The Devil's in the Details

Fears for 'dazed' George That's erstwhile pop star George Michael (aka Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou), who was found in an interesting state:

The 42-year-old singer was arrested after police allegedly found cannabis and GHB - a Class C drug known as liquid ecstasy - in the vehicle.

Sex toys and masks were also found in the boot, according to reports in The Sun.

The paper quoted a witness as saying: "George was completely out of it - he was all over the place. He was found with his head slumped against the wheel. No one could rouse him. He was virtually unconscious. When the police came he could hardly speak."

The former Wham! star was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive, but after being taken to a police station and examined by a doctor he was "de-arrested".

So... um... in spite of finding an assortment of drugs in the car with him, he was only arrested for maybe being unfit to drive an auto? Really? And then a doctor's examination reversed that arrest? Really?

Huh. (And yeah, nevermind that junk in the trunk, yo.)

Anchors Aweigh

"So, Heather's worried her anchor is going to be too butch, so you need to gay it up a little for her.""Too butch? It's an anchor for crying out loud! It can't help but be butch." "I know. Throw some flowers or swallows on the thing or something."

That's a conversation I had with our family tattooist, Fish while Ed was getting his greenman. So, yeah, as you may have gathered, The Wife is getting a new tattoo today.

Sadly, I am unable to attend the inking, and will have to wait until I get off work to see the latest masterpiece to come off Fish's needles.

Pictures to follow...

In the meantime, here's a little history on anchor tattoos (courtesy of Sailor Jerry):

The anchor has become quite the staple in the tattoo world but was originally associated with young sailors first trip over the Atlantic. The anchor tattoo has become a symbol for stability and a strong foundation. It can also symbolize a lover and the stability that lover has brought to their lives. In ancient times the anchor was a symbol with ties to the early Christian church. An anchor tattoo can also be thought of as holding one steadfast, like an anchor holding a great sailing ship safe in harbour, against winds and currents that might carry it astray. How Romantic.

Damn right.

Update (12:28pm): Just heard from The Wife -- apparently the anchor goes through a heart and there will be a life preserver inside the arm. And there's a banner that will be left blank for the time being (Feel free to submit suggestions. My current favorite idea: SINK OR SWIM). She's super excited and says it's beautiful. She also says she needs to start working out so she can be as badass as her tattoos seem. ;) I also reminded her that her phone has a camera and should be able to post to my Flickr account, but we may have to depend on Miracle Ed to figure that crap out.

Wish I could have seen it

Boston University earns 27th Beanpot title

It was business as usual for the boys from Boston University on the second Monday night in February as the Terriers beat Boston College 3-2 at the TD Banknorth Garden to capture the 54th Annual Beanpot.

Effing sweet! Here's hoping they ride this success through the rest of the Hockey East regular season and into the NCAA tourney.

"I think that we have the capability to do a lot this year and we're not going to stop short of anything we're capable of," Curry said. "We're going to enjoy this, but I think we have some big things in store for this year."

Just to reiterate a fun fact: There have now been 54 Beanpot Championships. BU has won exactly half of them.

Go BU!

Well, it looks like the Beanpot will come down to the Comm Ave rivals once again. Boston College took care of Northeastern in the early game yesterday 5-2 and my BU Terriers topped Harvard 5-3. Interesting tidbits from the USCHO.com notebook:

In the last three non-Beanpot meetings, Harvard has a 2-0-1 record against Boston University. In the last four times the teams have met in the Beanpot, Harvard is 0-4.

"In the first seven minutes of the first period, they outshot us 15-3. I called a timeout, and said to my kids, 'Harvard's pretty good, huh?'" — Parker, on the Terriers' first meeting with Harvard, a 2-2 tie on November 22.

Boston University has won more Beanpots than any other school. If the second-nearest school, Boston College, were to win the title each year going forward, the Eagles would not catch BU until 2018.

The Ice Dogs meet the Eagles in the final at TD Banknorth Garden (just call it the Gahden) Monday the 13th. I wish it was being broadcast nationally...

30 Boxes, on the Hillside

30 Boxes has taken its beta public, so if you're looking for a Web2.0-hipster-compliant online calendar with a crazy feature set, check it out. In truth, I was hoping Google would have something like this out by now. I have a hard time imagining them doing a better job than 30 Boxes has already done, though.

(I'm signed up with my Gmail account, if you want to make me a buddy, yo.)

Waits on Fernwood

Once upon a time I was up late watching Nick at Nite when I tuned into the old Martin Mull and Fred Willard master series known as Fernwood Tonite. For those of you who don't know, FT was one surreal little TV show, but maybe that makes perfect sense if you consider the gents on the thing. Then magic happened: Tom Waits came on the show.

I've told so many people about this that I had begun to worry I had made it up, but now I have internet proof!

(YouTube has a ton of other great Tom Waits videos, too. Search around.)

Hey! Wha' happened?!

Just when I wasn't looking, the BU men's ice hockey team has gone from stunning mediocrity to rattling off seven straight Hockey East wins! They've gone from being nowhere near the polls to 10th on the USA Today poll and 8th on the USCHO.com poll.

Better yet, it's coming up on Beanpot time. For those that don't know, BU wins the Beanpot a lot:

The Boston University Terriers have enjoyed unparalleled success for more than eight decades. With four NCAA Division I national titles - more than any other eastern school - and 26 Beanpot championships in the tournament’s 53-year history, the Terriers have established a rich tradition of excellence.

(Note: The last time I wrote a post like this it kind of killed - or at least slowed - the momentum the Colorado Avalanche had at the time... Here's hoping that's not the case this time.)

New X Prizes

The Next X Prizes: DNA, Nanotech, Autos and Education

Along with X Prize purses for space and genomics, Diamandis said Friday that the Foundation is working on prizes in the automotive arena, nanotechnology and education.

For the automotive prize, the focus is on breakthroughs in areas like miles per gallon and manufacturing.

"Why do we still drive cars that use an internal combustion engine and only get 30 miles per gallon? I think that we'll see some amazing achievements in this area," Diamandis predicted. Further details on this automotive prize are forthcoming, he added, when the prize is fully formulated.

I love the way the X Prize bring innovation outside of the usual industry red tape. So, suppose this brings about a fuel cell car that drives like a Porsche... will we ever see it on the streets? Or will The Man conspire with Detroit and Japan to keep it under wraps in spite of the public knowledge that come swith winning an X Prize?