The Caylee Anthony Case

Since Florida authorities have remains believed to be of missing toddler Caylee Anthony, they can move forward with a stronger prosecution against the child's mother, Casey Anthony. This case is moving towards some semblance of closure, which is good.

Nike's Kobe IV Not So New and Unusual

Read the article linked below and I will tell you what is wrong with it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3761462&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab6pos2

Thank goodness I am here to right the wrongs in this story. Contrary to what Nike is saying, or what ESPN is saying, the Kobe IV is not a low-top shoe. The pictures show clearly that the shoe is a mid-cut, which I like to refer to as a quarter-top. It is three-fourths of the height of a typical high-top. The upper on the Kobe IV simply extends too high to be considered a true low-top basketball shoe.

The Air Jordan XI LE is a true low-top basketball shoe. http://www.kicksonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/air-jordan-11-xi-original-og-low-black-dark-grey-true-red-1.jpg

This is the shoe Michael Jordan rolled his ankle in during a playoff game. He had to abandon them for a high-top XI for the rest of the season. The XI LE was a disaster. The shoe had little to no ankle support and was the most structurally unsound, misdesigned Nike basketball shoe that I have ever used. I rolled my ankle in a pair during a pickup game. This happened a week or so before Jordan did his. All I was doing was setting up on defense. I took a step and my ankle buckled and rolled. I couldn't believe it. I have fairly strong ankles. My foot shouldn't have rolled like that. I swapped the shoes with a guy who wanted to get rid of a pair of brand new Air Max Uptempos. I went from a disappointing shoe that was suited better for running than basketball to the best basketball shoe I had ever worn in my life to that point.

Anyway, the Jordan XI LE was closer to a true low-top shoe than the Kobe IV, and it was a problem. I like that the Kobe IV has a higher cut than the LE. This shoe looks like it should work as a basketball shoe. But will it sell? That's tough to know right now. Basketball players are understandably skeptical of low-cut shoes, and Nike is marketing the Kobe IV as a low-top. I do not believe it is wise to refer to it as a low-top. It really isn't one.

Still, with a little tape around the ankles, Kobe Bryant should be fine. The only problem I see with his latest sig shoe is if he lands on another player's foot. He needs to be judicious about where he lands. That is the only problem I see with the Kobe IV. Of course, one could make the same mistake in a high top shoe and still roll an ankle. Understandably, Bryant says practically the same thing in the article.

If Bryant wants to play in a lower-cut shoe, then fine. Since he already plays in a Hyperdunk, he won't concede much when he switches to the Kobe IV. The Hyperdunk provides less ankle support compared to other basketball shoes.

I just wish folks would understand, contrary to what one ESPN article says, that this has been done before. Nike invented the quarter-top shoe years ago. One of Nike's first quarter-top shoes was called the Sky Force. Later, in 1986, Nike launched the Big Nike. The Big Nike came in three varieties, low-top, high-top and quarter-top. The quarter-top Big Nike was the least popular version of the three. It was a relatively obsolete sneaker since it was so similar to the high-top. Nike should reissue Big Nikes. It has reissued nearly everything else.

The Air Jordan III was the first quarter-top sneaker with visible Max Air. Do you catch the implication here? Michael Jordan competed in a quarter-top sig when Bryant was a young boy. The III had the same bottom as the high-top Air Revolution and was every bit as comfortable. In many ways, the Air Jordan III could have been considered the best basketball sneaker on the market in 1987. There was competition from the Revolution and the Air Force II. All three were great basketball shoes in their heyday.

Anyway, back to the article. It weighs the trade off of performance versus risk of injury. Is a lower-cut shoe safe? I played basketball in a low to mid Nike cross trainer once and was surprised at how well it performed. It was designed to accommodate lateral movement and it worked on the basketball court just fine. My foot was locked into the shoe. It felt very light and responsive. It moved with my foot just fine. Plus I felt safe.

The Kobe IV should work the same way. The engineering knowhow has existed for over a decade. But remember, nothing revolutionary is happening here.

LeBron James' Dunking Style

Why does LeBron James keep his arm locked straight at the elbow when he dunks?

It doesn't look good.

The Media Inspects Obama's Illinois Ties

Since the Blagojevich scandal, the media has begun speculating about Pres.-elect Barack Obama's political ties in Illinois. The insinuation is that Obama may be associated with shady people in Illinois politics.

Yeah. (Yawn.) Whatever.

Shouldn't the media have investigated Obama's political ties by now? It had around two years to do it. It investigated Obama's ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Wright turned out to be a problem, but the majority of Americans still didn't care.

What if Obama does have shady connections in Illinois? Will anyone care about that? Probably not. What is the point of a media investigation other than to fill airtime on cable? This is a fairly lame topic for the media to bring up. The reasons for bringing it up are superficial at best.

Capt. Kirk Wears Air Jordans

These screengrabs come from the new Star Trek movie trailer. The J.J. Abrams' project hits theaters May 8. The shots are part of a car chase scene involving one James Tiberius Kirk, in his younger days before he assumed the captaincy of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The shoes on his feet, Air Jordan XX3s. What an interesting twist this is! I like this element.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Whoa! Are you kidding me? Illinois' governor tried to sell a senate seat? Please FBI, tell me this isn't true!

If true, how amazing. This is not how our government should work.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/illinois.governor/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/09/report-illinois-governor-taken-federal-custody/

Who appoints Pres.-elect Obama's vacant senate seat now? Illinois' lieutenant governor? Interesting legal detail.

McHale to Coach

Kevin McHale has stepped up to coach the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Good for him. This should be interesting.

Blackwater Memorabilia

Did you know that Blackwater has its own pro shop?

http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/

If those five Blackwater guards get convicted of manslaughter, would it be politically correct to own items from the pro shop?

No More Polaroid Film

Polaroid will not produce its instant film after February. What a shame. An end to an era edges closer. I still like film.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/12/08/polaroid.farewell/index.html

Iphones For Cooking

Cookbooks are a thing of the past. Time says they take up too much counter space in the kitchen. Use an iPhone instead, or a Nintendo DS.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1864437,00.html?cnn=yes

Keri Russell

Felicity Star Making Bad Decisions, Losing Her Cachet

I would love to meet the loser, or group of losers, that talked Keri Russell into this pathetic photo shoot for Details.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/04/keri-russell-get-grungy-w_n_148531.html

If this is all Details can do for Russell, then who would want to be in Details in the future? This poor old junk isn't helping Russell. It is hindering her. You're supposed to be wiser and smarter in your thirties, not dumber. Isn't she supposed to be a mother? Act like one. Don't pose in demented, suggestive photographs when you do not have to. Strive to be like Doris Day. Respect is always more important than fame.

Blackwater Guards To Surrender

Yeah. It probably wasn't a good idea to shoot up that Iraqi intersection.

CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/06/iraq.blackwater.indictment/index.html

The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-blackwater7-2008dec07,0,7669066.story

The Associated Press has brief bios on each of the Blackwater guards under indictment.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkq0Lm5tQTbBACLDqF6hcELpX5AQD94TCP5O0

Madonna x Louis Vuitton

Madonna's latest print campaign for Louis Vuitton is why I like her.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/12/madonnas-new-lo.html

The following post explains some things I do not like about her.
http://blogadiergeneral.blogspot.com/2008/10/sad-pathetic-demise-of-madonna.html

My attitude about Madonna remains mixed. She needs to fix her life. She is beginning to resemble Britney Spears as opposed to the other way around. Like Madonna, Spears is very brilliant, yet very self-destructive.

The Air Jordan 2009

Alleged pictures of the Air Jordan 2009 have leaked to several Internet websites.

http://solesirius.com/2008/11/26/air-jordan-2009-first-look/

http://www.simplysneakers.com/air-jordan-2009-2k9-white-black-detailed-pics/

http://solesirius.com/2008/12/02/air-jordan-2009-blackgold/

It is impossible to know now if the shoes in these pics will be the actual '09 Js, but I hope that they are.

Many Air Jordan fans are likely asking, "Why Nike?" This shoe certainly seems out in left field for more than one reason. I know the feeling. Past Air Jordans have perplexed me and even persuaded me to keep my money parked at the bank. At least, and here is one upside, at least the '09 doesn't look like this:
http://sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/air-jordan-15-black-red-01.jpg

Oh yeah. The link above references the dreaded Air Jordan XV. Perhaps the most atrocious, ridiculous Air Jordan ever. The XV was about as good of an idea as it's namesake's willingness to routinely drain fluid from a knee in order to play games for the Washington Wizards.

The reason I like the prototype shoes is because they look like an Air Jordan. The forefoot has a sculpted outrigger that reminds me of the XX3s and the XXs. I like the angles. I like the leather. Like a lot of Air Jordans, this shoe looks rather stiff, but I realize if I want flexibility I can always look to a Nike Free model for that. Another thing I like about this alleged 2009 edition is its resemblance to the Air Jordan XIV. I have never had a XIV, but I have always appreciated the aesthetics of that particular model.

Bring on the Air Jordan 2009. My outlook on this edition is decidedly bullish. I am actually of the mindset to acquire a pair on drop day and treat the experience like a big fun deal. I haven't done that in years.

On O.J. Simpson's Robbery Trial

O.J. Simpson, the NFL Hall-of-Famer, was sentenced today in his robbery trial.

Fred Goldman was at the sentencing hearing and at other hearings. Now that O.J. knows his fate, I'm asking myself why Goldman was allowed to attend the trial or the sentencing hearing. He should not have been allowed to be in court for Simpson's robbery trial because of his ties to Simpson's murder trial. Goldman's presence cast a prejudicial pall over the robbery proceedings.

If Simpson tried to appeal based on Goldman's prejudicial presence, he probably wouldn't get anywhere. Still though, Goldman's presence only reminded everyone of Simpson's checkered past with the law. The Las Vegas court should have banned Goldman and the rest of his family from attending the robbery trial.

Below is a related Associated Press story.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUNgbOr-2bnpFUX0MiII6je2CkRAD94TGPG80

This next one is from The Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120600214.html

Re: The Auto Bailout

What U.S. Carmakers Really Need? New Ideas

The Big Three automakers don't deserve a bailout package. If they want to turn their companies around, then they need to get creative. Our economy, our democracy, is based on the ability of businesses to innovate in order to stay competitive and viable. GM, Ford and Chrysler are doing nothing creative to justify a bailout.

Look at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is thriving despite a global recession. How is it thriving? The specifics elude me, but I can generalize. Wal-Mart is thriving because it is successful at being creative. The executives running the Bentonville retailer are simply adapting to the financial climate better than anyone else.

Another great example of a creative company is Nike. I love Nike. Just when you think there is nothing else left to do with an athletic shoe, Nike makes up a new tweak. Just two years ago, Nike rolled out it's Air Max 360 line of running shoes. These shoes were the first athletic shoes without foam as the main cushioning element. That is simply amazing.

This year, Nike released shoes with Lunar foam. Lunar foam is a NASA invention. It is a lightweight foam used in seat cushions on space craft. Highly degradable when in contact with every day elements like air and water, Lunar foam challenged Nike to reinvent ways to make a running shoe. Nike had to invent a way to isolate the foam to prevent it from degrading when applying it to a shoe. After a lot of hard work, determination and innovation, Nike prevailed. What a great story.

Now, Apple Inc. is making iPods that change songs when users shake the iPod. That is great innovation. Apple has shown a lot of initiative with the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone. The music marketplace has changed forever all because of Apple. Cellular telephones have changed for the better, too. Apple's iPhone, now the gold standard for telephones, can be attributed to that.

American automakers aren't showing any of the creative juice needed to improve their standing. American cars seem rather stale. There hasn't been a noteworthy new car in the marketplace since Ford's latest Mustang. Ford's latest Mustang debuted in 2004. How many American cars have made headlines like the Mustang did four years ago? Zero. The Big Three need to roll out products like the Mustang every 18 months at least.

If American automakers want to improve their profits, they need to get more creative and make cars the public can get excited about. New ideas and creativity are the key to their future. A bailout package is a waste of resources.

Sickly

I am sick today. A sore throat and muscle fatigue is no joke. It could certainly be worse though.

Obama Nominates Richardson to Cabinet

Barack Obama wants Bill Richardson to be the Secretary of Commerce and nominated him as such.

It will be interesting to see how Richardson's loyalty to Obama plays out after Obama's presidency.

Plexico Burress, a Mayor and a Gun

I overheard some of the soap opera that is Plexico Burress and the Case of the Unregistered Gun. ESPN's Sal Palantonio is all over it. Palantonio reported about Burress arriving at a New York Giants practice facility for routine treatment for an injury. He reported about gun charges and police officers arresting Burress. Then, and this is the part that kills me, then Palantonio talked about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sending a letter to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, explaining what the NFL is doing about Burress and whatever.

Here is a really good question. Why is Goodell even speaking to Bloomberg about any of this? Isn't Michael Bloomberg New York City's mayor? As in like just the mayor?

He's a mayor. As mayor Bloomberg is supposed to do ribbon cuttings and attend high-profile fund raisers and what not. His role is strictly ceremonial. He is just a mayor and only a mayor. Bloomberg needs to step out of the way, stop meddling and let New York City's prosecutors and policemen do their jobs. He needs to stop communicating with Goodell and anyone else in the NFL. In turn, Goodell needs to stop communicating with Bloomberg. Goodell owes Bloomberg nothing in terms of explanations or anything else regarding Plexico Burress. How the NFL handles Plexico Burress and this gun situation is none of Bloomberg's business. Bloomberg is just a mayor. He's not the attorney general for the State of New York. He is not a prosecutor. He is not a sheriff. He is just the mayor.

Union Throws Stones at Wal-Mart

Some union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the largest grocery worker's union in the state of New York, said the Black Friday trampling death of a Wal-Mart worker was preventable.

I agree. Those people shouldn't have knocked that door down on top of the guy. All of them should be charged with something.

The union says Wal-Mart is at fault, which is typical. Any rational person knows the shoppers are to blame.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on Black Friday, two men were shot to death at a Toys "R" Us. I guess the union blames Wal-Mart for that, too.

Union antics slay me. They would blame Wal-Mart for the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the Titanic if they could get away with it.

Cyber Monday

Tie-Break Tweak Needed Before Playoff

The Texas Longhorns beat Oklahoma and Missouri in Big 12 play, yet the 'Horns will not participate in the Big 12 title game because of a conference tie-break system that values BCS numbers over on-the-field performance. Ironically, Oklahoma and Missouri will play for the Big 12 title instead.

Granted, Oklahoma had the same record as Texas, but Texas outclassed Oklahoma head to head by 10 points. When two conference football rivals end up with identical records, the team that wins by 10 points on the field should advance to the conference championship game. It is that simple. I cannot believe that Texas will suffer such an indignity, watching two teams it beat compete for the Big 12 title.

It is the Big 12's fault, too. That conference needs a tie-break system that puts head-to-head results ahead of BCS computer figures. Folks lavish praise on the BCS numbers, saying they have no bias. Yes. That is true. There is no bias involved when comparing BCS numbers. But there is no bias in selecting teams that win on the field over other deserving teams either. Where is the bias in selecting teams that do better in head-to-head competition?

If we had a college football playoff, would the playoff organizers organize things so that winners on the field lose there, too? It makes one wonder. Putting BCS numbers ahead of head-to-head competition defies sound logic. College football fans want results that make better sense. Let's begin by using tie-break scenarios that make sense. The priorities here are way out of wack. BCS numbers are fine, but they shouldn't outweigh accomplishments on the football field. Texas got slighted big time.

Metallic Purple Air Jordans

This is the kind of stuff I love, original Air Jordans with a metallic purple Swoosh. Check out the link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AIR-JORDAN-I-OG-1985-METALLIC-PURPLE-DS-9-TAG-VINTAGE_W0QQitemZ190270233244QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Men_s_Shoes?hash=item190270233244&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Sometimes I search eBay for vintage Nikes. This is what I found today. The seller will accept $5,500 or the best offer. My first pair of Air Jordans were similar to these in the auction. They were white with a metallic blue Swoosh. Nothing wrong with metallic blue.

Nike needs to revisit stuff like this. This is the basics. I would buy a shoe like the one in the auction if Nike manufactured it correctly. That means no Jumpmen on the heel counters.

Lose the gaudy Air Jordan XI retros with the black patent leather. Definitely stop reissuing the XV. No one cares save for people without any common sense, fashion sense or self-awareness. The Air Jordan XV might be the most atrocious shoe in history. White Js with metallic accents equal sublimity.

