I mentioned recently that I started writing for Owls America, a website for Sheffield Wednesday fans in North and South America. I knew going in that my writing style works well here on Sean's Ramblings, but I was a little concerned about how it would fit on Owls America. It seems like the readers of Owls America expect analysis and match previews. I'll admit that this really isn't my specialty. In my opinion, there are plenty of other website that offer preview and game analysis. My posts tend to focus on a few things about the team and mixed with some "fun" facts. Anyway, since the site decided not to run my latest blog post, I figured that I would share it here instead. Please note that I think you can still enjoy this post even if you don't know anything about Sheffield Wednesday.
* With Sunday's 2-0 loss at Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday
has now scored only 2 goals (both against Cardiff City) in 4 games against non
League One teams. It's a little early to be too concerned about the lack of
offensive production, but Wednesday needs to score some goals soon. The latest
rumor is that Wednesday has interest Cardiff City's Callum Paterson.
Although Paterson has scored or assisted 29 goals in his 106 games for Cardiff,
he has yet to play this season. I've been pleased with Josh Windass overall so far,
and I'm still hopeful for production from Elias Kachunga and Jordan Rhodes, but
another experienced forward would be a welcome addition. * Chris Martin assisted on Bristol City's first goal. This man
can do everything. He sings and plays multiple instruments for one of the world's biggest bands (Coldplay), and he even acts. (He's
been on Modern Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm.) In addition to all this, he
was married to Gwyneth Paltrow and has been romantically linked with Dakota
Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence. Now, he's trying to help Bristol City reach the
Premier League. Amazing!
* There were reports this week that Watford and an unnamed
Premier League team are interested in defender Dominic Iorfa. Last season's
team player of the year is the rock of Wednesday's defense and arguably the
team's most important and dependable player. If someone offers
Wednesday $15-$20 million for him, I think it would be hard to say no
particularly with the uncertainty about any ticket revenue. * Barry Bannon's Instagram account is bazzaboi10. I just wanted
to point this out. Bazzaboi10. Next up: Queens Park Rangers at Hillsborough on Saturday,
October 3rd. Some goals (and more importantly 3 points) would be nice!
Every few years, I write a post about Rosh Hashanah or Hanukkah featuring various videos to celebrate the new year (like I did last week) or the festival of lights. I don't typically write about Yom Kippur though. Well, except for the time that Train had a song where Patrick Monahan sang "How could you leave on Yom Kippur?" That remains one of the strangest lines in pop music this century. (I could share my thoughts about Train right now, but that would be totally off topic. And at a time where I'm asking for forgiveness, I probably don't want to insult Train.)
Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It's a day where people 13 and older don't eat or drink from sundown to sundown. (There are obviously exceptions for those who are sick, pregnant, or unable to fast.) You spend much of the time in synagogue praying, you don't work, and you refrain from sexual activity. Traditionally, you don't bathe or wash, put on perfume or lotions, or wear leather shoes. The leather shoes thing has bothered me for years. In the old days, leather shoes were considered a luxury, which is part of the reason why you're supposed to wear sneakers or sandals instead. For me, I'd much rather wear sneakers than leather shoes as they are more comfortable, so I continue to wear leather shoes. Of course, since I'm doing services from home this year, there is no debate for me. I'm wearing only socks. Problem solved!
The services at home thing really isn't new for me anymore. I've been doing them since March. What is new is that Yom Kippur is the only day of the year where I don't watch TV, I don't turn on the radio or listen to music, and I don't use my computer or phone. This year, I'll have to turn on the computer to participate in services.
During Yom Kippur, there is a memorial service called Yizkor. With my dad passing away earlier this year, this will be the first time I'll participate in Yizkor during Yom Kippur. I suspect that it will be less emotional being at home instead of in the same room as others thinking of their loved ones.
We often host a "break fast" gathering at our house with friends and family with bagels, cream cheese, lox and more. I'll definitely miss that this year.
So it turns out that there is one (just one) amusing Yom Kippur, so I'll share it here.
If you're observing Yom Kippur, have an easy fast and a meaningful day.
My blog posts have been a little heavy lately, so let's get back to basics. "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd may just be the song of the year. It's been out for months now, and I'm still not tired of it. Enjoy!
His performance at this year's VMAs was also cool.
I've been thinking about this for a long time. I know that
there are plenty of Jews who support and will vote for Donald Trump in
November. Much of the reasoning behind this is due to his relationship and
accomplishments surrounding Israel. Let's start with Trump moving the American
embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On the surface, this seems like an easy
call. How can an embassy not be in the country capital? Congress even authorized
this move back in 1995. (Biden voted in favor of this.) For a variety of
reasons, though, the move never happened until Trump took office. While maybe
pro-Trump Jewish voters are okay with the end result here, Trump said that he
moved the embassy “for the evangelicals.”
“And we moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem. That’s for the Evangelicals. You know, it’s amazing with that: the Evangelicals are more excited by that than Jewish people.” pic.twitter.com/nO8aIzuZJa
I'm definitely not going to speak for evangelicals here.
I'll let Walker Robins, a former Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at
Brandeis University post-doctoral fellow (and current lecturer at Merrimack
College) explain.
Some evangelicals "stress biblical prophecy, holding
that Jewish possession of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount in East
Jerusalem, is essential to a number of prophesied events that will
accompany the Second Coming of Christ." Many evangelicals see the embassy
move as getting closer to the Rapture / End Times / Armageddon where good
Christians go to heaven and the rest of us (including Jews) are left behind or
worse. Therefore, it's fair to suspect the way the embassy move was done (it
upset lots of people) and the reason for the move. By the way, Trump said this during his acceptance speech at
the Republican Convention last month.
“Rather
than spending $1 billion on a new building as planned, we took an already owned
existing building in a better location … and opened it at a cost of less than
$500,000.”
In reality, from this fact check from the link above, the cost for converting the
building is over $23 million, and the costs for the permanent embassy could surpass
$1 billion.
