Google Maps Gives Very Strange Directions

Relevancy this post has to sports: Absolutely none. Amount of laughter this post could provide you on this Friday: Potentially endless. I'll just go ahead and present this without comment. (click to enlarge even more)

If this is how Google plans on getting you from Japan to China, then I think they may end up with quite a few lawsuits on their hands when people actually try this.  I'd type in directions from California to Tahiti to see how it gets you there, but honestly, I am scared of what I will discover.  Mapquest may get you lost from time to time, but at least it is not trying to kill you like Google Maps!  Jet ski 782 kilometers across the Pacific from Japan to China.  Brilliant.

Death At A Sporting Event

Tragedies are not uncommon in Sports. Athletes have died on the field of play more often than you would think, and their deaths become markers of remembrance for fans. Famous examples include Ray Chapman, Chuck Hughes, Hank Gathers, and Bill Masterton. Their deaths helped to remind us that it really is just a game that they play, and to take maximum joy in watching these athletes perform.

There was another death in sports over the weekend.

And now you must be wondering, why haven't I heard of this? Well that's because it took place in the sports mecca of Heinola, Finland, a town located 86 miles north of Helsinki. And its claim to fame, (besides a closed down plywood mill) is the World Sauna Championship.

Well, it was its claim to fame. The 2010 edition will be the last Sauna Championship ever held, due to the death of semifinalist Vladimir Ladyzhensky.(warning: very graphic photos at the link) Also, here's a video of the competition(may need to translate if you don't understand Norwegian)

According to Finn Timo Kaukonen (who I guess is the winner):

"I was in two rounds in the semi-finals, and I already have red eyelids and blisters on your fingers. It does not feel good to go in there, but I'll bite your teeth together, and then we'll see what happens."

Incidentally, this event is described in Rick Reilly’s recent book about participating in weird sports. And it’s an event only a resident of Scandinavia could love: for a person to sit in a room, as water gets splashed onto hot rocks ratcheting up the humidity, trying to smoke you out. I don’t know why anyone would want to do that, to endure the pain of blasted skin and eye blisters.

But I guess people will always want to push themselves to extreme levels, so one must salute these competitors for going all out to win.

As for Mr. Ladyzhensky, at least he went out doing something he liked to do. RIP Vladimir.

But I’ll never look at a sauna the same way again.

Follow me at kt1000 on Twitter

Today In Douche Bag Radio Interviews: Taylor Swift Goes On The MJ In The Morning Show

My NFL picks for this week are coming up later tonight (and a big surprise along with it), but for now, enjoy this interview from the MJ In The Morning Show where MJ tortures Taylor Swift about the Kanye West incident after polite requests not to talk about it, followed by a hilariously pathetic sequence where he tries to play the victim and goes on an inane rant about the whole ordeal.

"Do you think Kanye West has a mental problem?"

And MJ wonders why Taylor Swift and her publicist hung up......

Today In Awkward On-Air Apologies: Kanye West Apologizes To Taylor Swift On Leno

After being advertised and advertised and advertised over and over and over again by NBC, Jay Leno's primetime show finally premiered last night. And while I have not seen the ratings yet, I can tell you that there will most likely be a 150% decrease by the end of the week. I'm sure you all know what happened between Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the VMAs Sunday night, but if you live under a rock, you can view the video here (and Beyonce making it up to Taylor here). So Kanye West (for the first time in his life, mind you) decided to have an ounce of class an publically apologize to Taylor Swift on the Jay Leno show and for a few short moments, the show ceased to be the Jay Leno Show and turned into an impromtu edition of Dr. Phil.



Awkward. If this is how the Jay Leno Show is going to be from here on out, then I'm pretty sure it will end up in the trash quicker than Pirate Master did for CBS. I don'k know if Kanye was taken aback by the question about his mother (why a grown man would seriously ask another grown man about how his mother what his mother would think of her son's rude actions is still beyond me) or what, but that was one incredibly awkward and unnerving moment of television.

