June 13, 2021
I really am going to try to make this week's recap brief. This past week, I've spent time I'd usually use to bang one of these out to try and catch up on household project/home improvement. No rest for the weary though.
French Open Recap
Only one of my four picks to make the finals made it. So, no, thank you Nastia. I'm not going to beat myself up failing to pick Barbora Krejcikova to win it. If I haven't heard of someone before, I can't possibly be asked to form a meaningful opinion. I only got to watch Krejcikova in the finals. She has a semi-funky game. On a scale of 1 to Ons Jabeur, Barbora is about a 6. Some people may call her game junk tennis because of the reliance on the heretofore rarely seen slice forehand. But maybe this is just what happens when a doubles specialist starts finding success in singles. All heartwarming stories about her relationship with the dearly departed Jana Novatna aside, I'll be rooting for Barbora Krejcikova to win a second slam in the hopes of quieting naysayers that would ascribe the current chaos of women's tennis to lack of dominant players instead of incredible depth.
I was wrong on both men's finalists. My main mistake was picking Medvedev on the basis of narrative. My initial instinct to go with Tsitsipas was always the right one. No one entertains me on the men's side currently quite like the Russian with the middle finger. Nadal might be done. Let me know when the men's draw gets interesting. Men's tennis has all the unpredictability of the NBA Playoffs. (Side burn, NBA Playoffs - this year is simply the exception that proves the rule.)
I conclude my my French Open coverage with a shout out to Gigi, Sophie, Stephanie, Simon, Mar(k)cus and everyone else associated with Radio Roland Garros - as someone with a day job, they are my preferred way to follow the tournament. They are funny and entertaining to listen to all day. Sure, I'd like to actually see the amazing shots they attempt to describe, especially when words escape them and they just sort of start to shout incoherently. Those joyful shouts are the best part of sports and their lively/meandering commentary almost makes up for not having the visuals.
Actually I want to conclude with queen of the tennis gif, Jennifer Brady:
Now then...
The CBS SUNDAY MORNING POWER RANKINGS
1) Jane Pauley
The rule has always been that if Jane hosted and did a segment she'd get the top spot. Some day I may do a deep dive in the Pauley/Osgood/Kuralt debate, but not today, but not today. Even though there was no real Jeopardy of any else challenging Jane this week, her interview of Stephen King hit me on a few levels, which I'd like to highlight here briefly.
First, Stephen King has written over eighty novels. I have written zero. Once upon a time, it was my life's ambition to be a writer. A recap of Stephen King's career stokes in me a bit of a midlife crisis. I want to do what he does, but I cannot. I don't think I need to write 80. Dickens wrote just fifteen, but also five novellas and hundreds of short stories (hundreds!). Harper Lee only had the one for a long time, and then the second. Salinger wrote a few, but it must annoy him that we only remember The Catcher In the Rye. I've heard Salinger's short stories are very good. I should read them. John Kennedy Toole only wrote the one great novel which was published well after he had taken his own life. I don't want that end, but something in me tells me that I just have to do it. It may be hard and I may have to sacrifice do some things I enjoy to carve out the time, but I feel like I got to give it a go, you know? It doesn't even really matter if anyone reads it. I will have done it and it will be mine. I've got scenes and characters, but only a sketch of an idea for a plot. Someday. Soon I hope.
Second, I've never read a Stephen King novel. My sister has read a few. My main exposure to King's work has been through movies and TV miniseries. Back when TV miniseries were the purview of network TV not pay cable, adaptations of Stephen King novels were always a popular choice. There was a while where I was on a kick and watch a bunch of them. It, The Stand, The Shining, Storm of the Century and others that I'm sure I forget. Anyway, I'm not sure if these are indicative of his writing ability, but I stopped watching because I got the general feeling that King is an excellent world builder and could always create a lot of tension, but that he didn't know how the end things. I could summarize the endings of all the above works with deus ex machina. I got tired of investing 4-8 hours of my life only to be let down at the supposed climax. Stepehen King has written over 80 books and a lot of 'em ain't short. I'm not sure I'm willing to dive into that world if I'm not convinced he can stick the landing. And for those that say the journey is the better part, I don't disagree, but what happens next always colors what has come before, so the destination can matter from time to time.
Third, Jane is great interviewer. I wish she could do it more often, but I understand her obligation as show host has its demands. But this is the countenance of someone you want to talk to:
There is no judgement. Just a wise look and active listening. Also, I love how she pushes back on the assertion that we all find something that resonates with our soul as King puts it. It worked out for Stephen King, but while maybe a lot of people find that thing, it rarely can be your life's work. For some it can even be a source of pain, when we find something that resonates, but can't attain it, or can, but only fleetingly, spending the rest of our life trying fruitlessly to claw it back. See my first point above, or John Kennedy Toole for that matter. It's not easy. Jane gets it. It's more a struggle than a journey. I think we can either choose to let go or learn to love the struggle. I think most major religions teach us to choose one of those two paths. I'm not sure which is better. You could the negative view and say that the choice is between settling and being Sisyphus. But let's not. I'll write that novel someday.
2) Rita Braver
I wasn't sure if the word miscegenation was offensive, but I looked it up and given the history of the word as presented by the Why-kai-pah-die-uh, it got a pretty racist history and is probably not a word that should be used. Is it ok to mention in just a historical context? Uhh... debatable. I can see both sides of the argument. It's probably not a five dollar word you should go throwing around just to sound erudite though, so I'll just say the segment is about interracial marriages and relationships.
Last weekend was the 54th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia supreme court decision. The fact their real life surname was Loving could not have been made up. If you haven't seen the movie Loving and have a couple hours to kill. I recommend it. It's a quiet movie, much like the couple it depicts, but the two leads (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) are very good. Also, in the long tradition of comedians playing serious roles, Nick Kroll plays their lawyer.