Even back in 2018 when Trump claimed that the site would
only cost between $200,000 and $300,000, the State Department awarded a $21
million contract for embassy building upgrades.
I’m not going to write that Trump lied about the costs, but, um, I’m not sure
the right way to finish this sentence if I don't write that. I should also mention that if people are
worried about the status of the embassy if Trump loses, Biden said he’ll keep the embassy in Jerusalem.
I realize that I barely started this post, and I’m including
lots of links and quotes. That’s not like me! You generally read stories about
my kids or about how many burritos I ate in a year. I’ll try to have less of
this.
Israel recently signed peace agreements with the United Arab
Emirates and Bahrain thanks in part to assistance by the United States. Trump
is taking credit for this, and he should. This is his biggest international accomplishment
of his presidency. However, let’s not pretend that Trump was at Camp David with
international leaders for weeks trying to broker a peace deal like Jimmy
Carter. UAE and Israel have been building towards an agreement for years based
on growing business connections and a mutual enemy in Iran. And honestly, the
Saudi Arabia and Iran relationship is probably the key here. Hot take: They
don’t like each other very much. UAE and Bahrain don’t do these deals without the backing
of Saudi Arabia. And this is where things get tricky. Or maybe not tricky at
all.
The CIA concluded that Mohammed bin Salman (“MBS”), the crown prince of
Saudi Arabia, ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul. Nevertheless, not long after the murder, Trump bypassed
Congress to sell about $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and UAE. He also
vetoed resolutions blocking the sale as well as a bipartisan bill to end US
support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s civil war. In addition, it was recently
revealed that Trump bragged to Bob Woodward that he “was able to get Congress
to leave MBS alone.” Clearly, Trump values his relationship with the Saudi
monarchy (and probably more specifically their money), and they obviously love
Trump. I mean, there were no repercussions at all for murdering a journalist.
In fact, they were rewarded and protected!
So it clearly looks like Israel decided that they’re on the
Saudi side of the Saudi Arabia-Iran whatever you want to call it. And this is
where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes in. Bibi (and others
including many in the American Jewish community) didn’t like the international
deal between the US and other countries with Iran during the Obama
administration. Obama and Bibi never seemed to get along, and the signing of
this nuclear agreement strained the relationship (at best) between the two.
Because of this, there are people who think that Obama and Biden (since he was
VP under Obama) are against or hate Israel. However, it was under Obama and
Biden in 2016 that the US signed a record $38 billion deal for military aid to
Israel. Now, it’s fair to question this deal and incredible amount of money
involved here, but it happened even with the sour relationship between Obama
and Netanyahu. The point is America is committed to Israel no matter who is in
the Oval Office. And it seems to me that Biden has a solid track record on
Israel and to a lesser extent so does Kamala Harris.
By the way, Israel definitely didn’t want Iran to have
nuclear capabilities. Well, guess who may have enough uranium ore to produce
nuclear fuel? That’s right, Saudi Arabia!
Moving the American embassy to Jerusalem is fine, and it’s great the Israel has
peace agreements with UAE and Bahrain. However, anyone suggesting that Trump is
the best president Israel has ever had certainly doesn’t know the history
between the two countries. While I stand by my point that the US-Israel
relationship will be strong with whoever is in the Oval Office, Israel needs to
worry about their own leadership given that there have been approximately 87
elections for Prime Minister over the last few years! (That’s only a slight
exaggeration.) I think most people want Israel to have peace agreements with as many countries (and including the Palestinians) as possible. Until that happens, though, I think it's fair to be skeptical (and there are probably other words you could use here) of the Saudi Arabian government.
Now that I wrote about America’s relationship with Israel, I
wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah.
Actually, I wanna really, really, really discuss this this
September 2, 2020 opinion article titled "Many Orthodox Jews support
President Trump. I'm one of them - here's why" by Mishpacha Magazine
editor Binyamin Rose published in Washington Jewish Week. Here are some quotes from the article:
We feel an affinity to the president’s cadre of Orthodox
Jewish advisers, including Jared Kushner. Jared’s father, Charlie, was my high
school classmate at the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth, NJ. The
Kushners wore their commitment to Jewish causes and Israel on their sleeves.
It’s nice
that Rose has a personal connection to the Kushners. It’s funny that he didn’t
mention that Kushner pleaded guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of
retaliating against a federal witness and one count of lying to the Federal
Election Commission. And that one count of retaliating against a federal
witness is quite a story. Kushner hired a prostitute to seduce his
brother-in-law, videotaped it, and then sent the videotape to his sister to
attempt to intimidate her from testifying before a grand jury. So Kushner
served time in federal prison, but since he’s committed to Jewish causes and
Israel, everything is okay? As for Jared Kusher, the only reason that he has
such a prominent role in the Trump administration is because he married Ivanka
Trump. I would say that he’s a real life Tom Wambsgans, but as pointed out in
this amazing Last Week Tonight segment, he has plenty of responsibilities.
(This video is not safe for work.)
If Kushner wasn't married to Ivanka and showed up at the White House with his resume and asked to be responsible for Middle East peace negotiations, on the coronavirus task force, as well as the other items he does, he would be laughed away. Back to the article.
Recent
events have only solidified Trump’s standing despite the coronavirus pandemic,
which most Orthodox Jews view as primarily a health issue and not one that
politicians can solve. Biden can critique Trump from the basement of his
Wilmington, Del., home all he wants, but he can’t prove retroactively that he
would have done better.
I’ll give
Rose the benefit of the doubt that this was published in early September before
the revelation that Trump told Bob Woodward that he was downplaying the
severity of the virus to avoid panic. We all know that Trump tries to avoid
panic at all costs. Remember all of the gang members and terrorists that were
part of the Central American migrants ready to invade our southern border? He
definitely tried to downplay that, right? Rose is correct that we can’t prove that Biden
would have done better during the pandemic. But how could he have done worse? Biden never said that the virus would simply go away. Biden also never said that the virus "affects virtually nobody" under 18. Again, I'm not going to write that Trump lied, but um...
