As one can imagine, those who predict, and place odds and bets on the World Cup semifinals and final winners are extremely busy these days. Serious fans and serious gamblers anxiously seek and mull and use the predictions and odds provided by reputable and not-so-reputable experts, odds makers and bookmakers. Millions–probably billions–will be won and lost by the time the last goal of the 2010 World...

In going through some classic comedy on this July 4th holiday, I watched the classic Abbott & Costello routine below and realized: it sounds like political discussion in America today. When this skit was popular (the 40s and in this version from the early 1950s TV show) it was outrageous. Now it sounds almost like the way partisans, politicians, talk show hosts, etc. talk about politics. Judge for yourself: This...

Vampire Nation by Will Durst Taking a breather from our Gulf Coast miasma in order to focus on an even ghastlier blight of cultural crude washing up on American shores. No, this is not about Lady Gaga. Although, I do intend to address walking parasites. Demon fiends. Bloodsucking vermin. The Ushers at the Gates of Hell themselves, of which we are experiencing a veritable glut, and I’m here to say that my...

A few times a year, we can enjoy musical political comedy by The Capitol Steps. The 4th of July is one of these times. Listen online at: Fourth of July 2010 Edition: Politics Takes A Holiday! Recorded live at the Ronald Reagan Building in DC. (One half hour: 4.5 MB) or check the schedule of these fine public radio stations.

Whoever would have thought 10 years ago that Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson, then mega-powerhouse bankable Hollywood actors who could have retired with enough money for several lifetimes, would find themselves weighted down by personal hubris that would alienate movie-goers and threaten their careers? Both Gibson and Cruise are now entering eras where their longtime places at the top of the entertainment industry’s...

The world has now gone Vuvuzela crazy….with some calling for the plastic horn that is so hugely popular in South Africa to be banned at some events. In case you’ve lived on Mars and didn’t hear about it, this will fill you in: They’re popping up everywhere — and I do mean everywhere: It has been propelled into world consciousness by the World Cup in South Africa: ESPN commentators...

Do the World Cup Football results reflect global political realities? According to columnist Muwaffaq Mahadeen of Jordan’s Arabic-language Al-Arab Al-Yawm, football aka/soccer, which he writes dates to the Mayan civilization, was never just about sport, and the teams that succeed or fail reflect the fortunes of the nations they represent. For Al-Arab Al-Yawm, columnist Muwaffaq Mahadeen writes in part: Football...

To be frank with you, I never thought about it, but now that the question has been raised—and the answer given—I feel very naïve for not having been more inquisitive. Apparently, Alan Poindexter, a NASA commander, was asked during a visit to Tokyo, whether astronauts are allowed to have sex aboard the International Space Station, ISS. According to The Telegraph, Poindexter answered, “We are a group...

Did NBC lose its Jay Leno Tonight Show gamble that lead to a highly publicized “divorce” with Conan O’Brien? Ratings show Leno is falling behind O’Brien’s numbers. A roundup is HERE. Some of the fuss over late night ratings seemingly overlooks one fact. There is a massive shake up going on in viewers’ habits — particularly the habits of younger viewers. I’ve met...

The beautiful game, the world’s greatest sporting event and the greatest party on earth – these are just a few phrases most sport fanatics choose to describe their chosen game. Be it the World Series, the Super Bowl, Wrestle Mania or the NBA Finals – you may hear any of the above grand-statements but few of these multi-million (American) sporting events can come close to the festival of culture that...

Reading this article from yesterday’s El Watan of Algeria, one gets the impression that there is precious little more important to people in that nation than football aka/soccer. Licking the wounds of Algeria’s defeat but paying some respect to the Americans who won, columnist Omar Kharoum writes for El Watan in part: In the end, the Greens were eliminated from the World Cup, but at least they...

