The Mason Minute

Yesterday, I was listening to a playlist on Spotify. And one of my favorite country songs, that many have forgotten, was on the playlist. It was Steve Earle’s ‘I Ain’t Ever Satisfied'.  And naturally, it got me to thinking. As Americans, or for that matter, even as humans, is satisfaction possible? I’ve always viewed myself as a perfectionist. That’s both good and bad. One of the bad parts is that...

I often see jokes on social media, talking about people wearing pajamas when they shop at places like Walmart. Now, I will admit it’s not actually a place where people dress up to be seen. But often times, the people you see there may be wearing what they sleep in, but it’s not necessarily pajamas. But the other day, when we were shopping there, I saw at least two people wearing full winter pajama...

I finally got a haircut yesterday. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but just finding the time in my schedule is often a challenge. There’s one thing that’s fascinated me about getting haircuts for a long time. And that’s the difference between a barbershop and a beauty salon. While very different, they’re actually very similar in vibe. Does that make sense? Now, I get my haircut at one of those...

The truth is a funny thing. And I don’t mean funny, ha ha. I mean, funny as in peculiar. Right now, we live in trying times. Many people believe the truth doesn’t exist. They believe what they want to believe, and don’t care what anyone else thinks. But sometimes, it’s absolute. It’s been a challenging week here in Nashville. With a severe ice storm over the weekend, many people are still without...

Experts say you can tell a lot about a person by how cluttered their life is. For some, it’s a cluttered office or a messy car. I’m guilty of the former, but not the latter. I don’t know why, but I’ve never liked trash in my car. You’ll never find empty cans or fast food bags on my floorboards. I don’t wash my car often enough, but I keep the interior pretty clean. The city of Hilton Head, SC, has...

I finally decided to venture out yesterday and brave the remnants of the ice storm that is still crippling Nashville. Since I can work from home, I haven’t left the house since last Thursday. But I had a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment to get to. Many of the roads were much better than I expected. As expected, it was a little bit rough getting out of our neighborhood, but one thing that s...

Recently, the government changed the famed food pyramid, which guides us on where to focus our diet. I can’t tell you how many times in my life they’ve tweaked this pyramid. Some of it is common sense, and some of it is political. It always has been that way. Now it looks like protein is more important than it has been recently. I wonder if this change in the food pyramid has also prompted some re...

Being featured on the national news can be both a blessing and a curse. Nashville is often featured nationally. Sometimes it’s good, but often the news is negative. Yesterday, we made the news for the number of power outages we had on Sunday. The storm that blanketed the US didn’t hit as hard initially. We only got a couple of inches of snow, but the ice that followed didn’t make things any better...

I know this is a silly question, but when you’re making Campbell’s Tomato Soup, what liquid do you use as instructed on the can? Some people use a full can of water, others, a full can of milk, and then some half-and-half. I’ve actually done all three options throughout the years. My preference is a full can of milk, but I can’t do that anymore since I don’t process the dairy as well as I used to....

Earlier this week, the TV weather people started waving red flags, telling us that severe weather was on the way. It could be snow, ice, or a combination of both. They just didn’t know. But still, we wait. As I learned a long time ago, you can never predict when these weather events will start. Originally, the severe weather was supposed to come through on Friday, but it kept getting pushed back....

Please don’t be concerned with the title of today’s podcast. I promise there is nothing political about this. It actually has to do with a meme that is circulating on social media. I have a feeling it’s more about getting people to engage with a post than it really has any significant value. This meme always starts with the phrase, 'Most Americans'. And there are numerous versions. It always has s...

I understand a lot is going on in our world these days. But I haven’t seen any news stories about this, and that surprises me. A few months back, I had an issue with a package taking three weeks to get from my accountant to my mailbox. It’s just 2 miles away. And Nashville‘s main post office is directly between our two locations. But it’s not just me. I have friends who didn’t get their Christmas...

