Sally Ember's Blog, page 5

#MacArthur Foundation’s 19 Newest Fellows, 2023: #Scientists, #Filmmakers, #Artists, Legal Scholars, #Sociologists, #Musicians, #Writers, #Activists and #Historians

#MacArthur Foundation’s 19 Newest Fellows, 2023:
#Scientists, #Filmmakers, #Artists, Legal Scholars, #Sociologists, #Musicians, #Writers, #Activists and #Historians

logo 2023

The 2023 MacArthur Fellows are applying individual creativity with global perspective, centering connections across generations and communities. They forge stunning forms of artistic expression from ancestral and regional traditions, heighten our attention to the natural world, improve how we process massive flows of information for the common good, and deepen understanding of systems shaping our environment. 

Marlies Carruth 
Director, MacArthur Fellows

“The MacArthur Fellowship is a $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential….Since 1981, 1131 people have been named MacArthur Fellows….

“Nominees are brought to the Program’s attention through a constantly changing pool of invited external nominators chosen from as broad a range of fields and areas of interest as possible. They are encouraged to draw on their expertise, accomplishments, and breadth of experience to nominate the most creative people they know within their field and beyond….

“The MacArthur Fellows Program is intended to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations. In keeping with this purpose, the Foundation awards fellowships directly to individuals rather than through institutions. Recipients may be writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers, entrepreneurs, or those in other fields, with or without institutional affiliations. They may use their fellowship to advance their expertise, engage in bold new work, or, if they wish, to change fields or alter the direction of their careers.

“Although nominees are reviewed for their achievements, the fellowship is not a lifetime achievement award, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential. Indeed, the purpose of the MacArthur Fellows Program is to enable recipients to exercise their own creative instincts for the benefit of human society.

“The Foundation does not require or expect specific products or reports from MacArthur Fellows and does not evaluate recipients’ creativity during the term of the fellowship. The MacArthur Fellowship is a “no strings attached” award in support of people, not projects. Each fellowship comes with a stipend of $800,000 to the recipient, paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years….”

“There are three criteria for selection of Fellows:

Exceptional creativityPromise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishmentsPotential for the Fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work.”

Meet the newest crop of very fortunate creative sorts, this year’s MacArthur Fellows, who will each receive $800,000/year spread over 5 years, to do WHATEVER THEY WANT!

MacArthur Fellows 2023
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

For bios, specific info on each Fellow (photos, videos, websites, more), and plenty about the Program and the Foundation, check out their website: https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/

Imagine: There are no outside or public applications or nominations. The process for selection is so secretive and unknown that very few people (no one outside the Foundation, supposedly) even knows who the nominating and selection committees’ members ARE each year!

In the Foundation’s favor, this year—for the SECOND time since I’ve been tracking it, which is many years—the female-appearing Fellows are exceeding the male-appearing Fellows: 5 seeming male and 13 seeming females fellow. The Fellows process has been great on “diversity” and varying geographic locations for quite a while (still heavier on both coasts than within the USA, though). This year, only about 6 appear to be Caucasian. You can check out the stats on their site any time.

Again, LOVE this! Here are mini-bios of each Fellow for 2023:

E. Tendayi Achiume, Los Angeles, CA, Legal Scholar: “Reframing foundational concepts of international law at the intersection of racial justice and global migration.”

Andrea Armstrong, New Orleans, LA, Incarceration Law Scholar: “Bringing transparency to detention policies, conditions of confinement, and deaths in U.S. prisons and jails.”

Rina Foygel Barber, Chicago, IL, Statistician: “Developing tools to reduce false positives and improve confidence in high-dimensional data models.”

Ian Bassin, Washington, DC, Lawyer and Democracy Advocate: “Working to strengthen the structures, norms, and institutions that make the United States a democracy.”

Courtney Bryan, New Orleans, LA, Composer and Pianist: “Melding elements of jazz, classical, and sacred music in works that reverberate with social and political issues of our time.”

Jason D. Buenrostro, Cambridge, MA, Cellular and Molecular Biologist: “Developing methods and technologies that advance our understanding of the mechanisms regulating gene expression.”

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Nashville, TN, Multidisciplinary Artist: “Exploring personal and collective histories across the Caribbean with a distinctive and expansive visual style.”

Raven Chacon, Red Hook, NY, Composer and Artist: “Creating musical works that cut across boundaries of visual art and performance to illuminate landscapes, their inhabitants, and histories.”

Diana Greene Foster, San Francisco, CA, Demographer and Reproductive Health Researcher: “Investigating how reproductive healthcare policies and access impact individuals’ physical, mental, and socioeconomic well-being.”

Lucy Hutyra, Boston, MA, Environmental Ecologist: “Investigating impacts of urbanization on environmental carbon cycle dynamics.”

Carolyn Lazard, Philadelphia, PA, Artist: “Exploring the limits of aesthetic perception and using accessibility as a creative tool for collective practices of care.”

Ada Limón, Lexington, KY, Poet: “Counterbalancing grief with wonder in works that heighten our awareness of the natural world and our connections to one another.”

Lester Mackey, Cambridge, MA, Computer Scientist and Statistician: “Pioneering statistical and machine learning techniques to solve data science problems with real-world relevance.”

Patrick Makuakāne, San Francisco, CA, Kumu Hula and Cultural Preservationist: “Blending traditional hula with contemporary music and movements and uplifting Hawaiian culture and history.”

Linsey Marr, Blacksburg, VA, Environmental Engineer: “Examining indoor and outdoor air quality and the airborne transmission of infectious bioaerosols.”

Manuel Muñoz, Tucson, AZ, Fiction Writer: “Depicting with empathy and nuance the Mexican American communities of California.”

Imani Perry, Cambridge, MA, Interdisciplinary Scholar and Writer: “Giving fresh context to history and the cultural expressions forged by Black Americans in the face of injustice.”

Dyani White Hawk, Shakopee, MN, Multidisciplinary Artist: “Illuminating the enduring strength, presence, and influence of Indigenous artistic practices within modern and contemporary art.”

A. Park Williams, Los Angeles, CA, Hydroclimatologist: “Uncovering new insights into how climate change influences drought, wildfires, and tree mortality.”

Amber Wutich, Tempe, AZ, Anthropologist: “Documenting the impact of water insecurity on human well‑being and the social infrastructure communities use to cope with inadequate water.”

You can view ALL 1131 recipients of this “Genius Grant” (all the Fellows): https://www.macfound.org/fellows/search/all

Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this weekend, 9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this weekend, 9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri

This is an outdoor event, on Illinois Street, near the bookstore (which is on Arsenal Street) on Illinois Street, adjacent to Benton Park.

The Spine’s bookstore and cafe are also open during this time, so browse inside as well: MY books, from The Spanners Series (https://sallyember.com/spanners/), and those of many authors featured in my video chats from the YouTube archived Episodes of *CHANGES* Conversations between Authors (https://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/)

are in this bookstore, and some will certainly be vendors!

There will also be various meetings and discussion groups to enhance the experience for the writers and readers in attendance.

Check the bookstore website (https://www.spinebookstorecafe.com/) for the schedule and details.

Not too late for #DoYou10Q? Rosh Hashona through Yom Kippur, September 15 – September 24, 2023 (#Jewish New Year/ High Holidays), Read, Respond, Review, Forecast

Not too late for #DoYou10Q? Rosh Hashona through Yom Kippur, September 15 – September 24, 2023 (#Jewish New Year/ High Holidays), Read, Respond, Review, Forecast 

You don’t have to be Jewish or celebrate the #Jewish High Holy Days (Rosh Hashona, Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement”) to want to spend some time considering your life and your goals/ accomplishments each year. I was raised Jewish, but I am a practicing #Buddhist.

In the last 12 months, I have even more than ever to be grateful for and take none of this for granted:
—I am a grandparent! I got to meet my granddaughter in May and plan to see her again in November;
—I had a terrible reaction to the 2nd Shingles vaccine (lost part of the vision in my right eye after a severe Shingles-induced gum infection on my right side of my jaw), but some of the vision has returned and it won’t get worse;
—My mom celebrated her 91st birthday with a small group of vaccinated friends and family in a few weeks of spread-out visits and meals;
—I marked my 69th with no fanfare (my choice);
—#45 and his fellow criminals, the treasonous, lying, anti-democratic #reThuglicans, are being indicted, arraigned, arrested, jailed/imprisoned, convicted, sued, and otherwise getting what they deserve (we hope).

