Sunday Evening

A new development. Last night at 11:47pm my neighbor began playing the recorder. It’s the first time I have ever heard recorder music coming from that apartment, and it was of exceptionally poor quality, so I assume it is the first time he/she played. This afternoon a belated encore followed. I am hoping this is a short-lived hobby.

The Eagles do not deserve to make the play-offs. For a moment things looked really good. Dallas lost last night, and then Tampa Bay lost this afternoon. But all the good feelings ended when the Eagles forgot to show up for their game. Credit is due to the Redskins, they shut down the Eagles’ offense and played mistake-free football. While the possibility of a play-off berth is still in play, the odds are not good.

I’m happy to see Rafael Furcal remain in Dodger blue. For a moment last week it looked like Furcal was going to end up in Atlanta (again). Thankfully Furcal’s agent is unethical shrewd  and got him a better deal. I view the Mets as the Phils most serious competitor, but with a few additions the Braves still scare me.

A good poker game. I bet it would be really fun to play a casual poker game with Ron White, Gus Johnson, Owen Wilson, Charles Barkley, and Joe Paterno. Just think of the conversations that could happen. It makes me happy just imagining it.

Monday Night Rambling

Serious blockage. Yesterday there were three blocked field goals in the Eagles vs Giants game. Three! I do not ever recall seeing more than one in a single game. It adds a new element of excitement to field goal attempts.

Tom Coughlin was trying to warn someone. I’m a pretty good lipreader, and I noticed that Tom Coughlin was concerned about someone’s safety after the Giants failed to convert on a critical 4th and 3 late in the Eagles vs Giants game. “Duck!” he yelled. I’m not sure who he was talking to, or what hazard they were facing, but I hope they’re OK.

Breaking news: microbes are fond of newspaper. Today in soil ecology class we discussed an experiment. It involved Winogradsky columns. Some of the columns used newspaper at the base, some used rice. Heavy microbial activity occurred in close proximity to the newspaper, but not to the rice. The question of why this happens was posed. I think the answer is obvious; clearly microbes must be able to read (in truth the answer relates to the breakdown and dispersion of carbon, but literate microbes is a cooler hypothesis).

Through the Eyes of Another

From time to time it is beneficial to see things the way someone else does. I decided to attempt to help you understand the world that DeSean Jackson sees.

This is what you see:

A football field

This is what DeSean sees:

DeSean Jackson's football field

I’m not trying to highlight the ugly endzone art (it was part of a throwback game in which the Eagles wore the ugliest uniforms ever to grace an NFL field). There is a distinct difference between these two pictures. If you know anything about DeSean Jackson you should spot it right away.

If you can’t figure it out leave a comment. I’ll give you the answer and explain what prompted me to write this post.

Anticipation.

My Introduction to Baseball

My introduction to baseball came from my grandmother and my great-grandparents (known as Pop-pop and Mom-mom). When I was young I would go over to their apartment in Collegeville and watch Phillies games. A stuffed Phillie Phanatic always sat on the couch with me; I think he resided there permanently. I remember watching Mike Schmidt, Steve Bedrosian, Don Carmen, Steve Jeltz, Von Hayes, Lance Parrish, Juan Samuel, and many other Phillies play.

My great-grandmother taught me how to boo. I guess that makes me Philadelphian. She taught me to boo the opposition, not the Phillies.

At some point in my childhood, Pop-pop and Mom-mom moved to Florida. They went to many Phillies spring training games and Clearwater Phillies games. Here is a picture of them at a Clearwater Phils game in 1993:

I’m not sure if they are wearing batting helmets for protection or because they have the team logo on them (or maybe there was a helmet giveaway at the stadium that day?). Both of my great-grandparents have passed away, but I still think of them when I hear Harry Kalas’ voice . . . and whenever I feel compelled to boo.

The picture below was taken in 1948. Why did I include it? Well, I love old pictures. I also love seeing photographs of people (or couples) taken many years apart. It’s cool to think that at that time the Phillies they rooted for included Richie Ashburn, Dick Sisler, Del Ennis, Harry Walker, Granny Hamner, Andy Seminick, Stan Lopata, Schoolboy Rowe, Robin Roberts, and Dutch Leonard.

I still discuss the Phillies with my grandmother most times that I see her, and they are mentioned in our letter correspondence as well. During spring training one year she got me a Dale Murphy game-used bat right from the clubhouse (I still have it). And that’s not all. She is also an Eagles fan too. In fact, she once snuck out of a bridal shower to watch part of a critical late-season Eagles game on television (which makes her one of the coolest grandmas on the face of the earth in my book).