Kelly Clarkson - Best Singer in America

This girl rocks, and I don't care what any of you say. While I am still too cheap to buy her CD, I have downloaded pretty much all of her songs. Her "Breakaway" album released last year will probably go down in history next to Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds as one of the best albums of all time. Funny thing is, I'm not being sarcastic at all. My current ringtone is "Behind these Hazel Eyes." Every time I hear this song my eyes tear up. Clarkson belts out her beautiful lyrics with a passion that makes Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera sound like William Shatner. So Kelly, this is an open invitation -- will you marry me? Because I'm in love with you and your music.

We're Gonna Drive Ol' High School Off the Sod....

The scrimmage with Savannah High, which Pat alluded to, is set for Friday, August 5, 7:30 at Daffin Park. It's good to see both schools making an effort to renew this storied rivalry. BC leads the 107-game series with a record of 52-47-8. Sadly, I will not be able to attend since I will be on a retreat for my intramurals job at GSU.

Apparently, the new principal at the High has been cleaning house this summer. This has rubbed some people the wrong way, but I think it's about time these coaches are held responsible for their team's performance. If Savannah High missed the playoffs in basketball, you better believe Tim Jordan would be on the hot seat. With the athletes roaming the halls at all the public schools, all it takes is a good coach to turn things around. The tide has already turned at Groves and Windsor Forest. It looks like the High may be next.

Slainte

My report to the good people of BMBS is now due, for I have traversed the four corners of the Mother Land. I must be brief for I'm on the run, sight seeing and what not. Here's my synopsis thus far.
I started in Dublin where we got real drunk. Then off to Cork (very wet but nice), where we got real drunk. Then to a real Irish Catholic wedding (they put our weddings to shame, as well they should. The damn thing last 13 hours, I'm not shitting you.) near Middleton Co. Cork, where we got real drunk. Patrick and I then met my father on the Dingle Peninsula (great scenery), from there we worked our way up the west coast through Ennis(dirty, yet a great party town), Sligo (cool mountains, wide beaches, very industrial), Donegal (tiny town, nice city center, great music), and then Derry (by far the highlight of the trip for me. I visited the walled city where many IRA fights took place ) From Derry we landed in Droughegal (wide beaches covered in algae, apparently where huge horses are held right on the beach head every September. A lot of history in the town, very old) just north of Dublin. At the moment I am typing this in Dublin... on a computer hooked up to a TV, crude by manageable.
Economy: Holland, my expectations have been met. The economy is booming, everyone in Ireland is benefiting. Lots of people walk the streets of Dublin in pin stripped business suits and the factories are pumping.
Government: Not much exposure ot this yet, but a lot of political news apparently is reported by hearsay and rumor. But one major problem here is immigration. Ironic because 15 years ago emigration was a severe problem. But because of the Celtic Tigers booming economy, Dublin has become the hot spot for immigrants. The Dubliners here love the Latvians, Poles, and Rumanians because they are honest hard workers. The problem here arises with the influx of Nigerians. They declare themselves refugees of a war so that Ireland will provide welfare to them for the rest of their lives. The locals have acquired animosity to the Nigerians, as well they should. From my sources, the Nigerians are really trying to escape a hard days work rather than a tyrannical dictator. The Dail (the Irish Legislature) has passed laws restricting these people from riding the hog of the tax payers. But the socialists EU is fighting Ireland's fight against these worthless "refugees."
Running: A lot people go for runs here, athletics is a major of part of everyone's life. Currently, the Gaelic Games are in the finals. The pubs are jammed packed watching these oddly ruled games.
Mike Leonard: His accent is so southern that the Irish look like deer caught in head lights when asked a question by old Mike.
Possibility of living here: No way, there's no good hambugers or steaks,... and there's no happy hours.
Thats all I have for now, more to come later. I have tons of picture for yall.
Later

Beat Downs

A list of the Top 50 People in America today that need a severe beating. Apologies for Ann Coulter.

