Bling bling

The following excerpt describes Phil Jackson's longtime girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, also the daughter of the Lakers' owner Jerry Buss. It can be found in the newly released biography called Phil Jackson: Lord of the Rings. 

If Jeanie's Laker Girl reflects the woman's priorities and is not excellent satire, she is obsessed with tacky emblems; her book-long subplot of jewelry borders on the pornographic. The dramatic high point of her story? The morning she was robbed at the Forum on her way to work. "Give me all your jewelry," the man said at gunpoint. She parted with her engagement ring from volleyball player Steve Timmons, a diamond "tennis bracelet," a diamond Presidential Rolex, diamond earrings and a Lakers championship ring studded with diamonds. (Presumably the thief has been living in Monte Carlo ever since, sipping champagne on the beach.)

A human being should...

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Quote of the day

The structure of the book is unusual. It is based on the adage that the second and third most pleasurable things in the world are the drink before and the cigarette after.

From the review of Slavoj Žižek's latest book.

For more Žižek, watch why he believes The Sounds of Music is racist.

How do I get this

Warm donut, Nutella mousse, passionfruit gelatin, fresh strawberries and fresh kiwi.

Courtesy of Reddit.

Quote of the day: Stan Musial, nicest man in baseball

Bob Gibson once described his teammate, "Stan Musial is the nicest man I ever met in baseball. And to be honest, I can’t relate to that."

He also won the MVP award three times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Learn more here.

Just lose

You know that person. The one who is never wrong. The type that digs in their heels no matter what someone else says. The one who, when they are wrong, are more right. 

This article makes a point that the person who loses an argument is actually the winner. Why?

Because they came away with a new belief, that is well thought out and convincing.

“Suppose you and I have an argument. You believe a proposition, P, and I don’t. I’ve objected, I’ve questioned, I’ve raised all sorts of counter-considerations, and in every case you’ve responded to my satisfaction. At the end of the day, I say, ‘You know what? I guess you’re right.’ So I have a new belief. And it’s not just any belief, but it’s a well-articulated, examined and battle-tested belief. Cohen continues, “So who won that argument? Well, the war metaphor seems to force us into saying you won, even though I’m the only one who made any cognitive gain.

Headline of the day

Deadspin's headline made me smile: 

Sorta Photogenic Man Plays Basketball On Ridiculously Photogenic Donkey

And you know what, the donkey is photogenic.

Everything you wanted to know about cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese originally comes from the village of Cheddar in South West England. The cheese is actually PALE YELLOW, not orange.

More here.

The males are showing off

Our friend Lance Mannion tells a story about woodpecker trouble:

Uncle Merlin called in from the Cape this morning to report he’s having woodpecker trouble. Judging by his description, a female downy has punched a hole in the eave of his house. He wanted to know how to drive her away. 

“I can’t have her building a nest in there and having babies.” 

I assured him that’s not what was happening. Downies don’t nest until the spring. What she’s doing is building a little apartment for herself for the winter. 

Uncle Merlin was not mollified. “Well, I don’t want her banging away up there all winter either.” 

She won’t be doing any banging. 

“I heard her!” 

When? 

“I don’t know. Last time I was down here. Two weeks ago?” 

That might not have been her. 

“Of course it was her. It’s her hole!” 

It didn’t take her two weeks to make that hole. A day, tops, and she did it quietly. Lots of poking and pecking with her beak. But no banging. That’s not how they work. The banging you heard was probably a male woodpecker showing off.

Rest of the story here.

I'll let the teens take this one