Yes Please

File under: No Surprise

When was the last time a world-class athlete ruined his life and reputation so badly, so quickly? Mike Tyson maybe?

elin nordegren is filing for divorce

For some reason, I'm still slightly intrigued

Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett

You know, it might not be that bad...

Only 3 days until Sunday...the West is ours!!!

So the Reader CAN be objective!

San Diego Reader | 91X Wrex the Halls

yessssssssssssssssssss....................

Read more: http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/12/16/must-watch-first-official-trailer-for-jon-favreaus-iron-man-2/#ixzz0ZujS84Lf

kids these days...gross

let's try this again...

i really do need to blog more. so, take two. or is it three?

why is it that...

i hate mayonnaise, yet i love eggs.

PLACEBO!!!

coa-chella

ella, ella, ay, ay, ay, ay

file under: been there, done that

While Blink-182 have yet to announce their reunion tour plans, sources tell Buzznet that rumors that the Pop-Punkers will be taking Weezer out on the road with them this summer are true. Recently, Blink's Mark Hoppus posted a list online of songs the band will potentially be rehearsing and playing live this year.

the great depression II

it's gonna be interesting...

stoked-182

http://www.blink182.com/band/message.aspx

Hi. We're blink-182.
This past week there've been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, We're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy.

Summer 2009.

Thanks and get ready…

help our friend scott russo

Scott Russo, lead singer for Unwritten Law, lost his home to a fire early Friday morning. Russo, his parents, his two young sons, and his daughter Cailin all shared the San Diego home. Although no family members were injured, the family lost every piece of their belongings.

Scott is the financial supporter of his entire family. "I am at a complete loss for words," Russo says. "My entire family is now homeless, all our pets are dead and all our earthly possessions are gone. In these tough times, my family had been out of work, and the financial burden was too heavy for me to afford home insurance. I’m left with nothing in this world except my family, friends and band, who I’m very thankful are ok. The support from my friends has been overwhelming."

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

1. Attend the Russo Benefit Concert
Tuesday, Feb. 10 at House of Blues downtown
Featuring Unwritten Law, Jason Mraz and special guest TBA
21+
Tickets go on-sale Monday, February 9 at Noon at Ticketmaaster.com, HOB.com or the House of Blues box office

2. Donate
Funds for the Russo family can be sent by via Paypal on www.myspace.com/unwrittenlaw, or checks can be sent to this address:

Platinum Financial Management, Inc.
for the benefit of Scott Russo
9200 West Sunset Boulevard, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90069

soooooooooooooooooooold!!!!!!!!!!

