Iron & Wine on the TV

I watch a lot of television. I do this because it's easier than reading books or interacting with humans other than my girlfriend. I am so "path of least resistance" that way.
Since i watch so much TV, i am exposed to a lot of commercials. And since i watch only a handful of channels, i see the same handful of commercials over and over. i also like to think that i am acutley aware of the subtleties involved in consumer coercion. i know that there are focus groups and marketing people and writers and directors who agonize over every deatil of every commercial that is beamed at me through the cathode ray tube's comforting glow. i tend to notice when a commercial has been shortened, changed, or edited in some way, and it makes me wonder why.
Sometimes, it's an obvious matter of brevity. When they hype some blockbuster flick two weeks before it comes to a theater near you, they will show you all the best parts in a 30 or 60 second spot. Then, after it reaches mass distribution, the marketers assume you know about the movie by now and give you a shorter version.
Sometimes they change the copy of the ad. By "copy," i mean: the words they say in the commercial, but i like to sound like i know what i'm talking about by using marketing jargon.
For instance, there's a sandwich ad airing right now, starring that Jared guy who lost like, 372 pounds by eating nothing but Subways (the sandwiches, not the mass transit trains).

When i first noticed the ad a coupla weeks ago, Jared told us how other fast food dumps ruin chicken by "frying it and covering it with mayonnaise." When i first heard him say that, i thought that that would be a tasty way to enjoy chicken. Mmm. Mayonnaise. Then over the weekend, i saw the commercial a few times, only now he says the other chains ruin chicken by "frying it and slathering it in batter." Okay, that sounds even better.
So i ask you, gentle reader, why did they change the copy? Does slathering it in batter sound worse than covering it with mayonnaise? Did the mayonnaise people get upset and file an anti-defamation complaint against Subway? And if so, do they think the batter people will let them get away with this? Mmm. Batter slather.

Last week, i noticed that one of my favorite artists, Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine had a song on an M&M's commercial. I was in the bathroom at the time, doing who-knows-what with the door slightly open and i heard his soft, whispery voice sing,

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now," they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now," but we'll stay

I heard my girlfirend give a, "Hmm!" of curiosity from the other room, and i stopped what i was doing long enough to ask, "Is that Iron & Wine on the TV?"
"It sure sounds like it," she answered. "What are you doing in there?"
"Oh, uh..nothing...um, just combing my hair."
"You don't have enough hair to comb. You don't even own a comb"
"I know, that's why it's taking so long!"
Okay, i'm getting off on a tangent here.
i saw the commercial later on, and confirmed that it was indeed Iron & Wine, and it was indeed the song, "Such Great Heights," and the commercial was indeed, very cool.

Then i saw the commercial a few times over the weekend and they had changed it. It's the same song, but they used a different part. WTF?

I am thinking it's a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images and
When we kiss they're perfectly aligned

So i pose to you, o kind and gentle reader of this blog: Why did they switch the lyrics for this commercial?
The name of this spot is "Kaleidoscope" and can be found here (thanks to JT for the link). It's got some trippy visuals, and the lyrics in the original spot may conjure up images of a coupla hippies too high to come down. Is this why they switched? Did they get complaints from one of those radical religious groups that the ad was too "trippy" and to tone it down? What will the hippies' response be? Oh yeah: Mmm...M&M's.

BTW, if you don't have all of Iron & Wine's albums by now, may i persuade you to click here and purchase every one of these releases? You will not be sorry, dear reader. i was lucky enough to finally catch him (with a full band) live a coupla months ago and was blown away by how freakin' awesome it was.
Other Iron & Wine links:
Our Endless Numbered Days LP (2004) reviews: E! Online. Pitchfork. Pop Matters
Woman King EP (2005) reviews: All Music Guide Splendid
Creek Drank the Cradle LP (2002) reviews: All Music Guide JunkMedia Dusted
The Sea & the Rhythm EP (2003) reviews: Prefix MusicEmisssions
Iron & Wine on "The L Word" Season 2 soundtrack? It's a crappy show, but i guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

The Tragic Events of 7-7

London attacked!!

Photo: Jane Mingay/AP
Two days after radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Mizri's trial begins in London, and just as the G8 summit commences in Scotland, a series of coordinated bombs blast the UK capitol.

