Crossing off and moving up

 I had a surprisingly busy day today...which started extremely early.  I woke up at 4, was restless for an hour, and decided, well, can't sleep, may as well get up... which I did.  Read some articles, did some morning prayer, then off to the gym for shoulders.  I will admit, the lack of sleep was a factor on the farmer carries.  Anyways, then home for a quick shower and then a 10 AM class - "free" from the library on using Word.  Most of it was review, but some was not, and I signed up for a bunch they offered about Excel; again, some new, some not.

Then it was down to Akron; met a friend for lunch at Hopping Frog Brewery -- I had never been, on the food list, always wanted to try -- and it was good!  Should have taken an IPA to go, but the one I had there was good (not too hoppy) and the food was solid -- nothing too special but good.  Hung out for a bit, then home to get stuff from the library and watch the end of the Duke game.  It almost caused a coronary, but due to superior coaching and maximum effort from those scrappy Blue Devils, they pulled it out.  Phew.

Next, I watched "Bastogne" from "Band of Brothers" (might be my favorite episode, actually) and then I watched "Who Killed Vincent Chin?"  It's a documentary from 1985 about two autoworkers who killed an Asian-American, fueled by racial animus towards Asians for taking their jobs.  And, their lack of punishment.  It was good; very stark and simple, actually.  I always say after these things that sometimes you watch and stuff hasn't changed, but in some ways we have.  Now, of course, no one would get probation for bashing someone's skull in with a baseball bat... well, one hopes.  This brings me to 784 of the National Film Registry (with more to come from the library).  

The church envelopes for next month have yet to arrive, or are gone forever... this is a concern.  I mean, I can hand-write a business envelope, but...not the same!

Malaise

 Funny; yesterday, I had so much stuff to do, and to get through -- and I didn't do all of it -- that I ended up going to bed at 12 and not blogging. So here I am; done with everything (sort of), and now... I feel lost.  Odd.  Anyways, this weekend is largely free for me, so I decided to go and fill it up with things to do!  Not that this is bad, just...how I roll.

Double gym today; haven't done it in a while, and though there was no evening cardio (low blood sugar), it still felt good to get the work in.  Going this morning, the roads were a bit sketch, and this afternoon...well, let's just say that if Parma can keep the roads in front of the Shoppes spotless, they can probably do it on the other streets as well.  Just saying...

The parish is taking down the Xmas decorations Sunday and I think I am as well; I mean, it is time, sort of. I went around tonight and looked at them -- closely -- just because a lot of them are old and nice; also because Mom loved Christmas and I miss her.  I think I am going to keep the Xmas mice up all year -- one because I liked them as a kid and two because, well, we all need a little Christmas all year.  Funny; the happy thought came into my head that there was no reason I couldn't pull everything down from the attic for a Christmas in July... I mean, it's my house, so why the hell not?

A Double Event of Links

 This is a double post...not that I want to, it sort of feels dishonest, but I do want to (partially) remove some of the links I have been saving.  And, after days of not posting, I know some of you would love to see more of my thoughts, especially since I cheated you all out of content.

https://deadspin.com/since-the-nba-gave-grayson-allen-a-slap-on-the-wrist-fo-1848414018

This is a few days old, but...one game for taking a guy and causing him to miss up to two months?  I think that's ridiculous (even if he a Duke guy).  I mean, the first part of the play is fine -- it's a hard foul, but clean (though everything with Grayson has to be a little suspect, sadly).  The rest though, is just a dirty play. and for the NBA just to cause him to miss one game...well, as with so much other stuff with the NBA, it's just sketch.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall

Speaking of someone whose every word and action must be considered suspect... actually, my first thought upon reading this was "Liberty has a Creation Museum?  I need to go!" which was prolly not the desired outcome.  Actually, the story of his early life and relationship with his parents is (if you believe it, and I mostly do) pretty interesting.

https://amgreatness.com/2022/01/24/journalists-need-to-learn-how-to-lay-bricks/

This is an interesting take; I largely agree, but does anyone really think that journalists, of all people, would have their thoughts and ideas evolve or change after meeting new people?  Of course not!

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-we-need-to-keep-searching-for-lost-silent-films?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Might have posted this before, but this is pretty interesting -- and something I agree with totally.  Not that I am an impartial observer...

