Sunday Hangover: Florida State

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Going into this game I had confidence in Alabama's defense. 

My confidence has now been shaken. 

They gave up a lot of big plays. For a secondary that is probably one of the most talented in the nation, the number of long-yardage gains Florida State had is troubling. 

The real star of the game was Keelon Russell. 

With the running game not going well early on, Russell stepped up and threw the ball into tight windows and excelled. 

He had 23 completions for 30 attempts for 320 yards with three TD passes. 

And then there was the 57-yard run for a touchdown. 

The running game got going much better in the second half. Overall, the Tide ran for 247 net yards with both freshmen scoring touchdowns (photo of Brown above). 

The talented freshman Cederian Morgan caught his first college pass for a touchdown. 

Next up are the Gamecocks of South Carolina who have a very talented roster. 

Music Friday: "Haunted"

Another Music Friday another Phoebe Bridgers song. 

She's talented, people. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Poor Man's Noodles with Modifications

Hey Recipe sent me this recipe that's really easy. It's a one-pot deal with humble ingredients. 

Ingredients

1 32 oz. carton of low-sodium chicken broth

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 package of egg noodles (12-16 oz.)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 stick of unsalted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Healthy smidge of Penzey's Justice seasoning

Health smidge of Seasonello aromatic herb salt

1 large baked chicken breast, cut into small chunks

Process

Put the chicken broth and bouillon cub in a large pot. Bring to a boil. 

Add noodles, stir, and bring it to a boil. 

Add the cream of chicken, stir to combine, and bring it to a boil. Boil for approximately two minutes. 

Move the pot from the heat and add the stick of butter. Set the timer for 20 minutes. About halfway through that time stir to combine. 

Add in the cooked chicken breast and incorporate thoroughly. 

Add salt, pepper, Justice, and Seasonello to taste. I leaned heavily on freshly cracked black pepper. 

When I do this dish again, I will probably add in mushrooms and maybe peas. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Thank the Gods that the Supreme Court struck down President Adolf's scheme to disrupt mail-in voting during the midterms. Still though two of his lackeys were in dissent of the ruling. 

GoComics.com

Because of Moscow Don's stupid tariffs, Canada is looking for an economic partnership with the E.U.: "E.U. Offers to Make Canada 'Associate Member' as U.S. Ties Weaken for Both." 

If I were a Canadian leader, I'd do the same instead of trying to reason with fascist dumbass. 

GoComics.com

This strip from Rabbits Against Magic show the utter stupidity of trickle-down economics, also known as "voodoo economics." 

In other troubling matters, the I.R.S. under the is administration is even worse at collecting taxes and auditing the rich: "Billions in Taxes Go Unpaid. Under Trump, the I.R.S. Won't Say How Much." 

Sunday Hangover: Kentucky

I'm having to watch the games via phone during my son's baseball games this fall, so my Alabama football watching experience is a bit chaotic. 

I then watched the full game after we get back home. 

Russell looked like a young quarterback playing his first away game in the SEC. 

And then he didn't. 

A major part of the success of the offense in the second half was the Tide's commitment to the run game. 

Just run the damn ball. 

I'm still nervous about some of the operational aspects of the offense. There are way too many occasions when the play doesn't seem to get into the huddle quick enough. 

And Russell is staring down his primary receiver too often. 

On positive notes, Brook led the receiving corps with five catches for 54 yards. 

And Daniel Hill had 104 net rushing yards with a TD. 

The defense played well throughout most of the game and really came into their own in the fourth quarter. 

I know the secondary pretty well because most of those guys were playing last season, but the front seven is mostly new to Alabama fans. They seem to be rotating a lot of different guys. 

Music Friday: "Lost Weekend"

I realized recently that Phoebe Bridgers has a new album out. I've only given it one listen so far because I just got it this week. 

She's does fine work. 

Here's the title track of the album Lost Weekend. 

Random Notes from a Crank

GoComics.com

Where is the concerns from the GOP about the economic consequences of having so much debt? 

Thanks to Gary Markstein for the fine political cartoon above. 

President Adolf pledged to erase the national debt, and because of the tax cuts for the rich and companies/corporations not paying their fair share and this stupid war with Iran, it is only getting worse. 

The hypocrisy of Republicans is astounding. 

As I am sure the current dumbfuck administration in DC is reversing all kinds of steps to combat global warming, The New York Times reports that last month was the hottest month on record: "August Ties the Record for Earth's Hottest Month on the Books." 

We're all just sitting here living another day in Dumbfuckistan. 

If you are someone who actually thinks you'll get $5,000 dollars if the GOP wins the midterms, you're a fucking idiot. I bet you're still waiting for Mexico to pay for the border walls. 

I fear I'm stuck in another fantasy football situation in which the best running back doesn't get enough touches. Last year I had Kenneth Walker, who rarely got carries near the goal line. This season I drafted Jadarian Price in the sixth round, and I think the Seahawks will screw me throughout the season by not running Price in the red zone. 

Sunday Hangover: East Carolina

Butch Dill/Getty Images

There's always a bit of trepidation before the first game of the season. 

Last season was a stunning loss at Florida State in which the Crimson Tide looked like crap. 

Yesterday was a different story. 

The play of Keelon Russell is going to get most of the attention. However, what I was most happy with, besides the terrible busted play that led to an ECU touchdown, was the play of the defense. 

