Big Blue Huddle

Should people who have had the coronavirus and who currently exhibit so-called "natural immunity" (the presence of covid19 antibodies in their system) be subject to vaccination requirements or other restrictions which certain institutions, public or private, are attempting to place on un-vaccinated people?  In other words, are there two kinds of un-vaccinated people (those who have the antibodies in their system and those who do not)?

https://universitybusiness.com/george-mason-relents-grants-covid-19-medical-exemption-to-professor/

Are any of you other (LOL) old farts familiar with this guy?  He's a "new" generation comedian whom I believe has a chance to walk in the footsteps of guys like George Carlin and Steven Martin.

My belief is NOT based on style, which I suspect will be off-putting to some of you, but rather on my sense that he is a hard worker (an opinion based on almost nothing other than a gut feeling) and very talented.

He began as a YouTube "success" but has now done at least three videos which are currently available on Netflix.  Just interested in hearing how your view his form of entertainment and your estimation of his prospects.

Bob

Eventually, IMO, the Giants will line up Kadarius Toney at every offensive skill position.

It's a certainty that he'll take a few direct snaps this season from some sort of "wildcat" type formation. 

But he was recruited to college as a QB... so I wonder how you assess the chances that he'll take at least one snap this season from UNDER CENTER?

Bob

For anyone interested in history, pasta or Italians (LOL), here's a great link a friend from Florida just sent me.  Bob

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/pasta-production-pictures-1925-1955/?fbclid=IwAR2YbXWyharQyMMIgN6DwknQ0BFe2E_zyplj5Ze6_ux9mjR5jj9tJoQR9Bs

I tried to get a report that is as readable as possible by us non-scientists.  All life is amazing, but this is right near the top of the list.  Posting it just in case it has escaped your attention.  Bob

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/tiny-worm-comes-back-life-after-24000-years-siberian-deep-freeze-2021-06-09/

I'm a composer of music but not much of a lyricist.  It's something I'm just not good at.  Consequently, I have great admiration for lyricists, and especially for clever rhymes conjured up by the great lyricists. 

My all-time single favorite rhyme is easy... I don't know why, but thinking of it always seems to part the skies on particularly cloudy days. 

In "My Fair Lady" a completely unnecessary character (IMO) sings the wonderful tune "On The Street Where You Live" which contains the following line (taking advantage of British pronunciation): 

"People stop and stare... they don't bother me... for there's nowhere else on Earth that I would rather be."  Bother me... ra(h)ther be?  How a person comes up with something so clever is beyond me.

But my all-time favorite lyricist is Edgar Yipsel ("Yip" or "E.Y.") Harburg. Yeah, I know.  Most people never heard of him, but, among many many other things, he was the lyricist in the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz."

If you have a moment, use the magic of computers to dig up the lyrics, starting with "Over The Rainbow" I suppose, but if you have only limited time or interest, don't miss "Munchkin Land."  [link below]

https://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/the_wizard_of_oz_soundtrack

Bob

PS. Forgot this.... the lyricist for "On The Street Where You Live" was Alan Jay Lerner (who was not a Brit, by the way). He won three Tony Awards and three Academy Awards, among numerous other honors.

Whether ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft should be required to treat their drivers as employees is a good topic for discussion (if anyone cares).

My only definitive thought at this point is.... if they're employees, then the original purpose of founding the companies is obviated, and the companies would be no different from old-fashioned taxi cab companies.

It seems akin to telling general contractors who build houses that all independent sub-contractors (plumbers, roofers, etc.) must automatically be considered their employees when they work on projects.

The Constitution (Article 1) says no state shall pass any law impairing contracts between private persons. It is my understanding that drivers sign a contract with the company, so it seems to be precisely on point.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/contract-clause-examples-definition.html

Bob

https://thepenngazette.com/fighting-poverty-with-cash/    From Penn Gazette.

Super-long, but IMO worth fighting your way through... it's about a professor who's spearheading a push for [essentially] giving certain people a guaranteed income. 

The arguments against this concept are obvious and easy to make; many are confronted by the professor in the article.

IMO it's "must-read" for anyone who cares about poverty in America, but particularly by those who are against it. 

