Tuesday, March 19, 2024

 

It's that time of year!

 

The NCAA basketball tournaments start this week, and (at least on the men's side) people are ready for upsets! That is in part because there were so many upsets in the league championships just concluded. In fact, of the four Number One seeds, only one (Connecticut) won its league's tournament, while Houston, Purdue, and UNC all fell. There was a lot of "bid stealing"-- that is, a situation where a league with a team which is a lock to get into the tournament, but another team wins the league play-off and the automatic bid, meaning that a league that normally only gets one team in will get two. 

In my own bracket, I'm favoring those hot teams that won their league, including 10-seed (in the league play-offs) ACC champion NC State. After all, those are the teams that are good NOW, rather than in December. A lot changes...

The action gets hot and heavy on Thursday and Friday, right through the weekend....

Monday, March 18, 2024

 

Poems of pizza!

 


Y'all were all in on the pizza haiku!

It was great to see CraigA weighing in:

Pepi’s pizzeria:
My beloved college pie shop
of old – beer and za.

And relatedly (maybe), "Eli":

New Haven street cred
Knowing, defending your fave
For me? Frank Pepe's.

An anonymous entry called out one of the greats:

Oh, Lou Malnati’s!
Though folks may love your toppings
It’s all about the crust

And Desiree is thinking New York:

Perfect slice? There is
a correct answer. Thin crust,
bought in the Village.

Jill Scoggins has memories:

I still have some dreams
about Shakespeare’s Pizza at
Mizzou. So, so good.

IPLawGuy is messed up in the head (I don't think he knows anchovies are fish):

Anchovies need riz
Better for you than sausage
or pepperoni

And Christine, just no (snails?!?!?):

The age old debate
Pineapple on pizza? Yes!
It's a blank canvas

An all time fav'rite
French Country pizza with snails
And smoked gouda, yum

But the Medievalist... isn't that the 9-9-9 guy?:

Godfather’s combo,
A bit of everything!
So delicious.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

 

Sunday Reflection: All I cannot see

 


One of the best, and hardest, things about faith-- any faith-- is the humility if forces on you, that acknowledgment that if there is some higher power or powers, then you will never have complete mastery of this world or really any part of it. We see through a glass darkly what God sees clearly.

It's not in our nature, of course; we are drawn towards understanding and mastery. But it is one thing to strive to find out truth, but another to imagine we have attained it. 

What do you see in the photo above? And how sure are you?

Saturday, March 16, 2024

 

Speaking of hockey hair....

 Check out Craig A back in the day-- that's him in the middle. It's a little grainy, but they didn't have modern cameras back then, with the lenses and everything, but Quaker Oat boxes with a pinhole.  And the Colgate player in the upper right is future NHL star Mike Milbury....




Friday, March 15, 2024

 

Haiku Friday: Pizza

 


I've been lucky to live in three places with very distinctive styles of pizza: New Haven, Chicago, and Detroit. I'm partial to Detroit-style, though I love a hot pie an Modern, too. Sadly, my time in Waco and Minneapolis hasn't yielded anything like I got in those three other cities.

So, let's haiku about pizza this week-- what you like, a favorite place, whatever. Here, I will go first:

New York style pizza?
Limpid floppy walking dough
I'm no fold-over!

Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun! 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

 

Political Mayhem Thursday: Jesse Ventura for VP?

 


Former Minnesota Governor and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura is apparently being considered as a running mate for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who will be on the ballot in many states. Yeah, Kennedy is a kinda-crazy vaccine opponent, but the return of Ventura to the campaign trail could sure make things interesting!

For those of you who missed his bonkers career, Ventura had the following roles:

-- From 1969-1975, he was in the US Navy, serving as an underwater demolition expert.
-- In the late '70's he served as a bodyguard for The Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead.
-- In 1979, he began wrestling in the Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association.
-- From 1981 to 1987 or so, he wrestled in the WWF (later the WWE)
-- After that, he was a commentator on wrestling shows
-- He also turned to acting, and was the co-star (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the original Predator film.
-- In 1990, he ran to be the Mayor of Brooklyn Park, a Minneapolis suburb. He won, and served until 1995.
-- Then, in 1998, he beat the Republican (Norm Coleman) and Democrat (Skip Humphrey) as the Reform Party candidate for governor. He chose not to run for a second term. 
-- Most recently, he successfully pushed for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota.

No, I won't vote for Kennedy and Ventura-- but it could make things interesting, and they could skim more votes from Trump than Biden.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

 

SOTU-- and what comes next

 

I started out watching Joe Biden's State of the Union address last week in kind of a protective crouch, waiting for disaster to happen. It didn't though-- he really exceeded my expectations and I thought it was a pretty good speech. Sure, he didn't mention criminal law at all, but... sigh. 
 