Aside from catching COVID-19, the two outbreaks Orthodox Jews fear most are a breakdown of law and order, and rising anti-Semitism. To an
extent, the two dovetail.
American
Orthodox Jewish voters are concentrated in and around major cities, where
Jewish institutions have spent millions of dollars since 9/11 on security
upgrades. We have watched in dread as this summer’s legitimate demonstrations
against police brutality against Black Americans quickly gave way to rioting
and looting, with big-city mayors looking the other way.
While the
vast majority of the protests haven’t resulted in rioting and looting, let’s go
with Rose’s point. So the way to improve law and order and rising anti-Semitism
that has happened during the Trump presidency is to, re-elect Trump?
Yes,
political dialogue has descended to gutter level. Trump bears his share of the
blame for that. Judaism has laws for kosher speech, just as it has for kosher
food. Jewish law forbids the use of derogatory nicknames. We’d like to see the
president eliminate the name-calling from his political lexicon.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Can I stop laughing now? Trump has
been president for nearly four years. What makes you think he’s going to stop name-calling? He was just on Fox and Friends on Monday suggesting that Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman Adam Schiff (who he called "Shifty Schiff") made up Ruth Bader Ginsburg's deathbed statement that "my most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." His political lexicon isn't changing.
Trump’s
diatribes have emboldened far-right extremists and white nationalists.
But wait,
you just said that rising anti-Semitism was the biggest concern besides
COVID-19!
At the
same time, Democratic progressives have ramped up their anti-Israel rhetoric,
supporting the BDS movement under the banner of free speech. Both parties are
guilty of fomenting anti-Semitism. But for an Orthodox Jew, what’s the bigger
present threat? A far-right extremist in a distant rural town, or a looter in a
Jewish neighborhood?
This makes
no sense. Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez embolden people to loot in Jewish
neighborhoods? I’ve never once heard that correlation. By the
way, there were at least two far-right extremists in the last few years in
Pittsburgh and Poway (just outside San Diego). Those aren’t distant rural
towns. And just from personal experiences, Jewish agencies have spent millions of dollars on security upgrades since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting rather than since 9/11.
This is
out of order, but one final quote from Rose.
We also
support government funding of secular studies curriculums within parochial
schools, as many Western countries do.
If that’s your #1 election issue, I guess you’re going to vote for Trump. I
mean, almost all school funding occurs on the local or state level, but go with
Trump over Biden here. By the way, you know what else is a pressing item for Jews and all Americans? Healthcare. Trump's entire healthcare plan has been to abolish Obamacare, so much so that his administration is currently waiting to argue this in front of the Supreme Court. How many times over the last 3.5+ years has Trump said that he would have a new, better healthcare plan? It's late September, and there's still no plan or proposal.
Finally, please
listen to Trump’s phone call with various leaders, rabbis, and Holocaust survivors
(who he meets “on the campaign trail often”). I’d love to see a list of who exactly
was on this call. Oh, and when and where exactly is Trump meeting all of these Holocaust
survivors? Is it before or after his speeches at airport hangers? Anyway, while it seems like the premise of this call was to celebrate Rosh
Hashanah and wish people a Happy New Year, the vast majority of the nearly 15 minutes of the video consists of Trump talking
about himself and encouraging everyone listening to vote for him. A "may you be inscribed in the book of life" statement would have been nice. At around the 9:30 mark, he says, “If we don’t win, Israel is in big trouble.” Once again,
he’s downplaying panic, right? He also complained that he only got 25% of the Jewish
vote in 2016 even though “I have a son-in-law and a daughter who are Jewish” and grandchildren that are Jewish. Yes, when most people vote for president, the religion of the candidate’s
family members is the deciding factor. I think he really feels like he should get more votes from American Jews simply for this reason.
At the end
of the call, Trump says that “we love your country also.” Aren’t the people on
this call American? American Jews certainly have a connection to Israel, but
the United States is our country.
If you
made it all the way through this post, thank you. Look, I know that this post
isn’t going to change anyone’s mind, especially because I can’t imagine that there are any
undecided voters at this point. I’m just trying to share that Israel will be
just fine without Trump, and America will be better without him too.
Shana Tova, and may you be inscribed in the Book of Life!
(Photo of Trump and MBS from Getty. Photo of Biden and Harris by Anthony Lanzilote of Bloomberg.)
UPDATE: It was only a few hours after this post that I saw this story which states "After phone calls with Jewish lawmakers, Trump has muttered that Jews "are only in it for themselves" and "stick together" in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties, officials said." Maybe this isn't true, but this certainly sounds like something he would say, right?
Happy Rosh Hashanah to those of you who are celebrating! The Jewish new year begins Friday night and things are going to be a little different this year. Instead of being at synagogue or having meals with friends, I'll be watching a live-stream of services at home and eating with my family like I have every night for the last 6 months. One thing remains the same though. A Rosh Hashanah post with various videos to welcome the year!
First up is Blossom, I mean Amy Farrah Fowler, I mean Mayim Bialik giving a nice overview of Rosh Hashanah.
The Maccabeats are back again this year, and perhaps they have emerged victorious in their battle (in my mind) with fellow a capella group, Six13. I don't see a Rosh Hashanah video from Six 13 this year, so advantage Maccabeats!
Need recipes and ideas of things to do from home during Rosh Hashanah? This may be the video for you!
And here's "Donald Trump" wishing everyone a Happy New Year! The voice is spot on and made me chuckle.
Finally, the perfect Rosh Hashanah video for my Spanish-speaking friends. I mean, unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish, so I'm just assuming that it's the perfect video.
Happy New Year! While some may say next year in Jerusalem, I'll say next year out of the house!
You can also check out my previous Rosh Hashanah posts including some fun videos by clicking here.
Imagine being so passionate about something that you created and operated a website about this topic for 23 years. 23! I mean, what websites can you think of from around 1997 that are still active today? Anyway, you spent countless hours establishing content, searching for videos, and moderating a message board for like-minded fans. Welcome to McMillen and Wife's Pittsburgh Steelers website! I only recently discovered this gem with nearly 50 years of videos and descriptions of Steelers games. It really is a fun place to explore, particularly if you want to watch complete Steelers games from the last few decades. The site also includes pictures of McMillen and his wife and various family members wearing Steelers gear. Basically, it's safe to assume that McMillen and wife are passionate Steelers fans. Well, until Monday.
Did McMillen decide that he finally had enough of non-guaranteed contracts for players? NFL players have the shortest careers of any of the big four American sports leagues in part because of the high injury rates including head injuries. Was McMillen fed up with NFL players getting arrested (and sometimes suspended) for domestic violence, yet still being allowed to play again? You know, I'll let McMillen explain for himself.
Yes, it's the over-politicization of football which is why McMillen is done and not coming back. I'm sure that McMillen is tired of Presidents and former Presidents attending Super Bowls and even conducting the coin toss to start these games. Maybe he doesn't like Super Bowl-winning teams visiting the White House. Perhaps he's tired of military members and veterans being honored during every game. You know, it's possible that McMillen is absolutely distraught about the NFL and the Steelers raising awareness and funds for cancer, autism, veterans, and other causes. That's too political for McMillen. I mean cancer is terrible. I don't want to think about cancer when all I want to see is if the Steelers can beat the Browns. He probably also hated seeing Ryan Shazier on TV during Steelers games at various points over the last few years. He's fortunate to walk again. Why get reminded about that when all that you wanted was a reprieve from the realities of life?
It's not any of these things though, is it? It's about players trying to have a voice and creating awareness and change. I mentioned a few years ago that one of my fantasy football leagues ended because, as a veteran, one of the members didn't like the protest by some players against the flag. However, as we've seen even more clearly over the last few months, it's not really about the flag. Imagine being so upset about the Steelers holding a banner that says Steelers Against Racism that you can't watch the NFL anymore. Too political.
Is McMillen so distraught about the Steelers having stickers on their helmets in memory of Antwon Rose II, that he refuses to watch TJ Watt, Bud Dupree, and the Steelers' pass rush? I don't want to get into the Rose case too much, because I'll admit that I don't know as much about it as I should. However, our country was founded with a judicial system and the right to a fair trial. Even if someone is presumed guilty of a crime, even a heinous crime, that doesn't give the police the authority to shoot an unarmed suspect.
I'm sure that McMillen has his reasons for not wanting to watch the Steelers or the NFL anymore. It could be a variety of all of this. Maybe it's as simple as realizing that he spent too much time on football and wants to enjoy quiet by doing jigsaw puzzles of scenic landscapes instead. That's not political and definitely provides a reprieve from the realities of life. In that case, good for him.
Assuming that McMillen isn't watching the NFL anymore because of what he views as politics, he's not alone. If you're on Twitter and Facebook, you'll see plenty of posts criticizing the players. Apparently, as Mike Pence showed us, peaceful protests are fine and encouraged as long as they don't interrupt sporting events or are political.
Look, I'm not going to pretend that I understand what many players are going through. As a white male, I don't have the same fear and experiences that others have. Maybe you believe that the media is blowing things out of proportion. That it's just a few bad apples. I know that nothing I'm going to write here is going to change your mind. However, read what retired Pittsburgh Steeler Ramon Foster wrote just after the death of George Floyd. Listen to the incredible actor Giancarlo Esposito in the 30:00 to 37:00 mark of this interview. So when the Steelers hold up a banner or when NBA, MLB, and even NHL games are postponed in protest, it's hard to think that it's just isolated incidents. It's players saying enough is enough, and that change is needed in this country.
So if players standing arm-in-arm before kick-off, staying in the locker room during the national anthem, or even kneeling during the anthem is so political that you can't watch Patrick Mahomes throw touchdown passes, celebrate a Steelers win, or even feel awful for Steelers offensive lineman Zach Banner needing surgery and ending his season because it adds to your stress, keep working on those jigsaw puzzles.
You may have seen that Joe Biden visited the Flight 93 Memorial on Friday to commemorate the 19th anniversary of 9-11. He also stopped by Shanksville's volunteer fire department, and according to WTAE (and others), the last time Biden was there, "he joked that he'd bring some beer when he returned." Therefore, he brought "two six-packs of Bud Light and Iron City, along with a Bundt cake and pastries for the crew."
I don't know the size of the fire department, but I'm not sure that 12 bottles of beer is enough. Anyway, Joe Biden (or more likely his staff) deserves credit for bringing a local beer. While Biden said, "I keep my promises" in reference to the beer, perhaps he should have said that "You can't keep an Iron Man down."
If you think that this blog post was simply an excuse to share this 30+ year-old Iron City commercial, I say, how dare you!! (And then I'd say, you're right.)
It seems like only three years ago that our youngest son Luigi (not his real name) entered the world. Actually, it was three years this past weekend. So all of the stereotypes of a third child is true. For our first child (The Moose), we got a mobile and another musical contraption for the crib. We were super conscious of cleanliness, especially if we ate out. The diaper bag was filled with everything that we might possibly need and much, much more. Meanwhile, Luigi never had anything attached to the crib. Much of his wardrobe consists of clothing that his brothers wore. And I think we apply the 5-second rule if he drops food on the floor. Well, maybe it's closer to the 15-second rule.
The school year starts today with all five of us at home. My wife can't be interrupted for her job, so she's basically locked away in a room. I'll make sure that The Moose and Pedro Tulo are online and doing what they're supposed to be doing for 4th grade and 1st grade. I also need to do some work during this time, though based on the last few weeks, I already know that I'll do much of my work early in the morning and after the kids go to sleep. I guess I'll try to sleep at some point. Anyway, I joke that while Luigi will be home with us, he'll just fend for himself. I'm only partially joking though as I fully expect that there will be plenty of times when I just hand him some cars or toys and let him entertain himself. Third kid!
