Scioscia's Tragic Illness Made Us Smile...

At long last, a detailed sabermetric analysis of Waylon Smithers' selections of ringers for the Springfield Power Plant team. It should be noted that the lineup only counts two current Hall-of-Famers (Ozzie Smith and Wade Boggs) and two very likely ones (Roger Clemens and Ken Griffey, Jr.) Given his resources, he should have done better.

Frankly, the C. Montgomery Burns selections were much better, even if they included guys that had been dead for 130 years. It's hard to believe now that the Simpsons used to make really obscure references like the one to Jim Creighton. Somebody on the writing staff must have read the Bill James Historical Abstract.

Why your drink takes a long time to arrive

Using Disney's works to explain copyright

OK Go have too much time on their hands

This can't be one shot. Two, maybe?

Finches rock out

Apparently I'm on a "cute animals playing kick-ass rock 'n' roll" tear these days.

From The Guardian:

French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot has strategically placed plugged-in electric guitars as perches, and cymbals containing water and seeds as feeders. As the birds fly around and land on the instruments, or even wipe their beaks on the strings, the visitor will hear the amplified results.

Look out, Thurston Moore!

Crocheted Japanese animals play surf music

Merry Xmas, Everybody

Here is a list of Ireland's three greatest cultural achievements in reverse order:

3) James Joyce's Dubliners;

2) Guinness stout;

1) This old toothless drunken dude's little Christmas song.

This Business of Show

So some dude is making a film about the Replacements called Color Me Obsessed. The gimmick is that he is partially funding it with money raised from the general public. There are, of course, a number of contribution levels. For a mere $30, you get a "Special thanks to" listing in the film and a DVD of the finished product. For $500, you will get listed as an Associate Producer and be included in the film's currently non-existent IMDB page. For $2,000, you will be an Executive Producer, have your story about the Replacements included in the film and be invited to the film's premiere, presumably to be held in Minneapolis (or St. Paul.)

I'm thinking I need to put in at least $30 for this thing. Unless we decide to start TNPP Films, in which case we can pitch in $50 and get the 11" x 17" poster for our production office.

Autotune is dead

and Herbert Midgley killed it.

Then and now

"calling 1-8-7 on a motherfucking carp"