Getting ready for the rehearsal.

I’m very upset that I didn’t make this list. ;)

L.A. Times media critic David Shaw, explaining why newspapers are superior to blogs, March 27, 2005:

When I or virtually any other mainstream journalist writes something, it goes through several filters before the reader sees it. At least four experienced Times editors will have examined this column, for example. They will have checked it for accuracy, fairness, grammar, taste and libel, among other things.

The Times’s “several filters” in action, December 27, 2005:

A quote in a fake news release that was intended as an April Fool’s joke ended up in a front-page story in the Los Angeles Times. The story in Tuesday’s editions of the Times noted how successful the reintroduction of wolves had been 10 years ago, but said the predators remained controversial.

“In Wyoming, for example, Gov. Dave Freudenthal last April decreed that the Endangered Species Act is no longer in force and that the state ‘now considers the wolf as a federal dog,’ unworthy of protection,” the story read.

The Times printed a correction Wednesday, acknowledging that the news release was a hoax.

“The reporter saw it on the Internet and had talked with the governor in the past, so she was familiar enough with the way he talks and writes that she thought it sounded authentic, and she didn’t check, which she should have,” Times Deputy Metro Editor David Lauter told the Casper Star Tribune.

Heh.

(Hat tip: Mickey Kaus, who says the Times is suffering the “standard end-of-year newspaper dilemma–it has to generate lots of stories to wrap around those lucrative Christmas sale ads, while at the same time everyone’s taking time off for the holidays. The result is you publish a lot of junk.” He adds, “Blogs don’t have that problem! We don’t need to generate lots of copy during the holidays because nobody’s reading us then anyway!” So true…)

No one will finish with a perfect prediction record in the Irish Trojan’s Bowl Pick ‘em contest.

Nick Gustafson and Ed dropped from the ranks of the unbeatens yesterday when Boston College beat Boise State, and Mark Gardner, Darrin Bartley and Carl Lindecrantz followed suit when Nebraska stunned Michigan. (Michigan’s edge over Nebraska in terms of how many contestants picked them was the second-most lopsided of any bowl, with the Wolverines favored 115 to 13.)

Now Gardner, Bartley, Lindecrantz and Gustafson (who picked Nebraska; Ed got both games wrong) are tied for first place with 10 points, thanks to 10-1 prediction records. Eleven contestants are tied for second with 9 points, or 9-2 records.

This afternoon’s Emerald Bowl is the final one-point bowl of the contest. (It is also the only game with more lopsided prediction numbers than Michigan-Nebraska, as Georgia Tech is favored over Utah, 119-9.) This evening’s Holiday Bowl (in which Oregon is favored over Oklahoma 96 to 32) is worth two points, as are all remaining non-BCS bowls. The BCS bowls are worth three points, except the Rose Bowl, which is worth five.

All four co-leaders picked Georgia Tech and Oregon. A Utah win would not affect the top of the leaderboard, but an Oklahoma win would vault Phillip Price, Ondine, Barry and Ed ahead of the current leaders and into a four-way tie for first. A Ducks win will keep Gardner, Bartley, Lindecrantz and Gustafson atop the contest.

Bachelor bowling.

Too dark for good cell phone photos… but the bachelor party is underway. Mmm… rattlesnake. (Tastes like chicken.)

I apologize for the relative lack of updates lately, compared to my usual torrid blogging pace. As you can imagine, I’ve been very, very, very busy with last-minute wedding preparations. Only two days left!! AAAAAHHHH!!!! :)

With the bulk of my friends and family arriving in town today, the bachelor party tonight, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tomorrow, the wedding Friday, the post-wedding New Year’s Eve party Saturday, the much-deserved respite/long nap/hangover Sunday, and the honeymoon starting Monday, I’m afraid the pace of regular blog updates will continue to be slower than usual for the foreseeable future. But, in an attempt to keep y’all abreast of what’s happening, I am planning to appoint a designated cell-phone photoblogger to take and post pictures of the ceremony and reception on Friday. The photos will probably be captionless, but at least they’ll be live! We may test this system tonight during the bachelor party (which promises to be relatively tame — just dinner and bowling, no strippers or the like). So be sure to check back tonight after 6:30 PM MST (8:30 EST), and again Friday between 4:00 and 9:30 PM MST (6:00-11:30 EST).

In the mean time, here’s a really cool picture that I took of the Zaks’ house Monday night as the sun was setting:

The pics of the sunset itself aren’t bad, either:

Arizona is purty. :) Knock on wood, but the forecast is continuing to look good for Friday. Perhaps not quite as warm as previously expected, but still mostly sunny, which is the really important thing. Last year, there was a freak rainstorm on December 29, and when we visited Gold Canyon on December 30 — coincidentally one year to the day before our wedding — the site where our ceremony will be held was flooded. As long as that doesn’t happen again, and we’re able to get good photos, I’ll be happy. :)

P.S. Here’s a somewhat warmer forecast.

