A Large Regular

2012-02-08T17:16:43.070-05:00

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

To make it up to Catholics - the Obama Administration has announced that to even off requiring all healthcare providers to carry contraception services it has announced that as of today all medical plans have to cover stigmata - even if it is a pre-existing condition... Who knew? According to Mental Floss - Marie Curie's notebooks are still radioactive and researchers hoping to view them must sign a disclaimer... If I was a GOP consultant - I would create an ad showing a Catholic nun being forced to hand out condoms to 13-year old punks under threat of arrest because of the new health care laws... If you ever describe yourself as having moves like Jagger - there's something seriously wrong with you. Or you are horribly drunk... Just saying but last night I dreamt that Johnny Damon signed a 2-year incentive laden deal with the Oakland A's.

Super Bowl Thoughts

2012-02-08T07:45:00.305-05:00

"Is it wrong to gamble, or only to lose?" - Sky Masterson, Guys and Dolls

For the past several years I've spend Super Bowl Sunday at my friend Tim's house where the schedule has been start playing poker around 1:00, watch first half, play poker at half and then play poker after the Super Bowl until the poker game breaks up or the sun rises. When the teams in the Super Bowl have no rooting interest for us - we often play poker during the game too.

This past Sunday we had a rooting interest - a big one. To say we were disappointed in the outcome would be an understatement.

When the Boston Red Sox lose a game I've always avoided reading about the loss in the newspaper and when I got older - I also avoided sports radio as well. I don't need "the sky is falling" negativity in my life. Needless to say - I still haven't watched ESPN or listened to sports radio never mind reading about the game in the paper. I haven't even watched the local news on TV because I knew it would be all about the game. I've gotten my sports fix since Sunday night by watching the MLB Network where the Super Bowl hasn't been mentioned at all.

Having said the above - here are my thoughts (and some from my friends):

- On the ride home we mused that the loss sucked but anyone from New England who complains hasn't been paying attention these past several years. Boston fans have been blessed like no other fan group in the history of pro sports. All my friends were in agreement on this.
- Under Brady and Belichick - the Patriots have won 2 Super Bowls in the last minute and lost 2 Super Bowls in the last minute. All you will hear on sports radio are the yahoos complaining about the 2 that were lost.
- On the ride home I predicted that some idiots would even go so far as to say Tom Brady (who just passed for over 5,000 yards) is past his prime and that maybe one of the other QB's should be given a shot. My friends laughed at this as ridiculous but I'm sure some jackass has waited an hour on hold to make this point on WEEI. I also predicted that Wes Welker's dropped pass may actually help with his contract negotiations. My friend cynically agreed to that.
- When it comes to Welker's dropped pass - we all agreed that if he catches that pass then the game would have been over and the tune everyone was singing would have been different. But we also agreed that blame should not be placed on Welker. Rob Ninkovitch jumping off-sides on 3rd down was just as big a play. And if Brady hadn't had an intentional grounding in the end zone then the Patriots probably would have been down by just 2 points and a fieldgoal would have won it.
- When the Giants were called for 12 men on the field - everyone in the room thought the Giants did it on purpose and since it ran the clock down it was more like a penalty on the Patriots. Everyone figured this was a rule that would be changed in the offseason (and it seems like we were not alone in thinking this as Large Bill was thinking the same thing in Ohio).
- On the ride home, the three of us in the car all agreed that losing sucks but we were all happy for Tom Coughlin. He's a class guy and the job he did at Boston College has not been forgotten.

Still not ready for ESPN or sports radio but I did want to get these thoughts off my chest so that you wouldn't think I was locked in some bunker somewhere.

2012-02-07T18:25:03.139-05:00

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

The time Mitt Romney saved a 14-year old kidnap victim. Damn straight I'm voting for Romney.

What Disneyland Looked Like in 1957

New Red Sox reliever Mark Melancon has a taste for adventure

Very cool Doyle Brunson poker story

Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins

2012-02-04T09:37:05.249-05:00

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy Ice Cream for Breakfast Day! 15 offbeat holidays in February... Ernest Hemingway said the roar of a lion in the wild is first felt in the scrotum. The same is true of a Rob Gronkowski TD spike... Happy 64th birthday to Alice Cooper - one of the most under-rated rock stars in history. His music still stands up very well... Dan McLaughlin has some very eye-opening statistics on abortion. I was surprised by the numbers... Does any casino have a prop bet about the Giants defense faking an injury to slow down the Patriots no-huddle? The Giants have done it before - just saying... According to some statistics I've seen there are 1.5 million fewer people working now than in January of 2009 and there are 13 million more people on food stamps in this country. Yet some would argue that we are heading in the right direction... Just 60 days until Opening Day... If God took a day off your life each time you masturbated - I would have been dead several years ago. Conversely if masturbating added a day to your life then I'm going to live to well past 100...

