Squares

It’s Friday, so you know what that (usually) means kids…
Time for Friday Flash Fun!

This game couldn’t be simpler.  In Squares, you simply move your square around the board collecting other black squares, while avoiding the red ones.
NOTE: after your first game, click the word "music" to turn off the annoying techno-drivel music

Or, try your hand at the new "Sidebar Games" (turn your head to the right).
Beat my high of 35815 on Bejeweled.
Make that 46845.

Borat at the Doctor

With four weeks to go before the Borat Movie (aka Borat Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan), here is the first of a weekly installment of Borat clips.

First up: a deleted scene from the upcoming movie.  If this is the stuff that didn’t make the movie, the film itself will be hilarious.

Et tu, Republicans?

I was prepared to rattle off a huge rant over the "The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006" — a bill that had zero chance of making it on its own, but was just underhandedly snuck in to the Port Security Bill, a rah-rah, U..S…A! piece of legislation that was sure to pass.

Luckily, a poster on rec.gambling.poker practically took the words right out of my mouth:

First off, let me say that this is going to be a long post. Please know that I was a lifelong Republican until a couple of years ago, however, the Republican party of today is not even a shell of the Republican party of even 10 years ago. We are headed more and more toward a fascist state in America where torture is legal…..but internet gaming is not!?! I have seen the light and urge you to do your homework on how your values and beliefs truly match up to your chosen political affiliation.

While I do work in an industry that is fueled by ones right to gamble online…..in the privacy of their own home…….with their own hard earned money…..my opinion would not differ if I was a doctor or a garbage collector.

Late Friday night, in a last ditch effort to appease the extreme right agenda….Senator Bill Frist piggybacked a bill that makes it illegal for a person to "wager" or "bet" online. This bill was attached to the completely unrelated "Port Security Bill". This bill is focused on securing the ports and borders of America…..a real threat to our citizens. Earlier this month, Frist attempted to piggyback this same bill onto the Defense Department authorization bill…..to no avail. He then hand picked the Port Security Bill because it was widely known that this bill would breeze through congress and be signed into law by the President.

While the practice of piggybacking is commonplace in congress, the frequency of its use does not make it any more just. Further, this bill does not accurately portray the voice of the people. A recent poll showed that 71% of Americans support the right to gamble online. Despite this overwhelming majority of opinion, Frist moved forward….sneaking this bill through at the 11th hour….all to pander to his extreme religious right backing. His interests were not with the American people, but with his 2008 presidential agenda.

Whether you gamble or not, you should be outraged. Our government has moved out of Washington and into your living room…..telling you how to spend your recreational dollar and with whom you can spend it. Each year, more and more of our civil liberties are being raped and stripped from our society. Let us not forget the last time we were "protected from our own bad intentions" by the government. It was called Prohibition and it lead to the least support the government has ever had from its citizens…..not to mention spawning black markets for liquor which lead to the formation of modern organized crime in America. Yes, Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and the like came to power, fame, and fortune as a result of "big brother".

While we will likely not see resurgence in organized crime from the ban of online gaming, we will be missing out on BILLIONS of dollars of tax revenue that legalization and regulation of the online gaming industry would bring to the States. One recently published article finds that our government is leaving some $20 billion dollars on the table by banning instead of regulating. $20 billion dollars that could be put toward improving schools, teachers/firefighters/police salaries, roads, cancer research, social security, etc, etc…..think of the potential!

The bottom line is we cannot stand idly by and let the government take over our very existence. This time its online gaming, but your preferred choice of entertainment and relaxation could be next. Where do we draw the line? We draw the line here and now. Please use your power to vote and vote out the disingenuous, disconnected Republican regime. There is strength in numbers we can make a difference. Your vote is your voice .defend your right to choose.

It seems like the Republicans’ belief in capitalist spirit, lean government, and free will are no more. It seems like many of the freedoms we used to enjoy… are becoming no more.

"Gambling is a serious addiction that undermines the family, dashes dreams, and frays the fabric of society." — Bill Frist

But yet big casinos, horse racing, and state-sponsored lotteries (which, by the way my friends, lay claim to more addictions than all other types of gambling combined) are just fine and dandy, eh? Here’s a hint: Stop protecting people from themselves. You just can’t do it. The number of people who enjoy recreational gambling, and even count on it as a secondary or primary source of income outnumber those who would "fray the fabric of society." And besides, we still claim to be a "free country".  You know, pursuit of happiness and all that…

Oh, and to top it all off? Poker is a game of skill.

All hail our out-of-touch, holier-than-thou, misinformed, religious zealot government.  Simply disgusting.

Your Fightin Phils!

… Fightin’ for a good spot on the couch to watch the playoffs …
They’ve just about fulfilled my prophecy to finish 1 1/2 games out of the Wild Card.

At least they only lost in front of 1500 fans.  Wait a minute… 1500?!  I think I saw more people in the stands at some of my hockey games in the Woodhaven Sports Centre outside the Franklin Mills Mall!!

Does baseball still qualify as a professional sport?!

Free Cartoons

Bring your ice cream home and watch one (or more) of these free cartoons!  From Batman to X-Men, Spongebob to South Park, classics like Alice in Wonderland and Betty Boop… even full length movies (in parts) like Madagascar!

What a list!

Free Ice Cream

Could there possibly be three "sweeter" words in this language of ours?

Well, tonight, it’s true.  Coldstone Creamery is giving away free ice cream from 5pm – 8pm.  A donation to the Make A Wish foundation is requested.


Must See TV


"Must See TV" is back.

If you missed the season premieres of My Name Is Earl and The Office last night, I pity you.  The Office, particularly, was a truly LOL experience… almost a TCOME one!  So many moments!  The calculator in the jelly jello reference, Kevin snickering at anything "gay", Creed’s "maybe a man slipped in there somewhere" moment!  Earl deserves the Emmy for its clever writing, but Office delivers the belly laughs.

If you didn’t see them: luckily for you there’s… an entire new season of shows, and these will repeated… or you can find them on iTunes. (but who the hell pays for TV?)  Check out the Life in the Office blog (thanks Cora!) for a recap and hilarious screengrabs.