Stray Thoughts

I saw in yesterday’s paper that it was Sophia Loren’s eighty-second birthday. How depressing. That makes me nearly a year older than the Italian buxom beauty of my youth. How is it possible that she’s younger than I am? I remember seeing her in Two Women and she struck me then as being much older than I, certainly more mature, more worldly, especially since she had a 14-year old daughter in the film. I think I’ve always felt younger than my years. And when did I see Two Women? I thought it was soon after I got home from Korea in 1954, but IMDB informs me it was made in 1960. Okay, Sophia, happy 82nd birthday.

Golf Thoughts. This week, the top thirty in FedEx points will duke it out in Atlanta to see who can claim that ten million dollar pot of gold at the end of the FedEx rainbow. Once would be crazy to bet against Dustin Johnson, but Jordan Spieth may catch him on a bad day or two. Or Rory may come roaring back with four rounds of improved putting. The week after that, the Ryder Cup battle will commence in Minnesota with the American team badly needing a win to shake off their embarrassment and regain some national pride. And best news of all, Tiger will begin his comeback in October at the Safeway Open. He doesn’t need to win after his nearly two-year hiatus. He just needs to make the cut and somehow inch his way into the top 25. He can save the better stuff for later. Maybe he can even win again in 2017. Probably not a major, but a minor one or two would be nice. I think that most of the world has forgiven him for his sexual faux pas and would like to see him back on tour. I know I would.

Television Thoughts. The Voice is back in business with its two new judges Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus. Right now, they’re in the initial stages of blind auditions. On the preview show in August, the first one up was 17-year-old Wé McDonald who sang “Feeling Good” and knocked me and the judges right out of our seats. She sang the first eight bars a cappella in a throaty, low-key register that sounded way more mature than her seventeen years. The judges were all surprised when they heard her speaking voice, which was about an octave higher than her singing voice. Later, Billy Gilman sang “When We Were Young” and got all four judges to spin their chairs around. I can see that both Ms. McDonald and Mr. Gilman may very well be the final two contestants. But there’s still a long way to go and probably a good many great voices to be heard. What I love about The Voice is its emphasis on vocal quality instead of physical or performance attributes. And most of the performers have a background in music greater than that of American Idol contestants. My only complaint is that too much time is spent of the antics of the judges and not enough on vocal performances. But I can dvr it and sort of fast-forward through a lot of the banter. The Big Bang Theory has returned with Leonard and Penny’s second vow-taking for Leonard’s mother’s sake. This should be the last season for the show. It seems to have run its course. Sheldon is becoming more and more an irritant for me. And even though Penny is more like a dime now and Raj seems to have lost a lot of weight during the off-season, they’re all running out of funny stuff. Season 10 may end, not with a bang but a whimper. Hello, BBT, and goodbye, BBT. There’s more to say about all the premiers taking place (like NCIS, Bull, Blue Bloods, and Madame Secretary), but I’ll save that for another day.

Do I need to say anything about Clinton/Trump? No. Just that I can’t wait for the next 48 days to fly by so we can put an end to this charade of an election.