Still a Good Question.

42

Never occurred to me to wonder where Jackie Robinson was when he got called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers, but now I know:

Jackie Robinson’s residence at the old McAlpin Hotel was brief, but his stay is marked by a plaque on the building – now the Herald Towers apartments.

On that morning, Robinson was summoned to Brooklyn and told he was joining the big-league club.

The man who would break baseball’s color barrier was living in Room 1169, soon to be joined by his wife Rachel and baby son, Jack Jr., when the phone rang, on a chilly Thursday morning.

Five days later, Robinson would be in the starting lineup against the Boston Braves, batting second and playing first base – a new position for him – in a 5-3 Dodgers win.

25 Years Ago Today

Derek Jeter made his debut as a New York Yankee.

I'll always watch the Yankees. But it really hasn't been the same since Jeter left. But I also feel lucky I had a front-row (well, tv) seat to it over all those years.  He was a constant for 6 months out of every year. Every day, every night as the seasons ebbed and flowed.

Here's his first-ever assist from that game.

1917

JFK was born 103 years ago today. In 1963, Alan Whicker visited some of his Irish relatives for BBC Television. Enjoy!

Well, This is Intoxicating to Watch

22 oversized teddy bears in a rollercoaster. It really looks like they are coming to life.. 🧸

Walibi Amusement Park, The Netherlands 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/9stcRE68ib

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) May 28, 2020

Memory Lane

State du Moi.

Damn right I’ve become the local “IF IT LANDS IN MY YARD I KEEP IT!!” guy. 

Some Things Never Change, Vol. DLXII

We all probably assume that throughout Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel he was met with ooohs and ahhhs, with people knowing they're witnessing history and feeling lucky for doing so. And that when he was done, everybody took a knee and bowed to his brilliance.

Then I read this:

From September 1510 until February, June, or September 1511 Michelangelo did no work on the ceiling on account of a dispute over payments for work done

That's right - 500 years ago, EVEN WHEN IT CAME TO THE FREAKIN' SISTINE CHAPEL!!!!!, some asshole contractor was trying to squeeze out of paying his workers for a job done. Unbelievable. And yet, of course, totally believable.

Awesome :)

Deep Thoughts, with Xmastime

For fuck's sake - how bout putting the mayo on the McChicken sandwich AFTER you've fucking nuked it, not before? Fuck! You know me - I'll eat mayonnaise off the street, but I don't like it fucking boiled. Who's the wizard behind this shit? - XMASTIME

I love tuna fish out of a can, but I do not love real tuna fish. I love chicken, but I do not care for chicken salad. - XMASTIME

I am not a wise man. But while I do not have much food for thought, I do have a lot of thought for food.

(Solemn head bow.)

Me Trying to Get the Bartender's Attention When There are Girls at the Bar.

Writing Influence?

I am thoroughly enjoying The Diary of a Nobody, a book I had no idea existed before buying it a coupla weeks ago, when about halfway thought it I began occurring to me that I'd felt the gentle, subtle rhythm/tone of some of its funniest lines before. I laughed out loud at lines such as:

I wrote a very satirical letter to Merton, and said, 'Considering we had to pay for the seats, we did our best to appreciate the performance. I thought this line rather cutting, and I asked Carrie how many p's are in appreciate, and she said, 'One.' After I sent off the letter I look at the dictionary and found there were two. Awfully vexed at this.

Carrie referred in the most uncomplimentary manner to my poor father's pecuniary trouble. I retorted by saying, 'Pa, at all events, was a gentleman,' whereupon Carrie burst out crying. I positively could not eat any breakfast.

Lupin refused to walk down the Parade with me because I was wearing my new straw helmet with my frock-coat. I don't know what the boy is coming to.

Finally, it dawned on me who this voice reminded me of: Woody Allen's brilliant Without Feathers, which included gems such as:

Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: Frequently there must be a beverage.
 
How wrong Emily Dickinson was! Hope is not "the thing with feathers." The thing with feathers has turned out to be my nephew. I must take him to a specialist in Zurich.
 
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet. If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.

I STRONGLY recommend both books! :)

Mad Respect du Jour

I started this list of Moments of Pure Laziness and was bored after a few (WOW! Woman sits in chair while in line at McDonalds!!), about to give up on it, when I saw this one. Folks, it's simply true that sometimes from laziness comes pure genius.

