C Picks

New Mexico

Dec. 19           

Arizona vs. New Mexico         

Wildcats -10

Boring!

My pick: ARIZONA

Las Vegas       

Dec. 19           

BYU vs. Utah  

Utes -3

Holy war!

My pick: UTAH

Camellia          

Dec. 19           

Ohio vs. Appalachian State      

Mountaineers -8

See you in Monty, baby!

My pick: APPY STATE

Cure    

Dec. 19           

San Jose State vs. Georgia State          

Spartans -3.5

Georgia State ate my old place of employment. My first pick against Vegas.

My pick: GA ST

New Orleans   

Dec. 19           

Arkansas State vs. La. Tech    

Bulldogs -2

Driskelion!

My pick: LA TECH

Miami Beach   

Dec. 21           

Western Ky. vs. South Florida 

Hilltoppers -3

BSC is the Hilltop.

My pick: WESTERN KY

Potato 

Dec. 22           

Akron vs. Utah State   

Aggies -6.5

Potatoes! Fat little Terry can’t waddle his team to victory this time.

My pick: UTAH STATE

Boca Raton     

Dec. 22           

Temple vs. Toledo       

Owls -1.5

Temple is pretty good and Toledo lost their coach.

My pick: OWLS

Poinsettia         

Dec. 23           

Boise State vs. Northern Illinois           

Broncos -7.5

No. Illinois - Oh, they got this all screwed up. No, Illinois!

My pick: BOISE ST

GoDaddy        

Dec. 23           

Ga. Southern vs. Bowling Green          

Falcons -7.5

Bowling Green is the better team!

My pick: BOWLING GREEN

Bahamas         

Dec. 24           

Middle Tenn. St. vs. W. Mich. 

Broncos -3

I think the Bahamas is more exciting for a team from Michigan.

My pick: WESTERN MICHIGAN

Hawaii 

Dec. 24           

San Diego State vs. Cincinnati  

Bearcats -1.5

Be still my heart.

My pick: YOU KNOW IT’S CINCY TUBBY TIME BABY

St. Pete           

Dec. 26           

Connecticut vs. Marshall          

Thundering Herd -4.5

A second upset pick!

My pick: UCONN

Sun     

Dec. 26           

Miami vs. Washington State     

Cougars -3

I like Mike Leach, but I also feel like his offense is not bowl game friendly. A third upset pick!

My pick: MIAMI

Heart of Dallas

Dec. 26           

Washington vs. Southern Miss

Huskies -8.5

Boring!

My pick: WASHINGTON

Pinstripe          

Dec. 26           

Indiana vs. Duke          

Hooisers -2

Boring! Expect a bunch of basketball references if you watch this.

My pick: INDIANA JONES

Independence  

Dec. 26           

Tulsa vs. Va. Tech       

Hokies -13.5

Win one for the Beamer.

My pick: VA TECH

Foster Farms   

Dec. 26           

UCLA vs. Nebraska   

Bruins -7

Farms bowl? A fourth upset pick!

My pick: NEWBRASKA

Military

Dec. 28           

Pitt vs. Navy    

Midshipmen -3.5

My dad was in the Navy; now he’s in a home.

My pick: NAVEL

Quick Lane     

Dec. 28           

Central Michigan vs. Minnesota           

Golden Gophers -5.5

Boring!

My pick: MINNESOTA

Armed Forces 

Dec. 29           

Cal vs. Air Force         

Golden Bears -7

It seems unfair to me that the Air Force football squad should get to play in a bowl game at least partially named after them.

My pick: CALI

Russell Athletic

Dec. 29           

North Carolina vs. Baylor        

Bears -3

Chizik! A declining Baylor team! A fifth upset pick!

My pick: UNC

Arizona           

Dec. 29           

Nevada vs. Colorado State      

Rams -3

This pick is dedicated to my friend W. and his hero, Brad Lee Van Pelt.

My pick: COLORADO STATE

Texas  

Dec. 29           

LSU vs. Texas Tech    

Tigers -7.5

Coaching for his job!

My pick: LSU

Birmingham     

Dec. 30           

Auburn vs. Memphis    

Aub. Tigers -2.5

Coaching for his job! I cannot believe Auburn is favored in this. I should count this as an upset pick.

My pick: AUBRUN

Belk    

Dec. 30           

N.C. State vs. Mississippi State           

Bulldogs -5.5

Dak attack!

My pick: MSU

Music City       

Dec. 30           

Texas A&M vs. Louisville        

Aggies -2.5

Remember when Sumlin was a hot coaching prospect? A sixth upset pick!

My pick: THA LOU

Holiday           

Dec. 30           

USC vs. Wisconsin      

Trojans -3

New coach, new attitude!

My pick: USC

Peach  

Dec. 31           

Houston vs. Florida State         

Seminoles -7

If I were a gambling man, I’d take FSU and the points.

My pick: FREE SHOES UNIVERSITY

Orange

Dec. 31           

Oklahoma vs. Clemson

Sooners -4

Dude, I don’t know. I feel like this is a proverbial toss-up. Oklahoma did lose to a really bad Texas team. So, an seventh upset pick!

My pick: CLEM, SON

Cotton 

Dec. 31           

Michigan State vs. Alabama     

Tide -9.5

The only chance that Michigan State has is if life is just and fair.

My pick: Alabama

Outback          

Jan. 1  

Northwestern vs. Tennessee    

Vols -8.5

This line seems high, but I still pick the villains.

My pick: TENNESSEE

Citrus  

Jan. 1  

Michigan vs. Florida    

Wolverines -4

Florida is bad. Let me tell you, this is going to be a bad game to watch. More like Hardbore!

My pick: MICHICAN

Fiesta  

Jan. 1  

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State      

Buckeyes -6.5

Here’s a game that can go to heck!

My pick: LUCKEYES

Rose   

Jan. 1  

Stanford vs. Iowa        

Cardinal -6.5

I know people are allegedly excited over this Rose Bowl, inexplicable. At least it will get over relatively quickly.

My pick: SAMFORD

Sugar  

Jan. 1  

Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss   

Rebels -7

Oklahoma State is a team getting worse, and All Mitts is a team getting better, except the Mississippians seem committed to jumping out of windows. I would not put money on this one, folks.

My pick: OLD MIST

TaxSlayer        

Jan. 2  

Penn State vs. Georgia 

Bulldogs -7

Another stinker of a game between two teams who I don’t like that will be boring to watch. A eighth upset pick!

My pick: PENN STATION

Liberty Bowl   

Jan. 2  

Kansas State vs. Arkansas       

Razorbacks -11

Geee-ross.

My pick: ARKANSAW

Alamo Bowl    

Jan. 2  

Oregon vs. TCU          

Horned Frogs -1

I’ve seen this as a pick’em mostly, but still: ninth upset pick!

