For a long time, I’ve wanted to do an occasional column of random stories that I don’t think I could get a whole article out of. Kind of one of those odds-and-ends type of things. Since I’m filling in for our Saturday editor today, I figured it might be the day to give it a try. If I enjoy this enough, I might do it more often. Who knows?
Harvard’s bargain-basement Magna Carta
Have y’all ever seen those stories where somebody buys an antique or a painting for cheap, only to discover later that it’s something priceless? That recently happened at Harvard University.
“The Harvard Law School Library bought the document known as ‘HLS MS 172’ in 1946 for a sum of $27.50, according to the library’s accession register,” reports Harvard Law Today. “The auction catalogue described the manuscript as a ‘copy … made in 1327 … somewhat rubbed and damp-stained.’ It had been purchased a month or so earlier by the London bookdealers Sweet & Maxwell, via Sotheby’s, from a Royal Air Force war hero for a mere £42.”
It turns out that the copy Harvard bought shortly after World War II was an original from 1300 that King Edward I issued.
“I was just working at home… looking for unofficial copies of Magna Carta and finding quite a lot of them,” David Carpenter, a professor of medieval history at King’s College London, told CNN. “I finally came to Harvard Law School manuscript number 172, clicked on that, expecting to see a statute book. And what I saw… was an original of the 1300 Magna Carta.”
Experts believe that this is one of just seven surviving originals of Edward I’s 1300 issue. Needless to say, Harvard got a good deal on that investment. Hey, maybe it can sell the Magna Carta on eBay or Facebook Marketplace and make up for some of that federal funding it lost by doubling down on DEI.
Related: Harvard Pouts As Trump Threatens to Revoke Its Tax-Exempt Status
Crazy baseball stories from this week
One of my favorite types of baseball videos is great catches. I love a good diving catch or a catch when you think the player isn’t going to come up with the ball.
And then there’s this catch involving Boston Red Sox outfielders Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela. Seeing is believing:
Teamwork makes the dream work, amirite?
A baseball game earlier this week between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma had the strangest delay:
There is a bunny rabbit running around on the field in the Oklahoma vs Texas game! 🤣🤣🤣🐰🐰🐰
— Christy! Damn Good Dawg for life! (@ChristySeguin) May 16, 2025
We got a rabbit on the field at the OU Baseball game.
— Allison Fanning (@allisonefanning) May 16, 2025
Is this similar to the fox at the OU-TX football game? Love a good animal good luck charm! pic.twitter.com/lx3raOkA0c
For some reason, ESPN's video won't let me embed it, but it's hilarious.
Related: Not All Heroes Wear Capes. This One Wears a Baseball Uniform.
Perfectly produced records (volume 1?)
Music has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I listen to it all the time. My tastes are pretty broad, but some records are just perfectly produced. If I decide to make this a somewhat regular feature when I work Saturdays, I might share some of those with you.
Disclaimer: These aren’t all-time favorites or some sort of definitive declaration of greatness. They’re just really good productions.
Summer’s right around the corner, and to me, nothing says summer like “yacht rock” (or soft rock or whatever you want to call it). One of the most perfectly produced singles from that genre is Nicolette Larson’s “Lotta Love.”
Larson and producer Ted Templeman took a Neil Young song (Young’s version sounds typically self-indulgent) and turned it into a smooth, disco-tinged masterpiece. Where Young sounds mopey, Larson makes the song sound more hopeful, and Templeman’s production gives the single the bounce it needed to become a hit.
Every element of this record hits right, from the string arrangements to the electric piano. Even the flute solo is just what the song needs. Templeman coaxed the right tone from Larson, the rest of whose material tended toward country and folk sounds.
While I’m at it, I think Templeman might be the most underrated producer in 20th-century music. Anybody who can produce the Doobie Brothers and Van Halen and excel at both knows what he’s doing.
Trivia time! Unless I’ve been told wrong, Larson is the only female vocalist to appear on a Van Halen record. She sings backup on “Could This Be Magic?” from “Women and Children First,” the Van Halen album I cut my teeth on.
The other perfectly produced record I want to highlight today is “Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs.
Good Lord! What an amazing song.
I’ll admit that I don’t know anything about the song’s producer, Joe Wissert, but how could he go wrong when the nucleus of the band on this track is basically Toto? Drummer Jeff Porcaro, bassist David Hungate, and keyboardist David Paich (who also co-wrote the song with Scaggs) would go on to form the legendary band.
“Lowdown” has another string arrangement that’s perfect, and the backing vocals from Carolyn Willis, Jim Gilstrap, and Marty McCall complement Scaggs’ lead vocals brilliantly. This is one of those perfect productions that sound even better when you listen with earbuds or headphones, and it’s one I can listen to over and over.
Hope y’all enjoyed my randomness. Maybe I’ll do this again the next time I have to work on a Saturday.
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