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It appears that the Pac-12 died on Friday morning after representatives from the nine remaining members of the conference failed to reach an agreement on a new grant of media rights. It remains unclear whether this meeting took place on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or perhaps one of the six Pac-12 Network stations constructed by former administrator Larry Scott. Born in 1915 at the Imperial Hotel in Downtown Portland, the Pacific Coast Conference had a number names and members over her 107 years.

The scapula sits on the rib cage and forms the base from which the rest of the arm can move. It is not firmly attached to the rib cage like you would think of with other joints. Typically, one bone is connected to another bone through a joint that has ligaments, joint capsules and thick connective tissue to connect the bones, but only muscles hold our scapula onto our rib cage!

If you have a cursory familiarity with Instagram meme culture, you weren’t surprised today when I interrupted my usual feed of despondency/Garfield content to offer 93,000 strangers a discount on a vibrator shaped like a little pink pig. Shilling sex toys is a rite of passage for memers; adult brands like Unbound, Honey Play Box, and Adam & Eve permeate… ncG1vNJzZmiZmZmyr63RmquaZqOqr7TAwJyiZ5ufonyxe9ahsGacn2LAsHnMmqWyZZ2auqZ5wJyaqK2eqcBuv8Slow%3D%3D

This week, inquiring minds, such as that of April Redford Eby, want to know about things such as: For the past couple of years I’ve noticed that some people are saying “important” differently, but I can’t pin it down to a specific geographical area. It always strikes me when I hear it, and I turn it over and over in my mouth. The other day I broached this with my (79-year-old) dad, who was immediately electrified with fervor (haha!

Hey all! As we pointed out earlier this week, Lesser Tedium is finishing up its run next week. (We’ll be leaning on Tedium once again.) I will still have issues into next week; stay subscribed, because something will take its place. Cell towers are a necessary evil when it comes to the modern world. They give us access to communication resources that we might not otherwise have, which definitely beats the alternative of landlines.

You can listen to a recording of this newsletter above. Thanks for being here! At first I thought it was because I like gossip, but it’s more than that. It’s reassuring to read other people’s conundrums that are vexing enough to seek external advice, but not so immediate that they can’t wait a little while to hear back. When I procrastinate by scrolling social media, my algorithm knows what I’m hungry for.

Sometimes this blog can be rather predictable. Our standard prescription for revenue growth comes in three parts. First, airlines should embrace new technology. NFT tickets (see article), virtual reality (see article) and Internet of Things (see article) can all help turn aircraft into revenue generating platforms. Second, they should take action on commercial ideas rather than just building bigger and more complex platforms. Level 5 certification for NDC, a communications standard supposed to help airlines become retailers, means nothing if airlines do not actually sell products and services that people want (see article).

Welcome to Making History, a newsletter about how historians make history. Also sometimes a newsletter, as in this series on the origins of “leadership,” that doesn’t so much go behind the scenes of history-making as it offers a preview of some of the latest arguments and findings in the field. For the beginning of the series, go here. And to subscribe, go here. It’s free! Last time we saw how the rise of the early American research university was driven less by a thirst for knowledge or a corporate need for bureaucratic expertise than by the entry of so many business heirs into higher education.

With a new “Iran deal” in the works (though whether it will come to be is impossible to say), we turned for this week’s podcast to my colleague at Shalem College, Colonel Dr. Eran Lerman, to ask a basic question that most of us can’t answer: “Why does Iran hate Israel with such intensity?” It’s not borders—we don’t share one. It’s not oil. It’s not water. It’s not being a Muslim country—look at the UAE, Bahrain and others.