JUST MY TAKE

We Will Never Really Understand.

It was a wake up week for everyone.  Two people of great stature, success, and fame decided that it was time to take their lives.  One a designer who parlayed her talents into creating a worldwide brand.  The other, a culinary legend who had the presence and talent to show us the world through travel and food.  I am not diminishing the sadness of other suicides, merely pointing out that this past week may have made the cause of suicide a top of mind subject.

Anthony Bourdain openly discussed his previous substance abuse and mentioned that at one time he was a “very unhappy soul”.  Like millions of people, Kate Spade sought out help to fight depression.  Early indication of tipping points with both were relationship issues.  I guess that it is easy for many to wonder how and why a bad relationship would lead to someone taking their life, but statistics show that this issue may be the leading cause of suicide.  Other documented reasons for suicide include crisis and the inability to cope, substance abuse, and financial problems.  From my point of view, these documented causes, dovetailed with the “live up to the Jones’s syndrome”, ever-ending family and friend comparisons, and the lack of connection to others may put people over the top.

Reality:

• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.
• In one southern state, suicides take more lives than homicides.
• In a seventeen year period between 1999 to 2016, suicide rates increased in almost every U.S. state- some states as much as 30%.

Suicide has unfortunately touched all of us in one way or another – and all of us ask why or “how could they do that to their loved ones”.   When the subject of depression comes up, we usually tell our family and friends to “get over it”.  At a minimum, this week has told us that being happy and content with life has nothing to do with fortune, fame, and glamour.  I have no answers to prevent suicide, but at a minimum, it may be time to reallocate the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on physicality and focus on mentality.  I have faith though I am not religious – but I am pretty sure that we were not created to be miserable, or in Anthony Bourdain’s case be unhappy souls.  If you need help, get help.  If your relationship has gone sideways, fix it or move on.  There are many avenues to pursue for help so don’t wait for a family or friend’s intervention.  If depressed, take some time away from tennis, yoga, bar class (whatever that is), and Pilates and go get some mental health help. If you have family or friends that seem disconnected and distant, reach out to them early and often. Don’t wait and wonder – just make it happen.

Many other top of mind topics  were on my list for today.  I will leave today’s take alone.

Gary

 

Memorial Day.  Our Anthem. Blunders Magnified.  It Just Disappeared.  VAR in the MLS.  

Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is now celebrated on the last Monday of May.  The holiday commemorates all women and men who have died in military service for the United States.  Please fly our Flag.

Speaking of our Flag…..the National Football League has put their foot in the sand regarding players respecting our National Anthem.  While I am a patriot and a U.S. citizen, I don’t necessarily think that the National Anthem should be played before every sporting event.  Don’t misconstrue what I am saying:  if the National Anthem is played, everyone, including the players, should stand and respect the anthem and our flag.  I just don’t think it is imperative to hear the anthem before a first pitch, kickoff, or jump ball.   Now that I have you stirred up, remember to use the Comments section of the blog to give me back your take.

Real Madrid won the Champions League for the third consecutive time beating Liverpool 3-1.  Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Loris Karius, gifted the game away to Liverpool, making two massive mistakes.  Think Bill Buckner’s error in the 10th inning of the 1986 World Series game, where a simple ground ball found it’s way through Buckner’s legs.  Or when Chris Webber called a timeout with his team trailing by two in the 1993 NCAA Basketball National Championship game – with the problem being that his team had no more timeouts.  Karius’ blunders were mind-boggling and ruined what was a competitive Champions League final.  He will need a sports psychologist after what happened yesterday.

 

 

 

 

I Just Don’t Understand.  Bears, The Wedding, Big Hair, P.Diddy, and a Discussion of the Cephalopod.  These Two Just Don’t Like Each Other.  On The Way to a Triple Crown?

