Abraham Lincoln

Cool it was indeed.

By that time, I was hooked on West Coast Gangsta rap, listening to N.W.A., Warren G, Dr. Dre, and even underground cats like Lil' 1/2 Dead. I discovered 2Pac much later too late.

Anyway, I have to tape every Yo! MTV Raps episode on our pre-owned Mitsubishi VCR, cos I'm not allowed to stay up till 2am when the show airs on Dutch MTV. That's the time when Paul King still was a VJ, boys and girls. The next day, I'm screening all the videos that came on the night before while the AUDIO OUT plug on the VCR is connected to the AUX IN on the stereo... Yes, I was recording the audio of the music videos onto a tape, so I had fresh beats when I was riding my bike to school every day. 10 miles to school, 10 miles back. That's when I heard 'Big Poppa' for the very first time. I was an instant East Coast fan after that... I dubbed my home made mixtapes and sold them at school. My first hustle. The rest is history...

11 years after God needed Christopher Wallace by his side (after listening to 'Suicidal Thoughts'* I scratched heaven and changed it to) his death, they made a movie about his life, which I'm dying to see:

*Excerpt from 'Suicidal Thoughts', used without permission of the publisher. ( :

"When I die, fuck it I wanna go to hell
Cause Im a piece of shit, it aint hard to fuckin tell
It dont make sense, goin to heaven wit the goodie-goodies
Dressed in white, I like black tims and black hoodies"

Finding myself with an early evening, I rescued Marie C. from her office and drove her back to Davis Square. We ate Chipotle and watched the last few episodes of Hustle S1. Let me again express my amazement at this Swiss watch of a show - how it consistently and precisely pulls off things that the average movie can't get right half the time.

Saturday I got up early, threw my BC Superfan Alumnus tee on over a long-sleeved shirt, and joined Greg W on the subway. When we changed over at Park St, a person of indeterminate gender sat down across from us. If female, she looked an awful lot like Meat Loaf; if male, he couldn't quite pull off the Sesame Street T-shirt he wore. This person rode until about the Warren St. stop on the B Line, then got off.

Saturday was perfect grilling weather and Casey had acquired some choice franks and burgers, courtesy of Hilltop. We lounged about on the lawn just outside the Robsham parking garage, drank beer before noon, and talked about BC's recruiting prospects. "I'm excited about Emory Blake," Serpico volunteered.

"Emory Blake?" I asked. "Didn't he write a series of moderately successful pulp novels in the 30s? Like The Spider or Air Aces?"

The BC game turned into a nailbiter when quarterback Chris Crane failed to capitalize on UCF's ineptitude. When he wasn't throwing balls into the stands - seriously, two consecutive goal-line passes never even broke the plane of the end zone - he was tossing picks left and right. We developed a sudden but lasting fandom for Montel Harris and backup QB Dominique Davis. The final score, 34-7, does not indicate how close the game was after the first half.

Later that evening, I met Michelle, Victoria and Grace at the Burren for a quick drink. Michelle's been a big booster for her goddaughter's soccer games, apparently, and Grace has started working out again. Or trying to. Meanwhile, if Vickie does anything other than work 90-hour shifts at Fenway, I haven't heard about it.

Best video ever.

"Not one to kiss ass for the top position, I take mine off the top like a politician"

"White boy in the wrong place at the right time"

Now in its fifth series, The Real Hustle helps you become more vigilant whilst providing a few good harmless hustles to do yourself. My favourite so far as been the string around a pint glass bet.

That was just a bit of fun. But there are many different kinds of scams on here that will intrigue you, amaze you and most importantly, educate you. It highlights how trusting and dopey we are as the general public. And demonstrates how easy it is for a simple scam-artist to get the better of you.

Allow me to be the first to say that I believe hip-hop took a decisive turn when the man of many names, who I will simply refer to as Sean Combs, entered the stage. I cringed at his "don't worry if I write rhymes, I write checks" stance, because I saw it as a frontal assault on my earliest passion: hip-hop. Every time he would do that little hoppity-hop dance, a little part of me would die inside. I believe it was the RZA who said something to the effect of, "Son is alright for what he's doing. It's just that what he's doing is not hip-hop." I hated him for years. How dare he engage in this mockery?

