CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! HOLY HOW!

TOP OF THE NEWS:

- The Breaker of Curses: No one is as good at their job as baseball’s Theo Epstein is at his (Quartz) "Epstein approached baseball more like a business than a game, hoping to suss out which players added value to his operation and which didn’t. Some have argued that philosophy has taken the fun out of sports, but try telling that to Red Sox or Cubs fans." and How Theo Epstein broke another curse and built the World Series champion Cubs (Yahoo) "These Cubs, like the 2004 Red Sox that won a championship after 86 years of disappointment, were built with the deft hand of the now 42-year-old Epstein, baseball's own Gaudiarchitect nonpareil with an inimitable style. This was his team, his doing, all the way down to the final out, with third basemen Kris Bryant, drafted by Epstein, smiling as he fielded a groundball and rifling it to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, a trade acquisition of Epstein's.

ENTERTAINMENT:

- What Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ and Other Earworm Songs Have in Common (NYT) "They found that earworm songs tended to be fast, with a common, simple melodic structure that generally went up and down and repeated, like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” But the earworm songs also had surprising, unusual intervals, like the chorus in “Bad Romance” or the opening riff of Deep Purple’s 'Smoke on the Water.'"

NEWS:

- From ‘reset’ to ‘pause’: The real story behind Hillary Clinton’s feud with Vladimir Putin (WaPo) "Her lasting conclusion, as she would acknowledge, was that 'strength and resolve were the only language Putin would understand.' Clinton, who began her tenure by famously offering a “reset” of Russian relations, would end it by publicly blasting Putin’s government on issues including alleged vote-rigging in Russia and Putin’s support for authoritarian Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." and Putin grants Russian citizenship to actor Steven Seagal (WaPo)

- American voters overseas: The 51st state (Economist) "Taking 5.7m would make American expatriates the 21st largest state, giving it seven members of the House of Representatives—the same as Colorado, Alabama, and Minnesota. It would grant the bloc nine electoral college votes. That would have been enough to swing the 2000 election."

- Donald Trump’s Income Isn’t Always What He Says It Is, Records Suggest (NYT)

TECHNOLOGY:

- Google Home vs. Amazon Echo: A Face-Off of Smart Speakers (NYT) "Home’s link to Google’s database of information means it will most likely be able to give superior answers in the future. In addition, music played from Home sounds clearer and its virtual assistant is a better listener than Alexa. So for those deciding between the two products, I recommend waiting to see if Home expands its abilities before making a purchase." and Google Home Review: A Smart Speaker That’s Pretty Great—And Crazy Ambitious (Wired)

- You Watching, Twitter? YouTube Just Cleaned Up Comments (Wired)

BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:

- Ranch dressing is what’s wrong with America (WaPo)

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