I’m not doing one of those fundraiser deals. I don’t want to charge people for wishing me a Happy Birthday. That said, please give to the charity of your choice.
I must admit I’ve never been a huge fan of my birthday. Sharing it with a holiday where restaurants gouge couples because they can puts a crimp in the celebration. Plus, it’s a holiday that people feel obligated to celebrate, not from the heart. Other than florists, does anyone really look forward to Valentine’s Day?
I’m sure one year in the future I’ll be sharing my birthday with Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl, which is fine — especially if it’s a game as good yesterday’s. Congratulations to the Rams who won a nail-biter. They were my team growing up and it’s the first time in my lifetime they won the Super Bowl (the St. Louis Rams don’t count). What a post-season. They beat Brady, beat the '49ers, and won the Super Bowl.
I just hope the 70,000 in attendance don’t all come down with COVID. I saw zero masks. Ushers were supposed to enforce that. But when the Bengals receiver committed a face mask violation on his Rams defender, even that wasn’t called (resulting in a Cincinnati touchdown) so I guess no one cared.
In any event, somewhere in the great beyond, my dear friend Ron Jacobs is smiling today. Only sorry he wasn’t here to see what would have been the greatest moment of his life.
And it puts my birthday in perspective. Yes, it sucks getting older, but what a gift to still just be here.
Finally, I confess that I don’t check Facebook every day to see whose birthday it is. So if I don’t wish you a Happy Birthday just know I’m thinking it. Thanks again, Happy Valentine’s Day, and if the restaurant you go to tonight has a special Prix Fixe menu, the Red Lobster still has the “Ultimate Endless Shrimp Monday.”
37 comments :
Happy Birthday Ken!
As a non-football fan, I'm genuinely just curious - why don't the St. Louis Rams count? Did you have "a team" during those 20 years?
Happy birthday, Ken. Nice for a comedy writer to share the date with Jack Benny (a guy who always appreciated writers).
I note the Rams followed baseball's Braves this year (2021-22) in winning their fourth title in three different markets. The Braves won it all in Boston in 1914; Milwaukee in 1957; and Atlanta in 1995 and 2021. As for the Rams, their NFL titles came in Cleveland in 1945*; Los Angeles in 1951* and 2021; and St. Louis in 1999.
* pre-Super Bowl (yes, they count)
Happy Birthday, Ken.
Happy Birthday!!
Merry Bornday!
It's probably too obscure a reference, so I'll explain. Roger Ebert's book "Ebert's Little Movie Glossary" is about movie clichés. The chapter "Merry Bornday" is about how some movies avoid having to pay for the rights to use Happy Birthday by making characters sing something similar.
On a different note, RIP to Ivan Reitman, who made so many iconic and classic comedies. Ghostbusters I and II, Twins and Kindergarten Cop were part of my childhood.
Happy birthday.
Happy Valentine's Day?
Have a great birthday, Ken.
Happy birthday, Ken. And as I said on Instagram, congratulations on the Rams' win last night. I wanted the Bengals to win, but I'm not sad they didn't. Last night marked the first time an L.A. pro team truly won at home since the Galaxy won the 2014 MLS Cup. The Lakers and Dodgers won their 2020 titles in bubbles and the 2016 Sparks clinched the WNBA Finals on the road.
Chris Myers said in an Instagram post that Matthew Stafford is the first Florida-born starting QB to win a Super Bowl, but commenters to his post pointed out that he was raised in Texas; specifically, Highland Park in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Also on Instagram, CNN contributor and University of Georgia alumna Mary Katharine Ham pointed out (in a Story) that it's "the year of the dog" since Stafford played for the Georgia Bulldogs and won his Super Bowl a month after Georgia knocked off Alabama in the national championship...I mean College Football Playoff Final.
Happy birthday, Ken! The only masked "fans" I've seen a picture of were Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie.
I thought it was very nice that the NFL chose to put on their biggest show of the year just for your birthday.
You don't see that kind of thoughfulness from corporate world much anymore.
Happy Birthday, Ken!
