Discoveries

So, for a bunch of reasons, we took Mom to the casino for Mother's Day... Mom liked it and was even ahead, a nice touch...while I didn't gamble, meandering, talking with the fam, and then getting in some chapters of the The Canary Murder Case-- the next in the Philo Vance series from wayback.. I am trying to read classic mysteries and it is a nice break from nonfiction.  In the meantime, the casino people are genuinely nice, but you do see a lot of old people there (not that I wanted Social Security) and I do wonder if what is spent is worth the cost...

I made panne cotta today; Mom had seen it on "Chopped" of all things, and said it looked interesting..I looked at the recipes and it didn't look that hard, so here I am... I found two, picked the one that looked easier and had fewer ingredients.  It is setting now, we will see how it goes..

Up to 649 on the film list; watched "Wild and Woolly," a Douglas Fairbanks silent from 1917 (sort of funny, though it hit every stereotype known to man and now people would cringe) and five minutes of footage showing the NYC subway...which was interesting...

So, another shitty start for Josh Tomlin today; I mean, it's getting to the point where you have to consider other options.  I did like the part about Zach McAllister having mechanical issues...maybe, but the fact of the matter is in the 5 years or so he has been here he has yet to develop a second pitch, and he prolly never will.  It does suck, but...

https://pjmedia.com/trending/michigan-crowd-chants-nobel-when-trump-brings-up-north-korea/
This is funny as hell, and after the WHCD...well, if the GOP had any brains, they would be running clips of her talk in every ad, just to remind people what the other side thinks of them...

amusement

So, yesterday, I went to attend this lecture:
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/04/the_pioneering_women_pilots_of.html#incart_river_index

It was interesting -- and sort of sad, I mean, there was a war going on, men were needed at the front, and these women were pretty much just sent home -- but I felt that maybe she was a little... off about the war, tactics and strategy and stuff.  On the other hand, I wouldn't mind checking out one of her books...

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/04/raising-kids-living-together-and-not-a-wedding-ring-in-sight/558917/

I am not sure that this is the best idea given that 1) Evidence does show kids work best in two-parent families; and 2) I think the old saw that just because Murphy Brown -- a rich white woman -- can do it doesn't mean that everyone else should...

I was talking to some friends about the upcoming primaries, and all I can say...one, I hope the Dems are as dumb as I think they are and they go out and run Dennis!  I mean, I don't think enough of them are that stupid, since then it would be a cakewalk in November, but...  The other thing I find amusing is how both Mary Taylor and Mike DeWine are trying to out-conservative each other; I mean, Mary Taylor is really doing it, which I find amusing, but even Mike DeWine, who is no one's idea of a Trumpian, is going that way...

Linx

This could be me, but I think Francona managed the Tribe into a loss tonight. Otero was pitching pretty well, and while going to Beliveau to get Cano was ok...then he gets pulled for Nick Goody...I would have IBBed Cano and faced the next batter, using Beliveau and Goody if he had gotten into trouble.  As it turned out, Goody was the trouble, and while sometimes it happens... I think it could have been avoided.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/25/carson-proposes-that-poor-should-pay-more-rent-504401
For all the kvetching about this... I don't think some of this is that bad, though it does try to make people responsible for themselves, and we simply can't have that.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-24/trump-s-promising-plan-to-link-welfare-to-work

Well, this is impressive, coming from Cass Sunstein, but a lot of it is correct... if only the GOP could, you know, do it...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mount-trumpmore-its-the-presidents-dream-rep-kristi-noem-says/ar-AAwitym?li=BBnb7Kz

This is awesome...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/halrubenstein/2018/04/24/the-problem-with-this-season-of-american-idol/#4435b3362e7d

I don't know... this could be me, but the show has only sort of been about talent; it's always been as much of a popularity contest as anything, and people tend to vote for people they like, which is often other people just like them... plus, no one would watch if the panel made the only determinations now, would they?

Linx

Broke my streak of blog posts and films yesterday...one of two today.  :)  Dined with a friend to discuss some random stuff, and then a fun run, and...well, this could be me, but I didn't know of anyone who didn't expect Tomlin to get shelled, and he did.  Alas.  In the meantime, I hope we all like Tyler Olson, as we will be seeing more of him...

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/underestimate-trumps-reelection-odds-at-your-own-peril/

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/history-suggests-double-trouble-for-incumbent-trump/
One of these is more like the other, and I think it is number 2; course, if the (ha!) GOP loses the House, he can run, like Truman, on the do-nothing Congress.  I am not saying it is a good strategy, but it is a strategy... then again, I am not sure Trump is capable of that sort of Machiavellian thinking... or anyone on the staff, for that matter.

