Bag of Randomness for Monday, July 6, 2020


I read, and only spent a short time trying to verify it, but anytime you see a double rainbow, the colors in the second rainbow appear in the opposite order than the first.


There’s been a trend that the cost of each presidential election has surpassed the previous, but with the coronavirus, I’m not sure it’s going to happen to this time.


DFW’s first woman news anchor, Judy Jordan (KDFW, 1966-1980) has died. I have no memory of her.


The guy on the right with the baseball bat is President Trump. The woman on the left is one of WifeGeeding’s college friends. The man next to her is one of my college friends (not a close one). They were recently invited to the White House to some sort of small American business showcase. Back in college, I can remember Joe talking about working with his dad about a baseball bat company they owned or were about to start and I thought that was pretty darn cool and very Americana. I’m not judging them, but I was left wondering if I were in their shoes, would I accept the invitation? It would be hard not to, it’s an honor to be invited to the White House, would be great for the business, and I’m a presidential history buff. I know I’d accept in less than a heartbeat if it was the Obama administration (though I know it would be different for many of you). Under the G.W. Bush administration, I’d think about it at least a good hard minute, but I think I would eventually accept. As for the Trump administration, I bet I’d struggle mightily with it but would eventually decline for certain morals and ethics I uphold (which I sure differ from many of you, and that’s okay.) I asked WifeGeeding about it and she also struggled with the thought.

One sidenote about our friends. They had one child and then had triplets. That must be exhausting and probably welcomed the trip to getaway.

I do think Joe and Aimee offer one very cool and unique gift for new parents, a baby bat built to match the length of the baby. “Built and certified to the length of your baby by 1/4″ increments and engraved with your newborn’s birth information.  This heirloom birth keepsake will be your measuring stick as your baby grows to show them how long they were when they were born.


NFL to play Black national anthem ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing’ before ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at Week 1 games

“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” a song also known as the Black national anthem, will be performed live or played prior to “The Star Spangled Banner” at each of the NFL’s Week 1 games in 2020, according to the Associated Press, which adds that the league is also considering memorializing victims of police brutality with helmet decals or jersey patches. These moves are seen as part of the league’s collaborative work with its players to raise awareness of systemic racism and police brutality.



Nike will be releasing this shoe this week. The whole ISPA collection is peculiar looking.


I love the idea for the Netflix reality game show The Floor is Lava, and my kids really love watching it. Here’s an interview with the creators of the show and will tell you everything you’d probably want to know about it. I found it funny that they filmed it inside an old Ikea in Burbank.


Two weeks after it landed on my Kindle on its release date, I just started to read John Dickerson’s new book The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency.

For the last four or five years, I’ve been really focusing on things that can cloud my judgment. Basically, how any emotion can cloud my judgment about anything. It’s still a work in progress, obviously. Here’s what Dickerson had to say on how Ike tried not to allow anger cloud his judgment.

“Anger cannot win. It cannot even think clearly.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Editors opened the big-type drawer for Eisenhower’s decision because the president had previously resisted what he called the “noise and extravagance” of the campaign. Weeks earlier, Eisenhower had waved away an easy chance to attack Stevenson: The Democratic nominee had complained about the state of the economy, and Eisenhower’s press secretary had accused Stevenson of cheering for bad news. When reporters asked the president about this, Ike said his rival must have been misquoted. (Ike’s press secretary held his next briefing from under the bus where his boss had just thrown him.)

Ike switched his strategy, but the former Supreme Allied Commander hardly stormed the beaches. “Firing back” amounted to instructing the Labor Department to rebut Stevenson’s claim about cost of living adjustments.

It’s not that Ike was mild-mannered. He wrestled to control his temper all his life. The White House staff felt the sting of his wrath so often they dubbed him “the terrible-tempered Mr. Bang.” He once flung a golf club in anger and almost broke his doctor’s leg. When the sport vexed him – which is to say, when he played it – the veins on his temple engorged until one observer said they resembled whipcords. Still, Eisenhower believed he must master his impulses. “Anger cannot win,” he wrote in his diary almost a decade before becoming president. “It cannot even think clearly.”

Eisenhower believed the presidency was too serious to be concerned with the trivialities of politics. He also believed a president needed self-control to be effective. He didn’t attack his opponent, Stevenson, for yet another reason. That reason, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, was “Mr. Eisenhower’s reluctance to engage in name-calling contests that he considers beneath the dignity of the presidency.”

 

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9 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Monday, July 6, 2020

  1. Bizarro Big Tex says:

    A big fan of Queen Elizabeth. Will hate to see her pass. Remember the story of her dad refusing to move the family from London during the Blitz because it sent the wrong message to the average British citizen. The King and his Family would never run away. To do her part, Elizabeth drove trucks and ambulances during the war. A very rare occurrence for the privileged during the danger of wartime, let alone a young girl in the 40s. She certainly has moxie.