Vulcan, Alberta, Canada

I love reading CNN.com. The site provides readers with so much interesting information. Today there is a story about Vulcan, Alberta, Canada. They like Star Trek in Vulcan. Check out the Wikipedia link below to read about Vulcan, Alberta and the city's Trek-themed tourist attractions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan,_Alberta

Here is city's official website. http://www.town.vulcan.ab.ca/

Here is the CNN.com iReport. http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-154795

I love Vulcan's U.S.S. Enterprise replica and the fact that Vulcan has elk. Arkansas doesn't have elk or moose or bison like O Canada.

LeBron James' Gaffe

This week Charles Barkley made remarks about LeBron James and the young All-Star's propensity to talk about his free-agency plans with the media. James doesn't become a free agent until two years from now. Rumors have him going to several teams, including the New York Knicks.

Barkley was on Dan Patrick's ESPN radio show Wednesday when he said, "If I was LeBron James, I would shut the hell up. I'm a big LeBron fan. He's a stud. You gotta give him his props. I'm getting so annoyed he's talking about what he's going to do in two years. I think it's disrespectful to the game. I think it's disrespectful to the Cavaliers."

James responded Friday before a game against Golden State. "He's stupid," James said. "That's all I've got to say about that."

Stupid? James called Charles Barkley stupid? Charles Barkley? That's amazing. Doesn't that kind of remark sum James up?

This summer, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates sat courtside to watch the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team. They were guests of LeBron James. I couldn't figure out why these two brilliant men would give a guy like James the time of day. I still can't figure it out. They're Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. They don't need to socialize with LeBron James. They don't need him, particularly when James calls a rather intelligent basketball legend stupid when that rather intelligent basketball legend is right.

Marbury Docked Six Figures

Knicks Guard Suspended, Too

Stephan Marbury was suspended one game and had nearly $400,000 worth of pay docked because he allegedly refused to play in a game. The New York Knicks were playing with a short roster. The Knicks organization claims coach Mike D'Antoni asked Marbury to play and Marbury refused. Marbury's contract pays him about $21 million this season minus the money docked.

What a great way to spend about $21 million. Marbury has proven to be a great investment of time and resources for the New York Knicks. He is such a great investment that he will probably never play in the NBA again after this season.

The Mike Huckabee Book Tour

You never know what you might see or who you might run into when you go out for a little coffee. Former Arkansas governor and recent presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was at the Little Rock Barnes & Noble Wednesday night to promote and sign his latest book Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America. A line of Huckabee fans gathered for the book signing and a chance for face time with Huckabee himself.


This last photograph shows Huckabee's tour bus. The bus was parked in the Barnes & Noble parking lot. Huckabee's Little Rock stop is part of a 56-city book tour. Huckabee also published Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork : A 12-Stop Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle.

Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple MacBooks on Sale

Apple slashed prices on its MacBooks. A white MacBook listed for $999 in the Apple Store is now $899.99 at Best Buy. Other retailers have slashed their price on the same model by around $100.

This means only one thing. Apple is getting ready for Black Friday.

No, no, no. That is not what it means. It means new and improved MacBooks are on the horizon. Don't do MacBooks for Christmas unless you really need an Apple laptop. As soon as you get the one for sale now, Apple will release another for the same price or less, and you will feel the same way I felt when I bought my iPod Nano only to see a new wave of Nanos on the market three weeks later. They cost the same as what I had bought, but they had an extra gigabyte of memory.

I also made the same lamebrained mistake with my iPhone, and I knew better. I didn't care though. I lost my other phone and I wanted another one stat. I couldn't wait. The next time I buy an Apple product I will vet like crazy. I will check Apple message boards and read all of the websites devoted to all things Apple. You should do the same.

Regardless however, in spite of the slow Safari browsing on my first-gen iPhone, in spite of the fact that the 3G network iPhones are night and day faster than what I have, I think it is kind of cool to own and use an original iPhone.

Three Press Conferences in Three Days

Is Barack Obama going to have a press conference every day of his presidency? He isn't even sworn in yet and he has already held three press conferences regarding his staff.

The White House Press Corps might have its work cut out for it starting in January. There might be a lot of turnover there.

Green Bay Struggling Without Favre

The New Orleans Saints beat the Green Bay Packers 51-29 on Monday Night Football. The Packers had the game tied at 21. The loss puts the team at 5-6. While not mathematically eliminated, the Packers likely will not return to the NFC Championship game or even the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Brett Favre and the New York Jets are 8-3 after dashing the Tennessee Titans' hopes of an undefeated season. By far the Titans have played like the best team in the AFC and have looked like the best team in the NFL. The loss dropped them to 10-1, which is the same record as the defending champion Giants. Who is the best team now? Hey, the best team might be the Jets if they can beat the Titans again in the playoffs. That is a big if.

Regardless of how the Jets do in the playoffs, they will be in the playoffs and the Packers will not. Getting rid of Favre is not looking so good now for Green Bay management. Those guys essentially imploded their chances of competing for a Super Bowl by doing that. Meanwhile, the Jets have an outside shot of winning it all. That is all one can ask of the Jets, a 4-12 franchise last season. I firmly believe the team's remarkable turnaround can be attributed to good old No. 4, Brett Favre. I firmly believe Green Bay management made a colossal mistake with their quarterback situation. They should have brought Favre back.

Quentin Tarantino's Next Flick

Tarantino's next motion picture project stars Brad Pitt. Yeah. I know. Great, huh? That's not all. It gets even better. The story is about a group of Jewish Americans who are dropped into Nazi-occupied France to do one thing, kill and scalp Nazis.

Are you kidding me? This movie will be another Tarantino masterpiece! Tarantino calls the project Inglorious Basterds. It is due next year.

Citigroup Gets Help

The federal government announced a $20 billion bailout plan to rescue Citigroup. The Treasury Department and the FDIC will also guarantee over $300 billion in Citigroup assets.

Man, I think I might lobby for a financial bailout. I could use one of those, too!

24 Takes 39

It took 39 minutes for Jack Bauer to go Jack Bauer. He's outnumbered, outgunned and still not dead! Go Jack!

24 Debuts

I feel the same way about 24 as I do about Heroes. I don't think I have the patience to keep up. The story arcs are too complicated to follow, too tedious to pay attention to from week to week. I think I will skip 24 and focus on sports instead. That means basketball and football!

Islamic Militants to Address Hijacking

This story is on CNN.com, too. Islamic militants have traveled to Somalia to retrieve the Saudi tanker that was hijacked off the Kenyan coast. The pirates who hijacked the tanker say they will defend the ship from attackers.

Oh, this will be fun.

You Know It's a Slow News Day When ...

You know it's a slow news day when you see a headline like this.



















This headline is from CNN.com.

Isn't it awesome? It is so great that Obama will "do what's necessary" to fix the economy. It is so great that Obama will do his job.

Yes. Fixing the economy is part of his job. He is supposed to fix the economy. By law, he has to provide a budget, too. (I mean, doesn't he? Don't answer. I know I'm right.) His budget, one would think, is supposed to address this financial crisis. One would also think that lawmakers will pass a few bills that outlaw all of the overleveraging that led to America's current financial mess. One would think.

Anyway, and I don't want to pick on the writers at CNN, but perhaps a better headline would have said something to the effect that Obama insiders insist that the Pres.-elect's financial plan will work. That should be CNN's headline.

Pizza as Pies

Pizzas really aren't pies. The word "pie" when used as a colloquialism meaning "pizza" doesn't float my boat. Pizzas are shaped like a pie, but there is no filling in a pizza. There is topping but no filling.

Pies. Like, really?

"Pizza pie" makes sense, because a pizza is shaped and cut like a pie, but just "pie?" That's too informal and confusing. A pizza is not just a pie, it's a pizza pie. "Pie," just "pie," suggests a lack of attention to detail. "Pie," just "pie," sounds sloppy and too irreverent.

Jimmy Connors Arrested

Police Take Tennis Great Into Custody at UC Santa Barbara Game

Eight-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors was arrested by police following a confrontation outside the campus arena at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The arrest took place in the early stages of a basketball game between UC Santa Barbara and top-ranked North Carolina.

According to the Associated Press, Connors was arrested after refusing to comply with an order to leave an area near an entrance following the confrontation.

