Tinkers to Evers to Chance

September Classic Moments

Sept. 15, 1902: A baseball legend begins on this day. Shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance turn their first double play for the Cubs in a 6-3 victory over Cincinnati in Chicago. The three infielders couldn't stand each other off the field but worked with consummate smoothness on the diamond. They would help the Cubs win four pennants (and two World Series), from 1906 through 1910.

They were the snappiest double-play combo of their time and were immortalized in a poem by New York sportswriter Franklin Adams:

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double --
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

First publication date: New York Evening Mail, July 10, 1910 (From Baseball's Sad Lexicon)

Interestingly, Greatest Teams points out that

While the Tinker-Evers duo never led the NL in double plays, and it has become fashionable of late to question their Hall of Fame selections, the fact is that when you look at the number of baserunners allowed by the Cubs' superlative pitching staff, this keystone combination was the finest of its era. For instance, from 1906 to 1911, the duo turned 491 double plays; that puts them third in the National League. But if you adjust for the number of runners who made it to first base (thereby controlling for the chances the team had to turn a double play), they rank first for this period.

Heraclitus quotes -- updated 11-01-05

I haven't been able to track down an authorative source for the "Character is destiny" quote, but here are some wonderful Heraclitus quotes that I did find, including a few about character:

Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day.

Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character. A man's character is his guardian divinity.

To do the same thing over and over again is not only boredom: it is to be controlled by rather than to control what you do.

If you do not the expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.

Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.

The sun is new each day.

No one that encounters prosperity does not also encounter danger.

Nature is wont to hide herself. Much learning does not teach understanding.

A complete set fragments (yes, it's meant to be funny) of Heraclitus is available at
Herakleitos of Ephesos

Character is Destiny - revisited

And, finally, here is a gem of a comment from the Padre:

Perhaps it is the "subtile" notion that the parts of our character that we sublimate or repress or fail to honor return to us in the form of "fate"--destiny. N'est pas?

Character is Destiny -- John McCain

McCain is scheduled for the hour (at 11PM on Channel 20), but there is a possibility that the Supreme Court nomination might bump him to tomorrow night.

JOHN McCAIN: <http://www.charlierose.com/> Senator (R-AZ)
Co-author, "Character is Destiny"

Intriguing title, given that (as I understand it) the original meaning of "character" had to do with an individual's history, rather than destiny.

From
American Heritage: <http://www.bartleby.com/61/65/C0246500.html>
Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000



ETYMOLOGY: Middle English carecter, distinctive mark, imprint on the soul, from Old French caractere, from Latin charact, from Greek kharakt, from kharassein, to inscribe, from kharax, kharak-, pointed stick.

I can't track it down at the moment, but I remember coming across a description of "character" the went something like:
"The distinctive markings that are acquired in the course of leading your life."

This fits with the notion that certain experiences can "build character."

It also is able to accomodate the notion that there can be an inherent dimension of character that, as you make your way through the world, causes you to accumulate marks that are indications of the development/emergence of that inherent character as it encounters the challenges of life.

In any case, I'm looking forward to McCain's view of "character."

...ADDED COMMENTS

JB & Estavan pointed out that there are quotes of Freud & Heraclitus along the lines of "Character is destiny."

My recollection was that Freud's point of view was more along the lines of "Biology is destiny" and/or "Anatomy is destiny."

And, as for Heraclitus, the quote "Character is destiny" seems out of character for Heraclitus -- unless he was being sarcastic.

Items worth reading 10-29-05 (at 2:10PM)

Interesting piece passed along by Scott.

The Politics of Polarization (PDF File)

Piece from today's Washington Post:
Stop the Campaigning
The Bush White House Is in Trouble Because of Its Disdain for Governing

A Conservative Dilemma

Interesting point from Fareed Zakaria in 'The Assassins' Gate': Occupational Hazards in today's NYTimes:

Packer describes in microcosm something that has infected conservatism in recent years. Conservatives live in fear of being betrayed ideologically. They particularly distrust nonpartisan technocrats - experts - who they suspect will be seduced by the "liberal establishment." The result, in government, journalism and think tanks alike, is a profusion of second-raters whose chief virtue is that they are undeniably "sound."

Another thing from which many conservatives seem to suffer is that it must be very hard to take a serious approach to the responsibilities of governing when you feel government is, at its core, evil and incompetent and "the problem."

