BSR

Michael Sam might have been dealing with mental health issues, but that wasn't the reason he left football. Frankly, he just wasn't good enough. Plenty of good college players don't make it in the NFL. Sam feared he was shut out/passed over because of homophobia, which is understandable but unfounded. The gay sports website Outsports published a recent article about Sam, written by someone who knows him personally. Some interesting insights, it's a good read.

By December 31, 2024, condos must pass the first round of structural inspections (not sure of the details) and must have fully funded reserves. I've read that a LOT of older buildings won't be able to comply by the deadline. I guess the state could give buildings more time by postponing the deadline, but condo associations have already had 2 years to get their act together. What's the alternative? Shut down all noncompliant buildings, and force the current owners to ... move to a trailer park? Sorry, don't mean to be flip, but if the state gives owners in old buildings more time, they're just kicking the can down the road. If an older building needs $millions in repairs and has woefully underfunded reserves, the owners won't have the money in a year or even a decade. Who knows what will end up happening, but it won't be pretty.

So true, seniors who were barely scraping by before inflation surged are getting wrecked now because the Social Socurity cost of living increases have lagged badly behind increases in food prices. I know exactly how much the SS adjustments are because my mom tells me every year.

Given all the problems that plagued this building, even the new "discounted" price seems awfully optimistic.

When I read this, my initial response was "ouch, that's harsh." But then I googled why she did: she thought some former co-stars would show up not to pay their respects or to grieve, but to get publicity and to improve their image. OK, fair enough. If you get to decide who attends your kids' birthday parties, your wedding, and other milestones, then why not your funeral. Doherty fought a very long and difficult battle with cancer. Hopefully through her podcast she was able to help others fighting the disease. R.I.P.

I never understood the love affair with trains. For a family of four, driving is so much cheaper. Air is so much faster. At least in Spain, the government keeps throwing good money after bad, pouring €billions more into the high-speed rail system which has already lost €billions. Yet everyone sees el AVE as the nation's pride & joy, with no significant opposition to this boondoggle. Interesting stats on what mode of transport Europeans actually take. As much as they say they love trains, their actions speak louder than words.

While I can't vouch for the source, I found this map (#16, #15 not so much) interesting ...

Apparently living conditions in the Olympic Village are so bad that an Italian gold medalist is sleeping in a park instead of in his room: bad food, no air conditioning, and rather uncomfortable cardboard beds. Who knows if he's really been sleeping outside or if the photo was just for social media.

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At his 5th Olympics, after many disappointments and a few tears shed, Novak Djokovic finally wins the Olympic gold medal in men's singles. Alcaraz played well, even great at times, but fell short in the two tiebreaks whereas Novak played great throughout, arguably his best match in years. Both players were reduced to tears after the match -- disappointment for Carlitos, joy and relief for Novak. I believe that in tennis the Slams are still bigger than the Olympics, but something about playing for your country brings out all the emotions. First, a video of Novak dropping to his knees and crying his eyes out, then an interview with Carlos unable to hold back tears ...

The difference is between practicing & secular Muslims. Secular Muslims tend to be fairly liberal and in many cases left their home country to escape strict Islamic legal systems and culture. Practicing Muslims tend to be a lot more conservative and often homophobic. Sharia Muslims (an estimated 15% of Muslim immigrants to the US), yikes, don't get me started. The all-Muslim city council of Hamtramck MI (just outside of Detroit) voted to ban all Pride flags on city property. Muslim parents fought to ban some LGBT-themed books in Fairfax County VA and Dearborn MI. Expect a lot more of this as Muslim immigration increases. I agree with @Vegas_Millennial, I would never move to an area with a significant Muslim population. Secular Muslims are often quite gay-friendly whereas Sharia Muslims believe I should be put to death just for being gay. Unfortunately, you don’t get to pick & choose which one moves in next door. Specific to this topic, I have given much thought to retiring in Spain. I would never move to Barcelona because of Catalan, but a strong secondary issue is the city's flood of Muslim migrants. Madrid has always been my goal, but I would knock it off the list as well if they opened the floodgates like la Ciudad Condal.

We're not on the same page. I was referring to Princess Kate's participation in the men's trophy presentation but not the women's.

I wasn't criticizing you nor dictating how you should feel. I was just confused. When you went, did you know about Cuba's severe penalties for stealing from or harming tourists?

Interesting that you perceived the risk of hiring to be high. It's been 20 years since I visited Cuba, but I remember our guide (I was there for my Canadian cousin's wedding, and part of our group package was a local we could go to for any questions or problems) told us that while one should always take the usual precautions, Cuba was extremely safe for tourists. Because the regime so desperately needed the hard currency that tourists bring in, the penalties for harming or stealing from a tourist were quite severe. Sure, ripoffs ran rampant, like charging foreigners 3x what a Cuban would pay, but that's common in any touristy spot and not really a crime. But outright theft or worse, like assault, was extremely rare. Certainly a lot can change in 20 years, but the current regime is still as starved for hard currency as Fidel was 2 decades ago.

Carlitos (he prefers either Carlitos or Charlie since his dad is also named Carlos) is one helluva big match player. Yet despite winning 2 Slams in just 5 weeks, he's still ranked #3 behind Sinner and Novak because of inconsistent results. For example, he lost his first match at Queens to Jack Draper, who lost in the 1st round at Wimby. So don't bet the milk money on the Chuckster in smaller tournaments, but in Slams the guy is NAILS.

Yes, that's what most people would think, but I doubt that'll placate the feminists.

I normally ignore emoticon reactions, but I really need to know @EZEtoGRU's motivation for laughing at my previous post. Did you read Just Chuck's post detailing Baldwin's decisions that created an unsafe set? Instead of hiring a certified armorer, Baldwin hired a grossly unqualified and inexperienced woman just to save a few bucks. Baldwin is guilty of shocking irresponsibility. What about that is so funny?

The judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, which means that Baldwin cannot be retried. Nonetheless, I hope Baldwin gets destroyed in civil court. His knowing and willful irresponsibility is horrifying.

Hmm, I'm reading conflicting reports. Some say that Princess Kate is only attending; others say she will present the trophies, which she's been doing since 2016. If she does present the trophies, I'm guessing the feminists will be rather unhappy about it since since she did not participate in the women's trophy presentation today.

Thanks for this eye-popping revelation. The information you provided confirms my suspicion that Baldwin's horrifyingly bad decisions stemmed from budget concerns. My blood ran cold when I read that detail about the armorer's "qualifications." Who knows what will happen with the criminal charges, but my God, Baldwin deserves to get destroyed in civil court.

If the prosecutor was guilty of misconduct, then the appropriate measures are sanctions and penalties for that prosecution team. But the defendant shouldn't "benefit" from that misconduct. I hope another prosecutor refiles the charges. Yes, primary responsibility for the tragic death falls on the (horrifyingly incompetent) armorer. But as executive producer, Baldwin bears some share of blame as well. If your crew flat-out ups and quits because set procedures have become so unsafe, your responsibility as executive producer is to shut down filming to straighten everything out. Failure to do so is gross negligence. @pubic_assistance, allow me to tweak your analogy a bit. If you as the architect contract a plumber with an impeccable reputation, top-notch work on every single project going back decades, and the plumbing explodes, are you responsible? No, of course not. But if you knowingly hire a shyte plumber whose previous dozen jobs are plagued with problems, are you responsible? Duh, of course. The latter scenario is a far better analogy of Baldwin's mismanagement. The crew's quitting was a slap in the face, telling if not screaming at him to stop filming. Yet he chose to ignore that giant red flag, maybe because of budget concerns, maybe because of a shocking lack of common sense. Whatever the reason for his (baffling) decision, Baldwin bears a share of responsibility for that poor woman's death.

Inflation has caused prices to jump 25% in just 3 years. People speak negatively about the economy not because they want doom and gloom, but because they're getting crushed by price increases. 27% of Americans report that they are occasionally skipping meals because money is so tight. When their financial situation has gotten that dire, people aren't going to celebrate a few discounts.

Good point. As people have mentioned in other threads, many expats living abroad cannot or will not learn the local language, which causes all sorts of problems, causing some to give up & leave. I can't imagine retiring in a country but not bothering to learn the language, although I've met a fair number who do just that. Personally, I'd feel too isolated, even if I made strong friendships amongst the expat community. But in the end, to each his own.