The Island of Dr. Moreau

Proposed Law Muddles 'What It Means to Be Human'
By Kevin McCandless
CNSNews.com Correspondent
January 16, 2008

London (CNSNews.com) - A heated vote in the House of Lords has cleared the way for the creation of mixed human-animal embryos, a move that strikes at the heart of human dignity, opponents say.

Under the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill, which is now moving through Parliament, scientists would be allowed to combine genetic material from human and animal cells for research purposes.

Supporters of the bill say that human DNA would be transplanted into animal egg cells, after which stem cells would be harvested for research.

The law would allow interspecies embryos to live only for fourteen days, and licensed researchers would be strictly prohibited from implanting them in human wombs.

On Tuesday, echoing scientists from across Britain, peers in favor of the bill said that it was needed to advance vital research into areas such as spinal injuries, because human eggs are in relatively short supply.

However, opponents in the House of Lords argued that the law tampered with what it fundamentally means to be human.

"It crosses the line between human and animal," Lord David Alton said. "It's disturbing what it means to be human."

Though scientists say there is no intention to create true hybrids (embryos that are half human and half animal), a spokesman for the Christian Medical Fellowship said Wednesday that the bill gave researchers carte blanche to do whatever they wanted.

Spokesman Andrew Fergusson said that while many supporters of the bill genuinely wanted to help humanity, he said a minority had simply lost their moral bearings. "They want to do this because it's there," he said. "There is no God and there are no moral standards."

Ultimately, the lords voted 268 to 96 to defeat an amendment that would have prohibited the creation of animal-human embryos.

Several peers also complained that they were confused by the scientific basis behind much of the bill, which led Lord Chris Patten to worry about how much the general public understands the issue.

"If the average peer in the street can't understand what's going on, what chance does the average person in the street have?" he asked.

Late on Tuesday, the lords also voted down an amendment to the bill prohibiting the creation of so-called "savior siblings" in Britain -- genetically designed babies that have been specifically created to provide bone marrow or tissue donations for sick older brothers or sisters.

Though the act specifically prohibits savior siblings from donating body organs, opponents said this would in effect be creating babies to act as "medicine cabinets."

The House of Lords is scheduled to finish debating the bill on Monday, at which time it is expected to consider allowing in-vitro fertilization to lesbian couples in situations where no man would be present to help raise any future child.

Activists say this would allow same-sex couples to enjoy the full fruits of family life, but advocates for traditional families charge this would undermine the very concept of fatherhood.

At the same time, the House of Lords reportedly will consider rolling back the right of mothers to abort babies with disabilities.

Under current British law, babies that would be born severely handicapped can be aborted right up to the point of birth. The proposed amendment would reduce this to the 24th week of pregnancy, which is the current limit for most abortions.

Josephine Quintavalle, founder of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, a non-profit group, said Wednesday that the fight over abortion will become central once the bill moves to the House of Commons next month.

Before the act officially becomes law, observers predict that both sides will try to amend it, to either relax abortion regulations or to push back the time limit for most legal terminations to 20 weeks.

I thought ESCR had it's ethical issues, but this is downright scary. I'm sorry. I simply don't trust people enough to be let alone with this sort of . . . power. I can only lead to bad things before it lead to good. Not to mention that like ESCR there's little hope of this actually working, which makes me wonder, why pursue it at all?

The who;e "Savior baby" issue is equally appalling. I can't imagine such a disregard for individual life that anyone would consider doing this. Amazing.

See Spot. Translate what Spot is saying.

Scientists develop computer that can 'translate' a dog's bark

What would a dog say if it could talk? "Stranger", "fight", "walk", "alone", "ball" and "play", according to scientists who have developed a computer programme to translate dog barks.
The special programme analysed more than 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs in six different situations.

In a series of tests the team of scientists, from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary led by Csaba Molnár, discovered that a computer could recognise whether a dog was in a stranger, fight, walk, alone, ball or play scenario.

The barks were tape recorded and then digitized on a computer, which used software to study their differences.

The computer correctly identified the different situations 43 per cent of the time. Although it was not a high success rate it was far better than human recognition, the researchers said.

The computer was most accurate in identifying the "fight" and "stranger" contexts, and was least effective at matching the "play" bark.

The results appear in the journal Animal Cognition, and suggest that dogs have acoustically different barks depending on their emotional state.

The researchers also performed a second test, in which the computer identified individual dogs by their bark.

The software correctly identified the dogs 52 per cent of the time, again much better than the human result, suggesting there are individual differences in barks even though humans are not able to recognize them.

The team also plans to compare the barks of different breeds to discover what they have in common.

And here I thought we had the rights to idiotic research. The first thing that comes to mind are babies. Yep. Babies. They can't talk. But we know they communicate. And any parent worth their pride understands what their baby wants through that communication. I know dog owners who say the same thing about their dogs. While on the surface this is kind of interesting, I simply don't think we need a team of researchers telling us what most of us already know.

MacWorld 2008

Every year Apple makes a number of announcements at Macworld, an annual convention held in San Francisco. There's usually a good amount of anticipation as, as we've seen, Apple makes some pretty cool products. I'm an Apple fan. A huge fan . . . and user. You couldn't pay me to own a Windows machine. But, this isn't about bashing or praising, it's about the Macworld announcements.

This year the rumor mill was all about a sub-notebook similar to what Sony offers. Well, Apple delivered. Sort of. Rather than making it small, they made it incredibly thin. Less than an inch. It's has a full sized keyboard and a 13" screen. No question it's a marvel. But, yawn. I was really hoping for something smaller than a 12" notebook. But, that's me.

They also announced some extra features for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Cool stuff, really. Go to the Apple website and check it out. Once again, for me . . . yawn. Make the iPod Touch at least 30GB and I'll get excited.

The one thing they did announce that I liked, Time Capsule. Essentially, it a hard drive, wireless router, and back up system all built in to one unit that resembles a Mac Mini. There's a 500GB model that sells for $299 and a 1TB model that sells for $499. Considering what you're getting, that's incredible! It also has a USB port so you can attach a printer and make that wirelessly network-able, too. This I like. I will seriously consider getting one.

As a working pro, however, Macworld is always a bit of a disappointment as there's virtually never announcements made for the pro industry. That's often reserved for NAB in April, an industry convention. On the plus side, there's more to look forward to other than just Macworld.

If you look up "dirtbag" on Wikipedia . . .

Maplewood man accused of leaving child in car while at strip club

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (AP) - Prosecutors in Wisconsin were considering charges Friday after a Maplewood man was arrested for allegedly leaving his 18-month-old son in a van outside a strip club for several hours Wednesday night.

The police report filed in the case said that while the 45-year-old man lounged inside the Cajun Club in St. Croix County in Wisconsin, temperatures outside dipped into the low 20s.

A customer entering the hilltop club overlooking Stillwater about 1 a.m. Thursday told staff there was a baby crying in a van outside, said manager Tess Ross. She went to look.

"I was shocked," she said. "I couldn't believe it was a little baby. I felt so bad."

After checking to see that the doors of the van were locked, she called 911.

The club made an announcement over its speaker system seeking the van's owner and the staff approached each customer. Eventually, Ross said a man came forward and she told him to check his van. Deputies were waiting outside.

St. Croix County Sheriff Dennis Hillstead said patrons told deputies the van had been parked outside the club since at least 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, which meant the child was strapped into his car seat for more than three hours.

What a dirtbag. I can't stand when this crap happens. It gets better, though.

Hillstead said the little boy was found wearing socks, a jacket, and sweat pants. He was taken to a hospital in Hudson, Wis., where he was treated for exposure and frostbite. By Friday, the boy was released into his mother's custody.

"He's just lucky it wasn't 10 degrees colder, or that baby could have been in serious trouble," Hillstead said.

The man was arrested on suspicion of neglect of a child, a misdemeanor, and booked into the county jail. The man's wife posted $250 bail early Thursday.

"He had told his wife he was going to the grocery store for milk, but went directly to the Cajun Club," Hillstead said, adding, "When he failed to return home, his wife had called Maplewood police to report him missing."

So he lied to his wife about where he was going. What's really baffling is if he knew he was going to the strip club, why would he take his child? In fact, even if he was just going to the store for a simple milk pick up, why take the child out in to the cold? Finally, why would his wife post bail?!?!

Cathy Halverson, office manager for the St. Croix County Attorney's office, said Friday the case was still under review and a charging decision would be made later.

The couple's neighbor, Donna Gervais of Maplewood, said she baby-sat the couple's older child while the man's wife went to bail him out of jail. Gervais said the couple have lived in the home since last summer, and there have never been any problems.

"They are good people. They're very good with their kids," Gervais said. "I don't see anything wrong going on over there."

She said she was there when he got home early Thursday. "He was very upset and very near to tears," Gervais said. "All he said is he messed up, and he's so sorry for what happened."

Well, I hope he seriously charged. This kind of behavior is inexcusable. The whole story sounds . . . off. That child is VERY lucky, though not very lucky to have such parents.

NFL Playoffs 3

Wow. There's a lot to comment on. Let me try and be as concise as I can be.

Jaguars at Patriots. I was actually a bit surprised. The Pats had to work for this and Garrard did extremely well. One more completed pass and who knows? I was actually a little surprised at the Pats defense. They stayed tough right to the very end. To sign of petering out in spite of there being a few "old" guys on the squad.

Chargers at Colts. I've been saying rather frequently . . . if you thinks it's tough being a Packer fan . . . Wow. How did they lose this game? With Peters and Ladanian both out it should have been easy! I really think the Colts got of of their rhythm and started making bad calls. I don't give much hope to the Chargers beating the Pats.

