Everyone, go see The Strangers this weekend!
I found out today that one of my best friends growing up (from Elementary, Middle, and High School) wrote and directed it.
Help make it a hit.
Here's an article from the Fort Worth Star Telegram about how he got a chance to direct a major Hollywood picture with no real experience.
I'm so excited for him and can't wait to see it tonight!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Quote of the Day
From the Chuck Lorre productions note at the end of tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory...
"I believe that the voices of fear, both from without and within, can only be dispelled by trusting the voice that comes from the heart. Be still and listen to it. If it speaks of love and compassion for others, for the world itself, it just might be the voice of God -- or a reasonable facsimile. If, however, it snarls with fear of the unknown, fear of losing what you have or of not getting what you want, then it just might be the voice of Rupert Murdoch -- or a reasonable facsimile."
-Chuck Lorre
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Chicago Sports Fans Thoughts on the Cedric Benson Situation
Ced Benson was arrested a couple of weeks ago in Austin, Texas for "boating while intoxicated".
Despite the fact that Benson (a former star for UT, and a top 5 draft pick by my Chicago Bears) is a Bear, I definitely don't consider myself a fan of his. I felt like the pick was the wrong move when the Bears made it a few years ago, and thus far Benson has done nothing to prove me wrong, averaging well under 4 yards per carry for his entire career.
Therefore, when I heard the news about his arrest, I immediately assumed the worst.
The first reports didn't look good for Benson. Police said that they pulled his boat over and that he was drunk and combative. He failed a sobriety test and refused to wear a life jacket. They asked him to come to shore for another sobriety test and he refused. He was argumentative and threatening, causing them to spray him with pepper spray and he was lead off in cuffs.
I admit that when I heard this version, I didn't doubt it, and instead figured that we were nearing the end of the Cedric Benson era in Chicago.
Bears coach Lovie Smith came out and stated his disappointment in Benson's behavior.
Then we heard from Cedric Benson for the first time. His take on events was vastly different from the story the police told.
He said that he was pulled over by the police (for the sixth consecutive time that he had taken his boat out on Lake Travis). He complied with their requests for a sobriety test, claiming that he was not at all drunk. He accompanied them to the shore where he asked what else he could do for them, at which point he was sprayed in the face completely unprovoked. The police then forced him to the ground and poured water in his face to wash out the pepper spray, but did it in a matter that caused Benson to choke as he was unable to breathe with the water splashing him full in the face.
He called for his mother (who was on the boat), but police kept him separated from the rest of his party. They told him they were arresting him, but instead of letting him walk himself to the police car, they took his legs out from under him with a baton and drug him to the car handcuffed.
Shortly after Benson's report was released, one of the witnesses from Benson's boat came forward with a very similar story. She told about how she called her parents to get them to call 911 to report Benson's mistreatment since she didn't think her phone had enough battery life to explain the situation to 911.
Then, another witness, this time not from Benson's boat, came forward corroborating Benson's account, claiming that any need to pepper spray was "ludicrous".
The fact that Benson's highly recognizable boat has been pulled over 6 out of the 6 times that he has taken it out on Lake Travis makes me realize that Cedric Benson has been unfairly targeted by the lake police.
After Benson's side of the story was heard (and corroborated by witnesses) the Bears general manager said that Cedric Benson would not be released because of this incident, but that he should have been more careful not to let himself be put in this position.
Normally, I like Jerry Angelo, but that is a horrible thing to say.
He has every right to enjoy a spring day on his boat on a public lake in a familiar setting (remember, he went to College here) without being harassed by police officials who clearly have it out for him.
There should be no negative comments made towards Benson in this situation at all. He is a victim and he shouldn't be chastised for it.
Sure, he hasn't lived up to what the Bears believed he would on the football field, but that is no reason not to be outraged by the ill treatment that he has received off of it.
