What was one material item that your ex-wife got in the divorce that broke your heart?

I know a bunch of you lost the dog in the divorce, but did you also lose the stereo you cherished? 

Tell me about the one material item you lost that broke you emotionally. NOT THE KIDS! I don’t want those stories. 

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com

***If you got visitation with the dog you lost in the divorce, I want to hear those stories BAD. Tell me how that went. Did you meet your ex-wife in a Kohl’s parking lot to swap the dog for visitations? Was there another animal you split time with in the divorce? 

I need stories. 

Screencaps Book Club®

— Bob in Maryland shares: 

I recommend Vince Flynn, he wrote “American Assassin” which became a so-so movie, but the books are great. Unfortunately he has passed away so no new books from him. If you want to go back a few years, I recommend David Morrell (he wrote ‘First Blood’, yeah the first Rambo). 

These three books are great, The Brotherhood of the Rose, The Fraternity of the Stone, The League of Night and Fog, in that order. He has other books which are pretty good also. Another recommendation would be Eric Van Lustbader book ‘The Ninja’. 

It came out in 1980 and one of my teachers in high school recommended it. There are sequels to it which are ok. Finally the original Tom Clancy books are still good reads.

— David says: 

While this not a recommendation coming from personal experience, readers may consider joining the AJ Brown Book Club and checking out Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy.  That glimpse of AJ on the bench Sunday afternoon rocketed the self-improvement book to #1 on Amazon in four categories, including #1 overall.  

He may have only had 1 catch for 10 yards, but he taught a nation to realize there’s never a wrong moment to seek the inspiration needed to be his best inner self.  We can all learn from AJ, and looking at the Amazon numbers, it appears many of us are about to. 

— Otis in Mobile on books: 

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Everyone in their 20s should read this book, especially if they are in sales.   It will help you understand some of your own decision making and how to make better decisions, as well as how to influence others.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1713426.Predictably_Irrational

— LA Don suggests: 

These Two books I just finished were AWESOME.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Also,

Red, Sammy Hagar (BIO)

— Galen in Johnson City, TN has one on his list: 

Mackenzie August is a private dick from Roanoke VA in a 13 book series by author Alan Lee. He is an Alpha Male with a wickedly self-deprecating wit and an extensive vocabulary and he loves to use it. I have been thoroughly entertained by the series and laughed out loud many times…highly recommend (read sequentially).

— Tom in Alexandria, VA keeps this quick: 

I recommend author Brad Thor’s Scot Horvath series. They are always good reads. 

— Brandon in Spring, TX checks in: 

I must have missed the initial post but just saw the recommendations in today’s Screencaps (love this community) and saw some new books to try and some that I’ve already enjoyed.  

As a long time enjoyed of audiobooks I’d like to add a couple if you don’t mind..

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E Taylor – a software engineer gets hit by a car, wakes up some years later as basically a brain in a box, gets dropped into a space ship. Not too deep, but not all fluff either.  There are like 5 books in the series.

The Raven’s Shadow Trilogy by Anthony Ryan. – Kind of a dark fantasy…some magic but mostly..not.  Some reviewers bitch about the narrator but I found his slightly Scottish accented voice excellent for the story.

Off to be the Wizard by Scott Meyer – Normal guy discovers that we’re all in a simulation…and decides to travel to medieval times and become a wizard.  HILARIOUS.  

— Michael J. in Utah suggests: 

I mostly read non-fiction.   I stumbled across this trilogy about the war in the Pacific during World War II a couple of summers ago:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-pacific-war-trilogy-3-book-box-set-ian-w-toll/1140004256

I read the entire trilogy over the summer, and after I was finished, I could have read more.   Some of the best books I have read in recent memory.   The books were so well-written.

— Brett G. hops into the conversation: 

As an avid reader of SC and of books, I had to send in some recommendations. Nelson Demille (RIP) has a great series of novels starring John Corey, a cocky, ex NYPD homicide detective and also Demille’s The Gold Coast. The early Jack Reacher novels are also really good. I just started reading them over again. Last one, anything by Ken Follett is worth a read. Amazing writer. 

Kinsey: 

There are many, many more emails to go with Screencaps Book Club® recommendations. Hang tight if I haven’t posted yours. 

Indy Daryl fires back at Jeff, who said Indy D. was reading a book from some Trump-hating author who went woke

— Indy D. responds: 

What can I say, I’m a sucker for a well told story regardless of the politics of the story or even the author. Mind you, the story has to be worth reading on a number of levels: character development, storytelling, voice, story arc and more. I think Silva does all of that well and I really like the Gabriel Allon character. 

I don’t mind reading well-written stories that I disagree with. And I generally don’t take my political, social, or moral cues from fiction authors. So I can read it, take what I like, disregard the rest, and still find it enjoyable. 

Also, as far as financially supporting it, I generally check out those types of books from the library, so other than paying taxes (which certainly go towards things I disagree with) I haven’t given a dime. Yay for libraries!

A grilling sunset picture to lighten the mood! Have a great night! 

