Facebook and Conspiracy

 Today on MSNBC's Morning Joe, several people talked about friends and relatives who had fallen down the right-wing conspiracy rabbit-hole, blamed it on the things they were reading on Facebook, and yet described these friends and relatives as "educated and intelligent".

My immediate unspoken response was "No, they are not." No "educated, intelligent" person could possibly read the Qanon, Big Lie, anti-vax compendium of "theories" (in quotes because these things do not in any way meet the dictionary definition) and take them seriously. Further, I have to ask, "Why are these things even coming up in their Facebook feed?" I am on FB almost constantly--at least four or five hours every day, probably more--and I only see this nonsense when someone links to it to deride it, to cast scorn on those who believe it, to demonstrate how inane it is. If it's coming up on your feed in any other way, it can only be because you have searched it out, you have "friended" someone who regularly posts it, or you have joined a group dedicated to spreading it around.

Don't blame any of that on FB's algorithms, either. Unless you have expressed an interest in this claptrap, the algorithms will not send it to you. Yes, when I search for information on, say, air conditioners, I get ads for air conditioners on the FB wall for the next several days. But since I do not search for info on right-wing conspiracies, I do not get such material directed to me.

If you do get this stuff and you link to it, and then continue to link to it, and begin to believe it, you're just stupid. And as the old saying goes, "You can't cure stupid."

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

 Jill and I spent a lovely three-day (plus a little more) weekend at one of our favorite places, the Eden Resort hotel in Lancaster, PA. We first started going there when our friend Cat Calhoun organized a relaxacon called Grangecon there. (The con was cancelled the past two years for all the obvious reasons). We were joined for our stay by one of my oldest and best friends, Rich Kolker--best man at our wedding and godfather to our elder child. Cat also dropped by for a visit, as did Stephanie Allen (they are both local to Lancaster).

We had some wonderful meals together and it was great to see people face-to-face and talk without screens and microphones and headphones as accessories. We are all fully vaccinated and felt safe and secure.

Jeopardy! News

Sony has announced the new host for Jeopardy! and, as leaked earlier this week, it is Mike Richards, who will also continue in his position of executive producer of both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. But there was new information as well; Mayim Bialik will serve as host of a series of prime-time special editions of Jeopardy!, beginning with the National Collegiate Championship in the fall.

Apparently, Joe Buck is the last of the guest hosts and the show will go into hiatus (probably rerunning a couple of the tournaments) until the first episode of the new season on September 13.

 I'm pleased with this announcement, for the most part, though I might have preferred to see Bialik as the main host (however, her sitcom on Fox, Call Me Kat, has been renewed for a second season, so that probably made a full-time gig hosting the game show unlikely).

Return to Theater, Finally

 Finally had that rehearsal I've been talking about for the past week or so. This was a read-through and I was largely there to meet the cast and crew, as I will be working behind the scenes, possibly on lights and sound. But there were a few folks who couldn't make it, so I wound up getting my acting chops going by reading their lines. (It was fun coming up with a different sound for each of the characters.)

FTR, the play is A Few Good Men, opening in early November at Spotlight Theatre in Swarthmore, PA.

Misunderstanding Science 2

 Speaking of misunderstanding science, this morning I heard one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, in an interview with one of the un-masked, unvaccinated attendees of the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, ND:

"If they can cure COVID so fast, why haven't they cured cancer?"

Wrong on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. First, the vaccines don't "cure" COVID, they prevent serious infection. Second, cancer is not just one thing...it is caused by a multitude of things, depending on the kind of cancer--some of them are viral, but mostly it's runaway mutation in the cells, caused by radiation, infection from toxins, natural aging, and some stuff doctors are still not sure about. I just had my prostate removed because of cancer--when I asked my doctor why I got prostate cancer, he answered, quite honestly, "We still don't know what causes it, other than the aging process in some men."

Comparing COVID research to cancer research is like asking "If we can put men on the moon, why can't we end disease?" It's a fundamental lack of understanding about the process.

Misunderstanding Science

 What is it that causes anger over the COVID restrictions? I don't think it's the restrictions themselves, for the most part--they simply are not that onerous. (Of course, there is a part of the populace that will object to any attempt to control or police their behavior--there are still people who refuse to use seat belts in their cars!) No, I think it's confusion, caused by the constantly changing nature of the rules--especially when those rules seem to backtrack on themselves.

And that's because so many people do not understand the nature of scientific investigation. It's not something you do once and come up with a solution...it's an ongoing, ever-changing process. Want an example? The first polio vaccine was released to the public in 1954; by 1956 a better vaccine was created and released; an enhanced version was approved in 1987. With COVID, a virus that is far newer than polio was in the early 1950s, researchers are still discovering its effects and its development. Each new thing they learn can mean a change in the recommendations to the public.

We're far better off now than we were a year ago; the recommendations coming out now are a precaution against losing the successes of the past 12 months.

WWSD?

 This may seem frivolous or facetious, but it's aimed at my comics fan friends:

What Would Superman Do?

Confronted by something like the corona virus (and assuming it was of an origin such that he was as susceptible to it as normal humans), what would Clark Kent/Kal-el do? He'd get the vaccine, of course (he'd have to have someway to do it without injection, but you get the idea). And, in his guise as a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, he'd publish articles that urged everyone else to do it as well. He'd make public appearances at vaccine clinics; he'd do TV spots for them; he'd supply transportation for anyone who couldn't get there on their own.

So, folks--why aren't you on Superman's side in this?

Require the Vax

 I truly do not understand how anyone who works in the healthcare industry, from a distinguished doctor down to the porters and maintenance workers, would refuse to be vaccinated for COVID. I mean, these people have seen, first hand, what the disease can do. Are they blind?

Further, I do not understand why any healthcare facility does not require its employees to be vaccinated. I mean if Disney, Broadway theaters, and other entertainment venues are doing it, why isn't the healthcare sector?

Broadway and Vax

 Here's an important piece of news for anyone with an interest in theater:

Theatregoers eager to return to Broadway will need to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 before the curtain rises. The Broadway League, the trade association representing producers, theatre owners, and more, announced that all 41 Broadway venues will require vaccines for audience members. Masks will also be required inside the theatre, per current CDC recommendations in the wake of the Delta variant.

The news follows the release of safety procedures made in agreement between the League and Actors’ Equity, the union representing stage performers and stage managers. Those protocols include, among others, that companies are “Fully Vaccinated.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-will-require-covid-vaccines-for-audiences 

 Now my next question for anyone running local professional or community theaters: If the Broadway League, whose members have a high stake risk in the profitability of their productions, can make this requirement, why can't you?

Olympian Reaction

 "Walk it off."

"Get your head in the game."

"She let the side (team, country) down."

If I hear one more comment such as those about Simone Biles, I swear I will hit the person who says it. I have to wonder how these people would react if Biles had competed and suffered a career-ending or, worse, life-ending injury. Would it have been "Those are the breaks"? Or would they then be saying Biles should have known she was in no shape to compete? Some people want it both ways.

I think it's noteworthy that I have not seen one Olympic champion, past or present, suggest that she was wrong to make the choice she did.

Return to Theater update

The read-thru for A Few Good Men has been postponed to August 8th. More at that time.

Return to Theater

 Later today I am attending the read-through for a production of A Few Good Men, the first stage work I will have done since February of 2020, save for a one-time outdoor show last fall. Not sure what I'm doing for this one (as the show is already cast), but the director asked me to come by.

More in a later post.

Is Vaccine Hesitancy Driven by Bigotry?

 I may take some flack for this, but it's been on my mind for a while.

I wonder if some part of the vaccine reluctance among the conservative population--particularly the rabid Trump supporters--is that a significant number of the experts (both governmental and private) are people of color. The Surgeon General is of South Asian heritage, as are quite a few of the medical experts frequently interviewed on the TV news. Although she is not a person of color, the head of the CDC is a woman and Jewish.

Is that enough to make some portion of the right-wing populace discount what they say? These are people who disparaged a previous president simply for his family heritage and who consider the current vice-president illegitimate, in part because of her background and gender (not to mention their attitude toward the Congressional representatives they call "the Squad").

I fear it may be.

Back to Work--Or Not

 I retired just over a year ago--in the middle of the pandemic--so this doesn't affect me directly, but it's interesting to read the many speculations on why hiring people has become so problematic in recent months.

