starbury is so hot right now. starbury.

Fiery Knicks leaders, past and present, crossed paths at Madison Square Garden last night, and for the first time since Latrell Sprewell left town, it was clear the building no longer belonged to him.

totally ridiculous...

The price fluctuates with the season and the availability of certain delicacies. It now stands at $350 a person before tax, tip and sip of sake or bottled water. Masa, which reopens Jan. 11 after a holiday break, is arguably the most expensive restaurant in New York. Lunch or dinner for two can easily exceed $1,000.
Justifiable? I leave that question to accountants and ethicists. Worth it? The answer depends on your budget and priorities. But in my experience, the silky, melting quality of Masa's toro and uni and sea bream, coupled with the serenity of its ambience, does not exist in New York at a lower price.

the ugliest band ever...

except for the guy on the right. i sort of think he's dreamy.

wow...

watch a very efficient thief ply his trade. (you may have to right click and "save target as". that's what i had to do.

this is one of the worst reviews ever...

What does it take to shake a movie fan? Whether we are critics or bug-eyed buffs, so many of our evenings are spent in the company of crimes and misdemeanors that we can hardly be blamed for developing the hide of a pachyderm. Just occasionally, something slips through—a thin shudder of monstrosity, enough to remind us of what it means to be afraid. And so it came about, this week, that I gazed at a black screen and saw words so calamitous that they might have been written in my own blood: “Screenplay by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Joel Schumacher.”

yet another christmas miracle...

KENMORE, Ohio -- A northeast Ohio family hoping to see choirs perform holiday music on Christmas morning instead saw adult programming on the local public access television station.
"I turn it to Channel 15 and there's this naked lady on the screen -- I mean full-frontal, get-the-hell-out-of-here pornography," said David Umana. "When I tell about Christmas 2004, I'm betting this will be one of my best stories."
Chris Thomas, the cable company's director of government affairs, believes the wrong tape was put in a machine set to play that morning. A church program was scheduled, he said.
"I don't think the church group submitted that," Thomas said.

let's take a road trip to camden and set some stuff on fire...

CAMDEN, N.J., Dec. 23 - If anybody was surprised that Camden was recently ranked America's most dangerous city, it wasn't the people who live here.

In the past 12 months, there have been 53 homicides, including a 12-year-old shot to death on his porch for his radio, more than 800 aggravated assaults, including a toddler shot in the back of the head, at least 750 robberies and 150 acts of arson, more than 10,000 arrests and one glaring nonarrest - a serial rapist on the loose downtown.

so that's where my treasure lies...

this one is a little too hilarious. this is from a list of what players listen to when they want to get fired up:



RAY LEWIS,
Ravens LB
In the Air Tonight
by Phil Collins
"That song [which I listen to before games] depicts everything you've always dreamed of, every moment you've dreamed, the places you are at and where you want to be," says the Baltimore defensive captain and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. "Phil Collins is a short guy with a lot of power. I fell into the song long ago as a child when it was played on Miami Vice. Once I got older I started understanding I could use it for motivation. You ride off your heart, and your heart is where your treasure lies."

a fredeeky favorite...

It's a scene that 5'5" Earl Boykins has lived through dozens of times. Upon arriving at an arena he's stopped by a security guard asking to see I.D. "People aren't used to seeing a normal-sized guy playing in the NBA," says the second-shortest player in NBA history. (At 5'3", Muggsy Bogues leads the list.) Boykins, raised by his 4'11" mother, Charlene, and his 5'8" father, Willie, in Cleveland and two inches shorter than his sister, Charnella, has endured small indignities along the way. When he was three, Willie carried him to the rec center in a duffel bag; at Central Catholic High an Eastern Michigan recruiter thought Boykins was a ball boy; at his last NBA stop, Golden State, Boykins couldn't quite see eye-to-eye with 5'6" coach Eric Musselman. And it was in Golden State that the sound man would play It's a Small World when Boykins checked into the game -- until the point guard told him to cut it out.

a window in the work-life of fredeeky...

