D's Notebook

Month: July 2013 (Page 1 of 2)

Books

July 31, 2013 /

You must forgive me. I’ve been on a bit of a reading roll lately, ripping through these five books in three weeks, along with a couple other more technical works I’ve been reading bits and pieces of between. Honestly, I kind of forgot all the details of the first. So shorter comments this time. I’ll try to keep up with my books better going forward.

The Thousand – Kevin Guilfoile.

A pretty solid murder-mystery set against the backdrop of a secret group called The Thousand, who believe the ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras discovered the secrets of the universe through his studies 2500 years ago. I liked it but I’ve seen some people call it too similar to some of Dan Brown’s nonsense.

American Tabloid: A Novel – James Ellroy.

Not many books that push 600 pages can be called quick reads. But this one is the exception to that rule. I absolutely scorched Ellroy’s rollicking tale of the Kennedys, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, the American Mafia, and the three (fictional) men who tied those forces together from the late 50s until JFK’s assassination. Some of that is because of Ellroy’s writing style, which sucks you in and doesn’t let go as it barrels along. Which is fine, but if you don’t attach that style to a great story, I’m not knocking out 600 pages in three days. This is a great freaking story.

Ellroy doesn’t pretend to be solving the mystery of the first Kennedy assassination, but he sure brings all the particulars in and sets up a scenario – the Mafia kills Jack to pay him back for turning his back on them after they help him win the nomination and then election in 1960, and to end brother Bobby’s efforts to gut them from the Justice Department, all with the tacit approval of Hoover – that is as believable as any other JFK theory out there.

The Devil All the Time – Donald Ray Pollock.

My brother-in-books Dave V. gave this his highest recommendation, and for good reason. It is dark, dark, dark, recalling Daniel Woodrell’s Ozark Noir but set in southern Ohio and West Virginia. It is loaded with twisted characters who commit terrible violence. And, like Woodrell, the writing is so good you forget some of the horror and pour through it.

Pollock worked as a laborer in a factory for nearly 30 years before he earned an MFA and began publishing. Knowing that makes this work even more remarkable.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk: A Novel – Ben Fountain.

I had intended to include this in my Modern Warfare cycle earlier this year, but needed a break. Dave V. also gave it a lukewarm recommendation, so I didn’t mind putting it off. I think I ended up liking it more than him.

Here the focus is on an Army unit whose battle with Iraqi insurgents was caught on camera and became a point of intense pride amongst pro-war Americans during the worst days of the Iraq War. They are flown home for a "victory tour," and spend their final day before redeployment as honored guests at the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game. All while trying to negotiate the rights to make a movie of their story before they disappear in Iraq again. During their day at Texas Stadium they are wined and dined, hang out with the cheerleaders, and sit in the owner’s box.1 Throughout their time at the game, the squad sees a nation that is aware of their service and the war, but has not had their lives change dramatically because of the war. The folks they encounter are quick with platitudes about their service, but don’t seem to be making any sacrifices for the cause.

Every war story is about something more than the actual fighting. Billy Lynn is about the hollowness of pro-war patriotism in the age of sub-contractors and the “all-volunteer” army.

Bad Monkey – Carl Hiaasen.

Most Hiaasen novels are a variation on the same theme. Some half-wit Floridian gets a grand idea to make money the old fashioned way – by ripping people off – only to see their plans go ridiculously, hilariously awry. A well-meaning, if slightly off-kilter, civil servant works to bring the evil doers to justice, only to run into the mass of corruption and incompetence that is government in south Florida. And the good guy always gets the girl.2 But Hiaasen always makes the books fun and entertaining, even if you kind of know what to expect. Good for beach/plane reading.

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  1. A fantastic, thinly veiled caricature of real Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. ↩
  2. Or good girl the guy, as it were. ↩

Summer Lovin’

July 30, 2013 /

It’s been a few days since we’ve been to the pool. The weather began to change the middle of last week, we were at the LVS over the weekend, and so far this week it’s been too cool to get in the water.

