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Hey guys I'm going to be home for the next week so I don't know how often I'll post. If I don't before Christmas or New Years, I hope you have a great holiday season. I'm also accepting suggests on what to post on. So far I have been told to post on the Bears, Bulls, Hannah Montana, and what my apartment looks like so any suggestions are welcome.

Hannah

Here's a new post after a long break. I have been busy the last couple weeks so I haven't hd much time. I'm thinking about doing a theme week for next week, though. I think it will be on the Bulls so stay tuned. Anyway, due to popular demand there will be a Hannah Montana post, however I started it a few weeks ago so some of the links might not work anymore.

Believe it or not news of the concert was so large that Rosemont officials said it was the hottest concert in recent memory and the Sun-Times had a special Hannah Montana section in its website. Most of these articles are from the Sun-Times Website. The reason I find this facinating is that I don't know why she's so large. And now her movie is "the best-selling concert movie in Fandango's seven-year history," Best quote from that story, ""It prevents the market from getting over saturated with Hannah Montana-ism." As my friend Amanda says, "I believe that is already donezo"

• Why does the Sun-Times have a special section dedicated to her on their website?
• Why has the Governor seen every episode three times?

In fact, the Governor took his daughters to see the show. He wasn't the only political person there as he went with State Senator DeLeo. One of Obama's daughters was also there.

• Why did someone spent $1,800 in tickets to the show?
• Why is it the hottest ticket in 20 years in Rosemont?
• Why did a mother lie about her husband being killed in Iraq to get her daughter tickets?

Also, I heard in her shows she does acts as Miley and Hannah. Which brings the question, is she performing as Miley Steward or is she Miley Cyrus or is she Hannah? And a recent story says that she has a body double. So is the body double supposed to be Miley, the real Miley or Hannah? Talk about an identity crisis. This has apparently led to some controversy on the internet.

Here are other stories I found:
Hannahpalooza hits town

Blagojevich has no regrets about taking daughters to concert.

Tickets for next show top out at $3000.
Why those Hannah Montana tickets cost so much
Athletic Hannah lives up to hype

Santa comes to Kyrgyzstan (a place where few people can name and fewer people can say) as they name one of their mountains Mount Santa Claus. There is also plans to have a Santa Claus conference complete with "chimney-climbing, sled-racing and tree-decorating skills".

Disney a deathtrap? Three people have died on Disney rides this year. (In case your wondering, I was being purposely overly dramatic about the deathtrap, but 3 people have died.

If you go to Portillo's, you probably won't see the owner. He's been on trips all over the world, but a Sun-Times article talks about his trip to WWII battle sites in the Pacific. It sounds pretty cool, island hopping and seeing remnants of a war that took place over 60 years ago.

By the way, check out the County Sheriff's name in St. Clair County. I can see the political ads. "Justus is served".

The Horror still presides over the original Heart of Darkness as the publicity over Darfur obscures a crisis in the Congo where more than 4 million have died. Check out this article.

Also, an interesting article on the duality of globalization in Chicago with rich getting richer and the middle class dropping out.

Apparently it snowed 8 inches here this weekend. Although its hard for me to tell cause I was in downtown Springfield the whole time

Another article about rubber ducks. I can't help it.

An article of one of my favorite places to hear about, Dubai. Check out the comparison graphic on the leftside to the size of Chicago

Scientists clone glowing cats in Korea.

Winter in Springfield

I guess Des Moines is cool than I thought, according to NY times article, maybe I'll have to check it out soon. They also have a 36 hr plan for Des Moines.


Also, a soon to be extinct turtle tells the condition of the environment in China in the NY Times. More info is found here.


Another interesting article about intelligence and race and about the difference in studies that studied the difference between Black and White IQs. What about Asians?


Water sharing agreement reached in the West. Water will probably be the most sought after resources as our population grows. Good thing I live in the Great Lakes region.