I'm posting the article because, to my knowledge, there are some points made therein which have not been made previously.  In other words, the professor may be "breaking some new ground."

Bob

PS. Editorial comment regarding the author of the article (who is not the professor): assuming the author agrees with the professor's viewpoint (or is at least neutral) IMO it was a huge tactical error to begin by trying to portray the professor as some sort of "victim." Starting the article like that caused me to immediately question whether the author viewed the professor's position as so weak that he needed to "bolstered" it by raising extraneous matters.  They occasionally do the same thing on "60 Minutes."  I consider it poor journalism and not very professional.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/buffett-its-corporate-fiction-to-say-higher-business-taxes-hurt-customers-172536348.html?.tsrc=fin-notif

(1) January 25, 2021    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/unions-may-complicate-bidens-school-plans.html
 
(2) March 20, 2021       https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/world/cdc-social-distance-schools-three-feet.html

(3) May 2, 2021            https://news.yahoo.com/american-federation-teachers-union-influenced-141822843.html

You should have no trouble finding that news story.  I'd sure like to represent her money.  Bob

PS. Just a wee bit of humor.

Among other things, the recently-passed American Rescue Plan Act provides aid to "socially disadvantaged" farmers and ranchers.

The Department of Agriculture has interpreted that phrase to include African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaskan natives, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders, to the exclusion of all others.

A class action has been filed on behalf of all of the excluded groups. 

(1) Is it ok under the constitution to provide Federal benefits to a limited number of groups, when the limitation is set solely by referring to racial heritage?
(2) If a socially disadvantaged person is half white and half black, for instance, do they get any benefits? Half? 
(3) If a black man is married to a white woman, do they get benefits? Half?
(4) If a person with only a tiny, but provable, percentage of (for example) Native American ancestry applies for benefits, does he get anything?

A link to the complaint (which is relatively simple and easy to read, considering that it is a legal document) is below.

https://wordpress.aflegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210425-Complaint.pdf

Bob

PS. Don't bother trying to read the attachment to the complaint (the text of the Act unless you are REALLY having trouble getting to sleep. 

I intend to try when possible to highlight people who deal with "hot button" issues not to advocate, but to make a balanced presentation.  See link below.

Yeah, the story is from the NY Post, so step 1: ignore the headline; step 2: read the whole thing; like EVERY other newspaper, they might put stuff they like first and bury the rest at the bottom; step 3: cogitate.

I think a fair synopsis of the substances is as follows: Dr. Steven E. Koonin, who served as undersecretary for science in the Department of Energy during the Obama administration, says "Yes, it's true that the globe is warming, and that humans are exerting a warming influence upon it. But beyond that

It doesn't sound "close" but in astronomical terms, it is.  It is only a few times the size of the Sun, which is very small for a black hole.

https://justthenews.com/nation/science/recently-discovered-black-hole-closest-one-earth-ever-found-among-smallest

This is not a joke. Far from it.  There is an article about the website below, which I have edited significantly in order to limit the size of this post.

Older members will recall the days of McCarthyism in the 1950's.  This is no different, IMO.    Bob

https://www.canceledpeople.com/home

When political data scientist David Shor got fired for sharing research that found peaceful protests were more politically effective than violent protests, a skilled manual laborer in the Mountain West had an idea: Why not create a database of so-called cancellations?

Over the next several months he started researching documented instances of cancel culture across the world and soliciting submissions. His project, CanceledPeople.org (and .com), is approaching 200 listings from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Indonesia and Australia.  The website got a boost of attention earlier this month when Christina Hoff Sommers, the American Enterprise Institute scholar and "Factual Feminist" YouTube host, tweeted about the "well-sourced database" of cancellations.  In an interview, the creator pulled back the veil on the project. (He declined to identify himself, except for his geography and field of work, but he did provide screenshots of account records verifying his ownership and operation of the site.)  "Canceled People is not part of a larger organization," he wrote in an email last week. "It's really just a part-time project of mine, with my girlfriend helping out occasionally." Neither is an academic, as might be guessed from the project's research protocols, which lay out the rules for adding and removing people from public view.  The tweet by Sommers triggered 75 submissions, which each take 20-30 minutes to review, the creator said.  "Usually it's fairly clear whether or not they belong there, but some cases are tough," he said. "It would be good to have a panel of experts to discuss and vote on those cases.

