Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader debated if he should write this post. While not a supersitious fellow, your Maximum Leader does indulge in some childish sports-related supersititions… So he debated with himself if he should write anything taking note of the Washington Nationals current win streak.

Yup. You read that correctly… The hapless “Natinals” have been winning lately. In fact they’ve won their last 8 games. In a few cases the Nats have even come from behind and prevailed.

It is pretty neat to say that you can watch some pretty good ball in Washington. The Nats haven’t been defensively inept. Their bats have been working. And their terrible bullpen has noticeably improving with each game.

To what can we attribute this turn-about?

Is it Jim Wriggleman as manager? That is likely part of it. Wirggleman has required more batting and fielding practice. He has also been more keen to stick with a “hot hand” in the bullpen rather than mix it up. Probably just as much as anything Wriggleman has done it is likely that the players themselves have also gotten tired of being losers. Regardless of their record, these players are pros. They are playing professional ball and thousands of others aren’t. These guys have to be motivated and proud to get to the bigs. It is possible that they collectively woke up and realized that if they want to stay in the the big leagues they need to cowboy up (as it were).

Your Maximum Leader believes that Mike Rizzo’s trade for Nyjer Morgan has been a real catylist for change on the team as well. With Morgan you have a baseball-smart high-energy guy who seems to have improved the lineup.

Your Maximum Leader should note that the Nationals’ record is 40-72. That means that it impossible for the 2009 Washington Nationals to finish the season with a worse record than the 1962 New York Mets (40-120). In order to retire the “gremlin bogey” number the Nats need to win one more game.

Today is a day off for the Nationals… On Tuesday the Nats face off against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta… Here is hoping that the “gremlin bogey” is retired on Tuesday.

Go Nats!

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, like many people who grew up in the 1980s, remembers the films of John Hughes as part of the cultural background of his life. He can’t think of a Hughes film that he’s seen (and there are likely a few he hasn’t seen) that he hasn’t either loved or liked a lot. Ferris Bueller, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. All of them great. Your Maximum Leader also remembers very fondly She’s Having a Baby one of Hughes’ lesser-known films.

Although your Maximum Leader doesn’t often get really emotional over the passing of people he’s never met, he actually does feel a little sad about Hughes’ passing. He seemed too young at age 59. Hughes had the ability to connect with a whole generation of move-goers, of which your Maximum Leader was one. Although Hughes was not particularly productive lately, his body of work is classic. Hughes will be remembered among Hollywood’s greatest directors. At least your Maximum Leader will so remember him.

Rest in peace, John Hughes. Your Maximum Leader prays you receive your heavenly reward.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that his beloved Washington Nationals have just completed a sweep of the Florida Marlins! Not only did they pull off their fifth win in a row - they came from a 6 run deficit to do it!

Bravo boys! Good job.

The Nats pulled out a 12-8 victory over the Fish. Each victory was sweet. Made especially good in the knowledge that the Marlins were leading the season series 9-0 before coming to DC this week.

Now before your Maximum Leader gets too carried away… He remembers that the Nats are still 37-72 on the season. That puts the gremlin bogey number at 49. The Nats only need to win three to avoid the ignominy of breaking the ‘62 Mets’ record as the worst team in history… Your Maximum Leader is even beginning to think his predicition of the beginning of the season that the Nats would lose fewer than 100 games might come true…

Go Nats!

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that Sonia Sotomayor has been confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Congratulations Justice Sotomayor. Your Maximum Leader wouldn’t have nominated or voted for you; had he had a say in the matter. But elections have consequences… Your Maximum Leader hopes that you have a fine career on the highest bench in the land. (He isn’t holding his breath in hopes that you will magically turn out to be a closet conservative on the bench… But he does hope that you’ll see things his way from time to time…)

There is one thing that bugs your Maximum Leader about this confirmation… Is Sonia Sotomayor really the first Hispanic to be named to the Court? What about Benjamin Cardozo? Doesn’t he count? Wasn’t he of Spanish extraction? Hummm… Quick google shows an archived Volokh peice addressing this very issue. Apparently directly of Spanish or Portuguese ancestry (not via Central or South America) is not traditionally within the bounds of “hispanic.”

Your Maximum Leader, being a contrarian - as well as plain difficult from time to time, will think of Justice Sotomayor as the first latina justice. Of course, he will (depending on where she winds up on the court) more likely to think of her as “another one of the one’s your Maximum Leader doesn’t agree with very often.”

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader hasn’t been as good a blogger as he has been. This of course begs the question of exactly what your Maximum Leader feels a “good blogger” is. In the case of your Maximum Leader he believes (for himself) being a good blogger is posting at least one or two little nuggets of moderate quality a day. If the nuggets are really high quality then one every other day is acceptable.

As any reader here can tell… Your Maximum Leader hasn’t been a good blogger in over a year.

Of course, not every blogger needs to fit into this definition to be classified a “good blogger” by your Maximum Leader.

Take for example the great Velociman. He has never posted daily. But his posts are high quality. Very high quality. The Velociman is great. So great that even the interwebs can’t contain him. The V-man has a book now. One that you can buy and have shipped to your very own residence. Not only that, but after you receive your copy of “A Trip of Goats” you can carry it around everywhere. Even the bathroom… Books are cool that way.

There are lots of good bloggers over there on the left side of this blog. One of them had your Maximum Leader worried for a little while. Rooked transfixed your Maximum Leader when he first read it. It was filled with mind-bending prose and imaginative stories that excited and delighted your Maximum Leader. Then Mr Perry, the extraordinary blogger behind Rooked, had some personal issues he needed to work through. The blog changed. It was no longer an imaginative outlet for gripping tales. Instead it was a father’s discourse about love, responsibility and regrets. Normally your Maximum Leader stays away from blogs that seem to become to “intimate” in his opinion. But your Maximum Leader didn’t get that uncomfortable feeling from reading a blog-cum-diary. Indeed, Rooked was very compelling reading. Then for a while Rooked was dark. Your Maximum Leader worried that he’d heard the last of Mr CS Perry… But, happily your Maximum Leader can say that Rooked is back. Your Maximum Leader is excited for the future and what is coming up on Rooked.

(NB to CS Perry… If any of the “Rookies” would be interested in becoming the official “Naked Villainy T-shirt & Thong babe” have them contact me… Oh and one more thing… I’ve never heard of any good coming from a Russian “mail order bride” type. And I actually know one guy who went down that path…)

So… Go and buy the V-man’s book and make sure to check in regularly on Rooked. Neither will disappoint.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is going through some technology DTs. With work progressing (slowly) in the Villainschloss his regular computer is disconnected from the internet most of the time and he’s not been able to post…

So for want of real content…

Here is the lastest from Jib-Jab. “He’s Barack Obama”

This video wouldn’t be as funny if many people didn’t think he was a superhero…

Carry on.