#don't come at me team usa fans because i simply do not care

[justbackgroundnoise]

lmao you're telling me the american player didn't get a penalty for that scuffle around the crease also???? she full-on cross-checked the swiss player in retaliation! Alina Muller was right to be angry. what an absolute joke of a call. switzerland, this was always a hard game for you but you deserve better calls than that.

[qloof]

For the OC ask game I have quite a few.

Voxel on Zeo and Johannes.

Aria and Vita on Dynamis and Tithi.

Acec on Johannes and Chris

omg…!!

Voxel on Zeo:

I'm still working on Voxel's personality and tendencies but I have a feeling that out of all the coaches, Voxel doesn't see eye-to-eye with Zeo the most (ironic as they are both sort of Fox bladers lmao). Zeo, although he doesn't come around as much as Toby or Masamune because he's busy with WBBA work, is the more professional and strict bunch of the team when it comes to coaching (is this a result of his Team Starbreaker training and he doesnt realize it? perhaps..) and Voxel just isn't a fan of it. He much prefers Masamune's relaxed rules and Toby's softer way of addressing what he needs to work on. Voxel has no idea why Vita likes Zeo so much. Voxel, in general, gives attitude to almost every adult, but will still follow what they say and not disobey with a flat-toned "yes sir". He gives the most attitude to Zeo. Somewhere in the plot, Voxel impulsively and angrily challenges Zeo to a bey battle (something he always does when he has a problem with someone) and promptly loses, earning some sharp words from Zeo, which makes Voxel sulk for a bit and think about his current position on the team. (insert training arc that i've hinted to in the discord server :3). As Voxel integrates himself more into the new gen Team Dungeon and the USA Team, he shakes off of his attitude and works on proving to Zeo that he can contribute to the new team.

Voxel On Johannes:

I haven't thought much about Johannes interacting with new gen Team Dungeon, and I don't think he would, but Voxel would definitely hear stories about him from the coaches. Voxel finds the image of Johannes very funny, and a bit embarrassing for the senior bladers because of how dumb they seemed when dealing with him (lmao). . .

Aria on Dynamis:

OHHHHHH ok for some background information, every USA Team member has their favorite Legendary Blader (that they all argue about who's better). Aria's favorite Legendary Blader is Dynamis. Attempting to power-scale to justify her favorite against the others is not her style; she simply likes him because she thinks he's the prettiest and has the best aesthetic. [ In my headcanons, Dynamis works alongside King for promotional photo shoots sometimes ]. She's the number one Dynamis fan on social media and everyone knows it <3 her response to criticism is "don't care + didn't ask + ur fav can't dress + ratio" At some point I would like her to meet Dynamis in person, but I'm not sure exactly what sort of interactions they'd have adjdjdjjd she would ask for a picture though <3 and maybe challenge him to a bey battle <3

Aria on Tithi:

Ooo this one I had to think about a little bit. For Aria I think it's a bit more difficult to see Tithi as such a figure like the other Legendary Bladers, simply because he's only a few years older than her, but Tithi is very high on the favorites list because he is fun. She thinks his bey and battling style is super epic. ur telling me bro's mythology is quetzacoatl itself???? that's crazyyy !!! I'll have to think more about interactions soon :3 (if they ever have any in the plot adjdjd) but Dynamis would like her fashion sense. . .

Vita on Dynamis:

Through a fan lens, Dynamis would be high on Vita's Favorite Bladers list, but also he's high in terms of respect. Vita already carries deep respect for her coaches, and since Dynamis is King's senior, she feels a little little bit intimidated. Stories she's heard of Dynamis during the Nemesis Crisis blew her mind. she was just kinda like "what,..what do you mean he split the star fragment…" She doesn't have very much to go off of other than popular stories (but her vision of him is taken down a few notches when King tells her some other stories of Dynamis lmao) I don't have any interactions in mind for them at the moment, but they would deffo talk about the mythology behind their planets/mythologies

Vita on Tithi:

I think it would be sort of the same as Aria's view of Tithi adjdjdj . .

Acec on Johannes:

Acec has not met Johannes in person so he doesn't have much to go off by other than the stories Masamune and Bao tell him. Acec's reaction to what Bao tells him of Beylin Fist's experience is very "what the fuck?? you let a catboy do that to you guys…" and he starts laughing. there are tears in his eyes.

Acec on Chris:

Acec sees Chris once in a while when xe visits Team Dungeon. Acec walked in one day, saw him just chilling on a chair, turn to Masamune and go "who the hell is that" (Chris also goes "who the hell is that") Acec would probably join in one the light bullying of Chris Beyblade, but otherwise wouldn't mind him and have some chit-chat. I don't think they'd be more than acquaintances really, just people who are chill with each other because of mutual friends.

