Awesome of the week

A couple things I saw on the interwebs during the last week that I thought were kind of awesome ...

29 Parents Who Are Clearly Way Better At Texting
Than Their Kids

And this. A brief look at this gal's YouTube channel shows she's got some real talent ...

Awesome of the week

Some fairly awesome things I caught on the internet this week ...

Hello Kitty Is Not A Cat Because Nothing Makes Sense Anymore ... Phoebe is going to be crushed.

* * *

I missed the Emmys Monday night, but Billy Crystal's Robin Williams tribute had people buzzing the next morning. Rightly so. ...

* * *

Ever wonder how a basketball court gets painted? Or in this case, a legendary basketball court gets repainted? Check out this fascinating slideshow showing painters working on the Kansas Jayhawks' court at Allen Fieldhouse.

* * *

And finally some "Friends."

Here's an amusing video featuring Maggie Wheeler explaining how she came up with Janice's distinct voice. ...

...

And here's Jimmy Kimmel trying to live out his dream of being a "Friends" cast member ...

Flickr, don't fail

As a devout user of Flickr and a fan of its infinite art galleries filled by like-minded photography enthusiasts, I shudder to think about an Internet without it.

I much prefer the mantel-caliber display of Flickr photos to the countless blurry and frivolous photos that fill Facebook. Plain and simple.

I also shudder to think about losing all of my photos. The horror! ... Though, I've backed them up on stacks of CDs.

This news comes several weeks after Yahoo announced its plans to shut down my beloved Delicious -- which is another one of those fascinating I could waste hours browsing other users' posts kind-of-website -- not to mention reviewing all the websites I've tagged. But, sadly, it apparently hasn't caught on with a whopping majority of Internet users.

Dang.

Internet Providers Try to Charge More as Costs Fall

Time Warner ...

Grrrrr.

The great Facebook debate

My good friend Matt sent this good read to me a few days ago in the midst of a discussion we were having about the benefits and detriments of Facebook ...

Sure, there are days I spend wandering aimlessly on Facebook, draining time with its quizzes and checking up on friends' profiles ...

And then there are days, like in real life, that I just want to be left alone. I don't care what my friends are doing. I don't log on.

For me, this passage in the above-mentioned story summed it up wonderfully ...

This is the promise of Facebook, the utopian hope for it: the triumph of fellowship; the rise of a unified consciousness; peace through superconnectivity, as rapid bits of information elevate us to the Buddha mind, or at least distract us from whatever problems are at hand. In a time of deep economic, political, and intergenerational despair, social cohesion is the only chance to save the day, and online social networks like Facebook are the best method available for reflecting—or perhaps inspiring—an aesthetic of unity.

Going social

Watching the Michigan State-Louisville game and really liking how the Spartans are playing so far ... My bracket depends on Michigan State moving on.

Going to have some good friends over for dinner tonight ...

And catching up on some reading. Here's some good reads on the growth of Facebook and celebrities on Twitter ...

And while I'm talking Twitter, in case you missed it on my Twitter this week, here's an interesting reader on celebs who have other people do their Twittering for them ...

Best of all, Cagle's Cartoons has a whole collection of Twitter cartoons! Fun stuff.

Linking up

This is a really good read about the pulls and advantages of social networking.

I can't deny I've harassed a couple of my closest friends for not being on Facebook, but I also completely understand their reasons for not wanting a part of it ...

On the other hand, I'm also a big subscriber to the idea of likening your social networks to your cell phone or the TV: You have to know what to turn them off.

Sunday reading

Just said good-bye to the parents, who spent a couple days with us here on the homestead ...

A great weekend. Great food. Great conversation. Great times playing with Phoebe ... And not so great weather. It poured almost endlessly yesterday and today ...

The afternoon is fast turning into a lazy Sunday evening. Kates and I can barely keep our eyes open.

Here's some of the reads that caught my eyes over the last few days ...