Burns Day

 I haven't gone this long without posts in a long while.  Sunday I had nothing to say, and after watching some "band of Brothers" I decided to turn it up a notch.  Monday I met a friend for coffee and to discuss some of his problems (he asked for help!) and then I had other stuff to do.  Yesterday I did some new and completely different:  I attended a Burns Day dinner (Robert Burns, the Scottish poet) at Bottlehouse in the People's Socialist Republic of Cleveland Heights.  I've always wanted to try haggis, and as it was on the menu...well, I reserved a spot and off I went.

Mapquest suggested I take the Opportunity Corridor, and I did.  It's pretty awesome, actually; no more going to, say, 30th and turning right and hitting all the lights and bus lanes and skeeball neighborhoods.  Only a few lights (main intersections), lots of lanes, decent speeds; I think it saved 10 minutes and immense aggravation.  This was good, because when I got to the PSRCH...well, the streets were plowed and salted, but certainly not the parking lots or the sidewalks.  Or, for that matter, the street parking.  I almost fell twice, plus I stopped to help someone who got stuck in the parking by pushing them out. (Hard to believe no one there stopped to help, given the progressive nature of the community.  Or not.)  That ordeal over, off to the event....

And it was pretty nice; no assigned seating (had to wear masks save for at the table, which is not pleasant, and certainly not a thing on the West Side, thank God).  They started with a hard cider (local apples, local brew) which was ok; a bit dry for my taste but not terribly so.  Then course one, the Scotch egg -- hard-boiled egg coated with sausage (think Jimmy Dean) and fried.  It was pretty good; never had one, and I rather liked it!  This was served with a glass of scotch, which tasted like peaty rat piss -- ugh.  Then soup; cockaleekie (chicken and leeks), which they boiled into a consomme and topped with fried leaks.  Also very good -- a bit salty, but it was a rich broth.  More scotch, which I offered to the table, becoming fast friends.  Also some more poetry (but not "Ode to a Haggis") and some bagpipe music, the awesomeness of which needs no words to describe.

Next was the haggis, or haggish, because it was not true haggis; no sheep here (hard to find) or heart; this was a mix of pork and beef hearts and lungs, blended with oats and spices.   Basically, you boil the hell out of it for days...weeks, even (easier to do back then, when the cooking fire was a 24/7 thing). Also this was in a pastry crust, served with neeps and tatties (including sweet potatoes) and brussels sprouts (admittedly not Scottish).  And...you know, it was pretty good!  I made the comment that if you didn't know what it was, you'd think it was a sausage stuffing.  

Then, dessert -- a Cranachan trifle, which consists of cream (whipping), berries, oats, and, of course, more Scotch.  It was also quite good -- I snarfed an extra one -- but I think I could have done without the scotch, honestly.  Actually, I decided these people are alcoholics, to put it nicely.  Hell, considering Burns and his...proclivities.. well, enough said about that.

Anyways, it was nice and fun; tried new things, got out of the house, etc.  Would I go again?  Maybe; it was $60 (half of it for booze, I am sure), so that's not something I want to drop all the time... on the other hand, it was fun, and I did enjoy myself, to say nothing of trying something new... so we will see.

A Day Quotidian

 This day was surprisingly restful AND productive.  Slept in a bit, then off to gym, Drug Mart, and the library (I have ordered a bunch of books and films on the NFR; even with the slowdown and the fact that I have 500 plus pages to go in my current read, supply creates its own demand).  Then, off to watch Duke... I remembered what happened last week and made sure to ignore my phone for a few hours, just to avoid any potential interruptions.  :)  

Then I did some stuff around the house!  Moved boxes downstairs, took stuff in the attic, cleaned the extra room, put junk away, got some stuff together for my sister and cousin, made a box for donation -- in short, it looks a lot neater!  Boiled some eggs, cooked some eggplant and salmon...simple, right?  Then, when the oven was heating and the food was baking, I read.  Just read.  One hour, maybe more... it was heaven.  Top it off, I cracked open "Band of Brothers" (Xmas gift) and watched the first two episodes.  I do love that series, and now I want to get "The Pacific" as the companion.

