Who would have ever thought that after 30+ years my wife and I would find a sport that we both enjoy playing together? But I guess that’s the magic of Pickleball. (That’s assuming you’ll grant me that Pickleball is indeed a sport!)
Beautifully broken in a time of absolute disruption.
Ruby is getting over her kennel cough - she’s ready to get back in the game!
Not since Trent Dilfer led the Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV…
The game was a bust, but the halftime show was epic. It felt groundbreaking, both culturally and technically. It was a show in a stadium, but it was no stadium show - it felt as though it was produced exclusively for those watching at home.
Who would have ever thought a show preaching that love is stronger than hate would be controversial? That celebrating Puerto Rico and Latino culture would be political? Despite critics best efforts to “other” him, Bad Bunny’s performance was both unifying and life-affirming.
I didn’t know much about Bad Bunny before Sunday night - but now I know he is a brilliant artist who understood his global audience and the moment.
Our town’s small but mighty Academy Art Museum is definitely punching above its weight:
In celebration of the 100th birthday of groundbreaking American artist Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008), the Academy Art Museum presents Rauschenberg 100: New Connections… Centered on the monumental, one-hundred-foot-long color photograph Chinese Summerhall (1982)—rarely exhibited because of its scale and fragility—the show offers an extraordinary look at Rauschenberg’s first journey to China and his creative partnership with master printmaker and Eastern Shore resident Donald Saff.
A new documentary short tells the story of the world’s longest photo.
For the past five years, a group of Baltimore’s best musicians rooted in the Bluegrass, Irish & Old Time traditions cross the Chesapeake Bay to share their talent and songs at Easton’s Avalon Theater. I look forward to their Across the Harbor show each year, and last night’s was another lovely installment.
Thought for a Friday: We seem condemned to fight the same battles again and again… Different places, different “enemy,” changing justifications, but those who benefit all sit at the top.
And there’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs
I wanna know who the men in the shadows are
I wanna hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die
Jackson Browne, Lives in the Balance
One of my goals for 2026 is to “scroll less, read more.” I can’t say I’ve kicked the scrolling habit entirely, but I did make incremental progress in January. I have been able to read two books five weeks into the year. A good start.
I just finished Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run by Peter Ames Carlin. Most people are familiar with the Springsteen song, if not the album. Fifty years on, it’s hard to imagine the impact of the album on the direction of Rock music. Jon Landau, the music critic who became Springsteen’s manager and coproducer, after attending an early concert famously wrote: “I have seen the future of rock n’ roll and his name is Bruce Springsteen.”
For all the impact of the album, making it was a desperate and tortuous process - and Carlin brings insight and to both the complicated creative process and the cut-throat music business. Whether or not you’re a Springsteen fan, Tonight in Jungleland is an interesting read about what Rolling Stone says is number 21 on the Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Backroads winter travel.
I exhale every time I cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, returning to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. (It’s rare to see this much ice on the bay, though.)
Remnants of the storm. Still sticking around.
One month down in 2026. It’s been the longest, fastest month I can remember. Right now, it’s hard to see how the year gets better. How will we navigate this fire hose of outrageous news for 11 more months, let alone another 717 days? It’s not just the winter that’s cold and dark at the moment.
Gotta say, winter is getting a little old. Seems as thought we’ve got at least ten more days of Arctic air.
Every yard a skating rink.
Thought of the Day goes to George Orwell from Politics and the English Language:
Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
There was a time when a national leader - think someone like MLK, John Lewis, or Jesse Jackson - would have gone to Minneapolis to support and stand with the resistance. But who would that even be today?
There was a time when artists - think Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Marvin Gaye - would have met the moment with galvanizing protest songs.
Well, today Bruce Springsteen showed up, and I for one am glad he did. Bruce has stepped into some of our biggest moments without fear. And for me, his voice is always welcome.
This weekend’s “icy mix” delivered a very nasty outcome - ten inches of snow compressed by 2-3 inches of ice. The result: every surface is hard as cement and slippery as a skating rink.
Clearing the ice-packed snow is difficult - and arctic temperatures for the next ten days means little to no melting. Parts of the US are well prepared to deal with these winter challenges - but here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore? Not so much.
Though treacherously icy, there are some beautiful remnants from the weekend’s storm.
We’ve got a good twelve weeks or so before spring really takes hold. Time to hunker down - physically and mentally.
But still, Ruby is shocked to learn an early forecast has up to ten more inches of snow on the way next weekend.
I understand what drives people to move to Florida.
Months ago, my wife and I planned a weekend trip to New York to visit friends. We made dinner reservations, bought theater tickets, and arranged breakfast and drinks (but not drinking breakfasts) with friends.
But we all know what happens to the best laid plans. The massive snow and ice storm sweeping across the country required us to adjust our plans.
It was too cold to wander through Brooklyn as we like to do - but fortunately we were able to get last minute tickets to the Monet in Venice exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. See it if you can, but it’s only around for a few more weeks.
Fortunately, our theater tickets were for Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Our choice of shows covered a wide range. Friday night we saw All Out, a comedy show featuring Sarah Silverman. Saturday we saw Carrie Coon in Bug, a conspiracy-laced thriller written by her husband Tracy Letts.
When the Saturday matinee ended, we beat it back to Moynihan Train Hall and headed south. We arrived home about thirty minutes before the snow started to fall. We woke up to a few inches of snow and ice - and have watched it continue to fall throughout the day.
It may not have been the trip we planned, but it turned out well considering the weather, and we felt fortunate to wake up to snow instead of spending the day traveling through it.
The scale of the protest yesterday in Minneapolis was seriously impressive.
New York City showed its support with its own protest and march in support of fellow citizens in Minnesota. Democracy - and engaged activism - is not dead yet!
