Where Do You Go After Hamilton?

OK, so let's say that you have really enjoyed Hamilton, the big musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  But that was several years ago, and now you're ready to try another recent musical.  You're in luck.  The 21st century has been very good for the Broadway musical so far.  Here are a few recent shows that are worth trying:

The Last Five Years (2002):  Jason Robert Brown wrote this show, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2002 and has developed a cult following ever since.  The Last Five Years tells the story of a marriage that failed.  It features only two characters:  Jamie and Cathy, who take turns singing songs from their perspective on the relationship.  The show opens with Cathy singing about the end of the relationship, and then Jamie comes on to give us his perspective on the beginning of the relationship.  From then on, Cathy's songs go backward in time, while Jamie's move forward.  In the last number, Cathy is singing about the beginning the relationship, while Jamie is singing about the end.  In the middle the two actors come together for a duet -- the only time they sing together.  The movie with Anna Kendrick is pretty good, but nothing matches the original off-Broadway cast recording with Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott.

Next to Normal (2008):  Written by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, this show won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making it only the eighth musical in history to do so.  (In 2016, Hamilton became the ninth.)  Next to Normal tells the story of a suburban American family where the mother is struggling with bipolar disorder, and the effects of her disease on the rest of the family.  This is not something you want to listen to just for fun -- it's entertaining, but the story is very intense, and this show deserved every award that it got.  The original cast recording allows you to follow the whole story from beginning to end, and it's really worth paying attention.

Murder Ballad (2012):  Written by Juliana Nash and Julia Jordan, this is another Off-Broadway show with a cult following.  The title comes from the old ballads about murder and revenge that were so popular in 19th century America, and the story is about a love triangle gone wrong.  You have to be in the mood for this sort of thing, but if you are this show is very entertaining.

Come from Away (2017):  Not all modern musicals are depressing.  Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come from Away tells the true story of how 38 plane, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were diverted to an airport in Newfoundland due to the events of 9/11.  Come from Away has many qualities of those old shows from the 1970's where a mixed collection of characters are thrown together for an adventure, with some folks falling in love and others learning life lessons.  Small-town life doesn't always get friendly treatment on Broadway, but the presentation of life on Newfoundland is very moving.

Hadestown (off-Broadway in 2016, on Broadway in 2019):  Anais Mitchell originally wrote Hadestown as a concept album that retold the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in a world that looks like America in the 1930's.  The album developed a following, and over time Mitchell kept polishing the songs and the arrangements until it eventually became a massive hit on Broadway, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical.  I cannot praise this show too highly -- it is a masterpiece about the relationship between humans and tragedy.  I like the Broadway version of the soundtrack, but my kids prefer the off-Broadway version.

Smart Girl Review: Doctor Who Season 3

Nothing drives traffic on the Internet like references to Doctor Who, the legendary British television series.  So we have brought back our very own Smart Girl, with her review of Season 3 of the Doctor Who revival.

Hi everybody, Smart Girl here.  I’ve finished all of Doctor Who, but I haven’t been able to write any more season reviews until now, so without further ado, here’s the next one!

Season Three (Warning: there will be spoilers)

Summary:  This season begins with a Christmas special starting where the second season ended.  At the end of last season, the Doctor was saying goodbye to Rose Tyler in her parallel universe and about to tell her something, when the connection ended.  The Doctor was naturally very sad, but his moping was interrupted by the appearance of a red-headed woman in a wedding dress.  As we all know, red-heads in wedding dresses can’t just appear in the TARDIS, so the Doctor is naturally very confused.  They find out she appeared because of special particles somebody had been feeding her, and they solve the whole situation, saving the world in time for Christmas.  Sadly, the woman, Donna Noble, refuses the Doctor’s offer of traveling, and he takes off once more.

Next, he meets a young doctor-in-training (a medical doctor, not a Time Lord "Doctor") named Martha Jones and takes her along with him after saving a hospital.  They travel together, with Martha developing a crush on the Doctor and the Doctor missing Rose.  The Doctor is told he is not alone, but he doesn’t believe it.  They meet a never-before-seen enemy known as the “Weeping Angels” in one of the most famous episodes in the new series, “Blink” written by none other than Steven Moffat.  We also learn Time Lords can turn human by putting their Time Lord-ness into a pocket watch, but it makes them lose all their memories.  One day, the Doctor and Martha are in Cardiff, charging the TARDIS when a familiar face comes running up to the TARDIS yelling, “Doctor!”  He grabs onto the TARDIS as it takes off and is dragged through the vortex.  The Doctor and Martha step out into the End of the Universe to find a man the Doctor recognizes, but sadly appears to be dead.  The Doctor ignores him, apparently unconcerned, while Martha tries to give him CPR.  Soon after, he wakes up and introduces himself as Captain Jack Harkness.  The three see a man being chased by a large group of people.  They follow him to a refugee camp for humans trying to reach “Utopia”.  The Doctor volunteers to help “Professor Yana” build the rocket to Utopia.  While the Doctor and Jack discuss his immortality, Martha notices that Professor Yana has a pocket watch just like the Doctor’s when he turned human.  She goes to tell the Doctor, but it’s too late.  Yana has opened the watch and remembered that he is the Master, the Doctor’s old foe.

