Just some good ol' boys

"In a dispute before Feess over 2005's "The Dukes of Hazzard," Warners failed to get the underlying rights to the obscure movie (1975's "Moonrunners") upon which the TV show was based."
John Horn, LA Times, 11/16/08

You take a load of 200 proof corn liquor through a Georgia roadblock at 100 miles an hour and if you ain't a dead man, you're a moonrunner.


Moonrunners


Moonrunners Opening Credits

"Try to enjoy your Life Day."

'The Star Wars Holiday Special': May the farce be with you.
The campy 1978 show with Harrison Ford, wookiees and (gasp) Bea Arthur holds a special place in fans' hearts.
Donald Liebenson, LA Times, 10/16/08

The plot of "TSWHS" plays like a demented "SCTV" sketch: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Han Solo and Chewbacca are racing to Kashyyyk, Chewie's home planet, in time for them to be with Chewie's family for the annual Life Day celebration. Chewie's wife, Malla, his son, Lumpy, and his father, Itchy, anxiously await his arrival, while Imperial Stormtroopers, under direction from Darth Vader, exhibit very un-Life Day behavior, ransacking homes, imposing curfews and shutting down the cantina.

Chewbacca, Malla, Lumpy & Itchy

Photo via www.starwarsholidayspecial.com

Staph Confirmed

Infection slows Brady's rehab
More complications can't be ruled out
Shira Springer, Boston Globe, 11/11/08

Tom Brady returned to Boston recently for a checkup on his surgically repaired left knee by team doctors, according to NFL sources. Those same sources also confirmed that the Patriots quarterback suffered a postoperative staph infection and remains on antibiotics. Staph is the most common kind of postoperative infection.

Doctors fear nothing more than the development of infections and blood clots. If not caught quickly and treated properly, such complications can threaten a patient's life, never mind the success of a surgery. In Brady's case, the infection was caught early and treated aggressively with wash-out procedures and IV antibiotics.

But it still constitutes a major setback, since infection delays rehab, increases the risk of scar tissue buildup, and leaves the patient more susceptible to long-term pain and stiffness. Restoring range of motion is the most important aspect of initial post-op rehab from ACL reconstruction, and there is a limited window of opportunity to work on it.

In other superbug news

Finally, something positive to report on the superbug front.

Test Drug Does Well Against Hospital Infection
Andrew Pollack, NY Times, 11/10/08

A new antibiotic being developed by a small San Diego company fared well in a clinical trial, holding promise in treating an intestinal superbug that is commonly spread in hospitals and is becoming more deadly.

In the trial, the drug developed by Optimer Pharmaceuticals to treat a bacterium, Clostridium difficile, worked better than the only approved drug on the market.

The bacterium kills thousands of Americans a year, and that number has been rising sharply, in part because a more virulent strain has emerged.

“C. difficile, if you look at the numbers, probably far outstrips MRSA as a hospital-acquired problem,” said Dr. Stuart Johnson, an associate professor at Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University.

In the clinical trial, both Optimer’s drug and Vancocin were nearly 90 percent effective in initially clearing the infection. But only 15.4 percent of those treated with Optimer’s drug, called OPT-80, suffered a relapse within four weeks, compared with 25.3 percent of those treated with Vancocin.

The longer-term cure rate, meaning initial cure without recurrence, was 74.6 percent for OPT-80 compared with 64.1 percent for Vancocin.

Not a laughing matter

During last Thursday's Browns Broncos game NFL Network commentator Rich Eisen, made a staph related joke when referring to Brown's quarterback Brady Quinn and TE Kellen Winslow.

The joke went something like this: Quinn has already hooked up with Winslow twice for touchdowns, you might call it infectious.

Winslow, has suffered two staph infections since entering the NFL. The seriousness of staph infections has been recounted ad nauseam on the leg.

Not funny Rich. Eisen's inappropriate joke reminded me of SNF host Al Michaels, questioning weather global warming was a fact or not.

WASH YOUR HANDS & COVER CUTS & SCRAPES

The Bolsheviks Are Here

Bolsheviki Seize State Buildings, Defying Kerensky
NY Times, 11/7/1917

"On Nov. 7, 1917, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky."

