After a day spent visiting various locales in the area, Francis will celebrate a Mass open to the public (and viewable online) in the afternoon on the grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as part of the World Meeting of Families 2015.
The progressive spin on Francis's remarks has been something to behold, as has been
the left's indifference to anything he has said that does not sit will with the regnant progressive orthodoxy. Plus ça change...
"I know you're disappointed you couldn't go. It won't be your last opportunity, though."
I hope you're right...
Football Nut
Now that fall has officially arrived, the lives of millions of Americans revolve around football. High schools play mostly on Fridays, colleges play mostly on Saturdays, and the pros play mostly on Sundays (with weekly specials on Thursday and Monday; my beloved Kansas City Chiefs last played a week ago Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and won't play again until tomorrow night in Green Bay at Lambeau Field). We are a nation of football nuts (and those who tolerate football nuts), and we organize things to accommodate this schedule.
One of my favorite pictures of President Ronald Reagan shows him getting ready to throw a pass from the doorway of Air Force One (the plane which we saw inside the Reagan Library during the second Republican Presidential Debate). I'll bet he could throw a tight spiral, too...
From the delightful comic strip FoxTrot, by Bill Amend, which you should read every Sunday, as I do.
Until Next Time...
One of the things I enjoyed the most about my years teaching at Bishop LeBlond Memorial High School in St. Joseph, Missouri (1995-2004) was the all-school masses.
It was truly a joy to celebrate the Eucharist with my students and faculty colleagues.
I also enjoyed the hymns sung by the student choir. Because our school's mascot was the Golden Eagle, the song "On Eagle's Wings" by Fr. Michael Joncas was very popular.
It was also one of my mom's favorites, and was sung at her funeral Mass. I was put in mind of this again just this morning, as we sang "On Eagle's Wings" at the 8:00 Mass at St. Peter's.
Today's send-off is a high school choir performing the song splendidly. Enjoy...
It isn't really surprising that Royals manager Ned Yost decided to give the regulars a day off after clinching the division title. Ned was unapologetic about it. Perhaps now we can get back to the business of beating out Toronto for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
"I gave it the best I had for as long as I could."
Almost lost amid all the celebrations was the somber news that closer Greg Holland's elbow injury would end his season and probably require surgery.
It is fair to say that the Royals would not have made the World Series last season or been division champions this season without Greg's contributions.
It's tough to feel too happy about all of this success when you lose such an integral part of the team. All Royals fans are pulling for a successful outcome for Greg...
Papal Blessing Needed
While he's in Philadelphia, the locals might want to try asking Pope Francis for an intercessory prayer on behalf of the city's sports teams:
One of the more difficult things to explain to young people who weren't around at the time is just how big a deal Michael Jackson was in pop culture during his heyday. People who only know him as a result of the miscellaneous personal failings and weirdnesses that made headlines and, ultimately, destroyed him can't quite wrap their heads around the unprecedented musical success he enjoyed.
On September 26, 1987 Michael's album Bad began a six-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart. Since he enjoyed more creative control over this material than he had on his previous two albums, in a sense Bad was the purest expression of Michael's creative vision that we had gotten.
Today's send-off is my favorite song from the album, "Dirty Diana." This song has much more of a rock edge to it than most of Jackson's material, and he is working with veteran hard-rock guitarist Steve Stevens. Unlike some of Michael's famously elaborate music videos, this one is just a simple (if simulated) concert setting. Enjoy...
"Bitch about the weather all you want, I don't give a damn!"
Landmarks
The second leg of Pope Francis's historic visit to the United States continues today in New York City.
Francis gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly today, and although some of us had hoped that his delivering it in Spanish meant he would be more blunt with this gaggle of autocrats and tyrants than he has been in the past, the speech was a fairly tepid laundry list of platitudes.
Having wasted his time speaking to the pushmi-pullyu arguing society that is the United Nations, Francis will visit some local landmarks in the city, and conclude his stay by celebrating a Mass at Madison Square Garden.
