Separated at Birth?

ESPN's Page 2 used to have a feature where they would have pictures of an athlete and celebrity next to each other to show a resemblance. Usually, the two didn't look very similar. Well, I think I found a pairing that actually works. I am proud to present actor Donal Logue from the "The Tao of Steve" and the recently cancelled (unfortunately) "The Knights of Prosperity" and NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

Spider Pig Lyrics

I saw The Simpsons Movie this weekend, and now I can’t get the “Spider Pig” song out of my head (not that this is a bad thing). Therefore, I thought I would share the lyrics with everyone else.

Spider pig
Spider pig
Does whatever a spider pig does
Can he swing
From a web
No he can’t
He’s a pig
Look Out
He is a spider pig

Feel free to sing this song throughout the day!


(Sorry that I couldn’t find a larger picture. It was difficult just finding any Spider Pig picture.)

Woo-Hoo

The Simpsons Movie is out today!!!

Shorts Suit

Longtime readers already know that I am on the cutting edge of fashion through my writing of Burberry scarves and a suggestion of what to wear to a Steelers game. Therefore, when I see a fashion trend, I am quick (or a year behind) to report it. Today’s subject: the Shorts Suit. I have noticed several women wearing this outfit, which pairs a jacket with shorts, over the past few days. I don’t get it. A woman’s suit should be a jacket and either pants or a skirt. This look does not seem professional. Would you actually wear a shorts suit to an interview or important meeting? I think not. For the other fashion gurus out there, am I alone on this or do you agree with me?

Random Stuff

* Harry Potter is still on my mind, and while there are no spoilers here at Sean’s Ramblings, I like being able to read people’s thoughts about the book. Gobo has some good thoughts and links to a terrific post on Brooklyn Arden, plus, The Washington Post held a live HP discussion.

* My next book after reading HP7 and re-reading the other Harry Potter books over the past month or so: Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.

* I’ve had Lou Bega’s Mambo #5 in my head all day. What a great song! (I am completely serious about this statement.)

* I received Madden 2007 for my birthday and played it for the first time last night. I’m still learning the controls, but in the easy mode, I led the Browns 40-0 as the Steelers when I turned off the game at halftime. Fast Willie Parker had only 200 yards rushing. Playing in the regular mode as the Steelers tonight, I squeaked by the Washington Redskins 9-6. I need to learn how to consistently run and pass the ball, and hope by defense and special teams can continue to carry me until then.

* Big day for live discussions on The Washington Post. Poison singer Bret Michaels was online, although I was personally hoping for more details about VH1’s “Rock of Love” show. However, this was my favorite question and answer:

Germantown, Md.: Here we go Steelers, here we go!

Bret Michaels: You said it, my brother!

In addition, this was in Dave Sheinin’s baseball chat:

Arlington, Va.: As a Pirates fan, how bad are they going to be next year? I think the Nats will give them a run for their money.

Dave Sheinin: Wow, the Pirates. What a terrible franchise. I know GM David Littlefield quite well, having covered the Marlins when he was the assistant GM. But I can't for the life of me figure out how he has kept his job in Pittsburgh.

* Finally, I received an e-mail from Baskin-Robbins for a free 8 oz. Fruit Blast Smoothie on Wednesday, July 25th from 3PM to 10PM at participating Baskin-Robbins®! Although I cannot find any information about this on the Baskin-Robbins website, the only asterisk on the e-mail is a limit of one per customer.

Iran So Far Away

When I was looking for a job several years ago, I signed up to receive e-mails for positions at colleges and universities. Even though I’m not on the job search anymore, I still receive these weekly e-mails since I like seeing if there are open positions at schools where I used to work or attend. (In reality, I’m just too lazy to unsubscribe from the list.) Generally, I simply delete the messages, but a recent e-mail got my attention. The Iran University of Science and Technology (“IUST” – doesn’t this sound like a branch of Indiana University) in Tehran is looking for Assistant Professors in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences; Solid Mechanics- Dynamics and Control; Aerospace; Biomechanics; and Manufacturing. It seems a little odd that IUST is seeking candidates from the United States. Anyway, if you're interested in teaching at IUST, the complete job description is here and you may need to speak Farsi.

I really hope that the mascot for IUST is an iguana!

Finished (No Spoilers Here)

I just finished the seventh and final Harry Potter book. While I really want to talk or write about it, I realize that many folks have not yet finished, so I won’t do either. Therefore, as I am typing this, I am listening to a Podcast from MuggleNet.com with five people discussing the book. It’s helping a little, but I have my own questions and observations.

One story from Barnes & Noble on Friday night that Harry Potter fans may appreciate. There were some people dressed as Harry Potter or wearing wizard hats or robes. I decided to dress like a character that I knew would not be duplicated, Dean Thomas. To do this, I took a small piece of paper, wrote Dean Thomas on it, and taped it on my shirt like a name tag. I thought it was funny even if it probably wasn’t.

If you want to leave any Harry Potter comments, please feel free to do so. For those who have not finished the book, you may not want to read the comments in case there are spoilers there.

More Than Harry Potter

Although this may be hard to believe, there is more going on in the world than Harry Potter. For example, I’m going to work today and have an ultimate frisbee game tonight. Here are some other things going on:

I watched Victoria Beckham Coming to America last night. With Coming to America in the show’s title and Posh’s close relationship with fellow Spice Girl Mel B., I was waiting for Eddie Murphy to appear. It never happened. Actually, when Posh met with Perez Hilton (more on this momentarily), he asked her if there is a celebrity who she disliked. Eddie was the answer.

The show itself wasn’t terrible. Considering all the garbage on TV this summer, this is actually a compliment. Victoria was surprisingly likable. She confronted Perez Hilton for what he put on his website about her, but appeared to have an enjoyable conversation with him. Her trip to the DMV was also funny. The show ended with Posh throwing out the first pitch at a Dodgers game. Mike Lieberthal came across as a nice enough guy; Tommy Lasorda, however, seemed completely disinterested.
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The Emmy nominations are out featuring 15 nominations for The Sopranos. The Washington Post’s Lisa de Moraes has a recap, but here are my own observations:

* The toughest category may be Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series. Neil Patrick Harris receives a well-deserved nomination for his portrayal of Barney Stinson. The other nominees are Kevin Dillon and Jeremy Piven from Entourage, Rainn Wilson (better known as Dwight Schrute) from The Office and Jon Cryer for 2.5 Men.

* How I Met Your Mother received a nomination for the Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing For A Series category for the fabulous Robin Sparkles episode.


* Has there always been a category for “Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series?” In case you were wondering, the nominees are Dancing with the Stars, Deadwood, Desperate Housewives, Rome and Ugly Betty.

* Scrubs received two nominations for the Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics category. The show is up against Family Guy, SNL and MADtv.

* How did George (T.R. Knight) from Grey’s Anatomy receive a supporting actor in a drama series nomination?
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OK, I do have a few Harry Potter links:

A couple is getting married tonight and then going directly to Barnes & Noble. I’m guessing that there will be some upset 13 year-olds when the couple gets to cut to the front of the line.

Northern Virginia appears to have ordered more copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Amazon.com per capita than any other area in America. Falls Church finished #1, Fairfax #3 and Vienna #4. Herndon (#28) and Alexandria (#78) also made the list as did Ithaca, NY (#80).

Harry Potter Preview

Several months ago, I set a goal to re-read the first six Harry Potter books before the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” this Friday night/Saturday morning. I finished reading book 6 today! In full disclosure, I did not completely accomplish my goal as I completely re-read books 1, 4 & 6, read most of book 5 and rented the movies for 2 & 3. As promised, here are my predictions (some serious, some not-so-serious) for Book 7. Please note that there are some spoilers here if you have not read books 1-6.

- We learned in book one that Harry’s father, James, saved Snape’s life, even though they were not exactly the best of friends. I have no idea why, but I think Draco Malfoy may help save Harry’s life. Wormtail will also help Harry in some way.

- One of the big questions is the identity of RAB. The answer is clearly Reginald Alfred Bush II. You may know him better as Heisman trophy winner and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. He can do almost anything on the football field, so it seems appropriate that he would be able to get a Horcrux.

- I think J.K. Rowling will try to show a softer side of Lord Voldemort. It's been a rough 14 years or so for him and maybe he's just lonely. Read chapter 6 to see Voldermort's experiences on the British version of Match.com. Hilarity ensues!

