I love a good political thriller. So many of my favorite films of all time are political thrillers: The Manchurian Candidate, The Conversation, All The Presidents Men and, more recently, 2012's Argo. So far in 2013, I haven't found my perfect political thriller. I'd hoped it might be Robert Redford's The Company You Keep, but alas, it was not to be.
There's good news for those of us who, for whatever reason, are opting out of seeing any movies in the theater right now. I've got a nasty summer cold: What's your reason for staying home? Whatever it is, take heart: You've got several notable new DVD releases to check out.
A recent broad scale study of human behavior has demonstrated that weather which is unusually hot or dry (or both) is strongly correlated with acts of aggression, from murder rates to civil wars. Of course this should be common knowledge to anyone who has ever been in weather which is unusually hot or dry (or both), but now it's science!
There's "comfort food," things you eat when you are feeling a little down and in need of comforting. But what about when you are actually physically ill? Yesterday I had a dental visit in the morning that left me with a sore face and a Xanax hangover in the afternoon. I had little appetite, but I had to eat something. Ideally, something that didn't require a lot of chewing. And while I was willing to flex my diet a little bit, I couldn't quite justify the purchase of, say, a tub of rice pudding. No matter how badly I wanted it.
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In Dr. D's humble guess-timation, Clint Dempsey is the greatest American soccer player who ever lived. He's 30, in his prime, and suddenly he is playing for your Seattle Sounders. "Fuutball," anybody?
With this signing, you are talking about a shot heard 'round the world. It's more of a "popgun" sound, but make no mistake - for the MLS in America to land a fish of Dempsey's size is a game-changer. For the Sounders and for American soccer, at least.
There are very fine soccer blogs peppering the NW landscape. SSI won't be able to much speak to fans who are ex-college players themselves, but can (now) serve as a type of concierge for fair-weather soccer fans like himself, helping perhaps to show them the door. The door in, that is.
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How Good are Dempsey and Donovan?
Ask an English bloke this question and you're guaranteed a fun afternoon. For some reason, it grotesquely pains him to admit anything good about any American soccer player. I can't relate to this -- I mean, of course the NBA is worlds better than European basketball, but why should it pain me to admit that Dirk Nowitzki is a great player?
Forget frying an egg on the sidewalk - who wants a sidewalk egg? No, you, my friend, want fresh baked cookies. Imagine how great it would be, after a tough day of work, to go out into the parking lot and find your car full of piping hot fresh chocolate chip cookies ready for your drive home!
This week marks the 62nd anniversary of the time a weather balloon UFO crashed outside Roswell, New Mexico and set off a national panic. Google is celebrating with a special Google Doodle: play this cute game, and help the lil' alien find its way home!
You will definitely need sound on to fully appreciate this one. If you're in an office, this might be a good time to switch to headphones so you don't annoy your neighbors.
Looking At Something is a surprisingly engrossing little site that lets you control the weather with mouse gestures. I love the sound of the rain, and my cat loves the sound of the birds when it's sunny, so it's a win-win!
Screenshot copyright Looking At Something
When the weather starts to heat up, the temptation to cook a nice piping hot meal is greatly reduced. First of all, you don't want that extra heat building up in your kitchen. And second of all, you don't want to eat hot food on a hot day. Isn't it better to have something chilled and refreshing, yet still filling?