The Master steals the Doctor’s TARDIS, but the Doctor locks it, so it can only go between present-day Britain and the End of the Universe.  They use Jack’s Vortex Manipulator to go to present-day Britain and find that the Master has regenerated and become the Prime Minister by hypnotizing everyone.  Also, he has turned the TARDIS into a paradox machine and used it to make the humans from the End of the Universe kill the past humans.  The Doctor, Jack, and Martha are captured, but the Doctor sends Martha away with the Vortex Manipulator after giving her instructions.  She spends a year walking around the Earth, apparently gathering the parts of a gun that permanently kills Time Lords.  The Master captures her and learns that she wasn't building a gun at all.  Instead, she actually told everybody to think the Doctor’s name at the same time so the Doctor could free himself and beat the Master.  This works, and the Doctor beats the Master by . . . forgiving him?  It somehow works, and the Doctor plans to travel with the Master.  Sadly, this will never happen because the Master is shot and refuses to regenerate.  At the end, Martha realizes that the Doctor will never fall in love with her, and decides to leave. 

My Opinion:  I liked this season, but not any more than the last season.  I started out liking Martha, because she was smart, but as the season went on, her crush got more and more annoying.  I especially hated the two-parter “Human Nature/Family of Blood” where the Doctor turned into a human named “John Smith”.  John Smith was extremely annoying, and it didn’t help when he fell in love with a human.  I spent the whole time waiting for the Doctor to come back.  I also disliked the Dalek episode, because I had a hard time the Daleks would ever even consider melding with humans.  Their shtick is that Daleks are supreme.  They’re based on the Nazis for crying out loud!  Racial purity is kind of their thing.   However, I loved “Blink”, mostly because of Sally Sparrow, an amazing character.  And, as usual, the Tenth Doctor was awesome.

As Others See Us

SmartGirl and I have been watching a lot of Doctor Who episodes from 2005 and 2006.  Doctor Who is a legendary sci-fi series in Great Britain, and you can learn a lot about how the British think by watching it.  For example, SmartGirl and I have been particularly intrigued by the portrayal of Americans, who normally appear as wealthy bullies or silly adventurers.  But the episode we watched last night, "Gridlock," really gave me something to think about.

In this episode, the Doctor and his companion (a young woman from Britain named Martha Jones) have traveled billions of years into the future to visit "New New York."  Once they get there, they are soon separated as Martha is kidnapped by two people who desperately need a third so that they can get into the "fast lane."  The Doctor jumps into a different car trying to find Martha.  The Doctor and Martha each learns that they are trapped in an enormous traffic jam -- it can take years just to go a few miles.  In fact, some of the cars have been stuck in traffic for 23 years.  Calls to the police go unanswered.  The government seems to have left the New New Yorkers to their fate.  Still, the motorists travel on, hoping to eventually reach their destination.

Up to this point, I thought Doctor Who was playing to the typical British view of America -- a place where, as the Brits see it, the average person is worked to death for the benefit of a selfish few at the top.  But just as the Doctor is railing at the the two people in his car (a cat-man and his humanoid wife) about the foolishness of the endless traffic jam, the cat-man interrupts to explain that the Doctor doesn't really understand the motorists at all.  They don't see themselves as abandoned.  And at this point, all the people, in all the cars -- millions of them -- start singing "The Old Rugged Cross."  The Doctor, for once, is stunned into silence.  Martha breaks into tears.  But the New New Yorkers have peace and comfort.

Eventually, of course, the Doctor sorts out the cause of the disastrous traffic jam, the traffic jam breaks up, and the New New Yorkers stream through the city to the strains of "Abide With Me."  The Doctor and Martha head home, moved by their experience.

I thought this was all quite good.  The United States is beautiful country, and wealthy, but it is often unfair and even brutal.  People here work harder than they do in Europe.  They get less help from the government.  They are often alienated from their neighbors.  It is easy to see Americans as naive dupes, stuck in their cars, rushing through a rat race that never ends.  And this viewpoint is very popular in much of the world.  But to understand the country, and to have any sense of its true strength, it's important to remember the remarkable fact that most Americans don't see themselves as victims.  Instead, like the folks in the story, they are pressing forward with their loved ones, hoping for a better future.  And many of them, as they do the countless jobs that make the United States such an impossibly rich nation, are singing.

Smart Girl Reviews Doctor Who

Smart Girl and I have spent much of our holiday break watching Seasons 1 and 2 of Doctor Who.  This is the re-launched version of Doctor Who that began in 2005 -- not the "classic" series that ran from 1963 to 1989.  So the episodes we watched covered the first two seasons of the re-launch, in 2005 and 2006.  You can find them on Netflix.

Here is Smart Girl's review of what we've seen so far:

Hi all, Smart Girl here.  I finished the second season recently, so here's my reaction.

Season One (Warning: there will be spoilers)

Summary: This was the season that started the re-launch.  The Doctor for this season was the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston.  In the first episode, the Doctor meets a 19-year-old girl named Rose Tyler and with her help, saves the world from living plastic.  At the end of the episode, Rose decides to come along with the Doctor and become his "companion."  They travel through time and space, meeting aliens like the Slitheen, the Gelth, and the Face of Boe.  They also find another person to join their merry company, Captain Jack Harkness.  All through their travels, they see and hear references to the "Bad Wolf."  In the last two episodes, we meet a new (and old) foe, the likes of which we have never seen before, foes that shouldn't exist.  A foe whose only goal is to "exterminate."  The Daleks.  The humans mount a last defense, but the worst thing that they can do to a Dalek is "impair its vision."  The Doctor has sent Rose back to her own time to keep her safe and keep his promise to her mother.  He has built a machine that will destroy all the Daleks, but kill everyone on planet Earth as well.  The Dalek Emperor taunts the Doctor, saying that the Doctor will become "the great exterminator." The Doctor chooses to be a coward and refuses to start the machine.  Meanwhile, Rose has looked into the heart of the TARDIS and comes back, spreading "Bad Wolf" across the universe to bring her there and destroying all the Daleks.  Unfortunately, you aren't supposed to look into the heart of the TARDIS, so the Doctor takes on all that energy, ensuring his death.  In the last moments of the season, the Doctor "regenerates" into the Tenth Doctor,(David Tennant)  the most iconic of the re-launch.