Sports ...
a A tragic end for minor leaguer traded for bats
a For Free Throws, 50 Years of Practice Is No Help
a Manny Ramirez has some things to say
a What Yankees Knew About Rodriguez’s Injury, and When They Knew It

Media & the Internet ...
a When Everyone’s a Friend, Is Anything Private?
a 15 Fake and Funny Twitter Accounts
a WIAA files suit against Gannett over broadcasting of postseason games on Internet
a In Denver, Residents Lament the Closing of a Newspaper
a Will Report for Tips
a Small Town News" journalist dissed by Letterman was laid off last week ... I'm posting this mostly because I thought the "Small Town News" segment -- in case you missed it -- was hilarious. I think this reporter's reaction to it is a little over-the-top.
a Copyright Challenge for Sites That Excerpt
a YouTube and Universal Music Are Said to Discuss Deal
a A Google Search of a Distinctly Retro Kind
a How To Save Print ... A good funny

Politics ...
a For Young President, Flecks of Gray

TV ...
a CBS has its eye on Fox's ratings prize

Music ...
a Kelly Clarkson's 'All I Ever Wanted': 3.5 stars
a U2 looks in, branches out

Life & other stuff ...
a Here, all sales are final ... Never made it to any of the local Circuit City sales to check out the big sales (We don't have the money to spend), but this was an amusing read nonetheless.
a This winter, last year's add up to some bragging rights ... I'm throwing it back.

Sunday reading

Ugh.

... Did the taxes yesterday. Happy Valentine's Day to us.

... Got my ice skating fix for the winter. And this year I did it with clear vision.

... And we had the family over to celebrates Kates's dad's birthday tonight.

We're exhausted.

Here's some of the reads that caught my eyes this week and were worth sharing ...

Sports ...
a Francona is having the time of his life
a Griffey wants to return to Seattle ... Sweet!
a Confronting A-rod
a A-Rod Dead At 33 ... From The Onion.
a Measuring A-Rod
a A-Rod proves apologies are not easy
a One Name Is Not Enough In This Case
a Steroid stench grows even stronger
a This soap opera is beyond sordid, yet we still watch
a Baseball's Tainted Month
a Hall of Fame needs to get rid of ridiculous character clause ... This is a really tough one for me. I still think the character clause is a valuable factor in determining Hall-worthiness. But I also think guys like Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens put up deserving numbers in their prime, rule-abiding years.
a Juice has sucked fun out of voting ... Another good read about the Hall voting.
a Attendance figures and revenue could decrease as teams are feeling the pressure
a Sox-Yankees: Tranquillity vs. trauma
a Favre: Top 10 All-Time? ... His knack for throwing interceptions and coming undone when games were on the line certainly doesn't help his cause.
a Coach K Never Forgets an 'L'

Music ...
a Scenes from Grammy weekend ... You go Death Cab.
a Grammys on key, but also a bit offbeat
a Wild Thing ... Good stuff about Neko Case.
a Vinyl Takes Another Spin With Music Lovers ... Love it! Except for the stores that charge like 30 bucks for a good vinyl. That's just robbery.

TV ...
a Joaquin Phoenix and late night: What's old is new again ... Phoenix's Letterman appearance is one of the craziest things I've ever seen on television.
a Joaquin Phoenix mystifies David Letterman
a Flight 1549 crew gets laughs on 'Letterman'
a As Conan heads west, where will his humor go? ... I was one of those guys who loved watching Conan in college. Some time after that I realized he's not that funny. I think he's going to have to make some changes to survive Leno's spot.

Politics ...
a Stalled Switch to Digital TV A Classic Tale of Breakdown ... Pretty much. If you're not ready, it's your own fault, I say.
a Even Tiniest Lincoln Relics Command Reverence

Internet & Media ...
a What Newspapers Do, Have Done and Will Do
a Newsweek Plans Makeover to Fit a Smaller Audience
a Boy Photoshops girl: A Flickr love story ... This is my friend Raechel's submission for the week. I found this story both very cool, and kind of creepy.
a TV's Mark Suppelsa connects to 5,000 friends on Facebook
a How Google Decides to Pull the Plug
a Do We Need a New Internet?
a How fast can you add Facebook friends? Faster than Facebook will allow
a How Social Networking Sites Have Changed The Breakup Game
a Twitter? It’s What You Make It

Life & other stuff ...
a Snuggie Pub Crawl coming
a 40 years' worth of thanks ... Great story. If you can, watch the video, too.
a Queens Driver Unknowingly Drags a Body Nearly 20 Miles ... Awful.
a From tech bubble to tech bobbleheads ... I so want one.

