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[baiyunli]

how to watch baseball now: a primer

This is a long, hopefully-comprehensive guide on how to watch baseball for hockey fans feeling adrift during the offseason — I have constructed this from the perspective of not only how to understand what you’re watching, but how to make it interesting to yourself.

If the numbers aren't interesting to you, forget about the numbers! They don’t have to exist in your version of baseball. Make up your own rules and use them to watch the game. Watch games only for the one kind-of okay player you like. Pick your favourite team because of a video you saw of one of them bouncing a baseball off his ass (Sean Murphy, then of Oakland A's and now of Atlanta Braves). Baseball Olds will try to pretend like the game is this big thing that only people who already watch it can appreciate, but you just have to find what you love most about it. 

I’m using the NHL as my best point of reference: in terms of growing the game, I’d say MLB suffers from a very different problem than NHL (other than like, the current uproar around letting queer people exist, which is a throughline in both), in that while the NHL has a very exciting product but can’t reach people where they’re at, baseball is by and large perceived as a boring, slow game and the league will bend over backwards to make polarizing changes to the Boringest and Slowest parts rather than capitalizing on what excites fans about the game. However, both leagues are plagued by Shitty Commissioner disease. Such is the way of life.

Feel free to read all of this, or none of it, but I’ve tried to split it up in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate. Last note: many people will tell you baseball is the only major sport going on in North America at this time of year. This is false. The WNBA and NWSL are both in full swing—not to mention the World Cup next month. Supplement your baseball watching with a wide variety of sports where you can!

How to Love Baseball

Pick a Team, Any Team

The first step in becoming a baseball fan is obviously picking a team! I could probably give you NHL comparatives and let you figure it out from there, but I don’t personally think your favourite NHL teams have much bearing on your favourite MLB ones, so I’ll give you a quick and dirty rundown of my teams instead and how you might want to pick a team.

The easiest team for me to love is the Seattle Mariners because I live just across the border, and they aren’t good enough to be annoying but also not bad enough to be embarrassed about. They’re just kind of there, which I enjoy greatly. I also love the Philadelphia Phillies because they’re my friend’s favourite team. They went on a Cinderella run to the World Series last year (before losing to the Astros in the final) and are now solidly middling. My other favourites are the Washington Nationals because of their fantastic social media presence and their hilarious stadium traditions. The current-day Nats are very much the epitome of "how can we lose when we're so sincere?"

Some teams you might want to look into are the LA Angels (actually of Anaheim) for Shohei Ohtani, the Milwaukee Brewers for — at least from what I understand — their boyband energy similar to the New Jersey Devils, the Baltimore Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays for an exciting and winningest team, and the Oakland A's for a miserable fan experience including horribly dysfunctional team management and a coming relocation to Las Vegas. 

The easiest team for me to hate is the Toronto Blue Jays, which is a result of their god complex re: being the only Canadian team. A funny thing from this season is that the Rays opened their season with a historic 13-game win streak, only to be killed 6-3 by the Blue Jays to end it. Something about Toronto teams and ending another team’s 13-game heater, or whatever.

Also look into any local teams if you can. In Vancouver, our local minor league team is the Vancouver Canadians, and setting up a little picnic on the grass with friends while watching a Canadians game is a summer staple. Here’s a very cute article about them. There are a variety of lower-level and exhibition teams across the world, especially in countries where baseball is incredibly popular. One exhibition team is the Internet-famous Savannah Bananas who are dearly loved on TikTok. If there isn’t a huge baseball foothold in your area, it’s worth looking into which MLB teams are most popular where you live and/or have the most coverage. Some analytics sites like FiveThirtyEight will occasionally create maps showing each team’s popularity in different states, countries, etc. and that can be a great guide.

Petty Rivalries 101

You can always just Google these, but I decided to just list off a few major ones for your perusal: the Yankees and Red Sox, the Rangers and Astros, the Dodgers and Giants, and the Orioles and Nationals. As Toronto Maple Leafs scholar Acting the Fulemin once put it, the point of sports is to be sad in a group, and the counterpart to this is that it absolutely rules getting to see a team you hate lose.

A quick note on the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is that it's brought us one of my favourite ever quotes from ex-Mariner and current Yankee Nestor Cortes:

Once you’ve chosen a favourite team, they’re bound to have some kind of geographic or historic rivalry, and you can search those up to find out the background behind them. Also, I highly suggest deciding on a random team you hate for no reason. It makes the season experience much more interesting and gives you the chance to pray on their downfall whenever possible.

Where to Watch

As with most things about baseball, this will vary by your team. Depending on your cable package, you might be able to watch your favourite team already! That’s great news. Even if you can’t, feel free to turn on the TV, find a random baseball game, and imprint on either of those teams like a baby bird. The MLB website offers games broadcast with an MLB.tv subscription, but if you have an account you can also watch the Free Game of the Day and collected highlights from previous games! This is a great way to expand your team repertoire and figure out which team broadcasts you hate with a burning passion. Local radio stations do commentary on games if you like listening to that. 

If you just want to get your feet wet rather than diving in straight away, pretty much every major game of the postseason will be uploaded by some “FirstName BunchOfNumbers” user on YouTube: for example, you can watch Game 1 of the World Series last year by just searching 2022 World Series Game 1 Full Game. However, watching the full game might be a slog if you don’t know what’s going on, and you can learn the intricacies of the sport without having to watch all four hours and twelve minutes of like, the 1962 World Series Game 7 (although that is a very exciting game). In that case, skip to the ‘How the Game is Governed’ section and read on.

All of this pertains to MLB teams, but there’s plenty to watch elsewhere. If you have a local baseball team, you might be able to catch a game or two in-person! Minor League Baseball also has their own broadcasting services and highlights are available on YouTube or their website. 

League Structure

The MLB season is 162 games long. Spring training, aka the preseason, begins in February. During the regular season, teams play a three or four-game series with the same team before playing another with a different team. For example, this month the Philadelphia Phillies played 3 games in a row against the Washington Nationals on consecutive days. The day after the conclusion of their last game against Washington, they started a series against the Tigers, which was three games with one rescheduled due to weather, and then another three games against the Dodgers. This leads to a schedule that looks like this:

Occasionally, due to weather issues or other postponement reasons, a game will be rescheduled for the same day as another game against the same team — so they’ll play two full games in one day. This is called a double-header. They used to be routinely scheduled in MLB, but now they’re only played as a result of scheduling problems.

