{"id":10140,"date":"2024-01-06T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=10140"},"modified":"2024-01-05T16:15:11","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T21:15:11","slug":"stick-to-baseball-1-6-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2024\/01\/06\/stick-to-baseball-1-6-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 1\/6\/24."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I took a few weeks off from these posts around the holidays, but I did write one piece for subscribers to The Athletic over the break, looking at <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/5170577\/2023\/12\/30\/law-chris-sale-trade-atlanta-boston\/\">the Chris Sale trade and Lucas Giolito signing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over at Paste, I reviewed the games Daybreak, a cooperative game about fighting climate change; and Wandering Towers, the best new family game of last year. Both games were on my ranking of the ten best new board games of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/keithlaw.substack.com\/\">My free email newsletter<\/a> will return today (most likely). Several of you have pledged to support me if the newsletter were to go paid; I have no immediate plans to do so, but if that happens 1) I\u2019ll give everyone a ton of notice and 2) I\u2019ll move it off Substack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now, the links\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Writer Tom Scocca\u2019s piece in <em>New York <\/em>about <a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/intelligencer\/article\/tom-scocca-medical-mystery-essay.html\">his sudden, unsolved medical mystery<\/a> is the best thing you\u2019ll read all week. It\u2019s well-written, of course, and combines the deeply personal with an inherent attack on our broken health-care system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>President Biden won\u2019t just be facing Donald Trump or another GOP opponent in the 2024 election \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/177560\/biden-fox-news-formidable-opponent-2024\">he\u2019ll be opposed by the News Corp misinformation machine<\/a>, too. (Related: The <em>Washington Post<\/em>\u2019s Philip Bump wrote of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niemanlab.org\/2023\/12\/journalism-needs-to-learn-how-to-defend-itself\/\">how journalism needs to defend itself<\/a> in the face of bad-faith actors. He might start with his own paper\u2019s opinion section.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>New Yorker<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/culture\/annals-of-inquiry\/the-personal-political-art-of-board-game-design\">board games with serious themes<\/a>, profiling Amabel Holland, a trans woman who co-owns the publisher Hollandspiele and designed the Iron Rails series of games.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Parenting is hard. It\u2019s been harder thanks to the pandemic. That and other factors have led to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/gentle-parenting-and-the-accidentally-permissive-parent.html\">the rise of the \u201caccidentally permissive\u201d parent<\/a>, especially in my age cohort.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stuart Thompson of the <em>New York Times <\/em>looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/13\/technology\/covid-anti-vaccine.html\">how anti-vaxx ghouls latched on to the death of a 24-year-old man<\/a>, who showed no symptoms of myocarditis after his COVID-19 vaccination but whose parents think the vaccine gave him myocarditis anyway. George Watts, Jr., had an enlarged spleen \u2013 over six times the normal size for that organ \u2013 which is a sign of long-term heart failure, chronic inflammation in his brain, and signs of late-stage pneumonia in his lungs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/factcheck\/2023\/12\/15\/false-claim-moderna-admitted-mrna-vaccines-cause-cancer-fact-check\/71728496007\/\">mRNA vaccines do not cause cancer<\/a>, and there is no such thing as \u201cturbo cancer.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2023-12-19\/measles-is-again-on-the-march-across-the-world-thanks-to-anti-vaxxers-such-as-rfk-jr\">Measles is on the rise around the world thanks to vaccine denialists and misinformation peddlers like RFK, Jr.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) has introduced two bills <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/01\/03\/weapons-sales-saudi-arabia-uae-human-rights\/\">to block military aid to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates<\/a> due to both nations\u2019 atrocious human rights records. Omar is Muslim, and Islam is the official religion of both nations. Just imagine a similar scenario with Judaism or Christianity instead of Islam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2023\/12\/23\/israel-military-idf-media-censor\/\">Israel has censored its press on eight topics relating to the war on Gaza<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>On the coordinated attacks against now former Harvard President Claudine Gay: <a href=\"https:\/\/donmoynihan.substack.com\/p\/the-campaign-to-remove-the-president\">It was never about plagiarism, but about DEI<\/a> (from Don Moynihan); <a href=\"https:\/\/forward.com\/opinion\/573082\/universiy-presidents-were-right-depends-on-context-jewish-moral-panic\/\">American Jews\u2019 moral panic over Gay\u2019s and two other college Presidents\u2019 answers to Congress is misplaced<\/a> (from <em>The Forward<\/em>); and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/03\/opinion\/claudine-gay-harvard-president.htm\">Gay\u2019s own editorial in the <em>New York Times<\/em><\/a> on what happened, which I thought was far too reticent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why do pundits like Jonathan Chait and Nate Silver say outrageous things? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.programmablemutter.com\/p\/why-jonathan-chait-says-outrageous\">Because it\u2019s effective<\/a>, at least when you consider that attention is their goal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The science is clear: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/masks-work-distorting-science-to-dispute-the-evidence-doesnt\/\">Masks work to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and similar viruses<\/a>, no matter what the misinformation merchants tell you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Guardian<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2024\/jan\/03\/dave-chappelle-the-dreamer-ricky-gervais-armageddon-netflix\">the unfunny punching-down comedy specials from Dave Chapelle and Ricky Gervais<\/a>. Chapelle was so groundbreaking at his peak that it\u2019s sad to see him pitching with an 80 mph fastball now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2023\/12\/20\/read-it-yourself-all-673-books-removed-from-orange-classrooms\/\">A list of all 673 books removed from classrooms in Orange County, Florida<\/a>. I don\u2019t know how anyone with the means to move could still live there. Even if you send your kids to a quality alternative school, your tax dollars are supporting this anti-education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iowa-summer-ebt-food-assistance-0e878c5c0fc9dd0dd55622cb22a82561\">declined federal food aid to provide lunch to schoolchildren over the summer<\/a>, making a specious argument about obesity. This is free money for the state, and they would rather turn it down than feed poor children in Iowa.