Zeus, Leda & a Lot More
Larissa Leon of the state of Washington won Duck Brand’s 21st annual Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest with her stunning folklorico-inspired dress — all of which was made from Duck brand duct tape. It took the senior-to-be 163 hours and 47 rolls, which cost roughly $4 to $7 depending on size and color. The grand prize is a $10,000 scholarship. Well done. Check this out:
Interesting headline from nypost.com: “Eric Clapton refuses to play venues if vaccinations are required.” The venues have every right to operate as they see fit, and the guitar god has the right to refuse to play.” It’s a win-win… Also on the Covid front: I no longer care about the pandering wokeness of pro sports, but this newsmax.com headline is interesting and makes me hope it happens just to see the uproar that would ensue: “NFL: Games Will Be Forfeited If COVID Hits Team’s Unvaxxed Players.”
NYP headline from a Betsy McCaughey op-ed piece: “Biden tells fleeing Cubans to get lost — while flooding the southern border.” Those fleeing socialism are not likely to vote for Democrats. Those looking for handouts are.
Snippet from NYP sports media critic Phil Mushnick’s column: “Just three people were reported shot during the postgame, late-night street celebration in Milwaukee after the Bucks won the NBA championship. I’d have bet the over. Still waiting for LeBron James to tweet his blame-the-cops take.” Kudos.
On Wednesday nights one of the Ion channels, 31–3 on ota in NYC, runs episodes of one of my all-time favorite series, the original Law & Order. I watched four. Most are solid. Once in a while, one soars. Couples, season 13, episode 23, first aired in 2003, deviates a bit from the usual format, as the lawyers have far less screen time. It features a day when Detectives Briscoe and Green are bombarded with several murders and the birth of a baby, which Lenny delivers — off-screen. One of the perps runs her cheating husband over four times with her car as the guy’s mistress watches in horror. Later, while being interrogated by Ed, she makes a mythological reference, likening the relationship to Zeus and Leda, and then quotes a philosopher to justify her action. To my chagrin, I was unable to find a printed version of the dialogue. It finally dawned on me to use close captioning and pause the youtube video to write down the words. Here it is. It may not be perfect: “Love, death, they’re inseparable. They free the will. They bring redemption. Schopenhauer. How could you possibly understand.” Of course, Briscoe is given several choice wisecracks to spout. Here’s one: “You have the right to remain silent… PLEASE!” Series creator Dick Wolf and Lorenzo Carcaterra received writing credit. The latter, a native New Yorker, wrote four episodes, produced 24, and is the author of nine novels, including the highly successful Sleepers, adapted to the screen in 1996. David Platt directed Couples. He was at the helm of 87 of the various incarnations of the franchise. The episode also features the father of Madonna’s first child, Lourdes, Carlos Leon. The crazed driver, Clara Perazzo, is played by Judith Blazer, who has only eight titles under her name at IMDb, although one is for the Guiding Light soap, which means she may have done numerous episodes. Here she is in character:
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788–1860, is one of the few famous philosophers I haven’t sampled. His Wiki page describes his work as “… an exemplary manifestation of philosophical pessimism.” These days the only way I’d give a shot to one of his books is if somebody donated one to the floating book shop. Even then… Here’s another quote: “Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.”
Today’s session of the floating book shop was a big drop-off from yesterday’s bonanza, not unexpected. My thanks to those who donated, swapped and bought. Nadine purchased Forrest Gump by Winston Groom and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, and Alice took home Lasher by Anne Rice.
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