Rob M. reflected on his outburst towards Dan C. over the Notre Dame trolling Dan C. tried to pull on me with the half-Asian head coach ‘Right side of history’ troll job

Here’s context from Wednesday Screencaps for those who missed it.

— Rob M. now knows he was had by Dan C. in Wednesday Screencaps: 

Good morning! As a regular guy who loves sports, talks trash and loves his country, it’s weird to see my thoughts posted on a national site for the world to see. Regular people don’t normally get access to such a platform to vent on, it’s one of the great things about Screencaps. It is surreal to see my words out there like that, damn, I sound angry, I should talk to someone about that ( I’m not going to, but I should….). Let me answer a few questions.

Lou Holtz/Notre Dame- This goes back to when there was only 3 networks and Notre Dame owned one of them ( I’m old ). If you wanted to watch College football on a Saturday, one of your three choices was ND playing Our Blessed Lady of Sainted Men Who Couldn’t Get on A Real College Team four times a year. They would not join a conference, it seemed like every game was a home game and the announcers were so over the top ND homers, I almost had to turn the volume off. I get it, the school is iconic, you have Touchdown Jesus, the helmet is a simple and distinctive design. However, it’s just to much, I don’t care about the Four Horsemen, never did, never will. ( Damn, I sound angry…)

Also, it’s not just ND, it’s Michigan, Indiana Basketball, New York Yankees, Montreal Canadiens , any Philadelphia fan and specially Boston Red Sox fans. It takes a monumental effort to become a bigger D-bag then an Eagles fan, but you somehow scaled that mountain. I was a season ticket holder for the Rays for years, I had to stop going to the Red Sox games because almost every last one of the Sox fans was “Likes To Fight Guy”. I’m not sure how you handle yourself at that Dump known as Fenway, but if it’s anything like the way you handle yourself at the Dump known as The Trop, I’ll take my anger issues over your D-Baggery any day.

Dan C- I’m not above a little self reflection, if I missed a little sarcasm, that’s on me. I went back and looked at yesterday’s Screencap’s, upon further review, I may have missed that, It sounds like I did. Anger issues will make you jump like that, dear Lord, I hope I’m not turning into one of those guys that I just ripped on, maybe I should talk to someone……

Kinsey: 

That’s better, Rob. It’s all good. Don’t beat yourself up too much. Trust me, I tend to know when these loyal mailers are busting my chops. I know when guys like Britt and Travel Ball Hardo Chris B. in Houston are going to give it back to me after I bash the disgusting Travel Ball industry. 

— Two-Club Invitational veteran and ball-buster Dan C. responds to Rob M.: 

Yes, you were 100% correct, I was definitely trying to, as Rob points out, to “throw a little spice into things”. Us loyal Outkickers know not to be too sensitive!

Now, I don’t know who Sonny Hosten is? Rob seems to know a lot about her, I was probably reading a Kurt Schlichter column/book.

Has Joel Klatt gone too far with this B1G & SEC CFP idea?

— Brek says: 

Joe – I like all of Joel’s ideas for the college football playoff with the exception of him automatically giving the Big Ten and SEC THE auto byes.  That’s exactly how the committee gets tied in knots…thinking one conference is that much more powerful than another.  Is he telling me he would put a potential 1 loss Big or SEC team in a bye ahead of an undefeated Big 12 champion?  That’s a bridge too far for me.

Great memories of your kids doing something cool that they had no idea was cool at the time

— Duncan remembers: 

Your story about Screencaps Jr. made me think about when my son’s 8 year old team was invited to play before an Atlanta Hawks game. The video was too big to email, but he got a rebound, took it all the way down, and nailed a bucket. It was awesome. He and his teammates had no idea how cool it was for them to play on a NBA court. Here is headed back to play defense after his bucket. 

Vern smoked a deer in his fishing truck

— Vern in the PNW checks in after I wrote in my closing statement that I wanted the retirees to check in from their warm locations. I’ll be damned if Vern doesn’t read every single word I type. It’s a test I run here and there. I’ll throw in something to see if Vern responds, and he did on Wednesday: 

Joe-finally made it to AZ on 3 Jan-supposed to be here 1 Dec, but hit a deer 6 Nov with my truck on way home from fishing – $27,000 damage and 2 months later, left WA on New Years day. 

Playing golf 3 times a week, walking 2 miles a day on non golf days and practicing when there is nothing else to do. 

Sunday enjoyed the smell of horse chit and arena dust while watching headers and healers compete-throw in a beer and BBQ and good looking ladies in tight fitting jeans – what could be better!

 Brother and I are still interested in the 2 club event, if you published info, I missed it-2 questions- are we too old(87/79) to fit in and not sure we are good enough to compete with younger guys. 

My offer to fish in WA is still open invitation.  Still reading- still enjoying!

Memories of Tire Tubbing

— Jay tells this story: 

As a Ball State Alum (I grew up 3 miles from campus), the old part of campus had a one-way, one lane road gently rolling through it. When they’d plow it after a snow storm, it’d pack on the sides, forming banks, like a skateboard park. A point that did not go unnoticed to us. 