After the tragedy at the Parkland, Florida high school, I stated that school security, not gun control, should be our #1 initiative: “I will not comment on why a 19-year old possessed a AR-15 rifle, groups of gun activists or gun control, nor our divided political system.  What I will comment on is school security.  Don’t get me wrong, I put no blame on the high school administrators where last week’s massacre took place.  My bewilderment relates to the ability of someone, anyone, able to enter a school with little security in place.  I only wish that the Washington, D.C.  protest would have been more focused on school safety than gun control.”  My  point is unfortunately reinforced with yesterday’s massacre at the Santa Fe High School near Houston, Texas.  The weapons, a shotgun and a .38 caliber handgun, were most likely purchased legally.  Gun control would have not changed the outcome of a 17 year-old who took the weapons from his house and walked into the high school he attended with the intention of killing his fellow students.  The guns he used were owned by his father so it is unlikely that gun control would have prevented this sick young man’s father from purchasing the weapons.  I will never understand why there is little to no security within our school systems.  I don’t know if the answer is employing retired police officers or our retired veterans, but Parkland, Santa Fe, Columbine, and other school tragedies all had one common denominator:  the perpetrator simply walked into a school and carried out the massacres.  I no longer have a school-age child but if I did I would help lead the charge to better protect all of our children when they are in school.

On the lighter side of things:  a large black bear, totally confused and mistaken, broke into a Colorado U.S. Post Office searching for efficiency, streamlined processes, and strong management.  The bear left quickly.

Takeaways from yesterday’s Royal Wedding. I liked her dress and Harry looked like he was going to pass out. Enough said.  (Yes, Kirk, I watched part of the ceremony).

Maybe there will or will not be a meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.  At a minimum, they can discuss each other’s hair styles.  A match made in heaven.

I have no idea what a Kerry James Marshall painting is worth (or more importantly why it has value).  With that said, “famous art collector” P.Diddy paid $21 million for the painting.  Yes, I said P.Diddy.

From a report in the Scientific Journal:  “Evidence of the role of extraterrestrial viruses in affecting terrestrial evolution has recently been plausibly implied in the gene and transcriptome sequencing of Cephalopods,” the researchers write. “The genome of the Octopus shows a staggering level of complexity with 33,000 protein-coding genes more than is present in Homo sapiens.”  Yes, all of us understand exactly what this scientist is discussing. Simply defined,”the Octopus is an alien specie and supports the belief that modern cephalopods evolved to their present form here on Earth and propose the possibility that those we see today are the descendants of creatures that arrived on Earth frozen in an icy comet.”  Obviously, I did not pay attention to my core curriculum in my freshman biology class.

All Atlanta United matches at Mercedes Benz Stadium are fun but tonight’s game with the New York Red Bulls should be very entertaining.  There is NO love lost between these two teams.

After yesterday’s win at a foggy and muddy Preakness, can #Justify win the Triple Crown?

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do Something for Your Mom.  Slowing Down Certain Content.   Give Us Some Positive News.  A Summer Viewing Party in Downtown Atlanta.  The Nurse and Dr. of Pharmacy.

Today is Mother’s Day.  The so-called modern version of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 and similar to other holidays many people have criticized Mother’s Day as over-hyped and commercialized.  Really?  You can pick on Halloween all you want but today is Mother’s Day. Call her, see her, send flowers and celebrate your mom.

By definition, net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers (ISP’s) treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. Under these principles, internet service providers are unable to intentionally block, slow down or charge money for specific websites and online content.  This week, the decision was made by the FCC to end net neutrality on June 11.  So how could this affect all of us?  The net neutrality rules that are currently in place, protecting internet users from discriminatory behavior by ISPs, will no longer exist effective on June 11.  Net neutrality rules prevent ISPs from controlling the Internet via fast and slow lanes and from prioritizing their own content. A lack of net neutrality regulation will consequently allow ISPs’ blocking or prioritization of content.  As a simple example, an ISP like Comcast, who owns NBC Universal, could effectively slow down a website and content owned by one of their competitors, a.k.a. AT&T or Verizon.  Forget the politics and regulation, nothing about losing net neutrality seems to bode well for the consumer.

I won’t write about politics but with that said is anyone else just sick and tired of Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, the CIA director nomination, and the Royal Wedding?  The real news is that the World Cup opening match is June 14 and NFL exhibition football starts in 83 days.  Bring it on.

Regarding the World Cup, Atlanta United has again come up with the big fun idea for the World Cup Final, to be played on July 15th.  With Atlanta United home to the Seattle Sounders the same day, Darren Eales and staff have decided to open up Mercedes Benz Stadium for what could be the world’s largest indoor viewing party of a World Cup Final.  The World Cup Final starts at 11am EDT followed by the Atlanta-Seattle battle at 2pm.  Downtown Atlanta better be ready for what should be a crazy Friday and Saturday.  To keep things in perspective, the total viewing audience for the 2014 World Cup tournament was 3.3 billion, with over a billion people watching the Final.  103 million watched the 2018 Super Bowl.

Congratulations to Lisa’s Sammie and Doug’s Annette:  celebrating their graduation weekend, one on her way to a nursing career, the other earning a Doctorate in Pharmacy.

Adios, have a Funday Sunday.

 

The $100 Million Dollar Man.  No Mr. Ed.   The Sir Alex Ferguson.  Atlanta on Fire. The Cornhusker Roll.  

One of my first blog posts, almost two years ago, slammed Atlanta Falcons quaterback Matt Ryan for his indecisiveness and lack of mobility.   Yes, my assessment was totally incorrect as I had no clue how much work Ryan had done in that off season to improve his arm strength and overall physicality.  After I went off on him before that season he went on to be the league’s MVP.  When I am wrong, I am really wrong.  Now, two years later, he is thirty-three and gearing up for the 2018 NFL season.  MSN Sports ranks him the NFL’s fifth best quarterback, behind Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Drew Brees – which you may or may not agree with.  With all of that said, the Atlanta Falcons extended Ryan’s contract, giving him $150m over 5 years, with $100 million of it guaranteed.   The five-year part of it, until Ryan is 38, is eyebrow-raising enough, but the $100m guaranteed contract sets a precedent that is not necessarily healthy for the NFL and other professional sports.  Yes, Tom Brady and Drew Brees may finally be near the end of their careers but the go-forward discussions with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson, based on Ryan’s new deal, should lead to some very interesting renegotiations.

How does Bob Baffert do it?  Five Kentucky Derby winners, including yesterday’s winner, Justify, in the 144th running of the Derby.

Prayers and thoughts to Sir Alex Ferguson and his family – the coaching icon underwent surgery yesterday and is hopefully recovering from a brain hemorrhage.

With last night’s road win for Atlanta United against Chicago, along with NYCFC’s loss to the Red Bulls, United is now on top of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.  Wednesday night’s match against Sporting KC, the Western Conference leaders, should be another sellout at Mercedes Benz Stadium.  A quick turnaround for both teams as Sporting KC beat Colorado last night.  Would Atlanta sports fans every think that three of their professional sports teams would be in the hunt to win championships?  United, the Falcons, and now the Braves seem to have something great going on.  Don’t discount the Hawks, who are undergoing a rebuilding process but with a positive draft, a couple of key trades, and a new head coach, will be competitive very soon.

It can be recreational in nature and includes words oil, spin, bed posts, cherry, kegler, and back up balls.  You can lay it down, split it and the sweet spot changes depending on location.  Now get your mind out of the gutter and realize that the activity is bowling – one of America’s pastimes with participants young and old.  I always have had the upmost respect for the sport – as someone who played many sports growing up, I have always had a very difficult time with bowling.  My respect for the sport has increased as last week I had the chance to catch HBO’s Real Sports program.  One of the segments was very well done as the piece covered the University of Nebraska women’s bowling team.  A team that recruits worldwide, trains at the football team’s athletic complex, and has won ten national championships. Their coach competed on the Professional Bowlers Association tour and at 6’5″ and 22o lbs, Coach Bill Straub commands the respect of his players with one consistent demand:  his entire team, no matter their previous success and pedigree, must throw every ball in the same precise manner.  Hundreds of training hours (or course within NCAA regulations) are focused on the arm swing, and any deviation is corrected immediately.  No one can argue with the ten national titles and 22 All-Americans at Nebraska, no longer just associated with being a college football powerhouse.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

 

 

Live TV and the NFL Draft.  North Korea.  Bend it Like Kratz.  We Can All Buy a Bugatti.  

