Better late than never, I suppose. Good thing I didn’t have “stop procrastinating” on my resolution list.
Although this great article from The Guardian that was published… well, the start of the year… is also giving all of us permission to ease off the self-improvement resolutions.
The intro paragraph from Oliver Burkeman’s piece sums up the concept quite nicely:
The older I get, the more “finite hours on the planet” really resonates. But no matter our age, all of us have limited spins on the big blue marble. And rather than putting off the things we like until a “someday” that may never come, why not do more of them today?
It’s waaay too easy to get caught up in the “I’ve got to be better at _____” cycle. It’s much tougher to give yourself permission to indulge in stuff you enjoy. But it’s not indulging, it’s nourishing your heart and soul.
The concepts of “keep grinding” and “hustle” have been elevated to virtue status.
But if you’re always grinding and never savoring, what’s the point?
That sort of heartless profiteering from the prediction markets (namely Kalshi and Polymarket) has continued pretty much unabated. Those companies have become unregulated casinos in our pockets, with scary consequence. So much so that John Oliver devoted an episode of his Last Week Tonight show to it a couple of weeks ago. Here’s a four-minute clip from it:
What Oliver says at the end is especially poignant:
If you’re considering using these markets to gamble, try and remember that you’re statistically likely to lose money. And while I’m not against gambling per se, there’s something so grim about these sites turning every aspect of our lives into a bet. Because sure, money can be won on them. But in that happening, something also gets lost. Specifically a society where things aren’t only weighed in financial terms, and where people engage in news for what it means to human beings – not just because they have $50 riding on it.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Scott Galloway’s post from last November about the prediction markets. He’s the one who put this emerging issue on my radar. His post is titled “The Next Opioid Crisis” – which may seem like hyperbole. But it’s a clear-eyed, fact-based and somber assessment of the dangers of gambling disguised as prediction markets, especially to young men.
As Oliver points out in his show, with Donald Trump Jr. on the payroll for both Kalshi and Polymarket, there won’t be any changes at the federal level. (The only sure bet is that the Trump family will always look for ways to cash in, no matter the costs to others.)
Are prediction markets making our society poorer in multiple ways? You bet!
I spent a decent amount of time last week hootin’ and hollerin’ in the Hoosier State. with nary a Gene Hackman sighting.
Live music is my game.
This past Tuesday, I drove to Bloomington, Indiana to see Gladie, an indie rock band from Philadelphia. (And my new musical obsession.)
(I also took my son and one of his roommates out to dinner before the show. It was “two-fer Tuesday.”)
Then on Friday, I went to Indianapolis with my friends Deuce* and Matt to see David Byrne at the Murat Theater.
*everyone should have a friend named Deuce
The members of Gladie are probably in their 20s. David Byrne will turn 74 later this month. (You wouldn’t know it by his stage presence, though.)
Byrne’s show was part of a two-night, sold-out stand. 5000+ people total enjoyed his amazing show.
Gladie’s show probably had fewer than 60 paying customers. But to me, it was equally amazing.
When David Byrne and his fellow Talking Heads band members were starting out, they probably had many sparse crowds at CBGB and other NYC venues.
Making music for a living is a tough row to hoe. Talent matters, but there’s also a lot of luck (or at least “right place/right time” involved). Talking Heads were part of the NYC scene that included bands like Blondie, The Ramones, Television, the New York Dolls… They didn’t sound the same, but they supported each other, and benefitted from audiences that were open to new ideas. And those bands stayed true to their thing. They stayed indie, even as they moved to major labels and the stakes got higher. David Byrne — who typically bikes around NYC (such a brave soul!) — spent Thursday biking around Indianapolis and taking photos to use in his show. And he started a great website called “Reasons to be Cheerful.”
You can check out the website and sign up for their weekly email here.
In other words, even though he’s playing to much bigger crowds, David Byrne is still indie.
Will Gladie be playing bigger stages down the line? I have no idea. They certainly have the talent.
But I hope they stay true to their thing. I hope they stay indie. Because 50 years from now, staying true to yourself — even if it’s just for a crowd of 60 — will matter much more than selling out to get a sell-out.
I’ll readily admit that I can be a Negative Nelly.
(OK, I begrudgingly admit it – true to form.)
A Debbie Downer.
“It’ll never work.”
“What will go wrong next?”
“We’re screwed.”
As Mr. Clear (great name, btw) points out, seeing the positive doesn’t involve putting on rose-colored glasses. It’s just – as Amy Krouse Rosenthal put it – paying attention to what you pay attention to.
“Chad” (a.k.a. our 2008 Honda CR-V) recently hit a mileage milestone.
240,000 miles. And he’s not dead yet.
Most of those miles were courtesy of previous owners. We got “Chad” (our kids named him… er, I mean, it) nearly 8 years ago. He already had clocked 181,000 by then. As “used” as used can be.
But nearly 60K is certainly something to celebrate. That’s a lot of trips to high school for our kids. A lot of trips to work for me (although I often take the bus – Chad deserves a break). Grocery gettin’. Driving to pickleball or concerts (my two most frequent trips).
Yes, we’ve had to put some money into repairs and general maintenance. But we’re probably making the equivalent of a monthly car payment about two or three times a year, instead of 12. And I’ve got a mechanic who does side-hustle work on nights and weekends for much lower rates than the dealer or other repair shops.
“Buy and hold” – that’s our stock philosophy and our car philosophy.
There’s no touchscreen display. No bluetooth. No backup camera. No heated seats. Nothing fancy. Just dependable. When you turn the key, Chad starts. And goes. And keeps on going. And as long as that happens, we’ll keep rolling with Chad.
“Good work can be good without being popular.” Amen to that, Brother Seth! In keeping with the music reference that Seth made, I know dozens of bands who have created brilliant music but never got popular. There’s the famous Brian Eno quote about the Velvet Underground:
“I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold only 30,000 copies in its first five years. Yet, that was an enormously important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!”
But the key part of Seth’s gospel passage is “begin by becoming comfortable with what good feels like to you.”
To YOU. Not anyone else. When it’s good, you’ll know it in your heart. And if you stay true to your heart (and gut) and keep doing the work, your good will get better.
This past Friday night, Milwaukee singer/songwriter Brett Newski played a free show in the lounge at the Southgate House in Newport, KY.
The music was great, but the crowd could best be described as “sparse.” However, there was a woman in the audience who knew the lyrics to every song Brett sang. She was mouthing along (not, it should be noted, singing along) to every tune. So much so that Brett commented on it from the stage – he was duly impressed.
After the show, that same woman and her husband talked to Brett at the merch booth, and the woman got a photo with him. Afterward, she was crying tears of joy. So of course, i had to put on my roving reporter hat and go up to the couple, and find out the backstory.
Actually, I just complimented her – said it was great to see someone so passionate about Brett’s music. But I did get the backstory – her husband likes discovering new artists, and makes mix CDs for his wife. A Brett Newski song was on one of them, and Meghan (with a “h”… I asked, as good reporters do) was hooked.
Great news for Meghan: Brett and his band will be back in town this summer, playing a house concert. My friend Jacqui (the OG Brett Newski superfan – she and her hubby Dave hosted him at her house for a concert, and now they offer him and his band free room and board and a complimentary breakfast whenever they roll through town) introduced me to the couple who will be hosting the summer show (all of us were at the Southgate show), and I passed along the ticket info to Meghan.
House concerts. Lounge shows. It’s not 20,000 plus at Madison Square Garden – but it doesn’t matter. Brett Newski played to an appreciative crowd (including people who turn their homes into concert venues and Quality Inns for him), and got to meet someone who truly loves his music. And Meghan got to meet the person who creates art that she adores. That sort of connection doesn’t fill anyone’s bank account, but it nourishes the soul.
On Sunday, a Philly band called Gladie played at the Northside Tavern.
The music was great, but the crowd could best be described as “sparse.”
However, there was an old man there who knew (most of) the lyrics to every song Gladie played, and was mouthing along (not singing along) right near the stage. And he got to talk to the band after the show and let them know how much he loves their music. You won’t find that at Madison Square Garden. And my ticket costs less than the service fees for most big shows.
Have you found your Newski? Your Gladie? It doesn’t have to be a musician. If there’s someone who creates art that nourishes your soul, let them know, and find a way to support them. Before you squander more sunsets…
Batman & Robin are blasé compared to the real Dynamic Duo.
It isn’t Batman & Robin, it’s Carol & Robin:
I met them eons ago in college. They were a couple of years younger than our gang, but they became our pseudo kid sisters… mainly because two of their friends actually were kid sisters of two guys in our gang. At a small school like Xavier, it wasn’t long until all of us knew all of them and their larger group of friends.
[I’m not sure if Carol’s in the photo above – someone’s giant hair may be blocking her – but this is their squad, for sure.]
