Yesterday, Johnny Carson passed away after losing his battle with emphysema. He was 79 years old. I learned of this news when all the major networks cut away from their scheduled broadcasts to announce Carson's death as breaking news. The seriousness with which the story was treated was quite surprising to me. I knew that he was a big star, but I had no idea how much he apparently meant to so many Americans.
I am too young to have a connection with Carson. I was only 13 when he signed off the air for the final time. I don't think that I actually watched The Tonight Show one single time while he was host. I feel now that I missed an important part of Americana. It seems that Carson was something altogether different from the late night hosts of today. He apparently wasn't just someone who happened to amuse you as you dozed off to sleep. He seems to have been someone that you invited into the living room as a friend.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Not the Seer of Seers
Well, unlike Punxatawny Phil, I am clearly not the seer of seers or the prognosticator of prognosticators. I followed up last year's dismal NFL playoff predictions with a horrendous performance this weekend. Not only did I pick the wrong team in both games, I wasn't even close. The Eagles easily handled the Falcons, throwing the ball with ease and stuffing the run on defense. Then the Pats absolutely destroyed the Steelers. So, I guess I will not be giving up my day job in order to pursue a career as a fortune teller or an odds maker. All I can say for myself is, "What do girls know about football, anyway?"
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Quote of the Day 1/23/05 Championship Sunday
"Football is a great game. It demands a young man's total commitment -- emotionally, mentally, and physically. It challenges our young people to do their very best, to discipline themselves to develop mental, as well as physical, toughness. At its best, it is a wonderful and worthwhile experience which will have immense future character benefitws for its players." Joe Paterno
Banshee Polling
Polling results: The last poll that was posted on this site asked "When should the Christmas decorations come down?" This poll lingered for more than a month. It's pretty well irrelevant now, but I figured I might as well post the results as long as I have them. No one thought that the decorations should disappear on Christmas day. In addition, no one thought that they should stay up all year. 23% of voters thought that undecorating should happen on New Year's Day. 23% also voted for Epiphany. A majority at 53% said that the decorations should come down whenever you have the time.
New Poll: Our nation is now entering the longest two weeks of the year -- the two weeks between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl. But, it is a great time for discussion. Banshee Blog wants to know Who will win the Super Bowl?
New Poll: Our nation is now entering the longest two weeks of the year -- the two weeks between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl. But, it is a great time for discussion. Banshee Blog wants to know Who will win the Super Bowl?
Football Preview
All eyes of the sporting world will be on Pennsylvania this afternoon as the Keystone State plays host to both NFL conference championship games. After 17 weeks of regular season play and two weeks of playoffs, the field of NFL contenders has been whittled down to 4 teams. The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Atlanta Falcons for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. A few hours later, the New England Patriots will invade Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to play the Steelers for the AFC title. It's only a few hours before kickoff, so it's a little late for these previews. Still, I figure better late than never.
NFC Championship
vs. 
For the fourth straight year, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the NFC title game. They fell short the last three years despite being a solid favorite. No team has ever lost four straight conference championship games, and the city of Philadelphia is keenly aware of that fact. Governor and former mayor of Pilly, Ed Rendell was seen on ESPN this morning pleading with the Lord to finally allow the Eagles to break through.
This year's challenger is the Atlanta Falcons led by Super Man himself, Michael Vick. The Falcons will be leaving the comforts of the dome in Hotlanta to brave the arctic conditions along the banks of the Schuylkill River. A blizzard blasted the City of Brotherly Love for the last 24 hours, but the snow should be over in time for kickoff. Nonetheless, the weather will be a factor. Temperatures at kickoff will be well under 20 degrees and the winds will be around 25 mph or better.
Initially, one might think that these brutal conditions will favor the Eagles since they are used to playing outdoors. But, in the words of Lee Corso, I say, "Not so fast, my friend." Many teams who play in domes take on a very dome oriented persona -- fast but a little soft (see the Colts, the Rams and the Vikings). Not so the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons feature a stout defense and bruising rushing attack. Neither of these will be affected by the wind or cold of Philly. The Falcons proved their cold weather capabilities two years ago when they handed the Green Bay Packers their only post season loss ever on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Meanwhile, the Eagles have been vulnerable against the run all year and do not center their offense around a power runner. McNabb is a great quarterback, but this will be a horrendous day for throwing the ball to his depleted receiving core.
Banshee Prediction:
Falcons 24
Eagles 10
AFC Championship
vs. 
