Month: December 2002

Now it can be revealed: the December mix of the CD Mix of the Month Club.

Here’s my story from today’s front page, on the history of the LSU-Texas football non-rivalry.
Questions you may be asking: Why did Josh, an education reporter by trade, write a sports story? And how did it end up on the front page, considering how very middling its quality is? These questions, alas, have no answers.

An interesting piece on Strom Thurmond’s 1948 run for president, including some interesting context on the “gendering” of Southern politics. (See the “Importance of Virility” section.)
On a completely unrelated note: I suppose one should expect it, what with the holidays and all, but haven’t there been a lot more “woe is me” blog posts of late? You know, the sort of teenage drivel that, before the Internet, was left quite happily in private journals? “My life is sooo bad, so much worse than any other life that’s ever been lived!” “My life is so fraught with drama!” “To an unnamed individual: I hate you, hate you, hate you!” “Should a movie someday be made about this period in my life — as it surely must! — only Meryl Streep would be able to fully embody the dramatic tension that lay within my very soul!” Geez.

Here’s my boring story from today’s front page, on the vagaries of dropout statistical analysis. (Whoo!)

You are reading the blog of the newly annointed champion of the Jello Brains fantasy football league. Thanks to a monster game from Amani Toomer, my squad (the Bobby Heberts) eeked out a win over Quincy Augmon in the championship game, 136-132.
Not to toot my own horn, but I had the first pick in this year’s player draft. That’s normally a big plus — but I picked Marshall Faulk, who ended up laying eggs most weeks and spent the last month sitting on my bench. Despite this major setback, the Heberts rallied for me (or, perhaps, for their namesake).
It is traditional fantasy football etiquette to offer gifts to the champion.

I didn’t know that Daily Candy syndicates its content on the Scripps-Howard wire. (Ironically, the same wire that my CD reviews used to get distributed on, back when I was a Professional Rock Critic.) So the writeup they did a while back about the CD Mix of the Month Club has been published in the Arizona Daily Star, the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the Boulder Daily Camera, and who knows where else. Welcome to those of you coming here from out there in cyberspace.
And happy holidays to all y’all.

Here’s my story from today’s front page, on a new edition of Shakespeare’s plays aimed at people who use the word “crunk” in daily conversation. I never thought I’d use the words “Juliet is a hotty” on the front page of The Dallas Morning News. I wonder how my ex-girlfriend Juliet will react to picking up today’s paper.
(Aside: At the start of the year, I set a goal of getting 35 page 1 stories in 2002 — this is No. 35, just in the nick of time. No. 36 is coming Tuesday.)
I’m off to Louisiana through Wednesday.
(Update: Just realized I had another short piece in today’s paper.)

A North Carolina congressman says he developed “segregationist feelings” after spending time with black ex-Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
“I mean, she was such a bitch,” he said.
(For the record, this article is not satire.)

Dallasites, mark your calendars! April 23 to 26 is hereby reserved. Click through to learn, among other things, “what events will take place around the Colossal Colon,” and “how can I get involved with the Colossal Colon.”

Speaking of pure evil… This makes Munchausen by proxy seem almost kind.