Constantly updated blogging of the aftermath and eyewitness accounts here (thanks to AmericaBlog for link)

I guess people will be talking about this for years to come and yet it all seems strangely ethereal and distant. What strikes me is that places like Israel live like this on a day-to-day basis. It's all so random that maybe 20 out of all the thousands, possibly millions of commuters in the capital today were killed.

At least 40 killed in 4 blasts.
Transportation in London at a standstill.
"al Qaida in Europe" group claims responsibility.
Tony Blair has left the G8.
Bush plans another bike ride.
Are other G8 nations next? Next for attacks, not a bicycle ride.
Stay tuned. Watch out.
*****************************
Update: Wikipedia already has extensive info. Wow, that was fast!
All of us here at awesomeometer offer our sympathies and good wishes to our allies in the UK. You are in our thoughts.
*****************************

Karl Rove busted!(?)

This would be awesome:

Photo credit Great doctored photo, but Rove is fatter than that. I would also say that the tie selection is wrong.
Lawrence O'Donnell says Time documents will reveal that Rove leaked Plame's name to journalist Matt Cooper.
Will Rove finally be exposed as the crook he really is? We'll see in the following weeks. This will be interesting to say the least.
Articles here here and here.

Katherine Harris Betrayed by BushCo

****************Update 07/05/05************
The General writes one of his famous letters to Katherine Harris about her "magic water"
*****************************************
The cannibalization of Republicans continues.
Florida Rep. Katherine Harris is pissed because the Bush administration is encouraging Florida State House Speaker Allan Bense to challenge Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) in 2006, instead of her. I guess she thought she had a deal with BushCo. that they would support her in 2006 when they asked her to step aside for Mel Martinez (R-FL) in 2004.

You remember Katherine Harris, don't you? She was the cosmetically challenged -think Cruella DeVille - Republican Secretary of State in Florida (and more importantly, W's Florida Campaign Director) during the 2000 election sham. Here's how she helped get Chimpy into the White House:

*Before the election, a firm hired by Harris in her capacity as Secretary of State to purge convicted felons from the voter rolls erroneously removed 8,000 registered voters who had been convicted only of misdemeanors, thousands of others who had the same names as felons, and a few whose computer records said they had committed crimes in the future.
*Harris unlawfully certified the election results from 20 of Florida's 67 counties without requiring - as mandated under Florida law for elections decided by one half of one percent or less - that they conduct automatic machine recounts.
*Harris unlawfully accepted and certified the results of hand recounts in six Florida counties that produced an additional 400 votes for George W. Bush while rejecting the results of hand recounts in other counties.

She did all that for BushCo. and now she wants to cash in on an implied promise. She obviously isn't aware of how this administration operates. Just because you scratch their back, doesn't mean that they'll scratch yours. Her usefulness to Rove, Inc. has run out, so she is dumped by the wayside like a ratty old mattress on some dark, forgotten red state back road, right next to this old tire.
She must be furious. At least i hope so. i hope she's so furious that she totally turns on Chimpy and runs as an independent. The Republican votes will be split, the FL Dems will be energized, and Bill Nelson will keep his seat. i hope she's so furious that she holds a press conference and admits that her improprieties as FL SecState were as foul, shameful, and repugnant as her nasty ass face. Then i hope she bursts into tears and melts. Then her usefulness to me will have run out.

POTUS: "We are hunt thrash the terrorists."

