Sure, we all sometimes wish for — dream about, even — a nicer house, a newer car, a fatter paycheck…
But that’s a race that can’t be won.
Get off the treadmill. And realize you’re already there. Living in a state called Happiness.
[Shout-out, as always, to Grateful.org for the pearls of wisdom. Their “Word for the Day” in my inbox always makes me think, and always makes me happy. You can sign up for it at the link above.]
Tony Bennett has left the building.
Well, yes, that Tony has left, but I’m talking about the Tony Bennett who was the head coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of Virginia.
Coach Tony abruptly announced his retirement this past Friday, less than three weeks before a new season starts.
Why? Not because the game on the court has changed, but because the game off the court has changed.
“Nil” means nothing… but NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) means college athletes are cashing in, big time. Good for them… but bad for the sport. Tony knows that:
I think it’s right for players… student-athletes… to receive revenue. Please don’t mistake me, I do….
But the game, and college athletics, is not in a healthy spot. It’s not. And there needs to be change.
“I was equipped to do the job the old way. That’s who I am. But there needs to be change. It’s going to be closer to a professional model. There’s got to be collective bargaining. There’s got to be restrictions on a salary pool a team can spend. There has to be transfer regulation restrictions. There has to be some restrictions on the agent involvement on some of the young guys.”
— from his retirement press conference
He’s absolutely right. it’s no longer about Xs and Os… it’s about dollars and cents. And under the current system, there will be “haves” and “have nots” based on how deep the boosters’ pockets are… and unsavory agents… and teammates caring less about the team and more about WIIFM, and willing to leave one program at the drop of a hat (or at the promise of more cash).
Kudos to Tony for speaking up. Managing to turn a bunch of teenagers and early 20s kids into a high-performing team was tough enough in a pre-NIL world. Now you have to focus more on salary demands. You have to spend every waking hour thinking about the transfer portal (incoming and outgoing). You have to spend more time fundraising than you do coaching.
It’s sad. But it’s the current reality. And when you grew up the son of a coach, as Tony did, it’s gotta be tough when “coach” is about 12th on the list of your priorities at a major college b-ball program.
I hope his plea for changes doesn’t fall on deaf ears. The game needs it, ASAP.
I voted yesterday, and I have the sticker to prove it.
Our county offers early voting (and absentee ballot drop-off) at the Board of Elections location.
Plenty of people have been taking advantage of that option.
The parking lot was packed yesterday, with police directing traffic in and out from the street, and volunteers directing cars within the parking area.
But the voting process itself was quite smooth.
Full story is here. (The Linser quoted above is our neighbor Alex, btw.)
Vote411.org is a fantastic resource for voters. You can enter your home address and find out who is on your ballot, and compare the candidates’ profiles and their answers to a standard set of questions.
One of the volunteers directing traffic in the parking lot was Brewster Rhoads. He’s the brains and boosterism behind Paddlefest and Green Umbrella (i.e. a “tree-hugger”) and he served as the regional director for Southwest Ohio for a Democrat Governor (Ted Strickland) from 2007 to 2011. So Brewster’s politics are easy to discern. But yesterday, he wasn’t checking cars to see if they were “red” or “blue.” He wasn’t shouting epithets at folks, he was just guiding them to parking spots to make their day a bit easier. He wasn’t pointing fingers unless he was pointing out where to drive. He was kind and courteous to everyone, while knowing full well that many of the folks he was assisting have opposing political views, and were about to go cast their votes accordingly. The polar opposite of voter suppression.
We need more Brewsters in our world these days.
Whoops, wrong Brewster. Here’s the correct one:
Mr. Rhoads was a shining example of Civics 101.
We too often get fixated on the “rights” and forget about the “duties.”
We have a right to express our views, but we also have a duty to be respectful… civil.
(source)
Just because we disagree doesn’t mean we have to resort to name-calling, shouting, Twitter wars… or calling in bomb threats to schools and hospitals in Springfield, Ohio.
When civic education succeeds, all people are prepared and motivated to participate effectively in civic life. They acquire and share the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective participation.
It starts with knowledge. Know the facts… and know that just because a lie is repeated and amplified, it’s still a falsehood.
