Digest, 4/9/2023: Happy Easter
the eighty-eighth digest post
This Week’s Posts
Monday, April 3rd - Review: Stephen Policoff’s Dangerous Blues
Loved this book.
Tuesday, April 4th - The NFL Rookie Payscale is Still Somehow Underdiscussed
A quirk in the NFL’s CBA hurts rookies and vets alike.
Thursday, April 6th - Before Politics, There’s the World
Pain and loss are pre-political.
From the Archives
Song of the Week
Non-Garbage Online Reading
This is kind of cheating, but read “The Donkey” by Chesterton.
Book Recommendation
The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson, Jeff Pearlman, 2022
It’s long been said that the internet era has destroyed the possibility of the kind of mythic celebrity that once existed, as we know too much about celebrities for them to take on the kind of outsize identities they once did. I think that’s correct, and it certainly applies to sports figures too - from only reading about Babe Ruth in the newspaper to getting to see Willy Mays a couple times a year in black and white to watching every Yankees game in a season on cable to 24/7 coverage has really made these guys seem more approachable, even as their feats remain incredible. This book considers Bo Jackson, one of the most gifted natural athletes we’ve ever seen and a man about whom there’s a tremendous legacy of stories and myths. Pearlman’s book does yeoman’s work as far as the basics of biography goes, but is particularly effective at considering Jackson’s performance - he had incredible feats, and his career was cut sadly short by injuries, but also his play never quite matched the mythology. (He rushed for 100 yards in eight out of thirty-eight career games.) Overall a great read for sports fans.
Comment of the Week
This is true across the political spectrum. Unless you have experienced that 'something' your views are colored by priors and personal biases. Such priors & biases can be either utopian fantasy or callous disregard. I've come across a lot of people who haven't had many real-world experiences that would afford them either a realistic view of the world or empathy for others' choices or conditions. - BGP2
See you tomorrow. AND PREORDER MY BOOK!
Something's broken with the link to the comment of the week, was curious to see its context
Does the Bo Jackson book discuss Tecmo Bowl at all?