Let me get this straight. Police arrested Jimmy Connors (Jimmy Connors!) because he refused to leave a certain area? Do they have a right to do such a thing? I am pretty sure they do not. Common sense is pretty sure, too.

The Associated Press reports that Connors lives in Santa Barbara and attends several UC Santa Barbara games each season. That makes one assume that Connors had tickets to the North Carolina game. If he did indeed have tickets, he has grounds for a lawsuit because he had every right to be where he was. Tickets solidify his position. Season tickets increases punitive damages.

Conners knew what his rights were. He knew those police officers couldn't make him leave. He refused to leave. He got arrested. Now go file the suit. Confrontation be danged. Connors was in a public area.

Texas Tech Scores 167 in Win

Can you say "beat down?"

The Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the East Central University Tigers in basketball 167-115. Texas Tech scored 90 points in the second half, and 10 players reached double figures.

The Associated Press story quoted East Central coach Terry Shannon like this: "Wow, that was fun, wasn't it? We came in with a couple of ideas. We want to play an up-tempo game. We want to force people to play our pace. We didn't have to force them. They went with us and boy they shot the ball well."

Wow?

That was fun?

What is so fun about losing a basketball game by 52 points? Coach, your team got destroyed.

I get his point of view. Up tempo games are fun, but still, they lost by 52! Whew that's ugly.

Oh, and they went in with "a couple of ideas." They must have gone in with the wrong ones because they gave up 167 points. Here are two ideas they needed and didn't use: defense and slowing the game down.

Paris Hilton Calls It Quits

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton ended her relationship with Benji Madden. Isn't his name supposed to be Joel? Oh yeah. Joel is the brother, the one with Nicole Richie. Whatever.

Barbara Walters

Walters Bashes O'Donnell, Tries Preserving Dignity ... and Fails.

Like Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Barbara Walters acts so annoying. Here is the deal. Apparently, Rosie O'Donnell opened her big mouth about Walters and The View.

While promoting her Rosie Live prime-time special on NBC, O'Donnell said, "[Walters] wanted everyone to believe and think and act as if [the women on The View] get along and are really good friends and happy and hang out together, and, you know, that's just not the reality. I'm not saying they loathe each other, but the fact of the matter is there was not a lot of camaraderie off camera."

Essentially, this sounds like the truth from O'Donnell. Her claim sounds quite plausible. All she said was that there wasn't a lot of camaraderie off camera between the co-hosts and that Walters wanted the public to think otherwise. It really isn't a big thing.

So O'Donnell said what she said. Then Walters responded. Here is the annoying part: Walters responded, but she tried to play coy with her opponent's name by withholding it. She was talking about O'Donnell and, to some extent, Star Jones. Here is Walters' remark. "There are some people who have done this show and then for years feel they have to dump on it, maybe for publicity, and that not only hurts me, but I resent it. So if the shoe fits, lady—ladies—get on with your lives."

Look, if you're going to accuse someone of dumping on your show for publicity's sake, then have the guts to say that person's name. There is no tip-toeing though the rose garden with the grace and poise of Doris Day when you're calling someone out as a publicity junkie. There is no well-mannered way to do it. Walters bashed O'Donnell, and Jones, by suggesting that they criticize others to generate publicity for themselves. If Walters wants to go that far with it, then she needs to say names. It is pretty outrageous of her to elect not to. Why does this woman insist on acting like a problem?

People's Sexiest Man Alive

People named Hugh Jackman as the Sexiest Man Alive for 2008.

Well that's People for you. An actor is the sexiest man alive? Really? What a surprise.

Aren't all of People's sexiest men actors?

Yes. They are aren't they.

Even John F. Kennedy Jr. was an actor. He did theater, and he wanted to pursue a Hollywood career, but his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, thought acting wasn't a good enough profession for her son. As we all know, John Jr. pursued law instead and turned himself into a successful magazine publisher. Like the rest of People's Sexiest Men Alive, John F. Kennedy Jr. had acting in his blood.

Since everyone on People's list is an actor, it kind of makes me scoff. If you listen to People, only actors have a chance at being the sexiest man in the world. What a crock.

I wonder what securities broker, accountant, real estate agent, semi-professional athlete or whatever out there is sexier than Hugh Jackman. Odds are there has to be at least one person women would prefer. There are a lot of men in the world People doesn't know about. What People should do is name Hugh Jackman and all of these other guys "The Sexiest Actor Alive" because the list covers only actors. There has to be someone in the world who is not a public figure who does not live their life in front of a camera with just as much merit as a Hugh Jackman or a Richard Gere or a Ben Affleck. If People doesn't like "Sexiest Actor Alive" it could opt for "The Sexiest Man That We Know About" because, as mentioned, there are a lot of people in the world. Odds are ...

Maritime Pirates

Pirates have hijacked a Saudi oil tanker, according to a report on CNN.com. The report says the tanker was attacked more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. The East African coast has seen 95 incidents involving pirates. Many of the stolen ships are taken to ports in Somalia, a wore-torn country ruled by lawless violence.

The pirate attacks make passage through the Suez Canal a dicey prospect. Warships from the U.S., the UK and Russia are patrolling the Indian Ocean, but that is not enough. Why aren't we doing more? Instead of wasting time in Iraq, we should be going after these pirates to put them out of the world's misery.

New-G iPhones, iPods

I will probably complain about iPhones and iPods the same way I complain about modern movies and modern athletic shoes. One day, I predict, Apple will mess up and put out a consumer electronics product with some useless, inane design detail in place of an old one that was better. And every Apple product in question will be sold with that same unavoidable detail. Consumers will have no say in the matter and no choice at all. They will be stuck with lame products that operate more efficiently but look like junk.

Compelling Nikes for November

The Blogadier General Lists Five Compelling Nikes for the Month of November.

Basketball season is here, so Hyperdunks reign supreme. Honorable mentions go out to the Jordan III from the Jordan Collezione III/XX Countdown package and the Air Jordan II from the Jordan Collezione II/XXI Countdown package. The current makeups of the original Air Jordan fail to make this blog's list because Jordan Brand insists on adding a Jumpman logo to the heel counters, and the tongue tags are historically inaccurate and all wrong.

Nike currently offers a black canvas Air Jordan high top with a strap. The strap is a new and unusual addition to this historic shoe. As a purist, I should not like the strap. For some reason though, I find it to be a palatable and interesting addition, something different. Jumpmen and weird tongue tags do not agree with me at all.

Nike and Jordan Brand almost nailed this canvas Air Jordan, but they missed the branding on the strap. Since the shoe is a canvas Air Jordan, Nike should have revisited the AJKO branding that was used on the original canvas Air Jordans. An AJKO label would have enhanced this new shoe's authenticity and, hence, the shoe's value, making it more desirable. Nike and Jordan Brand miscalculated in a major way. This missed detail is tantamount to a mispelling on the top headline of a big-circulation daily newspaper. It is that big of a gaffe. The same error in judgement was committed on the shoe itself. All this does is create credibility problems for Nike management and the folks who manage Nike's branding.

This month's list contains the same models as October. The order has been rearranged in part because of the weather and the time of year, basketball season. Hyperdunks are the hottest general release athletic shoe on the market, and they hold the most relevance with the NBA season in full swing and college teams popping up on television.

The Air Pegasus celebrates its 25th anniversary. Nike has released new color schemes for the shoe and even a special edition 25th anniversary redesign with a Considered upper that resembles the original Air Pegasus from 1983. The Air Pegasus + 25 SE has the same sole as the standard Air Pegasus + 25 model.

Nike's third-generation Air Zoom Vomero makes the list because it fits the publisher's foot better than anything else on the market, save for the Air Zoom Vomero + 2.

The Jordan Ol' Skool II is a favorite on this blog because the design is rather clean and clever. It is too bad that the white, black and red version has to be defiled with vile white patent leather. How can you beat a shoe to death when it has prissy, glossy white patent leather that demands such respect and clean living? To top it off, the patent leather has glitter in the finish. Is this shoe meant for hard core ballers or eight-year-old girls in cute pink sweat suits and Cindy Brady pigtails? The leather looks great, but the Jordan Ol' Skool II is the wrong place to use it. Leave it up to Nike to do too much with a shoe when good old full grain leather would suffice.

The Lunar Trainer falls to fifth place on this list because it has a mesh upper and it is November. Mesh in November equals cold feet. This is why I chose to replace my second-generation Vomeros with third-generation Vomeros. I wanted the try the Lunar Trainer, but I am not putting up with mesh in the winter. It is not functional right now, and the Vomero has Zoom Air, which is still the best cushioning on the planet, beating Lunar Foam by miles.

Here are the rankings this month. All of these are men's sneakers.

1. Hyperdunks
2. Air Pegasus + 25
3. Air Zoom Vomero + 3
4. Jordan Ol' Skool II, black/varsity red/white in particular
5. Lunar Trainer (The publisher prefers the white version.)

The New James Bond

I haven't even seen Casino Royale yet. Octopussy was the first Bond movie I saw at a theater. Actually, I saw it at a drive in theater if you can believe that. It was the only time I had ever gone to one of those. After Octopussy I used to always catch the new Bond movie in the theaters.

Alas, I managed to miss Casino Royale. It's probably not very good anyway. It doesn't sound very good. Great title, but bad interpretation of the James Bond character, and the entire franchise for that matter. I still don't buy Judith Dench as M. A female M is a little ridiculous. The M character is supposed to be a man, not a woman. Dench's M is condescending and mean while previous Ms were condescending and worried. A worried and male M is much more appeasing than a mean and female M.

After watching Die Another Day, I figured these new Bond adventures could only get worse and worse. I think, still, I may be right. Ice castles and graphic violence just do not mesh with the James Bond franchise. These modern Bond projects do no justice to the character, the established style of James Bond filmmaking or the actors that played Bond in the past. These new movies should pay homage to previous ones. They should emulate for the sake of authenticity. They clearly do not. Unfortunately, the current Bond filmmakers apparently feel that they can't make anything that lives up to what's been done before, so they've gone off on their own ultra-violent, fast-paced, low brow tangent, creating a complete and total mess that will certainly annoy me.

And I am aware of a story arc for the Daniel Craig version of Bond in which the British government would like to see Bond dead. This is an absolutely inexcusible idea. It was insulting enough to have to sit through Die Another Day as the Pierce Brosnan Bond was captured and beaten. And to top that all off, the Brosnan Bond didn't even escape. He was set free by way of negotiation. This is absoulutely stupid and absurd, unconscionable, would never happen. James Bond isn't the kind of character that gets captured, beaten bloody and set free through a hostage trade. He effects escape on his own, bests his opponents and saves the girl. That is how the Bond story works.

Now the British government wouldn't mind if Bond were dead. Nice. This too is absoulutely stupid and absurd, unconscionable, would never happen.

Oh, and I also understand that Quantum of Solace is a sequel to Casino Royale. That means I have to see Casino Royale before I watch Quantum of Solace. I have been told that I will not know what is going on in Quantum of Solace if I skip Casino Royale. This urks me. I want to just run to the theater on my day off and watch Quantum of Solace. I can't do that. I have to rent and watch Casino Royale first. To top things off, I know there will be major style changes in both movies that will not agree with me.

I feel fortunate that a complete catalog of Sean Connery and Roger Moore Bond films exist for my enjoyment. If I feel annoyed enough by the the new Bond films, I can always resort to the archives and enjoy Bond the way Bond is supposed to be.

One last note: Anyone who thinks Daniel Craig is the best Bond ever is likely too young and dumb to know what they are talking about. Craig is third best at best. He will never be better than Connery or Moore. That is not opinion. That is established fact.

The Detroit Pistons and Allen Iverson

Wow. This season's Detroit Piston squad is so athletic. Joe Dumars is cooking up a new and unusual dish. He won with teamwork and execution. Now he is trying to win with athleticism and execution. Adding Allen Iverson helps immensely.

Iverson's presence makes the Pistons more interesting to watch. He lends a harried immediacy to Detroit's offense. Plus he seems to mesh well with the rest of the team. That is nice to see after the Denver experiment. Iverson and Carmello Anthony seemed like an interesting combination, but those two never meshed well. Denver's team chemistry always seemed awkward with Iverson in the mix. Maybe the Nuggets could have flourished if Iverson and Anthony had been surrounded by above-average defenders and a stronger center.

The Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have a 6-4 record. That is a far cry from the 1-15 record the team recorded in 2007. The franchise has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, going undefeated in 1972 and nearly winless last season. I hope the modern Dolphins are remembered not for winning one game, but for how they responded this season. What a turnaround they have made.

Floor Tile and Wood

I took these photographs at Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock during my recent visit to Banana, just Banana. The first four shots depict floor tile. The fifth is a flight of stairs. I wish I had a light ... and a tripod ... and a real camera. I took these on my first-gen iPhone. Iphones are hard to shoot with. The job takes a steady hand, which I don't exactly have.






The penultimate photograph shows a bench. The last one shows the wood grain finish on a support column. That one might be blurry. I can't tell.

Just Banana

Once upon a time, a coworker of mine referred to Banana Republic as "Banana," just Banana. I picked up on what she was talking about, but I had never heard anyone refer to Banana Republic as Banana only.























Now when I search Google to get to bananarepublic.com, I wish I could just type "banana" and pull up the site. That would be so cool.

Did I Mean Blogadeur?

No. Oh no. I'm pretty sure I meant Blogadier.

"Free Cre-dit Report Dot Com"

Say this in your electronic voice, like in the one where they're working the pool party. I love that one!

A Catalyst for Absurdity

Perhaps the images below will reveal the inspiration for the slogan that appears in this blog's header box underneath the title. No, the idea didn't come from a Wheaties box.

These tags are from vintage Nike running shoes. I blogged about them a few posts back. The tags serve as a reminder of the good old days when Nikes were made here in the United States and also in Japan. Today's Nikes are made in China and Vietnam, much to the disdain of human rights activists.


For some reason, I like to write some absurd saying in the header box. It amuses me. None of them should ever be treated seriously or factually correct. Obviously, none of them really ever are. An argument could be made that I have watched David Letterman way too much.

Oh Stop It With Palin

Stop. Stop. Stop it. Stop throwing Sarah Palin under the bus over the election. I love it how everyone is pointing the finger at her like she was the problem. The problem for Republicans was a majority of Americans preferred Barack Obama over John McCain. That is why the GOP lost. Anyone short of Jesus Christ reincarnated would have lost against Obama. Well, I think Pope John Paul II could have beat him even if he was the leader of the Catholic Church, which a lot of folks might not like, but he's deceased, too, and not likely to return.

This loss by the GOP can't be blamed on Palin. It shouldn't be anyway. She tried her best. Is it her fault her party didn't prepare her for Katie Couric? No, that's not her fault. That's the party's fault. You would think that the McCain campaign would have help from the most brilliant minds of the party. What was Karl Rove doing during all of this? Isn't he supposed to be a genius? Where was he? He sure didn't get his party in the oval office again.

Honestly though, the GOP's biggest problem was the cyclical nature of politics. The pendulum of momentum swayed left after swinging right for two straight elections. That's what happened. No one can control that. Too many voters wanted the exact opposite of what they had, so they voted for Obama, a black, bi-racial liberal with better diction and brighter promise as a leader.

Old Nikes Make Great Collectibles

Antiques are cool. Many adults have their own personal niche interest when it comes to vintage pieces.

Some like to collect quilts or rugs. Others have a passion for dolls, craftsman furniture, cars or pottery. I like Mason jars and vintage Nikes among other things. Vintage Nikes fascinate me to no end. The older the better imo, and they can be in the most ratty condition. It really does not matter to me. Vintage Nikes make for some cool antiques even if they are a quaint 30 years old or so.

Like coins, stamps and comic books and most everything else old and coveted, vintage sneakers hold value with respect to condition. The better their condition, the more they are worth.

Today, I found a vintage pair of Nike LD 1000 running shoes on eBay as seen below. I love the thin shape of the Swoosh logo. Modern Nikes are issued with Swooshes I find a little too thick for my taste. Anyway, the shade of orange and the thin material make the Swoosh on the original LD 1000 stand out nicely, boldly. That was the Swoosh's point back then right? To stand out and exude boldness? Swooshes meant more then than they do now, and that's a shame. The world is so familiar with this iconic logo, so over-saturated with it that the novelty has plain worn off. It wore off a long time ago.

I once bought a pair of vintage canvas Nike court shoes that were popular around 1980. I found them on eBay. They were very much like a pair I wore to school when I was much younger. I do not have the pair from school anymore, but I still own the pair from eBay. They appear in the photo below.

