rockhopper penguins

My German-Canadian friend Inga, who stays still only long enough to tidy her garden, made a year-end trip to Chile and Argentina. She sent this souvenir from the Falkland Islands, a cutting board which looks too cute to use. I haven't talked yet to Inga about her trip but also got a penguin postcard from her from Chile. Guess she was "penguin hopping."

the ball street journal

This postcard came in today's mail and I had to post it. OK, I'm easily amused but Ball Street Journal cracked me up. The BlueClaws' park in Lakewood, NJ, is one of the sweetest little parks I've visited. It was only once but it was a wonderful evening of baseball helped by seats behind home plate, by chance next to a diehard local. The BlueClaws are a single-A affiliate of the Phillies.

"the perfect game"

The other day I came across some notes on a book called The Perfect Game, by W. William Winokur. I read the book shortly after last year's Little League World Series. It's the story of the 1957 Little League World Series, won by the miracle team from Monterrey, Mexico, the first foreign team to appear in the LLWS.

The Perfect Game recreates the 1957 series and the amazing path taken by the Mexican team, a bunch of 12-year-olds from the slums of Monterrey, a gritty industrial city. Inspired by radio broadcasts of Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers, they learn to play baseball and eventually make their way, despite formidable odds and opposition---from parents, environment, circumstances, and sometimes even their own coach---to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. With scant money to fund their journey, they walk barefoot across the border and 12 miles into Texas to play their first qualifying game, then advance to play more, sometimes passing the hat and sleeping on church steps to keep going.

When they finally make it to the final, los chamacos maravilla ("the marvelous boys") are decided underdogs, six to eight inches shorter and 35 to 40 pounds lighter than their opponents, La Mesa Northern, a powerhouse team from California. But it was the "little giants", led by ambidextrous pitcher Angel Macias, who prevailed in a 4-0 victory. Macias threw the only perfect game ever in a LLWS championship game, fanning 11 0f the 18 batters he faced. The California kids never even hit the ball out of the infield.

It's a fascinating story of inspiration, faith, perseverance and the insouciant charmed luck of youth, but the book is way too long, by at least a hundred pages. Shortly into it, I realized that the writer was writing with Hollywood in mind. Indeed, it has since been made into a movie with the same name. If it ever made it, though, to a cinema near me, I missed it.

crackling ice, bounding deer

Imagine the photo I posted yesterday but in brilliant sunshine and the snow sparkling with a frozen crust of ice---as it was when I went out today for the mail. The sudden sound of crackling ice jerked my gaze from the mail I was carrying to the field between the house and barn. A deer was bounding across the snow, down the slope, across the road, and into the woods. Then another--and another--and another. A glorious sight, but all I could think was 'please don't let a car come down the hill!' That and 'I wish I had my camera!'

hey, hey, business is good

The Metropolitan Opera has seen donations decline by a third, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is one of many newspapers on the brink of disappearing, the domestic automotive industry should disappear, galleries are closing, the US Postal Service is seeking to eliminate Saturday deliveries (boo) , and the unemployment rate is ticking higher and higher. But the Philadelphia Phillies have seen a 20% increase in their season ticket base, up from 20,000 in 2008 to 24,000 in 2009. Impressive, really.

Barack Obama signed his first piece of legislature as president: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extends the time limit for women to file pay discrimination claims. Nice touch of symbolism but how about the Paycheck Fairness Act, which might help make wage discrimination against women a relic?

wintry mix

Snow overnight gave way to freezing rain, then rain, then slush. The temperatures are again dropping. Ice is next. I wore clogs to get the mail and my feet got soaked but I didn't mind. The mailbox held some cool postcards and a grande sumo calendar, an always welcome present from Tokyo friend Keiko, who loves sumo and likes baseball, while I love baseball and like sumo.

Out of nowhere came a letter, too, from a man who works for the US Postal Service and heads the Railway Mail Service Library, which seems to be housed in an old train station in Boyce, Virginia. He had happened on the mail art blog (www.littlemailbox.blogspot.com) and sent an invitation to drive down I-81 to visit the library. From the information he sent, it looks like a worthy, serious endeavor. I have to check it out online at www.railwaymailservicelibrary.org.

