Ugly Sweater Party
It would suck if you got invited to an ugly sweater party and it turned out it was only for people who are ugly and sweat a lot.
The Agnew Way Out
Chris Matthews on Hardball suggested a way Trump could save himself and his family. His idea is for Donald Trump to resign the presidency in exchange for Mueller’s team not indicting him and his adult children for Federal crimes.
The president’s children stand right in the line of Mueller’s investigative progress — they stand as the next dominos to fall. But therein lies the problem, where earlier Mueller subjects have given Trump up, these two lack the option to do that. They can hardly testify against their father, which brings the country to the reckoning. If the prosecutor will not be stopped and the kids will not fall to him, we see the president’s adult children heading to prison.The “Agnew way out” is in reference to the resigning of Spiro Agnew, President Nixon’s vice president, who had to resign due to tax evasion. It’s why we had a President Gerald Ford instead of a President Agnew after Nixon resigned.But what if the prosecutor were to offer the president an alternative, what if he were to say he would let the children walk if the old man does the same? They get to go scot-free if he’s willing to take the Agnew way out. That would mean giving up the presidency in exchange for acquittals all around, not just for himself, but for all his kids.
This concept might work for Federal crimes, but I don’t see how the State of New York would agree not to bring indictments on the whole Trump family as they are deep into investigating the Trump Foundation and Organization. In any case, Trump would never take a deal like that because if indictments did fall on his kids, he would immediately pardon them, probably attempt to fire Mueller, and we’d have a massive constitutional crisis facing the country. Of course, a pardon is also an admission of guilt and it would add fuel to the State of New York’s case against the family.
I’m sure we will see how this all plays out in the first few weeks of 2019. I still believe the only way out of this “everyday crazy” is by voters relieving Trump of his hold on the presidency in 2020.
We are in dangerous territory. I expect all three of Trump’s children and his son-in-law to be indicted at any time. When that happens all hell is going to break loose.
Pop Culture Multiverses
Salim Lamelle writer/producer for MEL Magazine has created video that speaks directly to me―an examination of all the multiverses that litter the pop culture landscape.
With Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse the next example getting blisteringly good reviews, I can’t wait to see it.
All In or All Out
Josh Spector in his For the Interested newsletter opened with something that spoke to me.
If you want a certain result, you have to be willing to do what it takes to get it.He’s right. I’ve wasted far too much time with half-in measures. Time to go all in.Half-in won’t work.
Half-in is a way to convince yourself you’re trying, but in reality it’s just the surest way to waste your time, effort, and resources.
All in or all out. Never half-in.
The 25 Best Baseball Movies of All Time
Will Leitch wrote his definitive list of the 25 best baseball movies of all time for the official World Series program. He said he’s happy with his choices. I might quibble with the order (The Natural and The Sandlot deserve to be higher), but I like his top ten. Plus, you can’t really argue with his top pick.
The Wexford Carol
I’m afraid I was unfamiliar with the Wexford Carol when I ran across Michael Wade linking to a video of Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss recording it.
What an amazing song and arrangement.
What Happened Today?
Kevin Drum is finding it hard to keep up. Isn’t everyone not a member of either Mueller’s or the Southern District of New York’s team?
I can barely keep up with the news anymore. Here is just today:
Donald Trump’s inauguration committee is under investigation. Apparently they managed to spend twice as much as any other recent president for an inaugural celebration that was half the size of any other recent president.
Maria Butina pleaded guilty to infiltrating the NRA on behalf of Russia.
Trump is now on his fourth (fifth?) version of events surrounding hush money paid to his mistresses.
But wait. Trump was present at meetings where hush money was discussed (though note the source).
Republicans who eagerly impeached Bill Clinton and called for the prosecution of John Edwards are now busily taking to the airwaves to insist that extramarital sex is no big deal, payoffs don’t count as campaign contributions, and lying about trivial sex stuff is just something everyone does.