When I saw the "Puffy is Poison" video, like the other 70,000+ people that saw it, I was entertained.  But then I began to think:  "If I do believe that this life is for the strong and the rich, he has made himself both a strong presence damn near everywhere and rich, can I really knock this dude?"  Well, sure I can in the literal sense of the word.  But, Chris Rock said you can kick an old man down a flight of stairs - but that doesn't mean it should be done.  So I decided to relax my "Diddy" rule, and observe what he does.  In addition to watching the occasional "I Want to Make a Band With Diddy At Work" episode, I perused his youtube posts and listening to the occasional ignored song.

The video above - I was horrified when I watched it.  A friend sent it to me to lift my spirits.  I thought, "I'm going through some shit, and this dude is sending me Diddy!"  And then I watched him pour the Froot Loops and all was forgiven.  It was then that I realized that he was not quite the ass-clown I thought him to be.  No, I don't think he became a better rapper.  No, I don't think that his cologne is no longer overpriced.  No, I don't think that sunglasses indoors is suddenly cool.  But he has a bead on giving the people what they want; and for some reason, they want him.  He doesn't have to do it well.  He simply has to do it the way he does it.

Now, I'm sure that some of what he does is for effect, but I simply attribute it to him putting on his "work face."  We all do silly shit.  I was pop locking (poorly) while I was getting everyone ready to head out the door this morning.  You think that if I could get rich off someone watching me engage in my shenanigans, I'd say "Nah bruh, I'm straight."  Shiiiiiiid.  Organic chicken breasts don't drop below $3.99/lb and they for damn sure don't pay for themselves.

This isn't a love letter Mr. Combs.  I'm not saying I'm going to buy his next album.  But I respects the hustle, so, player to pimp, you do the damn thing Whatever Your Name Is This Month.

In this world if you want to be accepted for standing out just say you are an artist. If you haven't taken a bath in two days say you were so busy painting you forgot you smelled like shit and onions. If you are a 80 year old man dressing like a 18 year old trying to sleep with your great granddaughters friends say I get a pass because I am a artist. Paint a mural in the ghetto and think because you have a picture of Malcolm, Martin and Marcus in their diapers that somehow that will inspire people.

Most artists justify this insanity by saying they see the world from different perspectives and feel it in more extreme ways. Their lives simply are deeper and richer, more tormented, more sensitive and observant of the world around them, and of other people's feelings, and their own emotions. SOME artists are even junkies taking some form of hallucinogen drug because it aids in their creativity. Some are known to suffer from BiPolar disease and come from tortured backgrounds. .

Not all artists have all these problems so I don't want to send all of them to the insane asylum. I'll be honest with you when I meet someone who says they're a artist I usually want to walk away from them. I take it to mean they are coping out of the realities of life and opting instead to create a artificial world of their own. Similar to what happens with my niece when she makes a soap opera out of her dolls or my nephew who can imagine a whole town for his Thomas the train set.

OK so how does this effect us? We fall for the Hustle hook line and sinker. We believe the propaganda that because this person can paint, act, sculpt, write songs, or be a poet that somehow that talent gives them more insight into common problems. We know they are on drugs are some form of enlightenment and yet we stop and pause for the drug addict to give us the Communist Manifesto.  What qualification do they have that we should stop and listen to them because when you see blue they see magenta? Creativity is not a pre-qualification for leadership. It does not make you more able bodied because you can play the guitar.

What pisses me off is most common folk give them a pass. If Quincy Jones looks like my teenage nephew he is somehow a artist and will never conform.  Somehow someone has made weird and crack related behavior non-conforming or is it really because they have money. If you are broke in Compton on crack your a Cluckhead if you are Rich on crack in Beverly Hills you have a disease.

Solution: C'mon, you grew up with these weird motherfuckers all your life and now that someone likes their music it all fuckin makes sense! I don't want to be a name dropper because I'm not trying to bust anyone out on a blog but next time you watch TV and someone is making D'Angelo deep or Erkah Badu enlightened or Andre 3000 a fucking scholar think for a second and say with me "C'mon Dog you got to be shitting me." I wouldn't take advice from a motherfucker smoking crack on the street and I damn sure won't listen to the motherfucker now because he has song but he's wearing Football pads and looking like a character from Battlestar Gallacitca.

