Escalation

Well, that was...impressive.  I mean, blowing an eight-run lead?  Ok, 4 runs... still, it is... something.  I think Bieber pitched... ok enough?  I think for a pitcher of his profile -- good not great stuff, around the plate a lot -- it is what you will get; he will get the Ks early, but as MLB hitters adjust, you get a few who can poke the ball around.  Funny; one of my coworkers suggested that Bieber should be moved to the pen, immediately... I don't think it was in the Earl Weaver way either; he wanted him as, say, McAllister... I am not sure he isn't wrong; I don't think Bieber's stuff translates to the pen, and I think his health, long-term, will be better off if they can keep him starting and not taxing himself in the pen, but...

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/30/17405720/liberty-evangelical-movie-trump-prophecy

I need to see this; not in the way I am going through the National Film Registry, but in the full trainwreck way... this could easily outrank Jesus Camp in terms of amusement value.  It has everything; Liberty University (they have a film school!), Trump, evangelical Christians twisting themselves to explain their support for him (it isn't that irrational, in all honesty), and, of course, people proclaiming that they can discern the will of God.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2018/05/29/why-abc-canceled-roseanne-the-economics-behind-the-shocking-decision/#2619128a5e56

Interesting... this could be me -- and I agree with this -- but you would think, if Roseanne supporters and their ilk -- truly cared, they would also boycott.  Now, this is problematic in many ways -- no ABC, no ESPN, no Disney (Frozen!) -- but I would think in this day and age of the Internet and everyone coming together... it could be done... not saying it would, but it would be funny as hell if three million deplorables began shutting off their TVs.

Action everywhere

Well, I am just a blogging machine... this could be me, but when Beliveau started the ninth, I was like "Six runs is not enough" and of course, it wasn't... well, not that they left him around to try.  I don't know; with all of the bullpen machinations, I am not sure you just don't let Otero (try to) finish the game, rather than using two more pitchers... especially because Beliveau is simply to be the break glass if needed guy.  More importantly, Shane Bieber starts Thursday to get a look, which is fine, I guess...I am not sure we need to push Bauer back a day, but if everyone else feels better about it...

All sorts of scandals today; I mean, Roseanne is the first one, and, for myself... I bet by the end of the year Fox has the show picked up.  Not saying it won't attract controversy, but 1) Fox won't mind and 2) It's not like the ratings won't be higher...  they might not be, but I suspect the Roseanne audience won't exactly complain....

I wonder if the above scandal influenced this:
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/29/scandal-plagued-missouri-governor-expected-to-resign-611384

I mean, not the result -- he's been dead man walking for a while -- but the timing.  Frankly, I am surprised he lasted this long...  I realize as the last GOPer who cares about family values, my notion that married GOP governors shouldn't cheat on their wives -- much less go Sherrod Brown on them -- but more to the point, this issue was dragging down the perpetually good idea to get rid of Claire McKaskill... maybe Josh Hawley, free of this, can put her out to pasture...

Is it me, or are the insects more active this year?   To be sure, every year the ants come in, but it seems there are more now... the hundred-leggers also are active, and yesterday I killed wasp/hornet/something in the basement shower. I am thinking I need to clean the kitchen floor again and apply more poison to the gap in the sill... either that or sit all day and watch.

Rumbles

Things of note:

1)  Staying out til last call last night was probably unwise.

2)  Hitting -- and hard -- the Memorial Day Fun Run bright and early was equally unwise.

3)  The double event of cookouts and feasting has not been kind to the digestive system, if you get my drift...

In other words, I am a sleepy boy and feel like I took the entire box of "Colon Blow" in one sitting.  But, here we are...I was able to finish another book -- The Grind -- a not uninteresting look at the behind-the-scenes stuff of a baseball team in any one season and start another.  I wrapped up "Woodstock," bringing me to 659...rah.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/us/politics/franklin-graham-evangelicals-california.html?emc=edit_th_180528&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=310602670528

I actually like this idea; I mean, if all of the other things have been tried, why not this?  Even better, it forces those opposed to his efforts to go on record that they are against people of faith, etc., which, even in California, might work a little...  to say nothing of the possibility for future litigation.

Miracles

Well, that was... exciting?  I mean, stupendous pitching by Bauer, the usual bullpen explosion, a miraculous comeback, another comeback.. a Greg Allen walkoff... rah.  Pretty cool.  Of course, we have the usual issue -- the inability to find any reliever, which is troubling... I always say that sometimes you have to make a change to make a change, and methinks that time is now.  I'd also like to point out that George Kontos was DFAed by the Pirates, and while I don't think he would anything more than McAllister-lite... right now, you would take that.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/nyregion/remembering-scott-joplin.html?emc=edit_th_180527&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=310602670527

I liked this story; for one, "The Entertainer" is one of my favorite films, so I became familiar with the music that way...two, for another, I sort of like the idea of commemorating those who, for one reason or another, fall through the cracks... yet another way in which we as a country practice redemption...