    And I would still bet on her being the one to walk out after placed in a locked room with Trump and a sharp KA-BAR. And not a spot of blood on her brightly colored frock. The lady is tough.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I’m really struggling with the “Black National Anthem” can you imagine the outcry and rage if they said the “White National Anthem” I’m not talking about implying it or being subtle if they said the “White National Anthem” right in you face like they are saying the “Black National Anthem” there would be rioting protest and the like. For the the last 11 years from June 24 thru July 4th (Fireworks sales on a large scale) I have interacted with at least 1,000 different persons and in this same time period I have never before even given a thought about what I said or how I said it. I believe there are good people and bad people and race has nothing to do with it. I don’t think I was any different this year, but when I saw a person of color I found myself feeling self-conscience and a little uneasy because I was unsure of what their mindset was on the current state of things. There were no more problems than there have been in the past and as always the problems were minor and involved alcohol consumption.

    • Geeding says:

      I think it’s perfectly fine to struggle with it and applaud you for saying so. I think what’s most important is for you to be willing to have the conversation and give it some thought. So many people aren’t willing to give things a second thought or have a dialog about it, they shoot the notion down immediately, but it appears you are thinking about it and willing to talk things out, so bravo for that.

  3. Nathan Hart says:

    I’m a big John Dickerson fan and am eager to read that book. I thought of you when I first saw the title even before it was published. As for a visit to the White House, if given the invitation, I would probably go no matter who the president is. Going there isn’t an endorsement or a vote, and would afford lots of opportunities to bring your own influence into the room.

  4. RPM says:

    Judy Jordan was on Channel 4 forever. She was the first female primetime anchor in D/FW.
    Stealing this post from a message board, forgive me…

    Hey, gang, let’s see if you remember some TV names from the past. For some of you, I’m going to go waaaaaaay back. Channel 4 (when it had CBS)- Ray Walker, Judy Jordan, Eddie Barker, Warren Culbertson, Lee Martin, Judd Hambrick, Tony Garcia, Dick Johnson, Jay Ruffin, Frank Glieber, Dick Risenhoover, Roger Twibell, Wayne Shattuck, Jack Harrison, Barry Judge, Dennis Monson. Channel 5 – Russ Bloxom, Ward Andrews, Harold Taft, Boyd Matson, Lee Elsesser, Frank Mills, Bobbie Wygant, Jane Jayroe, Dave Layman, Brad Wright, Roy Eaton, Ron Spain, Ron Godbey, Mary Ruth Carleton, Bill Kelley. Channel 8 – Bob Gooding, Murphy Martin, Verne Lundquist, Dale Milford, Don Harris, Suzie Humphreys, Jack Van Roy, Rene Castilla, Ray Gaskin, John Criswell, Judi Hanna, Blaine Smith, Ed Hogan. Channel 11 (when it was independent)- John Whitson, Durwood Rowell, Howard McNeil, Doug Carter, Robin Johnson, Icky Twerp, Jim Newton. Any of them ring a bell??

    Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/dallas/133751-remember-these-6.html

    Bob Gooding was one of my instructors at Elkins Institute.

    • Bizarro Big Tex says:

      RPM – Great Stuff! some of my memories/knowledge regarding those famous and familiar names:
      Icky Twerp (Bill Camfield) – a Mineral Wells boys who created Slam Bang Theater
      Ed Hogan – Dialing for Dollars on Channel 8
      Don Harris – great local newsman who moved up to networks. died on airfield in Guyana during Jim Jones cult shootout.
      Roy Eaton – now publisher/owner of Wise County Messenger
      Boyd Matson – kinfolk to Aggie Shotput Olympian, Randy Matson
      Warren Culbertson – pure molasses sweet weather delivery
      Jim “Shootin” Newton – his show had the best used car ads on TV. EVER!

  5. ALEC666 says:

    I wonder how many black people support BLM?
    I wonder how many black people support this new national anthem?
    Now, Keith we know what black celebrities/athletes think about these things, but I wonder what black people who work 8 to 5 think about all this. I ask the question because I really have no idea, I don’t know anyone that’s black (my town is 97% Hispanic), I can tell you one thing Keith, we as Hispanics tend all to be painted with the same brush, I wonder if that its been applied to all black folk

    • Geeding says:

      That’s a great question, and I totally get what you are talking about being painted with the same or very wide brush. It gets frustrating in politics when people are automatically grouped or assumed to think and react a certain way. But even on a personal level, to think that you are “supposed to” like or act something just because of the color of your skin is frustrating. Sometimes when I hear east Asians do this or that or believe this or that I stop and shake my head and think my mother was never liked that. Sure, sometimes it’s complimentary, and sometimes there’s humor in it, but it’s frustrating when the chiseled stereotypes are thrown at you and they claim you eat cats and dogs. Sometimes as a society, we need to tap the brakes.

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