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The Eternal Legacy of Harold Ramis
By: Ash Vickers of MegaCynics
Harold Ramis will be dearly missed and fondly remembered as a man who connected multiple generations together with timeless comedy favorites. His talent for writing, directing and producing witty and humorous one-liners and creating funny characters, as well as portraying funny characters that were witty and humorous with some great one-liners, Harold Ramis was in the entertainment business to make people laugh and smile.
And he did.
Here is a small collection of his writing, directing, producing and acting credits:
Caddyshack, Stripes, Animal House, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Groundhog Day, Analyze This, Multiplicity, As Good as It Gets, High Fidelity, Orange County and Year One.
These are just some of his best-known projects. Just reading those titles is making me laugh and reminisce about all the hilariously classic scenes I and millions of others still happily quote to this day. Harold Ramis not only brought countless families together to watch the Griswold’s every Thanksgiving and Christmas, Bill Murray every Groundhog Day, but he also brought us joy in watching two idiots struggle in the Army and, unforgettably, the coolest group of ghost-fighting scientists in history.
He was a comedy legend that worked with comedy legends. In front of the camera or behind it, he was sensational. That’s a rare gift and he was a rare talent.
While it’s impossible to pay a complete tribute to his life and filmography, below is a video by CNN’s Jake Tapper that can serve as a wonderful reminder of how he made us laugh and feel better about the infinitely complex and mysterious thing we call life.
Who are we gonna miss?
Harold Ramis.
Thanks for the memories and rest in peace.
Happy Monday!
So often, the beginning of the week can look and feel the same. Sometimes though, it’s on these familiar paths that we are (surprisingly) able to see something we weren’t able to before. Whatever that may be, I hope the following video clip can provide you with inspiration to try to look at the world in a slightly different light with a new sense of adventure.
Same path, but a new journey.
Why is it that these things are usually right in front of our faces?
Here’s to a New Kind of Happy Monday!
More Proof the ’80s are Coming Back
The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team will play against their neighbors from the north in Canada later today (noon, ET) in the semifinals of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The United States has already defeated Russia in the group stage that ended in a thrilling shootout victory. Especially since Finland knocked Russia out cold with a 3-1 win the other day (some may want to place a GPS tracker on those players…), this match-up between the Americans and the Canadians will be elevated to another level.
The stakes are high with a spot against Sweden in the championship game, plus bragging rights between these two great nations, as well as between players on various NHL teams, are on the line (technically, the blue line).
Canada is traditionally considered the better hockey nation. So, how can the United States rally together to shock the world again this Winter Olympics?
I’m glad you asked (different opponent, but still the underdog).
Go Team USA!
Conceivably the Best 2-Nil Lead in Fußball
Important Disclosure: I (and many, many other fans) were unable to watch and/or record the Bayern Munich v. Arsenal game yesterday because it was not featured on Fox Soccer, but rather on Fox Sports 2. This channel, unfortunately, is pay-per-view. It’s one thing for a Bundesliga match to be pay-per-view, but a Champions League clash between two giant clubs when past tournament matches have been shown for free?
Not cool Fox Soccer…not cool.
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A question was asked in “The Relentless Journey of a Champion” regarding whether or not remaining on 4th and even 5th gear would be sustainable and ultimately rewarding for Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich squad heading into its Champions League clash with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium? This game also came after a German Cup match and a Bundesliga match (both solid victories with its top talent) just this past week.
The answer?
Yes.
It appears to be just that simple.
Even without the dynamic services of the injured Franck Ribéry and Xherdan Shaqiri, plus the recovering manager in the middle Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich did not miss a beat as they handled a flurry of dangerous offensive opportunities from the Gunners throughout the first half and then absolutely dominated Arsenal in the second half for a convincing 2-nil victory with stunning goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller (or so I read).
This win was also the first for Pep in Emirates Stadium.
A relieved and joyful check for the Munich manager.
It does need to be stated that there was a shockingly surreal occurrence with two missed penalties by a devastated player from each team in Mesut Özil and David Alaba (a fast right arm and a pesky left post), a red card for the Arsenal goalkeeper minutes before halftime, a few yellow cards and a sidewinder beauty tucked inside the top near post from Bayern’s Toni Kroos.
(Fortunately, somebody posted a free highlight video on YouTube yesterday evening)
What does this all prove?
It’s validation that “Pep’s Boys” (just made that up!) are intelligently and relentlessly preparing, working and reacting the right way in their weekly training sessions and during the all-important games. The team’s that think too much on-and-off the field tend to think a lot after the game about what went wrong.
When you can trust everything you’re doing, that’s one hell of an advantage over any opponent, regardless of the venue. Bayern Munich is playing its brand of fußballing chess and are moving themselves and their opponents with direct force, as well as with a passive aggressive nature that is paying big dividends at the right moments.
Plus, they are quite good at imitating the checkers move of jumping their opponent’s back line with an overwhelming effect when that moment presents itself.
Some could argue that’s a championship advantage.
When Arsenal travels to Allianz Arena in Munich on March 11th for the second leg, expect nothing short of a top-shelf lineup and effort from “Pep’s Boys.”
Anything less wouldn’t qualify as a championship effort.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 