Limerick Friday #582: Yes, I'll Have Another Draft, Pour Favor-- Day 1,140

 

Another quiet first round

From the 'Fins, not a sound

Cuz of tampering and trades

Every pick fades

At least bust stress is not to be found

What makes him tick?

Why's he act like a prick?

A douche for a boss

But no big loss

I spot frauds quick

No good does this portend

So on drinks I shall spend

While others do foment

Just live in the moment

In this week that won't end

Examine the whole season, lets

Don't place your bets

Slumps take place

And injuries apace

Assume that time'll help the Mets

Find the friends

On whom you can depend

Ignore the rest

Rely on the best

And trust in what karma will send

Last time ...

Day 1,139, Quasi-Quarantine: When A Vet School Becomes An Unlikely Source Of Positive News

 

And then here comes Mo to salvage the week.

Thanks, Mo.

Day 1,137, Quasi-Quarantine: This Sounds Quite Nice -- Can I Give You A Strong "Maybe"?

 

This job description looks way more appealing today than it did a couple of days ago.

Day 1,136, Quasi-Quarantine: Who Ordered Layoffs On Their Cake?

 

I couldn't go to the "Not great, Bob!" gif again here, but the sentiment persists.

Sigh.

Limerick Friday #581: "The Mandalorian" Salvages The Tone At Season 3's End -- Day 1,133

The Mandalorians did rally

For an uplifting finale

Now "Ahsoka"'s on deck

Should be intense as heck

More "Star Wars" storylines to tally

Worthless replies

Plus dead eyes

Promises broken

Grudges awoken

A culture built on lies

Spiritual and brave

One of my faves

But intense and ominous

Like the ocean's promise

Welcome back, "100 Foot Wave"

Trying to get on a heater

Then they called Scherzer a cheater

Injuries linger

Umpires get the finger

Mets fans need Tito's by the liter 

Things are gettin' harry

And more than a bit scary

Shit's escalatin'

And I ain't hatin'

This final direction of "Barry"

Last time ...

Day 1,132, Quasi-Quarantine: Near-Overwhelming "The Deluge" Straddles Fiction And Non-Fiction In Look At Our Climate Future

"We protest, invest, divest, blockade, persuade, disobey, make nonviolent trouble, and most importantly, we vote, every race, no matter what. And if there's no one worth voting for, bitch, get yourself a clipboard, get your signatures, and get yourself on that motherfucking ballot."

A meticulously realized tale of climate fiction, "The Deluge" is staggeringly detailed and vividly rendered. Stephen Markley shields the reader from absolutely nothing, painting a picture of a world 15 years from now that is wracked by extensions of today's political divisions and extreme weather.

The imagery can be flat-out overwhelming, challenging the audience to embrace the potential of horrors to come. Markley asks you to keep a litany of characters straight and to pull for unlikeable ones at times, but the result is three-dimensional presences to carry the story along.

"The unnerving truth is that you and I, we don't have identity anymore. We vote, value, verify, vaccinate, and venerate based on the machine learning behind our many screens."

"The Deluge" is eminently accessible -- partially due to references to both Raleigh and Stephen King -- to readers of all types. A weighty and stunning work, and should be required reading for anyone seeking a realistic portrayal of what climate change can wrought on the world ... and on us.

"I could believe we would free ourselves of these mournful histories, that all our tears and sorrow would be given back to us, and though we walked these ruins now, we would begin again, and carry across impossible time the glory of this ancient and magnificent world."

Day 1,131, Quasi-Quarantine: Important Work-Related, Floor-Adjacent Afternoon Activities

 

I'm fine.

It's fine.

The team's fine.

Everything is fine. 

How are you?

Day 1,130, Quasi-Quarantine: Capturing The Jazz-Hip Hop Legacy Of Tribe Called Quest

 

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the "The Low End Theory" (can that be right?!), Tribe Called Quest released a box set to celebrate one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made.

The collection is comprised of eight 7" 45s with custom sleeves, all housed in a fabric-wrapped singles carrying case. It's a unique way to experience "Verses from the Abstract," "Check the Rhime," "Scenario," and other classics.