Did he know that I also write about trains? Over the holidays I was reading the wonderful All Aboard for Christmas, by Christopher Jennison. The book is filled with excellent photos and cool illustrations from the long-gone days when the US had a good rail system and going home for the holidays meant taking the train.

mozart's 253rd

It's Mozart's birthday. This image is of a Christmas tin of Reber Mozartkugeln, a rather yummy bonbon made of pistachio marzipan and nougat which is dipped in dark chocolate. To celebrate the day I took my mother and cousin to lunch at Bolete, a local restaurant which has won national praise. I had an excellent green salad made with dried cranberries, candied walnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, and cranberry vinaigrette, and oyster po' boys that made me long for Japan, the country where oysters became a passion of mine. In Obama, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, I usually ate them raw, but at a little restaurant just across the street from my house in Kyoto fried oysters were a seasonal specialty.

Happy birthday to my favorite European classical composer!

two good guys

Negro League baseball cards in last year's baseball show at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, PA.

According to a recent story in the Reading Eagle, everyone who attended the Phillies' Winter Caravan last Thursday in Reading got to have their photo taken with the World Series trophy. Each photo came with a frame signed by manager Charlie Manuel. In the days before the Reading stop, Manuel signed some 900 frames for the event, which drew 870.

Yesterday was computer clean-up day. My computer geek Jesse had a half-day at school and was supposed to be available around noon. Shortly before 11, though, he called from school, asking me to pick him up. I later learned that he had called from class. Phones are allowed in class, I asked in disbelief. "Look," said Jesse, "after years of fighting it, they gave it up and kids now phone and text during class. But at least I asked the teacher if I could call."

winter sunset

Mozart's piano concerto no. 9 in E flat is playing in the background. It's his birthday on Tuesday and today I am in a melancholic Mozart mood. Not even the big pot of root soup I made earlier, with turnips, rutabagas, carrots, celery, lima beans, savory, and parsley, has done much to dispel my mood.

In part it's because of the bats. An article a couple of days ago in the local paper said that white-nose syndrome has been discovered in the Pennsylvania bat population. The syndrome has already wiped out populations in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Once the fungus spreads, there's nothing that can be done to counter it. The bats die. Since reading the article, I've been thinking about the bats in the attic here, for decades home to bats. Each year I have to shovel the guano out. It's too depressing to think that our bats and many other Pennsylvania bats may soon be gone.

Another reason for the melancholy was that I read on the homepage of Animals in Distress, a local rescue center, that only one in seven animals adopted as a pet is likely to spend its whole life in its adopted home. In part I was looking at the homepage because of an article in one of the Philadelphia papers this morning about a 76-year-old man who has been living for years in his car. Unable to find a shelter that would take him and his four dogs, he chose to stay homeless with his 'family'. This man has recently been helped to find a home for all, but as more and more people lose their homes, more and more animals too are made homeless.

Again I think of Gandhi's words: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

pin art

I took this photo at the Majestic Clubhouse store at Citizens Bank Park during Christmas week. I also bought a super pin of the WS trophy and of Cole Hamels. Too many pins! But this cute display reminded me of something to do with the many pins collected over the years.

one man left standing

The back of one of Ryan Howard's baseball cards says that when he was three Ryan pulled a soap dish out of the wall in his house. Years later he's still flexing his muscles, this time with a demand for a salary of $18 million. The Phillies have offered $14 million. Either one, Howard's worth it; either way, he'll be a richer man than he now is. Ruben Amaro, Jr. would be a wizard if he could pull off some kind of longterm contract through Howard's arbitration years. But it seems that the Howard camp wants either a multi-year megadeal or yearly arbitration. The only thing that bothers me in all this is that Howard's father is reportedly part of the conversation; when family members meddle, things tend to get messy. I don't care how Howard's contract is resolved. I just know that Ryan Howard is with the Phillies and should be on the team for the next three years.

Consider this: Eight years ago the Phillies had a budget of about $42 million. This year it will be around $130 million.

Last night's Winter Caravan here in the Lehigh Valley reportedly garnered between $45,000 and $50,000 for IronPigs charities. Impressive.