The downside of this, if you will, is now I want to do all sorts of things.  One, I found a couple of boxes of old history periodicals -- saved since when -- that I always wanted to read. This is fine, but we all know how my reading schedule is. Two, I realized that I need to buy two bookcases -- one for the playroom, and one for the basement, so I can store the bobbleheads and baseball paraphernalia I've accumulated over the years (oh the irony); I mean, I could store it upstairs, but I do need the book space.  It needs its own display.  I then realized I do have space for a bookshelf upstairs -- need to move some stuff around, but it's my house and no reason why not.  I also decided I need to clean/rearrange the attic.  No point in poking around the attic now, of course, but when the weather improves, it needs to be adjusted.  Not sure I need to purge stuff, but...

Memory Lanes

So, I broke on my own rules today and went to eat at a place Mom would have liked.  Hell, she even picked it out for me/us:  Fresh Start Diner in Twinsburg.  I was doing some house cleaning last weekend and found a PD article she clipped about the place -- namely, that I would like it, and she could find something...they do breakfast and lunch, and specialize/feature eggs benedict -- including with crab cakes (who eats that shit, of course).  Anyways, for a bunch of reasons, we never went, but today I did.  A bit far but just down 82, and aside from the challenge of navigating Twinsburg square in the dark...there I was.  

And it was pretty good!  Potatoes not greasy, sauce good (homemade, you can tell), portions decent; even the coffee was good, and the server even offered it to me to go (which is like feeding crack to the addict).  I mean, I am not saying I eat breakfast like this every day, but I can see myself going back. 

Work was...interesting.  One of those days where I literally couldn't do my own work, as I was deluged with other things...requests for help, client queries, that sort of thing.  Oi.  I mean, it's part of the job, and we are short-handed like everyone else, but I could have used a bleach cocktail.  Or two.

Funny...one of my coworkers was asking me today about Tony Gwynn; namely, his low K% (4.2!) which, of course, is unheard of nowadays, his general lack of power (I pointed out that all those doubles weren't exactly bloop hustles), and how we looked at the older and less chiseled and not the more lithe player of his time.  I pointed out SD-pre Petco was a pitchers' park, as was Candlestick and Dodger Stadium; mainly, that I think part of his approach was that you couldn't survive by trying to jack one 400 feet back then, so spraying the ball all over was quite the approach.

Of course, at the gym today, the first profile I get to in Posnanski's The Baseball 100 is...Tony Gwynn, with some cool insights as to his hitting approach, which I passed on.

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/01/new-silent-film-festival-and-colloquium-highlights-cleveland-composer-js-zamecnik.html
This is cool!  I've seen them all, sadly, otherwise I would hit them, and I still might try to see one, just because the film selection is quite solid...

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/washington-secrets/zogby-us-overwhelmingly-wants-less-federal-meddling

I am pretty skeptical of these things; I mean, sure they do now, but in general -- especially since we are not really paying for them -- not so much...

The Perils of Idiots in Charge

 Oi.  Woke up bright and early this morning, lifted (well!) with the expectation of doing leg night...and lo and behold, the blood sugar has fallen and won't climb.  Very depressing.  To be sure, I had a healthy dinner, and it's cold, but... oi.  I had such high hopes.

On to low hopes.  Namely, I listened to Biden's press conference yesterday (today).  I mean, it was a train wreck, but those of us with half a brain knew this was coming.  I don't think it was the abject failure everyone else did...for one, calling out the GOP for not having a plan is smart.  Yes, Newt and the boys are working on one, but until we have one... of course, now that the challenge has been laid...meet it.  The other point, of course, is that he was signaling to his own party that he wasn't down and out yet.  To be sure, the polls say otherwise, but we are a long way from November.  I think, for instance, we could see some movement on the parts of the BBB plan if they break it up, Nancy's objections notwithstanding.  This could be me, but the genius of Stephen (or Frederick, for some of us) Douglas was in breaking up the Compromise of 1850 and letting everyone vote -- and pass -- each of its measures on its own merits.  (I think I am one of 12 people who know this.)  Doing that would allow the Dems to claim some wins while also letting everyone make their objections known...not sure that they are smart enough to realize this.

