There seems to be an issue with our email delivery service over which I have no control. For several days, I did not get daily emails, and I was just informed a loyal reader has suffered the same fate. We are working diligently to rectify the situation, but remember, one can always click on the blog site itself to see the new posts. They all go up each day by 5 pm Arizona time. In the meantime, we apologize for any inconvenience.

PS: I am aware of the irony that any reader not getting the emails might not get this. But, let's not make the perfect notice the enemy of the good notice, which can be seen on the blog site itself.

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King Richard is the story of how Venus and Serena's father and also their mother guided them from nowhere to dominate the pro tennis world. All the acting performances are stellar (including Kevin Dunn's cameo whom you know from Veep and Rich Sommer's cameo whom you know from Mad Men). I had had the impression that Richard Williams was a tyrannical beast a la Tiger Woods' father, but if this movie is accurate, he's much more complicated and nuanced--he was a fantastic father in many ways and they had a fantastic mother in all ways. I just wonder if I had seen this movie some decades ago, I could have fulfilled my dream of having my son becoming a professional baseball player, which I failed miserably at in trying to pull off.

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It is said that we need to talk to each other, to bridge the gap, and end the divisiveness in this country. I think Bill Barr had the perfect response to this notion when he characterized the Trump claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. The divisiveness in this country is not a symptom of any problem. It is the dramatic proof that the Republican party and those who continue to adhere to it truly live in an alternative universe, and there is no reasoning with them. And if those who committed the obvious crimes that were committed in their concerted and conspiratorial efforts that would have toppled our democracy are not indicted and prosecuted, we perhaps don't deserve our democracy. 

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In reaction to Dobbs, pro-choice advocates look forward to the day when Congress enacts federal legislation establishing the right to choose recognized in Roe vs. Wade. Without jettisoning the filibuster, that would seem a hope for something that is at least decades away if attainable at all. What is far more likely if the Republicans retake the senate, is McConnell will jettison the filibuster which would open the door for passage of a federal law banning abortions in every state.

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Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, does not reach the level of A Face in the Crowd, starring Andy Griffith, but both 1957 movies capture the rise of pop culture in the 1950s, and the corrosive force it has on its stars, or perhaps more precisely, how it feeds on the allure of power and fame, to the point of overriding more ennobling human emotions like love. This is Elvis's first dramatic role, but fear not, as much drama as there is, there's plenty of his songs and movements strewn in through the story.

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While I was not pleased with the opening salvos (hearings) of the January 6 Committee, and I don't know what their impact is going to be especially if DOJ or at least Georgia doesn't  indict the big orange kahuna, the last several hearings have been dramatic, stunning, moving, educational, and compelling, especially in letting the witnesses (all Republicans most of whom if not all voted for Trump) tell the story and demonstrate by deeds what courage and character look like. The hearings are all available on You Tube so, if you missed them, treat yourself at least to the last two. Michelle Goldberg's piece in the NYT ("The Jan. 6 Hearings Have Been So Much Better Than I Expected) does a much better job than I could in explaining this wonderful surprise to the upside.

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If you miss the simpler times we used to live in, Unashamed will take you back there, along with making a strong statement about the danger of guns, as well as about the importance of the rule of law in the context of the unwritten law. Dick will do anything to protect his sister Jean as would her father. But she is in love with sleazy Harry Swift who has his eye on her money. When Harry has her stay with him at a hotel all night, her father still will not give his permission for a wedding. Harry threatens to tell everyone about Jean, and Dick shoots him dead. Jean cannot forgive either her father or her brother and will testify against Dick even if it means the electric chair for her brother. Dick is played by Robert Young, in a role like you've never seen him. Two-thirds of the movie is taken up by the trial, and it's a trial, and lawyering, like you've never seen. It's also nice to see a time when, even if locked up in the big house, the defendant wears a suit and tie.

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The June 27, 2022 New Yorker has an excellent article on how to choose and buy a mattress and some cautionary notes about warranties and other related issues. One tip, when buying online, was to put the mattress of your choice in the cart and just leave it there for a few days. Often, you will get a notice that they are discounting the mattress or adding in some freebies like linens and pillows. This same "cart-and-wait" trick sometimes works on other products as well.

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The the problems with air travel (e.g., cancelled flights, long lines at airports, etc.) are not just U.S. issues. As this WSJ article  chronicles, many international terminals and flights are suffering similar fates.

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A flight attendant has asked a loyal reader to share with you their advice on travel this summer. Here it is:

1. Things are not good..... if it’s less than 7 hours - DRIVE! I'm not kidding. There is nothing enjoyable about flying right now. On any airline. If you must fly, keep reading.

2. Download and use the app of the airline you are flying. You can do everything on it - get your boarding pass, track your bags, see your incoming plane, and change a flight. It sure beats waiting in the long line to talk to an agent! Trust me - Usually these apps will tell you a flight is cancelled before the crew even knows!