Bulls v. Celtics

I'll post some pretty cool (no pun intended) pictures I took of some icicles outside my window later this week. So there will be a little less sports.

Overall, I thought that the Bulls played with the Celtics the whole game. The Bulls were able to limit Paul Pierce most of the game and Ray Allen was limited to mostly 3pt shots. KG was well KG. The thing that hurt the Bulls was not the Big Three for the most part, it was the other players like Rondo or "Big Baby" Davis. Rondo was a constant spark plug on offense and Davis seemed to grab every lose board. Now, albeit it was created off the offense of the "Big Three". The Celtics were most successful offensively when they went to an open set where Rondo would start with the ball close to midcourt, with everyone else completely spread out. Rondo would drive and kick it out to someone giving defensive help. Other than that, I thought Nocioni played another good game and Kirk hit some shots when needed. You could tell there were some match up problems with KG, but none so apparent when Skiles put Noah on KG. They left that plan quickly. The difference in the game was the difference in the teams. The Celtics were able to give it to their superstars, i.e. KG and let him do his thing knocking down jumper after crucial jumper, while the Bulls struggled to knock down shots as Ben Gordon was 0-11 in the 2nd half. Is this a preview of what will happen to the Bulls in the playoffs (assuming they make the playoffs, which at this point is definitely not a given).

Bears v. Redskins

Based on the recommendations of certain people, I have agreed to do a little analysis of last nights game.

Horrible
It was a poorly played game overall. Too many penalties, too many dropped passes, missed assignments, and misplays on both sides. How do you get a delay of game penalty after a false start? How many false starts are possible on a drive? That being said the Bears were in it most of the game. The encouraging sign for next year is that they have not really been out of a game, they have been in just about each game. It's all a matter of perspective, expectations this year were rightfully high coming off a Superbowl loss. If this team were coming off a 4-12 season it would be considered a step forward. My point is that this team has shown that it can compete with teams, so things aren't as bleak as they may seem.

I also heard the announcing was brutal. Bryant Gumbel isn't the first name I think of when it comes to pro football. Also, it probably would have been a miserable game to watch if you we not a Bears or Redskins fan.

Offense
This team is obviously a team that has lost their identity. Last year, they were known as a defensive team that will just pound it at you with the run with the two headed monster of Jones and Benson. That has completely changed with only 60 years rushing and Griese attempting 45 passes in fill in duty.

It was very apparent how much faith they have in the run game when AP was stopped at the goal line after a Hester catch got them to the 1. They proceeded pass on the next two downs and settle for a Gould field goal when they could have tied the game. Last year, they would have just pounded it in there or maybe they would have done a little play action roll out to a TE.

Even though the OLine is probably to blame for the poor run production and looked horrible in the beginning of the game, which is one of the reasons why Grossman got hurt, they were able to put together a drive and give Griese a little time to throw in the second half leading to 16 points. Also, aiding that effort was Turner's screen passes which helped slow the relentless blitzing the Redskins were throwing the Bears way.

MIA in key plays
When it mattered, the Bears failed and that was the difference in the game. The defense played pretty good for the majority of the game. However, when it came to key 3rd down stops or down the stretch the D let Todd Collins (who's that?) have his way. The same with the offense as it failed to punch in the aforementioned TD and settled for a FG at a crucial point in the game. Take out the 4th quarter the the D played a pretty good game. But in the 4th it just seemed like Washington did what it wanted.

Leaves me wondering where all the miracle finishes went? I guess Mike Brown took them with him when he got injured.

Chimps may be smarter than you. In a test of cognitive function, chimpanzees outperformed humans. According to the article, "That challenges the belief of many people, including many scientists, that 'humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions,'"

Cars have been getting smarter too. A self driving car might be on its way. "The World of Tomorrow"

Here's a pretty good article about the Bears struggles this season. It says that the Bears don't do enough to hide their weaknesses, which is true. The Bears coaches need to put their players in the better position to succeed.