With just two weeks until M. and C. begin school , we’ve enjoyed our first year as members of a pool. We had been averaging four trips a week until this week, usually for about two hours at a time. The girls have made a couple new friends there, but usually either play together or with girls they knew before we joined the pool. And I’ll again be completely honest: there are a number of attractive babysitters/nannies/moms who frequent the pool. Do not judge me.

Kind of related to that last comment, I also enjoy watching the 10, 11, 12 year old boys who follow a few of the female lifeguards around like puppies. There’s one lifeguard in particular who always greets her young fans with a smile, a joke, and a few minutes of conversation. I like it because I remember being there, at the edge of puberty when you first start to realize that girls are kind of cool to look at and you’d like to find a way to hang out with them.

Specifically, a summer in the early 80s when I spent a few weeks hopelessly chatting up a lifeguard at the pool near my grandparents’ home in central Kansas. I don’t remember how I found the courage to begin talking to a cute high school girl, although I’m pretty sure one of my older cousins knew her and that was the ice breaker. Anyway, I recall waiting for her turn on the lifeguard stand, then casually walking over, saying hello, and spending the rest of her shift talking to her. About all I remember of those conversations is me reminding her constantly that I lived in Kansas City. I think I knew the odds were slim a 16-17 year old girl would be interested in a skinny 11-year-old, so I had to go with my biggest selling point: being from the city. As wheat stalks bowed in the breeze just beyond the pool’s fence, I’d talk about going to Worlds Of Fun, Royals games, and other cool city to try to impress her. To her credit, she was always friendly and never told me to beat it and let her do her job. But neither did she ever offer to share some Laffy Taffy during adult swim.

So props to the pre-teen boys all over the country  who are going through their first real crush this summer courtesy of an older lifeguard. And even bigger props to those lifeguards who take the time to cheerfully talk to the goofy boys who trail them around the pool deck.

R’s – Poor Timing

July 29, 2013 /

The Royals are doing it all wrong again. After a quarter-century of losing, they decide to rip off a hot streak just as this year’s trade deadline approaches. In the process, they’ve likely tricked General Manager Dayton Moore into thinking they still have a chance to sneak into the second Wild Card spot and thus stop any attempts to move Ervin Santana or members of the bullpen for someone to fill the hole at second base, or other parts that will help when the team reboots next spring. I guess the up-side is that this may keep him from making a stupid trade that we all end up hating. Well, unless he decides to go for it and trade Adalberto Mondesi and Kyle Zimmer for Chase Utley.

I get his thinking, though. The Royals have played well since the All-Star Break, even with Alex Gordon’s bat going into the deep freeze. Even with Wade Davis still sucking.1 For the next two-plus week the schedule is mostly against bottom feeders, with only a home series against Boston looking tough before a showdown with Detroit. Why not gamble that the team can stay hot? As many smarter people than me have already pointed out, though, the gap to the second Wild Card spot is still steep at five games with four other teams in the mix. And as I keep thinking, the Royals have been streaky all year. Each two-week run of great baseball seems to be sandwiched with awful stretches. Despite their good recent play, and despite the up-coming schedule, it’s tough for me to have any confidence that they will continue to put pressure on the teams in front of them.

My quibble is that Moore may not even be listening to offers anymore, as a couple national writers have suggested. Which would be epically dumb given the weakness of this year’s trade market.. Teams need pitching and the Royals have arms to move, if the front office takes a realistic view of this season’s Wild Card race. To not at least listen to offers would be nearly as dumb as making a bad trade.

What the Royals need is another week. If the trading deadline was Aug. 7 instead of this Wednesday, we’d have a better idea of where they were. But with only one game to play before moves are completed, I fear Moore’s mind is made up and he’ll politely avoid other GMs who call to inquire about Santana, et. al.

All that stated, I would not be disappointed if Moore decides to stand pat if he can’t find a great offer for Santana or one of the bullpen arms. I don’t think the Royals are a legit contender this season, but I do think winning 81, or more, games is in play. That’s not insignificant. I’m disappointed “The Process” has yet to result in a playoff berth. But ending the season with a winning record could be a stepping stone for finally competing next year. It’s not much, but at this point, I think I’ll take it. And since Moore isn’t inclined to trade parts for future help, I think I’d rather see Santana help the Royals aim at 81 wins and then get the draft pick when he signs elsewhere in the off season.

