Friday Funnies: I Heart Local Commercials-Salt Lake Community College-Haircuts For Mormons

A-Low showed me this the other day and I just had to share it. To see more of Rhett and Link's work go to Ilovelocalcommercials.com. Enjoy!

When It Comes To Love, I Want A Man

With a Slow Hand...And just like that basketball season is here.

(Editor's Note: I received this photo via e-mail and don't have the metadata to give proper credit. If it is yours please let me know and I will be sure to edit in your info.)

Modus-Opera-Andi, Costco Kiosks and A Beautiful Song "Nessun Dorma" by Luciano Pavarotti

Never really my "modus Opera-andi" but if you remember (way back to the '02) at the end of the movie "The Sum of All Fears"(links to IMDb) the beautiful melody playing in the arms dealer's home right before he gets the blade and the song playing as the Neo-Nazi extremist Jaguar driver continues his bad habit is the song "Nessun Dorma-(Tourandot)" by the recently deceased Luciano Pavarotti.

Ironic because the title translates to "None Shall Sleep" and all of the bad guys were about to take a dirt nap, but I digress; I haven't heard this song until last night when it was playing in Costco on their little "Thanks-X-Mas_oween" kiosk but they unfortunately were not selling the Opera Collection Cd and didn't list the names or titles of song tracks. Just for fun try this experiment: Ask a handful of Costco employees or Sam's Club associates (whatever your big box of choice is) to name that Opera singer. I'll bet "usted oirá nada más que grillos"-sorry "mi Italiano es mierda". Luckily, a lovely lady stopped and said that is Pavarotti and after a little playing on E-Music, I found it. Also, if you need to have a "control" for your experiment ask them to name the very next song when it cuts over to the Rocking Halloween album, yahtzee! It's the Monster Mash!

FYI: it helps to know how to spell P-A-V-A-R-O-T-T-I.

Too Many Dix On The Dance Floor

I know, I know, I haven't the slightest reason why I allow myself to get pulled into this Fantasy Football mess each year, but somewhere deep inside my brain there's a little Dan Snyder/Jerry Jones caricature that makes me want to pretend I am the owner of this great NFL team and that I know what the heck I am talking about when I talk about the most manly of things (err, other than boxing, MMA, shooting guns, etc) which is the selections of professional athletes in NFL football.

And of course, I play the laissez-faire owner when the rules are being made (because I am too busy orchestrating my next big picks) or changed on you after the draft-which I believe is a total crock but whatever, I just here it is courtesy of the Flight of the Conchords, the exact feeling I have when I see that with ten teams in our league and six bench spots on each team, there's sixty unavailable players each week that are not being utilized. Hence, the too many dix on the dance floor analogy.

Happy Birthday Cash!

Today is my boy's 2nd birthday! This is a picture of him with one of his friends, Georgia.

Music On Monday: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson's New Tune "Relator"

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Yeah, it's been a while but we're back and to celebrate here is a little something I caught on VH1 this morning as I was getting ready for work, Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson's new song & video "Relator"-we've always been a fan of Pete Yorn and especially of Scarlett Johansson. When we heard she was making the transition from actor to singer, we thought, second verse same as the first, but after hearing this cut, I have to admit we here at the Bushido are impressed. These two sizzle on camera and the song is just one of the best singles that I have heard in quite sometime. Enjoy!

R.I.P. Teddy Kennedy

For all of those who ever wore a Ted-Sox jersey in Kelly Green, loved the Kennedys and the hope that Camelot would one day give us, bid a farewell to our friend on the Hill, Senator Ted Kennedy. Many of us thought that one day young Teddy would pick up the torch of his family's legacy, but unfortunately a reckless evening would end his chances to occupy the oval office. The luck of the Irish as they say is the ability to keep a stiff upper lip even when faced with trying times: for the Kennedys, their family would be tried by tragic loss in the family as Joe would die in the War, Jack was shot in Texas, and Bobby met the same fate in California. Ted Kennedy didn't become president but he helped change the world as an advocate for the poor, fighting as an advocate for the people of Massachusetts and when it came to stepping forward as a cosmopolitan member of society (at-large) Kennedy returned to his family's native land of Ireland as he held both the olive branches of peace and the hands of Gerry and Ian as they brokered peace on the Emerald Island. RIP Teddy! To remember Teddy, I thought we would let him say it in his own words, those he spoke as a tribute to his brother Robert F. Kennedy-courtesy of the JFK Library

