Happy Birthday K!

Mike Krzyzewski-The youngest 61 year old I’ve ever seen.

797 wins and counting
10 ACC Tournament Championships and counting
11 ACC Regular Season Championships and counting
3 National Titles and counting

Cutting down nets-it’s just what he does
It's his thing

Let’s get three more this year

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Your Stuck in my Head Song of the Day

Today is my friend Fiona's birthday and..the way we met was kinda bizarre) though it's actually pretty boring and nerdy so i won't tell you.)
Anyway she's my friend and I like her and all but she's also working for Barack in New Hampshire so I've put our friendship on hold for just a little bit.
However just because she's working for the enemy and the destruction of America doesn't mean I didn't think about her today and as I thought about her the Arctic Monkey's Cigarette Smoker Fiona came to mind. I doubt that my Fiona has started smoking (though the campiagn stress and the fact it is New Hampshire may do crazy things) but there aren't a tonne of songs that mention Fiona so this came to mind. Plus it rocks and the chorus is catchy

Sat at the side of the pool at one of your houses
With wet white trousers on,
And worlds collide as the evening continues, the dignity fucks off
Her brother's gone off to the strippers to make up for all the lost time
She could have been one of the bitches, but she's actually alright.

Cigarette smoker
I'm sorry but we're all unsure how much you've had
But we think that you ought to maybe not have anymore

A country home,
Even if we really tried would it cease to surprise us now
And I bet your dad would like to give us all a slap
When are ya parents back dya know?
Well I never came from no ghetto, but it wasn't nowhere near here
Well spoken girls and stilettos aren't something to fear

Cigarette smoker
I'm sorry but we're all unsure how much you've had
But we think that you ought to maybe not have anymore

Cigarette smoker
Cigarette smoke doesn't hide as well as you think
And you think that it ought to act as the perfect disguise

Looking at those I once again realize that I know none of the Arctic Monkeys' lyrics. Anyway here is a live performance from Reading of Your Stuck in My Head Song of the Day, Cigarette Smoker Fiona by the Arctic Monkeys


Arctic Monkeys- Cigarette Smoker Fiona [download] buy it on iTunes


Happy Birthday Fiona! And may today be a far better and happier day for you than January 3rd or 8th :-J

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All Hail Steve Buscemi

-- the greatest actor of his generation!"

Yeah what he just said
("Steve Buscemi by Dystopia One)
So today is Steve Buscemi's 50th birthday and I felt it should be commemorated because he is one of those actors that if he's in something I'll watch it because I always strangely enjoy him. He truly is an Indie King.
There’s like a dorkiness loser quality but there seems to be a touch of madness in his work. Just something slightly off…something bent.
His most famous scene, I feel, the Tipping Scene from Reservoir Dogs


From Reservoir Dogs another of his most famous scenes (and where the famous poster, thats in millions of dorm rooms was taken from)


Steve on SNL as a Mentally Disturbed Hatter


but there is such a sweetness to him, maybe it’s that “bentness” but you can elate and want him to do well or get something beautiful. I think it may be Pathos, though I'm not 100% certain about the meaning and application of that term; seems to fit though.
Steve starring in Tuileries, a short film by the Coen Brothers. Paris, Je T’Aime

Steve as a transvestite singing to a lovebird in Somebody to Love


"All hail Steve Buscemi, the greatest actor of his generation!
Steve Buscemi is cool. Steve Buscemi is a living god. Steve Buscemi is always rubbing his huge, blue, bugged out eyes. Steve Buscemi represents you and me!
Steve Buscemi is every man of "Quintessential Underdog". Steve Buscemi embodies the best and worst traits of human nature.
Steve Buscemi has worked with the best directors alive today: Scorsese, Tarantino, The Coin Bros., Jim Jarmusch, Robert Ullman and John Carpenter.
Steve Buscemi must be worshiped!
Someday when Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, and Harrison Ford have long since passed away and been forgotten, Steve Buscemi's work will be given a month long retrospective at the (film forum?) and the Bohemians will come. And the regular guys, too!
Steve Buscemi represents John Casaveni. And for this alone, he must be praised!
I sat in a bar in Queens with Steve Buscemi and asked him, "Who shot nice guy Eddie?" And he snapped as if it was the most obvious answer in world.Harvey Keitel"

Happy Birthday Steve and may you have many many many more!
Keep Buscemi weird.

