Don't Get Your Panties in a Bunch

Woke up this morning thinking of the phrase "Don't get your panties in a bunch". This of course is the Americanized version of "Don't get your knickers in a twist" or "Don't get your knickers in a knot". The point of all of the phrases is basically to tell someone to "relax!" or "don't worry so much about this".

I have two main issues with this phrase. First underwear today has so little material that it would be difficult to get it in a bunch, twist or knot. For example - how would one knot a thong? Secondly panties are normally associated with women giving the phrase an overtly sexist tone.

My suggestion? Replace the phrase "Don't get your panties in a bunch" with the phrase "Release your wedgie!" Everyone knows how uncomfortable wedgies are and both men and women get them. Language issue solved.

Now I may go back to bed.

Linky Links

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

- Heh heh

- Harry Truman was a good man.

- Samuel Whittemore was a badass!

- Heh heh

War Room

Recently I read the book War Room by Michael Holley. I thought it was a fun read especially for any Patriots or in general any NFL fan. The book gave some history and background for the Browns, Patriots, Chiefs and Falcons and some insight on how the NFL draft is done from behind the scenes.

There was one passage in particular that caught my attention:

"Each [Kansas City Chiefs] scout's report is always expected to include answers answers to the following questions:
What will this player's role be as a Chief? Will the role change from year one to year two? How many downs can he be expected to play? Which current player on the roster will he beat out? What's his value on special teams? Does he have positional flexibility?

Makes one want to review the picks from the last draft and ask these questions of the players chosen especially for the Patriots and Falcons who use the process described in the book.

The only complaint I'd have about the book is in the retelling of the Patriots rise to success Holley mentioned how the Boston Herald falsely accused the Patriots of filming the Rams walk-though before the Super Bowl only to later have to apologize because their story was basically made up. Holley never names the reporter responsible. That report is John Tomase who is a fat tub of lard lies.

HMS Jersey

On this Memorial Day it is good to remember not just those who have given their last full measure in the past few generations but also the earliest Americans who gave their all. The story of the HMS Jersey is a good place to start:

One of the most gruesome chapters in the story of America’s struggle for independence from Britain occurred in the waters near New York Harbor, near the current location of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. From 1776 to 1783, the British forces occupying New York City used abandoned or decommissioned warships anchored just offshore to hold those soldiers, sailors and private citizens they had captured in battle or arrested on land or at sea (many for refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown). Some 11,000 prisoners died aboard the prison ships over the course of the war, many from disease or malnutrition. Many of these were inmates of the notorious HMS Jersey, which earned the nickname “Hell” for its inhumane conditions and the obscenely high death rate of its prisoners.

Abraham Clark of New Jersey was a signatory of  Declaration of Independence. Both of Clark's sons were captured and held prisoner on the HMS Jersey. His eldest son died there of STARVATION! More that twice as many Americans died aboard those British prison ships that actually died in battle during the Revolutionary war.

Memorial Day

37,000 American flags on Boston Common to honor every single Massachusetts resident who had died in battle since the Revolutionary War.

10 things to remember about Memorial Day.

The Dutch remember.

Linky Links

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

- Very cool - America's super gun! USA! USA!

- Never knew this was a scam. Have to go back to donating my old clothes to Goodwill.

- I always wondered about this. How the needle through the arm trick works.

- I went into this article not liking Joey Logano but after reading - I still don't like Joey Logano.

JFK

JFK would have turned 99-years old today. No idea how old JKFC would be today.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Hangover ice cream is a genius idea!... Just saying but the Red Sox magic number to win the AL East is now just 115... Heh heh... Sorry but Red Nose Day makes me think that men should have a Hold Your Balls Day where men go around all day holding their balls to raise awareness about testicular cancer. Both days would be equally silly in their marketing... Oh crap... I detest Wade Boggs. The only reason his number got retired by the Red Sox last night is because Peter Gammons has been lobbying ownership to do it for the past decade... Too soon?... According to the Bible - Noah's ark would have been about half the size of the Titanic. Thank God Noah didn't run into any ice bergs... My hat's off to the parents of this young man. Fantastic!... Too bad Charles Bukowski's Beer Shits is too long for a fantasy baseball team name... Heh heh... Is there a bar called the Vodka A Go Go? If not I call dibs... Scientists think they've finally figured out what the appendix actually does...

Top 5 - John Wayne Movies

Today would have been the Duke's 109th birthday. here are what I consider his top 5 movies.

1. True Grit
2. The Quiet Man
3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
4. Red River
5. (tie) Rooster Cogburn (tie) She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Linky Links

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

- TD Bank getting rid of it's coin counting machines. On a related item - it's time to discontinue the penny.

- How to make a cheese ball machine gun out of a leaf blower. When you see it - most guys will want one. But once you have it - you'd probably use it just once or twice.

- Heh heh - Alien as retold from the cat's perspective

- Gary Johnson up to 10% in Fox News Poll. Just getting started!

Linky Links

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

- Heh heh

- Spherical flames and other cool physical science that differs on the International Space Station

- This could make me drink more Yuengling

- Shots fired

- Heh heh - Jeeves and a Man Called The Donald

- Songs of Summer from the past 100-years

- Things named Tarantula Hawk Hornets are the stuff of nightmares

The Greatest Generation

Awesome! Thank you for your service Mr. Lessing!

