Bryce Makes 178 All-time Homers and Nats have Hope...

Bryce Makes 178 All-time Homers and Nats have Hope...

The Nats win today. They split with the Braves, which have been leading the underachieving Nationals for months.

Bryce hit another home run last night in a losing cause (Juan Soto was ejected from his first game of his very promising career, and other would-be hits did not occur, including some questionable calls on Adam Eaton, which could have provided enough runs to win the double header. Instead, they split the 4 game series 2-2 today and trail the Phillies by more.

National League East GB

Phillies   64-50           --

Braves    62-50          1.0

Nats        59-56          5.5

About two months, or less, to go. Nats have to win more. Some relievers and even Strasburg has been hurt, so we shall see. 

Harper is tied for 406 all-time. Here is the list:

406.	Harlond Clift (12)	178	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (7, 25)	178	L	HR Log
	Tony Lazzeri+ (14)	178	R	HR Log
	Nick Markakis (13, 34)	178	L	HR Log
410.	Nolan Arenado (6, 27)	177	R	HR Log
	Khris Davis (6, 30)	177	R	HR Log

Quite a bunch of active players, two of whom have less time in the majors, but are older.

Harper at 410 All-time; Team is Struggling in 2018

Harper at 410 All-time; Team is Struggling in 2018

Harper now has 175 home runs all time. He is tied with two other current players, Nolan Arenado, age 27 in his 6th big league year, and Nick Markakis, age 34 in his 13th year, and a retired player Hideki Matsui (2003-2012).

The last time I blogged about Bryce he had achieved 170, so here are the players he has surpasses or tied since 170:

414.	Bill Buckner (22)	174	L	HR Log
415.	Nate Colbert (10)	173	R	HR Log
	Walker Cooper (18)	173	R	HR Log
	Julio Franco (23)	173	R	HR Log
	Mark Grace (16)	173	L	HR Log
419.	Khris Davis (6, 30)	172	R	HR Log
	Eddie Robinson (13)	172	L	HR Log
	Mickey Vernon (20)	172	L	HR Log
422.	Richard Hidalgo (9)	171	R	HR Log
	Melvin Mora (13)	171	R	HR Log
	Dmitri Young (13)	171	B	HR Log

The bad news is that the team is in a pretty bad slump; they are now one under .500 and they trail both the Atlanta Braves and the surging Philadelphia Phillies by a number of games. And yes, Bryce, despite being near the top of the majors in homers is having a terrible year at the plate overall, hitting in the mid .215s, which is losing them games along with all the other guys struggling and being hurt. Things are weird; maybe they will trade for a good hitting catcher like Realmuto of the Marlins, we shall see.

Summers Past and Present

 Summers Past and Present

Summer time for most American kids is a time of joy and wonder. (I cannot speak for most of the rest of the world, because I have really only spent some summers observing children up close in South America, where much of the following still applies to various degrees-- places in other continents may or not apply).

No school for weeks. Trips to the pool, or some other fun destination of entertainment.

Most American families plan on at least one big family trip, a vacation break that very often involves spending time with extended family that they may not normally see or spend time with.

Based on the formal education system in the United States, summer offers a chance for children to explore other avenues of learning and finding about the world.

Parents who have the money and interest in taking their children traveling seem to afford their kids the best opportunities to learn and grow; some kids end up being part of many camps and programs in order to develop in various ways that most schools do not provide.

As a younger child I would travel to a few nice places, especially in  New England. But there was also Canada and the upper Mountain West.

Where have you gone? what have you done? what have you learned in the summer?

Warm months of freedom and expanses.

And then there's work...

Orson Scott Card: Voice of a Sub-Minority

Orson Scott Card: Voice of a Sub-Minority

Or maybe multiple minorities.

Back in the spring of 1988 I was trying to put together a project that my English teacher had assigned us as juniors in high school.  I was in a Gifted and Talented, rather, Honors English class with many bright students at Bloomington High School South. Many of the students of this class were children of college professors, quite literate and knowledgeable in their own rights. I tried to belong. The multi-faceted task involved picking a subject that we felt strongly about and exploring it, writing and researching about it, creating and producing various papers and reports on it.

Arriving at this choice was clear for me, but then difficult.  The subject-matter that I chose was: What was it to being Mormon? A Latter-day Saint, who were we? What was I? What did it mean?

By my 17th year I knew that as a devout member of my church, I was a minority.  It was not about skin color or national heritage, it was about who I was based on the choices and beliefs that I held.

I was different, and I knew it.  I wanted to somehow present and define that. Express something personal and at the same time capture an identity that was existent in the world, a real thing.  Again, this was not based on my skin color or my parents nation of origin, being Mexican or Korean. But Mexicans and Koreans existed that were of my minority. I wanted to speak for all of us, back then some 7 or 8 million worldwide.

Folks on the Fringe, we Latter-day Saints. How to convey that message? How to understand how we were? What we were? If we were? 

Was this real, this identity that made me feel distanced from the rest? Or was it only me?

