Saturday, October 24, 2020
QPORIT XR NEWSROOM
QPORIT XR
THE XR NEWSROOM
EXTENDED REALITY
TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE, ISSUES
Quick Previews Of Random Interesting Things
2020-10-24 (SAT OCT 24, 2020)
THE US IS NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD!
- 230,068 deaths, the most in the world.
- 784 deaths today, the most in the world.
- 8,827,154 total cases, the most in the world.
- 78,671 new cases today, the most in the world.
- 2,855,475 active cases now, the most in the world.
- 16,367 critical & serious cases now, the most in the world.
- The "president" continues to organize superspreader events around the country.
- Ask not what your country can do for you, Donald, ask what you can do for your country.
- Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ 2020-10-24 20:50 EST
2020-10-22 (THU OCT 22, 2020)
2020-10-20 (TUE OCT 20, 2020)
THE DEPARTMENT OFF JUSTICE
- has filed a complaint against Google, charging anti-competitive behavior.
- Any resolution of this will likely take months to years.
- The final verdict/decision in the Microsoft case helped trigger (I believe) the massive market selloff in 2000.
- The Judge ordered a break-up of Microsoft on June 7, 2000.
- Around August 1, the Nasdaq and Dow averages began a major slide.
- Regulatory and legal challenges, domestic and international, to Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon are fueled by issues of possible
- excessive harm to consumers
- excessive suppression of competitors
- excessive concentration of wealth
- as well as political and competitive interests.
- Microsoft is currently relatively free of these pressures.
- Here is the full text of the complaint:
2020-10-19 (MON OCT 19, 2020)
THE MAJORITY STAFF OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
- has issued a comprehensive report on their
- "Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets"
- with Recommendations.
- Here is the full text of the Report:
2020-10-14 (WED OCT 14, 2020)
THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE
- will hold hearings, tomorrow (THU Oct 15, 2020 1:30 PM ET), on Misinformation And Conspiracy Theories Online
- Here is the notice:
- https://intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1092
- The hearing will be available online here:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9vU8xQf2QM
2020-10-13 (TUE OCT 13, 2020)
APPLE
- announced the iPhone 12 series, with some MAJOR features that are the opening salvo in the next generation of technology.
- (They also announced a new mini audio device.)
- The biggest feature is that all iPhones in the 12 series will have 5G support.
- 5G is in its infancy, but this support is essential!
- The next most important feature is that some model(s) will have LiDAR support.
- LiDAR is an accurate distance measuring "camera" that will improve focus in poorly lit spaces and accelerate Augmented Reality (and, ultimately, photogrammetry, 3D photography and volumetric videography also).
- Powering these advances is new chip technology.
- Apple claims 40% and more improvement in their new A14 "Bionic" processors.
- "Bionic?" -- As far as I know they contain no living parts.
- The phones will be available within weeks, at prices similar to the previous generation of iPhones.
- But headphones and charger may not be included in the box!
- https://www.apple.com/iphone/
2020-10-12 (MON OCT 12, 2020)
TOMORROW, TUE OCT 13, IS A BIG DAY:
- AMAZON
- The start of PRIME Day.
- https://www.amazon.com
- APPLE
- The announcement is expected of new 5G iPhones.
- https://www.apple.com/apple-events/
- OCULUS / FACEBOOK
- The release of the QUEST 2 VR headset.
- https://www.oculus.com/quest-2/
- (THE HP/MS/VALVE REVERB G2 is expected next month).
2020-10-12 (MON OCT 12, 2020)
DISNEY
- has announced a major restructuring
- the news was reported by CNBC
- Disney+ has been extremely successful.
- Other parts of Disney have suffered from the pandemic.
- This restructuring is designed to focus on direct-to-consumer streaming.
2020-10-12 (MON OCT 12, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS
- The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020 was awarded jointly to
- Paul R. Milgrom and
- Robert B. Wilson
- "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2020/summary/
2020-10-10 (SAT OCT 10, 2020)
IT'S 2020-10-10
- Or 10/10/2020
- Always nice to have a day with an "interesting" date.