Some 500 fans also turned out to see the World Series trophy up close and personal yesterday afternoon at Starters Riverport, a sports bar on the south side of Bethlehem. I drove by shortly before the event was to start, but got back too late to stop.

winter caravan

The Phillies Winter Caravan is in town tonight, hosted by the IronPigs. Gone are the days when fans lined up at some local mall to get autographs from whatever players and front office types had been pressed into service. Fans now pay to attend. Tonight's affair, which includes dinner and a chance maybe to mingle with the luminaries, costs $75 a pop. Unless that is you are at the corporate table, advertised at $1300 for 10. And for all in attendance: business attire suggested. (Ink-stained wretches need not bother.) All proceeds go to the IronPigs charities. Last year 500 people attended. This year, another sell-out but at a larger venue, the number is reported to be 865. Participants will also get a chance to have a photo taken with the World Series trophy. No wonder business attire was suggested.

werth for two, durbin for one

Ruben Amaro, Jr. is making arbitration look ridiculously easy. Early today Jayson Werth agreed to a two-year contract which will net him $3 million this year and $7 million in 2010, when he enters free agency. It was later announced that reliever Chad Durbin has signed a one-year deal for $1.635 million. Wow! Both guys were key contributors in 2008, though both had their struggles. Amaro has stated that he believes players should be compensated for their efforts and he is certainly making that the case in this his first go-round as a general manager.

That leaves one player still headed for arbitration: Ryan Howard. OK, maybe this arbitration thing isn't all that simple. Any chance Amaro is a wizard?

blanton signs, howard reaches for moon

Joe Blanton was next, as it turns out, having today signed a one-year deal worth $5.475 million. No picture, alas, of Joe, not even in an Oakland uni, so I took this picture of a Phanatic rubber duck. Blanton reminds me of a yellow ducky but I don't have one to photograph.

Ryan Howard has elected to go to arbitration, seeking $18 million for 2009. The Phillies have countered with an offer of $14 million, still a hefty increase over the $10 million that Howard won in arbitration in 2008. Hard to say what will happen this year but the people who say Howard wants historic-type money are not kidding.

victorino avoids arbitration

Add Shane Victorino to the list of Phillies avoiding arbitration. Today he signed a one-year deal worth $3.125 million. Not bad for a pay raise and good for both player and team. Vic deserves it, too, for his speedy play both during the season and in post-season. Gotta love a player that so many fans of other teams cannot stand! Ask Mets fans, ask Dodgers fans.

Still to go: Joe Blanton, Chad Durbin, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Howard.

prayer flags on inauguration day

These prayer flags fly outside of the Banana Factory, an arts center in Bethlehem, PA. Installed in time for today's inauguration, some 1100 flags now fly at 11 different locations throughout the Lehigh Valley. The project is the brainchild of local artist Jane Noel, who was inspired by last year's political campaigns and lots of headlines about bad news to get people involved in an art project based in hope. Last summer Noel started holding flagmaking workshops at valley venues, providing the materials and asking people to share their thoughts and designs. The flags will stay up for a month to celebrate the new year and the new administration in Washington.

well, well, madson signs

Jim Salisbury of the Inquirer reports that the Phillies have signed reliever Ryan Madson, our golden 'bridge to Lidge' down the stretch, to a three-year extension worth $12 million plus incentives. The contract runs through Madson's last year of arbitration-eligibility and first two years of free agency. This is good news---and so much for the rumors that the homegrown pitcher had turned down a similar offer this weekend. On paper at least the bullpen is looking much like its stable and sterling 2008 self.

This leaves five on the arbitration clock.

heating it up

In frigid weather like we've been having the kitchen is just about the best place to be. The other day I decided to warm things up by making marmalade with the organic lemons and limes I bought earlier this week. I checked online for recipes and ended up, as I often do, taking bits and pieces from a couple. From a blog called A Mad Tea Party I got the intriguing idea of making pectin from pips, though my lemons and limes didn't yield enough pips to make anything. The Tea Party woman also suggested adding roasted dried peppers to the marmalade, which I did with half of the batch. I don't know how it tastes but I like the red accents.

Yesterday meanwhile I used some of the marmalade without to make oat bran muffins. They went nicely with some soft goat cheese and the soup I also made yesterday morning from root vegetables.

Also heating it up are the 76ers, who on Saturday against the still-motley Knicks ran their win streak to seven. Can they make it eight today when they host the Mavs at one this afternoon? I hope so. I wanted to be at the game, always a great way to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, but will have to settle for following on the radio.