(Speaking of comedians in straight roles, I haven't seen The Informant in a long time. God, I love that movie. I remember going to see it in theaters and I couldn't stop laughing throughout the movie, but I was the only one laughing. It's like it was made for me and me alone.)
I've never dated someone from a different culture, much less a different race. But I'm not really the dating type, so that doesn't say much. The list is... well, it's not long. The truth is that proximity is usually a big factor that determines who you end up with, there would have been very limited opportunity for me to even meet someone from a different background throughout most of my life. Part of that is probably on me, but part of it is circumstance. I know some people for whom dating people from other backgrounds/races is like a worksheet for them. I'm not sure if checking them all off is some sort of faux-wokeness, or whether it is their (I would say misguided) way of "broadening horizons". I would hope there is no stigma to interracial couples, but the segment makes it seem that is not quite the case yet. It is still a rare enough phenomenon to be classified as a phenomenon, something that you'll take notice of because it is not the norm. I kind of wish that wasn't the case. I live where I live because I kind of like it, and your friends are your friends probably because of proximity and some shared background. But at the same time, I lament the lack of diversity in my life. I'm just not going to go date someone for the explicit purpose of trying to make up for it. But you know, my love to those people who have found love and for whatever reason have had to suffer for it.
Also, I'm a BBQ man. If I'm ever near Taccoa, GA, I've got to check out Carlos's food truck.
Somewhere between Manchester and Blackburn, lies a place called Cronkshaw Fold Farm run by a lovely woman named Dot McCarthy. On Cronshaw farm, Dot raises goats. This might be the most British thing ever. It's delightfully British. Not squeamishly British like colonialism or Piers Morgan. The goats are an in a sort of petting zoo version of Cameo, you can pay a few pounds to have them join you on a Zoom call.
Would I do that? No, but the cute goats land power rankings debutante Imitiaz Tyab at #3. And petting zoo Cameo sounds a like a lot more fun than regular Cameo.
Steven Lomazow, M.D. owns a collection of 83,000 magazines. As a fan of the written word, here's to you, sir! You are exactly the kind of cook that should be featured every week on Sunday Morning. In that collection of 83,000 are 2 of the 3 known copies of Look Magazine volume 1 no. 1. The magazine has basically been replaced by the internet, which Dr. Lomazow concedes. I like to read some things that are easily digestible, and it's nice to not read it of a screen from time to time, so in theory a quality magazine is right up my alley. Speaking of which, I think it might be time for me to renew my subscription to Racquet.
Are the Canadian Rockies better than the US Rockies? I think you know what my answer is:
I want to go there. Maybe ride a bike through the mountains.
Kelefa (sort of) fills in Tracy this week, interviewing Anthony Ramos, star of the film In the Heights based on the Lin Manuel Miranda stage musical. Anthony is part of that cast that rode the Hamilton rocket ship to stardom. Will he achieve stardom out side of the Miranda-verse? If not he's perfectly cromulent working actor with bit parts in bunch of TV shows and films. He makes a good living. While I cannot relate to him as a Latin man, I can relate to him a baseball jock/theater kid because I was that same unlikely combination in high school.
I really like Kelefa and someday soon he'll get the top spot, but (and I've made this known before) the celebrity/movie promo interview is not really what brings me to the Sunday Morning table. Kelefa does a fine job, but trying to grab the #1 spot with a celeb interview is like trying to win MVP of the NFL as an offensive lineman. There are just constraints. The form is elevated if you bring the reaction shot (of which Michelle Miller is queen), but I don't the reaction shot is in Kelefa's repertoire.
However, from now on, anytime something slightly annoying happens, I'm going to start saying "record scratch sound" out loud. Help me make this a thing.
7) Lee Cowan
When I saw there was going to be a segment on Flaming Hot Cheetos, I had mentally penciled it in for #1, but something about the execution just didn't land with me. I'm not a flaming Flaming Hot Cheetos guy. My preference is for original or jalapeño . However, someone for which I have a lot of affection for is. I wanted this segment to be great so I could get their reaction. I don't know why it fell a little flat. aybe it's just that I don't believe Mr.
For those who can't get enough arbitrary power rankings, check out the LA Times definitive spicy snack power rankings. Flaming Hot Cheetos are #4.
A wedding venue burns down during the reception and gets relocated somewhere else because of nice people - it's a Hartman segment all right. I can't really add much to it because sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. (It's a thousand right? Not 100 or a million?)
She's looking like a hundred dollars!
A couple weeks ago, I said a few words about Johnnie Cochran whose work as a civil rights advocate was eclipsed by his association with the O.J. Simpsons trial. Anyway, maybe if I was a lawyer and closer in age to Erin, I could muster some appreciation for the career of F. Lee Bailey. But I can't. May his soul rest in peace, but he was a wealthy, famous lawyer who ended up disbarred an bankrupt. The two are related I'm sure. And maybe he thought he was taking some moral high ground when he got disbarred, but given his thirst for attention and uneven interest in defending some of his clients, I sort of doubt that was the case. I should judge, especially someone about whom I know so little, but it seems I just have.
10) Martha Teichner
Apologies to David Pogue, but his segment got Teichnerized this week. There's no way I'm bumping Martha off the list to talk about Amazon warehouse robots. Look, I cashed points from health insurance's incentive program to get an Amazon Prime subscription for 1 year, so I may be a hypocrite in my criticism of Bezos's corporate behemoth, but there really is no reason why the most valuable company in the world can't keep it's employee's safe and keep them from getting injured. The fact that they name the robots after Sesame Street characters seems like a cheap ploy at engendering undeserved good will.
Unions. Buy local. Other platitudes of the impotent white suburban liberal. Teichner 2024.
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