Streaks

In my last entry about the Mets, I focused on the bad season. I didn't realize at the time that the Mets were in the third game of a four game winning streak. After all, I had expected them to beat the Rockies and instead they were swept.

After the four game winning streak, the Mets lost the finale to the Phillies, but then swept the Marlins. Heading into the series with the Cardinals, Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen mentioned that the Mets record was very close to that of the Cardinals at this time last year. The Cardinals overcame great odds to win the World Series. I don't really believe that the Mets will pull off that kind of miracle, but as I like to remind myself--the Mets are still in it--they have not been mathematically eliminated. Then the Mets dropped two out of three games.

This weekend, the Mets headed to Atlanta where they were swept. It looked good for a while today...but then the Braves prevailed...again.

Do the Mets have another streak in them? I hope so--we're 10 games below .500.

True Blood: Season Five Finale

I've watched True Blood the finale twice and still don't know what to make of it.

Let's start at the beginning. Russell has drained the elder faery and seems on the verge of destroying all the rest, until the cavalry arrives in the person of Eric. It seems out of the blue, a deus ex machina, but later it's said that Sookie summoned him. It  just seemed so easy. I've read theories on TWoP that Russell had to be high for Eric to stake him, but I wish that had been mentioned somewhere on the show.

I'm confused about Jason's vampire-hatred. Yes, he's heard that vampires killed his parents, but he has also allied himself with vampires in the past. Has he forgotten his relationship with Jessica? Has he been poisoned by the faery blast meant for Russell?

Sam was clearly my favorite of the episode. He willingly sacrificed himself to Bill to attempt to (unsuccessfully) reason with him. Later he flew into Roslyn's mouth where he shifted. My reaction: awesome (literally.) Before he did that, Luna shifted from Steve Newlin back to herself. This may be the exposure of shifters to the world.

Tara and Pam? Too much too soon. Remember how they hated each other? In True Blood time that was just a few weeks ago. I saw how they were getting closer and appreciating each other, but I only saw Jessica's question to indicate that they could be a couple.

Overall, the idea of the Authority worked better than the actual execution. The build-up was too slow and the payoff too rushed. I was thrilled to see Russell again but thought his death wasn't what it could have been. I wasn't crazy about seeing Reverend Steve again but his new vampire grew on me.

The birth of "Billith" (credit to a TWoP poster) and the search for Warlo give me something that I want to watch next season.

Baseball Blues: 2012 Mets Misery

How hopeful I was; how naive I was. I knew it was a long shot, but I believed.

I guess that is the center of belief; it doesn't matter if it is a long shot.

For three months, I was happy and optimistic. The Mets played above their capabilities; remember all those two-out hits? 

That seems so long ago, a different world full of hope.

Of course I remembered the Mets' collapses of 2007 and 2008. I didn't realize until I saw a graphic last week that the Mets have fallen apart in the second half of the season each year from 2009.

There were problem losses before the All-Star break, but I hoped they were glitches. For the most part, the Mets fell apart after the break. Now they are 10 games below .500 (I think their worst record was 12 below) and 18 games behind the MLB leading Washington Nationals.

Now I hope for a winning record.

I Wrote Today

I was looking at the calendar this morning. Many of my students have started school already and September begins at the end of the week. It got me thinking about about how close I am to the end of the year and how little I've accomplished.

When Spike and I were out on our morning walk, I thought about The Adulterer's Handbook. This was an idea I had months ago. At the Writer's Retreat in June, I wrote the first scene. Later I shared this scene as a blind submission to another writer. (Her comments were not particularly helpful. I did change the waitress' name because she was confused--I had two characters whose names started with the same letter in a piece with only had three characters and 700 words. It seems to me that she didn't try very hard.)

Anyway, today I wrote a second scene--about 500 words. I'm not sure where I'm going with this story and whether it's a short story or a novel or something else but I'm happy that I returned to it.

I feel that I should get a round sticker to wear on my collar, "I Wrote Today" like the "I Voted Today" sticker that I receive at the polling place. I hope an imaginary sticker will inspire.

Face Off: Season Three

I've written about Face Off before. It's my favorite reality TV show. The competition makes sense to me, unlike competition on the dating shows. (Full disclosure--I prefer the tacky VH1 version of dating shows to the ostensibly more classy Bachelor-type shows.) I also got into Top Chef, but so much of the judging on that show is based on the taste of the food--that I can't experience. On Face Off, I can see the results of the competitions.

Season Three started off with a competition to create a make-up using something from the roof-top welcoming party; the winner was granted immunity from elimination.  The spotlight challenge divided the contestants into pairs to create a character for a modern interpretation of the Star Wars cantina scene.

Once again, one obnoxious character emerged in the first episode. Unlike Seasons 1 and 2, that character left in the first episode. He left of his own accord when his team was in the bottom of the judging. Good riddance. While drama can be entertaining, it can also distract from the real point of the competition.

I'm psyched that the new season has started.  Watch Tuesdays at 9 PM.

Little Things That Make Me Happy

Spike likes to walk on stone walls. I don't know why exactly--maybe he likes being taller. On our walks he would often jump up on flat stone walls as I continued on the sidewalk.

Last Saturday we left the Civil War Barbecue and were returning to our car. Spike suddenly jumped up on a stone wall. He hasn't done that in a long time and it made me happy to see him so agile and puppy-like. I guess Greenies JointCare treats are doing the trick. Hooray for Spike!

Civil War Barbecue and Encampment

On Saturday after we returned home from our pet sitting gig, Jeff, Spike and I went over to the Norwalk Historical Society for the Civil War Barbecue and Encampment. For $12, we had all we could eat of burgers, hot dogs, pulled pork, side salads and dessert. The net proceeds will be used to fund the restoration of the Norwalk Riverside Civil War Statue

Volunteers from the 11th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Co. A conducted drills and firing demonstrations. We saw the kinds of tents and provisions the soldiers were given and a commanding officer's field desk. I was surprised to hear that at least on the Union side, clerks outnumbered soldiers eight to one. A volunteer explained that the clerks had to create three reports after each battle, accounting for every bullet used, etc. One set of reports was wrapped in red tape and hence the reason for that term. Note: this Wikipedia entry disagrees.

This is the third event we attended at the Norwalk Historical Society in the past year. I'm not sure if the group is more active or if we are just more aware of their offerings. But it's been fun to participate.