Archive for 2/24/2008 - 18 Adar I, 5768

I asked the Baseball Oracle to connect Hornsby with McGwire, this is what it spit back:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Pat Malone for the 1929 Chicago Cubs
�� Pat Malone played with Phil Cavarretta for the 1934 Chicago Cubs
�� Phil Cavarretta played with Minnie Minoso for the 1955 Chicago White Sox
�� Minnie Minoso played with Rich Gossage for the 1976 Chicago White Sox
�� Rich Gossage played with Mark McGwire for the 1992 Oakland Athletics

This depressed me, so I asked for it to try again, and they offered:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Freddie Lindstrom for the 1927 New York Giants
�� Freddie Lindstrom played with Phil Cavarretta for the 1935 Chicago Cubs
�� Phil Cavarretta played with Minnie Minoso for the 1954 Chicago White Sox
�� Minnie Minoso played with Rich Gossage for the 1976 Chicago White Sox
�� Rich Gossage played with Mark McGwire for the 1992 Oakland Athletics

I wanted to cry. I hit reload.

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Sam West for the 1933 St. Louis Browns
�� Sam West played with Early Wynn for the 1939 Washington Senators
�� Early Wynn played with Minnie Minoso for the 1949 Cleveland Indians
�� Minnie Minoso played with Harold Baines for the 1980 Chicago White Sox
�� Harold Baines played with Mark McGwire for the 1992 Oakland Athletics

This was slightly better. But I wasn’t satisfied with the Browns, so I pressed reload one more time:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Chick Hafey for the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Chick Hafey played with Eddie Joost for the 1937 Cincinnati Reds
�� Eddie Joost played with Jim Pagliaroni for the 1955 Boston Red Sox
�� Jim Pagliaroni played with Reggie Jackson for the 1968 Oakland Athletics
�� Reggie Jackson played with Mark McGwire for the 1987 Oakland Athletics

I knew the odds were low I’d be able to get both of them in St. Louis, but a few clicks of the Reload button, and I did come up with:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Estel Crabtree for the 1933 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Estel Crabtree played with Murry Dickson for the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Murry Dickson played with Ken Johnson for the 1958 Kansas City Athletics
�� Ken Johnson played with Dusty Baker for the 1968 Atlanta Braves
�� Dusty Baker played with Mark McGwire for the 1986 Oakland Athletics

This was the most satisfying chain I’ve discovered so far:

� Dizzy Dean played with Bill McGee for the 1935 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Bill McGee played with Stan Musial for the 1941 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Stan Musial played with Bob Gibson for the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Bob Gibson played with Bob Forsch for the 1974 St. Louis Cardinals

And interesting, because all the above were pitchers. (OK, Stan only pictched to one batter in one game, but that counts.)

Finally, this was the biggest surprise….I didn’t think it was going to be this short of a connection:

�� Whitey Herzog played with Ray Jablonski for the 1960 Kansas City Athletics
�� Ray Jablonski played with Red Schoendienst for the 1953 St. Louis Cardinals

A couple days ago I mentioned I picked up a Warren Zevon CD at the local library because a fellow blogger had mentioned his name in the past.

It’s been playing in my car for the past few days. The CD is rather enjoyable.

My musical background isn’t extensive, so I’m not very good at detecting who someone “sounds like”, but I’ve decided Zevon sounds like a mix between the Grateful Dead and CCR. At least he does to me. And it’s a good mix.

I have so far won 7 free Itunes songs from the Pepsi/Itunes promotion, and at least one of these legitimate Itunes downloads will probably be to expand my Zevon collection.

I could use a recommendation or two. Don’t bother recommending any songs from his album, The Wind. That’s the album I got from the library, and I’m not going to waste my pepsi caps downloading a song I already have.

Babe Ruth played with Hank Johnson
for the 1925 New York Yankees

Hank Johnson played with Johnny Vander Meer
for the 1939 Cincinnati Reds

Johnny Vander Meer played with Minnie Minoso
for the 1951 Cleveland Indians

Minnie Minoso played with Terry Forster
for the 1976 Chicago White Sox

Terry Forster played with Chuck Finley
for the 1986 California Angels

Chuck Finley played with Albert Pujols
for the 2002 St. Louis Cardinals

Find your favorite ballplayer’s Babe Ruth Number

***

Cups of Coffee (A complete list of all baseball players who only played in 1 major league game)

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Location and hours flexible, pay good.

The job may seem onerous to some, however: watching “The Dukes of Hazzard” reruns five nights a week.

Viacom’s Country Music Television channel is running help wanted ads for this position — Vice President, CMT Dukes of Hazzard Institute. That’s right. That’s what the ads say, noting the pay is $100,000 for the duration of a one-year contract.

The vice president will have to watch Dukes of Hazzard every weeknight on Country Music Television, know all the words to The Dukes of Hazzard theme song and write the Dukes of Hazzard on-line blog for CMT.com, Country Music Television’s Web site.

The person selected will also have to be available for media interviews to “share his or her expertise and passion” for the TV program and make appearances at events such as Dukefest 2005 in Bristol, Tenn., in June, according to the ad.

more info

Here’s the first sentence of an opinion piece at the Conservative Voice (Which boasts Jerry Falwell as a columnist).

When the media goes after someone with the varsity theyíve targeted Jeff Gannon it makes us all take a second look.

The media attacking Gannon is ‘varsity’, sir. You’re still JV.

“Veracity” is the closest word that fits, though I suspect the opinion writer wasn’t praising their “adherence to truth.” I suspect he meant to write “Ferocity”.

(I don’t attack typos. This wasn’t a typo. This was ignorance.)

NEW ORLEANS — A small heap of paper that survived the fiery disintegration of space shuttle Columbia, a 38-mile fall to Earth and two months of exposure to rain and sun in a Texas field has been painstakingly restored by forensic scientists, yielding the flight diary and notes of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.

“All together, 18 pages handwritten in Hebrew were recovered.”

Coincidence?

Two weeks later, and I’m back at my local library/bookcrossing zone

If you want to see the books I have released, or are about to release, you can go to my bookshelf. I’m not releasing any this morning at the library, as I am holding on to them for the local bookcrossers meetup. Those that don’t get passed on directly to someone there, will get released into the wild. Of course, before I release them, if you see something on the list you have a strong desire to read, let me know…we might be able to work something out. Especially if you agree not to store the book away in some damp corner of your home after you’re done, but release it back into the wild again.

I’m checking out a few cds this morning to listen to. One is by Warren Zevon. I’ve heard a fellow blogger mention Warren a few times on her blog/s. So while I’m not familiar with him, I decided I’d take his cd for a test-drive. I’m also bringing home a 4-cd folk retrospective. I’m really only interested in the 4th cd, which ends with Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. The other 3 cds are more country than folk, at least in my opinion.

In a few I will head to the local mall for a meetup based on a popular children’s series of novels, though it looked like all those attending the meetup weren’t children, which is good. I wouldn’t want to look like…well, you know. 36 year old man shows up to discuss books with a bunch of elementary and high school students? That wouldn’t look kosher.

So you’re in amphitheater, itís a giant million-seater
And you’ve come to witness Britney Spears perform
And you sneak backstage and see her and she picks you out to be her
Male companion in her dressing room ’til morn

Soon you get the sneaking sense sheís not the virgin she pretends to be
As if thereís any doubt, but what a thrill (what a thrill)
And she suddenly jumps on your back, her teeth are somehow longer
And you wake up with the urge to maim and kill

Now youíre a…

Britney Zombie, out of control
Britney Zombie, ain’t got no soul
You’re a worthless little troll and your blood is freezing cold
Yes, now youíre a Britney Zombie!

This post is for those people who don’t realize the Dr. Demento show still exists, just because no radio station in St. Louis plays it. It’s also for those who think the only person recording dementia today is named Weird Al.

Another up-and-coming dementia artist I recommend is Luke Ski

Because of my inadequate religious upbringing I had no idea there was a Purim Katan.

Apparently, in Jewish leap years, there is a Purim 1 month prior to Purim. Purim, for those unfamiliar, is the Jewish version of Carnival/Mardi Gras. OK, there might be a few readers who don’t like the comparison, but….we dress up in costumes and get drunk. Oh yeah, we also read from the Book of Esther, and distribute gifts to the poor. But I just read on the link above:

There is no difference between the first Adar and the second Adar, but the reading of the Megillah and the distribution of gifts to the poor.” (Megillah 6b)

(Jewish leap years add a whole month. Usually there is just the month of Adar, but in leap years there’s Adar 1 and Adar 2. That’s partially why Good Friday and Passover are a month apart this year, unless you’re Eastern Orthodox.)

