kajakinu

"In many ways, the story of the Chernyshevs, father and son from Voronezh, a former manufacturing hub of around a million people about 300 miles south of Moscow, is the story of break dancing over the past three decades, with its unlikely journey from the streets of New York to every corner of the globe and to its surprising inclusion, pending a final vote in December, in the Olympics. Bumblebee himself embodies a new kind of aspiring Olympian, excelling in the sort of niche, nontraditional sport that the International Olympic Committee has recently promoted: surfing, skateboarding, rock climbing, kiteboarding. Many of those events will soon be featured at the Games, too, reflecting the interests and ambitions of a younger generation, and an Olympic movement eager to attract its attention. Bumblebee has spent half his life breaking, with a style and skill set nurtured by streaming video and social media, feeling every bit a part of, and protective of, hip-hop culture — a culture t...

Said one of the Hong Kong protesters, quoted in "Hong Kong Protesters Love Pepe the Frog. No, They’re Not Alt-Right/To much of the world, the cartoon frog is a hate symbol. To Hong Kong protesters, he’s something entirely different: one of them" (NYT). “It has nothing to do with the far-right ideology in the state,” [another] person wrote on LIHKG, an anonymous forum that has been the center of discussion for protesters. “It just looks funny and captures the hearts of so many youngsters. It is a symbol of youth participation in this movement.”... Emily Yueng, 20, said... "different countries have very different cultures.... Symbols and colors that mean something in one culture can mean something completely different in another culture, so I think if Americans are really offended by this, we should explain to them what it means to us.”... Pepe was not always seen as a racist symbol. He was created more than a decade ago by Matt Furie, who killed off the character in 2017...

... makeup ? A month or so ago, I couldn't listen to what they were saying because I was exclaiming that they looked like they were wearing rubber masks. It was freaky. The skin did not look like skin. How did I know these were human beings at all rather than simulacra? But something seems to have changed in this past week. Maybe it's the summer heat and air conditioning doesn't work right anymore, but I've seen at least 2 shows with panelists gleaming as if they were sweating. Is this a deliberate reenvisioning of the best way to do makeup for high-definition television? The panelists convey reality more convincingly, and now I can't hear what they're saying because I'm talking over them about how they're all sweating, they're glowing, as if they are live, breathing, feeling human beings. From the Wikipedia article "Simulacrum" : Simulacra have long been of interest to philosophers. In his Sophist , Plato speaks of two kinds of image makin...

"... I will say the thing that we as parents are not supposed to say: What happened to my empty nest? The very definition of home has changed. Mine will always be their family home, their spiritual home, but it cannot be their primary home. This is now my primary home, alone. I know that this arrangement is temporary, and I want to help my children out in every way possible, but it would be dishonest to say that their reappearance in 'their rooms,' which I now call guest rooms, has not been jarring. No matter how much I try to resist the urge, I’m reverting to my last-phase parenting mode — worrying about whether they’re eating enough and eating healthfully, washing their clothes and taking them to their rooms...." Writes Charles Blow in the NYT. He also says: "Since my oldest son was 6 and my twins were 3, I have been a single dad." I had to look him up in Wikipedia to try to fill in the facts. It says he's divorced, he's openly bisexual, and his ...

"He’s 26 years old but still sees a pediatrician: Why some young adults don’t move on" (WaPo). What the hell is wrong with sticking with your regular family doctor? You have a relationship with this person. He or she is a real doctor. It's not like you're going to a veterinarian. You like what you have. Why is The Washington Post age-shaming the young? Well, age-shaming the young is an old game. Grow up, they say and have been saying for eons. If it's not that you're acting too babyish and unserious, it's that you're old before your time. I say a young person can be young in the way that feels right to them. I say you are the master of your own time. You are how you feel, and you don't have to match up your chronological age with a stereotype of how people that age are supposed to be. I mean, take care of yourself, don't hurt others, and work on making your life what you want it to be. And use your actual chronological age when interfacing wi...

The New York Times will be out of business soon after I leave office, hopefully in 6 years. They have Zero credibility and are losing a fortune, even now, especially after their massive unfunded liability. I’m fairly certain they’ll endorse me just to keep it all going! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2019 I see "Trump Hit With Fact-Check After Claiming New York Times Is ‘Losing A Fortune’/The president said the paper — which recently reported a spike in revenue and strong readership — would be 'out of business soon after I leave office'" (HuffPo), but that only addresses the question of whether the Times is losing money. ( A NYT tweeter says "Revenues up, subscriptions at a record high, profits at $37.9 million in the second quarter.") It says nothing about the "unfunded liability." Generally: In finance and economics, a liability is a legal obligation of a person, organization or government entity to pay a debt arising from a past...

