Sunday Morning Coming Down

Tuesday, I had to go to the post office to mail three applications for magnet schools that Lisvey thinks she might be interested in.  I say might because she changes her mind quite regularly.  At fourteen I don't think she has made her mind up about anything.  She is going to a competitive middle school where kids come from all over Miami Dade County to study Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese. Blackhawk Jr. High was a good school I guess and I think Fenton High School was a good school as well.  Looking back at this I guess my parents lived in a place where the schools had a decent reputation and a tax base to support them. My entire adult life has been spent in the South.  Private schools and now charter schools have certainly changed the nature of a free public education and getting a good education is strangely a little more complicated than needs be.  Folks used to complain about busing the little children.  I wish it was t...

The ACLU has had the New York Mayor Deblasio ear when it comes low level policing.  It is now said that low level policing is a thing of the past in comparison to recent history when "broken window" or aggressive low level policing was the norm. The police union's believe that recent incidents and Mayor's policies directly contributed to the recently killing of two officers by a disturbed individual. Mayor Deblasio had a significant number of officers turn their backs when he spoke at a memorial service and he was booed at a police academy graduation ceremony.  The demonstrations after the death and video Eric Garner has exposed a very deep rift in  several communities. Low level policing might include arrests for possession of a small amount of marijuana, vagrancy, disorderly conduct, curfew violations, or loitering.  In New York it might also include riding your bicycle on the sidewalk or drinking in public.  The New York ACLU has studies that show that ...

A high school friend just posted an old article from the Bensenville Banner in April 1969, celebrating Fenton High School's victory in a state wide drama contest.  I noticed the newspaper cost 15 cents and a subscription was $2.00.  The story was front page news and the return to Bensenville and the high school to get picked up by parents happened.  Sadly I missed the cast party at the Holiday Inn in Normal. It was a barn burner and it took the edge off the award performance for all to see the next day. The Romancers, by Edmond Rostand was the model for The Fantasticks which is the longest running musical in theater history and is still in production after 50 plus years. Still trying to remember some details of that weekend and Soz's party which could have been a headliner as well.

According to Nielsen data for 2014 released Tuesday, the median age of an average CNN viewer during primetime fell to 58 from 60 in 2013 -- matching 2008 as the network's youngest-skewing year since at least 1992. At the same time, Fox News Channel held steady at a median age of 68 and MSNBC skewed slightly older this year (61 vs. 60 last year).

The price of gasoline is down.  Florida has not gotten the full benefit of lower oil prices but any decrease in price is welcome.  Experts have said this could save the average household $1500 and for the average family the equivalent of a 3% bump in family income. There are more hybrids on the road, cars are smaller, more people use public transportation and as the population gets older I imagine fewer miles are being driven even with the folks that still drive gas guzzlers. The United States has increased oil production and so it seems has lowered oil usage at least on the margins through the increased use of natural gas, wind power, ethanol and solar energy and conservation. The strategic value of almost energy independence is almost as important as the extra jingle in my pocket.  Hopefully this lagniappe will be used in some ways to build up our resiliency as a people and a country. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Steve Spurrier played for the Gators, two time All American and Heisman Trophy winner is the current coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks.  He played for the 49's and the Tampa Bay Bucs, was a successful coach in the defunct USFL before coaching at Duke, UF, Washington Redskins and South Carolina.  He wasn't a hit with the Redskins but has fit in well with the more redneck fandom of Florida and South Carolina. At age almost 70, he is competitive if a little less combative than his younger days. The University of Miami beat Spurrier and the Gators in the 2001 Sugar Bowl.  If you can't beat the Gators because they aren't bowl eligible, beating their ex coach is a suitable substitute. Canes and Gamecocks meet in Shreveport, LA on Saturday in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl at  3:30 ABC, not A&E.

Miami Marlins Park was the scene of a new college bowl game: The Miami Bowl.  I guess ESPN needed to fill a few hour and the Hotel and Visitors Bureau was happy to be a major sponsor.  The weather cooperated and the lid on Marlins Park was open and they turned the AC off. Memphis State versus Brigham Young were the combatants in "The Battle of the Beach."  The Miami Herald called it the Miami Beach Brawl and that it was as the two teams mixed it up after Memphis State intercepted a BYU pass to end the 2nd overtime and win the game 55-48. You might ask why would a Canes fan visit an obviously 3rd tier bowl game between two teams he knew nothing about, when he could have watched it on cable.  The simple answer is I was invited to the game by a friend from Memphis, that now calls Miami his home. The game plan was to troll the park perimeter for a scalper, face value of the tickets were $60.  We wanted a bargain.  This was not going to be a hot ticket in ...