You And I | Ireland vs New Zealand | Roman Empire | ALCS Game 1 | Subway Car | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
This is me formally petitioning to the Sad Song Sunday Playlist Committee that they include You And I by LÉON. Lotta Lindgren, better known as LÉON, is a Swedish singer and songwriter on the rise. She initially gained a following back in ‘15 when she released her song Tired of Talking on Soundcloud. Born of two musicians, music was in her blood and she started writing music at the age of 8 years old. She told United by Pop, “I had never had a boyfriend or anything, but I wrote love songs… I was so inspired by Motown, I was like, I’m going to write about love too—even if I was 8. I did a song when I was 11, and I called it ‘As I Am With You.’ Really corny title.”
The opening verse to this song just sounds like a rainy, cold, fall, Sunday hangover. It’s so good.
Albumism compares LÉON’s vocals to the likes of Stevie Nicks and Amy Winehouse. High praise for the Indie Popstar who inexplicably hasn’t charted anywhere outside of her home country of Sweden. C’mon people, what are we listening to nowadays?!?
I honestly don’t understand how this song or music like this isn’t a bit more popular today, but if you haven’t heard of it, maybe give it a listen on a rainy day!
Great tune, moving on…
Rugby World Cup ‘23
Ireland vs New Zealand (Quarterfinals)
-Rainy and grey day in the Tri-State area.
1st Half
- Johnny Sexton kicks off to the All Blacks. 7 minutes into the match, New Zealand earns a penalty and elects to take the free kick. 3-0 NZ
- 11 minutes into the match and it feels like Ireland hasn’t possessed the ball. All Blacks earn themselves another penalty and another free kick. 6-0 NZ
- At the 19th-minute mark, New Zealand scores a try to go up 13-0. Not good. Not good at all.
- Johnny Sexton on the kickoff after the try boots a short one and draws a penalty on the All Blacks. He then makes the free kick, the Irish are on the board! 13-3 NZ
- At the 28th-minute mark, Bundee Aki jukes some tackles for a nice try! We got a ballgame. 13-10 NZ
- The All Blacks come roaring back with a try of their own but missed the extra points. 18-10 NZ.
- New Zealand gets a yellow card at the 36th-minute mark. They will be down a man for 10 minutes, the remainder of the 1st half to go with 6 minutes in the 2nd half.
- Irish scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park scores a try to make the score 18-17 New Zealand. Ireland is riding a bit of momentum heading into the half.
2nd Half
- New Zealand kicks off to Bundee Aki to start the 2nd half. The Irish crowd is belting out “Fields of Athenry”. The announcers said the Irish supporters were drowning out the All Blacks’ signature Haka pregame dance before the match. Good to hear.
- The All Blacks at the 52nd mark score a long try to make it 25-17 New Zealand.
- The Irish wing Mack Hanson is injured. Jimmy O’Brien enters the game, his first appearance ever in a World Cup match.
- At the 57th-minute mark, Ireland earns a penalty and elects to take free kick. Johnny Sexton just misses to the left of the post. Brutal.
- American-born Joe McCarthy enters the match and the NBC Peacock announcers immediately mention that he was born in New York City. Ireland needs to get it going.
- Ireland scores a penalty try! WTF!! I don’t even really know what that means but we’ll take it. 25-24 NZ, I guess you get the extra points after the try without even kicking it and now New Zealand is once again a man down with a yellow card.
- Ireland is penalized during a scrum. New Zealand misses a free kick, only to receive yet another penalty and make the next one. 28-24 NZ
- At the 75th-minute mark, Ireland needs possession of the ball after squandering being up a man for 10 minutes. New Zealand is milking the clock with a long possession in Irish territory.
- After a hectic and impressive Irish possession, time expires on a penalty. They lost. The #1 Rugby team in the world has been knocked out of the ‘23 Rugby World Cup. Tough game. Down bad. Not good.
Post Game Analysis
- Great effort from the lads. It’s been fun covering this team and this part stinks. I feel bad for Johnny Sexton going out like that, but one helluva career.