Despite the fact that Benson (a former star for UT, and a top 5 draft pick by my Chicago Bears) is a Bear, I definitely don't consider myself a fan of his. I felt like the pick was the wrong move when the Bears made it a few years ago, and thus far Benson has done nothing to prove me wrong, averaging well under 4 yards per carry for his entire career.
Therefore, when I heard the news about his arrest, I immediately assumed the worst.
The first reports didn't look good for Benson. Police said that they pulled his boat over and that he was drunk and combative. He failed a sobriety test and refused to wear a life jacket. They asked him to come to shore for another sobriety test and he refused. He was argumentative and threatening, causing them to spray him with pepper spray and he was lead off in cuffs.
I admit that when I heard this version, I didn't doubt it, and instead figured that we were nearing the end of the Cedric Benson era in Chicago.
Bears coach Lovie Smith came out and stated his disappointment in Benson's behavior.
Then we heard from Cedric Benson for the first time. His take on events was vastly different from the story the police told.
He said that he was pulled over by the police (for the sixth consecutive time that he had taken his boat out on Lake Travis). He complied with their requests for a sobriety test, claiming that he was not at all drunk. He accompanied them to the shore where he asked what else he could do for them, at which point he was sprayed in the face completely unprovoked. The police then forced him to the ground and poured water in his face to wash out the pepper spray, but did it in a matter that caused Benson to choke as he was unable to breathe with the water splashing him full in the face.
He called for his mother (who was on the boat), but police kept him separated from the rest of his party. They told him they were arresting him, but instead of letting him walk himself to the police car, they took his legs out from under him with a baton and drug him to the car handcuffed.
Shortly after Benson's report was released, one of the witnesses from Benson's boat came forward with a very similar story. She told about how she called her parents to get them to call 911 to report Benson's mistreatment since she didn't think her phone had enough battery life to explain the situation to 911.
Then, another witness, this time not from Benson's boat, came forward corroborating Benson's account, claiming that any need to pepper spray was "ludicrous".
The fact that Benson's highly recognizable boat has been pulled over 6 out of the 6 times that he has taken it out on Lake Travis makes me realize that Cedric Benson has been unfairly targeted by the lake police.
After Benson's side of the story was heard (and corroborated by witnesses) the Bears general manager said that Cedric Benson would not be released because of this incident, but that he should have been more careful not to let himself be put in this position.
Normally, I like Jerry Angelo, but that is a horrible thing to say.
He has every right to enjoy a spring day on his boat on a public lake in a familiar setting (remember, he went to College here) without being harassed by police officials who clearly have it out for him.
There should be no negative comments made towards Benson in this situation at all. He is a victim and he shouldn't be chastised for it.
Sure, he hasn't lived up to what the Bears believed he would on the football field, but that is no reason not to be outraged by the ill treatment that he has received off of it.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
I Don't Want to Believe It, But It's Certainly Possible
Is "Operation Chaos" working?
For those of you who don't know (and Lord, how I wish I was one of you, but my boss loves that fat, druggie of a radio host, meaning occasionally I have to hear him) "Operation Chaos" is the name of Rush Limbaugh's project to keep the Democratic nomination process going as long as possible. He wants his listeners to cross party lines and vote for Hillary Clinton in order to keep Barack Obama from winning the nomination and the Democratic party from regrouping and focusing on John McCain.
I have no doubt that some of his listeners have responded, but I didn't think that it would have an actual effect on any of the races.
Some say that it did in Texas, where Rush has a lot of listeners, it's an open primary, and Hillary won a very close race.
I didn't start to believe it could effect a race until Indiana.
Again, it's an open primary and Hillary won a close race, a race decided by fewer then 20,000 votes. Numbers that I can believe listen to Rush and follow his Operation Chaos theory.