While this is a great idea for your Christmas backyard, Redditor MyJelloJingles said that he was just too lazy to inflate the rest of them. Therefore, he made that best out of the situation by pretending that it had been a fight between Yoda, Santa, and the reindeers. It only works because everyone loves Yoda.

More Rock 'n Roll High School Thoughts

Important Announcement About the Movie Rock 'n Roll High School: PJ Soles is PJ Soles but I always thought I'd rather have gone after her nerdy best friend. But then I would've gone straight for Boof in Teen Wolf instead of that popular blonde, so.

The Kids Don't Care About History

Imagine my shock - SHOCK! - last night when I realized that for some reason I didn't own Rock 'n Roll High School. I immediately remedied the situation on iTunes, but still. Chilling!

Xmastime in 2008:

I just watched Rock n Roll High School. Which I also dvr'd, so I can watch it all day very day if I want. I also see it's coming on tv in 2 hours again anyway. Boy, watching tv has really changed, ain't it? Remember when you were a kid, and if you missed a special or a movie you had no idea if you'd ever get to see it again? "Well, that's that!" you pictured the tv execs saying after the movie was over as they loaded it into a cannon and shot it to Saturn. When I was in 8th grade my friend Ryan told me that he had Rock n Roll High School on VHS at his house - I hyperventilated for days, counting the seconds til I could get over to his house for a viewing. Of course I get there and...had been taped over. Devestated. My one chance ever to see my gods on film for 2 hours, gone forever.

Then three years later I saw that the flick was coming on tv one night. FINALLY!!!! Monday night at 7pm, Channel 35. To use a phrase I would later coin, I'm SO there! Of course that Monday we ended up having an extra long football practice cause we had gotten our asses handed to us the previous Friday...IN A SCRIMMAGE. Not even a real game!!! Our Coach was furious, and I remember it rained and we ran and ran and ran our guts out. The whole time, I'm going razy, knowing I'm missing my movie. Run run run, hand on the line, tweet tweet run run run. I also remember we sent Coach even more off the edge earlier while watching the game film by erupting into laughter when we watched James Beverly intercept a pass and start running the wrong way. Comedy ensued onscreen, we laughed, Coach was pissed. Tweet tweet. Hand on the line.

Finally we get sent home, I'm begging my brother to drive like a lunatic, hoping to catch ANY of what's left of the movie. Burst into the house soaking wet, 10 minutes of the movie are left, I turn on the tv and...no reception. Like scrambled porn, could barely see through the snow onscreen to even be able to tell the Ramones were back there somewhere. Heartbroken. Can still see that gotdam screen. And now here we are...I can watch it now, I can watch it later, I can load it onto a computer and stick myself into the I Just Wanna Have something to Do car scene. Shit's changed. 

Aaaaaaaand my thoughts on while watching it right after Tommy Ramone died:

After Tommy died, I watched the movie for the first time in decades and was struck by two things:

1. Oh my God, they really do sound retarded. Like, they aspire to be retards.
2. Who took longer to show up onscreen in their own movie, The Ramones in Rock 'n Roll High School (almost 38 minutes in) or the shark in Jaws? 

 

USA! USA! USA!

Trump finally giving Republicans what they've been clamoring for: regulating private businesses and restricting free speech. Their fealty to him is so total that by Tuesday he'll have them cheering on abortion clinics. MAGA, baby!

Space WTF du Jour

The big SpaceX launch that was such a big deal today was delayed because of...bad weather:

Launch officials announced at 4:17 p.m. Wednesday that rough weather would prevent a SpaceX rocket and capsule from taking off from a Florida launch pad, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on the first crewed spaceflight to take off from US soil in nearly a decade.

"But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “didn't you bitch about this 14 years ago?"

Sigh. YES, faithful reader. Yes I did:

6) I’m glad the space shuttle finally made it off the launching pad. This fucking thing can hold 50,000 tons of shit, blasts off with 12 gazillion pounds of pressure psi, immediately hits 28,000 mph and OH NO NO!!!....might rain later on, so we better scratch the liftoff. Wtf. Not very impressive, assholes. The post office builds its credo around walking around delivering the mail in sleet and hail, yet NASA can’t shoot this fucker through the atmosphere for 1 minute. 

Pro tip: follow the link for the space shuttle stuff, stay for the gay prison bit! Hilarious!

