S.B. Hotties Day 4

We press on after a bit of an under the weather break. Before we get to the skin, let me warn/alert you all that I am going to have a little contest this weekend for the Super Bowl, and the prizes will actually be worthy of man or woman.

Anyway, on with the babes.

Leah!




Georgia!




By the way, Georgia gets my vote, barely, because she is a Seattle girl

Thursday Thirteen #61-The Car One

Thirteen Things about My Old Car As I mentioned a while back, my last car was kind of totaled in a bit of an accident. I never really went into the story of what happened and now that everything is resolved, I figure I will soon enough. But here are 13 ways my car was not in an accident, maybe. 1.I got way way too close to a volcano 2.I told Mrs Duck that the show Lost was overrated and she took revenge. 3.One word:Flamethrower 4.I yelled Go Cowboys at an Eagles tailgate party. 5.I tried to channel my inner Evil Kneival 6.I thought a Corolla would make a great Zamboni. 7.Indigestion after some really spicy Mexican food, the interior never recovered. 8.I decided to take a scenic tour of Camden 9.What? Who knew cars don't float? 10.I thought the fact that I only had a few payments left was a bad thing. 11.The urban legend about the hook in the roof really happened. 12.I am a big fan of the Calgary Flames 13.I am just a freaking idiot

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Edwards 08-Well that sucks

At work, I live in a bit of a bubble. I have internet access and email and all that fun stuff, I just do not really have time to go surfing around the web. And for some reason today, I did not check out the news on my cell phone at lunch. Perhaps I felt it would be disheartening news, without knowing what the news was. I did not even get to give John Edwards the Thursday Thirteen kiss of death.

So, the Edwards Presidential Campaign is over well before it ever got itself started. After all the up momentum there was from a second place finish in Iowa, it all faded after that, partly because the candidate could not get himself any footing in the media, and also partly because Obama and Clinton both maybe special.

But, Edwards went out on a high note today, with an excellent speech in New Orleans to "suspend" his campaign without giving anyone any endorsements. At least with this speech, I do not mind the small bits of money that I donated.



And now the race becomes 2 and some doddering old guy who may win a delegate or two in Alaska.

Turkey Cutlets with Pumpkin Muffin Stuffing, yes its Rachael Ray

I loved this meal last week, because it was just so darned easy to make and it tasted like I actually spent some time on it. Plus, its Rachael Ray, is her food ever bad?? So before I put this recipe on Recipezaar, I give it to my readers.

Turkey Cutlets with Pumpkin Pistachio Muffin Stuffin & Chipolte Gravy
c/o Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 Medium Onion, chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
1 Golden Delicious Apple, finely chopped but not peeled
1 small yellow squash chopped
Salt and Pepper
1 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1 cup shelled natural pistachios Chopped
4 purchased pumpkin muffins or 12 oz pumpkin creme cake
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 package turkey cutlets
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 or 2 chopped chipoltes in adobo sauce, finely chopped
2 scallions finely chopped

Heat large skillet at medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then 2 tablespoons butter. When the butter melts into the oil add the onions, celery, apples and squash. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning and saute for 5 minutes. Add pistachios and crumble in pumpkin muffins. Moisten with 1 cup of chicken stock and then set aside. It should look sort of like a loose stuffing.

Heat a second skillet (naturally a second skillet) over medium high heat and season cutlets with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to pan and cook cutlets for 6 minutes per side (give or take). Transfer meat to platter and add 2 remaining tablespoons of butter to skillet and reduce to medium low. Add flour to butter and whisk and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and cook for 30 seconds and then add remaining cup of stock, cook until bubbly. Stir in chipolte and green onions and serve, covering stuffing and turkey with gravy.

S.B. Hotties Day 3

I will keep the SB Hotties Day 2 post linked here, just in case anyone missed Bond's witty comments. I know he will appreciate me for that one.

But, anyway, no fuss no muss, its day 3 of cheerleader madness, as its a New England Patriot Girl vs A Washington Redskin babe, and no its not one of "The Hogs".

Jessica!




Katie!




If you ask me, I think Jessica has some unfair pictures.

Palmetto Blues

It is not exactly a sad thing when I say blues, its more of the dominating color for the Democratic Party. Barack Obama won last night as expected in South Carolina, but really the other big story is the fact that Hillary Clinton not only lost the black vote in the state, but also lost the white vote by a percentage or 2 to John Edwards. If she is going to continue to be the strong front running candidate that her machine has in place, she will have to find a way to not have the historionics of her husband drive away voters.

