Decades ago I put together some baseball trips. I’d drive from city to city, mostly minor league towns, visit the city a bit during the day (depending on when I arrived), search out a nice cheap dinner, and take in the game at night. They would last about a week. I got to games in neat places like Madison, WI (where the Muskies play (named for the fish, not the senator); South Bend, IN (after visiting Notre Dame)(where the game is played in beautiful Coveleski Stadium (The Cove), named after Hall of Fame pitcher Stan Coveleski); Altoona, PA (where I snared a foul ball(!) and where the mascot is a fish named Al Tuna); Louisville, KY (where the game was rained out (boo!) and I gave my raincheck to a young mom sitting nearby with her little boy); and Indianapolis (where the Indy Indians played in a gorgeous very old stadium where John Sayles filmed Eight Men Out).
I could go on. All of that to say that I am thrilled to announce that Linda and I are planning a mini-trip for late April. We’re starting in York, PA, where the Revolution play, shooting down to Frederick, MD where the Keys play, and then over to DC for a Gnats/Braves day game, and finally up to beautiful Camden Yards where the Birds will try to poop on Boston’s pennant hopes.
We’ll be based all four nights in Frederick, which is equally inconveniently located for each game (except the one in Frederick, duh). It’ll be half-price burger night at the Holy Hound Taproom in York, said Tom droolingly, and we’ll visit the Right Proper Brewing Company for their happy hour in DC (burp!). And get this — it’s “guaranteed win” night in Frederick. If the Keys lose (and I know all about lost keys, believe me), we get a free pair of tix to a future game! As Linda noted, I guess we have to root for a loss? Hmmmm. We generally like to support the Homies.
Here’s Al. The team in Altoona is the Curve, named after a big curve in the railroad tracks near town, shown on the logo on Al’s uni.
Staying on sports for a bit, we are excited to be catching a quarter-final game in the ECAC women’s ice hockey tourney down in Princeton tomorrow. It’s the Tigers vs Harvard. Princeton beat Harvard in the last game we saw down there, 3-1, and Harvard looked overmatched. But then the cats lost up in Cambridge. So it’s anyone’s game tomorrow. Of course, our beautiful Sarah Fillier played her college hockey for Princeton so it holds a special place in Owl Chatter hearts.
This is Claire Thompson, a Princeton grad who plays for Vancouver in the PWHL now and skated for Canada in the recent Olympics (as did Sarah F., of course).
Drop the puck, ref — we’re ready!!
Denise Linville sent this tale in to Met Diary where it appeared last Sunday. Anyone who has ever had a mother will be able to relate.
Dear Diary:
I was at a busy intersection in Midtown preoccupied by something I had just recently learned, when, thinking it was our turn to walk, I stepped into the street.
I was only spared from being hit by a taxi because an older woman with a surprisingly strong grip grabbed the back of my shirt and jerked me backward.
With the momentary high of a person who had just cheated death, I spun around with a grin on my face and began thanking her effusively.
She wasn’t impressed and began telling me off for being so careless and not paying attention.
We must have been a sight, me grinning and thanking her, and her scowling and yelling at me.
I promised I would be more careful in the future.
“What am I supposed to do,” she said, “follow you around everywhere?”
The puzzle was terrific today, a nice crunchy Friday that put up a great fight before I wrestled it to the ground. There were two “stacks” of three 15-letter answers each. The constructor, Caroline Hand, made them both flow beautifully:
SACAGAWEA DOLLAR (wow)
AMERICAN PALE ALE (burp!)
DISTRESSED DENIM
and then
RUN INTERFERENCE
ANASTASIA STEELE (again, wow)
MANHATTAN KANSAS
Here’s the stunning Dakota J (daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and granddaughter of Tippi Hedren), who plays Anastasia S.:
And here’s a good tune SV shared with us, inspired by the appearance of Kansas in the grid.
Yesterday I learned about chiliagons via the puzzle. They are polygons (Hi Polly!) that have 1,000 sides. Yeah, you heard me: 1,000 sides, like 997 more than a triangle. Rex included a bowl of chili in his writeup. Quite the comedian.
Chiliagons became a topic in Philosophy (Hi Sophie!) when Descartes grabbed one to demonstrate the difference between pure intellection and imagination. He says that, when one thinks of a chiliagon, he “does not imagine the thousand sides or see them as if they were present” before him – as he does when one imagines a triangle, for example. The imagination constructs a “confused representation,” which is no different from that which it constructs of a myriagon (a polygon with ten thousand sides (Hi Myra!)). However, he does clearly understand what a chiliagon is, just as he understands what a triangle is, and he is able to distinguish it from a myriagon. Therefore, the intellect is not dependent on imagination, Descartes claims, as it is able to entertain clear and distinct ideas when imagination is unable to.
Not everyone bought it, but I am far too stupid to go any deeper into this. I’m also being careful not to put Descartes before des horse.
I made a few points in a comment on Rex’s blog. (The words in CAPS were the answers in the puzzle I was playing with.)
I thought APERCU was a drink. Must be confusing it with aperitif. My Yiddish has gotten rusty.
Nice to see DRAFTS near the PALE ALE.
While my sister was still out from her CESAREAN, my brother-in-law named their twin girls ROTUNDA and TUREEN. I’ll merge 11D (OLD AS DIRT), and its cross at 31A (AIRBAG) and call him a DIRTBAG.
Oy. You’ve had enough of this by now, I’m sure. But come back tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 