It's All About Baseball

In a few days, the World Series will get under way. As most people know, I have always been a Yankee fan. I have borne the scorn of my friends for being a Yankee fan - for, again as you may know, the Yankees are not universally loved. I do not make apologies for the Yankees, they are what they are. I do not approve of everything they do, especially the huge, obnoxious sums of money they throw at players (see the upcoming purchase of Cliff Lee as a perfect example). I am, for the most part, a baseball purist and really want to watch games for the sake of the game. (And don't I know that the preceding sentence is going to get me in trouble.)

Well the Yankees got sent packing - and of course they will be back next year. Congratulations to the Texas Rangers - it is nice to see a team that has never been to the World Series get there - it was hard to root against Nolan Ryan. Ryan is one of those players that played the game for the game. He is why people love this game. But let's remember that guy who used to be part owner of the Rangers. And that they used to be the Washington Senators. And their manager used to be Ted Williams. And . . .

Good luck to the Rangers who will face off against the San Francisco Giants in the Fall Classic. Both Pennant series were great displays of baseball and I hope the World Series will not disappoint.

Baseball has become an industry. It's not a pastime anymore. Owners, agents and "superplayers" have definitely polluted the game. Scandals have rocked the game and money has driven fans away. But I will continue to watch. It's broken, but there isn't an easy fix.

To that end, here is something I spotted on McSweeney's the other day.

After You Hit a Home Run:
A Guide for Major League Baseball Players

by Kate Hahn

1. Point to God.
2. Kiss necklace.
3. Kiss your hands, biceps, and shoulders. Kiss each finger, individually.
4. Begin running.
5. At first base, stop, mount podium your agent has rolled out for you, and make thank you speech.
6. Kiss your own mouth, for making such a beautiful speech.
7. Run slowly, very slowly to second. Raise your hands in the air to make the crowd cheer louder. Fist pump! Monster face! Gorilla gallop! Back flip! (Kidding, you're not in that kind of shape.) It's like you are the only player who has ever hit one out of the park!
8. At second base, call agent on cell and demand endorsement deal with God.
9. Between second and third, tackle opposing team's shortstop and ask him, "Who the man? Who the man?" Dance on his chest, pointing to the sky.
10. At third base, build a small church. Invite select group of international dignitaries to attend your first sermon. Preach about how God will make you rich if you follow the right path, especially if it's an uninterrupted path around a major league baseball diamond.
11. Refuse to cross home plate until you have warmed up for your happy dance.
12. Jump on home plate and do happy dance. This should be a signature move that fans associate only with you, or it can be from Footloose, which everyone loves. Either way, it should include pointing at the sky.
13. Do a chicken-walk toward the dugout, emphasizing a head nod at the catcher. This shows the fans you have a sense of humor about yourself. Plus it subtly reminds them to buy your bobblehead doll.
14. Enter dugout. High five your teammates. One high five is not enough! Allot ten minutes. Refuse to come out of dugout again until your agent has gotten you the endorsement deal with God.
    

Forget Spring Cleaning - It's Almost Fall

I really want to be better about doing stuff around the house, really. Unfortunately, there is a lot of "out of sight, out of mind" going around at the Brave Astronaut launchpad. There is a tendency by Mrs. BA (and to a point me) that if you stick something somewhere and close the door/drawer/box, you will forget about it.

That needs to change. As I think I have said before, I have become the custodian of the Brave Astronaut family archives. There are projects that I need to get to as my father has been after me to get him some things that belonged to my mother. There have been some sentimental struggles over this, but I really need to deal with some of this stuff, soon. Most of this stuff is in the "vault," with the rest of the archival materials - also known as the alcove under the stairs.

I recently went after my desk, which sits in the living room. It became a surface upon which to pile things after the computer died and I got my laptop. That only meant there was more room to cover up with crap. A lot of the stuff then got stuffed in the drawers, so I went after them and cleaned things out. I need to begin a systematic purging of stuff that has gotten stuffed into drawers, boxes, cubbies, etc. to determine their value and retention. There might be a virtual yard sale coming up on Craig's List soon.

In order to get more organized, I might need one of these. I could put it in the boy's room, but they wouldn't get it. I certainly need to make more lists to chart my progress, so maybe I should get a stack of these, do you think they come in left-handed style?

Highs and Lows - Happy Halloween

Marking a high, 40 years ago today, someone threw a switch and the Internet was born (no, it wasn't Al Gore). So feel free to spend a little time down the rabbit hole today. Have some birthday cake.

As to the lows, today marks the 80th Anniversary of the first Stock Market Crash that sent the nation and the world spiraling into the Great Depression. What is that saying about history? "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it?" Yeah, something like that. Got any money in your wallet? Maybe we could all go trick or treating for money, instead of candy on Saturday. Remember Unicef boxes? If you are of a certain age, I'm sure you do.

LBA and SoBA will celebrate Halloween at their daycare tomorrow with a costume parade and then on Saturday there will a parade in town and later trick or treating around the neighborhood. Coming of age in the late 70s and early 80s, I trick or treated during the Tylenol scare, stories about razor blades in apples, and being forced to give up loose candy (which to this day I am convinced that it was just my parents way of getting the candy they liked - hey that's what I would do).

