The Man in Blak

The same thing could happen at any weapons dealer, and I think they should throw the book at anyone who does that. Buying a gun and then giving it or selling to someone who legally cannot own one is far beyond any definition of responsibility. Since I've never bought a gun, I guess I should ask the question - what procedural differences are there, if any, for buying a gun at a show vs. buying from a licensed weapons dealer? The impression that I get is that it's easier to get a gun at a show, either due to a more lax procedure or more lax enforcement and tracking overall (due to the sheer number of customers), but I'm not sure how much of that perception is actually driven by fact, rather than fear. Oh, no worries there - just playing a little bit of devil's advocate on the issue.

Rednex - Sex & Violins

I would agree that the statistic is probably low, but it's unlikely that the number would do much to dissuade folks who are looking for more gun control anyway. How many felony arrests have occurred without ever finding the weapon? How many crimes aided or enabled by illegal gun purchase have gone undetected? I think the implicit fear with gun shows is that they are prone to "straw purchasing", where somebody with legal standing makes a surrogate purchase of a gun for a potential felon. Straw purchasing is considered a felony, but that's a deterrent that's incurred after the fact - the felonious act has still taken place, as an indirect result of that surrogate purchase.

Elite Snobs/Boardum/Pit bracket: #1 Incandenza vs. #14 Black Lushus TSM Vets/Shit Folders bracket: #8 bob_barron vs. #3 Czech Sports Folder bracket: #1 alkeiper vs. #7 Vitamin X The Awesomely Mediocre and/or Unknown bracket: #9 DrVenkman vs. #3 CanadianChris

Given that Buckley himself never released a followup to Grace, it doesn't really seem right to namecheck him here; he only put a year or so into My Sweetheart The Drunk, if I remember correctly, as he burned a lot of time relentlessly touring to support Grace after it was released. That being said, I do agree with you regarding the quality of My Sweetheart The Drunk, assuming that it would eventually get pared down from a double album into an LP. (Not exactly a tall order, of course, since many of the tracks repeat.)

Not all Wii games, but I'd wager that there aren't many reviewers out there that are capable of doing a credible review of a sports simulation for the console, especially if the game leans on many of the actual nuances of the sport itself (i.e. golf or tennis).

That's the neurosis talking. Kind of like Don Quixote with the windmills, except with over-the-top banality.

Thanks to everybody who voted for me. Elite Snobs/Boardum/Pit bracket: #1 Incandenza vs. #12 chave #14 Black Lushus vs. #2 Agent of Oblivion TSM Vets/Shit Folders bracket: #8 bob_barron vs. #5 CWM #3 Czech vs. #15 Special K Sports Folder bracket: #1 alkeiper vs. #4 Ripper #3 Kingofthe909 vs. #7 Vitamin X The Awesomely Mediocre and/or Unknown bracket: #9 DrVenkman vs. #12 AndrewTS #3 CanadianChris vs. #2 gary floyd

I'm late by a couple of posts, but just wanted to point out that trying to link sales figures to overall game quality, even within an established series like MGS, is kind of silly. Would you really consider Final Fantasy VIII to be the third best game in the series?

Matt Clement p 3 years/$25.5M (2005-07) 05:$6.5M, 06:$9.5M, 07:$9.5M Jason Varitek c 4 years/$40M (2005-08) 05-08:$9M/year Edgar Renteria ss 4 years/$40M (2005-08), plus $11M 2009 club option 05:$7M, 06:$8M, 07:$9M, 08:$9M, 09:$11M club option ($3M buyout) And Drew and Julio Lugo could be right around the corner.

I heard yesterday from a couple different media outlets that the team would actually cut him if he didn't show signs of improvement in the spring. That seems rather harsh. The reputation that's beginning to surround Prior says that he just doesn't have the mental toughness or motivation to be a big league pitcher. I wouldn't be surprised if the team leaked that to the media to try to give him a bit of a wake up call.

You know, I can't help but crack a smile at this fantastic notion that the Cardinals have some kind of otherworldly luck with players, when you consider that they had a 20 game winner die in the middle of the season a couple years ago, as well as a can't-miss pitching prospect (with one of the best curveballs in recent memory) develop Steve Blass disease and try to resurrect his career as a mediocre-at-best outfield prospect. For every Abraham Nunez and Tony Womack, there's a Jeff Fassero, an Esteban Yan, a Sidney Ponson, etc.

It's those sociopathic tendencies that make you all the more endearing.

Yeah, listened through most of this on the commute this morning and I'm thoroughly underwhelmed so far. I agree that there's a lot less going on in Neon Bible in regards to texture, which is unfortunate, considering that the lackluster songs could really use some dressing up. Though I haven't heard the new Killers album, I would deduce that the reason that Neon Bible sounds similar because they're both completely aping Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen was certainly an influence on Funeral (which I do genuinely like), but his music wasn't such an overbearing presence on that album like it is on Neon Bible. I'm going to give it a couple of playthroughs, just in case there's just something there that isn't clicking with me yet, but I'd consider this one of the more disappointing albums of the year right now, as of this moment.

Well, Droughns is due to collect a $1.75 million roster bonus later this month and he didn't exactly set the world on fire as a "feature back" for the Browns. (Football Outsiders rated him as the worst everyday running back in the league this season.) With Jamal Lewis on board, I doubt that Cleveland will have any objections if the Packers poach him off of their roster. In regards to the draft, the fact that they inked Lewis for a one year deal seems to leave the door open for picking Peterson, with the idea of a RB platoon/transition through next year. Even though the team desperately needs somebody - anybody - other than Charlie Frye at quarterback, I can understand why they would be reluctant to draft a QB in the first round, given how well Tim Couch worked out for them.

Three extra inning games, one-run affairs in every game in the series? That would have been ridiculously entertaining for any two playoff teams, let alone the 2004 Astros and one of the greatest teams of all time. Great series. With the inclusion of Beltran, those Astros are one of the more underrated teams of the last few years. Consider that, in addition to the Hall of Famers listed up there, they also had tremendous contributions from Lance Berkman, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Kent, Roy Ozwalt, and an absurd bullpen with Dotel, Qualls, Wheeler, and Brad Lidge at (arguably) his nastiest. I'd say that they've got a sound chance to win just about any series they come up against in this tournament.

Elite Snobs/Boardum/Pit bracket: #1 Incandenza vs. #9 Ravenbomb #12 Chave vs. #4 Banky #14 Black Lushus vs. #6 Kotz #10 kkktookmybabyaway vs. #2 AgentOfOblivion TSM Vets/Shit Folders bracket: #1 Slayer vs. #8 bob_barron #5 CWM vs. #4 Leena #3 Czech vs. #11 Smues #7 FrigidSoul vs. #15 Special K Sports Folder bracket: #1 alkeiper vs. #8 CanadianGuitarist #12 The Max vs. #4 Ripper #3 Kingofthe909 vs. #11 TheManInBlak #7 Vitamin X vs. #2 LordOfTheCurry The Awesomely Mediocre and/or Unknown bracket: #16 Muggy Bogues vs. #9 DrVenkman #12 AndrewTS vs. #4 redbaron51 #3 CanadianChris vs. #6 Hawk52 #7 HuntersTornQuad vs. #2 gary floyd

I can buy that San Andreas was a departure from the previous games in the GTA series, but what exactly did Vice City add to the GTA gameplay canon, outside of motorcycles and the ability to acquire property throughout the city (both of which are neat, but not exactly substantial improvements)?

Cardinals lose Josh Kinney for the entire season, due to a torn ligament in his throwing elbow. Though there are plenty of spare arms at camp to fill his spot in middle relief - St. Louis, in fact, may break camp with three left-handers in the bullpen, with Johnson, Flores, and Rincon - Kinney showed some promise down the stretch last year and was actually considered the insurance policy for Isringhausen, who still isn't the picture of perfect health.

That's the IntelliTXT advertising that I commented about in the suggestion box thread. I don't know if it's spyware or not, but you're definitely not the only one getting it.

Well, word of mouth only goes so far.

I haven't checked out Neon Bible yet, but the fact that a lot of people are considering a song from their self-titled EP to be the album's best track doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

I've joined onto the NL Only league as the Eek! Destructo-Frogs. I'd jump onto the AL Only league if there was room, but I can't make the draft time at 6:30 pm CDT.

Listening through The Night Watch at the moment and, while it's definitely a good live document, I think I still prefer USA overall. I like Starless and Bible Black as much as anybody and this album obviously leans heavily on that material, but the quality of the recordings are comparable with USA and I'd rather hear "Starless" and "Asbury Park" than the lesser SaBB tunes, personally. The cuts of "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "Larks Tongue in Aspic, Part II" from USA are blistering offerings, in particular.