The Pres-o-dent spoke last night at Fort Bragg, NC in front of a captive audience of pawns in his global game of Risk. We were told that he would be "talking in a very specific way about the strategy for success in Iraq." Did he deliver? Not so much. Here's the text.
He offered no new direction, no new specifics and no clue as to when "success" will be acheived and our troops can come home. He did repeat that all the blood spilled by our soldiers is "worth it." How reassuring that must have sounded to the soldiers in attendance.
He did mention 9-11 several times - linking those attacks with our reasons for the systematic demolition of Iraq, and even quoted Osama Bin Laden!
The response in the room was eerily quiet. Was it decorum and deference, or boredom from bullshit? Who knows? Oddly, he was interupted by applause only once, but that was because someone from the White House advance team started it, and most soldiers - not all of them - dutifuly obliged for a few seconds of lazy, tepid clapping. Guess his cheerleading wasn't taking with these tough guys. Perhaps it was a moment of realization for them that, this is the guy who's sending me into harm's way? WTF??
Last night, W reminded me of some sixth grader nervously reading a plagiarized book report in front of the class. He recites all these unfamiliar words on the page (in order, even!), but he has no idea what they really mean. He seems to know that the jig will be up soon, and he's got that hopeful, you believe me, right? look on his face as he gazes at the audience between sentences. I would feel sorry for him if he weren't such an arrogant, smug little man.
Since he didn't say anything new - as we were promised - i tried a little experiment. i translated his speech to German, then back to English, hoping to find new meaning, and perhaps, some truth in his tired old words. Here are some highlights:
Intro:
"I am pleased to visit away Bragg 'house of the absent-minded and special enterprises of forces....' I thank you for your service, your courage, and your victim."
On our mission:
"Our mission in the Iraq is clear. We are hunt thrash the terrorists." Oh, I thought it was to rid them of WMD. My mistake, they keep changing it.
"The only way, which our enemies can follow, is, if we forget 11 the lessons of September, if we the Iraqi people to the men such as Zarqawi abandoned and if we furnish the men like the loaded sorting drawer the future middle ones of the east. Around security sake our nation this does not happen on my clock." He's right - i don't think we should supply terrorists with these, either.
On Strategery:
"Our strategy can be summed in this way: Since the Iraqis stand above, we stand down." This will be a popular soundbite - the image it creates is priceless.
On Iraqi securty forces:
"...we embed 'Koalition Uebergang crew' internal Iraqi units. These crews exist coalition without patent officers, the phases, work on you, and fight together with thier Iraqi comrades." "The Original Uebergangsters" - i like it.
On sending more troops:
"Americans ask me the fact that, if, to accomplish the mission so important is, why not you send more troops? If our commanders for reason say, we need more troops, i send them." The problem is, the commanders know that W hates to hear bad news, so they don't feel like they can ask for more troops. "Yes" men to W likes for best.
On fighting our wives:
"America and our friends are in a conflict, which requires much of us. It requires the courage of our fighting men and wives, requires the steadfastness of our allied ones...we accept these loads, because we know, what on the play stand." A sure way to end domestic violence: send fueding families to fight in Iraq.
On Fourth of July plans:
This quarters of July, please i you, way to find, men and women to thank, who defend our liberty - by flying the marking sign, a letter sending our troops in catch or help the military family down the road. This time, if we celibrate our liberty, leave us untouched with the men and the women, who defend us all." I will definately be flying my marking sign this July 4th, so as to help the military family down the road.
On gratitude for troops:
To the soldiers in this resounds and our soldiers and wives over the ball: I thank you for your courage under fires and your service to the nation. We all thank our wives over the ball.
On enlist in the military, pleeeaase!?:
And to those this evening is watch out who a military career might regard, there not higher designating that service in our armed forces. We live in liberty, because each production produced the [patriot], which sake, to serve a cause which is as even larger." So it turns out, this speech was nothing more than a half-hour GOARMY.com commercial. I get it now.

Inspiring words from our Dear Leader, sort of.

A Betrayed Republican Quits the GOP...OYE...POTUS live?

*ITEM (hat tip to DTS): We need more folks like this guy. He is James Chaney, an attorney in Eugene, OR and registered Republican since 1980. He has watched helplessly as his party of "honesty and accountability" has been hijacked by the radical right wingers who have morphed it into the party of "greed, shortsightedness and deliberate ignorance" in their quest to dominate the world.

While it has compiled this record of failure and deception, the party which I'm leaving today has spent its time, energy and political capital trying to save Terri Schiavo, battling the threat of single-sex unions, fighting medical marijuana and physician-assisted suicide, manufacturing political crises over presidential nominees, and selling privatized Social Security to an America that isn't buying. We fiddle while Rome burns.

Welcome to the reality-based community, James.

*ITEM: For those service-age Republicans who support the Iraq debacle, i encourage you to do your part and help the military meet their recruiting goals. Enlist immediately. They need warm bodies. Here's how to help.

...Just doing my part for

Operation Yellow Elephant. He he.

*ITEM: W is scheduled to address the nation tonight at 8pm Eastern. NBC has yet to decide if they are going to broadcast the speech, because it conflicts with their much hyped Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back premier. Hmm..Average Joe or Below Average President? Decisions, decisions.

