Archive for October, 2010
Unlikely Twins, Part XXVI
Sunday, October 31st, 2010Both of these writers have October 31st birthdays. Accordingly, one produced haunting poetry, and the other’s output was, well, cringe inducing…:
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| John Keats, Writer of Beautiful Poetry |
Vanilla Ice, Writer of Ice, Ice Baby |
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The First Photograph of a Human
Thursday, October 28th, 2010Megan McArdle just pointed me to this picture, which purports to be the first picture ever taken of a human being:
According to the blog post it came from, the picture was taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838. Louis Daguerre invented a process called Daguerreotype, which creates an image by exposing a chemically treated metal plate to light for ten minutes.
What’s really interesting about this picture (to me, anyway) is that the street was very crowded and busy when the picture was taken. But all of the people, horse-drawn carriages, etc. were moving, so they didn’t make any impression on the metal plate. Only the one gentleman, who appears to be having his boots shined, stood still enough for long enough to be captured. Everyone else around him was, unknowingly, a ghost – disappearing in the final daguerreotype. But this guy’s image was preserved forever – the first human being ever caught on film.
And, because the Internet can sometimes be as awesome as a daguerrotype from 1838, here is an image lifted from Google maps, showing the same street corner today (lifted from the same blog post:
Categories: Random Acts of Blogging | 7 Comments »
Unlikely Twins, Part XXV
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010It would be impolite of me to say anything bad about one of these October 27th birthdays, at least according to the other one:
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| Emily Post, Expert on Manners |
John Gotti, Expert on Murders |
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Stephen Fry on Language
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010I like this very much, although I think loyal reader, Jason Bennion, will not be such a big fan. Or maybe I’ll be surprised…
Jason?
Categories: Random Acts of Blogging | 4 Comments »
And now…a Muppet News Flash
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010Someone on Facebook pointed me to this. I don’t know if it’s the complete collection, but it’s certainly an excellent sample:
I know – 100%, world-class cheese. But it still makes me smile.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program…
Categories: Primetime TV | 2 Comments »
Unlikely Twins, Part XXIV
Monday, October 18th, 2010Both musicians, both born on October 18th, but that’s basically where the similarities end…
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| Wynton Marsalis, Musical Icon |
Zac Efron, High School Musical Icon |
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Picture of the day: Water (no) Balloon
Friday, October 15th, 2010Courtesy of NPR’s The Picture Show, here’s a sample of photographer, Edward Horsford’s high-speed work:
Using a complex system of lighting, sound-activated flash techniques and such, Mr. Horsford has managed to capture the water inside a water balloon just after the balloon breaks and just before the water loses the shape of the balloon and goes “splat” all over the floor.
It’s water balloons without the balloons!
Click here to see some other excellent shots…
Categories: Random Acts of Blogging | 2 Comments »
Unlikely Twins, Part XXIII
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010Here’s hoping that on October 13th, the latter does not attempt to wish the former a happy birthday…
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| Margaret Thatcher, Former British Leader |
Sacha Baron Cohen, Former Fake Kidnapper of Pamela Anderson |
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Grover’s Take on Those Old Spice Ads…
Monday, October 11th, 2010If you have Internet access, you’ve likely seen those Old Spice ads – the ones where the shirtless man speaks confidently about, well, nothing in particular (except himself?). I must admit, I’ve never quite understood them, except to say that they’re memorable and instantly recognizable, which I guess is the goal when it comes to commercials. But funny? Maybe an occasional chuckle, but that’s about it. Which is what makes this very clever:
I’m sure Saturday Night Live has done it’s send-up of these ads, and while I haven’t seen it, I’ve gotta believe Sesame Street has them beat this time around…
Categories: Primetime TV | 1 Comment »
The Yankees Win the 2010 ALDS
Sunday, October 10th, 2010Another terrific night at Yankee Stadium – father and son. Click here for some memories to throw on the pile. And here is the highlight:
We went to watch batting practice before the game, and got a great spot next to the right-field foul pole. Nick Swisher and Joba Chamberlain, two of the nicest guys on the team, were standing in right field shagging fly balls and then throwing them into the stands. When a ball made its way into the corner and Joba came to retrieve it, he caught my eye. I immediately pointed to my son, Brandon, who was staring wide-eyed at Joba with a big smile on his face. Joba handed me the ball.
This being a year where my kids had to choose who got to go to which game, Brandon was nice enough to call home and tell his big brother, Avery, that Avery could have the ball when he brought it home.
The Yankees won the game and the series, meaning there would be no Game 4. As it turns out, though, it looks like Avery might get a chance to see a playoff game this year after all, as I may have secured a pair of tickets to an ALCS game. My kids and I have a rough life, huh?
Categories: Family Matters, New York, New York, Sports Talk | 1 Comment »