Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/29-31/2010

3/29/2008:
Don Newcombe, Duke Snider, Carl Erskine and Wally Moon are just a few of the former Dodger players who mingle with the fans at a special exhibition game held by the Dodgers to celebrate their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. With the world champion Boston Red Sox providing the opposition and all proceeds earmarked for ThinkCure, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's cancer research foundation, a turnout of 115,300-believed to be a world record-packed every inch of the Olympic Coliseum. The Red Sox win the festive encounter, 7-4.

Birthdays:
Walt Frazier b. 1945
Teofilo Stevenson b. 1952
Earl Campbell b. 1955
Brian Jordan b. 1967
Jennifer Capriati b. 1976

Packers Fact:
Before Greg Jennings in 2007, the last Packers' wide receiver to reach double digits in touchdown catches in a season was Javon Walker (2004). Jennings and Walker both had 12 scoring receptions.

Addressing distinct generational differences between the innings worked by relief pitchers 20-30 years ago and the modern persuasion of limiting "closers" to one inning of work per game, Hall of Famer Goose Gossage skoffed: "It was grueling, the way we were used. We were abused. Nobody worried about our arms falling off. I didn't. I don't agree with pitch counts. I never have. I don't need a pitch count to tell me if a guy is tired. They're babied too much nowadays and don't build up any endurance."

Birthdays:
Ripper Collins b. 1904
Willie Galimore b. 1935
Jerry Lucas b. 1940
Dave Ellett b. 1964
Toby Gowin b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Versatile halfback Paul Hornung (1957-1962, 1964-66) notn only was an effective runner, pass catcher, and kicker, but he could pass, too. Five of his 55 career pass attempts resulted in touchdowns.

3/31/1931:
Plunging America into mourning almost on a par with the death of a sitting president, peerless and beloved Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne is killed in a plane crash in Kansas. The cause is later ascribed to construction defects and metal fatigue at key junctures in the aircraft. A living legend at South Bend, Rockne compiled a record of 105-12-5 in 13 seasons with five unbeaten and untied teams, six national championships and a host of strategic innovations that helped put college football on the American sports radar screen. He was only 43 when he died, and his .881 winning percentage remains an all-time college football record.

Birthdays:
Gordie Howe b. 1928
Bob Pulford b. 1936
Ed Marinaro b. 1950
Tom Barrasso b. 1965
Pavel Bure b. 1971

Packers Fact:
The first Packers' player to rush for more than 100 yards in a postseason game was Jim Taylor. He gained 105 yards on the ground against Philadelphia in the 1960 NFL Championship Game.


http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/age/
Your Age on Other Worlds
Here's a site to combat the I'm-getting-older birthday blues. Put in your birth date and find out how old you'd be if you lived on Mars or Jupiter. Remember, you don't want to move any closer to the sun-not just because of wrinkles but because if you're only 50 on Earth, you're more than 200 on Mercury.

http://www.instant-origami.com/
Instant Origami
After years of watching those wizards create spectacular origami with a zillion folds and a scissor, it's refreshing to see this guy just give the paper a couple of good crumples to get his point across.

http://purpleslinky.com/offbeat/seven-of-the-deadliest-delicacies-come-dine-with-death/
Come Dine with Death
At this site featuring seven deadly delicacies, you can watch chefs preparing fugu (whose toxin is so deadly that a single drop can kill), watch a cooking demonstration for Ackee fruit (a pear-like West African delicacy that is fatal if eaten before it ripens), and see if "San Nak Ji" (live octopus) writhing on a plate whets your appetite or gives you the shivers.

YOU WILL LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMESWhat starts out as a book about the Powerball winners who got their numbers from fortune cookies turns into a reportorial tour de force as New York Times journalist Jennifer 8. Lee goes on to explore Chinese food, the immigrant experience, General Tso, the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and a feast of other ideas, anecdotes, investigations, and reflections. Delectable dim sum for the mind.

THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES: ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF CHINESE FOOD, by Jennifer 8. Lee (Twelve, 2008)

THE NAKED MAJA AND THE SLEEP OF REASON

March 30 is Francisco Goya’s birthday, and to mark the day we recommend Robert Hughes’s deeply personal, in some ways even autobiographical, yet scholarly biography of the Spanish genius whose career began with the charm and beauty of majas and musicians, included incredibly perceptive portraits of Spanish royalty, and ended with devastatingly dark paintings of war as he witnessed it. Hughes seems to understand the artist down to his bones.

GOYA, by Robert Hughes (Knopf, 2006)

“WHY ARE YOU SO POOR?”

Whether in nonfiction (Rising Up and Rising Down, 2003) or fiction (Europe Central, 2005 National Book Award), William T. Vollmann is a voice of passion and compassion for the underdog and the downtrodden. On every continent and across several generations, he asked “Why are you so poor?” and collected the stories of people to whom he is uniquely attuned to listen. And he allowed them to speak for themselves, something they are unaccustomed to doing. Vollmann also gives us the benefit of his analysis and conclusions, and they are well worth considering.

POOR PEOPLE, by William T. Vollmann (Harper Perennial, 2008)

AMBRE DES FLANDRES

Brewery Jeanne d’Arc, Ronchin, France

This bière de garde might put you in mind of a bygone favorite, Septante Cinq. It really is almost as good, lacking only in malt intensity. There’s a distinctive cellar character, that musty, corky quality that seems to almost define the style, but not much hop. The finish is somewhat sweet, with less alcohol warmth than you might expect, though at only 6.4%/vol., it’s understandable.

PIG’S EYE PILSNER

Pig’s Eye Brewing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota

This crisp, refreshing, and abundantly carbonated American-style lager almost begs for a hot dog and a football game. Clear, golden, and headstrong with thick yet fleeting pilsener-style foam. A spicy, floral, and alluringly subtle hop aroma has just a hint of sweetness. Flavor is stimulating and slightly tart, hop-free.

BEER FACT

Barley, the grain most often used in beer, comes in two types: two-row and six-row, depending on the number of columns of grain on the head of the barley stalk. The kernels on a two-row stalk are fatter, with a lower protein and enzyme content than the smaller six-row kernels—and thus are preferable for homebrewing. Large breweries tend toward the six-row malt; the higher enzyme content helps in converting starch to sugar, a boon when you’re brewing cereal lagers with good amounts of corn and rice.

YOUNGER’S SPECIAL BITTER

Rogue Ales, Newport, Oregon

HOP TANTRUM EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER RECIPE FOR 5 GALLONS

7 lb. light malt extract syrup
8 oz. 120L crystal malt
8 oz. turbinado sugar
½ oz. Horizon hops, 60 minutes from end of boil
½ oz. Goldings hops, 30 minutes from end of boil
½ oz. Goldings hops, 20 minutes from end of boil
1 oz. Goldings hops, 10 minutes from end of boil
2 oz. Goldings hops, dry-hopped English ale yeast
¾ cup corn sugar for priming

Crack or crush crystal malt. Bring 3 gallons water to 160°F. Place grains in mesh bag and steep in hot water for 30 minutes. Remove grains, add malt extract and sugar, and bring to a boil. Boil 60 minutes, adding hops as directed. Remove from heat and cool. Siphon into primary fermenter with enough cold, preboiled water to make 5 gallons. Add yeast when beer reaches 70–75°F. Ferment for three to six days at 65–68°F. Transfer to secondary fermenter and condition one to two weeks. When finished, dissolve ¾ cup corn sugar into beer, bottle, and age at room temperature for two weeks.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/24-28/2010

3/24/1973:
Looking to capitalize on the box-office potential of many prominent track-and-field stars, a new professional venture known as the International Track Association stages its first meet in Los Angeles. The 12,000 fans who turn out see numerous former Olympians compete in a dozen events. Kip Keino of Kenya defeats Jim Ryun in the featured mile run. Bob Seagren wins the pole vault, Bob Beamon wins the long jump, Brian Oldfield wins the shot put and Lee Evans wins the 500-meter sprint. The new venture will encounter many obstacles, especially from the AAU, which prohibits amateurs from participating in professional meets even if they agree not to accept prize money. As a result, the ITA will fold in 1975.

Birthdays:
Alex Olmedo b. 1936
Pat Bradley b. 1951
Peyton Manning b. 1976
T.J. Ford b. 1983
Chris Bosh b. 1984

Packers Fact:
Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila entered the 2008 season with 74 career sacks. He dropped quarterback Daunte Culpepper (6) more times than any other.