Luigi is adorable and incredibly sweet. He has a smile and laugh that makes you melt. I'm biased in writing that he's cute, but he is, and I think he knows it. He's also spoiled. He generally gets what he wants but often has meltdowns when he doesn't. The meltdowns are usually over silly things too. Like opening his applesauce when he wanted to open it. Much of the time, it's when his brothers are using a toy or something that he wants. I'll admit that I just let him go all out during many of these meltdowns. He usually stops after 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 minutes or so. I feel like it's my responsibility to let him know that he can have what he wants but within reason. And if he's being unreasonable, I'm going to let him be mad. Of course, he's 3, so he doesn't think he's ever in the wrong.
What else can I write about Luigi? He has no interest in starting potty training. He also hasn't had a nap since he last attended preschool in early March. For most of the summer, he's gone to sleep after 9:00PM, but won't wake up until around 9:00AM. A few weeks ago, he woke up at 6:00AM or so and didn't fall back asleep. At dinner, he was exhausted and put his head down on my lap.
I was worried that he still had food in his mouth, so I asked him about this, he smiled, opened his mouth and said "ahhhh," and then promptly fell asleep. He slept for probably an hour and a half, so he had no interest in sleeping when we tried to put him to bed. We thought that perhaps a change of scenery would help him fall asleep, and this was the result.
When he smiles and/or laughs, you just can't get mad at him. Luigi loves his brothers and Ziggy, and we all love him too. Happy 3rd Birthday, Luigi!
I feel like I know bands and musicians from Pittsburgh. You have The Marcels and The Del-Vikings and Walt Harper and Joe Grushecky and Donnie Iris and Rusted Root and Christina Aguilera and Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller and Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio among others. A recent YaJagoff! podcast featured the band, The Jaggerz, who I somehow had never heard of before.
I learned that The Jaggerz had a major hit in 1970 with the song, The Rapper, which went to #2 on the Billboard Top 100. I had never heard of this song either. What's amazing to me are the other songs and artists on the chart. Simon & Garfunkel's monster smash "Bridge Over Troubled Water" prevented "The Rapper" from reaching the top spot. However, The Rapper was above Instant Karma by John Lennon, Santana's Evil Ways, Let It Be by The Beatles, and ABC by The Jackson 5. Other artists with songs in the Top 40 include Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steve Wonder, James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, The Temptations, and The Supremes. That's quite a list!
Three deaths occurred over the last few days that impacted me and many, many, many others. The first was the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman at only 43 years old from colon cancer. Since my oldest son was born in 2011, I have seen only a handful of non-kids movies in the theater. I also only recently started using streaming services, and even then, I tend to watch shows much more than movies. In addition, I'm one of the only 10 people in America who haven't watched many Marvel movies. I write all this because I've only seen Boseman appear in one film, 42. Still, Boseman played legendary figures in American history in the 20th century in Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall. I challenge you to find any actor who played three such important and diverse people in their career, let alone in just a few years.
Boseman really looked like a baseball player in 42, which isn't easy to do. It's difficult to find actors who can act but also look like professional athletes. Then, to be able to sing and dance like James Brown and to be as stately as Thurgood Marshall. So much talent. And all this doesn't include Black Panther, which is a role that will be remembered for years. Such a tragic loss at such a young age. While there isn't a silver lining in Boseman's death, I'm sure that I'm not the only one looking into getting a colonoscopy because of his passing.
Growing up in Pittsburgh in the 80s and early 90s, when someone talks about basketball, it was about college and more specifically the Big East conference. Sure, everyone knew of the Lakers and Celtics, but I'd much rather watch Pitt play Georgetown or Syracuse or St. John's. Because of my Pitt fandom, I disliked Georgetown. They were the bullies of the conference led by their tall and intimidating coach John Thompson. Here is a list of people more recognizable and known in Washington DC in the 80s and 90s than John Thompson:
No one. Mayor Marion Berry, Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and Super Bowl Champion John Riggins might have been as well known, but if you're walking down the street, people would recognize John Thompson, simply due to his height, before any of the others. I definitely didn't appreciate Thompson until I moved to Northern Virginia. He doesn't get the credit for being an incredibly intelligent coach but on matters beyond the basketball court too.
Back to the Big East, I loved those Pitt teams during that era. On the 1987-1988 team, Charles Smith was the leading scorer, Jerome Lane was one of the best rebounders in the country and famous for shattering a glass backboard in a nationally televised game, and everyone knew point guard Sean Miller since every game seemed to feature a clip of him as a young child dribbling a basketball for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. However, my favorite player was
Demetreus Gore. I thought he had a cool name, but he also seemed to be the backbone of the team as he could score, pass, play defense, and do anything needed to win. When I did the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament a decade ago, I named one of the regions for Gore. He died from a heart attack at only 54.
RIP.
Photos by Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty, ESPN's 30 for 30, and Pitt athletics
The biggest news in the sports world (and possibly the entire world) is that Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest active soccer player, apparently wants to leave Barcelona. Already, there are rumors that some of the biggest European clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain are interested. And sure if Messi wants to leave Barcelona, it makes sense for him to go to one of these clubs where he'll make millions of dollars, have the opportunity to win the Champions League, and continue to get major media coverage. However, after having so much individual and team success at Barcelona, perhaps Messi wants a brand new challenge. And that's why I think he should play for Sheffield Wednesday!
Look, I know what you're thinking. There is as good a chance of me, a guy who barely played on my below average high school soccer team, um, several years ago, playing for Sheffield Wednesday as Messi playing for the Owls. And you're totally right. But why would that stop me from writing a blog post where I can speculate it happening? I mean not many people know this, but LeBron James was so inspired by my blog post that he almost played basketball in Pittsburgh a decade ago.
