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"The Mountain West said it endorsed New Mexico's discipline of Lambert, saying her actions violated the conference's sportsmanship policy. The conference said it would continue an internal review of "the overall dynamic involved in the match" and said it would not comment further." Hmm.

A couple of weeks ago, the parents at my nephew's soccer game were lamenting that none of their kids have anything close to a killer instinct. One woman said that's because the school they go to might as well be "Rodney King Elementary School: where everyone gets along". We're always kind of stunned whenever they play a team that comes anywhere near to fouling them. Although as the coach (my sister) likes to point out, that's a coaching issue. No way does a player get away with that unless the coach is allowing/encouraging it. The player should be suspended by the league, no doubt, but so

Wow, that braid-pulling was vicious. Will definitely be showing this to my nieces tonight, see if that'll get them fired up for their games tomorrow!

Yes, exactly, Donna. Jane Austen is like the best bag of chips ever. Can't have just one. I'm currently reading On Beauty, by Zadie Smith, which is an homage to Howard's End. I'd never read HE before, so I read that before starting OB, and the difference that strikes me the most between these two books is that in Forster's world, there were fewer options for lifestyles and choices of correct behavior, so his story unfolds almost in shorthand. There's no question that these people are acting incorrectly, or that person is of a different social class, based on just a few obvious signifier

Ha! Here's the original, from "The Doubtful Guest":

Evonne, I love your new avatar! Mine is supposed to be the Gorey-themed Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure it really reads. Second choice is this:

A true nightmare. Sounds like they still don't have all the shooters, either.

If you haven't already, check out the short-story anthology Speaking With the Angel, edited by Nick Hornby. Dave Eggers' story in that is my favorite thing of his.

See, that's one of his that just doesn't do it for me. Although, I didn't dislike that one nearly as much as A Heartbreaking Work..., which actually made me angry. I had a particularly intense aversion to that one, for some reason.

This thread is pretty much the literary counterpart to the Musical Blasphemy thread from a while back, the one where people confessed to not liking something that everyone else loves. No one is bothering to trash books that we all agree are terrible (well, with the exception of The DaVinci Code ). The real killers are those books that we've been told are great. For the record, I love all things Austen, and I keep on trying with Eggers but just keep getting burned. I'm still considering Zeitoun, though.

It is amazing what people can survive. I was searching for a link to "how to post a picture..." but couldn't find one. Unless someone beats me to it, I'll send you some steps in the next couple of days.

That looks great! Adding it to my list...

OK, so if we sell just a few dollars more of merch this month (as in, by the 31st!), we get a "volume bonus". There have been a few shirt sales, and a couple of mugs, but now I've added a few more lower-cost items too, a mousepad and a tote bag. So someone do me a solid and order one of those! I'm guessing we won't get the volume bonus often, there probably won't be another flurry of shirt-buying, but I'd like to get it just the once. It's only a couple of bucks, but it'll make me feel extra-specially happy about this project. Thanks, all! And remember, we get extra $$ when you enter t

Another one I love! But I didn't see it as a random subject, I'm specifically a fan of the social history of diseases. God, I'm a complete freak, aren't I? That story is a classic in the history of public health interventions. There's a very active public health policy blog called "The Pump Handle".

Yeah, not a bad book, but definitely not up to the standard set by Housekeeping.

I agree, Donna. I've never been at a show where anyone was expecting a 6-foot radius of personal space, but I've been at plenty of shows where people are trying to squeeze into a space that really isn't a space at all, and that can become a totally crazy situation. And on this issue: Yeah, I expect to be touched (not in that way, though!) and bumped into at a concert. Obviously you and the people around you were acting like sensible people act at concerts. But the fact that the OP claims that he was acting perfectly normal, and everyone around him started busting on him for no good reaso

How many "Balloon Boy"/"Boy in Box in Attic" halloween costumes do you think we'll see this year?

The whole world was waiting for this very outcome, for that very reason!

US APNewsAlert Thursday, October 15, 2009 (10-15) 15:09 PDT Fort Collins, Colo. (AP) -- Sheriff's department says missing 6-year-old boy feared lost in balloon found safe at home.

OK, we've sold a few t-shirts (and also received some very generous donations, so big thanks to you folks ), and I hope everyone who bought one is enjoying it (I'm loving mine!). And now, just in time for gift-giving season (for those of us who give Halloween gifts ): Yay! Mugs! As with the t-shirts, the mug is customizable, so go nuts with it. http://www.zazzle.com/viachicagostore* If anyone would like to see any of our current designs on something else (a mousepad, apron, shoes, whatever), just ask, and I'll see what I can do. And again, additional designs are always welcome.

Me too, Chris. I've only read Kavalier and Clay, which I also found impressive but not affecting. Maybe I should give him another shot...

I own that book! I think I actually prefer Groucho on the page to the on-screen Groucho.

Maurice Sendak tells parents to go to hell This Friday, October 16, the movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are opens in theaters. The poignant 10-sentence book about an angry boy who is sent to bed without supper and sails to a magical land overrun by wild creatures has been made into a full-length feature film with a script by director Spike Jonze (recently interviewed by the Chronicle) and local boy Dave Eggers. Ever since the media got word of the film, reporters have hounded Sendak, Eggers, and Jonze. One of the main questions reporters are asking is, Will t

On Facebook, Don't Get Too Pokey Paul Suarez, PC World (10-10) 23:46 PDT -- The Facebook poke is possibly one of the most pointless, annoying features of any social network to date. And apparently, it can land you in jail for nearly 12 months with a possible fine of $2,500. Shannon Jackson, 36, of Tennessee learned that the hard way when she was arrested on September 25. Jackson allegedly broke an order of protection against another woman when she decided to poke her on Facebook. The order of protection stated that she wasn't to make any form of contact -- pokes included. The Tenness

My avatar is kind of spooky already, but I made a change anyway.