Posted in opinion

IT’S ALWAYS A GOLFER’S FAULT

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

Yesterday marked the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, an annual event that causes grousing throughout the world from people who wonder where they go to get their lost hour back.  And no wonder. Daylight Saving Time (DST) has been linked to negative health consequences that include increased risk of heart attack, traffic accidents, sleep disruption (duh!), mood changes, depression, weight gain, and cluster headaches.  Not to mention getting called out by the boss for being late to work.  As a resident of Arizona, I no longer have to worry about DST, as our state, as well as Hawaii and several U.S. territories in the Pacific Island region, don’t believe in such tomfoolery.  We get enough sun during the summer to last the whole year – we don’t need to have any more “sunshine saving” when it’s 110 degrees outside.  But why does most of the world observe DST?  Turns out, it all started with a man and his golf game.  That always spells trouble.

   William Willet

One of the first people to advocate adjusting the clock seasonally was a British builder named William Willett.  He had noticed that few people were out in the early morning light during the summer because their clocks indicated it was too darn early to be up.  More importantly to Willett, his golf games often ended early because it became too dark to play. So in 1907 Willett started a campaign to “save” daylight by adjusting the time.  He published “The Waste of Daylight,” in which he suggested changing the clocks at 2 a.m. on Sundays during the spring and fall — something we still do today. But, unlike today, the transition was to happen 20 minutes at a time over the course of four weeks, twice a year, for a total of eight time changes each year. And rather than an even hour, the time difference would be 80 minutes. Willett’s proposal was considered in the British House of Commons in 1908, but it was soundly rejected. Who in the heck wanted to change the time eight times a year?!

But during World War I many countries were looking for new ways to save money. Inspired by Willett’s original proposal, which had included estimated savings in electricity costs, Germany and Britain implemented “Summer Time” in 1916, changing the clocks just one hour twice a year. Ironically, Willett died of influenza in 1915, so he didn’t live to see his idea come to fruition. The United States first observed daylight saving time on March 31, 1918.    Originally scheduled for six months of the year, it was extended by Congress in 2005 to eight months.

According to the most recent polling, most people aren’t feeling great about DST.  More than 40 states have passed legislation to make either daylight saving time or standard time permanent.  The problem is that states don’t have the authority to actually stop the clocks from moving forward or back. That authority rests with Congress.  Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Vern Buchanan have tried several times to make daylight saving time permanent with the “Sunshine Protection Act”. While the Senate has passed the bill, it has stalled before a House vote and has never gone before President Biden to be signed into law.  Given the ability of our elected representatives to agree on anything, I’m not sure the Sunshine Act will ever see the light of day.

The upside of changing clocks is that there has been a tandem effort to remind people to change the batteries on their smoke detectors at the same time they change their clocks.  Because we don’t observe DST in Arizona, I guess I am throwing caution to the wind and will have to suffer the consequences when my units start to chirp – inevitably at 2 a.m.

Posted in Historical • Show Business • travel

Hollywood in the Desert

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by Bob Sparrow

Charlie Farrell and Dinah Shore

I spent last week in the desert . . . whining & dining, the whining mostly took place on the golf course.  Even though it was our 32nd year visiting our timeshare at Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, I’ve found, unlike me, it never gets old.  But you won’t be hearing about my golf game (Thank God!) or the next great place to eat in the desert.  I have something even more mundane than that to discuss this week.

On our way out to the desert on Highway 10, as went by the road sign that read Bob Hope Drive, and it got me thinking about all the streets in this area that are named after celebrities, like Frank Sinatra, Burns & Allen, Bing Crosby, Barbara Stanwyck, Danny Kaye, Ginger Rogers, Dean Martin, Jack Benny, Liberace and many more.

And I wondered, who started all this?  Well, a little research revealed that it was Charlie Farrell, the tennis playing movie star turned hotelier turned mayor and owner of the glamorous Racket Club in Palm Springs.  He saw value in recognizing celebrities, so he and fellow actor, Ralph Bellamy, realized that many actors took advantage of Hollywood’s ‘two-hour clause’ in their contracts, which stated, in the event a ‘re-shoot’ was needed, actors had to stay within two hours of Hollywood – Palm Springs is just under two-hours away.  For those old enough to remember the old television series, My Little Margie, Charlie played Margie’s father.  And yes, of course, there is a Ferrell Drive in Palm Springs.