Presents! Cake and ice cream! And allll the Cream of Weenie Soup you can eat!
Carter, I would like MLB to not only reach a deal with the MLBPA, but also allow the Mets to win the World Series two weeks ahead of my birthday on November 17. It's been too long. If they don't win by next year, their drought will be longer than for thoroughbred racing Triple Crown winners.
Mike Chimeri,
"last night marked the first time an LA team won at home"
Ummm, in 2014 the LA Kings defeated the New York Rangers at the Staples Center to win the Stanley Cup. And who was there to see it? Al Michaels, long time Kings season ticket holder who loves hockey.
You share a birthday with Frederick Douglass, Thelma Ritter, Jimmy Hoffa, Hugh Downs, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Jack Benny and Teller (the magician). So much for astrology.
Have a great one.
Happy happy birthday, and thank you for keeping us all entertained and laughing for all of these years!
I'm aware of that, Malcolm--unfortunately, as a Rangers fan. Yes, Al Michaels was there, just as he was when they won in 2012. That time, I was glad they won because their opponent was the New Jersey Devils, who eliminated the Rangers in overtime of game 6 of that year's Eastern Conference Final. Ironically, that's how the Kings ended their season in '14. The Kings won the Stanley Cup in June; the Galaxy won the MLS Cup in December at StubHub Center (now Dignity Health Sports Park). That's why I listed them rather than the Kings. If only going by the four major pro sports leagues, you're right. With all pro sports leagues considered, I'm right. And that means you're right.
Weirdly, I've never been to a Rangers game, not even at Nassau Coliseum, but I saw two Islanders games. The first was against the Devils in 1997 with my high school's sports marketing class. (Howie Rose spoke to us before the game.) The second was against the Maple Leafs in 2000 with fellow members of my college's Hillel. The two times I was in Madison Square Garden were in a four-day period in November 1996: on a tour with the same sports marketing class, and with my father, sister and cousins for WWF Survivor Series. It was Dwayne Johnson's first PPV, going by Rocky Maivia. His The Rock gimmick, seen before the game last night, was about a year away.
Happy birthday! One of your presents was a nice interview with Dan Hoard at sportsbroadcastjournal.com.
I hear there was some sort of "game" yesterday. It isn't baseball season yet. How could there have been a "game"?
A Facebook friend in L.A. was probably dreading this matchup. He's a lifelong Steelers fan, having seen them on TV as a kid during the Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris "Steel Curtain" days, and he wouldn't have stomached the "Bungles" actually winning a Super Bowl. However, he's married to a diehard Chargers fan, who's had season tickets forever, and she's probably infuriated that the "roommate" Rams' championship. An unhappy household was guaranteed either way.
If the baseball season is lost -- not that I care, I haven't watched MLB since the Mariners helped screw over a privately financed arena despite getting their stadium tax-financed -- maybe it will help lead to needed rule changes like the ones that have greatly improved hockey since their lost 2004-05 season. Instituting a pitch clock and abolishing shifts would be a start.
Happy birthday to someone I find endlessly informative and entertaining.
My mother would call St. Valentines Day a "Hallmark holiday" and didn't care if we sent her a card or flowers or whatever. Send it when it's meaningful, not to fill a space on the calendar, that was her philosophy. Meanwhile, my husband knows that while I love roses, I don't ever want them for V-Day as I don't want us buying into the price-gouging that more than doubles the cost of a simple bouquet. We also don't go out to eat that day.
We started out rooting for the Bengals but then they started playing dirty. Then the raw emotion from some of the Rams after the game was really touching. But was I the only one who found the commercials bizarre and sometimes confusing?
Barbara, that crypto commercial disguised as a screen saver was so aggravating. As it dragged on, I wondered is this going somewhere? Where it went was an abrupt end, flashing the company logo and tagline. I didn't care for any of the trailers. I liked the bait-and-switch Disney+ ad, substituting GOATs (greatest of all time) with actual goats. Michelob Ultra's "Superior Bowl" bowling ad with Steve Buscemi, Peyton Manning, and his fellow sports GOATs (not goats) was another good one.
