Here’s a post by John Leigh of the Dull Men’s Club (UK):
This is a picture of the bathroom in our Belgian hotel. I have never seen sockets so near to a tap before. Do the continentals not electrocute themselves?
Kevin Hitch: That’s why you don’t meet many Belgians.
Rob Ashlee: Do you not know Sparky the Belgian?
Paul Tennant: Sockets are too high. If lower they could be rinsed out more easily.
Nick Ward: Only shaver sockets are allowed in the bathroom in the UK. No standard (UK 3-pin) power sockets allowed. Lights must be pull chord (most common) or have the switch outside the room.
Facundo Alvarez: I’ve been forced to shave in the kitchen everywhere I go because of this British nonsense.
Avi Liveson: My wife often saves time doing her hair by sticking a finger into a socket.
Sticking with the DMC (UK) for just another moment, Mac O Conchobhair writes:
Two for £4. Hmmm. Tempting. Think I’ll just buy the one and save 25/50p.
David Sean Goodchild: When they started selling coffee in the recyclable pouches, it cost more than the glass jars…..that pissed me off for a good two years.
Paul Clark: Time to move on, David.
[Do you think “Mac O Conchobhair” is his real name?
His club profile page says he’s a “stable hand at Lead a Horse to Water Saddlery.” It also includes this, below, so I’m pegging him as a mensch.]
I should re-dub Bruni’s For The Love Of Sentences feature as “Darn, I Wish I Could Write Like That.” This week he has Jonah Goldberg in The Dispatch describing the panicked neediness of his dogs when thunder strikes: “Yesterday, during a hellacious storm, the girls barged into my office while I was on a Zoom meeting like a SWAT team with a no-knock warrant.”
From The Onion:
Yo-Yo Ma Finally Works Up Courage To Tell Parents He’s Quitting Cello
When I cannot sing my heart
I can only speak my mind, Julia
Our classical music station (WQXR) played an instrumental version of a Beatles song this morning. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. The host said it is credited to Lennon and McCartney, but it was written by John Lennon and Julia was his mom who died when she was only 44 when struck by a car.
One advantage of being 75 years old: You don’t have to worry about dying young anymore.
Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox did something last night that had not been done for almost 67 years (since 8/3/58). He hit both an inside-the-park home run and, later, a grand slam. It was Roger Maris who did it back in ’58. The four others who accomplished the unusual feat were (7/4/39) Jim Tabor; (8/4/30) Charlie Gehringer; (7/4/1923) Everett Scott; and (6/5/1890) Jocko Fields.
I have Jim Tabor’s autograph. His career ran from 1938 through 1947. It’s worth about $50, I’d guess. (Also have Maris and Gehringer.) His Wikipedia page does not mention this feat, but says that on 7/4/1939 he hit four homeruns in a double-header, including two grand slams in consecutive innings. I found an article about the game and it states the second grand slam was the inside-the-park HR, but they were not hit in consecutive innings. Last point on this — also in the lineup with Tabor that game were 4 future Hall of Famers: Ted Williams, Jimmy Foxx, Joe Cronin, and Bobby Doerr.
Only 13 players have hit two grand slams in a single game. One of them was a pitcher, Tony Cloninger, who hit no other grand slams in his entire career. Jim Northrup hit his two on consecutive pitches, and Fernando Tatis (Sr.) hit both of his in the same inning. Only one of the thirteen accomplished his feat in his home stadium: Nomar Garciaparra in Fenway Park.
OK, enough.
Learned two things from the NYTXW today. First, at 53D “‘Overnight’ breakfast option” is OATS. You hear about this? What you do is take some oats and add milk. Then you can also add things like yogurt, honey, blueberries, cinnamon, whatever. Seal it up like in a mason jar and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Just eat it cold in the morning. People seem to swear by it.
Second, at 64A, Actress Thompson of “Selma” and “Creed” is TESSA. I’m going to let her say goodnight for us. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 