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Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 5/11-5/14/09

2009-05-14T02:59:00.002-05:00

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

Garry Wills, author of Under God: Religion and American Politics and Why I Am a Catholic, takes the overused question “What would Jesus do?” and shows that politicians and others, of both the right and the left, probably haven’t the least idea. For Wills, Jesus is a radical—too radical to endorse any one political program. Wills is a true believer and this attempt to find the true meanings of Jesus’ words and actions is not meant to please either conservatives or liberals. An unflinching and stimulating book, especially for the religious.

WHAT JESUS MEANT, by Garry Wills (Penguin Press, 2007)

CHILLER THRILLER

Is the boy who visits young George Davies after his father’s mysterious death real, or is he the product of an imagination trying to cope with family tragedy? What of the things the boy tells George about his father’s demise? What about the terrifying journeys George takes with the boy? Justin Evans’s first novel is “an edgy, compelling read—more unnerving than scary—that will slide its hooks deep inside and throttle you more than a few times before it’s all over.”—Booklist

A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD, by Justin Evans (Shaye Areheart, 2007)

WHY ART IS IMPORTANT

In this companion volume to the PBS series, Simon Schama writes with passion and verve about eight masterpieces (by Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, van Gogh, Picasso, and Rothko) and why and how they changed our view of the world. He takes them away from the reverential hush of the museum, shows us their place in the more rambunctious and challenging world we live in, and tells us of their creators’ struggles in painting them. An absorbing and exhilarating read.

THE POWER OF ART, by Simon Schama (Ecco, 2006)

CIVIL WAR ROMANCE

In November 1864, Carrie McGavock was mourning the deaths of three of her children when her plantation house was taken over by General Nathan Forrest for use as a field hospital. In the ensuing battle, 9,000 soldiers died in one of the bloodiest engagements of the Civil War. Carrie put aside her grief, nursed the wounded, and even fell in love with one of them. Robert Hicks vividly evokes the pain, confusion, and horror of war through the lives of individuals trying to cope with an overwhelming tide of history.

THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH: A NOVEL, by Robert Hicks (Warner Books, 2006)

5/11/1989:
The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum, 4-2, and win their Prince of Wales final-round Stanley Cup series in six games. With the outcome decided in the late stages, Philly players Ron Sutter and goalie Ron Hextall (in full pads) each make deliberate, rink-wide charges at Montreal defenseman Chris Chelios as payback for a Chelios check in Game 1 that gave Flyers left winger Brian Propp a concussion. Enjoying the last hurray, Chelios is named the No. 1 star of this game and was a prime mover in Montreal's defense during the series, holding Philadelphia's league-leading power play unit scoreless (0 for 24) in all six games.

Birthdays:
Charlie Gehringer b. 1903
Rip Sewell b. 1907
Jack Twyman b. 1934
Milt Pappas b. 1939
Kerry Ligtenberg b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Brett Favre equaled the Packers' record when he played his 16th season for the club in 2007. Quarterback Bart Starr (1956-1971) was the only other man to play as many seasons in a Green Bay uniform.

5/12/1984:
Fastballing Cincinnati right-hander Mario Soto has his bid for ano-hitter broken up with two outs in the ninth inning when he hangs a change-up to Silent George Hendrick, who deposits the offering over the left-field fence. The last-ditch homer ties the game at 1-1, and even a standing ovation from the fans at Riverfront Stadium cannot assuage Soto's diappointment. He recovers to retire the side and the Reds scratch out a run in the bottom half of the ninth to win the game, but for Soto, who dominated all day long with his fastball (12 strikeouts), the wrong pitch at the wrong time deprives him of baseball immortality.

Birthdays:
Yogi Berra b. 1925
Felipe Alou b. 1935
Johnny Bucyk b. 1935
George Karl b. 1951
Lou Whitaker b. 1957

Packers Fact:
With 237 consecutive starts entering 2007, Packers quarterback Brett Favre far outdistanced Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks, whose 176 starts in a row ranked second among all active players.

5/13/1958:
In a slugfest between old New York City rivals in their first year on the West Coast, the San Francisco Giants pummel the Los Angeles Dodgers, 16-9, with a 26-hit attack. Willie Mays goes five for five, including two home runs with four RBIs and four runs scored. Daryl Spencer goes four for six, including two homers with six RBIs and four runs scored. The Giants' Orlando Cepeda, Bob Schmidt and Danny O'Connell also have four-hit games in a contest that demonstrates the ill-suited dimensions of the (four-year-stopgap_ L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The 40-foot-high screen in left field is only 250 feet down the line - a chip shot for most big-league hitters.

Birthdays:
Dean Meminger b. 1948
Bobby Valentine b. 1950
Dennis Rodman b. 1961
Mike Bibby b. 1978
Barry Zito b. 1978

Packers Fact:
From midway through the 2000 season, when tackle Chad Clifton first broke into the starting lineup, through 2006, the Packers allowed fewer sacks than all but one other NFL team (the Indianapolis Colts).

5/14/2004:
Big redhead Brian Scalabrine celebrates with Richard Jefferson after scoring a career-high 17 points to lead New Jersey to a 127-120 triple-overtime victory over Detroit in an Eastern Conference semifinal-round playoff game. Starved for playing time on the talented New Jersey club, Scalabrine stepped up big time when four Nets fouled out. It's only the fourth playoff game in NBA history to require three or more overtimes. The Pistons will rebound from this home loss to capture this series in seven games on their way to winning the NBA championship.

Birthdays:
Gump Worsley b. 1929
Tony Perez b. 1942
Dennis Martinez b. 1955
Pooh Richardson b. 1966
Roy Halladay b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Brett Favre is the only man ever to be named the Associated Press' NFL MVP three times (1995-97). He shared the award in 1997 with Detroit running back Barry Sanders.

Sports Fact of the Day 4/21-5/10/09

2009-05-10T09:18:00.002-05:00

4/21:

Besieged by media inquiries after a rash of injuries to his staff, Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson begged off, declaring: "I'm not Dr. Seuss; I'm not even Dr. Phil."

Birthdays:
Gary Peters b. 1937
Al Bumbry b. 1947
Jesse Orosco b. 1957
Ken Caminiti b. 1963
Ed Belfour b. 1965

Packers Fact:
Offensive lineman Allen Barbre was the Packers' 2007 rookie was a Division II consensus All-America in 2006 while at Missouri Southern State.

4/22/1988:
Patrik Sundstrom sets a Stanley Cup record for points in one game with three goals and five assists (eight points), leading the New Jersey Devils to a 10-4 rout of the Washington Capitals in a Patrick Division final-round game at the Meadowlands. (Wayne Gretzky held the old mark of seven points in one playoff game, a figure he achieved three times.) The one-sided score leads to a Cup record 62 penalties called by referee Denis Morel, topping the previous mark of 59 established by the Rangers and Kings in 1981. Mark Johnson adds four goals for New Jersey, three on the power play, and is almost an afterthought in the postgame summaries. The Devils will win this series in seven games but bow in the next round to Boston.

Birthdays:
Spencer Haywood b. 1949
Terry Francona b. 1959
Freeman McNeil b. 1959
Jeff Hostetler b. 1961
Jimmy Key b. 1961

Packers Fact:
Coernerback Charles Woodson made the Pro Bowl each of hish first four NFL seasons (1998-2001). He was playing for the Raiders at the time.

4/23/1951:
Boston Braves left-hander Warren Spahn will lead the National League in complete games thish season with 26 and nine times in all during his career. No wonder. Today at Ebbets Field he goes the route - 16 innings - before suffering a painful defeat as Carl Furillo's long single off the right-field scoreboard gives Brooklyn a 2-1 victory. Spahn will still win 22 games this season, one of 13 times he'll win at least 20 in one year, on his way to 363 lifetime victories - an all-time record for lefties.

Birthdays:
Jim Bottomley b. 1900
Warren Spahn b. 1921
Tony Esposito b. 1943
Gail Goodrich b. 1943
Andruw Jones b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Brandon Jackson was the sixth running back selected in the 2007 draft. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota), Marshawn Lynch (Buffalo), Kenny Irons (Cincinnati), Chris Henry (Tennessee), and Brian Leonard (St. Louis) were the only backs chosen ahead of him.

4/24/2003:
Petr Skykora scores only 48 seconds into the fifth overtime period to give the Anaheim Might Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars in the first game of their second-round STanley Cup playoff series. It's the fourth longest game in NHL history (140 minutes and 48 seconds), taking nearly six hours to complete. Sykora's game winner, beating Stars goalie Marty Turco, provides the only goal since Brenden Morrow tied the score for Dallas with three minutes left in regulation time. Only about half of the 18,000 fans in attendance at the start of the weeknight game in Dallas stick it out till the bitter end.

Birthdays:
Vince Ferragamo b. 1954
Omar Vizquel b. 1967
Chipper Jones b. 1972
Eric Snow b. 1973
Carlos Beltran b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Wide receiver Greg Jennings finished second among the Packers with 632 receiving yards and 3 scoring catches (on 45 receptions in all) as a rookie in 2006 despite being slowed by a midseason ankle injury.

4/25/1986:
San Diego relief pitcher Craig Lefferts hits the only home run of his 12-year major league career in the last of the 12th inning to give the Padres a 9-8 victory over San Francisco at Jack Murphy Stadium. After the Giants take an 8-7 lead in the top of the 12th, Graig Nettles quickly ties it with a leadoff homer for San Diego in the home half, allowing Lefferts to bat for himself. Amazingly, despite compiling only a .121 batting average during his career, Lefferts drives a pitch from Greg Minton out of the park to win the game. It's the only base hit and RBI he'll record in the entire 1986 season.

Birthdays:
Meadowlark Lemon b. 1932
Vladislav Tretiak b. 1952
Darren Woodson b. 1969
Jacque Jones b. 1975
Tim Duncan b. 1976

Packers Fact:
Mike McCarthy served as offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (2000-04) and the San Francisco 49ers (2005) before becoming the Packers' coach.

4/26/1952:
Detroit right-hander Art "Hard Luck" Houtteman, a magnet for misfortune, absorbs even more disappointment when he surrenders his bid for a no-hitter in a 13-0 rout of the Indians at Briggs Stadium. Ironically, Cleveland's losing pitcher, Bob Lemon, pitched a no-hitter against Detroit four years ago and Houtteman was the losing pitcher that night. Houtteman survived a 2-16 campaign that year, reboudning to win 34 games over the next two seasons before sustaining a fractured skull in a car crash. This spring, he suffered the cruelest fate of all when his only child was killed in yet another car accident.

Birthdays:
Harry Gallatin b. 1927
Nino Benvenuti b. 1938
Donna de Varona b. 1947
Mike Scott b. 1955
Natrone Means b. 1972

Packers Fact:
Tackle Daryn Colledge, wide receiver Greg Jennings, and linebacker A.J. Hawk all were named to the Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team for 2006.

4/27/1990:
Washington right wing John Druce scores the winning goal in overtime to give the Capitals a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers, ending their Patrick Division Stanley Cup playoff series in five games. The clinching marker tops off a stunning sequence for Druce, who scores in each game in this series, nine goals in all, including a three-goal hat trick in Game 2 and two goals each in Game 3 and 4. The victory pushes the Caps into their first-ever Prince of Wales Conference final-round series, where the magic finally runs out and they lose to Boston.

Birthdays:
Enos Slaughter b. 1916
Lee Roy Jordan b. 1941
Keith Magnuson b. 1947
George Gervin b. 1952
Herman Edwards b. 1954

Packers Fact:
Before Brandon Jackson and Korey Hall started in the Packers backfield in 2007, it had been eleven years, since 1996, since an NFL team had two rookies starting in the backfield on Kickoff Weekend. Both the Rams (Lawrence Phillips and Derrick Harris) and Dolphins (Stanley Pritchett and Karim Abdul-Jabbar) had rookie backfields.

4/28:
Using his boundless reservoir of humorous banter to soft-pedal a rathe rserious subject, Hall of Fame golfer Lee Trevino remarked: "If you're caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a one-iron. Not even God can hit a one-iron."

Birthdays:
Pedro Ramos b. 1935
Tom Browning b. 1960
Mark Bavaro b. 1963
Barry Larkin b. 1964
John Daly b. 1966

Packers Fact:
Jon Ryan rnked ninth among all NFL punters when he averaged 44.5 yards per kick as a rookie in 2006.

4/29/1956:
Wally Post slugs four home runs (two in each game) to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a doubleheader sweep of the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 and 8-4 at Crosley Field. The power-laden Reds will battle all season long for the pennant before falling just two games shy of Brooklyn's 93-61 ledger. Post will contribute 36 round-trippers to a record-tying total of 221 homers by the Reds in 1956, equaling the mark of the 1947 New York Giants (since broken).

Birthdays:
George Allen b. 1922
Luis Aparicio b. 1934
Jim Ryun b. 1946
Dale Earnhardt Sr. b. 1952
Andrew Agassi b. 1970

4/30/1944:
Journeyman first baseman Phil Weintraub of the New York Giants explodes for 11 RBIs at the Polo Grounds as part of a 26-8 demolition of the Dodgers in the opener of a doubleheader that draws over 58,000 fans including Babe Ruth, to Coogan's Bluff. Weintraub (who once hit .401 in the minors at Nashville in 1934) raps out two doubles, a triple and a home run, and earns a postgame visit from the Bambino in the Giants clubhouse. His 11 ribbies fall just shy of Jim Bottomley's NL and MB record of 12 set in 1924 for the Cardinals.

Birthdays:
Bob Hendley b. 1939
Phil Garner b. 1949
Isiah Thomas b. 1961
Al Toon b. 1963
Dave Meggett b. 1966

Packers Fact:
Before James Jones in 2007, the last rookie wide receiver to start for the Packers on Kickoff Weekend was Charles Lee, in 2000.

5/1/1994:
Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna is killed at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, near Bologna, Italy, Failing to negotiate a turn known as the Tamburello Curve, the 34-year-old world champion slams into a concrete wall at 192 mph. A subsequent examination of his car reveals that poor workmanship had left his modified steering column vulnerable to metal fatigue. As a result, Senna coul dnot steer the car on the difficult turn.

Birthdays:
Cliff Battles b. 1910
Chuck Bednarik b. 1925
Ollie Matson b. 1930
Steve Cauthen b. 1960
Curtis Martin b. 1973

Packers Fact:
The Packers entered 2007 having punted 876 consecutive times without having a punt blocked. Only the Cleveland Browns (889 punts) had a longer string.

5/2/2002:
Mike Cameron becomes the 13th big leaguer to hit four home runs in one game, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 15-4 rout of the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. Even more significantly, Cameron and Bret Boone become the first pair of teammatese in MLB history to each hit two home runs in the same inning, keying a 10-run explosion in the first frame. It's also only the fourth time that four home runs have been hit in one game by one player in American League history.

Birthdays:
Eddie Bressoud b. 1932
Gates Brown b. 1939
Clay Carroll b. 1941
Gerald Irons b. 1947
Jamaal Wilkes b. 1953

Packers Fact:
Nick Barnett led the Packers in tackles for three years in a row beginning in 2003. The only two Green Bay players to top the team in that category four times are linebackers Brian Noble (1986-87, 1989, 1991) and Bernardo Harris (1997-98, 2000-01). Barnett is the only player to do it three consecutive years.

5/3/1985:
Weakened by the cancer that would take his life only five weeks from now, Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Bob "the Gunner" Prince returns to the press box one last time to several standing ovations. The emotional night is not lost on his beloved Buccos, who hang a nine-spot on the Dodgers in the fourth inning and roll to a 16-2 victory. Next year, Prince will be posthumously honored with a Ford Frick award at the Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, the highest accolade a baseball announcer can receive.

Birthdays:
Sugar Ray Robin son b. 1920
Garfield Heard b. 1948
Rod Langway b. 1953
Jeff Hornacek b. 1963
Ron Hextall b. 1964

5/4/2001:
Led by Vince Carter's 27 points, the expansion Toronto Raptors (founded in 1995) win their first-ever playoff series, beating the Knicks, 93-89, in a decisive fifth game at Madison Square Garden. Making it double galling for New York, ex-Knick stalwarts Charles Oakley (12 points) and Chris Childs (10 points) play key roles in the Raptors' unexpected triumph. Latrell sprewell leads all scorers with 29 points but is unable to lead the Knicks back from a 12-point deficit in the closing moments.

Birthdays:
Elmer Layden b. 1903
Betsy Rawls b. 1928
Rene Lachemann b. 1945
Butch Beard b. 1947
Ben Grieve b. 1976

Packers Fact:
With 141 tacklkes in 2006, linebacker Nick Barnett easily surpassed the 100 mark for the fourth consecutive season.

5/5/1974:
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers, 4-3, clinching their Stanley Cup semifinal series in a decisive seventh game at the Spectrum. Superb goaltending by Bernie Parent and two goals by Gary Dornhoefer are vital components of the Flyers' success, but the effect of a midgame fight between Flyers enforcer Dave Schultz and Rangers defenseman Dale Rolfe cannot be overlooked. When Schultz lays a terrific beating on Rolfe, who is not an accomplished figher, none of the Rangers step in to help their teammate, nor does the team seek subsequent retribution. This incident serves as a metaphor for the Rangers of this era, as talented a hockey club as any in the league, who never break through and win a Stanley Cup. Many observers cite their aversion to fistic exchanges as an underlying cause.

Birthdays:
Tony Canadeo b. 1919
Bob Cerv b. 1926
Ion Tiriac b. 1939
Herm Gilliam b. 1946
Larry Hisle b. 1947

Packers Fact:
Linebacker Nick Barnett once returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. It came in a game in 2005, and it was his first career touchdown.

5/6/1933:
Broker's Tip defeats Head Play by a nose in the Kentucky Derby. In an era before photo-finish technology, the racing stewards must not only ascertain the narrow margin of victory but also address a foul claim by Head Play's jockey, Herb Fisher, who calls interference against jockey Don Meade aboard Broker's Tip. Actually, both jockeys went considerably beyond the bounds of racing decorum. Newsreel footage captured Meade and Fisher scrapping, jostling and flailing at one another in the home stretch. Both riders are suspended for a month, and Broker's Tip also earns a footnote in racing history. The Derby triumph is his first career victory and he'll never win another race, the only time this has occrred in Thoroughbred annals.

Birthdays:
Weeb Ewbank b. 1907
John Vaught b. 1908
Willie Mays b. 1931
Martin Brodeur b. 1972
Chris Paul b. 1985

Packers Fact:
When he suited up for the Chicago Bears in 1996, long snapper Rob Davis became the first man from Shippensburg (Pennsylvania) University to play in the NFL.

5/7/1917:
Boston southpaw Babe Ruth pitches a two-hit shutout and drives in teh game's only run against Walter Johnson as the Red Sox beat Washington, 1-0, at Griffith Stadium. Ruth allows only a pair of singles and hits a sacrifice fly to score Everett Scott with the winning run in the eighth inning. It's the third time since June 1, 1916, that Ruth has bested Johnson by a 1-0 score. Johnson will go on to suffer 26 1-0 losses in his career, far and away a major league record.

Birthdays:
Johnny Unitas b. 1933
Bob Weiss b. 1942
Louis Orr b. 1958
Brad Isbister b. 1977
Shawn Marion b. 1978

Packers Fact:
Rob Davis entered hish 10th full season as the Packers' long snapper in 2007.

5/8/1982:
Relentless niper Mike Bossy intercepts a mindless clearing pass by Vancouver defenseman Harold Snepsts with only two seconds left in the first overtime and scores the game-winning goal for the New York Islanders in the opener of their Stanley Cup final-round series against the Canucks. Bossy's third goal of the game clinches a 6-5 victory and breaks the back of the Canucks, who will get swept in four straight games by the indomitable Isles as they win their third straight Stanley Cup title.

Birthdays:
Sonny Liston b. 1932
Mike Cuellar b. 1937
Bill Cowher b. 1957
Ronnie Lott b. 1959
Speedy Claxton b. 1978

Packers Fact:
Long snapper Rob Davis was a member of the USA Today's "All-Joe" team of unsung stars for 2006.

5/9/1915:
Four-time Wimbledon men's singles champion Tony Wilding of New Zealand is killed in action while fighting with the British Royal Marines in the World War I battle of Aubers Ridge at Neuve-Chapelle, France. Wilding also won four Wimbledon men's doubles titles and was a member of four winning Australasian Davis Cup teams. Passionate about cars and motorcycles, he competed in races and traveled on the primitive open roads of the day. He had signed on with the armored car division of the Marines, only to be caught in a fatal bombardment in the early stages of the war. He was 31.

Birthdays:
Pancho Gonzales b. 1928
Ralph Boston b. 1939
Howard "Butch" Komives b. 1941
Tony Gwynn b. 1960
Steve Yzerman b. 1965

Packers Fact:
Quarterback Brett Favre played college football at Southern Mississippi.

5/10/1960:
Veteran sluggers Vic Wertz and Rip Repulski both connect for grand-slam homers, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 9-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. Wertz's first-inning clout off Early Wynn gives him 1,001 lifetime big-league RBIs, while Repulski's jackpot wallop in the eighth frame off Don Ferrarese comes on his first American League at bat after eight years in the National League, following a recent trade with the Dodgers.

Birthdays:
Pat Summerall b. 1930
Manuel Santana b. 1938
Jim Calhoun b. 1942
Phil & Steve Mahre b. 1957
Rony Seikaly b. 1965

Book Rec of the Day 4/21-5/10/09

2009-05-10T08:57:00.002-05:00

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

On a train journey one day, Harold Pinter, Geoffrey Godbert, and Anthony Astbury started talking poetry, and from their conversation arose this idea for an anthology: 100 of the finest short- to medium-length poems of 100 English-language poets in alphabetical order, from James Agee to William Butler Yeats. Some of these poems you will find familiar. Some will be new to you. Will you agree with their choices? In any case, they all make splendid reading and a fine companion for your own travels by train.

100 POEMS BY 100 POETS: AN ANTHOLOGY, compiled by Harold Pinter, Geoffrey Godbert, and Anthony Astbury (1986; Grove Press, 1992)

WITH A CLEAN CONSCIENCE

Short, sweet, and to the point: hundreds of recipes for gentle, eco-friendly, nontoxic, yet effective ways to take out stains, deodorize the carpet, freshen the air, wash windows, clean bathrooms and kitchens, mop the floors, and more. Save the planet, your money, and your sanity with these easy tips.

GREEN CLEAN, by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin (Melcher Media, 2005)

A SECRETARY OF STATE’S SECRETARY OF STATE

Probably the most influential secretary of state in the 20th century, Dean Acheson was instrumental in the creation of America’s Cold War containment policy, the Marshall Plan, and the Truman Doctrine. Though denounced by Republicans at the time, he is now regarded with admiration not only by Democrats but also by Henry Kissinger and Condoleeza Rice. Robert L. Beisner has written a thorough and insightful book about a man of deep intelligence who did not suffer fools gladly. A must for those with a real interest in American history of the postwar period.

DEAN ACHESON: A LIFE IN THE COLD WAR, by Robert L. Beisner (Oxford University Press USA, 2006)

In a work both moving and humorous, Kiran Desai explores the strains of a globalizing world through the story of a Cambridge-educated Indian judge who lives with his granddaughter and his cook in Northeastern India. The granddaughter is in love with a young man involved in the neighboring Nepali insurgency. At the same time the cook’s son is struggling as an illegal immigrant in New York, working ill-paying jobs in restaurants where he overhears Wall Streeters talking about the rich opportunities in Asian markets. The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Man Booker Prize.

THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS, by Kiran Desai (Grove Press, 2006)

THE LIVES OF SHORT PEOPLE

“Short people got no reason to live,” sang Randy Newman in his brilliant send-up of prejudice. We all laughed when we heard it, but Stephen Hall’s book is a serious examination of the lives of the short in a world where the phrase “size matters” is more than just a joke. Besides presenting sociological studies, the book examines human growth hormone, childhood bullying, anthropological studies, and why some short people become Napoleon while others kind of just disappear. Fascinating stuff, especially if you were shorter than 99 percent of all the boys in your class.

SIZE MATTERS: HOW HEIGHT AFFECTS THE HEALTH, HAPPINESS, AND SUCCESS OF BOYS—AND THE MEN THEY BECOME, by Stephen S. Hall (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

MASTER OF THE MACABRE

This 2006 collection chronologically arranges all of Roald Dahl’s short fiction for adults. The author of James and the Giant Peach definitely had a dark side (as did the Brothers Grimm) and you’ll find it in these tales of revenge and sadistic humor. Milquetoast husbands get back at their harridan wives, and put-upon, wrung-out wives mete out just, and unjust, retribution. Remember the story of the woman who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb? Then there’s “Poison,” in which a man awakens to find a venomous snake coiled up asleep on his belly. Happy times for lovers of the macabre.

COLLECTED STORIES, by Roald Dahl (Everyman’s Library, 2006)

LET SOMEBODY ELSE DO THE WORK

Everybody knows that Adam Smith is probably the most important economic thinker of all time, right? But it’s a reputation we have pretty much simply accepted—who among us has actually read the 1,000-plus pages of The Wealth of Nations to find out if Smith was as smart as “they” told us he was? P. J. O’Rourke, one of America’s leading conservative satirists, has decided to rectify this lamentable situation. He has turned Smith’s voluminous 18th-century prose into a snazzy, grin-inducing 256 pages of rah-rah capitalist joy. Now all we have to do is trust O’Rourke.

ON THE WEALTH OF NATIONS (BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD), by P. J. O’Rourke (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006)

GROUNDBREAKING STUDY

Mark Harris, former environmental columnist with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, takes on a subject many people do not like to face: burials. Most of us haven’t done much research about the topic, but we should know more about the choices we have. Harris’s argument for “green” (chemical- and metal-free) burial methods is so interesting and the information so unusual that Grave Matters is bound to become the manual for generations to come. Publishers Weekly and Booklist starred reviews.

GRAVE MATTERS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MODERN FUNERAL INDUSTRY TO A NATURAL WAY OF BURIAL, by Mark Harris (Scribner, 2007)

GASTRONOMIC DREAMS

Up for some Figgy Piggy, anyone? Maybe a plateful of Shrimp Einstein or Happy Kid Pudding? One of our most creative chefs shows how to bring both playfulness and artfulness into the kitchen. Master chef Michel Richard presents very original and inventive recipes such as All-Crust Potato Gratin, Fluffy Spinach Bites, and a “salami” made of raspberries and almonds. Delicious and tempting dishes are shown in beautiful photographs that illustrate his techniques and show off the luscious victuals to a T. As fun for armchair chefs as for those with culinary experience.

HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN: THE CRAFT OF COOKING, THE ART OF EATING, by Michel Richard (Artisan, 2006)

OCEANIC THRILLER

Dr. Peter Crane has been sent to look into a strange disease attacking workers on an oil platform in the Atlantic. Once there, he finds that his real mission lies at the ocean floor, where an archeological dig may be turning up more than the usual artifacts. Has Atlantis been discovered? Deep Storm is a fast-paced, page-turning thriller that is a sure bet for readers who loved diving into Michael Crichton’s Sphere.

DEEP STORM, by Lincoln Child (Doubleday, 2007)

Award-winning authors Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney bring together essays of 45 writers on ways in which the geographic contours of our American landscape have shaped our language. With contributions from writers such as Barbara Kingsolver, Antonya Nelson, William Kittredge, and Jon Krakauer, the colorful origins of almost forgotten terms—hoodoo, playa, vly, arroyo, swale, gooseneck—shine again with their original brilliance and sing of America’s variety and beauty. Publishers Weekly starred review.

HOME GROUND: LANGUAGE FOR AN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE, edited by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney (Trinity University Press, 2006)

Intriguing, unsettling questions circle the homeless former photographer Bobbie Crocker. Some of them have to do with a vicious assault on Laurel Estabrook. Laurel, from West Egg, Long Island, is disturbed to learn that Bobbie had some sort of connection to Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and perhaps even to Jay Gatsby. The references to the Fitzgerald classic novel are intriguing, and Chris Bohjalian really knows how to thicken a plot and leaven the suspense. He does so very satisfactorily in The Double Bind, right up to its shocking end.

THE DOUBLE BIND, by Chris Bohjalian (Shaye Areheart Books, 2007)

INSIDE STORY

Journalist Zaki Chehab was born in Palestine and grew up in its refugee camps. For years he has followed the story of the Palestinian resistance and has watched and studied Hamas from its beginnings. He has interviewed its leaders and talked to its followers, such as a woman who gladly sacrificed three of her sons as suicide bombers to the cause. For Hamas that cause is to return Palestine to what it was before 1948. Inside Hamas is probably the definitive book on a frighteningly successful extremist Islamist movement.

INSIDE HAMAS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MILITANT ISLAMIC MOVEMENT, by Zaki Chehab (Nation Books, 2007)

The irrepressible Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) is back, this time with a new little bun in the oven to shop for. Tracking down the best of everything for baby, Becky decides she must have a star obstetrician (who is also an obstetrician to the stars). When that turns out to be an ex-sweetheart of her husband, Becky and the plot kick into action. A thoroughly delightful addition to Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling Shopaholic series.

SHOPAHOLIC & BABY, by Sophie Kinsella (The Dial Press, 2007)

THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

In 1951, when Bobby Thomson’s bat met Ralph Branca’s pitch and sent it sailing out of the park, the hit instantly became one of the great moments in baseball. That home run won the pennant for the Giants from their cross-borough rivals, the Dodgers, and it became known as “the shot heard round the world.” Wall Street Journal writer Joshua Prager gives this history-making homer the thorough treatment it deserves, investigating its fairness (did the Giants steal the Dodgers’ pitching signs?) and its effects through the years on Thomson, Branca, and others. A gripping read for baseball fans.

THE ECHOING GREEN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BOBBY THOMSON, RALPH BRANCA AND THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD, by Joshua Prager (Pantheon, 2006)

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MOTHER’S DAY

Looking for stories of a mother’s sacrifice for her little tyke or a boy’s awkward love for his mummy? Then don’t come looking for Colm Tóibín. The nine narratives in this collection are about the deep difficulties between mothers and their grown sons. In one a drinking mum talks too much about her criminal son, causing him no end of trouble. In another a son is accused of molesting children, but the mother is kept in the dark about it until just before the trial. A book of intense, spell-binding prose and perceptive, heart-wrenching tales.

MOTHERS AND SONS: STORIES, by Colm Tóibín (Scribner, 2007)

FATHER WAS A GAY UNDERTAKER

Fun Home is a brilliantly realized graphic memoir of a childhood spent in a Victorian gothic-revival house that also happened to be a funeral parlor. Dominating both the house and the memoir is Alison Bechdel’s father, an emotionally absent, closeted gay man who, besides being the funeral-home director, was also a high-school English teacher whose interest in his male students went a bit beyond the parsing of sentences. By turns moving and funny, Bechdel has created a powerful work of art.

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB

In 1993 Greg Mortenson attempted to climb K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. He failed, and when he descended, exhausted and ill, he found shelter in the Pakistani village of Korphe, where the impoverished citizens nursed him back to health. In return he swore to them that he would build them a school. This is the story of that school, and the more than 50 that followed, and of how Mortenson showed isolated mountain people that the extremism of the Taliban was not the only way to knowledge and understanding. Truly inspirational.

THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN’S MISSION TO PROMOTE PEACE . . . ONE SCHOOL AT A TIME, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin, 2007)

As Carrie rises from country bumpkin and factory girl to celebrated actress in New York, George falls from man of wealth and importance to thief to homeless beggar. Dreiser’s great American novel was poorly received at first, mainly on moral grounds. But as the 20th century progressed, writers and readers came to understand that, as Sinclair Lewis said, it “came to housebound and airless America like a great free Western wind, and to our stuffy domesticity gave us the first fresh air since Mark Twain and Whitman.”

SISTER CARRIE, by Theodore Dreiser (1900; Signet Classics, 2000)

CELEBRITY BIO

John Dickerson’s pioneering mother, Nancy, was CBS’s first female reporter and the first woman in the Washington press corps. Many of the gentler aspects of domestic life were of little interest to the confidant of Lyndon Johnson, consummate D.C. insider, and ubiquitous figure at the epicenter of news and society. John, now a reporter on the same beat for Slate, looks at his sometimes bumpy relationship with his ambitious mother with wit, honesty, and compassion.