[bluetomorrows]

My Extensive Thoughts on Sailor Moon SuperS

Something I don't do a lot is extensively talk about things I dislike. There are plenty of things I dislike and I'll mock and complain about them, but when I write long essay-like reviews, it's usually for something that I really like. I don't usually have the energy or passion to write about things I hate. Even if, just for example, it was a sequel/new entry in a series I love. Beneath the Planet of the Apes is one of my least favourite movies in large part because it's an atrocious follow-up to a movie that's very dear to me. But I don't think I could make a big write-up about how much I hate it. I can't bring myself to care that much about it. Which is what makes me feel weird about this, because I did not care for Sailor Moon SuperS, and by God I have a lot I want to say about it.

Maybe it's because it's bad in a unique way. Maybe it's cause it's a 39-episode season and not a 90-minute movie. Maybe I'm just in the mood to be a hater. I don't know why I want to write this, but I really do. This time it's cathartic. 

Let me just start with what I actually did like. The animation is still on par with the previous seasons and seems to be of somewhat more consistent quality (some stuff like Sailor Moon S jump around with the quality). The watercolours are still beautiful, all the colours still really pop both in the backgrounds and the cels. One thing I really liked about this season was the music. It might be the best in the series so far, it’s at the very least on par with the previous seasons. The outro theme is super catchy J-Pop and some of the battle music, specifically in the last few episodes is really spectacular. I’d recommend checking out some tracks.

Alright, enough cushy praise let’s get straight to disappointment. I thought about structuring this review by going from what I thought were the smallest to the biggest flaws, but I think it’s necessary we start with the biggest flaw of this season right out of the gate because almost every other issue stems out of this one major problem:

Sailor Moon is not the main character of Sailor Moon Super S.

Usagi Tsukino is not even remotely the main character of this season, the protagonist is her time-displaced daughter Chibi Usa. This is a point I don’t think even this season’s most adamant fans would argue with. It’s hard for me to really hammer this home as much as I can as someone reading this may think I’m exaggerating. I’m not. If you don’t believe me simply read the episode descriptions of the season. Chibi Usa is at the center of every plot, and as such the show closely follows her. The protagonist we have followed for the last 3 seasons, really is nothing more than a side character for this entire story. Since this is my biggest sticking point with the season I want to try to approach it from a place of good faith. I want to try to understand why this is the way that it is. I want to see why this decision was made, what the creative team hoped to gain from it, and why I think it doesn’t work.

I want to talk about Chibi-Usa as a character. In the 30th century when the whole world was at peace and everyone could live forever in a utopia, Usagi and Mamoru had Chibi-Usa. She’s a little girl (in the manga she’s actually very old but not physically aging, an aspect I’m actually glad they changed for the anime) who for plot reasons has to go to the past and get the sailor guardians help in the second major arc of Sailor Moon. Chibi Usa initially bumps heads with the guardians (ESPECIALLY Usagi who she has to live with under the guise of a cousin) but eventually comes to appreciate and respect them, as they grow fond of her. Eventually, they defeat the big bad and Chibi Usa is able to go back to the future and reunite with her future family. In Sailor Moon S she shows up yet again, returning to the 90s so she can train to be a sailor guardian, this is kind of a flimsy stupid reason but I won’t harp on it. She continues to fight with Usagi but her prominent role is in befriending Hotaru, and her kindness to her ultimately being what saves the world. 

Chibi Usa consistently ranked high if not outright first in Sailor Moon popularity polls at the time but if you were to ask Sailor Moon fans how they feel about her you’re most likely going to get incredibly negative responses. If I were to compare her to another fictional character I would choose Scrappy Doo. They’re both essentially child versions of the most marketable character in their series, introduced partway into its run, who most people believe disrupted the original beloved group dynamic and shoved the other characters to the side so more focus could be put on them. And they’re annoying. Similar to Scrappy Doo, I think the hate for Chibi Usa is pretty overblown in online circles. Not to say I don’t think any of the criticisms against them are valid (Unlike Chibi Usa, Scrappy pushing the other characters out for the sake of focusing on him is objectively true. Fred and Velma just straight up stopped being in the show), I just think people just have a lot of blind hatred to things aimed at children, and also mostly get their opinions from other people online rather than forming their own. 

I think Chibi Usa can be an effective foil to Usagi when she is allowed to respect her. I believe what they were going for is the idea that Chibi Usa is a faster learner and generally more capable with tasks, but Usagi is more emotionally intelligent, secure in herself, and mature (at least where it’s important). That dynamic challenges both of them and exposes their strengths and weaknesses. Where the show usually goes wrong is downplaying Usagi’s strengths and portraying Chibi Usa as an all-around better person who does not and has no reason to respect or admire Usagi. In SuperS specifically she gets really overly mean to her but I’m getting ahead of myself.

What bothers me about the use of Chibi Usa in the show is that she is rarely actually part of the group dynamic. She’s almost always sectioned off in the plot to go do her own thing. I don’t really understand the point because they never tell interesting stories with her. She doesn’t have unique allies to bounce off of. She doesn’t have any interesting internal struggle to overcome. She doesn’t have any of the traits that make someone like Usagi a great protagonist. 

