YSL 15/03/23 - Gary Lineker: It's not a culture war, it's a class war

I have been feeling a little below par the last week. A concerned friend of Germanic extraction told me to take the time off as other people would care only for themselves and not others. She's probably right about that in a fundamental sense but I've mostly just continued working because I've known in my heart I was up to it. To palm off my responsibilities on others when I'm capable myself would simply not be fair. I believe, as does Charles C.W. Cooke that one of the fundamental values held by British people is an unerring sense of fairness. 

I think the public views the Gary Lineker story through the lens of fairness. I think in the long term that bodes ill for both him and the BBC. What's fair and what's good and principled do not always line up but what's fair is usually right and necessarily just. What's just is to understand that when people talk about the culture war, what's really happening more and more is a class war.

Before talking more about what's right and what's fair, let's talk about the facts after the jump.

2022 - The Year in Books (that I've read)

 I hadn't been reading much in the past years for various reasons but the online political commrntator Liz Wheeler had a good suggestion; she sets herself a target of reading thirty books in a year so I decided to adopt the same goal which ironically necessitated quitting keeping up with ehr show. I have a huge pile of unread books that I own and which I periodically add to so I thought I would start there - some of these are older and some are not even the type I would collect today but I will declare it good to expand your universe of literary knowledge. 

I just about scraped over the line with thirty. After a fast start I limped to the end as I was out of country for a few weeks in the middle of the year which broke my routine and I failed to make enough time. We'll see what we can accomplish next year - There a few other things I need to take care of first before sitting down and dedicating myself to reading again but the shleves here in the dojo have already been repopulated as you can see below...

The thirty books I read and some brief thoughts on each after the jump.

Quantum Leap (2022) Season 1 Part 1 - An Asian lead but not much else

I haven't been watching much TV since the Wuflu outbreak of 2020 broke all our routines but one show I did endeavor to check out the reboot of Quantum Leap that kicked off on NBC and wrapped up the first half of its first season in 2022. It's live ratings were pretty poor but someone was satisfied enough over there to give it a full season order and then renew it. The second half began on January 2nd.

Is it worth catching up on? More after the jump.

Dori Monson 1961-2022: Remembering a legend

 One of the recurring tropes of social media is the outpouring of emotion when someone famous or well known dies. It tends to be an easy way to signal that you care, to drive engagement and occasionally the tributes can be truly moving or thought provoking. Many have commented on how the alst years it feels as though there has been an uptick in the number and notoriety of those passing on. But there's a perfectly natural explanation for this. 

The way our media environment has exploded in the last few decades has also expanded the universe of names the average person would recognize to where now even legislative aides and patent lawyers have public profiles. For the Gen Xers and Millennials who today shape discussion on the Internet, the actor, musicians and athletes they grew up with are sadly but inevitably starting to age out of this life. 

Usually when deaths are announced now, I don't have much if anything to say beyond simple condolences to the family. There's little profound I could add to what's already been said and often we don't really know the figures beneath the veneer they showed to their fans and admirers. This one is different though. Seattle broadcasting legend Dori Monson died over the New Year's weekend last week leaving behind his wife, three cherished daughters and a hole in the region that will never be filled. He was just 61.

He was not as renowned or esteemed as others who passed over the break for New Year's. The likes of Pelé, Pope Benedict XVI and Barbara Walters are rightly celebrated but for me personally, the unexpected death of Dori felt like the loss of an old friend even though I never met him and hadn't been listening to his radio show recently. 

I still have nothing profound to say but I do have some recollections and reflections on the life and impact of a remarkable man after the jump.

About Fate (2022) - Adapting Russian stories to reflect the world we live in today

 

After watching Hotel For the Holidays I decided I needed more Madelaine Petsch and followed it up with About Fate, a New Year's movie starring another of my favorite actresses, Emma Roberts. It allegedly had a theatrical release in September 2022 with nearly all of its limited box office coming from Russia (so much for the sanctions) but the main purpose of the production was to provide streaming content, indeed I saw it on Amazon Prime.

более подробно об этом plus one or two spoilers after the jump...

YSL 01/01/23 - A WTA cocktail of optimism and trepidation in the new year

 I've written here in the past about MMA, the NFL and a little on my first, true original love of football so it's really time I devoted at least one piece to the fourth sport I follow - women's tennis. Even when I was a boy I preferred women's tennis to men's. Perhaps it's because I was always a sceptic and an asshole contrarian who instinctively refused to believe that Tim Henman was anything particularly special contra to the media narrative, but I would always pay close attention when the women played.

The emergence of contemporary foxes like Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova certainly helped but the player who really caught my attention and defined what attracted me to the sport was Justine Henin. She could move and play every shot with preternatural grace and elegance, flowing across the court as she would systematically break down her opponents with her signature one hand backhand. 

Henin does not seem to be held in the same kind of high regard by the most vocal online tennis fans who tend to be devotees of Serena Williams. True sports fans have long memories and they resent henin for a supposedly unsportsmanlike gesture she made at Roland Garros in 2003 during an extremely tight semi-final match the two played. Henin would go on to win the title that year, her first of seven majors. 

While there's no denying Williams' unparalleled brilliance in the women's game, her power-based style never really appealed to me. It's a combination of the beauty in motion and creativity represented by Henin that won me over and is also why I generally prefer watching the women to the men, at least in tennis. The drama that almost always follows is added spice. 

In the past three years, tennis has been beset by schedule and rankings chaos caused by a mysterious virus of unspecified origin. For the women, this was compounded by the rank incompetence of the WTA, the women's professional tour. After Peng Shuai was detained by the Communist government in China, the WTA made the decision to withdraw from that country. My belief then and now is that it had a lot less to do with principles than the practical concern that China had closed their borders at a time the WTA had structured their entire fall schedule around access to multiple cities. 

Just two years later I feel vindicated - The WTA will be returning to China in 2023 and the borders have duly been opened. No promises were ever made regarding Peng Shuai's safety but the WTA was flailing and that's what's really important here. For what it's worth, I think Peng is safe and "free" to live her life as long as she does not resurface the sexual assault allegations that initially landed her in trouble - certain players who are quick to point fingers at America would do well to take note and appreciate the liberty they are afforded. 

How will 2023 unfold for some of my favorite players? More after the jump.