Author: Mike P. Lewis

Einstein's Cosmos

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Just finished the book Einstein’s Cosmos, which is a great look into the life of the genius physicist Albert Einstein.

The book has lots of interesting facts about Einstein.  Some that i remember: He was born in Germany but he had such a bad experience in his youth, he renounced his citizenship when he was 17

He was always brilliant. There’s a myth that he wasn’t that smart when he was young. Wrong. He read a Geometry book when he was 12 and LOVED it. Since then he devoured any physics and mathematics he could get his hand on. He hated classes where they wouldn’t teach the “interesting topics of the day” and frequently got poor grades. But he was always smart.

One little tidbit i loved hearing about is that he was a total ladies man. In High School ALL the girls wanted to talk to him b/c he had such a funny personality. He was a witty guy – always cracking jokes and having fun. Bottom line: Albert was a stud and had his pick of chicks when he was in college.

Another little interesting piece of gossip – he got his main college girlfriend pregnant but she had moved away and the baby died when it was 3. He eventually had another child with her and paid alimony with his Nobel Prize money. But, as he because more famous and busier, they drifted apart and he moved to Germany, she stayed in Switzerland – leading to eventual divorce. He then became very close to his cousin Elsa, who he later married. From the book it seems that they were a great couple – He the absent-minded disheveled thinker and she  the pretty put-together socialite. His tours around the world would have been impossible without her.

The book follows his behavior during the wars, his refusal to support Germany during WWI and his endangerment as a prominent Jew – eventually moving to the states and living at Princeton.

The physics is all easy to understand language. All the cosmic questions that stem from relativity – including the puzzling worm-hole questions are all lined up. I found it a great to read before bedtime book due to the mind benders.

If you’re looking to know more about Albert – this is definitely a quick and interesting book.

drag racing on 17th street

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Went to watch the queen’s last night. I’ve always heard about it but never made the trip. It’s quite a scene. Check out the good footage i got:

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

PS: Why can’t you rotate video? Seems like it should be possible

iPhone will take down Blackberry eventually

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I had a Blackberry Pearl and loved it.  I was planning to keep it – until i saw a friend’s iPhone.  It was just so frackin’ slick that i couldn’t stay away.  Does Blackberry do email better?  Yes.  Does Blackberry have some better/smaller sizes that are better for a cell phone?  Yes, definitely.  But is it as cool or fun to use an iPhone?  Not even close.

However, i always hear about people going back to their Blackberry’s b/c of the email capability.  I can understand that.  I don’t use my iPhone email for work everyday and it is harder to type.  But the other advantages heavily outweigh this one feature.

I then read this blog post by Tim O’Reilly about “Why the iPhone Will Beat the Blackberry.”  He write that Blackberry users are cell phone power users and:

power users are a minority, and while they point the way to the future, they tend to be disappointed when the rest of the market catches up with an inferior product that has a lower barrier to new users. So, my prediction: the Blackberry will become more like the iPhone, or the iPhone and its imitators will eventually eat its lunch, relegating it to a niche player. The iPhone is now the communications device to beat. 

I couldn’t agree more.  The iPhone is only getting better going at email and the Blackberry will never come close to the iPhone in slickness of features – including the iPod.   It’s only a matter of time before Blackberry goes down.

I heard a rumor that Microsoft was going to purchase Blackberry.  I don’t hear it anymore, but i think that’d be a great move for both companies.

Music industry is actual doing ok

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Just read a good comment about the Music Industry on Chris Anderson’s blog: here.

The blog (called “The Long Tail”) comments that record labels will cease to become labels but rather artist development centers. Seems logical.

Also, it appears that every single part of the music industry except the sale of compact discs is up.

  • Concerts and merchandise: UP (+4%)
  • Digital tracks: UP (+46%)
  • Ringtones: UP (+86% last year, but probably just single-digit percent this year)
  • Licensing for commercials, TV shows, movies and videogames: UP (Warner Music saw licensing grow by about $20 million over the past year)
  • Even vinyl singles (think DJs): UP (more than doubled in the UK)
  • And, if you include the iPod in the music industry, as I’d argue a fair-minded analysis would: UP, UP, UP! (+31% this year)

I'm a lebowski book lover

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Last month, I read the book I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What-Have-You and have to say that it is pretty fantastic.

There are interviews with many of the actors in the movie. All of them said how professional and awesome the Coen brothers were. Apparently the brothers showed up to the set knowing exactly how the movie will look and be. They only disagreed on one item – the look on Jeff Bridges face in the dream sequence when he’s going through the legs of the ladies on the bowling alley. Apparently, Ethan wanted a smile and Joel thought he should look scared. That’s the only disagreement they had. Pretty incredible. The book really makes you appreciate how good they are. They wrote the script, the casted the film and basically all the awesomeness that is Lebowski came straight from their brains. Of course, the book also tells you where they got the stories that fill the movie and discusses some theories about why so many people love it.

If you like the movie, this is a great pickup and read. Both my brother and i cruised through it and i could see it living in the bathrooms of many men for many years to come

Wes Anderson's short film

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The new Wes Anderson film, Dearjeeling, just hit the theaters and although i LOVE Rushmore, i’m starting to get sick of the same old kooky formula Wes keeps giving us. I’ll definitely go see the new movie, but i’m not expecting much as his films have gotten progressively worse. Bottle Rocket and Rushmore were great and i thought i was going to be a lifelong fan. Royal Tennebaums was good but it had too many characters with none of them being really developed and it didn’t have the heart of Rushmore. A Life Aquatic was just a mess and definitely the least original and entertaining. So, my expectations are low for Darjeeling.

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One thing that i just watched is that a short film prequel to the upcoming movie. It’s called Hotel Chevalier and it takes takes place in a lavish Parisian hotel room filled with typical Andersonian colors and quirky details (and i hear the Marc Jacobs suitcase play a major role in Darjeeling). The film stars Jason Schwartzman (shocker) and Natalie Portman and watches them fumble through the end of an awkward relationship. I love Natalie and she definitely delivers. The short film is free on iTunes (click HERE) and worth checking out.

Beer Scavenger Hunt: Capital Hill Edition

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We had a great hunt this weekend. In fact, it was the biggest turnout we’ve ever had for a hunt. It clocked in at over 55 people!

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Had a bunch of teams attend, such as:

  1. Team Mckendr: Mairead brought two 6’7″ dudes who were truly able to pimp out their hiding spots
  2. Team Davidson: Bryan Hozack + team. As usual Bryan was incredibly prepared and crushed the hunt.
  3. Team Newbies: Chloe Lewis, Meggy and Roy. They actually joined Team Pug for a super team. For newbies, they were great.
  4. Team Home Field Advantage: Erika, ScottyJ, Krug, Hercey. Great performance by the veterans.
  5. The Favorites. Team Just Graduated: Justin + GW team. All hype. For such a small team, they were pretty slow and put in rookie hiding spots. There’s always this spring.
  6. Team NY: Jules, Taco, Abbey. They joined with Team Pug for also. They get the MVP though for making the trip
  7. Team DJ Afterwards: Tiger, Daniel T, and Tom. They were rockstars because, well, they are rockstars.
  8. Team Pug: Danny, Percey and MPL (and eventually Samol and Shwabe). Any team with a dog gets huge bonus points.
  9. Team Loyola: Julia Turner Team (Julia and Molly). They get major points for just showing up. Although i think they were a bit in awe of the whole experience.
  10. Team Ohio State: Jenny led the charge to the most enthusiastic team i’ve seen
  11. Team No-Show: Molly Hill, Noah, Todd S., and Sara Pescatello. They get no points

The hunt’s best clue was:  “In the Church courtyard, the sack you’ll see next to the erect pipe is not the testicles of a priest but rather the container of some lovely spirits.”

Capital Hill proved to one of the best locations in DC for a hunt.  I was residential but also had some good stores and lots of spots for hanging out with a 12-pack.

Any ideas for where the hunt this spring should be?

Top 10 US soccer players

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Saw a good post over the weekend about the top 10 US players. It was on this blog. I’ve reposted them below

10. Frank Simek, Sheffield Wednesday — Surprise right off the bat, right? Despite a mug that would place him front and center as a villain in an 80s high school movie, the former Arsenal trainee has been a model pro for the Owls. He’s coming off years of 45 and 44 appearances in the rough-and-tumble England League Championship, which says a lot.

9. Carlos Bocanegra, Fulham — A first choice start at Craven Cottage and now wearing the captain’s armband. Can craftily get forward and contribute to the attack on set plays, yet far too often exposed defensively. Still, come a long way since moving to England in 2004 and has now racked up over 100 appearances.

8. Taylor Twellman, NE Revolution — Take away his miserable showing in the US shirt, the “face” from New England is as steady a goalscorer as you’ll find in MLS. Factor in that the Revs are continually among the top teams in the league and his 92 goals in 169 appearances and it’s impossible to deny him. (Perhaps he can even help the Revs win their first trophy — ever — in tonight’s US Open Cup final.)

 7. Michael Bradley, SC Heerenveen — From fringe, glorified practice player with the MetroStars to starter in the Dutch Eredivisie all inside of four seasons. Not bad for a guy that just turned 20.

6. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy — Obviously a lightning rod for any American soccer fan, yet it’s hard to dispute that he’s been the best player in MLS this century. Probably should dock ‘professionalism points’ for quitting Bayer Leverkausen, but that’s frankly become a moot point in my book. It was around three years ago, everyone should be able to move on by now.

5. Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96 — In a lot of ways, the anti-Donovan. He went to Germany in 1999 and instead of sulking, pining for the beach and locking himself in his room to play video games. Instead ‘Dolo took it upon himself to integrate into Der Motherland and learn the culture and language. (Granted he was 20 and had spend two years in college, while Donovan was 17.) 225 Bundesliga appearances and counting, plus the vice-captaincy and Cherundolo is in a lot of ways the model American ex-pat soccer pro.

4. Clint Dempsey, Fulham — Small body of work, but the Deuce has already made quite and impact at Craven Cottage. His goal last year v. Liverpool likely kept Fulham in the top division and so far this year he had a streak of three straight games with a goal. The biggest knock on the man from Nogadoches, Texas is he can absolutely drift and disappear from games. If I did this list in Sept. 2008, he’s the odds-on favorite for the No. 1 slot.

3. Brad Friedel, Blackburn Rovers — Without question the best American export of all time. Despite just 25 sporadic games, he’s the only first American to play for one Europe’s ‘glamor’ clubs in Liverpool (1997-2000). Since his move to Blackburn he’s probably been aside from perhaps Steven Gerrard and maybe Paul Scholes, the most important player to his club. Friedel has started nearly every game for the club and his command of the area got them through some dodgy times. It’s just a shame he retired from International play after the 2002 World Cup. It’s also a shame he speaks with a fake English accent. Then again, no one is perfect.

 2. DaMarcus Beasley, Glasgow Rangers — Let’s throw out the lost season at Manchester City. Beasley, first at PSV and now at Rangers, is the best American in the UEFA Champions League — by a mile. He’s already scored six goals in the competition, which just might be six more than the rest of our country combined. He’s also the only American to reach the competition’s semifinals. When his head’s screwed on straight, the Beaz is probably the most technically sound Yank around. Again, the only knock is he moved to Rangers, but they are a moderately large club and are continually in the Champions League. (Commentor Fan’s Attic points out Jovan Kirovski scored for Borussia Dortmund in the mid 90s in the Champions League, though it’s unclear if he played enough games to garner a winner’s medal.)

 1. Tim Howard, Everton — Voted by the PFA into the 2004 Best XI of the Premier League as a keeper, probably the highest non-MLS award ever for an American player. He won an FA Cup that season, too. Of course, this list isn’t about the past. What pushed Howard to the top of the list was how he transformed Everton from a middle of the pack team to a solid Top Four contender when he moved to Merseyside ahead of the 2006/07 season. Yes, he’s prone to the occasional blunder but still has the chance to be the most decorated American player over the next decade, as he’s only 28. Earlier this season Everton locked him up until the 2012/13 season. Can’t see any other American getting that kind of level of commitment.

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Seems like a pretty good list to me. Anyone else disagree?

The Dirt on/by Motley Crue

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I just finished reading the book The Dirt, a semi-autobiography of the 80’s band Motley Crue. It’s a great read that is pretty mesmorizing. All four band members write about their childhood, the crazy period where they become the most famous band in America and then the post-fame period where they turn to drugs and amazingly hot chicks.

The middle section of the book is how the Crue got from a great live act to becoming a hit. They were constantly selling out shows on the LA Strip but none of the record labels wanted to sign them to a record deal. This was the early 80’s and the entire industry thought that New Wave was the thing to be and Rock was dead. A 20-year old intern at Electra convinced the head of A&R to let him sign them. They then rel-released their first album and went on the next year to sell 5 million records. Even with that success, the label wanted to drop them because they didn’t like their image. After the next year when they were the top selling artist of the year did Electra decide to stick with them.

Throughout the book Nikki Sixx emerges as the only one who understood what the band’s direction was. He wrote most of the songs and consciously decided they should be a crossover from hard rock to mainstream. He also seems to be the glue that held the band together. He also was dating Lita Ford for most of their early days but eventually broke up when they went on tour for 18 months. They toured with Ozzy, who was even crazier than they were. He eventually married Baywatch star Donna D’Errico.

You also read how much drugs they took in both their early days. They were constantly doing coke, heroin, and anything else they could get their hands on. As a result they destroyed almost everything in the path and they hooked up with anything that moved. Both Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee overdosed and almost died, Vince Neil got into 3 drunk driving accidents, and Mick is a full-blown alcoholic even today.

You also read about Tommy Lee’s marraige to Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson (who he dated for only 4 days before they were married). Also about Vince’s solo band and all the tragedies they’ve encountered along the way.

The beginning is pure rock and roll and the end is just sad. You would never think that their lives would be so hard but they all really struggle just to make it day to day. I guess a bunch of ego and booze and drugs will do that to you.

Note: i just saw here they’re making a movie from the book with Val Kilmer and Christopher Walker rumored to play Ozzy and David Lee Roth.