Yeeesh.

Glad I didn't read this before I got my ears double-pierced last month.

More Reason to be Proud

Proud to be a CMU Chippewa, home of the big-ass snowman.

Key Quotation: "This one has... a trash bin lid for a hat, a 40-ounce Bud Light bottle for a nose and two eyes made out of oranges. "

Interestingly enough, tonight I ran into a couple of guys from Mt. Pleasant at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. CMU is playing here in town this weekend. In case you're curious, the Chips beat DePaul and 5th-Ranked Oklahoma. Fire Up Chips!

So Proud

Dave Barry linked to this article today.

Makes me so proud to be from Oakland County. First Eminem moves to the neighborhood, now this?

Getting All Artsy-Fartsy

At Kelly's recommendation, I visited Mr. Picassohead tonight. Good times.

If you're interested, check out my work of art.

I'd love to see everyone else's artistic efforts. Leave your Mr. Picassohead links in the Comments section.

Movie Night

Last night was supposed to be movie night for Cory and me. The plan was to go see "In America," on its very last night playing at the Independant and Foreign Film Festival. We'd both really been looking forward to seeing it.

Since Cory works nights, we can only go to the latest showings of movies in town, usually around 9:40. So Thursday night at 9:30, when Cory gets off work, I'm grabbing my coat and keys and heading for the front door to meet him at the theater.

The phone rings.

I consider not answering, because Cory's mom has this uncanny skill of calling at the most inconvenient times, and I figure it's probably her. But I answer, and it's Cory.

"Don't go."
"What?"
"Don't go. I have to stay here and finish somebody else's work that they didn't bother doing."

So we missed the movie. Sure enough, today "In America" was gone, never to play in Columbus again.

I ended up working an early shift because I had to be in Troy, Alabama at ten in the morning. For once, I got off work by 7p.m., so we had substitute movie night. This week's Film Festival movie is "The Cooler," a movie I'd had a mild interest in seeing because I really like William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin (who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor on Sunday night).

"The Cooler" was ok. The movie focused a little too much on being slick and Vegas-y. And I really didn't need to see William H. Macy's naked ass. All in all, I think I would have preferred "In America."

Ethical Dilemma

I need a little advice on a moral dilemma I'm facing. It isn't anything very saucy... sorry.

My dilemma deals with 52 Books in 52 Weeks. See, it's book-on-tape season for me. Whenever the playoffs roll around, that means road trips to fun places like Troy State University (just under two hours away), the Gwinnett Civic Center (just over two hours away), and the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (just under three hours away). Generally, I have to make these trips by myself, so I need a little entertainment for the drive.

I know, and you know, that listening to a book-on-tape isn't the same as actually sitting down and reading. But I kind of think that I should get some credit for a book-on-tape... especially since playoffs also generally mean 60-hour work weeks when my only "free" time is in the car.

So what do you think? Maybe a separate list for books-on-tape? Or should they count as real books? Half of a book?

A Moment Of Silence

A stupid, ugly black cat has been skulking around our neighborhood for a couple of months now. The last few weeks, he's spent an awful lot of time near our front window, antagonizing Zoe. She goes nuts, leaping, hissing and scratching at the window. She's so loud that she actually wakes me up, even though our bedroom is on the second story and she's on the first floor.

She's gotten so upset that she knocks over the plants and shreds the curtains when he makes an appearance. And there he is, on the other side of the glass, scratching and leaping and hissing and growling, too.

Today, it got much, much, much worse. I walked out of the apartment on the way to work, and there were dozens of feathers all over our front step. Apparently the little bastard caught a bird. We have a birdfeeder outside our window, but it's way too high for a cat to reach... even a cat with a great vertical leap. But when it's raining, as it was this morning, the birdies often hide under the shrubs. I fear that our poor departed dove was just seeking shelter from the rain when he was attacked.

I guess I need to move the birdfeeder. Poor thing.

Legal Update:

Now here's a reason to Amend the Constitution!

The Soap Box

I've been deliberately avoiding discussing two significant topics over the last few days: "The Passion of the Christ" and Gay Marriage.

There's a specific reason I haven't blogged about these topics: Because my opinion on both issues is bound to be an unpopular one, especially here in the "Bible Belt." But I just can't help myself, so here goes.

First, on the topic of "The Passion..."
Tonight on World News Tonight, ABC showed video of a sign in front of a church that read "It's settled. The Jews Killed Jesus." Just now, I'm watching MSNBC, and they're interviewing people about the movie. They're saying things like "It really shows you what it was really like."

Guess what? It doesn't. Nothing can show you what it was really like, because there are no living eyewitnesses. IT'S A MOVIE, and it's one person's interpretation of the final hours of Christ's life. Was the crucifixion horrible? Of course. Is the film moving? I'm sure it is. I'm sure it's an exhausting, eye-opening, emotional experience. But it's not a documentary. It's not an eyewitness account. Not even The Bible is an eyewitness account. Nobody began actually writing the New Testament until about 500 years after the crucifixion, and between the faults of the Oral Tradition, and the flaws in translation techniques, nobody can know exactly what happened.

All I can say, is go see the movie. But remember, it is a movie. Designed to make money and entertain. If it wasn't meant to be sensationalistic, then perhaps Mel Gibson & Co. would have made a film about the life of Christ and his message, rather than focusing on his horrific, brutal, gruesome death.

As for the other hot-button issue of the day:
Those of you that know me already can figure out my opinion on gay marriage. I don't have a problem with two people who are in love joining together legally. There are millions of people in this nation who are in unhappy marriages, who aren't in love with their spouses. I have a bigger problem with that. To those who say it's against "God's Will," let's remember that marriage is a legal institution. Last time I checked, atheists are allowed to get married. They just don't generally get married in a Church.

I also don't like the thought of amending the Constitution for this issue. In fact, I don't like the thought of amending the Constitution at all.

All right. I'm off of my soapbox.

Germ Girl Strikes Again

By the way, the next book I'm reading is "The Demon in the Freezer" by Richard Preston, the author who wrote one of my favorite books ever, "The Hot Zone," a non-fiction account of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S.

Anyway, "The Demon in the Freezer" is about smallpox. Just what I need when I'm sick... to read about more diseases. I'm sure by the end of the book, I'll be convinced that I'm coming down with smallpox.

Dollar Daze

How much do I love the dollar store?
Too much!

My love affair with the dollar store started back when I was in college. Some friends of mine worked at Summit Place Mall (formerly the Pontiac Mall) when the store "Everything's A Dollar" opened up. It was the first time any of us had ever seen a dollar store. Scott and Chris spent much of their time at work phoning the poor employees at Everything's A Dollar, and asking them stupid questions like:

"Do you sell picture frames?"
"Yes."
"How much do you sell them for?"
"A dollar."
"Do you sell books?"
"Yes."
"How much do you sell them for?"
"A dollar."
"Do you sell cars, like maybe a Corvette?"
"No."
"Ok... But if you did, how much would you sell them for?"
"(...sigh...) A dollar."

Here in Georgia, the primary dollar-retailer is the "Dollar Tree." A few days ago, I was perusing the store, and as usual, I picked up a book. Best damn dollar I ever spent. Sherwood Kiraly's California Rush is one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's well-written, the characters are hilarious, and best of all, it's about baseball... sort of.

Seriously, if you're ever at the Dollar Tree and you see this book, pick it up. It's well worth the 100 pennies.

Bring Out the Vitamin C

Around 6:00 tonight, I got a sore throat. Didn't think it was a big deal, I'd been chewing a piece of Eclipse gum, and I thought that maybe it's minty strength had just irritated my throat a bit.

But after dinner, it was still sore. By 9:00, I had an earache. Not good.

This time of year is the busiest here in Columbus. In addition to the Cottonmouths and the Riverdragons, we also have the high school basketball playoffs, college baseball, spring football, and the NFCA Lead-Off Classic. I could be in a casket and still have to come in to work... especially since Dave's still on the DL.

So far tonight, I've taken a multivitamin, a zinc tablet, three ibuprofen, two glasses of orange juice, two Cold-Eeze throat drops (the cherry is so much better than the orange), and I'm squirting Zicam up my schnozz every four hours.

Wish me luck.

Just Hide

Ugh. I just read what might be the worst book ever.

Let me preface this by saying that I know James Patterson isn't the greatest writer on the planet. He writes very short, simplistic sentences, and his characters never run very deep. However, I think his books are usually well-plotted. The Alex Cross mysteries are usually fairly suspenseful (the movies Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider were both based on his books).

But then, along came Hide and Seek.

I can't even begin to describe how awful this book is. The blurb on the back cover used phrases like "...His most brilliantly realized thriller..." "A story that will shatter your expectations..."

Ummm, yeah. It shattered my expectations, all right. I never would have expected a book this poorly crafted. But I had to finish it. It was kind of like a train wreck... I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't stop reading it.

I should be a writer. I could turn out crap more compelling than that.

Just Desserts

Paybacks are hell.
Tonight, in the break room at work, I was eating my dinner and waiting for Cory to join me when I noticed a note on the vending machine: "This Machine Owes Cory 50 cents"
I asked him about it, and he said that he had tried to buy some Doritos but the machine didn't drop them. I looked in the machine, and lo and behold, there was a little bag of Doritos dangling in mid-air, unwilling do drop.
So, I made a snide remark along the lines of: "Maybe it was a sign that you didn't need those Doritos."

Yeah, I know. Making a fat joke at the expense of your boyfriend is a good way to lose the afforementioned boyfriend. Duly noted.

Anyway, as I was leaving work tonight around midnight, I had a craving for something sweet. I peeked into our downstairs vending machine, and spotted some M&Ms. So I dropped two quarters into the machine, and nothing happened. I then realized that M&Ms were 60 cents, and dug in my pocket for more change. Unfortunately, all I had was a nickel. So, I grabbed my purse and started digging. Pennies. A handful of them. No quarters, no dimes, no nickels. Piss. So then, I went out to my car, and found a nickel. Finally!

I went back into the station, dropped my two nickels into the vending machine, and punched the button for the M&Ms. And what happened? The damn M&Ms got stuck. I shook the machine, kicked the machine, and body-checked the machine. They dropped about three inches, but never fell. They're probably still dangling there.

Maybe it was a sign that I didn't need those M&Ms. The worst part is that I was too lazy to look for a post-it note to write "This Machine owes me 60 cents."

And That's The Way It Is...

Rock On! Walter Cronkite is on Late Night with Conan O'Brien right now.

I'm showing my age, aren't I?

Bonus Feature

Ladies and Gents, the Sportslady presents a new feature on the ol' blog... the Poll of the Week. I'm still working out the kinks, but it appears to be up and running. I can't guarantee that I'll always poll you on the most riveting subject matter, but I'm trying, ok?

This week's poll was inspired by our visit to the movies tonight to see "Stuck On You." Cory, as always, smuggled in a box of Hot Tamales.

So please, vote early and vote often on the poll. This one will probably be up for more than a week, just until I get the hang of the thing.

And of course, if you have any suggestions for future polls, feel free to submit them here, or you can e-mail them to me!

Movie Night

The C-Town Independent and Foreign Film Series has returned, thank goodness. Tonight, we went to see "The Station Agent." It was quite good, a sort of reminder as to how important friends are to each of us, whether we want to be "friendly" or not. The three main characters, and even the peripheral characters, have a profound impact on each other's personalities. They all seem kind of empty without each other.

And as much as I enjoy the Independent and Foriegn Film Series, I think tomorrow night we'll go see "Stuck on You." First, because I don't want to turn into a movie snob, and second, it's only a dollar, as opposed to the $7.75 we spent per ticket tonight.

Just Call Me Stefano DiMera

All right, kids... it's quiz time. First today, we'll find out which mythological form best represents me.

You are Form 0, Phoenix: The Eternal.

"And The Phoenix's cycle had reached zenith, so he consumed himself in fire. He
emerged from his own ashes, to be forever immortal."

Some examples of the Phoenix Form are Quetzalcoatl (Aztec), Shiva (Indian), and Ra-Atum
(Egyptian).
The Phoenix is associated with the concept of life, the number 0, and the element of fire.
His sign is the eclipsed sun.
As a member of Form 0, you are a determined individual. You tend to keep your sense of
optomism, even through tough times and have a positive outlook on most situations. You have
a way of looking at going through life as a journey that you can constantly learn from.
Phoenixes are the best friends to have because they cheer people up easily.

Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

On "Days of our Lives," the villain likes to consider himself a phoenix who has "risen from the ashes" several times. Of course, living right across the river from "Phenix City," I'm just happy to see the word spelled correctly.

Second... if I were a shoe, what kind of shoe would I be?

Sandals- peaceful, daydreamy, and thoughtful, you often find yourself staring into space.
When you aren't out volunteering you are often just dreaming away.
You enjoy the company of friends sometimes but enjoy peace and quiet.

What Kind of Shoe Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Interesting, since I rarely wear sandals. I don't like people to see my feet. And I don't like having to polish my toenails regularly.

Job Hazard #484

Thankfully, I only report from the sidelines at rugby matches. And though I used to have a thing for rugby players, after reading that article, I can safely say that I'm through with that phase.

Job Hazard #483

Does Worker's Comp cover ultraviolet radiation burns from sitting under defective gymnasium lamps?

Remind me never to cover any basketball games at Dunmore High School in Pennsylvania.

Brain Fart

I was just paying bills (because I now have the money to do so), and couldn't remember my zip code!

The lesson learned? Eventually, moving 11 times in 12 years will catch up to you.

Math: Still A Mystery

I just balanced my checkbook and realized that I made a $600.00 error in our joint checking account. I apparently entered our rent not once, but twice.

On the down side, this means that I'm a complete idiot, and shouldn't have the responsibility of handling our household finances.

On the up side, it means Cory and I have $600.00 more than we thought we did. So we get to eat this month, after all!

Book Club Update

I got a little lazy on my day off last week. I was sitting around the house, nothing to read, and I started digging in the bookcase.

There, I spotted one of Cory's books: Couplehood by Paul Reiser (Actor/Writer/Comedian). Not exactly the most challenging read, but it kept me mildly amused for a couple of days.

Interestingly enough, his bio on the last page didn't mention his breakthrough television role on "My Two Dads." But visiting the "My Two Dads" website will help me greatly in playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon... who knew that Giovanni Ribisi played the daughter's little boyfriend?

Hi. Remember Me?

I'm the lady who blogs on this site. Or at least, I blog occasionally.

I've been a little busy lately, and a little lazy when it comes to the ol' blogging duties.

First, a quick bitch session about my job. Ever since Dave's shoulder surgery, my life has gotten pretty crummy. I only anchor two days a week (instead of my usual three), and I've been hoofing it with the camera way too much. I've mentioned how heavy our equipment is before. Today, I spent over four hours with a 20-pound camera sitting on my right shoulder. It's been like this for nearly a month now. My neck is so sore that I can't turn to the left without a painful pinching sensation, and I can't raise my right arm all the way.

Oh. And I was outside shooting baseball and softball all day. It was 45 degrees, cloudy, and windy. I still can't feel the tips of my fingers. (I know, I know... it's much colder wherever you are. But did you have to spend four hours standing outside in the cold? Didn't think so.)

But enough about my job. You have to listen to me bitch about it way too much as it is.

Here's a little summary of my life since I last blogged:

Saturday
Valentine's Day.
I've mentioned before that I love to buy gifts. But for some reason, I have a mental block about buying Valentine's gifts and cards. I guess it's because it's so soon after Christmas... I shoot my gift-buying wad on Christmas and I'm tapped out by the time February comes around.

Every year, my mom sends me a card and a gift. I don't think I've ever reciprocated, with the exception of the occasional e-card. I never think of buying a Valentine's day card until it's too late to mail it out. Then I feel guilty when I open the one she sent me.

It's funny. I could tell you what I got Cory for Christmas and his birthday. Hell, I could probably tell you what I got nearly every boyfriend I've ever had for their birthdays. But I don't remember what I got him for Valentine's Day last year. I even went back to last year's Valentine's entry on this blog, but no dice.

I remember the first Valentine's gift I got him. We'd been dating several months, but only about two of our friends knew we were seeing each other, and we were still in that weird "is he my boyfriend?" phase. I didn't want to freak him out by getting him something really mushy. So I bought him a couple of CDs and snuck them into his office overnight.

Not the most romantic gift, I know. I have a mental block when it comes to buying a "romantic" gift. I know what isn't romantic: vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, shoes. I actually gave a boyfriend shoes one year for Valentine's day. I didn't like him very much, but felt like I should get him something.