Giants at Cowboys. I let out a pretty good Wooo! at the end of this game. I can only imagine what the taverns in Green Bay were like. I'm sure aspirin use is at an all time high today. Well, I got the feeling the Boys thought they were just going to walk through this game. What they didn't count on was the Giants fighting for it right until the very end. Bad strategy. As a long time Cowboy disliker, I LOVED it! TO crying, Romo acting like a baby, the look on Jones' face . . . what a bunch of sore LOSERS.

LOSERS.

TO can take his popcorn, his sharpie, his behavior, and his tears and shove them up his butt. Romo can take Jessica and sail off to parts unknown and do all of us a favor and don't come back. Go have babies somewhere. If you have to return, leave Jessica behind. Yeah, it would have been sweeter to have had the Packers beat them, but I'm OK with this.

Seahawks at Packers. My prediction was 35 to 17. Unlike many others I didn't think it would be a close game. I didn't think it would be a comeback from 14 down in the first quarter game, either. Anyway, what an amazing game. Grant, Favre, and the rest of the team and coaches really hung in after the initial deficit. I can't say I was worried. In fact, I told my wife that it was a good thing. If the Packers had any thought at all of this being an easy game, that thought left very quickly. The rest, you saw. Hasslebeck and the rest of the team folded like an accordion. We manhandled them. We out finessed them. We were faster, stronger, smarter, and better.

This sets up the Chargers at the Patriots and the Giants at the Packers. I just don't see the Pats or the Pack losing. First, they're better teams than who they're playing. Second, the underdogs are all beat up. Third, home games for the favored.

If this holds true then that means . . .

The Packers and the Patriots in Arizona for the Superbowl! This is the worst cast scenario for the Pats. Aside from many football fans just hating the Pats, their coach, and Tom Brady, Arizona is a Green Bay state. the stadium will be 90% Packer fans. It will be like a home game!

But, we gotta get there first.

Seattle at Green Bay

I told my wife before the game, 35 to 17 Packers. I thought it would be close at first but that the Pack would walk away with it.
When they went down by 14, I told my wife not to worry. Now they would play seriously.

Wow. It's the start of the 4th quarter. Of all the things amazing about this game, Kerney's name hasn't been mentioned once. Grant has MORE than made up for his early fumbles, and the Packers are winning walking away.

What an amazing game. I'm sure Seattle can blame the weather some but as the Packer's did in Chicago last time they played, the Packers are playing in the same conditions.

I'll have more after the game.

Smile! You're on red light camera!

Madison - Say cheese, red-light runners.

State lawmakers are considering a bill to let Wisconsin municipalities use cameras to crack down on the thousands of roadway renegades who plow through intersections. They'd get tickets in the mail.

Cameras would capture more violators and send a signal to lead-foots to slow down, saving money on injuries and accident responses, the bill's supporters told the Assembly Urban and Local Affairs Committee during a brief hearing Tuesday.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans see someone running a red light more than once a week, according to a survey cited in a 2006 Federal Highway Administration report on red-light cameras.

I'm on the fence with this. Reading what I could find it seems not all the "studies" involving reduced accidents where cameras are used aren't entirely accurate. Side impacts did decrease. But rear end impacts went up some. Over all safety did improve as fewer people sustained major injuries and traffic was slowed. In some cities, however, people noticed traffic lights being tampered with thus accussed the city of "trapping" people by shortening the duration of yellow lights. More tickets were issued and suddenly the cameras became more about revenue than safety.

That's the problem. I wouldn't trust government to implement this properly. But, let's be honest, drivers are worse than ever these days. The police have too much other work to do to worry about many traffic violations. We just can't afford to have a squad posted anytime we please. So, in that sense, I'm all for the cameras. Efforts to make our roads safer are always welcome. But, for me, there'd have to be some concessions. One, reduce the cost of parking violations. It's ridiculous how high it is. Way to make downtown Milwaukee more attractive. Two, reduce the cost of parking stickers. I live here, bought a house, and pay property taxes. You want to charge me for parking on the street? Greedy and goofy.

One benefit, this is something that could virtually pay for itself since it would generate revenue. Of course, that shouldn't be the reason for having them installed, but you can't ignore that point.

The Show Must Go On!

Academy Awards organisers expressed confidence on Tuesday that this year's Oscars show would go ahead as planned, as Hollywood digested the bombshell cancellation of the Golden Globes.
Bruce Davis, the executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told AFP that Oscars organisers were hopeful of reaching a deal with writers that would allow the highlight of awards season.

"At this stage we are still making our plan as normal," Davis said.

The dispute between writers and producers claimed its highest profile casualty on Monday when it was confirmed that Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony had been scrapped and replaced with a press conference.

The decision came after Hollywood's actors union, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), announced last week that stars would not cross picket lines surrounding the show set erected by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

I'll say this about the Globes, they keep the time to a minimum and don't televise every stinkin' award there is to award. Neither do the Oscars, but they do televise awards no one really cares about. They should take the Globes template and apply it to their own show.

Again, other than seeing the babes and fashions, and listening to the stupid/funny remarks made during the acceptance, I could care less.

The People's Choice Awards

Am I glad I DVR'd this show! Not so I could play back the hot bods, listen to some great performances, or replay the funny moments. Oh no. It's strictly so I could fast forward through the ENTIRE show. There was no audience! No presenters, no accepters, no performers, no nothing! I heard that the Golden Globes might be audience-less but I wasn't aware the PCA was going to be . . . a newscast. Wow. How incredibly boring . . . and stupid. I like the Queen and all but to watch and listen to her jump up and down and scream when she read a winner . . . laaaame. The winners acceptance speeches were videotaped and played back. One funny moment . . . Joaquin Phoenix's acceptance speech for leading man. He did it via cue cards he showed to the . . . viewers (writer strike thing) and wrapped up by asking "what's wrong with you people?". I thought it seemed fairly humble and funny.

No fashion review as there was no one there. Queen Latifah looked nice. Maria Menunous looked hot during a remote she did for some hair product. That's about it. I can't even tell you who won as I zoomed through the whole show stopping only when I see any real live person.

I suppose they did the best they could with the show. But considering there was no audience or other active participants, they should made it an hour instead of two. They play a lot of old clips from past shows. Yawn.

If the Golden Globes is really going to be like this . . . I'll skip it.

NFL Playoffs 2

2 of 4 this past weekend. Not good. Here are my picks for the coming weekend:

Jaguars at Patriots. I think all the picks are hard. We've certainly got the best of the NFL represented. If there's a defense that can cause Brady some trouble, the Jags have it. They haven't played each other this year so not much is known about the Jags by the Pats. But, I don't think Garrard has what it takes to win. Patriots.

Chargers at Colts. The Chargers are one of those teams like the Steeler and Giants, you never know who is going to show up. It took a bit but the finally got it together against the Titans. I don't think they can start so slow and expect to win against the Colts. Colts.

Giants at Cowboys. Like the Jags and Pats, I think the Giants have a defense that could cause trouble for Romo. Not sure about the health of TO and Glenn although they're saying they will start. The Cowpies defeated the Giants twice this year although they allowed the Giants to score 35 points in one game. The Cowboy defense sucks. The Giants are bi-polar. If TO plays, the Cowboys.

Seahawks at the Packers. The Seahawk defense is good. But Favre is great. The Seahawk offense is banged up including Matt. Our defense is healthy. Holmgren is cursed . . . and can be a mental case at times. At home, Packers win easy.

Golden Globes in Jeopardy!

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and NBC engaged in eleventh-hour sessions Sunday to try to save the boycott-stricken Golden Globes, with NBC appearing to be seriously considering pulling the telecast as a result of the Hollywood writers strike.

The HFPA, whose 100-odd members organize the ceremony, is pushing NBC to pull the plug on the broadcast because that will prompt the Writers Guild of America to lift its pickets and enable stars to attend the January 13 event. On Friday, the Screen Actors Guild said its members would not cross picket lines to attend.

The whole article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN0433567820080107

No Golden Globes?

Yawn.

Other than seeing the babes and their attire, this is the most boring of the award shows. The People's Choice awards come pretty close but the Globes definitely have the more "are you kidding me?" moments to it.

Drinking does what?

The Science of Toga Parties
By JOHN TIERNEY
Field work can be hell. But thanks to the dogged researchers who attended 66 college parties in Southern California, now at last it can revealed:

Playing drinking games at a party leads to increased levels of alcohol in the bloodstream.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the only result of the investigation reported in the January issue of January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. The researchers say their fieldwork, which involved studying more than 1,300 people at parties, is an improvement over past studies that relied on people’s recollections of getting hammered. These researchers made observations at the parties and brought along equipment to test students’ blood-alcohol concentrations (BrACs). One of the authors, J.D. Clapp of San Diego State University, summarizes the findings:

Both individual behavior and the environment matter when it comes to student-drinking behavior. At the individual level, playing drinking games and having a history of binge drinking predicted higher BrACs. At the environmental level, having a lot of intoxicated people at a party and themed events predicted higher BrACs. One of the more interesting findings was that young women drank more heavily than males at themed events. It is rare to find any situation where women drink more than men, and these events tended to have sexualized themes and costumes.

The researchers say they’re planning to do further investigations of themed parties, and I hope they’ll consider letting a journalist accompany them (if necessary, I would go in costume). I don’t know why women would drink more at themed parties, but I do have a hypothesis: Could it be a coping mechanism for dealing with the sight of guys like John Belushi dressed in togas?

Someone was actually given taxpayer money for this.

Incredible.

I think I'll try to obtain a grant to see what goes on at the Drinking Right parties.

Jaguars at Steelers

2 minutes left. What the heck happened to the 18 point lead the Jags had? Can't say as I care who wins but I did pick the Jags. Credit the Steeler defense and Big Ben for a good game. Now I gotta watch!

Washington at Seattle Halftime

Geez. Washington needs to put together a drive. Seattle isn't doing much better but they've had one or two plays that have made the difference so far. Not liking the play calling by Washington but I have to give credit to the Seattle defense.

Crazy is as crazy does

So Britany was carted off after refusing to give up her child in somewhat of a stand off at her home the other night. She was put under a 72 hour watch. When that's done, a hospital can hold someone against their will. As is apparently the case as recent reports have the skanky one throwing fits. Her kids have been yanked completely pending further hearings and, I'm sure, evaluation of her condition. Reports are already coming in that she's bi-polar, that her behavior wasn't a result of drugs, alcohol, or a mix. And already people are excusing her behavior to a mental disease.

Not so fast.

First, these are very early reports. We really don't know anything yet. Second, we know she drank, did drugs, acted like a skank, acted terribly as a parent, acted irresponsibly, and looked for attention. Bi-polar wouldn't explain everything. Also, she seemed to find the clubs just fine, the parties, the Starbucks, the Taco Bells . . . it's only the courthouse she couldn't find, her appearance times she couldn't keep, and her work commitments she couldn't make. Hmmm. Pretty convenient if you ask me.

Now if it turns out that she really is bi-polar . . . ok, let's see how she manages her care. Having gone through depression myself I can tell you there needs to be a huge personal commitment to getting yourself better. Look at Hohan. She's wanting her cake and to eat it too. Doesn't work that way. I see her crashing sometime soon. As for Britany, another thing we know about her is that she's not too bright and apparently doesn't want anyone's help. Trying to imagine her following a treatment plan is like trying to watch a lion after throwing a sheep in his cage and telling him: "No. You can't eat that".

I don't want to sound un-sympathetic to any degree. But for many people, not just celebrities, deciding one is bi-polar, or is an alcoholic, is too often another way to escape personal responsibility.

Just Say No

Reports are a little spotty as to whether Zoey 101 will be on or off the air. According to one MTV rep, no changes are planned and this season will finish out and the next season will air.

I know teens get pregnant. That doesn't mean I have to like it or endorse it. I expect parents to act and do what they can to educate their children on sex and pregnancy. To me, allowing Zoey 101 to continue is almost a reward. Nick doesn't have a contact but the parent company, Viacom, does. Here it is:

http://origin.www.viacom.com/CONTACT/default.aspx

I urge everyone to let them know your opinion.

NFL Playoffs

Sad to see the season come to an end, but the playoffs are always an exciting time. Here are some predictions:

For the wild card weekend:

Jacksonville Jaguars defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers
San Diego Chargers beat the Tennessee Titans
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the New york Giants
Washington Redskins defeat the Seattle Seahawks

If this holds true, the Packers would play the Buccaneers in Green Bay.
Washington would go to Dallas (again) to beat the Cowboys. Funny how teams
match up. Should the Packers defeat the Bucs (they will) and should the Redskins
beat the Cowboys again, they would come to Green Bay for the NFC Championship.

Again, we could see the Packers in the Superbowl!

But, I'm not predicting, yet!

Can we keep the skanks to a minimum?

There's not much to watch on MTV these days. They've joined the ranks of a few other networks offering some sort of degenerative show with what's bound to become attention whore fodder for the entertainment news. Cast members with no observable skills other than to look good. "No thank you please . . . no thought provoking conversations now. With no one to feed you lines it will be god awful at best. No just stand there and look good."

Of the offerings narrow casted to the brain damaged is a little gem called A shot of love with Tila Tequila . . . or something like that. Wherein another in a endless stream of vacant skanks whores herself on her Myspace page to get recognized and MTV (of course) does. Gives her her own show. Talent is optional as has been the case lately with MTV.

Well, that's all fine and good. These people and shows are a dime a dozen now and since MTV finds it necessary to air a good percentage of these idiotic shows, with one fell swoop and turn of the dial I can ignore most of what offends what's left of a desire to have some depth to what I watch.

So why would a supposed noted journalist actually waste time and space with a review of her show? Good question. These people are generally waaaaaay over exposed for no good reason to begin with. Well, Joanne Weintraub of the Journal Sentinel for some odd reason felt it necessry journalism:

"Formerly famous for getting more MySpace page views than anyone else on the planet, Tila Nguyen, as her parents named her 27 years ago, has been a music-video star, a Stuff and Maxim cover model and a Playboy Cyber Girl.

When To Watch
What: "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila"
When: noon Sunday, repeated noon Tuesday (marathon); 9 p.m. Tuesday (season finale)
Where: MTV

But the bisexual bachelorette is hardly just another pretty face attached to a smokin' bod.

"There's a million hot naked chicks on the Internet," she told Time magazine last year. "There's a difference between those girls and me. Those chicks don't talk back to you."

Tila does, though. And she'll talk to - and lock lips with - love seekers of either gender.

"A Shot at Love" gives 32 singles of both sexes the chance to compete for Tila's hand, not to mention all the other parts of her.

Along the way it proves, in case it still needs proving, that neither gender has a monopoly on silliness, nastiness or raving exhibitionism.

How does Tila pursue her quest for Mr. or Ms. Right?

Same way you or I would: by asking 32 strangers to roll around in melted chocolate and sleep together in a giant bed - not right after the chocolate part, fortunately - and by giving lap dances to members of their family."

It should be noted that this article appeared 12/12/07 so this editorial is rather late. None the less, shame on Joanne. This kind of show which is part of the skankifying of both pop culture and TV is just not something worthy of serious journalism. I never thought much of Joanne's recommendations for TV. I think less of her now.

Happy New Year!

My wish for everyone is to have a safe, healthy, and happy New Year. Value life, respect life, live life.l

What a Croc!

I've made my feelings about Croc's clear. I think they're fine for little girls . . . even little boys. I can also see their attraction for women working in the garden or for going to the beach in that they're water-proof, unlike some sandals. I guess there's even a version for use in hospitals. Again, I can appreciate that.

But for men? Uh huh. No way. This was made perfectly clear to me when while on vacation in Door County I saw a man wearing them in a restaurant. What made it worse was that they were pink. I don't wan to offend so just let me say it looked very "un-manly".

Now, I don't have a problem with being unconventional. Be it a haircut or attire. I've also stated that I'm very comfortable with my feminine side. I don't have a need to look, feel, or exude manly. But there are certain things I don't do. The whole "metrosexual" thing . . . forget it. I won't go there.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I received a pair of Packer Croc's for Christmas from my wife! Bright green with yellow straps. She had her sister buy me some slipper Crocs! Well, forget the slippers. First, I don't wear slippers. Second, I'm not going to own two pairs of Crocs. But what about the Packer Crocs? Of course, my wife thinks this is the funniest thing . . . watching me accept a gift of Crocs!

It doesn't end there. She also got me two packages of Jibbitz . . . Croc charms, or buttons you use to decorate your Crocs. One package is a fairly cool Skull. The other are these little monsters . . . cute monsters. I don't think so.

So, now what? Do I demand she return them? She thinks I'm going to wear them to work on Fridays along with my Packer shirt. I have to admit, they're comfortable. I could see wearing them to the beach and fishing. I'm going to look like a dork, but it's like me to be different. But, to work? Good thing the football season is almost over.

Well, my love for my wife is greater than my pride. So, wear them, I will. There will be limits, and I'll have to complain about it from time to time, but I took the vow.

For better or for worse.

Role model parent

I'm a bit neutral on Libby Lu. On the one hand, girls like play dress up and Libby Lu allows girls that opportunity. It's over the top, but from what I've seen, harmless fun. I'm sure there are those girls with parents who "go too far" with the make up and attire, but I think the majority of parents see it and do it as a fun thing. For me, it's just over priced. But I wouldn't not allow my daughter to go to a party held there.

I do understand those who are concerned with image that Libby Lu is trying to create. Make up and little skirts on little girls? I've read some parents comments calling what they do "pedophile bait". I think that's a bit harsh. As for the image thing, this is one of those areas of responsibility held by the parents.

Recently, Libby Lu sponsored an essay contest for a chance to win a make over and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) tickets. A 6 year old from North Texas won the contest with an essay about her father dying in Iraq. It was obviously a moving essay as she beat out about 1,000 other entries to win. One problem, the story was a lie.

GARLAND, Texas - A North Texas mother made up a tragic story about a father dying in Iraq for an essay contest to win a Hannah Montana prize package.

But the company decided not to award Priscilla Ceballos' daughter with the contest's grand prize, Club Libby Lu CEO Mary Drolet said Saturday in a written statement.

"After awarding the grand prize, we unfortunately learned that the statements made in the essay were untrue," she said in the statement. "Club Libby Lu greatly values honestly and integrity. In order to uphold these values, we have decided to withdraw the award initially given to the Ceballos family."

On Friday, Ceballos told NBC 5 by telephone that it was a big misunderstanding. She said she made up the story to win the contest. No one asked her if the story was true, she said.

Her daughter had beat out more than 1,000 other Hannah Montana fans with the essay she wrote for the Club Libby Lu "Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest."

"My daddy died this year in Iraq," the little girl wrote in the essay. "I am going to give mommy the Angel pendant that daddy put on mommy when she was having me. I had it in my jewelry box since that day. I love my mommy."

Ceballos told contest organizers her husband was killed April 17, 2007, while serving in Iraq.

Research done by NBC 5 revealed that only one U.S. soldier died on April 17 of this year, and it was not Jonathan Menjivar. Neighbors said the girl's father, a carpet cleaner, is alive and is not a soldier.

The mother's sister said the story was intended to be a Christmas story.

"It was supposed to be told like a Christmas story, a good Christmas story, basically," she said. "And that's what she wrote, a Christmas story. But she didn't know it had to be true or anything."

