I've spent the last two weekends visiting friends and family so I haven't had a lot of time to post.

I'm basically the walking wounded at work. I have zero motivation to do my job and in a lot of ways it sucks. I think I want to get back in the newspaper game. I definitely want to contribute. I'm not sure to the extent that I want to contribute, but I want to be more than an occasional correspondent and less than a full-time worker bound to a beat or a desk at a daily.

Seeing the friends was good. I hung out with Reverend Evan most of last Saturday and took in the Mets-Cubs tilt with him. I'm proud of the good Reverend. I'm pretty critical of those who claim to be religious leaders, but Evan walks the walk every single day of his life. He's not perfect, but he's honest and he is solid within his faith. I might not agree with everything, but I respect anyone who keeps their word and does what he says he's going to do.

Meanwhile he's preparing for a marriage and she's quite the looker, so there's one for the side of God.

I also got to go to my friend Laurel's going-away party (even though she's not leaving until the 30th). I'm going to miss Laurel when she heads to San Diego, but I'm glad I get to see her every week right now.

Oddly enough remember when I mentioned that my Ledger Edge wasn't speaking to me? Well she still isn't. However, she's also not speaking to my friend (Laurel's dad) and her longtime mentor BIF. At least now I don't feel so bad. Either way, I know you're going to come across this post Ledger Edge and I wanted to say that I miss you. When you're ready to come back, you'll be welcomed with open arms.

Hmmm what else is going on.

Mike Vick should take his plea like a man, serve his time and next time he decides to do something stupid, just drive drunk and kill someone like this guy, you won't have to serve any time or a suspension. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't the stupidest thing anyone (named Vick) has ever done, he can recover in time.

Karl Rove's damage is done for now. If he goes to hell, he's probably getting off too easy. Jail would be a nice start.

I've been in a Rage Against the Machine mode recently, so I leave you with their last "video" as a band. Renegades of Funk. So Dance sucka!

Labels: Random

...finally July has come to an end.

And with it so have all of my professional obligations.

Am I a free agent? Not really. I actually come at a hefty cost :). Nor am I really out hunting for anything (maybe happiness and a better hour-to-income ratio), but the feeling of freedom that I have this second can't be explained in writing. It's like I've pried a door open that's been closed since around February.

Anyway, some other random stuff.

In the last two years I've dated (in order) a Katie, Katherine, Katie, Kate, Kathryn, Katie and Kristen. I'm coming for you next K-Stew, you just have to dump the barber first. Don't worry about me asking any stupid questions either, I'm a 2 and proud of it (that's a pretty inside joke there).

I really want to see The Simpsons movie. I haven't had a chance and this is probably a good week to do it.

For the first time in a long time, I'm really not excited about football season yet, which is odd for me. Maybe I'll get there after my fantasy football draft.

I'm very very sad to see my good friend Laurel leave to go get her Master's degree (or something related) in San Diego. Now I'm thrilled she's going to San Diego, not many better places to live in this country, but it's another friend leaving. I remember how sad I was when my Ledger Edge left the area.

Michael Vick gets blacklisted on Broadway for dogfighting while Kobe Bryant didn't got through any similar problems despite a rape charge. Makes you wonder if dogs have a bigger and more powerful financial voice to support them than women.

[UPDATE: Someone on a Pittsburgh local sports show mentioned this point (albeit in a more bombastic way) and was reprimanded.]

That's all I got today.

Labels: Random

...Not sure how this delightful little gem slipped past me.

Labels: Random

...Between a trip out of town to see my parents and all the stuff happening at work, it's a time consuming effort to keep up with all.

So when Mudge e-mailed me to ask what's up, I knew I'd been out of the game too long.

And it's a shame really because there's so much to talk about between Imus (controversial) and the Virginia Tech shootings (tragic). So I can hit on those two things quickly and leave my personal stuff for another day, maybe even tomorrow.

