Kung Fu Bicycles, Pricilla Presley, and You Guessed It, Miscellany

Last line of Blue Velvet- "It's a strange world, isn't it?"

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Elvis Presley first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show understand 1956, changing the culture forever.

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When Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record, he got an asterisk. Maris had 61* in 162 games, whereas Ruth had 60 in 154 games. Now if Aaron Judge breaks 61, he'll need an asterisk too- a good asterisk, denoting the fact that we all know it's the non-steroid home run record.

September 9, 2022

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Bertrand Russell- "You cannot be intelligent merely by choosing your opinions. The intelligent man is not the man who holds such-and-such views but the man who has sound reasons for what he believes and yet does not believe it dogmatically."

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Oh my goodness, Leylah Fernandez is the real deal. What a great match. I feel the same veneration watching her that I did the first time watching Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus and Serena. She's from another planet.

September 9, 2021

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This happens to be the day, in 1776, that the Continental Congress officially named its union of states, the United States.

Shelby Foote, in Ken Burns' Civil War:

"Before the war, it was said "the United States are." Grammatically, it was spoken that way and thought of as a collection of independent states. And after the war, it was always "the United States is," as we say today without being self-conscious at all. And that's sums up what the war accomplished. It made us an "is.""

So Texas can secede for all I care if they don't think we are an "is". Maybe we can invade them for their oil to pay for our health care. Just spitballing...

September 9, 2021

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My number one complaint about Trump since March is that he downplayed the virus at every turn. A million people battled me, but now Trump admitted it himself. By the Transitive Property of Circular Idiocy, if those people now agree with the president, thus retroactively agreeing with me, does that make them a libtard by their own definition?

Let's take a step back for a second too... of all the stupid things I've ever heard anybody say about anything in my whole life, perhaps the exact stupidest is Trump telling a reporter (who already wrote a book critical of him) that he was downplaying the virus, knowing that he was being recorded.

September 9, 2020

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IFL Science

Teach the controversy

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It's ironic that the politicians who are opposing the Iran deal the most are the same ones, who if they were in charge, the world would do well to push for a much stricter deal monitoring U.S. nuclear weapons.

September 9, 2015

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Second day of school.

September 9, 2015

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This US Open final is making me weak in my knees.

September 9, 2015

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There was a moment in history when Paul Reubens sighed with relief at not being drafted for Vietnam. Seems like a good idea to reflect on that.

September 9, 2012

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Word on the street is that we're playing kickball on Sunday... 1pm at Buchanan Park. Or if you happen to be a fat lazy bastard you could just stay home and watch 12 hours of football instead. We didn't need you anyway. (I can't wait to see you there, you handsome little devil.)

September 9, 2009

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The Giant of Kandahar, a creature so strange, it doesn't cast a shadow.

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The first computer bug was found on this day in 1947. A moth became lodged in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University.

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The four-day Attica Prison riot began on this day in 1971, eventually resulting in 39 dead, most killed by state troopers retaking the prison.

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Blue Velvet was released on this day in 1986. David Foster Wallace:

The movie’s obvious “themes” – the evil flip side to picket-fence respectability, the conjunctions of sadism and sexuality and parental authority and voyeurism and cheesy ‘50s pop and Coming of Age, etc. – were for us less revelatory than the way the movie’s surrealism and dream-logic felt: they felt true, real. And the couple things just slightly but marvelously off in every shot – the Yellow Man literally dead on his feet, Frank’s unexplained gas mask, the eerie industrial thrum on the stairway outside Dorothy’s apartment, the weird dentate-vagina sculpture hanging on an otherwise bare wall over Jeffrey’s bed at home, the dog drinking from the hose in the stricken dad’s hand – it wasn’t just that these touches seemed eccentrically cool or experimental or arty, but that they communicated things that felt true. Blue Velvet captured something crucial about the way the U.S. present acted on our nerve endings, something crucial that couldn’t be analyzed or deduced to a system of codes or aesthetic principles or workshop techniques."

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Leo Tolstoy was born on this day in 1828. I studied The Death of Ivan Ilyich in a Thanatopsis class.

"The example of a syllogism that he had studied in Kiesewetter's logic: Caius is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caius is mortal, had throughout his whole life seemed to him right only in relation to Caius, but not to him at all."

