Weekend 664.0 (Football Edition)

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Winston Smith

(1) Survival to spotlight: How MLS built a more than 30-year run to 2026 World Cup with risks, a plan and hope (CBS Sports) (2) I Visited Britain’s Most Miserable Continue Reading →

Weekend 663.1 (…falling down a spiral, destination unknown)

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Winston Smith

I’ve been using ChatGPT this weekend to revisit Playmobil365. There’s a beautiful book on my desk called Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth by Catherine McIlwaine and AI is giving me Continue Reading →

Weekend 663.0

Posted on February 15, 2026 by Winston Smith

(1) Art Is the Signature of Man (The Imaginative Conservative)

Revisiting Playmobil365 I

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Winston Smith

I always intended to come back to this project at some point. When I initially posted the photos, I had stories for many of them, but nothing fleshed out. I Continue Reading →

The Business of Sports

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Winston Smith

(1) An era may be ending as Bridgeport Islanders face reported move (Greater Long Island) “One part of sports that often gets overlooked is that it is a business,” said Continue Reading →

The Hinge

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Winston Smith

“He took the title Emperor not because it was higher, but because it did not pretend the work was finished. While he crossed the sea, Amelie stood in his place, Continue Reading →

Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland: Hero or Villain?

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Winston Smith

(1) A quote from The Brothers York: An English Tragedy: “Back in I483, Northumberland’s military might had been instrumental in Richard’s rise to power. But, with Richard refusing to hand Continue Reading →

Weekend 662.0 (A quiet sense that time is running out)

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Winston Smith

This was inspired by a photo my friend took on her winter walk. It reminds me of the introduction of The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.

Outflanked, beaten, and bewildered

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Winston Smith

“Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible. And when you strike and overcome him, never let up in pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; Continue Reading →

Tolkien Essentials

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Winston Smith

This is the very essence of language, and this is the very thing that our newest and most fashionable philosophy, Deconstructionism, denies: that the words, or the text, mean something Continue Reading →