Matthew

I actually liked the last volume Hearing Secret Harmonies very much, thought it ended the series on a somber, but real note. To my reading, Temporary Kings (volume 11) is a total shambles, advanced nothing in the various story-lines. I'll be interested to see if I'm of the same opinion this time through.

Joe West? Amazing, you know an umpire is bad when players call out West, by name -- no anonymous player quotes, players willing to be named. It's a short list of umpires who are that bad, the only others I can think of are Hernandez, Eric Gregg and Dave Palone.

Joe McPhee: As Serious As Your Life

A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell. Heaven help me, but I've started my fourth go-round on Powell's A Dance To The Music Of Time. It takes a long while to read everything, but at the end, it's always worth it. This is volume one, where a number of important players are introduced, sort of the beginning of a spiders web, where the interlocking of lives develop. Also making my way, intermittently, through Ian Ker's biography of John Henry Cardinal Newman (my second time), who still strikes me as an unsympathetic character for some reason.

I assumed David was joking... the only umpire I could think of that could be worse that even Leslie Nelson was Cowboy Joe West, truly the equal of Hernandez in all ways..

No way! Hernandez's replacement is even worse... Joe West!

I try to make life easy on myself, my internet law is: If I don't like it, I move on. I mean, one click, and I can see something else.

William Parker: Painter's Spring.

Herbie Hancock: Crossings

Herbie Hancock: Thrust

Herbie Hancock: Man-Child

Herbie Hancock: Sextant

Les McCann: Invitation To Openness

Eddie Fisher & The Next One Hundred Years