Other notable ‘street stories’ . . .

Which door does Monty Hall live behind?

Monty Hall Street – in 2000 former Let’s Make a Deal host Monty Hall had a street in Palm Springs named after him. Tourists were encouraged to guess which house he lived in. They were asked, “Does Monty live behind door No. 1, door No. 2, or door No. 3?

Fred Waring Drive – Another interesting resident of the desert was Fred Waring, an American musician, bandleader and radio and television personality.  Many of you, who have blended a Margarita, may have used a Waring Blender, and while he didn’t invent it, his name is on it because he was the money and marketing behind the product.

Gene Autry Trail – The “Singing Cowboy”, was a movie and TV star of the ‘40s and ‘50s and a Palm Springs entrepreneur.  He bought his first Palm Springs home in 1940, and a Palm Springs Holiday Inn in 1961, which he turned into the Gene Autry Hotel; his mid-century residence on the hotel grounds is an elegant guest suite.

Kirk Douglas Way – movie star Kirk Douglas, who passed away just four years ago at the ripe old age of 103, was a resident of Palm Springs for more than 40 years.  His house backed up to Dinah Shore’s house in the celebrity-packed Las Palmas neighborhood.

The ‘Singing Cowboy’

Dinah Shore Drive – the vivacious ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s singer, TV personality and avid golfer, put the LPGA on the map in 1972 when she founded the Colgate-Dinah Shore golf tournament at Mission Hills County Club (Now know as the Chevron Championship and it has moved to Houston).  Her Palm Springs house is now owned by Leonardo DiCaprio.  So look for a DiCaprio Drive soon!

As I thought about all these stars of the past, I thought that my kids would be somewhat familiar with most of the above names, but their kids will have no idea why these streets are named after these random people.  For me, it was an interesting trip down another street, Memory Lane; I hope it was for you too.

 

 

 

Posted in opinion

A CRIME SYNDICATE COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

In the shadowy world of organized crime, a peculiar breed of criminals has emerged: South American Theft Groups. They are burglars often referred to as “crime tourists” because they enter the U.S. legally under the Visa Waiver Program that has been in place with Chile since 2014.  The Chilean waiver is the only one issued to a South American country. It allows Chileans to be in the U.S. for 90 days for either personal or business reasons.  The problem is that for some, their “business” is robbing Americans.  This problem has existed for around five years (with a short break due to Covid travel restrictions) and has recently emerged in the greater Phoenix area.  Since December there have been 111 burglaries netting more than $3 million…and counting!  They almost always hit during the early evening when people are out to dinner, thus earning them the nickname of “The Dinner Time Burglars”.  This group is a growing problem nationally – in the past month there has been a rash of burglaries in Philadelphia, New York, Miami, Edina, MN, Los Angeles, San Diego, Detroit, Ashville NC and Indianapolis, just to name a few.  Their method of operation is consistent:  they enter the backyard of a home either through open space or a golf course, they smash through a glass door or window (thus not breaking the seal on a home alarm sensor), they upend everything in the primary bedroom and bath, and take jewelry, cash, expensive handbags, and other small items.  The average time from beginning to end of their caper is 5-8 minutes.

            The 3 Phoenix Burglars

So… why have they been so successful in eluding capture?  First, there are a LOT of them.  Last week three police officers held a meeting for our homeowner’s group to discuss the overall problem and they said they are seeing an increase in the number of burglary cells because of the ease with which they can obtain visas or enter through the southern border. The detective said that the Chilean crime syndicate has established training camps where the burglars learn how to surveil properties, break through doors and windows, and evade security cameras.  The trainees who are the fastest are the ones sent to the U.S.  When they arrive here they generally rent a high-end car so as not to look out of place when they’re scouting high-end neighborhoods, and they rent homes through Airbnb or VRBO, so they aren’t observed in hotel lobbies or parking lots.  As unnerving as this all is, you would think just setting an alarm and operating security cameras would provide adequate protection.  You would be wrong. A woman across the road from me had jewelry and cash stolen.  She said that her Ring alarm/camera system was on, but it didn’t capture the burglars who entered her home.  And there’s a good reason for that.  The latest tool in their bag of tricks is a Wi-Fi and cellular frequency jammer, that disables security systems and cell phone transmissions.  Last weekend the technology expert, Kim Komando, was exposed to this group when they tried to rob several houses on her street in Phoenix.  Because she recently designed and built her house (and she is a technology expert) her home has a hard-wired security system.  Fortunately for her the burglars moved on from her house but she was able to capture the 22 SWAT team members who swarmed her back yard looking for evidence.  They found several jammers strewn around the area.  Neighbors reported losing their Wi-Fi/phone connectivity, but assumed it was a simple internet outage.  The truth was obviously far scarier.  In that incident the police were able to capture three of the burglars as they tried to escape. According to court records, all three suspects were of Chilean descent, overstayed their visas, and were carrying bogus ID cards from Spain, with fake names and birth dates. 

      A New Friend for Dash?

Over the past three weeks we have had two attempted burglaries in my community.  In the first one the owner came home from walking her dog and surprised the burglars.  The second incident last week involved them shattering a bedroom slider, but they were scared off when they realized the owners were home in another part of the house.  I don’t want to get into a discussion about continuing the visa program or our southern border.  But piggybacking on Bob’s post from last week, it may be time to throw out ALL of our politicians and find some who can find some solutions. For now, all I know is that in twenty-four years of living in this house I have rarely turned on the alarm system.  Now, it’s on all the time.  I have installed more security and have taken extra precautions for my personal security.  I’m thinking of getting Dash the Wonder Dog a friend.  One who bites.  I never thought I would live like this.

Posted in politics

Are You Waiting for the Day When Politicians Vote Themselves Out of Office?

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by Bob Sparrow

Is this the answer?

I have come to hate election years, where politicians turn into junior high adolescents telling us in a 30-second television commercial, how corrupt and incapable their opponents are, while bragging about the pork barrel appropriation that they got though last year.  I have found that I am not alone.  Approval ratings for our politicians are abysmal.  Congressional approval hasn’t been above 40% since 2005. For about half of the time since 2005, it has been below 20%. Yet, even with such low public opinion, congressional incumbents enjoy a reelection rate that rarely falls below 90%.  Put in simpler terms, we don’t like the job our politicians are doing, but we keep re-electing them. What is wrong with us?!

The divide in our country is visually on parade as I hear about the corrupt Republican politicians on CNN and the corrupt Democrat politicians on Fox.  I know I’m not alone in believing that our system, in its current state, is broken. California’s debt is about $32 Billion, our national debt is north of $34 Trillion, if we were to run our personal lives like our politicians run our states and country, we’d be sleeping in the streets.  But, our politicians are more interested in keeping their jobs and thus blaming all the failures of the country on those on the other side of the aisle.

Best government money can buy

We Americans like to believe that we lead the world in almost everything, but we are not even in the Top 10 of ‘Best Governments in the World’, and we seems to be moving in the wrong direction.   While our government may not rank high in the world standings, we can honestly brag that we have the best politicians that money can buy.  To wit, in 2020, 88% of House races and 71% of Senate races were won by the top spender.  The amount of money spent on Congressional campaigns almost quadrupled over the last 20 years, to $8.7 billion in 2020, and it shows no signs of slowing anytime soon.

So, what’s the solution?  Many believe that it’s term limits.  Proponents say that term limits would bring in a wave of new ideas and passionate citizens ready to serve their country for a time and then return home. Civility would be the new norm as members of Congress begin to see themselves as fellow Americans and not threats to their own careers.  I have read a number of articles both for and against term limits, both have an arguement, so I asked ChatGPT to weigh in on the subject; here’s what it gave me:

“Term limits for elected officials have been a subject of ongoing debate in political circles around the world. Advocates argue that term limits bring fresh perspectives, prevent the entrenchment of power, and encourage a more dynamic political landscape. On the other hand, opponents contend that term limits can undermine experienced leadership, disrupt continuity, and limit the ability of effective leaders to stay in office.”

