by John Walters
Tweet Me Right
me on twitter vs. me on linkedin pic.twitter.com/RLsRPfOC7u
— joon (@joonlee) November 16, 2018
and from the same game…
His father, Jim Boeheim, has only been a part of the Syracuse program since 1962. https://t.co/dcnAzqZBQI pic.twitter.com/81lBzzHkAM
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) November 16, 2018
Starting Five
The Daily Kerfuffle: All-Houston Edition
The city of Houston was ground zero for all sports kerfuffles last night: the Warriors, who are in the midst of dealing with a minor tiff between two of its starters, were visiting the Rockets, who announced that they were bidding adieu to Carmelodrama after just 10 games (this saga will become ESPN’s first :30 for :30).
And on the gridiron, future Top 10 pick Ed Oliver of the University of Houston fumed at coach Major Applewhite when the latter doffed the former’s oversized jacket that is only for active players who are on the sideline. Why jackets are a necessity at 50 degrees is another issue.
Oh well, at least the Pardon My Take gang will have plenty to discuss all day.
The Warriors lost, by the way. The Cougars won.
2. It’s A Little Bit Funny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNbSgMEZ_Tw
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind our including this Christmas advert by John Lewis & Partners, which are a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom.
3. Why Are We Fighting The Holocaust All Over Again?
Earlier this week, for reasons that make no sense at all, we started watching Schindler’s List at midnight (and watched it in its entirety). It’s only a coincidence that we were watching just a couple of nights after Jews in our neighborhood were gathering at local synagogues to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when the Nazis in Germany and Austria destroyed more than 1,400 Jewish synagogues, businesses and homes.
This commemorative gathering came only a week after many Jews in New York gathered to commemorate the slaughter of their denizens at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Jews are forced to do entirely too much commemorating, we feel.
Happy Trumpsgiving! #ILYAmerica https://t.co/CSzRLNHBBW pic.twitter.com/76kbSxYym1
— I Love You America (@ilyamerica) November 16, 2018
Earlier this week, during a production of Fiddler on the Roof in Baltimore, a man stood up and shouted, “Heil Hitler! Hell Trump!” and we guess it was just a relief that he did not pull out an AK-47 and start mowing folks down. Those are the things we get to be thankful for. We sorta think Sarah Silverman (also Jewish) put it very well the other night (Here she was on Real Time last Friday: “In this age, I consider myself very lucky that I get a star and I don’t have to sew it on my clothes…”) when she opened her Hulu show this week by stating that we should be thankful for Donald Trump.
Why? Because Trump has brought our ills to the fore. “Trump’s shamelessness brought to light things that were going on in the dark. We can see them now. He is like a black light at a Holiday Inn Express exposing America’s….” (Well, you know where she’s going).
Whether you want to consider him directly responsible or not, Donald Trump has made it safe for Nazis and White Nationalists to feel bold all over again (oh, and while we’re at it, don’t type “Make France Great Again” when they won the Freakin’ World Cup last summer on the backs of African immigrant players; the U.S. failed to even qualify for the most important sporting event in the world). There’s a faction of Americans, a sad faction, who wonder why we took the wrong side in World War II. And thanks to Trump, they’re no longer in hiding. In a bizarre way, we should be thankful for that.
4. A Rock Star Is Born
The trailer alone is enough to make us want to drop everything and see Free Solo, which we can happily report is not the latest installment of the overcooked Star Wars franchise. Alex Honnold, 33, is the world’s greatest (still) living free climber and in June of 2017 he became the first human to scale the 3,200-foot wall of El Capitan without any gear except shoes and a chalk bag. No ropes. No pitons. No carabiners.
I’m off the deep end, watch a I dive in….wait, that doesn’t work.
Knowing how this film will end shouldn’t dull your fascination with it. It’s easily one of the greatest human feats ever, even more impressive than Sweet Pea leading The Land to an NBA championship. And we think we all should see this on a big screen, not on Netflix. That’s just our thought.
5. Aussie Rules
Yes, that’s her….
Is Nicole Kidman in every film AND at every awards show right now, or are we just imagining things? The Aussie actress is 51 but in a bizarre way she’s entering her prime. By the way, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Margot Robbie. When did Australia’s most valued export become actresses? And then you add Saiorsie Ronan and Kate Winslet to the pile and you wonder if any American actresses can compete…
Anyhoo, we went back down a “73 Q’s” worm hole yesterday and have decided that Kidman is one of the planet’s more delightful people. You tell us what you think. Is Kidman truly this delightful or is simply that convincing of an actress? Does it matter?
Music 101
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vUsQMgEveo
Debbie Harry inspired more crushes, the sisters in Heart had more powerful vocals, and Joan Jett got more love from the MTV, but in the late Seventies and early Eighties no female rocked harder than Chrissy Hynde of The Pretenders. This was the closing tune off their eponymous 1979 debut album and while it was never released as a single, it deservedly garnered plenty of airplay from album-oriented FM stations.
