{"id":8930,"date":"2021-03-15T17:19:44","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T21:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=8930"},"modified":"2021-03-15T17:19:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T21:19:46","slug":"stick-to-baseball-3-15-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/15\/stick-to-baseball-3-15-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 3\/15\/21."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I have one new post up for subscribers to the Athletic, looking at <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/3rzLbG4\">prospects I can&#8217;t wait to see when minor league games resume<\/a>. I also held a <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/3bCmcMN\">Klawchat<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the Keith Law Show last week, I <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/podcast\/168-the-keith-law-show\/?episode=50\">spoke with Cleveland right-hander Triston McKenzie<\/a> about his development as a pitcher and his experiences as a Black ballplayer. On this week&#8217;s episode, I <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/podcast\/168-the-keith-law-show\/?episode=51\">spoke with film critic Tim Grierson<\/a> about his new book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9781786275585\">This is How You Make a Movie<\/a><\/em>, the Oscar nominations, and his Cardinal fandom. You can subscribe on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-keith-law-show\/id1499877854\">Apple podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/The-Keith-Law-Show\/dp\/B08JJS4ZKH\">Amazon<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5ZWZfudyuL6YKsTkUV9yXS?si=Xh_dGPlgRdSUxxVvaA2nmg&amp;nd=1\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over at <em>Paste<\/em>, I reviewed the new game <a href=\"https:\/\/klaw.me\/3qy6yGs\">Holi: Festival of Colors<\/a>, played on a 3-D board that&#8217;s immediately striking and that lends itself to some novel strategies, with almost no random elements at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more of my writing, you can subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/keithlaw\">my free email newsletter<\/a>. Also, you can still buy <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9780062942722\">The Inside Game<\/a><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9780062942722\"> <\/a>and<em> Smart Baseball<\/em> anywhere you buy books; the <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9780062942739\">paperback edition<\/a> of <em>The Inside Game<\/em> will be out in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now, the links\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Longreads first: ProPublica&#8217;s look at some of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/the-lost-year-what-the-pandemic-cost-teenagers\">the mental health costs borne by teenagers during the pandemic<\/a> is a long, grueling read, and while it might go a little too far in blaming the lockdown for teen suicides, it&#8217;s as balanced a look at this as I&#8217;ve seen. The piece pairs well with the <em>New York Times&#8217; <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/08\/learning\/teens-pandemic-art.html\">stunning gallery of artwork from teenagers<\/a> using multiple media to show how the pandemic and lockdown have affected them.<\/li><li>Ann Patchett has a lovely essay in the <em>New Yorker <\/em>about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2021\/03\/08\/how-to-practice\">letting go of one&#8217;s stuff<\/a>, which she refers to by the euphemism of &#8216;practice.&#8217;<\/li><li>The <em>Atlantic<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2021\/03\/john-fetterman-senate-pennsylvania-democrat\/618257\/\">profiles Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D)<\/a>, now the front-runner for the Senate seat coming open in 2022, including a look at an incident that took place while he was mayor of Braddock that will probably become a major issue in the campaign.<\/li><li>Bloomberg takes aim at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/features\/2021-03-09\/racial-inequality-broken-property-tax-system-blocks-black-wealth-building?srnd=premium&amp;sref=vuYGislZ\">racial inequity in the property tax system<\/a>, where Black-owned properties are overvalued in tax assessments in cities like Detroit, Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and St. Louis.<\/li><li>Jelani Cobb asks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2021\/03\/15\/what-is-happening-to-the-republicans\">if the Republican Party is destroying itself<\/a> by focusing so heavily on white men, a declining portion of the electorate, to the point that &#8220;voter suppression becomes the only viable strategic option.&#8221; I wouldn&#8217;t underestimate the role that dark money can play in keeping them in power, whether through voter suppression or by targeting Latinx populations as they did in 2020.<\/li><li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/06\/us\/politics\/churches-black-voters-georgia.html\">In Georgia, Republicans Take Aim at Role of Black Churches in Elections<\/a>.&#8221; Why do Republicans hate Christians?<\/li><li>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/interactive\/2021\/voting-restrictions-republicans-states\/\">At least 250 new laws have been proposed in 43 states to make it harder for people to vote<\/a>. It&#8217;s about gaining and clinging to power at all costs. Stacey Abrams <a href=\"https:\/\/threader.app\/thread\/1369014302548447233\">detailed some of those bills<\/a> in a Twitter thread.