Suppose they played a ballgame and nobody watched

Maybe a few were watching the Arkansas Travelers take on the San Antonio Missions at Dickey-Stephens ballpark in North Little Rock last night, but most appeared to be enjoying a peaceful night out after days of thunder.

Shelly (the horse mascot; it is a horse, right) dropped by the picnic area to check out the Holy Souls Family Night and ably made the sign of the cross to qualify for a free beer. Alas, his/her hooves couldn't take the cup. He/she then knelt in prayer, or maybe submission.

In addition for a "horse" as a mascot, why the flowery shirts for the Travs' greeters and ushers? Is there a theme I'm missing?

We (a few friends and I) watched an inning or two of punchless baseball, leaving after a Trav was cut down at the plate, while trying to score from second on a shallow single to  center, followed by another Trav whiffing to make the third out and keep his .000 batting average intact.

Oh, for the days of Triple A ball.

What do we like?

Polls out today shows most Americans don't like President, don't like the Tea Party, don't like Republicans or Democrats, and don't like the United States intervening in Libya.

So what do Americans like? Polls unavailable, but I would hazard the following guesses:

* Butler and VCU
* Dancing with the Stars
* Cavaliers beating the Heat
* "Angry Birds"
* Bald eagles
* Coupons and Groupons
* "The Deadliest Catch"
* Baseball (at least the idea of baseball)
* Breakfast buffets
* BBQ wings
* Fishin'
* Cracker Barrel
* Neck pillows
* Naps
* Libraries (at least the idea of libraries)
* Big raindrops
* Firefighters
* Songbirds
* Ground fog
* Waterfalls
* Scenic highways
* Pine needles
* Pie
* ...

A few things I didn't know, until this week

A hawk will attack a crow, but regret it if the crow's friends arrive.

Draft bills needing five votes can pass out of an Arkansas legislative committee with only four members present.

I qualify for a seniors discount at the grocery store on Tuesdays.

The newly hired head basketball coach at Arkansas won one conference game on the road this year,  which was one less than the man he is replacing.

Montgomery Clift was gay -- according to "30 Rock," which these days is as reliable source as any.

How to make brownies (with pecans).

Chevron (pending court appeals) owes the people of Ecuador $18 million for polluting caused by oil spills.

Groupons make it senseless to pay full price at a restaurant.

A U.S.  president apparently shouldn't agree to any type of military intervention until he has espoused a "doctrine" of some sort.

How to make corned beef and cabbage.

You can fly from Little Rock to Destin for $19.

"Wagon Train" had a theme song.

iPods are passe´.

You need a carpenter to replace a burnt-out rooftop ventilator.

Rites of Spring

Bracket picks and Fantasy baseball.

Although prone to rail about the lunacy of college sports, as promulgated by the NCAA and trumpeted by ESPN, I still watch.  Worse, I still bet.  Though not much on either score.  After the first two days of the NCAA tournament, I'll check in on a game but rarely stick with it for more than a few minutes.  (Unless I'm a captive audience, as was the case Saturday during my Fantasy baseball draft -- seated as I was with the muted HDTV screen at my elbow.)  As for the wager: A mere $10.  A tenspot royally flushed Sunday with losses by selectees Syracuse and Notre Dame.  The latter, my alma mater, I fortunately failed to watch as its senior-laden team made a sadly predictable second-round edit.

Give CBS and its Turner cable partners credit for broadcasting every game in its entirety.  The paired play-by-play announcers have done admirable work, despite the occasional toss to their third appendage (some with hideous hairstyles) for superfluous player insights and coach interviews.  More difficult to endure were pre-game and halftime commentaries by a five-man, arced-stage crew anchored by an unctuous Greg Gumbel and an abrasive Charles Barkley.  After his team's first-round ouster, Rick Pitino joined center arc, however, any pithiness he contributed gave way to the astonishing crow's feet crowning his cheekbones.