You'll hear that unemployment payments are too high, that wages are too low, that people are still concerned about the virus, that they do not have reliable child-care. I suspect that, depending on the individual and the job, any one of those might be the reason. On the other hand, if an extra $300 a week in unemployment pay is enough to keep people from taking a job with your company, maybe you were never paying a sufficient salary in the first place. If your prospective employees are still concerned about getting sick, maybe your workplace precautions are not good enough...or maybe you should be looking at what you offer in terms of health insurance. And if child-care is an issue for a sufficient number of your applicants, either you should be thinking about offering flex-time, or expanding the pool of candidates into people for whom that won't matter.

Just a few thoughts.

Space Flight and Business

 Fifty-two years ago, man first landed on the moon. If you want some idea of the scale of that accomplishment, remember that man first flew in a heavier-than-air vehicle just 66 years before that, and commercial aviation began only about 40 years earlier. The first manned spaceflight was in 1961. 

And today, there are people complaining about three very rich men who are once again planning to make spaceflight a regular occurrence, with plans for a return to the moon and eventually land on Mars. "Why aren't these billionaires using their money to solve world hunger, or homelessness, or climate change or whatever major problem is at the top of their list?" these people ask. Of course, the solutions to those problems are infinitely (and I mean that literally, infinitely) more complex than simply being able to reach escape and orbital velocity. They require cooperation among national governments, aid organizations, and massive bureaucracies. Merely throwing money at these problems will not result in them going away.

Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are not statesmen or diplomats; they are very very wealthy businessmen. And, as I have frequently noted in conversations with friends and acquaintances. their wealth is not like that of Scrooge McDuck. It does not consist of a huge vault filled with coins and paper money, in which they can go swimming for amusement. It is in the form of investments in their own companies and others. To access it in the way these people would like would require the dismantling of those businesses, probably putting a significant number of their employees out of work.

Even when the government broke up the big trusts of the early 20th century--Standard Oil, US Steel--it did not insist that the owners give away their fortunes. It simply required that the wealth be spread around to other businessmen to foster competition. If that's what you wish, then say so.

Hot Hot Hot

 I'm not saying my area is experiencing anything like the devastating heat on the Pacific Coast, but here's a little factoid for you. According to the meteorologists on the local TV stations, in a normal year, the Philadelphia region gets (on average) 30 days with temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above in the period between June 1 and September 30. This year, as of today, we have already had 20 such days!

We're only six weeks into a 16-week period...and we're at two-thirds of the "average" number of "hot" days. Most of those days have been in high end of the spectrum, too--not just 90 or 91, but 95 or 96--and with a humidity that makes it feel like it's above 100!

Fortunately, so far our power grid seems to be keeping up with demand...but for how long?

Interesting TV

 I'm going to use this space today to recommend two TV series, both available on streaming services in the US.

The first is Staged, a BBC comedy starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen, playing versions of themselves. The first season takes place during the pandemic lockdown, as Tennant and Sheen attempt to put together a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. The second season follows as their director, Simon Evans, tries to mount a live production on stage of Staged itself. I've only seen the first few episodes of season one, but it's very funny and largely improvised.  The series is available on Amazon Prime, Hulu, Apple TV, and Youtube.

The second series is Leverage: Redemption, a continuation/reboot of the series that ran on TNT several seasons ago. All of the regular characters are back--Sophie, Hardison, Parker, Eliot--except for leader Nate Ford, who has died since the end of the previous series. (Timothy Hutton, who played Nate, was not invited back after allegations of sexual harassment, apparently.) New characters are Harry Wilson (Noah Wylie), a corrupt attorney trying to earn redemption (hence the title) and Breanna Casey (Aleyse Shannon), Hardison's foster sister, who is almost as good with computers as he is--and more updated with modern social media, etc. The first eight episodes are currently available for streaming on IMdbTV, with another eight planned to be dropped in the fall. If you were a fan of the original, I think you'll be pleased, as the writing is still as sharp and witty as it always was.

The Problem with CRT...

 ...and, no, I don't mean "cathode ray tube".

For the first time in many years, I attended a meeting of my local school board, because some postings on social media suggested there would be a challenge during the public comments on "critical race theory." I wanted to be there to see just how much fuss would be made and how the board and other administrators would respond.

Well, it turns out there was only one person who brought it up, asking if CRT and/or "white fragility" were or would be part of the curriculum. The very smart superintendent stopped the discussion with three sentences (I'm paraphrasing here): "Our curriculum is based on material approved by the state education department. The state education department has not approved CRT as part of the curriculum at any level. Therefore, it is not and will not be part of our curriculum." The questioner sat back down.

After the meeting, I spoke with the superintendent, with whom I have been friends since the time my kids attended school. I said to her, "I'd put $100 down on the fact that the questioner couldn't define 'critical race theory' if you asked him to." She agreed, saying it was obvious he was following a script he'd found on social media. "CRT is a college-  and law-school-level subject, completely inapplicable to elementary and high-school courses," she said.

That is the problem with this whole controversy--it is being fanned into flames by people who don't understand the terms riling up people who have even less understanding of them.

Sunday Blues

 I'm old enough to remember a time when most retail businesses were closed on Sundays--or, at least, were only open for part of the day.

Right through the time I was in college (I graduated in 1974), major retailers--supermarkets, department stores, etc.--closed at about 6 PM Saturday night and didn't reopen until Monday morning. Smaller local shops--Mom 'n' Pops, as we called them--might be open for a half day on Sunday, in order to supply last-minute items to their customers. Usually, if they sold coffee and newspapers, they'd open early on Sunday (say about 6 AM) and close by 1 PM; if they sold alcohol--bars, some small groceries--they'd open around 1 PM (in New York, where I grew up, it was illegal to sell alcohol before 1 PM on a Sunday).

These were called the "blue laws". The term likely derives from the same source as the word "blue-stocking" for an overly religious person.

While I have times when I appreciate the ability to shop on Sundays, I also think those hours could be restricted more than they are currently. Is Sunday really the only day you can go buy clothes--especially when most clothing stores are now open to 9 or 10 PM on weekdays? I say this not from any religious stance, but just from the idea that one day a week without retail business is a good idea.

Let's Sing About Friday....Or Not

 There are many songs about other days of the week--"Monday, Monday," "Saturday Night's All Right," "Ruby Tuesday," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM," even "Thursday's Child"...but few about Friday that I could find and other than the ubiquitous "TGIF" none that treat it like something to celebrate. 

We need a happy Friday song--any suggestions?

Hot or Cold?

 Which bothers you more--extreme heat or extreme cold?

I'd have to say extreme heat, such as we are experiencing right now in my area. In extreme cold, I can always put on more layers, or snuggle in the blankets, or turn up the heat, without risking that I am overtaxing the power grid. In extreme heat, I can't go any further than naked...and even that won't necessarily be a relief. And I cannot really spend the entire day in air conditioning and, even if I did, it stresses both my own system and the area's power supply.

I'd be happy to live somewhere that the average temperature ran from 75 degrees (Fahrenheit) in summer to 40 degrees in winter, on average. Sure, there might be occasional days when it hit 85 in summer and the nights when it got below freezing in winter, but those can be dealt with.

I'd just like to live in a temperate climate that was really temperate.

Summer is Icumen In

 We have reached the one time of year when our yard is truly pretty--when our Rose of Sharon is in bloom. It usually pops right before July Fourth and it will stay in bloom through September. For those unfamiliar with the plant, the trumpet-like flowers close up at night and re-open at dawn. And, no, it doesn't produce two different colors (white and purple) on the same plant. When we moved in, we had one white Rose of Sharon in the front yard and one purple one in the back. Over the past 20 years or so, through wind and avian propagation, we now have a mix of both in both places.

Rose of Sharon is very prolific and its seeds will germinate and grow without actual planting; just landing on fertile ground is sufficient. In fact, have a couple of them we have to keep cutting down because we don't want them where they are.

FTR, the scientific description is

• Hibiscus syriacus, a deciduous flowering shrub native to east Asia, and the national flower of South Korea (also known as "Mugunghwa")^[13]

Reefer Madness?

So, the US Anti-Doping Agency says marijuana is a performance-enhancing drug. I've never used the stuff myself, but from the reactions I've seen in those who do and have, I somehow doubt that--especially when it comes to sports like track, where speed is the most important factor.

Never seen anybody's reaction time or body movement get faster after taking marijuana. Generally, they seem to get lazy, lethargic and sleepy.That doesn't seem like a reaction you want in a runner.

Why do I have the feeling this is all just a left-over from the days of "Reefer Madness"?

Why July to Me?

 Sorry, couldn't resist the wordplay!

One year ago today, we were lamenting the loss of Independence Day fireworks to the pandemic, and wondering if we would be out of the woods in time for Labor Day. Well, we know how that turned out. Today, in most communities, we are looking forward to a relatively normal July Fourth--provided we are vaccinated--with socially distanced fireworks displays and even parades in some places. And it looks like things will be even better by Labor Day.

Oddly enough, the places least likely to be able to safely celebrate Independence Day are in the sections of the country who would normally be making the biggest patriotic fuss...and all because their "conservative" mindset has them rejecting the sound advice from medical science about masks and vaccines.

Does demonstrating your "independence" that way make any sense?

Bearding the Weather

 I grew a pandemic beard--in part because I just didn't see the point of shaving constantly when a mask was covering the lower half of my face. But now, with warm humid weather having hit the Philly area, I am seriously considering going clean-shaven again.

I trimmed the beard this morning and immediately noticed a difference. Of course, if I go without the beard, it will complicate my daily routine. I won't have to shave every day--my beard is almost entirely white and not particularly dense, but I will have to keep an eye on not looking overly scruffy.

Something to think about.

One Month After

 Tomorrow will be exactly one month since the surgery to remove my prostate. Here's an update:

No problems with movement of any kind. No pain, no discomfort in bending, twisting, lifting (though I am still following the recommendation of limiting weight to 20 lbs.), walking (including stairs).

I think I am gaining some natural control of my bladder, even before the biofeedback session later this week. I have noticed that I am feeling occasional urges to relieve myself (especially at night), pretty much like the ones I had normally pre-surgery. I have also noticed that, again after a night's sleep, my incontinence pads are drier than they were a couple of weeks ago.

Overall, even if I have to continue the routine of wearing pads, I think I've come through this pretty well.

Infrastucture Alert

 You would think that two major disasters with construction collapses in a week would be enough to spur politicians to action on infrastructure...especially when one of them occurs just a few miles from the Capitol.

A pedestrian bridge over I-295, which runs through Washington, DC parsllel to the Anacostia River and Capitol Street, fell onto that highway on Wednesday (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/06/23/bridge-collapse-washington-dc-interstate-295/5327504001/). And yesterday, at 1:30 AM, half of a condominium high rise in Surfside, FL--a suburb of Miami Beach--pancaked into its own basement. At least 99 people are still missing, and four are known to be dead (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/06/25/miami-florida-residential-building-collapse-what-we-know/5338496001/).

But they are still haggling over the infrastructure bill in Congress--how big should it be, what constitutes "infrastructure", how to pay for it. Odd how those questions seldom arise in discussions of defense spending, isn't it? Both of Florida's senators are Republicans; 16 of its 26 representatives are Republicans...and yet in the face of these two tragedies, all of them remain opposed to the bipartisan bill negotiated by their colleagues and even more opposed to the larger one proposed by the Democrats alone.

Will it take learning that one of their own relatives was killed or injured in such an event to change their minds?

Trivia Time

 My elder son and I both participate in an on-line trivia contest called Learned League. It's a competition held in "seasons" of 25 "matches," six questions a day on each weekday during that time. You compete directly against one other person in the league and you gain points by how difficult your opponent thinks the question will be for you, based on your past record on similar subjects.

The most recent season ended on Monday and my son and I competed in the same group of players for the first time. I wound up in fifth place within that group, and my son was 23d. In discussing that difference, I suggested that it was, in part, a question of age--that there are things I know because of events I have lived through which he has not.

For instance, a recent question asked us to identify the Aswan Dam in Egypt from a brief description: "Name the southern Egyptian city, and capital of its namesake Governorate, near which an embankment dam (at the time, the world's largest) was built in the 1960s?" I knew immediately what they were talking about, because the dam was controversial at the time, not least because it threatened to destroy an ancient temple complex which was relocated to the shores of Lake Nasser (created by the new dam) with international cooperation and donations.

My son had no idea, because the story of the dam and the temples was no longer news worthy and, unless you were studying ancient Egypt in school, not covered by the usual curriculum. 

This led to a discussion of whether the age of your opponent should be included in the available information about him or her. I believe it should be. What do you think?

More Abortion Hypocrisy

 Here's the text of a letter I sent to my local paper, the Delaware County Times, this morning:

Once more, in her column on Sunday, Christine Flowers takes on abortion and again reveals her rank hypocrisy--and for that matter the rank hypocrisy of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In that column, Flowers writes in support of the bishops' call to deny communion to any Roman Catholic politician--and most notably President Joe Biden--who supports the legal right of a woman to have an abortion. Please note their objection is not to those politicians having actually participated in an abortion, but in their support for the repeatedly affirmed right for any woman to have an abortion, within certain limits.

Why do I call this hypocrisy? Because the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion is part of what it calls its "seamless" defense of the right-to-life, including an opposition to capital punishment. But the bishops--and Flowers--have never suggested that a Roman Catholic politician who supports capital punishment (also repeatedly affirmed as Constitutional) should be denied communion.

How many such politicians are there? It's tough to find an exact number, but here's a rough idea. The Republican Party platform has, since at least 2000, consistently supported capital punishment and opposed all efforts to have it curtailed or abandoned. There are 66 Roman Catholic Republicans in the House and Senate and it must be supposed that all of them support their party's platform in full.

So why have not the bishops--and Flowers--called for them to be denied communion?

Hot Town in the Summertime

 Looks like we're in for a blistering season, not just in the West where temps have been hitting record highs for months, but across the whole nation. The long-term map on last night's news indicated temps in the 90s for all of the contiguous US, as far north as Montana and Maine. Here in the Philly area, we've been spared so far (save for a few days last week), but predictions are for late June and July to be scorching...and humid.

Of course, the nay-sayers will tell you this has nothing to do with climate change (which is a myth, anyway, according to them), although the Far West hasn't experienced anything like this in 125 years...and not for such a prolonged period, ever. I swear we could having weather like the scenes in The Day the Earth Caught Fire, and some on the right would swear it was all just seasonal temperature changes.

And, if things go on as they are, we could well be in that situation.

A Holiday or a Sales Pitch?

 So we have a new federal holiday--Juneteenth, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in Texas and, by extension, that of all black men and women. I have only one concern--that this holiday, like Columbus Day and Presidents Day, will simply become a reason for retailers to hold sales.

I think Juneteenth will, like those other two, be ignored by most businesses in terms of giving time off to employees. Government workers will get the holiday (in most cases, their contracts require they get time off for any official federal holiday), but private employers usually decide that only the "big" holidays--New Years, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Christmas--are reasons to close up business (and retailers don't all do even those). Some give employees an option: "You can have Martin Luther King Day in January if you give up Veterans Day in November," for instance.

MLK Day has, at least, become known as a day for community service. With any luck, Juneteenth will achieve the same status.

Summer in the Sixties

 The school year around here is just about done...which leads me to the question: How did you keep busy as a kid during the summer?

Growing up on Staten Island in the 1960s, we didn't have a lot of "organized" activities. Not being sports-oriented, things like Little League were of no interest to me. But there was a "day camp" run by the local public school, where we played softball and kickball, and indoor games like knock-hockey and ping pong and pool. There were even some classes in art.

The camp ended at 4 PM on weekdays and didn't meet at all on the weekend. During those times, we'd meet up with neighbors for pick-up games (sometimes in the school yard, sometimes in the big empty lot behind my house), or just play at imaginary stuff in the backyard--cowboys and Indians (not PC these days), or dig in the dirt and play at construction. I had a seemingly indestructible Tonka pick-up truck that lasted for at least seven or eight years, including being left out in the rain quite often.

We'd ride bikes, of course--although I didn't really master a two-wheeler until I was about 12 years old. And sidewalk games--hop scotch and box ball most frequently.

What were your summers like when you were in grade school?

Snacking

 What's your go-to snack food? What's your first choice for a treat between meals or just before bedtime?

I have two: The first is Drake's Yodels, preferably after being refrigerated (especially in the summer, as otherwise the chocolate icing melts). Don't give me the Hostess version (Ho Hos) either--Hostess's chocolate cake (in all their products) is too wet and moist.

The second is popcorn, virtually any kind, as long as it's fresh (can't stand pre-popped stuff sold in a bag). I like it with a light coating of salt and butter, and I've recently learned to enjoy the slightly sweeter taste of kettle corn.

I'll settle for chocolate chip cookies, if I can't have the other two.

