Go here, before someone gets sued.

I forget who clued me into this, but it was someone on Twitter.

The website begins, "On Sept. 9, 2009 I experienced something that I still am having trouble believing happened to me. I came into the possession of a cassette tape containing a Beatles album that was never released. I dont expect you to believe what happened to me, I sure wouldn't, but thats why I grabbed the tape as proof that my experience was real."

The download links to a series of remixed "songs" consisting of snippets of Beatles tracks and solo tracks mixed together to make it sound a little as if the band were still making music. It clearly took a lot of effort on someone's part. I haven't listened to all of it yet, but I have found it interesting and somewhat enjoyable.

If you're a Beatles geek like me, go grab it before it disappears. (I can't imagine someone's not going to get sued over this.)

Phil Nugent on 2010

Phil Nugent on the New Year and Year Two of the Obama Administration


"I may not agree with everything Obama has done or will do, but I do believe that he gives a flying [f&%k] about what happens to the people of this planet during his time as leader of its most powerful country. I guess you could argue that's a low bar to set. Thanks again to everyone who, in doing a single thing that helped put [George W.Bush] in office, had a hand in setting it."

100 Words on Andre Dawson

It's Hall Of Fame time, when the baseball writers choose who to admit to the Hall. This year, it's Andre Dawson, an outfielder from 1976-1996. Also, around this time is the caterwauling, when other baseball writers complain that the new choice doesn't belong-that they'd prefer Candidate A or B before this guy. I used to do that, too. But no more. Dawson's in. He's not the best choice, but he's there now, and I'm ok with it. Let's celebrate baseball, and life, for what it is instead of what it's not. Life is too short to worry about that stuff.

Christmas Epilogue

My IPhone has gone from moderately slow and useful to almost totally useless-all of a sudden, it refuses to give me any data over the Edge network. No Twitter, no email, no nothing-unless I am in range of a Wi-Fi signal. I don’t know why this occurred-it was functioning just fine one day, and utterly not the next day. So I may be phone shopping soon, because an IPhone without connectivity is basically a big flat rectangle, and if I can’t connect outside of WiFi, I’m not sure how much use it is to me.
***
My colleague’s elementary school age son, upon watching his Dad taking down the Christmas tree: “Is this the epilogue of Christmas? Do we roll credits now?”
***
Witnessing the chaos created and utter incompetence displayed by our friends in the health insurance industry during the beginning of the plan year period, the notion that the government could possibly do worse than this bunch of clowns is positively laughable.
***
On the baseball front, the Red Sox appear close to a deal for Seattle's Adrien Beltre, who will enter into a very crowded bottom half of the infield, Boston having approximately 711 players to play catcher, first base, and third base. But they'll figure it out.

Every year around this time, I start getting charged up for baseball season-the fantasy preview magazines start to show up, and I start rereading my baseball books. I have already polished off "The Neyer/James Guide To Pitchers", and I'm starting in on "Baseball Dynasties" next. About 45 more days until pitchers and catchers report, everybody!

Well, at least this is kind of neat.

It's Palindrome Day on Twitter.

01-02-2010 backwards is, 01-20-2010.

Does that mean I now have to everything I did today backwards? I hope not. It was painful enough forwards.

***

If some Sherlock Holmes nut tells you that they didn't mention Holmes' cocaine use in the movie, they did-they just came at it obliquely. At one point, Watson says to Holmes, who has just consumed something from a vial, "You know that's intended for eye surgery!" Cocaine hydrochloride used to be used as an anesthetic for eye surgery.

***

My son's theory is that the aliens are coming to kill us all in 2012. My response was, "Well, I guess I won't be worrying about how to pay for your college, then."

2009 Can Suck It

Or, as the immortal Bono once put it, "Nothing changes...on New Year's Day..."

So, we can take 2009 and relegate it to the back of the shelf. It's over. "Put it on the board, yes", as Ken Harrelson says. I posted 5 fewer blog entries in 2009 than in 2008. If this trend continues, I will be posting 1 item per year by 2135 or so. So you have that to look forward to.

It's a semi-quasi fraud of a holiday. People don't go to work because, well, you have to throw out your old calendars, right? That must be the reason. My son actually stayed up to witness the new year for the first time, and now he realizes it is as much of a fraud as flossing your teeth.

Resolutions? Never make promises I can't keep.

Thirty years ago, I can't remember anything significant. Rumor has it it was 1980.

Twenty years ago, I was in college, and very deeply in love.

Ten years ago, I was married with a toddler.

So it goes.

Here's hoping that the nice, round, symmetricalness of the even number, 2010, is better than 2009.

"Things are Sh&^ty..but I'm pretty sure they can't get worse."

-Rent