Still Breathing Edition

Hello internet stranger,

Sorry I’m late…

The Weekly Click is a weekly (shocking, I know) updated list of interesting bits on the internet that I thought I’d share.

Happy clicking!

1. Dick Butkis has died. He was 80. So many great remembrances: Josh Whitman, Chicago Bears, Illinois Athletics. For me, the two best things to watch that encapsulated the man are his Illinois Hall of Fame speech and his press conference after the unveiling of his statue at the Smith Center on the University of Illinois campus.

2. Writer and blogger John Scalzi on the GOP and the ousting of Kevin McCarthy: “The GOP’s problems remain the same: They can’t govern, don’t know how to govern, and too many of their members in the House honestly have no interest in governing. They don’t have enough numbers to control those among them who just like starting fires. So they are going to burn.” Sigh.

3. Critics for The Hollywood Reporter pick their 50 best TV shows of the 21st century (so far). I have not seen all of the shows on this list, but I’m sure every one of them deserves some love. It’s hard for me to quibble with the order, not having seen all of them, but I can’t disagree too much with the top choice.

4. A compilation of my favorite cliche in music.

5. Kate Lindsay nicely describes the new passivity many of us feel towards social media: little will to engage, just following along, out of habit, not excitement. Personally, I’m mostly done with social media posting. RELATED: Twitter Is at Death’s Door, One Year After Elon Musk’s Takeover. I’m shocked! Also, Threads making moves to compete with X/Twitter. This is too easy… add the features everyone wants from Twitter (like Lists!), add competence, print money.

6. Judge formally ends Michael Oher’s conservatorship. This is still a weird story. I firmly believe there’s more going on behind the scenes.

7. 28 Thoughts On Seeing U2 At Las Vegas’ Sphere. This is a cool story, but the only band that visually is as dynamic as the Sphere is KISS. That would be a great show. I hope Gene and Paul secure a residency. Speaking of shows: “Is this the biggest show we’ve ever done? Yeah. Is it the best show we’ve ever done? Yeah. We know what we’re doing, and we’re going out with our fists up in the air.” Paul Stanley on the last KISS show.

8. Bryce Harper flips out on Angel Hernandez, the absolute worst major league umpire, for calling a ball a strike. As usual, Jomboy has some fun with it. Rich Eisen chimes in as well. At some point, Hernandez has to be relieved of his duties, right?

9. Drew Magary interviews Industrial Light & Magic’s Jay Cooper about how to do special effects right. I think I might need to see The Creator in a theater.

10. Bernie Miklasz on how the St. Louis Cardinals can revive their winning ways. I think it starts at the top, and they have to spend some money on talent on the field, in the front office, and in the dugout. Also, something I missed: Adam Wainwright wins elusive No. 200.

11. Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield has died at age 57. He had the most amazing knuckleball. Also, RIP actor Michael Gambon.

12. I cannot get enough of Dan Coe's high-resolution images of rivers and river deltas constructed from lidar data. So swirly, swoopy, fractally, and squiggly! Perfect desktop pictures.

Thanks for reading. If you like this potpourri of internet mélange and want to support it, forward it to someone who might like it, buy my books, or at the very least, let me know what you think.

Be seeing you.