The anniversary of Hurricane Rita’s landfall near Lake Charles, Louisiana recently passed without much notice in the media, and without any mention on this blog. I certainly remember well the weekend of Rita’s landfall, as it occurred during the most hectic week of my life, and I noticed the anniversary’s approach, but I was remiss in failing to blog about it. Brian Neudorff blogged about it, though. Also, Gus Van Horn sends along a three-part post on his own personal Rita evacuation story: Part I, Part II and Part III.

You can read my posts about Hurricane Rita from last year in my Rita category.

Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer revealed yesterday that he’s the father of her newborn baby. (Hat tip: Jessica Cowans.) Bonus: the lawyer’s name is Howard Stern. No, he’s not that Howard Stern, but I almost had you with the headline, didn’t I?

Said Stern, “Anna and I have been in a relationship and we love each other, and it’s been going on for a very long time, and because of my relationship as her lawyer, we felt that it was best to keep everything hidden.” Well, that makes sense. If there’s one thing they teach us in Professional Responsibility, it’s that whenever there’s a possible conflict of interest, or any other ethical problem really, it’s always best to keep it hidden. Wait, that’s not right…

Anyway, why should we care about this? Er, I’m not sure. All I know is that Anna Nicole Smith has enormous boobs, and she once married some old rich dude for his money, and she went to the Supreme Court because of it, and Clarence Thomas stared at her chest. Okay, I don’t actually “know” that last part, but I’ll bet it happened. Also, Smith has been in the news lately because her 20-year-old son, Daniel Wayne Smith, mysteriously (and some say suspiciously) died at her bedside just days after the birth of the baby whose paternity is now in question. None of which actually makes any of this validly newsworthy, but did I mention she has enormous boobs?

Just talked to Shannon again. They’ve set October 3 as the date to induce labor, if she hasn’t had the baby by then. The doctor, after examining her today, said Shannon probably won’t go into labor before then, but there is of course a chance. Shannon is hoping for that chance: “I don’t want to be pregnant anymore … I want to hold our baby. I really, really do.” Aww. Plus, the girl is obviously exhausted (she yawned three or four times in the course of a 10-minute conversation, and I don’t think it was because of my poor conversational skills, hehe) and physically uncomfortable. It’s time to have the darn baby!

If October 3 is indeed the big day, it would mean that Logan Middle-Name-Still-To-Be-Determined Wanecski would share a birthday with Bea, and with Toni’s son Connor and her co-worker Dom, according to comments on this post from October 3 last year. October 3 is also the 16th anniversary of the reunification of Germany and the 11th anniversary of the O.J. Simpson verdict — those ones I know off the top of my head, because October 3 also happens to be the date of the first time I ever told a girl I had a crush on her, in eighth grade, precisely one year before the O.J. verdict, a correlation which I noted with disapproval when the latter event occurred. :) More October 3 events here. The establishment of the Kingdom of Korea (in 2333 B.C.) is a nifty one. In addition to Bea, Connor and Dom, Logan would share a birthday with Ashlee Simpson, Seann William Scott, Neve Campbell, Gwen Stefani, Tommy Lee, Fred Couples, Al Sharpton, and David Letterman’s stage manager, Biff Henderson, among others.

Becky and I will be arriving in Buffalo on October 6 for Marissa and Keith’s wedding on the 7th, so we may end up getting to see a very young baby Logan. :) Anyway, stay tuned!

Previous Logan-related posts can be found in the newly created “Shannon & PJ’s baby” category (which is a subcategory of Friends & Family).

Contrary to yesterday’s post, the head coaches of the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans announced today that Matt Leinart and Vince Young won’t start next Sunday’s games, after all.

According to the official Gonzaga website:

Madison Square Garden and Ticketmaster anticipates putting tickets on sale to the general public for [the Dec. 21 Duke vs. Gonzaga] game in early October. Please log on to www.ticketmaster.com or TheGarden.com for more information.

