This week we turn 30. I turned 28 at 11:16 this morning, and Bailey turns two on Thursday. We’ll take more festive pictures later.
If any of my designer friends want to whip up a “Jason & Bailey Turn 30″ logo, that would make a great portfolio piece. Just work in the “July 30, 1979″ and “August 2, 2005″ somewhere. I’ve got a fifth of my twenties left.
Inc. magazine has named Will & Mangesh to their list of thirty cool, young entrepreneurs. This crosses my threshold for blog worthiness.
So this is our rock. An obstacle to yard sports and a breeding ground for stagnant, bacteria-laden rainwater, our rock needs to go. But how? The readers of mental_floss have been offering up suggestions.
Let me know if you have any thoughts, or rock-removal experience. Or a willingness to help.
The wizards of Deadspin got their hands on an internal memo to ESPN staffers covering a wide variety of white-collar minutia. Life inside the Bristol, Connecticut, media giant sounds exactly like life inside any miserable corporate environment. As someone who lists office politics as a favorite spectator sport, this leaked memo was highly enjoyable.
Here’s a taste:
Question:
What qualities do you feel a Leader should possess?
Answer:
For guidance, please review the Leadership Competencies in Performance Connection on the intranet for information on what is expected of a leader. Another good source for guidance is your department’s HR generalist.
Question:
Can employees keep the trees that ESPN throws away when doing new construction?
Answer: Read the rest of this entry »
No, employees cannot keep the trees. ESPN analyzes all trees and shrubs that are scheduled to be displaced. Once it is determined which trees and shrubs can survive the move we have them bagged, tagged and relocated. Anything left is then the possession of the contractor. Many of the trees and shrubs at the cafe project have been transplanted at Building 4 and other locations on the campus.
Question:
When will the bicycle rack in front of the south door of Building 3 be reinstalled? It was removed last year during construction.
Answer:
The bike rack has been reinstalled.
For a new mental_floss running feature, I’ve been poking around the Times archives, searching for the first time the paper covered random topics.
These are my favorites:
George W. Bush
October 12, 1972
A half dozen years ago the Americans were known for their parties, but that is largely a thing of the past….As a result, one American official said, “we’re being downgraded a lot” by other diplomats who are tired of the cold buffet at United States functions. But happily, perhaps, George W. Bush, the American representative, has a flair for off-beat party ideas. A few weeks ago he took a number of guests up to the Bronx Zoo to see 550 kinds of birds. No other mission topped that number.
Jon Stewart
November 4, 1988
Also performing are the stand-up comedians Bob Shaw, Ray Romano and Jon Stewart. The cover charge is $10 tonight, $12 tomorrow, and $7 on Sunday, and there is a two-drink minimum. Reservations are suggested.
Donald Trump
January 28, 1973
The big change in Fred Trump’s operations in recent years is the advent of his son, Donald….Donald, who was graduated first in his class from the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, joined his father about five years ago. He has what his father calls “drive.” He also possesses, in his father’s judgment, business acumen. “Donald is the smartest person I know,” he remarked admirably. “Everything he touches turns to gold.”
Head over to mental_floss for early coverage of Hillary Clinton, Starbucks, the iPod, The Simpsons, AIDS, Wikipedia and many more. And I’d love to get your suggestions.
• The First Time News Was Fit To Print
• The First Time News Was Fit To Print, II
With a pack of Simpsons-loving Renegades, I headed up to the 42nd Street Kwik-E-Mart this afternoon. The converted 7-Eleven was filled with Springfield’s favorite treats and people, and dozens of gawking loiterers. Being one of the loiterers myself, you’ll have to ask Evan and Shana how the Buzz Cola tasted.
Just like people always tell me. What are you?
[What does this mean? I'm some combination of bored and a sucker for taking the test. But this came with a trusted endorsement. Keep reading...] Read the rest of this entry »
“Wouldn’t it be great if we could greet the day with as much enthusiasm as Bailey?”
– Ellen English, groggily
When we bought our house in 2004, our realtor asked if we were interested in appearing on Moving Up, a new TLC program starring Doug Wilson of Trading Spaces. The show, we were told, would document the improvements we made immediately after moving in, and follow the sellers to their new home. I got the feeling the network would help fund said improvements, to make sure the transition was suitably stark.
Big fans of crazy stories, we were all for it. Unfortunately, the previous owners were not. Our reality TV big break was postponed indefinitely, as were our home improvement dreams.
Over the past month, Ellen and I have finally finished fixing the place up. We converted our yard into a dog park, brightened the walls (and deck), tweaked the furniture alignment, repaired water damage, snaked a clogged pipe, restored phone service and provided outdoor seating. Here’s the photo tour:
Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a round-up of my recent contributions to mental_floss.
• A Job For Which I Think I’m Qualified: Naming Your Kids. Or At Least Your Pets.
• How To Be More Productive, Feel Calmer, And Learn To Paint Happy Little Trees
• The All-Time Best-Selling Books
• Check My Mail: You’ll never guess what was inside this big envelope.
Just for kicks, I’m going to start posting my all-time favorite commercials. We’ll start with the classic 1993 Jordan-Bird McDonald’s shootout.
Agency: Leo Burnett. Copywriter: Jim Ferguson. Art Director: Robert Shallcross.
My brother-in-law Mark recently bought a condo. We had been storing two large dressers for him — dressers I’d filled with clothes well past their prime. A nursing home of sorts. But of course he needed this furniture back, which forced me into some tough decisions.
All my other drawers and closets were full. So the T-Shirt Graveyard is the next best thing. Every now and again, I’ll post pictures of my favorite t-shirts with which I’ve parted ways, preserving them for eternity. Or at least until a server malfunction erases the jasonenglish1.com archives.
Probably my favorite fraternity t-shirt. I believe this was designed by Sean Meakim. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t forget to pick up the latest issue of mental_floss. Wherever brilliant/lots of magazines are sold. If you’re not a newsstand person, they’ll even mail you a copy.
This month, the editorial team was nice enough to print a little bio:
If that’s not legible, here’s a larger view. And you can take this month’s quiz after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
