gWIL

Picnic Basket Free for All Cole slaw Mac and Cheese Bread Bracket Cheddar Biscuits Garlic Bread Taters! Hash Browns French Fries Greens and Grains Asparagus Fried Okra

I just lived in Italy for the past five months, there it is only a side dish. It's called Primi Pattati (my spelling may be off) and it's just served before your meal, which is usually a meat. This true for all pasta. The moral of the story is that gnocchi is a side dish. And the Ramen of that country, its like 75 cents for a giant bag of it.

On a semi-related note, I'm just getting ready to leave for a semester in Italy. I'm currently sitting in the airport (Chicago O'Hare) waiting to leave, seriously bored as hell. I was going to make a study abroad thread but I saw this and figured I just use this. So yeah.

"In a year when Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize and green became the new red, white and blue; when the combat in Iraq showed signs of cooling but Baghdad's politicians showed no signs of statesmanship; when China, the rising superpower, juggled its pride in hosting next summer's Olympic Games with its embarrassment at shipping toxic toys around the world; and when J.K. Rowling set millions of minds and hearts on fire with the final volume of her 17-year saga—one nation that had fallen off our mental map, led by one steely and determined man, emerged as a critical linchpin of the 21st century. Russia lives in history—and history lives in Russia. Throughout much of the 20th century, the Soviet Union cast an ominous shadow over the world. It was the U.S.'s dark twin. But after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia receded from the American consciousness as we became mired in our own polarized politics. And it lost its place in the great game of geopolitics, its significance dwarfed not just by the U.S. but also by the rising giants of China and India. That view was always naive. Russia is central to our world—and the new world that is being born. It is the largest country on earth; it shares a 2,600-mile (4,200 km) border with China; it has a significant and restive Islamic population; it has the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction and a lethal nuclear arsenal; it is the world's second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia; and it is an indispensable player in whatever happens in the Middle East. For all these reasons, if Russia fails, all bets are off for the 21st century. And if Russia succeeds as a nation-state in the family of nations, it will owe much of that success to one man, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. No one would label Putin a child of destiny. The only surviving son of a Leningrad factory worker, he was born after what the Russians call the Great Patriotic War, in which they lost more than 26 million people. The only evidence that fate played a part in Putin's story comes from his grandfather's job: he cooked for Joseph Stalin, the dictator who inflicted ungodly terrors on his nation. When this intense and brooding KGB agent took over as President of Russia in 2000, he found a country on the verge of becoming a failed state. With dauntless persistence, a sharp vision of what Russia should become and a sense that he embodied the spirit of Mother Russia, Putin has put his country back on the map. And he intends to redraw it himself. Though he will step down as Russia's President in March, he will continue to lead his country as its Prime Minister and attempt to transform it into a new kind of nation, beholden to neither East nor West. TIME's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor. It is not an endorsement. It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership. Putin is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat in any way that the West would define it. He is not a paragon of free speech. He stands, above all, for stability—stability before freedom, stability before choice, stability in a country that has hardly seen it for a hundred years. Whether he becomes more like the man for whom his grandfather prepared blinis—who himself was twice TIME's Person of the Year—or like Peter the Great, the historical figure he most admires; whether he proves to be a reformer or an autocrat who takes Russia back to an era of repression—this we will know only over the next decade. At significant cost to the principles and ideas that free nations prize, he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power. For that reason, Vladimir Putin is TIME's 2007 Person of the Year. " Time grows some balls and picks a really good choice. Remember last year when it was "you" or some crap.

Real or otherwise, this highway doesn't sound like a bad idea. A North American Union could do a lot of good. The same standards and ID Cards for all three countries would solve a lot of problems and maybe even a common currency.

