tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62207532012-02-12T23:00:05.550-08:00Public MusingsI'm a fiend for mojitos.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.comBlogger70391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-27307624745394809812012-02-12T22:55:00.000-08:002012-02-12T23:00:05.667-08:00LoggingFilm: Tiny FurnitureBoring. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing about Netflix streaming, it really encourages turning bad/boring/otherwise unspectacular movies off. Was anyone else kind of surprised Lena Dunham wasn't...how should I say this...hotter?Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-90732125298770584332012-02-12T22:04:00.000-08:002012-02-12T22:10:33.751-08:00LoggingTV: LuckI'm picturing the scripts of episodes 2 & 3 of Luck without the "written by David Milch" on the front. I'm picturing a friend sending me to read them and saying "so what do you think?" I could see myself calling up the lunatic asylum and saying, "my friend has gone stark raving mad, he should be locked up immediately." I'm only partially kidding. I'll continue to watch the Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-59070783551603804252012-02-12T18:24:00.001-08:002012-02-12T18:24:20.748-08:00On the Abuse of StoriesGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-68729265240270339932012-02-12T18:10:00.000-08:002012-02-12T18:13:14.118-08:00Big DataFrom the NY Times:Welcome to the Age of Big Data. The new megarich of Silicon Valley, first at Google and now Facebook, are masters at harnessing the data of the Web — online searches, posts and messages — with Internet advertising. At the World Economic Forum last month in Davos, Switzerland, Big Data was a marquee topic. A report by the forum, “Big Data, Big Impact,” declared data a newGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-51577236880786716282012-02-12T15:49:00.000-08:002012-02-12T15:51:17.772-08:00Wow. Really?Bin Laden supposedly gave up on jihad.Osama supposedly told his children and grandchildren. “Do not follow me down the road to jihad,” he said. “You have to study and live in peace and don’t do what I am doing or what I have done.”The only real value in this is if the message is somehow conveyed and believed by those in the radical Muslim community. But still, pretty interesting Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-62438796234047013202012-02-12T15:38:00.000-08:002012-02-12T15:41:28.481-08:00LoggingFilm: ChronicleClever moments and a decent overall film. I wish studios would make more movies of this scale - modest, big idea type of pictures. I did not care for the found footage - this is now officially the worst genre of movies simply for the dumb amount of time spent coming up with excuses about why the camera is on. Does anyone actually care about why the camera is on Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-49401275034787899612012-02-11T18:39:00.000-08:002012-02-11T18:40:54.875-08:00WhitneyTop 10 Whitney songs.I was never a major fan, but her talent was transcendent.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-69487337131050523872012-02-11T16:18:00.000-08:002012-02-11T16:21:39.613-08:00ImportantThis strikes me as an important story.Loopholes, poor regulations, and off-shore havens allow corporations and the very wealthy to draw on the benefits of a strong nation-state without fully paying back in, eroding a system that's less tested than we might think.Kind of sickening to think about...the habits of the incredibly wealthy and successful to avoid contributing to the systems andGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-87568193995569931482012-02-11T14:46:00.000-08:002012-02-11T15:22:06.537-08:00Dispatch from the GhettoLast week I served jury duty in Inglewood. I can't talk about the case and it was totally uninteresting, but I was left with several impressions from spending a wee bit of time in the ghetto. There is barely anywhere to eat lunch. I was at the courthouse and so presumably, there are a lot of employees and other folks around during the lunch hour. On my first day, I Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-3162361475183879742012-02-11T14:43:00.001-08:002012-02-11T14:46:31.036-08:00No More Football?Grantland thinks about how litigation and safety concerns could be the end of the sport. I don't see this as likely, but it isn't totally out of the question.This would be a much bigger issue than the article argues. The implication would be more than economic. It would be spiritual. It would be a signal about what type of society we are choosing to be: one that values safetyGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-62933581969432720902012-02-11T13:52:00.000-08:002012-02-11T14:00:21.565-08:00LoggingTV: JustifiedThe older I get, the more I come to appreciate knowing one's limitations. You see it in sports all the time, the type of player who knows his strengths and weaknesses and plays in a way to maximize one and minimize the other. And I've begun to grow very tired of the opposite, the type of player who thinks he is something he is not. I think the same can be said of films andGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-72555934951388224812012-02-10T12:25:00.000-08:002012-02-10T12:26:33.196-08:00YepOn