You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows

Tomorrow at Anfield, it's a battle between two world renowned football clubs, Liverpool F.C. and Chelsea F.C.

You already know where my loyalties lie, but who should you, YES YOU, root for in this matchup?

Based on the following facts, I'll let you decide...

You can support the team led by a man who has been named a Member of the Order of the British Empire

...or you can root for the team owned by Vladimir Putin's close friend, Roman Abramovich.

Only you, my friend, can decide. The fate of the FREE WORLD rests in your hands.

Soak It In While You Can, Winter is On

Congratulations to the lovely Ms. Amanda Pierce for correctly naming "Bring It on Home to Me" by Sam Cooke as the Thursday Song of the Day. I was actually listening to the Van Morrison cover of the tune when I decided to pick it as the Song of the Day, but as much as I love Morrison's version of the song, let's be honest, it begins and ends with Sam Cooke.

The version I linked to above is outstanding but has a very, very long intro, and this is coming from someone who likes Phish. Sam and the band get it kicked up around the 2:30 mark, so if you're operating on a fast version of the interwebs, you can just skip there and forget I ever told you all of this.

Speaking of great covers...who actually took a song from someone else, made it their own, and played it so well that you often forget who did the original?

Here's my list of Top 5 Covers (in no particular order):

1. "All Along the Watchtower" --Jimi Hendrix (original by Bob Dylan)
2. "Gin and Juice"--The Gourds (original by Calvin Broaddus, ahem, Snoop Dogg)
   
3. "Hallelujah"--Jeff Buckley (original by Leonard Cohen)
4. "Hurt"--Johnny Cash (original by Nine Inch Nails)
   
5. "Boys of Summer"--The Ataris (Don Henley)

I can already hear my father's pained cries about my selection in position #5, but my pick of the Ataris' take on Henley's tune is not an indictment of Henley, but a recognition that the Ataris took the song to the next level.

Imitation, as they say, is the most sincere form of flattery.

If You Ever Change Your Mind About Leaving, Leaving Me Behind

If you want truly insightful commentary on LOST, you probably need to go here, but if you want stick around these parts, I'll try to share something with you that came up during a conversation with this lady last night.

For those readers of this here blog that don't follow the exploits of Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Desmond, et. al., I should probably begin by telling you what makes LOST so unique in my mind (at least today) is something that is not directly tied to the content of the show.

About two years ago, the producers of LOST sat down with the ABC execs and negotiated the show's timelime. Collectively, they sat down, etched out the show's date of death, and decided that the show would run for six seasons and then shuffle off this mortal coil.

Presumably, the producers pushed that agreement on the execs due to a number of factors, but the one that makes the most sense to me is that the writers and producers of the show needed some sort of borders, some type of deadline for dealing with the ever-increasing number of questions and loose ends that characterized the first three seasons of the show. They needed to know how much time they were working with in order to establish some semblance of direction and purpose in the show's final three seasons.

With that framework in mind, a lot of people that I have talked to are of the opinion that this will enable the writers and producers to weave all of the storylines into a seamless whole that will leave currently confused viewers and followers of the show with a satisfied feeling sometime in May of 2010 when the show wraps up its run. For the most part, I have to agree with this perspective, but there's a nagging part of me that thinks there's going to be some major questions that remain unanswered when the screen goes black in 2010, and strangely enough, I'm quite okay with that.

It seems as though all of the great works of entertainment, whether they are found in film, literature, music, or television, have a common thread of ambiguity, mystery, and uncertainty running through them that provides a much deeper level of enjoyment and satisfaction than could ever be found in shallower fare that yields easy answers and simple solutions. The fact that Cormac McCarthy never actually tells the reader who Anton Chigurh is or where he came from is much more frightening than if McCarthy had devoted a large portion of No Country for Old Men to Chigurh's backstory.

If it's true that we are simultaneously afraid of and fascinated by what we do not truly understand, here's one man's vote that LOST leaves a few loose ends lying around in late May 2010.

Young Men on the Corner Like Scattered Leaves

Like a feather caught in a vortex, Williams ran around the square of bases at the center of our beseeching screaming. He ran as he always ran out home runs—hurriedly, unsmiling, head down, as if our praise were a storm of rain to get out of. He didn't tip his cap. Though we thumped, wept, and chanted "We want Ted" for minutes after he hid in the dugout, he did not come back.


Our noise for some seconds passed beyond excitement into a kind of immense open anguish, a wailing, a cry to be saved. But immortality is nontransferable. The papers said that the other players, and even the umpires on the field, begged him to come out and acknowledge us in some way, but he never had and did not now. Gods do not answer letters.

"Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu", one of many great pieces of work by (the late) John Updike, who died yesterday at the age of 76. R.I.P.

Waging Wars to Shake the Poet and the Beat

I would try to give you my thoughts on today's status as the final day of Practice Court, but I'm handing this one over to Rare Earth.

Gentlemen, take it away...

Current Reading

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

P.S. Many thanks to Mr. Stephen Olson for the American Lion recommendation.

Where the Way is Dark and the Night is Cold

Anton Chigurh of No Country for Old Men-fame may not actually be out there wreaking havoc along the U.S.-Mexico border, but a piece by Mary Anastasia O'Grady in today's Wall Street Journal contains a projection that is no less troubling in its scope.

Tally all this up and what you get is Mexico on the edge of chaos, and a mess that could easily bleed across the border. The U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., warned recently that an unstable Mexico "could represent a homeland security problem of immense proportions to the United States."

In a report titled "Joint Operating Environment 2008," the Command singles out Mexico and Pakistan as potentially failing states. Both "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse . . . . The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police, and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels."

Sure As the Tickin' of the Clock on the Wall

Congratulations to Mr. Peter Pope, a.k.a. The Editor in Chief of "Magnificent Vista", for correctly naming "Song for the Dumped" by Ben Folds Five as the Saturday Song of the Day.

After the marathon that was the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, it seems difficult to start thinking about the world of campaigns once again, but the battle for who will occupy the Governor's Mansion in Austin after 2010 is shaping up be quite a contest.
With more than a year to go before the Republican gubernatorial primary, the campaign was under way on Saturday as U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison plotted strategy with more than 300 of her supporters and Gov. Rick Perry fired up social conservatives at an anti-abortion rally on the Capitol steps.

Hutchison told reporters that her meeting was the first major organizational step for her challenge to Perry. She said a formal announcement will not occur until this summer, but she said she can be considered a candidate and the race is on.

Kay Bailey or Governor Good Hair?

In the words of the good folks at Kissing Suzy Kolber, "Who Ya Got?"

I Want My Money Back, and Don't Forget

Hitler is, to put it mildly, not happy about losing to Baylor last fall.

Many thanks to Mr. Ryan Searcey for sending the exclusive footage my way.

Let's Watch the Miles Flying By

Apparently some East Texans are doing their best to make sure that hooliganism is not restricted to sporting events in Europe and South America.

Candido Garcia, 22,could face up to 20 years in prison for the incident involving two soccer teams if convicted, police said. Garcia, a fan of the team Deportivo Leon, apparently became angry after watching as a referee ruled in favor of the opposing team, Deportivo Higo, according to Lt. J.G. Smith of the Lufkin Police Department.

After an exchange of words, Garcia allegedly went after the Deportivo Higo team, stabbing coach Rogelio Juarez Castillo, 38, in the back with a knife, Smith said. Team members and fans of Deportivo Higo defended themselves against Garcia with sticks as he threatened them with the knife, Smith said.

A knife and stick showdown?

I would ask if firearms have been introduced to Lufkin, but this guy can certainly confirm that they have been.

Current Reading
The Appeal by John Grisham

Moving Forward Through the Flaming Doors

What's the right course of action for a franchise that revels in finding new ways to rip the collective heart out of its fanbase year after year after year?

Get a new head-coach?

Stage a coup to run the owner/general manager/Skeletor out of town on a rail?
Stop bringing in players whose character would cause Charles Manson to blush?

Nope.

You start giving away training camp roster spots to reality-show winners.

The first time Michael Irvin watched "American Idol," he loved the concept of giving undiscovered singers the chance to become stars. Now Irvin is doing the same for NFL wannabes.

The Hall of Fame wide receiver is launching a reality TV show in which 12 "football neophytes" will compete for an impressive grand prize: a spot on the Dallas Cowboys' training-camp roster.

The Cowboys confirmed that one of their 80 roster spots will go to the show's winner. The NFL did not immediately return a call.

Hmmmm, the NFL didn't immediately return the call?

I wonder why?

Oh, yes. Roger Goodell is currently plotting the murders of Jerry Jones and Michael Irvin.

Let's Take the Good Times as They Come

My fellow American taxpayers, rejoice with me that you no longer support, aid, or abet the English Evil Empire.

US insurance giant AIG have announced that they will not seek to renew their sponsorship of Manchester United when their current deal expires in 2010 and reports suggest the company are trying to negotiate an early end to the deal.

