tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84526758115383843382011-11-27T19:27:56.175-06:00THEY SAY THE BLOG IS DEAD. HERE'S PROOF.Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.comBlogger2461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-90047100062877895832011-07-31T15:32:00.001-05:002011-07-31T15:32:57.343-05:00

A new poll says that, while a majority of the public still believes global warming is a serious issue, an increasing number believe that it's exaggerated. I love public opinion on matters of a scientific nature. We live in a culture where the general population hardly reveres intelligence to any noticeable degree, taking pride in being referred to as "average" Americans. People say they want

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-62767317637525805742010-11-23T09:04:00.001-06:002010-11-23T09:05:49.959-06:00

Muy caliente. Dig it.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-26150794215178450172010-11-10T12:25:00.003-06:002010-11-10T12:29:51.629-06:00

This is a performance by a 3D hologram in Japan. I only wish the Japanese spent their considerable imagination and technological know-how working on shit that could actually improve life beyond simply keeping club kids rolling. That being said, this digital chick is still more lifelike than Ke$ha.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-35775881678815613062010-11-03T13:25:00.003-05:002010-11-03T13:39:27.011-05:00

The glassy eyes of the nation were on California yesterday as Prop 19 (legalization of marijuana) was defeated by 52% of the electorate. Had it passed, it would have served as a barometer for other states to pass similar legislation. Despite marijuana being the number one cash crop in California- a state that is deeply in the red, financially- legalization opponents still adhere to archaic

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-8332915651085092972010-11-02T12:35:00.004-05:002010-11-02T12:43:24.049-05:00

Well, that was a fun week. As of yesterday, the military's archaic "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was reinstated after a brief period of judicial sanity. The various judges hearing the cases on the basis of their constitutional merits evidently don't see eye to eye, so it goes back for another volley. And what luck! Just in time for politicians terrified of losing their seats to use it as another

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-32387077943012353652010-07-13T13:47:00.002-05:002010-07-13T13:50:01.577-05:00

Middle Men is a new film about the guys who first made money off of boobies and snooch on the interwebs. Luke Wilson must have really wanted to get out of doing those AT&T endorsements.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-2337263941634998782010-07-02T13:53:00.000-05:002010-07-02T13:54:05.111-05:00

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-12776003867939361052010-06-16T13:42:00.001-05:002010-06-16T13:44:12.730-05:00

Guess I won't be getting any work done for the next five hours.80's Drum Keyboard

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-25967402827476872932010-06-09T06:53:00.003-05:002010-06-09T07:38:52.395-05:00

It's time to stop referring to the greatest environmental disaster in history as a "spill". When I reach across the breakfast table and knock over my orange juice, that's a spill. Oops! To equate that with tens of thousands of barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico per day is engaging in denial of the highest order. BP contends that their current solution (#459, I believe) has reduced it

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-69640706058946839302010-05-19T11:09:00.001-05:002010-05-19T11:10:30.632-05:00

Seinfeld fans know that a sad piano is all that separates comedy from tragedy.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-8723945543596564142010-05-12T10:39:00.000-05:002010-05-12T10:40:21.369-05:00

Get ready to trip.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-85117285509129472010-05-05T12:22:00.001-05:002010-05-05T12:22:35.106-05:00

Cinco de Mayo: Arizona-StyleAtom.com: Funny Videos | Short Films | Funny Animations

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-9216770601117254822010-04-27T13:55:00.001-05:002010-04-27T13:56:31.128-05:00

This is badass. And you knew it had to happen sooner or later. Now, if it could just replicate natural light...

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-34007441469801478992010-04-21T11:55:00.003-05:002010-04-21T11:57:12.054-05:00

You're welcome, nerds.Hot Chicks With Stormtroopers.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-48876801814729837452010-03-30T10:52:00.006-05:002010-03-30T11:12:23.243-05:00

I have a fair number of friends with whom I disagree on social issues and matters of policy. My parents are post-9/11 Republicans, which has essentially removed any healthy discourse from the holidays. (None of us want Thanksgiving dinner marred by a shouting match and I love my parents). No one on either side of the aisle has cornered the market on truth and the public discourse has been

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-65581629455309415872010-03-28T11:28:00.006-05:002010-03-28T11:34:09.790-05:00

It must suck when you have to "energize your base" with someone you've already publicly derided. Leave John McCain some dignity, for god's sake. His time in Vietnam must have been less torture than this. (I am digging her "Harley chick" getup, though.)

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-62494226554701903872010-03-13T19:33:00.003-06:002010-03-13T19:46:57.856-06:00

We'll always fear what we don't understand and there is too much of both in present-day America. Looking ahead to the future of employment, conservative columnist/ TV pundit Reihan Salam has a fantastic piece in this month's Time magazine that manages to be oddly comforting in its vision of a wholly rebooted workplace, despite being burdened with so much uncertainty.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-17586162519134963382010-03-01T12:45:00.003-06:002010-03-01T12:47:00.005-06:00

June 23rd. That's my birthday. For the record. In case you wanted to get me something.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-74585513842893850292010-02-25T21:23:00.004-06:002010-02-25T21:56:40.600-06:00

The fact that Christian conservatives statistically favor the theory of intelligent design over evolution is freshly ironic, since a new study suggests that conservatism is the more evolutionarily traditional path. Reaching the conclusion that intelligence is higher in people who exhibit tendencies that are "novel" with respect to evolution, liberals, atheists, night-owls, and monogamous men all

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-51296151423081835882010-02-12T08:09:00.001-06:002010-02-12T08:09:22.347-06:00

Congress is on its third day of recess because of blizzard conditions in DC, delaying work on a federal "jobs" bill. (Let's hope that legislation doesn't involve any snowplow unions.) For anyone who still believes in the patriotic fortitude of our elected officials, keep dreaming. If our nation can't even handle a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon, it doesn't give me much hope for the bigger

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-12821052583957267472010-02-10T10:42:00.004-06:002010-02-10T10:49:22.822-06:00

Hurtling through time and space with a handful of songs that you must find and download, if only to make your tastes seem more impressively broad.Steely Dan, Glamour ProfessionBruce Cockburn, Lovers In A Dangerous TimeRoxy Music, More Than ThisThievery Corporation, The Glass Bead GameBrian Eno & Harold Budd, Late OctoberGojira, Ocean PlanetFailure, PillowheadDaysleepers, Release The Kraken

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-18053872876959992772010-02-05T09:01:00.004-06:002010-02-05T10:55:44.427-06:00

Religious fundamentalism is like a late-night infomercial: appealing to people who are groggy with lack of sleep, angry at the state of their life, and convinced that some useless gadget will make it better. In the case of Al-Qaida,it seems that gadget might be boobs. Recent intelligence chatter gathered by the United States and Britain's MI-5 indicates that Al-Qaida is certain to launch another

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-59896332410165363922010-01-31T11:46:00.010-06:002010-01-31T13:28:24.487-06:00

The devastation in Haiti presents us with a wide spectrum of interesting choices and opinions- none of which are wrong, but none of which are altogether right, either. The fact that the poorest nation in the western hemisphere is finally getting the attention it desperately needs means that the earthquakes that demolished its major cities were a blessing in disguise. While reconstruction efforts

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-15891194582207192132010-01-27T10:50:00.001-06:002010-01-27T10:51:37.222-06:00

Even at 4 degress, I miss it. Props to my peeps braving the winds.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-56202366785937648032010-01-06T11:07:00.002-06:002010-01-06T11:09:16.941-06:00

My new favorite commercial. Man, was I into these guys in high school. If George Lynch was still with them, he could just crush the chicken with his bare hands. Or an undeniably aggressive arpeggio.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-11454472362376192892009-12-29T18:02:00.005-06:002009-12-29T18:19:16.626-06:00

A new poll says that, while a majority of the public still believes global warming is a serious issue, an increasing number believe that it's exaggerated. I love public opinion on matters of a scientific nature. We live in a culture where the general population hardly reveres intelligence to any noticeable degree, taking pride in being referred to as "average" Americans. People say they want

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-84689543788822754532009-12-28T12:29:00.004-06:002009-12-28T12:35:12.632-06:00

So much for the argument that poverty (and not religion) induces Islamic fanaticism. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man (with self-proclaimed ties to Yemeni Al-Qaida) accused of attempting to detonate an explosive device on a flight to Detroit, is the son of the former head of Nigeria's largest bank- just another rich kid with too much time on his hands and plenty of manufactured ennui. However,

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-39017108953212143902009-12-16T13:25:00.002-06:002009-12-16T13:31:20.751-06:00

My return to the airwaves is somewhat bittersweet, now that my former boss and mentor, Jonathon Brandmeier is off the air. The still-undisputed king of the Chicago airwaves recently walked from his very lucrative contract at WLUP because he was rightfully fed up with the current "dash to slash" mentality pervasive in media outlets these days, along with the near-complete abandonment of high-value

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-57844178213273548722009-12-15T09:41:00.004-06:002009-12-15T10:26:55.744-06:00