I held back from saying this in my initial comment, but I believe karma dictated that the Bengals blow the game. They took the lead on a missed penalty call and it was only fair that the pendulum swing the other way, which it didn't until after the interception. Midway through the Joe Burrow sackfest, I expected a blocked punt and touchdown return, but apparently, that was a karmic bridge too far. When I watched the highlights this morning, I channeled my inner Maude Findlay and said of Tee Higgins's facemasking before the touchdown run, "God'll get you for that, Tee."
Article published today on Vox:
“Sam and Diane were TV’s first big romance — and maybe still its best"
https://www.vox.com/22901662/cheers-sam-malone-diane-chambers-romance
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ken and many more.
I'm still trying to get over Larry David selling crypto.
Hoppy Berf Day, Kem. Ready for a "Life Alert" yet? Just kidding.
If you did charge how much would it be? I wouldn't pay more that $2.00.
There are many birthdays worse than Valentine's Day. My mother's birthday was the day after Christmas. When she was growing up she always got only one gift. The dreaded combined Xmas/B-day present. My birthday is associated with murder. Including Nicole Brown Simpson and the Florida, nightclub massacre. Plus, it always seemed that the June Playmates weren't that attractive compared to other months.
Congratulations to the RAMS. I agree with you. St. Louis doesn't count. It's like when a girl breaks up with you and starts dating other guys. If she comes back to you you really don't want to know what she did while you were apart.
Shrimp is not kosher.
Happy Happy
M.B.
Thanks Darwin. I hadn't heard about Ivan Reitman.
M.B.
P.S. You didn't mention the Super Bowl halftime show. Knowing how much you love Hip-Hop I'm sure you were glued to the set.
M.B.
Happy birthday, Ken. Of the three events on this day, yours is the only one I don't ignore. :)
wg
If Today Is Your Birthday for February 14:
https://cafeastrology.com/birthday/february14-2022.html
Happy Birthday Mister Levine.
I Love your blog.
Just about to observe this Saint's Day with one of my favorite movies:
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), directed by Roger Corman.
Or as I like to call it, The Miscasting Olympiad.
The major fun is listening to Paul Frees's narration, as he gives the dates for all the real-life characters - and then looking them up and discovering that each of the well-known actors is between 5 to 15 years older than the real person he's playing.
Prime Example: In 1929, Al Capone was about 30 years old; Jason Robards was at least 45 (plus he had to act fat - but that's another story ...).
Fun for the whole family!
Happiest of birthdays, Ken. I'm so happy that your team won just for your birthday! It feels like my birthday every day when I open up your blog, the gift that just keeps giving. Thank you so much for always being so funny and sharing with us so much. Hope your day is absolutely wonderful.
Just wanted to say Happy Birthday. Thanks for the laughs all these years.
Happy belated b-day, Ken. Hope this b-day was better than ‘ohh-kay.’
Cheryl Marks wrote:
the M's finally looked decent this year
Good to hear - I never know until June. Last year their winning percentage was WAY ABOVE the usual expectation - allowing far more runs than runs scored.
Michael wrote:
I hear there was some sort of "game" yesterday.
This only "counts" in some circles. There were plenty of games - on ice - in China.
Mike Chimeri wrote:
I would like MLB to .... allow (sic) the Mets to win the World Series two weeks ahead of my birthday on November 17. It's been too long.
Interesting verb there. And try following the M's.
and:
karma dictated that the Bengals blow the game. They took the lead on a missed penalty call
There was an "unsportsmanlike" call vs. Cincy post-whistle in the backfield. At first I thought it might have been a "makeup call" - but saw the replay. That player will remember his lack of self-control for a long time (he should) - in a game that had so few infractions - noted by Al Michaels.
Belated Natal Anniversary! Oh, to be 55 again...
> I’m sure one year in the future I’ll be sharing my birthday with Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl
Under the current scheduling system, 2027 for Super Bowl LXI. Which causes me to notice, the Super Bowl being played in 2025 will be Super Bowl LIX.
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