dustbury.com

Jazzercide

CGHill — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:54:52 +0000

If you’re a game and a half behind the Jazz, beating the Jazz has to be high on your to-do list. This is not necessarily the easiest thing to do: for instance, the Thunder hit 14 of 17 from the floor in the third quarter, but it increased their lead by only a single point. What’s more, putting the lean on Utah’s fearsome points-in-the-paint machine merely induced the Jazz to take outside shots; they went 11-19 from the three-point line. Rookie shooting guard Wesley Matthews got six of those treys, en route to a team high (and career high) 29 points. But Oklahoma City made it three-for-three against Utah, winning 119-111 at the Ford and closing to within half a game of fourth place in the West.

This was billed as a battle of the point guards, and both Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook acquitted themselves admirably: Williams picked up 27 points and served up 14 assists before fouling out late, and Westbrook had 30 points and 11 dimes. (Former Jazzman Eric Maynor, now backing up Westbrook, had six points and five rebounds in ten minutes; Ronnie Price, who usually works behind Williams, was out with a bruised wrist.) Other injuries bedeviled the Jazz: both Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko were forced to sit after being roughed up Friday at Milwaukee.

But what really knocked Utah’s collective hat in the creek was the Thunder offense: OKC shot a startling 60.3 percent from the floor, though treys were few and far between. (Rebounds were sparse: OKC 36, Utah 30.) All five starters hit double digits, and Kevin Durant hit twenty in the first half, finishing with 35. The Thunder were just okay at the stripe, 28 of 35, but the Jazz obligingly missed twelve out of 34.

I think it’s safe to say no one expected this team to win 41 games out of 82, let alone 41 out of 65. A finish of .500 or better is now guaranteed. On the other hand, .500 in the West doesn’t even guarantee you a playoff spot, so it helps that the next three games are against teams from the East; the Thunder is 19-6 against Eastern teams and 19-13 on the road, so let’s hope for a sweep. Besides, the Spurs will be waiting when the Thunder return home.

Not a frequent-traveler perk

CGHill — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:56:26 +0000

I don’t do coffee, generally, mostly because the amount of caffeine it takes to rouse me from my morning stupor is so immense I’d end up spending the afternoon in the restroom. This holds particularly true on road trips, since spending time looking for said restrooms detracts substantially from the joy of driving.

It did not occur to me, though, that there might be another reason for ignoring the coffeepot in my room at the Generic Inn:

Instead of brewing coffee, coffee pots are sometimes used to brew methamphetamine.

And since meth labs in hotels aren’t anything new, Rick Phillips of the Marshall County [Alabama] Drug Enforcement Unit says there’s definitely a risk.

“The coffee makers that you find in every motel room is an ideal heat source. They mix it up in the coffee pot, put it on a heat source and let it sit there and cook,” said Phillips.

It’s common knowledge to those who fight meth, but a shock to your average citizen.

And I am nothing if not average, right?

Nor is this the only risk, says Dogette:

If a person were to drink coffee from a pot used to re-warm sludge taken from the banks of the L.A. River, it could have negative health effects that might not manifest immediately.

Not that anyone wants cold sludge, but clearly this is a hazard, if perhaps not as common as meth.

A little at a time

CGHill — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:49:07 +0000

The mission statement of Chicago’s Urban Prep:

The mission of Urban Prep is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality college preparatory education to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college.

This mission is a direct response to the urgent need to reverse abysmal graduation and college completion rates among young men in urban centers, particularly African-American males. Urban Prep’s tailored curriculum is based on the developmental stages and learning styles of boys as well as the unique challenges facing urban youth. The Urban Prep motto is “We Believe.” We believe that our students will shatter negative stereotypes and defy low expectations. We believe that our students can be prepared for and will succeed in college. We believe in the long-lasting impact community support and positive role models can have on our students’ lives. In short, we believe in our students’ futures. At Urban Prep, we believe.

Note: “boys.” Not girls. At the moment, female presence is considered a distraction.

Urban Prep’s first graduating class: 107. Number accepted by a four-year college: 107.

This is not a hyper-selective school, either: students are chosen by lottery from the pool of applicants.

So what’s the trick? No excuses accepted for anything:

Each new freshman starting school gets his own wristwatch to keep track of time.

“Kids would be late and say they didn’t know what time it was,” [founder Tim] King said. “Part of our creed reads [that] we make no excuses, so we wanted to remove that excuse.”

Nor do you get to leave early. Classes run 8:30 am to 4:30 pm — just like a real work day. And students dress like it’s a real work day, too:

The young men at the academy wear suit jackets and ties as signs of respect.

“It distinguishes us. We stand out in the crowd,” said student Jerry Hinds. “Freshman year, maybe, people had problems with it at first. But after a while, you see the bigger picture. … These uniforms show that, oh, he’s wearing a tie; oh, he wants to do something with himself.”

Put on a happy face

CGHill — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:12:37 +0000

Because the readers are coming, and they’re picky.

The Vent

CGHill — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:55:33 +0000

2010

669.  Put on a happy face  (14 March)
668.  Why not?  (8 March)
667.  That smarts  (1 March)
666.  The outskirts of hell  (22 February)
665.  Dating myself  (14 February)
664.  Different drumsticks  (7 February)
663.  Bring on the winter  (1 February)
662.  Fashion statements  (23 January)
661.  Other people’s opinions  (16 January)
660.  Peak turmoil  (9 January)
659.  Thoughts they cannot defend  (1 January)

2009

658.  Unreal estate  (24 December)
657.  Fake Steve on real problems  (15 December)
656.  Something’s wrong  (7 December)
655.  Mike and Christine  (1 December)
654.  Quarterlife  (25 November)
653.  Organ grinding  (16 November)
652.  The Killeen field  (8 November)
651.  Discredit to the race  (1 November)
650.  Illinois abatement  (24 October)
649.  We’ve got the power  (17 October)
648.  She and I  (9 October)
647.  Random rants  (1 October)
646.  The elder statesman  (25 September)
645.  Life sucks, let’s make some art  (17 September)
644.  Hey, sustain this, pal  (8 September)
643.  Your automotive questions answered!  (1 September)
642.  Groping for change  (23 August)
641.  Woodstock: the balance sheet  (17 August)
640.  I don’t get it (part deux)  (9 August)
639.  Deeds done  (1 August)
638.  To your health  (21 July)
637.  Woonerf  (14 July)
636.  He stopped loving her today  (5 July)
635.  On getting one’s hopes up  (1 July)
634.  Uncertainty blows  (22 June)
633.  Two divided by love  (14 June)
632.  Last man standing  (8 June)
631.  A pox on your single-family homes  (1 June)
630.  A unified theory of charity  (24 May)
629.  The train is sane, if mainly sort of plain  (17 May)
628.  You have received 0 calls  (9 May)
627.  Mr. Know-It-All  (1 May)
626.  Federalism 2.0  (23 April)
625.  Beyond our understanding  (12 April)
624.  Blackballing the green  (7 April)
623.  Missing linkage  (1 April)
622.  The runaway American dream  (22 March)
621.  Younger than yesterday  (14 March)
620.  The Rite of Oldfield  (8 March)
619.  I want a new drug  (1 March)
618.  Building cars people want  (23 February)
617.  When do I get my life back?  (15 February)
616.  Now I’m scared  (8 February)
615.  Opening remarks  (1 February)
614.  Thanks, I’ll eat it here  (24 January)
613.  Love for sale  (17 January)
612.  Buyer loyalty  (8 January)
611.  Songs to aging children come  (1 January)

2008

610.  Off the bus  (22 December)
609.  Classification blues  (17 December)
608.  Dear Nancy  (8 December)
607.  That’s me in the corner  (1 December)
606.  LV  (25 November)
605.  The Big Five and me  (17 November)
604.  Onward and rightward  (8 November)
603.  Guide for the annoyed voter  (1 November)
602.  Items from my Wish List  (25 October)
601.  Try new Darwin™ Oven Cleaner  (17 October)
600.  We got your ballot initiatives right here  (6 October)
599.  Oh, it’s for you  (1 October)
598.  Unmerry worth  (23 September)
597.  Simple Simon says slow down  (14 September)
596.  Inspect your gadget  (7 September)
595.  Washington, DC 20500  (1 September)
594.  Wishing and hoping  (24 August)
593.  Train in vain  (17 August)
592.  Ismism  (9 August)
591.  Less weepy  (1 August)
590.  Being Julia  (23 July)
589.  Stores inconvenienced  (14 July)
588.  Concerning those tall guys  (8 July)
587.  Is that so?  (1 July)
586.  Citizen inaction  (24 June)
585.  Capital ideas  (16 June)
584.  Ballad of four dollars  (9 June)
583.  Thoroughly modern malaise  (1 June)
582.  Jack, Ted and me  (25 May)
581.  Drawbridge players  (17 May)
580.  Nearly contemporary  (9 May)
579.  Revisiting the character issue  (1 May)
578.  Welcome to the wake  (23 April)
577.  On being bitter  (15 April)
576.  Even dozen  (9 April)
575.  For sale: one life  (1 April)
574.  A sliver of faith  (23 March)
573.  I don’t get it  (16 March)
572.  Every breath you take  (8 March)
571.  Red dots and black spots  (1 March)
570.  The place has space  (22 February)
569.  This old heart of mine  (14 February)
568.  Straw: penultimate plus one  (8 February)
567.  Wandering in Obama Nation  (1 February)
566.  Eternal Revenue  (21 January)
565.  The thing with feathers is flighty  (14 January)
564.  A meth lab would be easier  (7 January)
563.  Repeating myself  (1 January)

2007

562.  Chasing the big leagues  (24 December)
561.  The lure of the inner circle  (16 December)
560.  I love you, now power down  (9 December)
559.  14:40 or fight  (1 December)
558.  Random birthday references  (25 November)
557.  Signing up  (17 November)
556.  The Sonics affair  (7 November)
555.  Filling in the blanks  (1 November)
554.  Avoiding obsolescence  (23 October)
553.  Older yet no wiser  (15 October)
552.  Stressbusters  (8 October)
551.  More hits, more often  (1 October)
550.  Smog and other four-letter words  (23 September)
549.  Getting over the Benz  (16 September)
548.  Only the young die good  (9 September)
547.  The Perspective is Total  (1 September)
546.  Shadow of the Repo Man  (25 August)
545.  Ahem  (16 August)
544.  A whole new D word  (8 August)
543.  Hegemonic distortion  (1 August)
542.  Dead in the water  (25 July)
541.  Random road thoughts  (17 July)
540.  Damns ungiven  (9 July)
539.  Of eggs and baskets  (1 July)
538.  The “Summer of Love”  (23 June)
537.  Through twelve payments  (17 June)
536.  Fake plastic trees  (10 June)
535.  G whizzing  (1 June)
534.  Depends  (23 May)
533.  10 things I hate about you  (14 May)
532.  The girl in the locker room  (7 May)
531.  Silent screen  (1 May)
530.  All I want for Christmas is a howitzer  (23 April)
529.  All you zombies  (16 April)
528.  Some actual Democratic reforms  (7 April)
527.  Blue-oval blues  (1 April)
526.  True confessions  (24 March)
525.  Advice to the General  (16 March)
524.  Paradigms loused  (7 March)
523.  If you see me getting smaller  (1 March)
522.  Dating across the aisle  (24 February)
521.  Quick and dirty position paper  (16 February)
520.  We’ve been railroaded  (8 February)
519.  A little less understanding  (1 February)
518.  Rethinking things in the O.C.  (22 January)
517.  A soul whose intentions are good  (15 January)
516.  Color me irritated  (8 January)
515.  How many snarks in a boojum?  (1 January)

2006

514.  Stuff I’ve done  (22 December)
513.  A roof over my head  (16 December)
512.  Seventeen reasons  (8 December)
511.  Solitary man  (1 December)
510.  Revised inventory  (25 November)
509.  Snap out of it  (17 November)
508.  Random election thoughts  (9 November)
507.  Being watched  (1 November)
506.  Mallets aforethought  (24 October)
505.  Four out of four  (16 October)
504.  Pretty damn good, actually  (8 October)
503.  A time for generosity  (1 October)
502.  Four-part yawp  (24 September)
501.  What you see is what you get  (17 September)
500.  The return of Grinch Neutron  (9 September)
499.  Got anything for congestion?  (1 September)
498.  Vermont needs sunblock  (23 August)
497.  Signs of stupidity  (14 August)
496.  A sense of proportion  (8 August)
495.  Unmoved  (1 August)
494.  Sneering at the Reaper  (24 July)
493.  Not Super, but heroes  (16 July)
492.  Executing executives  (8 July)
491.  The sound of silence  (1 July)
490.  How (not) to buy a car  (22 June)
489.  Verse, free and otherwise  (16 June)
488.  An awful lot of solitaire  (9 June)
487.  Songs in the key of me  (1 June)
486.  A unified theory of driving  (21 May)
485.  The Democrats order something domestic  (14 May)
484.  Gas pains  (8 May)
483.  It’s another freaking clip show  (1 May)
482.  Position paper  (23 April)
481.  Getting off the Envy Express  (15 April)
480.  Rabbit transient  (8 April)
479.  Closure finds an opening  (1 April)
478.  Charles in charge, so to speak  (23 March)
477.  The once and future Hornets  (13 March)
476.  Introducing Oklahoma FetusTrak™  (6 March)
475.  Piecework  (1 March)
474.  Can’t buy me love  (20 February)
473.  The man with the books  (13 February)
472.  Things I’d like to see  (8 February)
471.  Just one of the guys  (1 February)
470.  The element of surprise  (22 January)
469.  They said they want a revolution  (15 January)
468.  All the plastic I can stand  (7 January)
467.  SWAGs for the new year  (1 January)

