haggis, anyone?

i had never heard of haggis, a scottish food delicacy, until today. one reason, perhaps, for my lack of knowledge is that the united states has banned its importation for the past 21 years.

no longer.

the united states department of agriculture (my former employer for one brief summer) has lifted this ban because they have now determined that haggis does not in fact pose any signficant health risk. the initial ban was set in place in an apparent overreaction to the mad cow disease histeria of the late 1980's-early 1990's.

while the ingredients of haggis [sheep's "pluck" (=heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock] may not sound very appetizing to many people, i am now curious to give it a taste.

[aside: having lived in europe during the mad cow disease time period, i have been told by the red cross and other non-profit or government entities that i cannot give blood in america because of the potential exposure to meat i may have had during this period of my life. i now wonder if this assessment of the danger of my blood is another silly overreaction by american authorities. thoughts??]

UPDATE: perhaps my sources were a little premature....

per an email to andrew sullivan's blog:

Recently, several news articles have incorrectly stated that the U.S. will be relaxing or lifting its ban on Scottish haggis. At this time, haggis is still banned in the U.S. The APHIS rule covers all ruminant imports, which includes haggis. It is currently being reviewed to incorporate the current risk and latest science related to these regulations. There is no specific time frame for the completion of this review. Please check back with APHIS periodically for updates.

the "best" 1,000 movies of all time

the film critics at the new york times (who i rarely pay much attention to) have compiled an interesting list of their favorite 1,000 movies of all time. the list in its entirety can be found here.

i initially decided to read the list and count how many of these movies i had actually seen. i then decided to take it a step further and group the ones i have seen into a few very basic categories of my own and also highlight the movies i have yet to see that i REALLY want to in the near future. for now, i begin with the movies beginning with the letters A through L. i will continue in a piecemeal fashion through the alphabet until i finish the entire list. i am quite embarrassed by the number of good movies i have yet to see.

as always, let me know if you have any thoughts, reactions, or disagreements, with either the NYT list or my own opinions.

(1) "Superb movies which deserve to be included on the list":

Adaptation (2002)
The Apartment (1960)
Apocalypse Now (1979) - one of my top ten favorites of all time
L'Atalante (1934, reviewed 1947)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1988)
Back to the Future (1985)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Barton Fink (1991)
The Battle of Algiers (1965, reviewed 1967)
The Big Chill (1983)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Boogie Nights (1997)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Breathless (1961)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Casablanca (1942) - one of my top ten favorites of all time
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Chinatown (1974) - one of my top ten favorites of all time
A Clockwork Orange (1971) - my favorite movie of all time
The Conversation (1974)
Death of a Salesman (1951)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Deliverance (1972)
Diva (1982)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
East of Eden (1955)
Les Enfants du Paradis (1945, reviewed 1947)
Fargo (1996)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
The 400 Blows (1959)
The French Connection (1971)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
The Graduate (1967)
Howards End (1992)
In the Bedroom (2001)
Jules and Jim (1962)
L.A. Confidential (1997)

(2) "Very good movies but PROBABLY not deserving of inclusion":

About Schmidt (2002)
Amélie (2001)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Boyz N the Hood (1991)
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
Bull Durham (1988)
The Color of Money (1986)
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Die Hard (1988)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Grifters (1990)
Groundhog Day (1993)
GoodFellas (1990)
The Insider (1999)
Jaws (1975)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

(3) "Decent movies but NOT worthy of inclusion":

A.I. (2001)
Bambi (1942)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
A League of Their Own (1992)

(4) "DEFINITELY not worthy of inclusion":

Aladdin (1992)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Clueless (1995)
Jerry Maguire (1996)

(5) Movies I have not seen but REALLY want to:

Airplane! (1980)
Aliens (1986)
Annie Hall (1977)
Badlands (1973)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Blue Velvet (1986)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
The Crying Game (1992)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Diner (1982)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Entre Nous (1983)
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968)
Ken Burns' America: Huey Long (1985)
Last Tango in Paris (1973)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lolita (1962)

more doubt cast on shoeless joe jackson's alleged sin

Maybe it ain’t so, Joe. For 90 years the reputation of Chicago White Sox outfielder "Shoe­less" Joe Jackson has been tarnished by the be­lief that he and seven of his teammates threw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. The Black Sox scandal was seemingly validated by Eliot Asinof’s historical account, Eight Men Out.

This short article casts doubt on the allegedly definitive book on the subject by Asinof and is worth your time: American Bar Association


it is difficult for me to ignore these 2 facts:
(1)

In 1921, a Chicago jury acquitted [Joe] and his seven White Sox teammates of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the newly-appointed Commissioner of Baseball, banned all eight accused players, claiming baseball's need to clean up its image took precedence over legal judgments. As a result, Jackson never played major league baseball after the 1920 season.

(2)

During the series, Jackson had 12 hits and a .375 batting average — in both cases leading both teams. The 12 hits were a World Series record. He committed no errors and even threw out a runner at the plate. Jackson did bat worse in the five games that the White Sox lost, hitting .286, with no RBIs until the final contest, Game 8, when he hit a home run in the 3rd inning and added two more RBIs on a double in the 8th, when the White Sox were way behind. This does not appear to be a valid argument, since Jackson only hit .066 in the four games of the 1917 World Series in which the White Sox either lost to or did not tromp the New York Giants. It is often said that the Cincinnati Reds hit an unusually high number of triples to left field where Jackson played during the series. This is not supported by the contempory newspaper accounts. According to first hand accounts, none of the triples were hit to left field

Source: Wikipedia

the intersection of law and sports

the supreme court will be hearing oral arguments tomorrow on a very important case as to whether the nfl is one business or an ensemble of 32 teams operating in concert. if it is 32 businesses operating in concert, then the entire league could be subjected to anti-trust laws. the nfl is seeking complete anti-trust exemption, a la major league baseball (to date the only american sport with such an exemption).

for a great synopsis of the case, read this associated press article.
money quote:

American Needle sued the league and Reebok in 2004, claiming the deal violated antitrust law. Lower courts threw out the suit, holding that nothing in antitrust law prohibits NFL teams from cooperating on apparel licensing so the league can compete against other forms of entertainment.

