A Rubber Door

Thanks to my friend Melissa who sent this to me. It’s a documentary about the closing of small-businesses as big-box stores take over and what that does to the community. It’s not at the theater - you have to order a DVD - but it seems like an interesting watch. The DVD is $16.95 and is available at the movie’s site.

The movie is called Twilight Becomes Night. The filmaker is Virginie-Alvine Perrette.

This is really funny - reminds me I’m not a comedian, and shouldn’t even try. Tracey Morgan responds to Tina Fey’s message from three weeks ago. Seriously - since when has SNL become such a whoring ground for candidates? Every once in awhile, ok. Every week - too much.

This morning I got up thinking it was a good day for a good old Sunday morning. What is that? I have a few, but the one I wanted today, at the beginning of March Madness, was my newspaper, coffee, and ESPN’s Sportscenter. At one point in time ESPN was essential watching by every sports fan. I used to watch it daily. It was the best there was at delivering a wide variety of sports. They had great journalists such as Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick, Dick Schapp, and Bob Ley. They covered sports in a way that made missing the big game less unbearable. That means they didn’t just show the dunks or the home runs, but they would show the critical plays of the game; and because they understood sports, they understood that the critical play didn’t always result in points and wasn’t always made by the star player. Those days are long over.

I stopped watching ESPN daily some time ago. I thought it was because my now wife moved in and deserved equal time in selecting what we watched. I think there is something else to consider. Today’s ESPN is highlight clip, after pithy quip, followed by whoring themselves out for some product placement, and then repeat. They’ve designed their show to appeal to the short attention span public. Their flagship show Sportscenter is barely watchable, and isn’t a valuable source of sports information any longer. It is not unusual for them to skip highlights (or even skip mentioning) what happened in a major U.S. sports contest (by major that means NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL in that order). Sure you can watch one of their other shows such as NFL Live or Baseball Tonight, but I don’t want to watch 3 different shows to find out what happened in the day in sports. Sportscenter used to be enough.

It’s not as if their website is any better.

ESPN takes the fact that they provide the best sports information online, to take advantage of their readers. They inundate the user with ads. They have video, with sound, that starts without the request of the user. The site, aside from the content, is a bloated, slow mess, and I bet it has never been any more successful, because where else are you going to go? Sure Yahoo! Sports does an admirable job CBS Sportsline is a decent alternative; but you generally come crawling back to ESPN.com because they provide better content in an albeit horrible wrapper.

All this goes to say ESPN is one of the worst bests ever. This means they are the best at doing what they do without being good at it. It’s unfortunate for us sports fans who will just have to deal with the shit they deal until they decide to do a better job or someone takes them, because until then, nothing requires them to do a good job.

I can’t help myself. I just changed the design over at TunesOnTV - and liked the designer I used Design Disease, so I changed things over here also. I think it’s a bit less cluttered than the old look and more professional looking.

Comments please.

I can only wait for R. Kelly to get a hold of this story. I challenge someone to comment with a crazier story than this.

A 35 year-old Wichita, Kansas woman had to pried off of her toilet after spending two years in the bathroom. Here’s the AP story:

ROXANA HEGEMAN

The Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. - A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend’s toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time he called police had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, the boyfriend said.

“She is an adult; she made her own decision,” said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. “I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it.”

The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.

“We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,” Whipple said. “The hospital removed it.”

McFarren, 36, said he can’t be certain how long Pam Babcock stayed in the bathroom because “time just went by so quick I can’t pinpoint how long.” He said beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.

“It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay , like it was a safe place for her,” McFarren said.

But McFarren said she moved around in the bathroom during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship , except it all happened in the bathroom.

McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy , like she didn’t know what was going on, except she was awake.

What emergency responders found when they went into bathroom has left residents of this small western Kansas town buzzing, and law enforcement officials incredulous.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to mid-thigh. She was “somewhat disoriented,” and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

“She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body,” Whipple said. “It is hard to imagine. … I still have a hard time imagining it myself.”

She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

“She said that she didn’t need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave,” he said.

Whipple said the county attorney will determine whether any charges should be filed against McFarren.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.

“And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,’” Whipple said. “According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom.”

She was reported in fair condition Wednesday at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Babcock has an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves, and there is a possibility she may wind up in a wheelchair, McFarren said.

James Ellis, a neighbor, said he had known the woman since she was a child, but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

“I don’t think anybody can make any sense out of it,” Ellis said.

Babcock had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up, he said.

“It really doesn’t surprise me,” Ellis said. “What surprises me is somebody wasn’t called in a bit earlier.”

They had to pry the seat off of her ass!

I love that they otherwise had a normal relationship. Seriously - your girlfriend has been locked in the closet for 2 years, seems like nothing else matters after that. She could be Suzy fucking Homemaker and all that matter is that you have to ask her to scootch over to take a leak.

I also have to note that these two weren’t married. What the hell? I’m sure this guy was thinking - “hell, it’s pretty quiet this way.”

I really have to think about the racial controversies that have hit the Obama/Clinton campaign over the past few months. When Ed Rendell said that there were white Pennsylvanians that wouldn’t vote for a black candidate, I agreed with him. Having experienced the center of this state as a black man, I have said that I feel more comfortable down south than I feel in my own state. What Rendell said was not politically smart, but he was dead on. We’re have more in common in Pennsylvania with Mississippi than we do with the rest of the north east.

So now we have Geraldine Ferraro’s statement that Obama gets better treatment because he’s black. So here’s the thing - I do think a lot of people have been taken by the idea of a black President, but of course I’ve heard more than my share of women say they’re voting to see a woman President - so it goes both ways.

There is all the other stuff that other candidates don’t have to experience because they’re not black. The whole thing about Obama’s middle name Hussein. The internet hoax about him being sworn in on a copy of the Koran. If Obama wins the election he’ll have overcome his share of obstacles. It bothers me that this gets forgotten in all the complaints of the preferential treatment that Obama gets. He has had the most Roveian incidences take place, but that’s this country’s system; unfortunately that’s politics.

Ferraro and others that believe her need to take a step back and view the election in its entirety and not through the eyes of a Clinton hawk.

When I read the book Bringing Down the House - I found it interesting and thought it would make a good movie. After seeing the movie trailers - I’m not so sure, but it was an interesting story.

I’d say wait for cable.
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The Clinton team (that would be HRC and Bill) seems to be offering Senator Obama the opportunity to give up his 1st place position in the race (more delegates, states, and votes) to become the Vice Presidential candidate.

I don’t know how someone who’s in second place, can offer the Vice Presidency to the person who’s in first place.

His better point is if he’s not ready to be President on day one to be President, why is he such a great candidate to be Vice President? You have to wonder.