the 2nd lives of Pro Football players.But with that said, I think the psychological aspect must be a killer. I'm trying to imagine someone telling me that I basically wouldn't be able to write after age 40, or so. I don't know how to say this, but I'd feel like my life was over. The only thing in my life above my writing is family. Family, friendship and writing are about all I've been Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-87537536771632694352012-02-10T11:34:00.000-08:002012-02-10T11:35:55.149-08:00LoggingFilm: Withnail and II was holding out a long time to try and see this in the theater as I know they play it at the art houses around LA every now and then. I caved last night. Incredibly enjoyable. Everyone says Johnny Depp based his Jack Sparrow on Keith Richards...but perhaps he based it on Richard Grant?Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-76115563318085738782012-02-10T09:47:00.000-08:002012-02-10T09:48:54.567-08:00The UnderclassAn interesting take on the Charles Murray book and poverty in general.One study of low-income delinquent young men in Boston found that one of the factors that had the greatest impact in turning them away from crime was marrying women they cared about. As Steven Pinker notes in his recent book, “The Better Angels of Our Nature”: “The idea that young men are civilized by women and Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-43366891072790661882012-02-08T19:54:00.001-08:002012-02-08T19:58:15.046-08:00OKCEveryone seems to think OKC is the best in the West, but whenever I see them play, they seem to be in tight games or losing. They seem to play their starters A LOT of minutes. Westbrook makes a lot of mistakes, turnovers, dumb shots, etc. They are an exciting, explosive, fun team to watch, but there is a lack of maturity to the way they play that makes it seem like they are still missing anGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-56995674373776706292012-02-08T17:18:00.001-08:002012-02-08T17:33:54.016-08:00Is Anyone Allowed To Do Anything?Rob Gronkowski "called out" for partying after Super Bowl loss. This, of course, is a follow up to Giselle Bundchen being caught on video "calling out" Wes Welker (more accurately, taking a stab at him for not catching the ball). And this, of course, is on the heels of an anonymous Jets player "calling out" Mark Sanchez and further on the heels of Ed Reed "Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-67617603458627431472012-02-08T08:28:00.000-08:002012-02-08T08:29:28.018-08:00MarriageIf you're looking for a reason, here's a decent one:But wait, there’s more. Marriage doesn’t just cut expenses. It raises couples’ income. In the NLSY, married men earn about 40% more than comparable single men; married women earn about 10% less than comparable single women. From a couples’ point of view, that’s a big net bonus. And much of this bonus seems to be causal.It makes you Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-16461945790973864362012-02-07T15:06:00.001-08:002012-02-07T15:07:28.942-08:00StuckIn jury duty...waiting in the room...reading old magazines. Come across a book review of the new edition of David Thomson's New Biographical Dictionary of Film or whatever it is called. In it, is quoted his perfect summation of Inglorious Basterds, "brilliant, and uninteresting."Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-54882359933458827772012-02-06T17:29:00.001-08:002012-02-06T17:29:30.703-08:00Old StylePhil has started a blog.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-1312693693384004982012-02-06T17:21:00.000-08:002012-02-06T17:28:45.225-08:00Superbowl ThoughtsThe most interesting part of the game was Belichick allowing the Giants to score a touchdown to give the Pats a chance to win. I loved the play. It increased their chance of winning from 5% to 25%. They really needed to complete the first pass on the drive, though. With only 57 secs left, and needing a touchdown, they didn't have time for mistakes or to be imprecise. This Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-5785120817873035872012-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:002012-02-06T17:21:18.060-08:00Kubrick InterviewVery interesting Kubrick interview on The Shining. My favorite bits:There is no doubt that a good story has always mattered, and the great novelists have generally built their work around strong plots. But I've never been able to decide whether the plot is just a way of keeping people's attention while you do everything else, or whether the plot is really more important than Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-72975543047971147622012-02-06T09:15:00.000-08:002012-02-06T11:16:51.614-08:00LoggingTV: LuckNot a good show to watch after the Super Bowl.