"The Reckless Decade"

The Reckless Decade: America in the 1890s, by H. W. Brands, is an absolutely fascinating history of a remarkable (and, in some respects, very familiar-looking) period in USAn history. Brands weaves together multiple strands of story into a gorgeous tapestry; it's well worth reading, in my judgement. Topics range from the closing of the frontier to the rise of the giant trusts and from urban poverty to rural revolt, paying attention as well to questions of race, the Free Silver movement, and the decade-ending rush to imperialism.

( The Reckless Decade )

Sweetness

I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the St. Louis Cardinals.

I've lived here, in what the Post-Dispatch calls "Metro East", for almost half my life - two-thirds of my adult life - and, as a baseball fan, of course I've come to have some affection for the team. In fact, I'll root for them against almost any other team.

Almost. There are two major exceptions: the Boston Red Sox (a legacy from my father, who was a fan of theirs in his childhood), and, of course, my childhood team, the Padres.

It has maddened me somewhat, the way the Cards have seemed to have a hex on the Padres. Most other teams, if the circumstances are right, the Padres can beat. (I still treasure the memory of their last march to the pennant, when Sterling Hitchcock outdueled the likes of Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux.) But the Cards... Even Tony Gwynn, in his prime, couldn't hit the Cardinals. It was infuriating.

Which is why I'm feeling pretty good today. This weekend, the Padres took two out of three from the Cardinals, outslugging them today at Petco Park 10-8. (The Padres, for some reason, haven't been able to hit well in their own home field for the last two years. Maybe, just maybe, they're waking up.) Unheralded catcher Josh Bard hit two home runs, and utility infielder Mark Bellhorn added another.

I have no illusions. The Cards are pretty clearly the class of the league again this year, and the next time the two teams meet they'll probably revert to type, but this weekend was sweet.

PvP vs S*P

From the author of Home on the Strange, here's an interesting essay on the main types of webcomic.

(Home on the Strange, by the way, is - or shows promise of becoming - a pretty good strip. Websnark has compared it to Queen of Hearts, which I can sort of see. Take a look - but read the essay first.)