Engage. Enrage. Enjoy.

Sure Thing

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The year was 1999.  As a Patriot did you do your part and party like it was 1999?

Patriot fans should have.  And they should have, not because the world was about to dive headlong into a new century, but because an afterthought 6th round draft choice named Tom Brady was selected by New England.

“They” say that nothing is a sure thing except death and taxes.  Tom Brady was anything but a sure thing.  You might have been smarter to withdraw money from your local ATM to stuff under your mattress than to bet on Tom making the club, much less staring in the Patriot’s patriotic red, white, and blue uniforms for 20 years.  He won a few Super Bowls, too.

Remember the world was going to end back then when the clock struck 12:01 AM on day one of the year two thousand.  Computers were going to be rife with viruses and forever disrupt our lives.  The experts told us as much.   It might feel the same way now if you insert the word “humans” for the word “computers.”

Back then Kurt Warner, coached by Dick Vermeil, led the St. Louis Rams to a thrilling Super Bowl XXXIV win.  Who did they beat?  The Tenessee Titans. It was year one of them being known as such.  The prior two years they were the Tenessee Oilers and before that the Houston Oilers.  The Houston Texans didn’t yet exist.  Feel old?

The next sure thing, say the NFL experts, is Joe Burrow.  Comparisons abound.  The one that is bandied around most often is that Burrow reminds the “experts” of Tom Brady.  Funny thing is, the “experts” all overlooked Tom Brady, who turned out to be the surest thing.  Have you heard that nothing is a sure thing?

Tom Brady is going to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.  Sure thing.  Joe Burrow is going to be a Cincinnati Bengal.  Sure thing.

The rest of this is history yet to be written.

A lot can happen in 20 years.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1999 at 11,497, then an all-time high.  In mid-February, the DJIA closed at 29,472, then an all-time high.  Some “experts” think we might be going back to 11,497.  Others think we’ll get back to 29k.  Who knows?  Maybe we should ask Bill Belichick.

With panic at all-time high levels itself, good health is foremost on our minds. The alternative is not an option.   Taxes are still due, but Trump’s going to delay the inevitable for some time.

Perhaps there is no such thing as a “sure” thing?

Maybe we should be partying like it’s 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

Laughter, the Best Medicine.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

A quick Google search for Reader’s Digest showed that a) yes the now 10x a year magazine is still published, and b) the circulation is over 3 million.

Long ago one of their monthly features was a compilation of musings of American life titled Laughter, It’s the Best Medicine.  It was (and maybe it still is) so well appreciated that they compiled the best and made them into paperbacks unto themselves.

We looked it up since we find the laughter part in understandably short supply these last several days.  Maybe it is the best medicine right now since the health and economy of the world is a bad joke being repeated in many languages.  Hopefully below makes light of a bit of it all.

At the local overrun grocery store Saturday at 8 AM we turned down one aisle to see a shopper with a buggy that looked like it could hold no more in it nor below.  The stack-up was monumentally well done.  “Crazy times,” she said.  “Crazy times,” I said.  One more glance at the pile and you could see four very large bottles of ketchup.  Four.  FOUR.   I had to.  “Hey, I’m just curious.  Why so much ketchup?”  “My husband loves it.  The last thing he told me before I left was to make sure he didn’t run out.”  Mission accomplished we presume.

Two aisles later were paper products.  An employee was stationed at the toilet paper run as a shopper put the third package of Charmin in her cart.  “Ma’am, as you can see from the limit sign, just two please.”  No response.  “MA’AM, its a limit of two, please.” As she pushed on, over her departing shoulder she said, “Oh, this one is for a friend of mine.” So thoughtful.

Over in dairy yet another employee was staged to help manage the mayhem.  By now, absolutely amazed at waiting in line 45 minutes to shop and witness it all, it was time to lighten things up a bit.  “Excuse me.  Do you know when the hurricane is supposed to make landfall?”  He looked unamused.  “Too soon?”  He nodded affirmatively.   The strong silent type he is apparently.

Meanwhile, Sunday night two nearly octagenarians battled it out appropriately six feet apart in a near-empty CNN studio.  The Democratic Nomination is still there for the taking Bernie believes.  Does he really?  Crazy Bernie screamed “Medicare for All” repeatedly for 90 minutes.  Crazy times.

Joe Biden confused Ebola with the Swine Flu with the Coronavirus with H1N1 with N1H15 with R2D2 and with CP30 at one point.  Of course, this was after he began the debate with a strong cough right into his fist when he was asked what he would do to combat the rapidly spreading virus.  You cannot make this stuff up.

Fox News resident rabble-rouser, Greg Gutfeld, tweeted during the debate “two cranky old farts arguing over who didn’t do what or did do that.  It’s like a Florida condo meeting over who keeps parking too close to the boat dock.”

Maybe the joke is on us.  Trump’s press conferences in the last week needed a standing eight count at times.  One of these two (very very likely Biden) will have a chance to knock him out of the office.   That chance (like it or not) improves by the day as our chance to escape a major disruption to our medical and economic well being is gone.

Maybe, just maybe, laughter is the best medicine.  And, you don’t need to wait for a test that we don’t have to get a prescription for it.  Laughter for All!

Pass the ketchup, please.

 

 

 

 

This Time It’s….

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

This time it’s different.  Actually, every time it’s different.

On the medical side there has been SARS, H1NI, Ebola, the Hong Kong flu and many more outbreaks, quickly spreading viruses, epidemics, and even an occasional pandemic.

On the economic side there has been The Great Depression, many recessions, runaway late seventies inflation, the Arab Oil Embargo, the dot com bubble, 9/11, the 2008-09 financial crisis,  and many more significant to severe downturns.

And now it’s COVID-19.  It’s the Coronavirus.  It’s the Wuhan Virus.

BBR leadership and its staff make no claims to being a medical expert nor an economic guru.  We do, however, have significant experience in watching human behavior through most of these tough times.

Experience teaches us that this too will pass.  But it sure doesn’t feel like it, does it?

We want improvement.  We want answers.  We want results.  We want to get away mentally.  We want to get away physically.  We want.  We want.

This time it’s the same.  It’s just that every time we get into a very rough patch like this one it feels different.

The problem is we can’t see it.  The problem is that we really didn’t see it coming.  “It won’t affect me!”  And, we won’t know that it’s gone until someone with a white long coat and a tie tells us it’s gone.

Actually this time it’s the same.   Actually every time it’s the same.

We just want to wash our hands and want to be done with this.  And, we should want to-wash our hands that is.

It’s always darkest before the dawn.  The sun will eventually come up.  It always does.

Perception May Not Be Reality

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday we labeled “Tough Monday.”  One week ago most everyone agreed was “Super Tuesday.”   Joe Biden was at first the lone dissenter to that mantra, but after the results came in from about 15 states he quickly changed his mind about the public perception of him.  What will today bring us?

There is perception and there is reality.  When the perception becomes so strong that it changes behavior, a new day has dawned.

Once upon a time it was considered in style, even sexy, to smoke cigarettes.  The surgeon general told us enough times that smoking will kill you.  Our perception of smoking changed to the point where we frown upon anyone who smokes.

Stated plainly, if everyone thinks the COVID-19, aka the Coronavirus, will do them great harm or even kill them, then human behavior is dramatically changed.  If you don’t believe BBR, then head to your local food or drug store.  Try buying hand soap, cough or cold medicines, or egads, toilet paper.  When is the last time you shook hands with anyone?  Check your 401k lately?

Human behavior has dramatically changed until our perception changes.  We cast no judgment.  It’s better to be safe than sorry we heard.

However, we cannot help but wonder if this has reached the point of being a bit overblown at least in the U.S.  We highly recommend that you take three minutes and read this link.  We’ve found it to be the most unemotional, fact-based, and intuitive piece on the virus that we have read.

In the meantime, we cannot help but wonder as well that people would actually (on TV and Twitter yesterday) find the time to debate the “insensitivity” of calling COVID-19 the Wuhan Virus.  Chris Hayes, MSNBC’s resident word policeman, called it a social injustice.

Good Lord people, get over yourself.  What about Peking Duck?  If you don’t want the blame for the virus, you don’t get credit for the duck anymore either.

Was your perception of that insensitive?  We hope it wasn’t.  But, if it was, so be it.  It’s our perception.

Please wash your hands to help keep the virus away.  And, please wash them again of this overblown politically correct BS.

 

It’s a Tough Monday

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We wonder.  The Coronavirus has the world gripped in fear and firmly in its nasty little paws.

How bad would it be if you were stuck on a cruise ship that has over 50 cases and counting and no cities or states want you?  Oakland stepped up and now you step off of the confinement of the ship into a different confinement with your fellow passengers to see if you will become the latest confirmed case.  It’s a two-week mind game that you hope to not have to play.

How bad would it be if your business was sailing cruise ships?  The US State Department issued a statement this weekend advising all citizens to avoid cruise ships for their own protection from the virus.  Our wild guess is that future bookings might be down 80% or more.