Not huge new or anything, but an interesting undercard fight for UFC 80. The King of the Cage Light Heavyweight champ is making his UFC debut. The guy is just fun to watch and a very cool person. Here's the story and an article about his one fight he had in Pride: Light heavyweights Alessio Sakara (11-6) and James Lee (12-2) will throwdown at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” at The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England, on January 19, 2008. MMAmania (www.mmamania.com) first learned about the match up earlier this morning from members of the Sakara management team. In addition, representatives indicated that this will be the last fight for Sakara at 205 pounds in the near future — he plans to dip down to middleweight (185 pounds) regardless of the result in the United Kingdom. It’s been an up-and-down experience for the Sakara since his Octagon debut in October 2005. The Italian-born brawler has been unable to string together consecutive wins in six attempts (2-3 with one “No Contest). His last time out at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” he got flattened by Houston Alexander in 61 seconds via technical knockout. Without question this is a must-win for Sakara, which would also give him some momentum and confidence heading into his next fight at middleweight. Lee is a UFC newcomer who has had tremendous success under the King of the Cage (KOTC) banner. In fact, in 14 professional contests not one of them has went the distance. He has a remarkable list of submissions to his credit and has never been stopped via strikes — his two losses are via submission. The Pride fight: James Lee’s first invitation to PRIDE came at a fairly inconvenient time. Late one Wednesday night, Lee found himself playing video games with his son when his phone rang. Setting aside his cupcake, Lee discovered that PRIDE was finally putting him on a fight card, something which he had been working towards for years. It was a good thing that PRIDE called before he finished his dessert, since he was informed that they wanted him to fight in only three days. Despite the short notice, Lee found that he couldn’t turn PRIDE down. He began negotiating, and finalized a deal by 1 A.M., giving him time to catch a 4 A.M. flight to Las Vegas. Upon arrival, Lee found that his already strenuous three days of preparations had been cut down to two, as his medicals ate up his entire first day in Vegas. Thursday night, less than 48 hours until the fight, was his first chance to begin not only his training, but also his attempts to get down to the 205-pound weight limit. “I didn’t get to check into the hotel probably until 8 or 9 o’clock at night. Went for a run, got up, ran again, and then hopped in the sauna at 8 in the morning, and cut 14 and a half pounds in like 5 hours,” said Lee. FACING “THE DIESEL” On top of everything else, Lee’s opponent for the fight was no slouch. Travis “The Diesel” Wiuff had accumulated over 40 MMA wins over the past six years. Lee had never seen Wiuff fight, and admitted to not having a well-thought out game plan going into the fight. However, in his first attempt in the PRIDE ring, Lee tried to simply block out the stressful nature of the fight and work to give the best effort he could against Wiuff. “I can fight a round out of shape. And I figured I’d gas midway through the second. That’ll be my breaking point. Depending on the pace of the fight,” said Lee. “I’ll go balls out, and see what happens, give it my all, one hundred percent.” And he did. Lee connected on his first punch and did not hesitate to take advantage of the stunned Wiuff. “I power punched him real fast. And I’m thinking the whole time, like s—t I can’t let this guy go. I better keep the pressure on him and finish this guy off before he gets some confidence.” Lee followed with relentless rights and attempted a kimura before submitting Wiuff with a guillotine choke. All told, it took him only 39 seconds to upset the IFL and UFC veteran. Until his inevitable return to PRIDE, Lee will continue training with MASH (Martial Arts Submission Hybrid”)—which he co-founded in 1989–as he prepares to defend his King of the Cage 205-pound title this June in his home state of Michigan I've seen him defend his title twice at KOTC shows, in June and Last week and this goy is pretty impressive if under the radar.

Okay, I have to take issue with LBJ being considered by anyone as being one of the worst presidents ever, when history suggests quite the opposite. The man did more for minorities and the poor than any other president, hell than any other person. Of course there are the afore mentioned civil rights acts, but he did much more than just that. He was responsible for Job Corps, Head Start programs, finally started providing federal funding to public education, created Medicare and Medicaid, increased safety standards in the regulation of tobacco, automobiles, and meat. Not to mention the War on Poverty, like it or not, did more to cut the poverty levels than any other government program, before or since. The man also did more for NASA, both in office and in congress. NASA is in some way responsible for most of the major technological breakthroughs in the last few decades, so you can thank LBJ for that too. Was Vietnam a bad war? Of course, but it should not be the legacy that defines LBJ.

I for one am pumped for this PPV. It's nice to see some fresh faces in high profile matches, should be nice to see Booker T as well. Wonder if they change the title again.

Do you mean Rudy the former mayor or Bloomberg the current mayor? Because Bloomberg is extremely popular, Rudy got mainly mixed reviews.

Okay so I watched all of seson 3 in like 3 days (for the first time) to prepare for this. Eh. It's starting to go downhill. Karen being done makes me sad. So much wasted oppurtunity. Karen > Pam. Yeah, I said it. And it's true.

I work for Applebee's. Although I wouldn't ever eat there If I didn't get half off, it's actually a pretty good company to work for. The general rumor abounding is that IHOP is going to bring about big changes. And the reason the servers push that charity stuff so much is because they get what are pretty much bonuses for selling large numbers of them. And jesus man, it's a dollar. To help dying children.

The fight scene in Rocky Balboa.

I think with a little bit of building MVP could be a top face.

And Bloomberg says fuck the Republican party. I'll vote for him if he runs.

Fuck 'em. HAH, I make myself laugh.

28 Weeks Later. The movie blew me away. I'm a huge Romero fan and that was a better zombie flick then any of his movies (yes, I know they're not really zombies) and I've seen Dawn of the Dead at least 30 times. Vacancy surprised me by being very, very good. hot Fuzz was very funny, but MOTY? No. Grindhouse was good, but seeing it outside of a crowded theatre I don't think it would hold up. 300 was amazing and I saw it quite a few times but the dialogue left something to be desired. Haven't seen Knocked Up yet, going of Wed. Everything else i've seen has been disappointing.

And Obama wins the second debate. Although, I can see the argument that will be made for Edwards. Everyone else was just kind of there.

