grommit2

Ok sports fans...a question for you: Why do they allow professional baseball players to catch fly balls with one (casual) hand? Whatever happened to "use two hands!" shouted by every coach from little league on up. I know the gloves are big, and the chance of a pro actually flubbing a fly ball is quite low. But...as we saw in the playoffs, a Red Sox outfielder made a terrific run to chase down a fly, only to have it hit the heel of his glove and fall to the turf. Had he used TWO hands, he would have caught it.

I tried How Fiction Works by James Wood, a study of techniques used by fiction authors. It appears to be written for serious English majors or other professional authors. Having a difficult time plowing through it.

Hi Anna...I agree with you. In fact, I think...um...wait a minute, it'll come to me...uhh...now what was I doing? Oh yes, something about the cat. No wait...uhh...oh well, never mind.

Questions for the experts: Has Kyrie played at all this season? Is he forfeiting salary by sitting out? How much? Here's a cool idea: get the vaccine, play, take the salary, then donate it to charity.

OK. Finally finished Slavery, A World History by Milton Meltzer. This is the 1993 edition. Slavery certainly is a toxic topic, so I appreciated Meltzer's mostly even-handed analysis. Some key points: Clear evidence of slavery goes back to 5,000 BC. In volume 1, Meltzer follows the historical flow of western civilization, addressing Mesopotamia (Iraq), Greeks, Romans, Egypt, etc. Slavery was practiced EVERY step of the way. Key practice: lose in war and you were either killed or enslaved. Treatment varied significantly: in some cases, it was a short-term, deathly life. In other cases, you could actually rise up out of slavery, join society, and rise to significant levels. Volume 2 takes us through the Renaissance to recent times. There is much stress on the spread of Western Europeans into the Americas. This is where the African slave trade comes into play, although Meltzer stresses that slavery existed in Africa back in those earlier historical times. Meltzer makes is clear that slavery was practiced by Native American (north and south) Indian tribes, on each other, before the western Europeans migrated to the American continents. This was a challenging read, on a difficult topic. Certainly not a topic to bring up around the dinner table. This was especially difficult considering my mixed heritage.

OK. I just had to delve into one of the contemporary hot-button issues...slavery. I wanted to understand much more about it than what was available in the contemporary media. So I picked up Slavery: A World History, by Milton Meltzer, a legitimate historian. Thorough, balanced, well-documented, used a wide range of original sources. Half-way through and so far I've learned that slavery can be traced back to 5,000 BC in Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Northern Africa...just picture the entire known world, and it had slavery. Most slaves were acquired through war (gads, another persistent topic). But war was not the only source. And skin color had nothing to do with it...slavery was an equal opportunity employer. Anyway, I may need to balance this by watching a bunch of cat videos on youtube.

Hi Oakville... Is it true that Senator Manchin owns a coal business? If yes, it certainly would impact his position on climate change initiatives.

Oh boy...saw the episode. The Cape has several distinctive views and the show (finally) included some of them. The best was the view of "Days Cottages", the 20+ little cottages that were constructed during the Depression, renovated over the years, and continue today as rentals.

Enoughcats has to be one of the best pseudonyms of all time!

Hi Lamb18 and CRS97 Those of us who worship at the altar of Gronk believe he looks great no matter what he does.

Hi Neona...you gave me the opportunity to FINALLY use my 3 years of HS Latin..."oh, how you try our patience" (or something like that, eh?)

Finished Forever Young, Hayley Mills' autobiography. Primarily focuses on her magnificent opportunity to be the face of Walt Disney's foray into live action, family-friendly movies via a 6-picture deal, including Parent Trap and Pollyanna. Lots of quick info about her co-stars (all of which are "lovely"). Frequent detours into her self-doubts (is this true of all actors?), concerns about growing up, etc. A curious life as the daughter of a famous actor father, an accomplished but alcoholic mom, living in a boarding school when not filming. Along the way we read how her parents, as her legal guardians, rejected roles in certain movies, including...Lolita. Yes, Hayley is now in her 70s, but the book mostly ignores what happened after her mid-20s, except for her uber-expensive tax loss. Interesting diversion.

Ya' know who would be a perfect fit for this show? Rupert Friend, the CIA hitman from Homeland. Just picture it...Axe Capital doesn't like a competitor? Just send in the hitman. Eh? Is that a great idea or what? Geez...I'm so smart. 😎

Y'all may like D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose. This tells the true story of WW2 women serving as as Allied spies in France. I was familiar with the stories of women helping downed pilots escape France through Spain. But this was different. There was reluctance to employ women in such dangerous roles. But they proved to be smart, brave, strong, resourceful and successful. Unfortunately, like many spies in enemy territory, some were captured and treated poorly...often in violation of Geneva Conventions.

Hi Mojoween. I attribute it to all that year-round warm weather and sunshine in Massachusetts.