My pick: OREGON

Cactus Bowl    

Jan. 2  

West Virginia vs. Arizona State

Sun Devils -1

I like Holgo. A tenth upset pick!

My pick: WAVU

It begins

New Mexico
Dec. 19
Arizona vs. New Mexico
Wildcats -10

Las Vegas
Dec. 19
BYU vs. Utah
Utes -3

Camellia
Dec. 19
Ohio vs. Appalachian State
Mountaineers -8

Cure
Dec. 19
San Jose State vs. Georgia State
Spartans -3.5

New Orleans
Dec. 19
Arkansas State vs. La. Tech
Bulldogs -2

Miami Beach
Dec. 21
Western Ky. vs. South Florida
Hilltoppers -3

Potato
Dec. 22
Akron vs. Utah State
Aggies -6.5

Boca Raton
Dec. 22
Temple vs. Toledo
Owls -1.5

Poinsettia
Dec. 23
Boise State vs. Northern Illinois
Broncos -7.5

GoDaddy
Dec. 23
Ga. Southern vs. Bowling Green
Falcons -7.5

Bahamas 
Dec. 24
Middle Tenn. St. vs. W. Mich.
Broncos -3

Hawaii
Dec. 24
San Diego State vs. Cincinnati
Bearcats -1.5

St. Pete
Dec. 26
Connecticut vs. Marshall
Thundering Herd -4.5

Sun
Dec. 26
Miami vs. Washington State
Cougars -3

Heart of Dallas
Dec. 26
Washington vs. Southern Miss
Huskies -8.5

Pinstripe
Dec. 26
Indiana vs. Duke
Hooisers -2

Independence
Dec. 26
Tulsa vs. Va. Tech
Hokies -13.5

Farms
Dec. 26
UCLA vs. Nebraska
Bruins -7

Military
Dec. 28
Pitt vs. Navy
Midshipmen -3.5

Quick Lane
Dec. 28
Central Michigan vs. Minnesota
Golden Gophers -5.5

Armed Forces
Dec. 29
Cal vs. Air Force
Golden Bears -7

Russell Ath.
Dec. 29
North Carolina vs. Baylor
Bears -3

Arizona
Dec. 29
Nevada vs. Colorado State
Rams -3

Texas
Dec. 29
LSU vs. Texas Tech
Tigers -7.5

Birmingham
Dec. 30
Auburn vs. Memphis
Aub. Tigers -2.5

Belk
Dec. 30
N.C. State vs. Mississippi State
Bulldogs -5.5

Music City
Dec. 30
Texas A&M vs. Louisville
Aggies -2.5

Holiday
Dec. 30
USC vs. Wisconsin
Trojans -3

Peach
Dec. 31
Houston vs. Florida State
Seminoles -7

Orange
Dec. 31
Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Sooners -4

Cotton
Dec. 31
Michigan State vs. Alabama
Tide -9.5

Outback
Jan. 1
Northwestern vs. Tennessee
Vols -8.5

Citrus
Jan. 1
Michigan vs. Florida
Wolverines -4

Fiesta
Jan. 1
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
Buckeyes -6.5

Rose
Jan. 1
Stanford vs. Iowa
Cardinal -6.5

Sugar
Jan. 1
Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
Rebels -7

TaxSlayer
Jan. 2
Penn State vs. Georgia
Bulldogs -7

Liberty Bowl
Jan. 2
Kansas State vs. Arkansas
Razorbacks -11

Alamo Bowl
Jan. 2
Oregon vs. TCU
Horned Frogs -1

Cactus Bowl
Jan. 2
West Virginia vs. Arizona State
Sun Devils -1

first one to X wins

ok

here they are by day with lines

Saturday, Dec 20
Colorado St. (+3) vs. Utah
Western Michigan (-1.5) vs. Air Force
Bowling Green (+2.5) vs. South Alabama

Tuesday, Dec 23
Northern Illinois (+10) vs. Marshall
Navy (+2.5) vs San Diego St.

Friday, Dec 26
Illinois (+6) vs. Louisiana Tech
North Carolina (-3) vs. Rutgers
UCF (-2) vs. NC State

Saturday, Dec 27
South Carolina (+3.5) vs. Miami (FL)
USC (-6.5) vs. Nebraska

Monday, Dec 29
Texas A&M (+3.5) vs. West Virginia

Tuesday, Dec 30
Notre Dame (+7.5) vs. LSU

Wednesday, Dec 31
Arizona (-3) vs. Boise St.

Thursday, Jan 1
Wisconsin (+6.5) vs. Auburn
FSU (+9) vs. Oregon

Friday, Jan 2
Houston (+3) vs. Pittsburgh
Iowa (+3.5) vs. Tennessee

Saturday, Jan 3
East Carolina (+6.5) vs. Florida

Sunday, Jan 4
Arkansas St. (+3.5) vs. Toledo



so charles has 14 faves and I have 5, how fun
 

CRISIS GAMES

In the format of CAP'N vs. CHOORLES, here are the CRISIS GAMES for the 2014 Bowl Pick Them. 19 crisis games!

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Colorado St. vs. Utah

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Western Michigan vs. Air Force

Camellia Bowl
Bowling Green vs. South Alabama

Boca Raton Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Marshall

Poinsettia Bowl
Navy vs, San Diego St.

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

Quick Lane Bowl
North Carolina vs. Rutgers

St. Petersburg Bowl
UCF vs. NC State

Independence Bowl
South Carolina vs. Miami (FL)

Holiday Bowl
USC vs. Nebraska

Liberty Bowl
Texas A&M vs. West Virginia

Music City Bowl
Notre Dame vs. LSU

Fiesta Bowl
Arizona vs. Boise St.

Outback Bowl
Wisconsin vs. Auburn

Rose Bowl
FSU vs. Oregon

Armed Forces Bowl
Houston vs. Pittsburgh

TaxSlayer Bowl
Iowa vs. Tennessee

Birmingham Bowl
East Carolina vs. Florida

GoDaddy Bowl
Arkansas St. vs. Toledo

C Picking Bowls

We're all busy in this crazy world, so just picks.

NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Nevada

NEW MEXICO BOWL
Utah State

ROYAL PURPLE BOWL
Utah

IDAHO POTATO BOWL
Air Force

CAMELLIA COSBY BOWL
USA!

MIAMI BEACH BOWL
Memphis

BOCA RATON BOWL
We are Marshall

POINSETTIA BOWL
San Diego State

BAHAMAS BOWL
Western Kentucky

HAWAII BOWL
Rice

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
La Tech

QUICK LANE LMAO WHAT KIND OF NAMES ARE THESE
Buttgers

BITCOIN BOWL
NC State

MILITARY BOWL
Cincinnati

SUN BOWL
AZ State

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Miami (FL)

PINSTRIPE BOWL
Boston College

HOLIDAY BOWL
Newbraska

LIBERTY
West effin' Virginia

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL
Clemson

TEXAS BOWL
Arkansas

MUSIC CITY BOWL
Lsu

BELK BOWL
Thuga

FOSTER FARMS BOWL
Samford

PEACH BOWL
Texas Christians

FIESTA BOWL
Boise State

ORANGE BOWL
Mississippi State

CITRUS BOWL
Missourah

OUTBACK BOWL
auburn!

