Let’s wallow in glamour today, at least a little bit. Is there a more glamorous couple in the public eye right now than #1 US tennis pro Taylor Fritz and his babe Morgan Riddle? To argue against, you will need to explain why they were splashed across the front page of today’s NYT Style section looking, well, pretty damn glamorous. (I’m not using the pics from the Times because Phil’s are so much better. He gets into their souls. It’s a gift. See below)
Taylor is ranked ninth in the world and #1 in the U.S. He’s 25 years old and 6′ 5″. He has a son with his ex-wife Raquel Pedraza, who also played pro tennis. “Pedraza” means to pick up a stone and throw it and injure somebody. I can see how that could be annoying.
Morgan turned 26 last month, was born in Minny, and went to college at Wagner on Staten Island. She’s 5′ 7″. She’s sharp and has her fingers in many pies, if that’s the expression. Tik Tok, fashion, show biz, etc. She grew up in an ice hockey universe, but it’s all tennis now.
They met through the dating app RAYA in 2020 and are very close, especially in this picture.
If he’s stupid enough to ever let go, you’ll see she looks like this.
She’ll be keeping her pretty eyes on Fritz as he competes in the U.S. Open this week, and so will we.
Owl Chatter is hitting the road in October with a trip to Ireland. My doc said no special vaccines are necessary, and I’m sure no travel warnings would be more serious than “The beer in this pub is flat,” or “The fiddler in that pub will hurt your ears.” But starting last Tuesday, some Canadians are getting a more troubling warning from their government and it’s not about Ireland.
According to the Times, gay Canadians are being warned by the Canadian government that parts of the U.S. may not be safe to visit. They are being told they may be affected by a series of recently enacted state laws targeting gays. Helen Kennedy, the director of Egale Canada, an LGBTQ rights group, noted that some of the problem states, e.g., Florida, are popular tourist destinations. But gay Canadians are starting to ask, “Is this the best place to spend my money?”
God Bless America.
Oil and gas companies, their shills in the GOP, and others opposed to responsible climate action are increasingly turning to crackpot conspiracy theories to make their case, according to today’s NYT. E.g., social media that racked up millions of views blamed the Maui fires on a “directed energy weapon.”
Not buying that one? Well, let’s blame it on Oprah then. A Youtube video claims she started the fires hoping to seize land from the natives. Its proof was she recently bought a large plot on the island and her properties escaped damage. (The NYT noted she has lived on the island part time for 15 years, and her home was far from the fires.) What clinched the argument was that Oprah was interviewed about the fires and “failed to appear sufficiently sad.” Here she is, insufficiently sad, trying to see if she smells smoke.
As we discussed yesterday, Crossworld exploded over yesterday’s puzzle, mostly with very negative comments. There were a total of 247 comments on Rex’s blog, the third highest total ever. I joined the minority view — I kinda liked the puzzle.
Here is a comment from B$ that was posted today, and a reply from Rex.
“I just wanted to comment on the tenor of the comments from yesterday. There was an overall harshness that was quite, to my mind, unnecessary. I can’t tell if people are just sort of taking their cue from Rex, who had nothing nice to say about the puzzle, or if folks in general just need to vent. To me the puzzle was a very creative attempt that had some obvious flaws to it, but at the end of the day it’s just a puzzle. The string of unrelenting harsh, negative comments (Lewis, NOT YOU!) had a real sour tone. But maybe that’s just where America is in 2023, and this blog is just a sad microcosm of that.”
Rex replied:
“I think the ‘sad microcosm’ is the babies who cannot handle any criticism, and who demonize and disparage people simply because they have different opinions. The ‘only say nice things’ tyranny/inanity is exhausting. I am happy that some enjoyed yesterday’s puzzle. But some of y’all really need to learn to live in a world where not everybody likes what you like. I have. People lay into my write-ups Daily. It’s (mostly) … fine?” —RP
Women’s volleyball is pretty big in Nebraska. The University’s team has been a powerhouse for years under coach John Cook. They routinely sell out their home venue which holds 8,000. But last night’s game against Omaha was something on a different order altogether. It was moved to the football stadium where it was watched by 92,003 fans. Not a typo! It was the largest crowd for a women’s athletic event anywhere, ever. The atmosphere was electric. Nebraska won. Here’s what it looked like at game time.
And Coach Cook.
In the learn-something-new-and-worthless-every-day dept., a puzzle I worked on in the New Yorker by Wyna Liu whom I met at the tournament, had a clue that was “punk mentality, e.g.,” and the answer turned out mystifyingly to be DIY, which I know stands for do it yourself, like on home repairs, etc. What does it have to do with, like, punk rockers and their ilk? Well, I undertook serious and extensive research (you know, a couple of minutes online), and I see now how it works:
In creating your punk “look,” the “mentality” is to put it together yourself and eschew products spewed forth by corporate america. For example, don’t buy pre-ripped jeans, create them yourself. And my beautiful Lianna, who is not punk but who is a “cool person” (almost 14), has shown me how she makes her own artsy buttons/pins, to safety-pin onto her clothes. So I can see how DIY works as an answer for that clue. There is that element in the ethos.
Hi girls! Take a load off — let me see if I can scare up an ash tray. Care for some borscht? — it’s not vegetarian, if that matters. Glad you could stop by — it’s been a quiet day.
Glad you could stop by too — see you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 