[From Paris, France…oui oui!]
Baseball Quiz: 1) Name the two players, both in the American League, who hold the record for most seasons, one team, at 23. [Both modern day.] Answer below.
A Little Politics…and other stuff
As I learned again on Sunday in Paris, life is funny. In the morning I walked to Notre Dame Cathedral, about 30 minutes from my hotel, and it was perfect spring weather. I’m Catholic, though not a good one these days, but was determined to attend Mass and attempt to atone for my estimated 6,987 sins…and that’s just from 2007-2011.
While I was aware this Sunday was the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, I naively didn’t realize it would be celebrated in such high fashion here. I will not comment on JP II and the process, just understand that when you walked into Notre Dame there was a great banner and picture of him over the altar.
I’ve been to Notre Dame a number of times but can’t remember attending Mass and let’s just say the organ music is spectacularly beautiful…also haunting. In other words, way cool. I kept glancing up to see if I could spot the Hunchback, but he was well hidden it seems.
So after Mass my plan was to walk another 40 minutes or so to the Grande Galerie de L’Evolution (the Natural History Museum that I’ve never been to before but is supposed to be spectacular). It’s in the Jardin des Plantes, which I’d also never spent time in.
Guess what? There are lots of plants in the Jardin des Plantes! Funny how that works. It’s quite beautiful, of course. The whole city is beautiful. It’s the suburbs that are Hades, but I digress.
So after walking the long length of the gardens to the museum, I found something distressing. It was closed. Merde! I knew a few museums were closed for May Day, even though normally open on Sundays, but thought this one was open.
Ah, what the heck. Merde happens. So I hopped in a cab and thought I’d run back to the hotel and start my day all over again as I had a lot of different maps I needed to get to.
Alas, the cabbie gets me to near my hotel but can’t go any further because the street is blocked due to a demonstration…it being May Day and all.
Things seemed festive, though, as I got closer. The crowd was big, there were lots of French flags, and everyone was well behaved.
Then in the distance I noticed a stage and lots of what seemed like campaign workers, and it’s then I saw a flag, “Front National,” or National Front…as in the far-right nationalist party of Jean-Marie Le Pen, a legend in these parts. A most despicable sort, but a legend nonetheless.
You see, sports fans, I have written in “Week in Review” of his daughter, Marine, who has taken over for her elderly father and she is going to have a huge impact on France’s presidential election next year because she is presenting a gentler face on the politics of Jean-Marie (which are virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim…big time anti-immigrant, period).
This is exactly why I came to Paris…to learn more about the immigrant situation…and here I stumbled onto what I would call an historic event. “Is Marine going to speak?” I asked a local. “Oui!”
I don’t expect a lot of you to understand where I am coming from, and I in no way mean that in a condescending fashion…it’s just that I’m a politics junkie, I know a little something about the topic, and what happens in France is important.
So one of my other points is I only stumbled on this because the natural history museum was closed. Had it been open, I would have been there and never seen this huge political rally taking place just blocks from my hotel. Funny how life works, isn’t it?
There were thousands of people in this square but I happened to be just a few feet from a big video screen, though I also had a good direct view of the Marine Le Pen. Granted, I couldn’t understand 98% of what she was saying, but I knew her platform and I was interested in how she delivered her speech and what the reaction was. Also understand that on the stage was her father, Jean-Marie.
I’m telling you it was electric. Again, I don’t condone what the National Front stands for, but Marine is going to force a run-off next year (where the Socialists will probably kick her butt, Sarkozy the also-ran, as I’ve been writing in that other column I do).
This woman has ‘it’. She is striking in that classic French way and for starters, if I was a French woman I’d have to seriously consider voting for her for reasons other than politics. I’ve studied her and she confirmed what I’ve read. She comes across as highly likeable, forgetting the platform. [Her father, on the other hand, is not likeable except to a small segment of the population.]
Anyway, for me this was a unique opportunity and a memorable moment. It’s not often you get to see possible history in the making but this was a huge deal for Le Pen and her followers and I was thrilled to be there as a correspondent.
One last thing. When his daughter finished…Jean-Marie took the microphone and led the crowd in “Les Marseillaise.” Very emotional…even if for the wrong reasons.
So now it’s about 1:00 p.m., I’m all fired up and walked over to the Louvre…closed….drat! It’s true. You have a huge tourist weekend in Paris (because it’s a 3- or 4-day holiday for all of Europe) and the museums are closed. Incredibly stupid.
But I just went to the outdoor café in the Tuilleries gardens and ordered a delicious ham sandwich for all of $6.00 (huge baggette with tasty ham…a rare good deal given our crappy dollar) and two Grimbergen biers, of which I have no idea where it’s brewed.
