BSG Tonight!

Episode #31: "Sacrifice"
A woman takes hostages on Cloud Nine and demands that Adama turn over
Sharon in order to avenge her husband's death at the hands of the Cylons.

10pm Sci-Fi

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You Can't Overplan

Especially when you're going to try and rob a bank.

A bankobber was left empty-handed when he turned up ten minutes late and found the branch had already closed for the day.

Staff at the Podravska Bank in Zagreb, Croatia, told police they were just getting ready to go home when they heard the doors rattling and saw a masked man holding a gun trying to get in.

Police spokesman Davor Tor said: "Most banks here open until 7pm but this robber obviously picked the wrong branch.

"Staff said even though he was wearing a mask they could tell from his movements that he was very confused to find the bank wasn't open."

Police are looking for the robber and say if caught he will be charged with attempted armed robbery.

How much you wanna bet this guy ends up getting caught because of his own stupidity?

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I Have No Idea What To Make Of This

And it's probably going to bother me:

You scored as Oboe

You're an oboe. Yup.

Bassoon		83%
Oboe		83%
Tuba		75%
Viola		75%
Flute		58%
Cello		58%
Clarinet		58%
French Horn		58%
trombone		58%
Percussion		58%
Trumpet		42%
Violin		42%
String Bass		33%

If you were in an orchestra, what instrument would match your personality?
created with QuizFarm.com

I was really hoping for the cowbell. I gotta have more cowbell!

Yipes! to Robbo

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What I'm Reading Now

Over the last six months or so, I've been focused on blogging The Lord of the Rings over my other site: Tolkien Geek. It's a project that took me way longer than I expected. And it kept me from getting to a slew of other books that I've been wanting to read.

Now that it's pretty much done, I plan on hitting the ground running. And I'm starting with:

The New American Revolution, by Tammy Bruce
For a long time now, the Left has been pushing their Liberal agenda and Political Correctness down out throats, demanding that we sacrifice our individuality to their groupthink. Well, since Sept. 11, the rest of America is tired of it and we're not going to take it anymore! Bruce excoriates the Left (where she once resided) and explains how the nation is currently undergoing a "New American Revolution".

Click "More" to see the other books on my current list (in no particular order): more...

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It's Friday!!!

And guess what? I've got a FEVAH! And the only prescription...

...is more COWBELL!

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Quote Of The Day

"The real trouble is that Hillary is a star politician without a star personality."

- Myrna Blyth, "Anger Management" published in NRO.

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Gretzky's Wife Nailed In Gambling Sting

The "Great One" Wayne Gretzky has been ensnared in a illegal gambling operation run by the Mrs.

There is no evidence Gretzky made any bets, the sources said, but the secretly recorded phone calls show the hockey hall-of-famer knew about the gambling ring, and investigators are looking into whether he placed any wagers through his wife, Janet Jones.

Jones was among the gamblers who placed more than $1.7 million in wagers in the past six weeks with the ring allegedly run by Tocchet and a New Jersey state trooper. Jones put down $500,000 on games during that period, including $75,000 on last weekend's Super Bowl, sources said. She even wagered on which team would win the opening coin toss -- winning $5,000 with that bet.

You can't blame the poor guy. I mean, when you've got a wife that looks like this:

...you don't ask questions! You STFU and ask "how much do you need?".

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One For The Math Geeks

Game Theory solves the male/female toilet seat problem.

h/t: Jonah Goldberg

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Is Germany Back On Board?

The United States doesn't ask a whole heck of a lot from its allies. Just a little support now and again. And if that's too hard, please go about your business and stop busting our balls. Not since Chancellor Helmut Kohl has a reunited Germany (you're welcome) been a real partner to America. With the Soviet threat gone and a perception that they didn't need us anymore, the government under Gerhard Schroder embraced socialism and assumed an anti-American stance (and became a charter member of the Axis of Weasels).

So it was a nice surprise that the people of Germany recently elected Angela Merkel as their new Chancellor. Merkel served in Kohl's fourth and fifth cabinets and was the opposition leader during Schroder's term. Considering the narrow election results and the make-up of the current coalition government, I haven't expected too much in the way of change. But as Tod Lindberg writes in the Washington Times, Merkel made a distinct impression at a recent gathering of NATO defense ministers in Munich.

Although she has a lot of work to do on domestic policy in order to revive the underperforming German economy, and although that might well take a toll on her now sky-high approval ratings, on foreign affairs she has already shown herself to be a voice of moral seriousness and balanced judgment. Perhaps that had something to do with coming of age in the police state of Erich Honecker's East Germany.

