Hope You All Got My Card

Inconceivable!

The Princess Bride cast, reunited 25 years later.

I'm Hip, Daddy-O

This Is Cool

I've Always Said That

And from now on, all my shoes will come from Nunn Bush. Best name ever.

Of course, it would be much funnier if they made steel wool soap pads or sweaters, but you can't have everything ...

The End of Newspapers...

Boston Globe Tailors Print Edition For Three Remaining Subscribers

I love the comments about Buddy

On Turning 40

A little history for your MLK Day

Most are familiar with Norman Rockwell's iconic portrait from the Civil Rights movement. But did you know the little girl depicted is Ruby Bridges, the six year old who integrated New Orleans public schools? Read a great article about her here. The Disney made-for-TV movie is very good as these things go; I use it in my class every year.

Wildfire

Check out this animated map showing the spread of Walmart stores across the U.S. from the first store in 1967 to the more than 3000 stores open today.

Also interesting is this clip from the BBC showing visualizations of the daily movements of British traffic of various kinds, from London cabs, to air traffic, to telephone conversations. I hope this show makes it to BBC America.

Overdue hat tip to Houston's Clear Thinkers, a blog from which I have pinched stuff frequently in the past.

Fetch me a goblet of something cool and refreshing

I've been flying a lot lately for work, and found this rather amusing:

Punk Grows Up

I know you guys are too old for punk, but so is Pennywise. Lead vocalist/guitarist Jim Lindberg actually wrote a book about being a punk rock dad. And they've just released a new CD. Free Tunes, Punks!

Guess Who?

Is it possible? Here's Frances Bean Cobain, aged 15.

Grohl in Memphis

I saw the Foo Fighters Friday night from, of all things, a corporate luxury box at the FedEx Forum. Terrific show, as huge rock extravaganzas go, 2+ hours of solid music, well-formatted and executed. But I have to say, my concert days are really past. The light show is annoying, all the screaming, the surging drunk crowd, I don't have the patience anymore. Can't complain about the music, though. And I don't mind the drunk dancing and singing along, they're at least all engaged in the music. But the young girls around me having shouted conversations while the music was happening was the kicker. My indignation had so little company that I eventually kept my dirty looks to myself and just tried to block it out.

Live music is dead to me. If the venue is small and the band good, I'll take it in, but no more concerts. Were we that annoying when we were young? Maybe, but I can't ever remember being at a concert and being as disconnected from the music as many of those around me Friday night.

Some Vintage Catchiness

The Speedies, Let Me Take Your Photo. (Weird seeing those towers behind them.)

Who Remembers?

Ah, the series that reminded us that most truck drivers are sexy, scantily-clad women and that anyone in America can own a chimpanzee. What a wonderful role those old '70s shows filled, showing us what the world was really like. No wonder we're all so well-adjusted. Or is that the result of our perfect fathers?

The Drunkest Generation

Courtesy of Cracked.com, ten reasons why our grandparents could drink us under the table.

RIAA Continues To Not Get It

In a bid to hold on to the title of Biggest Assholes on the Planet, the RIAA now claims that making a digital copy - for your own personal use - of a CD that you legally purchased is ... wait for it ... theft.

From a recent copy of the Washington Post:

Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.

"I couldn't believe it when I read that," says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. "The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation."

Read the rest of this heart-warming article here.

List of Controversial Films

Entertainment Weekly has an interesting list of the top 25 controversial films of all time. One thing that struck me about this list is the fact that so few recent films are deemed 'controversial'. Although I'm sure we all could come up with examples to the contrary, it seems like films don't take many risks anymore. They are great at aweing us, but don't stir the shit pot very often.

Who else had one of these?

Hell, that kid might BE me. I used to love Evel Knievel. I remember watching his stunts on TV, including the infamous Snake River Jump. We had inflated the event to 'jumping the Grand Canyon in a rocket ship' on my block, but it was riveting just the same.

Evidently ol' Evel died today. His website crashed when I went to look for info, but if its true, RIP daredevil.

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday, dear Evel,
I guess if I'd broken every bone in my body 27 times I'd be in a wheelchair...excuse me, Legend Scooter®, too.