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Happy Birthday, Guinness!

Yesterday was the 250th Anniversary of Guinness Stout!

Arthur Guinness

Partygoers in Dublin, New York, City, Kuala Lumpur, Cameroon Yaoundé, Cameroon and Nigeria Lagos, Nigeria all raised a glass to Arthur Guinness on Arthur’s Day… something that should be an annual thing, in my opinion. We need a boozy holiday this time of year!

Guinness was my “first” beer, because it was new and obscure in the US in the mid 80s, and if you walked into a liquor store and asked for it, it was rare that the guy working the counter would ID you. I guess they figured teenagers only came in and tried to buy cases of Nasty Lite. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUINNESS! TO ARTHUR!

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Stupid Elitism

There is a certain subculture in the United States in which everything “American” is inferior, and everything “European” is superior.

Part of this might be due to selective marketing. For example, only the best French films get exported to the United States, so people who enjoy “art house” films might think French movies are better than American ones. But that’s only because he or she didn’t see the 600 other, crappy French films released that year that didn’t make it to American theatres.

There’s also European “brand snobbery” going on. Certainly most people would consider Mercedes Benz or BMW to be a better car than the average Ford or GM product, but again, this is comparing apples to oranges. I don’t know anyone who would consider Renault  or Peugot to be better than Ford. Certainly the Renault Alliance gives the AMC Gremlin a run for the “biggest piece of crap car of all time”… and let’s not forget that the Yugo, perhaps the worst production car ever made – was made in Europe.

Continue reading “Stupid Elitism”

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Randomness Roundup

– Is that a piece of a spoon from Wendy’s in your lung, or are you just happy to see me?

Wendys Lung

– Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin was once found wandering outside the White House, drunk, in his boxer shorts, trying a hail a cab to get a pizza.

– A bar in the UK has installed a Breathalyzer near the door… but not for the reasons you might think. It’s to make sure that their patrons are smashed! Anyone leaving the bar at 3am with a BAC of less than .08 will have their cover charge refunded, and the person with the highest BAC of the evening wins free cover for a week.

– Rechargeable batteries are expensive. Which devices are better off with plain old alkaline batteries? Click here to find out.

– Megan Fox is beautiful… but the woman is crazy and amazingly stupid.

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Bobby Cox to retire

Bobby CoxI’m not much of a baseball fan, but when I do watch the game, I cheer for the hometown Atlanta Braves. And for the past 19 years, Bobby Cox has been their manager. As of yesterday, Cox had 2,408 wins as manager, and is only one of two managers in major league history to have six 100 win seasons. Although he is most known for taking the Braves to the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons, he also holds the record for most ejections at 159. And, sadly, he will retire after next season.

It was Cox’s second run as manager of the Braves, after leading the team from 1978-1981.

Thinking about the Braves makes me a bit sad these days. With Skip Caray and now Bobby Cox gone, it’s like the Braves I knew don’t exist any more.

Random fact: Chipper Jones has played for Bobby Cox his entire career.

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Mad Men: “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency”

This episode begins with Don walking in to Sally’s room. He goes to turn the light off, but Sally begs him not to. Don says that it’s 10:30 and asks why she’s still awake. She says that she’s afraid of what will happen when he turns off the light. Don says that nothing will hurt her… except for the mess in her room. He then picks up her desk lamp, turns it on, and puts it on the floor. He tells her that if she cleans up her room, he’ll buy her a night light. He kisses her goodnight and walks out of the room, turning off the overhead light on his way out.

The next morning the guys at Sterling Cooper fret over a memo that has been circulating throughout the agency:

mad_men_s03_e06_01

Pete, Paul and Harry wonder what the meeting is all about. Pete laments that Ken hasn’t arrived yet. John, Lane, Roger, and Bert emerge and stand on the steps. Lane announces that the director and chairman of the board of Putnam, Powell and Lowe will be visiting Sterling Cooper, both as a friendly visit, and to also “evaluate our performance”. John says that the men are due to arrive tomorrow (Tuesday, July 2) at 10:00 am, and that they will stay through Wednesday, July 3. He then apologizes to the employees, because July 3rd was originally meant to be a holiday, but neither he nor the PPL employees were aware of the holiday. Lane then urges everyone to work “at the height of their productivity” and that everything  be in perfect order.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency””

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Congrats, Mad Men!

