Really, Boeing? Will Clark Tear Up the WNBA? Deadpan and Funny. Amazing LED. RIP Dickey Betts.
- Quote of the Week: A hundred years ago, it could take you the better part of a year to get from New York to California, whereas today, because of equipment problems at O’Hare, you can’t get there at all. – Dave Barry
After fighting through the downturn in both business and personal travel for the better part of two years, the top performing airlines have enjoyed passenger revenue that has reached pre-pandemic levels. Credit where credit is due as airlines pivoted quickly to scale their customer service and support systems quickly as people returned to air travel. Though there have been some IT infrastructure issues with an airline here and there, their efforts have been rewarded with record revenue and profits (specifically Delta Air Lines).
Unfortunately, one of the two major passenger jet providers, due to manufacturing and safety issues, has again put a damper on air travel. First it was Boeing’s 787 Max planes, with software issues resulting in two plane crashes. Then in February of this year, a door ‘plug’ fell off a Boeing jet midair, thankfully without injuries. Then in March, an engine cowling on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap. Most airlines are at the mercy of Boeing and Airbus and expect these manufacturers to provide a superior and safe product. An obvious business proposition but one that is increasing coming under scrutiny. Will Boeing change their manufacturing processes and protocols to ensure these issues never happen again? I do not know, and neither do you, so until then, I would follow this three-year-old’s pre-flight routine of actually reading the safety information card. Just saying.
- Former Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark is off to the WNBA, as the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in Monday’s WNBA draft. There has been a great deal of talk about what many call Clark’s paltry four-year contract, at an average of $80,000 a year. Comparatively speaking, the top NBA pick will make a $10.5 million salary — 137 times more than Clark. I am not going to get into the revenue streams with the WNBA and the NBA, most of that data is obvious. What I will say is that Clark is one of the purest shooters ever, and Nike has stepped up offering her a signature shoe deal worth $20 million. Good for you Caitlan Clark, now go get in done in the WNBA!
- How do you define comedy? What type of humor makes you laugh? Slapstick, standup, bathroom, self-deprecating, and topical humor come to mind, but everyone is hopefully touched by one kind of humor or another. Humor is subjective and what strikes one person as funny may not resonate with another. I first watched Steven Wright on the Johnny Carson show. His humor is a combination of deadpan, improvisational, and one-liners. So many comedians make me laugh, including Eddie Murphy, Sebastian Maniscalco, the late Don Rickles, Richard Pryor, and Rodney Dangerfield. All with different types of humor and delivery, with all of them putting a smile on my face. Steven Wright’s humor is so different, so witty, and in a way a bit strange. Deadpan delivery to a max. Nine minutes of Steven Wright. Not a bad way to start off the day.
- I just returned from Las Vegas. I would like to tell you I was there for blackjack, golf, and a show or two, but it was many long days at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. Enough about that. Though I have been in the city of Las Vegas too many times to count, I am still ‘amazed at the amount of amazing.’ From the new hotels (the Fontainebleau for one), to the fantastic restaurants, and of course the incredible amount of digital signage. The Sphere, months into its opening, has become an icon of Las Vegas, with its sheer size and luminance. I did not take in a show at the Sphere on this trip but hope to in the near future.
* Size: 366 feet high and 516 feet wide, spanning a total of 875,000 square feet
* Capacity: Seats 18,600 people
* Sound: Over 167,000 individually amplified loudspeakers
* Cost: $2.3 billion
* Time: The Sphere took 5 years to construct, opening September 2023
The video below is interesting but in no way shows how dynamic the Sphere illuminates Las Vegas.
- This week’s recognition of Pure Talent: We have lost another great guitarist. Dickey Betts was responsible for the Allman Brothers’ biggest hit, 1973’s “Ramblin’ Man,” as well as some of their most recognizable songs: the moody instrumental “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” the jubilant “Jessica,” and their late-period comeback hit “Crazy Love.” Sometimes overshadowed by Duane and Gregg Allman, the brothers who gave the band its name, Dickey Betts gave the band a remarkable dual guitar sound, one that was the platform for the genre called southern rock. Betts passed away last week at the age of eighty. There was no doubt that he was Pure Talent.