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It's Christmas Time in the City
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Ronnie Delivers the Spirit of Christmas
Another great time at Ronnie Spector's annual Christmas Party at B.B. King in Times Square. Last night, however, was made even more special by the inclusion of Michael's godmother, Janet, and her son Frank. Ever since I first took Michael to see the lead Ronette some 10 years ago he has been saying how much he would love it if he could Janet there. His aunt was the quintessential '60s girl -- teased beehive, knee-high boots, convertible Cadillac El Dorado and the radio ALWAYS blasting the latest Top 40 hits. He knew she's love seeing Ronnie after all these years, and despite an afternoon fall on her son's front porch and a long haul from Long Island, the night ended up going off without a hitch. Everyone had a great time -- so much so, in fact, that Michael's sister Rosie got teary-eyed at the sight of her brother being so happy. I felt the same way.
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Morning Wood
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Song of the Day: 'Celeste' by Ezra Vine
Getting to the bottom of this delightful pop song was no easy task. I heard it in a Korbel commerical, which led me to an artist called Les Enfants. It (now) seems that name -- which turns out to just be one guy -- ran into some kind of copyright problem, which got the video reposted ander the name Ezra Vine, who apparently was a contestant on "New Zealand's Got Talent." Indeed.
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Exemption Clause
I'm hoping to skip stages 3 and 4 ...
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Jock Itch
Screw the bicentennial -- this Jockey underwear campaign was my favorite memories of 1976. Can you imagine if they got 16 athletes from today to do it all over again?
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Page 1 Consider (12/23)
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Quote of the Day
“I don’t know how much lower we can go when you see Barbara Walters sitting with those toothless morons. Why should we even know about them? Why should we be intrigued by them? I’m not sure where we are headed.” -- Sandra Bernhard on the octogeniarn newswoman's inclusion of the cast of "Duck Dynasty" on her "Most Fascinating People of 2013" special.
Read HERE.
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Coco Peru-sing the Aisles at Big Lots ... in the Valley
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Gold-Plated Balls
Winklevoss twins up for membership at posh tennis club
I sure hope the boys can get approved -- they're only worth $18 trillion thanks to that jerkoff Mark Zuckerberg.
The New York Post reports:
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — who co-founded the precursor to Facebook before Mark Zuckerberg came along — are up for membership at the snooty Racquet & Tennis Club on Park Avenue. The names of the Winklevii, as they are collectively known, are listed on the bulletin board at the landmarked McKim, Mead & White clubhouse, to be voted on at the next election for new members. The 6-foot-5 identical twins, who grew up in Greenwich, Conn., and rowed crew for Harvard, are thought to be shoo-ins at the WASPy, men-only institution — despite the way they were portrayed by Armie Hammer in “The Social Network.” One member told me, “Maybe they’re planning a Facebook for the R&T and hoping it’s one place that Zuckerberg can’t get in.”
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Alan Turing, Enigma Code-Breaker and Computer Pioneer, Wins Royal Pardon for 'Homosexuality' Charges
NYT reports:
Nearly 60 years after his death, Alan Turing, the British mathematician regarded as one of the central figures in the development of the computer, received a formal pardon from Queen Elizabeth II on Monday for his conviction in 1952 on charges of homosexuality, at the time a criminal offense in Britain.
The pardon was announced by the British justice secretary, Chris Grayling, who had made the request to the queen. Mr. Grayling said in a statement that Mr. Turing, whose most remarkable achievement was helping to develop the machines and algorithms that unscrambled the supposedly impenetrable Enigma code used by the Germans in World War II, “deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science.”
The British prime minister, David Cameron, said in a statement: “His action saved countless lives. He also left a remarkable national legacy through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the ‘father of modern computing.’ ”
Mr. Turing committed suicide in 1954, two years after his conviction on charges of gross indecency. He was 41. In a 1936 research paper, Mr. Turing anticipated a computing machine that could perform different tasks by altering its software, rather than its hardware.A biopic about Turing, "Codebreaker,"was released in 1012.
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Morning Wood
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The Sandyland Diaries
My pal Tim Murphy's Q&A with Sandra Bernhard for T magazine is worth a read HERE -- my favorite part of which is here:
I remember seeing you in college and being aghast at how caustic you were to audience members. Are you still like that?
No. I would still be frank and honest and funny, but I’d be more sensitive. I think having a kid and seeing how the world works from that angle, you’re a little more thoughtful and introspective. You don’t want to spend your whole life being bitchy to people. But it worked then, and I’m still able to pull it out if I need to.
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NYT: Turning Tennis Rackets Into Data Centers
The Babolat Play Pure Drive rackets have sensors that measure power and spin as well as the contact point with the ball, and players can download data to smartphones or computers.
My friend Ray tweets "Now there is a tennis racket that can tell you how terrible you are," to which I say, "The scoreboard always did the trick for me." Read HERE.
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Mother of the Year
I'm a sucker for any inter-species relationship -- but this one might be my favorite one ever!
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Song of the Day: '1983' by Limahl
The lyrics are a little more literal than you might be hoping for, but it's got a great beat. And who could blame the KajaGooGoo singer for wanting to go back to 1983 -- he was truly adorable!
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Bat Shit Crazy
This probably doesn't reflect well on me, but it's shit like this that makes my life worth living. Watch "Times Square Batman Flies Off the Handle"HERE and tell me you don't agree.
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Micro-Apartments Could Make You 'Crazy'
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V Dub Love
Volkswagen Microbus 2014
My friend Ken just got a mint-condition VW Bus from the 1970s and started touring the country, but I would feel much safter in THIS!
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Give Me a Break
Enough Anxiety to Fill Two Books
Stossel Family Problems Spelled Out in New Releases
Scott Stossel and his sister, Sage -- who both work for The Atlantic magazine -- have each written a book that reveals how anxiety disorders have gripped their family. (The family is NOT pleased.) Although they trace their problems to a variety of sources, having John Stossel as your uncle seems like the more logical place to start to me. Read HERE.
"My Age of Anxiety: Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind" HERE.
Order "Starling"HERE.
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