Of Delta Rae and Mayweather-McGregor

Tonight I enjoyed two very different entertainments.

The first was the Delta Rae concert at the Lincoln Theatre.  I love this band, so I always expect a good show, but this performance went way past that:  it was the very best Delta Rae show I've ever seen, and I've seen several.  Their sound was tight, their energy high, and joy practically poured off the stage.  If you have a chance to see Delta Rae live, take it.  They are amazing.

I raced back from the show to catch the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight, which fortunately had not started yet.  The bout went largely as I expected, with McGregor starting strong early and then Mayweather winning on points, but in the tenth round Mayweather landed enough shots on McGregor to reel him, and eventually the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.  So, Mayweather delivered on his prediction and stopped McGregor.  McGregor, though, acquitted himself reasonably in an entertaining fight, and in fact did better than most folks had predicted.

An interesting Saturday night.

Trump diminishes us all

Today, President Trump issued a memo restoring the ban on recruiting transgender people into the military. You can read in the CNN article on the memo some of the data from a Rand study that concluded that the idea that the presence of transgender folks in the military would cause big issues was basically false. Trump is simply doing again what he has done repeatedly: diminishing groups he does not like.

The thing is, though, that his moves diminish all of us.  When we as a country start saying which groups can have which rights, we set a dangerous precedent: that it's okay to deny rights to some of us.

I am past tired of this behavior.

We need to all recognize and proclaim loudly that we will stand with those whose rights Trump is damaging.

I'm lucky.  I'm an affluent, white, heterosexual male, the kind of person Trump seems to like to treat well.  If, like me, you are fortunate enough to enjoy these privileges, you should not let them stop you from standing with others who do not enjoy them.

When Trump signed that memo and took rights from transgender people, he hurt us all.  I stand with those transgender people, not with him.

We should all stand with them.

Delta Rae is playing at the Lincoln Theatre Saturday night

and I'm going to be there, enjoying another show by one of my favorite groups.

Tickets are still available, so if you have the desire and the funds, check it out.

Meanwhile, enjoy this official video of their new single.



So good.

My thoughts on the Mayweather - McGregor fight

If you don't follow MMA or boxing, skip this entry.

If you do, you know that Saturday night an undefeated boxing legend, 49-0 Floyd Mayweather, will step into a boxing ring against a UFC champion, Conor McGregor, who has never fought a professional boxing match.  McGregor turned great MMA skills and even greater self-promotional skills into a fight that will probably earn him $70 million.  Mayweather will make more like $100 million.

All the odds favor Mayweather, though the margin moves up and down rather considerably.  Boxing is Mayweather's sport, he is amazing at it, and he is undefeated for good reasons.  McGregor hits hard and so has a puncher's chance, particularly because Mayweather encouraged the use of eight-ounce gloves, which buffer punches less than the traditional 16-ounce boxing gloves.

Simply because it would be an amazing story, I'd love to see McGregor win.

Instead, I expect Mayweather to play it smart and conservative, be very defensive, and out-point McGregor for 12 rounds.

I'll be watching, though, foolish spender that I am, on the off chance that it goes McGregor's way.

Back in the U.S.S.R.!

Well, I'm actually back in the U.S.A., but I was having a Beatles moment; forgive me.

I am jet-lagged a bit and have been working for hours, so I'll hope to start the blogging catch-up process tomorrow.

Until then, I will finish working, eat a little dinner, and crash.

I'm flying home tomorrow

and getting up super early to begin the long journey home.  So, tonight's blog is simple:  it was a good trip, and I'll miss London.

More later.

Too much great food

Chef Brett Graham of The Ledbury, where I ate last night, operates another restaurant, the only gastropub with a Michelin star, The Harwood Arms.  Thanks to the help of a friendly server, Sam, at The Ledbury last night, I was able to enjoy a late lunch today at The Harwood Arms.

The food was simply great, British classics redone with such skill, superb ingredients, and excellent presentation that you would scarcely believe how good each was.

Many years ago, I was part of the foolish group of people that said there was no good English food.  How wrong I was.  Restaurants like The Clove Club, The Ledbury, and The Harwood Arms prove that not only is there good English food, there is superb, world-class English food.

The only problem with two such meals in two days is that they represent entirely too much food, so I am now in a food coma and useful only for reading and stretching out in bed.  To which I will now return.