I don't have an attitude problem. You have a problem with my attitude, and that's not my problem.

First, we have the owner of the L.A. Clippers saying some really offensive stuff on tape. BIG news both in and out of the sports world.
Several things strike me at this early stage of the still-unfolding story.

• The assumption seems to be that the tape is unaltered and a true reflection of what he said. Since the tape was made during an argument with his "girlfriend" - a Barbie one third his age who looks to have more plastic than a cheap Walmart toy and who is being sued by the guy's wife - I at least wonder about the reliability of the tape. 
• The portion of the tape released by gossip site TMZ is 15 minutes long, and TMZ says there's another 45 minutes of recording. Why haven't they released that? Hmmmm. 
• Barbie's lawyer and TMZ both say they didn't get the tape from her. OK, who did they get it from? That's weird.
• All of that said (or typed), the guy hasn't issued any denials. His silence seems to speak at least as loudly as his voice. 
• If what he's heard saying is in fact what he said, and if the tape hasn't been altered to manipulate his words, his comments are indeed grossly racist and offensive. But I'm equally bothered by the rest of what he says. He doesn't care if his girlfriend sleeps around, or who she sleeps with, so long as nobody else knows it's with African-Americans. What kind of moral vacuum are these people living in? 

Next there's the mess in and around Ukraine. I regularly scan a half dozen national news sites reading the stories that interest me, and none of them seem to have a handle on what Putin is doing, what his end-game is. Will he eventually invade? Is he hovering and threatening, knowing that will eventually bring down the new Ukraine govt. just from the stress of his troop movements? Is this his first step in rebuilding the Soviet Union or just one apple he wants to pick? And will increasing sanctions make Putin rethink his plan or is he so locked into his ambitions that he'll figure he can survive any external pressure? This could come to a climax relatively soon or drag out for months. 

Two Popes came together to canonize two other Popes. (The first two are living, the second pair dead.) That unprecedented confluence generated lots of press coverage, including acknowledgement that not everyone thinks making John Paul II a saint was such a great idea. But I was struck by the absence of any discussion of what it means when the Roman Catholic Church makes someone a saint. Seems like that would be an obvious starting point for the coverage. What we got was, "They're making these guys saints" without any explanation of what that implies about them, what the practical implications are. Maybe that's because if people knew what it means when someone is canonized they'd go, "Seriously???"

Or is it that people don't really care? 

"Hey, the church is throwing a party. Wanna go?"

I told them I don't think I've had a tie around my neck since we arrived in Phoenix almost eight years ago. Pathway is pretty much a tie-less place and I haven't done a wedding or funeral since the church started six years ago. But a few weeks back I decided I occasionally miss that level of dress-up, so yesterday Pam and I went to Kohl's and bought me a new shirt and tie. Wore them this morning. That shook 'em up! 

In another few weeks it will be too hot for a closed up collar but this morning I felt...spiffy. 

And it turns out it's a lot like riding a bike; I had no problem getting a neat, triangular knot.