by admin

Book 28 (of 52) – Anatomy Of An Alibi

Ashley Elston – Anatomy of an Alibi

When two women switch identities for a day, they think they are giving each other cover as they try to learn what role the one’s husband played in the death of the other’s parents.  But when the husband turns up dead the following morning, their original plan is thrown for the loop.  With the help of a friendly lawyer and a criminal enforcer, both women try to protect their own interests while staying a step ahead of the police, who may know more than they are letting on.

Anatomy of an Alibi is the second adult novel from Ashley Elston. While I did enjoy this, I did find myself a little confused when the twist came up at the end as I didn’t remember which character’s name showed up as the ultimate antagonist.  Hopefully we will see more from Elston going forward.

by admin

Setting More Records

With his seventh inning home run last night against the Twins, Munetaka Murakami became the first rookie in MLB history to reach the 20-home run plateau before the start of June.  The previous rookie mark of 19 was held by Pete Alonso and Mark McGwire.  He joins Frank Thomas and Jim Thome as the only White Sox players overall to reach the mark.

The White Sox have four more games scheduled through the remainder of May.

by admin

Post Mortem – Based On A True Story

The Peacock series Based on a True Story, starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina as a married couple who start a podcast with a serial killer, was cancelled last year following its second season.  The show certainly had its moments and brought in interesting guest stars, so I was a little surprised to see it wrapped up so early.  But, that is the nature of streaming and I’m sure Cuoco will pop up in something new sooner rather than later.

by admin

Fitbit 12 – Week 18

Yet another great week as I pushed my 30,000-step week streak to fifteen and my streak of 4000+ step days reached 90, a full three months.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday thanks to a trip to Rate Field for the final installment of the first Crosstown series of the year, finishing 35 steps shy of 5600.  Monday saw a small decrease, dropping down to 4500 steps.  A lunchtime walk while I changed kept things rolling on Tuesday, ending 27 steps away from 6900.  Wednesday was the best day of the week, thanks to a season holder event at Wrigley Field in the afternoon followed by the Cubs game that night, wrapping up with 8400 steps.  Thursday used a walk to Walgreens to pick up a prescription to finish with 6100 steps.  A slow-ish Friday got the holiday weekend off to a decent start with 4400 steps.  The week wrapped up on a high note on Saturday with 6600 steps.

Total steps: 42,577

Daily average: 6082.4

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #10

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

Today, we break into the top ten and slow down the pace a bit, taking one act at a time.  Hailing from Sheffield, England, this group pushed through devastating personal injury and untimely death to become the breakout stars of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s.  At #10, we have the band known as Def Leppard.

#10: Def Leppard
iTunes stats: 722 plays
Previous ranking: #11

One of only five rock bands to have two studio albums sell more than 10 million copies in the US, Def Leppard moves up one spot to crack the top ten.  With 43 separate tracks that have listens coming from eight different albums, legit or otherwise, the band added 196 new plays over the past five years, rising 37%.  Surprisingly, Let’s Get Rocked is my most listened to song, while a couple of bootleg live tracks check in with a single listen.

I was able to see them in concert back in the summer of 1993 at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park.  Given that this was 30-some odd years ago now, my main memory of the show is lead singer Joe Elliot trying to curry favor with the crowd by wearing a Chicago Bulls t-shirt.  Judging by the setlist posted on the Interwebs, it was a pretty solid show, with all of their big hits being covered, including their then-latest from the Last Action Hero soundtrack.  Given my fandom for the band at the time, I’m glad I got the chance to see them live at the time.

by admin

150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Outfielders Part 2

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the second eight selections for outfielder.

Jason Heyward signed an 8-year, $184 million contract with the Cubs in December of 2015.  His place in Cubs lore was set when he was credited with leading an inspiring, players-only meeting during the 17-minute rain delay towards the end of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, after which the Cubs stormed out and took the lead in the 10th inning, leading to their first championship in 108 years.  While he never quite produced enough to justify his lofty contract and the team failed to duplicate their 2016 success, he became as much of a scapegoat as anyone else on the roster, eventually seeing his playing time reduced.  In addition to his World Series ring, Heyward won Gold Glove awards in both 2016 and 2017.

