• Reader’s Notebook, 11/4/20

    Nothing much going on today. Might as well share my most recent reads. A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson My master reading list isn’t complete; I didn’t really start digitizing it until the mid-to-late 2000s, so a lot of books I read in the first decade of this century aren’t accounted for.[1] So I know I’ve read…

  • Weekend Notes

    Here we are, the week many of us – a plurality of those who voted four years ago – have been looking forward to for an entire election cycle. And it dawns dominated by a sense of dread. Regardless of the results of tomorrow’s election, I think the US is on a horrible course, one where democracy is constantly subverted…

  • Stats

    October 2020 Throw back month! * Bruce Springsteen – 72 * Pearl Jam – 47 * U2 – 39 * cartalk – 26 * Bob Mould – 24 Complete stats available at my Last.fm page.

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FSOf4fPfyFoe4U8InfjXs?si=OGiK1H0STFa8dtoxhOvqyw “Impossible Weight” – Deep Sea Diver with Sharon Van Etten The music to this sounds thoroughly modern, but Sharon’s vocals have a terrific New Wave quality. “Guest in Your Life” – Sinai Vessel This song sounds warm and familiar, like the fall clothes we are all pulling out as the weather gets cooler. “80 Days of Rain” – Lande…

  • Fall Links Life

    I’m overwhelmed by numbers. The more I look at them, the more my sense of dread and disappointment and even fear grows. That’s right, it’s time for a long overdue update on my golf game. Quick summary: not good. Now, for the people into that kind of thing, far too many details. Feel free to skip the rest, although you’ll…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 49

    Chart Week: October 23, 1982 Song: “Steppin’ Out” – Joe Jackson Chart Position: #32, 10th week on the chart. Peaked at #6 for three weeks in December. I’ve written many times about how my parents influenced the music I have listened to. I’ve also mentioned how my grandparents always had the radio tuned to the local station, which between farm…

  • Friday Playlist

    An extra-large playlist this week. I had some time to kill before a World Series game started and did a little more work than I normally do on the curation side. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6h7wrg1C1hkCyFN9vQsG0B?si=bNgjsDGrRoWeRz-AuJ1U9w “Around Your Room” – Kississippi This doesn’t sound much like the music Kississippi has made in the past. It sounds more like a CHVRCHES song. It is utterly…

  • An Annual Rant

    Man, I hate fall break. I’m pretty sure I’ve ranted about this before. But as our girls are on fall break right now, it is on my mind. A year ago at one of L’s soccer practices I was making sarcastic comments about fall break with the dad who I had coached with for a few years. We agreed fall…

  • Unexpected Goodbyes

    A couple recent departures from the University of Kansas athletic program that deserve a few words. Silvio First, late last week Silvio De Sousa announced he was leaving the basketball program. KU, like every Power 5 sports program, has a long list of players who were “disappointments.” Silvio might be at the top of KU’s list. During the 2017–18 season,…

  • Weekend Notes

    It felt like I mostly sat on my ass watching sports this weekend. Turns out a lot went on. Here are some details. HS Football M snagged a ticket at the last minute to the Indy high school game of the year: 5A #1 Cathedral vs 6A #1 Center Grove. Both teams were undefeated, had rolled through their first eight…