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.
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.
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.
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.
более подробно об этом plus one or two spoilers after the jump...
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.
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.
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.
It is after Christmas now but I didn't have time to watch this until Christmas Day itself. As an enthusiast of Madelaine Petsch, the preeminent star of the CW's "Riverdale", I had this movie circled as soon as I heard about it. Petsch stars as Georgia, an ambitious and industrious hotel manager who finds herself at the center of a love triangle, torn between the lovelorn hotel chef and a wealthy, smooth-talking foreign prince. You will never be able to guess who eventually wins her heart.
Some hints after the jump?
Is it right to treat Russians or Chinese as pariahs on the world stage? Should we do business with dictatorial regimes and rigid theocracies such as Qatar? I don't have all the answers but I ahve some thoughts after the jump.
Read more about it after the jump...