I clicked through and this one caught my eye: Treasonous Racist Using Manipulative Propaganda #Trumpacronyms pic.twitter.com/KifvbPbTb7 — Social✽Fly (@socflyny) August 19, 2019 1. Who's Social✽Fly? I don't know, but Cory Booker follows her (click to enlarge and clarify): 2. You don't need more than one example of the acronym-making to see what dull non-fun it is. 3. The Goebbels propaganda list is always a useful read, and it's ironic when you use it in your own propaganda. I feel sad to think that it is deployed by so many people who don't even imagine that they are engaging in propaganda and the things on the list sound like what their side is doing too. 4. From the Wikipedia article "Big Lie" : The phrase was also used in a report prepared during the war by the United States Office of Strategic Services in describing Hitler's psychological profile: His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never co...

"... second chances, and offering a human being a path to redemption. HOW TO BEAT TRUMP is an important, thoughtful book, and I hope everyone has a chance to read it." Said Judith Regan, head of the publishing company Regan Arts, quoted in "Accused Serial Sexual Harasser Mark Halperin Signs ‘Trump’ Book Deal" (New York Magazine). Regan's name is vaguely familiar. From her Wikipedia page: In 2006, Fox announced that Regan had interviewed O.J. Simpson, during which Simpson "confessed" to the 1994 murders of which he had been acquitted. The so-called confession was to air on the Fox network and Regan was to publish Simpson's written confession as a book entitled If I Did It . After harsh criticism, News Corporation cancelled both the book and the interview with Simpson that was to air on the Fox Network. The book went on to be published and became a #1 bestseller. News Corp. fired Regan and Regan sued and won a reported $10 million. I... believe in t...

... you can swim all night. (And remember the Althouse Portal to Amazon, where you can buy all the swimsuits you want.)

"... from their Phony Russian Collusion Narrative (the Mueller Report & his testimony were a total disaster), to a Racism Witch Hunt. ...'Journalism'has reached a new low in the history of our Country. It is nothing more than an evil propaganda machine for the Democrat Party. The reporting is so false, biased and evil that it has now become a very sick joke...But the public is aware! #CROOKEDJOURNALISM" Trump tweets this morning. The Washington Times gives the context: Conservatives were stunned by the transcript of the staff “town hall” led by executive editor Dean Baquet, a recording of which was reportedly leaked to Slate, which posted what was described as a transcript on Thursday.... The most troubling part of NYT editor Dean Baquet’s speech to his newsroom was his admission: “our readers...cheer us when we take on Donald Trump.” He added that Trump voters don’t read the Times.... I'll read the transcript for myself. Here are my notes as I read it: Dean ...

https://t.co/MCRzC1Kpv9 — Bill Deno (@bill_deno) August 18, 2019 That was a long and harrowing game last night. Eric Thames had the winning home run in the 14th inning. Here's the Wikipedia article "Inside baseball (metaphor)" : In American slang, the term inside baseball refers to the minutiae and detailed inner workings of a system that are only interesting to, or appreciated by, wonks, insiders, and aficionados. The phrase was originally used as a sports metaphor in political contexts, but has expanded to discussions of other topics as well. Language commentator William Safire wrote that the term refers to details about a subject that require such a specific knowledge about what is being discussed that the nuances are not understood or appreciated by outsiders. According to Merriam-Webster, the term originated in the 1890s referring to a particular style of playing the game which relied on singles, walks, bunts, and stolen bases rather than power hitting. Within a fe...

Here are the "Editor's Picks" on the front page of the NYT website this morning. Click to enlarge (not that you need to enlarge Pamela Anderson's breasts, but you can make the small print clearly readable by clicking): 1. "How the ‘Baywatch’ Swimsuit Became a Summer Classic/Athletic. Flattering. Red. Who needs a string bikini?" Yes, ladies, it is okay and maybe even cool to wear a one-piece bathing suit. But don't expect support from Pamela Anderson: "Ms. Anderson said modesty was not an issue for her but confirmed that the suits were pretty fitted. 'Some people bring me bathing suits to sign autographs on and they are these big bathing suits and I say, "Listen, my bathing suit was tiny. It just stretched and pulled onto your body,"' she said." If you want support, get a structured brassiere. 2. "They Met on the Court. They Both Won in Love. Eric Wankerl and Paige Marquardt first connected in 2013 during a Special Olymp...