Congratulations to Matthew Weiner, AMC, Lionsgate, and the cast and crew of Mad Men for winning the Emmy Award for Best Drama for the second year in a row!

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The show is simply amazing, and the sheer depth and care everyone puts into it is obvious. Congrats, guys… you deserve it!

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-09-20

  • Man, Jake Delhomme sucks! #
  • Jake Delhomme = QB rating of 14.7 this week! #
  • "Punk poet" Jim Carroll has now joined his friends. He was 60. http://ping.fm/5oOl8 #
  • I liked that "Sorority Row" movie better when it was called "I Know What You Did Last Summer". #
  • Jimmy Carter: "a disturbing trend directed at the president… equating Obama to Nazi leaders." SERIOUSLY? Where has he been the past 8 … #
  • AWESOME: Kanye West Apology Generator: http://ping.fm/rXCUT #
  • DHS '89 folks: I just booked at room for the reunion at westin.com for $79! #
  • Gettin TORE UP at the Bucket! #
  • OMG – Erin Andrews in glasses! #
  • Florida gators #
  • One shot of Jameson and Im a Celtic warrior! #
  • FUCK NOTRE DAME! #
  • Loving the Falcons throwback unis today! #

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St. Andrews to leave TEC?

Sorry for the lack of Anglican updates lately. Things got awfully quiet on the Internet after GC 2009, mainly because there wasn’t much to say: TEC went their way and the ACNA went its way.

But here are a couple of stories of interest. The first is that St. Andrew’s Church might leave TEC (possibly to join ACNA):

One of the largest congregations in The Episcopal Church, St. Andrew’s Church of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., may by December become one of the largest congregations to renounce its Episcopal ties.

On Oct. 11, St. Andrew’s will begin a 40 Days of Discernment program to discuss whether it should sever ties with The Episcopal Church. The congregation will vote on Dec. 9-16, after spending a week in prayer and fasting.

The second story is that Rowan Williams says that TEC could face some form of “reduced status” in the Anglican Communion:

While “there is no threat of being cast into outer darkness,” Williams said, certain churches, including the Episcopal Church, may have to take a back seat in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue because their views on homosexuality do not represent the larger Anglican Communion.

Whether Rowan is doing this out of the goodness of his own heart (unlikely) or because he can count (much more likely) in unknown.

via One of the largest Episcopal congregations takes steps to sever ties with The Episcopal Church and Rowan Williams: Episcopal Church could face reduced status.

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My Favorite Bands of 2009

Yes, I know that 2009 isn’t over yet. But it’s getting late in the year, and I’ve already fallen in love with five great bands this year:

Au Revoir Simone (Brooklyn, New York) – Three chicks and a bunch of synthesizers, Au Revior Simone sounds like the illustrations in a child’s book of fairy tales come to life… and I mean that in the best way. David Lynch loves them, and once you hear them you’ll understand why (if Twin Peaks were to be remade today, he’d probably use Au Revior Simone instead of Juliee Cruise for those scenes). This is my favorite song by them by far, and here’s a live version of the same song in HD.

Au Revoir Simone

Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, New York) – There are so many good bands from Brooklyn these days! This band is two people – Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna, with some friends helping out on occasion. I am completely blown away by this song, which combines the drums and bass from early U2, guitars inspired by the Cocteau Twins, synths from OMD and the kind of breathless female singing made famous by The Sundays and Sixpence None The Richer to create something that not only doesn’t suck, but is actually kind of awesome.

Asobi Seksu

Continue reading “My Favorite Bands of 2009”

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Some Mad Men News

Set your DVRs! Jon Hamm and January Jones will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show this Monday, September 21st. I don’t know exactly what they’ll be talking about, but the theme of the show is “Oprah Goes Back in Time: The 60s”, so expect a lot of nostalgia about the Cilvil Rights Movement.

Mad Men on Oprah

Also, media buyers and planners have predicted that Mad Men will not only win the Emmy for Best Drama, but that Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss will win Emmys for Best Actor and Best Actress, too. They also have predicted that 30 Rock will win for Best Comedy, and that Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin will win for Best Actress and Actor in a comedy series as well.

Fingers crossed!