Andre the Giant

Today would have been Andre the Giant's 70th birthday. He was an incredible human. Here are just a few items to remember Andre by:

- Sports Illustrated has six anecdotes

- Modern Drunkard on the incredible drinking exploits of Andre

- Andre on Hulk Hogan

- Muhammad Ali and Andre compare hand sizes

- Andre the Giant at age 19

- Andre, Wilt Chamberlain and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of Conan

- One final reminder of just how huge Andre was

I'm still upset that Andre wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Princess Bride.

Linky Links

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

- On this day in history

- What happens when you swallow your gum? You know you've asked yourself this question.

- Take it off! Take it all off!

- Forrest bathing? I try to take a walk, a trek or a hike an hour each day. Who knew I was at the forefront of a new movement?

- Is Carlos Beltran really a Hall of Fame player? My immediate reaction is if Dwight Evans isn't in then Beltran doesn't belong but I may have to give this more thought.

Player Comparison - Yaz vs Ortiz

Some attention whores in Boston like to declare that David Ortiz was a more impactful or better hitter than Ted Williams but until someone says about Ortiz, "there goes the best hitter that ever lived" I'm not playing that game. However, I was curious about how Ortiz compares to Captain Carl - Carl Yastrzemski.

Player A - 2291 G/ 1360 R/ 513 HR/ 1674 RBI/ .285 BA/ .928 OPS/ 140 OPS+
Player B - 3308 G/ 1816 R/ 452 HR/ 1844 RBI/ .285 BA/ .841 OPS/ 130 OPS+

Ortiz is Player A and Yaz is Player B. Very close - very close indeed. The numbers get even more interesting if you just drop the last 3-years of Yaz's career.  That would give each player 20-years of MLB service. Yaz would then have a better BA and be 8 RBI ahead of Ortiz (for now). It is true that Yaz did win an MVP but surprisingly Ortiz had more Top 5 MVP finishes (5 to 2 for Yaz). Ortiz would appear to be the better slugger but surprisingly Ortiz never led the league in slugging (something Yaz did 3-times).

Yaz should get the nod as the better all-around player with 7 Gold Gloves as an outfielder and 164 stolen bases to Ortiz's 16. However, are those factors outweighed or at least equaled by Ortiz's postseason heroics? But even there surprisingly Yaz had a better postseason OPS (1.047 to Ortiz's .964) but in just 17 games versus 82 for Ortiz.

Very close - very close indeed!

Linky Links

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

- The last cast member of Casablanca passes away

- Larry Fitzgerald keeps his promise to his mom and gets his degree. Great story but being a cynical sort I had two immediate thoughts; University of Phoenix? Does that really count? Also - why no mention of his dad?

- The argument against killing all mosquitoes

- Fantastic advice

- Yesterday was Rob Gronkowski's birthday - here's why Patriots fans idolize him

10th Doctor Does the Time Warp

Little bit of fun on a Saturday morning.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Do you remember when NHL game sevens used to be exciting nail biters?... It comes as no surprise that Russia cheated during the Sochi Olympics... Today's word for the day is "holoholo" which is Hawaiian for "to ramble for pleasure"... The arguments in Boston about Ted Williams vs David Ortiz are ridiculous. Has anyone ever said about Ortiz, "There goes the best hitter who ever lived?" Ortiz versus Yaz however... File under the more things change the more they remain the same... If I were to run a scam it would to be as a pet fish medium. How could anyone prove you weren't actually in communication with a beloved deceased goldfish?... Who knew? Jacques Cousteau didn't learn to swim until he was forty years old. Do kids today even know who Jacques Cousteau was?... Interesting look at the science behind why living things age and die...

Linky Links

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

- Great story from Pedro Martinez on the lesson Johnny Bench taught him the evening of Pedro's HOF induction.

- Why it's great to be a Boston sports fan and lousy to be a Washington DC sports fan

- Heh heh - sometimes I have the sense of humor of a 10-year old boy

- Brad Thor's well thought out opposition to Donald Trump

- Speaking of Trump

- 45 podcasts recommended by Ted.com

Sihugo Green

People talk about Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan as the biggest draft day mistake in history but for my money Sihugo Green was a much bigger mistake.

In the 1956 NBA draft, the Rochester Royals had the first pick and the Boston Celtics had the second pick (via a trade with St. Louis). With the first pick Rochester selected 6'2" Sihugo Green of Duquesne. With the second pick, the Boston Celtics selected Bill Russell of San Francisco.

The rest is history.

In case you never heard of Sihugo - he ended up playing 9 season (his last with the Celtics BTW) and averaged 9.2 points per game and 3.3 assists for his career.

Netflix

Probably my biggest complaint about Netflix is that there should be a way to tell them "Don't show me this movie or show as an option ever again!' It's so annoying. Netflix should adopt Pandora's thumbs up or thumbs down approach. On Pandora if you vote thumbs down on a song - you don't hear it again on that channel ever.

I know this is a first world problem but the amount of time searching for something to watch would so greatly reduced if I eliminated the things I told Netflix I did not wish to watch.

Same goes for you Amazon Prime!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing.

- The most dangerous stretch of water in the world? Looking so innocent helps make it so dangerous.

- 46-years ago today

- Very cool - Quebec teen find ancient Mayan city via astral calculations

- Heh heh - awesome!

