December 11th
Today is the birthday
… of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The Nobel Prize winner (for Literature in 1970) is 89.
… of Rita Moreno. The Oscar winner — supporting actress for Anita in West Side Story — is 76.
… of author Jim Harrison, 70.
… born in Grayling, Michigan (1937), whose first big success was Legends of the Fall (1979). He’s written many more books. His most recent is the collection of poetry Saving Daylight, which came out this September (2007). Jim Harrison said, “I like grit, I like love and death, I’m tired of irony… A lot of good fiction is sentimental… The novelist who refuses sentiment refuses the full spectrum of human behavior, and then he just dries up… I would rather give full vent to all human loves and disappointments, and take a chance on being corny.”
… of Tom Hayden. Royal Oak’s most famous native, co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society and Jane Fonda’s one-time husband is 68.
… of John Kerry. He’s 64.
… of Brenda Lee. She’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree this year at age 63.
… of Terri Garr. The Oscar nominee (supporting actress for Tootsie) is 60.
It’s a Wonderful Life
What he said
Go read Jesus’ General.
ABC News has the story.
Plunge
Half of NewMexiKen’s children and half of NewMexiKen’s grandchildren plunge to their doom last week on Splash Mountain, Disneyland. Click image for larger version.
Hey, someone had to stay and take the photo.
[I rode it earlier.]
I liked the signs at a water ride in Disney’s California Adventure — “You will get wet.” “You may get soaked.” I settled for wet.
Best line of the day, so far
“He wrote the speech himself, he said in the interview, ‘with the help of Mr. Google.'”
Al Gore quoted in an article about his Nobel acceptance speech.
Gloomiest line of the day, so far
“The economists [surveyed by The Wall Street Journal], on average, now put the chances of a recession at 38%, the highest in more than three years, and up from 33.5% in November’s survey.”
Long Day
Three of The Sweeties return to the hotel Saturday night after a long (and chilly) day at Disneyland. Click image for larger version.
Grandpa would have gladly been pushed home in a stroller, too.
Race and IQ
Malcolm Gladwell joins the fray.
My contribution to the (endless) Race-IQ debate is out in this week’s New Yorker. You can read it here. In the meantime, the psychologist Richard Nisbett has also published a rejoinder to the James Watson-Will Saletan foolishness in Sunday’s New York Times. It is–characteristically–very good ….
Here is the link to the Nisbett piece.
Let’s resume with a best line of the day
Back when Hillary Clinton described Dick Cheney as Darth Vader, a number of people pointed out that this was an unfair comparison. For example, Darth Vader once served in the military.
Here’s another reason the comparison is invalid: the contractors Darth Vader hired to build the Death Star actually got the job done.
I didn’t win anything
But I’m going to Disneyland anyway.
Don’t wait up.
Good points
The BCS did not choke away a national title berth against a four-touchdown underdog the last night of the season. The BCS did not lose to Oklahoma, rise all the way up to No. 1 — then lose to the Sooners again.
The BCS did not lose on its own home field to Stanford. Or Arkansas. Or South Carolina. Or Illinois.
The BCS did not lose 48-7 in its showcase non-conference game.
The BCS did not win its first 11 games against a bunch of nobodies, rise to No. 1 in the country, then lose in its first and only marquee game.
The BCS did not soar to No. 2 in the standings, then implode upon losing its starting quarterback. The BCS did not give up 473 yards to Texas Tech — then blame it on losing its starting quarterback.
Mandel does blame the BCS for the unappealing match-ups that resulted, however.
Weekend Genius Challenge #9
The mental_floss weekend trivia quiz this weekend was “California has four, Texas has three, Florida has two, and New York has one. What are they?”
Think you know? Follow the link to find out.
Personal DNA Profiles Are a Ripoff
Want to buy one of the personal DNA tests popping up these days? “My message is you are wasting your money,” Christine Patch, a genetics counselor and member of the UK’s Human Genetics Commission, said Friday.
. . .It seems like a new company is cropping up every week to hawk DNA tests over the Internet. These aren’t the kinds of targeted tests doctors order for patients at high risk for a given disease connected to one or more well-known mutations. They’re one-size-fits all tests that can cost thousands of dollars and make a range of sweeping promises from predicting disease risk to describing ancestry.
December 3rd
Andy Williams is 80. Williams headlined at Caesar’s Palace when it opened in 1966. That is, he was once a very big star.
Ozzy Osbourne is 59.
Daryl Hannah is 47 today. So is Julianne Moore. Together they have four Oscar nominations, two for leading actress and two for supporting actress. All are Moore’s, of course.
Brendan Fraser is 39.
George B. McClellan was born on this date in 1826. McClellan was the commander of Union forces in the east during much of the first two years of the War of the Rebellion. He loved to organize and feared to fight. McClellan was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for President in 1864, receiving 21 to Lincoln’s 212 electoral votes. For his unabashed hubris, McClellan rates right up there as one of the great asses of American history.
Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born on this date in 1857. Born in the Ukraine of Polish descent, Joseph Conrad learned English in the British merchant marine in his twenties. He began writing in the 1890s and published his first novel, Almayer’s Folly, in 1895. Lord Jim (1900) and Heart of Darkness (1902) are his most famous works. The Writer’s Almanac has more about Conrad.
The first human heart transplant took place in Cape Town, South Africa, on this date 40 years ago (1967). The patient, Lewis Washkansky, survived 18 days before he died from double pneumonia, a result of anti-rejection drugs suppressing his immune system.
Ballet blogging
Live blogging from the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and New Mexico Ballet Company production of The Nutcracker.
Just because I can and so you’ll know I’m a multi-dimensional guy interested in more than football and politics.
Update: The first act was delightful.
Annette on El Paso
Long-time NewMexiKen reader Annette has written an exceptionally fine piece for the blog Feeling Listless.
I urge you to read it.
Just for fun
Jeff Sagarin’s computer says the top 10 today are:
1 Oklahoma (11-2)
2 Ohio State (11-1)
3 Kansas (11-1)
4 Florida (9-3)
5 Virginia Tech (11-2)
6 LSU (11-2)
7 West Virginia (10-2)
8 Southern California (10-2)
9 Missouri (11-2)
10 Georgia (10-2)
However, the Sagarin ranking the BCS uses (which is part of Sagarin’s larger set) ranks the teams:
1 Virginia Tech
2 LSU
3 Oklahoma
4 Ohio State
5 Kansas
6 Missouri
7 Georgia
8 Hawaii
9 USC
10 Boston College
Best New York lines of the day, so far
Teen: Iced cappuccino, please.
Middle-aged tourist: Aren’t you a little young for that much caffeine, sweetie?
Teen: Uhhh, I’m from New York — there was caffeine in my breast milk.
Middle-aged tourist: Oh! You’re from here! Well… Could you give me directions to–
Teen: –Don’t you people have maps for that kind of thing?
–Bread Factory, 785 Lexington
Girl, about smoking preggers passerby: That’s disgusting. How could any woman nowadays still smoke knowing that they’re pregnant?
Mother, taking drag from her own cigarette: Good thing you were adopted.
Most obnoxious
If you’ve been watching much college football, as have I — no really — then you are probably very tired of certain commercials.
For example, the Dr. Pepper commercial with the dancing football player who dives off the goal posts. Cute the first hundred times, but stop already.
Or even worse, the Dr. Pepper commercial with all the sweets — candy, ice cream, pie, cupcakes — substituting for Dr. Pepper. Could they possibly make a soft drink seem less appealing?
I’m a little tired of Durwood and his buddies chasing after Bobby Bowden, too. Again, funny — hilarious even — the first few times, but annoying now. Why would Allstate insure that guy? I wouldn’t want to pay premiums to help cover him.
Even the AFLAC duck is getting on my nerves.
Any others?
Best line of the day, so far
“Hawaii versus Ohio State. The dreads versus the sweater vest.”
BCS
My heart says the only undefeated eligible team should go to the national championship game, otherwise why have a regular season?
But no one is going to “vote” Hawaii into the championship, so who’s left?
Ohio State I suppose. They’ll lose once there, and it’s always fun to laugh at the Big 10 in bowl games, so there is the sentimental factor.
And Louisiana State. LSU would be undefeated (11-0-2) if this season had been played as in old without a tie-breaker. Furthermore, LSU won its conference championship with its starting quarterback hurt. That’s quite an achievement — just ask USC, Oregon, Oklahoma and West Virginia what can happen when the starting QB can’t play.
Ohio State vs. LSU — and LSU will win by at least ten.
By the way, a generation ago college teams played ten regular season games and a few played an eleventh game in a bowl. Now teams play 12 regular season games, some play in a conference championship, and many (too many) play in a bowl game. The season is more than a quarter longer than it used to be. I never hear this mentioned when so-and-so breaks some old record for rushing or TD passes completed in a season. Where’s the Roger Maris asterisk?
And, if you’ve been watching you may have seen the run down of the 25 Greatest Players In College Football. All but the last two spots have been announced — they’re being saved for broadcast during the Rose Bowl. By process of elimination we figured the best players who haven’t made made it to the top 25 so far are Red Grange and Barry Sanders.
Unless you think O.J. Simpson would be number one or two.
[At the time this was posted, ESPN hadn’t posted the names of all-time players numbers 3, 4 and 5. They are Herschel Walker (Georgia), Doak Walker (SMU) and Sammy Baugh (TCU).]
Your favorite Christmas movie
Nora has nominated Miracle on 34th Street as the best Christmas movie. I said it was A Christmas Story. What do you think? Or nominate your own favorite.
{democracy:21}
Washington Post incorrect line of the day
“Rove’s Version of 2002 War Vote Is Disputed”
Rove said it was congress that rushed the vote in the fall of 2002. That’s not in dispute. It’s a lie. The Post’s headline should have been “Rove’s Version of 2002 War Vote is Batshit Crazy.”
Best line of the day, so far
“If the vision of city police officers cooling their heels outside his mistress’s home in the Hamptons is troubling, it’s not because of the moral implications. It’s a reminder that Rudy is one of those people who doesn’t handle power well. The more important he becomes, the more impossible he becomes.”