Former Clemens trainer willing to go to jail

HOUSTON—Roger Clemens' former trainer said he was willing to go to jail and repeatedly asked the pitcher "what do you want me to do?" during a 17-minute telephone conversation last week.
A recording of last Friday's conversation between Clemens and Brian McNamee was played Monday at the start of Clemens' news conference.

Read The Crucible? This is what we call a witch hunt. Now, using steroids is a much greater offense than being a witch or a communist. Anyone who used these dangerous substances should be punished in some way. And no, the asterisks next to their names on their Hall of Fame plaques don't count as punishment.

Early bell before a snowstorm? Don't count on it.

WAKEFIELD - On the Thursday before Christmas it snowed all day long, much longer than forecasters had predicted. As the snow was piling up outside, parents got worried about their children. The School Department was flooded with well over 100 telephone calls, asking if school would be let out early.
In a newsletter sent out to parents, interim Superintendent of Schools Joan Landers said early dismissals are a “highly unlikely” event.

Here's the craziest excerpt from this story.

“It is highly unlikely that school would be let out early for a number or reasons, the most important one being that many parents would not be at home to meet their child. We also ended up dismissing over 100 students that afternoon, which created quite a log jam in the office."

Seriously, if you're going to end up individually dismissing over 100 students, just let the whole school out early. And no, 1:50 doesn't count. 15 minutes won't give the drivers any advantage over the roads.

Marching band banquet in works

Attention Marching Band students: Table sign-ups for the banquet are posted in the Music Hall.

Band geeks for life!

Merry Christmas!

To all international Étudiant visitors who are using the Julian Calendar!

101 Albums You Should Check Out ( Part 2)

51) The Stone Roses- The Stone Roses (1988)

53) The Smiths- Meat is Murder (1985)

54) Bob Marley- Legend (1984)

55) The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Are You Experienced? (1967)

56) Bob Dylan- Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

57) A Tribe Called Quest- The Low End Theory (1991)

58) New York Dolls- New York Dolls (1973)

59) Slayer- Reign in Blood (1986)

60) Husker Du- New Day Rising (1985)

61) Daniel Johnston- Don't Be Scared (1982)

62) Faith No More- Angel Dust (1992)

63) Incubus- S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (1997)

64) The Buzzcocks- Singles Going Steady (1979)

65) Pavement- Slanted and Enchanted (1992)

66) Patti Smith- Horses (1975)

67) The Fall of Troy- Manipulator (2007)

68) Weezer- Blue Album (1994)

69) R.E.M.- Murmur (1983)

70) Love- Forever Changes (1967)

71) Roy Orbison- 16 Biggest Hits (1999)

72) Nick Drake- Five Leaves Left (1969)

73) The Cure- Disintegration (1989)

74) Joy Division- Closer (1980)

75) The Jam- Sound Affects (1980)

76) Helmet- Meantime (1992)

77) The Pogues- Peace and Love (1989)

78) Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded (1987)

79) Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique (1989)

80) Eric B. and Rakim- Paid in Full (1987)

81) Daphne Loves Derby- Good Night, Witness Light (2007)

82) The Kinks- Well Respected Kinks (1966)

83) The Pharcyde- Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (1992)

84) Mudhoney- My Brother the Cow (1995)

85) Jane's Addiction- Nothing's Shocking (1988)

86) Beck- Odelay (1996)

87) Primus- Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991)

88) Dinosaur Jr- You're Living All Over Me (1987)

89) Smashing Pumpkins- Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness (1995)

90) Nine Inch Nails- The Downward Spiral (1994)

91) Beat Happening- Beat Happening (1985)

92) The Foo Fighters- The Colour and the Shape (1997)

93) Bjork- Post (1995)

94) Run-DMC- Raising Hell (1986)

95) Hank Williams- The Ultimate Collection (2006)

96) Marvin Gaye- What's Going On (1971)

97) De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

98) Talking Heads- Stop Making Sense (1984)

99) Chimaira- The Impossibility of Reason (2003)

100) Morissey- Kill Uncle (1991)

101) Credence Clearwater Revival- Green River (1969)

Honorable Mentions: Big Black- Songs About Fucking (1987), The Mamas and the Papas- If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966), Neil Young- Harvest (1971), Elvis Costello- This Year's Model (1978) MC5- Kick Out the Jams (1968), Melvins- Houdini (1993), Germs- GI (1979), Fear- The Record (1982), Queen- Greatest Hits (1981), Head Automatica- Decadence (2004), 40 Below Summer- Invitation to the Dance (2001), Bright Eyes- Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (2004), Arcade Fire- Funeral (2004) Brand New- The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2007), The Strokes- Is this It? (2001), Dillenger Escape Plan- Miss Machine (2004), STP- Purple (1994), and The Nightwatchman- One Man Revolution (2007).

HD Format War

Yet another shoe has dropped in the ongoing hi-def format war between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD (which, at this point, means there's a pile of footwear approaching Imelda Marcos proportions lying around... and a growing need for air freshener), with Warner Bros. Entertainment and its associated labels (Warner Home Video, New Line, HBO) announcing that they are dropping their format neutrality and going Blu-ray exclusive, joining the ranks of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lionsgate. Warner was the last major studio to remain format neutral, after Paramount/Dreamworks threw its lot in with the HD DVD camp last summer. Warner will continue to ship titles in both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats through May, after which, all new hi-def releases will be exclusively Blu-ray.