2005

466.  Retirement: myth or chimera?  (25 December)
465.  The sports vegetable  (17 December)
464.  Monkeying with awards  (9 December)
463.  Love unseen (the finale?)  (1 December)
462.  Fifty-two pickup  (25 November)
461.  Parting gift  (18 November)
460.  MoDo and me  (7 November)
459.  So-called “inclusionary zoning”  (1 November)
458.  Some call it “news”  (22 October)
457.  Knocking on Heaven’s door  (16 October)
456.  Answering the unasked  (8 October)
455.  Love unseen (an unexpected sequel)  (1 October)
454.  With 2008 in mind  (22 September)
453.  Let’s play Duopoly  (15 September)
452.  Don’t even say it  (8 September)
451.  To miss New Orleans  (1 September)
450.  Poll axe  (23 August)
449.  Escaping a black hole  (14 August)
448.  A lover who won’t drive her crazy  (5 August)
447.  Indulge me  (1 August)
446.  Spending my Lotto winnings  (24 July)
445.  Love unseen  (16 July)
444.  On being a hick  (8 July)
443.  Why I don’t teach  (1 July)
442.  The postwar era  (23 June)
441.  Ten over  (16 June)
440.  Doing without  (8 June)
439.  Staking a claim  (1 June)
438.  Samantha and me  (22 May)
437.  It’s a freaking clip show  (15 May)
436.  I fought the lawn and the lawn won  (7 May)
435.  Those were then, these are now  (1 May)
434.  Local environmental concerns  (25 April)
433.  Downtown  (19 April)
432.  Number 9…  (9 April)
431.  Medium dudgeon  (1 April)
430.  A “living won’t”  (23 March)
429.  Notes from a darkened room  (16 March)
428.  Look through any window  (9 March)
427.  Masters of eminent domain  (1 March)
426.  Traffic duty now for the future  (22 February)
425.  The dancer and the bird  (15 February)
424.  Brown shoes don’t make it  (8 February)
423.  Be vewy qwiet, we’re hunting wevenues  (1 February)
422.  When it’s time for Roe to go  (23 January)
421.  The changing face of Capitol Hill  (15 January)
420.  Janu-weary  (9 January)
419.  The year in review  (1 January)

2004

418.  Shut up and write the check  (22 December)
417.  Tales of a city  (16 December)
416.  Moderately centered  (8 December)
415.  Did I say that?  (1 December)
414.  NYC vs. OKC  (24 November)
413.  Adding preservatives  (14 November)
412.  Thou shalt buy health insurance  (7 November)
411.  What are you wearing?  (1 November)
410.  Answering the state questions  (23 October)
409.  1979 and all that  (17 October)
408.  Pricing the sacred tablets  (9 October)
407.  Vioxxic shock  (1 October)
406.  Less of me  (24 September)
405.  Chat-room jackassery  (15 September)
404.  The call of the road  (8 September)
403.  Good girls don’t  (1 September)
402.  Why radio sucks  (22 August)
401.  Waiting: the hardest part?  (17 August)
400.  Four hundred  (9 August)
399.  Position paper  (1 August)
398.  Dressed for the Party  (22 July)
397.  Halfway cultured  (14 July)
396.  White on white, lace on satin  (7 July)
395.  Questionable joints  (1 July)
394.  TV or not TV  (24 June)
393.  Looking to the sky  (15 June)
392.  Goodbye, Dutch  (8 June)
391.  Cracking a smile  (1 June)
390.  Stitchless  (24 May)
389.  There’s always another moron  (15 May)
388.  Not down with G.O.P.  (9 May)
387.  Hurt so bad  (1 May)
386.  The two-TrackBacked beast  (23 April)
385.  Some call it “democracy”  (15 April)
384.  The bronze age  (9 April)
383.  It’s still cheap gas  (1 April)
382.  Is there a “soul mate”?  (19 March)
381.  Rating the road warriors  (15 March)
380.  Big boardroom bucks  (9 March)
379.  Going unheard  (1 March)
378.  Our next mayor  (21 February)
377.  A case against Section 8  (16 February)
376.  All alone am I  (8 February)
375.  Flakier than a biscuit  (1 February)
374.  Created equal  (25 January)
373.  A Democrat adrift  (19 January)
372.  Scams R Them  (9 January)
371.  Starting all over again  (1 January)

2003

370.  Home at last  (26 December)
369.  Splendor in the crass  (16 December)
368.  Ten years in the making  (7 December)
367.  Phone-y baloney  (1 December)
366.  L  (25 November)
365.  Rejecting the New Urbanism  (17 November)
364.  Countdown for the Democrats  (9 November)
363.  Fallible memory  (1 November)
362.  Why buy now?  (25 October)
361.  It’s a clean machine  (18 October)
360.  Looking for a home  (10 October)
359.  Things to do  (1 October)
358.  Dear MasterCard  (23 September)
357.  Such a jealous guy  (18 September)
356.  Get over it, they say  (11 September)
355.  Spam, spam, spam  (1 September)
354.  Do I love where I live?  (23 August)
353.  Why textbooks suck  (16 August)
352.  Fearful symmetry  (8 August)
351.  Losing a second sister  (1 August)
350.  Small-town self-preservation  (24 July)
349.  Two girls for one confused boy  (13 July)
348.  The classical biz  (8 July)
347.  When you walk in the room  (1 July)
346.  Hardware lust  (24 June)
345.  If I were a rich man  (15 June)
344.  Raging at the road  (8 June)
343.  Forward into the past  (1 June)
342.  FCC tinkering  (25 May)
341.  Dabbling in romance  (18 May)
340.  My prayer  (8 May)
339.  Two of us  (1 May)
338.  250,000 words — for what?  (24 April)
337.  Junk from Jesse Jr.  (17 April)
336.  It was seven years ago today  (9 April)
335.  A letter from a fool  (1 April)
334.  Portrait of a dying shopping center  (24 March)
333.  Why are we here?  (16 March)
332.  Finding drive at Consumer Reports  (8 March)
331.  Fear of moving  (1 March)
330.  A bend in the long and winding road  (22 February)
329.  The Burdon of self-reinvention  (14 February)
328.  Click here at your peril  (8 February)
327.  Super-duper Mini Cooper  (1 February)
326.  I’m entitled, dammit  (24 January)
325.  Still using that greasy Vent stuff  (17 January)
324.  Sliding rightward  (8 January)
323.  Pessimized for maximum efficiency  (1 January)

