Belated Weekend Notes
I’m still battling a cold. It’s one of those shitty ones that isn’t crazy bad during the day, more annoying than debilitating. But at night between the coughing and sneezing and body aches manages to keep me from sleeping. Each of the last two nights I’ve given up and gone into M’s room to toss and turn so I don’t…
Reader’s Notebook, 1/29/24
I have started 2024 on a huge reading run; I finished my seventh book of the year early this morning. It helps that I’ve been sick the past couple days and unable to sleep, so I’ve stayed up deep into the night knocking out the final book in this list. Said illness and lack of sleep will also push my…
Friday Playlist
“Train Full of Gasoline” – Ducks Ltd. Not sure it’s possible to write a catchier song about an ecological disaster than these guys have done. Believe it or not, this band is not Australian. They are from Toronto. I bet they listened to a lot of Aussie pop, though. “So Nice” – Finnoguns Wake This band, however, is Australian. “Shadow…
Wednesday Notes
NFL Because of basketball (KU and CHS) and some other activities, I didn’t get to see much of the four playoff games last weekend. San Francisco is very lucky to advance, and does not seem like the same team that ran roughshod through their opponents during stretches of the regular season. Jordan Love’s final pass for Green Bay might have…
Jayhawk Talk: Here’s Johnny!
Fans can be overly dramatic about tiny moments in a long season, both good and bad. Keep that in mind when I tell you that Johnny Furphy has saved KU’s season. He certainly saved the game Monday against Cincinnati, the only KU player who seemed to be locked in and engaged for every minute he was on the court. He…
High School Hoops Chronicles, S1V10
As we had a pretty quiet weekend and KU plays tonight, I’m going to flip my normal routine and cover high school hoops today. Two more games last week – both wins for JV and varsity – but L was a little off. In Tuesday’s practice she rolled her troublesome ankle when she landed on a teammate’s foot. She complained…
Friday Playlist
“Blue Tuesday” – Francis of Delirium Spotify has been spitting a lot of FoD tracks at me lately. I’ve yet to hear one I did not like. I don’t think I realized, when I’ve shared songs from them in the past, that they are based in Luxembourg. That might be a new pin on our musical map. “Mother Mary” –…
Reader’s Notebook, 1/18/24
Julia – Sandra Newman My first book of the year was a real uplifter! Officially sanctioned by the estate of George Orwell, it is labeled as a re-telling of his classic 1984. Newman flips the script, and instead of focusing on Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith, she uses Smith’s lover, Julia, to explore Oceania. It’s been a decade or so since…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 96
Chart Week: January 5, 1985 Song: “Centipede” – Rebbie Jackson Chart Position: #24, 14th week on the chart. This was its peak. This is at least the third entry in the RFTS series that is as much about the massive cultural impact of Michael Jackson as the highlighted song or artist.[1] This time we will see how Michael helped pull…
High School Hoops Chronicles, S1V9
A super busy week with a very exciting ending as L and her teammates played in the Indianapolis City tournament. Tournament rules allowed for three swing players who were eligible for both JV and varsity games. These players had to be named before the tournament and could not change from game-to-game. L was one of Cathedral’s, which was cool, but…