How bad will this entire surreal medical emergency get?  On one hand, it seems (assuming that the Chinese government is telling the truth) that the spread of cases in China has slowed a good bit.  On the other hand, the cases in South Korea, Italy, and Iran seem to be accelerating.

How bad is it in Italy?  Sixteen million citizens are now being self quarantined in Northern Italy.  The plan to do so got leaked.  And with it many citizens rushed to get out of the quarantined zone.  So much for quarantining it.  The plan got leaked and so did the virus.  Italian stocks on the blue-chip FTSE MIB initially failed to open Monday along with other European markets. When the index did open, stocks were trading down 2,290 points, or about 11% lower.   Italy has over 7500 confirmed cases and 366 deaths and counting.

The NBA told its teams to prepare for playing games in empty areas to try to help slow the transmission.  All Italian sporting events will do just that till April at a minimum.  Japan is the host country for the 2020 Summer Games in late July.  There are a lot of yen bet that the torch never gets lit.

How bad is the perception?  In a word, it is terrible.  How bad is the reality?  That’s the unknown and hence the fear which is now bordering on panic.

We suppose as the weather warms, our immune systems do what they do, or if a vaccine were to be developed that this too shall somehow pass.

Why does it feel different this time?

We wonder.

We hope.

Stay strong.

And the Winner Is?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The 92nd Academy Awards presentation, more commonly known as The Oscars, was broadcasted live from Hollywood last evening.  The glamour and production looked alive and went quite well.  But, apparently, all is not well with the world according to a few woke people who had a chance to wake the rest of us up.

The very first award went to Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Once Upon a Time…..In Hollywood.  Once upon a time in Hollywood actors thanked their friends, family, and all who had a role in making the movie.  Brad did that and more.  He told the crowd that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences told him that he only had 45 seconds to address the assembled.  He commented that “45 seconds is 45 seconds more than the Senate allowed John Bolton to testify last week.”

BBR contacted Pitt’s agent last evening asking for comment on a persistent rumor.  Will Pitt and Mitch McConnell costar in the remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast?  “No comment,” came the terse reply.

Former President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michelle are celebrating the first Oscar win for their new production company, Higher Ground, which saw American Factory win Best Documentary Feature on Sunday evening.  By all accounts it’s a moving and well-made film.

It has one glaring omission, however.  The Obama administration bailout of troubled GM included a backroom deal that made the supportive United Auto Workers the exclusive union going forward in the deal.  The GM plant in Moraine, OH was unionized by the IUE-CWA. So despite being one of the top GM facilities for quality, efficiency, and production in the country, it was shuttered.  Its employees were put at the back of the line when requesting transfers to other GM plants.

The bailout actually forced the closure of the plant.  Chinese investments, state, and local officials actually got that plant started back up again with one caveat.  All hires needed to be with the UAW and were treated as new employees regarding benefits, wages, etc.

BBR would love to get a comment from the former president.   Given his net worth and security, he may be hard to track down.  He could be in any one of the 57 states that he said he visited.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences took the unprecedented step on Sunday of recognizing that the Oscars ceremony is actually taking place on tribal lands.

“The Academy would like to acknowledge that tonight we have gathered on the ancestral lands of the Tongva, the Tataviam, and the Chumash,” Jojo Rabbit director and presenter Taika Waititi said. “We acknowledge them as the first peoples of this land on which the motion pictures community lives and works.”

Since 2002, the Oscars have taken place at the Dolby Theatre, formerly the Kodak Theatre.  This year, the Academy bestowed an honorary Oscar to actor Wes Studi, making him the first Native American actor to win an Oscar.

BBR left messages for Native American Elizabeth Warren and her President 2020 campaign seeking comment.  We think our chances of getting a return call are roughly 1 in 1024.

The international movie Parasite, the winner of four Oscars, stole the show but did not unfairly infiltrate the process.  The Oscar presentation was long, but the vote results were not in dispute.

Hollywood had a better night than Iowa had all last week.

 

Dream a Little

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

On a day that we pay tribute to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  many still dream like the good Doctor once did.  Different people dream for different reasons.  We wonder who is dreaming today and what they are dreaming about.

Is the NBA dreaming for higher ratings than they have had ytd?  Yep.  Today they’ll play from morning till night on national broadcasts in hopes of recapturing some lost ratings.   It’s weird that the two top teams in the west play in the largest city in the west, yet ratings are down.

Is Donald J. Trump dreaming that tomorrow’s beginning of the impeachment trial in the Senate is the beginning of the end of this ‘witch hunt” or “hoax” as he calls it?  Sure.  Although, the showman likes microphones, drama, and name calling, so he might enjoy a little testimony from a few folks.  He dreams of getting Hunter Biden and Adam Schiff under oath, does he not?