P.S. It looks like Duke is already selling tickets to the game. But I don’t want to sit in the Duke section! Of course, Madison Square Garden is likely to be one big Duke section, except for Gonzaga’s allotment of tickets, which, unlike Duke’s allotment, is only available to “Bulldog Club” members (who must donate at least $200 annually to the university). Bah.

P.P.S. Duke sucks.

UPDATE: Virginia Tech will play Seton Hall in the first game of the MSG doubleheader, replacing the Pitt-South Carolina game that was previously scheduled but then fell through. (See here: “Alabama was willing to take on Pittsburgh in a potential showcase game on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden as the undercard to Duke-Gonzaga after South Carolina pulled out of the event. However, Pittsburgh also decided to pull out and will play in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City [against Oklahoma State].”)

Key conclusions of a report assessing the state of global terrorism are released after President Bush ordered its declassification. One assessment is Iraq is shaping a new generation of terror leaders. Visit CNN for the latest.

Condi vs. Hillary: a preview of things to come?

In a related story, don’t you love how Bill Clinton has managed to completely sabotage the Democrats’ 2006 message by taking a fall season that’s supposed to be all about Bush and instead making it, thus far, all about Bubba? Clearly, Clinton must be under an Imperius curse from Karl Rove. Man, that guy is good.

Matt Drudge: the modern-day Walter Cronkite? Gag me.

Casey has discovered the Democrats’ plan.

Becky and I talked to Shannon on the phone Monday evening, and I can confirm that she’s very anxious to actually have this baby. :) She has a doctor’s appointment later today (Tuesday), and as mentioned earlier, if she hasn’t gone into labor by then, they’re going to set a date to induce. Shannon clarified that said inducement date would probably be in about a week. So the latest possible birth date for Logan Middle-Name-To-Be-Determined Wanecski is sometime in the first few days of October. (Hey, October is a good month to have a birthday!)

The countdown thingy in the “upcoming events” box at left now says “Shannon’s due date: 0 days.” Normally, I delete countdowns once the date passes, but I’m leaving this one up until the baby is actually born, however long that takes. Hopefully, for the sake of Shannon’s comfort, it won’t say “Shannon’s due date: -6 days” next Monday… :)


Shannon and her belly, exactly one month ago.

For those applying for judicial clerkships who haven’t already discovered The Clerkship Notification Blog… well, go discover it already. It’s extremely helpful.

It’s Saints 20, Falcons 3 at halftime. Everything has gone right for New Orleans so far: the game started with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, the second touchdown came on a triple-reverse trick play, and in the final seconds the Saints hit a 51-yard field goal that looked like it would have been good from 60 yards. The fans are going crazy.

UPDATE: New Orleans 23, Atlanta 3, final. The Saints are 3-0.

P.S. Disturbing quote of the night, from the ESPN postgame show: “You are what you eat, and all these years, you’ve been eating Bill Parcells.”

Looks like last season’s Rose Bowl quarterbacks are going to be pitted against each other again. No, it won’t be on the field, as sadly Arizona and Tennessee don’t play in the same conference, but sources are saying that both Leinart and Young may start this weekend for their respective teams. So who will start first? Both teams have games starting at 1 EST this Saturday, so if both are given the nod, it may come down to a coin toss as to which one takes the first snap as a starting NFL QB.

So, I’m out on the tennis court minding my own business (read: kicking a tennis ball around, risking life and limb) while letting Robbie roam around the grassy area above the court, when suddenly I look up and notice that, for no apparent reason (except for the simple reason that he’s a dog), Robbie is digging a massive hole in the grass.

I gave him a stern scolding “Hey!” and he promptly stopped, but the damage was already done.

Heh. Dumbass dog.

Conservative talk-radio pundit Hugh Hewitt and longtime Washington Post political reporter Thomas Edsall have a discussion about media bias/fairness, politics and faith that’s well worth reading, IMHO. (Hat tip: FishBowlDC.)