The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (January 13, 2015)
There are some books that one cannot put down until they are finished reading them. The Girl on the Train is one of them. For her debut novel, Paula Hawkins has written a page turner that very well could be the next Gone Girl. As I spent the past week devouring page after page, I was imagining a movie playing in my head. DreamWorks Pictures has already optioned the film rights.
If this book is not being heavily requested at libraries or bookstores, I'd be surprised since it is very impossible to put down. I went into 2015 with The President's Shadow by Brad Meltzer as the book that I was most looking forward to. There's still a chance that Meltzer's book wins the 2015 Solzy Award for Best Fiction Novel but Paula Hawkins' debut novel is going to give him a run for the money. I say that with all seriousness, too.
With its dark themes of obsession, isolation, and loneliness, Hawkins gives us a book that will remind readers of the Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, most specifically Rear Window. Our narrator, Rachel Watson, has secrets of her own as the plot zigs and zags through the 322 pages. She rides the train every day and one day, she notices something is off. From the moment she gets involved, readers are in for a heck of a ride.
With An unreliable narrator, an intricate plot, and a huge payoff of a surprise ending that NOBODY can see coming, the suspense grows by the minute. Pages will turn fast. Trust me. I spent most of Shabbas reading rather than schmooze at the Shabbas table just to finish reading this book.
This may just be the thriller of the year. You won't be able to put it down.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls: Strong Denunciation of Anti-Semitism
Following is a translation of the remarks on antisemitism
delivered by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls to the National Assembly
on January 13, 2015:
…The first question that has to be clearly dealt with is the struggle against antisemitism. History has taught us that the awakening of antisemitism is the symptom of a crisis for democracy and of a crisis for the Republic. That is why we must respond with force. Since Ilan Halimi in 2006, after the crimes of Toulouse, antisemitic acts in France have grown to an intolerable degree. The words, the insults, the gestures, the shameful attacks, as we saw in Creteil a few weeks ago, which I mentioned here in the Chamber, and which did not not produce the national outrage that our Jewish compatriots expected.
There is a huge level of concern, that fear which we felt at the HyperCacher at Porte de Vincennes and in the synagogue de la Victoire on Sunday night. How can we accept that in France, where the Jews were emancipated two centuries ago, but which was also where they were martyred 70 years ago, how can we accept that cries of “death to the Jews” can be heard on the streets? How can we accept these acts that I have just mentioned? How can we accept that French people can be murdered for being Jews? How can we accept that compatriots, or a Tunisian citizen whose father sent him to France so that he would be safe, is killed when he goes out to buy his bread for Shabbat because he is Jewish? This is not acceptable and I say to the people in general who perhaps have not reacted sufficiently up to now, and to our Jewish compatriots, that this time it cannot be accepted, that we must stand up and say what’s really going on.
There is a historical antisemitism that goes back centuries, but there is also a new antsemitism that is born in our neighborhoods, coming through the internet, satellite dishes, against the backdrop of the loathing of the State of Israel, and which advocates hatred of the Jews and all the Jews. It has to be spelled out, the right words must be used to fight this unacceptable antisemitism.( …)
Without its Jews France would not be France, this is the message we have to communicate loud and clear. We haven’t done so. We haven’t shown enough outrage. How can we accept that in certain schools and colleges the Holocaust can’t be taught? How can we accept that when a child is asked “Who is your enemy” the response is “the Jew?” When the Jews of France are attacked France is attacked, the conscience of humanity is attacked. Let us never forget it.
And to how to accept the indignity of a serial hater having a full house on Saturday night, when the country was mourning for what happened in Porte de Vincennes? Let us never pass over these matters in silence, and let justice be implacable with those who preach hate. And I say that emphatically here at the National Assembly.
And to finish my remarks, Ladies and Gentleman, when someone, a young man or woman, a citizen, has doubts and approaches me or the Minister of Education with the question: “But I don’t understand, how come you want to silence this comedian, and you put the Charlie Hebdo journalists up on a pedestal?” There is a fundamental difference – and this is the battle that we have to win, educating our young people – there is a fundamental difference between the freedom to be insolent – blasphemy is not a crime and never will be – there is a fundamental difference between that liberty and anti-Semitism, racism, excusing terrorism and Holocaust denial, which are crimes that the courts must punish with ever greater severity.
…The first question that has to be clearly dealt with is the struggle against antisemitism. History has taught us that the awakening of antisemitism is the symptom of a crisis for democracy and of a crisis for the Republic. That is why we must respond with force. Since Ilan Halimi in 2006, after the crimes of Toulouse, antisemitic acts in France have grown to an intolerable degree. The words, the insults, the gestures, the shameful attacks, as we saw in Creteil a few weeks ago, which I mentioned here in the Chamber, and which did not not produce the national outrage that our Jewish compatriots expected.
There is a huge level of concern, that fear which we felt at the HyperCacher at Porte de Vincennes and in the synagogue de la Victoire on Sunday night. How can we accept that in France, where the Jews were emancipated two centuries ago, but which was also where they were martyred 70 years ago, how can we accept that cries of “death to the Jews” can be heard on the streets? How can we accept these acts that I have just mentioned? How can we accept that French people can be murdered for being Jews? How can we accept that compatriots, or a Tunisian citizen whose father sent him to France so that he would be safe, is killed when he goes out to buy his bread for Shabbat because he is Jewish? This is not acceptable and I say to the people in general who perhaps have not reacted sufficiently up to now, and to our Jewish compatriots, that this time it cannot be accepted, that we must stand up and say what’s really going on.
There is a historical antisemitism that goes back centuries, but there is also a new antsemitism that is born in our neighborhoods, coming through the internet, satellite dishes, against the backdrop of the loathing of the State of Israel, and which advocates hatred of the Jews and all the Jews. It has to be spelled out, the right words must be used to fight this unacceptable antisemitism.( …)
Without its Jews France would not be France, this is the message we have to communicate loud and clear. We haven’t done so. We haven’t shown enough outrage. How can we accept that in certain schools and colleges the Holocaust can’t be taught? How can we accept that when a child is asked “Who is your enemy” the response is “the Jew?” When the Jews of France are attacked France is attacked, the conscience of humanity is attacked. Let us never forget it.
And to how to accept the indignity of a serial hater having a full house on Saturday night, when the country was mourning for what happened in Porte de Vincennes? Let us never pass over these matters in silence, and let justice be implacable with those who preach hate. And I say that emphatically here at the National Assembly.
And to finish my remarks, Ladies and Gentleman, when someone, a young man or woman, a citizen, has doubts and approaches me or the Minister of Education with the question: “But I don’t understand, how come you want to silence this comedian, and you put the Charlie Hebdo journalists up on a pedestal?” There is a fundamental difference – and this is the battle that we have to win, educating our young people – there is a fundamental difference between the freedom to be insolent – blasphemy is not a crime and never will be – there is a fundamental difference between that liberty and anti-Semitism, racism, excusing terrorism and Holocaust denial, which are crimes that the courts must punish with ever greater severity.
Friday, January 09, 2015
Book Review - Called Out but Safe: A Baseball Umpire's Journey
Called Out but Safe: A Baseball Umpire's Journey by Al Clark with Dan Schlossberg
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2014)
Al Clark worked as an umpire in more than 3,000 games for thirty years. He was lucky enough to work two All-Star Games, seven playoff series, and two World Series.
Clark was the umpire behind the plate during a game in 1991 when there were three Jews all wishing each other a happy new year when Shawn Green stepped up to the plate and Jesse Levis was the catcher. How many times has that happened in baseball history?
Al Clark provides an entertaining memoir. He shares his stories of managers Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, and Dick Williams. Some of these folks were not friendly to the umpires. Clark tells of how he tore his hamstring while ejecting a player or manager (I meant to put this review up a while ago after I read the book). Heck, he even ejected his own father, a sportswriter who made his way into the dressing room.
It was Clark who was there for Nolan Ryan's 300th win, Cal Ripken's 2131st game, and the "earthquake" World Series of 1989. He shares stories from all these games and many more.
Clark opens up about the scandal he was embroiled in. This is what led to his retirement from baseball. Had he realized what he was doing was wrong, he would have never done it.
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2014)
Al Clark worked as an umpire in more than 3,000 games for thirty years. He was lucky enough to work two All-Star Games, seven playoff series, and two World Series.
Clark was the umpire behind the plate during a game in 1991 when there were three Jews all wishing each other a happy new year when Shawn Green stepped up to the plate and Jesse Levis was the catcher. How many times has that happened in baseball history?
Al Clark provides an entertaining memoir. He shares his stories of managers Earl Weaver, Billy Martin, and Dick Williams. Some of these folks were not friendly to the umpires. Clark tells of how he tore his hamstring while ejecting a player or manager (I meant to put this review up a while ago after I read the book). Heck, he even ejected his own father, a sportswriter who made his way into the dressing room.
It was Clark who was there for Nolan Ryan's 300th win, Cal Ripken's 2131st game, and the "earthquake" World Series of 1989. He shares stories from all these games and many more.
Clark opens up about the scandal he was embroiled in. This is what led to his retirement from baseball. Had he realized what he was doing was wrong, he would have never done it.
Outspoken and hilarious, Clark's book provides the rare opportunity at what life is like for an umpire.
Thursday, January 08, 2015
Book Review - The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter
The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter by Ian O'Connor
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (April 3, 2012)
The Captain is the definitive biography of future Hall of Fame member Derek Jeter.
This book is not an authorized biography in the sense that O'Connor sat down for hours at a time with the shortstop. Instead, as one who covered the Yankees, O'Connor drew upon his prior interviews with Derek. It's because of O'Connor's covering of the Yankees that he was able to draw on that unique access to The Captain.
With over 200 interviews, O'Connor is able to tell us how the biracial baseball player from Michigan started on his journey to become the shortstop of the New York Yankees. The interesting thing? Jeter was always telling people how he would be the future Yankees shortstop. A funny thing happened on the way to the Bronx...
We go behind the scenes to when Jeter was struggling in the minors. Despite being homesick and making an abundance of errors in the playing field, Jeter willed his way. He had coaches and managers who served as mentors while he played in the minors.
It wouldn't be a Jeter book without discussing the whole rivalry with Alex Rodriguez. Jeter has a one strike and you're out policy...of which Rodriguez broke the cardinal rule by talking bad about Jeter.
It may have looked easy for Jeter but it never was. He worked hard to become the player he became. He struggled along the way.
The paperback version of the book includes a new chapter on the chase for his 3,000th career hit--the first Yankees player ever to accomplish the milestone with the Yankees. True, there have been other members of the 3,000 hit club that played for the Yankees like Wade Boggs and Dave Winfield but they didn't join the exclusive club with the Yankees.