As I noted yesterday, I fully expect the polarized media coverage of Francis's visit to continue unabated. There has even been a suggestion (from the left, of course) that House Speaker John Boehner's announcement of his retirement today was sparked by guilt feelings he experienced while listening to Francis's address to Congress yesterday. I kid you not...
Things That Make Me Happy: Championship Edition
For the first time since 1985, my beloved Kansas City Royals are a Division Champion! Last night's 10-4 cruise over the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium gave the Royals the American League Central Division title. It is their first Central Division title since the league went to three divisions in 1994. Their most recent division championship prior to last night was the AL West Division pennant in 1985. They won they World Series that year, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Savor the moment...
"To hell with that 'Wild Card' shit. Division Champions, baby!"
Starter Johnny Cueto turned in a second straight solid start, wiggling and shimmying his way to his first win for the Royals since August 15. Johnny is now 10-12, 3.45 ERA. After all of his struggles, it must have been especially gratifying for him to be the winning pitcher in the title-clincher...
"Hay más de donde éste vino!"
And now that the weather is turning colder, perhaps my wardrobe could use a new hoodie...
"Sweet! Do you think they make them in my size?"
It seems unlikely, but I'll check for you if I wind up ordering one for myself...
For Those Not Paying Close Attention...
Until Next Time...
One of the things you get used to if you're from Kansas City (or, like me, consider it your adopted hometown) is the penchant for those in the media to connect every positive development in the city that makes the news with "Kansas City," the famous and frequently-recorded rhythm & blues hit by the legendary songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. I flat-out guarantee that the song will be featured at least once on a telecast of a Royals playoff game. There is an excellent chance that we will also be subjected to multiple playings of "Kansas City" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!
There is no point in resisting such nonsense, of course, so for today's send-off celebrating the Royals I have chosen to steer into the skid with one of my favorite recordings of the Lieber/Stoller song, an instrumental version recorded live 25 years ago by saxophonist Ace Cannon, one of my dad's favorite artists (miss you, dad). Enjoy...
And in the aftermath, progressives will of course reject everything he said except for the parts that fit in with their political agenda. All of that guff about the sanctity of life and marriage and families...well, that's just a bunch of outdated religious hokum. But boy, that stuff about capitalism and climate change...YES! And conservatives will, for the most part, do just the opposite. There will also be a veritable tsunami of "responses" from people who have neither watched the speech nor read the transcript of it.
I have a headache...
"You can't possibly be surprised that his speech is being covered that way."
Surprised? No, I suppose not. Disappointed, though...deeply disappointed...
Things That Make Me Happy: Never Say "Die" Edition
My beloved Kansas City Royals have been driving me a little nuts lately. In the midst of what should be a joyous time for Royals fans, as the team prepares to celebrate its first-ever Central Division title and its first division title of any kind in 30 years (the last time the Royals won one, there were only two divisions, East and West), there is quite a bit of consternation in Royals Nation. Greg Holland has pitched badly enough to lose his position as the team's closer, Jeremy Guthrie and Danny Duffy have been repeatedly blown up as starting pitchers (Duffy lost his place in the rotation, and Guthrie bombed in his return there after a month in the bullpen), newly-acquired "ace" Johnny Cueto has looked like (and been hit like) a batting practice pitcher all month, Eric Hosmer is batting .250 with 1 home run for September, and until the 10th inning of last night's game Alex Gordon was mired in an 0-for-22 slump and is striking out in about one-third of his at-bats (he is also batting .250 with just one home run in September). The team is only 8-13 this month, and hasn't won back-to-back games in three weeks.
When things are going badly, sometimes a team just needs an unlikely victory to turn its fortunes around. They certainly got one of those last night, beating the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in 10 innings at Kauffman Stadium after trailing 3-2 with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the 9th inning. All-Star CF Lorenzo Cain got the rally in the 9th inning started with a one-out single, and scored the tying run. In the bottom of the 10th, it was Lorenzo's opposite-field single that drove in pinch-runner Paulo Orlando with the game-winning tally.
