today and tomorrow/July 29

A Hero is a Hero is a Hero
Are you collecting any souvenirs from the 2020 pandemic year?  I chuckled when I saw that a new baseball card is selling like mad.  It's Dr. Fauci!  Throwing out his "crazy" first pitch in this "crazy" mini-season.  Why not.

The Discoverer
I'm continuing to send these charming travel posts.  I like their approach.

Gerry, our psychologist blogger, is a great fan of classical music.  I'm sending his post about upcoming concerts celebrating the Gramaphone Music Awards.

today and tomorrow/July 27

After passing along Gerry's blog with a rewarding discussion of the "right to say no", I am sending two other articles, both amazing in different ways.

Lori, our curator of the quirky reaches of the internet, has again sent some photos.

And Carole has solved just about all of our problems with the aid of the cucumber.

And to think, this is only Monday!

today and tomorrow/July 26

Bill sent his own "cartoon of the times."

today and tomorrow/July 25

Travel
I like dreaming of travel.  The Discoverer is so much fun.  I am passing along recent articles.  Also one from Road Scholar.

Lefties
Do you enjoy leftie talk as much as I do?  One of my favorites is Miles Kampf-Lassin.  He writes for Jacobin magazine and In These Times.  And he is a frequent guest on Ben Joravsky's podcast show.  If you google Ben you can find it easily.

today and tomorrow/July 24

I just finished reading The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova.  She is a psychologist, journalist, and New Yorker writer who decided to enter, and see how far she could go as a total beginner, in the world of big time poker. Her story begins to take shape when she convinces Erik Seidel, -- a star poker player -- to be her mentor, coach and cheerleader.

Poker is about taking action among strangers with limited amounts of information to guide your decisions.  What makes the book fascinating is Konnikova's  searingly honest account of her struggles and observations.

The book is about learning, determination, and acceptance of winning and losing -- both of equal weight.  And yes, there is room for luck -- the mysterious intruder into the endless rounds of calculations.

today and tomorrow/July 22

Jeopardy

I’ve been watching Jeopardy lately.  I was never in the habit like I was for some of the quiz shows in the ’60’s.  But last year I noticed that Ken Jennings was coming back for a G.O.A.T.  challenge.  I’d never seen him in action before so I watched.  I’m so glad Jennings beat that glum opponent James Holzhauer.  A likable winner is so satisfying.

Now, all the talk concerning Jeopardy is about Alex Trebek’s fight with cancer.  There is a huge outpouring of support and love for him.  I understand. I think you can get attached to people you meet on the TV screen.

Now that I’m watching him regularly, what I admire about Alex Trebek is his amazing ability to quickly read off the “answers” without ever stumbling, pausing,  or mispronouncing a word — even those in a foreign language.  What a treat! Since I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts and radio lately, I am so disappointed at how many people with interesting things to say, ruin it by all of their “you know” and “like” tics.  They just can’t get through a sentence without them.

The show is in reruns now. I hope that doesn’t mean that Alex has taken a turn for the worse.  He, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, are the two we seem to be clinging to right now.

today and tomorrow/July 21

This is Happening

I just wrote my friend Bonnie, who lives downtown: "If you and Molly want to come here for the weekend, I will definitely make room for you."  The word is that the "storm troopers" are coming to Chicago.  What kind of reception will they receive?  Is "safety" an illusion?

Michelle Goldberg has a stunning article about this in the New York Times today.  I thank Elaine for posting important reading every day on Facebook.

Memo to Stuart:  I could sure use some of those gorgeous pix from Arizona right about now.

Keeping Sane

I am binge watching a high class soap called A Place to Call Home.  1950's Australia.  The plot involves the aftermath of the war in a small town down under and good old fashioned family drama.  It's on Acorn.