Joined in progress.

I’m basically including this one to catch any post New Year sports activity.  What I’ve sampled so far (through Noon) doesn’t seem unusual for a Sunday, though there are some not bad movies in the afternoon and evening.

For instance tonight National Geographic is showing Restrepo: Afghan Outpost at 8 pm and again at 11 pm.  It was recently reviewed by Dennis Hartley over at Hullabaloo (digby’s place)-

Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s no-frills portrait of one year in the life of a platoon deployed in Afghanistan is the most gut-wrenching and uncompromising piece of combat journalism I’ve seen since The World of Charlie Company (if you’re old enough to remember that one). There are no politics or voiceover narration to distract; just day-to-day life for a bunch of guys who want to do their duty, serve their tour and not get their asses shot off along the way. Saving Private Ryan and Platoon pale by comparison-this is the real deal.

I didn’t bother transferring the Amazon links.

This edition good until Noon.  Now 3 pm.  6 pm.  8 pm.  11 pm.  2 am.  Done, see you tomorrow for Prime Time.

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First of all, Football is a game you play with your feet and a round ball.

Second, the whole Bowl Championship Series system is a ripoff and a joke.  Either you have a National Championship Playoff or you don’t.  This is don’t.

The thread is for rooting for your Alma or other teams you have an interest in.  Richard will be cheering for (Michigan) State (Alma) and UConn (not really a Division 1 Team and a huge waste of taxpayer money).

Your early games-

1 pm

• ABC– College Throwball- Outback Bowl: Florida v. Penn State
• ESPN– College Throwball, Capital One Bowl: Alabama v. Michigan State

1:30 pm

• ESPN2– College Throwball, Gator Bowl: Michigan v. Mississippi State

Late games-

5 pm

• ESPN– College Throwball, Rose Bowl: Texas Christian v. Wisconsin

8:30 pm

• ESPN– College Throwball, Fiesta Bowl: Connecticut v. Oklahoma

Today is the 122nd edition of the Tournament of Roses Parade known for its plant and flower covered floats (most of which are animated) and equestrian units.

I’ll charitably posit that it’s the plant and flower coverings and not the manure that earns it a spot in the Home and Garden channel line up (it’s also being covered on ABC and NBC).  If I sound a little bitter it’s because I’ve marched in a band behind horses of which there are also plently.

Bands that is.  This year we’ll have the displeasure of being subjected to flower zombie Ronnie on the occasion of his centenary.  The part of him that wasn’t senile was shallow, narcissistic, vapid, and evil.

I’ll try and keep up as best I can.  I’m working to finish up today’s TV and put together a Bowl Game Mania Open Thread so I can ditch out to a party this evening.  I’m skipping Evening Edition but TheMomCat may decide to put something together, I’m leaving it up to her.

So grab your hangover flapjacks and coffee and settle in.

Expect updates.  This edition good until 1 pm when the Rose Parade is over.  Now until 4 pm.  Midnight.  Done.  Off to my party.

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Well, if you’re looking for profound insight, thoughtful retrospection on a year that can only be described as horrible, farsighted prognostication of future trends, or stentorian calls to ACTION!, I think we can all agree that you’re reading in the wrong place.

But if you have some sentiment you’re aching to express or a passing observation of entropy’s arrow…

Brian Seacrest’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.  Is this water hot or is it just me?

In case you forgot the words.  

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Spectacular Sydney fireworks kick off global New Year party

by Talek Harris, AFP

2 hrs 54 mins ago

Wall Street’s Fatal Defect

Mark Sunshine, The Huffington Post

President and CEO, M.A. Sunshine Capital

Posted: December 29, 2010 03:06 PM

According to many industry experts, including the Congressional Oversight Panel, many private label mortgage backed bonds have a fatal defect. Of course, Wall Street disagrees and claims that the problem is a mere technicality and not very important. The “insignificant” defect that Wall Street is downplaying is that many mortgage backed bonds may not be backed by mortgages.

The last sentence was not a typo or a mistake of fact.

There is a serious chance that the issuers of many mortgage backed bonds lack ownership of the mortgages that are supposed to back their bonds. This dirty little defect has paralyzed the private mortgage finance markets and is a primary reason that new issuance of even private mortgage securities made up of loans to “A” quality borrowers and low loan to values has ceased. And, the problem seems to be ignored by the administration and regulators.

Remember, our Masters of the Universe went to the best schools and are ever so much brighter than us mere serfs.

