Month: July 2025

Ozzy Osbourne: An Appreciation

Posted on by Eric
Photo by Ross Halfin

Ozzy Osbourne was the beating heart of heavy metal. Period, full stop. Every single person who plays or listens to this music frankly owes him – unpayable debt, unshakeable gratitude, undying affection. He was 76 years old, and timeless. No performer anywhere ever loved his fans more, or connected with them more deeply, or they with him. It must be a measure of that metric the degree to which the cavalcade of heartfelt thanks, condolences, and remembrances, from friends and fans alike, that, since word first spread of his passing Tuesday, has issued forth from all corners of the internet and only slightly greater news ecosphere like a raging river overtaking a beaver dam, has consistently moved me, at times damned near wrecked me, and, in the end, almost literally forced my notoriously reticent hand to add something to the conversation. Continue reading “Ozzy Osbourne: An Appreciation” →

Steelers Thoughts #21 (7/6/25): Some Assembly Required

Posted on by Eric

Few, if any, organizations in the National Football League are as synonymous with the notion of “tradition” as the Pittsburgh Steelers. This, in recent years, is to me as much a media creation as anything actually proffered by the team itself, but old habits die hard. The salient points – three coaches in 55 years, four Super Bowl victories in six years in the 1970s, another should’ve been three in five years in the 2000s (merely two in practice), 21 consecutive non-losing seasons and counting, five consecutive playoff losses and counting – have been dusted off and recited so often they’ve since been reduced to lazy shorthand, and though the think pieces still practically write themselves, there’s much more to be distilled and dissected than is immediately evident. Continue reading “Steelers Thoughts #21 (7/6/25): Some Assembly Required” →