Have some woman in West Chester, Ohio read the story, and send the main photo from it to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for potential use in his “Lookalikes” segment. (I don’t know who you are, but thanks Kathleen Bentley!)
Watch what happened on Monday night.
File this in the “Never in a Million Years” category.
I’m so happy that Cincinnati Magazine got a shout-out, and the crowd cheering “Freekbass! Freekbass!” was surreal. It should be noted that the amazing photo that served as inspiration for the late-night lunacy was the handiwork of Devyn Glista.
(And yes, Jimmy looks more like the guy from Night Moves.)
Bill McKibben is leading the… no pun intended… charge. Please spend a few minutes pondering these points he made in a recent episode of the Volts podcast.
You know, we have called this stuff alternative energy for 40 years. And that has its effect. You know, that’s the corner of our brain in which it ends up. But it’s not alternative energy. Ninety-five percent of new generated capacity around the world and in this country last year was clean, renewable energy. The shorthand I’ve been using is, you know, we’re kind of used to thinking about it as the Whole Foods of energy.
It’s nice, but pricey. Actually, it’s the Costco of energy. It’s cheap, it’s available in bulk, it’s on the shelf ready to go if we choose to use it. And as I say, the fossil fuel industry and Energy Secretary Wright and everybody else are just as cognizant of that as I am. They’re just fighting desperately to try and keep people from making this liberating realization.
the sun gives us warmth, it gives us light, it gives us photosynthesis, and it’s now willing to give us all the power we could ever need. That’s so mind-blowing and so liberating and so beautiful that hopefully we can figure out how to use that to start and kind of shift some of the tired axes of our political debate.
If the current powers that be really wanted to Make America Great Again, they’d get on board the Sunshine Express. But their minds are tiny… and their pockets are weighed down with money from the fossil fuel industry. China, meanwhile, is zooming past – in an EV.
If you look at things like car sales data from around the world, now the entire global south, their vehicle fleet’s going to come from China and they’re going to be electric and they’re not going to be using U.S. oil or anybody else’s, and on and on and on across a wide range. If we have any serious pretension to making America an important part of the world economy, then we’re going to do this. We’re going to have to do this. The alternative is to decide — and I think this is really sort of close to Trump’s heart — to decide that 15 years from now, America is going to be the global museum for internal combustion, where people from other countries who can wangle a tourist visa come to see what the world looked like back in the olden days, you know.
McKibben covers more about the divergent paths the U.S. and China are taking in his latest Substack post:
We only care about now—the president has an attention span of three minutes, and corporate executives can’t see past the next quarter. Whereas the Chinese are clearly thinking many decades into the future, which they plan to own.
right now, Beijing is offering cheap, clean power, employment, trade and a route to prosperity. Washington is offering tariffs, policy chaos, White nationalist memes and South Korean workers in shackles after a raid on an EV battery factory. This is no way to win the grand strategic contest of the 21st century.
Sunshine isn’t just free. It’s a path to energy freedom.
We’ve been locked in an energy system since the Industrial Revolution that was all about centralization. Energy came from a few big facilities and was piped down the line to us, and we took it, and that was that. And it was controlled by people who controlled those relatively rare and scarce deposits of fossil fuel around the world. But that’s not necessary anymore. In 1954, people invented this solar cell in Bell Labs in New Jersey. And it turns out that it’s able to directly translate the power of the sun, those billions of hydrogen-into-helium reactions every second, and make that useful power for all of us.
It liberates us from dependence on those oil companies and all the other parts of that structure, because all of a sudden we can produce on our own homes or locally in our own states, the stuff that we need. It liberates us from the incredible threats that we’re now facing and that darken our world all the time, the threat of climate change above all. And it sends us up into a kind of — well, a kind of sunny upland, you know, “Energy from heaven, not from hell.”
And no one owns the sun, which makes it more egalitarian.
Look, we live on a planet haunted by climate change, and we live on a planet made grotesque by the inequality that we see around us. The biggest structural change that we could make, easily and immediately, that would do at least something about both those crises, is to switch from fossil fuel to energy from the sun. That’s the one big good thing happening on planet Earth.
Yes, there are environmental costs to solar panels and batteries. But it’s way kinder to the Earth.
A boatload of solar panels will provide, over its lifetime, about 500 times as much energy as a boatload of coal. If you let that sink into your consciousness, then you begin to understand the possibilities of the world ahead.
Last Wednesday, I went to Camp Springs Tavern to hear my buddy Keith Neltner and current Tavern owner Tyler Shelton talk about how they revitalized the bar… and its brand.
I worked alongside Keith for several years at an ad agency. (Ahem, design studio… that way they could bill at a higher rate.) I’ve blogged about his prodigious talents before.