3/25/1961:
Last year's runner-up, the Providence Friars, finally win the National Invitation Tournament with a 62-59 victory over St. Louis at Madison Square Garden. Five-foot, eight-inch sophomore point guard Vinnie Ernst of the Friars wins MVP honors for his clever playmaking and relentless defensive pressure despite scoring only four points against the favored Billikens. Center James Hadnot leads the winners with 18 points, and George Zalucki adds 17. At game's end, hundreds of Providence students who had traveled to the tourney from nearby Rhode Island storm the court to celebrate their school's breakthrough victory.

Birthdays:
Howard Cosell b. 1920
Ken Wregget b. 1964
Avery Johnson b. 1965
Tom Glavine b. 1966
Sheryl Swoopes b. 1971

Packers Fact:
In 11 NFL seasons beginning in 1935, Don Hutson led the league in pass catching eight times.

3/26/1955:
After his handlers abandon the idea of scratching him because of a muddy track, Nashua, with Eddie Arcaro in the saddle, comes from behind to beat Blue Lem by a neck in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park near Miami. The Maryland-bred colt will go 10-1-1 in 12 outings this year, winning the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes and a heralded match race with archrival Swaps. He'll retire at age four and go on to sire 77 stakes winners, including Shuvee - winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup twice and the Filly Triple Crown in 1969.

Birthdays:
Rip Engle b. 1906
Al Bianchi b. 1932
Marcus Allen b. 1960
John Stockton b. 1962
Michael Peca b. 1974

Packers Fact:
Cornerback Al Harris returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown in overtime to give the Packers a 33-27 victory over Seattle in a 2003 NFC Wild-Card playoff game.

3/27/2004:
After struggling to find his shot all game long, John Lucas hits a two-point basket with 41 seconds remaining and a game-winning trey with only seven seconds left to lead Oklahoma State (31-3) to a 64-62 victory over St. Joseph's (30-2) in an NCAA tournament Elite Eight thriller at the Meadowlands. Eddie Sutton's Cowboys out-rebound Phil Martelli's valiant Hawks, 42-24, but can't put them away until Jameer Nelson's three-pointer at the buzzer misses its mark.

Birthdays:
Miller Huggins b. 1879
Wes Covington b. 1932
Cale Yarborough b. 1939
Chris McCarron b. 1955
Michael Cuddyer b. 1979

3/28/1976:
Hubert Green captures his third straight PGA tournament, the Sea Pines Heritage Classic at the Harbour Town Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, by a five-shot margin over Jerry McGee and six over Hale Irwin, Gibby Gilbert and Don January. Green had won the Doral Open in Miami and the Greater Jacksonville Open the last two weeks. These will be his only three victories of the year. The Alabama native will go on to win 19 PGA events, including the 1977 U.S. Open and 1985 PGA championship.

Birthdays:
Vic Raschi b. 1918
Jerry Sloan b. 1942
Rick Barry b. 1944
Lee Elmore b. 1952
Byron Scott b. 1961

Packers Fact:
The Packers did not attempt a two-point conversion in either of Mike McCarthy's first two seasons as coach (2006-07).


http://www.longawkwardpose.com/
Long, Awkward Poses
Here's the instructions: find an unsuspecting victim, tell them you are taking their photograph, film them instead, and submit the video for all to enjoy. The site's tagline says, "Never stop smiling," but the victims often do the opposite when they find out what's really going on.

http://www.disapprovingrabbits.com/
Fierce Bad Rabbits
No matter what you're planning, this decidedly un-merry gallery of rabbits will not approve. With snarky captions.

http://www.fingertime.com/bowman2.php
It's Duck Season
Use your mouse to draw a line for direction and pull-strength, then take aim and try to bring down as many ducks as you can with the bow and arrow.

http://coldwarcalculators.blogspot.com/
Discover Your Inner Strangelove
Everything you always wanted to know about Cold War calculators (air burst effects and the like) but were afraid to ask.

http://sverigesradio.se/p1/src/sing/
Let Them Sing It For You
Lost your voice? No problem. Type your lyrics or message in the box and the wonderful computer mix of voices will sing it for you.

DANCER

Julie Kavanagh, the author of an acclaimed biography of Frederick Ashton and a dancer herself, has produced the definitive book on Rudolf Nureyev, one of the 20th century’s most famous, most notorious international dance stars. She has the rare gift of being able to explain the rarefied world of dance so that those of us who are not of that world can fully understand it; and she has the ability and persistence to dig into Nureyev’s tumultuous personal life so that we feel that this driven, complex man, who lived one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary lives, has been thoroughly revealed to us.

NUREYEV: THE LIFE, by Julie Kavanagh (Pantheon, 2007)

THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

Bursting with life and lust and languages, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao chronicles the immensely obese Oscar, writer of fantasy, doomed but undaunted in the face of his familial history and that of the Dominican people, in a tale that leapfrogs and zigzags exhilaratingly through time and space and ideas. This novel might be the love child of The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love (Oscar Hijuelos) and A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole).

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, by Junot Diaz (Riverhead Books, 2007)

HOOP REALITIES

Paul Shirley has been around the basketball universe, from the Phoenix Suns and other NBA teams to the minor leagues to playing professionally in Spain, Greece, and other exotic venues. He’s got a lot to tell and the wit and savvy to tell it smartly and entertainingly. This book (which began as a blog) is, according to Booklist, “one of the best three or four pro-basketball books ever.”

CAN I KEEP MY JERSEY?: 11 TEAMS, 5 COUNTRIES, AND 4 YEARS IN MY LIFE AS A BASKETBALL VAGABOND, by Paul Shirley (Villard, 2008)

A GOOD SCARE

Foggy Portland, Oregon, is home to some ugly secrets and a serial killer. Detective Archie Sheridan goes to his imprisoned archnemesis Gretchen Lowell, a serial killer who once carved the shape of a heart into Archie’s chest, for help on the case, but at a high price for his own mental stability. Dominick Dunne calls Heartsick “utterly unforgettable.”

HEARTSICK, by Chelsea Cain (St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2007)

RED TRUCK IPA

Palisade Brewery, Palisade, Colorado

Over on the relatively sparsely populated Western Slope of Colorado, it’s nice to know you can still find good Colorado craft beer. Red Truck IPA is a down-to-earth, red-hued, bottle-conditioned ale that has as much in common with English ESB as it does with American IPA. Chewy caramel-malt tones mingle with piney, citrusy American ale hops. The finish is dry, with residual hop astringency fighting off a lingering malt sweetness. Hefty, dependable, and unquestionably American, Red Truck is a keeper.

BEER QUOTE

“Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish. Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.”
—PROVERBS 31:6, 7

FIRESTONE PALE 31

Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, California

Wisp of head. Clear golden color. Remarkable hop aroma, the best of a hybrid American-English combo. In flavor, those hops perform a groovy break-dance on the palate. Malt background lends support and satisfaction, but it’s the dancing hops that perform beer-drinking miracles in this world-class brew. Worth seeking and as good as it gets, in its own unique way. A Bronze medalist at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival in the American-style Pale Ale category.

SCOTCH SILLY

Brasserie de Silly, Silly, Belgium

Not silly at all, and quite balanced for a Scotch ale. The malt sweetness dries immediately, settling into a smooth finish. Dry enough to drink with food, this is more versatile than your usual after-dinner sipper. The alcohol is fruity, with Liebfraumilch leanings. Not as richly malty and clean as some of the Scottish-brewed Scotch ales, but as a Belgian-brewed version, a real success.

HOOKY GOLD

Hook Norton Brewery, Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England

This light-copper bitter begins with the unusual aroma of freshly harvested alfalfa—sweet, grassy, hay-like. At first it seems incongruous, but when backed by a foundation of earthy-sweet malt, it’s actually quite intriguing. The earthiness and floral notes continue into the flavor, with a lot of freshly picked hops coming through. The grassy alfalfa character subsides. The finish is predictably brief and dry, though not terribly bitter. An excellent, unusual Oxford bitter with bales of hop aroma and flavor.

FULL SAIL AMBER

Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, Oregon

Why drink amber? Because you want to taste the beer, not the water! Full Sail’s version is reddish, brilliantly clear, and easy to drink. It doesn’t wallop you with hops, but treats you to a symphony of toasty malt, caramel, chocolate, and—yes—hops. A full-bodied mouthfeel, with enough hop and grain bitterness for a dry finish, without any lingering bitterness or astringency. A good pint from a great brewery.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/22-23/2010

3/22/1952:
Avenging an 81-40 drubbing in Lexington earlier this season, St. John's stuns top-ranked and defending national champion Kentucky, 64-57, in the finals of the Eastern Regional of the NCAA tournament and advances to the Final Four. Center Bob Zawoluk leads the Redmen with 32 points and 12 rebounds. His team is able to control the tempo with a deliberate pace that frustrates the favored Wildcats, who thrive on getting fast-break opportunities. When their leading scorer, Cliff Hagan, fouls out with six minutes left, the Wildcats' comeback aspirations evaporate.