13 were arrested, according to "Portland Protests: Far-Right Groups and Antifa Face Off as Trump Weighs In/Conservative groups are urging the United States to label Antifa a domestic terrorist group. President Trump said the city was “being watched very closely" (NYT). I'm pretty sure right-wingers will assume that those arrested were Antifa, that the Portland police wouldn't have declined to discuss it if they'd arrested Proud Boys. But maybe it's the city's policy to refrain from purporting to know the politics of individuals arrested for disorderly conduct. On Saturday, a few confrontations broke out in the park as the rally began, but the far-right groups eventually moved behind a police line and were separated from the counterprotesters by a wide gap that officers worked aggressively to maintain.... At least two of those walking with the militia members appeared to have been hit with white substances resembling milkshakes.... Officers intervened in o...

"Violent movement sensors would automatically open the doors and sound high-pitched alarms, with fine water jets soaking the interior. Weight-sensitive floors would ensure only one user could be in a cubicle at a time, to safeguard against 'inappropriate sexual activity and vandalism.'" What could go wrong? From "Seaside town's hi-tech anti-sex toilets will spray users with water/Loos in Porthcawl, south Wales, will feature weight sensors and sound alarms to stop anti-social use" (The Guardian). Lots of people weigh as much as 2 people. At what point does the "weight-sensitive" floor react. 400 pounds? And what level of "violent movement" is the trigger point? Now, I'm reduced to picturing legitimate excretory maneuvers that could offend the temperamental toilet. And let's say some "anti-social" people are in there going at it. The doors fling open?! That inflicts injury on passersby. By the way, since when are we c...

I got that quote from "Whitney Cummings Shares Photo of Her Nipple to Thwart Extortion Attempts" (Cummings is a comedian). Context:

Said Ralph Whittington, quoted in  "Ralph Whittington, erotica collector extraordinaire, dies at 74"  (WaPo). What do you have to do to become noteworthy for your porn collection? Whittington — whose job was as a curator at the Library of Congress — amassed and carefully catalogued a huge collection of pornography. For years, he stored his trove — which included thousands of items, from 19th-century 'bawdy house coins' to magazines, videotapes, photographs, dolls and devices — at his Clinton, Md., home, which he shared with his mother..... Mr. Whittington noted 86 separate categories.... "To be blunt, most people buy for their own gratification. But I would spend money on stuff I didn’t even like. I like high heels and big legs, but I collected everything — except gay porn and child porn." Maybe there's a Ralph Whittington of gay porn somewhere. "I have one film from 1913 called ‘Free Ride,’ which is supposed to be [the] oldest film they’ve found in...

A bumblebee lands on Meade and undertakes a difficult journey...

What I saw on first look at The Washington Post : On closer look:

Said Peter Fonda in 2018, talking about "Easy Rider." He is quoted in his NYT obituary, "Peter Fonda, ‘Easy Rider’ Actor and Screenwriter, Is Dead at 79." That movie was so important to us young Boomers, half a century ago. In 1967, Roger Corman, then the king of the low-budget movies, directed “The Trip” from a script by an up-and-coming actor, Jack Nicholson. Alongside Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper and Susan Strasberg, Mr. Fonda starred as a mild-mannered television commercial director who uses LSD for the first time and makes the most of it. “Easy Rider,” which he also produced, came two years later. There was also LSD in "Easy Rider." What did Peter Fonda say about LSD in his later years? “For me, it solved a great deal,” he said. “However, I didn’t take it and go out running through the city looking at lights. I was very circumspect and lay down on a couch.” Luckily, he added, “I don’t have an addictive character, and nothing except pot stayed with me.” T...

2 interesting lists at The Conversation, reprinted at Snopes, in "Study: Too Many People Think Satirical News Is Real/In a news cycle full of clownish characters and outrageous rhetoric, it’s no wonder satire isn’t fully registering with a lot of readers." Both lists break down the poll numbers by Republican and Democrat, with Republicans more likely to incorrectly believe Babylon Bee satirical nonfacts and Democrats more likely to believe Onion satirical nonfacts. Our study on misinformation and social media lasted six months. Every two weeks, we identified 10 of the most shared fake political stories on social media, which included satirical stories. Others were fake news reports meant to deliberately mislead readers. We then asked a representative group of over 800 Americans to tell us if they believed claims based on those trending stories. By the end of the study, we had measured respondents’ beliefs about 120 widely shared falsehoods.... The most-believed satirical head...

The Forward reports. Miftah, a not-for-profit run by longtime Palestinian peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi, was forced to apologize in 2013 after publishing an article on its website criticizing then-President Barack Obama for hosting a Passover Seder at the White House, JTA reported at the time. “Does Obama in fact know the relationship, for example, between ‘Passover’ and ‘Christian blood’..?! Or ‘Passover’ and ‘Jewish blood rituals?!’” read the post. “Much of the chatter and gossip about historical Jewish blood rituals in Europe are real and not fake as they claim; the Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover.” Accusations that Jews killed Christian children and used their blood to bake matzah was used for centuries to justify pogroms and other anti-Semitic acts....

"The filing relates to the case of Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired as the funeral director of R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. in Detroit after she told owner Thomas Rost that she planned to transition from male to female and would be representing herself as a woman while at work. In March 2018, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the funeral home had violated Title VII anti-discrimination laws in the decision, with the court ruling that 'discrimination on the basis of transgender and transitioning status is necessarily discrimination on the basis of sex' and therefore protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, in their court filing submitted Friday, Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and Department of Justice attorneys argued that the specific Civil Rights Act provision 'does not bar discrimination because of transgender status,' meaning the Michigan funeral home was within its right to fire Stephens. 'In...

The NYT reports: "We are not satisfied with the conclusions of the medical examiner,” said [Epstein's] lawyers, who had hired a private pathologist to observe the autopsy, in a statement. “We will have a more complete response in the coming days.”.... His suicide followed an apparent attempt to kill himself in late July, and came 12 days after prison staff had recommended he be removed from suicide watch and returned to the wing in which he had been housed before. I wonder what Epstein said to his lawyers about the July incident. It was either, yes, I tried to kill myself or somebody — who? — attacked me. The conspiracy theories surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death were fueled in part by a paucity of information from Bureau of Prison officials since his body was discovered.... On Monday, the federal judge in Mr. Epstein’s case, Richard M. Berman, noted the unanswered questions about the July incident. “It has never been definitively explained what the B.O.P. concluded,” Judge Berma...

... choose whatever you like. (And remember the Althouse Portal to Amazon, where you can buy Medjool dates .)

The man, Frank Dawson, was ripping signs away from some Trump antagonists who were "were trying to cause a ruckus, and they jumped up and started yelling. I don’t care what they were yelling. It wasn’t going to happen beside me. I’m trying to listen to my president. I think he thought I was part of it, but I wasn’t. I was the good part of it" ( quoted at The Daily Beast ). Wow, that guy is going to get a trip to the White House, don't you think? I've got to give you the full Trump quote, because it's very funny (or offensive, if you roll that way): "That guy’s got a serious weight problem. Go home, start exercising. Get him out of here, please. Got a bigger problem than I do. Got a bigger problem than all of us. Now he goes home and his mom says, 'What the hell have you just done?'"

"When an ultrasound revealed that the baby was a boy, Braiden was overjoyed. As someone who identified with both genders, Braiden was used to making choices on any given day.... But the expectant mom could not wait to raise a son with the stereotypical boyhood that Braiden never had. There would be trucks instead of dolls, and mud instead of makeup. Braiden chose a strong-sounding name: Owen. In the boys’ section at Buy Buy Baby, Braiden picked out a Nike onesie and a tiny dress suit. Braiden flipped through racks of outfits with footballs, dinosaurs and planets, and walked to the register holding a pair of tiny black suspenders — on sale.... Braiden wants Owen to understand that gender isn’t just male and female, and that his mom isn’t a woman. But Braiden doesn’t want Owen to feel as though he has to be a 'gender warrior' just because his parent is non-binary. Braiden’s assigned gender was the wrong fit, but that doesn’t mean Owen’s won’t be the right fit, Braiden said.....

Went to a small fruit farm were they grew strawberries crossed with raspberries. from r/pics Rubus illecebrosus — "a red-fruited species of Rubus that originally came from Japan (where is it called バライチゴ, roseberry), but is also very popular in some European countries like Lithuania. Common names include balloon berry and strawberry raspberry."