My Opinion:  Whew, that summary was long!  Well, I really liked this season, and it will always have a special place with me, because it is the season that made me give Doctor Who a second chance after having a bad experience with a later episode I had seen.  I like the Ninth Doctor and thought he was very funny.  I thought this season, especially the first episode, was a good way for me to get into it because the special effects were so obvious to my 2012 eyes that it never got too scary.  The two main things I didn't like about this season were the Slitheen and Rose.  I thought the Slitheen were a little overused, and I felt like their reasoning for one of the Slitheen re-appearing in a later episode was little more than an excuse.  More annoying to me was Rose and the people associated with Rose.  Her mother was annoying and her boyfriend Mickey was, well frankly, an idiot.  The thing that irked me the most, though, was Rose's relationship with the Doctor.  In my opinion, the Doctor shouldn't have romantic relationships with his companions at all.  I think the Doctor should be attached to them, but not romantically.  They should be like a brother or sister, or a best friend.  The only other thing that really bothered me was that Rose didn't do as much as I thought she should.  She spent a lot of time being a damsel in distress.  Other than those things, I really liked this season, especially the Daleks.

Season Two (Once again, there will be spoilers)

Summary:  This season begins with the Rose getting used to the new Doctor.  In this season, we meet more colorful alien life, such as the Abzorbaloff, "the Wire," and another blast from the past, this time, in a parallel universe, the Cybermen!  In this season, in almost every episode, there is a small reference to "Torchwood."  At the beginning of the last two episodes of this season, Rose tells us that this is the story of how she died.  It starts harmlessly enough, with a return to home for Rose.  Things soon turn bizarre when a "ghost" comes and nobody but Rose and the Doctor is alarmed.  The Doctor, naturally, looks for the source, and finds these "ghosts" are coming from the mysterious Torchwood.  They discover that Torchwood, which the audience witnessed the founding of in an earlier episode, is the part of the British government that deals with aliens.  So, naturally, they are doing something stupid, namely, expanding a hole between our universe and a parallel universe.  We find that the Cybermen from the parallel universe have traveled through the hole into ours.  Unfortunately, they didn't make the machine that can go between the universes.  "But then who did,Smart Girl?"  You ask.  Well reader, it was a very old foe who we already defeated.  That's right.  Our favorite villains, the Daleks!  But this time, these are the last four, we promise!  All the others are gone!  Oh wait, they have some "Time Lord science."  But not just any Time Lord science, they've got a prison ship!  Filled with millions of Daleks.  Oops.  However, the Doctor has a plan.  He is going to close the hole between the worlds and all the Daleks and Cybermen will be sucked into a "void," leaving them trapped between universes where they can do no harm.  However, since our heroes have all been through this hole, they would get sucked into the void as well.  The Doctor manages to send the other heroic characters (except for Rose) across to the parallel universe.  He and Rose plan to open the hole, then hold onto some super-spaceman handles until the hole closes.  They will be in one universe, their friends will be in the other, and everyone will be saved.  Everything is working perfectly until the machine that opens the hole starts going offline.  Rose pushes the lever back up, but is being sucked into the hole when suddenly, her dad (from the parallel universe) comes and takes her back to the other world.  The hole closes before she can go back and she and the Doctor are stuck in parallel universes, the only things the TARDIS can't go through.  So they are separated forever.  They have one last goodbye, where Rose confesses her love for the Doctor, but they're cut off before the Doctor can confirm or deny if he feels the same.

My Opinion:  This season was even better than the first.  The Tenth Doctor is awesome and hilarious.  This season also has my favorite episode so far, the last one.  Not because Rose and the Doctor were separated, but because of one section of dialogue between the Daleks and the Cybermen.  Now, I'll do a little explaining here.  The Daleks only have one emotion: hatred, and want to destroy all other species because they are inferior. They're also nearly impossible to kill.  The Cybermen have no emotions and want to turn all humans into Cybermen.  They are easier to kill.  The dialogue goes something like this:

Cybermen: Join with us and together we will upgrade the world.
Dalek: Are you proposing an alliance?
Cybermen: Yes.
Dalek: Request denied.  Exterminate! (Dalek kills the two Cybermen it was talking with)
Cyberman Leader: You have declared war on the Cybermen.
Dalek Leader:  This is not war.  This is pest control!
Cyberman Leader:  We are 5 million!  How many are you?
Dalek Leader:  Four!
Cyberman Leader:  You would defeat 5 million Cybermen with four Daleks?
Dalek Leader: We would defeat 5 million Cybermen with one Dalek!

And I believe they could.  See why this is my favorite episode?

Liveblogging The Oscars

For those of you watching the Oscars tonight, here are InTrade's predictions:

Best Picture: The Artist has a 94.0 percent chance of winning.

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist) has a 62.6 percent chance of winning.

Best Actress: Viola Davis (The Help) has a 65.0 percent chance of winning

Best Director: Michael Hazanavicius (The Artist) has an 82.0 percent chance of winning.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners) has a 94.5 percent chance of winning.

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (The Help) has a 93.6 percent chance of winning.