Keith’s skill level, his talent, his “eye”… is off the charts. Yet it’s matched by his work ethic, which came from spending his entire childhood (and beyond) working on his family’s small farm in Northern Kentucky.
Keith and his wife Amy bought the Camp Springs Tavern in 2016. With two young kids and no background in slinging beers, they really had no business getting into the bar business. But Keith’s love of the community, and desire to pay homage to history, overruled his brain.
That’s Keith’s grandpa, Lawrence, at left in the photo above. He delivered locally-brewed Wiedemann Beer to Camp Springs Tavern by horse and buggy through the 1940s.
Keith and Amy took a run-down, dusty (and smoky) hole in the wall bar just a spit down the road and turned it into a place where everyone in the community is welcome. The smoke has cleared, and the bar is alive with good conversation, cool music, and amazing artwork.
Open bluegrass jams every other Thursday. Wine from 4 Mile Wine Company (another local business). Live music occasionally.
When COVID hit, Keith (at left below) and Amy figured out a way to turn lemons into lemonade. They enlisted friends (most notably Rob Warnick, at right in the photo below) and their kids to help paint a whimsical mural on the outside wall.
Keith and Amy passed the torch — in the shape of the keys to the bar — to Tyler Shelton last year. He’s a local kid whose talent took him away from Camp Springs for several years, before his heart called him back home.
The talk by Keith and Tyler last week was very cool. Nearly everything they do has an element of collaboration and community in it. Here are two true stories that illustrate that:
There’s an 81-year-old man named Jim Kuper who lives “five hills over” as Tyler put it. He walks to the bar, and he used to walk back home along the road, with no sidewalks or berm in sight. Keith and Tyler created t-shirts with “Get Jim Home” on them, and proceeds went toward a fund to pay for Uber/Lyft rides home for Jim. To this day, there’s a Mason jar in the rafters where folks can contribute to the fund. (Although thanks to the community they’ve built, usually someone at the bar will be Jim’s chauffeur.)
Tyler’s beer coolers (all three of them!) gave up the ghost, and right now he’s doing a “beer-raising” campaign to pay for a new one. Selling locally-brewed Wiedemann, of course.
What struck me most as I scanned the crowd at the talk was that there were dozens of people there — artists, photographers, writers, illustrators — that I’ve met, and become friends with, through Keith. All great people, and my life is richer for having met them.
Keith’s an amazing artist. He can capture the magic in his mind and bring it to life in ways that are visually arresting and strikingly beautiful.
But I think his greatest work of art is a piece that’s been under construction for decades and has yet to be completed: it’s the living, breathing, caring community he’s grown with those hard-working farmer hands of his.
Sometimes it happens one pint at a time.
At last check on Instagram, Tyler’s 500 pints campaign was just over the halfway point. If you’d like to join me in boosting that total, hit me up.
And if you’re in need of a super-talented graphic designer/illustrator/art director/muralist who pours his heart and soul into every project, hit Keith up.
“Release expectation” – it’s easier said than done. We spend a lot of time thinking about, worrying about, maybe even getting bitter about, what should’ve happened.
“Invite appreciation” – anyone who has spent any amount of time in a third world country knows we’ve got it really good. Our basic needs are met… and so much more. Most of us truly have abundance – we just have a hard time admitting it.
“All the moments of our lives” – the fresh cup of coffee (if you’re into that), the sunlight peeking through the trees, the song you love so much on the radio (if you’re into radio), the water cooler conversation with one of your work buddies, the squirrel making the mad dash across the street as you drive home, the clouds that look like elephants, the greeting from the dog (if you’re into dogs)…
“Openings and opportunities” – Every hour offers 3600 moments to savor; every day gives us a million reasons to be grateful.
“It is what it is.” And what it is, is a beautiful thing called life.
In an apartment building where my wife lived with her friend after she graduated from nursing school.
The building is owned by a guy I know from pickleball.
Two of the victims — ages 20 and 22 — worked at Good Samaritan Hospital, where my wife worked. The other victim was 27. Pretty much the same ages as our kids.
A guy who lives across the street is a fellow parent from our kids’ grade school. His son was in the same class as one of our kids.
Another neighbor who heard the gunshots was just in my company’s office last week. I arranged for him to give a “Green Team” talk about planting native plants in your yard.
I know “it could happen anywhere.” Because it did. And because it does. Every damn day. In some other neighborhood, in some other city.
Wednesday, it was Minneapolis. Innocent young kids, praying in church.
Sunday, it was Cincinnati.
Today? We don’t know where the fickle finger of gun violence will point to. But we know it will.
We fixate on the “why” of it. Because we already know the “how” – and we know it’s way too easy for people to get guns into their hands.
It shouldn’t happen.
Yes, we pray for the victims and their families.
I also pray that our elected representatives will grow a backbone, and finally pass the common sense gun regulations that an overwhelming amount of Americans want.
Because until they do, every neighborhood, in every city, in every state… could be the scene of horrific violence.
I’d argue that you could remove the “Cincinnati” from John Kiesewetter’s headline. Nobody else worked their magic in radio like Gary did.
I had the privilege of working with Gary for a couple of years back in the mid 90s. As a kid who always wanted to be on the air, and as a natural goofball, it was a dream come true. A three-hour comedy radio show? Sign me up!
Nobody was better than Gary at doing voices… I sat in the production studio in awe as Gary would switch between different characters, with totally different voices, in the blink of an eye. I learned more from him in a week than I did in all of my college comms classes.
I was only a minor moon in his orbit, at best a “fourth banana” among his crew, which included “Doc” Wolfe, “Nurse” Burns and “Dukie Sinatra.” But I got to write sketches for the show, do some character voices (Fabio, Snoop Dogg, Harry Carey, Tom Brokaw, etc.), serve as Gary’s editor in reviewing/editing the sketches submitted by his other writers, book interview guests, and put together the weekend “best of” show. And when Gary went on vacation, Duke and I got to fill in… the “Holiday Boys” as we called ourselves.
Doc Wolfe said it best in the Kiesewetter article: “Nobody in radio worked harder than Gary Burbank.” We would produce a ton of pre-recorded bits, as well as prep for the live segments.
“We did 30 minutes of recorded material a day, in addition to the live stuff we did on the air,” Wolfe says. “I’d start writing at 6 in the morning, and then we’d get into the studio at 10 and record and edit until he went on at 2 p.m.”
The exec who hired Gary at WLW-AM, Randy Michaels, has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things radio, and knew Gary was a singular talent:
“We loved Gary on the air, for good reasons. He was creative, talented, and he worked hard at his craft. That hard work made the end result sound effortless. There has never been anyone like him. I was in awe of his talent, and will miss him terribly,”
In addition to being a skilled impressionist of the names in the news (he could do Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jerry Springer, and about a gazillion others), Gary had dozens of recurring characters who were far more than one-note gags.
I joined when the show was being syndicated. The fact that Gary’s characters were so richly drawn and performed actually worked against us. You had to spend some time with the show to understand the nuances of the characters. It’s a shame the show never really took off across the country, because Gary certainly had the talent to pull it off.
It’s funny: radio is nothing more than airwaves – here one second, gone the next. But through his hard work and talent, Gary created characters and bits that didn’t just tickle your funny bone — they burrowed into your brain forever.
Amen, Banker Bill!
John Kiesewetter’s article does a very nice job covering Gary’s life and career. Read the entire piece here.
According to Wikipedia, she’s “an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Hickman, Kentucky.”
I first saw her back in 2021, at a free concert in Hamilton, opening for Aaron Lee Tasjan (he’s cool too!). The show was supposed to be at an outdoor amphitheater, but it rained buckets so they moved it to a nearby street that was covered by a parking garage walkway roof. It was dingy, it was echo-y, and there were only a few hardy souls in attendance. It would’ve been easy for S.G. and her band to bemoan their fate and phone in their performance, but they still brought their A game.
S.G. may be “an American folk and country singer-songwriter” but after reading her latest Substack post (eloquently entitled “Chicken sh*t on a thousand acres”), I’d add “philosopher” and “life coach” to her bio. Here’s my favorite passage from it:
There is so much uncertainty right now, and I want to tell anyone who reads this that the future is built on seeds you plant right now. Hope is resilient, and even if that hope doesn’t bear fruit for years to come, one day you will be reaping the harvest of a long held dream and vision. In times of despair and trials, put some faith into the little seeds of hope you are planting. It may be years down the road before you see their potential, but if you care for them, they will produce.
That’s beautiful! And some much needed advice for these troubled and troubling times.
What seeds of hope are you planting today? (No overalls and tractor required.)
S.G. Goodman’s music is pretty darn cool too. Here’s her website and a stellar performance of a beautiful song is below.
Mrs. Dubbatrubba and I took a rather circuitous route to the D.C. area for our goddaughter’s wedding a couple of weeks ago. We spent nearly a week in Maine – mainly because we’d always wanted to visit “Vacationland” and August seemed like a good month to do it.
Maine was as advertised: absolutely gorgeous! We didn’t spend a ton of time indoors. Quite to the contrary, we walked and hiked all over the place: Portland, Freeport, Rockland, Rockport, Camden, Belfast, Stonington, Boothbay, and two days at Acadia National Park.
Oh, and we sailed on a schooner too, as one does in Maine.