And then I walked over to one of the ponds in the park, this one by the Place de la Concorde, and watched the world go by, as well as the ducks. I’d gladly kill an hour a day doing that if I could.
As for the rest of my time here, I noted in my “Week in Review” that on Thursday I went to Cimetiere Pere Lachaise. This is as historic a burial ground as you’ll find in the world but in all my trips here I had never been.
So who is buried in this massive place? Try composer Bizet, Balzac, Delacroix, Ingres, Proust, Oscar Wilde, Corot, Chopin, Sarah Bernhardt, and others I’m forgetting…oh yeah, even Simone Signoret, the famous French actress.
And Jim Morrison. Yup, he’s the reason I went here. I went to see Chopin and Morrison.
But I get to the place and there were maps at the entrances (on a board, not that you could take with you) though I really didn’t know just where I was starting. So I asked a security guard, who directed me one way, and within minutes I realized I was hopelessly lost in this fascinating labyrinth but found my way back to square one and started all over again.
It’s then it began to rain, I didn’t have my umbrella, and I was getting frustrated. Finally, though, I found Jim Morrison’s grave, so now my life is complete…though this doesn’t go in either the ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ boxes.
Then again, we really don’t know if Morrison is dead but a girl standing there assured me he was, that he overdosed at Whisky a Go-Go. [When I get back I’ll go back through my own work on the subject.] I did also see Oscar Wilde’s and Signoret’s graves, but not Chopin’s or any of the others.
Earlier that day I went to see Victor Hugo’s house from 1832-48, which was cool. He had a nice set up at the Place des Voges. But until watching a CBS “Sunday Morning” piece a few days before I left for here, I had no idea what a huge role Hugo played in saving Notre Dame by writing his book on the topic. He had been requested by a key figure in Paris during those times to write glowingly of the place so it wouldn’t be destroyed (Notre Dame was in need of much work at the time) and Hugo complied, devoting a full chapter in the “Hunchback…” as a loving description of the cathedral, which then led to its salvation.
Continuing with museum chat…I also went to the world’s best museum for Impressionism, Musee d’Orsay, easily one of my favorite in the world (though lunch there sucked).
Yes, it was good to see some of my old friends, like Al (Alfred) Sisley, highly underrated but no relation to Hall of Famer George Sisler. Do you realize that Sisler, in hitting .407 and .420 in 1920 and 1922, fanned a total of 19 and 14 times respectively? That’s virtually impossible.
And look, there’s one of my top five artists, Camille Pisarro (as you all know no relation to former major league hurler Camilo Pascual). Pisarro does peasants with the best of ‘em.
And there’s the underrated Theodore Rousseau, expert at dark woods and such, though no relation to former New York Ranger Bobby Rousseau.
Meanwhile, I’ve said this before but the ever popular Van Gogh really is overrated, as is his running buddy Paul Gauguin, whose work I can’t stand.
Camille Corot is highly underrated and better than Gustave Courbet.
Jean-Francois Millet gets a lot of play at d’Orsay. People confuse him with ballplayer Lastings Milledge, which is kind of stupid since Milledge is hardly an artist on the field.
I hadn’t really spent any time looking at the work of Narcisse Diaz de la Pena (1807-1876) before, though they say he painted well in his unique crouch position, which was later adopted by catcher Tony Pena, no relation.
Paul Cezanne is a solid #3 painter and had he been a pitcher probably would have finished with a 122-98 lifetime mark. Cezanne’s work is consistently good.
But then there’s my man Claude Monet. To me it’s Monet…and then there’s everyone else.
Which is bad for Renoir, who is sort of like Sham, the great horse that finished second to Secretariat in the Derby and the Preakness. Renoir in any other era would be number one.
Anyway, I’m walking around and suddenly, look, there’s Whistler’s Mother! Totally forgot James Whistler’s work was here, too. One thing about the mother, though, she’s no party animal. Kind of gives me the creeps, truth be told.
The musee also had a terrific exhibit on composer/conductor Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Boy, if you were a music student, very cool stuff. They had scores of his symphonies laid out, his handwritten notes and such, with his music playing in the background (he did ten symphonies), as well as programs from his concerts at Carnegie Hall. But what I found really neat was this fantail that had a bunch of signatures on it, including Brahms, Mahler, Julius Epstein (big in the day) and Johann Strauss. Now here I talk about the value of my Lew Alcindor card. Imagine what this fantail would bring, kids. It’s priceless. It would be like having a bat with the signatures of Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx on it.
What else have I done? I went to the Marine Museum for the first time. If you are into model ships, this place is fantastic. I’m not so I whipped around it, though it does also have the oldest river barge, built for Napoleon in like 1810, and that’s cool.