Clemson’s win over Colorado and Arizona State’s fourth-quarter rally against Rutgers kept the five co-leaders of the Irish Trojan’s Bowl Pick ‘em contest perfect through nine out of 28 bowl games. Ten contestants are tied for second with 8-1 records.

Later today, Boston College plays Boise State in the MPC Bowl at 4:30 PM EST, and Michigan plays Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl at 8:00 PM EST. Three of the five co-leaders — Mark Gardner, Darrin Bartley and Carl Lindecrantz — picked Boston College and Michigan. Ed picked Boise State and Michigan, while Nick Gustafson picked Boise State and Nebraska.

That means, if Boise State wins the early game, someone will have sole possession of the lead by night’s end, with the late game determining whether it will be Ed or Gustafson. On the other hand, if Boston College wins the early game, Gardner, Bartley and Lindecrantz will remain tied for first — in a three-way tie if Michigan wins the nightcap, a four-way tie with Gustafson if Nebraska wins. (No one currently in second place can take the lead today.)

The only scenario that would leave nobody with a perfect record at day’s end would be if Boston College and Nebraska win.

Assorted thoughts while trying to pick out readings for the wedding…

1. There are too many damn versions of the Bible. Why can’t these translators get their act together and give me one, perfect version? :)

2. Doesn’t the Bible have more good wedding-related readings than this? It must! It’s the Bible!

3. It’s hard to find acceptable readings when you believe wives and husbands are equal partners, and you’re trying to avoid phraseologies that sound like they could easily fit into an anti-gay-marriage law.

4. Any translation of Corinthians 13 that includes the phrase “love isn’t selfish” is clearly messed up. “Isn’t???” There’s no crying in baseball, and there are no contractions in the Bible.

5. Speaking of messed-up translations… “Love does not do things that are not nice“???

In preparation for the wedding, Josh wants everyone to submit their favorite Brendan & Becky memories here. This post will remain at the top of the homepage until Tuesday at 11:59 PM, which Josh set as the deadline. Go ahead, embarrass us! :)

Harumph.

I sort of sat on this for a week, seeing if anyone else would mention it. Now it’s post-Christmas, post-Fall ‘05-semester, and I’m bored, so here it is. From the Washington Post, it seems that Senate Republicans have put a ‘hold’ on the intelligence authorization bill:

Senate Republicans late Wednesday blocked the authorization bill that guides the country’s intelligence programs. It was the first time in 27 years that the bill had failed to pass before the end of the calendar year.

Why? Apparently there are three amendments that they find ‘objectionable’, despite the fact that Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), the chairman of the Senate intelligence panel, had agreed to the amendments. The three amendments are by Sens. Kerry and Kennedy: Kerry’s amendment would require the DNI (Director of National Intelligence, curr. Negroponte) to give information on secret CIA detention facilities to the Congressional intelligence panels; Kennedy’s amendments would require that the White House overturn presidential daily briefs from the Clinton and Bush II administrations regarding Iraq.

Now, the first amendment (Kerry’s) seems fine to me; after all, Congress has the job of overseeing the intelligence actions of the executive branch, and so its activities are fair game for examination. Kennedy’s seem to be on shakier ground, since the PDBs are ostensibly for the president and the president only. However, since they too relate to intelligence on Iraq, which has been called into question and indeed publicly acknowledged by Bush to be wrong, it would again be within the Congressional responsibility of overseeing intelligence when it comes to seeing why the executive branch thought it had actionable intelligence against a foreign nation. Furthermore, as Sen. Pat Roberts accepted the amendments, and presumably there had been some party discussion over the bill, it seems odd now that Republicans would move to block it. One might be tempted to think this is just a slap against the Senators from the Codfish State. Partisanship, anyone?

Posted by Brian (Briandot)

There are three major sporting events today: Clemson vs. Colorado in the Champs Sports Bowl at 5:00 PM EST (3pm Arizona time), Gonzaga vs. Memphis in a Top 10 basketball showdown at 7:00 PM EST (5pm Arizona time), and Arizona State vs. Rutgers in the Insight Bowl right here in Phoenix at 8:30 PM EST (6:30pm Arizona time).

Take a wild guess which one I’m most excited about. :)

Take that, Lou Holtz! Heh.

P.S. On a more Domer-friendly note, this rendition of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” is pretty good.

P.P.S. The always excellent Heisman Pundit addresses the recent whining from some quarters about USC’s claim that it’s going for a third straight national title:

There seems to still be an element out there that doesn’t think the Trojans are going for their third-straight title. No, they are not Japanese soldiers stuck out on an island off of Sumatra, but some real, live journalists. And of course, the LSU Tigers themselves. Other writers, like Pete Fiutak of Collegefootballnews.com, also tried to tout this line of thinking in the past year but gave it up after it quickly became apparent how untenable it was.

