Category Archives: Columns

Raising the Bar

Wine bars. Dive bars. Sports bars. Hipster bars. Cocktail bars. Night clubs. Dance clubs. Music venues. Nostalgia bars. Piano bars. Speakeasies. Irish pubs. Brewpubs. Gastropubs. Gay bars. Biker bars. Etc. These days, there are a fairly bewildering assortment of choices when it comes to finding a place to imbibe alcohol. I haven't even exhausted Read more [...]

Pong Pod: Summer Slam Recap

Super late putting this up, but better Nate than Lever!     Read more [...]

Summer Slam Fri-Lights

We played four "official" (i.e., stat-tracking-worthy) games on the Friday of Summer Slam, outside the tourney matches. The fourth was an all-time classic - more on that one to come. In the meantime, the other three produced some fun moments. Check em out: ITB. Read more [...]

This is the Story of the Hurricane

As I write this, Tropical Storm Florence (née Hurricane) is creeping westward across South Carolina. In a few hours, she will break up into a "tropical depression", because wind speeds will drop below the apparently meaningful level of 39 mph. At which point she will creep up the spine of the Appalachian Mountains all the way up into New England, Read more [...]

Kam Bam Summer Slam

I hosted a pong tournament, monikered Summer Slam, in June. If you don't already know what pong is and want to catch up, good luck!. You're behind by, ballpark, 20 blogs and podcasts. For everyone else: Let's get started.   Format & Outcome Six teams entered, competing round-robin to qualify for a single-elimination Read more [...]

Second Star to the Right and Straight on ’til Morning

It occurred to me recently that it seems like there are a lot of 30th birthday parties going on. Now, mind you, I have recently crossed into this new decade myself, so in that sense it wasn’t really a surprise, but it was curious to me how many parties and special events and even long weekends were being planned to mark and celebrate the occasion. Read more [...]

Need a Prestige TV Drama? Better Call Saul!

My favorite part about watching so-called "prestige" television is the conversation that it engenders. Not just in terms of the social media response (and all the jokes, memes, hypotheses, and tasseographies that are so integral to that response), but also the experience of catching up with friends the next day to talk about what you liked and Read more [...]

Philly Philly!

It’s a crazy time for Philadelphia sports. The Eagles winning the Super Bowl in February and Villanova taking home the NCAA Championship in March ushered in the sort of spring awakening usually reserved for BBC nature documentaries or Disney movies. The blossoms were blooming big, the air smelled fresh, and everything had a bright sunny aura Read more [...]

The King Stay the King

Despite his team struggling a bit more than usual during these particular NBA playoffs (aka, they're probably still going to the Finals, for the 8th straight time), LeBron James remains his incredible self. People hate on The King, and I get that - he's a whiney, subtweeting drama queen. Regardless of whether you hate on or root for him, though, you Read more [...]

An Ode to the Desert

"I’ve crossed these sands many times, said one of the camel drivers one night. But the desert is so huge, and the horizon so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent. The boy intuitively knew what he meant, even without having ever set foot in the desert before. Whenever he saw the sea, or a fire, he fell Read more [...]