Where the Light Is

Congratulations to Mrs. Ashley Tuggle for correctly naming "Louisiana Bayou" by Dave Matthews Band as the Thursday Song of the Day.

I'm pretty sure Ashley and Kalum now qualify as the first ever married couple to win the Song of the Day contest on consecutive days. Quite an honor, folks. Quite an honor.

As everyone now knows, ol' Cool Hand Luke has passed on to the great chain-gang in the sky, but he left us with some nuggets of wisdom.

Here's my personal favorite, drawn from today's piece in the NY Times:

In an industry in which long marriages might be defined as those that last beyond the first year and the first infidelity, Mr. Newman and Ms. Woodward’s was striking for its endurance. But they admitted that it was often turbulent. She loved opera and ballet. He liked playing practical jokes and racing cars. But as Mr. Newman told Playboy magazine, in an often-repeated quotation about marital fidelity, “I have steak at home; why go out for hamburger?”

It's not often that a man is able to gain fame as an actor, race-car driver, and salad dressing magnate. Mr. Newman, on behalf of everyone here at Running Down a Dream, rest in peace. I'm pouring out a bottle of Newman's Own Honey Mustard as we speak.

No Judge or Jury Ever Gonna Hear the Story Told

Congratulations to Mr. Kalum Tuggle for correctly naming "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty as the Wednesday Song of the Day.

Moving on to more important matters, a few days ago Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joseph Biden dropped this gem on us :
"Part of what being a leader does is to instill confidence is to demonstrate what he or she knows what they are talking about and to communicating to people ... this is how we can fix this," Biden said. "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'look, here's what happened.'"

After seeing such an astute observation of history, the least I could do was offer to green-light the newest addition to the evening lineup for The History Channel: "Joe Biden's Hour of (Mis)Remembrance".

Featured in the pilot episode:

• "When MacArthur was fighting the Hessians, he didn't sit around twiddling his thumbs. He got out the aircraft carriers and carpet-bombed those suckers."
• "Did Hemingway ever give in to writer's block? No sir. He got up off his duff and wrote The Great Gatsby."
• "When we were dealing with the rise of the modern union, did Bill Gates ever allow the steel workers to strike? I don't think so, mister. You can bet your buttered biscuits that he got out there and broke those strikes with everything he had."
• "Did Martin Luther King, Jr. simply sit around and complain about racial injustice in the American South? No. No, he did not. He went out and wrote the Emancipation Proclamation."
• "When he couldn't communicate to other members of the Holy Roman Empire, did Charlemagne sit down and pout in the corner? No. No, he did not. He went out and invented the printing press."
• "Did Reagan sit around and mope after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Nope. He went out and sent the Apache Helicopters after those rapscallions."
  

Sarah Palin would have made a guest appearance, but she was still trying to answer Charlie Gibson's question about the true nature of "The Bush Doctrine."

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008 Vice-Presidential Candidates. Feel the excitement!!!

I Feel Summer Creepin' In and I'm Tired of This Town Again

Congratulations to the lovely Ms. Amanda Pierce for correctly naming "You Give Me Something" by James "Please Don't Call Me Jim" Morrison as the Tuesday Song of the Day. Ms. Pierce, like every other Song of the Day winner, has been encouraged to place this noteworthy accomplishment on her resume and curriculum vitae. All of you will thank me later.

Sing it with me, my friends. The Witch/Evil Empire is dead at long last.

From the same man, ESPN's Buster Olney, who wrote "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty", comes yet another eulogy to the end of an era in the Bronx. I speak for the vast majority of sane Americans in saying, "Good riddance."

I Was Meant to Tread the Water

I must give Andrew Tuegel credit where credit is due for bringing the following point to my attention:

Since the U.S. Treasury/Federal Reserve of New York decided to bailout AIG last week with a $85 billion dollar loan, you and I, the American taxpayers, now tangentially support the English Evil Empire, Manchester United.

I cannot speak for you on this issue, but as for myself, this sits about as well as a midnight chili-cheese dog.

Call your congressman.

Call your congresswoman.

Call your senator.

Call Hank Paulson.

Call Ben Bernanke.

Sure, they're all going to tell that this is just another piece in the ongoing effort of avoiding a global financial meltdown, but let's be honest here: Some things are bigger than global stability, my friends.

For instance, my ability to sleep at night without waking up in a cold sweat knowing that a portion of my hard-earned dollars are going towards further subsidization of Ronaldo's diving.

Waiting For the World to Come Along

Congratulations to Ms. Heidi Hipp for correctly naming "Jesus, Etc." by Wilco as the Song of the Day for Saturday the 13th.

As P.C. has slowly consumed my life, I've come to the realization that I have done a pretty poor job updating this here blog-type-thing, but if there is one thing that will cause me to break free from my long, slow slog up the mountain that is the Practice Court Program at Baylor Law School, it is the opportunity to extol the virtues, and talents, of my more talented sibling, Katie.
For those of you out there in the Running Down a Dream audience who carry purses, whether you be a woman or a man (not that there's anything wrong with that), my dear sister is here to meet your purse needs, whatever those might be.

You can find her wares here.

Go buy one.

Go buy fifteen.

Go buy enough to sate the audience at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Just go do it.

Now.

Everyone Is a Burning Sun

Something tells me this ad isn't playing too well right now in the Houston-Galveston area.

Oh, and lest I forget, the Good Guys defeated the English Evil Empire this morning by a 2-1 scoreline.

Goals from Carlos Tevez (Man. U.), Wes Brown (own goal), and Ryan Babel can be found here.

You Can Rely On Me Honey

Once again, congratulations to Mr. Peter Pope for correctly naming "My Sundown" by Jimmy Eat World as the Monday Song of the Day. The Song of the Day is becoming Peter's own personal fiefdom, and frankly, I expect more competition out of the other readers of this here blog. That's not to say that I'm not impressed by Mr. Pope's current run, but in the spirit of the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, let's have a little parity here, folks.

Tomorrow morning, my friends, the greatest domestic football match in the world takes place at Anfield.

VERSUS

Choose your allegiances carefully lest you raise my, or, more importantly, God's wrath.

Current Reading
Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam by Mark Bowden

I See It Around Me, I See It In Everything, I Could Be So Much More Than This

Congratulations to Mr. Peter Pope for correctly naming "Freedom" by David Gray as the Saturday and Sunday Song of the Day.

Somewhere Joey Halbert and Bill Simmons are holding each other. They cry in the dark in outraged response to the cruel, cruel world that is the 2008-2009 NFL regular season.
On the bright side, America's Team looked fannnnnnnnnnntastic yesterday in their 28-10 defeat of the Cleveland (Paul) Browns.

I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself with this one, but the Super Bowl is in Tampa this year, right?

I'm probably going to regret writing that last sentence at some point in the next 6 months.

Time Out on the Running Boards

Really, Fox?

A show called "Hole in the Wall"?

You're paying people to directly replicate gimmicky Japanese game shows?

Again, the apocalypse is 'nigh, my friends.

Take Your Eyes Off Me, There's Nothing Here to See

I came across the following video of Cowboys' cornerback Terence Newman riding the new "Tony Hawk's Big Spin" roller-coaster at Six Flags over Texas on the Dallas Morning News Cowboys blog and Deadspin.

Selected highlights include:

• Newman echoing Ricky Bobby in his prayers to a "6 lb. 8 oz. Baby Jesus".
• #41 screaming like a small child.

Don't worry, Terence. I'm sure this video won't be required film viewing for wide receivers across the NFL this year.

I Know This Work Is Never Finished

Congratulations to Mr. Peter Pope of Magnificent Vista for correctly naming "Hook" by Blues Traveler as the Thursday Song of the Day.

If anything, just watch the video for footage of John Popper pre-gastric bypass. I still remember thinking for a few moments earlier this decade that Blues Traveler had replaced their iconic lead singer/harmonica virtuoso when I saw them perform, but then I was enlightened on the miracles of modern medicine.

Current Reading

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

I Wanna Bust All Your Balloons, I Wanna Burn All of Your Cities to the Ground

Congratulations to Mr. John Middleton for correctly naming "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis as the Wednesday Song of the Day.

Speaking of Oasis, let's talk about the big, I mean BIG, news in the English Premier League this week. Manchester City (or City to their fans) were purchased this week by the Abu Dhabi United Group, which is a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates' sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The ADIA has possibly, oh, let's just say somewhere north of $875 billion worth of assets to possibly devote towards Manchester's current second citizens (behind the English Evil Empire).

What does all this mean?

Well, as they say, if money, and not love, really makes the world go 'round, City may be a force to reckon with in English and European football in the years to come. Almost immediately after the takeover by ADUG, the City front office swept in to sign Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid despite numerous reports liking the talented 24-year old with Chelsea F.C. This is the functional equivalent of the guy who just won the lottery swooping in to purchase the last remaining Bentley from the dealership before Donald Trump knows what hit him.

On the bright side, at least Liverpool/Rangers owner Tom Hicks is receiving tons of money from the Boys in Arlington...oh wait, less than 13,000 people showed up at the Ballpark yesterday.

The apocalypse is 'nigh, my friends.

Don't You Know You Might Find a Better Place to Play

Congratulations to Mr. Peter Pope of Magnificent Vista for correctly naming "Two Step" by The Dave Matthews Band as the Tuesday Song of the Day.

The announced crowd at the Ballpark in Arlington today as the Rangers defeated the Seattle Super Mario Brothers, ahem, Mariners?

12, 882.

That brings to mind an old existential brain-teaser: If a Ranger wins in the Ballpark, and no one is around to see it, is there a sound?

Life is Short But Sweet For Certain

In a world without Don LaFontaine...who's going to do all those movie trailers?

Also, the Jig and Twig points out LaFontaine's successor should only be one man, Pablo Francisco.

These Things We Cannot Change

Congratulations to Mr. Dan Carlson for correctly naming "Rain King" by Counting Crows as the Song of the Day from August 21st.

Not that you've been terribly troubled by my absence, but I'm currently laying low in the blogosphere throughout the seminal Baylor Law experience known simply as "P.C." Look for some longer posts on weekends and possible short snippets during the week. Other than that, the archives might have to sate your need for Running Down the Dream goodness for the foreseeable future.

Current Reading

Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror by Richard A. Clarke