There’s no point in using Chibi Usa to tell a story about a young inexperienced girl trying to grapple with being a Sailor Guardian and grow stronger because that’s what the show was already about before she was introduced. What’s the point in trying to pass on the torch when Usagi is like, 16 years old? Chibi Usa just wasn’t made to be a protagonist. She was designed as a supporting character and that’s fine! Let her grow in that role. If you’re going to make her the protagonist at least expand her character and personality. I think it’s possible that the creative team was scared of altering her in a meaningful way in the event it upset her fanbase. Chibi Usa is an empty character and it overall makes for a show that lacks interesting conflict and growth.

But to be fair to SuperS, they do have someone for Chibi-Usa to bounce off of, and receive her love and respect; that being the new character Pegasus. If I were to describe Pegasus in a single word it would be creepy. He’s like a grown-up horse man and he and Chibi-Usa clearly have a thing for each other. Later when we see his human form it’s clear that he’s closer in age to Chibi-Usa but still looks too old for me to be comfortable. He’s also just a wet blanket of a character. He and Chibi-Usa rarely have any conflict (and when they do it’s forced and irritating) and get along perfectly which kind of just leaves their relationship pretty boring despite how much emphasis the show puts on it. I just struggle so much to describe any of Pegasus’ personality traits aside from “He’s nice” which just doesn’t make for an interesting and well-rounded character.

I’m getting a bit irritated right now because Pegasus is such a big part of the show and such a big part of why I find it so boring and frustrating yet despite that I’m struggling to write much about him. He’s just a completely nothing character. He isn’t even bad in an interesting way he’s just so damn bland. I just want to make clear that he’s a very important character to the narrative and story I just can’t bring myself to write anything more to him. The bad guys want to kill him and take his MacGuffin. Like that’s the whole conceit of the season.

I suppose I should also talk about those bad guys. The Dead Moon Circus are the antagonists this season and they’re… okay. The individual members actually have a lot of personality even if I don’t think they’re all amazing characters. Everything is circus-themed and it leads to some really great designs, with the caveat that it feels like they ran out of ideas after the third monster of the week (Some of those guys are REALLY stretching the theme but it’s unintentionally pretty funny). My biggest problem with them is that they do feel underdeveloped despite some interesting personalities and their motivations aren’t even clear until the last few episodes (It’s not an exciting twist. It’s not a twist at all really). They have the potential to be interesting but the show drags its feet in giving me any reason to really care about any of it. 

Sailor Moon is a show about hope and love. Sailor Moon SuperS is a show with no Sailor Moon that’s about nothing. I’m sure they thought it was still about those things, they certainly try to push that in Chibi Usa and Pegasus’ creepy relationship, but the show is ultimately more focused on making Chibi Usa seem cool or cute than telling any interesting stories. When the previous seasons focused on lighter material, it still served to explore and develop the relationships among the sailor guardians. In SuperS they’re just not allowed to do that because anyone other than Chibi Usa is a non-entity who is undeserving of the audience’s care or attention. This isn’t even mentioning cutting the outer senshi out of the show which was a move so obviously terrible that they immediately walked it back for the next season (Chibi Usa and Sailor Pluto’s relationship still has so much more you can add to it! It could have been great if she was here!).

At the end of it all I just feel empty. It’s an incredibly empty show with incredibly empty characters. It doesn’t make me feel anything other than apathy now. It’s a bad season of TV and I’m glad to be done with it.

[xtruss]

Goodbye Ted Dexter, Free Spirit, Cricket Thinker, Renaissance Man

The England and Sussex captain had aura, flair, majestic batting, and impossible glamour - and that was just on the field

— Mark Nicholas | 27 August, 2021

Ted Dexter batting in a ring of close-in fielders in Sydney, January 1963 Getty Images

I don't know when the Ted Dexter affectation started but I can guess. The last thing my father did with me before he died so young was to take me to see the 1968 Gillette Cup final at Lord's. This was during Ted's short comeback and when the great man strode to the wicket, I leapt about in excitement, cheering his name for all I was worth. He didn't get many but no matter, I had seen him live. That evening Dad bowled to me in the garden as I imitated every Dexter mannerism and stroke I had seen just a few hours before.

"There is about Dexter, when he chooses to face fast bowling with determination, a sort of air of command that lifts him above ordinary players. He seems to find time to play the fastest bowling and still retain dignity, something near majesty, as he does it." — John Arlott

I fell for the aura, and for the flair in those back-foot assaults on fast bowlers. Not for a minute do I think I saw the 70 in 75 balls against Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith at Lord's in 1963 but I feel as if I did - the power, the poise, the sheer gall of it. Nothing, not even the Beatles, could drag me from the television screen when he walked to the wicket, seemingly changing the picture from black-and-white to glorious technicolor as he took guard. Frankly, much of the Test cricket of the time was pretty dull but there was a frisson, an expectation, with Ted, just as there is when Ben Stokes is on his way today. It was all too brief, he had retired for good before I started proper school.