2020-10-09 (FRI OCT 9, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
- The Nobel Peace Prize 2020 was awarded to
- the World Food Programme (WFP)
- "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict."
- https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/10644350/7277031683435010266
2020-10-08 (THU OCT 8, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 was awarded to
- Louise Glück
- "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2020/summary/
2020-10-07 (WED OCT 7, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 was awarded jointly to
- Emmanuelle Charpentier and
- Jennifer A. Doudna
- "for the development of a method for genome editing (CRISPR)."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-chemistryprize2020.pdf
2020-10-06 (TUE OCT 6, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
- The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 was divided,
- one half awarded to
- Roger Penrose
- "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity",
- the other half jointly to
- Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez
- "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2020/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-physicsprize2020.pdf
2020-10-05 (MON OCT 5, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE
- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020 was awarded jointly to
- Harvey J. Alter,
- Michael Houghton and
- Charles M. Rice
- "for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-medicine2020.pdf
QPORIT XR DAILY NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2020
QPORIT XR DAILY NEWS
JANUARY - AUGUST 2020
Thursday, October 22, 2020
THE INTERVIEW
Donald Trump was interviewed for CBS 60 Minutes. Trump has released a video of the interview.
The interview can be used to assist preparation to provide a plan for either candidate to use in the Presidential debate tonight.
There are two audiences for a debate. First, there are the
people who watch the whole thing (a subset of this audience consists of the
news media and commentators on television and major newspapers). Second
would be the people who hear about the debate second hand.
People who watch the whole debate are impressed (more or less
in this order) by the candidate who
- · has the best line or two;
- · is the most likeable;
- · is the strongest, most presidential;
- · does the best job of refuting the other candidates’ attacks;
- · does the best job of describing their own positions and
benefits to the country;
- · does the best job of attacking their opponent.
People who hear about the debate second hand are influenced by
- who won, according to media they trust;
- the one or two quotes from the debate they hear, and how that echoes with their own hopes and fears.
In the interview President Trump showed that his approach
consists of
- repeating (and re-repeating)
accusations, some based on fantasy, others on unproven allegations, (many on the authority of 'everybody knows' or 'you know') against his opponent, the moderator, the news media, and others;
- ignoring the people who have
died and been sickened, and praising himself for saving all the people who
did not;
- ignoring the people who are out
of work and suffering, and praising himself for those who have gone back
to work;
- ignoring people at his rallies
who crowd together without masks, and saying that he gave masks out and
has no objection to masks;
- praising himself for the way
the economy was going before it cratered;
- claiming the virus was not his
fault, but China acted disgracefully;
- interrupting every time he is
contradicted in any way, and attacking the other speaker;
- making up things about what would
happen under a Biden Presidency;
- making up things about what he
would do in the next term (like pass a health care plan to replace
Obamacare).
A potential strategy for Trump would be to be honest,
thoughtful, strong but polite, and sensitive to those who have suffered in the pandemic.
A potential strategy for Biden (since Trump probably outlined his arguments in the interview, allowing Biden to be prepared for those or others like them) might be to
· Use the time when Trump is muted to
o
QUICKLY refute the predictable
attacks;
o
QUICKLY assert Trump’s responsibility
for the COVID disaster in the US;
o
QUICKLY denounce Trump’s inability
to take responsibility (for COVID & other things);
o
QUICKLY assert the Obama-Biden
record for bringing the economy back and handing Trump a solid;
o
QUICKLY assert the Biden plan for
dealing with the health crisis, the economy, the inequality;
o
STRONGLY demonstrate respect for
those who have suffered from the pandemic, from racial injustice and from
financial problems;
o
STRONGLY assert the need (more than
ever!) for truth, equality, and health care (pointing out that Trump is either living in a bubble of unreality, or a cruel, self-
o
Be prepared to spontaneously and
accurately react to a moderator’s question or a Trump statement in a short,
memorable way.
