Linky Links

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

- 15 things you might not know about Caddyshack

- Heh heh - New wave Internet jobs

- Cool - How smart is your right foot?

- 100 years - 100 songs of summer

- How bad was 50 Cent's first pitch? Maybe the worst ever.

Ginger Baker

You may have seen Will Ferrell / Chad Smith (drummer for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) have their "Drum Off" last week. What you might not realize is that the bit was inspired by drummer Ginger Baker. The band Cream was before my time and even though I'd heard the name Ginger Baker hundreds of times - I didn't know who he was. I didn't even know he was a drummer. Then I saw the documentary Beware Mr. Baker. In the documentary Chad Smith talks about Baker's legendary "Drum Battles" with the great Jazz drummers of the time. The documentary was very good and I came away with an appreciation of how great and ground breaking Ginger Baker was as a drummer. And how awful he was as a human being.

Linky Links

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

- Julian Edelman seems like a pretty funny guy

- Heh heh - Leeg-el defence attorney for General Zod

- Interesting cartoon on sugar

- Bill Murray's excellent advice at a bachelor party

All videos today. Guess I didn't read anything good recently or maybe my brain is too fried right now to process the written word.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Now in order to win 95 games the Red Sox would have to go 75-38 the rest of the way. Good luck with that... Yesterday a bettor won $6.67 million on the Pick Six at Gulfstream. The cost of the winning ticket was $7,603 which means this was no casual bettor... Jimmy Kimmel's Celebrities Read Mean Tweets... "I went to my doctor and told him 'My penis is burning'. He said that means someone is talking about it" - Gary Shandling... Hollywood is so out of ideas it wouldn't surprise me to see Casablanca II: A Beautiful Friendship starring Aston Kutcher and Charlie Sheen... Ha ha - this was exactly how I felt about the Kayne West / Kim Kardashian wedding!... What would I do for a Klondike Bar? I guess go to the store and pay a buck and a half. That's what I'd do for a Klondike Bar.... Donald Sterling's favorite Christmas song? I'm Dreaming of a White Mistress... Everything science knows about hangovers and how to cure them... "A million Marines could not take Tarawa in a hundred years." Japanese admiral before the US Marines took the island in 3 days...

Memorial Day Links

Some stuff to keep in mind today while you are stuffing your face at a cookout.

- Borepatch has the story of Sgt. Jared Monti and the connection to the Lee Brice song I Drive Your Truck

- Mitchell Paige American hero and the face of the GI Joe doll. Where do we find such men?

- Marine General speaks first hand from a broken heart at memorial's dedication

- 10 Things to Remember about Memorial Day

- In my own boyhood, figures such as Jimmy Doolittle, Audie Murphy and John Basilone were household names. And it was assumed that what they had done defined us as well as them, telling us what kind of nation we were. But the 110 Medal recipients alive today are virtually unknown except for a niche audience of warfare buffs. Their heroism has become the military equivalent of genre painting. There's something wrong with that.

Linky Links

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

- The Shawshank Residuals. Interest look behind the scenes of the movie business.

- Amazon's tactics confirm critics fears. Not sure how I feel about this just yet. Wouldn't it be natural for Amazon to put books from companies they have deal with in the front of the queue?

- Troy Tulowitzki responds to sign stealing allegation with epic trolling

- Classic HBO Shows now on Amazon Prime. YES!!

- More Gazans blow themselves up than are killed by Israel. Yes some people will insist to blame Israel first. Just like some people say Koch brothers are to blame for Climate Change and high cholesterol.

- What we actually know about Benghazi.

- Steve McQueen gives John Wayne a drunken hug

Sold Me Down the River

Sold Me Down the River is a song by the 80's band The Alarm. 

Before we had the phrase "thrown under the bus" - many people used to say "sold him down the river." What most people fail to realize is that the phrase "sold him down the river" has its roots (no pun intended) in slavery. Oftentimes a slave owner would break up a black family by selling a member "down the river" to a larger plantation. In its original form the phrase meant the awful betrayal of an innocent. I listen to that song by The Alarm and I think of this and the song just becomes all that much confusing for me. Or maybe the song fits? Sometimes I way over think things.

Stephen Drew

The Red Sox re-signed Stephen Drew and I'm not that happy about it.

