Monthly Archives: June 2019

Reading Well: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

I have very high expectations each time I start a book by Barbara Kingsolver. Most of the time, she exceeds them. Unsheltered (2018) is a good book, but not among her best. The premise/structure is pretty lovely: the novel alternates … Continue reading

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

WWC2019: The Quarterfinals!

{ Got ahead of myself and originally published this as the Semis. Whoops. } How We Did Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Evidently, I don’t respect Scandinavia as much as I should, as both Norway and Sweden surprised. … Continue reading

Posted in Football/Soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WWC2019: The Round of 16

{ I’m writing this immediately after the Germany-Nigeria game–travel and work got in the way of getting it done before that. } Nothing too surprising coming out of the groups–sure, exactly how Scotland/ Argentina/ Nigeria/ Chile/ China would end up … Continue reading

Posted in Football/Soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WWC2019: The Second Games

A note on VAR to open. I’m a fan, for sure–getting calls right strikes me as generally important–but there are two points that, I think, need to be addressed: First, if you look for a penalty, you will usually find … Continue reading

Posted in Football/Soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading Well: Infinite Detail by Tim Maughan

Infinite Detail (2019) is the debut novel from Tim Maughan, a journalist of some note. It’s a good read, focusing on the relatively cataclysmic aftermath of an extended Internet outage. The setting is the near future, a world just slightly … Continue reading

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

WWC2019: The First Round of Games

Notes and thoughts on the first games in each group. GENERAL NOTES I really want to highlight the difference between Argentina, Italy, and Brazil on one hand and Spain on the other. Twenty years ago, none of these countries cared … Continue reading

Posted in Football/Soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WWC2019: Predictions & What-Not

Scrambling to get these out there before kickoff tomorrow. Remember, the top 2 teams from each group, plus the next 4, make the knockout rounds. It’s hard for the key match to not just always be the clash between the … Continue reading

Posted in Football/Soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WWC2019: It’s Almost Time

Gosh, it feels like 1200 days since we were here last … I’m not sure what I plan to write about the World Cup about to kick off in France, but I’m sure I’ll probably match my output for WWC2015. … Continue reading

Posted in Football/Soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment