02.09.10 – A Tuesday

word

soporific [sop-uh-rif-ik, soh-puh-] adj. 1. causing or tending to cause sleep 2. pertaining to or characterized by sleep or sleepiness; sleepy; drowsy ∞ n. 3. something that causes sleep, as a medicine or drug

birthday

William Henry Harrison (1773),  Carmen Miranda (1909), Dean Rusk (1909), Carole King (1942), Joe Pesci (1943), Mia Farrow (1945), Vince Papale (1946), Judith Light (1949), Jim J. Bullock (1955), John Kruk (1961), Travis Tritt (1963), John Walker Lindh (1981)

standpoint

Most everyone I know makes fun of Twitter. And, mostly, I get what they’re saying. It’s confusing to navigate if you don’t take the time to learn how to streamline, which I have. The trick of it is to be selective about who you follow. If you follow everyone who follows you, you’re bound to have a Twitter homepage that makes about as much sense if it was in Russian. (Unless you understand Russian, and then just pick another language, one you’re unfamiliar with.)

So what I’ve made two rules about Twitter. (1) I follow people I know. (2) I follow famous people I find interesting.

Below, I’m going to list 5 people who fall into the second category and an example of one of their typical tweets.

1. Chad OchoCinco (OGOchoCinco) – Before Twitter, I never really cared for the guy. But unless he’s putting on one hell of a show, he seems to be a good dude. TWEET: For those who take life and my twitter feed so serious please unfollow-this is for those who think n live outside the box-OCCN INC.

2. Mike Doughty (MikeDoughtyYeah) – One of my favorite musicians, turns out the guy is a good writer too. TWEET: If you’re gonna get angry in the grocery store line, perhaps a city of 10 million people is not for you.

3. Josh Malina (JoshMalina) – The veteran actor actually found me on Twitter after I made a snide comment about him appearing on some kid show I’ve since forgotten the name of. He took it well. TWEET: It’s spooky, the extent to which Taylor Swift is telling my story through her songs.

4. Michael Ian Black (michaelianblack) – One of the funniest people on the planet. TWEET: “Everything I do, I do it for you.” Even take a shit, Bryan Adams? Even take a SHIT?

5. Chuck Klosterman (CKlosterman) – Come on. You didn’t think I was going to leave him off the list, did you? TWEET: These Dominos employees need thicker skins. That focus group really got to them!

There’s plenty more I follow and, no need to worry, I’ll probably do this again sometime soon. How about you? Got any favorites on Twitter?

quotation

I understand Barack Obama. It is not always easy, but I do. I can even relate to him. Of course, we weren’t supposed  to need to. He was supposed to be above that. He was never supposed to be an everyman, and never pretended to be. He transcended beer tests, barbecue tests, and the rest – the tests of whether he was “likable” enough as a politician. It didn’t matter whether I wanted to have a beer with him or not, and nobody asked. He was Barack Obama. What he represented was much larger than any individual, even himself. It is not necessarily a good thing that I’ve come to understand him. But I do. ↔ Tom Junod

tune

Recently, I watched the fantastic movie Once. Great story and even better music. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová are real life musicians (they’re the two people who make up The Swell Season) playing struggling musicians in Dublin. Check out “Say It To Me Now.”

gallimaufry

→ I knew it. Eventually someone would find that beer is actually good for you. It was just a matter of time.

→ Some people hate the snow. Some people are idiots. This past Friday-Saturday we received the second biggest snowstorm in Philadelphia history. And it appears there will be more starting today at 3pm.

→ Yesterday, we got FiOS here in our apartment. From what little I’ve seen so far, I like it about nine times more than I did Comcast.