COTTON BOWL
Michigan State

ARMED FORCES BOWL
Pittsburgh

TAXSLAYA BOWL
Tennessee

ALAMO BOWL
Kansas State

CACTUS BOWL
Washington

BIRMINGHAM BOWL
Florida

GODADDY BOWL
Toledo

SUGAR BOWL
We all know it's going to be Alabama winning the national title

ROSE BOWL
Oregon

THA CAPTAINZ PIX

SORRY FOR NOT MAKING MORE FUNNY COMMENTS

New Orleans Bowl
Nevada vs. UL-Lafayette
Nevada

New Mexico Bowl
Utah St. vs. UTEP
Utah St.

Las Vegas Bowl
Colorado St. vs. Utah
Colorado St.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Air Force vs. Western Michigan
Western Michigan

Camellia Bowl
Bowling Green vs. South Alabama
BG

Miami Beach Bowl
Memphis vs. BYU
BYU

Boca Raton Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Marshall
Northern Illinois

Poinsettia Bowl
San Diego St. vs. Navy
Navy

Bahamas Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky

Hawai'i Bowl
Fresno St. vs. Rice
Rice

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
Illinois

Quick Lane Bowl
Rutgers vs. North Carolina
UNC

St. Petersburg Bowl
NC State vs. UCF
UCF

Military Bowl
Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Cincinnati

Sun Bowl
Duke vs. Arizona St.
Arizona St.

Independence Bowl
Miami (FL) vs. South Carolina
South Carolina

Pinstripe Bowl
Penn St. vs. Boston College
BC

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska vs. USC
USC

Liberty Bowl
West Virginia vs. Texas A&M
Texas A&M

Russell Athletic Bowl
Clemson vs. Oklahoma
Clemson

Texas Bowl
Texas vs. Arkansas
Arkansas

Music City Bowl
Notre Dame vs. LSU
Notre Dame

Belk Bowl
Louisville vs. Georgia
Georgia

Foster Farms Bowl
Maryland vs. Stanford
Samford

Peach Bowl
Ole Miss vs. TCU
TCU

Fiesta Bowl
Boise St. vs. Arizona
Arizona

Orange Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi St.
Georgia Tech

Citrus Bowl
Minnesota vs. Missouri
Missouri

Cotton Bowl
Baylor vs. Michigan St.
Michigan St.

Outback Bowl
Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Wisconsin

Rose Bowl
Playoff Semifinal
Oregon vs. Florida St.
FSU

Sugar Bowl
Playoff Semifinal
Alabama vs. Ohio St.
Tide

Armed Forces Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Houston
Houston

TaxSlayer Bowl
Iowa vs. Tennessee
Iowa

Alamo Bowl
Kansas St. vs. UCLA
Kansas St. 

Cactus Bowl
Oklahoma St. vs. Washington
Washington

Birmingham Bowl
Florida vs. East Carolina
ECU

GoDaddy Bowl
Toledo vs. Arkansas St.
Arkansas St.

14 games

Take your armies, take 'em from my door, your battle's built on doom

Friday links

1. Mapping the Nation is neat

2. "I don't want to be right"

3. Death by Caffeine

4. Daft Punk soundboard

So that weird rapper Lil B hates Kevin Durant (?)

Apparently this has been going on for years??

not that I'm on fire, but what has the Capn been up to lately?

All the people gave and the poor got paid

Top Ten Current CFB Coaches Likeability Ranking

1. Steve Spurrier
2. Tommy Tuberville
3. Bill Snyder
4. Gus Malzahn
5. Mike Leach
6. Dana Holgorsen
7. David Cutcliffe
8. Bronco Mendenhall
9. Mike Gundy
10. Les Miles

Tuesday links

1. You're getting old

2. The best way to win an argument

3. E. coli long-term evolution experiment

4. How to make a rope hammock

an old favorite

Cars

TThere’s an open secret in America: If you want to kill someone, do it with a car. As long as you’re sober, chances are you’ll never be charged with any crime, much less manslaughter. Over the past hundred years, as automobiles have been woven into the fabric of our daily lives, our legal system has undermined public safety, and we’ve been collectively trained to think of these deaths as unavoidable “accidents” or acts of God. Today, despite the efforts of major public-health agencies and grassroots safety campaigns, few are aware that car crashes are the number one cause of death for Americans under 35. But it wasn’t always this way.

Murder Machines

Must be broken

Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat?

Approximate World Cup Rooting Rankings

Subject to drastic and frequent change:

USA
England
Costa Rica
Ghana
Switzerland
Cameroon
Honduras
Belgium
Australia
 Japan
Germany
Algeria
Croatia
France
South Korea
Netherlands
Portugal
Greece
Nigeria
Chile
Brazil
Uruguay
Ecuador
Argentina
Spain
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ivory Coast
Columbia
Italy
Mexico
Iran
Russia

Some stuff

1. Here is a weird story about Chris Anderson and cat fishing and other things.

2. How to use Tinder

3. As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price

4. Johnny Cash Has Been Everywhere

5. Ayn Rand's Harry Potter

Tank Man

Perhaps even more importantly, the internet itself breeds an ethos of transparency and healthy skepticism of power. The first generation that can’t remember a time before the internet is a generation that craves information, loathes censorship, and revels in exposing abuses of power. We seem to have reached a tipping point, at least in the developed world, where technology has surpassed and by all appearances will continue to outpace government efforts to contain information. It’s hard to envision a time when we won’t have an Anonymous, a Snowden, or a Manning who have the technical know-how and the ideology to bring abuse to light. And the internet generation generally sees that as something to celebrate.

The beautiful thing about all of this is that today, anyone can be Tank Man, at least metaphorically.

Be your own Tank Man | Dan Luvisi Art

Link dump!

1. Wet dog

2. Interesting article series on the "Traditional City"

3. Time traveling rules

4. Now That's What I Call Songs Sung To The Tune Of "Two Princes" By The Spin Doctors 5

5. The '90s Alt-Rock Vocal Hook Supercut

and if you want beef then bring the ruckus

Execution

Frantz Schmidt hanged his first thief when he was 19, on a June day in 1573. Either his father or another master executioner pronounced the hanging “executed adroitly,” concluding Frantz’s apprenticeship and certifying him as a master in his own right. Over the next four decades, Frantz would hang, behead, or otherwise kill 394 people, and flog, maim, and torture confessions out of hundreds more. He began as a traveling freelancer around Bavaria, and then, from 1578 until his retirement in 1618, served as the full-time executioner of the jewel of the Holy Roman Empire, the populous, prosperous, and cosmopolitan city of Nuremberg. In elaborate sentencing rituals behind closed doors, the patrician judge and jurors of Nuremberg’s “blood court” pronounced who should die and by what means. Before crowds of hundreds, it was Frantz and his assistants who carried out the punishments, embodying the legal authority of empire. For Frantz, there was no special skill in hanging someone: just tie the noose and push. Beheading, by contrast, required an exact position of the feet, eagle eyes and a steady hand, a fluid swing of the arm. One blow must neatly and completely sever the head, lest the crowd erupt in anger: in a few instances, spectators had responded to a miscarried execution by stoning the executioner himself to death. Frantz, then, took pride in his near-flawless record. In almost 200 beheadings, he required a second stroke only four times.