ON HER TRAIL: MY MOTHER, NANCY DICKERSON, TV NEWS’ FIRST WOMAN STAR, by John Dickerson (Simon & Schuster, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/17-4/20/2009

2009-04-20T09:38:00.003-05:00

4/17/1958:
Milwaukee third baseman Eddie Mathews becomes the first player to hit two home runs in each of his first two games of the season as the Braves beat Pittsburgh, 6-1, at County Stadium. Mathews hits a three-run homer off Vernon Law and a two-run shot off Bennie Daniels in today's game. In the season opener, he homered his first two times up against Bob Friend, but Pittsburgh rallied to win, 4-3, in 14 innings.

Birthdays:
Geoff Petrie b. 1948
Borje Salming b. 1951
Boomer Esiason b. 1961
Ken Daneyko b. 1964
Theo Ratliff b. 1973

Packers Fact:
Tackle Chad Clifton was the player whose 2002 season was cut short after 10 games because of a serious pelvic injury suffered when he was blindsided by Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp on an interception return. Clifton came back to start 63 of 64 regular season games from 2003 to 2006.

4/18/2005:
Catherine Nidereba of Kenya becomes the first four-time women's winner of the Boston Marathon, capturing the traditional springtime race in 2:25:13. Familiar with the course after winning here in 2000, '01 and '04, Ndereba paces herself until the onset of Heartbreak Hill at about the 20-mile mark and then pulls away to a comfrtable victory. In the men's division, Hailu Neggusie of Ethiopia becomes only the second non-Kenyan runner in the last 15 years to win here. It's his first marathon victory in North America; he had won previously in Japan and China.

Birthdays:
Don Ohl b. 1936
Pete Gogolak b. 1942
Wilber Marshall b. 1962
Rico Brogna b. 1970
Haile Gebrselassie b. 1973

Packers Fact:
Packers fullback Korey Hall earned first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors for three consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2006 at linebacker.

4/19/1987:
The St. Louis Cardinals complete a three-game sweep of the defending world champion New York Mets with a 4-2 victory at Busch Stadium, but they lose ace left-hander John Tudor for over three months in a freakish mishap. In the third inning, Mets catcher Barry Lyons, in pursuit of a foul pop-up, tumbles into the St. Louis dugout and falls on Tudor, breaking his right leg. Out until August, Tudor will compile an outstanding 10-2 record in the regular season and win twice more in the postseason as the Redbirds fall just short of a world championship.

Birthdays:
Jack Pardee b. 1936
Alexis Arguello b. 1952
Frank Viola b. 1960
Joe Mauer Jr. b. 1983
Maria Sharapova b. 1987

4/20/1983:
George Brett cracks three homers and drives in seven runs to lead the Kansas City Royals to an 8-7 victory over Detroit. His third blast, a two-run shot in the ninth inning, accounts for the final margin. With 4 hits and 13 total bases in this game. Brett is on his way to leading the major leagues in slugging percentage (total bases divided by at bats) with a .563 mark. It's one of three times in his career that he'll lead the American League in that category to go with three batting titles, three years leading the league in base hits and three years leading in triples.

Birthdays:
Ernie Stautner b. 1925
Steve Spurrier b. 1945
Don Mattingly b. 1961
John Carney b. 1964
Tai Streets b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Linebacker A.J. Hawk first grew his hair long in 2005 as a tribute to former NFL star Pat Tilman, who was killed in action that year while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

THE BOOK’S COVER

Book lovers certainly know the old cliché about judging books by their covers. And book lovers also know the value of a good book jacket when it communicates quickly and forcefully the ideas awaiting inside the book: Think of that startling, modern, epic U on the front of Ulysses. The authors discuss the evolution of book cover design from the days when a dust jacket merely protected the book to the contemporary work of such innovators as Push Pin Studios and Chip Kidd. Edifying and beautifully illustrated.

BY ITS COVER: MODERN AMERICAN BOOK COVER DESIGN, by Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005)

Kate Atkinson, whose smart Behind the Scenes at the Museum won the Whitbread Book Award, has been enthusiastically exploring the character and narrative possibilities of the mystery genre. In One Good Turn, Detective Jackson Brodie is by stages drawn into a convoluted plot involving an attacker called “Honda Man,” several Russians, a mystery writer, corpses (of course), and detective Louise Monroe. Atkinson is generous in all the ways a writer gives pleasure: her obvious delight in writing, her entertaining characterizations, and her shrewd way with a zinger.

ONE GOOD TURN, by Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown, 2006)

OF DAFFODILS AND PLEASURE DOMES

From that first day in 1797 when Coleridge bounded into the Wordsworths’ yard and started talking literature, the two poets were immediate and fast friends. They traveled together. They lived near each other in the Lake District. They collaborated on one of the most important books of poetry ever published: Lyrical Ballads. Yet innate differences—Wordsworth’s egocentric ambition and Coleridge’s addiction to opium, to name just two—would inevitably estrange them. This is a riveting story of two giants of poetry and their deep, intense, though far from eternal, friendship.

THE FRIENDSHIP: WORDSWORTH AND COLERIDGE, by Adam Sisman (Viking Adult, 2007)

BLACKFORD OAKES’S FAREWELL

More than 25 years and ten novels ago, Blackford Oakes began his career in print by saving the life of the queen of England. In this latest, and apparently last, outing the experienced agent is called upon to save the life of Mikhail Gorbachev. The mission leads him to fall in love with a Soviet doctor and into conflict with the infamous Kim Philby. Entertaining and, in the Buckley fashion, informative.

LAST CALL FOR BLACKFORD OAKES, by William F. Buckley Jr. (Harcourt Trade, 2005)

On Spouses, Knowledgeable:

Q: How long have you been married to her?
A: Nineteen years.
Q: Is that your only marriage?
A: Yes, it is, that I know of.

actual courtroom trestimony

On Please, No Wisecracks...:

JEANS: Low-rise styles continue to be poopular among young adults

headline in The Las Vegas Review-Journal

On Cherokees Need Not Apply:

SIOUX CHEF REQUIRED

sign at Clarke's restaurant, Bath, England

On Um, Beam Me Up, Scotty:

This president has listened to some people, the so-called Vulcans in the White House, the ideologues. But you know, unlike the Vulcans of Star Trek who made the decisions based on logic and fact, these guys make it on ideology. These aren't Vulcans. There are Klingons in the White House. But unlike the real Klingons of Star Trek, these Klingons have never fought a battle of their own. Don't let faux Klingons send real Americans to war.

Rep. David Wu (D-Oregon), in a speech on the floor of Congress

. . . NEWS FLUSH . . .

Police officer Craig Clancy walked into a public bathroom stall at a San Antonio auto auction, pulled his pants down . . . and accidentally dropped his gun, shooting the man in the next stall. The falling pistol, which the officer tried to grab, somehow went off . . . twice. The victim was hospitalized but not seriously injured, according to police.

PRESIDENT JAMES BUCHANAN ONCE MADE A LIVING AS A PRIZE FIGHTER.

BATHROOM BRAINTEASERS

1. It starts and ends two painful words. One comes from too little love; the other comes from too much noise. What are the words?

2. What do “subcontinental” and “uncomplimentary” have in common?

Q: WHAT ARE EPHELIDES?
A: FRECKLES.

TUBE TALK

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF TELEVISION, PRODUCERS WOULD TRY ALMOST ANY CONCEPT FOR A SHOW.

• On NBC’s Author Meets the Critics (1947), one critic would praise a new book and another would trash it. The author would then defend himself.
• On the Dumont Network’s Monodrama Theater (1952), one actor would perform an entire play—by himself—in front of a curtain. No sets, no props.

SEA SLUGS HAVE 25,000 TEETH.

SINGING IN THE SHOWER

“Getting old is fascinating. The older you get, the older you want to get.”

—Keith Richards, 62

“I don’t so much mind being old. I mind being fat and old.”

—Peter Gabriel, 55

“Musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no more music in them.”

—Louis Armstrong, 69

SEE FOR YOURSELF: VIRGINIA EXTENDS 95 MILES FARTHER WEST THAN WEST VIRGINIA.

TRAVELER IN THE KNOW

The rose-red city of Petra, Jordan, was hewn from rock starting in 56 B.C. and is one of the wonders of the ancient world. It can be reached on foot by the Jig Gorger, a narrow winding passageway at times no wider than six feet.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

See the answer tomorrow.

Q: True or False? The famous wildflowers of Texas are limited by the climate to a relatively small variety, primarily the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush shown here.

Answer: False. Bluebonnets are the king, but Texas boasts more than 5,000 species of wildflowers.

MOTHER EARTH

CUMBERLAND ISLAND, GEORGIA, USA

The largest of Georgia’s barrier islands, Cumberland Island was formed, like the others, by wind, waves, currents, and tides. The islands take the brunt of the wind, protecting Georgia’s marshy mainland shore while constantly being reshaped themselves.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/15-4/16/2009

2009-04-16T10:55:00.004-05:00

4/15/1989:
The favored Calgary Flames stave off elimination by defeating the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3, in overtime in the seventh game of their Stanley Cup Smythe Division semifinal series at the Saddledome. Calgary goalie Mike Vernon makes several scintillating saves to hold Vancouver in check, robbing Stan Smyl and moments later stoning Tony Tanti. Joel Otto receives credit for the game-winning goal with 39 seconds left in the first overtime session, deflecting a shot from Jim Peplinski past Kirk McLean in the Vancouver net. Having dodged a major bullet, the Flames won't waste their good fortune. They'll proceed to knock off the Kings, the Blackhawks and the Canadiens to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Birthdays:
Evelyn Ashford b. 1957
Kevin Stevens b. 1965
Jeromy Burnitz b. 1969
Phillippi Sparks b. 1969
Jason Sehorn b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Donald Driver earned the second Pro Bowl berth of his career in 2006 after catching a career-best 92 passes.

4/16/1967:
One of the original Baltimore "Baby Birds," left-hander Steve Barber carries a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Angels before Jim Fregosi breaks it up with a double. Barber will close out a one-hit, 3-0 victory. Two weeks from today, Barber's chronic control problems will produce one of baseball history's strangest games. He'll pitch no-hit ball for eight and two-thirds innings against Detroit but walk 10 men, including 3 in the ninth when the Tigers push over two runs without benefit of a base hit to beat Barber and the Orioles, 2-1.

Birthdays:
Dick "Night Train" Lane b. 1928
Rich Rollins b. 1938
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar b. 1947
Bill Belichick b. 1952
Luol Deng b. 1985

Packers Fact:
Fullback Korey Hall played college football at Boise State.

YOU, ME, AND THE SEA

The Maytrees are a loosely bound family. Lou and Toby—who are sometimes married—and Pete, their only child, live on Cape Cod. And you will find much here of what one looks for in Annie Dillard’s work: the wonders of nature (especially the sea); the intersection of the particular, the universal, and the timeless; and the inscrutable ways of love. The storyline cannot convey Dillard’s mastery of prose, the real hero here.

THE MAYTREES, by Annie Dillard (HarperCollins, 2007)

ABOUT TIME

This large, thorough biography of Andrew Mellon (1855-1937) constitutes a minicourse in American history. Author David Cannadine gives the man and his times a stately narrative arc, from the Scots-Irish family’s beginnings in Pittsburgh (and the importance of the “rust belt” to the American economy) to Mellon’s building of Alcoa and Gulf Oil and a dynasty in real estate, his stint as secretary of the treasury under Warren Harding, his importance as an art collector and founder of the National Gallery. This is the most compelling biography of this titan who stood shoulder to shoulder with Gould, Morgan, Frick, and Rockefeller.

MELLON: AN AMERICAN LIFE, by David Cannadine (Knopf, 2006)

On Right People Wrong:

The really right people know how to dodge taxes anyway.

President George W. Bush, on Sen. John Kerry's (D-Massachusetts) proposal to rescind tax cuts for the wealthy

On Sequiturs, Non:

I love England, especially the food. There's nothing I like more than a lovely bowl of pasta.

model Naomi Campbell

IT’S TAX DAY!

Do you worry about being audited? Actually, the odds you’ll be audited are pretty low: In 1994 the IRS audited about 93,000 individual income tax returns out of 114 million submitted, or about .08% of all returns filed. That’s way down from 1914, when every single one of the 357,598 tax returns submitted was audited. The IRS didn’t take any chances with the signatures that year, either: all taxpayers were required to sign their return in the presence of an IRS official.

FBI STATISTIC: 74% OF THREATS AGAINST FEDERAL WORKERS ARE DIRECTED AT IRS EMPLOYEES.

UNCLE JOHN’S DICTIONARY OF WORD ORIGINS

Invest

Meaning: Put money into a financial plan with the expectation of profit
Origin: It’s from the Latin word investire, which means “to clothe.” It became a financial word in the 17th century and it is thought to have come from the idea of “dressing up” money in different “clothes” by putting it into a business or a stock.

OHIO IS THE ONLY U.S. STATE WHOSE FLAG IS NOT RECTANGULAR OR SQUARE.

SIDI BOU SAID, TUNISIA

“There is no foreign land; it is the traveller only that is foreign.”
—ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

IL DUOMO

ORVIETO, ITALY

The perfect centerpiece of its ancient Umbrian hilltop town, the Duomo was constructed over three centuries starting in the late 13th century. Among the artworks inside, its greatest treasure is a cycle of frescoes begun by Fra Angelico and completed by Luca Signorelli in 1503.

Pre-Order Dollhouse S.1

2009-04-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

We got Serenity because of strong Firefly DVD sales, perhaps if enough people pre-order this, FOX will see the following it has and it will help sway their decision for a S2. Okay, maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but still ... One can hope:

http://www.amazon.com/Dollhouse-Season-One/dp/B0024FAR66/

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/11-4/14/2009

2009-04-14T03:54:00.003-05:00

4/11/1970:
Giants center fielder Willie Mays makes one of his signature catches in a nationally televised game against Cincinnati at Candlestick Park. In the third inning, Mays scales the right center field fence and collides with right fielder Bobby Bonds while making a sensational grab of a bid by Bobby Tolan for extra bases. The peerless 38-year-old holds on to the ball but tumbles to the warning track, where he remains for several minutes. Finally, none the worse for wear, he gets up and stays in the game, going one-for-four, as the Giants beat the Reds, 2-1.

Birthdays:
Micheal Ray Richardson b. 1955
Bret Saberhagen b. 1964
Jason Varitek b. 1972
Trot Nixon b. 1974
Kelvim Escobar b. 1976

Packers Fact:
Running back DeShawn Wynn played college football at Southeastern Conference school Florida.

4/12/1981:
Sean O'Grady of Oklahoma City captures teh WBA lightweight championship with a unanimous 15-round decision over previously unbeaten title holder Hilmer Kenty of Detroit at Bally's Casino in Atlantic City. O'Grady (now 75-2 with 65 KOs) scores two knockdowns with punishing right-hand leads and an unrelenting body attack to hand Kenty his first loss in 20 pro fights. Overshadowing the bout is word from Las Vegas that the legendary Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, passed away earlier this afternoon. He was 66.

Birthdays:
Joe Lapchick b. 1900
Johnny Antonelli b. 1930
Mike Garrett b. 1944
Mike Macfarlane b. 1964
Adam Graves b. 1968

4/13/1988:
Charles Barkley caps off an outstanding game with a three-point basket at the buzzer in overtime to give the Philadelphia 76ers a 98-97 victory over the Washington Bullets at the Spectrum. Sir Charles has 38 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Sixers, who trailed 47-30 at the half after they scored only 11 points in the second quarter. Mike Gminski has 19 points, and Mo Cheeks adds 14 for Philly.

Birthdays:
Flash Hollett b. 1912
Bob Devaney b. 1915
Davis Love III b. 1964
Bo Outlaw b. 1971
Baron Davis b. 1979

Packers Fact:
The Packers turned over the ball 33 times in 2006 and took it away from their opponents 33 times. Their turnover margin of zero was a big improvement over a minus-24 mark in 2005.

4/14/1996:
After upbraiding teammate Nick Van Exel only days ago for bumping a referee and proclaiming, "This just can never happen," Lakers guard Magic Johnson is ejected from a game against Phoenix for protesting a call - and bumping the referee. While videotape clearly shows the contact to be inadvertent, Johnson will receive a three-game suspension and a $10,000 fine. By comparison, Van Exel had gone berserk last week and received a seven-game suspension for his more flagrant actions and failure to leave the court in a timely manner.

