Why I like golf

Now this is a country music video!

David Halberstam, 1934-2007

Got to admit, I'm pretty sad about this one. David Halberstam, to me, is just an icon in journalism and long-form storytelling. Although every reporter says they want to be like Hunter S. Thompson, most secretly would be happy beind David Halberstam. He wrote well but used simple language. He wrote interestingly about interesting and important subjects. And he was brave enough to write honestly and impartially about a fateful war well before it was the popular thing to do. "Making of a Quagmire" should be required reading for any journalism or modern history student.

As much as I enjoy the new breed of modern essayists like Chuck Klosterman, I can't help but miss people like George Plimpton, Hunter Thompson, and Halberstam.

Anti-weed promo

Don't see how this is any better than the Super Bowl Snickers commercial...but maybe that's because its on Canadian TV and not American. It's funny no matter what.

Smells like teen suckitude

Should these kids get a break since they're only in the 6th grade? I say no. You get no bonus points when you can't even angrily fire off your hoodie.

Pitcher runs fah rah rah rah rah

Something a little lighter today. This may be the greatest unsuccessful attempt to start a basebrawl.

Stolen from BSG

Cowardly massacre victims?

Sigh. Stolen from Keith Olbermann, here's some thoughts from some right-wingers on the Virginia Tech massacre.

First, from Nathanael Blake, of HumanEvents.com:

College classrooms have scads of young men who are at their physical peak, and none of them seems to have done anything beyond ducking, running, and holding doors shut. Meanwhile, an old man hurled his body at the shooter to save others. Something is clearly wrong with the men in our culture. Among the first rules of manliness are fighting bad guys and protecting others: in a word, courage. And not a one of the healthy young fellows in the classrooms seems to have done that.

When Kip Kinkle opened fire in Thurston High School a few years back, he was taken down by students, led by one who was already wounded. Why didn’t that happen here?

And from John Derbyshire, of nationalreviewonline.com

As NRO's designated chickenhawk, let me be the one to ask: Where was the spirit of self-defense here? Setting aside the ludicrous campus ban on licensed conceals, why didn't anyone rush the guy? It's not like this was Rambo, hosing the place down with automatic weapons. He had two handguns for goodness' sake—one of them reportedly a .22.

At the very least, count the shots and jump him reloading or changing hands. Better yet, just jump him. Handguns aren't very accurate, even at close range. I shoot mine all the time at the range, and I still can't hit squat. I doubt this guy was any better than I am. And even if hit, a .22 needs to find something important to do real damage—your chances aren't bad.

Yes, yes, I know it's easy to say these things: but didn't the heroes of Flight 93 teach us anything? As the cliche goes—and like most cliches. It's true—none of us knows what he'd do in a dire situation like that. I hope, however, that if I thought I was going to die anyway, I'd at least take a run at the guy.

I want my money!

Holy crap this is funny!
But in a small way I do feel bad for the kid...I mean you're two years old and Daddy has taught you to say obscene things to his buddy Will Ferrell and then tapes it. That's some good parenting.

Explosions rock!

This guy has the coolest job in the world. The shockwave is pretty awesome.

Farewell # 11 part 2

Just a follow-up to Thursday's Bledsoe post.

Dan LaMothe at masslive.com has a good roundup of Drew Bledsoe tribute videos, from an actually on-the-level Steve Burton joint, do the sublime, featuring music by The Who and Eminem.

Funny stuff.

Why we need VH1 Classic

Everyone knows the main riff to this song. But the video must be watched for all its true 70s glory.
Nor sure what I like best: the frontier setting, the keyboardist sashaying his way through the video, the Native American dancing girls...so I'm just going to go with the mustaches.

So long, Drew

Drew Bledsoe is retiring and I can't help but post a few thoughts.

I know that he's become the butt of some jokes, that he has a penchant for throwing game-ending/drive-killing back-footed interceptions, that a block of concrete is more mobile in the pocket than he is.

But I still think New England Patriots fans should raise one high for #11.

Before Drew Bledsoe, Hugh Millen was our freakin' quarterback. The team sucked (think Bruins, but even worse) and there was a good chance they were going to be relocated to St. Louis.

Bledose arrives, Parcells takes over and three years later the Patriots are in the Super Bowl.

Is there any male between the ages of 25 and 40 who doesn't remember the 1994 game against the Minneota Vikings?

I remained in Bledsoe's camp much longer than most did -- still convinced he'd be OK with a better O-line and running game. But there's no doubting the game has changed and classic pocket quarterbacks aren't long for the league any more. Especially those with shaken confidence who hold onto the ball too long.

Tom Brady is the man now, but New England fans should still give at least Bledsoe a mental Standing Ovation if for no other reason than he's just a decent guy who played the game hard. He could have moped and complained publically about being benched for Brady, instead he just held the clipboard, came off the bench and won the AFC Championship game against the Steelers, and then helped celebrate when the Patriots won the Super Bowl.

He may not be Hall of Fame material, but his acheivements with the Patriots should not be forgotten.

That's a nice Van Dyke you got there

It's also that time of the year for my favorite non-televised sporting event -- the World Beard and Mustache Championships.
Here's Team USA!
Be sure to check out the photos of past champions!

Nooooooooooooo!!!!

Stupid Bee Gee.

Not even a flesh wound?

Good to see that Terry Jones still has his fastball. Just a skewering piece of satire about the recent Iranian hostage crisis.

What is so appalling is the underhand way in which the Iranians have got her "unhappy and stressed". She shows no signs of electrocution or burn marks and there are no signs of beating on her face. This is unacceptable. If captives are to be put under duress, such as by forcing them into compromising sexual positions, or having electric shocks to their genitals, they should be photographed, as they were in Abu Ghraib. The photographs should then be circulated around the civilised world so that everyone can see exactly what has been going on.

A swing and a drive...WAY BACK!

I'm not one to advocate on behalf of child abuse...but this kid definately had it coming. Nobody messes with Frank Thomas.

Mastery at the Masters

Now THIS is a professional athlete.

BOOOOOOO!

Yet another reason why proper physical education classes should be taught in schools. This is just terrible. Terrible! This gets a big Rick Collins double thumbs down.

Her humps, eh?

One thing I"ve always appreciated about Alanis Morisette is she seems to have a good sense of humor about herself. Which is why I like this video, even though she seems to be channeling Tori Amos.

I'm holding out for the A-Team van...

Ever want to own Kitt, from Knight Rider? Here's your chance!

Just be ready to bid heavy against Gustaf, president of David Hasselhoff's German fan club.

My favorite math puzzle...

Let me know if you can figure this one out...Its like some mathematical oddity.

Three men decided to split the cost of a hotel room.

The hotel manager gave them a price of $30.The men split the bill evenly, each paying $10, and went to their room. However, the hotel manager realized that it was a Wednesday night, which meant the hotel had a special: rooms were only $25. He had overcharged them $5!

He called the bellboy, gave him five one-dollar bills and told him to return it to the men.When the bellboy explained the situation to the men, they were so pleased at the honesty of the establishment that they promptly tipped the bellboy $2 of the $5 he had returned and each kept $1 for himself.

So each of the three men ended up paying $9 (their original $10, minus $1 back) totalling $27, plus $2 for the bellboy makes $29.Where did the extra dollar go?