Major Fraud Or Major Injustice - The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Scandal

As I'm sure you all know by now, last night marked the return of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? to prime time television. As a kid, I used to love game shows and I was a huge fan of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire way back when it first premiered and hell, even now I still like the show and am planning on watching all of the anniversary specials. I guess it was last year I was watching some old YouTube videos of Millionaire and some of the winners and subsequently some of the bozos who made complete fools of themselves in front of millions of people when I clicked on a video entitled, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Major Fraud"

Seeing as at the time I had never heard of such a thing, the video sparked my interest, and when I clicked on it, my curiousity was immediately sparked when I found out that I had clicked on the first part of a documentary about someone who had cheated on the British Edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Not only that, but the guy who cheated was a former Major in the British Army. Now there is some controversy over this whole matter. The Major was convicted of cheating and served his jail sentence (the incident occured in 2001), although to this day he maintains his innocence and everyone that was alleged to be "in on it" has not confessed and/or admitted to being involved in this scandal. The documentary, which I have posted below in its entirety, is shaped soley from the point of view of the Major cheated and even though they were offered, no one proclaiming innocence participated in or was interviewed in this documentary. Below the documentary, you will find a very long essay written by a 3rd party analyzing why the British Major could NOT have cheated and instead won the money fair and square (by long, I mean 37 multi-paragraph points, if you think I'm long-winded, check this out). Anyway, if this is your cup of tea and you have a good hour or 2 (the documentary over an hour long and the essay may take you a good 30 minutes to an hour to get through, depending on how fast you read), I highly recommend you check this out as it truly is a fascinating story. The documentary, as you will soon discover, consists of multiple YouTube videos, all of which are listed below. Enjoy!










Incidentally, it is in part this scandal that inspired the movie Slumdog Millionaire (love that movie, btw). In the novel that the movie was based on, no real, specific quiz/game show was ever mentioned, and the makers of Slumdog Millionaire figured that if a British Army Major can cheat his way to the top, then why can't someone from the slums win it cleanly? And even though I have not read the book of which the movie is based, I'm sure it is no coincidence that the main character was accused of cheating in the movie.

And as promised, here is the long essay written by James Plaskett, a 3rd party not involved in the incident, in 2004 defending the Major's innocence. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed that whether you saw and read this now or were bored somewhere further along down the road and saw it then. And if you're interested, from the same person who posted the Major Fraud documentary, here is a link to the start of a program which starts out as a documentary further explaining what the original plan was (as the Major Fraud documentary is a bit unclear on how Plan A was supposed to unfold) and then goes into an unedited re-broadcast of the proceedings. I trust that you'll be able to navigate your way around the videos.

Harry Potter and The Incredibly Ginormous Theatrical Cash Cow

(Guest posted by James Craven from The O Files)

Sounds like something Joanna Kathleen Rowling (yes, that is her real name) would have written in high school for shiggles. In reality, it could be the way that the movie adaptation of the Harry Potter books has been going as of late.

In the USA and Canada, the latest film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, grossed nearly $160 million in the first five days alone. Worldwide, it broke Spiderman 3's world record with $237 internationally (outside the USA and Canada), bringing the total gate to...$397,000,000.00, and the question is will it ever end?

Two movies based on the final book are forthcoming within the next three years, so stay tuned.

RIP Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

The music industry suffered a great loss yesterday as Michael Jackson, aged 50, passed away from what they believe now to be cardiac arrest resulting from a heart attack. And I must say, that I have never seen such a diverse spectrum of reactions to the death of someone so well known and who was such an icon as I have seen today.

There are those that appreciate the musical Michael Jackson and will remember him for it. There is no doubt about it, Michael Jackson is the King of Pop. Thriller is one of the biggest selling albums of all time and I am sure that sales of that album and many will posthumously skyrocket. Personally, I was never a huge fan of Michael Jackson's music. But at the same time, I think everyone has to have a good deal of respect for him and what he did in this industry. When you think greatest singers/bands of all time, Micheal Jackson has to be one of the first that comes to mind, perhaps right along side of the Beatles.