Aaaaaaand Apprently Milla Just Noticed Someone Touching the Car Out in the Parking Lot So The Shit's About to Go Down.

Sigh. #FML

Yes But the Budwesier and Ice Cream Cake Made It All Worthwhile :)

Happy Birfday!

To longtime Xmastime buddy Jack, aka Husky! :)

Thanks to him I now know someone who's met Buzz Aldrin.

Here we are on Dudes' Day 2013!

Alltime Classic: Count Jackula!

Husky after a coupla cold ones at the end of a long day.

Oh, Bane Marie, BANE Marie!

As noted before, there have been a few attempts to recreate Only Fools and Horses for American audiences:

The USA have attempted to remake the show on several occasions, one with Grandad as the lead character and another called This Time Next Year with the family being renamed the Flannagans. In 2010, Steve Carell who is well known for starring in the US version of the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant sitcom The Office expressed an interest in starring as Del Boy. ABC commissioned a pilot in 2012 for an Only Fools and Horses remake entitled "King of Van Nuys", written by the same duo who created Scrubs, and most notably starred Christopher Lloyd aka Doc Brown from Back To The Future as Grandad!

I'm not an "Americans can never remake a BBC sitcom!" snob. Case in point, The Office. Sanford & Son and All in the Family, to me, are miles ahead of their respective British origins (though in their defense it's mainly because they're indecipherable to my American ears.) Dear John (created & written by John Sullivan!) was a funny show I enjoyed when it was on....okay, I guess the ones that translated and were good are few and far between, but at least more successes should be POSSIBLE.

Then you see the un-aired pilot for King of Van Nuys and you wonder, why even fucking bother? It's the worst of what other countries think of American shows: loud, stupid, frantic, not funny, and on and on. Why bother "adapting" OFAH if it's not going to take anything worthy from it to build on?

All three attempts at adapting Fawlty Towers are famous disasters, the American version of The Inbetweeners was embarrassing, and there's a litter of other carcasses piled up right next to these turds. But hopefully, thanks to streaming the day of trying to adapt British shows may be over as we can just watch the originals. After all, there's a reason we tried to adapt them in the first place!

Dear God This May Be The End of It All

Peter Luger's the single greatest steak I've ever had in my life, is GASP! evolving a bit with the times:

Williamsburg’s Peter Luger, Eater first reported, has tiptoed into the 21st century with delivery for the first time, including through online platform Caviar. (Unfortunately for fans, the food does not come with the restaurant’s, uh, trademark service.) In what may be an earth-shattering shock, the restaurant has also, for the time being, begun accepting credit cards — so now you don’t have to pay with your debit card!

Sigh. MEMORIES!

Sad Revolution in the Head

25 years ago while living in Oxford, Mississippi I practically memorized Ian MacDonald's instant classic, Revolution in the Head. I'd never seen such an exhaustive account of every Beatles recording: who played what, how the sessions went down, etc etc. I've mentioned it over the years on this blog, such as here.

Looking for something to buy/read while in quarantine like everybody else, last week I remembered I'd left my copy in Brooklyn when I left in 2012. So fuck it, I re-bought the much-updated edition from amazon.

I was enjoying dipping back into it when I noticed this:

I was totally bummed that I hadn't even realized he'd died, and all the way back in 2003. Someone whose book I read and re-read for hundred of hours, and he died 17 years ago without me knowing it until just now. It reminded me of Jennifer Risko, a girl I knew in college who had been dead for 13 years before I found out in 2010:

Thanks to the All-Google power of the internet, just now I found out that she died of leukemia in January 1997. What the fuck. Obviously, I haven't seen her in almost 20 years, so it's not like we were close. But she was the first girl I asked out in college. I can still see her in that "oh so 90's!" faux-suede brown jacket of the day, walking back to Wheeler Dorm, and I got up the guts to approach her, and I told her what I told her above. Now, everything after that sucked, she had no interest in me, but I can remember that moment clear as a bell. We were so young. Freshman year. And it turns out not only is she dead, but she's been dead for 13 years. Died at the age of 24. After I met her, she only lived another six years. Mind-boggling. It's not even as if she's just died, and the scars are fresh; people close to her have had almost a decade and a half to move on. She's the ghost in the yearbook, a goddam black and white photo. Yellowed pages. But I can still see her in that blue/yellow Heidelberg High sweatshirt, getting on the elevator. Goddam. 1997. It's amazing what can take the wind out of your sails on any given night. 

