I saw a Norwegian score a goal with a stutter-step and I saw Neymar score one. Did one of these goals not happen? It is true that I fell asleep watching this match, so maybe I dreamt the stutter-step goal. Oh hold on, maybe someone took one that didn't translate but I was just impressed with the SS

Apparently I have been seeing goals that never happened, I would actually recommend this as a brain or eye deficit during some of these painfully "up in the air, down on the ground, paddling round the middle of the pitch" games.

Football people really do turn on teams and players like they are shutting off the immersion. It's a bit extreme really. Love to hate in 60 seconds.

Ban rowing before it becomes kayaking.

I appear from the cobwebs to defend the stutter step and tap dancing approach to penalties. We need a bit of 42nd Street on that grass.

Misread this as cleats, which made it even funnier once I realized what it read!

La Grange au Lac. Evian. Patrick Bouchain. Sublime.

Seeing Etran De L'Aïr yesterday at the Montreal Jazz Festival was one of the best live shows I’ve seen in recent memory. See them if you have a chance.

The difference is in Canada we don't think everything is only about us and we don't whine endlessly like other entitled nameless nations. He's wrong on hysteria. Was he in Vancouver on the fan marches? Or after the win? www.theguardian.com/football/202...

"We must reduce the universe to crumbs" Barthes stated in 1978" (quoting Nietzsche), "[and] lose respect for the whole..."The whole is the false" www.jstor.org/stable/24694...

There are still 3 good reading hours remaining in the day. We are binge reading over on the Haystack open.substack.com/live-stream/...

I have a lapsed tradition of rereading Mme Bovary in the summer, but I might revise it and switch to Don Quixote this year. That novel is so funny and we're getting v po-faced and myopic about the novel these days. As if humour somehow isn't humane. Humour is survival. Ask any poor person.

Goalie greatness.

Beautiful game has many ugly sides related to money

NEW PODCAST: In MAGIC AND MECHANICS, the latest in @scratchbooks.bsky.social ‘Reverse Engineering’ series, six writers present and disassemble one of their recent short stories. To celebrate its launch, Claire-Louise Bennett was in conversation with Ben Pester. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...

ALL Haymarket Books are 40% off through August 21st! ✊🏾✊🏿✊🏽

With a small compass’d cape

Where is Pico I can’t see him?

Jorge Campos for Sainthood

OFFSIDE, RED CARD, THUNDERSTORM WARNING

Unless you are a goalie. Goalie weddings are the only exception to this because I can have a chat to other goalies about serious goalie biz.

I am not going to your wedding if you make me sign an NDA. This is why no one invites me to weddings.

Be careful of this very nasty tummy virus cyclospora that causes explosive diarrhea. "New York, Texas, Illinois and Michigan have the most cases so far," www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/w...

We will be binge reading over on the Haystack until something exciting happens in the match hopefully nothing exciting will happen so we will read into the dusk. open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Get rid of the offside rule and come up with a no camping by the goal rule instead.

Excellent bookshop. Send Jessica all your money.

That penalty kick was weak on the feinting. I want to see some back of the heel over the head biz. Croatia will come back for the sake of their goalie. No surrender. Noting Ronaldo doesn't get the offside rule either, what hope is there for me.

I met him once when I boarded with him and Bonnie in their bunkhouse during the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Arts. My memory of him is how active he was and lively and hospitable. Also we had some great chats. He was some man for one man.

Toronto your grass is looking a 10 despite the terrible heatwave. I wish rain for you.

Is he dissing goalies?

Here are my neophyte goalie reckonings on this game. According to SI the Croatian goalie is the 10th best goalie and the Portugal fella is the 7th best. I need a dedicated goalie cam. There should be a stream where you only watch the match from the perspective of the goalie(s) Elevate goalies

Hace años escribí una historia sobre el último día del último presidente gringo, que está esperando la llegada del mexicano que ocupará su lugar; apareció en el perro y en Letras Libres. Hubo algunos lectores ofendidos. @bombmag.bsky.social lo vuelve a publicar, traducido al inglés por Lisa Dillman.

This is crazy to just release this man who is out randomly battering a woman on the head with a lump of wood in daylight. It will be months for her to recover from that concussion & he's clearly a danger. If he's unhinged he needs monitored mental health care. vancouver.citynews.ca/video/2026/0...

Anyone going to Taylor Swift's wedding with a spare plus one? I've never been to a wedding, so since it looks like I am not going to be making a habit of it.. I think I should start with Taylor's.

Does anyone know (any gender) goalies? Do you play in goal? Have you been a goalie? Do you or did you play GAA in goal? I want to talk to goalies. GRMA/thanks.

Last night in the DTES/Strathcona, we were out eating Canada Day dinner on the patio and a low flying chopper flew circles overhead for 2 hours until one of my guests said let’s go inside. How is this OK? And it’s not just FIFA. It’s incessant. This wouldn’t happen above Point Grey. #vanpoli

I also may not yet be done with our dude Thomas Gray. I found his letters. Let's see if he talks about napping or snacking in them.

Thank you v much @brianbusby.bsky.social who became a paid subscriber over on the Binge Reading Haystack! bingereading.substack.com We will now have a podcast of Are the Planets Inhabited? to celebrate Brian Busby.

We are binge reading over on the Haystack for next 4 hours open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Poor number 8. Do not cry.

Football is hard. Maybe too hard.

Canada will knock them out, once we have dealt with Morocco.

Reports are reaching me from downstairs that Senegal have triumphed ❤️🇸🇳

I made a binge reading podcast for you, which is more of a cold reading of an entire pamphlet with interjections on Thomas Gray - a man I knew nothing about and now I know something about. It was an athletic undertaking. I doubt anyone will get through this bingereading.substack.com/p/binge-read...

Tricia's list on Criterion. I like the sound of murderous melodramas and will look up the rest.

Lovely to see #FewAndFarBetween is a most anticipated summer read at Lit Hub lithub.com/lit-hubs-mos...

Where are my Toronto people? Are ye ok? That's fucking hot. Do not venture out if you have low blood pressure as you may collapse. Put your head in the freezer. Freeze wash cloths and put them on your neck. Rinse your wrists under the cold tap Read a book. Eat salty snacks. Put your legs up if dizzy

He’s from good Connemara stock our Harry.

That’s a proper goal. The first one doesn’t count - no headers ⚽️

Don’t marry anyone scaling wobbly look towers on national TV. Dramatic people are a bad bet.