Sunday, July 31, 2016

George W. Bush


George W. Bush is smarter than you. Many might not be able to accept that fact but as I've long said - history and future historians will be kind to George W. Bush.

American Gods



Makes me want to re-read the book and subscribe to Starz.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Rio Show de Merda Olympics

I've been trying to come up with a catchy name for the shit show that will be the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics - then it hit me "Rio Show de Merda Olympics". Portuguese is the official language of Brazil and "show de merda" (according to Google Translate) is Portuguese for "shit show".

How is this Olympics shaping up as a shit show? Let me count the ways! Polluted water, the Zika virus, unfinished facilities, political unrest, arson, crime, etc., etc. With plenty of blame to go around.

Some problems not even a kangaroo can fix.

You can try to avert your eyes but you know you can't look away from the Rio Show de Merda Olympics!

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Robert Plant's (Crazy on a) Ship of Fools easily could have been the theme song for either national convention. "I built this ship it is my making"... Heh heh... Keep in mind that many of those on the Left who are now warning about the dangers of the Russians mocked Mitt Romney when he pointed this out 7-years ago. Turns out Romney was pretty much right about everything... The Ice Bucket Challenge has done a world of good... Armed Propaganda would be a good name for a band (or a new Political Party)... The world's solar system's greatest travel expense report... Every time I play Keno - I hate myself for being stupid... Heh heh...

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Top 5 - Stanley Kubrick Movies

Stanley Kubrick would have been 88-years old yesterday. In his memory here are what I consider his five best movies.

1. Dr. Strangelove
2. Paths of Glory
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. The Shining

Quantum Biology



Interesting Ted Talk by Jim Al-Khalili on what I truly see as the next big thing in science - quantum biology.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Top 5 - Summertime Adult Beverages

Here are my Top 5 adult beverages for hot summer 2016 days and nights.

1. Leinenkugel Summer Shandy

2. Wachusett Nauti Seltzer - the Cranberry and Raspberry are my favorites. Just 100 calories and more alcohol than a Bud Light (5% vs 4.5%)

3. Narragansett Del's Shandy

4. Truly Pomegranate - Also just 100 calories and more alcohol than a Bud Light (5% vs 4.5%)

5. Bud Light - Being honest - an ice cold Bud Light on a hot summer's day is one of my favorite things in life

If you disagree with my choices - please keep in mind that I'm the guy that still has an unabashed fondness for Zima.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Rolling in the Black



Adele and AC/DC mashup.

Very cool!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

How close to you think we are to Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush publicly endorsing Gary Johnson for President?... Heh heh... It is too bad that 31-year old Steven Wright (12-5, 2.67 ERA) exceeded the Rookie of the Year limits last season (he had 72 innings pitched and the limit is 50). He would be far and away the leader for ROY this season and if he won it - it would be the stuff Disney movies are made of... This is the year!... They say having sex can burn up to 100 calories an hour. I guess that means I burn 8 calories each time I get sexy... Trump's wife isn't the only one who plagiarizes... Backup Gazpacho would be a good name for a band... Heh heh 2... When Trump loses this election I really hope his next job is as celebrity spokesman for Shake Weight... I'm not into Pokemon Go but this is a great story...

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Hemingway's Top 5 Books

Today would have been Papa's 116th birthday. May have a drink or two in his honor today. Here's what I consider my 5 favorite Hemingway books.

1. The Old Man and the Sea
2. A Moveable Feast
3. The Sun Also Rises
4. By Lines (Journalism for the Toronto Star)
5. To Have and Have Not

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Apache Chief

Probably the weakest (and by weakest I mean lamest) of the Super Friends had to be Apache Chief

You know he was added last minute because someone probably did a PC inventory and said “hey we need an American Indian” and his super powers clearly weren’t given any thought. The guy turned into a giant – big deal – how lame. I always wished that they would have a “very special” episode of the Super Friends where Apache Chief gets into the firewater and the rest of the Super Friends have to do an intervention. 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- This is scary and bound to adversely affect Tinder stock

- Rio is not ready for the Olympics and the IOC is to blame

- Why pharma companies are fighting legalized marijuana

- I so want this yacht!

- Vietnam vet who saved dozens of soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor

- In my opinion quantum biology will be the next big thing in science

- A reminder to live in the moment and to cherish life comes from the WSOP and the story of Bob Brundige

Monday, July 18, 2016

Pikachu vs Donald Trump

Meanwhile at the GOP Convention.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - why the turtle developed his shell (and it wasn't for defense)

- If you play Pokemon Go please give this some consideration

- Pretty sobering statistics

- Good description of the failed coup in Turkey

- The Patriots press release regarding the end of Deflategate

- Good business advice from Mark Cuban

The Day Mary Jo Kopechne Died

On this day, 47-years ago, Mary Jo Kopechne died. She had been riding with the married Ted Kennedy when he plunged his Oldsmobile into a pond at Chappaquiddick Island. Kennedy did not report the accident for 10-hours. Kennedy received a two-month suspended sentence, and had his license suspended for a year for his actions.

