Media

Here we are, waiting for the Tribe (I am sure they will play); I should be in bed, but...all I can say is that Lonnie had a nice AB; taking strikes on tough pitches, then hitting another one a long way; I mean, on the one hand I can see Francona sitting him, but on the other...well, I think he brings more to the table than Aviles, so maybe the strict platoon isn't an option.

In the meantime, the weekend has been busy; dinner with a friend Friday, chores and OC stuff Saturday, and today brunch/dinner at St. John Cantius with some gossip and other news... I also watched Altman's "Nashville."  Interesting; not sure what to make of it, as I think...well, I think he painted too broad of a picture, and thus what was supposed to be satirical...I am not sure it took.  I also decided to go down the list of films on the National Historic Film Registry and saw two short ones:  "Rose Hobart," the Surrealist film from the 30s (odd but interesting) and "Tulips Shall Grow," an animated short from 1942...very good; it is WW2 propaganda, but...it holds up.

Also am approaching the half-way point of Huxley's book...I would not say it is an easy or fun read, but the writing is rich, in that British sense, and I do like his way of satirizing/criticizing the intellectual elite of the time.

Labors

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kylesmith/2014/08/28/sainthood-book-clubs-and-posters-how-the-department-of-labor-wastes-your-money-this-labor-day/

Yes, I was bemused by this...we were talking about the $15/hr minimum wage fast food workers a few days ago at work....I pointed out that if they kept it up, I suspected that the industry would shift to a Sheetz model, where you got rid of the counter people and many of the other staff, and simply concentrated on food production; sort of like how unions forced manufacturers to automate/move...  I mean, a machine can cost less in the long run and offers more productivity.  To be sure, Sheetz offers good food and has a passionate fan base; I am not sure that ALL of these places have the same; White Castle, perhaps, and maybe there are groupies of the others, but fast food is sort of a replaceable good with a lot of potential choices...so I think that that is where you will see it going if these efforts continue.

I note that my cable provider will not be carrying the OSU game, which is a shame, given I sort of like watching the option attack.  Alas, alack.  Appalachian State beating Michigan prolly wouldn't have the same cachet this time around, but...I doubt a lot of people around here would squawk.

Fantastic

I have to admit...while Francona and his buntastic ways are annoying, he did seem to make the right moves with the 'pen yesterday, which isn't exactly a bad thing.  I mean, resting Allen is wise -- though I am still not sure about the need to work 5 guys a game -- and the platooning was wise.  Bunting Walters is unwise -- he is not hitting much, but he is driving hangers -- and at least it didn't kill them.  Today, of course...well, I think we need fewer sacrifices and more bunts, but that is me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/08/26/the-remarkable-implosion-of-ed-fitzgerald/

I don't know; I mean, Kasich should be given credit for not fucking up, or at least keeping his head down and looking busy.  As for Fitz...I mean, I am not sure that following Dimora and his ilk is anything to celebrate, and, more to the point, are things that much better?  I don't see any headlines about cutting heads or rooting out corruption; I suspect most of the low level guys are gone, but nothing else...nor is NEOH the bastion of economic growth (obviously).  And, Fitz certainly hasn't run a wise campaign; I mean, one or two missteps...but he's had a steady drumbeat of errors.  If anything, it will save Josh Mandel from a loss; not that I expected that to happen, but a depressed Dem turnout can't hurt.

Posts

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-25/stick-a-fork-in-your-newspaper

I almost feel badly...ok, I don't; some of this is political, of course, but a lot of it is that the newspaper industry, like many others...has failed to adapt...oh well.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2014/08/25/why-people-cant-find-a-job/

I am shocked, shocked, to discover this.  Those who rob Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul, until you run out of Peters to pay for this.

In the meantime, Point Counter Point is going slowly, but...I rather like the writing style; artful and elegant, in that British way (several great passages about poverty and privacy, quite good) and because the plot is somewhat intricate, so one has to pay attention.

I have switched to celery from carrots in the veggie snacks category; I know it is healthy, but I really do not like the aftertaste, so I may have to find a new green veggie that I can enjoy.  Canned vegetables were on sale at my local grocery, so I invested in several of those; I realize they are not quite as healthy as the fresh, but I watch my sodium elsewhere, so I think I am ok...laying off the extra carbs is key.  I hate to say it, but I do like being 10 pounds thinner.  Ok, I really do not hate it.

Movies

As always, it is late at night and I cannot sleep.... If there is one thing I did do this weekend...it is that I watched films.  Indeed, three of them, all on the National Registry of Historic Films. First was "MASH," courtesy of Netflix; second was "The Day the Earth Stood Still;" and third was Harold Lloyd's "The Freshman," courtesy of the CIA.  I liked them all -- they had their moments -- and I guess it is good to do some carnage to the film list.  I also polished off Volume 1 of the Nevins series...allowing me to return to the fiction list with Huxley's Point Counter Point.  It is 450 pages of four-point font, so this is going to take a while.  Twenty pages in and reserving judgment.

I am glad the Tribe has an off day tomorrow; the pen needs it, especially the top relievers.  I know we are playing close games, but my word...Francona is either trying to kill his relievers or the front office has some sabremetric insight.  Thank God Hagadone has joined the good side of the pen, otherwise Terry would be using four relievers. I guess this is me, but you'd think he'd just let Tomlin pitch a game through (or Crockett) just to save some arms.

I would also like to note the Jose Ramirez has shown more range now than Cabrera has ever done...I am glad he is hitting now, as it helps, but he is quite slick with the glove.

roster musings

This may sound crass, but most of my day has spent in listening to people pester for me for money...in the most annoying ways possible.  Not that I was particularly inclined to give in the first place, but...let us just say that now I am really NOT interested.  So there we are.

You know, I wouldn't say it is hot, but for the first time in a few nights, there is that summer stillness...a few days ago -- I have the windows open -- I needed the blanket, and now...nada.  I guess it is nice to have summer, even if the kids are back in school.

I was amused to note that on the same day the Tribe put Raburn on the DL, Atchison got an extension.  On the one hand, it is the same concept; give a guy -- and not a young one -- having a career year an extension...and then wait to see if it implodes colossally.  On the other hand, no one seemed to worked about it.  Maybe Atchison is a reliever who has had some success in his career; maybe it is because he is 38 and has really kicked around; and maybe it is because it's not even a million bucks, where Raburn is more (for less).  I myself wasn't that worked up about it, but I did my usual double take...

I think Zach Walters is a good player, or can be...but man, he needs to take some pitches; Jesus, I hated Cabrera for that, and Aviles kills me (not in the Francona bunt way) with his free-swinging at times, but Walters takes the cake.  He does have some raw power, but I think he could make more use of it if someone told him how to corral his eyesight up there.

Runs

First....the July OC stats:
412 households, encompassing 161 seniors, 567 adults, and 440 children.   Not a busy month,  but it will be picking up soon...and school supplies are available, so...people are coming in, and you would be surprised how often children magically appear, if you get my drift.

Francona and his sacrifices...I mean, really...putting one on in the 5th, no one out, down by two?  To score one run....that would NOT have scored had not there been a wild pitch?  I mean, after a while, the strategy is counter-productive, and given that the offense has not exactly been staggering lately...well, I think it is a bit ridiculous.  I realize we are trying to win games and maybe make the playoffs, but this hardly seems the way to do it.

Rough nite last nite, just could not fall asleep...and felt it today.  I am going to give the Tribe a bit more time, and then it is off to never-never land for me...

Crap and crap

So, got a call from the lady last nite, apologizing -- sort of -- for her actions, which were blamed on booze, the attention of a rival female, etc... I accepted her apology but was coy on the idea of meeting again.  I don't know; I am not getting any younger, but my tolerance of stupid is even less.

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post--returning-to-wal-mart-human-cashiers

I find this interesting...mainly because, having recently shopped at a Wal-Mart, I find it hard to believe that anyone would have felt that their consumers were smart enough to check themselves out.  I went to the one in Mayfield, and honestly, it was a giant shithole.  Stuff everywhere but the shelves, fat people in the way (and throwing crap around), lots of help standing around and bullshitting -- though they were fairly pleasant and helpful when you went up to them -- and no one seemed to have any idea as to whether or not inventory listed in the store was there.  I had went to Target the day before, and it was completely different; inventory all neat, nothing on the floor, workers working, plenty of checkouts...it was impressive.  I mean, I can see how and why people would shop there instead of Wal-Mart.  I suspect that these issues are MORE of a problem than dollar store competition, as attracting customers with more disposable income is key.

Been catching up on Season Four of Glee...the school shooting episode was...maudlin.  Exceptionally so.  I can see why the show is down to 13 episodes for the mercifully final season.

Alone

I have to admit, I was surprised to discover the Internet blowing up about the ND cheating scandal; I mean, it is a big deal, but it seems to have garnered much less interest than what is going on at UNC, which is far more severe, egregious...and unpunished.

I decided to start Nevins' Ordeal of the Union series and am slowly going through volume one, and all I can say is that it is encyclopedic, which I thus feel to be awesome beyond belief.  I read The Sun Also Rises on one of the plane rides...I like how Hemingway writes, but not what he writes, if you can get that.  Yes, progress on the fiction front -- and I have been reading more in general. 

