Winter Wondering Man

"Oh, the first snowfall of the winter
was a day that we all waited for."

Why does that sentence have a hanging preposition at end of it? It there some kind of rule that people who write popular songs aren't allowed to make them grammatically correct? "For" has no reason to be at the end of that line. It doesn't rhyme with another line-ending word in the song or anything like that, which would at least make the error somewhat artistically acceptable. I propose the following amendment:

"Oh, the first snowfall of the winter
was a day for which we all waited."

Isn't that much better? It may not have the same ring to it, but that's just because you're used to hearing the other version. It even still has the same number of syllables on the second line, which means it could be sung in place of the inferior original quite easily. At your Christmas gatherings, why not pass this suggestion on to all of your friends and relatives? Revolutions have to start somewhere, right? Why not start a grammatical revolution at your party this Christmas? Fine, fine, unlike the well-named Christian rap group, this definitely would not qualify as a "Grammatical Revolution In The Spirit." Don't pass it along to your friends at your Christmas parties. Don't tell them the person who came up with is a member of the Facebook group "I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar." Don't post comments on here pointing out all the inevitable grammar mistakes I made while ranting about poor grammar. Better yet, simply keep reading, and try to forget that I just spent half my blog post ranting about one little misplaced "for."

You're probably asking yourself right now, "from where did that rant come?" (Actually, after all of that above, you're probably asking, "where did that rant come from?" just to spite me.) Well, as it turns out, it's snowing here in DC today, which, in theory, signals the start of winter. The "start of winter" has left me wondering the following things:

1) Why does the first snowfall never actually occur in the winter?
2) It's supposed to be in the upper-60's again by early next week, so can this even count as the figurative "start of winter" anyhow?
3) Why do people in DC use their umbrellas when it snows? It's my second winter here, and I still find this extremely odd. I hate to disappoint then, but walking through a pleasant snow shower is in no way equal to walking through a downpour of rain.
4) Why was I hearing school-closure announcements on the radio this morning at 8:00am on my way to work when there was currently only a dusting of snow, which wasn't even sticking to the pavement, and the forecast only called for an inch total, none of which has stuck to the pavement? And people claim this isn't the south? Come now, no self-respecting northerner would cancel school for this "storm," as it was billed by the announcers on last night's evening news.
5) Why was there a (middle school-aged?) girl in a mini-skirt and flip-flops waiting at the school bus stop I pass on my way to work? Didn't anybody, for example, the lady standing next to her, who appeared to be her mother, tell her it was snowing and in the upper 20's? At least her school didn't close because of the weather, although, I kind of wish it had, as that would have made her choice of outfit all the more ironic.
6) Why did the morning traffic report include lines such as "there are cars off the road all over the place, I suggest avoiding the freeway altogether"? Come on people, there was only a dusting, and it wasn't sticking to the road! How does that make (tons of) people lose control and drive off the road?
7) Why do my hands get freezing cold inside what should be sufficiently warm gloves while my torso is perfectly comfortable underneath what everyone says is an insufficiently warm coat?

There are many more things the winter weather makes me wonder, but I'll save those for the next time it snows.

As you can see, there's never a dull moment during "winter" in Northern Virginia/DC!

It's also about time...

...a big name player fired Scott Boras like Kenny Rogers did last week. Alex Rodriguez had my hopes up for a little while, first that he wouldn't return to the Yankees and then, after he decided he did want to return to the Bronx after all, that he would have to cut ties with Boras in order to do so. It turned out, much to my disappointment, that Rodriguez simply did the monetary negotiating without Boras (since the Yankees refused to negotiate with Boras after he convinced A-Rod to utilize his opt-out clause) and, after agreeing on the basic terms with the Yankees, is letting Boras finalize the details. Personally, I'm not quite sure how the Yankees' stance of not negotiating with Boras is compatible with him finalizing the details for A-Rod. So much for the Yankees management sticking to their guns on that one.

As for Rogers, I just read earlier this afternoon that he finally re-signed with the Tigers. It sounds like the delay in his negotiations and signing after he fired Boras was because he was getting himself up-to-speed on how to negotiate for himself. Yes, after 20 years in the majors, and multiple times through the arbitration and free agency processes, he apparently didn't already know how to do that. This struck me as odd at first, but then I remembered that Boras always does everything for his clients, seemingly without any input at all from them. I'll admit, I was skeptical when the Tigers signed Rogers initially two off-seasons ago, and last season was a injury-marred disappointment to say the least. But, he showed in the 2006 postseason what he was worth to the team and, from all reports, is a good influence on the younger pitchers on the staff. I'm glad he's back!

It's about time...

...for me to have a blog again. I was inspired to have an active blog once again when Lisa directed me to some pictures on Keith and Bethany Miller's blog after we saw them at The Federalist Society's 25th Anniversary Gala last week.

When Lisa invited me initally to accompany her to the Gala, she mentioned that since it was Fed-Soc's 25th Anniversary, it was a black tie event this year. So, several (last minute) shopping trips and a (rather frantic) trip to the tailor later, I became the proud owner of a tuxedo and all the necessary accessories, including the all-important black (bow) tie. If anyone sees an arm or leg of mine lying around while they're out shopping this weekend, my wallet would appreciate it greatly if you'd send them back my way. But since that's rather unlikely, I need simply to find more black tie events to which I can wear my tux and continue to recoup its purchase value.

The Gala was held in the Main Hall at Union Station and was a lovely event. As it was the 25th Anniversary Gala, not only was it black tie, it featured several guest speakers including Ted Olson, who served as the Master of Ceremonies, President Bush, and Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas. We were seated in the far corner of the room from the stage, so we had to watch all of the special guests on the projection screen, but it was pretty exciting nonetheless! Each place setting included a newly minted (released earlier that day) Madison dollar coin, which was a particularly nice touch, especially since Madison's bust is part of Fed-Soc's logo. The food, although not overly impressive as a whole, had several highlights, including an amazing Crab Parfait as the appetizer and a delicious Veal Medallion as part of the main course. All-in-all, it was a very pleasant and enjoyable evening.