This pair has a rubber toe cap, vulcanized herringbone sole and a light blue Swoosh. If I am not mistaken, John McEnroe competed in this model against Borg at Wimbledon. At the time, I thought the shoes were revolutionary because they had a built-in arch insert. The insert was made of foam. No other shoe manufacturer had such in their products. Early on, I could tell that Nike was an innovator instead of a follower. It is no surprise that Nike rose to the market leader status it holds today.

Do Not Name Your Child After 44

Folks are naming their newborns after Pres.-elect Barack Obama. Please do not do this, for it is absurd, and we are talking about your child's name. Take it seriously.

Trends and "the thrill of the moment" should not factor into the naming of your child. His or her name will last long after Obama's four to eight years. Trends should never ever affect how parents name a child. Show some respect for the child. Treat this matter seriously and earnestly.

Obama Projected as Winner

It looks like Sen. Barack Obama will be the 44th American president.

Hillary Clinton is owed apologies for this result.

Historic Election ... Really?

Election 2008 is under way right now. John McCain is losing to Barack Obama 174-69 in the electoral vote tally, according to CNN. Two hundred seventy electoral votes are required to win.

Pundits keep calling this election historic.

You wanna' know something? It's a presidential election. All presidential elections are historic. It's like kind of their nature. It's not like historians don't bother to keep records on who wins and loses these things. It's not like they keep records of the big ones and skip less-important ones. They're all important. The word "historic" sounds rather annoying tonight.

Election Day

Election Day 2008 is here. This is the last day to vote for president!

Daylight Savings Time Begins

Today is the first day for Daylight Savings Time, which I like to refer to as Daylight Wasting Time. How are we saving time here? What are we saving it for? Let's use it lest we lose it!

Early Voting

Vote early early. It took me around 90 minutes to vote today. It might be best to get to the polls before noon at least if you want to shave time.

The NBA on TNT

It's nice to have the NBA back on television. But it's equally nice to have Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley back in the TNT studio. Those guys are so fun to listen to.

Chuck

Light-hearted Spy Dramedy Losing Its Newness

Chuck is fine this season, if you haven't seen last season. Already, this show is losing its cachet. The new episodes look just like the old episodes. (That's not good.) I think I might skip the rest of Chuck Bartowski's sophomore year.

Heroes

I am done with NBC's Heroes. Characters gain powers. Characters lose powers. Nobody is happy. Everyone has an agenda. The Apocalypse looms perpetually like a black hole that won't suck light fast enough. There is no endgame in sight. This show is like a never-ending soap opera where the writers use every tired trick they know to string the viewer along while adding nothing new or original to the product. Alas, Heroes is getting as bad as Star Trek: The Next Generation was and always will be. I remember trying to watch and appreciate that show back in the 1990s, but I always lost interest. I kept asking myself, "What?"

That Wacky Dow

The Dow Jones made a mad dash to 9065.12 in the last 90 minutes of the session. Rising 11 percent, the Dow made up 889 points, posting its second-best one-day gain ever after a precedent-setting 936-point rally two weeks back.

There's nothing to complain about here. Stocks are fine, squirrely but fine.

The NBA is Under Way

I'm so glad to see NBA games on the tube again.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Why does she talk so loud? Why does she care so much about the things she talks about?

What Shoe Is Good Out of the Box?

My Air Zoom Vomero + 2s performed fine on first wear. My arches were the problem. I tweaked an arch during the first run in my Vomero's. My previous shoe was an Air Max 360. (I used the 360s for like 13 months, an amazing time span.) Actually, I think the 360s made my back ache. I believe they had a little too much support. Plus they were rather stiff. Nevertheless, the AM 360 is an engineering marvel. Every serious runner should try a pair. The 360s are great for heavy milage, and the cushioning is unquestionable.

Natually, my feet were acclimated to the AM 360s when I made the switch to the Nike Plus compatible Vomero + 2s. The AM 360 is not compatible with Nike Plus. This fact prompted my conversion to the Vomero.

The Zoom Vomero + 2 is the best running shoe I have ever used, and I have ran in Nike Zoom Milers and the 360s. Some runners have posted complaints on the Internet, saying the Vomero is too mushy. These are probably the same folks who require a stability shoe to stabilize their gait. I have a neutral gait, so the Vomero suits me. Stability shoes wreck my lower back because they do what they are designed to do, limit pronation. My feet and ankles must pronate. If they don't, my back feels it. I can feel the pressure on my back after fifteen minutes in a stability shoe whether I'm on my feet or off.

The Vomero + 2 has the right support in all of the right areas. The shoe is flexible, responsive, ventilated and well-cushioned. Save for the first few wears when my arches were too weak to handle the Vomero's awesome Free-inspired flexibilty, I haven't had any problems out them. They've been a dream to run in. Unfortunately, my Vomeros are into their fifth month of use. The time is nigh for a new running shoe. Perhaps I should just stick to my Hyperdunks throughout the rest of 2008. They have the ability to get the job done. Plus they have Lunarfoam in the forefoot!

Another Upside for Hyperdunks

My Hyperdunks are loosening up around the ankle, becoming more flexible. The ankle rubbing problem is fading. These shoes should improve with further wear. They're just not an "out-of-the-box" kind of shoe. Wearers must break them in. Fortunately, they adapt to feet rather quick. After five workouts, I sense improvement.

Another upside for Hyperdunks, and basketball shoes in general, is that they provide great support when weightlifting. I forgot how valuable a good pair of hightops are when pushing free weights. They offer far better support than running shoes.

The Sad, Pathetic Demise of Madonna

The woman is no longer known for her music or her videos or even her fashion. Right now, her most relevant contribution to pop culture is imploding her marriage to perhaps the most stable man she will ever hook up with so she can cavort around with a ridiculous Major League Baseball personality.

Guy Richie was a godsend for Madonna. Her relationship with him made her look good. With Ritchie she appeared so bankable as a mother, as a spouse. What does she do with all of this newfound credibility? She compromises it with one visit to the home of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

What sort of nut does such a thing?

Before the divorce with Ritchie, Madonna and Rodriguez denied rumors of an affair. Given Madonna's sex-crazed track record, all of the denials sounded flimsy. After all, she visited a married man at his home. Photographers saw it and reported it, creating a media firestorm.

The rationale was that Madonna was trying to promote her Sticky and Sweet tour. What a way to promote yourself, creating sex-laced innuendo with a married man. Nice.

Stable people do not behave this way.

She trades in Guy Ritchie for Alex Rodriguez? Alex Rodriguez?

This guy is all flash and no substance.

George Steinbrenner pays him way to much for what he does, making him a laughing stock, yet he doesn't seem to have enough self-awareness to realize it.

He allows a sleazy agent, Scott Boras, to represent him, poorly, particularly in public. Again, he doesn't have enough self-awareness to realize it. Boras does nothing to help Rodriguez's public profile. The guy needs a good publicist, like stat. A good publicist for Rodriguez would sooth my stomach.

And another major problem with Alex Rodriguez: He's an attention addict of the first order. I guess he and Madonna do have something in common. Remember that tasteless announcement by Boras during last year's World Series regarding Rodriguez's negotiations with the Yankees? Boras issued a press release smack in the middle of a World Series game. It was a crass move, beyond gaudy. No doubt about it, that was a tasteless thing to do. Never ever would I let someone like Boras embarrass me like that. If I played in the Big Leagues, Boras would not represent me. Period. Forget about negotiation prowess. Boras is awful. He and people like him are part of the problem with professional sports. So are people like Rodriguez.

Any self-respecting woman would see this, identify it and stay away. Not Madonna. How well or poor a man carries himself in public does not matter to her. But she doesn't carry herself very well either, so why should she consider that?

I love despising Alex Rodriguez. I don't get him. I really don't. I'm glad I don't. He's a weird, egotistical flake baseball player that gets paid way more than he's worth. He's not even a winner either. The Yankees should cut him off and kick him out.

Madonna should ditch Rodriguez too, apologize to Ritchie and her children, reconcile and get back to the business of raising a family. Those poor kids from three different fathers will wind up a little off when all is said and done. Mark this post.

Now we all get to read and hear stories in the media about Madonna's stalking tendencies. Apparently she likes to keep tabs on Ritchie as he navigates his high-profile divorce.

