366

Year One

"So smart, and so handsome too!"

So this is daily blog entry No. 366,
thanks to 2016 being a Leap Year.

It has certainly been an eventful journey to this point. I am still a curmudgeon, and I still consider myself "beyond the wall" in the sense that my thoughts and opinions on most subjects are distinctly outside the mainstream as it is currently constituted.





If anything, the wall separating my philosophy from that embraced by contemporary America has gotten even higher, now that the country has collectively decided that two of the most disreputable figures in public life should vie for the nation's highest office.

I just love show business!

Of course there is a certain amount of vanity involved in an ongoing project like this. It is presumptuous
of me to assume that anyone gives
a tinker's damn about what I think, but sooner or later I shall depart this vale of tears, and it comforts me to know that this attempt to explain myself will be available to people who wish to remember me long after
I have gone the way of all the earth.

This blog also permits me to indulge my desire to write, and it is certainly a reflection of my love for all things theatrical. Frankly, it is preposterous how much time and energy I put into this thing, fussing over every detail of both its content and its appearance. That's the director in me, for better or worse.

It is also a reflection of the teacher in me, as I like to think that the people who read these entries (and click on the embedded links) will learn something useful, or at the very least interesting. In a very real sense, this forum is my classroom, the last one
I shall ever have. I am endeavoring to use it wisely.


My intention is to continue adhering as closely as I can to the "What Is This Place?" description found in the left-hand sidebar of this page, for as long as I am able...

Consider yourself dismissed, wise guy...

Back to Back

Last night at Kauffman Stadium my beloved Kansas City Royals were back in action following Monday night's rainout. They defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-4, their second consecutive win. It is the first time the team has won consecutive games in nearly a month, since April 21-22.

"No temo a los Medias Rojas.'

It was an up-and-down night for Royals starter Yordano Ventura, who advanced his record to 4-2 with 5 2/3 innings of mostly effective pitching. His biggest hiccup was allowing a 3-run home run in the top of the 6th inning that got the Red Sox back in the game at 5-4.





Relievers Luke Hochevar and Kelvin Herrera kept the Red Sox off the scoreboard over
2 2/3 innings, and the Royals rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th. That allowed manager Ned Yost to use Joakim Soria in the 9th rather than having to bring in All-Star closer Wade Davis.

"BOOM!"

The hitting star of the game for the Royals was RF Paulo Orlando, who went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs, including a triple and a long two-run home run.

With Jarrod Dyson still struggling since his return from the Disabled List, the Royals offense really needs continued production from Paulo.

The series with the Red Sox concludes today, with a day/night doubleheader thanks to Monday's showers. The Royals will then be off tomorrow before beginning a key weekend series on Friday against the White Sox in Chicago.

Happy Birthday!

Pope St. John Paul the Great

On May 18, 1920 Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in Wadowice, Poland. He would go on to become one of the most significant religious and political leaders of the 20th century.

Karol became Pope John Paul II after his election in October 1978. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, assuming that role a year before Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and two years before Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. Along with Thatcher and Reagan,
Pope John Paul II is considered a key figure in the collapse of communist rule, first in his native Poland and eventually throughout Europe.


John Paul II was also responsible for the 1983 reform of Canon law, and for the landmark publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992. His 27-year pontificate was the longest in over 100 years.

He was beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, on May 1, 2011. He was canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014.

Monotasking

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

Until Next Time...

As I have noted on many occasions, a principal purpose of this blog is to give interested parties in the future some insight into who I was, what I believed in, and how I lived my life. Today's musical selection ties in nicely with that theme.

The John Hughes comedy-drama motion picture The Breakfast Club was released on February 15, 1985, just three days before my 32nd birthday. I was teaching in Casper, Wyoming at the time, and the film's portrayal of the power of small group interactions was deeply affecting for me as an educator. Despite the movie's many flaws, it is still a sentimental favorite of mine, not least because of the soundtrack, which included
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" by the Scottish pop-rock band Simple Minds.

Original 1985 "one sheet" poster

On May 18, 1985 the song reached No. 1
on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, the band's only chart-topping hit.

Although it propelled the film's soundtrack album into the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was not included on any Simple Minds album for several years, until the release of a "greatest hits" compilation album in 1992.

I have remained fond of the song in part because of its association with the film, but it earned its way into my "Tearjerkers" iTunes playlist because of the lyrics, which touch on the universal human need to be loved (and remembered).



Today's send-off is the band's official music video for the song. The usual '80s music video disclaimers apply. Enjoy...