@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

dbsalk

@dbsalk@mastodon.social

Recovering #hospitality professional now working in the tech industry. Husband, boy dad, #Mizzou 🐯 alum, 🥨 lover, MoT ✡️. Left the bird site early Nov 2022 after 13 yrs.

Based in NW suburbs of #Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Talk to me about #books #movies #sports #food #running #Jeopardy #Disney °o° (among other things). My header image is an avatar for my to-read list. I drink (occasionally) and I know things.

I brake for #DadJokes.

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RacerX, to NFL
@RacerX@mastodon.world avatar

Where my Bears fans at? This is going to be a fun ride. Bear down! #NFL

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RacerX I have zero confidence that the Bears front office is capable of making the right personnel moves to ensure Caleb Williams is able to be effective. Nothing has changed since they signed Justin Fields.

Nothing will change until the McCaskeys sell the team. They've proven to be completely inept at running a sports franchise.

I hope I'm wrong.

#Bears #NFL #Chicago #Football

dbsalk, to NFL
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Speaking of dealing with assholes, Is there a term for a person that insists on referring to the Washington #NFL franchise by their previous (and very racist) name?

I'll stipulate that "Washington Commanders" is terrible, but a significant improvement over what was in place before.

#Sports #Football

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@wjmaggos [pauses and thinks about it for a moment]

You're not wrong.

I feel like "Washington Commanders" did not go through any kind of focus group testing.

And while we're on the topic, "Cleveland Guardians" probably didn't, either.

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Listening to the audio of This Is Your Brain On Sports by L. Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers.

I wish I had read it closer to its 2016 pub date. 8 years later, parts are a little outdated. Example: in a list of active QBs at the time, several had yet to reach their peak. Now they're seasoned veterans or retired.

Amusingly, when quoting PK Subban, the narrator gave him a French accent. Subban grew up in Toronto.

@bookstodon

Hockey player PK Subban, who is not French and does not speak with a French accent, posing in a gold and navy Nashville Predators jersey, hockey gloves, and holding a hockey stick.

dbsalk, to NFL
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Prove me wrong: the hype for the exists so that Mel Kiper can justify his paycheck. Without the hype, he'd be selling paint at Home Depot.

kfury, (edited ) to random
@kfury@mstdn.social avatar

How many TikToks or other short form videos do you watch a day?

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@bodhipaksa @kfury I feel like in this situation, 10 is a long way from 0.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

was at the courthouse today:

" seems old and tired and mad"

"He seems annoyed. Resigned, maybe angry. He seems like a man who is miserable to be here."

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff So many of us felt old and tired and mad during the four years he was President.

Turnabout is fair play.

dbsalk, to 13thFloor
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

I really need to start keeping notes on how/why I put a book to my TBR pile. The East Indian by Brinda Charry was added about a year ago, and I don't remember how I found out about it. A truly unique tale about an Indian boy winding up first in England and then Virginia during the 17th century efforts at colonization, for me this book is historical fiction at its absolute best. It might be one of the best books I pick up in 2024. #FridayReads #Fiction #AmReading #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon

tannerman, to movies
@tannerman@mastodon.online avatar

What is wrong with this picture? https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/a24-civil-war-posters-controversy-1235876340/

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@tannerman Where do we start?

Likewise, to books
@Likewise@beige.party avatar

Coffee rings
&
faerie wings.

What are you reading this week?

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@Likewise Slowly but surely closing out my re-read of The Dark Tower series, a journey I started back in January 2022.

I feel like the last book starts of at a lumbering pace before picking up speed around the midway point. @bookstodon

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Neil Gaiman is good at writing.

#Books #BookQuote #Bookstodon #NeilGaiman @bookstodon

CultureDesk, (edited ) to television
@CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

The laugh track was once a standard feature of every TV comedy, but it may now be on its final chuckle — the last major show that used one was "The Big Bang Theory," and that finished in 2019. The Atlantic's Jacob Stern writes about the half-century history of the audio irritant, which actor David Niven once called “the single greatest affront to public intelligence I know of,” and whether we'll miss it when it's gone. "For all the ire it incurred, for all the bad jokes it disguised, the laugh track was fundamentally about reproducing the experience of being part of an audience, and its decline is also the decline of communal viewership," says Stern. What's your take on the track? [Story is paywalled]

https://flip.it/3JeN5V

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@CultureDesk I never made a habit of watching sitcoms. When I did turn one on, I found the laugh track irritating, but I think "excruciating" is too strong of a word. You need a poll option for "I tolerate them because I don't really have any other choice."

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

When you read Librarian Erotica and think it's real life:

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr Apparently I've been missing out by downloading ebooks and audiobooks remotely instead of picking up hardcopies (and who knows what else) from the brick and mortar location. @VernonLibrary

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr @dsilverman Spotted that right away and it's been nagging at me. "Hey, Chiron Writer... you had ONE JOB!!!"