C'mon Dog!

* vaknat kring 10

* druckit blåbärsoppa till frukost & ätit ostmackor. frukostsurfade & köpte Hustle, säsong 2 på Tradera för 185 spänn (+ frakt 25, så det blev 210 kr, men detta är alltså en inplastad, oanvänd ny box, och en hel säsong, import dessutom, så: det är BILLIGT! och blev 70-80 kr billigare än köp från nätbutik, men just nu är det bara Discshop som har säsong 2 av serien, så..)

*betalt min årliga (well, terminsliga) medlemsavgift på 50 spänn till TDVF samt registrerat mig på deras nya hemsa, tdvf.se. Kan inte fatta att jag varit med i 3 år nu (att jag fan bott är i TRE ÅR!!!), och imorgon är första biljetterbjudandet för TDVF-säsongen som jag tar del av; premiären av operetten Glada änkan av Frans Léhar på Folkoperan i regi av Suzanne Osten. Blir andra gången jag går på Folkoperan på Söder (förra gången jag var där såg jag den uppmärksammade Zarah Leander-föreställningen Zarah - Beundrad och bespottad av Claes Fellbom & Anders Nilsson, som var mycket bra & snygg). Annars springer jag inte direkt på opera så ofta ;), har varit på Kungliga Operan typ en gång på nåt genrep för typ två år sen när jag gick på teatervetenskapen, men det blir oftast på TDVF:s teaterproduktioner jag dyker upp, men just därför är det faktiskt lite kul att just gå på just opera-erbjudandena, när de ibland kommer, eftersom man annars ju aldrig går på opera i vanligt fall (eftersom operabiljetter nästan alltid är ÖVERKLIASSIGT SVINDYRA, PRECIS SOM MUSIKALER OCH PRIVATTEATRAR GRRR!!!!, jmf med teaterbiljetter, särskilt om man ska gå på premiärer). Men för 50 spänn/termin får man gå GRATIS på en massa genrep & premiärer på Dramaten och Stadsteatern genom TDVF, och även ibland alltså få chans att se nån opera gratis då och då; vilket ju är kanon när man är lusfattig.!

*photoshopat avatar för skojs skull

*varit till posten och hämtat en kursbok som kommit med avi, som jag beställde från adlibris.com (tog EN dag! hej adlibris, ny stamkund här!! =)); Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide To (X)HTML, STYLE SHEETS, AND WEB GRAPHICS av Jennifer Niederst Robbins, som jag ska ha till min lilla kvällskurs(halvfart, kvällstid) som jag tänker försöka gå, de dagar jag inte jobbar. Verkar bli kul, bra kursledare iaf och det lilla jag läst av litteraturen så verkar den okej, och som att det är bra förklarat.........! Ska bli roligt att lära sig lite mer i alla fall och lära sig Dreamweaver & CSS (för jag kan typ bara grund-html & Frontpage sen tidigare)... jaja, vi får se.......!

*var på Åhléns och köpte en svart fyrkantig kruka till min Curcuma Siam Samba.

*monterat upp högtalare, så att jag nu ska kunna spela skön musik från min dator & CD-spelare med bättre ljud i hela rummet......... hehe.

*käkat kyckling&ris & currysås med äpplen i innan jag drog till södertörn och kursen 18.00-21.00.

*plåstrat om blåsor som Nina fick tidigare i veckan i tyvärr helt obekväma med skitsnygga stövlar som jag därför ändå måste ha *:)

*pratat och försökt lugna en mamma som är hyperorolig för att hennes dotter Nina ska bli ihjälslagen+våldtagen+knivhuggen+kidnappad+skjuten, etc. när Nina ska hem efter jobb på lördag som slutar 02.30. Men Nina lugnade lilla mamma med att hon kommer att kosta på sig att ta taxi om hon inte får följe med nån jobbkompis på tunnelbanan/pendel från mässan. Nån som har koll på vad en taxi-taxa mellan Kista & Sundbyberg kan tänkas hamna på? (senaste gången jag åkte taxi var typ två årsedan och då åkte jag från city till Lappkärsberget vid Stockholms universitet, då¨jag inte orkade släpa en madrass+massvis med packn ing som var MEGATUNGT på tunnelbanan.. men kommer inte ihåg vad det gick på nu.. och hur lång är det från City till Lappis, om man skall räkna kilometrar... det är 8 km mellan Sumpan & Kista iaf.. men vad kan det bli i taxa-väg då????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

*bloggat

.........och nu skall hon äta kvällsfika & titta på ett par avsnitt av Life On Mars (från säsong1-boxen som hon köpte förrförra veckan =)).

