Title [Football]: “Earn the Right to Win: How Success in Any Field Starts with Superior Preparation”

Title [Basketball]: “Toughness: Developing True Strength On and Off the Court”

Authors: Tom Coughlin and David Fisher [Football]; Jay Bilas and Coach K [Basketball]

Ranks: 18 [Football]; 29 [Basketball]

Blurb [Football]: “Preparation is easy to praise but very hard to master. No modern coach, in any sport, understands that better than NFL veteran Tom Coughlin… Now Coughlin shares his best advice and anecdotes and shows how they apply beyond the gridiron.”

Blurb [Basketball]: “Through his ups and downs, on and off the court, Jay learned the true meaning of toughness from coaches, teammates, and colleagues. Now, he discusses this misunderstood — yet vital — attribute and how it contributes to winning in sports and in life.”

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“Will the lever voting machine never die? Though New York nixed the old machines a few years ago, they’ve still got them lying around, and now a few senators are pushing to get them reinstated for this year’s mayoral election. Yesterday, four senators proposed a law that would allow the Board of Elections to use the old voting machines instead of the new electronic ballots. The senators say they’re concerned the new machines wouldn’t be able to tally votes and be retested fast enough to handle the 14-day turnaround period between a primary and run-off mayoral election.” [Gothamist]

When you’re awake at 3am to consider the wasteland of your life here’s a way to look at death. Yes, he’s welcome; yes, he’s seductive; yes, he’s not wearing much; yes, you hope you cum together but still…

We never talk about it. We don’t make plans. We don’t display the deceased in the living room. Hospice is one thing but do we have a local café?

Is there honey still for tea?

NPR floats a trial casket.

Our guest columnist is Philippe Charlier, assistant professor in forensic medicine and anthropologist, University Hospital, Garches, France.

The first mention of toilet paper in the Western world comes from the 16th century, with a short description by the French novelist (and physician) François Rabelais arguing its ineffectiveness. China, however, had toilet paper in the 2nd century BC, and the Japanese used chuugi (20-25 cm wooden sticks) during the Nara period (8th century AD) for both external and internal cleaning of the anal canal.

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Christian girl goes in the woods to record her anti-gay rap/poetry slam. This is what came out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-p98umv1gg

To paraphrase David St. Hubbins, there’s a fine line between stupid and dumb as shit.

[Happy Place: Christian Teen’s Anti-Gay Rap in the Woods]

“I’ve put them in before, but I really decided against it.” —Rand Paul, explaining why… No. Won’t do it. Why spoil a good line with context? [TPM]

How to explain LA’s 16% voter turnout this week: “One problem is that polls suggest most people get their news from local television stations, which devote far more time to covering the weather — which is exactly the same 320 days a year — than to local politics and government.” [LAT, via Political Wire]