I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I think that nagging little calendar in my gutter is going to fall off this blog, 'cause it keeps reminding me that I haven't posted this month. We've been in playoffs at the ballpark and I'm simultaneously putting together my roster for the summer (more like July) wooden bat league for college age players. It's a very competitive league so having good pitchers is really important. I've been recruiting, as has The Youngest. He's more effective than I am but I still need at least one more pitcher. If y'all know of any good college age pitchers in my area, please feel free to give me a holler (big lefties with heat and junk preferred).
I actually had a pretty quiet weekend, as we played Friday evening and won a game we slipped in between two welcome thunderstorms. It hadn't rained in forever here (I mean a long-ass time) so we couldn't exactly complain, but the first storm rumbled in just as we were getting started with Batting Practice. Both teams huddled in our dugout until the lightning started and we looked at all the metal and the poles and decided to make a run for the shed which was more sheltered and less, er, metallic. It stopped, we worked on the field, which didn't require much as it was very, very thirsty and we played and won, wet and muddy, but happy. I might not have mentioned that we got knocked into the losers' bracket in the first round by a very good team affiliated with a local high school (Chamblee). They've now beaten us three times this season. The winner of our semi-final game tomorrow night will play them in the finals, the show, the championship game, later this week (I haven't looked to see when - bad luck). Anyway, I'm proud of my guys and will be happy no matter what happens (yeah, right), but I'll be happier if we make it to the finals.
I don't mind admitting that I'm seriously jonesing for my old buddy Bill. How could he be missing these debates? The material that comes out of them is just too juicy! He needs a blog for those of us who miss him 'tween his "seasons". It's not as if there's nothing on the tube though, because tonight is all Tony. Tony awards on CBS and Tony Soprano's swan song on HBO so I'm typing really fast. (Edit: How weird was that???)I do have a couple of important things I've found out there in the wide wide blogosphere that I really need to point out before I go.
We've been crazy busy at the KnockingShitDownCo and other KSDCos have been very busy knocking stuff down in New Orleans, getting around to some of the big stuff. This week the long-discussed contested demolition of St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church took place in Gentilly to make way for Holy Cross school, which is moving to reopen across the Industrial Canal from their former home in the flood ravaged Lower 9. There have been many fine voices on both sides of the Holy Cross v. Cabrini battle, but, no matter which side you might support in the complex dilemma, it's still just plain sad. There are excellent posts at Tim's and Mark's. Tim has pics, sad pics. But the most important information coming out of the New Orleans blogs this week (well, besides Dangerblond's must-read tales of potty mouths in training and escaping fish) is at Matt McBride's Fix The Pumps in reaction to the release of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' internal study of the pumps in the outfall canals in New Orleans (WWL Video report 6/10). It's a long story and an important one with many complex layers, including sweetheart contracts summarily awarded to Bush buddies (Dambala has a relatively short and very understandable explanation of this part of the scandal here) and staged media manipulation (imagine that). Matt McBride has covered the continuing fiasco of the pumps and floodgates, breaking much of the story on his blog. He's provided a great service to all Americans and the end result has to be that much more has been revealed about the culture of the Army Corps of Engineers than about New Orleans and New Orleanians, and any of us who live near to (downstream from) any Corps projects should be concerned. The fact remains that they have continued to, at the very least, fail to inform the citizens about public safety or the lack thereof. Go. Now. Read.
As always, I hope y'all are well and happy out there in this little circle of bloggers and blurkers (as the wise PsychoTherapist calls blog lurkers). I apologize to those of you I've been missing of late. I will try to catch up between the end of spring season and the start of summer and between jaunts to my favorite you know where to visit Middle Son (happy birthday, darlin' - 6/11).
Peace. Out. Y'all.
*********************
Important Update: More on the ACOE's internal investigation's report on the pumps from Matt McBride here.
Aside: I fell asleep (finally) during a re-broadcast of Anderson Cooper's 360 last night (well, early this morning after the adrenaline faded from the game, which we won) and I think I recall that he was broadcasting from the 17th Street Canal levee and was talking about the pumps. I tried to stay awake but was also keenly aware of how soon I'd have to get up and go to work. I'm sorry I missed hearing what the MSM is telling the world about this. Anyone out there catch it?
No comments:
Post a Comment