Again this year, the group running this event (http://www.rebooters.net/) has offered 10 important reflective and predictive questions. These are only available through September 25 or 26, so get going!

It’s free! http://doyou10Q.com and #DoYou10Q are the connection points.

You can respond to all 10 Questions from September 15 through September 24 (and a day or so afterwards), online, and have them put into the “vault” for yourself for next year’s reflections.

10Q: “Reflect. React. Renew. Life’s Biggest Questions. Answered By You.”

The title and all the info, below, come from the 10Q site. Visit! Sign up! Do it!
http://doyou10q.com/

“Answer one question per day [or more than one per day, if you have some to catch up on] in your own secret online 10Q space. Make your answers serious. Silly. Salacious. However you like. It’s your 10Q. When you’re finished, hit the magic button and your answers get sent to the secure online 10Q vault for safekeeping.

“One year later [a few days before Rosh Hashona, so, September 13, 2023, this year], the ‘vault’ will open and your answers will land back in your email inbox for private reflection. [The Hebrew lunar calendar has 13 months, so you can’t go by the Western calendar’s “year.” If you sign up, the site will send you a reminder and an “opening the vault” day email.]

“Want to keep them secret? Perfect. Want to share them, either anonymously or with attribution, with the wider 10Q community? You can do that, too.

“Next year, the whole process begins again. And the year after that, and the year after that.”

Click here to get your 10Q on.

How do you want to 10Q? It’s up to you!

*************************************************

Here are two of my 2022 questions and responses, from the Vault:

8. Is there something (a person, a cause, an idea) that you want to investigate more fully in the coming year?

My Answer:

Current styles/philosophies/methods for parenting and grandparenting that I would be comfortable embodying/ supporting are primary, for me.

11. What are your predictions for the coming year?

My Answer:

I commit to doing more meditation, even a short retreat (about 1 week), for the first time in many years and I am SO GLAD.

I also strive to be less angry, intolerant, impatient, and condescending.

Late-Night Hosts Form Podcast Supergroup to Support Unemployed Staffers

Strike Force Five, comprised of Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver, will feature the hosts discussing the ongoing Hollywood strikes

Late-Night Hosts Form Podcast Supergroup to Support Unemployed Staffers

Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this September, 9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri. In one month! #AUTHORS SIGN UP!

Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this September,
9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri.
In one month! #AUTHORS, SIGN UP!

This is an outdoor event, on Illinois Street, near the bookstore (which is on Arsenal Street) on Illinois Street, adjacent to Benton Park.
#authors and #publishers, sign up to be vendors (only $25 and you keep 100% of all sales)!
Vendors, you must provide all that you will need to sell, display, talk about your books, including shade/tent and furniture.

#Readers and buyers: COME for FREE!

The Spine’s bookstore and cafe are also open during this time, so browse inside as well: MY books, from The Spanners Series (https://sallyember.com/spanners/), and those of many authors featured in my video chats from the YouTube archived Episodes of *CHANGES* Conversations between Authors (https://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/)

are in this bookstore, and some will certainly be vendors!

ALSO…

“During the event, we’ll offer various meetings and discussion groups to enhance the experience for the writers and readers in attendance.
“If any author or publisher would like to pitch a topic, please fill out that portion of this form and give us your elevator pitch of what you’d like to speak on.
“Keep in mind, it should be a topic that both new [and experienced] writers could benefit from hearing.

“We’ll also have independent publishers accepting story ideas, from first-time writers to experienced indie authors, for possible publishing contracts in our ‘Pitching Hour’ at high noon.
“If you’d like to sign up for the ‘Pitching Hour,’ please indicate your intention on this form.”

FMI and the form, mentioned above: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdE9B4powvpIxAvTBpHev7f1scdsChMMH_WjYrsNwrwVg6AA/viewform?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_7_28_2023_13_23)&mc_cid=b76e38249a&mc_eid=9cb7dd9b60
or email Mark: spine314 @ gmail DOT com

Does Buying a Used Car Have to Be So Awful?

Does Buying a Used Car Have to Be So Awful?

I am almost 69 years old and I have only had used cars my entire car-driving life, starting with my father’s 1968 Ford Mustang, which I “inherited” in 1971 (shared with my brother for one year, than all mine the second). That was the “newest” used car I ever had.

My “Car Sense”

(The above resembles my first car, but isn’t it.)

During my solo year of using this mustang (YES, as “Mustang Sally”), the right front axle suddenly broke on my way to school one fall morning, making that tire go horizontal to the ground which sent me crashing (thankfully, very slowly, and, on an infrequently used road) into the private property barrier (luckily, a very low) bordering stone wall.

Turns out, though, this was GOOD FORTUNE. After it got towed in, the mechanic said that the battery had fallen over just prior to that and almost started an engine fire.

This became a theme in my car-using life: something in a car gets my attention (what is that, it sounds wrong, something smells bad, what is that wobble?), because it is actually something (else) that NEEDS fixing/replacing, FAST. It isn’t always my own car I’m driving or riding in, but, nevertheless, this has happened more times than I can count.

My friends, family and colleagues and I have all learned to trust my intuition when it comes to cars. If it feels wrong to me, something in that car IS broken. Some mechanics have been slow to get comfortable with my expertise, but I find those who believe me and stay with them.

I could write a book about all the engine, mechanical, electrical, structural and (ir)regular maintenance problems I/we have encountered and (co-)managed over the last 43 years, but I will not. How boring would that be?

Suffice it to say: I KNOW ABOUT CARS. I have had: Fords, Chevys, Toyotas, Dodge Ramblers, Volvos, VWs, Subarus, Renaults, Mitsubishis, Pontiacs, and Jeeps; manual and automatic transmissions; two-, four- and five-doors; small, compact, full-size and compact station wagons, hatchbacks, SUVs, vans and buses; butterfly/pull manual chokes and fuel injection; only AM radios to CD players; crank-lever seats and power seats, and on and on. Some cars I had to jump start or roll start; some cars had almost no heat (in NEW ENGLAND).

I am not a mechanic, and I don’t know all the lingo. BUT, I know when something is in need of repair, when I’m being lied to or “managed” condescendingly, and when to give up on a car and get a replacement.

Recent Car Search Experiences in and around St. Louis, Missouri, and Online

Finding and buying a used car is not something I’ve done a lot with actual dealers, though, and this time around, I am (so far), and IT SUCKS. All that is wrong with our terrible, selfish, dishonest, capitalist culture, replete with misogyny, classism, ageism, and the rest, THRIVES in car dealerships among sales people. So sad.

Online or in person, doesn’t matter: deliberately or “accidentally,” websites and conversations reveal incorrect features, inaccurate mileage, and other problems. Truth-in-advertising flaws and sales agents’ ignorance abound.

Worse, when I catch these “mistakes,” inevitably the person I’m talking with tries to pass it off as a problem caused by someone else, or not an actual problem at all. A few have bullied, lied to, argued with, and patronized me to point of my hanging up on/refusing to deal further with them.

I give the dealers and agents a very detailed list of my criteria, tell them these are non-negotiable and inflexible, even provide reasons for each feature. They STILL send me other cars and try to convince me that these are “just as good” or that I “don’t need” the car to be the way I’ve stated. STOP WASTING MY TIME!

Here are pictures of the cars I want to buy and NEED to get.
Both are Volkswagens with SEL “trim,” and these are almost identical: Sportwagen and Alltrack.

The car I get must have:
— all-ways powered driver’s seat (12-ways);
—at least 30 cubic feet cargo space with all seats UP;
—back-up/rear camera;
—cruise control;
—ground clearance lower than 6.9″;
—automatic transmission;
—low mileage (50K maximum);
—pricing below $28K;
—clean CarFax/title;
—no unrepaired recalls;
—space on the floor for my left-foot accelerator pedal and mechanism to fit (smallish left foot driver’s foot rest, e.g.) and room for my right foot to rest OFF the regular accelerator.
If you know of any, please contact me imnmediately!

Money, Money, Money

Then, let’s talk about the bullshit of trade-in values, shall we? I’ve had offers (online and in person) ranging from $500 to $2,147 for the same car, same day or week. WTF?
My car is almost 24 years old and has over 155K miles. They’re just going to junk it, right? Why can’t they be generous about it, then?

What about financing, e.g., required downpayment and interest rates? Same BS: APRs are bouncing from 4.99% – 9.99% (48 months) to 5.99% – 11.99% (60 months) to 5.99% -14.99% (72 months). Downpayment demands go from ZERO to $15K+!!
Really? Same buyer, here. Same or similar potential car.

Finally, what is up with the “certification” and “warranty” offers? I understand that only a dealer can certify that model car (Subaru dealers must be the ones to certify Subarus, etc.). But, when a dealer gets a used car into its service bay and tells the potential buyer it’s been “gone over,” why isn’t there more than a powertrain warranty to go with that car? What nasty upcoming maintenance surprises are they planning to be loading onto the unsuspecting buyer?

I had one sales agent tell me that a car with 98K miles was “just as good or better” than one with under 50K miles (my criterion) because “the owner took good care of it and our service people gave it a green light. It passed emissions and other inspections.”
“Oh?” I replied, “Then why do I not see a replaced timing belt? Brand new exhaust system? Entirely new braking system? New battery? New spark plugs and other tune-up components? Where are the new valve cover and head gaskets listed? Did I miss seeing that someone checked the O2 sensor and replaced the catalytic converter recently? What about the tie rod ends, wheel bearings, shock absorbers and struts? These AND MORE are the things cars with 75 – 100K miles usually get done, and if this car hasn’t gotten them done, it’s about to need them. That’s thousands of dollars in maintenance and repairs coming due in the next 20K miles, I predict. Are you going to reduce the sales price accordingly?”
Agent: {Blustering, lies, bullying, more lies.}
I hung up.

To Keep or Not to Keep?

Below is an image of a car similar to mine. I actually LOVE my car. A dear friend helped me buy it and still hasn’t demanded I pay him back entirely (knowing I can’t). That’s one.
Another, it fits me and all my needs (see above criteria) except for the mileage and back-up camera.
It needs about $1200 repairs right away and about $3000 in the next year or so. Ongoingly, about $2000 a year, maybe.
I can’t buy a car for that!

If I can’t get an appropriate used car before 8/25/23, I’m getting the first repairs done.
Then, we’ll see.

Wish me luck?

Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this September, 9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, MO! #AUTHORS, SIGN UP!

Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this September,
9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri.
#AUTHORS, SIGN UP!

This is an outdoor event, on Illinois Street, near the bookstore (which is on Arsenal Street) on Illinois Street, adjacent to Benton Park.
#authors and #publishers, sign up to be vendors (only $25 and you keep 100% of all sales)!
Vendors, you must provide all that you will need to sell, display, talk about your books, including shade/tent and furniture.

#Readers and buyers: COME for FREE!

The Spine’s bookstore and cafe are also open during this time, so browse inside as well: MY books, from The Spanners Series (https://sallyember.com/spanners/), and those of many authors featured in my video chats from the YouTube archived Episodes of *CHANGES* Conversations between Authors (https://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/)

are in this bookstore, and some will certainly be vendors!

ALSO…

“During the event, we’ll offer various meetings and discussion groups to enhance the experience for the writers and readers in attendance.
“If any author or publisher would like to pitch a topic, please fill out that portion of this form and give us your elevator pitch of what you’d like to speak on.
“Keep in mind, it should be a topic that both new [and experienced] writers could benefit from hearing.

“We’ll also have independent publishers accepting story ideas, from first-time writers to experienced indie authors, for possible publishing contracts in our ‘Pitching Hour’ at high noon.
“If you’d like to sign up for the ‘Pitching Hour,’ please indicate your intention on this form.”

FMI and the form, mentioned above: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdE9B4powvpIxAvTBpHev7f1scdsChMMH_WjYrsNwrwVg6AA/viewform?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_7_28_2023_13_23)&mc_cid=b76e38249a&mc_eid=9cb7dd9b60
or email Mark: spine314 @ gmail DOT com

Here is the 2023 Booker Prize longlist! (reblogged)

“The freshly announced ‘Booker’s dozen’ of titles longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize is making its way around the literary internet, so let’s see what the morning tides have brought in.

“There are four debut novelists on the list, and Irish writers nabbed a record four out of the 13 nominations (Éirinn go brách!).

“Pulitzer…”

Here is the 2023 Booker Prize longlist!

EVERTHING WRONG WITH MAJOR LEAGUE #BASEBALL (#MLB) in 2023

EVERTHING WRONG WITH MAJOR LEAGUE #BASEBALL (#MLB) in 2023

Baseball is in my family. My dad’s father, Sam “Seed” Fleischmann, and his brother, Saul “Sakie,” played in the minors for the St. Louis Browns, and Sakie briefly played for the Browns. I am named after him.

My grandpa taught my brother, Jon, and me (we are 13 months apart in age) to play whiffle ball, then slow pitch baseball before we entered elementary school. Jon got to play in little league (called “Khoury League, locally), but I did not, even though I was a great hitter and a fast runner and I could catch very well. (I never did learn to throw far or pitch, though.)

Girls weren’t allowed to play little league until my 11-years-younger sister, Lauri, entered those age groups in another era (1970s vs. 1960s). She became one of the first (and best) girls in the Khoury League in Olivette, Missouri. I had to turn to other sports as I got older.

My dad, Ira Fleischmann, was convinced by his brother-in-law, Don Levin, to play softball on an adult men’s Jewish league in University City in the early 1960s. My dad was not an enthusiastic player, though, and he quit soon after.

All through high school in the early 1970s in St. Louis County and St Louis City, Missouri, anyone who had “straight ‘A’s” in the school year’s third quarter (a GPA of 3.5 or better) could get 3 free bleacher seats to summer Cardinals’ baseball home games. My honored friends and I would use our tickets to eat the hot dogs and get high in the bleachers. In those years, there was never a home game televised; it was only broadcast on AM radio. We brought one or two transistors (later, “boom boxes”) so we’d know what was happening, since we were sitting so far away and so high up (in the now-destroyed Busch stadium) we couldn’t see much at all. Every now and then, something would actually happen, and we’d cheer.

I mentored and sponsored girls’ softball team players when I taught 8th graders in Vermont. I cribbed to pass the test then worked the summer of 1989 as a softball umpire for the men’s league in Keene, New Hampshire.

Continuing the family baseball/softball connections:
—My mother’s second husband, Sylvester “Les” Harris, was in the minor leagues in the 1940s-early ’50s; she went with him to his reunion in the 1990s.
—My son, Merlyn, is married to Lauren Harrison, whose father (and grandfather) work(ed) as pitchers, catchers, and then scouts in the MLB; my DIL’s father, R. J. Harrison, still scouts for the Tampa Bay Rays.
—One of my nephews, Noah Stern, was chosen as a pitcher for two different “D” division college baseball teams (he graduated a few years ago).
—His dad, Rick Stern (and sometimes, Noah, when he’s in town), plays adult softball in the Chicago north shore suburbs.

I tell you all this to establish my “credentials, I suppose. I’m not just a whiner or someone who doesn’t understand the game.

I’m watching the early parts of most St. Louis Cardinals’ games with my 91-YO mother because she has low vision and the announcers on ALL the TV stations SUCK at doing play-by-play (I miss Harry Caray!).

That is my first complaint: TV baseball announcers. ALL of them are inadequate and the people who pay them seem fine with it. These current announcers are much too interested in hearing themselves talk about inane things (REALLY STUPID STUFF), reciting obscure statistics almost no one cares about, and rehashing old games/plays. They do not seem the least bit concerned that they are responsible for letting viewers know what is actually happening in the game.

They also have terrible grammar, wrong word choices, odd turns of phrase that aren’t explained, and very large gaps in what they do choose to report. I would fire them all, if they can’t be retrained.
They need to call the games on the radio for a few years to get better announcer chops!

I do a better play-by-play and informing regarding players’ and pitchers’ stats than all of them put together.

Complaint number two: the pitch clock rules (see below). This is a possibly good idea gone terribly wrong, IMO. Yes, baseball games can be interminably long. But, this is NOT the answer.
I’m the first one to get frustrated with all the superstitious, oddly ritualistic, fidgety, time-wasting fooling around that most pitchers and batters (used to?) do. Bull Durham aside, WHY?

So much adjusting and removing/replacing their gloves, hats/helmets, baseballs and/or bats. The rosin bag antics, the pitchers’ feet digging new ruts on the mound, the constant checking of the runners and ridiculous numbers of throw-to-base plays that amount to nothing: these could ALL go away and I’d be happier.

Don’t even get me started on the disgusting spitting, licking, and other oral fixation habits almost all players engage in, on the field and in the dugout. YUCK. I’m all for limiting ALL of that.
But, to pick on pitchers or batters and say their times (and rituals) are limited isn’t fair or logical, unless the MLB plans to make ALL of those behaviors prohibited.

What about the runners who gesture to “god,” “jesus,” or whomever when they get hits? How about the ones who make team-related gestures once on base? Should we limit the batters who generally waste time with lengthy divesting of batting equipment and safety items once on base? Why aren’t runners’ times in each of these types of semi-time-outs limited?

Here are the new (2023) pitch clock rules:
—The pitcher must begin his motion to deliver the pitch before the expiration of the pitch timer. Pitchers who violate the timer are charged with an automatic ball.
—Batters who violate the timer are charged with an automatic strike.
—Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the 8-second mark or else be charged with an automatic strike.
—With runners on base, the timer resets if the pitcher attempts a pickoff or steps off the rubber.
—Pitchers are limited to two disengagements (pickoff attempts or step-offs) per plate appearance. However, this limit is reset if a runner or runners advance during the plate appearance.
—If a third pickoff attempt is made, the runner automatically advances one base if the pickoff attempt is not successful.
—Mound visits, injury timeouts and offensive team timeouts do not count as a disengagement.
—If a team has used up all five of its allotted mound visits prior to the ninth inning, that team will receive an additional mound visit in the ninth inning. This effectively serves as an additional disengagement.
—Umpires may provide extra time if warranted by special circumstances.
(So if, as an example, a catcher were to be thrown out on the bases to end the previous half-inning and needed additional time to put on his catching gear, the umpire could allow it.)
[from: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-2023-rule-changes-pitch-timer-larger-bases-shiftshttps://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-2023-rule-changes-pitch-timer-larger-bases-shifts ]

Third and most serious complaint: UMPIRES. In 2018, “based on 11 seasons of Major League Baseball data, over four million pitches culled and analyzed over two months by Boston University Master Lecturer Mark T. Williams and a team of graduate students” found that a total of over 34,000 balls-strikes calls made by human umps were WRONG! “MLB umpires make certain incorrect calls at least 20 percent of the time, or one in every five calls….These controllable errors impact players, managers, batters, pitchers, performance statistics, game outcomes, and even the big business of fantasy baseball. They shorten careers and diminish fan experience. Pace of play is also impeded.” https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/mlb-umpires-strike-zone-accuracy/

Furthermore, there is almost no accountability or recourse when the umps are wrong at home plate. “MLB has begun evaluating umpires with internal systems (such as Trackman), [but] their performance statistics are not widely known, tracked, or readily shared. Fans can recite starting pitcher information but when it comes to who is umpiring behind home plate and their error rate, these relevant statistics are not public.”

Standardizing umpires’ calls is even harder in the infield or outfield, since not all stadiums have cameras in the same places, each stadium has its own size (with varying “home run” or “double” lines/areas for the ball to hit past), and because sometimes the umpire’s view of a runner and player on a base is obscured, so they can’t always tell who “got there first.”

Luckily, managers can use someone besides the umpire on the field (the New York city panel of “replay analysts,” who watch all video available and make the final call). Team managers can request this review of a call if they believe an ump blew a call at a base or elsewhere (but not for home plate’s balls and strikes), but only within 20 seconds of that call.

These “challenge” calls are limited (ONE per manager per game, in 2023), so have to be well-considered. It can be totally worthwhile, though: “50-60% of contests were successful, overturning the original call.”
[from: https://mlbrun.com/mlb-challenge-rules]

Finally, my largest complaint about the entire umpire system is that they are based on an outmoded, violent model of militaristic, patriarchal, dictatorship rulers that have no place in a game or sport. This is not life-and-death decision-making, here. It’s baseball, for pity’s sake!

There is plenty of room for reversing decisions, acknowledging mistakes, recognizing human error, and being collaborative, all to enjoy the game more. Since there is already a review/challenge method, it ought to be expanded and used more freely. Umpires should NEVER be able to eject anyone merely for disagreeing or arguing, but there could be limits as to how long a disagreement goes on before the challenge must be called.

We should not be complicit in shoring up some old, awful way of autocratically determining everything to do with deciding what/who is out or safe (what it’s all about, yes?).

This brings me to my fourth and biggest complaint: the commercialization of the entire experience of baseball and all major sports.

I don’t know when this became the norm, but EVERYTHING is/displays an ad for some business or corporation. Every announcement is peppered with plugs and attributional ads (some company “sponsors” almost every word out of their mouths, every image, every stat. Players are walking ads for not one or two but three or more companies’ logos on their sleeves, hats, fronts and/or backs of their shirts, safety equipment, sunglasses, etc. Every TV angle has logos or ads, with several rotating displays behind every home plate and outfield section. Every part of the stadium, inside and out, INCLUDING parking areas, outer walls, polls, etc., have posts and are covered with/were built with embedded ads and logos for companies that have NOTHING to do with the sport. The names of most stadiums, roofs of most dugouts, programs, food containers, vendors’ and delivery peeps’ clothing and hats, and every visible part of the announcers’ booth scream to the viewers: BUY SOMETHING.

Worse, to say almost anything about the pitchers, the line-up, field positions, or any pitch or play, announcers have to credit out loud some company for “providing” that information (BS) while their logo is already on the on-screen info boxes. In between ANYTHING (even for 5 – 10 seconds) they now stick a “brief” ad or plug.

Modern TV announcers won’t give any MLB game a decent play-by-play, but they’re perfectly willing to be hucksters.

The entire sport (EVERY major sport, I bet) has been co-opted, and I’m disgusted.

Fifth, a more personal complaint: blackout dates. MLB and owners want EVEN MORE MONEY (billions aren’t enough?!), so they “black out” about two games each month, posting them only for viewers who pay extra (buying the MLB TV package, paying for Facebook Live or Apple+ TV, etc. “10 regular season games will be carried exclusively on either FOX (6), ESPN (2), Apple TV+ (1) or Peacock (1) as part of Major League Baseball’s national television packages.”

THIS SUCKS, especially for people on fixed incomes.

My mom has to listen to the play-by-play on her ancient transistor on those game days. Radio broadcasts have better announcing, though, and fewer ads (none visual!), so perhaps that’s a draw and not a drawback!

Sixth, “Wildcard” shenanigans! (from last year but may apply any year, apparently). MLB installed a new “system” whereby a team that won more games could be ousted from the playoffs by lessor team, by winning 2 out of 3 games in one Wildcard series in the post-season! “The first rounds of the [2022] postseason saw three 100-win teams lose to opponents with worse records.” https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/17/have-mlbs-revamped-playoffs-made-the-baseball-season-an-unfair-mockery

This meant that two teams who were NOT “winners” in any way except for these last rounds faced each other in the “World” series (which is already a misnomer, anyway). Ridiculous.

ROTTEN and unfair! DITCH THIS!

*********************************************

In case there are any fans left, here is the Cardinals’ regular season’s games’ schedule (Cards are unlikely to make any playoffs this year): https://www.ballysports.com/midwest/news/st-louis-cardinals-regular-season-television-schedule

I know it’s blurry, here, so try this: https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/schedule/printable

Those are my MLB baseball rants. What are yours? Comment here: http://www.sallyember.com/blog

Play ball!

LAST DAY for JULY SALE! #Smashwords “The Spanners Series'” #ebooks 25-50% off through 7/31/23!

LAST DAY for JULY SALE! #Smashwords The Spanners Series’ #ebooks 25-50% off through 7/31/23!

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The Spanners Series’ first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW!

The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/

Smashwords is STILL having its annual July Summer/Winter Sale and The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are either free (Volume I) or only $1.99 or $2.99 (usually $3.99) for the entire month of July! See below for info! And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales!

LAST DAY!

Whether you’re sweating, freezing, smoked-out, flooded, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!
Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!

The paperbacks of all three Volumes are available on Amazon. Check out the KINDLEMATCH program for deals when you buy both ebooks and paperbacks of the same volume at the same time.

This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series

Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.

Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions.

In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?

This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.

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This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series

Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.

Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.

How would YOU do with the changes?

Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:
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This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series

Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.

Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.

Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?

What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?

Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:
EBOOKS now $1.99, 50% off the regular price of $3.99, on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588331

Paperbacks and ebooks are on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/This-Want-Things-Change-Spanners/dp/0996999825/

The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks on Amazon

Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books

REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com

For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers, proofreading/editing services and more: http://www.sallyember.com