Sunday Potpourri No. 18

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."

Sunny Saturdays

The college football season is moving past the "cupcake" stage for the most part, and into conference play. This is the time of the season where the games are actually meaningful. If your alma mater beats some directional school by five touchdowns in September, no one gets too excited. That's what is supposed to happen. The only times those games matter are when your alma mater is the victim of a stunning, historic upset. And who needs that in their lives? Most fans just want to get that part of season over with as soon as possible, so that we can move on to games we actually care about.

"When opportunity knocks, open the door!"

The game I truly cared about this weekend, of course, took place at Faurot Field in Columbia. My beloved Missouri Tigers defeated South Carolina 24-10, behind true freshman quarterback Drew Lock.

Lock, playing in place of the suspended Maty Mauk, was 21-of-28 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. More than good enough.



It was the first time since Gary Pinkel (Missouri's all-time winningest coach and currently among the top five winningest active head coaches) took over at Missouri that he has started a true freshman at quarterback, which is a little surprising given his knack for developing players at that position.

It was mostly a satisfying day for me in other games as well. I was sorry to see Notre Dame lose, but Nebraska got beat, so that was nice. Penn State (my best friend's alma mater) beat Army. And in the Daily Double (for me, at least) Iowa State blew out Kansas. All in all, a pretty sunny Saturday for me.

"Nebraska's in a different conference now. Why do you still care how they do?"

 Long memory...

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

I've recently begun adding some food to my feeder blend that is designed to attract larger birds (shelled peanuts, pieces of dried fruit, etc.) just to see what happens. The B&B has already been attracting quite a variety of sparrows and finches, plus the occasional cardinal. Today, however, we had a new visitor...

"I'm not a fucking omen, okay? I was just hungry. Chill out."

He didn't stay long, just snagged a large piece of dried fruit and flew off (some of the smaller birds take their food somewhere else to eat it, too). He'll come around again, I'm sure, and when he does I'll try to think Creighton University and not Toronto...

Things That Make Me Happy: Home Field Edition

Speaking of the Toronto Blue Jays, they lost on the road yesterday to the Tampa Bay Rays, while my beloved Kansas City Royals played the Minnesota Twins, winning 5-1 at Target Field. The Royals win put them a game ahead of the Blue Jays for home field advantage in the ALCS, should both teams get that far (both teams will enjoy home field advantage in their ALDS series). It also eliminated the Twins from the Wild Card race.

Yordano Ventura (13-8, 4.08 ERA) pitched seven innings and only allowed four hits and one run, while striking out 11 (tying his career high). He certainly looked like he's ready to start Game 1 of the ALDS.

"Nice season, Minnesota, but no playoffs for you."

The game was a tense pitcher's duel through six innings, with the Twins' Tommy Milone (9-5, 3.92) matching Ventura pitch for pitch. The Twins went to their bullpen in the top of the 7th, which turned out disastrously, as the Royals pushed across four runs. With one out, SS Alcides Escobar tripled. With two out, CF Lorenzo Cain, who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI on the day, drove home the game-winning run with an infield single. Before the inning ended, the Royals led 5-1 and the game was essentially over.

"When you're fast, sometimes a dribbler is as good as a line drive, you know?"

The regular season comes to a close today with Johnny Cueto (10-13, 3.48 ERA) getting the start, and trying to return to form before the playoffs begin. It isn't clear how many of its regulars Minnesota will play now that they have been eliminated, but they have announced that Ricky Nolasco (5-1, 5.97) will get the start, making just his second appearance since his ankle surgery back in June. If the Royals win, the outcome of the Blue Jays-Rays game won't matter...

Until Next Time...

In the fall of 1966 I had started 8th grade in Council Bluffs, and had taken to listening to my pocket transistor radio at every opportunity. My favorite station was Omaha-based KOIL, which in those days featured a Top 40 music format. One day in early October,
I was walking home from school when a song I hadn't heard before came on. It was ridiculously infectious, and to this day I want to start dancing every time I hear the first few notes.

