I am a musician. My passion for music has obliterated everything in its path for my entire life.
BARRY MANILOW
I like the Q & A format because it allows me to write on things that aren't big enough for a dedicated blog post. Most of my posts come from asking myself a question which the post will answer. I just delete the question except here where I keep the questions. That is a small window into my creative process. Here is my second edition of Q & A.
Q: Do you think there will be a widespread return to dumbphones?
A: I have reluctantly had to admit that smartphones are here to stay. The real question is whether or not dumbphones are here to stay. The pressure to conform to the smartphone cult is immense, but I think dumbphone users like me represent a stubborn minority. We refuse to die.
Q: Is it still possible to buy quality?
A: I think it is possible to buy quality, but I think it is much harder today. The two things that kill quality today are debasement of the currency and women's addiction to fashion. Why make a quality product when the women will want it in a different color or flavor next season? This is how you get our current disposable culture.
You can find quality if you're willing to go to the thrift store and buy old stuff from better times. You can also buy quality if you invest the time and energy into researching the things you buy before you buy them.
Q: Should they completely privatize the post office?
A: I have always considered the US Postal Service to be a branch of the federal government like the park service, the FAA, and the FBI. The idea that the post office is a private enterprise is a fiction, and it needs to be dropped. Yes, the postal service operates at a loss on a yearly basis, but the American public has had no problem with this. They just get mad when the cost of stamps goes up.
There are some things I don't think can or should ever be privatized. Prisons would be one of those things. Roads and highways are another. I think they should drop the idea of privatizing the post office like they have done in Denmark. That looks like a disaster.
Q: What happened to Eddie Bauer and Harley-Davidson?
A: I identify those two brands as Baby Boomer brands. The Boomers are now dying off in what I call the "Boomer Bust." I expect to see many more brands go down as the demographics change. Red Lobster is one of those brands. I think steakhouses like Longhorn and Outback will also suffer because steak is mostly a boomer thing. Omaha Steaks has already been hit. Wine is getting hit hard as well. Gen Xers and Millennials prefer cheeseburgers, Mexican food, and beer. I don't think they will ever develop a taste for steak and lobster.
Q: What went wrong with Star Wars?
A: George Lucas is what went wrong with Star Wars. He had a good idea that was boosted by others until he decided that selling toys was better than making movies. From then on, he proceeded to immolate the franchise before selling it to Disney to finish it off. The amazing thing was that he had some good ideas in the first place.
Q: Which are better as pets--dogs or cats?
A: I don't own pets because I can't afford them. If I did own a pet, I prefer a cat because cats will poop in a box and bury it. Dogs don't do this. Cats have their issues, but I think they take less effort than dogs.
Q: Why have Nike's sales fallen while sales of New Balance have increased?
A: This question comes from this video from CNBC on YouTube:
Why New Balance sales are soaring while Nike falls
The talking head on the video totally blew her analysis on the reason for the decline of Nike and the resurgence of New Balance. You get a better idea from the comments section that tells the real story. I will give my two cents on the matter.
Gen X and Millennials got old. These were the folks who used to buy Nike products, but they are now middle aged. When you hit middle age, the "dad shoe" becomes more appealing than the LeBron James shoe. I was one of those Gen Xers.
I used to wear the Nike Air Pegasus shoe when I was pretending to be a runner. I hated those shoes because they were uncomfortable as hell, but I thought those were the shoes you had to wear to be a runner. I ended up donating my last pair to Goodwill unworn in a virtually brand new condition. I will never go back to Nike.
I started wearing New Balance on accident. The lady who managed my apartment complex had bought some New Balance shoes for her husband who complained that she had bought him the wrong size. The reality was they were not flashy enough for him. She gifted me the shoes, and I made a face when I saw them. They were uncool dad shoes that seemed more fitting for geriatrics. But I already had a brain injury by then and was pushing 50. I swallowed my pride and put them on. They were the most comfortable sneaker I had ever worn and were perfect for fitness walking. I regret that I had not discovered them sooner, and I consider it divine intervention. I have bought many pairs of that same exact shoe since that day and keep some on standby in my closet.
I doubt New Balance will ever eclipse Nike in sales. I just think you are seeing demographics in action. Old people want comfortable and non-flashy shoes. New Balance delivers on that desire. The younger folks will keep buying Nikes.
Q: What is your opinion of third orders?
A: I like to tell people that I am a third order Trappist. I like to go around keeping my mouth shut. Fortunately, I have this blog where I can say what I really think.
I think third orders serve to scratch the itch of spiritual pride that some laypeople have. Everybody wants to be a special snowflake and not just some layperson living an ordinary life. I discovered this impulse in myself when I had a desire to be involved with Opus Dei. Now, I see them as a cult that needs to be deactivated in the Catholic Church. One can only hope and pray that happens.
There is a third order Carmelite in my parish that is always recruiting for the third order. I have always declined the invitation. I am a nobody, and I intend to remain that way. It is all I can do to pray the Rosary each day, so I know I am not up to the demands of a religious order and the Divine Office.
