GEORGE IS GONE

We knew each other a long time.

I awoke this morning to Susan telling me.

I think I respected and admired him as a Great and Good Man as much, or more, than any other hero I've had since childhood.

And this is all I'll say:

As it was with Lenny, it is my belief that our world, this society, each and every one of us, cannot know how significant is our loss. It was said, when Lenny died, "His like will never be seen again," but it was: in George. And so, if we are very very good, and we are very very lucky, his kind WILL be seen again, imbued with what the next "Lenny/George" absorbed from Mark Twain and James Thurber and H.L. Mencken and Groucho and these other two holy jokers who understood at risk to their lives and livelihoods that we are in desperate trouble, and that we need their reminders again and again. They are our salvation. His work, his life, his words--those seven and the millions he gave us that were FAR MORE important than the seven--go on. As long as the sound of his voice can be reproduced and sown against the grain, George, like Lenny, will have done us the ultimate solid.

Harlan Ellison
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And so begins a great evening for Detroit sports fans.

Red Wings hosting the Penguins in Game One, Pistons at The Palace against the visiting Celtics for Game Three -- and oh yes, the Tigers are at home too.

Update: Two out of three ain't bad.

Answer: Soon.

Just finished a major upgrade to my home furnishings, for which I only had to pay moving costs to get them to my apartment. It will take several months to get used to living in comparative splendor, and then there's Gen Con, so....

Next is an upgraded computer.

Then, HD, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

My aunt and uncle are trying to sell a four-level townhome in San Francisco (either Portola or Potrero Hill, I forget which). They are not having an easy time.

For my part, I was very very lucky when I lived there from '87 to '89.

One, as a soldier stationed at The Presidio, I had barracks space provided by the Army free-of-charge. Then, two, the woman I started seeing lived in a rent-controlled apartment at the base of Nob Hill.

We've got three casinos (two of the permanent ones are finished now, with several hundred new hotel rooms and suites), two new stadiums (stadia?), the RenCen, Greektown and a new River Walk linking Chene Park to Hart Plaza and Joe Louis Arena/Cobo Center.

Between now and Labor Day Detroit will host races on land (Belle Isle Grand Prix), on the water (Gold Cup Hydroplane races) and in the air (Red Bull Air Races). There's the Electronic Music festival over Memorial Day weekend, the Jazz Festival during Labor Day, and the annual Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's, formerly Hudson's) Detroit-Windsor fireworks show in late June over the river.

There's definitely things to do in Detroit if one is inclined to visit.

But the folks who've said over and over that they'd never vote for Hillary under any circumstances...Obama loses them if he folds and puts her on the ticket.

The downside of the "dream ticket" outweighs any benefit.

Meanwhile, her campaign debt has swelled to $20 million. A figure that represents debt owed for goods and services, from staffers to campaign jets, hall rentals to caterers, direct mailings to insurance costs, and of course the odious Mark Penn.

If Hillary hadn't committed the $11 million of her own funds, that figure would be $31 million (or, more likely, she'd've dropped out sooner when the funds completely dried up).

The issue with getting reimbursed for the $11 million loan is, it has to be done before the August convention, or else they can no longer be repaid by campaign contributions (except for a paltry $250,000).

On the GOP side, my understanding is that Mitt Romney committed $35 million of his own money to his losing effort, and has decided to write it off.

So, score one for the Mittster -- he did choose to "eat it."

Was conscious the whole time.

To this day, that stands as one of the dumbest choices I've ever made.

Didn't get dry socket, though (I remember squirting water from this littel syringe thing on an almost hourly basis, so that may have made a difference).

Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign is said to owe anywhere from $10 to $15 million to vendors and contractors for services including catering, balloons, hall rentals, polling, phone banks, staff salaries at the state/local level...and probably advertising in local markets.

And that's after she loaned her campaign another $6.4 million in April (bring the total to $11.4 million).

Why stay in? To get Obama's help in retiring that debt is one likely reason.

While the Montgomery GI Bill didn't come close to paying for my Masters' courses, the monthly stipend I received helped a lot.

For the buy-in of $100 for 12 months back in '87, I got back more than $10K between '96 and '01.

I also qualified for what was then called the Army College Fund, but I chose instead to take a college loan forgiveness program that wiped out my undergraduate student loan debts from the U of I...another benefit worth several grand some 16 years ago.

The idea that today's wartime veterans -- having served two, three or even four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan -- won't get the kind of education benefits they deserve thanks to misguided thinking from George Bush and election-year gimmicks from John McCain, is galling in the extreme.

Completely concur with the majority of folks I know on the general excellence of Iron Man.

Excellent comic adaptation. Robert Downey Jr. was an inspired choice to play Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow, however, didn't have a lot to work with...which was about the only weakness.

I liked the sly mention of the "ten rings," the shout-out to War Machine, and the post-credits scene (a nod to Ultimate Marvel continuity).

Looking ahead to June...no matter what, the second Hulk can't be as bad as the first (Gamma Poodle FTW!). Edward Norton looks to be an excellent Bruce Banner.

(though, as some have noted, Norton himself isn't happy with how it turned out. Still, with a Downey cameo linking the Iron Man and Hulk continuities for a likely future Avengers project, I'll be there).

All those injuries really screwed the Avs. A Detroit sweep was completely unexpected going into that series. But hey, at least they respected Colorado enough to run up the score tonight...

Even with the Avs at full health, it's pretty clear Detroit would have won that series. Probably in six games.

Meanwhile...Johan Franzen...two hat tricks in four games...yikes. "Mule" is a most appropriate nickname. Franzen works his ass off. I mean, here's a guy who scored as many goals in four games (9) as the entire Colorado team.

Has that ever happened before in an NHL playoff series?

I still like the communal experience of a movie theatre.

I watch plenty of movies at home, and the convenience is great and all, but that same convenience plays right into my ADD. I rewind scenes, turn on closed captioning or subtitles to make sure I'm getting all the dialogue, and sometimes put it on Pause to go in the other room and check my email and messages.

So anyway, I saw The Forbidden Kingdom last Friday. While I found it VG, it made me a littel sad that Jet Li and Jackie Chan didn't do something like this ten years ago.

Gawd I hope that was referring to sammiches.

"The Clintons know that she can't win this. But they're hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win."

-- House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), 23 April 2008

Link: Top House Democrat denounces Clinton campaign tactics

Rep. Joe Knollenberg (MI-09) may not be as obviously and flamboyantly bad as [former Rep.] Richard Pombo, but his environmental record has been dismal. His opposition to improved CAFE standards is an embarrassment even in car-friendly Michigan, and the League of Conservation Voters noted his record when they named Knollenberg to their “Dirty Dozen” List.

THANK YOU for including Gary Peters on your list. Gary has the full support and endorsement of the Sierra Club and the LCV, and will be a vast improvement when he joins the 111th Congress in 2009.

Cross-promoted by Michigan Liberal.