Although English
singer Dusty Springfield did record some upbeat tracks, such as “I Only Want To
Be With You” and “Son-Of-A Preacher Man”, she was never better than on this
sultry Bacharach-David classic, from the Casino
Royale soundtrack. If you’re looking for something for romantic candle-lit
dinners (or dimly-lit bedrooms), this is a great place to start.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
#28 Walking On Sunshine -- Katrina & The Waves (1985)
OK, I’ll
admit that many of the songs on this list are pretty obscure – after I started
posting it, a friend of mine asked when I would include something that she had
heard of – but I’d think that most people who were alive in 1985 or later are
familiar with this one (and not just because it’s prominently featured in Nick
Hornby’s book/movie High Fidelity).
Perfect summer song, perfect wake-up music, and a perfect example of what you
can do with the classic three-chord progression (I-IV-V for the
musically-inclined).
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
September 8, 2014 – Nationals 2, Braves 1—Nationals Park
Umpires:
HP: Joe West. 1B: Alan Porter. 2B: Marty Foster. 3B: Rob Drake.
Weather:
70 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 15
mph, In from RF.
T: 2:39.
Att:
25,448.
Venue:
Nationals Park.
Following
Rafael Soriano’s most recent blown saves and at least temporary demotion from
the closer’s role for the Nats, Matt Williams has insisted that he will be
employing a “closer-by-committee” approach to finishing off close ballgames, at
least until Soriano is straightened out. After watching Drew Storen handle the
ninth inning the last two days, however, one has to wonder whether or not
Storen may be winning the role for good, regardless of a possible Soriano
resurgence.
Although
the Monday night crowd was not especially large, the game had a playoff
atmosphere throughout. The Nats struck quickly for a run in the top of the
first on singles by Rendon, LaRoche, and Desmond. The starting pitchers
dominated the game through the first six innings, with the Nats’ only other
threat being in the bottom of the third – Werth and LaRoche reached third base
and second base with two outs, but Desmond hit a foul fly to Jason Heyward in
right to end the inning. Doug Fister was even better for the Nats, not allowing
at Atlanta runner past first base in his first six innings.
Fister
faltered a bit in the seventh, walking Freddie Freeman to lead off the inning
and Tommy La Stella with two outs. This prompted a mound visit by manager Matt
Williams, who elected to leave Fister in to the delight of the crowd. The Nats
starter then finished off his seven innings of shutout ball by inducing a
grounder to short by Andrelton Simmons.
After the
stretch, the Nats added an important insurance run in the bottom of the frame,
as pinch-runner Jeff Kobernus scored from third on a Rendon grounder, after the
inning started with a Ramos single and an Asdrubal Cabrera double. This run
proved crucial when Tyler Clippard and Matt Thornton, the other two members of
the closer committee, combined to allow an Atlanta run in the top of the eighth
before Craig Stammen came in to prevent further damage. There was no such
suspense in the ninth, as Storen came in to strike out the side, given him 5 Ks
in six batters faced in his Sunday and Monday saves.
Section
135, Row R, seats 10-13 – lower level, down the right field line. Prime foul
ball territory; none came our way, but there was one in the section next to us.
The drive down was uneventful, but the traffic on the freeway and 14th-street
bridge on the way home was even slower than usual. We finally discovered that a
“milling and paving” project was underway that closed the right two lanes of
the bridge as we got close to Virginia, meaning that not only couldn’t we take
our usual ramp to the northbound GW Parkway, but we also couldn’t reach the
southbound Parkway or take the shortcut around the Pentagon parking lots. We
finally got off on Glebe Road and had a leisurely drive through Arlington,
finally reaching the Parkway near the Chain Bridge. (Of course, since it was a
start by the quick-working Fister, I still made it home slightly before
midnight.)
Monday, September 8, 2014
September 7, 2014 – Nationals 3, Phillies 2 – Nationals Park
Umpires:
HP: Tom Woodring. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: Adrian Johnson. 3B: Mike Everitt.
Weather:
75 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 4
mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:20.
Att:
29,108.
In the
Nationals’ epic 14-inning victory in Los Angeles this past Wednesday, Adam
LaRoche was almost certain not to play – in addition to the back stiffness he
had been suffering, he came up with the flu. Nevertheless, Matt Williams called
on him to pinch-hit in the ninth inning, and he drilled a two-run homer to tie
the game. Three innings later, after being drilled in the elbow with a pitch in
the eleventh, he singled in two more runs to give the Nats the lead (which they
promptly gave back in the bottom of the inning). In the fourteenth, he drove in
what finally proved to the winning run by beating out a potential inning-ending
double play. After the cross-country plane trip on Thursday, he followed up on
Friday with a two-run homer in the first against the Phillies (in a game the
Nats eventually lost in 11).
On Sunday,
LaRoche again provided most of the offense for the Nats, with homers leading
off the second and fourth innings off Phillies ace Cole Hamels. (Showing my
incredible baseball expertise [sarcasm alert], I had speculated that Matt
Williams might give LaRoche the day off against the left-handed Hamels.) The
Nats took their first lead of the game and concluded the scoring in the bottom
of the sixth on an Ian Desmond double, a balk call on Hamels, and a long
sacrifice fly by Hamels-killer Scott Hairston.
The balk
was not the only play where the umpires figured into the action. The Phillies
had taken the lead in the top of the first when the Nats, playing as if they
were intent on continuing their recent struggles against the Phils, threw the
ball away twice on a Marlon Byrd single, with Grady Sizemore scoring from first
and Byrd winding up at third. Phils manager Ryne Sandberg argued to no avail
that Byrd should have been awarded home as well. In the top of the eighth, Ben
Revere led off with a pinch single and appeared to steal second base
successfully, but was ruled out when Williams challenged the initial call.
The
weather was beautiful – about 15 degrees cooler than Saturday with much less
humidity – but the sun was tough on the centerfielders. Tony Gwynn Jr. lost a
fly ball by Desmond in the bottom of the second, but Hamels pitched out of it.
The Nats were not so lucky in the top of the fourth, when Carlos Ruiz doubled
on a ball that Denard Span lost in the sun, and subsequently scored the Phils’
second run on a Marlon Byrd single and a Darin Ruf sac fly.
Drew
Storen had no trouble getting the save in lieu of the demoted Rafael Soriano,
coming up with a 1-2-3 ninth inning culminating in a strikeout of Phils
pinch-hitter Ryan Howard.
We finally
used our Red Carpets Rewards points to get seats in the last row of Section 112
(UU, 8-11) – just beyond third base, nice view, in the shade. For the second
time this season, I purchased one of the overpriced (but good) chicken shawarmas
from Shawafel. (Judging from the lack of a line every time I’ve been by, I
wonder whether they will be back next year.)
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