The coolest valentine's gift I ever bought? The first year we were dating, I bought this book for Rich. 50 years of nudie girls. I think I won the "world's coolest girlfriend" award that year.

This year? Nothing romantic. I gave Cory "Lost in Translation" on DVD. I also gave him a little magnetic sculpture for his desk at work (he knocked over his miniature zen garden a couple weeks ago and I thought he could use something a little less fragile. He gave me a heart-shaped box of candy and a blouse. I'm eating the last of the candy right now.

We actually opened presents just after midnight on V-Day. I had to work all day, so we celebrated early. Then the poor guy had to spent V-day following me around at work. He had to come with me to three basketball games and a hockey game... and though there are worse ways to spend a day, I'm not much fun to be around when I'm shooting sports.

It could have been worse. I was supposed to shoot a baseball game, too... but it got rained out. Thank goodness for small favors.

Sunday
Worked.

Monday
Worked.

Ok. We're caught up. I feel much better.

Stomp Away, Man

Ahhh... yes. Stompin' Tom Connors was just on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. There aren't many country tunes I like, but "The Hockey Song" has to be one of the best ever.

Miracle Memories

Cory and I just got back from seeing "Miracle." Unlike Cory, I actually remember the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. I had just turned 10 years old. Cory was three. It was kind of weird, watching all of the late 70's news reports... the bicentennial, the hostage crisis, the gas lines... and Cory doesn't remember any of those things. Hell, he was born two months after the bicentennial, and it's one of the most vivid memories of my childhood.

The "Miracle on Ice" isn't a vivid memory... I wasn't one of the millions of Americans watching it on tape-delay that night in February, 1980. I remember seeing the highlights over and over and over again for the remainder of the Olympics.

What I remember much more vividly was something that happened a few years later. I was in 7th or 8th grade, in English class. I don't remember my teachers' name, though I do remember that my friends and I often referred to him as "Ichabod." Needless to say, he was a little creepy looking. Anyway... we had to give a speech in that class. My speech was some lame thing on the zodiac. Another kid in my class gave his speech on the 1980 "Miracle on Ice." I spent half of tonight's movie trying to remember the guy's name... Bill Deery. Anyway, right in the middle of the speech... in front of thirty of his peers... in mid-sentence, Bill Deery's voice changed. It was a very Peter Brady Moment.

If something like that had happened to me, I would have been mortified. But he was a popular kid, and I don't think he was traumatized by the incident at all.

So anyway, that's my "Miracle on Ice" moment for you. Inspiring, wasn't it?

Withdrawl Symptoms

I'm suffering serious Bingo withdrawl. Every Wednesday night for about two years, my ex-boyfriend Rich and I used to play Bingo at the Shrine Club in Kirksville. That's right, we were regulars. Rich bought a used car with his winnings, and we even took a trip to Vegas with the primary objective of playing Bingo 24 hours a day.

The day I was promoted to Sports Director was a sad day, simply because it meant I would work every Wednesday night. Our Bingo-loving days were numbered.

Since then, I've only played maybe a handful of times. Every now and then, though, I get on an internet bingo kick. This is one of those nights. If you ever get bored and want to play, check out Lycos Gamesville.

Someone Left A Cake Out In The Rain

All day, the song "MacArthur Park" has been stuck in my head. And no, not the disco version by Donna Summer, but instead the Richard Harris version.

I think I may be losing my mind.

Mr. BoJangles is Really A Girl!

Big Dogs!
Little Dogs!
Hairy Dogs!
And Bald Dogs!

How much do I love the Westminster Dog Show? And this year, I completely missed it. I don't know where I was, I don't know what I was doing, but somehow, I missed the whole damn thing.

Too bad, too... because "Josh" looks like a nice doggie.

I'll have to keep my eyes open for re-runs on the USA network.

Live Like A Knight

Ok, so maybe you can't live like a King... but living like a Knight, that's now a possibility. Especially if that "Knight" is the emotionally unstable former basketball coach at Indiana University.

Yep, Bobby Knight's old house in Bloomington, Indiana is up for grabs on Ebay. Broken Chairs not included.

Another Cell Phone Rant

I've mentioned numerous times on this blog that I'm anti-cell phone. Nobody, and I mean Nobody, needs to reach me so desperately that I feel the need to have a phone holstered to my hip at all times. Call me at home, call me at work. If I'm not there, leave a damn message.

