There's a nice article in this month's 'Smithsonian' magazine by Steve Martin, where he gives a nice synopsis of his early career & how long it took him to get to his late 70s - early 80s heights.

It was evident that he had given long & serious thought to the type of comedy he wanted to do (he started his career at age 15), how he would be different from his peers, his decisions on what his stage persona would be & why he decided upon that method, etc.

He gives succinct analysis of some other comedians popular back in the 60s & 70s & what he felt they were doing right or wrong & how their approach wouldn't necessarily work for him.

He spent years being only moderately successful before his big breaks came. It would be worth a read, IMO.

with above posts by lonewolfy.

I'm a hillbilly, so I can make all the hillbilly jokes I want.

You cannot.

I was off yesterday (picking up debris from my property) & I didn't get a chance to weigh in on Knight slinking off into the twilight (I hope). My take (which I didn't really see in yesterday's comments) was that Knight resigned to give his son a chance at winning in TTech, before Knight had inevitably worn out his welcome.

Pat Knight has no resume other than being Bob Knight's son & factotum for a number of years. Knight's teams were beginning to look like his last IU teams (not responding to his brand of encouragment, wanting to end season to get away from him, etc.).

If Knight had stayed to end of season & TTech again gets run out of NCAA tourney on 1st weekend (or doesn't make NCAAs), then the University management might have started thinking that it might be time for a change & Bob Knight's son wasn't going to be the knid of change they would be looking for.

Knight can be cunning & probably caught a few whiffs of that concern & figured out that he better let Pat become the head guy now, or there might not be a 'now'.

As for the trade, I can only assume that Marion was really moping around & undercutting the coach. Shaq didn't like running up & down floor when he was at LSU, let alone now. He can still be a rebounding & defensive presence (best against a team that likes to walk the ball up the court). Probably have to look back in hindsight to see if this was a mistake or not. I do know that if they play the Lakers in the playoffs, Shaq will be fired up for that one.

The swarthy brown peoples are a coming!!! Head for the hills!!

LeCastor asked Brightstar65 this: 'That wasn't the question, dear heart. I was asking about your fiancee. Does she know you've written thousands of posts here? I'm assuming she's no feminist, right?'

I asked him the same question a few days ago & I basically received the same answer as you. I distilled that answer down to: No.

Talesian asked that we start ignoring: 'Republican trolls like WES'

IMO, WES is many things (judging from his eclectic posts), but he is not a 'Republican troll'.

If he is, he must be having fun getting to savage various Republican policies, as he sets up his sham contrarian persona to fool us all.

Personally, I think all the current Democrats should boycott the 'state organ of the Republican party' (AKA Fox News). Although, I certainly would have liked to see Harry Truman or LBJ get interviewed by the likes of Chris Wallace, it would have made for entertaining TV.

Great game, go Giants! One of the key plays was when Giants fumbled on their own 30 yard line (Pats player falls right on the ball) & number 44 (Bradshaw?) for Giants then mugs the Pats player & regains the ball!

Giants just wanted it more.

King confessed: ' I have a feeling you'd find this significant for some reason, though: I've always liked ABBA.'

I too think ABBA has some great music. I saw an outtake from the move 'Persopolis' (cartoon about growing up in Mullahtown, Iran as a female) & one of the characters says that 'ABBA is for wimps'. That sorta pissed me off, but certainly they aren't Damage Plan, are they?

Best ABBA songs:

1. The Winner Takes it All

2. Take a Chance on Me

3. Waterloo

It's a shame they aren't in the Hall yet, but they will be one day.

Ever since Pres. Reagan had GHWB as VP & got shot (by a psycho), those elected Pres. have done what GHWB did (have Dan Quayle as VP) & ensure their VP is a less palatable alternative to the opposition than they are.

My examples:

Clinton - Gore (as much as my crazy right-wing co-workers/friends hated Clinton, they hated Gore worse (thinking he was more of a left-winger than Clinton))

Bush - Cheney (no great secret that I wouldn't piss on the current Pres. if he was on fire, but I would still rather have him as Pres. than Cheney. I actually think Cheney functions as the defacto Pres., but I wouldn't want to give him the satisfaction of being the dejure Pres.)

Thus, you might see Ghouliani as a VP candidate to McCain.

On our side, who would Obama pick as his VP to go with this theory? I say Hillary would certainly fit that spot.

catling said Rove has a beach house: 'Rove's cottage is in a small town that was laid out to encourage travel by car and bike and limit auto use, and was also built under newer building codes that in part encourage better energy efficiency.'

I know just where you're talking about. It's called 'Seaside' or something like that & is near Ft. Walton Beach & Destin.

We vacation near there & have to drive thru it sometimes. It is a wierd development. Some of the 'cottages' have the most unusual dimensions. I hope to see him someday at a crosswalk so I can 'lose control of my car' (just kidding, FBI).