Notablog

Song of the Day: Teach Me Tonight features the music of Gene de Paul and the lyrics of Sammy Cahn. Listen to a trio of audio clips by Count Basie ... with Joe Williams, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joe Williams and Sarah Vaughan (Sassy also did a version with Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass). Then, check out clips by Al Jarreau, Amy Winehouse, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, and Chaka Khan. And, finally, listen to an audio clip of the 1954 chart hit by Jo Stafford, who, sadly, passed away yesterday at the age of 90.

Posted by chris at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Posted to Music | Remembrance

Thank goodness for DVR... 'cause some of us just keep fighting to stay awake for some of these events that seem to go on and on all night!

Nevertheless, it was an event worth watching, if only because the 2008 All-Star Game took place at Yankee Stadium, the last time any All Star Game will have ever been played on that particular field of dreams. The ol' ballpark in Da Bronx is being replaced in 2009 by a new retro stadium across the street.

It was certainly odd to see Red Sox and Yankees players on the same side, the American League, which happened to win the game in the 15th inning, 4-3. Seeing 49 Hall of Fame ballplayers and all those current stars on the same field was a thrill for sure. Heck, even seeing Yankee Boss George Steinbrenner was poignant.

But, in reality, it was the Stadium itself, that Cathedral of Baseball, that was the biggest All Star on this night. I've not been out to the ballpark in the Bronx for quite a while, but I will always hold dear its history, and my memories of it.

There's still another half of a season to go, and while it looks improbable that the Yankees will give New York another October... I'm still root, root, rooting for the home team.

Go Yanks!

Posted by chris at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Posted to Sports

I was very deeply saddened by the loss of Bobby Murcer, a long-time Yankees player and broadcaster, and all-around-good-guy. Murcer had been battling cancer for quite a while, and his fans, and I count myself among them, were rooting for his return to the broadcast booth. He'd made a brief return after cancer treatments, but he eventually had to leave the YES network; Yankees fans had hoped to see him back at the stadium in time for this week's All-Star Game, which is the last All-Star Game to be played in the old Yankee Stadium. Next year, the new Yankee Stadium opens across the street; after this season, the House that Ruth Built will be no more.

Alas, now Bobby has joined the field of dreams of baseball eternity.

In the New York Daily News, Bill Madden had this to say, reminiscing about how Murcer, who had been traded from the Yanks late in his baseball career, made his way back to the Bronx:

It wasn't until late June of 1979 that [Yankees owner, George] Steinbrenner reunited the 33-year-old Murcer with the Yankees, as the Cubs, who were just looking to dump his $320,000 contract, sent him back to the Bronx for a non-prospect minor-league pitcher named Paul Semall. At the time of the deal, the Yankees, who had lost their closer, [Rich "Goose"] Gossage, to a thumb injury (the result of a shower room fight with teammate Cliff Johnson) were already falling out of the AL East pennant race. Then, on Aug. 2, an off-day, the Yankees and the rest of baseball were shocked by the news that [Yankees catcher and team captain, Thurman] Munson had been killed in the crash of his single-engine private jet as he was practicing landings at the Canton, Ohio, airport.

No one in baseball was closer to Munson than Murcer, who, only the night before, had watched from his car at the end of the runway of a small Chicago airport as Munson took off on his solo flight home to Canton. Four days later, after delivering the eulogy at the Munson funeral in Canton, Murcer, despite having gotten no sleep, implored Yankee manager Billy Martin to let him play in the game that night at the Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles. It would be his finest hour as a Yankee as he honored Munson's memory by driving in all five runs, with a three-run homer and two-run single, in their emotional 5-4 win.

"He loved the game, his fans, his friends, and most of all his family," Murcer had said in the eulogy for Munson. "He is lost, but not gone. He will be missed, but not forgotten."

Now they are both lost.

Mike Lupica tells us of this "prince of the city": "There will be a moment of silence for him Tuesday night, at the All-Star Game. Then one last time they will cheer Bobby Murcer big at Yankee Stadium, the biggest place the kid from Oklahoma ever saw, this time to the heavens."

Posted by chris at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Posted to Remembrance | Sports

"But I thought this was summer, Sciabarra!" Yeah, well. Welcome to the New Spring! That is, the new Spring 2008 issue of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies! This issue completes the ninth volume of JARS, a precursor to our Tenth Anniversary Year!