Obama's speech last night was fantastic, he is able to saddle the electricity of a win and let it come out in his words to supporters when he wins. Of course, when looking at his policies, it will take time to dig deeper. Mrs Duck does not feel comfortable with his health plan in comparison to Hillary Clinton's plan. I actually have to do more research, since I maybe a tad jaded as a political watcher. It seems all candidates, even the ones I support, will just say what we do want them to say.

Super Duper Tuesday, as the media has decided to tab it, could be a major tipping point, or it could just send the Democrats into more of a mess. If Clinton and Obama take most of the big states, lets say splitting up California & New York, and Edwards steals a small state or two, or at least has a good enough showing to take enough delegates away to keep either one of the top 2 from getting a good stranglehold on the nomination, the race will spiral into more of a mess. Plus, the one true thing that does make me more nervous is the fact that there are about 10 days until the Super Tuesday. Plenty of time to have the candidates make some sort of slip up that will just make things worse when it comes to November.

The Republicans are slopping around Florida, where it will be McCain, Romney or even possibly Rudy, though that ship is sinking fast. Not that I see anyone sending Captain 9/11 a life raft anytime soon.

S.B. Hotties Day 2

Quickly, the results from day 1. It seems that the Mysterious Tampa Girl won easily over Briana of New England. Though I tend to agree, the Buccaneer Cheerleader had one rocking body.

Now, on to day two, again it is a New England girl, against a cheerleader from the NFC, this time its one of the team captains from the San Francisco Gold Rush. Where do they get these names anyways?

Any who, onto the hotness...

Lindsay!




Amber!

Thursday Thirteen #60-The Kucinich One

Thirteen Things about Dennis Kucinich I had to scrap the 13 things about Fred Thompson, because well, he is now trying to see if he can get back into his chair at Law & Order, since the running for President thing did not work out so well. So, our my next choice was Dennis Kucinich. 1. The official theme for the Kucinich run this time is Strength Through Peace. 2. Kucinich is a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 10th District in Ohio. 3. Kucinich was the Mayor of Cleveland in the late 70s, where at the age of 31, he was one of the youngest Mayors in the country 4.He won election for his seat in the House in 1996 and has been reelected 5 times since. 5.Kucinich calls himself a Wellstone Democrat, following in the footsteps of the late Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, meaning he skews towards the liberal side. 6.Kucinich voted against the Patriot Act and he also voted to investigate whether there were sufficient grounds to impeach Bill Clinton. 7.He also voted to not count the 31 delegates from Ohio that were going to G.W. Bush in 2004 because of the involvement of Diebold Voting Machines and there lack of a paper trail. 8.He also voted against the war in Iraq 9.His best showing in the 2004 Democratic Primary was 31% in Hawaii. 10.for his 2008 run, Kucinich has had a fundraiser thrown for him by Larry Flynt and also has been endorsed by Viggo Morgensen 11.He has also confirmed the story in a Shirley McClaine autobiography, Shirley is a relative by the way, in which Kucinich claimed to have seen a UFO. 12.His wife is Hot, especially for a candidates wife. 13.He has again not found too much traction in the few early primaries this year, though many people find him to be a nice draw in debates, due to his desire to tell the truth.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

S.B. Hotties Day 1

See, I am being smart now, I am avoiding mentioning the Super Bowl, oh crap nevermind. Anyway, since we will be beaten to a pulp by the hype and setup for next weeks game, I figured I would jump on the bandwagon in a fun way. Cheerleaders of course.

But, I am at a slight disadvantage, since the New York Giants do not actually have cheerleaders. So, our competition coming up will be the New England Cheerleaders vs the rest of the NFC. Which is sort of like the NFL season that is just passing, since it seemed like it was the Patriots vs the rest of the NFL. Today its Briana of New England against an anonymous Tampa Bay Buccaneer Girl. Please enjoy and if you want, do vote.

Briana!




Mysterious Tampa Girl

Its the Patsies & the Gints

Things did not exactly go as I hoped and planned, at least when it comes to football, as the Giants eeked out an overtime win over the Packers this past weekend. I had been pulling for Brett Favre to get back to one last Super Bowl, but the Giants really outplayed the Packers in every facet of the game. It was exciting, though it would have been more exciting with a Green Bay win, or at least if Green Bay had actually decided to run the ball a bit more, just to loosen up the Giants defense. Plus, the hour long power outage here right in the middle of the game kind of threw off the rooting/cooking mojo. But, thats the breaks of living in the suburbs, trees can be our enemies.