2002

322.  Hue and cry  (22 December)
321.  Wavelengths, then and now  (14 December)
320.  Porn: just a four-letter word?  (8 December)
319.  Beyond the Terrible Twos  (1 December)
318.  Facing the final fear  (25 November)
317.  The words (and paper) of Jenk Jones  (17 November)
316.  The Rime of the Ancient Democrat  (9 November)
315.  Taking the initiatives  (1 November)
314.  Sandy turns two, sort of  (19 October)
313.  Found on road, dead  (15 October)
312.  Summer of Love plus 35  (8 October)
311.  Credit for Mr Tsuris  (1 October)
310.  Riding the Diversity Train  (22 September)
309.  Creeping agoraphobia  (16 September)
308.  The chain stops here  (8 September)
307.  Living on Central time  (1 September)
306.  Response to a diatribe  (19 August)
305.  Survey says (Part Deux)  (13 August)
304.  Bazaar musings  (9 August)
303.  The Proust Questionnaire  (1 August)
302.  Things I like  (26 July)
301.  Last exit before toll  (15 July)
300.  On the subject of women  (6 July)
299.  DaimlerChrysler comes down with the Benz  (1 July)
298.  The hidden cost of competence  (23 June)
297.  Do we need more bloggers?  (15 June)
296.  Joni is forty  (8 June)
295.  Insensible, dispensible me  (1 June)
294.  A waist is a terrible thing to mind  (24 May)
293.  And tell Tchaikovsky the news  (16 May)
292.  The view from north of Mulholland  (8 May)
291.  The ballad of Sewer City  (1 May)
290.  The Left opts for irrelevance  (21 April)
289.  The bloggers and me  (14 April)
288.  Now we are six  (9 April)
287.  In search of a stable Middle East  (1 April)
286.  No help from McCain-Feingold  (24 March)
285.  Highway star  (16 March)
284.  Lessons learned from engineers  (9 March)
283.  The George Bailey experiment  (1 March)
282.  Briefly noted: the sequel  (23 February)
281.  The Sixties and me  (15 February)
280.  Oh, what a lovely war  (9 February)
279.  Topical paradise  (1 February)
278.  Is it all Mom’s fault?  (24 January)
277.  Off the road with Jim Hightower  (17 January)
276.  Retiring and shy  (9 January)
275.  From host to host  (1 January)

2001

274.  The gift that used to be  (25 December)
273.  Land of 1000 stances  (18 December)
272.  Caught in the mailstrom  (8 December)
271.  All things must pass  (1 December)
270.  Occupational therapy  (25 November)
269.  Everybody must get stones  (17 November)
268.  Come in, Five-O  (8 November)
267.  NOW and “equal time”  (1 November)
266.  Thistle while you work  (24 October)
265.  Twelve months in a 626  (18 October)
264.  Red ink, white and blue  (9 October)
263.  Life after Prodigy  (1 October)
262.  Survey says  (23 September)
261.  On the third day  (13 September)
260.  Less than best-laid plans  (9 September)
259.  Wrung around the collar  (1 September)
258.  Life’s illusions I recall  (26 August)
257.  Saving General Motors  (18 August)
256.  The urge to merge  (9 August)
255.  It’s a living, sorta  (1 August)
254.  Two paths diverged  (23 July)
253.  If 6 was 9  (16 July)
252.  Tour de farce  (8 July)
251.  Scream freeze  (1 July)
250.  Defending the SUV  (23 June)
249.  Old yolks at home  (17 June)
248.  In a CD part of town  (10 June)
247.  Installation row  (1 June)
246.  Crisis? What crisis?  (23 May)
245.  Enlightenment strikes  (15 May)
244.  Wiener rap  (8 May)
243.  Getting testy  (1 May)
242.  Scenes from the boondocks  (21 April)
241.  The Addr caper  (14 April)
240.  Semi-decadent  (9 April)
239.  All in the (extended) family  (1 April)
238.  Free advice  (23 March)
237.  Shamefully yours  (16 March)
236.  Consumer retorts  (9 March)
235.  Political jock itch  (1 March)
234.  Wheels of misfortune  (25 February)
233.  2-4-6-8, everybody litigate  (14 February)
232.  W. tosses me a coin  (9 February)
231.  By design  (1 February)
230.  The ultimate tax cut  (25 January)
229.  One more last letter  (17 January)
228.  On Car and Driver  (8 January)
227.  Don’t hold your breath  (1 January)

2000

226.  Three memories  (25 December)
225.  Dubya pleasure  (16 December)
224.  I am he as you are he  (8 December)
223.  Credo  (1 December)
222.  Taking inventory  (25 November)
221.  In memory of Brenda  (18 November)
220.  Winter blues  (9 November)
219.  Sandy settles in  (1 November)
218.  Sitting on the fence  (22 October)
217.  Inarticulate speech of the heart  (8 October)
216.  The check is in the mail  (2 October)
215.  Government snooping — privatized?  (1 October)
214.  Some Babbling about DOS  (24 September)
213.  Driven away from Nader  (15 September)
212.  Like, so mature  (8 September)
211.  It’s not easy voting Green  (1 September)
210.  Mettle fatigue  (22 August)
209.  A dollop of polyps  (15 August)
208.  Dowager hunt  (6 August)
207.  Sing a song of Oman  (1 August)
206.  This land of broken dreams  (24 July)
205.  On golden calves (and shins)  (15 July)
204.  What’s wrong with Mazda?  (4 July)
203.  The cussedness of customers  (1 July)
202.  Colon contemplation  (26 June)
201.  These fuelish things  (17 June)
200.  Hits and misses  (9 June)
199.  The Marquis of Mercury rules  (1 June)
198.  The War on Guns  (22 May)
197.  Flirting for fun and degradation  (15 May)
196.  A touch of truckulence  (8 May)
195.  thissucks.com  (1 May)
194.  With this ring  (23 April)
193.  Only a pawn in their game  (16 April)
192.  A neighborhood undarkened  (9 April)
191.  An unhealthy obsession  (1 April)
190.  For want of a ring  (24 March)
189.  Primary improvements?  (15 March)
188.  Marriage redefined  (6 March)
187.  Fringe with no benefits  (1 March)
186.  A modest abortion proposal  (20 February)
185.  In need of bodywork  (15 February)
184.  Briefly noted  (7 February)
183.  Odds are  (1 February)
182.  Ticker shock  (23 January)
181.  My own personal agenda  (18 January)
180.  The GOP cranks it up  (9 January)
179.  So what’s so urgent?  (1 January)