Anyways. Just sad, I guess. From a 2014 article in The Atlantic, celebrating the book's 20th anniversary:

But with no disrespect to other authors or their labors, if it’s a radical reexperiencing of the Beatles that you’re after, a refreshing of your Beatle-chemicals, there’s only one book you need.

His genius, his joy, was for the particular—the chord, the chemical, the warped time in a Ringo drum fill. Exemplary while being utterly idiosyncratic (this is the crowning paradox of Revolution in the Head), MacDonald turned critical prose into a sensorium, and his reactions linger and extend like the “jangling arpeggiated fade” at the end of “A Hard Day’s Night”: “a ticktocking swing between a fifthless Am7 and F major, each contained within the song’s opening chord.” Ticktocking outward, forever.

33 Years Ago Today

Of course Larry Bird stealing the ball from Isiah is one of the NBA's greatest playoff moments, but I've always felt that Dennis Johnson making the layup is overlooked. Yes Bird's steal is more incredulous, but it's not like DJ had an open layup/dunk, he had to put a bit of reverse finger-roll on that shit with a body on him. And yet nobody ever mentions him, only Bird.

Yowza du Jour

The Grapes of Wrath is my favorite book but

I’d never heard this story about John Steinbeck getting the influenza as a teen in 1918. Imagine having your chest cracked open 100 years ago. Grisly. 😬

Thoughts. I Have Them.

It'd be nice if 23 & Me could use our spit to test for Coronavirus. Otherwise I spent $199 just to be told "WOW are you white!" 😠

A Few Things I Know

1) I still have no idea what Old Town Road is.

2) From what I've picked up from a few Facebook groups, The Office fans genuinely abhor the Scott's Tots episode. While I've always rolled my eyes at the idea that nobody would've checked in over the last 10 years to see if this offer was actually happening, it's a truly great example of Michael's desperate need to please people - even kids, of which he wants 100 of according to his childhood clip from Bring Your Daughter to Work Day - putting him into an incredibly terrible situation thanks to his genuinely (albeit stupid) good intentions. It's not a Top 10 episode, but it's not a Bottom 10 one either.

3) Maybe it's because if all the BBC sitcoms I watch, but as I age I seem to be craving brown gravy more and more.

Grrrr.

Gold TV had its contest for fans to vote "Britain's Greatest Comedy Character" and these was a bit of an upset....it's with great sadness that I announce that my beloved Del Boy came in second, behind Alan Partridge.

Okay, I LOVE Alan Partridge BUT DEL BOY NOT BEING #1!?!??!!?! ARE YOU PEOPLE KIDDING??!?!?

But any poll that gets Edmund Blackadder, Basil Fawlty and Norman Fletcher in the Top 8 can't be so bad.  Other personal faves are Arkwright & Rigsby (13 & 14), Audrey fforbes-Hamilton & Geraldine Granger (17 & 18), and of course Sir Humpherey (19). Surprised how many of the "Golden Era" characters are here - from what I can see, the break down is:

1950s: Hancock's Half Hour
1960s: Dad's Army
1970s: Fawlty Towers, Porridge, Open All Hours, The Good Life, Rising Damp, Some Mothers Do Have 'Em
1980s: Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, Yes Minister, The Young Ones
1990s: The Vicar of Dibley, I'm Alan Partridge, Keeping Up Appearances, One Foot in the Grave, Mrs. Merton and Malcolm
2000+: The Office, Fleabag, The Thick of It

Other characters I'd be very happy making the Top 20 (not exhaustive, just off the top of my head):

Father Ted, Father Ted
Margo Ledbetter, The Good Life
Wolfie Smith, Citizen Smith
Smithy, Uncle Bryn or Pam, Gavin & Stacey 
Martin Moone, Moone Boy 
Jay Cartwright, The Inbetweeners
Darren Lamb, Extras 
Jim Royle, The Royle Family 
Mark or Jeremy, Peep Show 
Pretty much anyone on The IT Crowd 
Toast, Toast of London 
Phil, The Wrong Man(s) 
Miranda, Miranda
Here's the final standings.

Questions. I Have Them.

Has Five Guys  done anything publicity-wise for fun since we all heard the ridiculous pizza story on The Last Dance? #5guys1pizza

A Reminder:

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. 