Birthdays:
Pete Rose b. 1941
Cynthia Cooper b. 1963
David Justice b. 1966
Greg Maddux b. 1966
Steve Chiasson b. 1967

Packers Fact:
Rookie running back DeShawn Wynn scored his first career touchdown in 2007 against the New York Giants. Wynn had scoring runs of 6 and 38 yards in the Packers' 35-13 romp.

CHICK LIT

This collection of short stories, culled from more than 18 years of writing, sparkles with wise, tender insights into relationships and, for the most part, women from many angles: young mothers, newly divorced, married, single. Jennifer Weiner gets better and better, following Good in Bed (2002), Little Earthquakes (2006), and other successes. People says, “Fans will savor Weiner’s confidential tone and salty wit.”

THE GUY NOT TAKEN, by Jennifer Weiner (Washington Square Press, 2007)

TIME TRAVEL

Prepare yourself for a whimsical journey into space and time and Einstein’s brain, courtesy of a curious and thoughtful student. The nameless young woman has the opportunity to interview Einstein long after his death and record his thoughts on the ethics of nuclear physics, the uses of science, how basketballs bounce, and other matters. Charming and thought-provoking. (Carrière wrote the screenplays for Belle du Jour and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.) Booklist starred review.

PLEASE, MR. EINSTEIN, by Jean-Claude Carrière; translated from the French by John Brownjohn (Vintage Books, 2007)

HERE, FIDO

The Metropolitan “curated” this splendid collection of our canine friends in art from every country, clime, period, and style. And it comes with engaging accompanying texts by Shakespeare, Edith Wharton, and many others. Pair this with the companion volume, 2005’s Catnip: Artful Felines from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

THE ARTFUL DOG: CANINES FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Chronicle Books, 2006)

MASTERPIECES FROM THE KITCHENAward-winning cook and author Eileen Lo brings her Cantonese grandmother’s wisdom and kitchen magic to you. This winning book offers recipes for everything from simple, perfect rice to complex masterpieces such as won ton. The side stories about a bygone culture (bound feet, raising silkworms) are a delight on their own.

MY GRANDMOTHER’S CHINESE KITCHEN: 100 FAMILY RECIPES AND LIFE LESSONS, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo (Penguin Press, 2006)

REEL LIFE

A FAMOUS NAME IN FILMS

William Fox was born Wilhelm Fried in 1879 to Hungarian immigrants. Working in New York’s garment industry, by 1904 he’d saved enough money to buy a penny arcade, which he later converted into a movie theater. From there he expanded into film production and distribution, and by 1929 his company was worth $200 million. Then the stock market crashed. In just two days, Fox Studio’s stock dropped from $119 a share to $1. Fox was forced to sell his stake in the company, but the studio kept his name, and in May 1935 it merged with 20th Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox.

FRED ROGERS TOOK A MORNING SWIM EVERY DAY IN THE NUDE.

HAPPY EASTER!

SHOW ME THE BUNNY!

• In pre-Christian times, the rabbit was viewed as nature’s most fertile animal and therefore became a symbol of spring.

• Its first mention as an Easter symbol appears in 16th-century German writings.

• In the 1800s Germans produced the first edible Easter bunnies, which were made of pastry and sugar.

• Around that same time, German settlers brought the Easter bunny (known as Oschter Haws) to the New World. Children were told that if they were good, Oschter Haws would leave them colored eggs in a nest.

BLOND HAIR IS THE FINEST; BLACK HAIR IS THE COARSEST.

WORDPLAY

NEW DEFINITIONS (FROM THE WASHINGTON POST)

Counterfeiter: a craftsman who installs fake kitchen cabinets
Derange: where de buffalo roam
Heroes: how a man moves a boat through the water
Subdued: a guy who, like, you know, works on one of those, like, submarines
Baloney: where your shin is located
Relief: what trees do in the spring

KEANU REEVES IS REPORTEDLY AFRAID OF THE DARK.

A RANDOM ORIGIN

MAIL-ORDER CATALOGS

In September 1871 a British major named F. B. McCrea founded the Army & Navy Cooperative in London. His goal: to supply goods to military personnel at the lowest possible price. McCrea’s first catalog was issued in February 1872 . . . six months before an American named Aaron Montgomery Ward put his first catalog in the mail.

METEOROLOGISTS’ DEFINITION FOR DRIZZLE: NO MORE THAN 14 DROPS PER SQUARE FOOT PER SECOND.

On Peace, Pentagon's Different Take On:

permanent pre-hostility ........... peace

violence peace ..................... limited armed conflict

Pentagon definitions

On Look Out Below!:

The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water."

The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

in a church bulletin

On Um, We'd Love To If We Knew What To Do

AFTER FIRST UNDER ON, DO RIDING WITH CIVILITY.

sign in a Shanghai, China, subway

On Sportscasters Who Maybe Should Learn Their Times Tables Better:

Kobe [Bryant] needs to concentrate on getting eight points a quarter. You do that, that's 24 points right there.

Lakers broadcaster Mychal Thompson (thanks to Scott Messer)

ON THIS DAY

CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL, YOSHINO, JAPAN

In parks and temple gardens all over the country, the Japanese delight in the blooming of the cherry blossoms. Purists and connoisseurs head to Yoshino, where tens of thousands of century-old cherry trees blanket Yoshino Mountain and a festival celebrates them every April 11-12.

BERMUDA ISLANDS

BERMUDA

Though most people think of Bermuda as a single island, it is actually a territory of 138 islands, but it is the 21-square-mile main island where resorts cater to travelers and most of the population lives.

SAFARI LODGES

KENYA

In unspoiled Kenyan preserves, guests can stay in luxury at private lodges while reveling in spellbinding views and the freedom to see exotic wild game. This one, the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille, was developed with participation of the local Masai people and the African Wildlife Foundation.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/9-4/10/2009

2009-04-10T09:41:00.005-05:00

4/9/1995:
Ben Crenshaw shoots a five-under-par 67 and wins his second Masters by one stroke over Davis Love III. It was just a week ago that Crenshaw left Augusta to serve as a pallbearer at the funeral of his longtime coach and mentor, Harvey Penick, in Austin, Texas. Returning to Georgia to begin play on Thursday, he put Penick's teachings to good use, including the importance of controlling one's emotions during play, and his marvelous putting ability did the rest. He posts a 14-under-par 274, three shots better than his total in 1984 when heh won his first Green Jacket.

Birthdays:
Ebbie Goodfellow b. 1907
Paul Arizin b. 1928
Nate Colbert b. 1946
Seve Ballesteros b. 1957
Olaf Kolzig b. 1970

Packers Fact:
In addition to second-rounder Brandon Jackson, the Packers also selected running back DeShawn Wynn in the 2007 draft. He was a seventh-round selection.

4/10/1969:
Ralph Backstrom beats Gerry Cheevers with just 42 seconds gone in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins in the opener of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference final-round series. It's a crushing defeat for the Bruins, who led 2-0 with six and a half minutes left when John Ferguson scored for Montreal and then by 2-1 with a minute left before Jean Beliveau scored to tie the game and force OT at the Forum. Montreal will win this series in six games and sweep St. Louis in four straight to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

Birthdays:
John Madden b. 1936
Don Meredith b. 1938
Bob Watson b. 1946
Mel Blount b. 1948
Neil Smith b. 1966

Packers Fact:
Despite missing the playoffs with an 8-8 record in 2006, the Packers finished in the top half of the league rankings in both offense (they were ninth overall) and defense (12th) that year.

OUR WONDROUS WORLD

From the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, the authors, after 25 years of research, have selected 100 moths, butterflies, and their caterpillars from the 9,500 that grace the Costa Rican rain forest. The photographs in these two volumes are stunningly beautiful, and the text is wonderfully informative on the sometimes strange habits of these strange creatures.

	100 CATERPILLARS: PORTRAITS FROM THE TROPICAL FORESTS OF COSTA RICA
	100 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES: PORTRAITS FROM THE TROPICAL FORESTS OF COSTA RICA, by Jeffrey C. Miller, Daniel H. Janzen, and Winifred Hallwachs (Belknap Press, 2006)

Curl up with the newest in Colleen McCullough’s (The Thornbirds) Masters of Rome series. (Her last, she claims, but who knows?) Though long, its sweep and intimate detail almost make it seem too short. Many surprises about Cleopatra, Antony, Julius Caesar, and Octavian await those who know those figures only from Shakespeare. In the end, you will have absorbed a lot of history and loved every minute of it.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, by Colleen McCullough (Simon & Schuster, 2008)

UNCLE JOHN’S ALMANAC

TODAY IS PASSOVER

The Passover celebration comes from the Old Testament story of the Exodus, when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. According to the story, Moses instructed the enslaved Jews to mark their door posts with lamb’s blood. That night, in the last of the “ten plagues,” God sent the Angel of Death to kill the firstborn of every family in the kingdom, but “passed over” the houses marked with the blood. The next day the Israelites escaped from Egypt, and their centuries of enslavement were over.

CANADIAN PERFORMER WITH THE MOST CELEBRITY IMPERSONATORS: SHANIA TWAIN.

On Slips, Freudian:

It's a pleasure to be in a country that isn't ruled by its people.

Prince Philip to Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner, 1962

On I Am The Lord and My Name Is Howard?:

Weakest Link host Anne Robinson: In the traditional version of the Lord's Prayer, what "H," meaning sanctified, goes before "be thy name"?
Contestant: Howard.

SISTINE CHAPEL

ROME, ITALY

When Michelangelo unveiled the spellbinding frescoes covering the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in 1512, Pope Pius II fell to his knees. For those who tour the chapel now, the pope’s awe at this incredible masterwork remains easy to understand.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

Q: Pierre L’Enfant, Washington’s city planner, chose the location for the Capitol building, which sits on which of these sites?

a) Foggy Bottom
b) Ebbit’s Farm
c) The Ellipse
d) Jenkins Hill

Movie Rec: DREAMS TO REMEMBER: THE LEGACY OF OTIS REDDING (2007)

2009-04-08T11:24:00.000-05:00

I'm watching DREAMS TO REMEMBER: THE LEGACY OF OTIS REDDING

Very interesting documentary about him, if anyone is even remotely a fan I'd *highly* recommend it. It's available via Netflix.

http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Remember-Legacy-Otis-Redding/dp/B000UCWK1U/

From the Director
PRODUCER'S NOTES:
This is the first full-length DVD of Otis Redding, undisputedly one of the greatest soul singers of all time. To be given the honor to produce this release was an awesome responsibility. Zelma Redding, Otis' widow, has faithfully maintained her husband's legacy for the last 40 years and it was our desire to create a DVD that would both live up to and pay tribute to that legacy. Of the 30-plus DVDs that we've produced over the last few years, we feel this is some of our best work.

For our last two Motown DVDs (Temptations: Get Ready and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: The Definitive Peformances) we filmed new interviews with the artists to include between the performances. However this time because Otis is not here to tell his story we relied on people that knew him best to provide perspective on his life and work. As with all of the Motown releases in our "Definitive" DVD series, along with the in-depth interview material you get complete unedited performances. With our Marvin Gaye DVD, (The Real Thing In Performance) there were a number of televised interviews with Marvin that we were able to use in between the songs because Marvin's career had lasted 23 years. Unfortunately because Otis' career was cut tragically short and he gave very few interviews, it made it very difficult to bring his voice to this project. Thankfully we found a short interview from American Bandstand in 1967 and also an interview recorded for BBC radio in the fall of `66 which provided two great soundbites for the film (one of which is heard during the opening segment of the DVD.)

To tell the story properly, we chose to interview not only Otis Redding's wife (Zelma) and daughter (Karla) but also some of the key people who created the music with him. Along with his family, the interviews consist of Steve Cropper who wrote many songs with Otis and played guitar on virtually every track that he recorded at Stax; Wayne Jackson, the trumpet player for the Mar-Keys/Memphis Horns who played on all of his records and Jim Stewart, the founder of Stax Records. The interview with Jim is really unique because since the demise of Stax Records in 1975, Jim has given only five in-depth interviews and we're honored that he agreed to sit down and speak with us after turning down requests from everyone else for the last 15 years. Rob Bowman co-producer of this program and author of Soulsville U.S.A. The Story Of Stax Records (considered to be the definitive book on Stax) conducted these interviews, and it's because of the love and respect that they all have for Rob and his work, that he was able to get such relaxed, in-depth content.

One of the unique clips in this DVD is a newly made video for the song "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay". Because the song wasn't finished until after his death there is no footage of Otis performing the song so we hired Bob Sarles of Ravin' Films to make a three minute film. While Bob was filming scenes of San Francisco and the docks of Sausalito (where Otis wrote the song on a houseboat in August of '67) a fortunate thing occurred. He met Anne Garfield who bought that houseboat back in 1968. She no longer owns it but was able to show Bob photos (seen in the video) and point out to him the exact spot where it was docked. As a result, there are a few scenes that show virtually the same view that Otis had as he was writing what many consider to be one of most beloved songs in history.

December 10, 2007 will mark the 40th anniversary of the tragic death of Otis Redding and in honor of his legacy and music we are proud to have released both this DVD and The Stax/Volt Revue Live In Norway 1967, a 75-minute concert from the famed 1967 European tour which includes a stunning five song set by Otis as well as performances by Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Arthur Conley, The Mar-Keys and Booker T. and The MGs.

Together these two DVDs paint a portrait of an artist whose music remains as powerful and influential as it was 40 years ago.

David Peck & Phillip Galloway
Reelin' In The Years Productions
July 2007

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/7-4/8/2009

2009-04-08T06:51:00.004-05:00

4/7/1979:
Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros throws a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves, 6-0, at the Astrodome. Forsch joins his brother, Bob, who tossed a no-no for the Cardinals just last April, as the only brothers to each hurl big league no-hitters. Ken Forsch gets 14 ground ball outs, doesn't really surrender a tough chance and walks only two. He retires Rowland Office, Jerry Royster and Glenn Hubbard without incident in the ninth inning to record the sixth no-hitter in Houston's 18-year franchise history.

Birthdays:
Bobby Doerr b. 1918
Gail Cogdill b. 1937
Tony Dorsett b. 1954
Ricky Watters b. 1969
Ronde and Tiki Barber b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Rookie kicker Mason Crosby's first career field-goal attempt in the 2007 game opener against the Eagles was 53 yards. He made it.

4/8/2006:
Enjoying a home-ice advantage, the Wisconsin Badgers edge Boston College, 2-1, to win their first NCAA men's hockey championshiph since 1990. Tom Gilbert scores the winning goal, and Wisconsin's defense holds BC to only four third-period shots. With the victory, the Wisconsin men's team duplicates the national crown won two weeks ago by the Wisconsin women's hockey team, 3-0, over Minnesota. It's the first time in history that one school has won both titles in the same year.

Birthdays:
Turk Farrell b. 1934
John Havlicek b. 1940
Jim "Catfish" Hunter b. 1946
Gary Carter b. 1954
Ricky Bell b. 1955

Packers Fact:
When San Diego visited Green Bay in week 3 of the 2007 season, it marked the first time that the Chargers played at Lambeau Field since 1996.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Marianne Wiggins uses her own name and personality to create a character who pitches a screenplay idea about Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), iconic photographer of Indians and the West, and then realizes the filmmakers would only botch the story. She then takes off on a road trip to find out the truth about Curtis, in a sprawling, epic tale full of dreams and surprises and gorgeous images (including some of Curtis’s photographs). A powerful blend of fact and fiction, nature and art.

THE SHADOW CATCHER, by Marianne Wiggins (Simon & Schuster, 2007)

AN UNFORGETTABLE YEAR

While his wife is in the hospital giving birth to twin boys, fiction writer Anthony Doerr (The Shell Collector, 2003) learns he has won a fellowship from the American Academy in Rome. Hustled into so many new experiences at once and too dazed to do much work on his novel, Doerr instead extracts a burnished, poetic meditation on the beauties of the Eternal City, the chaotic blessings of fatherhood, and the perennial delights of Pliny’s Natural History. Just as the year ends, he is treated to the extraordinary funeral of John Paul II.

FOUR SEASONS IN ROME: ON TWINS, INSOMNIA, AND THE BIGGEST FUNERAL IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, by Anthony Doerr (Scribner, 2007)

TOILET TECH

Product: Fresh-Air Breathing Device (a.k.a. Toilet Snorkel)
How it works: The biggest cause of fire-related injury and death isn’t the flames—it’s the smoke. In 1982 William Holmes received a patent for a device designed to access a source of “fresh” air during fires in high-rise buildings, where help may be slow to arrive. Snake this slender breathing tube down through any toilet and into the water trap, and access air from the sewer line’s vent pipe. At the user end, the breathing tube is connected to a strap-on mask. Good news: The Toilet Snorkel comes with an odor-eating charcoal filter.

ZAGAZIG IS A CITY IN EGYPT; WAGGA WAGGA IS A CITY IN AUSTRALIA.

GOVERNMENT WASTE

TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

• The Hindustan Times reported in 2005 that the city of New Delhi employs 97 paid rat-catchers. What’s odd about that? They haven’t caught a single rat since 1994. (And, according to the Times, there are a lot of rats in New Delhi.)

• In October 2005 the Department of Homeland Security awarded a $36,300 grant to the state of Kentucky. Purpose of the grant: to prevent terrorists from using bingo halls to raise money.

UNTIL 2004, CAFFEINE WAS ON THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE LIST OF PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES.

On Moonlighting, U.S. Cabinet Members And:

The Iraqi prime minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki said Thursday that he hoped to form a government within a week after meeting two of Iraq's more powerful clerics, Secretary of the State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

from the International Herald Tribune

On Things We Hope We Never Hear On A Date, Bad-Film Style:

If I didn't really work for the government, if I was just a guy who accidentally killed his parents, would you still love me?

arsonist Anthony Perkins, to schoolgirl Tuesday Weld, in the 1968 movie Pretty Poison

FRASER ISLAND

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

On Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, you can swim in freshwater lakes, explore rocky outcroppings and oceanside cliffs, join rangers to track down some of the 350 species of birds, or spend the day in a jeep, cruising the 75 miles of broad coastal beach.

TRAVELER IN THE KNOW

If you’re ever invited to ride a camel, it’s helpful to know which ship of the desert will be your mount. The most common camel in northern Africa and the Arab lands is the dromedary, calling for a saddle that usually rests astride its single hump. The Bactrian camel, like these in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, has two humps, creating a natural spot between them where a saddle can sit.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/5-4/6/2009

2009-04-06T14:35:00.004-05:00

4/5/2004:
Clyde "the Glide" Drexler, Maurice Stokes and Jerry Colangelo headline a group of six players elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Drexler excelled in the NBA, primarily with the Portland Trail Blazers after being part of basketball's tallest fraternity, Phi Slama Jama at the University of Houston.. Stokes was a muscular forward in the 1950s who was paralyzed after a tragic fall in an NBA game, and Colangelo is the longtime CEO of the Phoenix Suns. Rounding out the new members are Lynette Woodard, a star collegian at Kansas, Olympic gold medalist and the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters. Drazen Dalipagic, a Yugoslavian star in the 1970s and '80s; and Bill Sharman as a coach (he was already in the HOF as a player).

Birthdays:
Doggie Julian b. 1901
Doug Favell b. 1945
Rennie Stennett b. 1951
Brad Van Pelt b. 1951
Ike Hilliard b. 1976

4/6/2001:
President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch as the Milwaukee Brewers open their brand-new $400M home, miller Park. Richie Sexson's eighth-inning homer for the Brew Crew makes it a successful debut as Milwaukee edges Cincinnati, 5-4. The new facility, with a retractable roof, replaces County Stadium, which had hosted big-league games since 1953 (with an interruption from 1966 to '69, not counting several transplanted Chicago White Sox home dates). Miller Park's completion was delayed twice, first by financing issues and then by a tragic crane accident that claimed three lives.

Birthdays:
Ernie Lombardi b. 1908
Spider Lockhart b. 1943
Bert Blyleven b. 1957
Sterling Sharpe b. 1965
Bret Boone b. 1969

Packers Fact:
In 2005, Tennessee retired uniform number 92 in honor of former Volunteers' (and Packers') star Reggie White. But defensive tackle Justin Harrell was allowed to continue wearing the number until he finished his college career.

BLOODY BEDFORD

Set in the rain-drenched and dying town of Bedford, Maine, this heart-stopper revolves around troubled but beautiful Susan Marley, whose death sets off horrors of gruesome and graphic violence. Sarah Langan’s first novel is a concoction of horror “akin to the more ambitious work of Stephen King” (Publishers Weekly). A happy and bloody debut for horror fiction fans.

THE KEEPER, by Sarah Langan (Harper Torch, 2006)

THE LANGUAGE OF BEAUTY

Gaman: “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.” A remarkable combination of visual beauty and moral lesson, this handsome volume uncovers the amazing artistry of Japanese who, during World War II, were given just one week to pack before being taken to bleak internment barracks. Phenomenal craftsmanship and sophistication grace every one of the objects pictured here, all made from scrap materials or natural resources. A marvelous collaboration among the authors. Publishers Weekly starred review.

THE ART OF GAMAN: ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM THE JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT CAMPS 1942-1946, by Delphine Hirasuna, Kit Hinrichs, and Terry Heffernan (Ten Speed, 2005)

SUNDAY FUNNIES

A GOLF JOKE

One day at the driving range, a golfer ran into a friend he hadn’t seen for years. They talked about their games, their swings, and their lives. Eventually, one asked the other, “How’s the family?” His friend replied, “Not bad. I got a new set of clubs for my wife the other day.” “Good trade,” the other said.

BIRD BRAINS: IN THE 12TH CENTURY, MANY EUROPEANS BELIEVED THAT TREES GAVE BIRTH TO BIRDS.

POP QUIZ

CAN YOU MATCH THE OBSCURE WORD WITH ITS MEANING?

1. Desuetude	a) A riddle or word puzzle
2. Epicene	b) Tangled
3. Demulcent	c) Painless death
4. Fichu	d) Of indeterminate gender
5. Carriwitchet	e) A large triangular scarf
6. Wopsy	f) To fly aimlessly
7. Dormition	g) Relating to a dead custom
8. Volitate	h) A lozenge

IT TAKES ABOUT 0.004 GALLONS OF GAS TO START YOUR CAR IN THE MORNING.

On Congressmen Who Maybe Should Have Listened A Little Harder To the Sunday School Teacher:

Talk show host Stephen Colbert: What are the Ten Commandments?

Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-Georgia), who is sponsoring a bill in Congress to require the display of the Ten Commandments in the U.S. Capitol: You mean all of them? - Um - Don't murder. Don't lie. Don't steal. Um - I can't name them all.

On Great Moments in Interviewing:

TV commentator Oz Clarke: So, you've won the British Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year Award. What does that mean?

Hairdresser: Well, it means I'm the British Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year.

on BBC1

Q: How does Massachusetts’s Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, honor a 502-foot home run hit there by Ted Williams in 1946?
Answer: A single red seat in a sea of blue marks the point where Williams deposited his home-run ball.

AL-AIN

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Straddling the border of the United Arab Emirates and the sultanate of Oman, Al-Ain is an ancient oasis town. Today it draws the curious traveler to its palace museum, dusty streets, camel racetrack, and still-active souk.

Proud to be a Fargoan - or why I live in Fargo and how can I possibly like it?

2009-04-04T19:21:00.001-05:00

Most of you know I live in Fargo, but many do not know how I came to be here. I'm a transplant, you see. I wasn't born here, though I spent a good amount of time here, visiting my grandparents during my childhood. I'll tell you how I came to be here as briefly as I can, so you understand that these are the thoughts of essentially an outsider. Someone who, true, calls Fargo home now, but until the age of 32 had never been more than a visitor.

My mother grew up in Fargo. There are at least two homes here in Fargo and Moorhead that my grandfather built. My grandfather fought the Red River from destroying his property more than once over the years. My parents met at NDSU, Dad taking Mom with him to the Chicago area where he was from.

One of the fondest memories I have of not just Grandpa but the Red River is December 1981. I chose to spend my Christmas break here while my brother chose to spend his with our dad and other grandparents in Tucson, Arizona. (It was, coincidentally, my mother's first Christmas alone.) Despite the cold December weather, my grandfather shoveled off a portion of the Red River behind their house so that I could ice skate to my heart's content. At the age of 12, I thought it was the coolest thing ever that I could go out into my grandparents back yard, skate across the river and be in another state! (By the end of my break, I had the blisters on my feet to prove his efforts did not go to waste!)

Born and raised in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, I never really 'belonged' there. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but perhaps there are others out there who felt what I did and understand what I'm talking about. I didn't hate the area or my childhood or anything, I just never felt complete there.

That all changed the summer of 1983. It was a busy summer for me. I met three people I still consider extremely special to this day. I spent time in Washington, D.C. with my 8th grade class. I spent time at my grandparents in Fargo. I spent a week fishing in Canada. And I spent a month at Concordia College Language Villages' Skogfjorden, the Norwegian camp located on Turtle River Lake in Bemidji, Minnesota.

I'd been to Bemidji before. There are pictures of me as a wee thing standing in front of Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox, Babe. That summer was the first time I'd ever spent any time there, though. And I knew instantly that I had finally found it. That place where I belonged. The month I spent there was the most at peace I'd ever felt to that point, and I think since then.

There was never a question in my mind where I was going to attend college when I discovered Bemidji had one. My brother had tried his hand at attending NDSU in Fargo, lasting only a year before transferring to University of Iowa. He was sure I would follow in his footsteps and end up at a large university in the end y. That didn't happen. I graduated from Bemidji State University in May 1990.

Life threw in a bit of a wrench as its wont to do. I was pregnant and ended up staying in Bemidji for another 15 months to have the baby and adapt to single motherhood. Six months after Stephanie was born, I returned to the Chicago area and began my life in the administrative assistant pool. Not my ideal job, but without grad school my Theatre BA was useless and with a child to support - well, a woman's got to do what a woman has to do.

I married my first husband in August 1996 and moved to Orlando with my daughter and his son. We bought a nice house, in a nice neighborhood and began what I'd hoped would be a nice life.

Things didn't turn out that way. Some know the story of that time. I'll sum it up in a few words: drugs, violence, robbery, attempted suicide. Christmas 1996, my husband and I found out that one of his relatives had sexually abused my daughter. That discovery led to the drug use, which led to the rest and ultimately my ex's suicide attempted overdose.

Along the way, I found myself pregnant. We welcomed Arthur Edward, named for both my grandfathers and my father, into the world March 10, 1999. By this point, things were tense between us. I no longer trusted my ex as he'd proved time and time again by this point he wasn't deserving of it.

Divorce wasn't as easy as it seems. I earned too much for Legal Aid but not enough to afford an attorney. Eventually, I had the divorced filed and the unfathomable happened, my son got out to our pool one morning and died. My step-son was already with his mother for the summer by this point, but Stephanie was taken from me as a result of an accidental death in our home. Leaving me in my house where my son died alone with my dog. Fortunately, Steph's friend's mom (and a neighbor) took her in so I was able to see Stephanie every day.

As soon as I was able, I put my house on the market, packed my belongings and left Florida and all the badness it represented. I was working from home at the time. I earned a decent salary, but it wasn't enough to support me in the Chicago area. I needed to find somewhere close enough that I could go home and see my family occasionally (something I was unable to do the five years I lived in Florida), but where I wouldn't go broke living.

My grandmother was still alive and I had other relatives in Fargo. Plus, there was a college here - three of them actually. So, Fargo it was. My goal when moving here was to obtain an M.S. in Economics and a PhD in History, stay until Stephanie graduated from high school, and then return to a larger, urban area to put my Theatre BA, Economics M.S. and History PhD to work together. A dream come true for me, to finally put my Theatre degree to use.

Things have changed as I'm married now to a man who has never lived away from Fargo other than a stint in the Army in the early 70s.

So, here I am, calling Fargo home for the long haul. I've already lived here as an adult longer than Chicago or Orlando. I listen to the jokes about this town, and I even tell them on occasion. I remember shortly after moving here, listening to the radio's "traffic report" as I was taking Stephanie to school. Traffic? I thought. Having driven in Chicago and Orlando, driving around in Fargo's version of a rush hour was a breeze.

There's been flooding in Fargo while I've lived here, but nothing to the magnitude of what Spring 2009 is bringing us. And it's during this troubling and frightening time that it's hit me.

This is my home. This is where I belong.

There is no place I'd rather be than right here. In Fargo. With my husband and my kids and my pets and my existence that most would think pales in comparison to the dreams and goals I had when embarking on college a year earlier than I was supposed to back in 1986.

Thanks to Facebook I've touched base with friends from college and high school and I admit there are times I cringe when I see their accomplishments. I sit back and realize I've done very little of import. My life isn't exciting or glamorous and there are certainly things I'd like to do and see one day. But, really, my life plan changed the moment I decided to bring a child into the world on my own way back in May 1990.

The nice thing about rivers is that it's traditionally no big surprise that it's going to rise once the spring thaw begins. A good amount of snowfall during the winter indicates the river might be high. So, people were prepared, just not for a forecasted crest of 42'.

The citizens of Fargo could have fended for themselves, worried about their own domiciles and belongings and said 'screw you' to their neighbor or the house two blocks up. But we didn't do that. That type of mentality is pretty much unheard of here.

Volunteers ranging in age from as young as six to 70 contributed by filling sandbags or helping build dikes with those sandbags in the hopes it would be enough. Relentlessly, for days this went on as homes and businesses and schools were barricaded in for protection.

It wasn't just these volunteers that humbled me. Though they certainly did because it was just another day to them, a fact of life that their town was in trouble, and they were offering their sweat and tears to help fight for this place we call home.

It was the people who would stop at Sandy's Donuts for a few dozen donuts or McDonald's for a hundred cheeseburgers and coffee or Hornbacher's for a few dozen cookies and brought them to the volunteers. They didn't know anybody, they weren't getting their photograph taken. Many didn't even stick around to receive a thank you, merely dropping the food and going. They simply wanted to do something for those helping to keep our city safe.

I've never experienced anything like it. No one was sitting back, letting nature take its course in the hope of receiving a handout afterward. It certainly would have been easy to do. A river level breaking a historical high dating back over one hundred years is certainly deserving of being declared a disaster area.

These people assembled and distributed over three million sandbags in a matter of days. Some volunteers showed up daily, tirelessly assisting the city's efforts to keep the waters from destroying the city.

News crews have come as I'm sure many of you have seen, turning the focus on our community in a time of trouble. And shown the people here to be of the ilk that so many aspire to be - courageous with a sense of community that most don't understand yet want. There is no violence, there is no looting, there was no stampede to exit stage left via I-29 or I-94 - there's just a community that fought to save their city and has (so far) managed to accomplish that goal much to the relief of everyone here.

I've posted this link at Facebook already, but I'll put it here, too:

Former Fargo resident Matt Chambers recently blogged about his experiences sandbagging. Using Google SketchUp, he put together some amazing visualizations that truly convey how many sandbags the community managed to fill in the span of a few short days. The blog post is pretty long, but its well worth the read.

Check out his great blog post on Concept3D: http://blog.concept3d.com/?p=433

There's a reason so many choose to live in Fargo - AND IT AIN'T THE WEATHER. The rest of the nation is only getting a glimpse into the reasoning behind it. Gratefully, when the river has returned to its normal ebbing and flowing level, those reasons will still be here. Even if the cameras and national attention won't be.

Susan E. Falk
A proud Fargo resident

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/2-4/4/2009

2009-04-04T08:45:00.004-05:00

4/2/1952:
Coming off a pennant-winning season for the New York Giants in which he led the National League in RBIs, outfielder Monte Irvin suffers a broken right ankle while sliding into third base during an exhibition game in Denver. Ironically, the throw from the outfield was cut off and he didn't even have to slide. Irvin will miss over 100 games before returning to the lineup, and his absence will be keenly felt. The Giants will fail to defend their title, losing the 1952 pennant to Brooklyn by the modest margin of four and a half games.

Birthdays:
Luke Appling b. 1907
Carmen Basilio b. 1927
Dick Radatz b. 1937
Don Sutton b. 1945
Linford Christie b. 1960

Packers Fact:
Three rookies were in the starting lineup for the Packers on Kickoff Weekend in 2007. Running back Brandon Jackson, fullback Korey Hall, and wide receiver James Jones.

4/3/2005:
Roger Federer of Switzerland wins his 18th consecutive final-round match, overcoming a two-set deficit to beat 18-year-old Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal in five sets at the Nasdaq 100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. Federer climbs out of a 3-5 hole in the third-set tiebreaker by winning four straight points and runs out the match from there. In subsequent meetings, especially on clay, Nadal will clearly establish himself as Federer's staunchest rival.

