Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations. 

50,000 medical and public health scientists and practitioners have signed the Great Barrington Declaration. Aren't we supposed to be listening to the scientists?... Heh Heh... You know what's a cool nickname that deserves to be brought back - the name Speed. You never hear anyone called Speed anymore... Funny because it's true!... Weed and Hot Sauce would be a good name for a band... President Trump got a big ovation at the Army/Navy game yesterday... The differences between generations - growing up COD meant "cash on delivery" but now it means Call of Duty. Also back then LBJ was a President not a basketball player. Now get off my lawn... So Elon Musk announces his move to Texas and now Oracle has announced they are moving their HQ from California to Austin. California is quickly going to run out of other people's money... Also funny because it's true... 

Muggletonians

Who knew? Muggletonians and Muggletonianism were a real thing. And had nothing to do with the "Muggles" of the Harry Potter wizarding world.

In 1651 two London tailors announced that they were the last prophets foretold in the Book of Revelation. And a new Protestant sect was born.

Even though it was John Reeve who believed he received the "word of God" - the movement was named after his cousin Lodowicke Muggleton (pictured left) who joined Reeve in spreading their new Gospel.

If the movement was named after John Reeve I guess his followers would have been known as "Reevers' and would have put my modern mind to thinking of the "Reavers" of the Firefly universe. Whereas Muggletonians really do put your mind to Harry Potter.

Not for nothing but the tenets of Muggletonianism seem pretty reasonable.

Linky Links

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

- Heh heh - true under maritime law your vessel may be subject to safety inspection at any time.

- Its been 15-years since Firefly was cancelled.

- Interesting - the Higgs boson and the top quark finally spotted together during experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.

- Speaking of quantum physics - it seems the more we learn the more we understand how little we know. I think the human race is far from an understanding of how things actually work.

- Heh heh - Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold is the new Chuck Norris. Maybe Sam Darnold can explain how string theory works?

- Reminder that the secret to financial success isn't rocket science (or quantum physics)

- Impressive - maybe Tesla really is a battery company that also sells cars.

Linky Links

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

- This T-shirt is a "must have" for any Firefly fan

- Where do we find such men?

- Things I trust more than Hillary Clinton

- Is the Clockwork Orange future already here?

- Would Ron and Hermione be divorced by now? It is interesting to note that none of the characters in Harry Potter were divorced.

Linky Links

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

- No more nudes at Playboy. Surprising but understandable move when you think about it.

- Tom E. Curran defends Alex Guerrero

- Very touching and classy move by the Bruins yesterday with Travis Roy

- Tasmanian Devils being returned to the wild

- As if I needed another reason not to like the Cardinals

- Growing up in New England I just assumed that Columbus Day was a national holiday. Boy was I wrong

- Best alternate universe ending for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

- It's hard to to feel for Ed Werder and his family after reading this

- This is Exhibit 2,389 of why I'm not a fan of soccer

- Cool Firefly article on their reunion at this year's NYC Comic Con

Linky Links

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

- 10 English phrases made popular by Alice in Wonderland

- Heh heh - Walter White was almost a Phillies fan but that would have made him too unlikable

- Interesting - Why don't you buy vanilla extract at a liquor store?

- 13 facts about GameStop

- 23 facts about the best sci-fi TV show ever

Linky Links

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

- EPA knew beforehand about risk at mine. It disgusts me that no one will even lose their job over this

- US Soldier: How We Stopped the Train Gunman

- Peter Gammons is the King of Butt Tweeting. Some of the comments are gold.

- Heh heh - speaking of Subway spokesmen

- For all those Firefly fans out there - that hat does make you look like an idiot (but we still love the hat)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

A lot of new movies and shows coming to Netflix in November. And a lot of movies and shows are being taken out of the library including favorites Serenity and Broadcast News. Plan your day accordingly... Fan favorite Kevin Youkilis has decided to retire. The Greek God of Walks saw 292 3-0 counts in his career (according to MLB Stats) and never swung at a single one of those pitches... 36-years ago yesterday the single greatest holiday episode of any show ever aired. As God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly... I have to wonder if Youkilis will spend part of his retirement taking the wife to follow brother-in-law Tom Brady's games on the road. My mind can easily picture Youkilis in a Winnebago... Heh heh - "Draw me like one of your French girls"... Can't stop thinking that in the next Avengers movie they are in effect fighting the Fox Sports robot... Very interesting story - the gentleman thief of Venice... The Steelers are retiring Mean Joe Greene's number this Sunday. How is it possible his number hasn't been retired already?... Speaking of Kevin Youkilis' brother-in-law, last Sunday Brady accomplished something only one QB in NFL history had previously accomplished. Brady had 85 percent completions (30-35), over 350 yards passing and 5 TD's with no INT's. The only other QB to accomplish this? Tom Brady... Interesting - India holds more gold than the governments of the US, Germany and Switzerland combined...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- If you are a Firefly fan - the new comic Leaves on the Wind take over where the movie Serenity left off.

- Interesting profile of Bob Hooks the forgotten Texas road gambler

- From back when men were men - Artic explorer Peter Freuchen and his wife Dagmar Gale (the photo just strikes me as amusing)

- Castle for sale - title of Baron of Cavers available separately

- Starting in August you'll be able to legally stream every episode of The Simpsons. Whoo hoo!

- 19 scathing political put-downs

- Heh heh - more NFL bad lip reading

Linky Links

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

- Author Elmore Leonard hospitalized after a stroke. Wishing him a full recovery.

- Cool - nighttime view of the Americas

- When Hallucinations walked the world

- Interesting - never even heard of billionaire Richard B. Cohen even though his family's business started in Worcester.

- Never noticed it before - but you really don't see Tiger's kids much (I like that he doesn't use his kids as props)

-  Very well written profile of anti-hero Mal Reynolds from Firefly / Serenity (may only be available to read for limited time)

- If you could actually see Wi-Fi this is what it would look like

- Very cool and very large photo of Tokyo - have fun zooming in and out

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

After the reported trade between the Celtics and Nets - Boston went from a 33-1 bet to win the NBA championship to a 75-1 longshot. Meanwhile the Nets went from 40-1 to 10-1...  Big Bang Theory meets Firefly... If I were an MLB player - my "walk up" music would be God Bless America just to see if people would stand when I came up to hit... Cool - David Simon's original pitch for The Wire... MMA Jesus would be a good name for a Christian rock band... Heh heh - it's funny because it's true... Bill Simmons should give his Chippers season tickets to Jeffrey Ross whenever he's in town just so he can heckle Doc Rivers...  Interesting interview with Neil Gaiman...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

A friend checked last night and apparently autographed Aaron Hernandez jerseys are selling on eBay for $90. Didn't OJ memorabilia go up in price drastically after he was charged with murder?... I would love to have this T-Shirt... So if I'm understanding the stories coming out of New York correctly - A-Rod is a centaur who is being shunned by the Yankees because he taught humans at Hogwarts. Did I get that right?... Heh heh - Hollywood looking to move productions overseas because of costs of Obamacare. Schadenfreude anyone?...  Have to admit that I will laugh at people who end up with Aaron Hernandez in fantasy football because they have to autodraft... Just saying but Easter 2014 is on 4/20. I predict record amounts of chocolate will be consumed... Someone should get Bill James to write about the Aaron Hernandez case. Besides baseball - James' passion is crime stories. His Popular Crime is a great book detailing the history of crimes in the US...

Avengers - Firefly Style

Very cool for Joss Whedon or Firefly fans.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

I'm guessing the pitch for the movie Tucker and Dale vs Evil went something like this, "Imagine Friday the 13th meets Deliverance meets Naked Gun." If that was the pitched premise then the final results really delivered on the promise. I watched the movie this weekend mainly because it starred Alan Tudyk (of Firefly fame). I was not disappointed and I would recommend a viewing the next time you have an hour and a half to kill.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Devastating ad from Mitt Romney regarding Obama and the economy in PA. The ad reminded me of this quote: “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.” Harry S Truman

- Llewellyn M. Chilson - bad ass! Saw that and wanted to verify it was true. Found out it was. How did this man not rate a Medal of Honor?

- My Little Serenity - awesome!

- Louis CK on The Daily Show explaining why farts are funny. There no argument here.

- John Lennon - fan of Ronald Reagan

- Heh heh - James Brown: Godfather of Miso Ramen Cup Noodles

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Public unions force taxpayers to fund Democrats

- Shirtless Steve Spurrier atop an RV at Daytona drinking original Coors

- Sorry, Firefly Fans, But Nathan Fillion Can’t Bring It Back

- Nice work, Eddie!

- The Honey Badger is hilarious!

- Interesting - what do pro refs and umps make?

- Interview with New High Stakes Poker Host Norm Macdonald

Christopher Eccleston

Recently I have become a big fan of three science fiction TV series. It just sorta happened but I'm now hooked on the series Dr. Who, Heroes and the unfairly canceled Firefly.

I've meant to mention this before but since today's is Christopher Eccleston's 43rd birthday - today is as good a time as any. I've meant to bring this up because I was watching Heroes and there was a new character who I couldn't help but think looked very familiar. Then it hit me - the character Claude on heroes was Christopher Eccleston - the old Dr. Who. I say "old" Dr. Who because it was the "new" Dr. Who - David Tennant who really got me hooked on the series (and who is the much better of the two if you ask me).

And the reason this was worthy of note was because after watching like 4 episodes of Firefly - it finally hit me where I knew the actor who plays Shepard Book - Ron Glass. He was Detective Harris from the vastly under-rated Barney Miller.

So there you have it. Exciting epiphanies to me but boring crap to you.