Dear Friends, Here we are, another 25 Musings have passed. I didn’t want to spoil the Saturday Poetry and Music or the Sunday “In His Own Words,” so this celebration of 225 Musings from the Bunker is a couple of days late. As is the custom, this is a “best of” Musing. Some of this is new. Some of it is from the last 25 Musings. I hope you enjoy. BEST COMMENT ABOUT THE MUSINGS Dan Platt commented the other day. “Every time I get your email, I laugh. When you started this, you probably figured you would be doing this for a couple of weeks. Who would have imagined?” Who would have imagined, indeed… CRAZIEST NEWS Since Musing #200…
Presidential debate
The “fly” at the VP debate
Presidential COVID
Further outbreaks and open defiance of public gathering limits and mask requirements
The Lakers
The Dodgers
PAC 12 football coming
The President assuring us that the end of the pandemic is in sight
The President’s former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security writing that she couldn’t imagine anyone voting for him
The most vanilla sexting imaginable in North Carolina
BEST POPULAR MUSIC (IN ISOLATION)
Lady Gaga performing “Smile” from home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCNM706Iv8M
BEST SPORTS MOVIE COMEBACK STORY
DRAMA—Friday Night Lights. Great movie. Andrea loved it; but she loved the TV show even more. A sociological study of high school football’s grip on small town Texas and the many personalities—players, coach, boosters, wives and girlfriends.
COMEDY—Dodgeball. I truly believe this movie about a bunch of underdogs competing in a made-up sport on ESPN8 (“the Ocho”) is a classic comedy. A group of misfits (including the classic “Steve the Pirate”) try to save their gym. Rip Torn steals every scene he’s in as Patches O’Houlihan. Vince Vaughn, when he was still funny, Ben Stiller, and Jason Bateman as Pepper Brooks, the dim-witted announcer. Here is Patches on the keys to the game:
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
James Corden in “Maybe I’m Amused.” I promise you’ll laugh: https://youtu.be/5C76XMCJCVs
BEST NON-FICTION
John Adams, by David McCullough, is a Pulitzer Prize winner and it reads like a novel. It is one of the best biographies you can read. Say what you will about the indispensable nature of George Washington, the writings of Thomas Jefferson, and the brilliance of Hamilton and Madison. But John Adams was the engine of the revolution, called “the colossus of independence” by Jefferson. In many ways independence was the result of his sheer force of will. He was funny, self-effacing, obsessed with duty, responsibility and hard work. While we have all read of Jefferson’s library, Adams’s was similarly learned and well-read. His relationship with the wonderful Abigail Adams, evidenced in part by their correspondence on all things personal, political and existential, stands as one of the greatest collections of love letters in history. Their partnership—one that some of us are fortunate enough to enjoy—was a lifelong romance. Abigail Adams deserves the moniker of “Founding Father” (or “Founding Mother”) herself.
Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World, by Jill Jonnes. This is a wonderful “biography of an era” that paints a great picture of the era, the advances in science and the rivalries that defined the future of electrical development. Edison clearly was one of the greatest inventive geniuses in history. Tesla is a fantastic character, who was right in the support of alternating current but couldn’t withstand the marketing and public relations juggernaut that was Edison. Plus, Electricity was the star of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (the sight of the Devil in the White City). Tesla was played by David Bowie in The Prestige, a great Christopher Nolan film starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale (with Scarlett Johansson and Michael Caine). Read it in concert with The Devil in the White City, to fully appreciate how electricity quite literally electrified the world and the future.
BEST FICTION
French Exit, by Patrick deWitt. This is a great humorous short absurdist novel. The New Yorker says it is “a satire about an insouciant widow on the quest for refined self-immolation.” It is the story of a wealthy New York family’s fall from wealth, a widow, her unproductive son and their “exit” to Paris. It has been made into a movie to be released in February, starring Michelle Pfeiffer. It has played to generally positive, albeit mixed, reviews. DeWitt wrong The Sisters Brothers, also a good book, made into an apparently superior movie (I saw it—worth a viewing).
BEST MEME
BEST SPORTS GOOFBALL STORY Marvelous Marv Throneberry, one of the original Mets, once was called out after hitting a triple for missing first base. When manager Casey Stengel came out to argue, the umpire told him not to bother, as Marv had missed second base too. BEST MOVIE SCENE Has to be Terry Bradshaw’s “naked room” scene in Failure to Launch. BEST POEM (LYRICS) American Anthem By Gene Scheer All we’ve been given By those who came before The dream of a nation Where freedom would endure The work and prayers Of centuries Have brought us to this day What shall be our legacy? What will our children say? Let them say of me I was one who believed In sharing the blessings I received Let me know in my heart When my days are through America America I gave my best to you Each generation from the plains To distant shore with the gifts What they were given Were determined To leave more Valiant battles fought together Acts of conscience fought alone These are the seeds From which America has grown Let them say of me I was one who believed In sharing the blessings I received Let me know in my heart When my days are through America America I gave my best to you For those who think They have nothing to share Who fear in their hearts There is no hero there Know each quiet act Of dignity is That which fortifies The soul of a nation That never dies Let them say of me I was one who believed In sharing the blessings I received Let me know in my heart When my days are through America America I gave my best to you Onward to 250! Glenn
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