This game could go down as one of the greatest games in NFL history. This will be an old-school ballgame. The weather will be frigid on the banks of the three rivers of Pittsburgh. But, these are two cold weather teams that are designed to win in harsh conditions. The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champs. During the offseason, the Pats added the first rate runner, Cory Dillon, to their roster. Despite a rash of injuries to the defense, the Patriots have adapted and continued to win -- sometimes playing a wide receiver in their defensive backfield. The Pats enter this game with only two losses on the season. The only meaningful loss came at the hands of the Steelers on Halloween
The Pittsburgh Steelers only have one blemish on their record. But, they are undefeated since rookie Ben Roethlisberger took over the reins at quarterback. Perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers match the city where they play. This is a working man's team. There's nothing flashy about these guys.
Both teams in this game are capable of playing lock-down defense. They can both grind out the clock with the running game. These things we know. The big question is at the quarterback slot. The Patriots' Tom Brady is a proven winner. He has twice piloted his team to Super Bowl victories. There is nothing extremely picturesque about Brady. He's not the fastest. He's not the strongest. He's certainly not the biggest. But, you play to win the games, and Tom Brady wins games. In contrast, you have Big Ben. No rookie has ever led his team to a Super Bowl. None. But, Big Ben has overcome a lot in his life already -- a shortsighted high school coach who benched Ben in favor of his own son, a college career at the second tier Miami of Ohio, and the recent death of his mother. And through it all, we have seen no chinks in the armor. Thanks in large part to the legs of Jerome Bettis and the blocking Penn Stater Jeff Hartings, today will not be the end of Big Ben's glorious run.
Banshee prediction:
Patriots 7
Steelers 10
NFC Championship
vs.
For the fourth straight year, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the NFC title game. They fell short the last three years despite being a solid favorite. No team has ever lost four straight conference championship games, and the city of Philadelphia is keenly aware of that fact. Governor and former mayor of Pilly, Ed Rendell was seen on ESPN this morning pleading with the Lord to finally allow the Eagles to break through.
This year's challenger is the Atlanta Falcons led by Super Man himself, Michael Vick. The Falcons will be leaving the comforts of the dome in Hotlanta to brave the arctic conditions along the banks of the Schuylkill River. A blizzard blasted the City of Brotherly Love for the last 24 hours, but the snow should be over in time for kickoff. Nonetheless, the weather will be a factor. Temperatures at kickoff will be well under 20 degrees and the winds will be around 25 mph or better.
Initially, one might think that these brutal conditions will favor the Eagles since they are used to playing outdoors. But, in the words of Lee Corso, I say, "Not so fast, my friend." Many teams who play in domes take on a very dome oriented persona -- fast but a little soft (see the Colts, the Rams and the Vikings). Not so the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons feature a stout defense and bruising rushing attack. Neither of these will be affected by the wind or cold of Philly. The Falcons proved their cold weather capabilities two years ago when they handed the Green Bay Packers their only post season loss ever on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Meanwhile, the Eagles have been vulnerable against the run all year and do not center their offense around a power runner. McNabb is a great quarterback, but this will be a horrendous day for throwing the ball to his depleted receiving core.
Banshee Prediction:
Falcons 24
Eagles 10
AFC Championship
vs.
This game could go down as one of the greatest games in NFL history. This will be an old-school ballgame. The weather will be frigid on the banks of the three rivers of Pittsburgh. But, these are two cold weather teams that are designed to win in harsh conditions. The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champs. During the offseason, the Pats added the first rate runner, Cory Dillon, to their roster. Despite a rash of injuries to the defense, the Patriots have adapted and continued to win -- sometimes playing a wide receiver in their defensive backfield. The Pats enter this game with only two losses on the season. The only meaningful loss came at the hands of the Steelers on Halloween
The Pittsburgh Steelers only have one blemish on their record. But, they are undefeated since rookie Ben Roethlisberger took over the reins at quarterback. Perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers match the city where they play. This is a working man's team. There's nothing flashy about these guys.
