whoa turbo. slow down.

ESPN.com: Page 2 - Where's the sportsmanship?

In addition to Krukie's right-on comments, may I just add that I'm sick of hitters being allowed to wear that elbow/shoulder/full arm armor to protect them from the inside pitch? Everytime I see Barry Bonds strap that contraption on I get pissed. If you want to lean out over the plate then expect to get pitched inside. And expect the pitcher to miss occasionally. There should be a price a hitter has to pay in order to lean over or crowd the plate. That price is a 94 mph fastball on your tricep.

Former Cardinals safety Tillman killed in combat

Pat Tillman was an extraordinary individual. At Arizona State he was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, even though he was undersized at his position. And yes, he did walk away from a $3.6 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals to serve his country and be an Army Ranger. But having read everything that I have on him, I have a feeling he would be very ashamed and embarrassed by how much attention is being showered on him.

The fact of the matter is that Tillman is just one of hundreds of American soldiers who has died in the past year. Others have died in more grisly ways and others have died due to accidents or friendly fire. Each of them deserves to have their faces on the front page of every magazine and newspaper or webpage. We should know all their names. Flags should fly half-staff for all of them. Moments of silence should be observed for each of them. Whether they are men, women, young, old, officers, or enlisted, they paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect those of us at home, and they all deserve to be recognized and honored for it.

MSNBC - Bush's strength surprises some pollsters

As Poison said, "Give me something to believe in." That's all Kerry has to do to win this thing.

From Entertainment Weekly:

Trump held a mini-reunion with some of the contestants on CNN's ''Larry King Live'' on Wednesday, where The Donald announced a mini-scholarship program. The first beneficiary: Troy McClain, the only contestant who didn't have a degree. ''I read somewhere where Troy wanted to go back to college. And the problem is, he's got a family. You know, it's hard to afford college. College is expensive,'' said Trump, who made McClain an offer contingent upon the approval of the other contenders. ''The offer is that I will pay for his college education if he wants to go back.'' The other contestants voted unanimously that McClain should accept the offer. Said Trump: ''Congratulations. You better pick a nice, good, expensive college.''

1. Based on the final task, Bill deserved to win. So congratulations, Bill. That being said, I would never want to work for you. Take a deep breath and calm down.

2. Kwame, I don't know how you didn't lunch for Omarosa and go medieval on her ass. That lazy, lying, and selfish beauty queen lost it for you. And yeah, I didn't think it was fair that you were penalized for not doing something you didn't know you had a right to do, that is, fire Omarosa. Anyway, in the long run, you're going to do so much better than Bill. You're too smart to work for the Donald.

3. The Ladies of the Apprentice. Thanks for impeding the progress of executive women who work on a daily basis to get the respect of their male cohorts as they attempt to break through that very real glass ceiling. Are you fucking kidding me with that FHM spread? You know, because a bunch of strong, intelligent women sprawled across a board room table in lingerie is a really good statement. And ladies? Declining the $250,000 to pose in Playboy to instead pose in FHM for free doesn't show you have class. It shows you're terrible businesswomen. No wonder y'all were fired.

4. Omarosa. Wow. I just. Wow. You... wow. I hope you realize that was the most public job interview in history and you pretty much proved yourself to be a manipulative liar who has a chip on her shoulder and refuses to take responsibility for her actions. You have zero common sense and are completely irrational. Yeah, you may get some oppurtunities now, but good luck in the long term. No one will hire you for anything. So wipe that shit-eating grin off your face and go away.

5. Omarosa, Part 2. Oh, and by the way, your whole "I went from the projects to the White House, how's that for success?" question? I don't know if it counts when you essentially get fired from numerous positions in your two years stint: Omarosa Fired 4 Times in 2 Years.

6. Troy. I love you, man. But you screwed your boy over.

7. Carolyn. You scare me. But in a good way.

8. George. Who are you kidding? Everytime you tried to go all "Simon Cowell" on someone, I just wanted to crawl into your lap and give you a hug. You're a teddy bear.

9. The building that Bill's going to be in charge of is going to uglify the Chicago skyline. Hey Bill, if you want Chicago to remain the best place on earth, first order of business is to shut that thing down. Yuck.

10. Last but not least, the Donald. I don't know how you did it, but you charmed me. You're so full of shit and you totally know it. I can't wait for Apprentice 2.

"I know the last page so well
I can't read the first
So i just don't start
It's getting worse."

Nada Surf, "Inside of Love", from Let Go.

Kerry's 'Anybody But Bush' trap

An interesting article by Derrick Jackson on the tenuous Democratic strategy of Bush-bashing. While the Dems have put their machine into full-throttle by attacking Bush's record on a variety of issues, Kerry has remained curiously silent as to his alternative suggestions. So far, this is their error. Currently, there are voters on the left who would vote for a hamster so long as it wasn't Bush, and there are those on the right who will vote for Bush no matter what the Dems say. As Jackson identifies, if you live on the East Coast or in the Bay Area, you're probably under the impression that this means the polls should show that Kerry's winning by a landslide. But they don't. The polls are pretty even. Which means the voters that are up for grabs are the moderates. How do you inspire moderates? By giving them a cause.