Team-wise, it’s a little more complicated than the NHL. Like the Eastern and Western conferences, MLB is separated into two ‘leagues’: the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). Both leagues have fifteen teams, and until the 1990s teams in different leagues didn’t play each other during the regular season at all, leading to different styles of play, tactics, and rules implemented between them. This is no longer the case! However, it’s important to recognize that unlike the NHL, NBA, NWSL, etc., Major League Baseball comprises two leagues, rather than two conferences of the same league. This matters because individual awards like the Cy Young or Gold Glove are given to the best players at their position in both the AL and NL, and the MLB MVP includes both an AL MVP and NL MVP. 

MLB is made up of six divisions, with three in each league: AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central, and NL West. A division has five teams. If you know much about US geography, you might notice that the teams in each division don’t actually correspond very well to their geographic location: this is for a variety of reasons, not least of which is expansion teams requiring change in division partitioning, but nobody’s going to fix it at this point. And that’s okay!

Fandom and Things As Such

Baseball fandom, regrettably, is not much of a Tumblr phenomenon these days, but Baseball Twitter does have some incredible gems. The Baseball RPF tag on AO3 is also fairly fleshed out (albeit not to the extent of HRPF) and you’ll find that many authors who write HRPF have dabbled in baseball as well. If you’re lost on where to start choosing a team, going through the AO3 grab bag and choosing a random player who you really like in a fic is also a very respectable avenue.

I cannot stress this enough: the easiest way to learn the game without having to learn the characters is reading baseball AUs. That’s it. They’re ten times more approachable than trying to memorize everyone on your favourite team’s roster, and they abound in HRPF if you’re looking for a landing port. I have witness testimony from Lil (@wymgreenteam) that she learned what pitching signs and shortstops were from the wonderful Jack/Nico baseball AU. It works! Obviously fanfiction won’t teach you everything, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed they can be a fantastic first step and really illustrate the game from a fan perspective.

Other Media

I will caution against taking the ‘consume baseball-related media’ advice too seriously, because I find that unlike baseball AUs, other media involving baseball does not always come from someone who watches and loves the game. Think of it like hockey romance books—just like the main characters of those novels are probably not scoring hat tricks in 5 consecutive games, they probably aren’t reaching such baseball heights either.

With that said, I have not watched Daiya No Ace but I’ve heard that people do enjoy it! For genuine baseball culture-oriented media, Roger Angell wrote fantastic articles and books on the game. I love his book ‘Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion.’ Then there are movies like Moneyball and shows like A League of Our Own which tackle specific aspects of the game and how it’s played. Depending on your eventual favourite team(s), hometown coverage will also play a huge part: for the Phillies, that’s outlets like the Philadelphia Inquirer or Penn Live.

Narratives

Once upon a time there was a young man named Shohei Ohtani who was breaking records set in the 1920s while playing on a horrible, failing team that refused to build around him. I assume you have some familiarity with Ohtani, but he is very difficult to describe because he is literally making history. He is the only two-way player in MLB right now: a two-way player is someone who is both a pitcher and a batter; there are a ton of rules about what constitutes a two-way player, but currently Ohtani is the only true two-way player at the Major level. This is not a perfect analogy, but he’s sort of like if Jason Robertson went out there and had a 50-goal season, then immediately jumped into net and played like Juuse Saros. He’s the best all-around player in MLB, and even though he isn’t the best pitcher or the best batter, the fact that he’s incredible at both of them makes him stand out. He also plays with Mike Trout, who’s breaking records of his own, while trying to drag the LA Angels to any sort of notoriety. Here is a prescient article about the Ohtani-Trout era in Anaheim.

Each team has their own current narratives and pairings, but Ohtani and Trout are the biggest one right now. People compare them to McDavid and Draisaitl, but it’s more like if the Oilers had McDavid and Draisaitl but were also one of the worst teams in the league right now. However, Trout is currently in the worst slump of his career while the Angels have won the last 11 of 14 games, so really all this means is that baseball is fake.

Baseball is rife with redemption and villain arcs—you just have to dig a little to find them. I have presented the Ohtani and Trout trainwreck because it’s the closest comparable to the Oilers tragedy, but there are plenty others that really depend on team and current events.

Bush Leagues

MLB teams have a very different relationship to their minor-league affiliates than NHL teams do. There are about five hundred various regional minor leagues, but the MiLB levels are Rookie, Single A, High A, Double A, and Triple A, each of which has two or three individual leagues similar to the AL-NL system in MLB.

The fun thing about MiLB is that it’s a lot closer to home than MLB! Most places don’t have an MLB team, but there’s a good chance anywhere in the USA has a nearby MiLB or regional/collegiate league team. They also have way more interesting names, like the Portland Pickles, Rocket City Trash Pandas, and Sugar Land Space Cowboys. The prospect pipeline in MLB runs a whole lot slower than it does for the NHL, and generally through those Double or Triple-A affiliates, so it’s definitely worth paying attention to minor-league teams and their standout players to see who might be the next rookie on your favourite team.

MiLB player compensation has been an issue for a long time, and the players recently unionized! A few great write-ups on it: 1, 2, and 3.

Regional Popularity

I’ve said this plenty, but I truly do think that finding your baseball niche hinges upon imprinting on a hometown team or a player you just really like. This sport isn’t just an American pastime: it’s hugely popular in Central America and parts of East Asia, and some of the best and brightest up-and-coming (and current) players hail from countries that haven’t traditionally been viewed as bastions of baseball. The game is growing every day, and it’s wonderful to see.

Baseball is very popular in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Korea. Out of those, I’d probably say the Dominican Republic has the largest MLB presence, with only American players outnumbering Dominican ones in the league, but the sport is also fast-growing in Japan, Korea, and Australia. Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which is the baseball equivalent of the World Cup of Hockey, where the best players in the world compete against each other and Shohei Ohtani (captain of the Japanese team) pitched to Mike Trout (captain of the American team) in possibly the most electric moment of baseball in the 21st century.

How to Understand Baseball

How the Game is Governed

Rather than doing a big writeup on this, I figured I would just find some articles and videos that go through the rules well and hold your hand through it! Think of these like helpful assets, similar to the first time you search up ‘what is goaltender interference’ or 'what is offsides' after hearing it mentioned on the play-by-play and a goal got turned over and all the fans were mad and you wanted to be in on the reason why. This is that search.

