Who Wore it Better?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Teddy Roosevelt thought Thomas Jefferson was an awful President and especially thought Jefferson deserved no credit for the Louisiana Purchase. Roosevelt argued that US settlers moving into the territory would have forced the matter anyway. It was far cheaper for France to sell us the "rights" to the land than to defend it militarily... This remains perhaps my favorite painting of President Obama... I'm still upset that Andre the Giant wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Princess Bride... Who knew? Urban Meyer was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1982 and spent a couple of years in their minor league system... The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). They were born of Memory so their arts cause the soul to remember a higher plane of being. The Ancients seem to have had a better grasp of what the arts do then we moderns... Baseball-Reference.com says that one of the nicknames for Lou Gerhig was "biscuit pants." There has to be a pretty good story behind that... One of my dream cars - Reggie Dunlop's GTO from Slap Shot... Quote for the day: George Bernard Shaw when asked to name a deceased man he missed the most said, "The man I miss most is the man I could have been"... 

Linky Links

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

- 100 of the best leadership quotes of all-time

- Too funny!

- Does coffee induce autophagy? Autophagy is the body's way of cleaning out older or damaged cells in order to replace them with newer healthier cells. You want autophagy ergo you should want coffee.

- Agree 100% (but recognize that you may have to be of a certain age to really appreciate it)

- A big, bipartsan opportunity for nuclear power

- Very cool new invention

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Amid all the recent protestations I am reminded that Barack Obama arranged for an internship for his daughter Malia at Harvey Weinstein's company back when EVERYONE KNEW what type of person Harvey Weinstein was. Think about that for a moment...  IF Jay Cutler did a 23andMe do you think he'd learn that Jeff George was his biological dad?... It looks like FitzMagic may be over but just a reminder I called Ryan Fitzpatrick's NFL success way back in 2005... Just saying but the people who love the intrigue and baseness of politics must share a common trait with the people who cannot get enough of the Dr. Pimple Popper videos... Maybe its not safe to go back in the water... Every time I find a dead fruit fly in my beer I think "That's the way he wanted to die." Then I finish my beer... Andre the Giant and Bobby Orr - such a great photo... I still say my first move as President would be to make Bill Belichick my Press Secretary. Those briefings would be epic!...

Andre the Giant

Watched the HBO documentary Andre the Giant and I give it two big thumbs up! If you were a WWF fan in the 1980's you knew Andre was the man. If you are a fan of the movie The Princess Bride you got a glimpse of the gentle spirit behind the "brute squad".

If you don't want to take my word for it - the documentary also has a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Linky Links

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

- Agreed - this is an awesome prank

- This would be another awesome prank. To be fair the question should also be asked of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

- 8 rules to do everything better. Excellent life advice.

- Cool science demonstration. "Cancel Momentum" almost sounds like a Harry Potter spell.

- I love Andre the Giant. I wish I got to meet him.

- Wondering what former Patriots and Raiders great Richard Seymour has been up to? He's been trying his hand at being a poker pro (with success)

- Heh heh

Linky Links

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

- Interesting look at how and why Lithium reduces mania in bipolar sufferers

- Tim Duncan asks "Please don't forget about the islands". Especially the his home the US Virgin Islands

- Michael Mann, creator of the "hockey stick" climate graph, help in contempt of court for withholding scientific evidence. Hmmm wonder why he'd withhold his evidence? One could argue that the statement "the science is settled" really could be "the science is fraudulent".

- Interesting - the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald trophy

- If there was a book with inside accounts of these two guys touring Japan in the 70's - I'd buy it in a second.

- I thought for sure it was called a Congress

Linky Links

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

- The Tao of Mookie

- Heh heh (and reminder my Twitter handle is @ALargeRegular)

- New England Patriots take on rest of AFC East and Roger Goodell

- Interesting read on the relationship between Jimmy Johnson and Bill Belichick

- A message from the children of Johnny Cash

- In case you missed it - the Red Sox ceremonial first pitch to the nuts

- Daniel Craig on board to play Bond one more time

Linky Links

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

- Heh heh

- Jaguar vs giant anteater - who ya got?

- Well I guess this has to be true

- Heh heh

- Cool - 7 Earth sized planets orbiting a dwarf planet 39 light years away. One of those planets should be named Levett to honor Henrietta Levett who was a key person in the history of understanding the universe but who doesn't get proper recognition

- Heh heh

- Who wore it better?

Andre the Giant

Today would have been Andre the Giant's 70th birthday. He was an incredible human. Here are just a few items to remember Andre by:

- Sports Illustrated has six anecdotes

- Modern Drunkard on the incredible drinking exploits of Andre

- Andre on Hulk Hogan

- Muhammad Ali and Andre compare hand sizes

- Andre the Giant at age 19

- Andre, Wilt Chamberlain and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of Conan

- One final reminder of just how huge Andre was

I'm still upset that Andre wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Princess Bride.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Even if many on the left don't care that ISIS could easily slip in terrorists among the Syrian refugees - you would think at some point they would realize that so many new unskilled workers will be taking all those jobs that normally go to people with Philosophy and Women's Studies degrees... Got to love Gronk being Gronk... Every time my doctor talks to me about ADHD - I change the subject... Flippertigibbet is such a great word. We all know a flibbertigibbet... I'm going to start using the word "feisty" randomly this week. What a feisty potato chip! What a feisty gas pump! What a feisty use of language... Andre the Giant is soo cool... So if someone says, "You look familiar - were we in a police lineup together?" What's the proper response?... It's funny because it's true... Any time I see Newt Gingrich - I try to picture him as Santa's gay half-brother to see if it makes him more likable...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Patriots are now a 7 point favorite over Baltimore next Saturday. The line opened at New England -8.5 - at that many points I would have been tempted to take the Ravens too... Those were the days - FDR's 52nd birthday celebration was a toga party... Just a reminder of the needle and the damage done - in 2007 when Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi took leadership over Congress the unemployment rate was 4.6% and the national debt was $8.6 trillion... I just love this photo... "Too Big to Fail" would have been a great title for an Andre the Giant biography... No matter what happens Saturday - when Tom Brady finally hangs up his spikes his record of playoff wins will be untouchable. I can't foresee any team ever having the type of run of sustained greatness like the Patriots have had these past dozen years (and counting)...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

It would be cool if Adult Swim had a New Years Eve show featuring a zombie Dick Clark who would just appear every few minutes to say "BRAINS!!"... Interesting look at Kipling and The Jungle Book from the Times of India... Is it me or is the guy in the Cialis commercial seeing like three different girls? No wonder he needs boner pills... Andre the Giant at age 19... Where did the phrase "piss-ant" come from? What could be the possible origin of that phrase?... Heh heh... FWIW - Todd Helton's career road OPS (.873) is greater than George Brett's overall career OPS (.853)... The Mesopotamian god of the moon was called Sin which is appropriate since most sins happen at night... I hope this gets you into the Christmas spirit...

Linky Links

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

- Interesting - Lance Berkman has gone back to school to get his degree.

- Nice Christmas gift

- Another reason to hate bathroom hand-dryers

- Another reminder of how huge Andre the Giant was

- One of the reasons NIH is "short" of money

Linky Links

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

- Muhammad Ali and Andre the Giant meet and compare hand sizes. It makes you wonder if anyone could have stood up to Andre in the boxing ring. Just one solid blow from his hands would have ended most fights.

- Cool pool trick shots

- Formula E racing looks cool but not hearing the roar of the engine seems strange. Also not sure if I like the idea of having to switch cars when the batteries run low.

- Heh heh - epilepsy my cock

- Cool - soft robotic exosuits - faster please!

- Hannah Storm - what does the NFL stand for?

- The men with the red bandannas beat the USC Trojans last night. They "out-desired them."

New Year's Day Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations on New Year's Day.

I have to wonder who has the more reliable medical reports at this point - Hugo Chavez or Hillary Clinton?... Too Big to Fail would have been a great name for a biography of Andre the Giant.. I agree with Chad Finn that Josh McDaniels refusing to interview for any of the open NFL head-coaching jobs probably indicates that he thinks he may Bill Belichick's eventual successor in Foxboro. I'm completely comfortable with that idea (though I hope its years away)... Tim Tebow would have been so much better off if he had just taken 2012 off from the NFL and instead did missionary work in the Philippines... If the day after Christmas can be called Boxing Day - why can't the day after New Year's Eve be called Hangover Day?... Anchorman II should be called Tits McGee - The Reckoning... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Was Vladimir Putin able to steal the Russian election because Jimmy Carter wasn't there to monitor the election? Yeah - that was a joke... Every spring I wonder if New York City icon was alive today - would he be a Mets fan or a Yankees fan? I'm guessing Yankees... Brent Musberger is always rumored to have money on a game and Saturday night's KU / Texas game may have been the ultimate proof... Too Big to Fail would be a good title for an Andre the Giant biography... I think in the end that Kevin Garnett will be remembered as a better player than Patrick Ewing for the simple fact that Garnett won a ring... Heh heh - the Red Sox JetBlue Park was supposed to be exactly like Fenway but someone made the Green Monster South too short... During his first full four seasons with the Indians - Grady Sizemore averaged almost 160 games and almost 27 home runs. Oh what could have been.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who won the NL Cy Young today, was the 7th pick of the 2006 MLB draft. The Tigers took Andrew Miller who had 5.54 ERA for Red Sox this year with the 6th pick... I still say that NCAA should give a blanket waiver exemption to any Penn State athlete who wants to transfer. Players should not have to sit out a year in order to get out of that situation... I had one of these mats once but if it was like this one I'd still be playing with it (probably NSFW)... Interesting point by Doyle Brunson - 100 years ago the population of Las Vegas was just 30 people. Amazing what can happen in a century... If the Tigers took Kershaw with that 6th pick instead of Andrew Miller in the 2006 draft would they be World Series champs today? Justin Verlander and Kershaw would be very tough to beat... John Amaechi on Joe Paterno: “You can’t be a part-time man of principle”. Amaechi perhaps the most eloquent athlete I can recall... I'm going to invent a version of Spanish Fly but for women. I'm going to call it Spanish Spider... I think the Red Sox should make a trade offer of 1st baseman Lars Anderson and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers for Andre Ethier who is free agent after 2012 season. I think that would be a win-win for both teams... Awesome photography... I'm still ticked that Andre the Giant wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Princess Bride... Next time I'm in Las Vegas I'm going to put some coin on a prop bet that Jonathan Papelbon will lead the NL in saves for 2012. That seems like a lock to me.

Andre the Giant - Epic Drinker

Many people will be binge drinking this weekend during the American Bacchanalia known as Super Bowl Sunday. Nobody, however, will come close to matching the drinking exploits of Andre the Giant. Andre once drank 119 standard 12 ounce beers in one six-hour sitting. Think of that. That's one beer every three minutes! Consider this mind-blowing stat:

Andre drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day. The figure doesn’t include food. Just booze.

Holy crap!