3. Fly MUCH earlier than you need to - a whole day early if it’s important!! This week I saw many people miss important things like weddings, funerals, cruises, international connections, and graduations. The tears were very real, for very real reasons, and there was nothing I could do! If you have to be somewhere, spend the extra money, go a day early. Have a glass of wine and stay in a hotel, enjoy your night not being stressed while everyone else misses their events. 

4. ALWAYS fly the first flight in the morning so you have all day to be rebooked if the shit hits the fan. Yes, that means it might be a 3:00 alarm, but morning flights don't cancel nearly as often.

5. This is not unique to this year, but keep in mind summer is thunderstorm season. A single storm can shut down a whole airport. We can't fly through them. Storms usually build as the day gets later. Book early flights! 

6. Schedule long layovers - Your 1-hour layover is NOT enough anymore. 30 minutes, not a chance. 3 hours minimum.

7. What you see on the news is an understatement. We are short staffed and overworked. Not just pilots and flight attendants, but also ground crews. Without ground crews there is no one to park the planes, drive jetways, get your bags on/off planes, or scan boarding passes. This causes many delays that snowball throughout the day. Sometimes HOURS. (Another reason morning flights are best!)

8. When flight crews get delayed we time out. We can NOT fly longer than 16 hours. It’s illegal. So, it doesn't matter if you have a wedding to get to, when we are done we are done. The way things are now, there are no back up crews, so when this happens your flight cancels. (Now you are starting to see why those morning flights are best!)

9. Avoid connecting in Newark (Or any New York airport for that matter). It is literal hell. You have a 50/50 chance your flight will cancel or missing your connection. They have been cancelling flights at their starting points just to keep the planes out, because there just aren't enough people to manage the planes, so the gates stay full. Also, the restaurants are expensive, it is not a great place to be stuck.

10. Be nice. As stated above, we are overworked and tired. We will not help you if you are mean. No one cares that you are going to miss your cruise if you are an asshole. So even if we can help, we will save our help for someone nice. Tensions are high. Our patience is gone. If you make us mad - you will not be flying on our planes. We will leave you behind without a second thought and laugh about you later.

11. Being drunk on an airplane is a federal offense, so don't overdo it. If you drink too much at the bar waiting for your delayed flight you risk not being allowed to fly at all. We are too tired to deal with your drunk ass when we have legitimate issues to deal with. 

12. Get trip insurance if you have a lot of money invested. I hate the whole idea of this, but I also hate the idea of losing money. Example: I was working a flight yesterday that waited over an hour for a gate. A family of 8 missed their flight to Rome. The only flight of the day. They were going to a cruise which they would now miss. They were all crying, there was nothing I could do. (Also, a reason to fly a day early!)

13. Flights are FULL. If you buy the cheap seats you will not be able to sit with your family. It says so when you purchase your ticket!! Flight Attendants aren't there to rearrange the whole

family because you tried to save $100 on a third-party website.

14. Speaking of third-party websites and saving money..... Like I said flights are FULL. If a flight is oversold, and no one volunteers to give up their seats, who do you think is the first to be bumped? You guessed it, the family that saved a few $$ by using sites like Expedia, Kayak, Hotwire etc.

15. Pack smart. Don't be "That guy" Don't hold up boarding because you have your extenders open till they are busting and you can't figure out how to make it fit in the overhead. (Passengers are stressed too, they can be aggressive when boarding a delayed flight) 

16. Take showers, brush your teeth, leave the perfume off, don't eat stinky food (Caesar salad and tuna fish I'm talking to you!), and bring headphones. Trust me. These things sound basic but add to stress on crowded planes. If you are stuck on the tarmac for 3 hours after a 4-hour flight, you will thank me for this.

17. Bring a sweater if you tend to be cold. So tired of half-naked girls asking me to turn the heat up. NO. Wear clothes!! Side note: If you dress like this and ask for heat, there's a chance I will turn the AC up. 

18. That’s not water on the bathroom floor. For the love of God wear shoes to the bathroom!!!

19. Don't tell a Flight Attendant they look tired. We are and we know. You may cause us to ugly cry right there in galley.

20. Happy Travels!

There are many reasons to watch Spare Parts. First, Marisa Tomei is in  it, along with others who turn in terrific performances. Second, it takes place in Phoenix and there are many great shots around it and Arizona. Third, it is based on a true story (although  undoubtedly quite a few of the scenes are embellished), and an amazing one at that, about four Mexican high school students who form a robotics club and, with no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, go up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT. I won't spoil the ending, but, beyond revealing they came in ahead of Cornell, I will say: (i) it reminds me of another true story of a father and son who started a 105-pound tackle football league for 13 year-olds, who ended up playing a Thanksgiving Day game at the high school stadium against a team from another state, which, due a mistake, was a 125-pound team, but that true story was not made into a movie, and I'm not telling how the game ended; and (ii) it's from the same genre as October Sky which is the story of Homer Hickam, the Karate Kid, and Rocky. 

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As this NPR article sets out, Moderna says its new vaccine candidate, which fights both the original COVID-19 strain and the now-dominant omicron variant, shows a "superior neutralizing antibody response" against the coronavirus compared to its original vaccine. The "bivalent" vaccine — meaning it targets two different antigens — is Moderna's leading candidate to have an effective booster ready for fall of 2022, and possibly as early as August. Because of the higher antibody response seen with the new vaccine candidate, Moderna predicts that people who get the booster will have protection that is "more durable over time" against omicron, and the protection is so strong that it could potentially last a year, which means that if the company's findings bear out, people might only need annual COVID-19 boosters from now on.

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As is being reported, a CDC advisory panel is recommending that Americans 65 and older should get newer, souped-up flu vaccines because regular shots don't provide them enough protection, which might offer more or longer protection for seniors, whose weakened immune systems don't respond as well to traditional shots. Options include: Fluzone High-Dose, Fluad with an immune booster, or Flublok which is made with insect cells instead of chicken eggs.

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This Wirecutter article shows what it says are the 33 best housewarming gifts. In reality, this article is proof of why not to give housewarming gifts that are things the recipient would need to display in their home. Just look at the list to see stuff that shouldn't be anyone's home. If you feel compelled to gift, keeping housewarming gifts to things that are edible or can be worn is the safest and most thoughtful way to go. Many will say that is true for gifting on other occasions as well.

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In an example of the worst kind of fake news, this NYT article will try to convince you that using simple precautions will help "keep at bay" the pathogens in a public bathroom. If you're convinced, you are welcome to participate in the auction I'm having for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

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You might think a movie staring Loretta Young and Myrna Loy, which runs just 75 minutes, can't miss, but The Truth About Youth will make you think  again, as it reminds you how interminable 75 minutes can be. It's that age-old story of a man who has raised his deceased friend's son from childhood with the help of his housekeeper and her beautiful daughter, Phyllis, who then arranges a marriage between Phyllis and the boy, but the rascal impulsively marries a notorious nightclub singer, "the Firefly," instead, and the femme fatale dumps the boy when she discovers he has no money, but by then Phyllis realizes she is in love with Richard, not his foolish ward. As foolish as these people are depicted, in a world that has gone nuts, and nothing seems to work any more, it's comforting to know that the movies of today are better than the movies of just 90 years ago. 

PS: Lest anyone think anything works any more: The CDC cannot keep straight what it recommends and no one believes it is following the science; there are so many cancelled flights that air travel has become a lottery; you never know until you get to the store what shelves are going to be empty or how much prices have risen or the packaging has shrunk since the day before; the stock market has taken a dive; fuel prices (for cars and homes) have gone through the roof; the Republican dominated state and local governments are insane, and the Republican senators and representatives renew their Faustian bargain on a daily basis; Biden seems out of touch or uninformed when he addresses any issues; the Senate couldn't care less about anything but keeping their job; the second amendment and anti-vaxxer, anti-masker zealots are killing school children and seniors at record levels but their so-called "freedom" is so important to them and those whom they elect that Fox News thrives on them. And that's just a short list. I apologize for the rant. But permit me to add one thing: The polarization in this country is not a problem--it is a legitimate and sane reaction that one of the tribes has it wrong.

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There are many reasons Why Be Good merits watching. First, it's not a talkie, so it's fascinating to watch how important the acting is given the lack of dialogue, and it's also a pleasure not to have to watch a video where you cannot understand what the actors are saying ... in essence, it's a pre-closed caption world, but without the typos. Although not a talkie, much of the dialogue is done by acting without any captioning. Second, as it focuses on a flapper with a dubious reputation enjoys a vivacious night of dancing and finds herself romantically linked to her boss, it captures the problems of sexism and related problems in the corporate culture, confirming how long they've been around and engrained they have been. Third, shot before the Wall Street crash of 1929, it brings into sharp focus the lifestyle of the rich. Fourth, it would be nice if movies today had music going on throughout the movie. Fifth, it makes you long for an era of ties, jackets, and hats, instead of the dreck of casual wear that now seems to have invaded every fora. 

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As explained in this NYT article, a judge presiding in the defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems ruled this week that the cable channel’s parent company, Fox Corporation, can be included in the suit (for $1.5B), broadening the possible legal exposure to the highest ranks of the Fox media empire. Dominion had argued that Fox Corporation should also be part of the litigation because its two most senior executives, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, played “a direct role in participating in, approving and controlling” statements that fed false perceptions of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Let's just hope this inspires DOJ to go after the big orange kahuna.

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However minor the threat from LIV Golf is seen by the public, in making the announcement of changes that will be going into effect starting this year and more next year, the PGA Tour certainly and concededly sees LIV Golf as a huge threat. The Commissioner no longer is talking in terms like the bloviator Brandel Chamblee talks about "growing  the game"--he's now talking about "growing the business," meaning, increasing the revenues that will pass through to the players--particularly the top 50. It's a shame LIV Golf is backed by the Saudis, because if it were not a such a morally tainted entity, it would become the new model for professional golf, and the PGA Tour would be toast. That said, it is a head-scratcher that the PGA Tour's biggest change is to the funding and importance of the so-called Fall Tour. Maybe the PGA Tour hasn't heard that the NFL schedules many games at that time.

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