Good for Libby Lu. There's a couple of issues at play here. One, the winning at whatever the cost attitude. Second, what she lied about. I could understand enhancing a story to make it more interesting or more emotional. But to completely lie . . . and about a father dying in Iraq . . . that's deplorable. It's disrespectful, pathetic, and reprehensible. What a great message to send to your child. To use that issue to win a contest when there does exist children who have lost their fathers in Irag is about as low as one can get. There's a word for this kind of behavior . . .

Whore.

She's a genius . . . part 1001

My daughter of almost 8 sometimes uses a stapler for her projects. We have one. It's a POS. But, for light work it seemed to be fine. The last several times we've used it, though, it really wasn't working. It wouldn't shoot a staple. You had to open it, pound it a little, then maybe it would shoot a staple. Sure, I checked it over but I always chalked it up to being a cheap stapler.

Well, my daughter was trying to make a booklet the other day and was having the same problems with the stapler. She asked me to help her with it. Once again, I opened it, pounded it, and got it to shoot a couple of staples. Enough for her and her booklet. Afterward, I vowed to buy a new one.

A couple of minutes later my daughter comes up to me and says: "Daddy, I think I found the problem. There's a staple stuck." I was fairly certain she meant that there was a staple stuck in the opening of the stapler, as is often the case. She had the stapler open and showed me a staple stuck under the mechanism that pushed the staples forward via a spring. Sure enough, a closer look revealed just what she said. I was dumbfounded. I got out my leatherman and took the staple out. After which the stapler worked beautifully.

I couldn't help but tackle my girlie to the floor and give her about a hundred kisses, telling her all the while I thought she was a genius.

And thanked her for reminding me, yet again, that I am not.

Tree huggers, here's your guy!

Say what you will about the looming catastrophe facing the world as the pace of global heating and polar melting accelerates. There is a silver lining.

Look at a map of the US.

The area that will by completely inundated by the rising ocean—and not in a century but in the lifetime of my two cats—are the American southeast, including the most populated area of Texas, almost all of Florida, most of Louisiana, and half of Alabama and Mississippi, as well as goodly portions of eastern Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. While the northeast will also see some coastal flooding, its geography is such that that aside from a few projecting sandbars like Long Island and Cape Cod, the land rises fairly quickly to well above sea level. Sure, Boston, New York and Philadelphia will be threatened, but these are geographically confined areas that could lend themselves to protection by Dutch-style dikes. The West Coast too tends to rise rapidly to well above sea level in most places. Only down in Southern California towards the San Diego area is the ground closer to sea level.

So what we see is that huge swaths of conservative America are set to face a biblical deluge in a few more presidential cycles.

Then there’s the matter of the Midwest, which climate experts say is likely to face a permanent condition of unprecedented drought, making the place largely unlivable, and certainly unfarmable. The agribusinesses and conservative farmers that have been growing corn and wheat may be able to stretch out this doomsday scenario by deep well drilling, but west of the Mississippi, the vast Ogallala Aquifer that has allowed for such irrigation is already being tapped out. It will not be replaced.

So again, we will see the decline and depopulation of the nation’s vast midsection—noted for its consistent conservatism. Only in the northernmost area, around the Great Lakes (which will be not so great anymore), and along the Canadian border, will there still be enough rain for farming and continued large population concentrations, but those regions, like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, are also more liberal in their politics.

Finally, in the Southwest, already parched and stiflingly hot, the rise in energy costs and the soaring temperatures will put an end to right-wing retirement communities like Phoenix, Tucson and Palm Springs. Already the Salton Sea is fading away and putting Palm Springs on notice that the good times are coming to an end. Another right-wing haven soon to be gone.

So the future political map of America is likely to look as different as the much shrunken geographical map, with much of the so-called “red” state region either gone or depopulated.

There is a poetic justice to this of course. It is conservatives who are giving us the candidates who steadfastly refuse to have the nation take steps that could slow the pace of climate change, so it is appropriate that they should bear the brunt of its impact.

The important thing is that we, on the higher ground both actually and figuratively, need to remember that, when they begin their historic migration from their doomed regions, we not give them the keys to the city. They certainly should be offered assistance in their time of need, but we need to keep a firm grip on our political systems, making sure that these guilty throngs who allowed the world to go to hell are gerrymandered into political impotence in their new homes.

There will be much work to be done to help the earth and its residents—human and non-human—survive this man-made catastrophe, and we can’t have these future refugee troglodytes, should their personal disasters still fail to make them recognize reality, mucking things up again.

It should be considered acceptable, in this stifling new world, to say, “Shut up. We told you this would happen.”

Do yourself a favor and go to www.thiscantbehappening.net. Very entertaining. Very enlightening . . . although not for reasons intended. Anyway, I love the comment about how it is that like evil people who don't know they're evil, stupid people don't realize they're stupid.

Winter Solstice

For those with seasonal anxieties, or any anxiety related to the lack of the sun, the days are now getting longer! Some years back I suffered with a bout of depression. I remember how (somewhat) happy I was when 12/21 finally came. I haven't had any problems since that time but do get a little anxious when I have to set the clocks back.

Christmas 2007 debrief

As it was last year, Amazon was "berry, berry gud to me". I don't mind crowds. What I do mind is spending an hour to park the car, and the stifling air inside many stores. Ordering things online also makes one thing very easy . . . hiding gifts. Since I have things shipped to me at work, it takes care of that one issue. Note to self, keep better track of potential gifts and start earlier. One thing didn't ship in time.

I decorate outside for Halloween. It's my thing. Jackie (da wife) takes care of Christmas inside the house. Typically, we both do decorations outside but the weather this year really made that impossible. So, note for next year . . . put up Christmas when you take down Halloween.

For some time now, Christmas comes and is gone in a flash. My wife was particularly busy at work this year. I had some health issues but isn't an excuse for not doing more to take advantage of the holiday. Breakfast with Santa at the Pfister was cancelled this year, and we didn't take in anything else. We didn't even get to CandyCane Lane this year. So, another note to self, plan more holiday activities to help extend the spirit. Also, make Jackie work less.

It's difficult to get things perfect for the holidays. For both me and my wife, it;s a busy time at work. Although, I generally don't have to work long hours or on the weekend as my wife does. I think it's important to know what things are going to be like and plan accordingly. We were very last minute with the house this year. Next year, I'd like to plan more in advance.

In spite of all of this, it was a good holiday. Having a child in the house makes Christmas special no matter what else. For my wife and I, we're lucky. Jamie is not very demanding, not wanting, patient, and has the spirit of Christmas in her where ever she is, whatever she is doing, and no matter how busy her parents are. She makes us proud.

Finally, I certainly send wishes for a good holiday season out to all of my friends, anyone who is reading this, the rest of the blog world, and to my family. Merry Christmas!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 2

Local Issues.

The Bad certainly has to be the crime in Milwaukee. I know the numbers can be misleading but the fact remains we have a higher murder rate per capita than New York City. That's terrible. Yes, 90% of the murders that take place are bad people killing other bad people. But, that's still not good, and it raises the chances of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. Plus, it just doesn't make out city look good and makes certain areas of the city very undesirable. While Mayor Barrett want to claim a renaissance is taking place, it perhaps isn't in the area he believes. The other frustrating about the situation is that the aldermen, the Mayor, and the Governor all want meeings and studies to be held rather than actually do something about the problem.

Runner ups in this category are the freeways (the city does not want expansion) and rail systems (the city does want to expand this).

The Ugly? Taxes. The Common Council raised our taxes . . . and wanted raises. The County Board raised our taxes . . . and wanted raises. The Mayor raises our taxes. MPS raised our taxes. MATC raised our taxes. Fees all over the place went up. The Governor raised our taxes. Thanks to Scott Walker and republicans at various levels of government things aren't worse than they are. People are leaving the state in droves, yet, with a slight increase in city population Mayor Barrett thinks we're undergoing a "renaissance".

Runner up: The weather. Global warming my butt. And snow plowing/removal. Atrocious so far.

The Good? This wasn't a very good year for the city of Milwaukee. Still, for my family this was a banner year. I'm sure every city has it's attractions. None compare to, of course, to that which is our lakefront and the many festivals held there. Wisconsin, in general, is a great place to take a vacation. Between the festivals, State Fair, our many lakes, Door County, our Zoo, and countless other places and activities, summer is anything but boring here. From the time my daughter ended school to the time she went back, almost every weekend had some fun activity. While Milwaukee may have it's problems, it's easy to get away from it all and forget about them for a bit.

Poof

And just like that, it's all over.

Contacting Nickelodean

I for one don't want Nick to be doing any "special" on teenage pregnancy. I also cannot support a show who's main character
gets pregnant at 16 . . . by a 19 year old. I urge everyone who feels the same way to contact Nick:

Nickelodeon
1515 Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10036
(212) 258-6000

There doesn't appear to be an email address for programming and such. Makes sense. I'm sure there would be thousands daily.
BTW, I do think the Hudgens incident is a little different. At the time the pictures were taken, she was a virtual nobody . . . she hadn't quite made it to stardom yet. Plus, there's simply a huge difference between nude pictures and sex . . . and pregnancy! While I think Disney was correct in letting Vanessa off the hook, I would have understood it had they "fired" her. Nickelodean needs to do the right thing and drop Jamie immediately.

Global Foolishness, Part . . . 1537 or something

The most insistent article to date:

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=f80a6386-802a-23ad-40c8-3c63dc2d02cb

I've blogged on this here and at other blogs. First, the notion of "consensus" was always in question. Two, the accuracy of the Algore fairy tale was always in question. Three, descent on the issue has grown, and includes former believers and scientists who were part of the IPCC panel. Four, obvious questions about water vapor, the sun, and the difference in satellite readings to ground readings were never answered. Five, while there might be a money trail for some deniers, there's a larger one for the alarmists. Six, some "facts" and "predictions" have already changed. The coldest year on record, the rise in sea level, the rise in temperature have all changed. Seven, environmentalists conveniently use global warming to answer both sides of an issue. Eight, the issue has risen to incredibly ridiculous levels with everything from farting cows, to exercising, to having babies, to divorce all contributing to the decline of the earth.

