Helen's Annual Nike Purchase

Around this time of year, I get these great discount offers from my top three online stores: Nike, Eddie Bauer, and (heart) Ralph Lauren. I usually do business with them all, but with these hard times, sigh, I decided to only buy a couple of pair of shoes and a sweatshirt I don't need from Nike.

Actually, all my sweatshirts (and don't we all have sweatshirts STILL from college? From 20 years ago?) are dark and old. So I bought a nice Orange UT sweat. And man technology is great! It has a shoulder pocket for your Ipod, Texas on the hoodie? It's awesome.

And a couple pair of Shox. For walking around. They stink as running shoes.

I think I'll buy my towels from Target this year. Or maybe not any? We don't need new towels every year do we?

I am getting my house treated for creatures this week. The hurricane has brought all sorts of critters inside.

Question: Should I raise the rent on my tenants $25 a month? If so, why? If not, why not? They clearly are going to stay for awhile....I have put $4K into the house since they moved in, and my property taxes have gone up since I'm not Homestead....

However, they pay on time and only complain a little.

New Guns N Roses! The reviews are in....

Streaming all the songs on their myspace page. It's getting mixed reviews. Here's the NY Times review of it.

All I will say is you can seriously tell these songs have been written over the last 15 years. there is so much "influences". Here's the latimes review.

and USAToday. I can do this forever, here are the 550 reviews as of today.

This is an anti-Bush article in the LATimes, and I love it. It's talking about everything Bush is signing by exec orders that will take years for Obama to undo. Love it!

If he does anything else before he leaves, he better pardon these law enforcement agents!

My Printer is Broken

Thanks, sis.

Mark Cuban's Screwed

I try not to comment on what you can read, well everywhere all over the internet, whether it's sports blogs, gossip blogs or financial news in general. The SEC got Martha Stewart, and they got Cuban.

If he is smart, he will fess up and pay a fine. If he lies, well, see where Martha spent a few months.

It doesn't seem fair, though. You are told that your investment isn't going to profit like you hoped, because it is going private instead of public, and you can't sell.

Read the details here.

eta: It's a civil filing, not criminal like DOJ. He will fight this and than eventually pay his way out. I just discovered his blog, read his statement here.

Honorary Title: Stay Away

Well, I found another awesome song. Sirius and XM merged last week. The result is my favorite station, Ethyl 47, is no more. It is now Alt Nation. I am very disappointed. However I must say so far the new music is ok. I'm just worried about it sounding like another alt rock radio station, which Ethyl was not.

But I found this song on it, so +1 for Sirius.

Wanda Sykes Comes Out

"If you don't believe in same sex marriage, than don't marry somebody of the same sex." HA!

What's the biggest threat to marriage? Divorce!

What's Helen Watching

I'm getting nostalgic. Here's some awesome videos to prove why youtube rocks

Snow Patrol: Leona Lewis Covers Run

Pretty cool. suppose to be on her new album

Saturday Post

I'm still unpacking. I just found a box of a bunch of DVDs that I thought were lost. So I'm watching 8 mile and ripping CDs to my computer. I have a hankerin for Rush 2112, witch I thought I had on CD somewhere. I think I'm going to run to the used CD store (if it is still in buisness) and get it.

I would have bought on Amazon but they don't have it. I think that album, for whatever weird reason, defines my childhood. Along with Van Halen. In terms of music, of course....

New Watchmen Trailer

This, is going to be awesome.

Music Post

I am sorry I can't actually post the songs. But they are called links for a reason

New Kanye is all over the place: I still love Robocop, Heartless may hit first

Britney: I know, who cares? but word is this track: "If You Seek Amy" will be the highlight of the album.

I mean, really who knew Stronger and Piece of Me could be so awesome?

Justice At Its Finest (Irony)

This story has been out for a couple of years, and yet the Border agents are still resentenced to jail for shooting an illegal drug smuggler at the border. The rules of engagement are clear, you think they have a gun or are fleeing for cover to engage, you are entitled to defend yourself.

For Bush's first pardon, I hope it is these guys. After all, Clinton pardoned convicted terrorists just to get votes for his wife, right?

Second former Border Patrol agent resentenced

Associated Press

Nov. 13, 2008, 2:42PM

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EL PASO — The second of two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a fleeing drug smuggler was formally resentenced Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Ignacio Ramos was again given an 11-year federal prison term a day after Jose Alonso Compean was resentenced to his original 12-year term. Both were convicted in 2006 of shooting admitted and now-convicted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, an illegal immigrant, and trying to cover up the incident.

A federal judge in El Paso resentenced Ramos on charges of assault, civil rights violations and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

In July, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans forced the resentencing by throwing out obstruction of justice charges against the pair while upholding the most serious convictions, including the weapons charge that carried a mandatory 10-year prison term.

Compean and Rios have been in prison for almost two years.

Their case prompted a massive outcry from supporters who argued that U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton should have focused efforts on prosecuting Aldrete. Several members of Congress have asked President George W. Bush to pardon the former agents, or at least commute their sentences. Presidents generally issue such orders in their final days in office.

Aldrete, who admitted smuggling several hundred pounds of marijuana on the day he was shot in 2005, pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug charges related to two smuggling attempts several months after he was shot in the buttocks while running away from Ramos and Compean. The same federal judge who sentenced the former agents ordered Aldrete to serve 9 1/2 years in prison.

Ramos and Compean argued during their trials that they acted in self defense because they believed Aldrete was armed. Aldrete denied having a weapon the day he was shot.

Tracy Morgan on the Today Show

What were they thinking? And I almost typed Tracy Jordan. This is so funny to watch how quickly they shut this down...total safe for work!

Tracy Morgan Makes Kathie Lee and Hoda Uncomfortable on The Today Show @ Yahoo! Video

EW Top 25 Entertainers of the Year

I love year end stuff. You may remember that from the last year posts. Anyway, one of my favorite magazines is the Entertainment Weekly Year End. It ranks everything, with multiple critics chiming in. Anyway ONTD has the top 25 entertainers here, and here is the cover.

First Mortgage Bailout Sucks, Just think what the Auto Bailout Will Look Like!

Comments on the first bailout proposal, which sucks. Stop paying your mortgage because you have to be 3 months behind to qualify!!!

"

Beginning Dec. 15, the government would reduce interest rates for homeowners who are at least three months behind on their mortgage payments and owe 90 percent or more than their home is worth. The interest rate would be cut so that they don't have to pay more than 38 percent of their income for housing. Some mortgages also might be extended to 40 years from 30.

The hope is that other mortgage companies will follow Fannie and Freddie's lead and offer similar restructurings, since most subprime loans won't be covered by the plan.

Felix Salmon offers a quick run-down of the plan's shortcomings:

• It applies only to mortgages owned by Frannie, which means, by definition, that it doesn't include subprime mortgages. FHFA is trying to apply moral suasion -- but no cash -- to persuade other mortgage holders to adopt the same plan. Good luck with that.
• It doesn't even begin to address the problem of mortgages which have been securitized, rather than being held by a single bank.
• It's based on the idea that servicers "have dedicated personnel who are experienced in working with borrowers
  who are struggling with finances, but who are eager to keep their homes". Not nearly enough of them they don't.
• It requires borrowers to be 90 days delinquent -- and therefore gives many borrowers with mortgages over 38% of their gross monthly income a massive incentive to cease making any mortgage payments now.
• The onus is on the borrower to initiate proceedings, providing a package including "monthly gross household income, association dues and fees, and a hardship statement". For $800 per mod, servicers aren't going to be proactive about helping get this kind of thing done, especially given how overworked they are already."