Yesterday there was a printer that was out of order. It was one of those huge printers that run off a roll of paper and the roll ran out right as I needed it most. So I walk around to try and find someone who can help me out. The eighth floor is all weird rooms that run off of this one long hallway. So I go into one of the rooms and there are just piles of paper and crap everywhere making this place seem even stranger. The cubicles are organized in a way to give people some privacy and so I have to go through this maze asking people if anyone knows anything about the printer. I keep getting directed to the back of this area and finally find “Robert” who they tell me might know the answer to my question. (The tech people pretty much told me to go f myself. They told me they won’t stoop to changing paper.) So finally I see Robert and I say, “Excuse me Robert?” Right as I’m in the middle of this sentence I realize that there is a naked ass in motion on his computer monitor and that he’s watching some porn on his computer. Hey the guy may have been doing research or something, but I seriously doubt it. I think he was just settling in to watch some ass at work. Anyway he turns around and looks at me really calmly and evenly. Although he seems pretty outwardly calm from the neck up, with a free hand he’s fumbling for something on his desk. He maintains eye contact and asks what he can do for me as he grabs a sheet of loose leaf paper and presses it to his computer screen there by covering up whatever he’s watching. I do an uncomfortable cough/giggle as I ask him about the proofer and he kindly answers that he can’t help me out, but that he’s always wanted to know how to change the paper on that printer. I then thank him and back out right into a huge stack of papers and then turn and pretty much run away.So now I have to take the elevator down stairs and I get on with this 40-something mustachioed guido that I sometimes smoke cigarettes with. He’s rocking a big furry shearling style coat over one of his many “dress” style t-shirts. They’re the kind of t-shirts that guys wear under a suit or what ever. I don’t have any, but I think I would look really hot in one. So anyway, I ask him if he’s going for a smoke. He says he’s on his way home and can’t wait to get out. He then grins insanely and starts jumping up and down while looking attentively at the dial above the elevator doors that shows you what floor your on. He is working on timing his ridiculous jumps and at this point the elevator is rocking back and forth and although I’m amused at his antics I’m also a little scared. “Makes it go faster” he tells me between jumps. At this point I’m in the corner of the elevator and am holding on for dear life to the brass bannisters on the wall. Before I know it we’re at the first floor (I meant to go to three, but in all the confusion I forgot). “See?” he asks me. “That was fast right.” I nod and give another cough/giggle and stagger out realizing that I have to go back up to three. I went and had a smoke instead.

how to make a sex mix...

The Single ruins CD's that have sex potential. The single could be the one fast song on a generally slow and moody CD, or the one quirky song on an otherwise solid album. Not only does the single jar you, it's immediately recognizable, resulting in an awkward detachment that causes you and your partner to simultaneously think, "Oh, it's this song." If you know the words you start singing along in your head, which is great for guys (because it distracts you and bides more time) but not great for girls (because it distracts you and takes more time). The Single is a total mood killer, and it has ruined more albums in the past ten years than P. Diddy.

is reggie roby punting from home?

cause i thought he was on the left coast.

i can't believe that test match cricket (the board game) is buried at number 96...

of the top 100 toys of all-time

fredeeky loves starbury...

who poured in 34 as the knicks rocked the magic in orlando

very sad day for yankee fans and fans of hava nagila...

Wearing his oversized eyeglasses and his captain's hat (he owned a maroon and green tugboat he piloted on the Hudson River), sitting on his padded bench at his 50,000-watt Hammond organ, Layton was a fixture at Yankee Stadium.
He played at Yankee games for more than three decades, although he missed a few years during the 1970's while pursuing other musical commitments. He was as familiar as Bob Sheppard on the public-address system, Phil Rizzuto in the broadcast booth and Robert Merrill singing the national anthem.
Layton was not supposed to play during the baseball action, but he told National Public Radio how once "I just got lost in the moment" with the Yankees' Reggie Jackson at bat.
"I kept playing and playing and playing and playing," he remembered. "And Reggie looked up at the booth, and the umpires looked up at the booth. Reggie threw down the bat and he started dancing at home plate."
"I've had my day," he told The New York Times in October 2003 as he closed his career. "Playing with 50,000 watts of power, what rock star has an amplifier like that? I play for up to 56,000 people a night. Not even Madonna has done those kind of numbers."

also today is a sad day for high life...

sorry about reggie. he was one of the greats.

the long awaited...

...year end hipster report. this is really the time of year where hipsters shine, what with their hip concert related new year's plans and their love of year end lists and all. this year none shines brighter than our own miller high life, who has been feverishly awaiting this moment all year. take it away high life:

With December quickly coming to a close every journalist, blogger, and 25-34 year old with an ipod is touching up their "best of lists". Thanks to Fredeeky, you have to listen to my rantings this year. Alright, I have to admit I thought 2004 was a good year for music. 2003 was pretty much the year that indie rock went adult contemporary (I am looking at you Death Cab) and The Flaming Lips became a household name. On top of that can anyone really say they liked !!!, Hot Hot Heat, or the Rapture? I didn't think so. So here we are with 2004. Where I could find links this morning I have included samples - often not from their albums, but they should at least give you a good idea of what you are getting yourself into.

10. Modest Mouse - Good News... (easily their worst album, but still good)
09. Buckner - Dents & Shells
08. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
07. Joanna Newsom - Milk Eyed Mender
06. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
05. The Walkmen - Bows & Arrows
04. Wilco - A Ghost is Born
03. Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo
02. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
01. Arcade Fire -

it's a christmas miracle...

that i have any time to blog today. just so you know i was off the last two days and the blogging has not died, but i feel like a little bit of a dork blogging from home. as earl so aptly put it, i only blog on the man's dime. don't worry though i will be back with the usual thunder next week and will give you the hipster report on monday as i feel that everyone is gone by now anyway. sorry for the lack of action and know that i love each and every one very much. the binge drinking that i engage in tonight with deezy, andre and barry will be for all of you.

bigging up all over myself...

highlight of my life:
the last round of comments on the blizzy.
lowlight of my life:
how much f'ing work i have this morning.

things will settle and i will both observe and respect my beloved readers this afternoon.

in the meantime know that there is a very special year end hipster report coming later as well. here's a little taste of the hipster lifestyle:

sign him up...

he's a gorgeous man.

i can't stop singing that stupid "celebrate with celebrex" song...

NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. said it has found an increased risk of heart attacks with patients taking its top-selling painkiller Celebrex, a drug that is in the same class as Vioxx, but has no plans to remove it from the market.

when did minnie turn into such a slut?

the real challenge seems to be spelling...

President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolton (C) talk to conferees, above a misspelled sign, at the White House Conference on the Economy in Washington, December 16, 2004. The White House went all out to showcase the advantages of U.S. President George W. Bush's ambitious financial agenda this week, but in the end the 'challenges' proved too much. The word 'challenges' -- a main theme of a two-day White House economic conference that ended on Thursday -- was misspelled on a large television monitor that stood in front of Bush during a panel discussion.REUTERS/Reuters TV

is the little one going to come to new york as well?

can't get enough of pedro and his midget:

dinner with hollis thomas...

[First Course: Double portion of cheesecake; strawberry sauce; graham cracker crust.]
THOMAS: You got to eat dessert first to see if the food is any good. You want any? I ordered two slices, but they're for me.
[Second Course: A half-dozen shrimp and a half-dozen oysters; cocktail sauce.]
THOMAS: You gonna watch me eat these oysters? They're a sexual aphrodisiac, you know.
SI: I know. I won't be having any.
THOMAS: So, how's your love life?
[Third Course: Filet mignon with onions; creamed spinach; mashed potatoes.]
SI: So, where to now, Hollis?
THOMAS: I'm going home to take a nap. Then I'll work out for an hour.

just a beautiful heart warming story...

LONDON (Reuters) - Nursing home staff paid tribute to a 105-year old British woman who had smoked since the age of 15 by cremating her with a packet of cigarettes and laying a large floral cigarette on her coffin.
Marie Ellis died -- of natural causes -- at the Eaton Lodge Nursing Home in Kent, southeast England, in early December and was cremated on Tuesday, clutching a packet of her favorite Benson and Hedges cigarettes.
"We will always remember her for her smoking because the first thing she asked when she got up was 'Can I have a cigarette,'" said matron Maria Kallis, who commissioned a large wreath in the shape of a cigarette, made with white and yellow chrysanthemums, for the spinster's coffin.
Staff played the song Smoke Gets in Your Eyes at Ellis' funeral and are planning a memorial concrete ashtray for her in the nursing home garden, where her ashes will also be buried.

a nod to sven deezy...

who has been peppering the bilizzy with precious, precious comments.



this is a train from luxembourg called the "sven diesel".
deezy = diesel. perfect.

for the ladies...

A woman footballer is joining a national men's league side in Mexico - a move which would be a first in the sport in North and Central America.
Striker Maribel Dominguez - who has scored 42 goals in 43 games for the national women's team - has signed for Celaya, a club official confirmed.
"The hard thing is going to be equalling the physical force of the men, but the technique, the desire, the willpower, those are things I already have," she said.

turns out lincoln was just very generous as far as the bed sharing went...

The subject of the 16th president's sexuality has been debated among scholars for years. They cite his troubled marriage to Mary Todd and his youthful friendship with Joshua Speed, who shared his bed for four years. Now, in a new book, C. A. Tripp also asserts that Lincoln had a homosexual relationship with the captain of his bodyguards, David V. Derickson, who shared his bed whenever Mary Todd was away.
In "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln," to be published next month by Free Press, Mr. Tripp, a psychologist, influential gay writer and former sex researcher for Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey, tries to resolve the issue of Lincoln's sexuality once and for all.

a dump pouch is not at all what i thought it was...

An older model of sidearm was grandfathered in with officers who are, in some cases, grandfathers. It is thick, but elegant in its way, its grip curling lazily out of the holster, the grooves in the hammer like those around aging eyes.
"It's put me through 20 years, and I'm still alive," said Officer Gregg Melita, 41, who not only carries a Ruger Police Service revolver, but the old "dump pouches," two leather carriers that hold loose cartridges. "This is when guns were guns, and cops were cops," he said. "The new guys don't even know what dump pouches are. They go, 'Hey, what's that hold?' " He chuckled. "'Bullets, kid.'"

here's a hot jam for you...

this will make everyone feel a little better. i promise.

off to a great start...

Major League Baseball is poised to cancel the move of the Montreal Expos (news) to Washington after the District of Columbia Council amended the agreement for a riverfront stadium late Tuesday by requiring 50% private financing.
In a statement Wednesday, MLB President Bob DuPuy said the amended legislation is "inconsistent with our carefully negotiated agreement and is wholly unacceptable."

that's why he's the captain...

But our spy insists Johanssen and Jeter arrived with party promoter Pantera Sarah and another man, and left together. "Scarlett has been sick, but agreed to stop by with Derek," the spy said.

maybe i just liked this photo...

Jenna Bush to teach at Washington public school

i'm glad that missle defense is such a priority right now...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - An important test of the United States' emerging missile-defense system ended in an $85 million failure early today as an interceptor rocket failed to launch as scheduled from the Marshall Islands, the Pentagon said.

A target rocket carrying a mock warhead was successfully launched from Kodiak, Alaska. But the interceptor, which was to have gone aloft 16 minutes later and picked off the target 100 miles over the earth, automatically shut down instead because of "an unknown anomaly," the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency said.

what fredeeky wants for christmas...

boy o boy....

this is a hilarious music video by some random boy band, but it's actually hilarious. it's called weapon of mass affection and i think you should watch at least the beginning.

enough already...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A judge refused to delay a trial Tuesday when an attorney objected to his wearing a judicial robe with the Ten Commandments embroidered on the front in gold.
McKathan told The Associated Press that he believes the Ten Commandments represent the truth "and you can't divorce the law from the truth. ... The Ten Commandments can help a judge know the difference between right and wrong."
He said he doesn't believe the commandments on his robe would have an adverse effect on jurors.
"I had a choice of several sizes of letters. I purposely chose a size that would not be in anybody's face," he said.

nice...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - At a time when some U.S. troops in Iraq are complaining they have to scrounge for equipment, six Ohio-based reservists were court-martialed for taking Army vehicles abandoned in Kuwait by other units so they could carry out their own unit's mission to Iraq.

did i already say that jersey rocks?

Within the next few weeks, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency will announce what every junkie in the state already knows: New Jersey has the country's purest heroin.

For the second straight year, DEA lab tests of samples bought on the street will show unprecedented levels of heroin purity. In 2002, New Jersey heroin was 71.4 percent pure, nearly twice the national average. A report on the 2003 numbers will be out soon, according to federal DEA spokesman Rusty Payne, and New Jersey again will hold the nation's top spot.

yet another window into the life of fredeeky...

fredeeky has very little extended family, so when i went out to dinner with my mother's twin sister and her boyfriend it was the most family i had seen in at least a year. my mom and her sister do not get along and the folks showed up about 20 minutes late leaving me, my aunt and her boyfriend len to chat it up. len turns out to be quite a character. he's a local boy and was the head of the communist party in brooklyn in the 1950's. i think that i was a little too excited about this. for some reason the fact that this guy was a commie leader during the mccarthy years fascinated me. this was a guy who had less than a minute ago referred to his time share in cancun as his "unit", so this was a serious step up in the conversation. needless to say he went on and on about his fbi file and j. edgar hoover and how much he loved (and still loves) the communist ideals and before i knew it i was already looking for the waiter to get my second drink. i hadn't been at the table for more than about five minutes, but i had already wolfed down a bourbon on the rocks cause that's how hard core i am. just as a side note, the waiter was a total douche wagon (thanks to andre the giant for coining one of my new favorite terms). he asked me my name and then started calling me by it. (i hate that. that cocky bastard should be calling me sir and staying the f out of my way.) anyway i got my sweet revenge when he refered to the special as croquets rather than croquettes and my father burst out laughing and then started miming croquet gestures much to my delight. me and him were laughing it up like crazy while the rest of the table shifted in their seats uncomfortably. this guy had to stand there steeping himself in his own hot shame until i had finished laughing at him. total highlight. i really hated that waiter, but i did get to dine with one of the great brooklyn born commies of this, or any other generation. so i got that going for me.

the mailman's delivery attempt is rebuffed...

