Godfather II

Godfather II turns 49-years old this week. Here's some useful background. I would rate it even better than the original which is saying something. Here's some nuggets people should be aware of:

• Francis Ford Coppola was burned out and suggested Martin Scorsese as a replacement.
• The movie is both a prequel (Robert DeNiro) and a sequel (Al Pacino) 
• The courtroom scenes were based loosely on The Valachi Papers
• Who knew? The woman young Vito helps not get evicted was supposed to be Sonny Corleone's grandmother.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If the Libertarian Party would simply change their official name to "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash" they would quadruple their votes. Easily!... The movie Heat would have been much more interesting if Al Pacino hunted Robert DeNiro with just a bow and arrow...  Alex Jones "I'll eat your ass." How many people click on that thinking "Eat your ass" meant something else altogether. Or maybe I'm just watching too much porn in quarantine... Starting to worry that Elon Musk is slowly morphing into the origin story of a super powerful Jame Bond or Doctor Who villain. He has an army of autonomous cars he can control and a fleet of spaceships. And nobody in history has been better prepared to build a giant underground lair with his Boring Machine company... I'm at the point where I'm concerned that some of my favorite local bars and restaurants may not re-open. And those that do re-open - I'm concerned I won't remember the bartender's names or the bartenders will be newly hired... For the record - put me in the camp that's perfectly happy seeing what Jarrett Stidham can do as the starting QB for the New England Patriots. If he stumbles Brian Hoyer can step in much better in this offense than an outsider like Andy Dalton... If the bars and restaurants open in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine before those in Massachusetts - I will be spending my weekends up north. Enough already!...

Linky Links

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

- Groundbreaking trial in US rapidly cools trauma victims with catastrophic injuries to buy more time for surgery. The more click-baity are calling this "suspended animation."

- Too funny!

- From cooling to heating - a startup backed by Bill Gates has achieved innovative "solar oven" capabilities about equal to a quarter of the surface of the Sun. Concentrated solar energy.

- I shouldn't laugh at this (and I can't help but hear it in my head in Christopher Walken's voice)

- Billionaire Guy Laliberte (founder of Cirque du Soleil) in trouble for growing marijuana on his private island in Tahiti 

- Interesting interview of Al Pacino (in which Bob DeNiro sometimes participates)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Could the biggest offseason acquisition for any team have been Kelly Johnson for the Diamondbacks? Johnson is hitting ,327 with 6 HR and an OPS of 1.231 And he is 3rd in Total Bases in the NL with 44. Who knew?... Al Pacino turns 70-years old today. I'm sorry but I've always thought he was over-rated as an actor. People complain that Jeff Bridges always seems to be playing himself but the same could be said of Pacino... I'm starting to wonder if the real reason that Peter Gammons left ESPN was because of their Twitter policies. He's a complete moonbat. His Tweets are like listening to a crazy uncle who is fixated on Woodstock and on protesting Richard Nixon but who also happens to be a baseball savant... You're doing it wrong. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers has 2 stolen bases but has been caught 5 times... A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'I'll serve you, but don't start anything'... Happy 34th birthday to one of the all-time great NBA players - Tim Duncan... Today is ANZAC Day in Australia. In honor of that sacred holiday here's one of the most touching songs ever written...