And then there are others who remember the other side of Michael Jackson. The Michael Jackson that was accused of being a pedophile and molesting children. I have heard from numerous people that they do not feel bad for Michael Jackson's death today. And you can't blame them for feeling this way. We can't say for sure the exact veracity of those allegations, but if there is any amount of truth to them, then yeah, child molestation is a serious crime and perhaps they are right in believing that someone like him is not worthy of the amounts of sympathy that some people are giving him today. After all, the American public does not feel bad for Joe Schmo The Child Molestor when he dies in prison. And while Michael was never convicted like I alluded to the fact that Joe Schmo was, it still is a very serious allegation and one that everyone in the national media completely blew up and made it more of a game and late-night comedy material instead of focusing on the seriousness of those allegations.

I don't think neither side is wrong here. Some will remember him as one of the greatest singers of all time. Others will remember MJ as a sick, pedophile who beat our American justice system. As cruel and heartless as it may sound, both have a legitimate point and there is no convincing either side that they are wrong in their beliefs. Only history will say which side truly is the more dominant line of thinking. My inclination is that 10-years from now more people will remember Michael Jackson the singer instead of Michael Jackson the freak who got plastic surgery and molested children. I know that I will remember him as the great singer. But that does not mean that the person who remembers pedophile Michael is a bad, ill-willed person. It's something that the American public will forever have to agree to disagree on.

And in perhaps the cruelest senses of irony, at around a little past 3 PM ET, myself and some others were actually discussing Michael Jackson as the extended music video of Thriller played in the background on the computer. And I had asked the question of "where is Micheal Jackson now?", as it had been a long time since I had heard anything about him and where he was living and what he was doing in such. A few hours later when I got home and logged into my Facebook account, I got my answer.

RIP Michael Jackson.

How To Save A Marriage

America is mourning today. Not just for Ed McMachon, no disrespect intended to Ed McMahon, but to most Americans that news is secondary. Secondary toward the shocking development that occured last night. America's favorite Montgomery County, PA marriage has finally come to an end. Yep, Jon and Kate are getting a divorce. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

And while I am certainly more ashamed than giddy to be currently living in the county where these 2 bozos got married, it is a sad day for America. I think that the whole country at some point shed a tear or 2 of sympathy for them. It's just so damn sad!!!!!!!!

Okay, not really. Or at least for me. And while I am not downplaying the fact that the parents of 8 kids are not separated, I don't think that I am the only one that thinks this whole thing is downright absurd.

What on earth makes them so damn special that they get their own reality show? They are not the only family with 8 kids. Was it because of the way the kids were conceived? If that's what you're after, then we should have a show on OctoMom. Oh, wait.....never mind.

Regardless, I am more than proud to say that I never watched one minute of this piece of crap filth that the rest of America claim is sad, entertainment. It's a sad, pathetic, worthless piece of garbage exploitation of children all at the expense of the dolla-dolla bill. You can't say that these kids are unaffected. They may be fine now, but what about 10 years from now or so. Their lives will be different. They'll be recognized. Any shot they had at a normal life is now spoiled by the fact that they'll be followed around by celebrity newspapers for the rest of their life as I'm sure some paper will have a "Keeping Tabs With The Gosselin Children" that will be updated hourly for the next 10 years.

Regardless, sad, stories like this are worthy of a tear-jerking song. That is why I somehow managed to fight those tears and I penned this song in hopes that Jon & Kate will never be forgotten. It's painfully called, "How To Save a Marriage" (sang to the tune of "How To Save a Life" by The Fray)

Step One, you say, "We need to make money"
She walks, you say, "Let's get a reality show".
She smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of contract to your right.
As she then tells you she is infertile
Between the lines of fear and greed
You begin to wonder why you came.

Where did I go wrong?
I lost my dignity somewhere along in the greediness
And I would have stayed up with those 8 pests all night
Had I known how to save a marriage

Let her know that you know best.
Because after, all, the guy always does.
Try to slip past her defense
And ink that contract with TLC.
Lay down a list of all the "story lines".
Things you told her will make them famous
Pray to God that they work.
And pray to God you're millionaires

And where did I go wrong?
I screwed my kids somewhere along in the greediness
And I would have stayed up with those 8 pests all night
Had I known how to save a marriage

As she begins to raise her voice
You lower yours and apologize for the affair
Continue with the show anyway
For you can't disappoint your millions of viewers
She will do one of 2 things:
She will forgive everything
Or she'll say "we're getting a divorce"
And you'll begin to why you came.

