Indiana

You're not off the hook yet.

Washington D.C.

D.C. is a crazy enough district that it's going to become an honorary state in my Crazy State Power Rankings soon. Besides the whole debacle involved in getting a stadium plan underway, besides the whole having Congress and the White House in its jurisdiction, D.C. is STILL electing this guy to public office.

Natalie Portman raps!

Thanks, Dara, for the video of Natalie Portman rapping on Saturday Night Live. Unlike the Chronicles of Narnia rap that was supposed to be the shit, the Natalie bit is actually funny.

American Idol update

So I forgot yesterday to make my predictions for the guys, but I would have predicted Will and Bucky being eliminated. I was right on Will, but Bucky made the cut. I knew Chris, Ace, Taylor and Elliott were safe. I figured if either Will or Bucky survived Kevin would be the one to go. Gedeon, while not on the same level as the other four guys I mentioned, I figured was probably safe.

I was wrong. Gedeon got the boot, along with Will. Gedeon is the first contestant this year that I'm really sorry to see go, I thought he had genuine talent and was a good performer.

As far as the girls go, I was right on one of my predictions from a couple days ago, but wrong on the other. I was right that Ayla would be gone. But I was SURE Melissa would be gone, yet she made the cut. Kinnik was the other cut, which doesn't surprise me too much. I kind of liked her, but she wasn't going to make it very far in this competition.

Of the contestants left, the way I see it, there are three tiers.

First tier: Mandisa, Paris, Chris, Taylor, and Kellie. I think any of these five could end up being the winner. So far, Mandisa is far and away my favorite, although I'm liking Taylor as well after this week. Paris and Chris are natural talents, and you can never count out a little blonde girl like Kellie on Idol... it helps that she has the energy and seemingly pretty good taste to back it up.

Second tier: Lisa, Elliott, Katherine and Ace. The first three have genuinely good voices and could raise themselves to the first tier with a good performance or two... I just haven't seen anything from any of them to excite me yet. Ace doesn't have the natural talent, although he was a little better this week, but he's likely safe for a while on the preteen girl vote.

Third tier: Melissa, Bucky, and Kevin. Unless she has a stellar performance, Melissa is a goner next week. Bucky has the country thing going, and he's alright at it, but I think he's the next one gone after Melissa. Kevin is next... his Chicken Little good looks will only take him so far.

Crazy State Power Rankings

So after much consideration, I've decided it's silly to have a One-time Crazy State Contest. I think what is more appropriate is something more along the lines of ESPN's power rankings. Where I rank all 50 states in order or craziest to least crazy, and it's subject to change whenever I feel like it. I'm not going to rank all 50 right now, but here's my preliminary top 11.

1. Kansas

No one has suceeded yet in convincing me that any state is crazier than Kansas. Is this completely subjective on my part? Yes. But this is my list and I reserve the right to be completely subjective.

2. Missouri

There was a strong lobbying effort to put Missouri on top, and it came close. The recent effort to make Christianity the official state majority relgion didn't hurt it's cause either. But the state is still home to the Cardinals, and I'm still letting it off the hook.

3. Florida

I mean, come on. This state almost singlehandedly brought our country into a Constitutional Crisis, it contains Katherine Harris's make-up, and we had to sit through the whole Elian Gonzalez fiasco a few years back. Florida has a legitimate shot at taking over #1 some day soon.

4. Virginia

Besides the fact that any state willing to let me live in it must be crazy, this state has Jerry Falwell, voter fraud scandals involving pork rinds, and the Capitol of the Confederacy.

5. South Dakota

Definitely a strong, late entry to the list. In fact, South Dakota has a legitimate shot at becoming, in 2006, what Kansas was in 2005. I imagine some Christian fundamentalists are already make plans to move to this legal-abortion-free zone where they'll feel more comfortable.

6. Texas

Do I really need to state a reason, beyond the obvious?

7. Oklahoma

Again, this is completely subjective. I just feel Oklahoma's craziness in my soul.

8. Pennsylvania

Definitely would have been higher last year. But the Dover School Board's been voted out, Terrell Owens is likely on his way out of the state and Rick Santorum may soon be gone as well.

9. Ohio

Because they're REALLY trying to become the next Florida.

10. California

It's all about Governor "Jingle All the Way."

11. Maryland

As a Northern Virginia resident, I have to mention Maryland, right? Well, Jeff, a Marylander friend of mine, provided me the state's decidely anti-Union State Song relic, still around from the Civil War.

Make up your mind, Stephen King

Is the evil hotel room number 1408 or 217? Or as Stanley Kubrick decided, 237?

Coming soon to a theater near you....

CGI Ninja Turtles.

A time like this calls for Superhero Mutants

I wholeheartedly agree with this man.

George "The Tool Man" Bush

I can't believe I've never thought of this analogy before, but it's dead on. George Bush is just like Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor from Home Improvement. Both want "more power," and both completely screw things up when they get it.

Wisconsin

Granted it's a slightly different kind of crazy, but thanks to Dara, my former home state of Wisconsin (for two years) is now officially entered in the contest.

South Dakota

Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Florida are the current leaders in my contest, but South Dakota is the first contestant to come forward with its own logo.

