Say Hello to Adler
It is my pleasure to introduce the newest addition to our family, Adler. He was born late last week and has been a wonderful baby so far. Feel free to click through the image to see more pictures.
Which Music Festival Would You Attend?
If you had the choice between a rock festival featuring Arcade Fire, Wilco, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, and Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen and a pop festival featuring Madonna and Elton John, which one would you attend? Come on, be honest.
Now, let me ask another question. Which concert do you think would be in support of Barack Obama? If you said the rock festival, you’d be right on. The bands at the rock festival are insanely cool, current, and relevant just like Barack. The bands at the pop festival are lame, dated, and completely irrelevant just like Hillary and McCain. To be completely fair, John Mellencamp is supporting all Democrats, but seriously, he wouldn’t be caught dead playing a gig with Madonna and Elton John on purpose.
Indiana, North Carolina, let’s finish this thing. Listen to The Boss and the rest of the rock stars and vote for Barack tomorrow. You wouldn’t have to admit that you went to some lame pop concert on purpose.
The Dark Side Must Not Prevail
This one was just too good not to post. This is a must see Star Wars inspired video featuring my man, Barack.
Via Dave Winer.
My High School Is Making National News!
I just read an article in today’s Beacon News from Aurora, IL. My high school is the first school in the nation to perform Rent. It’s good to see that even after over fifteen years have past, the creative arts departments at West High are still putting on high quality performances. Check out the article when you have a chance.
The New Normal
When my family and I lived in San Diego, we used to love going to the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of UCSD. I still get email updates from Scripps occasionally, and in the most recent version of Explorations, there is a fantastic article about climate change and its potential effects on water delivery in the western United States.
Keeping with my recent focus on environmental issues, I highly recommend reading the article when you have a chance. Although it focuses on the western United States, communities around the world can benefit from rethinking their use of the water resources in their areas. Climate change is happening, and we all need to do our part to conserve our resources and prepare for the “New Normal.”
Earth Hour Inspires Eight Year Old to Save the World!
For those of you that went through your lives last Saturday without even realizing there was a world wide movement happening, let me fill you in a little bit. Earth Hour is an event designed to inspire people to take action on climate change. It all started in Sydney, Australia last March, and on last Saturday, cities of all sizes around the world participated by turning off non-essential lights for an hour. My family participated in our own small way by turning off all of the lights inside and outside of the house. It doesn’t seem like all that much, but we all felt like we were part of something bigger.
That leads me to my daughter, a newly christened environmentalist. She has always cared deeply about other people, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that she found Earth Hour very appealing. That night while we were all sitting around in the dark, my daughter asked if Earth Hour can help make the planet a better place, why not do Earth Hour every night instead of one night a year. That sounded like a good plan to me so we agreed that the Probst house would go dark for an hour each night so we can do our little part to save the world.
Now, I can’t say we’ve lived up to our promise every night, but we’re trying. With work, school, sports, Girl Scouts, etc., life can be a bit hectic to commit to such a bold schedule right away. I think if we can pull off a weekly Earth Hour to start, we’ll eventually be able to work our way up to a nightly hour in the dark.
If you’re interested in helping save the world (and a little money), try turning off all non-essential lights around your house for an hour this weekend. It’ll make you feel like you made a difference, and it’s a great time to bond with your family. Who knows, you may have a little environmentalist in your family too.
Tracy Morgan Actually Makes a Lot of Sense
After watching Tracy Morgan for many years on SNL and 30 Rock playing nutty characters, it’s hard to believe that I would actually think that he could make sense out of something, but he really made perfect sense talking about Barack Obama on SNL the other night. Check out the video on hulu when you have a chance.
Say It Ain’t So . . . Sam
It’s official. The new owner of the Chicago Cubs will forever be know as the monster that changed the name of Wrigley Field. See this article from MLB.com.
I have a pretty big problem with this having been a Cubs fan all of my life. First off, no one will ever call Wrigley Field by any other name. Never. Whoever pays for the naming rights will have wasted their money because even the announcers will have a hard time referring to the stadium by anything other than Wrigley. Even though I loath the White Sox, I still have enough respect for their history to not call their stadium anything other than Comiskey Park. Come on!
Anyway, Carrie Muskat from MLB.com had a pretty good suggestion that I thought could work. The best case scenario in this situation is for the Wrigley Company to come in and save the day. That’s right, the same Wrigley Company that was once owned by William Wrigley Jr. who’s name graces our favorite ball park. The Wrigley Company would look like a hero to every Cubs fan around the world, and it would be an incredible PR move. It’s a win-win situation all around.
Now, I know it’s likely that the Wrigley Company will not want to ante up the $500 million that it’ll take to secure the naming rights so I have a suggestion of my own. Some years ago, the country had a similar situation that affected one of its most cherished institutions. I’m talking about the Rose Bowl. All of the major college bowl games had been renamed to include corporate sponsor names. The Rose Bowl stood out by not attaching a corporate name and instead took a unique approach that I think could work for Wrigley as well. We have The Rose Bowl presented by AT&T. Why not have something like “Welcome to Wrigley Field at Newco Park” on the marquee? A company gets to attach it’s name to a beloved ball park without the negative PR of having defaced a sacred building forever. It’s not the perfect solution, but it protects the history of the Chicago Cubs and brings in extra revenue for the team. As a huge fan, I would be fine with this kind of solution.
What does everyone else think?
This Is Just Plain Dumb
At a Clinton rally in Waco, TX, Wesley Clark inferred that because Hillary happened to be in the White House while important decisions were being made, she is prepared to be President. I guess that means that every staffer and visitor that has ever happened to be in the White House while an important decision was made is now completely prepared to lead the country. Man, I better get over to the White House for a visit so I can start a very promising political career.
Wait a minute . . . what are the chances that Dubya would actually be doing anything important during my visit? Maybe this brilliant plan is doomed.
Probst for President 2016!