Signs of Spring

Susan/Circle:
Well, I've seen the first sign of Spring …

 

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Mike:
Have barred clouds bloomed the soft-dying day, and touched the stubble-plains with rosy hue?

 

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Susan/Circle:
No, but the first "What is on Manny's mind?" article has bloomed.

 

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Mike:
I nevah knew Manny had not one but two agents.

 

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Susan/Circle:
Yeah, well, there's one for Manny and one for "Being Manny."

 

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Mike:
OK, so I've been trying to resist the A-Rod writes a children's book news but, you know, just when I thought I was out, he pulls me back in.

 

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Susan/Circle:
I ordered a copy this morning from Amazon.

 

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Mike:
You're kidding, right?

 

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Susan/Circle:
No way. Think about how potentially loaded with A-Rod joke material this thing is.

 

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Mike:
Yeah, let me know if there's a paht where we learn how and when the young "Alex" is taught "The Dropping the Shoulder Move™."

 

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Susan/Circle:
Oh, The DTSM™ is not something that can be taught. You eithah have it or you don't.

 

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Mike:
It comes fully formed like Athena from the head of Zeus?

 

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Susan/Circle:
Yes, inspiahd and God-like is The Dropping the Shoulder Move™.

 

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Author's Notes
Mike's line in panel two is an allusion to the "Where are the songs of Spring?" stanza in the Keats' poem "To Autumn."

Comments

[dubbledown]

Oh geez. Did you have to buy the book at full price and give the douche more money?

[Natalie]

Do you think the climax of the book has young Alex underperforming in the big game and his team's team NOT winning the championship?

Question for Soxaholix, sorry for the tangent, hb. I know many of y'all are very well-traveled, and I just booked a trip with a friend to Prague. We are trying to decide on our day/night trip to the countryside. Some ideas on the table are Ceske Budejovic + Cesky Krumlov, Adrspach-Teplice Rocks, or Kutna Hora. Anyone have any insight into these, or ideas for better destinations?

[louclinton]

cool. a Joanne-free day.

Now, turn that into a thread on the War on terror.

lc

[Rob in CT]

Hart - Surprised you didn't drag in the "Winning a championship has been my burden since I was 18" chestnut. So sorry that being the highest paid player in the game, having the chance to put on the glove and uni everyday and play a kids game in front of a large crowd is such a burden. No statement of love of the game, money, stardom, whatever gets the ol' onions off. It's all a "burden".

I'm telling you, they guy (or his army of incompetent PR hacks) makes more problems for himself than any Soxaholix column or comment could ever possibly attempt. What an unmitigated putz...

[Rob in CT]

A-Rod needs to write a children's book entitled "Little A-Rod Learns to Get Over Himself".

Hey, Nat - have a great trip. Sounds really cool. Myself, I'm taking the wife and youngest out to Jackson Hole for some skiing and a trip to Yellowstone in a week and a half. Cannot wait to get away - and when I return, Spring Season will be upon us!

W00T!

[Scott]

From the Amazon review:

Out of the Ballpark is a gift from a great sports hero to every young player who dreams of becoming a star.

LOL

[yazbread]

ARod and his book? I thought the theme of today's strip would work in the topic of 'Astronauts Gone Wild'.

[h.b.]

Nat,

No need to apologize as that's a good kind of tangent IMO.

I had a chance to go to Prague for a job in the early 90s and I still have a bit of regret that I didn't do it.

What a great trip you're going to have.

[h.b.]

Almost did the astronaut story. But I've already seen lots of blog posts with witty comments on it, and wasn't sure I could add anything to the mix.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

Who would ARod drive from Houston to Orlando to confront about Jeter's love? What brand of diapers would ARod use? Would he use the DTSM(tm) instead of pepper spray?

[Harwich Rich]

Have fun,Nat and bring us all back some beer(nothing in green bottles for hb) :~(

[Da'beads]

Are we seeing a return of Lostaholix tomorrow...?

[Natalie]

Thanks, hb and Rob! We cannot wait. The first 4 days will be in Paris, but since my friend has lived there, we've decided to do the final four days in a place he has not been, and explore together. Guidebooks are great, but I'd love thoughts from people who have been.

That astronaut story is crazy! Almost as crazy as the skydiving murder in the Netherlands...

[Natalie]

Rich- right now Ceske Budejovice is leading the other ideas for just that reason: renowned beer, brewed there since the 13th c. Apparently there's also some cool Medieval architecture or something...

[h.b.]

I want to do a Lostaholix tomorrow but with the move to the later time for Lost, I fear I may have to set the DVR and catch it later. (When you wake up daily at 430am, the eyelids get pretty heavy after 10pm.)

Typically, though, it's the commercial breaks that put me sleep. So if actually start watching the DVR recording with enough lapse time to blast over the commercials, I may be OK.

[louclinton]

Nat, I've beeen to Prague and Ceske Budejovic + Cesky Krumlov, but not the other places. You have a great adventure in front of you. I can't comment on the other places, but the Hluboká castle, which I think is near CK is pretty interesting as is the town of CB. If you stay in CB, stay at one of the hotels in the central city, since it is a bit more modern outside.

Oh, and fresh Pilsner Urquel for about 60 cents a liter (as opposed to the skunk beer that we get over here). Have one or 4 for me.

lc

[Bob]

How come nobody else has reviewed A-Fraud's "book"? Good Lord, you just know the egomaniac checks his Amazon reviews on a regular basis.

[Bob]

Uh-oh. Amazon still hasn't posted my review. I guess it got reviewed itself. And like a ball hit at A-Fraud, dropped.

[yazbread]

Natalie,

Your trip to Europe will give you some insights into U.S. fical/trade policy as you convert your dollars into Euros and Korunas. Best to pack some smelling salts.

Yazbread

[Dave S.]

I'm dying to get to the home of the Pils. Quaff some for the rest of us, Nat.

[Rob in CT]

Nat - Don't forget to take your teal dress to the cleaners. You'll want to have it to wear while enjoying the liter or four of the Pilsner Urquel.

:^)

[Natalie]

Rob, thanks for reminding me! I'll have to get it back from A-Rod soon... :)

[miketc]

Can I be the first to rant about the Shaughnessy chat on boston.com? 500 typos... totally unreadable... and surprise: VOID of any insight. (or even research)

I don't know why I do this to myself... it's exactly what I expected.

[Kaz]

Sorry, Natalie, although I've been to Prague, it was only for about 19 hours. I saw the highlights (Charles Bridge, Castle, etc), but then I hitched an overnight train to Zurich. My family name is directly from a small town on the outskirts of the city, so I figured it'd be good to get over there since I wouldn't be sure when I'd be in the area again.

Prague seemed like it could be a lot of fun if I had more time, but I'm also really glad I made it over to Switzerland too. What a huge difference between the two places too. I don't think you can go wrong as long as you're looking for a good time.

Here's a gallery of photos to give you some ideas on what to see around Prague. I'm particularly happy with the one I took of my friend touching the Nepomuk statue for good luck on page 2.

[Rob in CT]

Wow, Kaz. Nice pictures! Thanks for sharing them with the class.

[bos1]

When is Truck Day?

[Natalie]

Yes, Kaz, VERY COOL, thanks so much for posting. You have made me even more excited! And I love the surreptitious "no cameras allowed" shots you got... 2 years ago I managed to get off three photos of the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel, shhhh don't tell. :)

[meredith]

Wow, Natalie, I'm jealous. My only experience of Prag was a grand total of 6 freezing, snowy hours on a late April Sunday afternoon in 1991. (I was doing my junior year in Munich ... it was a bus trip with a bunch of senior citizens. Leave Munich at 6am, get to Prague at noon, leave at 6pm, get back to Munich at midnight.) I'm convinced that breathing the only-very-recently-post-Wall-Fall Eastern European air for even that short period of time shortened my lifespan by several months. I can only assume things have gotten better on that front since then!

While you're in the Czech Republic, you must of course try the *real* Budweiser. It's pretty good stuff.

[Harwich Rich]

Has anybody else here come across wolfgangsvault.com? Some pretty decent concerts,a few right in town(Metro,The Channel)if you're into that 80's thing.Ahh memories.

[Kaz]

No problem at all to share. Just keep the camera low and turn off any of those goofball sound effects that some digitals come with (like I needed to hear it *click*) and be absolutely certain to kill the flash, because that's the real problem, not the pictures themselves.

I also thought the final picture of the Jaroslav Rona "Parable with a Skull" bronzework with my bottle of water in its hands was pretty funny (it's near the end of Golden Lane in/near the Castle).

[Bob]

Hey everybody. Here's a pic of my best friends' new baby Graeme. I suspect his proud papa will have him in my seat at Fenway just in time for the Yankee series.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=63193717&albumID=0&imageID=1900084821

[Johnmeister]

Hey Natalie,

I have been to Prague a few times. I would highly recommend Cesky Krumlov. It is a very beautiful town. I wouldn't spend more than a day or two there. It is mostly one lovely town with a castle and a river in the middle. Once when I was backpacking across Europe, I stopped there. The youth hostel I stayed in gave me an inner tube to ride the river. It was a lot of fun. Walk to the top of the hill. Jump in the water with the tube and ride it to the bottom. Repeat.

Cesky Budjovice should be cool. But I don't know if there is anything to do there outside of the beer factory. Not that a tour of the original Budweiser home is anything to sneer at.

[BethR]

Nat: I've been to Prague 3 times - it is probably my favorite city! On one trip, we went over to Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) and I can't recommend it highly enough. Beautiful art deco buildings, the spas...we felt like millionaires! Enjoy!

[Ice Princess]

"Do you think the climax of the book has young Alex underperforming in the big game and his team's team NOT winning the championship?"

-Probably will be exactly that, but with an epilogue describing how healthly and free the little boy felt again after going to therapy!