iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 20h

I've been posting clips of "Our Team" before Guardians games and they've been on a roll since. So here's another, on Alva Bradley's tough-luck tenure as owner of the Cleveland Indians and the start of the franchise's tough luck. Let's snap it this year.

031

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

78 years ago today, after winning the World Series the day before, the Cleveland Indians returned home from Boston to a delirious crowd. This could happen again this year. Here's what I wrote about it in "Our Team" (and how the book got its title):

3227

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Today’s free bookshelf find: excited to dive into this one. I’ve never read Bangs’s criticism.

181

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

78 years ago today, the Cleveland Indians won the World Series. It's time to bring it back home to Cleveland again. Here's part of what I wrote about that day in "Our Team":

0185

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

This one did some apple picking for the first time and found it magical.

0131

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Went to Salinger’s Orchard this morning and brought back a souvenir.

081

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Found at a toy store in Beacon, New York. Reader, I bought it.

0323

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The Hudson Valley is an autumn paradise.

171

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The Nobel committee has been getting it right--two of my favorite poets, Louise Gluck and now Anne Carson, have gotten it. Carson's book "Plainwater" was huge for me. It's one of the few books that I read aloud to myself from front to back. It's a marvel.

251

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I'm a little late to this one, but "Peeping Tom" is one of the best horror films I've ever seen. Amazing direction, creepy acting, and just the right amount of camp. Highly recommended.

011

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I usually don't recommend books until I finish them, but I read 25 pages of John Valliant's "Fire Weather" this morning and it's extraordinary. The writing is so vivid and precise, such a stellar combination of depth and beauty. Can't wait to keep going.

011

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A nor’easter weekend means one thing with a two-year-old: crafts, crafts, and more crafts.

051

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

First pizza slice. Now a true New Yorker.

121691

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The rainbow before the nor’easter in Jersey City.

1131

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is, um, an interesting perspective. Personally, I'd rather have interesting art, but maybe I'm just getting old. www.nytimes.com/athletic/762...

041

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Two-and-a-half years old today and such a joy.

1141

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Duke Snider would've turned 100 this week. He happened to be one of Charlie Brown's favorite players, as evidenced by this strip from July 2, 1955.

2213

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

"The Informant!" is the best movie I've seen about central Illinois, near where I grew up. It nails something about the flatness of that place through Matt Damon's screwball character. Also, I had cousins in Decatur, Illinois, and I used to go there a lot. The place stunk.

162

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Red Auerbach would've turned 109 today. Here's a little something I wrote about him in "Moses and the Doctor."

171

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Just remembered that Barack Obama sent me a letter this week about "Moses and the Doctor." That's a thing that actually happened. Wild.

1241

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Good piece on the breakthrough of mRNA vaccines for melanoma, which my wife was heavily involved in, and the other types of cancer that researchers like her are trying to tackle next. It's an exciting time in that field. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

421932578

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I mean, this is cool and all, but it's a little late for everyone to finally realize that the president is a con man....

972230374

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I’m two-for-two here. About a year after I published “Our Team,” George W. Bush sent a very nice letter about it. But let’s be honest: I wanted Obama. What a dream.

2201

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Folks, Barack Obama sent me a letter today, which came with a secretarial letter requesting not to share publicly. But he liked “Moses and the Doctor”!

9942

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Ninety years ago today, seventeen-year-old Bob Feller, who'd just completed his junior year in high school, struck out 17 batters to tie the major-league record. Here's what I wrote about that day in "Our Team":

1115

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Folks, Sinclair Lewis was a prophet. In his novel "It Can't Happen Here," a populist candidate runs for the presidency on the promise of returning to "traditional" American values and, yes, doling out $5,000 checks to every U.S. citizen. Seriously, that is the novel's setup.

33613

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

On the Sea Glass Carousel in Battery Park. Once again, New York City is just full of wonders.

071

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

On the Sea Glass Carousel in Battery Park. Once again, New York City is just full of wonders.

071

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Going to the pool for the last time this summer.

0181

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Half-day of work after which my wife and I celebrated a memorable summer at Aquavit, where I got a herring cocktail. Yes, that’s a cocktail made partly with the brine that once held herring. You could also add herring bits to it. You know what? Not bad.

291

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

There's no way I'm going to miss this. Any NYC folks who want to join me at a Nets game in November?

161

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I'd mentioned last week that I was going to appear on my dream podcast. Well, the cat's out of the bag. I'll be chatting with Zach next week, and I'm already nervous and excited. Stay tuned.

2174

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

On this day in 1982, the Philadelphia 76ers shocked the NBA by signing Moses Malone to the richest contract in team sports history. Their reward was a championship, something the 76ers hope to replicate this season. Here's part of what I wrote about it in "Moses and the Doctor."

183

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

From Ed Park’s new book “Three Tenses,” a sort of autobiography told on disconnected paragraphs. It’s a great companion to have while writing—you can stop and read a paragraph here and there.

051

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Sunday morning at a Chelsea splash pad. These are the days.

19176671

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Not a lot of "Peanuts" strips about Canada. This one from July 10, 1974, is the best, part of a series in which Charlie Brown applies to get out of camp but has his status rejected. It's undeniably about the Vietnam War, even with the intimation that you dodge by going to Canada.

172

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Today’s free bookshelf haul: great fall reading ahead.

041

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

OK, "9 to 5" was *way* weirder than I expected, very good but off-kilter. Sterling Hayden makes a fun cameo at the end, but man, how great would it have been if Orson Welles had shown up instead?

041

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The company I work for published a children’s book by Dolly Parton the other year and I was able to get a signed copy for my daughter. She’ll enjoy it some day.

0131

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Jack McMahon, an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers in the late 70s/early 80s, always had great quotes. I cited him frequently in "Moses and the Doctor." But this one here, from a 1983 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about Elvin Hayes, he maybe should've reconsidered.

012

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Just finished Kevin Baker's "The New York Game," a wonderful overview of baseball in NYC up to WWII. Baker is expert at sweeping a century of history into one narrative, a skill that I certainly don't have. I need a tight timeframe with a few protagonists. Baker has awesome chops.

262

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

In all my years researching “Our Team,” I can’t say I ever came across this tidbit about Cleveland’s super scout Cy Slapnicka. From Kevin Baker’s “The New York Game.”

272

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ninety years ago today, Bob Feller had perhaps the greatest starting debut in baseball history when he tied the American League record of fifteen strikeouts. He was a high school junior, seventeen years old. From the first chapter of "Our Team":

3183

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Last day of vacation. It was a memorable one: my daughter went on her first hike, my wife….well, she made international news, and I was just along for the ride.

0160

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Morning hike to Bushkill Falls in the Poconos.

011

Luke Epplin @lukeepplin.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

And here is Jane in CNBC today talking about the results. What can I say? She's a superstar. www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/m...

1161