I am about a third of the way through "Woodstock," the next entry on the National Film Registry.  It's ok; I mean, if I attended or cared, it would be one thing, and if I liked the music...

Read a couple of books...yesterday I polished off The American Slave Coast, a look at the dynamics of slave trading among, well, everyone and everything in the US...  today I read Missoula, by Krakauer... interesting; I've never read anything of his til today; seen some of the films, but never the books.  He does tell a taut and moving tale...

Conflagaration

Well, that was an awesome performance by the 'pen yesterday... I don't know, this could be me, but this is everyone's fault, but the front office... I mean, the moves didn't work out, fine, so go out and find someone.  The M's got Colome (and Span) for minor leaguers yesterday... not saying that that move would work, and not that we need OFs (soon we will NOT) but they could find one, and he was better than the internal options... 

Woke up at 6:30 this morning, which was fine, save for the fact that I had wanted to sleep in... alas.  Put in a workout at the gym, did some errands, and then shopping, and now I am home... rah.  I ended up staying in last nite to watch the pitching duel (which was fine, while it lasted) and...well, I do feel the urge to spread my wings tonight...though it's not like I don't know anyone who is doing anything, snark.

Watched "Paris is Burning" last night to get the list to 658.  Words cannot describe the awesome...

Surprise, surprise

Man, it has been a while since I blogged... Tribe, Netflix (next-to-last DVD of House of Cards), PQ -- victory last nite at Bottlehouse, always good... but here we are now, where I hope I can survive tomorrow and ideally get some rest.  In the meantime, yes, I think Francona went to Ramirez too soon again; he's faced the Astros thrice in a week, I think they've seen all of the pony's tricks, if you get my drift.  I realize four OFs are on the DL, but you'd think eventually the front office will make a move to the bullpen needs...

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/05/50_greatest_music_videos_of_th.html

Interesting... I mean, all of them were indeed in the decade, but there are certainly a wide range... genres and songs, if you will.

So, a college friend asked me to go to the South Euclid-Lyndhurst library to take some pictures of the art there, and it was sort of one of the way home... I did.  Sort of a culture shock.... I mean, the nonfiction books were fairly woke, if you get my drift.  Lots of art and gathering space in the library (far more than in the West Side)... perhaps worst of all, everyone went five or more miles LESS than the speed limit, a trend that continued LONG after I got on the highway, at least until the 480 bridge and the west side, where the usual -- and superior -- NASCAR time-trial philosophy prevailed...

I was a little surprised the Korean peace mission, if you will is off; I mean, if you think it will be a schlonging or a dog-and-pony show, you don't have to have it... but I think a lot of people thought they wanted to deal, or at least give up something... to be sure, the way Trump operates, I bet it will be back on soon, or Mike Pompeo will have a deal soon...you'd think another good headline before the election would be just what they need...

Lists

Props to the Tribe -- always trying to find a way to blow a game, even if they do not succeed.  I had three main thoughts:

1) I know it was a stopping point, if you will, and pitch count, but do you try and get another batter or two out of Kluber?
2)  Isn't going back to Neil Ramirez too much too soon?  I realize the options are all bad, but...
3)  One of the guys in the FRB is of the opinion that Miller will soon merit the dreaded "injury-prone" mantle, and while I don't think we are there yet...

That said, the park is a band box, so an occasional dinger... well, sometimes you cannot help it, I guess. But..

Received word yesterday that a friend from church passed away... while it was not exactly unexpected, it's still not fun. I always liked this person, and she was always kind to me... and she was a good person and a fixture, if you will, in our local community.  Sort of put the wind out of my sails, not that I was planning for a big night out.. I ended watching some stuff on youtube and reading... I did cross three films off the list -- 657!

"Felicia" is a short, 12 minutes, from the 60s...a young African-American girl growing up in Watts.  Interesting.
"Moon Breath Beat" is a five-minute animated short.  It was interesting, but not terribly so, if you get my drift.
"State Fair:"  The original, pre-Code film from the 1930s; family goes to the Iowa State Fair, all with varying goals and interests, and their hijinks... Will Rogets was the male lead --  people tend to forget he acted, too --  and you could see the pre-Code influences, such as bottles of apple brandy (Prohibition had just ended!) and various attempts at nookie... I did like it, sort of edgy... my impression is that the later versions aren't quite so edgy; hell, I think one is a musical, and we are not watching that.... :)

A Failure to Communicate

This could be me, but the idea of the Browns being the team for "Hard Knocks" seems to be... a bad idea?  I mean, do they  really want people to see what goes on there?  I mean... 0-16, the QB drama, the coach drama, the legal problems of the owner... maybe it was their turn, and maybe the NFL is making the decision for them, but it seems a poor choice.

http://www.honestgraft.com/2018/05/what-we-can-learn-from-demise-of-trumps.html

To me, this is a failure of the WH political team, and while I can fault President Trump for this, you'd think someone in the White House (Kellyanne Conway, for instance) would have said "Hey, let's do this!"  The reasons, to me, are self-evident:
1)  The President, for all his faults, can claim -- rightly -- experience with, you know, building;
2)  Congresspeople, especially those with an interest in being re-elected, love to get pictures with Presidents and in front of... engines of job creation, if you will;
3) GOPers who need to hug Trump to win primaries (and you know what I say, no one likes getting primaried) would have ample opportunity to do so;
4)  No one really thinks of Trump and the GOP as fiscal conservatives; and 
5) It would be an ideal time to rant against his predecessor -- a POTUS favorite and something not opposed by the base -- for not, you know, doing this and instead pissing around on healthcare, or something.

I realize we can't expect the White House to do all of these things, of course, but I would think some of them should have been.... tried, at least.

Shock of shocks

Well, that was another thrilling Tribe game.  This could be me, but didn't everyone seem to think that Francona was going to the 'pen wayyy too early.  I mean, yes, it's Josh Tomlin, but a four-run lead, and 11 outs... well, it seemed like a bridge too far, especially with the way everything has been going.  And it was.  The Otero implosion is by now expected, but Miller...well, maybe -- like Guyer -- he was brought back too early.  Not saying it wasn't defensible, but if it is obvious he isn't ready for tight situations... well, you don't bring him into them.  Oi.

https://theathletic.com/350014/2018/05/15/older-and-wiser-joe-dooley-is-back-for-a-second-act-at-east-carolina-bent-on-reviving-a-struggling-program/

I remember hearing about this, and I was like... whoa.  I mean, I realize coaching at FGCU means you'll be a 15-seed (at best) in the tourney, if you make it (and you HAVE to win the conference tourney), but... for one, inheriting Enfield's team and carrying the success on... well, not impossible.  Two, this could be me, but every time you see a game there, they show the place... well, it is in literally paradise, with, well... beau jolie filles, if you get my drift.

https://www.wired.com/story/nashville-transit-referendum-vote-plan/

I got a kick out of this one, mainly because of how it is stressed that Nashvillians will pay more for this boodoggle without actually seeing any improvement.  Much like I have yet to see a climate change/global warming believer actually willing to do something to reduce their carbon footprint, I have yet to see the liberal willing to pay more than their fair share for the public good... or their own, for that matter.

Progress

Favorite niece got her MBA this weekend, so the family spent much of the weekend in Tiffin, where we put the "fun" in it.  It was nice, sort of like Delaware, cute little college town, with townie bars and such.  And, of course, there was plenty of quality family time... in the meantime, the Tribe is doing its best to stay below .500, which is lovely, and with the news of Zimmer to the DL... one must consider the label "injury-prone" for him.  Ok, maybe a bit premature, but...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/recycling-once-embraced-by-businesses-and-environmentalists-now-under-siege/ar-AAxclAb?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=mailsignout

I've always known that people are lazy, but... sometimes I wonder if part of the problem is the fact that it is sooo damn complex; people want and need simplicity, and few people are going to figure out which types of plastic belong and which do not.  I know it is complex, but... I am not sure that the industry has helped matters by not simplifying...

I am approaching the halfway point of Sinha's The Slave's Cause, which is a look at abolition mainly through the perception of the slaves and the Africans themselves.  It's pretty good -- fact-filled and detailed -- but it is a slow read, and in some ways it is a little depressing, that we have let to solve the issues in the book again...

R-e-l-i-e-f

I got a kick out of Jensen Lewis on the Tribe broadcast telling us that it was too early to make a trade for a reliever... oh, I don't know, I think that's not quite true; I mean, if none of the current 10 candidates or so can cut it... well, time for Plan B.  Much as I didn't fault Cincinnati for biting a bullet and deciding to try and fix Matt Harvey... I mean, maybe the price might be too high, but if they wanted to, they could find a middle reliever.  Let's also note that Lindor has been... shitty with the glove, and it has been costing them quite a bit, including tonight.

https://theathletic.com/345409/2018/05/08/payer-haters-three-prominent-pay-for-play-opponents-explain-their-support-for-the-ncaa-restricting-athlete-compensation/?source=email

I agree with much of this; I mean, the first example is the one I find most persuasive, but the others are key as well.  I don't think there is any good solution, short of simply letting more kids go pro at 18.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/10/17335466/scott-walker-wisconsin-child-tax-credit-hundred-100-dollars-refund-child-allowance

This amused me, because, let's face it, every political action is a bribe or payoff to some group or voting bloc; calling for what it is, imagine that.  Next you'll tell me that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme...

The downward spiral

Well, that was a thrilling Tribe game.  Wasn't the best start by Kluber, but... not getting any in the first was the key, and the shitty defense... well, at least the bullpen -- and I mean you, Zach -- didn't implode, which deprived me of a meme I wanted to do at work.  Alas.

Up to 652 on the film list... I watched "This is Cinerama" on kanopy; not really a film per se, just a bunch of vignettes on a special camera/screen so everything looks... wider, if a bit different.  Interesting, in that it was a technology that didn't take.  The other, "To Sleep in Anger," I am not sure how it made the list... ok, it was all African-American cast, and the tale was such... but it was a little slow and not all that interesting besides... I have a few more on Netflix, and some others I can find, but we are going to hit the limit...

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/05/when-betsy-devos-comes-to-a-catholic-campus/559814/

This could be me, but I do not think this is a bad thing... the Church isn't supposed to be for or against one party; it's above politics, and it is our own sinful ways that make it part of one over the other.  Playing it straight, while taking fire from both sides... isn't exactly a sign of being wrong.


https://www.vox.com/2018/5/7/17306388/the-real-controversy-at-the-heart-of-catholic-fashion

Um....yes.

Rest

Well, that was an exciting Tribe loss!  The sad part is, I am not really sure Francona could have, or should have, done anything differently...  going to Allen in that situation was pretty defensible, as you really can't trust the rest of the bullpen.  The days of the Tribe's pen as a strength seem so far away now...  even with the doubleheader, the relief corps has been a revolving door.  I am not sure that some of it isn't Francona himself; using guys for one inning at a tine only gets the tired and means you have to pitch everyone...especially when games run extra or someone gets shelled.

In other news, I am up to 650 on the film list, thanx to a viewing of "Drums of Winter."  It is a 1980s documentary about the efforts of Inuits to preserve the dance elements of their native culture.  Interesting, albeit not terribly so...ok, it was interesting, just not quite my cup of tea.

Cut the grass today, first time this year... considering the benign neglect (at best) with which I operate, I was more than pleased that the lawn mower started up on the first try and there were no issues during the mow.  Yesterday I went out and picked up twigs; I found a whole tree branch barely a few feet from my house, which would have caused damage had it landed perpendicularly...  I have to admit, I did have an urge to clear-cut every bit of vegetation within 50 feet of the house, even though I knew that wasn't exactly realistic...

Disaster

https://deadspin.com/trevor-bauer-lover-of-logic-and-facts-casually-sugges-1825687744

Well, this is funny as hell;  I mean, it could be true, but I am not sure that anyone really thinks it is; I mean, there are some good pitchers on the Houston staff, and having a good spin rate is what makes them good.  In the meantime...  I am glad Brantley got the grand slam -- hard to believe it was his first, and he looked like shit the first two pitches -- but it was Francona's mismanagement of the relievers that got them into this mess.  Clevinger was pitching pretty well, and after the 'pen was hit over the weekend, and taxed last nite...well, we all know he loves his platoon advantages, even though, let's face it, it's Jeff Beliveau... and that was the game.  Not sure you couldn't get 2 IP from either Otero or Belisle, either... and in the meantime Goody has become extremely hittable, and McAllister is now the white flag pitcher.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/14/13576192/alt-right-sexism-recruitment

This could be me -- and this is certainly above the comprehension of a Vox reader, let me assure you -- but maybe, just maybe -- the reverse is what happens; men are constantly given a stream of negative reinforcement, and while some people are going to believe it, others, of course, are going to seek out the counter-opinion, which in this case is actually deplorable. 

https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/how-obama-and-state-officials-swelled-food-stamp-rolls/

I am shocked, shocked, by this; now, if the GOP had any brains -- and of course, we don't -- they should be going off and fixing this; it calls for a legislative solution, to say nothing of waiving the waivers and making states get people to work.  This, I think, is what pisses off the average GOP voter, that they cannot get even get the little stuff right.

https://newrepublic.com/article/147800/legal-weed-change-banking-america
I think this an excellent idea, and more states should do this; not that we should be using to fund crap, though people will, but because of the competition it would offer banks; could you see a state issuing a credit card?  Ok, they wouldn't, but the mortgages and credit lines would cut into borrowing costs...  Of course, I think we all know in most states this bank would become a junket for politicos, but...