POTUS in trouble? Dial 9-11

With the President's poll numbers in the crapper, and support for the neo-con's idea of foreign policy diminishing, the Republican message machine does what they always do: exploit the events of September 11, 2001 for political gain.

Rove, senior Bush advisor: "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

I guess this is the kind of rhetoric we should come to expect when their lame-duck, cry-baby fake president can't get everything he wants.

The debate rages in the media and blogs, and there is no apology or accountability from the White House forthcoming. In fact, the White House finds the outrage "puzzling."
Maybe Rove truly meant what he said. Maybe what they are puzzled about is the fact that some of us aren't "Iraq-had-WMD-and-are-linked-with-Al Qaida" Kool-Aid drinkers. Maybe they're incredulous that their Public Relations Blitz and spin doesn't dizzy every single one of us into rapturous worship of Our Dear Leader. Perhaps they're puzzled by the fact that patriotic Americans should think for ourselves and that some of us don't like the way they think: We were attacked on 9-11, so we need to show some macho military aggression in the Mid East. Hey, let's blame it on Saddam and destroy Iraq, and let Bin Laden get away, so we don't piss off our business partner Saudis. Yeah, that's what we should do!
I don't like how they think, either. Does that make me a traitor?

• Check it (hat tip to AmericaBlog): 49% Say Bush Responsible for Provoking Iraq War, 44% Say Hussein. My question: what are those 44% thinking? Oh yeah, they like the Kool-Aid
  
• Read Dan Froomkin every day to stay informed on everything White House .
• Bush to address troops on Iraq war from Ft. Bragg on Tuesday. The PR blitz continues.
• Expected to be "specific" Iraq. Well, it's about time for that, wouldn't you say? Sheeesh! While you're at it, Mr. Bush, how about some straight answers for once? Please and thank you.

UPDATE: A soldier in Iraq responds to Rove:

To hear a man like Karl insinuate that only conservatives are really patriotic is a knife in the back to every man and woman in Iraq who serves here. At least a third of us voted against Bush and pals. The number increases every day that we stay here, forced to make bricks without straw for months on end.

Now who's undermining our military efforts overseas?
Read this letter and many others here.

Q: Why are some Alaskans protesting against Steve Earle?

A: Because they fear him.

They call him un-American, but what's more American than standing up for what you believe in, and using music to voice concerns and encourage others to think about what's happening in the world?
Steve Earle knows more about what it means to be an American than a few self-righteous clowns writing letters and buying ads protesting his appearance at the Southeast Alaska State Fair on July 30. Said clowns are making fools of themselves, as unprecedented demand for tickets to his show testify to his popularity. Steve will rock that place, despite his detractors, and show those folks what an unstoppable force he is.
Steve has seen American life from up on top and from the very bottom. See a biography here. He is an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, the war in Iraq, false patriotism and corporate greed. One of his biggest heroes is Woody Guthrie, so his values are obviously diametrically opposed to those in power, as he stands up for hard-working freedom lovers everywhere. His perseverance is exemplary to all who have struggled with addiction, broken families, poverty and the justice system.
So why are some folks boycotting him? Fear. Folks on the right don't like it when people ask difficult questions of them. They get scared that the truth may expose their lies and hypocrisy. They are frightened by the prospect of a change in the status quo, which serves those in power who use fear and faux patriotism to keep the masses obsequious. They prefer that we put one of those yellow ribbon magnets on our SUV's, quietly go about our day to-day business, and shut the fuck up. Let our leaders decide who to kill, who to jail and how to spend our money. They believe that governance is of the few, by the few and for the few.
Steve will tell you that he doesn't believe this. Steve will tell you to take a good look around, think about what's important to you and your neighbors, band together and change your world. He will tell you that it's going to take every one of us to start a revolution to change the direction of this country. Steve will tell you that the revolution starts...now.
I hope Mr. Earle won't mind if i reprint the lyrics to my favorite track off his latest album:

Rich Man’s War
Jimmy joined the army ‘cause he had no place to go
There ain’t nobody hirin’ ‘round here since all the jobs went down to Mexico
Reckoned that he’d learn himself a trade maybe see the world
Move to the city someday and marry a black haired girl
Somebody somewhere had another plan
Now he’s got a rifle in his hand
Rollin’ into Baghdad wonderin’ how he got this far
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war

