Released on This Day in 1943

Casablanca - Le Marseillaise

 

One of my favorite scenes all-time. The actors were French and the emotion was real.

Released on This Day in 1943

Linky Links

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

- Interesting : ACL tears may not need surgery

-  Matt Ridley on the crisis in science research.

- The $105 trillion world economy in one chart

- The original Casablanca movie poster.

Casablanca - Le Marseillaise

 

One of my favorite movie scenes of all-time. The actors were French and the emotion was real.

Linky Links

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

- A well done guide to trying to understand the current state of quantum mechanics.

- Ingrid Bergman in 1971 talks about what it was like on the set of Casablanca.

- Which countries get the most paid vacation days. The US really lags behind the rest of the world. Even workaholic Japan gets double our paid vaca days.

- Idris Elba is the man. More common sense like this please.

Cinema's Greatest Scene

Casablanca was released on this day in 1942. Here's a good argument that the "La Marseillaise" scene is the greatest of all-time. 

Tough to argue against that but also think the opening bank robbery scene of The Dark Knight or the farmhouse interrogation scene in Inglorious Basterds are also worthy of consideration.

Best Acceptance Speech of All-Time

Best Oscar acceptance speech of all-time was by Michael Curtiz for winning best director for Casablanca in 1944,

“So many times I have a speech ready, but no dice. Always a bridesmaid, never a mother. Now I win, I have no speech.” — Michael Curtiz, accepting his Oscar for Best Director (Casablanca)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I don't know anything about soccer but I do know class when I see it. This was 100% class... It still blows my mind that Ronald Reagan was the first choice to play Rick Blaine in the movie classic Casablanca... 15 secrets of commercial divers. I always wanted to be a commercial diver... 80% of all insects live in the jungle. Ergo I will never live in the jungle... I ALMOST do this all the time. It happens when you're not really paying attention on a call... Next season on Game of Thrones a great wizard and conjurer will be introduced. Some call him Tim... Heh Heh - very clever...

Linky Links

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

- The switch to outdoor LED lighting has completely backfired. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

- George HW Bush becomes longest living President in history. I'm convinced he's waiting for H Ross Perot to kick the bucket first.

- Cinnamon may help fight obesity

- Humpback whale shoots out a rainbow.

- Casablanca was released on this day in 1942. He's an interesting argument that the La Marseillaise scene is the best in movie history.

- Why John Urschel picked math over football.

Linky Links

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

- The last cast member of Casablanca passes away

- Larry Fitzgerald keeps his promise to his mom and gets his degree. Great story but being a cynical sort I had two immediate thoughts; University of Phoenix? Does that really count? Also - why no mention of his dad?

- The argument against killing all mosquitoes

- Fantastic advice

- Yesterday was Rob Gronkowski's birthday - here's why Patriots fans idolize him

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm a bit of a political junkie but last night I skipped Condi Rice's speech and Paul Ryan's speech because Turner Classic Movies was showing Casablanca. I make no apologies. I have my priorities... Would Kendrys Morales be a good fit for the Red Sox? I'm kind of growing on the idea of bringing back Victor Martinez... If I was to give a speech at the RNC or DNC - I would randomly mention the names of states just to see if the delegates from those states jumped up and cheerer... Wow - just wow! Awesome photo of Saturn and its moon Titan... Pro Football Talk compared Tim Tebow's attitude to that of Buddy the Elf. I now cannot get that out of my head. What a great comparison... If they re-boot the Batman franchise - I hope they bring back Christian Bale as a villain. How cool and meta trippy would that be?...

Five Favorite Films

I saw this and started wondering what my five favorite films are. After some thought here's what I came up with (and note that the order is pretty interchangeable).

1. Casablanca
2. Slap Shot
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4. LA Confidential
5. The Princess Bride

Not making the list but anytime I have the chance to watch the endings of either Groundhog Day or My Cousin Vinny - I have to stop what I'm doing to watch.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Today is National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day - this flavor name is creative but if its literal then I'd say its disgusting... It still blows my mind that Ronald Reagan was the original choice to play Rick Blaine in the classic Casablanca... Ray Allen already has a championship ring. He's a smart guy - he's not going to Miami to be Dwayne Wade's back-up for half the money he could make from the Celtics...  Candidates for Congress should have to take and pass the test immigrants have to take to become Citizens. Candidates should have to pass this test before their name ever gets on a ballot... A surgeon cuts to the heart of why Obamacare is awful for healthcare in this country... In 1892 Benjamin Harrison became the first US President to attend a baseball game. Jack McKeon managed one of the teams... They say it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to become an expert. If that's the case then I'm an expert on watching the Boston Red Sox... Next season on Game of Thrones a great wizard and conjurer is introduced. Some call him Tim... There must be some higher purpose to the Tom / Katy divorce. Cthulhu doesn't play dice with the universe...  The Red Sox are now 0-5 in extra innings games this season. That's because the other teams have had better managers... Punch him again Pudge!!!

