Yes We Can!!!

I should apologize to you all. As I begin writing this it is becoming evident to me that I've already decided who I'm voting for. I really enjoy the presidential election process and typically I may lean towards a particular candidate or view but never before have I KNOWN this early in the game who I want as the next President.

There is still a long way to go before the general election (well over 250 days) so to be fair I will attempt to offer some air time to the other candidates as well.

The Democratic part seems to have been reduced to a two person race with the outside chance of John Edwards making some noise. I like John. I like the things he has to say and I love his passion. I think he'd make a fine president and really wish it had been him running against Bush in 2004. But that's not the way it worked out.

This time around John's party is presenting us with Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. The core beliefs of the two candidates are pretty similar. There are some differences here and there but ultimately they walk the same path. Where they really contrast is in their ability to inspire. Last night Hillary won the New Hamshire Primary. Her acceptance speach was text book. She thanked all the right people and droned on about the next step. Nute Rockney she ain't.

Barrack's speach was 13 minutes long. He opened and closed with a thank you to New Hampshire (textbook) and gave an early congratulations to Hillary for her victory (also textbook). The rest was a joyful mixture of John Kennedy & Martin Luther King Jr.

Judge for yourself. I'm inspired...are you?

Mr. Palmer, your limo is waiting

Somewhere along the way we've started to believe. Could it be? Is it really possible? Can a black man be President? This has been the question for at least 24 years when Jesse Jackson ran for President. We've tossed in Alan Keyes, Al Sharpton, and yes even a woman in Carol Mosely Braun. The most presidential of all of our hopefuls was David Palmer on 24. Hell, even I'd take a bullet for that man.

But they were all jokes. Well, all of them except for Palmer. Now some of you just read that and thought, "shame on you Chad". But it's the truth. Not one of them ever really had a serious chance. The closest was Jesse and let's face it folks, the man is a bigot. The irony of calling a man that marched with Martin a bigot is not lost upon me but it's also no less true. Just ask The Rainbow Coalition.

However, today in Iowa something historic happened. A non-caucasian male is the front runner for his party. Barrack Obama has officially given legitimacy to the idea that a black man can be elected President before I turn 40. There are still quite a few hurdles to leap, but Iowa is no longer one of them. Up next is New Hampshire, followed by South Carolina.

And now for absolutely no good reason, I give you Obama Girl.

Straight No Chaser!

A buddy of mine sent this out to a bunch of us earlier today but it's so good that I have to repost it. How is it I've never heard of these guys before now?

The ending with Christmas in Africa is an instant classic

This is how they do it

Toto Go Home

Captain, I have a contact bearing two niner zero, over

Sometimes life is naturally funnier than any joke I could come up with on my own. Take this little crafty idea for example. The folks over at The Aphrodite Project believe quite passionately about advancing the "workplace" for sex workers. So much so that they've come up with the idea of placing GPS inside of platform shoes. Dammit! Why didn't I think of that. Looks like Pimpin just got easier. Sorry couldn't help myself. Below is a glance at the aforementioned shoes. If you desire more info check the link above.

I Don't Snow Much About Art...

Steak - It's "what's for dinner?"

Each year my wife and friends lose contact with me for about 3 - 4 months. It's a time I like to call football season. For example I saw Cyemm the other day and he said, "man I haven't seen you in ages how've you been?" He's known me long enough to understand that this brief reticence is nothing more than "my thing", and that I do it every year.

A couple of days ago a close friend of mine (and fellow football nut) asked how I was doing in the 6 (yes six, and I participated in more than this last year so get off my back) Fantasy Football Leagues I'm in. Needless to say, I have an obsession. I'd feel bad about answering the question but it was posed by a fellow "Ef ef eller" (FFL) that happens to frequent my musings so...

This year I participated in 6 different leagues. 2 Yahoo leagues, 3 CBS Sportsline, and 1 Fanball league.

One of the Yahoo leagues and the Fanball league are what we term "money" leagues. These are leagues that you pay for and have an opportunity to win money back. As a result these are the leagues that tend to garnish most of my attention.

The other leagues are ones that I participate in for both practice and pride. You can really pick up on trends around the FF world just by watching what other owners do with there teams each week.

Most importantly to some of you, and especially to The Admiral, is that at the end of the season there is an annual "Thank God The Fantasy Football Season Is Over Steak Dinner" that I take The Admiral to. It started out small. In the beginning it was all about the dinner being equivelent to the level of success I have each year but I've performed fairly well the last half dozen years and I have to admit that this year I'm really starting to feel the pressure of delivering a quality meal.

So how am I doing this year you ask? I'm proud to say that out of the 6 teams 5 of them have made the Playoffs. Even better still is the fact that I'm still alive in both of the money leagues. As a side note I'd like to mention that for the team that missed the playoffs I wasn't able to participate in the draft due to being at a really kick-ass party with some of you folks. The regular season records this year were:

CBS - Crighton's Module 8 - 6
CBS - Rebuilding Year 1 9 - 5
CBS - Ditty Boppin Blues 7 - 7 (bummer)
Yahoo - Harvey's Crawl Space 9 - 5
$Yahoo$ - Rebuilding Year 8 - 5
$Fanball$ - Durden's Boys 10 - 3

The good news is that I won't lose any money this year. Beyond that I can't say because I'm much too superstitious to start thinking I've won it all. I hope to see many of you in about 3 - 4 weeks at a decent steak place, toasting with me and The Admiral.

Don't give up, don't ever give up

A few years back we lost a family member to what Sean Connery once referred to as the plague of the 20th Century. If you've ever lost someone to Cancer you'll most likely agree with his sentiment. For myself I can honestly say that each week the memory of Adam's strength his last few days bolsters my courage and resolve to be a better human being. There are moments, like now, when just thinking about that time brings me instantly to tears. I'm proud of this because he was an extraordinary man.

In 1983 the North Carolina State Wolfpack won the NCAA mens basketball tournament and were crowned national champions. They were coached and led James Thomas Anthony Valvano. It's one of the greater sports moments of that era. NC State defeated a very heavily favored University of Houston team. Houston wasn't just favored though. They were bigger, faster, stronger, yadda, yadda, yadda. If this game were to be played 9 more times Houston would have mopped the floor with NC State. But not that day.

Ten years later Coach Jimmy V lost his battle with Cancer at the age of 47. Three months before doing so, he was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. While accepting this (inaugural) award he gave one of the more inspirational speaches I have ever heard. This week the folks at ESPN will give honor to Jimmy V and remember him in there programing and below is his acceptance speach in its entirety.

Thank you Adam for sharing your faith and your strength with a loser that had the good fortune to fall in love with your daughter. I miss you...