More inexplicable than the persistence of capital punishment is the rest of America’s carceral iceberg. In the 1970s, the United States not only revived the death penalty but also embarked upon a penal experiment without world-historical precedent in a democracy. This complicated and interlocking array of state and federal laws, programs, and construction projects has vastly increased the number of prisons, the number of people sent there, and the number of years they stay. By 2008, for the first time in history, one in a hundred American adults was either in prison or jail. The numbers have since declined slightly, but remain very high in both historical and international perspective. With 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States holds 25 percent of its prisoners, often in brutal and sanity-threatening conditions that most Americans would not hesitate to label torture if they encountered them somewhere else.

Progress and Execution

I'll be trapped and here I'll have to stay

College-related links

1. A is for Adjunct Part 1 and Part 2

2. Toss out abusive college administrators

3.Why I Teach Plato to Plumbers

Crocodile Chop

Voluntourism

A voluntourist is someone like Jack, who wishes to combine exotic vacation travel with volunteer work. For anyone interested in being one, a dizzying array of choices awaits, from building schools in Uganda or houses in Haiti to hugging orphans in Bali. In all of them, the operational equation is the same: wealthy Westerners can do a little good, experience something that their affluent lives do not offer, and, as in Jack’s case, have a story to tell that places them in the ranks of the kindhearted and worldly wise.

As admirably altruistic as it sounds, the problem with voluntourism is its singular focus on the volunteer’s quest for experience, as opposed to the recipient community’s actual needs. There is a cost associated with such an endeavor. A 2010 report by the Human Sciences Research Council, based in Pretoria, South Africa, analyzed the thriving AIDS orphan tourism business in South Africa.

Under this program, well-to-do tourists sign up to build schools, clean and restore riverbanks, ring birds and act as caregivers to AIDS orphans for a few weeks. This led to the creation of a profitable industry catering to volunteer tourists. The orphans’ conditions are effectively transformed into a boutique package in which “saving” them yields profits from tourists. The foreigners’ ability to pay for the privilege of volunteering crowds out local workers.

The White Tourist's Burden

Monday link list

1. Can't remember if we linked GeoGuessr or not, but it owns.

2. Winnie the Pooh and Zombies

3. Schwarzenegger sound board prank friends

4. All of China, IL is online.

5.YouTube numbers stations. Here's my favorite.

MST3K history

When they told me, my only objection was that he was kind of like me—a white doughy guy from the Midwest. But it worked out great. They stuck with the formula really closely. I think they did a really good job.

It began getting difficult when USA Network started exercising more control over the Sci-Fi Channel. And then we picked up these fucking production executives from the network. We had these bitter, dry, humorless trolls in charge of our show. And they were giving us notes. And they were insisting on our having a story arc. What the hell do you want with a story arc? This is a puppet show.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece

This is what it looks like when Tha Cap'n makes love

easily my favorite song on the Exit Wounds soundtrack

Surveillance and Language

To Orwell, this threat was not merely that loose and imprecise writing fails to convey one’s real meaning. His more immediate fear was more fundamental: that reliance on vague, “ready-made phrases” would, over time, conceal one’s real meaning even from oneself. Orwell understood that when a population stops “hunting about” for words—when it instead regurgitates the limited vocabulary of those in power—it stops truly thinking. “The fight against bad English,” Orwell wrote, “is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers.” Far from it—it is “a necessary first step toward political regeneration.”

The government’s mass-surveillance apparatus, and the secret legal gymnastics that purportedly justify it, is a chilling expression of Orwell’s worst fears.

Dragnet Surveillance and the English Language

Metal Monday

Press statement

Tri Epsilon can neither confirm nor deny that the image reproduced below, among the documents leaked by Edward Snowden, portrays an invitation to induction in Tri Epsilon.

Here's me and Tha Captain hard at work

yes I am saying that this blog is run by Andrea Bocelli

friday stuff

1. Fun game: Luftrauser

2. Fun game: Mini Metro

3.

This is no time for confessing

I keep up with pop culture enough to know and like about four new songs a year, so I guess this is the first one for 2014.

Vegetarian ancestors

Most primates have the capacity for eating sugary fruit, the capacity for eating leaves and the capacity for eating meat. But meat is a rare treat, if eaten at all. Sure, chimpanzees sometimes kill and devour a baby monkey, but the proportion of the diet of the average chimpanzee composed of meat is small. And chimps eat more mammal meat than any of the other apes or any of the monkeys. The majority of the food consumed by primates today–and every indication is for the last thirty million years–is vegetable, not animal. Plants are what our apey and even earlier ancestors ate; they were our paleo diet for most of the last thirty million years during which our bodies, and our guts in particular, were evolving. In other words, there is very little evidence that our guts are terribly special and the job of a generalist primate gut is primarily to eat pieces of plants. We have special immune systems, special brains, even special hands, but our guts are ordinary and for tens of millions of years those ordinary guts have tended to be filled with fruit, leaves, and the occasional delicacy of a raw hummingbird.

Human Ancestors Were Nearly All Vegetarians

Monday links

1. Well Dressed Animals with Rap Quotes

2. Trees growing in weapons

3. Synthetic Household Population Viewer

4. I am against the Olympics but Olympics Medals per Capita

5. Congrats to Tha Cap'n on his new job

Barbershop Quartet's Ignition (Remix)

I am not really a fan of Jimmy Fallon, but I like him more as a host and a quasi-vaudevillian than as a comedian or actor.

best youtube comment: "To be a good producer u need to be a good dj greats from mexico"

here's me

hey

Schooling

Compulsory schooling has been a fixture of our culture now for several generations. It’s hard today for most people to even imagine how children would learn what they must for success in our culture without it. President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are so enamored with schooling that they want even longer school days and school years. Most people assume that the basic design of schools, as we know them today, emerged from scientific evidence about how children learn best. But, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Schools as we know them today are a product of history, not of research into how children learn. The blueprint still used for today’s schools was developed during the Protestant Reformation, when schools were created to teach children to read the Bible, to believe scripture without questioning it, and to obey authority figures without questioning them. The early founders of schools were quite clear about this in their writings. The idea that schools might be places for nurturing critical thought, creativity, self-initiative or ability to learn on one’s own — the kinds of skills most needed for success in today’s economy — was the furthest thing from their minds. To them, willfulness was sinfulness, to be drilled or beaten out of children, not encouraged.

