Every now and then i forget it, but Billy Bragg is f#@*ing brilliant. Good words to remember given that today California is voting to recall a governor on what amounts to a well-funded and ill-conceived whim.

The weekend before last i attended my third wedding of the summer, this one for high school chum Joe and his bride Cindy. I met Joe on the first day of 7th grade when i was late for science class (being the logical person that i am, i assumed that since the day is six periods long, lunch must be after third period). I took the only seat left, and ended up at a lab table with Joe, Justin, and Nishay, three of my best friends throughout high school. Joe got married at the Palmdale Estates in Fremont, where my sister will be wedded next summer. So i was not just a casual observer, i was also doing some reconnaissance for my mother. It was a nice garden service, including a minister who apparently wasn't used to being mic'ed as his whispered instructions to the bridal party could be heard even by those of us in the last row. The reception was a lot of fun as well. The MC altered the typical "clink the glasses to see the bride and groom kiss" so that whenever glasses were clinked, the couple picked another couple from the audience to kiss, and then the newlyweds had to duplicate their actions. That became very interesting. All in all, a final summer chance to see good old friends like Clement, Julie, Joe, Sung, George, Colleen, and Iqbal.

My time in Houston last week was fairly enjoyable, including several nice meals courtesy of Varian and a day at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center getting advice on how to run a Radiation Oncology PET/CT operation without losing money hand over fist. I was jonesing for some down-home Texas bbq but that didn't pan out. My sinuses didn't react so well to spending the night with the air conditioning on, so i've spent the last few days getting over an annoying bout of congestion.

It's been a dismal week in my sporting life. Chelsea got spanked in the Champions League, losing 2-nil at home to Turks Besiktas, but then managed to eke yet another unconvincing win at Middlesbrough, saving me from the taunts of Matthew. The Giants blew an extra inning lead in game 3 against the Marlins, and proceeded to lose the series. Shades of game 6 of the 2002 World Series? And the A's ... oh geez, the A's ... can't win a playoff series to save their lives. Not even with a 2 game lead against hapless Boston. Meanwhile in the NFL, the Niners managed to avoid an embarrassing loss to former coach Steve Marriucci and the Detroit Lions, but the Raiders continued to demonstrate that they stink. Ain't no two ways about it, they're crap.

Current Winning Eleven 6 International Chelsea Master League squad: central defenders Frank Rijkaard and Marcel Desailly, wing backs Lillian Thuram and Roberto Carlos, defensive midfielder Emmanuel Petit, wingers Tijani Babangida and newest signing Michael Ballack, offensive midfielder Luis Figo, and strikers Emmanuel Olisadebe and Nuno Gomes. We're kicking some serious butt. So much so i can afford to leave JFH and scoring-machine-turned-boring-machine Juninho on the bench. If only winning trophies in real life were so simple.

I have to admit i am nothing short of horrified by the news swirling about the London gang rape allegedly committed by a group of eight Premiership footballers. My friends know of my rape phobia well, an inability to watch scenes of rape, arising from childhood traumas watching Sudden Impact and A Clockwork Orange. If the story is true, there are some sick f&$#ers in the Premiership. Worse yet, the supposed orchestrator is rumored to be a Chelsea man. Disgusting. If it's true, i don't think i'll ever be able to support him again ... hopefully the club will do the right thing and release him.