Imorgon skall hon ringa hyresvärden (igen!) för hon har stopp i avlopp (igen!) under diskbänken, gå på arbetsförmedling och uppdatera handlingplan innan hon blir utskriven för all framtid & gå på operett på söder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nu när jag ska gå på Glada änkan, så är det på sin plats med lite Glada änkan-musik : först ett Glada änkan-operett-potpurri, här framfört av Jarl Kulle & Jan Malmsjö............... dock tror jag Suzanne Ostens tolkning kommer att vara aningen annorlunda än denna mer klassiska uppvisning av sångerna i operetten. Ack om man hade kunnat få se Kulle som Danilo & Malmsjö som Hanna Glavari!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D

Kulle & Malmsjö går lös på Glada änkan:

(haha, FÖR härligt......... RIP Jarl Kulle. :-(  )

Vilja-sången ur Glada änkan i en lite mer klassisk tappning, framförd av Zarah Leander:

Jävla banal text det där, haha, även om stackars Zarah gör vad hon kan!!! (men manskören där i mellanspelet är ju tjuuuuuusig, mmm =D)... Ska bli intressant att se vad Osten gör med den och om hon feminiserar texten, hehehe!!

Tja, jag får väl ta och klä upp mig lite extra i alla fall... känns alltid som man bör göra det lite mer när det är opera och PREMIÄR...........!!!!!

The overall direction of the McCain campaign, from straight-talker to what some periodicals have labeled as one of the sleaziest campaigns in recent history, has been some cause for some deep reflection on my part. I've been struggling with a way of sufficiently analogizing the McCain "straight talk" mystique and the parts of McCain's character that the media has finally begun to latch onto. I've settled on an example from my life, not a pretty one, but I think it paints the picture.

A few years ago I found myself stuck, waiting to pick up my college roommate at a bus stop in Rochester. He'd called me right as I swung into the parking lot to say that he'd be about 45 minutes late, so I got out of the car and plopped down on a bench to enjoy a book and a little sunshine. It wasn't long, however, before I found myself under assault from the bus-stop hustler.

The bus stop hustler was a fairly common fixture around this particular bus stop, and so was a fairly common fixture around the conversations of the students who regularly used it. He was quite obviously homeless, wearing the same clothes every time I saw him and often suffered from somewhat of a rank smell; at no older than 21 or 22 though, he was a jarring dose of reality for the privileged college student class. The hustler knew this, and using sob stories (and from what I can tell he must have somehow obtained the college vacation schedule, cause he was there like clockwork when the students were there) and playing a little bit of buddy-buddy, he was always able to hustle a few bucks from students waiting around the bus stop.

So it was one day on a fine, sunny afternoon at the end of summer that I found myself cringing as the bus-stop hustler came on. I'd never heard his song and dance before, always able to avoid him, but this time I was stuck. The hustle he gave me was brutally honest, standing 7 or 8 feet away, so that I guessed he didn't seem threatening or I couldn't smell him, and standing sideways and slumped shouldered so as to seem more the pitiful. He had been doing drugs, he told me, and had been arrested for it. Since he was arrested for it he couldn't find a job, had been kicked out of his apartment, and now he was having trouble finding something to eat.

He had some hope though. His family was just a few hours away in Syracuse and if he could just scrounge up the dollars for a bust ticket they had a family construction business he could work at and straighten out his live. Redemption at the price of a couple bucks...

It's a classic hustle. Bring out a person's pity, and therefore empathy, and then let them share in the redemption. It's honestly pretty irresistible, and those people I knew who had donated to the cause actually felt wounded when they found him at the bus stop again.

Though many of you may cringe, and even I'll admit it's not the handiest analogy, but there are comparable parts to the political story of John McCain, and a story that comes out much smoother and cleaner from the mouth of a former P.O.W. and public servant.