RickiTarr, (edited ) to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Lots of debate about this, so I'm curious about the consensus.

Should children be allowed to act professionally, as in having a full time acting job in movie/TV/stage? Feel free to elaborate in the comments.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@kpl @RickiTarr That's how I read it too. Was trying to picture my kids turning in a job application with a resume and taking themselves very seriously instead of yammering away about Roblox and Pokemon.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr I'd be curious to know the breakdown of positive child actor success stories vs. negative ones. The failures always get sensationalized in the tabloids, and even stars who seem to be well-adjusted adults - Drew Barrymore or the late Shirley Temple - have horror stories from their childhood. But I wonder if there are former child actors who can speak to a loving and positive experience that they would be happy to repeat. If so, how many?

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Not sure what attracted me to This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. It's not what my wife would call a "David Book" - I don't read a lot of family dramedies. I liked it enough, though, to add One Last Thing Before I Go to my TBR. Finally got to it 12 years later, and am almost done. Not as great as TIWILY, but still good and very funny.

The movie adaptation of TIWILY featuring Jason Bateman and Jane Fonda is also quite good.

#Books #Bookstodon #FridayReads #AmReading @bookstodon

dbsalk, to pizza
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

It's Pizza Bingo Night at my kids' school, which is a fundraiser where we (you guessed it) play bingo and eat pizza. The is from the local Papa John's. The only way I can tolerate Papa John's is with their garlic butter sauce. I suspect that won't be provided.

If you eat , what chain will you draw the line at? (for quality/personal taste reasons, not ideological reasons like Chik-Fil-A giving $$ to anti-LGBTQ groups) For me, it's Papa John's, Subway, and Panera.

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Well, damn... I had been doing a pretty solid job of paring down my TBR list, which currently has enough books on it to last me until I die (not an exaggeration). I've been more selective about what I add, going from "Gee this seems interesting" to "Let me think for a moment about if I would actually ever read this." In Q1 2024, I added 5 books to my TBR.

I've added 6 books in just the first week of April. My self-control is faltering.

I blame you, Mastodon. 😂

#Books #Bookstodon

dbsalk, to history
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Today is the 159th anniversary of Ulysses Grant's defeat of the US secessionist slavery movement's paramilitary arm. Please celebrate accordingly.

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

The Coincidence Makers by Yoan Blum started slow and I was seriously thinking about putting in the DNF pile, but about a quarter of the way in it picked up with some beautiful beats. I think at some point I had an "aha" moment. Oh, I see what you're trying to do here! I'm glad I stuck with it, because this is a book that tugs on the heartstrings.

The premise reminded me at first of The Incrementalists, a book I didn't love. This is much better.

#FridayReads #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon

dbsalk, to mentalhealth
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Today, like any other day, is a good day to check in on your friends. They may be dealing with stuff that nobody knows about. #MentalHealth​

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Tell me a silly/funny childhood story!

I'll start:

One time in Sunday School, the teacher was talking about the difference between humans and animals, and mentioned that Animals had Tails and humans didn't. I let her know this was not true, because my Dad had a tail, just in the front, instead of the back. The teacher was silent for several seconds, and tried to correct me in a church appropriate way, but I doubled down, and insisted that my little brothers also had front tails too. This got so heated that the teacher had to go get my parents to take me out of Sunday School.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr When I was in third or fourth grade, I was on a road trip with my parents and we were driving by a farm. My mom pointed to a silo, and informed me that the tall structure next to the barn was called a silo. Being the smartass that I was (but not really trying to be), I replied, "Duh. I learned that in kindergarten." My dad thought that was beyond hilarious, and it became an inside family joke that whenever something was painfully obvious, we would say "I learned that in kindergarten."

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Just finished Mr. g: A Novel about the Creation by Alan Lightman. It was... fine. Not bad, but not great. Ok for a quick diversion. I'm glad it wasn't longer than it was.

I thought it would be funnier, but it turned out to be more philosophical than humorous. There were funny moments, but if I needed to categorize this book, I think I would file it under "metaphysics" and not humor or fiction.

The audio narration by Ray Porter was great.

#FridayReads #Bookstodon #Books #AmReading @bookstodon

dbsalk, to baseball
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

"Will they play the anthem?” I asked.
“The which?”
‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’”
“Oh, the national ballad. What for? This is a ball match, not the Senate.”

At least one bit of jingoistic idiocy hadn’t yet lodged in the national psyche, I thought.

-- from If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock, published in 1989 and set during baseball's infancy in the late 1860s. Just like his character Sam Fowler, Brock was ahead of his time.

#Baseball #Books #BookQuote #Sports #Bookstodon #MLB @bookstodon

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