Moorad to slowly take over Padres from Moores

The first step was taken Tuesday in the transfer of ownership of the San Diego Padres from John and Becky Moores to a group of unidentified California businessmen led by former player agent Jeff Moorad.
The complex transaction could take up to five years to complete.
Papers were signed giving Moorad's group an immediate one-third share in the Padres upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected sometime between the end of the month and Opening Day on April 6.
When the sale closes, Moorad would become the CEO of the Padres and ostensibly in charge of day-to-day operations.
Current Padres CEO Sandy Alderson issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying, “I will be leaving the organization ... upon the closing of the sale.”
Moorad, during a teleconference Tuesday from his Newport Beach home, said: “John (Moores) will continue as the chairman of the club and in his role as control person of the club on various committees and boards and at the owners meetings.
“John is the control person of the club; I'm CEO with daily control.”
Although what is essentially an installment sale could be completed within the next year or drawn out over five years, the projected completion period is about three years.
“We've built flexibility into our agreement,” Moorad said.
As the stake of the Moorad ownership group increases, Moores will be eased out. Eventually, all of the Mooreses' interest in the club will be bought. Moorad declined to address why the sale is being carried out over a long period, but it is believed the process will allow Moorad's group time to complete financing.
Details of the sale were negotiated over the past month.
Moorad wouldn't reveal the names of people in his ownership group, nor the final purchase price.
But the final sale valuation of the club should top $500 million with an initial payment of about $150 million going to John and Becky Moores upon closing.
Part of that $500 million will be the team's $240 million debt service from the construction of Petco Park – $145 million of which is secured in an 8 percent bond that cannot be prepaid.
Seventy-five percent of Major League Baseball's owners have to approve the installment sale – which Moorad acknowledged is unusual for baseball but parallels the guidelines used in the sale of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, which closed in 2004.
“MLB has been approving documents on a step-by-step basis,” Moorad said. “They have given us signals that we're headed in the right direction.”
Moorad still must divest himself of his 12 percent interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks. He resigned as the Diamondbacks CEO on Jan. 3 when he entered into an exclusive agreement with the Mooreses to purchase the Padres.
John Moores, who purchased the Padres for $84 million from a group led by Hollywood producer Tom Werner in 1994, told MLB.com on Tuesday that he expects to control the Padres for the next three seasons. Moores did not respond to requests for comment from The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Ownership of the Padres came into question last year when the Mooreses began divorce proceedings. Between them, John and Becky Moores own 90 percent of the Padres, with daughter Jennifer owning 5 percent and San Diego businessman Glenn Doshay owning the other 5 percent.
Other than Alderson, Moorad said no other changes are immediately forthcoming.
“I come in open-minded,” said Moorad, who talked to Alderson on Monday night and again Tuesday morning.
“I know (General Manager) Kevin Towers and I have great respect for him. I know Paul DePodesta (special assistant for baseball operations) and several others in the front office. Probably I'll take most of the 2009 season to evaluate. The club this season is pretty much locked in. Maybe we'll make a couple changes.
“This is not a transaction about 2009. It's for the long term.”
Moorad said the model for the Padres' future, like that of the Diamondbacks, is more in the draft and player development than free agency.
“Even with a sold-out Petco Park, the realities don't lend themselves to heavy free-agent spending,” Moorad said.
Arizona's payroll the past several seasons was between $70 million and $80 million. The Padres this season cut their payroll to about $44 million – a number that Moorad said would grow in the future, but not to triple-digit levels.
“Our commitment is strong,” Moorad said. “We're going to invest every dollar back in the product, either the team or improvements to Petco Park. We will re-invest everything we can.
“Fortunes can turn in a hurry in baseball. We want to re-invigorate the Padres. I realize teams cycle up and cycle down. I don't think it's that hard to turn things around in a hurry.
“We'll get back to rebuilding the payroll in a way that makes sense. We won't operate in the 40s beyond this year. I'm convinced that anything is possible.”
However, Moorad said he would not influence immediate decisions – including whether the Padres might trade Jake Peavy.
“I'm on the sidelines right now,” Moorad said. “At this time, I'm focused on the transaction. I won't comment on Jake Peavy or any other player. Right now, that would be inappropriate.
“I really don't have any input right now on any decisions. The general manager and the staff will keep me apprised.”
Moorad said he welcomes the counsel of John Moores.
“If I had to pick a partner, it would be John,” Moorad said. “I want John's input on baseball decisions. ... He will continue to be involved. But he's made it clear to me that he wants me to take the leadership role. John's excited about taking a bit of a back seat. He can be as active as he chooses to be.”
Moorad, a UCLA graduate, has a 25-year history in professional sports, working for many years as a player representative for top athletes in baseball and football. He purchased an ownership stake in the Diamondbacks in 2005.
“I also know that we have a responsibility to our fans, as they are the spirit and heart of the Padres,” Moorad said. “I look forward to providing an affordable, rewarding fan experience for all.”
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said he hopes the sale heralds a new excitement about the team, which eventually translates into more fans at Petco Park and the surrounding neighborhood – and more sales tax revenue for the city.
“I think any time that you decide to turn the page, that new ownership starts out pretty enthusiastically, so that's what I hope would happen here,” Sanders said.
He reiterated that the sale won't affect the terms of the lease and in particular how long the team plays at the 5-year-old ballpark.
The team is committed to playing downtown until 2032 – the year the city is scheduled to complete its bond payments on the $474 million ballpark. The city pays $11.3 million a year on the bonds.
According to the team's agreement with the city, a new owner would have to assume all Padres obligations. Those include splitting the cost of ballpark operating expenses, which last season amounted to $10.5 million, with the Padres paying $6.6 million and the city $3.9 million

yessssssssssssssssssss....................

daddy likey...

no-chella

still no lineup...argh. this motherfucker better be a blockbuster

dear coachella

for some reason i am genuinely interested in knowing who's on the bill this year. borderline obsessed, in fact.

so announce the fucking lineup already, sheesh.

progress in only 2 days

Obama breaks from Bush and orders Gitmo to close

WASHINGTON – Breaking forcefully with Bush anti-terror policies, President Barack Obama ordered major changes Thursday that he said would halt the torture of suspects, close down the Guantanamo detention center, ban secret CIA prisons overseas and fight terrorism "in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals."

"We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms," Obama declared, turning U.S. policy abruptly on just his second full day in office. He also put a fresh emphasis on diplomacy, naming veteran troubleshooters for Middle East hotspots.

The policies and practices that Obama said he was reversing have been widely reviled overseas, by U.S. allies as well as in less-friendly Arab countries. President George W. Bush said the policies were necessary to protect the nation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks — though he, too, had said he wanted Guantanamo closed at some point.

"A new era of American leadership is at hand," Obama said.

Executive orders signed by the new president would order the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, shut within a year, require the closure of any remaining secret CIA "black site" prisons abroad and bar CIA interrogators of detainees from using harsh techniques already banned for military questioners.

That includes physical abuse such as waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and has been termed torture by critics at home and abroad.

For the signing ceremony, Obama was flanked in the Oval Office by retired senior U.S. military leaders who had pressed for the changes.

Underscoring the new administration's point, the admirals and generals said in a statement: "President Obama's actions today will restore the moral authority and strengthen the national security of the United States."

Not everyone felt that way.

Criticism surfaced immediately from Republicans and others who said Obama's policy changes would jeopardize U.S. ability to get intelligence about terrorist plans or to prevent attacks.

House Minority Leader John Boehner was among a group of GOP lawmakers who quickly introduced legislation seeking to bar federal courts from ordering Guantanamo detainees to be released into the United States.

Boehner, R-Ohio, said it "would be irresponsible to close this terrorist detainee facility" before answering such important questions as where the detainees would be sent.

Obama said he was certain that the nation's security is strengthened — not weakened — when the U.S. adheres to "core standards of conduct."

"We think that it is precisely our ideals that give us the strength and the moral high ground to be able to effectively deal with the unthinking violence that we see emanating from terrorist organizations around the world," he said.

"We don't torture," Obama said, but Bush had said the same. The question has always been defining the word.

Later in the day, Obama visited the State Department to welcome newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, emphasizing the importance his administration intends to give diplomacy in his foreign policy. He told Foreign Service officers and other department employees they "are going to be critical to our success."

The president and Clinton jointly announced the appointment of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland, as special envoy to the Middle East. Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who helped write the peace deal that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war, was named special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But for all the talk of a new era, it remained unclear how much of a shift Obama plans for the Middle East.

Though he named high-profile envoys to regions where critics say American attention lagged under Bush, the Mideast policy Obama outlined was no different.

He said he would aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians while also defending Israel's "right to defend itself." He called on Israel and Hamas to take steps to ensure the cease-fire that is in place in Gaza will endure. And he called on Arab states to show more support for the beleaguered Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas.

On the surface, those views mirror the Bush administration's.

As for the treatment of terror suspects, Obama's policy overhaul was an implicit though not directly stated criticism of what he, other Democrats, nations around the globe and human rights groups have called Bush's overreach in the battle against terrorism.

In his presidential campaign, Obama had pledged to close Guantanamo, where many suspects have been detained for years without trial or charge.

Bush, too, had said he wanted to shut down Guantanamo. It never happened on his watch, amid the questions that must be answered to do so: Can other countries be persuaded to take some of the 245 men still be held there? Under what authority should remaining detainees be prosecuted? And, most difficult, what happens to the handful of detainees who are considered both too dangerous to be released to other nations and for whom evidence is deemed either too tainted or insufficient for a trial?

Obama has to answer those same questions.

As to that tough, third category of detainees, a senior administration official said "everything's on the table" as a possibility, including the use of military tribunals that were much criticized by Obama. The official would brief reporters only on condition of anonymity, contending that was necessary in order to speak candidly about details.

The administration already has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.

A task force must report in 30 days on where the Guantanamo detainees should go, as well as a destination for future terror suspects.

The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. criticized Obama's action.

"The detention facility is a valuable tool in the fight against terrorism because it provides useful intelligence information and it keeps our enemies off the battlefield," said Glen Gardner.

Said Obama's GOP rival for the White House, Sen. John McCain: "Numerous difficult issues remain."

