:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 ::

Is this a World Series victory or a funeral?

I watched the last three outs of the World Series tonight. It was fun to watch the Red Sox win, but what is with the pathetic demeanor of the announcers? If it had been Telemundo, they would have been out of their seats, shouting up a storm to herald such an historic win! Instead, Fox's guys sounded like they were struggling to stay awake, making sparse comments about how, yes, the Sox had won. I can't imagine a less colorful commentary. Maybe the guys in the booth were Saint Louis fans...it would be just like Fox to pretend they weren't biased, if they were.
:: Ray 11:13 PM [+] ::
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Bittersweet

Candy maker Fannie May is reopening some stores in the Chicago area, after the entire company shut down earlier this year, when owner Archibald Candy declared bankruptcy. Alpine Confections bought and resurrected the brand, but I won't be patronizing the new Fannie May. They are making a big deal about how the recipes and ingredients are the same, but Alpine's moving production out of state and eliminating union jobs has left a bad taste in my mouth. If I want locally made candies, I will head for Long Grove Confectionary or better yet, Margies Candies.
:: Ray 10:49 PM [+] ::
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Links and Words, Frankly

Last night on WBEZ, after Le Show, they aired something I had never heard before, the Joe Frank show (not Paul Frank, the guy that draws that monkey). Curious, I listened and was instantly mesmerized.

Joe performs spoken word monologues over music. But that's like saying Joe Satriani just plays the guitar or that Elvis sang some songs. Joe has a forceful voice that grabs you with its confidence. He uses it, along with crisp enunciation, to deliver rapid-fire stories and fragments of stories, without a hint of hesitation, in which he creates complex, yet believable characters fleshed out by concrete details (my tenth grade English teacher would approve). The anecdotes I heard last night were powerful enough to get me emotionally involved many times in the hour-long show, often in only a couple of minutes.

I recognized Joe's voice from some snippets in the song Montok Point on Strange Cargo/William Orbit's album Hinterland. I had always admired those lines, such as, "Sometimes Lorraine had a look in her eyes that made her seem a little crazy," but it didn't occur to me that there might be more like it out there. To learn that Joe has made literally hours of this stuff makes me a bit giddy. You can bet I'll be listening next Sunday night. If his show aired earlier, I might even play it for the trick-or-treaters.



:: Ray 11:26 AM [+] ::
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All politics is local

Tonight I put in my first bit of time stuffing envelopes for Representative Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat running for reelection in Illinois' 57th District. I am campaigning for her again this autumn. I live on the edge of her district, but I have been impressed at the attention she has paid to Des Plaines in her first two years in office. In addition to the issues she cites on her web page, I like that she is an avid bicyclist and is willing to look at transportation issues from that slightly alternative viewpoint. Go Elaine!

If you live in the 57th District, I hope you will consider voting for her. If you don't live here, I still encourage you to vote Democratic.
:: Ray 10:27 PM [+] ::
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Politics and mirth

Anyone that knows me knows that politics is one of the few things that can get a rise out of me. When I see what has happened over the last four years I get really angry. Most of the blogs and pundits I read feed that anger. They educate me on new transgressions by the Bush administration and the Republicans to be angry about. I enjoy it and I thrive on it, and I try to use some of that energy by volunteering for local Democratic candidates on election day. Rarely, however, do I laugh because of it, except perhaps a sad laugh of disgust. Until now.

The Rude Pundit calls it like it is, sparing no vulgarity or epithet. If that sort of thing offends you, don't click these links. Really. Don't. If you are open to it, however, consider today's post on what Kerry should say. I can't really quote from it without offending any of the people who aren't going to click, but rest assured that it had me laughing out loud, I agree with all of it, and I recommend you read the whole thing.
:: Ray 1:36 PM [+] ::
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Sea monkeys back from the brink...again.

I thought it was really over this time -- the last of yet another generation of sea monkeys in my kitchen window had expired last week, leaving no visible descendents. Mary talked me into leaving the container there for a few days just to see if any more appeared, as if the last female had squirted out some eggs in a dying gasp. Well, apparently she did, because I just spotted some new babies swimming around in there a moment ago. They could fit on the head of a pin, but there were at least two, active as can be. Life can be surprisingly resilient.
:: Ray 10:39 PM [+] ::
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Go Jon!

I've been watching an embarrassing amount of TV lately. I try not to watch too much crap, though I have a weakness for Discovery Channel's American Chopper (there's a whole potential post right there), among others. Anyway, I had been hearing a lot about Comedy Central's The Daily Show and decided to check it out. After all, any show whose audience is described by a certain moronic, bullying Fox News Channel blowhard-who-likes-to-hear-himself-talk-and-pretend-he-is-a-journalist-and-brags-about-how-he-put-that-NPR-lady-in-her-place as "stoned slackers" deserves some attention.

It turns out that the show is really smart and spares no political barbs for either side of the fence, even as it leans to the left. Jon Stewart, the host, is intelligent, likeable, and able to conduct simultaneously thoughtful, pointed and funny, if brief, interviews. Tonight's guest was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who, I learned, is a really wonderfully kind and optimistic person with a great sense of humor, and is extremely eloquent (if only we had a president who could use words so skillfully!). Stewart created nearly instant rapport with the archbishop, drawing laughs without denigrating his message of hope and peace. I shudder to imagine what an interview of the archbishop would be like if conducted by the blowhard on Fox. Thankfully, there is intelligent TV to watch instead, even if it is on the Comedy Channel.
:: Ray 1:20 AM [+] ::
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