First, the news of the day. Al Jazeera  says excessive U.S. demands led to failure of talks. BBC  indicated that oil prices are rising?   Are they? Checking American WTI crude for the past month, the price seems to have recently stabilized in the mid $95/barrel range. Interesting that European Brent Crude prices are now around $12/barrel higher than the WTI price . The other newsworthy item is that the  2-hour marathon threshold was finally attained, twice. The first marathon over the official distance was won by American   Johnny Hayes   at the   1908 Summer Olympics , with a time of 2:55:18.4. [ 17 ] This distance of 26 miles plus 385 yards was established in 1921. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya lowered the record in the 2011 Boston Marathon to 2:03:02, followed by countryman Moses Mosoc in 2:03:06. In  2019, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge ran a specially tailored race in Vienna called the .50 Challenge, arranged by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe....

 It was a pleasant flight on ANA from Honolulu to Narita Airport in Tokyo.  Here is our plane, an Airbus 380. But first, the ANA Lounge, which is probably the best in Honolulu. Curry/rice, udon, salad, Bloody Mary and beer. Diamond Head and our departure. The cuisine on the plane was fancier, but not as good as that served in the ANA Lounge. Watched two films and an Elton John concert. The  Old Woman with the Knife , a new 2025 film from South Korea which earned a rating of 92 from  Rotten Tomatoes  reviewers. Follows the life of a female assassin who is now in her 60s. A bit tough to follow because the film keeps returning to a different past. There is a mystery younger assassin, which is someone from her past. A surprise that a movie like this with all those bloody killings is shown in a commercial flight. The second movie,  Black Dog , was lethargic, poetic, vicious, and heart-warming.  Made in China and secured 98/92 ratings from  Rotten Tomat...

I will be doing something today I've never before done in this blog.  Since my very first posting on 29April2008,   almost 16 years   ago, I have always attempted to only send out completed articles.  Today, I will do something different.  I will provide an information dump, sort of like a storyboard, and perhaps next Tuesday, or some other Tuesday in the future, post the officially finished version.  I will add more graphics, songs and videos.  It could be longer, or maybe shorter.  I at this point am not sure what this will look like.  After all, this is my life, and it has to be special.  Why am I doing this?  Well, I have a doctor's appointment coming up, followed by picking up a hearing aid at Costco, where I will be taught how to use it.  I mistakenly last month ordered two audio books, so now will be able to hear them, although I guess I could have done so with just bluetooth earbuds. Before I proceed, here is something ...