Pledging Allegiance

Its time for me to chose sides: I need to pick an MLS team to root for. I've wasted enough time. This task has proven to be easier said than done though. There are only 13 teams, but each presents their own challenges. I'll walk you through my thinking.

First off, lets just dismiss the Eastern Division out of hand. I have no connection to any of these places and I would never see a match in person or on TV. Beyond that, seriously, The Columbus Crew? Toronto FC? I'll pass. New York's team is actually named after an energy drink. Talk about selling out. That leaves six teams, but two are in Texas and that presents the same issues the Eastern Division teams do, so put those in the no column as well.

We're down to four: Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA, Real Salt Lake, and Colorado Rapids.

Los Angeles Galaxy - The Galaxy are the most obvious choice and they've always been in the back of my head as the team I would be for if I decided to go in whole hog, but there's a problem now: David Beckham and his ghastly plastic wife.

They are the home team & one of the founding members of MLS. They are two-time MLS champions & two-time US Open Cup champions. They probably have the coolest uniforms in MLS too, which as girly as that sounds is something one needs to consider. You don't want to root for a team if you'd be embarassed to wear their gear. How many fans did the Buccaneers lose when they had tangerine uniforms?

In spite of that, I would feel like a douchebag if I declared myself a Galaxy fan now. People would assume I'm doing it because of the overhyped, overpaid, and oversexed David Beckham. They would probably assume I was gay too.

All of that could be overcome though if not for his trendy prozac popping wife. Beckham is a good player and god bless him if he can help vault the MLS over crappy sports like senior women's lacrosse and the NHL. Unfortunately, David and Victoria come as a package. He is that friend of yours that drifted off into oblivion after marriage because he couldn't be peeled away from his shrill harpee of a wife and her enormous $700 sunglasses.

Chivas USA - The other LA team...the Clippers of MLS if you will. Chivas is actually better than the Galaxy this year, but they're the new kids on the block here in LA. Yes, we have two football teams, but no football team.

Chivas is an odd case. They were founded by the owner of the Mexican team Chivas that hails from Guadalajara and are designed to appeal to Los Angeles' large Latino population. The club's official language is Spanish and they have no English radio broadcast. In spite of this, they have a Jewish midfielder.

Aside from the fact that I do not want to root for the Clippers of any sport, I'm not Latin. Not even close. Nothing against Latinos, but if this team is going to be primarily covered in Spanish, I'll be lost. Also, their uniforms make me want to order a corn dog.

Real Salt Lake - I wouldn't have much connection to Real Salt Lake other than my inexplicable die hard devotion to the Utah Jazz, but its worth considering. I love Utah and likely would have moved there years ago had it not been a theocracy run by the Ayatollah Gordon B. Hinckley. Alas, it is, and I'm in California.

Real Salt Lake have the noteworthy status of being the worst team in MLS. Since I don't root for a perennial underdog, this would be a new twist on things for me. The name is supposed to invoke Real Madrid, an international powerhouse, and the locals in SLC didn't seem to get that. They were in an uproar over it. Real Salt Lake also laid claim to Freddy Adu, albeit briefly.

Colorado Rapids - First off, let me say these guys get points for actually having a dot-com and not a shootoff of the MLS page. While the Galaxy are my current home team, I would give the Rapids a 50/50 shot of being my future home team when I flee this place for good.

Like the Galaxy, the Rapids are one of the ten original MLS teams. They've had some success, making both an MLS and US Open final, losing each time. They're pretty much middle of the pack and nondescript at this point. I see these as strong points as they would solve the problem of any bandwagoning accusations I might encounter with the Galaxy.

So there are the choices. I have to say, Chivas and Real Salt Lake aren't really in the running here. Chivas just isn't a good fit and poor Real Salt Lake doesn't have enough going for them. That leaves a deathmatch between Colorado and the Galaxy. When I started writing this, I had almost resigned myself to an existence as a LA Galaxy fan, but the Rapids make a damn strong case.

I will see how things play out. Colorado and the Galaxy have a match on the 8th of September that would probably be a good one to go to. It would be a great way to see which one feels like my team.

Note: The Galaxy looked absolutely dreadful in last night's Super Clasico against Chivas USA. They lost 3-0 and all three goals were embarassing.