Senator Edward M. Kennedy
St. Patrick's Cathedral
New York City
June 8, 1968

Listen to this speech

On behalf of Mrs. Robert Kennedy, her children and the parents and sisters of Robert Kennedy, I want to express what we feel to those who mourn with us today in this Cathedral and around the world. We loved him as a brother and father and son. From his parents, and from his older brothers and sisters - Joe, Kathleen and Jack - he received inspiration which he passed on to all of us. He gave us strength in time of trouble, wisdom in time of uncertainty, and sharing in time of happiness. He was always by our side.

Love is not an easy feeling to put into words. Nor is loyalty, or trust or joy. But he was all of these. He loved life completely and lived it intensely.

A few years back, Robert Kennedy wrote some words about his own father and they expressed the way we in his family feel about him. He said of what his father meant to him: "What it really all adds up to is love - not love as it is described with such facility in popular magazines, but the kind of love that is affection and respect, order, encouragement, and support. Our awareness of this was an incalculable source of strength, and because real love is something unselfish and involves sacrifice and giving, we could not help but profit from it.

"Beneath it all, he has tried to engender a social conscience. There were wrongs which needed attention. There were people who were poor and who needed help. And we have a responsibility to them and to this country. Through no virtues and accomplishments of our own, we have been fortunate enough to be born in the United States under the most comfortable conditions. We, therefore, have a responsibility to others who are less well off."

This is what Robert Kennedy was given. What he leaves us is what he said, what he did and what he stood for. A speech he made to the young people of South Africa on their Day of Affirmation in 1966 sums it up the best, and I would read it now:

"There is a discrimination in this world and slavery and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; and millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich; and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere.

"These are differing evils, but they are common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility toward the sufferings of our fellows.

"But we can perhaps remember - even if only for a tirne - that those who live with us are our brothers; that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek - as we do - nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.

"Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again.

"Our answer is to rely on youth - not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. They cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger that come with even the most peaceful progress. It is a revolutionary world we live in; and this generation at home and around the world, has had thrust upon it a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived.

"Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the thirty-two-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal.

"These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

"Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. And I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.

"For the fortunate among us, there is the temptation to follow the easy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial success so grandly spread before those who enjoy the privilege of education. But that is not the road history has marked out for us. Like it or not, we live in times of danger and uncertainty. But they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history. All of us will ultimately be judged and as the years pass we will surely judge ourselves, on the effort we have contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which our ideals and goals have shaped that effort.

"The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of new ideas and bold projects. Rather it will belong to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of American Society.

"Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live."

This is the way he lived. My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world.

As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him:

Uni-ball 207 Pen Prevents Check Fraud-Demonstration Video

I guess it was a couple of years ago when I first started buying these pens (Uniball 207-I prefer the Signo gel 207 Retractable Roller Ball Pen with a Micro tip) and the main reason was that I had read these pens prevent check-fraud. I never really followed up on the specifics of the how’s and the why’s, I just knew there was some special pigment in the ink which prevented check-fraud.

Alas, I have now seen the demo (thanks to Jenny for sending it to me) of how this pen actually prevents check-fraud: crooks dip the top portion of your check in acetone (a paint thinner found at any art supply or hardware store) for close to 3-minutes, removing the “date”, “To” and most importantly the amount which you had written on the check. If you used a normal pen (that has a dye based ink) everything the crook wants to remove will be gone in about three and half minutes. However, if you used the Uni-ball 207, which has special pigments that adhere to the page your original information will remain intact. If you are local, need more info or would like to purchase some of these pens call the Bushido’s supply guy and friend Ben @ Collins Office Supply (843) 554-4404; he’ll take care of you.

Friday Funnies: Misspelled Clemson Tattoo

Funny how just the smallest imperfection can ruin an otherwise beautiful work. (Photo credits: I got this beauty from Mel)

Don't Cry For Me Argentina: Sanford Stimulates the Other Stimulus Package!

