Dangerous chemical dihydrogen monoxide

Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there.

Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.

Dihydrogen monoxide:

• is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
• contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
• may cause severe burns.
• contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
• may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Contamination is reaching epidemic proportions!

Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the midwest, and recently California.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant.
• in nuclear power plants.
• in the production of styrofoam.
• as a fire retardant.
• in many forms of cruel animal research.
• in the distribution of pesticides.
• as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.

Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.

BTW, dihydrogen monoxide=H2O, or Water... LOL

Time to get this party restarted

Subject: ineffective daily affirmations

• As I let go of my shoulds and feelings of guilt, I can get in touch with my Inner Sociopath.
• I have the power to channel my imagination into ever-soaring levels of suspicion and paranoia.
• I assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else's fault.
• I no longer need to punish, deceive or compromise myself. Unless, of course, I want to stay employed.
• In some cultures what I do would be considered normal.
• Having control over myself is nearly as good as having control over others.
• My intuition nearly makes up for my lack of good judgment.
• I can change any thought that hurts into a reality that hurts even more.
• I honor my personality flaws, for without them I would have no personality at all.
• Joan of Arc heard voices too.
• I am grateful that I am not as judgmental as all those censorious, self-righteous people around me.
• I need not suffer in silence while I can still moan, whimper and complain.
• As I learn the innermost secrets of the people around me, they reward me in many ways to keep me quiet.
• When someone hurts me, forgiveness is cheaper than a lawsuit. But not nearly as gratifying.
• The first step is to say nice things about myself. The second, to do nice things for myself. The third, to find someone to buy me nice things.
• As I learn to trust the universe, I no longer need to carry a gun.
• All of me is beautiful and valuable, even the ugly, stupid, and disgusting parts.
• I am at one with my duality.
• Blessed are the flexible, for they can tie themselves into knots.
• I will strive to live each day as if it were my 50th birthday.
• Only a lack of imagination saves me from immobilizing myself with imaginary fears.
• Does my quiet self-pity get to me? Or should I move up to incessant nagging?
• Today I will gladly share my experience and advice, for there are no sweeter words than "I told you so."
• False hope is nicer than no hope at all.
• A good scapegoat is nearly as welcome as a solution to the problem.
• Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day watching TV. Instead I will move my TV into the bedroom.
• Who can I blame for my own problems? Give me just a minute... I'll find someone.
• Why should I waste my time reliving the past when I can spend it worrying about the future?
• The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working.
• I am learning that criticism is not nearly as effective as sabotage.
• Becoming aware of my character defects leads me to the next step - blaming my parents.
• To understand all is to fear all.
• I will find humor in my everyday life by looking for people I can laugh at.
• The next time the universe knocks on my door, I will pretend I am not home.
• To have a successful relationship I must learn to make it look like I'm giving as much as I'm getting.
• I am willing to make the mistakes if someone else is willing to learn from them.

---

Subject: Plays Shakespeare Didn't Publish

16) Christopher Marlowe Can Kiss My Elizabethan Ass

15) Henry VIII, I Am, I Am

14) Fast Times at Verona High

13) A Midsummer Night's Nocturnal Emission

12) Om'let

11) Love's Fing'r Pulled

10) Romeo & Steve

9) Twelfth Night, Children Stay Free

8) Felines

7) Henry VIII was a Big Fat Idiot

6) Six Degrees of Francis Bacon

5) Stratford-upon-Avon 90210

4) Hamlet II - Where the hell is everybody?

3) Romeo & Michelle's High School Reunion

2) King Gump

...and the Number 1 Play Shakespeare Chose Not to Publish...

1) Booty Calleth

---

When professors say this . . . They really mean this . . .

Subject: Reading between the Lines

* This needs some minor revision.
I never actually got around to reading this.

* My office hours are by appointment only.
I like to get out of here early.

* Ten percent of your grade is based on class participation.
I'll be fudging your grades.

* This won't be on the test.
Nap time!

* Bring the text to class.
I don't have a clue how to lecture -- we'll just kill time with group read-alongs.

* He's not fully up to speed on that.
He's got his head up his butt.

* I don't have the latest department guidelines. . .
I've got my head up my butt.

* Let's check with Dr. So-and-so on that before we proceed. . .
I've got my head up HIS butt.

* Talk to me in my office after class.
Get out of my face.

* The tests will all be multiple-choice.
I take questions directly from the study guide and have grad students do all my grading.

* Don't come in late during my lecture.
I have the attention span of a fruit fly.

* Save your questions until the end.
See above.

* The final will be comprehensive.
I'll expect you to recapitulate in two hours everything I couldn't fully cover myself in 15 weeks.

* Everyone will prepare in-class oral presentations.
This course is outside my specialty -- I'll just bluff it and let YOU teach.

* There are two TA's available to help you.
I can't be bothered.

* This year I'll be scaling the grades.
I just passed tenure review.

* Let's break up into quiet discussion groups.
I have a hangover.

* Let's have class outdoors today!
I had beans for lunch.

* You won't be able to sell back the text to the bookstore.
My contract wasn't picked up.

* Please note the last day to withdraw.
The midterm's gonna suck.

* The answer to number 4 is "b," and just skip number 17.
I only got around to making up the test last night.

* The second list is optional reading.
I have a rich fantasy life.

* I haven't had a chance to make up the syllabus for this course yet.
The asshole department chair stuck me with teaching this course at the last possible minute.

* Well, it was on the syllabus.
I'll hold you responsible for this even though I forgot about it myself.

* We'll just skip the term paper this semester.
There wasn't enough in the budget for a TA.

* Bring a number 2 pencil to the exam.
See above.

* Attendance is required and will be counted in your grade.
I'm so boring that no one would show up otherwise

* Read chapters 5 through 10.
I'm not coming in at all next week

* We'll have to cover this chapter quickly.
I messed up the lecture schedule.

* Let's go over the exam.
Half of you failed.

* It was in the textbook.
I pulled it out of my butt.

* Extra credit is available
I need some shit work done

* I'm postponing today's exam.
There's stuff on the exam I forgot to cover.

* Don't write on the question sheet.
I'm so lazy I just use the same exams every semester.

---

Lament for Finals

Sung to the tune of Beauty and the Beast's "Be our guest"

Abbreviation glossary:
P: Professors
S1, S2, S3: Distinct students
S: Students in unison
TA: Teaching assistant

P: Mes chers tuition-payers, it is with deepest sadism and greatest power that we welcome you this morning. And now, we require you to get tense, let us pull up a chair, as the faculty proudly presents - your final!

P: Take your test
Take your test
Are you nervous? Are you stressed?
Summer's just around the corner now
We love this time the best
Physics laws
English lit.
Why, you'll never want to quit
What's the formula for vinyl?
Don't you love to take a final!
Classic film
Modern dance
All the kings and queens of France
You'll be writing with such energy and zest
Go on and take some blue books
You'll at least need two books
Take your test
Fake your test
Take your test

World War I
World War II
You'll be chugging Mountain Dew
As you scram back home to cram
And stay awake the whole night through
If you're here
And you're scared
Then you're prob'ly unprepared
Don't tell me about your party
You should study, Mr. Smarty
Distant stars
Shakespeare's plays
Let us run you through our maze.

S1: Did you ever get the feeling we're oppressed?

P: Don't question our regime
How could you dare blaspheme?
Now take your test
(You've BSed,
But you'd rather say you've "guessed")
Take your test
Take your test
Take your test

Life's all smiles and smirking
For a student who's not working
It's a gas without a class to load him down
Ah, those good old days way back in grade school
Suddenly he wants his cap and gown
While he's been busy learning
Curiosity's been burning
What's it like to have a minute to himself?
He won't know 'til after graduation
They came here so lazy
Now we're driving them all crazy!

S1: It's a test!

S2: It's a test

S3: This can't be! I still need rest!

P: You want sleep, you little creep?
That's very good. That's quite a jest
Ancient worlds
Complex math
And we won't withhold our wrath
Yes, we'll give you quite a beating
If we catch you while you're cheating
Chinese art
Civil E.
Anesthesiology

S3: Help me please! I'm having cardiac arrest!

