{"id":6077,"date":"2017-10-21T11:14:52","date_gmt":"2017-10-21T15:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=6077"},"modified":"2017-10-21T11:16:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-21T15:16:13","slug":"stick-to-baseball-102117","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/21\/stick-to-baseball-102117\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 10\/21\/17."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I wrote two scouting posts for Insiders from my week in the Arizona Fall League, which you can read <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2kUsCi2\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2ymSTKL\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. I also held a <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2xSDsuO\" target=\"_blank\">Klawchat<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>I reviewed the card\/dice game <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2yBUquE\" target=\"_blank\">Valeria and its new expansion<\/a> here on Friday; my next boardgame review for <em>Paste<\/em> will go up in early November. I also posted about <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2gTnTZm\" target=\"_blank\">a big boardgame app sale<\/a> going on right now from Asmodee Digital.<\/p>\n<p>The schedule for <a href=\"http:\/\/unplugged.paxsite.com\/registration\" target=\"_blank\">PAX Unplugged<\/a>, a new boardgaming con to be held in Philadelphia in November, is now up. I&#8217;ll be signing copies of <em><a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2foenM8\" target=\"_blank\">Smart Baseball<\/a><\/em> there on November 18th and plan to attend the entire event.<\/p>\n<p>And now, the links&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Longreads first: Climate change is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/story\/20171016-the-great-thaw-of-americas-north-is-coming\" target=\"_blank\">warming the Alaskan permafrost<\/a>, affecting residents and potentially releasing an enormous amount of sequestered CO2 into the atmosphere, thus further accelerating global warming.<\/li>\n<li>Meanwhile, Kiribati, an island nation in the central-south Pacific, <a href=\"https:\/\/interactives.stuff.co.nz\/2017\/10\/kiribati-the-angry-sea-will-kill-us-all\/\" target=\"_blank\">may cease to exist due to climate change and rising water levels<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>ProPublica investigates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/white-hate-group-campaign-of-menace-rise-above-movement\" target=\"_blank\">a new white supremacist group that espouses violence but isn&#8217;t on authorities&#8217; radar<\/a>, at least not yet, despite their involvement in multiple violent incidents.<\/li>\n<li>The drug industry lobbied Congress heavily to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2017\/investigations\/dea-drug-industry-congress\/?utm_term=.ce25c9962682\" target=\"_blank\">emasculate the DEA so they could sell more opioids<\/a>, and Congressional Republicans (with the help of at least two Democrats) were more than happy to oblige, even as opioid addictions and deaths continue to surge.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>National Review<\/em>&#8216;s Kevin Williamson weighs in on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/452910\/white-working-class-populism-underclass-anti-elitism-acting-white-incompatible-conservativism\" target=\"_blank\">the &#8220;white minstrel show&#8221;<\/a> that has replaced traditional, values-based conservatism with an opportunistic blend of populist anti-elitism and an abdication of personal responsibility.<\/li>\n<li><em>Mother Jones<\/em> argues that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2017\/10\/voter-suppression-wisconsin-election-2016\/\" target=\"_blank\">voter suppression tipped the scales in Wisconsin<\/a> and possibly in the entire election. Voting rights are under attack in most of the south and midwest despite a lack of any evidence of systemic voter fraud.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>New Yorker<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2017\/10\/23\/the-danger-of-president-pence\" target=\"_blank\">what a Mike Pence Presidency might look like<\/a>, given his ultra-conservative views on pretty much every topic.<\/li>\n<li>The media reaction in Italy to director\/actress Asia Argento revealing that she was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1105645\/italys-response-to-asia-argentos-sexual-assault-claims-against-weinstein-shows-italys-deep-misogyny\/\" target=\"_blank\">has revealed how backwards the country is when it comes to women&#8217;s rights<\/a>. Many writers have blamed her, or said she should be grateful to Weinstein, or argued she must have consented because she wasn&#8217;t injured. It&#8217;s right out of the 1970s.