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-46766140648611576382012-02-05T22:27:00.000-08:002012-02-05T22:28:41.127-08:00News?SYRIAN EMBASSIES UNDER SIEGE: Protesters were so angry over Syria’s latest and most brutal crackdown on dissent—more than 200 people were killed in Homs over the weekend—and the failure of the United Nations to pass a resolution calling on President Bashir al-Assad to step down, that they attacked seven Syrian embassies all around the world Saturday.Wait...you're telling me the United Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-21760317808601832562012-02-05T13:24:00.001-08:002012-02-05T13:25:34.026-08:00ConvenientArticle about Facebook:One other interesting bit from the Pew report: They found no evidence of "Facebook Fatigue." To the contrary, the study's authors say, the longer someone has been on Facebook, the more active they are. Same is true for people who have more friends. This is good news for Facebook and a sign that it is on a different path than MySpace. As more people use the site Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-77384747466934827612012-02-05T13:21:00.001-08:002012-02-05T13:23:15.688-08:00GoogleHow Google makes money. Turns out insurance companies, loans, lawyers, and other industries that rely on long term clients are where Googles makes the bulk of their ad revenue - and they'll pay up to $27 per click because even if 1 in 50 customers are hits, the prices is worth it.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-62945749348008104032012-02-05T12:07:00.000-08:002012-02-05T12:09:00.616-08:00LA Teacher Abuse ScandalWonder why we're in debt? The teacher fired for putting gigantic cockroaches on the faces of blindfolded students and feeding them semen receives a pension of $4000 a month.Insanity.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-14866195364951165792012-02-05T11:35:00.001-08:002012-02-05T11:36:21.200-08:00Kenneth RogoffInteresting profile of an economist and recovering chess addict.Rogoff’s real hero, however, was Bobby Fischer, the American chess champion of the 1970s. He remembers following the games from the famous Fischer-Spassky world chess championship in 1972, and being awed by Fischer’s play – “It was like seeing the hand of God at work; the originality, the simplicity.” He shakes his headGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-41435291066881005222012-02-05T09:53:00.000-08:002012-02-05T11:01:25.615-08:00Makers vs. TakersIn danger of America become a nation of takers.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-79915957107509570482012-02-04T15:12:00.001-08:002012-02-04T15:18:14.752-08:00What Is An IPODefinition of an IPO.The Facebook IPO will be remembered as one of the greatest pyramid/ponzi schemes. The founders and their financiers are trying to cash out now before Facebook becomes the Myspace wasteland. It is certainly in their interest. What a joke American business has become. We don't produce anything anymore, we're all just speculators and gamblers now. From the Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-35251995516158024482012-02-03T16:13:00.001-08:002012-02-03T16:13:46.739-08:00Niners!Megatron available?Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-14564430768974257722012-02-03T12:50:00.000-08:002012-02-03T12:51:03.477-08:00Cronenberg InterviewExcellent interview with David Cronenberg.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-50791606192505512492012-02-03T12:29:00.001-08:002012-02-03T12:29:47.430-08:00LoggingFilm: The GreyGood, not great, movie. Started kinda slow, but really builds to a fantastic 3rd act and awesome final scene. My kind of movie.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-57365009050648490032012-02-02T09:21:00.001-08:002012-02-02T09:22:55.561-08:00Aversion to SexWhat is going on in Japan? Youth are reporting to be less interested in sex and a reader points out, there is an economic reason. Makes sense to me. If you are struggling with your pride, it is tough to get laid.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-44073488699564488402012-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:002012-02-01T09:02:24.329-08:00Obama and CollegeOn Obama's proposals to make college costs go down. Strikes me, the Feds getting involved with college education caused the price to go up and now his solution is to get more involved. Of course, that is always the liberal solution whether it is the right way or the wrong way...Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-675899948705646372012-01-31T23:11:00.001-08:002012-01-31T23:11:33.401-08:00LoggingTV: Justified, new seasonJustified is just really good old fashioned tv.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-5458208235224748232012-01-31T23:03:00.000-08:002012-01-31T23:10:49.636-08:00LoggingFilm: When We Were KingsWasn't this supposed to be one of the great documentary films? Didn't it win an oscar? Man, I was disappointed. About 20% of the movie is about boxing. I think this is revealing of a certain attitude in filmmaking around the time it was made that movies needed to be about "something more." I think perhaps, movies need to be about something less. I wish the Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-64650447319662309052012-01-31T13:09:00.000-08:002012-01-31T13:16:52.892-08:00FoodThis past weekend, I tried several new places to eat. The standout was All About the Bread, a sandwich shop in West Hollywood. They did their homework. It is a mix between Bay Cities and Larchmont Wine and Cheese. Really delicious. I'm not ready to crown them tops or anything, I still prefer Bay Cities, but for the relatively much less wait, and the fact they are new, really damn good. Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-65322815985321947612012-01-30T11:31:00.000-08:002012-01-30T11:32:16.743-08:00Belichick's Film SessionsMann and Milch, if they ever work together again, could do a character study of Bill Belichick.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-68412128138220490182012-01-30T11:30:00.000-08:002012-01-30T11:31:30.159-08:00LoggingTV: Luck, Homeland, Downton AbbeyI need to see more of Luck to discuss it the way it should be discussed.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-13279986660370572622012-01-30T10:42:00.000-08:002012-01-30T10:43:31.170-08:00Is Gay a Choice?It's hard to keep up with the politically correct answer.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-34427034057367925422012-01-30T09:18:00.001-08:002012-01-30T09:18:17.467-08:00Oh Boy!Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-35064403770293006252012-01-30T09:06:00.000-08:002012-01-30T09:10:16.958-08:00Losing PatronsIt seems Hamas is losing their patrons.Thus, Hamas could now be in serious trouble. The spring that has helped Islamists elsewhere in the region has deprived Hamas of its longtime patrons and emboldened and empowered its enemy at home--PIJ. It must somehow adapt--quickly--to the new climate. This helps explain its seeming moderation, though it has given hints of this possibility forGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-30047137344729827772012-01-30T08:48:00.000-08:002012-01-30T08:49:30.575-08:00Epic WarfareOn the state of men's tennis. Highlight:What I realized during this Australian Open is that Nadal sets the tone for this state of affairs more than anyone else, certainly more than Federer. Roger is so cool and frictionless that, most of the time, he seems less like a prism of epic intensity than a dispassionate analyst of it.6 Djokovic, since his ascent, has been so much better thanGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-56148346363476944262012-01-29T13:23:00.000-08:002012-01-29T13:25:19.733-08:00Burning the Flag300 ARRESTED AT OCCUPY OAKLAND: Police arrested 300 people at Occupy Oakland in California Saturday, after demonstrators broke into City Hall and burned a U.S. flag, following a day of protests that saw officers fire tear gas to disperse rock- and bottle-throwing activists. Police continued to stand guard around City Hall to prevent any more protesters from entering the building, Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-73905145887982401112012-01-28T08:38:00.000-08:002012-01-28T08:42:30.098-08:00Glad That Mystery Is SolvedSomeone figured out which day was Ice Cub's "good day." No verification, however, on whether he used his AK.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-71125557146899713222012-01-27T13:31:00.000-08:002012-01-27T13:33:13.751-08:00Alex SmithIs he the long term answer? I don't know. He played great this year. He earned a starting spot for next year. Do we sign him to a multi-year deal? I hesitate. Why not sign him to a short deal with loads of performance incentives? The guy has already gotten paid. He made tons in his rookie deal. I say a two year thing with lots of incentives.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-88534667386278859832012-01-27T09:53:00.001-08:002012-01-27T09:53:59.332-08:00Really? Do Less?Maybe the best answer to the housing crisis is for the government to do nothing at all.The argument is simple and logical as the best ones usually are.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-59640583063008598712012-01-27T08:57:00.000-08:002012-01-27T09:05:43.320-08:00Tax IdeasFrom the readers of the Atlantic. I agree with their main point: simplify, simplify, simplify. I believe in progressive taxation, so I think there should be about 5 different tax rates and very few, if any, deductions. Shoot, I don't care if there are 10 different tax rates. That doesn't matter to me. The main point, is that it should be clear what you are paying, why you are Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-35938390684489626192012-01-26T16:24:00.000-08:002012-01-26T16:26:58.022-08:00Did I Miss Something?Some mayor in Connecticut says he'd eat tacos for dinner to support the Latino community, the community gets outraged, and then sends him tacos?None of this makes sense. Saying he'd eat tacos to support the community makes no sense. The community getting upset makes no sense. Sending tacos - if you are upset - makes no sense. Although, it does make me want to eat tacos.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-41764709311451213792012-01-26T12:10:00.000-08:002012-01-26T12:14:43.625-08:00Good AnalysisOf the State of the Union. I forgot about this, which was another silly point, along with the bullet proof vest that can stop any bullet --And the worst was the bizarre proposal for states to force students to stay in school until graduation or the age of 18. Beyond the obvious enforcement questions, by the time people drop out of high school, they're normally already badly laggingGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-56743554303315147962012-01-26T09:35:00.000-08:002012-01-26T09:36:35.191-08:00FunA fake all time soccer fantasy draft. If you want to know why America is no good at soccer, you need to look no further than this draft. 