So why do I think Messi should join Sheffield Wednesday? Well, SWFC definitely needs a proven goal scorer. As for what's in it for Messi, he could be the guy who leads Wednesday back to the Premier League for the first time in 20 years. You might think that this shouldn't be a challenge for one of the best players in the world regardless of the rest of the roster. However, Wednesday is also starting this season at a disadvantage getting a 12-point deduction for some shady financial bookkeeping. Basically, the season will start with 23 teams tied with 0 points and Wednesday in 24th place with -12 points. Messi never faced this type of adversity at Barcelona, and he likely wouldn't have this type of challenge again.
It's all going to come down to money though, right? Well, from the ESPN story linked above "Reports from Argentina claim Messi believes a clause in the contract should oblige Barcelona to let him leave for free." That's fantastic since Wednesday could never afford the likely millions of dollars in transfer fees. But what about the salary? Messi makes approximately $80 million at Barcelona. Wednesday doesn't have that kind of money, and who knows that kind of ticket revenue there may be for the 2020-2021 season thanks for COVID-19. Well, maybe Messi will be happy just earning a few million from Wednesday. Seriously. He makes millions and millions of dollars each year from Adidas, Pepsi, Gatorade, and others. Really, he has plenty of money.
As for his quality of life, I liked Sheffield from the 3 hours I spent there 20 years ago. Plus, the cost of living has to be lower than Barcelona. Maybe things will be a little quieter for him in Sheffield. People will just leave him alone to live his life. Maybe? Besides, it looks like there are plenty of fun things he and his family can do.
Again, I know that this isn't going to happen, but I can dream. (And it gives me some blog content today!)
UPDATE: So, um, never mind. According to Steven Goff in The Washington Post, "The release clause — the amount a suitor would have to pay Barcelona for Messi’s rights because he is under contract until next summer — is $835 million, though such astronomical figures are deterrents more than anything else." Wednesday doesn't have that kind of money.
I tried reading Harry Potter to The Moose (now 9) several times over the last few years, but he was never really interested. I don't think we made it past the first chapter or two. Since we're stuck at home during the pandemic, I tried again a few weeks ago and now we're only two chapters away from finishing the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." He still doesn't have the patience to read more than a chapter or so a day, but he seems to be enjoying it. (Of course, he does have the patience to sit and watch hours worth of Dude Perfect videos. Those guys seem to yell A LOT!)
Anyway, now that we're almost done with the first book, I thought it would make sense to find the other books so that we can continue reading the series. Many people have bookshelves filled with books easily accessible. Not in my house! While we have bookshelves in the kids' rooms, those generally contain books appropriate for preschool and early elementary school kids. Any other free space in our home has been overtaken by toys and games and now learning areas as we prepare for The Moose (4th grade) and Pedro Tulo (1st grade) to begin the school year at home. Books are generally in boxes in various parts of the house, mostly in the basement storage closet. So I spent Sunday trying to find the Harry Potter books.
As you can see from the picture, I was successful. Not pictured is the amount of time it took to find the books and to move things around the basement closet. I also found this Pittsburgh Steelers commemorative bag of potato chips with a coupon for $10 the purchase of $50 at Dick's Sporting Goods. Unfortunately, the coupon expired in January 2003. I'm throwing these chips out with the garbage tonight.
You might be wondering why there are only five books pictured of the seven-book series. The first book is on the couch, but I'm missing the fourth book, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." When I went to England in 2000, I bought this book at a London bookstore not long after it came out as a gift for my mom. She got me into the Harry Potter series, and I read the first three books during my time in England, particularly traveling to and from Lancaster on the weekends. I finished the fourth book on the flight back to Pittsburgh, and my mom still has it today. What's neat about this edition is that it's in British English rather than American English. Oh, here's a picture of Ziggy wanting to see what I was doing.
By the way, this blog is so old that I can still read posts from when the sixth and seventh books came out. I wrote two posts of my eagerlyawaiting the sixth book to arrive via UPS that would basically be tweets today. I also shared predictions for the final book, and briefly how I dressed up as Dean Thomas when this book was released at midnight at a Harry Potter party.
Please click here to read more of the Found in My Basement posts.
* Ziggy turned 12 on Saturday. To celebrate, he meowed a lot fairly early in the morning, and then proceeded to urinate on a bathroom rug. I'm still not exactly sure why. His litter box was clean, so I suspect that he was a little spooked by a toy near his litter box. I moved some things around in the basement, and he successfully used his little box again not long after I did that. He's definitely getting older, but I think (or at least hope) that this is an isolated incident. (Ziggy might be a little embarrassed, so he's hiding from the paparazzi!
* The Democratic National Convention begins tonight. While I saw a list of speakers posted online last week, I honestly had no idea that the convention is this week. I mention this because I think Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande should reunite to introduce Kamala Harris.
Bonus points if Katy Perry can wear the Dumbo costume she wore during a Disney singalong back in May.
* I don't want to jinx anything, but I wrote a blog post to appear on a website that's not Sean's Ramblings. Even though there's no money involved, it might turn out to be a regular thing. It's very, very subject specific, but I'm excited about the opportunity. It sounds like it's going to happen later this week, so I'll let everyone know on my Facebook and Twitter pages if/when the post is published.
* Baseball writer Peter Gammons wrote a tweet about the historically bad Boston Red Sox pitching staff which included this, "And next June's draft order will not be in order of the 2020 finish, but a combined formula based on 2019-2020." As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, this is depressing. The Pirates are awful with a 4-14 record. In a typical year, this pace would allow them to get the #1 overall draft pick. However, in 2019 they were 10 games better than the Kansas City Royals, 12 games better than the Miami Marlins, and an incredible 22 games better than the Detroit Tigers. While I don't know how the formula works, it seems like the Pirates could finish 4-36 while the Tigers could 20-20, and the Tigers would get the better pick. * I've now watched the first two episodes The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Breaking news: It's really good. Who knew? (Other than all of the Emmy voters.)
