I realize that a lot of you could care less about football, but this past week has featured some really good games. The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl Fiesta Bowl and Chik-fil-A Bowl were all great NCAA match-ups. Yesterday there were two great NFL Wildcard playoff games.
Andrew Luck of the Indy Colts did something Peyton Manning never did – he brought his team back from a 28 point deficit to beat the KC Chiefs 45-44. It was incredible. The second game wasn’t quite so dramatic but the NOLA Saints came from behind to beat the Philly Eagles in cold weather.
I said something yesterday that was incorrect. I said that the weather forecast for today’s Niners vs. Packers game was a temperature of zero. I should have said sub-zero. That will be about 60 degrees cooler than it is in San Francisco but for some reason the Niners are favored.
A couple AFC teams are also playing today but I forget which ones. The Raiders won’t be either of them.
Andrew Luck recovers a fumble and scores.
The Crawdad Hole 
Guess who’s staying in Hawaii for a few days to party with her friends while the rest of the family flies back home?
Guess who’s paying for it?
Guess who’s planning a White House dance party for her birthday?
Guess who’s paying for it?
Guess who will not be missed by their husband, children or mother? Guess who was told stay as long as you want?
Guess who’s in the WH and who’s paying for it?
I wonder if she finally went a complete Michael Jackson on her nose?
Perhaps it was just a few nips and tucks, but you know as you get older it takes longer to heal.
Maybe an alcohol fueled “episode” since everything is turning to shit. I keep hoping the Saudi’s (who they double crossed) have been passing the word that no board memberships, director’s fees, $500,000 speech fees are available to them after the WH or they yank their money. The second term was supposed to seal the deal on their marketability. Their value is going DOWN.
I’m guessing she was too sh*tfaced to walk past the pool reporters covering the departure. I’d probably spend the day with a pitcher of Mai Tai’s knowing I had to leave paradise too 😉
If it’s Obama’s gift to her, who’s paying for the extra plane and security required to stay behind? Hmmm? Hmmmm? Hmmm?
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obamas-birthday-gift-to-his-wife-time-off-alone/
When you think the entire Treasury of the United States is yours personally this is what you get. He is a despot.
OMG All these riddles! 😀
The answers are real easy tho V M. 😆
Gotta admit that KC/Colts game was pretty exciting!
Yes that’s the thing about this time of year……..usually, really good football games! But, it’s bittersweet because the season is coming to a close.
I’ve never been much of a basketball fan. I’ll watch baseball and I’ve been to many games, but I don’t watch it with the regularity I do football. Being a southern girl football is sort of religion here and the end of the season is a little sad. The upside is that I get more stuff done on the weekends!!
There are so many sporting events now that it is really hard to keep up with it all…there were bicycling and skating and snowboarding events on TV yesterday!! It has almost diluted the fun of it. I’ve become a big college basketball fan….much of that having to do with growing up in Cincinnati during the great Xavier and Cincinnati years….never will forget watching Oscar Robertson as a kid….that was a treat….and being at Indiana University when they won the national championship!!! Thought that might be the end of it but ended up in northern New Mexico and have to say that watching a NM Lobo game in The Pit was second to none….
And even though there are now way too many college bowl games (waiting for The Toilet Bowl in Flushing NY for a game between the two worst college teams!!!!), gotta agree with Klown that there have been a couple of really great bowl games.
Enough…Go Bengals!!!
Personally I like to play golf, too as long as I don’t have to play with overly aggressive golf fanatics….even like to watch it on TV sometimes….but have to say that Obama has tarnished it a bit for me….Home Burns While Zero Golfs!!
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-plays-160th-round-of-golf/article/2541586/comments#disqus_thread
Haha I LOVE your Toilet Bowl idea, that’s funny!
My dad took me to all the JU Dolphin games back in the days of Artis Gilmore. Still, I never developed a love of basketball for some reason.
I’m not a golfer either and the funny thing is I live in a golf course community, but so do a LOT of people in Florida.
Go Bengals That what my kid is yelling too. 🙂
Would that be Piss against Porcelain in the Toilet Bowl played in Flushing, NY.