Consider, for example, Mrs. Merkel's pointed response to recent statements of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (my notes and translation from the German text): "I must add that the absolutely unacceptable provocations of the Iranian president demand a reply from us. I say this especially as the chancellor of Germany: A president who has questioned the right of Israel to exist and disavowed the existence of the Holocaust cannot expect Germany to show the least tolerance in these questions. We have learned from our history." She said unequivocally, "we must prevent the development of Iranian nuclear weapons." When the Iranian deputy foreign minister took the floor during the question period to defend Iran's nuclear programs, Mrs. Merkel pointedly noted in reply that he had made no response to her on the Holocaust or Israel.

A year ago at the Munich conference, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (in a speech he didn't bother to show up to deliver but rather had read out by his defense minister) stated that NATO "is no longer the primary venue where trans-Atlantic partners discuss and coordinate strategies." Although U.S. diplomats subsequently decided to read a sense of regret into Mr. Schroeder's comments, there was none. They came on the heels of his remark about the "different light" in which the United States and Germany view their role in the world, with Mr. Schroeder's Germany in favor of "international stability and order."

Mrs. Merkel, by pointed contrast, noted specifically: "We must make a decision: Will we give NATO the primary role in trans-Atlantic cooperation, the first attempt we make to undertake necessary political consultations and decide on necessary measures... or do we want to give NATO a secondary role?" She endorsed the primary role in no uncertain terms and spoke of the need for a "permanent shared analysis of threats." U.S. diplomats think her strong position will empower other, smaller alliance members to speak up with similar views they were reluctant to voice while Mr. Schroeder and his friends seemed to be trying to get up the nerve to turn their backs once and for all on American participation in European security.

If you're going to have a successful partnership, it's critical that when you reach out they reach back. And it's refreshing when they finally do. Party on, Angie!

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Git On Home, Cindy, Cindy...

The Wordsmith has created a video "tribute" to the antics of media whore Cindy Sheehan. It's actually a re-edited version of the one he did in November, but this version includes her most recent activities in Venezuala and at the SOTU. It also ends with a real tribute to the servicemen and women who put their asses on the line everyday to that Cindy can exercise her right to be a moonbat.

Check it out here.

On a side note, it looks like Barbara Boxer is trying to put the kabosh on Sheehan's plans to challenge Diane FrankenFeinstein for her Senate seat. I say, let her run!

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Ooo Looky Here!

Sadie Lou went and set herself up a new blog: AgentBedHead.com!

And here I believed her when she said she was taking a break. Looks like she's put her design talents to good use. I can't decide which skin to choose - "dressed to kill" or "shoot to kill". Hmmmmm.

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Mid-Week Round-Up

Sometimes there is just so much interesting or bizarre stuff out there that I have to squeeze it all into one post of "quick hits".

First up, Paul Mirengoff at Powerline was at a press conference for Sen. Dick Durbin of IL and threw him a curve-ball about the NSA surveillance issue. Durbin was caught flat-footed because Mirengoff framed the question in a legal context. The video is here. It's pretty amusing.

The Senator looked like someone had just smacked him across the face with a sock full of manure and he asked Mirengoff what publication he represented. Durbin, apparently, has never heard of Pajamas Media or Powerline. A reader of the blog pointed out that such mediocre minds as Durbin's are not used to being questioned by legal specialists (Mirengoff is an attorney by trade) but rather by ignorant reporters who barely grasp the law themselves.

It's going to get harder and harder to prevent folks like Paul Mirengoff from asking these kinds of questions. Beware the bloggers!!

Next, never mind Global Warming. A Russian astronomer is predicting a "mini-Ice Age" later this century. But it has nothing to do with human activities. This scientist points out a troublesome fact for those Chicken Littles who proclaim that we are the cause of this phenomenon: "Dramatic changes in the earth's surface temperatures are an ordinary phenomenon, not an anomaly, he said, and result from variations in the sun's energy output and ultraviolet radiation." Hey, my oil bill has been pretty managable this winter, so I'm not complaining.

Go ahead, reach for that nacho-cheese chalupa. A new 8-year study has found no link between a low-fat diet and reduced instances of cancer or heart disease. Hey, it's in the NY Times so it's got to be true, right? Seriously though folks. Eat sensibly, get some exercise and stop obsessing about the latest fad diets. Enjoy life because it's not going to adhere to your timetable.

Now to politics. Democrats are worried that they won't be able to capitalize on the opposition's troubles enough to make any substantial gains in November. IL Senator Barack Obama says "We have been in a reactive posture for too long. I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes." He's only half-right. He's leaving out the part where you have to offer voters something to say "yes" too as well.