You may not remember this, but Modern Family seemed cutting edge when it first debuted. I mean a story partially about a husband and wife with three kids? That was definitely unlikely for many people in 2009. When I recorded Modern Family on my DVR, it picked up the first minute or two of the show Happy Endings. I found that minute or two consistently funny, and I eventually started watching Happy Endings too. Unfortunately, Happy Endings only lasted three seasons. I guess that it didn't get great ratings, but I found it to be one of the funniest shows on television.
I bring this all up because last month there was a Happy Endings reunion as a fundraiser for Color of Change and World Central Kitchen. Sure, a 2020 episode of the show where the characters are all on Zoom isn't the same as a regular episode, but the writing is still there, and the characters are just as fun as they were in the early 2010s. Enjoy!
The news is obviously being dominated by Joe Biden's selection of California Senator Kamala Harris to be the Vice President on the Democratic ticket. (I promise that this post isn't political, but I would be shocked if more than 10 people decided that they would vote for Trump or Biden as a direct result of this selection.) Trump loves attention and publicity, so he's probably sitting in the White House trying to figure out a way to bring the spotlight back to him. Want to make major news? Suggest that you're considering replacing Mike Pence as the VP on the Republican ballot. However, it wouldn't be fun just to interview Pence and other potential candidates. Make them earn the spot. Introducing the Vice Presidential Olympics!
First, let's meet our candidates.
*Former Presidential candidate and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
* U.S. representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district, Jim Jordan.
* Former South Carolina Governor and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
* Fox News TV host Sean Hannity.
* And finally, looking to retain his position current Vice President Mike Pence.
If there's one thing that Donald Trump knows it's reality television. Therefore, these five candidates will compete in a variety of contests all on national TV based on current and past reality shows. Considering the lack of new programming right now, this could be ratings gold.
We all know that Trump loves to golf, so he needs a Vice President who can join him on the course. Enter a huge favorite in my household Holey Moley!
There really is some skill needed to putt on the various holes of Holey Moley, but the true excitement comes between shots. Is Lindsey Graham nimble enough to run through the windmills on the Double Dutch Courage hole? Can Jim Jordan race through Hole Number Two before the porta-potty doors open?
The true test of the Vice President is his or her loyalty to Donald Trump. Sure, it's easy to defend him or attack anyone who disagrees with him, but how far would they go to show that they would do anything for Trump? Would Sean Hannity eat worms to show that he is the right person for the job? Would Mike Pence lay nearly naked in a tank of snakes to demonstrate that he deserves to keep his position?
Naturally, there would be a rose ceremony at the end of each round to see who must leave the White House. Oh, and no one would wear a mask during any of these contests because that would show weakness.
I guess there could be other contests like seeing if any of the candidates could survive 30 minutes getting interviewed by Rachel Maddow, but I can't see Trump going for this. Instead, let's see how far Nikki Haley and the others could go on an American Ninja Warrior course!
Overall, I think I've been pretty positive during this pandemic. I mean I absolutely miss seeing my friends and family. As I mentioned a few months ago, we're not comfortable traveling, so we didn't go on a family trip to Hilton Head and we haven't visited my mom in Florida. I guess I'm distracting myself by keeping really busy. Even though I'm working from home, I just realized that I haven't taken a day off (except for Memorial Day and July 4th) since I got home from my dad's funeral right when everything started shutting down in March. I find that I'm doing work or checking work email at all hours of the day and even on weekends. Part of this is because I'm not working a traditional 9:00-5:00, so there are many days where I feel like I didn't get enough done. That's when I end up opening my computer after the kids go to bed.
That first paragraph didn't sound very positive, so let's go with this. I am definitely spending more time with my kids than I have before. We play outside or in our basement every day, and it's nice having three meals together. (Now if they would eat more!)
Over the last few months, I've become accustomed to knowing things would be cancelled or postponed. I was disappointed that Celebrate Fairfax didn't occur in June, but I expected it. I think we all knew that in-person school wouldn't happen for the kids this fall too. I was supposed to see Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy on Saturday night, but that was postponed until 2021 weeks ago.
So between being busy with work and family and expecting things to be cancelled, I've tried to remain positive. I feel like that's important for the kids and my own personal sanity. Yet, considering everything, it was this that made me sad:
This is Herr Metal, a cover band of 80s hair metal (hence the name) who play hits from groups like Guns 'n' Roses, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Poison, and more. They put on great shows, and I've probably seen them 6-7 times over the last few years (including at last year's Celebrate Fairfax). The link to the video above is from a livestream concert put on by Herndon's Friday Night Live. It sort of hit me the other night that I really miss going to live concerts. A staple of our summers has been attending various free concerts and performances organized by local government agencies and shopping centers. It's something that I really enjoy doing with my kids. My oldest has outgrown some of the kids performers, but I think now he'd enjoy some of the more all ages concerts. That's obviously not happening this summer, and I really miss not going to these shows with them and/or my friends.
In my first post as a Pittsburgh Pirates/Sheffield Wednesday/Ziggy blogger, I'm writing about the Pirates 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins. The Pirates are now 2-10 and are on a 7-game losing streak. Trevor Williams pitched well giving up only 1 run and 3 hits in 7 innings. Unfortunately, the Pirates offense only had three hits (and no runs) through 8 innings, so when the bullpen gave up 4 runs in the top of the 9th, a 2-run Josh Bell home run only prevented a shutout. Let's see what Ziggy thinks of the game.
You know what? I don't think this Pittsburgh Pirates/Sheffield Wednesday/Ziggy niche blog thing is going to work. I just like writing about too many topics. I barely wrote about one Pirates game, and I just can't do this after every game. I mean do you really care that the team optioned Guillermo Heredia and Jose Osuna to Altoona? Now, if the Pirates sent them to Toronto to take the place of Jack Johnson on the Penguins roster that would be interesting!
I'm just not going to be a niche blogger. Sorry. I mean if companies or individuals still want to advertise on Sean's Ramblings, I'm definitely available. Now, will I write about the Pirates and Sheffield Wednesday? Of course. The Pirates are the first team that I followed and I'm considering buying whatever package is available next season so that I can actually watch some Sheffield Wednesday games. I'm also going to continue to write about Ziggy (and share pictures of him), though I don't think he's interested in sharing his opinion on these teams.
With all of this written, if my niche is to have a blog about a wide variety of topics, this is the place!
Although I'm not the target audience, I checked out a recent
online blogging event organized by BlogHer. What stood out for me the most from the various speakers
was that your blog should personify yourself, and more importantly, you should
create your own niche. If you've read Sean's Ramblings at all over the last 15
years, you know that I definitely don't have a niche. I write about my kids and
being a dad. I write about sports. I write about television and pop culture. I
write about free food and grocery shopping. Really, I'm all over the
place.
So after 15 years, I think it's finally time to create my own niche. Welcome
to new Sean's Ramblings! The only place where you can find news about
Sheffield Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and my cat Ziggy.
You're probably thinking, Sean, aren't there already blogs about the
Pittsburgh Pirates and about Sheffield Wednesday? The answer is, um, yes
(though I don't think I've ever seen a Sheffield Wednesday blog). But have you
ever seen an all-in-one Pittsburgh Pirates/Sheffield Wednesday blog? No you
have not. I have found my niche! You're probably also thinking,
Sean, this sounds like it could be a really depressing blog. The
Pittsburgh Pirates are the worst team in baseball with a 2-9 record through
Tuesday. They are going to be terrible for several years if not longer.
Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday finished in the middle of the table in the
English Championship League, but they were much closer to relegation to
promotion this past season. Plus, they are looking at starting the 2020-2021
season with a 12-point deduction because of some shady financials. Basically,
they don't look to challenge for a spot in the English Premier League for a
few years either.
You're still a little confused. I get it. This could be a dramatic shift to
what you're used to reading here. Plus, after seeing the description of the
Pirates and Sheffield Wednesday, how much fun will it be to read about two
struggling (I think that's being optimistic) teams? Well, here's the exciting
part. I will include a picture of Ziggy in every blog post. And I'll include
commentary from Ziggy in each post. Want to know Ziggy's thoughts on the
Pirates pitching staff? Come to Sean's Ramblings! What is Ziggy's opinion on
Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk? Come to Sean's Ramblings!
While I'm not sure if this will work, I appreciate Ziggy looking at
hockey cards to see if any of these players could also play baseball or
soccer!
Even though the members of One Direction all have solo careers, the band (or at least its fans) recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. In my opinion, this is their greatest work:
While the people of Sesame Street (and not One Direction) probably came up with these lyrics, this is just outstanding.
U for utensils in Grover's hands
U is for uncles but not for aunts.
And later this...
U, you're the ultimate come take a bow
U, there are utters under that cow
U check it out it's Bert's unibrow
I watched the Pittsburgh Pirates-St. Louis Cardinals baseball game on Sunday thanks to a free weekend preview of MLB Extra Innings. The Pirates broadcasters spoke extremely highly of likely future Hall of Fame St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina just before he picked off Adam Frazier in the first inning and threw out another Pirates runner trying to steal second in the second inning. You would think that the Pirates would have something like "Yadier Molina is a really good at throwing out runners" in their scouting report.
Anyway, the Root Sports broadcast also showed Molina's career batting statistics against the Pirates including his 97 runs batted in. This got me thinking. Who has the most RBIs against the Pirates in baseball history? I mentioned this on Twitter, and Sean Forman (great name) of Baseball-Reference replied that the all-time leader (who I won't identify yet) has 306 career RBIs against the Pirates. Yadier Molina has a long way to go to reach this number!
Based on the link that Sean sent me from Stathead (I'll share this later), I thought I would do a little baseball trivia today. If you want to play, try to name the top 10 players with the most home runs against the Pirates in baseball history, the top 10 players by on-base percentage, and the top 10 by slugging percentage. I included the last two categories only because most other all-time stats (like RBIs, hits, games, etc) consists mostly of players from long ago.
Feel free to list your guesses in the comments section below. I'll share the answers here soon.
Update: Here are the results.
Most Home Runs Against the Pirates
1. Mel Ott - 83
2. Hank Aaron - 78
3. Willie Mays - 76
4. Eddie Mathews - 73
5. Mike Schmidt - 62
6. Stan Musial & Duke Snider - 58
8. Ernie Banks - 57
9. Willie McCovey - 56
10. Rogers Hornsby - 55
Now that is an impressive list!
Highest On-Base Percentage
1. Barry Bonds
2. Bob Elliott
3. Albert Pujols
4. Lance Berkman
5. Jackie Robinson
6. Todd Helton
7. Mel Ott
8. Jim Edmonds
9. Rogers Hornsby
10. Stan Musial & Joey Votto
Highest Slugging Percentage
1. Albert Pujols
2. Barry Bonds
3. Jack Clark
4. Jim Edmonds
5. Alfonso Soriano
6. Mike Piazza
7. Rogers Hornsby
8. Chuck Klein
9. Larry Walker
10. Willie Mays
If you want to check out all of these stats and more, please check out this link from Stathead. Please note that there must be a minimum number of plate appearances to make this list. For example, my friend Dan mentioned that Billy Hamilton has 56 stolen bases against the Pirates, but he's not on this list.
Welcome to Sean's Ramblings! If you're looking for thoughts on pop culture, music, fun and informative links, random DC and Pittsburgh info, sports (particularly Pittsburgh sports), and just what's going on in my life, then you're come to the right place.
Any questions, comments or links? Contact me at seanramblings[at]yahoo[dot]com.
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