Indeed, there are some definite advantages and disadvantages to term limits, so perhaps there is a middle ground way to:

  • Eliminate career politicians. For me, this can be likened to professional sports; I loved watching Michael Jordan play basketball, but there was a time, with age, that his skills diminished, at which point, HE decided that he could not compete at that level anymore.  Politicians rarely, if ever, see that their skills have diminished.
  • Make it a good paying job instead of a great paying job. It’s hard to find a politician who has not become a multi-millionaire in office.
  • Find ways to have representation of the American people rather than special interest groups with lots of money

You got yourself into this, I can’t get you out!!!

I do know that it is unlikely that today’s politicians would vote themselves out of their cushy jobs.   I wish I knew how these things could be accomplished without a real ‘peoples’ revolution’, so I would hope that there are people smarter than me that can figure this out.

I’ll give ChatGPT the final word on this as it is definitely smarter than me:

“As societies grapple with these trade-offs, it is essential to consider alternative measures, such as robust checks and balances, to ensure effective governance while respecting democratic principles.”   

I’m Bob Sparrow and I approve this message

 

Posted in opinion

NORDSTROM HAS ME AT A 2

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

     The lovely blanket

On Christmas Day, as I arrived home from a wonderful celebration with family, I noticed a large box on my doorstep.  I had just been with everyone who might possibly send me a gift, so my first thought was that once again I had ordered something from Amazon and completely forgotten about it.  But no, the return address was Nordstrom Rack.  I opened the box to find the most squishy, soft blanket, in colors that exactly match my decor.  The only problem was there was no gift card.  I perused the label looking for a clue and literally tore the box apart looking for a gift insert.  Nope.  Nothing.  I decided to call Nordstrom Rack to see if they could help.  After all, Nordstrom is known for their outstanding customer service.  I called the customer service number for Nordstrom Rack and was immediately connected to someone in the far reaches of Southeast Asia.  I explained my situation, told him the order number on the label, and asked if he could provide me with the name of the sender.  “Oh, no, madam”, he says, “you would need to give me the name and email address of the person who sent the gift in order for us to provide that information.”  Okay, maybe we had a language problem here.  I explained again that if I had the name and the email address of the person who sent it, I wouldn’t be calling him.  Again, he said that if I couldn’t provide that information, he couldn’t provide me with the name of the sender.  Privacy issues, he stated.  I tried another tack – I asked if he could provide me with the zip code of the sender.  I thought at least that would narrow it down.  Well, apparently the zip code request is the equivalent to the nuclear bomb codes and is not in the manual.  He had to put me on hold to find a supervisor.  When he came back on the line, he once again told me that for privacy reasons, I would need to give him the name and email address of the sender.  I hung up … and gave up.  The blanket is still intact, I feel too guilty to use it without having thanked whoever sent it.

The whole experience got me thinking about the state of customer service, or more accurately, the lack of customer service.  Granted, there are still great examples of it out there.  I recently had two unfortunate experiences with tires, and the good people at Discount Tire could not have been more helpful or kind.  But generally, good customer service is an anomaly.  I’m not alone in thinking this.  I found a wonderful interview by Amas Tenumah, who wrote the book, Waiting for Service: An Insider’s Account of Why Customer Service is Broken and Tips to Avoid Bad Service.  His research shows that Americans are incredibly gracious when they start out with customer support: on a scale of 1 to 10, he says most people start with expectations at nine or nine and a half.  He describes how it goes downhill from there:

People start with a positive outlook about resolving a problem. But then they are met with an automated system — press one, press two — or a voice-recognition machine that asks the customer to state their name, account number, nature of the problem, etc.  But oftentimes, the voice-recognition machine isn’t so good at voice recognition, or they are directed to a chatbot on a website.  Once they’ve offered up all of their personal information (again) they might be connected to a human, and the human asks them to repeat the information. The goodwill at the beginning of the interaction that started at a nine, is now down to a four, and then, God forbid, the human says they need to transfer the call to another department.

Tenumah says there are a number of reasons why customer service may feel worse – a shortage in workers in some industries, the proliferation of tech as a part of the process, and a lack of incentive for companies without competition. As he accurately points out – have you ever tried to contact your internet provider about anything? His suggestion is that we need to change the social contract and not think of customer service reps as “low skill workers.”  As he points out, by the time an issue reaches a human being they are usually complicated requests. If the problem was an easy one, a bot or a machine could have handled it.

