Didn’t I just write an AYT? This writing thing, especially on a schedule, is tough. Tough but worth it. I am one week into the renaissance of the blog and I am back to enjoying writing. Sometimes it’s cathartic as yesterday’s post was and sometimes it’s just fun. I am hoping for a higher mix of the latter.

Well, lets see. I suppose we should start with Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Hmm?

☞ I have many friends who “hate” the President but are often hard pressed to find a lucid reason why.  “He’s raising my taxes,” say the haters. He’s likely not unless you are in the top .5% of earners. “He hasn’t done anything to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize,” cry the naysayers. Maybe you’re just not paying attention. Have a listen to Rachel Maddow, liberal, and forget your ideologies for 10 minutes. Then we can talk.

It’s time to be sensible again.

☞I have been watching the David Letterman “sex with staffers” story with great interest.  I could care less about the details but watching Letterman in full crisis, public relations mode is something to behold. Forgetting about whether what he did was right or wrong, kids studying public relations in college will undoubtedly watch this performance as a shining example of great crisis management. The story, while not out of the news completely, is already ho-hum by most standards.

To review, tell the whole truth immediately, bury the bad news (cheating) with good news (blackmailer arrested), be engaging and apologize if needed. Brilliant.

☞I love all music but when new bands attempt a retro sound, they rarely succeed. If they are successful, it’s a thing of beauty. That’s the case with the Pepper Pots from Barcelona, Spain. The Pepper Pots sound (and look) like they just stepped out of a sixties recording studio.  Immediately, you will hear Motown, Stax and even a little ska. The tongue in cheek named album, Now!, is bound to put a smile on your face with a familiar yet brand spanking new sound. Have a listen to Take a Chance. And go get Now!. Now.

The Pepper Pots

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☞What makes people think that because they are good at one thing that they are automatically good at everything? I’ve seen a few of examples of that recently and it astounds me. For example, when god created me he had 10 marbles to allocate. He gave me 1 creative marble, 1 talent marble, 4 common sense marbles and 4 intelligence marbles. The message here is know who you are and it will serve you well. That is all.

☞The Damn Red Sox. We knew it wasn’t our year despite having a pitching staff that was looking “unhittable” for awhile. (yes, we are talking about the Red Sox.) But the thing that we really lacked this year was the fearsome one-two punch of bona fide sluggers. Gone is Mannny Ramirez and while still in Boston, consider David Ortiz gone too. My DNA is wired so that I cannot root for the Yankees going forward under any circumstance.  I am hoping for an Interstate-5 match-up between the Angels and the Dodgers. Their home state could use the help.

☞Did anyone notice (or care) that the US defeated the International team in the Presidents Cup? We’re talking golf here, people.

☞I think I may be too old to be anything other than skeptical about Russia’s pledge to work with the US to ensure Iran’s nuclear program is used for peaceful purposes. Sorry. I can’t help myself.

☞Did you watch the Gin Wigmore video on the Aye Wonder Cheat Sheet? Ain’t she darling?

☞Have you ever gone back to a place that you haven’t been to in awhile? To me, it always seems a little disappointing. In my mind’s eye, I remember the collective charm of a place not its individual statues or museums or churches. But time does changes everything and it’s usually the little things that change the most. A Starbucks suddenly appears where the town coffee shop used to be. The 100 year old town center hardware store is boarded up and replaced by a Home Depot five miles away.

I don’t think there will be much of a change in St Andrews when I return after a 28 month hiatus. Medieval towns are good like that. But the one concern I had about St Andrews the last time I was there was the proliferation of charity shops. A charity shop is a store that operates within the context of a non-profit organization. For example, Oxfam may have a store that sells books and the profit goes to the charity. I am not against this but what has happened in St Andrews is problematic. The last time I was there I counted 14 charity shops. Ninety percent of the time, these shops sell second hand merchandise like books, records, clothing etc. Since the stock is primarily donated, there are no costs of goods sold.  Store staffing is usually done on a volunteer basis. Naturally, there are no taxes on the profits (almost every sale is profit). Not to overstate the obvious but these are huge advantages for a store. The stores do have one significant expense. Rent. But here’s the thing, a charity shop enjoys a mandated 80% rent reduction. If you are a landlord and one of your properties comes off of lease, as soon as a charity shop indicates its interest, you must rent to them. OUCH. For a town like St Andrews, one that is reliant on holiday travelers, having a high street filled with charity shops is a real dilemma. If you see me in two weeks walking around counting storefronts, you’ll know what I am doing.

☞And lastly, the Aye Wonder quote of the week is usually drawn from my week’s experiences. This one is no exception.

Men travel faster now but I do not know if they go to better things.
~Willa Cather

Well that’s me done with another AYT, the second week in a row. It may be a streak started.

Aye Wonder.
What about you?

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