i could watch sarah palin all night

in fact if they win, i hope she gets a tv show

and if she loses, i hope she gets two tv shows

why? because sarah palin is singlehandedly (ok, with a little help from the straight talk express) resurrecting Katie Couric’s career. couric was a woman who was dead last in the ratings, everyone thought she was a huge failure, and now acting as palin’s straight-man she seems like the most fascinating interviewer ever.

and so serious! omg. bill maher – so sexist! he says of palin talking “the sentence to no where.” Bill!! and then calls her a bimbo! on the View-o!?!?

the other day Jack Cafferty went off on sarah palin too. cuz hes sexist.

god i hate gotcha journalism.

it’s Tuesday, which means new ICUday

tomorrows a big day for me.

first i wake up and assist one of our top writers, Geoff Boucher, as he does an interview and a live chat with Iron Man director Jon Favreau. i believe we’re going to Jon’s house or office or somewhere and picking his brain about the success of the summer blockbuster (which gets released on DVD today) and he will tell us all he can about the sequel.

And no, i didnt love the film simply because the hero was named Tony and they used AC/DC in the opening scene.

will i have the nerve to tell him he should use the Pixies’ “tony’s theme” in Iron Man 2? ha!

Anyways to get into the chat tomorrow at 11am PT, click here (www.latimes.com/ironmanchat). The link wont work till tomorrow.

hey tony, what do you think of the Chicago Tribune redesign?


so glad you asked.

i think its pretty ok. way better than i expected. and probably overdue.

heres a few things people dont understand about the modern newspaper.

even if Craigslist and Monster.com and the entire Internet hadn’t perfect stormed all over the newspaper industry, newspapers (and much of publishing) were still overdue for some major competition.

think about it, other than utilities, how many industries can thrive for over 100 years without Life throwing them a curveball or three?

if the auto industry, the music industry, and the airline industry – among many others – are in deep trouble, why should newspapers think they are so special to avoid some pretty massive aches and pains.

and when you’re back is up against it, you either tap out or adjust. seems to me tv news reinvents its sets almost every other year, yet newspapers are very slow to make major facelifts.

however if youre ever lucky enough to visit the LA Times and walk through the main hallway on the first floor you will see many famous front pages over our long history. one thing you will notice – very few front pages look alike. over the years the only thing that has remained constant is constant change to the look of the page.

people like to whine about ads, but if you look at the front page of the Times way back in the day there were ads on the front page. people like to whine about how things dont look the same as when they first feel in love with newspapers. time to get over it. change happens, sometimes it happens too slowly.

even my beloved Wrigley Field, the most perfectly designed thing ever, has seen constant change over the years. even Harry Caray was an improvement at one time.

likewise the Chicago Tribune is meeting 2008 with a newspaper that looks a lot more like 2008 than it did yesterday. no it doesnt look anything like the paper i grew up with before it was improved with guys like Mike Royko. but guess what, this isnt 1982 anymore.

i look at that as good news.

video tour of the new trib + section by section tour

funny thing happened on my way to winning the “london silly nannys” league

on yahoo! fantasy baseball

O(+ placed #3 of 12 in the WORLD TITLE league
Team DL placed #4 of 14 in the HGH Fans league
Great Olde Starters placed #4 of 16 in the busblog league
Scrubbies2 placed #5 of 16 in the busblog2 league
chipper placed #6 of 20 in the Liver Spots league
Manny LA! placed #8 of 12 in the Skydome Special league
the last placers placed #15 of 20 in the Electric_Boogaloo league
call it a comeback placed #17 of 20 in None roids era league

not bad. not great. but not bad. break time, fantasy wise, till hoops.

omg how has your answers to Ask Tony not been posted yet?

i blame the democrats – and Tom Seaver’s crappy arm

Ali: are there any blogs you’d recommend reading that aren’t focused on people themselves??

not really, but i will try: Metafilter, Post Secret, and the Best Page in the Universe

Bob D: It’s October 30, 2008 and you are in Chicago. Your old buddy Bob D has hooked you up with World Series game 7 tickets and also AC/DC tickets at All State Arena formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon. AC/DC has announced a day earlier that this will be their last concert ever because Angus has no cartlidge left in his knees, ankles and hips. Do you go to the Cubs game or the AC/DC concert? Part B to the question. If you decide to go to the concert, because Bob D has generously hooked you up with two tix, do you take Joe Stillo, Kevin Nakashin, or Scott Speeden with you?

i dont even think VIP tickets to the last Anything Goes party at the playboy mansion would tempt me away from seeing game 7 of the world series with my buddy bobby d. therefore Stillo and Speeden can go to the AC/DC show together. even though Kevin tried to sell me weed in junior high but thankfully i had zero money. he was all, what about for a buck? i was all, dude, i have zero money!

timmay!!!!!: why is mccain trying to help obama so much?

mccain secretly hates the republicans, which is why the republicans not-so-secretly hate him. half of em wouldnt even show up to the convention!

Krista: What do you think about homecoming and university students who flip and set cars on fire? (re: queen’s homecoming, if you’ve ever read about it)

university students should flip and set cars on fire at any event. they should be excluded from any prosecution. when they become adults they should be law-abiding citizens, but if youre in college you half to blow off a little steam, as rush limbaugh would say. so party on, kids. and play some good music as you do it.

sass: bacon or sausage?

sausage does have its good points. its spicy. it comes in so many different shapes. and when you consider what its made of, its sorta a miracle as to how good it can taste. however theres nothing as perfect as bacon on a sunday morning. the sound, the smell, the variety of tastes from the soggy to the crisp. theres bacon in heaven. in fact theres a bacon heaven where the pigs serve you right from a troth of bacon.

Monkey: can you ask that kid if I can have his grover on a skateboard toy? I’ll pay him…

that kid was very possessive with his toys. his baseball cards, however were totally up for grabs.

Ciavarro: How can I see last week’s Ask Tony as I was in Mexico when it was published and I really need to know the answer to my hard hitting question?

here you go buddy. and thanks for shipping me those cuban cigars and gallons of rum!

zona: name three Angelinos who you would like to see blogging who aren’t

three east coast transplants:

Karisa
Rick Rubin
Manny Ramirez

Alysif you could be anyone in the world for a day, who would it be and why? And no cheating and picking yourself!

For one day I would be Eddie Van Halen. I would club hop in Hollywood and play with every band I could. Then I would record a follow up to Women and Children First with Michael Anthony, my brother, and David Lee. It would be a double album, with one album covers and the other new crap. It would only be available on 8 track.

bigtanky: if we elope will you go to vegas with us?

that would be pretty hard to refuse since i heart you both.

Mike: I’m hosting my 90’s radio hour tomorrow night, any song suggestions/requests?

Suicidal Tendencies “you cant bring me down”
N.W.A “100 miles and runnin”
Nirvana “Dumb” from Unplugged

Sharp (aka Azreal Darkskies): Is there any worse way to spend your Friday than a night shift at a chain coffee joint?

Actually, i dont think there is.

The Holywriter: How do you balance your faith with your blog?

im pretty sure the Lord loves it when we spread his message of Love no matter in which form that may take. but blogging is one of the best ways that we can demonstrate our Christianity because people can see that we are just normal people who have ups and downs like anyone else. but best of all non-Christians can see how God is part of our daily lives through what we write on our blogs.

Andrea: I know not all writers are bloggers, but are all bloggers considered writers?

yes. except for the video-only and/or photo-only bloggers. theyre commies.

bloopy: what’s your opinion of fivethirtyeight.com? xkcd mentioned it in a recent comic and since i’d never heard of it i checked it out. . . seemed interesting but i was curious if you (and your journalist friends) thought their methods and calculations were sound or stupid. . .

my journalist friends were actually the ones who turned me on to that blog. i like it a lot. they seem to get a ton of information into a really tiny place. thats hard to do.

adios, economy!

my man Peter Viles is liveblogging the vote here on the LA Land blog.

Wonkette is on fire.

And of course my stocks have dived so low that id be a fool to sell them at this point, cuz, whats the point at this point?

things are so bad that this was the Sponsored link on my gmail just now “Is Your Bank In Trouble? Free list Of Banks Doomed To Fail. The Banks and Brokers”

in the olden days there would be much majesty

on this post

there would be tales where one wouldnt know whether to believe or not to believe.

there would be women and fine alcohol and exotic inebriants. there would be malibu balconies and waves crashing against sea walls. thered be sunsets and moonrises.

theres be the most beautiful lies intertwined with fascinating truths.

theres be fake and real boobs.

somewhere someone would be spinning the good tunes. thered be people youve paid money to see and some you only know from the interweb.

at times like this back in the day thered be stories and stories during which my mouth was wide open like omg omg thered be a lesson or two at the end and me saying something like i cant believe this is happening to a wretch like me.

luck would be a theme but after seven years of these tales wouldnt you think that luck cant flow down the mountain into one mans life continually? thus maybe there has to be something else at heart. but what?

oh the stories that would have been written. however these are different times. no way could times be better for your hero. ive sold out. i dont rock with the old school any more. all my friends are parents. my hairs no longer gray its not even there. plus im fat. plus my 94 sentra — how on earth do you valet a 94 sentra at a party off pch in 2008 and get away with it?

sure nothing in here is true but she wasnt even in high school when the busblog was new.

no i dont believe it. no i dont trust it. no i never asked for it. loudly. plus im a pc.