The Gerber Baby

Ann Turner Cook, the original Gerber baby, whose face sold billions of jars of baby food, died today at 95. May she RIP.

A Comeback Win!

THAT was a fantastic end to the Brewers game tonight!  

I'd all but conceded the loss and was ready to go to bed - down by 3 at home, and facing the second best reliever in the game, Taylor Rogers, it was a safe bet  -but bam! A bases loaded triple by Jace Peterson ties it, and an improbable single by the 0 for his last 31 Andrew McCutchen brings the win! 

That W, btw, went to 27 year old undrafted Peter Strzelecki, who worked two innings in his major league debut. 

Nicely done gentlemen!

The Brewers are now 33-20 and sit atop the NL Central. 

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

First off, congratulations to Queen Elizabeth on her Platinum Jubilee. 

Second, I don't know what was really going through her mind as her Great-Grandson Louis threw a tantrum, but to me, she looks quietly - and charmingly  - amused. 

And in other pictures, she sure looks like a proud Great-Grandma, doesn't she?

Smiley's New Car!

Smiley just bought a new (to him) car. It's a 2010 Mazda CX-3, bought off Lisa's ex-brother in law Matt. He loves it!!

A Dream

 Last night I dreamt I was in a labyrinthine hotel that was falling apart. Not from abandonment or a lack of maintenance, but almost like bits and pieces of it were being consumed.  At some point I was put in charge of a group of people seeking to escape; when failure was certain, and all hope was lost, I let one of the group call her Grandma and say goodbye, and then she handed the phone back. I then gave it to the next person to make a farewell call  . . . 

And I was suddenly in the outfield of a softball field, playing in left center.  A batter hit a sharp blast that I chased down and caught, and I fired a perfect strike to first to chase the runner back. The second baseman - none other than Gov Tony Evers - gave me a thumbs up in appreciation. 

Yeah. Maybe somebody spiked the CCAP machine. 

Moon Knight

 

Out of all the thousands of comic books I've read- and yes, I do think "thousands" is accurate - the number that I remember featuring  Moon Knight is exactly . . . zero.

So color me super shocked when I found myself really enjoying this  limited series. 

Maybe it was the acting. For one, Oscar Isaac is superb as Steven Grant/Marc Spector, and kudos to Disney for giving him something more than a sh**ty Star Wars script to work with.  Ethan Hawke is no slouch himself as Arthur Harrow, portraying a convincing mix of cold menace and weary duty. 

My only real complaint about the series was its length: six episodes, making the entire run roughly the length of a long movie. I wanted more. 

My grade: A

Quote of the Day

The more you put in a brain the more it will hold - Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout)

Thanks Spectrum

Weather forecaster on Spectrum News last [Saturday] night: "High of 88 tommorow with a chance of cloudiness. We won't see precipitation tho, until Tuesday at the earliest." 

Today, after taking my laptop outside to work on the patio:

My suggestion for MLB: Offensive Assists

 I might have said this before, and if I have - good. It's worth repeating, because I think it's a good idea. I've done a cursory Google search and come up dry, so it might even be a unique idea. I doubt that - I don't see how - but who knows?

Baseball is a game rife with statistics, where every action, even bat angle and launch speed, is measured. If you get on base and score, you are given a run scored. If you knock in a run, you're awarded a RBI. So why no metric that awards a batter for moving a runner (that subsequently scores) into scoring position? 

Case in point: last week Yelich singled Rowdy doubled, moving him to third. McCutchen waked to fill the bases, and the next batter brought Yelich and Rowdy home. 

Ok. So they both get a Run, and the batter a RBI. But other than adding to his batting average and slugging percentage, Rowdy got no recognition (formal that is) of his moving Yelich into a position that then made it possible for him to score on the subsequent hit. 

There should be such a statistic. And it should be called an Offensive Assist. If you move a runner from first to either second or third, be it by a walk, hit, or fly out, and they score during a subsequent at-bat, you get credit. 

Period pooh. 

 

Preach

Dan and I repeatedly supported others businesses by utilizing them or sending them business over the years only for them to skip over my recommendations further down the road. 

Just goes to show, it's best to keep only your own interests in mind in choosing businesses to patronize. Don't ever assume favors will be returned. 

 -Lisa

Ray Liotta

The great Ray Liotta, star of Goodfellas, Field of Dreams,  The Many Saints of Newark,  and many more films, has died at 67. RIP

I'm not sure their generation is as pro-mass transit as they say they are lol

Waiting for a bus when it doesn’t have the little booth is the most embarrassing thing imaginable

Or when it starts moving right when you go to sit down, and you hold on to those poles on the bus like your salary depends on it

  - Smiley

Don't Be a Mooch

Damn right,  no gas no squeegie.

Quote of the Day

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop

Heartbreaking

BREAKING: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott identifies TX school shooter as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old who lived in Uvalde, which is about 90 minutes from San Antonio. He reportedly first shot and killed his grandmother, then went to Robb Elementary School, where the governor says Ramos "horrifically, incomprehensibly" shot and killed 14 students and a teacher. Ramos killed by responding officers who were hurt in an exchange of gunfire. Those officers are expected to be OK. ABC News

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Lu and I took advantage of $5 Tuesdays to check out Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 

I don't know how I feel about it. The visuals were impressive, and there were some great fight scenes and genuine horror - that scene with Black Bolt? Whoa.

