Ploafmaster General

Q: if you really had the cheat as your sidekick would you really kick him? Would you let him have light switch rave parties? What kind of stuff would he do for you as a sidekick?

A: You bet your behind I'd kick The Cheat. Only way to keep him in line. And no, there'd be no light switch rave parties. Waste of electricity, and too much of a risk of seizure for everybody else.

With The Cheat in line and not misbehaving, I think I'd have him fetch all my meals. And mix me some suudsu.

That's it. Nothing major, nothing exciting. But it's an answer. I mean, I've had an exhausting, crappy week. Cut me some slack, eh? ;-)

Post your questions for next week in the comments section!

Oh man, that was a nail-biter of a game. Coming back from an egregious early deficit, my Rams managed to stick close to Duke's score throughout the last 3/4 of the game, occasionally hopping into the lead for fleeting moments.

Finally, with 1.8 seconds left on the clock, Maynor put up a FG to push the score to its final resting place.

Our next shot will be against the winner of the Pittsburgh-Wright State game on Saturday.

Cool essay about an interesting musical context by Sufjan Stevens.

My musical mind is almost about to explode.

Indie-Hip-Hop emcee Busdriver has sampled Yes' "Close to the Edge" - specifically the "...I get up, I get down" portion from the middle of the track.

Wow, interesting song, cool groove, and crazy points just for busting the musical mold from all sides by bitin' from a progressive rock legend for a rap tune.

Score! I put 65 cents into the vending machine at work for some Junior Mints.

The box dropped, the auger kept spinning...

Another box dropped! The machine then tells me that I still have 65 cents and should make another selection! I figured, what the heck, I'll try for two more boxes of Junior Mints! It tells me to pick something else, however, so I opt for some Starburst...only one pack this time :-)

Holy Cow. 200 mpg, reasonable cruising speed, and spaceship looks to boot? And they want to try selling 'em for 20 large? SIGN ME UP!

For the second time in three years, VCU's Men's Basketball Team is heading to the NCAA tournament.

We face off against Duke University's Blue Devils in the first round, this Thursday night at 7:10 pm.

Go RAMS!!!

V! C! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Hilarious inclusion of George Bush in the Teletubbies intro:
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFBwD2b5nz8&w=425&h=350])

As much as I prefer the local cafe, I just read an interesting memo from Starbucks' chairman Howard Schultz lamenting the loss of his company's "soul" over the years.

The memo, and the article in Slate in which I read it, are worth a look.

Holycrapitstoofunnyformenottolaugh:
http://eeuauaughhhuauaahh.ytmnd.com/

It's Friday, which means I'm noodling around more than working at my office. I figure I'll start off by posting a vid of an AWESOME cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya" performed by one fella, his voice, and some guitars. My buddy Nate pointed me to this, and I have to say, it's actually really pleasant and melancholy. Check it:
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-8nkkOA_AM&w=425&h=350])

I was in Target on Tuesday evening with my wife and sister-in-law when I came across the following on my way to the electronics section:


I don't think I really need to say anything further on the subject.

I finally reclaimed the rest of my missing Weezer collection.

It's been about 6 years since I lost my original copies of Weezer's so-called Blue Album and Pinkerton, and though I was able to acquire the excellent 10th anniversary copy of the former, I'd held off on the latter in hopes they would release an equally tasty anniversary edition.

Alas, they didn't - spurning Pinkerton once again as they did when it failed to achieve commercial success the first go-'round. So last night I finally located a copy of the truly excellent rock album at Barnes and Noble in the Near-West End of Richmond.

I sure have missed such fantastic tracks as "Tired of Sex," "Across the Sea," "El Scorcho," and "Butterfly." The lyrics, the guitar solos, the bass lines - everything is fantastic. I think what really sealed the warm-fuzzies in my mind was the drive to Target later in the evening - Valerie, her sister, and myself cruising down the highway and Broad Street singing "El Scorcho" at the top of our lungs.

While I continue to mourn for the death of Rivers Cuomo's quality songwriting I'm relieved to reconnect with what is, in my opinion, some of his finest work.

I know I only have a few readers, and I know of those, none of you really listen to Radio Paradise (though I know Mugs has before). But PLEASE take a minute to read this clearly articulated description of the crisis now facing all internet broadcasters.

I know using a word like "crisis" is a bit dramatic, but consider the creativity, flexibility, and freedom that comes from being able to run your own low-cost broadcast station, and the choice that provides to music lovers everywhere: niche stations with no commercials, rare music otherwise unheard of, and creative DJs who favor intricately crafted play lists over the latest top 40 drivel.

Though I'm not entirely surprised that our government has favored business interests over the arts and fair use, I'm still really pissed off that the Copyright Royalty Board essentially ignored other opinions and went right along with the requests of the abominable RIAA. Screw those guys.

Valerie picked Talladega Nights for her Netflix queue, and tonight we watched it. Or, well, I did while she snoozed. That happens a lot - even with movies she likes.

I give this flick, co-written, co-produced, and starring Will Ferrell, 3 stars out of 5. The acting was alright, the humor, as my buddy Dave indicated, was limited mostly to what you saw in the commercials. The story was light, the cameos were gratuitous, and the film-making was amazing.

I was floored, actually, to finally see a major studio release a comedy that I felt contained excellent directing, photography, and editing. Full letterbox, well-composed shots, gorgeous color, and fantastic cuts that made portions of NASCAR racing exciting even to me, if only for those abbreviated scenes.

The film-making, I'd say, actually saved this movie from a crappy 2. Good show, Andy McKay.

I think I figured out why I've been so tired...

You see, Valerie decided that she wanted to give something up for Lent. She chose one of her favorite things, french fries. I figured I'd help her out by also giving up something for 40 days, so I decided to give up soda. All soda.

Of course, most of the soda I imbibe is of the caffeinated variety. Since I rarely drink coffee in any form, I've been without caffeine for over a solid week now. And I'm running ragged. Let's see how I fare by St. Pattie's Day, and even more so...by Easter.

Oh boy. I saw Ghost Rider tonight. That's a solid 1 out of 5 stars. Maybe less, but really, I'll stick with whole numbers for simplicity.

I think perhaps if you can overlook the script, the acting, the film score, and the photography, you may have...well...um...lots of gratuitous special effects. Yup. Oh! And Sam Elliott. Yeah. That's really about it.

I really only saw this because I was going with some buddies. I kinda expected it would be crappy, and oof - I wasn't disappointed. Or well, you know.

I don't know why it took me so long to find it and start watching it, but I've been hooked on Ze Frank's, "The Show."

It's always witty, often hilarious, and quite intelligent. Go watch it before he stops producing it in mid-March.

Wow, Mugs. Great job.

My brother has redesigned his website, and I have to say it's lookin' pretty slick in all its minimalist glory.

Go check it out...Pickles...

Q: I hope I can still ask a question for ask dan. If I can…what would our country be like if we elected a leprechaun as president?

A: Well Elizabeth, of course you can still ask a question...I think that deadline business was intended to allow me time to research a response...but mostly I just make it up as I go along on Fridays. So don't worry about asking by Wednesday anymore, and don't worry about posting the question in the last Ask Dan post - worry about me gleaning any question from any comment, and using that as a lame excuse to perpetuate this feature :-)

So Leprechauns, eh? I think we may already have had a leprechaun for a president...or at least somebody close to one. You see James Madison, our 4th president, was a mere 5ft, 3 and 3/4 inches tall. The only problem is that he was English, not Irish. Though I suppose nearly 5'4" is still a bit taller than a Leprechaun...

I believe a Leprechaun president would face a new set of challenges being so short, though I see several distinct advantages:

First, such a small president would be a difficult target, increasing the safety of the world leader. He'd be so small, in fact, that you may be able to secretly hide him in some unlikely places, thus avoiding danger. Nobody would expect to find the President of the United States of America cruising down a sidewalk in a baby carriage.

Second, everybody knows that Leprechaun's have crazy amounts of gold. Hello moneybags, goodbye national debt.

Leprechaun's are traditionally believed to be cobblers...so, um...free shoes for everybody? Maybe? Come on, work with me here...

Finally, at such diminutive stature, our Leprechaun president could finally see eye to eye in peace talks with Kim Jong Il. Crisis averted!

So there it is...question answered - if you believe it.

Post them questions in the comments, and check in next week for another installment of Ask Dan.

The forceps of our minds are clumsy forceps, and crush the truth a little in taking hold of it.
- HG Wells

Slate has a hilarious article up about Ultimate Fighting...

So this past weekend, of course, I was in Tallahassee to see my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, perform her senior violin recital.

As the lighting was too low to allow for photographing a musician-in-motion, I decided to try making a little video clip with my digital camera. So here it is, with poor sound quality and all (but still a good showcase of Elizabeth's talent):
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkVTRQEoKNE&w=425&h=350])