Excitement!

So, here I am, trying to blog, or at least not fall behind; it's interesting, because I had a busy weekend (of sorts) and also caught up on some stuff...which lasted until other stuff came in... it;s more amusing than anything else, I guess.  Anyways, at least the house is as clean as it has ever been, which is good.

Lent is coming up; I mean, wow.  I will as usual do my usual devotion, but it just seems to me that the year is already flying by!  Also, March Madness is a few weeks away, and for all my love of baseball, there is something about this time of year -- 50 teams fighting for 10 spots in the tourney, if you will -- that makes it compelling.  We all know, of course, that the committee will screw over mid-majors so 10 Big Ten teams can make the tournament, but if just one Cinderella makes it... (By the way, I would have only 7 teams from the Big Ten, just because I think, at the end of the day, it's a bunch of good-not-great teams beating each other up. Of course, that whole process is designed to provide 10 seeds.)

https://gen.medium.com/ive-been-a-democrat-for-20-years-here-s-what-i-experienced-at-trump-s-rally-in-new-hampshire-c69ddaaf6d07
Hmmm...yes/no/maybe?  I suspect the reverse would have been true of a Mitt-type at an Obama rally, but maybe not; let's face it, people are happier when their President is around.  On the other hand, I think the Donald does benefit from the economy, at least in that those who are doing well/doing better are a useful constituency that complements the social warriors/Evangelicals who are the base. Of course, if the economy goes south, Trump has farther to fall, Bernie or not...

https://medium.com/new-york-magazine/the-gay-church-f0a637e498ae
Um....yes.

This could be me, but isn't Madison Baumgartner violating his contract?  You'd think someone would put a clause in it keeping his tush at home...or at least off the horse (or ATV).

https://www.mischiefsoffaction.com/post/dems-disarray
Interesting...

Tribe notes

I figured I should, you know, blog...it's funny, because while I was off Saturday (in that the schedule was clear) and Monday... I ended up having lots to do!  I did finish off a book about the role of the CA gold rush in the Civil War, got an oil change, temporarily cleaned out the email box, did some cleaning...it was good.

Sunday I went to my friend's Daytona 500 party, which was... well, let's just say that while we loved the President and his little act, it was, to me...a bit much?  For one thing, it certainly added to the time it took to start, and it was a big old preach to the base thing, but the man is good at it. This is an election year, FL is a battleground state, but...

Tribe rotation took a hit, of sorts... as I told the boys at work, it's not his arm, and I project Clevinger to be starting on May 1...so, what, six starts?  I pointed out that we also didn't have the pitching equivalent of Eric Stamets out there as his replacement.   But it was sort of funny...I completely forgot about Zach Plesac when discussing the candidates.  Now, I will admit, I expect a regression -- his K/BB rates aren't good, and stuff wise, he's more of a throwback. but...right now I can't see him not getting a job.  I do wonder what he did in the offseason, though...

I also have to admit; not having seen Greg Lusinski play, I am looking forward to seeing Domingo Santana as the modern-day equivalent, in that train wreck/curious way....

Progress

So....first things first, I watched "Becky Sharp" over the weekend -- 716 of the 775 on the National Film Registry.  It's brief retelling of Vanity Fair and it stars a young Joan Crawford; it's moderately funny (I have not read the original) and it seems to....straddle the Hayes Code, if you will.  Yes, I need to start going back and seeing the new additions, to say nothing of finding some of the extant ones...

While it was not quite the UNC game, the Duke/FSU game was... impressive?  I mean, I think Duke -- as always -- plays to its level of competition, which is a problem... I would have expected disaster, but they played well against a good opponent. 

Is it me, or should Bernie have won by more in NH?  I wonder if part of it is the moderates really do hold sway, and part of it is that no one wants to be Corbyned in the election, and -- protest vote or not -- I think Bernie would make Trump look sane by comparison.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/trevor-bauer-cincinnati-reds-sign-stealing
One of my friends sent me this with a header of "Trump voter, Duke fan provides moral guidance," which,let's face it, is funny as hell.  But I think Trevor is completely correct here (as in politics and fandom, of course).

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/1619-project-new-york-times-wilentz/605152/
Snicker, snicker, snicker.  Ok, this is pretty good, and, I think, a useful corrective to the narrative...

https://babylonbee.com/news/researchers-discover-cure-man-bun
Always wanted one of these things...

Wow

Well, that was a Duke game to remember, wasn't it?  I thought they were cooked multiple times, and lo and behold...well, even I was impressed.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iowa-caucus-voter-pete-buttigieg-same-sex-marriage_n_5e39d27fc5b6f083412065c5
I get a kick out of this; I mean, I realize they're Democrats, but are they really that stupid that they vote for a person not knowing that they are...married to a same-sex partner?  Of course, my answer is that they are Democrats, and yes they are that stupid, so...

https://ahousedividedapd.com/2020/01/28/foiling-clarence-thomas/
Interesting... not sure I agree with all of this, of course, but...

https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2020/01/24/baseball-brit-joey-mellows-mlb
As you can imagine, I loved this!

This weekend I really didn't have anything to do, aside from the usual stuff, so on the one hand, I feel a little listless... on the other, I was able to get ALL of the shit done that I wanted to do.  Ok, most, but I was able to catch up on stuff I had to read, put off, links... and that was pretty nice.

I had told my coworkers that I could see 6 GOP senators voting for impeachment, and... well, I wasn't a fan of that decision. For all of the talk of Dems being stupid, this doesn't exactly help us in the moral and ethical department, does it now?

Catching up

Well, I am glad my usual blogging practices are back...course, I had an excuse for last night, as I watching the Iowa caucuses.  Just kidding, but it is funny as hell, and I hope President Awesome references this a shitload of times tonight...

It has been a busy week, and I am still battling this cold, so I have been trying (and mainly succeeding) in getting to bed early... which hasn't helped.

I didn't watch the Super Bowl, for a bunch of reasons, and...I feel fine?  I think I am the only person in America who watches SOTU at a party but not the big game... One thing I did watch was "You Can't Take it With You" the Capra film that won Best Picture for 1938.. I liked it, it was funny, but, like most of his films...well, we all know how it ends.