Chillax

Busybodies

"My campaign, my rules. Everybody chillax."

When I woke up this morning, I discovered the entire online world melting down over the news that GOP presidential hopeful
Dr. Ben Carson plans to take a short break from presidential campaign events to do some promotional work for his latest book, A More Perfect Union.


The gravamen of the complaints by professional busybodies about Dr. Carson's choice, especially among conservative pundits, is that this sort of move is "not normal."

In other words, it isn't "normal" by the standards we have come to accept from lifelong, professional politicians. But you know what else isn't "normal"? A brilliant guy who has never held political office before running for president. And doing well, too.

I think what drives the commentariat (hardly any of whom have ever run for anything important themselves) crazy is that Dr. Carson doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in what they think he "should" be doing. That actually makes me like him even more than I already do.

I'm with the relatively small number of people who don't think this is a big deal at all. Dr. Carson should run his campaign the way he sees fit. I doubt people are going to forget he's a candidate over the next two weeks. The chattering classes need to MYOB and find something else to squawk about.

"You don't shoot a duck for quacking, though."

Actually, that is exactly why I would shoot them...noisy bastards...

Feast Day

St. Teresa of Ávila, by Gerard van Honthorst

Today is the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Ávila, a Carmelite nun whose life spanned most of the 16th century, a time of great turmoil for the Catholic church and its faithful.

Just a little over 45 years ago, during my senior year of high school, Pope Paul VI bestowed on St. Teresa (along with St. Catherine of Siena) the title of Doctor of the Church. This was historic, since no women had ever been so honored before.

Her Interior Castle remains one of the most important works on prayer and spirituality in the Catholic tradition.

Things That Make Me Happy: Blue October Edition

Last night my beloved Kansas City Royals won their American League Division series
3 games to 2, beating the Houston Astros 7-2 at a sold-out and raucous Kauffman Stadium. Regardless of what happens next, last night's game will never be forgotten by Royals fans. Congratulations to the Houston Astros for a fine season. They're a young team, and should have a bright future.

Last night, though, belonged to the Royals...

"Mejor suerte el año que viene, Astros!"

Except for a mistake in the top of the 2nd that 3B Luis Valbuena hit into the Royals bullpen to give the Astros an early 2-0 lead, starter Johnny Cueto was utterly dominant in his eight innings of work, retiring the last 19 straight batters he faced (a Royals postseason record) with no walks and eight strikeouts.

"BAM!"

RF Alex Rios, playing in the first playoff series of his 11-year career was just 2-for-11 coming into tonight's game, but he went 2-for-3 and hit a two-run double that put the Royals ahead to stay in the bottom of the 5th inning.



The Royals were clinging to a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th inning. Houston brought on Game 3 hero Dallas Keuchel to hold the Royals in check, but that strategy quickly backfired. SS Alcides Escobar led off with a double, and with one out
CF Lorenzo Cain was walked intentionally so that the southpaw Keuchel could face left-handed hitting 1B Eric Hosmer. Keuchel got Hosmer to foul out, but his luck ran out when DH Kendrys Morales launched a three-run home run into the water fountains in dead center field (roughly 440 from home plate), making the score 7-2.

"BOOM!"

All-Star Wade Davis only needed 8 pitches in the top of the 9th to end the game and the Astros' 2015 season.

After a well-earned day off today, the Royals will face the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night at Kauffman Stadium in Game 1 of the best-of-seven ALCS...

H/T @Royals

Ironically, 2015 is the 30th anniversary of these same two teams clashing in an epic ALCS in 1985. It was the first year for the current best-of-seven LCS format, and the change was crucial. The late Dick Howser managed the Royals to a 4-3 series win after falling behind 3 games to 1, and Kansas City won their second American League pennant (the first since 1980). It would be 29 years before they won another...

"Out of curiosity, how long before you're back to your anxious, pessimistic self?"

Game 1 starts at 7:07 PM CDT on Friday, so...

The Power of Positive Thinking

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

Until Next Time...

When the Royals clinched the American League Central Division title last month,
I wrote in this space about the tradition of such triumphs being toasted in the national media with renditions of the Lieber/Stoller R&B classic "Kansas City" and the Rodgers and Hammerstein song of the same name from Oklahoma! Now that the Royals have advanced to the ALCS, expect those songs to figure prominently in telecasts of the games.

About sixty years ago, rock and roll legend Little Richard recorded a couple of different versions of the Lieber/Stoller "Kansas City." The second version, which had been re-worked enough to almost be a different song, was the first to be released. The first version didn't make it onto an album until 1970, but I prefer it to the heavily modified, better-known iteration.

Today's send-off blends Little Richard's original recorded version of the song with images of both him and my adopted hometown. Enjoy...