Where did I go wrong?
I got embarassed on TV somewhere along in the greediness
And I would have stayed up with those 8 pests all night
Had I known how to save a marriage

Where did I go wrong?
I became a laughing stock somewhere along in the greediness
And I would have stayed up with those 8 pests all night
Had I known how to save a marriage
How to save a marriage
How to save a marriage.

Please Help Put A Stop To Chinese Fur Farms!

I'll be the first to admit that especially when it comes to their exploits into the sports world, I bash and make fun of PETA like there is no tomorrow. But the work they do is real and some of the stuff they uncover is downright shocking. I mentioned this in the NHL open thread last night about one of the most shocking and graphic videos I have ever seen and this is it. And while the way I came about this video is unbelieveable in its own right, the contents of the video are even more shocking and even more appaling than anything I've ever seen before. It's an undercover video on a Chinese Fur Farm. And according to PETA, over 50% of the fur imported into the United States comes from China. So don't think this is not relevent to you because it's a video from China. And the funny part is, I'm not this type of person to always go out and campaigning for animals rights, but somethings are just too bad. So I will warn you. If you choose to watch this video, it is very, very graphic and shocking, to say the least. Unless seeing a raccoon still moving after you have just seen them being skinned and then seeing a dog literally beaten to death is your cup of tea, I think you too will be shocked by what you see. (If you're squirmish and/or get queasy easily, don't watch!)


Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.

To help, you can click on this link to the site on this on PETA and learn more about this. I can also forward you, of all things, the chain email from where I first learned about this with a petition at the bottom that you can sign (believe it or not, some chain emails are actually accurate). And I would also greatly appreciate it if you could spread the word about this either through your blogs and linking back here or by talking and telling those close to you and showing them this video. I know, I'm not necessarily one for this kind of stuff, but this just scared and shocked me so much that I felt that I had to post something on here about it.

And seriously people, is it really asking much to not buy anything made of fur? That's really all this is asking you to do. What is made with fur that you can't buy in any other synthetic material? Nothing that I can come up with.

Thanks for all your help in this matter!

A Shocking Look Inside Chinese Fur Farms (PETA)

Rule #1 Of Journalism: Never Trust Wikipedia

You'd think that that would be obvious, but this story has just completely baffled my mind. And while it has nothing to do with sports or anything, this is just too funny and for mainstream media, too embarrassing not to put on here. On March 28, 2009, a French composer named Maurice Jarre passed away. A few hours after that, a Dublin University student and sociology major, Shane Fitzgerald, decided on an experiement to create a realistic, but nonetheless phony quote intended to get placed on obituaries everywhere. So where did Mr. Fitzgerald decide to place this fake quote? On Wikipedia! And the mainstream media all over the world bought it. Hook, line, and sinker. THIS WAS AN UNSOURCED, UNCREDITED QUOTE AND YET NEWSPAPERS AND BLOGS EVERYWHERE CREDITED JARRE WITH THIS QUOTE!!!!!!!!! By sheer coincidence (I stumbled upon this as a link a friend of mine put up on Facebook), from Yahoo! Finance.

The sociology major's obituary-friendly quote -- which he added to the Wikipedia page of Maurice Jarre hours after the French composer's death March 28 -- flew straight on to dozens of U.S. blogs and newspaper Web sites in Britain, Australia and India. They used the fabricated material, Fitzgerald said, even though administrators at the free online encyclopedia twice caught the quote's lack of attribution and removed it.

A full month went by and nobody noticed the editorial fraud. So Fitzgerald told several media outlets they'd swallowed his baloney whole.

"I was really shocked at the results from the experiment," Fitzgerald, 22, said Monday in an interview a week after one newspaper at fault, The Guardian of Britain, became the first to admit its obituarist lifted material straight from Wikipedia.

"I am 100 percent convinced that if I hadn't come forward, that quote would have gone down in history as something Maurice Jarre said, instead of something I made up," he said. "It would have become another example where, once anything is printed enough times in the media without challenge, it becomes fact."

So far, The Guardian is the only publication to make a public mea culpa, while others have eliminated or amended their online obituaries without any reference to the original version -- or in a few cases, still are citing Fitzgerald's florid prose weeks after he pointed out its true origin.