Add that to the fact that in exit polls up to 70% of Obama supporters say that they will vote for Clinton, but less then half of Clinton supporters say that they will vote for Obama. I wish the pollsters had asked a follow up question of those supporters. I wish they had asked if they would have vote for Clinton against McCain. I wouldn't be surprised to see that only 60% or so would say yes, the rest saying that they would vote for McCain.
It just doesn't make sense to me that a supporter of Clinton would not ultimately support the Democratic party. It actually makes more sense to me that Obama supporters would turn their back on the Clintons, because he's getting a lot of support from people who haven't voted before and aren't classical Democrats, but are people that believe in him as a change from the typical Politician. Yet 70% of his voters say they'd vote for Clinton while over half of those who voted for Clinton say they wouldn't vote for Obama.
That leads me to surmise that they probably wouldn't vote for her in the general election either.
For those of you who don't know (and Lord, how I wish I was one of you, but my boss loves that fat, druggie of a radio host, meaning occasionally I have to hear him) "Operation Chaos" is the name of Rush Limbaugh's project to keep the Democratic nomination process going as long as possible. He wants his listeners to cross party lines and vote for Hillary Clinton in order to keep Barack Obama from winning the nomination and the Democratic party from regrouping and focusing on John McCain.
I have no doubt that some of his listeners have responded, but I didn't think that it would have an actual effect on any of the races.
Some say that it did in Texas, where Rush has a lot of listeners, it's an open primary, and Hillary won a very close race.
I didn't start to believe it could effect a race until Indiana.
Again, it's an open primary and Hillary won a close race, a race decided by fewer then 20,000 votes. Numbers that I can believe listen to Rush and follow his Operation Chaos theory.
Add that to the fact that in exit polls up to 70% of Obama supporters say that they will vote for Clinton, but less then half of Clinton supporters say that they will vote for Obama. I wish the pollsters had asked a follow up question of those supporters. I wish they had asked if they would have vote for Clinton against McCain. I wouldn't be surprised to see that only 60% or so would say yes, the rest saying that they would vote for McCain.
It just doesn't make sense to me that a supporter of Clinton would not ultimately support the Democratic party. It actually makes more sense to me that Obama supporters would turn their back on the Clintons, because he's getting a lot of support from people who haven't voted before and aren't classical Democrats, but are people that believe in him as a change from the typical Politician. Yet 70% of his voters say they'd vote for Clinton while over half of those who voted for Clinton say they wouldn't vote for Obama.
That leads me to surmise that they probably wouldn't vote for her in the general election either.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Well, that was exciting to say the least
Today's Quote of the Day
Do with that what you will.
So, onto the post, last night I didn't get to bed nearly as early as I was planning to, because I couldn't turn off CNN.
The longer I watched, the closer and closer the numbers were getting in Indiana. At one point the vote spread went from just under 40,000 to just under 20,000 in one quick swoop.
Why the sudden change? Why the drama? Lake County, Indiana.
To fully understand the drama, lets go back about 2 hours in time as Barack Obama then Hillary Clinton gave their election night speeches.
At the time, Senator Clinton had a large lead in Indiana, and while none of the networks were willing to call it in her favor, I don't think anyone seriously doubted she would win it, possibly by 10%. In Senator Obama's speach he congratulated her on what he called her "apparent victory in Indiana".
In Clinton's speech, she also claimed victory in Indiana. Meanwhile, we begin to hear from the Mayor of Gary, Indiana. He claims that when the numbers from his city come in, they will be overwhelmingly in favor of Obama, and that if an upset is to happen, it will be do to his county, Lake County.
Later, while looking at the map, it turns out that while 85% of the vote is in and Clinton is up 52% to 48% and by just under 40,000 votes, none of that vote is from Lake County.
Not only is it expected that Obama is going to do extremely well in Gary, but he is expected to do well throughout the county.
Why?
It is the most northwestern county putting it as practically a suburb of Chicago, the home of Barack Obama.
Suddenly, as they were talking about the county on CNN, the first results from there came in. 28% of the vote reported and Obama had a 75% to 35% lead there and a 20,000 vote advantage.
