Remembering John Lennon

I vividly remember as young boy when John Lennon was murdered and taken from us far too soon. My mother had grown up a Beatles fan as a high school and college student in the '60's and passed her love for their passionate music on to me and my sister. I had played Beatles LP's on our record player and while I didn't yet understand all I would come to grasp about their unique nature, I did grasp the tremendous loss the news conveyed.

Lennon's art was so timeless it simply is difficult for me to believe it has been thirty years.

Tony Curtis 1925 - 2010

Esquire magazine has reposted their great "What I've Learned" interview with Tony Curtis. At his passing, this is a great read and a reminder of what a larger-than-life character he was. Check it out, it's worth your time.

My favorite, or at least cleanest, quote is below.

When I left the Navy, I used the GI Bill to get into the Dramatic Workshop, which was located at the President Theatre on Forty-eighth Street. Walter Matthau and Harry Belafonte were students there, too. We were all just trying to make it. Later on, I went out to California, and good things started happening for me. When I came back to New York to do a promotion for City Across the River, they gave me a suite at the Sherry-Netherland and a huge black limo. I took it around to show my buddies in the Bronx and then went by the Dramatic Workshop. It was a terrible, rainy afternoon, and who do I see out in front? Walter Matthau. He's got a long, heavy coat on with a Racing Form sticking out of the pocket, and he's looking down at the gutter. Here I am in this nice, warm limo. And there he is, this grumpy guy surrounded by a cold, miserable world. The look on his face says, "What's ever going to happen for me? Nothin'!" So I tell the driver to pull alongside him and stop. Now Walter's watching the limo. I roll the window down, look at him, and say, "I f***** Yvonne De Carlo!" Then I roll the window back up in a hurry and tell the driver to get the hell out of there.

No, no, no, he wasn't mad! For years, Walter loved to tell that story at parties. He'd make it last twenty minutes.

We'll Miss You Bob - We Really Will

Admit it - you've made fun of Bob Barry's OU football broadcast.

No, it isn't nice and no, we shouldn't make fun of him, but we've all done it. Nothing can be more frustrating than a crucial play during a critical game and you're stuck in the car, for reasons passing understanding, and have to listen to the radio broadcast.

But now comes the news that this will be Bob's last season. Soon we won't hear his spotters clearly trying to correct him as he gives us the wrong player names. We won't hear him mix up the downs and we won't ever hear Merv Johnson utter his immortal line "He really did Bob, he really did" after some commentary from Bob.

Just the same, we also won't hear his unbridled enthusiasm. His excitement when we gain a big first down, make a huge completion or Stoops runs one of his trick plays. We'll never hear him fumble over calling the yardage and players and finally just yell "TOUCHDOWN OKLAHOMA!".

TV broadcasts are supposed to be neutral but home school radio is partisan. It has always been and it should always be. It's for the fans and we want someone who is pulling for our guys. Bob may not have been at his best over the last few years, and he has frustrated me on more than one occasion, but he's fun. He's real and he's ours.

Now Bob, heads off into Sooner lore as another of the many legend's we'll pass along to future fans. Thanks Bob for all you've done and the pure love of sports you have shared with generation after generation. We appreciate it and no matter the jokes, we will miss you.

Happy 80th Sean Connery

My favorite James Bond, Sir Sean Connery, turns 80 today. He has taught many a man how to be cool, look good and act like a gentleman. For my money, nothing better than Goldfinger or From Russia With Love.

Sadly he chose his birthday to announce his complete retirement from on-screen roles. He leaves many remarkable films for us to remember him by, but it is sad to know there will never be another movie in which to see him.

The Piper Of D-Day

If you are a fan of the WWII movie "The Longest Day" then you probably remember the soldier who plays the bagpipes as the beaches are stormed on D-Day. The man who's actions were immortalized in that film has passed away.

Bill Millin, a Scotsman serving with the 1st Commando Brigade, acted at the urging of his commander to violate rules against the playing of bagpipes in battle. He bravely piped songs such as "Highland Laddie" to motivate his comrades.

When asked later in life about his actions, he simply said "When you're young you do things you wouldn't dream of doing when you're older."

I hope both his iconic bravery and modesty will be remembered by us all for generations to come.

Illegal Immigration

The Grassroots Origin of Grassroots

From Garrison Keillor:

It was on this day 98 years ago that the word "grassroots" made its debut as a political term. On this day in 1912, Senator Albert Jeremiah Beveridge of Indiana was on stage at the Progressive Party Convention when he proclaimed: "This party has come from the grass roots. It has grown from the soil of people's hard necessities."

In the almost hundred years since, "grassroots" has become a popular buzzword and an influential campaign strategy. The word refers specifically, according to the OED, to the "rank and file of the electorate or of a political party." With grassroots campaigns, you often see people standing on street corners holding clipboards, collecting signatures for petitions, or setting up information tables on college campuses and neighborhood farmers' markets, or posting fliers around town, or holding political meetings at people's houses, sometimes potluck-style.

There's now even a term for faking a grassroots movement: It's called "astroturfing," after that artificial grass found at sports stadiums. It's when powerful lobbyists masquerade as individual citizens, using the tactics of grassroots campaigns, but hiding their affiliation or real agenda. The term was coined by U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, after he got a bunch of letters in the mail from concerned citizens urging him to promote the interests of the insurance industry.