"Gimme Some Lovin'" was the biggest U.S. chart hit (peaked at No. 7) for The Spencer Davis Group, a short-lived British R&B band. It is one of the most popular hits of the '60s (and features perhaps the most iconic Hammond B3 organ riff of all time). Today's send-off is an early version of the music video, which British groups often used to get seen on American television until they were popular enough to rate an invitation to appear in person on shows like American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Shindig! If you can stay seated while listening to this, check to make sure you still have
a pulse. Enjoy...

Echoes

Silver Anniversary

Divided Germany

It would strike most people under age 50 as odd, but I'm old enough to remember a time when the world believed that the Soviet Union would be around forever, along with a divided Germany and the odious Berlin Wall that split that historic city.

Today we celebrate the 25th anniversary of German reunification. That event was an important nail in the coffin of the Soviet Union, which collapsed just over a year later.

When I watch the sorry spectacle of Barack Obama wagging his finger and abasing himself while Vladimir Putin seeks to restore the old Soviet empire, I think back to Ronald Reagan's famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate.

You see, I'm also old enough to remember what it was like having a president who was not afraid to confront evil, who was not afraid to lead.

Germans are right to celebrate this day, of course, but I am hopeful that they don't forget to celebrate the Irish-American whose courage made it possible...

Ronald Reagan speaking at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987.

Things That Make Me Happy: Pitcher's Duel Edition

So far, at least, October has been kinder to my beloved Kansas City Royals than September was. Last night they won their third straight game (something they failed to accomplish even once in September), prevailing 3-1 over the Minnesota Twins in a tense game at Target Field dominated by excellent pitching.

Royals starter Chris Young, having just rejoined the team following his father's funeral, followed up his previous no-hit outing with another strong showing. Chris pitched into the bottom of the 7th, giving up just four hits and one run, and striking out five. In one of those unfortunate quirks of baseball, Chris didn't get credit for the win because the Royals didn't take the lead until the top of the 8th. Louis Coleman relieved Young with one out and one on, and threw only four pitches, but the last of those got a double-play. That made him the pitcher of record when the Royals broke the 1-1 tie.

"The team won, which is all I care about."

Former Royal Ervin Santana pitched a fine game also, pitching into the top of the 8th and only allowing two runs on four hits. Ervin was the hard-luck loser, and is now 7-5, 4.00 ERA.

Filling in at DH while Kendry Morales rested a sore leg, Ben Zobrist drove in the winning run with a ringing double in the top of the 8th that scored SS Alcides Escobar all the way from first base. He scored an insurance run on a single by 3B Mike Moustakas.

"Bam!"

This afternoon's game will match the Royals' Yordano Ventura (12-8, 4.20 ERA) against Tommy Milone (9-5, 4.04) for the Twins. Minnesota is still alive (barely) for a Wild Card playoff berth, while the Royals are still competing with Toronto for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Should make for a hard-fought game.

The Red Rocket

One of the by-products of my divorce was having to say goodbye to Kate, the 1989 Ford Taurus I wrote about here. It wasn't until I left St. Joseph, Missouri in 2004 to begin a teaching gig in Atlantic, Iowa that I was able to afford another brand new car, but she was worth the wait.

By that time it was was possible to use the internet to not only research various makes and models but even to search dealer inventories once I knew what I wanted. And I found this Mazda 6i hatchback (in Volcanic Red) at a dealership in west Omaha.

Rhonda the Red Rocket was economical thanks to a strong 4-cylinder engine, and the hatchback was a nice convenience (I'm sorry to say that Mazda has discontinued the hatchback body style). She also had a killer Bose sound system that made driving much more pleasurable, especially on long trips.

One of the dumbest things I ever did in my life was returning this car at the end of its lease. I wanted to get a newer version, but for a variety of reasons that never happened.

Rhonda was by any measure the best car I've ever owned, and I still miss her...

2004 Mazda 6i Hatchback in Volcanic Red

"There's another reason she was your favorite, too."

Yes, there was, but I don't want to talk about that today...

