Technically, I don’t think the coach has been fired. He was simply suspended indefinitely— and now there are reports that some people within the university (and/or its boosters) wanted him to stay on! It seems clear now that he’s gone and there are negotiations on his buy-out (how he wasn’t just fired for cause is…

I (white guy) always call them tricks, too. My dad played bridge where they are tricks as well and I assumed that there was a lot of borrowed terminology from bridge— including the concept of a “trump” card.

Yes, and then they go home and relax and sleep in air-conditioned homes or apartments.

Close— but more like “tastes like [fruit] jam.” I never thought about it until you mentioned it, but now I’ve got LL Cool J saying “And when I pull out my jammy get ready / ‘Cause it might go ‘blaw’ / How you like me now?”

Totally. I travel a lot and once I park my car at the airport I throw my keys in my luggage— I won’t need them until I return. Problem is, I am now conditioned to where the weight of my keys in my front left pocket is normal. So then I spend the next week on the road walking around constantly stopping mid-walk and…

I’ll disagree only slightly. I helped put myself through grad school working at a liquor store. The boss wanted us all to be familiar with the merchandise so he encouraged us to drink. Like, literally when I walked into the store the manager would ask what we should try.

When distributor reps came in, employees were…

There has been a good deal of discussion about how air conditioning changed the way of life in the south. And it’s not really even the south— there are times in New York (the city or Upstate) when it can be unbearably hot and muggy.

Wait— if Peru and Brazil ended up with a 0-0 tie, then wouldn’t Brazil have ended up with 5 points? And their GD would have been higher than both Ecuador and Peru?

I seriously don’t know why any Westerner— particularly a woman— would ever opt to tour in a country like Qatar or Saudi Arabia. I would be constantly terrified that drinking a beer or having sex with (or just being suspected of having sex with) someone I’m not married to (spoken as an adult, unmarried male), or not…

Here is an entire discussion from NPR about prizes.

First of, learn how to write better. Second, when you read something that sounds too ridiculous to be true (especially when it supports some sort of right-wing agenda), it’s probably because it is.

Poe’s Law.

I assume that the above quote was the inspiration for this bit from Louis CK. (Longer version in bigger context.)

Question that wasn’t addressed in the story: This poor girl’s family said that she was trafficked a few years ago and held captive by someone (unnamed) for two years. So... was this an Elizabeth Smart sort of situation, or was she being fostered by this family, or what?

It doesn’t change any of the horribleness of the…

As a guy who is in his 40's let me add this: being “conservative” used to mean something slightly different about 40 years ago. Under Nixon (!) the top marginal tax rate was 70% (!!!), and that bracket was $200,000 (or ca. $1,000,000 in today’s dollars). He was praised for engaging in diplomatic relations with a…

Back when I would hug trees in Santa Cruz, I would sort of ask the tree if it was okay if I hugged it and I would feel their spirit or energy or something give a response back, and then proceed accordingly,” Serenity said. “Consent is definitely important. Do you think the Earth would consent to fracking and…

Nah dude. Sorry— I was in a shitty mood this morning. And I totally get it. I wish sports were a little different so people who get invested in teams/civic pride aren’t fucking destroyed because one billionaire has found a way to make a few more bucks. OKC is a dumpy town with just a few niches of cool places to hang…

Seattle fans are really bitter. Sports is a business. If citizens (rightfully) weren’t willing to put up money for a billionaire to make more money, then you can’t complain. And fuck— it’s been years, now. You won a Super Bowl. What’s there to bitch about? Kansas City fans don’t bitch about losing the Kings to…

Actually, they are almost even (the GOP has ca. a 4,000 voter lead). But I was surprised that it was that close, given the typical election results.

FIFA uses the same sales-pitch as two other major sporting events: the IOC and the NFL’s Super Bowl.