Linky Links

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

- NASA's Voyager 2 probe enters interstellar space. The second NASA probe to do this but still a tremendous accomplishment that should have garnered more attention than it did.

-  101-year old WWII vet credits his longevity to having a Coors Light every day. Coors hears of this and does the right thing.

- I was in Miami watching the Army/Navy game but this pre-game benediction brought tears to my eyes. Where do we find such men?

- Screw Nike. BTW - Nike's stock price is down about $7 since they announced the Kaepernick ad campaign.

- Godspeed former President George H.W. Bush from his Secret Service detail. Interesting - did not know his Secret Service code name was Timberwolf.

- Actor Philip Bosco has passed at age 88. I agree with Alan Sepinwall - my favorite role of his was as the bus driver (or "blufftony" driver if you like) in the movie Quick Change.

- Another story that was grossly under-reported was President Trump's progress in world trade at the recent G-20 meeting in Argentina.

Linky Links

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

- Amazon's eye for sports could shatter TV as we know it. Good!

- Love, Happiness, and Time. Interesting and gratifying way to view the world.

- Interesting - if the American Dream is for children to do better financially than their parents then the American Dream is not only alive and well it's thriving! Long read but worth it!

- Christopher Buckley with an excellent remembrance of George HW Bush (aka the Vishnu)

- A guide to tipping in the US. Agree 100% with the $1 per drink at a bar suggestion. In most of the places I go that works out to more than 20% but it's worth it for the shit they let me get away with or for what they have to put up with (insert smiley face emoticon here).

- Marriott had a data breach that could effect 500 million people. That's more more the population of the US.

- If this doesn't make you tear up even just a little - I serious don't want to know you.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Conspiracy Theory - the NSA developed and started the whole Elf on a Shelf thing to acclimate future generations to 24/7 surveillance... I'm going to have business cards printed up that say "Chris Lynch - Public Intellectual and Thought Leader" because why not?... In the near future the word "distaff" will be replaced by the word "nodick" because people in the not-so-distant future will be morons... George HW Bush sledding with Arnold Schwarzenegger because why not... I'm going to try to mix in the phrase "it's like trying to take blood from a penguin" today in conversation. Don't even know what that means but I like the way it sounds... The ESPN "Fansville" commercials have me convinced that only stupid people drink Dr Pepper. If you're smart and drink Dr Pepper you should be insulted by these commercials... FACT: Donald Trump has not been defeated in the Octagon by any other President living or dead. You can't argue with facts!...

Linky Links

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

- Heh Heh - vintage ads that would be banned today.

- The argument that GM closing three plants and cutting 14,000 jobs is actually a good thing.

- Heh Heh

- George HW Bush 1924-2018

- Many reasons to be thankful

- Wow just wow. Marine meets his newborn son for the first time.

- Good advice - take your MEDS (I have to try meditation)

George HW Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush has passed away at age 94. He was a true gentleman of great character who spent much of his life in service to his country whether it be in uniform as a Navy combat pilot during World War II or in various government or elected positions culminating with his service as the 41st President of the United States.

His passing comes just 8 months after the death of his beloved wife of 73 years Barbara Bush. The photo to the left is of George and Barbara on their wedding day.

As a simple example of how great a person George HW Bush was - five years ago he shaved his head in support of the son of a secret service agent battling cancer. It should be noted that George and Barbara lost their first daughter Robin to childhood leukemia.

Many of the articles you will read today will speak about 41 as a one term President. If those articles do not mention H. Ross Perot you can be sure that you are reading an article from an outlet that is biased or incompetent. Perot's entry into the 1992 election as a third-party candidate is what cost Bush re-election.

Perot won almost 19% of the popular vote that year (the most ever by a modern third-party candidate). So any eulogies that ignore that piece of history should make you think twice about ever trusting that media outlet again.

His feelings about Perot aside, Bush was gracious and classy in defeat as this note to Bill Clinton shows.

HBO has an excellent documentary on the life of George HW Bush named simply 41. The documentary is completely narrated by 41 and goes through every aspect of his life - from childhood to the Presidency. When Perot is mentioned you can hear that hatred still for the man who Bush blames for not having a second term as President. Perhaps the only person Bush had those feelings about.

George HW Bush and George W Bush, of course, were just the second father-son to hold the office of President. They joined John and John Quincy Adams in that rare accomplishment.

