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Tuesday

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7
Apr 26

Another cold week, then

It is funny, how we all cope with chilly weather in different ways. Phoebe, here, is trying out a bit of late morning sunshine.

Poseidon went for one of his old favorites, a bundle of covers.

It only got to 56 degrees today, but the kitties are doing fine. They like it warm, of course, but they have fur and sunbaths and covers and kitty caves and so on. Me, I have to walk into class and pretend to be excited while it is 56 degrees outside! Hooray spring, guys! We won’t see the 60s until the weekend.

In Rits and Trads today we talked about media rituals, we talked about the characters the media helps create and accentuate, and the atmosphere they create. We talked about how we see military flyovers and see someone sing the national anthem at big events, so we talked about nationalism. We also talked about things like player introductions and postgame interviews. We talked about the Olympic ceremonies and other things the media participate in. And we talked about Rich Eisen running the 40 for charity, and the simulcam replays. Hands down the best part of the football year.

In Criticism we talked about media framing and representation, using these two stories.

USWNT’s Sophia Wilson gave herself grace after the birth of her daughter:

Sophia Wilson says being a mom has helped with her “goldfish mentality” of living in the moment.

Wilson was named to the U.S. national team roster for three upcoming matches against Japan, starting April 11 in San Jose, California. She took time away from soccer for the birth of her daughter and has not played for the United States in 17 months.

“I feel like my perspective on just life in general has shifted a lot, I think, in all the best ways,” Wilson said Thursday. “I feel more grounded, I feel more present. And I think that’s how I view the game as well. I’m trying to approach it with — I always have, but I think more than ever — a goldfish mentality. It’s just, be present in whatever practice, whatever game I’m in, and then it’s on to the next.”

[…]

“Watching her play 70 minutes the other night, it was almost like I couldn’t believe she’s had a baby and come back to perform at the level she’s done,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Real, real credit to her and the team around her that have really positioned pre- and post-pregnancy planning in a fantastic way.”

People that research gender representation in sports media are often critical about how women are portrayed in coverage. My argument, for several years now, has been that we don’t properly celebrate these sorts of comebacks. She is a mother, yes. She’s also one of the world’s best athletes. And she’s returned to form. Emma Hayes is going to talk about that, and she should. Others should, as well. And so I got to wax on about that for a bit.

We also talked about this story. How 3 Muslim sisters helped change the rules of American women’s wrestling:

“We always said we would never be able to wrestle in college,” said Jamilah, 22.

Coaches recognized their talent when they were teenagers, but they couldn’t wrestle with boys, nor could they wear the required wrestling singlet — due to their faith.

Eventually their passion for the sport – and their perseverance – led to rule changes allowing Muslim women to compete in full-body uniforms at collegiate and national levels.

It’s probably comical when I, the white guy, talk about representation. But there’s a bunch of people that need to think about it, and some of them are in my classroom. They’re just stuck with me at this point.

I’m still living in the happy memories of our wonderful Irish vacation. So, I’m sharing extra videos that we didn’t get to at the time. It was a great vacation. I have a lot of footage. This will go on for some time. Enjoy it with me, won’t you?

We saw several places that didn’t have signs or historical significance or car pullouts, they were simply majestic. That’s where you’d want to live, safe on a hill high above it, looking down on this glory, pondering time and patience, and everything in between. For more ocean dramatics, go here.

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31
Mar 26

Some days you get a lot of little in

In Rituals and Traditions we had a group work day today. At the end of the semester the groups will be delivering big presentations and I’m trying to give them some built-in time to work on their projects. They are presenting ideas to the university’s athletic department. Rituals, traditions, game day atmosphere, and so on. Today I overheard of the few ideas that are percolating. Some of them are going to shape up nicely.

In Criticism, we talked about two basketball stories that the class selected. First, we had this one, which gave us a nice modern and historical parallel.

It’s been 75 years since college basketball’s first major gambling scandal. Not all that much has changed:

Odds are, there won’t be any ads about it over the next three weeks of the NCAA Tournament, but college basketball is celebrating an anniversary this year.

It was 75 years ago that the New York district attorney announced the arrests of 32 college basketball players as part of a sweeping sting operation into point-shaving that eventually included 86 games, 17 states and $72,000 in bribes – more than $900,000 in today’s money.

[…]

Time is, in fact, a flat circle.

Three-quarters of a century later, coaches remain aggrieved that their players are equal parts coddled and entitled, and the sport is in the throes of yet another point-shaving scandal. Twenty people are alleged to have hatched a game-fixing scheme that affected 17 teams, 29 games and at least 39 players.

When these stories come up I realize I need to learn more about gambling. “Gambling: bad” only gets you so far. Also, the thing that seems obvious to me is less an issue for others. But we talked about framing and the like, which led nicely into this next story they selected.

Maryland coach Brenda Frese went viral for yelling at Oluchi Okananwa. There’s more to the story. The “more” was a delightful conversation of the function and structure of clickbait, and also curated writing.

Just yesterday we had our first outdoor ride of the season. We made it off campus in good order today and that allowed us another nice treat, an after-work ride. The days are getting longer; it’s about time.

So we pedaled by the winery, where we will soon return to eat pizza. We cruised through the pastures, where I see my horsey friends, and then turned left to go down the asphalt shoot which is some of the best roadwork around here. We went up to the park, passing empty sheep pastures, and hooked a lovely left uphill into the backside of town. We took the biggest hill around, huffing and puffing in the still-warm sun, and turned onto the road that I rode so incredibly well one time that I turned it into three Strava segments — I have never ridden it well again. Then we breezed by haunted house, down the hill, up the other side, and home.

It was a lovely, windy, 12-mile stretch of the legs.

