3 Up
1. Sinead O'Connor - It came as quite a shocker, but celebrity deaths usually are. O'Connor was a culture game-changer. What struck me most as we look back on her life is the courage it took to go after the Catholic church and its sexual abuse during a time when that wasn't quite so easy.
2. Kimberly Mata-Rubio - Speaking of courage, the story of Mata-Rubio is one that stayed with me this week. I can't imagine losing a child to gun violence in a town, then having that fortitude to run for mayor of the town. That is perseverance, courage, forgiveness, humility, emotional control, and so much strength, all in one. More power to Kemberly Mata-Rubio.
3. Katie Ledecky - Ledecky continues to be a swimming monster. The legend now owns the record for most Gold medals - sixteen! - at the World Championships.
3 Down
1. Extreme Weather - Another summer week, more insane heat and extreme weather. It's really hard to refute climate change these days.
2. Interest Rates - Soooooo, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 22-year high. No big deal. The economy is fine, right? Yeah?! We're good, all good here.
3. Bronny James - It's a super scary story. Forget the celebrity involved, the idea of a young man suddenly going into cardiac arrest is a reminder of so many fragile things in this life. Good to know that the James family is doing well. I wish him well going forward. I think we ALL want to see him on the court this season.
3 Interesting
1. UFO's and Aliens - Soooo...our government has a "non-human" body in its possession? Uhhhh, what? For the record, yeah, I do believe in Aliens. The universe is too big to think we're the only ones, no?
2. Politics and Law - I'll keep my comments (or political leanings) out of this. However, it's a wild time in our history to see such an interest between our political leaders and the law. We were lead to believe in a school that President Nixon and Watergate were a huge deal, an anomaly of some sort.
3. Twitter - Yeah, it's now "X". I've never seen the degrading of a brand by a new owner as much as Twitter has been under Elon Musk.
Cover Photo
O’Connor performs at Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 March 1988
Paul Bergen/Redferns