I had pizza for lunch.

Buenos Dias!

First of all, mad congratulations to my boy mike and his wife raechel, who welcomed Christopher George (I think that's his middle name) into the world yesterday afternoon. Here's his mug:


There was an interesting article in today's USA Today regarding cosmetic/plastic surgery for folks under 18. Here's a link to the article. If you don't have time to read the article, just chew on this:
TOP THREE PROCEDURES AMONG PATIENTS 18 AND UNDER IN 2003
1. Chemical Peels (what the heck is that?)
2. Microderm-abrasion (again, what the heck is that?)
3. Nose Reshaping

Our young people have got some serious issues going on. And society's not helping them out any...

Yesterday, I promised that little article on Ben Affleck. Here ya go:

BOSTON -- If the Democratic National Convention's opening day is known as "game day," then Day 2 should be called "entertainment day" as the Hollywood glitterati fanned out across the city hyping the soon-to-be-official nominee, Sen. John Kerry, and explaining why Hollywood matters.

Whether it was hometown heartthrob Ben Affleck extolling the horrors of runaway production or the Creative Coalition pushing the need for arts education in American schools, the entertainment industry's loyal Democratic legions were out in force Tuesday. Affleck told a group of reporters that runaway production is the "probably the most important issue facing the state of California today."

The issue plays into the Democratic campaign to stop industrial outsourcing, where companies move jobs overseas simply to lower wages.

"It's criminal," Affleck said of the studios' decisions to make more and more movies and TV shows in Canada and other countries. "It makes me sick. I can't stand it."

Affleck said he took a pay cut to make three of his films in the United States and called the studio decisions to avoid filming in Los Angeles a "slap in the face" to the skilled motion picture production work force that has grown up in California.

"It's still a trade where, as a crew member, you can make a living wage," he said. "That's the kind of high-paying job Sen. Kerry wants to keep in the United States."

Like soon-to-retire MPAA president and CEO Jack Valenti, who emceed the "Salute to Veterans" event, and Dan Glickman, former congressman and agriculture secretary who will succeed Valenti at the MPAA, Affleck spoke of the trade benefit the entertainment industry brings.

"It's our single-biggest export and our last great industry that's still here," Affleck said. "Runaway production is a huge deal."

Our last great industry, eh??? I wonder what our nation's farmers would say about that?

I think I may try to catch I, Robot this weekend. We'll have to see how the weekend goes.

Bis spater!