Watching J! tonight, I was amused by Mary Taylor's ad saying she would roll back Kasich's Medicaid expansion. This is sort of curious, given she was the Lieutenant Governor during that time; I mean, it's not like she had any real say, of course, but if she was sooo appalled by it, she could have done something at the time, like resign and run against him in 2014 (especially in the wake of the Fitzgerald candidacy). Course, Trumpism wasn't in the air at that time, so her ploy might not have played...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-pushes-abstinence-in-teen-pregnancy-programs/ar-AAwfTjk?li=BBnbcA1

This is also a bit curious; I mean, when I think abstinence and moral restraint, I think of the Trump Administration!

Excitement of a sort

Hard to describe the Tribe game... I mean, it wasn't exactly a white knuckler; between Cookie and Miller and Allen, well, it was as good as you can get.  On the other hand, even with Gausman dealing, a one-run game... well, let's just say I expressed what was probably an unduly level of concern, if you get my drift...

Left work promptly at 5 today due to a wake -- my theory of going to other peoples' funerals so they come to yours is still accurate, far as I know -- and due to a lack of traffic got home plenty early... so much so, in fact, that I was able to watch "Hospital," a Wiseman documentary... thus getting to 647 on the list.  It was interesting, and, with my usual sense of timing, I managed to get to the autopsy scene right in the middle of dinner.  I may be a prude, but my capacity for disgusting imagery is unquenchable, at least when it comes to cranial extractions.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/chick-fil-as-creepy-infiltration-of-new-york-city

I've never wanted to eat at a Chick-Fil-A more in my life.  Ok, that's not quite true, but you get the drift...

Triple header

Well, that was an interesting Tribe game... Corey Kluber serving HRs and surrendering leads, and the Tribe putting multiple men on base, at a time... A win is a win, all I can say.  I am not exactly sure that this portends an explosion of the Tribe bats, but... seven runs -- some of which were NOT via the long ball -- is sort of nice.

One other consequence of the weekend of rest is that I was able to reach 646 on the film list.  Yesterday I watched "The Way of Peace," a 1947 short about how Christians can act with the threat of nuclear war; and "Westinghouse Works, 1904," a series of shorts about... the Westinghouse works.  Actually, it was pretty cool, seeing how they made things back then; lots of manual work, and, surprising to me, lots of women, too, doing, well, work work; not like this is Rosie the Riveter time, if you get my drift.

Today I watched "Wild River"with Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick; Elia Kazan film, and I liked it, but I wouldn't exactly say I liked it; I mean, I enjoyed it, but I am not sure I would do it again, though the camera work was nifty and it was adroit touch of advocating for racial equality...

I am sending the check for my snowplow guy, but I will admit that only suspect that it will be the last one...

Rest

I made a comment to a friend of mine that for the first time in a long while I didn't have anything to do today -- pressing commitments and such -- and it was nice.  And it has been; I've done nothing too much, caught up on some email, hit the gym, made crab dip, reached the halfway point of Grant, but nothing major or Earth-shattering. Of course, resting and reading is quite enough, in all due respect.

Pretty cool to see Clevinger get the CG; only 3Ks, but 110 pitches for him is pretty nice, especially given how he can be all over the place. Not saying we should expect this every time, but you see the stuff and the pitch economy, and one does feel better about rotation.

Is it me or do the celebrity deaths seem to be coming a little faster this year?  To be sure, the most recent two -- Avicii and Mini-Me -- might be, um, self-inflicted, in one way or another but the pace seems awfully high.  In the words of Scot Pollard, don't do drugs, kids!  Ok, maybe not...

Humor

Yet another thrilling Tribe game, where I am sure the 50-degree weather has caused the bats to contract, or something.  In the meantime, I note that Trevor Bauer has yet to solve the issue of the one bad inning... alas, alack.  I realize the team is a slow starter, yet...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-teams-seek-more-relief-13-man-pitching-staffs-are-the-new-normal-1524059933?mod=cx_picks&cx_navSource=cx_picks&cx_tag=collabctx&cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s

This could be me, but I would think that a team that goes to 11 pitchers, and keeps an extra bat or two around, would be at an advantage, especially because the reliever has to face the batter, no matter what, whereas the batter/pinch-hitter can immediately be pulled in favor of a new batter, thus erasing the platoon advantage at a single stroke.  I guess to me, when all goes one way, the way to go is the other way, especially when you have the fairly solid rotation and bullpen that the Tribe does.

https://slate.com/business/2018/04/why-sb-827-californias-radical-affordable-housing-bill-was-so-unpopular.html

This amused the shit out of me, mainly because, well, of course they'd fuck it up; they're libtards, and if you can't get the people who believe in ending inequality, white privilege, and the domination of a car-centric culture to pass the one bill that could solve (in part) all of this at once...