02.08.10 – A Monday

word

ebullient [i-buhl-yuhnt, i-bool-] adj. 1. overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited: The award winner was in an ebullient mood at the dinner in her honor 2. bubbling up like a boiling liquid

birthday

Samuel Butler (1612), John Ruskin (1819), William Tecumseh Sherman (1820), Jules Verne (1828), Kate Chopin (1850), Lana Turner (1921), Jack Lemmon (1925), Neal Cassady (1926), James Dean (1931), John Williams (1932), Ted Koppel (1940), Nick Nolte (1941), Robert Klein (1942), Mary Steenburgen (1953), John Grisham (1955), Vince Neil (1961), Joshua Kadison (1963), Gary Coleman (1968), Mary McCormack (1969), Seth Green (1974)

standpoint

I’m a football fan but not a huge one. I halfheartedly participate in two (2) fantasy leagues and have a moderate interest in my hometown Philadelphia Eagles, but I’m much less emotionally invested in the NFL than I let on. Most years, I watch the Super Bowl more out of some misplaced obligation to some archaic sense of manhood. But I didn’t feel the same way this year. I actually had a mildly strong desire to watch last night because I like both the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, along with their respective quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

But I was curious to see how Super Bowl XLIV would be a different experience for me. And, lucky for you, I chronicled it. Here goes.

Note: I was reasonably sure that the Colts would win and cover the spread (+5.5) and the over (57 pts.) would become a matter of fact.

Pregame

» Not going to lie, I watched golf until just about the start of the game so I didn’t get to see what inane crap led up to the actual footage from Miami.

» But I did tune in time to see the Colts get introduced onto the field to the same song by The Who that opens up every episode of CSI:Miami, which turned out to be all of The Who I needed.

» Queen Latifah sang America The Beautiful with a choir and musical accompaniment. It didn’t really work all that well. Looked like she was never really in sync. Carrie Underwood sang The Star-Spangled Banner and it was better. During all this, cameras were on Peyton Manning, who looked amped to the point he was cursing the fact Francis Scott Key and Katharine Bates were ever born.

» The next class of inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame were introduced as honorary whatevers to the coin toss. Emmitt Smith was the honorary coin tosser. Saints called heads. Smith flipped the coin directly at the Saints players, who sidestepped it. It was heads. Saints got the ball.

1st Quarter – 6:20(ish) PM

» Betty White and Abe Vigoda starred in a clever ad for Snickers. I’m completely sure those two actors were used because about 99% of viewers thought both had died years ago.

» The ad for the Boost Mobile Shuffle, featuring prominent members of the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, was awful.

» In keeping with Hollywood’s trend of recycling, there’s another Robin Hood movie coming out starring Russell Crowe. Looks like both Braveheart and Gladiator ate a bunch of bows and arrows and vomited on each other. I’ll probably go see it.

» First quarter came to a close. Colts-10. Saints-0. I wasn’t paying much attention to the actual game.

2nd Quarter – 7:00 PM

» Pretty fast 1st quarter. At this point, I was certain the Colts were going to run away with the game.

» A Cars.com ad came on, detailing the life of a boy genius type doing all sorts of amazing boy genius type stuff. But when it came time to buy a car, he was at a loss. He looked to his mobile device for answers and, you guessed it, Cars.com came to the rescue. At one point during the ad, the boy genius delivered a baby Bengal tiger while on safari. That kicked off a conversation between my girlfriend and I where we discussed her desire to bring a baby panther into the apartment. Negotiations reached a stalemate after she refused to budge on the name of the baby panther. Oh well.

» The Saints began to make a game of it. Pretty sure they kicked a field goal.

» One ad had Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman on the same couch talking about something. I’m not sure what because I was distracted. Leno didn’t look like he was actually there. The next ad (maybe) had Brett Favre making fun of the fact he never actually retires. I like it when celebrities/athletes know to do that.

» The Colts stopped the Saints on a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line with less than 2 minutes remaining in the half. See? I pay mind to the important stuff.

» I wasn’t quite sure how it happened but the Saints kick another field goal just as time expires on the 1st half. Colts – 10. Saints – 6.

Halftime – 7:50 PM

» The Who played. The Who sucked. I monitored Twitter feeds instead. Best Tweet? “Wake up your great grandma. The Who is on.”

