“Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions: the President throws out the first ball, the Cubs' starting pitcher walks away with a 54.00 ERA, the Royals get mathematically eliminated from the pennant race.” FirstsPresidentWalksRaceTraditionBaseballBallsStartingOpeningErasRoyalHonoredPitcherCubsOpening DayBaseball Opening DayOpening Day Baseball Author:Rob Sheffield
“Like many other touchstones of twenty-first-century pop culture, 'The Sopranos' was hatched in the late Nineties, predicting a future that never arrived. It was designed for a decade that would be just like the Nineties, except more so, in an America that enjoyed seeing itself as smarter and braver and freer than ever before.” FirstsWould BeAmericaCultureSeeingCenturyLateTwentiesPopsDecadesEnjoyedSmarterPop CulturePredictingTouchstonesSopranos Author:Rob Sheffield
“Sending Paris Hilton to jail for being the most loathed celeprosy lesion in the history of the species seems like a happening idea at first - forty-five days at Century Regional Detention Center is so the new thirty days at Promises Malibu! But it sets a dangerous precedent to jail celebs just because someone hates them.” FirstsIdeasSeemsHateFiveCenturyDangerousPromiseHappeningsSpeciesParisThirtyFortyJailPrecedentDetentionCelebsMalibu Author:Rob Sheffield
“The first season of 'Community' stumbled a bit because the plotlines too often veered into realism, but that is not a problem anymore. Not when prize episodes concern a campuswide blanket fort, or a secret garden with a magic trampoline.” FirstsProblemBitsCommunitySecretMagicConcernGardenSeasonsPrizeEpisodesRealismBlanketFortsSecret GardenTrampolines Author:Rob Sheffield
“When I was a junior, my school introduced badminton, which was clearly a P.E. department ploy to get me away from the wrestling room, and it worked, since the first time I played badminton was like the first time I tasted sushi or heard the Beatles or read Wordsworth. This was a sport? This counted for gym requirements?” FirstsSchoolSportsRoomsHeardFirst TimeDepartmentGymWrestlingRequirementsJuniorsSushiWordsworthPloyBadminton Book:Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut Source: Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut
“She was the first person on either side of her family to go to college, and she held herself to insanely high standards. She worried a lot about whether she was good enough. It was surprising to see how relieved she seemed whenever I told her how amazing she was. I wanted her to feel strong and free. She was beautiful when she was free.” FeelsFirstsPersonsEnoughWantedBeautifulStrongSidesCollegeStandardsWorriedGood EnoughSurprisingFirst PersonRelievedHigh Standards Book:Love Is a Mix Tape: Life, Loss, and What I Listened To Source: Love Is a Mix Tape: Life, Loss, and What I Listened To