I know it's a time of healing and looking toward the future but its interesting that the U.S. had it's own Commie revolution on the same week.

Quotables

Jim Brown during his Syracuse Lacrosse days. That was for you pop.

"Look what he did. He shut Sharpton up. He made Jesse cry."

-NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown on Barack Obama during the Broncos Browns pregame show

He went on to compare Obama to Nelson Mandela.


Jesse Jackson at Wattstax.

If you haven't seen it your music education is incomplete.

We'll see if Browns quarterback Brady Quinn is the real deal or not tonight.

Simpler Times

Available at Trader Joes. $3.99/six pack. 6.2% alcohol. Highly drinkable. I'm off MGD in a can.

Before PETA. Via Martin Klasch

Stolen Knickers

This is the first case of intimate theft, I've seen since the panty raids of 2006 and 2007.

Man grabs more than 130 panties from Victoria's Secret
AP, 11/4/08

DALLAS - A man has proven that you can never have too much underwear when he stole more than 130 pairs of panties from a Victoria's Secret store.

The Dallas Morning News reported online Tuesday that a man snatched $1,067 worth of underwear from a table at the Dallas store Monday.

A police report says a female accomplice held open the door during the theft and both sped away in a green car.

The report did not indicate what styles or sizes were stolen.

Chicken Loving Homophobes

California voters approve Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages
Jessica Garrison, Cara Mia DiMassa and Nancy Vogel, LA Times, 10/5/08

Prop 8 passed with a vote of 52.0% in favor and 48.0% opposed.

The bigots won.

I hope there is a massive effort to repeal Prop 8. My question to those who voted yes was and still is, WHY DO YOU CARE?

"I think the voters were thinking, well, if it makes them happy, why shouldn't we let gay couples get married. And I think we made them realize that there are broader implications to society and particularly the children when you make that fundamental change that's at the core of how society is organized, which is marriage," Proposition 8 strategist Jeff Flint said.

What implications? You and your supporters are absolutely insane Mr. Flint. I don't usually stoop to ad hominem, but since your basic premise is riddled with nonsense and hate I feel I can go there.

Elsewhere in the country, two other gay-marriage bans, in Florida and Arizona, also won. In both states, laws already defined marriage as a heterosexual institution. But backers pushed to amend the state constitutions, saying that doing so would protect the institution from legal challenges.

Proposition 8 was the most expensive proposition on any ballot in the nation this year, with more than $74 million spent by both sides.

The measure's most fervent proponents believed that nothing less than the future of traditional families was at stake, while opponents believed that they were fighting for the fundamental right of gay people to be treated equally under the law.

Separate but Equal

"This has been a moral battle," said Ellen Smedley, 34, a member of the Mormon Church and a mother of five who worked on the campaign. "We aren't trying to change anything that homosexual couples believe or want -- it doesn't change anything that they're allowed to do already. It's defining marriage. . . . Marriage is a man and a woman establishing a family unit."

Really, in these economic times you spent millions to define a word?

I wonder what the failure rate is for heterosexual marriages in the United States?

Why they hell do you love the word so much? What are you fighting to protect and save?

What evil will befall the nation if the word marriage included same sex unions?

Cluck Cluck

Farm animal proposition passes; redistricting measure appears headed for victory
Eric Bailey, LA Times, 10/5/08

Proposition 2, which would determine the fate of penned farm animals, won easily.

The high-stakes measure, debated heavily on TV, pitted animal rights activists against farm groups on the question of whether egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant sows should be allowed more room in pens and cages.

Dinner in San Francisco anyone?

Proposition 1A, the long-delayed effort to finance a bullet train linking Southern California with the Bay Area, was also approved by voters.

The cultural exchange between to the two cities will be amazing. Someday in the hopefully not too distant future, I will never again have to make the long ardious drive up Route 5 to San Francisco. I only hope the train stops somewhere reasonably close to Santa Cruz county

Turnout

More than 82% vote in L.A. County
Jennifer Oldham and Larry Gordon, LA Times, 10/5/08

Of the county's 4.3 million registered voters, about 3.5 million had cast ballots Tuesday at 8 p.m. To find a higher turnout, officials had to go back to 1968 when 86% of county voters cast their ballots for president. The next highest turnout was in 1976, with 81.08%.

