Reader’s Notebook, 2/16/17
The Nix – Nathan Hill. My brother-in-reading Dave V. received two copies of this book over the holidays. He was generous enough to pass one of them my way. Quite the gesture, which I appreciate immensely! This is a great book. It’s also one of those books that makes me mad, as it is Hill’s first full-length novel. How can…
Bat Shit Crazy ’17
You all laugh at me for my stupid sports superstitions. But today I’m laughing at all of you. Because today I have proof that these “stupid” superstitions work! Let’s jump back almost two years to West Virginia’s visit to Lawrence in the final week of the 2015 season. For the full recap you can read here, but basically, Perry…
Trivia Man
Once upon a time, not that long ago, I was known as the trivia guy. Where other people mastered law or medicine or sales, my mind was best suited to accumulating a nearly endless parade of useless if somewhat interesting facts about old pop culture, sports, and history. Some might say I had a gift. My reputation reached its zenith…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/user/224aiwksicafjldlua6nnpo4y/playlist/6rc53ykHGe4zkY109efEAZ “The Punisher” – Lucius. I don’t know anything about this group, but this song is awesome. “Thick as Thieves” – The Menzingers. This band has always leaned a little too emo for my tastes. But they shifted ever-so-slightly on their latest album and I’m finding a handful of the tracks very nice to listen to. Good to hear some…
Reader’s Notebook, 2/9/17
Catching up on three recent reads. On Bullshit – Harry G. Frankfurt. “One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit.” Thus begins what is, really, an extended essay in book form on the meaning of bullshit. I read a blurb about this somewhere over the holidays and thought it sounded like a…
Prince’s Friends Speak
I really should be flogged for not sharing this earlier. It took me several nights back in December to get through it. And it was worth every second. Prince’s Closest Friends Share Their Best Prince Stories The saddest thing about Prince dying is that we lost the chance that he would ever really open up about his life and career.…
Sports, Man
Sometimes sports are the worst. Sometimes they’re the best. There’s been a lot of both lately. Super Bowl Had I been fully neutral, that would have been an awesome Super Bowl. The league heavies get blasted early and look thoroughly overmatched by their young, brash, high-powered opponents. Then an epic comeback, featuring an all-time play, and the first overtime game…
Big Game Time
Sports are funny. As much as the location where you grew up or live, style of play, or favorite athlete, narrative is a huge part of how we choose the teams we root for. If you’re an uncommitted fan, or just a fan with no strong ties to a particular team to begin with, the story that surrounds a team…
Friday Playlist
Australia was in the news a little this week. I had some Aussie (and one New Zealand) tunes gathered. Seemed like a good time to put them together with a classic from Down Under to form a very pleasing playlist. https://open.spotify.com/user/224aiwksicafjldlua6nnpo4y/playlist/3Wo3sxyYMR3cHyYhxkrlbW “Never Start” – Middle Kids. I discovered their “Edge of Town” way back in the spring of last year.…
Clash of Titans
Some matchup last night, arguably the biggest of the year. When you get the best spellers from eight schools in the same room, you know there’s going to be some terrific performances. Uh huh, last night was the local Spell Bowl! After serving as an alternate last year, M was selected to represent the St. P’s sixth graders this year.…