To the moon, Alice...(or not)

So I was going to write up something deep and meaningful today about the relationships in my life and how I have such a great group of friends...

Then this story came along. Sure, it may not be heart-felt, warm, and fuzzy, but it is, in a word, AWESOME!

Take a look:

Public to decide fate of Bonds' record-breaking ball
By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press WriterSeptember 17, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The fate of Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball is now in the public's hands after its buyer announced Monday he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko revealed himself as Saturday's winning bidder in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. The final selling price for No. 756 was $752,467, well above most predictions.
Ecko had not even taken possession of the ball before setting up a Web site that lets visitors vote on which of the three outcomes they think the ball most deserves. He plans to announce the final tally after voting ends Sept. 25.

"I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it," Ecko wrote on the Web site. "The idea that some of the best athletes in the country are forced to decide between being competitive and staying natural is troubling."

The 35-year-old Ecko is known for his pop culture pranks, including an infamous Internet video that showed him apparently infiltrating an airport tarmac and spray-painting graffiti on Air Force One. The incident turned out to be a hoax.

But the auction house that handled the sale confirmed that Ecko is indeed the ball's buyer.
"This transaction is happening and is going to be done by the end of the day," David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, said Monday.

Kohler called Ecko's decision "brilliant" and said he had already visited the Web site and voted to send the ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old student and construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scrum with the ball on Aug. 7. He decided to sell it, he said, because he couldn't afford the tax bill that would result from holding onto the ball.

Some tax experts said Murphy would have owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes based on a reasonable estimate of the ball's value even if he had never sold it. He may also have faced capital gains taxes as the ball gained value.

"This either makes him a lunatic or a genius, one of those two," Murphy said when told of Ecko's actions. "I'm leaning toward genius."

Murphy said he planned to vote to send the ball to Cooperstown.

Ecko himself said he voted to brand the ball with an asterisk, a reference to the belief of some Bonds detractors that the Giants slugger's record is tainted by his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Ecko said what really interests him is seeing what happens when an "American Idol" approach comes together with a serious public debate over drugs in sports.

"My vote really doesn't matter," said Ecko, who identifies himself as a New York Yankess fan. "The American public will tell us what to do with it."

On the Web:
Vote 756 here!

I think that's brilliant! For the record, I voted for the asterisk to be branded on the ball.

Four times.

Maybe they'll put an asterisk next to the poll results, too.

Much luv,
Rob
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Song of the Day: "Old Time Rock & Roll" by Bob Seger

Well, I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob...

Sometimes, no comment is necessary...check out this news story:

Skip work, make babies, governor says
By James Kilner

ULYANOVSK, Russia (Reuters) - The governor of a central Russian province urged couples to skip work Wednesday and make love instead to help boost Russia's low birth-rate.

And if a woman gives birth in exactly nine months time -- on Russia's national day on June 12 -- she will qualify for a prize, perhaps even winning a new home.

"It's normally something for the home -- a fridge or a television set," Yelena Yakovleva at the Ulyanovsk regional administration press office, said.

"It doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy."

Newly-weds Karina and Anton Bukhanovsky walked hand in hand down the main street of the regional capital of Ulyanovsk. They live in St Petersburg but traveled to Ulyanovsk to soak up the atmosphere Wednesday.

"I used to live here," said Karina, aged 19.

"We plan to come back on the same day next year and try for a baby and the prize nine months later," she said.

Anton, aged 21, kissed her gently on the cheek and they strolled off arm in arm.

Regional governor Sergei Morozov told employers to contribute to a Kremlin campaign to boost the birth rate by giving couples Wednesday off to have sex.

Russia wants to reverse a trend in which the population is shrinking by about 700,000 people a year as births fail to outpace a high death rate boosted by AIDS, alcoholism and suicide.

This is the third year Ulyanovsk region, famous as the birthplace of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin, has dedicated a day to encouraging couples to produce more babies.

