Hooray! I finally got the issue with my amateur hour Google Calendar app straightened out. All it took was hanging on the Discord group for my carrier’s tech support. They helped my figure out that I was trying to simply the file structure of my web page, and I had just moved the app files to the wrong directory. So now whenever I find a new event, I can add it right away.

It seems I had no real craft beer-centric events for the Cubs Opening Day on Thursday. And there will likely be no big events for the White Sox opener on April 12. Guess you can just saunter into your favorite beer bar with a screen and enjoy something tasty.

It’s really too late to stick this in my previous event list, but Thursday April 7, Monk’s Pub at 205 W. Lake Street in Chicago is hosting Martin Dawson from Varvar Brewery in Kyiv, Ukraine. He’s done a collaboration with Saugatuck Brewing Co., called Ukrainian Golden Ale. in efforts to support those impacted by the current tragic events.Help us bring awareness to this new distinct beer style, while learning about craft brewing in Ukraine and supporting our friends in need. $2 from every pint goes to Jose Andres World Central Kitchen, helping to feed Ukrainian refugees.

Friday, April 8

Saturday, April 9

Sunday, April 10

A few weeks ago, I was checking out the artist’s poster for this summer’s Lollapalooza festival. Not at the top where the headliners are listed, but towards the bottom, where you need to increase the size of your screen to have the slightest chance in Hell of reading the names.

I was perusing them for two reasons: (1) to see if there was again that slightest chance in Hell that I would be familiar with any of them. (2) Maybe I’d find a band name I could tell jokes about for a future column about Lolla.

As for number one, nope, nothing. That was expected. It cemented my status as the old man looking up at the clouds. Part two was easier. When I found the band Wet Leg, I started laughing and snickering because I’m still a ten-year-old boy at heart. I assumed I could file this away until July. Again with that damn assume thing.

Then last week I ran across an article about the band. I laughed again because of that ten-year-old boy thing. But, I realized Wet Leg might be bigger and more popular than I would ever have guessed.

The next day I noticed they were scheduled to be the musical guests on the James Corden late-night show. Okay…okay…what’s up with this? I figured if they’re getting this much publicity, I should do some research to find out what the deal is with Wet Leg.

Wet Leg is a two-woman group from the Isle of Wight. Rhian Teasdale sings lead vocals and Hester Chambers plays lead guitar. The duo met while in college. They’re back by a trio of session and touring musicians.

Last summer they released their first single, “Chaise Lounge” which had more than a million streams and video views. They followed up with their second single, “Wet Dream”, (again with the ten-year-old boy laughter) to excellent reviews.

I also read that they play a form of the Americana music genre. If you aren’t familiar with this, think The Band, Lucinda Williams, and The Avett Brothers. It’s one of my favorite genres of music. It was time to check out the tunes of Wet Leg.

I went to YouTube and found ten of their performances. Some were from live shows on their recent tour, others were studio videos. None of them was anything close to the Americana genre (no idea how the reviewer came up with that) but it was pretty good.

The reason for the last four hundred words is Wet Leg will be dropping their first studio album today. Shockingly, I’m going to find some time today to check it out. I never would have dreamed I’d be doing this today a month ago. But, sometimes it pays to keep an open mind. You’ll never know what you’ll find.

And oh yeah….about that Lollapalooza poster. Here it is. Good luck trying to find Wet Leg.

Related Post: How do you know Lollapalooza is not for you?

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With a confirmed date for retiring from my pathology practice firmly set in crumbling concrete the questions as to what I will do with my time in my post-doc life have become more frequent.

My previous post on the topic dealt with the obvious; become a speaker, a pharmacy rep, an IT specialist, or a medical writer. Those all sounded like possibilities when I wrote that blog a few years ago. But recently someone dubbed me (and Cooper the loyal pooch) a posse and now I know–that is what I want to be!

I am not going to tell you about the incident that led to my being anointed with the moniker, but as soon as I heard about it, I knew that occupation fit. I just love the way it is going to look on my future business card. “Les Raff Medical Consultant/Posse Guy.”

Now I know “posse” has a few definitions. It may mean someone’s “crew,” or a bunch of rappers getting together to cut or track or two. But that’s not the kind of posse I want to be.

Nope, I am going for the classic definition: a body of persons summoned by a sheriff to assist in preserving the public peace usually in an emergency. I want to go back to the Wild West…or at least to the Yellowstone Ranch.

I can see it now. The Yellowstone brand on my chest, over my heart. The theme music streams through my head. Dutton gets out the word that rustlers are headed towards our town. I kiss my ranch-wife goodbye, pack my pistols in their holsters, saddle up Peacekeeper my trusty stallion, and head towards my destiny.

Sadly, my fantasy ends right there. I just don’t know what happens next. I have never sat through The Good the Bad and the Ugly, or The Magnificent Seven, and am only on season one of Yellowstone. I’m not sure what crimes rustlers actually commit. And to be honest and transparent, I can barely ride a pony — and if I ever had to use a firearm I would undoubtedly shoot my own face off. But damn, I think I look good in a cowboy hat.