It really boils down to this, straight from the BCS website:

2003
For the only time since the BCS was formed, there is a split national champion. LSU finishes atop the coaches’ poll by beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl in a pairing of the top two teams in the BCS Standings. USC, ranked first in both polls on Bowl Selection Sunday, is left out of the BCS championship game when the Trojans finish third in the BCS standings. But USC wins the Associated Press’ championship after beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Oklahoma, which spent the season as the top-ranked team in both polls, earns a spot in the Sugar Bowl by finishing first in the final BCS Standings even though the Sooners lose to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game. LSU, the SEC champion, edges USC for second place in the final BCS Standings to advance to the Sugar Bowl. The Result: A split decision: LSU finishes atop the coaches’ poll; USC is No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.

Got it? There are no half national titles. Both USC and LSU won the national title in 2003. They were co-champions, which is one reason both were invited to the White House. The BCS decides the winner of the Coaches Poll, something the BCS itself admits to in the above text from its own website. So USC is going for its third national title in a row. Case closed.

(Emphasis added.) That’s exactly right. And I say this as someone who has always acknowledged the legitimacy of LSU’s share of the 2003 title — unlike Boi From Troy and some others, I’ve never tried to (seriously) argue that USC was the “real” champion in 2003. Both teams were “real” champions. Sure, I think USC would have beaten LSU if they’d played each other, but that’s not the point. Both the Trojans and the Tigers got screwed by the system in ‘03, in the sense that neither had the opportunity to play for an undisputed national championship. Both earned the national championship that they won (LSU, the BCS/Coaches poll championship; USC, the AP championship), and both have every right to call themselves national champions. If LSU had won the 2004 title and was contending for the 2005 title, I’d have no problem with them talking about a “three-peat,” and they shouldn’t have any problem with us doing it. It’s no disrespect to them. They won the national championship in 2003, fair and square. But so did we.

P.P.P.S. And don’t give me this crap about how USC “agreed” or “signed on” to the BCS when the 2003 season started, and therefore can’t complain about its results at the end of the season. First of all, the BCS formula gets tweaked so often, it borders on laughable to claim that any coach or administrator, let alone a player or fan, even understands the newly “perfected” version that emerges each offseason, let alone “agrees” to it. Secondly, what power does one school have to buck the BCS anyway, even if it wanted to? With the Pac-10 and every other conference and every team in the nation signed up for the BCS, Mike Garrett is going to, what, declare that the system is unacceptable to USC and go join Division 1-AA? Riiight.

Trojan administrators, coaches, players and fans didn’t “agree” to the BCS any more than you “agree” to the traffic laws before you get behind the wheel of your car. It’s simply the system that’s in place, and there isn’t really anything you can do about it, so you live with it. For the most part, the system works okay, and when that’s the case, you don’t complain. But every once in a while, something happens that’s valid under the existing system but obviously unjust by any reasonable standard — like getting a speeding ticket for going 56 in a 55 zone, or getting left out of the BCS championship game even though you’re #1 in both polls. In such circumstances, of course you’re going to bitch about it, and if you can find some way to get out of the ridiculous ticket, or earn a national championship by some other route, you will. Are you out-of-bounds in being upset, and in trying to somehow correct the injustice, simply because you “agreed” to the system at the outset? Of course not.

More to the point, the Associated Press championship has been around for a lot longer than the BCS, and will, I suspect, be around long after those three initials become nothing but an unhappy memory. It’s patently absurd to claim that the AP national championship suddenly ceased to have any meaning at the moment when the BCS sprang into existence. The 2003 USC Trojans have just as valid a claim to the national championship as does every other team that’s ever finished first in the AP poll. The BCS changed absolutely nothing in that regard. There is no serious argument to the contrary.

Last but not least, any and all USC-haters who want to make an argument that we Trojans shouldn’t claim the 2003 championship must first ask themselves: what if it was your team? If your team finished #1 in both polls but got locked out of the BCS title game, then proceeded to blast the #4 team in the country in your bowl game, finish #1 in the AP poll and take home the AP national championship trophy, wouldn’t you call yourselves “national champions”? If your answer is “yes,” then you’re a hypocrite for criticizing USC, and if your answer is “no,” you’re a liar.

Star runningback DeAngelo Williams led Memphis over Akron in the Motor City Bowl, 38-31, putting Ed, Mark Gardner, Darrin Bartley, Nick Gustafson and Carl Lindecrantz in a five-way tie for first place in the Irish Trojan’s Bowl Pick ‘em conetst through 7 games. All five are 7-0.

Fourteen contestants — including pool administrator and webmaster Brendan Loy; his best man in Friday’s wedding, Andrew Long; his soon-to-be mother-in-law, Ginny Zak (a.k.a. MumZ); and his soon-to-be brothers-in-law, Casey Zak and Soren H. — are tied for second place with 6-1 records. The others tied for second are Patrick C., Long John, Bizi Carrington, Ted Kaiser, Michael Walsh, Andrew, Philip Price, Barry and Dan Dinunzio.

All five first-place contestants picked Clemson and Arizona State in tomorrow’s Champs and Insight bowls, as did most other contestants. Only one contestant in first or second place picked Colorado and Rutgers — Dan Dinunzio. So if both of those teams win, he will take sole possession of first place. Otherwise, some group of people will still be tied for the lead at the end of the day tomorrow.