Linky Links

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

- VDH: Why our systems collapse. He's not wrong.

- Google on bringing back accounts censored after Biden's insistence.

- From the archives: The West Wing pilot script.

- Living in the Grey Zone of Political Violence. (HT Execupundit)

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." - Kahlil Gibran

"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best." - Epictetus

"Dearest, I beg of you, sleep properly and go for walks." - Franz Kafka

"One last thing. While you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the ignorant tight-ass club, in this building when the President stands, nobody sits." - The West Wing

The West Wing Pilot Script

The original The West Wing pilot script written by Aaron Sorkin. Love reading old scripts like this.

The West Wing Pilot Script

I enjoy reading movie and TV show scripts. One of the best is the script for the pilot of The West Wing written by Aaron Sorkin (pdf). If you are familiar with the show at all it is very difficult to read the script without picturing the actual characters as they were cast. The script and dialog written by Sorkin is so good that I think I'd prefer to own the script over the DVD of the show.

Two minor things to note about the original script:

(1) Leo McGarry (played on the show by the late John Spenser) was originally called Leo Jacobi. Not sure why the name was changed. Maybe when John Spencer was cast the name was changed to better reflect Spencer's heritage?

(2) There was always a character called Charlie who was the President's "body man". In the original script he's just a sharply dressed 19-year old taking a year off from Georgetown. I like the way he evolved into the Charlie Young played by Dule Hill (complete with this new Charlie's back-story).

The West Wing - In Excelsis Dio

One of my favorite moments from The West Wing. Gets me every time.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

"It was a damp squib of a fart" is the "It was a dark and stormy night" of intestinal distress stories... To be honest - the only Secretary of Labor I can name off the top of my head is completely fictional... If I were Under Armour now would be a good time to announce that they've signed Buzz Aldrin to a shoe deal... How the Cubs informed Bob Newhart's philosophy on life... So if the Left supports Nike's Kaepernick ad campaign and the Right boycotts Nike - who is the real loser here? Yep - Birkenstock! Too bad they're a private company otherwise you could short their stock... It has now been 4-years years since Kim Kardashian "broke the Internet" but this still makes me laugh every time... Happy 89th birthday to comedy legend Bob Newhart! Here's to many, many more...

Linky Links

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

- Great Vin Scully interview from a couple of years ago.

- This made me smile

- Heh heh

- Oh the irony!

- The Economist on junk science

- Interesting - is being too busy a sign of an unhappy person? Good advice to slow down and concentrate on one thing at a time.

West Wing Reunion

I don't live in Michigan but if I did I'd vote for Mary McCormack's sister just on the basis of this video.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Jesus Visits Tim Tebow on SNL: "Take It Down a Notch"

50 of the Funniest Tweets of 2011

Craig James for Senate. Too late. Too poor. Too inexperienced. I still hope he runs just for the ridicule and for ESPN to take the opportunity to replace him for good

This gets me every single time. The West Wing - In Excelsis Deo

Beautiful tribute to Christopher Hitchens

Does Vodka really kill bees and wasps?

A very handy table for all 70 bowl coaches with their ATS records

50 Amazing Pieces of Louis CK Fan Art

"These Filthy-Minded Grandmothers Would Like to Sell You Molasses"

Happy Thanksgiving



The Sexy Pilgrim is silly but I love it. You're welcome!

Other great videos for Thanksgiving:

- As God as my witness - I thought turkeys could fly. Perhaps the funniest 6:44 in TV history.

- President Bartlet on the Butterball Hotline

When Gabe Kaplan was a kid – his older sister was embarrassed about becoming a young woman. She used to have the young Kaplan go into the drug store to buy her "sanitary napkins". Gabe was curious and asked his sister just what these things were.

“Oh, they’re special occasion napkins,” she would reply.

This explanation was enough for Kaplan and he didn’t give it another thought.

Then one Thanksgiving morning – young Gabe was left alone at home while his parents and older sister drove to the airport to pick up his uncle. Gabe was left with the job of setting the table for Thanksgiving. Then it occurred to him, “what could be more of a special occasion than Thanksgiving?”

Needless to say – his parents were confused, his sister was very embarrassed but his uncle couldn’t stop laughing when they came home and saw the creative way young Gabe had set the table for Thanksgiving.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In today's dollars - the tea actually dumped into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party would be worth $847,000. That means the US government dumped 631 times as much money down the Solyndra sinkhole. Yet there are some people who counsel that we shouldn't be bothered by that... Las Vegas had the over / under for the Patriots / Jets game at 51 points. The final was 30-21. I am always amazed when Vegas hits the number on the head even though they do it all of the time... Secret Daytime Drinking would be a good name for a band or a fantasy football team... Andruw Jones is just 1 day older than Carlos Beltran. If you were a GM - would you risk a multi-year deal with either player?... Joe Paterno is 2-years older than Al Davis - just saying... If you took the TV series The West Wing as a whole - the real lesson is that Josh Lymon could get anyone elected President of the US... Rhetorical Hitler would also be a good name for a band or a fantasy football team...

