Back

A whole week without blogging...well,work has been ok; the weekend was very busy, and I spent the last two nights glued to the TV...honestly, I think the games have gone as expected.  Kluber won Game 1, and game 2...well, Bauer was our fifth starter for most of the year, while the Cubs...don't even have theirs on the roster.  The rest of the way...I don't know, I have said it once, the Tribe will struggle to win when Kluber doesn't pitch.  Tomlin, tomorrow, in Wrigley, with those big bats...could be another long night.  Merritt in game 5 has been kicked around...not sure I oppose or disagree.

In the meantime, I watched a couple of shorts on the list, as well as "Nothing But A Man," a 1964 film with a mainly black cast about life in the segregated South.  Good, interesting...not too long, and a historical look, all of which I enjoyed.  Up to 474 on the list, and I have two more on the shelf here.  I also watched "Spectre," the latest Bond film. and it was...just ok.  Cool stuff, plot and motivation, not so much.  Bookwise, I am halfway through Brownlow's The Parade's Gone By, an oral history of the silent film era; think of it as The Glory of Their Times for film, and you get the drift.

Had to turn on the furnace...sad day.

Schnozz

I feel like I have a broken nose, and I haven't the foggiest idea how...unless I turned into the table while sleeping...oi.  Not fun.

In the meantime, the Tribe is going to the World Series...didn't really expect that; I mean, Merritt, pitching 4.1 nearly flawless innings?  Most impressive.  I felt Francona grievously erred by bringing in Shaw, not just for that, but in turn, allowing red-hot Michael Saunders to PH for Upton (0-4, 4K)...Shaw had a brutal ALCS, which has been lost in the glow of victory...

You know, I don't think anyone expects Trump to win a debate, as he simply doesn't have the polish. But he could not lose one, which, well, for anyone but him, is fairly simple...I mean, he held his own, sort of, until the end, and then...oi.  I mean, they're not only unforced errors, but colossal errors, and the fact that anyone else could have beaten Hillary...dark days for the GOP.  Not sure I see a way out of them, at least until 2018....

Also, I've stopped watching NFR flms -- not sure why, aside from the fact that I've been watching baseball.  I need to start again...added some more recent stuff to the Netflix queue, but there are always shorts to find, so...that will be yet another weekend project.

I see trouble

This could be me, but I think Francona was trying to be way too cute with the pitching today, and it might have cost us the game..and the series.  The issue to me was starting Kluber instead of Clevinger; I understand the part about going for the jugular, but if it doesn't work...  I would have started Clevinger (he is right-handed, you know) and then gone to Merritt/Anderson if he faltered.  It's a 3-0 game, and you're basically saying, win it...this way, you have Kluber on semi-short rest in Game 5, a full bullpen if needed, and the morale factor, in so far it exists...

Now, we have a lefty -- against those power bats -- with TWO major league games to his belt going tomorrow.  The sharp end of the bullpen should be ready; Otero and Shaw are unavailable (mercifully, to many Tribe fans) but Miller and Allen and the rest (Manship) should be ok...the problem, of course, is getting the game to them.  If not...Game Six in Cleveland with Tomlin, and something tells the combo of short rest and familiarity will be an issue.

Tomorrow's debate should be interesting, if only to see what everyone does...I suspect Donald needs a Hail Mary of gargantuan proportions, but I don't think Clinton can give it to him, unless he sticks to the script (if it exists) and brings up some wikileaks stuff...if not...

Laziness

Continuing the blogging trend....I didn't do all the much today; after Mom and brunch and a few more than usual chores, I mainly...caught up on some email, handled some minor chores here, took a brief nap...and that was it.  I probably should have done some other things I have been putting off -- the nefarious special projects -- especially since I won't be doing them this week, but alas.

Watched "On the Bowery" today...interesting, albeit not terribly so, and not that long.  A look at the men of the Bowery in the late 40s/early 50s and how they sort of bounced around Skid Rows...I guess it was a little edgy, given the time. I am 470, and I think I might start looking up some shorts again, just to try to push 500 before the New Year.  This does mean I may have to break down and watch "It's A Wonderful Life," as it is on the list...

Relief

Went to the Tribe game last nite -- a friend of mine had SRO tickets -- and it was quite a blast, even if it was the quite the nervewracker.  Kluber was good, not great (Estrada was at times) and battled, give him credit.  Miller came out to hold it, and Allen -- who has had a good year -- nailed it down.  One mistake, really...and that was that.  Now, of course, this was the game they had to win, since the rest of the rotation...well, the relievers will be called upon.  Miller is prolly out today, but given the righty-tilt of Toronto's lineup, you might be able to get away with Otero and Shaw.  Might.

In the meantime, I did some walking around the city yesterday -- good vibe -- and today I woke up at 8 and hit the gym.  I didn't get enough sleep, I think, but it was good to at least work my legs; they are a little sore but not impossibly so.  Rah.

Going to finish the WW1 book today and then catch up on the magazines/add to the recycle pile.  Oddly enough, I didn't feel like doing any widespread cleaning today, so I will not, not with the sports events, but I think the residence can manage for a bit without it -- my grand plans for closet reorganization and de-crapping might come to fruition yet.

Slumber

I've noticed this the past couple of days -- I've been lagging on workouts at the gym.  I mean, I can feel the power of my body sapping...I suspect it is linked to poor sleep quality, which is why I will be asleep soon after I post this (or, at least, in bed).  I hope that maybe I can not set the alarm tomorrow and sleep through, better or worse.  Of course, I am still somewhat exhausted by the Polish Festival, at least in that I really didn't fully recover.  At least I polished off the leftovers.

This also affects reading, as my progress through Wilson's The Myriad Faces of War has been...slow, sort of like the Western Front.  I rather liked his description of the parliamentary maneuvers of Lloyd George (sort of like a companion to Dangerfield's Strange Death of Liberal England); one always thinks of him romping with the housekeepers, but he was burning with ambition, and, well, burned out later.

Another thing I haven't done is figured out the Xmas budget; as always, I will be spending less THIS year and sure enough, I will be over budget.  Most unpleasant.

Not yet recovered

As always, yet another hiatus...work, the Polish Festival, Pub Quiz, the Debate, the Tribe...  PQ was second place (a team of three); work was the usual, and the Polish Festival was...completely busy all three days,  Good crowds, so ideally we made a hefty profit, but I am still beat today.  (Not sleeping, as always, does not help.)

The debate...oi.  Actually, Donald didn't do too badly, but, as many others noticed, he was speaking to his base, and...it won't be enough.  I actually sort of like this approach...I think, quite frankly, the attacks on the media should be done more often by mainstream GOPers...more seriously, though, the rift between the moderates and the not...well, I think it will last a while; not a long one, to be sure, but enough.  Depends on the Senate, and, let's face it, the ones who win now won't have to face the voters for six years, and few have memories for that long.

The Tribe...now that was impressive.  Didn't think they could do it, but they did...another nerve-wracking game, but...  I wonder how they will set the rotation for Toronto.  Salazar might be in the bullpen, which I think a bad idea, but, you never know.  Tomlin has a short leash, so you will need to use the pen, and, well, I don't think Terry can get away with the prolonged use of his guys in a seven-game series, especially with the core of the Toronto lineup.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/the-hardest-part-about-growing-up-poor-was-knowing-i-couldn%E2%80%99t-mess-up-not-even-once/ar-BBwGyKw?li=BBnbfcN

This could be me, but...I think this was true for me, and it was true (and is) for a lot of people, even those with white and male privilege...

Respite

The weekend was...good, albeit busy, and I didn't get a lot of sleep.  My last weekend at the OC for a while, though, which was nice....the main challenge was emptying the freezers so we have space for turkeys for the upcoming dinners,,,left unsaid, of course, was the theory that maybe, just maybe, we should recover a bit less stuff to save space.

Today was stressful at work, and I felt it (and the sleeplessness)...my stomach was in knots (I suspect I have a cold as well), and for a while at the gym, I felt my strength...ebbing.  However, I recovered late and was able to really push myself in the second half.  I suspect my recent plateau stems from the fact that I am not exactly caring for myself.

Took a break from the list to watch "Straight Outta Compton" and "Mantrap."  For the first...on the one hand, it was a happy trip down memory lane, tempered by the sad fact that 25 years later, we are dealing with the same problems then as we do now...and it doesn't seem like that there is much improvement.  The second film was a Clara Bow silent, and it was pretty good; I can see why people went to see her...this one seemed to have a little less obvious sex appeal, but some cuteness and some humor....