Until Next Time...

As a celebration of German reunification I have turned to arguably that nation's greatest composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. His Brandenburg Concertos are among the most beloved works in the classical realm, and seem to me like a fine way to acknowledge the key role President Reagan's speech (and subsequent leadership) played in Germany's rebirth.

Today's send-off is a performance of Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 by the Freiburger Barockorchester, recorded at the famous "Spiegelsaal" in Köthen Castle, where Bach originally composed the concertos. Enjoy... 

Another Sad Day

Thank Yog-Sototh It's Friday!

"I specialize in reality warping and time manipulation. I also love tailgating."

Déjà Dumb

There was another horrific school shooting yesterday, this time on a college campus in Oregon. I'm not sure how long the story will remain at the top of the news cycle, as the shooter appeared to be targeting Christians. That sort of thing doesn't fit into the progressive Grand Narrative about mass shootings, so it will be interesting to see if the story disappears quickly.

In the meantime, of course, we are being subjected to the usual deluge of tiresome partisan commentary, with absolutely no one having anything new or interesting to say. That's because there isn't anything new or interesting to be said about such horrors. They have no social significance beyond themselves, and the progressive left really ought to stop pouncing like ghouls in an attempt to advance their political agenda while the bodies are still warm.

President Shameless, of course, wasted no time getting on television to assure us that horrific crimes like this one could be prevented if only we would pass what he called "sufficient common sense gun safety laws."

When it comes to specifics, of course, the President and everyone else making similar noises about Doing Something™ are curiously reluctant to offer any suggestions beyond the laws we already have. Obama's dissembling on the issue is something to behold, really...

"We need more gun laws because...uh...because...uh...wait, was that a squirrel?"

In the category of virtue signaling, there are all the usual suspects arguing that we should get rid of all the guns, "just like Australia did." Of course, Australia did no such thing, but in any event the two countries' legal and social situations are entirely different, and any attempts by the government here to ban and confiscate weapons are doomed from the outset...

Here's a radical suggestion: Maybe we should just...do nothing. Might be worth a try.

Things That Make Me Happy: October Baseball Edition

So my beloved Kansas City Royals are 1-0 in October, which is definitely an improvement over September. They defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-4 last night at U.S. Cellular Field, beating long-time nemesis John Danks in the process. (It was their first-ever victory against Danks in Chicago, and just their third in his 22 career starts against them.)

Reserve outfielder Jonny Gomes contributed three RBIs, and 3B Mike Moustakas continued his recent hot streak with two hits and two RBIs. Starter Kris Medlen rebounded from his last start (a disaster) with a solid six innings of work, giving up just four hits and a single earned run. Kris improved his record to 6-2, 4.01 ERA, and improved his chances of getting some work as a starter in the post-season.

"I just want a chance to contribute in the playoffs."

Having won the series with the White Sox two games to one, the Royals head to Minneapolis to begin a three-game series with the Twins at Target Field to conclude the regular season. Thanks to the Blue Jays losing last night, Toronto and Kansas City are tied for the home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Blue Jays hold the tie-breaker, but the Royals definitely have something to play for these last three games.

Chris Young (11-6, 3.15 ERA), who is back with the team following a trip home after his father's death last Saturday, will start for the Royals tonight. Minnesota will send former Royal Ervin Santana (7-4, 4.10) to the mound. Ervin comes into the game on a hot streak (4-0, 1.75 in September). The Royals will be trying to win three games in a row for the first time since August 27-29.

Seasonal Changeover

One of the rituals of the change of seasons around my place is changing the wallpaper on my Motorola Moto X smartphone and my Google Nexus 7 tablet.

For instance, I switched to this wallpaper just after the first official day of summer. It is what is called a "live" wallpaper, meaning there is movement of some sort. In this case, it's the waves lapping on the sandy beach. Very cool.

Summer doesn't last forever, of course, so...

...I took a bit of time yesterday to install the Autumn screensaver, which features beautiful leaves falling in my choice of settings, like the park bench pictured here...