Geez...I just started following this show. Guess that is about one year late...oh well. It would really be cool if Primetimer had just one stream for the entire show, rather than separate streams for each episode. Oh well...

Oh boy...new autobiography out, penned by Hayley Mills. Yes, the Hayley Mills from the original Parent Trap, Pollyanna, That Darn Cat, and Whistle Down the Wind.

Did Rachel sign for $30 Million? Gadzooks! $30 million?! Each year? wowee!

Hi...can y'all help me with some questions? 1) What happens if an unvaccinated player is on the official roster during the regular season? Does the team automatically lose the game? Does the unvaccinated player lose his 1/17th salary? 2) Do the Pats still have Hoyer as their #2? Thanks!

Here's a quick, compelling read for Baldacci fans: Long Road to Mercy. Always good to delve into a good guys vs not-so-good guys novel. This one has all the 3-letter agencies (FBI, NSA, etc) going against each other as rogue players try to stir things up in a BIG way. Our star is an FBI agent stationed near the Grand Canyon (a cool place to visit for sure). Lots of characters, so I recommend keeping a roster of the players.

Let's see: 1) Rory having the baby, but living back home? I don't see much of a new storyline there. Just lots of struggling experienced by all new moms. 2) Lorelai and Luke married...umm...for how long before Lorelai collapses under the weight of her past broken relationships? 3) Sookie and Jackson, still married, with kids. How much new story line could you squeeze out of that? Maybe Sookie gets discovered by a movie producer? Nah...probably too much to ask. 4) Taylor still ruling Stars Hollow...and then what? Runs for higher office? I doubt it..it just does not fit with the GG stories. 5) Hmm...Jess comes back, more mature, less conflicted, and...umm...does what? Ooh, I know...he becomes a movie star, maybe about a race car driver who is really good at racing in the rain. Beyond that, I just do not see anything else. 6) Trust Fund kid Logan, now without a trust fund. Launches a company that, this time, is not cratered with law suits. Hey...the story could be that he comes back to Stars Hollow, sweeps Rory off her feet, adores her kid (which looks suspiciously like him, eh?). But, then, he wants to run his San Francisco company on the west coast, but Rory, in a fit of Lorelai-conflicted complex, just cannot leave Stars Hollow. Doesn't even want to move to Hartford. End of Logan story line. 7) Luke...oh Luke...decides he wants to try to be a major league baseball player...his long lost dream. Despite his age, he proves he can still hit, field, throw. He makes it to Triple A, gets traded to the LA Dodgers, gets called up to the big team. But...has to leave Lorelai because the Dodgers play in LA. Oy...end of the Luke story line. 8) Kirk? Umm...his wife turns out to be a genius. Writes novels in her spare time. They sell big time. They move to a big house in Malibu. Overlooking the ocean. Life is good! 9) Gypsy? Invents a car battery that can re-charge as it is running down the highway. No need to plug in. Sells the idea to Logan for giganto bucks. Ends up with enough money to BUY Malibu. Not the car...the town.

Ok...Victorian Era authors: Bronte(s), Trollope, DICKENS, Gaskell, Eliot, Lewis Carrol, Stevenson, Oscar Wilde, Hardy, Collins, Thackeray...are considered the biggies. Some Victorian era authors came from countries other than England: Poe!, Stanton, Zola, Dickinson, Nightengale, Allen, Stowe, Henry James (agh!), Melville, Twain!, Hawthorne, Sojourner Truth, Anthony, Victor Hugo. There are a few others who overlap with Victorian era: Doyle, Kipling, HG Wells, Bram Stoker (Dracula!), Conrad. There are more authors, but these are the most notable. As we know, the Victorian era spanned Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901). Some historians stretch it back a bit further.

But...you did like my little joke about the Zombies movie, didn't you? Eh? Pretty darn funny, wouldn't you agree? Hooboy, I'm so funny.

OK. I finished Hemingway's Hemingway's Farewell to Arms. Perhaps English majors can applaud this book, but I cannot. It was touted as a new approach to fiction, "modernism", featuring tight, concise prose, unlike the predecessor style (Victorian?) that featured lots of dialogue signifying nothing. I found Hemingway's prose to feature either lengthy paragraphs, or short dialogue. Neither seemed to match the humanity grinding of WWI, or the depth required of a love interest. Only the very last sentence really punched home. Anyway, what's wrong with Victorian literature? I found Pride and Prejudice to be a worthwhile read (although it took awhile to unravel who was proud and who was prejudiced). Yes, the first movie was painful, and did feature lots of superficial conversations. The second, more recent movie, was pretty good. But the best movie of all was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now, that was a true work of art. 😎

Hi BuckeyeLou...I agree that Rachel does a fine job on election night. Always interesting when she gets into discussions with Steve as he quickly pops up stats on remote counties. Lets hope she (and her team) stay involved.