I interpret the quote above to mean that Purim Katan is Purim without the megillah and without the charity. That is, the dressing up and getting drunk part. (I’m sure there are other interpretations.)

Here I am, 36, and I’ve missed this? Admittedly, not 36 times, since there are only 7 leap years in a nineteen year cycle. Since the next one is in 2008, and I’ll be 39 then (19*2+1), my guess is that this would have been my 14th. I have some catching up to do in 3 years.

Thanks to The Welfare Queen, I took Beliefnet’s Belief-O-Matic quiz

My Results

1. Reform Judaism Ý(100%) Ý
2. Orthodox Judaism Ý(88%) Ý
3. Islam Ý(84%) Ý
4. Sikhism Ý(81%)
5. Bah·’Ì Faith Ý(78%) Ý
6. Liberal Quakers Ý(62%) Ý
7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants Ý(55%) Ý
8. Unitarian Universalism Ý(52%) Ý
9. Jainism Ý(48%)
10. Neo-Pagan Ý(47%)

I was kind of happy with the results. I’m not quite sure what I would have done if it had turned out differently.

Did you know anyone, even you, can add info to the Internet Movie Database?
They claim they verify the accuracy.
I have a former high school classmate who apparently produced a movie back in 1986 when we were seventeen, and she lived 1800 miles from Hollywood.
Itís really quite impressive.
I knew she’d written a few scripts for tv shows in the past five years,
but I had no idea she was so active when we were so young.
Next time I see her, I’ll also have to ask her about that episode of the Love Boat she was in.

A FDA Scientist sees “there really doesn’t appear to be a need” for arthritis drugs called COX-2 inhibitors”

he felt there was a “class effect” of heart risk, and it appeared greater with higher doses.

And in the EU

Drugmakers are braced for new curbs on the use of COX-2 pain medicines in Europe, just as the Food and Drug Administration weighs the future of the controversial drug class in the United States.

Industry sources said the European Medicines Agency was likely to strengthen warnings about cardiovascular risks associated with the drug class on Thursday, but stop short of calling for them to be taken off the market.

Those interested in Cox-2 inhibitors might be encouraged to try herbal varieties.

Handy Latin Phrases

A colleague who went out to lunch tells me its a beautiful day outside.

Wished I smoked, so I could take a smoke break.

Leo DiCaprio, Beyonce Knowles, and others have agreed to film television commercials where they say, “I’m Jewish”. (In a similar way as JFK once tried to say he was a Berliner, but this time, there will only be one language involved, so its unlikely there will be a translation error.)

Others rumored to be interested in the project include Ricky Martin and Denzel Washington.

David Carradine will be in St. Louis at Kunicon March 4-6.

He will be signing autographs. He will take part in martial arts demonstrations and a kickboxing tournament presenting winners with trophies. He will be performing onstage with a flute.

One Day Passes to the convention range from $17-26 depending upon whether you choose Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Full weekend passes are $43 at the door, or $37 if you get yourself pre-registered today. (Today, 2/14, is the pre-reg deadline).

2 years ago, back in 2003, Dolly the Sheep — the first cloned mammal — was put to sleep. She was 6 years old, when most sheep live to 12. Which as I remarked at the time made sense, since she was born with the cell structure of a 6 year old.

I still am unable to find any information on the web of what happened to Persephone, the cloned cow, who at age 1, had the cell structure of a newborn…

I could take this quiz and find out what kind of shoe I am. I haven’t. Because I know I am these shoes:

I’ve had this St. Louis County Library card that has sat in my wallet for several years unused. I read a lot, but due to the fact that I have a tendency to forget what day it is, and I don’t like overdue fees, I have become more of a buyer than a borrower.

I decided today I would go to my local library, and update the address on my card as I know it’s changed since the last time I used it, even though I’ve been living at my current address for five years.

However, upon arriving at my local library I learned not all public libraries in St. Louis County are part of the St. Louis County Public Library system. There apparently is a “Municipal Library Consortium” of which my community participates. Richmond Heights, Ferguson, UCity, Brentwood, Maplewood, Kirkwood, and Valley Park are members.

So now I have 2 library cards in my wallet.

I started browsing around the library. They have a small CD and DVD collection which I may very well sample from. I discovered in the catalogs they have a 10 volume set of Victor Hugo’s works that I have 9 volumes which I obtained from Ebay. It’s a good collection, but what it’s missing mostly is his poetry, so little of which has been translated into English until recently.

Then I saw this shelf that said “Free Books” and had a sign about “bookcrossing.com”. So I wandered over to the computer terminals and signed on to the internet…that’s where I am now.

Of course, before going to my blog editor, I went to BookCrossing.

The basic premise is fascinating. You register a book, and it’s given a BookCrossingID. You somehow mark the book with that ID. Consider this like tagging a wild animal, because the next thing you’re supposed to do is release that book in the wild.

Go to the airport and leave it on a seat in the terminal. Or leave it on the Metrolink. Or at your doctor’s office.

When someone finds the book, they go to BookCrossing and leave a note.

Ideally, you get to follow your old books as they travel…potentially around the globe. Apparently, about 25% of all books released are “caught”. That doesn’t mean the rest aren’t read by others…just perhaps the individual who picked up the book might not have internet access…

You can also go to BookCrossing and see how many books have been released into the wild in the past 30 days in your community…and then go hunting for them. Sometimes those who release them are rather specific about where they released them. (Popular St. Louis area places include the airport and metrolink). Some people just say things like “The White Building on Brentwood”. That makes the hunt a little more difficult of course. The Brentwood Public Library is on the list of places books have been released…and that’s where I am now. (None of the books really sparked my interest, so I have left them for others to pick up.)

As the FAQ says. You’ll get more enjoyment releasing your books into the wild than you’ll get staring at them on your bookshelf.

Now what Christians once referred to as Saint Valentine’s Day has changed into a treacherous pit of evil deception! Few realize that the associations with love, “sweethearts” and courtship originated from a pagan holiday called Lupercalia which used to be celebrated on February 15. Lupercalia honored a false deity Faunus who was believed to be the god of fertility. In Roman mythology, Faunus was considered a fertility and agricultural deity who protected crops, flocks, and shepherds. Faunus was worshiped in a pagan temple on Palatine Hill.

NOW for a Jew to participate in any form of Valentine’s Day is a grievous sin before Hashem! Sending a card, buying flowers, dining out, partying or even writing Valentine in Hebrew IS A MISTAKE AND IS A VIOLATION OF OUR TORAH! We are commanded ‘not to have any other gods before Hashem’ and ‘not to honor or worship them.’ ANY FORM OF VALENTINE’S DAY OBSERVANCE GIVES CREDENCE TO A FALSE DEITY!

source

(So does this mean I can’t take a woman out for a lobster dinner on Feb 14th either?)

A map of the general area where I live. and work.

I like Google’s new mapsite better than Mapquest. It’s a lot quicker and easier to browse.

The man responsible for converting Marilyn Monroe to Judaism passed away last night. He also wrote a couple well-known plays, including Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. But he is best known for being Monroe’s last husband. Monroe converted to Catholicism for her earlier husband, Joe Dimaggio, though this was less necessary, since both of them had already gotten divorced once.

I wrote a related conversation between several kids in a book that will likely go unpublished. Here’s an abbreviated version:

Kid Two: Why aren’t there any good looking Jewish actresses?
Kid One: Marilyn Monroe was Jewish
Kid Two: No she wasn’t!
One: Sure, she was. She converted when she married Arthur Miller.
Two: Who’s Arthur Miller?
One: The guy who wrote The Crucible. We read that last year in English.
Two: Oh. that doesn’t count.
One: Why not?
Two: She wasn’t born Jewish.
One: Well, she died Jewish.

(Later on in the conversation, Natalie Portman gets mentioned, and Kid Two has to admit she counts)

Does your dog want a gmail account?

I have 50 invitations to spare. email me at gavroche at gmail dot com and just ask. you, your dog, or your goldfish can have your very own gmail account.

1 gigabyte of webmail storage (never delete anything)
10 mb maximum for individual emails (great for storing files)
and other neat features.

most of the music is dull, the lyrics banal. The set is so dark, it seems to be wrapped in a shroud. What little is visible appears to have been salvaged from a junk pile behind Laumeier Sculpture Park

Someone who dares diss Les Miz? The Fool!

The RFT is now officially Magazina Non Grata on this blog.

“There are souls that, crablike, crawl continually toward darkness, going backward in life rather than advancing, using their experience to increase their deformity, growing continually worse, and becoming steeped more and more thoroughly in the intensifying viciousness.” — Victor Hugo

Charles proposed to the Rottweiler. He’s also promised the Rottweiler won’t ever become Queen, and his sons have said, “We are both very happy for our father and his Rottweiler and we wish them all the luck in the future.” (Though they did show some diplomacy, and refrained from using the nickname their late mother chose to dub their soon-to-be stepmom with.)

This is all over the news, it is almost impossible that you missed it.

But you may not have heard that Prince Harry is marrying Jenna Bush!

Clarence House has announced that in addition to Prince Charles marrying Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Harry Potter is to marry Jenna Bush, daughter of US President “Boy” George W. Bush.

Sir Michael Peat-Moss, Chief Principal Aide to Prince Charles, made the announcement at a press conference at Clarence House today. He said that Prince Charles and President Bush had discussed the possibility of marriage between their offspring during Mr Bush’s State Visit to the UK in 2003 but neither of them had followed up on it until recently. However, following an initiative by Prince Charles, it had been decided to proceed, and the president had offered the hand of Jenna. Ms Parker Bowles is understood to be delighted.

I read volume one of Ranma ½, and received much enjoyment. However, looking at the prospect of Volumes 2-38 frightened my pocketbook. Then I saw an interesting item on Ebay. I know it’s illegal. As illegal as (a few of the) music files on my computer. I also know it will be a less-satisfying way of reading the manga. Something that can’t be said about the (1 or 2, honest) MP3s.

I have purchased a CD with volumes 1-38 scanned in, page by page. I spent a grand total, including shipping, of $4.

Yes…I am an aspiring author. However, if I ever write a novel that is published worldwide, translated into (an)other language(s), made into a tv series, which is in turn made available on VHS and DVD…and someone …THEN… proceeds to scan in the novel and start selling it on a CD. I will go on the record now as saying that I won’t be upset. I will be quite happy with the proceeds I am sure I will have raked in by that moment to care.

Of course, I know my future publishers are likely to disagree.

John Dean says Deep Throat is gravely ill.

And Woodward and Bernstein have said they’ll reveal their Watergate source once the source is dead.

This of course is The New York Daily News.

Students at the University of Illinois once narrowed it down to 7 people

Pat Buchanan
David Gergen
Jonathan Rose
Raymond Price
Gerald Warren
Stephen Bull an
Fred Fielding

None of the news stories I’ve seen have indicated whether any of those 7 are sick. And recently, one biographer of Woodward and Bernstein suggested it might also have been George Bush Sr. (Who at the time was ambassador to the UN)

And then there’s my own prediction: Nixon Speech Writer William Safire.
But my predictions always turn out wrong. I even bet on the Eagles.

Abbas and Sharon declare truce

With Hamas saying the truce isn’t binding on them, and many Israeli Settlers somewhat resistant to the idea of leaving their homes, there are reasons to suspect the truce won’t last. But at least there’s some hope.

Egypt and Jordan are also to be congratulated for their assistance in brokering this truce.

Below is a map from The Southern Poverty Law Center illustrating all the known hate groups in 2003 in the US.

The only states without hate groups were South Dakota and Vermont.

Here’s more detail on Missouri

Here in St. Louis, apparently, the major hate groups on record are the Nation of Islam, the New Black Panthers, the National Alliance, and the Council of Conservative Citizens.

The first two are “Black Separatists”, the National Alliance is a Neo-Nazi group, and according to the SPLC, “The Council of Conservative Citizens is a reincarnation of the White Citizens Councils that sprang up in the South in the 1950s and 1960s to oppose school desegregation. Like the League of the South, a neo-confederate group to which it has many links, the 15,000-member Council has tried without success to mask its white supremacist ideology to better promote a right-wing political agenda.”

I received this gem in my email

America witnessed an odd coincidenceÝlast week whenÝthere was Groundhog Day AND the State of the Union Address.

It was an ironic juxtaposition — one involved a meaningless ritual in which
we looked to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication; the other
involved a goundhog.

(cue drums)

There are 28 search results on Google for Hetitleh.

As near as I and a colleague can figure out, 28 separate places have done a “Global Search and Replace” on the letters “ALT” and replaced them with “TITLE”…and haven’t realized how stupid they were yet.

ALT and TITLE are both HTML tags dealing with images, and other elements.

Global Search and Replace is very dangerous for your website’s health. (Not hetitleh).

The Superbowl GoDaddy.com spot was supposed to air twice.

As you may have noticed our Super Bowl ad only appeared during the scheduled first quarter spot. It was scheduled to run also in the second ad position during the final two minute warning. Our ad never ran a second time. Instead, in its place, we saw an advertisement promoting “The Simpsons.”

The NFL persuaded FOX to pull our ad.

We immediately contacted Fox to find out what happened. Here’s what we were told: After our first ad was aired, the NFL became upset and they, together with Fox, decided to pull the ad from running a second time. Because we purchased two spots, we were also entitled to a “Brought to you by GoDaddy.com” 5 second marquis[sic] spot. They also chose to pull the marquis[sic] spot.

(Note to Bob Parsons, a Marquis is a “nobleman ranking below a duke and above an earl or a count.” as in the Marquis de Sade. The word you are looking for is Marquee.)

View the Superbowl Ad here (They also have a web-only version.)

Despite my spelling correction, I love GoDaddy. Even before their superbowl ad. All my domains are registered there, and have been for several years.

I just read^* the below poem at the Hartford Coffee Company open mic.

It was written three years ago on 2/3/02 . It was published at the late Newspoetry. Since the Newspoetry archives disappeared a month or so ago, it’s no longer possible, I think, to find it in Google’s caches. (Though it’s probably at archive.org I haven’t checked.)

Anyway, to make it easier to find:

2/3/02: Heavenly-Throne Quarterback

It seems Jesus
has begun rooting
for a different team –

A team that doesn’t
mention His name
once
in the post-game interviews.

Inconceivable.

Who do the Patriots
think they are,
taking credit as a team
for their victory?

Don’t they know
who wins has nothing
whatsoever
to do with skill or talent?

It’s all in
the capable hands
of Jesus Christ,
Amen.

He decided today
to sacrifice the Rams…
that’s all there is to it.
If the Rams wish to win next year

they need to find out why.
Perhaps an offering is required.
Perhaps they shouldn’t eat meat
during Lent.

Perhaps worshipping Satan
might bring them
ultimate victory.

All options must be considered.

^*I Love Wireless!

A senior Marine general who commanded forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has been admonished by the commandant of the Marine Corps for saying publicly, “It’s fun to shoot some people.”

Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, an infantry officer who is a revered figure among marines for his fierce demeanor and warrior ethos, made the comments on Tuesday while speaking to a forum in San Diego about strategies for the war against terror.

According to an audio recording of General Mattis’s remarks obtained by The Associated Press, he said: “Actually, it’s a lot of fun to fight. You know, it’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right upfront with you, I like brawling.”

He added, “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil.”

General Mattis continued: “You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.”

On Thursday, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, issued a statement saying, “I have counseled him concerning his remarks, and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully.”

Source

The first sentence of this excerpt hits it right on target. He was admonished for saying the words publicly. He should have chosen his words more carefully. It’s not a problem to think this way, it’s just a problem to let people know that this is the way you think.

And in other Super Bowl news, legendary rocker Paul McCartney said he will perform in the nude at halftime Sunday.

Seriously, he did.

”They have an idea I might not have a wardrobe malfunction — and I won’t,” he said. “Because I’m going to go naked!”

Surprisingly, there was no follow-up question or reaction from the league because of an apparent assumption the former Beatle was kidding…

Source

Paul…you’re now 60. When John and Yoko pulled that nudity thing, they were much younger. Please, please, please be kidding.

Artists can color the sky red because they know it’s blue. Those of us who aren’t artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we’re stupid.
-Jules Feiffer

Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling.
-G.K. Chesterton

To draw you must close your eyes and sing.
- Pablo Picasso

Imagination is intelligence with an erection.
– Victor Hugo

In 2000, Minnesota elected The Body
More recently, California elected The Terminator…

In 2006, Texans may wake up to Governor Kinky

Texas humorist Kinky Friedman, who wrote the song “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Any More,” announced on Thursday his independent candidacy for the state’s governorship.

…

The author of numerous books, columns and songs he performed with his bar band “The Texas Jewboys,” Friedman, 60, stressed he’ll use humor to frame a serious candidacy in the Republican-dominated state.