1. "Israel has decided to approve a petition by U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to enter Israel on 'humanitarian grounds' so she may visit her Palestinian grandmother, the Interior Ministry announced Friday, this after it barred her from entering the country due to her support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement." Haaretz, this morning. 2. Shortly thereafter, CNN: "Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Friday she would not visit Israel after the country granted permission for her to enter the country on humanitarian grounds to visit her family in the West Bank a day after blocking her and fellow Rep. Ilhan Omar from visiting the country. 'I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in--fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,' Tlaib said in a tweet." 3. In writing, you should be careful about putting things in absolute terms. Think before using words like "every...

NYPD says video shows male with a shopping cart placing pressure cooker on upper and lower levels at Fulton Street subway station. Watch press conference live: https://t.co/p0wrspdcs9 pic.twitter.com/HI81uNG25L — NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) August 16, 2019 "Authorities are looking to question a tall, thin white man seen pushing a shopping cart near the Fulton Street subway station, where two rice cookers were found Friday morning. A third rice cooker was found next to a trash can in Chelsea.... All three devices were stainless steel, silver commerical [sic] grade rice cookers with black handles; all three were empty ." IN THE COMMENTS: rehajm: That John Mackey... mccullough: Wants to be able to make steel cut oats Ha ha. I thought about that too. (For context, see this post from 7:08 AM about Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, who "typically packs a rice cooker with him (to make his morning steel-cut oats)." MikeR said: Performance art. Old tradition at subway stations. ...

I've only watched the beginning. Speaking about the 2016 election, he said: "They came from the mountains... They came from the rivers." Of course, I pictured something like this: As for the 2020 election, speaking about the various Democratic contenders, he said: I don't mind any of them... You’ve got Pocahontas is rising. You’ve got Kamala, Kamala is falling. You’ve got Beto, Beto is like, gone. We’ll see what happens. Whoever it is, I don’t know that it matters... I think Sleepy Joe might be able to limp across the finish line, maybe. … I sort of hope it’s him.

"Last December, as you may know, I suddenly said — also out loud — 'Why aren't the Democratic candidates better? I'm just going to be for Amy Klobuchar.' But I've been worried about Amy.... 'Mr. Hickenlooper, 67, a socially progressive, pro-business Democrat who has called himself an extreme moderate .' Extreme moderate — I like!... I'm for the radical moderate who wants to bring people together and to get things done. There needs to be someone for those of us who loathe 'the most passionate party activists.'... What other Democratic Party candidate has any wide-ranging business experience and has worked at multiple levels of the executive side of government? Hickenlooper was mayor of the 19th biggest city (Denver) and governor of the 21st biggest state. That's a lot of executive experience, and he seems to have handled it well. He's worked as an employee in a scientific field, and he's been a successful entrepreneur making the ...

"[John] Mackey estimates that he eats about 15 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. 'A plant-based diet is pretty high in water,' Mackey says, 'so, the actual truth is I don’t need to drink water most of the time.' And if he did snack outside his three meals, he says he would get a stomach ache. Mackey is so dedicated to his rigid diet and wellness routine that when he travels for work, he typically packs a rice cooker with him (to make his morning steel-cut oats) to ensure he doesn’t slip while on the road... At 5 a.m., Mackey wakes up and does his spiritual practices for about 30 minutes to an hour. That includes meditation, reading an array of spiritual literature and daily affirmations.... At 6 a.m. Mackey either has one of two breakfasts: a smoothie or steel cuts oats (the oats are usually for when he’s on the road).... After breakfast, Mackey exercises by going on a short walk followed by some yoga.... Mackey says he eats lunch early, at about 11 a.m., to...

This morning, I'm pairing the famous RFK quote with the coat of arms of Greenland. ADDED: Picture the map of the world with Greenland as the 51st state: What a legacy for the real-estate mogul! AND: If what they're saying about global warming is true, Greenland is the place to which the entire population of the United States could relocate. If we bought Alaska from Russia, why can't we buy Greenland from Denmark? We're already using Greenland for military purposes — there's an air force base — and our military protects Europe.... ALSO: The Mercator projection is like the wide-angle lens in real-estate photos on Zillow. MORE: From "Trump Eyes U.S. Buying Greenland" in The Wall Street Journal: The idea of the U.S. purchasing Greenland has captured the former real-estate developer's imagination, according to people familiar with the discussion, who said Mr. Trump has, with varying degrees of seriousness, repeatedly expressed interest in buying the ice-co...