1 American taken in spot 159 of 160 - and that - a goalkeeper. Probably a suck up vote anyway.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-15582759234336466312012-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:002012-01-26T08:44:21.151-08:00Killing HollywoodThe drive to fund start ups to develop new forms of entertainment. All I can say is: good luck. They will invent the most boring, useless APs and "interactive web series" known to man. I know this because while I was at USC, lots of people thought very hard and a lot about these things and they always ended up way clunkier than a single well written scene brought by a student Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-3894275819253922992012-01-25T10:33:00.000-08:002012-01-25T10:35:00.528-08:00If You Have 4 HoursA dissertation on the finale of the Sopranos and what it all means. Admittedly, some of it reads like a 9/11 truther argument, but the guy makes a definitive case that Tony was shot in the the side of the head by the Man in the Members Only Jacket. I'm sold.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-69130576477281996712012-01-25T09:41:00.000-08:002012-01-25T09:43:08.603-08:00The New American DivideOn what divides Americans today.Hat tip, Phil.I blame the feminist movement only half jokingly.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-13450040329963117892012-01-24T21:39:00.001-08:002012-01-24T22:19:55.352-08:00State of the UnionI have it on in the background and I swore I heard Obama say we should invent a lightweight bulletproof vest that can stop any bullet. I'm no military expert, but that seems a bit fantastical.UPDATE: Listened to the 2nd half. Found little to disagree with.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-62396581525105938382012-01-24T15:02:00.001-08:002012-01-24T15:04:45.482-08:00US Will Be FineDrenzer writes about why the US is recovering fine from the economic crisis and is actually stronger relative to China, etc, than in 1991.From a big perspective, he is probably right on about how the US is de-leveraging fairly smoothly and although public debt is up, that's probably the right thing to do while the de-leverage is going. Also, the best news is all this oil shale Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-77906065653658273592012-01-24T14:39:00.000-08:002012-01-24T14:59:15.899-08:00How Fragile Things Are - FootballIt looks like Peyton Manning is done in Indy. Right now it seems likely they will release him, and I imagine he will retire. Can't picture him playing anywhere else. Strange to think about - if someone said a year ago this time Peyton Manning would never play football again - it would've been among the stranger things imaginable.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-21630527473374152892012-01-24T09:53:00.001-08:002012-01-24T09:53:48.653-08:00OscarNominations are here.The usual mix of undeserved and expected.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-36302858133196991532012-01-22T21:14:00.001-08:002012-01-22T21:31:38.292-08:00On The WarsCalling for an exit from Afghanistan from an unlikely pair of sources.I find in America today we are both too hard and too easy on people and institutions. Where is the public anger over the fact our military - which is supposedly the best in the world - can't defeat a rag tag army like the Taliban in over 10 years and at an expense of billions per week? This is like having Kobe, Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-29649257300981884442012-01-22T20:15:00.000-08:002012-01-22T20:19:25.572-08:00Niner GameIncredibly lame way to lose the game. Ironic, as the Niners did not beat themselves all year, and then go out in the NFC Championship game and fumble away two punts to lose. Bummer.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-36586427477446141092012-01-22T13:24:00.001-08:002012-01-22T13:26:12.899-08:00The 2 Minute DrillWhy do defenses play the 2 minute drill differently? I see no reason why defenses should adjust when under 2 minutes in a game or half. Or maybe it is just the offense goes into no huddle, I'm not sure. It seems like a lot more points are given up during 2 minute drills than other times during the game.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-79157245871653388382012-01-22T10:41:00.001-08:002012-01-22T10:54:43.776-08:00LoggingFilm: Red Tails, HaywireA strange weekend for cinema. Red Tails felt like it came from a parallel universe where the past 25 years played out a lot differently both in the world and in film. It had the feel of an 80s TV show with a ton of CG effects.Haywire, I read, got a D+ cinema score. It really is not a good movie and makes basically no sense. That said, I was enjoying myself in Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-84910299572511232922012-01-20T17:01:00.001-08:002012-01-20T17:01:30.916-08:00Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-60711220580485734032012-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:002012-01-19T14:19:04.408-08:00Media VulturesA lot media folks are criticizing Ed Reed for questioning about Flacco getting rattled in the Texans game.The media folks are such vultures. They say