Baseball Explained in 5 Minutes

How to identify baseball pitches

Everything there is to know about the The Strike Zone in Baseball.

Intro to Baseball: Positions

What’s going on with the DH in MLB? (MLB Originals)

Rules Glossary | MLB - PDF Version

Lastly, once you’ve got a good grasp on the rules and positions, I probably wouldn’t go straight to watching a full game—you want to make sure you’re using your three hours well rather than staring at a game you don’t really get or don’t care about, or both. Instead, watch YouTube highlights of various players and best (or worst) plays of the week! This gives you an idea of what creates excitement in a game and why, and different positional strengths. From there, you can start watching longer clips, like full innings or the highlights uploaded after each game, which give you a better idea of the game’s pace. 

Pressing Play

While I was writing this I remembered that a fun and unique baseball tradition is players having walk-up songs when they’re up in the batting lineup.

Most teams will post their players' walk-up songs on Spotify, YouTube, etc. and while there are a few songs that are synonymous with legendary players - like Mariano Rivera's "Enter Sandman" - players usually like to switch up their songs. Often, a song will become emblematic of an era in that team's history (Anthony Rizzo's "Intoxicated" and the Cubs' 2016 playoff run). After a while, you'll notice patterns in what players pick.

Learning about each player’s song rotation can be extremely revealing, like Mark Canha switching his walk-up songs to Born This Way, Vogue, and I Wanna Dance with Somebody in honour of the Mets Pride Night last week!

Diamond Sports Bankruptcy

I’m not going to pretend to know anything about broadcasting or RSNs, but Diamond Sports, the group that runs Bally Sports, recently filed for bankruptcy, which has really affected some franchises’ profit margins and where their games can be streamed. Not sure if this interests you, but you can read about it here!

The Oakland A’s Relocation

Again: I’m not an Oakland fan, but there’s a lot of debate right now about the owners of the Oakland Athletics moving the team to Vegas despite the wishes of the town and city. Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, also made rude comments about Oakland fans as a result of their Reverse Boycott Night, where almost 28,000 fans came out to support the team. A professional sports league commissioner acting like an asshole to fans of a small-market team is nothing new, but it’s the culmination of a lot of drama between terrible owners and a market that loves their team.

The Long, Storied History of Cheating

The long, storied history of cheating in MLB encompasses not only stealing signs and tipping pitches, but also foreign substance usage on hands (which pitchers sometimes try in order to change how they pitch the ball), illegal equipment, and more. It’s kind of a lot. The most notable, recent case is the 2017 Houston Astros World Series Win.  

Houston’s Fucking Astros

Nobody likes the Astros except Astros fans. They won the World Series last year and are universally hated, not least of all because of the 2017 cheating controversy. 

In baseball, ‘signs’ are what catchers use to communicate to pitchers what kind of pitch they should throw. These rely on knowledge of the hitter currently on the plate and catching them by surprise. Each pitcher-catcher battery will usually have their own signs. In 2017, a year in which Houston won the World Series, the team set up a video camera in the center field seats with a full frontal view of the catcher, and they would use that to figure out what pitches the pitcher would throw. Then from the dugout, whoever was watching the video feed at the time would use a signal (audio cues, like banging garbage can lids) to tell the hitter who was up what pitch they had to expect. This was mostly possible because of the time delay between a catcher signalling and a pitcher throwing, which has been changed by this season’s pitch clock implementation. 

In 2020, The Athletic published the first exposé article about the Astros cheating scandal, and it rocked the baseball world. Several immediate consequences followed: the Astros GM and field manager (head coach) were suspended for the full 2020 season, and although players received no punishment, the team gave up four draft picks (their 1st and 2nd round picks in 2020 and 2021). 

Pitching and Sticky Stuff

Pitchers applying foreign substances on their hands is always a controversy in MLB games. Recently, star pitcher Max Scherzer was ejected and suspended 10 games after an umpire decided his hand was unusually sticky. TLDR: cheating is common, and consequences vary. Nobody has gotten over the Astros cheating scandal.

Expected By Whom

A quick rundown on the analytics side of the game and how baseball stats look very different both in their progress and insights than hockey. This is how you can sound like you know ball.

The Moneyball book does a great job explaining the rise of sabermetrics (baseball analytics) in the early 2000s, starting with Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s. Because MLB doesn’t have a salary cap and their luxury tax isn’t difficult for big-market teams to pay, small-market teams like Oakland have to constantly innovate in their game tactics in order to stay competitive, and that’s why the game today is so numbers-oriented. Watching a baseball game, you’ll see far more stats than you would in an NHL broadcast: OBP (On-Base Percentage), ERA (Earned Run Average), pitching speed, slugging percentage, pythagorean win percentage, and more. Do not fear the big numbers. You don’t have to know what every stat means in order to love the game, but if you watch enough and you hear commentators discussing what, say, Kodai Senga's ERA is, you’ll come to learn what they mean! In a pinch, you can also easily just search up ‘league average [stat]’ to figure out what the standard is.

Some websites that are really instrumental in baseball analytics are Baseball-Reference, FiveThirtyEight, and FanGraphs, plus YouTube channels like Foolish Baseball and statisticians like Bill James and Tom Tango. Baseball is a lot further along in its analytics revolution than hockey, and as a result, such analysis is not just a thing for Stats Nerds but also a huge part of the way the game is played and watched today. Personally, I love stats that assess umpire accuracy in calling strikes, and so Umpire Scorecards on Twitter is one of my favourites.

It's Too Long and Too Much Money

If Connor McDavid played in Major League Baseball and was close to the kind of player he is in the NHL right now, he would be getting paid north of 400 million dollars, not to mention endorsement money. Instead, he sold his soul to a sport where reporters ask about his biological clock and his only consolation for living in Edmonton is his heated driveway.

Because MLB payrolls are so much larger than the NHL’s and they have a luxury tax rather than a salary cap, contracts are worth much more. The sport itself is less volatile as well: both a product of the longer season (larger sample size) and the luck factor inherent in chance-based games like hockey that isn’t present as much in baseball, a player's year-to-year performance is easier to predict and therefore teams feel more comfortable betting on their production. In contrast to the NHL’s 8-year limit & penalty for long contracts (like the Kovalchuk deal), and bridge deals made when a player hasn't demonstrated that their performance is sustainable, MLB GMs often give their stars contracts over 10 years, and for hundreds of millions of dollars total. Mike Trout is on a 12-year contract for almost $430 million, and by several estimates, his endorsements and the money he receives for being named All-Star, AL MVP, etc. brings that up significantly.

MLB front office terminology is very similar to the NHL, but their contracts differ in another important way: baseball players can opt out of a contract and enter free agency. For example, last season Carlos Correa agreed to a 12-year, $310m deal with the New York Mets, but the Mets were worried about the results from his physical and his injury history, so they pulled out of the deal before the season began and instead, Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins on a six-year, $200m contract.

The Used Boy Auction

Drafting in MLB works very differently than the NHL. The amateur draft (the Main one, which is also called the Rule 4 Draft) takes place mid-season and lasts 20 rounds (used to be 40), plus picks that teams are given as compensation for other events. Teams can draft players either out of high school or college baseball—while the majority of players in the early days were picked right out of high school, nowadays the largest percentage are collegiate players. High school players are only eligible after graduation, and they don’t have junior leagues like the OHL or USHL. Players at universities can only be drafted after their 3rd season there in order to avoid going to a university only for drafting purposes. 

Teams retain the rights to sign the players they draft until July 15 of the following year, and a player who does not sign with their team is eligible to be signed once again as long as they meet the age and educational requirements (attending an academic institution, three years of college, etc.) Unless the player has consented to be re-selected by their old team, they cannot be chosen again in another draft year. This leads to players like Brandon Belt having been drafted three times, by the Red Sox, Braves, and Giants, and ultimately playing for the Giants after his college career.

The Rule 5 Draft is another major part of the MLB drafting system. It's sort of similar to what happens in the NHL with an expansion draft, but it takes place in the winter every year. As the MLB prospect pipeline moves slower and it's easy for teams to Stockpile high-quality prospects and bury them in the minors due to the team's current success, this draft aims to ensure that young players have a chance to play in the bigs on a team that needs more manpower. Not every team has to select a player in the Rule 5 draft; last season, 15 players were taken, including the Nats selecting Thad Ward and the Phillies selecting Noah Song.

Here's the official MLB description of the drafting process:

Podcasters or Whatever

My most toxic trait is that I unfortunately love listening to sports podcasts, so here are some good baseball ones:

The Athletic Baseball Show

Ballpark Dimensions

Effectively Wild

The Strike Zone

I hope this serves as a useful first step! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want to yell about baseball - I wrote this for two people, so if either of those two people find it helpful, the three hours I spent on it will have been worth it.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lori Ann Larocco at CNBC:

Billions in trade came to a screeching halt at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports after members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began walking off the job after 12:01 a.m. ET on October 1. The ILA is North America’s largest longshoremen’s union, with roughly 50,000 of its 85,000 members making good on the threat to strike at 14 major ports subject to a just-expired master contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), and picketing workers beginning to appear at ports. The union and port ownership group failed to reach agreement by midnight on a new contract in a protracted battle over wage increases and use of automation. In a last-ditch effort on Monday to avert a strike that will cause significant harm to the U.S. economy if it is lengthy — at least hundreds of millions of dollars a day at the largest ports like New York/New Jersey — the USMX offered a nearly 50% wage hike over six years, but that was rejected by the ILA, according to a source close to the negotiations. The port ownership group said it hoped the offer would lead to a resumption of collective bargaining.

The 14 ports where preparations for a strike have been underway are Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Wilmington, North Carolina, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Mobile, and Houston. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement issued shortly after midnight that “the first large-scale eastern dockworker strike in 47 years began at ports from Maine to Texas, including at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In preparation for this moment, New York has been working around the clock to ensure that our grocery stores and medical facilities have the essential products they need.” Rhetoric from ILA leadership has been aggressive in the weeks leading up to the strike, with ILA president Harold Daggett, who was a union member the last time it went out on strike in 1977, telling rank-and-file members — who unanimously voted to authorize a strike — in a recent video message, “We’ll crush them.” 

[...] The most significant issues would be faced by food and automobile industries, Kamins said, as they rely especially heavily on the ports that will be shut down. While a surge in inflation is highly unlikely even with a longer strike, even a modest reacceleration could create uncertainty and force the Federal Reserve to be more cautious about lowering interest rates, which would weigh on the overall outlook for job growth and investment. A one-week strike could cost the U.S. economy $3.78 billion, according to an analysis by The Conference Board, and cause supply chain slowdowns through mid-November. In all, the ports threatened with strikes handle $3 trillion annually in U.S. annual international trade.

Many industries are preparing for major repercussions. Noushin Shamsili, CEO and president of Nuco Logistics, which specializes in pharmaceutical imports and exports, said the strike comes at a critical time for inventory replenishment for the pharma sector. “Almost all of this industry is just on time,” said Shamsili. “Raw materials are being brought in to complete drug manufacturing. Medical supplies for clinics and hospitals are on these vessels. For a while importers did not bring in a lot of cargo because they were overflowing with supplies post-Covid. Now they have started reordering medical devices, gloves, syringes, and tubing.” Shamsili also said the East Coast ports are a gateway for generic medicine made in India. Approximately 48% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in the U.S. are being imported from India. Without these APIs, medications cannot be produced. APIs are also manufactured in Europe, which also use the East Coast ports as U.S. points of entry.

[...] The Biden administration finds itself in a delicate political moment, with the presidential election one month away and President Biden vowing he will not use existing labor law to force union workers back on the job, which is within his powers under the Taft-Hartley Act. The Taft-Hartley Act, passed in 1947, was a revision of U.S. law governing labor relations and union activity that granted a U.S. president the power to suspend a strike for an 80-day “cooling off period” in cases where “national health or safety” are at risk. 

Today begins the strike along East Coast and Gulf Coast ports after International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) members walked off their jobs.

This strike, depending on how long it lasts, could have a major impact on the elections and the economy.

[mariacallous]

Conspiracy theories and the people creating them have overwhelmed the US political process, and they’re becoming only more prevalent with each passing year. 2024 will be no different, if not worse: We’re already uncovering all kinds here on the WIRED Politics desk, from election conspiracy groups to claims that Boeing planes were made faulty on purpose. In the past few days alone, we’ve seen theories swirl online about the Baltimore bridge collapse and Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement.

