PicoBlog

My hometown lies along the Connecticut River,  but you’d never know it by walking around. That’s because, in the 1960s, the American mania for building highways resulted in the construction of Route 9, which ran directly along the western bank of the river. Though there are two underpasses that one can use to reach the banks of the river (and the imaginatively named Riverside Park), both cut through grimier former industrial areas, and while I wouldn’t call them dangerous places, they are far from pleasant.

Let’s be real: On New Year’s Eve, you are going to drink Champagne. Maybe you want to make a round of Old Fashioneds or weird Cynar drinks at midnight — and by “you,” I am obviously referring to me — but everyone else at the party will want to drink Champagne. You have to accept that you are going to end up drinking Champagne. Tough luck. Actually, wait: It’s not tough luck at all.

Joseph Rudolph “Philly Joe” Jones was born July 15, 1923, 100 years ago last Saturday. Since his death in 1985, musicians and listeners have kept his name alive, his music in our ears. His brilliant playing on the recordings that define jazz ensures that his name will be known long past the foreseeable future. Jones’ vocabulary was completely his own— what he borrowed from Sid Catlett, Buddy Rich, and players unknown to me was always recast in Jones’ idiom.

Racket News By Matt Taibbi News and features by best-selling author and reporter Matt Taibbi, in an independent package molded after I.F. Stone's Weekly. The site contains investigative journalism, satirical commentary, and the America This Week podcast with novelist Walter Kirn. ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kvbO7xaKjnmdhZ4RzhI9uZJ%2Bnopl6p7XSnJ%2Beqg%3D%3D

FORGED BY MALICE is now out worldwide! A huge thank you to everyone who has continued to read about Rosie and her adventures in the Enchanted Vale. Getting to write about not only Rosie, but the princes’, the villains’, and the world’s evolution throughout these books has been such a joy. We love exploring these characters and are so grateful to know how many of you connect with them. We hope this book makes you feel something <3 The Beasts of the Briar series is planned to be 7 books long.

A problem with conspiracy theories—aside from the fact that they always get around to involving “the Jews”—is that they distract us from what’s happening in plain sight. So, in case you missed it, here’s the biggest thing that happened in the world last week: while our planet was experiencing its hottest month of all time, the earth’s biggest pile of cash (the asset manager Blackrock, with $8.59 trillion dollars under management) named to its board of directors the CEO of the world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, which has produced more carbon emissions than any firm on earth.

Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers football program might become beneficiaries of an odd NFL head coaching carousel.  After getting fired by the Tennessee Titans, Mike Vrabel, to the surprise of many, didn't land another head coaching job this offseason. Even more perplexing is the possibility that Vrabel might not even secure a defensive coordinator position, adding uncertainty to his immediate future. Fortunately for the Badgers, Coach Fickell and Vrabel are close friends, former teammates, and college roommates.

Former Texas infielder Mitch Daly is transferring to Kentucky. Daly, a native of Madison, Alabama, was a three-year starter at Texas and played on two teams that made the College World Series. He started in 171 games and played in 189 games overall, with most of his starts in his first two seasons coming at second base before moving to shortstop as a junior in 2023. An excellent defensive middle infielder at Texas, Daly gives Kentucky three players who could realistically play shortstop, joining Rawlings Gold Glove finalist Grant Smith and starting second baseman Emilien Pitre.

We who believe in freedom cannot rest. — Ella Baker Getting beyond myths, we might just discover meaning. When asked by Philadelphia Inquirer Contributing Editor Errin Haines to pen a reflection on the American flag, I knew I had to begin at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry. There, in the aftermath of the 1814 Battle of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key penned a poem destined to become the national anthem. Key’s America, and the waving flag that symbolized it, was the land of the “free.