UConn James

I didn't cheat, but that may not have been entirely fair. I routinely put quotes in e-mail subject lines rather than some stupid descriptor, and put a lot on my blog, etc. That's one I've seen before and is very memorable because it's doubtless that many view of her as some stodgy elite who disliked Churchill when in reality she was good-humored and, more than that, witty. I don't agree with her politics, but she must've been a fun person to know. To keep this going: "Don’t speak unless you think you can improve the silence."

Eleanor Roosevelt. That's actually a pretty well-known one.

You mean this country can't afford to support 100M free riders? Yes we can! WAAAAHHH! (Using Dave logic, that's the basic Democrat position.)

The release didn't expound on the choreography. Probably the latter scenario. Then again, this year's draft is going to be very different. I know they've issued invitations to likely top picks, but has there been any word if any of them will actually be showing up w/o a CBA? I mean, if the Bills can't have a uniform unveiling with players, it's questionable if the union will be OK with draftees attending.

Jeff Probst's blog entry is up. Says that the challenges are designed and scheduled far in advance, so it was fate coinciding that Matt had a challenge tough on the feet the day after his cut. I also didn't realize until I just read it that Andrea voted for Matt, since there was only one vote for Steve. That's just a wow factor right there. Per a bonus video, Matt really pissed her off by revealing all to Rob on the cliff there, without having consulted with her first. At that point, she needed to show loyalty over her connection with Matt. Probst questions what this does to Matt's worldview, even outside of the game. I think Matt's smart enough to realize that it is a game, and at least in last night's broadcast, he could probably see the strategic error of his way with flip-flopping. Probst also comments about Redemption, that he loves it, and is "shocked" that anyone could be bored about it (and the complexity it adds to the game). It was such a small sophomoric detail, but the whole Murlonio tribe-naming thing is just a testament to how much Rob is controlling this game. I dunno about it. That's a hell of a chance to take / volunteer for (assuming that Grant volunteers rather than being sent by Rob). If it were attempted, it would certainly have to come later, probably after about 4 or 5 tribals. They're probably content right now to see if anyone they send can knock Matt off in the meantime. For now, they need to concentrate on winning the individual immunity and picking off the remnants of Purple. And at this point, owing to his "genius" comment last night and his problems among Purple, I think it's very possible that Dave might join the Yellow alliance until the rest of Purple is sent packing. Gotta assume that they target Mike first.

On the Bills' Facebook page:

I'd rather look like Al or Ralph than Peter Pan Man. At least old fogies have an excuse. That said, I am surpassingly disappointed there's no "MY PREEECIOUS!!" caption on the first photo there.

I wasn't my intention to say that depression is not a physical condition. Wasn't worded properly. I wrote that I don't think it can just/entirely be a rise in congenital hard-wired depression. It's the machinations of society and environmental experience (everything is part nature, part nuture, will you not concede that, Tom?). The little snarks that are so common these days, the overwhelming bad news, etc. that get in, bounce around and mess with what had been 'good enough' wiring. I may regret this analogy, but, societal input would be like a computer virus that invades, attaches code, attacks software and perhaps shuts down the cooling fan.

How many times a day do you ****?

My grandfather was lucid almost until his dying day at 96. His mind never went, it was his body that failed. By that time, the immune system is much less able to handle things that come on suddenly. Can't say this is the case for everyone. But, to the point, the last several public communications from Ralph haven't seemed out of sorts. He's still got his faculties; it just may be that he didn't have great faculties to start with.

Access to medical care, even top-notch, can only do so much. At that age, when things start going downhill, they go downhill fast.