Before big events, Trump crushes up Adderall and snorts it.
Wait. What? I can’t tell if that one is a joke or not.
Both Newt Gingrich and Jared Kushner are rumored to be candidates for Trump’s chief of staff. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they were co-chiefs?
Trump has decided he doesn’t want to shut down the government after all.
The Senate voted to end US support for the war in Yemen.
Red Angel Redemption
So, the latest trailer for the upcoming second season of Star Trek: Discovery has hit the internet. Apparently, the big bad this season is something called the Red Angel which could end all sentient live in the universe. I have to admit, this feels a bit like the old DC maxiseries, Crisis on Infinite Earths, which is not a bad analogy.
The casting this season is just phenomenal and it feels like this whole season will be closer to the Star Trek most fans want. I also feel this season will definitely answer the question on whether or not this show is actually in continuity (SPOILER: It’s not). My feeling is the Red Angel will be some sort of force destroying parallel universes. It might also tie in with the Picard show.
Sports Moments of 2018
The Ringer has a great roundup of favorite sports moments of 2018.
2018 will go down as the year when Nick Foles beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. It will go down as the year when J.R. Smith lost all sense of time and place. It will go down as the year when stars emerged, when legacies were cemented, and when upsets happened on par with any in history. As the year winds down, The Ringer is looking back at its favorite sports moments of the past 12 months, from Philly to Pyeongchang and everywhere in between. Here, in no particular order, are the 45 moments that stood out most to our staff, broken up into nine categories.
A Long Talk with David Lee Roth
Lane Brown, writing in Vulture, has a great interview with David Lee Roth. What a fascinating individual. There are so many things I never knew.
Love in the Modern Age
Via Jason Kottke, I read about a new feature in the New York Times called Tiny Love Stories. They are short little vignettes of modern love in 100 words or fewer.
Madeleine Fawcett’s contribution made me smile –
We were in my hammock when I looked at the socks I was wearing, the ones he had lent me, and told him the words I was so scared to say: “I love you.” The hammock swayed, crickets chirped. “Thanks,” he said, “but I don’t yet.” He pointed at my feet. “Those don’t fit me. Do you want them?” I thought the hammock had tipped, thrown me violently out; he didn’t love me, this was it. But years later, we still lie in my hammock and I still wear those socks. He was right; they are too small for his feet.Kottke is right about Kristine Murawski’s story — it reads like an extended logline for a movie.
We were online content moderators taking down nude photos. All day, we sorted through thousands of photos and messages flagged as inappropriate on a meet-up app. We sat nearby, but our office had a strict no-talking rule, so our relationship began in silence as we sent each other funny things we found via Gchat. This led to more messaging until one day we grew tired of talking about nudes and decided to see each other naked instead.
The Confetti Flies
This story in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch from Benjamin Hochman about when the St. Louis College of Pharmacy ended a 107-game losing streak is a must-read.
The Eutectics picked away at the lead in the second half. Wright scored 20 in the half alone, included a duo of dunks. The crowd, Harter recalled, reached “a fever pitch,” and as the former player Frazer watched from the stands, “We all decided we were going to storm the court if they won. But we had some security guards that were near us and told us we weren’t allowed to.”
Harter had gathered seven players and coaches from the women’s hoops team and headed up to the walking track, which overlooked the court.
“We started handing out those confetti cannons,” she said. “Everybody got two. We emptied out the case. We were all just waiting for that buzzer to hit.”
The St. Louis College of Pharmacy won a basketball game.
The home team defeated Lindenwood-Belleville 77-66.
Eutectic euphoria.
The confetti streams rained down upon the players and students, gleefully cheering on the court — “We went ahead and did it anyways,” Frazer said.
My father graduated from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy many, many moons ago and was on the team back them. I hope he’s seen this story.
Officially Entering Interstellar Space
Voyager 2 has officially entered interstellar space joining its twin, Voyager 1, to become the two furthest objects from home. Basically, they are around 11 billion miles away from Earth.