What I've seen of the games themselves easily takes "best of show."  Stunning highs and jarring lows, as best illustrated by a Pitt-Butler ending that saw the game swing three ways in the final 2.2 seconds.  For sheer emotion, I'll go with Kansas State's Jacob Pullen who coolly kept his Wildcats apace with Wisconsin only to miss on one of two free throws that would have sent the game into overtime.  Stoic till the end, Pullen collapsed in tears at the buzzer.  And, yes, Butler is back -- coached by an apparent teenager.

Fantasy baseball is just that.  Living the dream.  Ten bucks a pop on each a National League and American League team. As in reality, Fantasy managers look for that mix of speed, power, and pitching. Unlike reality, we enjoy the flexibility of cherry-picking players from different teams to perfect our blend.  (Oops, forgot about the Yankees.)

Fantasy leagues are legion, but I'd wager another Hamilton that ours was the only group that started its NL auction draft with a bid for one Jonathan Lucroy, catcher, Milwaukee.  The Brewers fan among us stole him for a dime.  Lucroy, incidentally, has a broken pinkie.  Pain don't hurt you, as the late Sparky Anderson said.  Are you listening, Brian Wilson (San Francisco closer, not Beach Boys songwriter)?  Mr. Wilson anchors my relief staff.  Alas, Sunday's paper brought news of an oblique strain, sidelining the bearded one for as long as a month.  Anticipating ill fortune, I had chosen one Sergio Romo, another Giants reliever, near the end of the NL draft.  I stole him for a penny.

"It happens every Spring." (Not a bad baseball movie, by the way.)

Gas Heater and Gas War

Doyle, our heating and a.c. man for nigh on 30 years, is replacing our gas heater, with the help of a voluble assistant.  Must be his daughter, or a niece, because he is infinitely patient.

I've learned that our desktop iMac literally given to us by a friend is restricted by a circa 2006 operating system that, among other things, negates the use of Skype.  I am in contact with a Mac service provider here in LR who agrees that installing the 10.6 Snow Leopard is the route to take, but also also advises upgrading RAM from 1 GB to 4 GB by replacing the "dimms."  I fear I am outside my element and best box up the machine and take it to him.

Electronic news distribution gets a boost with AOL's purchase of The Huffington Post.  Until today, I'd never heard of "Patch," which is AOL's network of citizen journalists covering community news.  No "Patch" reporters in Arkansas.  Here's one in Georgia.  Arianna Huffington, who will manage editorial content for AOL "news," assures that her politics will have no influence on coverage.  Kinda doubt that.

Arkansas news delivered electronically today includes word of former gas utility executive and failed gubernatorial candidate Sheffield Nelson wishing to upgrade to 7 percent the state's loophole-laden severance tax on companies hydraulically shattering the Fayetteville Shale to free up natural gas.  The company trucks have done on a number on the county roads in counties north of Little Rock whilst their "fracking" has raised suspicions about a recent swarm of earthquakes in the area.  Nelson says he'll mount a petition drive to put this tax proposal to a vote of the people.  Of course, state legislators could accomplish same.  Gas company lobbyists doubtless will point to the economic impact of the Shale "play," namely new business, new jobs and landowner royalties.

Doyle's taking a lunch break, after toting the new unit up to the attic.  As will I.

Slow Joe

Switched off "Morning Joe" because the baby-faced guy wouldn't stop talking about the Jets.  Clicked onto blog postings, instead.  Best of the bunch so far is E.J. Dionne's pre-analysis of State of the Union.  Especially liked these lines: "... The next election hangs on whether jobs are coming back to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin." ... and "... Obama should have the guts to call, at the very least, for a ban on those large gun magazines that made the slaughter in Tucson worse. Even Dick Cheney says he is open to that."

Speaking of guts, I wonder if any Arkansas legislators will call out Rep. David Meeks for his ludicrous legislation calling on Arkansas to disregard the federal health care law when the time comes for uninsured individuals to purchase insurance (with subsidies as needed), or face a fine.  This is why we elect U.S. senators and representatives, Mr. Meeks.  Health care and the lack thereof are national problems, although particularly acute in Arkansas where an estimated half-a-million are uninsured.  The Patient Protection and Affordability Act is the law of the land.  Whether changes are in store will be up to the balances of power at the federal level.  A state's rights issue, this isn't.

