Daily Cuts - 8/24/17

1. Finding something to laugh about in the aftermath of tragedy can be helpful in the healing process. It's been difficult, however, to find much even to smile about relating to the horror in Charlottesville earlier this month. But now it appears that an unbelievable coincidence at ESPN is the closest we'll get.

It turns out that the opening game for the UVA football team was set to be called by a gentleman with the name of. . . Robert Lee. Robert. Lee. And ESPN decided to remove him from the game just because of his name, which in my opinion is a bit ridiculous and hurtful to announcer Lee, who is Asian-American and presumably has absolutely zero lineage relating to our country's Civil War. But it is vaguely amusing, and that's something we could all use right now.

2. I guess I understand the appeal of the Boomerang feature on Instagram, but my goodness does it seem to me that people are way overusing it.

3. I guess I don't understand the appeal of boxing, and I don't follow the sport. I can't help but notice, however, all the hubbub about the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. Of particular interest was the exercise in headline writing "Why Floyd Mayweather Can Still Box After Beating Women." How in the world is this guy making hundreds of millions of dollars on his personal brand when that brand inherently includes his track record of brutal violence against women? Mind-boggling. Say what you will about the NFL, but at least it tries to punish domestic offenders.

​4. In the interest of keeping the heartbeat of this site—the atmosphere of openness around mental health issues—going, I'll say that after a period of some relative respite, my symptoms have flared up again (making it difficult, even, to get through posts like this one). If anyone who happens to be reading this feels a need to express his or her own feelings, I certainly welcome you to do so in the comments here (anonymously, if you prefer). I am hoping to provide a safe space here. And if you are reading, well, thanks.