Flotsam and Jetsam

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.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Will the Westboro Baptist Church be protesting at the funeral of Christopher Hitchens? In a perverse way I think he'd like that... 18 Fun Facts About Your Favorite Christmas TV Specials... Is it too late for Jon Huntsman to run for President as a Democrat? I think he could win the nomination from Obama. Almost everyone I hear who supports Huntsman is a Democrat who have no intentions for voting for a Republican. Maybe if Huntsman officially switched parties he could gather their votes... I still say Meat Raffle would be a good name for a band... I wonder who actually did more real good in the 1990's - the Community Organizers like Barack Obama or the Guardian Angels? Seriously... There was a TV series in 1983 called Casablanca that starred David Soul and was supposed to be a prequel to the Bogart movie. I would like to watch that.... Now that Kobe is getting divorced - the Lakers should go right ahead and officially make him player/coach just like what the Celtics did with Bill Russell. If Kobe wasn't listening to his wife - who really thinks he'll be listening to Mike Brown?... I am still absolutely flummoxed that such a thing as the Beef O Brady Bowl actually exists. That is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind... If I ran a minor league baseball team I would have put in a bid on Yu Darvish just for the press release value.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

June has been very good to the Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury has a hit in every game in June so far. He is 19 for 44 (.432) in that span raising season average to .317 from .292... Interesting phone call between President John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis and potential nuclear war... It still blows my mind that Ronald Reagan was the original choice to play Rick Blaine in the classic Casablanca... June has been very good to the Red Sox. Adrian Gonzalez has at least 1 RBI in 8 straight games (12 RBI total in those 8 games)... Cool - TNT acquires rights to Castle for syndication. I'm a fan of the show and Nathan Fillion and I'm glad I'll have a chance to see re-runs on a regular basis... June has been very good to the Red Sox. David Ortiz is hitting .412 with 4 HR and 12 RBI so far in June... Pretty sure that in that after he strips down to his underwear and does that fancy dive off the plank that Captain Morgan gets raped by the guys in orange coats on other ship just after the commercial cuts away. He was asking for it... The Red Sox are paying Mike Cameron over $7 million this year. At what point do they realize that Cameron is a shell of the player he once was and cut him loose? They should give one of their young OF from Pawtucket a chance. Either Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick would be better for the team. Give one of the younger players a chance. It will help to season them to take over for JD Drew next year or at least give them a chance to showcase their talent in case of a trade. Maybe the Red Sox are waiting for Kalish to recover from his injury to make a move?... The Red Sox are in Toronto to play the Blue Jays one more game. Here's a picture of the famous CN Tower in Toronto.

Post Rapture Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations from a guy who didn't get raptured.

Whenever I read about Lance Armstrong and accusations of doping, I can't help but think about the Tom Nuttall quote from Deadwood "Corruption won't never breathe stinky on my bi-cycle!"... The things you learn from the Internet (via Mental Floss): "Reed Hastings was inspired to start Netflix after racking up a $40 late fee on a VHS copy of Apollo 13"... Hollywood is so out of new ideas that I wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere is pitching Casablanca II: A Beautiful Friendship starring Aston Kusher and Charlie Sheen... Heh heh - JFKFC... David Ortiz's HR last night gave him for 300 as a member of the Red Sox. Only Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans have more... Erik Seidel just won another poker tournament. You have to say that he's the best poker player on the planet right now. Better than Phil Ivey... 105 years ago today the Wright brothers were granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine." 105 years later and we still don't have flying cars. We were promised flying cars... Haunting pictures of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans

Best Oscar Acceptance Speech of All-Time

Best Oscar acceptance speech of all-time was by Michael Curtiz for winning best director for Casablanca in 1944,

“So many times I have a speech ready, but no dice. Always a bridesmaid, never a mother. Now I win, I have no speech.” — Michael Curtiz, accepting his Oscar for Best Director (Casablanca)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm hoping Jamie Moyer pitches until he's 50-years old. I think that would be awesome and I also think the advertising opportunities for Moyer would make it worth his while. He could represent AARP, Advil, Grecian Formula and a whole host of older guys products and services.... The Yankees signed CC Sabathia and that got lots of media noise but don't forget that Tampa Bay will be adding David Price to their rotation next year for the full season. That move by the Rays may have just as much impact... Sometimes the mind plays tricks on you. Last week the Phillies signed Christopher Walker to a minor league deal but my mind kept on seeing it as Christopher Walken. I guess I just wanted that to be true... Nice article on Mayor Lou Merloni. I've been on the Lou Merloni bandwagon for years... The Celtics lost to the Lakers yesterday and in hindsight it's something you easily could have seen coming (I wish hindsight was available when I put my bet in).... Yesterday would have been Humphrey Bogart's 109th birthday. It still blows my mind that Ronald Reagan was the original choice to play Rick Blaine in the classic Casablanca... Tonight Central Michigan plays Florida Atlantic in the Motor City Bowl. This is basically a home game for Central Michigan and I expect them to win despite the number of times the announcers will note that Howard Schnellenberger has never lost a bowl game as a coach (5-0). I think the Chippewas cover the 7 points. I'm not so sure about the over/under. The game will be a shootout but over 68 points? I'll have to think about that one...