U.S. Census Bureau's, 2006 American Community Survey, estimated the population of LA County at 9,744,896. Of those 9.7 million, 7,267,873 are 18 years old and over. So there are potentially 2.9 million unregistered voters in Los Angeles county. I sure would like to shrink that number by the next election.

News from the Homeland

Massachusetts voted to decriminalize marijuana. Voters approved the measure 65% to 35%. Offenders will be given a $100 fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

More Free Stuff

From JAE

Tunes: Rock the Vote will give you eight free MP3s to download if you pledge to vote at www.rockthevote.com/pledge

Sex toys: Babeland locations in SoHo, the Lower East Side (the Leg's old neighborhood) and Carroll Gardens will give men a free $20 "Maverick" (get it?) penis sleeve. Women get a free $15 silver bullet mini-vibrator.

(I had to look up what a penis sleeve is. Wow. Mom, you probably don't want to click on the link.)

FREE

Soviet Union Food Line circa 1987-88


U.S. Depression Era Food Line

Barry must be a socialist, we got free coffee, donuts and ice cream. Change is already happening!

Crispy Kreme is giving away a free star shaped donut with patriotic sprinkles to everyone with an I Voted sticker.

Ben & Jerry's is giving away a free scoop of ice cream between 4-8PM.

Starbucks is giving away a free small coffee to customers who mention they voted.

Carbon Free Voting

I was able to walk to my polling place this morning. It was in the library of the local elementary school. The kids were running around laughing & screaming before class. Appropriate, as we're voting for them now. There were 10 people ahead of me in line. The whole process took less than twenty minutes. Much smoother than my primary voting. The elderly woman in front of me said I could go ahead of her if I had to get to work.

There was a woman with an Obama 08 football shirt on, I guess that's considered electioneering. My Country First neighbor, who was working at the poll pointed it out. The woman was allowed to vote but a poll worker made an announcement after she left.

After two years it's finally over. Actually, hopefully it's just beginning.

Now for my free coffee.

Go Umass!

Last weekend Texas Tech knocked off number one ranked Texas at home 39-33. Texas Tech was rewarded with the number two spot in the BCS standings. The Red Raiders are 9-0, with three games to go.

It's too early to tell, especially with two tough games to go against number six Oklahoma and number eight Oklahoma State but Texas Tech could easily find themselves in the National Championship Game.

OK, so why is this important?

The University of Massachusetts, played Texas Tech back on September 20th. The final score was 56-14. Keep in mind, Umass is a Division 1 FCS (that's the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division 1AA, I'm not sure what was wrong with 1AA) team while Texas Tech is a Division 1 team. I'm sure Umass got paid handsomely for helping pad the Red Raiders record, but how am I suppose to take a Division 1 school that plays an FCS team seriously? Still, it would be kind of cool if Umass had played the eventual national champion.

Umass, is currently ranked 15th in the FCS with a 6-3 record. They're vying for a playoff berth. Umass' other losses came against number one ranked James Madison (52-38) and number 7 Richmond (30-15). Last season, the Minutemen lost in the FCS quarterfinals to Southern Illinois, 34-27. In 2006, they lost in the Championship game to Apalachia State 28-17. So, Umass has a pretty good run going.

The NCAA takes 16 teams for the FCS playoffs, eight of which are automatic bids given to conference championship winners. The remaining games on Umass' schedule are Maine, number 8th ranked New Hampshire and Wayne Crebet's Alma mater (Latin for "nourishing mother") Hofstra.

ESPN's Chris Berman interviewed both Maddog and Barry during Monday Night Football. Here's an exerpt:

Berman: Senator, let's bring it into our arena for a moment. If you could change one thing in sports, what would that be?

Obama: I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. You know, I am fed up with these computer rankings, and this and that and the other. Get eight teams. The top eight teams right at the end. You've got a playoff. Decide on a national champion.

It was obviously a prepared response but I couldn't agree more.

The King of Pop