By Kent R. Kroeger (March 2, 2023) My favorite scene in the movie Moneyball is the one where Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane (played by wonderfully Brad Pitt), having just been upbraided by the team’s head scout (played brilliantly by Ken Medlock) for relying too heavily on analytics when…

By Kent R. Kroeger (February 28, 2023) “People don’t deem you controversial because you are wrong, they deem you controversial because they wish you were wrong.” — Chris Frank “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” — Charlie Chaplin “Trust by verify.” …

By Kent R. Kroeger (February 3, 2023) Disclaimer: The following essay uses weekly mortality data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Mortality Monitoring Project (EUROMOMO). However, all interpretations, conclusions and opinions expressed herein are mine alone and do not reflect the views of…

By Kent R. Kroeger (January 21, 2023) Disclaimer: I am NOT an anti-vaxxer. Quite the opposite, at the earliest opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic, I scheduled Pfizer/Moderna vaccinations for myself, my wife, my teenage son and my in-laws. I did the same for the first and second boosters. Nonetheless, I…

By Kent R. Kroeger (November 12, 2022) Politicians and media pundits love shaming election deniers like myself. But no bother, I wear the badge of electoral discontent without guilt or embarrassment. …

By Kent R. Kroeger (November 10, 2022) “Shows like The Rings of Power and She-Hulk have been runaway successes — why can’t keyboard warriors admit it?” Marc Burrows of The New Stateman asked his readers? Perhaps because it is not clear that they are ‘runaway’ hits? According to Nielsen Media…

By Kent R. Kroeger (October 26, 2022) Disclaimer: In the following essay, I use the pejorative term ‘trolls’ to represent a group online podcasters (primarily on YouTube) who are persistent critics of the content produced by mainstream Hollywood studios — particularly movies with overt social justice agendas. The term like…

By Kent R. Kroeger (October 16, 2022) There are two constants in how the U.S. news media and pundit class cover elections: (1) They love scandals, and (2) they are convinced that political campaigns matter. But reality is different. Most elections are predictable months before the general election (and often…

By Kent R. Kroeger (October 15, 2022) “The canons of narrative art in any medium cannot be wholly different; and the failure of poor films is often precisely in exaggeration, and in the intrusion of unwarranted matter owing to not perceiving where the core of the original lies.” — J.R.R…