Monday, January 30, 2023

NFL Wrap and Other Notes

This morning the Stroock household is pleased. Though we are a lifelong Giants fan, we are happy for Mrs. Stroock and rooted for the Eagles the entire game. 

An odd game, in which the 49rs ran out of quarterbacks, which is something we've never seen before. 

The Eagles would have won even if the 49rs hadn't lost all their quarterbacks. 

Overall, an excellent performance from the green birds.

In Kansas City we had zero faith in Andy Reid's ability to win the game. 

The refs had an odd and uneven game. 

But that last minute personal foul that put the Chiefs in field goal range was legit. 

Pat Mahomes is one tough man. 

The two best teams are in the Super Bowl.

We like the Eagles chances. 

Great back-to-back workouts this weekend. Mrs. Stroock will be in Manhattan all week for corporate stuff. With time at a premium, this is a good week to give our body a break. We could use one. 

For some reason, the Empire State Building was lit up in Eagles green last night. What the what? Reports the New York Post: 'Moments after the Philadelphia Eagles demolished the San Francisco 49ers in the 2023 NFC Championship game, 31-7, to advance to Super Bowl 2023, the official Twitter account for the New York City landmark announced it would illuminate in green and white to celebrate. “Fly @Eagles Fly! We’re going Green and White in honor of the Eagles NFC Championship Victory,” the message read.' New Yorkers are rightfully outraged and shocked. [You're rooting for the Eagles-Ed]. I love my wife and want her to be happy. 

Speaking of...29 years ago I went to a Super Bowl party (Super Bowl XXVIII, Dallas vs Buffalo) in my buddies' dorm room across the hall. I met this girl, who was looking at me like I was a complete moron because I was doing a shot of J&B for every turnover committed by the Buffalo Bills (Buffalo turned the ball over 9 times the previous Super Bowl).  Dallas won, and so did I. 

Over the weekend a munitions factory in Iran blew up for some reason. The Times of Israel tells us: 'The drone attack on a defense facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan was carried out by Israel to protect its own security interests, and not to prevent weapons exports to Russia, according to a New York Times report on Sunday.' Mossad did it, ToI says. The paper goes on to speculate that the factory was involved with the production of long-range missiles. Israel Radar has an excellent analysis of the attack. And 'someone' attacked an Iranian truck convoy in Syria last night.  Israel is getting ready.

At Zerohedge, Douglas MacGregor (who has appeared in two of our novels) has an analysis of the Ukraine War with which we largely agree. MacGregor argues the West's economic and financial war has failed. He also slams the Michael Rubin article we slammed last week. 'Michael Rubin, a former Bush appointee and avid supporter of America’s permanent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, vented his frustration in a 1945 article asserting that, “if the world allows Russia to remain a unitary state, and if it allows Putinism to survive Putin, then, Ukraine should be allowed to maintain its own nuclear deterrence, whether it joins NATO or not.” On its face, the suggestion is reckless, but the statement does accurately reflect the anxiety in Washington circles that Ukrainian defeat is inevitable.'*

We don't know what is happening and we don't know what will happen. We do know that the prevailing narrative of plucky and brave Ukrainian freedom fighters resisting Russian aggression is wrong. Our own sense is the Ruskis have been using the Wagner Group to prep the battlespace and attrit the Ukrainians before a spring offensive. We shall see. 

Oh look, we made According to Hoyt's book promo list. Thank you, Sarah Hoyt. 

Plenty to do this week. We're starting World War 1990: Norway today. As there will be a lot of Norwegian government scenes, readers will get to know Jan Peter Syse, it is important not to write Nederland Redux. So no running around Oslo and proclaiming, 'We fight' in defiance of the Soviets for the PM. 

We continue work on The Final Storm's Soviet Far East chapter. We think we just need to add an opening scene where the Japanese PM is being briefed on the attack plan, in order to give readers an overview of things. We may return to those Soviet POV characters from Three Seas

We'll finish reading the printout of The New American Order this week. A reader from a European country that has an NFL football team named after its ancestors finished 75, bought 76 and wants to know when TNAO will be out. The answer to that question is 42. No, the answer to that question is African or European. Okay, seriously, we're planning for 1 May. [Don't plan. You know what god does. Knobhead-Ed].

Monday Metal. Robotech, Minmei, We Will Win. No Robotech, no Writer Will. It's really simple. Attack! Hail to our success!:

*We still haven't thought up any speculative articles to write for 1945. What the heck?

1 comment:

  1. You could have the prime minister address the Deit and have it lead up to a chant of banzai from them members in support of the prime minister

    ReplyDelete