A few thoughts as I prepare to go back to work after 10 days off (and I'm really not looking forward to it):

• Saw The Clone Wars today with J. and one of his friends. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I would rate it ahead of at least two of the prequels (probably not Revenge of the Sith). The story moved ahead nicely and there were way fewer cringe inducing moments than in Phantom Menace. Amazingly, the animated characters and voice actors in some cases were far better than their real life counterparts in the prequels (were you paying attention, Hayden Christensen?). Also very cool was the fact that Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) did the voice work for their characters - not sure if that will continue in the Clone Wars TV series.
  
• Both 10 year olds gave it a thumbs up, but didn't like it as much as a slightly younger kid we saw exiting the theater. He looked ready to grab his lightsaber and take on those evil Separatists all by himself. I'm not sure if this was the effect of the movie, or too much Coke and candy at the theater.
• Watching Dodgers-Phillies on ESPN. The Dodgers have Nomar and Manny, two of the three iconic Red Sox players of the last decade (Big Papi being the other, of course).
• It's entirely possible that only three of the 10 MLB teams with payrolls over $100 million will make the playoffs. The Angels and Cubs are pretty much in, barring an epic Mets-like collapse. The Tigers, Braves and Mariners are out of the post-season running. The Yankees still have a shot at the wild card, but may not make the playoffs for the first time since the mid-90's. The Mets and Dodgers are in contention in their divisions, but could easily fall short and both teams are significantly behind the Brewers for the NL wild card. It's pretty likely that at least one of the Red Sox and White Sox will either take a division title or the wild card in the AL. So that means that the Angels, Cubs and one of the Sox are probable playoff participants. The other seven teams could easily be out.