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2022/01/20/youngkin-brings-the-pain-and-shows-republicans-how-to-win-n2602058?utm_campaign=rightrailsticky2

This is awesome; keep this up, and we might have a Presidential contender...

https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/parish-responses-to-chicago-liturgy/comment/4542172

Oh, I don't know, Pope Francis is certainly making a mess of things on his own, and needs no help from the congregation. More seriously, I could not help but notice that these are Polish parishes leading the way on the resistance here.  Now, I am not exactly a fan of the Latin Mass -- a bit long for me, you know -- but I don't doubt that there are a lot of (ok, some, but these are the people who do the heavy lifting of church stuff, if you get my drift) people who do find it morally and spiritually uplifting, and ripping out Mass from beneath them is... well, not exactly designed to engender a spirit of Christ.

Back from the Respite

 So, no blogging yesterday; a friend of mine was driving cross-country (he has a wife and kids, won't fly) so he decided to stay with me...this was fine; we hung out, grabbed dinner, and crashed early (missed the Duke loss, not a bad thing).  It was funny, today, we were both working and typing up a storm, like nothing had changed, just that we were in our jammies, rather than in the office.  Then he was off and I had some stuff to do...  good workout, as well.

Watched "The Flying Ace" today; it's a silent "race film" from 1926, loosely inspired by Bessie Coleman.  I'd heard of it, tried to watch it before it was added to the National Film Registry but the DVD was bad. I ordered the film from somewhere else and it managed to play.  It's not bad; you can tell they didn't go in the air for some of the scenes, and it does check the boxes for 1920s drama, but it is interesting, held your attention, and featured an all-Black cast, with both positive and negative roles, even.  I rather liked it.  This brings me to 783 on the NFR...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeopardy-show-winning-run-amy-schneider-11642303319?mod=hp_lead_pos13

I sort of like the box scores; I mean, yes, look what sabremetrics has done to baseball, but I really think J! fans love this sort of thing.  The buzz-in percentage is impressive, sometimes it can be hard to tell (unless they are measuring from the podium).  Certainly, I know they go back on J! archive with some of this, and this puts everything right in your fingertips...

https://www.self.com/story/anti-fatness-fitness?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Interesting; some of this I agree with, and some of this...well, as I like to say, everyone in America, on average, needs to lose 10 pounds. True; one does not see a lot of not-fit people at the gym.  That, of course, should change, though I can also see how it is daunting to start. 

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/progressives-must-reckon-with-the-school-closing-catastrophe.html#comments

This is the third article I have read in the past week castigating everyone for school closures... of course, when the left has lost Jonathan Chait...

The Morning Appeal

 I haven't actually been outside to look at the snow; my driveway got plowed, but I didn't feel like going anywhere yesterday (people who did said the roads were crappy; I told all the liberals that they should love paying all the unionized city workers double holiday pay, which went over well) and this morning I slept in.  I don't know; maybe this extra sleep is helping, though the cold is still here.

I stayed up to watch "The Murder of Fred Hampton" on TCM (I love free NFR entries); it was added this year so I easily recognized.  Anyways, it was...interesting.  It's two parts; the first is a biopic/day in the life of a Black Panther in Chicago; the second is a forensic investigation of his killing during a police raid; obviously, the filmmakers decided it was a cover up.  That was...I guess to me the fascinating thing is that 50 years later we are still dealing with the same stuff.  Cops covering up the killing of black people?  Check.  Inequality?  Check.  Hell, they even talked about lead pipes affecting the water and the lives of children...which we still have today.  I guess this is what I like watching stuff like this; I mean, there is little if any chance I would have watched it save for the NFR, but it was fascinating that I did.  In the meantime...we are up to 782, and I want to clear off some more soon.

Snowmageddon

 So, just hitting here, blogging away, watching the snow fall.  It is the first snow -- big snow -- of the year -- and I have to admit, I am not sad to be working from home.  Couldn't imagine schlepping to the East Side in a blizzard, which it appears will happen all morning.  I heard the snow plow drive down the street a while ago; don't think the driveway has been plowed yet, which is good -- save dough and not paying anything.. for now.

Watched "Dream Horse" last night -- a UK based-on-a-true-story film about a woman who forms a syndicate to invest in horse racing (and fix her own issues), and of course the horse eventually wins... it was pretty good; I mean, I think we all know what it was, but (and accounting for my love of the track) it was...good.  Some friends of mine in harness racing referenced the film as a way to boost interest in the sport.  I sort of agree with, but then again, 99 percent of the time, investing in horse racing is just throwing money away...

https://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/2022/01/warrensville-heights-mayor-brad-sellers-drops-out-of-county-executive-race-in-wake-of-clevelandcomplain-dealers-reporting-about-his-taxes.html

I am shocked, shocked by this...is it me, or do Democrats not mind other people paying taxes, just that they mind paying their own taxes...