Bobby had an eagle and a flag tattooed on his arm
Red white and blue to the bone when he landed in Kandahar
Left behind a pretty young wife and a baby girl
A stack of overdue bills and went off to save the world
Been a year now and he’s still there
Chasin’ ghosts in the thin dry air
Meanwhile back at home the finance company took his car
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war

When will we ever learn
When will we ever see
We stand up and take our turn
And keep tellin’ ourselves we’re free

Ali was the second son of a second son
Grew up in Gaza throwing bottles and rocks when the tanks would come
Ain’t nothin’ else to do around here just a game children play
Somethin’ ‘bout livin’ in fear all your life makes you hard that way

He answered when he got the call
Wrapped himself in death and praised Allah
A fat man in a new Mercedes drove him to the door
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war

Do not fear the Steve. Listen to him.

Casual (read: lazy) Friday Blogging

What's in the news?

• Fourth quake in five days shakes California. Are these quakes harbingers to the Big One? They're telling us not to worry, but why is Donald Fagan heading back to Annandale?
• Is this the first case of "fragging" in Iraq? Or is this just the first one we've heard about? I thought they had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about frags in the military.
  
• Snotty McClellen defends Cheney's comments about the Iraqi insurgency being in "its last throes." Well, not really. Answering a direct question with a direct answer is not his forte. "Next question, please." BTW, i think Cheney's "last throes" comment will become a reference point in the Iraq War timeline, much like W's "Mission Accomplished" speech in May of 2003. We'll be pointing to this comment in the future when US soldier deaths reach 3,000 and we'll say, "that's 1,300 since Dick Cheney said that the insurgency was in its "last throes.'"
  
• Cindy Sheenan, a name to remember as public dissent about the Iraq War continues to grow. Remember her from last week? She spoke again at Congressman Conyers' hearings on the Downing Street Memo on Thursday. She wants Bush to be account for her son's death and an unjust war (is this too much to ask?): "The leadership of this country rushed us into an illegal invasion of another sovereign country on prefabricated and cherry picked intelligence." Here's Mr. Conyers' account of his busy day. Please join 560,000 concerned citizens and 122 Members of Congress and sign his letter to Bush, if you haven't already.
• And finally...10 TV cliches that should be banned.

Word.

DTS update

New shorty up at DTS: "Please, Call Me Sal" Give it a read.
Other fictions by DTS here.
This is what i think Sal would look like, waiting for his return flight from a case in some tropical paradise. Found the pic just by Googling "Sal," it came up on first page. You can almost see his lazy eye.

Downing Street Memo(s!) Summary

Slate has a good summary of the memos and what they mean. Check it.

Chris Carpenter In Command, Cards Crush Canadian Competitors

A generous but consistent strike zone aided Chris Carpenter as he pitched his first career one-hitter over his former team. The former Toronto starter gave up one walk, one hit and K'd 10 on just 95 pithces to dispatch the Blue Jays. Very nice.

Carpenter (9-4) picked up the victory with his second complete-game shutout of the season (April 21) and 15th complete game of his career. He fanned 10 of the 28 batters he faced to increase his season strikeout total to 93 and career strikeout total to 857, through June 14. Carpenter's previous low was two hits allowed in a nine-inning performance (April 15, 1999). His previous low in a complete-game shutout was three hits (Sept. 9, 1997 and July 3, 1999)

The Cardinals offense delivered four homers including two by Canadian Larry Walker. Wait. Did you know he was Canadian? I thought he was from Colorado or something. Those crafty cannucks are sneaky sometimes, the way they quietly blend in with us Amerkins. I wonder who else is secretly Canadian, walking around amongst us regular people. That's kinda scary, when you think about it. They could be living next door to us right now! Or standing in line behind you at the grocery store peeping your products and taking notes as to what to buy so as to appear more like an everyday, fat, dumb Amerkin. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that the more they act and look like us, the more they become a target for the terrists, so i'm just concerned for their safety. I'm sure most are here for a just a little while, working hard earning US dollars to mail back to their impoverished families in Canadia. They will prolly learn that it's not really safe for them down here and they will soon return to the frozen wasteland of hockey farms, beaver pelts, and Celine Dion monuments. Then we can finally stop worrying about who's Canadian.
But seriously, i like many Canadian musical exports: Neil Young, SNFU, the Weakerthans, Neko Case/New Pornographers, The Cash Brothers, all come to mind. But as for Nickelback, Celine, and Shania - they can go ahead and take off, eh! They are clearly Canadian and aren't fooling anyone.

