PicoBlog

It’s not an exaggeration to say The View is one of the worst shows on TV—and that’s really saying something when you consider the amount of dreck on TV these days. That said, the show recently invited Coleman Hughes on to discuss his new book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America. And the discussion is worth watching: Hughes, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor at City Journal, gave an exemplary performance before what was clearly a hostile panel, explaining what real anti-racism looks like.

This week (actually it was a few weeks ago), the girls/women find themselves in NYC! In the bustling, dystopia-adjacent metropolis, Meghan reclaims OWNS the streets of her youth/recent middle age while Sarah is disoriented by the assault on her tender suburban senses and feels as if she is suffocating on the miasma of mold and garbage juice. And guess what? This was the first time Sarah and Meghan ever met person!

Welcome to February, and welcome back to The Press Break’s Final Four Fact February! Last season here on your favorite newsletter, I introduced a running series throughout the Month Before The Madness chronicling interesting tidbits from past Final Fours. I avoided the 1979 Tournament last season because it felt too on-the-nose, at least for the initial go-around. What more can be said about 1979, which culminated in a National Championship Game that unofficially launched March Madness as we know it.

Race COLORBLINDNESS AND RACIAL ESSENTIALISM ARE BOTH WRONG My race is meaningful but does not define me Philip Clay “Well, I don’t see color; I don’t care if you’re black, white, yellow, red, or purple.” Sound familiar? What about this one? “I don’t know if they can help it; it’s because they were raised (insert racial identity here).” If you’ve said or heard something like the first statement, that was racial colorblindness, and if you’ve said or heard something like the second statement, that was racial essentialism.

Hello! Hello! And here we are — it’s almost July 4th. Almost time for the parades down Main Streets across America — my small town in Connecticut has one and yes, politicians kiss babies. It’s the time when local corn turns up at the farmstand. And it’s the time for red-white-and-blue desserts, which means berries. For the past week or so, I’ve gotten mail from Substackers with terrific berry recipes meant for the holiday weekend — not that you need a holiday to make them.

Colors of Evil: Red is an impressive Polish mystery crime drama, in which a young prosecutor and a female judge team up to solve the grizzly murder of the latter’s teenage daughter. The set-up is as follows: after a night on the town at the seaside, the body of a young woman, Monika, is found dead on a beach, with among other things, her lips cut off. This is reminiscent of a similar murder seventeen years ago, and you know what, the guy who was convicted of the crime, has just been released from prison.

The rue Saint-André des Arts is one of the most touristy streets in Saint-Germain. Aside from Allard, there aren’t a lot of great places to eat here. For several years, a pretty restaurant called Le Colvert lured passersby for acceptable but underwhelming meals. But a new team has recently taken over this spot, dropping the “Le” and installing a former … ncG1vNJzZmiokae2tK7YpqaurJhjwLau0q2YnKNemLyue89omqikppq%2FtQ%3D%3D

A journal for the western masses, based in Western Mass. Now soft-launching on Substack; including the Donbass War archives of Editor Jim “Fergie” Chambers. Patronized by the Berkshire Communist Party By Jim “Fergie” Chambers · Launched 2 years agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmibn6KvosDLopmeqpGhtrS5zJplrK2SqMGir8pnmqilXw%3D%3D

Good morning, everyone. As promised, I’m back with our regular monthly deep-dive newsletters. The last couple of months were full of things like final book deadlines, verrrrry long school vacations, and all sorts of Omicron life that I probably don’t have to explain to you. But I’m proud to come back with a bang, and for a newsletter examining loss, this issue gave me such enormous joy to put together. You’ll see why for yourself below.