Shania Twain and her husband are splitting up.

Of course, she is a raw foodist and a vegetarian, so don't order a burger well done on the first date.

... to lose weight, I'm trying to limit myself to the following chain restaurants.

McDonalds -- Hardly my first choice, but Danny likes it. Fave: the grilled chicken sandwich (hold the mayo), Diet Coke. I may stop ordering fries -- that's what does it, you know.
Subway -- Lots of choices that are yummy, and I always leave without feeling grossly full. Faves: the sweet onion chicken sandwich or roast beef, no mustard or mayo, yogurt as a side, Diet Coke.
Arbys -- Pretty good place; I wish the roast beef were better. Fave: The Super (add lettuce & tomato), no fries, Diet Pepsi.
Boston Market -- Again, lots of good choices. Fave: 1/4 white, corn, Diet Coke.
Culvers -- This is hard; Culvers is awesome. But I can do it. Fave: Angus steak sandwich, salad or soup, Diet Pepsi
Wendys -- The drive-through was their idea, you know. Fave: Grilled chicken, side salad, Diet Coke.

Also:
Portillos (grilled chicken sandwich, no fries)
Sweet Tomatoes (just everything in moderation)

What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 82% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 61% Classical Liberal 54% Neo orthodox 46% Roman Catholic 43% Modern Liberal 43% Charismatic/Pentecostal 39% Reformed Evangelical 25% Fundamentalist 11%

I'd be interested to have Karen take this, but she's in Mexico on a school trip until June 1.

1986 Chevy Nova

Parents are apparently wailing about Miley Cyrus' photos in Vanity Fair. Two things:

- To Miley Cyrus and family: It's Annie Leibowitz and Vanity Fair! What on earth did you think would happen? Half the celebrities who she photographs can't stand her! And Vanity Fair wants every female star they photograph as unclothed as possible, regardless of age! Stay far, far away from now on!

- To the parents: If you're worried about who's going to be your kid's role model, there can be only one: You. Stop complaining about what the teenage girls you've been telling your child to emulate do, and start being a hero yourself. Turn off the TV. Play with your kids. Get them interested in what you do. (Danny and I just spent an hour going through baseball and football cards; he's sick today so I'm home.) Be a positive role model -- don't drink in front of your kids, try to eat good foods, don't curse. This can't be that hard -- and if it is, you've got to take the responsibility.

I've been pushing a way for ratings college quarterbacks, based on articles in Pro Football Prospectus (hell, it's their theory, not mine) that QBs can be scouted based on the number of games they started in college and their completions (with slight allowances for the calibre of their opponents and the kind of offense they ran). Here's the rankings of the better QBs drafted from the late '90s to 2004, and then a newer batch.

Ben Rothlisberger 38 / 65.5%
Peyton Manning 45 / 62.5%
Carson Palmer 45 / 59.1%

Chad Pennington* 51 / 63.3%
Daunte Culpepper* 44 / 63.9%
Byron Leftwich 35 / 65.1%

Drew Brees 37 / 61.1%
Donovan McNabb 45 / 58.4%
Eli Manning 37 / 60.8%

Patrick Ramsey 32 / 58.9%
Charlie Batch 22 / 58.0%
Kyle Boller 40 / 47.8%

Jake Plummer 40 / 55.4%
Michael Vick 19 / 56.5%
Cade McNown 43 / 55.5%

Shaun King 39 / 55.5%
Quincy Carter 29 / 56.6%
Joey Harrington 28 / 55.2%

David Carr 26 / 62.8%
Tim Couch 25 / 67.1%
Akili Smith 19 / 56.6%

Jim Druckenmiller 24 / 53.8%
Ryan Leaf 24 / 53.8%

************

Philip Rivers 51 / 63.5%
Matt Leinart 39 / 64.8%
Jason Campbell 39 / 64.6%

Jay Cutler 45 / 57.2%
Alex Smith 22 / 66.3%
Vince Young 32 / 61.8%

Kellen Clemens 32 / 61.0%
Rex Grossman 31 / 61.0%
Aaron Rodgers 22 / 63.8%

Tarvaris Jackson 36 / 54.7%
J.P. Losman 27 / 57.8%
Marques Tuiasosopo 25 / 54.9%

JaMarcus Russell 29 / 61.9%
Brady Quinn 46 / 58.0%


So, the thresholds we're looking for seem to be about 35 starts and about a 58 percent completion percentage. So let's look at the batch that just got drafted:

Erik Ainge, Jets 35 / 57.9%
John David Booty, Minnesota 23 / 62.3%
Colt Brennan, Washington 35 / 70.4%
Brian Brohm, Green Bay 33 / 65.8%
Dennis Dixon, Pittsburgh 25 / 63.9%
Joe Flacco, Baltimore 26 / 63.4%
Chad Henne, Miami 47 / 59.7%
Kevin O'Connell, New England 36 / 57.5%
Matt Ryan, Atlanta 34 / 59.9%
Andre Woodson, Giants 38 / 61.9%

My thoughts, appropos of nothing:

- Henne, to me, would be the first guy I would have taken. His fall paralleled Brady Quinn and Matt Leinhart a bit, but he should be very competitive.
- Why Matt Ryan? Maybe the build, or maybe because Atlanta needs a good kid after the fall of Matthew Vick.
- I like both Erik Ainge for the Jets and Andre Woodson for the Giants. Woodson has a hitch in his delivery, but I would think he can work on that.
- The Ravens will be very, very disappointed in Joe Flacco. He doesn't have that many starts, and he played for a I-AA team.
- No one stands out like, say, Manning did.
- I'm rooting for Kevin O'Connell, because he deserves some success after Go! was cancelled so quickly.

It's snowing outside.

Now, it's flurries mixed with rain, but still... it's April 28th!

5. Glenn Dorsey, Kansas City, DT. This guy's a moose. KC should be happy. The Jets and Pats are not.
6. Vernon Ghoulston, NY Jets, DE. Good ratings. Tempting for the Jets to draft for offense, but no one really stands out.

Okay, we've started and I'm listening on ESPN radio (really, do you need to watch this). I'm also keeping an eye on CBS Sportsline's web site, where Pete Prisco, who knows something, can argue with fans, who know less. And, of course, I'm one of them.

Here's a thought: let's grade the drafts in, oh, five to ten years. Grading them now is pointless. How did the Boston Celtics' 1986 draft look on June 17, 1986, and then again a week later?

Here we go:

1. Jake Long, Miami, OT. Miami needs help everywhere, so they might as well start on the lines.
2. Chris Long, St. Louis, DE. Outstanding bloodlines, and you know he'll work.
3. Matt Ryan, Atlanta, QB. Has lots of people talking him up; I'm a little leery.
4. Darren McFadden, Oakland, RB. Typical of Oakland - beef up one of the few spots that doesn't need beefing.

Kansas City's next, and it's less likely they'll need to entertain offers from the Jets and New England, both of whom despise one another.

Karen and I have our semi-monthly "date night" Saturday (somebody babysits Danny, we go out and do what we want). Karen's up for Forgetting Sarah Marshall -- she very much liked both The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

Saw Kristen Bell, star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (who apparently does not drop her clothes in the movie, just Jason Segal) on the cover of Cosmopolitan in the checkout line, where she says she, in the past, has been "not pretty enough to play the pretty girl and not ugly enough to play the homely girl." Which begs the question -- exactly how pretty does someone have to be to play the pretty girl if Kristen Bell doesn't make the cut.

Oh, and she can sing, too. And she's actually older than Anne Hathaway.

Be Careful What You Wish for Department:

I had been waiting for the day I could see cast members of How I Met Your Mother do nude scenes in movies.

I should have been more specific about which cast members.

And the R-rated preview -- which is also on YouTube -- is more specific.

Nice talk.

I listened to Dave Kaplan on WGN last night, and Kaplan prefaced his remarks by saying that he's a friend of Brennaman, likes and respects him, but said Brennaman's totally out of line, and should apologize. Which he won't do.

And before you get too far in saying he's just trying to keep the peace (the Reds were in no danger after Adam Dunn's homer; those were Cubs in the outfield where the balls were landing), apparently it hasn't worked both ways.

The keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band dies at age 58.



************

Love those 14th inning rallies:

Mets 14th
Joel Hanrahan pitching:
Damion Easley: Easley singled to left.
Jose B. Reyes: Reyes popped bunt out to pitcher.
Ryan Church: Foul, Strike swinging, Easley stole second, Ball, Ball, Easley to third on Hanrahan's throwing error, Church struck out swinging.
David Wright: Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Intentional ball, Wright intentionally walked.
Carlos Delgado: Intentional ball, Intentional ball, Intentional ball, Delgado intentionally walked, Wright to second
Brian Schneider hit for Jorge Sosa.
Brian Schneider: Ball, Easley scored, Wright to third, Delgado to second on wild pitch

Mets are now in second, a half game behind Florida and a game in front of Philadelphia. The Cubs are also in second, tied with Milwaukee and a game and a half behind St. Louis. Listening to WGN after today's loss, however, you'd have thought by the fans' reaction we're in September, and the Cubs are 22 back with 10 to play. The WGN guys had to remind the listeners it's still mid-April.

Stewart has a good point. Over the last few years, we've been going out of our way trying to elect "regular guys" to be president. The last four elections, we've elected the following:

1) a guy who's proud of the fact that he doesn't read much or listens to anyone but his gut
2) a fat, lecherous hillbilly


Meanwhile, on Olbermann, the guy who was the victim from last week turns out to be somewhat of a doof himself. And how about Fox Business News for staying on top of things?

Via TurboTax. Refunds will be here in a couple of weeks, stimulus after that (all of which go to pay bills). Woohoo.

For my convenience, I haven't listened to these yet. Got them from BMG Music Service yesterday, which was running a good sale (one full price, the rest 99 cents for a single-disk, $1.99 for a double, plus $2.59/disk for postage and "handling"). Guess the artists don't get much in royalties. I'm reviewing them primarily on packaging and content, since they're mostly greatest hits sets.

John Coltrane, My Favorite Things, 1961/1998 -- Got this on vinyl when I was in college. I was hoping it was the same packaging I'd gotten with two other Rhino disks, without a jewel box but with a vinyl-like sleeve and a ton of liner notes. It's not, but it's close enough that I can live with it. The "extras" are the single version of the title track (they released it as a single?), parts 1 and 2, which may actually mean a different recording -- I'm not sure they bothered splicing it, and it would have been hard to do a remix in 1961. Remember, that was four years before The Sound of Music was a movie, so it wasn't the standard it is today.

Roger Daltrey, Gold, 2006 -- A misnomer, since I don't think anything he ever did solo got certified by the RIAA. It was actually released a few years back by Sanctuary under the title Moonlighting (much more accurate, although you're half expecting Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis to show up); this is the same thing but with a few deletions: his versions of "Mack the Knife" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." ("Born to Run" remains, as well as a pile of solo live versions of Who songs.)

Genesis, Duke, 1980/2007 -- I hate buying the same album over again on CD if they throw in a few extras, but I've never gotten Duke in any format. This tosses in the full album on DVD, along with three videos ("Duchess," "Misunderstanding," and "Turn It On Again"), some interviews from last year, and seven songs from a concert at the Lyceum in London from 1980. That's probably worth it.

The Jackson 5, Number 1s, 2004/2007 -- Sometimes you want to take the person who designs album covers and whack 'em around a bit. This may be an Ecopak -- renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable -- but it also has no booklet talking about the music. The cover is printed in three colors -- pink, yellow mustard, and black -- and the liner notes on the inside cover drop out white from the yellow background in two-point type, making them virtually illegable. This is a rerelease of The Jacksons' Story, which I wish I'd gotten instead so I could read the damn thing. Anyway, it does have a good mix of their careers, both group and solo, although a good chunk of these songs ("Blame It on the Boogie," "Show You the Way to Go") were top 10, not #1s.

Supertramp, Retrospectacle, 2005 -- Interesting group that achieved staggering success in 1979 when Breakfast in America hit #1 (mostly because album buyers bought rock, not disco singles). Leans a little too much on the second disk post-Roger Hodgson (he was the one who sang tenor, Rick Davies was the other lead singer).

Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations, Joined Together: The Complete Studio Duets, 2004 -- Well, that's kind of a stretch, because there's not a single picture of Diana Ross recording with the others, which makes me think Berry Gordy told her she could record her parts herself. This also doesn't include TCB and G.I.T. on Broadway, which are both soundtracks from two television specials around that time. Odd that the Tempts would be recording stuff like "The Impossible Dream" around the same time as "Runaway Child, Running Wild," but that's the way it goes. Inexplicably includes a photo of Flo Ballard, who had been tossed out of the Supremes long before. Also includes a pile of bonus tracks and alternate mixes.

The Temptations, Psychedlic Soul, 2007 -- I may have gone overboard on the Tempts here, especially considering about half these songs or more are on their box set, Emperors of Soul. This focuses on all the "psychedelic," funky songs they did with Norman Whitfield in the producer's chair from 1968 to 1973 (so you'll hear "Cloud Nine" and their version of "War," which they were too chicken to release as a single, but not "Just My Imagination" or "Love Woke Me Up This Morning"). It does have the long versions of some songs and a couple of alternate mixes, although I'm not sure I need 12 minutes of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" (not to mention nearly 14 minutes of "Masterpiece").

Joe Walsh, Greatest Hits/Little Did He Know..., 1997/2006 -- In keeping with the somewhat schizophrenic way Walsh's records were, this is called Greatest Hits on the MCA label on the jewel box, and The Definitive Collection on the Geffen label on the disk itself. (I think it was probably a rerelease that was goofed up by BMG, which manufactures the disks themeselves.) One disk of Walsh is definitely better than two, unless you want to spend the 32-dollar list price to get such extra classics as "I.L.B.Ts." (which stands for I Love Big, uh, tracts of land). No Eagles stuff, but at least they managed to get all the music he recorded for a few different labels in one place.

Some of the stuff I saw on MTV in the mid-'80s was so weird I've spent years wondering if I just imagined it, or dreamed it. (Don't laugh -- I've dreamt I was the fifth Monkee, and seeing David Brinkley hosting The Dating Game.) For years I had a vague memory of Roger Daltrey appearing in a Barbra Streisand video, certainly an odd mix. Turns out it was for real -- but I missed Mikhail Baryshnikov making a brief, inexplicable appearance. If this does play on video channels anymore, I'm sure the tag is cut -- which is a shame, because Streisand's last line is a hoot.

President Bush's national security advisor says it would be a cop-out (his words) for him not to attend the Olympic opening ceremonies.

China was awarded the Olympics on the basis of improving their human rights records and making a safe, healthy place to hold the games. How that's going so far, huh? But we're being told the "quiet diplomacy" they've been doing is the way to go.

I liked the idea I saw in this Washington Post column two weeks ago -- either China keeps the promises they made, or we move the whole damn thing to Sydney or Athens, who hosted the games in 2000 and 2004. (Hint: make the decision by flipping a coin.) There's still time, and they have the facilities.

Illinois state representative Monique Davis (D-Chicago) gets Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" after hectoring an atheist witness during a hearing on the floor of the state assembly.

This is just ridiculous. Illinois has some good people representing it -- and we have some not-so-good ones, including the ones who are currently incarcerated.

Good cartoon in The Washington Post today on Joe Lieberman. It's got action and can't embed, so this is the link.

Seriously, what happened to this guy? He's managed to tick off virtually everyone who once liked him while being spectacularly wrong on Iraq. If Connecticut had a recall vote (Illinois is trying to get this on the ballot because we've had a few elected officials in high office go to jail), he'd likely be gone.