Viral Load

Flabergasted does not begin to describe The Common Man this morning, when he went to CNN.com, on a day that saw Houston and the Texas coast struggling to recover from Hurrican Eisenhower, the fall of two investment giants in Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, and General Petraeus being relieved of his command (following a largely successful tenure) in Iraq, and discovered that the start of OJ Simpson's trial was the lead story. Nice priorities. Anyway, The Common Man was so depressed he couldn't write a full post today. Instead, enjoy some virally goodness and half-assed commentary.

First off, fighting for a playoff spot, Met fans are on the edge of their seats:



The Common Man believes this man got exactly what he deserved. Baseball tickets, particularly to the Mets, are expensive these days, and unless you're under 8 or above 80 years old, you have no excuse for sleeping during a ballgame. Also, for The Common Man's college readers out there, don't ever be the first guy to pass out at a party. While fewer people will see your embarassment than will see this guy, you aren't really in a "public" forum, and many terrible things will happen to (and be written on) your person. You've been warned.

The best bi-partisan news conference of the year:



Though the clip is funny throughout, and is further evidence that Tina Fey is, bar none, the most talented and hilarious woman (person?) in America today, Amy Poehler gets a) the best lines of the sketch and b) the most important message of one of the most overtly political SNL bits of recent years. Indeed, the success and effectiveness of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report in pointing out hypocrasy in politics and media that SNL has been forced to step up its game, including last season's sketch where they lampooned the media's handling of Barak Obama in DNC debates. It's a welcome change for SNL. Now, if only they could get the funny back.

And, finally, maybe mini-golf should be considered a contact sport:



Mini-golf is indeed the most frustrating of almost sports, finishing just ahead of whiffle ball, bumper bowling, and speed walking. Those windmills, hills, and castles sure do provide difficult obstacles that thwart even the most enthusiastic putter's attempts to get the ball in the hole. It's easy to see how a man could lose his cool in that situation. And really, what was that biker doing on the course in the first place?