Both teams in this game are capable of playing lock-down defense. They can both grind out the clock with the running game. These things we know. The big question is at the quarterback slot. The Patriots' Tom Brady is a proven winner. He has twice piloted his team to Super Bowl victories. There is nothing extremely picturesque about Brady. He's not the fastest. He's not the strongest. He's certainly not the biggest. But, you play to win the games, and Tom Brady wins games. In contrast, you have Big Ben. No rookie has ever led his team to a Super Bowl. None. But, Big Ben has overcome a lot in his life already -- a shortsighted high school coach who benched Ben in favor of his own son, a college career at the second tier Miami of Ohio, and the recent death of his mother. And through it all, we have seen no chinks in the armor. Thanks in large part to the legs of Jerome Bettis and the blocking Penn Stater Jeff Hartings, today will not be the end of Big Ben's glorious run.
Banshee prediction:
Patriots 7
Steelers 10
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Healthy Again
There is a duel meaning to title of this post. First of all, the Banshee Blog template is recovered from it's hideous deformity. Wild Banshee is not a product of the stone ages, but she is no expert on HTML programming, either. Yet, the Banshee is nothing if not stubborn. So, after several hours of tedious experimentation, the mysterious narrowing condition is now corrected.
The Banshee's health is also getting better. Who would have thought that just a little eye surgery would put such a damper on my desire to get this blog back in order? At any rate, the eye is doing much better now. It was fully up to the task of HTML editing this afternoon.
The Banshee's health is also getting better. Who would have thought that just a little eye surgery would put such a damper on my desire to get this blog back in order? At any rate, the eye is doing much better now. It was fully up to the task of HTML editing this afternoon.
Change is in the Air
I'm sure that some of you more avid readers have already noticed some subtle changes in the blog's appearance. But, some changes are more than just cosmetic.
Due to popular demand, Banshee Blog has adopted a new comment feature. Comments are now being run through Blogger. Pop-up windows are no longer involved. This should result in fewer problems for those of you using pop-up blockers. However, it will artificially inflate the hit counter. Another downfall is that old comments are no longer accessible. So, thus ends the fairly fiesty debate over Parenting as a Hobby.
Another change involves the Guestbook. Over the last month, porn purveyors have infiltrated this blog and attempted to make several new entries. If you followed the links to their homepages, you found some nasty stuff. It was actually my technically savvy sister who discovered this. All dirty entries have now been removed. In the future, no new entries will apear until they have been screened by me. So, if you try to sign the Guestbook (I do love Guestbood signings) do not be alarmed if your entry does not appear instantly. It's just waiting for my click of approval.
Due to popular demand, Banshee Blog has adopted a new comment feature. Comments are now being run through Blogger. Pop-up windows are no longer involved. This should result in fewer problems for those of you using pop-up blockers. However, it will artificially inflate the hit counter. Another downfall is that old comments are no longer accessible. So, thus ends the fairly fiesty debate over Parenting as a Hobby.
Another change involves the Guestbook. Over the last month, porn purveyors have infiltrated this blog and attempted to make several new entries. If you followed the links to their homepages, you found some nasty stuff. It was actually my technically savvy sister who discovered this. All dirty entries have now been removed. In the future, no new entries will apear until they have been screened by me. So, if you try to sign the Guestbook (I do love Guestbood signings) do not be alarmed if your entry does not appear instantly. It's just waiting for my click of approval.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Quote of the Day 1/21/05
"Let them eat cake." Attributed to Marie Antoinette but likely never actually uttered
This day in history
Today marks the 212th anniversary of the day that King Louis the XVI lost his head at the guillotine in Paris. This was the first execution in what became the tremendous bloodbath known as the French Revolution. In the end, the bloodletting only ceased when the revolutionaries eventually killed their own leader, Robespierre.
Certainly, the plight of the French people warranted an overthrow of their bloated and unrepresentative government. However, unlike the American Revolution which occurred at roughly the same time in history, the French Revolution was based primarily on humanistic ideals such as the ultimate nobility of man. It's no wonder that the revolution soon lost its moral course and turned into an ultra-violent ordeal marked by eras known as The Terror and The Great Terror.
However, if you would prefer a less philosophical summary of the French Revolution, please follow this link to Allan Sherman's wonderful song, "You went the wrong way old King Louis."
Certainly, the plight of the French people warranted an overthrow of their bloated and unrepresentative government. However, unlike the American Revolution which occurred at roughly the same time in history, the French Revolution was based primarily on humanistic ideals such as the ultimate nobility of man. It's no wonder that the revolution soon lost its moral course and turned into an ultra-violent ordeal marked by eras known as The Terror and The Great Terror.
However, if you would prefer a less philosophical summary of the French Revolution, please follow this link to Allan Sherman's wonderful song, "You went the wrong way old King Louis."
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