The debate is over. Mother Earth, 4.5 billion. Al Gore, 0. The earth wins.

Zero tolerance equals zero brains

OCALA, Fla. -- A 10-year old Ocala girl brought her lunch to school and a small kitchen knife to cut it. She now faces a felony charge after being arrested. The school and the sheriff's office disagree on the reason for the arrest.

School officials say the 5th grader was brown-bagging it. She brought a piece of steak for her lunch, but she also brought a steak knife. That's when deputies were called. It happened in the cafeteria at Sunrise Elementary School. The 10-year-old used the knife to cut the meat.

"She did not use it inappropriately. She did not threaten anyone with it. She didn't pull it out and brandish it. Nothing of that nature," explained Marion County School Spokesman Kevin Christian.

But a couple of teachers took the utensil and called the sheriff. When deputies arrived, they were unable to get the child's parents on the phone, so they arrested her and took her to the county's juvenile assessment center.

"And we didn't handcuff her or treat her like a criminal. But, we took her to the assessment center to be assessed," said Capt. James Pogue, Marion County Sheriff's Office.

School officials said it doesn't matter what the knife was being used for. They said they had no choice.

"Anytime there's a weapon on campus, yes, we have to report it and we aggressively report it because we don't want to take any chances, regardless," Christian said.

But the sheriff's office said the extreme measures in what some may say was a harmless incident had to do with school policy, not theirs.

"But once we're notified, we have to take some type of action," Pogue explained.

The student now faces a felony charge for the possession of a weapon on school property and the principal suspended her for ten days. The parents of the girl could not be reached for comment. The sheriff's office has turned the case over to the State Attorney's Office.

How absolutely ridiculous. Here's another case where JUDGEMENT could have been used and the need to call the sheriff avoided. But, no. There will always be one person who will look at issues like this as black and white. This could have been handled discreetly. No. Now the school, the school board, and the sheriff all look like idiots.

Stupid runs in the family

This is not 100% confirmed, but OK magazine is reporting that Jamie Lynn Spears, younger sister of Twitney, is pregnant! Jamie is 16 years old! She tells the magazine she met her beau in church. I guess that's so we don't think she's been scratching around trailer parks, or getting drunk at the nearest gin mill. Nah. Just screwing. A 19 year old. What's the biggie? She also says she's keeping the baby. As opposed to what? Throwing it out?

Good thing she's got a seasoned aunt to guide her through.

It's truly sad. The child wasn't given a choice, and doesn't stand a chance.

RIP

My wife's friend passed away the other morning. While not exactly "comfortable" in the late stages of cancer, she was at home with her family and passed away peacefully in her sleep. From the time of her diagnosis, she gained two years of life. One more than was thought she had. She made full use of it. She was a good wife, mother, and friend. She was 45 years old and her daughter is 14. Much too young, much too soon.

She will be missed.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly 1

National Issues:

I think the big issue this past year makes both the "bad" and "good" categories . . . global warming. More and more and more scientists are coming out against the hysteria and the alarmists. Yet, as goody as the hysteria is, the by product of some of this will be beneficial. Now, let's understand one thing, many people like to point out the "money trail" as it pertains to those who speak out as deniers. But, little is said about the huge money trail with relation to the "green" movement. Millions of dollars are readily available to those who feel it necessary to "study" man's impact on climate. Be it directly or through the study of some bug that appears to have been impacted by an unusually warm summer. Also, for as much as libs hate big companies, Al Gore is responsible for bringing millions in profits to anyone who can re-package a product and call it "green".

Still, there is good that will come of this. First, there's nothing wrong with cleaner air and water, less natural resource usage, and the adoption of renewable energy sources. Hopefully, in less than a decade, our cars will be running on bio diesels. While I hope we don't adopt policies that cripple our industries, the by product of innovation is always . . . more innovation.

As far as the "ugly" goes . . . it has to go to the democratic congress. Low approval ratings, being pulled by the strings of the MoveOn.org crowd, accomplishing nothing, broken promises, poor leadership, witch hunt after witch hunt of investigations in to this, that, and everything . . . and now the most polarizing of candidates running for president.

Other issues of note have been immigration, the war, and very recently, the amount of mass shootings that have taken place.

NFC North Champs

Sure, this was a game they were supposed to win. The Raiders ain't that good and the Packers were favored. But, this is an important game to have won. First, not only because they were supposed to, because it gave them the North title. Decisively. And with three games left! No waiting until the last game and hoping the Giants, Eagles, Minnesota, Rams, Seahawks, and Niners all lose so the Packers get a chance if they score more than 60 points in the game they're playing. This is nice. This is a luxury. They can virtually relax for the next few weeks knowing that they're already in. Now, I wouldn't sit anyone that isn't nursing an injury. But, I wouldn't play some players for the entire game either. Sure, there is a chance they could still get home field advantage. But, we're back to the old "they need certain things to happen" kind of situation. Plus, in the case of the Packers, I think home field advantage is a little over rated. Green Bay in January? Even many of the Packers don't necessarily want that.

Anyway, when you look at the likely playoff candidates, things look good for the Packers. Should the Cowboys finish as first seed and the Packers second, the Packers would get a first round bye, and wouldn't face the Cowboys again until the NFC championship. No one else looks to pose much of a threat. Of course, never say never.

Still, you can't help but be optimistic. Could they win the SuperBowl?

Remember . . . God is a Packer fan.

The Good, the bad, and the ugly.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to post my thoughts on the good and the bad of various issues. I've decided to break it down as such: National Issues, Local Issues, Pop Culture, Technology, Health, and People. There really won't be a list as much as a commentary on each topic. Each category may contain sub categories of discussion. It will be one of those, end of the year things where we look back and comment on what was.

What the . . . ?

BELLEVUE, Neb., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Bellevue, Neb., police arrested a friend of the man who killed eight people at a mall after the man allegedly threatened someone who spoke ill of the shooter.

David Horvath, 17, allegedly threatened Shelby Harrington, for posting uncomplimentary statements about Horvath's best friend, Robert Hawkins, on the Internet, Shelby's father, Kevin Harrington said, the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald reported Friday.

Hawkins, 19, killed eight people and himself Wednesday at Westroads Mall.

"(Horvath) said, 'If you say anything else bad about Robbie, I will put a cap in your head,'" Harrington said.

Shelby Harrington, 16, recorded the threat on her cell phone, the World-Herald said.

She said Hawkins had threatened to kill her two weeks ago.

"He said 'I'm going to kill you, I am going to kill your family and I'm going to burn your house down,'" Shelby Harrington said.

Horvath was arrested on suspicion of making terroristic threats.

This is crazy. After what just happened, how can one know they're safe after receiving a threat like this? How do you prevent an incident? Hopefully, this douchebag will be locked up for a while.

So, what's the answer?

Once again, hurricane predictions were way off for this year. What I like about global warming alarmists, is that they can use global warming to answer both sides of a question. More hurricanes? Global warming. Fewer hurricanes? El Niño apparently is to blame . . . which some say is fueled, in part, by global warming. Of course.

Meanwhile, Maine and North Dakota are already breaking records with snowfall. But that's just the climate issue. Our energy needs are another issue.

What's ironic, is that the environmentalists don't seem to want to do anything practical about a solution to our energy needs. The fact is, we are where we are. We like our cars, ipods, cable TV, high speed internet, and all of the other things that make each decade more advanced than the previous. And it all takes energy to produce and/or operate. In Texas, a wind farm . . . a massive wind farm . . . is being challenged by environmentalists.

The federal suit, filed in U.S. Western District Court in Austin, said the turbines could kill untold numbers of migratory birds and damage the bay.

Personally, for what you get from wind turbines, I think they're a waste of space. Ted Kennedy doesn't want them in his backyard. For all I know there's merit to the Texas challenge. But that's not the point. If coal is bad, nuclear is bad, wind turbines kill birds and thus are bad, what's left? In Texas, several coal plants have been cancelled due to challenges by the environmentalist groups. Now this. What about solar energy? Well, it likely less efficient than wind energy, and it takes a lot of resources to manufacture. A process that includes strip mining for the materials needed for the cells. Not to mention production factories . . . not to mention storage cells containing lead and sulfuric acid . . . lots of and big storage cells . . . not to mention the space needed for the solar panels. Lots of space. Space that I'm sure would displace many species of living things.

So, solar is bad.

Life sucks. Energy, that is. Meanwhile, people complain about the high costs of gas and electricity. Well, it has to come from somewhere. But where?

Global foolishness

Well, you can marry, but you shouldn't have kids. We need to stick a cork in many an animal's butt to keep them from farting. And, you shouldn't exercise. All these things contribute to global warming. What's next? Divorce.

WASHINGTON - Divorce can be bad for the environment. In countries around the world divorce rates have been rising, and each time a family dissolves the result is two new households.

"A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household," said Jianguo Liu, an ecologist at Michigan State University whose analysis of the environmental impact of divorce appears in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The whole article is here:

http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20071204/ap_on_sc/divorce_environment.html

Maybe one of the divorced occupies a space that was previously occupied? Nah.

So, there you have it. If you've been divorced, you're contributing to the decline of the earth.

Not the only one.

From jsonline:

Fast-changing weather conditions foiled Milwaukee public works officials' plans to deal with the weekend's snow and ice, Public Works Commissioner Jeff Mantes said today.

Nonetheless, Mantes added, "We do sincerely apologize to our good citizens who have been unintentionally inconvenienced by our efforts... The citizens expect a good job."