Cubs vs. Cardinals, 8/20/07

The forecast was calling for rain. I was hoping that this rain entailed men (hallelujah), but alas, it was of the liquid variety. It was overcast from the get go, which was fine with me so long as we got ourselves an official game in.

The wife and I start out with breakfast at the nearby, flavor of the month, Southport Grocery. We decided on this place simply because we had a gift certificate and it is only a few blocks from Wrigley. We had eaten here once prior, with the result being decidedly mediocre (I felt like starting a 'overrated' chant in the middle of the restaurant), but since this time would essentially be free, we were willing to give it another shot. As our fearless leader once said, "Fool me once...(awkward pause)...shame on...shame on you. (Pause) If you fool me, you can't get fooled again."

Point being, this place wasn't good the second time either. Case in point, the only side dish offered with the meals is mashed potatoes. That's fine. I love mashed potatoes. But, we see our waiter tell the table next to us right before he brings their meal out that they are out of mashed potatoes (or as they're labeled on the menu, 'potato mash') and would they like to substitute? He then tells us that same thing right before our meal comes out and later we hear him tell another table right the same thing? Uh, why didn't you just tell us that when you took our order since you've obviously been out for a while now? And the replacement choices? Mixed greens or fruit. I ask him without sarcasm, "Don't you have anything a bit more unhealthy?" He thinks I'm kidding. I'm not. How do you run out of potatoes? There is a Jewel-Osco right across the street. Go buy some bags of Idaho's finest. How hard is that?

Furthermore (wagging my finger violently), this place is known for their cupcakes. It has been written about in many a trendy magazine how good these damn things are. And since I just ate a plate of friggin mixed greens I feel I owe it to myself to indulge in a cupcake. But guess what? They're all out. At 1PM on a Saturday. Unacceptable.

So we pick up our tickets and take our seats a few minutes before game time. It is still raining though, so a few minutes turns into an hour. No worries, as the beer man is always nearby. We are on the first base side, section 205, Row 3. That's 3 rows under the cover of the overhang. No rain for us. This weekend also coincides with the annual Air and Water Show, so there are numerous flyovers before the game starts to keep us entertained. Loud but cool. I'm hoping that it is in fact the air show and it's not Chicago under siege.

Finally, an hour later, at 3:55 the game finally starts. Not before Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillion) throws out the first pitch to the Entourage Theme song (courtesy of Jane's Addiction). Drama gets the ball over the plate. Way to make Vince proud. I call out to Thunder Matt in left field. He either doesn't hear me or chooses to ignore me. I think Thunder Matt is ashamed of us. He is turning his back on his roots.

It is raining steadily throughout, though not enough to dampen (stupid pun!) the Cubs bats. Or shall I say, the bat of a one Daryle Ward, whose grand slam in the bottom of the third had the ballpark in a violent frenzy. I tried to rip my seat out of the concrete and throw it onto the field to show my enthusiasm, but unfortunately I'm just not that strong. About 2 beers in I start getting text messages from the Saloon's own man of mystery, Brant Brown. This is a foolproof sign that Brant has been drinking heavily, as he has only sent me text messages twice before, both under the influence of adult beverages. The man is generally about as anti-technology as Ted Kaczynski. He keeps asking the score and ending everything with 'Go Cubs!', but his spelling is at times highly questionable. Never the less he is a true fan of the highest order whose thirst for Cubs knowledge is forever unquenched. Bravo Brant Brown. Bravo.

Digger Phelps sings the seventh inning stretch and in a ballsy move henceforth unseen, he actually stays on the mike after the song is over and gamely starts a 'Lets go Cubbies!' chant. He yells this a good 4 times. He overshot his alloted song time by at least 20 seconds. The crowd, sensing that this guy won't stop unless we humor him, finally plays along, only to stop the chant once Digger and his ego finally let go of the mike.

The Cardinals make things interesting with a couple of late runs and a Poopholes homer, but right as things are getting interesting the Lord starts pissing everywhere and in the bottom of the eighth we are delayed once more. Screw this noise, lets finish this baby off at a bar. We decide that it is in our best interests to head to the Gingerman Tavern. While we walk there, in the pouring rain, we walk by the bar Casey Moran's. Keep in mind, it is raining hard. There is a line about 30 deep out the door to get in, the majority of the people who don't even have umbrellas. This angers me. Why would you wait in line and get soaked to get into that stupid bar when there are 50 other bars just like it right there? What, does that bar play more Nelly? Apparently, if you open a bar in Wrigleyville you should make it four syllables and name it after someone Irish and you've got yourselves a cash cow. Casey Moran's. John Barleycorn. Ick.

Gingerman Tavern. In a previous review, I gave it an 11 out of 12 rating. I'd like to bump that up to a perfect 12. We saddled up to bar and didn't move for a good two hours, with the wife drinking PBR on tap and me Old Style bottles. The jukebox was brilliant. It was crowded, but not too crowded. Perfect. Dark outside, dark inside. The bartender (tattooed rocker chick, natch) was aloof yet attentive. The crowd was diverse and random. Trixies, hillbillies, old drunks, young drunks, MILFs, tourists, punks, artists, rich, poor, gay, straight, and everything in between. If Chip's 'beer post' could manifest itself as a bar, this would be it. Oh yeah, and as a footnote, the Cubs finish off the last inning and a half with victory. 5-1. All is well with the world.

Around 9:30 we realize that we haven't ate anything since some ballpark nachos five hours earlier, so we head to Salt and Pepper Diner, more by default than anything, as by this point, everything in the area has turned into full fledged bar scene. Salt and Pepper continued it's downhill slide in my book, as my Philly Cheese Steak and tater tots weren't that great, even by drunk food standards. They do have $7 pitchers of beer, which is worth noting since that is the cost of 2 Old Styles at all of the other places around there.

We hail a cab and head home, our bellies full of tater tots and cheap beer and dreams of a better tomorrow. Go Cubs Go.

Thunder Matt loves Jesus, but apparently not my chants.

Hopefully a talent agent was in the crowd when Drama threw that strike. Maybe he can land a gig on one of those ESPN mini-series.

I thought The Police played Wrigley last month?

I think it's time for a long overdue Daryle Ward Slip N Slide exhibition.

Gingerman, you son of bitch, I salute you.

This was on the women's bathroom in the Gingerman and Katy decided to document it with a photograph. I don't have solid proof, but my hunch is that it was written by Tommy Buzanis. And yes, I say that knowing that this was in the women's bathroom, not the men's.

The Gist: 'Bout Time

After coming out the victor only one time in their last eight extra inning opportunities, The Cubs pulled this one out. Blunders by both second baseman came at critical times, but it hurt The Giants the most. Mike Fontenot's inability to get to what would have (most likely) been an inning ending double play didn't come back to haunt The Cubs. Luckily Marmol was able to overcome it and force extra innings. In the 10th, Giant second baseman, Rich Aurilia, booted a ball hit by Jason Kendall, allowing pinch runner, Felix Pie, to score the go ahead run. Newly recalled Hank White put down an excellent bunt on a suicide squeeze to score Fontenot. Cubs win, Cubs win. 4-2 in ten innings.

Much like last night, it was a pitcher's duel up until the end. Barry Zito went 8 innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Equally impressive, Rich Hill allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings, striking out ten. Dempster came on to work an efficient 10th for his 20th save of the year. Not a whole lot of action unless you like lefties throwing 68mph curves, but it was a big win nonetheless. We've now got this series won with the chance to sweep tomorrow. Tomorrow's game (2:30pm CST) has Chaz Z (14-9, 3.86) against Matt Cain (5-13, 3.78). Back-handed high fives all around!

Ravens Lose 30-3

Oh wait, that was the Orioles that lost 30-3.

Texas is the first team in 110 years to score 30 runs. Well played Texas. I was happy to see you went Spurrier style and ran up the score by only benching one starter.

30 runs for Texas, Garrett Anderson drives in 10 RBI Tuesday, and hell, even LA scored 15 Wednesday in Philadelphia. Someone make sure they haven't switched to superballs.

You Make the Call

Tim Lincecum.................. or .................... Tim Lincecum



Wow, that head shot doesn't even do it justice. Lincecum's face gave me banjo-fueled nightmares last night.

The Gist

These are the types of games that "build character". The Cubs made Tim Lincecum* look like a barnstroming Satchel Paige for eight extremely quick innings only to come alive in the ninth for a victory that had me pumping my fist in the air and chasing the cat around the hardwood floor in my socks.

Cliff Floyd, freshly reinstated from the bereavement list after the death of his father, and playing the role of Thunder Matt Murton in left field, delivered the crushing, or rather, chopping blow with a "seeing eye single" that really opened the floodgates.