Curiousness

This top of the 10th is...interesting.  I mean, not having Allen bunt (in an obvious situation), sending Rajai on hit-and-runs, instead of letting him steal... it has a logic of its own, but... I am not quite seeing it.  I was also surprised by the 'pen use in the 9th; to me, I would have let Miller face Mauer and ilk, rather than bring in McAllister, but that is me...  this is a division game, you know...

In other news, sad stuff about Napoli; they are seeming to think this is the end, and one hates to see it end that way...give the guy credit, tooling around at 1B in AAA instead of hanging it up.  Joey Bats is now playing 3B in the minors, and for the Braves, I like the deal (they had Brandon Phillips in the majors last year in the role).  For Joey Bats...well, I suspect he will he up sooner rather than later, but that is me...

I am not sure as much is being made of the North Korea talks as should be.  Mind you, I don't trust them, and nor should we, but if they really think that the Donald is chafing at the bit to launch missiles and bomb the shit out of them, well...they might make a deal, and not one that gives away the farm.  This would be...well, useful.  To be sure, no one knows what the Donald will do, either, but...

I am about 240 pages into Grant, and while I do like it, I am not sure that it is hitting the key points.. maybe it is my guns and war fondness, but...

Progress across the board

So, I read a lot during the weekend -- finished up Dimberly's Battle of the Atlantic and thus was able to finally start Chernow's bio of Grant.  So far so good, but as I am only 50 pages in... funny; my Mom couldn't believe I would haul a 900 page book to the gym, as did a couple of other people... I would think a hefty tome is the best thing to tote around for exercise, but....that could be me.

Reached 643 on the film list; I had received a compilation of African-American films from the library, which had a couple of them on the list...the Solomon Sir Jones films and the Commandment Baptist Church film... I watched some of the others, mainly because they looked interesting; also, let's face it, it is good to remember that even back then, people were opposed to racism...  unrelatedly but coincidentally, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" arrived from Netflix, so... I liked it, in the Matt sense...lot of comedy of situation, and, I think the film did subtly point out that deep down, all of us are bigots in some way.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/11/17226574/california-health-care-pricing-regulation'

I think this could work, but does anyone (aside from the Californians) think that they can pull it off?  As in most things the left does, I think they will be beaten and proclaim it a victory, and leave it at that.

Justice

Boy, watching the Mike Clevinger implosion was fun tonight!  Ok, it wasn't, but... not sure what happened there, though, of course, the usual suspect -- namely, he's a head case -- seems to be as good a reason as any.  Alas.  In the meantime, we are bombing Syria...and you know, I agree.  "Wag the Dog" scenarios notwithstanding... I give the man credit; he has a red line, and when you cross it...

https://www.vox.com/videos/2018/4/11/17224220/catholic-church-censorship-golden-age-hollywood-hays-code

This is interesting, but... I mean, it's sort of wrong; there was the Hays Code before the Church got involved, and, I know that the average voxer cannot wait to get a hit on the Church, but... blaming them for simply carrying on the crusade, if you will, to the next level seems...egregious and wrong.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/stump-v-sparkman-the-supreme-court-ruling-that-made-judges-above-the-law.html

This surprised me; I mean, if you think about it, a liberal wanting them is amusing, namely because of all the shit they pull through the courts; it wouldn't take some right-leaning lawyer too long (ok, it might) to start suing away.  More to the point, if you believe in, say, justice, much less social justice... well, the fight has to be fought where it is, and you can't let shit pass simply because some shit for brains in a robe said so...

Shiver the timbers

More amusement today as Tom Hamilton was discussing how the cold weather is affecting the Tribe's bats, followed by the 8-5 Pirates (yes, Pirates!) win over the Cubs and then how the Red Sox put a 4-spot on the board in the tropical paradise of Yankee Stadium.  Yes, the cold is certainly suppressing offense everywhere.....

https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2018/03/the-free-trade-malaise/
Reading this article (which I liked), I kept thinking of the last chapter of The Proud Tower, where Tuchman discusses the death of Jaures, the French Socialist who believed that a national uprising of the workers would prevent a big war...and of course, it didn't.  I am not sure that things are as dire as they say, but I did like the part about politicians using trade deals to do what needs to be done when the voters say you cannot...

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180410/as-early-voting-begins-for-ohio-primary-have-trump-democrats-become-republicans-for-good
Remember when all of the GOPers were clamoring for closed primaries?  Yeah, me neither.  :)  I don't know; I suspect some of these people are converts, others are Operation Chaos types, and the rest.. won't be voting.