Be an informed voter. Uncle Sam wants YOU to vote… but you need to study up first.
And keep the “disposition” part in mind too. Our political world could use a temperature drop. Turn down the rhetoric, and turn up the kindness toward your fellow citizens. Even the ones with whom you disagree.
A week and a day ago, I left work a couple hours early and drove down to Nashville to see Charly Bliss in concert at the Exit/In. They were awesome, as I knew they would be.
A dude like me, in his late 50s, has no business driving four hours each way to see an power pop group of 20-somethings. But I love Charly Bliss’ music. And Nashville was the closest city to Cincy on their tour itinerary. Sometimes you have to roll before you can rock.
I was treated to a cool opening band, Pronoun:
A stellar high-energy set from Charly Bliss:
And as the cherry on top, Marc from the band Len did their song “Steal My Sunshine” with the band as part of the encore:
Totally worth it – I’d do it again in a heartbeat. In my humble opinion, Charly Bliss deserves as much attention as Taylor Swift, if not more. Better lyrics, more energy on stage, and a true band vs. a singer with backing musicians. (Put your ears on their new album Forever before you come at me, Swifties!)
Two days ago, my friend Ken and I went up to Columbus to see Superchunk at Scully’s Music Diner. They were awesome, as I knew they would be.
Dudes like us, in our late 50s, have no business driving 100 miles each way on a Monday evening to see a concert. But — and stop me if you’ve heard this before — this tour stop was the closest they’d come to Cincinnati.
I was treated to a fantastic opening band, Quivers:
I’m a sucker for Aussie indie pop, and they were great. Their set included a cover of a Lucinda Williams song, which melted my heart. (The song is called “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad” which seemed especially appropriate given our road trip.)
I talked to the band members (Mike, Holly, Bella and Sam) at the merch booth after the show and they were super-nice and fun. (Mike took extra care in cutting the plastic album covering off so they could slide it back on after they autographed a vinyl copy of their new album Oyster Cuts.)
And Superchunk is one of my favorite bands of all time. They’ve been doing their thing for 35 years, but they still have that raw energy that makes their live show so brilliant.
And as the cherry on top, Kelley Deal (from The Breeders and R. Ring) and Mike Montgomery (R. Ring) came up on stage to do an R. Ring tune during the encore:
Totally worth it – I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
One good minute could last me a whole year
One good minute will last me a whole yearSuperchunk “The First Part”
I’m not, I’m not dead
Even if I was
I’d wish that I f*cked up ‘least twice as much
And had like double the fun
But I’m not dead
I’m not, I’m not done
I’m looking down from starlight, glass-eyed
I still got some time left, I’m not dead— Charly Bliss “I’m Not Dead”
In early September, Mrs. Dubbatrubba and I spent a week on Anna Maria Island, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, sharing a rental house with three other couples that I’ve known since our college days.
Most mornings, we’d head up near the Rod & Reel Pier — a local landmark built in 1947 — to catch the sunrise.
[Photo credit: Peter Unger]
It was lovely.
Here’s what the pier looks like now:
Not just the pier, but the restaurant at the end of the pier: gone. Two powerful hurricanes in less than two weeks will do that to you.
Sure, maybe it’s just coincidence… the double dose of extreme weather.
And maybe the flooding from Hurricane Helene that wreaked havoc in cities like Asheville, NC… supposedly a “climate sanctuary”… was just a fluke.
Or maybe it’s climate change.
Multiple studies have shown that rapid intensification has become more common over the past three decades, pushing large storms to become even stronger…
A similar pattern emerged with Hurricanes Helene and Milton in late September and early October, with both gaining strength rapidly as they passed over unusually warm seas in the Gulf of Mexico. Milton’s winds peaked at 180 mph, making it the world’s strongest storm of 2024 at the time.
Both quotes above are from this MSN article.
Content above from this article.
What’s the solution? Maybe flipping this script would be a good start:
You can choose to ignore the warning signs if you’d like. But that won’t change the science. Lives are being lost. Communities are being devastated. Paradise is being lost. And time’s a wastin’ to do anything about it.
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