Suffice to say, I know far too many people that think their cell phone is their most important posession. Apparently this girl felt the same way. Look where it got her.

Two for the Price of One

Tonight, we had a going-away party for yet another co-worker, off to a better job and greener pastures. One of our photographers, Matthew, is leaving us for a job in Birmingham, Alabama... a significant jump in market size. Good for him. The thing that I find depressing about it is that Matt hasn't worked here as long as I have. Granted, he interned at our station years ago... but he's only been a full-timer for two years.

Meanwhile, I'm still here.

Tonight, I also found out one of our news bigwigs has left, effective immediately. I'm a little stunned, to be quite honest. We've got a lot of really big changes happening in our news department over the next couple of months, and the guy who was organizing the whole thing is gone. Or at least I assume he was organizing it. I assume someone is... but we all know what happens when we assume, don't we?

Any Suggestions?

I only have a few pages left on The DaVinci Code, and I'm hunting for a new book. I have a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble that Chris (Cory's mom) got me for Christmas, but I'd rather just pick up a cheap paperback at KMart. Any suggestions?

Valentine's Day is Approaching...

Girls, if you don't get what you want from your sweetie-pie... or if you don't have a sweetie-pie, you can take out all of your aggressions right here.

Get Hooked

The Minor League Baseball team here in C-Town "officially" announced it's new nickname and logo today... though it wasn't much of a surprise to anyone. They're now the Catfish... and the reason why nobody was surprised was because they changed the sign next to the Golden Park ticket office sometime last week.

Anyway, I think the logo's pretty sweet... and of course, Cory can't wait to get a Catfish cap to add to his (very small) minor league ballcap collection.

Wake Up and Smell the CoWorkers

The folks down under have the right idea.

Moo.

“The cow entered, made an elegant turn and walked right back out,” a bank spokeswoman said. “It was an extraordinary experience, but it was over very quickly.”

Science/Medicine Update

The headline alone is interesting enough. Somehow I find this article fascinating and revolting all at the same time.

Return from a Brief Hiatus

What a weekend. Thursday morning I woke up to some pretty bad news. I won't go into detail about it right now... Eventually I'll have to discuss it with y'all... this just isn't really the time or the place.

Then on Friday, a very long day at work. It started at about 10am, when I had to spend the day at the state cheerleading championships. Now, say what you want about cheerleaders being Stepford-wife-wanna-be's with their creepy Lee Press-On smiles... these kids are amazing athletes. The problem is that I spent way too much time at the Civic Center, with way too much equipment, and way too little food available. (I didn't find the hospitality suite until Friday). I got back to the station, put together a package for the 6:00 news, then had to go shoot a high school basketball game. By the time I was done with work it was nearly eight at night.

The nice thing was that a couple of folks at work had a little shindig, and I actually got to hang out for a while. Cory and I always talk about how we don't have any friends, so we try to take every possible opportunity I can get to have a social life. But it seems like one, or both, of us are always working or out of town whenever folks have a get-together.

Needless to say, it was nice to feel like we actually had friends for a night.

Today was ridiculous. In a nut-shell... Five trips to the station, four trips to the Civic Center, one trip to Golden Park, and one trip to CVCC.

And speaking of CVCC... Whose idea was it to start the college baseball season in the First week of February????

Break Out the Red Pen

The front page of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer sports section today featured an article about the Tour De Georgia and Lance Armstrong's impending visit.

The headline was large. And it was at the very top of the page. And it said that Armstrong would be "Peddaling" to Columbus.

I wonder what sort of wares he'll be peddaling here. Perhaps he'll be peddaling PEDALS!!! Maybe he'll even put the "peddal" to the metal.

Though, now that I think of it, I may be misspelling their misspelling. They may have actually spelled it "peddleing" or maybe "peddeling." Regardless, it was pretty sad.

Of course, I really shouldn't speak. Our station misspelled the name of one of Alabama's best-known cities last night.

Ed. Note: I double-checked on Friday. They actually spelled it "Peddling."

Miss Jackson if You're Nasty

I've bitten my tongue long enough on this important issue.