1999

178.  2000: A Space For Idiocy  (26 December)
177.  The Santa Claus monopoly  (18 December)
176.  Gunfire at Fort Gibson  (8 December)
175.  Houses of the halfway  (1 December)
174.  Has Jesse Jackson lost it?  (23 November)
173.  Finding continuity  (11 November)
172.  Dying inside  (7 November)
171.  Romantic delusions  (1 November)
170.  Driving through a loophole  (24 October)
169.  Myth vs. Microsoft  (16 October)
168.  Fees to meet you  (9 October)
167.  Quayle ascendant  (1 October)
166.  Missed opportunities  (24 September)
165.  Semper lo-fi  (17 September)
164.  Molly, one year later  (9 September)
163.  Picturing Stereo Review  (1 September)
162.  Divvying up the surplus  (22 August)
161.  Straw polls in the wind  (15 August)
160.  The so-called “email tax”  (8 August)
159.  White men can’t spew?  (1 August)
158.  Musings on JFK, Jr.  (25 July)
157.  White Knight at the Black Tower  (18 July)
156.  More stations, fewer owners  (9 July)
155.  Balancing supply and demand  (1 July)
154.  Don’t play that song!  (22 June)
153.  Manson takes on Littleton  (14 June)
152.  Artificial unintelligence  (7 June)
151.  Starting to let go  (1 June)
150.  Sweeps, then leftovers  (24 May)
149.  Where the dweebs are  (16 May)
148.  Press F5 to decimate  (9 May)
147.  Schmucks, Sooner style  (1 May)
146.  The bidder and the sweet  (25 April)
145.  That Saturday, that spring  (19 April)
144.  Three years of this  (9 April)
143.  Freedom of shrieks  (1 April)
142.  Balkanized again  (25 March)
141.  Mixed emotions  (17 March)
140.  Sticker schlock  (9 March)
139.  Clinton vs. Giuliani?  (1 March)
138.  Ebert without Siskel  (21 February)
137.  Headline Hustler  (15 February)
136.  This is not a valentine  (7 February)
135.  Trust us  (1 February)
134.  Prodigy Classic fades away  (24 January)
133.  Clouded crystal  (17 January)
132.  You call this news?  (8 January)
131.  Weakened worrier  (1 January)

1998

130.  Counting down to 15 minutes  (26 December)
129.  One last letter  (19 December)
128.  Teenaged at thirty-two  (9 December)
127.  In the realm of the Census  (1 December)
126.  Future tense  (25 November)
125.  Disconnecting the Speaker  (17 November)
124.  Molly and me  (10 November)
123.  An excess of virtue  (4 November)
122.  Unexpected green  (25 October)
121.  Distended warranty  (15 October)
120.  Political neckstrain  (9 October)
119.  Deficit attention disorder  (1 October)
118.  Unmotivated voters  (26 September)
117.  Servile rights  (17 September)
116.  Deals on wheels  (8 September)
115.  A very low-key campaign  (1 September)
114.  Convenient fictions  (24 August)
113.  A power play  (18 August)
112.  Summer surprises  (9 August)
111.  Presidential stains  (1 August)
110.  Crazy from the heat  (25 July)
109.  One pill makes you larger  (17 July)
108.  Point of View-ed  (10 July)
107.  The extinction of Eagle  (1 July)
106.  Steven Brill and Content  (22 June)
105.  The heat from global warming  (15 June)
104.  Overhead scams  (“World Currency Cartel”)  (7 June)
103.  Local radio, wherever that is  (1 June)
102.  Forever, Incorporated  (25 May)
101.  Who wants to know?  (18 May)
100.  The century mark  (10 May)
  99.  Dawn (go away?)  (1 May)
  98.  TFM and how to R  (25 April)
  97.  Murrah plus three  (19 April)
  96.  Litigation 101  (9 April)
  95.  Dummies and dumber  (1 April)
  94.  Private vs Social Security  (23 March)
  93.  Martyr, he wrote  (16 March)
  92.  20 years of LaserDisc  (9 March)
  91.  Non-politicians  (1 March)
  90.  Iraq and a hard place  (22 February)
  89.  And the winner is  (15 February)
  88.  One step forward, one step down  (8 February)
  87.  Karla Faye Tucker  (1 February)
  86.  I witness news no more  (25 January)
  85.  Bucking the IMF  (18 January)
  84.  Seeing wed  (9 January)
  83.  Not rated  (1 January)

1997

  82.  Back to Beta  (20 December)
  81.  Unto us is born…  (14 December)
  80.  The buying game  (7 December)
  79.  The deal on McBeal  (1 December)
  78.  Two score and four  (23 November)
  77.  Congress calls it a day  (16 November)
  76.  O me of little faith  (8 November)
  75.  Stairway to heaven  (1 November)
  74.  Blows against the Empire  (25 October)
  73.  Meet the Beetles  (18 October)
  72.  A better way to buy votes  (8 October)
  71.  Resisting standards  (1 October)
  70.  The future on Channel 62  (22 September)
  69.  Miss America, indeed  (15 September)
  68.  Farewell, English Rose  (8 September)
  67.  Thoughts on Labor Day  (1 September)
  66.  A trip to Coldwater Creek  (24 August)
  65.  Three groups, zero clues  (17 August)
  64.  Applesauce for Bill  (10 August)
  63.  Bipartisan?  (1 August)
  62.  Block that kid  (26 July)
  61.  4th rock from the sun  (16 July)
  60.  The righteous pervert  (7 July)
  59.  Hardly working  (1 July)
  58.  Sheep vs Mouse  (22 June)
  57.  Do you, Mr Jones?  (15 June)
  56.  A three-ring media circus  (8 June)
  55.  Boiling point  (1 June)
  54.  How I spent my weekend  (25 May)
  53.  Smile, you’re on Caller ID  (17 May)
  52.  Growing up at high speed  (11 May)
  51.  An outing with Ellen  (1 May)
  50.  Gag me with an order  (24 April)
  49.  1 for you, 19 for me  (15 April)
  48.  One year on  (7 April)
  47.  Believe it some more  (1 April)
  46.  Believe it  (24 March)
  45.  Erratic censor readings  (17 March)
  44.  If it moves, tax it  (8 March)
  43.  Is spring sprung?  (2 March)
  42.  A question of balance  (24 February)
  41.  TV-BFD  (16 February)
  40.  End of the Z era  (9 February)
  39.  The D words  (1 February)
  38.  Correspondingly beautiful  (25 January)
  37.  Hey, hey, Paula  (16 January)
  36.  The white stuff  (8 January)
  35.  At least it’s over  (1 January)