Though he doesn't boast the story, McCain is brutally honest about his own failings. He's been honest about his unfaithfullness to his first wife, his graduating at the bottom of his naval academy class, how he blacked out a neighborhood in Spain when he flew his jet into some powerlines. He very honestly stated (and not without some backlash) that he needs some education on the economy. He'll even talk about the Keating 5 scandal.

It's this honesty, and how he would joke and game with reporters in an open atmosphere, which gave birth  to "straight talk." The way he became a graceful loser and a pillar of sanity amongst the Republicans during the last 8 Bush years. I'll admit, I liked, appreciated and even empathized with John McCain's honesty in the past. The fog that needs to be lifted over all of our eyes that in this election (and with those sympathetic to the hustlers), we shouldn't be thinking about McCain's past but about his immediate goals, and whether or not it is AT THIS TIME he's being honest.

Much like the hustler, he isn't. Factcheck's last 5 entries about McCain have been about McCain's recent dishonesty on the following issues: Palin's distorting her role in energy production, lying about Obama and Biden's criticisms of Sarah Palin, lying about Obama's support of a sexual education bill insinuating he was for teaching sex-ed to kindergartners, about distorting reports from factcheck and honesty flubs  made at the convention.The facts are out there, and if you don't believe this report, you're more than welcome to check the printed news for more examples.

Now, I'm not trying to say that McCain is necessarily any more a wolf in sheeps clothes than any other politician; Obama's long biography is meant to instill empathy too. What I've come here to say is that you've fallen for the "straight talk" mystique, you're being hustled, plain and simple.

-Marc-

1. First, Jon Heyman has heard (from someone that was not named) that CC Sabathia does not want to play for the Yankees, even though he'll find the most money in the Bronx. There have always been rumors about CC wanting to play on the west coast (Heyman mentions that too), but he has reportedly warmed up to the idea of playing elsewhere (he likes Milwaukee, that much). Right now, I wouldn't read too much into this. If the Yankees show him the money, he'll show up in pinstripes. This could easily be a simple bargaining maneuver before the end of the season.

2. Next up, Robinson Cano was benched for the first game against Chicago. Cano is still feeling the heat after not chasing a ball into RF yesterday. While the 2-day benching seems to indicate that this is more of a message for next season, the Yankees are still playing for pride, right now, and that is Girardi's primary point. Even though things haven't gone well for the team or for Cano, he has to play hard---that's the bottom line. This has been a very public form of discipline and I wouldn't be surprised to see Cano react well both offensively and defensively. Obviously, it's better to finish up on a strong note.

3. Finally, Hideki Matsui will likely opt for surgery soon. Matsui has been missing games and if the team was still in contention (realistic contention), then I'm sure he would continue to play through the pain. However, it looks like he'll be shutdown very soon, and then he'll have the surgery on his knee. He expects to be ready for spring training. Although he's become rather injury prone, you've got to commend him. He tried to play and did his best, which is what you have to love about the guy.

Here's something I just read over at the NY Post in a text by George Willis:

He doesn't understand what it is to play hard on every play in every game because he thinks he does just that even though there have been far too many times this season when he hasn't. Ground balls rolling under his glove, botched double plays and indifference on the base paths have come to be expected at least once or twice a game.

"Sometimes it doesn't look like I'm playing hard, but that's the way I play," Cano said.

Cano's crime yesterday came in the fourth inning when former Met Cliff Floyd hit a ground ball between first and second base. First baseman Jason Giambi lunged to his right, his glove deflecting the ball past Cano, who was charging toward first. But as the ball slowly rolled to the outfield, Cano elected not to give chase. He stopped and waited for Xavier Nady to run in from right-field to retrieve the ball. By then, a hustling Floyd was standing on second.

It didn't cost the Yankees a run, but manager Joe Girardi pulled Cano between innings, a move he should have made weeks ago.