A number of conspiracies were also given a boost this week by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-shot presidential campaign. Let’s talk about them!

The Longest VP Announcement

On Tuesday, RFK Jr. officially announced his VP choice: Nicole Shanahan, a tech entrepreneur, lawyer, and very wealthy ex-wife of Google cofounder Sergey Brin. I checked in with WIRED contributor Anna Merlan to debrief what was probably the longest veep announcement in recent history, and to talk about the conspiracies, digital campaign strategies, and vaccine skeptics driving Kennedy’s campaign. I’ve been taking a hard look at how the campaign is reaching voters online, and Anna covered the announcement for WIRED. She’s also been reporting on RFK Jr. and the anti-vax conspiracy ecosystem for years.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

MK: Ok. Nicole Shanahan. When they played her introductory video at the RFK Jr. event, I wasn’t expecting her to come off so conspiratorial. Were you surprised by what she said at all?

AM: Obviously, Shanahan was widely reported to be the VP pick. I did not know her stance on medical conspiracy theories, but I figured there had to be something there because you probably wouldn't agree to appear on a ticket with RFK without that.

So in her introductory video, she said that her daughter started showing signs of autism spectrum disorder in her infancy, and then she segued into making a series of claims that are very legible to people in the anti-vaccine movement. She claimed that chronic illnesses and conditions like autism can be caused by environmental exposure, wireless technology, and medication. And then she added that science can't assess the cumulative effects of multiple childhood vaccines—which is not true. The childhood vaccine schedule is very, very, very studied. Vaccines are some of the safest, most tested medical products on earth. It's not true, but as a talking point, it is again incredibly recognizable to the anti-vaccine movement. So for me, hearing her saying that stuff solved a little bit of a mystery of why she's involved.

MK: There were a lot of other people on stage yesterday and I didn’t recognize all of them. Who were those people?

AM: This was obviously a very long event—I think you even tweeted that it was only slightly shorter than Dune 2, which is true. There was a parade of speakers: Some of the bigger ones were Del Bigtree, who is really well known among anti-vaccine activists and is currently serving as the Kennedy campaign’s communications director; Jay Bhattacharya, who is a very prominent anti-lockdown figure; a former border patrol agent; and a couple of people who are active, if not super well known, in the natural health space. Basically, these speakers were each meant to speak to a slightly different constituency, because RFK Jr.’s main focus for so long has been anti-vaccine activism.

MK: Let’s talk about Bigtree. I’m curious about the space he occupies in the online conspiracy world.

AM: Bigtree was definitely the biggest speaker who was on the stage. He’s a very well-known anti-vaccine activist and is the CEO of a group called Informed Consent Action Network that is funded by billionaire foreign donors. He was the producer of an extremely famous and successful vaccine movie called Vaxxed, with Andrew Wakefield, who is the father of the modern anti-vaccine movement. And he’s the person who first falsely claimed that there might be a link between vaccines and autism, and set off a huge panic. So, Bigtree is incredibly well known. He’s incredibly popular and his place on the Kennedy campaign, I would opine, is meant to signal to RFK Jr. supporters in the anti-vaccine community that it’s still going to be a concern for a theoretical Kennedy administration.

MK: It did feel like the campaign was trying to thread the needle between the left and the right.

AM: It’s an awkward fit, isn’t it? I mean, RFK Jr.’s campaign had a YouTube livestream where you could watch the announcement, and if you looked at the comments during the land acknowledgement for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, they were pretty, unsurprisingly, racist. This is not a reflection on his campaign necessarily, but it's a reflection on some people who might have been inclined to support him. The sort of tug between having a Bay Area tribe on stage to get the land acknowledgement and then having somebody come on stage to talk about his history as a border patrol agent is awkward. Is that actually going to work on a large number of undecided voters? I don't know, but clearly that was what it was meant to do.

MK: Earlier today, I saw an ad on Twitter promoting an RFK Jr. documentary. It feels like such an investment in highly produced storytelling for the campaign. And this announcement event being so highly produced, it read like the campaign is trying really hard to make all of this pseudoscience appear legitimate. What did you think?

AM: RFK Jr.’s campaign, as you wrote about, has been very aware of sort of appealing to online spaces. One of those ways that you do that are these highly produced, slick little videos that look good on social media. So I wasn’t surprised.

But I was surprised that the announcement event was so long. I was surprised that there wasn't a little bit of attention to what the attention span is for an internet audience. I would definitely expect to see things that are highly produced, that are sort of media savvy, and that are also completely focused on burnishing RFK’s individual reputation. Because ultimately, in a long-shot candidacy like this, which may or may not be a sincere run for the White House, candidates are seeking to burnish their reputations in the worlds that they come from, and to even grow their market or their audience and become better known to a consumer base that they might not be known by already. Marianne Williamson, for example, had huge success with that.

MK: Another reason I can imagine why it was so long is because they knew how many eyes were going to be on this, and that it was probably one of their last big announcements and attempts to convince people to vote for him.

AM: The last big announcement. It's the last big chance to raise money, really. And they need money to get on the ballot. You’re trying to appeal to everybody, and you’re trying to make the most of what is probably your last moment.

The Chatroom

Occam’s razor doesn’t really exist on the internet. Or with conspiracy theorists. That couldn’t have been more apparent after a cargo ship tragically crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore this week, resulting in the presumed deaths of six people. Instead of assuming that the collision was due to a systems failure on the cargo ship, online conspiracy theorists have taken to blaming everyone from Nickelodeon to the CIA to DEI initiatives, as reported by my colleague David Gilbert.

We still don’t know too much about how and why the Tuesday morning collision took place, but if one were to guess—it’s unlikely that wokeness is the primary culprit.

But hey, maybe you know better than me. Leave a comment or send me an email at mail@wired.com and let me know.

[z2z-gaming-and-random-art-ai]

Console Sports Games of 1994 - ESPN Baseball Tonight

The first of several games to use the ESPN license in 1994 was ESPN Baseball Tonight, which was released in the United States for the Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and SNES.

ESPN Baseball Tonight, while licensed and using real team names such as the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Yankees, does not feature any real-world players.

ESPN Baseball Tonight was developed by Park Place Productions, one of the first developers to use the ESPN license, with three games developed using it in 1994.

1. Intro 00:00 2. Gameplay 00:15 3. Outro 11:42

Don’t forget to like or dislike, share (all are very helpful), and subscribe for more video game and AI art-related videos.

You can also follow me on Twitter for video games and AI art: Twitter (Gaming & AI Art): https://twitter.com/zero2zedGaming

Or follow me on Instagram for AI art: Instagram (AI Art): https://www.instagram.com/random_art_ai/

For more sports game videos, check out the playlists below:

Console Sports Games of 1993: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CEhIf6hohng9T2IPLCpzn7o

Console Sports Games of 1994: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CGSF_AK734XDflipeUo8Dr9

[music]

Music Spotlight: Karly Hartzman of Wednesday

Wednesday is a band from Asheville, North Carolina. Their new album Rat Saw God is out now alongside a video for single “Quarry." Get to know vocalist Karly Hartzman below.

How did you get started in music?

I started singing in front of people for the first times at my synagogue and in a community theater production of Wizard of Oz. Then I was in a pop punk band for a little while but I had a really hard time getting into that music. When I started writing my own songs under the Wednesday moniker was when I finally felt like I had the relationship with performing music I always wanted.

What is the story behind your band name?

Just liked the word! I kind of don’t like to think of titles for too long since I think so intensely about lyrics. Did a similar thing with the album title, just went with something that felt right and didn’t think on it more than a split second pretty much. 

Can you tell us about your new album Rat Saw God and what you hope people take away from it?

It is an album for rats by rats. I hope people hear this album and see that stories of the people who live in the American South have beautiful and complicated lives that are worth sharing and remembering.

Dream collaboration(s)?

Oh lord… I’m kinda nervous to meet most of my heroes. I have a tendency to clam up and really make a fool of myself. Lucinda Williams would be incredible. PJ Harvey obvi but I would shit my pants on sight. 

One thing you can't go on the road without?

Anxiety medication 

What’s the funniest photo that you have on your phone (either share or describe it)?

I’m really obsessed with this photo of my band mates piss drunk at a bar after our show in LA. My phone did this weird background erasing thing when I tried to put it on here?? Kinda goofy! 

Lightning round! Describe each of the following in one word: Who you are, what you value the most, and what you’d be if you were a food item.

Who you are: Dummyhead

What you value the most: Homeostasis

What you'd be if you were a food item: Artichoke

Come join the band at TV Eye in Ridgewood, Queens this Saturday, April 8th, for Mr. Rat’s Flea Market featuring 11 vendors from New York, Asheville, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Jersey, and LA.

[loonarii]

newjeans - "ditto" review

I fell in love with newjeans the instant I heard 'attention'. Everything about them was utterly captivating - their fresh concept that embraces the members' youth instead of plastering it in glitz and black leather, their clean nostalgic production merged with soft, delicate vocals, and of course, the undeniable and astounding talent of the members.

 As I said in the round up of my top songs of the year, all of their songs were hits for me, which is incredible especially in a year such as 2022, which has been an excellent year for kpop, especially for girl groups. 

Their success was instantaneous too - they ruled the charts for weeks, no one could stop doing their dances on TikTok, and even idols were singing their hearts out to their songs. And so, to the joy of the entire K-Pop community, they announced their first ever comeback for December 19, a pre-release called ‘Ditto’. And I, for once, was not even slightly nervous that it would be anything less than perfect.

‘Ditto’ is a Baltimore club inspired pop song that is as understated as it is addictive. Sonically it explores themes of bittersweet nostalgia, and lyrically it references shy smiles, nervous butterflies, stolen glances across the classroom, and your first ever love at 16. To me ‘Ditto’ reads as a memory, a discovered VHS tape, or a polaroid at the bottom of a box in your attic. The song introduces itself within the first twenty seconds, and keeps a delicate pace throughout, pulling the listener through every inch of the melodies and harmonies the members and instrumentation create. It's a beautiful blur from start to finish, and when you do reach the end you can’t help but wind it back to the start for just one more listen.

The music videos were amazing too, some of the best conceptually that I have seen in K-Pop. The visuals of the girls flicking in and out of reality perfectly matches the song’s energy, and the decision to have the members themselves not be the main characters of the story is an inspired choice that pays off 100%.

As a person on TikTok who I have unfortunately lost put it, ‘newjeans feels like rediscovering kpop again’, which in my opinion sums it up perfectly. They have that spark I’ve been looking for in the fourth generation, they have that Red Velvet, SNSD, Twice aura that draws you in, and I can see them going so far in this industry. They sound like no-one else in the industry, and that’s what makes them so alluring. ‘Ditto’, like every single other one of their songs, was a hit, and is probably my favourite from them so far. I have no doubts that ‘OMG’ is going to be a stellar album, and I know that in ten years I will be proud to say I was a newjeans fan from debut. This comeback was, in a word, flawless.

[arconinternet]

Street Scenes (Videos, ~1976-1983)

Production footage for a local TV show made by students at the University of Baltimore. You can watch it here.

[effectsdatabase]

Last week's top 20 videos (2023, week 15)

Top 20 videos last week (April 9-15)

Foxrox Paradox TZF2 Green (2023) (by Baltimore Sonic Research Institute)

Mateus Asato Performs Through UAFX Pedals at Universal Audio Studio 610 (by Universal Audio)

Introducing The AFX Mini Pedal Collection For Acoustic Guitar (by Fishman)

Universal Audio flew me across the country for these (feat. Yvette Young) (by Emily Hopkins)

Pedal Steel players, a message from Sage Benado of BENADO EFFECTS. (by Benado Effects)

Breaking News! Daniel Danger has been spotted in Kansas City! (by JHS Pedals)

Greer Lightspeed Overdrive Teardown! See what's inside! (by Gray Bench Electronics)

Spellbook Guitar Pedal - Guitar and Bass Mix (by David Ross Musical Instruments)

How To Make A Guitar Pedal Enclosure - Drilling (by Tone Charm Audio)

NUX at NAMM 2023. (by nuX)

UAFX | Galaxy Tape Echo, Max Dual Compressor & DelVerb (by Rabea Massaad)

Discovering the Jacques Mercer Box! (by AndyDemos)

Como acelerar la oscilación del vibrato en el Fugu 3 (by Dedalo FX)