Breaking News From The WaPo-Sanford Admits To Affair...

UPDATE, 2:30 p.m., ET: Well, it doesn't get much crazier than this. Governor Sanford made a stunning admission at his news conference this afternoon that he has been having an extramarital affair with a "dear dear friend" in Argentina. The affair, he said, began "very innocently" but blossomed into "something much more than that."
(Photo credits: Sanford -- AP /Brett Flashnick)

"I've been unfaithful to my wife," Sanford said. "As a consequence, I hurt her, you all, my wife, my boys, my friends like Tom Davis. I hurt a lot of different folks. All I can say is that I apologize."

Sanford said he will resign as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association.

Original Posting

How quickly they fall. Last week it was Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.); this week it's South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

With the bizarre revelation that Sanford was AWOL for five days in Buenos Aires -- and not hiking the Appalachian Trail, as his staff had said -- we think it's fair to say today may mark the death knell for two 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls.

Compared to Sanford, Ensign's crime was so pedestrian: he had an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer who was a longtime friend of his wife and married to another Ensign aide. And the senator came forward to admit the affair only after his ex-mistress's husband approached a TV network to expose the scandal.

Sanford, on the other hand, is guilty of disappearing for days on end without disclosing his whereabouts, leaving his entire state leaderless and his family wondering where Daddy was on Father's Day.

While his wife said she had no clue where her husband was, Sanford's spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor was hiking the Appalachian Trail. And he stuck to that story even after Sanford's chief of staff reportedly got a call from the governor -- who was really in Argentina -- on Tuesday. So it would appear Sawyer either lied about Sanford's true whereabouts, or was misled and passed that lie along to the public. (Asked this morning at the Atlanta airport why his staff thought he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, Sanford said, "I don't know.")

The Sanford drama is a screenplay that writes itself. Please give us your thoughts on who should play the governor, his wife, his chief of staff and his lieutenant governor, who -- bless his heart, as we say in the Carolinas -- was left completely in the dark.

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Don't Cry For Me Argentina: The State's Coverage of Governor Sanford's Affair

Sanford admits affair, apologizes to family
Governor apologizes to wife, sons and friends
By GINA SMITHgnsmith@thestate.com

BREAKING: Sanford admits he has been unfaithful to his wife.
Gov. Mark Sanford admitted today that his secret trip to Argentina over Father's Day weekend was to visit a woman he is having an affair with.

(Photo credits: Gina Smith /The State Gina Smith /The State First look: Gov. Mark Sanford arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. - Gina Smith /The State )


"I have developed a relationship with what started as a dear dear friend from Argentina. It began very innocently as I expect many of these things do, just casual email back and forth," Sanford said. "But here recently this last year developed into something much more."

Asked if Sanford was separated from his wife, he said "I don't know how you want to define that. I"m here and she's there. I guess in a formal sense we are not."

Sanford said his wife has known about the affair and they have been working through it for the past five months. "What I did was wrong, period. End of story," Sanford said.

Sanford arrived in the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport this morning, having wrapped up a seven-day visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, he said then. Sanford said he had not been hiking along the Appalachian Trail, as his staff said in a Tuesday statement to the media.

Sanford's whereabouts had been unknown since Thursday, and the mystery surrounding his absence fueled speculation about where he had been and who's in charge in his absence. His emergence Wednesday ended the mystery.

Sanford, in an interview with The State, said he decided at the last minute to go to the South American country to recharge after a difficult legislative session in which he battled with lawmakers over how to spend federal stimulus money.

Sanford said he had considered hiking on the Appalachian Trail, an activity he said he has enjoyed since he was a high school student.

"But I said 'no' I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford said "... It's a great city."
Sanford, in a brief interview in the nation's busiest airport, said he has been to the city twice before, most recently about a year and half ago during a Commerce Department trip.

Sanford said he was alone on the trip. He declined to give any additional details about what he did other than to say he drove along the coastline.

Sanford, who was wearing a blue and white button down shirt and brown denim pants, said he left for Buenos Aires on Thursday night from Columbia Metropolitan Airport and had originally planned to come back tomorrow.