The West Wing Pilot Script

I enjoy reading movie and TV show scripts. One of the best is the script for the pilot of The West Wing written by Aaron Sorkin (pdf). If you are familiar with the show at all it is very difficult to read the script without picturing the actual characters as they were cast. The script and dialog written by Sorkin is so good that I think I'd prefer to own the script over the DVD of the show.

Two minor things to note about the original script:

(1) Leo McGarry (played on the show by the late John Spenser) was originally called Leo Jacobi. Not sure why the name was changed. Maybe when John Spencer was cast the name was changed to better reflect Spencer's heritage?

(2) There was always a character called Charlie who was the President's "body man". In the original script he's just a sharply dressed 19-year old taking a year off from Georgetown. I like the way he evolved into the Charlie Young played by Dule Hill (complete with this new Charlie's back-story).

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

By my count - including states with former CBA teams - Isaiah Thomas has directly alienated the people of 19 states (and counting)... What historically will prove to be the worse investment? A fund run by Bernie Madoff or the Spiderman Broadway show?... I hate Isaiah Thomas! I hate him too! I hate him! He destroys cities! *Please*! This isn't your fault. I'll get you some pants... Sugar Bear was the Post Super Sugar Crisp mascot who spoke just like Bing Crosby. Kids today don't know Bing Crosby, Sugar Bear or Sugar Crisp. I'm old... I wonder if Cam Newton is getting his public relations advice from Isaiah Thomas... I've had perhaps over 100 different types of cereal but I'd be hard pressed to tell difference between Sugar Smacks and Honey Crisp... Remember, what happens in negotiations with Isaiah Thomas stays with Isaiah Thomas. Except for herpes. That shit'll come back with you... I've seen commercial for dieting product called FullBar several times now but every time I see it I hear "Fubar" instead of "FullBar"... Just a reminder - Leo McGarry knew how to correctly spell "Qaddafi". The NY Times crossword editor did not... Also as a reminder - in 1798 George Washington was the largest single producer of alcohol in the US... Who knew - William Petersen (Gil Grissom from CSI) was offered the role of Henry Hill in the movie Goodfellas but turned it down... Speaking of commercials - I saw a Jenny Craig commercial that talked about measuring calories in and calories "out". Does that mean what I think it means? Gross... Off your rocker means crazy but I haven't been on a rocker in years

Michael Deaver and Ronald Reagan

Very interesting interview with Michael Deaver regarding his history with and role in Ronald Reagan's Presidency (62 page PDF).

The interview is part of the Miller Center's Reagan Oral History Project. I've spent many an hour reading most of the interviews. Great stuff!

I did not realize that Deaver was an alcoholic. I wonder if he was the role model for the Leo McGarry character on The West Wing?

Linky Links

Some stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Sony Kills The Floppy Disk. I still find the random floppy disk around my office and because I never labeled stuff - I have no idea what are on the little suckers.

- Heh heh - Uzbekistan Airways (am I the only one who automatically read the sign in Borat's voice?)

- Interesting - the blind actually DO NOT have a more acute sense of smell

- A gallery of stunning Hubble images

- Who does Anheuser-Busch own? I know my beer and I had never heard of many of these brands.

- The Worst Business Decisions Ever. Surprised New Coke didn't make the list.

- A guest star quiz for West Wing fans. I got 8 out of 11.

- Heh heh - Why you drink

Rove on Obama

There's no "I" in team but Karl Rove points out there's plenty on "I" in Barack.

After reading that article by Karl Rove - I was reminded of a quote from the show The West Wing. The fictional President Bartlett is talking about Bill O'Dwyer who is running for Congress and he says, "I don’t like guys who run for congress because they think it’s a great gig." I came away from the Rove piece thinking that Obama is running for President because he thinks its a great gig and would look great on his resume.

Obama vs. McCain and Santos vs. Vinick

Interesting post comparing the potential McCain vs. Obama match-up to the fictional election in the last season of The West Wing.

How’s this for a political plot: Good-looking congressman in his mid-40s, married with two young children, known for his inspirational speeches, comes from far behind to clinch the Democratic nomination and face an older, more experienced centrist Republican. If he wins, he’s America’s first non-Caucasian president.

That's the basic plotline that had Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) as the fictional Republican nominee and Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) as the fictional Democratic nominee. It's also a pretty spot on description of the current state of affairs (except Obama is a Senator not a Congressman). The juxtaposition is very interesting to consider and I love anything that involves The West Wing but I see two problems with the comparison.

1. On the show it is Santos who is the fighter pilot with the military background. It was as if they wanted to model him as a young John McCain.

2. It literally took a nuclear meltdown for Vinick to lose on the show. I took issue with this at the time and I'm guessing that given Obama's propensity for verbal missteps - it will be the Democrat who has a figurative meltdown in real life.

I could see myself voting for Matthew Santos.

Barack Obama? Not so much.