Take 2 Nurses to Bed and Call Me in the Morning

Well, I was off all last week, which was nice except for the fact that I got sick on Wednesday with this nasty cold, the effects of which I am still feeling, albeit a little less than before. Honestly I was starting to get bored. There is only so much Halo to play and only so much Vitamin C to take. I missed out on a couple of good nights on the town, but there will always be more nights out.

Jason: Local Media Pundit Once Again...

...or not. I actually got a call from a friend at a certain local station asking to go on the air again (the first time being during the 190 standoff) and talk about the Presidential Debates. They wanted opinions from average Democratics and average Republicans, but I turned them down. First of all, I'm not a Republican anymore. Yeah, I'm not a typical Elmwood left winger, but I thought I would give a real right winger a shot. Secondly, I don't have too many nice things to say about either candidate. I actually read what they say and whether they are full of shit on certain topics. In retrospect I'm glad I made that choice because in light of recent events it seems people can't get a fucking grip when it comes to this stuff.

My New Man Crushes

I have two man crushes: Trent Edwards and Donte Whitner.

Straight up, I'm not ashamed to say it, I love Donte Whitner. How can you love a football player? Fellow football fans know what I'm talking about. Against Oakland, this guy chased down Johnny Lee Higgins, who started showboating while running for a touchdown, and tackled him in the end zone. Yeah, he got a penalty for it, but he also said afterward that nobody is gonna disrespect his team like that, that they show respect to all their opponents and expect nothing less than the same. That's right Donte!

Trent Edwards is going to be the face of the Buffalo Bills for many years to come, and I think we are unbelievably lucky to have that guy on our team. I saw an interview where he put on his helmet and talked about how it felt to wear the helmet, how proud he was to wear the Bills emblem. His play speaks for itself. He got knocked out by all-muscle Adrian Wilson, came back after the bye and was lights out. Amazing! This is, again, a real athlete role model for aspiring Quarterbacks. Trent's gonna bring us to the promised land!

The Bellini

Sigh, I just had to mention the white man's firewater. Anyone familiar with how to make a peach puree? I got the Prosecco part down but I wonder if anyone has experience with this. I'm not trying to serve people a mouthful of pulp. Someone please help me.

What a beautiful day. Welcome to my vacation. I'd love to get coffee but I can't because there is a line out the door. Does nobody have a fucking job here? I guess if you can get the milk for free there's no reason to buy the cow. Good God.

Yep. You've been here at one point or another if you've had a job. I'm not going anywhere really. I'll be home. The minutes tick tick tick by.

It seems like video games are becoming more and more real these days. One of my favorite single player games of all time is Call of Duty 4. It isn't your typical war game. In fact, the message you receive loud and clear is that war is ugly, brutal, and devastating to people long-term, including the people who wage it.

You also get different perspectives. For example, you go through the following scenarios:

1) Dying in a nuclear explosion
2) As a government leader, being executed by Muslim extremists
3) Watching a friend and mentor die before your eyes

All of this in glorious HD resolution! But the game is even more real than I previously thought it to be. There is one mission where you are a gunner in an AC-130 gunship, floating in the air, vaporizing the enemy with giant bullets. The guys you fly with in the mission often make ironic comments or crack jokes about the situation below.

Last night Josh and I were on YouTube looking for videos of Apache Longbows administering justice to the enemy, when - ta da - we found some videos of AC-130 gunships under the cover of darkness just like in Call of Duty! In one video, the first thing a guy says is "If you find me some bad guys, I'll buy you ice cream for dinner!" I almost fell out of my chair laughing once I realized how much it resembled the mission in the game, and how they exaggerated it to sort of point the finger at attitudes like this.

Now, don't get me wrong - stuff like that isn't in every video, or even nearly the majority. I certainly am not one to give a damn if a shithead terrorist gets what's coming to him, either. What I find interesting, and frightening, is the potential for humans to be so callous. I don't think we'll ever learn.

• By the way, anyone on XBOX Live? ***

This article shocked me, so I'm absolutely certain it's going to shock you. Camille Paglia takes some swings and shows her independent streak yet again. The honesty is so refreshing in today's media environment. I don't agree with everything she says, but she is 110% correct about what motivates most people who talk dookie about Sarah Palin. She's dead-on, bullseye accurate about that and about the unacceptable turn towards ideological orthodoxy in certain circles. Look at the comments from the unstable peanut gallery - ouch! Be careful Camille, if you don't regurgitate the Kos line or the lies/innuendo you read in the Times, you might just be out of a job!

Article here - please aim your hate towards her, not me.