Oh, Sh!t ...

Maybe we're a little spoiled here in the 21st century, but we've reached a point as a society where there are certain things we just take for granted: cheap gas (oops), plentiful food, working plumbing. As a homeowner, I've had my share of experiences when that latter item goes away. You probably know the drill: rise satisfied from the throne, notice that your prize hasn't gone away as it should, play unsuccessfully with the snake, make the call, write the check. Voila' - you have plumbing. But imagine life if it weren't quite that easy - and now imagine you're circling the planet 200 miles in space.

That's the dilemma currently facing the crew of the International Space Station. Billions and billions of dollars, but apparently no one can produce a decent toilet. As I write this, the three-man (fortunately) crew is trying to jury rig a solution to the balky Russian toilet - the only on currently on the station. Apparently, it's still good to go for solids, but liquids are problematic - and in zero gravity, that's really a problem!

Fortunately, the shuttle Discovery is scheduled to liftoff this weekend, with the assigned task of delivering the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. As you might imagine knowing our press, that mission doesn't get off the back page. But a broken shitter? That's Page One news, baby! They're following breathlessly the progress made by a NASA employee currently travelling from Russia to the Cape with the replacement part - in a diplomatic pouch, no less. They'll make room for it in one of the lockers (maybe they can leave the Buzz Lightyear product placement ... er, educational oppportunity ... behind. Nah ... ain't gonna happen.

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:18 PM PST [link]

Octane Overload

When you think of Memorial Day, you probably think of barbecues, burgers and beer. Hopefully, you also take a moment and think of all the people whose sacrifice let you drink that beer. But for many of us, Memorial Day means the biggest racing weekend of the year. Many of the racing series take advantage of the first holiday weekend of the summer season to schedule some of their marquee events, and it makes for a long, loud weekend.

First up was the F1 Monaco Grand Prix. It's the mother of all street course events, and one that will test the nerve of the bravest driver. It started before daylight SoCal time, but fortunately SpeedTV carries it live - after way too many years without it. Last year's rookie phenom, Brit Lewis Hamilton, overcame a poor qualifying attempt to take the victory in front of his entire family. So small is the track that there is no Winner's Podium - the cars stop in front of one of the buildings along the circuit and its lobby becomes a makeshift Victory Circle. It'd been a few years since I'd seen this race, and for the first time was able to take it all in via the onboard cameras - man, that's scary. Nothing but a narrow ribbon of asphault and Armco barriers. Amazing that anyone finishes.

Next up was the big one - the Indianapolis 500. For the first time in a long time, it truly was the big one - a full field with all of the best drivers for the first time in over a decade, thanks to the reunification of the two fractured open wheel series. Good to see, but sad at the same time, since it showed how far Indy - and open wheel racing - have fallen in America compared to the taxis of NASCAR. For once, having the pole actually paid off as Scott Dixon took the victory. In spite of a large number of former ChampCar drivers who'd never been on such a track before, the event was relatively clean. Perhaps the biggest crash of the event actually took part in the pits, where Penske's Ryan Briscoe clipped the car of racing sweetheart Danica Patrick, ending her day. The fans - many of whom saw this as her year to make history - were none too happy. Nor was Ms. Patrick, who had to be intercepted by three burly security agents to keep her from confronting Briscoe in his pits afterward. Gotta love her fire ...

Wrapping up the long day was the longest event of the three, the NASCAR CocaCola 600 from Lowe's Motor Speedway. Purists will remember this as the World 600 from Charlotte, at least before the France family began to whore out the circuit like it was their 16yr-old-daughter. I appreciate that racing is expensive and sponsors are a necessary evil, but you really need to draw the line somewhere. Oh, the race? The Bud car beat the M&M's car. The drivers? Some bland white guys ... OK, it was Kasey Kahne over Kyle Busch. Actually, no one who watches him race will ever refer to Kyle as "bland" - dude can flat out drive, but is such a cocky SOB that most of the time you just want him to eat cement. Of course, that's probably just what NASCAR wants us to think, since it keeps us coming back ...

Assuming I have anything else left in the tank, there's even more racing, as the Grand-Am folks will be out at Lime Rock Park later today. It's a shame that the sports car guys can't get their act together and unify their series as well, since they bring the exciting racing of open wheel cars and the surface area for advertisements of NASCAR ... just a though, guys, but you might want to follow up on that ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 09:32 PM PST [link]

Next Time, Try A Leash

We've all watched a NASA space launch. It's a model of efficiency - your tax dollars at work. Everyone knows their job and does it with precision and efficiency, and it takes something pretty horrific to cause a failure.

Civilian efforts often try to mirror NASA and their methods, and sometimes they succeed. Then there are those that don't ...

Michel Fournier is a 64-yr-old French skydiver and former paratrooper. His dream has been to break the world record for the highest jump ever, and he's been pursuing the attempt for many years. It's been expensive, upwards of $20 million, and he has sold all of his possession to finance the effort.

Not everyone has been supportive of him, though, and the French government refused him permission to launch the high-altitude balloon from which he needs to jump. The Canadians aren't so tight-assed, though, and let Fournier launch from a remote corner of Saskatchewan.

Today was the big day, and before dawn the process of inflating the giant balloon began. Shortly before 5 AM, spirits were high at the launch site, as documented in Fournier's blog:

Great news ... We just started to inflate the balloon. Its 4h15 local an will take about 45 minutes. Thereafter, Michel will start his ascent which will take about 2h15 and after taking a great LOOK at the curvature of the earth and looking at the black of space unlike we see the blue sky. Michel will jump. He has a camera on him and he will be able to film. Furthermore, Clay center is filming and with the telescopic camera that they have (best in the world) we will have outstanding images. Will keep you posted

Unfortunately, the good news ended there. It was only a few minutes later that the balloon slipped away from the handlers and rose gracefully into the sky - without Fournier! The frustrated Frenchman waved to onlookers and joined the caravan to chase down the errant balloon, which finally landed 40 km away.

This is not the first failed attempt for Fournier, who tried in 2002 and 2003, when his earlier balloon was destroyed. Even yesterday his launch attempt was scrubbed due to weather. There's a lot of risk associated with a jump like this - at 25 miles up, you don't last long if things go wrong. It doesn't bode well if they can't even handle the balloon launch ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 11:29 AM PST [link]

For Your Holiday Eye Candy Pleasure ...

The long Memorial Day weekend is here, which marks the traditional start to the SoCal offshore season. Were it not for the bizarre weather, I'd be on the water this weekend, but my mind is definitely looking forward to the arrival of the marlin and tuna - and the first edition of the 2008 Fishing News!

Although the gamefish have yet to arrive in our local waters, they have to the south, and several marlin tournaments have been contested in the last few weeks in the waters around Cabo San Lucas. Most recent was the World Championship Billfish Release Tournament, which is quickly becoming the preeminent all-release event. All the big boys came out to play, including Team Get Over It, which won the event with a total of 57 released marlin. Heads up folks - this Atlanta-based team is considering fishing the SoCal events this year.

It's great to see the fish and the fishermen arrive in West Coast waters, but there's something else that migrates in that same method - the dock hotties. No, it's not the smell of fishermen that attract them - it's the smell of money. You need look no further than the docks in Cabo to see an example of this particular phenomenon - and we have an example right here in the MB. This pic, provided by Chris Badsey of the WCBRT Committee, shows the species in full mating attire. I've saved you the experience of seeing the one they're trying to mate with - it ain't pretty - but based on the boat he's driving, there's no questioning the attraction ...

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to take time to remember those whose sacrifice makes possible our ability to spend this weekend with family and friends.

Posted by MarlinNut @ 05:51 AM PST [link]

Wicked Weather

One of the few complaints you'll ever hear about living in Southern California is that there is no real weather. This usually comes from the many folks who came here from the Midwest or East Coast - usually to avoid the very weather they claim to miss. It's never too hot, never too cold, and there's seldom anything that would remind them of the homes they left behind.

Usually.

