Musing of the Moment: Tottenham's 24-25 Kits

Footy Headlines is at its usual work. Tottenham's home, away, and third kits were leaked by them here. 

Let's take a look. 

Alasdair Gold and the fellows at WeAreTottenhamTV weighed in on these, but I'll do so also. 

There's not much a designer can do to jazz up a team that wears white for its home jersey. It's safe to assume we're going back to navy shorts instead doing the all white kits like they did this season. 

I like this jersey with the navy sleeves and piping down the sides. 

I'm fond of the away kit. I like the lighter blue with navy, and I prefer football jerseys with a v-neck rather than a crew look. If I were to get a jersey, I'd probably get this one. 

As for the third kit, I like the old-school logo and Nike logo facing downward for whatever reason, but I'm not fond of this mint-green look. If Spurs is going to go with green, I'd prefer they go back to the forest green look we had a few years ago. 

What I really want for an away or third kit is a purple one. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here are some interesting factoids from the Harper's Indexes from March and May: 

• Percentage of Americans who say that the nation's crime rates are getting worse: 77
• Who say that crime is an "extremely serious" or "very serious" problem in their local area: 17
• Percentage decrease in murders in the United States in the past year: 12
• Percentage change since 2009 in the portion of white evangelical Americans who say that gay people face discrimination: -34
• Who say that white evangelicals face discrimination: +43
• Portion of Americans who say they would not vote for a presidential candidate who has been charged with a felony: 2/3
• Percentage of Americans who say that the United States should spend more money on assistance for poor people: 72
• Percentage who say so when this assistance is called "welfare": 29
• Factor by which low-income Americans are more likely than others to identify as vegetarian: 2
• Percentage decrease in the number of Americans who identify as vegetarian since 2018: 20
• Percentage of Americans who believe they will be harmed personally by climate change: 45
• Percentage change in the total net worth of white Americans since 2019: +26
• In the total net worth of black Americans: -4
• In the total net worth of American adults under 40: +76
• Percentage by which employees who work in person are more likely to be promoted than those who work exclusively from home: 45

Steven Pinker's book, Enlightenment Now, connects to the point that people automatically think crime is always getting worse. 

White evangelicals are the worst. 

We'll see if voters follow through on not voting for a felonious, narcissistic, pathological liar. 

The difference in attitudes about "assistance for poor people" and "welfare" is a classic case of framing language. 

I find it odd that there are fewer people identifying as vegetarian. Perhaps those vegetarians are turning vegan? 

It makes sense that people who actually work with others in person are more likely to be promoted. 

Music Friday: "Wishlist" & "In Hiding"

Pearl Jam came out with a new album today. It's titled Dark Matter. 

I'm not featuring a song from that album because I haven't listened to it yet. 

So here's a couple of songs from Yield that I'm very fond of. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Baked Penne with Marinara-Meat Sauce and Cheese

I made this recipe after scoping out some recipes on the Interwebs, and I modified it according to how I wanted to do it. 

Ingredients

2 28oz. cans of crushed tomatoes (I prefer the ones at Aldi because they seem sweeter than other crushed tomatoes I've used.)

Extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped finely

1 stalk of celery, chopped finely (optional)

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped finely (optional)

3 TB of minced garlic

3-4 TB of dried basil

2-3 TB of dried oregano

1 TB of dried red pepper flakes

2-4 TB of butter (optional)

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper)

1 lb. of ground beef

3-4 TB of beef broth (optional)

1 box of penne pasta

9 slices of provolone cheese

Sour cream

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Finely chopped Italian parsley 

Process

The celery and carrot are optional. Sometimes I make my basic marinara with them. Sometimes I don't. 

Coat a Dutch oven or large pot with olive oil over medium-high heat. Dump in the onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until well cooked. Reduce to medium heat and put in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. 

Add in the crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Set to low and cover the top with a crack on the side to let the sauce breathe. 

I watched a cooking show a while back, and they advocated for putting butter in a marinara sauce because apparently it's a move some Italians make. It adds some complexity to the sauce. Take it or leave it. 

As the sauce is churning away, brown the ground beef on medium-highish heat. Once fully cooked, drain the beef on a plate lined with paper towels. And then add to the sauce. Add in some beef broth is so desired. 

I usually cook down my marinara sauce for anywhere from 2 to 5 hours with me stirring from time to time. I let my sauce cook for a while and then added the beef and broth about an hour before I was ready to assemble everything. 

Cook the penne pasta and drain. Take all of the pasta and add it to the sauce and mix well. Combine it all together. 

In a large, deep baking dish, add half of the pasta and sauce mixture. On top of it create a layer of provolone slices and smear some sour cream on top of the cheese slices. Then sprinkle heavily with mozzeralla and then parmesan. Add the remaining pasta and sauce mixture and sprinkle the top with mozzeralla, parmesan, and finely chopped Italian parsley. 

Bake at 375 degrees on the middle rack for 20-30 minutes.  

Music Friday: "Mind Riot"

While working on Wednesday, I listened to a lot Soundgarden. 

Here's a song in their catalog that is underrated. 

Random Notes from a Crank

This past week's Kristen Wiig episode of Saturday Night Live was one of the best overall episodes in recent history. The opening skit was hilarious. 

Here's a great part of that episode's "Weekend Update."

"Weekend Update" has always been my favorite part of most SNL episodes. That feature was a template for The Daily Show. 

In good news on the environmental-issues front, the EPA passed a rule that chemical plants will have to curb the toxic chemicals they emit. The chemicals that are being more heavily regulated are carcinogenic and known for the area of the country called "Cancer Alley." Check out "Environmental Protection Agency Limits Pollution from Chemical Plants" in the New York Times. 

The opinion piece, "I'm Jewish, and I've Covered Wars. I Know War Crimes when I See Them," is a must read for what is happening in Gaza. To criticize what Israel is doing is not being antisemitic. It's being a human. 

Music Friday: "What about the Children"

I didn't realize Gary Clark Jr. had a new album until I heard him interviewed by David Fricke's "Writer's Block" program on SiriusXM radio.

I picked up the album this week and have been listening to it almost every day.

Random Notes from a Crank

There's an extensive article in The New York Times about carbon-capture technologies that are being backed my large conglomerates. It's titled, "Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?"

The short answer is No. But you can mash the link and read for the various opinions on these ventures. 

Here's a noteworthy statement about these moves: 

“This is a new wave of denial, deception and delay,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law. “You have the fossil fuel industry trying to say we can engineer our way out of this without any major changes to business as usual.”

I discovered that Hulu now has the MLB Network. I'm watching baseball like a drunk on a bender since I haven't had the network since we switched from DirectTV many years ago. 

Of course, I still can't get Marquee Network to watch the Cubs because of Ricketts working with the evil Sinclair Broadcast Group to create the Marquee Network. If I ever switch allegiances to a National League ball club, it'll probably be the Brewers. They were one of my favorite AL ball clubs back when they were in the American League.

Or I guess I could just more closely follow AL teams I like: the Royals and the Twins.

It's hard to switch from the Cubs for me though because I've been so emotionally and intellectually attached to them for so long.

Being a Cubs fan brings with a certain mindset, what one might consider a positive fatalism. You have hope, but you're realistic. The mindset fits with me being a highly skeptical agnostic.

Based on this article in The Washington Post, "Cancun, Cabo, or Puerto Vallarta: Which Mexico Resort Is Best for You," if we go to Mexico again, I'm thinking Vallarta is place to be.

Music Friday: "Fuck and Run"

I've always been a fan of Liz Phair. 

Here's one of her most famous songs. 

Music Friday: "Finest Worksong"

Man, I'm usually more productive on my blog during spring break, but that trend hasn't been the case this year. 

Regardless, here's the opening track on Document, R.E.M.'s commercial breakthrough album. 

Music Friday: "Northern Attitude"

I've been on a Noah Kahan kick lately. 

So here's "Northern Attitude."  

Musing of the Moment: Interesting Facts/Trivia

For the holidays I got book of factoids titled Interesting Facts for Curious Minds: 1572 Random but Mind-Blowing Facts about History, Science, Pop Culture and Everything in Between. 

As I read the book, I noted these facts/trivia I found most interesting, and I'm sharing them in this post. 

They are below, and I'm quoting the author, Jordan Moore, word for word. 

• Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was a pragmatic leader. One of his best-known quotes is, "A revolution is not a bed of roses."
• Panama may be a small country, but Manuel Noriega was able to build a personal fortune of $300 million as its dictator from August 12, 1983 to December 20, 1989. He built his fortune through drug smuggling, CIA contracts, bribes, money laundering, and fraud.
• If you really don't care about something, you "couldn't care less," not you "could care less." The latter implies you still have some caring to do. 
• The once common dog name "Fido" came from the Romans. The name is derived from the Latin word, fidelis, which means "loyal." 
• An average dog's hearing is four times better than a human, but the part of their brain devoted to their sense of smell is about 40 time larger than ours. 
• Although the ancient Egyptians didn't name most of their breeds, their texts and reliefs show they had basenjis, salukis, and greyhounds. 
• When your dog kicks his hind legs after relieving himself, it isn't a weak attempt to cover the poo. No, Spot is merely marking his territory with the scent glands in his feet. 
• Although dice games preceded the Romans, the Romans were the first people to bet on dice. The Romans called double 'ones' -- 'snake's eyes' today -- a 'dog throw.'
• Up to 20% of the American population may be allergic to the chemical nickel. This could be big considering that nickel is a major components in smartphones. 
• The 1980 arcade game, Pac-Man, originally came out in Japan as Puck Man. The name was changed when it was realized how vandals could have fun with the word "Puck." 
• The Atari 2600 console hit the stores in 1977. It was a big step up from previous game systems because it used separate cartridges for each game. 
• The lyrics of the nursery rhyme "Ring around the Rosie" are a bizarre mystery. Many believe it refers to a bout of the plague where people carried bouquets of flowers and herbs to smell while walking in public, while others think it refers to a pagan ritual. 
• The bean bag chair was invented in 1968 by Italian Piero Gatti, Cesare Poolini, and Franco Teodoro. Its popularity peaked in the late 1970s. 
• As Charles Darwin (1809-1882) developed his theory of evolution, he also invented the modern office chair by adding wheels to make a swiveling chair. 
• The Ancient Greek mathematician Pythogoras (ca. 570-495 BCE) is best know for his theorem but he was also a mystic who led a commune. 
• The opposite sides of traditional dice always add up to seven. You can throw the dice as much as you want, but it's always the case. 
• According to the "birthday problem," 23 random people can be placed in a room and there's a 50% chance two of them will have the same birthday. 
• Tamales are an ancient dish dating back at least 5,000 years in Mesoamerica. The word "tamale" is derived from the Nahuatl/Aztec word, tamali.
• The Carthaginians reportedly catapulted pots filled with venomous snakes onto the ships of the Pergamon navy during a battle in 184 BCE. 
• Greek Fire was an incendiary, napalm-like weapon used by the Byzantine Empire from 672 to 1453. The ingredients and process to make Greek Fire remain a mystery. 
• In  the 500s BCE, the Greek colony, Sybaris, in Italy, passed one of the earliest known noise ordinances. It prohibited tinsmiths and roosters form the city limits. 
• Hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms were taken by many different American Indian peoples as part of religious rituals. The Aztecs even referred to one species as the "divine mushroom." 
• In the 1980s, ethnobotanist Wade Davis claimed that Haitian Voodoo zombies were created by a combination of tetrodotoxin from a pufferfish and bufotoxin from a toad. They were then "reanimated" with a natural drug, datura.
• Englishman Thomas Crapper (1836-1910) didn't invent the toilet, but he did improve plumbing by inventing the "U-bend" trap. It prevents liquids and gasses from flowing back into the toilet. The actual invent of the flush toilet can be traced back to a British man named Sir John Harrington who, in 1596, devised a mechanism with a cord that, when pulled, flushed away waste with a rush of water. 
• A survey revealed that the average woman hasn't worn $550 worth of clothing they own or about 20% of their wardrobe. Interestingly, shoes are the number one unworn item. 
• Islam has traditionally viewed dogs as "unclean," so they aren't very common pets in the Middle East. Cats were kept by Mohammad and considered "clean." 
• Contrary to common media portrayals, most burglaries take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Professional crooks strike when homeowners are at work or school.
• "Molly Pitcher" is the legendary name of either Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley or Margaret Hays. The story is that "Molly" carried pitchers of water to Patriot troops to cool the canons during a battle in the American Revolution. 
• Warrior goddesses were not uncommon in the ancient world. The Greek goddess Athena, the Assyrian goddess Ishtar, and the Egyptian lioness headed goddess Sekhmet, were all martial dieties. 
• No US state uses wind as its primary source of electrical power. But it's the second source of power for Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Kansas. 
• "Forest bathing" is a form of natural mental health therapy where a person simply spends time in forests. The activity is officially sanctioned by the Japanese government, which calls shinmin-yoku.
• A single cottonwood tree can release 40 million seeds in one season. The seeds can then float through the air for days, much longer than any other type of seed. 
• In the Keynesian view of modern economics, low unemployment is more important than low inflation. Government spending is encouraged to keep employment levels high. 
• Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) was South America's George Washington. Bolivar drove the Spanish from northern South America to become the father of the nations of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Bolivia. 

Music Friday: "This Ain't It"

Weathervanes is one of Isbell's best albums. Back to rocking out. 

And here's one of the many fine tunes on that album--video and live from Des Moines. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is a variation of a recipe I got from The Washington Post. It's damn good. 

Ingredients

• 2-3 TB of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
• 1-2 TB Dan-Os garlic seasoning
• 1 ts red papper flakes
• 1 TB of Smoked paprika
• 1 package of cream cheese (8 oz.), softened to room temperature
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Process

Heat the oil  in a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat and add in the chopped spinach and artichokes. Add the seasonings with some salt and pepper. Saute for 8-10 minutes until most of the liquid is sweated out of it. 

Turn off the heat and add in the the cream cheese and cheeses and stir thoroughly, so it's evenly combined. Add in the sour cream until it's evenly combined. Taste the mixture and add in salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. 

Get the broiler going in your oven and put the the skillet on the middle rack in the oven and broil for 5 minutes or so. 

Music Friday: "Doctor My Eyes"

Jackson Browne is such a great musician and songwriter. I got turned on to his stuff again after watching him perform on Austin City Limits. 

Also, I think this would be a good tune to play after an umpire makes a bad call.