Getting prepped to go back on the air after being off for 17 months requires a great deal of digital ramp-up. I've been happy blogging and doing the Facebook thing, but now my online reach is increasing exponentially. I've avoided Twitter until now- being off the air, I didn't see the point. Media people are best served when they use it as a promotional tool or as a device to break the fourth

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-15586576939593394312009-12-11T14:14:00.003-06:002009-12-11T14:26:01.465-06:00

I have friends in Denver and I think I may have a new incentive to visit. The Ganja Gourmet is a pot-laced boon to victims of various afflictions. You would think that getting a natural high from living that far above normal oxygen levels would suffice. But not in Colorado. Denverites (Denverians? Denverlings?) are so lucky that they actually have a "medical marijuana district"! Most cities of

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-201037048714107602009-12-10T14:37:00.001-06:002009-12-10T14:38:10.109-06:00

Man, isn't this the truth? Life keeps changing. It's the simple pleasures you'll miss the most.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-84783024462605954202009-12-07T09:43:00.000-06:002009-12-07T09:44:14.549-06:00

This is pretty rad. Dude even looks just like the guy from Jethro Tull. The only thing that would make this better is if he were actually sitting on a park bench. With snot running down his nose.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-22668853792265374412009-12-04T10:49:00.014-06:002009-12-04T20:27:38.733-06:00

I'm a proud liberal, yet one of my biggest regrets is that I never spent any time in the military. I guess it was slightly in the blood- my dad went through ROTC and served in the Army Corps of Engineers at Ft. Lee, Virginia (where I was born). In fact, it was my birth that kept him from going to Vietnam. He had gotten his papers to ship out, but because I had to be delivered by emergency

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-34348616740343680622009-12-03T00:06:00.004-06:002009-12-03T00:14:24.799-06:00

Love it or hate it, rap music in its truest form is the poetry of the underclass; a primal expression borne from the brutalities of life rarely seen in mainstream culture. That's why I've never understood the notion of Christian rap. Granted, middle-class white kids are like the locusts of pop culture- they'll grab anything that isn't nailed down and suck the life out of it- but when you can't

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-12417252305542426782009-12-02T08:19:00.003-06:002009-12-02T08:21:40.758-06:00

Ah, kids. They grow up so fast these days. Sadly, a large portion of them aren't getting any wiser as they get older. The latest contestants in the low-self-esteem pageant are two girls in Wisconsin who got busted for soliciting horny dudes on Craigslist, then robbing them. When caught, one of the teens rejected the "pimp" slap, instead referring to herself as a "skank agent" (a distinction

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-17295750539412946072009-12-01T00:17:00.005-06:002009-12-01T00:24:10.434-06:00

Every company is taking measures to increase their bottom line in a downturn. Even the porn industry (long thought to be recession-proof) has taken a hit, so much so that men are now forced to save money by actually fucking their wives and girlfriends. The Real Doll company (which has out-creeped the Japanese in lifelike sex simulacrums for over a decade) is the gold standard of detailed, custom

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-53939532710782488982009-11-30T11:15:00.019-06:002009-12-01T22:20:00.349-06:00

Try this scenario on: you drive your car into a fire hydrant in the wee hours of the morning, hit a tree, get taken to the hospital for "facial lacerations", then avoid talking to the police, explaining that your crash is "a private matter". That would totally happen for you, right? Except that it wouldn't. Thus, the cloud of curiosity surrounding Tiger Woods's recent vehicular mishap. (Full

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-91889284828937127922009-11-29T16:16:00.009-06:002009-11-30T21:56:58.057-06:00

I'm often asked why I'm so relentlessly critical of religion. On the air and on this page, it's a theme to which I return (not least because of the continuous fodder it provides). Like most Catholic school survivors, I've earned the right to scrutinize the dogma of my youth (as well as the purveyors of it) and my thoughts on the subject have become more critical and secular as I've gotten older.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-90400271818699073352009-11-28T11:07:00.003-06:002009-11-30T21:56:20.367-06:00

I just watched The Matrix again for the first time in a long time. I forgot what a fantastic piece of cinema it is. This is pretty badass, too.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-39393836227149984252009-11-27T20:55:00.004-06:002009-11-28T11:07:03.739-06:00

While the day after Thanksgiving is considered the most lucrative of the holiday season, it's also one of the deadliest, with people around the country invariably getting trampled to death in reckless pursuit of holiday savings. It's hard to imagine a more undignified way to shuffle off this mortal coil than drawing one's last breath in a Wal-Mart, trying to grab a ten dollar DVD player at 5am.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-4079613467587758922009-11-18T21:21:00.006-06:002009-11-28T11:06:29.459-06:00

Goddamn. There are some days- my solemn wish for you is that they are few and far between- that test the very fabric of your soul. But when you have them, rather than allow your psyche to be drawn and quartered, I'd recommend you strapping The Daysleepers into your headphones and drifting off into your happy place. These crazy kids are truly doing the Lord's work. And from Buffalo, no less.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-19084668765032295422009-11-17T19:21:00.004-06:002009-11-28T11:06:08.666-06:00

The CDC is reporting that 22 million people have been sickened by the H1N1 virus, leading to 4,000 deaths. Compared to the fact that about 9,000 people a year die from food poisoning, I'd say a "pandemic" with a .0002% mortality rate isn't quite the Black Death redux. In related news, the Dept. of Health & Human Services estimates that by 2018, 43% of American adults will be obese. Granted,

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-89332383886945358692009-11-13T10:35:00.003-06:002009-11-28T11:05:27.883-06:00

Tracy Morgan was hit or miss on SNL (and drew a mixed reaction at Carnegie Hall) but he's the most consistently funny part of 30 Rock. This interview from NPR is a painfully candid discussion about his new book and is a direct contrast to the raw craziness of his on-camera persona.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-8327025760980010242009-11-12T00:07:00.003-06:002009-11-28T11:04:53.926-06:00

Consumer Reports is testing condoms now. Would it have killed them to get a hotter model? Something tells me the girl narrating this video isn't currently having any latex tested on her.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-42958481008964949512009-11-11T09:13:00.002-06:002009-11-11T09:16:07.237-06:00

Attending Sunday mass with my parents this past weekend, I was pleased that the service didn't end without a nod to Veteran's Day. The priest asked all of the men and women of service to stand and be recognized for their sacrifice (and if you know a veteran, you know how allergic they are to accolades). The majority of those standing were WWII and Korean War vets, my father represented the

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-42963729377818697052009-11-10T00:09:00.007-06:002009-11-10T22:07:00.737-06:00

For the avid reader, a trip to a bookstore is an embarrassment of riches. With endless titles on esoteric subjects (everything from Black Entrepreneur magazine to the 45th installment in the Twilight series) glassy-eyed bookworms pin ball between displays like a Roomba that needs its batteries replaced. However, as more people turn to digitalia for their visual stimulus, a horrifying new trend

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-8958261240173091112009-11-09T00:10:00.002-06:002009-11-09T00:15:29.221-06:00

A British official was removed for Estimating Drug Harms, a "controversial" (read: inconveniently accurate) study on the top 20 most harmful substances. I have a strong hunch that our most prescribed/profitable FDA-approved drugs would show up left-of-center on this graph.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-37390077665738057332009-11-06T13:34:00.014-06:002009-12-01T22:15:34.425-06:00

I hated studying history in high school. It was too tedious and too time-consuming, relative to the number of hours I felt I needed to teach myself the King Diamond discography on the drums. (Damn you and your infernal triplet fills, Mikkey Dee!) In college, taking a number of constitutional law classes forced me to warm up a bit to history class, though full disclosure dictates that I mention

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-43454791419423719472009-11-05T08:35:00.008-06:002009-11-05T08:48:37.533-06:00

No wonder Nicolas Cage has been doing every piece of crap to come across his agent's desk: he's broke. Cage went on Anderson Cooper 360 (because, why not?) to talk about his financial troubles- to the tune of $6.7M in back taxes- which he chalked up to his scheming and untrustworthy business manager. He's putting homes in Vegas and New Orleans on the auction block, even going so far as to sell

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-35026692010253531382009-11-04T08:00:00.009-06:002009-11-04T16:04:32.541-06:00

You gotta feel sorry for organized religion. Having to continually foist centuries-old screeds onto modern audiences, tirelessly attempting to convince them that a belief system developed to keep primitives in line could still have any relevance in contemporary culture. As I come from generations of Irish Catholics, my frequent tirades on religion are filtered through that particular prism, but

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-10175237384588649842009-11-03T21:12:00.010-06:002009-11-07T16:30:15.778-06:00

Watching Young Frankenstein for the umpteenth time over the Halloween weekend, I was reminded of the forgotten genius that was the late Marty Feldman. When I was 12, I remember seeing the brilliantly adolescent and largely overlooked In God We Trust. The movie (which cast Feldman as a rogue monk opposite the perpetually overrated Andy Kaufman) included lines as mediocre as "haul thy ass aboard",

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-29640398409415415722009-10-30T11:03:00.002-05:002009-11-04T00:40:37.429-06:00

Fake tits have officially jumped the shark. Former singer/current human flypaper Amy Winehouse is sporting a new pair, the body mod equivalent of putting platinum rims on an 18th century oxcart. She reportedly spent $56,000 on the blokes, money that could have been put to better use hiring a team of dentists. I guess anything that draws attention away from her face is a welcome relief. Happy

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-2354454930438445052009-10-29T08:20:00.002-05:002009-10-30T11:02:39.840-05:00

Online dating site OKCupid.com has done a study of how to minimize gaffes on a first date. Among the findings: when trying to work your game, calling a woman "pretty" will increase your chances of getting rejected. Remember, guys- she wants to be respected for her mind, not her looks. Clearly, that's why she's dressed like a porn star.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-39443848218230569272009-10-28T11:55:00.022-05:002009-10-28T13:40:23.615-05:00

Among the myriad languages spoken around the world, Japanese, Gaelic, and English are said to be among the toughest for foreigners to master. Linguistically, the stereotype of the American is typified by the fact that most of us aren't fluent in a foreign tongue (indeed, we have no shortage of ways to mangle the native one) while other citizens of the world often speak a few languages out of

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-34473480688642955972009-10-27T12:14:00.005-05:002009-10-27T21:43:44.642-05:00

The silver lining to our nation having fallen on desperate times is that scenarios that would have been dismissed out of hand in a healthier economy end up on the table (necessity being the mother of invention, and all). Former Clinton White House COS (and current Obama advisor) John Podesta suggests that perhaps taxing marijuana could help pay for universal health care. The blush of stigma has

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-68162578220238544852009-10-26T14:50:00.014-05:002009-10-27T21:43:03.580-05:00

"September the 4th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I will never forget."- President George W. BushThe natural trajectory for politicians or captains of industry after retiring from "public service" is to write a book or pimp themselves out in the motivational speaker racket. It's of little consequence how unsuccessful said speaker's tenure was because people will still

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-62442854507432242832009-10-23T10:38:00.004-05:002009-10-27T21:42:19.488-05:00

L.A. Times music critic Robert Hilburn has an outstanding new book called "Corn Flakes With John Lennon (And Other Tales From A Rock 'N Roll Life)", about his relationship with the legend after the breakup of The Beatles. The title of the book is reflective of a conversation about what a treat Corn Flakes were during Lennon's childhood, due to the rationing of milk during wartime. In a time when

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-83534301104174963522009-10-22T11:38:00.003-05:002009-10-27T21:41:48.900-05:00

Since breast implants are the crabgrass of the reality TV lawn, this was bound to happen. The girl should sue her plastic surgeon, by the way. I thought the point of getting implants was so that your tits weren't in your lap.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-38242372457129267232009-10-21T07:43:00.004-05:002009-10-21T07:48:17.765-05:00

A 39-year-old unemployed man joins the Army to get medical benefits for his cancer-stricken wife. I guess he found a public option. Meanwhile, China announced at the beginning of this year that it will institute universal health care for its citizens within three years. China. A country of over a billion people, governed by a regime with a consistent record of human rights violations is devoting

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-52756095801307659292009-10-20T01:04:00.003-05:002009-10-21T07:44:43.079-05:00

After hearing the story of an acquaintance whose engagement disintegrated into a nightmare, it reaffirms my belief that our capacity to be cruel to one another is boundless. Anytime you feel as though you've been party to an unpardonable offense, you can be sure there is someone else with a story that will make yours read like Dude, Where's My Car? It's a reason why, slowly but surely, people are

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-46743316760071571052009-10-19T10:53:00.024-05:002009-10-19T18:18:23.434-05:00

Richard Heene is outed as a pathetic, fame-hungry hoaxster. To me, this entire debacle was indicative of how any story involving kids makes us take leave of our senses and drop rational thought at the door. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of introductory physics would have suspected from the jump that a mylar balloon like Heene's "hovercraft" would never reach the altitude it did with a

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-7727943693253052672009-10-16T14:29:00.002-05:002009-10-19T18:18:58.570-05:00

I think this qualifies as an eating disorder, no? (And, I think comedian Jim Gaffigan came up with this first. As a joke.)

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-10505055952766775032009-10-15T10:05:00.003-05:002009-10-19T18:19:56.582-05:00

When will we collectively get over referring to America as "the greatest nation on Earth"? Given the evidence to the contrary, it's time to graduate to something more meaningful. Let's take the health care debate, a major cause of righteous indignation all along the ideological spectrum. According to the WHO, the U.S. spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-2736631786906318492009-10-14T00:41:00.013-05:002009-10-19T18:21:38.670-05:00

Sorry, runners- this negates whatever bragging rights you get for doing 26 miles. The Chicago Marathon was this past weekend (yes, a Kenyan dude won again) and I've had friends run it, but this year was the first I had heard about runners who succumb to the green apple splatters along the route. Long-distance runners are a cultish bunch who buy into the whole "pushing yourself mentally and

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-18873223578750225252009-10-13T12:17:00.006-05:002009-10-19T18:25:45.698-05:00

Marge Simpson will be the cover model for Playboy's November issue, and also be featured in a traditional centerfold layout. Really? I guess after 20 seasons, The Simpsons had to jump the shark at some point. Playboy says it's an attempt to lure a "younger, 20-something" audience to the magazine. Set aside the fact that The Simpsons is largely a Gen-X phenomenon, does Playboy really think that

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-47314897122408166602009-10-12T20:04:00.004-05:002009-10-19T18:26:11.318-05:00

Slate's Hanna Rosin makes a compelling case for why Jon Gosselin might score lower on the douche-o-meter than we thought.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-6789350093187905612009-10-07T23:59:00.001-05:002009-10-19T18:26:41.412-05:00

The Japanese have developed a humanoid robot that can sing using electronic voice technology. It seems only fair since American pop and hip-hop stars have been sounding like robots for the past five years. Who knows? Without auto-tune, Lil Wayne might sound like Kathy Griffin. On a side note, why are the Japanese so hell-bent on phasing out humans in favor of robots that will do everything from

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-72641239342138679502009-10-06T15:46:00.006-05:002009-10-19T18:27:02.696-05:00

On Friday, I wrote about Chicago's failure to be voted host city for the 2016 Olympics. Responding to the utter disbelief at the decision among Chicagoans, I said, "the fact that we were 'shocked' to be eliminated illustrates how clueless we continue to be about the world's perception of us." Now comes this. As with any poll, what is true today may be false tomorrow. But for the moment, an

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-80214677897736180222009-10-05T23:02:00.008-05:002009-10-19T18:27:55.453-05:00

Turns out The Bible is guilty of too much "liberal bias". You know- socialist hippie shit like, "love thy neighbor", "the last shall be first", caring for the poor, etc. The Conservative Bible Project plans to return Scripture to its right-wing roots (who knew Jerusalem was a red state?) One of the things fundamentalism breeds is lack of irony and it's too bad, because there's plenty here. For

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-76189107226810933752009-10-04T20:35:00.006-05:002009-10-19T18:28:38.831-05:00

Bad news for horndogs: Love makes you creative; sex, not so much. I guess it depends on whether or not your significant other is down with trying the "rusty bike pump".

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-8146051525006040122009-10-03T01:08:00.004-05:002009-10-05T10:44:50.571-05:00

David Letterman stunned his audience Thursday night by admitting to sexual affairs with female staffers on the show, while detailing an extortion plot against him by a CBS news producer. The studio audience laughed nervously and reaction from fans has been mixed, running the gamut from support to disgust. Letterman's revelation is hardly a shocking one- 99% of relationships are based on proximity

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-89663315579903447552009-10-02T11:45:00.019-05:002009-10-05T22:07:15.449-05:00

Despite an unprecedented effort by President Obama, his wife, Oprah, et al to bring the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago, it was the first candidate city knocked out of contention by the IOC today. (I'm guessing that a week of high-school kids being beat to death on YouTube may not have screamed "host city".) The pro-lympics contingent contended that the games would have been a boon to the local

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-46246522270406097582009-10-01T10:15:00.004-05:002009-10-05T10:45:46.001-05:00

It remains the natural order that when an original concept reaches a certain level of popularity, it will be replicated ad nauseam. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in television, where imitation remains the most dubious (and cost-effective) form of flattery. Currently, this creative photocopy is happening with The Soup, a goofy compendium of inane clips from other television shows, expertly

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-16584119843471419812009-09-30T13:17:00.001-05:002009-10-19T18:29:11.878-05:00

In addition to being "the Windy City", it seems we're also the home of the exploding soft drink and the levitating hamburger bun. Furthermore, according to the evidence at hand, these scientific anomalies are our "favorites". I'd argue if I could.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-54998579558828227462009-09-23T22:38:00.003-05:002009-10-05T10:46:15.946-05:00

Prong- Beg To Differ (1990)While the love child of punk and metal known as grunge was still a few years away, a CBGB soundman named Tommy Victor began a band whose sound would unwittingly pave the way for subsequent artists' to enjoy a mainstream success that would elude him. Considered to be before its time, Prong's second release quietly became the raw template for politically-minded bands

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-74782862229384982192009-09-22T10:12:00.006-05:002009-10-20T00:05:02.836-05:00

I took this pic at a rest stop in Chesterton, IN- "syrup shot" buttons on the soda fountain bank. You know, for the person who finds Mountain Dew to be not sweet enough.In the midst of all the mindless yammering about health care (which seems mostly about proving that the President is a direct descendant of Hitler), the elephant in the room is that WE have made ourselves sick by filling our

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-55313285307589727002009-09-19T14:10:00.000-05:002009-09-19T14:00:04.172-05:00

Sign at the Kalamazoo, MI Air Zoo that warns drug and alcohol abusers against riding the flight simulator. "The floor of this shuttle is trying to eat me, man!! Get these spiders offa me!!"

