Emotions

The Duke game tonight was sort of slow-motion disaster; you (or at least I) just knew it would end poorly, and it did...Duke had its usual stretch of playing like shit, just at the end of the game.  My one friend pointed out this is on Coach K, and he is not wrong... some of it, of course, is the fact that these guys just don't play together long enough... like getting the ball to Duval -- 61% from the line -- at the end of the game.  I mean, maybe you can't bench him, but they have to know NOT to give him the ball... oi.  I realize there is no getting around it in this day and age, but...

Watched two more of the "Why We Fight" films... you know, they're pretty good.  The graphics were certainly eye-popping for their time, and if some of the explanations are simplistic and devoid of inconvenient truths...well, they are quite effective in being, well, propaganda.  At least Capra doesn't have to invent a good ending.  :)  More seriously...every scene -- Britons fighting back, the Maginot Line, German POWs, strutting and goose-stepping.... all project a certain image, and all are done in just such a way to be highly...evocative?

From the department of Trump is colluding with the Russians...
http://www.newsweek.com/total-f-russian-mercenaries-syria-lament-us-strike-killed-dozens-818073?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

More seriously, Gates and Manafort getting popped for tax evasion...this could be me, but, so far, at least, I am not seeing collusion.  To be sure, I still expect 1) that shit was pulled and 2) the Donald knew about it, but we are a long way from 3) Proving it.  And, the perpetual motion machine of truth...well, it is a ready-made defense; funny that, having grew up in the Slick Willie era, we now have the next best thing...

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/ivanka-trump-should-get-used-to-talking-about-her-fathers-alleged-sex-crimes.html

This amused me, because, of course, Chelsea Clinton has grown tired of the same thing...

Stuff

I noticed that the Pirates -- yes the Pirates -- got Corey Dickerson over the weekend for spare parts. Now, let's face it; he won't be there a while, but...this is sort of move the Tribe could have made (especially if they sent Brantley away); hell, if they were really creative, they could have swung it anyways.

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/2/21/17035624/mlb-revenue-sharing-owners-players-free-agency-rob-manfred

This sounds about right; to me, of course, baseball players should get more in large part because their union is stronger/not a company one; also, because, well, if they had any brains, they'd go after the Lorias and such and demand more.  Of course, then the owners portray them as greedy and whatnot, and while that is true, it doesn't exactly make owners less greedy.

Lazy day today -- last one in a while -- and while I will go to the gym (of course) I don't have much else to do -- clean out some emails, catch up on things, do paperwork.  It is nice.

I noticed that the FBI is releasing bits and pieces of the Excel spreadsheets, Sean Miller transcripts, etc.  I mean, I am glad they are able to do it with all the time spent on, you know, not looking up potential school shooters.  More seriously, even accounting for the typo that said Duke was involved...well, this could be me, but not only do you have to throw the book at the agents and the coaches, but you also have to hammer the players and their parents, too; you really can't tell me that the kids are just kids (especially when they are leading political marches, snark.)  First of all, I really think they know what is going on, and don't care (free money!), but, even if they do not, their parents certainly do.  They're adults, they know better (free money isn't really free!), and, if you want this system to stop (and yes, the NCAA is a problem, too)...well, you need to punish everyone... seeing a bunch of people go away for a few years for tax evasion/bribes/etc. makes it less likely that people will take up the salesman on the offer the next time around...

Amusements

Made a comment to one of my friends that Rutgers (and MD) must really love that $50 million right now... ok, I mean, I know they signed up for the media deal (the Big Ten) and the schools got the cash, and the media deal is important, but... I'm not really sure they gained anything aside from that.  In women's basketball, yes, we get good programs, but... well, it doesn't pay the bills.  Football, not so good.  Hoops?  MD is ok; once was better, Rutgers, not so much...especially now at Tourney time this is an issue with teams trying to get in, and playing the two above schools...not so much.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/18/confessions-of-a-russiagate-skeptic-217024
I sort of agree with this; not that I didn't think that the Donald wasn't trying to pull crap, just that... the level of sophistication that the plan would have required is simply far above anything the man can try to accomplish for the 12 seconds he can remain on task.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/19/ash-carter-russia-pentagon-plan-obama-trump-217027

This also amused me; I mean, for all the talk of Trump and the Russians...let's not forget Obama didn't exactly lay the hammer town, even after all the extra time he had after his re-election, ahem.

http://www.honestgraft.com/2018/02/the-gop-made-trump-more-conservativebut.html

Did he?  I mean, I suspect Trump and the GOP electorate are closer together more than say, the average politico/talking head is.