I remain a big fan of the NFL, even with the kneeling down protests (though I still feel that Saturday is for football).  It still amazes me that two networks dedicated Thursday night to a live broadcast the ‘drama’ of the 1st round of the NFL draft.  While I was slightly interested in who the Cleveland Browns would pick at #1,  and who the Atlanta Falcons selected, it is remarkable that ESPN and Fox can justify the block of prime time advertising dollars dedicated to this draft.  While in some minds the NFL is no longer one of our passions, it is obvious the broadcast and cable networks feel differently.  There are some marketeers and former TV execs who read this blog so please enlighten us with Thursday night’s ratings and the continued power of the NFL.

The timing of Korean peninsula “peace talks” obviously correlates to the North Korean economy and its people.  After many years of economic sanctions imposed by the United States, Japan, Germany, and to a lesser degree China, is Kim Jong Un finally succumbing to the people of his country?  Time will tell.

Remember that Atlanta United went through hell in their inaugural season due to the delays of the opening Mercedes Benz stadium.  The delays led to Atlanta United playing on the road and a ridiculous, compressed schedule in late August and September.  Dovetail that with injuries and a lack of depth and United simply ran out of steam late in the season and in the 1st round of playoffs.  This year is different as their schedule is normalized with their home and away schedule, and more importantly United has added depth to their player pool.  Yesterday was a perfect example.  After Montreal scored to take a 1-0 lead, the Impact decided to ‘bunker down’ and get all their players behind the ball.  Tata Martino, United’s manager, countered with a substitution at halftime, taking off a midfielder and adding on an attacker.  Another substitute, midfielder Kevin Kratz, was also added into the mix to add to the attack.  #KevinKratz would start on most Major League Soccer teams and if you don’t know how he impacted yesterday’s 4-1 win, watch the game highlights.  Magical.

Automobiles are usually a depreciating asset at best unless you purchase a classic car that increases in value over time.  Yesterday I read an advertisement touting a 10-year auto loan which at a minimum allows some people to get in way over their heads by purchasing expensive cars.  This craziness is not the same as the home-loan debacle of yesteryear but it sure smells like we could be heading that way.  120-month auto loan – meh.

Carmel-by-the-Sea:  In one word – stunning.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

Short Takes for a Sunday Morning.

With all the talk and action by women for women, all women should look to Tammie Jo Shults as inspiration and motivation.  She served eights years as a Navy pilot in their Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron.  Now, as a commercial airline pilot, she follows in the footsteps of Captain Sullenberger (Sully) as she calmly and professionally landed a Southwest airliner with 144 passengers aboard –  after one of two engines blew apart at 30,000 feet.  Tammie Jo Shults = hero.

I won’t go politics here but it would it not be fun to be in the same room as Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump when they meet to discuss Trump’s demand that North Korea denuclearize?

A truck takes down a power line and the entire nation of Puerto Rico goes dark for 36 hours.  Hello, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and the year is 2018.

If you go to a Starbucks and you act badly you should be asked to leave.  If you go to a Starbucks and behave appropriately, and then you are asked to leave due to race, creed, or religion, you should find the best attorney available, who will take the case on contingency, and sue Starbucks and their CEO for every dime available.  This behavior in America must stop.

Last night, Atlanta United comes away with a 2-0 win against the Galaxy in Los Angeles.  Very well done, especially on the road.  Saturday’s match at home versus Montreal will surely sellout.

If you stuff 95 kilos of cocaine into your suitcases and bring it aboard a cruise ship, you are just stupid.  If you then brag about what you are doing on Instagram, you are just really stupid.