Minimum Wage Rage

A great post on the minimum wage over at Capital Freedom. Everyone should read it.

Countdown to Marist

Less than a month remains until the Cadets take on the War Eagles at Savannah's Memorial Stadium. Everybody better be there. Win or lose, you can find me at one of the big booths at Hilliard's after the game. We should all try and go on at least one road trip this year too (Hephzibah or Jefferson County). Also, BC will scrimmage Southeast Bulloch this Friday, and a scrimmage against Savannah High may be in the works too.

Anyway, here's BC's schedule. I apologize for the weird layout; for some reason it won't let me space it out more neatly.

Aug 20/Saturday/6:00pm/Marist/Memorial
Aug 26/Friday/7:30pm/Groves/Garden City
Sep 2/Friday/7:30pm/Hephzibah/Hephzibah
Sep 10/Saturday/7:30pm/Richmond Academy/Memorial
Sep 16/Friday/7:30pm/Effingham County/Memorial
Sep 23/Friday/7:30pm/South Effingham/Rincon
Sep 30===============BYE================
Oct 7/Friday/7:30pm/Burke County (HC)/Memorial
Oct 14/Friday/7:30pm/Richmond Hill/Richmond Hill
Oct 21/Friday/7:30pm/Liberty County/Memorial
Oct 28/Friday/7:30pm/Jefferson County/Louisville

Come out and support the Cadets.

Two-Weeks Notice

It is Friday, July 22 and I have submitted my two-weeks notice. Reflecting on my internship with Savannah Area Geographic Information Systems (SAGIS), I have decided that my greatest achievements this summer occurred during lunch hour. Having eaten at many fine downtown establishments, I feel I have earned enough credibility to produce a ranking of downtown lunches.

The 5 Best:

1. Jupiter Cafe. I had never even heard of this place before today. The lunch buffet is the best I've had this summer. Mac & cheese, cabbage, barbecue, squash casserole, green beans, chicken wings, and fried fish. They also had a dessert buffet with banana pudding and strawberry shortcake. The wings were not as good as Maury's but they did not disappoint. Definitely worth the $8 that I did not pay.

2. Sakura. A fusion of Chinese and Japanese flavors, Sakura offers the most bang for your buck in the non-buffet category. This was my most frequented restaurant and I ordered the sesame chicken every time. Huge portions and a side salad for $6 is hard to beat on Broughton St.

3. Ray's. Your traditional "meat-and-three" home cookin' restaurant. A typical meal at Ray's included fried chicken, mac & cheese, collards, mashed potatoes & gravy, cornbread, with a side order of Mr. Wolf for about $7.

4. Chao. A Chinese buffet right next door to Ray's. Though not a super buffet, it contained all the Chinese essentials, like pepper steak, sweet & sour chicken, lo mein, egg rolls, and hot wings. For $5 it is the cheapest lunch buffet in the historic district.

5. Locos. This chain restaurant, primarily known for its underage nightlife, makes the list based soley on one item: the Blackened Salmon BLT. It also doesn't hurt to have a Josh Mallard jersey hanging on the wall.

The 5 Worst:

1. Larry's Giant Subs. By far the worst lunch experience I've ever had. First off, the wait is ridiculous for a fast-food establishment. Granted the downtown location get slammed at lunch time, but every Larry's I've been to had been slow. Upon ordering a BLT, the cashier told me they were out of tomatoes. Not wanting to search for something else on the menu, I said that was fine. However, the person ordering after me got tomatoes on his sandwich. Inexcusable!

2. Exchange Tavern. This story requires a little background. SAGIS is sort of a task force of county and city employees. There are only four of us: a city employee, a county employee and two interns, both employed by the county. We went to the Exchange for a retirement lunch for another city employee. Myself, and the county employee were the only non-city employees there. At the end of our meal, a lady took up a $1 collection to pay for the retiree's lunch. I only had a $20 bill on hand so I apologized for not being able to contribute. She made some snide remark about it only being a dollar and I again apologized. What a bitch! I don't even know this person and I'm expected to help contribute to her retirement lunch. And it's not like I'm not paying for my own lunch, which was terrible on its own merit. I got the barbecue lunch special with a side of cole slaw. It was terrible. It tasted like Kraft barbecue sauce. Plus, it was about $10.