For whatever reason, since Tony DiLeo took over from Mo Cheeks, the Sixers have played a much more energetic brand of basketball---on both sides of the ball. And I don't think it's just the competition, though that's been part of their recent success. After a sluggish couple of months, Andre Miller has become the great floor leader he was last season and Andre Iguodala is again showing brilliance. Dalembert seems to have remembered that defense wins games, and Young, Speights, and Williams, babies all, are absolute delights to watch. Not to forget Ivy, Evans, Green, or the occasional Marshall. Getting Elton Brand, who's been sidelined with a dislocated shoulder, back into the mix may be today's biggest challenge.

hamels on mlbn

This image, taken along the South Branch of the Raritan River in Clinton, NJ, makes me feel the cold that has prevailed this week. When I was there earlier this week, just the sound of the water was enough to make me shiver. It's been, all in all, beautiful winter weather this January, but just a tad on the cool side, with temperatures in the single digits for days. Today it's suddenly surged into the 20's and feels almost like a thaw.

I came in from cleaning last night's snow (we had inch or two) off the car to happen on a live press conference on MLBN featuring the dishy Cole Hamels, about his new contract. The guy has it all, including grounded values, a sense of humor, and disarming flashes of humility. Do wish Howard, with his fab smile, not to mention unique talents, were next.

I start to see the value of MLBN. Watching an ad for the World Baseball Classic tilted me even more in favor of the channel. Presumably all games will be covered this time around. I can hardly wait!

hot news/cold day: hamels signs!

Breaking news: Cole Hamels has signed a three-year contract worth $20.5 million with the Phillies. The contract buys out the first three years of arbitration for the 25-year-old, who was the MVP of the NLCS and World Series. Good stuff! Ruben Amaro, Jr. is getting things done with the arbitration-eligible guys. Wish Ryan Howard were next up but he's looking for pie-in-the-sky money. So who will it be?

scenes from a short trip yesterday to ny

At Port Authority, these visitors took picture after picture, posing with George Segal's sculptures of stolid commuters. This permanent installation is in the South Annex of the terminal.

I was about 20 minutes early to meet a friend from Budapest at Macy's at 2 so went into the Herald Square pocket park for a close-up view of this beautiful monument depicting Minerva with bell-ringers, by Antonin Jean Carles. It's a tribute to James Gordon Bennett and his son, of the same name. Father founded the Herald Tribune in 1841 and son made it into one of the best newspapers around. It later survived as the wonderful International Herald Tribune, long one of my fave papers.

Despite the brutal cold and slicing wind in Pennsylvania and New York yesterday, the park was sheltered from the wind and almost warm in the sun. Some of Tesla's friends gathered at my feet for a hand-out and let me catch this street design. See the tail feathers at top right.

Outside the entrance of the park the intersection of 34th and Broadway looked oddly tranquil as people and vehicles came and went.

Just before two I headed across the street to Macy's Broadway entrance to meet Aniko, a stalwart in my Hungarian adventures, who is visiting a daughter in New York. I had last seen her a year ago December in Budapest. She had to do some shopping for her other daughter, at home in Hungary, and so we ate lunch in Macy's cellar, then she went off to shop and I to return to Pennsylvania. It was a short visit but worth it. A day after a miraculous rescue in the Hudson River, there was still wonder in Manhattan.

dobbs signs, madson does not

I got home last night from New York to the good news that Gregg Dobbs, pinch-hitter extraordinaire, had signed a two-year contract with the Phillies, worth $2.5 million. Reliever Ryan Madson, on the other hand, reportedly declined a three-year deal worth $12 million. He's a free agent next year and his agent is Scott Boras, who has already been in Madson's ear about testing the market as a closer. Good luck, Ryan, guess you are counting on the economy bottoming out before the 2010 season. Just please keep your eye on the goal this season.

material color

I took a drive to Clinton, New Jersey, this morning to see the show Material Color at the Hunterdon Art Museum. This pleasing little museum is in an old stone mill in the scenic town of Clinton. Shown above is the view from the parking lot in front of the museum. As you can see, ice had taken over the viewing deck. Save the absence of colors, the ice here was much in keeping with the show, which featured 20 artists who use paint as a "substantial material" to create fabulous surfaces, ranging from exuberant and riotous to sleek and seductive. I wanted to touch, stroke, or squeeze almost every piece in the show, which goes off at the end of the month. If you are in the area and have not seen it, please go. The colors alone are worth the drive there.

windmill cookies

Until I saw these cookies at my local natural foods store last month, I hadn't thought about windmill cookies for ages. Charmed by the package and my memories of 'windmills', I of course bought a box. The cookies are a 'natural' variation on the European-style cookies, made of whole wheat flour and sweetened with pear and pineapple juice. Not at all sweet, they are delicious. Maybe I'll make them my ballpark treat this season.

