This week's best Vents from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
    – To Bob Hope, the best friend American service personnel ever had in Hollywood: God bless you, and thanks for the memories.
    – The Cuban gentlemen who turned a ’51 Ford pickup into a watercraft in an attempt to gain freedom deserve immediate citizenship.
    – The substance that makes shy people more outgoing has been around for a long time. It’s called alcohol.
    - Chirac says that testing nuclear weapons in Tahiti made France a world power. Yeah, and wearing briefs makes me Tom Cruise.
    - Did you ever notice how "Contact Us" on Web sites means anything but?
    - Why is it that the best driver in the car is usually sitting in the back seat?
    - Six-pack abs? I can do better than that. I got a keg!
    - The new show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is the most fun I've had since "American Idol."
    – Seen in a church bulletin: “God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.”

Recent Vents I sent in:

    - Yes, Fox News is conservative. Now, you concede that CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC are liberal.
    - I'm still trying to figure out what the left thinks President Bush lied about. Is it your position that Saddam never had WMDs or sought nuclear technology?
    - Why is Atlanta the fifth "meanest" city for the homeless? Come on, people, let's try harder to be No. 1!
Posted 10:33 p.m.

    This week’s episode of For Love Or Money 2 provided a twist I needed to stay interested. Down to the final five as the episode started, the host gave the guys a chance to take a fistful of cash ($10,000) right then and walk away. One did so, making Erin’s choice easier.

As for the 'love connection,' last week we were led to believe that Wade was the front-runner, Eric is this episode’s chosen boy by the editors. I’m not an Eric fan; he’s too slimy.
Posted 2:15 a.m.

    Atkins Diet Low-Carb Nutrition Plan update:

This morning before church, I went through my older, skinnier wardrobe, now that I'm back under 300 pounds! So about 20-25 down, another 75 to go. Anyway, I went through the bags in my closet, and inserted some shirts and pants back into the rotation, and tossed my 'fat' clothes into the Salvation Army bag. I figure I should be able to fill a few of those by the time I'm done.
Posted 3:10 a.m.

    TLeft has officially tilted to the extreme over postwar Iraq when former Pres. Clinton feels compelled to defend Bush’s reasons for going to war.
Posted 1:45 a.m.

    More Trailer Park!:

Intolerable Cruelty - The Coen brothers pit George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones against one another, but we're sure they'll hook up by the end. Looks good.

Under the Tuscan Sun - Diane Lane leaves the States for Italy and finds a local stud for romance. CHICK FLICK.

Underworld - Vampires and werewolves continue their 1,000-year-old blood feud in today's world. It's dark, full of slow-motion action, sure to be bloody and focuses on a Romeo & Juliet aspect, and may be pretty cool in a Blade way.

Grind - A Bad News Bears for the skater punk crowd. No, no, a million times, no.

Second Hand Liars - Haley Joel Osment visits his nutty uncles, Robert Duvall and Michael Caine, in the country. Looks like fun.

Radio - Cuba Gooding, Jr. rides the slow bus to high school but manages to inspire the football coach, played by Ed Harris. Looks so sweet you'll get a toothache. I'll pass.

Peter Pan - Walt Disney Pictures seems to be touting this as their big-budget Christmas release, but it looks odd and seems to focus on Wendy.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Russell Crowe as a Royal Navy captain during the Napoleonic Wars. Looks interesting, but the title is horrendous. I don’t care which side of the world it’s on, as long as I’m entertained.
Posted 1:05 a.m.

    From the “Duh” department, it’s unbelievable that common sensical folks have to re-iterate that boys and girls are inherently different, and men shouldn’t be feminized to “fit in” with society.
Posted 12:415 a.m.

    Good news for Star Wars fans, from my own company! This fall, starting in November, there will be a series of 20 animated shorts on the Cartoon Network, two-to-three minute cartoons of “Star Wars: Clone Wars.” It will pick up from the end of action of Episode II, introducing new characters and planets, and will be action-packed.
Posted 12:45 a.m.

    The Left is against segregation, unless it is for one of their social engineering experiments. The city of New York will run a school exclusively for gay students, on the basis that they might be harassed at public schools. “But, as New York's Conservative party boss Mike Long pointed out, what about fat kids? What about clumsy kids? What about kids with acne? What about handicapped kids? Do we farm them all out, ghettoize them, to protect them from the bumps and bruises of community living?” (Jay Nordlinger, National Review Online)

I’m a loony bigot for wanting to send my kids to a private Christian school, but my tax dollars should pay for the Left to protect kids and teach them that lifestyles I consider to be sinful are the dominant focus of their lives?

What a different world we live in than our parents. Imagine if this happened after integration in the late 50s/early 60s, and all black students who had been harassed were told they have to attend all-black schools. Then again, it happened naturally over the years, so does that mean in 50 years there will be schools made up of one protected group? Gay kids over here, vegetarian kids there, environmental wacko kids under a tree in the forest?

On a related note, it appears that whites shouldn’t be allowed to teach black history. In Cleveland, black leaders have decided that white teachers can’t teach about slavery, because all whites were enslavers. Really? So I guess that means black teachers can’t teach about the founding of the country, since it was all by white folks. The Civil War was fought by whites against whites in part to free slaves, but I guess all Americans were just as guilty.
Posted 12:45 a.m.

    It is time for a new Trailer Park!:

The Fighting Temptations: Cuba Gooding Jr. is a Southern guy who made it big in New York, and returns home to "learn about the real joys of life." (my emphasis, not a quote from the trailer) Beyonce Knowles is in it, too, so her yummy figure on screen could actually get me there, although the plot around the gospel choir competition will make me feel guilty for lusting over Beyonce for two hours. Oh, so that's what Fighting Temptations means?

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star: If a pratfall 'comedy' can't get Bruce Carrey to star, they ask Adam Sandler. If it's even too bad for Sandler to accept, they ask Rob Schneider. In the extremely rare occurrence that Schneider objects to trash, the filmmakers request David Spade. Spade stars in this movie. You've been warned.

Marci X - Lisa Kudrow in a fish-out-of-water tale of a rich white lady in the gangsta rap world. Eek.

Haunted Mansion - My first impression was to scoff, since Eddie Murphy hasn't had a good track record since the last century. But it's a big-budget Walt Disney movie for Thanksgiving, made after the ride of the same name. Worked for Pirates of the Caribbean, so maybe it could surprise? Uptown Girls - Oh my, no way in H-E-doublehockeysticks. Why does Brittany Murphy have a career, and who finds her sexy?
Posted 11:55 p.m.

    I hate to tell the truth.com nuts this, but people were smoking loooong before Big Tobacco started forcing Hollywood icons to light up on screen in the 30s, thus making it cool for Americans at large to smoke.
Posted 11:45 p.m.

    Jack Kelly of the Washington Times would like to say something those who think Iraq is a Vietnam-like quagmire:

      It's amazing how many people who've never been to either place say Iraq is "another Vietnam." There are a few differences worth noting.
      To begin with, at no point in the Vietnam war did the United States utterly destroy the North Vietnamese Army; occupy North Vietnam; send Ho Chi Minh into hiding, and kill or capture most of his Politburo. Had we done so, the war might have had a different outcome.

Read the whole thing, as they say.

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal OpinionJournal.com notes that it's not Vietnam to compare Iraq's post-war, but World War II:

The situation is more analogous to postwar Germany, where, as History Today explains, the occupying Allies faced attacks from a guerrilla/terrorist force called the Werewolves, which was not organized until the fall of 1944:
      "The Werewolves specialised in ambushes and sniping, and took the lives of many Allied and Soviet soldiers and officers--perhaps even that of the first Soviet commandant of Berlin, General N.E. Berzarin, who was rumoured to have been waylaid in Charlottenburg during an incident in June 1945. Buildings housing Allied and Soviet staffs were favourite targets for Werewolf bombings; an explosion in the Bremen police headquarters, also in June 1945, killed five Americans and thirty-nine Germans. Techniques for harassing the occupiers were given widespread publicity through Werewolf leaflets and radio propaganda, and long after May 1945 the sabotage methods promoted by the Werewolves were still being used against the occupying powers."
Posted 7:55 p.m.

    If aliens land in, say, the suburbs of Mongolia, and they ask what planet they're on, would the locals say "Earth?" Or would it be some funky name and end up confusing aliens when they land in Idaho and learn they really are on Earth when they mean to be somewhere else? You know, before the Idaho folks hunt, kill and barbecue them. (These are the things I think about.)
Posted 7:15 p.m.

    I would like to go on record as disliking when the music minister selects songs from the hymnal that are virtually impossible for the normal, gravelly voiced congregation to sing with any harmony. Stick to the easy stuff, music guys and gals!
Posted 7:15 p.m.

    This week’s episode of For Love Or Money 2, I just didn’t give a flip. I need some spice, because it’s clear the editors are playing games with us by floating the idea that Wade and Erin are perfect for each other. And blast you, NBC, for airing the show in an hour and ten minutes, meaning my VCR cut off the last elimination. Curses!
Posted 6:51 p.m.

    In my Singles class Sunday School this week, the discussion was on s-e-x (shh, don’t say out loud!). One of the discussions was on “how far is too far” when dating. Leader John noted that the goodnight kiss was the safest place to stop, because anything else just leads further and further down the road to s-e-x. But he also brought up a word that is used frequently in Southern Baptist youth circles as a no-no: petting. Problem is, using that specific word may have the opposite effect, because we all think of petting (animals, in this case) as this sweet, comforting, enjoyable experience. When you get the kitty to purr, you feel ecstatic and your lifespan increases ten-fold. So telling teens that they shouldn’t “pet” one another will not prevent it.
Posted 2:45 a.m.

    Memphis’ The Commercial Appeal sports columnist Geoff Calkins would like to know why sports fans should apologize for enjoying athletic events and always have to acknowledge that serious events “puts sports in perspective.” Calkins notes, “You wouldn’t hear a restaurant reviewer say, ‘That killer storm really puts lobster bisque in perspective.’”
Posted 2:15 a.m.

    Heckydoodle! This is no time for Democrats to start making sense and stop tiliting radically left! They are getting just that advice now from centrist leaders, warning that Bush will win all 50 states if this idiotic anti-war, anti-tax cut message just keeps getting lobbed back from the public. For instance, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh said that, "The Democratic Party has an important choice to make, … Do we want to vent, or do we want to govern?" On Monday, Lieberman accused anti-war candidates of "sending out a message that they don't know a just war when they see it." Hopefully, candidates like Howard Dean will continue to pound the podium with his socialist agenda and liberals will flock to his message. That would do wonders for Bush's re-election chances next year.

Of course, we already know they’re desperate. But just how much? Well, Florida’s left-wing is trying to restore voting privileges to felons as part of a way to try and beat President Bush. That’s it, Dems, you just let the people know who you want as your constituency!
Posted 2:15 a.m.

    Does anyone else find those Holiday Inn Express commercials on their new breakfasts to be off-putting? I can take the crazy guys with cinnamon on their faces; it's the employees rolling their eyes in the ad that makes me curious if the image you want to project to your customers is that you think that we're morons.
Posted 9:38 p.m.

    This week's best Vents from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
    - I'm rethinking my decision to register with the "do not call" list. Without the telemarketers, how will I ever know if my phone is working?
    - I love it when a driver speeds past me, cuts people off, changes lanes three or four times and then ends up next to me at the red light.
    - Life Lesson No. 66: People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it is far safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.
    - I'm afraid our minister has developed an altar ego.
    - I remember the good old days, when envelopes didn't have a square telling people where to put the stamp.
    - The pictures of Odai and Qusai were gruesome? I've seen much worse on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
    - To all you Northern liberals, the Iraq war was a version of the Southern expression, "he needed killing." Iraq "needed invading."
    - I don't understand fun-sized candy bars. Why is less candy more fun?
    - I dieted all day yesterday but didn't lose a single pound, so the heck with it.
Posted 3:00 p.m.

    Pardon me if I'm not entirely upset in this "Amazing Race 4" update that Millie and Chuck were ousted and thus didn't make the final four teams. The Dating 12 Years/Virgins were more annoying than sympathetic. I'm still pulling for the Clowns, Jon and Al, who have kept me smiling from day one and never ticked off anyone else during the race.
Posted 07/26/03, 7:18 p.m.

    This week’s episode of For Love Or Money 2 cuts the number of guys from ten to seven, after dropping five last week in the opener. The guys may actually be more catty than the girls were, especially Chad V., who’s arrogant a** and the kind of guy you want to shove off a balcony.
      The weirdest part of the show was the “controversy” generated by the editing. In this grainy video we see a group of the guys in the middle of the night wrestling. The piece was edited as if this was wrong and unnatural. Put a bunch of guys together, and I guarantee you that somehow, someway, they will end up wrestling eventually. It’s just guys being guys.
      We knew in the first show that any woman who was picked by Rob would take the money, because he was such a personality-less bore. This time, however, there may be a couple of guys who would take Erin, thus enabling her to keep the man and $2 million. Her entire motivation should be to decide who will be easiest to convince to pick her over the cash.
Posted 1:28 a.m.

    In front of Bad Boys 2, some new Trailer Park!:

S.W.A.T. - Bad mutha&#$(*@ Samuel L. Jackson leads a fresh-faced and ragtag bunch of extreme officers in the police special forces unit of the title. Looks promising, and the cast is a winner (includes LL Cool J and Michelle Rodriguez).

Once Upon A Time In Mexico - Antonio Banderas is a secretive assassin, Johnny Depp is the guy trying to hire him, and Salma Hayek is the babe. Lots of gunplay and stunts will probably end up making up for lame story and script.

The Rundown - Terrible title doesn't suggest that The Rock and Seann William Scott, plus Christopher Walken, are teaming up in a movie that looks - forgive me - entertaining. Lots of physical humor and fisticuffs.
Posted 10:39 p.m.

    I had a chance to help society today. Stopping at Walgreens, a lady asked me to take a survey on "loyalty cards" like those you get at grocery stores, and no one likes. NO ONE. If you like it, you're a dupe! Anyway, I agreed to the survey, and proceeded to denounce them up and down in every question. Even if she asked a yes/no question, I would frame the answer as "They're a scam!" So if Walgreens implements the evil cards, don't blame me.
Posted 12:15 a.m.

    Last night was Fun with Computers night, featuring my installation of a new Internal CD-RW (re-writeable), so I can now save all of my photos on CD. Of course, the Best Buy guy assured me it was going to be "easy" to put it in, which makes me feel like an idiot. First you have to take off the computer covers. Fine. But then you have to figure out which wire goes where. When I was satisfied, I put everything back on and tried to turn the system back on. Key word: "tried." I take apart the computer again, and somehow I had pulled out the power cord within the computer. It took a few minutes to figure out where to plug it back in, and even then not all the holes seemed to want the prongs to fit. Finally satisfied, I close everything, try the power again ... nothing. Take it apart a third time, see that the power plug was off again, so I stuck it back on the prongs a second time, closed the covers, hit the power button and ... eureka! Power's on, CD-RW works, I'm backing up all of my files! Piece of cake! Too bad the sound doesn't work anymore, and I can't get the CD out of the drive. But other than that, I'm happy.
Posted 12:15 a.m.

    Thursday's "Amazing Race 4" update: Conversation during a pit stop, it's time to needle Millie and Chuck. As Reichen and Chip discuss their 1-year "marriage" anniversary, the cameras focus on Christian Chuck as if to stick it in his face, then the other teams make fun of them for being virgins in their mid-20s, and Kelly and Jon laugh about how they were sleeping together within a week. Whatever.

At least the teams left India, to Malaysia. Didn't matter, as all the running around was for show and no one was eliminated (first of three non-elimination rounds). That's good for Kelly and Jon, because they were waxed this week.
Posted 8:58 p.m.

    You might have heard the hubbub from the Left that "Bush lied" during the State of the Union address in January, in which he stated, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." That's it. The dead Iraqis we're unearthing from mass graves couldn't care less about whether or not Saddam was buying uranium from Niger. The war wasn't fought over that sentence, and only idiotic partisan Democrats would believe that Saddam wasn't developing weapons of mass destruction and/or seeking nuclear capability.
Second, the Left was in a tizzy over Bush telling Iraqi guerrilla fighters to "bring them on." So instead of telling our enemies to "bring 'em on," the Left would rather Bush acted like Clinton after Somalia and turn tail, thus empowering terrorists even more.
Posted 8:20 p.m.

    This week's best Vents from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
    - The same people who were against the U.S. sending troops to Iraq now want us to send troops to Liberia. If they did not want us to save the Iraqis, why do they want us to save the Liberians?
    - There should be a law against any comic strip using the same story line for more than a week.
    - I was in a traffic accident on the way to have a root canal. What were the odds of that?
    - Thunder has been shaking the house for about 30 minutes, but so far no rain. Now that's what I call foreplay!
    - My friend told me that his lawyer was injured last week. The ambulance backed up without any warning.
    - Will someone explain why the plastic bags in every hotel are a half-size smaller than the ice bucket?
    - So what if a few Democratic presidential candidates didn't show up for the NAACP event? Ninety percent of blacks vote Democratic. Why campaign to a captive audience?
    - My kids expect us to do everything for them. Have I raised Democrats?
Posted 7:50 p.m.

    I recommend anyone with Bravo on their cable system to watch at least one show of their new "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Abso-frickin'-hilarious. It involves five gay guys of different expertise (fashion, food, culture, interior design and grooming) taking a hetero- and organizing and spicing up his life, and is quite fun and informative in that "Trading Spaces" kind of way. Very hip and well, gay. Not there's anything wrong with that.
Posted 6:25 p.m.

    The first episode of For Love Or Money 2 began Monday night, and it looks to be a guilty pleasure as the first. Erin, the "winner" of the first installment, is the bachelorette among 15 guys who came in looking for love and fun, and end up with the bombshell that if they win they win $1 million. Of course, this time Erin knows that the guys will be given the chance to pick money or love, and she gets $2 million smackeroos if they choose her. We'll hear constant talk of deciding guys' motivations, but this time I'm pulling for Erin to win, as I rooted for Rob to 'lose' the girl and money in the first run. This is just a twisted, naughty show, and with 15 macho men competing in one mansion it will be a riot. Problem is, all the guys look alike to me, so I have no idea who is whom.
Posted 5:25 a.m.

    A new Trailer park!:

Good Boy - A dog from outer space shows up, provides a lucky young boy with the ability to hear dogs talk, and tells how all dogs come from a planet made up of pooches. I know, sounds weird. But the trailer is fun, and who doesn’t love to hear dog’s thoughts? Kids will love it, and I’ll bet parents laugh heartily as well.

Hidalgo - Not the true story of Richard Hidalgo, outfielder for the Houston Astros. Better. Viggo Mortensen (cue women’s drool) is a cowboy with the fastest horse in the West, and heads to the Middle East to face off in a race against Arabs. Oh, and to save the girl. There’s always a girl.

The Haunted Mansion - Eddie Murphy is back in a horror/comedy that will be dreadful. Murphy has lost it.
Posted 5:10 p.m.

    In another tale of “Are Conservatives Really the Mean-Spirited Ones?” we go to Miami, where the top-rated radio talk show host, Neil Rogers of 560 AM, announced that an online posting said Rep. Katherine Harris had died in a plane crash on Monday. Apparently Rogers does believe everything he reads online, and he must read some kooky left-wing sites, because the embattled former Sec. of State for Florida was appearing live on C-SPAN in D.C. on the floor of the House of Representatives while Rogers jumped up and down for joy. Why do I say that he was happy? Read this, and tell me if it doesn’t sound like he was giddy: "Katherine Harris is dead!" reported Rogers on the air, "I've got the news story right here, it's on the Internet. A plane crash! Yes!!"

Another reason he could’ve doubted the report: The online post said Harris had died in a plane crash Monday, while in a secret meeting with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in Canada. Only the looniest left-wing sites come up with that kind of conspiracy hokus-pokus. Rogers would not comment on the mix-up on Tuesday, and he refused to release the transcripts of the program to reporters. Wonder what he has to hide?
Posted 5:35 p.m.

    Record heat has stifled Anchorage the last few days. Temperatures have soared to unbearable levels, all the way up to … 84 degrees. Those of us in the South who get that in mid-December will no doubt be pulling out the world’s smallest violins in sympathy. The hottest day ever recorded in Anchorage was June 25, 1953, when it hit 86 degrees.
Posted 5:35 p.m.

    Wally has posted the edited video of the 'movie' shot in Memphis a few weeks back. As Steve said, we were completely sober, but I'm not so sure if no animals were harmed making the movie. Shhh, don't tell PETA.
Posted 5:21 a.m.

    Monday night was the very special finale of NBC’s ‘reality’ dating show For Love Or Money, and as you might expect, the two-hour show was drawn out, with a lot of commercials. But the end provided some smiles and a great bump for the future.

It was edited to see Rob would choose Paige, because she was smitten and Rob knew he could get her to take him instead of the money. Erin would clearly take the money, as both should have. Paige, though, is an emotional wreck and you can see her picking Rob just to not look like a gold-digger.

Nope, Rob chose Erin, the older and more sophisticated babe, who convinced him that she was serious about a relationship, even as she wasn’t. She babbled on and on to rationalize it, but heck, he has zero personality and isn’t worth sacrificing such a break of stability.

But I take back my infatuation with Paige. Sure, she’s very cute and very perky, but let’s all say this together, she’s HIGH MAINTENANCE. She was annoying in her obsession by the last few weeks, and the over dramatics of the final show weren’t helping her look sane.

Still, in the end, with the manipulation of the show, it was worthwhile. Telling the women they would win $1 million, then bachelor Rob finding out and turning the tables, that if they chose him he’d win the money, was genius.

Oh yeah, in the end, the host offered to double her money by playing the game as the bachelorette courting 15 men in the next installment of “For Love or Money” beginning next week. She accepted. Delicious. She’ll know from the start they’re playing for money, and that she’ll get $2 million if they choose her over the dough.
Posted 2:45 a.m.

    The Islamofascists that run Saudi Arabia have been spending oodles of money in an attempt to convince Americans that they’re our buddies/pals/amigos. Turns out, despite all the PR, that Americans still remember that 15 of 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi, and that there have been deadly terror attacks against Americans in Saudi Arabia itself. So maybe the Saudi leaders should ask themselves, “Why do they hate us?” I’m sure they’ll conveniently overlook the country’s traditions of banning freedom of speech and religion, lack of women’s rights and lack of democracy at all.
Posted 3:15 a.m.

    The next time a Lefty tells you that his side is just as patriotic as the Right side, point him to the Gallup Poll leading up to July 4th that says 80 percent of conservatives said they are extremely proud of the country, while only 56 percent of liberals responded that way. Some 68 percent of moderates said they were extremely proud of America. You might also point out that many loony Lefties would rather light American flags rather than fireworks to celebrate Independence Day.
Posted 2:41 a.m.

    Among the pantheon of Bad Signs: No. 4,302, when a news helicopter races above and in front of you a few miles down the interstate, just as you notice traffic backed up ahead.
Posted 2:38 a.m.

    This week's best Vents from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
    - I don't even butter my bread. I consider that cooking.
    - Men don't use cooking utensils. They use "barbecue tools."
    - One trouble with Yankees is they talk so much faster than my ears want to listen.
    - I fear that my left-wing acquaintances have lost their brains through the hole in their open minds.
    - I just saw my best friend's pick of bridesmaid dresses, and I'm suffering from Post-Traumatic Dress Disorder.
    – I now have three ex-wives and I’ve finally learned my lesson. The next time I get the urge to marry, I will just find an angry woman and buy her a house.
    - California is facing a $38 billion deficit. I can't wait to hear how the liberals will try to pin that on the Republicans.
    - All my adult life, I said that if I was ever reincarnated, I wanted to be Katharine Hepburn. Rest easy, Kate, we shall miss you.
    – If private sex is now a constitutional right, I demand my share.
    – I don’t get women. They wear pumps and hose and then complain about retaining water. Give a guy pumps and some hose, and he’ll have the water out of the basement in an hour.
Posted 2:35 a.m.

    A pleasant Fourth of July here. It rained a bit at night, but thankfully it didn't this afternoon as I spent a while at the driving range and running around at Wal-Mart and Kroger to prepare for my trip to Memphis this week. Back home, cooking up some Italian sausage (I know, not American, I'm sorry) while watching the Red Sox kick Yankee butt, and now Atlanta is finishing off the Expos. Good times.

Tonight at home, nothing like watching poorly-done local fireworks productions, with bad music playing and white folks dancing like ... well, white folks. I prefer to watch national productions, like those of the Boston Pops and even Macy's show in New York along the river.

But nothing gives me chills like two things: 1) Playing Neil Diamond's "America" during the fireworks, and 2) Boston Pops doing "1812 Overture" with the cannons firing during the finale.

Well, maybe one more thing. The local CBS station played a bit of John Wayne saying the Pledge of Allegiance during the fireworks. *sniff*
Posted 10:17 p.m.

    In celebration (or Cerebration, in this case) of July 4, Independence Day today, a column by immigrant Dinesh D'Souza on 10 things to celebrate as an American, and anti-anti-American.

It's a great list, but I'd like to add One Thing That Ticks Me Off This Holiday: The Boston Pops fireworks spectacular, always on A&E for a few hours each July 4 with repeats all night, isn't "always" anymore. No, it's aired nationally by CBS now, which means one hour, and no replays. Even worse, the Atlanta affiliate is showing local fireworks instead, and I have to wait until 1:30 A.M. to see the program. Aarrrggh!
Posted 2:05 a.m.

    Amazing Race 4 update: It's time for the contestants to leave the comforts of Western civilization and take the annual trek to India where they will be mobbed by poor people, encounter a wide array of foul smells and begin to hate anywhere that doesn't have toilets or air-conditioning.

First off, once again the first and last place teams, once separated by hours, quickly re-unite in the middle of the night at the airport. Having the lead is meaningless. The only thing necessary is to not get ousted at the end, otherwise you'll be in the main pack.

To Bombay (sorry, Mumbai as we're now supposed to call it, since there's apparently a new rule where we have to call foreign cities by their original name, such as the upcoming winter Olympics in 2006 in Torino instead of Turin), where I can't believe the Gay Married Guys are "surprised" to see the amount of poverty in India. Talk about naive. I could've told them that, and I'm a mean-spirited heartless conservative who would rather camp out in Siberia in December on vacation than visit India. The women feel unprotected, the men tentative and only the Clowns have a defense: Circus tricks! The universal language, for sure.

Of course, you have to wonder how the Indians feel about this, seeing big healthy and (to them) wealthy men and independent female Americans running around their country for diversion when locals can't afford the fish the Racers are toting around for a game.

My local gals, Atlanta Falcons wives, a.k.a. The Supremes, as other teams call them, were eliminated. They just mixed up a couple of minutes and it cost them, as all the teams were very close this week.
Posted 2:05 a.m.

