Breeding lilacs out of the dead land. T.S. Eliot. What the hell?

ts eliot

Is there any rhyme or reason to Google Hot Trends? This is the hottest search term on the internet at this moment.  What would, out of the blue, cause this random phrase to go to #1 on the google HotTrends chart? I can’t make sense of it but maybe someone out there can for me?

I don’t read (I grow up with all these electronic toys and as a result, have lost any ability to focus on one thing such as a book).  But this is in the opening lines of one of T.S. Eliot’s poems.  To read the full poem, The Waste Land, in all its glory, click over to Bartleby.

Hancock Twist, Hancock Spoiler, Hancock Ending: Oh My!

This post DOES NOT give away the ending of the movie but does link to them below (for inquiring minds)!!!

Hancock with Will Smith drew in $100 million this weekend at the box office.  Pretty big draw but did that figure meet expectations? I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to. Critics aren’t “slamming” but 2 in 3 say don’t bother and that’s enough for me to put my $9 toward something else like Wall-E.

One thing is for certain…the Hancock searches are hot right now.  Specifically, people want to know about the ending to the movie.  Basically there’s an alternate ending to the movie if you stick around for the credits. A lot of people scream out of the theater as the credits roll so they missed it.  If you want to know what it is, click here: http://moviestinger.com/extra-scene-during-credits-of-hancock/

There was a twist in Hancock as well part way through the film: http://www.alwayswatching.org/features/truth-about-hancock

As for the original ending, one author said this:

<blockquote>[...] that ultimately leads to one awful ending where you will sit and wonder whether or not you should laugh or cry or maybe demand that the theater give you free candy. – NoPasaNada @ Mamapop.com</blockquote>

Hah!  I think I’ll see WALL-E.  And I cannot WAIT for Batman!!

Kerri Walsh and Misty May tie own record with 15th consecutive volleyball tournament win

Pictured above is Kerri Walsh, a heluva womens volleyball player.  Her and teammate Misty May-Treanor won their 15th straight volleyball tournament today in Boulder.  According to USA Today, the Olympic qualifiers won the AVP Crocs Slam Boulder.

May-Treanor’s next tournament title will be the 100th of her career. It may also be record-breaking if she’s playing with Walsh.

Raphael Nadal beats Roger Fedder in longest Wimbledon finals match in history

Raphael Nadal,Roger Fedder,Ralph Nadal

Hah! People are funny. I just took a quick look at Google Hot Trends.  In searching for news on today’s huge Wimbledon match between the #1 and #2 tennis players in the world, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, people have entered in the names as I have erroneously in the headline…so the headline is a tribute to them.

Anyway, there was an epic battle today between the two tennis rock stars.  Nadal upset Federer on his own favorite surface in five marathon sets with the last one going to a 9-7 tiebreaker game.  Federer (or Roger Fedder!) was going for his SIXTH STRAIGHT WIMBLEDON TITLE, PEOPLE!  He would’ve been the first in over a century to do so.

It was the longest Wimbledon match in history with all the rain delays.

ESPN has more.  ESPN is also replaying the match on ESPN Classic tomorrow at 7pm EST.  Raphael Nadal wants you to watch!

Andrea Jaeger admits to losing 1983 Wimbledon final to Martina on purpose

Andrea Jaeger admitted to having lost the 1983 Wimbledon final on purpose, according to a report by the Daily Mail.  She was playing Martina Navratilova, who won nine Wimbledon singles titles in her career, and lost 6-0, 6-3.

All we can say is that Martina can’t be happy about the revelation but she probably doesn’t care.  She won eight other titles at Wimbledon so her track record is well documented.

Jaeger became a nun in 2006.  Looks like the sister was looking to get some attention or upstage the current final going on with the Williams Sisters?

Click here for the Daily Mail report.

To catch the action going on with the current Wimbledon Womens Final (Venus won) click here to go to the official Wimbledon website.

Jordan Hasay breaks world record, qualifies for 1500m final

After finishing seventh in the 1500m quarterfinal with a time of 4:18.39 on Thursday night, Jordan Hasay finished tenth in the semifinal tonight in Eugene, OR.  Although the 16 year-old track sensation from San Luis Obispo, CA, finished with a time of 4:14.50, it was good enough to beat the high-school record for the 1500m set by Christine Babcock earlier this year.  See full results at USATF.

The San Francisco Chronicle had rumored that Hasay would forego the race tonight to travel to Poland for the World Junior Championships.  She may fare better there but she is holding her own in the 2008 Olympic Trials thus far to say the least.

I don’t think she is leaving before the final which will take place at 4:05pm on Sunday.  NBC’s coverage on Sunday is brief, however, and it is doubtful that it will be televised.

Sanluisobispo.com has more on tonight’s race.

Jesse Helms, Former North Carolina Senator, dies at 86

Jesse Helms, who served five terms as a North Carolina senator, died today at the age of 86.  The Republican was perhaps most well-known for some of his remarks against minorities.  According to Jesse Helms’ biography on Wikipedia, “Helms was particularly vitriolic when speaking of blacks, gays and lesbians, blaming them for “the proliferation of AIDS,” and stating that he disliked using the word “gay” to refer to them since, “…there’s nothing gay about them.”

He also voiced strong opposition to the inception of Martin Luther King Day.

Americablog has more on this story.

Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest: Will Takeru Kobayashi rebound against Joey Chestnut?

In last year’s July 4 contest, American, Joey Chestnut upset the world’s most prolific hot dog eating champion, Takeru Kobayashi.  He also broke a world record in doing so, eating a mind-boggling 66 hot dogs and hot dog buns in 12 minutes!!

The two will face off again this year in today’s 93rd Annual Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest.  The event will be televised live beginning at 12pm EST on ESPN.

Gambling911 has links to some of the Vegas odds for this event.  Kobayashi and Chestnut are neck-and-neck favorites at the moment.

Ruslan Fedotenko signs one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens just inked the free-agent forward to a one-year deal. They’ve got to be pleased with themselves to have nabbed the former New York Islanders player.

The Penguins lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Detroit Red Wings this past June.

More info at RUWT? blog and Doubt About It.

They apparently signed Satan and Fleury as well.

Jill Rappaport to testify for Christie Brinkley in divorce trial

Jill Rappaport, NBC Correspondent, pictured above, will testify in the Christie Brinkley divorce case. She is the best friend of Brinkley and will apparently testify as to how she introduced Brinkley and Cook over ten years ago.

This divorce case…so much mud-slinging, so little time…

More info on the trial at The Huffington Post.