Monday

Miscellaneous Rambling

Well, a good weekend comes to a close. Middle daughter, Meg, placed 12th at the state cross-country meet on Saturday, garnishing her attention from an assortment of D1 and D2 colleges. Michigan rolled over the Pedophiles at State University, a program that shouldn't even exist in light of its prolonged cover-up of Jerry Sandusky's crimes. My Detroit Lions, well, they're my Detroit Lions but I ain't proud of it.

People occasionally question my ongoing disgust with Penn State. Here's the thing: The football program itself covered up the Sandusky crimes, putting many more boys into that monster's grip. But the sanctions were so mild, its program had snapped back into shape in just three years. Compare that to sanctions meted out to, say, Houston or Southern Methodist University. It's simply an outrage.

I would, incidentally, be okay with the NCAA completely taking a hands-off approach and say, "If it doesn't give a team a dishonest competitive advantage on the field, we don't sanction or get involved." If that were the policy, I would've been okay with zero sanctions against Penn State; in fact, I would've objected to sanctions. But that ain't their policy. They get involved in all sorts of areas where a competitive advantage isn't involved. Ask yourself what would happen if a D1 coach went into a post-game press conference and proceeded to drop the "N word" repeatedly.

Happy 30-year anniversary to Marie. I met her 30 years ago today in a loud Ann Arbor bar. She was 18; she needed someone to buy her drinks; I was 20; I had a fake i.d. Seven kids later, things are still going strong. Put that in your crack pipe, MADD, and smoke it.

The new TWE podcast is up: Taoism, Europe in 486, Mo-Fo, Russell Kirk. Here are the Show Notes:

Taoism: The laid back outlook of Lao-Tse and Chuang-Tzu. Lisieux-like. A very short introduction.

Bogus Historical Atlas: A run-down of a bogus map of Europe circa 486. I wish I could find my copy of that book. It might have been a Rand McNally historical atlas. No matter. None of those “kingdoms” considered themselves kingdoms in 486. Burgundy, Franks, Visigoths: They were all controlled by barbarian generals who considered themselves part of the Roman Empire.

Lightning Segments: Henri Pirenne (introductory lecture), a lost weekend, funny old man stories. (Note: I reference Charles Jackson's Lost Weekend. but I referred to Charles “Bukowski” by accident. Bukowski was a great drinker, so my mistake is understandable, but a mistake nonetheless.)

The F-Word: Okay to use? No. Part of our culture? Yes. So it will sneak into otherwise polite, even urbane, conversation.