"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In 1493, he came home across the deep blue sea. In 1494, he did it with the girl next door. In 1495, he barely made it out alive. In 1964, these sailors left me the door. In 1970, some people got their hands on me." ~counting crows

I liked Adam's tweets yesterday. Here are just a few:

There's justifiable dissing of Columbus but, mistakes aside, I admire a guy who defied accepted wisdom & sailed off the end of the world

Sure, he "knew" that there was no "end of the world" but his sailors didn't. Surprising they didn't pitch him over the side after awhile.

Columbus was a weird mixture of scientist and adventurer. He was smart enough to see the truth & brave enough to take the risks to prove it.

That said, he totally fucked up once he got there. That was not so good. But it's almost never good, is it? Sad thing is it always happens.

History's mostly about people's ignorance/abuse of each other. I still admire the part that's brave enough to sail off the end of the world.

I should point out that, in writing "1492", I was talking about the total degradation of a human being. I took a jaded view of his adventure

I'm just saying we ALWAYS look at the world as black or white & get it wrong. People live in the grey.

It's just so popular these days to dish Columbus. But we are a nation built on both idealism and genocide. The world is a complicated place.

He's a smart guy.


I want to honor another smart guy today. Yesterday might have been Bobby Cox's last game managing the Braves. They made it to the postseason but lost their series against the Giants last night, ending their season. Bobby had announced that this would be his last season. He spent 25 years managing the Braves, leading them to a record 14 consecutive division titles. He's the best manager in the game and I love him. I'm crying now just writing about this. After last night's game, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and chanted his name. The Giants even stopped their celebration to acknowledge him. He tearfully addressed the crowd and was lost for words for what seemed like the first time in his life. I really, really hope he changes his mind and returns next season, because the Braves will not be the same without him. His importance cannot be overstated. I can't imagine anyone else filling those shoes.