"Do you think you spend too much time fussing with your gadgets?"

There is some possibility of that being true, yes...

Until Next Time...

Twenty years ago today, the English rock band Oasis released (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the album that rocketed them to enormous commercial success (among other accomplishments, the record received 14 Platinum certifications). At the time, I was beginning my second month back in the classroom after a hiatus of a few years. Among other things, being around adolescents all day every day for the first time in years meant I had to start paying attention to pop music again. And with this album Oasis suddenly became the biggest thing in pop/rock music for awhile.

As often happens, success like that is hard to duplicate, and Oasis didn't. Oddly enough,
I was never as big a fan during their peak as many people were, but I also continued to enjoy their records after they dropped off the radar commercially. I still have several iTunes playlists with Oasis music in them.

Today's send-off is the official music video (usual music video disclaimers apply) for "Some Might Say," my favorite song from the album. It was the band's first No. 1 hit on the UK charts, but didn't chart in the U.S. (the big U.S. hit from this album was "Wonderwall," which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 here, and spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart). Enjoy...

Permission to Speak Freely...

Final Jeopardy

One of the more amusing aspects of everyday life is the spectacle of people trying to parlay success in one field into a career of pontificating on unrelated subjects they clearly lack the capacity to understand. Who doesn't enjoy listening to movie actors holding forth on terrorism, musicians sharing their thoughts on economics, or novelists explaining their dotty notions about religion. They're so cute when they assume their celebrity makes their opinions more cogent or interesting.

"I'll take 'People Who Don't Understand Freedom' for $500, Alex."

Today's example is former Jeopardy champion Arthur Chu, who has been busy trying to make a career for himself as a pundit and social critic.

Of course, that job is much harder when you're stupid, which Mr. Chu manifestly is. He is living proof that success on a quiz show is not a reliable indicator of intelligence.

Mr. Chu's most recent brainstorm is a suggestion to ruin the internet by making it possible to sue not only folks saying things online that we don't like, but completely innocent third parties as well. I kid you not.

Mr. Chu is hardly alone in his lack of understanding about what the 1st Amendment (or the internet, for that matter) is all about, but his idiotic suggestion certainly qualifies him for the highest honor I can bestow...

"I find that image hurtful and offensive."

Bite me.

Anyway, the point of all this is just to say, yet again, that the protections Americans enjoy under the 1st Amendment are not subject to the whims of delicate flowers like Mr. Chu. As the famous editorial in Jyllands-Posten (the Danish newspaper that published the controversial Mohammed cartoons) put it: “Free speech is free speech is free speech. There is no 'but.'”

"Are you done yet?"

Not by a long shot, but we can call it a day for now...

Things That Make Me Happy: Resilience Edition

My beloved Kansas City Royals closed a mostly dismal September on a positive note last night, beating the Chicago White Sox 5-3 in 10 innings at U.S. Cellular Field. The victory assured them of no worse than the No. 2 seed in the ALDS, meaning they would have home field advantage against whomever they play in that round. They still trail the Toronto Blue Jays by what amounts to two games (because Toronto holds the tie-breaker) for home-field advantage through the ALCS, with four games left to play.

"It is SO weird to hear you talking about Royals and playoffs."

I know, right?

Anyway, it was a pitcher's duel most of the night. White Sox starter Jose Quintana pitched 9 innings and only allowed five hits while striking out eight batters, but two of those hits were home runs by LF Alex Gordon and 3B Mike Moustakas, the latter a two-run shot that broke a 1-1 tie in the 6th inning. Royals starter Edinson Volquez had to wiggle out of several jams, but departed after six innings with the Royals leading 3-1. The bullpen allowed single runs in the 7th and 8th innings to tie the game, and for the second time in three games the Royals were playing extra innings.

The decisive blow was 1B Eric Hosmer's two-run home run in the top of the 10th (his 18th on the season)...

"BOOM!"

All-Star Wade Davis, moved into the full-time closer role now due to Greg Holland's season-ending injury, only needed 11 pitches to record his 15th save of the season, and lowered his ERA to 0.96.