Birthdays:
Billy Vessels b. 1931
Flash Elorde b. 1935
Glenallen Hill b. 1965
Shawn Bradley b. 1972
Marcus Camby b. 1974

Packers Fact:
After coaching the Packers from their first season in the NFL in 1921 through 1949, Curly Lambeau resigned to become the vice president and head coach of the Chicago Cardinals in 1950.

3/23/2008:
Trailing 46-29 with 15 minutes left in a second-round game of the NCAA Basketball tournament, the underdog Davidson Wildcats finish the game on a 45-24 run to upset Georgetown, 74-70. The Wildcats are led by sophomore sharpshooter Stephen Curry, who scores 25 of his 30 points in the second half. Son of former NBA standout Dell Curry, the Davidson star casually decimates the nation's stingiest defensive unit (Georgetown had allowed only 57.6 ppg this season on 37% field goal shooting by the opposition).

Birthdays:
Roger Bannister b. 1929
Geno Auriemma b. 1954
Moses Malone b. 1954
Jason Kidd b. 1973
Mark Buehrle b. 1979

Packers Fact:
The Packers led the NFL when their pass receivers gained 2,294 yards after the catch in 2007. That total represented more than half of their 4,334 passing yards.


http://www.lizhickok.com/

Jiggly City
Explore artist Liz Hickok's scale model of San Francisco, in which all the buildings have been cast in colored Jell-O. Like the substance it's made from, the work is light, sweet, and easy to digest.

http://www.nerve.com/dispatches/nerveeditors/50GreatestComedySketches/01/

50 Greatest Comedy Sketches
Here's a treat you can enjoy for many a break, brought to you by the Independent Film Channel - fifty of the greatest comedy sketches including the Spanish Inquisition skit from Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Coneheads and samurai cook from Saturday Night Live, and the classic "Who's on First?" from Abbott and Costello.

MUMBAI MORALITY TALES

If we are to believe E. M. Forster in A Passage to India and Paul Theroux in this collection of three tales, India is and will long remain an uneasy, uncomfortable, exotic, and slightly scary place for Anglos and Americans. Theroux, who is equally adept at writing fiction and travel nonfiction, unwinds his stories (which are unrelated, except that characters from each spend time in the opulent Elephanta Suite of a Mumbai hotel) with a stately, half-lidded knowingness, never flinching from the grotesque or lapsing into sentimentality.

THE ELEPHANTA SUITE: THREE NOVELLAS, by Paul Theroux (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

THE ROAD TO HAPPINESS

Eric Weiner searched the world over for happiness. He consulted social scientists to learn where it probably did and probably did not reside. And then he traveled to those places. He found that the Dutch were happy and the Romanians weren’t. In Qatar, people are wealthy but seem somewhat depressed, whereas in the long winters of Iceland they are happy if not always sober. And on he roamed, sharing with us, in a very engaging style, his findings along the way. In the satisfying comfort of our living room, we found the quest to be a happy one indeed.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF BLISS: ONE GRUMP’S SEARCH FOR THE HAPPIEST PLACES IN THE WORLD, by Eric Weiner (Twelve, 2008)

FIRE ROCK PALE ALE

Kona Brewing Co., Kona, Hawaii

Kona’s coffee porter is the quintessential commercial example of its genre. That was a limited-release beer, but Fire Rock is one of Kona’s mainstays. While not as unusual, it is rewarding. It pours much darker than most pale ales, with a reddish, almost amber hue—leaning toward the English definition of pale ale, with its profound emphasis on clean, hearty malt and caramel flavors, and just enough hop. Falls squarely into the “I could drink this all day” category, but at 6%/vol., you just might fall off your surfboard.

ORKNEY DARK ISLAND BROWN

Orkney Brewery, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland

The bottle, the pour, the head, the aroma, the flavor, the aftertaste all bespeak of wealth. Dark chestnut brown, with a creamy brown head. Nutty, fruity, toffee and malty aroma and flavor. Not particularly hoppy, but that’s no surprise in this great session beer. At 4.6%/vol., you could enjoy a few without embarrassing yourself. Try it with some sheep’s milk feta, or aged Parmesan and thin sliced sausage.

FROM THE BREWERY:

“The tranquil Orkney Islands, with their fertile farming lands and fishing grounds, have been inhabited for over 5,000 years. The Orkney Brewery is housed in the former schoolhouse in Quoyloo, one mile from Skara Brae in the heart of neolithic Orkney.”

Sports Fact of the Day 3/21/2010

Carving out a legacy of marvelous sports reportage on events as diverse as cliff diving and barrel jumping, Jim McKay always followed a simple credo: "To find the best stories, leave the main road and look down the side streets."

Birthdays:
Tom Flores b. 1937
Jay Hilgenberg b. 1960
Ayrton Senna b. 1960
Shawon Dunston b. 1963
Al Iafrate b. 1966


http://www.flickr.com/photos/junku/sets/303691

Feline Flights of Fancy
These here cats got altitude.

LAGUNITAS CENSORED COPPER ALE

Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, California

Yes, the color of this refreshing ale is true to its name. Topped by a promising head of foam and tinged with crystal and Munich malts, it’s a sweet one, but it’s balanced by an influx of sharp roasted caramel/toffee notes in aroma and flavor and a smooth and compelling hop bitterness. This sparkling red ale is a cause for gentle reminiscence.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/20/2010

3/20/1992:
Iran Barkley wins the WBA light-heavyweight title by a razor-thin split decision over Thomas Hearns at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Barkley stays in close to Hearns, not allowing the Motor City Hit Man to unlimber his potent long-range jabs. Producing the bout's only knockdown in the fourth round and bottling up Hearns against the ropes for much of the fight. Barkley barely earns the verdict on two scorecards, 115-113 and 114-113; the third judge scores it for Hearns, 114-113.

Birthdays:
John Barnhill b. 1938
Pat Riley b. 1945
Bobby Orr b. 1948
Chris Hoiles b. 1965
Mookie Blaylock b. 1967

Packers Fact:
Kicker Ryan Longwell is the only player to score 1,000 points in a Packers' uniform. He had 1,054 points from 1997 to 2005.


http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php
Gender Genie
Type or paste any text in the box and the gender genie will tell you whether it was written by a man or a woman. With an explanation of the algorithm and analysis of your text to show you how the conclusion was reached.

PAST IS PRESENT

Can this novel live up to its long, incantatory, ambitious title (which is a quote from Julian of Norwich)? You be the judge, but we think this is a heartbreaker of a wonderful story: Burt, a dedicated period reenactor and grieving widower, goes to Germany for a birthday bash in honor of Hildegard von Bingen, then on to Prague to make amends with his musician son and, ultimately, his daughter. When forced to confront life in the present, Burt rises, somewhat unwillingly but not without charm, to the challenge.

ALL SHALL BE WELL; AND ALL SHALL BE WELL; AND ALL MANNER OF THINGS SHALL BE WELL, by Tod Wodicka (Pantheon, 2008)

ORLANDO BLONDE ALE

Orlando Brewing Co., Orlando, Florida

Pop. Pfssst. A pressure-reduced fog subsides within the bottle. Pour. Swirl. A moment to rest. Head subsides, leaving behind a light lace on the glass. A blonde’s blonde brew. Pleasant organic aroma. Subtle malt. No hops. Medium body. Pleasantly refreshing taste, evolving after the fact—here come the hops. Quite nice. A hot weather brew with enough hop and malt character to quench and create interest for another. Go ahead.

APCKRFAN's NCAA March Madness bracket 2010

Regional Final picks:
Kansas vs. Ohio State - Kansas
Syracuse vs. Kansas State - Kansas State
Kentucky vs. West Virginia - Kentucky
Duke vs. Villanova - Duke

National Semifinals:
Kansas vs. Kansas State - Kansas State
Kentucky vs. Duke - Kentucky

National Championship:
Kansas State vs. Kentucky - Kentucky

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/19/2010

3/19/1993:
The Southern University Jaguars strike a blow for all unheralded "black colleges" in America by upsetting Georgia Tech, 93-78, in a first-round NCAA tournament game in Tucson. The game brings together a pair of longtime friends and coaching associates, Ben Jobe of Southern and Bobby Cremins of Georgia Tech, and is ultimately decided by Southern's relentless up-tempo offense and pressure defense. The ACC tournament champion Yellow Jackets entered the game as prohibitive favorites, but Southern shrugs off a 14-point first-half deficit and wins going away. Jervaughn Scales leads the Jags with 27 points and 18 rebounds, and Walter Payton's nephew Terry Thames adds 20 points.