On Imus, it's interesting to think of all the people he's insulted that the Rutgers woman's basketball team would be the group to take him down. That pretty much tells me that it was his time to go and his next stumble at any level was probably going to send him packing. At the end of the day it just isn't a big deal -- Imus will resurface on satellite radio I'm sure and even though a lot of news publications aren't allowing their talent to appear on is show now, they will become lax in those rules later.

Imus fell into the same trap that Michael Richards did -- he just isn't funny. I love racial humor, I think Dave Chappelle dressing up as a Klansman is one of the funniest pieces of comic art I'll ever see in my life. I think Lisa Lampanelli is hysterical and she goes after EVERYONE. So I'm certainly not above some cheap laughs. That being said, Imus wasn't funny and therefore it sounded mean. Do I think he meant it? No. Do I think he's a racist? Possibly, there is a bad history there, but I chalk it up to ignorance more than anything else. Do I think he should've been fired? Hard to say, but if he prides himself on having a show with many of the nation's top political and social personalities, he should conduct himself with a lot more professionalism.

As for Virginia Tech, there isn't much to say that hasn't been said. Although I won't tell anybody this is Generation Y's version of Kent State. Not at all, Kent State was government-supported killings of people expressing their first amendment rights, it was one of this country's darkest moments as a free nation. Virginia Tech was a brutal mass murder of innocent people for no apparent reason other than the neglect of a young man who was obviously troubled. Not to say both aren't completely horrific, they are, but they are very different.

It also brings up a question about campus safety. During my years as a student at the University of Florida and Florida State University, I attended school with roughly 80,000 people. The public campuses was so open that anyone could get off and on the campus without a security check. Anyone could go into a class, anyone could go into a dorm, anyone could go into the libraries or administration building or science labs. I'm surprised this hasn't happened before and I wouldn't be surprised if the nation's next major crime (on a 9-11 scale) happens on a public college campus. Hopefully this incident will force every college and university to look into the safety on their campus.

And for something positive, a big up to the Washington Nationals for their small, yet thoughtful tribute.

Labels: Random

...to actually want K-Fed to take the kids? Because after this latest episode (onto of the other two "latest episodes" this weekend), I think they are much better off with his stable lifestyle.

Labels: Random

...you might want to avoid those wrestlers.

And wear a jacket, I hear it gets pretty cold there. Even Prince moved to Vegas.

Labels: Random

..."Corey, you are the BEST thing that has ever happened to me." -- my friend Jana after I guaranteed a Colts victory on Thursday (although it was only 98% guarantee making it a technical guarantee).

Meanwhile, hooray for black coaches! And yes it's a big deal and yes it should be a big deal given that fact that the NFL has to employ a rule to force minority coaches. I've been lucky enough to spend time with Tony Dungy and to a lesser extent Lovie Smith while they were with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and more than anything it's a victory for professionalism.

Meanwhile Bill Belichick showed his true self again by blowing off Peyton Manning, way to be a sportsman there. And by sportsman I really mean miserable asshole. Nice to see guys like Brady and Bruschi and Richard Seymour seeking out players to congratulate them on a great game. Belichick doesn't deserve such a team of professionals.

Also I know Deion Branch was giggling when Reche Caldwell dropped all those open passes. Sad thing is I like Reche, good guy, went to high school around here. No I don't know what the deal is with his eyes. They are freaky.

-- Meanwhile Floyd Mayweather Sr. wins the "Blood is thicker than water but the cost of gas is outrageous award" for demanding $2 million to assist in beating his son's ass.

My dad and I are like best friends now, it hasn't always been like that but these days we're pretty much inseperable. However even in those days when we didn't see eye-to-eye he would've never given the town bully cash to catch me in an alley and teach me a lesson.

-- Non-sports stuff. Hillary is in and ready for action. She's going to be tough to take down and even though some Dems are a little weary of her, she's a Clinton and they will jump on that horse in due time. Even Obama is keeping his options open.

Does Hillary have a little baggage? Sure. But she's tough and she's so tough that the fact she's trying to become the first woman to win a party's nomination isn't even going to be an issue.

I'm glad Republicans are scared of her. I'm not surprised some Democrats are as well because...a lot of Democrats are pussies and scared of anything Republicans tell them to be scared of. So one of Hillary's first goals is going to be to toughen up her base. Realize that some issues might come up and that the base has to be strong to face these things head on.

-- Meanwhile the Republican race could completely rule the earth. You've got Newt Gingrinch with an exploratory committee along with former New York politicians Rudy Guiliani and George Pataki.

The Pataki-Guiliani dynamic is especially fun since I don't think they are particularly close. Guiliani sold Pataki up the river in the 1994 Gubernatoral elections when he supported Mario Cuomo because...well because Cuomo is a city boy and Pataki isn't.

As far as beliefs go, both New Yorkers are at best moderates and one could argue both are left of center. Pataki is into the environment big time and supports gay rights, stem-cell research, etc. etc. Guiliani goes one step farther and actually embraces illegal immigration...(unless they are from Africa, in which case he kindly asks the police force to brutalize them)

Guiliani also has a strong history of infidelity and controversial political bargaining that should quickly end his love affair with America after the 9-11 attacks.

I'm sure John McCain is smiling at all of this.

Labels: Politics, Random, Sports

With nothing really exciting to talk about I just wanted to get some things off my chest after losing a good chunk of spare change in low-stakes Hold 'Em. I'm convinced there's no worst hand to go all-in on than pocket 10s:

Moving on.

-- I still believe Super Tecmo Bowl to be the most addicting sports game in history. It used to be the absolute best, but future video game technology has really exposed the lack of control and rules in the old NES classic. That being said, how awesome would STB be in Nintendo would've made it compatible with 4-way play? I mean say you're a single man in his 20s and/or 30s and not feeling like dealing with the bar scene on a weekend night...If you're friend calls you and says "We're playing 4-way Super Tecmo Bowl" you'd be over there in like negative 9 minutes. Seriously, I'd be over there nine minutes before he made the call. Super Tecmo Bowl, a few cold ones and a full iPod hooked up to the house's speakers. That's a man's Saturday night my friend.

-- I'm not sure what's going to get me through the football off-season until the opening day of MLB. I'm patiently awaiting the next Real World/Road Rules challenge to help me through February and March.

-- I'll never forget when my friend Stephanie told me that Kylie Minogue had breast cancer and my all-too-quick reply was "thank god she doesn't have ass cancer". That wasn't the most sensitive thing to say and I'm glad she's recovered. Still if she had ass cancer I'd be highly depressed.

-- Also Kylie is the star of the greatest commercial ever at anything. This is only suitable for work if you work at home.

-- I really don't know what to think about this whole Missouri abduction thing. It's strange. The kid has been there for 4.5 years to the point of where they really weren't hiding? What if he was happy there? What if he and his kidnapper played "Gears of War" for hours at a time on XBox Live and were living the teenage dream? There's got to be more to this story.

-- My best XMas gift to myself -- Finding "Enter the Dragon" at Best Buy for $4.99.

-- I've always been interested in the following of world football star David Beckham and now that he's coming to the states I can see what kind of effect he has on people close up. On the surface he appears to be some blonde footballer that chicks love with a sorta-hot wife, but I'm a journalist and my natural instinct tells me there's something more. Does he possess some sort of special Spidey sense? Who knows. One thing I do know is that he and his wife, Posh Spice Beckham, are practicing Kabbalahs which gives the Hollywood Kabbalah sect another ally against the Hollywood Scientologists. To me this Kabbalah v. Scientology battle is going to be as big as the Shit'es vs. Sunnis by the time we reach the 28th century. You watch. Personally I thought Beckham would be perfect for the New York MLS team because one of his sons is named "Brooklyn".

Speaking of the Spice Girls I was always partial to Geri Halliwell. Not sure it if's because of my general affection of redheads or because she was the least talented, meaning she had the best chance to make money. The latter had been proven to be true.




And the fact that at least four of the five had great success with their solo careers in the UK proves one thing -- Europeans continue to have shitty taste in music.

-- Otherwise I might have good news this week. I also might not have good news. If you don't see any good news from me assume the latter. Enjoy your Sunday!

Labels: Music, Random