the same thing Reed says about Flacco, they ask players about this very issue, they want "honest responses" from players. They criticize people like Belichick, who purposely says nothing to the media, and then the moment someone saysGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-34587571849498200132012-01-19T11:36:00.000-08:002012-01-19T11:38:20.680-08:00Oil PipelineDavid Frum on why Obama is making a mistake by opposing it.The true locus of opposition to the pipeline is not Nebraska, but California, where big liberal environmentalist donors have seized on the pipeline as a talismanic cause. These California environmentalists do not want to redirect the pipeline. They want to stop it altogether, so as to leverage an end to further Canadian Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-36116948968205246222012-01-19T11:14:00.001-08:002012-01-19T11:19:00.750-08:00Soccer and BoredomA great article on soccer. Highlights:Danny Blanchflower, 1972: "The great fallacy is that the game is first and foremost about winning. It's nothing of the kind. The game is about glory. It's about doing things in style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom."andHere's the full quote: "I go about the world, hand Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-42759553664266153872012-01-19T10:24:00.001-08:002012-01-19T10:24:07.430-08:00Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-83992290032102553982012-01-18T17:02:00.000-08:002012-01-18T17:04:35.051-08:00InterestingThe moguls pull Obama support.The issue at hand — piracy — is a legitimate concern. But Google and those Internet guys have been swiftboating the entertainment industry by saying we’re trying to shut down the Internet just because we don’t want them to advertise pirated movies. As for other claims, we make 24. We don’t make national security problems.”Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-54547143770633673922012-01-18T12:26:00.000-08:002012-01-18T12:27:38.408-08:00A Simple FixOn why Romney pays a low tax rate.Investment managers income from investing other people's money should not be considered capital gains. I think that is a pretty clear tax loophole.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-61049582461505349182012-01-18T12:24:00.001-08:002012-01-18T12:24:23.786-08:00And That......is why I don't internet date.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-71964200695777182892012-01-17T23:20:00.000-08:002012-01-18T09:32:25.168-08:00SOPAI obviously don't fully understand the implications of the law because I'm not a lawyer and/or an internet search engineer. But several things strike me - it pits content creators (Hollywood) against content distributors (Google, Wikipedia). Obviously the creators are more protective of their copyrights than the distributors who proclaim to be interested in protecting copyright, but only ifGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-27264549869995726112012-01-17T09:50:00.001-08:002012-01-17T09:50:50.052-08:00"Private" InfoFacebook gives your private info to politico.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-55735043444427650552012-01-16T23:44:00.000-08:002012-01-17T00:18:00.732-08:00LoggingFilm: Girl With A Dragon TattooSo many questions. First, why does Daniel Craig wear his glasses like an Abraham Lincoln beard for the entire movie? Is that an actual thing people do? Was this how Craig won the role? Did he walk into Fincher's office and say, look David, since all I'll be doing all movie is looking at old photographs and walking through snow, I better have something toGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-61841384647443418422012-01-15T19:26:00.000-08:002012-01-15T19:27:20.477-08:00Good Tip To RememberLouie CK on Pootie Tang.“Pootie Tang was a huge mistake, it should have never have been made,” he said. “That experience was very painful, I was sucking at making the movie and got fired off of it, and they put my name on it anyway…. But failing at Pootie Tang is one of the reasons for why this show is good. The army of failures I’ve had are the reasons that I’m good at what IGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-42735667580005691822012-01-15T12:36:00.000-08:002012-01-15T12:37:36.564-08:00RefsThe refereeing thus far in the playoffs has been great. They aren't calling alot of bullshit pass interference and holding penalties. They are letting the teams play. Finally.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-63069955362173988112012-01-15T12:14:00.000-08:002012-01-15T12:26:01.415-08:00Correlation vs. CausationA good example of the stupidity of statistics:There’s a line of demarcation where too much Brees becomes a bad thing. It’s somewhere in the low 40s. Yeah, Brees threw 44 times in victories against Houston and Jacksonville, 45 times in a three-point win over Carolina and 47 in a December victory against Tennessee. But none of those was pretty, and Houston was the only Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-16242569432213863022012-01-14T17:22:00.000-08:002012-01-14T17:46:06.407-08:00Wow - Niners - SaintsThat might be the best football game I've ever seen. Just the match up and contrast of styles, the unlikely big plays, the determination displayed by