But in what sports fans would call "running up the score," the NFL is asking the Supreme Court to review the case in hopes of getting a blanket antitrust exemption that could eliminate most, if not all, the antitrust suits against the league.

"It was an odd request - similar to my asking an official to review an 80-yard pass of mine that the official had already ruled a touchdown," New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees wrote in The Washington Post. Brees serves on the executive committee of the NFL Players Association.

UPDATE (1/13/10):
supreme court justices seem skeptical of nfl's arguments

parkour, and how it relates to me

parkour (pronounced par-KOOR):

in the strictest sense, as defined by david belle, "parkour" is the art of moving through your environment as swiftly and effectively as possible using only the human body. more broadly, it might be defined as the discipline of developing the physical and mental capacity of the human being while training to overcome obstacles.


EMBED-Cool Paper Parkour Animation - Watch more free videos

as some of you may know, i consider my greatest skill to be city-walking. city-walking is all about efficiency, awareness of your surroundings, and purpose-of-task. as this video demonstrates, movement is much more of an art form than many non-expert city-walkers (such as my girlfriend) would have you believe.

40 songs from 2009

needless to say, the release of georgie's favorite music of the past calendar year has a similar impact on the music industry as the yearly publication of the michelin guide on the restaurant business. hopefully, unlike in years past, an exclusion from this list will only engender minor bodily injuries and tepid attempts at character assassination.

rest assured of two facts:

(1) these ARE the best 40 songs of the year, and there is no room for debate.

(2) the 3 guys pictured above in white pants DO comprise perhaps the greatest band of the 20th century (and a strawberry milkshake goes to the first person who correctly guesses their identity).


VOLUME 1:

------ Song ---------------- Band/Artist --------------------- Album

1) Beginner's Luck ------------ EELS ------------------------- Hombre Lobo

2) Drivetime ------------------ Echo & the Bunnymen -------- The Fountain

3) Lenin -------------------- Arcade Fire ------------------- Dark Was the Night
4) 1901 ------------------- Phoenix -------------- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
5) The Heartbreak Rides ------ A.C. Newman ---------------- Get Guilty

6) Devils in Boston ------------ Samantha Crain ------------- Songs in the Night

7) Annan Water --------------- The Decemberists ------------- The Hazards of

8) Relator ---------------- Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson ----- The Break Up

9) Man Named Truth ----- Monsters of Folk ---------------- Monsters of Folk

10) Okay ------------------- Venice Is Sinking ---------------- Azar
11) The Horizon Is A Beltway-The Low Anthem-Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
12) The Walls Are Falling Down ---- Fanfarlo -------------------- Reservoir
13) It Don't Move Me ------------- Peter Bjorn and John ------- Living Thing

14) My Unusual Friend ----------- Fruit Bats ----------------- The Ruminant Band

15) French Navy ----------------- Camera Obscura ------------ My Mauldin Career
16) At the Cut -------------------- The Cave Singers ----------- Welcome Joy

17) To Save Me ------------------ M. Ward -------------------- Hold Time

18) Mismanaged Skies ------ Beatbeat Whisper --------- Wonder Continental

19) Move You ----- Anya Marina ------- Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II

20) I’ll Fight ----------------- Wilco ---------------------- Wilco (The Album)

VOLUME 2:

--- Song ---------------------Band/Artist --------------- Album
1) Lisztomania ---------- Phoenix ------------- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2) Train Song ------------ Feist and Ben Gibbard -------- Dark Was the Night
3) The Right Place ----------- Monsters of Folk ------------ Monsters of Folk
4) Hindsight -------------- Built to Spill ------------------ There Is No Enemy
5) All The Kings Men -------- Wild Beasts ------------------ Two Dancers
6) House of Mirrors ---------- Doves ---------------------- Kingdom of Rust
7) Kiss With a Fist ----------- Florence and the Machine ---- Lungs
8) Bellyfulla ------------------ Ramona Falls ---------------- Intuit
9) Oh No --------------------- Andrew Bird ---------------- Noble Beast
10) So Far Around the Bend ---- The National ------------- Dark Was the Night
11) Fee Da Da Dee ---------- The Guggenheim Grotto ----- Happy The Man
12) Take A Minute -------------- K'naan ------------------- Troubadour
13) You and I ------------------ Wilco -------------------- Wilco (The Album)
14) Honey in the Sun ---------- Camera Obscura ----------- My Mauldin Career

15) Home -----------Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros-Self-titled
16) I Am Goodbye -------------- Bonnie "Prince" Billy ---------- Beware

17) Pulling On a Line ------------ Great Lake Swimmers -------Lost Channels

18) Border Reiver ------------ Mark Knopfler ------------ Get Lucky
19) Kettering ------------------ The Antlers -------------- Hospice

20) Draw the Line --------- David Gray ------------------ Draw the Line

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[if you have provided me your address, the united states postal service will be in receipt of hard copies of this compilation over the next few days.]

a little drivin' on a saturday morning

an absolute lunatic (french film director claude lelouch) drives a ferrari (or was it a mercedes??) through the streets of paris in 1976. no special effects. the visuals alone of one of the greatest cities on this planet are worth watching, but the traffic decisions the driver makes would have made even evel knievel blush. the driver obviously has a death wish. there's a pretty lady at the end. need i say more?

C'était un Rendez-Vous from Thom Graves on Vimeo.