I’m not sure it’s “we” who need to change the social contract as much as it is corporate America.  I’m convinced this issue will not change in my lifetime, so I’ve learned to set my expectations low and reserve my DefCon 1 outbursts for truly egregious situations.  All I know at this point is that due to Nordstrom Rack and their customer service policies, someone out there thinks I’m an ungrateful oaf who doesn’t know how to send a note of thanks.

 

 

Posted in Family • Sports

A 49er Faithful Forever

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by Bob Sparrow

Super Bowl Champs

I am thrilled that the San Francisco Forty-Niners will be playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday.  My allegiance to this team has been unwavering, since . . . oh, since about somewhere in the early 50s.

I was probably about 10-11 years old when I attended my first 49er game, played in Kezar Stadium in beautiful, Golden Gate Park – that was when teams actually played in the city of their name; today, the ‘Niners play 45 miles south of San Francisco, in Santa Clara.  I remember that first game, they played the Chicago Bears, and lost.  But, my brother and I not only became life-long 49er fans, but were inspired to play the game that paid for our college education.

‘Million Dollar Backfield’

It was in 1954 that the 49ers had the best backfield in the NFL, it was dubbed ‘The Million Dollar Backfield’.  It was a ‘T-formation’ backfield, meaning there was a quarterback under center, and behind the quarterback, was a fullback and to both the fullback’s right and left were the halfbacks.  The players were, Y.A. Tittle at quarterback,  Joe Perry at fullback and Hugh McElhenny and John Henry Johnson at halfback.  There is a misconception that they got their ‘Million Dollar’ name from the fact that they had a million-dollar salary – combined!  The reality is, despite the name, not even when combined did the players’ salaries approach the million-dollar figure! In fact, at the time, many professional football players had to have a second job to supplement their income!  All four of these players have been inducted into pro football’s Hall of Fame, but despite this ‘Million Dollar Backfield’, the 49ers’ poor defense kept them from winning a championship.

Throughout the ‘60s the Niners hovered around the 50%-win mark.  A personal side note in this era was that my brother, Jack, a college quarterback, got a try out with the 49ers, but due to an injury to his neck in college, the Niners didn’t want to take a chance on a re-injury, so they let him go.

George Siefert & Bill Walsh

In the ‘70s the Niners upped their game and had some excellent win-loss records, but still no championships.  And then came Bill Walsh.  He was born in Los Angeles, but raised and schooled in northern California; he was the head coach at Stanford, before taking the 49er job in 1979.  He created the ‘West Coast Offense’ and won three Super Bowls with quarterbacks, Joe Montana and Steve Young and NFL greats, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Randy Moss and Deion Sanders, to name just a few of the 29 49ers in the Hall of Fame.

Siefert and his ‘worst’ quarterback #9

In 1989 Walsh was replaced by assistant coach, George Siefert, who was also a Walsh assistant at Standford.  Siefert coached the Niners for eight seasons, winning two Super Bowls.  Another personal side note, is that Siefert was my college coach at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.  At a Westminster reunion serveral years ago, Siefert spoke and mentioned that he coached Joe Montana and Steve Young, but, as a head coach, I was his first quarterback.  Although, I’m not sure I heard it correctly, he may have said that I was his ‘worst’ quarterback!  Both are probably correct.

So, here the 49ers are again, in the Super Bowl with one of the most overall talented teams in the league, led by ‘Mr. Irrelevant’, quarterback, Brock Purdy.  But they face the reining Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, with arguably the best quarterback in the league in Patrick Mahomes AND a fan base made up of all those ‘Swifties’.  It should be a good game!

Win or lose – a 49er Faithful Forever!

 

Posted in opinion

THE GAME DAY ‘FIT’

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

        Ray Nitschke

I’ve been watching a lot of the NFL Network lately.  It beats watching the news and it provides me with some people for whom to root.  That alone distinguishes it from the news channels.  There is a segment on the NFL morning show titled, “The Fit List”, short for outfit.  Each week they profile players, not for their accomplishments on the field, but for the sartorial splendor exhibited on the way into the game.  Yes, before the first whistle is blown, players are lauded for their achievement in wearing designer pants and carrying Gucci briefcases. Last week there were some particularly wild ‘fits’, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the old-time players – Ray Nitschke, Mike Ditka, Dick Butkus, et al – would think about the emphasis on designer clothing.

 

Deion on draft day

Today, players are judged on their “drip”. Football drip is all about how players look and carry themselves, from their clothing and accessories to their overall personal style.  It is also known as having swag, sauce, or style.  The focus on football fashion can be traced back to the intersection of hip-hop and sports culture. In the 1990s, hip-hop music began to grow more popular with athletes around the country, and many started to embrace similar fashion styles associated with what they saw their favorite artists wearing. Baggy clothes, gold chains, and other flashy accessories became more mainstream, creating new, unique, and bold looks that would eventually become known as “sauce” or “swag”.  Eventually, football players like Deion Sanders started to incorporate their own personal touches into their game-day fits, both on and off the field. As a result, football swag became an essential part of the culture of the sport.

Tyrod Taylor

As off-putting as this focus on fashion can be to hard core football fans, there is some sense in it for the players.  Most of the well-dressed athletes now have stylists who negotiate contracts with clothing and accessory companies. Tyrod Tayor, for example, the back-up quarterback for the New York Giants, has teamed up with high-end boutique Jeffrey, where fans can shop his Sunday looks — ranging from a Gucci jacket and YSL jeans to a Balenciaga sweatshirt.  His stylist says, “We’ve created revenue without him ever throwing a ball.”  In a sport where the average career lasts less than five years, it makes sense for these guys to make as much money as they can, as fast as possible.

 

The Tablecloth

This season a lot of focus has been on the Kelce brothers, who could not be more dissimilar in their game day ‘fits.  Travis has long been known for his wardrobe.  In fact, when his mother was asked if she was disappointed that she never had a daughter, she responded, “No. I had Travis and he’s a fashionista.”  Now that he has a famous girlfriend, there is even more attention to what he wears on game day and if there is a secret message in it.  I’m not so sure there is.  At times his outfit resembles something one might select blindly from a Goodwill bag.  And sometimes he looks like a picnic tablecloth.  But I’m sure he’s making money hand over fist, and good for him.

Jason being Jason

On the other hand, his brother, Jason, is more old-school.  He was recently asked why he doesn’t up his pre-game look, to which he replied, “Some people go to play football, and some people play dress up. I don’t like to play dress up. I like to play football, alright?”  He added that he had no interest in shopping or color coordinating his outfits with matching belts and shoes.  Last week he also demonstrated that sometimes clothing is optional.

 

I like to imagine what the notoriously tough Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, would think of all this.  Lombardi coached during a time when coaches wore suits and ties (and oftentimes, hats) on the sidelines and players were expected to dress similarly.  Lombardi hated agents, preferring to negotiate with his players one-on-one. There is a legend (somewhat disputed but not by Lombardi) that he once traded a player within five minutes of that player even mentioning that he had an agent. It makes my hair curl to think what Lombardi might do when confronted with a player’s stylist.  I’m not sure there are enough four-letter words to encompass his thoughts, but it sure would be fun to listen in.

Posted in Show Business

The Blog I Never Thought I’d Write

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by Bob Sparrow

Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony – known in ‘the industry’ as EGOT!

I like a good story well told, but I’ve never been a big fan of Hollywood types, so I don’t look forward to this time of year when our entertainers/celebrities practically break their arms patting themselves on the back while red carpet hosts comment on ‘who’ they are wearing.  Yes, it’s ‘Awards Season’ and here are a few you’re probably familiar with, but believe me, there’s lots more:  Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Choice Award, GLAAD, NAACP Image Award, People’s Choice, Golden Globes, Emmy, Tony, Grammy and Oscar.

But, instead of taking the ‘easy pot shots’ at this group of thespians for being self-centered snobs, which many of them are, I thought I’d look for the smart, the charitable and the less self-centered of the group.  And surprise, I found some..

I first looked for actors/actresses who are on the high end of the intelligence scale; so first, just in case you’re like me and not on the genius side of IQs, here’s the general rankings:

120 -140 – Very Superior intelligence                                                                                                                                            110 -120 – Superior intelligence                                                                                                                                                        90 – 110 – Normal, or average intelligence                                                                                                                                      80 – 90 – Dullness, rarely classifiable as feeble-minded   (typically where our politicians fall)

So, here’s what I found . . .