3. State St. Cafe. The sign out side read, "Mix and Match: Half Turkey Melt, Chicken Caesar Melt, Ham & Cheese, $5.95" Call me slow, but I took this to mean you could choose half of one sandwich and half of another. I came to find out that the "mix and match" referred to the side items. So I got half of a sandwich and my choice of fries or onion rings for $6.

4. Churchill's. Bad service, bland food, and high prices get you a 4-spot on this list.

5. B & D Burgers. More like B & D Buns. And, unlike Coop's, you have to order from the table and leave a tip.

"Capital Freedom"

I highly recommend this new blog, started last week by a student at George Mason University. Not only is she a staunch defender of classical liberal thought, but she's also pretty hot.

In other news, co-blogger Stephen Leonard leaves for Ireland tomorrow. He will be filling the new BMBS International News Correspondent position.

All I have to say is be careful in Belfast buddy. We don't want you to get beheaded like the other foreign reporters, but don't compromise your journalistic integrity either. When they hit you with an Irish Car Bomb over there, you'll realize you're not at Molly O'Shea's anymore.

These People Walk Amongst Us

My name is Ryan Smith, and I am an English major. Small problem, though: I hate everything about it. I haven't read a single assigned book for any of my classes. I read Sparknotes to write all my papers, which, by the way, are masterworks of complete bullshit. English "professors" love that; as long as everyone is still playing pretend, things are great.

Worse than any of this are the people I have had to deal with in Park Hall for a year and a half. You know the type even if you don't go to UGA. Here are some of their favorite activities:
-Chain smoking
-Intellectualizing
-Arguing passionately about a poem in class
-Making sure everyone sees their I-Pod earpieces
-Writing in their diary in class (true)
-Coming to class barefoot
-Putting "Not My President" buttons on their satchels

But if you need a visual aid, I went to the trouble of coming back into my classroom when it was empty so I could take this picture.


"This is why things fall apart." Let's examine this. First off, we all know HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. Well, except for Tim, who sends every text message like this. Secondly, there's no punctuation, and as an English major, the author should be admonished.

More importantly, let's get to the message. The author fails to include exactly what or who is causing things to fall apart, so we are left to speculate. Perhaps he is being literal and referring to the occupant of the desk in front of them during the time of the inscription. Therefore, said occupant must be a severely obese person who causes things to break, such as desks. If this was the author's intention, then I must agree; obese people do cause things to fall apart and should be put down like dogs.

Most likely the message is a lyric from a music group, or even cuter, the graffiti artist himself. I must admit that I'm a little underwhelmed by the lack of originality or specifics. "Things" could be cars, relationships. unused showers, societies, black-rimmed glasses. You just never know.

In a decent world, the author is being self-referencial, owning up to his boo-hoo baby, liberal smarm and all its associations. Yes, because of people like him who damage other people's property, who protest things to get the attention they claim they don't want, who preach socialism while given the oppurtunity to thrive by way of capitalism, who infiltrate the hallowed grounds of BC and rob McDonald's, who get their news from The Daily Show, and who ruined their family members' lives that things are falling apart.

Thanks for reminding me every weekday.

Sorry, More Boring Stuff...

I'm just now getting back from the beach, where I didn't have internet access for over a week. So there's a lot to catch up on.

First, let's go ahead and get all of the "Live 8" malarchy out of the way. I tuned in and watched some of the performances last weekend, and I must say, great music and good intentions, but this is the most misguided effort ever. These left-wingers are still convinced, after decades of failed attempts, that somehow prosperity can be achieved through redistributive means.