Does Drew improve the team? Yes. Is he better defensively at short than Xander Bogaerts? Yes. Did this move cost the team nothing but money? Yes. Is Stephen Drew already well liked in the clubhouse? Yes. So why doesn't this move sit well with me?

The plan going into the season was for Will Middlebrooks to play third and Xander Bogaerts to play short meanwhile Drew would sign elsewhere and Boston would get a compensation draft pick. I liked that plan and hoped that Middlebrooks could stay healthy and show some power and that Bogaerts could handle short at the MLB level. That was the theory. The reality is Middlebrooks hit just 2 HR with a measly .629 OPS and is now out for quite some time with a broken finger. The reality is Bogaerts already has almost as many errors at short (6) as Stephen Drew had all season (8). The reality is the Red Sox were not going to get a compensation pick for Drew signing elsewhere. The reality is the plan was not working. The reality sucks! Like forth place in the AL East sucks.

Another dose of reality is that signing Stephen Drew may signal the end of Will Middlebrooks in Boston. The Red Sox already have top prospect Garin Cecchini at third in Pawtucket so there was already pressure on Middlebrooks. Now with the signing of Drew - Middlebrooks will have to hope someone gets hurt in order for him to get the at bats to prove belongs at the MLB level. Who wants to be in that situation?

I'm not happy with the situation and like many fans I'm transferring those feelings of unhappiness unto Stephen Drew. At least I admit it.

Carrot and Stick

Some phrases just sound odd or dated to the modern ear if you just stop to think about them. The phrase "carrot and stick approach" is one such example.

The phrase's origins were to describe getting a horse or a donkey to go where you wanted by holding out a carrot in front of them as a reward or threatening to beat them with a stick if the carrot did not work. To begin with - horses and donkeys are not very prevalent in today's society and many people in today's generation don't like carrots so probably don't get why carrots are chosen as a symbol of a reward. To them saying carrots is like saying "if you are good I'll give you extra broccoli with your dinner". Where's the reward in that?

And the stick? "Do what I want you to do or I will beat you with a stick!" That's so many levels of wrong in today's society - doesn't make a difference if you are talking man or beast. Just threatening someone with a stick is legally assault. Actually doing it to a horse or donkey would get the ASPCA all up in your grill.  

Maybe it's past time to drop the phrase "carrot and stick" from the vernacular.

Linky Links

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

- What passes as manly today.

- What used to be manly in the old days

- Harry Reid keeps going on about the Koch brothers but it was George Soros who almost ruined a country.

- Bowie's takedown of Hadfield's ISS "Space Oddity" highlights copyright's absurdity

- 1961 Buick Flamingo - AKA the BJ car

- How many lives need to be lost for the Qatar World Cup? Disgusting

Sean Penn vs Clancy Brown

Sean Penn first burst on the national consciousness as the stoner prototype Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High but it was his next movie - Bad Boys - that got me thinking.

Today Sean Penn's Bad Boys is generally forgotten. If you ask most people if they've seen the movie Bad Boys they will think you are talking about the Michael Bay movie starting Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. In the 1983 Sean Penn movie - Penn plays a "crime kid" sent to reform school where one of his tormentors is played by Clancy Brown. What got me thinking this morning is that an argument can be made that Clancy Brown has had the better acting career than the better known Penn.

Has Sean Penn had an iconic role in a classic Sci-Fi film? Well Clancy Brown played The Kurgan in the classic Highlander. 

Has Sean Penn ever been a beloved cartoon character? Well Clancy Brown is Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob SquarePants. Plus in the cartoon series The Batman Clancy played villains Mr. Freeze, Lex Luther and Bane! Talk about acting range!

Sean Penn is mostly known for playing bad guys such as his Jimmy Markum from Mystic River but has any of his bad guys been as menacing as Clancy Brown's Captain Byron Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption? I don't think so!