TGIF

"WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS OBAMAGATE STUFF? YOU KNOW WHAT THE CRIME WAS, RIGHT? THE CRIME IS VERY OBVIOUS, AM I RIGHT? RIGHT?...ANYWAY, THE GRASS IS LOOKING NICE..."

The Trip to Greece

DELIGHTED: The Trip to Greece, the fourth installment in the brilliant Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon franchise, is out today:

But if you come for the gorgeous food and landscapes, you stay for the quick-witted banter and the virtuoso celebrity impersonations. As usual, Coogan and Brydon live to perform, and their never-ending one-upsmanship is what makes them such enjoyable, if also exhausting, company.

Coogan, the BAFTA-winning actor from movies like Philomena and Stan & Ollie, is the bigger star of the two, and therefore the bigger target. Brydon, a saucy sidekick, clearly enjoys puncturing his friend's thin skin. At one point, he flatters Coogan by telling him he's starting to look like Richard Gere, then turns around and dings him for lapping up the compliment.

NOT DELIGHTED: while it's available to rent on Amazon or iTunes, you can't buy it yet. And as a man of discerning tastes who owns the previous three, I will wait. Grrrrrrrr.

Debut Pint! #lovelyjubbly

Funniest Britcom Character Evrer

Gold TV - a channel in England I'd pay $500/mo. to be able to subscribe to but can't grrrr - is holding a "Funniest British Sitcom Character" contest. I don't know any of the presenters in this photo other than Sally Phillips, who's been in a million things including I'm Alan Partridge and Miranda, and Emily Atack who was The Inbetweeners. Here are the nominees, as voted in my fans - in bold are the ones I've seen (I only chose the ones I've seen for at least an entire season or more), and my Top 5 are in red. OBVIOUSLY, the #1 funniest character of all time is in green. Can't wait to see the results on Sunday! well...Monday for us. Grrrr.

Alan Partridge
Ali G
Arkwright
Basil Fawlty
Blackadder
Captain Mainwaring
Compo
David Brent
Del Boy
Father Ted
Fleabag
Fletcher
Frank Spencer
Geraldine Granger
Hancock
Hyacinth Bucket
Malcolm Tucker
Margo Leadbetter
Martin Bryce
Miranda
Mr Bean
Mrs Brown
Mrs Merton
Nessa Jenkins
Patsy Jones
Perry
Rick
Rigsby
Sir Humphrey Appleby
Victor Meldrew

Hmmm...apparently, if you want to create a character that's super-funny just start their name near the beginning of the alphabet. 

Go Henry!

Just now I stumbled upon (as I always do, to quote Warren Zevon) this tweet:

I concur. P Buchanan. Actor. Star. (And hello Henry @hughbon, and greetings, bear @paddingtonbear https://t.co/zx8ZsMcZ6V pic.twitter.com/7ZBUZPXe49

— Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) May 21, 2020

And since I'm a sucker for shit like this, I immediately clicked through to donate. I'm a great guy, and I have no kids, so why not help out a little bit and make myself feel a little better at the same time?

So I get to the page and see this:

Ahhh, I don;t wanna be a dick, but wtf is this? Most of these donations have a designated goal on the far right. Not Henry! He's already at 20K pounds and it takes up maybe a quarter of an inch. Is he like "hey, just keep giving until I'm tired if waiting for all that sweet, sweet cash"?

Anyway. I feel good about giving and you can too HERE.

Obamagate!

"CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT OBAMA DID? OH YOU KNOW WHAT THE CRIME WAS, RIGHT? THE CRIME IS VERY OBVIOUS, AM I RIGHT? RIGHT?...ANYWAY, THE GRASS IS LOOKING NICE..."

Blackadder Goes Forth

The Corona virus has our minds on the Spanish Flu, which means we're also discovering more about World War I (which in 2012 I mentioned that Americans never really talked about over the last 100 years.) This means, of course, that we should also be focusing on the final season of Blackadder, entitled Blackadder Goes Forth and set in 1917 on the front lines of despair.and madness. While I've posted the amazing, poignant finale several times, including HERE, I'd like to spend the next few weeks posting other great clips of that season.

First up? From the episode Corporate Punishment, Blackadder meets the firing squad that is scheduled to kill him the next morning for shooing General Melchett's favorite pigeon. A flat-out hilarious scene!

FINALLY!!