Birthdays:
Jay Berwanger b. 1914
Guy V. Lewis b. 1922
Richie Ashburn b. 1927
Joe Kapp b. 1939
Scott May b. 1954

Packers Fact:
During the 2007 season, Brett Favre surpassed John Elway as the winningest quarterback in NFL history. Elway won 148 games as a starter in his career. Favre ended the '07 season at 160 wins.

PHOENIX EUROPE

It’s one of the greatest stories of rebirth in all of history. In 1945 the nations of Europe lay destroyed, starving, and demoralized. Today their economies are thriving and Europe leads the world in numerous measures of prosperity. New York University history professor Tony Judt has written a detailed, utterly engrossing history of how Europe rose from its ashes, focusing on the small countries as well as the large ones. The definitive book on a period that changed the entire world.

POSTWAR: A HISTORY OF EUROPE SINCE 1945, by Tony Judt (Penguin, 2005)

PALO SANTO MARRON

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Delaware

Aged in vats of Paraguayan Palo Santo wood, Palo Santo Marron is a radical brew for off-centered people. Resiny yet smooth. Subtle vanilla-like, roasted malt and cocoa notes in full-flavored, full-bodied experience. Hops are subdued. Process, ingredients, and just-plain uniqueness conspire to present a very drinkable brew in this 2008 Great American Beer Festival Specialty Ale Bronze medalist.

BEER FACT

Also used for the fermentation of wine, Palo Santo, aka “Holy Wood,” aka “Verawood,” has been burned as incense since ancient times by the Incas and Peruvians, who believe in its power to purify and to ward off spirits; its scent is thought by many to have a relaxing effect.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/15-18/2010

While Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach earned notoriety for lighting a cigar when a victory was assured, legendary Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn frequently offered this up when a Lakers victory was "on ice": "This game is in the refrigerator; the door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the Jell-O's jiggling."

Birthdays:
Punch Imlach b. 1918
Norm Van Brocklin b. 1926
Harold Baines b. 1959
Terry Cummings b. 1961
Kevin Youkills b. 1979

Packers Fact:
The Packers' top tackler in the 2007 season was linebacker Nick Barnett. He was credited with 165 stops.

3/16/1974:
A hush falls over the crowd at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, when NC State's high-flying David Thompson crashes to the hardwood midway through the first half of the Wolfpack's bid to win the Eastern Regional of the NCAA basketball tournament. Thompson suffers a laceration requiring hospitalization and several stitches, but even without him top-ranked NC State crushes Pittsburgh behind 26 points and 12 rebounds by center Tom Burleson. Thompson will return to the lineup next weekend and help his team topple UCLA and Marquette to win the national championship.

Birthdays:
Roger Crozier b. 1942
Rick Reichardt b. 1943
Ozzie Newsome b. 1956
Mel Gray b. 1961
Curtis Granderson b. 1981

Packers Fact:
When Ahman Green set the Packers' single-season rushing record of 1,833 yards in 2003, he broke a mark by Jim Taylor that had stood for four decades (1,474 yards in 1962).

3/17/1967:
Although star forward Charles Beasley is held to only 9 points, ,SMU gets 30 points from Denny Holman, including a game-clinching lay-up with three seconds left in the game to upset second-ranked Louisville, 83-81, in the semifinals of the Midwest Regional in Lawrence, Kansas. Fred Holden has 23 points and Jerry King adds 20 for the Cardinals, but their All-American center Wes Unseld and star guard Butch BEard are held relatively in check by the Mustangs, who score a resounding victory for their basketball program, long overshadowed by football on their Dallas campus.

Birthdays:
Sonny Worblin b. 1910
Sammy Baugh b. 1914
Hank Sauer b. 1917
Chuck Muncie b. 1953
Mia Hamm b. 1972

Packers Fact:
The last time (entering 2008P that the Packers won all eight of their regular-season home games at Lambeau Field was in 2002.

3/18/2001:
After becoming the first woman in golf history to shoot a 59 in the second round of this event, Sweden's Annika Sorenstam holds off hard-charging Se Ri Pak to win the LPGA Standard Register Ping tournament at the Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix. Her 72-hole score of 27-under-par 261 sets another LPGA record. Sorenstam will go on to win her fourth Vare Trophy for the lowest strokes-per-round average on tour and her fourth money-earnings title, becoming the first woman golfer to eclipse $2 million in one year.

Birthdays:
Mike Webster b. 1952
Guy Carbonneau b. 1960
Curt Warner b. 1961
Bonnie Blair b. 1964
Brian Griese b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Linebacker Nick Barnett is a top run stopper, but he also notched a career-best 3.5 sacks in his fifth NFL season in 2007.


http://averweij.web.cern.ch/averweij/index.htm

The Die Is Cast
When Caesar uttered those famous words he was referring to the same kind of dice we use today. At this site you can see dice from every period, including ancient dice that Caesar himself would have thrown at the gaming tables, dice with two to one hundred sides, dice made of rubber, wood, gold, and other unusual materials, Braille dice, electric dice, and dice bearing hundreds of different themes including animals, the Bible, U.S. states, and sports like baseball and golf.

http://www.strictlynophotography.com/

Forbidden Pictures
N,o, it's not porno, but it is a collection of photos taken by sneaky shutterbugs in places where photography is banned - like museums and art galleries, church interiors (including the Sistine Chapel), archaeological sites, government installations, rock concerts, sports events, and movie sets. With a bonus gallery of forbidden photos of "No Photography Allowed" signs.

http://www.irelandseye.com/blarney/blarney.shtm

Kiss the Virtual Blarney Stone

You might be stuck in the office this St. Patrick's Day, but you can still bring yourself good luck and eternal eloquence by kissing the virtual Blarney Stone without leaving your desk.

http://scottseegert.homestead.com/

It's A Guy Thing
Patent maven Scott Seegert showcases only the most ridiculous inventions that he claims were dreamed up by the "tiny portion of a guy's brain not dedicated to scratching himself." Be amazed by potential products like "John's Hunting Decoy," a gigantic cow suit big enough for two bird-hunters to hid in, "John's Neck Exerciser," which guarantees injury to anyone standing near the person wearing it, and "Win's Dog Pipe," a two-sided pipe-shaped rubber chew toy that its inventor thought was more dignified than the usual bone. With a gallery of famous inventors and "selfless bonus information" that includes advice on getting a better job that you can't afford to miss.

ET TU, SUETONIUS

Modern-day ruthless dictators should certainly beware the Ides of March. But the rest of us can sit back and enjoy ourselves, communing with that greatest of Roman gossips and muckrakers, Suetonius. He tells us all about that momentous day 2,054 years ago: “Confronted by a ring of drawn daggers, he [Caesar] drew the top of his gown over his face, and at the same time ungirded the lower part, letting it fall to his feet so that he would die with both legs decently covered.” That was a decent Caesar. Wait till you get to Caligula and Nero.

THE TWELVE CAESARS, by Suetonius, translated from the Latin by Robert Graves (2nd century; Penguin Classics, 2003)

HOW IT ALL ADDS UP

If you want to know which players are going to make the winningest baseball team, do you go to an experienced coach and ask him for his considered judgment, or do you go to a statistician and ask him what his computer thinks? Ian Ayres says if you’re smart you’ll go to the statistician. From baseball to winemaking to retailing to medicine, time after time the statisticians outperform the “experts.” Ayres’s accessible and entertaining book tells why that is so and why that’s important for ordinary people.

SUPER CRUNCHERS: WHY THINKING-BY-NUMBERS IS THE NEW WAY TO BE SMART, by Ian Ayres (Bantam, 2007)

HEGARTY’S WAKE

Veronica Hegarty’s favorite brother, Liam, put rocks in his pockets one day, walked into the sea, and drowned. That is the act that propels this novel and that fuels Veronica’s deep, anguished exploration of love and secrets and death in the family. Sounds depressing, perhaps, but Anne Enright’s ravishing prose lifts the story, dark though it is, into the light. The Gathering won Enright the Man Booker Prize for 2007.

