Saturday, June 08, 2013

Week Links

I apologize for the lack of original material this week. Whether it's due to last week's uncharacteristic clearing of the carburetor, or to other extenuating circumstances (read: Stanley Cup Play-Offs (you know who I'm cheering for)) I couldn't say, but I'll go with "Hockey," since it naturally segues into this week's collection of worthy links.

Over at the New York Times website, Nate Silver takes up beaucoup blogspace exploring the numbers behind Why Canada Can't Win The Stanley Cup. Silver concludes with a league restructuring proposal that is so common-sensical, Gary Bettman is sure to run in the opposite direction.

Also from New York, via The New Yorker: Nicholas Schmidle fleshes in the larger story behind the murder of sniper-celeb Chris Kyle, by former Marine Eddie Ray Routh. Both men were afflicted with PTSD, Routh especially. That Routh's increasingly desperate family members were unable to procure  treatment and, especially, containment for this troubled man is a fact that brings disturbing questions to mind. In the same issue (June 3), Nick Paumgarten profiles gonzo-climber Ueli Steck, whose feats on the world's riskiest ascents beggar the imagination. Print or subscription only, in that case, so rush to your local news-rack.

The skeletons in The Ford Family Closet are rattling out increasingly funky rhythms. VICE nails it, in this compare-and-contrast piece: Here's Why The Rob Ford Scandal Is Just Like The Wire. Also, Andrew Potter thinks hard about people's unflagging support of the Ford Brothers, and wonders if Mayor Rob might not become the Amy Winehouse of Canadian Politics.

As difficult as it is for some of us to wrap our heads around the affection some people have for the Fords, there are people who felt -- and still feel -- similarly about "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il. His sushi-chef, for one. An intimate and disturbing look at the bizarre antics in North Korea's highest echelon.

There's your bread. Now let's get back to the circus of pro-hockey.

"Where's Wallace, Doug? Doug! Where's Wallace?!"

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