3rd Quarter – 8:22 PM

» The Saints began the 2nd half with an onside kick. Which they recovered. Which turned out to be huge. Saints – 13. Colts – 10.

» According to a new Volkswagen ad, the classic car game, Punch Buggy, has now been expanded to include the entire Volkswagen fleet. As a matter of fact, it seems whatever substance it’s painting its cars with nowadays is so cutting edge, even Stevie Wonder can see it. Much to the chagrin of an arm sore Tracy Morgan. Classic.

» The Colts’ Joseph Addai ran in for a touchdown. Colts – 17. Saints – 13. I was a little disappointed about how good of a game it was becoming. I’m not used to the Super Bowl being about the Super Bowl. Not being able to run out of the room in between commercials was messing with my head.

» Two commercials gave me pause in different ways. First, the new E*TRADE baby wasn’t half as funny as the original. Second, Google aired its first ever television ad. I think.

» The Saints kicked another field goal which flew under my radar. End of the 3rd quarter. Colts – 17. Saints – 16.

4th Quarter – 8:56 PM

» Honestly, I should’ve been playing closer attention. The Saints started scoring. They took the lead. They intercepted a very important Peyton Manning pass at a crucial time. I watched the whole thing. I swear. But, as happens more than not, I became embroiled in a debate that made the game take a backseat.

» Super Bowl XLIV ended at 9:45 PM. The New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts by the score of 31-17. If I bet the game the way I thought it would go, I would’ve been dead wrong. Yet another reason why I’m not a gambling man.

Overall, a most exhilarating football contest. The best Super Bowl in years. Congrats, New Orleans. Call me when you’re done partying. That should be around June.

quotation

Everybody gets told to write about what they know. The trouble with many of us is that at the earlier stages of life we think we know everything- or to put it more usefully, we are often unaware of the scope and structure of our ignorance. ↔ Thomas Pynchon

tune

One band from the 80s that doesn’t get enough credit is The Housemartins. I like to think of them as a sort of catchier version of  The Smiths. Also, they’ve got one of the best titled songs ever – “The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death.” Actually, after just listening to it, it seems to work nowadays as well.

gallimaufry

→ I just got done reading King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League, and it was simple and great. Former NHL head coach and current Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Dave King narrates his experiences as the first ever Canadian coach in Russia. The guy really knows his stuff and he provides great insight into Russian hockey and its players, especially Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Evgeny Malkin.

→ Speaking of the Pittsburgh Penguins, yesterday afternoon’s game between them and the Washington Capitals was just about as complete as you could ask for. Caps won it in overtime 5-4 after being down 4-2 going into the third period.

Done ‘Til Tuesday

Due to the switching of internet services, I won’t be updating for a few days. Verizon can’t get here until Monday. Thanks for reading. Come back on Tuesday for some more.

02.04.10 – A Thursday

WORD

piquant [pee-kuhnt, -kahnt, pee-kahnt] adj. 1. agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor; pleasantly biting or tart: a piquant aspic 2. agreeably stimulating, interesting, or attractive: a piquant glance 3. of an interestingly provocative or lively character: a piquant wit 4. Archaic. sharp or stinging, esp. to the feelings

BIRTHDAY

Charles Lindbergh (1902), Betty Friedan (1921), Conrad Bain (1923), David Brenner (1936), Dan Quayle (1947), Alice Cooper (1948), Lisa Eichhorn (1952), Clint Black (1962), Gabrielle Anwar (1970), Rob Corrdry (1971), Oscar de la Hoya (1973), Natalie Imbruglia (1975), Gavin DeGraw (1977)

STANDPOINT

Things that are annoying me today? Glad you asked. Here’s a list.

» Movies. Why do they all have to be exceedingly scary or outrageously post-apocalyptic or synthetically romantic or completely awful? I think there’s enough of all that on every so-called news program. (However, I did see Crazy Heart yesterday and it was a really solid exception.)

