Random Notes from a Crank

A video project at UNC-Chapel Hill is brilliant to me. It's discussed in this article from The Washington Post: "A Campus Sign Said: 'Tell Us Something Good.' Students Delivered." 

What the US is currently experiencing is a Trumpdemic, a pandemic of stupidity, spite, graft, and unconstitutionality caused by the executive orders of President Adolf. And it's all aided and abetted by Congressional Republicans who have no spines. 

I started reading Rachel Maddow's Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism. It's topical. 

I will make sure to read this book during the warm-ups and halftimes of my son's high school basketball games in front of dipshits who voted for Racist Tariff Man. 

And this basketball season has been a repetitive exercise in frustration. My son is a junior who is a very good player. He was told that he was going to play both JV and varsity. However, he rarely gets to play varsity games because the coach is playing seniors and one junior who are clearly not as good as him. 

In addiition, our offensive set-up sucks. They don't even hint at trying to do anything inside, and the system they use to press could be described as "next level bad." 

I look forward to basketball season being over and moving onto baseball season. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Someone should do a documentary on the actors who were in the High School Musicals. Because I've seen all of them multiple times because of my kids, I'd be interested to see what those folks are up to. 

That thought reminds me of my daughter playing Sharpay in High School Musical Jr. in middle school. It was quite a treat. 

I'm a frustrated Dad up in the stands this basketball season. My son dresses varsity but rarely gets to play. The head coach is playing guys ahead of him who are clearly not as good as him. Those players are seniors and/or are sons of people who work in the school district. 

As a coach I would be committed to playing the guys who give me the best chance to win. Small town bullshit. 

As much as these basketball teams want to chuck up threes all the time, if you're not going to play good defense, you're going to get beat. 

I saw the image below online on Bluesky. It's a good image to reflect what Project 2025, Moscow Don, and his goons are going to try to do. 

I have not read The Handmaid's Tale, but I get the general premise of the novel: men wanting to control women. I recently ordered a copy and then cancelled the order because I'll just get a copy from my local library when I feel like reading some fiction. I'm more of a non-fiction reader. 

Today's my birthday, and two of my presents are the following: Tottenham won 3-0 in extra time in their FA Cup match, and Manchester United beat Arsenal on penalty kicks in that FA Cup match.  

Random Notes from a Crank

I'm in the midst of reading Range: Why Generalist Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein, and in Chapter 4: "Learning, Fast and Slow," he relates a lot of educational research that I already knew about spacing learning, generating educated guesses even if they're wrong, and self-testing. 

Another concept is interleaving, which is in contrast to blocked practice, which is when one practices the same thing or procedure over and over and over. In contrast, is varied or mixed practice, which researchers call "interleaving." With mixed practice, you vary the practice, so your mind can revisit the points, procedures, or moves. 

I came to one passage in the chapter that applies directly to my son. One of the sports he plays is competitive basketball. He's a strong ball handler and shooter, but he needs to do better at free throws. 

Here's the passage that stands is this one: "The 'desirable difficulty' coiner himself, Robert Bjork, once commented on Shaquille O'Neal's perpetual free-throw woes to say that instead of continuing to practice from the free-throw line, O'Neal should practice from a foot in front of and behind it to learn the motor modulation he needed." 

It's a technique to try. 

A few years ago I watched The Twilight Zone from the start, season 1 episode 1, to the end, which is season 5 episode 36. Seems like the appropriate time to rewatch all those fine episodes again. 

I could used to this working from home gig. I can't remember the last time I wore pants or jeans. I wear athletic shorts in the house, and then I change into shorts or athletic pants when I walk the dog or venture to a store. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I finally got around to watching Spike Lee's BlacKKKlansman. It's a heck of a movie. Having watched a number of his films, I think it ranks up there with Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, and Malcolm X. 

While I have a personal attraction to Mo' Better Blues because it's about jazz, It's a shame he never won an Oscar for one of the other three movies. 

Here's a shocker via three reputable sources:

• "Trump's Tax Law Had Small Effect on Economy, Wages: Study"
• "Study Finds Trump Tax Cuts Failed to Do Anything But Give Rich People Money"
• "A Devastating Analysis of the Tax Cut Shows It's Done Virtually No Economic Good"

It's possible that Kawhi Leonard is still underrated.

Random Notes from a Crank

Traveling through Pennsylvania was a scenic drive. Even though we were on an interstate (I-76), the Alleghany Mountains are a pretty sight. 

Our hotel is right beside the Delaware River, so even though I've never been to New Jersey, I can see it. There's a battleship docked on that side of the river. 

Hilton hotels tend to have good shower heads. 

I caught part of movie The Great Wall last night. It was fantastical but seemed good enough to watch all the way through. Good enough in a "turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy-the-action" sort of way. I only caught parts of it. I'm trying to figure out what kind of accent Matt Damon was trying to have though. Perhaps Scottish or Welsh? 

In the wake of all these women coming out to accuse men of past sexual harassments, I think it's safe to say that more people, particularly those who had power to do something about Clarence Thomas, should have believed Anita Hill. 

This evening my son and I went to the Trailblazers-76ers game. It was interesting. I had never been to an NBA game before. Even though we were high up in the stands, we could still see quite well. 

Philly fans are notorious for being obnoxious and rude. They followed through on their reputation. As the Trailblazers starting lineup was announced, after each name of the player was read by the announcer, the fans shouted "SUCKS!"

And they even booed kids. There was a dance cam during the fourth quarter, and one chubby kid was dancing in an outstanding fashion to the wobble song. And then the camera people would pan to other people dancing, and the fans liked the chubby kid so much that they booed other kids dancing. Astounding. 

Random Notes from a Crank

My son had a basketball camp from 9-Noon the past three days. As six-year olds go, he's pretty athletic, but good luck to him because both Mrs. Nasty and I aren't giving him a good shot of being tall (based on our statures). I don't see a ton of hoops in his future. Then again, he will go to a high school that is a small school. 

When I was in junior high school, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to go out for the basketball team. What a stupid idea. If I had been smart, I should have put my time and energy into wrestling. My junior and senior high schools were known for their wrestling programs. They kicked ass. 

My son has an outstanding sense of wonder in his being. One of the days I had him with me we were in the Student Union. We walked into the men's restroom, and this was his reaction to the old fashioned urinals there, the ones that start a little lower than chest high and cover the whole wall to let piss and water cascade down the porcelain to a metal hat looking deal atop the drain: "Awesome. That's the greatest thing ever." Like his old man, he likes a sturdy, old-school urinal. Whenever I get my dream house, I want a urinal in my bathroom. That will get rid of any complaints of leaving the seat up. 

Each day the OED sends me their "word of the day" to my email. A recent one was "ale knight," a disparaging term I wasn't familiar with. It's a noun, and an ale knight is "a person who frequents public houses; a drunkard." I know all kinds of terms for drunks and states of inebriation, but that's a new one to me. 

Izzo & Ditka vs. Norris?

The NCAA tournament is almost over with two games to go on Saturday and the final one on Sunday. It's been an interesting tourney, and Michigan State's resilience is a testament to its head coach. I don't really have "a dog in this fight," but the Spartans winning wouldn't bother me. Now Duke and West Virginia, those teams are different stories.

From how commentators and broadcasters and even people's posts on FB have talked about Tom Izzo, he seems to have taken on an almost mythic quality like that of how Bears fans thought Ditka was a Superman (remember the "Da Bears" skit from SNL?).

I think if Izzo and Ditka work together, they could defeat Chuck Norris.