When people talk about the definitive biography of Derek Jeter, they will be talking about Ian O'Connor's book for years to come. It's an incisive, exhilarating, and revealing look at one of the best players in the game.
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (April 3, 2012)
The Captain is the definitive biography of future Hall of Fame member Derek Jeter.
This book is not an authorized biography in the sense that O'Connor sat down for hours at a time with the shortstop. Instead, as one who covered the Yankees, O'Connor drew upon his prior interviews with Derek. It's because of O'Connor's covering of the Yankees that he was able to draw on that unique access to The Captain.
With over 200 interviews, O'Connor is able to tell us how the biracial baseball player from Michigan started on his journey to become the shortstop of the New York Yankees. The interesting thing? Jeter was always telling people how he would be the future Yankees shortstop. A funny thing happened on the way to the Bronx...
We go behind the scenes to when Jeter was struggling in the minors. Despite being homesick and making an abundance of errors in the playing field, Jeter willed his way. He had coaches and managers who served as mentors while he played in the minors.
It wouldn't be a Jeter book without discussing the whole rivalry with Alex Rodriguez. Jeter has a one strike and you're out policy...of which Rodriguez broke the cardinal rule by talking bad about Jeter.
It may have looked easy for Jeter but it never was. He worked hard to become the player he became. He struggled along the way.
The paperback version of the book includes a new chapter on the chase for his 3,000th career hit--the first Yankees player ever to accomplish the milestone with the Yankees. True, there have been other members of the 3,000 hit club that played for the Yankees like Wade Boggs and Dave Winfield but they didn't join the exclusive club with the Yankees.
When people talk about the definitive biography of Derek Jeter, they will be talking about Ian O'Connor's book for years to come. It's an incisive, exhilarating, and revealing look at one of the best players in the game.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
2014 Solzy Awards
I started tweeting these the other day but here are the 2014 Solzy Awards.
Best Comedy Album: 2776: A Levinson Bros. and Rob Kutner Presentation
Best Musical Album: Jukebox the Ghost
Best Motion Picture Soundtrack (Tie): Begin Again: Music From and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1
Best New Television Comedy (tie):
Broadcast: Marry Me
Cable: Sirens, Playing House
Best New Television Drama: The Flash
Best Breakout Star on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Jordan Klepper
Best Comedic Memoir (Tie): Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian by Bob Saget, Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Best Biography: Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History by Joseph Telushkin
Most Anticipated Book of 2015 (Tie): The President's Shadow by Brad Meltzer; Lincoln and the Jews by Jonathan Sarna and Benjamin Shapell
Best Kentucky Sportswriter: Larry Vaught
Best National Basketball Writer: Mike DeCourcy
Best Baseball Writer (Tie): Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel
Best Group of Sports Bloggers: United Cardinal Bloggers
Best Kentucky Broadcaster (Tie): Tom Leach, Bob Valvano
Most Annoying Person on Television...Period: Skip Bayless (ESPN)
Best Comedy Album: 2776: A Levinson Bros. and Rob Kutner Presentation
Best Musical Album: Jukebox the Ghost
Best Motion Picture Soundtrack (Tie): Begin Again: Music From and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1
Best New Television Comedy (tie):
Broadcast: Marry Me
Cable: Sirens, Playing House
Best New Television Drama: The Flash
Best Breakout Star on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Jordan Klepper
Best Baseball Book: The Hall: A Celebration of Baseball's Greats: In Stories and Images, the Complete Roster of Inductees
Best Basketball Book: Players' First: Coaching from the Inside Out by John Calipari, Wildcat Memories: Inside Stories from Kentucky Basketball Greats by Doug Brunk, Fightin' Words: Kentucky vs. Louisville by Joe Cox and Ryan Clark
Best Sportswriting Memoir: Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan
Best Sportswriting Memoir: Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan
Best Comedic Memoir (Tie): Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian by Bob Saget, Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Best Biography: Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History by Joseph Telushkin
Best Fiction Novel: Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Most Anticipated Book of 2015 (Tie): The President's Shadow by Brad Meltzer; Lincoln and the Jews by Jonathan Sarna and Benjamin Shapell
Best Kentucky Sportswriter: Larry Vaught
Best National Basketball Writer: Mike DeCourcy
Best Baseball Writer (Tie): Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel
Best Group of Sports Bloggers: United Cardinal Bloggers
Best Kentucky Broadcaster (Tie): Tom Leach, Bob Valvano
Most Annoying Person on Television...Period: Skip Bayless (ESPN)
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Book Review - Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan
Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (October 7, 2014)
You can't call yourself a sports fan and not know who Bob Ryan is. I've had the pleasure of emailing back and forth with the Hall of Fame sportswriter for quite a few years now. He's one of the best in the business.
For 46 years, Ryan worked as a beloved Boston Globe sportswriter and columnist and later made regular appearances on both Around the Horn and Sports Reporters on ESPN. Long before he was placed on the Boston Celtics bear in 1968, Ryan picked up the nickname "Scribe" from his high school football coach as he put so many hours into the school newspaper. Suffice it to say, the Hall of Fame writer has lived up to the nickname.
