Baseball Season is Coming...

I know that the only baseball story that anyone out there seems to care about right now is the Roger Clemens thing. But, I, being a proud Detroiter, am more entranced by the amazing team that has been put together for my watching pleasure this year.

 

Let me go back a few years though, back when the Tigers were the worst team in baseball. I was still a loyal fan, and went to 5 or 6 games a year, and even watched them on TV, as Bobby Higginson struck out and Nate Cornejo racked up a huge ERA's. My point is that I am not some fairweather fan... I am in it through thick and thin.

 

My Tigers experience has evolved with the team, culminating in the high point of my sporting life, when I witnessed the Tigers sweep the Yankees, live from Comerica Park in 2007, and promptly lost my voice for a week. The team that is assembled this year is fearsome and scary by any measure. They will have Pudge Rodriguez batting eighth and Edgar Renteria, who batted .332 will set Pudge up batting 7th....7th! Lets just say I am in for a good year, pity those poor Yankee fans.

Democratic Superdelegate Watch

I just wanted to give everyone out there a link to fantastic site that is keeping a real time count of the superdelegates on the democratic side. These guys are doing a phenomenal job, and if you are a political junkie like me, this is better then a Starbuck's coffee at 5am. It is called Democratic Convention Watch. Check it out and let me know what you think. Notice the serious trend toward Obama in the past few weeks.

Classical Music and a Nation's Character

Has anyone else out there noticed that a nation and the way in which is functions, and the will of it's people often come across in its classical music? When I hear a piece of classical music written by a Russian composer, it always makes me think the composers main message was "there is no bread," or "were all going to die." As opposed to an American piece where you can often feel the hope and optimism.

In the Russian music, matter how triumphant many parts of the piece are, the main message seems to be one where hope BARELY beats out despair. My main example of this is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Especially with the movement commonly called "The Great Gates of Kiev." This is a triumphant piece, but some parts make you want to give up hope for the motherland and get in line for some bread.

American pieces, on the other hand, practically exude optimism. Look at John Phillips Sousa or Aaron Copeland. One of my favorite pieces is Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." You can not get more optimistic then that.

Now I am no expert when it comes to music and it's sociological aspects, but it seems to me there is a definite correlation.

Those Damn Automatic Faucets

Ok, it is officially time for me to rant. Sometimes on this blog I have pointed out useless products... take for example my blog on Odor Alert Cat Litter. I have something similar to rant about today: automatic faucets and paper towel dispensers. Does this not seem a little over the top?

Half the time you walk over to a sink and start doing the karate chop dance to try and get the damn thing working right, or it suddenly stops sensing your hand in the middle of scrubbing. The other half of the time you are caought seriously examining the faucet for stupid hidden sensor, when there is not one at all.

The other day I was in a movie theater and was frantically waving my hand in front of a paper towel dispenser, only to find out that it had an old fashioned crank on the side. The reason I was confused was because the faucet WAS motion sensor activated...talk about confusing, and way too much work.

I just want to wash my hands in peace and be able to confidently walk over to the paper towel dispenser and get out the right amount...this should not be that difficult. So instead of inventing new ways for me to make a fool of myself in a public bathroom by doing the karate chop paper towel dance, someone should be focusing R & D budgets on something important.

The Simple Pleasure of a Day Off

There are many simple pleasures in life. Some things I would include in that category are: the sublime moment when you climb into bed and let your mind completely wander for the first time all day, the smell of garlic and onions browning in olive oil, and a slurpee on a really hot day. Above all of these I would put a random day off.

I am not talking about a vacation day. That would imply that you are taking the day off for some express reason. I am talking about a day off just to use up a day off. That is what I have coming up on Friday. My wife has it off because she is a teacher and it is her mid-winter break, so I decided to take time off so we could relax together.

This idea of unfettered time off is great. It literally made my whole week better. I was halfway through on Tuesday and as I am writing this I only have one day left in my week. This idea is excellent. Maybe if I get enough time off one day I will take every other Friday off, now that would be great.

Obama and McCain Rally Differences

I was watching the Potomac Primaries this Tuesday, and both Barack Obama and John McCain swept all the contests. If you want my opinion, John McCain needs to work on his rally set up, because after the contests, both he and Obama had a victory rally. Let me give you a photographic representation of both their rallies:

1st John McCain:



2nd: Barack Obama:



Now of course this is a gross graphic misrepresentation, except for the Obama rally because that is a real picture of his. I am serious about the feel though. Standing behind McCain at his rally were 25 of his closest white buddies who are over 70. The guy immediately to his left almost looked DEAD. Now maybe that is his core constituency, but if he hopes to win the general, he might want to get the support of some non-white people who are not already collecting social security. This is a diverse country. Just a thought.

The Fallacy of Valentines Day

I love my wife deeply, madly and so thoroughly it sometimes makes me hurt. My love for her permeates the very core of who I am, and I cannot imagine existence without her. Hugging her is often the very best part of my day. I say all these things not to brag or self promote, but rather to point out that this is my way of life. Loving my wife is part of the fabric of who I am. I do not need a day to remind me, prod me, or goat me into saying or thinking that I love her. That would be false, momentary and fleeting, what I have is eternal. The truth is I will will love her no more tomorrow then any other day, which is to say, immensely.