Saturday

Great quote from the president in an article at nypost.com: “Germany pays Russia billions of dollars a year for energy, and we are supposed to protect Germany from Russia. What’s that all about?”

While the millionaires of the Nets and Magic organizations kneeled during the National Anthem to protest mistreatment, Jonathan Isaac stood tall. Kudos, young man.

We all practice selective outrage to varying degrees. The following foxnews.com headline calls out an NBA coach: “Warriors’ Steve Kerr blasted for silence on NBA-China controversy after slamming critics of national anthem protests.” China uses slave labor to produce products endorsed by the league.

RIP longtime NCAA basketball coach Lou Henson, 88. He began his career at Hardin Simmons in 1962, moved to New Mexico St. in ’66, to Illinois in ’75, and back to New Mexico St. in ’97, winning a ton of games, finishing with a mark of 779–412. He is one of only 14 coaches to reach the Final Four with two schools, NM St in ’70 and Illinois in ’89. He is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Well done, sir.

Friday night’s movie fix, courtesy of Netflix, was a showcase for one of the world’s great actresses, Cate Blanchett. Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019) is the story of a renowned architect who has not worked for about 20 years. Reasons for the hiatus are at least twofold: The disastrous outcome of her last project, and the birth of her beloved daughter, whose heart defect initially required great care. Things get dicey when her husband begins to fear she needs psychiatric help, as she has become increasingly isolated and is constantly complaining about life in Seattle. Blanchett tears into the part with her usual brilliance. She is matched by Emma Nelson in her big screen debut as the daughter, a gifted eighth grader. They have great rapport. Billy Crudup as the husband, Kristen Wiig as a harried neighbor, and Laurence Fishburne as a former colleague lend their considerable talents in support. Richard Linklater, who adapted the screenplay with two others from a Maria Semple novel, directed, adding to his impressive canon (Dazed and Confused {1993}, School of Rock {2003} to name two). To say anything more about which way the story goes would spoil it. Made on a budget of $20 million, it returned only $10 million. Although it is not my favorite type of film, I’m surprised its appeal wasn’t broader. 14,000+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 6.5 on a scale of ten. I say six. Here’s the star in character:

It’s now been one month since I placed an order for a total of 23 copies of four of my books. Amazon used UPS. The package arrived at the Saddle River facility on 7/14 and has not moved since. I don’t think I’d ever waited more than a week for a book to arrive from Amazon. It’s annoying. I have to remind myself that we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

I didn’t expect or want a book donation today, but one came. My thanks to the two women who brought a number of educational manuals, and to the woman who bought eight kids’ books; and to Monse`, who purchased a book on idioms and Being Jane (2007) on DVD, yet another work based on the immortal Miss Austen; and to the young man who overcompensated me for Islamic Medicine, a large tome. I was hoping I wouldn’t need the front passenger seat any longer to hold books after today’s session. Whistlin’ in the dark.

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