We'll see how they hold up against the Seminoles in Week 2, but the defensive front looked good. If the defensive front six or seven can play consistently like they did yesterday complemented by the defensive backfield, we may have a defense to create lots of problems for teams. 

On offense, we ran the ball well, and Russell had a good day. 

But he's taking too many hits. He needs to learn how to slide on scrambles. And he had to scramble too often because he held the ball too long at times. 

He's a heck of an athlete though. And he has a presence in the pocket that I hope develops throughout the season. 

I'd like to see more traditional running from Hill, Brown, Crowell, and Riley. 

Music Friday: "Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)"

I was listening to A Sailor's Guide to Earth this morning before my class. 

Here's the opening track of that fine album in two versions. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Tomato Sauce

My son is at college and wanted my recipe for pasta sauce. So I texted it to him, and I realized I never did a post about the sauce I make all the time. 

It's a mainstay of my kitchen. If you wanted to make it just for one person, all the ingredients would be cut in half. 

Ingredients

2 cans of crushed tomatoes - I prefer the crushed toms (short for tomatoes) from Aldi

1 yellow onion, chopped finely 

3-8 cloves of garlic (depending on how much garlic you want to go with), chopped finely

Dried basil 

Dried oregano (I typically use these in a 2 to 1 ratio)

4-6 TB of butter (usually the Aldi Irish butter)

2-3 bay leaves

Smidge of red pepper flakes

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Process

Cover the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and heat it to a little under medium-high heat. Add in the onion, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and cook for approximately 10 minutes until the onion is tender. Adjust the heat to just under medium. Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1-2 minutes. 

Dump in the crushed toms, add the butter, add the basil and oregano, and kick the heat down to somewhere between medium-low and low. Add salt and pepper. 

Partially cover the pot with a lid, so there's just a crack on the side. I usually cook it down anywhere from 2-4 hours while checking on it from time to time and tasting, so it's just cooking gently. 

In some cases, instead of just using onion, I sometimes use a mirepoix by adding one stalk of celery and one carrot, both of which are chopped finely. 

Or I'll add in cooked Italian sausage or ground beef. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I got this image and quotation from some dude's Bluesky posting. It's true. 

Poltico has a good article about how gas prices are hopefully a major issue that voters take into account when they vote in the midterms: "A 'Sleeper Issue' in Red States This Fall: Diesel Prices." 

I've written about this important issue in a previous post: "Musing of the Moment: US Debt, Gas Prices, & Inflation." 

I agree with the professor quoted in the Politico article about how the Democrats are not seizing on this issue like they should. They need to talk less about "oligarchs and the billionaires" and more about pocketbook issues related to high gas prices, inflation, and food safety. 

Keep it simple stupid: Talk about affordability issues. 

MAME: Making America More Expensive

I'm in Week 2 of my basic writing class that I'm teaching, and based on the results of my second reading quiz, I can already tell who has a strong chance of passing the class and who is more likely not to pass. 

Reading what I assign, paying attention, and coming to class on time make a difference.

Random Notes from a Crank

The Other 98%

I got that image from one of my social media accounts. It is deadly accurate. 

In a not surprising outcome, Canadian universities are actively recruiting professors from American universities to go up North: "Canada Hires 48 Scholars Away from Top Universities." 

That article comes from The New York Times. 

A newspaper I used to have a subscription to, The Washington Post, is sending me a couple of emails a week to get me back. I cancelled my subscription after Bezos interfering with the editorial board backing Kamala Harris for the presidency. 

It's sad to see the decline of that once great newspaper. 

In what is a deliciously rich case of situational irony, a stupid right winger got his ass deported: "Milo Yiannopoulos, Right-Wing Agitator, Deported Home to U.K." 

One of my favorite writers, Wendell Berry, passed away: "Wendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America's Agrarian Past, Dies at 92." 

I mainly read his non-fiction and some of his poetry. Later in his life, my Dad really enjoyed reading his fiction. 

Music Friday: "Information Overload"

This morning I was listening to the 1990 release Time's Up by Living Colour. 

Here's a gem from that album. What a great band. 

Random Notes from a Crank

President Adolf has restarted his trade war with Canada. Read all about it in "What Canadian Goods Will Take Trump's 50% Tariffs" in The New York Times. 

Having spent some time in Victoria, BC this month, I noticed that quite a few homes were flying the Canadian flag. I also saw some bumper stickers with the maple-leaf flag on it saying, "Not for Sale." 

A notoriously nice populace is motivated and mobilized. A common refrain I got from cashiers the short time I was there in Victoria was, "No worries." 

I'd also use that phrase if I had universal health care. 

And the one liquor store I visited near my eldest kid's apartment had very little bourbon. It looked like it only had what was left before the ban on U.S. liquor imports happened. 

Whether Canadians will go back to buying American beer, wine, and liquor remains to be seen: "'A Bad Taste in My Mouth': Will Canadians Buy U.S. Booze Again?"

With new tariffs being imposed by with this dumbass administration, I suspect the boycotts on American juice will remain. 

And as NPR reports, PM Carney isn't messing around: "As Canada Readies Retalitory Tariffs, Mark Carney Says His Nation Is 'At War' with U.S." 

The concerns are real about data centers. If a political candidate wants to go across party lines, oppose the building of data centers: "The Data Center Backlash Bursts into the Midterms." 

Music Friday: "Semi-Charmed Life"

It's a true sign that the marketers are going after your age group when a song you listened to and liked in your 20s is being used in a commercial. 

That's the case with Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life."