Here's two great articles, here and here, on how foreign aid is pointless and usually hurts those it intends to help. I'll bet anyone that Africa will still be in poverty 50 years from now. I also bet there will be at least 50 more Live Aids that will try, and fail, to "end poverty". All of these organizers are so intent on finding out just what causes poverty, but the real question they should be asking themselves is what causes prosperity. Poverty has long been the norm. It's very easy to create poverty. Just do nothing.

The entire world lived in extreme poverty by today's standards until, about 300 years ago, the West began to prosper. How did this happen? Why do Americans enjoy the world's highest living standards? What is preventing Africans from creating wealth? If people like Dave Matthews and Bono really understood the answer to these questions, they wouldn't be giving a dime to Africa.

Foreign aid sustains poverty. Simple as that.

Second, Ireland. Came across a great post over at Cafe Hayek (a libertarian economics blog) that talks more about the Irish economic miracle. Interesting stuff. Lots of prosperity being created there, all without foreign aid.

Third, the U.S. employment rate dropped to 5% last month. This is the lowest rate since 9/11. I'm not saying Bush had anything directly to do with this, as presidents have no control over the business cycle (John Kerry reminded me of Josef Stalin last year when he promised that HE HIMSELF would somehow "create" 9 million jobs under a grand "jobs creation plan" if elected), but you have to give some credit to the 2003 tax rate reductions for creating a better climate for growth.

There's a great article in today's Wall Street Journal concerning this. Here's a sample:

Almost from the very day in May of 2003 when those tax reductions became law, the U.S. has experienced a robust expansion driven by investment and productivity gains, not by consumer spending...Consumers aren't irrelevant, but prosperity is created on the supply side of the economy with the incentives to produce goods or services that people want to consume. So tax cuts in marginal rates that boost incentives to work and invest provide a much bigger bang for the buck.

The private sector, not the government, drives economic growth. Even Clinton understood this to some degree. Why can't the rest of his party?

That's enough for today kids. Tomorrow I'll cover gas prices. Stay tuned.

The Anglican Church; still crumbling.

I am not able to recall this episode, but way back in 1991 there was a mass exodus of male Aglican priests. They knocked on the doors of the Vatican for permission to defect into the Roman Catholic Church. This mass conversion was a result of the Anglican Church allowing the ordination of women priests. The Pope allowed these men to convert only after it was ensured that they would preach the correct beliefs of the Catholic Church.

The Anglican Church will soon vote on whether to allow the ordination of women bishops. Knowing these people, the proposal will certainly be accepted into their catechism. Some current Anglican Bishops predict yet another mass exodus of priests into the Catholic Church after the upcoming vote.

What are these refugee priests seeking? It couldn't be order, authority, honor, tradition, and respect now could it?

On a lighter note, the ever experimental Anglican Church is now contemplating its next great idea

The Quotable Pyramid

"You drink Guinness? That shit is nasty."

"I'll have a Bud Light."

"Who wants to play drinking games?"

"Ziggy-zoggy, ziggy-zoggy, hoy, hoy, hoy."

"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on."

"She's got some tig ol' bitties."

"Let's go to Savannah Smiles."

"I've never been to a strip club."

"I mean, I love him to death, but..."

In Statesboro:
"Who all's going to the bars?"

In Savannah:
"I think I'm just going to stay in tonight."

Engrish.com

If we have learned one thing about the language of our friends to the East, it is that characters do not translate well to English. And for some reason these people love to take popular phrases in their language, translate them and then put them on a T-shirt. A website called Engrish.com is dedicated to this phenomenon. I don't know if ya'll know about it already, but I thought it was worthy of mentioning on the blog.

Pretenders to the Throne

While tailgating at Friday's Braves game, a certain unnamed BC alumnus gathered with his fraternity brothers right across from our spot. This guy, who must be at least 24 by now, plopped down in his camping chair with his balls peeping out and instructed his buddy to play some "classic rock" on the car's stereo.

