Dubya is looking into getting a federal law (and, if I’m reading it right, a Constitutional Amendment) passed that would define marriage as a bond only between and man and a woman. Way to unite, not divide, George.
Sharon Waxman of the Washington Post laments the poor box office takes of (generally) good films. If she’s looking for someone to blame, why not critics like Scot Lehigh of the Boston Globe Magazine, who apparently has trouble following any sort of slight deviation from straightforward, three-act, no-twist narrative.
Disclaimer: I agree that Vanilla Sky and the “Matrix” series are painful to watch, but for reasons other than “I didn’t understand.” I’d hate to see what Lehigh thought of “Fight Club,” “Adaptation,” or even “Rashomon.”
The Pentagon wants to set up a website that would allow people to essentially bet on (or buy futures in) the the future assassinations of world leaders, terrorist attacks, and the like, was roundly condemned by two Democratic senators, one of whom is Ron Wyden of Oregon. Supporters who claim that the betting could be used as “intelligence information” are apparently lacking a little “intelligence” themselves. If we found out that, say, Albania had a website to predict whether Dubya would be gunned down, I guarantee we’d have troops in Albania by the end of the week.
That’s not to mention what could happen if some nut decided to bet a ton on an assassination, or, heaven forbid, a bombing, and then try to collect by pulling it off himself.
The plan is suppoesd to cost 3/4 of a million dollars this year, and $8 million over the next two years.
Update: Due to the backlash, the plan has been killed.
Bob Seger has nothing on Dick Ericson, a Metrodome worker who claims he adjusted the Dome’s air conditioning to help the Twins and hurt their foes from 1982-1995. Ericson writes it off as being part of “homefield advantage,” and said he doesn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about his actions.
Apparently, nobody in the Twins front office told Ericson to do this or was aware of it. Thankfully, due to the team’s mediocre record through most of Ericson’s tenure, there isn’t much evidence that his help worked–heck, the Dome’s roof was probably a larger factor in homefield advantage than the air conditioning. After all, even in the age of the home run, no Twin has hit 30 since 1991.
Bob Hope passed away last night at the age of 100. Unlike 2001, when CNN accidentally released a pre-written story about him dying at age 98, this one has been confirmed. The picture and layout haven’t changed in two years, however.
Circa 2001
Michael Burdick, the man behind the disturbing “Hunting For Bambi” phenomenon, in which men reportedly paid thousands of dollars to “hunt” naked women with paintball guns, now says it was a hoax.
The NFL fined Detroit Lions president Matt Millen 200 grand today for not interviewing a minority candidate for an open head coaching position. According to the Lions, five minority candidates refused to interview, as they figured Mariucci was a lock for the job, anyway (which he was).
Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players’ Association, said, “The Detroit Lions gave mere lip service to the agreed-upon minority hiring process.”
Are you kidding me? Wouldn’t offering an interview to a guy just because he’s black in order to circumvent a (well intentioned) rule be “paying lip service?” The Lions were realistic. They knew the guy they wanted, and he was willing to coach the team. No more interviews necessary.
I understand and support the NFL’s desire to attract more minority head coaches, but Millen was talking with Steve Mariucci. If this were a team that didn’t have one specific guy they wanted to coach, the rule makes sense. But they were going after one of the NFL’s most successful coaches. He was going to be hired; why waste other people’s time? Furthermore, why waste black people’s time or falsely inflate their hopes of coaching the Lions, simply because of the color of their skin?
Update: The Lions are ticked, and may be appealing the fine. If that is the case, it will be the only instance of the Lions being appealing all year.
Another elderly man drove through another crowded farmer’s market today, injuring six. According to the driver, 79-year-old Louis Nirenstein, the gas pedal was stuck.
Strange how that happens so often in cars driven by the elderly.
Julia Rose, an exercise advocate/aspiring singer/songwriter has been banned from a Border’s Books in Virginia for saying that Dubya has skinny “chicken legs.” That’s it.
Since when did the party of “PC sucks/Hillary is a Satanic lesbian/Anita Hill is a whore/gays don’t deserve equal rights/Chelsea Clinton is ugly/the civil rights movement was ‘all those problems’” get so damned sensitive?
…or maybe it’s all just a publicity stunt by an aspiring singer/songwriter.
I’m missing Rob Neyer, who is visiting Boston Saturday night to do a reading and talk baseball. On the other hand, I’m missing Rob Neyer because I’m getting paid to cover a semi-pro football game for a daily newspaper–the fifth story in my two-week career as a stringer. It’s not a lot, but I’m getting paid to write about sports, which is the basic idea. Now I just need to improve the frequency and rate of pay.