Media reports said a SLED SUV the governor drove that night was spotted in the airport's parking lot.
Sanford's spokesman Joel Sawyer declined to immediately comment to The Associated Press, and the governor did not return cell phone messages.

Sanford planned a news conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday at his office in Columbia.
Critics slammed his administration for lying to the public.

"Lies. Lies. Lies. That's all we get from his staff. That's all we get from his people. That's all we get from him," said state Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia. "Why all the big cover-up?"

Trying to drive along the coast could frustrate a weekend visitor to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the Avenida Costanera is the only coastal road, and it's less than two miles long. Reaching coastal resorts to the south requires a drive of nearly four hours on an inland highway with views of endless cattle ranches. To the north is a river delta of islands reached only by boat.

A spokesman for Argentina's immigration agency wouldn't comment Wednesday on whether Sanford entered the country, citing privacy laws.

The governor said he cut his trip short after his chief of staff, Scott English, told him his trip was gaining a lot of media attention and he needed to come back.

When asked why his staff said he was on the Appalachian Trail, Sanford replied, "I don't know."
Sanford later said "in fairness to his staff," he had told them he might go hiking on the Appalachian Trial.

Sanford said he decided not to return via the Columbia airport to avoid the media. The State Media Company was the only media who greeted Sanford this morning.

"I don't know how this thing got blown out of proportion," Sanford said.

Sanford said he has taken adventure trips for years to unwind. He has visited such places as the coast of Turkey, the Greek Isles and South America. He was with friends sometimes and sometimes by himself.
"I would get out of the bubble I am in," Sanford said.

Sanford said the legislative session was a difficult one for him, particularly losing the fight over whether he should accept stimulus $700 million in stimulus money he wanted lawmakers to spend on debt instead of urgent budget needs.
"It was a long session and I needed a break," Sanford said.

After a brief conversation with a reporter, Sanford was escorted away by an aide.

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Happy Father's Day To All The Father's Out There...

Friday Funnies: South Carolina Thru The Eyes of a Charlestonian!

Feed Your iPod: Jamie Foxx "Blame It"

Jamie Foxx - New Music - More Music Videos

Just found out tonight that the Beav has never heard the song "Blame It" by Jamie Foxx. All I got to say is man you need some more MTV or VH1 "Jump Start" in your life brother. You've got no excuse not to have heard this one but I guess you can blame it on the ah-ah-ah-alcohol.

Kicking It @ Bamboo With The Birthday Girl!

I had heard mixed reviews about the (relatively) new Japanese restaurant Bamboo (Garden) in Mt. Pleasant but the Bushido will give the Bamboo-Crew my blessing. We had a blast celebrating another milestone for the JABROS and friends.

As the faites would have it, we lucked out and got a great server (Alex) a sweet spot-the U-shaped couch with a giant marble table/fountain and excellent sushi for quite reasonable prices with drinks I doubt our tab will be more than 50 bucks for Sweets and I. That being said, if you are thirsty for one of those Ju-Ju Beers, you are going to be out of luck because our server said someone is killing them-let's not point fingers.

Well, I have to go-Sweets is calling me out for being a "crack-head with my crack-berry". Happy birthday MABROS.

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Friday Funnies: U-Haul Feet As Well?

I guess only in South Carolina would there be a U-Haul pass you with a young ladies feet dangling out the window-and I thought that smell was just Orangeburg.
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Friday Funnies: U-Haul Feet As Well???

I don't know why I found this to be so funny but as I was cruising to Columbia today I was passed by this U-Haul van with a young lady catching a kitty nap with her legs hanging out the window. I guess, it's just one of those only in South Carolina things...And all this time I thought that smell was just a factory outside of Columbia.

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Seriously? Dead stopped on I-26

I am @ a dead stop and I-26 has only one lane open near mile-marker 190. Come on SCDOT. And there are those who say that "I-26" shouldn't be widened to three lanes.
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Either Spoleto Is In Full Gear...

Or there is about to be a jousting tournament in Marion Square.

In all seriousness go to Marion Square and check out the amazing art displayed by participating artists.
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Notice the Similarities Between the New Yankee Stadium and the Rays Stadium?

