Sure, it's not even the longest day of the year yet--that will be the 2019 Summer Solstice on Friday, June 21--but just this month came Euphoria 3--which continues--a fabulous Waikiki staycation--and a Saturday with nothing to do. I'll probably go to two movies and have another memorable meal some place, maybe even back on my lanai.
My four ESPN fantasy baseball teams are leading their respective leagues and I walked 18 holes on both Wednesday and Friday at the Ala Wai Golf Course. My recent meals have been inspired by what I ate in my youth growing up in Kakaako.
My various ecological systems are doing well:
I don't go surfing, have traveled too much this year and rarely do any kind of hiking. What I do is go to a lot of movies and watch too much television. America's, and my, favorite summer show, is America's Got Talent. In this Year 14, AGT appears Tuesday nights, with a repeat Sunday evening. This week (third audition) Simon Cowell gave his golden buzzer to Tyler Butler-Figueroa, an 11-year old violinist who suffered through Lymphoblastic leukemia since the age of of 4.5. He said his loss of hair led to bullying at school. But he is in remission.
However, to me, the star of the show was 13-year old Charlotte Summers. She certainly sounds American, but was born in Spain, and lives in Marbella. Charlotte of course made it to the next round, and I can imagine her singing Janis Joplin's Me and Bobby McGee. Now, is that bad grammar? Apparently not, just bad manners. The song was written by Kris Kristofferson.
The week one golden buzzer, from Gabrielle Union, also went to a challenged individual who is blind, and with obvious autism, Kodi Lee (here with mother):
I want to say thank you to all my fans who have been supporting me through my journey!! Heck Yeah @itsgabrielleu chose me as her first #goldenbuzzer #AGT #AGTAuditions
Howie Mandell gave his golden buzzer in week two to Joseph Allen, who sang his original song, and deserved it. Joseph is what America is all about. Growing up in mixed families, he sets his mind to something and gets it done. Attitude. Drive. Perseverance. I don't think he will win, but he will be a very successful human being.
All of those performances, and many others besides, were heart-rending, and if you watch the two hour show and don't shed a tear or more, something is wrong with you.
It's too obvious that the editors/producers milk out every emotion they can, and, perhaps too, toss a few coins the other way by paying a few to show up just to be embarrassed.
For example, Sethward the Worm got roundly dinged last year. This year (week 3) he returned as a short-necked giraffe and again got booted out. However, he returned a few minutes later as a walrus and did even worse. His costumes were awesome. This can't be a truly serious participant.
Those "other" channels also produce worthy programs. Hulu began Year 3 of The Handmaid's Tale on June 5, and will begin the fourth series of Veronica Mars and initiate Four Weddings and a Funeral next month. I subscribe to Netflix, and it began Series 5 of Black Mirror on June 5 and starts Season 3 of Stranger Things on July 4. I've watched perhaps 10 episodes (each one is stand alone) of BM, and they are weird, but addictive.
So why do I say this will be my best summer...ever? I don't know. I have nothing planned, but will enjoy every coming day as best I can.
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