• Dave Barry to take “an indefinite leave of absence” from his Miami Herald column. Recommends people read The Onion in the interim.
• A Powell’s Ink Q & A with Jonathan Lethem, who waxes ultra-cerebral about basesball. “The statistical dramas [of baseball] are enacted in a realm somewhere between life and art, with the narrative pleasure of the latter and the homely and unpredictable texture of the former. Baseball is a realm of symbolic struggle so much more honest and absorbing than the rest of the newspaper, where politicians and pundits and critics struggle to blunt the nuances of everyday reality and the striving of human beings to express themselves and be free into a debased symbolic form (“good v. evil”; “realism v. the fantastic”) that resembles sports.”
I’m guessing that all sounded better in his head.
• Beatrice provides an excellent report of a rare U.S. reading by Nobel-winning novelist Imre Kertész.
• Sarah Weinman has the giddy pleasure of interviewing Alexander McCall Smith.
OK. It’s the 9th. Sox are up 9-3, according to the New York Times update page (we don’t get the channel with the game). I keep clicking Refresh to see if the score has changed which is a horrible way to “watch” baseball. This honest and absorbing struggle is killing me. Ooh, 10-3.
I haven’t commented on the series before as I have a history of raining down bad luck on my favorite teams (c.f. Game Six, 2002 World Series, Giants v. Angels — sorry, Dusty!). But go S-O-X!
That was the most freaking cool, most unbelievably nervewracking baseball game in years.
Comment by Sarah — 10/21/2004 @ 12:39 am
They did it!! I am STILL in shock. We woke up this morning and I asked my husband, was it all just a dream . .. ?
Comment by bluepoppy — 10/21/2004 @ 8:20 am
http://www.mlb.com has a real-time game simulator-thingee, if you can’t get the World Series on TV.
Comment by Scott — 10/21/2004 @ 1:28 pm
I’m sorry, but I find Jonathan Lethem pronouncements to be about as much fun as a canker sore.
Comment by Jimmy Beck — 10/21/2004 @ 4:35 pm
What I can’t believe is how many Red Sox fans seem to be crawling out of the closets. Amazin’. And to think that people are missing a damn fine series in the real league, hopefully one that will produce the ultimate World Champs, though it seems that folks think that prize has already been awarded.
Sorry, I’m just a bitter Braves fan.
Comment by Jeff — 10/21/2004 @ 11:03 pm
Man, that was a great game. And thanks, Scott, for suggesting a better way to catch the Series. My Click-Refresh way was maddening; when NY went up two runs in the seven inning, refleced in a click from 8-1 to 8-3 I nearly had a heart attack.
Jimmy, I like Lethem, generally, but yeah, this interview struck me as some overwriting.
Jeff, I understand the bitterness. But it’s my identity as a Braves fan that fuels my post-season love for other teams. I have to go somewhere with my love, and I usually go to the underdog. (By the way, I hope you noticed that I didn’t comment and even tried *not to pay attention* so as not to jinx them, the Braves, this year. But alas, I got interested despite myself and they lost.)
Comment by CAAF — 10/22/2004 @ 7:57 am