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-42969682538428156892009-09-15T18:35:00.004-05:002009-10-19T18:31:30.325-05:00

Everything old is new again- hence last night's premiere of The Jay Leno Show. After weeks of hype- so ubiquitous that Leno himself reassured the audience that "this is the actual show, not just another promo"- and best bud Jerry Seinfeld as his first guest, the show billed as "brand new comedy" fell flat on the Funny-O-Meter. (Full disclosure: As a comedian, I'm an ardent Leno defender. I was

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-85188612419078550642009-09-13T17:36:00.002-05:002009-10-19T18:31:56.272-05:00

A new study says that contraception could be very helpful in combating climate change. Latex is one of the more bio-unfriendly substances out there, but I encourage you to lovingly craft your own "reducing emissions" joke.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-44825809772479393112009-09-12T12:18:00.005-05:002009-10-19T18:32:54.529-05:00

Yesterday, Michael Jordan was finally inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (though I suspect he may have to sit tight a few more years to get Cooperstown's kudos for his brief tenure with the Birmingham Barons). Aside from a few rare missteps- Space Jam, Michael Jordan's restaurant (where the hamburgers tasted like something left over from the Nike stockroom)- the man continues to be the

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-59922484308352163802009-09-11T20:39:00.004-05:002009-10-19T18:33:46.896-05:00

Every generation has its national tragedies. Our grandparents had World War II; their children had the Kennedy assassination. "I remember exactly where I was when it happened", I recall my mother saying whenever JFK was mentioned. No generation can lay claim to the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11, yet everyone knows exactly where they were. I was living in Pittsburgh and had just flown back

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-88363328662081870492009-09-10T11:21:00.001-05:002009-09-10T11:25:43.689-05:00

$200 whole dollars. I guess sometimes a child does get left behind.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-19204472159961981352009-09-09T12:28:00.007-05:002009-11-07T16:31:16.361-06:00

As it turns out, "erectile" isn't the only dysfunction in the bedroom. According to a new book with the none-too-subtle title, Why Women Have Sex, gettin' jiggy is supposedly the last thing actually on their minds. This study of 1,000 women cited things like boredom, "it's easier than fighting", and getting their guy to do chores as reasons for hittin' it. And women wonder why we watch

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-85480714130627127952009-09-08T10:25:00.009-05:002009-09-08T13:20:11.803-05:00

Today is the first day back to school for most kids across the country and President Obama is set to address them this morning. A number of schools around the country (including Chicago) are opting out of showing the speech, under fire from parents who are worried that Obama will "push his agenda" on their kids. It's a valid complaint, since we all know how kindergarteners' eyes light up when a

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-82094539493457362422009-09-07T10:43:00.003-05:002009-09-07T10:56:17.971-05:00

The Labor Day holiday seems a little less important to those of us who also have the other 364 days off. Nevertheless, we should never waste a reason to brush up on our history. The tendency for social movements to become political ones is regrettable and avoidable. But if you're firing up the grill, I'm a sucker for BBQ brisket.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-61307869925229932152009-09-06T22:11:00.016-05:002009-09-07T10:43:23.182-05:00

Nowhere is the phrase "misery loves company" more apparent than in our willingness to allow pop culture to guide our common interests, to the exclusion of concrete problems. Witness the current hullabaloo over the year 2012. Evidently, as members of a nation that never met an illogical superstition it didn't like, we've extracted our latest from the Mayan and Aztec calendars- both of which point

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-50322790944248466122009-08-28T10:57:00.007-05:002009-08-28T11:25:18.850-05:00

The girl cutting my hair yesterday was telling me about a friend of hers who recently graduated with a degree in finance and got an interview with the CIA. She marveled at the depth and breadth of the agency's background check- they knew the high school pranks he had pulled, produced a spreadsheet of every porn site the guy had visited, blah, blah, blah- obviously wanting to let him know that

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-78486369035930600992009-08-22T01:19:00.002-05:002009-08-22T01:24:06.239-05:00

The health care/ insurance reform debate boiled down to its essence. (Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan)

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-2639241648136293142009-08-17T16:40:00.009-05:002009-08-17T17:39:18.919-05:00

As a teen of the eighties, I was a big fan of MTV's Headbanger's Ball. I still occasionally watch it- the occasion being when I'm hammered on a Saturday night and accidentally find it while channel-surfing. Long gone are the Aqua-Netted bands of my horny teen years, replaced by the screaming Hot Topic bands du jour of my horny adult years. Sure, they still throw up a respectful nod to the show's

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-70764366864413989052009-08-14T15:31:00.007-05:002009-08-14T15:41:23.697-05:00

South Korea has announced plans to open a major dog-cloning center, to focus on pets and endangered species. Sure. Given the number of people trying to cross the border and escape a hellish existence in North Korea, it's more likely about stocking the pantry.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-60502812602281491742009-08-13T10:57:00.005-05:002009-08-13T11:26:03.780-05:00

What do you get for the kid who has everything? Apparently, a shiny new knob. Word around the prep school scene is that an increasing number of Jewish girls are giving blowjobs as bar mitzvah presents. Jewish parents are unsettled to discover that their daughters are just as sexually desensitized as their Gentile counterparts. Oral sex has long been on par with a handshake in Catholic school,

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-51855027778839412042009-08-12T16:09:00.009-05:002009-08-12T18:44:26.574-05:00

The core of democracy is messy, even in the best of times. When the republic isn't teetering on the brink, our government is still a perfect storm of informed voters, willfully ignorant citizens, and the ambivalent officials who represent them- all eager to have their say. This greasy threesome is currently on display in the health care "town hall" meetings taking place around the country, which

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-69560253739636140652009-08-11T17:39:00.003-05:002009-08-11T17:49:25.311-05:00

A Pennsylvania man is charged with groping Minnie Mouse at Disney World. Keystone State represent!

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-76139260783869639602009-08-10T13:11:00.006-05:002009-08-10T13:22:40.374-05:00

I'm a great tipper; it's the result of years of waiting tables. If you know someone who isn't- that dude who always leaves five percent- you can bet your ass they've never done the job. The code of conduct has always dictated that tips are never mentioned to the customer, but there seems to be a trend to the contrary. Recently, my girlfriend and I had dinner with some friends. Before we were able

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-16556641002895644392009-08-07T15:04:00.013-05:002009-08-08T09:59:06.452-05:00

The pop culture landmarks we use to denote important times in our life vary greatly. Sometimes we configure memories around meaningful songs, other times it's a book, movie, porn, or anything else of sentimental artistic value. In the summer of 1986, I distinctly remember watching John Hughes's Weird Science or Ferris Bueller's Day Off at least once a day; after 23 years, I can still recite

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-66437680378528503012009-08-05T17:22:00.000-05:002009-08-05T17:13:11.117-05:00

Service station in Flint, MI. Looks like the automotive industry's woes have hit the prostitution sector.

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-53486497816955937502009-08-04T09:51:00.004-05:002009-08-04T10:15:23.077-05:00

Tagged as a socialist by the right-wing mouth breathers. 27 million Americans on antidepressants. 1 in 4 women can misread a pregnancy test. Fake grassroots health reform "protesters" bussed in by conservative PAC groups, so they can shout down town hall meetings. New HIV strain discovered in Africa. Arrested Development still off the air. Rising oil prices further threaten global economy. Iran

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-45486961532122401332009-08-03T11:51:00.008-05:002009-08-03T12:31:30.509-05:00

My girlfriend and I finished the Illinois Muddy Buddy 2009 on Sunday. For the uninitiated, it's a 6 mile race (touring multiple cities) on a treacherous farm course where teams of two alternate between biking and running, culminating in a crawl through a long, foot-deep mud pit. Neither one of us have competed in anything like it and we trained ahead of time, for fear that race day would come and

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-58545420510142967682009-07-31T17:22:00.003-05:002009-10-19T23:59:52.203-05:00

My 20th high school reunion is tonight and I'm skipping it. I'll be MIA- mostly because this weekend's simply too busy- but also because technology has already acted as my proxy. I'm pretty sure Facebook and other social media sites have rendered traditional reunions obsolete. I have nothing against reunions in theory; I attended my 10-year and had a blast, catching up with old friends and

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8452675811538384338.post-29504911493114819492009-07-30T18:34:00.008-05:002009-07-30T23:56:45.032-05:00

I'm a big fan of trivia and game shows, mostly because I'm a font of minutiae that is useful only in those circumstances. (Currently, my DVR is full of Cash Cab, where people answer questions and win money until they hit their destination.) However, I've noticed a trend in these shows that disturbs me quite a bit: people in their twenties seem to have slept through history class. I hated history

Alan Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706951889714704133noreply@blogger.com1