Greatness Made Manifest

Yeah No

It will be all downhill from here...

The third and final "presidential debate" of 2016 is scheduled to take place tonight at the University of Nevada- Las Vegas.





I use the "scare quotes" because what will take place tonight will not be an actual debate, and neither of the participants will come across as remotely presidential.

Of course, it doesn't help matters any that the "moderators" of these spectacles wouldn't dream of asking any questions about actual ideas. Heaven forbid viewers might hear something that would require them to think for a moment or two...

"So, another tedious screech-and-bluster-fest, then?"

Count on it...

America is Already Great

While the two septuagenarian New York progressives take turns tonight squawking about how everything is awful in America, and only they can turn things around, I just wanted to take
a moment to mention that America does just fine without either of those two walking pustules at the controls.

Case in point: Jif Maple Peanut Butter, y'all. Enough said!

"Found a new treat to rave about, have we?"

I'm not raving...I'm just saying that it's really, REALLY good, and proof of America's fundamental greatness...

Double-Header

Today we will have several hours of playoff baseball to savor...

At 3:00 PM CDT we will get Game 5 of the ALCS at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The Indians lead in that series three games to one.

The Indians will send rookie LHP Ryan Merritt (1-0, 1.64 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.48 ERA).

At 7:00 PM CDT we get Game 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers lead the Cubs two games to one in that series.

The Cubs will send RHP John Lackey (11-8, 3.35 ERA) to the mound to square off against rookie LHP Julio Urias (5-2, 3.39 ERA).

"Yesterday wasn't a great day for your rooting interests in those series, was it?"

No, no it was not...

Presidential Debate Prep

From the indispensable comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).

Until Next Time...

The mental processes involved in selecting music for this section can be a little convoluted sometimes, if there is no relatively obvious selection related to the calendar date or to current events. Today is a good example of how twisty the path can be...

Because baseball is much on my mind today, I listened to some selections from the soundtrack of the Ken Burns documentary Baseball this morning. I've already used
a couple of selections from that album by the marvelous pianist Jacqueline Schwab
(a frequent Burns collaborator), so I started poking around in my collection for something of hers I haven't included in this section before.

That led me to a song with a mood (and a title) that fits the way I'm feeling today.

In 2001 Jacqueline was a featured performer on the soundtrack to Burns's film Mark Twain.

Although the film itself got mixed review, I enjoyed the soundtrack, released that November, quite a lot. Traditional songs of the period figure prominently, but a handful of new songs were written for the film as well.




As usual, I was and remain enchanted by Schwab's playing. There is just something about her style which lifts my spirits every time I hear her music. That is a rare gift.

Today's send-off is Jacqueline playing "When Tomorrow Comes," a song written especially for the documentary by its co-writer and producer Dayton Duncan. Enjoy...