joshedwards.com

The Blog Has Moved

2010-02-14T09:41:00.004-05:00

So we've had to move - the new address is simply joshedwards.com.

Last month Google announced they are dropping support for people who publish Blogger via FTP. (So much for that whole "Don't be evil" thing, eh?)

Anyway, I'm taking the lazy way out, I'm not migrating the site and going through any rigmarole, I'm just starting a new blog powered by WordPress.org.

See you over there!

Pirates Might Move?

2010-02-13T08:40:00.004-05:00

We went to the Portland Pirates last night and had a great time - the tickets (and beers) are inexpensive and hey, live sports are always fun.

Sure, I don't keep up on the team as well as I should, but I've gone twice so far this year, so I'm doing my part, right?

Now I read in the Albany Times Union that the Pirates are negotiating to move to the capital of New York: "Portland CEO won't discuss Albany move"?!

Huh, that would be a bummer.

98%

2010-02-13T07:30:00.004-05:00

Aw, I've never been so mad at Hawaii in my life: "49 states dusted with snow; Hawaii's the holdout".

Wouldn't that have been cool, to have snow in all fifty states?

Although it probably would have screwed up filming on Lost - and we don't need that.

Time on Dubai

2010-02-12T10:40:00.001-05:00

Time has an article (in the new issue, likely) about the Gulf: "The Lessons of Dubai".

The "D" in "STUPID"

2010-02-12T09:43:00.002-05:00

So by now have you heard of "PIGS" - as in (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain)?

Now Schott's Vocab tells us about a new acronym for the possible dominoes if Greece should fall - "STUPID" - as in (Spain, Turkey, UK, Portugal, Italy, Dubai).

Truck Day!

2010-02-12T06:06:00.000-05:00

Proving that Boston Red Sox fans can make any day a baseball holiday, today is "Truck Day" - the day the Red Sox team equipment truck leaves Fenway Park in Boston to drive to Florida for spring training.

God I love this sport!

Movie I Want To See

2010-02-11T06:55:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I was looking up something US history related on wikipedia and I found this entry: Robert Smalls.

I want to see a movie about this guy:

Robert Smalls

USS Planter

Another Great Word!

2010-02-10T15:19:00.002-05:00

"Snowmenclature".

Fantastic!

Check out: A Daily Portmanteau.

A Phrase I Wish I'd Coined

2010-02-10T09:18:00.002-05:00

"Snowverkill".

Just read it in Foreign Policy: "Weather: the lowest form of news".

Genius.

Amateur Challenger Video

2010-02-10T07:02:00.001-05:00

Have you seen this yet?

"Challenger space shuttle disaster amateur video discovered".

Weird.

Nowadays this would be commonplace, but not in 1986.

Disney in Vanity Fair

2010-02-10T06:57:00.001-05:00

Interesting article in the new Vanity Fair about Disney's old ink and paint department: "Coloring the Kingdom".

Aw! BU Lost The Beanpot!

2010-02-09T08:06:00.009-05:00

So yesterday was the second Monday in February, that means Beanpot Championship!

Naturally Boston University (29 Beanpot wins) was playing Boston College (14 wins).

Unnaturally, BC won.

Check out the Boston Globe article: "Keeping the lid on".

The Maine Winter Sports Center

2010-02-09T08:06:00.006-05:00

The New York Times on the Maine Winter Sports Center up to Fort Kent: "Biathlon Program Finds a Home in Northern Maine".

New Yorker on the Burj

2010-02-09T08:06:00.003-05:00

From the father-in-law comes a story from the New Yorker about Dubai's Burj Khalifa: "Castle in the Air".

"Super" Bowl

2010-02-08T07:30:00.003-05:00

Man, what a bizarre Super Bowl. It's kind of nice not having a horse in the race, though, it's very freeing.

We pretty much spent the night mocking the entire event. The ads were pretty lame - that was the Tim Tebow spot? We had to go back to rewatch it because we were expecting, well, more Tim Tebow. The halftime show was fairly outdated, too - everyone born in the last 27 years must have asked "Who is The Who?" at the same time. And, as one of the other party-goers asked, if only Paul and Ringo played together, would they still call themselves "the Beatles"?

Do you think CBS picked The Who purely to help their CSI franchise?

And the stadium? All of a sudden last year it was "Land Shark" for the Marlin's MLB season, and now it's "Sun Life"? How are we supposed to keep track of these things ... I mean, I think about Miami very rarely, help me out people.

And the post-game show Undercover Boss was horrible. Really? That's what they picked? Give me a very special CSI or some other Bruckheimer-induced drama. Please. Anything but reality.