The Kobe Bryant-Karl Malone feud has turned personal, with Bryant accusing Malone of making a pass at his wife at a Lakers game.
Rob Pelinka, the agent for Bryant, told ESPN.com on Sunday night that Malone made "several inappropriate comments" to Bryant's wife, Vanessa, on Nov. 23 at a Los Angeles Lakers home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. "Kobe and Karl had a true friendship, much more than teammates," Pelinka said. "Their wives are quite friendly as well. Kobe has told me that he feels very hurt and betrayed by what has happened."

(the photo is from the mailman's customized monster truck. for serious.)

going once, going twice...

NEW YORK - A Manhattan housing court judge said he was not amused by an advertisement on eBay that listed him for sale — with worldwide shipping included — posted by a disgruntled litigant.
The ad criticized Judge Jerald R. Klein for the way he dispensed justice and showed a photograph of him smiling, seated in the courtroom. It drew 6,400 and 21 bidders over four days.
The ad, entitled "Judge for Sale," was posted last Wednesday by Janet Schoenberg, a disgruntled litigant in a landlord-tenant dispute in New York City Civil Court who said Klein was mishandling the case and that she had exhausted other ways of drawing attention to her case.
After four days on eBay, the best offer for the judge was $127.50.

you may now call me lord fredeeky...

LONDON (Reuters) - The British aristocracy has long been an exclusive club but now anyone can become a Lord or Lady -- for as little as 30 pounds ($58).

jersey rocks...

Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a trio of drugs they believe can destroy HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to a published report.

in case you're wondering...

fredeeky will root for the trojans and their heisman winning quarterback to win the national championship. i like the trojans well enough, but i'm rooting for them because they come from california (a blue state) and the sooners (although they have an awesome fight song) are from oklahoma. i do however think adrian peterson is a bad ass, but f the red states.

me and mac fu dominated this place...

along with a-game and d-train.



Another afternoon, the search for Texas barbecue led to Houston's far north end. The small cabin of Williams Smoke House hid in a neighborhood of narrow roads hacked from piney woods. Through an open door in the back shed, the coals of oak posts glowed red in the smoker. A good smell left the chimney. Inside, I ordered an ambitious plate of pork ribs and sat down to wait in the small dining room.
The ribs that emerged had been dry-rubbed and then smoked for four hours over those posts. They were just crusted on the outside, moist inside, and no gnawing was required to separate meat from bone. Slices of white bread and a cup of sauce expertly made with vinegar, tomato and something hot were on the tray, but I kept it away from these ribs.

the litigating lifestyle with steve zissou...

A Queens lawyer with a one-of-a-kind name is getting an ocean of attention now that he has lent it to actor Bill Murray for a new film in which the actor stalks a killer shark.

"I try to take every call, and lately I'm telling them, 'Yes, that's me,'" he said. "I am interested in environmental issues, but I'm not particularly seaworthy."

as much as i'd hate to say it, i'd have to vote for bush...

this guy is a member of the alabama house of representatives...

What should we do with US classics like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or The Color Purple? "Dig a hole," Gerald Allen recommends, "and dump them in it." Don't laugh. Gerald Allen's book-burying opinions are not a joke.
Earlier this week, Allen got a call from Washington. He will be meeting with President Bush on Monday. I asked him if this was his first invitation to the White House. "Oh no," he laughs. "It's my fifth meeting with Mr Bush."

Observed Mary Minow on her LibraryLaw blog, "It's hard to even start a comment on this one--it's so over the top (if it is an April fools, then let me know). The government cannot prohibit speech on the basis of viewpoint, even in a nonpublic forum. I believe that lawmakers should read the constitution before introducing bills, but sadly, it's not unusual that they don't, or they don't care. They want to tell their constituents: 'See, I got the law passed, it's not my fault that the courts struck it down.'"

nihilist spasm band is right in fredeeky's wheel house...

