Without going back and reading a bunch of them, I’m assuming my Champions Classic posts have a similar theme every year: that wasn’t pretty basketball. Most years it is at least competitive, but despite the big-time matchup, it rarely has the same juice as a March tournament game. Chalk that up for another year, with #1 KU outlasting Kentucky by five last night. It was a game of swings. KU opened up ahead 8–0 then 11–3.
As promised, I have a big batch of articles to share. I read most of these while on our trip last weekend, thus on my Kindle, which meant I couldn’t clip pull quotes as I read. With a couple exceptions, you’ll just have to trust me that these are worth your time. Most are pretty lengthy, so if you have travels planned for next week, or just need some distractions to get away from “loved ones” who rub you the wrong way, these could be ideal.
It was Adult Fall Break time for S and me, the first time we’ve done this in a couple years. This was for a medical conference, the first time we’ve done that since before Covid. We spent Thursday through Sunday in Clearwater Beach, FL, staying right on the beach. Like in a hotel, not in a tent or something. The weather was perfect, low 80s each day. Someone told us it was a little warmer than usual for this time of year.
Chart Week: November 5, 1983 Song: “Automatic Man” - Michael Sembello Chart Position: #34, 7th week on the chart. This was the song’s peak. A quick RFTS to fill the place of the Friday Playlist as we are taking an adult fall break for the next few days. The 100th entry in this series is getting very close. I’ve been reading through most of the previous posts, both to refresh my memory and to look for trends.
Welcome to the first post in a new, recurring series in these parts. L started her high school basketball career Tuesday night, and I think that deserves a clearly identified set of entries to document her adventures. The season opener was against the Jesuit school not too far from our house, BPHS. We have good friends who have a son who goes there and it was fun to see him working as a team manager when we walked in.
The Kennedy Men - Laurence Leamer After about a month of reading, split into sections, I knocked out my Big Book for the fall. A neighbor passed this to me over the summer. We were sitting on the porch having some drinks and somehow books or the Kennedys or something along those lines came up and she mentioned she had read this book and loved it. She offered it to me.
Not a bad weekend at all. The weather was wonderful, and looks to remain that way for a few more days, then seasonably warm after that. Changing the clocks always sucks. And plenty of football, of course. HS Football The Cathedral game was on TV so we were able to watch them get a relatively easy 20–3 sectional championship win over Lawrence North. Their defense was great and their running back went for over 260 yards.
An extra-stuffed playlist this week, heavy on tracks from albums I have previously shared songs from. Also, a heads up that there may be no playlist next week. I will be traveling for a couple days and may leave the playlist machine at home. Then again, maybe I’ll whip something together before we depart. It will be a surprise for us all! open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Now And Then” - The Beatles Let’s get the biggest song in the world (for the moment) out of the way first.
Chart Week: October 30, 1982 Song: “I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)” - Donald Fagen Chart Position: #36, 4th week on the chart, debut week in the Top 40. Peaked at #26 for three weeks in November and December. Pop music tends to be pretty limited thematically. Amongst the bazillion or so songs about love, lust, and heartbreak, occasionally one will emerge from left field about a topic that makes no sense as the basis for a radio hit.
I’m clearly not wasting enough time watching TV or stuff on my computer as this month’s list is again rather lean. Don’t worry, with colder weather arriving and the holiday TV season beginning, I expect to get this back where it should be soon. Movies, Shows, etc Halloween Baking Championship It’s holiday baking show season, bitches! The kids don’t watch anymore, but S does. And I’ve cut Halloween Wars from the rotation so start with just this.
What a weekend, filled with swings of mood and weather. KANSAS FOOTBALL!!!!!!! Kansas 38, Oklahoma 33. LET’S GOOOOOO!!!!! One of the biggest wins in program history. That alone would make Saturday’s win over the #6 Sooners memorable. It just had so much of…everything, I guess, that no KU fan who watched it will ever forget it. This feels like a game that could easily turn into a 5000 word account.
I didn’t blast much new-ish music this week, so today’s playlist will skew in a slightly different direction than normal. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Collect” - Torres It’s been a couple years since we had new Torres music. That album landed not one but two tracks on my Favorite Songs of the Year list, so the pressure is high for 2024. This is a super-promising first peak at her next album. “be okay” - Yumi Zouma Some heavy Nineties overtones in this, from the crunchy guitars to the processed background screaming.
Tales from the Torrid Zone - Alexander Frater I mentioned in my last entry that I was taking on a rather long book that seemed like it might be a chore to get through. With that in mind, I decided that since it is divided into three parts, I would take a break after each section and squeeze in another book. This was my choice for break number one.
Time for a few thoughts about the exciting world of professional sports. MLB Playoffs I have continued to watch the playoffs most nights. Maybe not as closely as I did a few years back, but I’ve had them on which is a big step for me. Since I’ve been checked out on baseball for the past two seasons, that has turned me into one of those viewers who is amazed by seeing players for the first time in October and probably infuriates people who give the game attention all season.
It was a pretty good fall break/long weekend around our house. It included another trip to Cincinnati, a new family toy, and a variety of news on the high school sports front. Let’s dive into the details. CHS Fall Break C and L were off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for their fall break. L had basketball practice all three days and the weather was crappy, so we didn’t do much.
Man, the weeks are really adding up. One more playlist before we slip into the final two months of the calendar year. It always seems like it will take forever to get here in January and February, then it is suddenly late October and both holiday music and my Favorite Songs of the Year playlist are right around the corner. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Come on Heartache” - The Menzingers Not quite “Country or Not”, but an interesting twangy twist added to the standard Menzingers sound on this track.
It’s weird how random things can trigger memories and send you down a path that brings a surprise ending. Last week I was watching TV and saw a commercial for the new Goosebumps series, which features actor Justin Long. I chuckled, thinking back to the time I first encountered Long on the small screen, as Warren P. Cheswick on the NBC show Ed, the “dramedy” about the bowling alley lawyer. Well, the lawyer who owned a bowling alley.
Another very good weekend that was focused on travel, football, and friends. For the second time in three weeks I left Indianapolis to attend a Big 12 football game. This trip was to Cincinnati to watch M’s Bearcats take on Iowa State. Making the trip even better, I would be hanging with my buddy, Super Clone Fan #1 Sean, and we would get to spend some time before the game with our old pal O-Dog.
open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Stuck” - Soft Science There’s been an influx of modern shoegaze in my playlists lately, and I am not complaining about it. “Your Day” - Pastel A buddy of mine who is super into all things Manchester described this as sounding like Liam Gallagher and Johnny Marr made a record together. I’m down with that. “Up and Comer” - Sprints Insert GIF of Beavis and Butthead banging their heads and screaming “YES!
Obviously I’m reaching a bit with my subject line. For it to work you have to imagine it is one of the geniuses at the NCAA asking the question when they realize that after six years of investigation and invective and irritation the biggest outcome of their inquiry into the Kansas basketball program is that the second half of the Jayhawks’ 2018 season, when Silvio de Sousa played, gets wiped from the record books.