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 ...

  You're not up to date unless you know that  Pantone's color of 2023  is Viva Magenta.  Pantone has been doing this since 2000. Condé Nast Traveler  had various spots around the world featuring this color.  Click that link to see all of them.  Here are some others, too, starting with  Lake Hillier in Australi a, which is hard to get to, for it will take an 8-hour drive from Perth.  The deep hue comes from the presence of a microalgae,  Dunaliella salina . Australia has a variety of pink lakes, and another one is Hutt Lagoon, a five hour drive north of Perth.  Something about Western Australia and the Indian Ocean.  Dunaliella salina is farmed here, the  world's largest microalgae production plant . Holi Hindu Festival of Colors  in India, celebrating the end of winter and arrival of spring around mid-March throughout India.  The biggest occurs in  Mathura, Uttar Pradesh , which is about 125 miles from Delhi...