After work yesterday, I tossed the bike on the rack and headed to the beach for a nice shoreline ride. THe sun was shining and there was a slight seabreeze, with just a few puffy clouds to spoil an otherwise blue sky. On my way home, however, the newsradio folks were a-twitter with the story of wild weather only a few miles north and east of where I was. I was amazed to hear the stories they were telling - an inch of rain falling in less than an hour, two inches of hail on the ground in some places, snow shutting down some of the mountain passes (in May!), and - most amazing for SoCal - reports of a twister on the ground out in Riverside. Wouldn't have believed that last one if they didn't get the picture you see at left, showing one funnel touching down and several others forming behind it. The most damage was done alongside Interstate 215, just south of the old March Air Force Base. It was pretty tame compared to what we see elsewhere (including Denver today), but pretty frightening nonetheless.

As if just to drive home the point, I hadn't been home for 10 minutes when the skies opened over the Home Office, dropping nearly an inch of rain in less than 30 minutes. The most amazing part was that the sun was shining the whole time!

Posted by MarlinNut @ 09:05 PM PST [link]

That's Why They Call It "The Mile-High Club" ...

Ever since we saw Dean Martin operate as a pilot in "Airport", pilots and stewardesses have had this reputation as bed hoppers. This probably won't help.

Jeffrey Paul Bradford, 24, and Adrianna Grace Connor, 24, both employees of Pinnacle Airlines Inc., were at a diner on Sunday night before they apparently decided to take a walk, police said.

"They told the officer they wanted to go do it in the woods, essentially," said Lower Swatara Township Police Sgt. Richard Brandt. "That's the best answer they had."

Things went awry when people who live in the neighborhood summoned police around 9:30 p.m., saying they had seen a naked man and an intoxicated woman.

A helicopter with heat-seeking equipment was called in, and Bradford was discovered hiding behind a shed shortly before midnight.

His only attire was a pair of flip-flops and a wristwatch.

Both were arrested and charged with public drunkenness; he also got hit with indecent exposure (but not her - a double standard, but she was probably hot ... ). Needless to say, they've both been suspended from their "day jobs" ...

Guess they should have kept the sex in the air where it belongs ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 11:28 AM PST [link]

A Mind Is A Terrible Thing

I was out walking earlier, and crafted this wonderful blog entry in my mind. It was a rant about government, and compared something I was really pissed about to the practice of outsourcing our government to the lowest bidder. But by the time I got home, it was gone, and I'll be damned if I can remember what it was. Damn ... it was brilliant, too ... phuck me ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 07:01 PM PST [link]

Little Ol' Sports Rant

Yeah, I know - but better late than never!

- I'm not one of those who believes in anthropomorphizing animals, but in watching the Preakness this weekend, there's no doubt in my mind that Big Brown knew - absolutely knew - that he was the better horse ... and the other horses knew it, too. If you watched him reach down and effortlessly find another gear as he rounded the final turn at Pimlico, then you know, too. Many horses have won the first two jewels of the Triple Crown since the trifecta was last achieved by Affirmed in '77, but this looks like the horse who can get it done. His victories in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness looked so effortless, you just can't imagine him not doing the same in two weeks at the Belmont. But it's the longest of the three, and has been the death of many Triple Crown dreams. Should be a great race.

- NASCAR drivers love their fans, but none so much right now as Kasey Kahne. Kahne, who placed fifth in the qualifying race for Saturday night's All Star Race, wouldn't have even transferred to the big event had he not been voted in as the fans' choice. He made the most of it, though, using a risky final pit strategy - taking fuel only while the rest of the field took 2 or 4 tires - to take the victory and the $1 million first prize. Kahne has always been a favorite of the ladies with his pretty boy looks, but stepping into the Budweiser sponsorship abdicated by Dale Earnhardt Jr means being held to a whole new standard. This is his first delivery against that deal - and it won't be the last.

- I know ... I don't understand it either, but the Marlins are still in first place. They're struggling a bit right now, but so are the others in their division, and that's keeping them on top - barely. They signed outfielder Jacque Jones over the weekend, one more sign they're looking to win for a change. Jones had several great years alongside Torii Hunter in Minnesota, but has stunk it up the last year or so, resulting in his release by the Tigers a couple of weeks back. The Marlins are used to having to pay the contracts of players they've shipped out - this is one of those rare cases where they get the player and someone else can pay the salary. Now if he can just remember how to hit ...

