I am quite pleased by the Mets' 7-2 win against the Marlins today. The Great Santana had one of the best Opening Day starts in Mets history (only Tom Seaver had more strikeouts on Opening Day - 9-8 - than Santana), the bullpen didn't allow any runs, David Wright had two hits and three RBI, Jose Reyes also had a good game, and no one got injured. The only disturbing aspects were that Wright and Reyes each got caught stealing, both rarities. But overall it was a great start to the season, especially since the Phillies also lost.
I was not pleased by MLB.tv's technical problems. Apparently the site crashed because so many people were trying to watch it this afternoon. You would think that they would have extra bandwidth available in anticipation of Opening Day, but no. So I had to follow the game on ESPN.com instead of watching it live. Arggh.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Addendum to the facebook update
I forgot to mention two things about Scrabulous in my last post:
1. I started out getting TERRIBLE tiles; in my first game I kept getting vowels, and in my second game consonants. I felt like the computer hated me. But now things are evening out a bit.
2. Every time I check my games and I don't have any moves to make, I start another game with someone. I'm currently playing eight games even though I've only been playing for three days. Most of my partners need to check their games more often, only a few are as dedicated as me (and weirdly, two of the most dedicated have names beginning with "K").
I am happy that Scrabulous uses the Tournament Word List (TWL) rather than just the Official SCRABBLE Players' Dictionary (OSPD). The TWL is better because it contains all of the legal words, including words that are deemed "objectionable," i.e., nearly every word related to sex, whereas the OSPD is a censored list because it tries to be "family-friendly." I am glad that the Scrabulous creators realize that to go along with the OSPD's censorship would be antithetical to the spirit of the game, which is to explore and enjoy the English language in all its beauty.
1. I started out getting TERRIBLE tiles; in my first game I kept getting vowels, and in my second game consonants. I felt like the computer hated me. But now things are evening out a bit.
2. Every time I check my games and I don't have any moves to make, I start another game with someone. I'm currently playing eight games even though I've only been playing for three days. Most of my partners need to check their games more often, only a few are as dedicated as me (and weirdly, two of the most dedicated have names beginning with "K").
I am happy that Scrabulous uses the Tournament Word List (TWL) rather than just the Official SCRABBLE Players' Dictionary (OSPD). The TWL is better because it contains all of the legal words, including words that are deemed "objectionable," i.e., nearly every word related to sex, whereas the OSPD is a censored list because it tries to be "family-friendly." I am glad that the Scrabulous creators realize that to go along with the OSPD's censorship would be antithetical to the spirit of the game, which is to explore and enjoy the English language in all its beauty.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
facebook update
I have become a facebook addict. I check it even more than I check my e-mail now - three or more times a day. Yesterday my friend Kara convinced me to add the Scrabulous application, so now there is even more reason for me to check my account because I have to make my SCRABBLE moves.
It's also been interesting to see who I've become friends with. Here is the breakdown so far:
4 childhood friends
4 high school friends
4 college friends/profs
4 graduate school friends
8 New York friends (from the two years I spent in Manhattan between college and grad school)
2 spouses of friends
I have at least semi-regular (once or more every fortnight) facebook interactions with about half of them.
It's also been interesting to see who I've become friends with. Here is the breakdown so far:
4 childhood friends
4 high school friends
4 college friends/profs
4 graduate school friends
8 New York friends (from the two years I spent in Manhattan between college and grad school)
2 spouses of friends
I have at least semi-regular (once or more every fortnight) facebook interactions with about half of them.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thoughts on Robert Herrick's poetry
I possess a general dislike for literature written before 1816 (Frankenstein), but I've been reading some of Robert Herrick's poetry (1591-1674), and it's pretty cool (yes, even the over-anthologized "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"). I am especially drawn to his treatment of the erotic in poems such as "Upon the Loss of His Mistresses," "Cherry-Ripe," "Corinna's Going A Maying," and the unforgettable "Fresh Cheese and Cream." (Would ye have fresh Cheese and Cream? / Julia's Breast can give you them: / And if more; each Nipple cries, / To your Cream, here's Strawberries.) These poems are humorous, almost light verse, yet they are also respectful and profound.
