Category Archives: Columns

Rooting for Goliath

There are two times of year that are widely considered to be the paragon of American athletics. One is in late October, when the World Series is taking place, the NBA and NHL seasons finally kick off, and the NFL is in full swing. The second time occurs at the start of Spring. Actually, it's basically ALL of spring.  The Masters. The NFL Draft. Read more [...]

Golf: Connecting Ideas to Actions

The game of golf is as simple, and as complex as any other. Conceptually, it is easy; all you have to do is hit the golf ball into the hole just with a swing of your golf club, that’s it. The physics, relatively simple in the breadth of the field, are just mechanics. A good swing seems nearly effortless, and doesn't require you to be a built Read more [...]

Gray Skies

I'm already excited for the third season of House of Cards, and I've already started re-watching True Detective's inaugural season. They're both made of really good stuff, and I can't get enough of the latter right now. The whole "can people change" philosophy in the Time is a Flat Circle concept is fascinating. I could watch the sweeping camera shots of the Louisiana Bayou landscape for hours. But Read more [...]

Squad for Life

I don't share this anecdote because I want the world to share in my adulation for the song - you'd need an inaccessible combination of nostalgia and inane humor - but instead, because it got me thinking about my old, mostly high-school, days of recording rap. Really, and more specifically, the upstate-New York hip-hop sensation, Demon Snow Squad. Read more [...]

Are You Not Entertained?

Last night, the Brooklyn Nets visited the TD Garden to play the Boston Celtics. The national attention focused on the event had nothing to do with the basketball being played, which over the course of the evening ranged from generally mediocre to outright terrible. Under most circumstances, the game would have been unwatchable, except for the most Read more [...]

Old Cedar

Back in 2012, a few of us prestigious Lafayette alumni went on a camping trip for the 4th of July. The group included 5 out of the 6 nominal Bobcat Territory contributors, the exception being "House" Crouse (not that, as of some 625 odd days since our website's founding, he has actually contributed anything - but that's another story). Along with Read more [...]

On to the Next One

I bought my overpriced Playstation 3 during the winter break of my collegiate Freshman year. In late October of this year (2013), it finally died when my girlfriend and I were using it to watch Netflix. The yellow light of death. It was heartbreaking at the time, to tell you the truth. I hung onto the machine for a few more months, turning it Read more [...]

Pigskin Priorities

I recently re-watched Breaking Bad's series finale, and it got me thinking. Don't worry, this won't be an article about the show - we've already spilled a ton of words on that particular subject. But I do want to briefly touch on the show's closing episode, as it provides some good context for a discussion around the motivational forces behind Read more [...]

Smoke and Mirrors

Marshall Mathers released his 8th full-length studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, on November 5th, this past Tuesday. It is a sequel, or rather an alleged continuation, of The Marshall Mathers LP, his most successful record, which I consider to be the greatest rap album of all time. I'll use this Blogcat to provide my opinions on the recent Read more [...]

Deconstructing a Deity

Everybody who knows me well understands that, while the music to which I listen is almost exclusively rap (Tenacious D and the Book of Mormon soundtrack aside!), Eminem stands apart. Don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of the work of many other rappers. Illmatic. Enter the 36 Chambers. Ready to Die. Reasonable Doubt. Drought 3. Read more [...]