In the first game, the Patriots went to 18-0 and one game away from joining the 1972 Dolphins as the only teams in NFL history to go undefeated through the entire year. San Diego was a tad handicapped through the entire game, with a knee injury to both there top running back and quarterback, though QB Philip Rivers did press through the injury. It was another one of those unexciting Patriots victories. They really are just a better team all around then any other team out there.

So, I think I am going to have to root for New England in the upcoming Super Bowl (gee I hope using the word Super Bowl is not copyright infringement). A few reasons that I can fathom for myself is the fact that the NE coach, Bill Bellichek, is more of a Bill Parcells disciple then Tom Coughlin of the Giants is, even though both of them did coach under the Tuna. Also, if I am going to call myself an Eagle fan, you really can not bring yourself to root for a conference foe when it comes to winning it all. Plus, there is the chance of seeing history factor.

Tune in over the next 2 weeks, because I will be doing a little cheerleading hotness here as prep for the Super Bowl. Cmon, that has got to be better then hearing all about Tom Brady and Eli Manning for the next 2 weeks, isnt it?

Debate in the Palmetto State

You remember how bored I was during the Nevada debate. How it was slow and dull and kind of just hit or miss with the messages that the candidates wanted to say? Please be sure to tune into CNN in Myrtle Beach South Carolina tonight. Its about 8:30, and there have been two or three "oh no he or she didnt moments"

Poetry Train heads to the Mountaintop

I traditionally do a variation of this speech on Martin Luther King's birthday celebration day, since his birthday was last week and I am off today. While everyone knows the I Have a Dream Speech, personally, this one is more a favorite of mine.

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.
You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther King?" And I was looking down writing, and I said, "Yes." And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's punctured, your drowned in your own blood -- that's the end of you.

It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had merely sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I've forgotten what that letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I'll never forget it. It said simply,

Dear Dr. King,
I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School."

And she said,

While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I'm a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze.

And I want to say tonight -- I want to say tonight that I too am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for freedom and ended segregation in inter-state travel.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent.
If I had sneezed -- If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great Movement there.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering.
I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze.
And they were telling me --. Now, it doesn't matter, now. It really doesn't matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night."

And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.
And I don't mind.
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land

Jump aboard the Poetry Train over here...

My Pseudonym is cool

What Sparky Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are influential and persuasive. You tend to have a lot of power over people. Generally, you use your powers for good. You excel at solving other people's problems. Occasionally, you do get a little selfish and persuade people to do things that are only in your interest. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Thanks to Christine D'Abo for this one. Even though its way way off.


This one is closer, though real name is redacted.

What Blank Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I am not wild and crazy!

Mrs Duck is no Paula Deen

Scene:Thursday night,My wife on the couch, me fiddling around at the desktop computer in the mini office off the living room, stove and oven on in the kitchen.

Mrs Duck:Whatcha doing?

Sparky: Me? Oh just checking some blogs until dinner is ready.

MD:Hmmph, I guess I am the one that is cooking tonight, since you are checking blogs.

S:Huh? Cooking? You are just boiling water, I would not exactly call that cooking.

MD:Oh no, not just the water, but the tater tots are in the oven too!

Note:Dinner that night was Stouffers Creamed Chipped Beef over Tater Tots or Toast, depending on who was eating it.

Thursday Thirteen #59-The Duncan Hunter One

Thirteen Things about Duncan Hunter As a way to help the political electorate out there, I figure I would do some Thursday Thirteens here and there about the folks running for the highest office in the land. Of course, it was too late for some people (Sorry Tommy Thompson, Joe Biden & Chris Dodd) but the show must go on. Before I run out of time and he quits the race, lets get 13 things about Duncan Hunter. 1.Duncan Hunter is a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, representing Eastern & Northern parts of San Diego. 2.He was born May 31, 1948 in Riverside, California 3.He served in the US Army in Vietnam and made it to the highest rank of 1st Lieutenant and was awarded a bronze star 4.One of Hunter's sons also served in the Army, making it to 1st Lieutenant as well after serving in Iraq in 2003 & 2004 5.Hunter served in the House of Reps from 1980 up until this year, when he will not seek re-election to run for President instead. His son, Duncan D, the war hero, will try and replace him in 2008. 6.As of summer 2007, Hunter has missed 31% of the votes in this session of Congress. 7.Hunter is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, which is currently chaired by Ike Skelton, Democrat of Missouri. 8.Hunter sponsored HR 552, the Right to Life act, which would have protected born and pre born persons. Personhood would have been defined at beginning at conception. Now someone tell me what personhood is exactly. HR 552 never made it to the floor for debate. 9.He also sponsored legislation for a Security fence in Southern California and also tried to make distribution of materials deemed pornographic by parents illegal. 10.Shockingly, Hunter considers himself a True Conservative. 11.Hunter has consistenly gotten less than 3% in National Republican polls, though he has won the Maricopa County Straw Poll and the Spartanburg, South Carolina Straw poll. 12.This seals the deal for me in the other direction, Ann Coulter has endorsed Hunter for President 13.Hunter has finished in 7th place in both the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primaries. But he will always have Maricopa County, Arizona.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Nevada Debate=Snoozefest

