Merry Christmas

Wish You Were Here

See you There

The WLGF Season is about to Begin

In honor of the 18th season of the WLGF, I offer this video.

30 years ago...

Monday night, July 28th, was the 30th anniversary of Michael's first Bruce Springsteen concert.

This is the opening number from Monday's show, Out in the Street. It was a great night and Michael would have loved it.

Bruce Springsteen performs Out in the Street

From Today's New York Times

Michael Joseph Decasper
DECASPER--Michael Joseph, 45, of NYC and East Chatham, NY, died July 22, 2008 at his home surrounded by family and friends after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Michael was an assistant director for "The Sopranos" and many movies. He was a proud Florida Gator with a deep passion for music, sports, and politics. Michael is survived by his wife and best friend of 26 years, Amy Lauritsen, parents Linda and Dennis Beynon, sister Mary DeCasper, brother-inlaw Matt Dobbins, in-laws Sally and Paul DeMartini, Linda Jesberg, Scott Lauritsen, Marcia Cowin and Rick Lauritsen, nieces, nephews and countless friends. He was a special man who will be missed by all. A memorial service will be planned at a later date. The family is requesting donations in Michael's name to: Dr. Allyson Ocean Research Fund, c/o Allyn Rose, Weill Cornell Development Office, Box 123, 525 East 68 St. NY, NY 10065.
Published in the New York Times on 7/27/2008

In Memory of Mike

Mike and I have been friends for 30 years. It has been one of those rare friendships that didn't fade after high school. Even in those days, I saw Mike as different, and our friendship as something that was certain to endure. During the height of our misguided teenage pursuits, Mike exhibited enormous depth, self-knowledge, and an inclination toward adult concerns. He was a wise man in a teenager's body. We all make decisions in those years that affect our entire adult lives, and without Mike, I don't think I would have made good ones.

For those who haven't read it, I recommend Paul Tatara's excellent tribute to Mike. Like Paul, I too was influenced by Mike's musical sensibilities. In college, it was Mike who convinced me to expand my musical universe beyond FM radio to then-upcoming acts like The Clash, Joe Jackson, and Elvis Costello. His exposing me to the Imperial Bedroom album, in particular, made me feel like I had just discovered America. I drove him and my other roommates crazy by playing only side 1 of the album over and over, out of fear that there was no way side 2 could ever match side 1's perfection. As a musician, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude for his educating me in this music, which influences me greatly to this day.

After college, our friendship was still strong. He was instrumental in helping me re-think my career. This critical help gave me the focus and courage to greatly change the trajectory of my adult life for the better. I can only imagine how different my life would have been had he not been there.

The years after that have been very happy ones, and still he was always there, sharing thoughts about external matters like world affairs or sports, but also still courageous enough to confront his inner self. Mike knew innately that the richness of his life came not from his external success, but by the quality of his relationships and by the tending to his soul.

Mike, I will miss you more than words can say. Whenever my life's path approaches a fork in the road, I will know you are with me, giving perspective that never would have occured to me. And that gives me comfort that the path leads to a blessed place.

A note from Amy

For those of you that haven't heard the news Michael passed away early this morning.

His sister, Mary, reads everyone's horoscope every day. It's not something we ever read
but his today in the Daily News was:

"Building a strong support group of people you can rely upon can provide comfort as well
as peace of mind. People enter your life for different reasons, Pisces. Some will sit in the
background, floating in and out, being there just when you need them. Others come for
specific reasons, and it seems they only stay around for a short time. When someone
leaves your life, don't feel that something unpleasant has happened. It could just be that
their reason for being there has ceased to exist."

I encourage you to keep the blog going and tell your stories of Michael. We were both
apprehensive at first about this but it helped us along the way and we enjoyed it. It
brought us many smiles during this rough time. He was a man to cherish and to
remember.

We will plan a memorial for Michael in the future and will let you know. Also setting up a
fund for donations for pancreatic cancer research - Chris will post the info soon. Please,
no flowers - the garden is in full bloom.

With all of you I share my very heavy heart.

Amy

One of the Best Concerts Ever

I will post to the mailing list about this concert in more detail, but I am pretty sure this is from the same tour that Michael, Sarah, Bill Shaouy and I saw in Rhode Island in the summer of 1989. Elvis & Nick Lowe, both performing solo.

