For the fourth year running we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in our little town in the south of France. We expanded the invitation list by two people to take it to 10, counting the hosts, and it went off pretty well. Well, it kinda had to be memorable, given that we had a turkey with […]

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It seems a bit ludicrous now, given the carnage in print journalism, how important “beating” the local opposition was for us. When I wrote a long blog entry, in 2008, I declared an end to what was nearly a 100 Years War between two suburban newspapers in the Inland Empire of Southern California. I worked […]

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We all have our spammers. In the not-so-distant past mine have been allegedly inexpensive prescription drugs from Canada, sexual aids and the Nigerian prince who wants me to hold money for him for a small fee. I did not respond to that stuff — just mark it as spam and click “delete forever” … and […]

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If Paris has seemed like a weekend battle zone for the past year … well, it often has been. It was 52 weeks ago that a grass-roots movement erupted across many areas of France, and especially in Paris, that led to arrests, injuries and plenty of destruction, most of it aimed at police and property. […]

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Write it down. The “new” Los Angeles Rams reached their zenith in a 54-51 nationally televised victory over the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago, improving to 10-1 and looking very much like a championship team. They did, in fact, reach the Super Bowl last season, but they were awful, against the New England Patriots, […]

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And there I was, thinking maybe I was the only person in France who made it a habit to kick rocks off roads. A week or two ago, as we approached one of the entrances to the local “big” city, I looked to my left, and a woman, wearing pants, maybe 45, kicked a rock […]

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Los Angeles Clippers supporters have been waiting a long time for their team to win an NBA championship. Or play for a championship. Or even get into the Western Conference finals. None of which the club has accomplished. Which seems to have made many of them impatient. They figured Kawhi Leonard, architect of the Toronto […]

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I grew up in Long Beach, California. My mother and siblings still live there. Several nieces, too. I haven’t lived in the city since 2009, and have not spent a lot of time in it since 1976, but it remains my hometown, and I have the Long Beach State baseball cap to prove it. Which […]

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This thing started just the other day! September 20. That was just last week … or last month … or nearly last month. The ninth Rugby World Cup concluded today in Japan. South Africa overwhelmed England 32-12 to end the 20-team tournament on its 43rd day. And people complain that the baseball playoffs are too […]

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It was getting late for Howard “Howie” Joseph Kendrick. He had a solid career. Of course he did. No one lasts 14 years in Major League Baseball without being solid. Solid enough to be paid $65 million over those 14 seasons. Good enough to have played in an All-Star Game in 2011 and received an […]

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