From the Management

Just a reminder that the Big Switchover moving this website from the Weebly platform it's on now to the Wix platform will take place on Monday.  I have a Zoom call scheduled at 1 PM (Pacific Coast Time) with the folks who built the new site and are managing the move -- a company called Wix Legends. 

There are some final red tape issues that have to be handled, and the "Go live" button should be pushed soon after.  It's likely that the switch will instantaneous.  However, it could take a few hours.  That said, until the new site on Wix is up-and-running, the site here will continue to be operational.  So, there shouldn't be any disruption of service.  If for some reason there this, just check back later.  We aren't going anywhere.

As I've written, we worked hard to make the new site on Wix look and work as close as possible to the current site.  There are some differences for readers, however they're not only extremely minor, but borderline non-existent for almost all usage.  (Anyone interested in more information about it, you can check out this article from last week.)  Most differences are those under the hood for what I do operating the site.

I have a bit of a learning curve, though I'm up to speed on the basics.  Mainly, although a few things require more steps for me, the results are significantly better than Weebly, which for the past few years has been degrading, as the parent company that bought them was focused on corporate accounts, and let personal accounts fall apart.

​So, all should be well!  And if there are any problems anybody comes across, please don't hesitate to let me know at the "Contact" link at the bottom of the blog page, and I'll do my best to fix it.

You Can Call Him Al

On this Al Franken podcast, his guest is Franklin Foer of The Atlantic. As the show writes, "We're joined by our longtime friend, Franklin Foer. We have a deal in Iran or at least an agreement to have an agreement. Even some Republicans are calling this an unconditional surrender. Al and Frank break down the massive concessions, which include a staggering $300 billion to reconstruct Iran, lifted blockades, and Iranian tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. And what does all of this mean for Trump and Netanyahu's plummeting relationship ahead of the Israeli elections this fall?

"Frank also breaks down the war in Ukraine, the situation in Venezuela, and ongoing tensions with Cuba.

"Plus, we discuss Frank's bestselling book, 'How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization.' It was recently reissued to coincide with the U.S. hosting the World Cup. Frank explains how his views of world soccer have changed since the original publishing and why globalization never brought us the 'kumbaya political liberalism' we were promised."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKcUPjhHU0k

Having a Voice

We’ll take another slight detour here.  It’s not from an international version of The Voice, but I came across it during one of those searches, and it popped up.  It’s from America’s Got Talent, and is when a young woman with a bad stutter very slowly comes onstage.  What leaps out – and is clear that it leaps out to not just the judges but the auditorium – that it’s not only her singing that stands out, but her musicianship, songwriting and who she is.  Watch, too, the judges’ reactions as she sings, starting with the always-skeptical Simon Cowell who (just before she begins) whispers almost imperceptibly, “I hope she’s good,” and then after only the first line of the performance, as he watches intently, his eyes noticeably widen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9TgB3KIQPM