The West Indians of the day - Conrad Hunte, Garry Sobers, Wes Hall - thought that innings the best played against them by anybody, though Dexter himself would modestly say it was just one of those days where everything came together and the bat swung freely in just about the right arc. He was well miffed to be given out lbw, however, insisting later that the DRS would have saved him. Who knows how many careers might have been changed by the sliding doors of the DRS.

The word majesty sits well with Dexter's batting, primarily because of the way in which he attacked through the off side off his back foot. This is a stroke so difficult to master that more prosaic batters choose to ignore it. It is no great surprise that Dexter thought Gordon Greenidge and Martin Crowe the two most technically correct right-hand players that he saw, citing their ability to stay sideways-on and to play the ball alongside their body as the prime reason for the accolade.

He was a huge fan of Joe Root and became near apoplectic during the England captain's relatively lean spell a while ago, when he became square-on to the bowler and was playing in front of his body. This niggled so much that he wrote to Root without mincing his words. Though at first put out, Root soon saw the kindness in a man of Dexter's age and knowledge who bothered to write, and therefore returned an email of thanks with the observation that he took the point. Who knows to what degree? It is enough to say that this year Root has batted about as well as any man could have done, and no one has enjoyed each of these innings in Sri Lanka, India, and now at home as much as Dexter.

One final appeal: Dexter (fourth from left) watches as umpire Charlie Elliot gives John Inverarity out off Derek Underwood, The Oval, 1968 Getty Images

For the best part of a year now, Ted has been banging on about Dawid Malan: simply couldn't understand why England didn't pick him to bat at three. He cited the hundred in Perth in 2017 and this year's big scores for Yorkshire before predicting near-certain success with the method that brought those runs. It is sad, indeed, that he didn't live to see the fulfillment of his prophecy in Malan's fine innings yesterday. He liked the look of James Vince and Zak Crawley too, cricketers who stand tall and play with freedom. He got a lot right, this man of Radley, Cambridge, Sussex and England.

Tall himself, strong, handsome and impossibly glamorous, Edward Ralph Dexter caught everyone's eye. With the golden Susan Longfield on his arm, they cut quite a dash and cared little for the sniping that came from those less blessed. The enigma in him - and how! - was often confused with indifference, and though cricket has remained his other great love, it was never the be-all and end-all for him - a fact that made his appearances all the more cherished and his company all the more engaging. It is remarkable to think that he first retired as far back as 1965, before returning briefly in 1968 to make a double-hundred at Hastings against Kent and be immediately recalled to the England team for the Ashes. In the brilliant photograph (above) of the moment when Derek Underwood claims the final wicket at The Oval, Ted is caught spinning to appeal for lbw with a face that smacks of a lifelong instinct for competition and achievement.

"Ted was a man of moods, often caught up in theories, keen when the action was hot, seemingly uninterested when the game was dull... a big-time player, one who responded to atmosphere, liked action and enjoyed the chase and gamble. Maybe this was the reason he was drawn to horse racing so that a dull day stalking the covers might be enlivened for him by thoughts of how his money was faring on the 3:15 at Ascot or Goodwood." — John Snow

Richie Benaud and Dexter in Sydney during the 1963-64 Ashes Frank Albert Charles Burke / Fairfax Media/Getty Images

And Snow would know for he was not the type to rise above those grey days of county cricket when the stakes were so low. Snow and Dexter, my first heroes, along with Jimmy Greaves and George Best, Muhammad Ali, the Beatles and the Stones - all of them important figures at 29 Queensdale Road, where the young Nicholas grew up with vinyl records and cared-for willow, narrow-grained and well-oiled for the garden Test matches that England forever won.

Much of the 1960s were about rebellion, revolution even, in response to the age of austerity. After the long and mainly drab post-war years, the young simply broke free and changed pretty much anything they could get their hands on. Music and fashion led the way, leaving sport's establishment to stutter in their wake. Only a few precious players could transcend the inertia, using both their talent and expression to delight the crowds and influence the young. Cricket was my thing, Dexter and Snow were the wind beneath my wings.

In Snow there truly was rebellion, against authority and the system it supported. This was not so in Dexter's case, though his free spirit and somewhat cavalier approach to responsibility gave the impression of one determined to ruffle feathers. From the outset he adored sport, worked harder than some might think at his books, and embraced diversions with the enthusiasm of a man who had more to do than could ever be done.

In many ways Ted was a contradiction: at once a conformist, as shaped by the early years of his life at home and school, and a modernist, whose lateral thinking did much to reform the structure of English cricket during his time as chairman of selectors. Richie Benaud observed that Ted's imagination and drive "will be of great benefit to English cricket in years to come. Equally, I'm in no doubt that others will take the credit for it." The rebellion in Ted was hardly radicalised but he loved to challenge conservative thinking, to take risks and to invest in his life as an adventure. Both on and off the field, this made for a terrific watch.

The best of Ted: Dexter on his way to 70 against Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith at Lord's, June 1963 PA Photos

He thought the Hundred a good wheeze and admitted he would rather like to have played it himself. He was, of course, the original thinker about one-day cricket, supporting its conception as early as the late 1950s and then leading Sussex to the first two 60-over titles at Lord's in the Gillette Cup. He paid close attention to the tactics and convinced his men that following them to the letter would do the trick. Which it did. He pushed for four-day county matches 27 years before they were incorporated and he founded the idea of central contracts for England players long before other teams caught the bug.

