Blog

Charleston and the literature of rejection

Well, one thing’s certain: Dylann Storm Roof – really? That’s a name? – is no Rachel Dolezal.

One couldn’t do enough to embrace black culture. The other couldn’t do enough to destroy it, allegedly gunning down nine people at Bible study Wednesday night in Charleston’s historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, uttering the particularly lunatic thought, “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.” ...

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Black like her

There’s more than meets the eye in the Rachel Dolezal story – no pun intended.

Dolezal resigned from her job as president of the Spokane, Wash. chapter of the NAACP upon the discovery that she is actually a white woman who passed herself off as black.

Dolezal – who was married to a black man, had a child with him and has four adopted black siblings, one of whom is under her legal guardianship – says she identifies as black.

Which is not the same as saying she has been truthful with others. ...

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Days of heaven at the Greenwich Polo Club

Polo is a fiercely elegant game – as sleek and lovely as the ponies that thunder down the field, no wonder Ralph Lauren has been so inspired by it – but also rough and tumble.

We were reminded of that Sunday, June 14 as Airstream faced off against the new team sponsored by Shreve, Crump & Low at the Greenwich Polo Club in the town’s verdant backcountry on a perfectly idyllic late-spring day. There were quite a few penalties – and more than one or two balls out of bounds – as Airstream prevailed 10-9 in a Monty Waterbury Cup match that went down to the last few minutes of the last chukker (period). They don’t call it “horse hockey” for nothing.

If you’ve never been to a match, it’s quite something. The teams enter from opposite sides of the field – which is nine times the size of a gridiron – and then face the grandstand as if to say, “We who are about to entertain salute you.” ...

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American Pharoah – Inside the Vogue cover shoot (and the cover-up)

Apparently, American Pharoah was more than ready for his close-up when Vogue came calling to his home-away-from-his-Southern-California-home at Churchill Downs in Kentucky recently for the cover of its August issue, out July 23.

The coverboy – who can always check the box labeled “plays well with others” – was a perfect gentleman outside trainer Bob Baffert’s barn as he was spritzed, festooned with a garland of red roses from Susan’s Florist and snapped by Alex Lockett. The only time he went off cue was to nibble the roses’ greens. (Don’t they feed those Vogue models?) ...

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Deflategate and the blame the victim game

Breaking Deflategate news – yeah, I know, you were waiting with bated breath for this – but according to a new study by the American Enterprise Instituteit’s not that the New England Patriots’ balls were deflated too much but that the opposition Indianapolis Colts’ balls deflated too little.

Oh, I get it:

Defense attorney: “Your Honor, it’s not that my client absconded with the money. It’s that the money was there to abscond with.” ...

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American Pharoah and the way we were(n’t)

Not long ago, I interviewed a woman who made our acquaintance difficult before and after. This woman worked with animals for a living and confided during the course of our official conversation that she got along better with them than with people.

Geez, who would’ve thought?, I felt like replying sarcastically.

I still think people who like animals more than people are control freaks setting themselves up for failure since control is basically an illusion. But after seeing the way America has taken to American Pharoah, I think I have a better understanding of this woman. ...

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Top ten reasons why American Pharoah is one athlete who will never disappoint

Number 10: No fizzing out in the French Open finals. (Sorry, Novak Djokovic.)
Number 9: No flaming out in the quarterfinals. (Sorry, Rafael Nadal.)
Number 8: No meltdown over blisters, stray feathers, etc. (Sorry, Andy Murray.)
Number 7: No loud plaid shorts. (Sorry, Stan Wawrinka.)

Number 6: No left-handed compliments to rivals. (Sorry, Roger Federer.)
Number 5: No steroids. (Sorry, Major League Baseball.) ...

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