Adagio

Keeping My Head Up

In music, an adagio is a piece intended to be played slowly. I'm not sure there is an equivalent concept for writing, but in any case my tempo is lento today, at best. I just don't have it in me to take on any of the Big Picture stuff today, sorry. It feels good to be writing something, and I'm doing my best to stay positive...but feeling a little blocked happens to the best of us sometimes. Right, Harlan?

Harlan Ellison

I know how you feel, man...I know exactly how you feel...

"Relax, man. You're doing fine."

I'm trying my best, that's for sure. Thanks for the words of encouragement...

Things That Make Me Sad: M*A*S*H Edition

As I wrote yesterday, seeing Jason Vargas leave Tuesday night's game between my beloved Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Kauffman Stadium left me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. The results of the MRI were announced on Wednesday afternoon, and the news confirmed what we all feared Tuesday night: tear in the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of his pitching elbow. Jason immediately went on the 15-day disabled list, but that's just a move the team had to make so that they could have a full complement of pitchers on the roster (they reversed yesterday's announced demotion of struggling Yordano Ventura to Omaha, and he'll stay with the big league club for now). Jason will soon undergo the Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow. It is likely we won't see him pitching in a Royals uniform again until 2017...

"I gave it everything I had."

We know, Jason. We appreciate all you've done (we wouldn't have made the World Series without you last year), and will pray for a successful surgery and a speedy return...

Oh Hell Yes!

For fans of cheesy, low-budget action movies, does it get any better (read: cheesier) than Sharknado 3?

Oh hell no!



I had intended to write an extensive review of this bomb, but then I decided there was no point to that. Like its predecessors, Sharkado 3 is a movie that postulates sharks raining down from the sky. And landing in the darndest places. What else is there to say, really?

The beauty of this kind of schlock is its utter predictability. A movie based on the premise of sharks getting sucked up by tornadoes and then dropped on populated areas will turn out exactly as you'd expect it would. To put it another way, it is literally impossible for a Sharknado movie to be a disappointment...

"I found it jejune, and felt that it perpetuated ugly stereotypes about my species."

Um...okay...

Things That Make Me Happy: Late Heroics Edition

Despite the gloom felt by Royals fans about Jason Vargas (and the recent loss of All-Star Alex Gordon for an extended period), the beauty of baseball is that there's always another game to play. The rubber game of the series with the Pirates Wednesday night was another tense affair. The Royals' Edinson Volquez and the Pirates' Charlie Morton both pitched extremely well, and the game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Sparked by a bunt single by Jarrod Dyson that scored the go-ahead run, the Royals then blew the game open on a three-run homer by All-Star Mike Moustakas...

"Boom!"

Volquez (who improved to 9-5, 3.15 ERA) got the first two outs of the 8th inning...

"This one's for you, Jason!"

...then yielded to All-Star Wade Davis and reliable Ryan Madson (1.82 ERA, 0.88 WHIP in 41 appearances this year) to get the final four outs. Madson struck out two of the three batters he faced in the 9th.

Thanks to a rain-out on June 14, the Royals have to give up their scheduled day off to travel to St. Louis to play a make-up a game with the Cardinals tonight. Jeremy Guthrie will start for the Royals, John Lackey for the Cardinals. The Royals are 2-3 versus the Cardinals so far this season...

Dessert Arms Race

I had a slice of this last night:

Sea Salt Caramel Cake

What did you have?

Housekeeping

Just a quick reminder that the live links embedded in the text are there for you, like the prizes in a box of Cracker Jack. You should click on them at least once in awhile. In teaching, we call this sort of thing an enrichment strategy. No extra charge...

Comments are welcome, as always. Just click the live link right next to the time stamp at the bottom of the post if you'd like to say "Hi," engage in a little discourse about what you've read here, share a good joke, etc.

"Hey, hey, hey! People can leave messages for me, too, you know."

He's right...please feel free to leave comments for the quadruped, too. He is an even bigger smart aleck than I am, but he will answer fan mail...

Until Next Time...

As I mentioned earlier, I felt a little blue when I woke up this morning because of the news about Jason Vargas, and a few other things that have weighed on my mind lately (the Planned Parenthood horror is difficult to put behind me as well), so for today's send-off I was in the mood for something beautiful but a bit mournful as well. Classical music in minor keys appeals to me at such times. And since someone I love very dearly chides me whenever I select piano music, I needed something else, so...

This is Samuel Barber's famous Adagio for Strings, performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor. The performance was recorded on March 8, 2013. Enjoy...