I Like the New Radiohead Album

radiohead: in rainbows, originally uploaded by Carla216.

I'm going out on a limb here, but I believe Radiohead's latest studio release In Rainbows is their best album since 1997's opus, OK Computer. Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief are all admirable records, but In Rainbows is fresh and cutting.

Perhaps that's because Radiohead have freed themselves of the shackles of record label EMI. Maybe the weight of corporate sucess has been lifted to reveal the band at its true self---honest but not jaded. The machines are there, but the guitars do most of the talking.

Radiohead can now come out and play. They can make their music on their time. They can sell out shows when they feel like it. Radiohead sells their music for what you the consumer wants to pay. Radiohead is winning and if you don't believe me, listen to their new record.

Odom, Artest, Kidd and the Future

jason kidd, originally uploaded by spcoon.

Who would you rather have? Lamar Odom or Ron Artest? Potential or baggage? Laker fans are waiting for Odom to fulfill his potential that he showed in flashes while on the Clippers, Heat and last year until he got injured.
That's another thing--injuries. It seems like every time Odom gets into a groove, he gets hurt. He's like that friend with good intentions that always screws up. Nobody disputes that he's a great character guy and a dynamic player. However, people will question his ability to play alongside Kobe Bryant and his mental fortitude.

How many times have Laker fans begged Odom to shoot more and be more aggressive? How many times has it seemed like he was on the cusp of becoming an All-Star? Odom is the 27th highest paid player in the NBA and the Lakers are on the hook for $28 million over the next two years. That wouldn't be so bad if he made a difference. Artest makes a difference and he is owed $16.5 over the same span.

No matter how long it's been since Artest's latest discretion teams are wary of what might happen. He is a top 5 defender and is averaging over 20 points. I'm sure he would love playing in Kobe's shadow instead of cowering under it. He is the best player on a fading Kings team and he holds a player option for next year.

Forget about trading for Jason Kidd , and focus on Artest. He's affordable and the Kings will want to dump him once they realize they are stuck in the mud.

Speaking of Kidd, under no circumstance should the Lakers trade Andrew Bynum or Jordan Farmar for Kidd. Actually, the Lakers would have to throw in Kwame Brown to make the salaries work. That would deplete the Lakers front court and virtually be impossible. Now, if the Lakers could trade Brown and Farmar, can you imagine the starting five of Bryant, Odom, Kidd, Bynum and Walton/Radmonovic?

Basically, you would be trading Kidd for Farmar, which is tough, but necessary. In his second season, Farmar has provided a spark off the bench with 10 points and 3 assists in 20 minutes. Promising numbers, but they're nothing like Kidd's 11 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. Kidd can also run an offense and would be able to free Odom and Bryant from handling the ball.

Artest will be cheaper but there's no guarantee that the Kings will trade him to their conference rivals. All this being said, if the Lakers remain healthy, and that's a big if, they have a chance to finish fifth in the West and possibly some noise in the playoffs. If someone goes down for and extended period of time or the price is too good to pass up, odds are either Kidd or Artest could be wearing purple and gold by season's end.

"C"razy!!!

When one thinks of Benihana, they think of the onion volcano, or the fun-loving chefs who flip shrimp tails into their hats. The last thing one would think of would be a questionable health inspection score.

Well, brace yourself residents of Santa Monica because one of those wacky cooks may be serving hibachi rat.

That's right folks, our beloved Japanese franchise has been bestowed with a "C" health rating. That's right, a "C".

Think about that for a moment. Let it seep in like ginger sauce. When was the last time, if ever, that you saw a restaurant with a "C"? I would have to guess never.




I've been by roach-coaches in downtown L.A. and I've been to seafood shacks in Chernobyl and they are abiding by the standards set by the Department of Public Health.

By definition, a "C" grade states that conditions are "Generally acceptable in food handling practices and overall general food facility maintenance".

Most places have an "A" grade, which leads me to believe that being sanitary isn't all that hard.

The Benihana in question was rewarded with an "A" in it's previous inspection in April.