The 5-1 isn't really a fair representation of how they played the majority of the game. But as that sage Len Kasper noted, 'That's why you play nine innings'. Well said Kasper. That's the kind of baseball cliche that America expects, nay, needs, from it's play-by-play men.

*Kirk Rueter's doppelganger

Has Anyone Seen This Man?

If so, please return to:

Wrigley Field

1060 W. Addison

Chicago, IL 60613

TMS Radio: The Warringah Sessions

TMS Radio, the Sloth of the Saloon, is back. Actually, I don't think it ever went away, but since its banishment from the main site, it hasn't really been mentioned.

In preparation for my new life as an Australian music star (I'm going to play pop songs on the didgeridoo), I've put together The Warringah Sessions - a nice cross sample of music from that great nation. Here's what you're in for:

AC/DC - Thunderstruck - To get you pumped for the next nine tracks, this was the logical starting point. There were plenty of good AC/DC songs to pick from, but none have the energy of Thunderstruck.

Midnight Oil - Bullroarer - Assuming you're American, Beds are Burning is probably the only Midnight Oil song you can name. Bullroarer is their best though. Your useless fact of the day: Midnight Oil lead singer Peter Garrett is now a member of Australia's Parliament and Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment & Heritage, Arts.

JET - Look What You've Done - JET isn't very good. They've made a career ripping other bands off and yelling a lot. They stop yelling here and actually put out a decent track.

Keith Urban - Somebody Like You - My love/hate relationship with Mr. Nicole Kidman has been documented here before, so I won't bore you with it again. Here's another example of one of his catchy tunes that I hate myself for liking.

Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out of My Head - There has never been a more appropriately named song. Kylie, her shapely backside, and this god damned song will rattle around in your head for days after you hear it.

INXS - Elegantly Wasted - If you strangle yourself while masturbating when you're listening to this, don't blame me.

Wolfmother - Woman - Finally, someone has the good sense to grow an afro and play Sabbathesque rock again. We were long overdue. This is one of the tracks on MLB 2K7 and in spite of hearing it constantly when I play that, I still enjoy it.

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn - Hi, welcome to my adolescent fantasies. To this day, I'm convinced Natalie and her video for this song are why I like short hair on girls.

Olivia Newton John - Please Mister Please - Australians doing country is nothing new. Olivia put this out in 1975. This is easily as twangy as anything you'd find coming out of Kentucky or Texas.

Silverchair - After All These Years - Everyone's favorite former grunge act with a hairy chested, anorexic lead singer is the perfect way to take us out. Don't take that the wrong way, I love these guys. As Chaim documented in his Lollapalooza post, they rock. They slow things down here though in one of my favorite songs.



Note: Men at Work and Savage Garden were not forgotten. Land Down Under would have been too obvious and as for Savage Garden, I refuse to subject you to a band that took its name from an Anne Rice book.

Underrated: Michael Jackson

How can one of the greatest recording artists of all time be cast aside? How can someone sell more albums than just about any other musical act and still be underrated?

Three words: Touching little boys. No matter how popular or famous you are, touching little boys will kill your career. And maybe Michael Jackson didn't touch little boys. The point is that most of the world thinks that he did, and in the court of public opinion, that's just as bad as actually doing it.

If you can just push the molestation accusations out of your mind...as well as the creepy looks because of all the surgeries, the awful parenting, and the general creepiness (it'll be a big push), you'll see Michael as he was back in the 80's, a decade that he ruled with an iron (gloved) fist.

Go on Amazon.com and take a look at all of Michael Jackson's albums. Now click on any of those albums and chances are you are at least familiar with a few of the tracks, and you most likely know all the words to a song or two. I would bet money that if I picked 20 Michael Jackson songs and started singing the choruses to them, everyone reading this would be able to sing along with me.

Face it people, as much as you may or may not like the King of Pop, he has earned that nickname. People used to compare Michael's fame and popularity with The Beatles and Elvis. Last time I checked, that's some pretty exclusive company. And yet everyone seems to have pushed Michael Jackson from their minds, mostly because of his personal problems.

How rare is it that a musician writes even one of the best songs of all time? It's realistically debatable that Michael Jackson wrote an entire album's worth of the greatest pop songs ever. Add to that the fact that the man invented the Moonwalk and has his own Sega game...

...and yet no one really talks about him much.

