Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/16-8/17/2010

8/16/1961:
Yankee slugger Roger Maris hits a pair of two-run homers off White Sox left-hander Billy Pierce into the upper deck at Yankee Stadium, leading New York to a 5-4 victory over Chicago. En route to a record-breaking single-season total of 61 home runs. Maris picks on his favorite patsies, the White Sox, against whom he'll have 13 round trippers during the year. It's one of seven two-homer games by Maris but the only one he'll enjoy off a lefty; in fact, he'll hit only 12 of his 61 home runs against southpaws.

Birthdays:
Frank Gifford b. 1930
Tony Trabert b. 1930
Ron Yary b. 1946
Christian Okoye b. 1961
Ben Coates b. 1969

Packers Fact:
IN 2007, Donald Driver became the seventh Packers' player to reach 6,000 receiving yards for his career. The all-time record holder at 9,656 yards is James Lofton (1978-1986).

Sitting in the bullpen and watching his team fall behind by 14 runs in the first inning, Houston Astros relief pitcher Dave Smith realized: "The last time I saw anything like this, I was playing for Tastee Freeze in the Little League."

Birthdays:
Boog Powell b. 1941
Guillermo Vilas b. 1952
Christian Laettner b. 1969
Jim Courier b. 1970
Jorge Posada b. 1971

Packers Fact:
The Rams had the league's top-scoring offense during a dominating 11-1-2 regular season in 1967, but the 9-4-1 Packers won a Western Conference playoff game 28-7 by limiting Los Angeles to only 217 total yards.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottjohnson/sets/72157601200807582
56 Geeks
The project itself is definitely geeky but it also gives you the opportunity to thoroughly acquaint yourself with the fundamental geek types-the history geek, the collectable geek, the papercraft geek, the Apple geek, the Larper geek, and, of course, the Trek geek-all suitably garbed and carrying attributes like iPods, phasers, or little plastic men.

http://on-my-desk.blogspot.com/
Shared Desks
Whether you're a neat freak whose every pencil has a place or a slob whose desk is so messy you can't find this morning's memo, you'll still enjoy a peek into someone else's work life at this site, where artists, designers, and other creative people share pictures of their desks, tools, studios, and the mascots that inspire them.

A TROPICAL DREAM

This book follows the adventures, dreams, lusts, and twilight years of Félix Ventura, as told by his faithful companion—who just happens to be a gecko. Mysteries of identity and ruminations on the meaning of life attend Félix’s strange calling: He provides fake background stories for wannabe bigwigs in the former Portuguese colony of Angola, where the past is being effaced little by little every day.

THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS, by José Eduardo Agualusa, translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn (Simon & Schuster, 2008)

BABE! YOU LOOK WONDERFUL!

This is a how-to book like no other. Learn how to identify whether you’re a middle-aged babe; track your progress along the devastating “Miss-Ma’am Transit.” From the stunning line of menopausal jewelry (dazzling cabochon emeralds that conceal tiny fans) to a fold-out instructional poster and accompanying wallet-size card describing basic techniques of seduction that even the most babealicious may occasionally forget, plus exercise, DIY plastic surgery, and much, much more—prepare to be dumbfounded by the audacious silliness of sex goddess–pundit Marilyn Suzanne Miller.

HOW TO BE A MIDDLE-AGED BABE, by Marilyn Suzanne Miller (Scribner, 2007)

HOUGAERDSE DAS

Hoegaarden Brewery, Hoegaarden, Belgium

Perfumy, spicy beer from a brewery best known for its spiced white ale, Hougaerdse Das appears to be an all-barley beer but pours cloudy, probably due to the yeast kicked up when you open the bottle. As a result, the finish comes across as somewhat chalky, but is otherwise pleasantly balanced. Mild hop flavor and just a bit of bitterness take the lead. Quite different from the brewery’s more widely known brands, but that’s a good thing.

BEER FACT

Studies have shown that substances found in beer, namely polyphenols from barley, help to boost antioxidant activity in the blood and protect the body from disease. On the flip side, overindulgence may have the opposite effect, making the body “pro-oxidant” and more susceptible to damage from diseases associated with aging.