S1: Somebody check his heart!

P: Then label every part!
It's on your test

S: That's our test?

P: That's your test

S: What a pest!

TA: Here's a test
There's a test
I'm so very much depressed
Have to grade each one of these in just a day
And I'm hard-pressed!
Biochem
Japanese
Why our "quarters" come in threes
While the deadline still is looming
I'll keep grading
I'll keep fuming

P: Course by course
One by one
'Til you shout, "This isn't fun!"
Then we'll laugh at every place that you digressed
We've done our best to pester
See you next semester!
Take your test
Take your test
Take your test
Now, take your test

---

Things one learns from children (honest and no kidding)

• There is no such thing as childproofing your house.
• If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
• Baseballs make marks on ceilings.
• You should not throw a baseball up when the ceiling fan is on.
• A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
• The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
• When you hear the toilet flush and the words Uh oh, it's already too late.
• Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
• If you use a waterbed as home plate while wearing baseball shoes it does not leak -- it explodes.
• A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 200 sq. foot house 4 inches deep.
• Legos will pass through the digestive system of a 4-year old.
• Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.
• Super Glue is forever.
• McGyver can teach us many things we don't want to know.
• Ditto Tarzan.
• No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
• Pool filters do not like Jello.
• VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
• Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
• Marbles in the gas tank make a lot of noise when driving.
• You probably do not want to know what that odor is.
• Always look in the oven before you turn it on.
• The fire department in San Diego has at least a 5 minute response time.
• The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
• It will however make cats dizzy.
• Cats can throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
• Quiet does not necessarily mean don't worry.
• A good sense of humor will get you through most problems in life (unfortunately, mostly in retrospect).

Been quiet for awhile

I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks and thus away from the keyboard. The regularly scheduled silliness will resume soon, along with some observations about being in the hospital...

Hummers and Toy Yodas

There's a big hoopla about a woman who won a Hummer in a radio station contest, only to find out it was a radio-controlled toy Hummer that she had won. She's suing for $60,000, the cost of a new Hummer.

Personally, I think it's plain stupid and greedy to sue over a contest prize not being what you had expected it to be. It's a PRIZE. It's not like it was paid by her employer in lieu of salary, in which case there would be definite grounds for a lawsuit. If she had paid careful attention to what was said in the contest promotion, she could have at least prepared herself for the possibility that she wouldn't win a car she could actually drive. (On the radio today, a man said the judge should force the radio station to award the woman a Hummer so she can go bankrupt trying to keep gas in it.)

Now today I heard on the same station that a former Hooters waitress in Florida is suing because of the results of a contest run at her old job. The employee who sold the most beer was offered what she took to be a Toyota. The fact that no mention was made of an actual model, like a Corolla or a Matrix or whatever, should have been a tipoff. Anyway, when the winner was announced, she was blindfolded, led out to the parking lot, and presented -- in full view of her coworkers and restaurant patrons -- with a TOY YODA DOLL!

In spite of what I just said about the prize being a gift, in this particular case I'd say that she should sue. It seems that in this case there was an intent, not only to mislead, but also to humiliate the winner. Why else blindfold her and lead her to the parking lot where everybody inside could see that there was no car there waiting for her? And as the woman herself said in a statement, employees should expect and receive better treatment from their employers than such deception. I don't know if she should get the cost of a new car, though, but she should definitely get something more than just a stupid doll.

Motown Remixed

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a CD entitled Motown Remixed. The title alone piqued my interest, because I'd had an idea about doing something like that myself for ages now. Of course, not having the equipment, know-how, or access to the original master tapes would have prevented me from being able to carry out my idea, but it was there anyway. Seeing that someone had actually carried out the idea drove me to go ahead and buy the CD, especially when I saw the songs chosen: "Tears of a Clown," "Keep On Truckin'," "Let's Get It On," "I Want You Back," "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," "War," "Signed Sealed Delivered," and so on.

This past week I bought another, that in my own mind didn't work as well: "Verve Remixed 3," from the same parent company, NBC Universal, which owns both Motown and Verve. Maybe because I associate remixes with R&B and dance music, some of the mixes on the Verve CD didn't click with me, though I have to say that Sarah Vaughan's voice sounds like it was made for this kind of project. I couldn't help thinking that if she were still alive she might lend her voice to some producer's side dance-music project, or maybe even put out a CD of contemporary dance stuff on her own.

I didn't pay much attention to the first two volumes, so now I have to go online and see if I can find snippets somewhere to give me an idea of what they were about. Maybe I'll find them at J&R Music World, or one of the Tower Records shops downtown (NYC, that is; the former site of the Yonkers store is now Westchester Toyota -- looks odd to see cars in what used to be my favorite place to buy music).

People 1, Ebbers 0

In a recent column in the New York Daily News, columnist Stanley Crouch celebrated the 25-year conviction of WorldCom chairman Bernie Ebbers for looting the company he founded. He mentioned that, among other things, this sends a message to all those lower-level criminals who use fat-cats getting off scot-free as rationalization for their activities.

I like this because it's a reminder to those fat cats that corporations are not their personal piggy banks for them to raid at their leisure. When WorldCom was a small company (I'm assuming it was once a sole proprietorship) Ebbers could take what he wanted to his heart's content, as long as he could explain his actions to the IRS, if called upon to do so, in a way that would keep him from landing in jail. What these guys don't seem to get (or not care about) is that once these companies go public, they're just that: PUBLIC. The old head honcho can't do whatever he wants without fear of repercussions.

Sad thing is, even though Ebbers is facing the music, though the 80-year-old founder of Adelphia has already faced the music, even though Ken Lay will face the music, overpaid idiots with dollar signs in their eyes will continue to do the same things, hoping against hope that the IRS, the SEC, and everybody else looks the other way, then acting shocked when they don't.

Reminds me of the title of one of Brand Nubian's old raps: "Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down." It may seem odd to refer to these "gentlemen" as punks, but when they keep doing these "stupid human tricks" knowing what the penalties are, what else is there to call them?

Gigli, the game?!

Browsing through UrbanDictionary.com by clicking the "random entry" button, I came upon a page of definitions for "Gigli," which apparently has become a verb meaning "to be of really bad quality." But one of the definitions mentioned a PS2 Gigli game. Which, fortunately, turned out to be somebody's idea of a joke.

I haven't been able to find anything about a Gigli game. And what would it be about, anyway? From what I've read, much of the movie seemed improvised; one review said it was about nothing, like "a bad Seinfeld episode stretched out to feature length, and then stretched some more." There's nothing there to base a videogame on, though I'm sure that wouldn't stop someone with enough dollar signs flashing in his eyes.

Mets and Yankees, part 33 1/3

OK, so maybe the Yankees are doing better than the Mets. They seem to be creeping up on the Red Sox, but I can't help thinking (OK, hoping) that creeping is all they do. After 86 years of flogging themselves over that nonsensical curse, the Red Sox and their fans deserve more than just a one-time chance at glory. Here's hoping they last a few years at the top.

As for the Metsies, they keep doing that one step up, two steps back, two steps up, one step back thing. While they dance in place, Atlanta's been creeping up on Washington the same way the Skankees have been creeping up on Boston. Washington will probably not do anything -- to the great relief of every general manager in baseball, since the team does not have an actual owner at the moment ("owned by Major League Baseball" is a sham) -- but I'm hoping the Mets will wake up and remember that if Atlanta makes it to the top, they will NOT go down easily. They have won 13 straight division titles, but some of the most recent ones were squeakers, since the team's stars aren't getting any younger.

Maybe the All-Star break is what the Mets need to turn things around...

Miss America Pageant on Country Music Television

The Miss America Pageant, having lost its network TV contract, will now be seen on Country Music Television. Among other things, this means you must now have either cable or satellite TV in order to watch. New York Daily News entertainment columnist David Hinckley sees a benefit in this new arrangement, one the contestants, and possibly viewers, are sure to like.

He says that, since country music's core fans tend to like women with some meat on their bones (me too), this could mean that contestants may actually get to... EAT!

Some time ago I saw a manipulated photo of a Miss New York from either the Miss America or Miss USA Pagent, and she had been given some ample curves by whoever had edited the photo. The caption said, "Too bad beauty pageant contestants don't look like this anymore." Maybe they will again someday...

Blog title not unique

I see that there's a movie coming out soon with the title Stranger Than Fiction. I s'pose I could pick up some extra traffic from this, so I'd best spruce up the place a little bit, and post more regularly.

I'm the last person in the world to make disparaging remarks about any racial or ethnic group, but it has seemed to me for quite a long time now that the British and Australians will gamble on just about anything. At least, British and Australian bookies will take bets on almost anything. There's an article on page 16 of today's NY Daily News that details the odds British bookies are giving on which major character will die in the next Harry Potter book. The odds favor(?) Dumbledore, who is a 1-5 pick to die, while Harry himself gets the longest odds (of course) at 16-1. And I've read where, in an Australian bar, people were seriously betting on which of two flies crawling up a wall would fly off first.

But then I guess that has nothing to do with ethnicity; given enough beer, and enough money burning a hole in their pocket, anybody anywhere can and will make stupid bets.

Dog-eating catfish dies

Some time ago an elderly friend of mine, who used to be a private chauffeur for a businessman who spent a lot of time in Florida, told me of some catfish that crawled out of overflowing rivers and attacked dogs and , in some cases, ate some of the smaller ones. I took it to be a bit of exaggeration, since my friend is something of a kidder. Then, today, I came across this story, apparently authenticated, about a dog-eating catfish in Germany.

I don't even know how I'd react if I found out that my pet, dog or whatever, had been eaten by a fish. Especially a fish species that I could eat for dinner.

World's most expensive cities

Hard as it is for me to believe, Money magazine says in their poll that little old White Plains, NY, where I was born and where I'm now working, is the third most expensive city in the US to live in. Since I don't live in White Plains myself, I can't vouch for that poll, but I know that it's expensive to park and to buy lunch anywhere around here.

CNN Money - World's most expensive cities

Mets and Yankees, part deux

OK, so they had identical records before Sunday's game; afterwards the Yankees were 38-37, one game over .500, and third in their division at 6.5 games behind the Boston Reds Sox; the Mets were 37-38, one game under .500, and last in their division at 7 games behind the Washington Nationals. But the way the NL East has been shuffling around (even the vaunted Atlanta Braves are doing no better than the Mets this year) the Mets have a better chance of catching and passing the Nationals than the Yankees do of catching and passing the Red Sox.

We shall see what we shall see...

Mets and Yankees

After all the years of hearing Yankees fans heap abuse on the Mets and us Mets fans, I'm so glad to see the Yankees and Mets have identical records as of last night. Not so happy that those identical records are 37-37, but happy nonetheless.

Today's NY Daily News notes how, even though the teams have identical records, the managers' takes on their teams' prospects are markedly different. Mets manager Willie Randolph and his players are quite optimistic about the possibilities for the rest of this season, since they're in the basement with a .500 record. Most teams in the basement are way below .500, but the Mets, and just about every other team in the National League, are beneficiaries of the Colorado Rockies and their horrible record (25 wins -- the Mets' 1962 record of 40-120 may be in danger), as well as the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, who aren't doing much better.

I am glad to see, though, how George Steinbrenner isn't micromanaging the team the way he did back before Joe Torre came to town. I don't know if backing off was his reaction to the way Torre turned things around, or just a change in outlook, but even with this lackluster season his $200 million-plus team is having, he's holding his tongue surprisingly well, at least where popping off to the press is concerned.

As for Fred Wilpon, ranting to reporters about what his team isn't doing just isn't his style. Even before he bought out ex-partner Nelson Doubleday, he let Doubleday do all the talking while he [Wilpon] stayed in the background and let the front office people do what they get paid to do. Let's see how much longer George Steinbrenner continues doing the same...

Aunty Spam says your checking account is not safe...

