Running On Faith

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I'm not going to spoil my weekend writing about political topics, but I did run across something that will be helpful to anyone trying to make sense of all the competing claims with regard to who is doing well in the polls at any given time:

If you haven't figured this out for yourself already, the only reason these polls get reported at all is because media outlets have to talk about something for all of these tedious months leading up to any actual, you know, voting and stuff.

It's all bullshit. In 2012, for instance, Newt Gingrich had a healthy lead in "national"
GOP polls with 17 days to go before the Iowa Caucuses (just like Trump does now).
He finished 4th in Iowa, and 4th in the New Hampshire primary. Gingrich's campaign didn't even last until the convention. In 2008, the leader in "national" GOP polls 17 days before the Iowa Caucuses was former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (although his lead wasn't so large as Gingrich's or Trump's). Rudy finished 6th in Iowa and 4th in New Hampshire. His campaign was deader than Kelsey's nuts before the end of January 2008, when he officially withdrew from the race.

"Whatever you do, don't get him started on open online polls."

Sound advice...

Perspective

Later this afternoon, my beloved Kansas City Chiefs will play the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

The Chiefs are one of only eight teams still playing for a chance to become champions, but of course that only heightens my pregame anxiety. The Patriots are favored.

I feel somewhat better than I otherwise might thanks to a new acquaintance I made on Twitter yesterday, who reminded me that it was a great time to be a KC sports fan. He's absolutely right about that!

My beloved Kansas City Royals won their second straight American League Championship this past season, followed by their second World Series title (30 years after the first one), and so far in the off-season they have retained All-Star and Gold Glove LF Alex Gordon (who in years past would have been lost to free agency) and re-signed All-Star CF Lorenzo Cain.




And now, for the first time ever, the Chiefs are in the NFL playoffs in the same calendar season as the Royals made the MLB playoffs. The Chiefs last Saturday snapped an onerous 8-game, 22-year playoff victory drought. They have won 11 straight games.

All things considered, I am very grateful for the thrills both of my teams have given me this season.

That said...

"...if the Chiefs lose, you're going to mope for days, right?"

Weeks, probably...

Happy Belated Birthday, Wikipedia!

I didn't realize it was the anniversary until after I had already posted yesterday, but
I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the indispensable online encyclopedia (and much more) which launched on January 15, 2001. I'm a verified contributor myself, and I strongly encourage you to give it a try sometime. In the meantime...

You can read some amusing facts about the website's history here.

I Know Just What You Mean

From the pen of Henry Payne, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

In the fall of 1989, the music channel MTV launched a program intended to capitalize on the growing interest among pop and rock music fans for acoustic performances. It is safe to say that MTV Unplugged succeeded far beyond the network's wildest dreams. Many of my favorite bands and artists have appeared on the show, and several of the albums based on those appearances have sold very well.

Original 1992 album cover

Easily the most successful of these albums was the one recorded live
on January 16, 1992 featuring legendary blues guitarist Eric Clapton. As it turned out, the acoustic format and intimate setting were perfectly suited for Clapton's eclectic set list of blues classics and his own original compositions.

The first album ever produced and released by MTV, Unplugged was an immediate hit. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, received three Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year),
and to date has sold more than 26 million copies.

Unplugged is one of those rare albums that really doesn't have any weak tracks. Today's send-off is the song whose lyrics never fail to move me to tears. "Running On Faith" was originally written for Clapton's Journeyman album by Jerry Lynn Williams. This Unplugged version is from the remastered 2013 Deluxe Edition of the album. Enjoy...