In other news, I was amused by Kevin Ware saying they couldn't take his ring away...now, maybe he deserves it more than most, but if they can haul down the banner... I mean, of all organizations, I would think the NCAA would be the one to have a group of secret police confiscating outlaw bling....

Breakthroughs

The Hosmer deal is interesting; I mean, the Padres are spending, for one.  Two...I like it in that it pays a guy NOW for his best years and pays him less later; I mean, everyone looks at the Pujols deal as Exhibit in this, though as I say, the Angels certainly knew this when they signed it, and counted it as a sunk cost.  Alas.  Also, the deal has a bunch of buyout clauses, so people are protected (not against themselves, ha!) either way.  I wonder if this will break the logjam, or is people will start taking deals for less money, or more likely, less time.

Up to 631 on the film list.. watched "Our Daily Bread" today and "The Wishing Ring:  An Idyll of Old England" Friday.  The first was a King Vidor film...sort of preachy, sort of period, sort of socialistic idealistic camp.  Not quite sure why it was included...  The second was a silent film; boy gets kicked out of school, must make honest daughter, falls in love with preacher's kid...  it was cute, but I think it also falls in the category of why is this here, despite the heroic tale of its survival.

Duke did its best -- as always -- to throw away a game; the zone sort of worked, and Grayson Allen is getting more looks at the basket and shots, which is nice..  I think this team should play better defense, but I also think Coach K has more or less given up and is now trying to work with the zone.  I don't think this is the wisest choice, but...  one thing I did notice was how Clemson had trouble with the full-court press, so...why not try that more?

Friday night

First Friday of Lent today, so that was the first Stations of the Cross... I have to admit, I wasn't quite into it; I got a text from a blast from the past, of sorts, at dinner, which sort of put me in an odd mood, and there was one time when I was literally lost in the text, spiritually...  Fr. E's homily did discuss how, in some cases, this is the starter week of Lent, and people ease into it, so that was sort of comforting...

I have to admit, HN's fish fry this year was quite good and, dare I say, efficient?  Maybe the crowd being thin when I was there was part of it, but the food was solid and compared to some of the fits and crawls...well, I was pleased.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-so-many-men-die-at-62-1518404880
I think the average liberal would say we should die before that, for many reasons, not least of which being to expand the lifespan of Social Security...

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/11/16999466/what-is-due-process-trump

I think the President is right about this, to an extent; people are being kicked to the curb and found guilty without having proof...I mean, neither Duke LAX or UVa is a distant memory... that said, the man is...well, an imperfect messenger, if you get my drift...

Canned

So...one of my coworkers was talking to me about the latest school shooting, mentioning something about how the Founding Fathers never would have wanted people to own an AR-15.  I pointed out that...well, maybe; I mean, one thing -- from my incomplete and (sadly) now-distant reading of The Federalist Papers was that they were deeply suspicious (ok, suspicious) of an over-arching federal government, which is why they included the Bill of Rights and threw in all sorts of things to limit the power of government... so if you looked at it that way, well, then, an AR-15 is something of an equalizer, if you will.

Said coworker then asked me what The Federalist Papers were.  Smh, to use the modern phrase. 

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/02/why-susan-rice-wrote-an-email-to-herself.php

One, I email myself all the time; stuff from work, social justice things to do, links, mental if not actual notes to myself.  But... this could be me, but... I think this whole element of the scene is being left untouched; not that the Donald and the Trump pulled crap (I think they did) but the fact that the Obama administration did as well; I mean, it's not only politicization of the Justice Department, but they were putting the thumb on the scales.  The only reason why they got caught was the HRC lost, and, for a bunch of reasons (press complicity, a general lack of concern about this), no one is calling them on it.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/02/why_does_replacing_food_stamps_with_food_so_anger_liberals.html#.WoL9L8PKYLY.facebook

Hahaha.  Ok, more seriously...my first thought was... what's in the boxes?  I mean, giving poor people crap, when they eat crap already, s simply bad.  On the other hand, giving them healthy food means a lot of it will go uneaten. My own sense is that... well, for one, if you can't afford your own food, well, too fucking bad, eat what is given.  While choice is nice...well, nothing rankles than seeing people with EBT cards eating a lot better than you.  Second, my own sense is that a good deal of EBT cards are not actually used by the people who get them...  so this would cut down on the black market for that.  The funny thing is, before SNAP... this was pretty much the policy; people would get boxes of canned goods and powdered milk and maybe old bread and that was that.  I think the issue then of course was that there was some stigma attached, and now, of course, we couldn't have that....

Breaks and Clouds

Took the day off from work to attend to some things, including a couple that I had been praying for... one was resolved well (surprisingly, at that) and the other...well, neither good nor bad, though of course we know how I feel about indecision.  I guess I cannot complain, overall...  Good news is good news no matter what, nor should one cheat the Lord out of His proper gratitude (I am a shitty person enough as it is).