He was proud of his part in the development of the spirit of cricket, applying golf's moral high ground to the game that made his name. Through his own PR agency, he became a pioneer in cricket's digital-technology revolution by inventing the system of Test match rankings that first announced itself under the banner of Deloitte and is now the ICC international rankings.

On a Zoom call a couple of months back, with tongue firmly in cheek, he said, "Having a rather high opinion of myself, I can safely say that had the rankings been in place sometime around the mid part of the 1963 summer, I would have been the No. 1-rated batsman in the world." We had special guests on these calls - Mike Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Ed Smith, Robin Marlar, Sir Tim Rice and more - all keen to share a drink, chew the cud and have a laugh with the game's most original and forward-thinking mind.

Champagne days: (from left) Fred Trueman, Dexter, David Sheppard and Colin Cowdrey celebrate after winning the Melbourne Test, January 1963 PA Photos/Getty Images

We cannot jump past golf without mentioning the game at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney when Ted partnered Norman Von Nida against Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. So enamoured of Ted's golf were they that Nicklaus suggested Ted follow him back to the USA for a crack at the tour. Player has long said that Ted was the best amateur ball-striker he ever saw and Von Nida just thanked him for securing the one-up triumph that day. Eighteen months ago Player told me that in their one head to head with each other, Ted beat him up the last at Sunningdale, receiving only four shots. "Little so-and-so," said Ted, "we played level!" They were due for a game last summer but Covid stood firmly between them. The last time I played with Ted, two summers ago now, he beat his age, shooting 83 round the Old Course at Sunningdale without breaking a sweat.

This was a man of Jaguar cars, Norton motorbikes, greyhounds, race horses and an Aztec light airplane that, in 1970, he piloted to Australia with his young family beside him, to cover the Ashes as a journalist. They flew 12,000 miles and made about two dozen stops at British military bases along the way.

Ted married the very beautiful Susan soon after returning from Australia and New Zealand in the spring of 1959. How she is hurting today. So too Genevieve, Tom and the grandchildren.

There was an eccentricity in him that was occasionally misunderstood but otherwise immensely appealing and it is with that in mind, that I turn to the man himself for the final word. It comes from his blog, which is a splendid read and will remain a platform for the family to share their thoughts about this husband, father and grandfather who brought us so much joy.

Dexter and Frank Worrell at a BBC interview with Peter West, August 1963 Harry Todd / Fox Photos/Getty Images

It was in my last term at Radley College when I had a hard game of rackets in the morning, scored 3 tries with two conversions for the 1st XV in the afternoon, was heard listening to operatic voices in the early evening, before repairing to the Grand Piano in the Mansion and knocking off a couple of Chopin preludes. "Quite the Renaissance man it seems" said my Social Tutor and I admit I liked the sound of it, if not quite knowing what it meant.

The Encyclopaedia Brittanica description of Renaissance man (or polymath) is as follows: one who seeks to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development and social accomplishment and in the arts. A point is made that you do not need to excel at any one activity. It is enough to tackle it seriously and see how far you get. I like the physical development bit obviously and I feel the social accomplishment bit is covered by my willingness to take on responsibilities all my life. Perhaps the arts bit is a bit shaky but a love for music, and particularly opera, and love of language - being fairly fluent in French, Italian, rudimentary German and Spanish - may be some modest qualifications."

Some different cat, huh. What a man. What a cricketer. Goodbye Ted, and thank you.

[thelovingschool]

The Fantastic Four to the Fourth Power, Part 1

I've recently finished Doris Kearns Goodwin's excellent book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, in which she details the ways in which four US presidents served as leaders through pivotal historical moments. I reaffirmed my admiration for Abraham Lincoln, as Goodwin discusses his push to make the Emancipation Proclamation a reality. I was invigorated by the way in which Teddy Roosevelt used the executive branch of government to benefit the citizens of the northeast USA during the Coal Miners' Strike of 1902. I gained new appreciation, wonder, and awe in the way that Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the country during his first 100 days in office in the middle of the Great Depression. I came to greatly respect the legislative leadership of Lyndon Johnson as he pushed the most dramatic and beneficial domestic agenda, his Great Society, including the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1965. Whatever else Johnson may have done or not done, particularly as it relates to foreign policy and the Vietnam War, his impact on the lives of the citizens in the USA cannot be discredited.

