Monday Musings - November 25, 2019

1. It is the last Monday of November. Thanksgiving is Thursday and Christmas is a mere 30 days away. The year is rapidly drawing to a close. 

2. One of the most sensitive subjects in America right now is the impeachment proceedings--everyone seems to have an opinion, but most people are too polite to share theirs openly. 

3. Have the news media gone too far? Are they forgetting to cover the news? There are many things happening in the world right now that out Americans are blind to because the media is not covering them. 

Jupiter Lighthouse
Jupiter, Florida
November 18, 2019

4. Last week I was waking up in Tequesta enjoying the warmth of 70's. This morning it is 34 degrees as I wake up. On the last evening I was there, I did manage a nice image of the Jupiter Lighthouse  against the sunset-filled sky. 

5. Chris and I managed to escape for a few hours yesterday and visit a couple Maryland wineries. It brightened the entire weekend. 

6. The shortness of the days is becoming very evident. Darkness falls so early that there is little to do other than to watch the television. 

7. Family NFL Report
    
    Ravens play tonight in LA vs the Rams
    Redskins defeated Lions 19-16
    Cowboys lost to Patriots 9-13
    Steelers defeated Bengals  16-10


8. Today in History. “The Mousetrap,” a murder-mystery written by the novelist and playwright Agatha Christie, opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. The crowd-pleasing whodunit would go on to become the longest continuously running play in history, with more than 10 million people to date attending its more than 20,000 performances in London’s West End. When “The Mousetrap” premiered in 1952, Winston Churchill was British prime minister, Joseph Stalin was Soviet ruler, and Harry Truman was president. Christie, already a hugely successful English mystery novelist, originally wrote the drama for Queen Mary, wife of the late King George V. Initially called “Three Blind Mice,” it debuted as a 30-minute radio play on the queen’s 80th birthday in 1947. Christie later extended the play and renamed it “The Mousetrap”—a reference to the play-within-a-play performed in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”



Headlines

Hong Kong Democracy Backers Win Big as Voters Flock to Polls - The New York Times

Voters in Romania Reject Years of Scandals and Chaos - The New York Times

Australia probes 'deeply disturbing' allegations of Chinese political interference - Reuters

Iran says pro-government rally to show who 'real' Iranians are - Reuters

Turkey to test Russian S-400 systems despite U.S. pressure: media - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

“Although we are a pluralistic society, the giving of thanks can be a true bond of unity among our people. We can unite in gratitude for our individual freedoms and individual faiths. We can be united in gratitude for our nation’s peace and prosperity when so many in this world have neither.” (1983)


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD