on a golf course. Today's item is only slightly more newsworthy.

Today's important items from Newscorp.

Freudian Analysis of the New Clinton Campaign Ad

By now, my hip readers (both of them!) are familiar with the new Hillary Clinton campaign ad that takes off on the last scene of the Sopranos finale in which Hillary refuses to give Bill any onion rings, and offers him carrot sticks instead.

Althouse has it all figured out...through a Freudian lens...

Bill says "No onion rings?" and Hillary responds "I'm looking out for ya." Now, the script says onion rings, because that's what the Sopranos were eating in that final scene, but I doubt if any blogger will disagree with my assertion that, coming from Bill Clinton, the "O" of an onion ring is a vagina symbol. Hillary says no to that, driving the symbolism home. She's "looking out" all right, vigilant over her husband, denying him the sustenance he craves. What does she have for him? Carrot sticks! The one closest to the camera has a rather disgusting greasy sheen to it. Here, Bill, in retaliation for all of your excessive "O" consumption, you may have a large bowl of phallic symbols! When we hear him say "No onion rings?," the camera is on her, and Bill is off-screen, but at the bottom of the screen we see the carrot/phallus he's holding toward her. Oh, yes, I know that Hillary supplying carrots is supposed to remind that Hillary will provide us with health care, that she's "looking out for" us, but come on, they're carrots! Everyone knows carrots are phallic symbols. But they're cut up into little carrot sticks, you say? Just listen to yourself! I'm not going to point out everything.

Ann Althouse

The Liberation of Paris

I had trouble sleeping (or staying asleep, to be more accurate) and woke up around 4AM today.  When I flipped on the news networks, I was surprised to find that Paris Hilton had been released.  Honestly, I was not one of the people counting down the days or particularly looking forward to the Larry King interview.

And, ashamed as I may be to blog on her, I have to admit that sans makeup, she's actually kind of a cute girl.  The heavy makeup and slutty look just always kind of turned me off.  She'd can do more with less, IMO.

I know it's a standard refrain of people who just got out of the pokey for big or small brushes with John Q. Law to turn it all around, and maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I'll give her a fair shake.  More power to her if she makes lemonade from these lemons.

Rich Lowry on the Renewed Fairness Doctrine Debate

I started whining on Sunday about Senator Feinstein's mention of bringing back a debate on the Fairness Doctrine. This, you recall, could force media outlets into providing balanced amounts of time to different viewpoints.

The list of reasons, from principle to enforcement, is longer than I care to type but in a concise little syndicated column, National Review editor Rich Lowry strikes down this absurdity.

I liked the following comparison:

This is why Spanish-language radio is such a growth commodity. Not because broadcasters have an agenda to Hispanicize America, or because there’s a structural imbalance that favors Spanish-language over German- or French-language programming, but because there’s an audience for it.

Rich Lowry

We Arouse, You Decide

Fox shows us again why it's the leader....

Coyote Ugly

Well, there's bad new on the procreation front....that heartless wench, Nancy Grace, has secretly married and is expecting twins.

I will say an extra rosary for the future generation this weekend.

Chinese. Japanese. Dirty Knees. Look at These!

Bill Keller of the New York Times has all but whipped out his johnson and dared Rupert Murdoch (seen above with his much-younger wife, Wendi)  to do the same as he tries to buy up the Wall Street Journal.

This morning there was a War and Peace-length splash on the Aussie and there's more coming tomorrow on his connections to Communist China!

I might have to dig my copy back out of the recycle bin and check it out before bed.

"Many big companies have sought to break into the China market over the past two decades, but few of them have been as ardent and unrelenting as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Murdoch has flattered Communist Party leaders and done business with their children,"

The NYT on Rupert Murdoch, as related by Matt Drudge

"I Told You Not to Be Stupid, You Moron!"

Those words, famous to listeners of the Howard Stern show, are from the host's father, Ben, in a tape played often on the show. Ben Stern tape recorded a family get-together when he quizzed his children on, among other things, whether America should remain a part of the United Nations.

Howard, you see, had an older sister and his father thought he was being...stupid.

Well, it turns out that it might not be his fault!

There's a widely-circulating new publication in the social sciences saying that even when you control for a host of other factors, first-born chilren still retain a small but significant (insert another Howard double-entendre) edge when it comes to intelligence.

This holds no real utility for parents raising their children because intra-group variance far exceeds inter-group variance, but it still makes for interesting discussion.

Rod Beck, RIP

I was looking for the picture he got in trouble for during the Cubs 1998 run, when he was on camera in the locker room with a beer and a cigarette,  but could not find it.

Anyway, one of the great guy's guys passed away today.

Rod Beck is dead at 38.

Another Musical Interlude

John Lennon from his New York concert, peforming Come Together and Imagine.

Another tragic loss.

A Rare Retraction

This morning, I posted my disgust at Diane Feinstein's willingness to revisit the Fairness Doctrine.  The notion of more selective government intervention in my daily life was pretty awful.  However, maybe there would be some benefit to a den mom holding court here.

My ill-conceived premise, you see, was that for every issue, there's simply going to be a for- and against- side.

My dear reader, that's simply not the case.  If the government included white-noise time for those of us who either don't give a crap, or see the issues of the day for the shams they are, I might be willing to take part in this social experiment.  Let's hear it for apathy!

I provide below a few of the test cases I'd like to try out:

• Gay Marriage. This so-called issue was invented primarily to rile people up. The main tactic has revolved around inventing a queer boogeyman you should be legitimately scared of raping your children...because gays are all pedophiles, you know.

• Outsourcing.  The Democrats main contribution to this "debate" has been to carry on, like John Kerry, about companies setting up fake PO Box headquarters offshores.  This comes from the same man who voted for NAFTA.  The GOP's no better, so there is no real debate here, either.
  

• The Border Scare.  I joked here about yellow peril the other day, but if anyone really thinks that the Mexican border is in the top f*cking ten places we're vulnerable to terrorist attack, I'll have some of what you're smoking.
  

I Usually Have More Respect for California's Senior Senator

This morning, appearing on Fox News Sunday, Senator Diane Feinstein kind of caught me off guard.

While they were discussing the power of (particularly right-wing) talk radio, the former Mayor of San Francisco dropped a bombshell...she's considering a move to start enforcing the so-called Fairness Doctrine again.

Going back to these days would necessarily involve more government meddling in what exactly is "fair time" given to issues and viewpoints discussed on the public airwaves.

It's no coincidence that Drudge was linking up a story earlier this week where Oklahoma GOP Senator James Inhofe claimed he heard Senators Clinton (D-Punjab) and Boxer (D-CA) discussing "legislative solutions" to their talk radio problem.

I'm very interested, if this story picks up steam, where the MSM comes out on it.  Will the Times and others parrot the company line that talk radio does swing right and tend to benefit Republicans in a disproportionate way?  Will they maintain that the Internet and newspapers, who don't use the "public airwaves" should remain exempt from government meddling, just as they are when it comes to campaign finance reform?

Stay tuned...

One of the Funniest SNL Commercials of All Time

Chris Farley, RIP.

Schmitt's Gay

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Steely Dan Performing Kid Charlemagne

I've always been a big fan of Steely Dan and, rhythmically speaking ( Wiki-explanation aside, Becker and Fagen's lyrics don't touch me in any way like a Dylan song does), Kid Charlemagne is one of my favorite songs of all time.  Like the rest of their music, it just flows so easily.  It's perfect for relaxing after a tough day...letting everything just roll off of me.

I came across a Vh1 video of the song being performed live.

If I ever decide for a career change and go into the porn business, I think Steely Dan would be my stage name.  Now go swig some mental mouthwash and enjoy the video!

Yellow Peril Invades The Heartland!!!

Apparently there's a big problem evolving up in the Great Lakes region now.

While the Asian Carp were originally brought over to Arkansas (haven't those damned hillbillies caused us Yankees enough trouble already with the Clintons?) about a decade ago, these fish, which can be rather troublesome, are making their way northward and Lake Michigan is next on the list.

Chicago's dealing with their every-17-year-Cicada-run right now, but these jumping, ecosystem-destroyers are on the way, too!

Beware!

Slip It On Before You Slip It In

A creative solution to the supposed immigration problem.

Streaming Sopranos Episodes

I came across something sort of cool...although I have no comment on the legality of such a site, Mr. McDonnell... ;-)

These guys have streaming episodes of some seasons of the Sopranos up.  It's not all seasons and the video is not exactly Blue-Ray quality, but if you need a fix, sometimes you'll resort to desperate measures.

The Best of Michael Savage

I'm still trying to find a copy of Michael Savage's Talkers Magazine speech that he laments CSPAN not broadcasting, I did pull up his most famous clip from his short-lived MSNBC show in 2002.  I remember watching this on a Saturday afternoon while doing some housecleaning.

It was his last show.

Later, I'll post up the video from CSPANS's Washington Journal, with Brian Lamb reading some of the emails his more literate fans sent in complaning about their decision to now broadcast his taped speech.

Here's a major league asshole for you to enjoy with your eggs and sausage links.

The Party of Lincoln

The Neocon Express kind of got under my skin with a posting yesterday that relied on a very annoying rhetorical device.

After relating how his grandfather, who lived in the deep south during the 1960s, refused to tolerate even light-hearted racial jokes in the household and was ahead of his time in terms of hiring black workers (both of which are admirable given social mores of the times), he jumps to a claim of confusion about why blacks tend to vote almost monolithically Democrat.

This is a widely known trend and, to be clear, I have my own problems with why it is. It's ridiculous and without merit to believe that the GOP has it out for blacks as a whole.

However, Neocon's argument, that since the Civil Rights movement in this country was helped more by the Republican Party of that time, and impeded by Demo/Dixiecrats at the time, blacks should remain loyal.

While not a moral equivalant, it would be employing the same logic to say that we should treat the current German government exactly as we would if they still endorsed a Nazi platform.

Parties and individuals change over time and they don't always change in the same direction. While the GOP likes to sing the praises of our 40th President and his co-opting of the so-called Reagan Democrats, they like to pretend that they're still the same party that pushed
through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Little hypocricies are a beautiful thing, but I've seen better out of Neocon man.

 

"Family Secrets" Timeline

The Chicago Tribune put together a nice timeline of the things leading up to the current Family Secrets trial in Chicago. Note the Spilotro brothers murder towards the bottom. Follow my link above...this copies over way too small to read.

A Cafeteria Catholic, a Jew and a Methodist Walk into....A Presidential Election?

The Politico, among other members of the junkie class, is reveling in the possibility of a New York menage a trois with the recent party-hopping of Mayor Bloomberg as he sets up for his own (likely self-financed) Presidential run.

Count me in!

Big Decision of the Day

Michael Savage, the Right's Drunken Uncle

For some time, I've found the Left's love-hate relationship with the blogging community to be pretty amusing. They loved folks like The Daily Kos until they started straying from the party line and continuing to speak their mind (on things like the Dems having no balls about the War.)

The bloggers were great when they brought out the vote, but we'd prefer they were seen-not-heard at other times.

The right is not immune to this phenomenon, either.

Since the late 1980s, largely due to Rush Limbaugh, the right has rode the wave of AM talk radio. They were a good barometer of the mood in the country and provided figures like Big Time with a platform to defend themselves in the rough times.

The golden age is now going through a bit of a rough patch, particularly when it comes to the immigration debate. This week, Trent Lott, Lindsey Graham and others have started to buck back against the loudmouths and are feeling the heat with jammed phone lines in their offices among other annoyances.

My biggest problem with jokers like Rush and Michael Alan Weiner Savage (who I used to listen to for a good chuckle on the way home from work when I lived in his home turf of the San Francisco Bay Area) is not so much with the hosts, but their listeners...particularly the ones who thought they were tuning in for the news.

These guys are entertainers, not informers, and anyone who believes otherwise gets what they deserve when they get bit in the ass.

Operation "Family Secrets" Trial Gets Under Way

The "Family Secrets" Trial began in Chicago federal court yesterday.  As we've discussed, the most notable Outfit figure on trial is Joey "The Clown" Lombardo.

The jury trial, in which  the jurors are being kept relatively anonymous, got off to an auspicious start when a fake explosive device was found outside the suburban home of Kurt Calabrese, one of the key witnesses expected to testify.  The home, described as one of the more modest on the block by the Trib, is in ritzy Kenilworth.

It is not known if it was merely a prank or some kind of message.  (Remember in Godfather when Pentangeli's brother was brought over from Sicily when he was to testify in front of the Congressional committee?)

At the top of this posting is Joe Pesci's character in Casino.  He was portraying the real-life Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, shown below with his then-lawyer, now-Las Vegas Mayor, Oscar B. Goodman.  His murder, also portrayed in the movie, is one of the alleged acts that are keeping these men behind bars on this Summer Solstice.

Blogging Should Pick Back Up

I was just feeling a bit lacking in anything to say the last few days and no urge to blog came up so...I didn't.

But that should end now that a big mob trial is starting in Chicago. This one has a lot of connections that I find interesting, and you may, too.

Among several other men of Italian heritage, on trial is one Joey "The Clown" Lombardo (pictured above).

As alleged members of the Chicago Outfit, they're accused of taking part in a wide range of mischief, including the murder of Tony "The Ant" Spilatro, which was also the cornfield killing (there's some debate if it actually took place there) of the Joe Pesci character in Casino.

So this also brings in a connection to current Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman.

Here's the article from a newspaper I used to deliver when I was a kid...definitely more on this to come.

I Really Have to Poop!

I just came across this picture and thought it was funny.  I have nothing else to say about it.

Will Rudy be 'Swiftboated' by the FDNY?

Well, I live in Cleveland and I was in Silicon Valley on 9-11, so don't take my word for it.

The New York Times, in a front page splash this morning, pulls together some New York firefighters who show that there is no unanimity in their presumed love and support of the Giuliani for President campaign.

While some of them will fall back on the "he may have screwed us,  but he'd still be good for the country as a whole," there seems to be a halfway organized effort underway to inform the public of just how good a friend Rudy was to the folks he's associated himself with in the press.

The primary beefs against America's Mayor are stinginess in pre-9-11 contract negotiations, pulling the firemen out of the rubble when they were still searching for their fallen brothers (on this one, reasonable minds could argue that it was one of the few instances of Rudy letting safety trump cajones), and making too big a spectacle of his appearance at FDNY funerals.

"I told my wife, ‘Anything that ever happens, I don’t want him at my funeral.’ ”

FDNY Firefighter John Walsh

Does Google Stand a Chinaman's Chance?

Okay, I really had to stretch to find a way to make this picture even mildly appropriate for the post, but there is some interesting news going around this week about eBay standing up to fellow giant Google.

The boys in Mountain View had been trying to muscle in on eBay-owned PayPal and coercing power sellers on eBay to use Google Checkout.  They even planned (then had to cancel) a big shin dig for them in Boston.

It's not clear that the power play worked because eBay pulled all its paid 
search listings from Google and there is no immediate sign of them having taken a big hit.  

Since Google was not  scrubbing eBay items from its organic results, which most users are not averse to hitting, 
the power in this relationship does not solely reside with Google.

Power to the upstarts... 

Albanians Love George W. Bush

As you already know, the leader of the free world had to go all the way to Albania last week to find a crowd that didn't want to pelt him with tomatoes.  The only pisser of the trip is that someone over there may have stolen his watch.

Either way, when I read about the reception he got over in the Baltics, my memories immediately went back to our beloved Coach on Cheers, with his foolproof technique to memorizing facts about the world around him.

Funny that POTUS actually makes Coach look like a goddamned geinus!

Kyran Chetry Shows Why She Makes the Big Bucks

What a dummy...

Lazy

I've been lazy with posting the last few days....

While I have not yet rewatched it on On Demand yet (maybe tonight?), the longer I have to let it sink in, the more I love the ending Senor Chase gave us the other night.

Speaking of being lazy, I'll link up Althouse again. She tends to agree with me, that an unsatisfying ending can be satisfying...but that American audiences are being trained to be lazy.

You go, girl.

On the way in this morning, I had on the Sirius 80s station and by chance, Journey's "Don't Stop" came on. The song will forever be attached to that Jersey diner in my head.

Do They All Die of Clogged Arteries?

Nice ending, David Chase.

You win.

By the way, I broke down and scanned for spoilers early today.  This SOB had it pretty much balls on.

I have The Answers ***MAJOR SPOILERS***
by FrancisBegbie Jun 6th, 2007
05:01:52 PM
Well some of them. I saw a promotional copy of the last episode and while it did not include the last minute I saw enough so here we go. No joke. - AJ's car catches on fire while he is hooking up with his new girl. Very symbolic if you remember how they got that car. - Tony gets AJ a job in the entertainment industry because AJ was going to join the army to fight terrorism. - Tony goes to Junior and Junior has no idea who Tony is.This is after Janice goes to him to try and get after his money. - Phil Leotardo gets hit. He is killed by Benny at a gas station and then gets his head run over by the car he was in. - They find Phil because the FBI agent that Tony has been helping tells him where Phil is. - While Phil is away Tony has a sit down with New York and they agree to lay off and also say they would not mind if Phil is gone. The last scene they are sitting in a diner with Dont Stop Believing by Journey playing. REALLY REALLY intense and right when the conclusion is about to play out my copy ended. Come back Sunday night and call me a liar but no one will need to....

"There certainly is no indication there's a mafia war going on."

Those are the words of NYC Police Commish Ray Kelly.

But with two mob-related murders
in three days in New York,  the situation could get interesting.

Some folks are starting to wonder (wish?) if the city could see its first mob 'war' since the early 1990s.

Alla tua salute.

Sopranos Predictions

While we all know that The Sopranos, like the myth of an American Mafia, is a work of fiction, the bloggers are going crazy about tomorrow's series finale episode, Made in America.

Finally found someone over at HBO who agreed with my adopted theory...that Furio will come back in some way, perhaps being made and taking over the New Jersey family?

The best one, though, comes from someone over at The New Republic.  Paulie gets his own show, premiering in March 2009 and entitled "'Nuts."

Either way, I've got the chicken parm ingredients ready to go for a barn burner tomorrow night.  Screw the  Cav's game.  I might even treat myself to a sweet from Presti's.

Here's to Good Friends. Tonight is Kind of Special.

Reports of the Bill's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The Bad Examples are a Chicago-area band that had one minor local hit in the 80s, Not Dead Yet.

According to the folks over at National Review, citing a GOP Senate Aide, believe that the bill might have another life after the cloture vote last night in the Senate.

Al Sharpton is Outraged. Seriously!

So Paris was sent home to wear a bracelet.

Big deal.

In other surprising news, Al Sharpton's pi$$ed about it.

Maybe we can get a good riot out of this.

If You Can't Pass Anything Good, Don't Pass Anything At All

Rasmussen has some new polling out that suggests folks across the country prefer no bill to the bad one in the Senate now. Conservatives are not the only ones who dislike this sham...for reasons ranging from de facto amnesty to the practical-impossibility of ever enforcing the bugger.

Viva bipartidismo !!!

Sensible Mom has it covered, too.

Insert Caption Here

It's wrong to applaud someone's personal crises, but I am happy for Larry David tonight and finally removing this tumor from his life.

As usual, Ann Althouse has some goodies on his loud-mouthed ex-.

Interesting Theory on the Final Sopranos Episode

We at Musings lament to note that this Sunday will be the last new episode of the Sopranos.  The name of this installment is "Made in America."

On Howard Stern's Wrap-Up Show on Tuesday, a caller had a reasonable-sounding guess on how the series concludes.

Furio somehow makes it back from Italy and, through whatever chain of events, ends up taking over the family.

Made in America.

Will he also finally get to bed Carmela?

You read it here first, if you hadn't already heard it on Howard.

Happy Birthday, Superjock Larry Lujack!

Yes, little snot-nosed Tommy....it's Your Charming and Delightful Good Old Uncle Lar's BIRTHDAY! (Insert lion-roaring sound effect here).

Chicago radio legend Larry Lujack turns 67 today.

I grew up with Uncle Lar on the morning radio on WLS and he, along with Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, ruined me for life, forever setting the bar for radio personalities too high to be reached by the mere mortals I've encountered ever since.

No one else ever came close to living up.

Every once in a while, I'm tempted to go out and pick up one of the Animal Stories CDs, but probably won't bother...the memories are better.

Happy birthday, Larry.