Just Incredible

2012-02-03T22:25:41.946-05:00

allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/waIuhfoTMv8" width="420">Just incredible. The woman is so strong and graceful. I'm speechless.

2012-02-03T20:03:32.229-05:00

Did Newt Resign in Disgrace?

Recently I read the book Cogan's Trade(image) by George V. Higgins. Even though I am a life-long resident of Massachusetts, I was unfamiliar with the work of Higgins. He was just before my time I guess.

I was compelled to buy and read the book by two unrelated issues. First in a Boston based episode of No Reservations - Anthony Bourdain said that The Friends of Eddie Coyle(image) was the basis for the best movie on crime ever made. The I saw that Brad Pitt is planning on taking the title role and making Cogan's Trade into a movie. Cool. I figured I had to get into Higgins' work.

First I read Cogan's Trade. The book was a quick read - almost like one long series of conversations. You could see how this could easily could be converted into a screenplay. I recommend the book and look forward to the movie. Which leads me to The Friends of Eddie Coyle.

I was intrigued to see the movie and tried to find it on Netflix. It wasn't there! Strangely enough the movie is available on YouTube. Worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.

2012-02-03T17:39:00.751-05:00

I must admit that I found this article - Newt Did Not Resign in Disgrace by former Congressman Mark Souder pretty amusing. I especially found Souder sitting with fellow Congressman Mark Sanford during the vote on whether Newt would remain as Speaker to be unintentionally funny.

Why did I find this amusing? Well I couldn't help but remember that Souter later resigned from office because he was having an affair with a female staffer (basically at the same time Newt was having an affair with one of his female staffers). Then talking about agonizing about the decision with Mark Sanford who later resigned from the Governorship of South Carolina because he too was having an affair was just the extra bit of obtuseness needed to make me shake my head in disbelief.

Bad Lip Reading - Rick Santorum

2012-02-02T13:01:04.018-05:00

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Coughlin and Belichick: Different cuts from the same cloth

Good ESPN story on 12 things we don't know about Tom Brady

Newt Gingrich's Wikipedia page hacked to more accurately portray his marriages

Wow - a household of 4 making minimum wage has more disposable income than family making $60K

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookshops in the world

2012-02-01T08:52:43.579-05:00

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2012-02-01T06:58:49.094-05:00

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

This is basically the state of Rick Santorum's campaign. I don't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him... Supposedly the Blue Jays turned down a trade that would have sent Brett Lawrie to the Mariner's for Michael Pineda. I think Toronto was correct to reject that trade. Lawrie could be a monster every day player and a sleeper in many fantasy baseball leagues... On this day in 2004 we got to see Janet Jackson's breast at halftime of the Super Bowl. I was not impressed... Who knew? Bradbury Robinson threw the first forward pass in football history on September 5, 1906. He was playing for Saint Louis University. You would think that Bradbury Robinson would be better known... Mara likes Coughlin because he's focused on winning not his image (unlike some other head coach in NYC)... I wonder if players who donate to Peter Gammons' Hot Stove charity get better and more positive coverage during the season?... Just saying but Eli Manning had a poster of Tonya Harding on his wall growing up. I think there is still some yearning there... Who knew? Joel Murray who played Freddie Rumsen on Mad Men is Bill Murray's brother...

2012-01-31T18:58:16.784-05:00

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Ha ha - Bread Gloves (from the people who brought you Jalapeno Tampons)

Here are 6 of the oldest trees in the world

Hear a Lost George Harrison Guitar Solo for ‘Here Comes the Sun’

Quiz: Name Every Quarterback Who's Won a Super Bowl

10 Frightening Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Ants

Grendel by John Gardner

2012-01-30T22:00:56.334-05:00

The book Grendel (image) by John Gardner was a very interesting read. The book is a retelling of the epic poem Beowulf but from the first person viewpoint of the "monster" Grendel. How the monster sees the world and the spread of man is interesting and a stroke of genius on the part of Gardner. Grendel viewing Beowulf not as a hero but as a crazy berserker who just ripped off his arm is funny in the retelling.