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Happy 80th Birthday Vin!

Happy Birthday Vin Scully! You truly is the Voice of God. I hate listening to Dodger games without him and to me, and I'm sure a lot of people, one of the first things they think of when they hear "Dodgers" is Vin Scully. And I can't imagine a world with you. May you live forever and stay forever young!

Here is his call from the 9th inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game, a call which has been called poetic and perfect(you should be able to listen to it here)

Three times in his sensational career has Sandy Koufax walked out to the mound to pitch a fateful ninth where he turned in a no-hitter. But tonight, September the ninth, nineteen hundred and sixty-five, he made the toughest walk of his career, I'm sure, because through eight innings he has pitched a perfect game. He has struck out eleven, he has retired twenty-four consecutive batters, and the first man he will look at is catcher Chris Krug, big right-hand hitter, flied to second, grounded to short. Dick Tracewski is now at second base and Koufax ready and delivers: curveball for a strike.

"O" and one the count to Chris Krug. Out on deck to pinch-hit is one of the men we mentioned earlier as a possible, Joey Amalfitano. Here's the strike one pitch to Krug: fastball, swung on and missed, strike two. And you can almost taste the pressure now. Koufax lifted his cap, ran his fingers through his black hair, then pulled the cap back down, fussing at the bill. Krug must feel it too as he backs out, heaves a sigh, took off his helmet, put it back on and steps back up to the plate. Tracewski is over to his right to fill up the middle, (John) Kennedy is deep to guard the line. The strike two pitch on the way: fastball, outside, ball one. Krug started to go after it and held up and Torborg held the ball high in the air trying to convince Vargo (the umpire) but Eddie said no sir. One and two the count to Chris Krug. It is 9:41 p.m. on September the ninth. The one-two pitch on the way: curveball, tapped foul off to the left of the plate.

The Dodgers defensively in this spine-tingling moment: Sandy Koufax and Jeff Torborg. The boys who will try and stop anything hit their way: Wes Parker, Dick Tracewski, Maury Wills and John Kennedy; the outfield of Lou Johnson, Willie Davis and Ron Fairly. And there's twenty-nine thousand people in the ballpark and a million butterflies. Twenty nine thousand, one hundred and thirty-nine paid.

Koufax into his windup and the one-two pitch: fastball, fouled back out of play. In the Dodger dugout Al Ferrara gets up and walks down near the runway, and it begins to get tough to be a teammate and sit in the dugout and have to watch. Sandy back of the rubber, now toes it. All the boys in the bullpen straining to get a better look as they look through the wire fence in left field. One and two the count to Chris Krug. Koufax, feet together, now to his windup and the one-two pitch: fastball outside, ball two. (Crowd booing on the tape.)

A lot of people in the ballpark now are starting to see the pitches with their hearts. The pitch was outside, Torborg tried to pull it over the plate but Vargo, an experienced umpire, wouldn't go for it. Two and two the count to Chris Krug. Sandy reading signs, into his windup, two-two pitch: fastball, got him swinging.

Sandy Koufax has struck out twelve. He is two outs away from a perfect game.

Here is Joe Amalfitano to pinch-hit for Don Kessinger. Amalfitano is from Southern California, from San Pedro. He was an original bonus boy with the Giants. Joey's been around, and as we mentioned earlier, he has helped to beat the Dodgers twice, and on deck is Harvey Kuenn. Kennedy is tight to the bag at third, the fastball, a strike. "O" and one with one out in the ninth inning, one to nothing, Dodgers. Sandy reading, into his windup and the strike one pitch: curveball, tapped foul, "O" and two. And Amalfitano walks away and shakes himself a little bit, and swings the bat. And Koufax with a new ball, takes a hitch at his belt and walks behind the mound.