Ryan writes of growing up in Trenton, New Jersey and his path to becoming a Boston mainstay. To say that Ryan is a sports institution would be an understatement. A sports fan first and foremost, Ryan has a passion and enthusiasm for the game, no matter what sport or where its taking place. Without such passion or enthusiasm, it's hard to tell if he would be the writer we know that he is today.
For over four decades, Ryan regularly covered baseball, basketball, golf, boxing, and eleven Olympic games. He retired as a regular columnist following the 2012 Summer Olympics in London but he has written an engaging memoir infused with the same insight and journalistic prowess that he used when writing his columns.
We get the behind-the-scenes stories with personal anecdotes, unbelievable encounters, and photos of his priceless memorabilia.
If you call yourself a sports fan, do yourself a favor and read this book.
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (October 7, 2014)
You can't call yourself a sports fan and not know who Bob Ryan is. I've had the pleasure of emailing back and forth with the Hall of Fame sportswriter for quite a few years now. He's one of the best in the business.
For 46 years, Ryan worked as a beloved Boston Globe sportswriter and columnist and later made regular appearances on both Around the Horn and Sports Reporters on ESPN. Long before he was placed on the Boston Celtics bear in 1968, Ryan picked up the nickname "Scribe" from his high school football coach as he put so many hours into the school newspaper. Suffice it to say, the Hall of Fame writer has lived up to the nickname.
Ryan writes of growing up in Trenton, New Jersey and his path to becoming a Boston mainstay. To say that Ryan is a sports institution would be an understatement. A sports fan first and foremost, Ryan has a passion and enthusiasm for the game, no matter what sport or where its taking place. Without such passion or enthusiasm, it's hard to tell if he would be the writer we know that he is today.
For over four decades, Ryan regularly covered baseball, basketball, golf, boxing, and eleven Olympic games. He retired as a regular columnist following the 2012 Summer Olympics in London but he has written an engaging memoir infused with the same insight and journalistic prowess that he used when writing his columns.
We get the behind-the-scenes stories with personal anecdotes, unbelievable encounters, and photos of his priceless memorabilia.
If you call yourself a sports fan, do yourself a favor and read this book.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Searching for the Hirschfeld Family
My 3rd great-grandmother, Liba/Libby Schindler, had a brother named Nisan Hirschfeld. In the 1897 All-Russia census, they were listed as living in Talsen, Latvia. Libby and Nisan's father was named Isaac/Itzik.
According to the census, Nisan was living with his wife, Zira, and stepson, Mendel Lewensohn.
Ages in 1896-97:
Nisan, 56
Zira, 46
Mendel, 25
I don't know if Nisan and Zira had other children.
According to the census, Nisan was living with his wife, Zira, and stepson, Mendel Lewensohn.
Ages in 1896-97:
Nisan, 56
Zira, 46
Mendel, 25
I don't know if Nisan and Zira had other children.
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Jerry Abramson resigns, Crit Luallen to become new Lt. Governor
Kentucky Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson has resigned to take the position of Deputy Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the White House.
The announcement was made today by Governor Steve Beshear. Former state Auditor Crit Luallen has been named as Abramson's replacement.
Beshear:
Beshear on appointing Crit Luallen:
Crit Luallen:
The announcement was made today by Governor Steve Beshear. Former state Auditor Crit Luallen has been named as Abramson's replacement.
Beshear:
“This is a bittersweet moment for me and for our administration. Jerry and I have been friends for more than 30 years, and I chose him as my Lieutenant Governor because I knew that his extensive experience as longtime mayor of Louisville, his contagious enthusiasm and his knack for building momentum around new ideas would make him a great partner in leading our state. But the White House noticed all those skills, too, and realized that he will take those same gifts and put them to work on our nation’s domestic agenda. He will be an outstanding addition to the President’s administration, and we will miss him terribly.”Abramson:
“The challenges that face America’s local communities – such as workforce training, education, infrastructure investment, shrinking budgets, affordable housing, public transportation, and emergency response – are the issues that I’ve worked on for more than 30 years in local and state government. I’m honored to be in a position to help this country’s mayors, county executives, governors and other local officials tackle these issues and work to find innovative solutions. “I’m grateful to Gov. Beshear for bringing me on board three years ago, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done together to bring jobs to our state and to strengthen Kentucky families. My experience in the Kentucky Capitol will be vital as I step into my new role.”
Beshear on appointing Crit Luallen:
“Crit is a well-known and beloved public servant, respected by members of both parties for her resolute pursuit of clean, ethical government,” said Gov. Beshear. “She was my first and only choice to serve as the new Lieutenant Governor, and I know Kentuckians will be confident that she is more than up to the task. I’m glad she agreed to return to state government, and I’m certain she will bring that same tenacity and grit to the Lt. Governor’s office.”
Crit Luallen:
“It is a high honor to stand here today in partnership with this Governor. Serving as Lieutenant Governor gives me an opportunity to continue to serve Kentucky and offer my experience and perspective to Gov. Beshear and the fine team he has assembled. It will be my personal goal to help the Governor end his term in office with the state in as strong a position as possible to face the challenges the future holds.”The resignation and transfer of power will take place on November 13.
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Saving the Horse Industry in Kentucky means to expand gambling
Kentucky's
horse industry is dying a slow death. Owners and trainers will
continue to send their horses where the money is--sadly, it won't be
Kentucky because of the religious conservatives so afraid of expanded
gambling. Just because they don't like it doesn't mean that their
beliefs should be forced upon those who disagree with them.
