cryptique

Ah, but does your keyboard have the € symbol?

I don't see any problem whatsoever here. The man has enough money to comfortably support his family for the rest of their lives. If you were in that situation, wouldn't you give serious thought to retirement, regardless of your age, unless your work situation was absolutely optimal? That is, you loved what you do, and you got to do it when and where you wanted? Think of it another way: if you won a $40 million Powerball jackpot this weekend, would you quit your job? I would. And that's all Bonderman is pondering. He already won that jackpot. He has the luxury of being able to make this

I haven't seen this film yet, but I do think this is kind of cool: Inception's musical secret

Did stocks plunge that day?

His playing was the first pedal steel I ever heard (on Harvest, around the time that album came out). I've been a fan since before I was even old enough to know what a pedal steel was. RIP.

j4lackey's poster on the Wilco Facebook page.

...and sadly, John Lennon's murder probably has something to do with that.

I heard Freaky Styley, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and Mother's Milk a few times each in the '80s, but I can't say I was a fan.

I can't believe Camper Van Beethoven didn't get any votes. I voted for R.E.M., but by the time I was actually in college ('86-'90), I listened to Camper way more often.

It was a different age then. I wonder how many celebrities would be so accommodating today.

Congrats to Contador. I think Schleck will probably win it next year. That kid's a star.

Aw, man. I think I last heard him on NPR just a couple of weeks ago. A hell of a life. RIP.

RIP Ralph Houk

I saw them play a couple years ago and they still put on a great show, even without Paul Hester (RIP). They will play some old favorites, though I'm not sure I'd count on "I Got You" -- Neil may drag out some Split Enz, but "Six Months In a Leaky Boat" might be a better bet, imo. I have a copy of the new record but have only been able to listen to it once. Positive first impressions, though.

Oh, I've disliked Lance for a long time. This video is just more fuel on that fire.

I'm hoping Leipheimer can claw his way onto the podium via the time trial. He's one of the best in the world at that discipline. As for his better-known teammate ... well, this video does a pretty good job of explaining why I feel the way I do about him.

(yes, but...the "it's a Tour de France thing, you wouldn't understand" argument doesn't really do anything to make such unwritten rules seem more sensible or appealing.) As stated previously, yup, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Rest day today! One more mountain stage, a flat stage, then the time trial!

Me too, but it's part of any sport. Nobody ever gave back a championship because a competitor encountered misfortune.

Cycling's doping standards have become the most stringent because they had to. Doping was probably more rampant in cycling, at its peak, than in any other sport. Doping also has more of an obvious benefit in cycling than in virtually any other sport, being one of the ultimate tests of fitness, endurance, pain tolerance, and recovery. Rather undercuts the whole "gentlemanly" aspect of it, no? They still cling to those traditions, but they effectively trashed them years ago. Give me all-out competition over gentlemanly deference any day.

I agree with you there. I always expect some flopping and false appeals to the ref in soccer (and basketball), but it was amped up for the World Cup this year ... and Suarez swatting the ball off the line for Uruguay was the worst piece of poor sportsmanship I've seen in ages. Compared to that, Contador's action was nothing. It didn't even break any rules.

It's selective sportsmanship, though. It's afforded to certain riders and not others. In effect, it's a sort of class-system microcosm. While gentlemanly, it's also complete crap. Bad luck is part of any competition, and taking advantage of another competitor's bad luck is called strategy. Golf is a gentleman's game, but you don't see players intentionally missing tap-in putts to make up for a piece of bad luck that befell a competitor earlier. Those guys understand that you take advantage of everything that comes your way, because it's a competition. Cyclists understand that too, obviousl

Heh. I looked it up, and yes it does have an exclamation point.

Meh. It's a new generation. Traditions evolve over time, and useless ones are discarded. It's a race, not a parade. I understand why people are upset with Contador, and I don't buy his claim that he didn't know Schleck was having a mechanical issue. But I do think there's a difference between a punctured tire (not Schleck's fault) and dropping a chain (probably Schleck's fault). Also, Alberto waited for Schleck on an earlier stage when Schleck crashed, so he's not completely dismissive of the etiquette and traditions. This is all grey area, and different people will see it different ways.

link BREAKING: Big Star's Andy Hummel Rumored Dead (UPDATE: Confirmed) By Gustavo Turner, Mon., Jul. 19 2010 @ 3:43PM [uPDATE, 3:56 pm: Preston Jones of DFW.com reports: "Just got off the phone with Ardent Studios founder John Fry, who confirmed that former Big Star bassist Andy Hummel has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 59. Services are scheduled for Wednesday."] Only months after the unexpected death of Big Star's frontman Alex Chilton, rumors are spreading of the passing of the band's early bassist/songwriter Andy Hummel. Hummel, a key Big Star figure, particularl

My take: Schleck only has himself to blame. It wasn't like a punctured tire, something beyond his control -- this was Schleck probably shifting at the wrong time and causing his own chain to drop. I know there's etiquette and all, but it's a race, people. Contador is trying to win the thing. Menchov and Sanchez went by Schleck too -- why is all the anger directed at Contador? Maybe it's time to stop treating the maillot jaune like something fragile and in need of protection, and start attacking it, as would happen in virtually any other form of racing. If a NASCAR driver is leading at Daytona