Brad

Not a good night for me. Went to about 11 but woke up at 1. Had a "discussion" with my son and couldn't fall asleep after that until 3. Then he woke me up at 430 -- great! Managed to fall asleep after that though. Not a good night for me. Went to about 11 but woke up at 1. Had a "discussion" with my son and couldn't fall asleep after that until 3. Then he woke me up at 430 -- great! Managed to fall asleep after that though.

This is funny considering how they've been pounding it lately.

I think Bayern will flourish under him, not that they've done badly under Guardiola. They just couldn't win the Champions League. The final will be tough. Athletico always finds a way to beat RM.

Just finished this. It's a superb book, a memoir by a young American, Eleanor Perenyi, in the 1930s who falls in love with a poor Hungarian Baron and they move to the old family estate in what is now, as a result of the break up of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia. She settles into a rural life and her description of the people and the surrounding Ruthenian region are wonderful; you feel you're sharing it with her. Eventually that life is shattered by WW II and she has to leave, never to return to Hungary. Another winner from NYRB Classics.

After not having it for awhile, insomnia seems to be back. Getting some sleep but not enough. May try some Melatonin tonight.

Matz got lit up like a Christmas tree last night. Offense is worst in majors. Team needs to wake up.

Lil Darling on Wes Montgomery's One Night in Indy CD. A fantastic interpretation.

Mets hitting woes have carried over from spring training.

Currently out of stock.

The Disques Vogue box is tremendous. Can't believe someone hasn't taken it at that price.

He received the gold glove last year as a left fielder. However, the plan is to play him in CF because Conforto can't play CF and Granderson is in RF. Yes, this team won't be strong defensively and there will be some lapses in the outfield.

Yeah, he dropped one but he will win more than he loses and he's not the sole reason they lost the game. Harvey wasn't tremendously effective. Anyway, Syndergaard and the pen took care of business today.

Your body is trying to play catch up but the experts say you really can't catch up.

Season starts on Sunday for Mets. Their record for spring training was abysmal, losing 13 in a row. On Sunday it's into the fire as they play the Royals. Expectations are high so if they start slowly, the pressure will mount.

Queen Victoria's Little Wars is also a good read.

I ordered it from CD Universe but it's out of stock right now

I was looking at a site this morning and said the store might be closed for Easter Monday. Is that something new. Never heard of that before.

How about the ones you know you own but can't find them anymore. Happened to me a with a couple of CDs. Very annoyining!

Can't wait.

From today's New York Times: George Martin and the Beatles: A Producer's Impact in Five Songs

NYRB Classics has a book club. Every month they send you a book they're publishing that month. This way I read books I might not have otherwise read.

Lon, think you'll enjoy it. The book has a nice little introduction by Barry Gifford who, over the years, tried to get it re-published. He said that Chaze wrote many novels but this and Tiger in the Honeysuckle (a novel about racism) were the only ones worth publishing. He said there were hopes that the book might be made into a movie; Giffords worked on the screenplay. There is some great writing in this book. A shame to finish it.

This is one of those underappreciated works that NYRB Classics has a knack for bringing out of obscurity. According to the back cover, Gold Medal Books — known for their original crime fiction paperbacks with memorably lurid covers -- introduced authors like Jim Thompson, Chester Himes, and David Goodis to a mass readership eager for stories of lowlife and sordid crime. Today many of these writers are admired members of the literary canon, but one of the finest of them of all, Elliott Chaze, remains unjustly obscure. The story is two star crossed lovers who have plans to make a big score, with a lot of twists and turns. The writing is simple but with a lot of great ideas. Some of the dialogue seems as if it could come out of the mouth of Bogart. He would have been perfect for this book. A very enjoyable read.

Is that a gym? Not actually the train yard, is it?

Time to start playing. Mets kick off their spring opener tomorrow against a familiar foe, Neal's Nationals.