So I may not chase the dream. It is most likely that my retirement life will be very full and rewarding but a little less thrilling than being a posse. But I am warning you–don’t go rustling on my front lawn or the Raff Posse is gonna get you!

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Levi Jordan (Photo by Stephanie Lynn)

MLB

The Cubs finalized their Opening Day roster this morning. As expected, three players open the year on the 10/15-Day IL, but one of the three was a surprise to me. I did not realize Alec Mills had suffered a lower back strain late in ST. His stint, along with Wade Miley (elbow inflammation) and Andrelton Simmons (shoulder inflammation), have been back dated to April 4th. This means reliever Mychal Givens is ready to pitch this first week of the season, and Michael Rucker has also made the team as a multi-inning reliever. Rosters have been expanded to 28 players for the month of April.

This is a good reminder that the new CBA pushed minimum IL stints for pitchers back up to 15 days (position player IL remains 10 days) in an effort to combat the roster manipulation several teams undertook last year to rotate fresh arms through their bullpen on a regular basis. Along the same lines, players no longer have an unlimited number of options to the Minor Leagues throughout the year. Teams will only be allowed to send a player down a maximum of 5 times during a season.

The Opening Day lineup has also been posted:

Here is today’s #Cubs Opening Day lineup! pic.twitter.com/RRi6XLut1T

April 7, 2022

AAA

Iowa 8, Buffalo 4

Game Recap

An extra base hit barrage by the Cubs built an early 5-2 advantage. Rain began to fall around the 4th inning and runs became difficult to come by for both teams the rest of the way despite some pitchers struggling a bit with control. Dixon Machado reached base five times and stole two bases out of the leadoff spot. Trent Giambrone scored three times. Iowa native Matt Dermody earned the win as he breezed through his first three innings of work in relief of starter Conner Menez.

Top Performers

Dixon Machado: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB (1, 2) (.333)Trent Giambrone: 2-4, 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB, SB (1) (.500)Levi Jordan: 1-5, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI (.200)Robel García: 2-5, 2B (.444)Zach Davis: 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB (.250)Matt Dermody: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, K (W, 1-0)Erich Uelmen: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 KAneuris Rosario: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K (S, 1)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

The first home run in the Cubs organization this season came off the bat of Levi Jordan as he managed to cut a two-run shot through the rain in the 7th. The utility infielder had a nice 1st half in Tennessee last year before injuries cut short his opportunities with Iowa in the latter half of the season. He’s got a bunch of veterans in front of him this year, but I expect the Cubs will still try to give him opportunities early to see if he can displace one of them.

Levi Jordan hits an oppo taco in the rain to give Iowa a 7-2 lead pic.twitter.com/LJJGHjkPLk

April 7, 2022

Brennen Davis struck out three times for the second straight game, but also walked twice.

Robel García already has three doubles through two games in his return to the Cubs organization.

The Cubs received 1.1 solid innings from former 4th round pick Erich Uelmen. The righty has mostly featured a sinker-slider mix from a low three quarter arm slot during his career which has always left him susceptible to left handed batters. He’s continued to work on a changeup over the years in an effort to combat this deficiency, and at least for his first game this season was able to work in several solid ones as he tossed 1.1 perfect innings of relief. If he can master that pitch this season he could offer the Cubs depth behind Scott Effross in the coming years.

Another ignorant attack on Florida for a law that doesn’t exist.

And the beat goes on. And on. And on.

World Business Chicago, the city’s public-private economic development arm, has joined thebaseless attack on what is wildly mislabeled Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Never mind that this is the kind of “misinformation” that social media platforms should ban, but hasn’t. The Parental Rights in Education act, simply put, rules out teaching the youngest school children about how they can change their gender identity. All you have to do is read it.

Here’s the part of the law that supposedly earns its critics’ deceptive label “Don’t Say Gay.”

Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

That’s it. Nothing else in the amended law attacks gays or anyone else who defines himself/herself/itself/theyself under the rubric LGBTQ+. I have to ask: For what purpose are innocents who still “wee wee” exposed to such terms as “Gender affirming surgery (GAS),” Gender Outlaw, Intersex, Neutrois, Top and Bottom surgery, Two-Spirit and the rest of the (required) lingo to identify the various shades of grey in the gay world. Go to the oh-so-helpful glossary ginned up by the UC Davis Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and see how many descriptives you, as a adult, can correctly identify.

Critics respond that the law is too vague, pointing to the clause that requires “age appropriate”instruction. Good Lord, who knows, with such opaque language, parents might insist that reading, writing and arithmetic be taught in the lower grades!

