Your 4.17.19 Playpen

I’m not a golf fan.  I don’t play.  I don’t watch it on television.  As a general sports fan, I follow it just enough to know most of the big names on tour, but that’s about it.

Except for the Masters.  Part of that’s because I’ve been in person a few times, of course.  Part of it’s the tradition.  And part of it’s because when there’s drama, it tends to be oversized.

When it comes to Tiger Woods, I’d characterize myself as more an admirer of his skills during his prime than a fan.  I didn’t choose to follow him around the course those times we were both in Augusta, but you look at what he accomplished there, starting at age 21, and it’s impossible not to be impressed.  That being said, I found him a little too corporately swallowed to ever allow myself to be emotionally invested in him.

Then came the fall from grace, mostly self-inflicted.  Then came the body that seemed to desert him.  Together that left the rest of the world besides his fan base to abandon all thought that he could regroup and play at an elite level.

That changed last year at East Lake, but I never thought Woods could do what he did last weekend.  The comeback story was emotionally charged, no doubt, but what really impressed me was how his play illustrated the tactical nature of tournament golf, especially in such a setting.  Watching him plug away, knowing where he could best pick up a stroke here or there (or, perhaps more importantly, considering what happened on the 12th hole Sunday, knowing where it was best to avoid losing a stroke), was a master class in how to play the game.

Really, just a remarkable feat for someone who literally willed himself back into relevancy.

What did y’all think of it?

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Your 4.10.19 Playpen

We’ve discussed food here at the blog.  We’ve mentioned beer preferences.  We’ve recommended bourbons and whiskeys.

One thing we haven’t touched on here, though, is wine.  How many of you are fans of the grape?  Red, white, rosé — what do you like?  What about the memorable bottle(s) you’ve tasted?  Is there a wine that works at a tailgate?

Have at it in the comments.

Your 4.3.19 Playpen

This is an actual banner from "Fox & Friends Weekend." 6:03am today. I double checked because I didn't believe it at first. Hat tip @BadFoxGraphics pic.twitter.com/tTNH0Y7a25

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 31, 2019

Today’s topic for discussion:  is Fox News genuinely that stupid, or does it pander that relentlessly to the stupid?

Your 3.27.19 Playpen

Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to condemn Thomas Mars.

The video begins with the student holding the belt and playfully hitting the person under the blanket.

“Pick my cotton, b—-,” the man says.

“I’m not black,” the person being hit retorts loudly, prompting chuckles from the other people in the room. The man, seemingly unfazed, continues to repeat the command and lightly smack the person in bed. Another person can be heard echoing the man’s words in a high-pitched voice.

The man is in the middle of swinging the belt when a voice off-camera interrupts: “You’re not using the right words.”

He freezes, the belt dangling limply from his raised hand. “Pick my,” he starts to say before pausing. Another person in the room eggs him on.

“Wait, get a video of it,” someone says.

Yes, because the only thing better than being racist is deliberately choosing to publicize the fact.  This Georgia grad doesn’t know whether to be more embarrassed for their attitude or their outright stupidity.  “Better Men for a Better World”, indeed.

And let’s hear it for the genius takes at Stingtalk.

With that, the floor is yours.

Your 3.20.19 Playpen

Okay, here’s a good one:  what’s the most memorable concert going experience of your life, and why?

For me, there are two.  The first time I saw Bruce Springsteen was winter of my first year at Virginia.  I had a buddy from New Jersey who kept insisting I had to go see him, so night of the show, I walked down the street to a gym on campus, paid my three bucks and, along with a few hundred other folks, was blown away.  (That this was before Born to Run made it even more impressive.)

The other show that made a lasting impression on me was Richard Thompson’s first concert in Atlanta.  I was a huge fan, so I didn’t need any encouragement.  Show was at the old Moonshadow Saloon near Emory and as we waited in line, a taxi pulled up in front of the joint and Thompson emerged with a guitar case, no entourage, no roadies, no nothing, and proceeded to walk past us into the club.  His show actually exceeded my expectations.  At one point — and this is something I’ve never, ever experienced with any other performer — the crowd was so wrapped up in his performance that I could hear the ventilation system blowing.

He was so good that I went back a couple of weeks later to see another musical hero of mine, Randy Newman, perform, and while Newman was great, it still felt like a little bit of a let down compared to the Thompson show.

Anyway, enough about me.  Tell us about yours in the comments.

Your 3.13.19 Playpen

The Playpen topic du jour is a no-brainer, amirite?

I’m sure everyone has their special take on Admissions-gate, but for me, it’s all about ‘Murica, the meritocracy.

The documents facilitate no such doubt, though, when it comes to their subtextual indictment of American meritocracy and its hallowed institutions and loudest defenders. The wealthy believe their kids deserve special treatment, even as they preach a gospel of self-reliance. Employees of prestigious universities will make every effort to provide that special treatment to the wealthy and connected, even as they stress the importance and virtue of their social or athletic mission.

Hey, when you’re in the service business, catering to customers is what you do.  Especially the more desperate ones.

And here’s my favorite take on the news.

Playwright David Mamet wrote a letter supporting Macy and Huffman, longtime friends, in an open letter posted by The Hollywood Reporter.

“The unqualified may be accepted for many reasons, among them, as Legacies, and on account of large donations made by their parents,” Mamet wrote. “I do not see the difference between getting a kid into school by bribing the Building Committee, and by bribing someone else. But, apparently, the second is against the Law. So be it.”

These are people who, on the one hand, bitch about affirmative action at parties, and on the other, look on with envy at the people like Charles Kushner who can afford to bribe Ivy League schools legally with eight-figure contributions to get their own mediocrities admitted.  (And since those contributions are charitable ones made to non-profit institutions, we taxpayers nobly subsidize them. What a country!)

In other words, it’s tough being white and rich, but not quite rich enough, these days.  Think of the children forced to take up sailing at Stanford.

The cool thing coming is that they’ll profess contrition in court — those acting skills will surely come in handy — pay a fine, maybe even do a little time/get probation, and then, with it all in the rear view mirror, go on to write, act and produce Admissions — The Real Story to recoup their losses.

The floor is yours, peeps.

Your 3.6.19 Playpen

If ever a tweet was destined to kick off a Playpen, surely it’s this one.

multiple callers on @SXMCollege say pac-12 schools are struggling because parents of recruits in south and texas don’t like “liberal politics” on west coast

— Allen Kenney (@BlatantHomerism) March 5, 2019

If that’s not peak stoopid stick to sports, it’s high enough up that you can see the summit from there.

Comments time!