One of the great shows I have ever seen. The details of it are special.

No Caption needed

Buy me a Wonderloaf

Funny. Funny. Funny. This is worth 4 minutes of your life.

Troy McClure has made it to IMDB

You can read about Troy McClure's filmography on his IMDB page

My favorite: Good-Time Slim, Uncle Doobie, And The Great 'Frisco Freak-Out

If this doesn't make you smile...

then nothing will. Matt Harding seems to have the greatest life. He goes around the world and does this silly dance and people pay him a small sum to do it. Here is the most recent one, just posted this week.




Here is his video from 2006, which is one of my favorites:

Funny Country Science song

This is NOT SAFE for Work!

Because Michael & I love Tom Waits so much!!

Best Press Conference Ever!!!!

We're not in 2000 anymore!

Here is Gore's speech from tonight. It was weird watching it because I began to think if the election in 2000 went as it was supposed to and the Palm Beach County's ballot had not been screwed up, then we could very well be seeing the party rallying around Joe Lieberman right now. So strange.

Top 25 Twilight Zone Episodes

From youtube:


My personal favorite is not in there. It's titled "Changing of the Guard". Donald Pleasance plays a retiring schoolteacher who questions whether his vocation made a difference. Google video won't let me embed here, so I'll paste the link: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%2B%22twilight+zone%22+%2B%22Changing+Of+The+Guard%22&sitesearch=#

Betsy likes it, so I do too!

Betsy seems to be hanging with a tough crowd these days, card players. She apparently has a crush on Phil Ivey, who I will admit is a handsome fellow. Having worked with Betsy on the greatest poker movie ever made, Rounders (where my father gets a nice closeup in the Atlantic City sequence). Not safe for the kids, but funny.

Why he won

Watch this and it will be clear.

Our Nominee

Tonight is an historic moment. We've talked about the candidate plenty, but we don't talk enough about how he pulled off the biggest electoral upset in our lifetimes. There are grassroots candidates in every election cycle, but typically the establishment, top-down candidate wins out. The money and institutional advantages are too much to overcome. But here, in the 21st century, using 21st century means for grassroots supporters to connect, organize, and empower themselves, we have a true bottom-up, people-powered nominee. And this portends a more people-powered model of governance should he win the general election.

First Concert Series

In honor of Amy's first Concert:




In honor of Michael's much cooler concert, this clip is fromt he Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. One of the greatest versions of Prove it All Night EVAH!

This is why I love the Internet

Here is a site where the blogger is attempting to grow every type of beard known to man. He even has two Star Trek related Beards.


Here is a Muttonchop spinoff called the Hulihee.




The rest are available by clicking here

Obama Practices Looking-Off-Into-Future Pose

I am an Obama partisan for many reasons, one of which is that his candidacy promises the first real 21st Century model of governance. Whether or not you're pro-Obama, you'll find this article from the Onion hilarious.

#21 - #3000

The best Pirate ever.
For Michael.

Richard Thompson - Turning of the Tide

A good, live acoustic version:

Batman vs. The Penguin: The Debate

If you had any doubts that The Penguin is a Rovian Republican, this should put your doubts to rest.

From Kristin Bernstein - Tony Soprano

Here is Max Koch imitating the guy that Michael worked with for 6 years!

Crippling to the Campaign

http://www.theonion.com/content/radio_news/obama_voicemail_message_not

Best Shatner impression I've ever seen

Kevin Pollack:

Happy Belated Birthday, Amy!!

*ahem*

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmyyyyyyyyyyyy,
Happy Birthday to YOU!

Our wish for you is a million more stories like the one below.

*points to the True Story post*

It has become a favorite quote all morning...and I have a feeling it will be following us around for a loooooooooong time!

Much love to you on your Special Day! Love to Michael!

xoxo!

True Story Department

Once upon a time, Paul Tatara was in a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant waiting in line when a woman in front of him ordered a large bucket of fried chicken.

Buyer: "I'd like a 10 piece bucket of Fried Chicken."
KFC worker: "Is that to stay or to go?"
Buyer (now indignant): "Of course it's to go, do you think I am going to sit here and eat a whole bucket of fried chicken?"
KFC worker (nonplussed): "Chill bitch, I don't know your life."