Mississippi St. 64 - 73 Kentucky (No. 2,079)

Rick Stansbury was born in Battletown, Kentucky, played basketball for Meade County High School, and played college ball at Campbellsville College, but somewhere along the line he developed a different understanding of the game than most Kentuckians. People from Kentucky are generally taught to respect the game. Play hard. Make your free throws. Get back on defense. All the bromides that are yelled almost every night at a high school somewhere in the Commonwealth during basketball season. That's the Kentucky creed, handed down from Coach Rupp himself. The ultimate expression of the creed, perhaps, was the Unforgettables -- UK's 1991-92 team that lost to Duke in the Elite Eight. That team had four guys (three from Kentucky and one from Indiana) who were supposed to spend their college careers sitting on the bench, but John Pelphrey (from Paintsville), Deron Feldhaus (from Maysville), Richie Farmer (from Manchester), and Sean Woods (from Indianapolis, Indiana) came this close to making the Final Four -- because they were in great shape and they played the game the way it's supposed to be played. That's why their names are in the rafters at Rupp Arena.

But Stansbury is a heretic. His teams at Mississippi State are the Oakland Raiders of basketball. Their whole demeanor and approach to the game is about as far from the Unforgettables as you can imagine. Stansbury has evidently decided that the way to succeed at Mississippi State is to recruit really talented kids with questionable attitudes -- and then hope that they'll show up for the big games. Almost every year, it seems like Mississippi State fields the same basic team: a bunch of head cases with worlds of talent who regularly blow games to teams like Auburn and Georgia. And then, when Kentucky turns up on the schedule, they circle the wagons and play out of their minds.

Because of this mix of talent and desperate effort, MSU has become one of the most dangerous opponents on UK's schedule. Look at the results since 2002 (home team listed first):

01/05/2002: Mississippi St. 74 - 69 Kentucky (OT)

02/23/2003: Kentucky 70 - 62 Mississippi St.

03/16/2003: Kentucky 64 - 57 Mississippi St. (SEC Championship Game, New Orleans)

01/13/2004: Mississippi St. 66 - 67 Kentucky

02/19/2005: Kentucky 94 - 78 Mississippi St.

02/01/2006: Mississippi St. 66 - 81 Kentucky

01/13/2007: Kentucky 64 - 60 Mississippi St.

03/09/2007: Mississippi St. 84 - 82 Kentucky (OT) (SEC Semi-Finals, Atlanta)

01/15/2008: Mississippi St. 69 - 64 Kentucky

02/03/2009: Kentucky 57 - 66 Mississippi St.

02/16/2010: Mississippi St. 75 - 81 Kentucky (OT)

03/14/2010: Kentucky 75 - 74 Mississippi St. (OT) (SEC Championship Game, Nashville)

02/15/2011: Kentucky 85 - 79 Mississippi St.

With the exception of the 2005 and 2006 games, every one of those games was very difficult -- four of them went to overtime.

So I have been dreading this return to Starkville all season. My only hope was that MSU was due to have a low-scoring game -- in their three games against Calipari-coached teams, they made 10, 10, and 12 three-pointers respectively.

But that hope seemed to go out the window quickly, as MSU (which had just lost three straight games to fairly mediocre teams) came out on fire. In the first half, they went 6-12 from three-point range and 7-7 from the line. Meanwhile, they were showing an unaccustomed intensity on defense. They are normally one of the worse defensive teams in the SEC, but they were all over the place in the first half, holding UK to 38.7 percent shooting. Plus, they hammered Kyle Wiltjer, sending him to the sidelines with an undisclosed injury after only four minutes. He did not return, and the Cats trailed 41-28 at the half -- their biggest deficit of the year.

Cal said after the game that MSU should have been up 20 at the break, but they were worried about getting to halftime with a big lead. In the locker room, Cal told his team they were only down six baskets, and he made a key defensive change. In the first half, Dee Bost (the long-time MSU point guard) had torched the Cats for 16 points. Cal had not put Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (the UK defensive stopper) on Bost because he wanted to press MSU, and MKG's role in the press meant that he couldn't guard Bost. Now Cal assigned MKG to Bost, called off the press, and awaited results.

Meanwhile, back in Northern Virginia, Number3Son and I were very nervous. Before the game I had warned Number3Son of how dangerous MSU could be. Now, looking anxiously at the blackboard where we keep score and the other blackboard that contains the SEC Standings, Number3Son said he was afraid we would be falling to 12-1. But he stayed anyway, in the hopes that his hero, Doron Lamb, would finally get hot. Meanwhile, Number1Son and SmartGirl each made rare appearances in the rec room during a UK game -- they could presumably sense the unusual tension in the air.

The next 45 minutes or so were quite frantic. Number3Son and I, who have been able to watch most of the games this year in peace and comfort, were hollering after almost every play, and I kept pointing out key moments to Number1Son and SmartGirl (who were very patient with their father). Kentucky was playing much, much better -- they cut MSU's lead to 43-39 in only four minutes. But now Teague had gotten into a funk, making silly turnovers and fouls and not getting back on defense. And Darius Miller, who had been cold, was so hesitant to shoot that Cal pulled him from the game. Meanwhile, strange stuff was happening on the court. Davis made a spectacular steal and dunk to make the score 45-41 -- but he was called for a silly technical foul for hanging on the rim, and the two FT's made it 47-41. Then UK benefited from some make-up calls, and cut the lead to 50-47. A few minutes later, Teague was called for his fourth foul, and MSU's free throws made the score 55-48 with 8:06 left. Teague's foul trouble gave Miller another chance (Calipari later said Miller would not have returned otherwise), and Miller's three-pointer made it 55-51. But a few possessions later, with MSU leading 57-53, Lamb missed a three-pointer and Dee Bost buried his own three-point shot to make the score 60-53 with only 6:28 left. Kentucky called time.

During the timeout, I told Number3Son that we pretty much had to shut out MSU the rest of the way, and he said that any UK player who gave up a basket at this point should be "punished." But I still hadn't given up, because I was convinced that the MSU players -- who were not used to putting out this sort of effort, having not done so all year -- were starting to tire. (Maybe the press was more effective than I thought.)

And down the stretch, their tiredness -- and a revived Darius Miller -- made all the difference. Coming out of the timeout, Miller drew a foul on a three-point shot (the MSU fans were furious, but I thought it was a good call) and made all three free throws. 60-56. Then Miller stole a lazy pass, and MKG hit a runner in the lane. 60-58. MSU responded with its own jump shot to make the score 62-58, but the Bulldogs were no longer capable of playing the physical man-to-man defense they had played in the first half. Instead, they were trying to hang on with a sagging zone. But down the stretch, MSU's lack of energy killed them:

4:44 left: Miller nails a three-pointer. 62-61, MSU

4:16 left: Dee Bost misses a layup, Davis gets the rebound and feeds to MKG, who misses a layup, gets his own rebound over two or three tired Bulldogs, and scores. 63-62, UK (MKG was fouled, but missed the free throw).

3:52 left: After another MSU miss, Davis is fouled while battling for the rebound. But MSU insists that MKG was fouled, and so he ends up having to take the FT's. Karma punishes MSU, as MKG makes them both. 65-62, UK.

3:40 left: Renardo Sidney, MSU's overweight center (who could be great if he were in shape), is fouled but misses two huge free throws. Lamb draws a foul at the other end and makes a free throw to put UK up 66-62.

2:10 left: After another MSU miss, UK holds the ball for almost the entire shot clock -- and then Davis drives all the way threw the exhausted Bulldogs for an easy lay-up. 68-62.

1:27 left: After MSU finally makes a jump shot to cut UK's lead to 68-64, the Bulldogs go back into their 2-3 zone. The Cats patiently pass the ball around and around -- and finally hit Miller, who nails another three-pointer to make the score 71-64 and effectively put the game away.

And that's why you have to respect the game. Down the stretch, UK had no bench (Teague had four fouls, Wiltjer and Vargas were in no position to play), and Cal had to rely on five guys (Jones, MKG, Miller, Lamb, and Davis) who had each played more then 30 minutes. Plus the Cats were on the road. Plus they had spent much of the last hour trying to overcome a double-digit deficit on the road. But our guys were grabbing rebounds and making plays, while the Bulldogs were spent.

Finally, with UK up 73-64 and less than 30 seconds to go, Number3Son said he thought UK was going to win after all. We ran up to tell SmartMom what had happened. High fives all around. And I hope we don't have to go back to Starkville for at least two years.

The Cats are now 13-0 in the SEC and 27-1 overall. They have clinched at least a tie for the SEC regular-season crown. They had five players in double-figures (Jones had 11 points and 6 rebounds, MKG had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Davis had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Lamb had 11 points, and Miller had 12 points, all in the last nine minutes). They overcame an MSU team that went 9-20 from three-point land and 11-15 from the line -- but which made only 32 percent of its shots in the second half.

Shooting Note: The Cats went 6-16 from three-point range (37.5 percent) and 17-21 from the line (81.0 percent). Davis, Lamb, MKG, and Miller all hit big free throws down the stretch, while Miller's three three-pointers were absolutely critical to their victory. We will hope this type of shooting continues.

Final note for Eric: After the game, the UK radio guys interviewed Davis, but he gave all the credit for the victory to Miller. He said that Miller is the team leader, and that playing with him is like having Coach Cal on the floor.

Smart Girl's New Favorite TV Show

Hi readers of the Heath Post! It's Smart Girl here. Today I'm going to a review of a TV show. This show will be My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which airs on The Hub network. Just so you older readers know, this is not the 80's version, it has new episodes airing. Don't be put off by the fact that it's based on the My Little Pony toys. I'll show you why you should consider this show, not just for little girls, but people of all ages.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is about, obviously, ponies. There are six "mane" characters: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are known as "earth ponies" meaning they are just normal ponies, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are "Pegasus ponies" meaning, obviously, they have wings, and Rarity and Twilight Sparkle are unicorns, having horns and magical powers because of said horns.

The story starts with us meeting Twilight Sparkle, a nerdy student of Princess Celestia, who is obsessed with her studies. She is worried about the coming of "Nightmare Moon,"supposedly an evil pony who formerly controlled the moon before she got jealous of her sister and was banished to the moon. When she presents the concerns to Princess Celestia, she is sent to Ponyville, the site of the "Summer Sun Celebration" when Princess Celestia raises the sun on the summer solstice. Twilight is also told to "make some friends," a command which Twilight ignores. Despite trying to be antisocial, Twilight meets several ponies who seem to think they are going to be great friends. However, at the Summer Sun Celebration, Princess Celestia goes missing and who shows up but Nightmare Moon. After this, Twilight and the other "mane" six go off to defeat Nightmare Moon with the mystical "Elements of Harmony," which they currently do not have. Therefore, they must obtain them in order to defeat Nightmare Moon and bring back Princess Celestia.

What I just described to you was the first episode. Just because I described it to you, however, does not mean you can skip to the second episode or just turn on the TV and watch the episode that's just on or whatever. You must watch all the episodes, which you can find on YouTube. Once you have caught on the show, you can watch new episodes on the Hub at 10:00 Eastern on Saturdays. That made clear, I think this is an amazing show with awesome songs and awesome characters. Also, just so you know, if you are not in the target age group, DON'T WORRY, you are not alone. This is huge and is actually a giant Internet phenomenon. I highly suggest this for any and all to watch and love.

Official Smart Girl Grade:A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Best Watched by Ages: ALL! Anyone can watch this show and love it.

So there you have it, an unlikely winner, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

And Starring Danny Devito, as the Lorax!