Cuba without a Castro at the helm.  Very strange.

To the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transport Authority (MARTA):  how about way-finding signage in your stations that clearly explain when trains run and where, especially late at night and on weekends?  Seriously, the lack of information, signage and non-functional LED signs is embarrassing for the City.  Do something about it MARTA.

A tough season for the Atlanta Hawks….but they have put themselves in a very good situation for next year with the draft.  Maybe add in a couple of free agent moves and the Hawks should be way better next season.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short Takes That You Will Not Necessarily Agree With…..

Syria is still a disaster in many ways – get it fixed or get the hell out. No grey area.

Celebrating MLK’s anniversary of his assassination (50 years ago) – let’s move a lot of that energy spent on the celebrating to generating greater paths to civil rights.

To Leandro Gonzalez Pirez – I was a bit harsh on you in last week’s post after your debacle in Minnesota.  Live and learn Leandro….and time to get yourself ready to get to the next level.

Alec Baldwin – nothing to do with your Saturday Night Live skits…but seeing you on the show last night reminded me of what a low life you really are.  Anyone want to question my POV?  Just ask me and I will give you some insight – and a discussion I had with him right after he publicly shamed his young daughter.

Bob Bradley – you were never known as a tactician and you proved it again last night.

The dichotomy of sports:  today’s final round duel at the Master’s between America’s Patrick Reed and Ireland’s superstar Rory McIlroy…….and then seeing Johnny Manziel at yet another NFL tryout.  Go away Johnny.

Snow in Chicago early this week and 100-degree temperatures in Palm Springs.  Damn, this is a big country.

The company name is Orion Span and they have developed concepts for the first space ‘hotel’.  I am very interested but I am not going first.  The #Jetson’s are becoming more and more a reality every day.

It was not a small fishing vessel or a 120′ yacht.  Went went missing, back on November 15, was the ARA San Juan, a German-built TR-1700 class submarine.  A six-month search off the coast of Argentina has turned up nothing. This submarine gone missing brings back memories of the Malaysian airliner, carrying 239 people, that vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing over four years ago.  I don’t get it.

Sports bars packed last last night to watch — UFC.  Who would have thought?

Doctors, health consultants, trainers, physio’s, nutritionists and just about everyone telling us to cut sugars out of our diet.  In one word:  Not.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!!!!

 

 

 

 

Silver Bullet Bullshit.  20 Minutes to Remember.  Tactical Awareness.  

He has produced 34 albums and sold over 30 million records.  He has rocked audiences worldwide over 6,000 times and before leading his Silver Bullet Band he cut his teeth with the Amboy Dukes.  I won’t position him a hypocrite as Ted Nugent (think “Cat Scratch Fever”) has always been an activist on issues including the 2nd Amendment and is a NRA Board member.  So while the Right to Free Speech is a cornerstone of country why would Nugent dip so low to use the media, the same media that he calls out for ‘false news’, to attack the young kids who participated in last weekend’s “March For Our Lives”?  As previously mentioned I won’t comment on the politics of gun control but I will comment on a washed up rock star using the media to blatantly disrespect the high school kids who took the time and effort to make their feelings known to the world.  Here is what Nugent told the media:  “To attack the good law-abiding families of America when well known predictable murderers commit these horrors is deep in the category of soulless. These poor children, I’m afraid to say this and it hurts me to say this, but the evidence is irrefutable, they have no soul… These children can’t be critical of any of the propaganda that they’re fed and that’s just sad….they are mushy-brained children.” Really Ted, are you now beating your chest for telling children, who experienced terror that we can never imagine,  that they ‘have no soul’?   You should be ashamed.