School is a prison

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2013 Movie Year in Review

Here is a list of the films which were both released and seen by me in 2013, in rough order of how much I would recommend them:

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
Gravity - In a year without a really great movie (there were at least five movies in 2012 that would have been my favorite movie of 2013 (though I haven't seen the movies which look best of 2013, including: 12 Years a Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Her)), this was my favorite. It's not a good movie in the sense that there's a lot of great acting and characterization and such. But seeing this in the theater was definitely worth the money - it's beautiful to look at, and I was immediately immersed in the story. There are a couple of moments when the movie lost that, just a little; the imagery is a little heavy-handed at times, and the film is too sentimental. But then again, I am dark-hearted and cynical. And sometimes even over-the-top sentimentality is okay, in an over-the-top movie.

Pacific Rim - Look, this is a movie about robots fighting monsters. If you don't like that sort of thing, move on. I love it, this movie was awesome, and if they want to make more Robot Jox meets Godzilla movies, I will pay to go see it.

Much Ado About Nothing - IMDB says this is 2012, but Wikipedia says 2013 for its theatrical release, and I am going with that. Except for the Leo Romeo and Juliet, I always enjoy these "Shakespeare in modern day" adaptations. The most recent I'd previously seen, Coriolanus with Voldemort and 300, owned. Much Ado About Nothing is not quite as good, but it's still excellent: funny and entertaining.

GENERALLY RECOMMENDED:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - I am glad these movies are all making trillions of dollars, because it increases the chances of a gritty two-part version of The Children of Hurin.

Iron Man 3 - I liked the second Iron Man best of the three RDJr ones. This one is a fine superhero movie, well-acted and all. It feels long, though, and I was ready, by the end of the movie, for it just to be over. There are several scenes, especially at the end, that clearly were put into the film just for trailers.

Oblivion - Pretty good! Remember when sci-fi action movies were all Real Dumb? They aren't anymore, and I like that. Oblivion doesn't do anything special, but it doesn't dick anything up, either. People are critical of Tom Cruise, and he seems like a bad person, but I almost always like the movies in which he stars. Cruise is not a great actor, but he's competent and generally seems to know his limits. This is one reason War of the Worlds worked - Cruise as a smug semi-loser who doesn't really know what's going on? Believable!
 
RECOMMENDED, WITH CAVEATS:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - At points I found myself not really caring what happened to most of the characters, which is a bad sign, but it's overall a pretty good movie. Most of the actors in this are strong, which is surprising since it is a movie made from a series written for teens and pre-teens.

Star Trek into Darkness  - This is basically the first Star Trek reboot movie, but with Sherlock as the bad guy. Somebody (Mobute?) said that the bad guy is basically Sideshow Bob, and the movie works much better that way. It's too bad that the main actor who plays Kirk is such a weak imitation of world-crushing hero Shatner, because everyone else is pretty competent. I never quite, in terms of plot or characterization, understood why anyone in this movie did anything.

The Place Beyond the Pines - This is a not terribly compelling but generally watchable generational drama about secrets and crimes and connections. I was really excited about it, because the movie looked like Drive but with motorcycles and bank robberies. It isn't.

The Great Gatsby - This movie runs into the same problem as the next one, which is source material. Why make this movie now? If it's a portrayal of the failures of the rich and the inherent corruption of great wealth, something we had in the 1920s and today, why make that great wealth look so awesome? I have suspicions this will be the problem with The Wolf of Wall Street - allegedly an indictment of excess and criminality which ends up glorifying it. Leonardo DiCaprio does not pick movies which best suit his acting.

Man of Steel - I liked this movie, I guess, except for the Superman part. The fight scenes are cool and the actors (except for the guy who played Superman, Handsomey McStrongWhiteJawline) are all better than this movie deserves. The plot mostly makes sense, at least as far as stupid superhero movies go. Still: Why make an angsty Superman? Star Trek sort of had the same problem: if your film relies on people knowing things about the character because of previous incarnations, and not because of things which the film or its immediate predecessors explain, then you are failing. I really wish the movie had just been a space political drama starring Jor-L and Zod.

This Is the End - If you like those Pineapple Express/Superbad kind of comedies, this is an entirely competent (if self-indulgent) version.

Ender's Game - Not a terrible movie, and they do some things right I didn't expect to work (like portraying the Battle School formations in a way which makes sense), but this movie was rushed and, as a result, lacked emotional impact. Except for some parts of the fighting in Battle School, this movie looked cheap: there were about four different sets, total, plus a lot of obviously-CGI space ships. The main actors are mostly fine, but this movie had some poor casting, too: the kid who plays Bonzo was a terrible, terrible choice because he's not intimidating. Harrison Ford doesn't try acting anymore. The book Ender's Game is really a dark subject, and it's got some difficult themes that the movie can barely address.They really should have made this at least two films, and probably a trilogy (everyone loves trilogies). A trilogy would allow three films to each have a slightly different feel and address some of the larger themes the movie just misses.
  
MAYBE ON CABLE?: 
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia - Fun to watch, but dumb. 

Elysium - I was super pumped about this movie, made by the guy who made District 9 (which I really liked). But this is the dumb version of District 9. It's absurdly heavy-handed, the plot does not make sense, and the world is not believable. It's never clear why, in an obviously post-scarcity economy, the economic and social distinctions remain. Given that it's obviously easy to land a ship on the space station thing, why not put a bunch of diesel-filled barges around it in space and hold the rich people hostage? Why don't the rich people on Elysium throw asteroids into earth, killing all the poor people? That said, the effects and action were good, mostly the acting is fine, and I actually cared what happened to a couple of people.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - It's like the first one, but not as good.

World War Z - This is nothing like the book World War Z. It's a stupid plot. Brad Pitt is irritating in this movie (usually I think he's pretty good). The zombies are not scary or interesting (I Am Legend, another movie which entirely misses the point of its source material, had a similar problem).

NOT RECOMMENDED:
Oz the Great and Powerful - Dumb and tiresome. I am sure everyone involved made a billion dollars. You can often tell when people make a movie because it's a lot of money, and not because, say, there's a story they want to tell or a character or situation they want to explore. I will say, it was fun watching this movie in 2-D and seeing all the tossed hats and such which were clearly designed for 3-D.

Gangster Squad - This movie has a fascinating subject and a great cast. It's really terrible, though, and I can't quite put my finger on why. I think part of it is that everyone is too much, if that makes sense -- the heroes too heroic, the villains too villainous, the fights too astounding. The plot is dumb and writing lazy: The movie ends with a fist fight between the main good guy and the main bad guy. Everyone involved in this was a pro, and I wonder if there was a point when they all realized that they were working on a crap movie.