Is Patrick Mahomes dreaming of his first Super Bowl win.  You bet.  And you might.  The early line has his KC team installed as a 1 1/2 point favorite over the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes is the best QB in the league these days.  Anyone who sees it differently is dreaming.  He is a defensive matchup nightmare.

Is Jennifer Aniston dreaming of a reunion with one time hubby Brad Pitt?  Who knows?  Does anyone really care?  Really care?   It makes TMZ, People, and the like dream of high ratings.

Is Elizabeth Warren dreaming that people will forget her falsehoods when she asked out loud on the stump Saturday, “How could the American people want someone who lies to them?”  The Massachusetts Democrat spoke to reporters in Iowa on Sunday when asked if it is disqualifying for a presidential candidate to lie about anything.  She didn’t call anyone by name leaving it open to whether she was talking about Bernie Sanders, Donald J, or, perhaps, herself?

If you have the day off, dream a bit if you wish.  It’s not doctor’s orders, but it’s good tonic.

If you don’t, stop daydreaming and get back to work please.

 

One Year

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

My how things can change.  A lot can happen in a year.   And, a lot did.  Take a gander at some twists and turns below.

One year ago Alex Cora was getting ready to go to spring training as the manager of the 2018 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.  A year later he is out of his coveted job due to his orchestration of an electronic sign stealing scheme as batting coach of the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros.

One year ago said Astros were unveiling a 2019 marketing campaign called “Take It Back!” After losing to the Washington Nationals in an underwhelming World Series in game seven, the Astros are indeed taking it back.  They are taking back control of their once proud franchise by dumping GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch.  Owner Jim Crane said ” they didn’t start the scandal, but didn’t stop it after they learned of it.”

Four years ago, with a year to go before the 2016 election, outsider Donald J. Trump took the Republican Party by storm and flipped it on it’s head.  Joe Biden was finishing up a heady eight year run as VP.

Four years later, with a year to go before the 2020 election, no one in the Democratic Party is doing any such water acrobatics.  “Low Energy” (per David Axelrod last evening) candidate Joe Biden leads but can only muster about 20% of the Party’s support.

One year ago, after dismantling Alabama, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was hoisting the trophy after the National Championship Game.

One year later, after extending their unbeaten streak to 29-0, Clemson stood nearby as LSU’s Ed Orgeron hoisted the trophy after the National Championship Game.

One year ago no one had ever heard of newly signed LSU Passing Game Coordinator Joe Brady.  One year later, after a bevy of offensive NCAA records fell, Joe Brady is onward and upward.  He’s headed to Carolina to be the new OC for the Panthers.  Sean Payton “taught him all he knows.”  Going forward, twice a year,  Brady will attempt to teach Payton a thing or two when the Saints and the division rival Panthers meet.

One year ago the Dow Jones Industrial average stood at 23,909 on 1/15/19.  One year later the average stands at 28,939.  That’s a 5000 point move in one year That’s so good that it’s crazy.  That’s so crazy that it’s that good.

It’s fascinating to look back.  How about looking forward?  In one year could a mayor from South Bend, IN be your president?  Could the Oregon Ducks be hoisting a trophy?  Could the Tampa Bay Rays be the World Series Champs getting ready to go to spring training?  Dow 30,000 anyone?

BBR will keep an electronic eye on it all.  We know where to get some cheap used cameras that used to hang in center field.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Soup to Nuts

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Day one of the new decade is done.  Your nuggets are as well.  They’re from all of the food groups, random, and tasty.  Dig in while they are still warm.