1996

  34.  Tears for fears  (23 December)
  33.  Something not to worry about  (16 December)
  32.  Suck-y writing  (7 December)
  31.  Land of the Fledgling Women  (30 November)
  30.  No thanks  (25 November)
  29.  Stuff “B” Costly  (16 November)
  28.  The smoke having cleared  (9 November)
  27.  Can we avoid this in 2000?  (29 October)
  26.  Campaign-finance reform  (20 October)
  25.  Climate uncontrolled  (14 October)
  24.  Prohibition redux  (10 October)
  23.  Perot and the debates  (30 September)
  22.  Bob, approaching Bill-hood  (20 September)
  21.  Electric youth, unplugged  (10 September)
  20.  The next Bad Law  (1 September)
  19.  Smokes for the kiddies  (25 August)
  18.  Insufficient writer’s block  (17 August)
  17.  Geeze  (11 August)
  16.  Welfare deform  (3 August)
  15.  Keating for Vice-President?  (27 July)
  14.  The spectre of Reform  (20 July)
  13.  Lunch meat, it ain’t  (9 July)
  12.  TV at its purest  (21 June)
  11.  Other ill-tempered wretches  (16 June)
  10.  Soonerland follies  (9 June)
    9.  The real character issue  (1 June)
    8.  Amendment 2: good riddance  (22 May)
    7.  New life in old Dole  (18 May)
    6.  Ducking controversies  (11 May)
    5.  A political gas shortage?  (1 May)
    4.  Cyberthis, cyberthat  (26 April)
    3.  Don’t call me, Ishmael  (19 April)
    2.  Market Yahoo(s)  (13 April)
    1.  Keeping the bombing alive  (9 April)

Um, the what?

You just know Congress is taking notes

CGHill — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:16:20 +0000

Three members of Parliament face criminal charges over their allegedly-fraudulent expense accounts, and while they of course maintain their innocence, they argue that their very trials are invalid:

Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, all of whom are charged with false accounting under the Theft Act and face jail terms of up to seven years if found guilty, waited at the back of the court instead of entering the dock.

This was because they are arguing that the case against them should not be heard in court at all. They believe they are protected from prosecution by parliamentary privilege enshrined in the 1689 Bill of Rights and that the House of Commons should decide their fate.

The pertinent passage:

[T]he freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament.

See? It’s not a legal matter at all. It’s just part of the routine in Parliament.

Evidently not all Britons are buying this premise:

The MPs were jeered by protestors as they entered court, one man dressed as a pig shouting: “Oink, oink”. And when they climbed into a cab after the brief hearing, a voice in the crowd called: “Don’t forget to get a receipt”.

A spot of tea, anyone?

Quote of the week

CGHill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:39:26 +0000

What do we do with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner? Tim Cavanaugh has a recommendation:

Geithner must not only be removed from office but be imprisoned like Magneto in a metals-free environment where there will be no conductivity for his brain waves of pure bamboozlement.

Other nominations for Washington’s version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are solicited.

Not insane

CGHill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:23:03 +0000

The Daily Beast has decided for some reason to rank the 57 largest metro areas on the basis of sheer craziness, and the OKC comes in at a relatively non-drooling 39th, just behind (of course) Dallas.

Criteria: psychiatrists per capita (we ranked 29th), stress (25th), eccentricity (20th), and drinking (55th). Even Salt Lake City outdrinks us. Nashville imbibes the least, which explains absolutely nothing about country music; Milwaukee, Austin and Las Vegas tied for heaviest drinking, which presumably doesn’t need explanation at all, though contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Wisconsin is a lush.

Memphis sports the highest stress level, says the Beast; San Francisco the largest number of shrinks; New Orleans (duh) the highest level of eccentricity.

(Title courtesy of George G. Papoon.)

Scary drug yields up a secret

CGHill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:54:24 +0000

Thalidomide, first sold by the German pharmaceutical house Chemie Grünenthal in 1957, was considered a wonder drug of sorts. A painkiller with anti-emetic qualities? Easy sell to a pregnant woman with morning sickness.

Then the horrible truth came out: the drug passed easily through the placental barrier, and the children were born with severe deformities. The drug was withdrawn.

It’s back now, as a treatment for leprosy, and of course it’s packed with all sorts of warnings. (I wrote about it here.) Until recently, though, we had no idea why it did such severe damage to the fetus.

Now we know:

Research in the journal Science reveals that thalidomide binds to and renders inactive the protein cereblon, which is very important in limb formation.

The research team, led by Takumi Ito from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, managed to isolate the negative effects of this “potentially useful” drug.

They set out to discover which target molecules thalidomide bound to in the body. They did this using tiny beads that extracted each individual molecule the drug bound to.

The next step, presumably, is to figure out a drug that does the same job but doesn’t kill off that particular protein. Celgene, which sells thalidomide under the name Thalomid, offers a derivative called Revlimid (lenalidomide), as a treatment for multiple myeloma, with essentially the same list of warnings.

But can she sell you a car?

CGHill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:29:27 +0000

I concede up front, as it were, that Jill Wagner has her charms, but she was never in charge of anything at Mercury, other than calling attention to the brand and drawing admiring blog posts.

Now if you’re looking for a woman who might exercise some actual clout in the motor industry, you might look toward former VW executive Laura Soave, who is joining the Chrysler Group as head of the Fiat brand, just in time for the North American introduction of Fiat’s 500 for (we think) the 2011 model year. How high up? She reports directly to Chrysler (and Fiat) chair Sergio Marchionne.

Presumably owing to business considerations, the picture of Ms Soave being circulated by Chrysler is carefully tuned for maximum blandness. In person, she’s much more striking.

And here’s your Strange Coincidence for the day: when Jill Wagner was flourishing as the Mercury spokesbabe, Laura Soave was marketing manager for Mercury.

A case of overconfidence?

CGHill — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:41:01 +0000

Whatever you may think of the New Jersey Nets, one thing seems clear to me: they couldn’t possibly be as bad as their record suggests, and given the startling level of sloppiness exhibited by the Thunder in the waning moments, I have to figure that if the game had run an extra 30 seconds, the Nets would have pulled out the win. As it is, they whittled a double-digit Oklahoma City lead down to two points, 104-102.

Something else you may not have considered: the Nets have depth. (And they’re effective in the middle: 48 points in the paint, versus 46 for the Thunder.) Four Jersey reserves came up with 53 points; Jarvis Hayes (16 points) hit two of his four treys in rapid succession during the Nets’ final push. Devin Harris, according to the box score, set the curve — 19 points, eight assists — but if you ask me, it was the Nets’ bench that kept them in it.

