Don't know why, but I've had this classic George Weah goal on my mind for a while now. It came for Milan against Verona in 1996 - back when the big Liberian was at the height of his (highly powerful) powers. It's no Sebastian Langkamp, but it's still one of the best you'll ever see.
I could watch that all day.
Boneyard
The strangest, creepiest, eeriest photo gallery you'll see today: an aircraft boneyard in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
It's not the creepiest place on Earth - no, we have Cracked's list of The Six Creepiest Places on Earth for that - but it's probably up around seventh place.
(And, for what it's worth, I reckon actual boneyard of the Sedlec Ossuary, or the hangman's paradise of Aokigahara Forest both deserve their places on that particular list.)
Alaska
There's a great little story about the great big state of Alaska in The Smithsonian magazine this month. It's difficult to comprehend the sheer size of the place - but it's not too much of a stretch to imagine the effect the sunny nights and wide open spaces have on the local populace.
Says the writer: "Alaska plays havoc with your senses and turns everyday logic on its head. It's the westernmost state of the Union, as well, of course, as the northernmost, but I was surprised to learn, the day I arrived, that it is also (because the Aleutian Islands are across the International Date Line) the easternmost."
From there, the weirdness follows.
5-5
Unlike my beloved Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1 isn't exactly known for its ding-dong high-scoring goalfests. So when title challengers Lyon and Marseille, you could be forgiven for not reading too much into the pre-match prediction from Marseille's assistant coach Guy Stephan: "Lyon will be different, they are a team that will look to attack. We will need to be well prepared as we will have opportunities to score."
Psht. Whatever. Boring 0-0 draw to follow, right?
Non.
As the German reporter says, it was "ein ganz außergewöhnliche Spiel".
There's an instant 10-goal classic, plus two teams who're left wondering how they could spank five goals past their title rivals... and still not win!
Psht. Whatever. Boring 0-0 draw to follow, right?
Non.
As the German reporter says, it was "ein ganz außergewöhnliche Spiel".
There's an instant 10-goal classic, plus two teams who're left wondering how they could spank five goals past their title rivals... and still not win!
Joie de Vivre
After a rough couple of weeks at the office (and it you didn't think it was rough, you really weren't paying attention), I was starting to wonder whether the vibe would ever come back. Then I went on leave, found some shovels, and headed out to where the vibe had been buried.
J'ai trouvé mon bonheur. And when I get back to work, I'm bringing the disinterred vibe with me.
J'ai trouvé mon bonheur. And when I get back to work, I'm bringing the disinterred vibe with me.
Spy Game
There's an intentionally funny story about an unintentionally terrible terrorist up at The Daily Beast. You really have to read the story to believe it... but the opening paragraph should give you an idea of the it's-so-crazy-they-couldn't-make-a-believable-movie-out-of-it strangeness of it all:
"If Stewart David Nozette, arrested by the FBI this month, is convicted of imagining he was spying for Israel, though the Israelis never recruited him, then it will be because he built his own prison cell for the next 10 to 20 years. If you have been an eminent space scientist with a serious security clearance—as Nozette was—and you run around telling people you want to spy, you shouldn’t be surprised if the FBI knocks on the door.
"If Stewart David Nozette, arrested by the FBI this month, is convicted of imagining he was spying for Israel, though the Israelis never recruited him, then it will be because he built his own prison cell for the next 10 to 20 years. If you have been an eminent space scientist with a serious security clearance—as Nozette was—and you run around telling people you want to spy, you shouldn’t be surprised if the FBI knocks on the door.
Rockwell
There's a great piece in last month's Vanity Fair on a new Norman Rockwell exhibition, where Rockwell's art hangs alongside the photographs that served as the basis for his famous paintings. I know a lot of modern art fans don't really like Rockwell (he's too twee for some tastes), but I've always been a huge fan of his work. It's slice-of-life Americana that shows a world that I never lived in, and that I sense never really existed in the first place.
The VF article is excellent, and it gives great insight into what made Rockwell tick. And as much as the critics may pan him, you've got to know he's laughing right back at them.
This quote might give you an idea of where the story's coming from:
"The complexity of Rockwell’s process belies the “simplicity” often ascribed to his finished products. But then, this is an artist with a history of being patronized, mischaracterized, and dismissed as “merely” an illustrator whose pictures, which were intended for mass reproduction, cannot stand on their own as paintings."
It also gives me a handy paragraph break, and an excuse to post another Rockwell painting.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, is also running an article on Rockwell - but they're focusing on his "Freedom" series. Again, it's an excellent piece. And again, you have to admit the paintings have a charm all of their own.
Sit Down
I'm clearing space in my head - and, in my dreams, in my lounge - for this great little sofa (though it looks more like a footrest from where I'm sitting). It connects to an MP3 player with speakers bustin' out of all four sides, and its finish is textured leather around wood. It's from the Michi Jung design studio, and though I can't find a price, I'll wager it costs an absolute fortune.
Maybe I'll ask a local carpenter to knock one together for me...
Eeeek!
The Big Picture just scared the living bejeepers out of me*.
* Not really. I'm just trying to hype it up so you'll go check out their superb Days of the Dead gallery.
