I would love to blog everyday but it just doesn't happen these days. I do learn something new each day, but a lot of it just isn't worth blogging about.
The world of The Watchmen is different from ours. Not just because they have superheroes, that is obvious, but the story line exists in an alternative universe. I am talking about the HBO Series based on the graphic novel/comic not the comic or the movie based on it. I've read the first ground breaking graphic novel and loved it. For some, when Game of Thrones went off the air, it was time to unsubscribe to HBO. For me, I could give or take GoT.The Watchmen is more my taste. When the greatest television network, ever, makes a show about one of your favorite comics, starring one of your favorite actresses (Regina King) and Trent Reznor does the music .... you take notice.
The graphic novel came out in 1987 and was created by the British creative team consisting of writer Alan Moore, artist David Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. Alan Moore is considered by many to be greatest comic creator in the English language. Among his achievements are V is for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Batman: The Killing Joke, all of which received critical acclaim. The original graphic novel,The Watchmen, is on many media organizations' lists of top 100 greatest novels of all-time. It made Time Magazine's list and is along side The Great Gatsby and To Kill A Mockingbird; it is that good.
The most interesting thing about The Watchmen, as a comic, is that it is much more realistic and less mellow-dramatic than most comics. It is about a group of superheroes but it is questionable whether they are the good guys or not. The good guy/bad guy dichotomy doesn't exist in this world. The characters exist in a gray area. Some people in their world fear them, some think they are menaces and part of the problem, and they are celebrities. Some of the characters are borderline evil, like Rorschach. He could be seen as extremely right-wing or a character out of an Ayn Rand novel. He is unstable and a bad ass. Some might consider him a hero. Others think he's a fascist. Lets face it, if super heroes did exist, this is how it would be. Right? They would be aligned along political lines. The white supremacy group in the show, the Seventh Kavalry, are inspired by his writings and wear his mask (like how Klansman would wear a hood). The comic is thought provoking as is the show.
The HBO show takes place 30 years after the comic book story ended. The story has no connection the film that came out in 2009. Its setting is a bit terrifying. Richard Nixon served five terms, he is on Mt. Rushmore, Vietnam is a US state and Robert Redford is president. Please note, Robert Redford is not playing the president. In this world, the actor, Robert Redford, has become president and his biggest achievement is reparations for slavery. Redford never gave them permission to use his image (thank you public domain). Reparations are so controversial, they are referred to as Redfordations (much like the ACA is referred to as Obamacare in our universe). The police in this universe have to wear masks (yellow masks, the color of the iconic smiley face), because violence against cops is so high, they have to hide who they are. White supremacists are making a resurgence, coming out from hiding, which is another parallel to our world (thanks to Trump). It also rains squid in this universe which is a reference to an event in the comics. That storyline ended with a giant squid attack.
When watching a show like this, it is difficult to tell what is an actual reference to our world and what is fiction. The first episode opens with some incredible violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It appears like fiction, because it is outrageous, graphic and I never heard of this event. Unfortunately, this is real and not something from Moore's imagination. The Tulsa Race Riot (also called the Black Wall Street Massacre or the Greenwood Massacre) took place in the Greenwood section of Tulsa in 1921. Greenwood, at the time was called Black Wall Street. It was a thriving middle-class African American neighborhood with black owned businesses, doctors, dentists and tradespeople. It was thriving. The violence exploded on Memorial Day Weekend when a 19 year old black man was accused of raping a 17 year old white girl. Thousands of whites marched in this black neighborhood in what is known as the worst race riot in American history. 36 black people were killed, 10,000 were left homeless and over a $1 million (in 1921 dollars) in real estate destroyed. The rioters actually used planes (at least a dozen) to shoot rifles and firebomb businesses, homes and fleeing families. When you hear about events like this, you understand the call for reparations. Not a single white rioter was prosecuted following the riot.
The rest of the show takes place 98 years later, still in Tulsa. As of right now, I don't know if the riot has any connection to any of the characters or if it was just an introduction to Tulsa and its history. We'll see. I am looking forward to episode two this evening. What should I watch? The World Series is also on.
When we travel, we always take in a baseball game or two if we can. This summer we were in Chicago for a wedding. Normally, we'd take in a Cubs game but they were out of town. We could have went to see the White Sox, but since I have no interest in ever visiting that park again, we chose not to.When looking at the baseball landscape in Chicago, on the north side, you've got one of baseball's gems, Wrigley Field and on the south side you have Guaranteed Rate Field which is horrendous.
You have to wonder if the people who designed the White Sox stadium ever watched a game in person before they put pen to paper. Built in 1991, it was built before the new wave of great new ballparks that started with Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Oriole Park was built in 1992 and started the trend of great new ballparks. The White Sox missed the wave. The stairs are so steep at this park, the one time I visited in the late 90's, I almost got vertigo walking to my seat. It is a big pile of concrete with no character or charm. Not only that, but you get the impression that the people running the show really don't get it. The music between innings is so loud you have to yell at each other to converse. By the fifth inning I had a head ache. Contrast this with the melodious organ at Fenway which is not only entertaining but relaxing. So when visiting Chicago and you want take in a game, unless you want vertigo and a headache, check out Wrigley. It has maintained its charm since it was built over a hundred years ago. It doesn't change its name every few years either. I generally just call the White Sox stadium, White Sox stadium because I lose track of their field naming rights.
The tale of two stadiums I am writing about is not the Chicago parks, but the two parks we visited on our drive home from Chicago, Progressive Field in Cleveland (to see the Red Sox) and PNC Park in Pittsburgh (to see the Cubs).
Cleveland: As a Red Sox fan since the mid-70's I remember watching games at Cleveland (via television) which must have had only a few hundred fans there.They were a perennial last place team and kinda of a joke. They have had really turned things around since then. Jacob's Field being built in 1993 has a lot to do with this. Going to a game is enjoyable so people are more likely go ... imagine that! More people going means more money to the team, therefore they can get better players and build a stronger farm system etc. It was commonly referred to as The Jake and still is even though Progressive Insurance bought the naming rights in 2008 and renamed it Progressive Field. I find the name ironic.
If this is your team logo, you have no business using the word "progressive" in any capacity.
So I won't be calling it the Jake or Progressive Field, I will be calling Regressive Field.
I could point out here that the team decided not to use Chief Wahoo anymore but many of the fans still do so. They wear shirts with this symbol and some of them have slogans like "Save Chief Wahoo." You can name your team after groups of people. For example, the Minnesota football team is called the Vikings and the Boston basketball team is called the Celtics ... this is because there are a lot of Norwegians in Minnesota and a lot of Irish in Boston. To my knowledge, not a lot of Native Americans in Cleveland. Also, neither Norwegians nor Irish were hunted to near extinction by the US population and our government. Norwegians did not have their land invaded and stolen, weren't round up at gun point and marched into concentration camps called "reservations." The experience of the Irish immigrant is not great in this country but the government never handed out rewards for the scalps of the Irish. So it is really dickish for a team, in 2019, to be named the Indians, and guess what, by extension, you are a dick if you wear this logo. Many people already call them The Tribe. Why not rename them? Oh that's right, you are not renaming the team... because you are a dick.This makes total sense.
With this in mind, you can guess, I didn't go into Regressive Field to see my Red Sox with a very positive attitude. The park is quite beautiful. We went to two games. The first game we went to we had good seats between home plate and the Red Sox dugout. These were very expensive. The ticket prices are jacked when the Red Sox are in town. The second game we bought the day of the game so we bought tickets in the nose bleeds and they were quite nice. The picture below is was taken from those seats. We were in the second to the last row.
The park itself was perfect. Nothing wrong with it. Not quite as nice as Comerica Park in Detroit or the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, but it is a gorgeous park. It is a lot nicer than the White Sox mess and a better experience than the new Yankee Stadium or Montreal's Big O. If you are a fan of baseball and in Cleveland, it is definitely worth seeing.
Most of the things I didn't like about the experience had nothing to do with the building. The capacity is almost 43,000 and it was only about half full. At the time, they were in a pennant race, tied for first place and another contending team was visiting. You think there would be more fans there. Like the White Sox stadium, it is incredibly loud. Not only the music between innings, but the words "make some noise" were constantly being flashed on the jumbotron. It was loud visually, not just auditory. I've never been to a park where the fans had to be prompted to be loud. Normally, they are loud because they are at the game. Do you see the pinkish/purplish lights in my photo? Those lights were constantly flashing throughout the game.
These fans were not Yankee-fan-rude, but they were pretty rude. Chris Sale started the first game for the Red Sox and he pitched very well. When he left the game, they booed him. This is another thing I've never seen. This is baseball, a civilized game, a game for gentlemen. A great pitcher like Sale leaves the game, you cheer for him. We do it at Fenway, I expect fans on the road to do as well. I've seen Red Sox fans stand and clap for Yankees if they performed well. Even Yankee fans would cheer for Sale if he pitched a gem like he did. But again, since the fans at Cleveland are dicks, I guess my expectations were too high. No wonder they haven't won a World Series since since 1948. What players would stay here with such poor sportsmanship in the stands.
The team is complicit in this as well. When the Red Sox made a great play, it wasn't shown on the jumbotron. Only good plays by Cleveland are shown on the jumbotron. Again, I've never seen this before. Kinda petty! If I'm ever in Cleveland again, I will not be returning to Regressive Field. On my way out of town, someone tried to steal my bike off of my bike rack on my car. This has never happened before either. Eh! Return to Cleveland! But why?
Pittsburgh: The difference between these two cities couldn't be wider. While Cleveland is flat and beside a Great Lake, Pittsburgh is hilly at the convergence of three major rivers. They are only a few hours apart. Pittsburgh's hills gives it some character and makes it picturesque. PNC Park opened in 2001 and of the new parks, it is the nicest I've visited. As you can see by my picture, it is in downtown like the old parks. It is also on the Alleghany River so it has a river walk that is open to the fans before the rest of the park.
It seems like the people who run this park, just get it. They understand the fan experience unlike Regressive Field or White Sox stadium. They understand what an enjoyable experience is like at the park. The music isn't too loud and occasionally had some traditionally organ music. The fans are friendly and the place was packed. This is a last place team. The jumbotron has some fun things on it, but it wasn't overwhelming. They portrayed the Pirates players in comic book art form on the second time through the order. On the third time through the batting order, they were portrayed as Legos. Unlike Cleveland, it is very jovial environment at PNC park. We were rooting for the visiting Cubs, but the fans were still quite friendly. The great tickets we had, behind home plate were relatively cheap. We may stop into Pittsburgh again and again. We go to Chicago enough and it is a nice stop (a small detour) along the way.
At both games we went to they played this take on the Pirate of the Caribbean in the bottom of the ninth:
Very entertaining.
I still have a lot of parks to get all 30 in. By the time I get them all in, I am sure there will be newer ones to get to. Perhaps there will be a new park in Vegas or Portland Oregon on the horizon if expansion comes as it is expected. Here is my list of the Major League parks I have visited in order of favorite to least favorite:
Fenway in Boston
Wrigley in Chicago
PNC in Pittsburgh
Comerica in Detroit
Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati
Oriole Park in Camden Yards, Baltimore
Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia
old Yankee Stadium in NYC
Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City
Rogers Centre (was named SkyDome when I visited) in Toronto
Petco Park in San Diego
Shea Stadium in NYC
new Yankee Stadium in NYC
Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia
Guaranteed Rate Field (called Comiskey Park when I visited) in Chicago
Kingdome in Seattle
Olympic Stadium in Montreal
In the time that I last blogged about the election, our president has suggested we use a nuclear bomb to fight off a hurricane, he invited the Taliban to the Camp David on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and asked the leaders of foreign governments (China and Australia as well as the Ukraine back in July) to dig up dirt on his political opponents. Can you imagine if President Obama had done any of this? Members of the Republican party mentioned impeachment of Obama for many outrageous reasons when he was president --- including being born outside of the US (false), the Benghazi attack (bogus), Libyan intervention, an IRS non-scandal, a legal prisoner swap and a transgender initiative. Yet when one of their guys commits actual crimes, like say ... treason, most of them stand by their man. Their hypocrisy in this matter is astounding.
The question remains for the Democrats, how far left do you want to go with our candidate? If history is any indication, we may want to go with a moderates, because they win. McGovern, Mondale and Dukakis .... they all have two things in common, (1) they were all liberals that ran for president ... and (2) they lost. Obama, Clinton and Carter ... were all moderates and guess what? They won. Of the top three candidates we have now, Biden, Warren and Sanders, only Biden is a moderate. I would hope that the Democrats will learn this lesson from history and nominate a moderate. Buttigieg, Delaney and Klobuchar would all be excellent Presidents. But time is changing so perhaps four years of Trump has set the stage for finally having a leftist president which hasn't happened in my lifetime. The Republicans have been calling us socialists for decades; we might as well finally elect one and make good on this. I am torn.
Considering what has been going with Trump, regarding Ukraine, it is hard to believe that whoever runs against him would lose but I have been wrong before about this. I was amazed when W was reelected.
The last televised debate was the best so far. They actually talked about issues, pointed out their differences but remained clear on the point that any one of them is far better than Trump on every issue, on any given day. The only conclusion I came to from this debate is that Juan Castro needs to drop out. He was a complete dick to Biden and in a prior debate, he was a dick to Buttigieg. We don't need a dick running for President in the Democratic party. Trump has already wrapped up the dick vote. Castro, please leave quietly.
There are a few Republican candidates running against Trump. Primarying an incumbent president is an uphill battle but it just became more difficult because the GOP has cancelled primaries in four states already (SC, AZ, NV and KS). More are expected. This is just further proof that Republicans really don't like democracy. They like power.
All three of our top candidates are in their 70's and so is President Trump. I don't know if this is something we should be concerned about. Is it ageism? Maybe. Being 70 isn't what it used to be. It takes a lot to develop the experience to be presidential. Perhaps the other candidates are too young. Unless they show major health problems (which Bernie is), I don't think it is an issue. Warren seems be the sharpest of all the candidates so I'm not too concerned about this.
I count 19 candidates. I expect Booker and Castro to drop out soon and hopefully few others will as well. If I had to rank the Democrats in order of my personal preference, I would do so in the following manner:
Biden
Warren
Buttigieg
Booker
Klobuchar
Sanders
Harris
O'Rourke
Gabbard
Bennet
Delaney
Ryan
Bullock
Yang
Castro
Messam
Sestak
(I probably won't vote if the people below get the nomination)