Mary Jo Kopechne did not live to see her 29th birthday.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Bill Simmons / The Ringer

Hard to argue with this assessment of Bill Simmons and his new media platforms:
There’s no buzz. 
How long until HBO cancels Bill Simmons? It’s gonna happen, hell, the new regime scrapped the second season of “Vinyl” after the show had already been picked up. You see the ratings sucked. And TV lives by statistics, they trump friends every time.
There is no buzz. Am I alone in being surprised by that realization? I admit that I've watched all four episodes of Any Given Wednesday (Simmons' HBO Show) but other than people wondering if Ben Affleck was drunk when he ranted against Deflategate - there's been no buzz about the show. None.

My guess is the HBO gives Simmons plenty of runway because his audience is for the most part technically savvy and the type HBO wants signing up for HBO Go. But would anyone be surprised if HBO cancelled his show and instead asked him to work on half-hour 30 for 30-type sports documentaries instead?

I listen to his podcast regularly and I've added Keepin' It 1600 to my rotation as well but could care less about the half-dozen or so other podcasts Simmons' group has launched.No interest whatsoever! And The Ringer itself? I admit that I've never even been to the site. Just as damning is on Twitter I've never even seen a link to any articles I felt were worth my time Tweeted out. Just no buzz whatsoever.

To be fair - I'm going to add The Ringer to my blogroll and give it a fair chance to win my traffic (not like that's going to make or break their site). I've just found myself surprised this morning that after all that speculation about what Bill Simmons would do next after ESPN - there has been no actual buzz for his new media platforms.

No buzz at all!

Friday, July 15, 2016

Thursday, July 14, 2016

The KKK and Dental Hygeine

What the heck Amazon?











Jeez - just come right out and say it!




















Holy crap? Seems like the only thing left is for Amazon to start saying customers who bought this also bought copies of Mein Kampf.

HT Steve Kandell

Tim Duncan and Pokemon Go

Merging two of the big stories of the past few days.

Tim Duncan was quietly one of the best players in NBA history. Even though I'm a Boston fan in retrospect it was a good thing that the Celtics did not end up with the first pick of the 1997 NBA Draft. I'm pretty sure Duncan would not have been the same player (or as happy as a person) under Rick Pitino as he was under Greg Popovich.

Where does Pokemon Go come in? Because the two stories came out about the same time in my head I kept thinking that if Tim Duncan was a Pokemon - he'd be Squirtle.

Rick Pitino? He's not a Pokemon. He's a Gremlin.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - the life of a full-time cruise ship passenger. I think this would be cool for a year but not sure if I could make it my full-time life-style.

- Heh heh

- Boston in 1860

- McDonald's vs a Liquor Store - who you got?

- The oral history of how David Ortiz ended up with the Red Sox. Thank God for Pedro Martinez!

- Heh heh

- Cool - space and Antartica

Monday, July 11, 2016

Top 5 - Red Sox First Half Story-lines

So it's the All-Star break and here's what I consider to be the Top 5 Red Sox story-lines from the first half of the season.

1. The Kids are Alright! Xander Bogaearts (23), Jackie Bradley Jr. (26), and Mookie Betts (23) are All-Stars and the core of this team. The future is bright in Boston.
2. Big Papi-mania! David Ortiz is on track for 40+ HR and 130+ RBI and in his final season his current OPS+ of 184 is the highest of his career by far! Ortiz is putting together one of the best final seasons in pro sports history.
3. The starting pitching stinks! I'm comfortable with the fact that David Price will come around and be give the Red Sox a Cy Young contender-type second half. Steven Wright is a well deserved All-Star and I'm also good with Rick Porcello, So with 3 of the 5 starters being OK - why do I say the starting pitching stinks? Imagine a five course meal where the first three courses were good or very good but the last two courses were a shit sandwich and chocolate covered dung. Would you say that was a good meal or that is stinks? Boston has had a combined 29 starts from Clay Buchholz (5.91 ERA), Edwardo Rodriguez (8.59 ERA), Joe Kelly (8.46 ERA) and Sean O'Sullivan (6.75 ERA) which have been the equivalent of a shit sandwich for Red Sox fans so far this season.
4. Travis Shaw replaces Pablo Sandoval. Shaw is on pace for 18 HR and 90 RBI and he doesn't look like a Weight Watchers' before picture. Like many fans - I hope we have seen the last of Sandoval in a Red Sox uniform.
5. Is John Farrell on the hot seat? The team has served up a shit sandwich of 40% of the starting pitching staff and yet the team is just 2 games back. Why would Farrell be on the hot seat? Because Boston sportswriters and sports talk radio people are the worst. Same bunch of jackasses that insisted that Terry Francona had to go too. Farrell won the World Series for Boston not too long ago.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Watched UFC 200 last night. What a waste of time. Pretty weak card. I tapped out after the first round of the Daniel Cormier fight to go listen to a band instead... Heh heh - I should have posted this yesterday... Just to get this out there and get ahead of the story - I have no idea how those illegal substances got into my system. It might have been those supplements...  Heh heh... The NBA's biggest nightmare has to be a PED that makes you grow taller... So very sad... Word is that Kevin Durant was coming to the Celtics until Curt Schilling got involved... Heh heh... How would history have been different if England came in on the side of the South during the Civil War with the caveat that the Southern States return to being part of Great Britain... How awesome is this!...