The Table of Contents is as follows:

Completing the American Revolution: The Significance of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged at its Fiftieth Anniversary - David N. Mayer

Rand and MacIntyre on Moral Agency - Ron Beadle

Rand on Hume's Moral Skepticism - Tibor R. Machan

Toward the Development of a Paradigm of Human Flourishing in a Free Society - Edward W. Younkins

Missing the Mark: Salsman's Review of the Great Depression - Larry Sechrest

Reviews and Discussions

Defending Advertising (review of Jerry Kirkpatrick's book, In Defense of Advertising) - Juliusz Jablecki

Reply to Juliusz Jablecki: The Connection between Advertising and Objectivist Epistemology - Jerry Kirkpatrick

Rejoinder to Jerry Kirkpatrick: Advertising, Capitalism, and Christianity - Juliusz Jablecki

Reply to Stephen E. Parrish, "God and Objectivism: A Critique of Objectivist Philosophy of Religion" (Spring 2007) and Patrick Toner, "Objectivist Atheology" (Spring 2007):
Not Even False: A Commentary on Parrish and Toner - Adam Reed

Rejoinder to Adam Reed: What's Good for the Goose and Related Matters - Stephen E. Parrish

Rejoinder to Adam Reed: God-Talk and the Arbitrary - Patrick Toner

You can read abstracts of the above articles here, and mini-biographies of our contributors here. And don't forget that in due course, EBSCO will offer our newest issue through their databases! Check out your institutional and local libraries!

Noted at L&P.

Posted by chris at 08:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | Posted to Periodicals | Rand Studies

Song of the Day: Your Face, music and lyrics by Peter Murphy, is from his elegant, exotic solo album, "Dust." To have seen Peter perform this live on stage in a mesmerizing encore at the Blender Theater was a transcendent experience; I'm so glad it was with you. Happy anniversary, sweetie! Check out a full-length clip at YouTube.

Posted by chris at 07:15 AM | Permalink | Posted to Music

Aeon Skoble just let me know that Larry Harmon, the gent who played and franchised Bozo the Clown for decades, passed away at the age of 83. Having watched Bozo as a kid when it was produced by Larry Harmon Pictures Inc. (and played here locally by Bill Britten on WPIX, and then Gordon Ramsey on WOR), I have nothing but fond memories of the character.

Posted by chris at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Posted to Remembrance

Thanks to David Beito and Roderick Long, I just discovered that both Liberty and Power Group Blog (in history) and Notablog (in political science) were picked among the Top 100 blogs by liberal arts professors. You can check out the full list, divided into subject and alphabetized, here. (And congrats to Roderick, as well, who made the list!)

The description of my blog made me chuckle:

It may look like a blog, but the site contends that it is not. Still, it is an interesting place to read about politics and philosophy from an NYU professor.

Well, okay. A is Not-A. Then again, the evolution of "Notablog" can be found here. It started out as "Not A Blog," but gradually became "Notablog." As I write in that entry:

Some readers have wondered why I continue to call this site "Not a Blog," even though it seems to become more blog-like with each passing week. Well, it's going to stay "Not a Blog"—though from now on it will appear with closed spaces between the words: "Notablog." That phrase can just as easily be viewed as an acronym for "None Of The Above Blog" (as suggested here) or "Nota Blog" (as suggested here), recalling the Latin phrase "Nota Bene," featuring entries on topics of which one might take particular notice.

Well, in any event, however this place is viewed, remember it can be reached at notablog.net.

Now, I know I have not been writing as much as I used to. There are, after all, only so many hours in a day, and we just put to bed the Spring 2008 issue of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies (information on that issue to follow next week). But Election season is upon us. And I'm sure I'll have a few things to say about that, and many other subjects. Coming up this summer, my series, "SITL" will also continue. And don't forget "Song of the Day," which, today, reaches the 900 milestone. Will I reach 1000 before the year is out? I've Notaclue! Stay tuned...

Posted by chris at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | Posted to Blog / Personal Business

Song of the Day: (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66, words and music by Bobby Troup, is one of those songs that gives us a classic tour of (part of) America in song. Listen to audio clips of renditions by Perry Como, Mel Torme, The Manhattan Transfer, with pianist Oscar Peterson and guitarist Herb Ellis, Natalie Cole, and, her dad, my favorite, Nat King Cole. Happy Independence Day!

Posted by chris at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | Posted to Music