"One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack," Fitzgerald's fake Jarre quote read. "Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head that only I can hear."

Fitzgerald said one of his University College Dublin classes was exploring how quickly information was transmitted around the globe. His private concern was that, under pressure to produce news instantly, media outlets were increasingly relying on Internet sources -- none more ubiquitous than the publicly edited Wikipedia.

When he saw British 24-hour news channels reporting the death of the triple Oscar-winning composer, Fitzgerald sensed what he called "a golden opportunity" for an experiment on media use of Wikipedia.

He said it took him less than 15 minutes to fabricate and place a quote calculated to appeal to obituary writers without distorting Jarre's actual life experiences. He noted that the Wikipedia listing on Jarre did not have any other strong quotes.

If anything, Fitzgerald said, he expected newspapers to avoid his quote because it had no link to a source -- and even might trigger alarms as "too good to be true." But many blogs and several newspapers used the quotes at the start or finish of their obituaries.

He said the Guardian was the only publication to respond to him in detail and with remorse at its own editorial failing. Others, he said, treated him as a vandal who was solely to blame for their cut-and-paste content.

"The moral of this story is not that journalists should avoid Wikipedia, but that they shouldn't use information they find there if it can't be traced back to a reliable primary source," said the readers' editor at the Guardian, Siobhain Butterworth, in the May 4 column that revealed Fitzgerald as the quote author.

A MONTH!!!!!!!! Unbelieveable. These are not just some kinky, small-town newspapers either that we are talking about, The Guardian is one of the most well-known and critically acclaimed newspapers out there. One would think that credible media outlets would stop and check their sources, especially if it is an uncredited quote on Wikipedia, but I guess those are just the times and how much of a cultural phenomenon Wikipedia has become. And while this may seem contradictory, as a college student, Wikipedia can be a very helpful tool, there's no doubt about it. You just have to check to make sure that all of the information is linked back to a source and you have to make sure that that source is credible.

But yeah, as far as mainstream journalism goes I have two points a). Why are you using an uncredibed source on Wikipedia? and secondly, b). Why on earth are you going to Wikipedia to write an obituary on a dead composer in the first place???? You'd think that this information would come along the lines of, oh, I don't know, MAYBE SPEAKING TO THE COMPOSER'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!!

It's official:
Shane Fitzpatrick 1
Mainstream outlets across the world 0.

Fox News Guest To Glenn Beck: "I'm Passing Out"

Yesterday was a creepy day enough as it already was. There was the passing of Harry Kalas, Mark "The Tiger" Fidrych, Bruce Snyder, there was the discovery of the goat's head on the statue of Harry Caray, and then there this was this little incident of real life on the the Glenn Beck Show on Fox News last night which is hilariously scary. David Buckner, a professor from Columbia University was on with Glenn Beck last night when he uttered the phrase, "I'm passing out" and scary hilarity erupted as Professor Buckner proceeded to wobble and pass out live, on the air! But alas, it's the reactions of Beck that steal the show and make this video hilarious and worthwhile.



I love how it took pretty much forever for Beck to pick up what was actually going on. As he was the professor was constantly going "I'm passing out" Beck was like, "okay, moving on, you're passing out, let's continue to talk....". Too funny. And the close-up of Beck at the 36-second mark...priceless.

But despite the fact that it took him awhile to process what was happening, thank goodness he was there to catch him like he did because otherwise that would have been a really hard, not-so-fun fall for Professor Buckner. It really looked like Beck's outstretched arm took away a good deal of the impact of the fall. Seriously, kudos to Mr. Beck for that one. And it is reported that the Professor is all right so there is no shame in watching this video clip and laughing. But honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone pass out before where they knew 5 seconds ahead of time that they were passing out.

You Guys Are Going To Love This Story

This has absolutely nothing to do with sports (actually, there is a brief tie-in to college basketball), but you guys are going to laugh out loud when you read this (probably).

As I believe I mentioned in an earlier post, I am home with my family for the weekend. And naturally, we wanted to do something fun for the weekend. We decided on seeing a movie tonight. I think you guys know where this is going, but I'll build the drama anyway. Guess what movie everyone in my family wanted to see? Yep, you guessed it. Observe and Report starring our favorite actor, Seth Rogan!