Each record has a distinct color scheme, marked by galaxy, splatter, and other effects. This box set is a keeper, and among the finest ways possible to honor Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi White.

Can you kick it?

Day 1,129, Quasi-Quarantine: Season Four of "Barry" Is Upon Us As The Countdown To Saying Goodbye Begins

If the first two episodes were any indication, the final season of the best show on television is going to be, as the kids say, a banger.

The deftness of how the balancing act between tragedy and comedy is handled in "Barry" is equaled perhaps only by "Better Call Saul." I both eagerly await and desperately do not want to see how the series ends.

Final episode watch party at Dave & Buster's?

Limerick Friday #580: Raise Your Blue Milk To Paz Vizsla -- Day 1,126

 

Action that wouldn't cease

Warriors combining on lease

Tried to unite Mandalore

But now what's in store?

Paz Vizsla, rest in peace

The trip started kinda shitty

Cancelled tix to the Windy City

To Virginia in lieu

Roller-coasters and baseball, too

Rescuing spring break from pity

Din Djarin kidnapped

The Mandalorian fleet scrapped

The return of Moff Gideon

With a Dark Saber of obsidian

How will the season finale get wrapped?!

Pitch clocks and steals

Plus failed trade deals

Toss in injuries

And you can see the hurries

To ensure every hurt Met heals

As our ocean dies

We poison the skies

As we stand by, livid

The future is vivid

"Extrapolations" surfaces the lies

Last time ...

Day 1,125, Quasi-Quarantine: Sally O'Malley Brings The "I'm 50!" Vibe

Molly Shannon evokes simpler days -- in so many ways.

Day 1,124, Quasi-Quarantine: Aristocratic Subversive Turns House Arrest Into Beautiful Gift In "A Gentleman In Moscow"

 

"For as it turns out, one can revisit the past quite pleasantly, as long as one does so expecting nearly every aspect of it to have changed."

Based on a poem of questionable meaning and authorship, Count Alexander Rostov is branded a subversive and a Former Person in Moscow and relegated to house arrest in a dingy storage area in the Metropol Hotel. This is where Amor Towles's "A Gentleman in Moscow" begins, with unfathomable adventures following anon.

"Vyshinsky: Why did you write the poem?

"Rostov: It demanded to be written. I simply happened to be sitting at the particular desk on the particular morning when it chose to make its demands."

Leaning into his situation despite his aristocratic upbringing, Rostov fashions a new world within the walls of the hotel, forging unlikely friendships and unexpected occupations. Towles is careful to show -- with subtlety and nuance -- the erudite Rostov's maturation as he learns about himself, his country, and his society.

"For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round  of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim."

"History is the business of identifying momentous events from the comfort of a high-back chair."

In a word, "A Gentleman in Moscow" is a delight, spanning time, genre, and classes in an intricate design that is a credit to Towles's talent for structure. I could have lived with and listened to Rostov's escapades and adventures in the Metropol forever, making this a novel deserving of the highest reader compliment:

I did not want it to end.

"'Who would have imagined,' he said, 'when you were sentenced to life in the Metropol all those years ago, that you had just become the luckiest man in all of Russia.'"

Day 1,123, Quasi-Quarantine: Extremely "Busy" Coworker With No Responsibilities Or Demonstrable Skills

I mean, some very specific people come to mind watching this.

Day 1,122, Quasi-Quarantine: That Post-Spring Break Vibe

 

It just me looking at work chats and emails after a week off.

Limerick Friday #579: "Bad Batch" Offsets A Dismal Week -- Day 1,112

"Bad Batch" answers all calls

Breaking down "Star Wars" walls

Just a middle-aged man

Sitting on his can

Crying as Tech falls

They were on title alert

Then everyone got hurt

Seven pitchers down

Before we took the mound

Can the Mets fade this injury spurt?

"Mandalorian" ups the decibel

A bit more bass than treble

Wait a minute

Holy shiznit

Was that fucking Zeb from "Rebels"?!

Hypocrisy continues unabated

You wonder why your company's jaded

Frauds abound

What's that sound?

Just my resume being updated

Downright sinister

And emotional, mister

"Bad Batch" had all the feels

And a number of reveals

Wait, that's Omega's sister?!

Last time ...

Day 1,111, Quasi-Quarantine: Cable Ties Is Coming Back As Boisterous As Ever

This week brought the news that one of my favorite bands is returning with a new album produced by one of my favorite record companies.

Cable Ties are releasing "All Her Plans" on Merge Records on June 23, the third album from the aggressive Australian trio. If the already-released "Time for You" and "Perfect Client" are any indication, the garage punk band is back with as much angst as ever.

While I hold out hope that Cable Ties eventually make their way across the oceans for a tour spot in the Triangle, I'll bide my time accompanied by the latest from this incredible band.

Day 1,110, Quasi-Quarantine: Vulnerability And Introspection Propel "A Heart That Works"

 

"I suppose I think we have a rainbow of emotions. I don't know which color corresponds to which emotion; perhaps blue is sadness, red is passion, and so on. That doesn't so much matter. I still have all the colors in my rainbow after Henry's death. Name an emotion: I can still feel it, and often do. Leah and our boys and I laugh every day. But now there's a band of black in my rainbow, too, that wasn't there before. Or if it was there, I couldn't see it before Henry died."

Knowing of Rob Delaney as an aggressively hysterical comedian with a robust Twitter feed, I approached "A Heart That Works" with an open mind, knowing a little bit about the tragic illness of Delaney's son, Henry.

Delaney deftly balances comedy and tragedy in a way that evokes Patton Oswalt's "Annihilation," creating a beautiful, empathetic tribute to his lost son. Delaney's stark vulnerability is run through with staggeringly insightful sentiments and a brave willingness to accept each emotion on its own terms.

And yes, sometimes those terms involve hilarious outbursts against red tape.

"The growing number of politicians and newspaper owners who aim to privatize the NHS need to fuck off ten times, then gargle a big bowl of diarrhea. I pray that Vishnu purifies your heart in a dream tonight, or, failing that, that you fall down a deep well in February."

"A Heart That Works" will have most readers alternating between crying and laughing, and some will leave the book thanking Delaney and his family for their willingness to share their experience and help us get to know Henry in some small but vital way.

"Rather, I suspect I am a glass of water, and when I die, the contents of my glass will be poured into the same vast ocean that Henry's glass was poured into, and we will mingle together forever. We won't know who's who. And you'll get poured in there one day, too."

Day 1,109, Quasi-Quarantine: Priority Is Up For Grabs. Send Noodles.

 

Live look at current work approaches in every meeting I'm part of.

It'll be fine, I'm sure. Panic is usually an ideal strategy in the long run.

Carry on.

Day 1,108, Quasi-Quarantine: Rodney Terry And Giancarlo Esposito Could Pass For Los Pollos Hermanos

 

Watching the NCAA Tournament, it was hard not to do double-takes when seeing Rodney Terry on the sidelines for Texas. The interim-turned-permanent coach for the Longhorns is a dead ringer for actor Giancarlo Esposito, who has held down iconic roles as both Gustavo Fring ("Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul") and Moff Gideon ("The Mandalorian").

There were moments during Texas's loss to Miami in the Elite Eight when Terry/Gideon looked like he might want to wield a dark saber in the direction of the officials.

Everyone loses now that we won't get an opportunity to see Gus Fring stalking the sidelines in the Final Four.

Alas.

Limerick Friday #578: Pain At A Mile High Still Hurts -- Day 1,105

When it's tourney time

You need your stars to shine

But too many no-shows

That's just how it goes

How State makes losing easy to rhyme

Stop acting like a knob

With a forced sob

So over-wrought

Were you never taught?

Just do your fucking job

An  uncommon grace in his style

So much conveyed in a smile

He lit up "The Wire"

And made "Fringe" soar higher

Lance Reddick, enjoy your last mile

Make it up as you go

Then pretend you didn't know

Scramble to explain

Pretend you're in pain

Leadership has reached a new low

No role too small to shirk

Academia with a smirk

"Lucky Hank" is the latest

For maybe the greatest

Comedic actor in Bob Odenkirk

Last time ...