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  1. With the notable exception of his last start. ↩

Nine

July 25, 2013 /

Nine years and one hour ago (as I type this) M. came into the world, screaming and demanding attention. She hasn’t shut up since.

I kid!

Kind of.

Our girl loves to talk, as she is quick to admit.

Now she is in the midst of 30 or so hours that are all about her, which is her idea of the perfect day. We had our annual dinner out at her favorite restaurant, Macaroni Grill, last night. She gets to spend today with her Mimi shopping and hanging out. Tonight, the local grandparents join us for dinner and then the neighbors come over for cookie cake. The only thing lacking will be big presents, at least from us. She got a new bike back in May and then picked out a nice, decorative message board for her wall at a local gift shop a few weeks back, knowing those were her big presents from S. and me. She’ll still get a few gifts from others today, though.

What to say about M. at nine that I haven’t said the past few years? She hasn’t changed all that much. She still loves to dominate her sisters. I couldn’t count how many times each week I yell, “YOU’RE NOT A PARENT,” at her as she corrects C. and L. for the 10,000th time. S. or I can say something to the sisters and M. will immediately repeat it, as if we’re speaking on a frequency that only she can detect and her relay is required for the sisters to hear it. I do worry about her dominating others with her voice, and fear if she can’t rein it in a bit, it’s going to cause problems for her as she gets older, with her friends not being interested in having everything explained to them constantly. But I’m also hopeful she’ll pick up on that and learn to dial it back when she’s with people her age.

We thought she was getting taller, but at her check-up Friday she still slotted in at the same point in the 25-30% curve on her growth chart. She’s leaned up a lot in the past year, and is becoming all arms and legs. But no big growth spurt yet.

She very much reminds me of myself when I was a kid in that she’s smart but sloppy. The biggest critique of her schoolwork last year was that she rushed through it. Whether it was her classwork or homework, she generally raced through it, skipping some problems in her haste and filling the rest with messy scribbles. The up-side, as it was with me, is she often is hurrying so she can get to back to whatever book she’s reading. She got her own library card last month and gets 4-5 new books each week. Her only quiet moments come when she’s curled up somewhere semi-private with her books. As she gets older, and school gets more challenging, I’m sure she’ll learn to lock in a little better.

Right now, there’s nothing cool about M.. She is as goofy as can be, which I love. Well, kind of. She’s very much into talking about butts and boobs and then laughing uncontrollably. That gets old fast. But I like that she hasn’t figured out what cool is yet and can still be a goofy kid for a little longer. I know we’re very close to a change that will keep her from being silly around us.

As the first-born, bossy big sister, she drives me crazy much of the time. But I’m also very proud of how bright, inquisitive, and full of life she is. For her, every day is an opportunity to learn or create something new. My biggest worry is that she picks up another of my intellectual traits: being interested in so many things that she has a hard time focusing on one or two things that she can excel at. But she’s only nine; she has plenty of time to overcome that genetic flaw.

A Case Of The Mondays

July 22, 2013 /

I’ll admit, sometimes I feel like my life is one big first world problem. I’m super fortunate that while there are some annoyances that test my patience each day, some wrinkles I’d love to have smoothed out, I face no true, big problems. I try to remain mindful and thankful of that at all times, as I know how quickly things can change.

With that in mind, I’ll share my current, biggest, first world annoyance: I often have no idea what day it is.

That’s a common summer problem for at-home parents, as our schedules become fluid once the constraints of school are removed from them. But it’s been crazier for me this year since S. has Mondays off.

We do normal weekend stuff – visit our local vacation spot1, go to the pool, cookout with friends, etc. – which after nearly three months at her new job, is starting to feel normal again. But on Mondays, when the rest of the world goes back to work and their regular schedules, she’s still here hanging out with us. We can extend our stay at our LVS, go to the pool in the middle of the day, head to the mall, or anything else we want/need to do. And as we meander through our Mondays, I’m constantly thinking, “Wait, it’s not Sunday?” Even watching neighbors head off to their offices in the morning or seeing the mailman come doesn’t flip the switch in my head.