Janet Jackson's hooter wasn't the first one that CBS ever aired on prime-time television.. Now I know the context is completely different, but several seconds of completely naked breasts, regardless of the context, seems to deserve at least a peep of controversy. Apparently, though, boobs are only offensive if they're famous boobs.

Who knew?

The Sportslady's Book Club

All right. This is going to sound kind of pathetic. I've recently rediscovered reading.

There was a time in my life when it seems like all I did was read. I'm pretty sure I read every book in the Young Adult section of the Rochester Hills Public Library. But then came college, and grad school, and the next thing I knew, the only reading I did was trying to find performance pieces for my kids on the Forensics Squad.

Sometime in the late 90s, I discovered books on tape. Don't laugh. A couple times a year, I'd drive from Missouri to Michigan, and books on tape kept me sane. I got caught up on some of my favorite authors, rediscovered some new favorites, and survived the lengthy drives without falling asleep at the wheel. Sure, some of the books I "read" were fluff, but that's ok, right?

Well, on Kelly's blog, she's taken on the challenge of reading 52 books in 52 weeks. Not a difficult task, right? But challenging for me. After all, I'm the girl that just skipped nearly an entire week of blogging because my mom was in town.

So far, it's a pretty pathetic list:
1. Prey by Michael Crichton
2. Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard.

That's right... I'm already three weeks behind. I suspect a fiasco similar to NaNoWriMo is over the horizon.

Oh, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if I read "Prey" this year, or if I read it in December. But for now, I'm counting it.

Back in the Saddle

I've returned from my brief blogging hiatus. Yay Me!

Another N.K.O.T.B.

That's right, kiddies! Another pal-o-mine has made her maiden voyage into blogging. This time, my long lost pal Weena. And no, that's not her real name.

So, if you feel so inclined, check out her new blog, "The Trophy Wife." And even cooler, there's a shout-out to yours truly on it!

By the way, Weena (or Minnie, as I've called her once or twice), defines a "trophy wife" as: ...A worldly single woman who lives bodaciously, contributes positively to the universe, and can charm the pants off of almost anyone if the need arises. Can married women be trophy wives? Not unless the queen trophy wife deems them to be trophy wife material. (Note: This rarely happens.)

Kill 'Em All...

...And let the writers sort 'em out.

I've written numerous times about the "Salem Stalker" on Days of Our Lives. Last week, we learned the identity of Salem's serial killer... Dr. Marlena Evans (you may remember her from a ridiculous storyline about ten years ago on the show when her character was possessed and had to have an exorcism). You may also remember the actress Deirdre Hall from her stint on "Our House," a lame TV show with Wilford Brimley and Shaneen Doherty. If you're an old-timer like me, you may also recall her from the kids' show "ElectraWoman and DynaGirl."

But I digress.

Days has killed off several major characters in the last few months: Abe, Jack, Maggie, Caroline, Cassie, Roman and Tony. There may be others that I've forgotten.

Today, there was a peculiar development. The actor who's played Mickey Horton was replaced with another actor. I did a little websurfing and found out that he's retired after 38 years on the show.

So here's the question? Why the hell didn't they just kill him off? He was attacked by the stalker and barely survived just a couple months ago... and they killed off his tv-wife in the process. Why are they so suddenly intent on replacing him with another actor when they've been killing off others left and right? He's not even that integral of a character... until his wife was about to get killed off, they were only on maybe once or twice a week!

Ridiculous.

Dramatic Revelation

Last week, my friend Mike blogged about what a horrible actor that David Caruso is. Watching CSI: Miami tonight, I finally realized it...

David Caruso is a Shatner for our generation.

Discuss.

My Week: The Cliffs Notes Version

In the last week, I have:
a) Made a run to the Atlanta Airport
b) Seen an Alaskan bird who somehow ended up in Georgia
c) Attended Dany Heatley's welcome-back to the ice
d) Taken my mother to not one, but two hockey games
e) Toured Savannah, Georgia on a horse-drawn carriage
f) Visited Hilton Head Island
g) Spotted a dolphin in the wild
h) Eaten the most flavorless lobster ever
i) Had two near-death experiences on the highway
j) Watched Cory clean up in our NFL pool (GO PATS!)

Explanations and perhaps even photos to follow. Got to get up early tomorrow to make another airport run, then work all night.