What was it that connected and marginalized me from everyone? Was this normal? Could you quantify or qualify it? Mormon-ness?

And... I struggled to do it. I ended up putting together some essays and I think a poem; I did not feel that it was satisfactory, but perhaps it earned a sufficient grade.

Little did I know that Orson Scott Card was writing up a storm of things that I could have used as sources, specifically about "our people". In the 1980s. 

And me, in the great American mid-west, a college townie in the mid-point between Kirtland and Nauvoo, the lands fled by the original Saints to the relative safety of the Rockies, the Great Salt Lake. 

What was this? Who was I in it? Did it really matter as much as I thought it did, among thousands of others that I had known till then?

Fast forward to 2018. I just read a book, a collection of short stories and novellas that Card published in the 1980s. Maybe it would have helped me back then. Maybe not.

I was preparing to go on a two year mission-- maybe his visions and  perspectives would have detracted from me and my path, I am not sure. I was not aware of his presence in the world of popular "sf", as they call it. I had read my share of science fiction, however. Arthur C. Clarke was my favorite.

I finally became more aware of this popular sci-fi author in the 1990s. I read Ender's Game in 1996-7. I very much liked it. I later read an article about a campus visit he made to MIT in Boston in 1997, while I was visiting the school. I did not have access to any internet web where things like his were easily or even pains-takenly found. Card's quotes had me wondering what type of LDS guy he was. He used earthy language a bit, not something I equated with being virtuous LDS.  I questioned his motives, his aims as real member or perhaps an associate of the faith. Ethnically Mormon? But not really its own ethnicity, but a sub-portion of one.

In the early 2000s I read the first of the Homecoming  books, loosely based on the Book of Mormon. I was not impressed.  My wife read a fantasy of Card's about that time or a little later, and enjoyed it. She also was able to read all three Bible books that Card wrote about the women of the Old Testament; I knew he was a great narrator and writer because my wife ate these up. Later, by 2009-10 I read some more of his Ender books, and very much enjoyed them, also while meeting people in Virginia who were old friends of his and called him Scotty, and knew him on a personal basis. One of my acquaintances even co-wrote a book with him. (They were supposed make it into a trilogy that never materialized). He sang at her funeral, which I missed but was interested to learn about.

And now, spring-summer break of 2018 I come across the 1980s "The Folk of the Fringe". Very heavy with Latter-day Saint material and subjects. I could have used it for my project as a high schooler, and scored more points, expanded the literary foundation for my people, our people, the Saints.

As of now he is 66. He is a voice of Mormons, a voice of science fiction.

He is one person to represent a minority that needs more voices.

Now we have the world wide web, a forum and tool that he and perhaps a few others envisioned in the sci-fi of the past.

We in some ways are more connected than ever.

We still need more, that is certain. He has created a presence in the market of ideas.

And there will be more.

Are we on the fringe? Are we peripheral? Are we marginalized, stigmatized?

More voices must weigh in.

I thank Brother Card for sharing. There will be more voices to this project.

 

Harper Makes it to 170; Ties my Favorite in Under Seven Years

Harper Makes it to 170 Home Runs; Ties my Favorite in Under Seven Years

Bryce Harper has been in a slump most of June (2018) but finally hit his National League league leading 20th homer tonight in a big 17-7 win over the division rival Phillies.  The Phils are tought and have been competitive all season so far. Harper is now at 170 for his career, which ties him with my Hall of Fame all time favorite player Tim Raines, Senior. And a few others.  

He has hit better the last week, raising his average over .220. He should continue to pull his average up along with his team. The team overall has not scored a lot lately, getting shut out too much and not winning very well. Luckily the Division leading Braves have not been too hot, so the Nats only trail by 3-4 games.

Again, Raines took 23 years to accrue 170, but he was not a power hitter. He was a jet fast good/great hitter who had some power. Bryce is in another category.

Bryce now has 41 active players who rank ahead of him, including two on his team (Reynolds and Zimmerman). His teammate from the last few years who is still ahead of him, Jayson Werth, just announced his retirement.

 

422.	Joe Cronin+ (20)	170	R	HR Log
	Bob Elliott (15)	170	R	HR Log
	Jim Ray Hart (12)	170	R	HR Log
	Kevin Millar (12)	170	R	HR Log
	Tim Raines+ (23)	170	B	HR Log

 

 Br

 

Reading CS Lewis

Reading CS Lewis

A month or more ago I asked my 17 year-old daughter, who has read a great deal in her lifetime (although there is a lot more that I would like her to read, as I wish for myself at age 47), who was her favorite author of all writers?

Her answer surprised me. "C.S. Lewis." she replied.

This response, I believe due in most part, was based on her having read only the Chronicles of Narnia.

I agree in part that he is a personal favorite for me; he is an extremely powerful writer; his books are impactful; his writings are great.

The Chronicles of Narnia-- books one through seven-- are my favorite of all time from my childhood. Beyond that, his non-fiction and Christian writing is some of the best literature in existence, especially for Christians and believers in faith unseen. For those who believe there is a deeper love in the realm of God and eternal love through Him.

