In which I manage to couch self-promotion as an apology for light posting. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/s...

Thoughts written during the Springboks' 32-17 victory over France at Stade de France. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/b...

In which I argue that Joe Namath was a slightly worse Steve Grogan with less mobility but with a Super Bowl ring and better publicity. Please consider subscribing! open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/a...

Covering the Boks' Rugby Championship clincher from afar. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/a...

Capsule reviews of books I completed in September: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/s...

Random thoughts on things I've come across of late. Please consider subscribing. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/c...

Jarod Mayo sitting on his couch right now saying "not so fucking easy, is it?"

In which I cover a lot of territory on a host of topics while watching the Patriots eke out a somewhat disconcertingly narrow win against the Dolphins. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/r...

Quick hit thoughts on a wide range of issues (and I only just barely touch on THAT news ...) open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/c...

It goes without saying that we've had years to prepare for required voter ID and now for no vote by mail. Of course it's all intended to be voter suppression. But we need to be planning carpools and ID drives yesterday.

Capsule Reviews of Books I Finished Last Month: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/a...

Thoughts on the South African Women’s Springboks at the World Cup. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/s...

I'm back in the US after ten weeks in South Africa. A few thoughts. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/b...

I'm just going to point out that if someone commits a murder-suicide in a small town, that makes the murder rate there far, far above anything in cities. Small towns are no more or less virtuous than urban areas.

At Ellis Park for the Boks-Wallabies Rugby Championship opener. It'll be the last test I cover before heading back to the US this coming week. My prediction: Boks 39 Wallabies 15.

Jesus, I'd entirely forgotten what a gut punch of a movie "Million Dollar Baby" is.

On losing a beloved pet: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/r...

I haven't been posting pics of my cooking, because I haven't been taking pics of my cooking, but I slow-cooked oxtail with potatoes, onion, and yellow bell peppers in a red wine-beef broth.

On Trans Athletes: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/o...

On an unimaginable loss. dcat.substack.com/p/on-suicide...

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is completely lit right now before this #Springbok match. Gqeberha is showing out in a big way.

More rugby. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/m...

Everything about Rambo 2 is gloriously awful. Nearly every plot point is impossible. It has terrible politics. It's wretchedly acted. It's incoherent. The bad guys are thrown together as an amalgam. The closing song is an unacknowledged war crime. It is just utterly, inconceivably bad. 5 Stars.

"Rambo: First Blood Part 2" is so dumb. I'm giddily excited to have caught it from the beginning on South Africa's TNT. Are they gonna let us win this time?

Thoughts on the Boks-Italy match from Loftus Versfeld: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/f...

On South African Women's Sport open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/b...

On books I completed in June, including Jim Walsh and the Minneapolis Music scene, 80s Hair Metal, and Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/j...

Some thoughts on current South African politics: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/s...

Some thoughts on Boks-Barbarians: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/b...

54-7 Bokke. And that's that. #Springboks

Full Bomb Squad on in Cape Town!

19-0 #Springboks at the half and it's frankly not that close. The Boks are bullying the #Barbarians while also beating them at their ball-in-hand, flair game.

It's a Springbok Game Day in Cape Town! open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/i...

The Barbarians are about to face the Boks in Cape Town. A few thoughts: open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/b...

If I were benevolent but stern emperor of the universe, college students would not be allowed to declare a major until after sophomore year.

Capsule reviews of books I finished in May. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/m...

I’m heading to South Africa for my annual trip on Sunday. I’ll be gone for nine weeks, so consider this post just a little bit of house cleaning. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/p...

Dear grad student - Social media naturally descends into miserableness and we all can do better. But the world you've entered is smaller than you realize. Trying to dismiss and then insult someone's credentials and experiences who has reached a place you are trying to get to is a bad idea.

Riley Gaines is just Amy Fisher dipped in chlorine.

Part of the reason the right wing narrative about higher ed is infuriating is that I see what my students are capable of every day, how they will go into myriad fields and succeed. 1/2

Whoa, that Dwight Garner review of Chernow's Twain biography. Daaaaaamn.

I returned from Paris in the wee hours Friday. Here are some scattered thoughts on the city, language skills, travel, and the workshop in which I participated. [Please consider subscribing.] open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/b...

Thoughts from Paris open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/t...

"Here Comes a Regular" is the best song ever written.

I walked SO MUCH today. In part because it turns out that if you leave L'Arc de Triomphe and take the wrong spoke-of-the-wheel road, you can end up a long fucking way from where you intended to go. Pro tip from an international travel veteran: Don't do that.

Just hanging out. You know, as you do.

You know, something tells me that Comey know where wrote a few bodies are buried. He'll get to testify in his defense as to why he thinks 47 should be 86ed. In so doing, his whys might be really interesting ...

On how travel (and everything else) seems to just get worse and worse all the time. open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/a...

A random attempt to clean out a few of my tabs. I hope you'll consider subscribing! open.substack.com/pub/dcat/p/c...