Prizes will extend equally to unwed women who produce children on the right day, though the biggest prizes will go to married couples.

On Russia Day this year, a family won a jeep after their fourth baby was born on the holiday.

Next year, the top prizes will include an apartment, Morozov told Reuters. "We need more people," he said.

This year a record 78 babies were born on June 12 at the main hospital in the regional capital of Ulyanovsk, beating the 2006 total of 26, said chief doctor Andrei Malykh.

"The scheme is working. People want the prizes," he said.

There's a joke in there somewhere...I'm sure of it. I think I'll just go with this one:

"Peter. What's happening...yeah, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and stay home from work September 12th..."

Put that in your TPS report.

Much luv,
Rob
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Song of the Day: "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin

Grr...argh...

Irony...sometimes it's subtle. Other times it's like the proverbial bull in a china shop...

It was six years ago that the twin towers in New York fell after the brutal, brutal terrorist attack. Tonight, on CNN they were doing a little tribute to that fateful day to help remember the events of that day. All in all, a noble gesture.

What wasn't so noble, however, was the news crawl that was making its way across the bottom of the tv screen. While images of the collapsing buildings filled most of the screen, the news on the bottom was informing me that Kayne West is blaming MTV for Britney Spears's recent poor performance on Video Music Awards.

I sat staring at the tv in disbelief. How could they let this go on? As the two complete opposite ends of the news spectrum shared screen time, I just got angry. Why are Kayne West's comments on Britney Spears and MTV newsworthy? What difference does it make? Ordinarily, it's easy enough to just ignore such a thing, but when it was on screen up against the most defining moment of our generation, it just stood out as a horrible hypocrisy. It felt like a joke that might air during an episode of The Soup. I couldn't believe it was really happening.

Ugh...so frustrating.

Anyway, I guess the lesson to be learned from this is to try to remember the things that matter...

Or at least ignore the other stuff.

Much luv,
Rob
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Song of the Day: "More to Life" by Stacie Orrico

Not the Tyrannosaurus sort...

Ok, it has been a long, long time since I've found the energy and desire to write. Sometimes, though, you just have to stand up and defend something for which you feel strongly.

It was a football game oh-so-long ago that got me riled up to write, and so it is only fitting that football would end my six-week drought.

Rex.

Three little letters have caused a city to fight amongst itself. Sports columnists in the city are calling for Rex's head, and everyone seems to hate this guy. I, frankly, am tired of all the Rex-hate. Our beloved Bears have an amazing defense and a lot of talent on offense. It's a shame that poor Rex is drawing all of the attention. I can't imagine the pressure he's got to be under. Thankfully, the Tank Johnson and Devin Hester off-season circus drew some of the attention away from Rex, but until flashy #23 does something out there, I think that all of the angry, judging eyes will continue to be on Rex.

How about a little support for our QB? I mean, do we have a better option? Is Brian Griese supposed to be some sort of savior? Can Kyle Orton bring back the neck-beard and lead this team?

The answer is clearly "no." Rex is capable of making big plays. Remember last season after the first six weeks? There was talk of Rex being an MVP candidate. Sure, I know that he's no MVP, but he's clearly our best option and can make the big plays.

Up against a tough Charagers team, he struggled a bit, but he really didn't have a bad game. If not for a bad bounce on a muffed punt, I think that the Bears could have won that game. Against the Chargers, no less. One of the best teams in the league. Let's see how things go this week against K.C.

So even if no one else is saying it (other than Lovie "Rex is our guy" Smith), Rex has my support. I hope that he can find that guy from the first half of last season and quiet the many, many critics. Go get 'em, Rex!

Besides...it could be worse. We could have this guy throwing for us:

(remember that dodgeball footage I spoke of oh-so-long ago? Yeah, that's it. Sorry, Kevin.)

Much luv,
Rob
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Song of the Day: "Dead" by My Chemical Romance