5/5/25 – 11/5/25 – Oakland A’s, Wind Farms & Bob Dylan

Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.

The Curious Case of Darius Trapp
Blog article by Gary Trujillo at Coco Crisp’s Afro

My only foray into the Oakland A’s baseball team was in the movie – Moneyball where Billy Beane’s ‘no nonsense’ approach to sending people down (from the Major league to the Minors) was on full display; seemingly reflective of how Gary Trujillo described Darius Trapp’s experience in his article. As a non American and a relative newcomer to Baseball, I have to hand it to this sport – it has great romantic sports history.
I’m so grateful to have stumbled upon Gary’s blog which is described as ‘A baseball publication that embraces the absurdity of life, the 8-1 putout, and the history of the OAKLAND Athletics. He’s a terrific writer and story teller and below are two extracts from his article to set the scene:

I recently met Darius Trapp at a sports bar in Waco, Texas, to chat about his baseball career with the Oakland A’s in the early 1980s. He wanted to watch the March Madness games, maybe have a few cocktails, so we decided to rendezvous at his local watering hole…Hooters. A shrine to tackiness, titties, waitresses with feigned interest and a certain kind of desolation that refuses to die in suburban ‘Merika.

When I arrived, Trapp was already there, slouched in a booth beneath a flickering Coors Light sign, his drink—something brown, bottom shelf—half gone. He looked the way most ex-athletes do: thick around the middle but with shoulders that suggested menace, or at least the ability to recall menace with some degree of accuracy. His style said that this day had no greater sense of importance—sweat pants and a Baylor Bears t-shirt.

“You’re late,” he muttered, eyes on the screen. “And you owe me a drink.”

I flagged down the waitress, a blonde in orange hot pants with the blank expression of someone who had heard every joke twice. “Another for him,” I said. “And a beer for me.”
Read the whole article here.

Colombia’s wind farms bring promise and pain for indigenous group
News article at BBC News

So you’re damned if you do, or damned if you don’t
This article is about the effect of wind turbines on an indigenous community in a remote north-east region called La Guajira of my adopted-home country – Colombia. In January this year, I referred to a video interview with an energy specialist who discussed the effect of renewable energy on the efficacy of the UK electricity grid. On April 28, 2025, Spain and parts of Portugal and southern France suffered widespread blackouts. The exact cause of the outage is still under investigation, but it has sparked a debate over the role of renewable energy in grid stability when these countries rely heavily on renewable energy.

In this ‘Colombia Winds‘ BBC article, we see the impact of renewable energy from another perspective. It highlights not only the complex balance between advancing renewable energy initiatives and respecting Indigenous rights and traditions, but the impact on communal tranquillity, aesthetics and the existing environment.
“You wake up and suddenly you no longer see the trees. Instead, you see and hear the turbines. At night, the noise from the turbines disturbs our dreams. For us, dreams are sacred,” Mr Iguarán added.
The development has also led to internal divisions within the Wayuu community, with some members accepting financial assistance from energy companies, while others view this as inadequate compensation for the disruption caused. (Read the article here)

Urban Myths: Bob Dylan – Knocking on Dave’s Door

Comedy presentation at Liam N. Watson

Video description: According to legend, in 1993, Bob Dylan traveled to England to visit a friend of his, Eurythmics member Dave Stewart. But due to some mis-steps, he ended up meeting a different Dave instead.

As a Dylanholic, I’ve seen my fair share of Dylan parodies over the years, and many rely on pretty shallow stereotypes – usually something about marijuana and / or his nasal voice. But the other day, this sketch called Urban Myths – Knocking on Dave’s Door popped up in my YouTube feed, and I hit play. I’m so glad I did. I’ve now watched the 22-minute video three times, and each time I find myself chuckling throughout and full of glee at the marvellous ending. It’s more or less how you’d imagine Bob behaving and others reacting; and it’s easy to picture him getting up to those kinds of quirky adventures. For example, I referred here to an article in the Tampa Bay Times where Dylan was encountered by a 24-year-old cop in New Jersey which is comparable to the scenario in the ‘Urban Myths‘ sketch presented today.

That is all. Thank you for reading.