First, on the Congressional front: 52-year old Mike Johnson ( on the left ,  becomes 53 on January 30 ), from Louisiana, narrowly, and with some difficulty, was voted on the first ballot as Speaker of the House.  This was expected, but was nevertheless an embarrassment the way it happened. 63-year old  John Thune  ( he turns 64 on January 7 ), from South Dakota, is now Majority Leader of the Senate, replacing Mitch McConnell. Then, the daily Donald Trump incident.   Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump's bid to dismiss the case, and said the sentencing will be announced on January 10 , ten days before Inauguration Day.  Whew for Trump, for the judge did also say that there will be no jail sentence at this time.  Huh?  Well, let's see what Merchan says on January 10. The Sentry Tournament of Champions is being played in Kapalua on Maui,  15 miles north of the village of Lahaina , which was decimated last year by fire.  How different they ...

This is Sunday, so it's only appropriate for me to focus on how  religion was largely responsible for the beginning of alcoholic refreshments .  Why monastic origins? They owned vast tracts of land to plant grapes, barley, etc. There is a long institutional memory. Teamwork was part of their daily task. Alcohol for much of history promoted health to kill pathogens.  Roman soldiers were given a daily allowance of wine, more to purify water than to get drunk.  Whiskey, herbal liquers and bitters were invented for medicinal reasons. Water was dangerous to drink in Europe, so beer was the only safe thirst-quenching drink. Then, of course, the  Eucharist . Some history: Of course, alcoholic abuse can be a serious problem, but it is not sinful to drink and make merry, responsibly.  Wine was invented 6000 years before the birth of Christ, probably in Babylonia, but Benedictine and Jesuit monks preserved viniculture in Europe.  The motivation had to do with Eu...

These long travel itineraries generally draw the most readers.  Many will not get to Dubai or take a cruise on Regent Seven Seas.  Living vicariously provides sufficient satisfaction for some, as they've now been to the top of the Burj Khalifa and visited the largest mall in the world.  On the other hand, it's still best to live vicariously through your own life. After an up and down Dubai stop, which included highlights like the tallest building in the world and low lights like food poisoning, we headed off to the port in seven buses, first passing the Queen Elizabeth II.  If you keep up with these things, the city of Long Beach in 1967 bought the  Queen Mary,  which was converted into a museum, restaurants and hotel.  It was closed in 2020 and might never be again re-used.  The Queen Elizabeth II entered service in 1969, was retired in 2008, and acquired by Dubai World, which had plans for a 500-room hotel.  It was opened to visitors in 201...