<\/li>\n<li>Deadspin writer Lindsey Adler asks <a href=\"https:\/\/theconcourse.deadspin.com\/why-would-this-time-be-any-different-1819637248\" target=\"_blank\">why this time would be any different<\/a> from previous revelations of serial sexual abusers&#8217; actions, like Bill Cosby just a year or so ago.<\/li>\n<li>Victims of Michigan State &#038; US Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/index.ssf\/page\/msu_doctor_alleged_sexual_assault.html\" target=\"_blank\">spoke up for 20 years, and no one did anything about it<\/a>. Even now, he&#8217;s going to jail on child pornography charges, not on the dozens of sexual assaults he committed against mostly children.<\/li>\n<li>Chef Jose Andres has been working tirelessly in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria devastated the island, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thesalt\/2017\/10\/20\/559113161\/celebrity-chef-jose-andres-has-served-nearly-1-5-million-meals-to-puerto-ricans\" target=\"_blank\">serving nearly 1.5 million meals<\/a> to hungry residents.<\/li>\n<li>Meanwhile, the federal government is sending <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RoigFranzia\/status\/921403270035275776\" target=\"_blank\">beef jerky and cheese-flavored crackers<\/a> to Puerto Rico and calling them meals. <\/li>\n<li>Budding theocrat Roy Moore, removed from the bench for refusing to accept the separation of church and state (on gay marriage, displaying the Ten Commandments, and so on), <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.al.com\/news\/huntsville\/index.ssf\/2017\/10\/new_senate_poll_gives_roy_moor.amp\" target=\"_blank\">now has a large lead in the Alabama Senate race<\/a> to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Columbia Journalism Review<\/em> argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjr.org\/criticism\/social-media-twitter-times-journal.php\" target=\"_blank\">media outlets&#8217; restrictions on reporters&#8217; social media activity will backfire<\/a>, failing to convince readers that the reporters are unbiased while also reducing the value of social media itself.<\/li>\n<li>Irony alert: Anti-fascist (or just plain old anarchist) protesters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/post\/38080\/\" target=\"_blank\">disrupted a UCLA event focused on civil discourse and free speech<\/a> co-sponsored by the Holocaust Museum. Perhaps irony isn&#8217;t the right word; ignorance may fit better.<\/li>\n<li>A mother shares her grief <a href=\"https:\/\/shotofprevention.com\/2015\/12\/07\/147-kids-died-from-flu-last-year-my-scarlet-was-one-of-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">after her 5-year-old died from the flu<\/a> and is channeling it to urge people to get the flu shot.<\/li>\n<li>An epidemiologist explains <a href=\"https:\/\/healthcareinamerica.us\/why-i-get-the-flu-vaccine-every-year-657e363b84f0\" target=\"_blank\">why a recent British article arguing against the flu shot was dead wrong<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A Georgia lawmaker &#038; former anesthesiologist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2017\/10\/20\/georgia-lawmaker-hiv-quarantine\/\" target=\"_blank\">suggested quarantining people with HIV<\/a>, further underlining how utterly science-ignorant many of our elected and appointed officials are. It&#8217;s yet another reason to support <a href=\"http:\/\/www.314action.org\/home\" target=\"_blank\">314 Action<\/a>, a group dedicated to encouraging more scientists to run for office.\n<li>The first <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/sleeping-sickness-can-now-be-cured-with-pills-1.22856\" target=\"_blank\">oral treatment for sleeping sickness<\/a> is nearing approval in Europe, potentially replacing an expensive, difficult intravenous treatment. Sleeping sickness is spread by tsetse flies, and is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 2000 new cases a year and the last major epidemic lasting nearly two decades. It&#8217;s fatal without medication.<\/li>\n<li>I didn&#8217;t realize InfoWars, the fake news empire led by hoaxer Alex Jones, profited by selling supplements to gullible viewers. It turns out <a href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/drink-up-high-lead-levels-found-in-two-infowars-supple-1819630985?utm_medium=sharefromsite&#038;utm_source=Gizmodo_twitter\" target=\"_blank\">two of their supplements contain dangerously high levels of lead<\/a>, which can cause brain damage.<\/li>\n<li>Nestle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/sep\/29\/nestle-pays-200-a-year-to-bottle-water-near-flint-where-water-is-undrinkable?CMP=share_btn_tw\" target=\"_blank\">pays $200\/year to bottle clean water in Michigan<\/a>, just 120 miles away from Flint, where residents can&#8217;t drink their tap water due to lead contamination and pay over $200\/month to the water utility.