Trick or treating today is very much an organized, structured event. In my neighborhood, one only goes to lights with the porch light on, only from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, and never alone. It's a far cry from when I would hit the pavement moments after getting home from school and trick or treat on my own (usually covering most of my neighborhood - about 100 houses at least), arriving home at dark with a sack full of candy. Then there was the inevitable sorting, trading with siblings, losses to parents, etc. But I usually wound up with enough candy to survive a few weeks on sugar rushes.

I will take LBA trick or treating on Saturday, while Mrs. BA and SoBA will stay home to greet the neighborhood children. LBA is dressing up as a robot this year (handmade costume by yours truly) and SoBA will parade around as a fireman.

And if you are at a loss for something to do on Saturday and Halloween is not your thing, but lighthouses are, you could take a trip to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Cape May Lighthouse (New Jersey). I would go, but I've already climbed that lighthouse. Maybe some of you MARACians returning home from Jersey City will make the climb?

Working the Internets

A neighbor and good friend is having brain surgery tomorrow. I am putting the word out through this blog to ask all my friends and readers to take a moment and keep "Coach Jim" in your thoughts tomorrow. Last month, Jim was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which will be removed tomorrow.

Jim has remarked of his situation tomorrow:

Tomorrow is the surgery. I am strong and confident.

I feel strong because I have an amazing family and amazing friends. I am overwhelmed and humbled by all of the cards, messages, phone calls, emails, and wall posts I have received. I want to map where all the prayers will be coming from tomorrow from all over the world.

So let's add to Jim and his family's queue of good wishes, positive thoughts, and prayers. Many thanks.

Of All Things Scrabble

I like the game of Scrabble. I enjoy the alternative version, Lexulous, that one can play on Facebook. (Come, challenge me to a game! - and I am sure that it's Mrs. BA's turn in the game I'm playing with her). I have accumulated a few articles and posts that popped up in my Google Reader regarding the great game of Scrabble - enjoy!

• Skewing the Scrabble Playoffs (from WSJ.com) - with the addition of "za", "qi", and "zzz" to the Scrabble lexicon, some players are calling for the rules to be amended, something that has not happened since the birth of the game in 1948. Mandatory Archival Content Alert! - the post linked above contains an image of Alfred Butts' (the inventor of Scrabble) tabulation sheet wherein he evaluated the commonality of the letters in words and determined how the point values would be assigned to the letters in the game.
• On Buzzfeed - there is a new ad campaign afoot to promote the game.
• From McSweeney's - an "interview" with the letters "Q", "X", "K", "F", "M", "G", "E", and a blank tile on how they are coping with the economic downturn.
  

In a somewhat-related story, here is an interesting story about the changing face of crossword puzzles (seen on Language Hat). Does anyone really know what an "etui" is - or just that it's a common four letter word in most crossword puzzles?

Spanning the Web . . . .

I have a bunch of random things that I have been meaning to toss out here. None, on their own, warrant a post alone, so here's the big bucket of Internet goodies.

• If you want me I am likely playing either of these two new Flash games that I tell myself, sure, I'll only play for a few minutes. Then it's midnight. Ameobas and Filler.
  
• From Jason Kottke (are you following him yet? Is his blog in your reader yet? Why NOT!) - his best links from 2008.
• I had grand ideas of coupling this outstanding poster with some great recipe involving Breakfast Cereal, or perhaps reconstructing Ally Sheedy's sandwich recipe from this movie. But have a look at the poster and laugh.
• I was recently on the 6th Floor Blog and they were discussing cheese. Then I saw this. I had recommended they go to Artisanal, if you have a cheese thing, you have to go - I think it's a law. Perhaps they can just get the clock. Maybe they'll buy me one.
• People wonder and marvel at the ease of the Washington Metro system. They recoil in horror at the prospect of riding the New York City subway. How do you think they'd react to a commute from Omega Centauri to Cygnus? That transfer at Galactic Center is a bear!
• One of the best gifts received by my two sons were large Scrabble tiles with the letters of their names. Thanks OSGs! Now I need one of these.
• Although I LOVE the commercial (nearly spit my drink the first time I saw it - thank God for TiVO so I could verify that they indeed had said that) - I do NOT need one of these, I think.
• One of my other favorite places to visit is Google Sightseeing. The other day they profiled the Very Large Array in New Mexico. I've been there. It's very impressive, but as Mrs. Brave Astronaut says, they couldn't come up with a better name? It's like calling Hoover Dam, the "Really Big Dam."
• Wouldn't you expect this place to be a little bit bigger? Or is it a case of "forgive me for the crudity of the model, [He] didn't have time to build it to scale or paint it?"
• Do you have any money? I would so buy this phone number. And my names not even Jenny - then again neither is the guy who currently has it. It can currently be yours for a cool quarter million dollars on eBay.
• Finally, you all know of my dental troubles. At least I'm not this kid.