I couldn't help but think of the book as a cross between Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf(image) and Where the Wild Things Are(image) .

How I came to read the book in the first place is amusing. I am a fan of the movie Layer Cake(image) starring Daniel Craig and I read that the movie is based upon the book of the same name by JJ Connolly. One of the people commenting on the books says that first person books are a gimmick that can only be pulled off by a rare writer like John Gardner. So I bought Grendel and while I was halfway through it I began to think that a good number of the fiction books I read are first person and I consider myself a discerning reader. Herman Hesse, Chuck Palahniuk, W. Somerset Maugham, etc. all use first person viewpoints. The commentor was wrong about first person novels but he was not wrong about Grendel and John Gardner - it was a rare writer and a rare book.

2012-01-30T09:01:21.616-05:00

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just saying but it has been over a month since Philly sportswriter Bill Conlin was accused of being a serial child molester but the story has completely dropped off the radar. That seems strange to me. Some would say that since there has been no court action there is nothing to report. Others would say that this is too close to home and too difficult for journalists to cover properly. I think that this is a cross between sportswriters wanting to wish it away and a situation similar to how cops don't write tickets on other cops... Heh heh - BetOnline calls Birdman's bluff on $5 million bet on the Super Bowl. The prop bets are awesome... If the only prerequisite for high political office was superior debating skills - Christopher Hitchens would have been Prime Minister of Britain... Happy 71st birthday to former Vice President Dick Cheney a man whose contributions to the United States have been woefully under-appreciated... Some smokers protect their pack of cigarettes in their hand the way others protect their smart phones. I guess different people have different priorities... Joe Scarborough remembers Newt Gingrich in Congress. I love the Steve Largent story... In the old days $6 million would get you a cyborg ex-astronaut superhero. Today that sort of cash only gets you Marco Scutaro... Today is Christian Bale's 38th birthday which just serves as a reminder how much I want to see the next Batman installment - The Dark Knight Rises
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2012-01-29T17:31:39.072-05:00

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd shre.

4 Bizarre Experiments That Should Never Be Repeated - people who think they are Jesus and finding out a human can satisfy a dolphin's sexual needs - what more could you want from an article?

Ha Ha - Awesome

Very Cool - Horse racing handicapper wins $1 million

Newt's debate skills not all they were cracked up to be

8 Fairy Tales and Their Not-So-Happy Original Endings

Pub landlord suspended for serving pints "too full" of beer - if I were a rival brewer I'd step in and help these people out. I hope I never have a Samuel Smith's Brewery beer in my life - their owner is a jackhole.

Read the speech Nixon prepared in case the Apollo 11 astronauts died on the moon

The Ides of March

2012-01-29T09:49:00.786-05:00

A Moon Colony Would Need Thorium Based Nuclear Power

I recently saw The Ides of March - the George Clooney political thriller (and yes I know that technically Ryan Gosling was the star but this was a Clooney movie). The movie was dark and maudlin but the feeling that really struck me after watching it was how misogynistic it was. Seriously - I am as surprised as you are.

I couldn't help thinking that there were just three women portrayed in the movie - a doting wife, a shrew New York Times reporter and the ultimately tragic nympho intern. Men in this movie had all the power and did all the thinking while the women were window dressing pigeon-holed into their assigned roles. Maybe the real world of politics is like this or maybe that's just how writer, director and star George Clooney sees the world. Trying to figure out which of those two positions is more correct was what I was left thinking after seeing the movie.

I'm glad I saw the movie - and don't get me wrong - it wasn't a bad movie but it also wasn't a movie I'd be eager to see a second time. And BTW - the Ides of March in my house just means 2 days till Saint Patrick's Day.

Have a Good One

2012-01-28T16:28:02.839-05:00

Leaving a restaurant today and the hostess says, "Have a good one." I turned my daughter and asked - "a good what? A good day? Why not just say that then? It's the same amount of syllables and effort. If it is a period of time - why wish me just a good day - wouldn't a good week be better? How about wishing me a good year?"

If it a random saying and word - then why not say "have a good pizza?" or "have a good cable box?"

If it is just numerical in basis - then why not wish me a good seven? That would be several times better than a good one.

This was the conversation I had with my daughter leaving the restaurant at lunch.