"Cheer up, Royals fans! We got this!"
We'll see if last night's win gave the team a boost when they play the rubber game of the three-game series tonight. Johnny Cueto (9-12, 3.43 ERA) will take the mound for the Royals. The Mariners will counter with James Paxton (3-4, 3.70).
Excellent Question
From the indispensable comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).
Until Next Time...
One of my favorite types of popular music growing up was vocal harmony. I was a big fan of groups specializing in that, including The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, Spanky and Our Gang, and The 5th Dimension. For the most part, these groups specialized in bouncy up-tempo songs that were fun to listen to. The first time that kind of music ever struck a deeper chord with me was when The Mamas and The Papas released "California Dreamin'" just before Christmas in 1965.
It was just a few months later that a song by that sort of group actually moved me to tears. The Association released "Cherish" in early August, 1966. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 21, and on September 24, it began a three-week run at No. 1.
I chose it for today's send-off to celebrate the 49th anniversary of its hitting the top of the charts.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), a music licensing organization, ranked "Cherish" at No. 22 on their
list of the most-played songs on television and radio of the 20th
century in America. That makes it a classic in anyone's book.
I couldn't have known or foreseen any of that, of course. All I know is that the first time I heard that wonderful harmony, singing about a love that was destined to be unrequited...well, the shy, geeky kid got a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye. And even though the onset of puberty probably had something to do with its initial effect on me, it still gets me a little a misty even now, nearly half a century later. Enjoy...
Still, it was particularly shameless of the President to say during his greeting that
"You remind us that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith freely."
If you look closely, you can see a gaggle of birds under the nearest tree. They had been on my patio until I stepped out there to take this picture...
First Day of Fall
Technically, it happened in the wee small hours this morning, but today is basically the autumnal equinox, one of two days each year when the amount of sunlight and darkness (day and night) is almost exactly the same (the vernal equinox being the other; the terms are reversed if you live in the southern hemispere).
"Admit it...you haven't got a clue about what that diagram means."
No one was talking to you...
Yogi Berra, R.I.P.
When I first began paying attention to baseball as a young boy in the early 1960s, the best years of Yogi Berra's career (including his three American League MVP seasons) were already well behind him, but he was still a popular and beloved figure in the game.
Although the Yankees were never my team, it was hard not to like Yogi. Just like his contemporary Ernie Banks, Yogi had one of those cheerful dispositions that could put a smile on your face just listening to him.
Requiescat in pace, Yogi.
Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update
When it is raining hard like it is this morning, it isn't unusual for my avian customers to just hang out on the patio railing as they try to stay dry. Quite a few of them are doing that this morning, although it is difficult for me to get close enough to get any good pictures. I was able to get a shot of a few of them huddled just off the edge of the patio...
Until I opened the B&B I had never really had much of an opportunity to observe these kinds of birds up close. It has been a real education. Today I learned that they look pretty funny when they're soaking wet!
Now that fall is officially here, it won't be long before I have to make some changes to the B&B to keep the food in a less-exposed location. Working on ideas for that...
Pumpkins!
Nothing says "Fall" quite like the explosion of pumpkin-everything, everywhere you look. I'm surprised someone somewhere isn't offering pumpkin-scented gasoline.
As I have mentioned previously, locomotives painted in BNSF's orange-and-green livery are referred to by railfans as "pumpkins," and just this morning BNSF had a nice photo of some on their Twitter feed (@BNSFRailway). The shot was taken in Glacier National Park by professional photographer Patrick Bennett. It features a parade of "pumpkins" heading an eastbound intermodal freight train..
Until Next Time...
In July of 1964, The Beach Boys released All Summer Long, their second album release that calendar year (Shut Down Volume 2 preceded it). It produced their first No. 1 hit,
"I Get Around," but it also marked the end of the band's "sun and surf" focus. In many ways, this album marked the beginning of "autumn" for the band's creative career.
