Author / admin

by admin

200 Things To Do In Illinois – The Second City

Illinois celebrated its bicentennial as a state in December of 2018.  To celebrate, the Chicago Tribune published the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, celebrating the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  With the state still shut down due to the corona virus outbreak, I figured this was the second-best time to look through this collection and cover the ones I’ve done/eaten/seen.

We continue things this week with one of the entries from the Culture category: The Second City, from Chicago, IL.

Profoundly influential in American comedy, this nearly 60-year-old theater retains its edge by putting on a regular schedule of new, sketch-based shows that skewer politics and contemporary life.

It’s like Saturday Night Live, but right in front of you, and with sketches that know how to end.

I made my one and (so far) only trip to The Second City on November 4, 2017, in the midst of what turned out to be one of the worst weekends of my life.  Without getting too much into the drama of the beginning of the end of (at least what I thought was) an important friendship, a night out with my college friends was a nice respite from everything else that was swirling around me at the time.  I’d certainly like to go back sometime, perhaps to see what they make of this whole shelter-in-place craziness.

by admin

Fitbit 6: Week 11

Week 4 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus again showed slight improvement over the previous week. better results.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, with only 3600 steps.  The weather turned for the better on Monday, which led to a marked improvement, as I surpassed my daily goal for the first time since March 13th and got nearly 8500 steps.  Tuesday was even better, as I surpassed 8600 steps.  Afternoon rains and lots of early meetings made Wednesday a disappointment, as I fell back down to 3700 steps.  Thursday was down again, with just over 3000 steps.  I spent 2 hours on hold with AT&T on Friday, which ate up my walking time and left me 25 steps shy of 3200.  Saturday was a bit of a bust, coming in with only 2300 steps despite decent weather during the day.

Total steps: 33,009

Daily average: 4715.6

by admin

Rockies All Time Leaders – Through 2019

rockiesWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams.  We continue today with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies began life in 1993, joining the National League along with the then-Florida Marlins.  I saw them for the first time in 2002, as they came to town to battle the Cubs.  Since then, I’ve seen them 15 additional times, most recently in the 2018 Wild Card game.

Home Runs

Name Total
Preston Wilson 2
13 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Matt Holliday 9
Brad Hawpe 8
Willy Taveras 8

Runs

Name Total
Brad Hawpe 4
Garrett Atkins 4
Todd Helton 4

RBI

Name Total
Troy Tulowitzki 4
Preston Wilson 3
Jamey Carroll 3
Jay Payton 3
Luis Gonzalez 3
D.J. LeMahieu 3

Doubles

Name Total
Jamey Carroll 2
Willy Taveras 2
Todd Helton 2
Charlie Blackmon 2
Matt Holliday 2

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

The Rona Claims Another Victim

Jim Frey, the former Cubs manager and general manager, passed away on Sunday after battling the corona virus.  He was 88.  Frey became manager of  the Cubs in 1984, leading the team to their first ever NL East title and first post-season appearance since 1945.  An injury-marred 1985 season, followed by a slow start in 1986, led to his firing just 2 months into the season.

Frey spent the 1987 season working for WGN radio as a color commentator on Cubs broadcasts.  In December of that year, he was hired back by the Cubs to replace Dallas Green as the team’s general manager.  Frey hired his old friend Don Zimmer to manage the team and the duo led the team to its second divisional title in 1989.  After a disappointing 1990 season, Frey was active on the free agent market, acquiring George Bell, Danny Jackson, and Dave Smith.  When Jackson and Smith flopped in 1991, Zimmer was fired in May, on orders from Tribune Co. CEO Donald Grenesko, and, following the season, Frey was reassigned within the organization.

by admin

Book 5 (of 52) – Dare Me

Dare Me – Megan Abbott

In Megan Abbott’s Dare Me, a team of high school cheerleaders adjust to their new coach, while navigating the back-stabbing and in-fighting of their social structures.  When the coach’s boyfriend ends up dead, it pits some of the girls against one another, as old jealousies and rivalries come back to the forefront.

I’ll admit, the fact that this book was being turned into a television series is what drew me in, even though I’m not watching the USA series.  This was a weird read, where I was invested enough to want to know what happened next, but not invested enough to sit down and really spend the time to find out.  If I happened across one of Abbott’s other works for a reasonable price, I might check back in with her, but I don’t see myself seeking her out.

by admin

iTunes Top 200: #60 – 68

itunes_image4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.

