It's a Gas Gas Gas

The Bureaucratic Mind

"Wait times, schmait times. Who really cares?"

It isn't often that the mindset of the typical Federal bureaucrat is laid bare in quite so stark a manner as when current Secretary for Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, at a breakfast with reporters on Monday, responded to questions about long wait times for health services at the VA with a classic display of pompous indifference:

"When you got to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what's important? What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience?"

Sir, I expect the thousands of veterans who are still being kept waiting for medical services from VA are not especially "satisfied" with their "experience." I'm certain the ones who died while waiting on the VA would likewise express some dissatisfaction, if the dead could speak.

Also, last time I checked people didn't die waiting in line to ride Space Mountain.

To its credit, the Disney corporation responded harshly to McDonald's half-baked analogy. There has been a lot of public huffing and puffing by politicians, too, but in my experience that leads to nothing.

Hanging is too good for nitwits like McDonald...

Of course there is...assholes like McDonald think they're untouchable, which is a big part of the problem...

Raining Runs

My beloved Kansas City Royals won the opening game of their series against the Twins
at Target Field last night, scoring in double digits for the first time this season in a solid 10-4 victory that moved them to within three games of the Central Division lead.

The tarp came out in the bottom of the 3nd inning.

The same rain that made for such a soggy day here yesterday made a nuisance of itself in Minneapolis last night, causing a rain delay in the bottom of the 3rd inning that wound up knocking Royals starter Ian Kennedy out of the game after just 3 1/3 innings.

"No se puede dejar de mí!"

The hitting star of the offensive cloudburst was All-Star C Salvador Perez, who enjoyed the first five-hit game of his career. Salvy had a double and a triple, drove in a run, and scored three times.

RF Paulo Orlando was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and 2B Omar Infante hit a two-run double and a sac fly to drive in three runs.


The news yesterday wasn't all good. All-Star LF Alex Gordon is likely to miss 3-6 weeks due to a fractured bone in his right wrist suffered in a collision with 3B Mike Moustakas in Sunday's loss to the White Sox. Moose hurt his knee on the same play, and is listed as day-to-day. He did not play last night.

"Does this mean we'll get to see Alex rehabbing with the Storm Chasers, like last season?"

It's possible...we'll see how it goes...

Night Games

Crosley Field

On May 24, 1935 the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field in the first night baseball game in the major leagues.

The honor of hosting the first professional night game belongs to Des Moines. On the evening of
May 2, 1930 Des Moines's Western League team took on Wichita in a game which drew 12,000 fans
(a typical Des Moines day game at the time drew 600 or so).

"Low-Energy" = Stupid, Spineless, and/or Suicidal?

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

Until Next Time...

When it comes to guitar-based rock and roll music, the key to success is the "riff,"
a musical element that can separate great songs from merely ordinary ones. Part of the genius of Chuck Berry, for instance, was his knack for creating unforgettable riffs.

In the history of rock and roll, few bands produced as many memorable riffs as
The Rolling Stones. This was especially true during my own formative years as a rock music aficionado, roughly the decade 1967-77. Although the Stones were never among my most favorite groups, a handful of their riff-driven songs are among my all-time favorites.

Original 1969 "octagon" album cover

On May 24, 1968 the group released "Jumpin' Jack Flash," a single which features one of their most memorable (and often-imitated) guitar riffs.

The song was a hit, reaching No. 1 on the Cash Box singles chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would be more than a year before
it would be available on a Stones album, however.




It was finally included on the band's 1969 compilation album Through the Past, Darkly. That album was noteworthy among other reasons for having an octagonal-shaped sleeve instead of the usual square.

For many years "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was the lead-off song for Stones live shows, and
it is No. 125 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It certainly has a prominent place in the soundtrack of my adolescence.

Today's send-off is the 2002 remaster of the original single. Enjoy...