Reading about these four presidents as they grew up, faced challenges ranging from losing elections to losing family members to losing the ability to walk, and ultimately served in the highest office of the nation to great effect was a wonderful experience. I was struck by the common themes that ran through all four of the presidents' leadership challenges. Synthesizing the lessons learned from all presidents, it seems that a leader during turbulent times must:

Have a clear sense of purpose

Adapt along the way to achieving that purpose

Build a solidly functioning team

Pay attention to messaging and timing

Build in time for yourself

Having a clear sense of purpose -- In the summer of 2020, three amazing principals, Sanee Bell, Brian McCann, and Beth Houf gave a phenomenal webinar as part of the virtual National Principals Conference. Beth shared a story of her superintendent bringing the principals in her district together at the beginning of the pandemic and asking them all to spend some time thinking about their purpose, their "why" before sharing them as a group. (Beth's "why" was maintaining relationships with students.) Other leaders have focused on the importance of having a clear purpose, including and especially Baruti Kafele. As we've all learned, what was true before the pandemic only has become exaggerated during the pandemic, and so the need for a clearly defined sense of purpose is truly vital now. My "why" during the pandemic has been to ensure that the teachers with whom I'm lucky enough to work are supported with what they need to be as effective as possible given the challenges of the pandemic.

Be adaptive along the way -- As I've already written, I am a student of philosophy as well. One of my favorite professors, Father Joe Flanagan, was a huge Socrates' fan, and every college freshman can tell you that Socrates is famous for noting how little he knew. In order to achieve your purpose, it's important to accept that we don't have all of the answers, and we will need to continually learn and grow as we work toward our goals. I have personally learned a great deal from the work of Ron Heifetz as he discusses Adaptive Leadership. Without going into another book report (I want to save that for another post), in order to be an adaptive leader, one must understand that the leadership challenge you're facing is not simple to fix, and will require a great deal of learning. Back to that webinar at NPC20, Sanee discussed how even the simple question "how are you?" carries new meaning during the pandemic. If you're going to ask that question, you need to be prepared that you might not get a quick response back. It might even be the start of a very long conversation, and that is OK. We as leaders will need to spend time maintaining those relationships empathetically throughout the pandemic.

Similarly, I realized that while I work hard to build positive culture in my school, supporting teachers during this pandemic is something I simply didn't know how to do. I'm very fortunate to be taking a course through ASCD on supporting educator mental health. The lessons I'm learning have been immediately applicable with the team at our school. Adapting along the way means sometimes changing tactics based on new information, but if you aren't seeking out that new information you won't be able to get where you're going.

Build a solid team -- It goes without saying that none of us can do our jobs alone anymore. None of us ever really could before, either. In The Long Distance Leader, summarized here, authors Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel talk about the important of relying on your team and supporting your team throughout the times when you won't physically be together. The principal I currently work with centered his entry plan three years ago on creating and maintaining a strong divisional leadership team, and he has taught me so much over the course of our partnership. While pandemic economic circumstances have meant our partnership is to come to an end in a couple of months, I am headed to my own first principalship this August, and I feel extremely fortunate. When I asked the Head of School at my future school what he is proudest of (this is his first year there), he said that had he been able to create a leadership team from his 30 years of experience in international schools, he couldn't have created a better team than the one he inherited. That is exactly the kind of joyful, strengths-based, empowering, and collaborative leader I want to work with, and knowing that he shared that information in front of members of the leadership team shows that he is willing to give credit and appreciate his team.

I heard Ben Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, share his insight about leading, that people come to the symphony to hear music, and yet he as conductor is the only member of the orchestra who doesn't make a sound. We as leaders are strengthened by the strengths of our team. We know from the extensive literature out there and our own experience how important it is to have trust on a team, and I'll simply relate something one of my own teammates once said at a previous school about our grade-level team of teachers: "We know each other, so we like each other, so we support each other as we work together."

Messaging Matters -- I can't say it any better than Will Parker does in his book, which my partner principal and I have been learning from all year. Similarly, I loved hearing Joe Sanfelippo at the NPC in Boston in 2019 talk about the importance of shaping the narrative about education, because unless we as school leaders shape the narrative, others are going to fill in the blanks with a negative story. For me, the best example of positive storytelling about school comes from Brian McCann. His article in the latest Principal Leadership magazine is one more example of the ways in which Brian models not just for his teachers, but for the larger professional learning community to which he belongs. In fact, utilizing Brian's idea of Positive Sign Thursday is one of the factors that enabled me to land my next job, so I'm extremely appreciative. The point in all of these examples is of course a lesson that Lincoln knew 160 years ago, that it is through story that we can best communicate our purpose. It's not always easy, finding the balance between too much communication and too little, between being optimistically realistic as opposed to toxically positive, but if we as leaders aren't attending to messaging, we'll lose our chance to build a positive culture.

As an example, we committed to maintaining contact with our families during this school year and having the chance to get feedback from them at least once a month. We did extensive work in August, had a check in virtual town hall during September, and had individual and small group conferences with teachers and students in October. Things were going well. But, as November came along and fatigue set in, we stopped being as intentional about meeting systematically with our parent body, and by the time January rolled around we started to receive emails that were letting us know that we weren't opening up a space for all voices in the community to be heard, and that was leading to speculation and unrest. We're still very fortunate to have a caring community that share ideas in respectful ways, and we have since re-instituted those intentional communication systems at a minimum monthly, and are therefore back to where we had been, but the lesson around the intentionality of messaging is well learned.

