DailyDouble84

and Buttercups.

Thanks for all of the stuff you sent this week.  Let’s start with a poem, to change things up.

Sober Song

by Barton Sutter

Farewell to the starlight in whiskey,

So long to the sunshine in beer.

The booze made me cocky and frisky

But worried the man in the mirror.

Good night to the moonlight in brandy,

Adieu to the warmth of the wine.

I think I can finally stand me

Without a glass or a stein.

Bye-bye to the balm in the vodka,

Ta-ta to the menthol in gin.

I’m trying to do what I ought to,

Rejecting that snake medicine.

I won’t miss the blackouts and vomit,

The accidents and regret.

If I can stay off the rotgut,

There might be a chance for me yet.

Thank you, Tami T., for sharing this poem from one of her favorite poets, Barton Sutter.  Here is a link to a collection of Sutter’s work.

(Observer photo by Sari Goodfriend of Malcolm Gladwell.)

Interesting piece by Malcolm Gladwell about overconfidence.  I’m sure you know this already, but Gladwell is always a must read.  I think, we are in the glory days of magazine writing.  (NewYorker)

Montelimat - Mont Ventoux (Stage 20) is the penultimate stage in the 2009 Tour de France.  I’m excited to watch the riders ascend this baby. (ESPN)

Lots of crazy news (corruption) coming out of “The Garden State.”  Tell me how fictional The Sopranos looks after reading these stories?  (NYTimes) (Economist - Great lead in this story!)

Congrats, Rickey!  Henderson is being inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend.  He was known for his high self-esteem, and his, um, way with words.  Some of his best moments have been collected at FANIQ, this is my favorite:

“Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.” (FANIQ)

Rickey’s induction speech should be priceless!  I can’t get enough of this guy. (SFGate)

Leitch must be loving this.  Ugh.  Jim Hendry (Chicago Cubs GM), your turn.  (St.LouisToday)

How about something a little different … Tomorrow (July 25, 2009) is the 7th Annual Rubber Duck Collector’s Convention.  This blog is one of the funnier themes I’ve seen in a while.  (duckshow)

Dave Eggers has a new book out, Zeitoun.  This non-fiction work looks at the true story of a New Orleans resident days after Hurricane Katrina.  The book looks scary good.  I know, his style has changed since his 2000 best-seller A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius, but, Eggers is still on top of his game.  How about we add this to our Summer Reading list?  (Amazon)

As a follow-up, here is a link to Eggers being interviewed by Salon.

In Minnesota, we had a Governor who was a Professional Wrestler.  Currently, we have an ex-SNL writer for a U.S. Senator.  I think, Fort Myers Beach, Florida should learn what a distraction really is.  (Yahoo!)

Seriously.  We are still talking about book burning in 2009?  Come on, West Bend, WI.  (CNN)

Photo of the Week:

Thanks to TheBigLead for supplying this screenshot of Jeff Francouer trying to catch (hide from) a fly ball this week.

Tweet of the Week:

I just saw that Lebron James sex tape. All it is is a sweaty black dude dunking over him? WTF? mookiewilson86

Finally …

A piece about coverage of sports teams.  This is a great read for anyone who has a favorite team, in any sport.  Also, the story points out how the world of sports journalism is ahead of the curve on using the vast talent in the freelance writing world.  Bravo!  (SportsBusinessJournal)

Good week.  Have a nice weekend.  Lots going on.

Yes, that is a shout-out to Ari Gold and the Entourage crew.  Just finished watching season five on DVD.  Not great, but good.  I think it is what you expect it to be.

Lots of good stuff on the interweb this week.  Thank you to everyone who has posted something, or alerted the rest of us to something interesting.

Thanks to AnonymousTipster, for sending this pic.

Here we go …

Nice!  I have been saying this for years - not to schoolchildren though, sorority wellness conventions, sure. (Fox News)

Arctic Goo?!?!  I am not sure anything is scarier than finding an ooze.  Good Luck, Alaska.  (ADN)

Check out this ladies laugh.  Annoying? Or Endearing?  (Thanks to the sister of dd84, Katie, for the link.) (wpxi)

Good journalism done on this story.  Review of the happenings at the Minxx Gentleman’s Club, in Las Vegas, on the weekend of the 2007 NBA All-Star Game - three people were shot, including a bouncer, who was paralyzed from the waist down.  Nothing about this is safe for work, or for children. (Review-Journal)

Another idea to save newspapers. (cjr)

Anybody out there own a Kindle?  I’m still to attached to the feel and experience of a physical book.  But, I like the idea.  Looks like the PR people at amazon have some explaining to do?  When Summer of … - the working title for my memoir - comes out, I will make sure that I have a clause preventing my book from being taken away from paying customers. (zdnet)

Fo all of those horse racing fans out there, the “Monkey Crouch.” (ScienceMag)

Roger Ebert should let us know how he really feels about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. (SunTimes) Here is Ebert’s lead:  (Thanks to long-time reader Pete for this tip.)

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a dog-like robot humping the leg of the heroine. Such are the meager joys. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.

And finally …

Photo of the Week! (Strib)

Working on some DVD reviews (Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, 12) for next week.  Any films, in particular, you are interested in hearing about?