According to this article, and the accompanying trailer, any connection between the Lorax movie and the beloved Dr. Seuss book is purely coincidental. Smart Girl and Number 2 Son are extremely annoyed.

Of course, if you really want to watch a Dr. Seuss movie, you should check out The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which is one of the strangest films ever made.

Stamping Ground Back on the Food Network

It's time for another shout-out to Heather Priest of Stamping Ground, Kentucky. The last time we checked on Heather (a private chef and cooking instructor in Connecticut), she had won $10,000 on SmartGirl's favorite TV show, Chopped. In case you don't recall, the set-up here is that four chefs battle against each other. First, they get a basket of ingredients from which they make an appetizer -- after which the three judges eliminate one chef. Then, they get another basket of ingredients for use in an entree -- after which a second chef is eliminated. Finally, the two remaining chefs get a third basket and make dessert -- after which the judges pick a winner. The baskets are always full of goofy ingredients like "antelope" or weird vegetables and fish that most folks have never heard of.

Since Heather won in her last appearance, she was invited to participate in Chopped Champions; a special series in which former winners compete with each other. If she had won the episode that aired last night, she would have advanced to the final with a chance to win $50,000.

We thought she did very well. She had little trouble getting through the appetizer -- especially since one of the other competitors ran out of time before he could put all of the required ingredients on the plates he served the judges. So he was eliminated. In the entree section (which involved antelope), the judges thought Heather's meal was quite tasty, but they also liked the meals prepared by the other two competitors. Ultimately, the judges decided that Heather should have prepared a sauce for her dish, and so they chopped her. The two remaining contestants then made a complete hash of the dessert portion of the show, which vindicated my view (shared by SmartGirl) that Heather should have been chosen to keep going after the entree. I still think she was the strongest competitor of the four. It should also be pointed out that while her male competitors were wasting their time in ludicrous trash-talking -- and even getting into arguments with the judges -- Heather's behavior on-screen was beyond reproach.

But life is not always fair. All you can do is give it your best shot, produce work worthy of your talents, and behave yourself. So we salute Heather Priest again, and we hope her business flourishes.

U.S. Open -- Day 3 Wrap-Up

Notes from a day at the U.S. Open with most of my family:

1. After the usual two-hour commute, we got to the course around 11:20 AM. It was a bright clear day; warm, but not too hot. As the day wore on, we got the sort of hazy cloud cover so common on hot summer afternoons, but it never turned to thunderstorms.

2. Of course, we immediately started at the Trophy Club with another round of concessions. Number 2 Son went for a BBQ brisket sandwich, while Smart Girl stuck with her hot-dog order from yesterday. Smart Mom had what appeared to be a very nice salad, while Number 3 Son had a chocolate chip cookie and a meat-lover's pizza slice. I had my usual two hot dogs. The place was packed as always. I can honestly say that in three days at the U.S. Open, almost every concession stand I saw was absolutely packed. Americans must be the hungriest people on earth.

3. After eating, we set out in search of golf. Smart Mom wanted to see McIlroy, but he didn't tee off until 3:50 PM, which left us with quite a bit of time. We started by going to the 10th hole, which was an absolute madhouse with people everywhere. (The crowds today were simply enormous.) Then we wandered up to the third green, where we watched a few holes. And then we tried the fourth green.

4. By this time, it was getting close to 2 PM and morale was very low among the kids. So we left Smart Mom at the fourth green and went back to the concession stand. This time we got three bottles of Mountain Dew, one bottle of Pepsi, one bottle of water, and four Blue Bunny Lemon Chills. The latter is basically a very tangy, very thick lemon sherbet, and it was excellent.

5. But our location at the fourth green was not ideal. Smart Mom could see the green, but not the hole. Plus spectators were constantly having to work their way around the kids, who had taken to sitting on the ground. So we worked our way over to the second hole. This time we found a perfect location for Smart Mom where she could see the entire green complex, including the hole. Plus, about 50 yards away, between the second and third fairways, was a small cluster of shade trees far enough from either hole that no spectator ever walked there. The kids and I settled into this area, which we called "The Grove." We lay on the grass. We watched the Met Life blimp. We talked about a version of Plants vs. Zombies set at a golf course. I explained to the kids that the Grove symbolized the virtues of rural life; there's not as much to do or see in the country, but folks leave you alone and let you live as you please. Number 3 Son later decided that the Grove was the high point of the day, and that the trees were happy to have had someone finally sit under them. (Smart Girl and Number 2 Son went with the Trophy Club as the high point.)

6. Finally, at around 4 PM, it was time for McIlroy. We left the Grove and strolled over to the 2d fairway. We saw him hit his drive, watched him walk up to the green, and then headed over to the ropes used to mark a path from the 2d green to the 3d tee. We knew from past experience that the golfers would have to walk along that path -- and so we were within a few feet of McIlroy as he headed to the 3d tee. After watching his tee shot, we met up with Smart Mom and headed for home.

7. Of course, we had to make one more stop at the Trophy Club. Brownies, cookies, fruit and Pepsi were the order of the day, as we restored ourselves for the homeward journey. And then we went to the merchandise pavilion, where Number 2 Son got two polo shirts, Smart Girl and Smart Mom got tee shirts, and Number 3 Son said he didn't need anything.

8. We ended up getting home about 7:30 PM. All in all, it was an excellent day, and I am already curious about the possibilities of getting to the 2013 Open in Philadelphia.

9. As far as I could tell, the crowd today was very pro-McIlroy. This makes sense, as all of us in Washington tend to be very good at spotting when a new leader is on the horizon and in rallying behind that leader.

10. Oh, and the South abides. While on the course I saw people wearing gear from 10 of the 12 SEC schools; the only ones I couldn't find were LSU and Mississippi State.