    In front of Wednesday's premier of T3: Rise of the Machines, a new batch of Trailer Park!:

Bad Boys II - A new trailer, sans any spoken dialogue, just full of a pulsating beat and stunning visuals. I can't wait. (July 18)

American Wedding - Most of the gang is back again for Jim's (Jason Biggs) wedding to Michelle (Allyson Hanigan). Goofy misadventures sure to follow, many of which will provide ample laughitude. (Yes, I just made that word up) (Aug. 1)

Envy - Ben Stiller and Jack Black team up for a Barry Levinson comedy - naturally - with Black becoming rich and famous, Stiller less so. Hence the title. Crazy hijinks ensue as Stiller seeks to even the score. (Aug. 15)

Freddy vs. Jason - Young nubile teens aren't safe either awake or asleep, but we don't want them to live anyway as the horror stars clash. (Aug. 15)

Matchstick Men - Nic Cage is a con artist with neurotic tics, obsessive compulsive disorder and a teen daughter he teaches the ropes. With Sam Rockwell, this Ridley Scott film looks promising. (Sep. 12)

Out of Time - Ho hum. Denzel Washington is a cop who is accused of killing his wife. Been there, done that. It had better be done well, at least, if unoriginal. (Oct. 3)

The Whole Ten Yards - Bruce Willis, Amanda Peet and Matthew Perry re-team for this sequel. I didn't see the original, so maybe it deserves a rental first, but there look to be some laughs from the nervous Perry to the domesticated hit man Willis. (Oct. 17)
Posted 1:10 a.m.

    The final three of NBC’s ‘reality’ dating show For Love Or Money became the Final Two, as the show got a little more interesting with the tables turned on the women. Rob was not only told that the woman he picked could win $1 million, he was told something they were not, that they have to choose between him and the money. Even further, if he convinces the woman he picks to choose him over the money, he gets both the girl and $1 million for himself. Yikes. This is naughty. Me like!

As for the show, money-grubbing materialistic Kelly got the boot. I guess Rob figured out that her motivation was more about the money than him. I can't believe he figured it out, you know, with all her talk of expensive tastes and naming a 'hip' brand for everything she owns, which I guarantee includes some sort of satin toilet paper from Egypt.

Remaining are 21-year-old Paige of Richardson, Texas, and 30-year-old Erin of San Francisco. Paige is the down-home cutie-pie, and Erin is the sophisticated model of beauty. Paige doesn't seem to be too concerned with money, considering that on the site she's asked what her luxury item would be with money not as a factor. Her answer: "I have always longed for a lifetime supply of toothpaste and toothbrushes. You never know who you will be talking to next." Yup, if someone considers breath over wealth, I think she's a keeper.

Erin, though, seems to have a fantastical view of what she can have in a man. Asked what three people she would combine for her ideal mate, she answered Frank Sinatra, James Bond and Superman. Um, yeah Erin, that's gonna happen.
Posted 12:54 a.m.

    In case you haven't seen it a million times already, there's a National Do-Not-Call Registry to stop telemarketers from harassing you at dinnertime, lunchtime or anytime.
Posted 6:45 p.m.

    Pardon the glee in the face of Democrats' problems, but here's a big har-har to the stoopid ones who thought they were evening the playing field by cutting off “rich” Republicans by implementing the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. Instead, it turns out the GOP has an advantage in donations from small donors while the Left took in much of its money from "soft money" big spenders.
Posted 6:45 p.m.

    It's always nice to see familiar names in print. In this case, one of my favorite sports columnists, Geoff Calkins of Memphis' The Commercial Appeal, names the Powells in a column on FedEx St. Jude winner David Toms. I played junior golf for years against son Trip, who was a snot, but his parents were very nice, so kudos to them.
Posted 6:45 p.m.

    For those of you who still wonder what the difference is in having a Republican president vs. a Democrat, today we see a perfect example. This sentence defines the difference in the Right running things and not caving into world opinion:

The United States has cut military aid to 35 countries over their refusal to exempt US troops from prosecution by the new International Criminal Court (ICC).

    Ahem. *puts on sarcasm hat* Good thing Bill churned from the Gulf to aim for Atlanta and bring us more rain, 'cause we haven't had enough this year!

Not everyday you get to drive to work through a tropical depression. But hey, if you can handle Atlanta rush hour through a gullywasher and 30mph winds, you can take anything, right? Posted 6:15 p.m.



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