Thursday 7/16
Sunrise on a winter’s day, Santiago, Chile, Reuters photo by Ivan Alvarado:
RIP Bob Newhart, 94. Born and raised on the outskirts of Chicago, he earned a Bachelor’s at Loyola. He served in the U.S. Army in the early ‘50’s, worked as a clerk and accountant after his discharge, then as an advertising copywriter. At 29 he decided to give comedy a try and he recorded audition tapes about absurd long distance phone calls. In ’59 he began doing standup and signed a contract with Warner Brothers Records. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart (1960) became the first comedy album to hit number one on the Billboard charts and earned him a Grammy for Best New Artist. This led to an eponymous variety show, which was canceled despite winning an Emmy. There are 45 titles under his name at IMDb, a figure that does not begin to manifest his prolific run. His screen career spanned 1962–2023. He starred in 142 episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, 184 of Newhart, 33 of Bob and 22 of George and Leo, and he did guest shots on many popular series. He won an Emmy for his six-episode arc on The Big Band Theory. On the big screen he appeared in Hell Is for Heroes (1962), Hot Millions (1968), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), Catch-22 (1970), Cold Turkey (1971), Little Miss Marker (1980), Elf (2003), Horrible Bosses (2011). He did a voiceover for The Rescuers (1977) and its 1990 sequel. Here’s a quote attributed to him: “There are a lot of questions I keep asking myself about why I do comedy. I guess I laugh to keep from crying. And I guess if you ever get me crying, I might not stop. This is the way I look at tragedy or else I’ll cry.” Married from 1963 until his beloved’s passing in 2023, he was a father of four. Awesome, Sir. Thanks for the laughs. Photo from Google Images:
Headline from nypost.com: “Trendy Brooklyn vintage shop hit by shoplifters fights back with art installation of thieves’ photos.” I hope it doesn’t incite vandalism from those who feel anger but not shame.
I love this trend. From NYP: “Microsoft fires DEI team — becoming latest company to ditch ‘woke’ policy: report.” And from newsmax.com: “As Farmers Revolt, John Deere Ditches DEI Policies.” May it continue.
Things have been going so well for Republicans that it is scary. How will they blow it?
Biden again contracting Covid is more evidence the vaccines don’t work. The only question is whether they prevent a severity that leads to death. I’m skeptical. I regret getting vaxed.
While I understand why someone terminally ill would want to end his/her (not their) life, I am against assisted suicide. Here’s a new device that addresses the problem. Headline from NYP: “Controversial suicide pod dubbed the ‘Tesla of euthanasia’ to be used for the first time.” According to the article by Brooke Steinberg: “The pods are activated by a button, blink, gesture or voice control. For those who cannot vocally communicate due to severe illness or mobility issues, the pod can be activated through eye movement.” It uses gas that supposedly cause a euphoric death. I imagine there is a button to close the hatch, but those severely impaired physically would have to be helped inside, which is still assisted suicide. Still, I commend the inventor for trying to solve the problem. The patient must state that he/she is of sound mind, so it wouldn’t be available to victims of dementia or Alzheimer’s, which are my greatest fears. An article at wionews.com cites the cost at $20. It will be launched in Switzerland. Life never ceases to fascinate. Photo from GI:
A big improvement in weather but none in sales today at the Anti-Inflation Book Shop. My thanks to the gentleman who bought a Christine Feehan thriller, and to the one who donated a bunch of DVDs, a mix of Russian and English titles.
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