Friday, February 27, 2015

George Harrison

I never know how to properly use the term "irony" but I'm pretty sure this fits.

It was (what would have been) George Harrison's 72nd birthday on Wednesday, and Los Angeles wanted to do something to replace the George Harrison Tree that had been infested with bugs.

What kind of bugs you might ask?

Beetles.

From the LA Times:

But a Los Angeles City Council member, a longtime fan and other Harrison admirers are doing their part Wednesday, on what would have been the former Beatle’s 72nd birthday, to right a wrong committed last year when an insect infestation — yes, they were beetles — killed what was known as the George Harrison Tree.
When word went out last year that the original tree had been felled by tree beetles, news quickly shot around the world and the story made international headlines.
Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose Fourth District includes Griffith Park, helped plant the original tree in 2002, not long after Harrison died Nov. 29, 2001, in Los Angeles, from cancer at age 58.
“We had a tribute on the steps of the observatory,” recalled LaBonge, now in his final term of office, “and several hundred people wrote notes, which we’ve collected in a book ‘We Remember George.’ ”

Thursday, February 26, 2015

ShipSnowYo.com

I can't tell if this guy is an idiot or a genius. Probably both.

Via CNN/News8000

For $89, self-styled entrepreneur Kyle Waring will ship you 6 pounds of Boston-area snow in an insulated Styrofoam box -- enough for 10 to 15 snowballs, he says.

But not if you live in New England or surrounding states.


Via ShipSnowYo.com
"We will not ship snow to any states in the northeast!" says Waring's website, ShipSnowYo.com. "We're in the business of expunging snow!"

His website and social media accounts claim to have filled more than 133 orders for snow -- more than 30 on Tuesday alone, his busiest day yet.


Jeeze. 133 times 89 is $11,837. The things some people spend their money on.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

PnR

So many things end poorly, or get drawn out, or leave you wanting more.

The finale of "Parks and Recreation" was none of those things.

Sure, showrunner Michael Schur was able to wrap things nicely in a bow for each of the characters, but after seven years of one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, isn't that what they deserved?

Parks and Rec was good TV, and it made me happy. When all is said and done, you can't ask for much more.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Storming the Court

I'm in this crowd somewhere.

wiscongame.jpg (641×390)

It was 2010, after the Badgers football team upset top-ranked Ohio State. Was it fun? You bet. Was it safe? Absolutely not.

When Kansas State's men's basketball team upset Kansas last night, they stormed the court. Jayhawks coach Bill Self gets it, but he wasn't thrilled.

Here are his comments, via WaPo:

“I wasn’t nervous for me,” Self said afterward. “There were several students that hit our players — not saying like with fists, but when you storm the court, you run in, you bump everybody, stuff like that. This has got to stop.

“Court storming is fine, but surely, you can get security to the point where player safety is not involved like it is over here. The last several times they’ve won, they’ve stormed the court on us. That’s disappointing that that happened again, but we also allowed it to happen again by not playing well. 

I agree with everything he said here. Especially with the bigger point about player safety. It's not a problem until it's a problem.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Oscars speeches

The Oscars telecast as a whole was pretty ho-hum, but there were a few acceptance speeches that really hit home for some people.

The sincerity of Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne


The social statement on women's rights by Patricia Arquette


And my favorite, the weird, different speech by Graham Moore.


The acceptance speeches, for the most part, were spectacular. Often, they're the best part of the show. So why are we trying to play these people off? I understand the dangers of live TV, and working within time constraints and all that, but for many people, like Graham Moore, that was probably the best 5 minutes of his life. Why cut it short? Certainly there has got to be a better way than awkwardly playing orchestra music over the top of these speeches.

Friday, February 20, 2015

OSCARS

I don't really like awards ceremonies, but I like awards, if that makes sense.

I've seen Birdman and it's...interesting, but it wouldn't surprise me if it won best picture. It's apparently going to be a very close race.

hickey-datalab-oscarfinal-1

What that all means is that this is historically close.

Read more here: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-race-for-best-picture-is-among-the-closest-in-oscar-history/

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Piggly Wiggly Bumper Cars

I know, we shouldn't be making fun of this poor old man but...come on.

The good news is that no one got hurt, right?

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

BRING IT ON: MINNESOTA

I'm disappointed I missed this yesterday, because this is the real highlight of the weekend.

There was apparently some controversy at the MSHSL state dance championships. HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS. DANCING. DRAMA.


No, it wasn't the Rancho County Toros. (PS - There must be some clovers in the atmosphere)

IT WAS RIGHT IN OUR BACKYARD.

Per Deadspin (and yes, DEADSPIN IS REPORTING ON HIGH SCHOOL DANCE)

Officials disqualified five Minnesota high school dance teams after their symbolic protest at the state finals over a rival team's alleged plagiarized championship routine in what was basically the exact plot from the classic and very great high school cheerleading movie, Bring It On.

The allegation is that the drill team from Utah's Copper Hills High performed an incredible routine last year which Faribault then plagiarized and performed this year. One theory is that Faribault ripped it directly from Copper Hills after seeing it on YouTube; another is that Austin High School, another Minnesota squad, saw Copper Hills's routine on YouTube, stole bits of it, and then performed a new routine in a competition earlier this season. In that very competition, Faribault performed after Austin, and were so taken with it that they jacked Austin's routine—which, of course, wasn't completely theirs to begin with.