Now we get to see video of Rocco Ritchie dressed up in Yankees garb, courtesy of his vindictive mother. Wow. How classy of Madonna to pull such a warm, inspiring media stunt with her only real son.

Oh and the daughter, Lourdes, is in People dressed just like her mother, wearing identical articles of clothing in multiple photographs on multiple occasions. That's really not a good sign for her.

The bottom line is this: Madonna may still be bankable as an entertainer even if her influence is waning, her creativity has petered out and her new concert performance looks exactly like her old ones. But she has zero credibility as a romantic partner. It's unfortunate, but it's true.

This Rodriguez phase will not help her. She's back on the same aimless path she was on in the '80s and '90s. This time though, she's on that path with three helpless children, and she's in her fifties.

An Andy Warhol Exhibit

There is an Andy Warhol exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center. The exhibit runs through February.

I have to see this. I have never seen an actual Warhol work.

Interesting Nikes

The Blogadier General Lists Five Compelling Nikes for the Month of October.

All of these are men's sneakers.

1. Lunar Trainer (The publisher prefers the white version.)
2. Hyperdunk
3. Air Zoom Vomero + 3
4. Jordan Ol' Skool II, black/varsity red/white in particular
5. Air Pegasus + 25

The Soloman Key

When will Dan Brown finish this highly-anticipated novel? I want to read it.

On Crown Molding

Let me make it known my thoughts on crown molding.

Crown molding is the most overused, cliched element of current home design. That fact that crown molding is so hip and current just turns me off to the whole notion. Crown molding has jumped the shark imo. Nowadays, every 800 square foot loser shack has some ridiculous, pretentious crown molding inside. It's just silly. It's overdone. It's dumb. Skip the crown molding. Use embossed tin ceilings to impress yours guests instead. Nobody's doing embossed tin ceilings.

Perhaps you could mold tin into crown molding. You'd have nice metallic crown molding made of tin.

Even Warren Buffett Would Agree With Me

Only recently, October 10 to be exact, I stated on this blog that is was time to buy stocks. They're cheap, and they have lots of upside.

Well, well, well. The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, just weighed in on stocks in a New York Times op-ed piece. Like myself, Buffett is bullish on stocks. He converted his personal portfolio to mostly U.S. stocks, switching from Treasury bonds.

He also believes the U.S. economy will continue faltering for a bit before turning around. I felt that myself. Things like our economy don't just turn on a dime. We have to wait for momentum to shift. While measures are in place to get things on track, they won't work overnight. The benefits will manifest later.

The Dow could fall below 8,000 again and I would still maintain my position that stocks are great investments right now. I'm glad Warren Buffett thinks stocks are great investments, too.

The Louvre Versus Graceland

A friend of mine, who is a huge Elvis Presley fan, toured Europe this week. He photographed the Eiffel Tower. He ate a Big Mac outside the Colosseum. He visited the Louvre where he viewed the Mona Lisa. So, knowing this friend of mine has been to Graceland a million times, I asked the obvious. Which is better, the Louvre or Graceland?

He said Graceland!

Amazing! That is so amusing.

More Commentary on Hyperdunks

Well, I finally got my Nike Plus sensor calibrated. Hopefully it's in tune with my iPod Nano and my Nike Hyperdunks. The job took three tries, but I finally made it work. It's amazing how much success one can have when directions are followed correctly.

As far as the Hyperdunks go, I think I need to break them in before I can give a complete assessment. I might need a workout or two to loosen them up. The fact that they need this treatment makes the shoe seem suspect. But I think my expectations are a little lofty for this particular model.

One of Michael Jordan's lasting contributions to basketball shoes and athletic shoes in general was his desire to use a basketball shoe right "out of the box," meaning you pull the shoes out of the box, lace them up and go without having to break them in. He lobbied Nike to manufacture their shoes with better materials. The belief was that better materials would perform better sooner. Jordan was right.

In the 1970s and 80s, shoes would take forever to break in, say two months or so. Because of Michael Jordan's demanding expectations, that period is down to a few workouts if any. I am so spoiled by this that I expect every athletic shoe to respond at a high level right out of the box. This is not the case with the Hyperdunk. It performs well at first wear, but it worked better on my second workout and even better on my third. The ankle rubbing problem doesn't show up when I'm moving forward, and honestly that's how the shoe should work. You're moving forward constantly during a basketball game. The Hyperdunk does what it is designed to do.

Like all basketball shoes, the Hyperdunk is a little clunky compared to a running shoe, but that's to be expected. The upside is, the Hyperdunk isn't as clunky or awkward as other basketball shoes. The shoe is certainly light, likely the lightest basketball high top on the market. I can't imagine a lighter shoe right now.

Since I haven't worn a basketball shoe in a few years, it's hard for me to compare and contrast the Hyperdunk to the rest of the offerings on the market now. I do think it stands up well against a lot of Air Jordans. Most likely, the Hyperdunk is better than a lot of them. I would certainly opt for a Hyperdunk over the Air Jordan XX3. The XX3's Considered design is a step forward, but I wasn't impressed with the overall feel of the shoe. It wasn't as comfortable as the XX2. And the hyperdunk has a more flexible upper and sole.

I still think the Air Jordan XIX might be the best basketball shoe I have ever worn. The XIX is much heavier and much stiffer than the Hyperdunk, but the XIX had the very best ankle support I have ever experienced in a basketball shoe, and the cushioning was tip-top quality. From an engineering standpoint, the XIX is still quite relevant when in a discussion about the best basketball shoes. I would wear another one of those for sure.

My Nike Hyperdunks

Nike's Noteworthy Basketball Shoe Has Upsides and Downsides

Got some Hyperdunks recently. They're white with black and silver accents. I'm having a mixed time with them. Since Nike's basketball line isn't Nike Plus compatible, I resorted to a third party pouch that carries the sensor on the shoe laces. As we all know, the Nike Plus compatible shoes have a slot underneath the insole to accommodate the sensor. Running shoes from Asics and New Balance for instance do not have the slot. It's an intellectual property thing. The pouch circumvents this deficiency, allowing runners to use the Nike Plus sensor with running shoes made by rival athletic shoe companies ... and Nikes that aren't Nike Plus compatible. This means Air Jordans, most of the Nike Free trainers and Nike-branded basketball shoes.

I say most of the Nike Free trainers. As of this year, Nike now offers the Nike Free Everyday. The Everyday has an ultra-flexible Free sole and a sensor slot. And they're available on Nike iD. I love it. The Lunar Trainer and Lunaracer also have elements of Nike Free design, and they are Nike Plus compatible. I still want to try the Lunar Trainers. I still might by the end of the year.

Anyway, I need to sync my sensor with my Hyperdunks. I usually do my running on a treadmill. To sync the sensor correctly however, I need solid ground. So I'm running in circles on the track at my gym. It stinks. I do not like running on the track. You're turning a corner like every few steps. It's hard to develop a good cadence that way.

Sure, I could run outside to sync, but Hyperdunks are an indoor shoe. They're intended for the hardwood, not the asphalt. I don't want to compromise my well-crafted masterpiece of modern footwear engineering on rock-strewn sidewalks and oily parking lots.

No. The Hyperdunks stay inside.

You wonder why kids don't play basketball outside anymore? They don't want their shoes messed up. Modern basketball shoes simply aren't designed for outdoors anymore. They just aren't. The Hyperdunk certainly isn't. Case in point, the Hyperdunk's rubber outsole does not extend to the arch area. Less rubber translates to less weight. We've seen similar design on the Air Jordan XXI with the arch reinforced with plastic and a full carbon fiber shank plate. The Hyperdunk's arch is similar. It's all carbon fiber encased in foam, which is vulnerable to punctures and pockmarks from sticks and pebbles. Who wants that? Nobody. I know I don't.

Anyway, I've spent two workouts trying to sync my sensor with my Hyperdunks. I ran for ten minutes on the first attempt and quit because the readings weren't making sense. For the second attempt I didn't quit, and I logged a 23-minute mile. That's if you believe the sensor's figures. How could that be? I could swear I was beating a ten-minute pace! I was sweating. I tried going faster, but I couldn't finish my mile in a reasonable time.

After further inspection, it turns out that I had the sensor installed incorrectly. Basically, I was running with it upside down. I read the instructions. I just misinterpreted them. Hopefully, I have this sensor thing down for my next attempt at calibration. I'd love it if I could log millage on Nike's website and do so in a pair of Hyperdunks. Nike really ought to make their basketball shoes compatible with the sensor. (Perhaps I should lobby them to do it.)