Earlier today, aldermen lashed out at Mantes' department, blasting its weekend snow-plowing efforts as the worst in decades. At a City Hall news conference, Aldermen Terry Witkowski, Joe Dudzik and Bob Donovan said they and all of their Common Council colleagues had been inundated with calls from constituents complaining about the plowing.

I'm happy to see Mantes respond accordingly. With the temps a bit higher, plows should have an easier time keeping the roads clear and cleaning up what they missed.

In touch not out of touch

This is wrong. Very wrong.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=48910

I've always admitted to being in touch with my feminine side, but this? Men wearing Croc's is bad enough.

What's next?

How much snow fell?

If you were to look outside, or more specifically, drive the streets, you'd think it was February and we've been dumped on all winter long. The plowing is the worst I've ever seen. My dad was a supervisor in Milwaukee's public works so I have a bit of an insight here. Salting is bad, clean up is bad, all the side streets are terrible. Even the main streets aren't well plowed to the curbs. And this is the first snow! If you live in the city, I encourage you to contact your alderman and complain. I have. I thought the city did pretty well last year. If this is any indication, it's going to be a long winter.

One more thing . . .

I haven't heard a lot of talk about it . . . but, the onside kick attempt by the Packers was a thing of beauty! It didn't work, though, as the ball hit one of our player's arm before it traveled 10 yards. Still and all, a beautifully executed play!

Also (OK, that's two things), Greg Jennings is not only a good receiver, but he's also one of the best at run after catch (RAC yards). He's really a smooth runner. Quick and quick to change direction. I wish the Packers would incorporate a wide out screen for him.

Packer and Cowboys Epilog

First, let's not make any excuses. The girls won. Say what you want about the refs and the play calling, we couldn't stop them from scoring. Period. Their strategy of moving TO around was brilliant. Nice job. Some thoughts.

Cowboy offense. Romo is good, no doubt. But, he didn't get any pressure. The very few times he did, he threw off. The run game was held in check save for a couple of big plays. TO is great. Witten is great. The front line did a great job.

Packer defense. Lost. While KGB may or may not have made a difference, Woodson would have. Harris was lost out there and it's because he didn't have any help. While Witten didn't show up until later in the game, he was effective and mismatched against Hawk. What would it have hurt to try some blitzes?!?!?! It drove me nuts to see the Packers do essentially the same thing on defense . . . ALL. NIGHT.

Packer offense. Got lost along the way. I'm not sure who's at fault, but the decision to go long time afer time was just plain stupid. Even if the call came from the coaches, Favre had no business throwing ANY of those passes as there wasn't anything there. That said, we moved the ball. And came to within three after scoring 14 unanswered points . . . with Aaron Rodgers, no less. Who did great, by the way. It could have been closer, it could have been worse.

Dallass defense. Other than getting more pressure on our quarterbacks, they didn't fare any better than we did. While I'm willing to admit the Cowboys outplayed us, I'm not willing to go all the way with the team. Again, if you look at their schedule, the Packers and the Giants are the only teams of substance they've defeated. Will they go undefeated? They've got Detroit, Philly, Carolina, and Washington. They could. Could they win the NFC. Well, they'll have to beat us again. Assuming we'll have players back and have learned something . . . I don't know. Again, their defense looked pretty suspect to me.

OK. A few thoughts on the refs. First, why that wasn't a take away by Harris is beyond me. And if it wasn't, then they're going to have to revisit what constitutes a fumble. Based on yesterday's call, if the ball comes out of the hands of a runner in the course of falling to the ground, but his forward advance has been stopped, that shouldn't be a fumble. How many replays have we watched to determine just that? Like, a lot? Second, interference is the most subjective call in football. Fact is, our guy put his hands on the receiver. Clearly. Did he grab him? No. Did he impede his progress? No. Was the ball catchable? Didn't look that way, but hard to say. Should it have been a penalty? I don't know. I agree with Collinworth, though. To make that call and virtually hand 7 points to a team, you'd better be pretty damn sure.

Lastly. I echo the millions who are saying the same thing . . . the NFL network sucks and Bryant Gumble is clearly the worst football commentator in the world.

Halftime

Well, my nervousness was correct. If you're watching the game, everything Cris Collinsworth said is true. Why the Packers got out of their game plan is beyond me. Plus, you gotta make defensive adjustments. Look at what happened . . . in their ball control offense, the Packers move the ball. Heck, they score with Rogers! They blitz. The girls go three and out.

Duh.

Running game is in check, so far. But they've got to get to Romo. TO is burning us bad.

The girls and Romo are playing good.

Packers and Cowpies

OK. If I'm going to claim to be a football guru then I should make a prediction about tonight's game. Truthfully? I'm nervous. Two things. One, we're a little banged up. KGB and Woodson may not play. I think we could survive without KGB, but not having Woodson might be a factor. Second, Texas Stadium. Bad karma for Brett. Weird field with it's arched surface. And if you've ever been to Dallas you'll know what I', talking about . . . the most rabid fans in football. Cheeseheads don't come close to comparing. Noise could be a factor.

Having said all that . . .

I've pointed out at a few other blogs that the Cowboys haven't defeated anyone of any real substance. Of the teams they've won against, only the Giants have a winning record. The Packers have fared against better teams over all. Plus, you can score on Dallas. They don't have a dominating defense like the Bears, Ravens . . . or even the Packers. I give the edge in defense to the Packers. Offensively, TO will be a concern. Witten will be a bigger concern. The girls don't have anything special as a running game so I don't see them "running" away with a victory. Which leaves Romo. Our front 4 has done a great job of providing pressure with no additional help.

For the Packers, I think the 5 receiver set will give the girls problems. The emergence of a running game could also prove to be beneficial as it's something a lot of teams didn't think they had to contend with. The edge in quarterbacks goes to the seasoned Favre.

So . . .

The Packers go with a ball control offense to take the field out of the equation. They hold TO in relative check and get three sacks on Romo. The 5 receiver set proves again to be a problem for the opposition. Grant will catch more passes and the Packer will win 31 - 24.

Death

Serious heading, I know. But, it's a serious topic.

I'm sure many of you have had a family member or close friend die. It's sad. It's very sad. First, it's the end of life's journey for that person. That's it. Game over. I think it's made all the worse when someone young dies. We expect people in their 80's and older to die. It's what happens. Old people have lived their life. They've made their contributions. There is no next step other than death. When you're 40 or 50 years old, there's a lot of life left.

At least, there should be.

The other thing about family and friends dying is that it hits close to home. It reminds us of our own mortality. The inevitability of death. I don't mind telling you, it's unsettling.

Which means the only thing worse than death itself, is knowing you're going to die.

A friend of my wife was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. The news was bad enough. It was made worse by the fact that it was an agressive and an already wide spread cancer. It was, in effect, a death sentance.

She fought it. She fought it as hard as anyone could. She also lived as much a she could. Spending time with her family, friends, and doing things she enjoyed. As for many, the cancer slowed. Her treatments allowed her time.

She called my wife the other day to inform her that hospice had been set up for her at home. The end is near. All that can and could be done has been done. The fight is over. Cancer won.

From here on she's to be made "comfortable". I can't imagine what that is.

So, what worse? Going to a funeral or visiting a friend who is dying?

It truly puts everything in to perspective. Of the many things I want to impress upon my daughter is the frailty of life and the finality of death. You get one chance. There's no undo, no rewind, no mulligans, no challenges, no do overs. Live life. Enjoy life. But don't tempt or tease or think you can cheat death.

I've had open heart surgery, an exploratoy biopsy (negative), emergency gall bladder surgery, and a blood clot in both lungs. I certainly know what the scare is about. True, in any of these situations, I could have died. But I wouldn't have known about it for very long . . . if at all. Knowing that there are no more options . . . no more hope . . . just death . . . would be terrifying.

So, this Christmas holiday count your blessings. Spend time with the ones you love, and cherish life. People like to say, "live today as though it were your last". I actually hate that. It has a finality to it. I prefer . . .

live today as though it were your first.

The first snow

The other night I was reading in bed with my daughter. I got up to get her some water and noticed that the snow had collected a bit outside. I made the comment: "Hey, there's snow on the ground." I then heard footsteps racing from the bedroom in to the kitchen and saw my girlie looking outside the window. "Woo hoo!" she yelled and went racing to the front window. "Cool!" she said as she came back to the bedroom obviously happy with nature's work.

No winter blues here.

Heaven on Earth

Every now and again, I come across a little something that makes life all the more precious.
This time around:

Cheesecake bites at Arby's.

Little bits of deep fried heaven.

There's always a chance

While not a fan at all, my sympathies go out to Kanye West and his family. His mother died as a result of complications from plastic surgery. Her death has uncovered the rather "questionable" qualifications of the doctor who treated her. Cleary, from all accounts, this "doctor" is a dirt bag and whatever "practice" he has should be closed. and all qualifications given him stripped. Now, it may well be Kanye's mother would have died no matter what. The final cause of death hasn't been revealed. But her tragic death should act as a reminder to all, but mostly women, that there is no "simple" surgical procedure. Yes, many have become "routine" but going under the knife always carries with it some risk. I think it's goofy to be so image obsessed to a point of wanting to have surgery done to alter your looks. It's nuts. Virtually all plastic surgery looks like . . . you've had plastic surgery! Reconstructive surgery is different. I can even go so far as someone wanting to correct a bump in their nose or having crooked teeth fixed. But the extent to which some women go is frightening. Fake boobs are the worst offenders. In many cases women go too big. In all cases fake boobs look stupid. Fake. Why someone would want to have a couple of sacks of water implanted in their chest is beyond me. Granted, not many people die. But they do. Other complications are more common though not life threatening. Pain, scars, infection, bad results . . . there's just no guarantee.

