Jay-Dubya

In the biggest news of the day, Barb and I finally agreed on a name for our boy in the womb. We really wanted to honor my father by naming the boy after him. With Herman as his middle name, we decided to opt instead for John, his first name. The boy will thank us later for that one, I am sure. I was also keen to honor Barb's father as well by giving the boy Arthur as a middle name. Arthur is Barb's dad's first name. But Barb was really solid that she wanted the baby to have part of my name as well, so we decided on my middle name, William. So when our little guy is born he will be christened John William Schmaltz. It's kinda cool in that one of the best guys I have ever known is a former coworker named John Williams. So in a small way it pays respect to him as well. And perhaps most important, John Williams is also the name of the Academy Award winning writer of the music for Jaws. In fact, if I can convince Barb to throw Arthur in as the first middle name and William as the second, his initials would be JAWS. I'll have to get cracking on that. But we did manage to cover a lot of bases with John William!

Barb went to the doctor today and she is doing okay. She still has her back pain and often suffers from severe heartburn. She is still not getting much sleep at all. I honestly don't know how she does it. But she's hanging in there and so is Jay-Dubya. We hope he decides to stay put in the oven until he's completely baked.

I love you, Barb. You're doing an amazing job.

Washed away

As anticipated, the Cardinals' opener today was rained out, but not before they had staked themselves to a 5-1 lead. Also lost in the downpour was an Albert Pujols homer, a 2-run double by Rick Ankiel and a superb catch in left field by Skip Schumaker. Adam Wainright was shaky but effective in his 3 innings of work. The Cards jumped all over Rockies southpaw Jeff Francis, who has given them fits in the past. So it's a bummer that what seemed like a promising start to the season was lost down the drain. Still, maybe the Cards got a little momentum going today and hopefully that will carry over into tomorrow night's makeup game in the evening. That is, of course, if it's not rained out as well. It looks like a long, wet week in St. Louis.

I picked up Hot Shots Golf: Out Of Bounds for the PS3 today. I only got in 9 holes before I had to go to work, but so far it seems just like the older games in the series, but with unbelievably good graphics. The character models are fantastic. I'll post some impressions about the game after I put in some more time with it.

2008 Cardinals baseball

Well, the opener for the Redbirds it today and I find myself pretty excited about baseball beginning again, even though I expect this to be a pretty awful year for the Cards. The Cardinals didn't do much in the offseason other than get rid of a couple of high priced veterans in Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. They did add Troy Glaus to take Rolen's place over at 3rd base, but the market was terrible this year for free agent pitching, so once again the Cards go into a season with huge question marks on the mound. Also gone from the team is SS David Eckstein, the 2006 World Series MVP. In his place is the anemic bat of Caesar Izturis, one of the worst offensive starting players in baseball. His partner at 2nd base is Adam Kennedy, whose fielding and batting were woeful last year. The outfield is going to have to rely on unproven players as well with Rick Ankiel getting his first full season in the bigs and Brian Barton and Ryan Ludwick expected to get major playing time.

I'm not sure why Tony LaRussa decided to come back this season to be honest. The club is obviously rebuilding and a lot of young players are going to have to play big roles. LaRussa has always favored the veterans, so it's not a natural fit. I see bad year ahead for the Redbirds. I am predicting a 90 loss season, and if that's the case it's going to be a l-o-n-g summer.

The weather is not supposed to cooperate today. Right now it is very overcast and windy beyond belief. The chance of rain is very strong, as it is for the next few days. Let's hope the field doesn't get too bad and that the Cardinals and the Rockies come out of this series healthy.

Come on, Cards. Make me look like a fool with my prediction. That usually isn't such a hard task.

Wrapping up Bully

I finished the main story line in Bully tonight. Great game, great story, great experience. It lasted me quite a long while and I never lost interest. I still have a few things to wrap up: some more of the missions, jobs, finding hidden items, etc. I am going to try to do everything so I'll still be playing it for a while. I also have my career(s) in The Show still going, so I'll be playing that for a while as well.

This may be the week I break down and get Hot Shots Golf for the PS3. I'm hearing good things about it and I love the series as a whole. Definitely something to look forward to.

Mixed signals from Rams' headquarters

Jim Thomas, Rams beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, supposedly said in an interview on Friday that the Rams are considering 3 players very strongly with their #2 overall pick. According to what was said in the interview (which I did not hear but read a report about) head coach Scott Linehan favors Virginia defensive end Chris Long, new offensive coordinator Al Saunders wants Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett would like LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. There have been a few hints that the Rams were very pleased with Dorsey's recent workout and are pretty much convinced his past injuries (including a stress fracture in one of his legs) will not effect his performance or become chronic problems. If healthy, Dorsey is probably the best overall player in the draft. And while the Rams desperately need a pass rushing defensive end, a healthy Dorsey may just be too good to pass up. Again, until the Dolphins pick is known everything is just speculation. But that's what makes the draft so interesting to me.