Up to 629 on the Film List; watched "The Decline of Western Civilization" last nite and today I watched "Humoresque."  "Decline" was a documentary about the punk rock scene in LA/California in 1980; sort of interesting, though I wonder how many of these people are alive now... The other film was a 1920 silent that won the precursor to the Best Picture Award... it was good, not great, in that 1920s way...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/america-is-not-a-democracy/550931/

I got a kick out of this; after all, one could say that it is the work of the Left to subvert the democratic process by using the courts and the administrative system (i.e., the Swamp) to get their way...when that stands in the way of the democratic system, I don't exact hear them complaining, do you?

Pitchers and catchers report...the Tribe could use at least one more reliever, an OF, and a real catcher (not that I am expecting one to walk through the door).  Nor do I think the Salazar/Merritt/Tomlin battle for the back of the rotation is all that compelling, in the four fifth starters means you have no fifth starter kind of way... Actually, as I think Bradley will play in 50 games at most, you could use two OFs....

Back

After a thrilling and busy week, when I planned to do nothing but to go to bed early tonight...well, here we are.  To be sure, I did empty out some emails, caught up some links, did some of my favorite therapeutic activities... haven't made any progress on the film list, but there is of course time.  I have been doing some reading at the gym, at least... right now, I am reading about the last battles of the Petersburg campaign, most interesting, as you can imagine...

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-05/think-carefully-before-cutting-off-subsidies-to-red-states

Most, or at least, many, GOPers, would agree with this...one, after the big spending bill last nite, and two...well, a lot of people would prefer that the states took the lead on this sort of thing, and I suspect there are just enough smart GOPers out there to make it work...

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-07/rent-control-needs-retirement-not-a-comeback

I've been reading a lot about housing policy lately... maybe the legacy of Evicted or something else; but the one thing that keeps coming back to me is that more units have to be built; but rent control is equally unwise, given its perverse series of incentives and the fact that it spurs all sorts of cheating... to me, contempt for the law...well, I can see how it persists in NYC, which is more the reason it cannot persist here...

Super!

This could be me, but the Nunes memo wasn't all that...exciting.  I mean, I think it showed (at least to GOPers and Trumpers) that the FBI...well, it seemed to me that they decided to investigate Trump and his campaign and found the justification for it afterwards.  I am not totally appalled by this, per se, but... well, I think it is also unwise, given that you expect the cops to be...well, in line with the letter of the law.

Up to 627 on the film list; watched "The Breakfast Club" and some shorts.  The movie...maybe I am far removed, but...it seemed to be...wildly overrated? Not a lot of fun?  No idea.  I can see how it influenced people, but...I wouldn't exactly say it is a good movie.  I also watched "The Old Mill" (Disney short, cool imagination), "The Beau Brummels," (Vaudeville skit from the 20s, early talkie), and the second film in the "Why We Fight" series, which is pretty good, assuming one can get past certain things, like the whitewashing of the Soviet Union and such.

https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/the-mlbpas-indifference-toward-international-amateurs-is-coming-back-to-bite-them/

Largely true, though I suspect the main reason was because either 1) No one thought of this or 2) Their job is to protect current members of the MLBPA and thus the idea of dealing with this issue was...well, far down the list. I tell people at work all the time that if they this is bad, wait til next year, when all the big guys hit the market and really suppress prices for the mid-tier guys...

Imitation

Work has been super busy, so there I have been, not blogging... alas.  I also, for the first time in my life -- as part of the work soup cookoff, made a roux for the first time...I think it went ok, but I was surprised at how hard it was to get it right...  very nerve-wracking.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-02/election-analysts-di`scover-even-more-white-voters

This could be me, but are we really surprised by these sorts of headlines anymore? I would imagine that just as Barack Obama as a candidate boosted up the minority, the reverse -- Donald Trump, who actively campaigned on behalf of the forgotten man, if you will, would bring out more of the white, working class? 

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/1/27/16935382/climate-change-ugly-tradeoffs

This amused me, one because people in the Northeast use a lot of heating oil, which is a hell of a lot less green than natural gas (or anything else)...and two, because, well, I'll believe it when I see it, and I have not.

Up to 623 on the NFR with the viewing of "Imitation of Life," the 1959 version starring Lana Turner.  I liked the 1934 version better -- I can identify with a hard-charging businesswoman more than a Broadway actress, of course -- but the more recent film was better...  of course, the newer film could not have been made in 1934, but the newer one, I think, was a much better at... well, the social question of the day, to say nothing of the fact that it was more about two women, whereas the other one was about women trying to make their way to the top..