MORE ETC.

Before a continuation of my etc. topics, where part one was yesterday, did you know that the American stock market yesterday reached an all-time high?  Want details?  Watch this.

Republicans complain that our economy is terrible, and so do many others.  Turns out the USA is doing well, with inflation and unemployment down, and a lot of good things up.  For example, people complain that gasoline prices are too high.  Nope.  A gallon is about 23 cents/gallon cheaper today than a year ago, and 39% lower than it was in June of 2022.  Just compare us with other countries around the world.  Watch Fareed Zakaria in a recent program.

Next, let's go to France:  le scandale or tres chic?  The newly crowned Miss France, Eve Gilles, has a pixie cut, the only one in the contest with short hair.  The return of Leslie Caron and Audrey Hepburn?

Sticking to France, did you know they have a new prime minister?  Gabriel Attal, at the age of 34, just was named as their youngest PM ever.  He is the first openly gay person to hold the job, and lives with Stephane Sejourne, a member of the European Parliament.  He is the French politician with the highest approval rating.  Next, president?  Emmanuel Macron currently has a rating of 30%.

On the sports front, Victor Wembenyama last week recorded his first NBA triple double.  He is, by the way, a rookie from France, has an eight feet wing span, and is only 19 years old.  Alas, the San Antonio Spurs rank #15, last, in the Eastern Division.

How's this for precociousness?  Nick Dunlop is 20 and an amateur golfer at the University of Alabama.  He is playing this weekend in the American Express tournament at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta.  After the third day, he is at -27, four strokes ahead of Justin Thomas and Sam Burns.  If he wins, he will become the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991.  He would also earn a tour card.  He shot a 59 when he was 12 years old and is currently the #3 ranked amateur in the world.  Unfortunately, he won't get any of the $1.5 million first place award.  The final round is tomorrow.

After 70 years as the iconic sports magazine, Sports Illustrated might well shortly expire.  I was a subscriber for many years.  The writing was excellent, and they had an annual swimsuit issue.  Recently, there were rumors of articles produced by AI, and the times have changed.  People just don't pay for magazines anymore when everything is free in the world wide web.

Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres hosted three seasons of Little Big Shots.  Here is Steve Harvey and Katherine He.

Her facebook page.  There is, actually, a Guinness Record for memorizing the most decks of playing cards by a single sighting, held by Dave Farrow.  When he was 21, he recalled the order of 52 shuffled decks, or 2704 cards, and when that was broken, he upped his game to 59 decks, and still holds the record.  He wrote Brainhacker:

In Brainhacker, you’ll learn how to “rewire” your brain and boost its power. David Farrow, author of The Farrow Method, helps you get inside your own head and call the shots, with concrete exercises and tips to train your brain to work for you. These tricks can instantly boost your memory, improve your reading speed, help you push away pain, and form life-changing habits that actually last—with techniques as simple as a hand movement or a little bit of imagination.

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