11. There's really not much to say about the golf until after the fourth round, at which point I have a feeling that there will be quite a few things to say. For now, I will simply note that we are on the verge of a new era in golf history:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -14 (65+66+68=199)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -6 (68+69+70=207)

T3. R. Garrigus: -5 (70+70+68=208)

T3. J. Day (AUS): -5 (71+72+65=208)

T3. L. Westwood (ENG): -5 (75+68+65=208)

T6. S. Garcia (ESP): -4 (69+71+69=209)

T6. M. Kuchar: -4 (72+68+69=209)

T6. F. Jacobsen (SWE): -4 (74+69+66=209)

9. K. Kim (KOR): -3 (69+72+69=210)

T10. D. Love III: -2 (70+71+70=211)

T10. H. Slocum: -2 (71+70+70=211)

T10. B. Jobe: -2 (71+70+70=211)

T10. H. Stenson (SWE): -2 (70+72+69=211)

T10. B. Van Pelt: -2 (76+67+68=211)

U.S. Open -- Day 2 Wrap-Up

There were a number of short thunderstorms this afternoon, so there are still a very small number of groups that haven't finished the second round. To be honest, none of these people matters. At this point, the only thing that matters is whether Rory McIlroy can finally capture the major title that his talents clearly merit. If he does, and given that he's only 22 years old, then I think he may make a run at Nicklaus's major record himself.

Jeff Overton went 72+72=144 and is only two over par and in a tie for 33d place. He made the cut.

Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho went 76+73=149, which left him in a tie for 97th. He missed the cut, but he will feel good about his effort.

Other players of interest who are projected to miss the cut include Rickey Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey (ENG), Stewart Cink (who shot 70 yesterday and 77 today), Ian Poulter (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), David Toms, Jim Furyk, Angel Cabrera (ARG), and K.J. Choi (KOR).

Here are scores of prominent players who will likely make the cut but who are out of the top 10: Charl Schwartzel (RSA) and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) are both at even par; Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood (ENG) are at one over; Padraig Harrington (IRE), Martin Kaymer (GER), and Steve Stricker are at two over; Retief Goosen (RSA), Dustin Johnson, Luke Donald (ENG), Bubba Watson and Anthony Kim are all at four over.

Here is the leaderboard:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -11 (65+66=131)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -5 (68+69=137)

T3. R. Garrigus: -2 (70+70=140)

T3. B. Snedeker: -2 (70+70=140)

T3. M. Kuchar: -2 (72+68=140)

T3. Z. Johnson: -2 (71+69=140)

T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (69+71=140)

T8. A. Quiros (ESP): -1 (70+71=141)

T8. R. Palmer: -1 (69+72=141)

T8. K. Kim (KOR): -1 (69+72=141)

T8. R. Rock (ENG): -1 (70+71=141)

T8. H. Slocum: -1 (71+70=141)

T8. D. Love III: -1 (70+71=141)

T8. B. Jobe: -1 (71+70=141)

Oh, and coverage tomorrow will be delayed as Smart Mom and Number 3 Son will be joining Number 2 Son, Smart Girl, and myself at Congressional.

U.S. Open Day 1 Wrap-Up

Once again, it appears that the most interesting story of a major tournament will be the battle between Rory McIlroy and Rory McIlroy. Who will prevail, the incredible shotmaker who is clearly the most talented player since Tiger Woods, or the amazing choker who has shot at least one round in the 80s in two of the last three majors? I don't think anyone can catch McIlroy if he's on his game, but he can certainly beat himself.

As for the so-called American challenge, that is over. If anything, the gap between the American golfers and the rest of the world is getting larger and larger. Congressional is exactly the type of course on which American golfers used to have an advantage. Now there's only one American in the top 10. In fact, only 7 of the 21 golfers who broke par today was an American.

Oh, and Charl Schwartzel is only three shots off the lead. Since 1960, here are the golfers who have won the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year: Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), and Tiger Woods (2002). That's it, that's the list. If Schwartzel does it, and heads off to Britain holding the first two legs of the Grand Slam, it would be one of the great golf stories of all time.

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -6 (65)

T2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -3 (68)
T2. C. Schwartzel (RSA): -3 (68)

T4. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (69)
T4. R. Palmer: -2 (69)
T4. K. Kim (KOR): -2 (69)
T4. L. Oosthuizen (RSA): -2 (69)
T4. S. Hend (AUS): -2 (69)
T4. A. Rocha (BRA): -2 (69)

Oh, and Chris Williams finished with a five-over par 76 that leaves him in a tie for 111th place. He has some work to do in order to make the cut.

One more thing: there will be no updates from this desk for most of the day tomorrow, as the head of the HP NoVA desk will be taking Number 2 Son and Smart Girl to Congressional to watch some golf.

Stamping Ground on the Food Network

I want to give a shout-out to Heather Priest of Stamping Ground, Kentucky. She is a personal chef in Connecticut, and last night she was the big winner on SmartGirl's favorite TV show, Chopped. The premise of Chopped is that four chefs battle against each other for $10,000. First, they get a basket of ingredients from which they make an appetizer -- after which the three judges eliminate one person. Then, they get another basket of ingredients for use in an entree -- after which a second person is eliminated. Then the two finalists get a third basket and make a dessert -- after which the judges pick the winner. The ingredients are always really goofy stuff -- meats and vegetables you've never heard of, along with things like mayonnaise or fruit cocktail.