There’s a book that is now more relevant than ever and Shaun Mullen is republishing a thought-and-debate provoking review of it. Here is his intro: Now that President Obama has sent General Stanley McChrystal packing, all eyes are on General David Petraeus, who will be expected to work the same magic in Afghanistan that he did as the architect of the Surge strategy in Iraq. Herewith a review of the seminal...

I grew up on anti war songs in the 60s and we’ve had dammed few of them when we’ve needed them recently. They don’t get the play they got in the 60s and early 70′s but they are out there and here is a good one. Of course the anti war songs of the 60′s may have been a bit more subtle;

A link sent in by a TMV reader. A great song, done with so much pizazz — and a great You Tube video: And here he is doing it when he’s a tad younger, on TV (1982): It was originally done on the screen by a young Liza Minnelli (1977):

Is there a problem with the officiating at the FIFA World Cup? After the Americans were inexplicably denied the winning goal against Slovenia by a Malian referee and Germany lost against Serbia due to the peculiarities of a Spanish official, Thomas Hummel of Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung sheds some light on whether there’s more to the controversy than just the usual frustration. From Sueddeutsche...

Algerians are very proud of their national football team, in part for the political statements its victories represent. According to this article by Abdul Nasser of Algeria’s Arabic-language Echorouk al-Yawm, at the 2010 World Cup, eliminating England and America will also be seen as a victory for Palestinians in Gaza. Reflecting the ferocity of Arab support for the Palestinians and enduring historic...

I spotted this on one of WordPress’s “Freshly Pressed” featured blogs:

I just finished reading a nice, touching article—just right for a Saturday morning. It is Michael Winship’s “Miley, We Hardly Knew Ye.” The article is about how some of our young celebrities, such as Miley Cyrus, step through their childhood just way too fast. I am sure the words and thoughts struck a different chord within each different reader. The following struck a chord with me: Not that all is...

Since we’re getting a song and a dance from BP, here’s a REAL dance..a Samba…danced by a toddler:

Miley, We Hardly Knew Ye by Michael Winship Amidst all the news of petrochemical malfeasance in the Gulf – and thank you Rep. Joe Barton, pride of Texas, for your apology to BP, demonstrating everything that’s wrong with a Congress jammed too snugly in the pocket of big business – I watched teen sensation Miley Cyrus on David Letterman Thursday night. Oh my. Listening to her, I thought, there...

Weekend public radio is a warm cozy cup of liberal chamomile tea. Saturday is the progressive’s radio Sabbath. Weekdays are reserved for Marxist plots and socialistic schemes. Saturday is set aside for organic gardening techniques, car repair advice, word puzzle games, family fiddlers, and narcissistic human interest soliloquies. Weekend public radio is a safe, soothing blend; a tempered progressive aroma...

During every World Cup there are bound to be upsets, surprises, scandals and controversies. They have become so regular and predictable that a small cottage industry has emerged dedicated to predicting, covering and at times exploiting such events. In my “Every Four Years: Viva el Fútbol ,” I summarized a charming article from an “American Way” in-flight magazine—an article that predicted some of...

This really isn’t all that surprising: A SUNDAY TIMES investigation has exposed Japan for bribing small nations with cash and prostitutes to gain their support for the mass slaughter of whales. The undercover investigation found officials from six countries were willing to consider selling their votes on the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The revelations come as Japan seeks to break the 24-year...

Centrist writer and former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani aide John Avlon got a lot of people mad in recent months. One was conservative talk show host and GOP political Godfather Rush Limbaugh, who increasingly seems to be the Republican Party’s chief tactician, strategist and decider of who is or is not a “real” Republican. The other was MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, a hero to many on the...

Snippets of this story have been all over TV and the Net. According to this article from Russia’s Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Soviets used the technique of nuking out of control well heads five times – although never on the ocean bottom. According to columnist Vladimir Lagovskiy, however, it should work just as well a mile below the Gulf. For Komsomolskaya Pravda, Vladimir Lagovskiy writes in part: It’s...