Aaaaayyyyy...poor Becks! The ankle injury connects to the knee injury...By which I mean this: anyone that's ever gone in on a challenge for a 50/50 ball knows that you either go all the way in, or stay all the way out. The worst challenge is the half-hearted one. The replays I saw clearly show Becks favoring his bad ankle, holding back on a full-in challenge. The result? A crushed knee. Ah well...whatever will Posh do?

A flying car, for real? Soon, soon...

(Maximum 10 feet off the ground, otherwise you need a pilots license? It's going to get busy right over our heads, which is why I want to be first. The Not My Fault daughter may be forfeiting her college fund for a flying car. Which promises to be an education of an altogether different sort.)

Jesus.God.Almighty. Save us.

A prediction that actually comes close to reality...I assume there's a flying car in the garage?

(via Pajamas)

Me and Ted -- we enjoy the same view, but we see very different things...

Harmless moose? I don't think so...

And how has the nefarious cow gotten a free pass all these years, what with them belching every 40 seconds and all?

It's an all new Carnival of Happiness!

And while I'm on the subject: Hey kids -- what makes you happy?

The Catholic Bishop of Breda, Holland is calling on the Dutch to refer to God as "Allah". Really.

(Europe-off-the-Rails (TM) -- so easy it's almost not fair...)

I got to experience Beckham-mania up close and personal last night. And I do mean to say "up close":

Yep, the Not My Fault daughter got that shot, and then visibly swooned when she realized Becks had turned and smiled for her as she lifted the camera, as he did several times:

The down side? Well, when you're sitting on the bench mugging for the girls you're not actually playing, are you...

Actually, I feel quite badly for him. His ankle is causing him obvious discomfort, and he's undoubtedly injured far worse than the Galaxy and MLS have let on. There were a couple of occassions I noticed him grimacing as he put weight on his foot. I wish him all the best and hope his ankle doesn't require surgery.

And, oh yes, a couple of professional teams actually played a pretty decent match while every camera in the stadium was pointed at Becks...

Finally.

I've been pretty silent these past few weeks on the whole Beckham media storm, which at times descended into absurdity and embarrassment. I'm sure Becks felt great relief on entering his MLS debut match around the 60th minute last night.

I watched the game in its entirety, and I just could not believe just how badly the LA Galaxy played. I can only imagine what he might have been thinking as he watched his new teammates play like schoolboys. When Beckham entered, his first touch was a sublime one-touch ball that threaded 3 defenders and landed at the feet of a teammate alone, with time and space. It was the first time in the match that an LA player found himself with the ball and an opportunity to create. It was the kind of pass that MLS players never seem to make, that only players with Premiership and La Liga experience could even see.

Soon, the hype will pass and Becks can get to the business at hand: getting his team to the top level of MLS. This year? Not likely. Next year, probably...

You can learn a lot at Open House Night at your kid's school -- top of the list? How many parents actually show up...

I've had the pleasure of spending more time than usual at the Cape this summer -- essentially every weekend and several of them extended. I've been following news and developments for the Cape Wind project for a couple of years now, and it's good to see that opponents are being openly ridiculed for their groundless opposition to clean, renewable energy.

The downside of being an alpha-consumer.

Not quite a flying car, but not quite not a flying car, either...more a flying pod.

Still, the price is falling in line with consumer driven realities, and the technology is advancing more quickly now. Five more years till we see a reasonably priced viable flying car? Maybe...

Who knew? Sweden, the most totalitarian country in the west...

(Europe-off-the-rails TM)

It's the Carnival of Good Stuff, cause we could all use a little of that. And a useful Carnival of Hope. And why not -- here's the Carnival of Positive Thinking.

I almost missed the July edition of the Carnival of Recipes. It's Christmas in July!

Miserable stuff next week...

Lileks. Go now.

(Note especially the post at 10:21 PM.)