Close the Door and Have a Seat

 

One of my favorite TV scenes.

Close the Door and Take a Seat

Sam Altman and OpenAI

 

Not sure why but the Sam Altman situation at OpenAI and many of the staffers threatening to quit if he remains out as CEO reminded me of this scene from Mad Men.

Mad Men - The Carousel

Linky Links

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

- I follow @SenileDonDraper and thought this was pretty funny.

- Game of Thrones theme song smooth jazz version - yes please.

- Heh heh

- Starting to get Deflategate fatigue but Dan Wetzel makes some excellent points

- Daredevil / Chumbawumba mashup - quite good

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Yesterday was the Ides of March - famous because it is forever connected with the murder of Julius Caesar back in 44 BC. Less well known is the fact the Caesar was only murdered because Lucius Vorenus wasn't there to protect him... Interesting behind the scenes look at the making of Mad Men... Maybe the worst part of Saint Patrick's Day is the fat guy in a kilt - you run into one every year. You know the guy who talks about the "breeze" no matter the weather and of "dangling shillelaghs" all in an attempt to get you to ask if the guy is wearing any underwear. You know the guy...  Bad family structure defeats good economic numbers... How come ham has a pinkish color while pork sausage is brown? Same meat different colors. Why? How come I never thought about this before?... 15 back-stabbing facts about Brutus. What was compelling to me was how many of those historical facts were woven into the HBO series Rome... If feel like I've missed something important having never read Terry Pratchett. Maybe time to order the first Discworld book?... Interesting interview with Bill Simmons... Would you eat the moon if it was made of ribs? Harry Caray would...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Not sure about you but I'll never be able to eat Honey Nut Cheerios again without thinking dirty thoughts because of Kevin Garnett's comments to Carmelo Anthony... Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha - hero... The power of over the top video - more people have watched Mad Men on Netflix than on AMC. Think about that for a minute... I will buy Donald Rumsfeld's new book. Absolutely!... To be fair - most men can't do anything without thinking dirty thoughts. As Larry Miller said, "if women knew what men were really thinking - they would never stop slapping us"... Ha ha - this is great (though to be fair not original)... Brock Holt (I know - who the heck is Brock Holt) will wear number 26 for the Red Sox. Last year Scott Podsenik wore Wade Boggs old number for the Sox. Anyone who thinks Boston will retire that number hasn't been paying attention... Has anyone looked into how zombies affect Estate Planning? Would you be able to avoid Death Taxes if you just declared the passed loved one to be a zombie? ...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Lee Iaccoca endorses Mitt Romney for President. The article notes that the endorsement should help Romney in Pennsylvania (Iaccoca's home state) and in Michigan but I'd add that Iaccoca will also help nationally among Italians, seniors and Catholics.

- Mad Men and Presidential Debate Mashup.

- Fantastic look at what Bill Snyder has meant to both Kansas State and Manhattan, Kansas.

- Very cool video from the ISS (International Space Station)

- Wow - just wow!

Mad Men Perform Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up

Clearly the greatest thing on the Internets today. Wicked awesome!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Barack Obama should announce that he's become a Scientologist. That way if anyone criticizes him he can have the Church threaten to sue them... The things you learn on the Internet: According to Mental Floss the flags of Liechtenstein and Haiti were once identical - a fact that wasn't known until the flags were displayed at the 1936 Olympics... What an absolutely beautiful photo... Not sure about you but I was disappointed that the Olympic opening ceremonies didn't end with Lane Pryce from Mad Men hanging himself... I would love to listen to a podcast by actors pretending to be Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali doing movie and TV show reviews... Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien had a clause in his contract that extended his deal a year for every year Penn State was put on NCAA sanctions. So with 4-years of scholarship reductions and bowl bans - Bill O'Brien's contract went from a 5-year deal to a 9-year deal... How to break the Internet - 1. Take all the Troy McLure scenes from The Simpsons 2 Have Ichiro record them in live action and 3 Post those scenes individually to YouTube...

Mad Men Season 5

Two Three interesting articles on Mad Men Season 5.

Toxic Fog - Mad Men's Fifth Season recap over at Grantland.

Alan Sepinwall has an interview with Matthew Weiner that's worth the read.

EDIT: Ken Levine also has a Season 5 Recap posted

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

How the real Jaguar marketing people felt about their car being the center of Mad Men attention.