You would think after nearly nine years of doing the at-home dad thing, my system would be flushed of all those old, internal rhythms that fit the five-day work week. Apparently not.

M. and C. are three weeks and change from returning to school. While this has been a great summer so far, with some more fun events planned for the next month, I’m kind of looking forward to August 14 just so I can take them to school each Monday and have a clean, solid start to each week.

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  1. Which I shall call LVS from now on. ↩

A Few Digital Music Thoughts

July 19, 2013 /

The horse is long out of the barn.

That’s my reaction to Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke’s announcement earlier this week that he was pulling his solo and Atoms For Peace music from the streaming service Spotify to protest the minuscule royalty payments it, and other similar services, issues to artists.

I absolutely agree with his point: there needs to be a model for online music that balances the interests of artists who perform and write music and are entitled to fair compensation for their works, of consumers who want easy access to huge libraries of music, and the need for companies that serve the music up to make some money for their efforts. I pay $10/month to get access to my Rdio account on my phone or any other mobile device. I’d pay twice that, as I rarely buy singles or albums from iTunes or Amazon anymore, if it meant artists could get a more fair return for my virtual spins of their music.

But, sadly, I think consumers have been so warped by nearly 15 years of cheap-to-free music on the Internet that there is no retraining them/us how to value music properly. You can only drink from the firehose so long before anything less seems unacceptable. If Spotify, Rdio, etc. jacked up their monthly rates to $20, I bet their already meager subscription rolls would shrink dramatically. Which would be a disaster for companies that are struggling to figure out how to make a profit.

I like that Yorke is sticking up for smaller artists who, unlike him, can’t survive on broad back catalogs and expect to sell several hundred thousand copies of new albums as he can with Radiohead. It’s not going to do much to change the mind of the consumer, though, who for the first time in the history of the record business, gets the best of the give-and-take with artists and record companies in the streaming music age.

Radio is dying. The iTunes era is coming to an end. Streaming music services, if they survive, clearly can’t match radio, or even iTunes, for royalty payouts. Being a musician has never been easy. But, more than any time since the dawn of the rock era, musicians must rely on touring, merchandising, and other methods it earn a living. They can’t hope to have a single picked up nationally and then sell a bunch of albums and live of the proceeds.

I wrote this on Tuesday and never got around to posting it. Tuesday night I finally read the profile of Huey Lewis that Steven Hyden wrote for Grantland a couple weeks back. It’s great for a lot of reasons, but I also thought Huey’s view of the music industry fit in with the subject of digital music and what it means to the consumer.

” American popular music is our only art form. It’s our most important export, period. And since time began, it’s been handled not as an art form but as a commodity. I mean, all records are the same price. Books are different prices, paintings are different prices, wine is different prices, but all music is the same fucking price. And why? Because the executives in charge of the business are not real businesspeople. They didn’t go to business school, they don’t have a business vision. ‘He just managed a band that sold 8 million records. So let’s put him in charge.'”

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2013 All Star Game

July 17, 2013 /

This year’s All-Star Game retrospective won’t be quite as exhaustive as some in the past have been. By the time S. was home from a meeting and the girls were in bed, it was the top of the third. Fortunately, it was still 0-0 so with the exception of Robinson Cano getting plunked, I saw just about all the best game action.

Obviously the story of the game was Mariano Rivera’s final ASG appearance. I don’t like Yankees. At all. I’ve had grudging respect for the home grown members of their most recent dynastic run – Jeter, Pettite, Williams, Posada – but I was always quick to hate in those guys as well. But Mo is something else entirely.