After spending 5 years gasping to talk about my favorite BBC sitcoms with my American friends, I've stumbled into this podcast:

Anglophilia is a podcast dedicated to exploring and discussing the uniquely hilarious, highly intelligent, and very, very silly world of British comedy.  It was created by the hosts, Stephanie Callas and Kaley McMahon: two American women whose love for British comedy spans decades (to say nothing of their friendship -- that's the bit below). 

Two AMERICAN women!!! I instantly subscribed and will catch up on 3 season-I mean, series, tout suite!!

Attention, PBS!

It's 2020, which means it's the 25th anniversary of your amazing rock & roll miniseries (the first time I heard the greatest doc narrator ever, Liev Schrieber!!). You need to do a big re-release/viewing!!!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!

Creme de la Menthe, Everybody!

Del Boy taking my coffee game to the next level. 

The Big Sitcom Quiz

Just spent the last 20 minutes on 4 rounds of Gold TV's Big Sitcom Quiz, here's how I keep my Twitter fans on the edge of their seats. Started out by going 10/10 on the Only Fools and Horses/The Royle Family rounds, stunk up the Dads Army round but almost nailed the final round to finish 14/20! :)

Guys I don't wanna brag but I am TOTALLY killing the @goldchannel #BigSitcomQuiz!!!! (so far) @BeingBoycie pic.twitter.com/1CM9ScdKhU

— XMASTIME (@XMASTIMEblog) May 19, 2020

 

UPDATE! Round 2 and now I'm 10/10 on the @goldchannel #BigSitcomQuiz, people!!! THE EXCITEMENT IS PALPABLE, FOLKS!! @RalfLittle #theroylefamily pic.twitter.com/c9WyoTAZE9

— XMASTIME (@XMASTIMEblog) May 19, 2020

  

Okay guys big setback in Round 3, as I haven't yet watched all my 26 dvds of "Dads Army." Total bloodbath. But high hopes for the upcoming final Round 4!! @goldchannel pic.twitter.com/iSGe1C7WRh

— XMASTIME (@XMASTIMEblog) May 19, 2020

 

Strong recovery in Round 4 everybody to finish 14/20, even with the Dads Army shutout. Thanks @goldchannel please do this again soon!!!! @BeingBoycie @RalfLittle pic.twitter.com/WL4vDd2tds

— XMASTIME (@XMASTIMEblog) May 19, 2020

  

Happy Birthday Joey Ramone

(reprinted yearly)

If someone could make the leap as far as Joey did from being a born into hopelessness, a runt-of-the-litter, weird-looking freak hammered at constantly that his future was failure and, if he was lucky, a life in the loony bin, to someone whose cultural presence years after his death is rolling down the hill picking up more and more relevance like snow on a snowball, then maybe you can do the same thing, no matter where you start out.

Questions. I Have Them.

I love Reggie Miller and he was great in The Last Dance but I’d always thought Earl Monroe was Black Jesus? 🤔 

Last Dance!

If The Last Dance taught us anything it’s that this is how Michael Jordan basically spent his entire career.
via GIPHY

Hmmmm...

I don't wanna call bullshit on Jordan's story about the pizza before the Flu Game but I'd put the odds of 5 guys keeping their traps shut about this for 22 years at exactly 0 percent.

Wouldn't it be Loverly?

Last week I mentioned Bono revealing the 60 Songs That Saved His Life upon his 60th birthday, but I did not know he personally wrote a note to each songwriter, or their estate, about why that song meant so much to him. Pretty cool.

Dear The Clash,
Listening to you changed the way I heard music. Seeing you play on your first tour changed my life and gave U2 a sense that activism could be sexy and dangerous… and the clobber, the stage gear worn at all times. The look as well as the sound of revolt… U2 would immediately cop the militant outfitting, but could never look that cool… no one could.

Someone once said just seeing The Clash walk down the street could change your life.

Your fan,
Bono

Bob Watson

Bob Watson was before my time as a Yankees fan, tho of course I was very aware of who he was and what he'd accomplished, so it was sad he died today. However, it served as a reminder of a brilliant baseball fact I for one had never known: he scored MLB's 1 millionth run!