The series with the White Sox concludes tonight with Kris Medlen (5-2, 4.20 ERA) trying to bounce back from a disastrous outing against Cleveland. He'll be facing long-time Royals nemesis John Danks (7-14, 4.53), who already owns three victories over KC this season, the most recent a complete game win at Kauffman Stadium on September 4.

Year Three, Day One

Yesterday I completed my second consecutive calendar year as a non-smoker. As I begin Year Three today, I wanted to offer words of encouragement to anyone wanting to quit (I did it cold turkey, which in my opinion is the best way). I also wanted to thank the company whose product helped me deal with the habituation (which is the real problem anyway; it only took me a little over 48 hours to detox from nicotine itself).

There are lots of similar products
on the market. This is the one I tried, and it is the one that helped me quit successfully. I am deeply grateful for that.

I hope that Blu and other similar companies are able to thrive despite the idiotic opposition to their products.

21st Century Excuse

From the droll comic strip Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

When I returned to the classroom 20 years ago after a hiatus of a few years, I decided to have my students keep a daily journal in one of the classes I taught. At the beginning of each class period, they were given a short period of time for free writing. I would typically have a suggested journal topic written on the board (usually tied thematically to whatever piece of literature we were working on that day), but students were always free to write about other things instead, if they chose.

During the free writing period I played instrumental music, usually classical. There is research suggesting that listening to instrumental music can be helpful in getting students to express themselves freely. In order to do that, I found it helpful to build up
a collection of short instrumental pieces, typically between four and seven minutes in length (the amount of time I allowed for free writing varied depending on what schedule we were on on a given day, what else we needed to get done that day, etc.).

For the classical material I gravitated toward the concerto form, mostly because I was already familiar with a lot of piano concertos, but also because individual movements of such pieces usually clocked in at lengths that were useful for my purposes. Over the course of 17 years using journal writing in my classroom, I built up quite a collection.

One of my favorites is Franz Liszt's remarkable Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, 
S. 124, which took him more than a quarter of a century to write.

Today's send-off is a vibrant performance of the concerto's fourth movement by the incomparable Arthur Rubinstein, accompanied by the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alfred Wallenstein. Enjoy...

Working Blue

Desperation

A sure sign that progressives are losing a debate is when they shift from their primary arguments (such as they are) and resort to strategies heavy on deflection, misdirection, and obfuscation. Of course, those tactics (along with time-tested logical fallacies like the straw man and the red herring) usually show up pretty early in the proceedings, as progressives are not known for their logical and evidentiary rigor on the contentious issues of the day.

We certainly appear to have reached this point with regard to the Planned Parenthood investigative videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress.

Bill Nye, Science Propaganda Guy

Exhibit A is Bill Nye. Although his only formal credential is a B.S. in mechanical engineering, he has parlayed a breezy and entertaining delivery style into a career as "The Science Guy." Nothing wrong with that, of course. My generation had Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard (about whom Nye wrote a touching obituary). Like Nye, Herbert wasn't an actual scientist (he was an English and General Science major who wanted to be an actor).

The problem I have with Mr. Nye at the moment is his recent attempt to use his celebrity status to influence the ongoing debate about abortion.

Specifically, he produced a witless YouTube video in which he attempts to use "science" to paint pro-life advocates as ignorant religious zealots. And, of course, his celebrity has led some people to tout his video as a brilliant critique of the pro-life side of the debate. All that tells us is that the folks praising the video either didn't watch it, or decided to praise it in spite of its obvious flaws because it argues for the "right" side of the issue (i.e., their side).

Don Herbert would have been offended to see such an amateurish, pseudo-scientific polemic held up to the public as "science." Mr. Nye clearly cares more about politics than scientific truth.

"Babies come from...from...the stork? No?"

The urge progressives have to wave "science" around like some sort of trump card would make more sense if they actually, you know, understood the science. They mostly don't.