MUST SEE TV

Click on it, grab some popcorn and enjoy!

Origianl Recipe & Extra Crispy!!

Stephen Colbert is pure Genius.


Here is the original O'Reilly Meltdown:


Here is Colbert's meltdown from when he was at a local TV station!!

Couch Potatos!

Because you didn't ask for it, here is every single couch gage ever from The Simpsons!

Who does this man look like?

My wife says NBC's Chuck Todd looks like Jeff Bernstein. Michael thinks he looks like Chris Collins.



As for me, I think Chuck Todd looks like Murray (Rhys Darby) from Flight of the Conchords.

Made me think of Tasha!

This is just too funny not to watch. A dog who likes to have fun!!

Michael's VP Choice

If you don't know who she is, then you need to pay more attention!

Better Know a District

Here's a montage from my favorite Colbert Report segment, "Better Know a District".

I've Got a Feeling

This is my favorite song from the Let It Be album/movie. If this were the future and I had access to the holodeck from Star Trek, I'd want Billy Preston's job, jamming with the holographic Beatles on the holographic rooftop.

This is sad & funny, but more funny than sad

Not much to add here.

Got to love some Bruce!

And Now with More Members!

We are now up to over 100 Members on the mailing list! You've got quite an audience to play to.

Get writing folks!

Message of the Day

Here's a great message from Betsy Palmieri:

Today, Rocco and I were sitting in a restaurant and three women were arguing -
no, DEBATING about Michael Jackson and whether or not he had a geri curl during the
time his hair caught on fire. It was about twenty minutes long (the debate not the hair
style) and it was loud and across the tables from us. All I thought about was, "Hmmm!"
Nothing less, nothing more. I was aching to join in but Rocco shot me a look.

We were somewhere in Brooklyn, right where the five borough bike race was passing.

Which by the way? Looks like fun. Perhaps we can set up a team and we aim for it next year?
Matching helmets for you and Amy to wear? And we can have horns that sound like they
belong in a Burgess Meredith film or somethin'. Maybe tassles on the handle bars, too.

I mean it.

We love you,
Betsy

Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer

Many of us are on the fence about where true creative genius comes from. Does it simply come from the brain? Or is it bigger than that -- is it divinely inspired? Phil Hartman's character is an argument for the latter. It is too sublimely brilliant to have come from a single, puny human mind.

Time for a Laugh c/o SCTV

One of the funniest bits ever! Rick Moranis doing double duty as Jerry Todd & Michael McDonald.

From Noreen

Noreen says:
"If you look closely - you'll see i'm the one curled up in a ball - missing Michael."

Cheese and Crackers!

Okay, now, I just saw this on TV, and everyone knows you should believe EVERYTHING you see and hear on TV, right? Someone (and I think it was a youth minister) found a Cheetoh in the shape of Jesus. No, NO! Wait! That’s not EVEN the best part, this is: he is calling it….I feel the need to whisper….*whispering* …..Cheesus. If that’s not making you laugh, at least I know your sister will be rolling when she sees this!
*waves at Mary*

The Fantasy Football Hall of Fame

Let the debate begin!

Makes us Happy

Michael & I have always had the hots for her!

Man Out of Time

Elvis is king.

Now this is funny

Michael and I laughed pretty hard at this yesterday. We almost felt sorry for Jeff Bernstein!

Make sure to pay attention to the guy with the moustache who rationalizes the Jets not drafting Dan Marino. Priceless

Florida In the Spring = Lots of Yellow!

Dear Michael and Amy,

Sneezing my head off because of all the YELLOW pollen floating around everywhere. Every sneeze is a blessing, I'm thinking. So, you are having lots of blessings sent your way as of late!

Thinking of you both~

xo Paige

Welcome!

Hi everybody. If you want to become one of the folks who posts here, it's very easy. Just shoot me an email at cswartout@gmail.com and I'll get you started.

If you just want to comment on the posts, even easier. Just do so.

I'll start with something that will merge a couple of things on Michael's radar.

Yes You Can

Mike and Amy,

Our hope, our will, and our power is with you as you fight on. We're in this together.

Bill and Pam