Sunday Potpourri No. 19

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."

6000 hp Alarm Clock

One of the joys of living where I live is getting to hear the sound of locomotives. My apartment is close to railroad tracks to both the north and south, so when trains pass by grade crossings nearby I get to hear all about it. The sound of those locomotive horns (and, occasionally, bells) brings back fond memories of my childhood. The only time it bothers me is in the early morning, when I'm still sleeping.

This morning, before my alarm had even gone off, I was awakened by a Union Pacific train passing by to the south. I obviously didn't get up just to check, but it sounded like an EMD SD90MAC, like these...

"Get your lazy ass out of bed!"

Things That Make Me Happy: Late Rally Edition

Yesterday afternoon Game 2 of the American League Championship Series between my beloved Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays was played at Kauffman Stadium. The sold-out crowd was awfully subdued by the 6th inning. Royals starter Yordano Ventura had yielded three runs, while Toronto starter David Price had retired 15 straight batters after giving up a hit on his first pitch in the bottom of the 1st inning. Luke Hochevar came in to relieve Ventura with two runs in and the bases still loaded with just one out, but prevented any further damage. Danny Duffy came in to pitch in the top of the 7th and retired the Blue Jays in order, but the fans were downcast.

After Price had run his streak to 18 straight batters retired in the bottom of the 6th, the Blue Jays were nine outs away from a victory that would even the ALCS at 1-1. What happened in the bottom of the 7th will be a part of Royals lore for as long as there are Royals fans...

Sparked by a "hit" that was really a miscommunication between 2B Ryan Goins and
RF Jose Bautista, the Royals strung together yet another late-game rally, taking a 5-3 lead on the way to an eventual 6-3 victory.

LF Alex Gordon delivered the game-winning RBI with a double that chased Price, and later scored the fifth run of the inning himself on a single by RF Alex Rios.

"Bam!"

Kelvin Herrera took care of the Blue Jays in the top of the 8th, and closer Wade Davis finished off the victory in the 9th, punctuated by a pair of strikeouts.

"Enjoy that plane ride home tonight, Blue Jays!"

Now leading the ALCS 2-0, the Royals get a well-earned day of rest today. The series resumes Monday at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Johnny Cueto (1-0, 3.86 ERA so far in the postseason) will get the start for the Royals, while the Blue Jays will send rookie Marcus Stroman (0-0, 3.46) to the hill.

Pigskin Blues

Yesterday was not a great day of college football results for me. My beloved Missouri Tigers played hard on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs, but fell 9-6 on a late field goal. It was the Tigers' third SEC defeat, and hopes for playing in a decent bowl game are dwindling...

My best friend's Penn State Nittany Lions also lost yesterday, as did the Iowa State Cyclones. Meanwhile, Nebraska and Iowa both won, making their annoying fans even more annoying (Iowa is 7-0, so you can imagine how insufferable they are at the moment). The only good results were a victory for Notre Dame (over USC, always sweet) and a home loss for the detested Kansas Jayhawks.

Today won't be any better. My beloved Kansas City Chiefs, just playing out the string now after a disastrous 1-4 start, are likely to get blown out on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. A loss would be their fifth straight...

Compromise

From the delightful comic strip FoxTrot, by Bill Amend, which you should read every Sunday, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On October 18, 1961 the motion picture West Side Story was released, and became an immediate critical and box office hit. The film was based on the successful 1957 Broadway musical by Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (libretto), and Jerome Robbins (choreography). Like its Broadway forebear, the film version written by Ernest Lehman and directed by Robert Wise (with considerable assistance from Robbins) loosely follows the familiar story of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Original 1961 "one sheet" poster

The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, which is still the record for a movie musical (and only three films of any kind have ever won more).

The film's cultural impact cannot be overstated. West Side Story is one of those cinematic milestones that any movie lover knows. It is an essential part of the American cultural vocabulary.






Today's send-off is "Somewhere," one of the most popular songs in the show. Leonard Bernstein's music quotes Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Neither Richard Beymer (Tony) nor Natalie Wood (Maria) could sing well enough to please directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, so their parts were sung by Jimmy Bryant and Marni Nixon, respectively.

If there is a more poignant ode to the romantic idea of love conquering all, I am not aware of it. Enjoy...