In yesterday’s Pirates-Padres game, Pirate pitcher Rich Hill got the win (his 7th), lasting 6 innings and giving up four runs. He faced Nellie Cruz three times, twice retiring Cruz, and once yielding a run-scoring single. When Cruz reached first, he may have turned to first-bagger Carlos Santana and said “Oy!” The reason these confrontations are noteworthy is that Hill and Cruz are the two oldest players currently in MLB. Hill turned 43 on March 11, and Nelson will celebrate his 43rd on Saturday. Cruz has 464 lifetime home runs. In the six-year period 2014-2019 he averaged over 40 HR and 105 RBI a year. Hill’s lifetime record is 89-66 with a 3.89 ERA.
Hill looks like your Uncle Morty up there on the mound after a sleepless night from his enlarged prostate. Cruz is graying but still looks pretty spiffy.
In the puzzle today, 33D was “Like a free ride when you’ve already paid, per a 1996 hit,” and the answer was IRONIC. It’s a line from the Alanis Morissette song Ironic. At the time, a big topic of discussion was whether the examples she used in her lyrics are actually ironic. Rex noted NPR had a segment with an English professor on the issue. I wish I had heard it. Here are ten examples from the song, most of which don’t seem ironic:
(1) An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
(2) It’s a black fly in your Chardonnay
(3) It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late
(4) It’s like rain on your wedding day
(5) It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
(6) It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
(7) A traffic jam when you’re already late
(8) A “No Smoking” sign on your cigarette break
(9) It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
(10) It’s meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
For one thing, aren’t (2) and (4) just bad luck? Where’s the irony? Comedian Ed Byrne said the only thing ironic about the song is that it’s called Ironic. Alanis herself admitted that she was using the term very loosely.
If your subscription to Fig City News has lapsed, then you missed the neat story on friend Alan’s pollinator garden that is in full bloom and was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony recently, the surprising part of which was that Alan is apparently trusted with scissors or some sort of sharp instrument. Along with the leader of an Eagle Scout troop, Alan spent months planning the garden, securing funding, and engaging the City’s Parks, Recreation & Culture Department. It’s in Cold Spring Park in Newton, MA; Alan is the Prez of the Friends of CSP.
As the article notes, the garden is composed of native plants that attract and nurture native birds, insects (including bumblebees and 10 species of butterfly), and amphibians. Insect pollinators — which are needed to support the procreation of 85% of plants — are in danger of significant decline, and gardens like this one counteract that trend locally.
Thanks to Owl Chatter friend Andreae, Newton Councilwoman (Councilor?) for this story! Easy with that blade, Alan!
It’s the birthday of the widely-loved Michigan girl Gilda Radner today. Gilda would have been 77, were it not for her untimely death way back on May 20, 1989, at age 42, just over 34 years ago. The cause of death was cancer. Gilda also struggled for many years with bulimia.
Rolling Stone said of her: “Gilda was the most beloved of the original [SNL] cast. In the years between Mary Tyler Moore and Seinfeld’s Elaine, Radner was the prototype for the brainy city girl with a bundle of neuroses.”
Here are several things she said:
I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch.
I’d much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they’re the first to be rescued off sinking ships.
Adopted kids are such a pain – you have to teach them how to look like you.
And this line of hers may be the best I’ve ever heard on overeating: “I’m so full I can’t hear.”
Happy Birthday, Gilda!
Owl Chatter Nit-Picking Dept.
The puzzle today had “Harbinger of danger,” for CANARY in a COAL MINE.
smalltowndoc asked: “Is a CANARY in a COAL MINE really a harbinger of danger? Shouldn’t it be a dead CANARY in a COAL MINE?”
Mr. Grumpypants replied: “The canary keels over before it dies and before humans would be affected, so, yes, that was accurate.”
Okay. Thanks fellas.
If you’re not familiar with Randy Rainbow, try this one.
That will do for today. See you tomorrow.
The Wellington Files 