The Obligatory Olympics Post

We attempted to watch the Olympics last night, but it didn't go over very well. I know everyone seems to have been struck w/ a nasty case of Olympics-fever, but I just don't get it. I like that the world can come together & celebrate this, I dig sports, I even dig some of the sports in the Olympics, but I just can't watch. For one, some many of the sports seem fake. Not fake like pro-wrestling, but not real sports. Bobsled, luge biathlon... who does this? They seem invented just for the Olympics. Why not include more sports in which real people actually participate like dog-sled or snowmobile racing. Stephanie was wondering how someone becomes an Olympic bobsledder... & we couldn't really figure it out. It must just be that mediocre athletes from other sports get recruited to be stars in a field that no one else ever considered. And then the luge people must just be frustrated bobsledders & the skeleton people must in turn be frustrated lugers.

Conversely, these are ironically the sports I prefer to watch. Of course, I like curling & the skiing events too, but that leads us to the 2nd problem. I hate the way it's covered on TV. We get 4 hour blocks of random shit w/ no clear knowledge of what will be on when. Which then means we have to sit through the random shit for hours before getting 20 minutes of curling or downhill skiing. Many of those hours seem dedicated to figure skating. I know that's what the audience wants (although I have no idea why) & I know that those kids have spent 8 of their 12 years on the planet training for this, but I just don't care. Clearly, it's not a made-up sport like skeleton, but it just doesn't do it for me. And neither does hockey which people often think is weird since I love soccer & hockey & soccer are so similar. I just don't enjoy it though.

My final issue concerns the fact that while I'm trying to watch curling or skiing, I have to suffer through those fluff pieces for 20 minutes. I don't care that Alberto Tomba's cat died when he was 12 or that Hans Brinker lost his inspirational grandfather who had bought him his silver skates. Just make w/ the fucking curling already! That said, you can order your replica Norweigan National Curling Pants here! Order placed baby!

A Date Night Sans Casablanca

Rather than dwelling on Arsenal's ridiculous showing in Porto yesterday, I want to talk about Béla Fleck. On Monday evening, I saw a Facebook ad for his show @ Hill Auditorium last night, & the cheep balcony seats were only 10 bucks. We hadn't seen him since a Flecktones' show @ EMU in 1996, so for 10 bucks a pop we were in. Back in '96, their show was the same week as Phish @ the Palace & in Grand Rapids & Blues Traveler @ Hill Auditorium, so we had a fun-filled week of local music. This time, I realized the only show I've been to in the last couple years was the Springsteen concert I worked for Nicola's.

After class, I raced home & we hit Amer's for falafels & fries then walked over to Hill. The show was amazing. He's touring w/ his "Africa Project," an ensemble he put together while traveling through Africa (Mali & Tanzania mostly) & studying the origins of the Banjo. These musicians are amazing. Anania Ngolia on the thumb Piano accompanied by a guitarist & then Ngoni Ba, a group from Mali fronted by Bassekou Kouyate on lead Ngoni. The ngoni is an instrument made from a calebasse gourd w/ a goat-skin stretched across it (very much like a banjo) & this dude was like the Jimmy Page of the ngoni... standing on the edge of the stage w/ his foot on his amp & rockin'! Béla Fleck was MCing & would come & go playing w/ these different musicians & then letting them do their own thing. I'm so glad we went. I'd never done anything based on a Facebook sidebar ad, but this was well worth it. Check out this video of Ngoni Ba... you won't be sorry.

A Few Films reviewed This Moring

French Film
A cute romantic comedy w/ everyone's favorite Karate Kicking French striker, Eric Cantona. He plays a film maker being interviewed by a British documentarian about the art of love. The film was directed by Jackie Oodney, a female Scottish directer... maybe the only one on the planet. when she was younger, she worked on the Second Unit for Spice World which leads me to ask a few questions. 1) Spice World actually had a Second Unit? 2) Why is she loving to work w/ people associated w/ Man U... first Victoria Beckham & now Eric Cantona? It's not fantastic, but it's fun watching Cantona ham it up... although I still think this display was his best performance ever. Play Beautiful, indeed!

Fear and Trembling
The video box suggests that it's a cross between Lost in Translation & Secretary so we gave it a whirl the other night. I see why those comparisons were made, but it also has a sort of Gone w/ the Wind/Birth of a Nation thing going on. It's a beautiful film w/ really cool performances, but the racist undertones are really apparent. It's about a Belgian woman working for a Japanese corporation in the early '90s. She faces every stereotypical Japanese character known to film. Of course, when it's made clear that she has some homoerotic desires for her boss, the alluring, beautiful, angry Japanese woman, we never even get to see the hot scenes they suggest will be coming.

Angels & Demons
I've never had any desire to read Dan Brown's books, but I kind of lke the movies. They're fun & thoughtless... kind of like National Treasure. It seems as though Tom Hanks & Ron Howard got together & said, "Hey, you're a liberal intellectual... I'm a liberal intellectual... let's make an action movie for liberal intellectuals." It's exciting, but not too exciting. It's fun, but not too fun. It's thought-provoking, but not too thought-provoking. As if they custom made it for the 50-something, rich, guilty, pseudo-Buddhists in Ann Arbor & Madison. Ewan McGregor is pretty good though... @ least once his character actually gets to do something.

The Time Traveler's Wife
Recently, I've heard a few different people say, "This is my favorite book... ever!" which makes me assume they haven't read that many books. It's fun & worth reading, but to suggest it's the greatest ever is clearly ridiculous. And the film is a kind of watered down version of the book. The punk stuff is left out... as are the Michigan references (her childhood house is in it, but it's not clear where it is & I don't even think it's clear that it's on the lake). The sexiness of the book is totally left out in favor of some sort of soft-focus designed for Lifetime. If you're like me & dig time travel stories, it's definitely worth watching, but it's not going to win any awards. We watched a Twilight Zone episode last night where Russell Johnson (well, not him, but his character) goes back in time to the night of Lincoln's assassination & tries to stop it. I was hoping he'd use some coconuts to radio for help, but, alas, it was not to be. Of course, Lost is on tonight, so I guess we get to get inundated w/ crazy time-travel stories this week!

Taking Woodstock
This was a pretty cool movie. Maybe even the best thing I've seen since Inglorious Bastards. Eugene Levy & the guy ho plays Michael Lang are great, & it's got the most accurate representation of an acid trip I've ever seen in a movie. (Of course, this claim is based on things I've read & what I've been told by friends & acquaintances. Overall, it's kind of cheesy, & it's romanticization of the 1960s is over the top, but it's well worth seeing. Maybe Ang Lee's best film since Sense & Sensibility.

In Performance @ The White House

Last night on PBS, Obama hosted a celebration of the music of the Civil Rights Era. As always, Smokey Robinson was fantastic. As always, I found Natalie Cole kind of creepy. And as always, I had no idea what to expect from Bob Dylan. Before he came out though, Jennifer Hudson sang a couple songs; she's pretty fantastic. I've never seen Dreamgirls, & @ 1st, I wasn't sure who she was. But her voice... wow. Yolanda Adams also has a nice voice, but she's really fucking weird lookin'. I've never even been a fan of a little plastic surgery, but hers is freakin' freaky. John Mellencamp basically gave a "I'm not racist; I have black friends" speech, but we'll let it slide because he does have 30 years of civil rights work under his belt. (And because he's new here on Visions of Ypsi.) I'm not embarrassed to admit that Joan Baez's "We Shall Overcome" brought a few tears to my eyes... it clearly brought some to Obama's eyes too. The Bind Boys of Alabama were great, but that just seems to be their M.O., & The Freedom Singers were really good too. They closed w/ a cool group version of "Lift Every Voice & Sing" which I am covering this week in class so I suppose we'll watch that clip them too.

As far as Dylan was concerned, I was expecting one or two songs (wee only got one), but I couldn't figure out which it would be. I was kind of hoping for "Pawns in the Game" or "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," but I expected "Blowin' in the Wind." We got a sweet acoustic version of "The Times They are A'changin'" and it was fantastic. I was worried that a single song on TV would be shit... like the Grateful Dead, he usually needs a few songs to really get going, but it's really, really good. Just him, Tony Garnier on upright bass, Patrick Warren on piano. Watch it here now!

Snow Day?

As far as I can remember, the last time we had classes canceled @ EMU due to weather was in December of 2000. I was teaching Eng.121 & sharing an office w/ Annette. It was my very 1st semester as a Lecturer, and while Annette & I were in an office together, I really didn't know her at all. Seeing as it's been almost 10 years, today's snow day came as a bit of a shock, & while I'll have to reshuffle the next couple weeks of class to get us back on track, I think I might be able to actually make good use of the day off. Here are the things I'll do:

1) Blogging: Lately, the blogging has played second fiddle to the rest of my life. I suppose that's the way it should be, but I've tried to keep up a steady pace of 10-12 posts per month over the last 5 years, but that hasn't been happening this year.

2) Reading: I feel as though I've been reading The Savage Detectives since Halloween. It's really good, but it's been really slow going too. I guess confining my "fun" reading to bathroom time & breaks @ Plum Market don't make for fast books. However, recently, around page 350, something resembling a plot appeared so the pace might start picking up. We'll see.

3) Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series: I rented it last week & it's due back on Friday so today'll be a good opportunity to watch it. It looks like it might suck, but in keeping w/ my new-found love of all things Terminator, I feel wee need to watch it.

4) Star Wars: We've been talking about watching the whole saga again, so we may need to start today w/ a viewing of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I think Isaiah wants to watch it.

5) Sledding: I image that @ some point this afternoon, probably while Isaiah is taking his nap, I'll take S & A out for a little while @ Riverside Park.

6) Chili: I'll take the day to slow-cook some chili & fix Coney Dogs for dinner.

7) Arsenal: There's a match this afternoon vs. Liverpool, but it's not on Fox Soccer Channel. I was considering resubscribing to Setanta, chose not to. Today, I'm regretting that decision. If I were in my office, I'd be able to watch it on-line w/ a much better connection than I have @ home... oh well. Who wants to come over & watch Arsenal go down in their 3rd consecutive defeat today?

Running

Not just running! Something that needs endurance! Something that needs stamina! Like, long-distance running! Cross-country running!I've never been much for competitive long-distance running; when I've run, it's always been in order to get in shape for soccer. Courtney suggested that I register for the Dexter-Ann Arbor 10K though, & I think I might do it. When I was at my peak... 20 years ago... I was running 8 miles a day. Let's just say I' not at my peak any more. A few years ago, I was up to 3 or 4 a day though, & after yesterday's mil and a half, I was feeling pretty good, so we'll see.

I got new shoes, but running pants and an Under-Armor shirt... an imitation, Target brand Under-Armor shirt (made by Champion Sportswear). It was 1/3 of the price, but does the trick. Like an anti-McDLT container, it keeps the hot side cold & the cold side hot. I figured if I spent some cash on running, I'd be motivated to stick w/ it for a while. The main goal, rather than the 10K run, is to be ready for soccer in May. A few miles a day should get me there. The other goal is to look less sausagesque in my fake Under-Armor shirt.

If You're a Nerd Like I'm a Nerd...

Like many of you who know what's up, we rewatched the 1st 5 seasons of Lost over the last couple months in order to get ready for tomorrow's big Season 6 Premier. Along w/ the rewatch, you should check out some of the better parodies. I found a couple on Jorge Garcia's blog. The first one uses the Petula Clark song, "Downtown," in a fun way... & it's a fucking Petula Clark parody! And I was just thinking the other day that we don't get enough Petula Clark parodies... dreams do come true, my friends. The second one is an extended Italian family in Brooklyn (I don't know for sure that they're in Brooklyn; I'm going on stereotypes here... it could be Jersey or Philly too)reenacting the 1st 5 season in about 5 minutes... it's odd. After that, there's the Mad TV season 1 parody & then the coup de grace, the sweet, sweet, Star Trek parody: Star Trek: The Lost Generation. Oh, & here is Wendy's list of things we need to learn... it's not exhaustive, nor will we get everything, but it's a good list none-the-less. And why not read a list... Jacob made a few, Ben made a few, I imagine Richard has made more than his fair share of lists @ one time or another, Hurley made at least one... read Wendy's too.

On the down side, I have a bad feeling about Season 6. I don't think we're gonna get many of the explanations for which we've been so patiently waiting.It just doesn't seem like they'll have time to get to everything. I'm sure we'll get Adam & Eve, the Smoke Monster, & Richard, but Horace & Ann Arbor... I doubt it... we'll keep our fingers crossed though.

So now, do what Andre does: order up some Chinese food, get a 4-pack of imported stout, & prepare to be a little let down by the parodies.

Answers

Italian Family

Mad TV

Star trek

Burns Nght Post #4: The Wrap Up

The Dinner:
As y'all know, I rarely eat meat, but for Burns Night I'm happy to indulge in a little haggis. Stephanie has been making a veggie version for years, but last year Wendy brought the real deal. She brought it again this year, & I loved it. It didn't last long, & I feel that it's gotten a bad rap in culinary circles. I get the fact that it sounds nasty... sheep hearts, lungs, & livers ground up & mixed w/ oats & potatoes & then stuffed into the sheep's stomach... but it's delicious.

Stephanie's veggie haggis consists of red & brown lentils, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, & peanuts. It's awesome. We had it again last night & there are leftovers so I'll be having it again today or tomorrow... if it makes it that long.

I made Brussels sprouts w/ chestnuts. I sauteed the chestnuts in ghee w/ apple & red onion while boiling the Brussels sprouts. They then go into a casserole dish & slipped into the oven w/ more ghee. Brussels sprouts, along w/ haggis, get hated almost universally, & I don't get it. They're really good.

Rachel brought the neeps & tatties... mashed potatoes w/ turnips. Along w/ the haggis, it's the other traditional half of the Burns Night dinner.

Stacey brought oranges (orange & blood) steeped in Drambuie... they were a big hit... & as it turns out, Drambuie is pretty damn good.

Once the other food was gone, Dawn showed up w/ awesome bridies & pasties from Ackroyd's Scotch Bakery in Redford.

The Desserts:
Stephanie made Honey Creams. They're homemade ice cream w/ honey, scotch, whipped cream, egg whites & sugar... they're delicious.

Mary brought fantastic scones w/ whipped cream & fancy homemade jams.

Of course, there was also cheese, chocolate, & spotted dick... & lots & lots of Scotch.

The Scotch:
Dewars... This was mainly for the Honey Creams, but a couple pulls helped the readings go smoothly.
Abelour... I wrote about this a couple weeks ago & decided another bottle was in order.
Laphroaig... I picked this up last week. It's a nice peety Islay. It goes down smooth.
Glenfiddich... I called my dad a couple weeks ago & he was @ the duty free shop on his way to Windsor. I asked what kind of Scotch they had, & he said the Glenfiddich was 35 bucks. I said, "That's not much better than retail. He said, "For a 5th?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "These are liters." I said, "Hook us up!"
Oban... Pete brought this one. It's a nice mixture of the Islay smokiness & the Highland sweetness... It went down smooth.
Caol Ila... Andy brought this one. A fantastic Islay. Everyone loved it.

The Entertainment:
Aiden read "The Selkirk Grace" before the meal. It's the traditional Burns night grace. He practiced the pronunciation for quite a while & did great.
I read "Address to a Haggis" after the grace but before the dinner.
Jim read "To a Mouse" during dinner. He was great. no one could understand a word he said, but he was great.
Andy & Matt both read poems, but I don't recall what they're called, but Andy's was about brothers-in-law & Matt's had something to do w/ the deflowering of a young girl... I think.
I then read about 1/2 of "To a Louse" before it faded away as people lost interest... it was too late in the evening for another reading.
Jim & Joe also played some music... some Mayflys originals, plus some Beatles, GD, & RA covers. Isaiah loved watching them, & so did I.

The Photos:
Here is a link to Stephanie's Facebook album from the party.
Here is a link to Rachel's Facebook album from the party.

All in all, a good time seemed to be had by all. I can't wait until next year. Maybe we'll have to have something sooner like a Tartan Day party or Bloomsday in June. That might be good.

Burns Night Post #3: Who Would Rabbie Support?

We prepare to celebrate Burns Night tonight, & as always, the celebrations falls during the FA Cup Forth Round matches. Awesomely, Man U has already crashed out of the competition which leaves only Chelsea as a real challenge to Arsenal's sweet run towards the League/Cup double. Of course, Arsenal's 4-2 fight back @ mid-week against Bolton sent them to the top of the league table... granted, a Man U win this afternoon would see Manchester overtake them for a couple days. Still, it's pretty sweet to be top this late in the season.

So in honor of Burns Night & Arsenal's rise to the top, here's what may be the 1st in an new annual tradition... my Burns style poem for the weekend.
Enjoy!

"To a Goon"
Now, if wee Rabbie Burns were still agood
Do’na think that he would be a Chelsea man
For fookin’ fruit & prancin’ doon the road
Is not the way for our fair Burnsie, ken?

And whoot of auld sir Alex’ red Manure?
(He wouldna be a Yankees fan me’thinks.)
Young Rab would ratha cheer the worker, sure,
Than fancy big buck squads with big buck stinks.

Take Merseyside and shove it up yer arse!
Not since the four fair Beatles was it plain.
He’d never been nor would he be a Scouse.
He’d floosh the Reds, wi’ shite, right down the drain.

He’d scoff at Villain ‘tenders to tha crown
Blue Cit’zens, too, wee Rabbie would na take.
Nor lily-white; tha Hotspur, he’d put down.
North London’s got but one fer foock’es sake.

Perhaps the Ayr United or the Killie
Would scratch his home town need for home town sport.
Fair Rabbie was no silly billy Gillie,
He wouldna’ take no silly billy court.

Not Hearts nor Hibs nor Hoops would be his team.
And Rangers only range for gearlie boys.
Though Scotland’s squads would be for him it seems,
They play a pretty plot with ugly noise.

He’d be a true red Gooner don’t ya ken?
Up the Ars’nal; top the table strive.
A club wi’ whom th’hard workin’ lass and men
Can drink and sing and fight and be alive!

Burns' Night Post #2: Iron Your Kilts!

Here are some links to get everyone ready for the big drinking game that is Burns' Night. This Saturday @ our place... bring your appetite for scotch & your appetite for good, good food.

Burns Night.Net

The Facebook Group

Burns' Poetry

Burns Supper

a fun little story from the Moscow Pullman Daily News... whatever that is

A fun little story from The News, a small paper from Nova Scotia w/ a rather uninspired name.

MLK @ EMU & Beyond

Here's a full schedule of the stuff to do on campus today: http://www.emich.edu/mlk/. I think I'll be heading to the "Stereotypes in Film" seminar, but I might hit the performance of "The Meeting" instead... a fictional account of a meeting between MLK & Malcolm X. There are 3 or 4 things I'm interested in all going on between 2:00 & 2:50, but none of the 3:00-3:50 stuff looks up my alley. Off campus there's obviously a lot going on too, but I was a bit surprised that the Ypsi libraries weren't doing more. An afternoon marathon of Selma, Lord, Selma @ the Michigan Ave branch is interesting, but it's a bit odd.

I went w/ Stephanie & the kids to the Whittaker Branch this morning for "Story Time" w/ Isaiah. They go every week, but I've always been busy. It was super fun to hang w/ him as he played along & listened to the stories. He was so excited from the moment we walked in there. He kept pulling my arm to get me to go to the proper room as I was attempting to look @ other stuff. He was so funny. I wish I had the opportunity to do that more often. Of course, while we went to "story Time," S & A hung out on the computers. Aiden's Lost addiction is pretty ridiculous. All he was doing was looking @ Lost flair on Facebook in an attempt to figure out what's coming next. (we're on Season 5 Episode 9: "Namaste." I'm sure he'll ensure we get through @ least 2 or 3 this evening. Comin' attcha!

Burns' Night Post #1: Aberlour 12 Year & Other Whisky News

While I was waiting for Chinese food @ Chia Shiang a couple weeks ago, I strolled next door to Morgan & York to survey the Scotch selection. The last time I'd been there, I picked up a bottle of Glenmorangie Lasanta which was good but it had a bit of a sherryesque finish with which I wasn't completely down. It was aged in sherry casks so it's supposed to be sherry-y, but not that sherry-y. I don't mean to complain though. It was good (Glenmorangie always is), & @ 92 proof, it did its job, but I needed to try something different this time.I wasn't familiar w/ Aberlour, but I'm glad I got to know it. The 12 Year is in the same price range as Glenfiddich & The Glenlivet. It doesn't have the sweet, honey finish of the Glenfiddich; there are some caramel & cherry highlights instead. It's miles beyond the Glenlivet in flavors & complexities. It's probably been 4 or 5 years since I last bought a bottle of Glenlivet though so maybe I should give it another go... but then again, I had a glass last year & was I under impressed then too. In other Whisky (or whiskey) news, I read Kate Hopkins' 99 Drams of Whiskey a couple weeks ago. It's a fun book about her travels around the globe exploring distilleries & tasting whiskeys. She writes a great food site, The Accidental Hedonist, & the book was a really fun look into the process of making & enjoying the Water of Life.

Shatner & J.J. Abrams

Last night I stumbled upon the most ridiculous talk-show ever. Shatner's Raw Nerve makes The Pat Sajack Show seem like a good idea. It's a 1/2 hour show on the Bio channel which features Shatner interviewing another celeb for the entire program. The 2 of them sit facing one another in an S shaped kissing chair while Shatner pries into the tortured past of the guest. I saw 2 episodes last night & got to witness both Weird Al & Gene Simmons in tears. I've never said to myself, "Hey, I'd really like to watch The Demon weep." But it works. Against all my best judgement, I recommend this show... & I know I'll be watching it again.In other Shatner news, I watched Star Trek VI w/ Aiden last night. Over the summer, we started watching the films (skipping the 1st one), as a build up to the new movie. He has finally seen all of the original cast films so no we're ready. I saw VI in the theater w/ my cousin when it 2st came out, & I always liked it. It's definitely better than V, but last night's viewing made me think it may not be as good as I'd always thought. It's a bit low on action. They muddy up a pretty basic plot by spending way too much time explaining it. Also, the effects aren't what I remembered. The parallels w/ Tomorrow Never Dies are pretty interesting though. I've probably talked about this before, but they both feature a cloaked ship that can fire while cloaked, they both feature an enemy general named Chang, & they both revolve around a plot to use the cloaked ship to start a war between 2 groups that are uninvolved w/ the ship. (Admittedly, the 3rd point could be said of most Bond movies).While we're now ready to give the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie a go this weekend, Stephanie & I have also been watching his new show, Fringe. It's no Lost, but it's pretty cool. I'm yet to decide if I love it or hate it. I feel like I might be on the verge of addicting myself to the next Zena: Warrior Princess. It revolves around an FBI agent, her boss (played by the dude who played Abaddon on Lost), a crazy old scientist who spent the last 17 years in a mental institution after doing weird experiments on humans, & his genius son (played by a dude from Dawson's Creek) who will obviously become a love interest for the FBI agent. Crazy events are happening (mainly in he Boston area), & they're all related to some pattern of scientific research that has been killing hundreds of people. I'm afraid I may be hooked.Not as hooked as Aiden has become on Abrams' other recent show. We've been rewatching Lost, this time w/ the kids, & they're loving it. We slowly got through season 1 last fall & then blew through seasons 2 & 3 over the holiday break. We started 4 last night in the hopes of getting through 5 before 6 starts on February 2. It's pretty awesome watching the kids pick up on the foreshadowing & little stuff in the background. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to follow it, but they're doing really well. I think we'll watch a couple more episodes tonight before The Office.

A New Soccer Post for the New Year

With Arsenal poised to move into 2nd place (ahead of ManUre) this afternoon (home to Bolton @ 2:45 & I'll be watching it in the office) & the African Cup of Nations starting in Angola on Sunday, I thought a little transfer talk might be in order. I suppose we should do some CAN 2010 updates this month too.

* Man U look set to make some big changes after crashing out of the FA Cup @ home to Leeds United (a Division 1 Side). Ferdinand also seems ready to hang up the boots after an injury hit season (& more roid rumors). Problems @ Old Trafford bring smiles to my face. It's also rumored that Ji Sung Park will be moving East... not all the way back to S. Korea, but over to Birmingham City. He's an odd player & this might be a good move for him.
* Obviously, L'Pool need depth, but the rumors of a mass exodus have been flying. Supposedly Babel, Dossena, Voronin, Lucas, & even Reina are all on the outs. The changes should happen soon if they want to get into the Champions League next year... & if they don, I would imagine Torres & Gerard will be leaving in the summer.
* Chelsea won't be allowed to make any changes after this month for a year & a half, so 1 would expect things to be happening, but Ancelotti claims there won't be any. with Drogba, Essien, Mikel, & Kalou all in Angola, that seems like a risky decision.
* Arsenal's injury hit squad could use a boost, but Wenger pointed out that even w/ RVP, Fabregas, & Bendtner out, they've still scored more goals that any other team. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for André-Pierre Gignac to move in from Toulouse, but that doesn't seem likely. A right back might be a good buy too... & a back up central defender w/ Djourou out & the rumors of Senderos leaving.

EPL Transfer Rumours

Football Rumours

The Telegraph

The Guardian

Sky Sports

Holiday Post #12: Another Reason Democracy Sucks

Here are the final tallies for you 2009 Visions of Ypsi Celebrity MILF of the Year. W/ 2 write ins for Kendra Leigh Baskett (née Wilkinson)... some surgery-enhanced whore from Playboy... & 1 abstaining, the rest of the results look like this:

Ashley Jensen: 2
Adriana Lima: 3
Heidi Samuel (née Klum): 3

And bringing the most votes, your Visions of Ypsi Celebrity MILF of the Year, Sarah Michelle Gellar: 4
Next year, we may need to adjust something to ensure it doesn't get this ridiculous ever again. We @ Visions of Ypsi will be holding our noses while we congratulate her on her victory. You can see her here in all her pregnant glory, but it's pretty obvious that the cutest one in the picture is the dog (& probably the most talented too). OK, I'll admit that she has a nice set of targets