Seventeen

In most professional sports, I don't really have divided allegiances, but I do have more than one favorite team. In football, the Chefs are right below the Chargers. In baseball, the Royals are essentially a farm club for the real contenders, so I've had a soft spot in my heart for the Red Sox (as factored partially by geography and also for their role as counterbalance to the Evil Yankee Empire). In hockey, there's always been the Bruins, but when longtime Bruin Ray Bourque got dealt to the Colorado Avalanche in an attempt to hoist the cup once in his 22-season career (and he finally did), so I still owe them for that (and then there's the late lamented Hartford Whalers, for whom I've always had a soft spot).

But in basketball, there's only ever been the Celtics. ( Roundball blathering, Godwin's Law follows. )

Burning, electrical, feathery doom

Fire at The Pines in Topeka. Of particular note to former residents on my f-list.

One of the houses in Manhattan that the tornado last week missed got hit by lightning this morning. I'd quote some of the story, but The Associated Press is being idiotic about bloggers and quotes, so I'll just paraphrase.

Speaking of, here's a list of everything in town seriously damaged, destroyed or otherwise annihilated. I've yet to see a media report about a reported suicide in town by a resident of one of those homes, but that could well be because of media policies regarding suicide. There's no consensus on the topic, and typically smaller publications err on the side of omission rather than deepening the wounds of survivors. In many cases you can make a compelling argument that proper publicity and context can redeem suicide coverage, and the framework of last week's storm and its catastrophic effect similarly make covering the act warranted. It's a vivid and painfully brutal example of the psychological damage that still lingers invisibly after the clouds have parted and cleanup begins, a reminder that your typical Midwestern stoicism isn't invulnerable or necessarily even workable.

Also, think twice before you shop PetSmart. Especially for a cockatiel.