Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Michael Jordan's jersey from 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 sells for a record $10.1 million. Sports money! But that’d be “less astounding.” Any memorabilia from famous guys could sell millions$. But the salary level, then and now? The great (late) Bill Russell’s salary at the peak of his Celtics years was $100k (or “only” $600k today). Not a million$. Today’s highest paid NBA player per salary: Stephen Curry, $92.8 million. Salary + endorsements: LeBron James: $528,992,480. 🏀💰🏀

Per Covid Left/Right murkthrow, this side muzzles that Science is absolute. Science is never absolute. Experiments and more experiments are conducted before a degree of certainty. Then there’s the FDA skepticism per annual list of product recalls. What is absolute? When Arrow barks, per decibel or tone, I know what’s up. Cyd also reminded me of the certainty of the weather forecast and newbies Ching and Fizz? They can tell if a cat chow is up for FDA recall or not. Uh huh. 🐕😜🐈

Influencer Marketing. Social media endorsements and product placement from influencers, or people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or influence in their field. Example: Go to Google without typing a word, the first on-line is Alexandra Daddario. Know her? Many would ask, who? But she has a huge presence. Pretty much how the Kardashians got rich and famous. Market economics via steady “influencing” and focused (re)branding. 😒📲😏

Notice how Republican women politicians are shamed, dissed, and maligned. The favorite target these days: Marjorie Taylor Greene. Worse than how Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann were trashed in the past. Per my Homepage, that’s what I see, dished by obviously Democrat minions. But not much from GOPs. I read 1 or 2, from time to time, versus AOC or Nancy Pelosi, but not as nasty as those vs Marjorie. Can we criticize like grownups sometimes? 

       OF course, the men are ridiculed as well. Tops murkthrow recipients: DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Giuliani, Lindsey Graham, McConnell, and oh well you know the undisputed #1 as the most shamed, spat at, demonized dude. LOL! 🤨😏😟

Today’s journalism language: “Kelsey Plum brings the dawg out in Game 2 win after A’ja Wilson told her to ‘get her s*** together.” In my days, we were barred from typing up words such as s*** after we have already conveyed the message of a quote. I may sound conservative? LOL! Yet that’s the no-brainer media stylebook in those days. Not anymore. Language evolved. Maybe reason why people simply throw s*** and f*** Is it their primal language? 🗣👥🫂

Asheville crime is up 34 percent from 2021. I first got here from New York City in late 1999 and decided to stay right after 9/11. Had a 2-year sojourn in Los Angeles (from 2017); returned in 2019. Most of my years in WNC were spent organizing events/concerts and publishing a newspaper. Having lived in big cities as a journalist, crime doesn’t jar me much. It is the divide that is pushed by political hate that bothers me. We can’t solve crime as a divided community.☮️☮️☮️

People castigating people in public about something that they don’t (politically?) agree with. Current life. A dad drinking beer with his kids at an open-air rock festival. A neighbor grilling steak wrapped with aluminum foil. Woman gassing up her SUV. Etcetera. And me wearing a Duck Dynasty shirt. Pure personages are compelled to chastise you and so proud to declare that it is their hooman right to do so. Don’t you ever drink Coke in public, okay? Pepsi is it! 🤨🧐🤪

What is wrong with employees these days? Yesterday, the young Amazon guy didn’t even smile back or say anything when I said “Thank You!” after he dropped boxes here. The general feeling when I head out and face humanity. Basically. Asheville wasn’t like this when I first got here, 2000. I still experience niceness though, from time to time, but from what some stereotype as “rednecks.” They are old school nice. “How are you? I like your hat! Have a good day, Sir!” 🤨🧐🤪

I can proudly say that despite my self-imposed recluse personality, I created so many friends than the average old dude my age. So it follows that I am interested to know people on Social Media. Why don’t you talk about yourself? I mean, not the TMI drama. But less anti Trump, anti  Christianity, anti Conservative? Talk about you beyond the anti. Probably, you did advise LBJ or Kamala? A degree in Cultural Anthropology at UC Berkeley? Love paella? Bee Gees? 👈👀👉

I mostly post old, old songs. Not only those songs that I enjoyed as a young man but also those that older people used to listen to when I was a little boy. Turntable music was a leisure staple in our house when I was growing up. I used to spin records for hours on a weekend. I’d crank the volume up so everybody, including neighbors, would enjoy the sound. They did, and even requested their favorites. So on my FB Page, I share music (also) to remember the good old days. 🎹🎸🎼