“Don’t worry about my lack of experience,” Friedman said. “Trust me. I’m a Jew. I’ll hire good people.”

It will be an interesting campaign to follow.

Sample Kinky Friedman Song Titles
Get Your Biscuits in the Oven, and Your Buns in the Bed
There’s Something Wrong with the Beaver
They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore
Homo Erectus
Ride ‘Em Jewboy
High on Jesus

And here are the lyrics to one of the first songs he ever wrote. He claims he wrote it at age 12.

Olí Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus
Cominí right out of his nose.
He picked and picked till it made you sick
But back again it grows.
Well, olí Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus
Cominí right out of his nose.
He picked and picked till it made you sick,
But back again it grows.

When itís cotton picking time in Texas,
Boys, itís booger picking time for Ben.
Heíd raise that finger mean and hostile
Stick it in that waitiní nostril,
Here he comes with a green one once again.

All right, pick it, Eric!

Olí Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus
Cominí right out of his nose.
He picked and picked till it made you sick,
But back again it grows.

Everybody!
Olí Ben Lucas had a lot of mucus
Cominí right out of his nose,
He picked and picked till it made you sick
But back again it grows.

For those who wonder….yes, Kinky is more conservative than I am politically on several issues, but if I happened to live in Texas, I would consider voting for him. It would depend on the other candidates. I’ve heard most of his music, and read most of his books, and he has both heart and humor. If he can illustrate he has a head in the campaign, he’d be worth considering.

The lead animator behind Finding Nemo (and Monsters Inc, Toy Story and other Pixar projects) died of lung cancer at age 35.

One searches for a reason. Did he smoke a pack a day? Apparently, no. According to The Toronto Star

The Toronto-educated Lee had fought his illness for 17 months. He was a non-smoker and lived a healthy lifestyle that included bicycling to work, said his colleagues.

It’s incomprehensible. (Unless it’s the car exhaust fumes he inhaled bicycling to work…)

“STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE” TO END ITS CURRENT VOYAGE ON UPN IN MAY

UPN and Paramount Network Television have jointly announced that this will be the final season of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE on UPN. The series finale will air on Friday, May 13, 2005.

“Star Trek has been an important part of UPN’s history, and ENTERPRISE has carried on the tradition of its predecessors with great distinction,” said Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN. “We’d like to thank Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and an incredibly talented cast for creating an engaging, new dimension to the Star Trek universe on UPN, and we look forward to working with them, and our partners at Paramount Network Television, on a send-off that salutes its contributions to The Network and satisfies its loyal viewers.”

David Stapf, President of Paramount Network Television, said, “The creators, stars and crew of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE ambitiously and proudly upheld the fine traditions of the STAR TREK franchise. We are grateful for their contributions to the legacy of TREK and commend them on completing nearly 100 exciting, dramatic and visually stunning episodes. All of us at Paramount warmly bid goodbye to ENTERPRISE, and we all look forward to a new chapter of this enduring franchise in the future.”

A prequel to the original “Star Trek” series, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE premiered on UPN on Sept. 26, 2001, and aired for its first three seasons on Wednesdays (8:00-9:00PM, ET/PT). On Oct. 8, 2004, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE moved into its current time on Fridays (8:00-9:00PM, ET/PT). Through its four-year run, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE produced a total of 98 episodes and earned four Emmy Awards.

In January, Paramount Domestic Television sold the rebroadcasts of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE into off-network syndication in over 90% of the country, including 49 of the 50 top markets, and is set for debut in Fall 2005.

The series stars Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer, John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox, Jolene Blalock as the Vulcan Sub Commander T’Pol, Dominic Keating as Lt. Malcolm Reed, Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather, Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato and Connor Trinneer as Chief Engineer Charles “Trip” Tucker III.

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are the creators and executive producers of the series. STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE is a Paramount Network Television production

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Now we can start predicting whether or not Paramount will come up with a new concept, cast, and show for next season, or whether or not we will have a season or two between shows to give everyone a rest, and allow the creative juices time to develop something that might actually be good.

I will predict that Paramount won’t keep still, and they’ll do a rush job and there will be something on the air in the fall. I’ll go out on a limb and predict it will be set at Starfleet Academy, and we’ll actually have actors portraying a young Kirk, Spock, et al.

My record on predictions is abysmal, by the way. One of these days I’ve got to get one right.