Who is Tammy Duckworth?

 

The past month I've noticed I get about two emails a day from somebody named Tammy Duckworth. I thought it was a country singer who was trying to sell me tickets to an Atlantic City concert. Turns out that Tammy Duckworth is a senator from Illinois. I sent the Democrats money last year during the year and for some reason, Tammy Duckworth thinks I am going to continue to support her throughout the year. No good turn goes unpunished. 

Non fungible tokens

Non fungible tokens are the latest rage in investing. You own the thing, typically an electronic object, but you can't use it commercially. You can't sell posters of the thing or use it in a youtube video legally. It's kind of vague about why you would want to buy one of these things. 

I would happily sell you a non fungible token for this blog for $100,000 if any of you would like to buy it. As for me, I think I'll stick to mutual funds. 

Netflix After Parties

 

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Why has nobody ever thought of this before? Hailed as a new concept in entertainment, we are now being introduced to the Netflix After Party. In the case of Ginny and Georgia, after we watch the series we are given a chance to watch the after party. Why not, after bearing up after ten episodes of the show we deserve a party. 

In the show we are introduced to the host, David Lane, and some of the cast members of the show. Some of the cast are in person, some are via Zoom. It promises to be an insightful and fun exploration of the show we have just seen. 

I suppose it's okay. Silly at times, inane, it is something new that has been added to our busy lives. The only thing I can think of that it resembles are those PBS salutes to favorite shows with interviews of stars and directors, enhanced with sales pitches for DVDs and public television memberships. 

One nice feature of the post Georgia show is that some of the cast members mentioned their ages. Teens are always portrayed by people in their twenties. Moms are always portrayed by people in their thirties. 

American Schadenfreude

 

There has always been a certain schadenfreude between America and Britain. We had Trump and they had Brexit. And now they have Meghan and Oprah and we have the 1.9 trillion dollar deal. It would take an American locale and an American talk show host to bring about the grief that the Brits have about the latest riff. It's not the first time that an American tv host embarrassed the Royal family. From the Crown, many of us  remember Prince Philip's interview in the early sixties. Again, the monarchy was embarrassed.

Arguing over the dinner table over Trump with Grandpa can affect our inheritances. However, a light banter over the Oprah interview is harmless entertainment for Americans. Since the stakes are low (unlike in England) we can have hours of mirth talking about Harry and Meghan.

Editor's note: I am now one of those privileged Americans that have obtained a covid shot. In six weeks I can travel!

Covid: Oh what should we do?

 I've been playing with the CVS covid vaccine site recently. You have to log in, hopefully at odd times, and wait til a "Fully booked" town turns into an "available" town and rush through the other parts of the process. So far, at the end no vaccine has been available. Reminds me of trying to score U2 tickets at Madison Square Garden. 

Things are getting better, but Doctor Fauci warns to be cautious. Actually I have been eating in restaurants and this seems to have been a safe procedure, at least so far. In my own experience, doctors always espouse the more conservative (and lucrative for their practices) procedure. They tell you to stop drinking when you can get away with an occasional drink. They tell you to go to the dentist once every three months when you can get away with six month intervals. They give you a stress test every year when you can get away with one every three years. Most of us will listen to the good doctor's warnings but then fudge them a little bit. We learn that we can get away with things after the important people go home. 

Editor's note: I am tired of looking at people getting shots. Please tv producers, we know what it looks like to get a shot and don't need to watch it anymore. 

My home town nostalgia

 

I, like many people, belong to a "my hometown" type Facebook group. It is a fun way to look at old photographs from my hometown as well as keeping tabs on the latest deaths in my age group. One thing I have noticed is that things get better in the fog of past remembrances. 

Corner stores with grouchy owners and overpriced items become the shrines to a neighborhood and a friend of all the kids who came by. We remember the ice cream sundaes but forget getting kicked out because we dallied too long in front of the Playboys. 

Intolerably long days in schools with teachers we hated become those fond days where we learned so much and gained a respect for history that we never lost. Tedious afternoons in Spanish class become temples where we learned a language that we were so happy to have when haggling over blankets in Guadalajara. 

I'm sorry but that old diner that everybody was lamenting went out of business when us baby boomers discovered MacDonald's. Fat Mikes went out of favor when they lowered the drinking age and we could go to bars. Downtown died when the malls opened. And now we are nostalgic about those haunts of yesteryear. 

Things I've learned from Firefly Lane

 

Being a man, I have learned so much from Firefly Lane. I never understood female bonding before. Yes, Beaches was a good introduction, but now I understand the process where women bond for life, through thick and thin. 

I never fully understood the sixties, but now, with the depiction of Cloud, I am cognizant about how women who live a hippie lifestyle mature into difficult women. Whenever I saw a scene that Cloud was in, I somehow knew it would end badly. I was able to predict that the scene where she sings in a fancy restaurant would end badly. 

I now understand how men in high positions in the media are manipulative and not very pleasant. I now know how women are treated in television. 

I never fully understood what divorce was, what pregnancy was, or what a miscarriage was until I saw Firefly Lane. Now, a man in his sixties, I comprehend these things in a way I never did before. 

So many things that I never learned in life I have been taught by this fine program. Watching it is like getting a doctorate in women's studies, without the time and expense. Thank you Firefly Lane.