HaHa! But what can kind of humor can you expect from someone whose former last name was often mispronounced bowels? Once when flying stand-by from Chicago, my boss (Tollett) and I heard our names called over the PA system, “Bowels and Toilet please come to the check-in desk”. Everyone turned their heads to see what bowels and toilet looked like.
Why Johnny can’t read:
I would have suggested that the principal do their homework. She can drop by and pick up “her” assignment everyday and turn it in at the bell the next day. She needs to submit a handwritten assignment with the students name on it in ink. Or you could call in their parents, guardians, or zookeepers and explain why they get an F or when adult no paycheck when you don’t do your work. I did teach one semester at a prison once. Unsurprisingly they did their assignments so they could graduate HS and get out on parole a little early. My “teaching assistant” wore a khaki uniform and had a shotgun. It was not my favorite job assignment but the students were pretty good.
I seldom share this, but I made my decision to retire from the classroom when I discovered my principal had altered the grade of one of my students. She was the daughter of a school committee member, and the “C” I entered on her report card was the grade that would have kept her off the honor roll. When I confronted him, he told me in “grand scheme of things” it wasn’t worth it, and he was “saving me from having a price on my head”. When I asked if other teachers had their grades changed, he said they understood how things work. She was still a “C” student my last semester, and I entered another “C” on her report card, but her name still showed up on the honor roll. That poor girl.
I think that schools put too much emphasis on homework. There is plenty of learning time during the day, and not all parents are in a position to help their kids with schoolwork at home. Others could but won’t.
The early grades are the most critical – kids who don’t learn basic reading, writing and math skills early spend the rest of their time in school with one foot in a bucket.
I agree with you on homework. When I taught high school, I had students who were working 40 hour weeks to support themselves and their families. If they got passing grades on tests and quizzes and did the one research project I was required to assign, I never penalized them over homework. I also loaned them the textbook on CD or tape so they could “read” their assignments while they were loading trucks for UPS. The school was open every Saturday for kids who needed access to computers and the library. We also had an aggressive program for identifying kids who had slipped through the cracks and needed help with reading and basic math skills. But the bottom line is you can’t help kids who refuse to meet you anywhere on the continuum, and I had my share of those, too. When I moved to middle school, the problems were different. Most of the kids who failed came from homes where food and shelter weren’t an issue. It was more of an attitude of “school doesn’t count yet” and parents who enabled that.
Wow I can’t believe the principal did that and you’re correct it is not fair to the child in the long run.
I had the opposite problem when I was on the district board. My son overcooked ramen noodles in the microwave and then promptly spilled the result in his lap. He had 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his crotch and upper thighs…….OUCH! He was bandaged and basically had to wear a loin cloth with baggy shorts 5 sizes too big over top of that bandages. He had a doctor’s note excusing him from dressing out or participating in gym and also allowing him to use the elevator.
The school conveniently “lost” the note and he failed PE that nine weeks. I tried to appeal, even getting a second note from the doctor……plus I had time stamped proof of the original submission of the 1st note. The district refused to reconsider, they wanted to make sure I got the message they held power over my children. It was middle school and my son survived, who cares that he failed PE that one nine weeks. That plus several other events convinced me we needed to sell our house and move, which we did. It was one of the best decisions we ever made…….well technically I made the decision. My husband moved begrudgingly, but he tells me all the time now I was right and it was the best thing we ever did.
A future Obama perhaps.
The article showcases great idealism on the part of the teacher. This is great and we should all experience it at some point in our lives. BUT, but it is not the real world. The students, parents and administrators are not living up to the teacher’s idealism or expectations. So I guess the teacher is not quite the paragon that is made out in the article. Not to me anyway. But there have always been stupid parents and administrators and clever teachers got around them anyway.
You can’t get around no one is going to get a failing grade if the policy is well-known. When a school sets minimum attendance standards, there will be kids who show up just that number of days. Unfortunately, there are kids and parents who are smart enough to figure out sitting in school for 160 out of 180 days and just keeping a seat warm will get you promoted and then will blame the school for their not being able to function in society. I once picked an argument with a middle school student who I knew could not refrain from using the four letter word sure to get you suspended for a day or two so he’d go over the limit of the number of days he could miss and still get promoted, but it turned out his “special ed status” meant we couldn’t hold him back no matter what. He continued to be a seat warmer for another four years. He can’t hold down a job, and at 20 has 4 kids to support by 4 different girls.