As for voices worth heeding, I hope state lawmakers will listen to the likes of University of Arkansas Chancellor G. David Gearhart when debating any proposed legislation or constitutional amendments affecting state aid to higher education, tuition costs and scholarship programs.  The folks in the field can be enlightening.

Enablers

I didn't know Glenn Beck's mother committed suicide when he was 13.  Judging from his interview on The Today Show this morning, he probably thought I knew that.  He told interviewer Meredith Viera that everyone knows the things he has said when she began to list a few in asking whether he regretted any vitriol he may have spewed.  Obviously, Beck fights a lot of demons, real or imagined -- and feels compelled to do so in public.  NBC et al are more than happy to set the stage.

Over on "Good Morning, America," Joan and Melissa Rivers were holding forth with George Stephanopoulos.   I was in the dentist's chair, so I couldn't hear what was being said.  Can't imagine needing to.  "The Early Show" has a soup chef, too. A shot across Chris Wallace's bow?

In Washington, Jackie Chan subs for John Boehner at tonight's state dinner with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

In Little Rock, the Arkansas legislature spun wheels talking about a bill to reclaim "Land of Opportunity" as the state motto, ditching "The Natural State."   Missed the livestream on that, darn it!

Empty vessel

Sarah Palin continues to speak out about Sarah Palin continuing to speak out ... about Sarah Palin.
A report of her hard-hitting interview with Sean Hannity was on "Fox and Friends," to which the YMCA TV was tuned this morning.  Poll results out today indicate she was preaching to her choir.

Also chatting with with Steve Doocy et al was Chris Wallace and his wife, who reportedly makes tasty soups.  I like Chris Wallace (as a host and interrogator).  I like soup.  But I can't imagine reading a book about it, much less buying one.

Meantime, let's hope the young people of Haiti, in their desperation, find time to read about the menace who returned to their country this week.  There are reports late this morning about Baby Doc's imminent arrest.

Go fly a kite

The fellow at the YMCA saw a need to remind me that today is Robert E. Lee's birthday.  (Not clear why; he's from Iowa.)  This after the local TV morning show ran down a list of events planned to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.  I noted for wont of a pithier reply, that it's neither of their birthdays.  But we don't honor the Francophile.
The newspaper's business and technology section informs of a $30 million robotic spy plane capable of scanning a country the size of Afghanistan in a single pass.  Here's hoping what's described as the Pentagon's "unblinking eye" can catch sight of the bearded one.

Ordinary People

On the one Sunday I attended Mass in San Antonio, Texas, the priest and homilist urged those in attendance, no matter how far their minds might drift, to try to remember one word or phrase that summed up the sermon.  I've tried that since, with varying degrees of success.  This morning, for example, our African missionary priest at Our Lady of Holy Souls both penned (he types his sermons for distribution in the pews) and voiced a memorable sentence:  "There is much greatness in being ordinary."  His inspiration drew from the Gospel reading on St. John the Baptist, who cast himself as an ordinary man  making way for one whose sandals he was not fit too lace.

Returning home, ABC's Sunday morning talk show, "This Week with Christiane Amanpour," featured a town hall meeting that dealt, in large part, with the heroic acts of ordinary people who subdued the gunman outside the Phoenix shopping center a week ago Saturday.  Ironically, the one town hall participant who called attention to himself by uttering a public threat was hauled off by the police.

Meantime, also listening to a homily this morning, as one of the crowd.

Where's Tunisia?

Must admit I couldn't remember, other than north Africa somewhere near Libya.   (I need to find that map of the world National Geographic sent me when I was still a subscriber.)  Turns out Libya is its eastern neighbor with Algiers to the west.  Sicily a stone skip across the Mediterranean.  Ben Ali, ruling autocrat for more than two decades, has gone to Saudi Arabia leaving behind a successor, who was deposed within 24 hours.

Much ado about nothing in Arkansas General Assembly

Arkansas Legislature appears preoccupied with live texting, live-streaming of committee meeting, crawfishing on pay raises for judges and prosecutors in first week of session.  One legislator said he had broad public support for banning use of cell phones by members and all other attendees during committee meeting.  I can't imagine anyone outside the Capitol cares.