Two Icons Pass

RIP basketball legend Bill Russell, 88, whose success was astonishing: twice state champion in high School, twice an NCAA champion; captain of a gold-medal winning US Olympic team; eleven times an NBA champion; coach of two NBA champions. He was the UPI college Player of the year while at the University of San Francisco, twice All-American, and the 1955 NCCA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He was the NBA MVP three times, and an All-Star twelve times. He averaged 15.1 points and an incredible 22.5 rebounds per game. Married four times, he is a father of three. He had as awesome a run as there will ever be. (Facts from Wiki)

RIP Nichelle Nichols, 89. There are 69 titles under her name at IMDb, but one has cemented her place in pop history, her turn as Lt. Uhura in 69 episodes of the original Star Trek. She reprised the role in films and in voice-overs. An asteroid discovered in 2001 has been renamed 68410 Nichols in her honor. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA. Married twice, she is a mom of one. She had such a regal presence.

Headline from nypost.com: “Iraqi parliament in Baghdad stormed by protesters.” Is this a good sign for that woebegone country? I’ve been puzzled by the lack of news about it and hoped no news was good news. This protest was against a majority coalition sponsored by Iran, inspired by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whom U.S. forces called Mookie. I don’t know what to make of it — except that I’m against just about all things Iran — and hope the fact that no one was killed means the citizens are now arguing politically rather than violently.

From NYP: “Congress won’t ‘self-regulate’ their trades: Washington insiders.” Members only.

Headline from foxnews.com: “Virginia county reports presence of opioid more deadly than fentanyl.” According to the accompanying article by Bradford Betz, Protonitazene is a synthetic opioid almost three times more powerful. Geez.

No luck selling stuff on the street on this beautiful day. My thanks to the gentleman who donated about 20 books, many on eastern spiritualism.

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