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that caught my attention during the last week ...

Baseball ...
a Dawson, Smith getting a raw deal
a Deal Or No Deal
a Whatever Yankees Want ... Great editorial from The New York Times.
a Willie, Bloomquist and the Dunn

The "Miracle in the Hudson" ... You can't deny this was the most fascinating story of the week, perhaps even the year. The pilot even has a Facebook page with hundreds of thousands of fans and counting ...
a After Splash, Nerves, Heroics and Comedy
a As Jet Was Ditched, Nearby Ferries Went Into Rescue Mode
a Pilot who ditched jet safely in Hudson River flew fighter planes for Air Force

Politics ...
a In the Beginning ... A good take on the inaugural oath.
a Donor fatigue setting in for some Obama supporters ... Amen.
a The Long, Lame Goodbye
a Exit Bush, Shoes Flying
a Why We Have to Look Back
a 10 Take Aways From the Bush Years
a Palin is getting in her own way

Media & the Internet ...
a At First, Funny Videos. Now, a Reference Tool
a Can CNN, the Go-to Site, Get You to Stay?
a CBS Pumps Up TV.com to Create a Destination

TV ...
a O'Brien, Fallon see late-night challenges ahead

Technology ...
a Can Apple Fill the Void?

And finally, my favorite photo of the week.

Sunday reading

We got more snow this weekend ...

At least a foot, I'd say, which is a few inches more than the meteorologist I talked to Friday night said we were going to get ... At the pace it was falling yesterday, it took me almost three hours to clean our driveway and sidewalks, and then shovel the driveway again when the plow came by and stuffed it closed. The piles of snow in some places are literally up to my eyeballs ...

Phoebe appears to be feeling much better. It's no wonder; she also appears to have handed off her cough and cold to Kates and I ...

Which is perfect considering it's supposed to get really cold this week ...

Some of the reads that caught my eyes recently ...

Sports ...
a Old guard squeezed in new market ... A new era is definitely taking hold ...
a A Really Big Deal ... You can't blame a guy for wanting to play for the Yankees. But the money involved here is just sick.
a Apples for a Nickel, and Plenty of Empty Seats
a Pursuit of glory is turning gory

Politics ...
a 'Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived' -- archival bits and pieces forge a fantasy history
a The perils and joys of self-esteem ... From Garrison Keillor
a Palin Pummels the Press
a Sweet on Caroline
a Caroline Kennedy Is No Sarah Palin
a Let Roland Burris have the Senate seat and move on, already!

Media & the Internet ...
a Can America’s paper of record survive the death of newsprint? Can journalism? ... Ugh.
a For newspapers, time's the enemy
a Sunnier Times in New Mainstream Media ... Say what you want about Jay Mariotti, but his debut column for AOL brings up some great points ... Phil Rosenthal has more here.
a For BlackBerry, Obama’s Devotion Is Priceless
a Former Tribune photog gets White House post
a On the Net: 'Tis the season for year-end lists

TV ...
a Paving the way to 'Sesame Street' ... Who doesn't love "Sesame Street."

Music ...
a Katy Perry fills music’s quirky girl void

The Onion ...
a Terror Experts Warn Next 9/11 Could Fall On Different Date

Life & other stuff ...
a Ford's Theatre to Curtail Display of Lincoln Coat
a The Next Next Things ... Some pretty cool stuff to look forward to.
a Milky Way not such a lightweight; new study suggests it's 50 percent more massive than thought

Sunday reading

A collection of reads that caught my attention during the last week or two ...

Have fun.

