Doctor Garbonzo

Dave goes offline again

2005-07-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

I've always been interested in a variety of electronic texts of literature,
but I think now I should expand my knowledge of it. This means I should be

busier studying than blogging

and

busier working on my own scholarship than posting on the blogs of my friends.

I am convinced that posting is distracting me from building up to writing a good
book. I just fritter away my concentration on contributing to discussions elsewhere, or to posting silly or funny stuff.

American National Poet celebrates his 100th Birthday

2005-07-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo!! Stanley Kunitz is 100 today! Happy Birthday!!

Ron Silliman noted this on his blog. Also there's a nice article
that's circulated this past week, about his upcoming birthday, and
his most recent book (about gardening especially, apparently).

Good Blogs

2005-07-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/
This is the blog of Ron Silliman, the language poet

http://wampum.wabanaki.net
Indian issues and law, with several contributors including Dwight Meredith, an attorney
and law professor, and Eric Brunner-Williams, an honest mathematician.

http://www.michaelberube.com
Cultural Studies, Academic Freedom, and Politics--Michael is a famed author, chaired professor, and all around wit and old friend

More Tiger Memories.

2005-07-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

I was actually studying REAL Latin that year--1968--that our corny slogan was "Soc et Tuum, Tigers!" Laugh-in was a big cultural influence, not always salutary.

Despite corny slogans, that 1968 Season was magical, and I was delighted recently to hear Ernie Harwell doing some play-by-play for the 2005 All-Star game. Ernie was the voice of the Tigers, and he was announcing Game Seven when we won it all. Ernie is about 92. He's got it: he gives the score often. I think he once said that play-by-play is all about "ball one, strike one."

Detroit is Da Toilet now, and I'd probably never go back. But one of my last memories of the area is a magical one--catching the seventh game of the World Series just as the Tigers surged ahead against the Cardinals.

I was in the locker room at Cranbrook School after football practice, and we were all changing out of our uniforms, when the Tiges won it. Northrup hit that triple off of Gibson in the seventh inning, just seconds after we got into the locker room. I remember us all cheering and whooping.

Ernie noted in a column for the Freep that Northrup's triple was one of the highlights of his career in broadcasting, which spans six decades.

2005-07-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

As the Detroit Tigers have recently gotten to .500, I will refrain from hollering "Soc et tuum Tigers!" I remember these guys when they were a strong second place team in the old AL. Cash, Kaline, and that deep bullpen. I've never been to Comerica Park, but can it possibly have the charm of old Tiger Stadium? Can it possibly--can anything possibly--smell so much of Stroh's Beer?