Hillary Declares Candidacy for President

Hillary Clinton has now declared herself to be a candidate for the Presidency in 2016, joining Jeb Bush and the minor league field of Republican hopefuls.  The Democrats no doubt would love to see someone like Ted Cruz or Rand Paul get the GOP nomination as it would be little of a contest, regardless how you might feel about these candidates.  Marco Rubio has also stated that he is running, and his candidacy should be seen as a bit more problematic.  He is just as ideologically on the extreme right as Cruz or Paul, but he is a soft-spoken and skillful speaker who presents himself as a reasonable leader...much in the same way that Barack Obama did in 2007 when he launched his improbably successful presidential bid.  H-m-m, I don't plan to vote for Rubio, but he is, at least at this stage, a big threat to Bush in the upcoming primary campaign season.  And about Wisconsin's governor Scott Walker, I don't see him getting very far in the campaign other than maybe being selected as a vice-presidential running mate...but that might just be due to the fact that of all candidates so far (although I'm not sure he's officially declared himself yet), he repels me the most...

I won't equivocate...I'm a Democrat and I plan to vote for Clinton for President.  But should Jeb Bush manage to get himself elected in 2016, I won't grieve too much...he was quite an able governor of Florida during his two terms from 1999 to 2007 and is well superior to the rest of the Republican field.  But to each his or her own, I suppose, and it is not for me to tell you or anyone else which candidate or party to support...

Game of Thrones and Hobbit Shows on HBO Tonight, Diverge From Books

Although my current cable television service has on it many, many channels, I don't subscribe to HBO.  Every now and then, however, they offer a short period of time in which HBO is shown for free.  It just so happens that this weekend is one of those times, and I'm taking advantage of it by watching old Game of Thrones reruns, as well as the new season's opener for the series, which will air at 9 PM.  Then, at 10, I plan to watch (on a different HBO channel): The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which is the second part of the movie trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's relatively short book The Hobbit.  These two shows bring to the forefront a major gripe I have with screen adaptations of literary works...

The HBO TV series Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin's ongoing fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, of which he has published five volumes and still has two in the works.  Yet the TV adaptation has taken some major liberties with Martin's story, virtually ignoring some characters (which the author may intend to later play a more significant role) and at times creating brand new story lines.  I was watching one of season #4's reruns earlier this afternoon and it had Bran Stark and his entourage kidnapped and imprisoned by a character that he never encountered in the book.  And Bran's mother...at a point in the series, they began to ignore her while the book continued to show her as a meaningful part of the story.  But Game of Thrones is just one example of this problem (or least it's my problem): the movie adaptation of The Hobbit goes even further in diverging from Tolkien's book, both by invoking an ultra-somber mood and by injecting completely foreign story lines with subplots to which the author would probably strenuously object were he still alive.  Then, to top it all, the makers of The Hobbit movies decided that they could capitalize on the success of the Lord of the Ring movie trilogy by placing some of its characters in it (and who weren't in the book)...supposedly as a draw for those many Ring fans...

Still, in spite of my criticisms, I do enjoy seeing how the works of Martin and Tolkien have been realized on the screen, especially in regard to the special effects and the generally good acting and direction.  But I am glad that I read the books beforehand, at least the ones that have already come out...

NBA Needs to Relegate Worst Teams to Preserve Game's Integrity

As I look at the current National Basketball Association standings, with teams having only two-to-four games left to play in the 82-game regular season, I see that there are still a few playoff spots open for contention in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.  In the East we have five teams vying for the last three spots and two in the West competing for the last spot there.  Here they are, as they currently stand, with their win-loss records:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#6 Milwaukee (39-40)
#7 Boston (37-42) (wins tie-breaker)
#8 Brooklyn (37-42)
#9 Indiana (36-43)
#10 Miami (35-44)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#8 New Orleans (43-36) (wins tie-breaker)
#9 Oklahoma City (43-36)

Each day, whenever these teams are playing, their scores are significant as to who eventually gets into the playoffs and who has to wait for next year.  However, some of the games they are playing are against teams that have failed miserably this year and have a motivation to lose, not win, since having a worse record will gain them better prospects in the upcoming college draft.  But if the NBA employed a system of relegation and promotion the way that most of the international soccer leagues practice it, they could have a second-tier league to which the worst teams would be relegated (i.e., demoted) while the best finishers in that league would be promoted to the NBA for the following season.  That way, those teams at the bottom of the standings would also have very meaningful games ahead of themselves that they would feel pressure to go all out and win.