Recovery Continues

 For the first time in two weeks, I am wearing something other than light sweat pants....but they are still elastic waist. I ordered two pair of elastic waist jeans, because they are less irritating to the still-healing wounds from my incisions. I guess that makes me officially an old man.

In other recovery news, I have returned to driving--although the furthest I have been is around the block for some light shopping and dropping off and picking up laundry. On a more delicate note, I am wearing absorbent pads during the days and full-scale absorbent pants at night. No problems with either so far. At the end of the month I have an appointment for a biofeedback session to help me learn to control things.

Free at Last

I am now officially free of the catheter (and the surgical staples)! All that's left now of my recovery from the prostate surgery is regaining some control of my bladder. For that, I will be meeting with a PA at my urologist for biofeedback training. In the meantime, it's incontinence pants and/or pads.

Once again, great thanks to everyone who has offered support and good wishes.

Joe Manchin--Is He Really Bi-Partisan?

 Just had an interesting discussion with Jill: Does Joe Manchin really think he can be bi-partisan?

Jill's position is that he's not stupid and he wouldn't keep holding out for enough GOP senators to join him if he didn't think that was a possibility.

My position is that he's not stupid, and he knows damned well it's not a possibility, but that isn't why he's doing it. He's doing it because he needs to in order to be re-elected. He was elected from one of the most Trumpist GOP dominated states in the nation and he was elected as a Democrat--because he consistently campaigns on the premise that he can create a bi-partisan coalition in the Senate. (The fact that he's never managed to do that in 11 years notwithstanding.) The people who vote for him in West Virginia expect that he will continue to argue for bi-partisanship, even in the face of 50 Republican senators who have no intention of ever voting for anything supported by even one Democrat.

Boiled down, Joe Manchin needs to put a bi-partisan face on everything he does, or he will lose in his next election in 2024.

One Week Home

 As of today, I've been out of the hospital for one week. Were it not for the catheter and the surgical staples still in my incisions, you--not to mention I--would be hard-pressed to recognize I'd been in hospital at all. There is nothing about the way I look or move to say that I am in still in recovery from having an organ removed. 

But of course, I am. Though the amount of what I do increases daily--last night, I grilled outside, for instance--I am still careful not to overdo anything. I am continuing to limit what I carry in terms of weight and I try not to hurry in the course of doing anything. I can honestly say I haven't run (or even "fast-walked") to anything in the past seven days.

If all goes well, the catheter and staples will be gone by mid-day Wednesday, after which I can return to driving.

One Week

 This time last Friday, I was in an operating room having my prostate removed. Today, I am sitting relatively comfortably at my desk, blogging about it. My recovery has been steady and really very easy.

I cannot say I have any real pain; I have irritation around the incision sites but that is all. I have, as far as I can determine, full range of motion at my waist and abdomen. I can bend, I can twist, I can stretch relatively normally without feeling anything I didn't feel in the days and weeks before the surgery (IOW, the normal aches and pains of a 69-year-old man).

I am still, following medical guidance, not driving (that will change next Wednesday when the catheter is removed), and I am restricting what I lift and carry to 10 pounds. (I think I could do more, but I'll follow the guidance at least until I see the doctor next week.)

Once again, thanks to all for the kind words and support.

Getting Healthier

 One week from today, barring complications, I should be rid of the catheter and be returning to a more normal life. I will be able to drive again, for instance.

I am already at a point where I can honestly say I feel no pain from everyday normal movement, including bending at the waist and getting up from bed or a chair. There is still irritation (a persistent itching best describes it) from the incision sites on my stomach. That may decrease when the surgical staples are removed, also a week from today.

Following the catheter removal, I will probably be wearing some form of incontinence control for several weeks, possibly months. It will begin with a full-scale pull-up absorbent pants and may decrease to just an absorbent pad later on. Time will tell.

My thanks again to all those who have expressed support and good wishes.

Surgery Report

 Well, Jill spilled the beans about my health situation on Facebook, so I guess there's no point in keeping it quiet any longer.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last summer. At the time, it did not appear to be serious and my doctor said we could simply monitor it and see what happens. In his words, "More men die with prostate cancer than from prostate cancer." Alas, that was not to be my fate. 

All the indications were that it was getting worse. Blood readings called PSA were increasing, the tumor itself was pressing against the wall of the prostate. When conditions crossed a red line back in March, he said we needed to make a decision--either remove the prostate or treat it with radiation. For someone of my age, he recommended the surgery.

So, Friday morning I had my prostate removed it what seems to have been a successful and uneventful operation. I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'll be using a catheter for about a week and then begins the work of retraining my bladder and sphincter to control things. I've laid in some incontinence supplies.

As for right now, I am in no serious pain. Bending is a bit stressful, but walking--even climbing stairs--is not impossible. Full recovery may take a few months.

But I'm OK.

Posting Interruptus

 Some personal stuff will keep me from posting regularly here over the next few days. I hope to be back to a normal schedule no later than June 1.

Too Long to Vote?

 The most recent complaint from the GOP in my area is that the paper ballots we now use (after decades of electro-mechanical machines that provided no individual hard copy record of each vote) "take too long" to fill out. The ballots use the "fill in the bubble" system we're all familiar with from standardized tests in school and are then scanned (just as our old test sheets were) to record the vote electronically, while the original ballot is secured for any possible future need (such as a recount).

Of course, this system was mandated by a Republican federal law that requires a hard copy of every vote and then backed up by a Republican vote in the state legislature that approved the specific system being used. Many of the complaints argue that it took up to 10 minutes to fill out the ballot in the recently completed primary election.

I find that hard to believe. I voted by mail and filled out my ballot at home. Although I did not time myself, I know I did not spend anything like 10 minutes filling in bubbles...it might have taken 5 minutes. Perhaps the problem is that there were four questions on the ballot in addition to the candidates...and, if you had not familiarized yourself with the issues being voted on, you might have needed time to read and digest them before casting your vote. But that is not a fault of the system--it's a fault of the individual voter, especially since the text of the questions was posted in every polling place for voters to read before getting their ballots and marking them. 

What's more--I know there were poll workers from both parties outside every polling place, handing out literature that included explanations of those questions and the party's stand on each. 

Oh, and the GOP preferred position on all of those questions--including two very controversial ones that the Democrats opposed--won.

Ch-Ch-Changes

 Has life gotten easier where you are? In some ways, I think it has, here...and in many ways, I think it has not. Some stores have posted notices that masks are no longer required if you fully vaccinated for COVID (but, of course, unless they are going to ask for proof--which they are not--there's no way for them to know), some have removed any notices about masks (so there's no way to know what the official policy is), and others are still requiring masks for everybody. (I should note that even those in the first category are still requiring masks for their employees.)

Traffic around here has picked up as well...still not up to pre-pandemic levels, but there are decidedly more cars on the road, especially during morning rush hour (that may be because most of the schools here have gone back to at least partial in-person classes...and may stop in a few weeks when school ends). Public transportation commuting still seems lower than 18 months ago, though even some of that is busier than six or eight weeks ago. The parking lot at the local commuter train station is three-quarters full most mornings now, whereas it was virtually empty in February. OTOH, the overflow lot a few blocks away, which used to be completely full by 8 AM, is still mostly unused.

Of course, lower traffic than normal may make life easier. It's faster to get most places these days than it was in 2019. It's also made things quieter in our house, since we live on the main drag through our town.

What's changed around you and what do you think will be a permanent change?

Doom and Gloom?

 Yesterday afternoon, on MSNBC's Deadline White House, frequent guest Dr. Peter Hotez expressed the opinion that the CDC had dropped the guidelines for mask wearing by vaccinated people too soon, saying there were still too many places where the number of vaccinated was too low and the case count too high.

It worries me when people of his stature contradict or criticize the CDC. It worries me because it gives the COVID-deniers and anti-vaxxers ammunition for their claims that either the experts don't know anything or that the while thing is overblown. It also, I think, discourages those who might be on the fence from getting vaccinated.

Furthermore, it encourages those who are not vaccinated to go ahead and blatantly ignore the calls to continue to mask up until they do get the shot. And it makes it more difficult for businesses who want to open up to the vaccinated...which is the only way we're going to get out of this.

I have friends--fully vaccinated friends--who are still hunkering down in their homes, getting everything delivered, and wearing masks outside even when only walking to the edge of their own property (to pick up the mail or put out the trash). I worry about their long-term mental health in that kind of seclusion, especially if they take the opinions of experts like Dr. Hotez to heart and are still isolating themselves long after the danger is past.

