Blue Friday

Thank Shuma-Gorath It's Friday!

"I've got my eye on that steak you're grilling, mortal!"

A Time for Prayer, Not Political Agendas

I awoke this morning to news of the horrific shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. What any decent human being should be doing right now is praying for the dead, and for their grieving loved ones, and for anyone else whose life has been scarred by this event. (And if you happen to be an atheist, in my view your sympathies toward anyone touched by this violence count as a kind of prayer, even if you don't think so. There is no reason atheists can't be decent human beings in my book.)

To a certain kind of progressive, though, decency is not their first impulse in such moments...

Actually, what's in the constitution is my right to possess a gun if I wish to do so (and 

if I can satisfy the various bureaucratic impositions on that freedom the courts have permitted). But the resort to the outrageous straw man fallacy is entirely predictable. 

It is on Page 1 of the progressive handbook. And then there was this...

Right. Because what matters isn't the victims or their loved ones, what matters is her stupid political agenda. Not even "Pray AND push for gun control" would work for Ms. Zarrell (an editor for the popular website Buzzfeed), apparently. Given the choice between doing the decent thing and capitalizing on the situation to advocate for her cause...well, it was an easy call, obviously.

By all means, let's put people who think this way in charge of running things. What could possibly go wrong?

Things That Make Me Sad: Rivalry Edition

Because of a rain-out back on June 14, my beloved Kansas City Royals were forced to take a trip to St. Louis to make up that game against the Cardinals on what would have been a well-deserved day off. Just one more reason to hate the Cardinals...

"Not that you need more reasons, of course."

You can never have too many reasons...

Anyway, as it turned out the Royals started Chris Young (rather than the previously-announced Jeremy Guthrie) against the Cardinals' John Lackey. It wasn't Chris's night, as he gave up two-run home runs in both the 2nd and 3rd innings. The Royals dented Lackey for a pair of runs in the 1st inning, but the offense didn't stir again until the 9th inning. Facing Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal (who was actually born in a suburb of Kansas City, for added irony), the Royals got a single from Alex Rios and a triple from Omar Infante to make it 4-3, runner on third, nobody out. After a walk to Jarrod Dyson (whom the Cardinals allowed to advance to second without a throw), the Royals had TWO runners in scoring position with nobody out.

If you follow the Royals, though, you know that they do have a knack for finding ways to squander such opportunities (if I had a dollar for every time they've had the bases loaded with no outs and failed to score, I wouldn't need to play Powerball). They certainly squandered this one: a strikeout and two ground outs ended the game at 4-3.

Have I mentioned how much I hate losing to the Cardinals? After winning the first two encounters with their cross-state rivals this season in KC, the Royals have now lost four straight against them...

Now it's back home to Kauffman Stadium tonight for the first of a three-game series against the Houston Astros, who have cooled off since their torrid early season run but are still in good shape to make the postseason. Guthrie will start for the Royals, while the Astros will start Scott Kazmir, whom they acquired via trade from the Oakland A's on Thursday.

Include Me Out, Please

For whatever reason, the craft beer industry has gone absolutely gaga over India Pale Ale (IPA). I have tried my darnedest, but I'm just not loving the trend. Even my favorite companies like Blue Moon, Boulevard Brewing, and Samuel Adams have disappointed me with their IPA offerings. In any event, I'm done giving them a chance. I'll continue to try new ales, porters, and stouts as the mood strikes (you should see my beer bottle collection), but no more IPAs. Why waste time on the "trendy" stuff when I could be enjoying...

Blue Moon Brewing Company's Farmhouse Red Ale

Boulevard Brewing Company's

Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat

"Why doesn't someone make ant-flavored beer?"

Because that would taste disgusting. Duh.

Until Next Time...

On November 3, 1971, I was close to completing my first semester of college. That was the day the film version of the famous Broadway musical Fiddler On the Roof opened. I was only dimly aware of Fiddler at the time, but the movie changed all of that. I have no opinion about the controversy surrounding director Norman Jewison's casting of Topol instead of Broadway star Zero Mostel as Tevye, but Topol's Oscar-nominated star turn means there will only be one Tevye the Dairyman for me, ever...

I often tell people that should I ever win the Powerball drawing, I'd give almost all of the money to charity. I believe that I would, too...but Tevye's position (which he sets forth in today's send-off) has some merit also. Enjoy...