» Snow. I love when it snows. But one aspect of every snowstorm I despise is crybabies lamenting as if the streets are covered in razorblades and land mines, instead of harmless snowflakes. Oddly enough, these are the same people who get in their cars and, perhaps in some sort of misplaced defiance toward Mother Nature, drive around like it’s a clear and dry sunny day in August. Slipping and sliding all over the road, causing accidents they’ll blame on “the fucking snow.”

» Facebook. It’s not the social networking site that bugs me. I like it. I use it. I’ve reconnected with lots of old friends on it. I’ve even made some new ones. But it’s truly sad to read updates from people you once knew to be of sound mind, gripe about kids, spouses, politics, etc. For the record, I’m fully aware my own status updates are inconsequential nonsense.

QUOTATION

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity. ↔ Charles Mingus

TUNE

Every group of friends has a song that only they seem to know, and only they think is absolutely awesome. It’s usually due to the song being associated with some particularly good time. For me and my college friends, that song was “Both Belong” by The Grays.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ Oh, boy. PGA officials must be geeking out if this is true. Tiger Woods is making a comeback.

→ With state of the US economy the way it is, this seems as good a way as any to sort of figure it out.

→ Wow. Two days in a row I find hope for the human race. Check out The Smiths Project: Sing Every Smiths Song By the End of 2009. Some may find this kind of thing unimportant. But some would be wrong. Completely and uncontrollably wrong.

02.03.10 – A Wednesday

WORD

quibble [kwib-uhl] n. 1. an instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue 2. the general use of such arguments 3. petty or carping criticism; a minor objection ∞ v. (used w/o object) 4. to equivocate 5. to carp; cavil

BIRTHDAY

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821), Gertrude Stein (1864), Norman Rockwell (1894), Pretty Boy Floyd (1904), James Michener (1907), Joey Bishop (1918), Nathan Lane (1956), Maura Tierney (1965), Sean Kingston (1990)

STANDPOINT

Today, I’ve got nothing. Well, that’s not exactly true. There’s tons and tons of garbage that’s bothering me but I need to further organize my thoughts. Thanks for reading. Come back tomorrow for some more.

QUOTATION

Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders…and millions have been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient allover the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves… (and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem. ↔ Howard Zinn

TUNE

Hipsters everywhere simply love themselves some Arcade Fire. And maybe I do, too. But only to a point. I’m not particularly gushing over everything the band does. (I’m sure, somehow, that makes me a bad person.) But I still really get into the first song I ever heard by Win Butler and crew – “Rebellion (Lies)”

GALLIMAUFRY

→ I think some of the reason “Calvin and Hobbes” still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it. That’s one of the statements Bill Watterson made in a recent interview, his first in about 15 years. I’m one of the millions of people who wish he was still creating “Calvin and Hobbes,” but after reading what he had to say, I’m kind of glad he stopped. But only kind of.

→ A website called IJustMadeLove.com? Are you fucking joking? Oh, you’re not? Christ.

→ When I read pieces like “New Spider-Man Device Could Let Humans Walk on Walls,” it’s one of the rare instances I feel like, all right, someone out there’s listening.

02.02.10 – A Tuesday

WORD

ardor [ahr-der] n. 1. great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion: She spoke persuasively and with ardor 2. intense devotion, eagerness, or enthusiasm; zeal: his well-known ardor for Chinese art 3. burning heat

BIRTHDAY

Solomon R. Guggenheim (1861), James Joyce (1882), Howard Johnson (1897), Ayn Rand (1905), Stan Getz (1927), Tom Smothers (1937), Graham Nash (1942), Farrah Fawcett (1947), Brent Spiner (1949), Christie Brinkley (1954), Shakira (1977)

STANDPOINT

Last night I heard a story involving a single man and a married woman. To the point, they had a booze-fueled, ill advised night of sexual intimacy. Both the man and the woman are part of a group of people who hang out socially several nights per week.

When I hear such stories, about 284 thoughts race through my head. Is the guy worried about the woman’s husband finding out? Does he panic every time he sees the husband, wondering if the secret if finally out? Does the woman worry about the same thing? In the future, if similar circumstances were to take place, let’s say, ten more times, what percentage of those nights would the two of them commit the same mistake? And would either of them even consider it as such?

But, the idea I struggle with the most, is who, if anyone, is more at fault? Let’s face it. Any time married people cheat on their spouses, however it happens, it’s the ultimate shitty thing to do. On the flip side, a single person who hooks up with a married individual, that’s kind of equally shitty. But, really, who’s more in the wrong? Or are they both essentially and simultaneously bad people?

Seriously, I want to know your take on it. Post a comment and tell me what you think.

QUOTATION

It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are all ready enough people to do that. ↔ G. H. Hardy

TUNE

OK.  I’m not what you’d consider a huge fan of Switchfoot. But, for my money, “Faust, Midas and Myself” is about as kickass a ditty as you can come by. I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for emphatically sung lyrics completely surrounded by strongly strummed power chords. And when Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman belts out the lines, “What direction? Death or action. Life begins at the intersection,” well, I think it’s superb.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ Great news, everyone! Once we’ve destroyed this planet, me might be able to pick up and move to a new one. It appears some scientists are close to discovering a planet that may be capable of supporting human life. And that’s pretty sweet because I’d hate to think the human race would throw in the towel after fucking up just one planet. We’re bigger than Earth. We need to take this show on the road and show the rest of the universe what they’ve been missing.

→ I watch television late at night and am always up when the Emergency Broadcasting System message airs. And I constantly wonder why, after all ready grabbing my attention by disrupting my show with long beeps, there’s a need to play the sound of rolling thunder? Is it an attempt to be creative or dramatic or something?

→ Man, remember when the commercials during the Super Bowl were pretty entertaining? (And most years, the highlight of the evening?) Well, we’ve apparently found a way to make it as controversial as just about everything else. Good job, everyone. Our record of turning absolutely nothing into a big fucking problem is still un

02.01.10 – A Monday

WORD

mountebank [moun-tuh-bangk] n. 1. a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc 2. any charlatan or quack ∞ v. 3. to act or operate as a mountebank

BIRTHDAY

Conn Smythe (1895), Clark Gable (1901), Langston Hughes (1902), Boris Yeltsin (1931), Don Everly (1937), Garrett Morris (1937), Sherman Hemsley (1938), Terry Jones (1942), Rick James (1948), Sonny Landreth (1951), Brandon Lee (1965), Sherilyn Fenn (1965), Princess Stephanie of Monaco (1965), Lisa Marie Presley (1968), Pauly Shore (1968), Joshua Redman (1969), Michael C. Hall (1971), Phil Ivey (1976)

STANDPOINT

Time for another installment of The Wishing Well, a place for me to close my eyes and wish for things that will never come to fruition.

→ I WISH The Grammy Awards weren’t utter fucking bullshit. It’s a bunch of celebrities posing as musicians, receiving praise for their involvement with  songs that are eagerly consumed by a society content with the notion that being spoonfed soulless, unimaginative garbage is actually something worthy of dedicating millions of dollars and, worse, a perfectly good Sunday night.

→ I WISH I was ignorant to the fact President Obama’s proposed budget going to Congress was for $3.8 trillion. Anyone else wish there was some gigantic magical RESET button? Let’s start over and, hey, this time around, let’s try using our brains.

→ I WISH my fantasy hockey team somehow reflected how much I know about the sport. But, so far this year, it’s not happening.

→ I WISH, as a bartender observing many first dates, I could smack some sense into some of the men who do and/or say things practically guaranteeing a long drive home accompanied only by the raging questions in their head about what exactly went wrong.

→ I WISH all you reading this will help me out and follow my place of employment, the Parc Bistro in Skippack PA, on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks.

QUOTATION

The manner in which Americans ”consume” music has a lot to do with leaving it on their coffee tables, or using it as wallpaper for their lifestyles, like the score of a movie –it’s consumed that way without any regard for how and why it’s made. ↔ Frank Zappa

TUNE

Yes, I totally understand I’m breaking from the norm here. But I am fond of “Nobody Knows Me” by Lyle Lovett. Sue me.

GALLIMAUFRY

I’m ditching this section today. Thanks for reading. Come back tomorrow for some more.

01.29.10 – A Friday

WORD

besot [bi-sot] v. 1. to intoxicate or stupefy with drink 2. to make stupid or foolish: a mind besotted with fear and superstition 3. to infatuate; obsess: He is besotted by her youth and beauty

BIRTHDAY

Thomas Paine (1737), William McKinley (1843), Anton Chekhov (1860), W. C. Fields (1880), R. Norris Williams (1891), John Forsythe (1918), Tom Selleck (1945), Marc Singer (1948), Ann Jillian (1950), Tommy Ramone (1952), Oprah Winfrey (1954), Greg Louganis (1960), Nicholas Turturro (1962), Edward Burns (1968), Heather Graham (1970), Sara Gilbert (1975), Jonny Lang (1981), Adam Lambert (1982)

STANDPOINT

Just a message to all of you who subject the rest of us to your uniquely arid and decidedly lopsided views on what’s wrong with this country.

Relocate. Move to a place where, I don’t know, maybe they like self-serving, pseudo-intellectual dipshits who quote The Founding Fathers and think Rush Limbaugh is someone special. The Founders were just greedy fucks who died a couple of centuries back and Limbaugh, as an pundit, inhabits a lower rung on the ladder of purport than Sesame Street’s resident lovable goofball Elmo. In truth, all the crap you cite is about as irrelevant as quoting The Bible.

You have daily musings about growing up in a simpler time. As likely as not, one, if not both, of your parents were a doctor, lawyer or something similarly lucrative. And now you’re out in the world, and things just aren’t coming so easy, are they? Well, suck it up.

And quit griping. Some advice? You’re never going to get laid on a consistent basis because, let’s face it, most women don’t really like whiny white boys who nightly inhabit some bar stool and lament about how bad they’ve got it. You’re embarrassing white guys everywhere. It’s sadder than the ending of Pay It Forward. So please stop.

You’re fatuous and not concerned in helping anyone save the dope you see every morning in the bathroom mirror. And, I may be going out on a limb here, but presumably you’re not stoked when looking that person in the eye everyday before work.

Shut the fuck up and enjoy everything your privileged lifestyle affords you. You know, lame-ass pub crawls and thematic happy hours and, oh yeah, a life 99.9% of Earth’s occupants would literally kill for.

QUOTATION

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. ↔ Paul Valery

TUNE

Paddy Casey released “Whatever Gets You True” in 1999. But it’s one of those songs that could easily been released yesterday. I’m saying it’s timeless. Do I have to explain everything? Read between the lines for crying out loud.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ This past Wednesday night, J. D. Salinger, author of  the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye, passed away at the age of 91. I understand it’s sad when anyone dies but he lived a full life and will be remembered for as long as people read books. Pretty great legacy.

→ After much hullabaloo, President Obama has ordered the U.S. Justice Department to find another city for the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, one of the alleged orchestrators behind the 9-11 attacks. It was supposed to take place in Manhattan.

→ Once again, I find The Onion’s sports coverage the most honest and truthful out there. This piece about NFL commentators is pretty much dead-on.

01.28.10 – A Thursday

WORD

supine [adj. soo-pahyn; n. soo-pahyn] adj. 1. lying on the back, face or front upward 2. inactive, passive, or inert, esp. from indolence or indifference 3. (of the hand) having the palm upward ∞ n. 4. (in Latin) a noun form derived from verbs, appearing only in the accusative and the dative-ablative, as dictū in mirābile dictū, “wonderful to say.” 5. (in English) the simple infinitive of a verb preceded by to 6. an analogous form in some other language

BIRTHDAY

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225), William Seward Burroughs I (1855), Jackson Pollock (1912), Alan Alda (1936), Sam Phillips (1962), Mo Rocca (1969), Joey Fatone (1977), Elijah Wood (1981)

STANDPOINT

One of the frustrating things about doing this blog is that I’ve never been able to put pictures up without disrupting the integrity of the entire post. So today, I’m going to try to do just that. So bear with me.