As the above example illustrates, timing matters as well. The presidents often had to be wise about when to act and when not to act, when to send messages and when to not send messages. I think of the West Wing episode when President Bartlet's team discusses sending out unpleasant news on Friday afternoons, or "the trash" because no one reads the news on Saturday mornings. Or I think of how fantastic it has been to be able to, just within the last couple of years, schedule emails to be sent at certain times. Of course there are times that I am working late into the evening, but I would feel terrible in the past when I would send out an email at 10 p.m. and get an immediate response from a teacher. There are studies out there that emails received at 6 a.m. are most likely to be read, and my guess is emails received at 10 p.m. are most likely to make you think your principal is a jerk!

Time and Space for Yourself -- Thinking about the presidents, Lincoln would go to the theater or read comedy aloud, Teddy Roosevelt would take strenuous walks, FDR collected stamps. Only Lyndon Johnson had no real outlet activity, and I wonder, if he had been better at taking care of himself throughout his presidency, might he have attended to foreign policy better. Few topics have gotten more press in the educational world lately than self-care for educators, and this is a focus area in the ASCD course I'm taking as well. I am also fortunate to be a part of a group of school leaders that gather for virtual instructional "rounds" periodically, organized by a former professor at Lehigh, Jon Drescher. Self-care came up at the most recent Rounds I attended, and to be honest I find this so difficult. "If we are always working from home, and we're always home, aren't we always working?" was the question I posed, and I have had real trouble answering this. Heifetz and Linsky talk about anchoring yourself by having a confidant to talk with and a sanctuary, be it a ritual, an activity, or a place to disconnect from the demands of the job.

This was especially challenging for me in 2020, as I know it was for many of us, as the hours spent on screens and away from my normal rituals of walking and playing the piano were disrupted by the sheer demands on the job. I've gained thirty pounds in the past year, and I physically don't feel like myself. More importantly, emotionally I have struggled at times. I have been exploring different ways to recover, and like Lincoln I find comedy is helpful. If I can get in a good laugh before bed I sleep better, whether that's watching old clips of Robin Williams doing standup or Netflixing Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. At this point I'll try anything and everything so that I can begin, now that the pandemic is hopefully turning a corner, to feel like myself again.

Part of feeling like myself again is the ability to create something, to produce, based on one of my favorite activities: reading! It's been a joyful experience reading the Goodwin book and the Heifetz/Linsky book, and trying to apply the lessons learned from both to my current role and point in my career. My next post will combine another of my great loves, Harry Potter. Stay tuned to find out which president fits in which house; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw! Thanks for reading.

[the-telegraph-sport-yahoopa-blog]

'3pm Saturday is rugby time, don't mess with it' - your responses to The Rugby Debate 

Champions Cup 2016 Getty Images

This week, Mick Cleary complained that Champions Cup kick-off times are ruining the experience for rugby fans.

European kick-off times, spread out across the entire weekend - morning, noon and night. It's a dog's dinner and a disservice to rugby followers, be they in the ground (some chance at certain times) or at home...

We invited you to have your say, too. Here's what you had to say:

  Derek McBride

Commercial management by the major teams and the Six Nations RFU's has been crass and very short term.

In pursuit of the money, the greedy Blazers have given away TV rights to  the best rugby in Europe to niche companies.  The enthusiasts are ignored and, slowly, they will give up paying large sums of money just to watch several big games crammed into weekend slots. At the same time the greedy Unions are fixing International Test games  all over the place.

Good players need a seasonal rest, but the money talks and the headaches continue to haunt overpaid players with no consequences for the game's management

I've lost all respect for the Blazers that control rugby union at all levels. Not that I had much to begin with.

  Mark Austen

The same is true of the 6 Nations when England v France is due to start at 16.50. How is this good for the game or the broadcasters?

  Alasdair Fergusson

Racing 92 play at 20:45 on Saturday, we're an hour ahead - we get messed about just the same for Top14 matches but that late for a 'dead' match will make for a dead atmosphere. As the ground is a bit remote from most of the fans this means back home at midnight. For those of us who buy season tickets and go to games this is just being taken for granted.

  Gaius King 

Just because you stagger games doesn't mean you/we are more likely to watch when played live.  I would be happily watch the replay on TV whenever at my own convenience (or when the kids are in bed or watching it too).  Thats what fans do!

3pm, Saturday... is Rugby time!  Don't mess with it.

  E TO

TV broadcasting rights, led by SKY are poisoning sport and killing the fan base - football has soulless crowds as they are the only ones who can afford it - rugby will go the same way if it's not careful.

  Douglas White

Agree the times are not good but for many of us 2 subscription services is a bigger issue. Same tore cause Rugby no longer looks after the fan. 

  Ed Stacey 

It's called life and it sucks. And frequently it [life] gets in the way of the truly important stuff like watching sport. My own predicament, for example, means missing Munster v Glasgow because of a long-planned family get together! Now should I complain to the tournament organisers for putting their corporate interests before my social calendar or simply accept my cruel fate, set sky+ to record and be a man about it?

There is way too much negativity in the English media right now about rugby when we should be celebrating a golden era for this great sport. There are undoubtedly issues to be dealt with; concussions, consistency of refereeing etc. certainly all need addressing, but the media is obsessed with trivializing the game in the way it has with football by focusing purely on negative off-field stuff. You can't please everyone all the time. Journalists should know this better than anyone! Give it a rest now please.

  Robert Reynolds 

Sky extra room is great service to help marital bliss.So long as clubs & Unions chase the TV £££s this will happen. Can't see bums on seats paying even the current high ticket prices compensating for loss of TV broadcasting rights.Now if northern hemisphere rugby season moved to more spring/summer fixtures who would complain about trips to France ,Italy,or even Belfast & Galway?

  Roger Cheesman

For us in Bordeaux, not a bad time this weekend.  However the point needs to be made that here, as in the UK, there is a core of fairly solid support who'd prefer to watch a match rather than catch it on TV and this will cost us more.  Please don't mess us around.

I suggest all matches k/o early afternoon Sat or Sun (depending on home side) and the TV boys chose which game to screen with highlights of others to follow so we can watch in the bar. Clubs can divvy up TV rights equally whatever is broadcast.

  P Saunders

They say that live performances are judged b Bums on seats. So the powers that are looking at progressing the game have got to take that into consideration. At present it is just going for the money like some other game.  You will kill what Rugby is all about.

  Paul Brannigan

How bad is 5-30 pm on a Sunday for Ulster travelling fans who have to get back to Belfast on Sunday night for work on Monday morning?

In addition the actual times for all of the games this weekend was only settled after the tickets were bought.  So, Ulster fans travelling to Exeter had to plan ahead not knowing which day or time they needed to get to Sandy Park and then home again.  Flights just got more expensive as they were booked last minute.

Fair play to Flybe for removing the additional cost of transferring to different flights for those who had tickets and guessed the wrong match time.

The fans, especially those hard core travellers are the losers!

  Peter Martin

It would seem to me that as previous correspondents have said,it is all about money.I think that the biggest issue is that the game has sold itself to sport subscription TV channels thereby taking it out of reach of a vast number of fans.Moving the start times all over the place has just compounded things.

The professional game is a niche sport. Look what has happened to cricket when the game was sold to Sky?

  Roger Hale

As an armchair viewer I have little to complain about - all the aforementioned progs can be recorded but not live sport. All I have to juggle is watching televised horse racing as well and of course my home clubs fixtures (Hornets RFC).

  Simon Grant

If you're watching it on screen, Mick, either tell the wife she can't watch strictly, or watch it on another screen and another feed... For travelling fans, it's really not great.

  Peter Godfrey

Perhaps the only benefit of the late start times is that a lot of top rugby is now shown live on tv in the USA.   I have watched several games here in Minnesota and they are popular with a very limited audience .  Someone is getting paid for this .... who and how much?

  Haydalis Whitehead

Nail on head. Money talks. And you have smelt the same global sized rat correctly. You hear people complain about the evil Imperialist Britain; well the world has a bigger digital version of the monster an nobody says anything. The USA runs the show the world over. I live in Latin America now and it's the world over - what American corporations want, they get. Money talks. Reminds me of the airheaded bully who although not smart, could knock out any smaller kid out with one punch, as that was the only weapon of respect he had. Uncle Sam he's called now he's grown up.

Sport media has been ruined. I wish for the pre-sport-on-television days some days, when I could head down the The Wreck of a Saturday afternoon, to see 'amateur' rugby Union at its best.

You know, the greatest problems we humans have is believe everything we are told by politicians and the media - if they say something is as it is, we simply believe them. The truth is, our lives haven't really been improved. Something is missing  - including our sport!

  Paul Strong

I was a season ticket holder for 17 years at Northampton Saints and gave it up this season because of the crazy match times. Completely agree that TV rules and the game is going corporate.

  Ian Frizzell

I'm off to Exeter this weekend to support Ulster against Chiefs.

This is the second game in a row that Ulster have played on a Sunday afternoon meaning travelling home on Monday and losing a day at work. 

  Alastair Brown 

Last year I took a punt and went to Paris in Jan for the stade game. Friday and Saturday night. Announced ko time late December, Sunday afternoon. I was coming home then. Still got the tickets.

This year wrote to EPCRugby, who said. We wait for the last round to be played so we can maximise TV exposure. Sod the fans in a nutshell

I cannot afford to wait, price for trains in advance half the price. Same for hotels. You can get away with one night if you know when the match is, gamble on two (as above), or guarantee by booking three nights.

EPCRugby should be ashamed for the disservice they show to away fans.

  Hurricane Jack

Just another step along the way of professionalism becoming corporate takeover. It has ruined the football experience for football fans; matches on a Friday evening getting in the way of a game of darts in the pub.

  Christopher Toole

Yes, 5.30pm ko on a Sunday for the Exeter Chiefs vs Ulster Rugby is shocking for the away fans.