Hope everyone is enjoying this spring-like late October weekend.
Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
Today, we start with how the 2024 presidential race for the GOP starts and ends with Trump, a deep dive into the original tiger kings of Las Vegas, a long-anticipated memoir on the late great actor Paul Newman and a reminder why humans should never mess with large mammals. We always get the horns.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. Trump Remains in Charge of Republican Party.
For anyone hoping the calm, buttoned-up Florida Governor Ron DeSantis takes over as the more civilized head of the Republican party, think again. Those who cover national politics don’t see DeSantis ascending to the throne without the blessing and gracious exit of one Donald Trump. In this video from the Rubin Report, former Fox News host Megan Kelly shoots down any belief that a transition in power will happen. “The only way DeSantis is going to become the Republican nominee is if Trump chooses not to run and endorses him or dies,” said Kelly. Alrighty then.
2. New York Mom Arrested After 10-Year-Old Son Gets Tattoo.
In states like New York, it’s against the law for anyone under 18 to get a tattoo, even if mom or dad say its OK. IMO, it’s an example of overburdensome lawmaking as why should politicians care about tattoos? But when a 10 year old gets a permanent ink job, it affirms to supporters why such laws are in place (a 10 year old is too young to give consent and any involved parent should know better). A New York woman was arrested after her middle-school aged kid received a tattoo, as the NY Post explains. The irony of this story is how if the woman allowed her son to receive gender-reassignment surgery, she’d be on “Good Morning America” and lauded as a “hero parent.” Strange times we live in indeed.
If you like love stories about the arc of fame, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this engrossing piece from The Atlantic on the rise and fall of the late illusionists Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn (Siegfried & Roy), one time superstars of the Las Vegas strip. It is hard to convey how big the Siegfried & Roy act was in its heyday, and at the same time how distinctly bizarre it was. Then there was the horrific way it ended.
This lengthy (but worth it) piece gives readers a penetrating sense of the highs and lows of their story.
4. Who Paul Newman Was and Who He Wanted To Be.
There’s a recent documentary on HBO Max about the life of actor Paul Newman. Source material for the doc was taken from transcripts of interviews Newman did with a writer decades ago for an anticipated biography. Newman changed his mind at some point about doing a book and apparently burned the interview tapes (they were on cassette). But the transcriptions remained and after the documentary was released, a memoir finally goes to print. This New Yorker article examines the book and the life of Newman, a working-man’s movie star who never saw himself as the big deal cultural icon that he became.
5. Space Filled Me With Sadness.
William Shatner, the ageless actor and most famous for his role as Captain Kirk on “Star Trek,” recently took a trip to space. In his memoir, he describes his journey into the great unknown which he took in Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space shuttle. Surprisingly, Shatner did not find beauty in space, but sadness. "I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us...it was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness." Sounds like Kirk could use a friend. Hello, Dr. Spock?
6. Woman Attacked By Bison, Of Course She Filmed It and Put On Tik-Tok.
The lengths people will go for social media affirmation never ceases to provide entertaining content. A Texas woman out for a hike wandered too close to a flock of grazing bison. Not understanding that bison don’t like to be ‘crowded’ by random humans, one of the mammal’s charged the woman, gorging her in the back and tossing her into a nearby bush. She documents the entire event in a Tik-Tok video, although the thing we’d most like to see – the actual gorging – is blacked out. Kudos to those who hit back at this imbecile, writing in the comments “OMG should have kept more distance then that, your fault…The Darwin Awards in full effect I see play stupid games win stupid prizes.” A reasonable reaction to an unexpected encounter with a bison? Immediately getting as far away as possible from said bison. They weight as much as 2,000 pounds for crying out loud.
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.