The Democrats were running around Sin City tonight, with another debate. I am not sure whether it was the fact that it is MLKs birthday, or the fact that its Nevada, and there are not many people voting or watching, but this one was a total bore. Everyone got along to darn well. It is not even worth live blogging on.

So Good they need a better name

Mrs Duck had her girlfriends brunch this past weekend at Chez Duck. You can tell that these girls are losing some of there steam, I remember when I first dated my future wife, these girls outings were girl's nights in Center City. Then they shifted to dinners out at your TGI Fridays and Ruby Tuesdays and now they are brunches at different houses.

Mrs Duck did most of the cooking, I did pitch in here and there. But I did just want to watch football and avoid all the husband bashing. But, one of the things I did whip up was a crowd favorite. It just needs a better name then the one I found it with on the internet. Thanks to Recipezaar.

Amazing White Trash Puff Balls

1 package hormel sliced pepperoni (or any brand)
1 package cream cheese
2 packages Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls

1. Take out the crescent rolls, and seperate into the individual triangles.
2. Flatten each triangle and slice it so that it becomes three small triangles.
3. Dice or chop your pepperoni into tiny, tiny pieces.
4. Mix the pepperoni into the cream cheese, stir very well so all of the pepperoni pieces are mixed into the cream cheese.
5. Take a little spoonful of your cream cheese/pepperoni mixture and put it in the middle of one of your crescent rolls triangles.
6. Pinch up all of the sides around the filling.
7. Repeat and place them all on a cookie sheet.
8. Bake for the amount of time stated on the crescent rolls (usually 11 minutes at 350) Let cool for a few minutes before serving!

Yes Jim, Playoffs

No mention of the NFL playoffs last week, mostly because the games were gaia awful boring. Well, and we were out running around during the Seahawks/Redskins tilt. But this week is one of the best weekends of professional football, the games are always exciting. At least its great, unless you are a Colts or Cowboys fan.

Yesterday, the Packers swept away the Seahawks on the literally frozen tundra of Lambeau field. Ryan Grant made up for 2 fumbles in the first half and rushed for the most yards by a Packer running back ever in the playoffs. The legendary Brett Favre is one win away from another Super Bowl appearance.

Also, New England took care of business and took out the Jacksonville Jaguars. I missed most of this game, so I can not tell you where it all went wrong, though it probably has to do with the fact that the Patriot offense is scary and the Jags usually can not score more then 20 points a game.

Today, now there were some excellent games today. The Colts continued to be tormented by the San Diego Chargers, as Billy Volek and Darren Sproles offensively rallied SD to an unlikely win. No not Phillip Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson, but Sproles and Volek, or who and who junior. The Charger defense really stepped up and the injuries piled up for the Colts, meaning we will have a new champion this year.

And on the Texas front, its another sad playoff loss for Tony "Ms Simpson" Romo and Wade "If my dad was Bum, what am I" Phillips. The offensive line for the Cowboys broke down in the second half, and for a reason I still can not truly fathom, the Cowboys stopped giving Marion Barber the ball. And Patrick Crayton may have the worst hands in the NFL.

Personally, this is working out quite nicely, as I will have a team to root for in the Super Bowl. The Giants are my family's team, so while I am now an Eagle fan, I could pull for the Big Blue if I have to. And I adore Brett Favre, truly one of my football heroes, so I would love to see him get back to the big game on more time. Bully for me, not so much for Songbird though.

Oh and the title is in reference to this Jim Mora Sr classic moment.

Nutter & Rappers Delight

Philadelphia just had a new mayor elected this year, and his inauguration was the other day. If anyone knows Mayor Sleezy, er I mean former Mayor Street, anyone is probably an improvement. Michael Nutter won in an easy landslide and is ready to start his "Its A New Day" administration in Philadelphia.

Nutter also apparently has a loose wild side, as noted by this video from his Inauguration Ball/Party. Thanks to Philly Word Live for giving us a little Rapper's Delight.

Quote from the Republican NH Debate via Mrs Duck

scene:Mitt Romney on the TV screen, commenting on Barak Obama and how they are both the candidates of change.

Mrs Duck:Where did he finish in Iowa?

Sparky:Who?

MD:Romney

S:Second, a distant second

MD:I hate him, I fucking hate him

S:Brilliant

Best of 2 Worlds

I freely admit that I am not only a political junkie, but also a sports geek. Heck, look at my blog postings, its football, politics and babes. Well sorry folks, no babes in this post today.
Tonight two of my favorite things to watch on TV collide in a sensory overload of information and TV clicker flipping. The NFL Playoffs begin and there is a Nationally televised debate on ABC from New Hampshire. I have managed to contain my goosebumps, but it is difficult.
I enjoy the debates with both parties because you are always looking for the flubs/half truths and more times than not they occur, especially since caucus primary season has begun. I even enjoy watching the Republicans debate, just to see how outlandish some of there statements will be. There is a touch of juice lost to the Democratic side for me, because Biden, Dodd and Gravel have all dropped out already. Biden and Dodd would say whatever was on there mind, which had to make the front runners squeamish and Gravel was just a Grandpa Simpson moment waiting to happen. So 7pm eastern time, you know Sparky will be tuned into ABC.
Unless of course, the Seahawks/Redskins game has gone into overtime, then forget it, we are on football. The playoffs are do or die time in the NFL, one mistake and you go home, just as Tony Romo last year. I notice he is not holding for field goals this year. So my sports geek gets fed tonight through Washington playing at Seattle and Jacksonville traveling to Pittsburgh. Though I can not rightfully spend an entire Saturday in front of a TV set, so I will humbly give up the first half of the Seattle game to do other things. I do know how to sacrifice don't I?

Ok, maybe one cheesecake Cheerleader picture.

Nintendo DS brings out the odd in people

Scene:Dinner time, Sparky in the kitchen and Mrs Duck on the couch, plinking along on her new pink Nintendo DS lite, a Christmas gift from her husband. Christmas lights on, MSNBC in the background.

Sparky:I am going to get a cigarette, we should be eating in about...

Mrs Duck:Shhhh

S:Huh? Shhh??

MD:Yes, shhhh I am trying to speak out loud and you are distracting me.

S:Distracting, how am I distracting, I am just giving you an...

MD:God you are such a putz, go outside already, I need to do my Brain Age training and I can't talk out loud with you hovering.

S: (blink) Did you just call me a putz??

MD:yes, get out

Hopes for Iowa

Well, at Chez Duck, we are slowly getting back to normal. Slowly because there will be no Thursday Thirteen today, since I totally forgot it was Thursday until about 2 minutes ago. But, if Sparky is not talking football, he is talking politics, so get ready.

In an obvious attempt to try and forget about the current administration as quickly as possible, both political parties have quickened up the primary process by starting the Primaries and Caucuses right about now. Our first stop is Iowa. Iowa has a caucus, where it not only counts when you pick who you are voting for, but it also matters who your second and third choices are. Iowa is not exactly a place where you can win a nomination, but it is surely where you can lose it.

My hopes on the Democratic side are that the polls are right. I think that it will be terrific if all 3 of the front runners stay right about where they are. Hillary and Obama have to go through some trials and tribulations before one of them is crowned the front runner and John Edwards (yes the Breck girl) has the best message for the country, at least in my eyes, that corporate greed is souring us. So I am hoping that all 3 of them get through tonight within 3 to 5 points of each other, keeping them all in the running going forward. This blog has not declared it self for anyone besides a Democrat yet, so we also hope that Biden at least has a decent showing. I do think he is a bit off his rocker sometimes, but I also think he has some of the McCain straight talk express in him and that is something all political races need.

On the Republican side, its really hard to tell who I would want, since I really don't want any of them. They have also made it a bit easier to handicap the race since, Giuliani and McCain have really not put there best foot forward in the midwest, making the race more about Huckabee or Romney. Again, I hope neither of them wins by a sufficient margin to knock the other one out, though its a selfish thought because Romney has the money and Huckabee is a good enough campaigner that the both of them will be able to bloody each other and the other front line candidates up enough that it will be harder for any of them to win in November. Hey, Im selfish, plus when it comes to politics, even in the party I am not voting for, the drama of who will win is most of the fun.

And hey, did anyone know that Alan Keyes was even running for President again??