Remote Patrol
Medal of Honor
Netflix
Learn a little more about American heroes…
But what if Alex Honnald took a SELFIE during his ascent? Would MH then belittle him? Sorry, I do not understand your repeat heralding of SOME nutso types & not others. When Alex dies “doing what he loves” (natch), will you clap then? (Just a matter of time). Not only do I NOT see that kind of life-risking stunt as “one of the greatest humans feats, ever”, I find it abhorrent & just as stupid as those selfie-taking junkies leaning out on cliffs & into ocean waves. BTW, this disagreement could be considered a “minor tiff”. I’m thinking if I repeatedly screamed into your face that you were a “bitch”, in front of our ‘co-workers’/commenters, you’d be “tiffing” my tuckus right out of here. 🙂
The Sociopath is giving the wife of one of his largest political donors the Medal Of Freedom… for this alone the bastard should be IMPEACHED.
I disagree with Silverman. Being thankful for that “HUMAN GARBAGE” is like being thankful for cancer because it makes you “appreciate life”. NO! It’s better to NEVER have cancer at all! L’chaim!
Susie B. coming in a little hot this a.m. She’s the Camp fire of commenters….
Susie B.,
Don’t think this is an apples-to-apples situation.
For many adventurous folks that do rock climbing or any highly risky activity, I’m sure they are well aware of their potential fate. Yet with that knowledge, they love the thrill and want to live their life. If you were to tell them they could die doing this, they’d take the chance.
If someone dies taking a selfie near a cliff, I’m not entirely sure they weigh their potential fate. If you told them if they’d rather risk taking this selfie and die or just not take the selfie, they’d most likely settle on the latter. If it is the former, then they may just really love photographic memories. I can’t judge someone else’s passion.
One is planned and the other is spontaneous.
I see your point, Jacob & you’re right, they are NOT exactly the same but they are BOTH extremely RISKY behavior & both are looking for acclaim in some form. Do you REALLY climb up Mt Everest for the hell of it & NEVER TELL A SOUL?
Anyhoo, just read about another “human feat” that apparently is catching on – some bloggers are standing in the middle of train tracks while a train is coming right at them! To get the “PERFECT PIC!”
I can hear jdubs now – “that’s those stupid selfi-takers for ya”. Well, the “action” equivalent of this would be the jackasses* that try to “RACE” a train & zoom over the Crossing before the train gets there…..CRUNCH.
For both, I ask you – “greatness” or “STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES”? I’m going with Forrest.
* Most jackasses that try this are young males (duh), however, one of my female friends in high school was a bit “wild” & one of the few teens who had her own car (rare at this time except for my summer camp friends but I digress). The summer after graduation she tried “racing” her car against the “iron horse”. The train won. Her name was Jessie.
I don’t know why I’m addressing this, Susie B., other than that I love a good argument, but the difference is night and day. Alex Honnold, for example, is a rock climber. My guess is that he worked years and years to get to be skilled enough to scale El Cap (still the only human ever to do it). His motivation was climbing the mountain; glory was secondary.
Selfie takers are exactly the opposite. The entire point of a selfie is self-glorification. There is no investment in sweat, in time, in sacrifice. And so I have no sympathy for them when they get in way over their heads while pursuing the glory without appreciating that it’s the journey, not the destination.
Capisce?
You crack me up – you announce Honnold is a “ROCK CLIMBER” as if it’s a PROFESSION. Being a self-employed travel blogger is more of a “profession”. We will never agree on this & that’s fine. But do those climbers REALLY do those “no-net” stunts just for the SELF-achievement? Or for glory? The irony is that there may already be someone who has scaled El Cap “au naturelle” (so to speak) just for their own sense of achievement but WE’LL NEVER KNOW BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T TELL ANYONE. 😉
I actually admire rock climbers but those that do it with ropes, etc. Risking one’s life to climb a mt or do anything without the safety devices that have been developed is arrogance personified. Plus, it’s a waste. A waste of talent & time & possible human life. For WHAT? Lemme ask you – if a family decides it wants to “go West” right now but to do so buys a pair of oxen, a wagon, a paper “map” & heads out on foot with no modern tech or safety devices, would you think that laudable too? Or just a waste of time & foolishly risking the family’s life? I think the latter.
BTW, you can point out that I’m a hypocrite because I LOVE watching the X-Games & seeing those athletes constantly “pushing the envelope”. EVERY YEAR, they “up” the tricks. And every year, I’m glued to my TV-watching sofa in amazement & awe & think “that’s it, they can’t possibly go higher or spin/flip more”. And every year, they prove me wrong. However, in my defense, I HATED that they didn’t wear helmets in the early days & I wouldn’t watch certain competitors because I knew what they would be attempting.
Also, I hope you appreciate the absurdity of criticizing TRAVEL BLOGGERS for not “appreciating the journey” LOL. That’s their raison d’etre! 🙂
Honnold earns about $300K a year, and probably a lot more this year with the release of this film. That’s probably more than you make. It’s certainly more than I make.
I’m all for travel bloggers going all over and appreciating the journey. I’m just not going to feel sorry for them when they don’t appreciate gravity. And I’ll bet every last dollar that no one has ever scaled El Cap free-solo before Honnold. It’s arguably the greatest physical feat in human history, so, no.