Now, Indiana was a virtual tie. Clinton's lead was down to under 20,000 votes with 72% of the vote still to come in Lake County and 9% of the vote still to come throughout the state, with the outstanding votes almost all coming from areas that Barack Obama was winning.
It turned out that that first 28% reported was all from Gary, Indiana, the area where Obama had the largest support in the county. Clinton had a very slight advantage throughout the rest of the county, slowly taking down that huge advantage, meaning that, as it stands right now with 99% of the vote reporting, she is up in the state by only 18,444 votes.
Whereas in North Carolina, with 99% of the precincts reporting, Obama won the popular vote by 232,775 votes.
In the delegate count, his pledged lead grew thanks to a huge victory in North Carolina and a virtual tie in Indiana, and his lead in the popular vote went up by 214,331 votes.
While Clinton vows to fight on despite barely having an argument on which to stand any longer, the belief is starting to grow that it will be impossible for the Democratic nominee to be anyone other then Barack Obama.
Despite what Clinton might be saying this morning about "tie-breakers", the truth is that yesterday was a very good day for Barack Obama.
There is no greater impotence in all the world like knowing you are right and that the wave of the world is wrong, yet the wave crashes upon you.
Norman Mailer
Do with that what you will.
So, onto the post, last night I didn't get to bed nearly as early as I was planning to, because I couldn't turn off CNN.
The longer I watched, the closer and closer the numbers were getting in Indiana. At one point the vote spread went from just under 40,000 to just under 20,000 in one quick swoop.
Why the sudden change? Why the drama? Lake County, Indiana.
To fully understand the drama, lets go back about 2 hours in time as Barack Obama then Hillary Clinton gave their election night speeches.
At the time, Senator Clinton had a large lead in Indiana, and while none of the networks were willing to call it in her favor, I don't think anyone seriously doubted she would win it, possibly by 10%. In Senator Obama's speach he congratulated her on what he called her "apparent victory in Indiana".
In Clinton's speech, she also claimed victory in Indiana. Meanwhile, we begin to hear from the Mayor of Gary, Indiana. He claims that when the numbers from his city come in, they will be overwhelmingly in favor of Obama, and that if an upset is to happen, it will be do to his county, Lake County.
Later, while looking at the map, it turns out that while 85% of the vote is in and Clinton is up 52% to 48% and by just under 40,000 votes, none of that vote is from Lake County.
Not only is it expected that Obama is going to do extremely well in Gary, but he is expected to do well throughout the county.
Why?
It is the most northwestern county putting it as practically a suburb of Chicago, the home of Barack Obama.
Suddenly, as they were talking about the county on CNN, the first results from there came in. 28% of the vote reported and Obama had a 75% to 35% lead there and a 20,000 vote advantage.
Now, Indiana was a virtual tie. Clinton's lead was down to under 20,000 votes with 72% of the vote still to come in Lake County and 9% of the vote still to come throughout the state, with the outstanding votes almost all coming from areas that Barack Obama was winning.
It turned out that that first 28% reported was all from Gary, Indiana, the area where Obama had the largest support in the county. Clinton had a very slight advantage throughout the rest of the county, slowly taking down that huge advantage, meaning that, as it stands right now with 99% of the vote reporting, she is up in the state by only 18,444 votes.
Whereas in North Carolina, with 99% of the precincts reporting, Obama won the popular vote by 232,775 votes.
In the delegate count, his pledged lead grew thanks to a huge victory in North Carolina and a virtual tie in Indiana, and his lead in the popular vote went up by 214,331 votes.
While Clinton vows to fight on despite barely having an argument on which to stand any longer, the belief is starting to grow that it will be impossible for the Democratic nominee to be anyone other then Barack Obama.
