Something around to be loved: “Let Him Roll” by Guy Clark
Low-Point Theory: A moment (or absence of an expected moment) from which a story can be understood in relief or contrast; like the canyon that forces an awe-inspiring angle to better appreciate the mountain’s grandeur. A perfect example of this High-Point corollary comes from Guy Clark. Along with wife Susanna, Guy was half of the…
Something around to be loved: Sirens of Titan
High-Point Theory: A critical moment in a piece of art from which all understanding descends, as if rain from a roof. In his rejected master’s thesis, Kurt Vonnegut argued that “stories have very simple shapes, ones that computers can understand.” Undeterred by the University of Chicago’s anthropology department, he would often enlist this analytical framework…
Something Around to be Loathed: Baseball’s New Pitch Clocks
“The machines are to practically everybody what the white men were to the Indians. People are finding that, because of the way the machines are changing the world, more and more of their old values don’t apply any more. People have no choice but to become second-rate machines themselves, or wards of the machines.” Kurt…
Something Around to be Loved: Sharp Park
Of all the fine golf cities (Pinehurst, NC, Bandon, OR, Bethpage, NY, etc.) in these United States, I’d take San Francisco. You’ve got elite, major championship hosting venues like Olympic and Harding, other acclaimed, stratified-by-religious-denomination private clubs, photogenic Lincoln, some fun par 3 tracks in Golden Gate, Fleming and Olympic’s Cliffs Course and other fine…
Something Around to be Loved: Surface Area
Cam’s Theorem: Surface area is the most important measurable trait. Proof: Sub-Theorem 1: Everything has a surface area. Case 1-1: Any mathematically perfect, theoretical volume has surface area (cubes, spheres, cones or icosahedrons, they all possess outer planes or otherwise measurable exteriors). Case 1-2: Creatures, human or otherwise, have surface area (mostly skin, hair and…
Something Around to be Loved: Clay Pigeons by Blaze Foley
Please stop saying that a piece of art gives you “all of the feels” to compliment the emotional breadth of the experience. This hollow, gilded term prefers songs, movies, conversations etc. that dip their toes into every possible emotional variant rather than using that time to venture to Jacques Cousteau depths. I worry that texture…
Something Around to be Loved: Information Access
An evaluation of modernity led a prominent culture critic to conclude: “the present age is an age of advertisement, or an age of publicity: nothing happens, but there is instant publicity about it.” I am not on any social media platforms, yet still worry about my relationship with information dispensing machines. Was that my phone…
Something Around to be Loved: Conversations with Depth and Conflict
Growing up (sometimes referred to as maturation) seems to include many different ways to mark “progress.” There are birthday or age related milestones (old enough to drive a car or buy a beer). Pieces of paper can signify development (diplomas or professional certifications). There are numeric ways to track the growth of skills (the big…
Somewhere Around to be Loved: Streamsong Golf Resort – Black Course
To start, I have long loathed the state of Florida. When ranking my favorite states one through fifty, I quickly mark California in the top spot and Florida dead last before proceeding to fill in the rest. The list of reasons for this opinion includes, but is not limited to: Ted Bundy’s most horrific spree…
Something that is Around to be Loved: Shirts with Logos
Ostensibly this will be an essay about fashion, but I like to think of it more of an essay about decisions that build community. About the joy of connecting with strangers and a celebration of silly, arbitrary karasses. Although all the main arguments herein are specifically about shirts with logos, they could just as easily…
Someone Who is Around to be Loved: Sandy Koufax (and also Don Drysdale)
With the baseball season right around the corner and the Dodgers recently coming to a record contract agreement with a reigning Cy Young winner, this is a great time to look back on the efforts Sandy Koufax (Judaism in Big Lebowski Walter’s estimation encompases “3,000 years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax”) underwent…
A Song That is Around to be Loved: John Prine’s “Christmas in Prison”
It was Christmas in Prison And the food was real good We had turkey and pistols Carved out of wood In my estimation, this song off 1973’s “Sweet Revenge” album is the tune that best summarizes what made 2020 specifically shitty. Like many Prine classics, it is a seemingly straightforward, blue-collar story that rewards greater…
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Essays by Cameron 
Were you wearing a logo shirt during your round at Streamsong? Great work characterizing the course and round. Felt like i was playing in your foursome. 3-Jacks can indeed feel like you’re the idiot that forgot a card or gift at the bosses birthday get-together in the break room. Hard to shake and you’re constantly reminded about it by wisecracking colleagues or every green for the rest of the round. Awesome work!
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Hi Cameron,
Really enjoying your essays!
With regard to Shirts With Logos, wanted to get your thoughts on “Attire Compensation”.
A very good friend of mine constantly wears the most brash, loud, obnoxious, mismatched attire you could possibly imagine,. He has logos emblazoned on his shoes, socks, pants, shirts, hats and presumably underwear. When I’m around him, I feel that I must “compensate” for his attire by dressing in the most bland, boring clothes possible just to allow him to bring greater attention to himself and his outlandishness!
In this regard, do you think dressing without “flash” would be warranted?
For added context, my friend is not “Certified Special Needs”…..but close!
Keep up the great work!
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Dynamic
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azure
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Practical
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Leu
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