[Posted on about two hours sleep. I apologize for any typos.]
Baseball Quiz: 1) Who holds the record for leading the AL in
stolen bases 9 consecutive seasons? 2) Who is the only member
of the 500 home run club to lead either league in steals. [Yeah,
this is easy.] Answers below.
Overseas Gleanings
I picked up some of the following Reuters stories while traveling,
but I don”t know how much play they received in the States.
–Nessie: A group of Swedish scientists are making a new
attempt to find the Loch Ness Monster (the legend of which dates
back to 565 AD). They have a new sonar device, evidently far
more powerful than anything used before, and if something is
detected it is immediately photographed. There are those who
now say that the previous sightings might have been “groups of
smaller creatures.” As for the famous brontosaurus-looking
photo, that was definitely taken at a Japanese sound stage.
But meanwhile, this new expedition has run afoul of a “white
witch.” “Kevin Carlyon, high priest of the British White
Witches,” reports Reuters, “is determined to put a stop to the
hunt by casting a protective spell.” The Swedish group is
“unimpressed.” We”ll just have to see if their craft turns up
missing.
–“A Canadian family has complained to Continental Airlines
that they sat next to a critically ill passenger who frothed at the
mouth and died during their flight.”
The poor victim was being transported from the Marshall Islands
to Honolulu for medical treatment and Continental is the only
commercial airline serving the region. But imagine the family”s
horror when he was plunked down next to them, tubes and all?!
–A Malaysian man, asleep in a storeroom, was roused by a
rather large crocodile that was looking for a place to lay its eggs.
The croc was nudging him awhile before he realized what was
happening. [The animal had escaped from a nearby crocodile
farm. The man is being transported to Honolulu for medical
treatment.]
–And then there is the case of the “blind cod.” A Norwegian
fisherman reported that this fish had swum into his net at least 40
times. Each time he let it go, feeling sorry for it. But it kept
coming back so finally he took it in, whereupon it was
transferred to an aquarium and fed a diet of herring and shrimp.
Shortly thereafter, the cod was swimming and eating, taking food
from the fingers of the staff, when it suddenly rolled over and
died. “He was killed with kindness,” said one.
–Now here are some incredibly stupid folks. 3 Americans were
rescued last week in Kenya after having been chained up for
weeks by thugs there. Thanks to the work of our own FBI and
local authorities, they were found before they were hacked to
death. It turns out they had been lured to Africa with fake offers
of business opportunities broadcast over the Internet.
“Well lookee here, it says that I can make $millions with no
money down?!”
On a related matter, I met a girl while waiting in line at a
museum this weekend who told me the story of a 20-year-old
friend of the family”s who was sitting on a park bench in Manila.
A Filippino couple started to chat him up. One thing led to
another and they invited the guy back to their place for dinner.
Unbelievably, he accepted the offer. So of course he was drugged
and robbed of all his money (though they didn”t take his passport).
They then apologized profusely.
Other Stuff
–In Istanbul, the Bosphorus divides the city between the two
continents, Europe and Asia. On it there are some mostly old
wooden homes right on the water, many of which appear to have
seen better days. I inquired of the guide who owned these, since
extensive rehabbing appeared to be taking place on some and I
assumed they were expensive because of the beautiful location.
It turns out that many of these very modest bungalows go for
from $3-$35 million, simply because they were once owned by
the Sultans! The property can only be sold to Turkish citizens.
No wonder the country is bankrupt.
–My hotel bar in Istanbul had tried serving Rolling Rock a few
years earlier. The effort failed miserably.
–Did I go to any nightclubs while in this exotic place? Heck no.
I had read that they were rather dicey. So I asked a bartender if
the stories were true, those that told of plainclothesmen hanging
out, setting people up for drug busts (a la “Midnight Express”).
That”s not the real problem. It”s simply that when the club sees
an American, or a nanve tourist of any nationality, they will
charge whatever they feel like. People have been billed $1,000
for a single beer! And what are you going to do about it, if you
haven”t checked on the price earlier?
–So on my flight home from Europe, Sunday, there was this
American girl wearing a blouse with about 30 pictures of Mao.
As we waited for our baggage, I bit my tongue, but this is the
conversation I wanted to have with her.
Me: “So you think that looks good?”
Mao Chick: “Yeah, that”s why I bought it.”
Me: “Did you know Mao was responsible for the deaths of 20-30
million people?”
Mao Chick: “Hey, buddy, I bought it (in Paris, undoubtedly)
because I liked it, alright?”
Me: “Do you like living in America?….”
Oh, I so wanted customs at JFK to harass her. Alas, that wasn”t
the case. [Actually, I declared I had Iranian saffron on me. I was
afraid they”d check me out!]
–Just saw where a man who used Tiger Woods”s identity to steal
$17,000 worth of goods was sentenced to 200 years to life in
prison. This is great! We need more sentences like it.
Anthony Lemar Taylor purchased a driver”s license using the
name Eldrick T. Woods, Woods”s Social Security number and his
birth date. While according to the AP, Taylor hardly looks like
Woods, he was still able to purchase a 70-inch TV, stereos and a
used luxury car. Taylor”s lawyer said the 200-year term is
tantamount to a death sentence. Yeah…so? Actually, Taylor
was a victim of California”s 3-strikes and you”re out law. In his
case, it was more like 20-strikes (the number of prior felony and
misdemeanor charges on his rap sheet).
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/25/64: #1 “Can”t Buy Me Love”
(The Beatles) #2 “Twist And Shout” (The Beatles) #3 “Do You
Want To Know A Secret” (The Beatles). “Ladies and gentlemen,
The Beatles!” Aargh!
Baseball Quiz Answer: 1) Stolen bases, consecutive seasons
leading the league: Luis Aparicio, 1956-64, Chicago. Rickey
Henderson did it 7 years in a row (”80-”86) and 11 of 12, but
Harold Reynolds (1987 – Seattle) prevented Henderson from 12
consecutive. 2) Willie Mays is the only member of the 500-
homer club to lead the league in steals, accomplishing the feat 4
straight seasons, 1956-59. You look at this fact and it”s a good
reason why Mays is considered by many to be the best ever.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday. The editor goes to the Musee
d”Orsay, for a unique perspective at today”s museum experience.