· Use the time when the microphones are not muted (and Trump is interrupting or lying) to
o
STRONGLY refute Trump’s accusations,
and Trump’s boastful lies (and if necessary counterattack with the allegations of Trump's corruption, self-dealing, and unconstitutional behavior);
o
STRONGLY assert his own record and
his plans;
o STRONGLY focus on the need to deal
with healthcare, equality, truth in government, equal justice for all, the
environment, and more: all the things that a government should be doing for all
the people.
Monday, October 12, 2020
COVID - 19 UPDATE
COVID-19 UPDATE
US
MON OCT 12, 2020
219,871
- Americans have died from COVID-19.
8,013,814
- Americans been sickened by COVID-19.
- source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
- Trump's lies and misinformation, bad advice,
- Mass election events without masks or distancing,
- Encouragement of gun-toting demonstrations against masks and distancing,
- Failure to contain infections from China, Europe, and elsewhere, arriving with travelers,
- Pressure on science services to water down health recommendations,
- Pressure to contain and hide accurate reporting,
- Pressure to open schools and businesses before even watered-down recommendations were followed,
- And efforts to suppress testing
- were among the major factors facilitating the preventable deaths of many, many, many Americans.
- This would be terrible if Trump were just incompetent.
- But Trump knew. Pence knew. They were warned. Trump understood.
EVERY LIFE MATTERS
***
2020
NOBEL PRIZE AWARDS
- World hunger
- Poetry
- Auctions
- Gene editing with CRISPR
- Discovering Hepatitis C
- Black holes.
2020-10-12 (MON OCT 12, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS
- The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020 was awarded jointly to
- Paul R. Milgrom and
- Robert B. Wilson
- "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2020/summary/
2020-10-09 (FRI OCT 9, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
- The Nobel Peace Prize 2020 was awarded to
- the World Food Programme (WFP)
- "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict."
- https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/10644350/7277031683435010266
2020-10-08 (THU OCT 8, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 was awarded to
- Louise Glück
- "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2020/summary/
2020-10-07 (WED OCT 7, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 was awarded jointly to
- Emmanuelle Charpentier and
- Jennifer A. Doudna
- "for the development of a method for genome editing (CRISPR)."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-chemistryprize2020.pdf
2020-10-06 (TUE OCT 6, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
- The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 was divided,
- one half awarded to
- Roger Penrose
- "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity",
- the other half jointly to
- Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez
- "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2020/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-physicsprize2020.pdf
2020-10-05 (MON OCT 5, 2020)
THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE
- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020 was awarded jointly to
- Harvey J. Alter,
- Michael Houghton and
- Charles M. Rice
- "for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus."
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/10/press-medicine2020.pdf
Labels: Auctions, Black holes, chemistry, Discovering Hepatitis C, Economics, Gene editing with CRISPR, Literature, Medicine, Nobel Prize, Peace, physics, Poetry, World hunger
Sunday, September 27, 2020
QPORIT XR DAILY NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020
QPORIT XR DAILY NEWS
QPORIT XRN
EXTENDED REALITY: TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE, WORLD
Quick Previews Of Random Interesting Things in XR News
***
2020-09-27 (SUN SEP 27, 2020)
HOLIDAY
YOM KIPPUR
- the Jewish Day of Atonement, a chance to start the Jewish Calendar new year with a clean slate,
- begins tonight at sundown.
***
2020-09-27 (SUN SEP 27, 2020)
US
THE NEW YORK TIMES
- has published a detailed analysis of Trump's tax returns.
- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html
- Among many findings: Trump has lost a lot of money, and is approaching a date for repaying a substantial amount in personal loans.
***
2020-09-25 (FRI SEP 25, 2020)
XR TECHNOLOLGY
AMAZON
- has released a large collection of updates to its appliance products.
- The most noteworthy is an in-the-home robotic surveillance drone.
- Here's a video:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_cNOQJWO94
- Here's a story on other new products form Amazon:
- https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/25/20881736/amazon-event-news-products-announcements-updates-highlights-alexa-echo
***
2020-09-18/19 (FRI-SAT SEP 18/19, 2020)
HOLIDAY
ROSH HASHONA
- the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown on Fri, Sep 8 and continues through the following day. For Orthodox communities, the holiday is observed until sundown, Sep 20.
