Bag of Randomness for Monday, January 23, 2017

  • For years on Twitter, I’ve followed both the President and the White House Press Secretary. Now that there’s a new administration, the tone or personality of the tweets are quite different and I’m learning to adjust.
  • My one piece of advice for both the new press secretary and president… pick your battles. That was the best advice my worst manager ever gave me. I disagreed with that notion for about a decade, but I finally saw my feelings towards her was clouding my judgment. It then dawned on me how my rooting interests for sports clouds my judgment, not wanting to give credit where credit is due or agreeing or disagreeing with a ref or official’s call. Feelings will get the best of me, sometimes I wish I could go through life as a Vulcan and just make decisions out of logic.
  • I follow several of the presidential library Twitter accounts and on Friday the Nixon Presidential Library tweeted a photo of his first inauguration. I thought I spotted Reagan in the background and they confirmed it was him.
  • I thought this was a neat picture of LBJ shaking hands with George H.W. Bush.
  • The biography of our new First Lady on the White House’s website referenced her QVC success, but that tidbit has since been removed.
  • It was very nice of Melania to give the Obama’s a gift, though I was disappointed with Michelle looking like she was throwing serious shade. I’ve watched too many ‘House of Cards’ to think that the gift was only done to gain public favor and what was inside the gift was some sort of blackmail or insult. I don’t think that’s the case, but just thinking it would make for a good script.
    • I also had similar thoughts when Trump acknowledged and said nice things about the Clintons at the inaugural luncheon. So if Frank Underwood was doing this, he’d turn to the camera and state he did that just to rub it in one last time.
  • I totally forgot that Michelle Obama gave the Bush’s a present when they greeted them before the inauguration. But Trump could have shown more gentleman-like manners by waiting on his wife and letting her walk ahead of him. He’s already having trouble with how women view him, some chivalry wouldn’t have hurt. Sorry for the small size of this GIF.
  • I knew Melania’s inaugural outfit was Jackie Kennedy inspired, but I thought the neckline or covering was unique, but I was wrong.
  • As much as Gov. Chris Christie supported Trump and then get dumped, I have a feeling he didn’t have a good weekend.
  • Three thoughts on how I’ve changed watching politics, or efforts I’ve taken:
    • Don’t paint with a wide brush – Not all liberals and not all conservatives are exactly alike regarding their respected parties. There are a bunch of subgroups within each, and some are more vocal than others.
    • Apples and Oranges – For the most part, comparing one administration, election, or action on an issue isn’t exactly fair. I don’t want to bore you with the details, but I’m basically saying don’t be so quick to judge when you may not have all the facts.
    • Don’t forget the theater – Almost every politician will say one thing and mean another and contradict themselves. They do this to advance an issue, appease a group, or as a deal or bargain struck with a friend or foe.
  • With all that said, liberals take a presidential race harder and tend to be more violent at inaugurations.
  • With all that said that was said, it was nice to see there were zero reported arrests at the Women’s March on Washington.
  • Trump lost his home state but won the election, I had to look up the last time this happened. Wikipedia has this chart which shows the candidate’s birth state and state of residence. Nixon was the last to lose his state of residence, New York, and still win the election.
  • It would be nice to see how Tim Russert would be handling all of this.
  • Chelsea Clinton Says Barron Trump Deserves the Chance to Be a Kid
  • Prestonwood Baptist Pastor Dr. Jack Graham and Hardin-Simmons alumnus took part in the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral. I think he was/is part of some HSU board. I thought the university would make mention of him and his involvement but I couldn’t find it on the university webpage or Twitter.
  • The funniest SNL skit of the weekend goes to the woman trying to talk dirty to her husband. I haven’t laughed so much at an SNL skit in a very long time.
  • ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ had a profile on Henry Winkler. He said the following and I thought it was worth sharing.
    • Tenacity gets you where you want to be, and gratitude allows you not to be angry or frustrated along the way.
  • ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ also had a small piece on soul singer Sam Cooke, who was killed by a hotel manager. I had no idea back in the day a body would be wheeled out upright.
  • I own a Google Pixel phone and Google has knocked thirty bucks off their virtual reality headset. Mine arrived in the mail on Saturday and it’s a big hit with the family. Funny thing, we were all blown away with the technology on Saturday, but on Sunday, I noticed we didn’t remove the protective film on the lenses. After that, we were really blown away. I did find one video of U2 singing “Song For Someone”. You are sitting in an empty arena, like during rehearsal, with each member of the band surrounding you singing and playing an instrument. You are then transported to different parts of the world with other people singing the song in their homes with the occasional appearance of a band member. The other fun thing I did was pull up WifeGeeding’s parent’s house in GoogleMaps which allowed her to “walk” up and down the street.
  • The Dallas Stars media folks are known for topical humor.

 

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5 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Monday, January 23, 2017

  1. Nathan says:

    Here's a bigger video of the gentleman compared to the self-absorbed misogynist: https://www.indy100.com/article/difference-barack… .

  2. Liz says:

    Donald Trump pushed that Obama was not born in the US for over 8 years. Then he got caught saying that he can assault women. Michelle Obama is not Ted Cruz. She does not just move on from this and pretend that they are friends. She was warmer to Melania. She was civil and I think that is more than he deserved.

  3. Ben W. says:

    Looks like Carter is in that inaugural picture, too (one row down & slightly to the left from blue-coat lady, in a light-colored coat).

    You nailed it with the best SNL sketch – great writing. Melissa Villasenor's voice annoys me a bit, but the script was good enough it didn't bother me.

    I absolutely adore Henry Winkler. He seems like he is the nicest guy on the planet. Him thanking the fish as he released it back into the water made me smile, and his interaction with his wife was precious. I want him to be my grandpa.

    Bodies can still be wheeled out like that, depending on the circumstances. They're strapped down to the gurney, to make it easier to carry them down stairs, etc. (Source: my dad is a funeral director)

  4. Towski says:

    Re: Chris Christie. He was the prosecutor that sent Jared Kushner's father to prison. Did he think the Trump family was going to forget that? There was no way Jared Kushner was going to want a role for Christie in the administration, no matter how sycophantic Christie was.

  5. WGII says:

    I'm surprised you worst manager was a woman cause I have to say the one we shared was quite a doozy and would definitely be in my top 2!

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