I need to read more of him. So does my daughter. And my wife. And everyone else.

My dad introduced my sisters and I to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the rest of the series as we were children. He read them, and he read and owned the science fiction trilogy, and much of the non-fiction. I read and re-read the seven part series. I loved it.

And as my eldest child grew up, she gravitated towards science fiction and fantasy as many youth do, and she ate up the Chronicles of Narnia and other classic tales, like the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, A Wrinkle in Time, and other more modern fantasy tales.

I felt it was natural to read the Chronicles of Narnia, and healthy as a believer of what I believed. A deeper magic, as Lewis might call it.

To my chagrin, the next children did not take to it, or reading as much in general, as my eldest. And, I also did not realize that after all this time after she had read the Chronicles that CS Lewis' work meant so much to her, five or six grades later. I knew it meant a lot to me, and I am pretty confident that the next children knew as well that I had revered the books. They certainly enjoyed the first three film versions.  So, I urged them and tried to motivate them to read them. On snow days the past year or so I would say, "Read a chapter of Prince Caspian or the Silver Chair," or whichever one that they were in. And I would come home from work and they had not!

They would not read the books! They said they did not enjoy them!

INCOMPREHENSIBLE!

It's like saying you do not like ice cream.

WHAAAAAATT??

Later the second oldest daughter, who reads a lot of books, mostly fiction, said it was the obligation by me that would turn her and perhaps the boys from reading them.

Me, on the other hand, am of the opinion that if you simply read these books, the magic takes over and you love them. Right? 

Like ice cream. But better.

Now one is about to start high school and has still not finished the series!

Preposterous! Blasphemy! Poppycock! Balderdash!

How sad.

My child has not read and thoroughly enjoyed, yea, even been enthralled by the Chronicles of Narnia as a youth? Is this my flesh and blood?

Is the sky, in fact, blue?

Maybe not. 

Maybe ice cream is not that great after all. Especially if you are forced, as it seems, to like it.

Recently I have resolved to read it--the entire series of Narnia-- out loud to my children after I finish another series that it has taken a few years to read to them. But, I still hold out hope that we can do it individually. That CS Lewis can be read by each one of us, and cherished as they should be, by children young and old.

Aslan awaits.

And you will know the deeper magic of the eternal realms; you will not be able to help but like it. A lot. It is CS Lewis, and it is love eternal, a higher understanding.

The Prophetess of Doom and: to Each Their Own Work

The Prophetess of Doom and: to Each Their Own Work

     Last night I was out walking on a city street with my wife. We were going to a store that interested her; we were walking the city streets to approach it, where the side walks had assorted trees contained in metallic circular frames surrounded by pavement.  As I walked by a lady in front of the store, I noticed that she was staring at the side of a tree emplaced in front of the establishment. The tree might have been 25 feet high. Maybe it was a foot in width.

I found it interesting that a woman, or any person for that matter, would be doing that.  My wife and I walked into the store. We were not there very long. When I exited the front door area I observed that the lady was standing on the sidewalk. I asked her, "Were you looking at that tree?"

She was friendly and explained that the tree had a blight and was dying; the tree had not only one fungus or killer blight, she remarked, but the trunk had one disease while above in its crest and upper branches there seemed to be another. Multiple blights were killing this thing. We talked a bit.  I gathered that she was increasingly  alarmed by these types of ugly trends killing trees that she had observed for years. "I am old," she said, "but my grandson has to grow up with this ..."

I derived from the whole scenario that she was, as she claimed, a talkative introvert, and I suggested that she write a blog about this global problem, and local in this case, too.  I thought that this might quench a bit of her long held angst, and even help this specific problem be addressed and bring greater light to the solution of it. "Oh, no!" She replied. "I would not write about this doom and gloom unless I had a solution for it!"

Make sense?

I thought that this was contradictory. If she really cares, then she could do more.

I am not saying that a blog would or will save the world ...

But it would do more than staring at blights on trees that she has been observing for years-- and not help at all. Not causing ANY outside awareness to her observations, which appear to be true and valid, significant. I told her by only highlighting to anyone would possibly bring new ideas or possible solutions.

We talked about carbon footprints, and flying, and radiation, and the problems of future health. She mentioned her son flies all the time and the "radiation" of it worries her, but not him, and he should take iodine to stave off future problems related to so much flight time.

Lunatic or prophetess?

I think she is probably right.

Trees are dying of new amalgamating and evolving blights and diseases. Regular flying can be detrimental to your health, for all I know.

Welcome to our globalizing 21st century world.

Every generation has at last one watch person on the watchtower to warn of impending danger and doom.

We have them. Like Noah?

Do we listen? Do we share their insight and wisdom? From Adam until 2018? Do we read the wisdom of the sages and prophets?

I am trying. Consider yourself advised. I will continue to watch and pray.

Pray for our trees, and how to fight the diseases that destroy them and us. For ourselves, and our grandchildren.

One more thing: sin is real, and we need a cure called repentance. We need to find it. Always.