However, it was not without some negative marks such as "Disease Transmission". This sub-category will be marked to indicate the observation of employee(s) who are likely to transmit disease to others while performing tasks.

Disease Transmission - carrier/lesion/rash. Examples:

• handling food with bandage on hand without approved gloves.


• butcher with an open sore on hand, handling meat without approved gloves.


• a food handler with a persistent runny nose requiring frequent wiping.

Wow. Now if a restaurant can get an "A" while a cook has as lesion, I can only imagine what they did to get a "C".

At least they cook the disease out of the food right in front of you.

To see the ratings of all inspected restaurants in Los Angeles, go to http://lapublichealth.org/rating/. Or for complete ignorance, do nothing.

5 Remedies for the Laker Sickness

With all of the he-said, he-said going on in Lakerland these days it's hard to figure out what's actually going on and what needs to be done to save our favorite team. Trust me though, at first trying to wrap my mind around all of the drama was as tough as trying to believe that Greg Oden is not 42 years-old. Remember that just two years ago, the Lakers were one win away from the second round and then one series against the Clippers away from the Western Conference Finals. Here are five easy ways our Lakers can right the ship:

1. DO NOT TRADE KOBE! The Lakers will never find equal value, which has been the case in all blockbuster deals---including the Shaq trade. Just make him happy by coming up with a plan and adding the right players. Kobe is a Laker and as much as he's frustrated us at times, he is the ONLY reason why we care about the franchise.


Remember how happy you are here?

2. Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen. All the problems start at the top with Dr. Jerry Buss, his son Jim Buss and General Manager Mitch Kupchak. I know that Kupchak has been the lightening rod for criticism lately, but it is much deserved. Smush Parker? Aaron McKie? Vladimir Radmonivic? Passing on Josh Howard to take Brian Cook? Missing out on Jason Kidd, Ron Artest and Baron Davis. Granted, the General Manager here does not have absolute power, but in terms of talent evaluation and the 5-year plan (which is 3 years too long) are within Kupchak's faculty and have proved to be poorly handled. Did I mention that Kupchak traded away Caron Butler for Kwame Brown? Yeah, I would definitely trade an All-Star for a kid who throws birthday cakes at people. As for Jim Buss, he is the son of owner Dr. Jerry Buss, but what in all that is purple and gold are his qualifications? Oh yeah, that's right, he was born. Nobody really knows his level of involvment or influence, but since he has become partial steward of the Laker kingdom, the empire has been crumbling.

3. Hire Jerry West. In whatever capacity, preferably as GM. Give him a stake in the franchise. Give him total control. Hell, give him Chris Mihm as his personal secretary----no one will notice. West is a winner. He also instills the trust of the players and puts fear into the hearts of other GM's. He is not afraid of making trades and taking risks. Not to mention that he drafts like a mother. Swallow your pride Dr. Buss, fire your son, get rid of captain monotone (Kupchak) and get your house in order. Oh yeah, wasn't West the GM of the Grizzlies who are trying to move an All-Star forward from Spain?


Help us Jerry West, you're our only hope

4. Get Good Value With the 19th Pick. The Lakers need to get the most talented player available and luckily this is a deep draft. Two players that project to be available are seven-footer Jason Smith and PG Javaris Crittenton. Smith is a sleeper, but getting more recognition every day. Brown has one year left and has health concerns. Mihm and Ronny Turiaf are free agents and Bynum is still a project. Getting Smith would give the Lakers much needed flexibility and insurance if one of those players gets traded or is injured. At 6-5, Crittenton fits right into Phil Jackson's scheme of having bigger guards. Seeing that Sasha Vujacic will be jettisoned after the season and Smush Parker already gone, the Lakers will be thin at the point.

5. Get Ron Artest and Mo Williams. Easier said than done, but those are the missing pieces that are available at the moment. Sacramento is in the midst of changing their image and cleaning up their act. They are dying to unload Artest and the Lakers might be able to pull a sign-and-trade involving Luke Walton and Maurice Evans. Mo Williams is a free agent and the Lakers have a mid-level exemption available. Williams made $2 million last year while averaging 17 points and 6 assists. Imagine Bryant and Williams in the backcourt with Odom, Artest and Bynum in the frontcourt. Don't rule out Pau Gasol if West joins the Lakers.


