The art of the impossible

Sunday. Mid-November. 319 down and 46 days to go in 2020.

Danny McDonald looks at what it takes to go from the City Council to the Mayor’s Office. Luck certainly helps. And money.

Anthony Amore, a member of the loyal opposition in Massachusetts politics, suggests ideas to help make voting more fair for republicans in state elections.

Tucker Carlson was all furrowed brow over dead people voting in Georgia. But actually the dead are alive. It’s an election miracle!

Vulture provides a history of the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketch. There are 15 in total and they’re all hilarious.

And this is probably one of my favorite Trump tweets. Just mind-bogglingly incoherent public art.

Vanilla nut taps

Tuesday, October 13th. It’s Ada Lovelace Day, a woman ahead of her time.

There were 765 cases reported in Massachusetts yesterday. The numbers are starting to climb. Let’s hope they even out.

It’s easy to laugh at us Bostonians. But we’re laughing too. There’s just enough truth in these bits to make them uncomfortably funny.

Bellow, Updike, Roth. All gone. But Don DeLillo, at 83, is still writing great American novels. His latest book, The Silence, will be available later this month. It may be his last. He talked to David Marchese (on a landline.) It’s a great interview: “Do you read any websites? No, I don’t. My wife has a computer, but no, I don’t have any interest in that.” Amazing. Love that throwback attitude.

Farmers are not doing as well as they were four years ago. Trump trade wars and embargoes have put them on their heels. But some shamelessly well placed subsidies ahead of the election just might help to ease the pain.

And there’s an Apple event later today, mostly focused on new iPhones. But you never know. Dan Moren tells us what we can expect.

A checklist for testing

A really nice Friday morning going into a beautiful holiday weekend.

Here’s that speech on the topic of boneless chicken wings. It’s a ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ moment.

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and public health researcher and he has a reputation as a facts-based problem solver. In this article he explains how coronavirus testing works and why it’s critically important. He also shows how we missed an opportunity in the US. It’s still not too late to fix things, he says, but it will take commitment and coordination at the national level. So, you know…

Matt Taibbi writes that we’re all caught in Donald Trump‘s orbit, both supporters and critics. It’s a co-dependent relationship. He may be on to something there.

Washington Metro Police released body camera video of a police involved shooting earlier this week that shows how quickly events involving guns can unfold.

And John Cleese warns that stifling humor for the benefit of political correctness can lead to a neurotic society. But, as we all know, jokes can also kill.

Getting the cold shoulder

Tuesday rolls around. It’s a birthday for both Jackie Wilson and Jackie Mason.

So it all comes down to doughnuts.

In North Korea, the sister of Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, is gaslighting South Korean President Moon Jae-in, according to an article in the Washington Post. The regime has been pretty successful lately in its efforts to manipulate international rivals.

Based on Boston police reports, John Ellement recounts a crazy night of protests and riots and also protesters vs. rioters.

In Marco Island, Florida, a Florida Man showed up to a protest with an AR-15 over his shoulder and was arrested by the local PD. When asked about the gun, he said that he might be going fishing later.

And stand-up comics are coming to the drive in. Honk if you think that joke was funny.

The money go-round

Saturday. In the Park. Everyone is wearing a mask.

He’s back. Kim Jong Un was seen cutting a ribbon at a fertilizer plant. Apparently it’s proof that he’s alive and well and all those rumors were just a big nothing burger.

Despite a few plunges in March, the stock market has had as many ups as downs recently, even in the face of devastating business closures and unprecedented job losses. It seems disconnected from reality, although to some people it all makes sense. But if investors aren’t worried about an economic collapse, regular people are, as are economists. Even Warren Buffet is bucking the trend. How this will play out is a mystery.

Local business leaders are anxious to get the economy back into gear but are worried that moving too fast will prolong the spread of the virus and result in rolling lockdowns into the future. The Mass High Tech Council released a roadmap that outlines a measured approach to avoid this. In Amsterdam, they’re going for the doughnut, an audacious plan that exploits the crisis for long term benefit. That will be interesting to watch.

Matty Simmons, the business mind behind the National Lampoon, has died.

Jerry Seinfeld has a good hour. He’s been working on material for the last few years and this week his highly anticipated Netflix special comes out. Great.

And for those of us who would like to beat back aging and live forever, this may be some good news. Also watch out for speeding buses.