I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES— an exhibition entitled Major Taylor: Fastest Cyclist in the World— a life retrospective as a champion and inventor at a time of racism, with not only photos and memorabilia but also one of his bikes (on loan) — will be at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis through October 23rd.
YOUR WEEKEND READS are these two essays on transportation, due to the infrastructure bill: one a technical explanation as to how the funding will become available… the second as to how public transit will fare.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Dorothy the Cat— an Iowa kitteh so-named because she survived a tornado by hiding in a shed that was leveled.
AMONG THE MANY QUESTIONS asked about the historical site Stonehenge— was it usedfor ceremonial purposes, or more practical ones? — a researcher at Bournemouth University in the UK has concluded that Stonehenge served as a solar calendar and suggested how it may have worked.
FRIDAY's CHILD is happy the the state of Maryland is seeking to become the second state (after New York) to ban de-clawing of kittehs in most cases.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with an updated look at some previous stories: the president of Slovakia, the discovery of the burial site of a famous trumpeter … and my delight at the discovery of The Endurance after a hundred years — with photographs of its intact state — after the icebreaker in search of it was (nearly) trapped in pack-ice, which sunk The Endurance.
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
SEPARATED at BIRTH— the trio of Geraldo Rivera, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Trump Organization CFO Allan Weisselberg.
...... and finally, for a video of the week ...........................… once again, no time for a music profile. Instead: while the comedy duo of Abbott & Costello are best known for their Who’s on First routine — which TIME magazine in 1999 declared the best of the 20th Century— just recently I saw another celebrated routine of theirs for the first time in decades.
When the phrase fuzzy math came into vogue with George W. Bush …. it’s a wonder they didn’t reference this classic routine. Originally from their film In the Navy, this clip is when they reprised it in their later television series, with Sidney Fields in the role of their beleaguered landlord. And although he doesn’t play a major role in this skit: when William “Bud” Abbott died in 1974, Groucho Marx (who was born on the same day, five years earlier than him) declared Abbott to be, "The greatest straight man ever", which was more visible in “Who’s on First”.