I’ll admit it took awhile with him, but he’s become the only true Yankee I’ve ever liked, or even loved1. The greatest relief pitcher in MLB history, a truly fantastic man aside from baseball, and a man who despite his fame and dignity, never took himself too seriously. I loved how he good-naturedly tipped his cap and waved to the massive cheers he got in Boston on Opening Day 2005 as the Red Sox fans mocked cheered him for blowing the save in Game Four of the previous fall’s ALCS. Or his wonderful reaction to his teammates <a href=’http://www.thegreedypinstripes.com/2013/05/royals-have-little-fun-with-mariano.html’>chalking an outline of his body</a> on the warning track in Kansas City this year, a season after his career nearly ended a year early there. And then the stories of how he’s handled his retirement tour, taking extra time to thank the folks who support players in each park. I’m sure he’s not perfect and has pissed someone off over the years, or has misbehaved at some point, but from what we see of him, he sure seems to genuinely understand how to put the game in its proper perspective.

Thus it was a truly fantastic moment when he entered the field Tuesday night, and the other All Stars let him walk out alone and soak up the hometown adulation. Baseball especially seems to revel in these valedictory moments. Last year Chipper Jones received a lot of love as he wound down his career with a final ASG appearance. But Mo’s was extra special since it came in the city he’s spent his entire big league career in. Even for someone as cynical about sports as I am can’t help but be moved by the emotion of moments like Mo’s last night.

Mo’s entrance came at the perfect time, to rescue the game from the incredibly awkward Neil Diamond performance of “Sweet Caroline.” There was the collective “What?!?” followed by noticeable boos as the New York crowd let baseball know they didn’t appreciate a Boston tradition being thrust upon their All-Star Game. There was the tepid reactions by the players in both dugouts. And Neil doesn’t exactly have the same chops he used to have, making it extra uncomfortable. But, it was “Sweet Caroline,” and even the hard-ass New York crowd softened and couldn’t help but sing along by the second chorus.

Worth noting unless something unbelievably strange happens, there will never be another Major League All-Star older than me. Sigh.

Second-best moment of the night was Prince Fielder’s triple in the ninth. Good times. Raise your hand if you thought, two years ago, Fielder would still be raking and playing terrific ball while Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton were sucking.

How about the Royals sending three players to the All-Star Game? Shame it’s not because the team had a hot first half and is, like Pittsburgh, playing some of the best baseball in the league and thinking about who they can add to make a pennant run. But it was still cool to see Holland, Perez, and Gordon all enter the game together in the seventh, and Perez provide an insurance run in the eighth. The great sadness, of course, was Sal’s hit was the first by a Royal in the ASG since Bo Jackson’s MVP performance in 1989, which was before Sal was born. Trust the process!

Holland wasn’t sharp, but still got shafted when Jim Leland decided to channel his buddy Tony LaRussa and get pitcher-changing happy in the seventh.

When we were kids, it was always fun to see which players would don white shoes for the All-Star Game. Looking at shoe styles now, and all the neon colors that were shown off last night, it seems awfully quant that we were excited when Frank White would wear white Nikes and we wondered why the Royals didn’t wear white shoes all the time. And I dug Jose Fernandez’s Day-Glo orange glove.

Speaking of Fernandez, All-Star games are traditionally dominated by established stars. In general that’s still the case, but how about two 20 year olds and two 21 year olds highlighting a fantastic crop of young players who made appearances last night? Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Manny Machado are going to be playing in this game for a long, long time.

Finally, <a href=’http://dsnotebook.me/blog/2013/7/9/sports-notes’>it wasn’t that long ago</a> when I said the Royals might re-earn my interest if they closed out the first half strong and didn’t do something dumb like lose four of six. Then they lost their final five games before the break and are closer to fourth place than second. Naturally.

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  1. Rickey Henderson was not a true Yankee. ↩

Weekend Notes

July 15, 2013 /

Catching up on the weekend and some girls notes as we wrap up a sleep-over.

We swapped daughters with our neighbors last night. C. went next door to sleep with her 7-year-old buddy while M.’s 9-year-old pal came to our home for the night. Our evening was uneventful. We ate dinner, then the girls watched the newest American Girl Doll movie1. It took them awhile to get settled upstairs, and we had to make some fan and air conditioning adjustmenst so they could cool off, but by the time I went to bed at 11 they seemed to be out.

That didn’t last long, though. Whether it was the heat or excitement of sleeping over or nervousness, the girls woke sometime after 3:00 and were talking, opening and closing doors, and otherwise making noise until about 4:00 when they went downstairs, turned on the TV, and chatted away like it was normal morning time. I stumbled downstairs, told them we don’t watch TV at 4:00 AM, clicked the TV off, and told them they didn’t have to go back upstairs but they did have to go back to sleep. Apparently S. had to give them another reminder shortly after.

It is now 8:44 and both girls are passed out on couches in the living room. I’m sure there will be no grumpiness today at all. We have not heard how things went next door but both C. and her friend tend to struggle to fall to sleep at night then enjoy sleeping in the next morning. We’ll see.

Our big event of the weekend was going to see “Despicable Me 2”. The girls earned the trip to the theater, just our second as an entire family, through our personal summer reading program. M. and C. brought home a reading chart from school on which you get to color in a block for each 15 minutes of reading. To fill the chart requires 1500 minutes of reading. M. finished hers before June ended; she plows through 4-5 library books each week.

For C. and L., they had to read with me each day, with C. alternating between being read to and reading out loud. They both got halfway through their charts, which was the goal they had to meet before July 1 to see the movie.

So we went to a matinee Saturday afternoon that was about half-full. Lots of giggling, happy kids. Our girls give the movie a solid three thumbs up, and each said it was better than the first movie. They’ve been discussing which of Gru’s minions was their favorite ever since the movie ended. The best part was watching L. watch a movie. First, she’s barely big enough to keep a movie theater seat pushed down. So her seat kept folding up on her. Occasionally she’d intentionally let it fold all the way up and she’d sit there with her feet sticking out in front of her body, as happy as can be. She’s also a bit of a talker during movies. At this age it’s charming but we may have to work on that if it continues.

When the movie was over, the girls were starving. And there just happened to be a McDonald’s right across the street. “Despicable Me” Happy Meals for everyone! It was a successful afternoon and evening, as far as the girls were concerned.

The girls also wrapped up tennis lessons last week. As I believe I mentioned when they started, their classes were mostly working on basic skills and didn’t involve any actual play. Which was fine, as M. and C. can barely hit the ball. They seemed to enjoy it but we’ll have to continue to get them on the courts to make sure they learn to get the racquet on the ball on a regular basis so they can do more than just practice drills.

L. was in her own class, with simpler drills, and did great. It’s funny seeing the three of them on the court. M. has never been super graceful, but she’s getting long and skinny and a little more awkward. She was a blur of elbows and knees as she chased and attempted to hit the ball. C. is fast and light on her feet, but easily distracted and always a little clueless as to what’s going on. Her visor often drooping down over her eyes doesn’t help. And L. just marches around the court like she owns it.

8:55 and the girls are awake. L. is arguing with them about who slept better.

After barely going for two weeks because of cooler, rainy weather and our Fourth of July activities, we’re back at the pool just about every day. The girls continue to do fantastic in the water. C. learned how to dive last week. The neighbors had picked up some tips from their lessons and shared them with our girls. M. can’t get it at all, but after about three tries, C. was doing perfect dives off both the side of the pool and the board.

My favorite pool moment of the year, so far: there is a group of high school girls that are at pool most days. I’ll go ahead and acknowledge this makes me dirty old man-ish, but these girls are flawless. They’re also like 16, so I don’t do more than glance their way when they walk in or if the girls are in their general area2. Two of them roll into the parking lot in a BMW 5-series, which I really hope is their parents’ and doesn’t belong to one of the girls.

Anyway, last Thursday two of the girls took a spot near the seats the girls and I had claimed. During an adult swim session, I was getting the girls their snacks while the high school girls quietly laid out. A slightly doughy boy who I’ll guess is 10 strolled by and, looking at the high schoolers, said, “Hi pretty girls,” and kept marching on. They popped their heads up, looked to see who talked to them, and busted out laughing. I give the kid tremendous props. He showed no fear. He didn’t care that they were 6-7 years older than him, in perfect shape, and tanned. He walked his pasty, flabby body right over to them and said what he wanted to say. It may not pay off now, or for a long time, but the kid is thinking the right way.

