Tonight you weren't

Pedro Martinez: 'I might be the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium'

And that's the way it is.

Keeping Balls in the Air

Free Porking

Lost now found

A painting bought for $19,000 by a Canadian dealer two years ago has been valued at $150 million after it was determined to be a work by Leonardo Da Vinci. Carbon dating and infrared techniques convinced experts that the portrait on vellum was a genuine Da Vinci. The final proof came when analysis found a fingerprint "highly comparable” to one on the artist's painting, St. Jerome.

Irving Penn RIP

Irving Penn's 2005 portrait of Robert Rauschenberg, one of my favorite 20th century artists.  Note his paralyzed right hand from a 2002 stroke.

Irving Penn passed away last week at 92.

From The New York Times obituary:

"Instead of offering spontaneity, Mr. Penn provided the illusion of something fixed, his gaze precisely describing the profile of a Balenciaga coat or of a Moroccan djellaba in a way that could almost mesmerize the viewer. Nothing escaped the edges of his photographs unless he commanded it. Except for a series of close-up portraits that cut his subjects’ heads off at the forehead, and another, stranger suite of overripe nudes, his subjects were usually shown whole, apparently enjoying a splendid isolation from the real world."

Dogma

Yoga Dogs.  And, yes, there are Yoga Cats too.

Zero tolerance can cause stupidity

Six-year-old Zachary Christie, Cub Scout and first grader, has been suspended from school and faces 45 days in the school district's reform school.  His crime?  Bringing his camping combination fork, spoon and knife to school to eat his lunch.  I had the same tool at about that age and brought it to school too.  It was fun.

The End of American Exceptionalism?

Like most people, I was stunned when I heard the news of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's choice of Barack Obama for the Peace Prize.  Politicized?  Premature?  Aspirational?  Inspired?  All of the above?

It has stirred a lot of controversy.  I posted a comment about it on Facebook yesterday morning.  At last glance, that post has more than 30 comments.  So, if nothing else, the prize, right or wrong, got people talking.

Some good commentary on the Committee's choice from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

IBM's Smarter Cities

Fall

Photo: The Daily Dish

Worldwide Drop Your Pants

David Letterman opened his show the other night by telling a story.  Over nearly ten minutes he peeled layers off a story with a clever delivery, playing to laughter and applause.  Letterman is CBS's cash cow, generating high ratings, and lots of advertising revenue.  The story attempts to portray Letterman as a victim of a blackmailer.  It's only in the final minute of the story that Letterman says he had sex with woman staffers on his show.  No names, no number of women, nada.  The whole thing smacks of clever crisis management by Letterman's attorneys and CBS HQ to protect the franchise, Worldwide Pants.  Two stories, from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, offer insight into a whitewash designed to protect CBS from sexual harassment suits and the potential loss of Letterman's golden egg.  As for the blackmailer, it seems until last month he lived with one of Letterman's office playmates.  To use Letterman's term, this is hinky . . . and more.

Next week's guests:  Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. 

What's Your Virtual Worth? Facebook's Viral Loop

As if the world isn't silly enough already, Facebook's Viral Loop "values" me at $125.

According to The Wall Street Journal, President Barack Obama is worth $1.3 million, just ahead of actor Vin Diesel at $1.2 million and actress Megan Fox at $969,000. However, God is worth a comparatively paltry $580,000 – though He is ranked just above Olympic swimming phenom Michael Phelps, at $558,000.

 FastCompany published a leaderboard of  Facebook's most valued celebrities and non-celebrities.

The Democratic Super Majority

Too true . . . and funny.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democratic Super Majority
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Good Will?

Hasn't China done enough to prove its deserved role and respect in the world community and economy that these displays of military force are no longer necessary?  Unless, of course, the intended audience is their own citizens.