***
2020-09-18 (FRI SEP 18, 2020)
US
RUTH BADER GINSBERG RIP
No man (or woman) is an island
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each person's death diminishes me
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls...
It tolls for thee.
John Donne, 1624 (with modern edits in honor of RGB, a pioneering jurist)
***
2020-09-18 (FRI SEP 18, 2020)
XR TECHNOLOGY
UNITY
- has gone public.
- Their initial IPO opened with a stock price of about $76, considerably higher than the pricing of about $52.
- That puts their current market cap at over $13 billion.
- Unity makes an engine to create interactive 2D and 3D applications and graphics, including games.
- Programming in Unity is with C#.
- The primary current target for applications made with Unity is mobile.
- EPIC's UNREAL ENGINE (UE) is the closest competitor to UNITY.
- UE is programmed with C / C++.
- UE applications tend to have higher resolution, be "bigger", more complex, more expensive to create, and have better graphics than Unity.
- UE applications' primary targets are PC's, console gaming, and Hollywood level media.
- Parenthetically, EPIC Games is the maker of the mega-hit Fortnight.
- They are also in an "epic" battle with Apple's and Google's charge to Epic for selling on the App Store (Apple) and the Play Store (Google).
- Epic currently has a market cap of more than $17 billion.
***
2020-09-17 (THU SEP 17, 2020)
US
201,166
- Americans have died from COVID-19.
- source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
- Trump's lies and misinformation, bad advice,
- mass election events without masks or distancing,
- encouragement of gun-toting demonstrations against masks and distancing,
- failure to contain infections from China, Europe, and elsewhere, arriving with travelers,
- pressure on science services to water down health recommendations,
- pressure to contain and hide accurate reporting,
- pressure to open schools and businesses before even watered-down recommendations were followed,
- and efforts to suppress testing
- were among the major factors facilitating the preventable deaths of many, many, many Americans.
- This would be terrible if Trump were just incompetent.
- But Trump knew. Pence knew. They were warned. Trump understood.
EVERY LIFE MATTERS
***
2020-09-16 (WED SEP 16, 2020)
XR TECHNOLOGY
FACEBOOK CONNECT (UPDATE)
- CONTINUES as I write this! Carmack will present at 5:30 Pacific 8:30 EST.
- The keynote
- confirmed everything good that was leaked about the Oculus 2;
- it is available now for pre-orders; October 13 for release;
- confirmed that Zuckerberg understands and appreciates the profound potential of XR;
- confirmed that Facebook Reality Labs is working hard on AR / MR.
- "VENUES", the next generation of Oculus Venues was available today to watch the presentations.
- The most disappointing aspect of today's presentations was that none was in VR.
- Venues allowed watching 2D framed presentations from a VR auditorium; but the presentations, not even those about live performance in VR, were in VR themselves.
***
2020-09-15 (TUE SEP 15, 2020)
WORLD
ISRAEL and the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)
- signed a peace agreement, normalizing relations.
- Israel previously had normalized relations with Egypt and Jordan.
- This agreement is part of a pattern of shifting alliances in the middle East.
- Iran is the center of the opposition to this new alliance.
- The Palestinians are opposed to the agreement.
- Saudi Arabia seems to tacitly support the agreement.
- Middle East diplomacy bristles with so much tension that even Wikipedia is having a dispute on the title of the article about the agreement.
A request that this article title be changed to Israel–United Arab Emirates agreement is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
- "
***
TECHNOLOGY
APPLE (UPDATE)
- held its Fall event today.
- It was a beautiful masterpiece of production.
- There was impressive, but for me a bit too much, self-congratulation.
- The event described updates in the Watch and the iPad.
- Other products, including the iPhone were barely mentioned.
- They will be describing updates to the operating systems tomorrow.
- The most interesting item was the announcement of an oxygen monitor in the new watch (Series 6).
- Oxygen monitoring is important because COVID-19 can create oxygen deficiencies without terribly obvious symptoms;
- some people have reportedly been seriously ill, with severe lung damage but an unrecognized oxygen deficiency, before they realized they were ill at all;
- many other oxygen monitoring systems that can be purchased online do not work well.
- The lineup of iPads and Watches also benefited from significant power boosts due to new chip sets.
- The new A14 chip in iPad Air uses 5 nanometer technology, which is cutting edge chip technology.
- Apple also introduced a new service, Fitness+, which provides custom training coupled to watch apps.
- Pricing seems generally modest.
- Apple now has a bundle, allowing several Apple services, including TV+, to be paid for all together.
- Here is a replay of the Apple event:
- https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2020/
***
2020-09-14 (MON SEP 14, 2020)
TECHNOLOGY
APPLE
- holds its Fall event tomorrow, Tuesday (2020-09-15 - 10 AM PDT, 1:00 PM EST).
- https://www.apple.com/apple-events/
- Usually, new iPhones, iPads, watches, and other hardware and software will be announced.
- Two of the most interesting announcements would be 5G on their iPhone, and any word of their plans for XR.
- Apple seems most interested in AR (currently with AR software for iPads and iPhones), and MR, (with new glasses reportedly in development).
- They seem less interested in VR.
- Apple's branding seems to be. to call this "Simulated Reality" , or (SR).
- AR software from Apple includes
- ARKit,
- RealityKit,
- Reality Composer and
- Reality Converters
- https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/
- Also, Apple recently purchased NEXT VR, a pioneering company in webcasting live events in VR.
***
FACEBOOK / OCULUS
- holds its annual
OculusFacebook Connect event on Wednesday (2020-09-16). - Facebook is starting to bury the "Oculus" Brand, which it now applies only to the headset devices (if at all).
- All XR activities are now included (subsumed) in FACEBOOK REALITY LABS (FRL).
- They are phasing out Oculus logins, with Facebook logins required for all new users and all new headsets.
- Software features that may be announced include:
- A new VENUES.
- A new VR social space: HORIZONS.
- There will be a major new headset release: the QUEST 2 has been leaked ahead of Connect 7. It features
- upgraded resolution ("almost" 2k x 2k per eye) and
- a very powerful new chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon XR 2)
- backward compatibility
- old QUEST games will still play on QUEST 2
- and for now the old QUEST can use (most?) QUEST 2 apps
- the possibility of new apps that utilize the special power of the XR 2 chip.
- a low price, $299; up to 256 G storage at a higher price.
- Here's a video that describes the new QUEST 2:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfrCPBZ6iwI
***
2020-09-09 (WED SEP 9, 2020)
US
BOB WOODWARD
- has released excerpts from his new book, including recordings of the President on-the-record.
- Trump states that he deliberately misled the public on the severity of COVID-19.
- In other public statements Trump has said he deliberately impeded the development of testing procedures.
- He has publicly praised demonstrators openly carrying guns who have demonstrated against social distancing and against masks.
- His own rallies feature no social distancing and few masks.
- As of today, more than 6.5 million people in the US have been confirmed to have been sickened.
- Accurate testing would confirm many, many more (since spot checks indicate that in some areas at least 4 to 25% of the population would actually test positive if tested).
- According to one report, more than 70,000 children have been sickened.
- Schools, camps, and colleges opening without enough protection have been, and continue to be a major source of possible new infections.
- At the current mortality rate, within a week, there will be more than 200,000 Americans dead of COVID-19.
- Is this criminal negligence?
- Every life matters.
- Every American should be outraged at this threat to American health, life, and national security.
- "...Any man's death diminishes me... -- John Donne (~1624)."
- Trump seems not to care about US.
***
2020-09-09 (WED SEP 9, 2020)
FILM
UPDATE: THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
- has published the new rules for the BEST PICTURE Oscars:
***
2020-09-08 (TUE SEP 8, 2020)
FILM
THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
- has established some new rules for the Oscars:
"The Academy will encourage equitable hiring practices and representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the film community. To ensure more diverse representation, and in collaboration with the Producers Guild of America (PGA), the Academy will create a task force ... to develop and implement new representation and inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility by July 31, 2020. Eligibility for films in consideration for the 93rd Academy Awards® (2020) will not be impacted.