The Thunder led in a couple of statistical categories — shooting, 52 to 46; rebounds 47 to 36 — but ghastly lapses in the fourth quarter nearly undid the Weather Phenomenon, despite 32 from Kevin Durant (and 12 rebounds) and a season-high 27 from Jeff Green. With James Harden sidelined for a few weeks, Kyle Weaver, retrieved from Tulsa, got some minutes; he didn’t accomplish a whole lot, but at least he’s playing again.

And as the pundits will tell you, a W is a W, no matter how it looks. But the Jazz will be here Sunday, and they’re even less forgiving than the Nets.

Yet another taxing situation

CGHill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:10:28 +0000

There’s a line in the Temptations’ classic “Ball of Confusion” to the effect that “Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.” Not much has changed in the forty years since, though Stacy McCain observes that a smaller percentage of us seems to be paying them:

In 2008, there were 48 million IRS tax returns with zero federal tax liability, so that more than a third of all Americans are getting a free ride.

Of course, FICA/Medicare aren’t mentioned on the return, unless you overpaid FICA for some reason, so that ride is perhaps a tad less free than it seems.

On the other hand, if you are one of the lucky ones, if that’s the term, it’s good form to regret it:

Uh, including me — because I’ve got six kids and blogging hasn’t yet become the lucrative gold mine of a six-figure income. But maybe if you hit the tip jar, we can get me off Uncle Sam’s tax moochers list.

Eight personal exemptions plus standard deduction (married filing jointly) would equal $40,600, so clearly McCain isn’t making it rain like Scrooge McDuck.

Acropolis now

CGHill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:11:14 +0000

The tourists, they love the ruins. They’ll turn out with their cameras, night or day, rain or shine; that’s the main reason they went to Athens. Or to Rome. Or to, um, Detroit?

Detroit has a vast supply of decayed and vacant buildings, many of them architectural treasures. Even if [the Michigan Central Depot] is somehow restored, it will be one of only a handful saved, while so many others will languish for some time. Many, like the Lafayette Building, may become so damaged that they have to be torn down.

What if instead of spending a huge amount of money to try to save one building, the city found a little bit of money to do basic maintenance to preserve the structural integrity of many buildings — and create a safe path through parts of them that tourists could walk through similar to how ancient ruins are displayed in Europe. Heck, don’t even clean the buildings up. That saves money and makes them even more impressive to visitors. This could preserve more structures for the long haul, and create a tourist attraction. The structures can always [be] renovated later when demand warrants.

Actually, the tourists are already coming whether it is authorized or not. Thirty folks a day at MCD is pretty impressive. Imaging putting a string of these sites together — probably including many of the same ones we’ve seen photographed before — and allowing tours. And of course marketing the heck out of it.

I know this mindset better than I probably should admit: the first time I visisted Cleveland, I threaded through some back streets to get a look at an abandoned steel mill. (Two years would elapse before I bothered to drop in at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.)

And when you get right down to it, I’d rather see buildings in some degree of disrepair than an array of shiny new parking lots, as is the practice in some cities I could name.

Hey, vendors, leave them tracks alone

CGHill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:38:28 +0000

“How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?” To borrow a studied Sinatra-ism, you can’t have one without the other, and that’s exactly the way Pink Floyd wants it:

Pink Floyd won a legal battle Thursday against EMI that prevents the band’s long-time record label from selling individual songs online.

Sir Andrew Morritt, chancellor of Britain’s High Court, ruled that Pink Floyd’s contract forbids EMI from breaking up the band’s albums without its permission, according to a spokeswoman for the British judicial system. EMI had argued that the stipulation only applied to physical albums, not online sales.

The group’s contract reportedly contained a clause to “preserve the artistic integrity” of their albums. The band has traditionally resisted selling individual songs from their “concept albums,” which are meant to be listened to from beginning to end.

As of five minutes ago, the iTunes Store was still vending individual tracks, albeit at the higher $1.29 price, except for stuff from The Division Bell and various live performances, priced at 99 cents a track.

Thunder and/or lightning

CGHill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:48:40 +0000

When Thora Birch was a tween, she appeared in typical tween fare like Monkey Trouble, in which she looked something like this:

At the time, I was not inclined to extrapolate from the available data. Add a decade and change, though:

She turned twenty-eight on Thursday. And “Thora,” apparently, is the feminine form of “Thor.” Yeah, that Thor. Do not mess with this young woman.

Formal complaints

CGHill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:59:37 +0000

File this under “Well, we’ve got to punish her somehow“:

An 18-year-old Mississippi lesbian student whose school district canceled her senior prom rather than allow her to escort her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo said she got some unfriendly looks from classmates when she reluctantly returned to campus Thursday.

The district announced Wednesday it wouldn’t host the April 2 prom. The decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union told officials a policy banning same-sex prom dates violated students’ rights. The ACLU said the district not letting [Constance] McMillen wear a tuxedo violated her free expression rights.

I’ve got to assume that there’s at least one formal-wear establishment in Mississippi that didn’t have any problem with the poor girl coming in and getting fitted for a tux.

Says Jenn:

This was probably the right choice, this way none of the other students will catch the gay and civilization won’t crumble from two girls kissing.

At least she didn’t spell it “teh ghey.”

I remember that my own prom, forty-odd years ago, was subjected to extraneous political and/or cultural concerns, which didn’t get it canceled but did get it rescheduled for maximum inconvenience. To me, anyway, it’s another reason to take her side.

And you know, Ellen’s pretty darn dapper in a tux.

Not that I could do better

CGHill — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:10:43 +0000

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever come close to this:

Last night I managed to wash and dry about 10 loads of laundry in under an hour and half. Serious superwoman abilities here.

She got most of it folded, too. But there’s a downside:

Obviously, I need to get better goals lest this is what it will take to make me feel accomplished.

Damnedest thing about housework: it won’t do itself. The moment they retrain a Roomba to do the dishes and take out the trash, I am there, Visa in hand.

Cute underload

CGHill — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:04:10 +0000

Last week, Princeton held a conference called “Too Cute: American Style and the New Asian Cool,” and Virginia Postrel was on hand to explain the differences between being cute and being glamorous. (Postrel, after all, runs a Web site called “Deep Glamour,” and wrote an excellent book on a related subject: The Substance of Style.) The differences, far from being thoroughly inchoate, as I might have thought, are apparently not particularly difficult to quantify:

Do not, however, peg your future happiness to finding someone with the perfect blend thereof:

The two rarely coexist, since they entail contradictory qualities. Mix them, and the cuteness tends to win out, canceling out the glamour altogether or producing something disturbing or comical.

I console myself with the thought that someday (ten years from now, actually) Zooey Deschanel will be 40.

Evidently his feelings were not repressed

CGHill — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:38:13 +0000

Why college professors despair, Chapter XCVI:

Okay, so in a question about the definition of Darcy’s Law (which governs water movement in saturated systems) on an exam, I had as one of the false choices, “In situations where there is both pride and prejudice.”