We can't win when potential tax revenue is leaving Kentucky and going to Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio, wherever the casinos are.
We can't win when potential tax revenue is leaving Kentucky and going to Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio, wherever the casinos are.
2015 Kentucky Statewide Primary Election - Democratic Candidates
Governor/Lt. Governor (Open)
Jack Conway/Sannie Overly
Secretary of State
Alison Lundergan Grimes
Attorney General
Andrew Beshear
State Auditor
Adam Edelen
State Treasurer
Daniel Grossberg
Neville Blakemore
Possible candidates:
Colmon Elridge
Dee Dee Ford
Chris Tobe
State Agricultural Comissioner
Jean-Marie Lawson Spann
Jack Conway/Sannie Overly
Secretary of State
Alison Lundergan Grimes
Attorney General
Andrew Beshear
State Auditor
Adam Edelen
State Treasurer
Daniel Grossberg
Neville Blakemore
Possible candidates:
Colmon Elridge
Dee Dee Ford
Chris Tobe
State Agricultural Comissioner
Jean-Marie Lawson Spann
Southern Democrats need a New Strategy
Chris Cillizza puts it the best when he called Southern Democrats a loser in the 2014 election:
The Kentucky Democratic Party has a lot of work to do over the next few years.
Southern Democrats: Both Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky and Sen. Mark Pryor in Arkansas did everything they could to run away from President Obama and insist they were their own independent voices. Ditto Michelle Nunn in Georgia. Didn't work. Grimes lost minutes after polls closed in Kentucky. Same for Pryor in Arkansas. Nunn wasn't able to push David Perdue (R) to a runoff. And even Sen. Mark Warner, long considered to be impregnable, found himself in a tight race with former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie. The results affirmed just how difficult it is for Democrats to win federal races in the South -- particularly in an election cycle like this one where a Democratic President is decidedly unpopular in the region. (And NBC/Marist poll released on Sunday showed Obama with a 32 percent approval rating in Kentucky.)It may be easy to when statewide for state elections but in Kentucky, nobody has been elected statewide to the United States Senate since Wendell Ford. In 2011, the Steve Beshear/Jerry Abramson slate won with 55.72% of the vote.
The Kentucky Democratic Party has a lot of work to do over the next few years.
Monday, November 03, 2014
Deleting an old blog posting...
It's not that often that I delete an old blog posting but I did so today...well more so, reverted it back to a draft.
Why?
My feelings on Jerry Lundergan have changed ten-fold since early 2005 when he was voted in as party chairman. It is important that we have a UNITED Kentucky Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
I'll proudly cast my vote on Tuesday for Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Why?
My feelings on Jerry Lundergan have changed ten-fold since early 2005 when he was voted in as party chairman. It is important that we have a UNITED Kentucky Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
I'll proudly cast my vote on Tuesday for Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Bill Clinton!
President Bill Clinton was on the stump for Alison Lundergan Grimes as she runs for the United States Senate. I don't actively write about politics as much as I used to but getting the opportunity to see President Clinton for a third time in person was awesome even if it was a bit chilly outside while waiting for the rally to get started.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
2013-2014 Baseball Books You Should Read
American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball by Larry Ruttman
Hardcover: 544 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 2013)
The Jewish presence of baseball extends beyond the playing field. It reaches to the Commissioner's Office (Bud Selig), labor leaders (Marvin Miller, Donald Fehr), the owners box (Jerry Reinsdorf, Stuart Sternberg), front office executives (Theo Epstein, Mark Shapiro), sportswriters (Murray Chass, Ross Newhan, Ira Berkow, Roger Kahn) and fans such as Alan Dershowitz and Barney Frank.
Their life stories and others have been compiled from nearly 50 in-depth interviews and arranged by decade. The edifying and entertaining work is an important part of our oral and cultural history.
Everyone interviewed talks about what it was like to have grown up Jewish and dealing with Jewish identity, assimilation, intermarriage, future viability, religious observance, anti-Semitism, and Israel. They talk about being in the midst of players who have helped to make baseball into what it is today. What their stories do, most importantly, is show the history of Jews in America's pastime.
Throwing Hard Easy: Reflections on a Life in Baseball by Robin Roberts
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2014)
Reprinted posthumously, this edition offers a new forward by his son, James Roberts, as well as a new introduction from his co-author C. Paul Rogers, III.
Roberts made his debut in 1948 and would become one of the many inductees in Cooperstown. Roberts wasn't just a dominating pitcher but an impressive storyteller, too. His experiences before, during, and after his 19-year career made for an extraordinary life. His memoir recalls his childhood, playing days, and life after retiring from baseball.
Alexander Cartwright: The Life behind the Baseball Legend by Monica Nucciarone
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2014)
We know that Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. (1820–92) was present during the organization of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York in the mid-1800s but since that time, Cartwright has been celebrated as one of baseball's founders in the same case as Abner Doubleday. Both, however, have seen their clain to fame come with both conjecture and controverse. In Nucciarone's book, his complex life comes into focus.
Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey by Tim Hornbaker
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Sports Publishing (March 4, 2014)
Charles Albert “The Old Roman” Comiskey was a man that had precision in speech and could work a room with handshakes and smiles. Comiskey invested some five decades in baseball and cared deeply for both the fans and the players.