The Wire - The Musical (and I know everyone on the Internet has linked to this but that's because its good)

Cool story of original  E Street Band drummer Vinny Lopez being a caddy at the US Open

Inspiring story of high school sportsmanship 

Good story on Anthony Bourdain moving to CNN

Jack Twyman - the greatest teammate in NBA history. Words cannot do justice to how great a human being Jack Twyman was. The world is poorer for his passing. (Thanks to Keith for the link.)

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

The Scream sells for $120 million. Did not know there were 4 copies of this painting. This was not the one that was stolen a couple of years ago.

I love science questions like this. What would happen if you placed your hand in the way of the Large Hadron Collider?

Very interesting look at some old-timey sportswriters who called themselves "the Chipmunks". This was the sort of think I hoped Grantland would be putting out.

In depth story of Joss Whedon and how he came to helm the new Avengers movie. Good read.

Amusing Mad Men / Watchmen mash-up

15 Spectacular Libraries in Europe. Spectacular may be underselling the awesomeness of these libraries.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Philip K. Dick's previously unpublished letter after seeing his first glimpse of Blade Runner

These ads are good but the movie Crazy People did it first

I've linked to this before but they are too good not to link to again. Adding monsters to thrift store paintings.

Heh heh - Leaked Memos: Bobby V is losing the Red Sox and his mind 

Almost 400-years ago Shakespeare joined the choir invisible - here are some surprising things the Bard left behind. 

The men of Mad Men go bowling - you know you want to watch

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In the wake of the Secret Service hooker scandal - shouldn't some reporter ask President Obama if he favors legalizing prostitution? If I was willing to pay good money for that question does that make me a "John"?... 100 years ago Leonardo DiCaprio drown for your sins, he rose and now reads your dreams for your deepest secrets. Move over Flying Spaghetti Monster - I'm thinking of founding the Church of DiCaprio... Quid pro quo literally means "something for something". Prostitution is a quid pro quo arrangement. You give money you get sex. According to Patrick Kennedy - the Obama White House operates on the same principles as hookers... If the season ended today - Derek Lowe would probably get some votes for the AL Cy Young Award. Think about that for a minute... I may have business cards printed up - Chris Lynch, President, Americans for Bacon. Seriously - I may set up as a lobbyist... Last week's Mad Men recut as a horror movie trailer... If Ian Kennedy was still with the Yankees - would he be the team ace?... Is there any doubt that Doc Rivers should be the NBA Coach of the Year?... Johnny Cash with a kitten. Awwwwww....

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

This is basically the state of Rick Santorum's campaign. I don't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him... Supposedly the Blue Jays turned down a trade that would have sent Brett Lawrie to the Mariner's for Michael Pineda. I think Toronto was correct to reject that trade. Lawrie could be a monster every day player and a sleeper in many fantasy baseball leagues... On this day in 2004 we got to see Janet Jackson's breast at halftime of the Super Bowl. I was not impressed... Who knew? Bradbury Robinson threw the first forward pass in football history on September 5, 1906. He was playing for Saint Louis University. You would think that Bradbury Robinson would be better known...  Mara likes Coughlin because he's focused on winning not his image (unlike some other head coach in NYC)... I wonder if players who donate to Peter Gammons' Hot Stove charity get better and more positive coverage during the season?... Just saying but Eli Manning had a poster of Tonya Harding on his wall growing up. I think there is still some yearning there... Who knew? Joel Murray who played Freddie Rumsen on Mad Men is Bill Murray's brother...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

I don't care if this is real or Photoshop - still awesome

Heh heh - when you search for "Mendoza line" on Baseball-reference.com it brings you to this page

Incredibly detailed panoramic virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel

Sterling Archer Draper Pryce

Awesome - The Scream

New Yorker cartoons with Rick Santorum captions

Tom Curran - Bill Belichick is the Steve Jobs of NFL coaches

Don Draper Says What

I can't wait for the return of Mad Men.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- An interesting look at AMC and their growing pains as a network

- Fibonacci really doesn't get the credit he deserves for the impact he had on Western Civilization

- Holy crap! That's a lot of bees!

- I want this! Original of Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" offered at auction.

- Interesting GQ article on Louis CK

- So sad. Teddy Roosevelt's diary the day his first wife died - 2 days after the birth of his daughter.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 49th birthday to Mad Men star and Red Sox fan John Slattery. I can't wait until the new season of Mad men actually airs... What Does a Poet Laureate Actually Do?... Joe Posnanski mentions a very interesting stat. During Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, he hit .408 while Ted Williams hit .414 over that exact same period... The razor commercial of divers shaving in a shark cage is stupid. Now a tampon commercial in a shark cage would make more sense... Who knew? The Cookie Monster's first name is Sid...