Now, if I can get the ankle discrepancy worked out, that would be great. The major thing I do not like about the Hyperdunk is that my right ankle is pressing up against something hard, likely the foam panel wrapping around the back end. My ankle feels uncomfortable when my foot is in certain positions. So far as I can tell, there are no manufacturing problems with the shoe. It seems just like the left one. Nevertheless, I developed a blister after two miles of treadmill running. I laced them loser around the ankle, and that alleviated the problem. Even after that my ankle is still coming into contact with something hard. I don't know what to do about it.

All in all though, I think the Hyperdunk is a solid basketball shoe. At under 14 ounces, mine are rather light, allowing one to get up and down a basketball court without hassle. Yes. I have shot baskets in them, and they do their job quite efficiently, providing excellent support for lateral and diagonal movement. Like all basketball shoes, Hyperdunks perform better on the basketball court as opposed to the treadmill. That's understandable. Regardless, I don't even notice the Flywire upper encasing my foot. This is so totally a good thing. Flywire rocks.

Take it upon yourself to experiment with some Hyperdunks.

Dow Surges Like a Tsunami

What did I say Friday? I said lace up and get ready. The Dow Jones Industrials gained over 900 points today in the highest one-day point gain ever. The Dow also topped 9,000 after dipping below 8,000 the session before.

To be honest, the best time to jump into this debacle was last Friday afternoon because sizable gains were already locked up by today's opening bell. There is so much I don't know or understand about the stock market, but I understand some. I wasn't 100 percent sure if the markets would hold their early intra-day gains, but I had a hunch they would. The rally out of the bell didn't surprise me. I felt the markets had found a bottom. Besides, prices were just too cheap for investors to pass up. There were a ton of no-brainer buy situations. Friday was the perfect day to have liquid assets. I wish I'd of had about ten mil lying around. I'd of made a lot of money today.

The Problem With Popcorn Ceilings

There is no problem with popcorn ceilings, which is the point of this post. I've known of them my whole life, and I've never recalled looking at them and thinking, "Wow. That's ugly." Have never done that, and I don't understand this new aversion to them that has taken place over the last few years.

The first time I was aware that popcorn ceilings were perceived as a problem was when a friend bought a new house. This took place about two to three years ago. My friend griped about the popcorn ceilings he received after specifying specifically that he didn't want them. This was all new to me, and it was perplexing. So my nut friend gets a ladder and a spackle, and he scrapes the popcorn off, making the ceiling's texture smooth and flat throughout his house. Unbelievable. I've never seen anyone work so hard to change something so benign. As I recall now, I found this banality rather amusing at the time. It still amuses me.

Periodically, I see people on these home makeover shows on HGTV and such complaining about popcorn ceilings. I'm like, "What's the problem?" I don't get it. I absolutely don't get it. In fact, I take pride in not understanding this new and unusual point of view. There's nothing wrong with popcorn ceilings. What difference does it make if a house has popcorn ceilings?

I know. I know. I'm normal. I can't help it. Not everyone gets the privilege to be weird enough to dislike popcorn ceilings.

Another funny thing about this is that every average-thinking person seems to have bought into this silly anti-popcorn dogma, and it's dumb. Just because everyone else thinks something doesn't mean you have to follow along, so don't. There's nothing wrong with popcorn ceilings.

The Dow's Worst Week Ever

In a week knowing no precedent, The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped below 8,000 today before rallying from a 697-point intra-day sell-off, finishing at 8,462.18.

The Dow has not seen levels this low since March 17, 2003. Massive selling pressured markets around the globe, forcing the Dow down 2,271 points across the last seven sessions. That equates to a 20 percent drop. The Japanese Nikkei fell 9.6 percent and the London FTSE tumbled to 8.9 percent.

This pressure cannot sustain its downward momentum. I believe a sustained rally is in our future, perhaps as early as next Monday. Lace up your track shoes, and bring some cash. Stocks are bargain investments right now. Buying simply makes sense in the wake of this week's financial carnage.

Chad Johnson

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson is going through some oddball identity crisis apparently fueled by rampant narcissism. Regardless, Chad Johnson's name is Chad Johnson. He can change his name to Chad Ocho Cinco all he wants, and society can legalize it all it wants, but he's still just Chad Johnson on this blog.

There will be no name changing here. Once a Chad Johnson, always a Chad Johnson. For a name change to get recognition on this blog, the change needs to have merit. Changing one's name for the sake of having the new name on the back of one's football jersey doesn't cut it. Sometimes a marriage provides enough legitimacy to such a matter, not necessarily though.

Furthermore, Prince was never really a symbol, and Roseanne Bahr was never just Roseanne.

Madonna's still Madonna and Cher's Cher. But Ms. Bahr was always a two-name celebrity, regardless of her one-name propaganda.

But back to Johnson. This blog will recognize Ocho Cinco as a nickname. But when Johnson drops a catch, should we call him Chad Ocho Droppo? How 'bout Chad Ocho Stinko? He really needs to stay with Johnson.

Brokaw for Moderator

John McCain and Barrack Obama are debating now. Tom Brokaw is moderating.

I love Tom Brokaw. He's eloquent minus a lot of stuffiness. He's a living institution all unto himself. He should be the night's moderator.

John Grisham's "The Chamber"

I am reading The Chamber, one of John Grisham's many legal dramas. So far, The Chamber is not the page turner that The Summons was, which I read last year along with The King of Torts. I truly enjoyed The Summons. It was a nice easy read, paced well, and I could relate to parts of the story.

By contrast, The Chamber is much heavier, graver in tone and theme. Grisham's pacing here drags a little much for my taste, too much detail and not enough action. I like stories that explain what a protagonist wants to do and what he or she thinks, assuming that what he or she thinks is interesting. Interesting observations about life provide great entertainment to readers

The Chamber places emphasis on facts instead of thoughts, and the facts are rather unpleasant. When I came across this novel for the first time, I thought the chamber referred to a judge's chamber. Not so. The chamber is actually a gas chamber used for capital punishment. We are dealing with a death penalty story.

The rather unpleasant facts of the story pertain to a Ku Klux Klan bombing way back in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. The Chamber tells the tale of one Sam Cayhall, a Mississippi Klansman who had a role in the bombing. The target was a Jewish lawyer's office. The lawyer lost his legs in the attack, and his two sons were killed. Ultimately, Sam Cayhall gets convicted for the bombing. A jury sentences him to death. Over time, Sam's grandson, Adam Hall, formerly a Cayhall himself, becomes a lawyer and maneuvers to represent his grandfather for one last appeal before the scheduled execution.

Much of Grisham's story focuses on the bombing. As the story plays out, Adam learns new facts about Sam's highly-interesting case. Other aspects dwell on Sam's stay on death row, gas chambers and capital punishment in general. The whole thing is well-conceived on Grisham's part. He paints a stark picture of the legal process involved in death penalty cases, the political wrangling, the plight and perspective of a condemned man and how all of this affects the condemned man's extended family. It is truly a good story. I just wish it was paced faster.

I cannot wait to finish The Chamber so I can take on something else from John Grisham.

Hogs Abysmal in SEC Play

Can the Arkansas Razorbacks beat another SEC team? The question remains viable since the Hogs are 0-2 against Alabama and Florida.

Frankly, this season's squad does not have SEC-level ability, or should we say SEC-level concentration. Dropped balls, shanked field goals and other mental mistakes have wrecked this team. Coach Bobby Petrino needs more than one off-season to fix the problems. Who wants to wait that long?

O.J. Simpson Convicted

A jury rendered O.J. Simpson guilty yesterday on all 12 counts relating to a 2007 incident in a Las Vegas hotel room.

I am surprised. I am used to seeing Simpson skate on things of this nature. This seems a little surreal right now. If Simpson had been sent to prison 13 years ago, this Las Vegas thing would have never happened. We have those jurors from the murder trial to thank for that.

Will Fred Goldman be pleased with this result? Hmm ... is lightning electric? I cannot wait to see his reaction. He hates Simpson, and with good reason.

Simpson is 61 years old. He faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, was also convicted on all counts for his role in the matter. He too faces incarceration for the rest of his life.

What a sad story this is.