Author Archives: Richard

So Biden is Too Old?

I will give a little attention to your arguments that President Biden should step out of the race at this late date if you can first tell me this:

Why aren’t you FIRST calling for the CONVICTED FELON and rapist, who is showing obvious signs of senility, who lies seemingly every time he opens his mouth, AND has made it clear that he intends to turn the country into a fascist dictatorship, to step out of the race?

In case you’re wondering, here’s the Official Republican Party Platform (as described in their “Project 2025” plan:

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Great American Composers

It’s that time of year again, when pretty much every orchestra in the country has an “All American” program for the Fourth, in which they play the works of American composers.

“Pops” orchestras will drag out the usual suspects: Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, John Williams – and wrap things up with some John Philip Sousa.

More “serious” orchestras will feature works by Charles Ives, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, John Adams, Florence Price, or Samuel Barber.

But there are some American composers who really deserve to be included in that crowd.

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The Bobby Richardson Award – 2

This is actually more difficult a decision than the regular MVP Award. With the “Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award presented by [this space for rent]”, it’s almost always obvious who should get the award.

But picking an honoree on the losing team? There’s a reason they lost. If you can find someone who might be deserving, do you go with the player who had the best overall performance, or the one who came up big in key moments that won a game for his team? And what’s the cutoff for deciding that a “No Award” is called for?

Good thing this is just an exercise….

1977: New York Yankees 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

Reggie Smith hit three home runs while scoring seven. Only WS MVP Reggie Jackson had more of either.

1978: New York Yankees 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

Davey Lopes hit .308 with three home runs and seven RBIs.

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The Bobby Richardson Award – 1

Several months ago, I was involved in a discussion about the most valuable players in the World Series. I made a passing comment wondering about the best players on the losing teams. Someone who contributed a great deal, but it wasn’t his fault that his team lost. Someone suggested it should be called “The Bobby Richardson Award”, for the only player who won the World Series MVP despite being on the losing team.

Well, I finally got around to doing the research and writing it up.

You’ll note that I allow for a “No Award” – sometimes, there just isn’t a player who performs well enough above the level of his teammates to justify it (or the team just stinks overall, and no one deserves it).

Also, keep in mind that these are subjective. If I did this again in a few years, more than a few of these are likely to change. And I’m starting it in 1955, when the World Series MVP award began. You can do it for all the previous World Series if you want.

1955: Brooklyn Dodgers 4, New York Yankees 3

Whitey Ford won Games 1 and 6.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Everyone in the Newton household in Santa Rosa is delighted that “Uncle Charlie” (Joseph Cotton), the younger brother of matriarch Emma Newton (Patricia Collinge), is coming over to stay a while. Especially Charlotte “Charlie” Newton (Teresa Wright), the oldest child in the family, who seems about to die of boredom in the small town. Uncle Charlie has apparently been living a well-traveled life, filled with experiences of all sorts, and can always be counted on to shower the family with presents.

But what they don’t know while we do (because we’ve seen the “prologue”), is that Uncle Charlie is some sort of ne’er-do-well. He’s living in a rooming house where he has wads of loose cash scattered about, and is dodging two men who have “staked out” the place. And he’s heading to Santa Rosa not because he wants to see his family, but because he needs to get out of town post-haste.

Will anyone in the household figure out what Uncle Charlie’s really been up to before it’s too late?

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Next Steps

Well, the former president has finally been held responsible for something. In a way, this particular case is a perfect encapsulation of his lifetime of shady dealings.

There was a tawdry affair with an adult entertainer, political campaign shenanigans, questionable (at best) financial practices…..even a bit of a circus atmosphere around the whole matter.

As to what happens next, well, I’ve got some ideas.

The Sentence

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Pond in a Jar – 5

Well, it’s still alive. Don’t know if I can call it “thriving”, but I’ll take “Not Dead” any day.

The fuzzy algae is challenging the sprouted plant for control, and has trapped a LOT of air bubbles.

There are at least three snails that are just a bit bigger than poppy seeds. Their shells are either translucent or a pale yellow-green that just matches the color of the plants. There’s one snail that’s a bit bigger than a sesame seed – it’s usually in hiding.

Not much in the way of swimming things. A few dust speck sized things that stay near the top, and one larger speck that zooms around a lot. It appears to be dark blue in color.

I’ve had to add some more pond water twice to counter evaporation. Just about two ounces each time. I’m trying to catch some snails or swimmers when I go back to the source waters. I am resisting the frequent temptation to add a drop or two of something like coffee or booze just to see what happens.

I rotate it a tiny bit each day to give everything an equal amount of light, and to stir up the water a little.

Maybe I’ll add a photo later.

Book Review: Pax

Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age
Tom Holland
Basic Books
Copyright 2023 by the author

We’ve long been fascinated with the Roman Empire. It’s not just that their language of Latin is one of the grandparents of English, or that a good deal of our shared culture and society can be traced back to Roman origins. There’s something about the Empire that has led it to keep reappearing in popular culture, from the epic costume dramas of the 1950s to the TV shows of more recent times. Could it be we’re obsessed with the details of Roman life – the food, drink, and clothing? Or perhaps it’s the more abstract things – the philosophy, the “ethos”, the “mindset” of what a Proper Roman Citizen aspired to?

Oh, come off it, it’s the palace intrigue, corruption, and depravity of the ruling class. It’s the rise to power of Julius Caesar and his assassination, the depravity of Caligula and Nero, and the slow, sputtering decline of the Empire that attract us.

With this third work (the previous, Rubicon and Dynasty, covered Julius Caesar and Augustus through Nero), Holland continues his chronicling of the Empire. This volume takes us from the reign of Nero through the death of Hadrian – the final ascent to the peak of the Imperial power. It’s an interesting journey; there’s the “Year of the Four Emperors”, revolts in Judea, and fighting on the frontiers from Scotland to the Danube to Persia.

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Hunting Wildflowers

Last week, Dana Milbank had a nice essay in the Washington Post about growing old and “spring ephemerals”. Those are wildflowers that come out in the early spring, before the trees are in full leaf and blocking light from reaching the forest floor, and show their tiny blooms for a week or two – at best.

Here in Southern Westchester, there are some nice nature preserves in my area where I regularly stroll for exercise and fresh air. What if I took my cheap old smartphone with me this time, and instead of my usual birdwatching, I looked for these wildflowers?

Flowers have a much greater advantage over birds – they don’t move, so you can get quite close to them for photographs. The disadvantage is that there are so may varieties and variations that it’s even harder to get a positive ID on one than it is to figure out “What kind of warbler is that?”.

I’ve made some tentative identifications – if you happen to have some better knowledge, please let me know!

Some of my Intelligent Readers do indeed have better identifications.


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