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Non-genius former quarterback Joe Theismann was born on this day in 1949.

"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."

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Adam Sandler was born on this day in 1966. I see my favorite comedian? I might laugh the most at his, although admittedly they're not quite as high browse some others.

Oh cotton candy, making me randy

Multi-colored lolli-what the hell happened?

(The pianist made a mistake.)

No, you just don't start over!

You apologize to me!

You don't just do that to the Sandman!

 

Okay, let's start again

We'll cut around it

Not yet!

Hit it!

 

Yes, yes, yes

 

Oh cotton candy, making me Randy

Multi-colored lollipop

Gobstopper, never stop

Red attire-fuck

 

I fucked up, alright start

Fuck that shit!

The Sandman don't fuck up!

From the top

 

Oh, cotton candy, making me randy

Multicolor lollipop

Gobstopper never stop

Reese's Pieces, Charleston Chew

Butterfinger, Snickers too

Red Atomic Fireball

I want to eat them all

Give me a green Jolly Rancher

Let me hear you

Let's go

 

Laffy Taffy, Lemonhead

Cadbury Eggs will hatch, 

Kids from the Sour Patch

Milk Duds and Swedish Fish, 

Gummy bears and licorice

If you got a Kit Kat, I would like a taste of that

The doctor says I got diabetes

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Billy Hamilton was born on this day in 1990. He's not the best baseball player, but he's fast!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/595580545870496?s=yWDuG2&fs=e

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Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician, 1st Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, died on this day in 1976.

"Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent."

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The Bluegrass Jesus, Bill Monroe, left us on this day in 1996. 

"Bluegrass is wonderful music. I'm glad I originated it."

He didn't win many humility awards.

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Richie Ashburn left us on this day in 1997. I remember that night, it hit me hard. I went and ran a couple miles.

"The kid doesn't chew tobacco, smoke, drink, curse or chase broads. I don't see how he can possible make it." 

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Nuclear Physicist Edward Teller died on this day in 2003.

“Two paradoxes are better than one. They may even suggest a solution.”

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Calgary Juan Singetary, song-poem virtuoso. I like the guy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELHOaz1kghQ

September 9, 2013

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Bill Moyers- Are We Approaching the End of Human History? By Noam Chomsky

Wait a second, the present is always the end of history. Haha, I out-languaged a linguist! (I'll treasure that until we all die, shortly.)

http://billmoyers.com/2014/09/09/noam-chomsky-are-we-approaching-the-end-of-human-history/

September 9, 2014

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I'm so pleased to learn that Sinead still has it in her.

https://youtu.be/5KuGUP-C9Ko

September 9, 2019

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CNN Politics- Trump launches unprecedented attack on military leadership he appointed

This guy Trump is a funny guy... when accused of insulting the military, he denies it while insulting them more. If instead of just stating publicy that current military leaders are war profiteers, hellbent on sending troops to war, it was reported that 4 people heard him say it, the standard one-word defense would be shouted from the rooftops "hoax!"

And anyway, if indeed he knows they are war profiteers, why would he not remove them? And why would he increase their budget every year? Funny guy.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/09/07/politics/trump-attack-military-leadership/index.html

September 9, 2020

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Funny to think that if you bought them all at the time, you could be a millionaire now.

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Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass- "Re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul."

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Denis Diderot- "Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."

Damn, Diderot! (What about a philosopher-king???)

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Benjamin Franklin- “Whatever begins in anger, ends in shame.”

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Epictetus- "It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them. Death, for example, is nothing frightening, otherwise it would have frightened Socrates. But the judgement that death is frightening - now, that is something to be afraid of."

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Ashburn again- "To cure a batting slump, I took my bat to bed with me. I wanted to know my bat a little better."

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On this day in 1977, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, 19, made their major league debuts. The double-play combo played 19 seasons and 1,918 games together, a major league record. They each got their first major league hit off the same pitcher, Reggie Cleveland, and their final major league hit off the same pitcher, Mike Fetters.

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Deep Thoughts, Jack Handy:

We used to laugh at grandpa

when he'd head off and go fishing

but we wouldnt be laughing that evening

when he came back with some whore he picked up in town. 

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Lost in Translation was released on this day in 2003.

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Tolstoy again- "If you feel pain, you're alive. If you feel others' pain, you're a human being."

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Albert Camus, from A Happy Death:

"When I look at my life and its secret colors, I feel like bursting into tears. Like that sky. It's rain and sun both, noon and midnight. I think of the lips I've kissed, and of the wretched child I was, and of the madness of life and the ambition that sometimes carries me away. I'm all those things at once. I'm sure there are times when you wouldn't even recognize me. Extreme in misery, excessive in happiness—I can't say it."

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23 emotions people feel but can't explain

10. Chrysalism

The amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm.

11. Vemödalen

The frustration of photographic something amazing when thousands of identical photos already exist.

12. Anecdoche

A conversation in which everyone is talking, but nobody is listening.

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Miguel de Cervantes- "He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses his courage loses all."

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Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles- "Wine can be a better teacher than ink, and banter is often better than books."

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William James, The Principles of Psychology- "Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, 'This is the real me,' and when you have found that attitude, follow it."

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Werner Herzog- "I travel without barely any luggage. Just a second set of underwear and binoculars and a map and a toothbrush."

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There was a young man of Kildare 

Who was fucking a girl on the stair. 

The bannister broke, 

But he doubled his stroke 

And finished her off in midair.

Addendum 

1.

If you have time, you might want to read this obituary.

Wilmington – Rick Stein, 71, of Wilmington was reported missing and presumed dead on September 27, 2018 when investigators say the single-engine plane he was piloting, The Northrop, suddenly lost communication with air traffic control and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rehoboth Beach. Philadelphia police confirm Stein had been a patient at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital where he was being treated for a rare form of cancer. Hospital spokesman Walter Heisenberg says doctors from Stein’s surgical team went to visit him on rounds when they discovered his room was empty. Security footage shows Stein leaving the building at approximately 3:30 Thursday afternoon, but then the video feed mysteriously cuts off. Authorities say they believe Stein took an Uber to the Philadelphia airport where they assume he somehow gained access to the aircraft.

“The sea was angry that day,” said NTSB lead investigator Greg Fields in a press conference. “We have no idea where Mr. Stein may be, but any hope for a rescue is unlikely.”

Stein’s location isn’t the only mystery. It seems no one in his life knew his exact occupation.

His daughter, Alex Walsh of Wilmington appeared shocked by the news. “My dad couldn’t even fly a plane. He owned restaurants in Boulder, Colorado and knew every answer on Jeopardy. He did the New York Times crossword in pen. I talked to him that day and he told me he was going out to get some grappa. All he ever wanted was a glass of grappa.”

Stein’s brother, Jim echoed similar confusion. “Rick and I owned Stuart Kingston Galleries together. He was a jeweler and oriental rug dealer, not a pilot.” Meanwhile, Missel Leddington of Charlottesville claimed her brother was a cartoonist and freelance television critic for the New Yorker.

David Walsh, Stein’s son-in-law, said he was certain Stein was a political satirist for the Huffington Post while grandsons Drake and Sam said they believed Stein wrote an internet sports column for ESPN covering Duke basketball, FC Barcelona soccer, the Denver Broncos and the Tour de France. Stein’s granddaughter Evangeline claims he was a YouTube sensation who had just signed a seven-figure deal with Netflix.

When told of his uncle’s disappearance, Edward Stein said he was baffled since he believed Stein worked as a trail guide in Rocky Mountain National Park. “He took me on a hike up the Lily Peak Trail back in the 90s. He knew every berry, bush and tree on that trail.” Nephew James Stein of Los Angeles claimed his uncle was an A&R consultant for Bad Boy records and ran a chain of legal recreational marijuana dispensaries in Colorado called Casablunta. Niece Courtney Stein, a former Hollywood agent, said her uncle had worked as a contributing writer for Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm and was currently consulting on a new series with Larry David.

People who knew Stein have reported his occupation as everything from gourmet chef and sommelier to botanist, electrician, mechanic and even spy novelist. Police say the volume of contradictory information will make it nearly impossible to pinpoint Stein’s exact location.

In fact, the only person who might be able to answer the question, who is the real Rick Stein is his wife and constant companion for the past 14 years, Susan Stein. Detectives say they were unable to interview Mrs. Stein, however neighbors say they witnessed her leaving the home the couple shared wearing dark sunglasses and a fedora, loading multiple suitcases into her car. FAA records show she purchased a pair of one-way tickets to Rome which was Mr. Stein’s favorite city. An anonymous source with the airline reports the name used to book the other ticket was Juan Morefore DeRoad, which, according to the FBI, was an alias Stein used for many years.

That is one story.

Another story is that Rick never left the hospital and died peacefully with his wife and his daughter holding tightly to his hands.

You can choose which version you want to believe or share your own story about Rick with us at the Greenville Country Club on Friday, November 9, 2018 from 3:00-6:00pm.

2.

Myspace Blog 

September 9, 2006

A few notes on Nazis: A Warning From History

A few notes on "Nazis: A Warning From History" from 1997.

-Leading Nazis referred to Hitler's superhuman quality

-There was resentment toward Jews in the media and Marxists after WW1 for fomenting anti-war sentiments back home. Frontline troops didn't feel defeated and wondered why Germany surrendered

-Opinion built that Bolshevism and Judaism were the same as atheism and liberalism

-Hitler's German Worker's Party Number was 555 (anyone into numerology? 555=man, 666=devil, 777=god,not that it means anything...)

-Opinion formed that the Versailles Treaty was wrong and the Jews were behind it. It forced Germany to pay reparations causing the economy to spiral out of control.

-Himmler- "Cowards are born in towns, heroes in the country."

-Early Nazis in 1928 promising to strip Jews of citizenship got 3% of the vote. After 5 major banks folded in 1931, their popularity skyrocketed.

-They were not specific in their policies but promised order, discipline and Hitler's personality.

-Hitler made it no secret- a vote for the Nazis was a vote for dictatorship. Isn't that interesting- a vote for a dictatorship.

-The unemployed became communists or stoomtroopers

-A former stoomtrooper- "Yet the danger is always there, when there's a crisis, that people appear who claim to be the foundation of all wisdom and that they can bring salvation to everyone."

-A German diplomat said that the footage of Nazis marching and standing in formation was pure propaganda. Create the illusion of order and people think there is order. There was no order.

-People were encouraged to spy and report on their neighbors. Diplomat- "Every street cleaner thinks he's responsible for matters that he's never understood."

-An assistant said that Hitler made important decisions without ever asking to see relevant files. He believed that many things sorted themselves out on their own without interference.

-He surrounded himself with acolytes that knew their future would be decided on whether they made Hitler happy or not.

-Didn't have detailed policies. People with any power at all often said "this is the will of the fuhrer" based on something they overheard or believed that he believed.

-Huge increases in military $

-An arrogance that Germans were somehow special and should stand above others

-Often had fireworks displays as a show of national pride

-Girls often cried in Hitler's presence

-Hundreds of Jews were killed by stormtroopers. Hitler didn't speak publicly about it, so Germans who wished to believe it was just the stormtroopers could continue to believe it.

-"Any idea in this system could, with the combination of a leader that spoke in visions and enthusiastic supporters easy to please, grow radically to an extreme almost in an instant." That comment was in reference to the killing of disabled kids.

-Hitler to his troops- "Give in to your overwhelming need to obey."

-Hitler said that he wanted ethnic cleansing in Poland and he wouldn't question the methods. Raises an interesting question on responsibility. Hitler never wrote down his own beliefs on policies. Leaders were given the OK with a nod. Hard to trace responsibility.

-Nazi propaganda films of the invasion of Poland show Polish-Germans welcoming German soldiers with flowers. There's footage of Nazis destroying symbols of communism, specifically pulling down a statue of Stalin

-Up until 1940 the Nazi policy on Jews was expulsion.

-Himmler on the Jews- "If we don't do it to them, they will do it to us." Jews began to be seen as military threats.

-Hitler thought the Jews were responsible for the 2 million dead of WW1

-After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the US.

-"The idea that they were superior made it harder for the Nazis to see that they were losing the war."

-It wouldn't be complete without this quote from Goering at the Nuremberg Trials:

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

What conclusions can we draw?