King Kelly emerged as one of 19th‑century baseball’s first true superstars as a member of the White Stockings.  He led the NL in runs scored for three consecutive seasons, from 1884 through 1889 and also won the NL batting title in both 1884 and 1886.  During his seven years with the franchise, they won five NL pennants.  In 1945, he was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Bill Lange spent his entire seven-year MLB career with the Colts/Orphans, becoming a full-time center fielder in 1894.  He retired at age 28 to marry a woman whose father had forbid her from marrying a ballplayer, finishing his career with a .330 batting average.  In 1897, he led the NL in stolen bases.  He is a member of the Cubs Hall of Fame.

Continue reading →

by admin

Book 27 (of 52) – The Case of the Careless Kitten

The Case of the Careless Kitten – Erle Stanley Gardner

When a mysterious phone call leads Helen Kendal to believe her long-missing uncle is ready to make his return, Perry Mason finds himself caught up in multiple mysteries, including what happened to the missing uncle, who shot Helen’s boyfriend, who poisoned Helen’s aunt and cat, and how does the whole thing tie together.  When Hamilton Burger assumes Mason has stashed the missing uncle out of sight and charges Della with obstruction, it forces Perry to put the puzzle together to prove Della’s innocence.

Originally published in 1942, The Case of the Careless Kitten is 21st entry in Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason series.  This case, though heavily modified, was featured as the 24th episode of season eight in the Raymond Burr version of the show in 1965.  Since this is a little further along in the series, the characters align more closely with those we are familiar with from television compared to the earlier entries.  This was the final book I managed to snag during a New Year’s sale in the Kindle store, so it may be some time before I am able to return to Gardner’s oeuvre.

by admin

Tired Discourse – Do Bisexuals Exist?

In January of 2025, the good folks at Defector.com published a list of 35 topics that have been discussed to within an inch of their life here on the internet.  Lucky for me, I haven’t publicly commented on most, if not all, of these topics, so I figured why not dip my toes into the fray on occasion.  We will continue today with the third question on their list:

Do Bisexuals Exist?

Yes.

Oh, you want more? I think one of the biggest fallacies of human existence is that sexuality is a binary.  There is so much evidence, both in human behavior and in animal behavior in nature, that proves otherwise, that sexuality is a spectrum.  Some people (probably less than you think) do tilt the extreme ends of each side of the spectrum, while the vast majority fall somewhere along the line.

There’s an old saying that “all women are inherently bisexual” and I think the truth to that is that it is more socially acceptable for women to show any form of bisexuality than it is for men.  Two drunk “straight” women kissing at a party is met with raucous cheers.  Imagine the reaction if two men did the same.

by admin

Book 26 (of 52) – The Grave Artist

The Grave Artist – Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

When their sophisticated AI identifies that a death at a wedding ruled accidental may in fact be a homicide, HSI agent Carmer Sanchez and her civilian partner Jake Heron find themselves on the trail of a potential serial killer.  While they track down the killer, Sanchez’s sister digs deeper into their father’s murder.  When the two cases intertwine, Sanchez and Huron have to hurry to stop the killer before his next victim hits too close to home.

Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado return for The Grave Artist, the second entry in their Sanchez & Heron series.  The tale once again includes plenty of twists and turns, including the introduction of a blatantly incompetent new temporary boss who hopefully will not be heard from again.  The ending set this group up as an ongoing concern in-universe, so I expect we will be seeing a new entry sooner rather than later.

 

by admin

No Bets For You

After just two years, DraftKings announced that they will be shuttering their in-person sportsbook hanging off the side of Wrigley Field on May 31.  In a statement, the company says, “The cost of operating in Illinois, including its high tax structure, makes it more difficult to justify continued investment in a standalone retail sportsbook.”  The sports bar part of the operation will continue, as will the DraftKings sponsorship.

As part of this change, the area should become a little more accessible.  With the removal of the sportsbook, the requirement to be 21 to enter should be removed.  Additionally, fans will be able to enter and exit into the ballpark itself eventually, similar to Gallagher Way.  That change will likely limit the building on game days to those with a ticket.

Short term, there should be no financial impact for the Cubs.  The original deal was $100 million for ten years and, while the two sides shared some revenue from food and beverage sales, the Cubs were not involved in the gambling end of the partnership.  Long term, I’m sure that $100 million figure included some expectation of revenues to be generated from the sportsbook, and it seems unlikely that a renewal will touch that amount.

Nearly three years since the building first opened as a sports bar, I’ve only been inside once, and that was just for a quick walkaround.  The next dollar I spend there will be my first, and I don’t envision that changing anytime soon.