Natalie Portman graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Psychology.  She speaks five languages fluently and has co-authored 2 technical research papers in neuroscience, which were published in reputable journals

Natalie Portman

Sharon Stone is reputed to have an IQ of around 150. Sharon was considered academically gifted as a child and entered the 2nd grade when she was five years old.  She was admitted to University of Pennsylvania on a creative writing scholarship at age 15.

Cindy Crawford has an IQ of about 150; studied chemical engineering on scholarship at Northwestern University.

OK, let’s let some guys into this club . . .

David Duchovny has an IQ around 150 and a degree in English literature from Princeton University and an M.A. in English literature from Yale University

Ashton Kutcher has an IQ of 160 and was offered a scholarship to attend MIT, but didn’t.  He once said, “The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart.”

James Wood has an IQ of somewhere between 160 – 180; he dropped out of MIT one semester short of graduating.  He was going to be a surgeon before acting got in the way.

Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong was pre-med at Duke University before getting into acting, and then completed his medical degree at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995.

Conan O’Brian has an IQ of 160; he graduated from high school as valedictorian.  He went to Harvard where he graduated magna cum laude in History & Literature.

Not an actor, but a rock star, who typically have similar personalities, Brian May, lead guitarist for the rock band  Queen, has an IQ of around 170 and has a PhD in astrophysics.

OK, so there are some smart entertainers, actually a lot more than I thought, but who’s doing some good with their celebrity?

Top of the list has to go to Taylor Swift; it’s hard to pin down all that she donates, as it’s $100,000 here and $1,000,000 there, and amounts she doesn’t disclose for causes she believes in that need financial help.  Class act!!!

Taylor Swift

Oprah Winfrey, another noted ‘giver’ who has donated more than 40 million dollars through her Oprah Winfrey Foundation, to help women and children with education and health care around the world.

Mel Gibson has given 10 million dollars to reimburse hospitals for health care given to children, as well as his contributions to Holy Family Catholic Church in the sum of over 15 million dollars.

George Clooney is known for donating generously to charity. He has given away millions of dollars to various causes, most notably to the Not On Our Watch charity, which works to prevent and stop genocide. He has given a total of more than $14 million to the organization.

Of course, there’s more, actually lots more, but I came away from this ‘research project’ with a little different attitude; yes there are still lots of egotistical, selfish entertainers, but as noted here, there are some really good and smart ones too.

 

 

Posted in opinion

MOONLIT GOALS

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

               Beethoven

As my brother wrote last week, a new year often brings new resolutions.  Mine usually involve giving up cake and exercising more.  These resolutions are normally shot to smithereens by January 4th, our oldest grandson’s birthday.  The occasion obviously requires eating cake, whether I’m with him in person or not.  But in 2024 my goal has nothing to do with sugary confections: I have resolved to learn Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano.  You didn’t know I play the piano?  Neither does my piano.  I took piano lessons for two years at age 12.  I liked it, but by age 14 I liked boys and my friends more and stopped the lessons.  However, I still played occasionally and when I entered the Junior Miss contest in 1968, I performed two songs as my “talent”, which was good enough to place me second runner-up.  Otherwise known as third place.  My securing a trophy only speaks to how awful the rest of the talent was.

Alan teaching grandkids how to play

As the years went on I gave up playing entirely, mainly because I didn’t own a piano (a critical requirement).  In my early 30’s I bought a house and purchased my first piano.  I was working and had a long commute, so I didn’t have a lot of time to devote to playing, but I still would find solace in it when I had the time.  Then I met Alan.  I always said he fell in love with me at first sight…of my piano.  He loved playing the piano and was very talented.  He never took a lesson but could play by ear and figure out almost any tune.  I eventually stopped playing, as I didn’t want to subject him to my halting, wrong-key, playing.  Any of you who have suffered through kids taking piano lessons know exactly how excruciating it is.