  1. You don’t have to feel sorry for the NFL owners after all.   Colin Kaepernick knelt down and the ratings fell down two years ago.  Now riding a two year in a row year over year gain in viewership, the league has begun early talks on future broadcast rights. The NFL’s various deals are coming up soon, with the ESPN Monday Night Football deal running through the 2021-22 season, the CBS/Fox/NBC deals (both the Sunday packages and Fox’s Thursday Night Football contract) running through 2022-23, and the DirecTV Sunday Ticket deal also running through 2022-23.
  2. Neal Pilson, the former longtime president of CBS Sports who now runs his own media consulting firm, estimated that the NFL could get a minimum of 30 percent more in broadcast fees under its new contracts, while one network official predicted a 50 percent increase.  The collective value of all of the deals currently is 5.7 billion (with a b) dollars.  The new deals will fetch between 8 and 10 billion and should be dry ink by the end of 2021.
  3. Did you start your intermittent fasting diet yesterday? Or, is today the day?  There seems to always be a new diet craze and every now and then one gains national momentum.  Already the “experts” are telling us what is good and bad about the diet.  Soon it will reach it’s zenith and then die a slow death.  They all do.  Don’t believe me?  Ask Dr. Atkins.  Well, you can’t actually.  He died a few years back, but not before the his diet, the Atkins diet was the answer to our obesity.  Bread was dead.  Then his diet was.
  4.  The Big 12 is done bowling for the year, thankfully.  Texas hammered Utah on the last night of the second decade of the 2000’s.  It was the  Big 12’s only win.  The conference finished 1-5 in the bowls and were embarrassed in some games.  Oklahoma was done at halftime in the 63-28 playoff loss to LSU.  Kansas State lost to Navy.  Oklahoma St. lost to five loss Texas A&M.  Baylor scored 14 measly points last night in the Sugar Bowl to a Georgia team that had 18 (yes, 18) players out for various reasons and was bounced from the final four two weeks prior.
  5. Robert De Niro has outdone himself with his disdain for President Trump to close out 2019.   De Niro said in an interview with the Daily Beast late in November, “I think that if he became president for a second term he’d try to have a third term, and let smarter people manipulate it into getting us into some kind of altercation: a war.”  De Niro added: “The only other president who served a third term was Roosevelt because he was in a war, and this fool would go and start something. This was what Marty Scorsese was saying, and I said, ‘Marty, I never thought of that. I never thought he’d go for a third term if there was a war or something.’”  Bobby( can I call you Bobby?) and Marty have too much time on their hands.  The Twenty-Second Amendment says a person can only be elected to be president two times for a total of eight years.  They probably like that amendment better than, say, the second one.
  6. One of the very best commissioners in any sport at any time passed yesterday.  David Stern took over an NBA at a crossroads in 1984.  His vision, preparation, and hard work turned the NBA into a global brand.  He presided over the league for 30 years.   Seven teams joined the league, and six relocated. Stern also helped in the creation of the WNBA and the NBA Development League, now known as the G League, providing countless opportunities for players to pursue careers playing basketball in the United States that previously weren’t available.  Adam Silver has big sneakers to fill.
  7. Joe Biden castigated Texas Governor Greg Abbott a few months back while stumping in Iowa for signing into law the right to bear arms in places of worship.  “It’s irrational,” totally irrational,” he exclaimed.  If you missed it over the holidays a hero in a small town Texas church took one shot with his handgun from fifty feet and killed a gunman who had opened fire on the congregation killing two before he was taken out.  The whole episode lasted six seconds.  How long would it take for police to arrive after being notified?  Biden wasn’t going to carry Texas anyway, was he?
  8. The New Orleans Saints worked out several wide receivers earlier in the week.  One of them was none other than Antonio Brown.  Afterwards Antonio called the workout a publicity stunt pulled by the Saints.  That is a funny take considering Brown brought a handful of associates with him to his Saints workout, including someone who was documenting the visit with a video camera. He posted clips of his visit on social media throughout the day, including a picture of the waiver the Saints made him sign.  Sometimes life’s lessons take a while to sink in.
  9. Nancy, it’s a new year and a new you.  You can walk the seventy-five feet necessary down the hallowed halls of the Capital Building and deliver the two Articles of Impeachment already.  Or, don’t.  Every major poll taken in the last wo months shows that America is tired of the circus.  One of our BBR staffers has it from a great source deep inside of the action that the Republicans feel better than ever about regaining the House.  If so, the gavel leaves the Madam Speaker’s hands once more.   Time will tell.
  10. Only Jerry Jones could drag the Jason Garrett “will he or won’t he be the head coach” saga out another day.  He, his son Stephen, and Garrett will meet for yet a third time today discussing the Cowboys future direction.  Jerry used to be quicker on the draw than the savior in the Texas church.   What possibly is left to discuss?  A ten year body of work is there.  Make the call.

2020 Vision

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Do you have perfect vision?  If the doctor says so, good for you.  You know that hindsight is always 2020.  What about your foresight?  What does the year, no decade, look like to you?

We aren’t too much into measuring or evaluating priorities or goals when the calender provides the moment.  We prefer an ongoing soul search actually.  However, a new year starts only once every 365 days, and a decade only starts once every 3653 days.  It’s a good time to look forward and dream a little.

So, if you’re reading this we know that you’re capable of taking a look.  BBR readers are off of the charts smart and our staff is glad to have you on board.

What’s your 20’s decade vision for your work, your family, your friends, your interests, and yourself?  May we suggest that if your goal is to do better than the past, define better.  What is better?  What does it mean?  With your 2020 vision look for it.  With your 2020 vision you’ll see it.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Decade!