"An Ode to Mighty Edgar and the Champion Orange and Black"

An original Giants fan ("OG, for short; get it?) emailed me this poem someone wrote in the wake of the San Francisco Giants' World Series win.

I did a Google search to find out the author but got zero hits. So at this point, it's by Anonymous, who clearly is a hardcore Giants fan. Cornball, yes, but cool nonetheless.

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Giants by the Bay

Though they'd gotten past Atlanta, they were facing Halladay.

The Phillies were clear favorites, they swung a mighty bat.

But Bochy's band of misfits was having none of that.

Giants fever swept The City, awash in orange and black.

They would play the Texas Rangers, who had turned the Yankees back.

Timmy pitched Game 5, the Giants needed one.

With no score until the seventh, SF was hoping for a run.

Cody singled up the middle, and Uribe did the same.

Huff laid down a sacrifice worthy of acclaim.

Burrell went down on strikes, sending Edgar to the plate.

He sauntered to the box with an easy-going gait.

And now we see the pitch and see Edgar's eyes aglow.

And now the air is shattered by the force of Edgar's blow.

And somewhere folks are laughing, and little children shout.

This is happening in San Francisco, because Renteria hit one out.

Might Edgar indeed.

Pulling back the curtain on NPR

I'm catching up on podcasts and caught a very illuminating piece on NPR's "On the Media" titled "Pulling Back the Curtain."

"Pulling Back the Curtain" was played in tribute to NPR contributor John Solomon, who had died after a long illness. Solomon originally recorded the segment back in 2004 to explain "how our show, and public radio, is edited."

I had never heard Solomon's piece before but even six years later, "Pulling Back the Curtain" packs a wallop in questioning NPR editing practices. Those include the simple matter of editing out distractions ("um," "uh," "ya know") to more thought-provoking questions of whether hosts should use active voice in trying to make recorded bits come across as live interviews.

BBC's "Sherlock" is a winner

I am a longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes, be it books, movies or TV series so could easily turn my nose up at BBC's "Sherlock" series, which sets the famed detective smack dab in the 21st century. 

PBS has broadcast three episodes in recent weeks, and a Season 1 DVD set was released in the States on Tuesday. I haven't seen all the episodes -- yet -- but love what I've seen so far. Even though a strong tech theme pervades "Sherlock," the show's wit and attention to detail respect the original. 

Benedict Cumberbatch (not making that up) brings a new flavor to Holmes, building on the earlier Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett portrayals just enough to give the character a confident edge without offending hardcore fans. 

The tech references -- among them a great texting scene that opens Episode 1, Watson's stillborn blog, mobile web searches at crime scenes -- are invigorating, not forced. "Sherlock" makes clear from the beginning that this isn't your father's Holmes.

Indeed.