This book, for the purposes of what I’m doing in life, is a wealth of knowledge about the Japanese side that f what happened in the lead up to That earl Harbor. I have found that there is plenty of folks who can tell me a fairly good bit about America leading up to the war, but we do not spend much time academically on why Japan did what they did. This book adds to historical events and things that were said and done to Japan that put them on a war footing. It was foolish at the time and even more so in retrospect. There’s only so much I can read about the battles before it is just entirely repetitive. The nuts and bolts of the conflict, especially the entirety of the Pacific War, is of great interest to me. I bought some other books this evening to also help me learn more about the Solomons and the Pacific people in general. There is a real lack of books written about their experiences in the war. They do exist though and the two I got were recommendations from someone who stayed with a housemate in the Solomons that fought at Bougainville with the rebels before making his way to the Solomons as a 13 year old. They are historical fiction, but she told me I will better understand the South Pacific and the people I will cross paths with by reading them. Looking forward to more great non-class work reading.
Definitely not a traditional musical. I am not a fan of those either. This was just really good music. It was a younger crowd at my showing and they seemed to really enjoy it.
The key word in the first sentence that needs to be added is it WAS ours. We are not living in that country anymore. Our country is run by fascists now. Fascists take what they want. They took the Kennedy Center and slapped his name on it. Once that happened that place no longer stood as an honorable American institution. It’s now just another tool used by American fascists so if it ever gets destroyed I won’t be upset. Build a new one once this bout with fascism ends. Right now the people controlling it are an enemy to Americans who are not fascists.
That place can kick rocks. Hope it burns to the ground at some point for willingly putting that goblin’s name on there without any pushback.. The person that wrote that letter also deserves to get hit repeatedly in the face by a wrecking ball.
The Commentariat there is top flight and really funny most of the time, but especially on this. Some longtime people in those comments going back to the Deadspin days.
It’s about never forgetting the joy you had as a kid. Too many folks lose this part of themselves. A lot of folks wind up going through some extensive therapy to rediscover their inner child. John Bradshaw, a Texan, did some great pioneering work in this area. Kinda feel like the last two Avatar movies are something he would’ve enjoyed. I have always tried to remember how cool it was as a kid to experience cool things. This movie, for me, made me feel like a kid again. That is a good thing to stay in touch with your inner child emotionally. It’s why movies like this never get old to me.
Saw this a couple of weeks ago and it really hit home. Watching people pursue the thing they love to do most was pretty cool. It has parts that just tug at your heart with what happens to both of them, but man I loved it. Hugh Jackman really did Neil Diamond justice in my opinion. Would and will watch again. Jackman and Hudson also have really good chemistry as well. It was just a good freaking film that we need more of.
I don’t know the best place to put this, but Mike Robinson passed away this morning. His final coaching job was as head coach at Desoto in 2018 before a rare disease forced him into an early retirement. I have been friends with his family for 25 years now. He was a giant of a man physically and literally. I met him for the first time at the Church of Christ in Gainesville back in early 2002. He swore by that church from my recollections. I remember him saying something along the lines of there’s the Church of Christ and then every other church. I say that to say he was principled in the right way. He coached at Hutch when they had shut down before the 2005 season. He lost all his guys to SOC that season, but never complained about it. He was big on his family and I know he treated his players over the years like his own kids, many of which came from some rough backgrounds. I met a woman out here who remembered “Mr. Robinson” from when she was a student at Hutch. Her face lit up when I mentioned him. She hadn’t seen him since then, but he was Mr. Robinson to her and she did not say a bad word about him. I know @Pancho and his family are close friends with their family as well up in Gainesville. Sad to know he’s gone, but man the best thing you can ever say about a human being is they did right by others and helped as many people as they could while they could. He looked tough because he always had the same expression on his face, but I know he was good to everyone he crossed paths with. That was him in a nutshell. Gone way, way earlier than he should have been.
So he is kicked off aggy for a restraining order violation and now he's out here sucker punching a guy with no helmet on? I can't imagine that Cal is going to keep him on scholarship after seeing that. He should be sitting in a jail cell right now. That's pretty cowardly.
If you subscribe to Defector you are familiar with Drew Magary. He writes mainly about football and sometimes politics, but this is one that he does every year for this catalog. Honest to God I am not certain I want to ever meet some of the folks who buy the high end stuff. Here’s a gift link to the article. He really went hard in the paint this year. Makes me laugh every single year.
https://defector.com/the-2025-haters-guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog?giftLink=e8d2de5c79ea2b424ab23269773aec27
I thought about this battle today. I worked for a bit with McAuliffe’s great nephew out here. Looks just like him, but didn’t follow in his footsteps and join the military. He really doesn’t like Patton.
I may have posted a little about this, but I met a woman out here whose father was one of the Battered Bastards of Bastogne. She does not know a great deal about his service because he was mostly quiet about it. The chance encounter with her and her sister and helping them get back to their cruise ship on time got her to do something unexpected. She gave me a small booklet produced at the war’s conclusion about the service the 101st performed in the war. She also gave me the only notes she took from the onetime her father talked about his war experience. She asked me to help piece together where and when he was at a place going by her notes. I had told her why I was out here and she sent me that stuff saying that “I hope it can help you out on your journey.” One of the coolest things a person has ever given me.