Despite what Clinton might be saying this morning about "tie-breakers", the truth is that yesterday was a very good day for Barack Obama.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Eyes of the World are on Indiana and North Carolina
Who would have seen that coming at the beginning of this process?
The way things stand right now, Obama will win North Carolina (hopefully it will be by a big margin) and Clinton will win Indiana (but it's probably going to be very close).
For Clinton to realistically be able to claim victory, she would have to catch Obama in pledged delegates. To do that, Clinton would have to win the remaining states by 70%, which is extremely unlikely. There is no way that Clinton can match Obama in number of states won, although it is possible that she catches him in popular vote.
Despite the fact that it is nearly impossible to pass Obama at this stage for front runner status and that she is consistently polling as less likely to beat McCain, there is no indication that Clinton plans on stopping short of the convention.
Even if Obama sweeps tonight (which is far more possible then Clinton sweeping) I doubt that Clinton will concede.
For a time, I felt like this protracted race was good for the Democratic party, raising interest in the process, but now the future of the Country is at stake and Clinton is doing more harm then good in my opinion.
This race has been pretty much decided for some time, but she refuses to give up, and while admire that to some extent, this is far too important a time for the Country to be damaging any Democratic chance at the White House just because you don't want to lose.
My only hope is that when the Super Delegates decide the contest in Obama's favor (which is certainly the trend, as for the last couple of months, Obama has gained hundreds of Super Delegates while Clinton has lost some), Clinton will step aside without any more fighting. Then perhaps this prolonged fight will at least have one positive outcome by virtue of helping to prepare Obama for the race with McCain.
The way things stand right now, Obama will win North Carolina (hopefully it will be by a big margin) and Clinton will win Indiana (but it's probably going to be very close).
For Clinton to realistically be able to claim victory, she would have to catch Obama in pledged delegates. To do that, Clinton would have to win the remaining states by 70%, which is extremely unlikely. There is no way that Clinton can match Obama in number of states won, although it is possible that she catches him in popular vote.
Despite the fact that it is nearly impossible to pass Obama at this stage for front runner status and that she is consistently polling as less likely to beat McCain, there is no indication that Clinton plans on stopping short of the convention.
Even if Obama sweeps tonight (which is far more possible then Clinton sweeping) I doubt that Clinton will concede.
For a time, I felt like this protracted race was good for the Democratic party, raising interest in the process, but now the future of the Country is at stake and Clinton is doing more harm then good in my opinion.
This race has been pretty much decided for some time, but she refuses to give up, and while admire that to some extent, this is far too important a time for the Country to be damaging any Democratic chance at the White House just because you don't want to lose.
My only hope is that when the Super Delegates decide the contest in Obama's favor (which is certainly the trend, as for the last couple of months, Obama has gained hundreds of Super Delegates while Clinton has lost some), Clinton will step aside without any more fighting. Then perhaps this prolonged fight will at least have one positive outcome by virtue of helping to prepare Obama for the race with McCain.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Tragedy at the Kentucky Derby
I love sports and I love animals, one would think that I would love the Kentucky Derby.
I'll watch it, but I don't make it a point, and Saturday is a prime reason why.
For those who might not have heard, the second place finisher, Eight Belles (the only filly in the race), pulled up at the end of the race having broken (shattered is probably closer to the truth) both of her front ankles.
She was euthanized on the track.
I'm glad that I didn't see it, just reading the story afterwards saddened me greatly.
I was watching the Preakness two years ago and I remember it clearly.
Cubs/Astros was about to start, and I was at Home Plate Sports Bar just across the street from the home plate entrance to the Juice Box (more commonly refered to as Minute Maid Park or the Park Formally Known As Enron) waiting to meet up with my friends for the game.
I settled into a spot up at the bar (trust me, you aren't getting a seat an hour before game time at Home Plate) and watched in glorious high definition as Barbaro continued his quest for the Triple Crown. I shuttered along with the entire bar as he went down after the start having broken his right rear leg. I thought for sure that he would be killed on the spot and hoped that they wouldn't show it.