I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world. Sandy fussing, looks in to get his sign, "O" and two to Amalfitano. The strike two pitch to Joe: fastball, swung on and missed, strike three. He is one out away from the promised land, and Harvey Kuenn is comin' up.

So Harvey Kuenn is batting for Bob Hendley. The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. The date, September the ninth, nineteen-sixty-five, and Koufax working on veteran Harvey Kuenn. Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike. He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and that's gone unnoticed. Sandy ready and the strike one pitch: very high, and he lost his hat. He really forced that one. That's only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Sandy threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra, and that time he tried so hard his hat fell off — he took an extremely long stride to the plate — and Torborg had to go up to get it.

One and one to Harvey Kuenn. Now he's ready: fastball, high, ball two. You can't blame a man for pushing just a little bit now. Sandy backs off, mops his forehead, runs his left index finger along his forehead, dries it off on his left pants leg. All the while Kuenn just waiting. Now Sandy looks in. Into his windup and the two-one pitch to Kuenn: swung on and missed, strike two. It is 9:46 p.m.

Two and two to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away. Sandy into his windup, here's the pitch:

Swung on and missed, a perfect game.

(Thirty-eight seconds of cheering by the crowd.)

On the scoreboard in right field it is 9:46 p.m. in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. And a crowd of twenty-nine thousand one-hundred thirty nine just sitting in to see the only pitcher in baseball history to hurl four no-hit, no-run games. He has done it four straight years, and now he caps it: On his fourth no-hitter he made it a perfect game. And Sandy Koufax, whose name will always remind you of strikeouts, did it with a flurry. He struck out the last six consecutive batters. So when he wrote his name in capital letters in the record books, that "K" stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X.

Vin bleeds Dodger Blue.

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'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy

Happy Birthday Jimi!

You would easily be the coolest 65 year old ever.

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Happy 80th Birthday Tommy

Today is Tommy Lasorda's 80th Birthday and I would not be a Dodger fan if I didn't spread the gospel of this man and how much I live him and wish he was my grampa. He coached the Dodgers for twenty years (and it's quite obvious the downhill slope of our team since then) won 2 titles and, to cement his place as the best manager ever he led the United States to a win in the 2000 Olympics when no one expected him too. And so to the greatest Dodger alive I wish him an amazing birthday.

Some quotes

• About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure.
• All last year we tried to teach him Fernando Valenzuela English, and the only word he learned was million.
• Always give an autograph when somebody asks you.
• Baseball is like driving, it's the one who gets home safely that counts.
• Guys ask me, don't I get burned out? How can you get burned out doing something you love? I ask you, have you ever got tired of kissing a pretty girl?
• I believe managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it.
• I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I'm going to the big Dodger in the sky.
• I love doubleheaders. That way I get to keep my uniform on longer.
• Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you're up in the stands with them.
• Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.
• My theory of hitting was just to watch the ball as it came in and hit it.
• No, we don't cheat. And even if we did, I'd never tell you.
• People say you can't go out and eat with your players. I say why not.
• Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it's because you've started to think of failure.
• The difference between the possible and the impossible lies in a person's determination.
• The only way I'd worry about the weather is if it snows on our side of the field and not theirs.
• There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.
• When we win, I'm so happy I eat a lot. When we lose, I'm so depressed, I eat a lot. When we're rained out, I'm so disappointed I eat a lot.

seriously you have to love a man who speaks truth /suffers fools lightly (like this) or has such wisdom such as this


or this


and any man that causes such a reaction from the Giants is obviously a Great and Just man

The following is from Tommy's Blog:

You know, when I was a kid we didn't have fancy birthday parties with lots of presents. Every Christmas my four brothers and I would get the same thing every year; a scarf and gloves. As I look back on my life I am still in awe. I still can't believe how it turned out. Who ever could have dreamed that the son of an Italian immigrant from Norristown, Pennsylvania, who was the third-string pitcher on the high school baseball team, would end up managing the Dodgers for 20 years?

Who ever could have dreamed that a guy like me who has never stepped foot in college would give six commencement addresses and have six honorary doctorate degrees?