brains in his feet

"He played as if he had brains in his feet." That's what Branch Rickey said about Ty Cobb. It's a quotation that stays in the mind. I last saw it under Cobb's picture, in the rotunda of the Hall of Fame. It came to mind again today when I heard that Rickey Henderson (and Jim Rice) had been elected to the Hall of Fame. Henderson is the all-time steals leader, with 1,406, and runs leader, with 2,295.

california, pa

A couple of weeks ago I happened to drive through the village of California, which is about 20 minutes from here. I have often passed California Road but didn't know that it went to an actual village with the same name. As the historic marker shown above explains, in 1849 a German settler named Frederick Wolf built a four-story hotel and named it the California House Hotel in honor of the California Gold Rush. Wolf made a sign for the hotel, showing a prospector with a sack of gold nuggets hanging over his shoulder. The village grew up around the hotel, which is still there though its name has is changed. Now I know why there are other local roads named Sacramento and San Francisco.

la petite auberge

I was in New York yesterday, first on Lexington Avenue, where I took this photo of the Chrysler Building, my fave. I took it just a couple of blocks from La Petite Auberge, where I met a friend for lunch. We usually meet at one of the South Indian restaurants in the same neighborhood but this time he suggested a French restaurant featuring bistro food. It turned out to be a comfy kind of place, with an old-style decor, good service, and good food of the sort that used to typify French cooking. I had leeks vinaigrette and filet of sole meuniere. My friend had butternut squash soup and veal medallions. For dessert, I had creme caramel and he had chocolate mousse. We also each had a glass of wine to toast the new year. I might not try the leeks again, which were creamier than I like and, though tasty, seemed to have come straight from the fridge. The sole, though, was cooked well, which is to say it was not at all overcooked. All in all, La Petite Auberge was a delight. No trip to Paris in the works but yesterday's lunch brought the city a bit closer.

After lunch, I went across town to interview artist Cyrilla Mozenter. We talked in her studio for two and a half hours, surrounded by her magical creations, as the light slowly faded from the New York sky.

bits and pieces

Monday was the first day for players to file for arbitration. A busy time for the Phillies, who have eight eligible players: Hamels, Howard, Blanton, Victorino, Werth, Durbin, Madson, and Dobbs. In the ideal world, contracts would be signed and arbitration avoided before the start of spring training. Just over a month to go!

Yesterday the Phillies signed 2nd baseman Marcus Giles to a minor league contract in what seems to be a reclamation/insurance move. Chan Ho Park is also now a Phillie.

More on J.C. Romero: No one but Romero and Dong Lien, the Phillies strength and conditioning coach, knew about the arbitration hearing on 10/22. Under the terms of confidentiality determined by MLB and the Players Association, not even the Phillies knew that J.C. had failed a test or any of what subsequently went down. New GM Ruben Amaro, Jr., speaking to reporters this week, indicated that the Phillies learned of the matter only in November. It makes what Romero did in the World Series even more remarkable. He chose, after all, to risk it all, including $1.25 million in salary, in order to stay on the team and play. That's one mentally-tough dude. And we won't be seeing him till June, boo-hoo.

another view of charles bridge

Here is another view of Charles Bridge, from the other side. I'm now rereading By Night Under the Stone Bridge by Leo Perutz. Mixing magic and history, the novel deals with the uneasy relation between the Jews of Prague's ghetto and the Christian realm ruled over by Rudolf II, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. The story revolves around an imagined affair between Rudolf and Esther, the beautiful wife of the wealthy financier Mordechai Meisl. As red rose and white rosemary flower, the unwitting lovers unite only in their dreams.

trashpicking in kyoto

Kyoto, the old city, has always been a great place for trashpicking. This image of Charles Bridge, with the castle in the background, is from a begrimed book of pre-World War I photographs of Prague. A friend in Kyoto found the book in his landlady's trash one morning several years ago and, knowing my fascination for Prague, sent it to me. I was looking at it the other day. Winter always brings Central Europe to mind.

makes no sense but j.c. romero to get 50-day suspension for 'negligence'

Here's a story that makes little sense on many fronts: Phillies lefty reliever J.C. Romero today will be suspended 50 games at the start of the 2009 season for being in violation of baseball's substance abuse policy. Romero is not accused of using steroids or of cheating. He is not accused of using any banned supplement during the postseason. Rather, he is accused of 'negligence', though the facts of the story as presented so far by ESPN, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and other media outlets suggest that Romero did his due diligence but MLB did not.