- Heh heh - the 2016 Presidential election in a nutshell

- Bryce Harper does a nice thing

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Obama and the "know nothing" media... A blonde is a blonde, a brunette is a brunette and a redhead is a redhead. But what do you call a woman with black hair? You don't call her a black and certainly not a blackhead... Heh heh... Just a reminder - Red Auerbach won just a single NBA Coach of the Year award and that was for the season in which the Celtics would win the 8th of eventually 9 consecutive NBA titles... Heh heh... Interesting - animation of immigration to the US since the 1820's. Looks like pretty much every nation on Earth has people in the US now...

Mother's Day

Mr. T says to treat your mother right!

The founder of Mother's Day later tried to have it scrapped. I find the last paragraph ironically funny.

Kentucky Derby

Today is Kentucky Derby day! The above image is sunrise over the twin spires of Churchill Downs via Darren Rovell.

The Kentucky Derby is one of the great American traditions. One of my favorite bits of Derby trivia is that Richard Nixon is the only sitting American President to ever attend a Kentucky Derby. One of the darker (no pun intended) aspects of Derby history that's stuck in my head is the fact that in 1911 the Kentucky Derby banned black jockeys after they won 15 of the first 28 Derbies. If you can't beat them - ban them I guess was the thought process.

Anyway - on to my picks:

Trifecta Box of - Nyquist (2-1); Destin (21-1) and Exaggerator (5-1)

I know Nyquist is the chalk choice but how foolish would you feel if he finishes in the top 3 and you didn't have him?

I am also taking long shot Majesto (was 30-1 but latest odds are 60-1) for a few dollars across the board.

Before following my advice please remember I'm just a casual observer of horse racing and that I'm the kind of person who thinks while watching the races about how funny it would be if  instead of elaborate hats - the ladies (and Johnny Weir) had to wear fake beards instead.

Good luck. May the odds ever be in you favor!

Linky Links

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

- Heh heh - Arizona's new state slogan

- Cool - the story behind hockey's most iconic photo

- This is what passes as "news" at CNN these days

- Boo!!! The FDA is trying to kill cigars

- Surprise surprise - Donald Trump is a golf cheat

- Over a million trees in California have died and now it is basically too late to do anything about it

- This is an awful story but the judge did the right thing

- Stephen Colbert is failing. He's akin to Jeb Bush. Was big in a smaller stage (Colbert Show vs Governor of Florida) and his "big brother" got him his initial name recognition (Jon Stewart and George W) but they both fell apart in the spotlight of the big stage despite all the establishment backing.

- Heh heh

Gary Johnson

Between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton - Gary Johnson is the only one I'm willing to cast my vote for this November.

Linky Links

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

- Wow - Ty Cobb could be the most misunderstood athlete of all-time. Really changed my mind on the man.

- Chart to help determine risk of bear attack.

- How funny would it be if the Laugh Factory asked the ACLU to file a First Amendment complaint against the Clinton Campaign? Just another reason to vote against Hillary.

- Could blueberry powder help with memory?

- Heh heh

- Really enjoyed this Bill Simmons interview with billionaire investor Chris Sacca

Evolution of Django

Recently character actor Joe Santos passed away. Santos was probably best know as Lt. Dennis Becker on The Rockford Files. When he passed I was curious so I looked at his IMDB profile where I found out he was in a 1972 movie called The Legend of Nigger Charlie starring Fred Williamson in the title role. Seriously - that was the name of the movie.

The plot of TLONC:

A slave kills a white man in self-defense and heads West towards freedom, pursued by a professional slave hunter.

OK - I can see a pitch with that plot getting a green-light. But with that movie name? 1972 was obviously a different time. So different that not only was the movie made but also a sequel in 1973 - The Soul of Nigger Charley.

No way either of those movies gets made today. No way! You would have to first obviously change the name to something unoffensive and for good measure instead of a professional slave hunter lets change that character to a bounty hunter and what the heck - let's make them buddies.

That's how you evolve from TLONC to something like this.

Prince's Best Solo

Prince's guitar solo at the end of this While My Guitar Gently Weeps tribute to George Harrison is my favorite of all-time.

Here's the backstory of how that came to be.

Here's a story of Prince and Journey that shows Prince's integrity as an artist.

I feel bad that I never properly appreciated Prince when he was alive.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Well I hope at least the white half of President Obama was out-raged on behalf of the black half of President Obama over last night's comments. (Actually I could care less)... The comments made last night that people should be outraged at was this one.. Remember these comments if President Trump comes to pass... Radical idea for the day - the NBA should cut it's regular season back by 16 games but then make the playoffs double elimination... Love that Tom Brady is hiring the best attorneys to fight this DefateGate BS...  Not for nothing but this weekend would be a good time to have a company that makes combo gas masks / bongs... The things that are coming and leaving Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Go in May... "It is what it is" - who said it? Bill Belichick or the Buddah... Heh heh - words by Donald Trump...

Linky Links

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

- Nice little poker tip.

- This is my favorite Hamilton quote. My second favorite Alexander Hamilton quote is, "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet."

- Heh heh

- What a complete waste of taxpayer money

- Nice story of the kindness of a waitress.

- Cool - good news for Harry Potter fans

Academy Award Winners - Best Picture

Not sure what spurred this list but out of curiosity I took a look at the past Academy Award winners for Best Picture for the last 30-years. What I was curious about was what movies had I not seen and why and what movies had I seen that I would never watch again. So without further ado...

Movies that won Best Picture that I have not seen:
2015 - Spotlight - not interested in the subject matter
2013 - 12 Years a Slave - not interested in being depressed
2011 - The Artist -  let's be honest - 2011 was not a really good year for movies
2010 - The King's Speech - no excuse for not seeing this. Will probably watch at some point.
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire - meh.
2005 - Crash - my mind subconsciously reads "Crash" as "Crap"
2002 - Chicago - not a fan of musicals
1996 - The English Patient - no interest. Maybe if I was suffering from insomnia.
1989 - Driving Miss Daisy - no interest.

Movies that won Best Picture that I saw but would not watch again:
2014 - Birdman - would have to be high as fuck to sit through this movie again
1999 - American Beauty - do you know anyone who re-watches this flick?

So that's about a third of the movies that won Best Picture over the past 30-years that I've either not seen or would not watch again. I don't think the voters for the Oscars have the same definition of "Best Picture" that I do.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Don't want to comment on DeflateGate or listen to the pablum on sports talk radio. It all makes me ill.. Heh heh... The reason pay phones still exist is so people can use them to call people they don't like in the middle of the night just to wake them up anonymously... Classy move by the Reds... Another year and once again People Magazine has passed me by as their pick as The Sexiest Man Alive. One day they will learn the error of their ways... 10 things you might not know about Life Savers... If the Patriots don't pick a QB in the draft as insurance for Brady's 4-game suspension - I wouldn't be surprised if they brought Tim Tebow into camp. No - I am not kidding about this... Interesting - did the legendary embrace of Jackie Robinson by Pee Wee Reese ever actually happen?... So Mark Cuban says that Russell Westbrook is not a "superstar". Didn't he say the same thing about Steve Nash? How did that work out for Cuban?... Cool technology - replace your electrical outlets with a dual USB charger...

Linky Links

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

- Economics for dummies - UC Berkeley touts $15 minimum wage but then fires hundreds after it passes

- 40-years ago Rick Monday became an American hero. He discussed what he did back in 2006.

- Interesting look inside how the Patriots work out potential draft prospects

- Heh heh - Audubon made up at least 28 fake species to prank a rival

- Gary Shandling's memorial service

Waltzing Matilda and ANZAC Day

Today is ANZAC Day and that means The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Perhaps the saddest and most poignant song my ears have ever heard.

Linky Links

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

- Wish I saw this when it was time to do my high school yearbook quote.

- Who knew? Prince was a Republican

- The Simpsons were going to do a Prince episode but the Purple One turned it down

- Charlie Murphy with a great story about playing Prince in basketball

- Great Vin Scully Prince story

- The science of why we sleep badly the first night in a new place

- Boo! The UK will not name their new ship Boaty McBoatface. Makes no difference because this is how most people will forever view the new ship.

- The 2016 Audubon Photography Award winners

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just a reminder - "Joe Biden" is an anagram for "I need a job"... I agree with Dan McLaughlin - replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 is not a bad thing... The Red Sox owe Pablo Sandoval $58 million after this season while the Yankees owe Jacoby Ellsbury $89 million. Advantage Red Sox...  I also agree with this... Still think Two and a Half Men should have replaced Charlie Sheen with Ellen Degeneres and pretended nothing happened. Just like when they switched Darren's on Bewitched... So is there a Plan B if the Olympics can't be held in Rio? Starting to look pretty bad down there... Heh heh - Deadpool knife block... If Alexander Hamilton were alive today - would he be a Yankees fan or a Mets fan?... If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic...

In God We Trust

On this date in 1864 the U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act which mandated that the inscription "In God We Trust" be placed on all coins minted as US currency. Part of the reasoning behind this was because the US Constitution does not talk about God while the Confederate constitution did. This was a measure in part to show that the Union wanted God on their side in the Civil War.

RIP Prince

First let me confess that I wasn't that big a fan of Prince but it wasn't really anything to do with Prince or his music. It was just that back in high school when Prince ruled the charts - his biggest fans at my high school were mostly popped collar Izod polo wearing douches. I think that biased me.

With the passing of an American icon there were a number of notable tributes:

- From the Red Sox
- From NASA
- From the Minnesota Twins
- Even from PornHub

Rest in peace to a true Rock original.

Happy 4/20

Happy 4/20! If you don't know the significance of today's date here's a primer.

But today isn't all about weed - today is also the anniversary of Marie Curie discovering radium and also of Edgar Allen Poe releasing the world's first detective story Murder in the Rue Morgue. People are free to celebrate whatever they want today. Me? Today I choose to "celebrate my love for you". (Now I hope you have Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack stuck in your head all day).

Happy 4/20!

Conor McGregor

So Conor McGregor "announced" his "retirement" on Twitter yesterday. It was an immediate "Wait - what?" moment.

Then Dana White announced that McGregor is indeed out of the July 9th UFC 200 in Las Vegas. This changed UFC 200 from a must see event to a "let's see what else is going on that night" type event. The overall financial impact of McGregor not being part of card will be huge.

Then came the report that the reason for the "retirement" was that McGregor asked for $10 million for the July 9th rematch against Nate Diaz and Dana White said no. The company message seems to be that no one fighter is bigger than the UFC. But the thing is - the UFC is basically Dana White. And if the reason many people would be buying the pay-per-view would be to watch Conor McGregor - shouldn't he be fairly compensated for his drawing power?

This story is far from over. It will be interesting to watch to see what Conor McGregor's next move will be.

Linky Links

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

- RIP Doris Roberts - Ken Levine has a nice remembrance

- Philip Roth on how to take a nap

- You learn something new every day - the Battles of Lexington and Concord were mainly fought in Arlington?

