There is joy in Mudville. (And for a few hours, the rest of the U.S. as well.)
The curse is over for Cubs fans, and for a few glorious hours, the curse of 2016 was over for all Americans. The Cubs survived being down 3-1 in the World Series, they survived an unlikely Cleveland comeback in Game 7, they survived the collapse of their seemingly invincible closer, they survived Tarpocalypse, and they survived the massive weight of their own cursed history to, at long last, bring joy to Mudville. And Americans got a four-hour break from political news and a much-needed reminder that baseball was our national pastime before we fell in love with the act of destroying our own republic from within. To both the Cubs and the Indians who gave us one of the great nights in baseball history: thanks, we needed that.
+ From me, a few words on the end of the curse: Why was everyone so stressed? The Cubs do this every 108 years like clockwork.
+ “Yes, Game 7 was played on the same day as the annual Catholic holiday to remember and celebrate the dead, and pray for their safe passage from purgatory into heaven. You can’t make this stuff up.” ESPN’s excellent Wright Thompson: In Chicago, the final wait for a Cubs win mixes joy and sorrow.
+ Here’s an idea for a new TV series: Bill Murray’s face watching baseball.
+ Quartz: The Breaker of Curses: No one is as good at their job as baseball’s Theo Epstein is at his. (Chicago and Boston are both Theocracies now…)
+ And thanks to the Internet, we can credit a guy named Gio who made this Twitter prediction two years ago: “2016 World Series. Cubs vs Indians. And then the world will end with the score tied in game seven in extra innings.” When I showed this to my kids after the Indians tied it up, they were unimpressed because Gio failed to give an exact score. (Just to give you an idea of how tough a room I have to play.)
Bad Mood Lighting
“The researchers focused on the Philips Hue smart light bulb and found that the wireless flaw could allow hackers to take control of the light bulbs.” A few light bulbs, no big deal. Using the vulnerabilities of the Internet of Things to wreak havoc. Big deal. The NYT’s John Markoff on why light bulbs may be the next hacker target.
The ISIS Podcast
“Oh you who seek martyrdom! Start your actions! Turn the night of the disbelievers into day. Totally decimate their territories, and make their blood flow like rivers.” In a rare public statement, ISIS’s reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi issued a recording in which he encouraged his followers to defend Mosul.
Check Yourself Before Your Brex Yourself
“This means the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty — beginning formal exit negotiations with the EU — on its own.” The British High Court has ruled that Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU. Things could get really complicated.
Location, Location, Location
It is a tale of two cities. Well, actually it’s a tale of cities and less urban areas. “Even as much else about this election feels unprecedented, America’s urban-rural divide will be as strong as ever, continuing a decadeslong process in which the two parties have sorted themselves ever more clearly by population density.” The NYT Upshot on why Republicans don’t even try to win cities anymore.
+ If the idea that the results of this election could end up in the hands of the Supreme Court doesn’t scare you, then maybe this reminder will: We only have eight justices in the Supreme Court.
+ Trump has only earned one. But do newspaper endorsement mean anything anymore?
+ Adam Gopnik tries to explain this election: “Bigotry, fanaticism, xenophobia are the norms of human life — the question is not what causes them but what uncauses them, what happens in the rare extended moments that allow them to be put aside, when secular values of toleration and pluralism replace them.” Or as Yoda put it, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”
The Sure Thing
The TV networks’ best shot at ad dollars is to feature live content, especially sports, that encourage viewers to watch in real time (and therefore, see the commercials as well). And among the live content choices at their disposal, the NFL has long been the one sure thing. But the NFL’s unstoppable run has been reversed by a ferocious linebacker wearing number 2016. There are many theories about what’s happening. But no one knows for sure why viewership has dropped so dramatically, especially during prime time games.
Enjoy Your Youth
“This is a world in which the bossy, aggressive, selfish kids thrive at the expense of their less-bossy, less-aggressive, less-selfish peers, and one in which unfair social hierarchies are something to be retained rather than eradicated.” The Atlantic’s Alia Wong on The Authoritarian Minds of Preschoolers.
Enjoy Their Youth
“In parts of Europe, more than 20 percent of the population is of retirement age; in Japan, it is 26 percent. Those countries have the same challenges as the U.S.: a large generation born after World War II that is now at or approaching retirement, and a steep decline in fertility rates. But the U.S. has something they don’t have: a high rate of immigration.” FiveThirtyEight responds to the rhetoric with some numbers: Immigrants Are Keeping America Young — And The Economy Growing.
Table for 2K
“To grasp the size of Arroyo Restaurant, a beloved Mexico City institution since the 1940s, consider first the tortillas. On a busy Sunday, the restaurant’s army of cooks may prepare as many as 15,000 of them.” The LA Times on a Mexico City restaurant that serves up nostalgia, with seating for 2,200.
Bottom of the News
“It is my brother’s and my shared belief that a single fast food meal eaten on or about June 6, 1982, ruined the relationship between us in a way that we still don’t understand, and from which we have yet to recover … It was 1982. We were young. There was only one urinal.”
Sharing the laughs and tears of an amazing Game 7 wasn’t last night’s only sign that Americans can find common ground. There was also the performance by Beyonce at the CMAs.
+ Perhaps as a gift to the Internet, Neiman Marcus sells collard greens for $66.
+ BBC: US actor Steven Seagal has been given Russian citizenship by Putin. They hacked our elections. We got them to take Steven Seagal. Advantage US.