New UAFX Pedals | Del Verb, Max & Galaxy 74 | Gear Check | Thomann (by Thomann)

3 More Amazing Pedals from UAFX! - Galaxy 74 Tape Echo, Del-Verb Ambience & Max Compressor (by AndertonsMusic)

Boss DSD-2 delays with my 7 string... :) (by Cameron Johnson)

Black Hole Symmetry - LTD Mirror Polished (by Collision Devices)

A PEDAL LIKE NO OTHER OUT THERE !! (by BassTheWorld)

T-Rex Finally Unveils the Binson Echorec! | NAMM 2023 (by reverbmarket)

? Gear & Beer - REVV LIVE FROM NAMM | NEW PRODUCT REVEAL (by Revv Amplification)

Overviews of the previous weeks: https://www.effectsdatabase.com/video/weekly

from Effects Database https://bit.ly/41gpwV8

[abductionradiation]

Brooklyn, NY -- Madison McFerrin will be releasing her debut album I Hope You Can Forgive Me on May 12. Last week, she released the second single from the record “(Please Don’t) Leave Me Now,” a lush neo-soul track spanning 3 minutes long. From the psychedelic synths to McFerrin’s hypnotic vocals, “(Please Don’t) Leave Me Now” teeters between an ethereal dream and a pulsating otherworldly experience. There’s an introspectiveness that’ll have you reflecting on your life and how to move forward.

Madison McFerrin · (Please Don't) Leave Me Now

On the track and accompanying music video, McFerrin shares "Being able to walk away from a near-death experience without physical harm is one of the greatest blessings I've received in this life. It reaffirmed my purpose as an artist. Writing '(Please Don't) Leave Me Now' became an incredibly therapeutic and cathartic experience. Being able to express that kind of fear while still creating a fun environment was key to making this song. 

Death showed up in more ways than one in the process of making this video. In the weeks leading up to the shoot, multiple family members on the production side passed unexpectedly, bringing our plans to a halt. The fate of the video was in flux. Thanks to the tenacity of my team, we were able to regroup and move forward, albeit with a delay. 

For the video, we wanted to capture the feeling of not being prepared to die. I’m talking to myself both above and within the grave, grieving both who I was and who I could be. I didn’t expect being in a grave for multiple hours in a day would affect me, but it definitely contributed to my journey in processing a near-death experience. This song and video are a manifestation of my own personal growth as not only a musician, but as a human.”

I Hope You Can Forgive Me by Madison McFerrin

TOUR DATES

May 20 – Artyard, Frenchtown, NJ June 1 – Zebulon, Los Angeles, CA June 2 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA June 4 – Hult Center, Eugene, OR June 5 – Doug Fir, Portland, OR June 13  – Sleeping Village, Chicago, IL June 15 – Rambling House, Columbus, OH June 23  – Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD June 24 – Love, Velma, Ellenville, NY June 25  – The Falcon, Marlboro, NY June 29 – Elsewhere Zone One, Brooklyn, NY

Connect with Madison McFerrin:

Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[rockshoremediaproduction]

Rockshore Media is a video production companies in DC and Baltimore that has been providing corporate video production services for over 10 years. We know how to produce and broadcast high-quality videos that will make your business stand out.

[kestonmd]

Business Name: Keystone Productions

Street Address: 4226 Amos Ave 2nd Floor

City: Baltimore

State: Maryland (MD)

Zip Code: 21215

Country: USA

Business Phone: (410) 340-7124

Business Email: KEYSTONEPRODUCTIONS1@GMAIL.COM

Website: https://keston.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeystoneProductionsLLC/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/keystoneproductions

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KestonDeCoteau

Business Description: Keystone Productions is a major production studio with an extensive client list, serving the Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland areas.

Google My Business CID URL: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=3778317997037228676

Business Hours: Sunday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST) Monday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST) Tuesday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST) Wednesday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST) Thursday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST) Friday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST) Saturday 8:00am-10:00pm (EST)

Services: Photography, Headshots, Video Production Services

Keywords: Wedding Photography, filmmaker Maryland, filmmaker Baltimore, black video producer, cinematographer

Location:

Service Areas:

[fluidstatick]

From Know Your Meme:

This highly over the top commercial was originally produced as a joke in 1990 for a faux award show put on be the Advertising Association of Baltimore called The Ad Follies. The AAB searched for agencies willing to produce ad spoofs mocking the top agencies in the city despite the impending threat that people working on these spoofs may place their jobs in jeopardy for doing so. The production was conducted at television studio WBFF and all of the footage originates from car manufacturer promotional videos and generic stock footage. The writer and narrator of the copy are still both unknown. The video was never intended to be shown outside of The Ad Follies show because of the vulgarity and the possibilities of being viewed by the mocked. Copies were only distributed to people who worked on production and to WBFF employees following the screening.

[sistaffingsblog]

How Temp Agencies in Baltimore County Are Adapting to the Remote Work Trend

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the employment landscape in ways that were previously unimaginable. One of the most significant changes has been the shift toward remote work. As businesses adapt to this new normal, temp agencies in Baltimore County have also transformed their operations to meet the demands of both employers and job seekers. This article explores how temp agencies are navigating the remote work trend, the challenges they face, and the innovative solutions they are implementing to stay relevant in a changing job market.

1. Understanding the Remote Work Shift

Before delving into how Temp Agencies in Baltimore County are adapting, it’s crucial to understand the context of the remote work trend. The pandemic forced companies to rethink traditional workplace structures, leading to a significant increase in remote employment. Many organizations discovered that employees could maintain productivity while working from home, prompting them to embrace flexible work arrangements long-term.

1.1 Increased Demand for Remote Roles

As a result of this shift, there has been a surge in demand for temporary positions that can be performed remotely. Companies are looking for skilled workers who can seamlessly transition to virtual environments, leading temp agencies to expand their offerings to include remote roles in various industries.

1.2 New Skill Requirements

With remote work comes a new set of skills that employees must possess. Communication, self-discipline, and technical proficiency have become more critical than ever. Temp agencies must ensure that candidates are not only qualified for their roles but also equipped to thrive in a remote work setting.

2. Expanding Job Opportunities

Temp agencies are responding to the remote work trend by broadening the types of job opportunities they offer. Many businesses now require temporary workers to fill remote roles across various sectors, including customer service, IT, marketing, and administrative support.

2.1 Partnering with Remote-Friendly Employers

To meet the growing demand for remote work, temp agencies are actively seeking partnerships with employers who embrace flexible work arrangements. By connecting job seekers with remote-friendly companies, temp agencies can expand their client base and provide more opportunities for candidates.

2.2 Offering Diverse Remote Roles

Temp agencies are diversifying their job listings to include a range of remote positions. This variety allows job seekers to find roles that match their skills and preferences, whether they are looking for full-time remote work or part-time opportunities. As the landscape of remote work continues to evolve, temp agencies are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve.

3. Enhancing Recruitment Processes

The recruitment process for remote roles differs significantly from traditional hiring methods. Temp Agencies in Baltimore County are adapting their approaches to ensure they can effectively screen candidates for remote positions.

3.1 Virtual Interviews

With remote work becoming the norm, temp agencies have shifted to virtual interviews as the primary method for assessing candidates. Video conferencing tools have become essential for conducting interviews, allowing recruiters to evaluate a candidate's communication skills and professionalism in a remote setting.

3.2 Utilizing Technology for Screening

Temp agencies are leveraging technology to streamline the recruitment process. Online assessments and skills tests can help gauge candidates’ abilities and ensure they possess the necessary qualifications for remote roles. By incorporating these tools, agencies can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their hiring processes.

4. Providing Training and Resources

To help job seekers thrive in remote roles, temp agencies are offering training and resources focused on remote work best practices.

4.1 Remote Work Training Programs

Many temp agencies are developing training programs specifically designed to equip candidates with the skills needed for remote work. Topics may include time management, effective communication, and utilizing collaboration tools. By investing in candidates' professional development, agencies can enhance their employability and ensure they are prepared for the demands of remote positions.

4.2 Resource Sharing

Temp agencies are also providing job seekers with resources and materials related to remote work. This can include guides on setting up a productive home office, tips for maintaining work-life balance, and strategies for effective virtual communication. By offering these resources, temp agencies empower candidates to succeed in their remote roles.

5. Fostering Employer Relationships

Temp agencies in Baltimore County recognize the importance of maintaining strong relationships with employers, particularly as they navigate the remote work landscape.

5.1 Understanding Employer Needs

To effectively match candidates with remote roles, Temp Agencies in Baltimore County must understand the specific needs and preferences of their employer clients. This includes insights into company culture, communication styles, and expectations for remote workers. By building strong relationships with employers, agencies can tailor their recruitment strategies to find the right fit for both parties.

5.2 Ongoing Communication

Maintaining open lines of communication with employers is crucial in the remote work environment. Temp agencies are ensuring that they regularly check in with clients to gather feedback on candidate performance and address any concerns that may arise. This proactive approach fosters trust and collaboration between agencies and employers.

6. Supporting Remote Workers

Once candidates are placed in remote roles, temp agencies continue to provide support to ensure their success.

6.1 Check-Ins and Feedback

Temp agencies are implementing regular check-ins with remote workers to assess their experiences and gather feedback. This ongoing communication allows agencies to address any challenges that employees may face and provide assistance as needed.

6.2 Building a Sense of Community

Remote work can often lead to feelings of isolation. To combat this, temp agencies are exploring ways to foster a sense of community among remote workers. This may include organizing virtual networking events, professional development workshops, or informal meetups to connect individuals working in similar roles.

7. Adapting to Changes in Legislation

The rise of remote work has also prompted changes in employment laws and regulations. Temp agencies in Baltimore County must stay informed about these developments to ensure compliance and protect the interests of both employers and employees.

7.1 Navigating Labor Laws

Temp agencies are closely monitoring changes to labor laws that may impact remote workers, such as regulations regarding overtime, benefits, and work-from-home stipulations. By staying informed, agencies can provide valuable guidance to employers and ensure that workers are aware of their rights.

7.2 Adjusting Policies and Procedures

As remote work becomes more prevalent, Temp Agencies in Baltimore County may need to adjust their policies and procedures to reflect this new reality. This could include updating contracts, revising onboarding processes, and implementing new technologies to facilitate remote work.

Conclusion

The remote work trend is here to stay, and temp agencies in Baltimore County are adapting to this new landscape with innovative solutions and strategies. By expanding job opportunities, enhancing recruitment processes, providing training, and fostering strong relationships with both employers and candidates, temp agencies are positioning themselves to thrive in this evolving job market.

As job seekers navigate the complexities of remote work, partnering with a temp agency can provide valuable support and resources to help them find suitable positions that align with their skills and career goals. The adaptability of temp agencies like those in Baltimore County will play a crucial role in shaping the future of work as remote employment continues to grow in prominence.

[grooveworkspace]

Elevate Your Projects with Premium Video Studio Rental in Baltimore

Take your video production to the next level with Video Studio Rental in Baltimore at Groove Workspace & Studio. Whether you're shooting a commercial, filming a podcast, or creating content for social media, our fully-equipped studio offers everything you need to bring your vision to life. With professional lighting, sound, and state-of-the-art equipment, you can create high-quality videos in a comfortable and versatile space. Perfect for beginners and seasoned professionals alike, Groove Workspace provides an ideal setting for creativity and excellence. Book your session today!

[decervantes]

"This made me realize how badly I need to leave my job..."

One of my ethnographic interviewees is a public defender in Baltimore. He's also a husband, a father, a Black man, an ex-Marine, a video-game nerd and a sports enthusiast. Of all the conversations I had this week, this one went the deepest and covered the most topics. He regularly gets only 3-4 hours of sleep a night, because it feels necessary given the demands of his job and his home-life.

Many of his clients are facing incarceration, and their freedom is truly in his hands. He told me a heartbreaking story about a 19-year-old who was arrested just days before his high school graduation for carrying a weapon. He was only carrying because his younger brother was recently shot & killed, and this young man still currently fears for his life. He's already been in jail for 112 as he awaits trial. It's my friend's job to make sure this young kid doesn't end up with a 5 year sentence. Of course his sleep is impacted.

This friend spoke about how unsustainable his job is because of the ways it negatively impacts his life and his ability to be the best husband and father he can be.

We talked about the need for rest, the negative impacts of 'grind-culture' and America's obsession with productivity. We talked about how much better things could be if social safety nets worked better, and properly supported people all around.