The insane accessibility of guns + hateful assholes is such a terrible, toxic equation -- and its sum will always be the same. Both of these (seemingly, increasingly ubiquitous) variables have to change, or else yet more Charlestons, San Bernadinos, and now Orlandos will follow like grim clockwork. Where is the voice of sense and reason? Obama's remarks were poignant and on-point but - like déja vu all over again - the 2nd Amendment sociopaths and their political representatives will continue to tie his hands. At times like this especially I really miss the great Christopher Hitchens.

All our thoughts and sympathies should be with the resilient LGBTQ2S community, but our words and efforts must go toward effecting real, substantial change in these areas where they are most imperatively needed.

This Year's Model


For those of us who have dearly missed Grantland, The Ringer is now here to fill that void, and they've already published top-shelf pieces on The Warriors as the perfect bandwagon team (so true), Joe Buck, Obama's last act, and the hotly contested 2016 AOTY 'election,' which evinces the year's surfeit of musical riches without even considering the viable candidacies of The Hope Six Demolition Project, Hopelessness, and This Is Acting.