Sports – movingforwardslowly

Holy Moly!

White flowering plant with exposed roots in an enchanted forest — White blossoms rise from twisted roots in a glowing, mushroom-filled forest.

Batman and Robin driving a Batmobile through a city at night — White blossoms rise from twisted roots in a glowing, mushroom-filled forest.

The word moly does not stand alone as a single word except in myth. There is a magical herb in mythology called moly. In The Odyssey moly is a magical herb given to Odysseus by the god Hermes to protect him from Circe’s magic.

Several years ago I read the book Circe written by Madeline Miller, and moly is a magical plant that is also mentioned in this book. This mention carries forward the mystery of moly. Many botanists have tried to determine if there ever existed such an herb like it is described in these books. Nothing can be established conclusively, and it remains a mystery, though several theories do exist.

I remember watching Batman cartoons when I was a kid, and Robin would frequently use the phrase, “Holy Moly, Batman”, to express his surprise or shock about what was happening around them.

Molybdenum Mo, atomic number 42, electron configuration [Kr] 4d⁵ 5s¹ — A futuristic infographic explores molybdenum’s atomic structure, electron configuration, and metallic crystal form.

No. 74 Moly Alloy Racing prototype car cornering on a racetrack — A futuristic infographic explores molybdenum’s atomic structure, electron configuration, and metallic crystal form.

In real life there is the chemical element Molybdenum. It is a silvery white transition metal. It has many industrial uses. One use is to create an alloy called “moly steel”, and this is a high strength alloy that is often used to build race cars.

All the images and their captions were created by the WordPress image generator. I did provide prompts, though nothing as specific as what it creates. I find this fascinating, and I often want to exclaim, Holy Moly!

Are you ready for the race?

Two neon race cars on a rainy street beneath the Capitol — Neon-lit race cars speed through rainy streets beneath the U.S. Capitol.

In real news there will be a race this weekend in "Washington,D.C.,officially the District of Columbia,which is the federal capital of the United States."

It will look nothing like the picture here. This picture was created by an image generator.

The real race will be during the daytime. No neon lights will be needed.
I wonder if the real race will have rain. I have not seen rain predictions.
The noise should be loud like in the audio file above.
Have your earplugs ready. The excitement is building.
The road closures will cause frustration for many.
I hope everyone will stay safe!

Cow’s Horn Okra Flower

I went outside to pick more cranberry beans, and I spotted the first Cow’s Horn Okra flower. I bought the seeds from The Shop at Monticello online. This is a promising development!

In other news, today I was reading about the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix that will take place in Washington D.C. near the end of August. I was interested in this because I attended a Grand Prix in Monte Carlo during vacation with my sister and her boyfriend in Cannes, France. I have already mentioned he had a yacht. He had its captain park his yacht in Port Hercules days ahead of the race because there are limited spots. We then took a helicopter the day of the race to board the boat. The thing I remember most is how LOUD the race was. The reason I mention this is because I am worried about the noise level in Washington, D.C., for the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix. It might not be so loud because they will not be racing formula 1 cars. The race in D.C. is an NTT IndyCar Series. I have never been to an IndyCar race so I do not know how the noise level will compare to formula 1 cars.

Another thing I realized today when I was trying to place these past events in time, I think both my husband and I watched a Formula One Grand Prix during the same year. He went to the Grand Prix race in Watkins Glen, NY in 1979, and the race I heard and saw in Monte Carlo was right around 1979. I was in college and this was from (1977-1981).

I ran across some old ear plugs (for blocking noise) the other day when I was cleaning out a drawer in my kitchen. If you plan to attend the Freedom 250, do not take babies or young children. It could really hurt their ears. For adults ear plugs would be recommended.

A Sangria Connection

I have been following the FIFA World Cup 2026. As many of you know, France is playing Spain tomorrow in the semi-finals.

I have recently posted about my experiences of eating certain foods in France when I was in my early 20’s. I also traveled to Spain with a student group when I was 16, and still in high school. My most vivid memory of that trip involved a dining experience. I had an alcoholic beverage for the first time in my life there. I drank sangria with dinner at a restaurant in Madrid. I liked the taste of it, but it made me feel unwell. (So much for my first experience with alcohol.) I should mention that it was legal in Spain for me to drink sangria with dinner.

Today, I decided to look up where sangria originated. My browser’s AI stated that it originated in Spain, and particularly in the Andalusia region which is mainly where the student group and I traveled on our trip. We landed in Malaga, then traveled to Granada, and then Seville, and ended up in Madrid. I have no pictures from this trip. I bought postcards. It was 1975 and cell phones did not exist.

Another interesting thing I learned today is that America was introduced to sangria at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Sangria was served at the popular Spanish Pavilion.

I was there at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Sadly, I have no memories of the Spanish Pavilion or of sangria. I was 5 years old!

In any case, I wish both France and Spain good luck with the semi-final game!

Side note–To prove that I was there with my family at the 1964 New York World’s Fair I will post a few pictures and hopefully I can link a past post about it.

https://movingforwardslowly.com/2023/12/10/worlds-fair-1964-65/

This picture you see is from this fair. It was in a post about the Chrysler Pentastar logo you see in this picture. The words I posted have disappeared. Only the picture remains.