THE GATHERING, by Anne Enright (Grove Press, 2007)

DON’T LOOK NOW

Cadence Moran is a blind auto mechanic, a very good one. The secret is her amazing ability to diagnose engine problems by listening. But Cadence’s skill—and other secrets—draws her into the black spiral of a white-knuckle mystery that keeps us guessing, while certain puzzles of her own personality and past form another level of mystery, always hovering around blind corners. Mystery writer Laura Lippman says of The Fault Tree, “An original and gripping work, more proof—as if any was needed—that Louise Ure is an exciting new voice in the mystery field.”

THE FAULT TREE, by Louise Ure (St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2008)

XINGU BLACK BEER

Cervejarias Kaiser, São Paulo, Brazil

The twist-off caps may be a testament to Xingu’s popularity—but this beer’s legacy stands strong. A self-proclaimed “black beer,” it could be called a stout but for its lager-like smoothness and its lack of roasty qualities. It pours black as night, with garnet hues when held up to the light and a beige foam thick enough to make a pint of Guinness jealous. Aroma is slightly fruity, with some buckwheat and maple nuances, and flavor is a heavenly balance of malt, maple, and creamy cereal grains—no roast, very little hops, nothing harsh—a surprise, considering its shade. Xingu is an anomaly, an enigma in the beer world. Mysterious, exotic, and one of the finest gifts you can give your beer-loving friends.

ESTRELLA DAMM

S.A. Damm, Barcelona, Spain

Estrella (“star” in Spanish) is one of the most popular beers in Spain, and for good reason. This premium-style lager comes in a brown-glass longneck, pouring a full gold color in the glass. Malt and floral, hay-scented hops are evident in the aroma, and a relatively dense froth attests to a good malt-to-cereal ratio. Malt is also the main player in the flavor, but a decent hop bitterness finishes things up nice and dry. Yes, this is a good choice for hot dusty summer days, as most quenching premium lagers of the region are, but Estrella Damm has enough bold flavor to make it worth seeking out on any day. Obviously Spain is the best place to drink this, but if you can find bottles that have been imported with care (not heat or light damaged), seek it out.

PRIMA PILS

Victory Brewing Co., Downington, Pennsylvania

It’s always gratifying to see American craft brewers take a classic Old World beer style and make it their own, with standards of quality that meet, and in some cases exceed those of the original beer. Prima, an exceedingly pale German-style pilsener, is a slice of hop lover’s heaven. Noble German hops hit you first with their minty, almost pine-like essence, then dominate the flavor with a clean, resounding punch. Malt is just the canvas in this beer, but it too displays a level of refinement and sophistication. The finish is appropriately dry, but without the puckery astringency of coarser, “catty” high-alpha ale hops. You get the impression that the brewers at Victory don’t cut corners with ingredients—hops of this quality are not cheap, and in Prima they are used lavishly. This is German brewing excellence made right here in the USA.

NUT BROWN ALE

Green Flash Brewing Co., Vista, California

This up-and-coming microbrewery’s Nut Brown has reddish-amber tints, appropriately low carbonation, and a fine layer of yeast (an indicator of bottle-conditioning). As is to be expected, the live yeast has amplified the beer’s fruity ale character, but malt is still the star of the show—caramel, chocolate, and just a slight hop aroma convince your nose that this is going to be a pleasant experience. The flavor doesn’t let you down. Surprisingly dry for a brown, the beer still exhibits the soft, gentle balance of classic English brown ale, and a teasing hop interplay rounds out the complexity.

BEER FACT

Real ale undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle or cask in which it is stored. It is a living product—it doesn’t undergo any sort of pasteurization, so some of the yeast remains dormant, but alive.

Red gains foot overnight; new forecast out at 11 a.m. | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

Red gains foot overnight; new forecast out at 11 a.m. | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

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Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/13-14/2010

3/13/1954:
Newly acquired Milwaukee Braves outfielder Bobby Thomson breaks his right ankle sliding into second base in a spring training game against the Yankees at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg. He'll never regain his pre-injury form, going from a .279 average and 181 homers beforehand to .255 and 83 home runs afterwards. Furthermore, the popular "Staten Island Scot" will walk with a slight limp for the rest of his life.

Birthdays:
Ordell Braase b. 1932
Joe Bellino b. 1938
Will Clark b. 1964
Thomas Enqvist b. 1974
Johan Santana b. 1979

Packers Fact:
Although fourth-year quarterback Aaron Rodgers started just his hfirst game for the Packers in the 2008 opener, only nine players on the club's 53-man roster had been with the team longer than him.

3/14/1971:
Making his debut for the Montreal Canadiens tonight, goaltender Ken Dryden backstops an easy 5-1 win over the Penguins at Pittsburgh. He's so impressive that he quickly supersedes Rogatien Vachon as the No. 1 goalie for the Habs and will not only lead Montreal to an upset of heavily favored Boston in the first round of the playoffs but will also play all 20 games in the posteason as the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup.

Birthdays:
Don Haskins b. 1930
Bob Charles b. 1936
Wes Unseld b. 1946
Kirby Puckett b. 1961
Larry Johnson b. 1969


http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/

Stationary Station
See what happens when a troupe of creative, well-organized improvisational devils execute their plan to have hundreds of people freeze in place for five minutes in the middle of Grand Central Station.


http://thesurrealist.co.uk/feedback

Canned Compliments
For when you're too lazy to do it yourself: Choose how long your praise or rant should be, decide if you'd like it plain or fancy, and then let the feedback generator crank out some platitudes you can paste right into your feedback response.

A CURSE ON BOTH YOUR TIME FRAMES

Evangeline Munroe inherited the fabulous Nightshade Diamond in 1814 and ignored her aunt’s warning that the diamond is cursed. She shouldn’t have, as she learned to her regret from the Marquis of Rawley, a bachelor and a rogue. Years later the present-day marquis and his American former jewel-thief girlfriend find the diamond with a mysterious note of warning from the past. They, too, ignore it. What will become of these foolish romantics? Suzanne Enoch has written “a solid, well-rounded read sure to please fans of both contemporary and historical romance,” said Publishers Weekly (starred review).

TWICE THE TEMPTATION, by Suzanne Enoch (Avon, 2007)

BLUFF CREEK PALE ALE

Six Rivers Brewery, McKinleyville, California

Dark for a pale ale, with a hazy orangey-amber hue. The hops are distinctively American, chewy and catty in the aroma. A good round malt flavor provides a nice counterbalance in this deliciously complex brew, replete with caramel malt, spicy, grapefruity hops, dried fruit, and a nutty toastiness, along with a slight saltiness. Just a little astringent bitterness in the finish. Clean, well brewed, and lots of fun.

AVENTINUS

G. Schneider & Sohn, Kelheim, Germany

Clove and banana mingle with the cocoa sensation of dark roasted malt. Malty, full-bodied smoothness is artfully joined with roast malts and fruity character in this remarkable wheat beer. A strong brew at about 8%/vol., Aventinus just might set you off on a sentimental journey.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/10-3/12/2010

3/10/1977:
Tonight's New York Knicks 108-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden upsets many bettors and results in an investigation by the league office. With his team favored to win by six points in some betting lines, Knicks guard Earl Monroe takes an improptu shot at his own basket at the final buzzer and makes it, giving Portland an additional two points for a final margin of four points. Bettors who had wagered on the Knicks and had given six points on the line lost their bets instead of breaking even. A sheepish Monroe is exonerated of any wrongdoing, but scores of losing gamblers are not amused by Earl the Pearl's curious marksmanship.

Birthdays:
Ara Parseghian b. 1923
Leroy Ellis b. 1940
Austin Carr b. 1948
Rod Woodson b. 1965
Shannon Miller b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Defensive end Aaron Kampman posted 27.5 sacks over the 2006 (15.5) and 2007 (12) seasons. The only NFL player with more in that span was San Diego's Shawne Merriman (29.5).

3/11/1961:
The Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs skate to a 2-2 tie at Maple Leaf Gardens in a game punctuated by a wild brawl with five and half minutes left. It starts when pugnacious Leafs winger Eddie Shack spears Blackhawks defenseman Pierre Pilote, who responds by swinging his stick at Shack. Toronto's Bert Olmstead rushes at Pilote to defend Shack and the donnybrook is on. Chicago's Reggie Fleming squares off with Toronto's Larry Hillman; Shack, feeling left out, tangles with Chicago center iceman Stan Mikita; the benches empty and referee Frank Udvari is overwhelmed. Toronto police, in their street shoes, must enter the ice surface to help quell the nasty fray, which results in eight ejections and numerous fines to the protagonists.