Another recent example of this kind of thing comes via pompous jackhole Chris Cuomo, currently scamming CNN out of paycheck by pretending to be a journalist. A few weeks ago, he did an interview with Senator Marco Rubio in which he demonstrated an appalling lack of knowledge about basic biology.



That Cuomo thinks himself qualified to discuss these issues at all, much less to take such a high-handed attitude, is astonishing. Then again, maybe it isn't...

"I only wear the actual clown makeup at parties."

Then there's this guy:


"BREAKING: The videos we've been telling you didn't exist for weeks have been analyzed by experts who say that they might, maybe, possibly show what was claimed, although we will use this as a pretext to say we have proof the pro-life folks are lying."
--Michael Scherer, TIME Magazine

"Information? I don't need no steenkin' information!"

And for today's progressive pièce de résistance, we have Washington Post columnist and occasional MSNBC circus clown Jonathan Capehart, who continues to defend Planned Parenthood despite admitting that he hasn't watched and won't watch the videos that are at the heart of the current debate (pun intended, always).

As someone who devoted his professional life to teaching young people how to reason and how to argue persuasively, I don't know whether to laugh or cry that such rhetorical incompetence gets so much undeserved attention.

"False dilemma. You can laugh and cry."

A fair point...

Sports Bummers

The primary reason most of us follow sports is so that they can serve as a distraction from whatever it is about our lives that makes us unhappy. In my own case, my need for such distractions is dire. And so, when even my sports teams are making me unhappy...

My beloved Missouri Tigers, having been upset by Kentucky 21-13 last Saturday, now have to face SEC East rival South Carolina without their No. 1 quarterback.

The university announced today that Maty Mauk is suspended for this week's game due to an unspecified violation of team rules.

True Freshman Drew Lock will lead the Tigers against the Gamecocks. Needless to say, a third consecutive SEC East title and berth in the SEC Championship Game will be almost impossible for the Tigers to achieve. Where is the Music City Bowl held, again?

My beloved Kansas City Royals continued their September Swoon last night, losing 4-2 to the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. It was their second straight loss (on what was originally scheduled to be a day off on Monday, the Royals played a makeup game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, thanks to a rainout earlier in the season, and lost 1-0 in 11 innings). Johnny Cueto's record fell to 3-7, 4.95 ERA since joining the Royals, and the Royals most likely won't start him in Game 1 of the ALDS.

For the month of September, the Royals are 10-17, and despite having the best record in the American League for almost the entire 2015 season are now trailing the Toronto Blue Jays for that honor (and home field advantage should the two teams meet in the ALCS).

On Tuesday it was announced that closer Greg Holland would have the Tommy John Surgery on Friday in Los Angeles. It wasn't unexpected, but it's still depressing.

It might have been unreasonable to expect my beloved Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Super Bowl favorite Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, especially after the Chiefs had been stewing over their gut-wrenching last-second loss to the Denver Broncos in their previous game. But would it have been asking too much to at least play well and be competitive?

The Chiefs did neither of those things, and lost 38-28 on Monday Night Football in a game that was definitely not as close as the score indicated (the Chiefs trailed 24-7 at halftime). The offensive line in particular played horribly, and as a result QB Alex Smith had a dreadful night. He looked worse than ordinary.



Of course, Chiefs fans are no strangers to disappointing play from former San Francisco quarterbacks. It's something of a Chiefs tradition, in fact.

Do you think I exaggerate? Steve DeBerg played for the 49ers before coming to Kansas City. So did Joe Montana. So did Steve Bono. So did Elvis Grbac. From 1988 through 2000, the Chiefs starting quarterback in almost every game was an ex-49er. And now we're trying desperately to win with yet another San Francisco castoff.

The Chiefs now have to hit the road again to play the 3-0 Cincinnati Bengals. Great...

Damn It, Nabisco!

I'm trying my hardest to stay away from fattening treats, and you go and do this?

There are no words for this level of evil...

No. No I do not.

Until Next Time...

There are days when American blues music hits me in a way that no other music can. How many more years have I got to let you dog me around, world?

Today's send-off is my hero Joe Bonamassa performing Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" during his Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks concert on August 31, 2014. Enjoy...

Java Jive

Rock Chalk

Because I spent my formative years mostly in Missouri, I acquired an entirely healthy and not-at-all abnormal loathing for the University of Kansas. During my high school days this was mostly confined to rooting for the University of Missouri when it played KU in football and basketball. To say that the two schools have a bit of history in those two sports would be an understatement.

When I got to college, my abhorrence expanded to include debate, as teams from Kansas were regular competitors of mine on the circuit I traveled, and nationally successful as well (KU has won more national titles in debate than in basketball). I had a winning record against the Jayhawks for my career, and it was more satisfying beating them than anyone else I faced.

Picturesque campus, idiotic administration.

Thus, I probably took more joy than most people when KU got hauled into court for doing something galactically stupid in name of Title IX enforcement.

The university decided to expel a student for saying something unpleasant about an ex-girlfriend on Twitter (without explicitly naming her). No, really, that's what they did.


Did I mention the part about how the student in question wasn't on campus when the inflammatory messages were posted?

Last Friday, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled against KU and ordered that the student be reinstated. Duh. The university ought to be embarrassed over having done what it did in the first place, and it is gratifying to see them get spanked for doubling down and defending their pathetic asininity in court.

"Our school got its ass kicked in court! Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU!!"

"Don't you think you're gloating over all this just a little too much?"

No. No, I do not...

Celebrating the Moments of My Life

If you read this blog regularly (and what right-thinking person doesn't?), it won't come as a surprise that today is a very special holiday for me...

Although there are a variety of tempting special offers to be found around town, I'll probably limit myself to shopping for a new Starbucks mug on eBay, and perhaps indulging in one extra vanilla latte made on my Mr. Coffee Café Barista...

If you're in the market for an espresso maker, there's a sweet deal available right now on this model. Couldn't be happier with mine. Recommended.

"Admit it. You're going to celebrate again on Thursday, right?"

Of course. Thursday is International Coffee Day, after all...

Last Cup

From the delightful comic strip Dilbert, by Scott Adams, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

In 1940, vocal group The Ink Spots had a hit with "Java Jive," an almost nonsensical ode to the joys of coffee. It quickly became a staple of their live performances, and it is practically the national anthem for Coffee Nation.

Today's send-off is a wonderful performance of the song by The Manhattan Transfer, recorded in 1975 for their eponymous second album. Pour yourself a nice, hot cup of joe, and enjoy...

Eclipsed

Target-Rich Environment

This blog exists in part as a vehicle for my thoughts on political/social issues, so it is always nice to wake up on a Monday and find such a treasure trove of juicy targets.

"Catholics are compassionate...LOL, j/k, they're monsters."

In the wake of Pope Francis's visit to the United States, The New York Times published a mind-bogglingly stupid "analysis" of Pope Francis which suggested that 2,000 years of Catholic doctrine were simply mistaken, and that Catholics need to wake the fuck up and embrace the progressive social agenda.

"Elect me and I'll make those Obama policies work!"

Meanwhile, on 60 Minutes last night, asshat Donald Trump embraced so many Obama policy ideas as his own that progressives were even talking about it publicly.

No doubt his knuckle-dragging nitwit fans will insist that he's still the only "real" conservative in the race. Yeah, right...

"These are not the emails you are looking for."

And then there is Hillary Clinton. We now seem to have reached Phase Two of the current Clinton Scandal^®, which traditionally involves moving from "I didn't do anything illegal" to "I have already answered these questions" and,
of course, "This is all 'old news.'"


Decisions, decisions...

Things That Make Me Happy: True Grit Edition

In their final regular-season game of 2015 at Kauffman Stadium yesterday, my beloved Kansas City Royals salvaged the final game of a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians, winning 3-0. The victory was the team's 90th of the season, and kept them in a tie with Toronto for the league's best record (and home field advantage throughout the playoffs).