Suppose that the two teams in the NBA finishing with the worst win-loss records were relegated to the hypothetical "lower" league...in other words, the teams with the 29th and 30th positions for the league as a  whole.  Then, this is how their situation would present itself as the season draws to a close:

#27 Los Angeles Lakers (21-58)
#28 Philadelphia (18-61)
#29 Minnesota (16-63)
#30 New York (15-64)

Last night, the Lakers played Minnesota and beat them in a meaningless game (except for the draft), 106-98.  But if "my" relegation system was in effect, that game would have had major repercussions as winning it freed Los Angeles from the prospect of being demoted while the Timberwolves, on their way to relegation, could have gotten themselves closer to Philadelphia in the standings had they won. I'm getting tired of seeing teams giving up halfway through the season, even benching their star players.  Not only are their fans being ripped off, but the integrity of the sport is being challenged as the level of competition artificially slackens off with certain teams...  

Once Again Reading Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes

One book that I have read, reread...and keep rereading, since 2010, is Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes.  Karnazes, who goes by the nickname "Karno", just turned 52 and, since he was 30, has been running races longer than the traditional 26.2-mile marathon length: hence the term "ultramarathon".  He's even gone as far as running a 199-mile event, and has ranged from marathons in the Death Valley under intense heat to the frigid cold in a run to the South Pole in Antarctica.  However, I have no intention of emulating his extreme running, either regarding the long distance or the climatic conditions.  But I do want to continue running long distance races like the half-marathon, and eventually get myself back in condition for regular marathons.  I'm having my annual medical check-up in a couple of weeks, and if I get the "thumbs up" from my doctor, I plan to work for the next few months to strengthen my body, lose weight, and increase my running endurance...and then see if I can't handle a marathon this upcoming fall or winter...

I think that's why I like reading Ultramarathon Man so much: it has a positive "can do" type of message to it that is infectious and inspiring...

Facebook As I See It

I have to admit that, although I am technically active in Facebook with a few Facebook friends, I'm not very versatile or prolific about the various forms of posting, such as YouTube or linking from other people's posts.  Nor am I very adept at the quick picture-taking-and-posting from my cell phone that I see so often on this site.  No, I confine my Facebook use to either passively looking at others' posts or putting (usually daily) links to my own personal blog (to which this article belongs).  And I enjoy seeing posts with positive, uplifting messages on them!  However, I see, from time to time, some of the users venting on a more personal level about hardships they are going through, usually either about relationships, health, or money.  That used to bother me more than it does now, but social media like Facebook provide a good emergency outlet for people if they feel the need to call out in distress about troubles they are facing in life.  However, it's important to be careful about using this site to verbally attack others (unless they're critiquing public figures like politicians or entertainers...and even then there has to be some self-restraint). Posting in the middle of extreme anger is probably a bad, bad idea...

Facebook has a feature on it that lets the one who posted an entry know who "liked"  the  posting.  This tends to make it more of a social encouragement  and popularity site, in my opinion.  I'd rather they had an option that users could click on that simply stated that they read my blog articles. Whether the reader agrees or disagrees with me about what I wrote is secondary...I'm more interested in the readership, and I always leave plenty of room for comments, which I welcome...although readers are also welcome to maintain anonymity, if that is what they wish.  If you see Facebook as a site to encourage your friends, then as a Facebook friend please encourage me by reading my blog!

This Blog: 8 Years and 2,522 Posts Later

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the beginning of this blog of mine, on which I have tried, with mixed success, to write something at least on a daily basis.  Sports, news, society, personal, politics, history, languages, weather, memories, running, books I've read, television and radio...these have tended to be the general themes of my articles.  And they're all still there, in the archives on the left side of the page...going back to April 8, 2007.  From time to time I look back on some of my writings and discover that I tend to hold to the opinions I had back then...although sometimes they have changed.  And almost always I'll find a ridiculous spelling or grammatical error I had committed, and correct it...

I do this blog as a personal daily discipline to engage my mind in writing, and I think it has been a very constructive experience.  I encourage others to do the same: there's a lot out there to write about! Since last year I have been placing a link to this blog on Facebook and like to hear when folks have read it, although that's not really necessary.  The main thing is that I engage my brain and write something, silly as it might turn out from time to time...

