Brendan I. Koerner's Blog, page 76

Is Mili Spelin

Much love to Nicolas Sarkozy for showing off his language-geek credentials at a Parisian environmental conference. A less astute world leader might've taken the easy way out by namechecking Esperanto in an attempt to describe a United Nations draft treaty as difficult to parse. But Sarkozy dug much deeper into the linguistic crates, citing the planned language Volapük instead.

The question now is whether Sarkozy's gambit will inspire his executive peers to make similar references in the...

The Legend of Big Rich

Whenever the NFL Draft rolls around, we're reminded of one of the most thought-provoking stories ever produced by the annual ritual: the 2002 saga of Richard "Big Rich" Williams. A star offensive tackle at tiny Gardner-Webb University, Williams was such a muscular force that he played himself onto the pro scouts' radar. After a strong showing at a post-season all-star game, he was projected to be a top-100 pick, a slot that would have guaranteed him a signing bonus in the neighborhood of...

Goodbye, Palito

Sad news out of the Philippines, where beloved comedian Palito has passed away. The man born Reynaldo Hipolito was in many ways the anti-Dom DeLuise—a performer whose career path was determined by his incredible leanness:

Born on Sept. 4, 1934, Palito was best known for his comedy films "Ram-Buto" and "Jones Bone," which were spoofs of Hollywood characters Rambo and James Bond.

He started his acting career in the 1960s. One of his early movies was "Pitong Zapata" in 1965.

In the beginning, he...

Fending Off the Shades

Every member of our species naturally fears death, given that we can never satisfactorily answer the question of what comes next. And so we've invented a zillion different ways of coping with that anxiety, many of which involve rituals that confirm a belief in the spirit's indestructibility. Few of these rituals, however, are quite as involved as those once practiced by the Yupik residents of St. Lawrence Island, a blip in the Bering Sea. Electing to participate in a pal's funeral there used ...

The Men With Weathered Hands

Given that our stance on immigration tends to dovetail quite nicely with a certain hoity-toity newsmagazine, we can only shake our heads at Arizona's latest legislative shenanigans. Sure, we probably shouldn't be surprised by anything that comes out a state that often seems content to go its oddball way (to Chuck D.'s tremendous displeasure). But the moral case for the bill's veto aside, we can't process why more folks aren't making light of the possible economic consequences of the proposed ...

Union City Blues

We're still dealing with making sure all's cool with the kid, so just a quick check-in regarding the 30th anniversary of the Mariel Boatlift. The clip above comes from a local station in northern New Jersey, home to the largest Cuban-American community outside South Florida. Make it to the back half and you'll see that the denizens of Union City greeted the immigrants with something less than open arms. Nothing says "I hate and fear you" like a bomb threat at an emergency shelter.

The Miami...

The Khan Behind the Curtain

We're dealing with some Microkhan Jr.-related issues this a.m., so no morning goodness. But in a (somewhat) rare act of narcissism, we'd like to point you toward this interview we just did with the excellent Title of Magazine. If you've ever yearned for a slightly clearer sense of why we do what we do, now's your chance. At the very least, you'll learn about our admiration for both Terry Cole and DJ Assault.

Only a King (Wears Overalls Like Those)

From the Mighty Sparrow comes one of the silkiest-smooth videos of all time, featuring overalls that only a true legend could ever pull off. We'd love to try, but we fear we wouldn't even make it to Lenox Avenue before the howls of derision became unbearable. The Sparrow, though, makes the orange-and-blue combo work. More power to him.

To Russia, With Relief

We're never able to resist a story that involves marauding monkeys, and so the latest news out of Bugala Island couldn't help but catch our eyes. As palm-oil production has expanded on Bugala, red-tailed monkeys have steadily lost habitat. The crafty primates, in return, have taken to ravaging the palms, seeing as how their older food sources have been destroyed. Rather than have farmers hunt and kill the monkeys, which is against the law, Ugandan authorities have come up with a novel...

The McGruff of an Earlier Age

The always excellent Early American Crime just wrapped up a multi-part series on Levi Ames, a Massachusetts burglar who was hanged in 1773. Ames' story survives in large part because of his last words, delivered on the gallows and commemorated in an illustrated pamphlet bearing the ridiculously non-concise name An address to the inhabitants of Boston, (particularly to the thoughtless youth) occasioned by the execution of Levi Ames, who so early in life, as not 22 years of age, must quit the...