Today's send-off is my favorite song from the album, "All Summer Long." It seems like a fitting way to say farewell to Summer 2015. Enjoy...
So if it is all the same to you, Holy Father,
I would rather not spend any time trying to figure out what you see as the "contributions" Fidel Castro has made to "world peace."
I would prefer to spend my day thinking about St. Thomas of Villanova, whose Feast Day we celebrate today. St. Thomas was famous for his generosity to the poor, and so far as I know he never gave audiences to the rich and powerful. Just sayin'...
Another One Bites the Dust
Scott Walker
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination yesterday, joining former Texas governor Rick Perry on the sidelines.
It does not speak well for Republican voters that accomplished conservatives like Walker and Perry can't find any traction. It is a familiar pattern: GOP grassroots-types complain endlessly about how there are no "true" conservatives in the race, ensuring that the very kind of candidates they ought to embrace are forced out for the likes of Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul.
I'm a conservative by temperament, a Republican strictly for convenience. If the GOP continues to make it all but impossible for conservative candidates to be nominated, it has no future.
From the wry comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).
Until Next Time...
On September 22, 1969 I happened to stop by my favorite record shop after school. Tiger's Records was owned by Kansas City organized crime figure Anthony Cardarella, but all kids like me cared about was that they had the best selection and lowest prices in the city. We didn't care about the how or why. The familiar brick building is still there on Independence Avenue, but it is a clothing store now.
They didn't have the album I was looking for that day (I don't even recall what it was, now), but I happened to come across a record in the "Released Today" bin that was almost ostentatiously plain, if that makes any sense. The album cover looked like this:
What made it especially odd was that it was the group's second album. People already knew who they were, sort of. They had had a minor hit (peaked at No. 63) with "The Weight" from their debut album, Music From Big Pink, and everyone knew they used to be Bob Dylan's "house" band for a few years. They had performed at Woodstock.
Intrigued, I took a flyer and bought the album so I wouldn't go home empty-handed that day. One listen to the record that came to be called "The Brown Album" and I was hooked. A few more listens and I became a staunch fan, which I remain to this day. Their music is difficult to characterize, but it is engaging, and their musicianship is stellar. Uniqueness is a key attribute of musical greatness, and The Band had it in spades.
Today's send-off is "Rag Mama Rag," a rollicking bit of nonsense in which the guys show off their prowess on a variety of instruments, including mandolin and tuba. Enjoy...
On Wednesday Pope Francis will be visiting Washington, D.C. as part of a nearly week-long visit to the United States that will also include stops in New York and Philadelphia.
As it happens, even though Francis seems to be a natural ally of President Obama on many issues, there's just something in Obama's character that couldn't resist an opportunity...
He cannot be civil and respectful, searching for common ground. No,
he must include on the official guest list of those greeting the Pope
at the White House a transgender activist, an openly gay Episcopal
bishop, and a nun who supported Obamacare despite its funding of
abortion and contraception.
If you find yourself wondering why the President would do something so completely unnecessary and so obviously intended to embarrass the Pontiff, all you really need to do is apply Ockham's Razor.
He's doing it because he thinks it's hilarious.
Can't wait for January 2017, when we will finally be rid of this smug, arrogant jackhole...
Things That Make Me Happy: Homeward Bound Edition
As I have noted in this space before, September 2015 has not been a good month for my beloved Kansas City Royals, and the reasons for their struggles do not bode well for an extended run in the playoffs. It will be nice to win a division title for the first time in 30 year, but it will be bittersweet.
The Royals wrapped up a 4-6 road trip yesterday with a 10-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, salvaging the final game of that three-game series. Kris Medlen was touched for five hits and three runs in his five innings of work, but all of the runs were unearned, and Kris advanced his record to 5-1, 3.51 ERA. Danny Duffy's first appearance out of the bullpen after losing his spot in the starting rotation was quite encouraging:
4 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts, 1 save.