Market analysts say that, in terms of content, Blu-ray maintains about a 2-to-1 sales advantage over HD DVD. The installed base of players in the United States, including set-top boxes and hi-def capable gaming consoles, is estimated at 2.7 million to 750,000 in Blu-ray's favor, despite a lower average cost for HD DVD hardware.

So... for those of you who haven't been paying attention, here's how the sides stack up now, among the major content providers:

Blu-ray Disc: Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner

HD DVD: Paramount/Dreamworks, Universal

Neutral: ...

Source: David Anderson

Thanks to David for being insightful and informative as always.

A Dedication To The Pixies

10 Songs You Should Check Out:

1. Monkey Gone To Heaven
2. Velouria
3. Alec Eiffel
4. Debaser
5. Dig For Fire
6. Gigantic
7. Mr. Grieves
8. UMASS
9. Wave of Mutilation
10. Where is My Mind?

CD Review: Revolver

1) Taxman
2) Eleanor Rigby
3) I'm Only Sleeping
4) Love You To
5) Here, There, and Everywhere
6) Yellow Submarine
7) She Said She Said
8) Good Day Sunshine
9) And Your Bird Can Sing
10) For No One
11) Doctor Robert
12) I Want to Tell You
13) Got to Get You into My Life
14) Tomorrow Never Knows
Don't ask me to pick my favorite Beatles' album. I wrote my college essay about John Lennon. If you think you're a bigger Beatles' fan than me, you're wrong. And they made so many great albums in a span of seven years, someone who's heard them all just can't pick one.
Revolver's definitely up there, though. It's the last Beatles' album of what I consider the early days, before they made a huge departure from what had come before with the next album they made. Still, the songs on Revolver are certainly more unique and complex than, say, "Love Me Do".
I can't pick a favorite album, but ask me my favorite song, and the one that comes to mind is "Tomorrow Never Knows". Witness the birth of techno. "Tomorrow Never Knows" is wildly different from anything the Beatles did before or since.
Don't get me wrong. All the other songs are classics, too! We get bouncy 60s rock with "Taxman", the Bernard Herrman-tinged "Eleanor Rigby", and an early foray into psychedelia with "I'm Only Sleeping". All in the first three tracks!
There will never be another band like the Beatles. They weren't just the biggest band in pop music history. They're also the best. Exhibit A: Revolver.
***** out of five

Dodd, Biden Drop Out

They only got 1% each in the caucus.

And....they were disqualified a long time ago (if you can remember my article)

Mogni: You Are On Watch

For repeatedly saying Delenda DeCarlo Est

John Edwards - A Pompous Little Bastard

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Former Senator John Edwards, riding his second-place finish over Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, wasted little time in pitching his message of change in New Hampshire today, telling a dawn gathering of hundreds of supporters that voters in the Granite State "now have two choices" -- between him and Iowa victor Barack Obama

Edwards, calling himself "the people's candidate," said his victory over Clinton showed that voters are yearning for change in Washington. In the populist tone he has struck throughout his second run for the White House, he asked supporters, "Are we willing to fight the corporate greed that has an iron-fisted grip on our democracy?" - Boston Globe

Is it me or does it seem like all the candidates call themselves "the people's candidate?"

Huckabee, Obama Win Iowa Caucuses

DES MOINES - Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, two political sensations delivering messages of change and conciliation, captured the first victories of the 2008 presidential campaign yesterday, winning their parties' Iowa caucuses decisively after hard-fought, wide-open contests.

Obama cruised to victory amid a stunning, record turnout of first-time caucus-goers, capturing almost 38 percent of the vote in a race that drew nearly 240,000 Democrats - about twice the GOP turnout - on a bone-chilling night. Former senator John Edwards of North Carolina ran a shade ahead of Senator Hillary Clinton of New York for second place, each polling just over 29 percent.

In the GOP race, Huckabee, a Baptist minister, used his populist, folksy style to stitch together a loose coalition of evangelical Christians and conservatives to beat Mitt Romney, despite the former Massachusetts governor's huge cash advantage, superior organization, and attack-ad campaign. Huckabee won, 34 percent to 25 percent. - Boston Globe

One Man. One Band. Three Instruments.

This is amazing:

Nowitzi Slacking This Season

Dirk Nowitski, one of the NBA's best scorers of the this decade, has been slacking of late. He is only averaging 21.9 points per game, down from last year's 24.6 and and 2005's 26.6. His three point percentage is only 32% down significantly from last year's 42%.

Obama Atheist Rumor

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama spent a half-hour Thursday afternoon greeting diners at a downtown Des Moines food court.

People swarmed around him, wishing him luck, saying he inspired them and promising to caucus for him Thursday night.

"You are going to win big tomorrow," one man told him.

"We'd love to have you caucus for us tonight," Obama said in a very hoarse voice.

He asked some Republicans to consider voting for him in the general election.

He answered questions about how he expected to do in the caucus or about the polls with "I feel good" or "We're doing great."

He reached over the counter and shook hands with workers at the Subway sandwich shop.

Zanata Moore-El asked Obama if he was an atheist.

"I'm a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ," Obama replied. "Don't read e-mails."

E-mails have circulated in recent weeks saying Obama is a Muslim or an atheist or took his oath of office on a Quran instead of a bible, none of which his true.

"I hated having to ask him that," Moore-El said. "But I heard he was like an atheist. I don't want a president who's an atheist. I'm a firm believer in God. I just really wanted to make sure because I really wanted to vote for him and he has some good topics and everything." - Huffington Post; Bill Baer

Moore-El must have forgotten that Obama is pro-death.