RANDOM THOUGHTS: I should jot down my posts when I think of them at work, so I'm not staring at an empty Blogger post box when I get home, trying to recollect where I saw what that was so interesting.

Al Gore really went nuts, huh? Is he regretting not running, now that Bush looks so weak? I bet a lot of people would be actively enthusiastic for Al, as opposed to the "We hate Bush! Vote for this...other guy...here...." support Kerry gets. I myself was looking forward to Bush-Gore II after the high drama that was Bush-Gore I, but Gore pussed out and appointed Howard Dean his surrogate. Poor Al--he just isn't lucky enough, it seems.

Hey Maria--it seems you're moving to the assisted-suicide state. I can only think it must be really strange to practice psychiatry in such an environment, given that suicidal ideation is usually a good way to get yourself taken away by the nice men in the white coats. Yet in Oregon it's a psychiatrist who is supposed to decide in some cases if you're mentally fit enough to make the decision to take your own life--I think that's what they said on NPR today. Very contradictory, no? It just shows how important intent is, I guess, reminding me of the abortion debate to a degree.

Porto beat Monaco 3-0 in the Champions League finale today, a game that was confined to ESPN2 in this country. It was live but so completely unhyped I would've forgotten about it if the Frog hadn't mentioned it. Why ESPN bothers bidding on these mega soccer events it has no intention of promoting is beyond me.

I'm just glad that dork Figo doesn't play for Porto like I thought he did.

And the Magic won the NBA lottery. Lang linked to this seemingly far-fetched story about Shaq going back to the Magic in 2006 to play with T-Mac in 2006--and wouldn't that be the ultimate middle finger to Kobe. "See, Kobe, you think you're Jordan, but there's this guy in Orlando who is just as good as you are, plus he's not a brooding, weird loner. So I'm going to go win a title with him. Have fun in Memphis." Anyway--a Shaq-Okafor-McGrady lineup would obviously be topnotch. Okafor and McGrady by themselves would be okay, though McGrady would still be carrying a team offensively, something he doesn't have much stomach for after quite a few seasons of futility. Of course, the Magic could think they're the Knicks all of the sudden and draft the giant Korean kid. Or the Russian kid with the pituitary problem.

Pistons up 2-1. These playoffs are starting to lack in emotional resonance for me. It's a close, hard-fought game but it's hard to know who to root for or against between the Pistons and the Pacers. At least with the Lakers I know what to not like.

Comrade Blow is really harshing on Wonkette. Me, I don't read Wonkette because 1. I hate that logo and 2. I hate the idea of a blog created as somebody's attempt to cash on the new medium known as the blog. I don't mind it when Atrios or somebody has ads on his site, but Atrios started on blogspot and came up from nothing like a good honest blogger should. So I'm not opposed to blogs that make money. But a blog created to fill some perceived market vacuum--please. If I want Washington gossip, I'll read the other zillion Washington bloggers.

So let's hear it for the traditional, "amateur" blog, that exists only for itself, and that people only happen to read because they want that literary representation of their fellow men or women, or when they stumble across it looking for topless celebrity pictures or somesuch. Hip, hip, hurrah.