Beginning with the 94th Academy Awards (2021), the Best Picture category will be set at 10 nominees, rather than a fluctuating number of nominations from year to year. The Academy will also implement a quarterly viewing process through the Academy Screening Room, the streaming site for Academy members, also starting with the 94th Academy Awards. By making it possible for members to view films released year-round, the Academy will broaden each film’s exposure, level the playing field, and ensure all eligible films can be seen by voting members."
- https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-announces-next-phase-equity-and-inclusion-initiatives
***
2020-09-07 (MON SEP 7, 2020)
HOLIDAY
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
- TRADITIONALLY, Labor Day marks the end of "summer" and the next day is the beginning of the Fall Season, for school, for film & theater, and - every four years -- for the home stretch of the Presidential election.
- Vote early (if possible), vote once (no more, no less!)
- And... Be sure to BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.
***
2020-09-05 (SAT SEP 5, 2020)
SPORTS
IT'S THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY (oops) SEPTEMBER
KENTUCKY DERBY DAY
- *** ***
- UPDATE (2020-09-06)
- AUTHENTIC, leading from shortly after the start to the finish, held off the favorite, TIZ THE LAW, to win the Kentucky Derby.
- It was the third Kentucky Derby win for Jockey John Velazquez.
- It was the sixth! Derby win for trainer Bob Baffert.
- TIZ THE LAW finished second.
- Long shot MR. BIG NEWS finished third.
- *** ***
- The Kentucky Derby, postponed from its normal date, will be held today.
- Post time is about 7:00 PM ET.
- The heavy favorite is TIZ THE LAW.
- Quick, make your Mint Julep before the race starts.
A RECIPE FOR MINT JULEP
(from when the Kentucky Derby was still in May!)
I've always tried to have a mint julep (MJ) on KD day. That's how I discovered Ruth Reichl (for a while the NYT food critic). In the early 90's she was a food critic in LA. On a business trip I knew I would be somewhere south of LA on derby day. I needed my MJ. I noticed an article she had written in the LA Times Magazine about new fine restaurants in California, and I found one that was near where I'd be. When I went there on KD day, they didn't know how to make a mint julep, but they were nice enough to try to follow my instructions, and when the first one didn't quite work, tried again and came up with something memorable, together with a really good meal. I've followed R Reichl ever since.
Here's how you make a wicked MJ. Boil a little bit of water and then put it in a cup with some washed and dried, torn up, fresh, nice looking mint leaves, to create a strong mint tea. (Note: Mint leaves are not always that easy to get, and when you get a bunch, many leaves are often wilted, or blackened. It's important to select the best leaves even if that is only a fraction of the bunch of mint in the package.)
(Experimental Note: This year I am going to try to make the crushed ice from frozen mint tea!)
Add quite a bit of sugar. (Optionally -- ideally, in fact -- some sugar could be substituted with a half jigger of a sweet liqueur like Cointreau, Drambuie, or Grand Marnier.) Add about a half jigger of a good Kentucky Bourbon. (After trying quite I few, I found that my favorite is definitely Maker's Mark.) Add this mixture with some additional torn up, fresh, nice looking mint leaves to ice in a crusher.
Crush the mixture of sweetened mint tea, and bourbon to make a tall glass worth of flavored crushed ice. Take a tall, chilled glass, add a long straw, fill the glass with the crushed ice, and then pour in a jigger more bourbon to fill up the cracks. Turn on the pre-race show, and enjoy it!
(Note: Don't drive or ride a horse or car or operate heavy machinery after this (it's strong); don't ingest with anything that will exceed your tolerance for total number of chemicals in the body! If you drink, substitute the driver!)
It's matter of taste what you eat with the drink, if anything. My own preference is Greek or similar appetizers. In the New York area, Molyvos probably has the best selection of appetizers I know of. Near Carnegie Hall, they do provide food to go if that's how you want to enjoy the Derby.
I enjoy the race, by the way, but to make the race better (since it only lasts two minutes, after all), enhancing it with slow motion replays and particular horses isolated in the picture (the more the better) is a way of greatly extending the experience. I hope the TV broadcast does a lot of that.
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