But all in all I thought it was chaotic and pointless, like Marvel ordered "a Doctor Strange sequel with a side of Boo!" and they went with whatever storyline they could hang that description on. 

I don't think its a spoiler to mention that the Scarlet Witch is the main villain here, which is my main cry of bulls**t with the film. It isn't, as some writers have said, because it's a "sexist trope" to have a woman go mad with loss. Last time I checked, if that's a trope and not just a genuine human reaction, it's universal to characters of both sexes - see the Punisher, Death Wish, tons of westerns. 

No, my beef is that I thought we settled this dang issue at the end of WandaVision. Bringing her back to regurgitate the same reaction to loss seems . . . stupid. And a waste of a great character. Not to mention it renders the TV series pointless.

 I give this one a C.

Your Eyes Deceive

The late Louis L'amour was/is one of my favorite authors, and I found his son Beau's insight into the story behind this cover photo fascinating. Even when you eyes say something is so, you better double check your sources.

 

Beau notes that Louis barely knew how to drive, never had a license, and never owned a car. Friends or relatives drove him whenever he could talk them into it, other times, he rode the bus or train or walked. On this trip he traveled with a friend, Ed Ross. After Louis died of lung cancer we got a lot of mail from fans about his having been a smoker. It was all because of this picture, which was reproduced on the back cover of his novel "COMSTOCK LODE." Louis never smoked, but the slip of paper that is laying on the counter inside the Post Office was mistaken for a cigarette being held between the fingers of his right hand.

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone by Ethel Waters

I used Shazam to discover Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone by Ethel Waters. 

Years we've been together 

Seems we can't get along,

No matter what I do

I don't appeal to you 

Makes no difference whether

I am right or wrong

If we can't be sweethearts 

This much you can do 

 Oh, Honey, though our friendship ceases from now on 

And listen, if you can't say anything real nice 

t's better not to talk at all, that's my advice 

We're parting, you go your way, I'll go mine 

It's best that we do 

Here's a kiss, I hope that this brings lots of luck to you 

Makes no difference how I carry on

 Just remember Please don't talk about me when I'm gone.

Writer(s): Sidney Clare, Bee Palmer, Sammy H. Stept Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com

Been There, Done That

The family down the block is screaming and slamming things and making a spectacle in the street. Good to see others following our example.

Budget Cuts close Cool Waters

This is horrible news. 

Our family has had great times at that county-run water park - you can find birthday parties there posted here, on Slapinions, if you look hard enough. First it closed for Covid, now for budget cuts. 

 I hope they open it up for 2023. Summer isn't the same without it.

HOF Baseball Writer Roger Angell, age 101, has passed away

Since baseball time is measured only in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly; keep hitting, keep the rally alive, and you have defeated time. You remain forever young." 

Goodnight Roger Angell. RIP

A Statement from YaYa

Long, emotional post because I can:

For the past three years I’ve been struggling to feel content or productive within my major of study @ UWM. I’ve had to really reflect on my academics and why I’ve been struggling to progress in a field of study that I’m clearly very passionate about. 

Theatre has been my life for a long time. I can’t remember my life without it and I can’t see my future without it, either. Studying theatre every day since 2015 (thanks, public arts-centric education) has been amazing and I’ve learned enough to feel concrete in my love for the art form. I feel so strongly towards theatre education and the benefits that youth receive from it, but the program at UWM just wasn’t enough for me. 

Intimate class sizes (usually about 4-12 students) seemed so ideal in the beginning but I’d come to dread seeing the same people in each class every day. And not because I don’t like the other theatre ed students - but because it felt very repetitive and stagnant. 

Because of the pandemic, my experience shifted and I was involuntarily removed from tech crews, the campus dorms, and more. It felt like everything I knew was uprooted in a matter of weeks- and though I had hoped I would regain my footing and drive, it never happened. Between the lack of accessible online courses in the theatre ed program and the lack of variety, it just wasn’t working for me.

It took me a long time to come to this conclusion because I love theatre education, period. I’ve been hurting because it stings to accept that I’m moving on. 

But I think it’s for the better.

Today I’ve officially declared a new major of study, Community Engagement & Education. I think this will be a great fit for me and I’m excited to see where it takes me. My path towards higher education hasn’t been linear and it’s been difficult to acknowledge at times. But when I get that degree- and I WILL get there, a few years later- I’ll feel proud. 

As (Doctor) Taylor Swift said: “Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release. I’m trying to tell you that losing things doesn’t just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.”

Why?

i will never forget being told this by someone who had two cents to their name - LuLu

RIP Nipper

This morning Lisa and I drove my mother-in-law to put her cat Nipper, age 16, who was sick with heart disease and fluid on her lungs, to sleep. 

Tears were shed,  but Nipper's pain is gone. She will be missed

Nipper

RIP Nipper, say hi to Grandpa Jaspare - Grandma Jeanne