Into the Future...

...so the natural next question is: what becomes of this blog?

Well, I'm not going to be deleting it but I'm not going to be posting further to this blog. I have two new blog projects right now: Celebrity Pro Blog and JimmyKat Blog. Celebrity Pro Blog will be focused on daily celebrity news, while JimmyKat Blog will take a broader look at the world at large.

So as you can see, my plate is full:

- CelebrityPro.com
- JimmyKat.com
- FilmSafari.com
- Celebrity Pro Blog
- JimmyKat Blog

There will also be three additional websites on the way: InsideJacket.com, 247Player.com, and SoundKink.com. Right now they are empty vessels, but expect to see the best of books, games and music content there in the months ahead.

But in the meantime, feel free to drop by and leave me a note on one of the new blogs or in the forums of one of the websites. Until we meet again, I must be off as my new duties call...

And a Little Bit More...

In keeping with my "biting off more than I can chew" mood of late...I've been working on The Celebrity Site and JimmyKat.com, and I've also started work on FilmSafari.com.

Right now, Film Safari is a very bare bones site with only movie news and a few movies to show so far. But again, give me a little time here: I only have had a couple of weeks to get this thing going.

But Wait There's More...

As if I hadn't tackled a big enough project with The Celebrity Site, I've also started work on a full portal site as well: JimmyKat.com. It's basic, but again - judge it in context: I've been working on it during my spare hours when Celebrity Pro isn't occupying my attention.

It's currently in need of a serious style overhaul, but until I find more hours in the day it will have to wait for another day.

Moving on up...

...for those of you who have read this blog in the past, I must say it is time for this blog to end....

I have moved on to other blogging projects since I last posted here:

There was It'z News to Me.

Now I'm involved in many celebrity and entertainment projects. The biggest of these is The Celebrity Site. The Celebrity Site features celebrity pictures, celebrity e-cards, celebrity posters, celebrity movies, celebrity music, celebrity news, celebrity forums, celebrity links, and much more.

Things aren't nearly as far along as I'd like. However, after a hiatus of two years it's unrealistic to expect it to go back up overnight. What features exist have all been put together since December 15th, so it's still a few more days before we reach the 60 day mark.

The absolute funniest year-end wrap-up I have seen.

If you like a good belly laugh from time to time, I highly recommend bookmarking www.davebarry.com.

There's a whole lot of hysteria in the media surrounding the effect of the Mad Cow on the beef industry and how exports are disappearing. Let's get some perspective folks...

Exports make up 10% of the domestic beef industry's production. 10%...Are Americans going to stop eating burgers? Not unless you've witnessed the seventh sign of the Apocalypse and forgot to mention it to me...

It's a given that the whole Mad Cow thing is not exactly a godsend for the beef industry. But really folks, if you're that worried about it just order 2 Big Macs the next time you're in the drive-through instead of one...

Now this IS liberal bias...talk about "lies, damn lies, and statistics..."

First, let's start with the premise. The time periods being compared are artifically divided four-month periods...By what legitimate means does the writer presume that two four-month periods are the most illustrative? Why not 8 1-month periods, 4 2-month periods, or any other combination? Wouldn't the logical choice be "pre-capture of Saddam" and "post-capture of Saddam"? Or how about "pre-crackdown" and "post-crackdown"? How about a hundred other legitimate dividing lines? Because that would disprove the whole point of this editorial masquerading as news...

Second, this flat-out false sentence:

"Nor have casualties tapered off since the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein on Dec. 13."

That's a flat-out lie...no excuse for it...In the month of November, we lost over 70 troops...Since we captured Saddam, 12...Do the math...

Third, they cite a single retired military man as the "authority" to comment on the casualties on the ground. Is there even a comment from someone who might not agree with the author's premise? How about we at least attempt get a statement from the Pentagon on the topic? Since when do retired military men have more insight than the ones who are actually on the ground?

Fourth, a false comparison of polling data. He compares polling data from a time period barely into the beginning of military operations when we had yet to suffer any significant casualties to a period nine months later....How about comparing the polling data from when the end of major combat operations was declared? How about before we captured Saddam? Again, because that might disprove the point you were trying to make...

I could go on, but this is getting tedious...Vernon Loeb, go back to Journalism 101...When a job on the editorial board opens up, we'll post the position in the lunch room. Until then, try to stick to reporting the news instead of interpreting it...Your bias is showing...

I wonder which of the Democratic candidates would like to make the phone call to the families of these dead soldiers to explain the unilateralism of George Bush....

I don't think it's liberal bias so much as ignorant and lazy journalism...It also goes to show you that "presidential scholars" aren't all they're cracked up to be.

Check the quote from this story:

"If in the battleground states there's a continued loss of industrial jobs, and if we have a Democratic candidate who can use that effectively in places like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Oregon, then Bush may be in trouble," said James Thurber, a presidential scholar at American University. [emphasis added]

Including a quote like this in the story may make it seem like Bush is more vulnerable then he is. But, there's a little problem...

You see, there's a huge, gaping hole in this incredibly insightful analysis...It's a hole the size of the continental US, and it's become known as "The Map"...Someone should tell Mr. Thurber that Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Oregon all went Democratic in the 2000 election. A stronger Democratic showing in those states wouldn't hurt Bush in the least (unless, of course, we're talking about hurting Bush's chances at a 48 state landslide).

Especially when you consider this....

This guy may be a commercial genius, but what he knows about professional football couldn't fill a thimble...

Aside from constantly meddling where he obviously has no clue, keeping Steve Spurrier as coach after another dismal performance this year has to qualify as the dumbest football decision of the year. I don't question his business acumen, but somebody has got to explain the X's and O's to this guy...

"One shot, one kill"...Generally one of the least noticed and least appreciated part of our armed forces....by design...

It's difficult enough to understand why someone would think it's a really good idea to get shot, but taking it to the next level and wanting to get shot in the groin has got to take a special kinda crazy...

For all those opposed to the "Bush Doctrine," that policy has a giant gift under your Christmas tree in case you haven't opened it yet...Merry Christmas

Don't worry, this is the season of new beginnings...it's never too late to admit you were wrong....again...

Michelle Cottle of TNR gets it right...

President Bush's political guru, Karl Roves estimates that 4 million evangelicals stayed home in 2000. If you had to pick one issue: medicare, education, foreign policy, etc. that is important to evangelicals, it's....judges...

Yes...judges...With liberal groups like the ACLU doing their level best to remove religious expression from public view and activist judges increasingly likely to read their own rights into the Constitution where none previously existed, evangelicals are getting mad...

Note to liberal causes and Democratic candidates everywhere...don't make them angry...you wouldn't like them when they're angry...

This is one of those cases where the numbers don't tell the whole story...

I did my level best to avoid shopping malls but still got jammed up in traffic whenever I was even close to one. What attempts I did make were greeted by long lines filled with people in full-on shopping mode. From what I witnessed, a good amount of that shopping took the form of gift certificates which retailers can't book as revenue until they're actually spent, but there's something else is going on too.

Markets work. Consumers learn from the behavior of retailers. People know that everything goes on sale the day after Christmas. Unless there are children for whom Christmas wouldn't be the same without presents under the tree, more and more people are putting off exchanging gifts for a couple of days. It's simple logic: why fights the maddening crowd and pay twice what you should, when a short wait will eliminate much of the stress and let you give even more/better gifts for the same price?

Every year, the numbers reported the day after Christmas bear less and less relation to actual holiday season sales. The week after Christmas is becoming almost as crazy in the malls as the week before. For a more accurate measure of the annual shopping phenemenon, retailers should wait to report results until after the New Year, and investors should wait until then to react. By then, at least a portion of the gift certificates will have been redeemed, most returns will have occurred, and most of the late-Christmas crowd will have celebrated as well.

I know it's vital to science and progress and all that...but I just can't help but think: how well does the explanation, "...but my real job is picking at old scabs" go over at the singles bar?

I found a good reason to watch the Rose Bowl....Who's playing again?

Seven years? I mean....c'mon people...Someone needs to provide a good answer why it took so long...

How lunatic has the left gone in this country (or in any other, for that matter), that Joe Lieberman actually has to defend the obvious?

You don't have to be either for or against abortion to have common sense. It's a well-known phenomenon that medical developments are allowing babies to be "viable" well before full-term. How deep does the denial run on the left (note "Doctor" Dean's response)?

Next thing you know they'll be denying that adoption and abstinence even exist...

So much for that War on Islam I keep hearing about...

It just goes to show you that - more often than not - there's a whole lotta wisdom tied up in those old sayings...Take, for instance the old saw that "Laughter is the best medicine"...

If we didn't have Dennis Kucinich to kick around, we'd have to invent him...Someone's been watching a few too many James Bond movies....

That he was ever included in the Democratic debates and - even more so - that there are people who actually take him seriously speaks volumes about the current state of the party (and more specifically the current state of the liberal left).

My predictions for 2004 so far:

- The DVD Collector's Edition Lord of the Rings Trilogy Set complete with additional scenes will be one of the year's most popular items;
- The economies of those countries who have participated in the "Coalition of the Willing" (America, Britain, Poland, etc.) in Iraq will outgrow those of the "Axis of Weasels" (Russia, Germany, France) by at least a factor of 2;
- Jacques Chirac's government will be in serious trouble as the French people finally "get it" and Dominic de Villepin (at the very least) will get the old heave-ho;
- President Bush will not only win the '04 election handily, he will have extremely long coat tails (aided by redistricting and Democratic retirements) to win even stronger majorities in both houses of Congress;

More to come as I think of them....

Could this be the most effective campaign ad this season?

Personally I think President Bush should run this ad on TV in every major market at least once a week until Election Day. Only bitter people vote for anger...and America is not a bitter country...It just happens to be big enough to make a home for them too.

I keep hearing about "tacking back to the center after winning the primaries." Ain't gonna happen...

First, Dean will lose his base if he does. Pragmatic politics is not something his supporters will allow. If they were interested at all in pragmatic politics, they'd be backing a different horse. (provided, of course, they actually care if Dean wins)

Second, Bush won't let him. In this day of 24 hour news and instant internet, every breath is recorded for posterity...and is fair game for opponents' campaign ads. Dean's going to spend the better part of 2004 on the defensive for every policy flip-flop and unserious foreign policy pronouncement he has made. His rivals for the nomination have already begun the process...Look for Bush to come in and finish the job...

Could PlayStation be at least partly responsible for the growing conservatism of America's youth?

With the overwhelming popularity of such titles as SOCOM, where the player assumes control of a team of Navy Seals, and Medal of Honor, where the player takes the role of an American GI in WWII; Americans are getting a steady dose of the honor and bravery of the American soldier.

Besides, if you've already conquered the terrorists from your sofa, why wouldn't you support the real heroes doing the same?

Finally got around to seeing "Return of the King" yesterday...Wow...definitely a visual feast worthy of the big screen, and evidently I'm not the only one who thinks so...

I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say this trilogy is New Line's best investment since it got its' legs with Nightmare on Elm Street.

Is it just me, or are the Democratic candidates collectively trying to blame Bush for everything?

First Dean misses the fall of the Soviet Union, and now he's having difficulty remembering when exactly it was that Bush became president. Can someone please remind him who was president during the late '90's when this whole Mad Cow thing happened in England?