Blathering Infrequently

I haven't blogged much in the past couple of weeks. The fact is that other than the situation with my brother, it doesn't seem like there's much interesting going on these days. So I'll just put together a couple of random observations and call it a post.

First, an update on my brother. As previously noted, he was moved to a long-term care facility in Denver last Wednesday. He's showing slow but apparently steady progress. He was awake and aware the last tome Mom & Dad went to see him. He recognizes them and follows their movements. He can't talk (in large part due to his broken hard palate), but he mouths words. And he seems to understand what people are saying to him. When the parents told him they were leaving at the end of their last visit, he took hold of Mom's hand and was pretty insistent about holding on. He's not ambulatory at the moment; they have him on a 'no out of bed' order due to agitation (not uncommon for people coming out of a coma, apparently). The whole process has been pretty hard on his wife, since she now has to drive an hour to see him. How long all of this will last, I don't know. It'll take as long as it takes, I suppose. We'll just keep praying for him and for all the rest of the family. We're all in this together.

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We don't watch a lot of TV at my house, except for TV shows on DVD. Since we got married, we've watched all five seasons of Babylon 5, all of Firefly (and the 'series finale', Serenity), seasons 1-8 of Stargate SG-1, the first four seasons of Scrubs. We're in the middle of season 9 of Friends. And our most recent TV adventure, thanks to my Mother-in-law, is Wings. We love it. I'd forgotten how funny it was/is.

I've no idea what we're going to watch after this. Maybe Farscape, maybe something else. Recommendations, anyone?

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While we don't watch a lot of TV, I listen to the radio quite a bit. Usually I listen to the local news station (except from 1:00-4:00 p.m., when Sean "Hang up on callers I don't agree with" Hannity is on) or the classic rock station. But on Saturday mornings at 11:00, I tune to the local NPR station to listen to Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, billed as "NPR's weekly current events quiz". For the unfamiliar, it's part weekly news show, part variety show, and part celebrity quiz show. Host Peter Sagal asks three celebrity panelists (last week's were Tom Bodett, Paula Poundstone, and Mo Rocca) questions about the past week's news. They have other segments like 'Bluff the Listener' and 'Who's Carl This Time' (read by scorekeeper Carl Kasell), and 'Not My Job', where they bring on a guest and ask him/her questions about things they know nothing about. Last week's episode aired from Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City, and the 'Not My Job' guest was Donny Osmond. Most guests get three questions about one topic; Donny had three topics: Dentures, Hangover Cures, and Being An Only Child. He got two of the three questions right, which brought on a little ribbing from Paula and Mo. It was really funny, and Donny was a great sport about everything. You can download the podcast or listen to audio clips at the web site, if you're interested.

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While waiting for "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" to start, I often catch the end of Car Talk. I'll often tune in for the last 5 minutes or so, mostly to catch the closing 'credits'. I've known for a long time, for example that the show was sponsored by the law firm of Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe (sound it out....). But I've never really been able to pick up a lot of the other credits, except for the occasional thing like "Russian Chauffeur: Picov Andropov". I'd always wondered if there were a list of these credit on the Web somewhere.

Well, the other day, I found it. Here are a few of my favorites:

Assertiveness Training Coach: Lois Steem
Assistant Director of Strategic Planning: Kent C. Detrees
Back Seat Driver: Veronica Lizzioncourse
Biblical Scholar: Vera Lee Isay
Breathalyzer Administrator: Eureka Garlic
Business Forecaster: Luigi Bord
Car Stereo Installer: Carlos Antenna
Car Talk Ice Rink Manager: Sam Boney
Chairman, Underemployment Study Group: Art Majors
Co-Chairmen of Apathy Study Group: Ben Thayer, Don Thatt
Computer Hardware Specialist: C. Colin Backslash
Conservative Political Commentator: Eileen Tudor-Wright
Director of Alpine Choir: O. Leo Lahey
Director of Delicate Electronics Repair: Anita Hammer
Director of Ethics & Honesty: U. Lyon Sack
Director of Pavlovian Research: Isabelle Ringing
Employee Refrigerator Monitor: Carmen Dating
Fact Checker: Ella Fynoe
Fact Checker, Mexico City Office: C.S. Verdad
Father-in-Law Liason: Royal Payne Diaz
Footwear Consultant: Susan Shocks
Graduation Coordinators: Val and Dick Torian
Guest Accommodations: The Horseshoe Road Inn
Head of Working Mother Support Group: Erasmus B. Dragon
Leo Tolstoy biographer: Warren Peace
Liaison to the British Isles: Isaiah Oldchap
Liaison to the Space Program: Roger Houston
Loan Officer: I.O. Silver
Mother-in-Law Liason: Stella Payne Diaz
Official Spokespersons: Howie Vasive, Lou Scannon
Pension Fund Manager: Dot Comstock
Personal Makeup Artist: Bud Tuggli
Ralph Kramden Impersonator: Mohammed Ahamana Hamana
Regional Director, Atlanta: Frank Lee Scarlett
Physics Graduate Student: Laura Vernersha
Russian Vacation Specialist: Ivana Veekoff
Safari Planner: Sarah Anne Getty
Senior Citizen Driving Instructor: Tonya Blinkeroff
Special Liaision to the California Energy Commission: Tanya Lightov
Speechwriter: Audrey Marx
Staff Cardiologist: Angie O'Plasty
Suppliers of Insurance to Dewey, Cheetham and Howe: C.F.I. Care
Tax Consultant: Lou Pole
Teenage Daughter: Sasha Royal Payne Diaz
Two Year Old: Ariel Payne Diaz
Wardrobe Assistant: Joaquin Closet

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The Colorado Rockies baseball team is playing well. Very well, in fact. This is news; the Rocks don't usually start playing well until it's too late in the season to matter (if then). They have the best record in the major leagues over the last 30 days (19-7), they've won six straight series and are 8-0-1 in their last nine series. It's the best run the club has had in its 15-year history. In the past eight days, they've beaten Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, James Shields (who took his first loss of the season that night), Mike Mussina, and Andy Pettitte. They've won series on the road against Arizona, San Francisco (a three-game sweep), Boston, and Baltimore. They're three games over .500 at 37-34. They're on fire.

They're currently in fourth place in the National League's Western division and tied for sixth overall in the league. They're four games out of a playoff spot and four and a half out of first place. Halfway into the season, they're starting to look like a playoff contender.

Yeah, I know. A great record in June means nothing. But you can't help but feel a little hopeful if you're a Rockies fan. By this point in the season, they're usually at least ten games out and well under .500.

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I could write more about Champions, the upcoming Rush concert, the Salt Lake Arts Festival, or last night's irritating bout with insomnia, but I'm tired. I'll write more later.