I had a couple of dates with a prospect, thought things were going well, but last night we went out, and I am not sure how, but I think it is over.  I as always had high hopes, so it is...roll up the map of Europe.  I do realize, of course, that this is typical woman behavior here -- punish for some unknown transgression, don't let me know what I did wrong, silent treatment and prissiness -- but it still sucks.  The boys in the Fun Run bunch -- I asked for one this AM -- noted that EVERY women pulls this and that -- to a man -- I should be pretty fucking pleased I am not married to one and have to deal with it every fucking day (I am paraphrasing here, if you can tell).  I get what they are saying, but....it still fucking hurts.

return

As you may have noted...I went on vacation, which I will discuss soon, and had to retire the old laptop...while the new one is nice, I am not used to the keyboard, and I need to find all of the old settings and whatnot.  But that is why I have not written for a while...

I find it hard to believe the Tribe could not have gotten rid of Axford for nothing more than sunk costs, but I am glad to be rid of him...not that the replacements are better, but that they could be better.  I see the PD is trumpeting the injury factor for the Tribe's year, and while that is true...most of the people expected by the front office simply grossly underperformed, and this is NOT the first time that this has happened, which leads me to believe that we are not dealing with the most intelligent of bunches...

Mayday Parade

Something about Democrats, women, and cars lately....like they are warring on them, or something.  I am, of course, shocked, shocked, by this sort of thing.  I can only hope someone is making some "War on Women" commercial about this.  It would be perfect, as what can the Dems say?  "Gee, we're bad, but they are worse?"  Not quite...

In the meantime, the Tribe is beating up poor teams, keeping them on the periphery of the wild card chase.  I would also note that this has occurred while Masterson and Asdrubal are gone...not that I sense any correlation or anything of that sort.  :)  Murphy has been hot, and Chisenhall has also been hitting well; I've noticed his ABs, and they've been quality at bats, too; let's face it, you're not hitting .500, but you can see him doing the stuff like not chasing crap, not trying to jerk every ball over the wall...stuff that gets you hits in the end.

In other news, it seems like I have the entire discography of Mayday Parade in my head.  This is not exactly a bad thing, as they are a good band with an awesome sound, but I do find it amusing.  Course, as is often the case, you'll be listening to a song and you'll be like "That was good" or "Gee, I didn't quite get that meaning from it."  With Mayday Parade, you can easily do that to most of the album, which is pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Fest

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/charter_schools_fail_the_test.html

I think this is an excellent idea, and given the UCC's interest in it, I think they should simply allow themselves to be subject to property taxes -- on all their holdings -- to pay for this.  I bet they will gladly pay their fair share to achieve this perfection. 

In other news, the Tribe won a game today they had no business winning...good.  I went to last nite's game/deification of Jim Thome.  I don't know; he is a HOFer, prolly clean, a core of the good teams of the 90s...so I don't have a problem with it; but you could say the same about Belle/Lofton/Vizquel/Ramirez, too; to a lesser extent, Alomar, though he was always hurt.  And, those guys left and sometimes came back.  I mean, I think we are in the age of when few players stick around one place for a career; Jeter and Larkin and Borque are the exceptions, not the rule. Hell, look at the jizz bomb this city dropped over Lebron.  So I guess I am glad they did it, but not terribly convinced.

Went to the Polish Fest at St. Casimir's today with Mom...she was on the warpath that it would be unsafe and no fun, and well...she had a good time, as it was her type of food and music (the band went on break, else we would have stayed longer).  The food was good, not great, but you did get a lot of it for the money, which leads to wondering how they made any profit.  The church is nice; the altar is very pretty, while the rest of the church is more muted...sort of a cross between St. Stan's and St. John Cantius.  It is a shame it closed and had to battle to reopen....but a quick look at the bulletin indicated the place loses money every time it opens its doors...and that, of course, is not sustainable.

Cutting

Well, I will withhold comment on Captain Forehead and his evening soirees....til another time.  Pipe is gone; I do feel as if a weight, a suffocating mass, has been removed from me.  For now. 

Speaking of the removal of suffocating masses, the Tribe cut some of their dead wood.  Masterson has been crap all year, and, much as I was almost moved by the sadness in the clubhouse -- let's face it, it is their own damn fault -- I think they got something useful for him; I mean, Ramsey could perform at a Murphy or Swisher level...for a hell of a lot less cost; of course, not enough for a contender, but...  Cabrera, let's face it, is brutal with the glove and was hitting as poorly.  I am amused by the Tribe picking up the anti-Ramirez in the deal -- good power, ok D, lots of Ks -- which is odd, given that Lindor is the man at SS next year and Kipnis is equally entrenched at second.  One would almost think they would move Jason back to LF and go with the glove/bat platoon at second...not that that would mean admitting a colossal mistake, or anything like that.

In other, hilarious news, I went to bed shortly after the Tribe won yesterday...and didn't fall asleep until 1:30 or later.  I promptly awoke at 6:45, and have been dragging-but-not-tired-enough to sleep all day.  Were it not so dire for my general sense of being, it would be somewhat funny.  I had to go out today, and consoled myself with a cafe mocha...