It will do no good to say I’m not homophobic after what I’ve written here. I’ll surely and sadly be labeled that, even though my objections here are centered on the ignorance and arrogance of the anti-parent lobby dominating the education industry. Equally sad is the loss of cognition by the business community that seemingly is guided by the scaredy-cat corporate PR mavens who fear the company will be tarred by witless wonks unless it falls in line.

Like what’s happening down in Orlando, where Disney condemned the Parental Rights law, another example of a big corporation captured by the same vacuous commentary that gets repeated ad infinitum by the media and the ideology they serve.

New York City has begun a similar “In Chicago, We believe” ad campaign to lure business away from Florida, where homophobia blossoms like a forest of healthy magnolias. The law proves that Florida is not inclusive, something that Chicago is so good at. Michael Fassnacht, president and CEO of World Business Chicago and the city’s chief marketing officer, told the Tribune that:

Chicago has values as a city, which makes it attractive for talent and corporations in the climate where other states drive legislation that is not respectful, inclusive of all the residents. I think that diversity is our key competitive advantage.”

If you think that “diversity” is Chicago’s “key competitive advantage,” you’ve got your head in the sand. Economic development experts usually rank key advantages such as a skilled workforce, welcoming business climate, attractive tax policies and more.

Chicago remains the Midwest’s economic center and crossroads of the nation’s transportation systems. How long is another matter.

What else is in the Florida law?

All kinds of scary stuff. Here’s a sample:

Schools “must reinforce the fundamental right of  parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children by requiring school district personnel to encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or her  well-being with his or her parent or to facilitate discussion of the issue with the parent. The procedures may not prohibit parents from accessing any of their student’s education and health records created, maintained, or used by the school district….’“A school district may not adopt procedures or student support forms that prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about his or her student’s mental, emotional, physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information…’‘Before administering a student well-being questionnaire  or health screening form to a student in kindergarten through grade 3, the school district must provide the questionnaire or health screening form to the parent and obtain the permission off the parent….”

And more like that.

Good God! What’s this world coming to when teachers and administrators have to listen to parents?

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Opening day! Cold and gray sky for the Cubs home opener at Wrigley field. Yes, baseball again, full capacity again, like before the plague years.

It’s enough to remember the beauty of baseball, the hope of Opening Day. The weather doesn’t really matter. It’s the spirit of blue sky and 70 degrees. Oh, there may be cold and snow in April, no fooling, but no snow today.

And there will be brighter days ahead. Today, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed as Justice of the Supreme Court!

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s time now. History is being made today.

Plagues, wars, climate change, there is reason for despair. There is much work to do. But the sparrows are chirping in the lilac branches, and the new leaves are a green mist in the rain. There is hope in a new season, and brighter days ahead.

Thirty-two years ago I started my path towards marriage and motherhood. I was full of hope and expectations dreaming about my future. Although my marriage ended in divorce, there is so much from this journey to be grateful for. Of course, the number one thing I am grateful for is becoming a mother to my three smart, kind, and beautiful daughters. I truly cannot imagine a life without them. They fill my days with joy, and I am constantly amazed at the women they are. I think that is an interesting part of life. There are the good days and the bad ones. There are those moments you think that you will never get through, but then there are times when life feels perfect. Looking at this picture of myself at 25 years old reminds me that while I had no idea what was ahead and what I would experience, I am grateful for each and every moment. They are all connected and together they have created this crazy, sad, exciting, and joyful journey of my life. I naturally do wonder what the next few years will bring, but I am going to just enjoy where the path takes me.

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All through my day, no matter where I go, or what I do, I am always looking for the good in people, in the world, in my life or even just in my day.

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And read more positive thoughts Looking For The Good

SpaceX is preparing to launch the first all-private astronaut crew to the ISS for Axiom Space. Ax-1 includes an international crew of four private astronauts on a ten-day mission to space where they will live and work aboard the International Space Station for eight days.

Ax-1 is currently scheduled for liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:17 am CT.

Photo: SpaceX

Launch coverage will be provided by Axiom Space and NASA, beginning at 6:55 am CT and 9:15 am CT respectively. Tune in to axiomspace.com to view live coverage of the astronauts from the time they walk out to their launch. NASA coverage can be viewed live on the agency’s website.

Axiom Space is a private space company building the first private space station, and training private astronauts in the meantime. This, and future, private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is a first, and crucial, step in realizing a new orbiting station in space.

Crew Dragon rolls out to the pad, Photo: SpaceX

During their ten-day mission, the crew of Ax-1 will travel to the ISS, carrying out dozens of experiments in microgravity, and inform the future foundation of a commercial outpost in space. To prepare for this mission, NASA and Axiom Space have worked closely together to train and prepare the private astronauts, make Station more accessible to the crew, and facilitate a cooperative atmosphere among all agency astronauts already on board and the Ax-1 crew.

Ax-1 crew, Photo: SpaceX

The four-man crew is led by Axiom Space VP and former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. Flying with him is pilot, Larry Conor, mission specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy.