Surprises!

I watched an interview with Bill de Blasio and found that what he had to say made more sense than I thought it would.  Maybe I expected a San Francisco-style progressive crazy.

I didn’t expect Liverpool’s distressing collapse just when they had the Premier League title in their grasp.

The way the Giants have been winning is a pleasant surprise.

Learning from a study on the very old that we lessen our risk of dementia when our blood pressure is a little high and we are overweight is good news.  A daily intake of wine also helps.  Yes!

Local outrages against humanity seem impervious to moderating influences from the outside.  Examples:  Egypt sentences hundreds of people to death after a sham judicial process.  Ethnic slaughter continues unabated in South Sudan.  In Nigeria Boko Haram kidnaps hundreds of schoolgirls and makes them slaves.  Millions are displaced and hundreds of thousands are killed in Syria.  And many more.

I shouldn’t be surprised about examples closer to home:  After multiple killings in public places the gun lobby is stronger than ever.  Even horrific botched executions fail to dim our thirst for revenge so we give the state power to murder people.  Drone attacks that cause innocent fatalities are a variation on the same theme.

I thought I’d like “Blue is the Warmest Color” better than I did.  The two lead actors were wonderful but I ended up not bonding with them.  So I was not engaged in their story.  I could appreciate their talent but I didn’t care what happened to them.

On the opposite side of the movie/TV spectrum, I’m surprised how much I enjoy “The Americans” and “Scandal.”