All my favorite soup mixes are out of business. First Aunt Patsy's and now Bean Cuisine. Today I'm trying to replicate the Bean Cuisine Thick as Fog Pea Soup from scratch. So far, so good, but I hate when things get discontinued.

In the new department, Facebook will be announcing its offering of e-mail through the domain FB.com on Monday. The reason: to compete with G-mail. Sunday, AOL is expected to launch their new e-mail, Project Phoenix, through phoenix.aol.com.I'm sticking with G-mail and AOL. FB is just so privacy invasive and they add things to your page you don't want and can't get rid of. Like chat with a photo gallery of your friends -- and events. I still prefer the AOL program to the web-based email, and I don't like having all my e-mails stored in "the cloud" but times change and we are forced to change with them. [More..]

I like a lot of games today. One game I really like, Auburn (-7) over Georgia, is now off the board because Cam Newton may not play due to potential NCAA violations. It's going to cost him the Heisman and maybe Auburn's chance to play for the national championship. FTR, I think college players should be paid. A lot of people are making a lot of money on college football and most of the players are not. I also want a college football playoff and hope the season produces a mess in order to increase the pressure for a playoff.

I'm 65-69 for the season. I like a lot of games today, some more than others so I will include my units (1 unit play unless otherwise indicated) in the picks as well so you can follow along with my monetary results today.

Cincinnati (+5.5) over West Va., Ga. Tech(+3) over Miami, Northwestern (+10) over Iowa, Indiana (+22) over Wisconsin, South Florida (+3) over Louisville, Ole Miss (+3) over Tenn (2 units), Kentucky (-15) over Vandy (3 units), Iowa State(-2.5) over Colorado (3 units), Army (+1.5) over Kent, Notre Dame (+7) over Utah, Syracuse (-3) over Rutgers, Texas Tech (+15) over Oklahoma, Texas A&M (-3) over Baylor (5 units), Miss State (+14) over Alabama (2 units), Cal (+21) over Oregon, Ariz. St (+6) over Stanford, Arizona (-4) over USC, and Nevada (-8) over Fresno State.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

The expected merger of Newsweek and The Daily Beast was confirmed today. Newsweek online will no longer exist, but be folded into the Daily Beast. Here's how it will work. Tina Brown will be Editor in Chief of both, and the new name is the Newsweek Daily Beast Co. Tina has more here. Howard Kurtz adds this comment from Tina in his column, which I think is absolutely right. Reading a weekly magazine for news is obsolete:

The effort to keep on persisting with something called a newsmagazine is probably outdated at this point,” Brown says. “Magazines are great venues for predictive and reconstructive journalism, for cultural journalism, for narrative journalism, for profile journalism. All these things can be done online, but do work better with the rhythms of print.”

With Newsweek's print edition to morph into something other than news, it leaves Time Magazine as the sole survivor in the newsweekly print market, since U.S. News & World Report also announced recently it would cease print publication and just publish digitally.

Why do weekly magazines like People still thrive? Is it the photos? Is it that readers don't follow celebrities on a daily basis the way they follow the news, so enough of the material is still news to them a week later? And does anyone subscribe to either, or just pick them up in airports and at the hair salon or doctor's office?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I am just getting done with work and have an early court day tomorrow. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a bit of news all day.

Tonight on Fronline: The Confessions, the story of the Norfolk Four:

How could four men confess to a brutal crime that they didn't commit? FRONTLINE goes inside the incredible saga of the Norfolk Four -- a case that cracks open the justice system to reveal almost everything that goes wrong when innocent people get convicted.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I defy anyone to defend the housing/foreclosure policy of the Obama Administration. It is a travesty. Full Disclosure - I've spent part of the week dealing with these policies for clients.

Open Thread.

More thread.

Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki has surfaced in a video posted today calling for the death of Americans and blasting all Arab and Yemeni leaders as "corrupt." Not a smart way to gain friends and influence people when there's a kill target on your back.

Anwar al-Awlaki said no permission was needed to kill Americans as they are from the "party of devils".... "If the leaders are corrupt, the scholars have the responsibility to lead the nation."

Your turn. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Open Thread.

How may times have you said, "If I could turn back time?" Tonight's the night. Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 a.m.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

BTD's Saturday college football thread is here.

I'll be at the jail most of the afternoon. I wonder if Anwar al-Awlaki will be captured or killed before I get back.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I was 6-5 last week (though I nailed my bet the mortgage, stone cold lock - Oregon over USC) and my season record stands at 61-65. Slim pickings this week:

Air Force (-7) over Army, Syracuse (-6.5) over Louisville, Illinois (+3) over Michigan, Boise St. (-21) over Hawaii, South Carolina (-4.5) over Arkansas, Oklahoma (-2) over Texas A&M, Missouri (-4.5) over Texas Tech, and Arizona St. (+7) over USC.

Go Gators!

In the EPL, I'm on Chelsea (2/1 favorite) again over Liverpool.

Open Thread.

It's the weekend but I'm still working. Here's an open thread for those not similarly constrained. All topics welcome.

Re: Keith Olbermann's suspension. Like BTD, I'm not a fan or a viewer. But I agree the explanation of his suspension rings hollow and something else is going on.

I've always viewed Olbermann as a talk show host not a news journalist. More here.

Olbermann has never been in the same position as Brian Williams, David Gregory or Tom Brokaw. No one looks to him to report the news, but to comment on it. On MSNBC's election night coverage this week, when I tuned in, he and Matthews were commentators to host David Gregory. As a commentator, I don't see why he can't make political contributions. It's not like his leanings aren't already known.