The Weekly, July 1, 2024
Hi all,
Keeping it short today. I spent a good part of my Sabbath yesterday enjoying the Euros, particularly the England win. But I didn’t enjoy it nearly so much as these English folks did:
The Wembley watch party going bhts after England’s last second goal to tie this Euros game is magnificent. A new reaction meme?
— Neil Horowitz (@njh287) June 30, 2024
A wonderful reminder how sports matter so much to so many. Take away the wagers and the hot takes — pure heart & emotion pic.twitter.com/L6IhiieNmA
Ian Wright and Gary Neville's reaction after Jude Bellingham's equaliser for England vs Slovakia. Then look at Roy Keane #ENGSVK pic.twitter.com/Q9qXUqDYE3
— Kyama (@ElijahKyama_) June 30, 2024
Absolute scenes in this pub when England scored the 95th minute equaliser tonight…
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) June 30, 2024
Love it! 🏴🍻 pic.twitter.com/Ca1zjbbqTS
Live TV really can be wonderful. Just as I ask, "can you see Gareth Southgate surviving this?"... this happens. pic.twitter.com/bF8FE11mon
— Joe Inwood (@BBCJoeInwood) June 30, 2024
I suspect that I’ll take the memory of the 2009 Colorado game—the last home game I attended as a student—to my grave. So I get it. Sports, man.
We’ll be celebrating the 4th later this week—a holiday I’ve come to enjoy quite immensely. Lincoln is especially wonderful on the 4th because the whole city essentially loses its mind, blows up tons of fireworks, and leaves a low hanging cloud of smoke that covers the whole city by day’s end. This is fairly representative of the early portion of the evening. And you need to understand: Basically everything you’re seeing here is just private celebrations happening at people’s homes:
I missed this last year because we were in the Greenville area for the 4th. It’ll be good to be home for it again.
On a more serious note, I’ll likely try to spend some time with the HBO John Adams miniseries soon:
Books
I finished the Bowles book. Valuable, but my earlier assessment of it holds, I think: Greater restraint and a little less playfulness would have boosted it, I think. I started Joy Clarkson’s new book and it is a delight. Still working my way through the Basil Davidson book as well. If you want a good start for understanding contemporary Africa, I think his books still hold up quite well.
Articles
Kirsten Sanders on realistic expectations
Ross Douthat on conservative doomerism
Freddie deBoer on getting old
Haley Stewart on fairy tales
Myles Werntz on Dorothy Day and Wendell Berry
Elsewhere
We will be with family and friends on the 4th, so I won’t be cooking anything, but sometime this weekend I’m thinking of doing some beef ribs:
Thanks for reading!
Under the Mercy,
~Jake