Completion

 So, yesterday I didn't blog -- I was instead doing two things that I had been putting off for a while.  First, I finally watched "Nightmare on Elm Street."  I had planned to watch it over the weekend, but was with other things...anyways, as we know, I am not exactly a fan of horror films, so I never watched it -- or any of the 42 versions subsequent -- til it was added to the NFR for 2021.  It was...not bad.  I mean, I will never be a fan of the genre, but it was...not as bloody as I thought.  (Several have told me that later films are gorefests, but the earlier ones were...more normal.)  Like "Halloween," there was more suspense and drama involved.  Special effects were interesting.  One certainly cannot doubt the cultural significance of the film, either.  I wouldn't watch the rest, but...there have been many far worse films.  794!

I also finished Ian O'Connor's Coach K, the behind-the-scenes-yet-authorized bio of the awesomest coach of America's greatest basketball program.  (I couldn't resist.)  It was...good, of course.  Certainly, it was not unflinching -- discussing his temper, negative interactions with student press, that sort of thing.  The last 1/3 of the book discussed modern recruiting and the "perception" that there are two standards for NCAA punishment -- one for Duke, one for everyone else.  I am not unmindful of the perception, but... on the other hand -- and this was mentioned by several assistant coaches -- that it comes from the top to not cheat; indeed, the impression I got was that there was a reluctant to even come too close to the lines, if you will.  All of this, it seems, comes from Coach K.  Also... could be me, but I would imagine that many schools have simply created a different apparatus for this payola and cheating (OSU, for instance); the coaches and such don't necessarily have to know these things, only a vague (and thus untrackable) knowledge that stuff will be "taken care of."  I don't think this is right, of course, but... it's awfully convenient.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jun/28/do-we-need-a-new-theory-of-evolution

Interesting; my usual snarky comments about the science being settled notwithstanding...first, I would think that the theory of evolution should....evolve as scientific knowledge advances.  Second, more seriously...I think we all know that history -- and life -- is not a constant process of slow and steady change.  Things happen -- war speeds up the pace of innovation, new technologies force us to adjust -- so why should not the story of life not act in a similar way?  I would think these discoveries could be adapted into the the concept of evolution as a whole, and in a positive way...