He's been vilified as a cheapskate and a driving force behind the 1919 White Sox team that the the World Series. It couldn't have been any further from the truth as Hornbaker's book shows. Comiskey was terrorized to the core with the scandal. Mangled versions of the truth have circulated and have been immortalized by the mainstream media.
This is a man who gave away tickets to the Boy Scouts and opposed raising ticket prices for the World Series. He put the fans and players first. Amongst now-common practices, Comiskey has been credited with playing first base either behind the bag or onside the foul line.
This is an elegant portrait of his long career as a player, manager, and owner and tells his story while showcasing facts that most don't know. The truth, as is the case, needs to be told and that's what Hornbaker does.
Down to the Last Pitch: How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time by Tim Wendel
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 1, 2014)
This was a classic World Series between two teams that climbed their way to the top after finishing in the bottom of the standings in the 1990 season. Five games were decided by just one run. Four games were decided by the last at-bat, including Kirby Puckett's walk-off home run in Game 6.
No World Series had seen three games go into extra innings until the 1991 World Series.
More than statistics, this is a series in which both teams took a risk, followed their guts, and played with both integrity and heart.
Tim Wendel recalls what made this series a great one game-by game. He reaches back into baseball history to show us just what made these moments so great. Nobody can ever forget Puckett's home run or the game four and seven matchups between Jack Morris and John Smoltz.
Wendel makes an argument that this was "the last fine time in Baseball."
Mover and Shaker: Walter O'Malley, the Dodgers, and Baseball's Westward Expansion by Andy McHue
Hardcover: 488 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2014)
Walter O'Malley is one of the most influential and controversial owners in sports history. For the first time ever, we have an objective, complete, and nuanced account of the O'Malley's life. He doesn't present O'Malley has a villain or angel. Rather, he presents O'Malley as a rational and hardheaded businessman. He was a major force for three decades in baseball. His managing and marketing practices radically changed the shape of the game.
He's remembered best for moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. But what is known about O'Malley leading up to the move is either unknown or a complete myth. Sportswriters distorted his personal story because of their hatred of him after the Dodgers moved west.
The Closer by Mariano Rivera
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2014)
There's no denial that Rivera is the greatest closer of all-time in Major League Baseball. Nobody can list the greatest Yankees of all time without including Rivera. Just by opening the bullpen door, Rivera intimidated thousands of batters.
In this book, he finally shares his life story and journey. When the Yankees first scouted him, he didn't own a glove and his big toe was sticking out of his shoe.
He didn't know who Babe Ruth was, spoke no English, and never had flown in a plane. He knew that with his love for family and G-d to guide him that he would throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to...every single time.
Rivera, with some astonishing candor, shares the stories of the championships, bosses, rivalries, the struggles of being a Latino player in the U.S., and the challenges of maintaining deep religious values in sports.
He writes about his drive to win, the secret to his composure, how he discovered the cutter, and Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He writes how the lowest moment of his career would turn into a blessing.
Rivera takes us into the Yankees clubhouse and discusses the other players of the Core Four.
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 2013)
The Jewish presence of baseball extends beyond the playing field. It reaches to the Commissioner's Office (Bud Selig), labor leaders (Marvin Miller, Donald Fehr), the owners box (Jerry Reinsdorf, Stuart Sternberg), front office executives (Theo Epstein, Mark Shapiro), sportswriters (Murray Chass, Ross Newhan, Ira Berkow, Roger Kahn) and fans such as Alan Dershowitz and Barney Frank.
Their life stories and others have been compiled from nearly 50 in-depth interviews and arranged by decade. The edifying and entertaining work is an important part of our oral and cultural history.
Everyone interviewed talks about what it was like to have grown up Jewish and dealing with Jewish identity, assimilation, intermarriage, future viability, religious observance, anti-Semitism, and Israel. They talk about being in the midst of players who have helped to make baseball into what it is today. What their stories do, most importantly, is show the history of Jews in America's pastime.
Throwing Hard Easy: Reflections on a Life in Baseball by Robin Roberts
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2014)
Reprinted posthumously, this edition offers a new forward by his son, James Roberts, as well as a new introduction from his co-author C. Paul Rogers, III.
Roberts made his debut in 1948 and would become one of the many inductees in Cooperstown. Roberts wasn't just a dominating pitcher but an impressive storyteller, too. His experiences before, during, and after his 19-year career made for an extraordinary life. His memoir recalls his childhood, playing days, and life after retiring from baseball.
Alexander Cartwright: The Life behind the Baseball Legend by Monica Nucciarone
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2014)
We know that Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. (1820–92) was present during the organization of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York in the mid-1800s but since that time, Cartwright has been celebrated as one of baseball's founders in the same case as Abner Doubleday. Both, however, have seen their clain to fame come with both conjecture and controverse. In Nucciarone's book, his complex life comes into focus.
The author seperates fact from speculation. While Cartwright may not be the one of legend, what we get is a character that is colorful, complicated, and immense as any legend that he may have inspired.
Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey by Tim Hornbaker
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Sports Publishing (March 4, 2014)
Charles Albert “The Old Roman” Comiskey was a man that had precision in speech and could work a room with handshakes and smiles. Comiskey invested some five decades in baseball and cared deeply for both the fans and the players.
He's been vilified as a cheapskate and a driving force behind the 1919 White Sox team that the the World Series. It couldn't have been any further from the truth as Hornbaker's book shows. Comiskey was terrorized to the core with the scandal. Mangled versions of the truth have circulated and have been immortalized by the mainstream media.
This is a man who gave away tickets to the Boy Scouts and opposed raising ticket prices for the World Series. He put the fans and players first. Amongst now-common practices, Comiskey has been credited with playing first base either behind the bag or onside the foul line.
This is an elegant portrait of his long career as a player, manager, and owner and tells his story while showcasing facts that most don't know. The truth, as is the case, needs to be told and that's what Hornbaker does.
Down to the Last Pitch: How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time by Tim Wendel
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 1, 2014)
This was a classic World Series between two teams that climbed their way to the top after finishing in the bottom of the standings in the 1990 season. Five games were decided by just one run. Four games were decided by the last at-bat, including Kirby Puckett's walk-off home run in Game 6.
No World Series had seen three games go into extra innings until the 1991 World Series.
More than statistics, this is a series in which both teams took a risk, followed their guts, and played with both integrity and heart.
Tim Wendel recalls what made this series a great one game-by game. He reaches back into baseball history to show us just what made these moments so great. Nobody can ever forget Puckett's home run or the game four and seven matchups between Jack Morris and John Smoltz.
Wendel makes an argument that this was "the last fine time in Baseball."
Mover and Shaker: Walter O'Malley, the Dodgers, and Baseball's Westward Expansion by Andy McHue
Hardcover: 488 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2014)
Walter O'Malley is one of the most influential and controversial owners in sports history. For the first time ever, we have an objective, complete, and nuanced account of the O'Malley's life. He doesn't present O'Malley has a villain or angel. Rather, he presents O'Malley as a rational and hardheaded businessman. He was a major force for three decades in baseball. His managing and marketing practices radically changed the shape of the game.
He's remembered best for moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. But what is known about O'Malley leading up to the move is either unknown or a complete myth. Sportswriters distorted his personal story because of their hatred of him after the Dodgers moved west.
The Closer by Mariano Rivera
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2014)
There's no denial that Rivera is the greatest closer of all-time in Major League Baseball. Nobody can list the greatest Yankees of all time without including Rivera. Just by opening the bullpen door, Rivera intimidated thousands of batters.
In this book, he finally shares his life story and journey. When the Yankees first scouted him, he didn't own a glove and his big toe was sticking out of his shoe.
He didn't know who Babe Ruth was, spoke no English, and never had flown in a plane. He knew that with his love for family and G-d to guide him that he would throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to...every single time.
Rivera, with some astonishing candor, shares the stories of the championships, bosses, rivalries, the struggles of being a Latino player in the U.S., and the challenges of maintaining deep religious values in sports.
He writes about his drive to win, the secret to his composure, how he discovered the cutter, and Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He writes how the lowest moment of his career would turn into a blessing.
Rivera takes us into the Yankees clubhouse and discusses the other players of the Core Four.
Friday, October 24, 2014
You Can Date Boys When You're Forty by Dave Barry
You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by Dave Barry
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (March 4, 2014)
For the first time since 2010, Dave Barry is back with a collection of brand new essays that offer a unique look at fatherhood, family, and death. He delivers a hilarious collection of parenting, families, sex, camels, women, brain surgery, sex with women, air travel, brain farts, and so much more.
Barry's daughter turned 13 and he turned 65. For Barry, 65 is not the new 50. No matter what age, Barry is still one of the funniest writers on this planet.
Barry even writes about a trip to Israel, which had me cracking up a storm. When you've rode on camels and slept in a Bedouin tent, you know exactly what kind of experience that he had. I can say that with 100% certainty as I went on a Birthright trip in 2007.
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (March 4, 2014)
For the first time since 2010, Dave Barry is back with a collection of brand new essays that offer a unique look at fatherhood, family, and death. He delivers a hilarious collection of parenting, families, sex, camels, women, brain surgery, sex with women, air travel, brain farts, and so much more.
Barry's daughter turned 13 and he turned 65. For Barry, 65 is not the new 50. No matter what age, Barry is still one of the funniest writers on this planet.
Barry even writes about a trip to Israel, which had me cracking up a storm. When you've rode on camels and slept in a Bedouin tent, you know exactly what kind of experience that he had. I can say that with 100% certainty as I went on a Birthright trip in 2007.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (February 4, 2014)
This book from Novak is one of the can't-miss books of the past year. After serving as a writer and actor for many seasons on The Office, Novak decided to write a collection of short stories. The result is one of the newest voices in the world of American fiction.
Novak's work is endlessly entertaining, sensitive, and very original. His zing and humor brings to mind the work of both Woody Allen and Steve Martin.
The pieces in this collection have one thing in common: they share humor. It's like nothing else that's been done before.
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (February 4, 2014)
This book from Novak is one of the can't-miss books of the past year. After serving as a writer and actor for many seasons on The Office, Novak decided to write a collection of short stories. The result is one of the newest voices in the world of American fiction.
Novak's work is endlessly entertaining, sensitive, and very original. His zing and humor brings to mind the work of both Woody Allen and Steve Martin.
The pieces in this collection have one thing in common: they share humor. It's like nothing else that's been done before.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Book Review: Wilson by A. Scott Berg
Wilson by A. Scott Berg
Paperback: 832 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (September 2, 2014)
When this book was first printed in 2013, the United States quietly marked the 100th anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's presidential inauguration--most were focused on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's tragic passing in 1963.
Berg is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner. He spent a decade researching and writing this biography of the nation's 28th President of the United States.
