Fan’s Milk Powers Essian

January 21st, 2008 by Tuffy

The New York Times found a Chelsea fan from America to write about the African Cup of Nations for their soccer blog. While their taste in sports fans clearly has to be questioned, it did lead to this discovery:

21essien-533.jpg
(milky photo by fanboy Brian Frutig for the New York Times)

FanMilk apparently gives Michael Essian everything he needs to keep Chelsea safely behind Man U and Arsenal. If this were true for everyone, Jose Lima would still pitch in the major leagues.

joselimawife.jpg

Posted in soccer | 5 Comments »

Don’t Fire Isiah! (Yet)

January 21st, 2008 by Tuffy

Today in Tuffy History: I bleat against the continued aggression of the East.  Back, you animals that see television shows before the rest of the country!  Back! 

Also, tune into Treehouse Fort tonight and hear Matt Sussman and me carry on about the Super Bowl, NBA action, and a brief discussion of performance enhancing tools with one of the experts of the blogosphereorama, Sal Marinello.

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Bud Selig is Staying… Forever

January 19th, 2008 by Tuffy

Today in Tuffy History: I consider the legacy of Bud Selig and the loss of Doug Pappas.  You can also hear much of this rant in yesterday’s Treehouse Fort performance.  I may have become apoplectic at one point.  

Posted in baseball, mlb | 2 Comments »

Treehouse Fort - Super Bowl Semifinals

January 18th, 2008 by Tuffy

Today in Tuffy History: An insane rant on Bud Selig’s contract extension highlights this podcast.  (Sane rants are dull, after all.)  Also, Matt Sussman and I talk NFL, NBA, and try out a new open.

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Games People Play - Board Games and Legal Matters

January 16th, 2008 by Tuffy

Unfortunately, the main draw to Facebook has hit a legal snag. (No, Chris Hansen didn’t just discover Facebook.) Scrabulous, a game suspiciously similar to Scrabble™®©allhailthebrothersparker, has been called out by Parker Brothers for wearing similar outfits to Scrabble and getting a job as the same company as Scrabble and trying to date Scrabble’s ex-boyfriend, Single White Board Game-style.

Regardless of the result of this lawsuit, it’s surely not the first time board games have been at the center of legal action. Having consulted a crack legal team before proceeding, here are suggested lawsuits for those looking to make a little cash off their board game knowledge and some day become the banker or at least call perpetual dibs on the race car: Read the rest of this entry »

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Drunk on Apple Wine

January 15th, 2008 by Tuffy

A study by CalTech and Stanford’s business school suggests the human brain can reach a pleasurable state simply by being told it should:

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Stanford’s business school have directly seen that the sensation of pleasantness that people experience when tasting wine is linked directly to its price. And that’s true even when, unbeknownst to the test subjects, it’s exactly the same Cabernet Sauvignon with a dramatically different price tag.

The authors of this study go on to mention other studies that come to similar conclusions about a correlation between price and pleasure, separate from quality or other critical thought.

hmm. What company best represents this notion in America today? Who could bring cries of “overrated and overpriced” faster than you can say “Skymall catalog”? hmmmm. Could it be… SATAN?!?!?

No, of course not. It’s the company that’s currently making the final calibrations to their signal repeaters for the Reality Distortion Field that only one man can produce: CEO Steve Jobs. Yes, Apple’s big keynote for Macworld is today and all the glowing announcements and shiny pretties will be produced from Apple’s hidden core today.

Let the glee begin!

Now let’s stop for a moment to say that making Big Statements about little studies is a hallmark of sloppy thinking (and most news broadcasts). I do think it’s a cute coincidence, though, because it’s something I often worry about when my Mac fandom gets a little out of control. Like, say, on days like this.

Once the 24-hour period after the keynote passes, though, and my friends give me back my credit cards (be prepared, kids), I can say with some rational thought that I’m never quite as inspired to push the limits of what I can do and what my computers can do for me as when I’m using my Apple products to link my iPhone to my iMac and my PowerBook on the road and so on.

I can usually convince myself that the reasons involve the quality of the products and their ability to work together fairly seamlessly. Likely, I’m even correct about that. Still, I can see there’s a possibility I’m paying for the pride of having the best and price might have a sliver to do with that.

Still, if I’m inspired by the $90 bottle of wine to do better for whatever reason, where’s the harm in a little distortion? Bring another bottle, garçon! And would it hurt you to take off the turtleneck and put on a tie? Slacker.

Posted in nonsense | 6 Comments »

Treehouse Fort - Brian Windhorst, As Cavalier As Ever

January 14th, 2008 by Tuffy

Today in Tuffy History: We spoke to Brian Windhorst about the Cavaliers, William Wesley, and why LeBron can’t do 55.  We also spoke about NFL contests past and did an extended riff on NBC Must See TV.  For, you see, we are nothing if not topical.

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Bulls Loss Attributable to Atlanta Scoring

January 14th, 2008 by Tuffy

Today in Tuffy History: I take a little from Column A and a little from Column B and fold them together to make a Chicago Bulls souffle that promptly collapses.

Also, be sure to tune in tonight on Treehouse Fort. We’ll be talking to Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon Journal about LeBron James’ latest exploits at 101 mph, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ latest exploits shifting out of neutral, and his new book, The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Also, we’ll talk about the bevy of NFL playoff upsets over the weekend.

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Adventures in Pornography

January 13th, 2008 by Tuffy

Penthouse for PrudesI left work late Friday night, feeling the full brunt of a long and brutal week at the office. I felt the need to do something indulgent and selfish to signify the weekend’s arrival. Considering I had cut out all of the wonderful vices for New Year’s, though, I didn’t have many options. As I drove by my usual Borders, I realized I should pick up a copy of Will Leitch’s interview in Penthouse. After all, we’re all so proud our little moptop kid from Illinois is about to splash all over the nation.

Also, with his book tour coming to my town (or as close as he dare approach, I guess), it wouldn’t hurt to have a little more under my belt to rib him about when he arrives. He’ll love it, just like improv comics love the smartass in the crowd that wants to show everyone he’s just as funny as the performers on the stage by shouting the more ridiculous suggestions before each scene. Hell, the bit where I keep interrupting Will’s reading with “Tell the game show story!” and “We want to hear the Kimmel story!” will surely tickle his funny bone.

I had just been in the store earlier that week to pick up research for Monday’s podcast, but I rushed through my purchase. Therefore, I looked forward to poking around for a few minutes again, perhaps taking more time to browse the manga section or see if any of the hardcovers that languished on my Christmas list were on sale. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in nonsense | 50 Comments »

Treehouse Fort - Super Bowl Quarterfinals

January 11th, 2008 by Tuffy

Today in Tuffy History: Matt Sussman and I jammed about the week’s news, listened to pitchers swear like sailors that pitch swears, and talked NFL playoffs.

Posted in podcast | 2 Comments »