When I can’t come up with anything specific (that isn’t so complicated that I’ll get started only to find that I can’t really handle it in a single day’s writing), I usually sit down and give you some random thoughts. Whatever drifts through my mind. When I do that, I usually end up with much more than I expected. Still, it’s always “we’ll see” when I start. Don’t expect much, and if you get more than that, count it as a bonus.
You may have noticed my lack of writing about reading. Last you read, I was starting The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer Prize winner for 1990. I started it a whole month ago (September 26th), so it’s been a while. What can I say? Some books just take longer. It’s hard to get the rhythm (ironically, for a book that features music so prominently). And that doesn’t usually bode well for the book. I can’t go into much detail yet though for a couple of reasons. It would leave me with far less to write about when I do in fact finish the book, and I’ve still got about a hundred pages to go. It could very well surprise me. It’s had its high points so far, but one glaring weakness. Stay tuned for that. You should hear about it in a few days.
On that note, though, I’m in a bit of a quandary. I have my next book picked out, and it’s at the base library, but the base library is closed for remodeling until Sunday. If I finish Mambo Kings too soon, I’ll have to go for my Kindle. I gave away my copies of To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) and The Killer Angels (1975) during my last book purge (yes, I get rid of books I’ve read, especially when I move around — let someone else get them on the cheap), so I don’t have any hard copies of Pulitzers on hand right now. That’s a shame too, because I really think I could have knocked out Killer Angels before the library opened again — it’s a great book and an easy read, even if it’s a few hundred pages.
Who knows? Maybe I can find another Old Man and the Sea — something that won’t keep me on the Kindle too long. I guess I’d better get it out and charge it up…
It’s sports time for this Wisconsin fan. Time to see how my teams are doing.
And it’s a mixed-bag.
The Brewers did their thing in baseball — lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Diamondbacks. And yet I can take heart in this interesting stat: every team that has beaten the Brewers in the playoffs has advanced to the World Series. That came true yet again today when the D-Backs beat the Phillies.
The one error in the above graphic is that the ’82 Cardinals actually beat the Brewers in the World Series itself, an event for which I have never forgiven them (they are the sole team in all professional sports that I actually hate). Other than that, only the ’81 Yankees and the ’18 Dodgers did not actually go on to win it all. So if you want to lay any bets at the end of the season, bet on the team that beats the Brewers in the playoffs. You’re sure to make a buck or two.
In other sports, football season is in full swing, and the Packers are…well, a disaster. We can all lift our chins up and say “this is a rebuilding year,” and that’s true. They’re the youngest team in the league, with a lot of rookies and inexperienced players. But we’re seeing some things of concern that go beyond that. Like a head coach who seems to know the problems (he does a good job of pointing them out after losses), but then does nothing to correct them.
Receivers running the wrong route (and running into each other)? Look again at the next game. They’re still doing it. Terrible offensive line? Next game: same line. No adjustments. Not getting the ball to your best player? Well, he’s been injured…but when he does come back, they don’t get the ball to him.
And so the consternation. I guess we’ll know after this weekend’s game against the Vikings. The Packers have a notoriously bad offensive line with a pocket that collapses regularly. The Vikings have blitzed 50 times more than any other team in football. Sounds like we can pretty much predict what the Vikings are going to do. The key to understanding how the season is going will be in how the Packers respond. If they do something different and creative but it fails? I can live with that. Personnel and execution could be as much of the problem as the coaching. But if we get the obvious with no answers? Well, that is the answer. A coach who can’t figure out how win by preparing for the opponent’s strengths and exploiting their weaknesses.
Stay tuned. Maybe I’ll have something to say about it next week…
I’m not much for basketball, but I’ve liked watching the Milwaukee Bucks play. And this year should be even more exciting — they’ve picked up one of the best guards in the game, Damian Lillard. Milwaukee already have Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the most dominant players of this era. The combination of him and Lillard should make for some good basketball out of the Bucks this year. Maybe even another championship. I know that doesn’t happen too often — the last one before 2021 was 1971, when Lew Alcindor was the MVP. Fifty years. Well, at least that’s a nice round number. Half a century. I was eight.
The world of politics is getting clearer for me. I’ve not voted for a winner in the presidential election since Clinton back in the 90s (and that was mostly out of ignorance). I’m fairly intentional in that respect. I don’t think we’ve had a decent candidate for president for as long as I’ve had the intelligence to vote for one. One would think that the way things are going now, I’m destined for another loser next year. The one thing I’m thinking will happen though is that Donald Trump will not be the Republican Party’s candidate in ’24. There’s just too much time for him to make an absolute fatal error with his mouth and his actions. Now, you may be saying “he’s made it this far and that’s not mattered,” but the reality is that there is enough Trump fatigue going around that it’s only a matter of time before the whole house of cards collapses.
Sure, there’ll still be the same group of true-believing ignoramuses out there, but he’ll be through as a candidate. As I write this, the number of his co-conspirators in the “real steal” (that is, his real attempt to steal the 2020 election, not the made up “stop the steal” steal) who are copping pleas is growing. And Jim Jordan (endorsed by Trump) being bounced out of the House speaker race was another sign that actual smart people still exist in congress (relatively speaking, of course). It also serves as a reminder that Trump is not the “winner” he claims to be. As a matter of fact, his record is abysmal, and the Dems should be in a panic if his endorsements lose any of their pull in Republican minds. He pretty much single-handedly blew the 2022 races up by energizing intelligent people to vote against anyone he endorsed. He’s the gift that keeps on giving, and to lose him would deal a blow to the Democrats in that they won’t have that albatross to hang on anyone’s neck in ’24.
And it’s definitely going that way.
For me though, the problem isn’t really about Trump right now. What the Republicans are doing in the House with the Speakership is the real thing tilting me. I usually vote more conservatively in the down-ballot elections — mostly along Republican lines. But these last few weeks have me leaning Democrat, if only to teach the idiots a lesson. It’s not like I matter, but still, enough people like me could actually make a difference. If I were the Republicans, I’d be worried. It’s not too late, but they’ve got to get their poop together soon before it is.
Stay tuned.
Your take on politics sounds much like my conversation with Dan yesterday. I wish I could agree. People who were sure Hillary would win so they didn’t vote, or people who voted 3rd party instead of one of the contenders (as is their right) are practically silent. Still, if you don’t choose the lesser of 2 evils, you effectively voted for the winner. That means in 2016 you voted for Trump. I hope it doesn’t happen again.
By that logic, I should then perhaps be proud that I’ve voted for the winner in every election because I didn’t vote for the loser. Of course, that’s ridiculous. I’m more than happy though knowing that I’ve got an entirely clean conscience. It is absolutely not my problem that people lack the integrity to vote for the person whom they believe is best for the job (and this starts with the primaries). And it’s even less my problem that political parties playing power games nominate entirely unelectable people. The Dems did it in 2016, and the Republicans could very well do it in 2024 (although, like I said, I don’t think Trump will make it to the election).