Various and Sundry

-The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (I can spell both his first and last names without looking them up; no really!), is in New York City at the invitation of Columbia University. His visit has sparked numerous heated discussions by protesters, some in favor of Ahmadinejad's appearance, others most decidedly not. The nation is being treated by tv news to the viewing of a stereotype, that of New Yorkers yelling at each other in the street. Rightly or wrongly, it's how the rest of the nation views the citizens of NYC (when we're not solemnly thinking about 9/11): as loud, obnoxious boors screaming at each other in public. I'm sure Mayor Bloomberg is thrilled
-Good Rex, Bad Rex, it doesn't matter. He's the only Rex the Chicago Bears have, and he is "our quarterback," sayeth Coach Lovie. What are the alternatives? A 10-year veteran of questionable quality and a relatively untested rookie. And just when did Keith Olbermann get so smart? He very accurately stated that bad quarterbacks are a Bears tradition, with some notable exceptions along the way, such as Jim McMahon. There have been 13 starting QBs in the past 8 seasons and 40 since 1960. That's not good. How many different quarterbacks have started for the Green Bay Packers in the last 205 regular season games, 225 including playoff games? All Bears fans know the answer to that one.
-Speaking of McMahon, he probably wasn't a "great" quarterback, certainly not in the technical sense, but he played bravely, or at the very least tolerated pain awfully well. He once finished a game during which his kidney was lacerated. And he is the only Bears starting QB with a (winning) Super Bowl ring.
-Marcel Marceau died yesterday at the age of 84. Show of hands from everybody who knew he was still alive. How about another show of hands from people who knew who he was or what he did? And just how does a mime make a living anyway? Perhaps he earned a little cash at the Paris McDonalds, where he would have had to learn how to mime the question, "Would you like fries with your Le Big Mac?"
-Company Will Monitor Phone Calls to Tailor Ads According to this New York Times article, a media company will offer toll free calling to those who are willing to let the company eavesdrop on their conversations. Based on the conversation an ad will pop up on the users cell phone screen. I'm sure people will sign up for the free phone time, especially since no one cares about privacy anymore, as evidenced by people having very loud conversations very publicly when they really should be behind closed doors, but this new means of target advertising has an Orwellian feel to it.
-It's safe to be a Cubs fan again. I never had any trusty in Dusty and I thought Sammy was a cancer in the clubhouse. Sweet Lou is the man to lead us to the promised land. I am now officially on the bandwagon.