Dom Barrett - 2018 DHC PBA Japan Champion

source: bowlingdigital.com
Dom Barrett

Congratulations to Dom Barrett on his sixth PBA title, defeating Kyle Troup, 267-204.

Guest commentator Jesper Svensson has close ties to both bowlers. Jesper was Dom's Weber Cup teammate for the past 2 years. With Kyle, they won the Roth-Holman PBA Doubles in 2017.

My Ohio State color blindness couldn't help but notice the scarlet and gray on Dom's jersey and Dexter's HT 9 shoes (see August 27, 2017 blog entry).

This title was especially gratifying for Dom. As it was this year, Dom was the top seed going into the stepladder final 2 years ago. He lost the match to PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli.

Here's the YouTube video of the match.Take a close listen of the ball roll. This bowling center has wood lanes - which are rare these days. My Wednesday night league at Classic Bowl in Daly City converted from wood to synthetic about 4 years ago.

Chiwetel Ejiofor - Benedict Wong Trilogy

source: Andy Butterton PA Images
L to R: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Okoendo, Benedict Wong

The above photo is taken from a promotional appearance for the 2002 independent/international film Dirty Pretty Things. The men standing in the photo are actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Wong. Mr. Ejiofor is a London native, Mr. Wong is from Manchester.

As an avid film goer, I've known for some time Dirty Pretty Things is not the only film Ejiofor and Wong have appeared in together.

Take a look-see.

2015: The Martian (see also October 4, 2015 entry)
film clip courtesy of GetYarn

2016: Doctor Strange (starring the other UK native named Benedict)
film clip courtesy of YouTube's Movies Fun

Google Art and Culture App

Spent the past half hour playing with a fun new app, Google Art and Culture. Yes, it's available for iPhone too.

I got carried away with the app because I wanted a match to be at least 50%. As the app is brand new, don't expect too much. I was dismayed to see up to 36% matches with portraits of young boys and older men (I blame middle age and eye bags).

Phone's battery must have breathed a sigh of relief when I settled on Diego Rivera's Portrait of Dolores Olmedo with a 51% match.

The next highest match, 44%, is Nguyen Thu's watercolor.

To relieve your guilt of all the me-me-selfies you've taken, there's also lots of cool stories in arts and photography - the cultural part of the app.

Your gray matter will leave you with the big 'E' trio:
Entertainment, Education and Enlightenment.

US Figure Skating Team Selections - 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea

source: Kyle Terada, USA Today Sports
L to R: Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Adam Rippon

source: Kyle Terada, USA Today Sports
L to R: Mirai Nagasu, Bradie Tennell, Karen Chen

First blog entry of 2018. This past weekend, there was no shortage of drama in San Jose with the US Figure Skating Championships. What's most notable is that you can finish in the top 3 (as Ross Miner did in the men's championships) but not get automatically selected to the Olympic team.

As an American of Chinese ancestry born to immigrant parents, I am very proud that 4 of the 6 skaters selected to represent the United States are also American born to immigrant parents from China, Taiwan and Japan.

Congratulations to all.
Best of luck to you in Pyeongchang,