Gloomy Goose

Gloria-isms

Among my favorite TV characters right now is Gloria Pritchett on Modern Family, played by the delightful Sofia Vergara. One of the show's running gags is Gloria's constant struggles with English pronunciations. In the pilot episode of the series, she tells her husband Jay (played splendidly by Ed O'Neill) to stop being a "gloomy Gus." Except, because it's Gloria, the expression comes out "gloomy goose." I love the sound of that, and so whenever I'm feeling a little glum, like today...well, now you know where today's post title came from...

Beyond the Wall... 

Speaking of titles, I suppose now is as good a time as any to finish explaining where this blog's name comes from. I already explained the "curmudgeon" part here, but made an excuse to put off explaining the "beyond the wall" part, mostly out of sloth. Sorry...

Anyway, for those readers not up on the latest cultural trends, that idiom was borrowed from George R.R. Martin's popular A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels and the HBO television adaptation Game of Thrones.

In Martin's fantasy world a massive wall of ice separates the harsh lands north of it from the more civilized territories south of it. Civilization is not always all it is cracked up to be, of course, and some people choose to live "beyond the wall." They call themselves the Free Folk, but are referred to by those living south of the wall by the derogatory term "wildlings."

I find the "beyond the wall" metaphor appealing because at this point in my life I am sick to death of politics, and petty bureaucracy, and folks who have nothing better to do than to tell other people how they should live their lives (and even, too often these days, coercing them into doing so). I just want to be free from all of that, free to live what's left of my life without having to "bend the knee," as the Free Folk are disinclined to do. That is becoming more and more difficult, as "civilization" (aided by technology) leaves less and less space for the individual every day, and becomes ever more insistent about compliance.

On the plus side, though, at least we don't have to live under the thumb of a childish, lawless tyrant...

"So I had some people tortured and murdered. What's your point?"

"Are you quite sure about that?"

Now that you mention it...no, no I'm not...

Shark Week: Scumbag Shark

[Note: The image macro meme this is spoofing can be viewed here.]

Things That Make Me Sad: Human Frailty Edition

Last night my beloved Kansas City Royals won their fourth straight game, battering Tampa Bay All-Star pitcher Chris Archer for 9 runs, all earned. The barrage began when Lorenzo Cain put the Royals in front with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning. The more than 28,000 fans in attendance at Kauffman Stadium were still buzzing about that when All-Star left fielder Alex Gordon began chasing a fly ball by Logan Forsythe to begin the top of the 4th. What happened next quickly silenced the crowd. Alex went down awkwardly on the warning track, and lay face down for some time...

Forsythe circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run, but no one cared that the game had been tied. Eventually, Alex was carted off the field...

...and Jarrod Dyson took his place in left field. (In an ironic twist, Jarrod hit an inside-the-park home run later in the game.)

The early reports on the injury don't sound promising, as people are talking about Alex being out for months. At the very least, he's almost certainly going to miss starting for the American League in the All-Star Game next Tuesday. That's unfortunate, especially since Alex had to miss last year's All-Star Game due to injury as well...

"It's not fair! He was playing SO well..."

Life is very rarely fair, old friend. We just have to keep Alex in our prayers, and hope for the best...

Language Corner

An old favorite from the late, great B. Kliban...

Until Next Time...

In the fall of 1983 I moved to Casper, Wyoming to begin a teaching gig that would carry me through the rest of the decade. It was the first time I had ever lived so far away from my family, and it wasn't easy getting used to life in a town so much smaller than Kansas City. For most of my life, music had been my way of coping with life's vicissitudes, but 1983 wasn't a very good year for the kind of guitar-based music I loved, as a look at the Billboard Top 100 list for that year will show.

One of the first places I discovered after moving to Casper was a small record shop on the west side of town. Young people today have no idea how important such places were back in the pre-digital days. This particular shop wasn't part of a national chain, and was run by a guy who enjoyed talking music with his customers. He was basically a hippie who had found a job he loved. As it happened, his tastes in music were much like my own, so whenever he'd make a recommendation I would give it serious consideration. On one particular visit, he asked me if I had ever heard of a guitar player named Earl Klugh. I said that I hadn't, so he handed me an album picturing a guy leaning up against a Ferrari with a nylon-string acoustic guitar. I was skeptical, but I gave it a try. The album was called Low Ride, and it made me a lifelong fan. It is one of those rare albums where every single song is outstanding, and for the life of me I don't understand why it isn't more widely available (there is no digital version right now, for instance).  

Today's send-off is one of my favorites from that album, and typical of Earl's "mellow" side. Enjoy...