2012-01-28T14:55:33.118-05:00

The New York Times writes about the technology needed for a moon colony - yet fails to mention thorium based nuclear power. This would be both a necessity for a moon colony and also probably the most long-lasting technology benefit to life here on Earth.

I posted this before but worth posting again - Kirk Sorensen speaks about thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel:

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History Lesson

2012-01-28T11:46:02.729-05:00

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2012 NFL Pro Bowl Cheerleaders

2012-01-28T10:58:28.162-05:00

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

It has been a while since Newt Gingrich threatened someone with a Lincoln-Douglas style debate. Do you think someone finally informed the historian that the historical record shows that Stephen Douglas - the guy who in the end defended slavery - won those debates?... Very cool - 50 Years of Doctor Who... It still blows my mind that Ronald Reagan was the original choice to play Rick Blaine in the classic Casablanca... Interesting - Pork barrel earmarks nearly doubled under Gingrich's tenure as speaker... Just for the heck of it - I am going to use the adjective "throbbing" on random words - "throbbing bacon", "throbbing muffler", etc.... The man who caught Billy Cundiff's missed field goal is selling it for a very good cause... On this day in 1986 the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch. One of the very few times in my life where I could tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing.

2012-01-27T08:35:05.027-05:00

Here are the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl Cheerleaders. Honestly - if I was the NFL Network I would have a channel that just showed the cheerleaders during the game. That channel would probably get better ratings than the actual Pro Bowl.

Jorge Posada is not a Hall of Famer

2012-01-27T07:45:09.866-05:00

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Nice math trick - if you divide 1 by 998,001 you get all three-digit numbers from 000 to 999 in order

Example of life imitating art or vice versa "As God as my witness - we will have casinos on the moon"

Who said it: Steven Wright or Mitch Hedberg?

This was so unnecessary - LA Confidential was made into a TV movie in 2003

So it looks like I have 50 brands of beer I need to try - RateBeer top 50 best beers 2012

Unlikely to recapture the Monty Python magic but I do like the idea of the gang getting back together

Comparisons like this are what the Internet was made for - Exploring the strange parallels between the writing of mythologist Joseph Campbell and the first 4 Police Academy films (HT Big Stupid Tommy)

Kool - 6 Hugely Successful Products Originally Invented for Something Else

So jealous - Wes Welker is engaged to this woman:

2012-01-26T09:06:03.432-05:00

Peter Gammons tries to make the case that Jorge Posada has Hall of Fame credentials. I think Gammons is either doing public relations for the Yankees and Posada (who may be a friend of Gammons) or that Peter is just being willfully ignorant.

For example Gammons touts the fact that Posada is 6th in OPS+ among catchers since 1901. Problem is Gammons doesn't count Joe Mauer among the 6 and Mauer has a career OPS+ that is 15 points higher than Posada. Who else did Gammons neglect to include?

The article doesn't even mention Ivan Rodriguez who was a contemporary of Posada's but who has a much better case for the Hall of Fame. Pudge had 13 Gold Gloves and an MVP. Posada was a defensive liability and had just 2 Top 10 MVP finishes.

Jorge Posada is not going into the Hall of Fame. I gave the 4 reasons why last August.

Newt Didn't Support Reagan - Newt Only Supports Newt

2012-01-26T08:07:36.602-05:00

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just a reminder but when President Obama took office he was boasting about being able to stop the oceans from rising. Now three years in he's down to bragging about making it easier to clean up milk spills... Canadian teens launch Lego man into (near) space... Paul Newman would have been 87 today... Just saying but Boston College will have more players in the Super Bowl (6) than any other college... As a reminder - Rex Ryan will have to go 7-9 next season to equal Herm Edwards record in his first 4 years as New York Jets coach (35-29)... Very cool - FDR's 52nd birthday party was a Toga Party... The world's largest feet belong to Brahim Takioullah who sports a size 58 shoe (making my size 13's look pretty puny in comparison)... On this day in 1978 - New England was buried in snow as the great Blizzard of 78 was underway... Tweet of the Day from @pourmecoffee - "Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Newt colonizing the moon." I just find that so very clever and funny... Happy 51st birthday to Wayne Gretzky - the best hockey player who ever lived...

2012-01-26T07:35:35.555-05:00

Very interesting look at how Newt Gingrich was more prone to criticize President Ronald Reagan than support him. I am glad that finally people are calling Newt on his hyperbolic boasts. Listening to Newt you would think he was Ronald Reagan's right hand man - not a guy who was publicly questioning his policies every step of the way.