In July Romero purchased an over-the-counter supplement at a shop in Cherry Hill, NJ. He showed it to his longtime personal nutritionist to make sure that it was OK and was assured that it was. He also showed it to Dong Lien, Phillies strength and conditioning coach, who advised Romero to get a second opinion, then sent a sample himself to MLB for vetting. In spring all players had been told that any supplement bought over the counter in the US was allowed under the MLB substance abuse policy and that's what Romero had bought. So far so good, huh?

Late in August, however, Romero failed a drug test, then a couple of weeks later failed another. At that point he says that he stopped taking all supplements. Another test on October 1 was negative. MLB meanwhile had done testing on the supplement used by Romero and deemed it no longer allowable. In November it sent a letter to the Players Association stating that three supplements formerly allowed were now found to produce positive test results and were no longer allowed. Again, the letter was sent in November, after Romero had stopped taking the supplement, which till then was allowed.

A hearing on the matter was held in Tampa on October 22, the first day of the World Series. Romero was told he faced a 50-day suspension plus loss of salary ($1.25 million) for taking the supplement but if he admitted guilt it would be reduced to 25 days. Romero refused to do that, maintaining that he was innocent. The PA rep also thought that in the end the case would fail.

In December however Romero got word that the arbitrator had had a "change of heart" and decided on a 50-day suspension, for negligence. What more could Romero have done? He asked two people to check the supplement, which was eventually sent to MLB. Why was he not informed once MLB had determined that the supplement would produce a positive test result? If Romero feels he is being targeted, no wonder.

Asked for comment, both GM Ruben Amaro, Jr., and manager Charlie Manuel declined to respond. Undoubtedly, once the suspension is formally announced they should comment. It seems to me that if Romero is at fault for 'negligence' in following the rules announced in spring, then MLB is even more at fault for its negligence in telling Romero that the supplement submitted for vetting was suddenly no longer allowed. MLB turned a blind eye for years while some of its biggest stars were on the juice and is now penalizing players for following its own guidelines. Little about this story makes sense but it does sound very wrong.

What is amazing to me is that J.C. attended the arbitration hearing, all very hush-hush, on the first day of the World Series, then went on to pitch brilliantly in the series and to win two games, including the series clincher. That is some kind of focus, with a hearing taking place and suspension, loss of salary, and disgrace hanging over his head. Even if he did nothing wrong.

Since joining the Phillies, J.C. has been great in the bullpen and become a fan favorite. But that's really not the point. The whole story reeks of another waffling move by MLB.

burrell now a ray

In a bit of baseball incest of sorts, Pat Burrell today signed a two-year deal worth $16 million with the Tampa Bay Rays. That's a lot better than his going to the Mets or some other NL East team, which would have been sad. With the Rays, he's part of a good young team which should benefit from his clubhouse leadership. Good luck with the DH'ing. And no, the Phillies could not have signed him to a similar contract. They would have had to offer arbitration and he would probably have received $16 million for one year. Here's to good seasons for both Ibanez and Burrell!

three kings in kingston

Once again one of Mila Mina's wonderful little murals up at St. Mary's in Kingston provides an illustration, today for the Feast of the Epiphany. Here the Three Kings mark the end of the Christmas season, and the rest of the week will be given to taking down all the trees. Decorations will go back into boxes and taken again up to the attic. The house will look suddenly spare. There will be a small flurry for Chinese New Year's, then more for Valentine's Day. When is Easter this year?

No decorations for spring training but it is getting closer and closer. Yesterday I got totally sucked into MLBN's truncated rebroadcasts of the World Series. My instant resolution is no more for at least a week.

a house in otomo

Organic farmer friends in Japan are building a house in the Otomo section of Tono. (I used to live in the Ayaori section of the same mountain town.) They've found a like-minded carpenter to help them but the project is taking time, as such things do. I was happy to see this picture of the new house, looking pretty good, in the New Year's letter they sent.

red-eyed--and it's only 1/3

A pocket calendar from Ukraine, but the name of the beautiful church is in Cyrillic, which I am unable to read.