Who ever could have dreamed that I would shake hands with Presidents Nixon and Ford? Hug President Carter? Befriend Presidents Reagan and Bush? Meet President Clinton and George W. Bush?

Who ever could have dreamed I would hang out with the great Frank Sinatra and Don Rickles and travel the world with them?

Who ever could have dreamed that I would join a fraternity of only 15 managers to make it to the Hall of Fame? As I stood at the podium in Cooperstown making my induction speech I told the story of when I was 14 years old. I would actually dream that I was playing for the Yankees and pitching at Yankee Stadium. I would look around the diamond and see Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Than I would feel my mother shaking me, saying, "Wake up Tommy. It's time to go to school."

Why didn't she leave me alone? Why couldn't I stay in the dream? It was so real!

Standing on that stage in Cooperstown with all the greatest baseball players in the world behind me, I said, "I thank God for all of this, and it won't be too long before I feel my mother shaking me, telling me to wake up because it's time to go to school."

I have lived a dream. Thank you.

No thank you Tommy and may the Great Dodger in the sky watch over you and may you live another 80 years!

(and this was the main reason i decided to post today.)

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Your Stuck in my Head Song of the Day

Your stuck in my head song of the day comes from Laura Veir's newest cd Saltbreaker and this is one ofthose songs I never would have discovered if it weren't for satellite radio and that wonderfulness of telling me artist and song names. The song is Don't Lose Yourself and yeah it's maybe what I needed right now, blah blah you can see what I mean in the lyrics blah.It may be about losing yourself in a relationship,though I'm too tired to think too deeply and of course the basic message "don't lose yourself" is universal. But it doesn't have an official video or even a live version that I could find so I'm going to post the two entries in the, I guess, "make a video" contest. Once again I'm horrible at making decisions and they both have reasons to recommend them. The first one is made by an Italian, and god knows how much I love that country and the people (roma, te manco). It has whimsy and balloons, which always make good viewing. Visuals by Giacomo Cocci

And this second one is probably technically a better video, one that really impressed me especially with the Take on Me feel of some parts it has a more romantic feel and it was filmed on the streets of L.A. to boot.


See; you're both winners! ::polite applause::
Speaking of L.A. I just chanced to go on LAist and apparently today is the 266th birthday of El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles. Who knew? Their coverage is far better than I could do even if I weren't passing out,but I feel really sorry for whoever actually walked 9 miles on what was the hottest day of the year. So happy birthday my lady; you don't look a day over 74.
As for you dearest mythical reader: sogni d'oro.

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170,000 and One...

Let me apologize because this is a day late, but yesterday was a strange long full post day so it's better this way. Anywhoo. Happy Belated Birthday to my favorite British Centenarian! Winnie Langley ( I love that name) turned 100 and celebrated by puffing a cigarette light by the candles. it was the 170 thousandth she's smoked. She started smoking them after Archduke Ferdinand was shot (wow) and she goes through 5 a day (wow my math is horrible; I thought it was about 17 a day). She was seven and she started smoking because "it helped steady the nerves" And she's outlived her husband and a son.
So take that all you anti smoking activists (which seems to be more and more of the world now.) I guess the trick is you don't inhale (god Bill Clinton was a genius, advocating healthy living and all.) Though that is such a tease.
So Winnie once again congrats! You are an inspiration ( I had quit but...). And may you live another 36527 days. (she is so adorable!)

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2 of my favorite stories about...