I won't even discuss Willis' blatant exaggeration about Cano making mistakes "at least once or twice a game" at the beginning of this passage. Instead, let's focus on this question. Should Cano have been benched earlier in the season specifically for "not hustling"? It seems like a valid question considering his play this year, right? I don't think I agree with that thought, though. Willis' article is all about tearing down Cano (very original...) and his style of play, but I think we've established that Cano plays the game in a particular manner and it almost looks effortless. When he makes mistakes it looks like there's no effort put in and when he makes great plays, he looks phenomenal but he makes those difficult plays look easy (maybe he makes them look too easy, and subsequently doesn't get the credit he deserves). So, in this regard, for Joe Girardi it's rather difficult for him to say, "Robbie wasn't giving it his all today. He should hit the pine for a bit." It always looks like he's not giving it his all and the manager knows when there's legitimate effort and when there's not.

Think about it for a second.

Has there really been an explicit instance this year that had Cano looking like he wasn't hustling at all (outside of today)? I mean, he's had a few mental lapses (seemingly), but how much of that pertains to his youth and that he's still learning how to play the game at this level? I'm also a firm believer in the notion that when it's going bad, it all goes bad. If your offense is trending downwards, then you will likely bring that to the field when you're on defense. Cano is having a poor year with the bat and maybe it's effected him, at times, at second base. Believe it or not, sometimes, young players just have bad years. With this in mind, should Girardi really have benched Robbie earlier in the year? I don't know. I do remember him getting a day off due to his offensive problems. Maybe he just needs to keep plugging him in there so that he'll snap out of it and have a huge game?

Joe Girardi should have benched Cano today. That was an explicit situation where Cano wasn't hustling. It was crystal clear. When Cano fails to execute on a double play, is that really the same exact thing as "not hustling"? I don't necessarily think that they are. In George Willis' mind, Cano should be benched for every error he makes, no matter how wrong that philosophy ultimately is for a young player. In the end, I really wouldn't be surprised to see Cano come out tomorrow and have a 4-hit game (embarrassment sparks success), and then everyone will wonder why he wasn't benched earlier. To that I ask, was there an explicit instance that warranted a benching (an actual, no effort sort of moment)?

I think I first saw David Mamet's House Of Games as part of the excellent BBC2 strand Moviedrome (though I could have sworn I first caught it earlier than 1993 as that list would have it). I remember being struck by the coldness of the characters, and the ever decreasing circles in which they danced, as well as the sudden explosion of emotions towards the end.

It is a film about conmen. Bestselling author and psychiatrist Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) is trying to break her writer's block, and through her efforts on behalf of a troubled patient ends up being grifted by Mike (Joe Mantegna). She becomes increasingly - obsessively - interested in the art of the confidence trick, and solicits the help of an initially reluctant Mike in pursuit of her new subject matter. That's the set-up, now guess the result...

It plays well against the bonhomie of The Sting, it matches the darkness of The Grifters, it is fresher than Mamet's own, later, con flick The Spanish Prisoner. Watching these four films means you can avoid wading through all twenty four episodes of Hustle, which shamelessly teefs its best bits from them. In terms of performance, Mantegna is at the Homicide end of his range rather than nudging The Godfather III.

Anyway, here's Crouse taking down some back-of-the-napkin field notes:

The necessity of dark places to transact a dark business...

I caught up with Grace on Friday, taking her to Redbones for Somerville's best barbecue. She ate about three-quarters of her pulled pork sandwich, thwacking me on the head whenever I stopped paying attention to her anecdotes ("ow, Indian wedding, right") and making fun of my beer selection back home. She's a real charmer, that one. "You're a doctor now," I reminded her. "You need to learn to play golf and start making bad investments in real estate."

Saturday I got up early and met Greg to take the train from Davis to BC. Our conversation proceeded in fits and starts, weighed down by the overcast sky, until the subject turned to BC's endowment. Then we were off and running. As the B Line passed the service garage next to Evergreen Cemetary we became entrepreneurs. "That's the only building between 2000 Comm Ave [the future site of BC's newest dorm] and the rest of campus," I said. "Let's buy it and turn it into a pizza joint."

"We might have some trouble getting it up to code," Greg observed. "It being a former gas station, next to a cemetery."

"So we spend a few weekends bleaching it."