I followed the story for the next couple of months hoping he could recover and was saddened when he could not.
I haven't watched a horse race since, and after Saturday's tragedy I'm not sure that I ever will again.
Is a sport worth the life of a majestic animal that doesn't even get a choice in whether or not it wants to race?
I'll watch it, but I don't make it a point, and Saturday is a prime reason why.
For those who might not have heard, the second place finisher, Eight Belles (the only filly in the race), pulled up at the end of the race having broken (shattered is probably closer to the truth) both of her front ankles.
She was euthanized on the track.
I'm glad that I didn't see it, just reading the story afterwards saddened me greatly.
I was watching the Preakness two years ago and I remember it clearly.
Cubs/Astros was about to start, and I was at Home Plate Sports Bar just across the street from the home plate entrance to the Juice Box (more commonly refered to as Minute Maid Park or the Park Formally Known As Enron) waiting to meet up with my friends for the game.
I settled into a spot up at the bar (trust me, you aren't getting a seat an hour before game time at Home Plate) and watched in glorious high definition as Barbaro continued his quest for the Triple Crown. I shuttered along with the entire bar as he went down after the start having broken his right rear leg. I thought for sure that he would be killed on the spot and hoped that they wouldn't show it.
I followed the story for the next couple of months hoping he could recover and was saddened when he could not.
I haven't watched a horse race since, and after Saturday's tragedy I'm not sure that I ever will again.
Is a sport worth the life of a majestic animal that doesn't even get a choice in whether or not it wants to race?
Friday, May 2, 2008
Sorry For The Lack Of Posts
I've been sick all week, culminating in a rare (for me) visit to a physician.
It had been so long since I'd been to the doctor they said I was classified as a new patient again. This meant that not only was I sick and at one of my least favorite places in the world (the Doctor's office) but also that I had to do some "new patient" paperwork, this despite the fact that not too much has happened to me medically since my last visit. (Although to be fair it has been 6 years, so I guess they felt like something could have changed. It hadn't.)
Anyway, I'm still not feeling well, but now I have Doctor prescribed medications to help speed that recovery up (hopefully. Still waiting. Come on medication, work dammit).
To prove that I am still alive, despite not quite feeling like it, I felt like I should write some sort of post today.
If you missed it, Barack Obama was on Letterman last night giving the TOP TEN.
It was pretty funny. Here they are for your reading enjoyment.
It had been so long since I'd been to the doctor they said I was classified as a new patient again. This meant that not only was I sick and at one of my least favorite places in the world (the Doctor's office) but also that I had to do some "new patient" paperwork, this despite the fact that not too much has happened to me medically since my last visit. (Although to be fair it has been 6 years, so I guess they felt like something could have changed. It hadn't.)
Anyway, I'm still not feeling well, but now I have Doctor prescribed medications to help speed that recovery up (hopefully. Still waiting. Come on medication, work dammit).
To prove that I am still alive, despite not quite feeling like it, I felt like I should write some sort of post today.
If you missed it, Barack Obama was on Letterman last night giving the TOP TEN.
It was pretty funny. Here they are for your reading enjoyment.
10. My first act as President will be to stop the fighting between Lauren and Heidi on “The Hills.”
9. In the Illinois primary, I accidentally voted for Kucinich.
8. When I tell my kids to clean their room, I finish with, “I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message.”
7. Throughout high school, I was consistently voted “Barackiest.”
6. Earlier today I bowled a 39.
5. I have cancelled all my appearances the day the “Sex and the City” movie opens.
4. It’s the birthplace of Fred Astaire. (Sorry, that’s a surprising fact about Omaha)
3. We are tirelessly working to get the endorsement of Kentucky Derby favorite Colonel John.
2. This has nothing to do with the Top Ten, but what the heck is up with Paula Abdul?
1. I have not slept since October.
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