Someone actually chose that as their choice. I do not know whether to laugh or to cry.

I’m laughing, though it’s because (1) I was hoping she’d do something like that and (2) I’m not the one who had to take the exam.

On the comeback trail

CGHill — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:15:23 +0000

Marion Jones won five medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, which was good; apparently she had a little help from her druggist, which wasn’t so good, and after false testimony to a pair of grand juries, she wound up with no medals and six months in the Hotel Graybar.

What’s a girl to do to make a living? Jones, who played college hoops at North Carolina, worked out for a WNBA team last fall, and now she’s signed with the Tulsa Shock for the 2010 season, presumably for the league minimum (around $35k a year).

The Shock’s season opens on the 15th of May at the BOk Center, against the Minnesota Lynx.

Today’s most burning issue, continued

CGHill — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:48:30 +0000

Earlier this week I ventured off into the Fashion Danger Zone by making some semi-inane (which, I guess, is therefore semi-ane) comment about socks with sandals, a combination about which I expressed grave doubts. And I wasn’t alone in so observing: serious socks, the sort that simultaneously keep your feet warm and ward off blisters, aren’t exactly staples of the hautest couture, or so seems to be the consensus of the readership.

That said, I popped open the March InStyle, and this was right there in “yourLook”:

“Loved the socks-with-sandals look on the spring runways. How can I pull it off?”

They did not, alas, say “Pull off the damn socks.” What they did say:

Try legwear in a neutral tone similar to your shoes. Stick to thin (sheer or opaque) fabrics with dainty patterns, like teeny dots, or skinny ribbing.

The next step: to find someone who actually tried it. And this is what I found:

On the one hand, anything that gives me a chance to wear my pretty summer shoe collection more than just a measly 3 months out of the year is a good thing in my book (hey, those things cost money!). And I have to admit, I’ve been a sock fan for a while now but rarely have a chance to wear anything more exciting than the white tennis-shoe variety. So it seems like two rights should make a right, right? (OK, that was confusing.) Plus, on the models, I can’t help but find the look kind of cute in a funky sort of way, so why not give it a try? Warm toes plus cute shoes is a total win!

But when I tried the look on in my bedroom I looked a lot more “5-year-old-who-dressed-herself” than “I-don’t-care-what-you-think-chic” and the BF thought I’d gone insane. So after consulting my mags once again, I realize that while it may look cute on the models, so does the other crazy stuff they have on — stuff that would make me look like I’d just broken out of a mental institution. There’s also the little fact that I live in NYC and socks are probably not going to be nearly enough toe coverage when it comes time for my morning sprint to the subway. And perhaps the greatest deterrent of all to me is that age old fashion rule that socks and sandals are mortal enemies — I know we’re supposed to be breaking the mold, but somehow it just seems blasphemous!

Yeah, I know: the beatings will continue while the equine remains deceased. Now you know the secret to blog longevity.

Debuzzed

CGHill — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:36:15 +0000

David West ran up 14 points in the first twelve minutes; he finished with 33. Nobody else could generate any offense for New Orleans, though, and the Thunder flattened the Hornets, 98-83.

Point guard Darren Collison has been pretty effective filling in for Chris Paul, and he did dish up nine assists, but he got only eight points on 3-14 shooting. In the middle, Emeka Okafor was held to two points and three rebounds, though he did block two shots. And Peja Stojakovic was conspicuous by his absence; Julian Wright started in his stead and scored ten, but the Bees missed Peja’s three-point stroke, or indeed anyone’s three-point stroke.

The Thunder wasn’t much better from beyond the arc — two of nine is no improvement over three of 14 — but they shot four percentage points better (47-43) and dominated the boards (47-38). And OKC landed five players in double figures, led as usual by Kevin Durant with 29. Russell Westbrook had another one of those almost-triple-doubles, with 17 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. And previously-missing-in-action D. J. White, just retrieved from the 66ers, rang up five points in five minutes.

So another season series concludes, and the Thunder win this one, 2-1. The homestand continues with New Jersey on Friday and Utah on Sunday, followed by three games on the road against Eastern squads.

Calling all angels

CGHill — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:57:07 +0000

I spotted this at LP Cover Lover, and yes, it’s a 45, but what caught my eye (other than the rather striking art) is the utter absence of performer identification, at least up front:

Trying to track this down brought me to Both Sides Now Publications, where I found this bit of instruction:

There is little of collectors’ interest on the original Bell records of the ’50s. They generally tended toward cover versions of popular hits of the times, much as the Tops label did, or “generic” non-hit pop.

Number 147 was one of the last of the original Bell 45s, before they mutated into a more-or-less full-service record label. Billy Winter does the Crests cover on the A side, and Ken Wright appears in the Ron Holden role on the flip. And maybe one of this series might be of interest to collectors after all:

The single of real interest is 120 with an A side by “Tom and Jerry” who later became better known by their real names Simon and Garfunkel.

Tom Graph and Jerry Landis, S&G’s noms de disque of the time, actually had a chart item circa 1958, the Everlyesque “Hey, Schoolgirl” (Big Records 613, #49 in Billboard). If it’s the same T&J, I’d definitely like to hear them taking on Jan Berry’s “Baby Talk.”

(Disclosure: I have contributed a few items to the BSN discography list.)

Cheese-heating render monkeys

CGHill — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:49:13 +0000

People are allegedly being liquefied in Peru:

Three suspects have confessed to killing five people for their fat, said Col. Jorge Mejía, chief of Peru’s anti-kidnapping police. He said the suspects, two of whom were arrested carrying bottles of liquid fat, told the police it was worth $60,000 a gallon.

Colonel Mejía said the suspects had told the police that the fat had been sold to intermediaries in Lima, the capital. While police officials suspect that the fat was sold to cosmetic companies in Europe, he said he could not confirm any sales.

Which gives Joan an idea:

I see a whole industry utopia here. We have too much fat, and we pay dearly to rid ourselves of it while there in Peru they’re killing people in the most gruesome way for a few gallons. Hello? It’s silly and makes no sense, especially when folks would line up to sell their liposuctioned ass-fat on a free market to offset the expense. Might even solve the trade deficit if we can get China to manufacture these cosmetics and sell them our fat. Then they could sell the cosmetics to Wal-Mart. It’s recycling at an optimal incentive. It would work.

This being spring, beware the Ides of April: I must caution you that any income you receive from selling any precious bodily fluids, even those that weren’t actually fluid at the time you signed the release — you did sign a release, didn’t you? — is taxable.

It occurs to me that I probably should set up a category for “Posts I Wouldn’t Have Made Except For The Stirring Title Potential.”