Missing Olbermann

I really don't, but Bret Stephens has a great piece on Olbermann and the larger story of the media yesterday and today: http://online.wsj.com/article/global_view.html.  Several nails hit squarely on the head.  Anyway, it wouldn't be a shocker to see Olbermann not only return quickly but return with a vengeance in a new and improved role somewhere else--despite his awfulness, he's one smart SOB and has a lemming like following of true believers.

I read what O'Reilly said (or didn't say)--he refused to mention Olbermann by name in discussing the MSNBC shake up, though I'm sure one or two 825 year old bottles of scotch were consumed after the news hit.  Don't know what Limbaugh said but I have watched some of the new Golf Channel's "Haney Project" where Hank Haney is now charged with the task of making Rush a new and improved golfer.  Verdict: didn't enjoy it.  Limbaugh is a talented radio performer but for whatever reason, he just doesn't come off well on television.  The most interesting thing about the show is the inclusion of Haney's hot trophy wife--I'm guessing a spin off or maybe "Housewives of the Golf Channel" will be up next. 

Golf, Kim's Way

Chairman Kim, World's Greatest Golfer

Thanks to Kevin Robbins of the AAS for spotting this:http://www.northkoreanopen.com/course1.html.  I really, really hope that someone with a P.J. O'Rourke sense of humor signs up for this thing--golfing in North Korea has all the makings of something you want to read about under the influence of distilled spirits or whatever you have on hand.   The most miserable game ever concocted by sheep loving Scotsmen now open for bidness in the most miserable country in the world, and that's saying something. 

Collar Bomb Caper

Great story on the infamous collar bomb heist: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_collarbomb/all/1.

Ordering Koala Venison, Etc.

Ordering stuff off of the internets can be confusing: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/shopping_cart.  It reminds me of when a cousin of mine was catching a pitching phenom named Curly Ray Jones.  Jones had two pitches: a fastball and a curve.  My cousin dutifully reviewed the signals with Curly Ray, indicating that one finger would be for a fastball and two fingers would be for a curve.  After signalling "one" for a fastball and being de-nutted with a sinking curve and then signalling "two" for a curve and having his windpipe dislodged by a rising fastball, Cousin Charles trotted/stumbled to the mound.  Indicating a desire to go over the complex signals again, Curly Ray quickly cut him off, indicating, "All these numbas is confusing--I'll pitch it and you catch it."

I hate math, too, so I've always sort of related to Curly Ray.  There endeth the lesson.

Getting Darnell to Work

An interesting piece that asserts that Black America and America as a whole would be best served by the legalization of drugs:http://www.tnr.com/blogs/john-mcwhorter.  Probably not going to happen but the drug problem is one that has to have some out of the box thinking or we're just going to continue flushing dollars and lives down the drain.  Would legalization be perfect?  Hell no, but look at what we've got going on now.  Anyway, not a bad read.

Life Was Tough Back Then

A tasty, wonderful piece on medieval warfare, especially if you're fascinated with archeologist types in how they interpret and recreate what went down:http://www.economist.com/node/17722650.  Essentially, you just didn't want to wind up on the losing side in the Wonderful War of the Roses.

True Grit Redux

I largely agree with this guy on the three True Grits--the book, the original movie starring John Wayne, and the Coen remake: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lgrin/2011/01/04/a-tale-of-three-true-grits/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BigHollywood+%28Big+Hollywood%29&utm_content=FaceBook.  I watched the Wayne movie again about two days before viewing the Coen vehicle and several things struck me:
1. The strength of the dialogue from the Portis book--the guy is one of the most underrated wordsmiths of 20th century American writing and how particularly well that Wayne and the new Hattie Ross actress pulled off the tricky dialogue.
2. Both Wayne and Bridges are excellent and very different in their approaches.  Wayne's was intentionally over the top and full of bravado while Bridges was more understated but very believable. 
3. The young actress that plays Hattie in the Coen movie is light years better than the hideous Kim Darby.  In fact, she's remarkable and worth the price of admission alone.
4. Damon is obviously better than Glenn Campbell as the Ranger La Bouf(sp).  Shaking my head about this though, as the one actor who was born to play this role was Matthew McConnnaaggggghyy(sp).  Damn shame he didn't get it.
5. Barry Pepper plays Ned Pepper in the Coen version and does it well.  He even sounds a lot like Robert Duvall did in the same role.  He ain't Duvall, though.  Josh Brolin, on loan from the commie stooge directors he usually works for, is good, too as the murderous dumb ass Cheney.
6. The Coen Brothers Grit is an outstanding movie.  It's one of those rare films that comes along that you will watch multiple times over the years--every time it comes on TV--and you will buy the DVD in the same sense as "Saving Private Ryan" and others.  Like "Ryan," it will lose out in the Academy Award nomination to something of a more artsy nature ("Shakespeare in Love") that you'll never, ever see again after shelling out twelve bucks or so at your local movie house.

Go see it.  Solid effort.