A day of excitement

 Interesting day today.  Food pantry duty today, and we were busy; first hour was fine, second hour we were swamped, and then the third was steady; we barely finished at noon, even with cleaning and sterilizing and getting everything packed.  Then I had planned to work out and run home to watch Duke -- even had the chips and the Mountain Dew lined up -- but an ex coworker texted me, asked if we could meet (had something to discuss) so I figured why not.  Not that it wasn't nice to just hang -- just wanted to chat -- but I of course had that prior commitment.  Anyways, I ended up going to my sister's to watch the game (she was amused), which was fine.  Duke did win -- closer than it should have been, yes teams play up on Duke, but still -- and then I had some errands to run; no gym, as my blood sugar has been suspiciously low all day.  Alas.  Then home.

Minor amusement -- got a couple of calls during the Duke game, which I ignored (of course); turned out it was from the SVDP Cleveland Board President; it is now official, I have been elected.  I called him after the game of course, but my sister suggested I send him the Duke schedule to prevent further mishaps.  Priorities, of course.  Anyways, then it was some grocery shopping -- shit is on sale, have to buy before it goes up even more -- and then home.  Dinner and watch the end of the CSU game (I need a new Cleveland team), which was quite the thriller...and now here I am, going through emails and shit I missed during the day.  Rah.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/01/11/cnns_tapper_is_it_cynical_to_ask_why_democrats_dont_complain_about_strict_voting_rules_in_new_jersey_and_delaware.html

Snicker, snicker.

Hoops

 So, tonight I went to the CSU game -- free tickets get me out of the house, and the way things have been going, getting out of work at the desired time was good.  And it was fun, save for the loss... $2 chicken tenders made not the healthiest dinner, but one deserves a cheat day (not me).  The game was interesting; CSU came out hot from three, but Oakland had a more balanced attack and led at the half.  That and the foul trouble -- we were 7-0 on calls against us at one point.  

I noticed an interesting dynamic among the head coaches; Coach Gates for CSU is younger and the more modern type, while Greg Kampe at Oakland is more the old school type (literally; he's been there 38 years!), sort of a Bob Huggins clone, if you will...yelling and more passionate.  On the other hand -- and this was noticed by the more perceptive types in the cheap seats -- his team was more successful in finishing plays, running an office, getting guys open.  Maybe it's a style thing, but it did seem he was coaching his team up, while Gates was more...letting them run, come what may.  Not sure one is better than the other -- athletes nowadays don't respond like they used to, which is probably good, but tonight the active style worked.

So, Synema blasted the idea of filibuster reform.  This amused me, not that she isn't 100% correct on this, but also because I love the idea of Democrats calling the bisexual woman a racist.  Given the long history of anti-LGBTQism in the African-American community, I can't wait for Synema and that community to fire back. Like the Iran-Iraq War, may it never end.

Rebirthing

 Is it me, or was it surprisingly pleasant today?  I mean, it's been a surprisingly mild winter so far; not much snow, decent temperatures (at least here); my gas bill was through the roof, but, then again, what isn't nowadays?  More reason to consider new windows, I guess...  I don't expect this to last, and it's not good for the crops if we don't get enough snow (shudder), but for now, I will take it.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/in-2024-mike-pence-is-gearing-up-to-go-rogue?utm_campaign=wp_the_daily_202&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_daily202th

Interesting.  One of the coworkers and I were discussing this, and while I think he would be a very good candidate in average times... first of all, there are all those Trumpers who would rather eat a bowl of shit than vote for him, which makes it difficult to survive in a primary, Trump running or not.  Second, of course, is that the party seems to be a bit more animated, now, if you will, than before, so he looks... not as strong.  I mentioned Richard Nixon as a comp; lost the race in 1960 (narrowly), lost a race in 1962, no more kicking around anymore...and then of course he went around and campaigned for GOPers and built those connections...we know what happened later.  I can easily see Pence doing that, especially as for a lot of GOPers, he is perfectly acceptable.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cotton-uses-schumers-own-words-defense-filibuster-senate-floor

This is hilarious; it would have been better if he had called him a douchebag or something, but I will take it (it's not his style, to be sure).  I am pleased to see that GOP is pushing back on this, calling them hypocrites and defending the filibuster.  On the one hand, I am not sure how long this will last, but on the other...well, I wonder how much Trump has affected this.  GOP voters like to see their candidates on the attack, something the Donald did regularly, and I sense that GOPers who want to remain elected will copy his style more...

