Heroes and Villains

Thank Inti It's Friday!

"Don't forget the sunscreen, mortals."

Congratulations, Wisconsin

Trying to decide who is the dumbest member of Congress is a daunting challenge, as there are SO many worthy contenders for the title. My current nominee for the honor is the junior senator from Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin...

"It's possible that I'm even dumber than I look, yes."

There was a lot of stupid commentary floating around in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, but Senator Baldwin's claim that the 1st Amendment's "free exercise of religion" clause doesn't apply to individual citizens was in a class by itself. Simply incredible.

Shark Week: Success Shark

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

Things That Make Me Sad: Free Agency Edition

Yesterday was a tough day for fans of my beloved Kansas City Royals. Even though the Royals completed a four-game sweep of the visiting Tampa Bay Rays with a comfortable 8-3 victory, even though Yordano Ventura earned the win in his first major league start in a month (despite not pitching especially well), and even though Mike Moustakas was doing well in the Final Vote for the All-Star Game, the news that Alex Gordon would be lost for at least eight weeks cast a pall over the day.

Players get hurt, sometimes seriously, and Royals fans have certainly seen their share of devastating injuries, but this one is particularly tough to bear. It appears that Alex won't exercise his option with the Royals for 2016, choosing instead to test the free agent market. No one in their right mind believes the Royals will be able to match the offers a four-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star will get from the free-spending big-market teams.

"If someone waved $100 million at you, you wouldn't pass it up either."

It isn't that we begrudge Alex doing what is best for him and his family, but it is possible that his recovery from this injury might take a bit longer than eight weeks. Groin injuries can be tricky. Even a minor setback in his recovery would jeopardize a late-September or even an October return. There are no guarantees.

I certainly hope I'm wrong, but from where I sit it looks like we'll never see Alex Gordon in a Royals uniform again. That just plain sucks. Deep down, a lot of us feel like that young boy whose reaction to the news went viral...

Some Days You're the Predator, Some Days...

"Had a rough week, did we?"

You have no idea, old friend...

Give 'Em Hell, Patti!

As a play director, it was always frustrating for me to see audience members using their cellphones during performances, even after we made announcements asking them not to do so before the show started. So it was a real treat to see one of my favorite Broadway stars, the awesome Patti LuPone, deal with the issue forthrightly. During a performance of her current production, Shows for Days, Patti took exception to an especially clueless audience member near the stage texting all through the show, so she simply took the offender's cell phone!

"Hi! It's me, Patti! Put away the cellphone and watch the show, moron!"

It won't eradicate the problem, of course, but perhaps it might embolden other performers, venues, and even audience members to at least try to maintain a certain decorum during live performances...

Until Next Time...

In 1987, Patti received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Reno Sweeney in a revival of the wonderful Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. Today's sendoff is her performing the title song at the 1988 Tony Awards show. Enjoy...