Why? Touching little boys.

Now I know that there's a phase every few years where it's "cool" to like Michael Jackson again (Remember when Alien Ant Farm covered 'Smooth Criminal'?), but for the most part, Mr. Jackson is a joke.

Maybe he touched little kids and maybe he didn't. But he's homies with the Home Alone kid, and that scores a few cool points in my book. So go home and pop in your copy of Off The Wall and appreciate that you were alive in a time to properly enjoy a true musical genius.

The Gist: Soggy Bottom Boys

I don't know about you, but I've had about enough of the rain and Rick Ankiel. A guy who a few years ago couldn't throw an accurate ball to save his life manages to gun Theriot at third base in the first inning. By rights, shouldn't that have gone into the upper deck on the third base side? To add insult to injury, Ankiel also added a double and a homer. The rain caused this game to be delayed for an hour and a half, pretty much ruining my chance at watching most of the game over my lunch hour (and a half. shhhhhh!). Ted Lilly was shaky overall, even if he did give up a few big 2-strike hits. It was at least good to see D-Lee keep hitting, going 2 for 3 with a dinger. The Cubs had a chance in the 8th against Isringhausen, with 2 on and 1 out, only to have DeRosa hit the ball on the screws right to Scott Rolen for a double play. The Cubs managed 10 hits, but still lost 6-4.

You know, I'll take 2 out of 3 from St. Louis anytime. Especially considering Pujols homered in every game (and his last 4 against us). Up next, a road trip to SF and Arizona, with The Cubs playing SF tomorrow at 9:15pm CST, Jason Marquis (10-7, 4.25) against Tim Lincecum (7-3, 3.95). The next 6 games are huge. It would be nice to have some positive momentum before going into our last series of the season against The Brew Crew.

Things I Would Rather Do...

Growing up a Cub fan, there are some things that just happen to you that leave you forever linked with other Cub fans. Right or wrong, Old Style always tastes good. You will always over-value and drink the Kool Aid on any Cub prospect. Excuse making becomes the Top Dogg in your skill set. You want to deny it, but inevitably it becomes a fact that you indeed think of "Next Year". And of course, you have an unexplainable and vicious hate for the St. Louis Cardinals. For the last 3 years, it has been especially difficult for yours truly. Not only do I have to endure seeing idiots walking around with Cardinal gear on, not only do I have to bear seeing them on the WB, but our minor league baseball team changed affiliates, going from the tolerable Twins to the unbearable Cardinals. The only saving grace was being able to taunt Ankiel, although look where that got me. All of that being said, here are 15 things I would rather do than watch the Cardinals:

1. Voluntarily go into work on Sunday
2. Drink warm Miller Lite out of a can
3. Drink Miller Lite anytime
4. Watch a Ben Affleck movie not named "Good Will Hunting"
5. Sit through an entire Justin Timberlake DVD
6. Get into a fight with an Afro Ninja
7. Start a daily WNBA blog
8. Eat bathtub fart bubbles
9. Watch Ozzie Smith's (undeserving) HOF induction speech
10. Rub shampoo in my eyes
11. Free base Liquid Drano
12. Clean Britney Spears' toilet
13. Listen to Colin Cowherd
14. Learn to play Magic The Gathering
15. Discuss my sex life with my parents

As always, feel free to add some of your thoughts. God I hate the rain!!

Bartender Banter: Mail It In Monday

Well after fighting it all weekend, the rain finally won the battle last night as the Cubs/Cards game was postponed. Too bad too since Fat Z was pitching good and you know we would've gotten to Kip Wells eventually.

The Cubs face Joel Pineiro today. This will be his first time pitching in Wrigley and for a good number of Cubs, the first time they ever see him (Ramirez, Lee, Theriot, Murton have never faced Joel before). DeRosa and Ward have seen him a handful of times with minimal luck. Kendall is 6-26 lifetime against him. The only guy that has hit him well fortunately is Jock Jones who's been our hottest hitter of late. Jones is 11-31 against Pineiro with 1 HR and 5 RBI. Hopefully they can get to Pineiro early, as he's been pitching quite well against NL hitters since coming to St. Louis.

Daryle Ward is evidence of what a good player on the bench can be. Are you taking notes Dusty? Lenny Harris or Jose Macias he is certainly not.

I don't have much else this morning so here's a list of some new sites I've added to our links recently. Be sure to check them out.

4 Fans Sake - A noble and refreshing concept thought up by a group of Chicagoans. Can the Cubs be purchased by the fans? That's their hope. You can log in and give a virtual pledge to their cause.

Shawn-o-meter - A great new Cubs forum named after Wrigley legend Shawon Dunston and the famous "makeshift placard" in the bleachers that measured Dunston's current AVG.

The Ted Lilly Fan Club - Move over Mr. Murton, you're no longer the only Cub with a blog dedicated to you. The guys at TLFC have been going strong since May and continue to show their love and support towards Ted Lilly as well as ridiculously long acronyms.

I'm Just Saying - As of right now it appears this blog is down or out of commission or something. I'm hoping it's just temporary as this is an enjoyable blog to read. Marty Gallagher writes some great stuff about the Cubs and brings interesting and thought-provoking discussion to the table, which is something we strive for here but fail miserably.

Enjoy your Monday.

Chaiming In

-Nice offensive outburst by the Cubs yesterday. Hopefully this gets us back on track. Who would have guessed that with Soriano out it would be our pitching, not our hitting that suffered?

-I love the play from the bench guys. Clearly that is a huge strength of this team. Every day somebody new steps up. Mark DeRosa? Jake Fox? Even Jason Kendall is earning his Pittsburgh endorsed paycheck of late. All this has to make Dwight Smith proud. Awww shit, you know!

-Thunder Matt seems to be going to work with a hardhat on lately, turning in blue collar, workmanlike performances every day. Keep punching that time clock Thunder.

-Going to the game on Saturday vs. the Cards. A few weeks ago I thought this would be a laugher. I could sit back, casually sip a few lukewarm Old Styles and make fun of all the guys wearing red polos shirts and sporting ill advised mustaches (Shit, is that Jeff Fisher?). Nope. One helluva dry spell later and this series suddenly takes on new meaning. We could be playing for first place. So could the Cards. Bring it on. Game recap to follow.

-They have been filming the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, around town for the past month.* Word is they are going to blow up the old Brach's Candy building before leaving town. Sure, taste is subjective, but is there any doubt that this movie is going to kick ass?

-Speaking of movies (and I usually do)...if you want to cry this weekend, go to Rush Hour 3. If you want to laugh your ass off, go to Superbad. Even Roger Ebert loved it. Speaking of Roger, his belated review of Casino Royale is spot on. Here is something very cool. You can check out all of the old Siskel and Ebert reviews, plus all of the Ebert & Roeper ones if you're so inclined, here. Great site. I spent a good hour and a half plugging in my favorite movies.

-Seriously, what the hell happened to Cuba Gooding Jr?

-Ya know, I'm pretty indifferent to Van Halen.** But if I were a big fan I would be incensed that after all of the 'they're reuniting!/they're not reuniting!' bullshit, when they finally do get together, Eddie tabs his fat, 16 year old kid to play bass? C'mon. I've never heard the kid play. He may be great. But he's a kid who looks like Louie Anderson. That's just not aesthetically pleasing. I understand that not every 'reunion' is going to be a reunion of the truest sense, but at least hire a man! I don't need any father-son moments on stage. Is that mean of me? Probably. Oh well. A Van Halen reunion would have been cool the first time around, what, ten years ago? But does anyone even care anymore? At least Eddie doesn't look like a homeless women anymore. Well, a homeless women with a nice, butch haircut maybe, but a little better. I'm so superficial.

-Football is on the horizon my friends. Get excited. My allegiances remain with the Bears of course, but the Cardinals have me excited as well. My man love for Kurt Warner is well chronicled and for the first time, I have no ill will towards the guy that supplanted him. Kurt likes him too. Kurt's preseason line: 2-2, 73 YDS, 1TD.

Rants: humidity, Tony LaRussa's Sunglasses, incompetence.

Raves: Silverchair's new album Young Modern, Kissology Volume II, Rock of Love, What is the What.





*Though lately it has been overshadowed by the arrival of Brangelina, which has been front page news for the past week. Angie is filming some movie called Wanted, and the gossip writers are having a field day. The best was one column which was solely dedicated to where the pair might go to eat and places of interest which they might want to visit. It then proceeds to list obvious Chicago landmarks. That's some great investigative journalism right there.

**When anyone asks me 'Roth or Hagar', I reply with a steely glare, 'Cherone'.