- Heh heh - Florida man changes name to Bruce Jenner to preserve name's heterosexual roots

- Heh heh - wait what?

Top 5 Marian's (or Marion's of all-time)

Here's my list of the Top 5 Marian's or Marion's of all-time.

1. Maid Marian - from Robin Hood fame 
2. John Wayne (real name Marion Michael Morrison) 
3. Marion Cunningham - Richie's mom on Happy Days (played by Marion Ross) 
4. Marion Berry (crack addict mayor of DC) 
5. (tie) Marion Jones - track star/ steroids user and (tie) Francis Marion - Revolutionary War hero and basis of Mel Gibson's character in The Patriot

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I have a hunch that every Spring Joe Biden, being the older white guy that he is, gets an overwhelming urge to power-wash the outside of the White House... The perfect Bernie T-shirt. If you wore this shirt then people who support Bernie would give you a thumbs up while people on the right would get the joke... Who knew? Tilapia are thought to be the fish that fed multitudes in the Bible... Fantastic long read article on Yellowstone National Park from National Geographic... Is "thin air" some special sort of air? Every time someone appears or disappears out of nowhere it is always into "thin air"... Undigested Korn would be a good name for a cover band... Another language anomaly - how come people can call someone a "big galoot" but you never hear anyone called a "little galoot"? If it's a single size description why not just say "galoot"?...  Happy Patriots Day!

Linky Links

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

- As an Irish-American this story is very disturbing and makes me want to avoid any future purchases of Hasbro products.

- Why Brad Stevens might be the next great NBA coach

- Axl Rose is new lead singer for AC/DC. The conversion of AC/DC to a cover band is now complete.

- Yup - sounds like Ted Kennedy

- Season 2 of Bill Burr's F is for Family is official! (NSFW language) If you haven't seen the first season go do so now!

- Dark Side of the Rainbow. Wizard of Oz synched up with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

The New Patriots Day?

April 16th really should be a holiday in the New England states. The date is both the anniversary of Tom Brady being drafted by the Patriots in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL draft and Bill Belichick's birthday (today's his 64th). Easily could be a holiday.

Problem is Patriots' Day is already a holiday in Massachusetts which is celebrated since 1969 on the third Monday in April. The holiday is supposed to celebrate the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord but that anniversary is technically the 19th of April. Locally this holiday is more known as Marathon Monday as it is the day the Boston Marathon is run (and the Red Sox play a morning game at Fenway).


There should be a way to incorporate Brady and Belichick especially since every once and a while the existing holiday will fall on the 16th anyway.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I think political debates would be much more interesting if A: only the microphone of the person who is supposed to be speaking is on and B: if they took place inside giant Faraday cages with giant electric bolts being fired when a speaker goes over their allotted time... What a hero looks like... Who knew? They are looking to re-make the movie Death Wish with Bruce Willis playing the Charles Bronson role... I'd vote for Tim Tebow if he was running for Congress in my District... Speaking of politics - I think if the names Frank Castle or Matt Murdock were put on the ballot in the election of New York mayor there's a good chance they'd win. Or maybe I'm still in my Daredevil Season 2 refractory period... Louis CK will definitely make a profit (eventually) off the critically acclaimed Horace and Pete... All New England Dunkin Donuts should be sent a picture of Pablo Sandoval with the instructions "Do not sell this man donuts!"... The Internet was built specifically for things like this... Hairy Toilet would be a good name for a punk band... Robots were developed specifically for tasks like this... Internet fact of the day - Alaska is so big it could fit the State of New Jersey into it 75 times...

Kobe Bryant and John Havlicek

[With Kobe Bryant playing his final game last night - I wanted to update and repost something about Kobe and John Havlicek I wrote last December.]

So a 37-year old NBA legend announces his intention to retire at the end of the season and it sets off a big farewell tour. All the NBA cities who will be seeing him play for the last time make a big production of it. You might think I am speaking of Kobe Bryant but actually I was referring to Celtics legend John Havlicek's 1977-78 season.

The similarities between the two players is pretty pronounced. Start with the size - Bryant 6'6" and 212 pounds vs Havlicek's 6'5" and 203 pounds. Kobe went into the NBA right from high school so has the benefit of 4 more NBA seasons. Havlicek meanwhile went to college and is also a legend at Ohio State. In Havlicek's final season he averaged 16.1 points plus 4 assists and 4 rebounds per game. Kobe averaged 17.6 points along with 2.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds [Stats updated].

If you take away the points from Kobe's first 4 seasons and factor in that the 3-pointer wasn't around in Havlicek's day - the Black Mamba would still be the better scorer but only by the slightest of margins (27,479 points to 26,395). The rebounds favor Havlicek  (8,007 to 5,993) while Hondo finished with a slight advantage in assists averaging 4.8 career per game to Kobe's 4.7 (Kobe was leading in comparison going into the season but his 2.8 APG this season dipped him lower).  These two guys are statistically almost mirror images. {Stats updated]

Havlicek was a 13-time NBA All-Star while Kobe went to 18-All-Star games. It is a big deal that Kobe also won 5 NBA Championships with the Lakers but let's not forget that Havlicek owns 8 Championship rings from his career with the Celtics.

The whole point of this isn't to take anything away from Kobe but just that it saddens me that Havlicek seems completely forgotten and the two were almost identical. Even as a Celtics fan I'll admit that Kobe was the better player but the difference wasn't as great as some would have you believe.

Nature

Nature can be scary - like this brown bear chasing an unaware snow boarder who never knew how close she was to being lunch.

Or this guy who thought he hooked a large catfish only to get the scare of his life.

But sometimes it can be pretty funny like these parrots.

Linky Links

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

- Fantastic story of how neighbor's made sure their Vet housemate got a proper sendoff

- Wow - making salt water drinkable just got 99% easier. Science kicks ass!

- General James Mattis - thank you for your service!

- I fear that this will end up being Boston's lasting image of Pablo Sandoval

- RIP bunny

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to former Red Sox captain Jason Varitek!

Yankees suck!

Confession

I grew up Catholic and I have to confess that most of my time at mass was spent reviewing the Boston Red Sox roster in my head. First I would try to recall each player on the 25 and 40-man rosters. Then I would start thinking about if certain players at Pawtucket would be upgrades. This would get me to about the time the priest was giving his homily. At that point I was most likely starting to go through next year's free agent class and wondering which of those players would be a good fit in Boston.

When it was time for communion - I would stop thinking about the Red Sox roster and start thinking about which women in the receiving line I would like to have sex with (but that is a different confession).

I am thinking about starting to attend church again. I think it might help with my fantasy baseball skills.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Not sure what this says about the sport but of all the Muppets I think Beaker would be the most likely to golf and follow the Masters at Augusta National... Have to admit - the idea of President Gary Johnson is growing on me... If I had an advertising agency - I would run a series of  "not people - real actors" commercials... Guy lives out of his truck by choice. He also seems to have decided to be single for the rest of his life. The two decisions seem to go hand in hand. "Hey baby do you to come back to my truck?"... One of the greatest T-shirts of all-time... Chuck Norris Action Jeans would be a good name for a band or for a fantasy baseball team... This is a fantastic story - imagine having to ask your boss if you could have time off to play the Masters...

Linky Links

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

- Rhode Island's possible new state slogans

- My new favorite pastime (and yes I know the joke is old)

- This is the house that Augusta National can't buy

- The one-size golf staff size makes a lot of sense to me

- Cool 

- Interesting point - be careful if you are using Tinder or any other "free" apps

- Heh heh

- A reminder that Tom Brady is also a time-traveling drummer

Donald Trump is the Albino from The Princess Bride

Holy crap! Have you seen this Boing Boing photoshop of what Donald Trump would look like without his "weird orange tan"?

Tell me that doesn't look like the Albino from The Princess Bride but with hair dye and a spray tan!

(The part where the Albino complains when someone mentions his stubby fingers must have been cut from the film.)

Knicks Insanity

As a Celtics fan I think it is great that Phil Jackson wants the New York Knicks to give Kurt Rambis a multi-year deal to coach the team. If I were a Knicks fan - I would think this idea is insane.

Why is it insane? Take a look at this coaching comparison:

Kurt Rambis - 64 Wins / 161 Losses / .284 Winning Percentage

ML Carr -        48 Wins / 116 Losses / .293 Winning Percentage

Keep in mind that Rambis' record includes a 24-13 record with the 1998-99 Lakers when he stepped in for Del Harris in the lock-out shortened season. That Lakers team had both Kobe and Shaq. ML Carr, on the other hand, was totally trying to lose with the Celtics in main part to increase Boston's chances at landing Tim Duncan in the 1997 NBA Draft. Let me repeat that - ML Carr was TRYING TO LOSE and he still has a higher career winning percentage than the guy Phil Jackson wants to give a multi-year contract!

That's insane!

Stem Cell Therapies

We are at the dawn of a great new age in medical treatment - the age of stem cell therapies.

Here's a good article describing how researchers are "reprogramming" adult bone and fat cells into stem cells. One thing that I would have liked to have see elaborated on is why embryonic stem cells "cannot be used to treat damaged tissues because of their tumour forming capacity." Back in the day embryonic stem cells were the big controversy about stem cell therapies. Now it turns out they can't be used anyway?

Here's another article on how stem cell therapies have impacted heart disease treatments. In the future heart transplants will be greatly reduced or eliminated thanks to treatments that repair or regenerate the existing heart tissue.

Awesome! As Glenn Reynolds would say "Faster please!"

Origin of the Term "Stool Pigeon"

The phrase “stool pigeon” comes from the fact that “marks” or victims of con men are called pigeons. In the old days – when operating rigged games such as Monte or Banco (which was so prevalent that the police started to have special squads to deal with them – squads that soon were known as “bunco” squads” because the Irish brogue of many cops confused reporters) – the con man would employ someone who would work for him and who the con man would allow to win. This person sitting on a stool would then help draw others into the game to be fleeced by the con man. When the pair were caught – the cops would press the “stool” “pigeon” to confess and promise a reduced sentence in exchange. Because the guy running the game made most of the money but the stool pigeon would get the same punishment – they often took the deal and provided evidence against the con man running the game. Soon – people forgot the origin of “stool pigeon” and just started to use it to mean anyone who would inform on their friends or associates.

Linky Links

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

- Heh heh

- The things you learn on the Internet - Bill Burr opens up about his cancer

- Nice profile of Red Sox ace David Price

- Rift developing among Navy SEAL community over some cashing in on the "name brand"

- Ben Franklin was always ahead of his time

- Interesting - a look at the food in JRR Tolkien's Hobbit.

- Fantastic oral history of Comedy Central. A must-read for any fan of comedy.

Theo Epstein

Fantastic profile of Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein.