Watson was credited with scoring the 1,000,000th run in major league history on Sunday, May 4, 1975, at 12:32 in the afternoon. Watson scored from second base on a three-run homer by teammate Milt May at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. It was known that the 999,999th run had already scored, with sponsored updates being provided by and to every ballpark. Despite the lack of in-game urgency, Watson ran at full speed, reaching home plate approximately four seconds before Dave Concepción, who had just homered in Cincinnati and was also racing around the basepaths. "I never ran so fast in my entire life," said Concepcion. But it was Watson who won $10,000 and one million Tootsie Rolls provided by the event's sponsor. The 1,000,000th run total only included runs scored in the National and American Leagues (not "third" major leagues, such as the Federal League). Watson joked that in the aftermath of the event, his fan mail doubled—from four letters to eight

Or....he didnt:

Later, more accurate recalculations of baseball's record-keeping showed that neither Watson nor Concepcion scored baseball's actual millionth run, and it is not known who did.

Him possibly losing that spot in history reminded me of a post from 2006 about Eugene Smith:

I was thinking this morning about Eugene Smith, who finished his career with 1,004 points. Just got into the hallowed club. I don't know Eugene Smith, never met him, he graduated from my high school I think in 1974. I knew of him only through old yearbook sports sections I'd memorize. Sometime when I was a junior, 1988-1989, someone discovered that there was a mistake, that Smith had been credited with 14 points from a scrimmage. 990 points. Goodbye hallowed club. Looking back, I have no idea how anyone discovered this; in my high school and district I'm shocked they kept track of old scores, much less individual scoring from 15 years back. I remember how sad I felt for Eugene, how devastated he must have been when he heard the news. As I'm thinking right now, I hope he never did find out. Maybe being a 1000-point scorer was the peak for him, maybe he thought about it a lot. Maybe not, maybe he went on to become a doctor, I have no idea. Why would someone dig up something like that and expose it? 

Poor guy. A great achievement, found a decade and a half later to be erroneous through no fault of his own; I wonder if he knew and if it had an affect on him. Ah well.

Of course if he stumbles on Xmastime and that's how he finds out I'll never forgive myself!!

Tea Party!

Some wise-ass over at Facebook has collected a coupla Tea Party "Don't Tread On Me!" parodies that are great, here's a few I like. 🤣

Bron & 2020

LeBron James has done a good deed for students who have to miss their graduations due to the virus:

The high school class of 2020 now has an official T-shirt thanks to LeBron James and Travis Scott.

The basketball superstar and Grammy-nominated rapper teamed up this week to design a T-shirt specifically for those students whose graduation plans were interrupted by coronavirus.

Scott designed the shirts, which feature a handwritten "We're all in this together" and a hand-drawn design with the company logos of both men, Uninterrupted by James and Cactus Jack for Scott, according to a press release from the publishing company FYI Brand Group.

Umm...I love LeBron and don't wanna be a dick, but don't you look at that design and think, "oh look, some burning children?" 🤔

Rockaway Beach

I hate the summer and today felt like the first day of it. But I love Rocket to Russia, maybe the greatest "summer" album of all time (it being released in November may be yet another reason The Ramones never sold records during their own lifetimes) and nothing says "summer" like this super-slice stone cold classic.

Dogs, Regrets, Etc.

The Internet, along with my stunning lack of initiative and a work ethic best described as “comically absent”, killed my idea of creating a series of calendars featuring dogs out on the road with their heads sticking out of windows. Nevertheless, it still cracks me up. Thanks, #Scooter!

This Got a Legit LOL

#FlashbackFriday

What you see when a 10 year-old boy asks what you’re eating and you immediately reply “snake turds”. 🤣

Uncle Albert du Jour

Because I simply never get tired of watching this brilliant scene. 🤣

Sorry Bob!

Of course everybody loves Bob Odenkirk - famously chosen to be Michael scott before Steve Carrell became available - and here's one more reason to love him: on today's My Favorite Album podcast, he chose The Replacements' fantastic debut Sorry Ma, Forgot to take Out the Trash.

"If you're lucky, you get to see a lot of life. The fact that I can listen to an album like this and connect to a person I was for a good deal of my life, came out of the hardest things in my childhood, and a kind of anger and sadness that motivated me to try to be who I've become and pushed me, kept me from settling. The fact that I can connect to that so directly with an album like this, to the person I was so long ago, it's like a time warp."

When you think Odenkirk's Midwestern sensibilities, him choosing the band makes sense, but I'm thrilled he picked Sorry Ma, which sometimes gets dissed by fans, as I mentioned back in 2008:

1) It's basically an album of singles; 18 great, rocking cuts that if presented to you as a 45 you'd listen and think "wow, that's great!" There's not a non-single feeling song in the whole bunch. So much so that I've never understood why "I'm in Trouble" was chosen as the actual single. It's a great song, but a quick look at the track listing puts it as only my 8th or 9th favorite cut on the album.

2) The bass playing is staggering; it's almost impossible to believe a 14 year-old played it. Unlike most rote bass playing in punk bands, the bass here runs wild and is all over the place. And for some reason out in front a lot of the time. It's great.

3) In what would become a pattern (I think) for the band, the album is back-loaded rather than the customary front-loaded. The last six songs (and last three in particular) end the album with a flurry of great numbers, a la dont ask why/somethin to du/im in trouble/love you till friday/shut up/raised in the city.

Also: one of Paul's best songs, If Only You Were Lonely, was a B-SIDE!! to I'm in Trouble! And, of course, the liner notes are the best of any record ever.

Liner notes, translated:

1. Takin A RIde ... Radio Blastin...
2. Careless - Don't worry, we're thinking about taking lessons
3. (I'm in love with the girl who works at the store nothing but a Customer - Make up your own words, I DID. Bob's lead is hotter than a urinary infection.
4. Hangin D.T. - We wanted to put car horns over but none of us own a car
5. Kick your Door Down - 1st take - written 20 mins after we recorded it
6. Otto - We ain't crazy about it either. Also this song is proof that Chris Mars is one of the best Drummers we could find at the time.
7. I Bought a Headache -
8. Rattle Snake - A song about gardening.
9. I Hate Music - ... Tommy says so ...
10. Johnnys Gonna Die - A Real Heartbreaker. 1st lead Bob. 2nd lead Paul
11. Shiftless When Idle - Title - Good, song - kinda
12. More Cigarettes - this could have come close to Rock-a-Billy if we had taken the time.
13. Don't Ask Why - Stole a mess of these words from a guy who's never gonna listen to this record
14. Something to Du - Song for the Huskers, who have never taken Drugs.
15. I'm in Trouble - Warbling Ken sings a little flat, but Bob was in tune. After listening to several soul records with a friend one night, I asked that he play something "white + talentless." This what he played. Thanks Pete.
16. Love you till Friday - Pop music - Larson likes it too.
17. Shut up -------
18. Raised in the city - Key of C Fix it Fix it Stop

You can listen to the Odenkirk interview below! :)

RIP

Astrid Kirchherr, who looms large in Beatles history as the person who gave them their signature haircut, died Wednesday.

Her first victim was original bass player Stu Sutcliffe:

John Lennon is said to have “collapsed laughing” when Stuart arrived for the first gig after his haircut. Soon after, however, George Harrison also let Astrid cut his hair in a similar style. Lennon and Paul McCartney succumbed when visiting Jürgen Vollmer at his home in Paris. The Beatles had their new identity: the ‘moptop’ which would shortly become world-famous.

She also took some of the most iconic photos of The Beatles.

Hear Hear! (Ot is it Here Here?)

There may be some lemonade coming with these lemons we've been handed recently: people being allowed to drink outside:

As the COVID-19 shutdowns extend into the warm summer months and people become increasingly restless under social distancing guidelines, bars and restaurants remain one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy. At the same time, cities are exploring ways to encourage the use of public outdoor spaces, which emerging evidence suggests can be enjoyed with minimal risks of transmitting the virus.

One simple policy could address both issues: Let people drink outside.

To walk around my city now is to be constantly reminded of the shuttered places where in ordinary times I would be tempted to stop in for a snack, a coffee, or a drink. If we want the businesses we love to be there when we reach the other side of this pandemic, we need ways to support them.

Removing barriers imposed by restrictive alcohol regulations has proven to be one means of doing this. Perhaps, with some care, we can extend that to allowing drinks outside, whether by extending seating into streets and sidewalks or by relaxing open container laws. And if, when this is over, we decide that we don't wish to return to criminalizing responsible drinking in public spaces, that temporary repeal could become permanent.

Thanks to a decade of Softball Sundays in Williamsburg, I have a ton of great memories of drinking outside. (This is not one of them.)

My The Office Beef du Jour

It was a nice moment in the finale but does anybody really believe Dwight wouldn't have invited Michael to his wedding?