• Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 91

    Chart Week: September 29, 1984 Song: “On the Dark Side” – John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band Chart Position: #24, 19th week on the chart (charted twice, see below). Peaked at #7 for two weeks in October/November. The history of pop music is filled with opportunists. If an artist or musical style makes a big splash, you can be…

  • Reader’s Notebook, 10/10/23

    I just started a book that is probably going to take me a few weeks to get through. Seems like a good moment to clear out the queue so I don’t forget about these two. We Cast a Shadow – Maurice Carlos Ruffin Writers have been using the “how far would you go to protect your child” trope for ages.…

  • Weekend Notes

    Going to flip things up a bit, as our family had a rough week that’s worth getting caught up on first. Squad News Monday M got diagnosed with mono. She’s been sick for weeks and it took a turn last weekend, so she went and got checked. She told us she could see the test turn positive from across the…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7nt3r8Pr3aGblX46oUxDI7?si=8f3b4a486ce5457a “Spring” – Briston Maroney “Autumn” – The Gaslight Anthem That’s right, we’re getting crazy with the seasons this week! Here two new songs representing the opposing equinoxes. Oddly enough, I find both songs to sound very fall-like, if in different ways. “Waiting for a Cloud” – Golden Apples And then we get this song, which was released about three…

  • Sports Notes

    NFL Four weeks into the NFL season and I’m not sure what to make of things. Is there a single team that deserves unquestioned trust? The Chiefs lost at home to Detroit opening night, righted themselves over the next two weeks, then apparently looked kind of crappy against the Jets last Sunday before escaping with a win. The Bills played…

  • September Media

    A pretty slow month for some reason. I guess tennis took up time at the beginning of the month, then I never really got into a groove? I was also listening to football on Fridays and watching a lot on Saturdays and Sundays, with the occasional Thursday and Monday game thrown in. Still kind of weird I watched zero movies.…

  • Lone Star Weekend

    With a notable exception, I enjoyed a very good weekend down in Austin, Texas. There were a couple motivations for going. One of my best buddies from college, E-bro, has lived there for something like 15 years. Another KU buddy, Billy Sweets, lives in Dallas. The three of us text pretty much every day, so much so that our wives…