1. Flair-Savage vs. 32. Rock-Foley (who beat WWF vs. WCW & ECW Alliance 10-1) 16. Undertaker-Mankind vs. 17. Jericho-Rock (who beat Triple H vs Batista 6-5) 8. Jake-Savage vs. 25. Razor-Michaels (who beat Brock vs Angle 9-2) 9. HBK-Taker vs. 24. Mick Foley-Randy Orton (who beat Savage/Warrior 6-5) 13. Steamboat-Savage vs. 20. HHH-Angle-Steph (who beat DX/Hart Foundation 7-4) 4. Bret-Michaels vs. 29. Bulldogs-Hart Foundation (who beat DX/Corporation 6-5) 12. Harts-Austin vs. 21. HBK-Deisel (who beat Taker vs. Warrior 8-3) 5. Hogan-Andre vs. 37. HBK-Jericho (who beat DX/Nation 8-3) 6. Austin-Rock vs. 27. Hardy's-Dudley's-E&C (who beat Warrior/Rude 10-1) 11. HHH-Foley vs. 43. Austin-Taker (who beat Angle/Benoit 6-5) 3. Austin-McMahon vs. 30. Bret-Lawler (who beat Austin/Angle 7-4) 14. Orndroff-Hogan vs. 19. Flair-Perfect (who beat Backlund/Bret 7-4) 7. Hogan-Savage vs. 26. Austin-Hart (who beat Virgil/DiBiase 10-1) 10. HHH-Rock vs. 23. Jannetty-Michaels (who swept Warrior vs. Andre 11-0) 15. Piper-Hogan vs. 47. Hogan-Rock (who beat Crush-Savage 6-5) 2. Bret-Owen vs. 34. Taker-Kane (who beat Rockers vs. Brainbusters 8-3 I hate my last pick, but Taker-Kane was epic the first time.

No one cares that it didn't have anything to do with the comics. It was the weakest script wise, the characters not named wolverine were just kinda there. It was a cool action movie, but the first two were good movies. Easily the worse of the three. It wasn't horrible, but no way it was better than the first two. It's totally untrue to say that people didn't care that it wasn't like the comics, that was one of the biggest complaints it got. Whah, whah in the comics the Dark Phoniex was different. A lot happens in this movie and thats why I like it. The cure storyline goes into some interesting social commentary, as well as some interesting plotlines i.e. who leads the X-Men after Professor X dies, Logan still loves Jean Grey and overall the movie is climatic and ties up the loose ends. Its just awesome. In fact it may be my favorite super hero movie. I don't understand the love for X2. It's boring and nothing happens.

X-Men: The Last Stand. People hate this, largely because it's not like the comics. But the action is awesome and unrelenting, the story is there and quite good and the movie never strays into cheesiness (something Spiderman 3 is guilty of) and the 90 minutes flies by. Easily the best of the X-Men movies. Easily.

Mormon and a Scientologist? In other better news, according to Political Insider Chuck Hagel and Mike Bloomberg had a two hour plus dinner meeting. Bloomberg/Hagel Unity '08. Liberal and a conservative. (I know Bloomberg is a Republican but thats in name only) Sounds good to me. EDIT: This is purely speculation but could Romney be trying to draw money from wealthy Scientologists? Everything he does is very calculated so it really wouldn't be that far out there, and perhaps is using this as what could become a religous tolerance theme for his campaign that could help to distract from the Mormon issue without seperating himself from his church.

I need a laptop for school. I know very, very little about computers. Money not being a huge issue, I'm looking for something that can do all the basic school related functions (word, spreadsheet, powerpoint, etc.)have wireless internet, the capacity to play Rollercoaster Tycoon, and have a CD burner. I want a PC, but am unsure of what brand to go with. As far as OS, I'm wary of Vista, should I be?

8) Christian vs. Chris Jericho, WM XX (56 points) Lowest vote: 8th (four) Highest vote: 1st Christian vs. Jericho had the most last place votes with four. 7) Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz, WM X-7 (56 points) Lowest vote: 7th (three) Highest vote: 4th (three) Although they tied in points, the TLC match gets 7th place because it didn't receive a single last place vote, whereas Christian vs. Jericho got four of them. I think the one that got the only 1st place vote between the two should be 1st. Maybe thats because I love that match, but still. Without bias, i'd have Bret/Austin #1 but I has to give Christian vs. Chris Jericho some love.

This is my all-time favorite film. Really it has it all. Satire, epic action, 90210-esque subplots, Neil Patrick Harris, Casper Van Dien. More more could you possibly want? Part 3 is in the works and I have very high hopes for it. The writer of the first one plus a returning Van Dien = potential awesomeness. Cabin Fever LOVE this movie. Saw it 3 times in theatres. As a running joke with some film-geek snob friends of mine I refer to it as "Mankind's greatest achievement." Jason X Exorcist 3 About a Boy Just Friends Can't Hardly Wait 10 Things I Hate About You Most 90s Teen Comedies

As someone not 100% behind any canidate, tonight was great. Joe Biden surprised me and was the clear winner of the debate. Mike Gravel had the biggest balls of any of them and I just donated to his campaign in support of that fact. Obama was pretty good, seemed a little uncomfortable but got better as it went. With one under his belt, he'll be a force to be reckoned with at these debates. Clinton seemed awfully scripted. Richardson I like but he underwhelmed me tonight. Dodd and Edwards just kind of seemed there.