I highly recommend "Concrete Cowboy" on Netflix.  NOT FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES.  Major swearing and street talk but IMO it's an engaging story. 

Be sure to watch all the way through... during the end credits they show which cast members are not necessarily acting.

Yes, this is not some silly fantasy.  It's a real thing.  Black (mostly) cowboys do live in North Philadelphia!  I've been there.

Bob

PS. If you find the movie (or the idea) interesting or compelling (which, to me, it definitely is) you can also google Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club for additional information.

Two teams from Texas the South.  Two from California the West.  I doubt that has ever happened in the past.  Bob

Yes, there are legions... M*A*S*H,* Cheers, Twilight Zone, West Wing, Seinfeld, Honeymooners, Star Trek, Odd Couple, etc.  I'm sure you've already had a thread about great TV shows and great TV series.

But my question is this... you're on a boat and it's sinking... you have every episode of every TV series ever made... but you can only carry ONE ENTIRE SERIES with you... which one TV series would you take?

My choice is likely no one else's. Generally speaking it isn't even one of the acknowledged all-time classics.... I do, however, believe it stands the test of time and is not dated or passe (which would be important to me).

Because of its sheer variety of stories (and to avoid the monotony of having only a "formula" TV show to watch.... which IMO would quickly get very boring), I'd choose a series whose formula was.... no formula at all.

"Regis, my final answer is.... Northern Exposure."

Bob

The Coen Brothers movie are not for everyone. 

I don't particularly like some "specifics" (for instance, some of their subject-matter) and they DO tend, more often than not, to go "over-the-top" just to make a point (like Quentin Tarentino).

Nevertheless, I rank them among the top three to five movie "story-tellers" of all time.  Just wondering if anyone agrees.

Bob

Name a song which was a hit recording twice, each time recorded by the same artist, in which one version was an up-tempo pop dance tune.... while the other was a classic hug-your-honey "slow song."   Same song!!!

The two version were recorded between 1960 and 1975 (which might help... only an old fogey like me will probably be able to come up with a guess, let alone the correct answer.

IMO this is not an easy question at all, and I believe there is only one correct answer.

Bob

We have pretty well worn out discussion of the first round of the draft, and maybe you've grown tired of talking about the draft as a whole, but if not.....

There's been a lot in the media and on this site about the importance and results in the second round.

Assume the Giants' choice in the 2nd round was between replacing Big Hank and bolstering the offensive line. 

Did they make the right decision, considering the players who were there at the time of the pick?

Bob

PS. My answer: They made the correct choice, both in the abstract and considering the players who they could have chosen. I liked both Tomlinson and Dawkins (as a tackle or guard) a lot, so that consideration was a "tie" IMO  The deciding factors were (a) defense wins championships; (b) stopping the run is a top-three objective in every game plan; and (c) I don't believe any offensive lineman who remained on the board, as a first year player, would have helped the team more than experienced players (no matter what you think of them) Hart, Flowers and Fluker.

Now that the combines are over, here are the players some "experts" are projecting to the Giants, either at pick 23 or (in the case of Casserly) after a trade up to pick 18:

Charley Casserly, NFL.com - Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin (Projected trade up with Titans to No. 18 pick)
Dane Brugler, NFLDraftScout.com - Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
Rob Rang, The Sports Xchange - Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Emily Kaplan, MMQB - O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
Peter Prisco, CBS Sports - Haason Reddick, OLB, Temple
Will Brinson, CBS Sports - Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
Bucky Brooks, NFL.com - Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

(1) Assuming all of the above players are available at pick 23, who is your first choice?
(2) Assuming the Giants don't trade up and Ramczyk is gone, now who is your first choice?
(3) Which player do you think THE GIANTS will actually take? (could be anyone one, whether or not he's on the list)
(4) Which player, if taken by the Giants, would cause you to throw the remote at your TV set?

Bob

PS. My answers: (1) Ramczyk; (2) McCaffrey (sorry, he's too perfect a fit to pass up); (3) McCaffrey (the Giants love "legacy" picks; his dad was a Giant); (4) none would bother me, assuming they can't re-sign Hankins.