You know the drill. Watching lots of baseball, reading lots about baseball, not many links to share, etc. etc. etc.
Thus, it’s kind of a requirement that I kick things off with an article about the crowd at Kauffman Stadium. You’ve read my thoughts on this. It’s nice that a national voice, who was actually in the stadium last week, agrees.
The Royals fans, and that sound, is what makes this series unique. It’s the one thing this Series has that no other Series has had. It’ll be loud at AT&T Park over the next three nights, but it won’t be like that. No stadium could be.
KC Can Make This A Real Fall Classic
Speaking of el beisból, a really nice feature on Fay Vincent, the former MLB commissioner. Although he was praised for how he handled the 1989 World Series that was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake, he was never really respected for the other things he did in his brief term. This article lays out how he was an accidental commissioner, how he views his time in office, and what he’s been up to since.
Fay Vincent Gets The Last Word
Now onto the pop culture…
The AV Club runs this 11 questions feature regularly. Sometimes they’re interesting, sometimes rather boring. This one with John Hodgman is tremendous.
I remember one time when the Apple ads were just getting going and I saw Chuck D at the Apple store and I said, “I just wanted to let you know I saw you guys perform at Toad’s Place in New Haven in 1989 or ’90, and while I’m obviously not the target audience of Public Enemy, the music had a profound effect on me and made me look at the world differently.” And that is what I intended to say, what I wanted to say. But all I got to say was, “Uh, Mr. D?” And he said, “Hey! PC!” I thought, “The world is upside down.” And then he hugged me. I got hugged by Chuck D. I mean, it was one of the greatest days of my life.
Deranged millionaire John Hodgman answers our 11 questions
Another one from the AV Club. This one is Josh Modell’s accounting of going to a Pearl Jam concert. I listen to the PJ channel on SiriusXM quite a bit, and they play a ton of stuff from the current tour. To my ear, the band sounds like it has lost a few MPH off their fastball. But, in the vein of Springsteen, despite aging they still are dedicated to doing amazing shows that are different every night.
This is not a Pearl Jam concert review
Unfortunately this is just a blurb from Sheila E.’s new autobiography. But it kind of makes me want to read it. I’ll just snip the whole thing and give credit to finding it at Kottke.
I never did make it down to the studio to meet “the kid,” but a few months later, in April 1978, I was at Leopold’s record store in Berkeley browsing through records when I looked up to see a new poster. It featured a beautiful young man with brown skin, a perfect Afro, and stunning green eyes. The word Prince was written in bold letters at the top. That was the guy Tom was talking about!
I found his album For You in the rack and immediately looked at the credits: “Produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince.”
The staff at the store, whom I’d known for years, let me take the poster home. Before I’d even listened to his record, I’d taped the poster above my waterbed. Then I lowered the needle onto the album on my record player, sat on the floor, and listened to it in its entirety. Tom was right. I immediately heard that funky rhythm guitar part he’d been talking about. It wasn’t only on one song, but the whole album. I stared up at the poster and told him, “I’m gonna meet you one day.”
My favorite part might be that Sheila E. had a waterbed in 1978. Of course she did!