In related news: Econ Phd student arrested for indecent exposure, claimed he was just "maximizing his utility"

1) So a month's worth of studying like a fiend paid off. The news came down the pipe today, I passed both my comprehensive exams, and (assuming I pass the classes I am currently taking) I am now the proud owner of a shiny new Master of Arts degree in Economics. Up next, my Econometrics Field Exam this January, a Public Finance Field in May, then that MA will be joined by an M.Phil. Then I am just one Nobel Prize-winning dissertation away from officially being Doctor McGuffin. So, what did you all do today?

2) I actually watched the entire game 3 and game 4 of the Yankees-Tigers series, and I had a really hilarious and insightful (and possibly inciteful) post written and ready to go up. Unfortunately, as the last out was made and the Tigers began celebrating that they officially de-pantsed the Yankees, I accidently ejaculated all over the keyboard and shorted out the computer. Needless to say, there was no shortage of Schadenfraude (literally: shameful joy) kicking around this apartment. To all my Yankee fan "friends", I will say this much: You were almost right that they were the best team ever. They just barely missed that ever-elusive 1/5th of a billion dollar World Series by the slightest of margins: ten wins. So, yes, Cro-Magnon, you were right that the WS was already in the bag.

3) You know, it's funny, I always assumed it would be a shitload of work and effort to put on a wedding. Yet, somehow, this thing seems to be planning itself. And it's really cheap, too. I will now light myself on fire.

4) My semester has taken an odd, sisyphusian turn. The class I am TAing for has a quiz every Monday and a homework set every Wednesday, and two midterms. I also am contracuably obligded to give 15 hours per semester to another class (which has already been surpassed with no end in sight). In the past week, and not counting my own work mind you, I have spent 49 hours grading. Grading the same thing, 40 times in a row, reading and trying to figure out what the fuck this little bastards wrote instead of the correct answer to give them partial credit so that they don't bug the shit out of me in office hours. I will now take a sledge hammer to my little toes.

5) So the last stock I publicly suggested, PGH, has taken a pretty decent flogging in the market, though this is mostly because their recent expenditure of capital means they will probably have to reduce their massive dividend. But hey, 14% yield is still 14%. Oh, and PHLY still keeps cranking it's way up, so congrats Dorf. Still kicking myself for only pushing in half of what I normally do into my stock investments when I bought it at 70 (or $23 pre-split). I will now deposit my nutsack into a wheat thresher.

6) Here is a quote from this article:

"I walked in on an episode of South Park one night last week. Perhaps the show's creators have gone slightly over the line. There was a graphic scene with a cartoon George Bush shooting some guy in the head. Now there's some quality American television. We ask why our kids have become desensitized to things like gun violence. Gee, I wonder why."

Here is the thing. Coffee BS, Brett Favre man-crush, retarded softball updates, and massive ass aside, I find Peter King amusing if not nearly as insightful as he should be. However, this high-horse crap needs to stop, as does his "I find this special, so I'm going to do a lifeless retelling of it, put a judgemental sentence on the end, and tell you that you should feel special as a result." I've had it. The guy has lost it, especially when he starts with this heavy-handed judgemental shit. As such, let's review his argument:
1) He saw a part of the show
2) He didn't like it
3) He condemns a poorly animated cartoon on a cable channel that is only aired after 10 pm at night for sending a bad message to children and infers that it is the reason that kids are desensitized to gun violence.
4) He added a smarmy, sarcastic, self-righteous comment that wasn't even attempting to be clever.
While there were no links to his citation of studies proving that kids are, in fat... excuse me, in fact... desensitized to things like gun violence. Additionally, I think it mildly retarded that he thinks that South Park is the epitome of the end of American culture, whereas in point of fact it they are probably one of the few shows that actually are able to make real insightful and intelligent satire into the mainstream and have you average neighborhood cretin lap it up and think. Of course, his version of intelligent discourse is writing some bullshit about something that moved him and end the dry retelling with, "I just think that's special." Though he is right that South Park seems to be the only place on television that you can see realistic violence and gory violence (might I add that he mentioned CSI on the same page?).

As such, in the rare event that Mr. King stumbles across this humble weblog, I will say this: Mr. King, please remember that you became a nationally syndicated writer by adding a significant and intelligent voice to football analysis, and you did not get to this place by saying how nice it is to watch multiple games on television at once, how you are a Red Sox fan who likes Jeter, or passing caffiene-fueled heavyhanded moral judgements on 5 minutes of television. In fact, I'll make a deal with you: you go back to football analysis, I'll go back to making incoherant rants about random and relatively irrelevant topics which nobody will actually read. For our respective efforts, we will both be paid accordingly. Sound fair?