Keith Burgess-Jackson

Here.

Both the Rays and the Yankees won today, so Tampa Bay’s magic number to eliminate New York is down to 52.

I’ve just become a fan of synchronized swimming.

I waited until late afternoon to do my run (3.1 miles). Usually, I get out by one o’clock. It was 98.8º Fahrenheit when I left the house and 99.1º when I returned. (My thermometer is completely shaded.) The sun was merciless. The way I see it, if it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger.

I got a nice surprise in the mail today: a complimentary copy of this, which contains my 1998 essay “Doing Right by Our Animal Companions.” Expensive, eh?

Did I hear correctly—that Miley Cyrus is a billionaire? That’s a thousand million dollars. Most people will never earn a million dollars over the course of a lifetime, and here is a 15-year-old girl who has already earned a thousand times that. I wonder how much her father (Billy Ray) earned during his days as a singer. Do you suppose she makes the decisions in the household?

Addendum: Maybe she’s not a billionaire yet, but she’s on her way.

What does the expression “Jack of all trades, master of none” mean to you?

Jim Bouton. (For an explanation of this feature, see here.)

To the Editor:

There is another point to be added to John L. Allen Jr.’s survey of the debate about Catholics and birth control: the modest but growing enthusiasm for “Humanae Vitae” among younger grass-roots Christians.

I teach theology, marriage and sex at Villanova University. Generally speaking, once my students actually read “Humanae Vitae,” they find it to be persuasive and beautiful.

Speaking personally, there are people in my family who were once liberal Catholics and dissented from the birth control prohibition. But as we read the theology, and as we thought more about the environmental movement, slow food and organics, it just seemed to make more and more sense to consider the rhythms of our own bodies and learn more about the actual science behind natural family planning.

To our surprise and delight, the science holds up, and we’ve seen how the pope’s “natural family” approach engenders more family communication, patience and generosity—virtues that are also not bad qualities for enhancing your sex life.

Christopher C. Roberts
Philadelphia, July 27, 2008

Note from KBJ: After you read “Humanae Vitae,” you may want to read this.

Here is your entertainment for this Wednesday afternoon.

Keith,

Knowing through your blog your love and knowledge of baseball, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the Cubs’ “Big Z.” Hall of Fame material or not? He switch hits, fields, throws strikes, takes winning very seriously, and will come out of the locker room to defend a teammate in a brawl (vis. Derek Lee’s little bench clearer last year). And I guess, beat the crap out of a shirking teammate.

But what is your analysis as a student of the game?

And by the by, it would appear the Cubbies have come out of the hitting slump.

Thank you,
J. Reed Anderson

Note from KBJ: I feel sorry for you, Reed. You are flirting with emotional disaster by rooting for the Cubbies. They may be lovable, but they’re never going to win anything. As for Carlos Zambrano, he plays for the Cubs; hence, he is a loser.

Here are my favorite sports:

1. Baseball
2. Cycling
3. Yankee baiting

What are yours?

I’ve been reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for a little over a year, having had my fill of the Dallas Morning News, which couldn’t report fairly on the issue of illegal immigration. The Star-Telegram is a very bad newspaper. I wouldn’t subscribe to a newspaper at all if I didn’t need a sports section. One of the local columnists for the Star-Telegram is Bud Kennedy. Every now and then, I skim his columns. He is as intellectually dishonest as Paul Krugman and Brian Leiter. He is so dishonest that it is creepy. Read this, from today’s newspaper. Notice the implication that Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity are responsible, even indirectly, for the recent mass murder in Tennessee. Suppose a mass murderer were found with a stack of columns by Kennedy. Would that implicate Kennedy in the crimes?

Here.

I leave you this fine evening with an essay by Heather Mac Donald.