I learned a lot in the article including how Theo has a twin brother Paul (never knew that) and Epstein's regular guy approach to getting his law degree at the University of San Diego.

The Cubs are poised to be a monster both this year and for the foreseeable future. And it is all Theo Epstein's doing.

Red Sox Opening Day

Today is the Red Sox Opening Day (assuming their game in Cleveland doesn't get postponed). Boston's Magic Number to clinch the AL East now stands at just 163!

Here's a nice remembrance by Gordon Edes of one of my favorite Red Sox Opening Day memories.

Just saying but every Opening Day I wish for two things - a Red Sox victory and for Dan Shaughnessy to get explosive diarrhea. Let's hope my wishes go two-for-two today!

Tesla Model 3

Tesla Unveils Model 3 from Tesla Motors on Vimeo.

Very cool! (But still over a year away.)

Never saw so many middle-age white guys in a crowd outside of a Rush concert.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

What a horrible Final Four aesthetically. Blowout games plus a court and camera angles that literally hurt the eyes... The science of why you should spend your money on experiences not things... North Carolina opened as a 1.5 point favorite over Villanova. I like the points... JayWrightsSuits - what a great Twitter handle... How about this for a trade - Red Sox send Pablo Sandoval and Steven Wright to the Padres for James Shields. Let's get it done!...  Excellent video breakdown of the Celtics win Friday night over the Warriors... Just for the heck of it I'm going to start calling people "Sugar Biscuits". "Hey Sugar Biscuits - how's it going?" It's the little things that amuse me... Disappointed that nobody has compared the D'Angelo Russell situation with the Lakers to the Wade Boggs' "Delta Force" situation back in the day with the Red Sox... Rob Gronkowski is the best!... So one of the athletes named in that Al Jazeera report just got suspended 80 games for PED's. The HGH allegations against Peyton Manning are going to stick in people's minds... Win a $650,000 bet but almost kill yourself? No thank you...

Linky Links

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

- Scientists have found evidence of a ninth planet hiding at the edge of our solar system (not Pluto)

- Magma is a fantastic band - I was mesmerized

- Interesting

- Heh heh

- I have the sensibilities of a 14-year old boy so I find the whole concept of a revenge fart hilarious

- How Esquire discovered Bill James

In God We Trust

I think we should take "In God We Trust" off our currency. This isn't a religious thing either. I believe in God but I KNOW that our money is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Not in the trust of a higher being.

We should take "In God We Trust" off our currency as a reminder that we need our government to be fiscally responsible. We need a government that maintains that full faith and credit. Instead we have a government that runs up trillion dollar deficits hoping to God that those deficits don't someday wreck the economy.

Having "In God We Trust" on our money with the way we've been running our financial system could in fact be viewed as an insult to God. When it comes down to it isn't putting "In God We Trust" simply taking the Lord's name in vain? If that's the case then any time you pay in cash buying something off of McDonald's Dollar Menu you could be breaking the Third Commandment.

Think about that.

The Importance of a Single Vote

On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Seward's Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote. 

Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.

Happy Birthday Hagrid

OK - I'm a geek. Today is Robbie Coltrane's 66th birthday. Coltrane plays Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies. In fact when Coltrane was trying to figure out the best way to portray Hagrid - he asked author JK Rowling how he should play the character - Rowling answered something like, "Just be yourself - I had you in mind when I wrote the character."

Gary Shandling

Gary Shandling passed away over the weekend. He was a comedic genius and also a man so comfortable in his own skin that many life lessons could be learned from his example.

Here he is with Jerry Seinfeld getting coffee (the jokes about death are a little uncomfortable in retrospect)..

The fact that he was still playing pick-up basketball in his sixties is all the more reason to admire the man.

The WTF Marc Maron episode with Gary Shandling is well worth your time.

The Esquire "What I've Learned" piece from a few years ago is insightful (especially the fact that everyone is uncomfortable at parties).

His August 2010 GQ interview is a must read.

I admit that I was very surprised by Shandling's spirituality. He reminded me of George Harrison in that regard. I hope he's found peace.

Opening Day

Only seven more days till Opening Day!

Linky Links

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

- Interesting question - do deep sea creatures explode or implode when brought to the surface?

- Found another black Trump supporter (funny how spot on this actually is)

- A 6,000 match chain reaction - cool to watch but what's left over might resemble the Browns too much for Cleveland fans to witness

- Dave Grohl is the best!

- Heh heh

- The legal and economic impact of the MMA legalization in New York

- Cooling the body temperature may lead to longer life

- Russian badass soldier surrounded by ISIS calls in air strike on himself

Happy Easter from Kate Upton

Happy Easter from Kate Upton.

Hippity Hop!

Easter Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations on this Easter Sunday.

Happy Easter to you and yours!... Between the NeverTrump crowd and the BernieOrBust die hards - I really think there's an opening for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson this November... Grizzly Slippers would be a good name for a band... Everything that's coming and going from Netflix in April... Sad state of social media reality - if Gary Johnson wants to be taken seriously he really needs to have much more than 137,000 Twitter followers... The Passive Aggression of the Christ (I'm going to hell)... Funny how some people who argue that it is wrong to lie to kids about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny still hold fast to the delusion that Obamacare is a workable solution... Not sure what bothered me more as a kid - learning there was no Easter Bunny or learning that Eric Estrada's first name is actually Henry... Yep - I'm going to hell...