I'm just sayin'

I've mentioned the arthritis in my back. After a bad few weeks of pain, my doctor tells me I could go see a neurologist at a pain clinic if I want. There's more a neurologist can do for a person, even outside of surgery. So, I decide that that's what I want to do. Now, I need the referral from my doctor. No problem. I call the pain clinic and I am given a few options in which to see the doctor. All within the next few days. I schedule a week from my call. The neurologist tells me in addition to the xrays, he'd really like an MRI to make sure there isn't any nerve damage or other problems to consider. Now, I have insurance. I pay for a percentage of it. It's not a cadillac plan, but it's coverage.

Anyway, the doctor gives me a few options for centers that do MRI's. I call. I'm given a few schedule options within the next few days. I schedule about a week from my call.

So, I went from my doctor to a neurologist, had a MRI done, all in the span of a couple of weeks. And only because that's how I scheduled it.

Think you can do that in Canada or Great Britain?

Football Guru

I run an office football pool at work. Actually, there's two. A weekly pick game, and a seaon long pick game. I've won the weekly game once so far, but I lead in the season long contest. Over at WISN's website, they run a pick contest. Since I run the pool at work, I'm often kidded that I must be cheating. I know it's all in good fun but I now have proof of my football picking prowess. Over at the WISN contest I am currently 13th among 717 players, or the 98% percentile. Have a look above.

In your face!

Humpback or Blue?

I watched the Baltimore Ravens embarrass themselves tonight. Pitiful game, really. McNair really looked bad. Really bad. Like, retirement bad.

But it was after the game that I felt the most disturbed. I don't know the name of the announcer guy, but Steve Young and Emmit Smith have to be the most annoying on camera . . . not talents . . . blow holes ever. These two make Dan Marino look humble. They make Joe Theisman look inviting. They make Dan Dierdorf look good. They talk clearly to listen to themselves talk. Young tries to look and sound the part of a shrewd and cleaver analyst. It comes off as retarded.

Even Cris Carter is looking good after this.

My achy breaky back!

OK. I stole that from Hannah Montana. Which also means you know I watch Hannah Montana. A by product of having a 7 year old daughter. I wouldn't admit to really liking it . . . a lot! Nooo.

Anyway.

I've got arthritis in my back. It presents problems from time to time . . . and pain. When I'm good I can still walk around State Fair with my 60lb 7 year old on my back. But, when I'm bad, I can barely carry my own weight. Both my parents have arthritis, as does my older sister and brother, so it comes as no surprise. I've been to the doctor and I've had an MRI. It's there. It just a matter of living with it and doing what I can to keep it under control. One of those things is physical therapy. I've gone a few times and it has always done good by me. Between what they do and the excersies (stretching) they give me to do, I've always managed to do better.

Well, I did some work for a spa last year. I did it for exchange of servcies . . . a barter. I thought it would make a nice gift for the wife. Well, she decided it would be nice if we went to a spa day together. I really didn't want to as I'm not a big fan of all the smelly stuff and creams they want to rub on you. But as it was a nice date out with my wife, I agreed.

First, not as bad as I first thought. Yes, there was the aroma stuff, soft music, creams, and the like, but it was really low pressure. If you didn't want it, you didn't have to have it. I was having two things done, a cranial sacral massage, and a full body massage. The cranial sacral massage, I thought, would be good for my back as it targeted the spine, neck, and head. It wasn't a massage as much as it was a pressure point procedure. Supposedly designed to break up connective tissue and reduce tension. It was about 30 minutes long. My reaction is so-so. There were some things the masseuse did that mimiced what my PT did. That felt good. The rest of it . . . well . . . it was relaxing.

Then I go for my full body massage. I've never had one before. I'm both looking forward to it . . . and not. On the one hand I knew it would feel great. On the other hand, it seemed a little weird to have a female other than my wife rubbing me down while I'm in my underwear. And, I was nervous. I've heard about the "it hurts so good" comments. Particularly about my back. Well, she starts . . . and it feels pretty good. She really digs in! She also does some "adjustment" type things on my back as if to "straighten" or pull the tissue from the spine. It doesn't hurt. But it doesn't feel great, either. I tell her to relax on that because of my arthritis. She moves on and everything seems to go well.

Afterward my neck hurt. But my back felt alright. My wife and I went out to eat and went home. We both slept good.

I woke up with the most intense pain in my back I've felt in a long time. My neck hurt and was stiff, the middle of my back had multiple knots in it, and my lower back was twitching. I barely made it to work. Good thing it was Friday. I sat on a heating pad all day long and took some pain killers. That helped, but didn't provide any real releif. The weekend was spent doing ice bags and heat pads, watching TV, and reading with my daughter. It was terrible! I was in all kinds of pain! I was worthless the whole weekend.

It's Monday and I'm better, but far from normal. I have PT tomorrow so this will be a topic of conversation. Did the massage screw up my back? I'm certainly gun shy now. Was it just my situation? I told them I had arthritis in my back. You'd think that would be factored in to the things they do to you. I know one woman working there of a PT for 9 years before coming to this spa. So you'd think they know about things like srthritis and such. Dunno. But, I likely won't be back anytime soon!

Why I love Halloween

I get to paint my nails!

Yes, I love the decorations, the kids, the scary movies, even the candy. But, at Halloween, the slight goth in me gets to come out. Plus, it looks cool when I'm playing guitar.

Needs to come off, though. I get a lot of weird looks.

I won't see it now

I was never a big Seinfeld fan. The sitcom mostly annoyed me when I watched it. So, it was no big loss to me when it went off the air. Plus, I can't say as I've missed Jerry much . . . if at all. Nothing against him, really. Just don't care.

Well, now I do care. His constant hyping of his new movie "Bee Movie" is driving me nuts. He's showing up everywhere . . . a lot! He's hyping his movie more than Disney hyped High School Musical 2! That does it for me. Any chance I might have taken my daughter to see this movie is now gone. There's a lot out there. Jamie won't miss it, and I'm sure someone will have the DVD we can borrow. But, put any of my money to this? I think not.

UPDATE!

Turn out, Bee Movie isn't exactly setting the ticket booths on fire . . . whatever that means. So far, it's done about 30 some million. Gangsters opened better and with new movies about to open, it's not looking good. It's not expected to last long on the marquee. Predictions are 139 million worldwide. It cost about 130 million to make. Does my heart good.

Packers vs Broncos

I hate to admit it, but I picked against the Packers this week. I still managed 11 correct over at Fraley's blog besting everyone else. In fact, at the WISN contest, I'm 29 out of about 650. In the upper 95%! Not bad. Anyway . . .

I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be Bigby had the Packers lost. Granted, there was lots of football after he committed his fouls (something like 60 yards of penalties all by himself!) but his penalties were just stupid. Plus, he looked a little like he didn't care. Something that doesn't go over well with Packer fans.

Over shadowing that, though, was Favre's performance and the touchdown passes he threw. You love him, you hate him. You get it all with Favre. Can you imagine? Going from complete fist pumping elation when Elam nailed his field goal to total devastation one offensive play later.

Denver might be mile high, but Green Bay is feeling higher today.

Don't let the door hit you in the . . .

The JS reported that Jesus Salas resigned after the budget was finialized because of frustration over the lack of more tax dollars for illegal immigrants. Specifically, an in-state tuition provision for the children of illegal immigrants wanting to attend college. To be honest, I think it's wrong to punish the children for what the parents did, but I'm tired of my tax money going to suport those who came in to this country illegally. Our economy is burdoned enough. Other reasons the regent resigned:

• Signing the Real I.D. legislation, which requires applicants for Wisconsin driver's licenses
to show proof of legal residency.

• Signing legislation that ended a program in which Wisconsin's housing authority financed
mortgages for people without Social Security numbers.

While I sympathize with those kids who may have counted on tuition help, these other provisions in the law are exactly what I'm talking about. Why would anyone oppose this? One would think these provisions would apply whether an illegal or not! Well, to Jesus Salas . . .

Don't let the door hit you in the ass.

Soda Conspiracy?

Whenever I order a soda at a fast food drive thru, I always order my soda with no ice. Not that I don't like cold, or have filling issues, or feel I'm getting more for the money. It's simply that I don't like my soda becoming diluted with water. It takes me the better part of the afternoon to drink it all and if there's ice in it it tastes like watered down coke . . . or whatever flavor I opted for. I don't mind room temperature soda but I hate watered down soda. Thus, no ice.

Well, I'm pretty sure there's something going on and they're all in on it. On more than one occasion I've grabbed my soda and had it spill all over the place because the cover wasn't on properly. This never happens with an "iced" drink. Conincidence? I think not. I think they think I'm being cheap and this is their little way of getting back at me.

Well, I'm on to 'em. I ain't spillin' no mo!

Children . . . evil?

I've read on a few blogs recently, peoples various encounters with children. The bloggers are generally witty with their stories, but the responses they receive are nothing short of shocking to me. That, or people really don't know how to be funny.

For the longest time, I didn't want children. Before I married I made it a real point to let my wife know that. Well, she wanted kids. So, we agreed we would wait and possibly have one.

It wasn't that I didn't like kids. I did. A lot. I was that "kid magnet guy". Always playing with the kids as an adult and having fun. I just knew that a child would put a real cramp in the time I wanted for myself, and for my wife, Jackie. I was selfish. Plain and simple. But, as each of our friends had a child, the defenses wore down. The final brick was the birth of my neice. I became very attached to her . . . and her to me. It was time. After being married 17 years, we had a child.

But, the point of this isn't to tell my story. The point is, I've been on both sides as an adult. I know what it's like not wanting to be bothered with kids and conversely, having one of your own. The bottom line . . . kids are not evil. The are not the devil reincarnate. Mostly, they are not to blame.

