Jet Unset

 I had a bizarre and exhausting travel experience a few weekends ago:

I flew back to Austin for spring break, my fourth trip in six years and first time in Texas since Leap Day 2020. (That ended up being my sole vacation in that headache of a year.) I was supposed to fly back in the early hours of Saturday, April 1st. Not long before going to a Round Rock Express game that Friday night, I was informed my nonstop flight to Chicago was cancelled. There was a string of nasty storms and tornado warnings in northern Illinois. I was grateful that my old pal Brandon and his wife were letting me hang out at the house until my flight would be rescheduled. I tried calling United but they were clearly slammed with calls; as it turned out, they wiped out 36 straight hours of flights to O'Hare because of the inclement weather. After two hours with an chatbot, I received a refund for my initial flight. 

I had plans for Saturday, so my instinct was to find the next available flight back home. I didn't consider Amtrak or anything else. My best option was via American and Southwest; Bergstrom to Dallas-Fort Worth to Oklahoma City to Chicago, and land home after 6 PM. I arrived at Bergstrom at 10:15 for a noon flight, and the shuttle landed at DFW without issue. Then the plot thickened. My second flight had a one hour delay for maintenance; an attendant for American noticed the four minute gap between my OKC flight and when I fly from OKC to Chicago (in different terminals) so I ended up getting switched to a layover in Springfield, MO *then* Chicago free of charge. The Springfield flight was supposed to board after 10 PM; I didn't get on the plane until 11:15. That particular layover lasted 10 1/2 hours. 

In the meantime, I endured the longest layover I've ever had. I meandered around DFW, eating lunch at a Pappadeaux, a snack at a frozen yogurt stand, and a late dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. I also took advantage of American's Minute Suites, where I took an uncomfortable two-hour snooze on a cushioned bench. The mini motel room experience was sufficient, but not worth the $51 an hour. After I landed at Springfield-Branson, I had to find a bench to take a second over-glorified nap. I was surreal laying down in the arrivals and baggage area of an empty airport, especially in a smaller airport in an unfamiliar city (one terminal, eight gates, zero Starbucks). Just after 5 AM on Sunday morning, I finally boarded my connecting flight to O'Hare. I landed at 7 AM, I returned to my apartment around 8, and I took a four hour nap. In all, I spent 21 hours in aviation limbo. 

April fools, indeed.

(711)

30 Teams, 30 Haiku: My 2023 Baseball Preview

After a wobbly start to the 2022 season, 2023 brought tremendous momentum to baseball, courtesy of a much-watched international tournament. With all due respect to the Czech team and their grounder-shagging prowess, the real show is here.

*notes wild card

AL EAST

1. Yankees. Early injuries/are concerning; with deep cast/who am I to Judge?

2. Blue Jays*. Young, hot talent at/ev’ry position; bullpen/woes might prove fatal.

3. Rays*. Creative lineup/and stud rotation will keep/The Trop a hot spot.

4. Orioles. Feisty young birds shocked/us all last year; lackluster/SPs won’t keep up.

5. Red Sox. Here’s the Story: all/their pitchers are injured, with/two big infield gaps. 

AL CENTRAL

1. Guardians. Best of sorry bunch/stacked farm system lurks behind/84-win club.

2. Twins. Victors, somehow of/the Correa war; beyond/that, not much to boast.

3. White Sox. Besides Benny, key/issues weren’t addressed; time for/summer of Bummer?

4. Royals. Keep your Witts about/you; subpar SPs hinder/young, regal offense.

5. Tigers. Assuming Baez/rebounds and young arms adjust/these kitties have claws.

AL WEST

1. Astros. Wheeling and dealing/suits the champs; new faces keep/fans banging on cans.

2. Mariners*. Above water at/last; young, dangerous seamen/need a switch hitter.

3. Rangers. Free agent pitchers/must stay healthy; lack of left/fielder is glaring.

4. Angels. Give up thinking Trout/and Ohtani will ever/reign in Anaheim.

5. A’s. Bolts-out rebuild yet/again; budget pachyderms/seek move to Vegas.

NL EAST

1. Phillies. Losing Bryce wasn't/nice; after surprise run, wins/won't come on a Trea. 

2. Mets*. Big Citi spenders/can high-risk old arms curb next/October collapse?

3. Braves*. Beyond Acuna/and Albies, one hopes patchwork/left field has Wright stuff.

4. Marlins. Alcantara can’t/carry this team– think fourteenth/straight losing season.

5. Nationals. Strasburg is injured/(shocker!) so DC, go watch/Ovechkin instead.

NL CENTRAL

1. Cardinals. Contreras, traidor/with so-so arms, productive/bats set the (Noot)baar.

2. Brewers. Small ball, Cream City/top tier rotation offset/by lack of power.

3. Cubs. For whom Bellinger/tolls; infinite (Pat) wisdom/says new faces thrive.

4. Reds. Time to trade Votto/this machine needs rebuilding/don’t waste the old man!

5. Pirates. These Bucs won’t compete/weird mix of young and old, but/Cruz stands tall at short.

NL WEST

1. Dodgers. 100 wins for/sure; place your Betts now for big/budget, elite squad.

2. Padres*. SoCal high drama/gutted farm system won’t help/if things go sour.

3. Giants. After ‘22/thud, who knows what to expect/Webb of mystery.

4. D-Backs. A Gallen of hope/for young bats; rotation depth/curbs upward progress.

5. Rockies. Thin air haplessness/behind Bryant and McMahon/…meh. Rebuild awaits!

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Angels

NL MVP: Mookie Betts, Dodgers 

AL Cy Young: Alek Manoah, Blue Jays

NL Cy Young: Max Fried, Braves

AL Rookie of the Year: Triston Casas, Red Sox

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll, D-Backs

First Manager Fired: Derek Shelton, Pirates

2023 World Series: Dodgers over Astros in 6

Your thoughts?