Kerry has yet to give moderate voters anything affirmative to hang their hats on. He's running a "Vote for me because I'm not President Bush" campaign. He has said very little about his suggestions or his plans. As anyone who has ever taken classes on argument or debate, you can't just attack other guy's argument. To be truly convincing and inspire confidence, you must offer an affirmative alternative for people.

Kerry has to give people a reason to vote for him, not just reasons not to vote for Bush. The latter strategy will not mobilize voters. They'll become disillusioned and just stay home. You know why Republicans always vote? Because Republican candidates always stand for something. When you have conviction you inspire people. Democrats cannot win if people don't vote. When will they learn that they need to inspire people and increase voter turnout? Bill Clinton inspired people. He had ideas, he was charming, he was idealistic. He didn't just bash Bush(I) and point out his mistakes. He gave the voters a cause, a reason to take the time out of their days and actively vote him into office. People believed in him.

Unless the Dems start acknowledging the genius of Clinton's campaign, I just don't see Kerry winning. No one likes this guy. He doesn't say anything. If he thinks that he can just stay silent and let Bush stumble and bumble his way out of office, he's wrong and he underestimates the loyalty of Republican voters.

Coca-Cola C2 coming this summer

Firstly, isn't this called DIET COKE? So the carbies want a soda that has more calories than DC, but less than regular Coke. And Coca Cola is willing to succumb to the vocal carbie lobby and rollout an entirely new drink? Screw you, carbies. If you don't like the taste of Diet Coke, which I repeat, HAS LESS CARBS THAN C2 WILL, then go drink water. Heaven forbid you would actually ingest something that standing alone, is good for you. Two words: Fuck Carbies.

Secondly, I will never understand this country's obsession with this low carb/no carb diet craze. Who in their right mind thinks that its healthy to have a diet that consists solely of bacon and sausage patties from an Egg McMuffin. Seriously, there are people I work with who just eat bacon. And yeah, they lost a lot of weight, I don't deny that. But their skin looks unhealthy and they're cranky and tired all time.

Do people not realize that carbs are not the problem? Look at France. There are not many things I give the French credit for, but on this, they have it right. They eat bread morning, noon and night. They drink lots of wine and their food is rich and high in fat. But you want to know why you don't see that many ginormously obese people walking around Paris? Because they regulate their portions and they actually walk around and get exercise. You know what we do in America? We go to Hometown Buffet and eat more food than a family of 12 in Ethiopia would need, and then we drive home, sit on the couch, and watch TV. If you're and anti-Frankite, then look to Asia. Hello. Asians eat rice. Lots of it. All the time. Once again, you don't see ginormously obese people walking the streets of Beijing because they freakin' walk and get exercise and regulate their portions.

Americans are lazy. We want everything but we don't want to work for it. We're all about cutting corners and cheating to get what we want. Yeah, we all want to be thin and pretty. But instead of joining Weight Watchers (the only real diet I can support) or just committing to go to the gym 4 times a week, we decide to drop the tonnage by imbalancing our bodies and tricking our metabolism into thinking that we're starving so that it burns more fat. We don't care that our cholesterol is going through the roof as a result, or that our kidneys and heart are under increased stress. No, let's just cut out the carbs, drop 45 pounds (which you'll gain back anyway) and go to a plastic surgeon to look like Jennifer Aniston.

There are just so many things wrong with this carb craze and I could go on. But I end it on this well-crafted Tina Fey joke:

"According to a new study, people on a low-carb diet like Atkins eat more than people on a standard diet, but also lose more weight. This is thanks to the extra calories they lose during their non-stop yammering about how they're on Atkins"

The Depressive and the Psychopath - At last we know why the Columbine killers did it.

I still remember vividly 5 years ago, on my way out to go to class, when images of a high school that looked very similar to mine flashed on the television set. That's what initiall caught my attention. I went to an enclosed indoor school that looked like a big grey concrete prison out in the 'burbs. I remember seeing that boy dangling from the window, desperately trying to escape, blood everywhere. I remember seeing kids who looked exactly like the kids I went to school with, running across the lawn with their hands over their heads. I remember the SWAT team, creeping along the outside of the building, slowly infiltrating the school.

I remember it well and it still haunts me. There are 4 events in my lifetime that rocked me: 9/11, Columbine, Columbia, and the death of Princess Diana. Each one of these events for whatever reason, touched me in a very personal way. Each was a reminder to me of the fragility of life.

Anyway, to the Columbine survivors, may God continue to watch over you.

The Swan teaches me never to overestimate FOX. In case you don't know the concept of the show, "ugly" women are selected to undergo dramatic plastic surgery and weight loss programs over the course of months. They do this without ever seeing a mirror. Once the powers that be deem them worthy to show their newly constructed faces to the outside world, they're revealed, they get to see themselves for the first time, they cry, and all is well in their worlds. Except, FOX doesn't stop there. Oh no, now that we've given these "ugly" women the self-confidence that they always lacked, let's tear them down again by PUTTING THEM IN A BEAUTY PAGEANT. What? Who's the moron that came up with this?

But the kicker is, they don't even look that great post-surgery. They look plastic and unnatural, and I'm sorry, not pretty at all. They look uncomfortable in their own skin (which is understandable since in some cases, it ain't their skin).

This show is bullshit and I can't believe FOX would have the balls to even air it.

This reminded me that it's all relative. Good golly.