But the illness that took hold this past weekend made me angry. I’ve been oddly motivated and productive recently, and had many important things to accomplish. But the headache, body aches and sore throat arrested my ability to focus. And the fever-dreaming and hallucinating-like sleep that tortured me throughout Sunday night made me fearful of the next slumber.

So I fought that flu and slayed it with the steely swords from a thousand warriors who . . . and here the metaphor escapes me. And so the blog ends.

2 – Bob Harris met Charlotte while in Tokyo shooting a Suntory Whiskey commercial in this movie. Lost in Translation – There’s a scene in this movie etched indelibly upon my mind.

3 – His booming voice reminds us that "This, is CNN." Emo Phillips. No, wait. James Earl Jones.

4 – Nothing came between Brook Shields and this brand of designer jeans. Calvin Klein – I think there was a double meaning to this slogan.

5 – This venerated thespian insisted that Paul Masson "will sell no wine, before its time." Orson Welles – I don’t think ol’ Orson was really that picky about how long his wine was aged.

6 – This actor has been the voice of Lowe’s and the Oppenheimer Fund, and also played a guy named Popeye. Gene Hackman – Popeye from the French Connection, not the pop-eyed spinach freak.

7 – Faith Hill, Tyra Banks, Keri Russell, Christie Brinkley and Ellen DeGeneres have all provided a face to this company. Cover Girl – Most of you dudes knew this. Strange.

8 – Bob Hope served as spokesman for Chrysler and this petroleum retailer. Bob "from Texaco" Hope

9 – A recent GoDaddy TV spot features this race car driver getting hit on by a comely female police officer. Danica Patrick – Very racy, indeed.

10 – Wilco’s The Thanks I Get was heard on commercials for this auto manufacturer. Volkswagen – I don’t begrudge any musician for selling out to a commercial since nobody’s paying for music anymore.

No Take Backs
Perhaps the process for electing a lieutenant governor is flawed. Maybe the position itself is irrelevant. And I most definitely don’t want Scott Lee Cohen any where near the governor’s office. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t get screwed.

Party leaders shouldn’t get a do over just because they don’t like the way the people voted. Blagojevich got a second term despite proving in the first that he was a scoundrel.

Cohen revealed the domestic abuse arrest at the beginning of the campaign, but nobody paid attention. He spent a bunch of money on ads and persuaded more people to vote for him than the other candidates did. He won. The people of Illinois lost.

Breaking the Blue Line
The threat of layoffs to procure union concessions during budget negotiations is not a new tactic. I wonder, however, if any consideration is given to the atmosphere that is created when people’s livelihood is put into the hands of their co-workers.

There are 30 police officers who now know that a majority of their colleagues voted to give no ground. If they were so inclined, these unfortunate flatfoots could choose to believe that their friends on the force valued a raise over their fellow officers’ jobs. That could make for some sore feelings, could it not?

I realize that they’re geared towards the young and stupid at heart, but with the right ads I might be compelled to spend a bit more of my snack dollar on tortilla-based snack products. Come on, Doritos, sell my on some of your delicious nacho chips want don’t you?

That said, I did like the Google ad. It was sweet and simple. Although as an ad man friend pointed out, why does Google need to advertise?

The Letterman/Oprah/Leno spot was also well played. I don’t remember which of the three shows it was promoting, but it was timely and the punch line was sharp.