AIG were unveiled as United's new shirt sponsor amid great fanfare in 2006 as the club proudly announced a British record shirt sponsorship deal: £56.5 million over four years.

However, the US firm have been hit hard by the global economic downturn and only avoided bankruptcy last autumn when the US federal reserve bailed them out to the tune of $152 billion.

I must admit my disappointment, though, with President Obama's failure to provide the American electorate with a promise to rid the global community of the scourge that is Cristiano Ronaldo's diving.

No more Ronaldo in our time?

YES, WE CAN.

P.S. Many thanks to Mr. Stephen Olson for the heads up on this story.

I Got a Song to Sing, Keep Me Out of the Cold

My favorite 5 minutes and 18 seconds of yesterday's inauguration came courtesy of this man:

A brief transcript:

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

I know at least one person who is glad President Obama will be looking out for the red man, this guy:

One Sunny Mornin' We'll Rise I Know

After finishing up Jeff Pearlman's excellent Boys Will Be Boys on Sunday, I was thankful for at least one thing: the obliviousness that is part and parcel of being a child.
As I discussed the book with numerous friends over the past few weeks, we all came to a collective agreement that we were glad that we didn't fully understand just how loathsome our childhood "heroes" could be off the gridiron while playing so well on it. I'm not sure if it's possible to retroactively lose your childhood innocence, but I came awfully close.
For kids growing up in Texas in the mid-90's, there was nothing bigger, or better, than the Dallas Cowboys of Aikman, Smith, and Irvin, and like all of those kids, I fell for America's Team hook, line, and sinker. I got an Aikman jersey for Christmas in 1993, I wept at halftime of Super Bowl XXVIII when the Boys were trailing the Bills 13-6, and I had the Cowboys-themed birthday cake when I turned 11.

Little did I know that almost all of those players that I cheered for on Sundays were womanizing, drug-abusing, self-aggrandizing blowhards. I would call them hypocrites, but they probably never held themselves out to be anything other than what they truly were.

P.S. Besides the fact that he associates himself with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman is still #1 in my book, whatever that's worth.

Where the Miles are Marked in the Blood and Gold

In a new award around these parts, I'm handing out the inaugural Running Down a Dream Person of the Week award (yes, it's as prestigious as it sounds) to Chelsey B. Sullenberger III, captain of U.S. Air Flight 1549.

Also, it warrants mentioning that Capt. Sullenberger is the leader in the clubhouse in the "WASPiest Name" category as well. Quite a showing for the ol' Captain this week.

I realize it has almost certainly been confirmed that a flock of geese met their demise at the hands of Flight 1549's engines, but the NTSB needs to be careful in not shutting off other potential causes of the accident, such as:

• Stacks of giant deli meat and donuts standing outside of the New Yankee Stadium after the arrival of C.C. Sabathia.
• The flocks of carrier pigeons now used by the Yankees front office for correspondence after they burned through the GDP of Ecuador this offseason.

Current Reading
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes

Moving Pictures Helped Us Get Through September

I'm probably not going to have nearly as much to say about this case as Prof. CrimPro or Prof. Osler, but the decision from the SCOTUS today in Herring v. United States is an interesting one:

Mr. Herring had gone to the Coffee County, Ala., sheriff’s department on July 7, 2004, to retrieve something from his truck, which had been impounded.

Mark Anderson, an investigator for the sheriff’s department, who asked a Coffee County clerk if there were any outstanding warrants for Mr. Herring. No, Mr. Anderson was told. So he asked the clerk to check with her counterpart in neighboring Dale County, who turned up a warrant against Mr. Herring for failing to appear in court on a felony charge.


Mr. Anderson and a deputy following Mr. Herring as he left the impound lot pulled him over and arrested him. A search turned up methamphetamine in his pocket and a pistol, which Mr. Herring could not legally possess because of an earlier felony conviction, in his truck.

Within minutes, however, the Dale County clerk discovered that the warrant against Mr. Herring had been withdrawn five months earlier and had been left in the computer system by mistake. The clerk immediately called Mr. Anderson, but Mr. Herring had already been taken into custody.

Was Mr. Herring entitled to go free because the officers lacked probable cause and there was no dispute that both the arrest and subsequent search were unconstitutional? No, the Supreme Court ruled.

“When police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, the exclusionary rule does not apply,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote.

We Used to Shake It Up in Shaker Heights

Congratulations to Mr. John Middleton for correctly naming "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi as the Tuesday Song of the Day.

Quick question: When historians in 2509 look back at Bon Jovi videos from the 80's (what else will they have to do?), will they think that lead singers of hair bands fashioned their coiffures in a bizarre tribute to tribal headdresses?

Will they believe Jon Bon Jovi or Axl Rose was once our tribal leader?

One can only hope.

Speaking of the 80's...do you want another reason to dislike Manchester United and Portugal winger, and recently named FIFA World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo (in the center of the photo below)?

Of course you do.

Just let him know that the Members Only jacket he proudly wore on Monday might have also been spotted in the Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive" video.

Is this just a bitter rant because I thought Torres should have won?

Well, I think we all know the answer to that.

It's All the Same, Only the Names Will Change

Congratulations to Mr. Andrew Tuegel for correctly naming "Lovers in Japan" by Coldplay as the Monday Song of the Day.

As more and more newspapers teeter on the edge of financial ruin, Michael Hirschorn of The Atlantic offers some interesting thoughts on the possibly forthcoming end of print journalism as we know it.

If you’re hearing few howls and seeing little rending of garments over the impending death of institutional, high-quality journalism, it’s because the public at large has been trained to undervalue journalists and journalism. The Internet has done much to encourage lazy news consumption, while virtually eradicating the meaningful distinctions among newspaper brands.

"End Times" by Michael Hirschorn of The Atlantic.

But I Have No Doubt, One Day the Sun Will Come Out

As always, it was great to see so many friends this past weekend and to celebrate the beginning of Cody and Bethany's life together. I'm not sure why Lance is trying to hog the spotlight in the following picture, but his sister-in-law cannot be pleased.

Quote of the Weekend courtesy of Mr. Demetrius R. Collins: "If the parents of the bride and groom are okay with the music at the reception, you probably need new music."

Current Reading

Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty by Jeff Pearlman

Two Thousands Kids Won't Get All That Much Sleep Tonight

Granted, I didn't go to the University of Texas, but darn if the following picture didn't evoke a little thing I like to call schadenfreude last night.

Reliable sources tell me that similar footage was captured last night at Garrett Oakley's residence.

Tonight My Bag is Packed, Tomorrow I'll Walk These Tracks

Congratulations to Ms. Stacey Villescas for correctly naming "Time" by Hootie and the Blowfish as the Tuesday Song of the Day.

There's not much to report on the life/school front but work, work, work, though today was an interesting day.

As part of P.C., we lucky few must go out into the real world to observe actual practitioners at their craft, and if one of the attorneys that you observe refers to himself as the "Golden Boy", well, you know it's going to be exciting on all fronts.

Silly me, I always thought that title belonged to this guy.

Tomorrow's Just Another Day

In the interests of full disclosure, no, I'm not on Malcolm Gladwell's payroll, but I am here to tell you to pick up his latest effort, Outliers: The Story of Success.

If you've read Gladwell's two previous books, The Tipping Point and Blink, you know that he has a gift for gathering research, studies, and anecdotes from a variety of sources, and then utilizing that material to make an engaging arguments on a number of topics, whether it be the reasons Hush-Puppies shoes became popular once again in the 90's, the ability of some art dealers to spot fakes in a moment's glance, or the reason that an inordinate number of NHL players are born in January, February, or March.

With that said, Malcolm, old buddy, since I have been so kind, if you have any spare change just sitting around, would you mind sending a care-package down to Waco?

You're obviously not using any of it on haircuts.

Update at 8:30 p.m.

Just because I love you, I'm giving you a little Gladwell-video from a recent speaking engagement in San Francisco.

The Street Sounds Like a Symphony

Congratulations to Mr. John Middleton for correctly naming "Rockin' the Suburbs" by Ben Folds as the Song of the Day for way, way back on Thursday, December 18, 2008. John, I'm sorry that I took so long in withholding your accolades, but you're a Chelsea supporter, and I can't really be expected to do you any favors.

Much like Fernando Torres on Saturday, I'm slowly working my way back into playing shape after the Christmas/New Year's blogging abyss.

Even though it's January 5, and even though I'm not normally a New Year's Resolution-type guy, I'm going to throw out a resolution to you, my dear readers, so that I will be held accountable in my pursuit of excellence this year.

What is that resolution?

Despite the fact that I have no guitar-playing skills whatsoever, I'm going to learn a little trick with that instrument that makes the ladies swoon. No, I'm not actually going to develop any particular skill playing the guitar. I'm just going to perfect the move that The Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler throws down at the 5:38 mark in this performance of "Most People are DJs".

Wish me luck, and take pity on the numerous guitars I will surely destroy in pursuit of my goal.