ZAPNotes

The NBA has rejected an offer from EA to be the exclusive video-game licensee for the National Basketball Association. This would have created a situation like EA has created with the NFL , slamming the door on rival video game manufacturers by making it impossible to create competing products. We'll see if it this holds up through the inevitable second proposal, but for right now the NBA has done a good thing for gamers everywhere.

Last night I was watching a little bit of Sports Center and Stuart Scott was on—as he usually is Sunday nights now that his Dream Job gig is over until they decide to inflict it upon us again. (Do you think he cries to himself at night -- "[former Sports Center co-host] Rich [Eisen] is now the identity of the NFL Network and I host a reality TV show on a cable network"? I do.) Never has one man rode one catch phrase and his perceived "street cred"—most of which is attributed to his blackness—longer than Stu has. I get the feeling that he is trying to create something as enduring as "boo-yeah" without dropping the former from his repertoire. He hasn't come close yet. Using quotes from other sources don't count. Along those lines, last night he worked a Wicked reference into the Cavs highlight, singing no less: "with an assist from James he's gonna be pop-U-lur! He'll be pop-U-lur!"* But I don't know which is ...

The Lost Boys star is 33 today. He doesn't look a day over 40. But alas, rumor has it that his bid to become his generation's Keith Richards is over. I guess not everyone can achieve greatness. Corey, if Lost Boys 2 never happens, we'll consider you for a role in Showgirls 2:The Cleavage Runs Deep , which is in development.

Last night the Arrogant One gave the Grizzlies their first win ever in LA against the Lakers. Double Joy. And over the weekend TO got injured and has effectively ended the Eagles title hopes. Joy. What's next? G5s being tossed out of airplanes attached to parachutes so that they can gently drift to the ground where many Mac enthusiasts like myself will pluck them up and give them warm and loving homes.

As a reasonably-educated consumer who prefers organically-grown fruits and vegetables to the conventional, I often wonder why we've got these labels. After all, organically grown food is just food that hasn't been treated with anything whilst the intrepid farmer has been cultivating it. The so-called "conventional" on the other hand, means that the fruit or vegetable in question has been doused in chemicals to make it plumper, prevent bugs from eating it, etc. This bugs.

Best wishes from all of us at IJAD to cpMaia, whose birthday it be today. She's a fellow Alaska expat, so she's not all bad. In fact, if she were listed in a guide book, the summary would probably be "mostly bad". In all seriousness, have a happy one! Or two? It's your birthday, why not make it a double?

I had to go to the post office this morning to mail packages and buy holiday stamps. T'was a good trip, as I got there with about seven people in line, but the Christmas miracle was in full effect as all three teller stations were manned! I got to the front of the line in good time and thankfully didn't have to deal with a complete idiot. It was actually one of the shorter trips in recent memory. I frequently go to the USPS because the wife and I sell of unwanted cds and more via Half.com. When I left, the line had grown to enormous lengths, wrapping itself around the building twice and ending in a rather impressive bow. I took this as a sign that this short week will be a good one.