- The biggest question for book seven is who’s going to die? My guess is Hagrid and one of the Order of Phoenix members, maybe Mad-Eye Moody. Oh, Voldemort won’t make it either.

- I have a gut feeling that Hiro Nakamura could be involved near the end.

- With Dumbledore gone, I wonder if the curriculum at Hogwarts will change. I’m surprised that the students are not required to speak a language. During the Triwizard Tournament, Krum and Fleur from schools in other countries both spoke English. Why aren’t the students at Hogwarts learning French or Chinese?

- As for Dumbledore, he’ll still be able to talk to Harry through his portrait in his old office.

- Ron and Hermione will become a couple. While this is not an exact quote, I have read articles in which J.K. Rowling writes that the books will become more adult as the characters get older. Therefore, it should not be too much of a surprise that Ron gets Hermione pregnant. (This part of the story has been edited out, but look for it in the unedited version that is released in five years.)

- There has to be a major shake-up in the wizarding community. It seems like Voldemort can get the giants and werewolves on his side pretty easily. The Ministry of Magic must grant the giants and werewolves equal rights. I’m not sure where they stand on house-elves.

- Is Snape a good guy or bad guy? Why not both? I think he’s on his own side and will somehow escape from everyone.

A few final Harry Potter notes:

According to this article, nearly 20% of Harry Potter fans will skip to the last page of the book to find out how it ends. I am not one of the 20%, and I do not want to know how it ends until I read it myself. The other 80% feel the same way. Therefore, except for possibly writing about my experiences at Barnes & Noble on Friday night, I am done writing about Harry Potter, and I do not want any comments about how the story ends.

If you are interested in checking out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from the Fairfax County Public Library, your position in the holds queue would be #1537. That has to be a record.

My Brother's Battle with the Credit Card Company

For something different (let’s call it an engagement gift), I am giving my brother a forum to share his rant. I should preface this by writing that my brother does not back down from an argument. He once contacted KDKA’s Wayne Van Dine because he didn’t want to share his Social Security number with Duquesne Light to get electricity. He actually made it on the air and won. He has also had several lengthy confrontations with Verizon. Today’s battle (obsession?): the credit card company:

Can anyone in cyber land explain to me what is the "Effective APR"?
After going around and around with my credit card company we were able to decipher this: it is "your total finance charges - including transaction fees such as cash advance and balance transfer fees expressed as a percentage" What is the world does this mean? I'm a math person, so please just give me an equation to figure it out. Any way that I figure it on my statement it does not come up as the number presented. Yes I asked several people to help me calculate it but they can't. I was able to attain one example problem for 1 month, not the entire year, which apparently is how this thing is calculated. Additionally "it is automatically generated by the computer" is not a sufficient answer as well. Someone, somewhere in your company tells the programmer what to put into the computer, which means someone has an answer.

I have been told that the "Effective APR" does not factor into what I am paying. This appears to be accurate, but I'm not really sure why it is on there, and the 6 people I have spoken with only said "it is required by law". I know that our government officials come up some crazy and stupid laws, but what is up with this? Federal laws are designed to protect the people. This to me means it protects the consumer, company and/or the government itself. So who is this "Effective APR" protecting and why? I know that there is more to it so someone needs to fess up. If this does not factor into what I am paying, what is it used for? Who uses it and why? Please someone tell me.

If anyone can help my brother, please leave a comment. Personally, he lost me in the first few sentences, so I asked for clarification:

I have been told that I am not being billed differently. There are 3 essential questions that have not been answered. 1) How do I calculate it -- and why can't anyone tell me. 2) What is it used for -- and why can't anyone provide an answer 3. Who uses the Effective APR -- if it is not used then why are credit card companies legally bound to display it? It has to serve some purpose, but it does not seem like anyone can identify why.

Best Sports Rivalries

What is the best rivalry in sports? I was thinking about writing a brief description of the contestants below, but I got preoccupied with a few other things. Sorry. If you really want to know more about any of these rivalries, go to Wikipedia or search Google. Anyway, here are my finalists in no particular order:

India vs. Pakistan – Cricket

The Ohio State University vs. University of Michigan – College Football

Brazil vs. Argentina – Soccer

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadians - Hockey

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox – Baseball

Duke University vs. University of North Carolina – College Basketball

Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona – Soccer

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears – Football

Celtic F.C. vs. Rangers F.C. – Soccer

Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort (can you tell I have Harry Potter on my mind?)

Cheers vs. Gary’s Old Towne Tavern

Springfield Isotopes vs. Shelbyville Shelbyvillians

So which one is the best? Are there any other rivalries that are better than all of these? Oh, for folks who think Army-Navy football should be here, the 1996 game was the only one since 1963 in which both Army and Navy entered with winning records.

Working for the Weekend

I just wanted to share a few thoughts and articles before the end of the week.

- I love VH1’s World Series of Pop Culture. I could watch this all day. JQ, if you’re reading this, did you enter this year and/or do you know of anyone in the event?

- I’m now half-way through re-reading Harry Potter 6. As soon as I finish, I’ll share my predictions for book seven (some serious, some not so much).

- The man responsible for bringing Harry Potter to America is featured in a Washington Post article, and then, participates in a Q&A. The Q&A is quite entertaining with many people asking about answers from the seventh book and wondering if an eighth book is in the future. Lots of smiley faces too, which seems odd for an editor/publisher.

- Psych on the USA Network is back for a second season starting tonight. I recommend watching it if for no other reason to see Charlie (Dule Hill) from The West Wing.

- I laugh every time I see Homer sing, “Spider-Pig, spider-Pig; does whatever a spider-pig does.”

- Did you hear that David Beckham is coming to America?

2007-2008 Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule

With Wednesday’s release of the 2007-2008 NHL schedule, I am here to break-down the Pittsburgh Penguins schedule. I’d like to point out that the NHL apparently fears matching the Penguins with colors. The Penguins do not play against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues or Chicago Blackhawks.

Friday, October 5, 2007 – at Carolina – The first game of the year!

Saturday, October 6 – vs. Anaheim – The Pens’ home opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions

Wednesday, October 10 – vs. Montreal – Sidney Crosby takes over the NHL points lead.

Saturday, October 20 – at Washington – I’ll be there!

Monday, November 5 – at New Jersey – I’ll watch the first two periods and then probably switch to ESPN for the Steelers-Ravens game. How am I going to watch both games plus Prison Break and How I Met Your Mother?

Thursday, November 22 – at Ottawa – The first time these teams will meet since the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hopefully, the result of this game will be better for the Pens than the last few against the Senators.

Saturday, December 29 – vs. Buffalo – Jay Caufield bobble-head night?

Friday, January 18, 2008 – vs. Tampa Bay – Michel Ouellet returns to the Burgh.

Wednesday, January 30 – at Atlanta – Jordan Staal scores his 17th short-handed goal.

Sunday, March 9 – at Washington – This is the same weekend as my brother’s wedding. I’m going to try to make it (it meaning the game; I will definitely make the wedding). Actually, the Penguins aren’t playing on Saturday. Maybe Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin will attend the wedding!

Saturday, April 6 – at Philadelphia – The last game of the regular season. Sidney Crosby wins another scoring title.

My prediction is that the Penguins make the playoffs as the #6 seed. There will be some growing pains as there will be high expectations to start the season, which the team did not face last year. The division will also be better since the Flyers can’t be as bad as last year.

The second annual hockey road trip will take place again, dates to be determined. This year will likely include trips to Chicago, Detroit and possibly Minnesota. I think a game in Tampa and/or New York/Long Island/New Jersey could also be on the agenda.

Travel Advice Needed

Does anyone know of a good website where you can find cheap flights? I'm trying to book a flight to Florida in mid-August, and the cheapest flight I have found is $250. I feel like there has to be something that's less expensive.

I'm also considering taking a New England/Nova Scotia cruise this fall. Has anyone out there done this before and/or taken Norwegian Cruise Lines? If so, how was it? We're also looking into a 5-day cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. You're at sea from Thursday at 4:00 until Saturday at 10:00am, spend 30 hours at Kings Wharf, Bermuda, and then return to Baltimore on Tuesday morning.

Any advice is appreciated!

