Meet Dave. Dave is an usher at Camden Yards. Dave was not the usher for my section when I attended Saturday night’s Orioles/Indians game — that was John, of whom I have no pictures — but I saw Dave several times during the game, as he left his water bottle near the handicapped seating inContinue reading “One Night at Camden Yards”
Author Archives: Allyn
Learning to Solve the Cube
I keep a Rubik’s Cube on my desk at the office. It’s something I can fiddle with when I’m thinking. Sometimes I’ll even take it into meetings. A couple of turns here, a couple of turns there, and if I mess it up, there’s an online solution — You Can Do the Rubik’s Cube —Continue reading “Learning to Solve the Cube”
Harrisburg at Twilight
I was in Harrisburg for a Senators baseball game. It was “Swords and Dragons Night” — Game of Thrones Night with the serial numbers filed inexpertly off — and they were playing the Bowie Baysox and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was making a rehab start. The game ended around sunset and, with the skyContinue reading “Harrisburg at Twilight”
The Way My Brain Works
About six weeks ago, a voice in the back of my head started talking to me. I want to redo the website. Why? I want to redo the website. Seriously. Why? Are you not happy with the website? I want something new. Why? I want something new. Then I’d find myself looking at WordPress themesContinue reading “The Way My Brain Works”
Russia, the Primakov Doctrine, and Implications for the 2020 Election
I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about Russia and the 2020 election, thoughts that are leading me to some chilling places. You may skip over this — “Oh, Allyn’s moaning about Russia again, and it’s all ‘Fake News’ anyway” — but that’s because you’ve never asked yourself the question: “What does Russia want?”Continue reading “Russia, the Primakov Doctrine, and Implications for the 2020 Election”
An Email Extortion Attempt
I went to the Harrisburg Senators doubleheader yesterday — the Senators dropped both games, and there were fireworks after due to Memorial Day — and when I got home about eleven o’clock I had an… interesting email. I’ll share it with you now. Return-path: <k5@zavazingo.icu> Envelope-to: allyn@allyngibson.com Delivery-date: Mon, 27 May 2019 02:10:01 +0100 Received:Continue reading “An Email Extortion Attempt”
A New Symphonic Tommy
Last week I received an email from The Who. Roger Daltrey is releasing an album next month, a symphonic version of The Who’s seminal album, Tommy, to mark the original album’s fiftieth anniversary. Confession time. I wouldn’t characterize myself as a huge fan of The Who. Yes, I have their entire studio discography, not toContinue reading “A New Symphonic Tommy”
Carlos Zambrano’s Return to Baseball
I missed this completely last week — Carlos Zambrano is staging a baseball comeback, signing a deal with the Chicago Dogs, an independent league team in the Chicago area, and hoping that he can remake himself into a useful reliever and get picked up by an MLB team. Zambrano was that fiercely talented, short tempered,Continue reading “Carlos Zambrano’s Return to Baseball”
Negro League Night in York
We start with a ending, and end with a beginning, as Gandalf says in Rankin-Bass’ underrated yet weird animated adaptation of Return of the King. I went to a York Revolution baseball game last night and came home with a Ross Detwiler game-used jersey. The Revolution were having a Negro League Night. From the promotionalContinue reading “Negro League Night in York”
Losing My Religion
Mike Pence and I have something in common. We both attended the now-defunct Christian rock festival Ichthus (“the Christian Woodstock” or some nonsense like that) in Kentucky and had significant experiences in our religious development there. For Pence, Ichthus was formative in becoming an evangelical Protestant. Pence was raised Catholic, his siblings remain Catholic toContinue reading “Losing My Religion”