Satis-fried

As Cod Is My Witness

"We have to stop meeting like this. People will say we're in love."

As promised in this space yesterday, I did indeed visit my local Village Inn for their Friday Fish Fry special, and enjoyed a delicious, satisfying dinner.

"You added salt to the french fries, too, am I right?"

Of course...they needed little extra seasoning...

Feast Day

St. Casimir, by Szymon Czechowicz

Today is the feast day of St. Casimir, a young Polish nobleman noted for his religious devotion who died at just age 25 in 1484.

It is believed that Pope Leo X intended to canonize Casimir in 1521 but died before being able to do so. The history of Casimir's cause is complicated by the loss of official church records during the sack of Rome in 1527. The first official record we have of Casimir's canonization is a brief issued by Pope Clement VIII in 1602.

St. Joseph, Missouri has a significant Polish population, and during my years teaching at Bishop LeBlond High School I had a large number of students Polish ancestry. For those families, the feast of St. Casimir was a very big deal indeed.

Casimir is the patron of Poland and Lithuania.

Streak

"Boom!"

My beloved Kansas City Royals are on a two-game winning streak in the Cactus League. Spring games don't count for anything, of course, but it is good to develop a winning atmosphere even when your primary purposes are evaluation and conditioning.

On Thursday afternoon the Royals beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1 behind a two-run homer from All-Star 1B Eric Hosmer. It was
a well-pitched game on both sides.

"Just trying to make the team this year."

On Friday the Royals pounded the Dodgers 7-2, with CF prospect Bubba Starling chipping in two RBIs. A former No. 1 draft pick
in 2011 (and the 5th overall player chosen that year), this might be the make-or-break spring for Starling.

"Do you think he's a bust?"

Pretty much...the kid simply can't hit...his career averages after five years in the minors are .232/.310/.381, and last year at AAA Omaha he was dreadful (.181/.213/.265)...even if he were the next Willie Mays on defense (he isn't) no team can afford to keep a bat like that on the roster...

Just Grow Up, Already

From the insightful pen of Michael Ramirez, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On March 4, 1678 Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy. Although he enjoyed
a relatively successful career as a violinist, composer, and teacher, as often happens in music his reputation suffered a decline when the popularity of his Baroque style of music waned. He died in poverty in 1741.

In the fullness of time Vivaldi (who among other things was an ordained Catholic priest) came to be seen as one of the greatest Baroque composers, one whose influence on subsequent generations of composers (notably J.S. Bach) was profound. His music enjoyed quite a revival in the 20th century, and his quartet of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons is one of the most popular works in classical music.

Much as I enjoy classical music,
it is a rare piece that ever becomes an earworm in the way that a lot of popular music does. One of the few exceptions is a piece that featured prominently in Bob Fosse's 1979 musical film All That Jazz, one of my all-time favorite movies.

In the film, the main character starts every morning listening to the lively first movement of Vivaldi's Concerto for Strings in G major, popularly known as the Concerto alla rustica, as he tries to get himself pumped up to face his hectic day.

Today's send-off is a live performance of the entire concerto by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Baroque Ensemble, using entirely period instruments, filmed
in April 2013. Enjoy...