<\/li><li>Facebook is finally, belatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/recode\/22319681\/vaccine-misinformation-facebook-instagram-spreading\">cracking down on anti-vaccine content<\/a>, but it&#8217;s having a very hard time because it started so late and makes it too easy for users to share false information. One thing they could do, however, is focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2021\/03\/14\/facebook-vaccine-hesistancy-qanon\/\">the small group of users having the greatest impact on others&#8217; vaccine doubts<\/a>. Meanwhile, those <a href=\"https:\/\/sciencebasedmedicine.org\/antivaxxers-misrepresent-a-study-to-falsely-claim-that-covid-19-vaccines-cause-cancer\/\">anti-vaxxers are pushing the lie<\/a> that the vaccines cause cancer.<\/li><li>Also in &#8220;what took you so long,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/cspinet.org\/news\/fda-warns-joseph-mercola-not-market-products-making-fake-claims-treat-or-prevent-covid-19\">FDA warned quack Joseph Mercola to stop hawking fake COVID-19 treatments<\/a>. He&#8217;s been pushing pseudoscience and outright anti-science for at least 25 years, all in the service of selling his supplements.<\/li><li>A new research study, published in <em>Nature<\/em>, found evidence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-021-03426-1\">higher mortality rates from the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant<\/a>, which is now the predominant strain in Texas, Florida, and Georgia.<\/li><li>James Surowiecki, author of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2960\/9780385721707\">The Wisdom of Crowds<\/a><\/em>, explains why he thinks <a href=\"https:\/\/marker.medium.com\/why-the-nft-craze-is-a-bubble-waiting-to-pop-ad35922ca210#4438\">the NFT bubble is destined to pop<\/a>.<\/li><li>The <em>Cleveland Plain-Dealer<\/em>&#8216;s editor wrote a column <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/news\/2021\/03\/when-candidates-make-reckless-statements-just-to-get-attention-should-they-get-attention-letter-from-the-editor.html\">defending the paper&#8217;s decision<\/a> not to cover a fringe Republican candidate&#8217;s outlandish statements, calling him a &#8220;nobody begging for people to notice his tweets.&#8221;<\/li><li>In a victory for people who remember the First Amendment, <em>Des Moines Register <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.desmoinesregister.com\/story\/news\/2021\/03\/10\/andrea-sahouri-trial-des-moines-register-reporter-acquitted-george-floyd-protest-arrest\/6933780002\/\">journalist Andrea Sahouri was acquitted of bogus charges<\/a> stemming from her coverage of police activity during a BLM protest.<\/li><li>Oklahoma&#8217;s lower house passed a bill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/03\/10\/oklahoma-republicans-pass-bill-protect-drivers-who-hit-protesters\/6935598002\/\">protecting drivers who hit protestors from prosecution<\/a>, as long as they say it was an accident.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/stories-56337182\">Pakistan is turning a blind eye to the problem of child marriages<\/a> involving kidnapped Christian, Sikh, and Hindu girls, forced to convert to Islam and marry under threats of violence to them or family members.<\/li><li>A writer with autism watched Sia&#8217;s execrable movie <em>Music<\/em> and <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2021\/02\/sia-movie-music-autism-golden-globes-review.html\">wrote about its awfulness<\/a> for <em>Slate<\/em>.<\/li><li>This <em>Irish Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/tv-radio-web\/harry-and-meghan-the-union-of-two-great-houses-the-windsors-and-the-celebrities-is-complete-1.4504502\">editorial on the Meghan-and-Harry interview<\/a> is a marvel of excoriating humor.<\/li><li>Norton Juster, the author of <em>The Phantom Tollbooth<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/09\/books\/norton-juster-dead.html\">died last week at age 91<\/a>.<\/li><li>Board game news: <a href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/blogpost\/115502\/asmodee-group-acquires-plan-b-games\">Asmodee acquired Plan B games<\/a>, yet another notch in the former company&#8217;s acquisition spree, but also notable because Plan B was founded by Sophie Gravel, who sold her last company, F2Z (which included Z-Man Games and Plaid Hat), to Asmodee in 2016, then left and starter Plan B, which also includes the imprints Next Move and eggertspiele.<\/li><li>Some Kickstarters of note include the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/eaglegryphon\/faux-diamonds-and-baseball-highlights-the-dice-game\">dice-game version of Baseball Highlights 2045<\/a>; the new roll-and-write game <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/1478832610\/three-sisters-a-backyard-farming-roll-and-write-game\/?ref=kicktraq\">Three Sisters<\/a>, from the designers of Fleet: The Dice Game; and two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/starlinggames\/everdell-mistleaf?ref=f1xwxq\">new expansions for Everdell<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have one new post up for subscribers to the Athletic, looking at prospects I can&#8217;t wait to see when minor league games resume. I also held a Klawchat last week. On the Keith Law Show last week, I spoke with Cleveland right-hander Triston McKenzie about his development as a pitcher and his experiences as [&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":[1083,1162,959,146,190,961,590,1115,824,870,807],"class_list":["post-8930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-board-game-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-first-amendment","tag-georgia","tag-links","tag-longreads","tag-oklahoma","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pseudoscience","tag-stick-to-baseball","tag-vaccines","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930","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=8930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8932,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930\/revisions\/8932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}