Romance, Trash Talking, Tennessee, FanFix and Fast Company

The Schloss-Blog is following up on reporting that American men are not serious enough about love - uh, relationships, that is - so American women are seeking it abroad. We're also looking at the flak that LSU's Angel Reese is catching for her apparent trash talk directed at Iowa's Caitlin Clark. And we're also looking at influencers - no, creators - who are monetizing themselves quite successfully on something called FanFix.

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According to a report in the NY Times, American women are tired of looking for love in all the wrong places. So they're looking for it in European places, because they say that American men are not up to maintaining it, let alone achieving it.

American women who have had, what one woman the Times talked to described as "disappointing dating experiences," have subsequently taken jobs with European companies and moved over there and found - you guessed it - lasting romance, let alone a better lifestyle maintainable on a lower salary. 

Why do they find European men this way? They describe them as just being more serious about romantic relationships. They just are.

Or, perhaps they look at it this way: American men meet a woman and think, wonder if she's good in bed. American women meet a guy and think, wonder what color the kids' eyes would be.

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Speaking of relationships, don't invite LSU's Angel Reese and Iowa's Caitlin Clark to the same party. There's not enough space in any one room for their apparent mutual disrespect in the wake of LSU's win over the Hawkeyes in the NCAA women's basketball championship.

LSU took it personally that the Hawkeyes played one-foot-in-the-paint defense against them and against their SEC sisters from South Carolina, who the Hawkeyes vanquished in the semifinals behind that defensive strategy and Clark's incredible performance.

But it was Clark, playing defense, who waved off LSU's Alexis Morris - physically waved her off, disrespectfully to the Tigers - regarding her and her teammates' shooting ability.

As the game wound along, Reese, the Final Four's MVP, returned the favor with a John Cena "You can't see me" wave as her teammates burned Iowa's defensive maneuvering. Or as Reese told Yardbarker after the game: "Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure, but I don’t take disrespect lightly. She disrespected Alexis (Morris) and my girls, South Carolina, they’re my SEC girls too."

In case you're wondering, Reese has cashed in on the activity, generating some near $400,000 in endorsements in NIL (Name/Image/Licensing) activity. 

Yo, Caitlin Clark: sharpshooting and slick assists may look flashy and win games, but trash talking is cash talking, disrespect notwithstanding.

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Meanwhile, the Schloss-Blog had not even heard of FanFix before reading that it has 10 million users and about 3,000 "creators" - OK, influencers - some of whom have more than 2,000 followers who pay $8 month to keep up with them, or $13,500 a month, en totale.

Some creators, Gen Z'ers catering to other Gen Z'ers - are earning $70K a year. That's people between 13-24.

What are they selling? You go to FanFix and tell me. I don't get it.

But SuperOrdinary does. The website spent $65 million to acquire FanFix.

*** In Tennessee, it's apparently not good to be a black state legislator or a a 9-year-old school kid. Two of the former were expelled by their Republican colleagues from the state legislature for being - well, black - and complaining that their Republican colleagues were not doing enough - let alone anything - to help preserve the lives of latter, who were shot and killed in a senseless mass shooting last week. The two black legislators will apparently be reinstated by their local party overseers. No one can bring back the three 9-year olds, nor the three adults senselessly slaughtered along with them at Covenant School in Nashville. Republicans in Tennessee, and the people there who voted for them, are assholes. *** This week's Fast Company tip: Five things would-be managers should ask themselves before accepting that promotion to management. They include: what would you miss about your current role (answer: being trusted); are you 'ready' to be one 'them' (answer: the distrusted); do you enjoy teaching (answer: considering no one will trust what you're teaching); is 'managing upward' appealing (answer: whatever that means); and how do you feel about being proactive (answer: being trusted). You want to be a manager? In other words, it's not a popularity contest. Gird yourself. *** Two quick takes: I'm still sick of the UpWork ads' zombie. If they wanted one as the face of their company, they just shoud've hired Ozzy Osbourne to be in their ads, like Workday did. And...finally, remember when Republicans were the party of law and order? Now they're the party of guns and racism, of scofflaws and disorder. *** Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Molly Shannon. More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show, ahead of the Bohemian Night Cat, John Kirk DeRitis.