⦿ Friday Links
The momentum is gathering for the nostalgia-fest that will be the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. It’s crazy to think that my freshman year of college was the 15th anniversary. I, and many like-minded pop culture fiends, recorded the 15th anniversary special and watched it over-and-over.[1] There will, of course, be an official NBC special. But…
Friday Vid
“Dreaming” – Blondie I was in Dick’s Sporting Goods yesterday, getting Colts shirts for the girls so that they could have an out-of-uniform day today, and this song came on over the piped-in background music. It’s not the first song I think of when I think of Blondie, thus I forget what a great song it is. Interesting to read…
Not A Routine Start
Today is school day number six of the new calendar year. Thus far, we have had two normal days. Four times we have had two-hour delays, thanks to a combination of snow (last Tuesday), extreme cold/iced over roads (Wednesday and Thursday), and just ice (yesterday). Today we were back on normal start time, but C. is home with me sick.…
Football Notes
Some weekend of heated action on the old gridiron! Most significantly, to me at least, was the Colts going to Denver and, aside from shaky first possessions on both sides of the ball, completely controlling the game and escaping with a border-line shocking 11-point win. I say border-line shocking because while many people this morning are acting like it wasn’t…
Friday Vid
“Blank Space” – Taylor Swift I know, I know. This one will take some explanation. Taylor Swift hits the sweet spot in the category of “pop culture things I hate.” She was a teenage phenom, something I generally abhor.[1] Worse, she came from the country music realm, an area I have zero interest in. A country music teen phenom? Forgetaboutit.…
Big 12 Hoops Thoughts
Pretty much the moment Kentucky began treating KU like a high school JV team, I was sure that not only would KU’s Big 12 conference title streak end this year, but that Texas would be the team to do it. Texas isn’t as big or deep or talented as Kentucky. But the Longhorns are probably the biggest team in the…
December Reading List
Decembers tend to be big book months for me. December 2014 was no exception. I finished seven books and got most of the way through an eighth.[1] Thus my final total for the year was 57 books. I’m pleased with that effort. The Rise & Fall Of Great Powers – Tom Rachman I loved Rachman’s The Imperfectionists, which was a…
⦿ Friday Links
Finishing the clean up of the long list of links I’ve gotten behind on. This first one got linked to right around the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. It is journalist Jimmy Breslin’s article from the night Lennon died. First, read the article. Then read the details of how quickly Breslin put it together. It’s a pretty amazing piece of…
NFL Playoffs Picks
Funny how fast the NFL season goes when you spend the first two months of Sundays on the soccer fields, casually following scores and paying more attention to fantasy stats. But here we are, Wild Card weekend. Thus, my patented, half-assed picks for who will make it to Glendale in a month. AFC Wild Card Round Pittsburgh over Baltimore. A…
Friday Vid
“Tiny Prayers” – Restorations A band that I read about in the fall but then lost in the normal end-of-the-year shuffle. Fortunately, they landed high on one of my favorite music writer’s Best Of 2014 list, so I’m diving into them now. Terrific, crunchy, power-punk building on influences from all over the past 20 years. I have to make a…