Birthdays:
Louise Brough b. 1923
Dock Ellis b. 1945
Bobby Abreu b. 1974
Shawn Springs b. 1975
Elton Brand b. 1979

Packers Fact:
Sterling Sharpe holds the Packers' single-season record with 12 catches in 1993. At the time, it was a league record, too.

3/12/2008:
Lance Mackey, a 37-year-old throat cancer survivor from Fairbanks, wins his second straight Iditarod sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, by a one-hour margin over four-time champion Jeff King. Mackey's dogs prove to be the difference with their tenacity on the hills and inclines during the race. King's team made up time on the straightaways but not enough to overtake the Mackey team, which made abbreviated rest stops at the multiple checkpoints along the 1,150-mile route.

Birthdays:
Bronco Horvath b. 1930
Johnny Rutherford b. 1938
Darryl Strawberry b. 1962
Steve Finley b. 1965
Raul Mondesi b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Packers' assistant coach Harry Sydney for Super Bowl XXXI played for the 49ers' winning Super Bowl teams in XXIII and XXIV.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhL4nHFwgrE

Viva Chihuahuas!
Tired of being dressed in silly sweaters and carried in pocketbooks, Chihuahuas want to be treated like rreal dogs who chase squirresl, stick their heads out of car windows, and don't have to answer to ridiculous names like Fifi. Come hear their call to revolution at this site.

http://gruppler.dojotoolkit.org/

Exploding Pages
Ever wish you could make that piece of writing you're working on disappear? Here's a whole bunch of effects to make whole pages fade out, disintegrate into blocks, explode into thin air, or cause the letters to just drop off the page.

http://flightsimx.archive.amnesia.com.au/

Paper Flight Simulator
Last week we let you play virtual office basketball. Now let's see how you do with paper airplanes.

BE SELFISH

Treat yourself to the 30th-anniversary reissue of The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins’s first book, and see why H. Allen Orr in the New York Review of Books says, “It is, in my view, the best work of popular science ever written.” Dawkins looked at genetic evolution in a new way, from the perspective of the little guys, the cells and strands of DNA, and ushered in a new generation of science and science writing with this incredibly engaging and exciting book.

THE SELFISH GENE, by Richard Dawkins (1976; Oxford University Press, 2006)

LIKE NO ETHEL WE KNOW

Because Ethel Merman’s career was so long, many people alive today know her only as a buxom belter, not someone to take very seriously. So it’s nice to have this biography, which reminds us that Merman started in vaudeville, opened five Cole Porter musicals, and introduced listeners to an enormous amount of Gershwin and Berlin. There’s good gossip here, and many rumors are debunked through meticulous scholarship. Best of all, Merman’s good spirits are in evidence everywhere.

BRASS DIVA: THE LIFE AND LEGENDS OF ETHEL MERMAN, by Caryl Flinn (University of California Press, 2007)

AIRPORT BLUES

Benjamin R. Ford, stranded between New York and L.A. at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, writes a letter to the carrier that has brought him here and left him. He made a sacred promise to his daughter to walk her down the aisle, he tells the company. He then goes on about his failed marriage, his drinking, his mother’s stroke, the art of his profession (translating), and everything else in the messy grab bag of his life. A truly funny and heartbreaking work that, once finished, leaves you feeling almost grateful that airlines screw up.

DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES, by Jonathan Miles (Houghton Mifflin, 2008)

ISLAND WHEAT ALE

Capital Brewery, Middleton, Wisconsin

Extraordinarily pale, with light foam and a neutral aroma. Locally grown wheat is applied toward an amicable balance, with a hint of complexity that’s unusual in an American-style wheat ale. Light body, clean aftertaste. Well done and worthy of a thirsty situation.

BEER FACT

Island’s wheat is grown on Wisconsin’s own Washington Island (off the tip of famous Door County). Lake Michigan creates a maritime climate, lending the crop some unique characteristics that happily carry through to the drink.

BEER TOWN BROWN

BridgePort Brewing Co., Portland, Oregon

If Detroit is Hockey Town, Portland could make a convincing bid as Beer Town. This American brown ale, winner of a Gold medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup in the English-style Brown Ale category, is one notch in Portland’s belt. Pouring with ample carbonation, it’s rife with a distinct almond aroma meeting malt at the start, following through to a lightly phenolic and still malty finish. Brown is meant to be a session beer, light enough to drink in quantity, but with enough flavor to keep you interested. This one certainly fits the bill, in any beer town.

BEER QUOTE

“Do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and to celebrate the good days.”
—EGYPTIAN PROVERB

BREWMASTERS’ RELEASE 2008 CRIMSON WHEAT

Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, Oregon

It’s always a treat to try a brewery’s special releases—the brewer is free to have some fun and experiment with new ingredients and formulations. This one can only expand on Widmer’s reputation for American-style wheat beer. Newly available caramelized red and dark wheat malts are put to use in a refreshing, bready summer wheat style with a full, round malt flavor and the color of a good red Scottish or Irish ale. Big on body, and with a brilliantly clear, vivid red color, this is no cloudy brew. Crimson Wheat is gentle on the palate, with a smooth, slightly sweet wheat and grain flavor and a neutral, easy finish. Polished, original, and dangerously quick-drinking, this is one new style that deserves to stick around. A great reminder of craft brewing’s pioneering spirit and endless creativity.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/7-3/9/2010

3/7/1967:
The New York Giants obtain quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings for two No. 1 draft choices, one No. 2 pick and future considerations. Tarkenton had requested a trade after his iscrambling style clashed with Coach Norm Van Brocklin's preference for a traditional pocket passer. In five years with the Giants, he'll fail to lead the club into the playoffs, compiling a record of 33-37. Following the 1971 season, he'll be shipped back to Minnesota, where he'll close out his Hall of Fame career.

Birthdays:
Franco Harris b. 1950
Lynn Swann b. 1952
Joe Carter b. 1960
Ivan Lendl b. 1960
Jeff Kent b. 1968

3/8/2004:
Payback is inevitable after Colorado rookie Steve Moore injured Vancouver captain Markus Naslund with a stiff check three weeks ago, but Canucks enforcer Todd Bertuzzi takes it too far tonight at GM Place in Vancouver. In the third period of a 9-2 Colorado runaway, Bertuzzi takes dead aim on Moore, sucker-punches him from behind and then tackles him, face-first onto the ice. Moore suffers three fractured neck vertebrae and a severe concussion, the after-effects of which will preclude his return to pro hockey. Bertuzzi receives a suspension for the balance of the year and is barred from playing overseas during the NHL strike-lockout season that follows. Meanwhile, a civil suit for damages by Moore is still wending its way through the legal system.

Birthdays:
Mendy Rudolph b. 1926
Dick Allen b. 1942
Jim Rice b. 1953
Buck Williams b. 1960
Jason Elam b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Joe Laws intercepted 3 passes in the Packers' 14-7 victory over the Giants in the 1944 NFL Championship game.

3/9/1976:
For the second time in two months, Marvin Haggler loses a 10-round middleweight bout on a decision against a Philadelphia fighter at the Spectrum. Tonight he's outpointed by Willie "the Worm" Monroe. In January he was beaten by Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts. He'll avenge these two losses, the only two setbacks of his career, by knocking out both opponents (Monroe twice) on the way to the middleweight crown in 1980. He'll compile a lifetime record of 62-3-2 with 52 KOs before surrendering his title to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987.

Birthdays:
Jackie Jensen b. 1927
Bert Campaneris b. 1942
Phil Housley b. 1964
Benito Santiago b. 1965
Aaron Boone b. 1973

Packers Fact:
The Packers permitted only 19 sacks in the 2007 season. That equaled the third-lowest mark in the NFL that season and equaled the third-lowest mark in a 16-game season in club history.


http://www.sam-i-am.com/play/5k/expletives/index.html

Shakespearean Insults
Wayward guts-griping wagtail, frothy full-gorged bladder, villainous elf-skinned haggard - who couuld be better than the venerable bard for tossing off amazing insults you can liberally use, royalty free.


http://www.grocerylists.org/

Milk, Sugar, Bread, Coffee . . .
Check out what's cooking in someone else's kitchen at this site, which reproduces hundreds of found grocery lists in their original form and scribbled on everything from fancy hotel stationery to random paper scraps to, most practically, the top of the local store's sale circular.


http://theanticraft.com/archive/beltane08/porkprincess.htm

Crown of Pork
Instead of wrapping a bunch of bacon around a head and calling it a cap, the webmasters give you easy but potentially dangerous instructions for creating your very own bacon tiara. Even if you have no intention of stinking up your house so you can be the neighborhood pork queen, the site's worth a look for the gross demonstration of extruding meat glue and the dire warnings about working with enzymes that blind protein. (Hint: You are made of protein and can end up gluing your lungs together if you're not careful.)

BUT IS IT ART?

Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein and her brother, Leo, Georges Braque, and Erik Satie are just some of the renowned Modernists who populate this wildly inventive graphic novel about murder, blue absinthe, and the birth of modern art. A brash and egotistical Picasso is a standout character (and the depiction of the great artist in the nude has led to obscenity charges being filed in Georgia).

THE SALON, by Nick Bertozzi (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007)

SARAMAGO, AN INTRODUCTION

Portuguese writer José Saramago (b. 1922) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998. His many novels reveal a sense of the magical and the surreal; an interest in myth, history, and politics; a long-phrased, singing style; and a somewhat detached sensuality. Start with Blindness (1995), in which a plague of blindness strikes a city and the blind are sequestered in a moral and physical quarantine. Follow up with Seeing (2006), in which the same anonymous city shuts down after a major civic election elicits only blank votes. Other notable Saramago novels include Manual of Painting and Calligraphy and The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis.

BLINDNESS, by José Saramago, translated from the Portuguese by Juan Sager and Margaret Jull Costa (Harvest Books, 1999)

SANTA FE PALE ALE

Santa Fe Brewing Co., Santa Fe, New Mexico

These guys really know what they’re doing. Santa Fe Pale Ale is bottle-conditioned, and a medium gold in color. It boasts some big malt aroma, with fruity nuances from its particular strain of yeast. A good hop character rounds things out. Hops make a better showing in the flavor, finishing strong, with a distinct lingering dryness. This is no bland summer quencher—too much going on, though it is refreshing. Crisp, balanced, and richly flavored.

BIG SEA ESB

Free State Brewing Co., Lawrence, Kansas

Big Sea ESB is big in every way. Bold caramel and hop aromas rouse the senses, with some roasty complexity emerging as well. The earthy, pungent English malt character is sweet and mouth-filling up front—homebrewers will recognize the distinctively rich 80 Lovibond crystal malt. Hop and grain bitterness balance nicely, and the long, malty finish comes in with a slightly grainy bite. Complex and satisfying, Big Sea Extra Special Bitter delivers oceans of flavor, with enough balance to avoid heaviness. A beautiful reddish-chestnut in color, with a tight beige head that leaves a good lacework of foam on the glass, this is another fine offering in Free State’s already delicious lineup.

BITBURGER PILS

Bitburger Brauerei, Bitburg, Germany

The closer you get to the brewery, the better the beer tastes. “Ein Bit” is terrific in and around its home. Lucky for us, this beer travels reasonably well, and when it has retained most of its freshness it’s a treat to behold. Topped with an attractive and lasting dense white head of foam, it shines at a cool 50–55°F. Drink it ice-cold and you’ll miss the intriguing malt and hop nuances, the perfect balance between sweet malt character and floral, earthy hop notes. Inhale while you sip. The mingling of aroma and flavors is music unto itself.

BEER FACT

Due to the growth of the specialty beer segment, the U.S. now hosts more breweries than any other country in the world.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/6/2010

After being eliminated at the French Open and hooted off the court by a Parisian gallery forced to endure her screeches and shrieks with every ball she struck, Maria Sharapova rationalized: "I can't please everyone. It's not part of my job description."

Birthdays:
Willie Stargell b. 1940
Dick Fosbury b. 1947
Sleepy Floyd b. 1960
Shaquille O'Neal b. 1972
Erik Bedard b. 1979

Packers Fact
Don Hutson caught 14 passes in a game against the New York Giants in 1942. That still stood as the club record heading into 2008.

http://jeremymayer.com

Carriage Trade
No, they're not robots from the future, they're sculptures created from technology of the past. At this site you can marvel at the fantastic creatures artist Jeremy Mayer fashioned using dismantled manual typewriter parts.

CYBERPUNKS IN LOVE

Computer programmer L. Roxanne Zaborovsky has two men chasing her, distorting her reality field, trying to steal her code, and generally keeping her off-balance. But she’s a canny one and, happily for the reader, knows how to tell her own story. This sizzling mix of sci-fi, cyberpunk, and romance is designed to pull you in from the first page.

WIRED, by Liz Maverick (Dorchester Shomi, 2007)

MONTANA TROUT SLAYER ALE

Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, Montana

The aroma of this bright golden ale begins with malt, deep, mellow, with shades of the classically British Maris-Otter variety. Carbonation and lacework are appropriately light. In the taste, hops begin to betray the difference—this is as an American craft beer. They balance, without overwhelming the delicious malt. No bitter, astringent finish in this big, bold ale with plenty going on, and all of it good. Another fine effort from Big Sky Brewing.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/5/2010

3/5/1977:
Notre Dame plays giant-killer once again at its cozy Convocation Center in South Bend, upsetting top-ranked and unbeaten San Francisco (29-1), 93-82. Donald "Duck" Williams leads the Irish with 25 points, including seven straight in the second half when Notre Dame surges to a 68-60 lead. Coach Digger Phelps had spent several days before this game whipping the ND student body into a frenzy with a pep rally and the creation of a rhythmic chant to unnerve the unbeaten visitors: "29-1, 29-1, 29-1." On game day for the nationally televised contest, the manic crowd totally flusters the west coast quintet and the Irish secure a much-needed victory to gain entry, as an independent, to the NCAA tournament.

Birthdays:
Elmer Valo b. 1921
Scott Skiles b. 1964
Michael Irvin b. 1966
Paul Konerko b. 1976
Wally Szczerbiak b. 1977

Packers Fact:
The Packers' 435 points in 2007 was the third-highest total in club history. The 1996 squad set the all-time mark at 456 points.


http://www.widro.com/throwpaper.html

Paper Shots
It's the perfect time-waster for the office! Hold down the mouse for extra strength, take aim, and toss the paper into the wastebasket. Best of all, you don't even have to get up to clean the little balls off the floor.

EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN A SPY NOVEL

This intricately plotted post-9/11 spy thriller is so gripping because its author, journalist David Ignatius, has a masterful command of the ins and outs of Middle Eastern politics, and because his characters are such fully drawn individuals. The suspense is riveting and the conclusion unexpected, to put it mildly.

BODY OF LIES, by David Ignatius (W. W. Norton, 2007)

CIDER JACK

American Hard Cider Co., Middlebury, Vermont

There are some great hard ciders to be had, especially in New England and the northern reaches of the country. Cider Jack has a low carbonation, just a bit beyond petillant, and pours a pale you’d be hard pressed (get it?) to find in the beer world. The apple aroma is subtle and sweet, with said sweetness carrying through to the clean and inviting but non-complex flavor of this great entry cider. A slight tartness keeps things refreshing by coming in right at the finish.

STYLE TIP

Ciders are generally categorized as French—sweet, rich, and somewhat fruity—or English, drier, and more austere. Unsurprisingly, American ciders typically lean toward the English camp.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/1-3/4/2010

3/1/2006:
After leading the Los Angeles Clippers, 51-47, at halftime at the Staples Center, the New Orleans Hornets go into the deep freeze following the intermission, scoring a new NBA record (post-shot clock) low of 16 points in the last 24 minutes as the Clippers win easily, 89-67. The Hornets score only eight points in the third and fourth quarters, get shut out for over 12 minutes at one stretch and make only one field goal in the last 20 minutes. The Clippers, playing in Buffalo Braves uniforms on retro jersey night, are led by Elton Brand with 25 points and Sam Cassell with 15.

Birthdays:
Harray Caray b. 1914
Pete Rozelle b. 1926
Elvin Bethea b. 1946
Mike Roxier b. 1961
Chris Webber b. 1973

Packers Fact:
From Week 8 in 2007, when he took over as the Packers' top back, through the end of the regular season, Ryan Grant rushed for 929 yards. San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson (947) was the only NFL player with more yards on the ground in that span.

3/2/1999:
Slugging first baseman Orlando Cepeda leads a contingent of four new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, including early-day manager Frank Selee, pitcher Smokey Joe Williams and umpire Nestor Chylak. Cepeda hit 379 homers, drove in 1,365 runs and won the 1958 NL Rookie of the Year Award with the Giants and the 1967 NL MVP award for the world champion Cardinals. Selee won five pennants with the Boston Beaneaters (forerunners of the Braves) in the 19th century and also managed the Cubs before retiring with tuberculosis. Williams pitched 27 years in the Negro Leagues with extraordinary success and a blazing fastball. Chylak was an AL arbiter for 25 years (1954-78).

Birthdays:
Mel Ott b. 1909
Hopalong Cassady b. 1934
Ian Woosnam b. 1958
Terry Steinbach b. 1962
Ben Roethlisberger b. 1982

Packers Fact:
The first Packers' player to lead the league in interceptions was Don Hutson, who had 6 picks in 1940. (He was second in receiving that year to Philadelphia rookie Don Looney.)

3/3/1994:
Pro golfer Phil Mickelson breaks his left leg while skiing in Flagstaff, Arizona, and will be sidelined until late May. Only 23 years old and previously a three-time NCAA individual champion at Arizona State, Mickelson joins an ever-growing list of prominent athletes who've incurred serious injuries partaking of sporting activities that are not within their field of expertise. He'll struggle to regain his form the rest of the year and not win another tournament until next January at a PGA event in Tucson.

Birthdays:
Julius Boros b. 1920
Randy Gradishar b. 1952
Jackie Joyner-Kersee b. 1962
Herschel Walker b. 1962
Brian Leetch b. 1968

Packers Fact:
Don Chandler once unleashed a 90-yard punt. It came in a game against San Francisco in 1965.

3/4/2000:
Jaron Rush hits a baseline jumper with three seconds left in overtime for a 94-93 UCLA victory over top-ranked Stanford at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California, but the basket looks like it was made after the shot clock expired. There's a video review by the officials, and it's determined that the shot clock had not been reset after an earlier UCLA shot grazed the rim. Consequently, the controversial basket counts and UCLA escapes with the upset victory. Rush leads all scorers with 19 points in his first game back from a nine-game suspension for accepting financial stipends "under the table".

Birthdays:
Knute Rockne b. 1888
Dazzy Vance b. 1891
Margaret Osborne duPont b. 1918
"Badger Bob" Johnson b. 1931
Kevin Johnson b. 1966

Packers Fact:
The Packers' No. 2 seed for the 2007 NFL playoffs gave them their first first-round bye in the postseason since 1997.

http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/

Separated By a Common Language
As an American watching a British film, did you ever wish that the movie had subtitles because you could not understand a bloody word they were saying? The blogger at this site understands this predicament, for while both Americans and English speak English, usage can be very different in both countries. At this site you can learn to better navigate both Englishes, learn the origins of many common expressions, and look up terms by topic including food, politics, recreation, and, for those who might be playing with a bunch of British blokes, Scrabble.

http://www.photobooth.net/

Four for a Quarter
The first automated photo booth opened on Broadway in New York in 1925 and has been a staple of amusement arcades worldwide ever since. At this site devoted to every aspect of photo booth culture you can view photo strips uploaded by site visitors, see art created using the photos, learn which movies and TV shows featured photo booths, and get a list of booths all over the world so you can get your picture taken in this ageless and fun medium.

http://www.merzo.net/index.html

Starship Dimensions
In case you've ever wondered how Captain Kirk's Enterprise would stack up against Darth Vader's Death Star, or how big Babylon 5 is compared to the International Space Station, this site has scale drawings of all these vessels, as well as spaceships, space stations, and monsters from Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Forbidden Planet, Alien, and more. With ships and buildings like the Hindenburg or Eiffel Tower to see how the fantasy ships relate to our own world.

DEATH IN VIENNA

In 1902 Vienna a serial killer seems to choose his victims randomly and is murdering them with alarming frequency. Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt enlists the help of a Freudian disciple, Dr. Max Liebermann, to bring some insight and understanding into an impossible case. The relationship that develops between the two is the real reading pleasure in this well-plotted whodunit.

VIENNA BLOOD, by Frank Tallis (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008)

ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Writer Jon Katz takes his initially unwilling wife and daughter away from New Jersey to live in a ramshackle cabin in rural New York State. Turning for inspiration to Thomas Merton, he embraces solitude, makes a new friend, comes to terms with a mountain and a midlife crisis, and finds peace in nature.

RUNNING TO THE MOUNTAIN: A MIDLIFE ADVENTURE, by Jon Katz (Broadway, 2000)

BOOK LOVER’S PICK

This novel, set in the 1920s, is long but oh so satisfying and heartbreakingly funny. Australian father and son Martin and Jasper have, between the two of them, covered an enormous piece of emotional and physical territory in the course of much hard living—which has landed Jasper in prison, writing this epic, crazy, wonderful, brawling, sprawling masterpiece. The Seattle Times says, “Hold on tight because you are about to ride a juggernaut of words . . . and a devastatingly funny outlook on everything human.”

A FRACTION OF THE WHOLE, by Steve Toltz (Spiegel & Grau, 2008)

HE DID WHAT?

The author of Hippo Eats Dwarf and The Museum of Hoaxes takes as his subject strange scientific experiments, many of them attempts to revive the living, exchange or fuse body parts, cross species, and the like. Think Frankenstein written by a surprising number of scientists. Top-notch stuff for lovers of the macabre or, really, almost anyone.

ELEPHANTS ON ACID AND OTHER BIZARRE EXPERIMENTS, by Alex Boese (Harvest Books, 2007)

ALASKAN AMBER

Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, Alaska

Good German alt is a rarity these days, but the brewers at Alaskan Brewing Company have the ancient style pegged . . . A hybrid yeast allows for cold conditioning, resulting in a lager-like smoothness with sturdy malt fullness—a great session beer, easy-drinking, refreshingly light. A stoic crop of off-white foam tops this dark orange brew. Sweet malt in the aroma, with some ale-like fruitiness, but the flavor is long, smooth and pure. At the finish, a hint of sweetness gives way to a wine-like dryness. Buy it in the big 22-ounce bombers if you can find it—you’ll want lots.

BEER FACT

In the U.S. or Canada, a “regional” brewery is one that produces between 15,000 and 1,000,000 barrels of beer annually and packages it off-premises. “Large” breweries produce more than 1,000,000 barrels annually. (One American barrel equals 31 gallons, or two standard kegs.)

LA BINCHOISE 1549

Brasserie La Binchoise, Binche, Belgium

This nice, big beer tastes more French than Belgian, with a cellar character that’s earthy in the bouquet, and even more so in the palate. A rich, residual sugar flavor adds a chewy quality. Not much hop action, and even at 7.5%/vol., warmth is quite subdued. The color is a light copper, probably due to all those dark caramel malts.

SUDS SOURCE

At Faubourg Saint Paul, 38, in the Belgian city of Binche, the Binchoise brewery welcomes visitors for guided tours during weekdays and weekends. In the recently renovated tasting room, guests can taste La Binchoise beer with an open-faced cheese sandwich (or “tartine,” if you’re so inclined).

SUMMER LIGHTNING

Hop Back Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

The UK’s Campaign for Real Ales (CAMRA) has awarded many medals to this bottle-conditioned, unfiltered, and therefore “real” ale. A “hop back,” or “grant,” is basically a sink through which boiled “wort” (not-yet-fermented beer) passes on its way to the fermenters. Whole hops are filtered out so they don’t clog up the works downstream, and the brewer has one more chance to dose up the hop flavor and aroma by adding hops. The result is a fresh, pungent hop character that is very appealing in Summer Lightning. It’s very pale, with a sticky white foam and plenty of English hops in the aroma. Flavor is also quite well spiced with hops, with just enough light malt to provide a base. Finish is dry, with a lovely bitterness that speaks volumes about the hop quality—no clinging, harsh astringency. The stout, stylish bottle and electrifying label aren’t overselling what really is a stellar pale ale.

KAPUZINER SCHWARZ-WEIZEN BAVARIAN BLACK WHEAT ALE

Kulmbacher Brauerei, Kulmbach, Germany

“Dark” isn’t quite accurate for a beer that pours as inky black as a stout or porter, with a startlingly white crop of foam. The hop-free aroma is full of sweet coffee and wheat, and a bit of graininess. The flavor is neutral, lightly smoky, and tart—a surprise. Much lighter in body than it appears, delicate and subtle, too. Not much sweetness, also a surprise, and high carbonation for a dry finish.

BEER QUOTE

“I fear the man who drinks water and so remembers this morning what the rest of us said last night.”
—GREEK PROVERB