Even Sweeter Science

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who has criticized Republican ethics, accepted free ringside tickets to three professional boxing matches from Nevada officials who were trying to influence his federal legislation regulating the sport.

Reid, D-Nev., took the free seats for Las Vegas fights between 2003 and 2005 from the Nevada Athletic Commission as he pressed legislation to increase federal oversight of boxing, including the creation of a government commission.

Kudos to Sen. Reid. Unless you're a total idiot, it's obvious that the only way to fix boxing is the creation of a government commission.

Eurovision 2006 in Review

Do yourself a favor and download the songs from Eurovision 2006 and check out the Eurovision website. My picks and pans:

"Loca" by Arsenium & Natalia Gordienko (Moldova) is a hit, baby.

The UK should be banned from Eurovision 2007 after sending Daz Sampson to Athens to sing that bloody rubbish "Teenage Life."

Which reminds me, don't invite Albania back to Eurovision. Ever.

Hey, Portugal. This is Eurovision, for crying out loud, not a high school talent show. Shame on you.

If I played for the Astros, my at bat song, if not already taken, would be "Moja Stikla" by Croatia's Severina.

Estonian diva Sandra's upbeat "Through my Window" is a really great song, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't have that "it" I'm looking for in a Eurovision winner.

Finnish KISS knock-off band Lordi? Please. I can't believe they won with "Hard Rock Hallelujah." Somebody in Helsinki must have dirrrrty pics of the panel. According to luridtransom, the real winner of Eurovision 2006 is Norwegian bombshell Christine Guldbrandsen. Give "Alvedansen" a spin, and I think you'll agree. For the non-Norwegian speakers, "Alvedansen" means "Elves' Dance."

Now I tell you what is awesome.

Have you checked out 59 this week? It's finished, and it's spectacular.

Urban Redevelopment Wisdom: The new Wachovia branch on Kirby at Westheimer leaves much to be desired. One tiny building and a huge parking lot. What a waste of a location with so much potential. There are new apartments going up across the street and a condominium tower going up next door, and the best they can do is a big parking lot? Wachovia obviously didn't employ any focus groups, because Houstonians will not stand for this.

Why isn't Eurovision broadcast on American tv? Add this to my campaign platform.

Irrefutable Evidence

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared in a letter to President Bush that democracy has failed worldwide. Hey, I've been saying this for years. It's about damn time democracy's failure is acknowledged and accepted by mainstream global leaders.

Daft Punk & Glow Sticks

Forget about that Burning Man entry a few months back. I need a ride to Kazantip. http://www.kazantip.com/

Worth Mentioning

In a Hollywood bombshell with a Sin City twist, Paris Hilton and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart went public Tuesday with their romance in Las Vegas.

-- Las Vegas Review-Journal

More good news from Louisiana

The new New Orleans evacuation plan touches on a heart-wrenching decision evacuees faced ahead of Katrina: To board the buses, they had to leave their pets, and some refused to go without them. In the future, evacuees will be allowed to bring pets with them as long as they have some type of cage to safely put them in.

Here's to funding the pet evacuation program with federal tax dollars!