Birthdays:
Bernie Parent b. 1945
Pervis Ellison b. 1967
Rodney Hampton b. 1969
Picabo Street b. 1971
Michael Olowokandi b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Defensive tackle Justin Harrell, the Packers' top draft pick in 2007, played only three games his senior year at Tennessee because of a torn bicep injury.

4/4/1976:
Right wing Danny Gare scores a hat trick in the final game of the season to reach the 50-goal plateau, leading the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-2 win over Toronto at the Aud. Still two goals shy after 40 minutes of play, Gare scores twice in a span of 1:04 during the final period, beating Leafs goalie Gord McRae to achieve his milestone. A real fan favorite of the intensely loyal Buffalo crowds, Gare will score 267 goals for Buffalo in eight seasons before being traded to Detroit.

Birthdays:
Tris Speaker b. 1888
JoAnne Carner b. 1939
Dale Hawerchuk b. 1963
Scott Rolen b. 1976
Ben Gordon b. 1983

Packers Fact:
Rookie Mason Crosby beat out former Packers' player Dave Rayner in a training-camp battle to become Green Bay's kicker on Kickoff Weekend in 2007.

NESSUN DORMA

The tragic story of Puccini’s Turandot is woven into the life and memories of Lila du Cann, an opera singer who returns to her hometown in Scotland after her father’s death. “Morag Joss has been compared to those other two premiere weird sisters in crime, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine and Minette Walters. Such compliments are tossed about all too lightly in the publishing world, but this one is so justified that it seems like an understatement.” (Washington Post Book World) High praise indeed.

PUCCINI’S GHOSTS, by Morag Joss (Delacorte Press, 2006)

AWARD WINNER

This marvelous biography illuminates the life and times of Henry Ward Beecher, son of a preacher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, and himself an enormously influential and fiery orator and abolitionist with liberal views. His times were no less complicated and contradictory than our own, and Beecher’s popularity and influence in the media and on people (including Abraham Lincoln) eventually gave way to adulterous scandals and celebrity backlash. This is the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, among many other awards.

THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN AMERICA: THE BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY WARD BEECHER, by Debby Applegate (Doubleday, 2006)

WILD WEST

The long subtitle to this memoir is: The Occasional History of a Child Actress/Tap Dancer/Record Store Clerk/Thai Waitress/Playboy Reject/Nightclub Booker/Daily Show Correspondent/Sex Columnist/Recurring Character and Whatever Else. Believe it or not, that’s not the whole story. For that, you have to experience Stacey Grenrock Woods’s prose—painfully honest, often hilarious, bittersweet, even poetic. (By the way, the author, a comedian and sex columnist for Esquire, is no longer a Playboy reject. An intern found photos of her in the archives and published one in the July 2007 issue.)

I, CALIFORNIA, by Stacey Grenrock Woods (Scribner, 2007)

On Thanks For the Warning, Electric Cattle Prod People!:

FOR USE ON ANIMALS ONLY.

warning label on an electric cattle prod

On Websites, Inadvertently Titillating:

www.whorepresents.com - web address for Who Represents
www.expertsexchange.com - web address for Experts Exchange programmers site

actual domain names (although Experts Exchange has since changed its site's name)

On Slogans Of Strange:

TISSUES OF PUPPY

slogan on a Japanese tissue box - which has a picture of a puppy on it

AN ABSORBING QUESTION

WHY DOESN’T POUND CAKE WEIGH A POUND?

Experts say: The dish was traditionally made with a pound of flour, a pound of butter, and a pound of sugar. (Wouldn’t that make it a three-pound cake?) Interestingly, that same concept explains the name of another dessert: cupcakes. The original recipes called for a cup each of flour, butter, and sugar, not because they’re baked in little paper cups.

A NEWBORN EXPELS ITS OWN BODY WEIGHT IN WASTE EVERY 60 HOURS.

UNCLE JOHN’S SPACE PATROL

Little red country cottages are a common sight in Sweden. Now the country wants to put one on the Moon. The Swedish Space Corporation has conducted a study and determined that it actually would be possible to put such a structure on the Moon, at an estimated cost of 500 million kronor ($73 million), by 2011. A nationwide contest is under way for children to design the cottage, which is required to be incredibly small—to keep down the cost of shipping building materials to the Moon, the cottage can be no more than eight square meters and weigh no more than ten pounds.

ONE POUND OF COFFEE BEANS MAKES ABOUT 50 CUPS OF COFFEE; ONE POUND OF TEA LEAVES MAKES ABOUT 300 CUPS OF TEA.

POT-POURRI

TWO RANDOM LISTS

13 Cigarette Additives
Yeast
Coffee
Honey
Rum
Fig juice
Cognac oil
Chocolate
Carrot oil
Caffeine
Ammonia
Vinegar
Apple skins
Nutmeg powder

5 Types of Cars
4-door sedan
2-door coupe
Station wagon
Convertible
Sports car

ACCORDING TO DC COMICS, BATMAN IS 6'2" TALL AND WEIGHS 220 POUNDS.

NATCHEZ

MISSISSIPPI, USA

Azaleas, camellias, magnolias, and annuals create the perfect setting for the more than 30 private homes that open to the public during the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage for four weeks in March and April. With more than 500 historic structures intact, Natchez is a living museum of antebellum architecture and charm.

ST. LUCIA

LESSER ANTILLES

Gros Piton and Petit Piton, twin pointed volcanic peaks about 2,500 feet high, rise from the surf off St. Lucia, looking like the jagged mountains of Bali Ha’i.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

See the answer tomorrow.

Q: How does Massachusetts’s Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, honor a 502-foot home run hit there by Ted Williams in 1946?

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/1/2009

2009-04-01T13:05:00.004-05:00

4/1/1962:
Boston center Bill Russell scores 29 points, helping the Celtics build up a 23-point lead and cruise to a 119-104 victory over the Philadelphia Warriors for a 3-2 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference final-round series. Emotions between the two arch rivals spill over in the fourth quarter when several skirmishes break out. Celtics guard Sam Jones picks up a photographer's stool to defend himself against Wilt Chamberlain after they collide in the lane. Later, Celtics reserve Carl Braun mixes it up with Philadelphia's Al Attles, and then Guy Rodgers of the Warriors grabs the same stool to fend off Boston's Jim Losccutoff. Veteran referee Sid Borgia doesn't issue any ejections in a "boys will be boys" interpretation of the rules. Boston will win this series in seven games.

Birthdays:
Bo Schembechler b. 1929
Ron Perranoski b. 1936
Rusty Staub b. 1944
Norm Van Lier b. 1947
Scott Stevens b. 1964

Packers Fact:
The Packers' regular-season schedule in 2007 included seven games against teams that made the playoffs in 2006.

MOM, I NEED NEW GENES

What’s going on at BioGen Research? Mad scientists, gene cloning (ever hear of a humanzee?), and greedy capitalists who don’t know when to stop. Michael Crichton cuts between swiftly moving scenes of dark comedy and frightening fantasy, building tension as only he can do. The afterword makes an impassioned and knowledgeable plea for responsibility in DNA research.

NEXT, by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins, 2006)

APRIL FOOLS!

When most of western Europe adopted the euro as a standard international currency in 1999, many Europeans feared losing other aspects of their individual cultural identities. On April 1 England’s BBC radio service announced that England was scrapping the national anthem, “God Save the Queen,” in favor of an all-Europe anthem that would be sung in German. “There’s too much nationalism,” a spokesperson for the EU supposedly told the BBC. “We need to look for unity.” (Sorry, England, April Fools!)

SINGER MEAT LOAF IS A VEGETARIAN.

On Is This Guy Meshugga Or What?

* I cried about a steak sandwich one time.
* Drink orange juice, because it's good for you.
* Sometimes I feel like a 3-foot-tall, poverty-stricken, homosexual, handicapped, 50-year-old Muslim woman with AIDS.
* I don't know what the word "urban" means anymore.

random excerpts from actor Macauley Culkin's book Junior

TIME TRAVELING

At Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, meticulous re-creation of the past transports visitors back to the world of Virginians from 1750 to 1775. Other preserved or reconstructed destinations afford a stroll back through these other times:

• 1500s: Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
• 1600s: Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts
• 1800s: Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
• 1900s: The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/30-3/31/2009

2009-03-31T11:16:00.004-05:00

3/30/2001:
Notre Dame's women's basketball team storms from 16 points behind defending national champion Connecticut and rolls to a 90-75 victory in an NCAA tournament semifinal game at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. Early in the second half, Notre Dame turns the tide with a 35-13 run led by Niele Ivey (21 points), Alicia Ratay (20 points, including four of five from three-point range), Ruth Riley (18 points and 10 rebounds) and Erica Haney (15 points). Coached by Muffet McGraw, the Irish will emerge as national champions when they defeat Purdue in the tourney final two nights from now, condlucing a gala Final Four affectionately dubbed "Arch Madness" by the local citizenry.

Birthdays:
Ripper Collins b. 1904
Willie Galimore b. 1935
Jerry Lucas b. 1940
Lomas Brown b. 1963
Dave Ellett b. 1964

Packers Fact:
The Packers were scheduled to fly just 10,738 miles on their road trips in 2007. That was more than 6,000 less miles than in 2006, and marked the fourth-fewest miles traveled in the league.

3/31/2003:
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays make new manager Lou Piniella's first game a memorable one, scoring five runs in the n inth inning to stun the Boston Red Sox, 6-4, on Opening Day at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Terry Shumpert's two-run homer and Carl Crawford's walk-off three-run shot provide a bright spot for the forlorn D-Rays, who will stumble to a 63-99 record-a sixth straight season of fewer than 70 wins since their expansion team began play in 1998.

Birthdays:
Gordie Howe b. 1928
Miller Barber b. 1931
Bob Pulford b. 1936
Tom Barrasso b. 1965
Pavel Bure b. 1971

Packers Fact:
The Packers selected kicker Mason Crosby in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. He was the third of Green Bay's three choices in that round.

YES, DEAR

Though this is not an advice book per se, you will probably glean some truths and insights about marriage here. Flexibility, humor, communication, and just plain not wanting to be in the doghouse got Mr. Doocy (the likable anchor of Fox and Friends) through a lot of tough times and boneheaded moves with the admirable Mrs. Doocy over the years. He is very funny here, and his misadventures, though they may be too off-the-wall to be familiar, will make you feel a whole lot better about your own life.

THE MR. & MRS. HAPPY HANDBOOK: EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE AND MARRIAGE (WITH CORRECTIONS BY MRS. DOOCY), by Steve Doocy (William Morrow, 2006)

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

Let’s celebrate the 200th birthday of Russia’s revered and influential humorist, Nikolai Gogol. In this collection, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky show through their brilliant translations the unerring wit and truth of Gogol’s droll insights. Try “The Nose,” wherein a barber finds a nose in his breakfast roll, or “The Overcoat,” about a lowly government copyist, his important new coat, and what happens when it is stolen. The story’s importance is reflected in Dostoyevsky’s quip: “We all came out of Gogol’s ‘Overcoat.’”

THE COLLECTED TALES OF NIKOLAI GOGOL, by N. V. Gogol; translated and annotated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (Vintage Classics, 1999)

UNCLE JOHN’S STALL OF FAME

Honoree: Paul Moghadan, who runs a Chevron gas station in West Covina, California
Notable Achievement: Created the best gas station restroom in America
Background: When Moghadan started at Chevron in 1966, he was told that keeping the gas station bathroom clean and well stocked should be his highest priority. He took the message to heart, and when the time came for him to remodel his restroom in 1992, he had his brother, an architectural designer, come up with something special: silver columns, marble counters, stone tile, and even a chandelier. “It’s the best restroom I’ve ever seen,” said Jose Montes, who lives in town. “You feel like you’re rich when you’re in there.”

LEMONS AND STRAWBERRIES DO NOT RIPEN AFTER BEING PICKED. AVOCADOS AND BANANAS DO.

WHEN YOU GOTTA GO . . .

Del Close, a theater producer and comedian, died in 1999 at the age of 64. He’d once played Polonius in Hamlet, but the role he really wanted was Yorick (the dead man whose skull Hamlet holds up in memory). So he stipulated in his will that his body be cremated and his skull preserved and given to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago for a future production of Hamlet—and that program credits list Yorick as being “played” by Del Close.

NANCY GREEN WAS THE FIRST LIVING PERSON WHOSE IMAGE WAS TRADEMARKED AS AUNT JEMIMA.

On Classified Ads, A Little Too Specific:

AUDITIONS: Seeking a young man who is at least 28 but not over 28 years old.

classified ad in the Hartford (Connecticut) Courant (thanks to Andrea Grody)

On By Jove, It WOULD:

SILENT PLANE WOULD CUT AIRPORT NOISE

cnn.com headlines (thanks to Dan Kirkwood)

TOWER OF DAVID

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

First constructed in the second century B.C. as part of the defense of Jerusalem, the Tower of David today stands guard over a museum tracing the history of the city through thousands of years of repeated conquests and renewals.

MOTHER EARTH

CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK, COSTA RICA

Environments that support a rich variety of life, like the lush rain forest of Costa Rica, also produce multitudes of predators, and some of their potential dinners have adapted by becoming poisonous. This poisonous dart frog, like many toxic animals and insects, flashes a “Don’t eat me” sign with bright color, in this case, an intense red.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/29/2009

2009-03-29T14:01:00.004-05:00

3/29/1982:
Chariots of Fire, a British-made motion picture about two English sprinters striving to compete in the 1924 Olympics, is the surprise winner of the Oscars for Best Picture at the Academy Awards ceremonies in Los Angeles. The movie focuses on the exploits of real-life athletes Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleston) as they deal with the class struggles and mores of postwar Great Britain. An inspiring musical score by Vangelis establishes an ethereal backdrop to the emotional film.

Birthdays:
Walt Frazier b. 1945
Teofilo Stevenson b. 1952
Earl Campbell b. 1955
Brian Jordan b. 1967
Jennifer Capriati b. 1976

SCARY STUFF

George Shuman, a veteran Washington, D.C., policeman, follows the success of 18 Seconds with a new crime tale featuring Sherry Moore, the beautiful, blind psychic who is called in by the police for her special talent of being able to “see” the last 18 seconds of people’s lives by touching them. Sherry is menaced by a serial killer whose twisted psyche must be interpreted from events that reach back almost 20 years. Shuman creates a truly creepy atmosphere, and gives us a fallible, very complex, haunting character in Sherry Moore.

LAST BREATH: A SHERRY MOORE NOVEL, by George D. Shuman (Simon & Schuster, 2007)

LEGAL BRIEFS

FROM ACTUAL COURT TRANSCRIPTS:

Q: “Were you acquainted with the deceased?”
A: “Yes, sir.”
Q: “Before or after he died?”

Q: “To the charge of driving while intoxicated, how do you plead?”
A: “Drunk.”

Q: “The respiratory arrest means no breathing, doesn’t it?”
A: “That’s right.”
Q: “And in every case where there is death, isn’t there no breathing?

NOT AS FAST AS YOU THINK: A HOUSEFLY ONLY FLIES AT ABOUT 4.3 MPH.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

See the answer tomorrow.

Q: Bath, site of England’s only hot springs, has been a resort since the days when the ancient Romans ruled Britain. What English novelist described the life of leisure there in the city’s early 19th-century heyday?

a) Charlotte Brontë b) Jane Austen c) George Eliot d) Emily Brontë

Answer: B, Jane Austen.

On Say That Again!:

In the end, those of us who walk away not winning win more than just a loss.

The Apprentice contestant Audrey, after getting fired

NCAA Tournament Central: Believe it! Beavers defeat Notre Dame for first NCAA Tournament victory in BSU history

2009-03-29T13:48:00.001-05:00

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/articles/index.cfm?id=22490&section=homepage

NCAA Tournament Central: Believe it! Beavers defeat Notre Dame for first NCAA Tournament victory in BSU history
John J. McRae
Bemidji Pioneer - 03/28/2009

The Bemidji State men’s hockey team believed; the BSU coaching staff believed; a small cadre of team supporters believed. The vast majority of the college hockey world did not.

They are all believers now.

Bemidji State pulled off a major upset Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich., defeating Notre Dame 5-1.

Notre Dame was the No. 2 ranked team in college hockey and the No. 1 seed in the regional.

Bemidji State was not ranked entering the tournament and were the No. 4 seed in the regional.

