Funny joke: How I learned to mind my own business

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were outside shouting,

'13...13...13.'



The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks, so I looked through to see what was going on...



Somebody poked me in the eye with a stick!



Then they all started shouting,

'14...14...14'...

Book review: "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

This is the third in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown.  If you've read Dan Brown's other Robert Langdon novels, "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code", you're probably expecting the third in the series to be a fast moving, tour-de-force of ancient wisdom and secrets. You would be 100% correct.

"The Lost Symbol" reads like a movie with colorful characters and Robert Langdon is again running against the clock. This time he finds himself in Washington, D.C. in search of the Ancient Mysteries hidden by the Masons. As in the other Dan Brown books, this is a matter of life and death with his mentor, Peter Solomon, in dire need of Robert to solve the puzzle before it's too late.  Oh yeah, and of course the love interest for Robert as well.

While reading the book I felt that it was great, but that it seemed too close to the other two in the series. But with further thinking, I came to the conclusion that how else could he do it?  To make his stories as interesting and heart-stopping as possible he needs to have a unique and controversial topic, a life-or-death situation depending much on time, new and smart characters and a pace that rivals any other novels.  He has done that again with "The Lost Symbol", a great page-turner that has many unforeseen twists.  It makes you think about your beliefs and the need for more research on the matter

There are however, two things you need to know and do before reading:

1) Remember that this is just a novel and nothing to take personally.  He says he writes his stories to push readers to open their eyes to other possibilities and to get people to discuss these topics.  This book may make you want to research Masons more as well as the Bible.

2) Have a pencil and paper handy.  There may be items you will want to look up as well as puzzles and other little things you may want to solve or figure out for yourself.

All of that being said, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who liked the other two books in the series.  As long as you follow the above 2 "rules" you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.  The only thing that took away from this great read is previous reading the first two in the series, "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code".  They are so good and cast such a big shadow, it is hard for Dan Brown to escape from it.  He has done a remarkable job in doing that with "The Lost Symbol" and after reading it you can see why it took him years to get it finished.  We will probably have to wait many more years until his next one.  Be patient.

PGA coming back to Valhalla in Louisville in 2011 and 2014

Good news, Kentuckiana sports fans. The PGA just announced that the PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship are coming back to Valhalla Golf Course.

The Senior PGA Championship will occur in 2011 and the PGA Championship will occur in 2014.

Like many I've gone to every PGA event at Valhalla. From Mark Brooks winning the PGA over Kenny Perry, the stormy Senior PGA in 2004 with Hale Irwin won, Tiger's showdown with Bob May to the United States winning the Ryder Cup last year. It is a great venue and the PGA know how to put on a well-run tournament.

My Valhalla highlights are getting to the magnificent course for the first time, in 2004 when the course was flooded and walking the course as the officials were trying to get the tournament back on, Tiger's comeback in 2000 and the Ryder Cup where the U.S. team pulled off the win.

I am so happy to have the PGA coming back to Louisville. Do you have any Valhalla stories?

Calipari unleashes CoachCal.com, new Facebook page and book

from wildcatdcorner.com

UK Coach John Calipari is proving to be the busiest man in sports. He is not only recruiting and coaching, but he is seems to be techno savvy and is everywhere on the internet. I mean everywhere. Not only does the prolific tweeter have almost half a million (as of today) on Twitter, but he now has a website and a new Facebook account. Oh, did I mention he has a book coming out soon.

The new website coachcal.com contains articles, videos and a blog. It is free, but it has various memberships to sign up for which does cost money. The proceeds will benefit the Calipari Family Foundation For Children. When the season starts it ought to be a great place to learn all things UK basketball.

Become a fan of Coach Calipari's Facebook page. There are almost 20,000 fans of that page already.

Lastly, he has a book coming out on Sept. 1 called Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks to Succeed in Business and in Life.

Like myself you probably can't wait for basketball season to start. With the about outlets you can get your Calipari fix in many different ways.

John Wall coming to Kentucky

This morning it was announced that John Wall, the No. 1 rated high school player in the country will go to Kentucky. If you are a UK fan, like myself, you are pretty much beside yourself with the possibilities of next basketball season. The roster for next year, even if Jodi Meeks doesn't return, is pretty incredible. It is definitely the #1 recruiting class in the country.























This roster is brought to you by John Clay from the Lexington Herald-Leader. You can see his post here: http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2009/05/19/updated-uk-basketball-roster/

Notice from the roster the five freshmen: DeMarcus Cousins, Jon Hood, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe & John Wall. It is definitely the Fab 5 of the 21st century. I joke that with this roster the NCAA will announce that Kentucky will have to play in the NBA next season.

Now we have to see whether Jodi Meeks will return to Kentucky or not. I hope he does, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if he pursues his NBA dreams this year. Go Cats!

I'll leave you with a little taste of John Wall.

General Quarters & Tom McCarthy Will Try It Again In The Preakness

General Quarters, with Julien Leparoux aboard, didn't have a good race at the Kentucky Derby (he came in 10th). The muddy track conditions were hard on the horse. After the race GQ had a mud ball in his nostril the size of a tennis ball. He also was bumped at the gate, like most other of the horses in the race.

Now both are off to run in the Preakness. His odds are 20-1, the same as when odds were first released for the Kentucky Derby. This time out he will have to go against many of the same contenders, including Derby winner Mine That Bird. However, now the overwhelming favorite is Rachel Alexandra, the filly who won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths.

I hope that the race conditions for the Preakness are better than the Kentucky Derby. Good luck to family friend Tom McCarthy and his horse General Quarters.

General Quarters Wins Toyota Blue Grass Stakes & Will Go On To The Kentucky Derby

The "upsets" are over for General Quarters, the horse who is owned and trained by Tom McCarthy, the retired principal from Louisville. He has had a great run this year and has deserved a spot in The Kentucky Derby. What makes his story more unique is that he is 75 and General Quarters is the only horse in his stable. He had had many offers for GQ, but his answer back is always "You don't sell a dream". It is a great story and one that will be known very soon by millions of people.

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

What makes the story so cool for me is that Tom McCarthy is a long time family friend. We couldn't be happier for him and his family. It is so surreal to have this happen and needless to say we all can't wait until the first Saturday in May.

To learn more about General Quarters go to http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/thoroughbred/general-quarters/2006?source=BHonline

or "Retired principal hopes to catch Derby break"
http://www.kentucky.com/285/story/757872.html