How is everyone’s weekend going? I’m on the road, attending a graduation in Michigan.
It’s graduation season for sure…and of course, the celebrations that accompany them.
It was cool to drive by a few high schools this week and see the chairs and stages for traditional graduation ceremonies. But I also like what other non-traditional events schools are doing, like Noblesville High School in Noblesville, IN. That school held an all-day event with a parade and drive-by style diploma ceremony.
Best of all? Seeing photos with no masks. Bravo to all.
Today’s Six features articles on the different approaches from different states to Covid, the continued erosion of TV news post-Trump and a Bay Area man finally returns an album almost a half-century after it’s due date.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
Which Covid Restrictions Worked and Which Ones Didn’t.
This will be more a front and center story in the coming months and years, comparing the response to Covid from more ‘open’ states to those that remained ‘closed.’ If there are outbreaks in the future, what is the best approach? One quote from the article: “State policies mattered. But it is hard to know and we may never know whether policies made at the state level were able to overcome all the other challenges of this pandemic.” A good read via Vox.
100 Days After Trump, TV News Sees More Losers Than Winners.
TV cable news follows a simple formula. Identify the enemy and pound the bastard varmint into submission every night. For four years, the nemesis was President Trump. Predictably, television networks and hosts that tied themselves to Trump are seeing an plunge in viewers. Who is hemorrhaging audience and who is actually gaining viewers is addressed in this piece from Outkick.
Wolfgang Van Halen Shares A Famous Name. His Music Is His Own.
Last fall, rock music lost an all-time icon in Eddie Van Halen. His son, Wolfgang, who played with father on Van Halen tours before Eddie’s passing, is formed his own band and plans to release an album and tour this summer with classic rock staple Guns N’ Roses. But Wolfgang will always be linked to his more famous father. Can he build a separate fanbase and carve out his own identity in rock music? This piece from the Washington Post analyzes that question in compelling detail.
Man Returns Overdue Library Album 48 Years Late.
We’ve all been a bit tardy at times with our library items. I’ve racked up some double digit fines over the years. But nothing like this story. A man named Howard Simon checked out of a Cleveland library a Bob Dylan album in 1973. Simon, now 62 and living in San Francisco, finally mailed back the album earlier this month. The album was 17,480 days overdue. How big of a check did Simon write for the late fee? $175.
Phil Mickelson, Championship Golfer and Expensive Wine Seller.
A couple of weeks ago, Phil Mickelson won the PGA men’s golf championship at the age of 50. As per tradition in golf (and other sports like hockey) he received a large trophy as reward (as well as a seven-figure check) and drank liquid refreshment from said trophy. Turns out in Mickelson’s case, the wine he drank out of the Wanamaker Trophy was a $450 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Almost overnight, the bottler of that wine saw a significant boom in sales. A good read from the San Francisco Chronicle in the perfect mash up between celebrity and product.
California Teen Fights off Mama Brown Bear.
The Six’s animal video of the week…this a good one from California. It takes a few seconds for the drama to unfold. Looking to increase your social media followers and gain instant viral fame? Fight off a live bear!
Have a great rest of your weekend everybody. Thanks for reading as always.
Have a suggestion for the Sunday Six? Send email to jon@jonjkerr.com.