BIGFOOT

I sit here hunkered down, huddled in my A/C cocoon. It is oppressively hot outside; it is forecasted to be 110 °F. I dawn launched into the park, to beat the heat and concluded my errands before noon. Let it be said that I, like the rest of Saint Louis is feeling stressed, nay oppressed by this heat.

Cocooned within my air-conditioned sanctuary, I have fled present day reality into the past. I started this retreat, with a bike ride listening to a podcast, “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History”. I listened to the first half of Carlin’s story of the dissolution of Roman-Briton, the “real” story of King Arthur’s Court. Carlin is a self-styled history geek, as opposed to a historian. I plan on listening to the second half of this podcast tomorrow morning, again on a bicycle. I followed this history lesson up with a viewing of Michael Wood’s new documentary series on PBS, “The Story of England”. Wood’s first episode covered some of the same ground as Carlin’s, but then propelled the history lesson further into the future.

Bring my English history up to date, I watched the delightful Rom-Com “Wimbledon”. Artfully directed and well written, it features Kirsten Dunst, but really showcases Paul Bettany. Dunst plays the young brash female version of John McEnroe, who actually appears as himself. Bettany plays the overage tennis pro, a wildcard entry into his last tournament before he sets himself out to pasture. While Bettany does the heavy lifting in this movie, Dunst’s role is extremely well suited to her acting chops. I found the tennis scenes the most effective, though stylized. I loved Bettany’s internal monologue on court. This all begs the question, will this fictional British hero remain the last Englishmen to win Wimbledon, or will Andy Murray win tomorrow?

Now it is time for some political filler. I invite my Republican friends to stop reading now, because you surely won’t like what you read next. [Are they gone now?] Well let’s start now with the Republican’s new theme song:

I like big bucks and I can lie
You Demo brothers can’t deny
That when a voter walks in with an itty bitty mind
And that dumb look on it’s face
You get sprung, wanna pull out your dough
Oh baby, I wanna buy your vote
And take your picture with Mitt

I forgot to mention that broadcast NBC has Tour de France coverage on the weekends. I caught the last part of it today. I guess that this coverage is sort of a warm-up for the Olympics. Which begs the question, what sort of score would Romney’s verbal gymnastics over the Supreme Courts ruling on the Affordable Care Act, would the Russian judge give? I’m thinking a three, but then the Russian judge always gives the American a three.

And don’t get me started on the Republican Party’s attack on women. That story is the proverbial elephant in the womb. Let’s just stick to economic issues and agree to stay away from Love Potion #999.