RIP: Sparky Anderson

Another Tiger great has passed. I'll dig up a couple of photos of Sparky when he visited Grand Rapids many, many years ago and post them later tonight. He was only 76.

Relocating the Lit Lounge Blog

Relocating might not be the best way to put it. Weed and seed is probably more appropriate. Your blogger has been informed that since his employer's website has a link to his blog, his employer could be considered implicit in the offering of content and opinions, varied and sundry, that could be misconstrued as his employer's tacit approval of said content and opinions.

In other words, the Lit Lounge blog is no longer referenced on my employer's website.

I understand completely. And to demonstrate my show of support for this policy, I have started a brand new blog here. No opinions, no controversy, very vanilla.

On the other hand, now that its free from the links that bind it, the Lit Lounge will spend more time and resources (outside the business day, of course) to comment on matters educational, political, and cultural.

We are what we watch

Other than watching tonight's mind-numbing election analysis, what we watch on TV can explain how we are when not glued to the boobtube. The AV Club reports on a study showing why people who like to watch Mad Men, Glee, and The Office tend to be liberal, sensitive, and smug.

I'd take offense, but it's pretty darn accurate.

An Editorial Cartoon Worth a Thousand Words: Election Day Edition

Volunteers for 2012 Presidential Race Needed!

Sarah Palin says she'll run for President in 2012 "if there's nobody else to do it". Any volunteers? Anyone? Please?

Happy 40th Birthday, Doonesbury!

A few decades ago, my parents gave in to one of my pleas and bought me a boxed set of Doonesbury paperbacks for Christmas. I was twelve. I didn't get most of the subtle sarcasm, but continued to read book after book, strip after strip, drawn in by the quirky cast and their funky eyes. G. B. Trudeau's strip debuted forty years ago today, and I wish it could go on for another forty or more. I can't imagine a world without Mike, B.D., Zonker, and Toggle.

RIP: Sony Walkman

The device that made music personal has gone the way of the Victrola, Betamax, and Laser Disc. Sony announced it has stopped production of the Walkman. We come here today to praise the Walkman, in all its forms, for providing us with the first way to tune out the rest of the world and begin our transformation to a society where earbuds are the norm, and shared music a thing of the past. The Walkman is survived by its cousin, the Discman, and distant relatives at Apple.

Gud Noos Four Bad Spelurs

Turns out Jane Austen couldn't spell. Perhaps she meant to write Pride and Prejoodis?

Chutzpah Award Nominee: Ginni Thomas

Mrs. Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has asked Anita Hill to consider apologizing for what she did to her husband. ABC News quoted from the voicemail left on Hill's phone last weekend:

“Good morning, Anita Hill, it's Ginni Thomas,” it quoted from the voicemail. “I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. Okay have a good day.”

Classy.

Sir Hildenbrand and the Holy Grail

Have you seen Dave Hildenbrand's ads for State Senate? Set in a picturesque Grand Rapids neighborhood, the current state representative mentions how the people in Lansing can't get things done (Dave, you are one of those people) while walking towards the camera. Funny thing is, he keeps starting his walk from the same place. . . watch.



Reminds me of Sir Lancelot at the two-minute mark of this Monty Python and the Holy Grail clip: