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Book 36 (of 52) – A Box Full Of Darkness

A Box Full of Darkness – Simone St. James

Three siblings return to their childhood home to finally find out what happened to their younger brother, who mysteriously disappeared at age six and was never found.  As they encounter strange things in the long-abandoned house, they each realize that the secrets they kept as kids had been happening to all of them.  The more they learn about the past, the odder things seem, until only the most outrageous explanation remains: their brother was a ghost who had been killed years earlier in their home.

Simone St. James returns after a two-year absence with A Box Full of Darkness.  This time, she fully leans into the supernatural, with ghosts playing a central role in the plot.  One of these days, I will have to dive into her back catalog, as she’s quickly becoming a favorite and has yet to disappoint.

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Driving Them In Again

Last Friday, the White Sox dropped 22 runs on the Royals, setting the high-water mark for the most runs I’ve seen a team score in person.  That record lasted less than a week.  Yesterday, the Cubs bested them by a run in their 23-3 victory against the Padres, thanks to a franchise-record tying eight home runs.  Dansby Swanson carried the day with three home runs and eight RBIs.

A small caveat here is that the Cubs scored the final eight runs against a position player, while the White Sox managed to get all 22 of their runs against actual members of the Royals pitching staff.

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Book 35 (of 52) – Trouble In Paradise

Trouble in Paradise – Elin Hilderbrand

With most of their assets seized by the FBI, the Steele family finds themselves scattered around St. John, trying to rebuild their lives.  After reading Rosie’s journals, Irene’s anger resurfaces and she leaves Huck, both the job on the boat and his house, moving in to Baker’s new villa.  When she runs into the mysterious Marilyn Monroe, she learns the truth about Todd Croft and how he used and trapped Russ as his fall guy, leading to his ultimate death.  After everyone reunites with their respective new loved ones, a hurricane hits the island and destroys nearly everything.

Troubles in Paradise, released in 2020, is the third and final entry in Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy.  Well, I wouldn’t quite say that I got the satisfying resolution that I had hoped for, the series overall was a net positive.  This probably could have been trimmed down to two books, and the whole hurricane plot that wrapped up this one seemed oddly placed, though I understand the reason for doing so.  At least this once again has me thinking of vacations to the Virgin Islands, though that seems unlikely at this point.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 23

Yet another great week, as I pushed past the 40,000-step mark for the second straight week, extended my streak of weeks over 30,000 steps to twenty, and passed the four-month mark at days over 4000 steps with 125.  A rain-soaked Sunday wiped out my Father’s Day plans, leaving me 5 steps shy of 4800 to start the week.  Monday saw a big improvement, falling 30 steps away from 6900.  Tuesday was more of the same, needing just 18 steps to reach 6800.  A busy Wednesday was the low point of the week, missing 4500 steps by 26.  Thursday saw a nice bounce back, jumping back up to 6200 steps.  A 22-1 drubbing of the Royals by the White Sox on Friday pushed me past my daily goal, ending up 25 steps away from 8300.  The week wrapped up on a good note on Saturday, ending with 5000 steps despite a graduation party taking up the afternoon.

Total steps: 42,463

Daily average: 6066.1

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #5

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

Today, we break into the top five as we approach the top of our chart.  Born out of the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 and the subsequent breakup of Nirvana, our next entry is the Dave Grohl solo project that turned into the real live band known as Foo Fighters.

 

#5: Foo Fighters
iTunes stats: 1249 plays
Previous ranking: #5

Adding listens to an additional six songs, pushing them up to 54 tracks, helped the Foo Fighters raise their total by nearly 22%, leaving them static in their spot on the charts.  Their most popular song, a live version of My Hero from a concert in London’s Hyde Park in 2006, clocks in with 68 listens, while twelve different tracks bring up the rear with only a single play.

I’ve managed to see the band in concert twice: first in 2005 and again in 2015.  The first show was an indoor affair at the Allstate Arena, where they were touring with Weezer, who got things started by mixing a cover of Big Me into their set.  Once the Foo Fighters came out, they mixed in old hits with selections from their new album for a fun, 16-song set.  They also managed to break down some of their hits with elongated guitar solos that gave the audience an opportunity to thrash themselves as much as humanly possible.

Ten years later, I saw them for the second time at Wrigley Field.  Having broken his leg over two months earlier, Dave Grohl spent the show sitting in an electric throne that could bring him out into the crowd thanks to an extended stage.  The band wasted no time in getting things started, blowing out Everlong and Monkey Wrench straight out of the gate.  Over 2 and a half hours and 21 songs later, they closed down the joint with a rousing rendition of Best of You.  In between, they put on a hell of a show, featuring their own hits along with some snippets of hits from Van Halen, Yes, and Alice Cooper.

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Relief Pitchers Part 1

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the first eight selections for relief pitcher.

Paul Assenmacher, acquired for the stretch run in 1989 as the team was looking for their second NL East title, spent parts of five seasons as a member of the Cubs and was a perfectly reliable bullpen arm for most of that time.

Rod Beck spent less than two seasons with the Cubs.  Signed in 1998, he led the NL in games and games finished while saving 51 as the Cubs won their first NL Wild Card.  He made one appearance in the NLDS, giving up three earned runs in less than two innings of work.  Injuries combined with ineffectiveness the following year led to him being traded to the Red Sox in August.  He was re-signed by the team in 2003 while recovering from Tommy John surgery but was released before being added to the big-league roster.  Following his 2007 death, he was buried wearing his Cubs uniform.

Joe Borowski spent parts of five seasons with the Cubs, from 2001-2005.  His best year came in 2003, when he was named the closer.  He saved 33 games as the Cubs won their first division title in over a decade.  He gave up just one earned run across five games in the postseason, as the Cubs famously lost the NLCS to the Marlins in seven games.  Injuries marred his remaining time on the team, and he was designated for assignment in 2005.

Continue reading →

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Driving Them In

The White Sox exploded for 22 runs against the Royals last night, tied for the second highest total in franchise history.  It was also the most runs I’ve seen a team score in person.  Which led me to think, what are the highest scoring games I’ve attended?  Here’s the top five.

1) 6/26/2026 – White Sox 22 Royals 1

The White Sox jumped on the Royals with a ten-spot in the third inning and then kept pouring it on the rest of the night, using five home runs to power their high total.

2) 7/3/2012 – White Sox 19 Rangers 2

A nine-run fifth inning knocked out Roy Oswalt and helped propel the White Sox to the lopsided victory.

3) 4/30/2008 – Cubs 19 Brewers 5

Six runs in both the first and eighth innings, powered by two home runs, including a grand slam, from Geovany Soto, put the icing on the Brewers.

4) 8/2/2010 – Brewers 18 Cubs 1

A scoreless tie going into the fourth inning, the Brewers scored every inning for the remainder of the game, including five-spots in both the fourth and fifth innings, to avenge their blowout loss from two years earlier.

5) 8/27/2021 – White Sox 17 Cubs 13

The Cubs ran out to an early lead thanks to a six-run first inning against Dallas Keuchel, but the White Sox roared back with eight in the third to take control, thanks to two three-run homers from Yasmani Grandal.

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Book 34 (of 52) – This Is Me

This Is Me: A Reckoning – Hayden Panettiere

This Is Me: A Reckoning, the new memoir from Hayden Panettiere, covers the beginnings of her career as a child actor in New York, starting with commercials and soap operas before moving into movies and network television.  She also details her family dynamics and her on-again/off-again with Wladimir Klitschko, the father of her daughter, and how her addictions impacted the relationships between them all.  The book ends with the unfortunate death of her younger brother in 2023.

I first was introduced to Panettiere in 2001 when, at the age of 12, she joined the cast of Ally McBeal for its final season.  That role, surprisingly, did not get mentioned in the book at all.  From there, she would star on Heroes and Nashville on television and movies such as Scream 4 and I Love You, Beth Cooper.  I knew she had a relationship and a child with Klitschko, and that she had given up custody of their daughter to him, but not the details nor the depths of her addiction.  All told, this was an interesting look behind the curtains of her life, taking responsibility for some of the screwups she has made along the way.  Hopefully, as she approaches her forties, she’s able to maintain her family relationships and her career.

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Rolling To The League

For the first time since 2011, Purdue had two players selected in the NBA draft.  Braden Smith, the all-time NCAA assists leader, was selected as the 38th overall pick by the Bulls but was quickly traded to the Pacers.  With the 59th, and penultimate, pick, the Timberwolves selected Trey Kaufman-Renn.  Smith and Kaufman-Renn led Purdue to the national title game in 2024, the Sweet Sixteen in 2025, and the Elite Eight this past March.

Smith broke the Big Ten assists record in January before taking over the all-time NCAA record during the NCAA Tournament.  He finished his Purdue career with 1,932 points and 1,103 assists, averaging 13.0 and 7.4 per game, respectively.  Kaufman-Renn finished his career with 1,655 points, averaging 11.3 over his 147 career games.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 22

A great week, as I pushed past the 40,000-step mark for the first time in a month and extended my streak of weeks over 30,000 steps to nineteen.  The week got off to a nice start on Sunday, as I used a long walk through the neighborhood to finish a single step shy of 6700.  Monday kept the good times going, ending with 5600 steps.  A very small drop on Tuesday left me with 5500 steps.  Wednesday was the low point of the week, as a busy workday limited me 4300 steps.  Thursday saw a nice bounce back, falling 27 steps shy of 5900.  The Juneteenth holiday on Friday, spent getting a haircut followed by a Cubs rout of the Blue Jays at Wrigley Field, surpassed my daily goal and ended up 39 steps away from 8400.  The week wrapped up on a good note on Saturday, ending with 5400 steps despite a graduation party taking up the afternoon.

Total steps: 41,861

Daily average: 5980.1