We all know that FoxNews Channel is kicking CNN's ass on cable. And it's getting worse every day for the Atlanta-based news network. But apparently, CNN is doing the opposite on the web. CNN.com got more than six times the hits than FoxNews.com in January 2006. I have two explanations. First, as was pointed out by my FoxNews Channel watching, CNN.com surfing sister-in-law, the FoxNews website sucks. I have to agree. It's hard to navigate and find exactly what you're looking for. CNN.com definitely has advantages here.

But also, people who are looking for news and information that isn't filtered by Liberal media bias have soooo many alternatives on the Web. Those people that make up the market that FoxNews.com would most appeal too are busy surfing blogs and conservative web-zines like National Review, the Weekly Standard, The American Spectator, Human Events, Townhall.com...(the list goes on and on). Liberals have a lot fewer choices on the web to find what they're looking for and most of them head to CNN.com by default. And considering which media produces the most ad revenues, I seriously doubt that News Corp would want to change places with Time-Warner.

I'll finish with my candidate for dipshit celebrity of the week: Gwyneth Paltrow. She lives in Britain and recently said in an interview that the British are "more intelligent" than Americans. Okay. Well, this is a woman who named her daughter "Apple". I have no doubt that to her the British are very intelligent. The problem is that she assumes that the average American is as stupid as she is.

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Tolkien Geek Update

Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter Nine is posted.

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Don't Play Around With That Funky Cold Medina

An aphrodisiac soda? That's what this stuff is marketed as.

It's called "Turn On" and it promises to make the person who drinks it...um, good to go.

The soda was banned in France and Denmark, but makers insist it is safe and works as an aphrodisiac.

People who have tested the soda said it tastes like cherry soda.

"We watched a film and then afterwards I felt like my senses were more like turned on, like I could feel more, I felt more on my skin," a tester said.

Doctors have already warned that the drink is not for everyone. Children, pregnant women and people with high blood pressure and diabetes should avoid the drink, according to the report.

A warning label on the can claims, "This beverage will arouse you."

I'm a little skeptical here. It's probably more of a psychological effect than anything else. Wonder what the tester would have said if what they gave them was real cherry soda? Still, if you're thinking of trying it you might want to give it to the dog first. And if he does the "Wild Thing" on your leg...well, you know the rest.

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"Rock"ed By Crisis

The LA Times has an article this morning about the current financial troubles of "Rock The Vote".

The organization, founded in 1990, operates under the stated goal of registering millions of new voters and is aimed at the 18-25 year old demographic - the "MTV" generation. However, with most of its funding coming from the entertainment industry and promoted by celebrities who are pretty clear about their dislike of President Bush and Republicans in general, a more accurate stated goal would be to register millions of new Democrat voters. In more recent years, its activities have been more focused on the development of millions of young Left-wing activists.

Now in its 16th year, the first wave of the youths that it targeted are now well into their thirties. But "Rock The Vote" has found itself in dire financial straits:

Saddled with about $700,000 in debt, the group has cut its staff from more than 20 people in 2004 to just two today. Its president, who left last summer amid disagreement about the organization's direction, has yet to be replaced. And last month, Rock the Vote was sued for the second time in just eight months.

While RTV's tone was more subtle in the early nineties when it energized supporters to help put Bill Clinton in the White House, it's become increasingly more partisan as its successes become fewer and farther between. Beginning in 1994, Democrats lost both the House and the Senate and, in 2000, the White House. During President Bush's term, the GOP increased its representation in Congress with each election cycle.

In 2004, in association with MTV's "Vote Or Die" campaign, RTV waged an aggressive campaign against the President prouncing a second Bush term as the beginning of the end for today's youth. Bush won reelection anyway. In 2005, it joined with the AARP to fight Social Security reform on the premise that Republicans wanted to take away this generation's guaranteed retirement benefits - "guaranteed" if you believe the Federal Government's false promises that the money is actually going to be there if we don't fix the system, that is. Dan Lips looks at RTV's activities in a column he wrote for National Review last March:

Rock the Vote, while reliably backing leftist causes, has at least masqueraded as non-partisan in its decade-long campaign to urge younger Americans to register to vote. Last year, such champions of democracy as Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake took to the airwaves to stress the importance of voting. The message: If the younger generation doesn't vote, the environment would be destroyed, America would soon have a draft, and government funding for higher education would be eliminated.

But with its preemptive strike against President Bush's proposal, Rock the Vote has finally chosen to wear its partisan stripes with pride. The group plans to launch a seven-figure campaign, including public-service announcements, billboards, and online advertising opposing reform. "We are opening the door to be the defender of young people's policy interests," explained Hans Reimer, Rock the Vote's political director, "This is a great issue to do it."

Reimer feels the "young people's policy interests" equate to big-government Liberalism and preserving the status quo. But, in reality, RTV's effort to kill Social Security reform goes against the interests of today's young people who will bear the financial brunt of a system that will be broken if nothing is done to change it.

Despite their efforts, most of today's young people are smart enough (and perhaps cynical enough) to see "Rock The Vote" for what it is - Liberal propaganda packaged and sold by the "cool" heroes of pop culture. And it hasn't been translating to meaningful results on election day. And the further Left it goes, the more irrelevant it becomes. The LA Times poses the question: Will "Rock The Vote" survive?

[RTV Founders] Ayeroff, Goldring and others say yes, as long as they can jump-start fundraising. Board members are meeting with donors, and the group has brought in a successful television executive, Lawrence Lyttle, to fix what's broken for a salary of $1 a year.

But Lyttle says he has no fundraising experience. And the group's political director has announced he may take time off in the coming year. Unless more staff members are hired, Rock the Vote will be left with only one full-time employee: its webmaster.

It's looking increasingly likely that an organization formed to light a political fire in a new generation might not even last a generation.

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Raging RINOs

This week's RINO Sightings are posted over at In The Agora.

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Some Hobbits Have All The Luck

"Lost" stars Dominic Monaghan and Evangeline Lilly are apparently engaged.

That lucky BAHstard! Good for him.

hat tip: MFSIL

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Disney, Heal Thyself

If Disney President and CEO makes no other important decisions about the future of his company, he will have earned his pay by negotiating the recent purchase of Pixar. His predecessor, Michael Eisner, had so poisoned the existing partnership with the pioneer of computer-generated (CG) animation that this summer's release "Cars" would likely have been the last production released by Disney had Eisner still been around.

I've always felt that Disney hadn't released a single memorable non-Pixar animated film since "The Lion King", which is not coincidentally when Jeffrey Katzenberg - himself fed up with Eisner - left the company to start Dreamworks SKG with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. Eisner was the worst possible CEO for a company that was founded on a commitment to quality family entertainment. He wielded his power like a tyrant, pushing out any source of dissent including forcing Roy Disney off the Board of Directors. It was no secret that most of people who worked under Eisner despised him.

While I was initially skeptical that Iger could engineer a turnaround for the media giant, I was glad to see this recent merger happen as a step in the right direction. Pixar CEO Steve Jobs made out pretty well too. In the deal, he garnered a 6% share of Disney stock and a seat on the Board of Directors. And the understanding between the two men is that Disney management will not interfere with the creative style of the Pixar group - a style that Disney had embraced in its earlier years. Maybe the Pixar culture could actually rub off a little on the current Mouse House.

The biggest plus for Disney in that John Lasseter will be in charge of the new business unit. Michael Levine describes today in the Washington Times why this is so significant:

Mr. Lasseter is the creative genius behind the Pixar animated films, and will bring back to Disney what the company's entertainment has been lacking in recent years -- strong story sense and characters children especially can find adorable.

That's no small thing. Characters drive the animated films, for sure, but they also are the major force behind many of the theme-park attractions and myriad products, television programming and corporate identity Disney has traded on so successfully in the past. Think about Buzz Lightyear, the entire Incredibles family, and Dory, the absent-minded fish voiced by Ellen Degeneres in "Finding Nemo." Now, try and think of one character from "Chicken Little" or "Atlantis: The Lost Continent." See the difference?

For the record, I thought "Chicken Little" was pretty decent. But on the other hand, it paled in comparison to such Pixar features as "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles", both films that go to the heart of the importance of family and the meaning of parenthood.

Bravo, Disney! Now get to work!

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Tolkien Geek Update

Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter Eight is posted.

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Way To Go, Harry!

Former NY Giants middle linebacker, Harry Carson, is among this year's inductees into the pro football hall of fame! Carson was a staple on the defense of the 1986 Giants Superbowl team. One of the biggest leaders on the squad, number 53 served as a mentor to fellow Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor.

Carson was part of the Giants in the late seventies, when the franchise had hit a low point and would help Coach Bill Parcells build a championship team and a defense that struck fear into the hearts of opposing teams. It's been a long time coming and as a long time Giants fan, I'm thrilled that he's finally getting his due.

Congratulations, Harry!

Oh, and I guess there's a Superbowl game tonight which I couldn't care less about. But what the hell, I'll take a guess. I'm picking the Steelers because they have a chance to make history as the first #6 seed playoff team to go all the way. Plus, teams named after birds have a lousy Superbowl history. They're 1-3.

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