I am especially drawn to "Delight in Disorder," which describes the alluring nature of a woman undoing her clothing before sex. What intrigues me about this poem is that Herrick writes it as an employee of the Church of England, an institution which would certainly not delight in the disordering of things, especially when that disordering involved illicit sex. So Herrick places the erotic in conflict with the religious. The two combatants are closely tied together - the Church is obsessed with sex (what other natural activity has so many rules governing it?), and part of the allure of sex is that it is a traditionally taboo activity - but Herrick's poem forces the reader to choose a side. Do you prefer chaste order, or do you prefer the disorder of "An erring lace" and "tempestuous petticoats?" I know what my choice is.
I am especially drawn to "Delight in Disorder," which describes the alluring nature of a woman undoing her clothing before sex. What intrigues me about this poem is that Herrick writes it as an employee of the Church of England, an institution which would certainly not delight in the disordering of things, especially when that disordering involved illicit sex. So Herrick places the erotic in conflict with the religious. The two combatants are closely tied together - the Church is obsessed with sex (what other natural activity has so many rules governing it?), and part of the allure of sex is that it is a traditionally taboo activity - but Herrick's poem forces the reader to choose a side. Do you prefer chaste order, or do you prefer the disorder of "An erring lace" and "tempestuous petticoats?" I know what my choice is.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
On the watching of baseball
I've been slowly reading through Roger Angell's Season Ticket over the past few weeks. Today I came across an intriguing statement in it from Roy Eisenhardt, former president of the Oakland A's. He says, "The delivery systems of baseball are a great concern now [...] televised baseball is is almost an auto-immune disease [...] Baseball can't really be taken in on television, because of our ingrained habits of TV-watching [which teach us to expect instant gratification ...] Baseball is a terrific radio sport by contrast, because radio feeds our imagination" (92-93).
My baseball-watching experiences jive with this statement. Although I now do a large majority of my baseball-watching via television, I would never have developed a love for baseball without first seeing it live. I became a baseball fan when my dad took me to a Mets game in 1985 when I was five years old. The Mets destroyed the Braves that day something like 13-3 or 14-4, and the two most mythical Mets of the era, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry (whose names along with those of Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter I knew even then, even though at that point in my life I knew basically nothing about the outside world), played important roles in the outcome - Strawberry hit a homerun and Doc got the win. I was hooked. It wasn't just the fact that the Mets had shown that they were an entity to be worshipped with awe and devotion which converted me, but also the communal aspect of watching the game with thousands of other excited fans. The woman sitting next to us kept yelling "Yay Darryl Strawberry!," and gave me some wafer cookies, my favorite at the time. Once I was initiated into the community, I was able to take my appreciation of baseball and apply it to my watching of it on television, but this appreciation probably never would have been developed if I had just experienced televised baseball.
Once I became a fan, I did grow to love watching the Mets on WWOR-TV Channel 9 with Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver announcing. This was back when McCarver was still a serviceable analyst, in large part because he respected Kiner as former player and therefore didn't feel like the burden of offering inside scoops to the viewers about the game rested solely on his shoulders. Now, when he is teamed up with Joe Buck (who is the most insufferable play-by-play announcer of this era) on Fox's baseball telecasts, McCarver tries too hard, he sounds like he thinks he must be brilliant every time he opens his mouth, and as a result is just shrill and annoying.
I also loved listening to the Mets on the radio on WFAN 660 with Bob Murphy, and later Gary Cohen. Aside from the food and the people, the thing I miss most about New York City is WFAN. In junior high I would come home from school and spend the afternoon listening to "Mike and the Mad Dog," and during the winter I would listen to Rangers hockey games at night with Marv Albert or Howie Rose doing play-by-play alongside Sal "Red Light" Messina. During the 1993-94 season when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, I listened to so many of their games that I learned the Canadian national anthem by heart, something I've still been unable to do with "The Star-Spangled Banner," which is the worst national anthem ever - "America the Beautiful" would be a much better choice.
My baseball-watching experiences jive with this statement. Although I now do a large majority of my baseball-watching via television, I would never have developed a love for baseball without first seeing it live. I became a baseball fan when my dad took me to a Mets game in 1985 when I was five years old. The Mets destroyed the Braves that day something like 13-3 or 14-4, and the two most mythical Mets of the era, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry (whose names along with those of Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter I knew even then, even though at that point in my life I knew basically nothing about the outside world), played important roles in the outcome - Strawberry hit a homerun and Doc got the win. I was hooked. It wasn't just the fact that the Mets had shown that they were an entity to be worshipped with awe and devotion which converted me, but also the communal aspect of watching the game with thousands of other excited fans. The woman sitting next to us kept yelling "Yay Darryl Strawberry!," and gave me some wafer cookies, my favorite at the time. Once I was initiated into the community, I was able to take my appreciation of baseball and apply it to my watching of it on television, but this appreciation probably never would have been developed if I had just experienced televised baseball.
Once I became a fan, I did grow to love watching the Mets on WWOR-TV Channel 9 with Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver announcing. This was back when McCarver was still a serviceable analyst, in large part because he respected Kiner as former player and therefore didn't feel like the burden of offering inside scoops to the viewers about the game rested solely on his shoulders. Now, when he is teamed up with Joe Buck (who is the most insufferable play-by-play announcer of this era) on Fox's baseball telecasts, McCarver tries too hard, he sounds like he thinks he must be brilliant every time he opens his mouth, and as a result is just shrill and annoying.
I also loved listening to the Mets on the radio on WFAN 660 with Bob Murphy, and later Gary Cohen. Aside from the food and the people, the thing I miss most about New York City is WFAN. In junior high I would come home from school and spend the afternoon listening to "Mike and the Mad Dog," and during the winter I would listen to Rangers hockey games at night with Marv Albert or Howie Rose doing play-by-play alongside Sal "Red Light" Messina. During the 1993-94 season when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, I listened to so many of their games that I learned the Canadian national anthem by heart, something I've still been unable to do with "The Star-Spangled Banner," which is the worst national anthem ever - "America the Beautiful" would be a much better choice.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thoughts on Song of Solomon
I read Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon this past week for a class, and have come out of it feeling very depressed. The book is excellent in both its craft and its page-turning nature. What depressed me about it is that left me thinking there is no full solution to the problem of racial strife. The only character in the book that tries to fight against racism rather than trying to assimilate to the point of becoming white (Macon) or simply ignoring the issue (Pilate, Milkman) is Guitar, but he uses violent means to do so by attempting to avenge the killing of blacks with the killing of whites. This of course is not a helpful response to racism. But it raises the question, what is? In the fifty or so years since the modern Civil Rights movement began, legislation has improved the situation somewhat, but has still come nowhere near close to fixing the problem. Maybe it will take a full 300 years to completely heal the wounds of 300 years of slavery.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Books Acquired Recently
Books Acquired Recently (again!)
South Street. David Bradley. Used from amazon.com. I recently read Bradley's other novel, The Chaneysville Incident, and it was so good I felt the need to acquire South Street as well.
The Norton Reader. 12th ed. Ed. Linda H. Peterson and John C. Brereton. Free examination copy from the publisher. I might use this for the English 104: Rhetoric and Composition II class I am teaching this summer.
South Street. David Bradley. Used from amazon.com. I recently read Bradley's other novel, The Chaneysville Incident, and it was so good I felt the need to acquire South Street as well.
The Norton Reader. 12th ed. Ed. Linda H. Peterson and John C. Brereton. Free examination copy from the publisher. I might use this for the English 104: Rhetoric and Composition II class I am teaching this summer.
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