Gettin' constitutional on your...

Time: 00:40ish or so
Date: July 27, 2008
Place: Times Square subway station, Q train

Seen on the back of t-shirt:

Article II, Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

So good to 'read' from you...

I must confess that I find it humorous to respond with "So good to hear from you" when the situation did, in fact, not require use of my ears. Clearly, this is an immediate response in the same vein of "God bless you/bless you" when someone sneezes - we're simply used to it.

The most popular story of the origins of "bless you" lies in the belief that when one sneezed, part of your soul was expelled. But where does the "so good to hear from you" response come from?

I tried researching this as most can find references of other phrases (i.e.: "the whole nine yards", "that ball had a lot of English on it", etc.), but I found nothing. So I offer to you my thoughts...

We take it for granted that most people know how to read. But if you were to travel back over a hundred years, literacy throughout the world was not common; it is thought that nearly 20% or less of the world's population achieved a literacy rate of 70% or higher - over 50%, the literacy rate was 30% or less. So the way we learned of news of family, friends, jobs, scandals, and political unrest was to 'listen' to a town crier or someone who could read letters and what not. So, yes, news broadcasts before radio and television - we spent more time in conversation as it was the primary method of communication.

But what of the usage of the phrase itself? Well, it probably just stuck like anything else. Going back to "bless you, " we've never stopped saying it (for my part, I say "gesundheit" which is German for to your health or good health). It imparts a personal warmth that a phrase like "so good to read about you" or "so good to read from you" does not convey. Listening is polite and proper. Seeing or hearing someone is a connection.

I'm not saying the written word has no merit. The volume of literature at our disposal dismisses that notion but how often have you wondered about being at a place described, or being a character or even conversing with the author? The written word almost gets us there.

So the next time someone drops you a line or two, give them a call and chat.

I'm available most nights after 9pm and weekends...

A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Old Stone House in Park Slope

I just got home from catching Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" put on by Piper Theatre. Performed under the stars (if you squint, you can see them through the ever present glow of New York City) at J.J. Byrne Park in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, my neighborhood, I only have one word for this production: fun.










Even with a cast that included children, this show did not shy from innuendo and even took liberties. Speaking for myself, Titania was simply seductive and the ladies playing Hermia and Helena were fun to watch when they were allowed to go to the edge. The players were also fun to watch reminding me of 1930's screwball comedies. I was a little puzzled at first with the ongoing undressing of Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helen as their evening played out in the forest and yet it made sense - I will not attempt to put in to words my theory, but if you happen to be in town and wish to ply me with single-malt Scotch whisky, you can ask me.

The kid who played Puck was pretty good. I particularly enjoyed the sequences of the characters, who when enchanted by Oberon's magic, awoke seeing the objects of their manipulated affection to the opening strains of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." The cast looked like they were having fun and the audience clearly enjoyed it.

As I said, fun...

Major League Baseball and instant replay (BTW: Happy Birthday, USA)

I begin by, first, saying, "Happy Birthday, United States of America!" - now that that's out of the way...

I was lucky enough to be able to attend today's Boston Red Sox/ New York Yankees game at Yankee Stadium.  July 4th is meaningful in Yankee Stadium history: Lou Gehrig gave his farewell speech in 1939 and Dave Righetti threw a no-hitter against my beloved Red Sox in 1983. Today was like any other game except that this is the last Fourth of July game to be hosted in the "House that Ruth Built."

However, I digress...

For me, I'll remember this game as the last day I opposed instant replay in Major League Baseball.

It's the bottom of the ninth inning with the Yankees trailing the Red Sox 6-3. With two outs, sitting at second base is Brett Gardner and at the plate, Derek Jeter. Jeter hits a drive out to center field where Boston's Coco Crisp came on hard and fast to make a fantastic diving catch to end the game. 

Oh, wait a minute...

Third base umpire Wally Bell ruled that the ball was trapped instead of caught allowing a run to score and Jeter ends up at the recently vacated second base with an RBI* double. It also gave the Yankees an opportunity as the tieing run came to the plate (Abreu flew out to center, Sox win 6-4). 

The game should have ended there.  But it didn't - thanks to a bad call by an umpire. This season alone, home runs have either been awarded or stripped because of errant officiating. The talk to bring instant replay to baseball is far greater this year than at any other time in history and now, I'm on board. 

If instant replay was made available back in 1996, the 'home run' that Derek Jeter hit during the playoffs would have instead been ruled fan interference. Same thing with the Cubs in their post-season appearance back in 2003 - the umpire ruled there was no fan interference. Is it a home run? Was the runner safe? And now Crisp's amazing catch will now be remembered as the catch that wasn't. If instant replay was available, the umpires would know that Crisp indeed made the catch, an amazing catch - game over.

I've always been a big fan of keeping baseball pure even if that meant that a call would go against my team. Some refer to it as the human element. I think of baseball as an allegory for life but the games do matter to the teams playing them. it also means even more during the post-season. We need to make sure the right calls are being made. 

I can no longer in good conscience stand in the way: Bring instant replay to baseball.

'Nuf sed...

 

*For you non-baseball types, Run Batted In...