Author: Michael Grace

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Sports

The Fancy Boys Predict the 2020 MLB Playoffs

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on The Fancy Boys Predict the 2020 MLB Playoffs
The Fancy Boys Predict the 2020 MLB Playoffs

Alright so that was something, right? About an hour after my fourth installment of predictions were posted, the league expanded this year’s playoffs to 16 teams. I kinda just tossed my arms in the air about it. Then it felt like the season would be canceled every day for about three weeks. Somehow, almost everyone played 60 games. So here we are, the field is set, and the chaos of a best-of-three first round series is ready for Tuesday. Who will survive all the way through the most bonkers MLB playoffs ever? Well, some of us got together in a digital way and tried to guess at it for your amusement.

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Music/Movies

The Worst That It’s Been: Tyler Childer’s Long Violent History

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on The Worst That It’s Been: Tyler Childer’s Long Violent History
The Worst That It’s Been: Tyler Childer’s Long Violent History

Every generation seems to think it’s the one that has it all figured out. Then it comes to find that merit and valor are intangible, subjective wares. We assume the mantle of our predecessors and say that things will be better than before. Then we see the residual exhaustion and indifference permeating our own hearts, and say to the next generation, “I hope you leave the world better than you found it.” That objectivity and clarity often comes far too late in life, when our ability to impact is already taken from us. But what if the moment we’re in now is so woven into the fabric of our flesh that it resonates in spite of our differences. On his surprise near-instrumental album Long Violent History, that is precisely what is presented, twofold.

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Sports

Requiem for the Shore: Farewell to the Houston Rockets

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on Requiem for the Shore: Farewell to the Houston Rockets
Requiem for the Shore: Farewell to the Houston Rockets

The Houston basketball team was eliminated today. They were victims of their own design, struggling to overcome their lack of size. When the shots wouldn’t fall, they ultimately did, to the mighty Lakers. We put out their flame with a poem.

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Music/Movies

Calm in an Anxious Era: Chad Lawson’s ‘You Finally Knew’

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on Calm in an Anxious Era: Chad Lawson’s ‘You Finally Knew’
Calm in an Anxious Era: Chad Lawson’s ‘You Finally Knew’

Life is full of chance encounters that, in hindsight, seem like they were a puzzle piece sliding into place. Back in April, what feels more like five years than five months ago, I had one of those moments that have genuinely aided my journey through this, the strangest of years. I tried to ease my way into a Friday work day at home by putting on Spotify’s Classical New Releases playlist. One artist that grabbed my attention was Chad Lawson. The song was “Stay,” and by day’s end I had probably listened to it twenty times. He released an EP of the same name on May 1st, but now the project is released in full as the LP You Finally Knew.

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Sports

Tawdry, Paper Mountains: Farewell to the Milwaukee Bucks

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on Tawdry, Paper Mountains: Farewell to the Milwaukee Bucks
Tawdry, Paper Mountains: Farewell to the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee basketball team was eliminated today. They came into the playoffs as a favorite to win the title or at least make the Finals. Alas, they were exorcised into the hoops afterlife by the Miami Heat. We give them more than they deserve and honor their final loss with a poem.

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Sports

Carthage In A Day: Farewell to the Oklahoma City Thunder

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on Carthage In A Day: Farewell to the Oklahoma City Thunder
Carthage In A Day: Farewell to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City basketball team was eliminated today. They began the season with a near-zero chance of making the playoffs. They came one win away from making the second round. We salute the fallen, quench their flame, and send them off with a poem.

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