ONE OF IRELAND'S FEW REMAINNG MATCHMAKERS

Willy Daly, the Youtube page tells us, is a professional matchmaker in County Clare, Ireland. He's been doing it for more than 50 years, as his father and grandfather did before him.

Timing is everything, he says. And a little drinking at the local pub can’t hurt.

THE STORY BEHIND A WORLD-FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH

I am willing to bet there is not a TGB reader among us who has not seen the famous Dorothea Lange 1936 photograph titled Migrant Mother that came to symbolize the Great Depression.

Find out more that you probably don't know about the photograph, its subject and her children in this video. (Sent by Jim Stone)

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT CROSSWORD PUZZLE CLUE

For 40 years I did The New York Times crosswords puzzle on the subway every morning on my way to work. In all those years, I never tried to create one. Here's a video from The New Yorker about how clues for crosswords are developed.

TRUMP FATIGUE

In last Wednesday's New York Times, columnist Frank Bruni wrote about Trump fatigue. It began like this:

”I woke up Saturday, made my coffee, shuffled to my computer, started to glance at the news and suddenly had to stop. I couldn’t go on,” wrote Bruni.

“Trump had yet again said something untrue, once more suggested something absurd, contradicted himself, deified himself, claimed martyrdom, blamed Barack Obama, made his billionth threat and hurled his trillionth insult.”

Further, writes Bruni:

”Trump’s instinct and strategy are to conquer by overwhelming. But there’s a difference between wearing people down and wearing them out. He’s like the last seasons of House of Cards — a riveting spectacle devolved into a repellent burlesque, so unrestrained in its appetites that it devoured itself.”

I'm with Bruni in regard to both Trump and House of Cards. Read the whole column here – it's a good catharsis (unless you turn on cable news again).

TINKERING WITH INTENT

TGB Reader Erika Brekke send this video about Blair Somerville who lives in the remote town of Papatowai, on the South Island of New Zealand, the Youtube page tells us. He uses found materials and other curious objects which he re-purposes into magical moving artworks.

Take a look:

COWS JUMPING OVER ROAD MARKINGS

Here's a Twitter gif of cows who think painted road markings are fences of some kind. Such a silly giggle.

Cows jumping over the road markings! pic.twitter.com/QH7we67FCD

— Nial Finegan (@NialFinegan) August 25, 2019

ALEX TREBEK RETURNS TO JEOPARDY!

As long as we're doing Twitter pictures, here's a Twitter video of Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek returning to work after a summer of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

Alex is back in action! Join him on September 9 for the premiere of Season 36. pic.twitter.com/Vdv9t9vxDE

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) August 29, 2019

The program resumes broadcasting on 9 September.

QUOTATION WITHOUT COMMENTARY

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, had this to say in his new book, Call Sign Chaos, which he wrote with Bing West and will be published next week:

“If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you...”

More at The New York Times.

THE POWER OF WORDS

In the nearly 10 years it has been online, this video has garnered about 28 million views. I posted it way back when. It's still good and it feels like it goes with the Mattis quotation above.

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog.