Controlled Chaos

Wow...great news for those games when I'm stuck at work and having to listen on the radio. Stoney is awesome. I'm sure Singleton is a great guy, but I just couldn't handle him on the radio. I think he needed some more experience.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...just passing on info Strip club: 'Idol' once danced here By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer 30 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - "American Idol" contestant David Hernandez once entertained audiences by removing his clothes instead of singing tunes, a manager at a male strip club in Phoenix told The Associated Press. The 24-year-old finalist from Glendale, Ariz., once worked as a stripper at Dick's Cabaret, appearing fully nude and performing lap dances for the club's "mostly male" clientele, club manager Gordy Bryan said Monday. "He had the look and the type that people like, so he made pretty good money here," Bryan said. It's not clear whether a history as a stripper could disqualify Hernandez from the competition. In 2003, finalist Frenchie Davis was dismissed because of her appearance on an adult Web site; but last year, Antonella Barba remained in the competition after racy photos of her surfaced on the Internet. Fox spokeswomen Jill Hudson did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Monday. According to Bryan, Hernandez steadily worked at the club for three years until September 30, 2007. "He never renewed his licensing with the state, so he hasn't been on my roster since then," Bryan said. Bryan said he was aware that Hernandez was a vocalist, but that Hernandez never sang at the club. Bryan said he now believes Hernandez stopped working at the club because of his participation in "American Idol." Hernandez has never been referred to as a stripper or former stripper during the Fox singing competition. Rumors of a stripper past — along with photos of a scantily clad Hernandez working as a bartender at gay nightclub Burn — were first posted last week on VoteForTheWorst.com, a site that encourages "Idol" viewers to vote for "the bad and truly entertaining contestants." "It was like moths to a flame," said VoteForTheWorst.com founder Dave Della Terza. "As soon as I posted that, we started getting 10, 20 letters every single day from people saying, 'Yeah, he's a stripper in Phoenix.'" Terza and other members of VoteForTheWorst.com community scoured MySpace, Photobucket and other social networking and photo sharing sites to find information and images of Hernandez. Terza said he contacted the club to confirm the Internet chatter, but they never got back to him. "They said they couldn't give me a statement before talking to their lawyers," said Terza. Hernandez, who originally auditioned for "Idol" in San Diego on July 30, 2007, is in the Fox singing competition's top 16 contestants. Last week, he earned rave reviews from the judges after his performance of The Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." He is scheduled to perform with the other male contestants on Tuesday's show.

QUOTE(retro1983hat @ Mar 1, 2008 -> 03:22 PM) That Danny Noriega kid just needs to break out of his shell and express himself a bit. I mean he's like a stone wall. Smells Like Christmas Add to My Profile | More Videos

I'm in.

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 09:33 AM) Since the topic is HDTVs, I got a question about how you all are generally setting up your surround sound receiver with them. I just bought a new Plasma TV that has 2 HDMIs in, and I am looking to buy a new receiver. My question is, do I really need to get a receiver that can handle HDMI, or should I just hook up my HD stuff directly to the TV, then use the Optical output from the TV to the receiver for the sound? I'm looking at spending around $300 - $400 for a receiver and am not sure if I really need the extra HDMI stuff that adds to the price pretty quickly. AVS Forum is a great place to go for this kind of info.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 29, 2008 -> 07:39 AM) Where did you get that number from? Well I knew I heard that figure before so I just googled '70% out of wedlock' and got these hits... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4865449 http://racerelations.about.com/od/parentin...utofwedlock.htm http://michaelmedved.townhall.com/columnis...p;comments=true I think the last article kinda speaks to what Alpha was talking about. IMO, it is a huge factor in the escalating prison numbers, yet is rarely discussed. The leaders in this country, black and white, need to highlight these issues, but they never do. I may have missed it, but I don't think it has come up in any debate this year? Children from households sans the father represent about 70% of the prison pop.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 28, 2008 -> 01:23 PM) Lots of the problem is the way we fund schools. Property tax funding just reinforces the monetary differences between communities. The system where I live has a HUGE poverty rate. The school my wife teaches in has a 70% poverty rate. The differences between us and any of the adjoining communities are huge, because their tax bases are way bigger. Their systems are better funded because of that. In other words there is no way to catch up. They really need to look at a bigger picture of school funding to iron out those issues. In reality it isn't sex or race that has been shown to be the biggest indicator of how people will do in life, it is socio-economic backround. I think the biggest problem is the 70% out of wedlock birth rate.

