January 22, 2004
HOUCK WEEKLY READER
I do a lot of reading on the Web. I find a lot of interesting stuff. And I like to share.
This, however, does not qualify as a Link Dump because I have not bookmarked these sites. They're just ones I've found in recent days. It's a technical distinction. Nay, might I say one that almost involves the splitting of hairs. So be it:
There are things that have happened and things that have yet to happen. Don Steinberg is keeping track.
The Anchorage Daily News tells about the unique phenomenon of suburban Alaska families building hockey rinks in their back yards, the way a kid in Florida might put up a basketball hoop. The full story is here.
I enjoy reading Amy Langfield's media blog, but it's her photo blog of New York that has me hooked.
Bloggers are starting to act more like traditional forms of media, in that they're starting to morph from diaries to reportage. For example Zulkey interviews the snarky pop culture raconteur but occasionally funny wunderkind writer Joel Stein. Loved this exchange:
Zulkey:When do you usually come up with your ideas for columns? At work? In the shower? At the VH1 studios?
Stein:I come up for ideas when I have a deadline.
Michelle over at A Small Victory has a great rant about hockey fights. I've yet to see one in person. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning tend not to be as chippy as other teams.
Gregg Easterbrook has a great take on the way that big honkin' pickup trucks are displacing SUVs as the suburban mode of transportation. As the owner of an Explorer, I applaud this, since it just cost me hundreds to fix that crappy beast and I've been considering bumping up to a big honkin' truck. As the owner of a VW Jetta wagon, I fear this trend shall one day result in the smearing of everything I hold dear all over a roadway because someone in a steroid-choked vehicle will be paying too little attention while they're loading a DVD for the kids and talking on a cellphone at 142 miles an hour.
I had a chat with a friend the other day about Pete Rose's admission about gambling on baseball. "I think it sends a bad message to kids if they let him back into baseball after having bet on the game,'' he said. "No it doesn't,'' I told him. "Kids haven't watched the game on their own in 20 years." Anyway, in that vein, it only serves to reason that a museum exhibit about a dying sport would fail as badly as that dying sport would. How sad, the way that greed has killed that game.
Speaking of horsehide, Jim Baker (No, not that one.) has a great column on ESPN.com about the most entertaining baseball players. About Cubs first baseman Randall Simon, he writes, "There is something fascinating about a player who honestly believes he can hit any pitch -- or, failing that -- who simply cannot help himself from swinging at any pitch. As Schwarz says of Simon, "He looks like he'll dislocate both shoulders reaching for pitches in the opposite dugout."
I've always wondered what it would be like to write for a late night comedy show. Now I know: Lots of carbs. If you consider Kilborn's show comedy, that is.
Her majesty's a pretty nice girl but she doesn't have a lot to say. Lizzy does, however, love her some goofy iambic pentameter. Especially when it goofs on her husband Phil.
Where sports and celebrities collide. Could there be anything more vapid? God help us all.
Posted by Jeff at January 22, 2004 08:14 AM | TrackBack