Archive for December, 2013

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Merry Christmas from the Austin American-Statesman.

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013

It is the most celebrated letter to the editor and its reply the most celebrated editorial in American journalism.

Yes, that one.

In the summer of 1897, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon sent a letter to The New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. An editorial writer named Frank Church was assigned the task of answering Virginia’s letter. Church’s response, published anonymously Sept. 21, is a Christmas classic.

Please, good sirs, do go on.

This story continues on our new premium website for subscribers, MyStatesman.com.

Oh.

Or you could read it on the Newseum website. On on the New York Daily News website. Or any number of other places where they don’t charge you to read something that (I strongly suspect, but you never know with US copyright law) is in the public domain.

Posted in Christmas, Clippings, Media | Comments Closed

Behold!

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013

The awesome power of cheese!

“You want to use provolone or mozzarella,” said Jeffrey A. Tews, the fleet operations manager for the public works department, which has thrice spread the cheesy substance in Bay View, a neighborhood on Milwaukee’s south side. “Those have the best salt content. You have to do practically nothing to it.”

Posted in Clippings, Food | Comments Closed

Obit watch: special oh Mikhail you’re so fine edition.

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013

Mikhail Kalashnikov: NYT. LAT.

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Obits | Comments Closed

Nobody knows…

Monday, December 23rd, 2013

You don’t often see $300 items at the supermarket. Especially in the produce section, as opposed to behind a locked cabinet in the wine department. (I’m not sure, but I don’t think even the highest-end champagne HEB stocks hits the $300 mark.)

truffles

Posted in Food, Photography | Comments Closed

The story you are about to hear is true.

Monday, December 23rd, 2013

The names have not been changed to protect the innocent.

One night in 1962, a young police officer was working Vice out of Wilshire Division.

We were trying to bust after-hours drinking spots engaging in illegal alcohol sales, prostitution and drug activity. I had been the undercover operator on a recent takedown, and on this particular night our sergeant and one vice team were trying the same tactic on a second persistent offender, this time in a residential area. My partner and I, along with another vice team, were providing backup, out of sight but on the tactical radio frequency.

The vice cops pulled over a cab that had two men in it.

One of the men was Lenny Bruce. The other man was a then unknown actor named Peter O’Toole. And the vice cop was Joseph Wambaugh. Click through for the whole story.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

I have a new (second) favorite Christmas song.

Saturday, December 21st, 2013

Second because it is hard to replace “Fairytale of New York” in my affections. Hattip to LawDog for this:

This is not suitable for children, or adults who have no sense of humor. And I would buy this in a heartbeat if it was available on iTunes or Amazon.

Posted in Christmas, Music | Comments Closed

Random notes: December 21, 2013.

Saturday, December 21st, 2013

I’d never heard of Ned Vizzini until yesterday; this isn’t a shot at him, I just don’t read a lot of YA fiction. But this is just sad and awful.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).

The WP reviews “Chris Burden: Extreme Measures”, a retrospective of his work. I believe Mr. Burden and his work have come up here before, but for those who don’t remember…

In 1971, in a bare gallery space in Santa Ana, Calif., artist Chris Burden filmed himself being shot with a rifle. The bullet went through his left arm, causing more damage than expected. The moment after he was shot, the boyish young man with short-cropped hair staggered forward a few steps as if stunned by pain or shock, and was photographed later with blood dripping from the wound. In the previous few years, tens of thousands of men his age died in Vietnam, and the performance, titled simply “Shoot,” obviously had something to do with the political climate since 1968.

Unmentioned because it isn’t really relevant, but: Burden’s performance inspired one of Laurie Anderson’s early works, “It’s Not the Bullet That Kills You (It’s the Hole)”.

Posted in Art, Books, Clippings, Guns, Obits | Comments Closed

Better Red than…

Thursday, December 19th, 2013

Darden Restaurants Inc. said it would separate itself from its Red Lobster business while halting expansion at Olive Garden and stopping acquisitions “for the foreseeable future.”

More:

Darden said the Red Lobster move may take the form of a tax-free spinoff to shareholders or an outright sale.

The last time I went to Red Lobster, it was kind of a disappointment. And the last two times I’ve gone to Olive Garden, I’ve walked out before even getting a drink. Maybe this is what Red Lobster needs.

Obligatory: the all-you-can-eat crab legs story.

Obligatory 2: make your own cheddar biscuits at home.

Posted in Bread, Clippings, Food | 3 Comments »

TMQ Watch: December 17, 2013.

Thursday, December 19th, 2013

You know that comment we made yesterday, about “Start writing or stop talking about it” being pretty good writing advice?

This week’s TMQ after the jump…

(more…)

Posted in Apple, Cars, Clippings, Cycling, Geek, Guns, Mixology, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch, TV | Comments Closed

Speak up, I can’t hear you.

Wednesday, December 18th, 2013

If you must know, I was looking up the “Ding Fries Are Done” meme when I stumbled across this entry at KnowYourMeme: The Family Guy Effect.

The Family Guy Effect is a postulated phenomenon asserting that when Internet memes are showcased on the animated television show Family Guy, the meme will see a brief burst in popularity, followed by an immediate sharp decline. Prior to being associated with Internet meme overexposure, the Family Guy effect was used to describe how a joke becomes less funny when repeated over time.

You. Don’t. Say.

Posted in Geek, TV | Comments Closed

Tickling my fancy.

Wednesday, December 18th, 2013

By the same token, Mr. Osin said, the flame had set people on fire only on three occasions, and never in a hazardous way. “It’s not dangerous,” Mr. Osin said. “It didn’t even damage the garments of the torchbearers.”

I don’t know why I find “the Olympic torch has only set people on fire three times” so funny, but I do. It reminds me of the line from the Spinal Tap commentary track about the pods working…maybe 70% of the time, but Marty DiBergi had to pick one night they didn’t work and make a big deal out of it…

Also tickling my funny bone:

The Olympic flame is not eternal, but is relit a few months before each Olympics, said Bill Mallon, a former president of the International Society of Olympic Historians. It originates in the temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, where it is ceremonially lit by “supposedly Greek virgin priestesses,” Mr. Mallon said, using the sun’s rays via a parabolic mirror.

“supposedly Greek virgin priestesses”? I’m not sure I want to think about that.

Posted in Clippings, Sports | Comments Closed

Wild, wildlife.

Wednesday, December 18th, 2013

Residents in Sunset Valley are being warned by city officials to keep their dogs away from the nature trails due to increased coyote activity in the area.

(For folks unfamiliar with Austin, Sunset Valley is an independent municipality located on the south side of town.)

Gee, if only there was some other solution to the problem of coyotes attacking dogs…

Posted in Clippings, Guns | 2 Comments »

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