Charlie Manuel Chugs Along

Well Worth Reading

When he awoke a short time later, Manuel discovered he was no longer alone. About 40 Japanese women had arrived for their postwork baths. No one in the room was wearing a stitch of clothing. “It was almost like I was dreaming,” he says. He quickly realized he wasn’t. The women, most of whom hadn’t seen an American up close, were intrigued—especially by the hair on his arms, which they insisted on touching. After they left, Repoz and Luigi returned to take Manuel back to his room, where Ol’ Cholly’s first day in Japan finally came to an end.

Sports Illustrated writer Mark Bechtel has a lively profile of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel in the June 22 issue of the magazine. It’s a great read, but I  have to wonder if there would be as much tacit approval of Charlie’s down-home, shit-kicking ways if he had cornrows and tats.

Far-Right Rampages Since the Election

Politics

“We haven’t gone four weeks since February without some poor guy — always with a long history of mental illness, usually with a record of military service and/or domestic violence, and invariably jacked up on a toxic cocktail of white male privilege; us-versus-them enemy seeking; fury at women, blacks and/or Jews; and a belief that the world as he knew it was ending unless he took up arms — taking out his gun and offing innocent Americans in a suicidal bid for glory.”

Sara Robinson of Orcinus has a tally of far-right murders since the election, analyzing the cultural factors motivating this type of violence. I think her conclusion is alarmist, but it’s extremely concerning to connect the dots.

Review: Shaman’s Crossing

Books

In Shaman’s Crossing, an excellent light-fantasy novel, Robin Hobb succeeds in not only creating a compelling world but also establishing a rich, branching worldview to anchor it.

The book revolves around Nevare Burvelle, a solider son, as all second sons of nobility are destined to be. Nevare’s father is a member of the new nobility, granted his title for valor as an officer in the king’s cavalry, and Nevare is raised to fill his heredity role as soldier.

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Teasing Open the Black Box

Science, Well Worth Reading

The New Yorker has a great piece, “Brain Games,” on Vilayanur Ramchandran, a behavioral neurologist that they dub the “Marco Polo of Neuroscience.” The article explains how his research into the faulty “wiring” associated with disorders such as phantom-limb pain and Capgras delusion has led to low-tech treatments—often mirrors—that “trick the brain” back to normal. It’s an exciting look at science in action.