DEAN’S BEANS COFFEEHOUSE PORTER

Berkshire Brewing Co., Deerfield, Massachusetts

Say good morning to the explosive aroma of steamy coffee grounds and roast malt. Milk and sugar, anyone? This dark-brown porter’s creamy texture complements its slight overall sweetness. Hop character is absent, and the aftertaste skews to coffee and roasted bitterness. Best served between 50 and 60 degrees F.

BEER FACT

Berkshire Brewing Company’s Coffeehouse Porter combines the brewery’s popular Drayman’s Porter with real organic coffee extract made exclusively for the brewery by Dean’s Beans in New Salem, Massachusetts.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/10/2010

8/10/2003:
Bronson Arroyo of the Pawtucket Red Sox pitches only the fourth nine-inning perfect game in the 121-year history of the International League, blanking Buffalo, 7-0, at McCoy Stadium. Ironically, the most recent nine-inning perfecto in that league's annals was also crafted by a Pawtucket pitcher at McCoy Stadium when Tomo Ohka blanked Charlotte in 2000. Before that, only two hurlers had achieved the feat and both pitched for Buffalo: Chet Carmichael against Jersey City in 1910 and Dick Marlowe against Baltimore in 1952.

Birthdays:
Red Holzman b. 1920
Rocky Colavito b. 1933
John Starks b. 1965
Riddick Bowe b. 1967
Samari Rolle b. 1976

Packers Fact:
The Packers opened the 2008 season with all 11 starters back from the 2007 defensive unit that ranked no. 11 in the NFL (based on total yards).


http://www.kunstler.com/eyesore.html
Monthly Eyesore
It's social criticism masked as architectural criticism-every month writer James Howard Kunstler delivers his take on the degradation of the American landscape like the "pre-haunted," weed-covered McMansions blighting the suburbs, a Marriott hotel that he likens to a forensic pathology lab, a cemetery wedged between a big box store and a couple of fast food joints, the tattoo parlor's move from the back alley to Main Street, and his pet peeve-structures designed to minimize litigation-like a school playground that looks like a prison exercise yard after the lawyers got through with it.

FAR FROM HOME

The Emigrants is a singularly original and compelling novel. It challenges the very nature of fiction in the way it uses the actual to enhance the narrative, especially in its use of photographs. The lives of four exiles, a retired surgeon, a schoolteacher, an artist, and a valet, are recounted. All are Jews haunted by the Holocaust they escaped. Their memories are a way to meditate on a century of upheaval and tragedy. Susan Sontag says, “Bewitching in its subtlety, sublime in its directness and in the grandeur of its subject. The Emigrants is an irresistible book.”

THE EMIGRANTS, by W. G. Sebald, translated from the German by Michael Hulse (New Directions, 1997)

SLEIGHOR DOUBLE IPA

ReaperAle Brewing Co., Vista, California

Golden amber with a foamy cover, Sleighor’s Double IPA boasts an elegant aroma of hops and malt, with a memorable equilibrium. This beer is fortified with complex and well-integrated alcohol content, and hops abound. Bitterness makes a statement as malt and hop flavors prance about the palate. Slieghor ages well under cool circumstances, give or take a year. A beer for contemplative evenings or long sessions of storytelling. After the first 8 ounces, it’s clear: You have found a new friend.

BEER FACT

This Imperial or double IPA has an alcohol content of 9.1%/vol. It uses Columbus hops in the boil, Centennial hops in the finish, and is dry-hopped with a combination of Columbus, Centennial, and Chinook hops.

Sports Fact of the Day 8/2/2010

A fine big-league outfielder from 1950 to '51 and later an outstanding college coach at Florida State and Michigan State, Danny Litwhiler remembers batting against Sal Maglie; "He scared you to death. He'd be scowling and gnashing his teeth, and if you dug in on him, there goes your Adam's apple."

Birthdays:
Leo Boivin b. 1932
Matt Hazeltine b. 1933
Billy Cannon b. 1937
Tim Wakefield b. 1966
Tony Amonte b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Before the Packers beat Denver in Week 8 of 2007, the last team they had beaten in a road game that went overtime was Tampa Bay (in 1983).



http://www.bspcn.com/2007/11/06/9-creative-staircases/
Watch Your Step
How about these for creative ways to get up and down-a staircase that doubles as a bureau, a musical staircase at the Sony Building in Tokyo, Japan, a fantastic spiral staircase carved out of a giant tree trunk, a staircase suspended over a gorge in Switzerland, and every child's dream-a spiral staircase with an attached slide for the downstairs trip.