This is Dumhach Bheag.

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24
Mar 26

Back to campus

Back to school today. Last week was spring break for the students and we’re all now trying to figure out how much enthusiasm everyone still has for the rest of the term. There’s a bit of rah-rah involved in that, but the weather is warming up, sporadically, and the days are getting longer and summer is calling.

Today in Rituals and Traditions we talked about sport as spectacle. This would be the aural expressions, the songs and chants, the visual displays, the stadium choreography and performances. This is about how seating works, fireworks, the music that’s played for us, the fancy digital court that we’re seeing in some college basketball tournaments, and so on.

In Criticism we talked about MLB labor: How fight over salary cap will shape negotiations:

There was something about the four-year, $72 million contract given to left-hander Tanner Scott in January that infuriated fan bases in every market outside of Los Angeles — even the only one that dwarfs it.

“It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kinds of things they’re doing,” New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network a week after the Scott deal.

That the Yankees — the most valuable franchise in baseball, the game’s foremost revenue machine, owners of the highest payroll each of the first 14 years this century — had joined the chorus typically reserved for smaller-market teams questioning the game’s fairness was no accident. Even if formal discussions about Major League Baseball’s next collective bargaining agreement are half a year away, the campaign to capture the hearts and minds of the paying consumers has already begun.

And also this story, Watershed moment as Russia’s sporting exile ends. These are both explainers, the latter is like a richly done FAQ, and so it worked out well that the class picked these two stories to discuss this week. Sometimes the stars lineup, where we can discuss complimentary themes.

At home, the sun is coming in through the back door. It’s just a plastic cat toy, but I like that we have enough attention to detail to see it casting a shadow.

Poseidon is fascinated by light, shimmering and reflecting light. If I ever need to move him in the evening a shadow puppet always does the trick. But they never notice long shadows in those parts of the day.

This was from Silverstrand Beach.

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17
Mar 26

Sheep of the road

It’s a family joke, but we call them Schmid. Some years ago my lovely bride took her parents to Ireland. And somewhere along the way they met someone and that person was named Schmid, or at least misremembered as Schmid, and that got transposed on some of the sheep. And it turns out if you say Schmid in the same way that you might say “Baaaaaa!” you’ll often get a response. It was funny, it worked, it stuck.

The schmid … the sheep … are everywhere around here. Some are in fenced pastures. A great many run free. In fact, this is about the only photo I took of a roadside without schmid … sheep … on it.

We saw this one near Keem Bay and stopped especially to take this photo. It’s a winning shot, to be sure.

This one was walking by as we drove from here to there this morning, somewhere between Dumhach Beag and where we found the Spanish Armada commemoration.

This little postcard took place around nothing but the most beautiful landscape that you could imagine never being remarked on or capitalized upon in anyway.

The time stamp says I took the next photo just two minutes later.

Not to worry, I’m sure we’ll see more schmid in our journey. If you somehow missed it, there are schmid on video in the day’s first post.

Ten (!!!) posts, 42 photos, and a five minute video today. I hope you’ve gotten your money’s worth.

There will be even more tomorrow.

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17
Mar 26

Tra Dhumha Goirt and Doran’s Point

Here’s another two-for-one post, featuring our last two stops on the Wild Atlantic Way today. But not my last post of the day.

So it’s another quick one, just to get it all down, and to show the places, and to challenge myself to share video later. Is there video? There is video. Now I’ve mentioned it, you’re reading about it, and I must follow through. That’s how that works.

Up first is Tra Dhumh Goirt. (Or Dugort, or Doogort, or Pollawaddy, or Silver Strand … getting directions around here must be a challenge.) This is on the northern side of Mount Slievemore, so we’ve come around from where the deserted village sits on Achill Island. There are quite a few sandy beaches in this area. Also a lot of wind. And some grazing sheep and, most importantly, several lambs.

And this sign. You still see reminders like this. We should see more. I’m never sure if I’m more surprised by how people have so desperately tried to forget this, and how our institutions are largely engaged in that effort, or by the occasions when you see some reminder.

I wonder what the last such reminder will be. Will you even remember it? Someone, some day, is going to come to Tra Dhumh Goirt (or Dugort, or Doogort, or Pollawaddy, or Silver Strand) and see that sign. And then they’ll never see another one, or a rumpled piece of paper taped to a wall or window, or a battered sticker on the floor. And then one day after that they’ll try to remember the last time they saw something about the two-meters thing … “What was it called again? Ahh, yes.” Will they remember it here?

And the thing about a sign like this, here, is that you have to realize the Mayo County Council is invested. There’s no way that’s the original sign they posted here. No way that’s withstood the elements for approaching six years. Six years!

I wonder what was happening at Doran’s Point six years ago.

Functionally, this place’s pier serves a twice-daily ferry to get you over to the next island. There’s also a bus line that goes away from the point. It’s remote, rugged, quiet, ecologically diverse, and beautiful.

Also, there are monsters in the water. The Dobhar-Chu, the water hound of Celtic legend, lives out there. It’s said to look like a giant otter, but with a dog-like head. It swims the lakes and the sea, dragging victims into the water, where it kills and eats its prey. We both made it safely away from there, even if we weren’t prepared for an encounter. The legend goes that if you have a piece of the Dobhar-Chu’s skin, you’ll be protected from all many of nautical calamities. Also, you have to figure out how to get a piece of it’s skin.

And like all good monster stories, people have of course seen the thing. Most of the sightings seem to be in a lake, just six miles from where that photo was taken. Six miles would be close enough. I don’t need a piece of it’s skin that badly.

So those are our last two stops on the Wild Atlantic Way today but not overall. Not even close. This isn’t even the final post of Tuesday. What a day.