Artest would definitely give a 'thumbs-up' to a trade to LA

In terms of the salary cap, the Lakers are in the black. Brian Grant's $15 million is finally off of the books and although it didn't count against the luxury tax the Lakers still had to deposit the money in his account. What was a $77.4 million payroll last year has shrunk down to $57.7 million. The salary cap for the 2007-08 season projects to be around $56-57 million and the luxury tax threshold should be around $69 million. This means that the Lakers have $12 million to play around with without paying the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax. However, the Lakers only have 9 players on the payroll with free-agents Chris Mihm, Smush Parker, Aaron McKie, Luke Walton, Shammond Williams and Ronny Turiaf. I would like to think that Parker and McKie won't be back with Williams and Mihm as possibilities. Turiaf would be great at a bargain and Walton is essential to resign unless he's in a sign-and-trade.

Kwame Brown is in the last year of his contract and is owed $9 million. If the Lakers can't trade him (health concerns----we wonder if he has a pulse) then their payroll will be that much lighter for the 2008-09 season. The Lakers are a rich franchise, not only in tradition but in dinero. It's time Buss forked out the money for a warm body that will help bring the Lakers back to NBA relevance. Hell, if the Knicks can spend $139 million last year to miss the playoffs, the Lakers should be able to make make a financial impact immediately.

Please Don't Do A Keg-Stand

Someone please give this guy nuclear capabilities.

World Domination

I just saw today that News Corp. Dictator Rupert Murdoch attempted to buy the Dow Jones and its parent company The Wall Street Journal for roughly $5 billion. The controlling interest of the Journal is held by the Bancroft family who own %52 and don't plan on giving in to Murdoch.

I can't stress how important the Bancroft stance is. I know this isn't purely altruistic on the Bancroft's behalf, but I hope that they hold out on Murdoch FOREVER! Murdoch is the head of the worlds largest media empire. Everyone is affected by what Murdoch thinks and ownes. Most noteable holdings include; The New York Post, Myspace, 20th Century Fox, The National Geographic Channel and every-single Fox News and Fox Sports channels.




"Hocus pocus, I now own your company"

It is becoming even more shocking that corporations are getting bigger and the several voices and options are getting smaller. I can't believe that Murdoch would even be allowed to buy such an enormous and influential media.

Murdoch reminds me of a planet eater. He also reminds me of man's most basic trait----to dominate. He will never be satisfied. His agenda and his appetite for new holdings will never cease. Without getting into a partisan debate, it's easy to see what Murdoch wants.


Marvel's Galactus, a planet eater with a voracious apetite.

To the masses, Murdoch is just a whisper

Gene Kimmelman of the Consumers Union told the New York Times: "[Murdoch] has extended the most blatant editorializing in the entire world through his media properties, and that is exactly the example of what we need to worry about when any one entrepreneur owns and controls too many media outlets" (April 7, 2003).

"Monopoly is business at the end of its journey"
-Henry DeMarest Lloyd

Redundancy

Clapping at the end of a movie in a theater is as pointless as taking a blind man to a titty-bar. Unless it's a premiere or a screening, the cast and crew will have absolutely no idea that you clapped. Just like the blind man will have no clue that he was just surrounded by breasts.
And if you thought that clapping at the end of a bad movie was like listening to Hitler recite lullabyes, the clapping at the end of a bad preview is almost as bad. I sure hope that the clapping after the end of the Ghost Rider trailer was for Nick Cage's hair-piece and in no way reflective of the films merits.

Speaking of Cage's dome covers, I must say that over the years the quality of his wigs have progressed and are succeeding in fooling the general public. Who ever makes those drain clogs should be commishoned to weave one for poor-old Marv Albert. Don't get me wrong, Albert has an excellent toupe, but it is simply no match for Cage. If Albert has the Cadillac of hair-pieces, Cage has the Bentley.


Yes that is the actual wig that Cage adorned for "Con Air".