Now and forever

 You know, hearing the wind whistle outside, and feeling the cold air in my room, I am thinking that maybe I need to move new windows to the top of the renovation chain.  I mean, the bathroom should be first, and the chimneys need some work, but...man, it is a bit chilly in here at times.  Course, when I was a kid, the coldest room in the house was fine, and it's not that bad...but I could rearrange the furniture and choose a different room.  It would just take work, and we know how I feel about that.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/tom-browns-body/

I listened to this today -- recommended by a friend.  And you know, it was truly compelling.  The story -- the unsolved and highly suspicious death of a Texas teenager -- crosses a lot of ways.  Is there a cover up?  Suicide?  Murder?  The parents?  Lots of twists and turns, but mostly...sadness, that a young person died and no one seems to know why, and whether or not we will ever see justice or even closure.

Is it me, or is Joe Biden -- of all people -- running around making comparisons to George Wallace and Jefferson Davis simply hilarious?  I mean, it's not that these people were Democrats, but Joe himself used to pal around with segregationists and Klansmen.  Good to see GOPers call attention to this, but nothing would amuse me more than to have every GOPer reading the exact quotes for more than a few media cycles.

Milestone

 Twelve hundred posts.  I guess this is sort of a milestone; I mean, I have been posting for a while, and I know my readers love my insights... 

Is it me, or were the predictions of snow and disaster today completely overblown?  We had only the slightest hint of flurries here, and some of the coworkers on the East Side noted that it was hardly catastrophic.  It is cold -- the furnace has been on a lot, and when I went to the gym it was a bit nippy and windy -- but it was hardly shutdown therapy.  If anything, the gym (I went after J!) was packed that late, which is good, as I hit the bike hard....the fatness and the need to read more the main reasons.  Joy.

I listened to the Ringer podcast (with Bill Simmons) about "Hoosiers" today.... I admit there was some trepidation there, as it is one of my favorite movies and Simmons...well, I am more miss than hit with him. But...it was pretty good.  He made some good points, their takes on the movie were pretty solid, and the alternative scenarios they discussed (supposedly Nicholson was interested in the Coach Dale role but had other stuff to do) were thought provoking.  I will admit I would get more of the podcasts if I listened more intently, but they are good ways to pass time at work.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/kevin-mccarthy-im-kicking-3-democrats-off-their-committees-if-republicans-win-back-house-in-2022

Let's make this happen!  More seriously...I think he is correct, and while it is magnanimous not to throw people off committees, blood is in the water and the precedent has been made, so...make them hurt.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/democrats-botched-public-school-covid-policy/621183/

Being the progressive sort that I am, we all need to castigate this Dem for her lack of support for unions and public education in this country...

Malcontent

 I don't know, I am just...tired today.  To be sure, I didn't get a lot of sleep, and was busy today -- funeral luncheon that went longer than I expected, plus a solid workout -- and I have felt myself lagging in many ways. I did drink three cups of coffee, and am considering a fourth, but...I guess a decent amount of solid sleep would help, but in the meantime...this will have to do.

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/1/6/22869689/jeopardy-season-streaks-amy-schneider-matt-amodio

Interesting points here; I think the one about the preparation of the players -- especially with buzzer systems that mimic the actual experience -- is the most correct.  I mean, you can do it literally as often as you want (repeat episodes aren't that hard to find) and get the rhythm down. Considering the stakes, you would be unwise not to do so.  After the buzzer mechanism, all it takes it...time.

I was poking around on the Ringer because one of my good friends clued me in to the site's podcasts about the essential songs of the 90s; the first one I came across was from the Counting Crows, and I think we all know I've wanted dreadlocks ever since Adam Duritz entered my life.  And, of course, who doesn't love Weezer and Counting Crows (if you are a white kid from an upper class suburb, of course)?  Naturally, Matt being Matt, the whole concept (I haven't listened to any yet), depressed me, as I am so old; I mean, I remember these songs like they were yesterday, and they are literally three decades old in some cases.  Oi.

