Tuesday, January 31, 2017

There's a new circus in town



The recent announcement that The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus was shutting down after nearly 150 years was met mostly with applause by observers, indicating the time for a traveling roadshow and spectacle had passed.


One of the best tweets I saw said that it was OK for Ringling to close down as there's a new circus in town - Washington, D.C. - to be specific.


This tweet came before the Inauguration and President Donald J. Trump's first two weeks in office. Since then, here's the Trump presidency via hashtag:


#AlternativeFacts
#WomensMarch
#MuslimBan
#NoWallNoBan
#DeleteUber
#SallyYatesIsMyHero


Those are only a few of the top trending hashtags. To say these past two weeks have been polarizing is an understatement. We've had millions of women marching around the world, and for some reason, having to justify or explain why, repeatedly.


Then, thousands of Americans showed up at airports to protest the #Muslim ban.


If you're pleased with Trump's presidential performance, that's fine. If you're not, like many others, it's heartening to see Americans standing up not only for their rights, but for their fellow man or woman. It's seems the masses are leaping off their couches, mobile devices in hand, finding their voices, and letting it be known they will be heard.


Social Media has played a hand in both a planned demonstration like the #WomensMarch, and spur-of-the-moment protests at the airports this week.


How will it all play it out? Only time and Twitter will tell.





Monday, January 2, 2017

2017's arrival welcome after rough end to 2016

It's hard to believe that it's 2017 already!


Twitter users will no doubt have noted the disdain many were feeling toward the year 2016. This was because of the deaths of George Michael, Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, in the waning days of the year.


To be fair, many celebrities, musicians, actors, and sports figures were lost in 2016. One fan of 90-something Betty White even started a Go Fund page to place her in bubble wrap for safety until the end of the year. On the surface, that makes about as much sense as being mad at the year 2016.


We'll just have to hope that 2017 is kinder to all.


On a different note, I always enjoy looking back at the year just ended to see what I had done for the first time. It's a bit like a bucket list, but doesn't necessarily include fun things:


1) My plane was deiced in Minneapolis on my way to Richmond, Va., to meet with Admin Concepts, NFPW's new management team for the first time in person. It was an interesting start to what turned out to be a very productive weekend.


2) My sister and I attended our first NASCAR Sprint Cup race outside of Kansas Speedway or Daytona International Speedway. I had won the tickets in 2015 in an online NASCAR fantasy game, so we had our choice of any 2016 race to attend. We chose Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race in NASCAR, over Memorial Day weekend. We were treated to one of the most lop-sided races of the year as Martin Truex Jr. smoked (and I mean SMOKED) the field. That was fine, as he is one of our favorite drivers. We also visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame and enjoyed visiting Charlotte.


I'm sure there are more 2016 firsts, but I am drawing a blank. If I think of any, I'll add them later.


Happy New Year to all!