Meanwhile, the offense had fun, led by DH Kendrys Morales's awe-inspiring day, which included three home runs...
"Boom! Boom!! BOOM!!!"
Kendrys also had a triple in the game, and his 15 total bases are a Royals franchise single-game record.
The Royals have a much-needed day off today before beginning their final regular-season homestand tomorrow night at Kauffman Stadium against the Mariners. Jeremy Guthrie (8-7, 5.55 ERA) returns to the starting rotation (taking Danny's spot) to face the Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma (8-4, 3.90), who is 3-0 lifetime against the Royals.
Justice
"You want some respect? Go out and get it for yourself."
At the 67th Prime-Time Emmy Awards last night, Jon Hamm won Outstanding Lead Actor
in a Drama Series for his iconic portrayal of ad executive Don Draper on Mad Men. It was his last year of eligibility (the series ended its run back in May), so it was deeply gratifying to see him finally win.
An argument can be made for AMC's Mad Men as the greatest television drama ever, and Hamm's portrayal of Don Draper was the soul of the show, so a single Emmy for seven seasons of unforgettable acting doesn't seem unreasonable.
Dear Philadelphia Eagles...
Barely better than me as a running back.
You are paying DeMarco Murray millions of dollars,
but after two games he has 11 yards rushing. Total. That is only 11 more
yards than I have, and I don't play in the NFL.
If that sort of historic ineptitude is acceptable to you, I would certainly be happy to provide it for far less money than you're paying Mr. Murray, and as an added bonus I would not be a public douchebag, whining about not getting more carries.
I could use the money, and I would enjoy moving to the Philadelphia area as well. Think about it...
Until Next Time...
In 1853 the French composer Charles-François Gounod wrote a melody which he superimposed over J.S. Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, and paired the result with the words from the "Ave Maria," the Latin version of the "Hail Mary" prayer.
To say that the result of his inspiration became popular would be a preposterous understatement. It is among the most beloved and most-performed works in the classical repertoire.
In particular, it is quite common to hear the piece played at funerals, which is why it is on my mind today. Yesterday morning, I read of the tragic death of Jake Brewer in a cycling accident. Jake was the husband of conservative writer Mary Katharine Ham, whose book End of Discussion was the Weekly Book Recommendation here the week
of June 15. I am not an acquaintance of either of them, but they were acquaintances
of many people whom I read and admire, and so their pain as it was being expressed
on social media throughout the day yesterday became my pain, to some extent. When
I read Mary Katharine's own tribute to the husband she had just lost, I was especially touched. Like her, I had lost a spouse at a young age (24, in my case) after only a few years of marriage (less than 3, in my case). I could totally relate to her hope that she wouldn't let herself feel cheated out of all those years with Jake she would never have. That sort of feeling is always present when we lose someone we love, but especially so when they die young. I shall pray that she can resist that thought, as I know from experience it only leads to lasting unhappiness.
Looking for a version of the piece to use as today's send-off is actually what led to this week's Music Recommendation, a new release from cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott. It is a wonderful album, and their performance of the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria is achingly beautiful. Enjoy...and after you have done so, find someone who matters in your life and tell them you love them. It is the nature of life that each of us will eventually wish we could have just one more opportunity to do that, but there will always come a day when we cannot. Don't let it be today...
Today's post comes with the Standard Sunday Disclaimer: "The post title
is using the term 'potpourri' in the second of the two senses listed here. The post may also be rather short, although not necessarily so."
Killer Cupcakes
In the language of college football, an opponent whom your team is expected to defeat easily is called a "cupcake." Every team schedules them, as a way of building up a favorable win/loss record. Even teams that play the "cupcake" role themselves in some of their games schedule games against "cupcakes" of their own to compensate. As you would expect, there is a cluster of teams at the bottom of that food chain who almost never win a game...
Due to the nature of college football scheduling, in which game contracts are signed years in advance, sometimes the "cupcake" you have scheduled turns out to be better than expected by the time the game actually gets played. This always produces some of the most entertaining games of any given college football season.