This Week’s Bit on The Roman Empire
I know, I know, this is like a month late with the whole “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” internet sensation. That said, for the foreseeable future on Sundays, Week to Week Notes will have a small piece on Ancient Rome so you can tell people at least once a week. Before drinking some pints this week, I stumbled along to Ancient Rome: The Exhibition in New York on 378 Broadway in New York City. You can get a ticket and learn a bit about Ancient Rome for $15.
This is right here is a Noria Roman Waterwheel. A large wheel with clay pots or metal containers bound to it would pick up running water and thus spin the wheel. As the water would get scooped up, gravity would come into play, and as the wheel turned it would feed into a collection tank that would be used as an aqueduct or reservoir. Essentially, this was a way for Roman cities to move clean running water.
Not only was the Noria used to lift water, but it could also be connected to a mill to grind grain. The Roman Waterwheel was very important for their irrigation systems for farming and drinking water supply. It’s interesting because this is stuff that we don’t even have to think about now, most of us can just turn a tap and water magically comes out, but this invention contributed to what we have today.
Boom, now you have thought about Ancient Rome at least once already this week. More to come next Sunday!
‘23 MLB Playoffs
ALCS
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros
With both of these teams residing in Texas and playing in the AL West, these division rivals know each other quite well. During the regular season this year, the Astros dominated head-to-head play, winning 9 of 13. You can throw all of that out the window in the postseason. As a team this October, Texas is hitting .282 with a .373 on-base and they have pitched to a 2.20 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. Houston on the other hand with their series against the Twins hit .261 with a .311 on-base and pitched to a 3.25 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP. Old-school stats because both of these teams are led by old-school managers Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker.
Game 1: Jordan Montgomery vs Kate Upton’s Husband
The Rangers will be giving the ball to Jordan Montgomery. The former Yank has started against the Astros 6 times with a 3.73 ERA, this will be his 1st time against them in the playoffs. Astros light-hitting C Martin Maldonado has homered twice of Monty in 4 at-bats but is the only current Astro to take him deep. Kate Upton’s husband has historically owned the Rangers. In 35 starts against Texas, he has gone 21-8 with a 2.60 ERA. Upton’s husband did face Texas once in the MLB Playoffs back in ‘11 with the Tigers and got shelled (5.56 ERA), but that is irrelevant as nobody else from that series is still playing today. Kate Upton’s husband has struggled to pitch against Rangers 2B Marcus Semien who in 43 at-bats has homered twice and hit .326 off him. I’d have to give the advantage to Houston here. Kate Upton’s husband has a ton of October experience, but if somehow the Rangers can take Game 1, it could really change the psyche of the series.
Old Subway Car (Vol IV)
IRT ‘Low Voltage’ Trailer (4902)
This subway car was built in 1917 by the Pullman Company. It was in service in New York City from 1917 to 1964. IRT stands for Interborough Rapid Transit which was the private operator of The City’s original underground subway line dating back to 1904. Pullman Company has previously been mentioned on Week to Week Notes because their workers went on strike in Chicago and their trains were boycotted. Not only is Pullman Co. associated with getting us Labor Day weekend, but they also created “Lo-V” trains.
The meaning behind voltage simply means that their batteries didn’t need a voltage of electricity in order to run. Prior to these trains, there were High-Voltage (Hi-V) Subways that used 600 volts to operate. When you combine the messy wiring aspects of the early 1900s with the high voltage, it made the job of operating the trains very risky. Using this Pullman Lo-V, car operators were in a much safer position as these trains had batteries that only needed 32 volts to run. Fewer train operators were electrocuted thanks to these cars. Progress!
Notice the fans on the ceilings. Also, this subway car has nice seat cushions that would get nasty today. Had a nice old smell to it.
Campbell’s Soup Company was founded in 1869 by Joseph A. Campbell. The familiar red and white label on the soup can that you see as the advertisement in the subway has been around since 1898. The color scheme was introduced after Herberton L. Williams, the company's treasurer and general manager at the time, saw a University of Pennsylvania versus Cornell football game. (Campbells Soup) Williams was impressed with Cornell’s team uniforms and now 125 years later we’re still looking at the same famous logo today. Pretty cool!
Best of luck I’m unfollowing
🤡