Hugh McIntyre, bassist of the granddaddy of all noise bands, the Nihilist Spasm Band, died on Monday. His memorial service will be this coming Monday, Dec. 13, at the George Millard Funeral Home, 60 Ridout St. South, London, Ontario ("the same room," Ben Portis tells me, "where final farewells were offered to Greg Curnoe in 1992").
The London Free Press and The Globe and Mail had obituaries today.
Mark at Wood S Lot also pays tribute, and posts a link to an amazing story I totally missed about REM playing with the Nihilist Spasm Band in London last month.
Elsewhere I found a quote on the session from REM bassist Mike Mills: "It was nothing but improvisation. You just get up there and start making noise. That was huge fun for us since we don't really do that on stage. We're not the most improvisational of bands."
If you've never heard the NSB, London campus radio station CHRW offers archival mp3s of these albums: Vol. 2 (1978), 7x~x=x (1984), Live in Japan (1996) and Every Monday Night (1999).

pantera guitarist, a.k.a. "dimebag", shot dead on stage in columbus...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A gunman charged onstage at a packed nightclub and opened fire on the band and the crowd, killing top heavy metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and three other people before a police officer shot him to death, authorities and witnesses said.

Columbus police department spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio identified three of the victims of Wednesday's shooting as Abbott, guitarist with the heavy metal rock band Damageplan, and two other men, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk.

watch your nuts andre...

The increasing use of laptop computers could produce a generation of men with fertility problems, a new study suggests.The study by U.S. researchers in the journal Human Reproduction found laptops increased the temperature of the scrotum by almost 3°C.

can't get enough odb...

Even after death, wildman rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard is full of surprises — the Wu-Tang Clan founding member died with a white powdery substance hidden in his body, a law-enforcement source said yesterday.
During an autopsy of the 35-year-old rapper, a doubled plastic bag containing a white powder was discovered in his stomach, said the source.

free jams and porn, perfect together...

Almost one in four people with broadband internet admit signing up in order to download pornography, according to a survey published today.
Faster access to adult entertainment was the second biggest reasons why users installed the technology in their home.
The top reason for getting broadband was to download music from the internet, according to the poll by telephone and internet company Homecall.

nice...

From a George W. speech on Oct. 4:

"One of those families is the Hintz family, from Clive, Iowa. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
"It's a special day for Mike and Sharla, not because they're with the President or with Chairman Grassley, but because it's their 13th wedding anniversary. (Applause.) Theirs is a typical story. See, last year they received a child tax credit check for $1,600 for their four children. And under all the tax relief we've passed, they saved about $2,800 last year. With this extra money they bought a wood-burning stove to reduce their home heating costs. They made a decision for their family.
"They also made home repairs and improvements. They took the family on a vacation to Minnesota. Next year when you get your check, you may want to come to Texas. (Laughter.)

From this week:
A charismatic Des Moines youth pastor who urged teens to avoid pursuing romantic relationships in favor of getting closer to God turned himself in to authorities Monday to face charges of inappropriate contact with a 17-year-old Johnston girl.Johnston Police Sgt. Lynn Aswegan said Michael Hintz, 35, of Clive was formerly employed by First Assembly of God Church in Des Moines. He was charged Monday with sexual exploitation by a counselor for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a girl he had counseled in his youth group. State law forbids members of the clergy to engage in any sexual contact with an emotionally dependent client.

i guess this isn't surprising...

Many of the shows that supposedly follow the real lives of real people are really scripted by real writers, many of whom were unemployed because their sitcoms got replaced by reality programs. So reality shows are just sitcoms starring good-looking people instead of hot actresses and the fat, ugly guys who play their husbands. That's why they're 50% more entertaining.

Through sources I cannot reveal but would definitely not go to jail to protect, I got hold of a 19-page, single-spaced outline of an upcoming episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Every moment is planned in advance, including a few specific lines for the straight guy to deliver, which Bravo says is not unusual for any reality show. It's something that people in Hollywood know and think is no big deal. Like Mike Ovitz.

you think cricketeers rock the roids?

New Zealand crumbled to 86-6 in reply but Chris Cairns hit 50 off 40 balls and Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori put on 70 to keep their side in the hunt.
The game came to an end at the start of the 48th over when Chris Harris, who bravely came out to bat in his 250th one-day game despite a shoulder injury, was bowled by a yorker from Glenn McGrath.
He struck a six and eight fours to reach his half century off only 37 deliveries, before perishing for 60 in cavalier fashion as a pull shot off Scott Styris was caught by Nathan Astle at deep square leg.