The Rock Chalkboard

Bill Self: 2007-08 Kansas Jayhawks 'a perfect team at our level'
Speaking on a recent episode of the Nick Bahe Podcast, hosted by former KU player Nick Bahe, Self's thoughts veered into the 2008 team on occasion. On one instance, speaking about how to build a team, Self revealed a philosophy of building a veteran core and complementing it with young, more-talented prospects.

Self Perspective Episode 9: KU-Oklahoma reaches triple overtime
It was only a matter of time until Self Perspective covered what may have been the best regular-season game — accounting for quality of play and teams, plus the closeness of the contest — in the Bill Self-era, if not the last several decades at KU.

Film room: KU defense rattles North Carolina in 2008 Final Four
Kansas' win over North Carolina in the 2008 Final Four featured one of the most dominant runs in program history. In fact, according to KU coach Bill Self on a recent episode of Self Perspective, it was "the best [he's] ever had a team play at any point in time."

A look at Devonte' Graham's breakout NBA season with Charlotte
Former Kansas and current Charlotte Hornets guard Devonte' Graham was in the midst of a breakout second season before the NBA went on hiatus. Graham, 25, had already posted numbers that resembled some of the NBA's best.

Scouting Sunday: Could Latrell Jossell be Kansas' hidden gem?
Here's what we know: The KU coaches liked his shooting. His high school coach liked his toughness, mentality and confidence on both ends of the floor. And he's expected to join KU when things resume on campus.

Eraser Dust

Coronavirus: Obama says US response a 'chaotic disaster' - BBC News
"It would have been bad even with the best of government," he was quoted as saying in the call. "It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of 'what's in it for me' and 'to heck with everybody else', when that mindset is operationalised in our government."

Little Richard obituary | Music | The Guardian
Little Richard, who has died aged 87, was the self-proclaimed king of rock’n’roll. Such was his explosive impact that many of the baby boom generation will vividly recall the moment when they first encountered his assault on melody.

100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time - Rolling Stone
There’s never been a creative boom for TV like the one we are living through right now. Ever since The Sopranos changed the game at the turn of the century, we’ve been in a gold rush that gives no signs of slowing down. What better moment to look back and celebrate the greatest shows in the history of the art form?

The Dying California Desert Town Where Cannabis Is the Only Remaining Hope - VICE
The long-defunct Lake Shore Inn is on the Atlas Obscura abandoned Americana tour. McGuire and his fellow civic leaders have high hopes that the marijuana business can change all that.

Ahmaud Arbery Should Be Alive - Rolling Stone
We should reshape our thinking about that conception of “justice,” however, as we confront yet another murder of a young black person, visual evidence of that crime, and the insidious and racist justification of it.

Why You Should Embrace Boredom in Lockdown - The Atlantic
Boredom is incredibly uncomfortable. Commonly experienced as irritable restlessness, boredom is something people will go to great lengths to avoid—in one study, most people chose to self-administer electric shocks rather than sit alone with their thoughts for six to 15 minutes. In this sense, boredom is a motivating force, which is how researchers differentiate it from depression.

We should aim for the moon, not claim it | Financial Times
The Artemis Accords sounds like the title of a blockbuster thriller. In fact, it refers to the US administration’s evolving plans to write a legal framework for establishing colonies and mining rights on the Moon. Although there is something fantastical and otherworldly about the idea, the accords should be taken seriously and subjected to close international scrutiny.

Prince Andrew has 'shut the door' on cooperating in Epstein probe, prosecutor says
Prince Andrew has refused to cooperate in the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's network of enablers, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan said Monday.

Every Tom Hanks Movie, Ranked Worst to Best - Rolling Stone
Given his recovery and the fact that the three — three! — movies we were supposed to get from him in 2020 (the WWII drama Greyhound, the sci-fi headscratcher BIOS, and the Western News of the World) may not screen until next year, we figured it was time to look back at Hanks’ career as a whole and re-view the good, the bad, and the occasionally ugly.

Song of the Day