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May 29, 2018

Way to go, Ohio’s Chrissie Hynde.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders turns 67 this year. She lives mainly in London now. Like me, she went to a truly great public high school in the Ohio suburbs, hers being up north in the more industrial Cleveland-Akron megalopolis. I like Ohio. I was lucky to spend half my childhood there. But whenever Hynde and The Pretenders over the past 30 years have performed this song--to be fair, it could be about quite a few Midwestern cities--her voice drips with anger, and you know what she means. It's powerful. Here's one of her tamer renditions.

Posted by JD Hull at 08:08 PM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2018

John Alexander McCrae (1872-1918): In Flanders Fields.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

--John Alexander McCrae (1872–1918)

Poet and physician, McCrae was a Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and served as a field surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium (April 21–May 25 1915). He wrote this famous and much beloved poem on May 3, 1915. It first appeared in Punch in December of 1915. McCrae preferred the front lines. On June 1, 1915, despite his protests, McCrae was asked to set up a hospital away from the front and near Boulogne, France. In January 1918, he died of pneumonia and meningitis while still commanding that hospital.

Posted by JD Hull at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2018

Doing Business 2018: Most Corrupt; Least Corrupt.

Top 10 - Corruption Challenges Index 2018, most challenging countries

Turkmenistan
Somalia
Libya
South Sudan
Syria
North Korea
Central African Republic
Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Congo
Yemen

Top 10 - Corruption Challenges Index 2018, least challenging countries

New Zealand
Ireland
Denmark
Belgium
Hong Kong
Australia
Germany
Greenland
Luxembourg
Singapore

Source: RiskAdvisory.com May 2018

Posted by JD Hull at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)

Pete Hamill on The ‘50s. NYC.

The Eisenhower era bragged of the good life for all, a time of abundance and prosperity, but it didn’t touch the Neighborhood. The prosperous were gone to the suburbs; among those who stayed, money was still short. Everywhere in the city, factories were closing.

- Pete Hamill, A Drinking Life, 1994

Posted by JD Hull at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2018

John Daniel Hull III (May 17, 1928 - December 27, 2012). Happy 90th, Big John.

John Daniel Hull III. May 17, 1928 - December 27, 2012. My Dad's 90th birthday would have been today. Based on his DNA, we had every reason to think he'd be here today to celebrate it with us. We lost him suddenly, unexpectedly. This blog has posted pictures of him at various ages. Below is one of his favorite places in the world. He loved water, boats, smallmouth bass and his family. He was authentic, original at all times, funny, aggressive, bold, robust and healthy, had a gift with spoken & written words and simply did not care what anyone thought about what he said or did. Ever. Playful is the word. He was, too, a celebrated athlete, a standout in both football and basketball at Shortridge High School and DePauw, both in Indiana. The last male Hull in my line born in the Ozarks, he was self-made, and storied, at Procter & Gamble. At age 84 he died suddenly and unexpectedly but happy. It was a lesson. His own Mom lived to be a happy and similarly feisty 101. His own Dad, paternal grandfather and paternal great-grandfather (a Confederate soldier born in 1837) all lived longer lives. Best genes a male Hull ever had or will have. But he had no regrets. And nothing was ever unsaid. Happy Birthday, Big John. They broke the mold, Dad.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2018

Thomas Kennerly Wolfe, Jr. (March 2, 1930 - May 14, 2018)

Tom Wolfe. Prince of Journalism. Risk-taker. Virginian. Original. Man in Full.

"Every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man."

Posted by JD Hull at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2018

White Boy Action Wear?

Twenty years ago I started a company called Black Dog to sell tees, sweatshirts, jackets and the like under the name of "White Boy Action Wear". The WBAW logo and "White Boy" (see T-shirt image above) would have appeared on every product.

We shelved the company and the clothing line when we realized something while selling a few items initially to obtain trade and service marks: very few people outside of the largest U.S. cities and some fun (but insular) snowboarding, skateboarding and extreme sports communities (a) "got it"--the name, that is--and (b) felt comfortable with it and the "concept", such as it is. Lots of people said they felt uncomfortable with White Boy Action Wear--the words, the concept, the tee shirt--and in ways they could not always explain to us. Me? I think it's funny (read: hysterical) and always have.

But I'm not everyone. Color me lucky. I've had a fine education. I've travelled. Met people. I even went to debutante balls, including the Bicentennial one at the Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, Kentucky. I met Phil Donahue once, and he let me park his car. Met a creature named Maeve in Mainz and one called Miss Lucy on Île Saint-Louis. I'm semi-literate but have high standards, hopefully. I already know, for example, that "Flaubert" does not refer to a way to prepare food.

In short, and seriously, I do get, like and prize (a) irony and (2) satire, and usually no matter how edgy. You get the idea.

Help me out:

1. Does, for example, the T-shirt product above offend you?

2. Would you buy it?

3. Would you keep or wear it if it were a present?

4. Would you let your kids wear it?

5. Would you wear it at your country club? An Irish bar?

6. Would you wear it into the "Soul Lounge" in Madisonville, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb of mainly black (or Afro-American) residents? Or at a mainly white working class bar in nearby the suburb of Norwood?

7. Even if you have no problems with it, and think it's wonderful and funny, what problems do you see other people having with it?

8. Have things (and sensibilities) changed or loosened up enough for people to understand the mild fun and satire connected the "White Boy Action Wear" idea and the goofy White Boy who would appear on every product?

Posted by JD Hull at 02:40 PM | Comments (0)