I had this idea a while ago to make reffing more egalitarian.

What if each referee were fitted with a wireless electronic device. I simple three button device.

One for offense, one for defense, one for "No call"

When they noted a foul, they would merely push the appropriate button. The other refs devices would shake or buzz, indicating that they needed to weigh in on the call.

A quick reaction would occur, all 3 refs having weighed in.

If a majority votes either direction, then an automated whistle blows, and play stops to resolve the foul.

If it's really divided, say One offensive, one Defensive, and say the final ref doesn't have line of sight and pushed "No call". Then it would be a "no call" because the people who felt they could see a foul couldn't come to a consensus on who committed the foul.

I think it would cause a lot more situations where you've got two refs who choose "no call" leading to less actual fouls called.

It could totally work for football too, though the number of players and refereesa makes things more difficult, since you've got so many possible fouls on any given play. I'm sure it could be organized though, just would require an additional level of complexity.

...when Rashaan Roland Kirk suggested that he'd like his ashes mixed up in a big bag of hash, and that his friends smoke him up when he died. He died in '77. Not sure if his wishes were carried out (though a recording of him talking about it was saved on one of his CDs).

In my mind, it's actually a kind of romantic and appealing farewell.

All that poll shows me is that the black people polled are unwilling to open their eyes regarding the transgressions of this ball player.

I bet the polls would show similar numbers if you asked people in two other groups. Giants Fans, and fans of one of their league rivals.

I was thinking about Shark Fin soup, and about the much reported practice of throwing the sharks back into the water, to die.

It occured to me, that the throwing of the doomed shark back into the water is actually much more environmentally friendly than it might seem. The shark, tossed back into the water, will undoubtedly die, and provide sustinence for a plethora of other sea life. Much of the deep sea life depends on the sunken corpses of large fish.

It would be much more problematic if the shark were taken and cut into steaks to be consumed by humans. Then the human feces produced would do little to benefit the ocean habitat.

Is the practice brutal, and cruel to the animals? Most likely.

I mean, is drowning a worse death than what fishermen do to most fish? I can't really speak to that. I've never suffocated. I'm not a fish. I don't even know how most fish actually die in commercial fishing - I presume they die from frost, or suffocation from being out of water.

I'm not suggesting that Carol is wrong here, just mentioning that we often need to fully examine practices we consider brutal and/or wasteful.

What song SHOULD they have nominated that ISN'T on this list.

Cause, I mean, come on, this list sucks. Other than the obvious winner "Beautiful Day", the rest of these songs really don't have a lot going for them.

Browsing my music collection, I was immediately struck by a couple ideas...not all of them serious.

"For Goodness Sakes, Look at those Cakes (Part 1)" - James Brown

"She's the One" - Bruce Springsteen

"Short People (got no reason to live)" - Randy Newman

"She's like the wind" - Patrick Swayze (Awesome!)

"She's my man" - The Scissor Sisters (sorry, but how could I help it)

"Every Little Thing She does is Magic" - Police

"Sister's are Doing it for Themselves" - Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox

"Everyday People" - Sly and the Family Stone

and my personal favorite

"Is she Really Going out with Him" - Joe Jackson

Wow! Lenny Kravitz' "Are you Gonna Go My Way" got written in so much they offered it as a voting choice! Insane.

I mean, the song rocks, but it doesn't have any of the elements you would normally attach to a campaign song.

I wonder if she would select it if it got the majority. For some reason I feel like that election would be fixed.

Celine Dion? Gah! What was she thinking?

I am officially giving up on the Clinton campaign.

I liked the inclusion of the old fat white guy who looks at the Clintons disapprovingly. A bit odd.

Audiofile needs to be better, not gone.

Like all radio broadcasts, it needs to be able to filter in occasional gems from more familiar bands. The reason Audiofile was great was because it exposed us to new music, but the way to make it draw people in would be for it to splash in a little familiar color.

I'm sure there's audio of this sort available legally online somewhere.

And, by the way, I'm happy to seek it out for a small stipend :)

I know it isn't exactly what you were thinking, but I really like

this pimp shirt. It's kind of geek-chic

http://www.tshirthell.com/store/product.php?productid=668

Regarding the theme song, I wish they had returned to the original songwriter (Tom Waits) for this, the final season.

I'd have loved to hear the version off Big Time instead though.

I suspect she just created a funny little video of her staring at the camera, and when she found that people started watching it, she honed the process.

The last of the videos is actually very different. It's a response to a Kikkoman Soy Sauce advert.

http://ctu.spotlightmobile.com/get/yky/kikkomaso-e.swf

A very strange little animated short promoting Soy Sauce. It's actually pretty funny.