I tried to talk them out of it, but I decided to give it a shot anyway because they are my family. Besides, maybe this Seth Rogan movie would not be that bad. The previews did not give too much away about the plot so me being as open-minded as I am (and believe me, I am like this), I decided to give it a shot anyway. Yep, that's right, after all the bashing we did during March Madness, I ended up seeing Observe and Report! (My dad payed for all of us so it's not like I was personally giving Seth Rogan and co. money).

Anyway, let me just say, I really should have tried harder to NOT see it. It was just flat-out bad with very little funny parts. Hell, the only real funny part was the end. But back to the movie (If you're considering seeing the movie, take notes, I'm about to save you some cash), it felt like a bad TV show where they tried to fit in so many stories and plotlines that your mind wanted to explode. Generally comedies are straight up with 1 or 2 stories, this one had 88 one of them and none of them were that good. Let's see, there's a pervert terrorizing the mall by flashing females his junk, Rogan is a manic-depressant, he does not realize that his main squeeze is a 2-cent whore, his mother is an alcoholic, his best friend is a roober, and he wants to work for the police academy! Yep, all this in 86 minutes! And the funny part is, you'd think that with all the plot lines and the shortness of the movie, that it would feel quick, let me tell you what, I swear someone messed with our clocks and the 86-minutes on imdb is a typo because that movie felt like 186 minutes. It moved slower than molasses except for the end when it finally picked up. It's really sad when Seth Rogan chasing a naked pervert through the mall (complete with slow-mo ball-bouncing action) is the funniest part of any movie, but alas, that was the funniest part of the movie. That and the head of the police department (whom Seth Rogan's character butted heads with all movie, I forgot about that plot) sarcastically congratulating him for catching a pervert.

On the plus side of all this, I heard "Second Chance" by Shinedown on a mainstream, popish radio station, which I have not figured out is good or bad. It's good because Shinedown is pretty much my favorite band (Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, and Staind run a close 2nd) and I want more people to hear them and listen to their music and buy their album The Sound Of Madness because they are awesome and they absolutely kick ass, and bad, because I hope this does not lead them to selling out entirely to pop. And it's ironic that this is the album that produces their mainstream single because this is their heaviest album to date, in my opinion. Expect "Second Chance" to be Song of the Day real soon. And I'd like to personally thank Vince McMahon for getting me into Shinedown, if it was not for them using I Dare You (from their album, Us and Them) I would not have gotten into Shinedown in the first place (and American Idol afficionados will recognize I Dare You as a song that Chris Daughtry sang during his time on Idol).

You see this, Shinedown, I am advertising for you! I want subsidies out of this!

Sorry the length of this useless, non-sports related post, but it's 1:20 AM and sometimes I just feel like writing about everything and nothing regarding, well, everything and nothing. And this is one of those times. Just be thankful that I don't publish my powerful personal stories on here (as in regarding past experiences and current desires of certain members of the opposite sex, if you will).

If You Think You've Seen Random Graphics Before, Wait Until You See This

This has nothing to do with sports, but this is one of the most random, most sadly hilarious things I may have ever seen. Sadly, a girl was kidnapped 8-years ago, the good news is is that they may have a suspect. I know nothing about this case, but I'm fairly certain this is the wrong suspect.


I almost feel bad for laughing, but I just can't help it. It has to be almost insulting for the family of the girl who was kidnapping, but not only did they post the picture of the suspect as a hampster, but that is easily the weirdest looking hampster I have ever seen. Why on earth would a news station even have a picture of a hampster holding a movie camera slate?

The good news is is that Rodney Stanger is not a hampster (at least not that we know of). Hopefully the girl is all right and she will be able to see her family and friends once again.

Tales From The News Desk: "This Is Not Rodney Stanger"

"We Have Chosen Hope Over Fear"

The Oath of Office



Part 1 of the Speech



Part 2 of the Speech



Just an absolutely phenomenal speech. I honestly watched the whole thing with tears in my eyes. Congrats, President Obama, I'm sure you will lead our wonderful nation in the right direction and pull us out of The Black Hole That Is The Bush Administration.