Kids make noise. They make noise when having fun and they make noise when they're fighting. Some are louder than others, but they all make noise. Kids making noise never bothered me. That's not to say I understand that there's a point at which it needs to be controlled. I don't know that outside in their own backyard is one of those places in need of control, but I know kids making noise isn't everyone's favorite thing. My wife and I have our daughter fairly well trained. From very young on we made it a point to say "inside voices, please" and made sure that she understood the difference between being at home and being out in public. More than that, we were sure to step in when there was fighting. There was no way, if we were within earshot, that fighting would be tolerated. Much less, fighting that resulted in screaming kids.

That's the bottom line. Clearly there are good kids and . . . spirited kids. But kids know only what their allowed to know and what they can get away with. I know people jest. I know it makes for good stories. But the children are not to blame. It's up to the parents to take the time and make the effort. Kids are not evil. If anything at all, they are the epitome of innocence. I find it appaling people would be so thoughtless and callous as to call children evil and make it sound as though they are the bane of our existence, and need, at best, to be tolerated and, at worst, to be silenced. I can't imagine a world without children. They keep me young. They make me smile and laugh. They love unconditionally. They have no bias. They need less maintenance than most adults. They forgive and forget.

And if the worst part of your day is listening to the noise children make, then I am truly envious.

My daughter is so proud!

Actually, she was cowering away a little.

This is actually old news. But, I've been waiting for the picture proof to be sent to me bya friend of a friend . . . and that hasn't happened yet. Darn it! Anyway . . .

So, the family is at Germanfest this past summer. My daughter attends the German Immersion school and the school is participating in the parade. Also, my wife volunteered at one of the beer tents so we had a few reasons to be there.

After the parade, and while my wife was pouring, my daughter and I go to the kids area where Disney Jams has set up. I was hoping Jamie would see a few of her friend there, but she didn't. So we sat for a while and listened to the DJ's. They did a good job. A guys and a few girls really worked the crowd. A lot of kids were dancing to the music. I told Jamie she could go and dance but, you know how it is . . . you don't know anybody . . . you feel sort of exposed. Well, the DJ's held some contests. One was a trivia contest on, of all things (and of course) Germany! It was geared for the kids so the questions weren't that hard but Jamie was agast when she knew all the answers and saw the prizes they were handing out. Well, then she went down.

After a bit they held another contest and called for the parents. Oh boy. Well, I had to lead by example so I started to the dance floor. I was too late. Three pairs of a kids and their parent were chosen by the time I got there. It was an easy contest. A ball toss in a basket over the head sort of thing. Anyway, I stayed on the dance floor with my daughter and danced with her for a couple of tunes. OK. Now it gets good.

They held another contest and, again, wanted some parents . . . only parents. I raised my hand and looked as eager as I could . . . and got chosen. So, there I was with two other moms participating in a Radio Disney contest. I saw one of the girls walking up to us with toy blow up guitars and knew immediately what was about to happen. And I knew right then I was going to win.

Sure enough, it was an air guitar contest to some 80's music. They provided us each with a guitar and a wig to wear. It was basically our job to "air guitar" the best we could to a song for the crowd. Again, I thought unless this was Lita Ford and Joan Jett standing next to me, I was going to win. For my daughter, of course!

The song was "What I like About You". There's isn't much from the 80's I don't know but I figured it helped to know the song. For those who may not know, I am a guitarist, a lead guitarist. I've played on stage, and have no shame. I was a cross between Gene Simmons and Eddie Van Halen doing every guitar trick, making every facial expression, and strutting around like a pagen god . . . I'm pretty sure I saw my daughter hiding behind someone.

While I'd like to think that as the only male participant in front of a crowd of mostly females had a lot to do with my winning, I'm pretty sure it had to do more with being able to make a bigger fool of myself than the other two women. I was, of course, gracious in winning. My prize was a Spy Kids 3 3D DVD. Nice! We've seen it but didn't own it.

Afterward, once the horror of it passed, my daughter was very proud of me. She told all of her friends.

So there. I won on Radio Disney!

Take a moment . . . take lots of moments

The tragedy that took place in Crandon should remind us all how precious life is, and how precious the people in our lives our. While this sort of thing is extremely rare and we have no reason to live in fear, we should take a moment . . . take lots of moments . . . to let those close to us know we love them. My heart goes out to all the families affected by this.

Packers vs Da Bears

Well, this is a no brainer. Look at the previous 4 weeks as compared to the Bear game. Very few mistakes. Almost no turnovers or penalties. The Packers virtually handed the game to the Bears. Not to say that the Bears didn't play well in spots . . . they did. They certainly made a better adjustment than did the Packers at half time. But, this is no division winning team. I predict they will lose against the Vikings this weekend. As for the Packers, what this does show, is that they need to play mistake free football to increase their chances of winning.

Just a loser

So, Britney Spears lost custody of her children. I'm sure she'll go out tonight anyway.

I question my own willingness to bother with this. By doing so it makes me part of the problem . . . giving her too much attention. But, I can't help it.

This really makes me sick. First, she had no business having kids in the first place. She's not smart, not a good parent, not a good role model, and has actually put the children in harms way. Of course, look at where the kids are now . . . with Federline. Who might just be a point or two smarter than Britney. Since Brit's as dumb as a rock, that's not saying much. Now, I know with money you can have the children raised by nannies and the like, sent away to school, and in general just not be bothered with them. Then, why have them in the first place? It's sick. What kind of up bringing is that? What's more, if Twitney wants to kill herself with self indulgence, fine. But she's brought two lives into this world who have done nothing wrong to deserve the likes of her as a mommy. And in spite of her, love her, need her, and call her mommy. She's done nothing to deserve these kids and their love.

The only good thing is that they're young enough to forget a lot of this.

Favre, the greatest ever?

This was the topic of discussion on the radio this afternoon. I didn't hear the entire segment but what I did hear about 3 said "yes" and about 3 said "no". For various reasons. Of course, not only are the Packers 4 and 0, but Brett has broken a couple of long standing records and will surely set new ones that won't be broken anytime soon . . . if ever. So, is he the greatest quarterback of all time?

On the one hand, he has only one Superbowl win. Let's not forget how god awful he can look. Also, he's not that accurate. It's safe to say he's no Joe Montana.

But . . .

He absolutely personifies the game. He's quick to get on his receivers for blowing a route and quick to pat the helmet of whoever put a good hit on him. Everybody likes him. Everybody. He's well respected. While his numbers prove he's deserving of a place in football history and the Hall of Fame, it's his attitude and love of the game that truly defines him. When I think of the other great quarterbacks, Montana, Bradshaw, Fouts, Marino . . . I can't help but think that part of their greatness came from the rest of their team, their receivers, and running backs. Favre makes a team great all by himself. Like the others, he's best when he has a supporting cast. But he's great all by himself. If you look at his carreer with the Packers, I don't think you could say he's ever had a Rice, Winslow, Duper, or Swann equivalent on the team. I mean no disrespect. I just think that the Packer's success has been largely due to Brett Favre.

Because of that, yes. I think he's the greatest ever to play the position.

Packers Week 2 against the Giants

What a difference a week makes! While the running game needs some obvious improvement, the offense sure showed up in a big way. Must be nice to be Favre! The defense continues to be strong. Over all, an incredeble performance over another good NFC team. We're on top in the division.

Packers Week 1 against the Eagles

A few thoughts:

1. The defense won this game, as did special teams. Nice job by our kickers.

2. Third and one on your own 12 (there abouts) and you go for the bomb? WTF?

3. Jones and Bubba need to learn how to get open.

4. This will likely become a common theme . . . no running game. This will put a lot of pressure on Favre. It will also make it easy for defenses to figure out our schemes.

5. We played and won against a very good team. While I think we got a little lucky, we kept them from scoring and did what we had to to win the game. It's easy to forget that. Also, this is an NFC win. That's important.

6. Favre wasn't perfect, yet he showed signs of his greatness. He also showed signs of his knuckleheadedness. But it didn't bite us in the butt.

7. Chicago lost. Minnesota and Deteroit won. Good for us.

1-0-0

MTV VMA's

Well, who ever directed the fashion show directed this pile of steamy turd. Wow. First, Twitney Spear's performance was . . . embarassing, at best. Second, would someone please tell Sara Silverman she's not funny . . . please? Third, the show was a mess. It was difficult to watch. The one bright spot for me was Rhiannon. Although I hated her hair and outfit, I like her, and was happy to see her win.

The most baffling part of the show was the fight between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee. Were they fighting over Pam? If so, are you kidding? Plastic-filled, lip-injected, fat-suctioned, no-talent skank Pam?

Geez.

Fashion and Music

In the past, MTV has aired a Fashion and Music event. I recall the first one's I watched being pretty cool. Basically, a fashion show set to live music. The music came from various bands. Mostly lesser known. WHich made it all the more cool as you got to see new fashions and hear new music.

Well, I've tried to keep up with MTV over the years. I'm not sure when it lost me, but certainly as it became less and less about music and more and more about absolutely pathetically stupid shows, I tuned in less often. I remember having it on all day on saturdays as I cleaned the house! Not anymore.

Anyway, the fashion and music shows came and went. I haven't seen one in a while. Well, suddenly I see one airing on VH1. So I DVR it. I watched it tonight. A few thoughts:

First, what idiot thought that jerkbag Jeremy Piven was a good choice to MC this show? What a douche. He stunk.

Second, the title is music and FASHION . . . ? Where's the fashion?! Oh . . . way at the end of the show! A couple of token runway shows!

Third, all the music was by popular artists. Aerosmith, Usher, Fergie, Avril . . . and others. Which isn't so bad but I preferred the lesser known music better. One performer was Jen Lopez. I just don't get her appeal. She doesn't sing that well and dances as if she's wearing hoofs.

Pretty boring, all in all. Too bad. It's a good concept.