Since I'm late in posting this, I can hit on a couple of topics that just went down ...

- A huge MB congratulations to Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, who tonight threw a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals. It was a dominating performance, with only two baserunners allowed, but the important thing to keep in mind is that it was only a couple of years back that Lester was diagnosed with cancer. Just returning to the mound was inspirational - combine his win in the final game of last year's World Series with tonight's no-no and we're talking legend ...

- We now know who the Lakers will be playing in the NBA Western Conference Finals - the San Antonio Spurs, who followed up their Game 6 win with a clinching victory over the New Orleans Hornets ... and did it in the Big Easy. The Hornets played a solid game, but the Spurs showed once again why they have those 4 rings, and Robert Horry - "Big Shot Bob" - channeled his earlier self and nailed several key three-pointers down the stretch. Chris Paul was an MVP candidate, but showed tonight why Kobe has the trophy - the MVP carries his team when their back is against the wall. A solid season, and a lot to build on, but it'll be the Spurs taking the Staples Center court ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:27 PM PST [link]

Weekend Eye Candy - Take A Friend Fishing Edition

"Summer's here, and the time is right ... for dancing in the streets"

True enough, but it's also time for our favorite pastime - fishing! Yes, we've waited patiently all winter, watching our fishing shows and dreaming of better days. Well, they're here now, and it's time to act!

Next weekend is Memorial Day, the traditional start to the local offshore fishing season. As we speak, reels are being spooled, lures are being rigged, and licenses are being bought. Pretty soon, boat owners will learn just how much the price of oil has affected the price of fuel (ouch!) as they pump gallon after gallon of gas, premix or diesel into too-long-dry fuel tanks. A roar of the engines and they'll be off in search of the big ones - or at least the small ones.

Your friends at SCMO would like to remind you that the best experiences are those that are shared, so when you take off next weekend, why not take a friend? And, for a change, instead of that smelly old guy you normally take, why not someone not so old - and not so smelly? We present our vision of what that might look like here ...

Remember, limp rods never catch the big one ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 01:56 PM PST [link]

Not Even Sure What To Say ...

Sometimes, you come across stories that are wrong on so many levels, you don't even know where to start ... this is one of those.

A lot has changed in Croatia in the last 35 years - they're no longer part of Yugoslavia, the Cold War has ended, the flag has changed, and so much more. But one thing has remained the same - the body of Hedviga Golik rotting in the apartment down the hall.

Residents of her loft building in downtown Zagreb had broken into Golik's flat after deciding that the apartment should belong to them, and not to her. Startled by the remains in bed, they called police.

Forensics experts said Golik likely died in 1973, about the time a neighbor last saw her. Expert Davor Strinovic said she seemed to have died of natural causes, but "it's almost impossible to say for certain" after so much time.

Some of Golik's neighbors claimed she had talked about going abroad.

Experts said her windows had been open, likely diminishing the smell. It remained unclear who -- if anyone -- was paying her bills and who exactly owned the apartment. In the 1970s, when Golik died, apartments were state-owned.

Showing just how well the Croats have adopted Western culture, no one has come forward to claim the body, but the residents are arguing over who should get the apartment ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 09:21 AM PST [link]

And I Think It's Gonna Be A Long, Long Time ...

I'm not sure what exactly he's trying to prove, but it looks pretty cool ...

Yves Rossy is a 48-yr old Swiss airline pilot, but like many of his coworkers is a former fighter pilot as well. Apparently, he's jonesing for the thrill of flight that you just can't find at the wheel of an Airbus. Since he's a little old for jet fighters, he's found his own way - a strap-on carbon fiber wing, complete with 4 jet engines. He demonstrated his new toy yesterday by stepping out of a plane flying 7,000 feet over Bax, Switzerland. After gliding unpowered for a while, he lit the candle on the jets and hit 185 mph as he soared over the Swiss countryside, ending his performance with a slow barrelroll.

"I don't steer it, I fly it," Rossy said. "It's like a child playing airplane, like that, exactly like this. It's totally intuitive."

"Pure flight," he calls it. Like flying in an airplane - without the airplane.

"You're almost naked. You have just this little thing on your back, and moving your body it turns, it flies, it climbs," he said. "Its like something artificial - but it's real."

I don't know how much of a practical future it has, but Rossy - who refers to himself as "Fusionman", presumably for the "fusion" of man and plane - can certainly find a job on the set of the next Bond flick ... assuming he survives his upcoming attempt to fly his contraption across the English Channel ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 10:03 PM PST [link]

One More Reason To License Parents

I'm a single guy without kids, so I have to be careful with what I say next, as I have no first-hand experience in parenting. But it's pretty clear to me that in a society where we license drivers, we license business owners - hell, I even need a license to fish - we need to license parents. I won't even get into the pathetic reasons some people use to justify having children, or the horrific abuse brought upon society by those who insist it is their right to have 6, 7, or God knows how many kids.

No, today we're just going to talk about those whose parenting skills are so demonstrably bad that they should never have been allowed to procreate (and I'm not even going to mention Britney Spears ... oops, just did!). We've seen all kinds of bad behavior, from overly-agressive sports parents to the ones dressing their kids like whores for "beauty contests" - the examples are everywhere. But I have one that might even top those.

I fly for business fairly often, so I understand the stressful routine that the airport terminal has become. Because of that, I prepare accordingly - I pack per the TSA requirements, I make sure I get to the airport in plenty of time for my flight, I wear clean socks, and I don't do anything that would attract any unwanted attention from the screeners. As a result, my passage through the airport is relatively painless. But not everyone is so prepared - sometimes with disasterous results.

A family was immigrating from the Philippines to Canada, and were rushing from one flight to another in Vancouver. They had issues getting through the airport, having to repack their luggage, and were lucky to make their connecting flight to Winnipeg. Too bad not everyone made it to the plane, as they left their 23-month child behind in the terminal.

"We were called by [security] who told us one of the security people had a toddler in tow," said Angela Mah, an Air Canada representative. "He doesn't speak English, so we found a Tagalog-speaking agent who has been looking after him."

There was no boarding pass for the youngster because he did not have a separately assigned seat, so there was no indication in the airline's computer system that someone had missed a flight, nor had there been any panicked calls from anyone on a flight missing a child, Mah said.

That's because the family was scattered in different parts of the plane to Winnipeg and still didn't know the child had been left.

Air Canada staff began checking flights that had left, and "we eventually determined who his parents might be ... and the flight crew talked to them," Mah said. "They didn't realize until then that the baby had been left behind.

To the airlines' credit, they paid to fly the father back to Vancouver and both to Winnipeg afterward. Assuming Canada has a better immigration system than we do - perhaps one based on worth to the the country, for example - I'd have been tempted to put them all on a plane back to Manila ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 09:21 AM PST [link]

It's True

I'm on something of a fitness kick right now, trying to whip an old body into shape to impress young girls. As part of the no doubt pointless effort, I walk twice a week along the beach - once in Hermosa, and once in Redondo.

Tonight, it was time to walk the Esplanade in Redondo. Like most folks, I have my iPod going, arms pumping for extra effort, striding forth towards fitness. Ahead of me, I see a guy who clearly has a different agenda. Head down, feet shuffling, he's in the classic posture - text messaging. As I close on him from behind, I'm reminded of an article I read a couple of weeks back that talked about the upturn in accidents resulting from people walking into solid objects while texting. At the time, I thought you'd have to be as dumb as a bag of hammers to have that happen.

But as I watch my friend approach an intersection, oblivious of his surroundings, I suddenly realize I'm about to see this study play out before me. Sure enough, as he nears the crosswalk, he walks unabated into the pole holding the stoplight.

WHUMP!!

He falls back, glasses going one way, phone the other. It was as if he'd been woken up from sleepwalking - he seemed to not realize where he was, although I suppose you could attribute that to the shock of the impact. As dumb as I thought you'd have to be, here he was in the flesh. Amazing ...

As a certified Crackberry addict, I too am at risk of such behavior. Fortunately, most of the folks I know wouldn't know a text message if it bit them in the ass, and the one person I usually text with is currently too pissed at me to talk. One bright side to an otherwise dark episode, I guess ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:02 PM PST [link]

Monday Sports Rant

I'm sitting in an incredibly boring meeting, and I haven't done one of these in a while, anyway, so ...