Wilson, who served from 1913-1921, rose from a Southern boyhood as the son of a minister through the ranks of academia and politics before leading the United States into the dawn of a new era. Wilson's led the nation during World War 1 and would go on to institute many progressive reforms that shaped the country as we know it today. These reforms would pave the way for the New Deal. Wilson also laid the foundation of the country's foreign policy for the rest of the century.
Despite all of this, Wilson is one of the least-remembered of the great presidents. He is often thought of as a rigid, dour figure who failed in bringing the United States into the League of Nations. The League of Nations was the forerunner to the United Nations.
Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, leading his wife to act as a de factor president.
In under 1,000 pages, Berg clears away the myths and misconceptions about President Wilson. What he presents is a book on a man that was a statesman, intellectual, speaker, politician, and an idealist.
With access to hundreds of thousands of documents, including the letters of Wilson's personal physician and one of his daughters, this is easily the definitive biography of President Woodrow Wilson.
Paperback: 832 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (September 2, 2014)
When this book was first printed in 2013, the United States quietly marked the 100th anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's presidential inauguration--most were focused on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's tragic passing in 1963.
Berg is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner. He spent a decade researching and writing this biography of the nation's 28th President of the United States.
Wilson, who served from 1913-1921, rose from a Southern boyhood as the son of a minister through the ranks of academia and politics before leading the United States into the dawn of a new era. Wilson's led the nation during World War 1 and would go on to institute many progressive reforms that shaped the country as we know it today. These reforms would pave the way for the New Deal. Wilson also laid the foundation of the country's foreign policy for the rest of the century.
Despite all of this, Wilson is one of the least-remembered of the great presidents. He is often thought of as a rigid, dour figure who failed in bringing the United States into the League of Nations. The League of Nations was the forerunner to the United Nations.
Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, leading his wife to act as a de factor president.
In under 1,000 pages, Berg clears away the myths and misconceptions about President Wilson. What he presents is a book on a man that was a statesman, intellectual, speaker, politician, and an idealist.
With access to hundreds of thousands of documents, including the letters of Wilson's personal physician and one of his daughters, this is easily the definitive biography of President Woodrow Wilson.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith
American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith (The Library of America)
Daniel Okrent, editor. Afterword by Terence Smith
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Library of America (May 16, 2013)
When people think of great sportswriters, Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith is one of the first names that come to mind. With a nationally syndicated column in both the New York Herald Tribune and New York Times, Smith was widely read from the 1940s through his retirement in the 1980s. He was the first sportswriter to have won the Pullitzer Prize for commentary.
His sports commentaries came with literary panache and wry humor.
Writer and editor Daniel Okrent presents the best of Smith's columns. His work, to this day, remains the gold standard in sportswriting. It still shows many years later.
Smith's profiles of some of the biggest figures in sports show how he can distill a career's essence in just one column. There are the accounts of some of the most historic occasions in sports and they are joined by some of the more offbeat stories that display the writer's wit, intelligence, and feeling.
We get some personal glimpses into Red's life and work such as his passion for fishing. "My Press-Box Memoirs", a 1975 reminiscence written for Esquire, is collected here for the first time.
Any aspiring sportswriter or sports fan in general will want to read this book.
Daniel Okrent, editor. Afterword by Terence Smith
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Library of America (May 16, 2013)
When people think of great sportswriters, Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith is one of the first names that come to mind. With a nationally syndicated column in both the New York Herald Tribune and New York Times, Smith was widely read from the 1940s through his retirement in the 1980s. He was the first sportswriter to have won the Pullitzer Prize for commentary.
His sports commentaries came with literary panache and wry humor.
Writer and editor Daniel Okrent presents the best of Smith's columns. His work, to this day, remains the gold standard in sportswriting. It still shows many years later.
Smith's profiles of some of the biggest figures in sports show how he can distill a career's essence in just one column. There are the accounts of some of the most historic occasions in sports and they are joined by some of the more offbeat stories that display the writer's wit, intelligence, and feeling.
We get some personal glimpses into Red's life and work such as his passion for fishing. "My Press-Box Memoirs", a 1975 reminiscence written for Esquire, is collected here for the first time.
Any aspiring sportswriter or sports fan in general will want to read this book.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Book Review - Men, Women & Children: A Novel
Prior to seeing Men, Women, & Children this weekend, I read the book written by Chad Kultgen. It's not a pretty book even though I racked through it in only three days. At just over 300 pages, it is a very quick read.
Not being familiar with Kultgen's work prior to reading, I had only known that he co-created the new NBC sitcom, Bad Judge. While Bad Judge keeps things cleaner for TV, the book doesn't keep things clean. Far from it, actually. It's very graphic and even though Kultgen's message means well, it's certainly not a book I would read again or even recommend to anyone else.
Kultgen's book explores the sexual pressures of junior high students and their parents.
Not being familiar with Kultgen's work prior to reading, I had only known that he co-created the new NBC sitcom, Bad Judge. While Bad Judge keeps things cleaner for TV, the book doesn't keep things clean. Far from it, actually. It's very graphic and even though Kultgen's message means well, it's certainly not a book I would read again or even recommend to anyone else.
Kultgen's book explores the sexual pressures of junior high students and their parents.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Star Wars
To read my review of the recently released book, How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise, by Chris Taylor, please head to Flicksided.
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