Marooned.

August 22nd, 2024

I am seeing reports that the Seattle Mariners are going to fire general manager Scott Servais.

Right now, this is all just “sources” and nobody’s reporting anything definite yet. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network isn’t even covering the story.

Realistically, it was the culmination of two months of losing and failure following that apex day June 18.
Since that high-water mark above .500, the Mariners have posted a 20-33 record, losing their 10-game division lead in a span of 24 games and now trailing the Astros by five games. Only the hapless Chicago White Sox have had a worse record over that stretch (10-43).
Following Wednesday’s 8-4 loss in which they were swept in a three-game series by the Dodgers in Los Angeles to close out the trip, the Mariners fell to an even 64-64. The previous time the Mariners were at .500 was April 24 when they were 12-12.

When I see something beyond “sources say”, I’ll update here.

(I’m trying to keep the White Sox posts to one per week.)

Edited to add 8/23: official now. The Seattle Times story was updated in place, but here’s the ESPN story.

Posted in Firings, Sports | Comments Closed

Art, damn it, art! watch (#62 in a series)

August 20th, 2024

The art market is collapsing.

At least, according to the NYT. “Young Artists Rode a $712 Million Boom. Then Came the Bust.”

Subhead: “Artists saw six-figure sales and heard promises of stardom. But with the calamitous downturn in the art market, many collectors bolted — and prices plummeted.”

The paper of record gives examples such as Amani Lewis:

First came the meteoric rise. A haunting painting Lewis made in 2020 sold at auction just a year later for $107,100, more than double its estimate. Two other works had recently tripled expectations, and a collector offered $150,000 in cash for new pieces fresh from the studio. There were shows in Paris and Miami — Lewis had seemingly conquered the market at age 26, upgrading to a new art studio and a Tesla.
But when the original painting re-emerged at auction in June and its price plunged to $10,080 — losing 90 percent of its value — the party was over. By then, Lewis had stopped renting a $7,000-a-month luxury apartment in Miami and temporarily moved in with their brother.
“It was such a nice high and then it drops,” the artist, now 29, said. “It feels like, ‘We’re done with Amani Lewis.’”

More:

The Ghanaian artist Emmanuel Taku had a painting sell in 2021 for $189,000 only to watch its price drop in March to $10,160 at auction. Cubist-style portraits by Isshaq Ismail, which sold for as much as $367,000 two years ago, have failed to rise beyond $20,000. Allison Zuckerman, a Brooklyn artist, also felt the market’s contractions; her riotous painting “Woman With Her Pet” sold for $212,500 three years ago, but mustered only $20,160 at auction in June.

…

Mercier said that he and Taku were organizing a comeback and “cleaning up the mess,” and that Taku’s paintings should go for $25,000 to $50,000 (compared with previous heights closer to $189,000).

“…should go for $25,000 to $50,000”? Seems to reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of how markets work.

The comments on this article are now closed, but from my review of the ones already posted, there’s one recurring theme (which may also explain why the NYT closed the comments): these emperors have no clothes.

Or to put it another way: “The art shown in the article is awful — not something I would like to see in 10 years let alone 100.” And: “I’m not interested in looking at any of these paintings for months or years. No offence intended, but what’s the point of collecting paintings unless you enjoy looking at them.”

Posted in Art | 1 Comment »

Virtue. Rewarded.

August 20th, 2024

Yes, another rare event in the history of the republic.

After many years (seriously: I’ve known him since Jesus was getting his hair cut at boot camp) of honing his craft…

…friend, fellow blogger, writer, and noted book dealer Lawrence Person has won a major literary award.

Specifically, the Grand Prize in the 2024 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

More from Lawrence here. Hearty congratulations to him on this achievement.

Sadly, I do not believe the award comes with any money attached. It used to come with a leather-bound set of Bulwer-Lytton’s books, but I have been unable to determine if that is still the case.

I did briefly consider buying him a leg lamp to commemorate the occasion, but an authentic leg lamp from the Christmas Story House is $300! Freaking! Dollars!

Can you get a ham hock bronzed?

Posted in Books, Endorsements | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: August 19, 2024.

August 19th, 2024

Phil Donahue. NYT (gift link).

Posted in 1970s, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Loser update: August 19, 2024.

August 19th, 2024

Sometime over the weekend – I’m not sure if it was Saturday or Sunday – the Chicago White Sox became the first (and so far only) team to be mathematically eliminated from post-season play.

The Sox are currently 30-95, for a .240 winning percentage, and are currently 42.5 games out of first in the AL Central. A .240 winning percentage projects out to 123 losses.

For them to lose only 119 games (which would make them not as bad as the 1962 Mets) they will have to win 13 out of the remaining 37 games, for a .351 winning percentage over the rest of the season.

They play in San Francisco tonight. SF is roughly a 70-30 favorite.

Posted in Loser, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: August 18, 2024.

August 18th, 2024

Alain Delon, noted French actor. NYT (gift link).

Other credits include “Someone Is Bleeding” (aka “Icy Breasts”, based on a Richard Matheson novel), “The Assassination of Trotsky” (apparently, he was the assassin to Richard Burton’s (!) Trotsky), and…

…he didn’t have much of a US career, but he did play “Joe Patroni”‘s co-pilot and procurer in “The Concorde…Airport ’79“.

John Aprea, actor. Other credits include a movie that does not exist and is clearly a copyright trap by IMDB, “Renegade”, “Lt. Vince Novelli” on “Matt Houston”, “Mrs. Columbo” (but not “Columbo”), “The F.B.I.”, “The Seven-Ups”…

…and yes, he did do a “Mannix” (“Murder Revisited”, season 3, episode 23. IMDB lists him as “Thug (uncredited)”.)

Posted in Mannix, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Obit watch: August 16, 2024.

August 16th, 2024

Peter Marshall. NYT (archived).

Marshall wasn’t really interested until he learned that if he didn’t take the job, it would go to comedian Dan Rowan. “I’ve only disliked two people in my life; Dan Rowan was one of them,” he said in a 2010 interview with the Archive of American Television.

…

Also, producer Abe Burrows wanted Marshall to star opposite Mary Tyler Moore in a production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s aiming for Broadway. Marshall assured him that The Hollywood Squares would last just 13 weeks and he would be available after that. But when the show was renewed for another 13 weeks, Burrows informed him that he was going with Richard Chamberlain.
“Well, I ran 16 years [on Hollywood Squares] and Breakfast at Tiffany’s closed in Boston,” Marshall said. “You never know.”

Greg Kihn. NYT (archived). Is it fair to call him a 2.5 hit wonder?

His first hit was “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em),” which got to No. 15 on the Hot 100 in May 1981.

…

The Greg Kihn Band released the danceable “Jeopardy” in January 1983, and only Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” kept from nabbing the No. 1 spot.

(I would also give him half-credit for “I Lost On Jeopardy”, thought I don’t know how many people would think that was a hit.)

Jack Russell, lead singer and co-founder of Great White.

In 2002, Mr. Russell and Mr. Kendall hired three new musicians and began playing in small clubs as Jack Russell’s Great White. In February 2003, while the band was performing at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., its pyrotechnics ignited a deadly fire that killed 100 people, including Great White’s guitarist, Ty Longley, and left 230 injured. It was one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history.

Posted in Music, Theatre, TV | Comments Closed

Short random gun crankery.

August 16th, 2024

I am hoping to be able to get back to gun crankery (and gun book crankery) next week. I expect things to be a little less busy (famous last words). And I have a hysterical historical letter coming from Colt about another old gun (though not quite as old as the last one) so I want to put up a post about it.

In the meantime, I wanted to highlight this: “Killing Lincoln: John Wilkes Booth’s Philadelphia Deringer” by Dr. Dabbs. Greg Ellifritz had this in his weekend link dump (which you should really be reading: I resisted for a long time, even though Karl regularly linked to it, and now I regret not reading it) but I probably would have gotten to it eventually since I subscribe to American Handgunner.

I note this for two reasons:

1) The blog’s ongoing interest in presidential assassination weapons, which appears to be shared by Dr. Dabbs.

B) “The tiny little pistol pushes a 143-grain lead ball to around 250 feet per second when charged atop 25 grains of FFFG black powder. I used mine to shoot an eggplant, because I hate eggplant.”

Posted in Bagatelle, Guns, History | Comments Closed

Something’s happening here…

August 16th, 2024

…and what it is, ain’t exactly clear.

The former CFO of the Austin Independent School District, who was previously charged with insurance fraud in Williamson County, had the charges dropped yesterday by the WillCo DA’s office.

Austin ISD officials said on Thursday they received a letter from the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office declining to prosecute the insurance fraud charge. The Williamson County District Attorney has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

More from KVUE (archived, because they’ve become really bad about ad blockers):

KVUE obtained the arrest warrant for Ramos from the Round Rock Police Department to investigate allegations of fraud, which authorities determined was not directly related to his work with the district.
According to the warrant, Ramos was accused of insurance fraud regarding a claim of $5,422.64.
However, the district said Thursday evening it would reinstate Ramos after learning the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office would not prosecute any charges related to his personal affairs.

According to KVUE, he has been re-instated by the district, but his previously scheduled resignation takes effect today. He apparently does not plan to return to the district, but he leaves “in good standing”.

I feel like I should apologize to the former CFO for including him in the “flaming hyenas” watch. But I was very scrupulous about not including his name (even though it was in the linked press reports) because this seemed like a situation that had the potential to be a tempest in a teapot, and I wanted to wait and see how it shook out. I’m glad I did.

Meanwhile, the evidence tampering trial of former WillCo Sheriff Robert Chody and former WillCo prosecutor Jason Nassour was going on this week.

Emphasis on the “was”. The judge has placed the trial on hold.

Why? Well, it looks like the prosecution’s case is completely borked, and they’ve asked for a hold.

“The state has been looking forward to having a full and fair trial… [However], the state can’t continue at this time,” a state prosecutor said Thursday.
The filing indicates the state cannot prosecute parts of the indictment due to it being “preempted by federal law.”

More from Fox 7:

A Live PD crew was with Williamson County deputies when Javier Ambler was taken into custody for a traffic violation. The chase had ended in Austin and with Ambler dying from a heart attack.
Austin police, who were in charge of the scene, never got a warrant to seize the Live PD camera equipment, and the court has ruled federal law allowed the production team to leave with their gear.
Judge Sage, on several occasions, pointed out to prosecutors that because of the law, it didn’t matter who allowed the crew to leave with the equipment because the officer on scene never got a warrant.

…

Prosecutors are trying to show the loss of the video is a violation of the Michael Morton act which requires prosecutors to keep and provide evidence to defense attorneys.
But defense attorneys, during cross-examination, showed the jury a section of the contract which also hurt that argument. It was noted Live PD was required to retain and turn over any video, if ordered to do so by a court.

So if I’m understanding this right (and I Am Not A Lawyer), the prosecution’s argument is that the loss of the footage constitutes evidence tampering. But they’ve been precluded from making that argument in court because of 1) the contract which specified that “Live PD” had to turn over any video if a court order was obtained, and nobody could be arsed to get a court order until it was too late, and 2) Federal law, which states that law enforcement can’t confiscate gear and footage without a warrant, and APD (who was in charge at the scene) didn’t get a warrant.

I guess the WillCo DA’s office is fighting inflation by running a BOGO special…on nothing-burgers.

(Edited to add: technically, the evidence tampering trial is taking place in Travis County. But since former WillCo officials are involved, I’m letting the nothing-burger comment stand.)

Posted in IANAL, Law, Politics, WillCo | Comments Closed

Obit watch: August 15, 2024.

August 15th, 2024

Wally Amos, of “Famous Amos” cookie fame.

He also became an advocate for childhood literacy. His mother had never learned to read, and neither had he until late in his childhood. He worked closely with the group Literacy Volunteers of America, and in 1987 he hosted his own public-access cable TV program, “Learn to Read.”
Years later, after he had gotten back into the cookie trade with a small shop near his home in Honolulu, he set aside an adjacent room stocked with children’s books. Every Saturday, he would take a seat in a rocking chair, surrounded by children, and read to them for hours.

Gena Rowlands. NYT (archived). Other credits include “Run For Your Life”, “Lonely Are the Brave”, “77 Sunset Strip”, and “Columbo”.

Seth Bloom, the blue-haired clown and physical comedy virtuoso who helped outreach organizations in Afghanistan and other remote places stage circuses that roused smiles from children while also teaching them important life skills, including how to avoid land mines, died on Aug. 2 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was 49.
Mr. Bloom died by suicide, said his wife, Christina Gelsone, with whom he performed in two-person clown shows around the world, including at the Big Apple Circus in New York City.

…

The Acrobuffos act took the couple around the world. For part of “Air Play,” which was probably their biggest hit, they jumped around in giant balloons, with only their heads visible.
“The most important thing we’ve learned about climbing inside balloons is not to fart,” Mr. Bloom once said.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also dial 988 to reach the Lifeline.

Posted in Food, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Obit watch: August 13, 2024.

August 13th, 2024

Captain Paul Bucha (United States Army – ret.).

Captain Bucha received the Medal of Honor for actions between March 16 and 19th, 1968. His citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Bucha distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer, Company D, on a reconnaissance-in-force mission against enemy forces near Phuoc Vinh. The company was inserted by helicopter into the suspected enemy stronghold to locate and destroy the enemy. During this period Capt. Bucha aggressively and courageously led his men in the destruction of enemy fortifications and base areas and eliminated scattered resistance impeding the advance of the company. On 18 March while advancing to contact, the lead elements of the company became engaged by the heavy automatic-weapon, heavy machine-gun, rocket-propelled-grenade, claymore-mine and small-arms fire of an estimated battalion-size force. Capt. Bucha, with complete disregard for his safety, moved to the threatened area to direct the defense and ordered reinforcements to the aid of the lead element. Seeing that his men were pinned down by heavy machine-gun fire from a concealed bunker located some 40 meters to the front of the positions, Capt. Bucha crawled through the hail of fire to singlehandedly destroy the bunker with grenades. During this heroic action Capt. Bucha received a painful shrapnel wound. Returning to the perimeter, he observed that his unit could not hold its positions and repel the human wave assaults launched by the determined enemy. Capt. Bucha ordered the withdrawal of the unit elements and covered the withdrawal to positions of a company perimeter from which he could direct fire upon the charging enemy. When one friendly element retrieving casualties was ambushed and cut off from the perimeter, Capt. Bucha ordered them to feign death and he directed artillery fire around them. During the night Capt. Bucha moved throughout the position, distributing ammunition, providing encouragement, and insuring the integrity of the defense. He directed artillery, helicopter-gunship and Air Force-gunship fire on the enemy strong points and attacking forces, marking the positions with smoke grenades. Using flashlights in complete view of enemy snipers, he directed the medical evacuation of three air-ambulance loads of seriously wounded personnel and the helicopter supply of his company. At daybreak Capt. Bucha led a rescue party to recover the dead and wounded members of the ambushed element. During the period of intensive combat, Capt. Bucha, by his extraordinary heroism, inspirational example, outstanding leadership, and professional competence, led his company in the decimation of a superior enemy force which left 156 dead on the battlefield. His bravery and gallantry at the risk of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service. Capt. Bucha has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

He was a West Point graduate:

He was soon appointed commander of the last rifle company to be formed during an Army expansion — one that left him with a collection of the least coveted recruits: men who had flunked basic infantry tasks, former prisoners and “guys with master’s degrees in Elizabethan literature,” Mr. Bucha later recalled to the National Purple Heart Honor Mission, a veterans group.

…

In April 1970, around the time his tour of duty ended, Mr. Bucha returned to West Point to teach social science. But in 1972, he was one of 33 highly qualified young officers teaching at the military academy to resign over 18 months. Their resignations, to seek other professional opportunities, were reported on the front page of The New York Times.

Ross Perot hired him.

Mr. Bucha rose to become the executive in charge of foreign operations for Mr. Perot’s best-known company, Electronic Data Systems, which provided information technology services.

…

Mr. Bucha later openly criticized Mr. Perot for exaggerating stories about his career and traveled around the country on behalf of President George H.W. Bush’s campaign for a second term. In 2008, Mr. Bucha was a foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
There was a point of consistency across his political stances, Ms. Whaley, his daughter, said: “He was a person who valued character and integrity.”

He served as president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society from 1995 to 1999.

Though Mr. Bucha became well known for his Medal of Honor, he often appeared publicly without it.
“I never wear it if I’m giving a speech that might get political,” he told the Purple Heart Mission. The medal, he said, belonged not principally to him but to the men he had fought alongside, and he did not want to say anything while wearing it that they might have disagreed with.

Statement from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. According to the society, there are 60 surviving recipients.

Posted in Heroism, History, Obits, Politics | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: August 9, 2024.

August 9th, 2024

Jacques Lewis has passed away. He was 105.

Mr. Lewis is believed to have been the last surviving French soldier who went onshore at Normandy on D-Day.

In 1944, Mr. Lewis was a member of the Free French Forces, the army that Gen. Charles de Gaulle had assembled in exile in London after Germany invaded and occupied France in 1940. Fluent in English, he was assigned as a liaison officer attached to the U.S. Army’s 70th Tank Battalion as the D-Day landings approached.
Mr. Lewis was not just an interpreter; he was a soldier, and thus well-suited to take on a vital role after the invasion. The Americans needed someone with military experience to link up with French villagers and French guerrilla resistance fighters known as the Maquis to help guide U.S. troops past German positions inland to reach the small rural town of Carentan and relieve members of the U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, who had earlier parachuted in, behind enemy lines.
In an interview with the French television channel TF1 in 2019 on the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, he recalled approaching Utah Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944. It was the first time he had spoken about the war, even to his family, he said.
“We were crouched behind the ramp of our landing craft, and when the ramp went down, I saw my country, France, which I’d wanted to help liberate for so long,” he said. “It was very moving. But then I saw the stretchers carrying wounded or dead American soldiers — being carried down the beach to get into our landing craft to be taken back to England. I realized that many of the first wave of my American comrades had already died on the beaches to liberate my country.”
He waded ashore, his rifle over his head, under heavy German gunfire. In the TF1 interview, he displayed a military identification bracelet that he wore on his left wrist that morning (comparable to the dog tags his American comrades wore around their necks). Pointing to his military number, FFF 55770, he said, “That was so that they knew I was a French soldier if I died.”
Allied casualties on Utah Beach — 197 killed or wounded — were relatively light compared with the 2,400 or so recorded at Omaha Beach to the east. By nightfall on D-Day, more than 10,300 allied troops had been killed or wounded across Normandy.

…

After Mr. Lewis crossed Utah beach unscathed, his first task was to help the Americans reach Carentan. Consulting with resistance fighters and French residents, he mapped out routes that the Americans could take and then joined them. Along the way, they were greeted as saviors.
“The locals appeared at their windows or emerged from their doors,” he recalled. “They gave us wine, and my American colleagues gave the kids chocolate. They were so happy to see the Americans and surprised to realize I was French.”

…

On June 8, less than two months before he died, Mr. Lewis insisted to his caregivers that he be taken in his wheelchair to greet President Biden and President Emmanuel Macron of France at a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Mr. Biden thanked him for his work with American forces as they had moved inland from Utah Beach to drive the Germans out of France.

Chi Chi Rodriguez, noted golfer.

Rodriguez was 5-foot-7 and about 120 pounds. But he used his strong hands and wrists to get off long low drives, and he was an outstanding wedge player, offsetting his sometimes balky putting game. “For a little man, he sure can hit it,” Jack Nicklaus told Sports Illustrated in 1964, relating how Rodriguez often outdistanced him off the tee on flat, into-the-wind fairways.
Rodriguez won eight tournaments on the PGA Tour, then became one of the top players on the Senior (now Champions) Tour, capturing 22 events, including two majors: the 1986 Senior Players Championship and the 1987 Senior PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

…

After draining a difficult putt, Rodriguez would also turn his putter into a simulated sword being unleashed on a bull, then wipe imaginary blood from it and place it in an invisible scabbard.

Kevin Sullivan, professional wrestler.

Known early in his career as “The Boston Battler,” Sullivan was inspired by the heavy metal acts of the 1970s and ’80s like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to become the “Prince of Darkness,” a demonic rival of some of the stars of that era, including Dusty Rhodes, the Road Warriors and Hogan, according to W.W.E.
Among the crews he led in the ring were the Army of Darkness; The Varsity Club, a group of college buddies; and Dungeon of Doom, W.W.E. said. Also known as “The Taskmaster,” he painted black X’s and lightning bolts on his forehead, wore leather body armor and chains and stuck out his tongue like Gene Simmons of Kiss.
“During their heyday, Sullivan’s cult came to the ring with either Jeff Beck’s ‘Gets Us All in the End’ or Deep Purple’s ‘Nobody’s Home’ blaring behind them and a series of black-cloaked and corpse-painted minions who usually brought with them boa constrictors of varying colors and sizes,” according to a 2015 editorial about Sullivan on the website Metal Injection. “Add in a half-naked Fallen Angel, then you’ve got a good idea of just how much of a spectacle Sullivan’s Army of Darkness was.”

…

“The money is better than in anything else I could do,” Sullivan told The New York Times in 1989. “I’ll tell you what I like the most about it. I get to live in a beach house in Daytona Beach, Florida, that’s completely paid for. Now, that’s nice.”

Posted in Heroism, History, Obits, Sports | 3 Comments »

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