Boaty McBoatface

I agree 100% - the United Kingdom should name their new polar research vessel Boaty McBoatface. In addition to the reasons given in the article - think of the possible marketing and merchandise!

- there could be a children's show that would be a cross between Thomas the Tank Engine and Kratts Creatures. A cartoonish Boaty McBoatface interspersed with biologists explaining to kids about the different creatures that call the arctic home.
- T-shirts, hats and miniature  Boaty McBoatface's. I'm ready to order a shirt that says Crew right now!
- a show aimed at adults about the current mission for the scientists and crew
- a sponsored web site with webcams pointed forward, aft, port and starboard
- multiple sponsorship opportunities such as "Coke the official soft drink of the crew of Boaty McBoatface", etc. etc.

Boaty McBoatface could raise much more than the $287 million it actually cost to build the ship - enough for a Boaty McBoatface sister ship! Bertha McBoatface? Seriously - this could be the best thing to ever happen to educating the public about polar research.

Linky Links

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

- I've always said this song should be covered by an angry death metal band - it is THE stalker song

- This is awful news

- Doctor Who is coming to Amazon Prime

- Interesting perspective on the Adam LaRoche affair with the White Sox. I'll go out on a limb and speculate that Joe and Bethany Randa are excellent parents.

- Couldn't agree with this more!

- Fascinating! The Earth has lungs - watch them breathe

Happy Birthday to Bobby Orr

Happy 68th birthday to #4 Bobby Orr. Not only one of the 3 greatest hockey players in history but arguable the greatest MAN to play hockey.

Here's a reminder of the type of person Robert Gordon Orr is.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I think most middle of road voters in America are now thinking along the lines of "Well Barack Obama was bad but at least he wasn't Donald Trump bad"... Strange and intriguing - Kevin Spacey and the Florida Panthers (I think I'm buying one of those sweatshirts)... 90% of the time if you are speaking with someone over the age of 21 and one of their first introductory sentences begins with "My dad was..." - you are speaking with a moron... I agree - this is pure genius... Here's hoping the Red Sox are on the phone right now talking possible trade with the White Sox for disgruntled ace Chris Sale... Hockey parents are the best... Went to a bar that had a drink called the R. Kelly. Hard lemonade is one of the ingredients. That's either genius or disgusting (I vote for the latter)... Cool story about David Ortiz meeting a 92-year old WWII vet... If you are doing a physics special on TV - are you contractually obligated to have at least one scene in a pool hall?... Interesting - scientists now say that walking burns more calories than previously thought...

Midnight Special

It's March Madness but man does not live on brackets alone. This week I'm looking forward to going to see the new movie Midnight Special. It looks intriguing and I really like Michael Shannon.

I have an extra set of tickets that were sent to me by the good people at Grace Hill Media - shoot me an email if you'd like to go (tickets good until April 21st).

Go Holy Cross!

Top 5 - Saint Patrick's Day Irish Music

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Here are my Top 5 Songs for celebrating Saint Patrick's Day (because Oh Danny Boy is shite).

1. Rocky Road to Dublin

2. If I Should Fall From Grace with God - The Pogues

3. Four Green Fields - Makem & Clancy

4. The Foggy Dew - Sinead O'Connor and the Chieftains

5. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphy's

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio lost Florida yesterday and dropped out of the Presidential race last night. That leaves pretty much a Presidential final four of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. The American political landscape is a vast empty wasteland.

I'm not a Republican, I'm a registered Independent who truly believes in voting for the person and not the party but I have supported Republicans for President since Ronald Reagan's re-election. This year I most likely will be checking the box next to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson (if he's even on the ballot in Massachusetts).

To be honest - I'm pretty disheartened politically this morning.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Not only is today Albert Einstein's birthday it is also Michael Cain'e birthday and Pi Day (3/14)... Yesterday was the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Worcester. Or as I like to call it - 10,000 Maniacs (with apologies to Natalie Merchant)... Hours upon hours of my childhood ruined by facts... Speaking of Pi - back in the 17th century the value of Pi was known to 35 decimals. Today it is known to 1.2411 trillion except in Alabama where by law the value of Pi is rounded to 3.14... Heh heh - the wife of Pi... By the way did you know that if you say "My Cocaine" you are also saying Michael Caine in his own voice?... I want this T-Shirt... In honor of Michael Caine - here's the song by Madness called appropriately enough Michael Caine:

Albert Einstein

Today is Albert Einstein's birthday. Just a reminder that even though E=MC2 is perhaps the most famous scientific equation in history - Einstein never received the Nobel Prize for coming up with it. The reasons for this slight were mostly because Einstein was Jewish. The committee eventually gave Einstein the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his 1905 explanation of the photoelectric effect but that was really too little too late.

As smart as Einstein was it makes me chuckle to remember that when Einstein graduated from our equivalent of high school - he finished second in his class. The name of the person who was valedictorian is lost to history but I couldn't help but think of someone back then saying something like, "Yeah Einstein was pretty smart in high school but you should have seen this other guy!"

Also when Albert Einstein first visited the US in 1921 - the US Senate saw fit to debate the validity of the Theory of Relativity - seriously. The Theory of Relativity just turned 100 years old. In this video uber biographer Walter Isaacson explains the Theory of Relativity in under 3 minutes.

Random Albert Einstein trivia; when Einstein lived in Princeton he had a small 17-foot sailboat he named Tinef which is Yiddish for "piece of junk". I find that endearing.

Finally - 10 Myths about Albert Einstein debunked