Anyways, I thought the speech would go a long way towards addressing the allegations that he lacks mental acuity. Sure, he was reading from a teleprompter (as all presidents have in modern times), but he seemed sharp for about an hour, which is something I can't always say for my lectures. 
 
Unfortunately, the polls show no bump for him from that performance-- which was exactly what I though he needed to get a bump. That's pretty discouraging.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

 

It's that time-- for the Minnesota Boys Hockey Hair Team

 

You know what I want? A picture of CraigA in his playing days back at Colgate-- I'll bet there was some serious flow...

Monday, March 11, 2024

 

Spring Break Poetry

 Hey, nice job this week! I am most intrigued by the Medievalist's, who is apparently in Minnesota:
 
Spending time with Dad,
Beautiful fire in the stove,
Relaxing from work.

And then Desiree has a twist on warm sand:
 
Leaving on a jet
plane, off to New Mexico.
No beach, lotsa sand.

Christine remembers well:
 
Sun, sand, Easter friends
Sticky Hawaiian Tropic
2 weeks of heaven.

And, sadly, Jill Scoggins doesn't get one!:

Faculty, students
Get spring break. Staff don’t. I don’t.
Unfair it is, no?

Sunday, March 10, 2024

 

Sunday Reflection: The Cloud of Saints

 

None of us have done what we have done-- good or bad-- alone. 
 
There are times I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. There are other times I sense a cloud of Saints around me. Not the Saints the Catholics recognize, but those Saints that played a part in my life: who loved me, who guided me, who challenged me, who told me when I was wrong and when I was right. I have a LOT of Saints. A lot. 
 
Pictured above (with me and Chris Lynch-- notably, I have the same hairstyle I do now) are Bill and Jane Smith, and they are part of that beloved group. The lived down the block from me when I was a kid. On the way home from school, I would stop at their house and read a book on the porch; when I finished one, Mrs. Smith would bring me another, and maybe an apple. When I was in high school, they advocated for William and Mary, and I took their advice. Then I knew them the rest of their lives, and loved their company. Mr. Smith referred to his wife as "Champ," and he was right.
 
The best kind of Saint...

Saturday, March 09, 2024

 

If you missed the Republican Response to the SOTU...

 ... it was a doozy, featuring Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, the state that just keeps giving. And no, this isn't a parody-- it's her actual response. So many questions!
 
-- why is she in a kitchen?
-- does her shifting from cheerleader-ish happiness to tearful sadness in six seconds indicate a need to maybe seek some help?
-- is she like this all the time?
 

 


Friday, March 08, 2024

 

Haiku Friday: Spring Break!

 

Maybe you don't get Spring Break-- but I bet you once did! Let's haiku about that this week. Here, I will go first:
 
IPLawGuy, me
Each year, head out West to ski 
Sun, snow, speed, and food.
 
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable formula, and have some fun!

Thursday, March 07, 2024

 

Political Mayhem Thursday: The other Super Tuesday results

 

Yes, Super Tuesday made it Super Clear that the presidential race will be between Biden and Trump again. Sigh. But that's not the only thing of note that happened! There were also these results:
 
-- In California's primary for Senate, the top two spots went to Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey (yeah, the baseball player). Coming in behind them and thus not making the general election were two very significant female members of Congress, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter, both of whom gave up their seats in Congress to run. It's a net loss to loser them from the House. 
 
-- In the North Carolina gubernatorial primaries, the Democratic Attorney General, Josh Stein, and the Republican Lieutenant Governor, Mark Robinson, won. Stein is a moderate. Robinson is a full-on MAGA Man, and has attacked Michelle Obama, the Parkland school shooting victims,  and the LGBTQ community,while casting doubt on the Holocaust, the 9/11 attacks and the moon landing.
 
-- In Texas, Senator Ted Cruz will face Congressman Colin Allred, a civil rights lawyer. I've never understood how Texans can even stand Ted Cruz, but they have.
 
-- In Houston, District Attorney Kim Ogg was soundly defeated by Sean Teare, who talked about expanding diversion programs. Meanwhile in Austin, incumbent Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza defeated an opponent who criticized Garza's progressive reforms and prosecution of police officers accused of shooting civilians.
 
-- 

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

 

The Left Coast

 

I'm kind of fascinated by this map at the New York Times, which shows the primary results in the California Senate race, showing the divide between counties where Democrat Adam Schiff won and those won by Republican Steve Garvey. (There were also two significant other Dems in the race, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee). 
 
Except for Orange County (south of LA) and San Diego County at the bottom of the map and Del Norte at the top, the coast all went to Schiff-- and two of those might shift when the race is down to two. It's a really stark divide, and one we outsiders don't always perceive about the state: when we talk about wealthy and affluent California, we are talking about the coast. The inland areas are very different, and not just regarding politics...