<\/li>\n<li>Mexico is trying to cope with the invasive species they call &#8220;the devil fish&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thesalt\/2017\/10\/18\/557599300\/invasive-devil-fish-plague-mexicos-waters-cant-beat-em-eat-em\" target=\"_blank\">by cultivating a taste for this variety of catfish<\/a>, which has squeezed native species out of its waterways.<\/li>\n<li>Italian scientists are working <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/will-italy-rsquo-s-ominous-supervolcano-erupt-soon\/\" target=\"_blank\">to understand the supervolcano located just west of Naples<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A Los Angeles restaurant was caught <a href=\"https:\/\/la.eater.com\/2017\/10\/17\/16490626\/sweet-dixie-kitchen-popeyes-fried-chicken-resell-long-beach\" target=\"_blank\">selling reheated Popeye&#8217;s chicken as its own<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>St. Helena, one of the world&#8217;s most isolated islands and a place best known as the place of Napoleon&#8217;s exile and death, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/travel\/2017\/oct\/09\/st-helena-airport-commercial-flights-from-south-africa-tourism-hotel\" target=\"_blank\">now has its first commercial airline flights<\/a>. Dubbed &#8220;the world&#8217;s most useless airport&#8221; by critics, the island&#8217;s small airstrip cost the UK government over $300 million to build.<\/li>\n<li>This story has been well-covered, and it&#8217;s still ongoing, but I can&#8217;t get over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-politics\/wp\/2017\/10\/18\/totally-fabricated-trump-disputes-congresswomans-depiction-of-his-exchange-with-soldiers-widow\/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_johnson-828am:homepage\/story&#038;utm_term=.1c279bf373ed\" target=\"_blank\">the President of the United States insulting a dead soldier in a call to his mother<\/a>. &#8220;He knew what he was signing up for?&#8221; Even if true, which I doubt, what a heartless thing to say to a grieving parent.<\/li>\n<li>Boardgame news: There&#8217;s a new expansion for the Uwe Rosenberg game Fields of Arle, called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zmangames.com\/en\/news\/2017\/10\/17\/announcing-the-tea-trade-expansion-for-fields-of-arle\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tea &#038; Trade<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The upcoming co-op game Sleepy Hollow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/dicehateme\/legends-of-sleepy-hollow?utm_source=Press&#038;utm_campaign=86b5fb7ac3-Greater_Than_Games_Monthly_Newsletter_Oct_2017&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=0_328b36bdf0-86b5fb7ac3-357054965&#038;ct=t(Greater_Than_Games_Monthly_Newsletter_Oct_2017)&#038;mc_cid=86b5fb7ac3&#038;mc_eid=dedcf44f7b\" target=\"_blank\">hit Kickstarter this past week<\/a> and is already on the verge of hitting its funding goal.<\/li>\n<li>Asmodee sent a copy of its upcoming game When I Dream, due out here on 11\/23, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/asmodeeNA\/videos\/10155632418653449\/\" target=\"_blank\">up into the stratosphere on a helium balloon<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Europeans find our gun culture utterly baffling, as they should. A Dutch comedy program aired a segment describing the condition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/dutch-tv-nra-guns_us_59db1b36e4b0f6eed3514c55\" target=\"_blank\">known as Nonsensical Rifle Addiction<\/a>. It appears to have no cure.<\/li>\n<li>This <em>Atlantic<\/em> story about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2017\/10\/hook-line-and-sinker\/542748\/\" target=\"_blank\">catfishing case that led to a happy ending<\/a> seems too cute to be true, but let&#8217;s just go with it because we could all use some decent news.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I wrote two scouting posts for Insiders from my week in the Arizona Fall League, which you can read here and here. I also held a Klawchat on Thursday. I reviewed the card\/dice game Valeria and its new expansion here on Friday; my next boardgame review for Paste will go up in early November. I [&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":[60,828,959,125,190,799,870,807,937],"class_list":["post-6077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-boardgames","tag-climate-change","tag-first-amendment","tag-fish","tag-links","tag-science","tag-stick-to-baseball","tag-vaccines","tag-voter-suppression","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6077","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=6077"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6079,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6077\/revisions\/6079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}