Backlash

More amusement from the Tribe today, namely, Francona mentioning that in this weather, teams can't score a lot of runs. Ok, maybe not our team, but other teams certainly are.  I mean, really.  I am not quite sure why we can't admit that for whatever silly reason, the Tribe starts slow... at least they were able to get two runs -- two frickin' runs -- for Kluber and get the W.  To be sure, playing against the Central division... well, you should.  Of course, if it means skipping Josh Tomlin -- why on earth he needs more rest after one start -- I think people will hold their complaints.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04/08/jordan-peterson-beating-pundits-own-game-217773

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-06/sex-and-politics-the-great-divide

I don't know, but nothing would amuse me more than a big ol' backlash to the push by women to take control of the narrative led by men; I mean, I think it would work if you can get them to polling places; and it would be helped by the fact that every facet of criticism would only drive more men to the polls and provide ammo.  Not saying it will happen, but men do get hosed in a lot of ways, and if enough white men think so... 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-allure-of-the-ar-15-%E2%80%98i-know-i-don%E2%80%99t-need-it%E2%80%99-says-one-recent-buyer-but-that%E2%80%99s-not-the-point/ar-AAvEifg?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=mailsignout

I think this is exactly right... and it is very American, if nothing else.

Surprises

Well, that was an exciting and unexpected turn of events...  I thought they were done, because, after all, NOT scoring runs off Jason Hammel is...well, hard to do.  And, with the cold air, I figured it would be a moonshot, and in a way, it was.  Considering how Gomes (and everyone else) has been not hitting. One thing I found humorous; on the pre-game, Terry Francona was mentioning how they are going to really study how Chisenhall pulled the hammy once again... this could be me, but I bet that crack medical staff might have something to do with it...

In other news, went to the Detroit area for the weekend for my college roomie's 40th bday; it was fun and all, seeing the children and whatnot and festing.  One thing I did notice was that all of the support staff of the hotel we stayed at were....white. I've never experienced that at a hotel before; most of them were immigrants, from the accents, but... I can see how Michigan went for Trump.

One thing I will admit; the weekend has gone fast with the traveling and the family stuff and everything else...it doesn't seem like I got a lot of stuff done, though I know it is not true...

Progress

So...up to 640 on the film list.  639 was -- as many as possible -- the collection of films from Solomon Sir Jones, a look at African-American life in 1920s Oklahoma.  As you can imagine, I loved this one, these little vignettes that come through the years (even if of course it referenced the fact that racism was so intense that an entire populace had to create their own towns).  History is meant to be learned and...well, to be re-learned when we do it again, sadly.  Anyways, 640 was "Tarzan and His Mate."  I sort of liked it... interesting things I noticed:
1) Johnny Weissmuller didn't really act; just looked good, did heroic things, and said 23 words.
2) The female lead, there was a scandal about a scene; basically, the Hayes Code people went back and forth as to whether or not she was nude.  If she wasn't...
3) It's a 1934 flick, so, it's horribly racist, but...
4) There was also...well, in addition to a point about plundering resources...well, this could be a modern one, but I felt the whole point of the Tarzan character was to... well, point out the danger of NOT respecting cultures and traditions.

Anyways, film progress is always good!

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/4/5/17196676/nuclear-power-plants-climate-change-renewables

This surprised me; not that it's wrong, it's not, but you always hear liberals going off about this and while yes, nuclear waste is bad...it is carbon free.  Course, as I say, you never seen any liberals who want to sit in the dark all the time...

Not fooling!

College basketball is over, and.. the women's games were a hell of a lot more exciting than the men's ones; I mean, the UCONN-ND game was insane, and, while I admit that the technical skills aren't as good...the women's championship game was also pretty exciting, especially down the stretch.  In contrast, the men's games... meh.  One thing...both coaches are, well, not slime?  Beilein -- and I know the UM haters will be on me -- is pretty clean, and so is Wright.  I mean, in this day and age, when you can find all sorts of reasons to dislike teams, at least in this set, you couldn't do it because of the coaches.

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/29/17168804/why-easter-celebrate-big-secular-holiday-like-christmas-bunny-egg-pagan

I've always said I preferred Easter to Christmas, and this is one reason why....the Hope and Changers can't much it up... course, this year, at least, I can't say the weather is any better. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-03/millennials-moving-to-suburbs-will-change-economic-development

This could be me, but if too many apartments are out there, eventually...well, rents will have to come down, as people can't afford to have empty buildings.  I realize that these apartments aren't in the suburbs, which will prevent some price drops, but at the end of the day...

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04/01/ted-kennedy-chappaquiddick-scandal-217763
I saw this and immediately thought, boy, I bet the metoo! protestors will be out there.... and then I laughed.  Then, last night at a special Fun Run... a couple of the guys were discussing how many women's protesters would be at the screening...so I really laughed.