...if you pay by phone using your checking account number and bank routing number. Read about it at her blog

Thing like this explain the name of this blog

In Zimbabwe, two children were crushed when their house was torn down while they were still inside. The government is acting against squatters, and apparently they just want to "remove" the problem rather than make some attempt to solve it. More info can be found at Squattercity, a blog maintained by a writer who actually lived in a squatter city for two years and documented his experiences.

Missing: One radio station...

The other day I was scanning the radio dial, going through my presets, and when I got to 101.1, which is WCBS-FM here in New York, instead of the familiar oldies station I hear a voice-over with attitude announcing something called "Jack-FM."

This makes twice in a few years that a favorite station has dumped the format that made me a listener. I absolutely loved Jammin' 105 (105.1), which played a mix of current and classic R&B; then one Thursday morning I'm awakened by the unwelcome sounds of Ice Cube. I don't dislike Cube, but hearing his voice on what was supposed to be a classic soul station wasn't a good sign. I thought it was a commercial at first, until I heard all the censoring beeps.

I was mad; I wanted to call and let them have TWO pieces of my mind. Then I remembered that the station is a Clear Channel station; complaining is like screaming at a wall; you make a lot of noise without any effect on your intended subject.

Oh well, the world will keep turning...

UPDATE, 6/24/05

OK, so maybe the Jack format isn't so bad. I've been listening off and on, and I have to admit that, all in all, I've been hearing more music I like than I did with the old format. But I still miss some of those oldies; there's now one less station to hear them on. Then again, as has been pointed out elsewhere, WBLS and WRKS have been playing more older R&B; the dance music stations have been playing more 70's and 80's music; and the newest rock station, 107.1 (don't know the call letters) plays a mix of rock from the 70's up to today. And there's always Kool 96.7 from Connecticut, which plays oldies from the 60's and 70's. I guess the old WCBS-FM market is being served; it's just too bad it's not all on one station anymore.

Michael Jackson's acquitted. Biiiiiig whoop.

So Michael Jackson got off. All the charges brought against him, all the negative press from newspapers and magazines that basically tried him in print, and the jury said "not enough to convict." Is it really something to celebrate?

The jurors decided that there wasn't enough evidence to reach a guilty verdict, but that doesn't mean that he's innocent. Yet, the fact that he liked to have young boys sleep in the same bed with him doesn't mean he's guilty, either. He made the repeated mistake of putting himself in situations where shady business is presumed, whether it happens or not. When a grown man sleeps in the same bed with children (not his own), isn't the first thing that comes to mind that somebody is doing something wrong? Hopefully Michael will learn from this and not leave himself open to such accusations.

At the same time, the prosecutor was like a shark. He smelled blood and wanted to rip into Michael Jackson. Like President W acting against Saddam Hussein to avenge his father after a failed assassination attempt, Sneddon tried to clean up "unfinished business" from 1993 by finding witnesses willing to testify against Jackson just so he could finally put him in jail, or so Sneddon hoped. But Sneddon was so intent to find bodies to put on the witness stand that he apparently didn't do much of a background check. He couldn't have, considering all the things that came out about the accuser's family during the trial. As I said earlier, Jackson may very
well be guilty, but who would believe that coming from someone with a long history of scams and fraud?

This trial was a circus from the very beginning, and the jury acted correctly in not jailing a man just because he's a clown.

Here's an interesting site...

"The Museum of Bad Album Cover Art". There's some truly bad stuff here, as well as stuff that's probably not so bad, but the list/site creator just doesn't like them.

Netflix pairing with Match.com?

Someone posted an idea at Cinematical suggesting that Match.com could partner with Netflix to match people according to the movies they like. I suppose, for someone who is using Match.com, that the idea is valid. But being the cynic that I sometimes am, I can see Netflix allowing Match.com to XML Netflix's member database to pitch their services to people, customized according to whatever movies they've identified as their favorite. These companies all have privacy policies that are longer than any other page on their website, but still what would stop them from doing this? I was thinking about joining Netflix, but if this idea catches on with them, maybe not...