Sports ...
a Taking another look at instant replay
a Baseball salaries should outrage, but don’t
a Unconventional wisdom: How to improve Hall of Fame voting
a Baseball Hall of Fame Needs to Change 5 Percent Rule ... I think I agree more with this philosophy then the one floated in the story above.
a It's the offseason of hope
a From the Phillie Phanatic, a Family of Mascots
a Chris Ballard reads athletes blogs
a Watching Favre From Baghdad Evokes Memories

Music ...
a Carly Smithson's post-'Idol' blues
a Hootie And a Hollerin':Rucker Finds Unlikely Success In Country Music

TV ...
a Role is a Joy for Jaime Pressly
a Denny Ghost Story Twist Revealed
a Leno decision shows retreat from 10 p.m. dramas
a Jay Leno to prime time: Why NBC is doing it

Politics ...
a On weekend before Jan. 20 inauguration, Obama to arrive in Washington by train ... Very cool.
a Games by Gov. Blago ... Yes, Rod duped Illinois. But if I remember correctly Judy Baar Topinka wasn't exactly a solid public official either.
a The Rules, Washington Edition
a Chicago's Karma
a Friends Say Kennedy Has Long Wanted Public Role
a The Young Know Caroline’s a Kennedy, but Which One? ... A good read about the different perspective people have of the Kennedys.
a Between Obama and the Press
a For Obama, Job First
a The Obama Speechwriter: Helping to Write History

Media & the Internet ...
a 20 years in the making ... I sent a resume to The Onion a few years ago. Never got the call.
a CNN Ticker, 2001-2008 -- R.I.P.
a ESPN Strives to Eject Clutter From Its Site ... 'Bout time.
a News About News, in 140 Characters ... I've been slow to get on board with the whole Twitter thing (I don't have that much time on my hands ...) but the site described here is really great ...
a Mr. Obama’s Internet Agenda
a Life on Blago's enemies list
a Advertisers Face Hurdles on Social Networking Sites
a MediaNews Sees Bad Timing on Newspapers, Not Bad Bets

Life & other stuff ...
a To Teach, They Reach For Obama
a Plane hits cow on emergency landing ... From my friend Raechel, with accompanying video.
a Sometimes, Fists Fly at Chuck E. Cheese's ... Also from my friend Raechel.
a Dad afraid his daughter will be Drew's next wife ... From the 'You've got to be kidding me!' file ...
a Wait a second: 2008 gets extended by timekeepers
a When Mommy takes the hit

Sunday reading

... My Bearcats are heading back to the National Championship game for the fourth year in a row after a thorough whumping of North Alabama yesterday ...

... My favorite song of the week is Jem's "I Wish;" Kates, Pheebs and I danced our hearts out to it in the kitchen last night ...

Good times. Now, if only the termperature outside this weekend wasn't so darn cold ...

Here's some of the reading material that caught my interest during the last week ...

Sports ...
a First NFL game in 3-D fumbles, then recovers
a Sabathia Is Keeping Yanks’ Offer in His Pocket ... You go, C.C. I will always respect the player who goes where he feels comfortable, not where the money is. If he feels comfortable in New York, fine. But I'm not getting that's the case; I'm a strong believer he could still end up in Milwaukee.
a Now, Red Sox fans can prove their undying loyalty ... Another crazy marketing scheme, and I'm sure Cubs fans won't be far behind.

Politics ...
a I'm Really Gonna Miss Systematically Destroying This Place ... By George Bush, from The Onion
a Trading The Talk for The Walk? Host's Political Hopes Put MSNBC on the Spot
a The Real Bill Ayers ... By Bill Ayers
a Obama has the 'Look' ... Kates and I were just talking about this a couple weeks ago. With John McCain, it was 'My friends ...' With Obama, it's 'Look ...'
a No messing around when it comes to Obama motorcade ... fascinating stuff.
a Oogedy-Boogedy in the Bloxicon ... By Kathleen Parker
a Kennedy and N.Y. Governor Discuss Clinton's Senate Seat
a Performance artist has 530 messages to give to Obama
a Tapped Out ... My thoughts exactly. I get the e-mails, too.

Internet & the Media ...
a Puckishly Conquering a Facebook Pinnacle ... No one should have 5,001 friends on Facebook.
a Facebook Aims to Extend Its Reach Across the Web
a Amy Jacobson's story: The tale of the tape
a Live, From Carnegie Hall: It's the YouTube Symphony Orchestra ... So cool!

Music ...
a Chicago band uses digital savvy to promote album
a The Kennedy Center Honors: Roger Daltrey & Pete Townshend ... A well-deserved honor for the boys. The Post also provided some interesting outtakes here.
a College Radio Maintains Its Mojo
a Neko Case talks farm, Middle Cyclone

Entertainment ...
a Jennifer Aniston: A Fresh Start With 'Marley & Me'
a What Tina Wants ... Man, I admire Tina Fey ...

Life & other stuff ...
a American Airlines Now Charging Fees To Non-Passengers ... Laugh out loud funny, from The Onion.
a One that didn't get away yields long-lost ring ... From my friend Raechel.
a A day they'll never forget: Few remain to mark 67th anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor
a In Hard Times, Is Best Buy’s Best Good Enough?
a Christmas miracle in the works
a Hey, Detroit: There is a right way to jet set ... great read.
a College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S. ... depressing read.
a I-PASS user takes on tollway over erroneous 30-cent charge ... You've got to admire this woman.

Sunday reading

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving ...

Here's some of the stories I took an interest in during the last week ...

Sports ...
a Mitchell thinks drug use down in MLB
a In Detroit, Tradition Takes a Hike

Music ...
a 2008 American Music Awards: The Best and Worst
a Digital Sales Surpass CDs at Atlantic
a Austin tries to keep title of 'live music capital'

Movies ...a 'Christmas Story' fans celebrate film's 25th year
a Chenoweth Has Christmas Covered ... Ah, Kristin Chenoweth. Chirpy!
Politics ...
a Obama team delivers a changeup in news conference seating
a Barack Obama chafes inside the 'bubble'
a BlackBerry vs. the bubble
a Change From the Top
a The true school scandala Send Bill Clinton to the Senate
a Obama steps forcefully into vacuum
a White House Manual Details How to Deal With Protesters
a The White House: An Operating Manual

Media & the Internet ...
a Facebook broke my heart ... I'll admit it, there are old girlfriends and flames on my Facebook. Each hold a special part of my past, and it's been a thrill for me to reconnect with them, too, and see what they're doing now ... But there are lines you shouldn't cross.
a Friends in a Facebook World
a Online networks have rendered reunions obsolete
a Dine-and-dash gang nabbed via Facebook ... From my friend Raechel.
a Woman who won a date is suing Waukegan radio station ... This is crazy. Why, why why! would the radio station not do a background check on the guy!?
a Woman Guilty of Minor Charges for MySpace Hoax ... Crazy, interesting stuff.
a A Penny for My Thoughts?

Technology ...a No Keyboard? And You Call This a BlackBerry?

Life & other stuff ...a The Car of the Future -- but at What Cost?
a Back to the old toy box: In hard times, parents and retailers turn to tried-and-true favorites
a Reducing costs 1 word at a time
a A president named Obama changes the name game
a Frank Gehry: The Starchitect's Best Work May Turn Out Not to Look Much Like Him
a Louisville drops Who-ville Christmas display at behest of Dr. Seuss lawyers
a Area Man Shocked To See His Elementary School Has A Website ... From The Onion.

Sunday reading

Here's two weeks of reads I found to be interesting ...

Baseball ...
a 'Good citizen's' spot in Cubs' lore secure ... When the Cubs got rid of Kerry Wood last week, I was a little susprised given the strong season he'd had. Then again, the Cubs should've gotten rid of him years ago. But even through all of the injuries, he was a good personality to have around.

Politics ... from the day after the election ...
a A new morning in America
a America turns the page
a Shift in tone will bring a watershed for nation
a Nation crosses hopeful bridge
a Now, Promises to Keep, and Divides to Be Bridged
a Obama and America
a No Time for Laurels; Now the Hard Part
a For Many Abroad, an Ideal Renewed

More politics ...
a Light in November ... I became a fan of Kathleen Parker a couple years ago, but her stuff during this election cycle has been wonderfully entertaining.
a A Moment for the Ages, Many Years in the Making
a Finally, a Thin President
a Sitting on top of the world
a Thinking of Good Vibrations
a 'Renegade' joins 'Twinkle,' 'Rawhide,' 'Lancer' on list of Secret Service code names
a Obamas just like us except ...
a 10 most viral videos of the campaign
a What's up with Obama's Sox hat?
a For Obama and Family, a Personal Transition
a The Election Lives! ... This is a good one about the yet-to-be-decided Senate election in Minnesota.
a Tolerance fails T-shirt test ... Astonishing is one word to describe this one.

The Internet & media ...
a Google at 10: Searching Its Own Soul
a Election’s Over, So What’s Next for the Cable News Channels?
a Freaky hologram on CNN recalls 'Star Wars' ... Who wasn't saying this after the election?!
a In Era of Blog Sniping, Companies Shoot First
a Remember Me? The One With the 'O' Button?
a The Monitor embraces its future - a digital one
a Rejected Tribune Front Pages ... My friend Liz tipped me off to this one. My favorite is definitely the WHOOPS. page.
a We are not bemused. Or are we? A word's dueling meanings

Music ...
a Elvis mystery solved! ... and how the Tribune solved it.
a Shawn Colvin: Wild Child, Now 52, Finds Fun In Her Music
a Van Morrison discusses 'Astral Weeks,' which he'll perform at the Hollywood Bowl

TV ...
a Flagging ‘Heroes’ Attempts Self-Rescue
a In Its Final Season, 'ER' Is Embracing Its Roots
a 'How I Met Your Mother' fans await big reveal day
a Talking Obamas, Huxtables with Bill Cosby

Entertainment ...
a Fanning is a big girl and a big star now

Life & other stuff ...
a Toy Hall of Fame points to new addition: the stick
a Massive waves a mystery at Maine harbor ... This is fascinating.

Yes we did!

… Some final lingering thoughts and scenes from this election night …

I got into the office late this afternoon … and then began the long wait. Hours of waiting for results to come in …

We had CNN on the TV, and laughed at their hologram technology. We couldn’t leave alone the fact that it looked like something out of “Star Wars” and Princess Leia pleading “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope.” ... Oh, Jon Stewart is going to have fun with this, we kept saying.

We became enthralled in the updates from the major news sites -- MSNBC, The New York Times, USA Today, the Washington Post -- and the mechanisms they were using to track the votes. We found it especially fun to track the MSNBC and Times sites, with their live updates and theirs tools that allowed us to click on specific states to get tallies. You could even zoom in to get vote totals from specific counties. I was checking out totals coming into my old residencies and other places of interest. Way cool!

Cell phones were ringing and echoing across the office with text message updates and news alerts …

The anticipation of what was happening mounted as we watched the footage of the crowd in Grant Park …

Our pizza delivery arrived at around 9:30 …

And then at 10:03, seemingly out of nowhere, CNN cast Barack Obama as the President of the United States …

At first, it seemed almost too good to be true …Not only was it the outcome so many of us had been wanting, it seemed way to early to call, given the way things played out in 2000 and 2004 …

But then we saw NBC call it, too, and we watched the footage of jubilant crowds in Chicago. In Times Square. Outside the White House. In Harlem …

It was so over … My friend Laura ran out of the office crying tears of joy. Our editor emerged from his office, greeting us with fist bumps and saying “Change is coming.”

Even more striking, John McCain came out within the hour -- far earlier than any of us had expected -- and conceded the election. You could hear a pin drop as we gathered around the TV to watch him speak …

“… He managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.”

Around 10:45, I was directed to go to one of the local colleges to check out a report of a riot …

In my car, I immediately turned on the radio and caught the conclusion of McCain’s concession, and then realized I’d stumbled on an obnoxiously Republican station. The commentators began forecasting riots at any moment and other absurd scenes playing out … I promptly changed the station and found WGN …

At the college, it was quite the opposite of a riot. Students had erupted in cheers and were pouring out of residence halls into a courtyard, hugging and shouting “Obama!” I found one group of students dancing on a car and blasting music. I talked to a young black man, proudly wearing an Obama T-shirt, who told me, “I never thought this day would come.”

As I got back in my car, President-elect Obama was about to step to the podium in Grant Park. I listened all the way back to the office, in awe of the moment …

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where anything is possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

Back at the office, I caught the conclusion of Obama’s acceptance speech and watched as Joe Biden and their families joined them on the stage. Again, we were crowded around the TV. Text messages ringing by the minute …

Words like “transcendent” and “remarkable” were spoken. We mulled our headlines for tomorrow and settled on “Yes he can!”

We mused about the results. Obama had won 56 percent in Wisconsin. 51 percent in Florida. 51 percent in Ohio. 53 percent in Colorado, 56 percent in New Mexico. 55 percent in Pennsylvania. He cleaned up in New England.

Before I left the office I checked my Facebook, too, beaming as I read some of my friends’ status updates -- “Can’t be much happier.” ... “We did really did it =) obama!!!” ... “very happy with the outcome...now then...lets get to work!” ... “glad she stayed up for this- I'm so proud of our country!” ... “thank u america...i applaud you for the first time in 8 yrs.”

And my favorite, “An early bedtime on election night. Good night, President Obama!”

As seen on the Web

Some Web finds I've been meaning to share for a few weeks ...

First in the political spectrum ...

I came across this Sarah Palin flow chart after the vice presidential debate.

Then there's "Palin As President." I got wind of this one a couple weeks ago from a college buddy and it's becoming an instant classic. Very Short List pubbed the site earlier this week and also included a video of Palin "singing" a response to a question from Katie Couric ... Ha-larious!

And the Boston Globe wrote about this one that allows users to "help Sarah make sense."

* * *

Also compliments of Very Short List ...

Here's an amusing blog focused on "Cake Wrecks."

... And here's a fascinating photography site from a guy who took pictures of people driving their cars. So cool!

And this Web site allows you to read a book on your work computer. ... Pretty clever.

* * *

Finally, my friend Jocelyn posted this one over the weekend ... Too cute.

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that caught my eyes during the last week ...

Baseball ...
a Don Zimmer the ultimate common denominator
a Upstart Rays aim to keep surprises coming in playoffs
a Francona sets standard for managers
a Cardinal O'Malley is no Fenway regular. But he keeps tabs on Boston's secular faith
a Architect of Phillies, Gillick Will Listen to Anyone’s Plans
a When Philadelphia Was a Winner
a Series of changes in last 40 years
a Manny In La La Land
a Financial crisis will slow Cubs sale
a A look back on a Chicago baseball season gone bad

Football ...
a The Brett Favre Backup Club

Media & the internet ...
a Tina Brown jumps off page and onto the Web
a Couric Rebounds With Web and Palin ... I'm not yet a fan of her newscast, but her YouTube stuff has been catching my eyes.
a Katie Couric In The News For All The Right Reasons: Her Work
a Turn and Face the Change -- With Newspaper Industry in Crisis, 'Everything's on the Table'
a Social networking sites help companies boost productivity
a Seeking Broader Reach for Social Web Sites
a Check out my Twitter ... I'm telling you, forget newsprint -- it's all in social networking, blogs and newsfeeds, people.
a Newspapers’ Web Revenue Is Stalling ... Ugh.

TV ...
a Brea Grant gets off and running as latest 'Heroes' villain

Politics ...
a The destructive policies of President Bush
a In Wisconsin, a tilt toward Obama
a Historians ponder Lincoln's legacy, lessons we can learn
a He Told Us to Go Shopping. Now the Bill Is Due.
a Postponing the election: It's a joke, or is it?
a A frustrated Esquire endorses Obama
a Obama vs. McCain: Scripted and improv
a Worst of times
a When the gloves and lipstick are on

Life & other stuff ...
a What makes Boston in a league of its own

Sunday reading

Some of the stories that caught my eyes during the last couple weeks ...

Sports ...
a Brett Favre Getting That Retirement Itch Again ... A funny one from The Onion.
a Favre talks candidly about retirement, comeback
a Hill never loses grip on career
a Change in the air as baseball enters final month of season
a Amazin' ... Do you believe in miracles? The '69 Mets certainly do—and when they look at the upstart Rays, they see plenty of parallels with their own remarkable run.

TV ...
a 'Desperate Housewives' Welcomes Gail O'Grady! ... Maybe they'll cast Brittany Snow as her mischievious teenage daughter. Man, I miss "American Dreams" ...
a Dave at Peace: The Rolling Stone Interview ... I may not be up to stay up late for him as much as I used to, but Letterman still rocks. Reading about that Warren Zevon moment almost made me cry.

Politics ...
a Are the Candidates Putting Best Foot Forward?

Internet & media ...
a A Social Network Where You Can Be Too Social ... Ah, the vacuum that is Facebook.
a Facebook Ads Target You Where It Hurts
a 6.5 reasons you're not too old for Facebook
a Fans flock to Disney's Club Penguin Times

Travel ...
a Mackinac? Sweet.
a Wright's Taliesin showcases 'organic' architecture
a More than Rushmore: South Dakota road trip
a Paris doesn't have to be expensive

Life & other stuff ...
a Florida woman claims slice of Americana via a magazine

Sunday reading

... I know. I've been slacking.

Here's some of the good reads I've come across the last several weeks.

Baseball & Sports ...
a 104-year-old Cubs fan wants to throw out first pitch during playoffs at Wrigley
a Edmonds winning over Wrigley fans ... I told you it would happen.
a Fukudome tops Cubs' list of problem areas
a Columnist Mike Nadel takes heat for Erin Andrews column ... I personally really enjoy Erin Andrew's commentary. Though I don't disagree with Trenni Kusnierek comments.
a Leyland shocked Sheffield is unhappy with his role ... I should've known Gary Sheffield wasn't going to retire happily with the Tigers.
a A Shutout at Cooperstown
a Why the Rays have what it takes to stay in the AL East race ... This one may not read as well now that Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria are out -- but it's still interesting considering the Rays' pitching.
a There's Something in the Air, Other Than Another Ball Headed for the Fence
a Fans cheer Favre during penalty lap

Music ...
a After 10 years, New Pornographers still search for their true identity
a Katy Perry never ‘Kissed a Girl’ ... Turns out more people do remember Jill Sobule's version other than me.
a Randy Newman, back in the saddle
a Dave Matthews tries to dispel fans' uncertainty
a Concert Era Draws To A Close As Rock Legends Age
a Still fabulous at 50: Pop icons Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson

TV ...
a The Office takes over the world
a Campaign underway to save Mister Rogers
a Characters may perish by ‘ER' end
a That 'Office' spin-off may be a little slow in coming
a NBC's plan for late night spurs question: What's Leno's future?

Movies & theater ...
a Rainn Wilson Is Ready to Rock
a Broadway-bound '13' explores teenage angst

The Internet & media ...
a Constructed Criticism: Just Hit 'Send' on Those Helpful Insults
a News Under Our Noses ... a good take on the media's reporting of the John Edwards affair.
a CNN, 'SNL' and TV Critics' Primary Concerns ... Ah, that was a great episode.

Life & other stuff ...
a Revelation About Singer Leaves That Syncing Feeling
a Children see man decapitate fellow passenger on Greyhound bus in Canada ... this, compliments of my corhort Nick, is plain awful.
a More hotels are evicting phone books from rooms
a Price Of Gas Rises To Four Expletives Per Gallon ... from The Onion.
a Johnson & Johnson Introduces 'Nothing But Tears' Shampoo To Toughen Up Newborns ... also from The Onion.
a Waterfalls make Oregon state park a photographer's paradise
a The Extreme Reality Makeover Show