Lucha in the afternoon #4 Black Terry & Negro Navarro vs. Solar & Mano Negra

This is probably from 2007, but I'm not certain of the exact date.

Haiku

Poetry and Power share
the same preference:
delivery, not content.

Lucha in the afternoon #3 Brazos vs. Los Tres Fantasticos

The Brazos (El Brazo, Brazo de Plata and Brazo de Oro) vs. Los Tres Fantasticos (Kung Fu, Black Man, Kato Kung Lee)

Not sure of the date.

Noise

Nobody likes noise. Nobody likes noise. Nobody likes noise.

This glowing orb is the lobster-like, deep-sea amphipod Phronima, which produces a barrel-shaped, gelatinous home around itself.

Of course he does. Who wouldn't? Harper's daily Links post led me to some amazing creatures, and a new way of looking at fruit. Phil, at Segunda Caida, seems to have discovered some new cache of old wrestling videos on the internet. If only I could discover some time.

A Saviory

Potential good news in the world of vuvuzela acceptance:

Teen sensations Brenda Song and Justin Bieber have reportedly inked a major endorsement deal with an upcoming candy in the works.

The candy the sensational young stars have supposedly agreed to endorse is the tentatively titled, Vuvuzela Balls, which is yet to be released.

The bold was in the original article. Will this be the vuvuzela's Sun City? Probably not. Rather than glibly pass along some stupid news article/press release, I actually followed the story back to its source.

I am fairly certain that some people read an article about a man "hallucinating" clowns attacking his house, and chuckle about people daring to diverge from consensus reality. I read the story and worry about my future. Perhaps the only thing more frightening than clowns attacking your family would be if nobody else could see them.

The Taste, The Portions

I cannot think of one consistent principle I could adhere to without any sort of caveat. Well, except for this:

BLKDGRD said we live in Moronistan. He is right. If Joan Walsh was really an "editor and a writer," one imagines she would be familiar with comparisons, whether metaphorical or via some other method, and what they are commonly used to express. Instead, she gives us so many words about whether Lebron James is really a slave or not (spoiler: not really, but kind of?). The Big Lead was just lamenting the lack of sports things to talk about at this time of year, seemingly oblivious to the opportunity to exercise silence. Anyway, here's IOZ on the press's role in our lives, and a short review of John Carpenter's They Live.

British Scientists are concerned about shrimp that are ingesting Prozac (or becoming "hooked" on it, according to the headline) and are then unconcerned about avoiding predators. The article does not mention if they are concerned about this behavior in other animals exposed to Prozac.

New World Order - Same as the Old World Order

Some literary website website about books is starting a project to read "difficult" books. Like others, I've never quite understood this idea of reading something that you don't enjoy. I also don't understand the idea of "difficult" books. There are words on a page. Read them. If they do not make sense, read them again. If they continue to not make sense, move on to the next set of words, if they were enjoyable. If they were not enjoyable, put them down and move on with your life.

In other news about people unable to enjoy activities without some ulterior motive, Roy Edroso captures some conservatives' reactions and over-reactions to the recently ended World Cup. I did not think of myself as much of a soccer fan when this began, but then I realized that soccer is fairly boring, and I like boring things. I also love vuvuzelas. Putting aside opinions about soccer itself, is there anything more loathsome and juvenile than sports radio hosts relishing in delight as they explain that they don't pay attention to soccer? These are the same people that cover golf - a game that business men get drunk and make deals over - as if it were the height of athletic endeavors. I understand that their boss probably enjoys it, but they (in this case, certain voices on FM 101.1 WXOX) cover it with a zeal that betrays indifference on their part. Anyway, returning to the question: is there anything more embarrassing than grown men relishing sticking out their tongues and yelling "no" just to get a reaction out of the rest of the world? Yes. It is the city of Cleveland throwing a collective tantrum over a basketball player signing a contract with a new team.

But who will play Jericho?

In the UAE, the vuvuzela has been restricted. Is this because of possible connections between the vuvuzela and the shofar?

Misunderestimated

Do not assume you know what the research behind the Dunning-Kruger Effect really shows, lest you prove it true.

The B-Boy King

ESPN's Adam Schefter says Lebron James's press conference tomorrow evening will be one of those "I remember where I was" moments. First, a quick list of "I remember where I was" moments that I have memories of:

The Space Shuttle Challenger exploding

The student demonstrators in Tianenmmen Square

The Berlin Wall falling

The attacks on the World Trade Center

Truly an athlete signing some ridiculous contract belongs in such company. Schefter's regretable comparison could be explained away as a company man trying to drum up ratings for his network (as I presume ESPN will be airing the pronouncement in its entirety. King James, indeed) were it not such a common trope for media weasels of all stripes to use. Similar to facebook's usurpation of actual contact, the media seems to feel that it much easier to tell us that whatever they are meekly relating back to us is "history" (as opposed to the future, I suppose) and we should pay extra close attention to it. I am not sure, so I would have to ask Ted Koppel, but did the Greatest Generation need to be told "listen up, this is important" when they heard Pearl Harbor had been attacked? Now that I think about it, how did they even know it happened without Twitter?

For the Children, of course

Of course vuvuzelas are being used to smuggle drugs. Of course.

Lucha in the afternoon #2 Fishman vs. Mascara Sagrada

Fishman vs. Mascara Sagrada, mascara contra mascara, from August 27, 2000, at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.

Shhh

I work in a library. It is the noisiest job I have held. It is probably because I work for peanuts.

Catching up

Brock won, America/the police state won. Vuvuzela Bolero does not result in any deaths.

Lucha in the afternoon #1 Fishman vs. La Parka

Fishman vs. La Parka (now known as LA Park)

I think this is the February 2, 1996 match, from Queretaro. Fishman's second is Juventud Guerrera, and La Parka's is Rey Mysterio Jr.

Ethan at 6th or 7th captures Digby's satori. In doing so, he references this post at A Tiny Revolution about money and debt-reduction being more important to some than actual human beings. Broadsnark then links to an article about the increasing reliance and enjoyment of drone warfare by roughly the same crowd, or their friends at the very least, with this choice quote:

"Valor to me is not risking your life," the colonel told the reporter. "Valor is doing what is right. Valor is about your motivations and the ends that you seek. It is doing what is right for the right reasons. That to me is valor."

UPDATE: Why not just militarize everybody? Since we have Twitter and Facebook, Afghanistan may as well be next door:

Department of Defense Directive 1404.10, dated January 23, 2009, set up a "Civilian Expeditionary Workforce" that would "be organized, trained, cleared, equipped, and ready to deploy in support of combat operations by the military; contingencies; emergency operations; humanitarian missions; disaster relief; restoration of order; drug interdiction; and stability operations."

For those of you without a calendar handy, Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009. I guess he quickly got the hang of the job.