The New Voting Normal

 Headline story in today's local paper is that results from yesterday's primary election are not yet available, connected to a Republican complaint that some precincts ran out of GOP ballots (although no one was prevented from voting, since they were given the option of using the system for the disabled, which utilizes a touch-screen).

I suspect we will simply have to get used to the idea that--now that PA is using paper ballots in all counties--vote counts will simply take longer. Previously (as I know from working the polls in the past), all the tabulation was done in the machine, with a printout giving totals for each candidate. All we had to do was read the printout, fill out the reporting form, and send it to the county seat. Now, each ballot has to be scanned (or read by hand), a much more laborious process.

Nothing nefarious going on--just the result of switching to a system that provides greater reliability, as there is a hard-copy record of every vote (even for that touch-screen system, as it prints out a filled-out ballot when completed).

Trust?

 In a discussion of the current situation in Israel and Gaza, I was asked why Israel should ever trust the Palestinians. I responded with these words from "The Song of the King" from The King and I:

Is a danger to be trusting one another
One will seldom want to do what other wishes
But unless someday somebody trust somebody
There'll be nothing left on earth excepting fishes

Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy

 It seems the biggest concern as we move out of the pandemic is now "vaccine resistance" or "vaccine hesitancy"--the people who flat out refuse to be vaccinated or are hesitant for a variety of (other spurious) reasons. I have a proposition to help alleviate the problem.

Every employer who wants to be able to open fully--whether as an office, a retail establishment, a restaurant, an entertainment venue, whatever--should mandate that their employees be vaccinated: "no shots, no salary". Naturally, there would have to be exceptions for those with valid medical reasons (the immuno-compromised, for instance) and valid religious reasons (but "the vaccine was developed using fetal tissue" is not valid, IMO). Those with valid religious concerns are, to me, Christian Scientists and some old-order Amish.

Of course, this can't be governmentally mandated...but it can be strongly encouraged, perhaps through executive orders (at the federal, state and local level) that government agencies cannot do business with companies not following this rule--just as there are governmental policies related to hiring and prevailing wages. Actually, come to think of it, under local health codes, perhaps any company dealing in food service could be mandated to have only vaccinated staff.

And, obviously, government agencies at all levels can set up similar rules. "You want to be a teacher, cop, firefighter, etc.--get vaccinated."

Your thoughts?

Our Difficult Constitution

 This morning on Morning Joe on MSNBC, Linda Colley, professor of history at Princeton University and author of The Gun, The Ship, and the Pen, suggested that perhaps our founding fathers made it too hard to amend our constitution and that it is now severely out of step with the modern world.

She compared it to the second oldest constitution still in operation, that of Norway (1814), which she said had been amended numerous times and is constantly being amended even now, as circumstances require. Colley specifically noted that the Constitution makes no mention of political parties and is far more concerned with the threat of a landed aristocracy than with wealth accumulated and held by an increasingly small number of people--a plutocrat class.

Of course, changing the Constitution so that it is more easily amended would require, in and of itself, one of those very difficult to get amendments. And Colley readily noted that making any such changes now, in the midst of one of our most politically divided periods, could be perilous.

What was refreshing, however, was that when asked for how she would rectify the situation, she gave that rarely heard response on television: "I don't know."

COVID Freedom Day

 Jill and I got our second Moderna vaccine shots two weeks ago today so, as of this morning, we are both fully immunized (or at least as far as the current science came make us).

That means, if you are also vaccine-complete, should we meet in real life, we can all remove our masks, shake hands, hug, and act just as we would have 14 months ago. There are people reading this, I'm sure, who I can't wait to greet again as we once would have.

Happy Mother's Day

 As my own mother passed last year, as did Jill's, this will be a somewhat quieter, more somber celebration than in the past...but we do expect to hear from both our boys later on.

And I pass on tidings of the day to all the other mothers of my acquaintance--my sister Cathy, our friend Cat, the very many moms among my theater friends  (especially Cathy Mostek, Ruth Brittain, Jess Stinson), and all the ones in my church community as well.

My Heroes

 When you hear the word "hero" what comes to mind?

To me, a hero is a person with firm principles built on justice, truth, understanding, and love (in the Biblical sense of charity to all). Who are the heroes of my life? In fiction, there are two great ones: Superman and Atticus Finch.

Superman because, unlike so many other comic-book characters, his decision to work for the greater good is based on his own moral character, on his belief in the innate goodness of all beings. He's not operating out of vengeance (like, say, Batman) or as a member of some larger agency (like the Green Lanterns). Add to all that his immense power, a power that could easily allow him to enforce his vision on everyone--and the fact that he continues to not do that--and he is the very essence of what I consider a hero.

Atticus Finch (if you're not familiar with him, stop right now and go read To Kill a Mockingbird or watch the movie based on the novel) is a hero because he stands up for what he believes to be right in the face of overwhelming community opposition. He models righteousness not only for his own children but for the whole town. As his neighbor Maudie tells his children: “There are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us.  Your father’s one of them.” That is another prime example of what a hero is and does.

Do I have real-world heroes who live up to those ideals? Good question...I have to think about it.

Belated Star Wars Day

 The rector of my Episcopal parish posted this on Facebook yesterday and I decided it was too good not to share more widely:

Never Wrong?

 I wonder if I'm the only person who keeps hearing the military and security analysis commentary on President Biden's announced withdrawal from Afghanistan and gets echoes of the same class of people regarding Vietnam in the mid-1970s.

"Without our support, our allies are doomed." "If [Afghanistan/Vietnam] falls to the [Taliban/Vietcong], it is a massive threat to US security." "We should stay until [Afghanistan/Vietnam] has a stable democratic government."

Had we listened to that advice 60 years ago, I think we'd still be in Vietnam today...and Vietnam would not be the stable, prosperous country it is now, a country that is one of our strongest economic partners in Asia (despite being nominally "Communist"). We spent about 15 years in 'Nam before realizing our goals were unachievable; it'll be 20 years in Afghanistan by September, and we actually achieved our stated goals years ago--getting the terrorist organization that masterminded 9/11 (including the killing of Osama bin Laden).

I suspect that the reason these people keep arguing against withdrawal is the same reason they had about Vietnam--they simply cannot stand to be proven wrong.

M'aidez

 Say the title in proper French and you'll get it.

Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear
It's May, it's May, that gorgeous holiday
When every maiden prays that her lad will be a cad
It's mad, it's gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes
Everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May

Whence this fragrance wafting through the air?
What sweet feelings does its scent transmute?
Whence this perfume floating everywhere?
Don't you know it's that dear forbidden fruit

It's May, the lusty month of May
That darling month when everyone throws self-control away
It's time to do a wretched thing or two
And try to make each precious day, one you'll always rue
It's May, it's May, the month of yes you may
The time for every frivolous whim, proper or im-
It's wild, it's gay, a blot in every way
The birds and bees with all of their vast amorous past
Gaze at the human race aghast

Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear
It's May, it's May, the month of great dismay
When all the world is brimming with fun, wholesome or un-

It's mad, it's gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes
Everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May

 --Alan Jay Lerner

One Year

 This is the 364th posting on this blog. It ought to be the 365th, because when I started on May 1 of last year, I planned on posting something every day for at least a year. I missed one Saturday in December when I traveled to the funeral for my mother-in-law. I could have written and scheduled a posting for that day, but things were hectic and I never got around to it.

Still, I feel pretty good about missing my goal by only one (and for, I think, a pretty good reason). This has not been the first year of retirement I was expecting and the second year will not be either (for personal reasons I choose not to discuss on this blog). From this point on, I will not be maintaining a daily posting schedule, though I will endeavor not to miss more than two days in a row.

in Memoriam: Michael Collins, Astronaut

 

The death of Michael Collins leave just one of the Apollo 11 crew still with us, Buzz Aldrin. It also brings to mind a question: Where were you on July 20, 1969?

At the time of the landing, I was with a singing group at a Muscular Dystrophy camp in upstate New York. We had gone there from Staten Island to entertain the campers and staff. While we were there, the camp loudspeakers were broadcasting the radio coverage of the landing.

When the performance was over, we loaded onto our bus for the several-hour trip home. Arriving at about 11 PM, a group of us went to the home of a member who lived near the drop-off point to watch the TV coverage of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually walking on the moon....because we didn't want to split up to our own homes and miss it all.

Those of you who weren't alive or who were too young to remember 1969 have no idea what this all meant to us. We were sure it was the beginning of a grand future of space exploration. After all, the original run of Star Trek had ended only weeks before and it predicted that by the 1990s, we would have colonies on the moon and Mars. But Vietnam, Watergate, and so many other things got in the way...public interest and support for the space program waned. We had beaten the Russians to the moon--wasn't that the whole point?

The final Apollo mission came just three years later...and our space program came to be about satellites and occasional manned missions like SpaceLab. Nobody wanted to spend time and money on putting men on another planet. Didn't we have enough problems right here?

We've now kept the International Space Station manned continuously for more than 20 years and, thanks to private companies like SpaceX, plans for a return to the moon are on track.

It took but 60 years to go from the Wright Brothers to Apollo 11. Let's hope the span between Apollo 11 and a permanent presence on the moon isn't any longer than that.

TV Deja Vu

 Has this ever happened to you? Jill and I have recently begun watching a New Zealand cop/mystery show, The Brokenwood Mysteries. It's well done, with interesting cases, a terrific lead ensemble, and nice work maintaining a sense of a continuing world around them--the same locals appearing in multiple episodes, the same pub, etc.

But last night, we were watching the first episode of the third season--based around a guy who is running a scam "Lord of the Rings" tour (in an area of NZ that was not part of the trilogy)...and we realized we had, somehow, somewhere, seen it before. Trouble is, we could not for the life of us figure out when or where it was. We both could swear that we ran across the series while scanning through the shows available on the Acorn channel, we had never heard of it before.

Did it briefly run on one of the local PBS stations a few years back and we stumbled upon it? Not that we recall....but the episode began and we both immediately recognized it...and I even recalled the solution to the mystery.

I guess that makes for a new mystery.

I-Knock-ulation

 Well, it's 24 hours since Jill and I got our second shots of the Moderna vaccine. I'm fine, save for a sore shoulder, but Jill has been knocked for a loop.

She was all right until about 8:30 last night, when she began to get the chills. She felt that way all through the night, tossing and turning. When she woke this morning, it was better but she's still chilled and very tired. She has gone back to bed.

I think she's running a low-grade fever; she's taken Tylenol and had fluids.

Vax to the Max

 Jill and I both got our second Moderna vaccine shots this morning. In two weeks, May 10, we will be fully immunized.

Toon Theology

 This is really aimed at those among my friends who regularly attend religious services. I enjoy a good sermon, which leads, naturally, to the question: What makes a good sermon?

Well, let me tell you a bit about the sermon delivered by the deacon in my church this morning. Today is the Fourth Sunday after Easter, commonly called "Good Shepherd Sunday," because the Gospel reading will be one of the several that refer to Jesus by that term (today's was John 10:11-18). The psalm will be number 23--"The Lord is my shepherd...." and the hymns will all be ones that use that kind of reference.

So the deacon was taking that as the basis for his talk, and what did he start off with? A reference to a Warner Bros. cartoon, one of the several with Sam the sheepdog and Ralph the wolf, who clock in and out like factory workers. Why was this a good way to start? Because it was entertaining, it was light-hearted, and it put the congregation in the mood to listen. 

The sermon went on in that way, likening a shepherd's job to modern ones, speaking of those who are dedicated to their jobs--as the biblical shepherd is--and those who simply show up for the paycheck--like the biblical hired hand (or, for that matter, Sam and Ralph). Not a lot of deep historical stuff about sheep herding in ancient Palestine or even deep theological thought about God's relationship to his "flock"....just a way to make the analogy relevant to a 21st Century audience.

That is a good sermon.

I'll Take My Specialty for $200

 Time for something a bit light, I think.

If you were a contestant on Jeopardy, what categories would you want to have come up? Here are some of mine:

Comic books

Comic strips

Musical theater

Television

Movies

Science fiction

US geography

US history

Obviously, some of these might come up tangentially, or as categories like "Actors and Their Roles" or "State Capitals".

What would be your hoped-for areas of expertise?

Ultra Infrastructure

 What is our country's most pressing infrastructure need? 

Yes, obviously our failing bridges, roads and rails need to be repaired and replaced. But beyond those, what else constitutes "infrastructure" that keeps our nation working, moving, thriving? Several things come to my mind:

1. Broadband, both wired and wireless. Looking at coverage maps for the major wireless carriers, it seems that most of the nation is in good shape, at least for 4G service. But wireless service is not robust, it is too easily disrupted by weather and too often weakens as you are further from a cell tower (the dreaded "I only have one bar" syndrome). Wired is a better deal for truly reliable service, but vast areas of the country are unserved, either because it is not profitable to run wires to sparsely populated places or because there aren't enough people who can afford to pay for it, even in densely populated areas (particularly true in some urban environments).

The solution: We need, for broadband, what we had for electricity in the 1930s--a federal program to support the "internetization" (to coin a term) for rural and poverty areas.

2. Perhaps tied with this--because the wires would be on the same poles and towers--a strengthening and hardening of the power grid. No one should be without power for days on end after a natural disaster; our grid should be able to take up the slack and allow places where generation ability has been shut down to buy power from other locations. And no state or municipality should be allowed to go it alone (no more "Texases"); tying into the national grid should be a federal mandate--or you lose FEMA assistance in a power emergency.

3. Healthcare. Again, rural areas and areas with high poverty rates have both the poorest health and poorest healthcare. Just as education should not be dependent on zip code, neither should healthcare. A federal program to build and, if necessary, staff and operate hospitals and associated healthcare networks is required (and no matter what anyone says, yes. that is infrastructure).

Guns and Police

 Not every confrontation with a police officer is the same...even the ones where the officer is forced to fire a weapon. The examples of Daunte Wright in Minnesota, the 13-year-old in Illinois, and the 16-year-old in Ohio are not identical and should not be judged from the same position. 

Now, I'm not a lawyer, nor a policeman, but as a rational, reasonable observer, I can see the differences: Daunte Wright was completely unarmed and represented no threat to the officer or anyone else--and clearly the officer was in a heightened mental state, resulting in her confusion about which weapon she had even drawn; the 13-year-old did have a weapon when first encountered and refused to follow the officer's commands to stop running and to drop the gun, until the very last moment when it was clear he could not escape--and by then, the officer had, apparently, already made a decision about firing, a split second (literally) before the kid tossed the gun away; the girl in Ohio clearly had a knife and was definitely threatening serious harm (if not death) to another person, a situation in which we should expect and do expect a police officer to act decisively.

I wish we had a society like that in the United Kingdom, where cops do not regularly carry guns and those who do receive very special training about how to respond in the situations to which they are called to respond. Crimes committed with firearms are relatively rare in the UK, in part because ownership of such weapons has never been considered a "right" there. Even in rural areas, a license is required for any sort of firearm--from a pistol to a shotgun to a high-powered rifle--and those weapons must be kept under lock-and-key when not in legal use, as for hunting or target practice. A police officer can demand to see such licensed weapons at any time and failure to report them missing or stolen is a serious offense.

Reading His Mind

 Inside Derek Chauvin's head as the verdicts were announced:

Marvel on TV?

 Following up on yesterday's post, I began to think about what Marvel characters, now owned by Disney, of course, I would prefer to see in TV versions as opposed to movie versions--that is, which characters are simply not big enough, popular enough, to need a major motion picture. (Of course, I acknowledge that 20 years ago, no one would have thought Iron Man, Ant-Man, or the Guardians of the Galaxy fit into that mold.)

Anyway, I came up with a few:

The She-Hulk: The major reason I put her in this category is bccause of the way I would want her handled on screen. I firmly believe the only time Jennifer Walters' verdant alter-ego worked as a solo character was during John Byrne's run on the title, when it was treated with a light touch, almost as satire, and with a lot of broken fourth walls. That's an interpretation that I think works best as episodic television.

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire: This should be, essentially, a  private eye show where the detective has super-powers...Shaft with super-strength and invulnerability. I see it as 90-minute episodes, each standing alone, except for underlying plots about Cage's private life.

Werewolf by Night: Sure, it's just a twist on the classic horror theme, but in a movie, there has to be a final resolution to the hero's plight--either he dies or is cured...and then this is just one more version of The Wolf Man. But in an episodic format, especially if we go with the version where Jack Russell can control his wolf form on nights without a full moon.

Tunneling Through Time Again

 

The other day, the FXM Channel (sort of TCM for just 20th-Century Fox films) ran the movie version of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea...and that got me thinking.