... you can talk all night. The photograph is from the grounds of the American Players Theater (in Spring Green) where we saw a fantastic production of "A Doll's House" last night. (And remember the Althouse Portal to Amazon, where you can buy many things, including  "A Doll's House and Other Plays." )

... please go to this other post . Here, I'd like to talk about this crazy painting Epstein had in his Manhattan mansion: The Daily Mail says: The picture depicting the former president apparently lounging on a chair in the Oval Office, wearing red heels and posing suggestively in a blue dress redolent of Monica Lewinsky was in a room off the stairway of the Upper East Side townhouse. The dress is also strikingly similar to one worn by Hillary Clinton at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors....

Writes Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit , after reading something at The Sun called "THE SPURGLARS I was desperate for a baby so I ‘spurgled’ a man and tricked him into getting me pregnant." I haven't read that yet, but I'm going to guess that "spurglar" is a portmanteau of "sperm" and "burglar." What's the downside of the frozen-sperm-vasectomy plan? When do you reveal to your girlfriends that this is what you have done? Do you tell them what you did and why ? Do you reveal your mistrust of women? Do you use the word "spurglar" in your explanation? This will affect her opinion of you . If she's thinking she wants children, maybe she's picturing a real sexual encounter, not a medical procedure. Where's the romance? Where's the profound love? What kind of father are you? And you've chosen to disconnect your sexual activity from fertility? Won't that affect your mind, your sense of power and connection to...

"Among the bones broken in Epstein’s neck was the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple. Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older, according to forensics experts and studies on the subject. But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation, the experts said.... The office of New York City’s chief medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, completed an autopsy of Epstein’s body Sunday.... The hyoid bone played a central role in a heated dispute last year over another high-profile death in New York, that of Eric Garner. A New York police officer was accused of using an improper chokehold while trying to arrest Garner and of causing his death. A police officers’ association claimed that an autopsy from Sampson’s office found there was no break of Garner’s hyoid bone, and that this proved that the officer could not have strangled Garner and caused his death. This 'demonstrates conclusively that Mr. Garner did not die of ...

I guess most of my readers are up already. Look at the results of this poll I did yesterday: IN THE COMMENTS: David Begley said, "Ann, where the hell have you been? Sleepyhead. Let’s get rolling!" Last night was a late one for us larks. Midnight! Here's a view of the stage where we were: But, yes, I know about Epstein's broken hyoid bone. It's not like you need me to make it official.

... enlarge upon whatever you like. (And remember the Althouse Portal to Amazon, where you can buy Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee with Lion’s Mane & Chaga For Concentration .)

I saw Franco Zeffirelli's version of the Shakespeare play when I was 17. Olivia Hussey (Juliet) was born in 1951, like me. She was 16 when the movie was made. Leonard Whiting (Romeo) was only one year older. We're told quite clearly in the text of the play that Juliet is 13. These are young kids indeed. They fall madly in love one night, get married the very next day, everything suddenly goes to hell, and on the fourth day, they're both dead . The sense of of teenagers in love is incredibly strong and real... Oh! How I cried when Romeo kills himself and Juliet immediately awakens from her fake death and finds him freshly dead... So emotional! But what was it like watching it again half a century later? Beautifully fresh and alive. The story is so fast moving and the teenagers get so overheated — with lots of love and crazy streetfighting — but that's the story and I got caught up in the wildness and the extremely painful sadness in the end — in 1968 and in 2019. Look, h...

... here ... I've got to do this poll: Are you an extreme lark (a person who naturally gets up very early)? Yes. 6 a.m. is about the latest I'd get up. 4 or 5 is more like it. I'm a morning person, but only in the sense of getting up around 6 or so. Morning person, but just a late lark — 7 or 8. To wake up naturally, I need it to be at least 9, but I'm okay once I'm up. I'm not normal until after noon. I don't come alive, not really, until late afternoon. I'm a genuine night owl. I could start my real day at 9 or 10 p.m. and go all night. Sometimes I'm a lark and sometimes an owl. It changes. I don't need a "night's sleep." I catnap whenever it's convenient or just chaotically.   pollcode.com free polls