Aaron and Serpico had arrived early to stake out a corner parking spot in the BC parking garage, and Casey O' and James F. arrived shortly thereafter with some emergency Blue Ribbon. The weather held together long enough for us to have grilled, so Aaron regaled us with stories of his mother's secret barbecue recipe while we chowed on spicy sausage and chicken wings. And plenty of cornbread. A convivial glow spread over my face, aided by the Miller Lite, and I grinned from ear to ear.

BC then did their level best to tarnish that glow, losing embarrassingly to the rambling wrecks from Georgia Tech. They matched Georgia Tech turnover for turnover, but failed to complete and fell apart entirely in the second half. "Is that Crane's third interception?" Casey O' asked at one point of BC's beleaguered quarterback.

"No, that's his second interception," I corrected. "You're thinking of the fumble from earlier." To the field: "Way to go, Ichabod!"

The promised downpours never materialized, so I walked to Cleveland Circle with a useless poncho and the beginnings of a sunburn. Fortunately, back in Davis, Marie had some leftover homemade ice cream and some Dexter. I watched some Season 2 episodes with her, guest starring British stunner Jaime Murray, at which point I had to introduce Marie to Hustle (also starring Murray). Yay media.

I tried to go swimming at the BSC on Sunday morning, but did not take into account the aquarobics class taking up the open end of the pool. Rather than sit on the deck with my toes in the water and wait for an open lane, I showered and waited for the sauna to heat up. It never quite did, to my disappointment, so I got back in the car to drive home.

Turning from Mt. Auburn St to Brattle St, I noticed that my Check Engine light had gone on. I decided to ignore it - as I usually do - until wisps of white smoke started to trickle from my hood. Pulling over in the suburbs of Cambridge, I popped the hood and watched the engine tick from the heat. Smoke hissed from the coolant line along the engine's perimeter. A man walking his dog and a Cambridge cop both asked if I needed help; I shrugged and they moved along. Running the heat on full blast to vent the engine, per Marie's suggestion, I slowly idled home.

Back in Davis, I did laundry, ate lunch, and refilled my engine's suspiciously low coolant reserves. I found a radio station that streamed the Ravens game online and listened while folding T-shirts. Joe Flacco had an auspicious debut, controlling the ball and letting the legendary Ravens D tear up Cincinnati. A win over the Bengals isn't quite a litmus test, but it's a good way to start the season.

I got word that Jonathon Katz would be doing a set at ImprovBoston that evening, so I went down early to make sure I got in. He followed a typical amateur improv troupe - you know the kind, two funny people and six mediocre cold cuts - and two stand-up acts that diverged wildly in quality. Katz's set was hysterical: his deadpan delivery and veteran sense of pacing sold every bit he used. He's wasted on Squigglevision.

Bringing a compelling quality to his work depicting tough men in incredible circumstances, Sizemore was the first choice for the role of 'Lt. Col. Danny McKnight' in Ridley Scott's fact-based film BLACK HAWK DOWN. Sizemore received enormous critical praise for this role as well as his turn opposite Tom Hanks in Steve Spielberg's war drama SAVING PRIVATE RYAN as 'Sergeant Michael Horvath,' a tough-as-nails but ever-loyal Marine. He also starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Martin Scorsese's BRINGING OUT THE DEAD playing an out-of-control ambulance driver who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sizemore also recently starred as the lead character in CBS' critically acclaimed dramatic series ROBBERY HOMICIDE DIVISION, Exec. Produced and Directed by Michael Mann. In the role of Detective 'Sam 'Hoss' Cole,' Sizemore was lauded for his performance as the intelligent and witty lead officer of the elite investigative team from which the series took its name. The actor had previously starred in Mann's Los Angeles crime saga HEAT, another critical hit for the duo, in which Sizemore took the role of Michael Cheritto, a professional criminal who will stop at nothing to escape the law as he pulls high-value robberies with a team of pros lead by Robert DeNiro's troubled ring leader, 'Neil McCauley.'

Other recent starring roles for Sizemore include turns in Warner Brothers' RED PLANET with Val Kilmer, directed by Anthony Hoffman and PLAY IT TO THE BONE for Buena Vista opposite Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas by director Ron Shelton. He also starred in HBO's WITNESS FOR PROTECTION and in NBC's highly successful miniseries WITNESS TO THE MOB in which he portrayed John Gotti to critical raves; Robert DeNiro and Tribeca Films produced the 4-hour drama.

Equally comfortable in independent films as he is in studio pics, Sizemore starred in THE FLORENTINE, alongside Chris Penn, Jeremy Davies and Michael Madsen with Nick Stagliano directing him as a drifter who comes back to his small home town to make right on his past. He also starred in THE MATCH for Polygram Films, a dry-witted comedy about two Scottish pub teams and their century-long soccer feud, working alongside Ian Holm, Richard E. Grant and Max Beesley.

Tom's first movie role was for Oliver Stone in BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY. The two later re-teamed on NATURAL BORN KILLERS in which Tom became known for his widely acclaimed performance as 'Scagnetti,' the self-promoting, tyrannical detective who apprehends woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis.

Among other standout performances include the suspense thriller, THE RELIC in which he starred with Penelope Ann Miller -- he received the Best Actor Award at the Madrid Film Festival for the role. In 1995, Tom had a banner year with three extraordinary films including HEAT; a starring role opposite Denzel Washington in director Carl Franklin's DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS based on the acclaimed novel by Walter Mosley; and STRANGE DAYS for director Kathryn Bigelow.

Tom has starred previously in a wide range of films among them, Ron Underwood's HEART AND SOULS, Tony Scott's TRUE ROMANCE, Lawrence Kasdan's WYATT EARP among other credits, which include PASSENGER 57, WATCH IT, and GUILTY BY SUSPICION.

Born and raised in Detroit, Tom earned a B.F.A in acting from Wayne State University and a Master's Degree in Theater from Temple University. He has starred in numerous regional and off-Broadway theatrical productions.

Har spenderat dagen med att tvätta & kollat på säsong 1 av Svindlarna (aka Hustle). Naturligtvis missade jag själv det andra avsnittet av Tell Me You Love Me, det program som jag puffade för i förrförra inlägget, både onsdagssändningen och torsdagsreprisen... :-/ Sen har jag nu också beställt säsong 1 av Life On Mars (eftersom jag såg första avsnittet av BBC-uppföljaren Ashes to Ashes i söndags och blev FAST). Lyckades ju missa Life On Mars när den kom och hajpades som mest. När saker hajpas brukar jag alltid akta mig. Då kan jag inte titta på saker. Ofta. Jag måste liksom upptäcka programmen och serierna själv, sådär o-hajpat och i lugn och ro. Annars går det inte. Därför tittar jag således inte på Lost (fast den tittar jag inte på för att den _är_ dålig och för att skaparen JJ Abrams övergav eminenta Alias till fördel för skruttiga Lost, vilket gjorde att Alias TOTALSJÖNK och hela säsong 4 och 5 är oförlåtligt pajasstrunt. oförlåtligt.), Prison Break, Entourage, Sex and the City och nya Dr. Whoo. Om tio år då alla andra har slutat att titta så kommer jag kanske att göra det. Däremot tittar jag på Spooks/M15, Svindlarna/Hustle och Ashes to Ashes nu. =) Suveräna underdog-serier som ännu inte blvit mainstream-hajpade... ah! =D 

Varför döpte de orkanen till Gustav av alla namn? Lite lustigt att sitta och zappa fram CNN och höra jänkarna snacka om "Hurricane Gooostaph". Vadan detta svenska namn på en amerikansk jävla orkan? Kom den ursprungligen svischandes från Sverige, eller??? Kom den inte från Kuba?!?! Varför detta så svenska namn? Varför inte Harry, Tim eller George?! Eller ett isländskt namn som Eirikur eller Helgí? "Hurricane Helgí" tycks aldrig bli aktuell. Känns som att vi svenskar borde ta detta personligt. Och sluta dricka Coca Cola eller nåt.

Men varför måste de överhuvudtaget namnge orkaner? Sådär höll de väl inte på på 1950-talet?! Varför har de börjat nu? Tänk vad många orkaner som klarat sig innan, utan namn...! Grrr!!! Störande. Ytterst störande. Fast lite roligt att den sen bara kom upp i orkanstyrka 1-2 och folk hade flytt sina hem förgäves. Som en liten fis-bris blev det bara i orkanväg räknat. Och allt detta ojande och red alert-ande för nästan ingenting. Den där Gustav hade humor, han.