Mainstream Media Catching up to Blogosphere?

We'll see, but this is a good start:
It's all about the memos. First, the so-called "Downing Street Memo" from July 2002, which summarized meetings in Washington that said intelligence was being "fixed atound the policy" massive military action in Iraq by the Bush Administration. This came out May 1, 2005, and received little attention in the US media.
Now, there are The British Briefing Papers, and NBC has blessed these with a "verified by NBC News" label. Hooray for NBC. Now they wait breathlessly for the Administration to discredit NBC News in general and Andrea Mitchell in particular. Snotty McClellen will employ the usual M.O. and attack the messenger and ignore the message. Stay tuned for that.

These memos(pdf links below)from as early as March of 2002 indicate:
Iraq had no WMD threat
BushCo. had given "little thought" to the post-war aftermath in Iraq
BushCo. knew that Al-Qaeda/Iraq links were weak
British officials knew that going to war at that time would be illegal

So when you hear W and his boys talk about war in Iraq as "the last option," it is clear they are lying.

1,700+ dead US Soldiers and counting.
Countless dead Iraqis - we don't know the number because "We Don't do body counts" - General Tommy Franks. Isn't that lovely?

More:
Washington Post Sunday June 12, 2005
Think Progress
The Raw Story
The Path of War timeline
Downing Street Memo rally announced for Thursday in DC
and of course After Downing Street

Mother of dead soldier vilifies Bush over war

From Raw Story and The Lexington Herald Leader
Cindy Sheehan of Gold Star Families for Peace let W have it:

"We're watching you very carefully and we're going to do everything in our power to have you impeached for misleading the American people," she said, quoting a letter she sent to the White House. "Beating a political stake in your black heart will be the fulfillment of my life ... "

Ouch. Read the whole story.

NBA Finals: Spurs vs. Pistons...OK, NOW i care

The NBA sucks. Some reasons i don't give a crap about it 97% of the time:

• The players are too good. i think they need to raise the rim 18 inches so no one but a super-athletic flyer can dunk. Dumping it in to the big man who uses his ass to knock over defenders so he can slam it home with little effort is boring. If said big man actually had to shoot every time, there would be more parity and the games would be more fun to watch.
• The players suck too much. On defense, that is. In what other game can you give up 124 points and still win? Answer: a shitty one. It's time to raise the bar on defensive expectations in the league. So what if a point guard averages 25 points a game if the players he's defending score 30 or more? That's a negative however you look at it, in my book. Everyone knows that an 18 point lead in the 3rd quarter is nothing in the NBA, cuz defense sucks and teams get complacent, so the next thing you know, the other team goes on a 15 point run and it's back to boring.
  
• Superstar Fatigue. i'm sick of the Lakers and anyone who has played for them lately. i'm sick of the refs babying the superstars and the top teams. i'm glad the Pistons won last year, now i'm sick of them. Next year, i'll be sick of whoever wins this year, and i'll post about how much i want someone else to win the championship. It seems the only thing i don't get sick of is parity.
  
• Is it me, or does the first 46 minutes of a game suck ass? The only part that is worth watching is the final two minutes. The previous three quarters of an hour is a mind-numbing waste of time. i might as well extrapolate that opinion to apply to the entire season as well.

So, with all that off my chest, i want to say that i am interested in the NBA, at least until Game 7 is over. This looks like an intriguing matchup, and i will watch most of the games on my "sports monitor" - that's the secondary, small TV set with the sound turned down next to the big TV set in the living rooms i frequent - providing they don't interfere with Cardinal games.
Even though they are "slight favorites," i hope the Spurs win. First, cuz they beat the only NBA team i remotely care about, the Mavericks, and if they win, then that means Dallas gets third place, right? Also, i get a kick out of watching Ginobili go nuts on both sides of the court, and Tim Duncan is a good man. But after that, it's back to business as usual where i'm hatin' the NBA. Until they raise the rim, that is. Then it will be awesome.