Olympus Has Fallen - Woof, what a terrible movie. The plot is ridiculous, the acting terrible, the special effects laughable. Nothing redeems this movie.

yeaaa

 

here's a video of tha captain celebrating his inevitable pick them victory

good thing we both have a gimme tonight

so close!

pretty good records, imo

yep

here look at this shit

The premier league season is halfway over. You can see how it's going here. I made this thing to illustrate how it's spread out. Truly, the middle class is dead.

i figured out how to make the picture full size

charles why did you go to bed

after the northrop grumman military bowl because i am going to dinner and i wanted a scoreboard

CRISIS GAMES

Cap'n's selections first:

Dec 21:
Washington State v. Colorado State
San Diego State v. Buffalo
ULL v. Tulane

Dec 24:
Oregon State v. Boise State

Dec 27:
Maryland v. Marshall
Washington v. BYU

Dec 28:
North Carolina v. Cincinnati

Jan 1:
North Texas v. UNLV
Wisconsin v. South Carolina

Jan 3:
Missouri v. Oklahoma State
The Ohio State University v. Clemson

Jan 6:
Florida State v. Auburn

Tie-breaker: Combined national title game score
Cap'n: 69
Charlie: 72

tha captainz choices

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State vs. Washington State
Dec. 21
pretty good matchup, imo
tha captainz choice: wazzou

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Fresno State vs. USC
Dec. 21
lane kiffin has the boys of troy playing pretty good, imo
tha captainz choice: usc

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Buffalo vs. San Diego State
Dec. 21
the boys from down south will be just giddy to play around in the snow and you don't lose when you're giddy, imo
tha captainz choice: teks

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Tulane vs. UL Lafayette
Dec. 21
this one's gonna be spicy, imo
tha captainz choice: cajuns

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
East Carolina vs. Ohio
Dec. 23
figured urban's boys would be in a better bowl than this after winning 24 straight. probably a little to bummed to show up for this one, imo
tha captainz choice: ecu

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Boise State vs. Oregon State
Dec. 24
where do you think they came up with beavers? probably a lot of beavers around, i guess.
tha captainz choice: beavers

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh
Dec. 26
pizza, pizza! or in this case pitt-za, pitt-za! lmao, they'll lose.
tha captainz choice: bg

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Utah State
Dec. 26
the "cu" up there stands for "credit union" but it could stand for jordan lynch and the boys sayin "c u later" to the boys from utah!
tha captainz choice: niu

Military Bowl
Marshall vs. Maryland
Dec. 27
i would trust randy "dirty randy" edsall with my life, much less beating a 1AA team like marshall.
tha captainz choice: terps

Texas Bowl
Minnesota vs. Syracuse
Dec. 27
minnesota misses their dome, i bet. they'll be in high cotton inside the houston dome, imo
tha captainz choice: gophers

Fight Hunger Bowl
BYU vs. Washington
Dec. 27
the boys from seattle will be galvanized after losing head coach tyrone willingham to notre dame, expect them to take the boys from provo behind the woodshed!
tha captainz choice: udubs

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers
Dec. 28
in 1869 these two teams played the first ever game of college football at the old yankee stadium. the boys in the golden domes took that game 5 - 2. it's like all real historians say: history repeats itself, imo.
tha captainz choice: irish

Belk Bowl
Cincinnati vs. North Carolina
Dec. 28
i can't remember tuberville winning a single belk bowl at auburn.
tha captainz choice: heels

Russell Athletic Bowl
Louisville vs. Miami, FL
Dec. 28
the boys from "the ville" will say "we must protect this house!" in the russell athletic bowl!
tha captainz choice: the lou

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Kansas State vs. Michigan
Dec. 28
wings, beer, sports!
tha captainz choice: kstate

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Middle Tennessee vs. Navy
Dec. 30
middle tennessee is the second worst third of tennessee, imo
tha captainz choice: america's navy force

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Ole Miss
Dec. 30
hugh "the riddler" freeze is the best recruiter in the nation, literally every player on the team is a 5 star freshman sensation that has lived up to every iota of hype, imo
tha captainz choice: old mist

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon vs. Texas
Dec. 30
will the boys in green be able to slow down mack brown's vaunted "mack attack" offense? always bet on green, imo!
tha captainz choice: ducks

National University Holiday Bowl
Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 30
expect points when these two high flying teams collide, imo. a fun game is to change the first letters of "kliff kingsbury" from a "k" to any other letter and get a star wars character's name.
tha captainz choice: asu

AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Arizona vs. Boston College
Dec. 31
catholics vs convicts! teams coached by rich "the mexican taco" rodriquez are notoriously felonious, imo.
tha captainz choice: zona

Hyundai Sun Bowl
UCLA vs. Virginia Tech
Dec. 31
hokie hokie hokie hi? more like hokie hokie hokie bye! expect the boys from bel air to leave "fresh prints" all over the corpses of the boys from blacksburg.
tha captainz choice: ucla

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State vs. Rice
Dec. 31
dan mullins has the boys in maroon trending up, up, up.
tha captainz choice: the people's university

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Duke vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 31
when you're talking chick-fil-a, expect the more bigoted bunch to "bring home the chicken."
tha captainz choice: tamu

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Georgia vs. Nebraska
Jan. 1
my favorite new years tradition is junior driving his taxslayer race car onto the field during halftime. the fans go bonkers, the players sneak peeks from the locker rooms. makes you proud to live in this great land, imo
tha captainz choice: uga

Heart of Dallas Bowl
North Texas vs. UNLV
Jan. 1
what
tha captainz choice: unt

Capital One Bowl
South Carolina vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 1
can't wait for all of steve spurrier's jabs about bert bielema's weight! but they'll only serve to fire up the boys in red. jadaveon clowney? more like jadaveon downey because he is soft! lmao
tha captainz choice: 'consin

Outback Bowl
Iowa vs. LSU
Jan. 1
the boys from the bayou remember the last play of the '05 citrus bowl, so watch out hawkeyes, it's payback time!
tha captainz choice: lsu

Rose Bowl Game
Michigan State vs. Stanford
Jan. 1
neither team will score an they'll call the game on account of darkness.
tha captainz choice: trees

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Baylor vs. UCF
Jan. 1
since usf is in tampa, ucf should be in pensacola or something, imo
tha captainz choice: baylor

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 2
might need two traditionometers for this bad boy.
tha captainz choice: tide

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 3
these two teams know each other all too well, the kids grew up playing each other. and like the old saying goes: familiarity breeds content... hot web content, that is! expect content about this game.
tha captainz choice: the zou

Discover Orange Bowl
Clemson vs. Ohio State
Jan. 3
dabo will be off to texas by the time this one kicks off
tha captainz choice: america's ohio state university