Yes, I still watch American Idol

So here's my quick rundown of the female performaces....

Mandisa once again showed everyone else who's boss. No one else even compared. Probably the best performance by anyone so far this year. The surprise for me last night was my #2 performance of the night, Kellie Pickler. I don't think she has the most incredible voice, but I think she's made the best song selections of the competition. Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge are the types of songwriters that will suit her well in this competition. Her performance last night was the only one I'll remember besides Mandisa's.

The next tier is Paris, Lisa, and Katherine... none blew me away last night but all are talented and likable enough that they'll have no problems getting to the next round.

That leaves Kinnik, Melissa and Ayla. Kinnik was the best of those three in my book, and I think she did just good enough to make the cut. Melissa is definitely a goner, and I think Ayla, for as hard as she tries, just doesn't have the talent and is picking horrible songs.

So my prediction is Melissa and Ayla are out.

Kirby Puckett

Just felt like I should say something here, since I'm a huge baseball fan and he's such a memorable player to me. Sad to see him go. He's one of my favorite non-Cardinal players of all time, even if he was part of the 1987 Twinkies team that beat the Cards in the World Series. What more can I say? He was the kind of ballplayer that's impossible not to like. I always thought of him as the American League version of Ozzie Smith. Not so much in playing style, but in the way he approached the game and the way he was beloved in the town in which he played. I know it sounds cheezy, but I can imagine what it would feel like to me if Ozzie suddenly passed away, and I know that that's the feeling alot of people are having in Minnesota today. So stand strong, Minnesota.

Interesting hypothetical for pro-lifers

Check it out here.

Protecting our freedom

The troops are protecting our freedom, but theirs is being stripped away.

What other people are blogging about today

Dara has Brokeback Mountain in 30 seconds with Bunnies and Chris has some thoughts on the evolution of spam.

Update on the "My State Is Crazier Than Yours" Contest

Here's an update on the contest:

So there's been a big lobbying effort on the part of Missouri to win this contest. As a life-long Cardinals fan (I grew up in the part of Illinois that is Cardinals territory) I have to admit that I'd have a hard time letting Missouri win.

Still, Chris at MOsanthrope has put forth quite the lobbying effort, even a nomination speech on his own blog. As far as wacko residents go, Missouri does have John Ashcroft, Rush Limbaugh, and various Blunts (and no, I'm not talking about the blunts Nelly is always singing about). And, as noted earlier, the state is trying the declare Christianity as the "official majority religion".

Virginia is hanging in there. An anonymous poster in my comments points out that us Virginians have actually had allegations of voter fraud involving pork rinds. In addition, we have alot of wackos in the state legislature, and no one even mentioned this guy.

There was a surprising lobbying effort on behalf of the state of Pennsylvania, with their Rick Santorum and Dover School Board. I'll throw in Terrell Owens too. I don't think PA will win though. They've already voted out the Dover School Board (and probably Terrell Owens) and Rick Santorum is likely a goner too.

Indiana? Interesting thought. They are responsible for Dan Quayle. But this poll makes me wonder if Indianans are finally coming around. Plus, they have Larry Bird, who was one of my top sports heroes growing up.

Some people think California isn't a candidate here, but remember this is the state that voted for Arnold Freakin' Schwarzanegger for governor.

And, of course, there's Florida. Dara points out all the weird crimes in Florida, but I think there are plenty of weird crimes everywhere. Jeb Bush is a much more compelling argument. Plus, there's that whole voting for Pat Buchanan when you meant to vote for Al Gore and setting our country back many, many years thing that Florida did. Yeah, Florida sure has left a mark on our democracy, and for that alone they deserve consideration. And, yeah, there's this woman.

Kansas, of course, is still hanging strong.

South Dakota made a strong entry into the race this week.

Other states that I believe deserve a mention:

Ohio, for this man, who is singlehandly subverting the democratic process of, you know, counting votes.

Oklahoma. Here's some evidence. I have personal issues with Oklahoma and felt it deserved a mention. Plus, Coburn is maybe the nuttiest Senator alive.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama.... I still have some sympathy for you from Katrina, so you're all officially off the hook.

Finally, I can't believe no one has metioned Texas.

Keep the comments and suggestions coming! Your state could still win!

Crash? Really?

So I happened to have Crash rented for my PSP and decided to watch it after it pulled off the upset last night.

I don't get it. I thought it was a bland movie. There's nothing wrong with it, it was just kind of there. I wouldn't give it thumbs up or thumbs down. The performances were relatively good and I generally like most of the cast, but I wasn't blown away. I didn't feel like my two hours was wasted, but I wouldn't ever want to watch it again. Ok, so people's perception of other people is affected by race and people's lives interact. I get it.

This is the same academy that overlooked Do the Right Thing for even a nomination?

Brokeback so should have won over Crash.

If you want to see good movies about race, watch Do the Right Thing and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. If you want to see good movies with intertwining story lines, watch Short Cuts, Traffic, Pulp Fiction, Sin City, etc. All of these movies are boatloads better than Crash.

Am I missing something? Maybe it wasn't as intense because I was watching it on a PSP and wasn't in the theater, but that wouldn't have helped the story.

If someone is out there who really likes Crash, please enlighten me.