Subdivided We Stand Meets Marathon Man

The Good Fight

Have you been watching the Ken Burns WWII series?

We have -- when time (read "when our kids get in the sack" early enough) allows.  It's been pretty good so far.  Maybe not the grand-slam-in-the-bottom-of-the-ninth-in-Game-Seven-of-the-World-Series smash that his Civil War piece was, but that's a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.  Episode 6 airs tonight, with the finale tomorrow night.  Even if you haven't watched up until now, don't hesitate to jump in. 

Last night's episode recalled the battle for Iwo Jima -- and that, combined with some recent work discussion regarding the concept of "running" in a "race" (a co-worker tried to convince me to run in "The Great Race", while I tried to convince her that I would "die" if I ran more than a mile), reminded me of this excellent, excellent post from way back in May, 2006 by my blogging buddy Marathon Man.  Please have a look.

Dig If You Will the Picture

Bob says:

Ok -- so the next time I'm planning on putting up the "gone fishing" sign for a week, I'll actually check with Marathon Man and Mrs. Subdivided to see if they plan on posting that week.  In other words, if you took my "no new content until Feb. 5" message seriously last week, then you missed two delightful new posts.  Scroll down for new content from Mrs. S. and M.M.

Since I'm still recovering from last night's Super Bowl bash (two beers!  Staying up 'til 11:30!), let's just post a couple of interesting things from YouTube and call it a day, shall we? 

First up, in honor of Prince rockin' the house in the rain last night, let's take a look at a clip from the induction of George Harrison into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  What you're about to see is an all-star band playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."  The clip would be noteworthy just for Prince's performance -- but there's also a great moment at 4:49, when George's son Dhani (that's him just over Tom Petty's left shoulder) gets a look on his face that, in my opinion, says, "Holy shit, I'm on stage playing guitar with Prince!"

Next up, here's a video from the 1994 Texas State High School Football Championship.  Even if you're not a sports fan, I think you'll dig this.  As we pick up the action, the team in white is beating the team in black by the score of 42-17, with 2:42 to play.  Be sure to watch to the very end -- and by all means, turn up the audio.

And finally, before there was Ok, Go, there was Too Much Joy:

For Worse...Definitely For Worse

Since I have nothing else today (other than the very short tale of how much Adam now enjoys punching me in the 'nads, of which there's not much more to say other than that Adam now enjoys the reaction he gets everytime he punches me in the nads), allow me to provide a link to someone else's content that some of you may find interesting.

I've been reading the comic strip "For Better or For Worse" since it's beginnings.  For the most part, I've always liked it.  A little preachy at times, and predictable at others, but still, count me as a fan.  I think that makes me something of a minority over at The Curmudgeon, where the Patterson clan takes quite a beating.

But about two years ago, something about it really started to bug me.  I've never quite been able to put my finger on just what it is that's bothering me.  Thankfully, now I don't have to -- this person has summed up what's wrong with For Better or For Worse far better than I ever could.  Enjoy.

Penn State Proud

Today at work, in lieu of doing actual, you know, WORK, I was perusing the fine collection of Nittany Lion-related videos available at YouTube. Somehow, I came across this.  Keep an eye on the bottom part of the screen.

I love my alma mater!

Ground Floor

For your reading enjoyment, may I suggest a brand-spankin'-new blog by my bud and former co-worker Joe Deemer. There are only a couple of entries so far, but I think it's safe to say that going forward, you'll find a little sports, a little pop culture, and a lot of fun.

Oh, and he's looking for suggestions for an awful tv show to watch so you don't have to.  So help a guy out, will ya?

Just Some Links

Just a couple of fun links today, for your entertainment:

• My future life-partner blog partner Joe Kelly has actually eaten KFC's new Famous Bowl.  Here's his review.  And sadly, he is correct about something else in that post -- you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it.
• The new Tunesmith and Anthony theme song is an all-time classic.  Enjoy.  Joe and I have discussed coming up with something similar for our new venture, but neither of us think we can top the T&A song.
• Ahh, sportsmanship -- where would we be without it?  Enjoy this on-ice commentary from Kevin Stevens and Bryan Trottier, directed at Brian Bellows of the Minnesota North Stars.  (Warning: PG-13 language.  You may want to put on headphones.)
• And finally, Suzie from Words for Snow has sent some information about a worthy cause -- take a look.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus

Did I Read Leviticus So You Don't Have To last night?

Yes.  Yes I did.

Did chapters 22 and 23 bore me so much that I ran upstairs and immediately fell asleep, instead of writing about them for your entertainment?

Yes.  Yes they did.

So we'll put of old Leviticus for another day, and instead turn our attentions to Genesis.  Specifically, early Peter Gabriel-era Genesis.

Chances are, you'll hate that clip.  I love it, but then again I was a prog-rock geek back in the day.  I will tell you that it picks up steam quite a bit halfway through, and gets pretty rockin' at a couple of points.  Steve Hackett was a very underrated guitarist, in my opinion.

There was about a five-year period, in late high school and through college, where I couldn't get enough of the pompous bloat that is/was prog rock.  Genesis was my favorite, but I also dug quite a bit of Yes -- and to a lesser extent, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant and some of the other biggies of the genre.

Eventually, I got sick of the pretense of that particular style of music, and put it aside for the next couple of decades.  But I've listened to a lot of Genesis and a little bit of Yes lately, and while some of it still makes me queasy, there's other stuff that I've really been enjoying.  The song I linked to in the clip above ("The Musical Box") is one of the best.  Love the ending.

Played a live version of Yes' "Parallels" the other day, and while it's not a great song, you have to hand it to Chris Squire.  If there's a better bassist in rock, I'm not sure who he/she is.

There.  That's enough geekery for one day.

You want a sandwich? It's no problem...

There's a scene in Diner where the soon-to-be-married "Eddie" (Steve Guttenberg) is at a sleazy strip joint with his best friend "Billy" (Timothy Daly).  It's late, the music is a drag, and the stripper is disinterested, to say the least.

Eventually, Billy has had enough, and he jumps up onto the stage and starts to play the piano.  A serious, almost classical sort of piece.

At first, Guttenberg sits there with a look of trepidation on his face.  Like..."um...where you goin' with this one, dude?"  And he's not sure he wants to know the answer.

After a few more seconds, Billy hits his stride and then proceeds to tear the roof off the dump.  Guttenberg breaks out into this huge grin, points up at the stage, and yells for all to hear "That's my buddy!"

Today, I'm Steve Guttenberg.  Meet my buddy.

Blogfest 6

Aww yeah -- Pittsburgh Blogfest 6, coming Friday, May 19 to a Finnegan's Wake near you.  (Provided you live near the North Side.)

Here's the poop, from the lovely Cynthia's lovely My Brilliant Mistakes.

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Update

There's a report out there that Brighton Hot Dogs has discontinued their collector's cup series.  The only bigger tragedy I can imagine would be the cancellation of Mary Worth.  Let's relive the good times of the cups here, here, and here.

Hey, You -- Don't Read This, Read That

Link week (aka "Bob takes a break week") continues.  Today, enjoy this typically excellent piece from my pal Joe.