Again, this was written as it went: On Redemption, Sarita is talking up Purple and it's got Matt questioning whether he'll re-up with Yellow. Philip is back to Lion and cooling his defection talk, and heating up his bushido code talk --- blah blah blah. Holy crap, Phil can talk a streak and not say anything of coherence or consequence. As much as he is disliked, Philip could hang around. The cut on Matt's foot ain't too bad, and not in a critical spot. And even squirming a lot, he wins. A new round of Redemption Island after the merge! Wow. It's been a great addition to the game this season. I'd much rather have a player get another shot than watch some dumb reward challenge. How dumb was it that some in Yellow weren't going to take all their stuff? Matt's getting friendly with Andrea again. Mike making promises to Mike --- "I have access to the idol if you need it..." The scheming was to vote out Steve, then Philip, to keep everyone on guard, and then move to the ultimate goal to blindside Rob. So there it is. Only, after sleeping on it, maybe it's not. I thought Grant would've done better on the challenge. What threw Mike there --- the fly?? Natalie's safe! Boy, can she handle those balls! Good news for Rob and the Yellow alliance; this may help sway Matt into it. Wavering before tribal.... And voted off via Rob; back to his home base on Redemption. Dave: "Genius move, that was." I don't know. Rob was definitely trying to remove any form of uncertainty, and like he said, any form of cohesion (through religion here). Some will say that he should've gone after someone from Purple first to get up on numbers a bit. But, I can see his logic. Like Probst said, Matt was a hinge vote --- to wit, Matt sat in the dead middle tonight --- that any could sway either way, any week, and held sway over Andrea in a powerful two-vote bloc that had eliminating Rob as its goal, no matter what Matt said in the cliff-talk and bible-talk. Rob is putting Andrea on an island, figuratively, by putting Matt on an island, literally. She now either has to conform to Yellow or try her luck in a switch with Purple, which no longer has a hidden idol. To have any chance next week, they have to win immunity and try to turn Andrea... and they may have to steal Rob's idol.

I'm a "home base" guy myself. Especially with all the MRSA stuff out there. I know a couple of people who've had that on their cheeks. Not fun. When forced to, always line the seat with two layers of TP. I may be neurotic, but I'd rather be neurotic and disease-free than cavalier and red-assed.

Purple's gray-hair Steve looked pretty nonplussed when Sarita got booted, and from all his other comments, he was the other Dave vote. If Sarita were to survive Redemption, I could see Rob offering protection in exchange for her vote, probably for about 4-5 weeks. Beyond that, he's got other commitments. I don't know; I don't think Matt is a battle Rob would choose to pick right now, unless Matt turns to the purple alliance (and possibly takes the blonde with him... but there was some distance b/w this former pair at Redemption the other week, so it will be key to find out where Matt's loyalties are now. If the injury to his foot is bad, he'll have to ally, b/c he won't be able to count on winning individual immunities as those get more physical and movement-oriented). That's what makes post-merge the best part of the show. The possibility of things changing really big, really fast.

Christie has publicly said that while he feels he could win the presidential election, he doesn't feel that he has enough (executive) experience to be president and therefore, he's not running in '12.

Tonight's episode is titled "This Game Respects Big Moves." I'm predicting the following: Matt wins and re-enters (tentatively), Dave turns, and Philip remains (again, tentatively) in the yellow alliance. They pick apart the remnants of purple one by one. I think the title is referring to Dave's move. But I also wouldn't be surprised if Philip plays it stupid and switches to gorilla mode / joins purple alliance, and from there, it'll rely on the individual immunity idol and Rob's secret idol. As I wrote before, it might be smart for Rob to reveal to Grant that he found the idol (in a whole "Hey, look what I just found!" way, but I'd certainly understand if he wants to keep it secret for as long as he can. BTW - does idol use at tribal change any once the merge comes on, or is it still that you have to play it before the vote?

I don't think people need to be told over and over that she's a dumb C U Next Tuesday. She's taken care of that herself.

As happens at Spring Break, most of the arrests (13 of 21) are not students, but people who go to the campus to get drunk, act like *s and "break ****." But it's 'crazy UConn students' that get the blame.

The rainbow-farting unicorn at the close is an especially nice touch.

+1. That's been the example of such **** scheduling from the NCAA for years. Friggin' game wasn't over until nigh midnight. And that was the night after the womens' game started at the same time. Everyone's asleep by halftime on the East coast.

I meant "can't just be physical" as in, there has got to be some corresponding rise in the environmental/social causes. To use Fez's examples, there's multiple sides in the causes of those, i.e. increasing profligacy in trees (due to increased CO2 levels?), and the rise of grossly over-manufactured foodstuffs. Allergies and obesity increases don't happen in a vacuum. Neither, I think, does depression. True enough, Tom. It may be more in the margins, and in the severity of pre-disposed individual cases.

How is this surprising? Just following the example of Chuck Schumer --- take everything to the extreme. Cutting the corporate tax rate will bring businesses back inside U.S. borders. Did you watch Leslie STahl's piece on "60 Minutes" a couple of weeks ago? All the "corporate headquarters" front offices in Switzerland so they can get the 16% rate. So by having such a large corporate tax, the federal govt gets 30% of ZERO rather than, say, 22% of BILLION$. As the guy said, they would rather their headquarters be located here --- and it's not like companies are asking the U.S. to drop it to the lowest corporate rate in the world. They're not asking that. They're asking for some marginal relief, and until they get it, they'll stay in Switzerland.

That's to be expected, these days. At least it doesn't appear to be very extensive. I never participated in this stuff. Just don't get the destructive bent some people have. But I will relate... I once came upon a car up on the hill next to Gampel and the South parking garage that was literally run through with a tree branch, all the windows smashed and glass everywhere, the engine burned, dented all over. The owner had the temerity to have a SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY window ribbon. Talk about asking for it!

Also, it borrowed from way too many movies / teevee series. "Avatar," "Quantum Leap," "Groundhog Day," "7 Days." It seriously lacked originality. And it probably would have been better if it had ended at... well, you know where. The questions of Why is he doing this? / How is this happening? don't come to satisfactory answers here, no matter how one tries to justify it. For "Black Swan" these questions have very basic answers, laced b/w scenes of reality and mental conjure/disease. I'll add "Moon" to my list.

In many cases, it does remain fairly private. Something like this can't be hidden. It sounds condescending to have to write this, but even classically "pretty/handsome" people can suffer from depression, bullying, hopelessness, etc. What does that have to do with anything? Sometimes that's what causes others to bully and they know if they take it far enough, their mark will crack. In the case of bullying, I've gotta say that the idea that they can't fight back or they'll get suspended too has to weigh in. And oftentimes, for all the efforts of governors' blue-ribbon panels (breasts on a bull), telling an adult just means more and worse bullying. We live in a very sick society, that has gotten much more crass even in the last 10 years. In the '80s-period "No Country for Old Men," the Tommy Lee Jones character says he thinks it started when people stopped using "Sir" and "ma'am" --- I think that was true then, and it's only gotten worse in this society since with the breakdown of authority, the end of respect, the breakdown of the family unit, a culture of sex and violence in the media/teevee/movies, the rise of hard drug use, etc. Anyone who says it's roughly the same as the '60s-'90s has obviously not spent much time in the public school system since they attended. I'm sorry, but in any number of high schools, this is an exponentially growing problem. Look on the Facebook memorial. It's sick. (Edit: it had to be taken down.) People today feel they have the right to make whatever comment they want to get their "lulz." It's my own opinion that comments sections under news stories, while begun with intentions of discussing the news productively, are doing a lot of damage and adding to the epidemic of verbal diarrhea. I can't read those comments anymore; it's such an angry world out there. This is all in addition to whatever internal stuff was going on, but make no mistake that social interaction provides a big part of this kind of thing. The meteoric rise in depression rates can't just be physical. It just can't. As for Meagan, it's a horrible set of circumstances. You just think... what if one person had just said, 'You know... She needs some help.' Instead, the weight of her world crushed this girl. If there is something after this, I hope God shows her the compassion she never got here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhsh66Daipk