Crash Diet
As I spectacularly fall off my Men's Health New Man Challenge wagon, I'm getting increasingly desperate to find an eating plan to suit my unique personal needs. I reckon I may be on to something here...
Smile
Scientists claim to have solved the secret of Mona Lisa's smile. It has to do with what part of your eye sees it first. Or something. Anyway, the story's up at The Telegraph, where the crack squad at the Arts & Ocular Sciences desk determined that the closer you are to the famous portrait, the more likely you are to see her smile.
Sadly, though, getting close to the painting isn't particularly easy...
Chest
I can't believe I'm posting this... but here you go: New York magazine's slideshow of The 15 Greatest Male Chests In Music History.
I also can't believe Jim Morrison made it into the Top 2...
We're Going To Need A Bigger Boat
Take a look at this incredible infographic from GOOD on the biggest bankruptcies in the history of the universe.
Suddenly I don't feel so bad about that time I lost my wallet.
Suddenly I don't feel so bad about that time I lost my wallet.
Red Balloons Go By
This is my 99th post of the month, which is reason enough, I reckon, for a trainspottery look at cricketers who've managed 99 runs in a Test match or One-Day International.
Sachin Tendulkar somehow contrived to go out on 99 in an ODIs three times in the space of five months in 2007 (including, as I recall, being run out going for triple figures against South Africa in what would become a major Slumdog Millionaire plot point).
But one of my favourite cricket trivia stats is that Shane Warne's highest Test batting score was 99 (he was caught on the boundary trying to heave his way to a century). That's tragic, but nowhere near as tragic as Martin Crowe's top score of 299. Crowe (who's Oscar winner Russell Crowe's cousin) was caught behind going for his triple-ton – and commented afterwards that, "It's a bit like climbing Everest and pulling a hamstring in the last stride."
I suppose, though, that the only thing worse that going out for 99 is ending a match on 99 not out. That's happened less often in Tests and ODIs, but (as always) there are some stories attached – usually of batsmen who reach 99* by scoring the winning run, or of batsmen who run out of batting partners.
In 1932 Don Bradman was stranded on a massive 299* when Pud Thurlow (back in the 30s cricketers chose their names from Pynchon and Dickens novels) got himself run out, thereby ending the innings... much to Bradman's bemusement.
Sachin Tendulkar somehow contrived to go out on 99 in an ODIs three times in the space of five months in 2007 (including, as I recall, being run out going for triple figures against South Africa in what would become a major Slumdog Millionaire plot point).
But one of my favourite cricket trivia stats is that Shane Warne's highest Test batting score was 99 (he was caught on the boundary trying to heave his way to a century). That's tragic, but nowhere near as tragic as Martin Crowe's top score of 299. Crowe (who's Oscar winner Russell Crowe's cousin) was caught behind going for his triple-ton – and commented afterwards that, "It's a bit like climbing Everest and pulling a hamstring in the last stride."
I suppose, though, that the only thing worse that going out for 99 is ending a match on 99 not out. That's happened less often in Tests and ODIs, but (as always) there are some stories attached – usually of batsmen who reach 99* by scoring the winning run, or of batsmen who run out of batting partners.
In 1932 Don Bradman was stranded on a massive 299* when Pud Thurlow (back in the 30s cricketers chose their names from Pynchon and Dickens novels) got himself run out, thereby ending the innings... much to Bradman's bemusement.
Loopholes
If I had a penny for every time I saw someone treating a Law like it's a Guideline, there probably wouldn't be a recession.
Trabant
In a parallel universe, I've been laughing so much I just crashed my Trabant into a tractor factory. On Der Spiegel's site (mit Englische translation), they're running a story on Communist-era East German humour... as eavesdropped on by West German spies during the cold war.
How about this for Best East German Joke You'll Read Today?
"What would happen if the desert became communist? Nothing for a while, and then there would be a sand shortage."
Hilarious. And how about this for Best Sentence You'll Read Online Today:
The joke report was by far the most popular service the spies provided. "It was our biggest hit," recalls former BND spy Dieter Gandersheim, whose real name is of course quite different.
Grunge
There's a new book out on Grunge: the music, the culture, the hair, the checked shirts, the pimply youths, the early 90s, the bands, the Seattle sound, the songs, the catchers in the rye, the phonies, the works.
The focus (or out-of-focus) will, surely, be on Nirvana. I kind of preferred Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains. But that's just me.
The pictures are by Michael Lavine, and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth wrote the words. Reckon I might pick me up a copy. In the mean time, though, I'm going to take this news as an excuse to play Pearl Jam's post-grunge Wishlist over and over and over.
Rights/Duties
I got this link from (strangely enough) a Republican friend from Colorado. It's a speech by PJ O'Rourke at the opening of the Cato Institute's headquarters in 1993. As a fan of great speeches (I've plundered the bank at American Rhetoric), I'm loving this one.
There are so many quotable nuggets here, I don't know where to start. But I reckon I'll go with this:
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences."
Golf clap.
There are so many quotable nuggets here, I don't know where to start. But I reckon I'll go with this:
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences."
Golf clap.
Considered
Steadily creeping into my personal list of Top 7 Podcasts* is NPR's All Songs Considered – a half-hour radio show where they showcase music that I would otherwise probably never hear. It's a great show, and its spin-offs are pretty amazing.
Take their live concerts, for example: they have, for free download, a list of live shows that include (right now) Radiohead, Yo La Tengo, Moby and Sonic Youth. All very hipstery, and all very good. (Except the Radiohead show sounds like my neighbour's dog barking next to a dishwasher... which I suppose is how all Radiohead music sounds.)
The only trouble with All Songs Considered is that all songs are - alas - not considered. As Slate's Jody Rosen writes in a very funny piece, NPR adhere to a DORF matrix (you'll have to read the story to see what that means) which excludes anything by contemporary black musicians.
Which is a bad thing. Obviously.
Except...
I couldn't help thinking of NPR's limitations when I read (and listened to a podcast talking about) Sasha Frere-Jones's excellent New Yorker essay on the demise of hip-hop. I guess when you turn your genre into a collection of throwaway ringtones, you can't really expect people to take you seriously any more.
Or, in NPR's case, to consider your songs.
* (Which are – in no particular order – Slate's Gabfest and Culturefest, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History and Common Sense, NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, EconTalk and The New Yorker Out Loud)
Taxi
I'm sending my bandwidth through the roof listening/watching music videos on taxijam. (Way it works is, they get South African bands to do acoustic sets while traveling in a minibus taxi.) There's some good stuff here, and the little irritations (like the poppie leaning into the taxi to ask Prime Circle – in the thicket Sarf Efriken accent you've ever heard: "Wot bend aw yoo gahs?") are more charming than irritating.
The Jack Parow clip is foul... but very, very funny.
The Jack Parow clip is foul... but very, very funny.
A-Team
As you must have heard by now, they're doing a movie remake of The A-Team... and the marketing photos are already hitting the Net. I'm going to have that theme tune stuck in my head for the rest of the day...
Bucket List
Add "Read This New York Times Story" to your To-Do List for today. It's a couple of years old, but it remains a neat little piece - and it's an excellent/ironic way of putting a story like this together.
Who said newspaper articles are formulaic?
Who said newspaper articles are formulaic?
Barry White
It's very silly. But it remains (what can I say?) one of my all-time favourite songs.
"Now when she came over, she brought the discus
On and on, she promised to kick this
EWF stole my breath
When he finished, there was nothing left."
It doesn't get any better than that.
Lines
Here's an interesting map from some totally random site. It's a representation of worldwide airliner routes. Not much happening in far eastern Russia, then...
Müller Möller Miller
Soccernet are running another instant classic by German soccer writer Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger (soon to be Uli Hesse, as the story reveals), where he looks at the origins of German soccer players' names. You'll never look at Franz Beckenbauer the same way again...
Pollock
There's a fun little piece up at The Smithsonian, where they ask (and kind of answer) whether Jackson Pollock hid his name in his painting, Mural. It all sounds very Da Vinci Code (and personally, I reckon he could've written the solution to Kryptos in there, and nobody'd have noticed)... but they could be onto something.
Stairs
Okay, so it's pretty random. But I still ended up spending a good couple of minutes admiring the collection of Great Spiral Stairs at Atlas Obscura. I had a spiral staircase in my first apartment. It wasn't nearly as impressive as the ones listed here...
Two Cultures
In my online wanderings I stubbed my toe on a 1984 (the year, not the book) (maybe) essay by Thomas Pynchon called Is It OK To Be A Luddite?. It's a belated response/timely reassessment of CP Snowe's lecture, The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, which was (quoting PYnchon now) "notable for its warning that intellectual life in the West was becoming polarized into "literary" and "scientific" factions, each doomed not to understand or appreciate the other."
Snowe's theory was eventually hit over the fence by Stephen Jay Gould, but Pynchon's essay is still well worth a read.
In typical style, he name-checks literary characters like Frankenstein and Brainy Smurf and funny-named real people like Ned Lud and Arnold Toynbee, talks (a lot) about the sciences, and then (even more) about the arts, and goes on long, rambling tangents where those two cultures don't just meet - they run away together for a dirty weekend in Mexico.
Snowe's theory was eventually hit over the fence by Stephen Jay Gould, but Pynchon's essay is still well worth a read.
In typical style, he name-checks literary characters like Frankenstein and Brainy Smurf and funny-named real people like Ned Lud and Arnold Toynbee, talks (a lot) about the sciences, and then (even more) about the arts, and goes on long, rambling tangents where those two cultures don't just meet - they run away together for a dirty weekend in Mexico.
Nowhere
Discovered this map at New Scientist: it's a map charting the world's most remote places, based on how long it would take to travel to the nearest city of 50 000 or more people by land or water. It reminds me of the stats on the world's poles of inaccessibility.
Either way, it puts a new spin on "The Middle of Nowhere".
(Which, it turns out, is somewhere in Tibet.)
Reading
Rediscovered this little gem in an old copy of Esquire we had floating around the office: author Dave Eggers' take on the future of reading. It's worth - you guessed it - a read.
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