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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 305

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For those enjoying the Cincinnati murals, here’s an article (with images) about the latest additions.

To my Muslim readers, best wishes as you start Ramadan.

The passing of any life causes us to reflect about that life – and the passing of Muhammad Ali was no exception. I was a teen when he became champion, and I know I didn’t understand much about him. But over time, my respect for him grew – and watching him light the torch at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta was quite the surprise. I salute a great ambassador for humanity. Here’s a gallery of images about his life from the BBC.

In this week’s post about the gorilla incident at the Cincinnati Zoo, I mentioned this editorial by the Toledo Blade calls for boycotting all things Cincinnati. I wrote to the paper’s editorial board to issue a challenge, but (as I expected) no response. After all, I want them to practice what they preach. I challenged them to the following:

  • Encourage the people of Toledo to
    • Not shop at any of the 12 Kroger grocery stores in Toledo
    • Not shop at Macy’s
    • Not purchase any Procter & Gamble products
    • Never come to Cincinnati, attend an event, eat at a restaurant, stay at a hotel, or even stop for gas as they travel south on I-75
  • Ask all retailers in the Toledo area (especially Kroger, CVG, Walgreen, Walmart, and Target) to remove all Procter & Gamble products from their store shelves
  • Encourage the University of Toledo and the Toledo professional hockey team to cancel games with Cincinnati teams

An idea: The Cincinnati Zoo could lead the way by enclosing pedestrian walkways in wire to keep visitors contained.

There are different types of tango, but our ballroom time has been with American tango. Argentine tango is different, so we decided to attend a 3-week group class. In week 1, the instructor focused on walking – then sent us this video of a couple doing an Argentine tango routine focusing on walking. Wow … now that is making simple look great.

That couple competes at a very high level. For those who what to see one of their routines, click here.

My favorite golf tournament (the US Open) is a week away. Oakmont is hosting the tournament, so given the USGA’s recent record of setting the course, I will be interested to see what they do to this fabulous golf course.

After a delay of a week, Colors: The Musical returns next week featuring songs with a color shades in the title. Curtain time will be at 9:30 pm (Eastern US) on Tuesday, June 14th. Here are the key rules.

  • No songs with any of the following colors in the title: Black, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Purple, or White in the title.
  • Shades should be an acceptable shade name, therefore caution should be used when selecting a shade.
    • Just because the shade is used as a paint color doesn’t automatically qualify the entry.
    • To make matters worse, The Producer has the final say on if the submitted shade is acceptable.
  • No duplicate shades can be used. In other words, once an acceptable song with Puce in the title has been submitted, no other songs with Puce in the title will be acceptable.

If I can get it ready, there will be an Explore post this weekend.

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Public service is about serving the people. Politics is about serving the party. Unfortunately, much of public service is about politics.

Congratulations to Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for coming the presumptive Democratic nominee.

I find it interesting the ardent supports of Donald Trump (R-NY) continue to find scapegoats for his lying, harassment, disrespect, and lack of knowledge on issues. Then again, they are simply following the actions of their leader.

This week’s aFa Power Rankings for Donald Trump’s running mate: 5) Nikki Haley 4) Jeff Sessions, 3) John Kasich, 2) Bob Corker, 1) Newt Gingrich

The first week’s aFa Power Rankings for Hillary Clinton’s running mate: 5) Julian Castro, 4) Sherrod Brown, 3) Mark Warner, 2) Tim Kane, 1) Thomas Perez

We are already getting many televisions ads from both sides in the campaign for the contested Senate seat (Portman/Strickland).

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To lead you into your weekly dose of satire, The Onion explains what our planet will look like in the year 2100.

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Antidepressant Medication Label Reminds Users That Pill Should Never Be Mixed With Long Look In Mirror
U.S. Consumer Confidence Shaken After Mom Buys Wrong Kind Of Tortilla Chips
Man Who Sees The Good In All People Universally Despised
KFC Manager Wants Bucket On His Desk By End Of Day
Governor Urges Calm At Toyotathon

Interesting Reads
Zachary Taylor and death to the Whigs
The right to try experimental drugs
Maneuvering Heimlich
A brief history of pirates
New water-saving techniques
Global trends with renewable energy
The UK’s oldest handwritten note
BBC’s look at the US media-Donald Trump addiction

Summer has arrived for those of us in the northern hemisphere, so here’s Glenn Frey to send you into the weekend. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

26 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 305”

  1. Good morning, Frank! How am I the first to comment here? 🙂
    That tango is HOT–to go with your summer theme at the end. I didn’t know there was American tango and Argentinian tango.