It was undoubtedly the biggest win the in the Division I era for the Beavers, if not all time.

Bemidji State University is now 60 minutes away from a trip to NCAA Frozen Four.

Wow.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys right now,” said Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore. “This was a great, great win for our program. A win like this is extremely gratifying.”

Bemidji State now advances to Sunday night’s Midwest Region final against Cornell (7 p.m., ESPNU), who defeated Northeastern 3-2 earlier in the day. The winner will advance to the Frozen Four in Washington, D.C. April 9 and 11.

Notre Dame came into the game with a record of 31-5-3, winning both the CCHA regular season and playoff crowns. The Fighting Irish defense allowed only 64 goals the entire season, an average of 1.64 per game.

One of the BSU concerns entering the game was if the Beavers could generate offense against the highly regarded Fighting Irish.

That was answered early and with an exclamation mark.

The Beavers scored a pair of first period goals and added another in the second to take a 3-0 lead. The partisan crowd, the vast majority who traveled from South Bend, Ind. to cheer for Notre Dame, was stunned. But there was still the belief the Irish would fight back.

Not this time.

Bemidji State started the first 1:58 of the third period a man short following a Cody Bostock penalty for holding with two seconds left in the second.

It was a key juncture in the game.

“We felt if we could kill the penalty we would be in pretty good shape,” Serratore reported. “We ended up getting way more than that.”

In the opening moments of the period, Tyler Scofield found Matt Read with a break out pass at the Fighting Irish blue line. A Notre Dame defender was angling toward Read, who teed it up and rifled a shot from the top of the face off circle. It rocketed past Notre Dame goalie Jordan Pearce, giving the Beavers a 4-0 lead 49 seconds into the third.

“That was a huge goal,” Serratore reported. “You know what I always say, the first team to four in college hockey wins. I don’t care who the team is, coming back from four goals down is very tough.”

Read said he saw that Pearce was a little off on his angle and picked a spot. “I caught it clean and it went in,” he said.

Bemidji State got off to a dream start, taking a 2-0 first period lead. The Beavers struck first early as Pearce misplayed the puck behind the net, then fell when entering the crease. BSU senior forward Chris McKelvie was there to rap the home the loose puck unassisted at 1:42.

Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said the goal shook up Pearce.

“On that first goal, the puck took a weird bounce off the boards and came right to Pearce,” Jackson said. “It got stuck between the goal post and his skate. BSU forced the issue with their fore check and scored. The goal threw (Pearce) off.”

The Beavers made it 2-0, connecting on their only power play opportunity of the period. Freshman defender Brad Hunt took a shot from the point, but only caught a piece of it. The slowly sliding puck was then tipped in front by Scofield past Pearce at 11:03.

Overall it was an evenly played period with Notre Dame holding an 11-7 shot advantage.

BSU goalie Matt Dalton came up big on a couple of occasions, the biggest save coming with about five minutes left when he denied freshman Billy Madday from close range.

The Beavers also had a coupe more opportunities.

Scofield nearly converted a ND turnover at 13:00, whistling a shot just wide from the blue line. Freshman Shea Walters had a good chance from the top of the far circle, again on a turnover. Pearce made a nice glove save on that one.

That set a pattern that would carry to the whole game – the Beavers applying heavy puck pressure and creating turnovers, then making plays.

“From the start, they created turnovers,” said Jackson. “They created their opportunities; congratulations to them.”

The Beavers extended the lead to 3-0 with the only goal of the second period. The BSU mantra is any shot on net is a good shot and freshman Ben Kinne proved the point. Racing to a loose puck at the near face off circle, Kinne funneled a shot toward the net. The puck deflected off a Notre Dane defenseman and past Pearce five hole with just over six minutes left in the period.

Again, the second period was evenly played with the Fighting Irish holding an 11-8 shot advantage. BSU applied good pressure early when Kinne won a race to a loose puck just across the Irish blue line and got off a good shot that was stopped. Walters then came close on a wraparound attempt about two minutes later.

Dalton continued to be rock solid in net, stopping a handful of strong Notre Dame opportunities. The best came when Notre Dame’s Ryan Thang beat a BSU defender wide and bore down on the BSU goal. Dalton stood his ground and made the big save, keeping the Irish off the board.

That led to Read’s big shorthanded goal and a 4-0 BSU lead early in the third. The Fighting Irish trailed Michigan 2-0 in the third period in the CCHA championship game a week ago and came back for a 5-2 win. But it wasn’t to be this time around; the Beavers made sure of that.

Notre Dame got on the board at 6:02 of the third as Dan Kissel connected off a nice cross ice pass from Ryan Guentzel. Dalton didn’t have a prayer on the bang-bang play.

The Beavers iced things for good when Notre Dame pulled Pearce for the extra attacker with about four minutes left. Scofield battled for a loose puck at mid-ice then ripped an empty netter with 3:27 remaining, giving the Beavers a 5-1 lead.

Game, set and match. That’s the way it ended.

Dalton had an excellent night in net for the Beavers, stopping 34 of 35 Notre Dame shots. Pearce ended the night making 14 saves on 18 shots.

“We knew they were a skilled and fast team that played tough defense,” Scofield said. “We knew we’d have to back check hard and disrupt their plays. I think we did a good job of that.”

Jackson agreed. “BSU plays a tough style,” he said. “If you don’t make a play, they’ll come right back at you. They frustrated our team with their style of play – it worked.

“I don’t know how many times this week people asked me, ‘who is Bemidji State?’ Well, they know now. I didn’t do a good enough job preparing my team to play a team like Bemidji State. I take full responsibility for that.”

Scofield said the team was very happy after the win, but also took the huge victory in stride.

“Yes, it was exciting. Yes, it was a big game. We’ll enjoy it for a few minutes, but we still have business to take care of,” he said.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/27-3/28/2009

2009-03-28T08:01:00.004-05:00

While the ideal scenario is to close out a playoff series on your home floor in front of your home fans, NBA star Chauncey Billups has a different outlook: "In a strange sort of way, it always feels better to close out a series on the road. That silence, like church."

Birthdays:
Wes Covington b. 1932
Cale Yarborough b. 1939
Annemarie Moser-Proll b. 1953
Chris McCarron b. 1955
Randall Cunningham b. 1963

Packers Fact:
Running back Noah Herron, who had career bests of 150 yards rushing and 211 yards receiving in 2006, missed the entire 2007 season after suffering a knee injury in the final preseason game.

3/28/1976:
Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, 14, wins all four of her events at the America's Cup competition at Madison Square Garden, scoring a perfect 10 in the vault today to go with the perfect 10 she received in the floor exercise during yesterday's prelims. She'll become the sensation of the Olympic Games in Montreal, posting seven 10s and winning gold for the balance beam, uneven bars and best all-around female gymnast.

Birthdays:
Vic Raschi b. 1918
Jerry Sloan b. 1942
Rick Barry b. 1944
Len Elmore b. 1952
Byron Scott b. 1961

Packers Fact:
Safety Aaron Rouse was the only defensive back that the Packers selected among their 11 drat choices in 2007. He was a third-round selection.

SAY WHAT?

Who would have thought that diagramming sentences could be the subject of a surprisingly fun book? Kitty Florey, that’s who. Author and copy editor Florey remembers fondly her introduction to serious grammar in sixth grade under the tutelage of one Sister Bernadette. It made language seem accessible, friendly, tidy, and satisfying. She displays the many splendors of this arcane enthusiasm, along the way discussing the disparate habits (and diagramming the sentences) of passionate grammarians Henry James, Gertrude Stein, Sister Bernadette, and others.

SISTER BERNADETTE’S BARKING DOG: THE QUIRKY HISTORY AND LOST ART OF DIAGRAMMING SENTENCES, by Kitty Burns Florey (Melville House, 2006)

OUCH, THAT’S FUNNY!

A good political cartoon is truly worth 1,000 words. Whereas wordsmiths slave over their keyboards, churning out arguments and counterarguments and digging up data, cartoons do not have to support a view, only strike a chord. The best are silent but deadly, conveying history and emotion in the blink of an eye. Hess and Northrop dote upon the cartoonist’s craft and the history of the genre, exemplified by 269 wonderful cartoons, in loving and lively detail.

DRAWN AND QUARTERED: THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN POLITICAL CARTOONS, by Steven Hess and Sandy Northrop (River City Publishing, 2007)

BATHROOM BRAINTEASERS

WHICH IS THE CORRECT SPELLING OF EACH COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORD?

1. a) Milenium b) Millenium c) Millennium

2. a) Dumbell b) Dumbbell c) Dumbel

3. a) Seperete b) Seperate c) Separate

4. a) Necesary b) Neccesary c) Necessary

5. a) Minniscule b) Miniscule c) Minuscule

6. a) Accommodate b) Acommodate c) Accomodate

7. a) Occurrence b) Ocurence c) Occurence

8. a) Embarrass b) Embarass c) Embaras

MAKES SENSE: THE VIETNAMESE CALL IT THE AMERICAN WAR.

THE WOMEN’S ROOM

A MOTHER OF INVENTION

Melitta Bentz, a housewife in Dresden, Germany, didn’t like the bitter, oily taste of coffee made by boiling loose grounds, the common brewing method in 1900. She wondered if there was a way to filter out the grit and oil. One day she took the blotter paper from her son’s school notebook, cut out a circle, and placed it in the bottom of a perforated brass pot. Then she measured in the coffee and poured hot water over it. Result: perfect, grit-free coffee. Bentz’s simple drip method was so successful that she applied for a patent in 1908, and the M. Bentz coffee company (now Melitta) was born.

ONE ISN’T ENOUGH? TWO RIVERS IN FLORIDA ARE NAMED WITHLACOOCHEE.

On Err. . . Keep Trying!

Radio host Tim Kelly: What birthday does a bicentennial celebrate?

Contestant: Err...

Kelly: I'll give you a hint. Centennial is one and bi means two.

Contestant: 102?

during a quiz segment on the Tim Kelly Show, Today FM, Dublin, Ireland

On Just the Snack I Wanted:

Cui Mei Si Burned Meat Biscuits

Chinese snack

HONG KONG

CHINA

Forests of bright signs and stalls of colorful produce and electronic goods compete for the attention of shoppers and passersby in congested main streets of Hong Kong’s many neighborhoods.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

See the answer tomorrow.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/25-3/26/2009

2009-03-26T23:41:00.003-05:00

3/25/1961:
The year after the great Oscar Robertson moves on to the NBA, the Cincinnati Bearcats win the national collegiate championship by upsetting top-ranked, unbeaten defending national champion Ohio State, 70-65, in overtime at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. Despite the two schools' close geographic proximity, they hadn't met in basketball competition since 1922. Balanced scoring helps Cincinnati surmount 27 points and 12 rebounds by OSU All-American Jerry Lucas. When the two clubs meet again next year in the NCAA finals, the outcome will be the same: Cincinnati will repeat as champions, 71-59.

Birthdays:
Howard Cosell b. 1920
Ken Wregget b. 1964
Avery Johnson b. 1965
Tom Glavine b. 1966
Bob Sura b. 1973

Packers Fact:
The Packers opened the 2007 season with only two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. Their third-string quarterback was wide receiver Carlyle Holiday, a former college quarterback.

3/26/1984:
The Chicago Cubs solidify their outfield in a trade with the Phillies that borders on highway robbery. The Cubs obtain Gary "Sarge" Matthews and Bob Dernier as the centerpieces of a five-player deal, surrendering only aging reliever Bill "Soup" Campbell and prospect Mike Diaz in return. Matthews, a firebrand competitor, will drive in 82 runs and score 101 while Dernier, a speedster and leadoff man, will swipe 45 bases and score 94 runs. This transaction also allows Chicago to move lumbering Leon "Bull" Durham from the outfield back to his natural position at first base. The Matthews-Dernier deal, along with the mid-season acquisition of pitcher Rick Sutcliffe, will spark the Cubs to the National League East title and their first trip to baseball's postseason since 1945.

Birthdays:
Rip Engle b. 1906
Al Bianchi b. 1932
Marcus Allen b. 1960
John Stockton b. 1962
Michael Peca b. 1974

Packers Fact:
Wide receiver James Jones played college football at San Jose State.

DESPERATELY SEEKING DANIEL

In her third novel, Louise Wener, the former lead singer of the British band Sleeper, takes us on Claire’s journey to Miami to find her brother Daniel, who disappeared shortly after the Columbia space shuttle disaster. Claire’s free-spirited, ditzy personality and the bright, funny prose and tender insights are a winning combination.

THE HALF LIFE OF STARS, by Louise Wener (Harper Paperbacks, 2006)

EVERYBODY LOVES PHIL

It doesn’t matter whether Phil Rosenthal’s life is now imitating his art or his art imitates his life. The writer of Everybody Loves Raymond has parlayed his life experiences into the basis of the much beloved sitcom. Rosenthal remains undazzled by Hollywood, is warm and genuinely funny even when he’s not writing for TV, and gives readers a treasure trove of background on the show, insight into showbiz, good-hearted gossip, and belly laughs galore.

YOU’RE LUCKY YOU’RE FUNNY: HOW LIFE BECOMES A SITCOM, by Phil Rosenthal (Viking, 2006)

A 21-FLUSH SALUTE . . .

TO NORMAN BORLAUG, BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1914

After earning doctorates in plant pathology and genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1942, Norman Borlaug took an agricultural research position with the Mexican government, where he developed varieties of wheat that had high yield and were disease resistant. Result: Mexico was able to stop importing wheat and started exporting it. He took his wheat varieties to Pakistan and India in the 1960s and doubled wheat production in those two countries. For these developments, Borlaug is credited with saving over a billion people from starvation. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

IN THE LATE 1960S PEZ TRIED TO MARKET FLOWER-FLAVORED CANDIES.

WHEN YOU GOTTA GO . . .

(NOT SO) FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“To die, to sleep, to pass into nothingness, what does it matter? Everything is an illusion.”

—Mata Hari

“I believe we must adjourn this meeting to some other place.”

—Adam Smith, economist

“I am still alive!”

—Caligula, Roman emperor

IT’S ESTIMATED THAT ABOUT HALF A TON OF MARTIAN MATERIAL FALLS TO EARTH EVERY YEAR.

On Wisdom, Congressional:

I know that I saw it on the TV station. It might have only been on Fox, come to think of it.

Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) explaining that he was sure there were WMDs in Iraq

On Work Experience, Unconvincing:

*EXPERIENCE: Sous Chef. Quit after nervous breakdown.

*EXPERIENCE: I am a very capapable proofreader.

from actual resumes

THE MELK ABBEY

WACHAU VALLEY, AUSTRIA

Fortified abbeys and castles crown the rolling hills of the Wachau Valley, overlooking a picturesque stretch of the Danube River. The Melk Abbey, a recently renovated 1,000-year-old monastery, is filled with manuscripts and precious works of art.

CONVENT OF SAN FRANCESCO, FIESOLE (FLORENCE), ITALY

“In art, there are tears that do often lie too deep for thoughts.”
—LOUIS KRONENBERGER

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/24/2009

2009-03-25T07:04:00.001-05:00

3/24/1979:

Triple Crown hopeful Spectacular Bid, ridden by Ron Franklin, runs away from the field in the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah, winning by 12 lengths over seven overmatched rivals. It's the Bid's second quality win in the Sunshine State after winning the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale three weeks ago. He'll win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness without too much trouble but will come a cropper in the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes, where he loses his chance for a Triple Crown by placing third behind the surprising winner, Coastal.

Birthdays:

Alex Olmedo b. 1936

Pat Bradley b. 1951

Peyton Manning b. 1976

T.J. Ford b. 1983

Chris Bosh b. 1984

Packers Fact:

The Packers drafted wide receiver James Jones in the third round in 2007. He was the 78th overall choice.

FINDING YOURSELF

Henry Louis Gates Jr., chair of African and African-American Studies at Harvard, writes about helping Oprah Winfrey trace her genealogy and about why the search should be undertaken by every African American, though it may be a process beset by difficulties. This inspirational and groundbreaking piece of research offers a guide to DNA testing and how to gather online, oral, and written documentation.

