• Reader’s Notebook, 8/9/23

    I’ve been on a decent reading run. A few blurbs about my most recent completions. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino This has been sitting in my cabinet for something like two years. I’m glad I finally got to it. This is not a straight novelization of the movie, but rather an expansion on its base. Lots…

  • Sports Notes

    After just a week it’s already time for some more sports notes. Big 12/Realignment I neglected to include a section about college realignment in last week’s post as it seemed like the next domino was close to falling. I was expecting medium-sized news, like the Big 12 adding one-to-three more PAC schools to complete its expansion. Little did I know…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0b6JAFqRubwqLSRipIsGSm?si=c8a52d84855d4d8c “Dream Some More” – The High Water Marks A bunch of schools around us went back to class this week, which is a tragedy. There should still be a month left of days wide open for listening to music like this. “Outta Time” – Bethany Cosentino Cosentino just released her first solo album which takes her sound in a…

  • July Media

    Periodic losses of power, some pool gatherings, and three weeks of travel basketball cut my list a little short last month. Movies, Shows, etc They Shall Not Grow Old I’ve been waiting for this to hit a streaming service for a couple years. Peter Jackson took footage from World War I, colorized it, and overlaid it with interviews given by…

  • Sports Notes

    I’ve stacked up a lot of sports thoughts over the past several weeks. Let’s dive in and see how long it takes to get through them. Tour de France After watching the Netflix show Tour de France: Unchained in June, I was all-in for this year’s tour, even ponying up for Peacock for the month to watch.[1] It was like…

  • Weekend Notes

    No major events from the weekend to share. We were busy, though. The weekend was all about preparing to be social then actually being social around the pool. Saturday night we had L’s basketball team over for a final get together to celebrate the season. Eight of the nine girls came and most of the parents hung out. The girls…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Km163jPEQpJcuOYW5h15b?si=d1e428c9f3444187 “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas We have been very lucky and this has been one of the best spring/summers I can recall, other than the Canadian smoke. Until this week. The heat that has been plaguing the rest of the country finally hit us, although its worst has held off until today…

  • Sinéad

    When Irish women with distinctive voices who were successful in the 90s die, I’m required to write about them. The terrible news came Wednesday of Sinéad O’Connor’s death. It’s an understatement to suggest she did not have an easy life, so while a shock, this is also one of those deaths that can seem like a relief from all the…

  • Weekend Notes: Living That Buckeye Lifestyle

    Three-fifths of our family spent the weekend in Ohio. You want details? I got details! Kid Hoops L and I went to Cincinnati for the final travel tournament of the year. We’ve never done well in these events but were looking forward to one last shot to prove ourselves on the national stage. We had six games, so I’ll keep…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2047Kt9nPGFZzd1EM8QKuD?si=341e83d596374fda “Midnight Sunburn” – Dog Ears Big, crunchy, power pop for mid-summer. “I Need Ya” – Somebody’s Child If the Strokes were from Ireland, they would probably sound like this. “Forgiving Ties” – Deer Tick I had to triple check this wasn’t a lost Tom Petty demo that someone else had finished. “The Spiral” – Body Maintenance This is some…