It’s hard to name a favorite, but it’ll be tough to top the hike up the Beehive Trail at Acadia. For someone like me who has become more fearful of heights as I’ve gotten older, it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Do a quick image search and you’ll see shots like these:
I was thisclose to chickening out (you can get to the summit via a less challenging path). But I didn’t want to let Mrs. Dubbatrubba down (as I have sooo many times before).
We hit the trail right after we saw the sunrise….
… and we had the place pretty much to ourselves, which meant no waiting, and less time to think about what I was doing.
So worth it, and I’m so glad I did it.
Another highlight was a hike outside of Camden. My wife asked a local (the schooner check-in kid) if there were places we could pick blueberries nearby, and he dropped a pin on the map for a nature preserve trail that started in the forest and ended in acres of blueberry bushes. What a treat – literally and figuratively.
Of course, all that hiking makes you thirsty, so we HAD to sample the wares of the local breweries.
It was our civic duty!
We put a beautiful bow on our Maine meanderings by meeting up with my cousin Tom and his wife Alena in Portland.
(Apologies for the horrible lighting. We’ll never be influencers with shots like that.)
The fresh air, the natural beauty, the ability to relax and unwind… 10 out of 10 across the board! Actually, make that 11!
Photo dump is below – click on any image to see it full size, and use the arrows to scroll through. I know you may be thinking that we just went to an Olan Mills photography studio and changed the backdrops, but we really were in Maine!
1 response to “Maine-ly outdoors”
Kelly
The Maine trip looks awesome! How about a picture of the fabulous wedding?!☺️
Every time I take a look at my Ride Cincinnati fundraising page, I start welling up with tears.
I get teary-eyed because I’m so very grateful to the folks who have supported me. I started out with a goal of $2,000. Which I billed as “lofty” because it was. But it turns out that great friends will rally around a good cause. And I’m blessed with a lot of great friends. My Xavier homies, of course. Co-workers. Former co-workers. People I’ve met along my life’s journey who have become close enough that I feel comfortable hitting them up for a donation. (Not my strong suit.)
Actually, one of my Xavier friends, Jackie B., shared my fundraising efforts with more of the XU crew (her besties, the “PYTs” – Pretty Young Things), and they’ve contributed too! She turned my bike wheels into a flywheel.
I’ve revised my goal a couple of times. Onward and upward. Because the funds raised will support cancer research, education, and care in the Cincinnati area.
Which brings us to the other reason I start to get misty-eyed. My friend LJ. One of my Xavier homies. I met him freshman year… 43 years ago. That’s a long time to share the road. But I can’t think of a better travel companion.
LJ has benefitted from the cancer resources available in our area. One of which is Cancer Care Advisors, which offers second opinions on cancer treatment plans, and can help with care coordination, referrals, clinical trials, financial support, etc.
In LJ’s case, they told him and his family that he was doing everything right to attack his brain cancer. That reassurance helps immensely.
But his cancer isn’t usually the kind you can out-pedal.
We don’t know what’s around the bend. And that’s scary.
But the connection — knowing that there are other spokes on the wheel — provides both comfort and strength. To him. To me. To us.
Just keep pedaling. One foot, then the other. Moving forward. Living life. Which is so much richer when you have a caring crew to support you.
If you’d like to donate, and have the means (and haven’t already!), you can do so here. Thanks for keeping the big wheel rolling!
Here’s why I like to describe Cincinnati as the world’s biggest small town.
Yesterday afternoon, I posted about the Cincinnati Magazine Freekbass story, and mentioned the great photos from Devyn Glista. Yesterday evening, in a pickleball league that has 400+ participants, I was assigned to a court with four other players, one of whom was… you guessed it… Devyn Glista.
The editor of Cincinnati Magazine is John Fox, whom I know from my 97X radio days, when he was the editor of the alt-weekly Everybody’s News, and we’d feature him and other staffers on-air each week, highlighting things to do around town.
Each month’s issue of Cincinnati Magazine has a column called “Dr. Know,” penned by Jay Gilbert – I interned for his radio production company when I was at Xavier.
The cover story about great sandwiches features an ode to Izzy’s, written by J. Kevin Wolfe. Who went by “Doc Wolfe” when we worked together on Gary Burbank’s show on WLW-AM.
The other story called out on the cover is by Cedric Rose, a librarian and collector at the Mercantile Library. I met Cedric when I started hanging out at the Merc during my lunch hours (it’s such a magical place). Oh, and he lives about three blocks away from us in Mt. Washington.
The food stylist for the sandwich (photo) spreads? That’s Allison Hamilton, ex-wife of a photographer that I worked with during my Landor agency days.
I could go on, but I’ll stop right there. I didn’t grow up in Cincinnati, and the town has a rep for being rather provincial. (“Where did you go to school?” is a popular question, and it’s about high school, not college.) Yet I’ve made so many connections in my time here. You just have to be open to possibilities.
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