P.J. O'ROURKE ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

“The proper behavior all through the

 holiday season is to be drunk.

This drunkenness culminates on

 New Year’s Eve, when you get so drunk you

 kiss the person you’re married to.”

(Happy New Year to one and all)

FRIDAY FUNNIES

FRIDAY FUNNIES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To the crossword puzzle, 100 years old today, first printed in The New York World.

GOING TO WIN THE MEGA MILLIONS LOTTERY?

 Your odds are better for these:

1. Being killed by an asteroid or comet

Odds: 1 in 250,000

Source: Tulane University

2. Dying from being struck by lightning

Odds: 1 in 3 million

Source: Harvard School of Public Health

The chances of being hit by lightning at all over an 80-year lifetime are 1 in 10,000, according to the National Weather Service.

3. Drowning — or other beach-related fatalities

Odds: 1 in 2 million

Source: Florida Museum of Natural History, based on U.S. beach injury statistics in 2000

4. Being attacked by a shark

Odds: 1 in 11.5 million

Source: Florida Museum of Natural History

5. Dying from a bee sting

Odds: 1 in 6.1 million

Source: Harvard School of Public Health

6. Dying in a plane crash

Odds: 1 in 11 million

Source: PBS' "Nova," based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation

7. Having conjoined twins

Odds: 1 in 200,000

Source: University of Maryland Medical Center

8. Being killed using a right-handed product, if you're left-handed

Odds: 1 in 7 million

Source: Gizmodo

9. Hitting a hole-in-one on two consecutive, par-3 holes

Odds: 1 in 156 million

Source: U.S. Hole in One, which insures golf prizes for holes in one

Also of note, the chances of an amateur golfer making a single hole-in-one on a par-3 hole is about 1 in 12,500.

10. Hitting a deer while driving in Hawaii

Odds: 1 in 6,267

Source: State Farm, from a 2011 study on collisions between vehicles and deer, said to be least likely in the state of Hawaii.

Good, ahem, luck.

RIP: TOM LAUGHLIN

Tom Laughlin, the maverick actor and filmmaker best known for the "Billy Jack"  films, has died. He was 82.
 Laughlin died Thursday in Thousand Oaks, his family announced.
 Laughlin had been married to actress Delores Taylor since 1954 and also had several ill-fated runs for president. But he was best known for the "Billy Jack" films, which also starred Taylor. In 1967, he wrote and directed (under the pseudonym T.C. Frank) and starred in "The Born Losers," a motorcycle exploitation film that became a big box-office hit. It introduced the world to the part-Native American Vietnam veteran title character.

RIP: JOAN FONTAINE

At the age of 96 - survived by her older sister, Olivia DeHavilland! Starred in a number of Hitchcock movies, won an oscar for Suspicion.

RIP: PETER O'TOOLE

 At 81 years of age; best known for Lawrence of Arabia. Great movie, and a great actor.

RIP: RICHARD COUGHLAN

 Richard Coughlan September 2, 1947 - December 1, 2013
 Richard Coughlan was an English drummer who spent almost his entire career as the drummer for influential Canterbury scene prog rock band, Caravan.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Today in 1970 :

The Doors played what would be their last ever 

live show with

Jim Morrison  when they played at the Warehouse

 in New Orleans. 

(And only $5)

THE ALL-HOLIDAY BUNNY

Pretty cool, eh? Found him in a second-hand shop and couldn't resist. I see Xmas, Easter, July 4th, Halloween; New Year, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, & St Patrick's Day. So we can leave him out all year round and be ready for anything (right now he's the Xmas Bunny).

DAVID MUSTAINE (MEGADEATH) ON BEER

“If you guys are going to be throwing beer bottles at us, at least make sure they’re full.”

FRIDAY FUNNIES

BEER# 1100

Yes, 1100 (“Didn’t know there were that many kinds of pisswater” says the wife.)

And oddly enough, I didn’t find it in an expected place…

…found it at the Daytona Flea Market! On tap!!

Yup, was feeling thirsty trudging around the flea market last Friday (see previous post) and stopped at one of the food kiosks that are at the top of each up/down aisle. Most of them carry draft beer (actually Bud Light – so not really beer) but one of them carried in addition…

 Brewed right here in Florida (Melbourne) by Florida Beer Co. so you know it’s fresh. And quite refreshing after a warm day at a flea market.

Interestingly, the brewery used to be Indian River Brewing and made the line of Indian River Beers, plus the beers from the defunct Ybor Brewing in Tampa & Miami Brewing. So I guess they’ll keep the brand differentiation & add new beers as Florida Whatever. Don’t get to Melbourne often, but will have to make a point of it now.

So now, on to the next 100 beers…

MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC

A good day for music! Friday went to the Daytona Flea Market, try to go there every year after Thanksgiving.

And of course had to stop at Mark’s music booth, like I do every year – best place for hard to find CDs, though it’s just an 8 foot wide booth with a table.

So this year, I found (among other items) the Classic Rock All Stars live album – saw them a number of times in the early 90s, Mike Pinera (Blues Image & Iron Butterfly), Pete Rivera (Rare Earth), Jerry Corbetta (Sugarloaf), & Dennis Noda (Cannibal & the Headhunters) (RIP). Early on, the band also had Spencer Davis as second guitar, but he left to reform Spencer Davis Group I believe.

Also found a Country Joe (Gimme me an ‘F’…) solo CD, a 2 CD Cream bootleg (Detroit 1967), and 2 Widespread Panic CDs, great jam band. Also found a James Montgomery Band CD, used to see them as James Montgomery Blues Band in the early 1970s at the Shaboo Inn (RIP) in Willimantic CT. So that was a surprise!

 Also got a CD by some outfit called Black Sun Ensemble, never heard of them, but it is an interesting name, so you never know…I’ll listen to almost anything once.

And as an added bonus, there was another man selling CDs on the other side of the mall, so I picked up a few CDs there too.

Sometimes life is just too good!!! (and sometimes it’s better…)