My Take on This Year's Major League Baseball Season

Last Sunday, the 2015 edition of Major League Baseball began its regular season with the supposedly revamped and drastically improved Chicago Cubs once again stumbling and losing to the St. Louis Cardinals.  Oh well, they have 161 more games to try to pick things up!  The main teams I have decided to follow this year are few in number: just the Florida teams: Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins.  The Rays lost their long-time manager Joe Madden to the Chicago Cubs this year and don't seem, by anyone's estimation, to have any bright prospects this year...most likely they'll finish last.  The Marlins, on the other hand, have been greatly hyped in the media as being an upcoming team that could sneak into the playoffs as a wild card entry.  Who knows what will ultimately happen...we have six full months of games before we'll know how they end up.  I just decided to follow these two, for better or worse, because of the simple fact that reruns of their games will usually be televised after I get home from work a little past midnight.

I did watch some so-called baseball experts on of the sports channels, and they seem to think that Washington, St. Louis, and Los Angeles are the teams to beat in the National League, while Seattle, the Chicago White Sox (?), and a resurgent Boston should prevail in the American.  For me, it seems that Baltimore and Toronto are the best in the American League East while Detroit should win the Central.  The AL West should go to the Los Angeles Angels...who gets the wild card spots for the playoffs is something I'm not ready to predict, for either league.  In the National League, I tend to agree with the "experts" about the divisional winners, except perhaps in the West.  There the Dodgers should face stiff competition from defending World Series champion San Francisco and a new-look San Diego.  It should be an interesting season, but I don't think I'm going to spend as much time and effort following it as I did last year...

One-and-Done Rule Unfairly Exploits Players

According to Frank Deford, the University of Kentucky men's basketball team this 2014-15 season had nine ready-to-go NBA prospects on its roster...meaning that, for all practical purposes, we've had a team in "college" basketball that should have been in a class by itself.  The NCAA rule that a player must spend at least one year in college before turning pro not only creates these artificial one-and-done teams like the Wildcats have had during the past few years, but it is grossly unfair to players whose money-earning craft in life lies not in academics, but rather in sports talent and achievement.  How much money has the University of Kentucky, greater Lexington, and the overall "UK Nation" made from these young men, who have spent their "year" working for nothing but a promise...but still subject at any moment during that span to potentially career-destroying injuries?  John Calipari, the Kentucky coach who went all out for the best players as soon as he saw the implications of the new rule, himself has stated that he opposes it, and other coaches like Mike Krzezewski of Duke have begrudgingly recruited, albeit to a lesser extent, these one-year-pro prospects right out of high school who have no intention of sticking around...

Let's face it...amateurism in sports is an antiquated joke, and the butt of it is the young athlete who aspires to fame and wealth through his or her efforts, but has to play this charade of being an "amateur" for a designated period...while the media, gambling industry, sports paraphernalia industry, and the local economy feeds and rakes in the money for themselves.  The professional leagues should follow the example of what baseball has done with their minor league system or how soccer in other countries has an infrastructure of multiple layers of leagues, allowing the aspiring athlete to develop within the sport...and get paid from the start.  As a matter of fact, you can see in many countries, most visibly Mexico, that several top-level professional soccer clubs themselves are affiliated with local colleges...

The bottom line is that, if others are making money from your efforts, following their own economic bottom line, then you should be paid as well.  And a "scholarship" means nothing if everyone knows you will leave college in only a year...

Final Four Just Started, Rooting for Underdogs Tonight

The NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, now down from 68 teams to 4, will whittle that number further to 2 after this evening's games, first between Michigan State and Duke, and then between Kentucky and Wisconsin.  My overriding wish at this stage is to see Kentucky, "my" Florida Gators' biggest basketball rival, out of it and finished with their hopes for an undefeated season.  So to this end, I want underdog Wisconsin, a team toward which I normally have no opinion, pro or con, to beat them.  As a matter of fact, should the Badgers manage this improbable feat, I'm prepared to make them a favorite team of mine out of sheer gratitude...even for the next few seasons!  But only if they beat the Wildcats.  As for the other game, Michigan State is traditionally a school I support while Duke is one that I don't...so the Spartans, likely to lose this contest, still get my nod.  So I want Wisconsin to face Michigan State for the championship game to be played Monday evening...but in all likelihood it's going to be Kentucky vs. Duke...

Just Finished Reading Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth

In 1931, writer Pearl S. Buck published The Good Earth, which I just finished reading, a story which explores the lives, beliefs, and traditions of a Chinese farmer and his family, set from the late 19th century and apparently projecting ahead beyond 1931 (which can be a bit historically problematic, as I'll explain later).  You can see in the above map of China, politically divided into its provinces, the story's locale of Anhui province highlighted in red.  And just east and slightly to the north is Jiangsu province, where protagonist Wang Lung, his wife O-Lan and their fledging family once moved to escape a famine in their homeland.  At the southwestern edge of Jiangsu lies Nanjing (back then called "Nanking", which is probably the "big city" described in the novel and takes on the meaning of the numerous references to the way things are "in the south".

The Good Earth reads like an Old Testament narrative, from Genesis, in that the language is simple and unadorned.  It depicts life from the viewpoint of Wang Lung, initially a poor Chinese farmer, as he first sets out to buy a wife (or "slave"...women in his society tend to be referred to as "slaves") from a nearby rich family's estate.  So he ends up with O-Lan, a faithful, industrious, but plain country woman who performs the functions he is primarily concerned with: she works tirelessly and bears him children...although he wants boys to further the family name, not girls, which he (as was the traditional Chinese custom back then) sees as a burden on the family, not an asset.  Buck very clearly sets out in The Good Earth to depict many of what we would now see as backward and unjust attitudes toward women in the context of how ordinary people in that culture saw things without thinking.  Wang Lung, for his part, although enmeshed in his particular culture's traditional views, is also in a sense a universal character in how he seems ashamed of his poverty...but quickly assumes an air of arrogant superiority over others once events turn in his favor and he gains wealth...

How far should I go in this review telling the story?  Well, I'm writing this not for an high school or college English class grade, where the teacher who would be reading this already knows the ending.  Instead, this article is to encourage prospective readers to pick up this good book and explore it for themselves.  So, I'll just leave the ending for those readers to discover and just bring up a couple more points...

Pearl S. Buck achieved great fame and accolades when The Good Earth came out, and she ended up winning a Pulitzer Prize for it.  She followed up on it in the following four years with two more books.  You may want to read up on her interesting life afterwards, as she was active in various causes.  I'm not sure whether I'll read the other two books, but I'm leaning in favor of it...

Another point is that, although based in historical reality, this book chronologically projects itself into a future that never existed: Japan began its brutal invasion of China by starting with Manchuria in 1931.  By 1937 they occupied both Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, the setting of The Good Earth, drastically altered the landscape, and massacred hundreds of thousands of people.  The occupation there lasted until the war ended in 1945...and then there was the Chinese civil war between the Nationalists and Communists until 1949, when the latter ultimately prevailed.  The story line seems, however (and correct me if I'm wrong), to project itself into the future when all this tumult and disaster was happening...without acknowledging any of it.  But of course, how could the author in the early 1930s know of the upheaval that lay in store for China...or for the rest of the world, for that matter...

A Little Wary About New Sufjan Stevens Album

Independent/alternative musical artist Sufjan Stevens, who made his first CD back in 1998, has a new one just released, titled Carrie and Lowell.  It is his first album since Carrie, his mother, died in 2012 and is said to be very introspective and stripped of much of the instrumentation has been typical of his music.  I'm probably going to buy it, even though I was disappointed with his previous two albums All Delighted People and The Age of Adz.  My initial interest in this highly talented and creative artist stems from three albums he made from 2003 to 2006: Greetings from Michigan, Illinoise, and The Avalanche.  I consider each of these to be a masterpiece and was amazed to hear the depth of orchestration he used in the songs.  But on the last two albums, Stevens largely replaced standard musical instruments with electronic bells and whistles, and the sound quality suffered badly as a result. I had wanted him to return to the previous albums with their beautiful instrumental virtuosity, but at least I won't be treated to another arcade-like experience...at least I'm hoping I won't...

Nationalistic Fan Misbehavior at Soccer Matches

During one of those soccer matches between national teams, a horrendous event occurred recently.  Russia was playing on the road at Montenegro (in former Yugoslavia) in one of those interminable world or continental tournaments...this one had something to do with the "national" team European championship (as opposed to the "league" team tournament).  Shortly into the match, someone from the stands fired a flare at the Russian goalkeeper and hit him, burning him.  He was taken off the field, in great pain.  The match was resumed and a little while later, another Russian player was hit with something...and the referee then wisely ended the game. This is another example of why I deplore the national team format in international sports competition: it brings out the worst in people...

Still, that doesn't preclude nationalism from creeping its ugly head even into league contests, despite the fact that league teams, especially those at the top of competitive standards, tend to recruit their players from all over the world. The other day I sat down to watch a Major League Soccer match between the Salt Lake City and Toronto teams, held in the town of Sandy, Utah.   Before the match, as is customary, both Canada's and the United States national anthems were played.  While Canada's was going on, the stadium continued to be very noisy, with the fans seeming to ignore our northern friend's anthem.  But when the Star-Spangled Banner was played, respectful silence, only interrupted by some loud, enthusiastic cheers, took over the stadium.  I found this behavior, albeit obviously not on the same level as hurling flares and objects at the opposing team, to still be highly jingoistic and disrespectful.  Sure, be a true-blue American and honor your own national song, but also as a host show courtesy to the other side as well...

My March 2015 Running Report

In March, I ran a total of 322 miles, spreading my mileage out over each day with few long individual runs.  My longest distance for a single run in the month was only 6.3 miles...I ran 6.2 when I finished the difficult Tioga Run for Haven 10K on March 14 on an unseasonably hot and muggy Saturday afternoon.  I found running not as enjoyable as usual for most of the month, and my right foot began aching toward the end.  But taking a couple of days off from running, stretching before runs and running only with my thick-soled shoes seem to have alleviated the problem.  As it was, those two days were the only ones in March in which I didn't run.

I'm not sure which direction I'm going with my running.  We are entering the "hot" season here in northern Florida and the long-distance races that I am more inclined to enter are pretty much gone until well into the fall season.  But I can still continue my "one race a month" string by running in local 5K events, of which there seem to be a preponderance around Gainesville year-round.  Melissa likes to walk in them, so we can find one this month to our liking and do a run/walk together.  As for how many miles I want to tally up running, I may consider doing less...

Sad to See Congress Polarized Against Country's Greater Interests

I have been watching the United States Senate floor proceedings off and on for the last few weeks on C-Span2, which on my Gainesville cable TV lineup is on channel 81.  As you may already know, after last November's elections, the Republican Party regained majority operational control of this body and now holds a 54-46 advantage over the Democrats.  This puts them in line with the House of Representatives, which has been with a GOP majority since 2011 and places Congress as a whole in opposition to President Obama.  They can pass bill after bill that they want, but if it's something that the President opposes, he'll most likely veto it...and it's highly improbable that either the House or Senate will be able to muster the two thirds super-majority to override...so what we have here is a stalemate if either side decides to take a strictly ideological stance.  Unfortunately, that seems to be what the Rebublicans have done, first by inserting (and later withdrawing under pressure) provisions overturning Obama's recent executive action concerning illegal immigration within a crucial Homeland Security funding bill...and most recently putting anti-abortion language into a human trafficking bill, language that the Democrats would very predictably oppose.   Now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he will retaliate for the Democrats holding up that bill by refusing to bring to the floor the nomination of Loretta Lynch as Obama's choice for Attorney General to replace outgoing  Eric Holder...despite the fact that Lynch seems to have the votes for confirmation and is more highly regarded by the political right than is Holder.  The atmosphere in both bodies is becoming more heated and contentious, with each side drawing their own lines in the sand and refusing to step across.  It's more than a little disheartening to me when I see grown adults, who supposedly represent the highest elements of our society as they have been democratically elected to represent us in a constructive and mature manner, behave this childishly when they are in a position of such responsibility and authority to work together for the greater good...