Links of the Day

As you can see below, my blog is rated G. When I tried this last week, I was rated PG because the rating system didn’t like the fact that I used “Dick” when writing about Dick’s Sporting Goods and Steelers defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau. This site could become PG-13 if I write about former Pittsburgh Pirates coach Rusty Kuntz. What’s Your Blog Rated?



(“Borrowed” from Arjewtino.)

This Friday, July 13 is Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day. For some reason, I think this has nothing to do with South Park. Anyway, if you visit Chick-fil-A on Friday fully dressed as a cow, you will receive a free combo meal. Anyone in a partial cow costume will be offered a free entrée.

Finally, Yahoo has a story about Harry Potter fans hoping to avoid spoilers. Please note that the article contains a spoiler about the 6th book, which I think everyone should know by now. I will write my own Harry Potter preview with predictions sometime soon, but then there will be no further discussion about the book here.

Number Five Is Alive

Have you ever had a touch-tone phone that was missing a number? That happened to us over the past few days as the number 5 not only stopped working, but actually fell out of the cordless phone. While we could still call most of the people we normally do, there are a few friends with five in their phone number. Plus, you can forget calling a company and trying to go through the automated options. Worst of all, I got Jenny’s number (I needed to make her mine and I asked her to not change her number), but couldn’t reach her without the number five.

So now we have a new phone. It is not the one pictured here, but we considered it.

Oh, bonus points for anyone who can name the movie quote from the title without an internet search.

Why Is The NHL Not On ESPN?

It’s Saturday night, and we just got back from dinner with friends. Wanting to see scores of baseball games, I turned to ESPN2, which generally shows sports scores and news at the bottom of the screen. Now I’ve watched enough ESPN and ESPN2 over the years to know that they show a lot of programs that are not truly sports. I’m at the point where I’m used to seeing poker or even the spelling bee on ESPN. However, I was not prepared for tonight. ESPN2 aired the USA Rock Paper Scissors League Championship. I know it’s summer and Saturday night, but why is Rock Paper Scissors on my TV? Why is this on any TV? I don’t even think that Versus would show this.

The USARPS League Championship even has announcers: Trey Wingo and a guy named Master Roshambollah (I’m not making this up). I really hope that Trey Wingo was getting paid a lot of money since he can never be referred to as a journalist again. In the five minutes that I watched, Wingo called a “match” the greatest duel in sports and yelled “what a clutch throw” in response to the one guy going with scissors while his opponent went with paper. I’m sure his professors at Baylor are extremely proud of his performance.

Maybe next week, ESPN will show the politically incorrect version of rock, paper, scissors; cat, tin foil, microwave.

Israel Baseball League

Looking for something to pass the time while heading into the weekend? If so, I recommend checking out the Israel Baseball League’s website. I am fascinated by the league and its players. For example, Bet Shemesh Blue Sox catcher Lukas Brenowitz is pursuing a Masters Degree in Middle Eastern Strategic Studies and Arabic at Tel Aviv University. I think this may be the same degree that John Kruk earned.

Representing Virginia Beach and the University of Virginia, outfielder Sean Slaugher’s favorite movies are Godfather II and Grandma’s Boy. That seems like an unlikely double-feature.

Tel Aviv Lightning pitcher Daniel Kaufman is “a crafty pitcher from Georgia, played baseball at Emory University with fellow IBL'ers, Aaron Rosdal and Bryan Langbord...helped the Eagles reach the post-season twice in 2004 and 2006...the team was ranked #1 in the country in 2006...looks forward to playing in Israel and meeting a nice Jewish girl to bring home to mom.” This bio is close to that of Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ outfielder Elijah Dukes.

Outfielder Ben Field, with that last name, he couldn’t be a pitcher, graduated from Haverford College.

Plus, Ra'anana Express’ Mike Hochman has a journal which includes the following statement, “This just in: Domincans are good.”

In case you were interested, the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox are dominating the league with a 9-0 record led by Jason Rees (5) and Johnny Lopez (4), who are leading the league in home runs. Oh, if you were wondering if I am scouting this league for potential fantasy baseball players for next season, you would be correct!

New Referrals

Inspired by Morag, these are real searches (usually from Google) that real people used to find and visit this place. In cases where I am ranked first in Google searches, you will see “#1.”

will it rain tomorrow at sandcastle water park in Pittsburgh (#1)
When did I become Joe DeNardo?

if beyonce married roy castle
I don’t know this Roy Castle fellow, but Jay-Z would not be too happy if this happened. Would her married name be Beyonce Castle?

kathy griffith in thong (#1)
This is really disturbing. Not only that someone is searching the web for this, but that I am ranked first in Google. To quote a Grey’s Anatomy phrase: seriously?

a guy named alphabet soup from Baltimore
There’s really a guy from Baltimore named alphabet soup?

Lionel Andrés Messi jew (#1)
It would be awesome if Messi really is Jewish. We need to have more superstar Jewish athletes.

willis mcgahee cab driver (#1)
I know the football off-season can be long, but I don’t think McGahee needs to work as a cab driver to make ends meet.

secret seans for harry potter 5
It’s been a few years since I read the fifth Harry Potter (I’m currently re-reading #4 and will probably see the movie for #5 and re-read #6), but I don’t remember any secret Seans.

Does Cal Ripken Jr work for Jerry Springer
No.

how to be a good beer man
Learn from the best. Go to RFK stadium, and find the guy I wrote about here.

evgeni malkin getting married in france
Evgeni didn’t invite me?

backstreet boys on 4 guys on october 31 2008
Um, Happy Halloween, I guess.

places like chukky cheese you can take kids to in houston texas in America
Well, if you’re in Houston, you could go to Chuck E. Cheese or take the NASA tour.

trai essex wedding
Trai didn’t invite me?

Where to get beer at rfk
Try the concession stand or look for the greatest beer man of all time.

im not internationally known but I am known to rock the microphone
I say this to myself everyday!

Trip to Charles Town

Over the weekend, I crossed over state lines for my first ever visit to Charles Town Races & Slots in Charles Town, West Virginia. I am not a big fan of slots, so I was much more excited about the horse races. Here are some notes from the adventure:

- The casino/racetrack must be a huge moneymaker for the state of West Virginia since every car in the parking garage had a license plate from Maryland or Virginia. My guess is the only West Virginia cars are driven by the casino employees.

- Between Charles Town, Atlantic City and Dover in Delaware, how much money is spent by Maryland residents in out-of-state casinos?

- The music played throughout the casino included songs by Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and KC & the Sunshine Band. Maybe the next time I visit Charles Town, they will update their playlist to include more “modern” acts like Duran Duran and Billy Idol.

- Casinos will be the last place where smoking is permitted. Even though there are several non-smoking areas, you can’t avoid the smoke.

- I only played (and lost) $1 on the slots; I wish I did that well at the track.

- Even though I missed the first race, I did better on that race than the other nine. That’s right, I lost every single race. Even on the one race where I had a winning ticket, I lost, since I bet $2 on a horse to place but spent another $4 on exacta boxes. I bet $6 and won $4.20. No exactas or trifectas. A few close calls, but, well, you know the expression.

- Just like Atlantic City and Las Vegas, there is a Sheetz just outside the casino entrance. (I know that this isn’t true, but it should be!) Actually, Sheetz at 12:30am was the place to be. It was packed as everyone was buying their MTOs.

Even though the night didn’t turn out as I hoped financially, I had a great time hanging out with family and friends. While I won’t be rushing back to Charles Town, I’m looking forward to my next trip to a track or casino (preferably with table games). Please note that I have no plans to turn into Art Schlichter.

Tie Talk with George and Vladimir

The following were the top stories on Yahoo News today as of 12:42 p.m. EDT
- U.K. arrests Iraqi, Jordanian doctors in bomb probe
- Suicide bombing kills eight at popular Yemen tourist site
- Bush and Putin meet to discuss ties
- Utah calls in National Guard for fast-moving fire
- Shares of Trump's company plummet on failure to sell
- Massive flower in Washington attracts crowd despite odor
- Kerouac fans stage marathon reading of 'On the Road'

So I wonder what Bush and Putin discussed. Did they talk about the pros and cons of the bow tie? Whether they prefer the four-in-hand knot, Windsor knot, or even (dare I write) clip-on ties?

Maybe I’m completely wrong, and they talked about how regular season hockey games end in the NHL verses those in the Russian Super League.