Influenza info #3--One more item

For comprehensive report, see
State of Illinois Canadian Drug Study FDA Docket No. 2004N-0115

Here is info about
Pharmacies examined by State of Illinois

CanaRx- Windsor, Ontario
Current Vendor for City of Springfield, MA

CanadaDrugs.com- Winnipeg, Manitoba
“Internet” Pharmacy

CanAmerican Drugs, Inc. Winnipeg, Manitoba
“Internet” Pharmacy

ADV-Care Pharmacy, Toronto
“Internet” Pharmacy

The delegation arrives in Windsor, Ontario, on Tuesday evening where it
will meet with pharmacists and executives from CanaRx, the company that
administers the drug importation program for the city of Springfield, MA.

On Wednesday, the group will visit First Medical Pharmacy in Windsor, a CanaRx retail pharmacy that primarily serves Canadian consumers, but does approximately 20 percent of its business with American consumers. On Thursday the delegation will meet with several mail-order and on-line pharmacies in Wnnipeg, Manitoba, including CanAmerican Drugs, Fine Line Solutions and Canada Drugs, before traveling to Toronto, Ontario, to meet with ADV-Care, the pharmacy that supplies the Illinois Health Alliance.

The delegation returns to Illinois on Friday.

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Influenza info #2--Booklet for finding reliable Canadian pharmacies

From
Booklet for finding reliable Canadian pharmacies


...our Guide to Saving Money on Medicine, with more
information on accessing free drugs and finding
reliable Canadian pharmacies.
Anyone who would like a copy, please send $2 in check
or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (60
cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons' People's
Pharmacy, No. CA-99, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC
27717-2027.

Info about The Graedons:
From
http://www.kingfeatures.com/pressrm/rel_138_15_9_2003.htm


JOE AND TERESA GRAEDON CELEBRATE 25 SUCCESSFUL YEARS
OF "THE PEOPLE’S PHARMACY" WITH HONORS

American Medical Writers Association Honors the
Graedons on September 19, 2003

The Graedons Establish The People’s Pharmacy Award for
Excellence in Research and Communication for the
Public Health
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Joe and Teresa Graedon,
authors of the nationally syndicated column "The
People’s Pharmacy," will receive the 2003 Walter C.
Alvarez Award from the American Medical Writers
Association (AMWA) in recognition of their outstanding
communications about health and medicine to the
general public. The Graedons will receive the award
and speak to AMWA members at a luncheon on September
19, 2003 during AMWA’s 63rd annual conference in
Miami, Fla.
Celebrating 25 years in newspaper syndication with
King Features this fall, Joe and Dr. Teresa Graedon
give their expert opinion and potentially lifesaving
advice to readers of "The People’s Pharmacy."
Distributed to nearly 100 newspapers, "The People’s
Pharmacy" is a vital reference guide for readers
seeking information on the entire spectrum of
prescription and over-the-counter medications and
health products on the market today.
To commemorate their column’s 25th anniversary, the
Graedons are inaugurating "The People’s Pharmacy Award
for Excellence in Research and Communication for the
Public Health." Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of
Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, will be
the first recipient of the Graedons’ newly established
award. Dr. Willett heads the Nurses’ Health Study, one
of the world’s most valuable ongoing studies of
lifestyle and health in women.
When Joe Graedon first started writing "The People’s
Pharmacy" column in 1978, he was skeptical of claims
about alternative medicine. As a pharmacologist,
Graedon only trusted medicines that were
scientifically tested. But his wife Terry, a medical
anthropologist and later co-author of the column,
along with written testimonials from readers,
convinced him that there was science to support some
herbal remedies and alternative therapies.
Today, the Graedons write three columns a week,
including one devoted specifically to alternative
medicine, home remedies and herbal treatments. They
provide consumer-friendly information about the most
commonly prescribed medications on their Web site at
www.peoplespharmacy.org. The Graedons, who receive
between 1,000 and 2,000 letters every week, want to
empower their readers to become active participants in
their own health care. "We try to make the newspaper
column of broad general interest. So we really appeal
not only to older people, but to their grandchildren
and their children as well," says Terry Graedon.
With more than 2 million books in print, the Graedons
have provided accurate and invaluable information on
health and medicine for non-medical audiences. The
success of their first book, "The People’s Pharmacy,"
a New York Times best seller for roughly a year, led
to additional books, including: "The People’s Pharmacy
II," "The New People’s Pharmacy III: Drug
Breakthroughs of the 80s," "50+: The Graedons’
People’s Pharmacy for Older Adults," "Graedons’ Best
Medicine," "The Aspirin Handbook," "Deadly Drug
Interactions" and "The People’s Pharmacy Guide to Home
and Herbal Remedies."
About Joe and Dr. Teresa Graedon
Joe and Dr. Teresa Graedon met in Ann Arbor, Mich.,
while Joe was working on a master’s degree in
pharmacology and Terry was studying for a doctorate in
anthropology at the University of Michigan. From Ann
Arbor, Joe and Terry went to Oaxaca, Mexico, where
Terry did her dissertation research on health and
nutrition while Joe taught pharmacology to second-year
medical students at the Universidad Autonoma "Benito
Juarez." During those two years, he started work on a
book called "The People’s Pharmacy."

