As everyone knows and has been addressed on this site already, pitcher Armando Galarraga recently lost a perfect game when the umpire missed a call, a fact he quickly and regretfully admitted. Hearing of this injustice, Commissioner Bud Selig exploded into action and did what he does best: add Wild Card teams to the playoffs. I kid, instead he declined to act while issuing a vague statement about possible future actions (it’s a lot like baseball’s steroid policy for most of his reign). Seeing as Bud forbids addressing the past and everyone’s still upset about the lost perfect game, it seems there’s only one thing to do: schedule a new one. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Sean Cunningham
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When a woman reaches a certain age, she realizes that she is no longer relevant. Her hair loses its luster, her ass gets larger, and her skin gets dry and crackly. Tight jeans are replaced by loose-fitting pajama pants. Men no longer whistle as she walks by. In fact, they don’t even look at her, probably because she is pushing a double stroller while carrying three large diaper bags on one arm, two sippy cups in one hand, and a container full of Cheerios in the other hand. And it’s not only her appearance that’s taken a hit; her lifestyle sure isn’t what it used to be. [Read more →]

Tags: his & hers by Nancy DeGregorio
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Earlier this week, I observed the birthday of Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO and Master of the King’s Musick, born on June 2, 1857. I noted that his birthday coincides with that time of year when one of his works, Pomp and Circumstance March #1 (“Land of Hope and Glory”) is heard so much, in so many places.
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Tags: education by Jeff McDonald
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There are things in life we are always going to remember. Things like your first day of school, your first kiss, and your first child’s birth. These are moments that will flash in your head from time to time, and that you have a permanent mental picture saved in your memory bank. One such moment like that for me was the first time I heard N.W.A.’s album “Straight Outta Compton”. 

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Tags: art & entertainment, music by Marty O'Connor
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Tags: fashion & clothing, his & hers by Glenn Giangrande
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On Wednesday night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game. Only he didn’t. At least, he won’t get credited with having thrown one. With two outs in the ninth inning, Cleveland infielder Jason Donald hit a bouncer that first baseman Miguel Cabrera had to range to his right to field. Field it he did, and he tossed to Galarraga, who was covering first. The throw beat the runner by a step and the game should have been over and the perfect game complete. It was not to be. Umpire Jim Joyce, stationed at first base for the evening, inexplicably called Donald safe. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Alan Spoll
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Former CIA director R. James Woolsey has written an interesting piece for National Review Online in which he draws parallels between present-day Iran and Nazi Germany.

Will Obama and other world leaders respond to the Iranian threat like Winston Churchill or Neville Chamberlain? 

Tags: politics & government, terror & war by Paul Davis
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With one annual exception, I rarely spend much time watching reality shows on television. That exception has arrived this month, as I feast upon a slew of food- and cooking-themed programs.
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Tags: recipes & food, television by Jeff McDonald
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May 21, 2010
I dream I live in a fancy community of witches and warlocks situated near an amusement park. We hear bad omens and our worst fears come true. A very sophisticated rival group has sent over their crows to let us know there is to be a challenge. During a pool party we attempt to figure out how we will be attacked. On the night of the big skirmish I and several other less intrepid wizards congregate at the top of the roller coaster to wait this thing out.

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Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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What happens when the day you have been breathlessly anticipating finally arrives? You start to think it will never happen, and then just like that, you are sitting in a dark theater surrounded by gaggles of other like-minded women (and a few men). You and the other women just know that you will love Sex and the City 2, because you have loved these characters for years, and you would follow these four women anywhere. Those who never cared for the television series may not care for the film, but the filmmakers made this film for you, and other devotees of the television series. But while I loved the experience, Sex and the City 2 needs a clearer story and stronger writing. Like many sequels, Sex and the City 2 is not as satisfying as the first film. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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The US Supreme Court made a very… interesting… ruling yesterday.

From the Washington Post:

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a criminal suspect must explicitly invoke the right to remain silent during a police interrogation, a decision that dissenting liberal justices said turns the protections of a Miranda warning “upside down.”

It’s a very, very rare instance where I find myself siding firmly with the liberals on the USSC [Read more →]

Tags: on the law by Mike McGowan
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Reuters has a disturbing story today about the stock price of BP. It is “plunging”:

BP fell close to 17 percent in London trading, wiping $23 billion off its market value, on weekend news that its latest attempt to plug its blown-out seabed well had not worked sparked fears oil could leak into the Gulf until August.

As long as BP is losing money, it cannot muster the resources necessary to pay for the spill cleanup. And if the spill isn’t cleaned up, I think we all know it’s the children who will suffer the most. Well, that, and our faith in our institutions.

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Tags: environment & nature, politics & government by Ricky Sprague
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I love a good memoir! I tend not to enjoy celebrity memoirs as much as I do those books written by relatively ordinary folks who have lived really interesting lives. I’ve reviewed a number of them over the last few years, but The Bucolic Plague is by far the funniest — from the title, which would have made me pick it up all on its own, to Josh’s thanks to Martha Stewart in the Acknowledgments. I started out marking funny passages that I might want to share in this review, but the book quickly became a forest of pink and green Post-It flags.

The names of some characters have been changed, and some are composites of various people, experiences and conversations I had then. If you think that’s unfair, you’ve obviously never lived in a small town and written a memoir about your neighbors.

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Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
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