Letters to the Editor
The Brad
Published Letters: 157 Editor's Choice: 17
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slightly off-topic
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But speaking of undefeateds... how 'bout those Hawai'i Warriors? It's only one game, but it should serve as sufficient evidence that going undefeated by itself is meaningless as an indication of a potential champion. You eat cream puffs all year, you get sluggish. I don't care if Michigan and MSU reneged on their plans to play, the Warriors just didn't have the strength-of-schedule to justify a shot at the title, and the school should be grateful to the BCS overlords for the small mercy of the Sugar Bowl. Georgia went 3-2 in their SEC division, but had a top-30 strength of schedule. Hawai'i? 137th. The humiliation at the hands of the likes of LSU might have been epic.
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How often are Salon's televisions on?
[Read the article: The witch ain't dead, and Chris Matthews is a ding-dong]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You seem to realize that it's silly to take the undigested rumblings of Glenn Beck and Chris Matthews seriously, yet you insist on indulging your high-school revenge fantasy. Lance Mannion took Howard Fineman to task for casting the race in terms of hoary teenage stereotypes. I would ask you: why are you so obsessed with these teleprompted assholes? Why does Hillary need "saving" so badly? Aren't we choosing a president? Must we fret over everyone who dislikes our candidate?
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nice one, King
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The discourse bit, I mean. I check Deadspin multiple times a day, and they've got a lot of great features 'n' scoops, and their commments section is second only to the A.V. Club. But they basically only trash ESPN. FoxSports gets off really easy with them, SI too. And that's the Gawker part of Deadspin: tear down your betters. It can be funny as hell (Stu Scott, Sean Salisbury, the internal memos, Chris "Leatherman" Berman), or it can be queasily questionable (Scott Van Pelt's phone message - using Leitch's logic about Ron Mexico, when has Van Pelt EVER held himself up as someone to emulate?). But it's certainly not raising the level of discourse, it's just dragging the 24-hr celeb minutiae-dissection into the sports world. Deadspin is beholden to the demands of content, same as everyone, and they don't withhold the pain from people and institutions that aren't being flogged as moral pillars.
But they're insanely popular, so it's a conflict that shouldn't keep them up too late at night. But don't pretend that pining for Erin Andrews is something legit for the fans.
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Really?
[Read the article: Quote of the Day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Do y'all not even know who Cat Power is? New covers record came out. It's not bad.
How badly do you need metaphors? Ms. Spears is not a good choice.
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Ah, wasted youth.
[Read the article: A mistake that should last a lifetime]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm completely mystified by my peers. All these boys and girls, dressing up in the clothing of dead eras, taking pictures of each other looking alternatingly bored and Dionysian. Who began the myth that only the fuck-ups are cool? When did all these liberal-arts majors think they needed to be dissipated waifs, visibly risibly cool despite the self-inflicted damage? Is it the Beats' fault? Hemingway?
I'm off-track a little, I know, but these fluff pieces get me thinking. I'll assume Jessanne is being honest (what other choice do I have?), but her little tattoo story brings to the forefront a whole raft of hipster acquaintances hell-bent on accessorizing themselves into relevance.
Me, I got the idea when I was working the second shift in a manufacturing plant. I told a couple people, and they advised me to wait a few months, then see if I wanted it. I waited, but I thought about that tat every day. When the period of consideration was up, I headed downtown to a place my friend Brook recommended. (He'd gotten some Norse shit tattooed on the underside of each wrist.) A girl I knew from Houston came with, as well as our significant others. I walked in, half-shakingly handed the dude a record, and asked if he could transfer the text to my upper back, between my shoulder blades.
And so he did. With Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards on the CD player (I bought the record later: partly for the memories, partly for "Easy Livin'"), I got the tattoo I wanted: the title - in script - of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's 1973 masterpiece Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle. At that point, I was free from the assembly line. I had a partner who loved me. I was writing again. Fuck that damaged-past trip. We're gonna build ourselves a future.