1 of my favorite girls.
Anyway today is Mara's 23rd birthday (it's my mom's as well but I don't have any great stories about her) and so I thought about a few favorite memories I have.
First, this happened sometime in the spring of sophomore year when we were all playing Beirut in one of my friend's dorm room. He sort of lived in a "frat" section and we drank alot so we had no qualms with drinking openly. It was after the Ben Folds/Ben Lee in Page and we had just gotten back. So we get to the room and are beginning to set up the table. I had a beer in my hand because why not but everyone else was watching something on t.v. The table was ready to go and our door was about halfway open. it just so happened that an RA was making rounds at this moment and she claimed to hear ping pong balls (which had to be bs.) Anyway she stood in the door and was going to write us citations, for drinking games are illegal at Duke. Now at this point Mara was freaking out because she was applying to be an RA and she was really worried that this would jeopardize her chances so when the RA came she started to get really upset. Her boyfriend was in the room as well and he got quite angry claiming that the door was actually shut, negating her right to enter and inspect the room. When the RA asked for all of our names everyone gave them their own, me included still holding and drinking a beer during the whole thing ( I was older than the hills; I didn't care about citations) but when she asked for Mara's name, Scott, her boyfriend piped in with Lin. He didn't have a clear spelling in mind so when the RA, who was a chinese international grad student spelled it that way he hurriedly agreed. When asked the last name Scott in his spontaneous manner said Smith. All of us were holding in our laughter at this point over the genericness of Smith but it got even funnier in our minds especially when Scott was trying to close the door in her face. But it all worked out. I think a few of us ended up playing Beirut anyway that night ( everything was already set up) and none of us actually were written up, which I attribute to Mara's crying in her office, and so she was able to become an RA. That is another story, but we all still remember and have laughs over Lin Smith (though it was a touching gesture of love....I guess)

More importanlty Mara was involved in the nicest thing that anyone has maybe ever done for me. It was sometime in late winter early spring of this year when I was just sort of talking about decorating. I guess the hormones were beginning to affect me emotionally but I was sort of upset about my room and wanted to change it's decor. I guess I told Mara how I wanted some flowers in my room, purely as me thinking out loud and as an aside. But the next day when I got back from campus, on my desk was a bouquet of the most gorgeous flowers ( I don't remember what kind they were but I like to think they were pink) that Mara had gotten me "just because." I'm sure during this time I was moodswingy and I don't remember if that day was a bad one for me, but no matter how high or low my spirits were, they definitely lifted them, and anytime I had a bad day for the next week or two all would have to do is look at or smell the flowers and I would remember that someone loved me and that everything is truly good and wonderful. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

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The Happiest of Birthdays

I would be such a bad person and an even worse friend if I didn't tell my dearest Meyerhoff
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
And in honor of Karen some stuff I found that will either be awesome, or not; we'll see.

Karen: People with this name tend to be a powerful force to all whose lives they touch. They are capable, charismatic leaders who often undertake large endeavors with great success. They value truth, justice, and discipline, and may be quick-tempered with those who do not. If they fail to develop their potential, they may become impractical and rigid. (source)

Meyerhoff- Origin: German. First found in Bavaria, where the name was anciently associated with the tribal conflicts of the area.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Mayerhoff, Mayerhoffer, Mayerhoffen, Mayerhofen, Meyerhofen and many more.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Hans Heinrich Meyerhoffer, who came to Georgia sometime between 1733 and 1783; Anna Meyerhoffer, who came to Carolina or Pennsylvania in 1743; Hans Ulrich Meyerhoffer, who settled in Carolina or Pennsylvania in 1743.

The Importance of today (besides the obvious reasons of course)

An August 8th birthday Horoscope: You are likely to be on top of your game this year for the most part, and positive connections with others can be made rather easily. A comfortable level of personal popularity helps to keep conflict to a minimum. With the ability to handle your emotions successfully, there will be less stress on both your mind and body. Your self-confidence and positive attitude will reward you...The year ahead is strong for higher learning, travel, and broadening your horizons. Some feelings of blockages and frustrations that come from stop-and-go energy may be part of the picture. Avoid pushing yourself too hard or too fast in order to handle this energy most constructively. Sexuality and creativity are stimulating this year, although at times presenting challenges. All in all, there is nothing light or superficial about your romantic life this year, and you stand to improve this area of your life dramatically overall. Personal popularity is quite strong this year.

On the Banks of the Wabash. (you'll be) Back Home in Indiana you won't be all alone. May you have a (mp3) fire always at midnight



And may you never feel too old to rock n roll. Always be Young At Heart (mp3). Just remember there's no day but today

Don't let anyone change your philosphy,

It really is a wonderful world,

enjoy every minute kiddo. I love you!
(oh and hopefully tomorrow you'll get rid of your hangover by sleeping in.)

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