Giulietta Guicciardi

But now I am drawn to the piano once again.  I still have every piece of sheet music I’ve ever owned, including my “Music from the Movies” book that contains songs from Chariots of Fire and Urban Cowboy. Okay, so my music is a bit dated. I thought about buying some more current scores, but instead, I picked up my “easy” version of “Moonlight Sonata”. I love that song and could easily re-learn it, but I decided to download the sheet music as written by Beethoven, in C-sharp minor, no less.   A friend commented that she thinks it is such a sad-sounding song, and questioned whether I might want to learn something more upbeat.  But I have always loved the melodious, haunting rhythm of the sonata.  Plus, it was actually written as a love song.  Beethoven dedicated the “Moonlight” sonata to his 16-year-old lover and student, Giulietta Cuicciardi, with whom he had fallen in love. He proposed marriage to her, but her father forbade her from marrying him as he deemed Beethoven to be without rank.  History does not record whether her father lived long enough to see the error of his ways.  “Moonlight” was also something of a miracle, as the deafness that would eventually engulf Beethoven started as he was writing it.  Even though the deafness was at its early stages, the progression was aggressive, and he was reported to have broken several pianos trying to make out the sound of the keys.

I’m guessing that if Beethoven could hear me playing, he’d be breaking my piano. But with some perseverance and watching a wonderful teacher on YouTube, my goal is that by year’s end I will have it memorized.  That is not such an easy feat these days.  I can’t remember to take out the garbage can out on the right day.  Perhaps I will be able to record it and embed a video into this blog at year’s end.  Or not.  In any event, I’ll give fair warning so you can get your earplugs ready.  In the meantime, if you want a real treat, look up Alicia Keyes playing “Moonlight Sonata” at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service.  Truly one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever performed.

Posted in Holiday observations

Those Pesky Resolutions

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by Bob Sparrow

Definition of New Year’s Resolutions:

A tradition where people set goals or intentions for self-improvement, aiming to bring about positive changes in various areas such as health, relationships, habits, career, personal development, or lifestyle choices.

But you and I both know what the real definition of ‘New Year’s resolutions’ is:

A list of improvements that your spouse has reminded you of, multiple times, that are both created and then forgotten during the first several weeks of the year. 

Yes, this is the time of year when we like to think we have some control over our future and so we set goals to be a better version of ourselves going forward.  For most of us, the die has been cast long ago and there’s little we can do about it now, but hey, I don’t want to start the year on a downer, so let’s talk about your resolutions.

What?! You’ve made no resolutions!  Then you’re probably wiser than most as Forbes Health/One says 91% of Americans fail at their New Year’s resolutions.  So, yes, it’s probably best that you didn’t commit to successfully juice cleansing again this year.

But, we here at From a Birds’ Eye View are here to help, so in the off-chance that you made some resolutions, here are some tips for either adjusting, adding to, or eliminating them altogether.

Lose weight – it’s always at the top of your list, and I want to get this one out of the way early, because you’re getting older and most likely more sedentary, absent a limb amputation, at this time next year, you’re going to weigh about the same, maybe a few pounds more – deal with it.

 Cut down on alcohol consumption – try ‘Dry January __’ – Notice I left a space at the end of ‘January’ so you can later put in a number like 8th, and thus achieve your goal by not drinking on January 8th.

Conserve water – instead of shortening your showers, eliminate them altogether – buy more deodorant

Increase antioxidants – You may not fully understand what antioxidants are or what they do, but you know you should be increasing them since they protect your body from the damaging effects of free radicals.  So . . . eat more dark chocolate.

Greet friends like your dog greets you – Commit to greeting your friends with the enthusiasm that your dog greets you when you first get home; but without humping their legs

Increase mental acuity – This year, think of another password other than ‘Password’

Drink more water – Don’t forget that beer is mostly water

OK, how about some real advice for achieving those pesky resolutions:

  1. You’ll make some tough goals, but also make some that you’ll enjoy
  2. Don’t just set the goal, define how you are going to achieve it. Most of us want to eat better – describe exactly what that means
  3. Rather than adding things you’ll do, look for things to subtract from your life that would improve it
  4. Forgive your failures and celebrate your small successes

Again, just as an aid, here’s an example of a nice short list of resolutions:

  1. Stop making lists

B. Be more consistent

4. Learn to count

Happiest of New Years to you and your family!