• A standard measurement of performance is how fast something can accelerate from 0 - 60.  Fortunately it is not how my performance is measured.
  • There are 60 years in a Sexagenarian cycle. I’m guessing that being a “Sexagenarian” is less sexy than it sounds.
  • 60 Minutes is one of America’s preeminent investigative news shows. It’s been my good fortune to have had the opportunity to work as a sound recordist for the show during the years that I freelanced. It has also been my good fortune to never have a 60 Minute crew knock on my door.
  • The maximum number of marbles in Chinese checkers is 60. That's too many marbles to lose.
  • In darts, the highest score you can achieve with a single throw of the dart is not dead center (50), it’s a treble-twenty for 60 points. I can hit a double-center easier than a treble-twenty.
  • Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927. Of course records were made to be broken; thanks Roger Maris, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.
  • Gone in 60 Seconds is a an action movie starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie. It's about a car thief who is forced to steal 50 luxury vehicles in one night in order to save the life of his brother, who has fallen afoul of a dangerous crime lord. If my brother Joe had fallen afoul of a dangerous crime lord, I would have stolen 50 luxury cars in one night to save his life — or at least given it my best shot.
  • Some other folks who turned 60 this year: James Spader, Sean Penn, Chuck D, Antonio Banderas, Hugh Grant, Tilda Swinton, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Neil Gaiman, Aimee Mann, and Julianne Moore. Looks like I’m in good company.
  • The frequency of A.C. electrical power in the U.S. is 60hz.
  • To celebrate his 60th birthday (and productively pass the time while being quarantined) Bono wrote 60 “fan letters” to his musical heroes. It’s a fun read full of genuine appreciation and respect. 
  • There are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. And now there are 60 years in my lifetime.​
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with Jack
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with Donna

​As I head into my 60th year on this planet, I am struck by the level of uncertainty that pervades our lives these days. It’s not a debilitating disquiet by any stretch — rather a precarious unpredictability that has, if anything, sparked initiatives for dialogue and change the likes of which we have never seen before. It should be an interesting year. I welcome it, and I embrace whatever this year has in store for me. In the meantime, just for today, I intend to live the life of Riley with The Lightning Seeds​ providing the soundtrack.
​(Please use the comments box below to respond to this shameless solicitation for birthday wishes.)
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Ian Broudie is The Lightning Seeds