Discussing issues relating to drugs, herbs, home
remedies, vitamins and related health topics, Joe and
Teresa Graedon are frequent guests on television news
and information programs. The Graedons are also
popular co-hosts of a weekly radio talk show about
health, which is broadcast to more than 500 stations
in the United States and abroad on public radio, the
InTouch Radio Reading Service, and Armed Forces Radio
and Television Service.
Joe is considered one of the country’s leading drug
experts for consumers and speaks frequently on
pharmaceuticals, nutrition and self-care. He has
appeared as a guest on many major TV shows, including
"The Oprah Winfrey Show," "20/20," "Today," "Good
Morning America," "The Tonight Show," "Larry King
Live," "Dateline NBC" and "CBS Morning News." Joe
earned a master’s degree in pharmacology from the
University of Michigan, and has been an adjunct
assistant professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy
at the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy
since 1986.
Terry received a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr
College in 1969, graduating magna cum laude with a
major in anthropology. She attended graduate school at
the University of Michigan, getting her master’s
degree in 1971. She received an Institute for
Environmental Quality fellowship, which enabled her to
pursue doctoral research in Oaxaca. Her doctorate was
awarded in 1976. Terry is a member of the American
Anthropological Association, the American Public
Health Association, the Society for Applied
Anthropology and the Society for Medical Anthropology.
She has taught medical anthropology at Duke University
in North Carolina.
About the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)
AMWA was founded in 1940 by a group of physicians
interested in medical writing and editing. It is now
the leading international professional association for
biomedical writers and editors, with members in 28
countries. The organization is headquartered in
Rockville, Md. The Walter C. Alvarez Memorial Award,
named in honor of a pioneer in the field of medical
communication, recognizes excellence in communicating
health care developments and concepts to the public.
-30-
Media Contacts:
For more information or to schedule an interview with
Joe and Teresa Graedon, please contact:
Claudia Smith, King Features Syndicate, 212-455-4121,
or email cmsmith@hearst.com
Rose McAllister, King Features Syndicate,
212-455-4180, or email rmmcallister@hearst.com

Influenza info #1 -- Tamiflu orders from Canadian Pharmacies

Following up on our conversation, in case anyone is interested:

Americans And Europeans Migrating To Canada For Tamiflu, Roche Sales Skyrocket

This week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported a 10-fold increase in Tamiflu orders from Canadian Pharmacies in the past month. Tamiflu is the only drug known to treat the deadly H5N1 Avian Flu virus....

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Stalin, circa 1925

Relating to our conversation about when Stalin came to power, from Wikipedia entry about Stalin;

Stalin became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party in 1922 and following the death of Vladimir Lenin [in 1924], he prevailed over Leon Trotsky in a power struggle during the 1920s.

In the 1930s Stalin eliminated effective political opposition both within the Party and among the population (see Gulag) and consolidated his authority with the Great Purge, a period of widespread arrests and executions which reached its peak in 1937....

The Neocon Who Isn’t

A couple of days ago, Scott passed along this piece The Neocon Who Isn’t by Robert S. Boynton from the 10.05.05 American Prospect.

The piece looks at Fukuyama's views of the Iraq war and examines his disagreements with the Neocons who were in favor of it.

The article mentioned Fukuyama's new publication, the American Interest, which looks like it is worth reading.

And the article also helped me more clearly identify the conflicting reactions that I have had to Fukuyama's work, starting with "End of History":

1. I have generally been impressed by the "process" of his thinking, but
2. I have been surprised by problematic nature of so many of the conclusions that he reaches.

I have not read any Leo Strauss yet, but the commentary about him that I have seen suggests that the above might stem from his influence. And, from what I have read of Allan Bloom's (another Fukuyama mentor), that definitely is a characteristic of Bloom's work -- really interesting thinking, juxtaposed with surprisingly mistaken conclusions.

Curious thing, how that can happen. Think I need to chew on that for a while.

The first thought that comes to mind is that it might be a case of "Don't understand me so fast, Harry."

A second thought:
Maybe they fall into one of those many lacunae (forgive me, I love the sound of the word) that can trap those that are "too smart, but not quite smart enough" for their own good

As in "Samana, you are clever. Beware of too much cleverness."

Whatever.

Tiny examples that point to large issues

This article raises interesting points and suggests a need to re-think a number of long-standing ideas, including things as basic as the approach to the design of user interfaces.

From
Feature Creep article

In user testing, Microsoft found that nine out of every 10 features that customers wanted to see added to Office were already in the program....

Office has become a case study for feature creep--the phenomenon in which a simple technology becomes complicated and unmanageable through the addition of new features. Office, which once had 100 commands neatly organized into menus, ballooned to contain some 1,500 commands located in scores of menus, toolbars and dialog boxes....

...other developers may take a cue from Office as they, too, grapple with programs that are outgrowing a menu-driven design.

Santayana gone backwards

PT passed along this piece, with its striking combination of anger and optimistic passion.

What a strange point in history we have reached, including

• the things the administration did (whatever they were, whether indicted or not),
• the (almost unleaked) investigation by Fitzgerald,
• the 24x7 of anticipatory discussions -- and real-time debates -- in the blogs,
• and on and on.

It seems almost an example of Santayana gone backwards, with the "comedy" of a friviolous, half-baked impeachment of a President returning as the "tragedy" of a war launched for, at best, half-baked reasons.


There's plenty of dishonor to go around, but a passage from the piece jumped out at me and keeps rattling around my head:

The last thing most of us believe in is the rule of law. We do not trust our
government or the people we have elected but our constitution is still very much
alive...

As my kids like to say, "Things that make you go hmmm."



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/the-most-important-crimin_b_9183.html

One Good Point -- And a Lot of Leaky Reasoning

The Legacies of a Leak Case piece by Jim Hoagland, the usually savvy columnist for the Washington Post, is remarkably wrong-headed, but it does make one very interesting point:

Journalism traditionally is a collective enterprise, with its output shaped by the interaction of reporters, editors, publishers, anchors and others. But as blockbuster book contracts, mega-marketing campaigns and television's gigantic ad revenue gain a dominant role in the business, journalism has become much more entrepreneurial. It has also become more star-struck in what it covers and how it covers it.

… her failure to accept supervision from or to share vital information with her editors strike at the system of checks and balances that credible journalism requires.

Echoes of Hoagland's observation about the "entrepreneurialization" of journalism also can be identified in similar developments in other important public arenas. My sense is that the sharp rise in emphasis on, attention to, and idealization of various types of "entrepreneurship" in the U.S. deserves much closer examination -- especially in the way in which it has struck "at the system of checks and balances" upon which we had been relying.

And, for the record, here's my beef with the bulk of Hoagland's piece, which loses its bearings when he writes:

This scandal's greatest importance lies, Weimar-like, in its ability to distract the public's attention, energy and commitment from more important questions.

And Hoagland, who is a smart guy, should be embarrassed by the sleazy slight-of-hand he attempts when he tries to use the phrase "In this regard" as a bridge to the claim that

"In this regard, Fitzgerald's investigation also resembles in spirit and effect the efforts to impeach Bill Clinton over his affair with a former intern."

My view is the exact opposite of the point that Hoagland is trying to make: Fitzgerald and his investigation are not distracting "the public's attention, energy and commitment from more important questions."

Quite the contrary; Fitzgerald's investigation is a step -- albeit just a single step, with a lot of other work that will need to follow -- in a what is likely to be a long process of reining in the corrosive and legality-skirting tactics that have been "refined" by Rove, Delay, Attwater and their ilk. For years and years, it is their tactics (not Fitzgerald's investigation) that have been a major factor in distracting "the public's attention, energy and commitment from more important questions."

Of course, the Dems have done nasty and unforgiveable things, but it is the Republican operatives who have really embraced this approach and taken it to unprecendented (and dangerous) depths.

From where I sit, it is mind-boggling to see Hoagland try to compare the investigation being conducted by Patrick Fitzgerald -- a serious, sober, highly-regarded, widely respected, non-partisan (if anything, Republican!) District Attorney -- with the ludicrous Whitewater vendetta run by Ken Starr and his gang.

Give me a break.

China's Coming People Power

Thought this might be of interest. See URL for full text.

From 10-11-05 Washington Post

China's Coming People Power

By Arthur Waldron
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Page A17

As the Communist Party's congress begins in Beijing, the media are full of speculation -- not about potential reforms but about power. The question: Who will succeed Hu Jintao as nominal leader of China if he steps down on turning 70 in 2010.....?