He was by far the oldest person there, but that did not seem to matter to him. There were some hot girls there who probably just saw their first legal rated R movie in the theaters. Anyways, the crowd really started to grow and through effortless eavesdropping I heard snippets of conversation, including:

"So, you excited about college?...Yeah, that's cool, that's cool."

So the fraternity was rushing these young kids, who had just graduated from various metro-Atlanta schools, such as Parkview and Lassiter. As you can imagine, every single "dude" there had on boat shoes/flip-flops, khaki shorts above the knee, and tucked in polo shirts (3 pink ones). I have a problem with this.

You KNOW that these cultureless metro-Atlanta runts were making decisions in Publix 2 years ago about whether to go with the flexible or "sport" style of LA Looks hair gel. They were excited about the new Linkin Park CD. They brought their slut girlfriend with them when they went to get their eyebrow or ear pierced. They were drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade at Lake Lanier while wearing flower-patterned board shorts. They said "Sweet!" when their parents got them those 24s and the subwoofer.

Then on College Day they visited UGA's campus and had a wake up call. That next day, Mom was happy to take them to JC Penny and get them respectable clothes that her and Daddy were too passive to make them wear as they were growing up. Thanks, baby boomer parents, for your complete lack of backbone.

So now you can find these traditionless brats in "General's" drinking out of mason jars and singing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" at the top of their lungs. If someone could please give me back my BC sheltered mind so that I can once again not have any knowledge of other kids in my generation.

The People Have Spoken...

...and have named Ronald Reagan the Greatest American of all time.

Right on, America.

A Booming Voice

On Friday, my friend Chris Cobb and I attended a Braves game at The Ted. Inside the stadium we swipe our Bravo Club cards which give us various useless one-day coupons. One of them is for a free poster at the Bravo Club Headquarters, so we make the 15 minute walk. I ask the guy behind the table for my free poster and he hands it to me.

Then he says something like, "Congratulations! It's your lucky day!" and started to hand me a sheet of paper. At this point I'm avoiding eye contact because I think he's trying to sell me something and I will have to turn him down. But he tells me that I have been picked to say "Play Ball!" before the game. Of course, I start asking idiot questions like: "Are you being serious?" "On the field?" "In front of everybody?" Yes, Ryan, yes.

So a hot little intern leads us down to the close seats explaining the order of things and I am surprisingly not too nervous. I'm more happy and excited than anything. Once they start introducing the players one-by-one, I go onto the field, stand in the middle of the On-Deck Circle, and look at the camera far away underneath the 9-story hi-def board.

"And pitching for the Atlanta Braves: Kyle Davies!" ::applause::
"Now, introducing Bravo Club member Ryan Smith to lead us off for tonight's game!"

The upper-half of my body appears as a 9-story giant on the screen. I imagine people could see my blackheads quite well. I knew I couldn't half-ass this task that was appointed to me, so in my most cheesy "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!" voice, I drew out a "LET'S plaaaAAYY BAAAALLLLL!" In my excitement during the applause, I smiled and stuck out my tongue. I don't know why. One of the ladies in charge of things pointed at me and said, "Now, that's how you do it!" The hot intern told me it was one of the best she had ever heard.

A group of people my age sitting next to me were looking at me towards the start of the game and eventually the guy next to me asked, "Did you say, 'Play Ball?'" I love being a celebrity.