It's all good if this strikes up some debate, but I honestly didn't think the debate would be about whether the Internet is good or bad or if stats are good or bad. I just felt like writing a little piece about some stuff I have felt and read online over the years. I like writing, but don't get to do it very often. and maybe that's a good thing because I'm seeing these posts about how the internet is good cause it made someone a better fan and I'm like WTF does that have to do with what I wrote. Same goes for people defending themselves as statheads and how the net has helped them get stats. Hell yeah it has...I agree 100%. I really feel like a lot of people took bits and parts of what I wrote instead of the story as a whole. It was just meant to be a light hearted read. Here's kinda what I meant... Joe Baseball is coming to the plate with 2 outs and ducks on the pond and instead of the first thought being excitement "come on lets get something here" like an unkowning kid might have, it's more a thought of "s***....Joe Baseball has the worst RISP w/ 2outs on the team" So before a pitch is even thrown you're resigned to the fact that the 3rd out is probably coming. And if you don't think some minds are made up about what's going to happen before it actually does...sit in on a game thread sometime. That's not to say these people are rooting for the third out...just that the doubt is there. That's all I'm saying. There's just that little mystique that is sometimes missing now that you had back when you didn't know any better. So I'm not knocking those who know the stats. I know most of them myself and I like knowing them. I know more than all my friends. I don't believe stats are the end all be all, but they are relevant. So I'm not saying it isn't good to be knowledgable or that having access to that knowledge is bad, just that knowing some stuff...takes away a little something that used to be there. I think either I need to go back to school and learn how to write or some of you need to go back and learn how to comprehend. Either way, glad there was some discussion, to pass the time.

I feel like some people here didn't even read what I wrote and are just replying to the topic?? I never said the Internet is bad or connecting with new fans is bad or being able to watch video online is bad.

Remember watching baseball 20 years ago, for the pure enjoyment. Remember relishing every hit…every run…every out. Remember watching your favorite player hit a homerun and wondering how far the ball went, instead of how far back he is from the league leaders. Remember he was your favorite not because of his slugging percentage, but just because he played the same position as you. You didn’t need to spout off his RISP or OPS to defend your allegiance either. He was your favorite and that was good enough for everyone. When your team didn’t win, it stunk, but you didn’t need to go looking for stats as to why. You might point out certain things…so and so went 0-5 or so and so gave up 7 runs, but listing the teams paltry OBP wasn’t likely. You might check the box score the next day, but that was the extent of it. You moved on and looked forward to the next game. After the season, you might point to a player or two that didn’t pull their weight, but you didn’t really dive deep into the statistics of each guy. You just looked forward to the next season, hoping the powers that be will make the right moves. Well, times have certainly changed my friends. The majority of fans not only gives their version of a season ending analysis, but a weekly, sometimes daily, detailed dissection of each players stats. Also, it’s not just a fans favorite team getting analyzed, but players on other teams, even in other leagues, due to possible acquisitions that fans now somehow feel a part of. Fans have access to more information today than GM’s had 20 years ago. Players in A, AA, AAA, free agents, contract status, salary caps and every single statistic imaginable. The amount of acronyms in baseball rivals that of the United States Government and you know what…most baseball fans know them all. Many people may not be able to tell you what the BLS is, but ask them what WHIP means. Every team has a website with their stats from A ball to the majors. We have thousands of blogs, sport sites, and message boards (albeit only one that matters). The Internet has taken fanaticism to a whole new level, but it has also somewhat defrauded us of the enjoyable diversion baseball used to be. You never thought about things like how many years your favorite player had left on his contract and if it would make sense to trade him now. You know why?? Cause it wouldn’t!! He was your FAVORITE PLAYER!! Decisions such as those were left for the GM. When they went down, you may have been unhappy, but you understood the reasoning. It was the business side of baseball and fans remained relatively uninvolved. Sports Reporters also had access to all this information. They needed to know the inner workings of the team. Possible trades or cuts. Injury status. Contract status. They needed to know it all because they had to write about it. In today’s world, the lines have blurred a little. Now all of us have to write about the goings on with our team. The business side of the game is now everybody’s business. Players aren’t known for their personalities, work ethic or passion for the game. It’s simply a matter of the numbers they put up and if their contract is fiscally responsible. In fact, I would go so far as to say you would be called ignorant for paying attention to those other qualities. You want to claim Joe Crede as your favorite player, you better be ready to defend yourself against his lackluster career .305 OBP, because you will be questioned on it. Numbers are everything in today’s game and they are obtainable by all. Everyone is a GM and everyone is a Sports Reporter. Only there are no consequences when making a wrong move online and there’s no personalization in writing about people you’ve never met. The Internet has made all of us baseball experts. While it’s nice to have all this information at our fingertips, I sometimes long for the baseball ignorance of years past. Baseball isn’t something to just get lost in anymore. With the maturity of the Internet we were given the access to make watching baseball more of a job, and damn us if we all took the bait. So take a few games this year and watch them with the simplicity of the game in mind. Forget about ERA or OPS and just concentrate on the battle. Sit on the edge of your seat for every hit, every pitch and every out. Scream like a little kid as your favorite team goes for the win. However, if they should lose, I expect your full report here the following day.

I played Dennis Savard in bubble hockey and beat him. In his defense, him and his friend were a little toasty and me and my friend had only been there for about 10 minutes. He was pretty funny when I approached him about it...and his friend was like...come on we can't back down to a challenge. It was a good game...went into OT. None of us were really any good...but that's what made it fun and hearing him swearing and talking trash and s***. Anyway, I told him I was gonna tell everyone I beat him in hockey. He was pretty cool, he was the assistant coach back then. This was at Champs in Lombard.

I have the solution. If you're worried about getting drunk and cheating on your girlfriend or doing immoral things or whatever. May I suggest getting drunk WITH your girlfriend and doing bad immoral things to each other!!! Problem solved right!! In all seriousness...to each his own man. I personally liked to drink, party and be stoopid. Hell, I'm 34 and I still do. If you don't want to drink that's cool, but if I can make one suggestion it would be don't isolate yourself. Don't avoid a bar or a party because other people will be drinking. Hell, you can go with your friends, stay sober and make fun of all the drunk idiots....that could be a really fun night. It seems you have your little clique and you're staying in it for fear of being around others that don't share your exact beliefs. Your entire life will most likely consist of you being around people that aren't the same as you, so college is a good time to learn how to handle it. You don't want to graduate and be socially inept. There'll be plenty of time for you to be mature and serious in life. In fact, it's probably gonna start a lot sooner than you think, so let loose a little...have some fun out of your comfort zone. The last thing you want to do is leave college with the same social character as when you went in. It's a time to grow...you can keep the same "moral" character, but you should definitely expand your horizons socially.

Jimmy Kimmel Is f***ing Ben Affleck! Jimmy responds to Sarah's "Im f***ing Matt Damon" video on the night of the 80th annual Oscar Awards. featuring the all star cast of: Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Joan Jett, Macy Gray, Robin Williams, Don Cheadle, Pete Wentz, Perry Farrell, Benji and Joel Madden, Lance Bass, Huey Lewis, Josh Groban, McLovin and Meatloaf and what seems like all of hollywood...haha

QUOTE(Reddy @ Feb 22, 2008 -> 03:51 PM) ... yeah ok. haha...yeah I had to laugh at that one as well. Oh yeah...hey what qualifies as young people?? I'm a young 34 yr old I wouldn't vote for Obama if he was the only run running.

Man I just don't get the love for No Country for Old Men. I just thought it was meh. Michael Clayton was a ok...The first hour was blah the second hour was good. I said to my wife while watching it...we've been watching this for almost an hour and nothing has happened... Juno was great.

I just started watching it this season. I needed to know what all the hype was about. I saw they were having that rewind show, so I watched it and I've been hooked ever since. The flashbacks had me confused as hell in the begining..cause I was like WTF is going on. Did htey have Flashbacks on all the previous seasons or is this the first.

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 20, 2008 -> 03:12 PM) He did. But if you use a stop watch while watching it... from the moment he starts to the moment he crosses the line it was 1:26 even though the TV said 1:19. Please tell me you read that somewhere and you weren't sitting in front of the tv with your stop watch.

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 20, 2008 -> 01:48 PM) In the guys eliminator, he finished in 1:19. However, the "aired" version was 1:26. So, they actually lengthened the eliminator by taking the clock off the screen and cutting to the guy who was trailing. Not sure what ya mean. I remember it being 1:19 when he finished. He beat his old time by 1 second.

I'm just relieved Michelle Obama is finally proud of her country now. Michelle Obama’s America–and mine By Michelle Malkin • February 20, 2008 08:04 AM Barack Obama–the guy who effectively mocked the Clintons for not saying what they mean–is now trying to spin his wife’s comments by explaining that she, uh, didn’t really mean what she said. I give you your morning snort-starter: Democratic Sen. Barack Obama sought Tuesday to clarify his wife’s statement that she is proud of the U.S. “for the first time in my adult life.” He said her newfound pride is about the political system and was not meant to disparage her country…”Statements like this are made and people try to take it out of context and make a great big deal out of it, and that isn’t at all what she meant,” Obama said. “What she meant was, this is the first time that she’s been proud of the politics of America,” he said. “Because she’s pretty cynical about the political process, and with good reason, and she’s not alone. But she has seen large numbers of people get involved in the process, and she’s encouraged.” Jim Hoft has the vid of Michelle Obama repeating the line twice. She meant what she said. *** My column this week gives you two Michelles, two Americas. John Edwards was right after all! Michelle Obama’s America—and mine Michelle Malkin Copyright Creators Syndicate 2008 Like Michelle Obama, I am a “woman of color.” Like Michelle Obama, I am a working mother of two young children. Like Michelle Obama, I am a member of the 13th Generation of Americans born since the founding of our great nation. Unlike Michelle Obama, I can’t keep track of the number of times I’ve been proud—really proud—of my country since I was born and privileged to live in it. At a speech in Milwaukee this week on behalf of her husband’s Democrat presidential campaign, Mrs. Obama remarked that “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.” Mrs. Obama’s statement was met with warm applause from other Barack supporters who have apparently also been devoid of pride in their country for their adult lifetimes. Or maybe it was just a Pavlovian response to the word “change.” What a sad, empty, narcissistic, ungrateful, unthinking lot. I’m just seven years younger than Mrs. Obama. We’ve grown up and lived in the same era. And yet, her self-absorbed attitude is completely foreign to me. What planet is she living on? Since when was now the only time the American people have ever been “hungry for change?” Michelle, ma belle, Barack is not the center of the universe. Newsflash: The Obamas did not invent “change” any more than Hillary invented “leadership” or John McCain invented “straight talk.” We were both adults when the Berlin Wall fell, Michelle. That was earth-shattering change. We’ve lived through two decades’ worth of peaceful, if contentious election cycles under the rule of law that have brought about “change” and upheaval both good and bad. We were adults through several launches of the Space Shuttle, in case you were snoozing. [Ed. note: Speaking of which, welcome back, Atlantis!] And as adults, we’ve witnessed and benefited from dizzyingly rapid advances in technology, communications, science, and medicine pioneered by American entrepreneurs who yearned and succeeded to change the world. You want “change?” Go ask the patients whose lives have been improved and extended by American pharmaceutical companies who have flourished under the best economic system in the world. If the fall of communism, American ingenuity, and a robust constitutional republic don’t do it for you, hon, then how about American heroism and sacrifice? How about every Memorial Day? Every Veteran’s Day? Every Independence Day? Every Medal of Honor ceremony? Has she never attended a welcome home ceremony for the troops? For me, there’s the thrill of the Blue Angels roaring over cloudless skies. And the somber awe felt amid the hallowed waters that surround the sunken U.S.S. Arizona at the Pearl Harbor memorial. Every naturalization ceremony I’ve attended, where hundreds of new Americans have raised their hands to swear an oath of allegiance to this land of liberty, has been a moment of pride for me. So have the awesome displays of American compassion at home and around the world. When millions of Americans rallied to help the victims of the 2005 tsunami in southern Asia—including members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group that sped from Hong Kong to assist survivors—my heart filled with pride. It did again when the citizens of Houston opened their arms to Hurricane Katrina victims and folks across the country rushed to their churches, Salvation Army, and Red Cross offices to volunteer. How about American resilience? Does that not make you proud? Only a heart of stone could be unmoved by the strength, valor and determination displayed in New York and Washington and Shanksville, Pa., on September 11, 2001. I believe it was Michael Kinsley who quipped that a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth. In this case, it’s what happens when an elite Democrat politician’s wife says what a significant portion of the party’s base really believes to be the truth: That America is more a source of shame than pride. Michelle Obama has achieved enormous professional success, political influence, and personal acclaim in America. Ivy League-educated, she’s been lauded by Essence magazine as one of the 25 World’s Most Inspiring Women; by Vanity Fair as one of the “10 World’s Best Dressed People; and named one of “The Harvard 100″ top influencers. She has had an amazingly blessed life. But you wouldn’t know it from her campaign rhetoric and her griping over her and her husband’s student loans. For years, we’ve heard liberals get offended at any challenge to their patriotism. And so they are again aggrieved and rising to explain away Mrs. Obama’s remarks. Like Lady MacBeth*, Lady Michelle and her defenders protest too much. *** Update: Yes, my English teachers are going to kill me. The Shakespeare reference is to Hamlet, not MacBeth!

