Just in case my first emotional plea didn't work....

...I dare you to watch this and then not participate in our democracy.



Hey, now go out there and be a real American.

To All My Super Tuesday Brethren,

Get out there and vote.

Now I won't tell you who to vote for, but I know with utmost certainty who I am. I volunteered to serve my country 15 years ago because I unquestionably believed that the United States was a force for good in this world. I believed that this country looked out for the hopeless and downtrodden in its borders and around the world. I without hesitation and doubt pledged to, if necessary, give my life for that belief.

I want to feel that way again....I don't want to think that those ideas were pipe dream of an idealistic 21 year old...

Recently, I, for the first time in my life, donated money to a presidential campaign. I believe we, as a nation, can be better.

...and I believe that it is time to not have somebody named "Clinton" or "Bush" in the White House. One or the other have been in the top 2 of our government since 1980. Why do we wonder why things in Washington never seem to change? Change will not come from electing the same two families into power again, and again , and again......



...but in the end, regardless of the candidate, get out there and make your voice heard.

Lazy Chicago Winter Saturday afternoons

Oskee/Tikitten has the right idea.

In contrast, I am more than ready for the arrival of Spring.

Chicago in January

When it is three degrees outside, there is nothing on TV and I've had a shit week like this past one, this is how my weekend ends up....


Now what do I do on Saturday night? Hmmmmmm......

I truly am livin' the High Life.

Just in case you've never met....

...I want to introduce you to a band called The Weakerthans.

The Weakerthans....meet the three people who read my blog.

Their music is such good stuff.





My favorite song of theirs is probably "Plea From A Cat Named Virtue", but all the videos of that song on YouTube were off of someone's cell phone at a live show. They were giving me "Blair Witch" levels of motion sickness.

So give 'em a little listen. Maybe you like.

So I went to California...

...and I saw a bunch of LA...


...and I ate some good food...

...and I watched a parade....

...and there was a football game...


..and how 'bout we just leave it at that, huh?

Finis.

Why?!

..because it's my blog dammit and I love this farging song!!!!

Oh, and I've had several High Lifes.....that too.

Somebody save Boston fans from themselves

See! This is what happens when you win too often.

Jacksonville, San Diego, Indy, anyone? Somebody beat the Pats to save their own asshat fans from themselves.

Full story here.

My favorite part of the article has to be...

Thompson isn't shy about the fact that he got the idea to turn his head into a helmet while serving time in prison where he watched all of their games in past seasons.

Wicked smart indeed.

Carl's Bowl Pics

.....not looking too good for the Buckeyes.

I think I blacked out from laughter for awhile during that prediction.

This Is My Favorite New Ornament

It really gets you in the Christmas spirit, doesn't it?

My Early Xmas Present from Me to You

This is an excellent video for a simply excellent song. Enjoy.

Things That Never Fail To Make Brad Smile: Volume #5

I loved this commercial so much as a kid that I almost became a Mormon.....okay that didn't reallyhappen but I loved it none the less.

Whatever J Leman is selling....

I'm buying two.

Go Illini!!

Congrats to the Red Sox "Nation"

As a tortured Cubs fan I rooted for them back in 2004. Yeah I found the whole "We haven't won it all in 86 years...we're cursed!" thing to be kind of sad considering A) at the time there were not one but TWO teams that had gone longer than the Red Sox without winning it all and B) all I had to do to shut Red Sox fans up when they started whining about it was ask "Oh by the way, who exactly did the Red Sox beat in 1918 to win their last World Series?" Yeah, you guessed it. They were so very cursed.

Now after a two year drought, they've gone and done it again. Congrats. The Red Sox are now the new Yankees, including players that are oh so easy to hate (see above).

Unfortunately, the main difference I see is that Yankees fans know they are hated and they actually embrace it. Red Sox fans for some reason still think they are America's sweethearts which results in them so much more irritating. By the way, to the delusional lady in the video, you are so not the GOOD empire and if I hear you all referred to as the Red Sox Nation one more time,I'm going to plotz. Oh and to Shaggy, there are many, many people who are not Yankees fans who hate you all, and with every trophy and Sports Guy column it gets just a little bit easier.

Things That Never Fail To Make Brad Smile: Special Halloween Edition

You're looking at a happy man.

So Friday night I was at a saloon in Wrigleyville watching the Cubs win and the Brewers lose. After many high fives (and a dude who accidentally punched me in the gut), I went out to the intersection of Addison and Clark to join in the celebration and got this beautiful picture.

Then I got out of bed after not many hours of sleep and drove down to Champaign-Urbana to go to the Illini game. The Illini ended up beating #21 Penn State for their first win over a ranked team since 2001. The football team saw that the students were being blocked from rushing the field....so the team rushed the stands.

It was like watching a university breathe a sigh of relief after five years of frustration. It was quite awesome.


This was easily one of my best sports weekends ever.

Things That Never Fail to Make Brad Smile: Volume #4

I love all things Simpsons. Of all 18 seasons, this is probably one minute and ninteen seconds of some of my favorite stuff...and I really have no idea why. It just know it makes me happy.

I gotta believe!!

Well, my sports world is in a tizzy. The Illini are 3-1 and actually won a Big 10 game on the road. Sure it was Indiana, but after the past few years even beating a basketball school is reason to celebrate. Now this Saturday we play Penn State down in Champaign. I'm heading down to witness all the fun. We'll see how that goes.

Second of all, the Cubs magic number is four. Yes...four. All of Chicago (well at least all of Chicago that roots for the Cubs) can taste the playoffs. They are so tantalizingly close. Trust me though, I won't celebrate until the Cubs pop champagne in the clubhouse.

Now my 30-odds years of sports fandom has taught me to be wary...to be cautious...not to put my emotions on the line. Instead I've decided to throw all caution to the wind and just enjoy it. I haven't had a fall like this where I can enjoy both college football and baseball this late in the year...well.. ever. I may be eventually emotionally devastated in some cruel and inhumane way by one or both of these teams, but until then, I'm just going to enjoy the ride. I'm going to lash myself to mast and dare the gods of sport to do their darndest. *Gulp*.

...and let's just not talk about he Bears. All that would do is kill my buzz.

Happy First Birthday, Oskee!

No longer a kitten, now a full fledged cat.

Normally I'd post a really good picture of him, but since all his pictures are on the hard drive of the computer he just drowned, I only have this from my camera phone. I guess it will have to do.

This has me sooo pumped for a new seaon of 30 Rock

I'd say Tracy Morgan is a funny actor, but after seeing this interview, I'm not so sure any acting is involved on his part.

Hi-larious.