9:13 and C. and her buddy have arrived fed, dressed, and full of energy. The four girls are all talking at once, arguing about who stayed up later, who had the best time, etc.

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  1. C. threw a fit that her current American Girl Doll doesn’t look like her and she wants a new one. We should have never gone down this cursed path. ↩
  2. Yet I can say they’re flawless. I know. Judge not lest ye be judged. Or whatever. ↩

Books

July 11, 2013 /

Watchmen – Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

I was never a comic book guy. I did have some Star Wars comics1 and dabbled in GI Joe comics in the early 80s, but that was about it. I think because I was never into comics, I was also never into super heroes. So while it has become fashionable in some circles for men my age to “rediscover” comics and start building a library of X-Men and Avengers books, since I lacked that early love of the medium and the characters, I’ve spent my middle aged hobby money elsewhere2. I did read an X-Man compilation last summer. But it didn’t connect with me and I’ve not tried any other comics.

I decided to take another crack at a comic, err, graphic novel, only because Time listed “Watchmen” as one of the best 100 novels of the last century. Seemed like if a comic book got that kind of praise, I owed it to myself as a lover of books to give it a shot.

I liked it a lot. It’s a really cool story, set in a really cool time. It’s 1985 and the United States and Soviet Union are on the verge of cataclysmic war. The only thing holding them back is a mutated, American superhero named Dr. Manhattan who can singlehandedly repel any armed force. In fact, he turned the tide in Vietnam and the US not only won that war, but Richard Nixon used the popularity boost to change the Constitution and is still serving as president in ’853. But when Dr. Manhattan flees earth, the Soviets prepare to confront the US in Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, Manhattan’s old costumed, crime fighting pals, the Watchmen, come out of retirement and race to solve the murder of their old partner The Comedian, which leads them to a larger plot that threatens New York City.

The end is nicely ambiguous and, in some ways, unsatisfying. But I liked that. It felt right for a book that focuses on a violent, tense, mess of a society on the brink of war where there are no easy, obvious answers.

I did have a hard time getting over some of the limitations of the medium. To me, comics ask you to fill in more blanks than traditional novels, and occasionally I had to reread sections multiple times to figure out exactly what was going on. Perhaps I wouldn’t have had that trouble if I read more comics. That didn’t keep me from enjoying the book, though. And I couldn’t help but think of the old GI Joe comics which had a similar graphic style. Those comics were trash, so it was a bit distracting to constantly be mentally referring to them as I worked through this much better work.

Yeah, I enjoyed “Watchmen” quite a bit. It strikes some themes that are common in comic books, mostly of the talented yet tortured heroes who attempt to bring order to a chaotic society. I never got into the whole costumed hero thing as a kid, but understanding that darker side that is at the base of most great comics makes me appreciate them more. Will I start reading any on a regular basis? I don’t think so, mostly because my To Read list is so long already. But after reading the classic work of the genre, I may browse the library’s graphic novel/comics section a little more and dive into some of the other classics from time-to-time.

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  1. Which the girls found about a year ago and proceeded to destroy. Fortunately they were not in any kind of condition where I could have sold them and paid for a trip to Maui. Or a boat. Or even a fancy coffee drink somewhere. ↩
  2. Brewing my own beer and collecting vinyl LPs, to name two. ↩
  3. Zoinks! ↩

Sports Notes

July 9, 2013 /

The promised thoughts on a few of the biggest sports news of the holiday week.

Brad Stevens to the Boston Celtics.

I was walking into a local brewery to fill growlers for the weekend last Wednesday when I got a text asking what I thought about the move. My first response was “Holy shit!” There were no rumbles here in Indy that Stevens was interested in, or talking to someone about, an NBA job. Since his rise a few years ago, he’s turned down Oregon, Missouri, and most notably UCLA, who he actually had contract discussions with. It seemed like he was happy sticking at Butler until either the Indiana job opened up one day, or until he was ready to retire. After all, at only 36 he could bide his time until Tom Crean moved on from Bloomington and still have a nice, long career as the Hoosiers coach even if it doesn’t happen for another ten years.

But after the shock wore off and I thought about it more,, the more taking an NBA job made sense. The rumor has always been that Stevens doesn’t like the recruiting side of college basketball. That may well be true, but if/when he did chose to take a BCS-level job, that task would become much easier than it is at Butler, where he still has to wait for IU, Purdue, Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan State, and Michigan to pick through the top local talent each year. But maybe there’s more truth to it than I originally thought.

And as many have noted, his analytic interests are more in line with the direction the NBA is moving. I’m not expert on the advanced statistics that several organizations are using, but it seems like there is more opportunity to implement that coaching/team building style at the professional level than in college, due both to the longer season and the ability to build a roster that will stay together for an extended run.

There’s also a big difference in what coaches do at each level. You run the whole thing in college, from recruiting to teaching to managing a roster full of late teenagers/early 20-somethings. In the NBA, you may still play an integral role in building the roster in the off-season, but much more of your efforts are spent installing plays, scouting, building game plans, and then managing the game. I think Stevens views the NBA as a series of riddles that can be cracked with the proper amount of study and preparation and attention to detail. The NBA game fits how his mind works and where his interests are better than the college game. Or at least he views it as more of a challenge, I think. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be super successful, or never coach in college again. But it does, perhaps, explain why he politely turned down every program that has offered him a job since he took Butler to its first title game appearance in 2010.

I love the enthusiasm of a few KU fans who pointed out how this could work out perfectly for KU. Stevens goes to Boston, tries to build a winner, but fails. Gregg Popovich retires in San Antonio while Stevens is in Boston. Bill Self’s buddy RC Burford, the GM in San Antonio, hires Self to replace Pop. Stevens is fired by the Celtics just as KU needs a new coach. I give those folks credit for thinking waaaaay ahead.

Pacers Summer Moves

Since we’re talking NBA, a quick look at the moves the Indiana Pacers have made so far. They entered the off-season needing to re-sign David West and strengthen their bench, which was pretty putrid last year. They got the D-West deal done quickly, which was the most important thing.

The bench will get an automatic lift if Danny Granger is healthy next year. Granger will either be a super-sub and give the bench a starter-level talent, or Lance Stephenson will move back to the second unit and boost them after his terrific 2012-13 season. I think having Granger on the bench is the best way to ensure Paul George takes the next step to superstar next year, but either option makes the bench better.

Last week the Pacers shored up the backup point guard position by signing CJ Watson. He’s not great, but he should be an improvement over DJ Augustin. Then they snatched Chris Copeland away from the Knicks. Copeland killed the Pacers in a couple games of their playoff series with the Knicks. If he can keep shooting the way he did last year, over 45% from three-point range, it’s a good signing. But I always worry about guys with a lot of size who become perimeter focused. Then again, the Pacers had no bench shooting last year, so it’s a risk they had to take.

Finally, they rescinded their qualifying offer to Tyler Hansbrough. Psycho-T plays hard, and still surprises me by having some decent moments. But for the most part he’s overmatched and hurts the team more than he helps. Last year’s #1 pick Miles Plumlee should slide into Hansbrough’s spot. I don’t expect much from Plumlee, but he’s taller and a better athlete. So perhaps he can fill those minutes more effectively than Psycho did.

All-in-all, nothing dramatic but pretty solid moves by the Pacers. They kept the starting unit intact by re-signing West, have added some bench depth, and should get a lift if Granger can get healthy. Is it enough to win game seven in Miami? Hopefully we’ll find out next June.

KC All-Stars

Finally, kudos to Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez for making the American League All-Star team. I know I was shocked when I saw two Royals position players were selected. Gordon absolutely deserves it, despite tailing off a bit in June. Sal is a little more debatable, but it’s not a complete travesty he made it or anything.

With under a week until the All-Star break, the Royals are sitting at two games under .500, only six games out of first place. I think making a run at Detroit is silly to hope for. But maybe staying in shouting distance of .500 isn’t that crazy to wish for. I’m checking scores more than I was three weeks ago. If they can keep it together this week and not lose four of six or something like that, I may have to start watching games again after the break.

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