Ray Castro
@rpcastro.bsky.social
https://www.substack.com/@raycastro
Looking to examine and share ideas about music, sports, leadership and culture. Home base is Cincinnati; The Wife and The Cat keep things warm, sane, and tidy.
Looking to examine and share ideas about music, sports, leadership and culture. Home base is Cincinnati; The Wife and The Cat keep things warm, sane, and tidy.
The NYT story about Sears made me think about 1970's Christmas. These things were common under our tree. Yeah boxing gloves-very common in toy stores back then. 4 boys who beat the crap out of each other. Our home.😋
#Christmas #toys
#Christmas #toys
December 27, 2025 at 1:55 PM
The NYT story about Sears made me think about 1970's Christmas. These things were common under our tree. Yeah boxing gloves-very common in toy stores back then. 4 boys who beat the crap out of each other. Our home.😋
#Christmas #toys
#Christmas #toys
You may know what Guernica looks like, but if you haven’t visited Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid…you haven’t seen it. We are facing a similar dilemma in film.
#movies
#movies
Watching, Not Seeing
What we lose with the decline of the movie theater.
raycastro.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:39 PM
You may know what Guernica looks like, but if you haven’t visited Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid…you haven’t seen it. We are facing a similar dilemma in film.
#movies
#movies
I've been reading the recent Jerry Garcia bio, and this ad was mentioned re: the place he had as a figure of 60's counterculture. Perhaps Niall Ferguson is right-Trump is Nixon's revenge. You could run this ad today.
#Trump #MAGA
#Trump #MAGA
Nixon for American Youth 1968
YouTube video by rfkmustdie
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 1:09 PM
In the end, Heartbeats confirms one of the essential truths about celebrities: we really don’t know anything about them. Be it OJ Simpson or Alice Munro. After 304 pages do we “know” Björn Borg? Sort of. The Iceborg has thawed just a bit.
#sports #tennis
#sports #tennis
Thawed, But Not Melted
Björn Borg's memoir "Heartbeats" provides us with just a crack into his life.
open.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:24 PM
#BillBurr #Riyadh #comedy
The comedians who played in Riyadh may have a tougher road to travel . There seems to be very little principle, and mostly a whole lot of cash. One wonders would this bunch have played Sun City?
The comedians who played in Riyadh may have a tougher road to travel . There seems to be very little principle, and mostly a whole lot of cash. One wonders would this bunch have played Sun City?
Unforced Errors
Arthur Ashe, Bill Burr, and the cost of money for nothing.
raycastro.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Ray Castro
Surprisingly lame excuse around obvious censorship coupled with a weird can-you-believe-they-are-not-all-on-camels naïveté about Saudi Arabia. Really a sad miss by Bill Burr www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...
Bill Burr Defends Performing at Controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival: “They’re Just Like Us”
The actor-comedian details his experience at the event: "Definitely one of the top three experiences I've ever had ... I think it's going to lead to a lot of positive things."
www.hollywoodreporter.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Surprisingly lame excuse around obvious censorship coupled with a weird can-you-believe-they-are-not-all-on-camels naïveté about Saudi Arabia. Really a sad miss by Bill Burr www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...
There is something Robert Moses-like in the manner of how from one position he has his hands on many things. I think one thing that will be debunked by historians is the belief that Trump isn't ideological. He and his father's past point to something more than "transactional."
#Trump #Project2025
#Trump #Project2025
The Man Behind Trump’s Push for an All-Powerful Presidency
www.nytimes.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:09 PM
There is something Robert Moses-like in the manner of how from one position he has his hands on many things. I think one thing that will be debunked by historians is the belief that Trump isn't ideological. He and his father's past point to something more than "transactional."
#Trump #Project2025
#Trump #Project2025
#PBS
Tax sports betting. I think getting that in front of voters-especially in blue states can win. "We fund stadiums but not Big Bird?!" Come on New Jersey.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/n...
Tax sports betting. I think getting that in front of voters-especially in blue states can win. "We fund stadiums but not Big Bird?!" Come on New Jersey.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/n...
NJ PBS, New Jersey’s Public Television Network, May Shut Down Next Year
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:39 PM
#PBS
Tax sports betting. I think getting that in front of voters-especially in blue states can win. "We fund stadiums but not Big Bird?!" Come on New Jersey.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/n...
Tax sports betting. I think getting that in front of voters-especially in blue states can win. "We fund stadiums but not Big Bird?!" Come on New Jersey.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/n...
#JDVance
He's like the Energizer Bunny-he will not rest.
"Still, the fight between Mr. Favreau and the vice president — which devolved into Mr. Vance calling the podcaster a profanity — was just one front in a quickly evolving battle between the right and left."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/s...
He's like the Energizer Bunny-he will not rest.
"Still, the fight between Mr. Favreau and the vice president — which devolved into Mr. Vance calling the podcaster a profanity — was just one front in a quickly evolving battle between the right and left."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/s...
September 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
#JDVance
He's like the Energizer Bunny-he will not rest.
"Still, the fight between Mr. Favreau and the vice president — which devolved into Mr. Vance calling the podcaster a profanity — was just one front in a quickly evolving battle between the right and left."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/s...
He's like the Energizer Bunny-he will not rest.
"Still, the fight between Mr. Favreau and the vice president — which devolved into Mr. Vance calling the podcaster a profanity — was just one front in a quickly evolving battle between the right and left."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/s...
#music #EricClapton
I have no doubt that at the moment of news of Eric Clapton’s passing, there will be a cascade of memes to the effect of, “God is dead.” You can bet the farm on that.
I have no doubt that at the moment of news of Eric Clapton’s passing, there will be a cascade of memes to the effect of, “God is dead.” You can bet the farm on that.
Deus adest, Deus nos reliquit
What to make of the legacy of one, Eric Patrick Clapton
raycastro.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM
#music #EricClapton
I have no doubt that at the moment of news of Eric Clapton’s passing, there will be a cascade of memes to the effect of, “God is dead.” You can bet the farm on that.
I have no doubt that at the moment of news of Eric Clapton’s passing, there will be a cascade of memes to the effect of, “God is dead.” You can bet the farm on that.
Recent events should hopefully dissuade pundits from dismissing this as corporate America getting caught showing its ass in deference to Trump. To quote Kara Swisher from her book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story: "As it turned out, it was capitalism after all."
#Trump #FCC
#Trump #FCC
The 80 Years War
It has always been about one thing: destroying the New Deal
open.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Ray Castro
When RFK Jr.’s day of reckoning comes, and it will, it will be much deserved. www.wsj.com/opinion/robe...
Opinion | Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC and Me
I was fired after 29 days because I held the line and insisted on rigorous scientific review.
www.wsj.com
September 4, 2025 at 1:12 PM
When RFK Jr.’s day of reckoning comes, and it will, it will be much deserved. www.wsj.com/opinion/robe...
If Richard Clarke was alive today, this is what would have his hair on fire.
It's inevitable. It should keep Patel up all night.
#drones #terrorism #KashPatel
It's inevitable. It should keep Patel up all night.
#drones #terrorism #KashPatel
Alarm as US far-right extremists eye drones for use in domestic attacks
Experts say extremists openly talking of how home-built drones will be critical tool in so-called second civil war
www.theguardian.com
September 1, 2025 at 8:28 PM
If Richard Clarke was alive today, this is what would have his hair on fire.
It's inevitable. It should keep Patel up all night.
#drones #terrorism #KashPatel
It's inevitable. It should keep Patel up all night.
#drones #terrorism #KashPatel
Someone in the House should take a page from Gingrich on this issue. Every day a business closes they should hold a funeral, with a "memorial wall" listing all the businesses closed due to tariffs. Enough with Epstein. This is the issue.
#tariffs #economy #Trump
#tariffs #economy #Trump
American Businesses in ‘Survival Mode’ as Trump Tariffs Pile Up
www.nytimes.com
August 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Considering that everything is a deal, it's hard not to think DeWine by sending Ohio National Guard to DC, is looking for a favor to extend Temporary Protected Status? I'm sure he has other items on his list, but I think is worth watching.
#Ohio #immigration #Haiti
#Ohio #immigration #Haiti
An Ohio City Faces a Future Without Haitian Workers: ‘It’s Not Going to Be Good’
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Considering that everything is a deal, it's hard not to think DeWine by sending Ohio National Guard to DC, is looking for a favor to extend Temporary Protected Status? I'm sure he has other items on his list, but I think is worth watching.
#Ohio #immigration #Haiti
#Ohio #immigration #Haiti
Ticket Stub Diaries
What a box of partially torn paper reveals about one's life
open.substack.com
August 14, 2025 at 5:29 PM
One should read this article contrasting Mark Zuckerberg to Andy Grove. Grove certainly had his faults, but the chasm in life experience, temperament, and wisdom IMO is real source of worry on this issue.
#AI #Tech
#AI #Tech
Silicon Valley Enlists in the Business of War
www.nytimes.com
August 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
#economy
Another way of understanding the trend: If Michigan had simply maintained the same share of American auto jobs as it had in the 1950s, meaning it did not lose any production to other states, then it would only have lost 21,000 auto jobs since then, not the 280,000 it actually did lose.
Another way of understanding the trend: If Michigan had simply maintained the same share of American auto jobs as it had in the 1950s, meaning it did not lose any production to other states, then it would only have lost 21,000 auto jobs since then, not the 280,000 it actually did lose.
Myths and Lessons from a Century of American Automaking
Protectionists love talking about the auto industry. Believing it offers a potent example of the harms of globalization, their arguments have long been politically attractive to politicians on both le...
eig.org
August 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
#economy
Another way of understanding the trend: If Michigan had simply maintained the same share of American auto jobs as it had in the 1950s, meaning it did not lose any production to other states, then it would only have lost 21,000 auto jobs since then, not the 280,000 it actually did lose.
Another way of understanding the trend: If Michigan had simply maintained the same share of American auto jobs as it had in the 1950s, meaning it did not lose any production to other states, then it would only have lost 21,000 auto jobs since then, not the 280,000 it actually did lose.
Reposted by Ray Castro
Tune of the day…Kenny Kirkland - Celia. Kenny only made one solo album, it’s hard to get insight on what music he wanted to explore. His arrangement of Bud Powell’s Celia shows how he would hear texture in an ensemble setting. 2 guys being creative in the studio here. #jazzsky youtu.be/xgN2mju-pm8
Celia
YouTube video by Kenny Kirkland - Topic
youtu.be
July 30, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Tune of the day…Kenny Kirkland - Celia. Kenny only made one solo album, it’s hard to get insight on what music he wanted to explore. His arrangement of Bud Powell’s Celia shows how he would hear texture in an ensemble setting. 2 guys being creative in the studio here. #jazzsky youtu.be/xgN2mju-pm8