BBVA Compass Bowl
Houston vs. Vanderbilt
Jan. 4
they should play the pizza bowl at the new barons stadium, imo
tha captainz choice: vando

GoDaddy Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Ball State
Jan. 5
can't wait for the racy godaddy commershes and the even racier unrated web versions! probably some filthy innuendo about "balls" state and how arkansas state are the "red" wolves (red is the color of period blood).
tha captainz choice: balls state

BCS National Championship Game
Florida State vs. Auburn
Jan. 6
gus will be off to texas by the time this one kicks off
tha captainz choice: noles 
pointz: 69

C picks the games

so many bowls

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State (4.5) vs. Washington State
Dec. 21
I like Mike Leach, a lot, but I feel like his offense is easier to stop when you've got time to prepare for it. Plus, Washington State seems to be one of those teams that hasn't gotten better during the season. I feel like (although I will not go back and check) Leach lets me down in bowl games.
My Pick: COLORADO STATE

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Fresno State (7) vs. USC
Dec. 21
USC is free of the Kiffin burden, so they're better than the record indicates. I am also (without a shred of evidence) a believer that teams play better when they know they have to impress a new coach.
My pick: USC

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Buffalo (1) vs. San Diego State
Dec. 21
Buffalo lost to Ohio State by 20; San Diego State lost by 35. I am comfortable predicting a 15 point Buffalo win.
My pick: BISON

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Tulane (-1.5) vs. UL Lafayette
Dec. 21
Both of these teams lost handily to South Alabama.
My pick: TULANE

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
East Carolina (-13.5) vs. Ohio
Dec. 23
ECU has the best midfield logo in sports. Did you know they were moving to the AAC? I didn't. Ohio seems like a team on the decline, losing three in a row before their season-ending win over noted rival UMass.
My pick: EAST CAROLINA, COME ON NOW RAISE UP

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Boise State (3) vs. Oregon State
Dec. 24
Boise State hasn't really beaten anyone, but Oregon State's best game is probably their one-point loss to Oregon, which is not a lot to hang your hat on. If Boise were a state, it would have a population smaller than all fifty states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Among American territories, only Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands would be smaller. So, the chances for Boise's statehood are, in my mind, very low.
My pick: BOISE STATE

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Bowling Green (-5) vs. Pittsburgh
Dec. 26
I am deeply, deeply disappointed that Pitt is not playing in Birmingham. Bowling Green is pretty good. Pitt, less so.
My pick: BOWLING GREEN

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl
Northern Illinois (-1.5) vs. Utah State
Dec. 26
Northern Illinois will be disappointed to be in this game. But Utah State is still without their starting QB. Theory: NIU plays hard anyway, to be the school record winners.
My pick: NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Military Bowl
Marshall (-2.5) vs. Maryland
Dec. 27
I was kind of surprised Maryland had bowl eligibility. I do not think Andy Redsall is a particularly good coach. Plus, Eddy Randsell will probably have trouble keeping his team's head in the game, since this isn't exactly an exciting trip from College Park (which is a cool town). But it's hard to say either one of these is a particularly good team. I don't have a good reason to pick anything, either in this particular Pick Them selection or in life in general.
My pick: MARSHALL

Texas Bowl
Minnesota (-4) vs. Syracuse
Dec. 27
The seizure guy. Ol' Seizy.
My pick: MINNESODA

Fight Hunger Bowl
BYU (3) vs. Washington
Dec. 27
I believe I'm on record as being against this bowl name, not because I disagree with the goal of fighting hunger, but because the name is stupid. BYU is pretty good. Bronc(Obama) Mendenhall is a good coach.
My pick: BYU

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Notre Dame (-15.5) vs. Rutgers
Dec. 28
Rutgers is statistically one of the worst pass-defending teams in the country. Notre Dame's not great, but they're not as bad as Rutgers, who is just barely better than Arkansas (a bad team who is bad at football).
My pick: NOTRE DAME

Belk Bowl
Cincinnati (3) vs. North Carolina
Dec. 28
Tommy! UNC just drilled right through five mediocre ACC teams in a row, which impresses me not a whit. It seems like people are expecting UNC to win this, and our boy Tommy does best as an underdog.
My pick: CINCY

Russell Athletic Bowl
Louisville (-3.5) vs. Miami, FL
Dec. 28
Teddy Bridgewater wants to look good for the pro scouts. Miami has shown themselves vulnerable to competent passing attacks and also Virginia Tech. I don't think either team is as good as their records indicate.
My pick: LOUISVILLE

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Kansas State (-3.5) vs. Michigan
Dec. 28
Bill Snyder, I would hazard to offer, is the best coach in college football, or at least, he's done as good a job in the last few years as anybody else in American anywhere else has. Neither one of these teams has a big win; probably for Michigan, the best game is probably losing to Ohio State (?). I do really like Michigan's "A Bunch of Big Fat Guys Coaching Staff" strategy, but Snyder vs. Hoke is no contest.
My pick: KANSAS STATE

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Middle Tennessee (6) vs. Navy
Dec. 30
My dad was in the Navy. So, there's that.
My pick: NAVY

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Georgia Tech (3) vs. Ole Miss
Dec. 30
You gotta give this one to old misty. I think Hugh Freeze is familiar enough with read offenses, and has enough time to prepare, that he can handle the option. I would hesitate because Ole Miss seemed to close the season poorly, but Georgia Tech did the same thing.
My pick: OLD MIST

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon (-13.5) vs. Texas
Dec. 30
Just eyeballing it, this should be the biggest blowout besides the Baylor-UCF game, right? Oregon has had kind of a disappointing season, but, that's nothing compared to what Texas had.
My pick: OREGON

National University Holiday Bowl
Arizona State (-14) vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 30
Arizona State scores more points and allows fewer per game than Texas Tech. TTU, on a big losing streak, is also prone to turnovers.
My pick: ARIZONA STATE

AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Arizona (-7.5) vs. Boston College
Dec. 31
Was Arizona's surprise Oregon blowout more a sign that Arizona could be a good team, or that Oregon was reeling? I incline to the latter. Still, that's better than BC, who managed to beat the middle of the ACC road. I can see plenty of reasons to pick Arizona in this game, and few for BC.
My pick: ARIZONA

Hyundai Sun Bowl
UCLA (-7) vs. Virginia Tech
Dec. 31
I cannot pick a team which willingly hired Scot Loeffler, after watching what happened to Auburn last season. It indicates, I can only assume, sabotage or perhaps suicidal thinking.
My pick: UCLA

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State (-7) vs. Rice
Dec. 31
I think the middle of the SEC is better than the top of C-USA.
My pick: MISSISSISSISSIPPI STATE

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Duke (12.5) vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 31
My inclination is that none of the New Year's Eve bowl games will be close. I expect TAMU to win handily. Duke is pretty good for Duke, and I like David Cutcliffe, but Texas A&M has so much better an offense. The worst team that Texas A&M lost to is either LSU or Missouri.
My pick: TAMU