The only religious order that I have an affinity for are the Franciscans and the Poor Clares. I think this comes from watching Mother Angelica on EWTN and living a voluntary poverty lifestyle. I have never desired to be a Secular Franciscan. The appeal to me of the Franciscan orders is their desire to be humble and small. You can't be humbler or smaller than being a nobody.
Q: What is your opinion of spec ops?
A: I think these special operations units amount to ordinary men brainwashed into doing suicide missions. To achieve this brainwashing, these guys go through a process to weed out the quitters until they get a group of guys who would rather die than abandon the mission. Then, they sling them into those suicide missions. These men are not superhuman, but they are led to believe that they are. That hubris gets them killed sometimes. Other times, it makes them throw shade on each other as you witness Navy SEALS talk smack about other SEALS. Humility is not a hallmark of spec ops.
I came to this conclusion at the end of the 1990s watching some Navy SEALS lose the Eco-Challenge to some middle aged hippies from New Zealand. I had picked the SEALS to win the ultra endurance event and worried that the woman ultrarunner forced to compete with them would hamstring them. The opposite happened. She ended up dragging them through the event until they washed out in humiliation on the water.
Navy SEALS are not athletes in the same way that athletes are not special operators. If you put the SEALS in a game with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Lakers are going to win every time. Likewise, if you send the Lakers into a war zone, they are going to come back dead.
I have always agreed with the Marine Corps mentality when it comes to spec ops. They hated spec ops because they considered it bad for morale. Witnessing the SEALS today with their books, movies, and podcasts only confirms what the USMC already knew. Unfortunately, the Pentagon forced the Marines to turn their Force Recon personnel into special operators to create a spec ops force known today as the MARSOC Raiders. I suspect the Marines would like to undo that, but they have to follow their orders.
Should spec ops exist? I can't answer that question. The simple fact is that we will always need men to go in harm's way. Would they still do it knowing they were just ordinary men likely to die? I can't answer that either.
Q: Why do people run marathons?
A: Less than 1% of the world's population has ever completed a marathon. This still puts the number of marathon finishers in the millions. The reason these people run marathons is because they want to feel they have achieved something special and rare. As I said, people want to feel that they are special snowflakes. A finisher's medal from a marathon scratches that itch.
I don't think running a marathon is that big of a deal. I think many others in that community agree with me which is how you got the Ironman Triathlon and the Badwater Ultramarathon. At some point, it changes from a sport to a stunt. I stick with walking. I am not a special snowflake.
Q: What do you think of Barry Manilow?
A: I won't get into the particulars of Barry Manilow's private life as I believe even celebrities are entitled to their privacy and should not be the subject of gossip, detraction, and calumny. I will stick to the music.
I think Barry Manilow is an awesome songwriter and performer who had a real ear for melody. For some reason, it became fashionable to hold Manilow in scorn and derision. This happened sometime in the 1980s, and I was one of those snarky types who loved to take a crap on Manilow.
My derision ended when I encountered a Manilow fan in high school. Mr. P. (name withheld) was the special education teacher, and I remember our journalism class going to his section of the campus to help his students with their volunteer labor for the school newspaper. While we were working there, Mr. P. was playing a vinyl record on an old record player. When I looked at the sleeve for the record, it was Barry Manilow.
"Barry Manilow?!" I exclaimed in my warm up to take a huge crap on it.
"Oh, yes! I just love Barry," Mr. P. said.
I felt bad, and I checked myself. Mr. P. is deceased now, but he was one of the finest human beings you could ever meet in life. There was no smartass snark or derision in this man. He was the real deal, and his love for Manilow came from a place of sincere appreciation for good music. I share that appreciation now.
That snarkiness and smartassery became a thing in the 80s, and I blame Chevy Chase and David Letterman for this. I don't really like their comedy where somebody has to be the butt of the humor. I think Jay Leno was better than David Letterman because he didn't do the snarkiness. I think the American public agreed which is why Leno consistently beat Letterman in the ratings. Leno could come back right now and be the king of late night all over again. But I digress. . .
I like Barry Manilow's music. I like disco music and the Bee Gees. I even like lounge music and Lawrence Welk. I don't care whether it is "cool." Cool is garbage to me. I love a good tune, and I think everyone else does, too. I think it is a tragedy to allow cynicism and fashion to keep you from experiencing good things in life.
Q: Do you think someone murdered Kurt Cobain?
A: No, I don't. I think Cobain suicided himself in accord with Occam's razor that holds that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. The guy was on a self-destructive path for a long time, and I think his atheism and nihilism undid him. The people with the murder conjectures want to rewrite Cobain's story much like others want to claim that Jim Morrison faked his death and is still alive somewhere. I am waiting for people to make the same claims about Cobain one day. It is all nonsense.
That's all for this second edition of Q & A. I am already working on the third edition.