Just Finished Reading Susan Hill's The Man in the Picture

If you've ever read anything by H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe and enjoy that genre of fiction, you might just want to get a copy of Susan Hill's 2007 short novel The Man in the Picture.  Simply described as "a ghost story", this engrossing tale traces the history of a mysterious, sinister painting of a Venetian carnival scene as it passes from one owner to the next.  The chief setting is Cambridge University in England, where Oliver, the primary narrator and an alumnus from years gone by, pays a social visit to Theo, his old professor, by now into his seventies and who has lived on campus for decades...and currently possesses the art work.  This picture has the quality of riveting observers' attention and creating the impression that different people depicted in it are looking back out at them in a calling, beseeching sort of way...as well as changing from one viewing to the next.  There is a background story to this painting, told first to Oliver by Theo and and then, as Theo relates, to himself years earlier by a former owner in her nineties, named Lady Hawdon.  As each account unravels, the forboding feeling of the story intensifies...and the ending is not a letdown in this regard..

The Man in the Picture is only 145 pages long, a very quick read.  I just happened to be browsing the bookshelves at my local (Millhopper) branch of the Alachua County Library, caught sight of it and checked it out...maybe it was "calling out" to me!  Sometimes you can strike gold perusing the shelves this way...it seems to have worked this time!  I recommend it if you're someone who's into that gothic horror/Night Gallery kind of storytelling...

NCAA Men's Basketball This Weekend: To the Final Four

Now the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is temporarily down to eight teams, and that number after tomorrow night will be four.  Today, Wisconsin plays Arizona and Notre Dame plays Kentucky.  Tomorrow, Louisville faces Michigan State and Duke battles Gonzaga.  Of these teams, my top two favorites are Louisville and Michigan State (in that order)...naturally, they have to play each other, dang-it.  Still, should the Fighting Irish knock off my Florida Gators' nemesis, the UK Wildcats, I'll be rooting for them to win it all, just out of gratitude...I've been pulling for the New York Giants, for a similar reason, since 2008 when they ruined New England's quest for a perfect season with their last-minute Super Bowl victory.  Notre Dame has been a giant-killer before: they ended UCLA record 88-game winning streak in the early 1970s...let's see if they can do it again!  As for the other games, I'd like Arizona (another Wildcats team) to win, but it won't hurt my feelings if  the Badgers prevail as long as they put up a good fight against Kentucky should the opportunity present itself.  And Duke vs. Gonzaga...when I see such good teams playing down to the Final Four, I think to myself that Kentucky has some pretty high hurdles yet to clear before it can finally lay claim to its "perfect" season...

Today's two games are broadcast, starting at 6 this evening, on TBS.  Tomorrow's will begin around 2 in the afternoon and are on CBS.  Should be quite entertaining...

Just Finished Reading Daniel Abraham's The Widow's House

I have finally caught up with fantasy writer Daniel Abraham's progress in his presumably five-part series The Dagger and the Coin after just finishing the fourth book, titled The Widow's House.  I say "presumably" because series authors' best intentions regarding that "final" book can often unexpectedly change...not to mention the temptation to write prequels or even begin a "new" series based on characters and/or events from the original.  Still, I'm looking ahead for the fifth installment, due to be released in August this year, to also be the last.  And I also plan to promptly get a copy and read it, because to me this has been one of the best fantasy genre series I've read so far...

Daniel Abraham has left, after The Widow's House, a core of interesting characters who share of web of experiences and relationships and slip in and out of alliances and conflict.  The main thread in the story deals with the threat caused to the world (Abraham's imaginary one, that is) by a continually war-mongering "tainted" people...tainted by little spiders in their bloodstream (how utterly gross).  The source of this contamination is from an ancient, apparently long-dead dragon named Morade (you see, dragons used to rule this world thousand of years earlier, with humanity serving as their slaves).  Morade did this to create a weapon in a war he was involved with against another dragon, named Inys.  What happened to Inys is something that I would prefer any prospective readers to find out for themselves, as I am not in the habit of giving away stories.  Suffice to say that the series title refers to how history can be influenced by both the dagger (representing armed warfare) and the coin  (representing banking and commerce)...and that either aspect can be ignored only at one's peril.  Another interesting feature of this series, to me, is the presence of the wild-card character of Geder Palliako, whose ultimate role in the story's final resolution is a profound mystery...I'm thinking that, although he has allied himself with the villains for most of the series, he will play a crucial part at the end contributing to their downfall.  Should be interesting to see whether I'm right...

Interesting Four Games This Evening in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Tonight's four games in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament should be interesting.  Were I not at work, I'd most likely be watching them (they'll be on CBS and TBS).  North Carolina vs. Wisconsin, Xavier vs. Arizona, Wichita State vs. Notre Dame, and West Virginia vs. Kentucky all are worth watching, and anybody can win...despite some who predict that Kentucky will easily glide on to a perfect 40-0 championship season.  My preferences in these games are for North Carolina, Arizona, Wichita State, and West Virginia, but should Wisconsin, Notre Dame, or Xavier prevail in their contests and end up being the team that finally beats Kentucky...well, they'll suddenly become one of my favorite teams, too!

Mexican Soccer Premier League's Relegation System Questionable

In professional league soccer, during the regular season, standings are determined by the point system.  If your team wins a game, they get 3 points, lose and they get 0 points.  If a draw occurs, then each team gets 1 point added to their total.  In most leagues around the world, if there are one or more lower-level leagues around in a country, they have a process called "promotion and relegation" that rewards the lower league champions and punishes poor performance in the upper league.  In it, the worst-performing team(s) from the higher league in a particular season is/are demoted (or regulated), while an equal number of outstanding teams from the lower league get promoted. So in English soccer, we have three teams, Burnley, Queens Park Rangers, and Leicester City, who are at the bottom of their 20-team Premier League standings as the current 2014-15 season is winding down.  If nothing changes in the standings, they will be relegated for next year to the second-tier Championship League, while the top three teams in that league will get a shot at the Premier League.  I like the relegation system as it makes the late-season games more meaningful and that teams which aren't doing well can't just write off the season and expect to be rewarded with high draft picks, as is the case in many American professional sports leagues.  Unfortunately, in America, there is no relegation system as of yet in professional soccer, although there are three tiers of leagues here.  In Mexico, there is relegation, but the system seems confusing and unfair to me...

The top-tier Mexico pro soccer league is called Liga MX, with 18 teams in it.  They annually promote into it the winner of the second-tier league Ascenso's championship from the previous year and send back, through relegation, their own most poorly-performing team.  But in the Liga MX, relegation is determined by going back from three entire years of a team's performance and calculating the average points per game it has.  If a team has been in the league less than that time, like the newly promoted Universidad de Guadalajara Leones Negros, only the time they've been in the Liga MX is counted.  So a team like Morelia, which did well three years ago and tabulated a lot of points back then, but is by far the worst team in the league this year, hopelessly rock-bottom in the standings, is safe from relegation because its three-year average is higher than others.  Puebla and the Leones Negros, on the other hand, are doing reasonably well this year, far from the worst in the league...yet it is they who are battling each other to avoid demotion.  Puebla is actually the last in the relegation table right now, meaning that were the season to end today, they would be relegated down to Ascenso.  But at the same time, they are also in position to qualify for the league championship playoffs for the winter/spring Clausura season...and could conceivably win the Liga MX championship for the 2014-15 season while at the same time be demoted to the next lower league!  Now there is something  awfully, awfully wrong with such a system...

Foot Strain Necessitates Break from Running

For the past few days, my right foot has felt a little tight and twisted, and a little swelling may have been going on there due to a strain.  In any event, I've indefinitely put off my running, starting yesterday, until it feels better...and then I can gradually build my mileage back up again.  In times like this, the wisdom of cross-training comes to the surface of my thinking, and while I am recovering I'm going out on some short bicycling excursions.  The main thing is to stay in as high a state of conditioning as possible while resting my foot from the high-impact running.  It's been a while since I rode my bicycle, which I deliberately bought cheap, as usual, for around ninety bucks at Wal-Mart (or was it Target) a few years ago.  I had to re-inflate the tires, lubricate it a little, and wipe off the acculumated grime.  But it's sitting out there, locked to my gate (we've had two bicycles stolen off of our property since living here), and waiting for a little ride around the neighborhood.  I'm also thinking of re-incorporating the elliptical machine (which is available at my local 24-hour gym), into my regular exercise routine, along with a light daily no-impact session designed to stretch my body and exercise most of my body's muscles, all of which need activity to avoid deterioration over time and to help prevent damage to joints and soft tissue in the long run.  There was a promotional show on PBS-TV the other day featuring a woman who sells DVDs in which she leads exactly this kind of workout: I think I'll check into it and get a copy...

...Well, I just finished a 6.3 mile ride around my neighborhood on my old ramshackle bicycle...a nice little workout on a lazy Sunday afternoon...