Anyway, Heather Priest really represented for the Commonwealth last night. She wore her Kentucky shirt in the little segment where the chefs introduce herself, and she relied on deep-frying to get through the appetizer and entree challenges. (When she was forced to use an Asian fish called uni that she had never heard of, she simply turned it into fried uni.) And after she won, she toasted her victory with bourbon. It's unusual to see the Commonwealth get so much attention on the Food Network, and SmartGirl was thrilled with the whole episode. Besides, having done it myself, I have sympathy for any Kentuckian who lives in Connecticut.

Smart Girl Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society

Hi everybody, I'm Smart Girl. This is my second post on The Heath Post. Today, I'm going to review one of the most interesting and best children's books in a while, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Let's get started!

First, the synopsis. The book's main character is a young boy named Reynie who doesn't fit in at his orphanage. He has his own tutor, because he has already finished the orphanage's education program. One day he sees a mysterious ad in the newspaper asking about children interested in "special opportunities." After going through a series of odd tests, he meets four other children named "Sticky", Kate, and Constance. Together, they meet the mysterious Mr. Benedict, who sends them to the "Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened." The Institute is run by a man named Mr. Curtain. The most surprising thing about Mr. Curtain is that he looks exactly like Mr. Benedict. Who is Mr. Benedict, why did he send these four children to this institute, and is he Mr. Curtain? If he isn't Mr. Curtain, than who is Mr. Curtain, and why does he run this institute with "no rules?" To find out, READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, my opinion. I LOVE this book! It is long and interesting, which make for an excellent combination in a book. The characters are very interesting and lifelike. The author makes a very interesting cast of characters and has many puzzles and dilemmas for the characters and readers alike to solve. The book makes it very clear that the author is a clever person himself. He has now also written two sequels, so if you like this, you can read those too. The book is an excellent read for children and adults alike.

Best Read by Ages: 8 and up
Official Smart Girl Grade: A+

That's all for now, Smart Girl.

Alabama 58 - 72 Kentucky (Final) (SEC Tournament) (Number 2,047)

Last year, Kentucky played its best game of the season in the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament, as they destroyed an Elite 8 Tennessee team by the score of 74-45. Today, Kentucky again played its best game of the tournament, as they completely dominated a very solid Alabama team, cruising to a 72-58 victory. Smart Girl, Number 3 son, and I celebrated by going out and shooting hoops for about an hour. Number 3 son looked really good.

Of course, no one in Kentucky is thinking about how good UK looked today. Instead, they're all in agonies over the late-game injuries to Liggins and Lamb, and they're moaning about Cal's failure to take out the starters despite our big lead. I don't think its gracious to bash a coach who has done such a great job this year, so I am not going to do so. I'm sure he had his reasons for leaving those guys in, and I'm sure they were good reasons.

It's a shame that the controversy over the late-game injuries will overshadow an absolutely masterful performance. In the last two games, I think UK has run the best half-court offense it has shown all year -- and the guys have done a great job of battling the physical front court players of Ole Miss and Alabama for rebounds and putbacks. The injuries may change everything, but with two minutes to go I certainly thought UK was peaking at the right time.

UK plays Florida for the championship tomorrow, and Florida has been on fire lately. UK is the only team to beat the Gators since January 29th, and since losing at Rupp, the Gators have had double digit wins over Alabama, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. If UK were healthy, I think tomorrow's game might have been one for the ages -- on paper, it is the best matchup in the SEC final since the days when Pitino and Nolan Richardson were battling for the title. Without a full-strength Lamb, the Cats are in huge trouble. I don't think UK has any chance to hold Florida below 70 points, and I have real doubts that UK can score 70 points against Florida without Lamb.

One final thought: a lot of folks on the UK message board are saying they don't care about tomorrow's game; they just want to be ready for the tournament. I disagree. I don't think UK is going to win the NCAA's, or go to the Final Four. We already lost the regular season title. So tomorrow represents our best chance to pick up a trophy this year, and I would really like to win it. It's just too bad we won't be at full strength.

Smart Girl's Tribute to Brian Jacques

From time to time we will be posting entries from my daughter Smart Girl, who has her own blog. Today, we have a tribute to one of Smart Girl's favorite writers:

Hi everyone, Smart Girl here. As some of you may know, Brian Jacques passed away recently. I really liked him and I thought it would be nice to do a tribute. My tribute is going to have the books in chronological order and my grades for them (I might add a reason for some of them). Just a warning, there are a couple I don't remember very well, so my grades aren't going to be perfect. Now, on with the post!

1. Lord Brocktree: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
2. Martin the Warrior: Official Smart Girl Grade: A- (Way too sad)
3. Mossflower: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
4. Legend of Luke: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
5. Outcast of Redwall: Official Smart Girl Grade: A-
6. Mariel of Redwall: Official Smart Girl Grade: A+ (First and favorite)
7. The Bellmaker: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
8. Salamandstron: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
9. Redwall: Official Smart Girl Grade: A+
10. Mattimeo: Official Smart Girl Grade: A- (Too boring)
11.Pearls of Lutra: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
12. The Long Patrol: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
13. Marlfox: Official Smart Girl Grade: A+ (About time there was a good fox villain)
14. Taggerung: Official Smart Girl Grade: A+ (I love otters!)
15. Triss: Official Smart Girl Grade: A+
16. Loamhedge: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
17. Rakkety Tam: Official Smart Girl Grade: A (Would be A+, but lame villain death)
18. High Rhulain: Official Smart Girl Grade: A
19. Eulalia!: Official Smart Girl Grade: A+
20. Doomwyte: Official Smart Girl Grade: A-
21. The Sable Quean: Official Smart Girl Grade: A

Well, I got through them all. I have read every single book on that list, and those are all the Redwall books written. So, it's good that a new one is coming out this May. By the way, I will do a post about that when I've read it. That's all for now, Smart Girl.