Morning Spirit

 Probably should have blogged last night, but I decided to do some reading -- about halfway through Gould's Grand Old Party, which is a history of the GOP.  It is good -- a bit brief, in some ways, but I do appreciate the author's efforts to get at the nuances of the party -- moderates, conservatives, other actors of note who affected campaigns -- so I do like it.  And, of course, it is intellectually stimulating, as we would expect.  :)

Watched "Around the World in 80 Days" yesterday -- another Best Picture winner down.  I liked it, but I find it hard to believe it was the best picture out there.  It's cute -- David Niven is perfect for the role -- and it does have some charm.  Interesting back story about its production, and the cameos in the film were quite a lark -- familiar faces kept popping up, which added to the appeal. It is long, though...

I need to start hitting restaurants again and crossing a few off the list (ditto for the National Film Registry one); in addition to Restaurant Lives Matter, there is the whole idea of not having lists pile up...

Hard to believe it is a new year already.  I still have the Xmas decorations up; the Vatican keeps theirs up, so so can I.  I don't know; always feel guilty about not liking Christmas that much; my parents loved it, and I guess liked certain parts of it when I was a kid, but other parts... it's like I am letting everyone down by not getting more into the spirit of things.  I need to be my own person, but there is no reason why I shouldn't be more spirited.  Hence, for the 15th time in a row, I am putting up a tree next year and including all the ornaments and decorations.  

Decisions

 On the one hand, today sort of dragged for me -- an avalanche of little things at work -- but on the other I did get some things done.  Key among them, of course (ok, I didn't do this) was that my new security/storm door was installed.  It went quite smoothly -- no mess, the gentleman left me the old door to recycle, appreciated my offer of the bathroom -- and it does look nice.  It also locks, two of them, in fact.  This is a shift... funny; I was thinking about the house today...   Mainly, while I have a lot more that needs to be done (and a bill that has to be paid off some more), some of the bigger ones -- roof, basement -- are done.  The door is a nice add on.  Next up... well, prolly the drywall on the ceiling; maybe the basement bathroom drain.  The chimneys.  Those are smaller ones.  Or, I could shift to bathroom/windows/carpet.  I am leaning smaller, but am not wedded in stone.

I don't blame the Dems for maximizing the 1/6 riot anniversary, as we would do the same.  I don't think it moves the needle that much, as voters are concerned with other things, namely the economy, and that is how the midterms will be decided.  In some ways, this could be a powerful GOP rebuttal; you claim love the country and all, yet the basic problems -- rampaging inflation, rampaging crime, shortages, etc. -- not only can you not fix, but the solutions you offer are worse.  Indeed -- and I am not the only one to make this comparison -- all of the 1/6 stuff serves only to deflect that criticism from the Dems.  One would think Ted Cruz or Lindsay Graham would be out there saying this...  unless they are holding fire til the election draws closer.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/real-history-prohibition-global/620929/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

I had no idea I was such the globalist, progressive type!

Late Night Links

 Wakey wakey here...oi.  Making sure the blood sugar is just high enough to go to bed.  Funny (not really); I had planned on a gym double, but I woke up at 3 am with low blood sugar, so I ended up sleeping through the alarm.  Alas, but, I am ill and did need the rest.  Now, of course, the blood sugar has been low at night, so I didn't hit the gym, so it became a rest-and-fatness day.  Oi.  That and drink 900 cups of caffeine... 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/feehery-what-house-republicans-should-promise-when-they-take-over/ar-AASqaUU

These are all pretty solid; I like the idea of the commission to understand the July riots, and certainly the one about putting the House back to regular order -- no more checkpoints and metal detectors.  It is the people's house, so let it be so...and if the Dems don't like it, they can... stay home.  Not sure about the not expelling Dem members from their committees...yes, I agree one should take the high ground, but blood is in the water, and I think some virgins will have to be thrown to the volcano.  The others -- going after Big Tech, teachers' unions, and wasted cash will all be grist for the GOP mill, especially with 2024 looming.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/01/04/a-radical-idea-for-the-post-roe-era-democracy-526437

I completely agree with, God forbid we let the people vote on things.  Quite frankly, most states have different laws regulating things, and if some states have abortion on demand and others do not...well, may the best state win.

