When the Lights Go On Again

"When the lights go on again all over the world
And the boys are home again all over the world
And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above
A kiss won't mean 'goodbye' but 'Hello to love'

When the lights go on again all over the world
And the ships will sail again all over the world
Then we'll have time for things like wedding rings and free hearts will sing
When the lights go on again all over the world"

-- by Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus, Eddie Seiler

Is there a song at once more sad and still so hopeful as this #1 hit tune from 1943, a time of battles and blackouts during World War II?

After the jump, what that song has to say to us today.

Coterie Scaredancing

From 2010 10 Coterie Scaredancing

"Coterie" is an organization of Richardson-area friends who get together three times a year for dinner and entertainment. The theme and activity for each occasion varies. The October 2010 Coterie party's theme was "Haunted Hoedown." For a slide show of festivities, click here.

Twitter Tracks: World Series, Election

Twitter tracks from October, 2010:

• 2010 10 01 - Bank bailout (TARP) not only prevented another Depression but cost much less than once thought. Thank you, George Bush. http://goo.gl/GsVs
• 2010 10 01 - Irony alert: RT @imccanntx: "Happy birthday @dallas_news ! Still going strong after 125 years"
• 2010 10 02 - Had a nightmare where everything I said came out wrong. Good was bad. Up was down. Now I'm scared it was no nightmare but just life as usual
• 2010 10 02 - You Can Count On Me (2000): Single mom, sheltered son, drifter brother, stifling small town. Imperfect family with a big heart. See it.
• 2010 10 03 - No Libertarians? "We find it shameful and disheartening that the Dallas Morning News is abdicating its responsibility". http://goo.gl/wZM1
• 2010 10 03 - No respect. Northwestern (5-0) and Kansas State (4-0) are the only two unbeaten college football teams that are unranked.
• 2010 10 03 - Kudos to Berkner's Mighty Ram Band for finishing 3rd out of 31 bands in the BOA Regional competition at UT-Arlington. http://goo.gl/2C3P
• 2010 10 04 - Conservatives at Abilene Christian University feel marginalized. They really need to get out more. http://goo.gl/kb9r
• 2010 10 04 - Ouch! Wick Allison: "I have accused the Texas GOP of hypocrisy before, but I did not know ... how deep the rot goes." http://goo.gl/8cDx
• 2010 10 04 - DMN recommends Carol Kent ("poised and thoughtful", "non-ideological") over Stefani Carter ("troublingly misleading") http://goo.gl/6BgH

After the jump, more Twitter tracks.

Of Tornadoes and Tea Parties

A tornado is a force of nature. It is mindless, destructive and unstoppable. You can't prevent it. You can't reason with it. All you can do is pick up the pieces afterwards. Political movements are like that sometimes.

After the jump, how I'm trying to come to terms with that fact.

Derek Holland, Meet Atlee Hammaker

"It's like deja-vu, all over again."
-- Yogi Berra

Baseball is life. Life is unfair. Texas Rangers' relief pitcher Derek Holland learned that lesson the hard way in Game 2 of the World Series. He was called into the game with two outs in the eighth inning of a close game. His team put him on the mound and put the pressure on his back.

After the jump, what Holland does with his moment in the spotlight.

Pete Sessions Wants to Take Away Your Health Care*

Pete Sessions (R-TX) sent a mailer to voters this week that advocated repealing "Obamacare." I've received tons of campaign mailers this election season. But this one got me thinking. First, Pete Sessions doesn't need to spend money on campaign mailers. His re-election is assured. Second, Sessions gave a number of arguments, most of which were either dubious or false. Third, it's what he did *not* mention that was most interesting of all.

After the jump, more about each.

Unforgettable Memories of the Texas Rangers

When the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike from the Rangers' Neftali Feliz, the first thing I tweeted was "The Rangers win the pennant! The Rangers win the pennant! The Rangers win the pennant!" That was in homage to the radio broadcast of Bobby Thompson's "shot heard round the world" that won the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants. That home run came on October 3, 1951. I always thought it was poor timing that the most famous home run in baseball history came three weeks before I was born, robbing me of even the vicarious thrill of experiencing it. (My son John, on the other hand, had the good sense to be born just in time to experience another historic home run, one of the most famous in World Series history.)

The Texas Rangers have added little to baseball lore themselves. They didn't even exist as a team for a whole decade after Bobby Thompson's home run and didn't move to Texas for another decade after that. Still, I have two indelible memories of the Texas Rangers. Now that they are in their first World Series, it seems as good a time as any to recount them. Read on after the jump.

Learning Math: Square Acres

In case you aren't aware of it, Google provides a very useful calculator/conversion feature built right into its search form. For example, type "5*9+(sqrt 10)^3=" into Google and let it serve as a calculator. Or, type "10.5 cm in inches" to do unit conversion. Google can also perform whimsical searches. For example, type "number of horns on a unicorn" into Google and the Google calculator returns the correct answer of "1".

After the jump, some tricks that are harder for Google to master.

RISD Band Showcase - 2010

RISD combined HS and JHS bands

From 2010 10 RISD Band Showcase

A thousand of the Richardson ISD's talented young musicians took to the field Monday night for the annual RISD Band Showcase. The marching bands of Berkner, Pearce, Richardson and Lake Highlands High Schools each performed their competition shows to an enthusiastic full house, followed by a combined performance of all four bands joined by the musicians of all the junior high schools in the RISD. What a wonderful sound! What a show!

For photos of each band as well as the combined RISD band, look here.

Skies Clear for Huffhines Art Trails

From 2010 10 Huffhines Art Trails

The rains made Saturday a washout. But the gloriously sunny and warm day on Sunday brought out the crowds for the second and last day of Huffhines Art Trails, one of the best arts and crafts shows in north Texas. The artists' stalls, the live entertainment tent, food vendors and a park playground all were busy Sunday afternoon.

To see more photos, look here.