The MSHSL investigated. And they found that no tomfoolery or shenanigans had occurred. 

After a review of the report from the school and a review of video and other information, there was complete consensus on the part of League staff and the Dance Team Rule Coordinators that a violation had not occurred.


Their outfits and makeup is terrifying. I hope this isn't the last we've heard of this story.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Wayne's World

I got sucked into the SNL 40th anniversary special last night, and I'm glad I did because it was spectacular.

You forget how good some of the sketches are, especially iconic stuff like Wayne's World.


Mike Myers and Dana Carvey have still got it.

Kanye is the worst.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Friday the 13th

I don't buy much into supersitions and Friday the 13th and bad luck, so I'm glad there's research to back me up.

Per Vox:

A more plausible hypothesis might be that Friday the 13th itself doesn't cause bad luck, but it does lead people to behave differently out of fear or anxiety, thereby causing things like accidents.

Subsequent studies, though, don't support this idea idea either.

While a Finnish study found that female drivers were more likely to get in accidents on the Friday the 13th, a subsequent follow-up found the correlation disappeared with better data and more controls. A German study similarly found that the number of accidents and errors that occur during hospital operations is pretty much the same on Friday the 13th as on other day

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Suh to the Packers?

Sure, Packers fans aren't soon to forget this image.



But with Ndamukong Suh becoming a free agent, would you want him wearing green and gold?

It makes sense from a football standpoint, according to former NFL linebacker and current NFL Network analyst LaVar Arrington.

"A lot of times, players that leave their team feel disrespected and that they weren't treated correctly, and they tend to stay in the division. I'm looking at Green Bay," Arrington said. "I think that would be a great fit.

"They're going to get B.J. Raji back, so now you're looking at B.J. Raji and Ndamukong Suh, and then you got those guys on the outside -- more specifically, you have Julius Peppers, you got Clay Matthews 

"You shore up the center of that defensive front, and that might have been one of the pieces that they were truly missing on that team this past season."

Sure, that part is easy to get on board with, but could Packers fans, some of the most fiercely loyal in all of sports, get on board with the idea?

I think at some level, talent wins out. And Suh is one of the most talented in the game.

I'd welcome him to Lambeau with open arms.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Powerball

I get guilt tripped into playing the lottery every so often. People at work chip in to buy tickets, and we then celebrate our $4 winnings with great vigor. I have no idea if this is illegal or not.

Either way, there's apparently a mathematical way to guarantee that you'll win the Powerball jackpot tonight, as it's valued at over $500 million.

It'll take a little bit (ok, A TON) of work, as well as a pretty hefty investment.



Per Cleveland dot com:

There are 175.2 million combinations so, at $2 a play, you'll need to get to an ATM or your mattress and withdraw a little over $350 million to cover all possible draws.

There's not enough time for you to place all the bets yourself. This is true even if you prepared all 35.04 million betting slips (five bets per slip) ahead of time in anticipation of such a big jackpot. In Ohio, bets are cut off at 10 p.m. That leaves just 71 hours between the 10:59 p.m. Wednesday drawing and the deadline for buying tickets for the Saturday drawing.

So you need $350 million and 2,000 of your closest friends. Easy!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

$0.58

Macklemore would be proud.

And every Packers fan is at least a little jealous.




That's Vince Lombardi wearing a West Point sweater. A North Carolina couple stumbled upon the garment at a thrift store, and purchased it for $0.58.

Fifty eight cents.

According to CBS sports, the couple could fetch quite the return on their investment

Heritage Auctions in Dallas confirmed the sweater was in fact owned by Lombardi and put a hefty price tag on it.

"They examined the types of fabric that are used on the sweater the different types of stitching," Heritage consignment director Chris Nerat said. "I think that it could easily hit the $20,000 range."

Thursday, February 5, 2015

RED VELVET

I had been on the search for Red Velvet Oreos all week, and finally today, success.



THAT'S RIGHT. A HOMEMADE PHOTO TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY BOUGHT THEM.

Two packages, to be exact. And I'm glad I did. Because they're delicious. I was informed yesterday that "red velvet" is just chocolate with red food coloring, BUT WHO ARE YOU TO RAIN ON MY PARADE? The real kicker here? The cream cheese frosting.



Pick some up today at your local retailer...if you can find them.


Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Plane Pics

Asia is crazy. Let's just start there.

But if you saw this in real time, what would you do?



The details of the crash are both crazy and sad. Via BBC News:

A plane carrying mostly Chinese tourists has crashed into a river in Taiwan, killing at least 31 people.

Dramatic video footage emerged showing the TransAsia Airways plane clipping a bridge as it came down shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport.

The plane, carrying 58 people, broke up as it plunged into Taipei's Keelung River. The fuselage was later salvaged by crane.

There were 15 survivors pulled from the wreckage but 12 people remain missing.

John Sudworth reports: "This is no longer a rescue mission, but a recovery operation"

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

GRONKY PUNCH

Gronk is the best. He's refreshingly honest. His take on the brawl toward the end of the game is the fantastic.

"Roger...that wasn't me."

"Screw it. Last game of the year, I'm throwing some haymakers."

Monday, February 2, 2015

SB Commercials

This was my favorite commercial of the Super Bowl, only because of the polar bear in the sombrero.