And I went back to one of my favorite museums in the world, the Musee De L’Armee, where they have a fantastic exhibit for World Wars I and II (along with Napoleon’s tomb, so I paid my respects to the little general). I could go through this place once a year…you never stop learning when it comes to these two conflicts.
Like in the Battle of the Marne, Sept. 1914, on Sept. 7, 670 Parisian taxis were used to transport 6,000 French troops. The act in and of itself wasn’t consequential but it was highly symbolic for the French people in demonstrating their resourcefulness. By the end of 1914, though, the French had already lost 300,000 killed, with another 200,000 taken prisoner. [I’m going to have a lot on a similar topic in my next “Week in Review.”]
Anyway, an action packed final day coming up on Monday before I head back Tuesday.
In news stateside, ‘sup with Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell, another dysfunctional former Met? Before a game with San Francisco, McDowell inexplicably starts directing homophobic and sexual comments at a bunch of guys in the stands and then when a father, there with his kid, reminded McDowell that he should watch his mouth with children around, McDowell incredibly says kids shouldn’t be in the ballpark, and then threatens to knock the father’s teeth out with a bat.
The father complained to the commissioner’s office, an investigation was launched, and McDowell was suspended without pay for two weeks and fined an undisclosed amount, plus he’ll have to undergo sensitivity training. Why the heck he wasn’t fired I’ll never know.
Ben Zobrist of the streaking Tampa Bay Rays had a nice day on Thursday, 10 RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Minnesota.
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was suspended for two games for tweeting after being ejected. Did I pick these guys to go all the way this year? Am I nuts?! They’re 10-19. Eegads.
Did I just pick A-Rod to win the Triple Crown? He’s down to .274. And Derek Jeter has two extra base hits in his first 24 games while hitting a pathetic .242.
As I write it appears the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 26, which is getting up there. [Oops, make that 27!]
Meanwhile, the Bar Chat Pick to win horse racing’s Triple Crown, Uncle Mo, had a great workout at Churchill Downs it seems and is rarin’ to go next Saturday. I just may have to put another $4 million on the colt.
I can’t believe Memphis beat San Antonio in the NBA playoffs, 4-2.
And in the NFL Draft…it’s tough to care given the lockout, but most eyes were on the quarterback situation and four went early.
1. Cam Newton, Carolina
8. Jack Locker, Tennessee
10. Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville
12. Christian Ponder, Minnesota
And then Andy Dalton (Cincinnati) and Colin Kaepernick (49ers) in the second round, the latter a steal for San Francisco.
But Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, at one time thought the best of the bunch, slid down to the third round and was snapped up by New England due to questions about his character.
I also have to note that the Bears took Idaho QB Nathan Enderle in the fifth round. I saw Enderle in person last November at the Boise State game and he was horrible.
As for the conferences, Shu alerted me to the fact that in the first two rounds, the much-maligned ACC led all conferences in players selected with 15 of 60. 10 SEC, 9 Big Ten and Big 12, and 8 Pac-10.
And a few final notes since I didn’t do a Bar Chat the other day.
The NCAA confirmed that Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is a scumbag, accusing Tressel of withholding information and lying to keep Buckeyes players on the field who had accepted improper benefits. The NCAA labeled Tressel’s actions “potential major violations.”
And for the archives I have to acknowledge the death of singer Phoebe Snow, whose 1975 #5 hit “Poetry Man” I had trouble getting out of my head when I heard she had passed away. Snow gave up her career after the single when she gave birth to a daughter, Valerie Rose, who was found to be severely brain-damaged and Snow, abandoned shortly thereafter by her husband, decided to keep the girl at home and care for her herself rather than institutionalize her. Valerie lived to be 31 and died in 2007.
Top 3 songs for the week 5/4/74: #1 “The Loco-Motion” (Grand Funk) #2 “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” (MFSB featuring The Three Degrees) #3 “Bennie And The Jets” (Elton John…this one and “Your Song” my favorites of his)…and…#4 “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” (Gladys Knight & The Pips…don’t like her…but this one’s OK) #5 “Dancing Machine” (The Jackson 5…hideous compared to earlier stuff) #6 “The Streak” (Ray Stevens…like this guy) #7 “Hooked On A Feeling” (Blue Swede…oon ga cha ka oon ga oon ga) #8 “Tubular Bells” (Mike Oldfield…just shoot me) #9 “The Show Must Go On” (Three Dog Night…didn’t like this one) #10 “Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely” (The Main Ingredient)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) Brooks Robinson, Balt., 1955-77, and Carl Yastrzemski, Bos., 1961-83, hold the major league record for most seasons one club at 23. [Cap Anson, Mel Ott and Stan Musial hold the N.L. record at 22.]
Due to travel, I need some time to catch up again. Next Bar Chat, Monday, May 9. I’ll resume my normal routine at that time.