    I had seen the story about the ancient Roman documents found in London. It’s so fascinating.

    I’m so sick of the election. I think our process goes on way too long. I wish Hillary Clinton would just win already and the man with the hair would just vanish!

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    • Merril,
      A hot tango just with walks. Amazing isn’t it. For a full routine by the same pair, see the link below the video in the post.

      Regarding the differences between Argentine & American tango. Oh boy, because of my limited view of Argentine, I give it a try.

      The music can be the same … and some steps can be similar, but their general patterns are different. American is sharper (more abrupt) – Argentine slower, danced closer.

      Here’s a past post I did on tango that also has interesting videos. https://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/on-tango

      Meanwhile, our election goes on way too long … crazy! Now there’s a process that needs reform!!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

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  2. I liked the interesting read on “the UK’s oldest handwritten note.” When I studied literature as a youth I failed to understand the time perspective of its development.

    Since those earliest accounting notes in “Londinio” it has been only 80 generations (using 25 years per generation). There have only been 16 generations since the publishing of the world’s first commercially successful fiction story and there have been 8,000 generations since homo sapiens became a species. The invention of stored knowledge and communication through writing is recent and unprecedented. What a time we are living in! Whether this will lead to humanity’s dominance over nature or its extirpation is still unknown.

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  3. Concerning the USGA’s setup of the Oakmont Country Club golf course for next weekend’s U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson played a practice round this week and called it the most difficult U.S. Open course he’s ever played.

    I’m with your first commenter on the presidential election, meanwhile you better shuffle the deck again on Trump’s pick given the events of the past week.

    No splats today but your “An idea: The Cincinnati Zoo could lead the way by enclosing pedestrian walkways in wire to keep visitors contained” has potential.

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    • Tim,
      Regarding the Open, I will judge the layout based on the scores and what I witness when I watch. Meanwhile, I hope Phil is right – but he is known to complain.

      Regarding the VP picks, you need to look through a different lens.

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  4. I read the story about Henry Heimlich saving a woman’s life.How fantastic that all those years after inventing it, he was able to use it in an actual incidence of choking. 🙂 The rules for your Musical event have me a bit confused, but I’ll see what I can come up with. Love that Tango. I’m sure you and your wife can execute it perfectly. Have a great weekend, Frank.

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  6. I put this off when you posted it because I didn’t have time to read any of the articles. I was actually looking for your post on the Fibinacci sequence audition piece. A friend of mine has just started working with a non-profit that combines music and science and I knew she would be interested.

    So I will, hopefully be back. (I’m such a tease!)

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  7. I’m baaaaack.

    I read several of your articles, Frank. But the one about the “right to try” is a bit misleading. There has always (at least for the last 30 years or so) been a way to get “compassionate” use of unapproved drugs. The FDA just this week made the process (e.g. the paperwork) of compassionate use easier. (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ExpandedAccessCompassionateUse/default.htm). They don’t advocate it, because they want folks to enroll in clinical trials that will help with the approval process — so that more people can get the approved drug.

    And the Roman tablets are fascinating! How cool! When I lived in Geneva, folks who bought houses were afraid to have any work done. Because often Roman ruins were found, and then their home bacame a historical/archeological site instead of a home. They actually uncovered an ampitheatre when they were digging the foundation of an apartment building in the town of Nyon, just down the road from us.

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    • Elyse,
      How cool is that! … Sometimes I get the impression that every town must have had a Roman amphitheatre.

      Regarding the Right to Try article, I knew that you (as a fake medical professional) would clarify. Many cheers … and thanks for the link.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Cool and frustrating. The amphitheater was discovered just before we got there, and the excavation messed up the stunning town of Nyon AND it was closed the whole time we were there!

        There was a fully excavated amphitheater not too far away in the town of Martigny. There Jacob played soccer and gladiator with his cousins, while we, the parents, issued thumbs up or thumbs down. The sites are wonderful. Small enough to play in, but the cages where they held animals/gladiators are fully restored. So very cool.

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  8. Thanx for the Glen Frey number. 😀
    I worried because I also purchased the wrong tortilla chips – but Official Americans don’t pay much attention to what Canadians buy. 😉 😯

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