Lianna and I figured out yesterday that a strategy for a game played with breath mints on a social media platform would be a Tik Tok tic tac toe Tic Tac tactic. I posted that on Rex’s blog today as a comment on the answer TACT. I’ll let you know if I get any grief for it. So far, thankfully, it’s being ignored.
I was about to write, “but enough nonsense,” but there’s never enough nonsense! Owl Chatter is here today to laud the amazing Iowa Hawkeye’s women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark, whom we fell in love with last year during the Big Ten tournament. It’s going to be tough for any team to get by powerhouse South Carolina, but you can be sure Iowa will do its best behind Clark.
The dark-haired Clark excels at every aspect of the game, but her long 3-point shots are garnering the most attention. Against Michigan last year, she scored 46 points (25 in the last quarter), including two three-pointers from the blue M logo at midcourt. Take a look:
When Caitlin was growing up, her dad had to pave over part of their front lawn to create an area large enough for her long shots towards the basket on their driveway. Statistically, she does better from 25 to 30 feet away than from closer in. An analytics firm treats shots from over 30 feet as “heaves.” But Caitlin does so well from that range that the company is considering changing their criteria. She says the most important part of her shot is how she positions her legs and feet. Her dad’s directive was always “feet under your body.” She says when she misses it’s usually because she’s off-balance.
Caitlin is 21 years old, magnetic, and is Iowa-born and raised.
According to The Times today, a lawsuit by some kids has been filed against the state of Montana. It claims the state’s very friendly approach towards fossil fuel industries, and hostility towards climate change concerns violates the state’s constitution that guarantees Montanans “the right to a clean and healthful environment.” The constitution also says the state is responsible for maintaining and improving the environment for present and future generations. The state’s response has been a Ralph Kramdenish hamena hamena hamena, and the state is fighting it tooth and nail.
In connection with the following item, Owl Chatter urges its readers to please refrain from any “dumb southerner” gibes. So what if the Republican Comptroller General of South Carolina, the state’s top CPA, Richard Eckstrom made a small error in the state’s year-end financial report. It was just $3.5 billion. Like you’re all perfect all the time??
At first, Eckstrom refused to resign. Then the State Senate voted to oust him, and the House voted to reduce his salary to $1. When he got all screwed up on how to reflect that dollar on the state’s books, he finally said “F**k it, I’m quitting.” Eckstrom did not major in accounting as an undergrad at U. South Carolina, but earned a Masters in Accounting there after serving in the Navy. Thank God he didn’t go to Hunter. He is 74 years old and has two children from his marriage to his first wife Peggy. Hold on a sec — make that three children. Yeah, he’s pretty sure it’s three.
In the puzzle today, the “city whose welcome sign features Mark Twain” at 2D was ELMIRA. Here’s the sign:
In addition to Twain, there are Elmirans Tommy Hilfiger, Ernie Davis, astronaut Eileen Collins, Hal Roach, John Jones, and Brian Williams. John Jones escaped slavery in Virginia and walked 300 miles to Elmira where he settled and became active helping others to freedom via the Underground Railroad. A museum honoring his life is in Elmira.
Here’s what Twain said about his home in Elmira: “We are perched on a hill-top that overlooks a little world – of green valleys, shining rivers, sumptuous forests and billowy uplands veiled in the haze of distance. We have no neighbors. It is the quietest of all quiet places, and we are hermits that eschew caves and live in the sun.”
Twain married his wife Octavia in Elmira, who said yes on his second try. They are pictured below with their daughters Suzy, Clara, and Jean. Their son Langdon died of diphtheria when he was just 19 months old. [Note the spelling of diphtheria. An extra h is part of the disease.]
Zoe Saldana visited the puzzle today. Hot stuff! Blue’s a good color for you Zo, but, then, what wouldn’t be?
Did you hear about the big flap that arose between her and the Nina Simone people? OMG. First of all, Zoe’s 44 and was born in Passaic, NJ. Her dad was Dominican and her mom Puerto Rican. She appeared in the three highest grossing films of all time: two Avatar films and Avengers: Endgame. She dated Bradley Cooper for over a year, but then married an Italian artist, Marco Perego. They’ve been married for ten years and have three kids (two twins and a plus-one.)
Okay, let’s get to the flap. So Zoe took the role of Nina Simone in the biographical film Nina. Simone’s identity and work was closely linked to the fact that she was a powerful black woman with dark skin and African features. She wrote, “I’m the kind of colored girl who looks like everything white people despise or have been taught to despise.” But she was defiantly proud of her appearance and she fought to change perceptions of what was beautiful.
Simone’s family, estate, and supporters called the casting of Zoe Saldana an insult to Simone’s struggle and an example of Hollywood’s attempt to sideline women with dark skin. They were outraged that Zoe was fitted with a prosthetic nose and her skin tone darkened for the role, almost as if the role had been given to a white woman in blackface. When Zoe started promoting the film, the estate tweeted bitterly: “Cool story but please take Nina’s name out your mouth. For the rest of your life.”
Saldana initially defended the casting, saying: “I made a choice. Do I continue passing on the script and hope that the ‘right’ Black person will do it, or do I say, ‘You know what? Whatever consequences this may bring about, my casting is nothing in comparison to the fact that this story must be told.’” But years later, she admitted it was a mistake, and apologized. As it turned out, the movie was not a critical or financial success.
Owl Chatter is certain she pulled through it okay — Jersey girls are tough stuff.
Here’s a crisp, funny poem by Tony Hoagland from yesterday’s Writer’s Almanac. We’ve all been there, but maybe not exactly. It’s called Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.
On Friday afternoon David said he was divesting his holdings
in Stephanie dot org.
And Cindy announced she was getting rid of all her Dan-obelia,
and did anyone want a tennis racket or a cardigan?
Alice told Michael that she was transplanting herself
to another brand of potting soil
And Jason composed a 3-chord blues song called
“I Can’t Rake Your Leaves Anymore Mama,”
then insisted on playing it
over his speakerphone to Ellen.
The moon rose up in the western sky
with an expression of complete exhaustion,
like a 38-year old single mother
standing at the edge of the playground. Right at that moment
Betty was extracting coil after coil of Andrew’s
emotional intestines
through a verbal incision she had made in his heart,
and Jane was parachuting into an Ani Difranco concert
wearing a banner saying, Get Lost, Mark Resnick.
That’s how you find out:
out of the blue.
And it hurts, baby, it really hurts,
because breaking up is hard to do.
Here’s Ani D. Her biggest hit, 32 Flavors, was used in an ad campaign back in 1999 by the NFL. It featured players who wore the number 32.
We’ll let Ani play us off stage tonight. Thanks for popping by. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 