All Wet

Seriously, Mother Nature?

It is cool and overcast again this morning, and rain is forecast for later in the day. Sheesh. I like rain as much as the next person, but enough is enough, Mom...

Completely aside from the effect this has on my arthritis, and my mood, I'm beginning to wonder if I should start checking craigslist for a good used ark...

"Shotgun!"

Whatever...

Welcome Back!

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, it has been kind of a rough spring for me in terms of favorite TV shows. Game of Thrones is gone for awhile now, and The Walking Dead won't be back until fall. Add to that the series finales of Justified (April) and Mad Men (May), and I have had a good bit of separation anxiety with which to deal.

Fortunately for me, last night brought the Season 5 premiere of one of my favorites...

Suits is one of the smartest, best-written shows of the past few years. I'm very glad to have Harvey, Mike, Jessica, Louis, Donna, and Rachel back in my living room on Wednesday nights the rest of the summer.

"Donna left Harvey...*sniff*...I can't even..."

Get a grip. It will all work out fine, you'll see...

Things That Make Me Happy: Facial Hair Edition

I was up late again last night, watching my beloved Kansas City Royals take the rubber game of their three-game series with the Seattle Mariners. The Royals won 8-2 after exploding for 7 runs in the 4th inning. Mike Moustakas got the big inning started with a two-run home run...

"Boom!"

The team has the day off today before beginning a weekend series with the A's in Oakland. We'll see if the bad blood from earlier in the season still lingers...

Meanwhile, it was good to see Royals starter Danny Duffy back on the mound again. He struggled with his pitch efficiency, but even though he wasn't able to finish the 5th inning to qualify for the win, at least Danny came back from his rehab assignment looking like a regular guy again.

"I decided to stop looking like a Duck Dynasty extra."

Good call, Danny. You're Irish, so that was never a look you should have rocked in the first place...

R.I.P., Walter Browne

I had intended to provide a chess update this morning on the Norway Chess 2015 tournament, which I have been following in real time daily via the internet, but when I checked the news over my morning coffee I was saddened to learn that Grandmaster (GM) Walter Browne had died suddenly in Las Vegas.

GM Walter Browne in 1976.

Walter was just a bit older than me, and so I followed his professional career with great interest. A perfectionist, his struggles with time trouble were legendary, and probably kept him from challenging for the world championship. His games were always entertaining, though. My favorite of his was his victory over another one of my chess heroes, GM Bent Larsen, in San Antonio 1972. At the time the game was played, Larsen was a world championship contender himself, widely considered to be the strongest non-Soviet player in the world behind GM Bobby Fischer.

To replay the Browne-Larsen game, go here. Requiescat in pace, Walter...

You Can Trust a Progressive To Be Truthful...Up To a Point

Remember when the progressives, in the wake of the Charleston shooting, said that getting rid of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina state capitol building would satisfy them? Turns out they were lying. We gave them their inch, now they want the mile. Shocking, I know. I guess some people need to re-learn the lesson from childhood: You don't defeat a bully by caving in to her/his demands, because that only leads to more demands...

Things That Make Me Happy: Antidepressant Edition

If moping were an Olympic event, I would have collected many gold medals over the years. There aren't many things that can lift my spirits when I'm wallowing in depression, but my former students know that one thing that does seem to help is dark chocolate. In addition to its ability to cheer me up a bit, there are actually other health benefits as well. Dark chocolate in almost any form will do, but lately I've grown quite fond of these...

"And by 'fond' he means eating a whole bag at a time."

Mind your own business, wise-ass...

Until Next Time...

One of my favorite bands during my high school and college days was The Band, a bunch of Canadian and American musicians who were splendid players and who had a knack for writing unforgettable songs. Their 1972 live album Rock of Ages captured the group at their musical peak, and still gets regular play on my iPod. My fondness for live recordings was heavily influenced by records like that one.

A few years after Rock of Ages was released, the group recorded another live album. This one documented the group's final concert together (with their original lineup, anyway). The concert, dubbed The Last Waltz,  was studded with big-name guest stars, and was filmed by none other than Martin Scorsese. That ought to give you some idea of how culturally significant the group was. Today's send-off is their performance from that concert of one of their most iconic works, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Enjoy...before the progressives decide we're not allowed to listen to such songs anymore...