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Georgia (-9) vs. Nebraska
Jan. 1
I remember this game! My inclination is to pick Georgia to win 45-31. I do not like Georgia. Bo is on his way out. He could be proverbially coaching for his life, but I think he's more the type to get self-destructively angry in those circumstances.
My pick: THUGA

Heart of Dallas Bowl
North Texas (-6.5) vs. UNLV
Jan. 1
pretty quotidian match-up, imo
My pick: UNLV

Capital One Bowl
South Carolina (1) vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 1
Wisconsin hasn't had as good of a season as I thought, and I am surprised they are favored. They mostly beat the teams they were better than in the Big 10. South Carolina mostly beat the teams they were better than in the Southeastern Conference. S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!
My pick: YEAH CLICK CLACK

Outback Bowl
Iowa (7) vs. LSU
Jan. 1
LSU is both more talented and better coached than Iowa, and they play in a tougher conference.
My pick: LSU

Rose Bowl Game
Michigan State (5) vs. Stanford
Jan. 1
I think I've made it clear, by this point, that I don't think the Big 10 is a very impressive football conference this season. Stanford has a couple of surprising losses, but MSU lost to Notre Dame. I think Arizona State and Oregon are probably either one as good as Michigan State, though in very different ways.
My pick: SAMFORD

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Baylor (-16.5) vs. UCF
Jan. 1
If Baylor takes this remotely seriously: bloodbath. Even if they don't take it seriously at all: likely bloodbath.
My pick: BAY, LORD OF THE BEARS

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Alabama (-15) vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 2
we all know how this goes
My pick: ALABAMA

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Missouri (-1) vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 3
Despite puzzling losses to Oklahoma and West Virginia (!), I think OSU is the better team in a median game. Then again, Missouri only lost while heavily injured and closely to South Carolina, and to an Auburn team playing perhaps the best game of rushing offense in recent history. Of the teams I have watched with any frequency or interest, this is the game I am least sure about.
My pick: OKLAHOMA STATE

Discover Orange Bowl
Clemson (2.5) vs. Ohio State
Jan. 3
So I went into this pick thinking Clemson was pretty good, but, looking at their schedule, they only played strong teams - UGA (at the beginning of the season, before all the injuries), FSU, and South Carolina. They went 1-3, and the two losses were both pretty big. That said, Ohio State has close wins against the Big 10's middle class and a loss to Michigan State. So who the heck knows. I think Ohio State is the better team, but they'll be emotionally volatile after not playing for the national title. Clemson has more to gain from a redemptive bowl performance.
My pick: CLEMPSON

BBVA Compass Bowl
Houston (2.5) vs. Vanderbilt
Jan. 4
Houston's best win is probably Rice. Eh, whatever.
My pick: VANDY

GoDaddy Bowl
Arkansas State (8.5) vs. Ball State
Jan. 5
Ball State won a bunch of games, some of them against teams better than Arkansas State.
My pick: Ball State

BCS National Championship Game
Florida State (-8.5) vs. Auburn
Jan. 6
Either outcome will end up being a surprise to me. On paper Florida State is the better team by some margin. But Auburn has an apparently unstoppable rushing attack and has that "team of destiny" feel to it. I am doing it, I am going with my heart.
My pick: AUBURN!
O/U: 72

What happened during the hiatus?

These are the only thing meaningful things you missed:

1.


2. CVS Bangers

WE BACK HOES

We're also backhoes.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State vs. Washington State
Dec. 21

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Fresno State vs. USC
Dec. 21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Buffalo vs. San Diego State
Dec. 21

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Tulane vs. UL Lafayette
Dec. 21

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
East Carolina vs. Ohio
Dec. 23

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Boise State vs. Oregon State
Dec. 24

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh
Dec. 26

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Utah State
Dec. 26

Military Bowl
Marshall vs. Maryland
Dec. 27

Texas Bowl
Minnesota vs. Syracuse
Dec. 27

Fight Hunger Bowl
BYU vs. Washington
Dec. 27

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers
Dec. 28

Belk Bowl
Cincinnati vs. North Carolina
Dec. 28

Russell Athletic Bowl
Louisville vs. Miami, FL
Dec. 28

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Kansas State vs. Michigan
Dec. 28

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Middle Tennessee vs. Navy
Dec. 30

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Ole Miss
Dec. 30

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon vs. Texas
Dec. 30

National University Holiday Bowl
Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 30

AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Arizona vs. Boston College
Dec. 31

Hyundai Sun Bowl
UCLA vs. Virginia Tech
Dec. 31

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State vs. Rice
Dec. 31

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Duke vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 31

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Georgia vs. Nebraska
Jan. 1

Heart of Dallas Bowl
North Texas vs. UNLV
Wed., Jan. 1

Capital One Bowl
South Carolina vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 1

Outback Bowl
Iowa vs. LSU
Jan. 1

Rose Bowl Game
Michigan State vs. Stanford
Jan. 1

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Baylor vs. UCF
Jan. 1

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 2

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 3

Discover Orange Bowl
Clemson vs. Ohio State
Jan. 3

BBVA Compass Bowl
Houston vs. Vanderbilt
Jan. 4

GoDaddy Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Ball State
Jan. 5

BCS National Championship Game
Florida State vs. Auburn
Jan. 6

who will shaaAAaave your hole

if you won't shave your own?

Myself, from head to toe, I'm Doug E. Fresh

Wednesday Links

1. Divoshi is a sort of chess or checkers kind of game

2. Useful information

3. More useful information

4. Winning solitaire is what the internet's all about

JPMC*

Pretty good, but it's no JPMC**.



*Jurassic Park Metal Cover
**Jurassic Park Melodica Cover

One by one I'll knock you out

Execution and crazy people

Certainly there were other details that made the crime uniquely memorable. For one thing, Andre had cut out the children's hearts and returned home with the organs in his pockets. For another, he was careful to use three different knives so that the blood from each body would not cross-contaminate, thereby ensuring that the demons inside each of them would die. He then stabbed himself in the chest, but he did not die as he had hoped. In fact, he was well enough to leave a message on his wife's parents' phone explaining that he thought he was in hell, and he managed to confess to the police what he had done before they took him in for emergency surgery.

The entire episode had biblical overtones—Andre had convinced himself that his wife was Jezebel, his son the Antichrist, and her daughter just plain evil. In short, the case had enough spectacular aspects to keep the most jaded of court watchers buzzing for months, but it was the eyeball issue that garnered most of the attention. And that was only the beginning.

How Crazy Is Too Crazy to Be Executed?

Oh, every week there's a canal

Alternate title: "Quiet! I will not hear another word against the boat."

Friday links

1. Fantastic Contraption is great and I like the original best.

2. Neat story

3. Ant comics

4. One tiny hand I do not know why this is so funny.

5. This is a good list thought by no means perfect.