He is 36 years-old and many call him way over-the-hill.  Journalists deemed his transfer to the L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer as a way to continue his career in a league sub par to the big leagues of Europe.  Maybe some of that is true as the man’s ego is a perfect fit with Tinsel Town.  Then you watch Zlatan Ibrahimovic come into yesterday’s match between the two L.A. teams and remarkably turn a game on a dime.  After Thursday night’s ten-hour flight to L.A. and a mere 48 hours after arriving, the L.A. Galaxy manager, losing 3-0 in the 70th minute, decided to put Ibrahimovic into the game.  Go to YouTube, watch what happens, and only hope the man called “Zlatan” has something better to do when the Galaxy host Atlanta United on April 21st.

Let’s be very clear:  I am a big supporter of Atlanta United defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (LGP).  I have told many that with some refinement he could be an excellent defender, maybe with a future with a club in Europe.  Last year, in Atlanta United’s inaugural year, LGP, while a big part of Atlanta United’s success, behaved at times like a rookie with unnecessary fouling, playing bad balls out of the defending third, and getting cautioned for silly reasons.  You would expect that after a year with the Club, his maturity would increase as well as his tactical awareness – the ability to understand the circumstances of the match at any one time.  Nope, as LGP once again has shown us (and more importantly Tata Martino), that while he may be a strong and a physical presence that is needed on the field, he ability to manage the game is nominal.  Last night, in an ugly but remarkable win at Minnesota United, LGP showed all of us why he has a long way to go with being a perennial defender in Major League Soccer.  Last night United is playing away in bitterly cold Minnesota with three of their key players unavailable to injury or illness.  Atlanta takes the lead early on but LGP had already been issued a caution in the 1st minute of the game.  So, with a 1-0 lead, three key players unavailable, and temperatures hovering around 20 degrees you would think LGP would defend with caution?  No, not exactly as in the 38th minute, for no apparent reason, he elects to go in on a hard tackle on a Minnesota player who is on the touch line (the sideline).  A ridiculous and stupid decision that we thought he had matured from – instead Atlanta is forced to play a man down for the balance of the match.  This stupidity cannot go on any longer.  Has Tata not convinced LGP to change his ways, play smart, and manage the game?  L.A. FC comes to Atlanta next Saturday and now LGP is suspended for the match. Let’s hope our sick and wounded recover quickly.   To LGP:  it is time to grow up young man.

It is Easter Sunday – enjoy the day and have a great week!

 

The March for Our Lives.  Top of Mind Things I Think.

Let there be no misunderstanding.  I am proud of all the people worldwide, especially the children, who gathered yesterday to make their voices heard regarding gun control.  I just wonder if their efforts are misguided?  As I stated in my February 18th post:  “I will not comment on why a 19-year old possessed a AR-15 rifle, groups of gun activists or gun control, nor our divided political system.  What I will comment on is school security.  Don’t get me wrong, I put no blame on the high school administrators where last week’s massacre took place.”  My bewilderment relates to the ability of someone, anyone, able to enter a school with little security in place.  I only wish that the protest would have been more focused on school safety than gun control.  With respect to the 2nd Amendment it is time for more controls to be put in place when purchasing a gun, but what would have been the difference if the sick 19 year-old had walked into Stoneman Douglas High School with a shotgun instead of an AR-15?  The importance of security and locking down our schools is still way more important than gun control.

Today is Palm Sunday.  Just as a reminder, Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.  I know all of you knew that.

The NCAA tournament committee:  nice job seeding Loyola-Chicago 11th.  The Ramblers destroyed Kansas State last night and go on to next weekend’s Final Four.  Yes, the 11th seed.

Juventus, who has won the Italian League (Serie A) a whopping 33 times, will play at  Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz stadium on August 1st.  That will be one hell of a summer party.

Ponce Inlet, located just south of Daytona Beach – one of the better beaches I have been on.  Relatively quiet, flat, and of course a beach bar or two.

Not that I have a deep understanding of basketball strategy, but what the heck was Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton thinking in the last two minutes of last night’s NCAA Elite Eight knockout game?  Weird tactics.

Next weekend: the Final Four, baseball season opens, Major League Soccer in full force and Easter Sunday.  Welcome to Spring.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!