Speaking Of Saves

It's the end of America's excursion in Brazil, though goalkeeper Tim Howard did absolutely everything in his power to keep from having to board the plane home. His 16 saves- which proved to be one fewer than was required in the 2-1 extra-time loss- is the most by any goalkeeper in the World Cup since the stat began to be tracked in 1966. The previous recordholder was Ramon "El Loco" Quiroga of Peru, who in Argentina 1978 fended off the Netherlands 13 times en route to a scoreless draw in the group stage. (Quiroga, though, still has the record after 90 minutes; as Howard had 11 saves entering extra time.)

Howard, of course, would trade them all for a win.

So I looked for other things being saved right now.

*Pets. Should your home catch on fire, unfortunately, sometimes the pets aren't able to be scooped up and brought out of the building in time, and they're subject to the same oxygen-deprivation problems as humans. Today- Tuesday- an anonymous someone dropped off 36 pet oxygen masks, which is a lot, at the St. Paul (MN) Fire Department. They're planning to put one on each of their fire trucks; if you're suddenly deciding you want one for your dog or cat, it'll run you $48 personally, or you can arrange for a donation to your local fire department here.

*A bear. Bear with its head in a jar, folks.

*Jazz.

...hahahaha. Nothing's saving jazz. See, I don't really think music genres get 'saved'. Rock and roll lived and died in the 60's. Disco lived and died in the 70's. Hair metal lived and died in the 80's. Grunge lived and died in the 90's. They just evolve and combine and morph into new genres. There is nothing wrong with that, either. Music genres are just a reflection of the times. You make music in a way that mirrors how you see the world. The genre doesn't literally die, even; it's just nobody really using it anymore. It's still there anytime you want to pick it up again. If Bruno Mars wanted to make a ragtime song tomorrow, there's nothing stopping him. But at the same time, there is also nothing stopping him from crossing ragtime with bossa nova and hair metal to make an entirely new genre, except of course for the forces of sanity.

Really, folks, rule of thumb: if you ever find yourself saying "X genre isn't dead; it's just getting started!" or any form of that sentiment... it's dead. You do not say that when it isn't dead. You don't feel like you have to defend its life when it's not dead. You just make the music and get on with it. It's beyond saving as a popular force.

Even if Tim Howard were singing it.