Tuesday, March 05, 2024

 

The dinosaurs among us

 

It's always fascinating when a fringe theory becomes and accepted truth. One of the most fascinating such shifts in my own lifetime is the theory (now generally accepted) that birds are a surviving kind of dinosaur-- egg-laying, warm blooded animals with the same characteristics. Specifically, they are part of a group of dinosaurs called Theropods which walked on two legs. In fact, fan favorite Tyranosaurus Rex was a theropod.
 
 I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid, and this news would have fascinated me: dinosaurs everywhere! Even now, it gives me a little jolt of joy...

Monday, March 04, 2024

 

Sickness (and health)

 So, I got better! Thanks for the well-wishes-- and the haiku.

Dr. Price (who should know about this) offered not just one:

Not an infection;
no longer a death sentence;
exceedingly rare.
 
But two!:
 
Autoimmune non-
sense. Awakening weary;
exhausted by night.

Des, I think, IS sick:
 
I so wanted to
write a good haiku this week
but the bugs got me. 

The Medievalist is dialed in and dodged it:
 
Congested, no fever,
Big positive for Covid,
Never really sick.

Christine has a cure:
 
Maybe chicken soup
Covid, covid go away...
Will cure what ails you.

And here is another cure!:

Rest, rest, rest is best!
With a pillow 'neath his head
Put this bird to bed!

Sunday, March 03, 2024

 

Sunday Reflection: Faith and place

 


While I've been laid up with COVID this week, I spent some time binge-watching the Friday Night Lights TV show (which came after the movie). Something about it hit me really hard.

There are things about that show to criticize, but they seemed to get many things right about the Texas that exists outside of Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. They got the light at dusk right, and the kind of places that people go to eat. There is prayer before a football game at a public school and no one seems to think about that too hard. The place that sells "Ghost Hunting Supplies" is also somehow "connected to" the Christian Life Church of Waco. Spectacular kindness and horrific cruelty exist in the same places, and great beauty is a few feet from stark ugliness: a barren wasteland of used car lots and sketchy businesses backs up to our neighborhood, where there are fairy lights in a live oak, and people are having dinner in the moonlight, children in the pool nearby. 

I lived in Waco for ten years, from 2000 through 2010. I never fit in there, of course, except when I did. I made friends easily, and lost some as well. I wasn't really a Baptist, except for believing fervently in the Priesthood of the Believer, the rejection of creeds, the focus on Christ, the easy way they talked about faith, and my own adult baptism. I worried no one would visit, but my best friend,  from DC, came so often he learned where to stop for a shake before he came to the house, and my Dad set up shop in the yard with his easel for a few weeks at a time, my mom out chatting with neighbors. I wasn't a Republican, or conservative, or from there, or particularly useful to the community, but they made me the Waco of the Year. There was such deep injustice, but those who saw it. I wouldn't want to move back, but there are people I miss very much. 

It's the only place I've ever lived where (as someone who talks about Christianity a lot) I felt like I was in the majority-- that is, where the majority of people not only said they were Christian, but actually went to church. There were ways that was good, even great-- I found such community-- but I'm not sure Christianity is meant to be a super-majority religion. Where it gets that status, like in Texas, it seems to turn on itself, to support cruelty and exclusion, too often. But those weren't the people whose voices I heard as we prayed, humble and true. 



Saturday, March 02, 2024

 

The whole Caitlin Clark thing....

 Don't get it? Watch this:





Friday, March 01, 2024

 

Haiku Friday: Illness

 


I'm working through my second round with COVID, and it's not much fun this time, either. Yesterday I taught my 1L's via Zoom and... well, I wasn't very good. But one thing I love about our students is the grace they extend us.

So let's haiku about illness this week. It's kind of a strange thing, if you think about it-- these tiny little beings, too small to see, occupy your body and make you feel terrible. We often imagine the threat of huge monsters, but it is the smallest ones that hurt us.

Here, I will go first:

Getting better now
Not so woozy babble-ish
Go antibodies!

Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!

Thursday, February 29, 2024

 

PMT: Plug pulled on Apple Car

 


I saw on Twitter that the manufacturer has given up on making the Apple Car, which is really too bad-- it seemed like a great way to traverse this busy busy world.

I was always a fan of Lowly Worm and his Apple Car, though I was suspicious of the oddly small wheels on the thing. It did seem to scoot right along and had plenty of room for all the stuff a worm might need.

Of course, my own dream vehicle was the pencil car, which can seat up to five (mice):



Sorry for my digression from the usual political mayhem. I have a very little case of COVID right now, and just can't bring myself to wallow into that kind of news....


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