Why Mortgage-Backed Securities Aren’t (Backed by Securities): How MERS Toasted the Banks

L. Randall Wray, The Huffington Post

Professor of Economics and Research Director of the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Posted: December 30, 2010 08:35 AM

In a series of pieces I have argued that MERS, a creation of the mortgage banking industry, has effectively destroyed the institution of private property in America. Ironically, MERS was created to facilitate quick and easy and cheap securitization of mortgages — what are called mortgage-backed securities. In fact, what it did was to eliminate any backing of the securities by mortgages. Of the total securitized asset universe, something like $7 trillion are (supposedly) backed by residential mortgages. However, MERS helped to delink the securities from the mortgages. At best, they are unsecured debt — there is no property backing the securities. What this means is that foreclosure is not permitted. As I have said before, it is likely that most or even all foreclosures occurring in the US are illegal seizures of property — home thefts. We are talking about 100,000 completed home thefts per month, with another 250,000 new foreclosures started to steal homes every month. Projections are that 13 million homes will have been “foreclosed” (read: stolen) by 2012.

Worse, from the perspective of the banks, they’ve got to take back all the fraudulent MBSs, most of which are toxic.

In what follows I want to present the most favorable case for the mortgage industry. That is to say, I will ignore fraud and criminal conspiracies. Let us look at the current predicament as if it resulted from a series of monumental errors. With that in mind, what is the best-case scenario? First a caveat: I am not a lawyer nor am I an investigative reporter. I have relied on my perusal of reported evidence, plus a discussion with James McGuire who has put together an entirely convincing argument that the securitizations of mortgages resulted in securities that are not backed by mortgages. I urge interested readers to go to his website.

Happy Amateur Night!  If you’re like me you’re not that into sharing the road or even a space.  I remember one year when someone poisoned themselves on 1.75 of Stoli, announced they had to pee, stood up, turned around, and proceeded to do so on the couch they had previously been sitting on.

Being a charitable fellow I literally held the bag for him as he detoxified before he slept it off.  I will admit I let him do it on the same couch (well, we had to burn it anyway).

In any event to kick off the festivities I direct your attention to the Holiday Bowl Big Balloon Parade.  Yup, bigger than Macy’s and more concentrated, only an hour at 9 am on USA.  The results of last night’s Holiday Bowl itself?  Washington 19 – 7 over Nebraska.

Expect updates.  This edition good until noon.  Now through 8 pm.  Up to 11 pm.  Now until 2 am.  6 am.

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Happy New Year Charlie Brown.  I shouldn’t be so flip about Stamford, they are after all the last team to beat UConn before the streak, but I don’t see any reason to think they will tonight unless it is a very bad night indeed.  The secret of their success is very similar to Tiger Woods’.  He starts playing to win on Thursday, most of the others play to make the cut until Saturday.  Likewise the Lady Huskies play crushing defense from the tip off and never show any mercy on scoring.

• AMC– Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II
• Bravo– Real Housewives marathon
• Comedy– Futurama marathon
• Disney– Hannah Montana Movie
• Discovery– Sr. v. Jr (this week’s, new episode Monday they say, filming of)
• ESPN– College Throwball Music City Bowl: North Carolina v. Tennessee, Holiday Bowl: Nebraska vs. Washington
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Temple at Villanova, NCAA Women’s Basketball: @ Stamford (#90 probably)
• Food– Feuds (premier)
• History– Aliens! and Conspiracy Theories (some new)
• Lifetime– Antwone Fisher
• National Geographic– Dog Whisperer marathon
• Sci Fi– Catwoman, The Cave
• Style– The Bridges of Madison County, The Pelican Brief x 2
• Turner Classic– The Strip, Requiem for a Heavyweight
• TNT– Hoopies, Knicks @ Magic, Spurs @ Mavs
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon (thank goodness)
• USA– Burn Notice (part of a 22 hour marathon)
• VH1– SNL marathon

Later-

• AMC– Back to the Future Part III, Summer Rental
• Comedy– The Beast With A Billion Backs
• FX– Zodiac, Archer
• Sci Fi– Children of the Corn, Clive Barker’s Book of Blood
• Spike– Die Another Day (Brosnan)
• Turner Classic– Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Comic

Dave in repeats from 12/6.  Conan in repeats from 11/17.

With any luck at all I’ll have your 24 hour New Year’s Eve listings up by 6 am.

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Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 UN warns Gbagbo against attack on Ivory Coast peacekeepers

by Dave Clark, AFP

1 hr 39 mins ago