Official Random Thoughts Thread - Part 3

[barelyawake]

Gladwell was at some Human Resources conference this weekend. He spoke as a bookend to Condi Rice. The topic was the impact of social media on social rebellion. My friend directed the shoot of the conference and met Gladwell. He raved about the speech. Not sure if there is video of it online or a transcript. But, worth a search apparently.

[fishercob]

Kev's guy Malcolm Gladwell in a debate on NPR last night about
whether college football should continue (due to head injuries).
Gladwell was on the no it shouldn't side if I heard correctly (didn't
listen to the whole thing).

Good hikes near DC - Maryland Heights just across the Potomac from
Harpers Ferry. It's a short steep hike. If you want to do a longer hike
ie multi-day, I would look at the AT. Also good hiking a little further
west on the VA-WV border west of Woodstock VA at/near Wolf Gap.
Or in the GW National Forest in/around Massanutten Mtn between
Luray and Front Royal.

He loves these debates. I saw him at the New Yorker Festival five or six years ago debating Adam Gopnik on whether the Ivy League should be abolished. Highly entertaining stuff; Gladwell is scary smart.

[Severn Hoos]

Glad to see the site has been proactive this year and disabled the avatars. Seems like every year on Draft Night, there's a crash. Here's hoping for a smooth night tonight....

[pancakes3]

1 - Should we have a chat going for the draft? Ji? Forget the Wifey ifey.

2 - I remember hearing that Gladwell wrote a piece about social media in '10 that was cited by various talking heads when the Egyptian Twitter riots were going on, and how the future of newscasting was headed. I was talking with a CBS newsman about it and he said that while print media is having a hard time transitioning into the digital age and that CNN/FoxNews might have some concerns about twitter, for the time being - the networks aren't even batting an eye.

3 - A place I really want to hike that's in the area is the Harper's Ferry hikes that go along the gorges there. Planning a tubing/hiking/camping trip in that area.

[mohammed10]

Glad to see the site has been proactive this year and disabled the avatars. Seems like every year on Draft Night, there's a crash. Here's hoping for a smooth night tonight....

Totally agree...keep your fingers crossed!

[dobrojim]

kind of kicking myself for doing the music thing last night

Jacqui had a game and apparently it was possibly her best game ever.
She hit 3 3s in the game. And the JV coach was watching in the stands
so I have to believe she really helped herself make the JV team even
though tryouts are not until November.

Meanwhile I was sitting around until well after her game was
over waiting for my turn to play. The Dylan tribute night was
really awesome though. Good stuff.

[penbeast0]

Well, down here in Winchester, going to run the Savage dam opening tomorrow morning. My brother had originally planned to run the upper Yak but apparently the person he talked to found out that I had never done a whitewater run and Doo had only done it once and said something along the lines of . . . "Dude, you're gonna die." . . . so we changed rivers.

Will be up on Old Rag Tuesday morning. Thanks for the recs.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

This is a really great song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XgLmBzC9NI&feature=related[/youtube]

This is a really funny clip. Flip Wilson was a really talented comedian.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8kWGu3lF4w[/youtube]

[montestewart]

Flip Wilson was hilarious. I had a Flip Wilson/Geraldine talking doll that said "The devil made me buy this dress" and assorted insults (all G-rated). Flip was guesting on some sitcom, and he gives some a guy an autograph for his wife, which the guy promptly loses. When he returns for another, Flip says, "What, you gonna trade two of mine for one of Bill Cosby's?" I think Cosby was the first comedian I ever heard (other than the old school Vegas types I'd see on TV), but Flip took it to another level, preparing me for the soon-to-be discovered Red Foxx comedy albums!

[montestewart]

I also remember a Partridge Family episode where the booking agent made a mistake and booked the Partridge Family into some urban black neighborhood club that was supposed to get the Temptations (who I guess ended up playing Branson or Disneyland or something). Thinking fast, they go to some cultural center (Afro-American Arts Center or something) and hire some horns, percussionists, and dancers to funk it up. Well, at least they tried, but it still sounded like the Partridge Family.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Flip Wilson was hilarious. I had a Flip Wilson/Geraldine talking doll that said "The devil made me buy this dress" and assorted insults (all G-rated). Flip was guesting on some sitcom, and he gives some a guy an autograph for his wife, which the guy promptly loses. When he returns for another, Flip says, "What, you gonna trade two of mine for one of Bill Cosby's?" I think Cosby was the first comedian I ever heard (other than the old school Vegas types I'd see on TV), but Flip took it to another level, preparing me for the soon-to-be discovered Red Foxx comedy albums!

I found a Redd Foxx that I could post, monte.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6fLKz5ByU&feature=related[/youtube]

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I also remember a Partridge Family episode where the booking agent made a mistake and booked the Partridge Family into some urban black neighborhood club that was supposed to get the Temptations (who I guess ended up playing Branson or Disneyland or something). Thinking fast, they go to some cultural center (Afro-American Arts Center or something) and hire some horns, percussionists, and dancers to funk it up. Well, at least they tried, but it still sounded like the Partridge Family.

monte, here's the link to that episode. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoMMmpQSFPM[/youtube]

[montestewart]

^
So much for my memory, I remembered "horns, percussionists, and dancers to funk it up" when they actually added strings, looking for more of a Motown cool soul vibe. And I totally forgot Richard Pryor in that episode.

Thanks for the Redd Foxx clip. He was really working to keep it kid safe. I guess all three of those Flip Wilson clips were from the same episode? Pretty action packed episode.

[dobrojim]

while watching fireworks last night I came to wonder how many returning
war vets can no longer really enjoy this most American of traditions due
to PTSD. Ironic and tragic. Thank you W.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

jim, last night I was on an army post watching the fireworks. Ironically, earlier in the day I was at Starbucks and four veterans in a Combat Veterans motorcycle club stopped in. I didn't want to bother them, but I was very tempted to ask them if the VA was taking care of them. One of the young guys was an Afghanistan vet. I don't know why but that guy just looked like someone who was going through it.

EDITED -- TMI. Had a happy 4th.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Edited it out because it was probably TMI

[miller31time]

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Today, my son asked a very interesting, unintentionally funny question:

"Dad, who were the Black Pumas?"

My response was, "What? … Where did you hear that?"

Seems he saw a scene a while back from the movie Forrest Gump, where Forrest interrupts a Black Panther meeting …

[W. Unseld]

True Blood kind of sucks this season ( and kind of did last season)--that is all.

[pancakes3]

does anyone have the beats by dre headphones? are they worth it?