About To Make Some Bodies Turn Cold

• The Monologue:
• I can't stand all of the stupid words that people have made up over the last year or two. The word "staycation" -- I can't believe I even typed that -- makes me apoplectic. That being said, wouldn't layoffs and furloughs be a lot more palatable if they were called "paycations"?
• It would be wrong to make any jokes about Ted Kennedy, right? Like if I were to note that the reports say that he was killed by brain cancer, but I think pancreatic cancer was on the grassy knoll -- that would be wrong, right? Oh crap, that would be a cancer joke, too. Bad times.
• Mark Sanford said he won't quit, he's going to finish his term, but only after making sure his friend in Argentina finishes hers first. I mean, he loves the people of South Carolina. He's proposing to "hike the Appalachian Trail" with each and every one of them.
• Random Pop Culture:
• I am so late to the 30 Rock party. Only three four episodes in now, but it's funny. Duh.
• There are a lot of people who think they know how to curse, but don't. The Cincinnati Bengals' Defensive Coordinator, Mike Zimmer, knows how to curse.
• Having finished Ben Mezrich's book on the founding of Facebook -- it's an enjoyable read -- I'm turning to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, once I track down a copy of it.
• Random Music Video:
• I've lauded MTV.com's video library before, but they've changed it a bit and added a feature that lets you look at the best videos from any year since 1981. So, tonight, we go back to 1994 when I graduated high school. I have a story about this song. After Dr. Dre released his second solo album, 2001, he put together the Up in Smoke Tour, featuring himself, Snoop, Eminem, Ice Cube, and, among others, Warren G. Warren G played towards the beginning of the show and when we saw it at the then-MCI Center, Nate Dogg wasn't there. Warren came out, the beat to this song started, and he started rapping. When they got to the Nate Dogg parts, he got the crowd to sing them. It was pathetic. No energy, he looked sad on the stage by himself. Huge disappointment. The headline act was, of course, Dre and Snoop together. They came out and started doing "The Next Episode", which features Nate. They get to his part and all of the sudden the beat stopped and all of the lights went out. One spotlight hit the stage, illuminating a man, standing by himself, in a bowler hat. The crowd exploded. Nate sang his part, leading into a memorable set. One of my favorite concert moments ever. I don't know if he was just late or if he punked Warren G, but it's never quite made sense to me. Hopefully, they all partied together later at the East Side Motel.