(710)

Changing Channels

I nearly forgot a pivotal milestone last month. Then again, I forgot last time, too. As I promised in 2013, I went down with the TV.com ship; I think I was one of the last remaining editors to hang on when my account was eradicated in December 2019. A month or so later, the site no longer existed. I kept things up when the last site admin was phased out in mid-2018, the reviews and blogs were shut down a few months later, and site's new episode generator glitched well into 2019. I guess I carried the delusion that TV.com would be salvaged. 

If TV.com has any legacy, the site established an unexpected comradery. Someone created a private Facebook group for the "refugees" about 10 years ago, and a fair number of us are still in touch. People that met in the discussion boards in 2005-06 (or TV Tome a couple years before that) still communicate to this day. There's even a group messenger convo of people from the old SNL forum. Several lasting friendships, almost exclusive to the internet and scattered around the world, came from that page. In short, our love to TV wasn't defined or dissipated by one unprofitable, mismanaged web site.

Next time: my annual baseball preview.

(709)

A Day at the Racists

 It's probably too soon to speculate who will challenge Joe Biden for the 2024 presidential nomination. We're 20 months out, but given how election cycles supercede into each other, and Biden's multiple vulnerabilities, the speculation has already started. I expect a dogfight almost on the level of the 2016 primaries, but given that eight years ago all eyes were on George W. Bush's brother, I could be dead wrong about everything: 

Many eyes are on Gov. Ron DeSantis, the socially conservative firebrand. In many ways, he's the anti-Trump: young, politically experienced, a veteran, and not hindered by scandal and legal problems. Right now, DeSantis is stirring the culture war pot more than the ex-president, almost to the point that he exists solely to troll progressives. Assuming he runs, he's the narrow favorite at the moment.

Then there's the old, familiar face. The Trump campaign exists, and outside of his most ardent admirers, isn't gaining much momentum. He turns 77 this summer and looks every day of it. He's looked weary, his fiery rhetoric limited mostly to his fledging social media platform, Truth Social. That doesn't mean, however he doesn't have a clear path to the nomination. 

Then there's the traitor. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley's campaign announcement had the usual "liberal media" and "fight for freedom" clichés, but she knows Trump has a history of marginalizing and putting down women of color. In short, Nikki Haley is the most palatable GOP candidate. That's not saying much. 

In short, the right-wing echo chambers will start their quadrennial bickering soon enough. I'd prefer to be outside looking in.

(708)

Random Notes, February 2023

 I try not to write consecutive "random notes" blog entries, but my mind has been in varying directions.

+ President Biden had to explain in person that UFOs don't exist. The GOP (and their basic cable propaganda arms) are obsessed with an errant balloon or two that might have been sent from China. This is nothing new, either. Biden's presidency, now 25 months in, remains a mixed bag. He gets my empathy, however as he often finds himself a sane man in a crazed world. 

+ This is perhaps the most challenging year I've ever had with substitute teaching. I underestimated the behavior problem at the junior high; where the seventh grade has an immaturity problem, the eighth grade is slightly more malicious. Not helping matters is a spike of COVID cases (remember those?) and an aforementioned dearth of subs. Neighboring districts pay better, but I remain loyal to a flaw. 

+ This year marked my 10th hosting and producing the Power Couples of Improv. For newer readers, PCI is my annual showcase of Chicago improvisers that are in romantic relationships with other improvisers, doing two-person improv sets. This year's show was very strong and made a small profit, but more than anything else it's just a fun show to put together. 

I promise I'll be more focused next time. 

(707)

Random Notes, January 2023

 The lord's year 2023 is barely a month in, and it's already running fast and loose:

+ When Pope John Paul II passed in 2005, I vividly recall the endearing, round-the-clock news coverage as speculation ran rampant about the next leader of the Catholic Church. When Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the first papal leader to retire in centuries, passed just before New Year's, the news coverage seemed a tad more ambivalent. Perhaps it was because Benedict had been out of the public eye for awhile, a relatively short reign of eight years, but maybe because he wasn't the populist JP2 was. Benedict was a traditionalist (read: conservative) pope, and his death was mourned largely by more hidebound Catholics. 

+ No one really knows anything Rep. George Santos (R-NY) because George Santos is a pathological liar, but the GOP doesn't care because they need his vote in a razor-thin majority *and* Trump supporters clearly couldn't care less about character issues. Sadly, he's not going anywhere.

+ After two months on a long-term assignment, I'm back to your regular, run of the mill sub life. This was a familiar group of middle school students, but the aforementioned behavior issues (especially in my last class of the day) was starting to wear me down. The teacher I was covering opted to retire, and the new teacher is more discipline-driven than I am. On the last day of my assignment, I had to remind the kids that this wasn't goodbye, just see you later. In fact, I was back in the building covering an aide the following Tuesday, and it felt oddly refreshing. 

(706)