Some new stuff that I am watching and reading and listening to

What am I watching?


I am a TV guy. I enjoy shutting my brain down for a few hours a night after long days at work where I am forced to make about ten thousand decisions. Also, work has not been nearly as much fun as it was when I started with this company so TV in the evenings is my escape. There are three new shows I have been watching this year with great enjoyment and I wanted to share them with the three people who still read this blog regularly.


The first one is Dexter on Showtime. Michael C. Hall, plays a forensic blood spatter specialist who moonlights as a serial killer. He only kills evil people, which is explained through a series of flashbacks. It is well written and unique. The uniqueness of it is what I find really compelling. An original idea is SO rare these days, so when I find one I really treasure it. I want to really give Showtime some credit. It took them awhile to get their act together, but they have stepped it up. Sleeper Cell was amazing last year and they are bringing it back. Weeds makes me laugh out loud every week. Brotherhood, which I have not seen is on my must rent list as soon as it comes out on DVD. They have really tried to pick up the gauntlet that HBO has thrown down over the last few years.



Of course, being the Aaron Sorkin devotee you all know my to be, I am watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip diligently. The writing is as good as ever, but I find myself not embracing Studio 60 the way I loved Sportsnight or revered The West Wing. I think a lot of it has to do with something that the Annoyed guy and I discussed awhile back. He postulated that the show, unless it was a mega hit would not be around for long because the cost to produce would be absolutely staggering. I could find no fault with this argument and I think that has been nagging in the back of my mind through each episode and knowing I could lose the show at any moments has really prevented me from loving it.




Lastly and perhaps most guiltily Heroes has made it on to the MUST SEE agenda. I grew up a comic geek and this show is literally and figuratively a comic book come to life. It isn't star studded like Studio 60 and it isn't socially important like The Wire. However, it is as well written a show as I have seen in my lifetime. It is mysterious and thoughtful. It is as unique an idea as Dexter is in its own way and I am finding it absolutely enjoyable.

That's some of what I am watching. What are you watching?

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What am I reading?

I just wanted to call out a couple of new blogs I have been reading religiously and share them with you.

1. Is everybody crazy, or is it just me? A thoughtfully written toe dip into the blogosphere by No Wife of Consequence. In her first three posts she has lamented about our adopted home state of Georgia and its marked lack of Italians, called me a retard because of my lack of musical knowledge, and bashed the US government for banning online poker. Stay tuned, it is only going to get better.

2. From the neck up - Another well written jump into the e-journaling medium by the better half of the esteemed author of People Places and Things that tend to Annoy me . She is honest and smart, two of the key ingredients of a good blog. Definitely check her out.

3. Why don't we get drunk and blog? The guy is funny. There is no getting around it. He also posts often, which more than I can say for myself these days. I have made him a twice daily check in because I usually laugh each time I pop on over there.

I terms of my literary pursuits, I don't usually have a lot of time to read. However, the last business book I read, Blue Ocean Strategy is the best thing I have read in a long time. It is uniquely presented with real world examples of marketing success. I am not in the marketing field, but anyone with even a passing interest in business will appreciate it's cerebral insights and case studies.

What are you reading?

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What am I listening to aside from Sirius Satellite Radio?

I am not one to write much about music, save for how little I know about it or how I don't have as much an apreciation for it as a lot of people I know. However, after reading about this Israeli rapper named Subliminal, I asked NoWife to download a bunch of his stuff onto my MP3 player. My ability to speak Hebrew has atrophied to the point where I can barely understand a word here or there, but there is no mistaking the guy is talented. I have absolutely enjoyed listening to his stuff over the last couple of weeks. Check out his website. It is hip hop mixed with this middle eastern sitar flavor and I think it is awesome. The website has two tracks embedded in it. You can get a sample, just by navigating over there. There is some bad language in English, so I wouldn't do it at work or around children.

What are you listening to?

No 1 of Consequence

Democracy - Rest in Peace

I read this article today. If you don't have time to look at it, the short version is that despite a lot of raw polling data that says the republican party is in trouble come the mid term elections in a few weeks President George Bush and his minion Karl Rove are bopping around Washington inexplicably upbeat. They don't believe they will lose the house and although statistics indicate that as many as 25 house races are in jeopardy for the GOP the evil dynamic duo are laughing it up.

Why?

Good question. The answer could very well be that the races have been pre determined with the republican candidates coming up victorious.

I am not a conspiracy theorist. There is some hinky stuff going on with our electoral system lately and NO ONE is really talking about it.

