Mitchell Report Unused Evidence

It has not been widely reported at all but one piece of evidence obtained but not quoted or used in the Mitchell report was an old MLB yearbook of José Canseco's. Here are some of the messages written in it's pages and cover:

"Stay cool and don't do drugs! -ARod"
"It'll be a long winter but I'll see you at Robert Downey's parties! -Lennie D"
"For me it doesn't really matter what you stick in your @$$! -Mikey P"

That's just a few and the rest are just a damning but were deemed too circumstantial. Go figure...

Whoa! Who's This?

Ever since I switched from Yahoo! services to Google I've been a bit disappointed with the news headlines that I can get on my home page. One that I do appreciate however is the RSS feed from the Deseret Morning News. They're a local paper owned by the LDS church so there is a low of articles related to the church (no capitalization here).

I really liked this article here about a speech given at BYU recently by Dan Robinson. The sentiment is dead on and he's not even a Mormon. Then, as I usually do, I checked out the top stories that are always linked to on the DMN pages and found this. While I understand the general lack of knowledge about the LDS church this douche bag (a term of endearment I can assure) Lawrence O'Donnell goes off spouting enough half truths to sell me a Rainbow vacuum. I realize that controversy sells but looking like an idiot is just embarrassing.

It reminds me of another article from the DMN posted online recently where author Orson Scott Card points out how most people feel the same way Mormons believe about the nature of The Godhead and that usually you have to find a theological scholar before someone believes that The Godhead is like "an egg". (No disrespect intended but that is the term used to explain it to me; one egg but three separate parts.)

I always figured it was best to understand what someone believes before saying you know. I served an LDS missions and I had a previous edition of The Handbook Of Denominations. It is essentially an explanation of what religions believe but the source materials were gathered directly from the religious institutions themselves and then distilled into what is contained in the book. A novel idea to get information from the source but in this case it works.

Smelling Death?

Sci-Fi has an article about a cast member for the forthcoming show "The Sarah Connor Chronicles". Now I realize there's an exception for what I am about to say but that may not even be a true exception. What has Garret Dillahunt been in that has succeeded on the air? It also has Summer Glau and that is the second nail in this coffin. The show may turn out to be good and popular but based on the casting alone I'm not hopeful.

Critics will say that both of these actors have been in The 4400 (and psychics will point out that I watch this show when it is on) but that show is circling the drain. Yes, the show received an Emmy nod for it's original run but if it really is that good it would have gotten at least one more since then. It's juts not that good any more.

Do They Know?

I set up a Christmas mix on my iPod shuffle (the sexiest player that will sync on a Mac) and as I was listening to "Do They Know It's Christmas" song (I have the original and the New Coke versions on there as well as several covers) I got to thinking is this what everyone wants? I mean most of us just want to celebrate the holiday season and the giving that comes with the season (this is the short version of a long discussion) but why aren't more people fighting over what the people in Africa should know?

Does everyone want them to know it's Christmas or should we have more than one single. One wanting to know if the Africans know its Christmas. Another wanting to know if the Africans know its Hanukkah. And another wanting to know its Kwanzaa. Maybe even one from the Atheists wanting to know that they don't have to know its Christmas.

I'm only suggesting that we should make sure we're asking the right question or if everyone realizes that they might wish to rephrase the question they're asking. That's all.

No Win Scenario, Won

I've read (listened to) all of the Harry Potter books in the last 4 months or so (not something I'd recommend). They're not bad (not that I understand all of the midnight parties and such). But having "read" the books and seen the movies I can see how Warner Brothers has won the no win scenario.

I saw the first four movies before reading the books and found them fairly un-entertaining. What I mean to say is it was like watching a movie based on a book they tried to stick too closely too, which they are. The only movie adaptation(s) I've ever seen that were faithful and enjoyable were the Lord Of The Rings films and even then the more enjoyable versions were the extended ones on DVD.

After reading the books I'm annoyed by the liberties they've taken with the stories and the rush and incomplete versions they've put on the screen. But this is where WB wins. People that haven't read the books will go see the movies to see what all the fuss is about (and since they are gradually getting better, relatively) this group might keep returning. Those who have read the books will go see them, even if they weren't all gaga about them (like me) just to see how the two compare. With this formula they've ensured box office success.