Today, we wrap up the final three songs with 37 plays and move on to the first group of songs with 38 plays, according to my iTunes stats dating back to late 2007.

#68: Cracker – Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 9/4/2019
Previous ranking: #141

A nice increase in the rankings, thanks to a more than doubling of its listens, for this entry which charted at number 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks, arguably breaking Cracker into the mainstream.

#68: Concrete Blonde – Joey
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 10/26/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

A strong debut for the band’s biggest hit, which spent four weeks atop the Modern Rock Tracks chart and hit #19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

#68: Britney Spears – Toxic
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 10/25/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

A strong debut for the song that earned Spears her only Grammy award, for Best Dance Recording.

#60: Taylor Swift – Bad Blood
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 12/12/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

An impressive debut for one of Anthony Rizzo’s walkup songs, earning it a place on my Cubs victory playlist.

#60: Garfunkel and Oates – Handjob, Blandjob, I Don’t Understand Job
iTunes stats: 38 plays, most recently on 10/26/2019
Previous ranking: #96

A big jump for the comedy duo’s tune about never learning how to use their hands for foreplay during high school.

#60: Foo Fighters – Everlong
Continue reading →

by admin

Mets All Time Leaders – Through 2019

21st-CENTURY-METS_01With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams.  We continue today with the New York Mets.

The Mets began life in 1962, joining the National League following the abandonment of the New York market by both the Dodgers and Giants in 1957.  I’ve seen them play 15 times, including Tom Glavine’s 300th career victory, their pennant clinching victory in the 2015 NLCS, and, most recently, on June 22, 2019

Name Total
Daniel Murphy 2
Cliff Floyd 2
16 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
David Wright 7
Daniel Murphy 6
3 tied with 5

Runs

Name Total
David Wright 7
Daniel Murphy 4
Carlos Beltran 4

RBI

Name Total
Lucas Duda 6
Cliff Floyd 5
4 tied with 4

Doubles

Name Total
Carlos Delgado 3
Lucas Duda 2
David Wright 2
Jeromy Burnitz 2

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

Trying To Come Back

Two weeks into what should have been the 2020 baseball season, MLB is looking at options to resume playing sooner rather than later.  The first proposal, to quarantine all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and play to empty ballparks, both Chase Field and the spring training complexes, leaked last week and was quickly pooh-poohed by Rob Manfred after some initial push back.

The newest proposal, which leaked out this morning, is even more radical: realignment for the 2020 season, with all teams based out of their spring training homes.  The American League and National League would be replaced by the Cactus League and Grapefruit League, with teams sorted geographically by the location of their facilities.  Like the earlier Arizona plan, games would be played in the team’s spring training stadiums, as well as the three major league facilities in the states.

Teams could play 12 games against each divisional opponent and six games against the other 10 teams in their league, creating a 108-game regular-season schedule, with the winner of each league facing off in the World Series in November.

This new plan removes some of the hurdles of the Arizona-only plan, with each team housed in familiar surroundings, but increases the risk of exposure to the corona virus by expanding the circle of quarantine necessary to keep players, staff, and other game day personnel safe.  While all of the Arizona-based teams are located in the greater-Phoenix area, the Florida teams are spread throughout the entire state.

As a fan, do I want baseball back?  Of course.  But bringing it back just to bring it back, before it is really safe to do so, not only puts players at risk, it puts the doctors and nurses in those communities at risk.  I don’t think that is worth it.

by admin

Diamondbacks All Time Leaders – Through 2019

dbacksWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks began life in 1998, joining the league along with the Devil Rays. I’ve seen them play 15 times, starting in their inaugural season and most recently in 2014, including the final game of their 2007 sweep of the Cubs in the NLDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 3
Steve Finley 3
Stephen Drew 3

Hits

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 10
Stephen Drew 7
Alex Cintron 7
Conor Jackson 7

Runs

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 11
Steve Finley 6
Troy Glaus 5

RBI

Name Total
Orlando Hudson 7
Steve Finley 6
Eric Byrnes 6

Doubles

Name Total
Luis Gonzalez 4
Chad Tracy 3
5 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →