Today was the first day since February 23rd that I haven’t had a bunch of stuff on my calendar. I have been running five calendars since about that same time, and I checked them all, in disbelief, to make sure there was nothing doing today.
This meant that I spent a few hours grading, a few more hours working on a brand new lecture, and a little more time watching a documentary. I have, this week, been answering the last 48 questions poised in my online class. Across the semester they are tasked with reading various articles and chapters. In these six assignments they must make annotations. There’s a certain formula we employ. One element of the formula is to ask a question that the reading has inspired. I figure, since I’ve instructed them to ask I should try to answer the questions. This is a lot of fun. For one thing, you see the wide range of ways that students are thinking about the reading. For another thing, you can challenge yourself to write interesting and creative things. For still a third thing, you can try to predict questions that will come up a lot, and thus create some form answers. The downside to this, and it’s not really a downside, is that it is time intensive.
The good news is, this was the sixth and final annotation of the semester. This also means that the big project is boring down upon us. Feedback there matters a great deal, over the stage process, and that is certainly time intensive.
I have been working on a lecture today about unhealthy traditions. The challenge here is going to be in trying to sound neither obvious, nor a hallway monitor.
And tomorrow I’m screening a documentary that’s a little too long, so I have to find parts to cut out of it, for time. It’s not as easy as skipping the beginning or cutting the end. You have to make some deliberate choices, hopefully, without losing too much context.
And that is what I did on the first day when I didn’t have anything to do.
Also, I went for a bike ride. It’s still early enough in the outdoor part of the year that this feels hole-in-corner. And my lovely bride is out of town at a conference, so I was riding on my own, which felt even sneakier, somehow.
And that’s how it felt, for a little over an hour.
It was tee-hee sneaky version of the feeling. The “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this” style.
If it somehow makes it feel appropriate, I didn’t go out until after hours. And I only got above 30 mph three times.
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?
https://www.kennysmith.org/wordpress/blog/2026/03/17/cuan-na-haisleime-and-keem-bay/”>This is Keem Bay.
A bright and warm and sunny spring day. The sort of day you should have. The sort of spring day you definitely want. The kind of day that, darn it, you deserve after a long hard winter. The things growing outside know it. They know it best of all. I just stood in the window and looked at the snow, this thing was under it for weeks.
So my only problem here is that I feel this blooming beauty deserves a lot more admiration, and a lot more time, than I can afford to give it at the moment. Blooming things should capture our imagination and attention. They certainly shouldn’t be a mere backdrop, a brief bit of mother nature’s colorful palette ignored for the moment, dismissed for the day, unappreciated because we’re busy.
There’s a lot to do during the blooming period, a clumsy scheduling error that occurs every year, and that’s a first world problem.
Which sounds like I want to do a lot of horticulture; I just want to look at the flowers.
If you start at the URL logo in the bottom corner and let your eyes move up the image you’ll see an airliner flying over. Hear it, fetch the phone, open the camera app, find it in the sky, talk about it here. A lovely way to spend a moment outdoors …
… when you’re not admiring the flowers.
In Rits and Trads we talked about youth sports today. Sportsing: what’s the point? Students are always interested in talking about youth sports, because most of them played something, and because travel ball is ludicrous, but kids are great.
Youth sports, we say, helps teach interpersonal skills, helps us learn how to follow rules, participate with others, respect teammates and opponents, and so on. I like to talk about my favorite coach, who wasn’t the best coach, but was determined to teach us more about those things than the game. Since most of us have a very finite window as athletes, that just seems like a good idea. Teach me how to be a better me.
And that let me talk about social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and constructivism learning theory (Piaget, 1964) (and others) and social learning theory, (Bandura, 1977).
Sometimes we are what we see, and social learning theory talks about that.
Of course I put in a cycling video. Paris-Roubaix was just Sunday, it was an all-timer, and someone is out there reproducing the race with their kids. This is remarkably faithful to the actual race.
And we talked a bit about representation. It seemed pertinent since we get that conversation most around the Olympics and thisw was an Olympic year. This video, then, was a cute no brainer.
I showed other videos, too. A friend of mine coaches youth soccer and he has the parents of the two teams form a tunnel and the two teams run through it at the end of the game. He says that by the end of that the kids can’t even remember the score of the game. They’re just having a good time. I showed several things like that. And then we talked about the rituals and traditions in youth sports. The one that no one thought of was senior night.
The answer to that question has traditionally been easy for MLB umpires: A strike is whatever I say it is.
However, amid the introduction of the automated ball-strike challenge system, highly experienced former MLB umps are critical of baseball’s newest technology.
Citing their own observations and conversations with those currently still in the job, the consistent criticism has been simple: What’s a ball and what’s a strike has changed, and they don’t know how, exactly, to call it.
That allowed us to talk, among other things, about who is included in a story, who is not, and why those things might happen.
After class I beat it back home, and to the bike shop. We’d checked our bikes in for an annual tune-up. Mine was about three years overdue. Tune-ups aren’t expensive, but add-ons are. My lovely bride needed new tires and instead of just ordering them and replacing them myself, our friend the bike guy mechanic did it for us. He slapped on the most expensive tires on the market. These things are interwoven with cash money, they have to be.
I told him I’m probably going to go on the market for a new bike this summer. He told me where to shop. A lot of the smaller shops, like his, have been cut out of the roadie market. It’s a square-footage vs. manufacturer demands vs. ROI issue. He has a small shop. The big four bike manufacturers want you to buy a certain number of machines from them (basically on spec) and then sell them. But bikes don’t constantly fly off the shelves, so the store might have to buy 15 or 20 bikes and hope they can sell them. And that’s all a huge risk, or maybe untenable. Here is a sport built on local culture and the source of the equipment is flirting with driving the locals entirely out of business. My guy said I should go over to this other bike shop and get in some test rides, because I want to try different things out. The guy told me to go to his competitor. I suppose, considering how the industry is changing under his feet, that other store isn’t his competition anymore. And this is how manufacturers are marginalizing and creating vulnerabilities in the best ambassadors their industry has.
So I suppose, this June, I’ll be doing that. Maybe, if I do it right, I can be gripped by paralysis by analysis and not buy a new bike at all.
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 this close encounter with the roadside sheep with me, won’t you?
Ya know, we have some neighbors that have two small sheep herds. They don’t let them roam around, and we’re all the lesser for it.
On Saturday I took part in two panels at the conference. The first was the now traditional roundtable discussion of issues in the upcoming midterms. We decided there was not a thing at all going on, the republic is safe, the economy is great, we are at peace and universally beloved, our style of representative democracy is health, and no one need pay attention.
That last sentence is in code. The key to breaking the code is in realizing that the opposite of everything listed there is true.
In the afternoon I also participated in a more structured panel. I believe I pitched the idea for this one, in face. The premise was that modern media has changed the format of the foundation and persuasion components of political campaigning. Basically, comparatively inexpensive equipment and online platforms are changing the messaging we’re seeing. (To say nothing of AI.)
I talked about how Jerri Green, who is one of the seven prominent candidates running for governor in Tennessee. The Memphis City Councilor is introducing herself with an extensive bio video.
There are strengths and weaknesses to the spot.
I talked about Fred Wellman, who is his socials (and some genAI that is both clever and weird) to show his family’s military heritage (dating back to the French and Indian War) and his time as an Army aviator to explain how his career of service began.
He’s one of nine people (and no incumbents) running for the 2nd Missouri seat. The primary is in August.
I explained the social media efforts of Zach Wahls, who introduced himself as an Eagle Scout, and then a state senator, and then a sixth-generation Iowan. And then a new generation of Democrat. He’s campaigning for the U.S. Senate.
There’s a lot clever production techniques in each of these. They’re professionally done, but not overbearingly so. In each of them you see longer stories you can’t get in a pricey 30-second spot.
I also mentioned Andrew Cuomo’s published an AI-generated negative ad while running for mayor of New York. It might be the worst spot I’ve seen in my life. It’s certainly the most grotesque attack ad.
Andrew Cuomo’s campaign just posted — and quickly deleted — this AI-generated ad depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”
Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.
Depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani” highlighting shoplifters, domestic abusers, pimps, drunk drivers, drug dealers, speaking directly to camera it finally ended with an entire city block on fire. It was quickly, and quietly, deleted. Here’s some coverage of this from last October. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/23/cuomo-zohran-mamdani-ai-ad”>Cuomo condemned over racist AI ad depicting ‘criminals for Zohran Mamdani’:
This video follows a trend from the Cuomo campaign, who have published a handful of AI-generated videos in the lead up to 4 November. In one early October video, Cuomo was seen performing various jobs around New York City including driving a subway car, trading on the New York stock exchange and washing high-rise windows.