- Hard to figure, but it's a really good time to be a Marlins fan. Not only is the team playing lights-out ball - they're leading the East by three games! - but they started demolition on the Orange Bowl over the weekend, which will make room for the new Marlins Stadium. Oh, and they're about to lay out 70 megabucks to lock down Hanley Ramirez for the next 10 years. The Fish currently have the best record in baseball - the latest they've ever had that - and are doing it with the lowest salary. I'd try to figure it out, but I'd rather just ride it ...

- Things are tightening up in the NBA Playoffs, as the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs each took a second game to even their playoff series at 2-2. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally took one from the Celtics and still have another home game to even things up. We thought these series would be good, and they're living up to their billing. As they say, though, the series don't really start until someone loses a home game, and in two of those series it hasn't happened yet ...

- One week after wrecking NASCAR's most popular driver, Kyle Busch survived the carnage to win at Darlington Saturday night. There's no denying his talent, or quality of his team, and he's won races in all three of NASCAR's national series. But he's driving with a chip on his shoulder, and is pushing things that shouldn't be pushed. It's going right for him now, but it could all go very wrong very fast if he doesn't start using his head.

Posted by MarlinNut @ 11:09 AM PST [link]

Double Your Weekend Eye Candy

Those of you who checked this space last week were no doubt disappointed to find that the Eye Candy feature had been cancelled due to your humble host's illness. I promised better things for this week, and I'm happy to say that I'm feeling better and ready to come through.

For our first entry, I return to my illness. One of the things about being sick is that you don't necessarily remember things as they are but rather how you think they were. So I can't say for sure this is what my nurse looked like, or if there even was a nurse. But if there was one, this is what I hope she looked like ... :-) It is, in fact, Page 3 Girl Leilani Dowling, and I'm not sure, but I think at this point she's about to ask you to turn your head and cough ...

But we promised to double your pleasure this week. In actuality, we're going to double your doubled pleasure with Eye Candy favs Marisa Miller and Alessandra Ambrosio doing their thing for the latest Victoria's Secret catalog. And since Ale is currently several months into her pregnancy, we even work in this weekend's Mother's Day theme! Yes, I know - we rock ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 06:14 AM PST [link]

Tick ... Tick ... Tick ...

In LA, we love our car chases. The news helicopter fleet will get word that someone is on the lam from the cops and show up overhead, ready to broadcast the results to the world. They won't admit it, but we all know what they really want - the money shot. They want to see they guy crash and scatter car parts across three lanes of traffic.

Sometimes, though, they get more than they bargained for. The chase will turn into a standoff, and end in a hail of police gunfire. Execution by cop - all broadcast live and direct into your living room. They wring their hands and say how unfortunate and unavoidable it was, but you know they know better.

That's the sense I get of the paparazzi who continually hound some of the more troubled celebrities - they claim they're just documenting the activities, but what they really want is to catch the ultimate meltdown. They got close with Britney Spears, but I think the one where they'll really get their wish is singer Amy Winehouse, who was once again arrested yesterday over her continued drug use and amazingly bad behavior.

You may recall the story from a few months back about Winehouse - fresh off a new series of denials - being caught using a crack pipe on paparazzi video. It was embarassing enough to finally force Wino into rehab - or, more correctly, force her management to try and force Wino into rehab, since it didn't work. Now the police are finally looking into it; Wino was arrested and released on bail yesterday in the matter.

If you've ever seen before and after photos of Amy Winehouse, the change is shocking. In a relatively short amount of time, she's gone from sexy and voluptuous to tattoed and gaunt. She's said to have earned $20 million already in her singing career (although I'll be damned if I can figure out how), and you know that the vast majority had gone into drugs. The photogs document her every move, each more bizarre than the next. You just can't help but wonder who'll be the lucky guy to break the photo of a half-naked Wino, needle still in her arm, sprawled dead in some alley ...

Someone get her some help before that happens.

Posted by MarlinNut @ 06:08 AM PST [link]

Boys Behaving Badly

Let me preface this entry with a little history. In November, 1980, I was initiated into the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta at UC Riverside. I spent three years as an undergraduate officer of that chapter, and later spent 5 years as a graduate advisor to our chapter at Long Beach State. I have a deep understanding of the Greek lifestyle, and all the advantages and challenges that come along with it.

