“If You Want To Run, Run A Mile; If You Want To Experience A Different Life, Run A Marathon.” -- Emil Zatopek -- June 4, 2016

Here are a few highlights from the "Review" section of today's WSJ that caught my attention.

• "A Guaranteed Income For All," Charles Murray. This idea has been around for a very long time. The concept has a better chance if it's given a slightly different name; perhaps, a guaranteed "allowance" for all. I think if the right community organizer was elected president, he/she could take a simple idea and expand it into a monstrous bureaucracy that would affect 1/6th of the US economy, and only make things worse.
• "The Skeptical Detective," Carl Rollyson, a review of a new biography of Josephine Tey. Based on the review, I will order the book from Amazon.
• "The Greatest Runner of all Time," Michael Shermer, a review of two new biographies of Emil Zatopek. I would like to read one biography; not sure which one. 
• "Through the Looking-Glass," Laura Vanderkam, a book review of Virginia Heffernan's Magic and Loss. I probably won't read the book but .... there seem to be a lot of books about physicists and creationism, lately.
• A short essay on music by Chuck Klosterman, a rock and roll journalist and essayist whose first and second books I have read. He was raised on a farm near Wyndmere, ND. When he's good he's very, very good, but sometimes not so much. I had a friend in college from Wyndmere, I think. Although now that I think about it, I think I'm wrong. I get a lot of place names mixed up, especially when they are very small.

From Sports Illustrated, very recently: how Katie Ledecky became so dominant in the pool. The article appeared in the May 30, 2016, issue of SI.

Compare Ledecky's accomplishments with Emil Zatopek. From the WSJ review:

Zátopek’s deeds at the 1948 Olympic Games in London netted him gold in the 10,000 meters and silver in the 5,000 meters.

Four years later, at the Helsinki Games, he took gold in the 5,000 meters, the 10,000 meters and, stunningly, the marathon—his first, which he entered on something of a whim.

All three runs were Olympic records, and the trifecta has never been matched (and probably never will be). Zátopek went on to set world records for 20,000 meters, 25,000 meters, 30,000 meters, 6 miles, 10 miles and 15 miles. He held the men’s one-hour world record for years and was the first to break the 20,000-meter mark in that time.

Speaking of marathon's, my "fun" book right now: Athens: A Portrait of the City in Its Golden Age, Christian Meier, c. 1993.

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One Year Later -- The New York Stock Exchange

52-Week Highs

Friday:  242, including:

• Allete
• Black Hills
• MDU
• Piedmont Natural Gas
• QEP
• Raytheon
• SRE
• Southwest Gas
• UnitedHealth Group
• 52-week lows: only 9

Thursday, 134, including:

• Baxalta
• MDU
• QEP
• Tootsie Roll
• 52-week lows: only 7

Wednesday, 116, including:

• Baxalta
• Only 7 52-week lows
• May 31, 107, including
• Dollar General
• ONEOK
• 52-week lows: only 4 

Even ATT is flirting with new 52-week highs. 

The usual disclaimer holds. See "welcome," and/or "disclaimer."

Things Have Changed, Bob Dylan