In response, Mamdani posted on Instagram: “In a city of world-class artists and production crew hunting for the next gig, Andrew Cuomo made a TV ad the same way he wrote his housing policy: with AI. Then again, maybe a fake Cuomo is better than the real one?”
Just this week, Cuomo shared a video featuring an AI-generated Bill de Blasio and, again, Mamdani. That video attempted to paint Mamdani as a “mini” De Blasio and emphasize a moment from the first debate where Cuomo compared the former mayor to the mayoral hopeful.
Cuomo, of course, lost convincingly.
I touched on the Hell Cats, four female veterans of the American armed forces now running for Congress in New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Arizona. Their introductory ad was a 68-second montage piece featuring all four of these accomplished women leaning into their service, and the proud history of the Hell Cats name (the first all-female Marine unit, dating back to WWI). I also mentioned Doug Jones’ stumbles out of the media gate in his gubernatorial bid in Alabama (Update: he won his primary and will be trounced in the general) and the Mr. Rogers-esque feeling of some of Brad Landers’ congressional content in New York (they primary in June).
It’s been interesting to watch the evolution of campaign messaging in these last few cycles. The notion of what is effective is changing on every media front, and is different, in subtle ways, from platform to platform and format to format. I could talk on the finer points of that, the evolution, the concerns, the consultants, and the grassroots feel of authenticity in politics all day. We could also talk about the use of AI in this messaging.
But what you really missed were the campaign efforts that others discussed. Derek Dooley — famous for being his father’s son and an underwhelming football coach — stepped into the senate race in Georgia. And this is how you introduced himself.
The Georgia Democrats, a few days later, ended Dooley’s political career and any hopes he might have of returning to big time football, in a 95 second spot without saying an actual word.
The Georgia Democrats didn't just destroy Derek Dooley they buried him 100 feet under the earth.
And you’ll absolutely want to read up on Aaron Spencer, who is running for sheriff in Arkansas … in the same county where he’s facing second degree murder charges. It’s a real Walking Tall story. He handily won the Republican primary, and is currently in pre-trial motions for his murder charges.
Things I saw before the conference ended … this delicious noodle bowl.
I want some more, please and thank you.
This colorful tunnel.
This cup of M&Ms. One of our colleagues found a giant jar, produced a huge plastic bag and took his fill. We just borrowed this little cup from the juice and coffee stand.
This awesome mural. The only not-awesome thing about this is that someone has places crowd control ropes right up next to the wall, crowding the whole mural. This is awesome. Fred should just be reaching out of the wall, all fierce and kind.
The problem with this conference ending is the idea that we won’t see some of our dear friends until next year’s conference. This is an unfortunate and unacceptable annual realization.
Back to it tomorrow. Back to classes, back to whatever else comes to mind, and back to those great Irish videos. (We’ve only just begun to recollect.)
For my part in the conference today I spoke on panel titled Games of Power: The Weaponization of Sport for Political Gain.
The premise of the panel acknowledges the long history of sport as a battleground, the interrelationships of politics and sport, and the dynamics of regional and national interests that are oftentimes at play. The topics included how sport functions as a contested space where political actors, institutions, and movements seek to assert power, shape narratives, and mobilize public opinion, often while using sport as a weapon.
I talked about identity fusion theory, within the context of nationalism, using the Winter Olympics and the men’s locker room hockey phone call example.
I later asked the question, “What is it to be a 28-year-old athlete, on a gold medal high, and laughing at a punchline from the president of the United States?” I also talked about sport as a soft power, and how that political influence and persuasion might be changing. (The Global Soft Power Index seems to think the U.S. numbers are softening.)
Ultimately, I said this should perhaps be a conversation about sport in a new era. If that sounded wise it was only because of what my colleagues on the panel said after that.
I will take part in two more panels tomorrow. The rest of my day I spent in various audiences, doing the Academic Nod.
This evening, before dinner, we caught some fireworks almost by chance.
Call me old fashioned, but I think fireworks should be memorialized. That’s a lot of sound and fury … and some money … that someone is exploding for no real reason. The least we can do is record it and view it from every conceivable angle.
This series of percussive explosions wasn’t even about nationalism. Call me old fashioned again, but I miss the days when fireworks displays meant something. They told a story, dagnabbit!
Don’t mind me, I’m going to go yell at this cloud of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
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?
That is Cuan na hAisléime … (still not a series of letters that comes readily to my typing fingers) another casual side-of-the-road view that would be an absolute show stopper most anywhere else.
We are traveling for a conference. Flew yesterday — conferencing today and through Sunday with almost every moment explicitly or implicitly booked. It’s a nice feeling, I’m tired already.
We saw this while we were out and about. And, if I may, a short reply: No.
I suppose it’s nice of this vending scheme to give you the directions across the top of the machine. Select – Pay – Enjoy. I did not get close enough to select, and you’d think my saying that now would imply some regret, but it does not, and there are two reasons. First, I didn’t want to push any buttons on that device for fear that some chemical scent would leach onto my fingers and give me away the next time I had real barbecue. If there is a food that deserves some sort of dye pack for authenticity, it is this one. And that leads me to the second reason I did not approach that machine. Where I come from, barbecue is a serious endeavor. It comes with a cultural pride and historical traditions, a fusion of many different communities and one of our omnipresent commonalities: the odds are good that we know slow cooked meat better than other people do. There’s heritage, history, and pride in those foodways, and they come together even as they diverge. You don’t get this out of a casserole or a catch of the day. This comes to you because your elders gave it to you, because their elders gave it to them, because just a few generations farther back they knew that this food just barely missed the cut among the classical elements: earth, water, fire, and air. Barbecue would have made the list, but everyone fell for the propaganda of aether for a brief period. (Also because, sometimes, there wasn’t even enough low quality meat to slow cook.)
This is not to say that the people that handed this down to my people are the only people with a food in such an important position. Plenty of cultures have specific food that should be viewed comparably — as they should!
But you’re also not getting me to buy sushi or tamales or bibimbap out of a machine. I’d like to be more respectful of a chef than that. And the food itself! Look, the only way to enjoy this is to have a bad experience with vending machine barbecue and then tell the story, ironically, to everyone you meet for the next 10 days.
Furthermore, I’m not paying for any of that — or the acute food poisoning that must surely follow.
Seriously, how often is that machine’s inventory swapped out? And who knows if they leave the power on overnight. Even the sauce is supposed to be fresh and this isn’t it.
Also, their URL doesn’t work, further depressing my confidence in this product.
To be clear, I would try their barbecue in a conventional model, in a store, fresh off the grill as the grill master intended. I would savor and enjoy it and compliment everyone involved, then I’d buy the sauce as a home product, in great big styrofoam cups or jars at the store, as commerce and transportation convenience demands.
Not out of that contraption.
The conference is a good one. We’ve been coming to it for years. Seeing and working with friends is a joy. It is a shame we can only see them once a year. I have, for ages, suggested we create our own department, our own school, our own university. Or a consulting firm. Or just a nice country club where we can sit and tell jokes. One day they’ll catch up to my vision.
My first responsibility at this particular conference was to serve as a respondent to a panel session titled Consumers Caught Between Giants: Social Media Economics. There were two scholars presenting their work. The authors talk for about 20 minutes on what they’re doing. This is an opportunity for them to share some updates, get some feedback and make some nice professional connections than can inspire ideas for their continued work. One of the scholars is a grad student exploring the motivations of platform users to move to a premium tier, things like exclusive programming and various consumer perceptions. The other is a talented new faculty member. She is looking at, among other things, the value of trust and credibility in a word-of-mouth scenario when passing along social media influencers.
It was a great room, one of those sessions where the conversation at the end was robust, lively, and well received by the people doing the research. The best part was in seeing how much room there is to explore in each of these areas. The only down side was they had to hear me talk for a few minutes about their work. But I knew the people in room wanted to have a go at this, so I tried to keep it light and proficient. Two quick compliments, something you might consider considering, and a question for each of you. Now, let’s hear from everyone else. Because everyone else had a lot to say. And they did!
Sessions like these are great, particularly for newer conference goers like these. Maybe we’ll create some long-time members out of both of them. Unless I talked too much.
Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in a panel. Two more on Saturday. I’ve also filled my schedule with seeing other sessions, networking with friends and colleagues and generally trying to present a reasonably professional, or at least serious, face.
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?
Not to worry, I know the sheep videos are doing well. I’m going to show at least one more, next week.