That said, nothing makes me more angry - or disappointed - than reading of fraternity chapters that, in the year 2008, still think that there is a place for hazing in the initiation of pledges. Earlier this week, the story broke of a hazing incident at Tulane. In this case, pledges of the school's Pi Kappa Alpha chapter were hospitalized for burns suffered after boiling water, vinegar and cayenne pepper were used during a hazing ritual. Being Louisiana, apparently these geniuses decided the appropriate way to inspire their pledges was to treat them as if they were crawfish being prepared for the dinner gumbo. As you might guess, the chapter has been suspended by Tulane, the police are involved and charges are pending.

My undergraduate days were in the immediate aftermath of the movie "Animal House" - a time when fraternities felt obligated to live up to the "standard" the movie represented. I was fortunate enough to have joined an international fraternity with an aggressive anti-hazing policy, so my initiation was pretty tame. Like PGD, the Pikes are an international fraternity with a long and distinguished history, and a solid record on combating hazing. Often, stories like this occur to the so-called "local" fraternities, individual groups with no guidance. But when it happens to a chapter of a prominent organization like this, it shows that it can happen anywhere - and every fraternity chapter, no matter their affiliation, must constantly be on guard against backsliding to such unacceptable behavior.

Of course, as frightening as it is to imagine, it could be worse ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:55 PM PST [link]

Congrats, 24!

Confirming perhaps the worst-kept secret in sports, the NBA Most Valuable Player award was presented today to the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. Coming in his 12th professional season, Bryant ties former teammate Karl Malone by playing the most seasons before first winning the award.

There was a lot of talk that this would be a closely fought battle between Bryant, Cavaliers' star LeBron James, and Hornets' point guard Chris Paul. In fact, many felt that the push for Bryant wasn't so much a measure of his performance this year, but rather a reward for a successful career. Whatever the motivation, the vote wasn't nearly as close as predicted, with Bryant receiving 82 first place votes to Paul's 28. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett was third with 15.

To see Bryant win the award this season is amazing considering the state of his relationship with the Lakers less than a year ago. Frustrated after several down years in the wake of Shaquille O'Neal's departure to Miami, Kobe made it clear that if changes weren't made, he wanted out. Even after the season started - and it was clear that those changes hadn't happened - it seemed inevitable that Bryant would be traded to Chicago.

But that trade fell through, and the young Lakers squad jelled. Andrew Bynum - himself a target of Bryant's ire in a well-publicized video rant - became a genuine star, and Luke Walton and Jordan Farmarr matured into solid players. The return of Derek Fisher gave the team new stability at point guard, and Bryant began to trust his new teammates, becoming less of a scorer and more of a playmaker. He could still score at will, but he didn't have to - and that realization is what allowed him to grow into a player worthy of the MVP.

At the awards presentation, it was clear that Bryant appreciated both the award and the role of his teammates in helping him win it. But he also made it very clear that while an MVP is nice, nothing says success like one more ring ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:13 PM PST [link]

Called That Shot!

Last week, we talked about how good the movie Ironman looked in advance of its Friday opening, and wondered just how successful it would be. How does a $100.8 million opening weekend sound? Pretty good to the folks at Marvel, who announced today that Ironman 2 is opening in two years. Overall, the flick took over $200 million worldwide, and the critics are predicting a long run at the top, considering the competition it should face in the next few weeks. Soon as I shake this damned cold, I'll see it and give you a first-person review.

BTW, Speed Racer preview showings are tanking, leading experts to declare it DOA. One review put it well:

Unlike a Pixar cartoon that embraces as wide an audience as possible, "Speed Racer" proudly denies entry into its ultra-bright world to all but gamers, fanboys and anime enthusiasts.

Interestingly enough, that same review noticed something I saw from the trailers - the whole thing looks a lot like the early eighties flick "Tron". But in that movie, you could excuse things because of the relatively immature technology. Not sure this movie will get the same pass ...

Posted by MarlinNut @ 08:28 PM PST [link]