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) has drained the city payroll of <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/12\/23\/metro\/eric-adams-pads-nyc-payroll-with-293-special-assistants\/\">over $24 million to pay for 293 \u201cspecial assistants,\u201d<\/a> many of them major donors to his campaign.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adams (still D) also <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nyc-councilmember-says-adams-tried-to-stop-policing-bill-by-horse-trading-budget-cuts-it-failed\">tried to kill a bill that requires police to report when they stop anyone on the street<\/a> to ask for identification, promising to restore budget cuts to other programs if council members voted against it. The bill passed anyway.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Overtime pay for NYPD officers working the city\u2019s subway stations <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nypd-overtime-pay-in-the-subway-went-from-4-million-to-155-million-this-year\">went from $4 million to $155 million between 2022 and 2023<\/a>, reducing \u201cmajor crimes\u201d by 2% but primarily leading to more arrests and fines for fare-jumping. That\u2019s a lot of money to fight a handful of skipped $2.90 charges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>New York bookstore Bluestockings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curbed.com\/2023\/12\/bluestockings-bookstore-eviction-narcan-overdose-free-food.html\">is facing eviction for providing Narcan to save people<\/a> who have overdosed on opioids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amanda Todd was 15 when she killed herself in 2012 after three years of cyberstalking by a Dutch man who blackmailed her with threats to send nude images of her to her friends and family. He was sentenced to 13 years by a Canadian court, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-67787843\">a Dutch court cut the sentence in half<\/a> to match that country\u2019s legal standards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Las Vegas Business Journal<\/em> announced a new editorial policy that <a href=\"https:\/\/lvsportsbiz.com\/2023\/12\/20\/lvsportsbiz-coms-new-policy-economic-impact-numbers-related-to-sports-events-teams-stadiums-will-no-longer-be-published-without-explanation-of-methodology-used-to-determine-spending-impact-number\/\">it will not publish economic impact estimates for stadium projects and other events<\/a> unless they can see the methodology and criteria used to reach those estimates (which, in my view, are usually bullshit).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Francis Howell School District in St. Charles, Missouri, has seen white conservatives take over its school board; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stltoday.com\/news\/local\/education\/francis-howell-school-board-plans-to-reinstate-black-history-black-literature-courses-after-blowback\/article_c63bac4a-9b8f-11ee-867d-3b7fe758aa9f.html\">the board recently backed off a plan to eliminate all Black History and Black Literature courses<\/a> after massive opposition, including from the NAACP. The same white conservatives are trying to ban trans students from using the appropriate bathrooms. School board elections matter, folks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Speaking of Missourah, a St. Louis cop crashed his car into an LGBT bar, Bar:PM, and then cuffed one of the owners, who was later charged with a felony. The police <a href=\"https:\/\/www.riverfronttimes.com\/news\/st-louis-police-didnt-do-toxicology-test-after-bar-pm-crash-41488321\">didn\u2019t do a toxicology test on their colleague<\/a>, and now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stltoday.com\/opinion\/editorial\/editorial-cops-crashed-into-a-bar-cuffed-the-owners-and-now-they-dont-want-to\/article_be2c50ec-a425-11ee-a3da-3fa3341c38ed.html\">they\u2019re trying to hush up any investigation<\/a> and refusing to release body cam footage to the public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shoegaze had its moment in the early 1990s as a subgenre of alternative music, mostly heard from British acts like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Slowdive. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stereogum.com\/2245469\/tiktok-has-made-shoegaze-bigger-than-ever\/columns\/sounding-board\/\">It\u2019s had a huge comeback thanks to TikTok<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The data from Insomniac Games released by hackers shows that <a href=\"https:\/\/aftermath.site\/big-budget-game-development-is-not-sustainable\">big-game video game development is not sustainable<\/a>, per Nathan Grayson of Aftermath, a great new site covering video and tabletop gaming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I own a fantastic sweater and very warm hat from Quince, specialists in inexpensive cashmere clothing items. It turns out that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/16\/opinion\/holidays-environment-cashmere.html\">cheap cashmere has a stark environmental cost<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2406130-seams-on-a-baseball-shift-its-trajectory-by-unexpectedly-large-amount\/\">The seams on a baseball have a higher-than-expected effect<\/a> on the trajectory of the ball in flight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I took a few weeks off from these posts around the holidays, but I did write one piece for subscribers to The Athletic over the break, looking at the Chris Sale trade and Lucas Giolito signing. Over at Paste, I reviewed the games Daybreak, a cooperative game about fighting climate change; and Wandering Towers, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1083,582,844,113,128,939,1004,179,190,961,1268,1105,852,568,223,1196,1197,799,919,870,807,707],"class_list":["post-10140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-board-game-news","tag-board-games","tag-economics","tag-environment","tag-florida","tag-harvard","tag-iowa","tag-journalism","tag-links","tag-longreads","tag-misinformation","tag-missouri","tag-music","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-parenting","tag-police","tag-science","tag-shoegaze","tag-stick-to-baseball","tag-vaccines","tag-video-games","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10140"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10141,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10140\/revisions\/10141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}