Made some beats this am on looplabs.com, check it out. If you scroll through the songs, check for the one by champology. Let me know what people think.

Also loving this site fixins.com cause it is always about kicks.

Prudent Bear article on the oil shock that will are currently experiencing via Venezula and soon to be Iraq. Basically expect high oil prices to hang around for awhile.

But capacity utilisation in global oil is almost as high as it has ever been. Crude oil inventories are lower relative to consumption than at any time in recent decades. In three of the six largest oil-producing countries oil supplies are at risk due to geopolitical factors. In Iraq, a U.S. invasion appears to be imminent and Saddam may have mined all of the oil wells, according to various reports from Pentagon intelligence sources. There is ongoing political instability in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer. Venezuela’s oil dependent economy is staggering under the weight of a labour dispute, which has disrupted oil exports. In this context, a war in Iraq could tip the balance in favour of a sharply rising oil price, which in turn could be the nail in the coffin of a teetering global economy.


The prospects of an oil shock are therefore as high as they have been in decades. According to a recent report by Goldman Sachs, “More Perfect Storm than Desert Storm”, low global oil stocks and reduced exports from strike-torn Venezuela have boosted prices by more than 30 per cent since late November. The Venezuelan 'outage' has cost 125 million barrels of production, already the fifth biggest supply shock in history, 'which almost entirely explains the current high level of prices', according to the study. If the strike continues for a further two months and an Iraq war lasts a similar time, the cumulative outage will be 600 million barrels, far more than the 400 million taken off the market in the Arab-Israeli war

Susan Lee offers this Wall Street Journal editoral on why libertarian is the way to go. I have to agree 100%, which is why I''ve considered myself one for the past 6 plus years. No question that this should be the party of the future for the US. A must read for anyone who questions or doesn't understand what libertarians are all about.

Libertarians have more fun--and make more sense.

But perhaps the single distinguishing feature between conservatives and libertarians is that libertarians are concerned with individual rights and responsibilities over government--or community--rights and responsibilities. Consider how conservatives and libertarians divide over cultural issues or social policy. Libertarians are not comfortable with normative questions. They admit to one moral principle from which all preferences follow; that principle is self-ownership--individuals have the right to control their own bodies, in action and speech, as long as they do not infringe on the same rights for others. The only role for government is to help people defend themselves from force or fraud. Libertarians do not concern themselves with questions of "best behavior" in social or cultural matters.

Deacons beat the Dookies for the first time in 14 games (after we beat them 9 times straight during the Timmy Duncan era). The double overtime thriller was one of the best college hoop games of the year. Our young guys looked nasty too. Good times, good times. Check the boards cause they are on fire.


UCLA wow...you guys really stink. 85-51 right now. What an ending to the Steve Levine run. OUCH...

Reason piece on why American culture is not the dominate force in the world that it is constantly made out to be.

An even more dramatic shift may be going on with theatrical films. In 2001 "business for American films overseas fell by 16 percent against local product," according to Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. Writing last August in the British newspaper The Guardian, Kapur noted: "The biggest success in Japan last year was not an American film, it was a Japanese film. The biggest success in Germany was not an American film, it was a German film. The biggest success in Spain was not an American film, but a Spanish film. The same in France. In India, of course, it’s always been like that."

Kapur believes that "American culture has been able to dominate the world because it has had the biggest home market." But the growing commercial importance of Asia -- China, India, Japan -- along with the larger markets of the Mideast and North Africa will change that, he argues. In other words, cultural globalization is far from a recipe for American dominance; it is an opportunity for other cultures and markets to assert themselves.

Good Slate article on the fall of the Simpsons. It acknowledges the fact that the Simpson's is one of the best shows on TV still today, but discusses its fall from greatness. I have to agree, the old episodes are far superior to the past couple years. I always thought that when I was in college (96-00) that it was losing its luster and it seems that most fans agree.

So, instead, there are a few conspiracy theories for the show's not-quite demise. Perhaps the problem is too many cooks, as staff legend George Meyer implied to MSNBC.com: "We have more writers now," Meyer said. "In the early days, I think, more of the show, more of the episode was already in the first draft of the script. Now there's more room-writing that goes on, and so I think there's been a kind of homogenization of the scripts. … Certainly, the shows are more jokey than they used to be. But I think they also lack the individual flavor that they had in the early years." Another theory lays the blame on the show's many celebrity guest stars, which have made the show resemble those old Scooby Doo episodes where Sandy Duncan, or Tim Conway and Don Knotts, would show up just for the heck of it. Still others think the problem is the show's brain drain: Long-absent individuals include creators Groening and Brooks, actor Phil Hartman, and writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss (who both left briefly to do The Critic), Greg Daniels (still doing King of the Hill), and Conan O'Brien (who has been linked to the show's decline so many times that Groening once called the theory "one of the most annoying nut posts" on the Internet).

But maybe no one, not even a group of people, can be held responsible. Simpsons determinists lay the blame on unstoppable, abstract forces like time. The show's writers and producers often subscribe to this line when they publicly abase themselves for not living up to the show's high standards. Maxtone-Graham told the Independent, "I think we should pack it in soon and I think we will—we're running out of ideas," and Meyer admitted to MSNBC.com, "We're starting to see some glimmers of the end. … It's certainly getting harder to come up with stories, no question."

Ray Ray, Timmy, T-Mac and Kidd. Kobe sign up son, sign up. The gold will be back in the hands of the US. The world has gotten better, but can't mess with our best.

Tragic news from my hometown, as a former classmate died in a car crash. Rachel RIP. Love and prayers to her family and Justin.

This fantastic Journal editorial states the importance of handling Saddam by paralleling the situation with the current North Korea drama. (subcription required)

It is being argued, principally by U.S. senators who don't want to face up to the risks attendant to regime change in Iraq, that North Korea is the greater danger and demands the more immediate attention. Theirs is mainly a diversionary tactic. The administration is working the Kim Jong Il problem in a systematic way, as is evidenced by its proposal for a multilateral approach. Kim, unless he is totally mad, is not a clear and present danger. Terrorists equipped by Iraq with deadly poisons are however an immediate and insidious threat. The only answer is to rip out the roots that give them their sustenance.

Bye Bye Kordell.... Thanks for the memories and best of luck where you go. I'm not sad to see him go at all, but he did bring some joy to us Steeler fans.

Speaking of Instanpundit, Glenn Reynolds alas instapundit offers this essay from his msnbc blog about if America really was an imperialistic nation. I think Glenn makes his point.

An imperial nation, possessed of the kind of lopsided military power the United States has in today’s world, wouldn’t waste its time with inspectors and diplomacy. Nor would it limit its ambitions to Iraq.
An Imperial America would probably join with nascent superpower India to divide up and conquer the region. India could have Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; we’d take Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt.
What about the “Arab street?” The answer would be machine guns, labor camps, and bulldozed mosques. (Replaced, perhaps, by new mosques with pliable mullahs). Really troublesome populations would be relocated, a la Stalin and the Crimean Tartars. (If the task proved too ugly for American troops, we’d hire mercenaries — excuse me, “Foreign Legion troops” — from sub-Saharan Africa, East Timor, and other places whose populations dislike Muslims. There would be atrocities and brutality, of course, but that would be part of the plan.) The response to people who said the war was just about oil? “You’re right. And if you’re nice to us, we’ll sell you some.” To keep the Russians happy, they’d get a cut of the action so long as they played ball.

Must pick up T-Shirt for your summer wear and to tell all of your European friends from a certain country how you feel. (via instapundit)

MJ misses a shot to win it in his last All Star game. I've seen enough and am off to bed. The game just goes to show how far Michael's game has fallen. Hopefully this will be the final season of the player formerly known as Air Jordan. The memories are great, but hang it up already.

Interesting book review of the new Andrew Carnegie biograph compliments of the Economist. Growing up in Pittsburgh, one couldn't venture very far without running into something named after Mr. Carnegie. Read the review and maybe it will spurn you to pick up the book, it made me throw it on my to read list.

ANDREW CARNEGIE is to his biographers, friendly and hostile alike, the hardest American robber baron to fathom. Somehow they have to try to understand themselves, and make coherent to others, a dramatic change in their subject's behaviour. For this steelman, a Scots-American hated by his exploited workers and his swindled rivals, became so benevolent in old age that he gave away almost all of a fortune calculated here at $100 billion in today's money.

Dan Lewis raises some questions about the true intent of Title IX and it looks like he might be right on.

Critics of the change are unhappy because too many men would be playing sports. And that's all they are. Admittedly, these walkons cost athletic department some money -- meals, uniforms, etc. aren't exactly free. But these guys aren't getting a scholarship. They're never going to make it to the pros. They're not even going to play if they're football or basketball players. Yet to the Title IX "advocates," these people are oppressing women.

Terry Tate is attacking Nike in his latest ad that plays off of the Nike streaker ad.

"It's the downfall of the evil empire — and the rise of Terry Tate and Reebok," says Micky Pant, chief marketing officer of Reebok, which has $3 billion in annual sales.

We shall see. At least these commercials are better than the thugged out hoop commercials Reebok has been running.

Deacons lost today at Marquette to fall to 16-3. We played a decent game, but J.Hova (Josh Howard) brought a broken jumper and we couldn't make up for it. Guy still dropped 20, but we need 7 more. Can't wait till Justin Gray is back on the court cause we are missing a second pg when Downey is on the bench.

Key to the season though ----
Will the real Eric Williams please stand up????

The hometown Panthers are trying to hold on versus ND, but this Chris Thomas character is dropping bombs from NBA plus. NASTY....

Speaking of nasty, J-Rich got nasty (like that stupid tat off NASTY that he has on his arm, yeah yeah yeah we saw you pointing to it, it is still retarded) last night at the dunk contest.

And bigups to who ever sported the Muggsy old school Wake Forest jersey last night at the contest....accoring to DIME MAG's smack...