Back then dining halls used plastic trays for serving. Did you know that most college student butts fit on a dining hall tray? After a snow and plowing, we’d grab trays from the dining hall, then meet our crazy friend Bobby, who drove a Jeep (I think a CJ-5). He tied half a dozen tow ropes to the back, and we’d hold on as he took us along that one way road. Once he got up to 25 MPH we’d let go and see how far we could go. Done right, you could slide a 1/4 mile easy. Done wrong, and you’d wipe out face first in a snow bank. Crazy people tried to surf it standing up, but wiping out was inevitable. 

Was it dangerous? Of course, but we were in college, we were invincible! 

 Was it fun? Yup! Was it illegal? Ummmm, yeah, but the college police would shoo us off with a warning. Having crashed into a snow drift or two, it was time to warm up anyway. We remembered to be polite to the police officer. 

Our aquatic center had a catwalk, and the hazing ritual was for you to roll off blindfolded into the diving well. The secret was not to untuck, just keep trying to rotate. The splashes were awesome. Yeah, it’d hurt for 5 minutes if you smacked, but that’s not an eternity. The annoying one was a “sub-atomic” wedgie. 4-6 guys would grab a guy’s speedo and start bouncing him, the goal being to get it up to his chest. Speedos normally tore before then, however. 

What can I say but that we were immature kids, enjoying life. 

Yes, ‘Inside the NFL’ still exists

— John from SD tells me: 

I had no idea this was a thing, flipping channels at 9pm west coast and saw that Inside the NFL was on the CW Sports. Had no idea this was picked up by the CW.

Ryan Clark (not surprised, but is this a separate contract from ESPN?) (are ESPN and the CW working together?), Ocho Cinco (who knew), Chris Long (makes sense), Bill Belichick (is he still fulfilling a contract requirement? Shouldn’t he be focusing on UNC, recruiting, the transfer portal, and NIL?).

Overall, a decent preview of next week’s playoffs. A bit gimmicky.

Kinsey: 

CW is owned by Nexstar, which had been in talks back in 2023 to buy ABC from Disney. A year ago, CW indicated that it wanted to play with the big dogs, hence its move into live sports. 

I guess that meant picking up Inside the NFL. 

Can’t say I’ve spent much time on the CW, but now that I’ve typed CW into this post, I’ll probably start getting all sorts of suggestions to watch shows on CW. Let’s see how this plays out. 

Checkin in from South Africa (and it’s not the Ts!) 

— John from Coronado emails: 

I’m not trying to compete with Mike T., because he and his wife are living the life! But the wife and I were in Gibraltar last summer, and today are in the southern reaches of Africa. Which means I don’t get ScreenCaps until late in the afternoon. The pictures are of a native baboon, and a bucket list item for this retired aviator, visiting the Cape of Good Hope. It was an incredible day!

Also, a HUGE book recommendation: Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier (Drury and Clavin).

Keep helping our country fly straight and level.

Kinsey: 

John, please compete with the Ts. Competition turns into better content and then Screencaps is ultimately the winner. Now, I want you to go out there and have a great time. That said, if you come across a grocery store, stop in and take a photo of the beer aisle. Let’s see what the South Africans are suckin’ down.

I already checked. Costco isn’t in South Africa.  

AND, send those photos in large format! They came over tiny via email. 

Why are there so many U-Haul storage units going up across America?

Is the same thing happening in your area? Around here, if there’s open land, you’re likely watching apartments and U-Haul storage going up. Across the highway from us, they must’ve built 2,000 apartments over the last 2-3 years and now there’s a massive storage locker facility going up. 

I see this stuff and then I remember back to 2023 when Meredith Whitney went on CNBC and railed over the fact that men were addicted to 10-leg parlay bets and weren’t bothering trying to have sex with women. 

“You have the lowest household formation growth rate in over 60 years. And so you have young men who don’t want to date and young women who are spending their time with Instagram moments going to Taylor Swift concerts. So they’re not getting married,” Whitney said at the time. 

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com

Beat his ass, Ryan! 

I want this plastered on every locker, every door, every buffet table. Did you read what Lou just said about your defense, Jim Knowles? It’s time to bury Lou’s ass, Rudy’s ass & make the Pope cry. 

— John in Bowling Green, KY gets in on the Lou topic: 

I don’t have a dog in hunt regarding the Notre Dame-Ohio St arguments but reading today’s column and the Coach Holtz comments reminded me of seeing this video of Coach addressing the Texas football team.  Skip to the 3:25 mark.  

Kinsey: 

Lou does a magic trick in the video John shared. It’s worth your time. I still hope Ryan beats his ass on Monday! Business is business, Lou. 

#######################

Now we’re rolling on this Thursday morning. I know you miss football. So do I. But this is the time of year when we get things done to set us up for those awesome summer patio nights. This is when we set the tone for the rest of the year. 

That means tonight I will be working on Mrs. Screencaps’ basement grow op. I did some analysis at Costco last night on shelving units. Now it’s time to do some measuring and executing the plan. 

Let’s go get after it. Head down. Set the tone. 

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com

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