Astonishingly, the ONLY Blog posting in the World today focused on Howard Dean and Bob McClure

Maya's gotten a lot more chatty in the last week, especially in the morning and when we read her books. I know nothing concrete about language development and when chattiness should begin, but I'm still convinced her vocal exercising is a good sign. I've noticed that she's got a signature call - sort of quack-like open-mouthed plea, except extended and wide-ranging in pitch. Or maybe timbre. Obviously, I ain't no linguist. Regardless, I'll try to put up an audio posting of her upcoming diatribes when she's on a roll.

Not a good day for Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee, aside from a silly story from New Jersey where a GOP Congressional candidate replaced Dean with himself in a photo from '04 to look like a contender. Pretty much everybody jumps on Howie for a series of dumb riffs in a speech yesterday to progressive activist-types. But much more importantly, BiznessWeak fleshes out the fundraising totals for the Dems in the First Quarter of '05. Ugly. The Republicans are still raking it in and have much more cash on hand. The calls for Ho-Ho's resignation can't be far behind. I still think he's a compelling guy, but in the role of Party Chair he blows. Too bad he didn't take the time to build something from the remnants of his Campaign before moving onto the DNC. We're going back to Vermont next week where I plan to visit ye olde Campaign Office to see just what "Democracy for America" looks like these days. Expect much more commentary on what I see there.

After Maya went to bed last night, I went out for a few beers with some neighborhood goofballs that tend to be entertainingly gregarious. In the course of chatting it up with some others, an older gentleman that looked like a thin Santa in a Hawaian shirt inserted himself into our conversation by asking about my Milwaukee Brewers hat. He wanted to know if I remembered a pitcher from the early 80s named Bob McClure.
(pictured here with the adorable Jimmy Gantner of Second Base fame). I immediately launched into a full description of McClure's amazing pick-off move and how I can recall commentators always bringing up lame stories of Boy Bob perfecting his technique in the mirror. I don't deserve much credit for this crazily-random recollection because remembering players from a Junior High kid's most salient era of fandom is like asking the Pope if he can suggest a few passages describing why thy neighbor shant be killed. Or kilt. Regardless, as it turns out this man played High School ball with both McClure and Keith Hernandez and he'd seemingly been waiting his entire lifetime to meet an actual Brewers fan who could remember the lovable shmuck. In no time I began to wonder if I'd just adopted myself a prematurely-gray Grandfather. But don't get me wrong - he was a charming ballgeek. So much so that when the bartender (a seriously-funny freakish Red Sox fan with legit Boston roots) asked a few trivia questions, Gramps nailed them with little effort. Try this example of a ballsy brainteaser on for size - "name, for every position including a total of 4 outfielders, the players that have won back-to-back MVPs." Amazingly, only one player per position has won such back-to-backs. And Gramps got 'em all, including Hal Newhouser who won as a pitcher for the Tigers. When I threw out my only Brewers MVP question of note ("who's the only player to win MVPs at two different positions" - Robin Yount at SS and CF), Gramps brushed it off like you'd hoped he might when it came to some of the crumbs in his beard. Still I'm amazed by the nerdy sportiness of certain baseball types and I respect their obsession fully. Fun night hanging with the sporty nerds around the Sunset, nonetheless.

Other things afoot including our daughter that merit attention. Rock on and enjoy the upcoming weekend.