The Great Novels, vol. 1: Lonesome Dove

I am an avid reader. But I am also a re-reader. I have gone back to my favorite books many, many times and I always get a kick out of them. It's like reuniting with an old familiar friend. A great book can give you such a thrill when you read it for the first time. But the really great ones on repeated readings give you chills at how good they are even though there are no surprises waiting for you. Often this is because of wonderful, fully drawn characters. And that brings us to Lonesome Dove.

The first thing I tell people when I recommend Lonesome Dove is that I don't really care for Westerns very much. In fact, until I read Lonesome Dove, I would say that I didn't care for them at all. Aside from the occasional Western movie that held my interest, I never found them compelling or found the settings of Westerns very interesting. Often times, it seemed like a Western was just a story that could have been told in any setting. After all, The Magnificent Seven is just an inferior remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and that story is much more compelling given the Japanese setting and the code of the Samurai. Enter Larry McMurtry and his wonderful story, which was originally written as a teleplay. That it ultimately became a much-loved television miniseries after he decided to turn the teleplay into a novel is one of those great ironies. McMurty actually won the Pulitzer Prize for Lonesome Dove, and brother did he earn it.

The basic story is a simple one. Augustus "Gus" McCrae and Captain Woodrow Call are former Texas Rangers, past their prime and making a hard, honest living as cattlemen in Texas near the Mexican border. Gus is about as lazy as they come, but he has an easy manner about him that makes him instantly likable. While Gus spend his days drinking, gambling and whoring, Call is a tireless worker (and taskmaster), a no-nonsense fellow that demands respect from friend and foe alike. When their old Ranger buddy Jake Spoon rides into town and starts talking about the beautiful state of Montana, Gus and Call decide to pack up and drive their herd there. Gus is less than enthusiastic, but Call is not one easily swayed and before you know it, they are on their way.

The amazing thing about Lonesome Dove is the sheer number of characters, all of which are memorable. While Gus and Call are the main story, the novel follows other people as well, giving them tremendous lives and stories of their own. This is truly an ensemble piece. When the story heads off in the direction of another character, you find yourself wishing it would stay with the character you just read about. Yet when the story shifts again, you wish it would stay on the new character you just met. It's really something to behold and it speaks volumes about McMurtry's ability to create such vivid characters. Also of note is that there are very few inner dialogues that take place. Each character is defined by their words and their actions, not by long interludes of what is going through their mind. You become amazed at how well you get to know these people. When tragedies occur (and believe me, they do) you feel a real sense of loss. You realize that the west was a brutal place that took no sides; both good and bad suffered and often died as a matter of routine. McMurtry takes that western setting and make it come alive.

While every single story in Lonesome Dove is absorbing, I have a special place in my heart for Gus McRae. He's a man's man, who lives by a very real code all his own. He does things that will baffle you, infuriate you and amaze you. In all my years of reading, Gus McRae is my favorite fictional character. He's simply unforgettable.

So don't be scared if Westerns are not your thing. They're not really mine, either, or at least I sure thought that before I read Lonesome Dove. If you love epic storytelling and thoroughly memorable characters, saddle up and head to the library or local bookstore. Pick up Lonesome Dove and get ready for a remarkable read.

P.S. - Lonesome Dove spawned a sequel and two prequels. The sequel, Streets Of Laredo, is a solid, melancholy story that picks up a while after the events of Lonesome Dove. I'd give it a solid B as a grade. The first prequel, Dead Man's Walk, tells the story of how Gus and Call ended up in the Rangers and made enemies of the great Indian Buffalo Hump. Sadly, this book does not deliver what you would expect from McMurtry. The Gus and Call characters are basically oafs who rely on good fortune to stay alive. I'd score it a C-. The second sequel, Comanche Moon, picks up after the events of Dead Man's Walk and before Lonesome Dove. It finds McMurtry back in fine form. It's good enough to stand on it's own as an excellent tale. I give it an A-. Lonesome Dove is probably my favorite book, and I consider it to be the best novel I have read. It rates an A+.

Life, etc.

In other news, my wife's pregnancy continues to be difficult. She has had back problems from day 1 and has been getting very little sleep the last couple of months. I worry that this is harmful to her health, not to mention the baby's. She is very limited on what she can take for either the pain or to help her sleep. As of today we still have 89 days to go. I hope she can manage to hang on until then without too much harm to her & baby's health (and our collective sanity).

Another difficult situation looms as well. We had our basement finished about a year and a half ago. Our 2 cats have started using the carpeted areas near the walls instead of their litter box. We love the cats to death, but if they don't stop we may have to get rid of them. We have tried all sorts of remedies to clean the carpet and get the cats to stop urinating there, but to no avail. My wife has consulted the vet as well as more than a few pet shop employees and we have tried their recommendations. So far we have had no luck. Some of them have told us that once they start, it is very difficult to get them to stop. We had the carpet steam cleaned and Scotch Guarded today and the cats are going to be locked in their litter area overnight. But if they start peeing on the carpet again, we are facing a tough decision on what to do with them. Huge bummer.