Thanks to its acquisition of Fox, Disney now has the rights to all of the Irwin Allen movies and series. And then I pondered, which ones would lend themselves to a series on one of the Disney streaming services? I decided the most likely candidate (after Lost in Space, which has already been done) is The Time Tunnel.

With Disney's bigger budgets and modern SFX, this story of two guys lost in time and the home team trying to retrieve them could be a major success. And it needn't be plopping them down into a big historical event every week. Just a tale of trying to survive and fit in a time period that isn't your own would be intriguing enough and, of course, just as the original series did in its short run, sometimes they could wind up in the future, not the past.

Possibly, it could even be done as more than one new time jump every week. Maybe do it as an eight-episode season, with each story taking two episodes? And with an underlying season-long arc, perhaps one that is linked to the home base and not the time travelers?

Any thoughts?

Belated Birthday Thoughts

 Friday was my birthday. I am 69 years old. I am now 16 years older than my father was when he died, but still more than 20 years younger than my mother was when she died last year. I am nearly twice as old as my oldest child. 

I have reached the age where icons of my childhood--TV and movie stars, authors, politicians--are dying nearly every week. That's actually not surprising, as most of them are about the same age as my parents would be. More disturbing, perhaps, are the reported deaths of those I thought of as my contemporaries, people who are within a decade either way of my own age. I'm not talking here of the unfortunate ones who die from their misuse of drugs or alcohol, but from "natural causes," the same things that might well lead to my demise at some time. These are all reminders of my mortality.

I am not in fear of either old age or death, actually. I expect that, like my mother, I have another two decades in me, decades I will live to their fullest, as she did. On the other hand, I am less than a year from accomplishing the Biblical "three-full-score and ten".

Anglo-Saxon What, Exactly?

 Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, she of the Qanon alignment, is trying to organize an "America First" csucus in the House of Representatives, dedicated--she says--to promoting "uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions"--whatever those are.

Well, if we go back to the real Anglo-Saxon period in England, we're talking about a society divided by kinship, into families and tribes. We're talking about a very loose national identity, rooted in a king (there were actually three Anglo-Saxon kingdoms). Is that the political tradition Greene is alluding to?

Or is she talking about the later English tradition, where all political power was held by wealthy male landowners--one in which she, as a woman, would be merely the chattel of her nearest male relative, whether husband, father or brothers?

Or the pre-Victorian tradition of "rotten boroughs," where the common people were represented in Parliament (and I use "represented' in the loosest of possible terms) by, again, wealthy landowners, often not even part of their own community, who essentially bought their seats from the local aristocrat?

I could go on...because if she even means the political traditions brought to this continent by "the founding fathers." then we are still speaking of a government operated by and for the benefit of white male property-holders. Of course, maybe that is what she means--especially the "white" and "property-holders" parts, at any rate.

Getouttastan

 Who would have thought that, in the 21st Century, the United States would be involved in a conflict that in chronological length rivals some of the great wars of European history--the 30 Years War, the Hundred Years War? I propose that, in the future, we refer to the US involvement in Afghanistan as the 20 Years War.

Actually, if you include the Soviet invasion of that country and the US support of the mujahideen insurgents, it might well be called the 50 Years War.

And still there are those inside our military and outside, who insist we cannot withdraw, that two or three generations of US armed forces was not enough to achieve our goals and another generation (or two) is required. Isn't it just possible that our goals are simply not achievable, absent what was suggested in the early days of the conflict--bombing Afghanistan "back to the stone age"?

Afghanistan has proven to be an impassable wall for literally thousands of years, going back to Alexander the Great. What does it say that the Romans and Byzantines never even tried?

Quick Draw?

 Here's a question I think has not been put forward enough in regard to most interactions with police, and especially the two most recent ones to get national attention (the killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota and the traffic stop of the Army officer in Virginia): Why were the cops so quick to draw their weapons?

In both cases, these were nothing more than traffic stops. "Hey, buddy, your registration tag is expired." "Hey, buddy, you're missing the rear license plate." In the first case, the Minnesota DMV has admitted it has been delayed in processing registration renewals, so why was this a big deal to the cops? In the second case, the driver had a temporary plate in his rear window--which he pointed out to the police officers--and yet they still treated him as a violent threat.

Are these officers being trained that any refusal or hesitancy to respond to their commands is a life-or-death situation that requires weapons to be drawn? Are they so in fear for their lives even when they outnumber the "suspect" two- or three-to-one? What's more--as the video of the Virginia incident shows--multiple responding officers can result in them giving contradictory orders: "Show me your hands!" "Undo your seatbelt and get out of the vehicle!" (Literally impossible to do both, right?)

Is every suspect now to be considered "armed and dangerous?" Even military personnel in uniform? Will it only stop when the unarmed person injured or killed is a middle-aged white woman?

Behavior Modeling

 In this pandemic, how far does my personal responsibility extend? If I am comfortable not wearing a mask outdoors in non-crowded situations--such as a walk through a suburban neighborhood or a wide-open park--should I worry that my decision is "modeling" bad behavior for those who would choose to not wear masks in other more crowded conditions? Should I worry that my decision to eat in a restaurant--following all the local rules regarding that activity--will encourage others to be more risky in their own behavior, such as going maskless in a crowded bar?

I think not. Extending such philosophy to non-emergency situations, should I be concerned that my decision to wear only a light coat in 40-degree weather will lead others who are more prone to weather-related illness to do the same? Is it a problem that I go hatless most of the year--both in cold weather and in extreme heat and sun? Is that encouraging others to be equally "reckless"?

Reversing this: Is the guy who drives while texting encouraging me to be equally foolish? Or am I responsible for my own decisions in that regard? 

Make your own choices, based on the best information you have about both the community situation and your own.

My Perfect Community

 If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Here are my requirements: I want someplace that has actual seasons, but not extreme ones. That eliminates places like Hawaii or the Caribbean where it is essentially what we'd call "summer" 12 months of the year. It also eliminates places that get really cold on a regular basis.

I want a place with a major city nearby, but not necessarily in that city. I like the things that being near a city provide--theater, restaurants, public transportation. So the northern midwest is out of the question as is much of the Deep South.

I want a place where I can have outside space that belongs to me, to use at my convenience. It doesn't have to be huge--I'm not looking for acres of land, just a decent sized backyard. That probably means the really close "ring suburbs" of most cities are unlikely.

I want neighbors and community, but not to be cheek-by-jowl with them. I want to know I can go next-door or a couple of houses down and find someone to ask for help if needed. And I want diverse neighbors, a community that welcomes people of all kinds.

I want good schools and libraries--not because I have kids but because they say the community cares about kids and families, and education, and civic responsibility. 

Am I asking too much?

Let's Put on a Show

 Here's a question: Name a book or movie that hasn't been turned into a stage production (musical or not) that you think could be successfully transferred to live theater. This is inspired by the announcement that there will be stage production of a story based in the world of Westeros from Game of Thrones. My understanding is that it will not be an adaptation of anything in the books published so far, but a sort of prequel.

 A couple of my thoughts: The Phantom Tollbooth; Beverly Cleary's Ramona books (pick a series of incidents from them and build a plot); Great Expectations; Scaramouche (the film version features the longest duel in movies--imagine that on stage).

Any ideas?

 

Dissing Meghan

 And now there is discussion on exactly why Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is not accompanying her husband, Prince Harry, to his grandfather's funeral. Why is it some people cannot simply accept the perfectly reasonable explanation that her doctor has advised against a pregnant woman making a 6000-mile flight? For that matter, with the attendance limited to just 30 people, isn't it a humane gesture for her to make space for someone with a much closer relationship to Prince Philip than hers? (After all, the prime minister has said he will not attend for just that reason.)

It amazes me how people will seek to find the worst in this woman.

Closing the Gaetz?

 So, Matt Gaetz's  buddy Joel Greenberg has been arrested and charged, after several hours of a stand-off in which he threatened harm to himself and/or others, if he didn't get a deal. No word on what that deal may include, but experts in federal law enforcement say there's no way he got any deal at all without agreeing to talk about others involved in his encounters with under-age women....and the biggest suspected fish in that pond is Gaetz.

And, finally, another Republican member of the House, Adam Kinzinger, has said Gaetz should, at the least, lose his seats on any committees and, at the most, resign or be ejected from Congress. The feeling seems to be that none of that will happen unless and until Gaetz is also officially charged with a crime. Meanwhile, Gaetz continues to operate as a member of the House committee that oversees the very people who are investigating him.

The House ethics committee is also looking into Gaetz. I'm not impressed...the ethics committee is, for the most part, a toothless tiger.

In Memoriam: The Duke of Edinburgh

 Philip Mountbatten, born with the surname Battenberg, was a prince of both the Greek and Danish royal houses. He was exiled from Greece (where his grandfather had been king) with his family after the Graeco-Turkish war in the 1920s. Eventually, he settled in the United Kingdom and, like his uncle Louis, anglicized his name and became a British citizen.

He served with distinction in World War 2 and, as a cousin to King George VI, became friendly with his daughter, Elizabeth, the princess royal and heir to the throne. Despite a bit of familial interference, they were married and had two children, Charles and Anne, before Elizabeth's father died and she became Queen Elizabeth II.

They have had one of the longest royal marriages in history--65 years--and, reportedly, one of the strongest. The Prince has been recognized as a driving force in the modernization of the British monarchy, especially in the early years of Elizabeth's reign.

Binge Thoughts?

 As I do periodically, I ask: what are you watching?

Many of the things Jill and I have been watching are either ending, have ended, or--if they are series that actually stopped production years ago--we have reached the end of what's available. Before I ask for recommendations, let me give you a look at what we have been viewing, so you know our tastes:

Death in Paradise (which just began putting its latest season on Britbox)

Waking the Dead

Hinterland

The Brokenwood Mysteries (New Zealand)

Midsomer Murders

New Tricks

Longmire

Upstart Crow

Wycliffe

Shetland

Vera (completed its most recent season before the pandemic and doesn't seem to have gone back into production)

Murder City

City Homicide (Australia)

Yes, it's a lot of mystery/crime and much of it British. So, can you recommend similar material from the US or  other countries? Or perhaps, to coin a phrase, "something completely different"? FTR, we currently subscribe to Netflix, Britbox, Acorn, Disney, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube TV.

Cui Bono?

 The title of this post is Latin for "who benefits?" In law, it's a question asked when there is an issue of financial or other benefit to a person from a crime--be it murder, fraud, or something else. The presumption is that the individual or individuals who gained the most is the most likely culprit.

Who benefits when voting is made more difficult? When the very act of getting to the polls is hard? When proving you have a right to vote is made arduous? Clearly it's not the challengers in an election--they want a big turnout, because it may bring to the polls the people who oppose the incumbents. Smaller turnouts are almost always beneficial to incumbents, who have the name recognition and record to run on; who can, in most cases, rely on those who have voted for them in the past to vote for them again. This is especially true in places where the majorities are very lopsided and have been for a long time.

So, when a legislature acts to restrict access to the polls--by making mail-in ballots harder to get, by "consolidating" polling places, by limiting the hours and days when polls are open--it's a good bet it did not do so to help the minority party. Virtually any voting law enacted by a legislature--whether Republican or Democrat-controlled--is designed to help the party in power.

Trial? Error?

 Have you been watching any of the TV coverage of the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd? I can't say I've been glued to it, but when I sit down to lunch I turn it on and I sometimes catch another 30 to 60 minutes toward the end of my day.

It's fascinating watching the prosecution build its case, particularly as they clearly work to forestall predictable defense tactics. For example, yesterday as the Minneapolis police chief took the stand, the prosecutor took him through a somewhat tedious recitation of his entire curriculum vitae--where he grew up, where he went to school (including high school), what positions he has held in the department, etc. Usually in those cases, a witness's resume will be submitted to the court and stipulated to by both parties....but it seemed that the prosecution wanted to leave no holes for the defense to drive a case through. They wanted it clear that the chief knew every inch of the training, policy, and methods of the police department.

The defense is equally interesting. The strategy seems to be to suggest that department training, policy and practice gives an officer great leeway to operate "in the moment," to make decisions of how to handle a situation and a suspect in terms of the circumstances at that moment....and that Chauvin therefore was acting appropriately. While the chief--and other police higher-ups who have testified--acknowledged that an office must be allowed to act in a manner consistent with the immediate situation, they all insisted that in no way did that permit Chauvin to restrain Floyd in the way he did once it was clear that Floyd could no longer resist and, indeed, had stopped resisting. The chief put it this way (paraphrasing): Once a person is handcuffed behind his back and placed in a prone position, there is no cause for further restraint.

Does violation of that policy and practice make Chauvin's actions murder? I am not entirely read up on the Minnesota statutes, but when you combine it with Chauvin's and his fellow officers' callous disregard for Floyd's physical condition--no attempts to check his pulse or breathing, despite calls to do so from a trained EMT bystander--and it starts to look that way.

Truth, Justice and.....?

 I'm going to ask a question and not answer it myself, because I want to hear what others think.

We all remember the final words of the opening to the 1950s Superman series: "a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way." What is "the American way"? And if it needs to be delineated separately from truth and justice, does that mean it is something more than those virtues? If so, what is it?

I am truly interested in your answers.

Rising

 I attended a lovely church service last night, an Easter vigil, held outdoors with a fire pit, candles and unusual readings, including a singing of the spiritual "Go Down Moses," in place of the Old Testament reading from Exodus.

Of course, as in any Easter service, a good part of the theme was "rising". And that got me to thinking today about our current situation. Are we rising, as a community, as a nation, as a world? In many ways, I think we are--we are rising, slowly and in fits and starts, from a pandemic; we are rising from a political morass of lies, corruption, and partisan stagnation; we are rising from a world of international distrust.

But, in other ways, we may be sinking. Sinking into a feeling that only those who believe as we do (politically, religiously, ethically) are men and women of good will; sinking into a world divided by wealth and poverty.

My hope is that we can rise above that sinking into a dawn of nationwide and worldwide resurrection.

Happy Easter!

Seasoning Humanity

 Every religion has festivals and holidays tied to the seasons. For Judaism, it begins in the fall with Rosh Hashana (New Year) and Yom Kippur coming right around the autumnal equinox. Then comes Chanukah, at the winter solstice and Passover at the vernal equinox. In late spring, just before the summer solstice is Shavuot.

For Christianity, it starts with Christmas, just after the winter solstice, followed by Easter at the vernal equinox, Pentecost in late spring, and All Saint's Day just after the autumnal equinox.

We began as hunter-gatherer and agrarian people, to whom the seasons were important because of changes in the available food. Now the seasons mark our other activities--sports, vacations, school. We are a seasonal animal, as much as birds, insects, and other mammals.

Two Films to Miss

 What's the worst movie you've ever seen? I'm not talking about the acknowledged disasters, like Plan Nine from Outer Space or even Reefer Madness. I'm talking about a movie made by people with respectable resumes and careers, that had reasonable budgets (i.e., not made on a shoestring), and that the filmmakers obviously intended to be successful?

For me, it has long been and remains Superman III, with Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, and Robert Vaughan. I should point out that I saw it at a press screening during the time I was writing regularly for Starlog. I have always joked that it was movie I saw for free and still paid too much. I have steadfastly refused to ever see it again.

Second place would have to go to Ken Russell's abominable attempt to make a movie from Sandy Wilson's musical The Boy Friend, starring Twiggy in the role originated on stage by Julie Andrews (yes, you read that right). I also saw this at a press screening when I was in college, working for the campus radio station. What's wrong with it? Virtually everything--casting, tone (Russell took a light-hearted retro romp and turned it into a dark "behind-the-scenes" story), jettisoned all the best songs (or reduced them to a verse and a chorus, often performed while other action was taking the forefront), and filmed it all in cinema-verite style. Another film I have never made any attempt to see again (and I love musicals!).

April Fools

 No, no pranks...but a brief comment on the nature of the foolish things being said and done politically right now.

Top of the list: The Georgia legislature and governor--in the long run, this attempt to protect Republican domination of state government there can only result in damage to the state's economy and reputation. 

Next is the defense in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. So far, their plan seems to be to discredit the various eyewitnesses who are testifying. Such discrediting can work when the only record of events is the testimony of those witnesses...but we have multiple video records of the incident, from multiple vantage points and angles, and so far, the witnesses' descriptions all seem to agree with that video evidence.

Third is Matt Gaetz. The Justice Department probe into his relationship with a teen-age girl began under a Republican administration; it's hard to see how he can possibly decry it as a partisan campaign.

Last is those trying, somehow, to make the behavior of the Bidens' dogs into a cause celebre. Really? The best you can come up with is that one of them has harmlessly nipped at a few ankles and one of them (we don't know which) had an accident on the White House floor? I doubt any of this will make the complainers popular with a dog-loving American public.