Cup of Coffee

March 15, 2021: Beware

23 Comments

I remember I had scenes with Melinda McGraw in "Ides Of March" that I didn't have in "Video Vigilante," but I can't quite picture that other character. But it was Vancouver, and that year was crazy.

-Eric McCormack

Hmm. Maybe not quite as profound as I was going for.

23 thoughts on “March 15, 2021: Beware”

  1. R. I. P. Jim Snyder, who had 86 at-bats for the Twins from 1961-1964 and then became a long time minor league manager and coach, at age 88.

    1. Read a cool story about him today. He learned Spanish while in the minors in order to help connect with his teammates better. He connected with Eddie Escobar in winter league and they taught each other their native languages and developed a strong friendship. Cool story. I wish I did not delve into the comment section of the story.

      2. What a great article — thanks for that link. Quite the hook in the first five sentences:

        Brian Dozier had 4,900 major league plate appearances, and only 482 of them came with the Washington Nationals. When he retired from baseball last month, he did so as a Minnesota Twin, the team that drafted him, developed him, brought him to the big leagues and made him an all-star.

        And yet in Washington, where no fan has witnessed an in-person major league game since — why, since the 2019 World Series — Dozier is best remembered as the shirtless dude from Mississippi, holding some sort of Anheuser-Busch product that wasn’t long for this world, crooning reggaeton lyrics in … Spanish? Which brought no small measure of delight to his Spanish-speaking teammates.

        There’s a message in there somewhere.

        I really liked that Svrluga took time to reflect on how his own beat writing suffered because he didn’t take the initiative to learn Spanish earlier in his career.

      3. Good stuff. Thanks.

        I spend a fair amount of time communicating with people in various parts of the world, always in English. Sometimes I have a difficult time hearing them and I always apologize because I can't speak to them in their native tongue.

        1. In my work, I have had a lot of staff who have English as a second language. One regret I have is not learning Spanish myself to help me better communicate with them. It has been on my "to do" list for decades, but I need to get on it.

  4. Our dog doesn't know her real birthday because she was an abandoned stray. The best the folks in Gulfport could figure, she was born around the middle of March, so we picked the Ides to be her birthday because it's easy to remember and has an historical/literary connection. I wasn't sure about getting a new dog back then, but I'm mighty glad Mrs. Twayn and Younger Daughter maneuvered me into getting this one. Happy birthday, Harper!

    1. I am disappointed you didn't name the dog "Flamen Dialis."

      then you could have made a dad joke about being led to slaughter every time you took her for a walk.

      1. Our previous dog, a Yorkie/Maltese mix, was named Augustus Maximus because he was not at all majestic. We called him Gus.

    2. We only know the birthday of one of our cats, so I gave the other two birthdays that have some significance to me and are about when they were born. Our oldest, Jags, has a birthday of August 15th, but he's so old that we should be celebrating his months now. I think I'll go give him a forehead to forehead rub, which he loves. Happy birthday to your best friend.

        1. Yes! I have lived with that cat longer than I have lived with any human being. He's quite the little buddy.

    3. Our dog was "born in February." So the wife and kids decided that Valentines day would be her birthday both for sentimental reasons and in the middle of the month.

    4. Funny this. I wasn’t ready for a new pet but reluctantly gave in and we adopted Casey soon to be renamed bacon kitty. They listed her as a year old around Mardi Gras, but we couldn’t believe it because she was so small with huuuuuuuuggggeee paws. We made the assumption she was a 6-9 month old with some growing to do. Welp, we was wrong. Small as a peanut, spicy as a jalapeño, and quicker ‘n wild bill this one was most likely about a year old. So now Mardi Gras is her birthday. Long live bacon, shredder of sheets, destroyer of duvets, clawer of carpets, first of her name.

    1. I can't help but feel this is Coyle's desperate ploy to save his own butt by hiring a non-white coach in the program's highest profile position.

      1. Personally, if I am looking at this decision on it's own, it is a good move. I liked Pitino more than I thought I would. I really am not a fan of his father at all. I worried that he would bring along some of slime that surrounded his father. From what I have seen or heard, the younger Pitino has done a decent job at keeping everything legit. He has had flashes of success, yet his recruiting has been up and down. I found myself rooting for him to turn the corner and get to the next level, but this year put him in the position where Coyle had no choice but to let him go. Regarding your comment on hiring a non-white coach, I am unsure what you are trying to say. I would hope that the U would consider non-white coaches for any coaching vacancy. I have been a big fan of Gopher basketball since the days of Trent Tucker. However, the currently state of college athletics has put me in a position where I am struggling to give a damn.

      2. I don't really see where you're coming from here. This was a pretty obvious move.

        I agree with Zoom that he seems like a decent guy. I think he'll do well in television.

        I wonder if the new coach will keep Liam's uncle on staff. I wonder if Liam will enjoy watching Drake in the tournament this week.

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