“Too many politicians, in both parties, promise to be “fighters” when they run for office. But the last thing Congress needs is more brawling.”
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Monday, August 2, 2021
August 1, 2021 – Nats 6, Cubs 5
Weather: 76 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 1 mph, out to CF.
Umpires: HP--Moore, 1B--Eddings, 2B--Knight, 3B--Morales.
Time: 3:20
Attendance - 25,520
Trois étoiles:
#3 – Center fielder Rafael Ortega (Cubs). Hate to recognize
an opponent, but it’s difficult not to when he hit 3 homers and drove in all 5
Chicago runs.
#2 – Josh Bell. Drove in half of Washington’s runs with 3rd
and 4th inning singles.
#1 – Yadiel Hernandez. Leadoff single in the 2nd,
RBI single in the 3rd, solo homer in the 7th to extend
Washington’s lead to 5-3, and a leadoff dinger in the bottom of the 9th
for the walkoff win.
The Chicago offense was nothing if not efficient, as only 4
guys not named Rafael Ortega reached base all afternoon. Two of them got on
while pinch-hitting for the Chicago pitcher, with both scoring on Ortega HRs.
The Cubs left only one runner on base for the game. (The Nats stranded 10.)
The weather wasn’t great, but it could have been worse. The
light rain as the game started soon got heavy enough to clear most of the fans
(including us) from our seats, resulting in some extra grounds crew work on the
infield but no actual interruption in play. Fortunately it lightened up
relatively quickly, and the sun actually appeared late in the game.
Our early arrival once again resulted in free parking, and we took advantage of the extra time to wander down to TaKorean for lunch. (A couple sparrows who landed on our outdoors table looking for crumbs wound up disappointed, though.)
Monday, July 26, 2021
Favorite Best-Of Albums: The Seekers – Capitol Collectors Series
If I ever get to Australia, I want to find a good pub that
features a Seekers cover band.
The group could perhaps be considered part of the British
Invasion, inasmuch as the native Australians first found success in England.
That’s where they met Tom Springfield (brother of Dusty), who produced them and
wrote much of their material. Their sound, which one historian described as “too
pop to be considered strictly folk and too folk to be rock”, nevertheless worked
nicely, highlighted by Judith Durham’s vocals. The AllMusic.com entry for this collection, by Greg
Adams, provides a nice summary:
The Seekers' folk-pop sound formed
a bridge between the Kingston Trio and the Association, putting the Australian
quartet in the same international quasi-folk neighborhood as the Sandpipers and
Peter & Gordon. "Georgy Girl" and "I'll Never Find Another
You" were the group's two big hits, but their repertoire included
everything from traditional folk songs and spirituals to pure pop. With strummy
acoustic guitars and intricate vocal arrangements, the Seekers paved the way
for the folk-oriented pop vocal groups that followed.
Favorite Tracks:
I’ll Never Find Another You
Rattler
A World Of Our Own
Someday, One Day
Island Of Dreams
Morningtown Ride
When The Good Apples Fall (On The Other Side Of My Fence)
Georgy Girl
Cloudy