FINDING OPRAH’S ROOTS: FINDING YOUR OWN, by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Crown, 2007)

On But We Heard Someone Ratted Out the Mole:

More than 600 guinea pigs were "liberated" in a raid. The activists conducted painstaking research - helped by a mole at the DVLA.

from The Guardian (UK)

WORDPLAY

REAL CAR NAMES FROM ASIA YOU’RE UNLIKELY TO SEE IN AMERICA

• Toyota Deliboy
• Honda Life Dunk
• Nissan Sunny California
• Isuzu Elf Van
• Suzuki Cappuccino
• Mitsubishi Lettuce
• Toyota Urban Supporter
• Daihatsu Naked
• Honda Today Humming
• Toyota Synus
• Suzuki Mighty Boy
• Isuzu Begin Funk Box

DURING THE DEPRESSION, 44% OF ALL U.S. BANKS FAILED.

TRAVELER IN THE KNOW

Whether touring downtown or out in the neighborhoods, when you’re in Chicago you’ll want to sample the hot dogs, the snack food that fires up the locals. Pile the dawgs high with dill pickle, mustard, chopped onion, relish and more, but don’t risk ridicule by asking for ketchup.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/21-3/23/2009

2009-03-23T10:17:00.003-05:00

3/21/1986:
With a minute remaining in regulation time, Kansas rallies from six points behind to tie the score and then runs away in overtime to defeat Michigan State, 96-86, in a Midwest Regional semifinal at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. A clock malfunction occurs with about two minutes left, adding 15 to 20 seconds to the contest and providing Kansas with extra time to stage the comeback. Last-minute baskets by Cedric Hunter, Calvin Thompson (game high, 26 points) and Archie Marshall even the score at 80-80 and the overtime proves to be a formality against the disheartened Spartans, who missed two key one-and-one free throw chances in the closing moments of regulation.

Birthdays:
Tom Flores b. 1937
Jay Hilgenberg b. 1960
Ayrton Senna b. 1960
Shawon Dunston b. 1963
Al Iafrate b. 1966

Packers Fact:
Brandon Jackson was the 63rd pick of the 2007 draft. The last running back that the Packers selected any higher was Darrell Thompson, who was the 19th choice in 1990.

3/22/1967:
Muhammad Ali knocks out Zora Folley at 1:48 of Round 7 at Madison Square Garden, successfully defending his heavyweight championship for the ninth time. Younger than the challenger by nine years and heavier by nine pounds but infinitely quicker on his feet, Ali dominates the bout with his left jab and finishes it with a right cross. Next month, Ali will be stripped of his title for refusing induction into the army on religious grounds. He'll return to the ring in 1970 and regain hish title in 1974 with a stunning upset of George Foreman in Zaire, Africa.

Birthdays:
Billy Vessels b. 1931
Flash Elorde b. 1935
Glenallen Hill b. 1965
Shawn Bradley b. 1972
Marcus Camby b. 1974

3/23/1990:
En route to winning the national championship with a 30-point blowout of Duke in the title game, UNLV very nearly stumbles against unheralded Ball State in the semifinals of the West Regional at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The Runnin' Rebels are out-rebounded 54-37 and outscored down the stretch 23-14, but they manage to disrupt Ball State's last offensive sequence and escape with a 69-67 victory. Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon lead UNLV with 20 points apiece, and Chandler Thompson has 21 for the Mid American Conference champion Cardinals of Ball State.

Birthdays:
Roger Bannister b. 1929
Ted Green b. 1940
Moses Malone b. 1954
Jason Kidd b. 1973
Mark Buehrle b. 1979

Packers Fact:
After falling to the Bears on Kickoff Weekend in 2006, the Packers won all five of their remaining games against NFC North foes that season.

ANYBODY THERE?

This posthumous collection drawn from the 1985 Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology at the University of Glasgow will remind us what a graceful presence Carl Sagan was: He used his erudition as a delicate probing tool, never as a bludgeon, and his gentleness softened an iron strength of purpose and integrity. Put yourself in his hands as he guides you and teaches you, not what to think, but how to think.

THE VARIETIES OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE: A PERSONAL VIEW OF THE SEARCH FOR GOD, by Carl Sagan (Penguin Press, 2006)

JUST LIKE FAMILY

Richard Russo returns to some of the characters from Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls and takes them to Venice, Italy, to learn some hard truths. Louis Lynch and his wife, Sarah, have lived in a small New York town for 40 years and built a respectable life—in fact, Lynch is somewhat smugly writing a history of the town and his family. But life is far from over for the Lynches and still holds many surprises, especially in the hands of this capable, sensitive, funny, tender writer.

BRIDGE OF SIGHS, by Richard Russo (Knopf, 2007)

KILLER INSOMNIA

D. T. Max, science writer and himself victim of an inherited neurological disease, opens his investigation in 1765, with the mystery of a rare, fatal, misunderstood, and misdiagnosed disease in a Venetian man, and he traces that disease in the same family to present times. The patients die within a couple of years of showing the alarming symptoms: contracted pupils, racing heart, elevated blood pressure, total insomnia, and eventually dementia. The culprit: indestructible proteins called prions, which also cause mad cow disease, kuru, and scrapie. Diagnosis has not brought a cure, but that doesn’t make the book any less of a great read.

THE FAMILY THAT COULDN’T SLEEP: A MEDICAL MYSTERY, by D. T. Max (Random House, 2006)

On Freebies, Dubious:

FREE BACTERIA

printed on bottles of Vietnamese mineral water

On Better Give Back the Award!:

Reporter: How do you feel about being named one of the NBA's most reporter-friendly players?

Basketball star Michael Jordan: No comment.

On Why the Radisson Has So Many Empty Rooms:

RADISSON WELCOMES EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES

sign at a Radisson Hotel in Minnesota

UNCLE JOHN’S POLICE LOG

A DUMB CROOK

“German police charged a man with drug possession when he entered a police station to check if he was on their wanted list. ‘I suppose he may have heard he was wanted for some offense and just wanted to see if the police had anything on him,’ said Volker Pieper, a spokesman for police in the city of Kassel. ‘It didn’t go quite as he had planned.’ As the 33-year-old man, a known drug abuser, questioned police, an officer noticed a suspicious lump stuck in his ear which turned out to be a gram of heroin. Police confiscated the drug before filing charges.”

—Reuters

ELVIS PRESLEY SHARED A BED WITH HIS MOM UNTIL HE REACHED PUBERTY.

TUBE TALK

WAKKA-WAKKA

Burgess Meredith’s characterization of the Penguin on the 1960s Batman TV show included a distinctive “wakk-wakk” bird noise. How’d Meredith come up with the clever affectation? The Penguin was supposed to smoke cigarettes. Meredith was allergic to them, but the producers made him smoke them anyway. The “wakk-wakk” covered up his coughs.

MARCH 22 IS INTERNATIONAL GOOF-OFF DAY.

MYTH-CONCEPTIONS

The Myth: The red liquid that seeps out of cooked beef is blood.

The Truth: Very little blood remains in muscle after slaughter and what’s left is then removed. The liquid is a combination of water and a red-colored (because it’s rich in oxygen) protein called myoglobin.

DOLPHINS CAN PRODUCE NOTES 100 TIMES HIGHER THAN A HUMAN SOPRANO CAN.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

Q: A landscape of panoramic passes, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, canyons, and forests, said to have provided J.R.R. Tolkien’s inspiration for the setting of The Lord of the Rings, lies in these mountains, the highest in South Africa:

a) Admiralty Mountains
b) Drakensberg Mountains
c) Hoel Mountains
d) Prince Albert Mountains

Answer: B, the Drakensberg Mountains. The Admiralty, Hoel, and Prince Albert Mountains are all in Antarctica.

DOGON COUNTRY

MALI

South of Timbuktu, the isolated Dogon country is home to an intriguing civilization that has so far resisted both Christianity and Islam, preserving the traditions and customs of animist ancestors who arrived there 700 years ago, perhaps from Libya.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/20/2009

2009-03-20T08:55:00.004-05:00

3/20/1934:
Arguably the most accomplished and versatile female athlete in history, Babe Didrikson pitches the first inning of a spring training game for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Fort Myers, Florida. Exhibiting an easy, fluid motion, Didrikson walks the first batter and hits the second, setting up some genuine baseball magic. The next batter, Joe Stripp, lines out to second baseman Dib Williams, who quickly flips to shortstop Rabbit Warstler, who relays the ball to first baseman Jimmie Foxx and viola!-the A's record a triple play to end the inning. After Didrikson leaves the game, it's downhill for the A's. Brooklyn wins, 4-2.

Birthdays:
John Barnhill b. 1938
Pat Riley b. 1945
Bobby Orr b. 1948
Chris Hoiles b. 1965
Mookie Blaylock b. 1967

Packers Fact:
Green Bay routed eventual NVC-champ Chicago 26-7 in the 2006 regular-season finale, but the Packers' playoff hopes were dashed that weekend by a Giants' victory the previous night.

The stories of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) are beautifully wrought, haunting masterpieces that require and reward many readings. Labyrinths, originally published by New Directions in 1964, is the definitive book for first-time readers of Borges and a must-have for confirmed admirers. Though slim, the volume contains 23 of his best-known stories, including “A New Refutation of Time,” “The Garden of Forking Paths,” “Borges and I,” and “The Sect of the Phoenix.” It also provides several essays and parables, a very useful bibliography, and illuminating contributions from his admiring editors.

LABYRINTHS: SELECTED STORIES AND OTHER WRITINGS, by Jorge Luis Borges (1964; New Directions, 2007)

OOPS!

“Aliso Viejo, California, officials fell prey to an Internet prank that warns about ‘the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide,’ otherwise known as H₂O or . . . water. The City Council was about to vote on a law banning the use of foam containers made with the substance. Officials said a paralegal was the victim of a spoof Web site identifying it as an ‘odorless, colorless chemical’ that can cause death if inhaled.”

—USA Today

J. EDGAR HOOVER ONCE GAVE HIS MOTHER A CANARY BRED BY THE “BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ.”

ON THIS DAY

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

The spring equinox, which falls today, is prime time for viewing the spectacle known as aurora borealis, or northern lights, best experienced in the northern hemisphere. This display is over the Brooks Range in Alaska.

On Yes, It Is Difficult To Distinguish Months From Seasons:

Family Feud host Richard Dawson: Name a month of spring.

Contestant: Summer.

(thanks to Andrea Grady)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/19/2009

2009-03-19T15:33:00.004-05:00

3/19/1961:
Bob Goalby establishes a new PGA record by scoring eight consecutive birdies on his way to a three-stroke victory at the St. Petersburg Open. Ted Krull finishes second, and Gary Player is third. It's Goalby's second win of the year after capturing the L.A. Open in January. He'll continue his fine play by finishing in a tie for second at the U.S. Open in June, just one stroke behind Gene Littler.

Birthdays:
Jay Berwanger b. 1914
Guy V. Lewis b. 1922
Richie Ashburn b. 1927
Joe Kapp b. 1939
Scott May b. 1954

Packers Fact:
Brandon Jackson ran for 989 yards in 2006 at Big 12 Nebraska.

HAVE A SEAT

Witty, erudite, spanning all recorded history and beautifully illustrated throughout, this marvelous volume surprises and delights at every page as it reveals both the enduring and changing values of societies and people through furniture design.

CHAIRS: A HISTORY, by Florence de Dampierre (Harry N. Abrams, 2006)

THE READING ROOM

TWO AUTHOR REJECTION STORIES

• Barnstorming pilot Richard Bach received 26 rejection slips for his book about an enlightenment-seeking bird before it was published in 1970. Jonathan Livingston Seagull went on to sell more than 30 million copies.

• When poet e. e. cummings couldn’t get a collection of poems published in 1935, he published it himself. He titled the book No Thanks, and the dedication page read “WITH NO THANKS TO,” followed by the names of the 14 publishers who had rejected the work.

THE ONLY ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY IN CENTRAL AMERICA IS BELIZE.

CALLAWAY GARDENS

PINE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA, USA

Cymbidium orchids bloom luxuriantly in March in the conservatories of Callaway Gardens resort, Georgia’s own botanical paradise. On its 13,000 idyllic acres, the resort delights lovers of natural beauty with woodlands, miles of outdoor flower beds, biking trails, golf courses, and a lake.

On But We Can All Agree That This Doesn't Make Sense:

We don't all agree on everything. I don't agree with myself on everything.

politician Rudy Giuliani, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/18/2009

2009-03-18T21:23:00.003-05:00

3/18/1952:
Bruins fans stage a special night to honor their beloved "Kraut Line" of center Milt Schmidt, left wing Woody Dumart and right wing Bobby Bauer, who comes out of retirement to play one final game with his mates. Boston beats the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, clinching a playoff berth with Sugar Jim Henry between the pipes. Schmidt scores his 200th career goal and assists from both Dumart and Bauer. He also assists on all three of the other Boston goals, including one by Bauer-who shows no signs of rust after being out of the league for five years. All three were quick to sign on with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 and served with valor for the duration of the war at the peak of their careers.

Birthdays:
Mike Webster b. 1952
Guy Carbonneau b. 1960
Curt Warner b. 1961
Bonnie Blair b. 1964
Brian Griese b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Defensive end Aaron Kampman earned the first Pro Bowl selection of his career when he posted 113 tackkles and 15.5 sacks for the Packers in 2006.

FIGHTING WORDS

Journalist and Shakespeare lover Ron Rosenbaum (Explaining Hitler, 1998) uncovers the arguments, politics, backstabbing, and even a court case that have accompanied performances and interpretations of Shakespeare’s works over the centuries. His enthusiasm and knowledge sparkle throughout. Publishers Weekly starred review.

THE SHAKESPEARE WARS: CLASHING SCHOLARS, PUBLIC FIASCOES, PALACE COUPS, by Ron Rosenbaum (Random House, 2006)

A PLACE TO GO

KILLER BEE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

Killer bees emerged in the 1950s when some African bees escaped from a South American lab and bred with the local bees, creating a volatile spawn that migrated north. In 1990 they crossed into the United States through Hidalgo, Texas. Did the town flee in horror? Nope. They used it to promote tourism. Hidalgo spent $20,000 to build the “World’s Largest Killer Bee,” a 10-foot-tall, black-and-yellow bee, in the center of town.

Q: WHAT DO YOU CALL THE SKIN THAT PEELS OFF AFTER A SUNBURN?
A: BLYPE.

ST. KITTS, LESSER ANTILLES

“The pleasure of leaving home, care-free, with no concern but to enjoy . . .”—HERMAN MELVILLE

On Oh, Go Stick Your Head In That Bowl Of Love:

I ask myself, do I feel like I hold the bowl of love and go out there in the universe, whether with this person or alone, and have that shield and glow that's incredible? Or do I feel depressive and self-conscious and like I'm walking on eggshells?

actress Drew Barrymore

It's time to board (North Dakota State) Bison bandwagon

2009-03-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1237277759249660.xml&coll=2

It's time to board (North Dakota State) Bison bandwagon

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Usually I am the last person you want advice from when it comes to filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket. I like
my Sweet 16 chock-full of 11 seeds and my Final Four riddled with No.6s. Doesn't usually turn out that way in real
life, though.
But I have an upset for you this year. It involves last year's national champion. Yes, the Kansas Jayhawks are going
down in Round One on Friday. And NCAA newbie North Dakota State is going to deliver the blow.
The Midwest's No.3 seed, the Jayhawks come in as losers of two of their past three, allowing 76 points per game in
that span.
The freshman- and sophomore-laden team is clearly not playing its best. On the other hand, North Dakota State, the
14th-seed, has won seven straight and is ninth in the country in scoring at 80.8 points per game.
More than half the Bisons' points come from two of their seniors - guard Ben Woodside (22.8 points per game) and
forward Brett Winkelman (18.7). Earlier this season, Woodside dropped 60 (not a typo) on NCAA Tournament
participant Stephen F. Austin. The two can shoot it from the outside and light up a scoreboard. Woodside and
Winkelman will give Kansas fits.
And everyone knows how important guard play is in the Big Dance. Woodside protects the ball and the Bison offense
averages just over 11 turnovers per game, good for ninth in the nation. The young Jayhawks ranked 232nd with nearly
15 turnovers per game.
Plus, the game is in Minneapolis, little more than a three-hour drive from Fargo, N.D., where NDSU is located. Did you
see how rabid the Bison fans are? They are going to turn it into a home game for the Summit League regular season
and conference tournament champs.
It's already been a Cinderella season for North Dakota State, getting to the NCAA Tournament in its first season
eligible. It just doesn't feel like it's time for the Bisons' clock to strike midnight.