Recent polls show the nation essentially split on the topic. An Associated Press-GfK poll last week found about half wanted the prison shut on a priority basis, and 42 percent did not.

On interrogations, another review panel will have 180 days to study whether interrogation techniques allowed under the U.S. Army Field Manual would be acceptably effective in extracting lifesaving intelligence from hardened terrorists.

But the order opens the door to divergences from the Army manual, as it allows the panel to recommend "additional or different guidance" for use by intelligence agencies. That would not, however, allow "enhanced interrogation techniques" to be reintroduced, the official said.

Obama left room for the practice of "extraordinary renditions" of detainees to other nations to continue, though the White House said none would be sent to countries where they might be tortured.

The executive orders also throw out every opinion or memo that the Bush administration used to justify its interrogation programs. And the Obama administration said all terrorism suspects will be covered by standards set by the Geneva Conventions, something the Bush administration opposed.

Obama also ordered the Justice Department to review the case of Qatar native Ali al-Marri, who is the only enemy combatant currently being held in the U.S.

eye heart brand new

Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face
The kind you'd find on someone I could save
If they don't put me away
Well, it'll be a miracle

Do you believe you're missing out
That everything good is happening somewhere else?
But with nobody in your bed
The night's hard to get through

And I will die all alone
And when I arrive I won't know anyone

Well Jesus Christ, I'm alone again
So what did you do those three days you were dead?
Cause this problem's gonna last more than the weekend.

Well Jesus Christ, I'm not scared to die,
I'm a little bit scared of what comes after
Do I get the gold chariot?
Do I float through the ceiling?

Do I divide and fall apart?
Cause my pride is too sly to hold back all my dark
And the ship went down in sight of land
And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands

I know you'll come in the night like a thief
But I've had some time alone to hold my lies inside me
I know you think that I'm someone you can trust
But I'm scared I'll get scared and I swear I'll try to nail you back up

So do you think that we could work out a sign
So I'll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try

I know you'll come for the people like me
But we all got wood and nails
Tongue tied to a hating factory

But we all got wood and nails
Your tortured (and hanging) factory
Yeah, we all got wood and nails
Your tortured (and hanging) factory
Yeah, we all got wood and nails
And we sleep inside of this machine

presidential mulligan?

WASHINGTON – After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too.

Don't worry, the White House says: Obama has still been president since noon on Inauguration Day.

Nevertheless, Obama and Roberts went through the drill again out of what White House counsel Greg Craig called "an abundance of caution."

This time, the scene was the White House Map Room in front of a small group of reporters, not the Capitol platform before the whole watching world.

"We decided that because it was so much fun ...," Obama joked to reporters who followed press secretary Robert Gibbs into the room. No TV camera crews or news photographers were allowed in. A few of Obama's closest aides were there, along with a White House photographer.

Roberts put on his black robe.

"Are you ready to take the oath?" he said.

"Yes, I am," Obama said. "And we're going to do it very slowly."

Roberts then led Obama through the oath without any missteps.

The president said he did not have his Bible with him, but that the oath was binding anyway.

The original, bungled version on Tuesday caught observers by surprise and then got replayed on cable news shows.

It happened when Obama interrupted Roberts midway through the opening line, in which the president repeats his name and solemnly swears.

Next in the oath is the phrase " ... that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." But Roberts rearranged the order of the words, not saying "faithfully" until after "president of the United States."

That appeared to throw Obama off. He stopped abruptly at the word "execute."

Recognizing something was off, Roberts then repeated the phrase, putting "faithfully" in the right place but without repeating "execute."

But Obama then repeated Roberts' original, incorrect version: "... the office of president of the United States faithfully."

Craig, the White House lawyer, said in a statement Wednesday evening: "We believe the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday. Yet the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of the abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath a second time."

The Constitution is clear about the exact wording of the oath and as a result, some constitutional experts have said that a do-over probably wasn't necessary but also couldn't hurt. Two other previous presidents have repeated the oath because of similar issues, Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur.

random musing 1/21/09

...if perchance you had any lingering doubt as to whether Paul Hewson & Co.'s prime hath passed, try some "Boots" on for size:

www.myspace.com/u2

no, you can't have those three minutes of your life back, sorry.

new years' resolution...

...blog more often. does this one count?