The mood here in Nashville has shifted over the last couple of days. You can feel the panic as the weather people tell us we could see severe weather over the weekend. Sure, TV meteorologists love to incite panic. I usually don’t pay any attention to these things. Still, when I saw news online yesterday about Atlanta preparing for severe winter weather, I knew we had the potential for the same. We...

Over the last few months, I’ve talked more about sports than I usually do. Here in the US, it’s big business. And it has been for years, but the metrics keep growing. The price of winning in professional or college sports grows exponentially. Yesterday, I woke up to the news that the Buffalo Bills had fired their head coach. After nearly a decade of winning seasons, it still wasn’t enough. He didn...

Today is Dolly Parton‘s birthday. It’s her 80th. And the governor has proclaimed that it’s Dolly Parton Day. That makes some people very happy, and it’s rubbed others the wrong way. Because it’s also a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And of course, this is getting political. Some in Tennessee would rather we celebrate Dolly Parton every year rather than MLK. Many wonder whether this w...

For most of us, the first time we eat cheese, it’s usually bright orange in color and wrapped in plastic, and not really cheese. After that, most of us encounter it coming out of a green cylinder that we shake over pasta. Many of us call it Parmesan cheese, but representatives from the Parmesan region in Italy want to change that. Because they feel that’s not an accurate representation of Parmigia...

On Thursday, Verizon Wireless users suffered a nearly day-long outage in many parts of the country. Sadly, it’s not the first outage for a major cell phone service. I understand that technology is constantly changing and improving, but at some point, we have to face reality. Many people can’t afford one, let alone another outage. So much of our life has become cell phone and Internet-dependent. An...

It may seem simple, but I know a few people who wish we’d go back to the old days when we had just four or five television stations to watch. Those days are long gone, and that’s both good and bad. We do have a lot of choices these days, and for many, the question is straightforward: cable or streaming? For the last few decades, cable television was one of our only options. But the costs continue...

If you’re a college sports fan, for decades, you’ve likely followed the story of whether to pay the athletes. Of course, everything changed just a couple of years ago, and now student athletes can sometimes be paid up to half a million per year to play a sport. Of course, the majority of those players are men and played football or basketball. But the effect of this money has changed the two prima...

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time on social media. Perhaps too much. And one of the hassles of social media is all the ads we see in our feeds. But do you ever feel inclined to comment on an ad that you don’t care about? In my work for my social clients, I see this every day. Many people keep scrolling, but lately I see more people stopping and leaving nasty comments. It really has nothin...

Because of my media and marketing background, I tend to view life through a 'commercial' lens. I sometimes pay more attention to the ads and promotional announcements than to the TV show or the performance on the field. I’m a long-time NASCAR fan and understand the unique way the sport has tried to create promotional opportunities. They’ve always placed sponsor logos on everything. In recent years...

The first round of the NFL playoffs wrapped up tonight. It’s called the Wild Card round. And that rubs me the wrong way. While yes, every wildcard team plays, so do the majority of division-winning teams. I understand branding and marketing. I’ve been involved with that almost my entire life. So I understand why they have a name. I don’t know why it’s the wild card. In baseball, the wildcard round...

I’ve had a long fascination with coffee drinkers. I only drink casually, usually as an after-dinner beverage, if I drink any at all. Unlike most people, I don’t start my day with a cup, or two, or three. But yesterday, as we were driving down the road, I noticed a new Starbucks, less than a half mile north of another one. Same road, but at least they’re on separate sides of the street. But what fa...

There’s a big difference between a good burger and a great burger. For many, myself included, hamburgers have been a staple of my diet since I was a youngster. Back in the day, they were cheap and easy meals. Everybody knows some of the first fast-food restaurants were hamburger joints. One of the West Coast‘s favorite burgers is from In-N-Out Burger. They recently opened their first locations her...

Everyone knows that Nashville is growing. It’s been growing rapidly for the last 20 years. And it’s still moving at a quick pace. But as the city grows, businesses sometimes struggle. Honestly, it’s hard to keep up with the companies that come and go in this town. For a long time, there was a running joke that when a business closed, it was often replaced by a check cashing store, a vape shop, or...