I've got to give the acting championship to Clancy Brown in this match-up. Maybe if the overrated Sean Penn can come full circle and play Mr. Hand in a remake of Fast Times at Ridgemont High then I'd reconsider.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Bummed the Bruins lost to the Canadiens last night. Will be avoiding sports talk radio for the next couple of days... Sherlock actually sucks at deduction... The story is that basketball was invented in Springfield, MA but the more accurate history may show it was actually invented in Plainfield, MA which was also the birthplace of James Naismith... Super Mario Game of Thrones... Social Darwinism? Is that like Social Drinking? I only believe in evolution when with friends and then only in moderation... God willing - this is my next new car... Donald Trump should legally add an "O" to the end of his name to make his "brand" more appealing to Europeans. Donald Trumpo!... Like a cheese cracker! Jane Fonda was pretty hot back in the day...

How History Could Have Been Different

Fidel Castro had a law degree and when he was young he joined the firm of Azpiazo, Castro and Resende. He didn't do very well in the practice. Castro was a young lawyer without any clients.

I can't help but wonder how history could have been different if only Castro had been a better lawyer. Or if he happened to get a big case or client. Would Fidel have been so hot for communism if he was sitting on a pile of money?

Mr. T - Treat Your Mother Right

A day late for Mother's Day but still a classic.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I think the NFL should hold the draft in the city of the team that wins the Super Bowl. That would add some extra spice to the event and additional reward for the fans of the team that wins it all... I use Stevia whenever given the choice... An old Irish saying which is always good to remember when going out for the weekend, "Many a time a man's mouth has broken his nose."... Wow! The F1 steering wheel is insane... Part of me still thinks the Westboro Baptist Church is just an elaborate hoax being pulled off by a not-dead Andy Kaufman... Playing off the success of Christian Mingle - I'd like to create a web site Christian Divorce. Jesus wants you to separate!... Now would be a really good time for President Obama to raise or lower the sea levels. That would distract people from all these scandals... In the drink V8 - is one of the 8 ingredients ass? Sure tastes like ass to me... If you think about it there first must have been a time when people said "Whoop de doo!" without sarcasm... Interesting article for poker fans - who is the imposter behind the Dewey Tomko hoax? As an aside Dewey Tomko was always one of my favorite poker players...

Ghosts

I've decided that I'm not going to believe in ghosts. Why? Well the reason is pretty simple.

Every kid is taught that ghosts say "boo!" Who decided this? It's become unanimous. According to our culture and accepted norms - ghosts say "boo". But why would your spirit in death be saying something you never said in life? When was the last time you said "boo"? Were you impersonating a ghost?

The only explanation is that nobody has ever spoken with a ghost. And that must be because they don't exist. Logic.

As an aside - I think it would be funny if someone re-cut the movie Ghost so that Patrick Swayze's dialog after he dies is replaced by someone just repeating "boo!" over and over.

Linky Links

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

- Who knew Vegas would grow up to be so sexy from these beginnings?

- Who knew this girl would grow up to be so sexy from these beginnings?

- Heh heh - The Onion - Picasso's Guernica Triples in value after being autographed by the 1994 New York Rangers

- People who really should have checked the background of their photos before putting them on line

- Incredible - Rubrik's juggling. (Confession - the only way I can solve ONE Rubrik's cube is to take it apart and put it back together - never mind solve three while juggling them!)

- Cool article from the archives - the dark past of bowling hustlers

Bobby Sands and Cinco de Mayo

Here is something I first posted in 2005.

It's been almost 35 years but I still can't think of Cinco de Mayo without thinking about Bobby Sands. And with that my own Irish-American roots.

Scott Bradley & Postmodern Jukebox's Thrift Shop

Pretty cool.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I've long held that the original purpose of the White House Correspondent's Dinner has long since been perverted beyond recognition. If I were President canceling my appearance at the dinner would be one of the first things I'd do... Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers at the Kentucky Derby... I hope Boston fans realize how lucky we are to get to watch Zdeno Charra... I agree 100% with Joe Posnaski with who the real villain was in A Few Good Men...  Look for many "Now It Can Be Told" books to come out from MSM types once President Obama leaves office... Classic - Emo Philips interviews himself... A friend listened to all of the secretly recorded Donald Sterling tapes and he says it boils down to Sterling asking his "girlfriend" not to sleep with Magic Johnson and to get him some soup... Oh how I would love to have Larry Ellison scale money... Red Auerbach won just a single NBA Coach of the Year and it was the season for which the Celtics were to win their 8th championship in 9 years....