In his first start in two months, Chris Young pitched five no-hit innings (the third time this season he has gone at least five innings into a start without permitting a hit), and got credit for the win. Chris improved his record to 11-6, 3.15 ERA, but I'm sure none of that matters to him right now. Chris's father had passed away on Saturday, and Chris dedicated the game to his dad. He left the stadium before the game had even ended, but left a statement which the Royals released following the game.

"I love you, dad."

Knock that off! If you start, then...well...*sniff*...damn it...

Alternate History

My beloved Kansas City Chiefs play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football tonight. Chiefs fans can't help but remember the last time the two teams played each other...

On December 18, 2011 the Packers, defending Super Bowl Champions, rolled into Arrowhead Stadium 13-0 and the consensus favorite to successfully defend their title. Counting the previous season and playoff run, the Packers had won 19 straight games. The Chiefs were 5-8, and had just fired head coach Todd Haley despite his having led the team to the playoffs the previous season. No one in their right mind thought the Chiefs could win the game.

The Chiefs did win, though, 19-14. They did it behind quarterback Kyle Orton, whom they had claimed off of waivers a couple of weeks before from the Denver Broncos, and a stout defense led by Pro Bowlers Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson.

"We still suck, Chiefs fans. We were just fuckin' with y'all."

It was the only regular-season loss for the Packers, but they also lost their first playoff game a few weeks later, falling at home to the New York Giants. Some speculated that the loss to the Chiefs destroyed the Packers' aura of inevitability.

Largely due to this stunning upset, the Chiefs front office decided to give interim coach Romeo Crennel the head coaching job for 2012. That decision led to a 2-14 debacle (after which Crennel and GM Scott Pioli deservedly got fired, QB Matt Cassel was released, and Orton left in free agency), followed by perhaps the worst No. 1 overall draft choice in NFL history (offensive tackle Eric Fisher, who is basically a bust).

In retrospect, it might have been better for the long-term health of the franchise if we had lost that game with the Packers. That idea certainly makes for an interesting alternate history story...

Meanwhile, they say that Green Bay's Hall of Fame-bound QB Aaron Rodgers enjoys beating the teams who passed on him in the 2005 draft. The Chiefs are one of those teams, and it just so happens that their starting QB is the man who went No. 1 overall in that same draft, Alex Smith.

My prediction for tonight? Packers 31-13...

So, This Happened

At my age, when people tell me that something that's about to happen won't happen again for another 15-20 years, as with last night's 'supermoon' total lunar eclipse, that gets my attention. The odds seem unlikely that I'll be around in 2033, the next time this phenomenon will occur.

It was a clear night here in Council Bluffs, and I did get to see both the eclipse and the 'blood moon' that followed it. If I had a Bucket List I doubt seeing that would have made my Top 50, but I did see it.

Predictably, the internet this morning is chock full of photos of the event. My favorite is the one at right, in which the "supermoon" can be seen with two of the Bartle Hall Pylons on top of the Kansas City Convention Center in the foreground.

Housekeeping

A quick reminder that clicking on the images which accompany the Weekly Recommendations will take you to places where you can check out (and purchase) those items, if they are of interest to you.

Also, comments are always welcome here. Agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you!

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Yes, yes...you should also check out my wingman and me on Twitter: @LuckyEatAnter

Until Next Time...

Just a little over 60 years ago (September 19, 1955 to be exact), jazz pianist Erroll Garner and his combo played a concert in a school's assembly hall in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Garner's record label hadn't bothered to record the concert, but an engineer for the Armed Forces Radio Network taped the performance. Once they heard the tapes, executives at Columbia Records decided to release it as Concert By the Sea. It quickly became a jazz classic, one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time. The "simulated stereo" version of this recording was issued in 1969, and was my first exposure to the legendary Garner's unique style. I've been a fan ever since.

On September 18, 2015 a special three-disc, remastered version was released, including the entire concert (the original album left many songs off for length considerations). It is this week's Music Recommendation.

Today's send-off is the trio's performance of "Lullaby of Birdland," the often-recorded jazz standard written in 1952 by George Shearing and George David Weiss. Enjoy...