both teams. It did come down to the 49er offense, which somehow delivered after playing terrible all game. Those final two drives were awesome. Note we didn't even need to convert any 4th down plays. The most tense was the Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-10791618486777243572012-01-14T15:21:00.000-08:002012-01-14T15:31:25.451-08:00First Half - Niners SaintsWow. What an insane first half. Really a tale of two quarters. Niners dominated the first with three turnovers and a couple touchdowns. Saints dominated the second quarter with two nice touchdown scoring drives.I am very worried about our defense getting tired. We are on the field way too much. Alex Smith is playing bad. Besides two touchdown tosses, he looks Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-8406325335505788062012-01-12T19:30:00.000-08:002012-01-12T19:34:48.438-08:00University of California Bans SmokingIn 2014 all smoking will be banned on UC Campuses.When the anti-smoking stuff started in California, I thought it was a good idea. It makes bars and restaurants nicer. The skeptics said it was a slippery slope and soon they would try to ban smoking all together. Whhhaaa? I said. Well, the skeptics were right. You give the nanny state an inch, they will Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-82479386121618120942012-01-12T19:23:00.000-08:002012-01-12T19:29:49.394-08:00I Guess...American soldiers pissing on dead Taliban soldiers is a huge news story. Am I the only who thinks killing them would seem more offensive to "the Muslim world" - or whoever finds this offensive - than pissing on the corpses afterward?I'm not justifying the behavior or anything, but the situation is reflective of the absurdities of war and our coverage of it.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-77253976633685034252012-01-12T19:10:00.000-08:002012-01-12T19:11:41.753-08:00YepFrom Instapundit on Google changes:I’ve noticed more and more unforced errors of the change-for-the-sake-of-change type from Google. They’re not, it seems to me, making changes based on user needs, they’re making changes to keep Google employees busy.I've noticed too. I'd sell the stock if I had any.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-66410163942827983532012-01-11T23:38:00.000-08:002012-01-11T23:47:09.087-08:00Good JobsWas listening to some pundits recently talking about American jobs. Someone made a point, one of the bigger issues right now in terms of society and employment is the dearth of good jobs - these are jobs people enjoy doing, challenge them, pay them well enough to live comfortably, etc. When we talk about jobs-jobs-jobs we don't really mean minimum wage service jobs or factory jobs thatGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-45952344675787115022012-01-11T18:10:00.000-08:002012-01-11T18:12:51.684-08:00Marin CountyBans tobacco smoke, but allows for marijuana.Santa Monica has the same laws. I'm from one place and live in the other, and feel basically the same way as this guy:I happen to loath the smell of tobacco smoke. I’ll do anything to avoid it, and happen to benefit a great deal from the ever-increasing number of non-smoking laws. Having said that, I still find disturbing a mindset that Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-80483989641493991542012-01-11T11:16:00.000-08:002012-01-11T18:05:26.721-08:00TechnologyIn the law, they distinguish between different types of speech. Certain speech, such as political speech and newspapers are more protected than say, advertising speech by the First Amendment. I think we need something similar for technology to distinguish between important, useful technology and unimportant, time wasting technology. Why do we need such a distinction? Because I Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-64494672337445929452012-01-11T09:51:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:52:33.636-08:00StatOn the Niners defense:The Saints run the ball well and have gotten better in that area as the season has gone on. Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory bring a nice mix of speed and power. I think we could see more of the Saints' running game than usual in this one. Mike Sando: The 49ers will welcome the challenge. Arian Foster, Felix Jones, LeGarrette Blount, Jahvid Best and MontarioGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-75316066636143723232012-01-11T09:31:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:33:31.943-08:00WorseSo much media focus was on waterboarding, but the worst element of Gitmo is described here. We held innocent men for over 7 years and for no intelligible purpose. The media focused on waterboarding, but fail to mention for the most part, it was only done to 3 people. That doesn't justify it, but it certainly puts it in perspective.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-49574050176782965222012-01-11T09:18:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:25:48.714-08:00LoggingFilm: CarnageI wish more great directors would try projects like this -- small project that test their basic skills. I'd almost watch this a second time just to watch the blocking. Polanaksi is so clever. The movie doesn't feel "stuck" in the single apartment, even though the whole thing takes place there. He does this by clever blocking, arranging the characters physically in the Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-63815540026782879392012-01-10T14:35:00.001-08:002012-01-10T14:37:46.400-08:00Ha!Livescience: unconsciously, everyone wants to date a hottie, which is why online dating fails. I can't come up with a better response than Instapundits: Un-consciously?Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-70309319287592042362012-01-10T11:56:00.001-08:002012-01-10T12:28:54.134-08:00New Orleans-San FranciscoWhat a great build up to this game. This game can go so many different ways. Pro-49ers point of view: The Niners have come to play in every single game this year. They simply do not have major letdowns. There is a reason they went 13-3 and secured the number 2 seed. Jim Harbaugh has them prepared for every single game. He is going to bring some trickery to the playGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-2910621276430422732012-01-10T11:26:00.000-08:002012-01-10T11:34:34.587-08:00College FootballI dvr'd the game last night and watched it in like 45 minutes. For games one doesn't passionately care about, this is the only way to watch. You realize what a time suck and how many stupid commercials you waste your time sitting through. The BCS is such a stupid system. They basically gave away the national championship by scheduling this year. Think about this - LSU had to Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-41127078932789911382012-01-10T11:25:00.000-08:002012-01-10T11:26:32.689-08:00ChinaCurbs movie ticket prices.Good move by business, bad move by government.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-24470901023544070722012-01-09T22:33:00.000-08:002012-01-09T22:34:24.364-08:00Best Blog Entry 2012!An ode to Miami Vice, the tv show. I think we have a frontrunner.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-54840787480770980702012-01-09T09:28:00.001-08:002012-01-09T09:29:28.585-08:00Oh, LanguageA Madonna interview with Hungarian newspaper translated back and forth between Hungarian to English to Hungarian back to English.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-77613817744308798972012-01-09T08:45:00.000-08:002012-01-09T08:47:16.174-08:00LoggingFilm: North Dallas FortyMoreso than any other sports movie, I actually felt the physical pain endured by athletes in this film. I was wincing at times. Very much a spiritual ancestor to Bull Durham. Not quite as funny and definitely more dark.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-53978715320699366442012-01-08T16:11:00.001-08:002012-01-08T16:12:34.889-08:00Words With Friends - 655I must record this as I don't think I'll ever score this many points again. 655 against a stranger. I don't know how to make a screenshot from my ipod.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-58608257777062751242012-01-08T15:24:00.000-08:002012-01-08T15:25:05.284-08:00BummerTony Blankley died. He was easily my favorite contributor to Left, Right, and Center.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-37119474809272132392012-01-08T14:27:00.001-08:002012-01-08T14:28:50.998-08:00Tebow Magic!So those two pass plays for long yardage and a touchdown where nice and lucky and all the stuff of Tebow magic. But let's not forget the play before where Tebow totally puts his receiver Decker in a vulnerable position to catch that ball and he gets injured by Harrison's hit. I'd hate to be one of his receivers. You never see Brees put his receivers in those positions.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-12847755928109549192012-01-07T14:09:00.001-08:002012-01-07T14:15:36.479-08:00GoodActress is suing IMDB for posting her age without her consent.All this online information is out of control. Nowadays people think they have a right to all sorts of information about others and these online sites like Facebook, Google, IMDB, etc, sloppily use whatever information they can gather to enrich themselves. I myself had a problem with IMDB when they linked by common name to some Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-57286210173782204392012-01-07T13:30:00.001-08:002012-01-07T13:35:17.901-08:00LoggingFilm: second half of Broadcast NewsThere was literally nothing on TV - no sports I wanted to watch after working out this AM, so I watched it again. It isn't transcendent art, but it is the best Hollywood can do. The New Beverly would be brave to schedule a Broadcast News and Working Girl double feature and title it single working women in the 1980s series or something. The studios Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220753.post-37451048642860540222012-01-07T13:24:00.001-08:002012-01-07T13:30:23.173-08:00LoggingFilm: The Big LebowskiImagine if the Coen Brothers had only made this one movie. We'd still remember and talk about them. Now consider they also made Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, and the Man Who Wasn't There -- three movies which - if they were their three best movies - would put them up there among the most important working directors. But of course, these aren't their three Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00038119723865598681noreply@blogger.com0