The Text of Obama's Speech (Yahoo!)

Today is a Historic Day

Today is one of those days that no matter who you are, where you are from, or what your political ideology is, you will never forget.

When Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America at noon, this country will never be the same again. I realize that while I am a product of the presidency of Bush XLI, I am currently majoring in history and while I did not experience the turbulent times of the civil rights period, to the greatest extent that one possibly can without living through the period, I understand what this day means to our country, and to the world.

I won't bore you by repeating all of the rhetoric surrounding today's historic events, but it is about time someone responsible is in the White House. As Al Michaels allegedly said (and when I say allegedly, I mean, Wikipedia says he said it), "The adults are back in charge". Of course, Al's quote was back in 2000 when Bush XLIII was elected. But aside from being a failure in all other ventures of his life (i.e. he was at-best in average student - he spent most of his days college days partying and doing drugs and alcohol, he failed in all of his prior business ventures before becoming president....and actually he failed in that as well), he single-handedly plundered more money from the U.S. Treasury than any president has in history, he also has authorized the use of waterboarding (which is torture, and that is something that either in the comments section or in another forum I am willing to debate with someone at any moment at any time, just a warning though, you will not win). I've read several lunatic-fringe right wing blogs (a. for the hilarity and b. because I do like to read up on the opposing viewpoint), and they like to blame Clinton for the 9/11 and the current mess our country is in. As someone who is a history major and someone who several relatives well-versed in history, I can tell you with all certainty that in 50 years or so, Bill Clinton will be judged as a great president, while as Bush XLIII will be known as one of, if not the worst president ever.

Which is what makes today's events all the more memorable. Not only is this a time of re-birth from the current hole Bush XLIII got us in, but it is also a re-birth of a nation that for centuries forced blacks into slavery. And now. January 20, 2008, that same black man is about to be president of the United States of America. And there are those that say, well, Obama is not a real black, he's half-white and half-black. And that is true. His mother was white. But throughout the course of history, if you even had a great-grandparent who was a man of color, you were considered black and were discriminated against and denied your rights.

So let's sit back, relax, and enjoy the inauguration of now-President-elect, soon to become President Barack Obama. I'll have the video up later in the day.

Adolf Hitler Has Been Taken From His Home

Yeah, I know this is a sports blog (and more specifically, an Eagles blog), but some things just strike me as so bizarre, that I just have to post them and comment. Well, this is one of them. If you remember, around a month ago when the story broke that the Campbell family had ordered a birthday cake from the local ShopRite with Happy birthday and the kid's name on it and the store refused them. Why the denial? Because something about writing "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler Campbell" seemed quite pecuilar. The Campbell family ended up getting said cake from Wal-Mart (which is a story in itself, quite frankly). But JFein, this was over a month ago? Why are you bringing this up again?

Well because the kids have been taken away from their parents. From MSNBC.com

"HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Three New Jersey siblings whose names have Nazi connotations have been placed in the custody of the state, police said Wednesday.

Holland Township Police Sgt. John Harris said workers from the state Division of Youth and Family Services removed 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell and his younger sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, from their home Tuesday.

Harris said family services did not tell police the reason the children were removed. Agency spokeswoman Kate Bernyk said it does not comment on specific cases."

There is a family court hearing scheduled for tomorrow, but wow. This really is a lose-lose situation for all involved. From what little we know about the father other than is unusual taste for naming kids, he seems like a normal dad, and the same can be said with the mom. The names are unusual and those kids are gonna have a tough life in school, yes, but I don't see how putting them in state custody is going to help matters. They seem like a happy and healthy family.

Another article that I have cited below states that the state would not take the kids away because of a name so it will be interesting to see exactly why they were taken away. Everything else seemed normal when we met them a month ago, so I'm curious as to why they would take the kids away, if not for the names. And again, we could have a random child abuse case that just so happens to be from the same parents who names their kids "Adolf Hitler", "JoyceLynn Aryan Nation", and "Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie". If more becomes available tomorrow, I will definitley pass the information along to you.

Nazi named children taken from parents (MSNBC.com)
NJ kids with Nazi-inspired names removed from home (Comcast.net)