100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (27) Backstreets by Bruce Springsteen.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (26) Papa Was a Rolling Stone by The Temptations.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Tom Brady is 33-4 (89% winning percentage) when the temperature is below 40 degrees. Aaron Rogers is 16-5 (76% winning percentage). These guys just win in cold weather... Hail Flutie... Yesterday was both Vin Scully's (87) and Mariano Rivera's (45) birthdays. MLB should acknowledge the importance of the birthdays of two of the greatest ambassadors the game has by making their birthday the day when the new Hall of Fame class is announced... Heh heh... So will Colt McCoy replace RGIII in those Subway commercials too?... Matt Damon vs Ben Affleck. I was amused by this more than I should have been... Just a reminder about all those MLB trade rumors columns you read - not one writer had the Josh Donaldson trade from Oakland to Toronto. Take all you read with a grain of salt...

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (25) Why Aye Man by Mark Knofler.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (24) Fairytale of New York by The Pogues. In my opinion the best Christmas song ever.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (23) Into the Mystic by Van Morrison.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (22) While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison.

Documentaries

The next few days are prime time for watching TV. Here's a couple of documentaries I would recommend you place in your Netflix queue:

- Who is Harry Nilsson? (And why is everyone talking about him)

- Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay

- Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage. I was a so-so Rush fan but after watching this documentary I haven't been able to not listen to a Rush song I come across on the radio because the guys were just so nice.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Martin Luther King Jr. quote worth remembering these days, "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars"... Well it is tough to argue with this logic... As pointed out elsewhere, if you say "My Cocaine" you are also saying "Michael Caine" in his own voice... Good question... I wonder if Bill Cosby has looked into booking tour dates in countries with no extradition yet... Never change Bill Clinton, never change... After reading that "My Cocaine" / "Michael Caine" thing above - you said "My Cocaine" out loud didn't you?... Can't argue with this logic either...

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (21) Here Comes the Flood by Peter Gabriel.

Top 5 - Red Sox Pitching Trade Targets

With Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval in the fold - now all Red Sox fans attention tuns to pitching. My number one wish remains that they sign (re-sign?) Jon Lester but the Sox have a glut of players and a trade for at least one starter is bound to happen. Here's who I would consider the Top 5 pitching trade targets for Boston.

1. Cole Hamels Phillies - has 5-years and $110 million left on contract (if you include the 2019 option year). Maybe a package of Clay Buchholz, Jackie Bradley Jr., Allen Craig and Brandon Workman would be a good starting point.
2. Jordan Zimmerman Nationals - free agent after this season. Maybe a package of Yoenis Cespedis and Allen Craig get this done.
3. Doug Fister Nationals - free agent after this season offer same package as above.
4. Rick Porcello Tigers - trade him for Yoenis Cespedis straight up.
5. Cincinnati Reds - a number of pitchers here (Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, and Mike Leake) are all free agents after 2015 but the Reds may wait till mid-season to do any trading.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (20) Rambling, Gambling Man by Bob Seger.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Given Curt Schilling's views on evolution - I wonder if he thinks it was God's will his video game company went bankrupt too... There's Farmer's Markets where farmers sell their produce. Why not Hunter's Markets where hunters can sell their excess game meat like venison?... I've long said that JFK would not be welcome in today's Democrat Party... Happy 74th birthday to Red Sox favorite Luis Tiant. If Catfish Hunter is in the Hall of Fame then Looie should be too... Some cool homages to Arthur Conan Doyle in Sherlock.. Why do they say "hike" before snapping the ball in football? What are they "hiking"? Seriously this little language nugget is bugging me... Neil Gaiman talks about one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes of all-time... Oversized Load would make a great title for a biography of Peter North...

Legalized Pot

For the most part I am in favor of medical marijuana and decriminalizing pot. No worse than alcohol in my book. However, I am kind of glad that the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative was defeated.

Imagine all the old drivers and crazy people in Florida. Now imagine them driving around whacked out on legal weed. Florida would be so much more of a driving nightmare if Amendment 2 passed.

Just saying.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (19) Take Me to Church by Hozier.

Top 5 - Mike Nichols Movies

Here's what I consider MY Top 5 favorite Mike Nichols' movies. Your Top 5 may differ.

1. The Graduate

2. Catch-22

3. Primary Colors

4. Biloxi Blues

5. Charlie Wilson's War

Missing from the list are the more celebrated Silkwood and The Birdcage.

Here's Mike Nichols obituary in the NY Times. And here is an interesting interview he gave to Judd Apatow.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (18) Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes.

Linky Links

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

- Interesting - Lance Berkman has gone back to school to get his degree.

- Nice Christmas gift

- Another reason to hate bathroom hand-dryers

- Another reminder of how huge Andre the Giant was

- One of the reasons NIH is "short" of money

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (16) Home by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros.

100 of My Favorite Songs

Today's offering (15) Nobody to Run With by the Allman Brothers.