Sorry, getting kind of cynical. What would Conan do?

Oh, speaking of Conan ... what the hell was this ad all about:

Leno promoting Letterman?

Did we just have a flash sideways?

In the end the right team lost, and New Orleans won, now they can have Mardi Gras and a Super Bowl parade at the same time. Yikes.

100 Years of BSA

2010-02-08T07:30:00.001-05:00

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. And while I could take this opportunity to point out some of the flaws in the organization (cough practicing unlawful religious discrimination in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 cough) maybe I won't. Today.

But I will point out how it seems like it was just the 75th anniversary. Maybe that was in 1985:

My brother and I were just lowly Cub Scouts then, not unlike the Tracy Twins from Boys' Life magazine:

I wonder what ever happened to those two goofy bastards when they grew up?

Ah, no doubt they spent time in a paramilitary militia movement in the 1990s, and now they're devoted Fox News watchers. Likely spent last weekend in Nashville, teabagging it up at last week's Tea Party Convention, too ...

The Big Machine

2010-02-05T12:46:00.001-05:00

Just read this article from Ta-Nehisi Coates: "The Big Machine".

Bill Watterson Interview

2010-02-04T07:02:00.003-05:00

Bill Watterson wrote and drew the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes from 1985 to 1995 (minus two almost year-long sabbaticals in 1991 and 1994) and then Salingered out - virtually unheard from in 15 years.

And now there's a short interview with him at Cleveland.com: "Bill Watterson, creator of beloved 'Calvin and Hobbes' comic strip looks back with no regrets".

On a personal note, I always thought the comic strip had a profound role in my development. Think about it - I was 9 years old when it started and 19 when it ended. Those are the key years of learning comedy.

That's why I personally think the best years on SNL were the early 1990s - Carvey, Farley, Hartman, Myers, Rock and the best seasons of The Simpsons are 3 (1991-1992) through 8 (1996-1997).

Long Lake Boat Murderer Wants Out of Jail Early

2010-02-04T07:02:00.001-05:00

A bit of local news, the jackass who killed two people on Long Lake back in 2007 wants out of jail early: "Man jailed in boating deaths seeks early release".

Apparently, though, he would be allowed to get a job and to live in Bridgton.

Not sure how people in town are going to take to the Massachusetts boat murderer.

His Name Means What Now?

2010-02-04T07:01:00.002-05:00

Excuse my for being churlish so early in the morning, but this cracks me up: "Pakistani ambassador rejected because his name is NSFW in Arabic".

UPDATE: It's fake: "The Akbar Zeb story: too good to be true".

Fungus Packing Material

2010-02-03T07:10:00.001-05:00

I think I have the Apple iPad on the brain.

Just read this article in Time: "Industrial-Strength Fungus" and specifically this quote about fungus packing material:

"The company's first product, a green alternative to Styrofoam, is taking on the packaging industry. Called Ecocradle, it is set to be shipped around a yet-to-be-disclosed consumer item this spring."
And I thought - "yet-to-be-disclosed consumer item"?

"This spring"?!

"It's the iPad!!"

NH Kid Died in War on Terror

2010-02-03T07:05:00.001-05:00

Just read a sad story about an Army soldier from Waterville Valley, NH who was killed in the war last week. He was 19 years old.

"NH soldier killed in Afghanistan".

Graduated high school in 2008.

I assume he was born in 1990, maybe even 1991.

Tragic.

Super Bowl Abortion Ad

2010-02-03T07:01:00.001-05:00

Last week I mentioned that CBS is going to run an ad for Focus on the Family during the Super Bowl (see Focus On The Family Ad).

Here's an article about the star of that ad, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. You know it's going to be good when the subheader is "The grisly truth about the Super Bowl abortion ad": "The Invisible Dead".

The worst part is that if CBS pulls out know, Focus on the Family can complain that they were aborted.

20 Years of Russian Big Macs

2010-02-03T06:57:00.001-05:00

One of those stories that makes you feel old - remember when the first McDonald's opened in Russia? People lined up for hours to get a Big Mac?

Yeah, that was 20 years ago - January 31, 1990.

"McDonald's Celebrates 20 Years With 45 New Outlets".

Oddly the first Russian Burger King opened two weeks ago.

Seriously.

Negro Leagues Museum

2010-02-02T10:30:00.004-05:00

I meant to mention this yesterday, what with it being Black History Month and all, but I forgot. Apparently the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City is having financial trouble.

I've never been to KC, but I would love to see this museum. Moving it to the Baseball Hall of Fame is probably a good idea, as this blog suggests: "It's time for the Negro Leagues Museum to move to Cooperstown".