Frankly, it’s amazing.
The Choice
The Choice is a three-minute video from Project Better Self.
Small choices become actions, actions become habits, and habits become our way of life.
It is devastatingly simple, the choices we make determine how we live our life. Watching this is a great reminder.
The Arnel Pineda Story
Mike Fleming Jr at Deadline is reporting Jon M. Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians, has his sights on telling the story of how Arnel Pineda joined the band, Journey. It’s one of the most feel-good stories I know.
Dee Lockett over at Vulture summed it up this way –
Think of it as the Queen biopic if it was about Adam Lambert instead of Freddie Mercury.That’s a tad unfair. Freddie Mercury is no longer with us. With Journey, Steve Perry wanted out of the band and Arnel has admirably filled his shoes since 2007.
A More Deliberate Way of Living
Leo Babauta has done it again with his thoughtful breakdown on living a more deliberate life. Here are few of my favorites
Set intentions at the start. When you start your day, or any meaningful activity, check in with yourself and ask what your intentions are for the day or that activity. Do you want to be more present? Do you want to move your mission forward? Do you want to be compassionate with your loved ones? Do you want to practice with discomfort and not run to comfort? Set an intention (or three) and try to hold that intention as you move through the day or that meaningful activity.Read the rest.Pick your important tasks & make them your focus. What tasks are meaningful to you today? Pick just three (or even just one) and focus on that first. Put aside everything else (you can come back to all that later) and create space for what’s meaningful in your life.
Create more space. Instead of filling every minute of the day with space, what would it be like to have some time of rest, solitude, quietude and reflection? My tendency (like many people, I suspect) is to finish one task and then immediately launch into the next. When there’s nothing to do, I’ll reach for my phone or computer and find something to read, to learn about, to respond to — something useful. But space is also useful. What would it look like to include space in our lives? Giving each activity an importance, and when it’s done, giving some weight to the space between activities. Taking a pause, and taking a breath. Reflecting on how the activity went, how I held my intention, how I want to spend the next hour of my life. Moving deliberately in that space, not rushing through it.
Be in silence more. Our days are filled with noise — talking, messaging, taking in the cacophony of the online world. What if we deliberately created a space or two each day for being in silence? That could look like a couple of meditation sessions, a walk out in nature, a bath where we don’t read but just experience the bath, a time for tea and nothing else but the tea, or just stopping to watch a sunset (without taking photos). Silence is healing to the soul.
The Game’s Afoot
Ken White, writing for The Atlantic sums up your weekend read:
The president said on Twitter that Friday’s news “totally clears the President. Thank you!” It does not. Manafort and Cohen are in trouble, and so is Trump. The special counsel’s confidence in his ability to prove Manafort a liar appears justified, which leaves Manafort facing what amounts to a life sentence without any cooperation credit. The Southern District’s brief suggests that Cohen’s dreams of probation are not likely to come true. All three briefs show the special counsel and the Southern District closing in on President Trump and his administration. They’re looking into campaign contact with Russia, campaign-finance fraud in connection with paying off an adult actress, and participation in lying to Congress. A Democratic House of Representatives, just days away, strains at the leash to help. The game’s afoot.
Time Better Spent
Michael Wade has some suggestions for you to spend your time better.
Take a nap ~ Read a good book ~ Write a thank-you note ~ Call an old friend ~ Send an unexpected present to someone ~ Take a walk ~ Lift weights ~ Do some lawn work ~ Clean your car ~ Listen to good music ~ Watch a classic film ~ Shine your shoes ~ Help a child ~ Sweep the porch ~ Bake cookies ~ Give to charity ~ Visit a museum ~ Study another language ~ Memorize a poem ~ Watch some birds ~ Complete a crossword puzzle ~ Talk to a neighbor ~ Plan next week ~ Research some family history ~ Stay off of Facebook and Twitter ~ Climb a wall