Author Archives: Allyn

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”

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 will 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 theContinue 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”

A Day of Baseball in Harrisburg

The Harrisburg Senators began their 2019 campaign on Thursday with an 8-4 victory over the Bowie Baysox. Friday night’s game was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday doubleheader. I had a ticket for Saturday’s night, one I bought the day individual tickets went on sale early in March. Now I was getting two games forContinue reading “A Day of Baseball in Harrisburg”

A Notable Relation and the Land of Pleasant Living

Yesterday I learned a cousin designed Mr. Boh, the one-eyed, mustachioed mascot of National Bohemian Beer, better known in the Baltimore area as Natty Boh. His name was Donald Fenhagen. He was the PR director for the National Brewing Company and, in addition to Mr. Boh, he was part of the team that came upContinue reading “A Notable Relation and the Land of Pleasant Living”