I think history will look very favorably on George HW Bush and on his Presidency.

One of my favorite what-ifs in history is the fact that before picking Dan Quayle as his Vice President, Bush briefly considered giving that slot to Clint Eastwood instead. That's 100% true. Can you imagine how history would have been different if that happened?

Rest in peace you great and honorable man. Barbara is waiting for you.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Rumor has it that LeBron James is including Boston among the teams he wants to speak with this summer. Do you think he might just be trying to meet Tom Brady? Remember Brady was part of the Celtics pitch to Kevin Durant a couple of seasons ago...  Who knew? I was well aware that there was such a thing as a "Wet Willy" but were you aware there is such a thing as a "Dry David"?... Maybe it's just me but any time a bartender calls me "sir" I have the urge to rip a really loud fart... Wonder if the brain having two hemispheres is left over from back when we were aquatic animals who always had to be awake in the water with one side of the brain always active and alert (like dolphins)... D-Day by the numbers... Hardhat Jesus would be a good name for a band. As would Jesus Fish and Chips... True story - before picking Dan Quayle to be his Vice President, George H.W. Bush briefly considered Clint Eastwood for the ticket...

Barbara Bush

George and Barbara Bush's wedding photo in 1945.

- Statement from President George W Bush on the passing of his mother.

- Statement from President and Mrs. Obama on the passing of Barbara Bush.

- A reminder on the type of person Barbara Bush was.

- General Chuck Yeager has a couple of anecdotes on how fine a person and how down to earth Barbara Bush was.

- Five years ago George HW Bush shaved his head in support of the son of a secret service agent. It should be remembered that George and Barbara lost their first daughter Robin to childhood leukemia. Now after 73-years of marriage George has lost the love of his life. Reportedly he was holding her hand as she passed.

My prayers are with George HW Bush and the rest of the Bush family.

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.

- And the title of that painting would be Make America Great Again

- Living well vs doing well

- Very cool

- Heh heh

- John Tumpane is a hero

- Heh heh

Dick Cheney on George H. W. Bush

Recently came across this quote from Dick Cheney regarding President George H.W. Bush:

If you were to go out and design a President to be Commander in Chief in a crisis like Desert Storm, you couldn’t do any better than what we had with George Bush. In terms of his experiences, combat pilot in World War II, UN [United Nations], China, CIA, Vice President. He was a delight to work for in that regard. So a lot of what followed after that, whatever successes we enjoyed and so forth, you have to start with the man. 

I thought that was worth pondering.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So let me get this straight - Obama wanted to take the man who could have prevented the Civil War off the $20 bill?... Heh heh... I swear - George H.W. Bush must have made a sacred oath not to die until Ross Perot kicked the bucket first... Vengeful Farts would be a good name for a punk band or a fantasy football team... Wow - Jim Carey really let himself go... Vodka Monkeys would be a good name for a band... Kiss cam wants you to pretend that's your stepmom... Emojis are turning texting into a modern game of Concentration... While Pablo Sandoval is on the DL - the Red Sox should send his picture to every Dunkin Donuts in Massachusetts with the message "Don't sell this man donuts"... Roger Goodell is a monster... All the whores and politicians look up and shout "save us" and Mitt Romney looks down and whispers "No"... Heh heh...

Update on President H. W. Bush

Glad that President Bush and his lovely wife Barbara are both doing better. However, in my head as I read the press release I hear Dana Carvey's impersonation of Bush saying, "I'll be God-damned if I die before that little prick H. Ross Perot kicks the bucket! Not gonna do it!"

Campaign 2016

I found this exchange between James Baker III and the Miller Center at the University of Virginia interesting. For background the Miller Center does oral histories of Presidencies and Baker was being interviewed regarding his role running the 1988 campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush:

Baker - He [George H.W. Bush] wants to cut regulations. He’s not going to increase taxes. He’s going to continue to maintain America’s military strength. He’s going to continue to see to it that we are respected by our allies and feared by our adversaries. I mean, it’s the same old stuff that you’re going to see—

Those were the issues the 1988 campaign wanted to stress. Same old stuff? Now we are devolved to speaking about building walls and if a candidate is a felon guilty of perjury. As Donald Trump would say, "Sad!"

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Kevin Love to Boston? Not for the 3rd pick in the draft but for other picks - sure - sign me up... Visible Radiation would be a good name for a band...  Heh heh... One of my favorite bits of baseball trivia is the fact that Tris Speaker actually had more triples (222) in his career than strikeouts (220)... Hard Hat Jesus would also be a good name for a band... Have you seen those Heineken commercials where they brag about only having three ingredients? Is one of those three ingredients urine? Sure tastes like it to me... Getting close to that time of year for me to re-read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The book is a retelling of the Battle of Gettysburg. Highly recommended... True story - before picking Dan Quayle to be his VP - George H.W. Bush briefly considered picking Clint Eastwood to be his running mate... Some excellent news from the field of Alzheimer's research... If lab grown meat technology is perfected - will that allow McDonald's to offer the McRib year-round?...

Some things I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- My plan for the weekend

- George H. W. Bush is a good man. In the next few weeks I hope to read through these Oral Histories of his Presidency from the Miller Center

- Heh heh - the story of when TJ Miller met Elon Musk

- Interesting look at Larry Page's new flying car venture and the history of flying cars in general.

- Wow this is true!

- I will never be able to think of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver the same ever again!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

What came first? Bill Cosby becoming a rapist or Bill Cosby becoming pitch man for New Coke? Just curious as to which caused him to first lose his soul... Has any NFL coach with a sub .500 record ever gotten more attention than Rex Ryan and his 48-51 record?... Interesting - here are 5 things Jeremy Affeldt won't miss about baseball after he retires on Sunday... After posting about Maureen O'Hara the other day - I got to wondering what other stars of Hollywood's Golden Age are still not quite bereft of life? Mildly surprised that Kirk Douglas still hasn't joined joined the choir invisible... Surprising gun statistics. Imagine what they would look like if you were able to remove the deaths from Chicago...  Would you consider Sean Connery a member of Hollywood's Golden Age? He's still alive and kicking... Speaking of still alive and kicking - George H.W. Bush is still going strong. I wonder if the 91-year old Bush continues to cling to life out of a stubborn resolve to outlive the 85-year old H. Ross Perot...

Linky Links

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

- Kenny Stabler was pretty bad ass

- Cool - the reaction when blood meets 30% hydrogen peroxide

- I think time and historians will look very favorably on George H. W. Bush (and George W for that matter).

- Cool - the 10'x15' wooden shed where Harley-Davidson was started.

- Despite revisionist history - the Civil War was absolutely about slavery.

- Heh heh - Game of Thrones

Top 5 - Presidential Marriages

On this day in 1919 - Harry Truman married Bess Wallace. Their marriage was absolute and the epitome of love honor and obey (Harry obeying Bess that is). Here are what I consider the top 5 love affairs between Presidents and first ladies in US history.

1. Harry and Bess Truman
2. Ron and Nancy Reagan
3. George and Martha Washington
4. John and Abigail Adams
5. (tie) Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter (tie) George and Barbara Bush

Linky Links

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

- Black Jack Pershing would be tried as a war criminal today instead of lauded as an effective leader dealing with barbarians in an effective manner. Not sure if I'd call that progress,

- Today would ave been Elvis' 80th birthday. Here's a great cover of him singing Bridge Over Troubled Water.

- I agree

- A day late but happy 70th wedding anniversary Mr and Mrs Bush

- Heh heh - karma is a pre-existing condition

- Increase in minimum wage forces Michigan non-profit restaurant to close

- How can you not love Pedro Martinez? "You tell Clemens, he hits one of mine, I take two of his."

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Alex Rodriguez's actions this season seem like the actions of a man laying the foundation for an insanity plea... Heh heh - the Royal baby introduced to the public... Andy Pettitte just passed Sandy Koufax on the all-time strikeout list but it took Pettitte 912 more innings to do it. Meanwhile Pettitte now has 719 fewer K's than Curt Schilling in basically the same number of innings... George HW Bush shaves his head in support of the son of secret service agent. It should be recalled that George and Barbara lost their first daughter Robin to childhood leukemia. History will be kind to this good man... With NASCAR going to NBC from ESPN - will Brad Daugherty now start doing more college basketball games for the Mothership?... From now on I am going to intriduce myself as a "minor celebrity" - Chris Lynch Minor Celebrity. Who is to argue the point? I may even have cards made up... Peter King did a Reddit AMA (ask me anything). I really hope someone asked him how many NFL coaches have a foot fetish. He'd have to answer at least one...