FRIDAY March 13th Links and Banter

slightly ominous date. for your safety, please avoid ladders and black cats and Heisman winners and such.

AlmaOtter

13 Mar 2026 — 3 min read

I suspect that you folks (or at least those that read these damn things (parenthetical inside parenthetical: what is wrong with you if you actually read these?!)) realize that this place often serves as my semi-public journal of sorts. Last week, I reminisced on the 2003 Iraq invasion in light of yet another March in which our country went to unnecessary war. Catharsis as content, etcetera, etcetera.

I don't need to impress upon you that things kind of suck shit right now. This isn't a #NoPolitics place or anything, but it's somewhat redundant to run down the litany of bullshit goings-on. You all know what's happening. It is, has been, and likely will continue to be most assuredly Not Great. And very little remains immune from its contagion. And yet.

We stand at the precipice of March Madness, only the greatest sports event in the goddamn world. Seven days from now, we'll already have watched 20 (!!) NCAA tournament games, with another 32 remaining before the weekend ends. It's the good shit, even and especially amidst the Not Great that continues with furious and seemingly unstoppable pace.

I realize that I often write this sort of thing. I have become something of a broken record. But regardless, it remains my idealized touchpoint for this place and this project: sports are better enjoyed together, even and especially amongst online strangers and fellow-travelers. And I hope you'll enjoy it with us.

Let's watch some basketball, grab a beer, and shoot the shit.