Has anyone else noticed the lack of enthusiasm and filled seats in the new Yankee Stadium? Perhaps it is the price of the lower seats and the current state of the economy that has the seats mirroring the same set-up they have in Tampa.

Don't worry Boss, if the Yankees make it to the playoffs and the World Series there will be butts in those seats.

Wednesday's WTF? WTF Won't Anyone Obey The Traffic Laws?

Come on Cletus!
I honestly hate to single out this "county-mountie" but he just had the misfortune of being in front of me this morning and not pulling up to the big white stripe on the blacktop-see photo-after I beeped my horn twice, waiting a few moments and then beeped again (twice). Had he done so, then I would have been able to use the turn lane but instead he just parked his cruiser right there in the middle of the lane-oblivious to what was going on in the world; and to think, I could have not been eight minutes late to work if he would have just pulled up just short of two feet. Then again, these hopeful thoughts are all for naught as once the light turned green the deputy decided to turn right anyway and I was caught by the West Ashley bridge (malfunctioning?) for 45-minutes as we had to let a sailboat get out into the harbor.

A Growing Trend
Charlestonians have often lamented about tourists needing to "go back to Ohio"-heck they even started a web-site-because the growing sentiment is that tourists cause traffic problems. I don't buy it; a majority of the "yahoos" I see causing T-total cluster-f's have South Carolina tags on the back of their cars and either a Clemson sticker or (sadly) a Citadel sticker somewhere on the window or bumper. Which while I am on topic, wtf wouldn't you know to merge into the right lane on the down ramp (heading towards town) by the round Holiday Inn (especially if you went to school here for 4 years)? I hate to generalize Citadel grads and their driving ability but after years of making this trek at least once a day, five days a week, for quite a few years now, I can say about eighty percent of the time, there's a Citadel sticker on the back of the car who ends up stuck in the 10 feet of caution area awaiting to merge.

Make the Connection
There's also a lot of hub-bub and hand-wringing (read: opposition) about the proposed (more than a decade ago-see big mound at the end of the James Island Connector across the street from Harris Teeter) extension of 526, which would finally connect the City with the surrounding greater-Charleston Metro area. I say make the connection. Anyone who travels Savannah Highway will tell you that it is a nightmare: stop and go traffic due to bad timing on the traffic lights, drivers won't travel 45 mph near the auto mile (the speed limit doesn't lower to 35 until you hit Ashley River Baptist Church) and all of this cow-herding of cars bottle-necks to a bridge that may or may not be standing upright allowing a sailboat to travel beneath. Simple economics say that if there is one sailboat leaving port (not spending any more money) and about a hundred cars waiting to get Downtown to make money or spend money then the cars should take precedent.

Sorry for the rant but this is my first post using the Blackberry and I have a sh_crap ton of time on my hands.

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Sunday Samurai: I Can't Wait...The New Harris Teeter, Pigs In A Blanket & Big Box (Home Depot & Lowes) Staying Open An Hour Later

For the new Harris Teeter store to open in the West Ashley section of Charleston, South Carolina. For those of you who live West of the Ashley River in Charleston and have suffered for years without a 24-hour grocery store to quash that desire for a midnight snack I present you the new Harris Teeter store. Be patient my friends, the end is near and she should be open here soon.

I was in the Pig the other night about 10 minutes before closing time (like 9 pm) and I asked the manager if the Pig was going to start staying open later to compete with the new Teeter. He replied, "Oh gosh no, in fact, I wish we could go back to closing at 7 pm." Seriously?

Leave it to Beaver or just leave Beaver
I can understand the gentleman's desire to hearken back to the old days when we all ate dinner together at 6:30 pm and the grocery closed early because most folks only made a trip to the "sto" once a week. But let's get with the times people, we work late, jam our schedules full of errands and appointments ad nauseum. And let's face it, convenience stores these days just are not that convenient.

Just recently, Home Depot decided to open an hour earlier and stay open an hour later. How friggin awesome is that? Countless times, I have broken something (whilst trying to repair something else) or been mid-way into a project when I realized I needed something-that I could only find-from HD or Lowes (not the 24-hour Super Wal-Mart) and then looked at the clock only to realize I had fifteen minutes before they closed. Not anymore baby! (FYI: Lowes decided to match their cross-street competition and match Home Depot's hours). I even filled out my first receipt-questionairre exclaiming how I loved the later hours @ Home Depot and wished they would advertise this new change so more people would take advantage of their new closing time.

For those great deciders who changed the hours @ Lowes & Home Depot-Bravo! To the Big Whigs @ the Teeter who decided to provide the folks here this side of the Ashley a new store-Bravo indeed Sirs.

Rachel Alexandra Wins The Blackberry Preakness Stakes!

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Rachel Alexandra just became the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes in 80 years (since Nellie Morse won in 1924) with Derby winner Calvin Borel finishing the mile and three-sixteenth track in 1:55.08. A 9-5 favorite, Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks two-weeks ago the Friday race (for locals) before the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

I took the Derby winner Mine that Bird to win because with 6-1 odds (which aren't great by any means) but are better than the 9-5 odds Rachel Alexandra had. Also, I thought that perhaps Bird's jockey-Mike Smith would get it done today. And like they say, if you have a "hunch, bet a bunch" and since today is the 7th Annual Birdfest Bluegrass Festival, I thought why not stick with the Derby winner. Well, it looks like another year without a Triple-Crown winner unless jockey Calvin Borel wins in three weeks at the Belmont Stakes-but then again, that doesn't count since he's not a horse.

For the full story go to NBC Sports.com

The Bushido's Blackberry 134th Preakness Stakes Picks!

I am sticking with the winner of the Derby, Mine that Bird to win, the super filly Rachel Alexandra and Musketman to place 3rd. Post time is less than 5 minutes away. (Photo courtesy of Gainesway Farm)

I know Calvin Borel is riding The Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra but Mike Smith is riding the Derby winner Mine that Bird, Smith is a great jockey and his girlfriend (a fine jockey herself) won with Mine that Bird in Canada as a two-year old. (Mine that Bird was a Champion-Juvenile in Canada.)

Last minute bets (unless you live in South Carolina) can be placed here @ tvg.com

Kate Winslet Channels Catherine Deneuve For Vanity Fair As The Belle de Jour!

For some reason Sweets doesn't understand why I continue my subscription (in this economy) to that certain publication produced by our distinguished friend Hugh Hefner (seriously there are great articles and interviews in between the three layouts of form and pulchritude) after our decision to agree-to-disagree I just happened to flip through the December 2008 issue of her Vanity Fair magazine and my jaw about dropped when I saw the (photo by Steven Meisel) article "Isn't She Deneuvely" (by Krista Smith) about Kate Winslet. Talk about not wanting to read the article.

Oh the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 

Smith's article really connects the reader to what the balance of life is like for Ms. Winslet. Who am I kidding? I am sure it is great but I couldn't help but think that Winslet's husband, Sam Mendes is one lucky ninja and then I just day-dreamed about the premise of the photo shoot by the talented Steven Meisel, which is inspired by Catherine Deneuve's character Severine Serizy in the 1967 film, Belle de Jour by Spanish director Luis Bunuel (aka: the father of cinematic surrealism ) where a housewife (is moonlighting the best description?) spends her days as a daytime prostitute (working two to five); hence, the meaning behind the Francais "Belle de Jour" (Beauty of the Day) and is a great lesson that money isn't everything there doctor. Deneuve's performance is also the reason that we must channel both, I said both, Shatner's Captain Kirk and the Daily Show's Jon Stewart, by looking to the sky and screaming "KHAN!!!"

(Photo of Catherine Deneuve and Iska Khan from the movie Belle de Jour courtesy of the Belle de Jour on Myspace)

Happy Mother's Day..You Mothers-Justin Timberlake & Andy Sandberg in "Motherlover"

This is hilarious and somewhat of a pithy way to celebrate Mother's Day but what did you expect. Without further adieu may I present the latest SNL digital short from the boys who brought you "Di** In A Box" Justin Timberlake and Andy Sandberg in "Motherlover" the SNL digital short hosted by Hulu.com