Thursday, July 07, 2016

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

What a crazy night in sports!... Pretty sure I'd only eat the donut on the right... Jon Jones is out of UFC 200 because of a failed PED test. Wow - I had planned to go out to watch UFC 200 and bet heavily on Jones even though he was a 3-1 favorite. Now not so sure - may go out to watch a band instead... Wait - there's a Fight Club 2?... So Dwayne Wade is signing with the Bulls? Wow! Chicago's lineup is now Rajon Rondo, Wade and Jimmy Butler plus flotsam and jetsam. Good luck with that Bulls fans... Starting to think the Red Sox were wrong not to trade Blake Swihart for Cole Hamels... Can pot help protect against Alzheimer's? Better safe than sorry!... If the scientists behind the Juno probe had worn shirts with scantily clad women - would the unreal scientific achievement have gotten more press attention?...

Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- In the wake of Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors - a look at other NBA superstars who left their original teams to chase a title. Not listed was Charles Barkley who forced a trade out of Philadelphia after 8-years with the 76ers to chase a title with Phoenix

- Remember - Elizabeth Warren from January of this year

This was a good point regarding the FBI and Hillary.

- Amazing - after 5-years Juno arrives in orbit around Jupiter. Even more amazing - Juno arrived one second off predicted arrival.

- I am an awful person for laughing at and re-posting this

Slice of Life

So last night I'm on the deck of the 308 Lakeside Restaurant in East Brookfield Mass. This deck is one of the best places in Central Mass to watch the sunset. It was about 90 degrees out and I was enjoying a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy (or three).

Also on the deck was an old couple (not sure how old but they were old) who were both wearing sweaters (did I mention it was 90 degrees out?). There was background music playing on the deck and The Doors' Love Me Two Times starts playing. Suddenly the old woman grabs the old man's arm and says, "Honey - they're playing our song."

When the song came out in 1967 I'm sure it was considered pretty racy. My mind just finds it amusing that the lyrics "Love me two times" hold special meaning for this old couple.

Sometimes it's the little things in life.

Monday, July 04, 2016

In Danny We Trust

Been thinking of the Celtics recently but have held off saying anything (until today). It bugs me that some in Boston won't be happy with Danny Ainge even if he lands Kevin Durant (he won't) but the fact is next year's team will be better than this year's version. And this year's version was on the cusp of being a real contender in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics have essentially lost Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger (soon) but have upgraded those players with Jaylen Brown and Al Horford. This new roster is a 50-win capable team with Danny still having the assets and cap space to make another impactful move. The Celtics right now are probably the second best team in the East and a LeBron James hamstring injury away from being the best.

I've been stewing about how the media treats the Celtics since the NBA Draft when Boston took Jaylen Brown with the 3rd overall pick. That announcement was met by boos from yahoos who wanted the Celtics to mortgage that pick and half the roster for Jimmy Butler or at least to pick a guy like Dunn or Heild that the watch college ball only during March Madness yahoos knew of. I had not seen a single minute of Brown in college and did not have him in for private workouts but you know who did see lots of film on Brown and who did have him in for private workouts? Danny Ainge. And you know who is really excited to have Jaylen Brown? Danny Ainge. Do you know who's basketball judgement I trust more than a bunch of braying yahoos? Danny Ainge.

Some compared the yahoos booing the Jaylen Brown pick to the Knicks fans booing the Porzingis pick last year. To me it brought back memories of Paul Pierce getting picked 10th in the 1998 Draft. That pick was made by Red Aeurbach which I guess puts Ainge into some good company for getting booed by know-nothing yahoos.

Three years ago yesterday Boston signed Brad Stevens to be their coach and this offseason the Celtics signed him to an extension. This young Celtics team has been built for long term success and Danny Ainge is the architect of that success.

Top 5 - Memorable Things that Happened on the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July. Here are the top 5 things that happened in US history on the 4th of July. Don't forget that July is American Beer Month.

1. 1776 Colonies declare independence
2. 1826 Presidents, patriots, rivals and friends John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both die on the same day
3. 1863 The surrender of Vicksurg to General Grant (Vicksburg would not celebrate the Fourth of July for the next 81 years)
4. 1831 James Madison, last of the founding fathers, dies
5. (tie) 1804 Lewis and Clark celebrate first 4th of July west of the Mississippi (tie) 1939 Lou Gehrig gives his "luckiest man alive" speech at Yankee Stadium