Going into overtime...

...on the football theme.

This is the last football e-mail, I promise.

Selected NFL events in the 1950s and early 1960s

1951
Abraham Watner returned the Baltimore franchise and its player contracts back to the NFL for $50,000.

1952
Ted Collins sold the New York Yanks' franchise back to the NFL, January 19. A new franchise was awarded to a group in Dallas after it purchased the assets of the Yanks, January 24. The new Texans went 1-11, with the owners turning the franchise back to the league in midseason. For the last five games of the season, the commissioner's office operated the Texans as a road team, using Hershey, Pennsylvania, as a home base.

At the end of the season the franchise was canceled, the last time an NFL team failed.

1956
CBS became the first network to broadcast some NFL regular-season games to selected television markets across the nation.

1959
Lamar Hunt of Dallas announced his intentions to form a second pro football league. The new league was named the American Football League, August 22. They made plans to begin play in 1960.

NFL Commissioner Bert Bell died of a heart attack suffered at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, during the last two minutes of a game between the Eagles and the Steelers, October 11. Treasurer Austin Gunsel was named president in the office of the commissioner, October 14.

1960
Pete Rozelle was elected NFL Commissioner as a compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot, January 26. Rozelle moved the league offices to New York City.

The AFL signed a five-year television contract with ABC, June 9.

1961
NBC was awarded a two-year contract for radio and television rights to the NFL Championship Game for $615,000 annually, April 5.

A bill legalizing single-network television contracts by professional sports leagues was introduced in Congress by Representative Emanuel Celler. It passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, September 30.

1962
The NFL entered into a single-network agreement with CBS for telecasting all regular-season games for $4.65 million annually, January 10.

...and the rest is history...

Continuing the football theme/motif

From

The Grace City

The "Grey City" passage that I mentioned last night.

Enjoy!

[PS: It appears that the first two Saturdays in October 1965 fell on October 2 and October 9. I think I'll just celebrate the 40th anniversary again on October 9.

PPS: To connect to the NFL theme/motif from last night --
Upon further review, it has to be "profit" and not "prophet." Hard to find an example of an uncertain prophet.]

Here is no continuing city,
Here is no abiding stay.
Ill the wind, ill the time,
Uncertain the profit,
Certain the danger.

O late late late, late is the time,
Too late, and rotten the year;
Evil the wind, and bitter the sea,
And grey the sky, grey grey grey.

-- from
"Murder in the Cathedral" by T.S. Eliot

You've Got to See It to Really Believe It

Superb piece in the LA Times about New Orleans
You've Got to See It to Really Believe It

Here are two passages that particularly struck me.

Passage #1

For a long time, they rode in silence, as if trying to comprehend what they
saw. Block after block, neighborhood after neighborhood, mile after mile, the
imagery of ruin was the same: Power lines and trees tangled across yards, cars
and boats sat in the street at strange angles, brown muddy high-water marks
reached near houses' rooflines — a death sentence, in the view of many
construction experts.

Many houses had small escape hatches hacked into their roofs. Cryptic
messages had been spray-painted by search-and-rescue crews, hieroglyphics
marking the date of search, the units involved, the number of bodies found, the
number of people and pets rescued.

What created the most powerful impression, however, was not the degree of
damage. Many of the houses, in fact, seemed intact despite the telltale muddy
lines. Rather, it was the scale. The scene just went on and on and on, to an
extent that television footage, or satellite photography, or statistics or even
words could not convey.

Absent the proper language, Sharafkhani and Meyers and their passenger were
reduced to speaking in cliches.

"This is a war zone," said Meyers at one point.

"This is a tragedy," said Sharafkhani at another.

"This is depressing."

"This is sad."

Passage #2

Spared by Katrina, for the most part, were the city's most viable portions:
the French Quarter, which brings in the tourists; the hotels, which put them up;
the older, architecturally refined neighborhoods that attract a core of urban
professionals (and give the tourists something to do beyond trolling Bourbon
Street); the Central Business District; the port and its shipping construction.
These will provide a starting point for renewal.

Lost, in the main, but not exclusively, were poorer neighborhoods where
tourists rarely ventured. And these, once cleared, will offer a canvas on which
the urban visionaries can paint. In this view, what the floods accomplished,
albeit brutally, was something no politician could ever suggest: Take the
poorest and most crime-ridden portions of a city, sweep them more or less clean,
and start anew.

Of course, such social engineering could draw battle lines ...

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