What about the dude that covered So Happy Together. The judges all seemed shocked to hear it like that. Me First and the Gimmie Gimmie's has a version just like it. It's nothing new...they take old songs and speed em up adding a little punk vibe. Paula is just nuts. Randy too. I can see not wanting to tear a person down like Simon does sometimes, but jesus if somebody sucks...tell them. Stop all the BS. I loved Simon messing with Paula with her 'your so colorful' comments. Cause it was true...the dude did a bad job and you have to talk about him hacing so many colors??? WTF

anyone have pics yet.

Well in fairness, he didn't just throw that number out there. He said he believes in setting higher goals each year and last year he combined for 55 between AAA and the big club, so this year he is shooting for 65. Also he has added 10lbs of muscle. I don't think he needed the muscle as much as he needed to learn how to get on base.

QUOTE(Jeremy @ Feb 19, 2008 -> 12:15 PM) It's a good idea. I'm guessing PECOTA would come out in at least the 90th percentile, especially the most specificity you require in the predictions. If you just predict the order teams finish most fans can probably compete with PECOTA. If you predict each team's win total, I think PECOTA will do very well. If you project runs allowed and runs scored, PECOTA would probably run away with it. Well I don't think people here would put the time in on each team to come up with runs allowed and runs scored. I wouldn't expect them to, but I think with the baseball knowledge on this board 'win total' guesses would be right there with PECOTA. It would be an interesting experiement. Hopefully someone can get the win projections for every team.

I was pretty close friends with Jenny McCarthy before she had tits.

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 19, 2008 -> 11:18 AM) hmmm.. haven't seen her recently. I can only go off "Charmed" reruns that my wife watches. Did some google searching... NOT BAD! She looks even better in her white sox gear