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2021/12/31/teachers-union-press-release-raises-todays-deep-question-is-our-educators-schoolin-n438588

This is a few days old, but it still amuses the shit out of me...

Back to Normalcy

 Back at work today...one of the first things I did was archive my series of files with various news events (interesting articles, distribution stuff, M&A stuff) from 2021, as it is now 2022.  Of course, knowing me, I will still probably try to save new stuff in the old files.  At least the drive on my computer looks empty, though.  I do save a lot; never know when some tidbit might come in handy or someone has a wise explanation for something.  I finally figured out some of the new laptop -- had to reimport passwords and such. One minor problem is that I have not been able to figure out how to get two screens to show different things; not that this is a problem now, but as everyone tells me two screens is liberating....well, we will see.

Blood sugar was high most of today, as was my cough; still worried about something more serious.  On the other hand, things are more normal with blood sugar now, and I will buy some over-the-counter stuff tomorrow to combat things.  Eating more oranges (quite good) and polishing off some Vitamin C, which may help... Also hit the gym twice today; felt good to do so, though the place is prolly a COVID pit; few wear masks in there (I don't) and I know many people are not vaccinated; on the other hand, they are younger and better looking and in better shape, so who am I to judge?  (Quoting Pope Francis isn't exactly an ideal strategery.)

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/surfside-investigation/article256633336.html

This was quite interesting and informative; loved the illustrated engineering to show how things went tragically wrong, Now I want to pay down some of the HELOC debt faster to make more repairs around here...

Athletes

 Is it me, or is the elephant in the room about Antonio Brown is that he is...mentally ill?  I mean, most people don't act that way.  Now, we'll never know, due to HIPAA, if that is the case, but on the other hand... wouldn't his agent was to get that out there to paint a more sympathetic picture?  Of course, the last thing the NFL wants is someone claiming mental illness that has been accelerated/exacerbated due to the rigors of playing in the NFL.  But I don't think we escape that possibility, can we?

One thing about being sick that I completely forgot about -- it plays havoc with the blood sugar.  I think I will simply have to live with higher blood sugars for the next couple of days until I get better, but in the meantime... I mean, I am eating less in general (but more fruits and vegetables) and trying to add some more Vitamin C to the diet; some more sleep would be good, too... I took a brief hour nap today...more of a nod off, but then I was off to being productive Mattie again, and it was...good.

About halfway through Let's Play Two, which I am enjoying immensely (obviously).  I forgot he was in the Negro Leagues as they fell apart, and I forgot he was an MVP on a last-place (or almost last place) team; nowadays, we turn our nose up at this sort of thing (which I largely agree with) but no one seemed to mind too much then; of course, there were fewer teams and no sabremetrics to compare players to another.  I guess his personal life was less successful, but on the field, he was...quite the one to emulate.

Novus Annum

 First blog of the New Year...so let me start off by saying that the OSU win was impressive, considering that it looked like they had no business winning it in the first half.  To their credit, the defense did tighten in the second half -- stopping the run does that to a team, you know -- and it certainly didn't seem that Utah could stop the Buckeyes.  They left us just enough time on the clock, and aside from the clock mismanagement at the end (why give them another play, Ryan?), it was a big win.  And when UM lost badly...well, it meant something, I am sure.

Wedding yesterday and got home late; I ended up not getting to bed until 1, and then up early for Mass.  (I am the Mass Nazi, you know.)  I certainly felt it at the gym today (Mass was fast, and there was a sparge crowd) and most of the afternoon, when it felt like I needed a nap.  I probably should have taken one, but I had stuff to do, and I plowed through and did it.  I didn't do laundry (oops) so that will be tomorrow's task, but I was pleased at what I did accomplish.  Tomorrow might be nap, though I will try to prevent it.

The AOC twitter rant is pretty priceless; much like the reporter who inspired the phrase "Let's Go Brandon," one would think some things are better left unsaid or untouched.  That said, you would think that someone on the Left would call her out on this?  OK, I know that will never happen, but sometimes there needs to be an adult in the room about these things.  At least, there used to be...