I remember when 1-2 kids in my class were left back, in elementary school. That, of course, is unheard of now. By the time I got to high school, teachers were being told how to grade by the parents of the students doing poorly, or who just didn’t want “a lot” of homework in a class.
I remember a couple of decades ago when Chris Whittle was trying to create for-profit schools. Teachers’ unions complained bitterly because they thought the schools would cut corners while public schools were somehow autonomous.
It turns out that good standardized test scores are all administrators want and good report cards are all parents want. So public schools are cutting corners to do that. The teacher in the NYT article may be too demanding, but I know there are plenty of parents who would rather have a good report card and think their kid is doing well than learn the truth.
Very funny, Klown….but don’t forget who her daddy was!!! And that name…almost as bad as North West.
Vocals by Ray Collins.
This was the first record I ever owned. It was a 45.
I’d love to hear you doing Val-speak with your accent.
Romney is still a class act….
While there are lots of “culture” personalities on TV that I can’t stand, Harris-Perry and Rachel Maddow head the list for me. I’m glad Megyn Kelly is now on Fox because lots of folks there are starting to grate on my nerves…O’Reilly being at the top of the list. Will watch The Five for a bit until Beckel drives me away.
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/05/romney-responds-to-msnbc-attack-people-make-mistakes-video/
Mistake: noun 1. an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong.
verb 2. be wrong about.
Notice Mitt did not say it was an accident or without evil or hateful intent. It was an action done with intent that was misguided or wrong. Bashir got fired for filth directed at evil incarnate and prime acceptable target Palin who is an adult in the public sphere. Professor Clueless Harris-Parry encouraged bile directed at a infant. Bashir apologized before he was canned too but he couldn’t “cry” on air.
The smear job they did on Mitt Romney last year still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
(“they” = media, Democrats and Obama campaign)
The smear job against Romney showed that the media, Democrats and Obama are worthless little people. I have no respect for them.
Agree, and I have no respect for the product they produce.
The only “consolation” is that the GOP would be blamed for unemployment, Obamacare failures and NSA crimes just because Romney took over mid-disaster. I would prefer that, however, becuase Romney would have fixed it eventually like he did with the Olympics.
That’s the definition of class.
Agreed
https://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2014/01/05/alec-baldwin-mocks-melissa-harris-perry-if-i-cry-will-i-be-forgiven-a#main-content
pretty bad when alec baldwin mocks your aplogy
It’s kind of like when Charlie Sheen makes fun of someone now.
https://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2014/01/04/palin-resolves-be-even-more-aggressive-calling-out-media-practicing-l#main-content
Sarah will have them talking to themselves again with heads exploding
So I finished season 4 & 5 of Breaking Bad this weekend — yes, I was not disappointed in the end. All the resolution I wanted (and the honesty from Walter on why he did it, at last) was there. It was the perfect ending for the show.
Really one of the best shows ever on TV — I finally know what all the fuss was about.
I’m still searching for the next show to get hooked on.
Justified??? and house of cards is coming back on 2-14
Downton Abbey’s new season is on tonight. That is the only one I am hooked on currently.
Sherlock starts on the 19th.
I watch House of Cards and Downton Abbey. Like them both, but not “hooked”. I haven’t watched Justified. I’ll have to see if it’s on Netflix. Damages sucked me in when it was on.
Justified is not on netflix, alas. Amazon prime has it exclusively.
I just finished seasons 1 & 2 of Hell on Wheels on netflix -I hated the season 2 ender though.
Found Justified on Amazon. I watched a couple of episodes. Not gripping, but fun.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2014/01/04/hurray-savvy-fiat-scooped-chrysler-obama-song
another backtrack bailout using taxpayer money screws us
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/12/17/251713829/forget-golf-courses-subdivisions-draw-residents-with-farms?source=Patrick.net&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20131222&utm_source=mostemailed
an interesting trend. has anybody told the EPA so they can regulate???
a trunk monkey—–every car needs one
That is hilarious. Thanks for the link.
There are a lot more. http://www.suburbanautogroupnews.com/trunk-monkey-videos/ LOL.