In my opinion, hockey teams have always had the best logos. Here are my top five of all time.

5. Anaheim Mighty Ducks – I know, it’s kind of lame, but I really like this logo.

4. Boston Bruins – My brother Jer made me a t-shirt with this logo on it.

3. Vancouver Canucks – Sometimes the simplest logos work the best.

2. Montreal Canadiens – My second favorite NHL team. Classic logo.

1. Philadelphia Flyers – Obviously, the best logo in all of sports.

All right, so that was a success. More picture usage to come. Thanks for bearing with me on that one. And thanks for reading.

QUOTATION

A preoccupation with the future not only prevents us from seeing the present as it is but often prompts us to rearrange the past. ↔ Eric Hoffer

TUNE

A few months ago, I was at a Blind Pilot show and the last song the band performed was a cover song that I couldn’t place. Neither could the people I was with. Eventually, we figured it out. (Although there is some discrepancies over who actually did finally find the song.) In any case, that’s not really important. (But, it is, and I still say I’m right.) It was “Kids” by MGMT. I didn’t really care for the original version at first but, after having it beat into my head by two particular ladies, it’s growing on me.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ It’s hard to imagine anything people care less about than the upcoming NFL Pro Bowl in Miami. Unless it’s practice for the upcoming NFL Pro Bowl in Miami.

→ I don’t get the whole notion of reading an entire book off of the screen of some handheld device but apparently I’m the only one. Yesterday, the geekverse revved up when Apple’s Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPad. Let the tampon-related jokes begin…now.

→ Could it be true? After years of withstanding the bitching of Philadelphia Eagles fans, could Donovan McNabb finally get a fresh start in a new NFL city? For everyone involved, I hope so.

01.26.10 – A Tuesday

WORD

myopic [mahy-op-ik, -oh-pik] adj. 1. Ophthalmology. pertaining to or having myopia; nearsighted 2. unable or unwilling to act prudently; shortsighted 3. lacking tolerance or understanding; narrow-minded

BIRTHDAY

Douglas MacArthur (1880), Frank Costello (1891), Maria von Trapp (1905), Paul Newman (1925), Bob Uecker (1935), Scott Glenn (1941), Gene Siskel (1946), David Strathairn (1949), Lucinda Williams (1953), Eddie Van Halen (1955), Anita Baker (1956), Ellen Degeneres (1958), Wayne Gretzky (1961), Suleman Octuplets (2009)

STANDPOINT

Ah. I was going to try something new but I ended up getting my ass whooped in Rummy all night and time simply ran out. Maybe tomorrow.

QUOTATION

Unquestionably, it is possible to do without happiness; it is done involuntarily by nineteen-twentieths of mankind. ↔ John Stuart Mill

TUNE

Southern Culture on the Skids is a band whose songs are always hit or miss with me. One song that I’ve always loved is “My Baby’s Got The Strangest Ways.”

GALLIMAUFRY

→ If you absolutely love paying a lot of money for concert tickets, you better hold onto your lid because I’m about to flip it. The TicketMaster/Live Nation merger has been approved by the U. S. Department of Justice.

→ All this talk about the recession almost being over and there being a light at the end of the tunnel could be just that – talk. According to this article, things may never get better. This could be the way it’s always going to be.

→ Last Friday night, Conan O’Brien did his last episode of The Tonight Show. It was really good. The jam of “Freebird” at the end with Will Ferrell, Ben Harper, Beck, and others (as well as Conan himself) was especially great. Bye for now, Conan. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to watch at 11:30 now but, as always, I’ll figure something out.