The Battle of the Bulge

This week marks the 75th anniversary of what has become known as The Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945).

Old AF Sarge has a nice remembrance of the Battle and the costs paid.

Mental Floss has 10 things you might not know about the Battle of the Bulge (some good stuff including how the Battle got its name and perhaps the one American officer who saw the attack coming).

There has been some notice of the anniversary in the news. But honestly not much.

Sadly many 35-years old and younger may have only heard of the battle because it was featured in HBO's Band of Brothers (great show).

Personally I'm fascinated by the men who fought the battle. Men like Baseball Hall of Famer Warren Spahn or writer Kurt Vonnegut who was taken prisoner during the battle (and later survived the bombing of Dresden). People like actor Jack Warden. Or baseball manager Ralph Houk who was nicknamed the Major for good reason (Houk's exploits during the war would make an excellent movie).

Sadly most of these heroes have passed and for too many their memories and sacrifices are being forgotten. All the more reason for people to do their small part in keeping anniversaries like these in our thoughts and deeds so that the younger generations can understand the price paid by those who came before them.

Another Bad List

Mental Floss does a very poor job in listing The 20 Best Movies of the 1980's. Missing from their list are the following movies (in no particular order):

- Aliens
- Das Boot
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Full Metal Jacket
- Scarface
- Die Hard
- Stand By Me
- Dead Poets Society
- Blade Runner

And of course The Princess Bride (I give special attention to The Princess Bride because its probably the movie I've watched the most from the 80's).

So what movies deserve to be removed from Mental Floss's list? That could be a good debate but it has to start with Ordinary People. That is one of the most overrated movies of all-time! Do you know a single person who has made the mistake of watching that flick a second time?

Just missing my list are Batman (Jack Nicholson as the Joker), Wall Street, Hoosiers, and The Terminator. I wouldn't argue much if you had any of those movies on your list.

Deadwood

The Deadwood movie is real and might be coming sooner than people think. Hard to believe its been 16-years since the last episode.

Interesting interview with one of the producers of the movie.

Even for hardcore fans - some facts you might not know about Deadwood.

Top Movies On Netflix

Sometimes I have to comment on something I've seen, heard or read just to get it out of my head. This is one of those times.

I read this list of the 10 Best Movies Currently on Netflix and the more I thought about the list the more it bothered me. The list starts with The Godfather but then nowhere on the list is The Godfather: Part II which is also on Netflix. There's some argument about which movie is better but everyone agrees The Godfather: Part II is one of the 10 best movies ever made - never mind currently on Netflix.

Then the list ends with Nicholas Cage's National Treasure at number 10. National Treasure? Are they saying the films currently on Netflix are shit? Did National Treasure beat out Bruce Willis' Armageddon for the last spot?

All of these lists are subjective but outside of The Godfather the top rated movie on the Mental Floss list according to the IMDB Top 250 is Memento at number 50. Are the other Top 50 movies on the IMDB list not on Netflix? Other movies on the IMDB list include Sunset Boulevard at 54, Oldboy at 66, Full Metal Jacket at 90, and Inglorious Basterds at 97.

Sure all good movies but Top 10? Come on. How about an all-time classic like JAWS or The African Queen? How about something like Ip Man (84% on Rotten Tomatoes), Gangs of New York, Dead Poets Society, or how about freaking The Shawshank Redemption (which just happens to be freaking #1 on the IMDB list). Or what about freaking Schindler's List (#6 on the IMDB Top 250). Or how about To Kill a Mockingbird (another all-time classic).

That's from a quick perusal of the movies on Netflix and I just named 10 that are obviously better that National Treasure. And I didn't even look at Comedies, Documentaries or International Films. Thanks for nothing Mental Floss.

Rant over.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Can't believe Mental Floss didn't mention me in the post on Flotsam and Jetsam! I've been calling my miscellaneous thoughts and observations Flotsam and Jetsam for 13-years!... So the New York Knicks have offered Tim Hardaway Jr. a 4-year $71 million contract. The 4th year is a player's option which reportedly Hardaway will exercise as soon as the ink is dry and the Knicks realize just how stupid they are... So CNN assigns one reporter to find creator of a stupid GIF and success! Yet when they assign all of their reporters and resources to find a missing plane - complete failure!... Heh heh - life's like that sometimes... Does it make me racist that I find it hilarious when people tell Shaun King to "lighten up" on social media?... Always a favorite - top 10 medieval butt-licking cats... Summertime drinking tip - hard apple cider with a shot of cranberry vodka over ice makes for a delicious hot summer day treat...

Linky Links

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

- Cool Dave Matthews hitchhiking story

- Fantastic profile of comedy genius Jack Handey

- The handyman who stole millions of Picasso's

- I'm not the grammar police but this would make the Internet a better place

- Ha hah - Dustin Pedrioa gets trolled by Miguel Cabrera

- 44 fictional characters you might not know the names of

- I would so buy a Sharknado hockey jersey.

The Christmas Truce

Very interesting bit of history. Be sure to watch till the end for the reminder that war is hell.

HT Mental Floss

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I am a big fan of Josh Reddick. I thought he was going to be the starting RF in 2012 for the Red Sox. I also think his late season drop-off probably had a lot do do with his injured wrist. Having said that -  really like the trade for Andrew Bailey. He becomes the closer and lets Daniel Bard become a starter. The one thing I'm not so hot on is the idea of Bailey keeping number 40 on his uniform. The last closer to wear that number for the Red Sox was Calvin Schiraldi. Bad juju... Who knew? According to Mental Floss "Barry Manilow's hit 'I Write the Songs' was not written by Barry Manilow"... The Boston Celtics have lost 3 games in less than a week. You would have to go back to October to find 3 losses for the Boston Bruins... Just saying but if I owned a zoo - I would make money on the side doing body disposal Mr. Wu on Deadwood style. Good thing I don't own a zoo... This is an interesting nugget via Sports by Brooks, "Keep in mind, [Mike] Leach was only coach in America who offered Adam James a scholarship, at Craig's behest. SMU wouldn't"... Is it possible that Rex Ryan is actually a worse coach than Herm Edwards? When Edwards was done in NYC he at least was able to get another HC job with the Chiefs. When Ryan is eventually fired by the Jets do you think another team will take on his baggage? Even asking the question comparing him to Edwards is an indictment on Ryan... If Drew Brees broke the passing record before Christmas he might have been able to sell a ton of Isotoner gloves... My daughter makes an awesome drink she calles a Ferrero Rocher. It's half Hazelnut coffee and half hot chocolate.