😀 They just keep coming…..
{snort}
I wish I could find a Downton Abbey viewing party. I’m sick of this sports crap. I think it would be fun to get together and sip tea with brandy or coffee with Irish cream in it and watch Downton Abbey, why should men’s sports have all the fun gatherings?
Like high tea? I don’t drink but I eat cake and tea sandwiches like crazy. Shortbread, scones, Devonshire cream, chocolate cake, strawberries, and BUTTER. That is a great idea for a viewing party.
I’m in an online sewing club that gets together every Thursday to mock Project Runway.
Over Christmas in £ondon we watched the DA Christmas Special after assurances it didn’t spill the beans about the new season. They lied. But it was just the fix we needed. However, my lips are sealed.
Oldie but goodie:
I am glad that I am not in that club. 🙂
Super creepy Old Spice ad:
Just saw this today during the football game. I laughed out loud. So did my daughter
What’s wrong 49’ers, it’s T-Shirt weather.
That’s not as frigid as a Giants night game at the Stick in July.
“Yo! Cold beer!”
It was in the 30’s here today, and it felt like a sauna after the past few days. We finally broke 59 degrees on all floors of the house.
I’m happy to hear you’ve managed to get some heat in your place. It’s been snowing and blowing all day. Digging out was painful. I’ve been leaning against the radiators since I got back into my apartment.
*DED*
DED?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ded
Wow!
When colleges are forced to have African Studies departments, they find a way to use them.
The Chapel Hill fraud is outrageous! Wow! Unfriggin’ believable that it dates as far back as the 1990s!! From experience I can tell you how aggressive those in university sports –both athletes and coaches–can be! But what that particular dept did was beyond the pale!
As an instructor, you can protect yourself against such aggressiveness and even bullying by including clear policies about attendance and expected academic performance in your syllabus. Still, as experienced when I taught, there was always some student or coach challenging me on the issue — but to no avail. My thinking was (and is) this: Why should athletes get special privileges over other students who might also have demanding academic activities (such as music, drama, dance, field work, etc.) or even have to work to put themselves through school!
I recall once seeing a professor harassed by a coach/aid because the professor would not allow extra absences (above the 4 allowed per semester!) to the athlete in question. The coach/aid actually said he’d attend class and take notes for the student on the days he would be absent! The Prof said NO WAY, but the coach kept arguing with her as if she had no say in the matter. I’m so glad the Prof fought back. The jerk finally left the classroom in a huff. A week later, the Prof got a “notice” in her mailbox about how teachers are suppose to allow athletes to miss class without penalty. Bullshit! There are no such university policies on the books at UCB. The letter was pure intimidation. I’m so glad the Prof stood her ground. I think she was also planning to file a complaint against that coach.
First, student athletes were allowed to slide on classes and grades. Then they mandated certain grades for eligibility. The result of that was basically grade inflation.Basically, there are two outcomes. Either sports in school need to be de-emphasized (meaning no sport-only donations) or we hope the kid is happy working at Dick’s Sporting goods with a useless diploma when they grow up.
I think universities should be able to grant athletes a degree (for those who want to work for it) or a athletic certification of some sort for those who just want to participate in their sport.
BTW, the Prof I spoke of above took the time to work with the athlete in question during office hours, but also expected him to do the work. According to her, he was astounded not only by her effort to help him, but by his own ability to learn the material at hand with just a bit of effort. This was the first time anyone on campus showed any concern for his mind and actual education. He ended the semester with a sense of accomplishment and confidence — and I don’t even think he got higher than a “C+”!
Give every one a PhD for showing up to school (and forking over 100K). Skip the pretense.
Who Dey??? and the answer is !!! 😆
[i.e. AN athletic certification….]
************************
Can’t wait for the new season of DOWNTON ABBEY to begin tonight!
I almost panicked when I searched the tv and no Downton to record! Turns out stupid TV guide had it listed only under “Masterpiece Theatre” 🙄
Oh, yeah…I’ve been there, votermom.
Who is this Downtown Abby and what’s so special about her?
Downton Abbay is a fast-pace British saga of the aristocratic Crawley family, but is in essence an upstairs/downstairs drama set in early 20C England laced with great story lines and characters. I find the power plays and shenanigans among the help ever so fascinating. The entire show (inspired by the 1989 book “To Marry an English LordWht “) is written by one man alone, Julian Fellows. My favorite character is the dowager Countess played by Maggie Smith who can deliver a whammy of a line. comedic or otherwise. Lady Edith, formerly the “mean” sister, is starting to grow on me, as she stops whining and gains an independent and feminist voice. And what will become of the beautiful Lady Mary now that her loving husband is gone….
Recap
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20771415,00.html
The Book that inspired DA:
http://www.wtop.com/541/3227440/The-book-that-inspired-Downton-Abbey
The intrigue and the story of a changing world really is nicely woven into a lavish opulent landscape. Feminism of a different sort. The women in this tale are the story.
Correction: Downton Abbey is the continuing saga about the GRANTHAM Family, but since marrying Mathew Crawley Lady Mary is now a Crawley. In any case, she is one of the main characters.
“The women in this tale are the story.”
So true!
WOW! what a start to season 4. Unfortunately I had to watch it with a Downton novice so I had a lot of splanin to do. I need to TIVO it so I can watch again this week with out having to narrate.
Damn good game. Packers had no defense, hence losing, but still close and fun. So the choice of which team will lose to the Panthers goes to the 49’ers.
‘9ners, baby! Who said they were a bunch of weenies?!
I am officially a Carolina Panthers fan until further notice. I like the Colts too.
It’s kind of fun when you don’t have a team in it. You can change temporary allegiances on a whim.
Go 9’ers. Colin K has wings!
Dawson is awesome.
Any fan casualties (due to the weather) at the game b/w 9ners and Packers? Man, that was a cold one!!
Interesting thread by a black liberal on MSNBC journos.
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/04/head-of-new-york-civil-rights-coalition-compares-msnbc-rhetoric-to-mccarthyism/
I read about Meyer’s last night. Check out their website . It’s the New York Civil !something. Would post it but desk top is far far away down the stairs. Too toasty where I am. Cannot cut and paste on this tablet. Love the portability and great for media and reading but too hard to type. I did copy his post from comments in the Daily News and posted them at the end of last night’s thread. He is refreshing.
It was so cold at the 9’er- packer game, that there were no
red flag challenges, few penalties called and everyone wanted to make it a short game.
Get them in… get them out kinda game. I saw plenty of holding, pass interference, helmet to helmet penalties, but NO ONE wanted to slow down the game.
It was a great game.
Interesting, insanelysane….I saw the news recap and was sorry I missed it. I thought about watching just to see how they would negotiate the weather, but that’s as far as I got. Looked like an exciting game. Oh, well…I’m usually not one to watch sports but sometimes I wish I were a veritable crazy fan … looks like so much fun! The last football game I saw in its entirety was a Super Bowl game in the 80s with the 49ers kicking someone’s butt. Montana rocked…truly marvelous…finally saw what all the fuss was about! If I can get my hands on a new smart, flat screen LED TV (47-50 “, 3D ready, 240 Hz) for my study, I just might watch an entire Super Bowl game this year.
Can you be more specific? That’s like saying “The Broncos were getting their asses kicked.”
I know I know, Klown, sorry it’s so terribly vague, but at least I remember whom I was married to and where I lived at the time! Now, if I had a picture showing what I wore that day, then I could tell you the exact year, game, etc. It was a Super Bowl game which took place sometime between ’85 & ’90. The 9ners won, in any case (!) — all because of fabulous Joe. Don’t remember much else about the game. Did they ever loose a Super Bowl? Taxing my memory for this info ain’t worth it, especially because I’d like to forget those lost years.
my favorite judge… judge jeanine pirro
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/01/05/obama-goes-after-little-sisters-poor
If you’re alive today, that’s 100% due to hetero modus vivendi.
Great point!
WTF? To what do GLBT people owe their playoffs fun?
Jayzee, I have shoveled a metric shit ton of snow today, and I’m feeling it in my back and wrists. But my husband the nurse did get safely to work with very little hassle because of it. I’m such a good wife. 😉
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/31/what-your-favorite-drink-says-about-your-politics-in-one-chart/
Hitler finds out