Just yesterday, for instance, No. 1 Ohio State struggled to beat Northern Illinois 21-14, Minnesota barely beat Kent State 10-7, and Indiana edged Western Kentucky by the same margin, 38-35. And that's just in the Big Ten.
My beloved Missouri Tigers struggled to beat their cupcake yesterday, too, prevailing 9-6 over Connecticut (which only won two games last year) at Faurot Field in Columbia. They were extremely fortunate to win that game, and will need to play much better if they're going to successfully defend their SEC East championship.
Every so often, of course, the "cupcake" turns killer. Just ask Penn State. Ask Arkansas. And that's just in the first two weeks of this season...
Things That Make Me Sad: Left Behind Edition
For a pro football fan, nothing is sadder than a Sunday on which every team but yours is in action. Because they were featured on this week's Thursday Night Football game (the less said about which, the better), my beloved Kansas City Chiefs won't be playing today. They actually won't be playing next Sunday, either, since their next scheduled game is on the road against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.
Say "hello" to a 1-2 start, Chiefs fans...
Chemistry Humor
[Note: If you don't get this joke, you're not spending enough time on social media...]
Until Next Time...
Although it is ubiquitous nowadays, there was a time when Johann Pachelbel's famous Canon in D was virtually unknown among classical music fans. A very popular 1968 recording of the work by the Jean-François Paillard Chamber Orchestra caused an explosion of interest in it when American classical music stations began playing it in 1970. By the time I began my teaching career in September 1977, it had become one of the most commonly-played classical pieces at weddings and other ceremonies. It is among the handful of works that even non-fans of classical music recognize and embrace.
Today's send-off is a soothing performance of the work by classical guitarist Per-Olov Hindgren. Enjoy...
"New Hampshire. I spent a year there one weekend."
One of the joys of my Saturday mornings is the Law and Order marathons they run on the TNT Network.
This is one of those shows that bear repeated watchings because of the quality of the writing and acting, not because of the "suspense" factor.
My favorite character on the series, by a mile, is wise-cracking detective Lennie Briscoe, memorably portrayed by the late Jerry Orbach.
Of course I know that his dialogue was scripted, but it was his delivery of those sardonic one-liners that qualifies him for a spot in my Smart-Aleck Hall of Fame.
Things That Make Me Happy: Home Game Edition
My beloved Missouri Tigers are currently taking on the Connecticut Huskies at Faurot Field in Columbia. It is perfect late-September weather, sunny and not too warm. There really isn't much that can compare to a college campus on Game Day. Mizzou-RAH!
Faurot Field a few hours before kick-off.
Politically Incorrect
Until Next Time...
One of the less pleasant aspects of my growing up was discovering that the seemingly idyllic world of performing artists isn't really much different from the mundane lives most of us lead. Throughout my high school years, I watched as group after group of my musical favorites bickered, disbanded, or collapsed due to substance abuse. It was a fact of musical life, but some of these break-ups hit me harder than others.
When Simon & Garfunkel's album Bridge Over Troubled Water was released in January of 1970, mid-way through my junior year in high school, it was an immediate success, and eventually spent 10 consecutive weeks at the top to the Billboard album charts. For quite awhile it held the record for best-selling album of all time. But it was bittersweet for me since the group, one of my favorites, was known to have broken up during the recording sessions for the album. Knowing it would be their final album took a lot of the pleasure out of listening to it for me.
On September 19, 1981, the estranged musical partners re-united for the first time in more than a decade, and performed before approximately 500,000 people in New York's Central Park. The event was a benefit designed to raise funds for much-needed improvements to the iconic park, but almost no one who attended (or watched the special broadcast on HBO) cared much about that. What mattered was that one of the most popular acts of the '60s was performing again. They certainly recreated the magic that had made them famous.
Today's send-off is their performance that night of the traditional English ballad "Scarborough Fair," and even after nearly half a century since I first heard them, the sound of those two voices singing together gives me chills. Enjoy...