No Wife of Consequence hates when I link to things in my blog but I emplore you to read this Rolling Stone article by Robert F Kennedy Jr. Your first question should be why are articles like this in Rolling Stone and not in, you know, Time, Newsweek, USA Today... mainstream press?

Our press has failed us in very much the same way our government has failed us. The sheer vastness of the failure is what makes it so daunting. The United States of America is as much an idea as it is anything else. A government, by of and for the people that was once within our reach is now a distant memory. The idea of this country has become a distorted mess cloaked in false patriotism, religious fundementalism, greed, and outright lunacy.

Why wouldn't the press of this country seize on the massive voter irregularities in Ohio in 2004 and if nothing else drive the government to investigate itself? Wait a minute, the government did investigate itself. This 107 page report from the GAO confirms massive voter fraud in 2004. Our own government's oversight office, stepping up and saying, "Hey, umm, the guy who is in the White House, technically, not the president."

In general the people who read this site are well informed and intelligent. How come nothing happened? Our country, for lack of a better term, suffered a coup d'etat and collectively the people and press shrugged their shoulders and said, "oh well."

Where is the action? Where is the outrage? Where is the press, defender of the people? These stories are relegated to "free press" internet sites and magazines few people read. One of the fundamental organizing principals of the United States is the right to vote. That right was usurped in Florida in 2000, it was usurped in Ohio in 2004 and now, when things are looking bleak for the GOP, Pinky and the Brain are skipping around like nothing is wrong.

Are they going to screw this country again? Are they going to disenfranchise legitimate voters and fraudulently shift election results? Based on what I have read and the overwhelming evidence in support of that hypothesis I say they are.

Will anyone stand up? Will our press or any of the men and women with the power to do so that have sworn an oath to The Constitution of this nation step forward and act to protect the people. Will they protect our right to vote, our quintessential freedom? I don't think they will.

Democracy, if not dead in the United States, withers before our eyes.

No 1 of Consequence

SuperTeam, no more

For all of my lamenting as a sad sack Jets fan, I also have the pleasure of rooting for the New York Yankees in the baseball world. My Yankees fandom started early in the 70's. For some reason my father, a lifelong National League fan, began putting the games on for me on my transistor radio. Many nights of my youth were spent listening to Phil Rizzuto give the play by play as Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Mickey Rivers, Reggie Jackson etc, went to the World Series in 1977 and 1978. I was imprinted with the pinstripes at that time and my love of them has never waned.

There have been some lean times. 1982 to 1993 were awful. The Yankees were a pathetic mess. 1994 was ashame because they Yankees were awesome and were on a collision course with the juggernaut Indians in the playoffs. Also, the Montreal Expos had the best record in the National League before the strike and I was very excited for their long suffering fans. 1995 marked the Yankees return to the playoffs and I was lucky enough to witness one of the greatest playoff games of all time which included Don Mattingly's only postseason homerun and a game winning home run by Jim Leyritz in the bottom of the 15th inning. The Yankees ended up losing to the Mariners because Randy Johnson was an assasin and Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey Junior were absolutely unstoppable, but there was no denying that Yankees were back. The return to glory was imminent.

Joe Torre took over the team in 1996 and the Yankees won the World Series. A fresh faced Derek Jeter was the rookie of the year and it was like Camelot for Yankee fans. 3 more World Series championships followed in 4 years and it was an embarrassment of riches. The New York Yankees were the kings of baseball and all was right with the world as far as me and baseball were concerned.

Yesterday the New York Yankees completed yet another series in which they choked very hard against an opponent they should have dispatched. I am not going in to a deep analysis of the series, but there is no way they should have lost to that Tigers team. The Yankee pitching imploded and their vaunted bats went silent. It has happened to them far too often in recent years at critical times. We have become the Atlanta Braves of the American League and the Yankees need to be fixed.

The Yankees manager in 1995 was Buck Showalter. In 1996 Joe Torre took over and the Yankees got over the hump to win the World Series. 10 years later, with a heavy heart, I think the Yankees have no choice but to part with Joe Torre. There are rumors Lou Pinella would replace Torre and while I don't think he is a great choice, there are worse ones. His personality is almost the diametric opposite of Torre's and I think the Yankees need a kick in the ass.

I am going to try and put together a "Fixing the Yankees" series of posts, but work is as insane as ever and I don't know how much time I am going to have to write.

No 1 of Consequence

The unbearable lightness of being a Jets fan

The Jets lost to the Colts this week in a game that could only be described as exciting. After falling behind early the Jets charged back and tied the game and then held the lead multiple times in the second half before losing in the final moments because Peyton Manning is clutch during the NFL regular season and the Jets just aren't that good.

Here is what makes being a Jets fan so difficult. At no time during the game did anyone who truly understands the Jets think they were going to win. Yet, at various points during the game, glimmers of hope arose in even the most jaded and cynical Jets fans. (Me and my brother for those keeping score at home) In the end our hearts were broken, yet again.

There was a crucial situation. The Jets had the ball near the Colts goal line. They didn't get it in and soon it is 4th and goal. Eric Mangini, the Jets young head coach decides to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking a chip shot field goal to take the lead. They failed. At the time I thought it was a bad move, but as No Brother pointed out to me that wasn't the turning point of the game. The turning point took place late in the 4th quarter when the Jets defense failed to stop Manning and the Colts offense on two consecutive drives despite yeoman performances by the Jets offense and special teams to retake the lead in critical situations.

At one point in the second half when the Jets took the lead my phone rang. (My phone rings about 20 times a game and 18 of those times NoBrotherofConsequence is on the other end of the line. The other two times are usually telemarketers who get an earful. I have even considered learning Hindi so I can annoy these people in their native language, but that is a different post for a different day) My brother starts to say that if the Jets win this game they would be 3-1 and could really be considered a playoff contender. I stop him mid sentence because it is midway through the 3rd quarter and I can't even fathom such an event and even if it were true saying it outloud isn't something you want to do. Football karma can be a difficult thing to navigate.

When the Jets special teams ran a kick back late in the 4th my phone rang again. All I could say after looking at the clock was that there was too much time left and Manning would beat us. There was and he did. It is the lot of being a Jets fan. Not only do you have very little hope of victory you can almost script your own doom before it takes place.

I remember going to see the Jets play the Patriots with my father some years ago. The Jets jumped out to a huge lead, 21-0 in the first half.

At halftime I turned to my dad and said, "Can you believe this?"

He laughed and said, "They have us right where they want us."

Of course, they did, and the Jets blew the game.

J - E - T - S

JETS
JETS
JETS

No 1 of Consequence

American Airlines is anti-gay

Just read this. It is a story about how a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight instructed a gay couple that they were not allowed to kiss or touch each other on an airplane. The couple balked at the racist treatment. The crew threatened to divert the plane if they didn't stop complaining. That they threatened to divert the plane is total crap. Talk about a massive over reaction to what is a customer service problem. Racism disguised as security consciousness. I won't be flying American Airlines anytimes soon.

Have a pluralistic day,

No 1 of Consequence

I guess Bob's wife wasn't that happy.

I just read this story about the CEO of the company that makes Enzyte being indicted for fraud. here is a blurb from the article if you dont have time to read the whole thing.

A federal indictment names Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, its owner and president, Steven Warshak, and five other individuals, including Warshak's mother, on charges that include conspiracy, money laundering, and mail, wire and bank fraud.

Is anyone surprised? Look, I understand that the public at large is gullible and what guy doesn't want a bigger schvantz, but come on. A pill that you can buy by calling an 800 number and giving your credit card is not going to make you a better lover. As a matter of fact if you were a good lover the size of your penis would not be especially important.

We men are pathetic creatures, truly.

No 1 of Consequence

As a Jew, I would like to thank Pope Benedict

If you haven't seen this nonsense, recently the Pope, when quoting a 14th century text, offended the world's Islamic population.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

The Pope enraged Muslims in a speech a week ago in Germany quoting 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything the Prophet Mohammad brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".

Whoa doggy, talk about grabbing the tiger by the tail.

Why am I thanking the Pope today, you ask?

A reasonable question. I am thanking the Pope because he made history. For the first time in a LONG time Muslims may actually hate Catholics more than they hate Jews.

Have a pluralistic day.

No 1 of Consequence

Jeter for MVP

I recently had this discussion and thought I would migrate it here to the blog because I have zero time to write at the moment and I didn't want the blog to die. For you Yankee haters out there, this ones for you.

Should Jeter win the MVP, I don't know. I think there is a strong argument that there is an east coast bias in the voting and that is why he will probably win. If the Red Sox hadn't complete imploded as the Yankees ass raped them for 5 consecutive games the argument would be moot because the loveable David Ortiz would win hands down.
I will make a couple of arguments on Jeter's behalf because hey, he's da captain and all, plus I have had him on my fantasy baseball keeper league team for ten years.

First thing, he hits in the two slot, while Morneau and Dye (other legitimate candidates for the MVP) hit in RBI slots and Jeter is probably going to drive in over 100 runs. The last player to drive in 100 runs from the 2 slot is Derek Jeter, but the last guy to do it before that was Mike Devereaux in 1992. I think that should get him some bonus points.

2nd, in an era of musclebound guys jack the ball over the wall he consistently hits for a high average and is incredibly productive. If you look at the runs created stat which is (runs+rbi)- home runs you find that Derek Jeter is actually a more productive player than both Morneau and Dye. Morneau has 175 runs created, Dye has 167, and Jeter leads them both with 183.
Jeter is batting .396 with runners in scoring position. Morneau is hitting .333 w/risp. Dye is hitting .356.

Jeter leads in almost every key production staistic. Then you get to the intangibles. They are truly hard to quantify but I will give you an anecdotal example of leadership on the field.

A couple of weeks ago the Yankees were playing a double header against the Tigers and were down by two runs late. They scratched out a couple of hits and with one out they had runners on second and third and Jeter came up to the plate. He scorched the first pitch down the line and drove in both runs to tie the game. Jeter ended up on second.

A-Rod came up and this was right in the middle of him forgetting he was A-Rod and having a period of time where he thought he was Alex Karras. Every time he came up to the plate he would be looking for Webster and totally forgot how to hit for about 6 weeks.

Jeter stole third on the first pitch of A-Rod's at bat, giving his struggling lover & team mate the opportunity to drive in the go ahead run while still being completely incompetent at the plate. Pudge Rodriguez was the catcher at the time, only the most dangerous defensive catcher in my lifetime. (By the way, Jeter has 30+ stolen bases and neither Morneau or Dye are a factor on the basepaths) The inevitable dribbler to short followed the stolen base and Jeter scored on the out.

I can't define intangibles or leadership if you ask me to, but I know them when I see them. I am not saying Morneau and Dye don't have those same qualities, but I am saying that Jeter deserves to be in the discussion whether he wins the MVP or not.

No 1 of Consequence

Where have I been? Working my ass off motherf*****!

I have really wanted to post, but I have just been completely slammed at work. We are very close to a record month and it is incredibly busy. I was recently describing the upcoming situation to my staff and I said something to the effect of, "I am looking at the calendar here... and umm, yeah it is going to get busy next week and not slow down until June of 2007."

I absolutely have no time at all to post but then I saw this article. It is from the Shreveport Times. Apparently some black students were told to move to the back of their bus so some white students could sit up front. I read this. After I threw up I thought about it for a long time.

Racism is right there folks, bubbling under the surface in a lot of different places. Anti-Semitic, anti-black, anti-immigrant hatred is boiling again in a lot of different places. Pat Buchanan has the top selling book on Amazon.com. Suddenly my gut is roiling again.

Real problems are not solved with reactionary responses and protectionist views. Our social problems and our economic problems will never get better unless we begin to look at them in a different way. One that isn't colored by hatred, ignorance, and petulance. We need a new social theory that is unifying, freeing, and collective.

I am going to paraphrase this quote because I can't seem to find it but Buckminster Fuller basically said this, "We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth much longer if we don't start to look at ourselves as one planet of people and our destiny as collective." Our ideology and strategy needs to be inclusive. It needs to be compassionate and it needs to start now.

No 1 of Consequence

Oh Canada

Victory.... ouch

Yesterday my company received the largest single project it has ever had to process. It is really more than we can handle, but my people are putting in a major effort to get it done. I am trying to help but upon my return from lunch yesterday I was afflicted with some of the worst lower back pain I have ever felt.

It has pretty much crippled me. Walking to the bathroom is an exercise in torture. I really need to spend a couple of days on my back resting, but I am so busy right now I can barely take a breath. I guess this is a good thing because breathing hurts.

Ugh!

No 1 of Consequence

Guess what, the Jets suck

You have to read this article by Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star Ledger. My best man sent it to me a couple of nights ago and I wrote a really long post about it which blogger promptly ate. Essentially the article talks about how Curtis Martin told the Jets they needed to look at drafting a running back because his knee was a mess and he didn't know if he was going to be able to play this season.

As my loyal readers know, back in May I absolutely lambasted the Jets for not drafting LenDale White with their second round pick. If you read the Hutchinson article three things will become very clear. First, Curtis Martin is a gentleman, the likes of which we don't see often enough in this world. Second, the Jets are searching for a trade opportunity that would land them a starting running back for the coming season. The price of this running back will be a second round draft pick most likely. The same scond round draft pick they could have used to draft LenDale White. One of the opportunities they are considering is Chris Brown who is no longer Tennessee's starting running back. The reason he is no longer Tennessee's starting running back is because LENDALE MOTHER F***ING WHITE is Tennessee's starting running back.

The last thing that is eminently clear from this article is that I wasted 200+ dollars on the NFL Sunday ticket, yet again.

No 1 of Consequence

So busy... and then, not so busy

Work has been kicking my ass the last couple of weeks as we are ramping up for the fall and what will basically be the coming out party of my company on the national stage. My job is as exciting as ever and even though it has been frustrating for me the last couple of months I can still say with much delight that I have never awakened since taking this job with the thought that I didn't want to go to work. In this day in age, that is saying something. So, of course, when I came in this morning everything was so crashed I am going to have about 3 hours to kill. Maybe I should go to the DMV and get my license changed over from NJ to Georgia. I mean, it has only been a year.

No 1 of Consequence

New Link

If you look to the right, you will see I have a new link to a blog called, Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny. It is just that, very funny and an absolutely enjoyable read. I totally recommend it.

Also, NoBrotherofConsequence, who is an extremely funny guy on his own, has been bandying about the idea of starting his own blog. I hope he does. He is a character and a half.

No 1 of Consequence

The Death of an American Hero

I have been super busy with work and haven't had the time to write, but Carl Brashear died and he is someone worthy of our respect. He was the first black U.S. Navy diver. He was a ground breaker. He had a will and drive to succeed that most men can not comprehend.

The guy was so cool they made a movie of his life, which is why you see Cuba Gooding pictured with him. Read his Wikipedia entry here.









No 1 of Consequence

Chess, not checkers...

I absolutely do not have time to get involved in breaking down the terrorist/Israeli crisis that is currently taking place in northern Israel and Lebanon. However, I read something online today that caused me to respond with a comment, which I rarely do anymore. Then the author took the time to respond to me... and rather than keep the discussion going there, I am bringing the whole thing here and stealing it for a blog post. I posted the flag because I don't want there to be any mistake who I support. Feel free to check in on some of my past Arab/Israeli conflict writings here.

Here is what I read. Take some time to read it if you can. It is thoughtful and well written from an informed and educated person about the conflict.

This is what I wrote in response:

While your post is strongly written and certainly somewhat analagous to the situation, I think you are talking about checkers in a chess game.

You are clearly a well informed and insightful person, but take a gander at the whole board.

Isn't it convenient this whole thing started relative moments before the G8 summit? I think it is.

What has overtaken the entire G8 agenda? Israel-Hizbollah

What has been pushed to the backburner for the G8? Iran's impending nuclear capability and proliferation in the region.

What happens if Iran reaches nuclear capability?

Gd only knows, but you are 100% correct that if unconventional weapons are employed, Israel will have no choice but to respond with retaliatory strikes. Damascus and Tehran will in all likelihood be scorched with nuclear fire.

The Hizbollah are nothing but pawns of an Iranian insanity that could kill millions.
If that maniac gains the capability, I believe he will launch. Right now, he is just sacrificing pawns to Israel to buy himself enough time to make a run at check mate.
Maybe I am wrong, but the whole world seems to be falling for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's gambit of "hey look over there."

The author of the blog, responded:

No1ofconsequence... You may be right. What the heck, you are probably right. But that doesn't negate the fact that Israel has to respond to the source of the attacks. If We were to attack Syria or Iran right now and ignore Hezbollah, the world would (justifiably) condemn us for an unprovoked attack. Yes, this is likely a proxy war... but just because the G8 are preoccupied don't think for a minute that Israel has taken its eye of Syria or Iran.
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Here is the problem with that response. Of course Israel has not taken its eye off of Syria and Iran. I am sure Israel is poised to deal brutal and crippling blows to Syria right now should they even blink in Israel's direction, however, Israel does not have ability to bring Iran's nuclear program to a halt. Only the G8 and the UN can do that.

Of course the questions remain, what should Israel do, or what should they have done? There is no easy answer. Israelis are prepared for dead soldiers. They are hardened by years of conflict. Israelis are not prepared for missing or kidnapped soldiers. The unresolved nature of a kidnapping gnaws at the collective soul of a people that have been fighting for survival since the 40's. They had no choice but to respond with overwhelming force, because not to, would have most likely brought down the Olmert government.

However, I believe that to continue to meet each poke with a sledgehammer blow is not prudent to the long term security of Israel when faced with the possibility of a nuclear Iran within 2 years. Doing everything possible to make sure the G8 doesn't lose focus on Iran is the key. Hizbollah could have kidnapped those soldiers at any time. Why do it on the eve of the G8?

To disconnect from the emotion of the loss of these brave young men is difficult, unbearable. However, wouldn't the chess move, the strategically victorious move be not to act. To say Kaddish (the prayer for the dead) for their souls and cry out to the UN, the G8 and anyone else who would listen and say, "We sacrifice for peace and choose restraint. We leave it up to the world community to disarm Iran and choke off their support of terror. Iran and Syria support Hizbollah. Iran and Syria acted against our sovreignty. Iran is building nuclear weapons as we speak. You must act against Iran, you must act against the threat of nuclear terror, because if you don't, we will. We don't have that many young men to sacrifice for the greater good. This act of restraint will be the last act of restraint."

How could the G8, which already had nuclear proliferation in western Asia and IRAN on the top of their agenda, fail to act in the face of Israel's sacrifice? Iran's misdirection play may have failed.

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it wouldn't have worked and those brave boys would have been lost in vain. However, if I am right, I think there could have been major movement from the world community. Chess requires seeing the whole board and thinking 12 moves ahead. If Iran puts a nuclear warhead on a Shahab 3 missle Israel will only have one move and Gd help us all if they are forced to make it.

No1ofConsequence

Happy National Ice Cream Month

In 1984, because he really had nothing better to do, Ronald Reagan declared July National Ice Cream Month. Yesterday, the third Sunday in July was declared National Ice Cream Day. In commemoration I enjoyed a scoop of chocolate oreo from my local Brusters.

Yes, while Reagan was dottering through his presidencies, selling guns to Saddam Hussein and arming the Taliban as well as fostering the cocaine economy in all of South America he took time out and said hey, "We need to recognize the creamy goodness that is ice cream."

Enjoy National Ice Cream Month... go out and support you local ice creamery today!!

:-)

No 1 of Consequence

The Unintentional Comedy Meter lies twitching in the corner

The World Cup is annoying

I will admit to you, I watched the World Cup after the Ivory Coast was eliminated, but not until the semi finals. I enjoyed the games. I have come to appreciate the strategic nature of soccer and have always known that these guys are amazing athletes. Their conditioning is really unmatched. The NBA athlete is the only thing that comes close and even then basketball games are half as long.

I am not a fan of France under any circumstances, but I even found myself rooting for them against the Italian team. I found the Ribery/Zidan relationship touching, Ribery having idolized Zidan as a youth and then being able to play with him in his final World Cup.

Also, I am a fan of Thierry Henry, actually knowing who he was before the World Cup. He and many of the ethnic minority players that play in Europe are forced to deal with indescribable prejudice and horrifying treatment from the Neo-Nazi fan groups that permeate the circuit.

So all those little human interest stories actually had me rooting for France. What happens? Not only do they not convert in overtime after totally outplaying a tired Italian squad, Zidan turns out to be a jackass and Ribery and Henry are subbed out right before the penalty kick phase.

Zidan's headbutt has to be one of the worst things I have ever witnessed in sport. Blunt trauma to the sternum can result in a loss of heart function. What that means? Hitting an already exhausted guy in the chest like that is basically attempted murder.

The French lose on penalty kicks. Not because the Italian goalie made some spectacular save or anything, but because one of the French guys hit the crossbar. What an anti-climactic finish.

I said finishing the World Cup on penalty kicks was like the NBA finals being decided on a free throw shooting contest.

Annoyed said it was like deciding the Super Bowl on a football tire throwing contest.

Jon Stewart said it was like deciding the NBA finals on a game of horse. (Editor's Note: Sorry, it was Stephen Colbert who made the horse comment)

Include your own "deciding the world cup on penalty kicks is like," analogy in the comments. I will publish any and all of them later in the week and include a link to your website if you like.

No 1 of Consequence

Because if you can't make fun of C list celebrity suicide...

One of the actors from As the World Turns committed suicide. I don't watch As the World Turns and have never heard of this particular guy, but I have to relate a conversation that surrounded his untimely demise.

Me: Hey, did you see this actor from As the World Turns shot himself?

No Brother of Consequence (without missing a beat): He'll be back

That, my fine friends, is comedic timing.











No 1 of Consequence