Saturday, October 10, 2020

Beat Tom & Bill

Golfing

Now that's a 3-pointer

Friday, October 09, 2020

John Lennon's 80th birthday

 My favorite Beatle would have been 80 years old today. Hard to imagine, isn't it? 

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a huge Beatles fan. I have a framed photo of their Comiskey Park concert on the wall. An autographed Pete Best photo on the wall. An Abbey Road street sign. Framed John Lennon artwork. 

I named my second son John after you know who.

And during the years I was a work-at-home dad, I played this song all the time. It really spoke to me. Happy birthday John. We still miss you.


Trump's Greatest Hits

 Have you ever been in a "discussion" with a Trump-supporting friend and been unable to come up with more than a dozen or so attrocities the man-baby has committed, even though you know there have been hundreds? 

Well, then you're going to want to bookmark this piece by McSweeney's. I think this headline says it all. (Click on it to read the article)

LEST WE FORGET THE HORRORS: A CATALOG OF TRUMP’S WORST CRUELTIES, COLLUSIONS, CORRUPTIONS, AND CRIMES

You Know It's an Existential Crisis When...

The New England Journal of Medicine publishes an editorial begging the country to vote out the people who are killing us. Yes, it's that bad...

Covid-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.

The magnitude of this failure is astonishing. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering,1 the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and in deaths due to the disease, far exceeding the numbers in much larger countries, such as China. The death rate in this country is more than double that of Canada, exceeds that of Japan, a country with a vulnerable and elderly population, by a factor of almost 50, and even dwarfs the rates in lower-middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, by a factor of almost 2000. Covid-19 is an overwhelming challenge, and many factors contribute to its severity. But the one we can control is how we behave. And in the United States we have consistently behaved poorly.

Thursday, October 08, 2020

Wednesday, October 07, 2020

Schwarber's Big Day

Gold

Vote

1962 All Star Game at Wrigley Field

Just found this incredible video on Youtube, and yes, I watched the whole thing. Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roger Maris, Luis Aparacio. Very cool. And look at the way people dressed at Wrigley. Everyone is wearing a tie. You can hear Pat Pieper announce the players. The field looks the same though, other than centerfield (no batters eye) and foul territory (much bigger). No Cubs in this clip, although Ernie & Billy were on the roster. They played later in the game.

RIP Johnny Nash

 RIP Johnny Nash. He died yesterday at the age of 80. Johnny was a friend of Bob Marley's and several of his albums contained songs written by Bob.

This one is his biggest hit. It was number one on the Billboard charts.


Tuesday, October 06, 2020

RIP Eddie Van Halen

 This one is a shocker. Eddie Van Halen was only 65. He died of throat cancer. TMZ has the details.

I saw him in concert twice. The first time was in Ludwigshafen, Germany in 1980. Van Halen II had just come out. My hearing never recovered. The second time was at Farm Aid. That was the first time Sammy & Eddie played together in public.

For my generation, Eddie was the gold standard of rock and roll guitarist. Every other guitarist of the era considered him the best.

Here's a little sample...


German American Heritage Day

 I've been told that today is German-American Heritage day. After seeing this picture from 1967, can you really argue whether or not I qualify?



Minutia Men--Nixon's Half Eaten Sandwich


This week's episode includes the wondrous tale of Richard Nixon's half eaten sandwich. 

Monday, October 05, 2020

What Bruce Springsteen Said

What Jake Tapper Said

RIP Jay Johnstone

Missed this news last week. Former Cub Jay Johnstone passed away at the age of 74, from COVID-19 complications. Bummer. He was always one of my favorites. This is his entry in EveryCubEver...


~Jay Johnstone 1945--2020 (Cubs 1982-1984)
Johnstone had a tremendously successful big league career. He played 20 years in the majors and won two World Championships (1978 Yankees and 1981 Dodgers). His best seasons were probably with the Philadelphia Phillies teams in the mid-70s. By the time he came to the Cubs in 1982, he was more of a part-time player, but Johnstone was still productive. He was also the life of the party. His teammates loved him because he was such a jokester.

(This is an old commercial from his Cubs days. That's manager Lee Elia at the end)