Bacci Ball Remembered

While anticipating the glorious July 3rd holiday on Tybee Island (second only to St. Patrick's Day,) I have been doing a little research. As you can see, this painting is a rendition of the first annual BGAA (Big Guy Athletic Association) July 3rd World Bacci Ball Championship circa 1668.
The one showing his effeminate carry through after the toss is Charlie Russo's ancestor... Giavoni Russo. Immediately left overseeing play (and contemplating the next rule change) is O'Donavan Ryan, ancestor of the Tybee Ryans. The man in black who seems to be really pissed off at a suspected cheater is none other than Padraig Powers, the great-great-great-great-great-great- grandfather to our present day Chatham County Tax Commissioner, Danny Powers.
The man with hands held behind one's back is Diarmuid Kevin Sheehan, ancestor of Kevin Sheehan- the hairy. The prissy man in the gold balloon pants is the first mayor of Tybee, Liam Burke, whose descendant Jimmy Burke will also hold the office of mayor.
The identity of the women sitting in the chair is speculative. Most of the experts have concluded that she is the sole ancestor of the women known as "the- one- tooth- wonders" that plague Doc's Bar to this day.

Imminent Domination

In case you haven't heard, on Thursday the Supreme Court handed down a horrific 5-4 decision in Kelo v. City of New London that officially allows the government to seize private property for private economic development, all in the name of "public use".

The Fifth Amendment clearly states that private property "shall not be taken for public use, without just compensation." And so it is no controversy that the government could, for example, take your home in Vernonburg in exchange for its market value and build part of the Truman Parkway in its place, or build a military base. While this is unfortunate, it is lawful and a necessary evil. But that's not what is at issue here.

In Kelo, the court gave city governments the green light to seize property for third party interests (in this case, it was a shopping mall that was proposed), all in the name of economic "revitalization." In other words, if Kroger wants to build a store on your land, even if you don't want to sell, too bad. Chatham County officials could force your out home and sell it to Kroger. Why? Because the Kroger would bring in more tax dollars than you as a homeowner does.

Thursday was a big win for big government. Ever thirsty for more and more tax revenue (which is now part of the "public benefit"), city and county officials will stop at nothing to expand the tax base. Governments may take private property and give it to anyone they like, and all they have to do is say that this serves some public purpose.

Justice Clarence Thomas, a staunch defender of liberty, property rights, and the Constitution in general (and whose birthplace is 10 minutes from where I am typing this very post), wrote the most eloquent dissent:

Today's decision is simply the latest in a string of our cases construing the Public Use Clause to be a virtual nullity, without the slightest nod to its original meaning. In my view, the Public Use Clause, originally understood, is a meaningful limit on the government's eminent domain power. Our cases have strayed from the Clause's original meaning, and I would reconsider them.

Right on Clarence.

The very foundation of civilization is private property, and with this decision, no one's property is safe. Russell Kirk, the father of modern conservatism, wrote in the 1950s that

Freedom and property are closely linked. Separate property from private possession, and Leviathan becomes master of all. Upon the foundation of private property, great civilizations are built. The more widespread is the possession of private property, the more stable and productive is a commonwealth.

The last traces of the founder's intentions to limit the government's eminent domain power have been erased. I know it sounds bad, but I really can't wait for a few these left-wingers on the bench to hurry up and die so Bush can finally appoint some constructionists to go in and reverse the disasterous course this and previous courts have embarked upon.

Another Conversation With Trey Aimar

Scene: Tubby's Thursday Sunset. Steven Doan plays for a softball team that Trey Aimar is also a member of.

Doan: Why weren't you at the softball game the other night?

Trey: You didn't hear?

Doan: No.

Trey: I had hernia surgery, Bubba. Sixteen inches. Here to here. (uses forefingers to demonstrate on Doan the length of his scar)

A New Chapter

Bought me a new pair of Sperrys the other day, using the $50 I won on the McBride-Tyson fight last week (me and Will had the same bet, only I really did "need a new pair of shoes"). They were on sale at Dillard's. This time, I didn't go with the popular "Authentic Original" model but instead invested in a pair of the more durable "Mako" model, shown below in the same "Amaretto" tone that I chose. These are the same color as my old ones, but will probably last a few years longer.



Trust me, these new Makos are really hot right now. When I wear them, you can hear them scream "hey, I'm 22, I've graduated from the original UGA frat boy boat shoe, and I'm moving on to bigger and better things in life (like earning minimum wage at a Savannah law firm)."