REMEMBERING HISTORY

Author Clive James tells us in his introduction that it took him 40 years to write this book. And the effort pays off: This man has not been sitting around watching I Love Lucy reruns. The alphabetical listing of historical figures imposes a structure on his wide-ranging yet tightly interrelated inquiries into philosophy and culture. It’s like being in a college class with one’s favorite, eccentric, brilliant professor.

CULTURAL AMNESIA: NECESSARY MEMORIES FROM HISTORY AND THE ARTS, by Clive James (W. W. Norton, 2007)

COCOA PORTER

Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub, Idaho Springs, Colorado

This porter pours dark brown, with reddish tints and beige foam—a bit lighter than your average porter, but about on target for a brown ale. Lots of sweet cocoa and caramel malt hang around in the aroma. In the flavor, there’s no indication of alcohol content, but there isn’t a whole lot of that in this winter warmer, which might be classified as a brown porter. No harsh grain bitterness, either, and not much hop character at all; finish is long, but not too sweet, with lots of chocolate flavor. Though honey is featured, it’s indistinguishable from the overall chocolate-cakey, cocoa flavor. A nice dessert porter, very approachable and not too thick or overly sweet.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 7/31-8/1/2010

7/31/1935:
American League pitchers Wes Ferrell of Boston and Mel Harder of Cleveland each hit two homers in separate games. Ferrell, arguably the best-hitting pitcher in baseball history, homer twice and drives in four runs to lead the Red Sox over Washington, 6-4. Ferrell's 32 RBIs this season will set a record for pitchers and his 38 HRs lifetime stands alone in MLB annals. Harder's two homers come in a losing cause to the White Sox, 6-4, Harder will hit only four homers lifetime.

Birthdays:
Curt Gowdy b. 1919
Hank Bauer b. 1922
Vic Davalillo b. 1936
Leon "Bull" Durham b. 1957
Kevin Greene b. 1962

Packers Fact:
Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila's nickname is "KGB".

8/1/1973:
The New York Nets obtain Julius Erving from the cash-poor Virginia Squires for $750,000 and sign him to an eight-year contract for $350,000 per season. After the electrifying "Dr. J" leads the Nets to two ABA titles in three years, the cash-poor Nets will be forced to deal him to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Birthdays:
Harold Connolly b. 1931
Cliff Breach b. 1948
Kiki Vandeweghe b. 1958
Gregg Jefferies b. 1967
Stacey Angmon b. 1968

http://containment.greententacles.com/
Convention Finder
It's the ultimate geek's website. Put any zip code in the U.S.A. into the search box and find out where the nearest science fiction or comic book convention is happening at that moment.

http://www.chickensuits.com/Chicken-Costumes-and-Suits-Home.html
Chicken Suits
There are a zillion places on the Web to purchase the latest fashions for your dog or cat. Why should chickens go without?

A BOOK LOVER’S MYSTERY

The book in question is a medieval illuminated codex known as The Sarajevo Haggadah. Rescued from destruction during the Bosnian war of the 1990s, it is given over to rare book conservator Hanna Heath, who tries to unearth its history and mysteries: its origins in 1480 Seville, its survival of the Spanish Inquisition and several wars as well. Hanna also has more immediate concerns, such as her relationship with her mother and her love affair with the Muslim librarian who saved the book. Geraldine Brooks has written a page-turner that is both intriguing and thoughtful.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin, 2008)

SAMUEL ADAMS BROWN ALE

Boston Beer Co., Boston, Massachusetts

Attractively clear, with a deep amber-brown color and an inviting, tan-tinged head of foam, Samuel Adams Brown Ale invites the commercial market to try a classic yet under-recognized style. Mild malty aroma and wonderfully accomplished hop flavor and balance result in a highly drinkable brown ale. Clean, crisp, and refreshing, countered with a welcome, chewy aftertaste.

BIERE DU CORSAIRE

Brouwerij Huyghe, Melle, Belgium

Perfumy, fruity alcohol with some spicy notes and some heady, volatile fumes. Lots of chunky sediment floating around in the glass. At 9.4%/vol., Bière Du Corsaire is a beer to be reckoned with. The flavor is complex—spicy and dry—but alcoholic heat really takes over in the end.