Yesterday afternoon I went to see Happy-Go-Lucky, an offbeat (and not entirely successful) little British flick about happiness as a life choice. Last night I watched Game 5 (parts 1 and 2) of the World Series on Comcast. This afternoon I went to see Milk, a riveting film with excellent acting. Sean Penn is outstanding in the role of Harvey Milk. Just now I've been watching Game 1 of the 2008 WS on the MLB network. My eyes are about to fall out of my skull. Tomorrow it's time to get to work.

Two players in the postseason replays stick out: Chase Utley and Cole Hamels. Despite having a hip injury that required postseason surgery, Utley steadfastly refused to discuss even the possibility that he was hurt while continuing to play sparkling defense and running the bases with abandon. As for Hamels, he was like one born to the big moment. No matter what the circumstances, he was always cool and always in control.

don larsen shines in mlb debut

After 30 minutes last night of the new MLB network, my eyes were glazed over and I had to quit. It even managed to make special guest Jimmy Rollins, a thoughtful, articulate guy with a gift for turning a phrase, come across as a dull dog.

And the undertaker look should be dropped immediately. Everyone on the show but Rollins and Hazel Mae was dressed in a black suit, almost all of them of the kind found hanging in the back of the closet for a funeral. The sets seemed to be very big and the people in them far from each other. Studio 42, a tribute to Jackie Robinson, may turn out to be something special but in its debut there was too much talking and too much standing around.

No sign at all of Mitch Williams. I can't imagine him in the confines of those sets but some kind of real voice is badly needed.

So I forgot till much later that the network's much-touted debut was to feature a broadcast of Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees. When I returned to the TV set, it was the bottom of the 6th and there was Larsen coming to bat. Wow! The game was at Yankee Stadium but Larsen was batting. Yeah, the good old days when there was no DH in the American League.

More signs of the times followed. It was a World Series game being played during the day. Some 64,000 fans were in attendance and--weirder than weird--it looked as if 90% were men, most of them wearing suits. Then there were the baggy baggy unis worn by the players, which made them look like shambling giants. And there was the pace of the game, brisk by today's standards. Only Jackie Robinson in his last at bat made an obvious try to get Larsen out of his rhythm.

Even the commercials included in the footage were short and sweet. As the shadows fell at Yankee Stadium, the game just kept moving along. When Larsen finally struck out the last Dodger, a pinchhitter for Dodger starter Sal Maglie, he calmly walked off the mound and almost reached the first base line before catcher Yogi Berra leaped onto him and he was swarmed by his teammates.

Larsen and Berra were in the studio watching the rare footage of the game, which had come to light earlier this year. The shot of Larsen's face as he watched the final strike of the game was absolutely priceless. He said that not a day goes by that he does not think about that game, and the expression on his face showed the wonder that he still obviously feels. In this age of instant classics, that game was the real thing.

Shot in Kinescope, with only a camera behind home plate, the grainy black-and-white film captured the drama and tension of the game. Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer in the 2-0 win and Duke Snider made a running outfield catch to keep the Dodgers in it. The announcer was the cherry on top: Vin Scully, who must have still been in his 20's.

here's to 2008/2009

It never gets old, even with the 2009 season getting closer. I found this composite postcard at the Majestic Clubhouse store at the ballpark on Monday.

Brad Lidge was the "perfect choice" for Sportsperson of the Year, awarded by the Philadelphia Daily News. In a telephone interview yesterday, some reporters from the paper talked with Lidge, now at home in Denver celebrating the birth of a baby boy. Lidge sounded totally grounded and totally focused. Just what we want. When asked about the club's offseason moves, he offered high praise for Pat Burrell, both for his performance on the field and for his strong leadership within the clubhouse. Pat had become a good friend, he said, and had played a big part in his first year in Philadelphia. And what a year it was!

Ex-reliever Mitch Williams, who has shone in his role as Phillies postgame analyst for Comcast, has a new gig with the MLB network, which debuts this evening. The Wild Thing will be part of a nightly baseball show during the season and a hot stove show in the offseason. The promos featuring the Harold Reynolds and Hazel Mae are already making this channel look sketchy. The presence of the fatuous Reynolds makes me nervous. Please do not let it be an ESPN clone, pushing the New York teams non-stop and spotlighting the (yawn) Yankees-Red Sox soap opera. And no, hyping a Mets-Phillies rivalry is no mollification.

So who takes Williams' gig with Comcast?