They’re NOT two peas in a pod. More like yin and yang. Or sugar and spice. Or sugar and hot sauce. Carol hails from Indianapolis. Robin’s a Cleveland kid. Carol’s a gentle soul, and Robin’s brash and bawdy. But the alchemy that happens when they get together is nothing short of amazing. It’s also usually nothing but trouble — in the best way possible.
Every time they meet up – which is often – it’s like they’re 18 all over again. Robin instigates. Carol aids and abets in the shenanigans. Robin starts laughing. Carol starts laughing and can’t stop. Next thing you know, everyone is laughing.
Even though they live in different cities (they’re back in their hometowns), they are inseparable soul mates. (Just don’t tell Carol’s husband or Robin’s boyfriend… actually they both already know it.)
Best friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.” – Helen Keller
If you’ve found the Carol to your Robin, or the Robin to your Carol, consider yourself truly blessed. Even if you just know a Carol & Robin, you’re lucky. They bring joy to each other, obviously. You wouldn’t invest 40+ years into someone who brings you down. But the special bond they have radiates outward. Twin suns, brightening up our days. They bring joy to the world — especially the folks like us who are lucky enough to be in their orbit often.
UConn and Michigan face off tonight for the NCAA D-1 Championship in men’s hoops. But in the NIL era, it’s really tough for alums to thump their chest if “their” team wins, because most of the players are just stopping by for “one shining moment” or two.
Michigan’s starting five features only one player who was with the program last year. In fact, Nimari Burnett has been with the program for a whopping 3 years… after playing a year each at Texas Tech and Alabama. The other starters did stints at Illinois, UCLA, UNC, UAB, and even Michigan’s dreaded archrival Ohio State. (Money talks a lot louder than some “O-H” chant, apparently.)
Starter Yaxel Lendeborg left UAB after last season, and it was less about Michigan’s “maize and blue” colors and more about good old gold.
UConn’s starting squad fares a bit better in the loyalty department. Solo Ball is solo on schools – he’s been at UConn for 3 years. Braylon Mullins is a freshman, so he’s a “lifer” too – because he’ll likely depart for the NBA at the end of the season. Their starting center, Tarris Reed Jr., spent 2 years at Michigan before heading to greener pastures. (And I’m not talking about the dairy farm next to UConn’s campus.)
Alex Karaban is the outlier – he’s been with the Huskies his entire four-year career.
He’s not just an outlier on his school’s roster, he’s an outlier on ANY major college basketball roster:
Players are getting paid. Good for them. At least in the short run. But what happens when they run out of eligibility and the money train doesn’t stop at their house anymore?
The entire current system is horrible for “college” basketball. (I have to put “college” in quotation marks because how much time are these kids spending in the classroom? And how hard is it to get a degree when you change schools every year?) As a fan, you can’t get too attached to particular players, because every single one of them is a free agent, available to the highest bidder.
Michigan’s investment in their players has paid off. The Wolverines are favored to bring home the hardware this evening. But as soon as the confetti hits the hardwood, other schools will be trying to lure their best players away, with the siren song of cold, hard cash.
By all accounts, the Iran “don’t call it a war” war has been a unmitigated disaster, an utter folly, a colossal mistake.
Oh wait, not by ALL accounts. There are some bank accounts who have rated it a rousing success, based on their totally coincidental investments in oil and S&P500 futures, just minutes before a Trump tweet last Monday hinting at an end to the war.
Hmm, who could’ve had such insider information? Perhaps the ED boys? (That’s Eric and Donald Jr.) They learned grifting and cheating and gaming the system from daddy, just like Donald did from Fred.
Trump’s approval rating is in the dumper, but here’s the only stat he really cares about.
Now the Pentagon – led by a man who thinks he’s the star of a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie, where the death and destruction are merely CGI – is asking for another $200 billion for the war. If approved, here’s what it’ll cost the average taxpayer, compared to other allocations.
Grocery prices – which the Orange Oligarch promised to bring down on Day 1 – are soaring. As are gas prices. Here’s our daily life in a nutshell:
And there’s another crisis looming – the AI bubble could easily burst and take the entire global economy down with it, thanks to Operation Epic Fury Failure. Check out this story from The Atlantic. Here’s a key excerpt:
These are dark days indeed. But there may be a glimmer of hope. And that glimmer is coming from the sun.
Damian on Uno, dos, tres, cuatro…: “That’s where my head was for the title as well, Chuck! Great musical minds…” Jun 2, 21:36
Chuck Wiggins on Uno, dos, tres, cuatro…: “The extent of my high school Spanish memory is being able to to the count off at the beginning of…” Jun 2, 11:19
You done said…