Tom Durso

This beautiful world of ours is bathed in vivid, sparkling color. The striking reds, purples, and golds of autumn foliage and summer sunsets; the lush greens of newly mowed outfields and freshly shorn fairways; the refreshing blues of the Mediterranean sky and the Pacific Coast Highway.

Amidst all of these vibrant hues, though, the one that stands out to me is gray. Black and white are the colors of talk radio and partisan politics; gray is what the real world is shaded in. Rarely is a dispute correctly decided at one end of the spectrum of the other; much more common is to find a solution somewhere in the middle.

Hence the "Center" of Shallow Center.

Why "Shallow"? Man, look around. What you'll see here is a lot of stuff on baseball, hockey, football, music, movies, television, books, radio, and subjects even more trivial than that. If you're looking for cogent insights on the important issues of the day, you've come to the wrong place. No matter; that's why God created the likes of Instapundit, Talking Points Memo, and kausfiles, right? But if you need a deconstruction of the Phillies' latest trade or the most recent Fountains of Wayne record or the daily circus that is civic life in Philadelphia, well, read on.

As for me, well, I'm told that I taught myself to read by perusing the Philadelphia Bulletin each day when I was a young'un. For as long as I can remember I've watched ballgames, read newspapers, played air guitar, and published my opinions in one form or another in hopes that someone would give a damn. I'm in my late 30s now, with a terrific wife, two amazing daughters, and a job that demands more and more of my time, and yet not a single one of the passions delineated above has waned. This blog is an attempt to scratch those various itches. Happy reading, and do let me know, via comments, AIM, and e-mail, what you think of this little effort.