How Much Do You Know? 1

 My son, Brian, and I both participate in an on-line competition called "Learned League". I won't go deep into the weeds about the rules here, but basically, every day you receive a set of six questions in a variety of categories, ranging from science, history, math to different elements of pop culture.

Over the next several days, I'm going to post one set of questions each day. See how many you can answer correctly. I'll post the answers the next day.

1. Name the German who won Wimbledon Singles championships in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, and 1996, with the first of those a part of a historic "Golden Slam" (all four Grand Slams plus Olympic gold).


2. At least 60 pharaohs of ancient Egypt's 18th to 20th dynasties, beginning with Thutmose I and famously including Tutankhamun, were buried in tombs in a narrow gorge in western Thebes known (quite accurately, in fact) as the ______ of the _____. (Fill in both blanks.)


3. What unit of measurement of angles is equal to approximately 57.296 degrees? Exactly π/2 of this unit equals a right angle.


4. In the original 1955 Broadway run of the musical Damn Yankees, Gwen Verdon played what character, the devil's assistant who gets whatever she wants?


5. American chemist Stephanie Kwolek developed the first liquid crystal polymer fiber, leading to the development of poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, which has a myriad of applications (e.g., tires, cables, helmet, ballistic body armor). This polymer is better known by what brand name owned by DuPont (Kwolek's employer for 40+ years)?


6. Africa's third-largest lake by area (after Victoria and Tanganyika) covers 20% of its namesake country. What is the name that the lake and country share?

Christmas Prep

 When do you "put up" Christmas? When our kids were younger, we always made sure it was done before they were off from school, usually the weekend before their last day. We would put up the tree and we would decorate it as a family. Sometimes, I would get the outside lights done before that.

Since we became empty nesters, it seems to be getting later and later, with the only requirement being that it be ready before one or both of them came to spend time over the holidays. Confession: Last year, with the pandemic and neither of them traveling, we did nothing at all, not even a tree.

This year, I suggested we put the tree up this coming weekend, especially since we have acquired a much smaller one than usual and it will take up less space. My wife wants to wait until next week. I have acquiesced.

Of course, when I was growing up, nothing happened until Christmas Eve itself...but that's another story.

Theater Future

 I don't think I can make an official announcement yet, but in June I will be directing again--a classic drama set in an historical period, well known for its Oscar-winning film adaptation. More info when I have the official OK.

Vaccine Truths

 There has been a lot of panic news about the increase in COVID infections and hospitalizations since Thanksgiving, but I think the media are generally ignoring the real story. Every story reporting on this should include--in the first paragraph, if not the first sentence--that the vast majority of new infections and new hospitalizations have been among the unvaccinated. Unvaccinated patients make up about 90 percent of all new infections and about 99 percent of all hospitalizations.

Yes, most stories get that information in, but usually not until the third or fourth paragraph (and in a TV report, not until just before the end)--and, frankly, most readers never get that deep into a story.

As a medical expert bluntly said on MSNBC's Deadline: White House on Wednesday, these people are simply "stupid". And he repeated it. Yes, there is a very small percentage of adults for whom a vaccination might be life-threatening due to allergies or some underlying condition. But about 40 percent of Americans over the age of 18 are not vaccinated...and the number who have a true medical reason to skip vaccination is simply nowhere near that amount.

This is, for many of these people, a purely political statement. Recent data indicate that lack of vaccination is much more likely among Republicans than Democrats or independents; that it is far higher in counties that voted for Donald Trump in 2020. 

What does it get you to "own the libs" by risking your own health?

Sad News

 Yesterday we learned that one of my oldest friends in the comics business, who I met when we were both still just fans, is seriously ill.

I met George Perez when I was co-editing a fanzine called Factors Unknown and he submitted work to two of the three issues we published. He was already a far better artist than either I or my co-editor Jim Glenn and within a few months he was working as an assistant to Rich Buckler, and within another year, was doing his own art on a character he co-created at Marvel, the White Tiger.

He went on to become one of the most important artists of the 1980s and '90s, with seminal work at both Marvel and DC, notably on The Avengers and The New Teen Titans, which he co-created with Marv Wolfman. He was responsible for a resurgence in interest in Wonder Woman, when he revamped her for the post-Crisis DC universe.

Complications from diabetes forced George into retirement a few years ago.

Now, he has announced on his Facebook page that he has stage three pancreatic cancer, with a prognosis of six months to a year. He has decided to forego any therapy and let nature take its course.

Beyond his talent, George is beloved in the comics community for his humor, his friendliness, his charity. No "star" has ever been more open and available to his fans. At conventions, he would usually skip appearing on panels or even single interviews, preferring to sit at a table in "artists alley" and greet fans who asked for autographs and sketches. No one ever went away disappointed, even if all they wanted was a few minutes talking with a great artist.

I hadn't seen much of him since he moved to Florida a decade or so ago, but I cherish the time we had together. My prayers are with him and his wife, Carol, that they have longer together than the doctors are predicting.

"Flux" Capacity 2

 Once again, I find myself apparently in the minority among internet commenters on the current season of Doctor Who (but I've been in that position throughout Jodie Whitaker and Chris Chibnall's run). I thought episode 6 of "Flux" was a fine ending to the story, having wrapped up all the many threads from the first five episodes and leaving us with a satisfactory place to move on from.

I was pleased that the Doctor decided she didn't need (or didn't want) to know the information hidden in the watch...but at the same time did not irrevocably destroy it, either. Yes, leave it for another team to explore should they wish to do so.

Yes, Division's and Swarm and Azure's motives remain a bit murky, I'll admit, but villains do not always need clear motives--sometimes they just do bad things because that's the way their minds work. (Does anybody think Charles Manson's motives, as a real-world example, made any sense at all?)

I'm happy with things as they stand and a bit sorry we only get to see three more adventures from this team.

Annie--Not So Live

 First, an admission: I did not watch the entirety of NBC's Annie Live production Thursday night. I caught about an hour of it, from the scene with "Easy Street" through the reprise of "Tomorrow" in the White House. As the title of this post might suggest, I was not impressed.

My major complaints are two. One, it completely destroys the flow of a show that was meant to be seen with only one interruption (at intermission between the acts) when you are interrupting for as much as three minutes every 10 minutes. This is the sort of broadcast that cries out for "limited commercial interruptions." Two: The pacing and tempo of the performance felt like molasses in January. Even numbers that ought to be rousing and enthusiatic like "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" seemed to be something the cast was just slogging through.

One other thing: Some of the choices made were bad. The production inserted the dance number "We Got Annie" from the movie version, that was included to let Anne Reinking show off her skills. Here, it was obviously chosen to allow Nicole Scherzinger do the same thing. But to fit it in, they had to cut the much better number "You Won't Be an Orphan For Too Long."

Frankly, I've seen high school productions of this show that were livelier.

Lighting It Up

 Jill and I tried to watch the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center on NBC last night--but didn't actually make it to the moment when they threw the switch.

The show began locally at 7 PM, with an hour that was obviously prepared for local stations and the network's owned-and-operated stations to run and sell advertising for. Then at 8, they changed over to the nationally broadcast show on the network. We were disappointed that the tree lighting didn't occur by 8, but when the network show began, we figured that they would do it by 9. But, no....the network show ran until 10 and tree didn't finally light until a few minutes before that hour. 

Clearly, like the Thanksgiving parade last week, what was once a local kick-off to the holiday season, scheduled so that New Yorkers could see it and even bring their kids to see a little Christmas wonder in person, is now just a performance put on for the convenience of the TV network that has bought the broadcast rights. As we watched, we realized that the "audience" that was closest to the stage (and thus the tree) were invited guests (perhaps employees of Rock Center and NBC and their families), because they were all armed with the same light sticks and wearing identical Santa hats.

I pity any parent who went to Rock Center with children to see this: First of all, they could never have gotten close enough to really see anything...and they would have been standing in the cold and dark for three hours (actually longer--they probably would have needed to be there by mid-afternoon to get within even two blocks of the site) until well after the kids' bedtime.

Bah, humbug!

"Flux" Capacity

 I am now officially tired of the alleged Doctor Who fans who have been bitching about "Flux," the six-episode story that is tying up much of what show-runner Chris Chibnall has done in his previous two seasons of the show.

Episode 5, "Survivors of the Flux," did, I think, a masterful job of pulling together the various plot strains of this tale and of giving us greater insight to the Timeless Child, Division, and Chibnall's overall plan. Yet still I read complaints. If those complaints are about the very existence of the Timeless Child plot, I can almost understand--some people simply do not like to have long-standing canon toyed with. (And still, DW has done just that numerous times in its nearly six-decade history. For one thing, until the current version, with the glow and the blasts of light from the extremities, every regeneration was depicted differently--from the simple camera dissolves of One to Two, and Three to Four, to the mysterious figure merge of Four to Five).

And if "Flux" is confusing, why did so many of these same fans embrace Game of Thrones--which had enough plot lines and twists to fill four or five six-episode stories...and then clumsily tied them all up in one eight-episode final season?

I have never been confused by anything in "Flux"...perhaps because I've been paying attention and not just looking for things to carp about.

In Memoriam: Stephen Sondheim

 By now, you all know Stephen Sondheim died on Friday. In my amateur theatrical career, I have only been involved with his work a few times: I played Cinderella's Father in a production of Into the Woods, I helped build sets for a production of West Side Story, and I sort of played the man himself in a production of Forbidden Broadway in the number called "Into the Words," which satirizes the sheer wordiness of Sondheim's lyrics. 

But there are a number of his songs I would love to have the chance to perform: "Being Alive," of course; "You Must Meet My Wife," one of the funniest duets ever written; "Something's Coming", among them.

I am not a fan of all his work: Sweeney Todd seems a bit too grisly for my tastes, Pacific Overtures a little depressing, Sunday in the Park with George perhaps a touch obscure and vague in getting its point across. But Company, A Little Night Music, and Into the Woods are genius...and his collaborations--West Side Story and Gypsy--are theatrical masterpieces.

He was 91 and working professionally since he was 21. Seventy years of theater wonderfulness.

Happy Thanksgiving

 I won't be posting for the rest of this week, so I'll wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving today and see you again probably on Sunday.

Rittenhouse Reaction

 I debated posting about this for two days, in part because I wanted to be sure I understood all the legal stuff involved. Now, after reading and seeing analysis from several sources, I'm ready to say my piece.

First, while the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse was, in no way, the correct moral outcome, it seems to have been the correct legal one--and it is important to note that legality and morality do not always go hand in hand. Apparently, self-defense under Wisconsin law, is a comparatively low bar to make. Let me explain: In any jurisdiction, self-defense is what's called an affirmative defense. That means that the defendant doesn't have to prove he was acting in self-defense, the prosecution has to prove he wasn't. Based on what I've found out, the standard in Wisconsin is "did the defendant reasonably believe his life was in danger?" That's a tough position for a prosecutor to fight against--it basically asks the jury to read the defendant's mind. 

The prosecution can try to argue that no reasonable person would fear for his life in the same circumstances or, as they did in the Rittenhouse trial, that he put himself in the dangerous position. Trouble is, the law--at least in Wisconsin--considers only the imminent danger, that is, the situation at the moments just before the decision to use deadly force. That Kyle Rittenhouse should have reasoned that just by going into a volatile situation he was putting himself at risk is, it seems, immaterial. All that matters is his state of mind as his attackers acted against him.

And the attackers' intentions are equally immaterial. Was their only intention to disarm Rittenhouse? Doesn't matter. If Rittenhouse thought they intended to cause him bodily harm, that's all that's required to successfully argue self-defense.

So, there's the legal side of it. Now for the moral side of it.

That requires us to ask the question that the legal standard ignores: Why in hell did Kyle Rittenhouse travel 20 miles to a city where he didn't live to confront a mob with a military-style rifle? Even if we accept his testimony that he was there to protect property, we have to ask, why did he feel that was his job, his responsibility? Had it been his property, his neighbors' property, his city, we might be able to agree--he had a right and a duty to defend it. But what made it urgent for him to go to Kenosha that night?

I'm afraid that, morally, I can see no justification for him to even be there--let alone armed as he was. To my mind, he just felt the need to be on the scene, to take the opportunity to do something "heroic" in the eyes of the right-wing crowd he admired. "I will stand up against the mob," he seems to have been thinking--even though, by the time he got there, the "mob" was largely dispersed, those who were left were mostly peaceful, and there was no substantial property damage or human damage that night. (Only three shots were fired that night--all by Rittenhouse--and the only deaths were the ones Rittenhouse caused.)

So, there's my stance: I hate that he got off, but I think the jury had no choice.

Return to Directing

 On Wednesday morning, I said I had no news to report. By 5 that afternoon, I did.

I will be assistant director on Spotlight Theatre's production of Sylvia (follow the link for more info). Performances are March 18-20, 25-27. Come out and see this romantic comedy about a man, a woman and their dog.

No Thoughts

 I have been trying to keep up an every-other-day posting schedule here, but some days it's a struggle. This is one of those days. Nothing new to report in my life, no cultural or political events on which to comment. 

Come back on Friday.

Future Theater

 As I noted on Saturday, my current stage production has closed....and I am now left with little to fill my free time, unless one of two (or possibly both) things happens: I am cast in the production of The Three Musketeers I auditioned for last week (hoping for Richelieu or Captain Treville) or the production I have submitted to another theater is picked up for this season or early next.

That production is The Lion in Winter by James Goldman. You're probably familiar with the film version, starring Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, and a couple of very young actors in their earliest roles--Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton. The script for the film is a virtual copy of the stage version, with the exception of "opening up" the action to outside the walls of Chinon Castle and adding a lot of extras in the background.

The play is quite simple in its staging and very "theatrical", leaving much of the setting to the imaginations of the audience. It also has only seven characters--Henry II, Eleanor of Acquitaine (his wife), his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), his mistress, Alais (princess of France and, by treaty, betrothed to Henry's successor), and King Philip of France, Alais's younger brother.

I've wanted to direct it for many years.  I hope I finally get the chance.

Closing Night

 Tonight is the final performance of A Few Good Men at Spotlight Theatre in Swarthmore. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to get there tonight. (Follow the link for more info.)

Following the performance, as is traditional, we will have a cast party, the first gathering of this kind and this size I have attended in nearly two years. All the participants are fully vaccinated, so I have no qualms regarding this.

Veterans Day

 Just as I came up to my desk, I heard the tail-end of what I can only call a "rant" by a "spokesperson" for veterans--and no, I didn't get his name--on MSNBC, decrying the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

He made several claims--without offering proof--that the Taliban are hunting down and executing Afghans who worked with the US and allied forces. He said veterans were ashamed of the way these allies were "abandoned" by our government--again, without offering any examples of this attitude being expressed, except by himself. 

He concluded that "veterans are not celebrating today," because of this decision by the Biden adminstration. I would bet a lot of veterans are celebrating--celebrating that no more American lives will be lost in an unwinnable conflict, celebrating that so many of their brothers and sisters came home alive and will not have to go back, celebrating that our government at last came to its senses about the appropriate way to combat terrorism.

Boosted

 I got my Moderna covid booster yesterday. So far (almost 24 hours later) no ill effects other than the usual sore shoulder.

Candidates and Public Spaces

 Yesterday morning, a Republican gubernatorial candidate launched his campaign from my neighborhood--unfortunately, with a rally held on the grounds of my township's municipal complex. Here's a letter I wrote to the local paper today:

To the editor:

What gave gubernatorial candidate Dave White the right to hold a rally on what ought to be the politically neutral grounds of the Ridley Township Municipal complex? What allowed him to use township police to block access to those grounds for anyone except his supporters for two hours, so that tax-paying residents (of whatever political stripe) could not get to the library, for instance?

If a candidate wishes to announce his candidacy, let him rent a private space in which to do so, not commandeer a public space for his partisan purposes. If this was something the Ridley commissioners agreed to (even if there was a fee involved), I have to ask if the all-GOP members of that body would have been so accommodating to a Democratic candidate. (On the other hand, I suspect no Democratic candidate would think using public space in this way was proper.)

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Return to Theatre

 The production I am currently involved in as stage manager, A Few Good Men, opens tonight at the Spotlight Theatre in Swarthmore, PA.

Here's a review.

Part of the power of the play is that the audience and protagonist Daniel Kaffee take the journey together. Ryan Mattox is charming and irreverent in the Tom Cruise role. Kaffee evolves over the length of the trial and Mattox is very convincing as he takes the character from casual involvement to a deeper understanding of his own responsibility to others. His counterpart, Joanne Galloway (Ally Batot) evolves in another direction, moving from nitpicky and intrusive to empowered. A takes a few good women too! Recasting the judge (Shanna Massad) as a woman was a nice touch.

“A Few Good Men” has a large cast with many interesting characters and it would be easy to point out outstanding moments from all of them. Nods to the coldly righteous Kendrick (Sean McDermott) and endearingly dim Downey (Brendon Thomas). And watching Randino Rosario present two memorable characters with hardly a breath between them was a real treat.

 And a brief quote from a different review:

 From the first marching roll calls that boom out from off stage, A FEW GOOD MEN drops the audience into the midst of the marines. Although they are military personnel, Kaffee and Galloway are outsiders, like us. The audience is drawn into the action through their eyes and the view is mesmerizing. Clean, well-paced staging keeps the Spotlight production running smoothly and the outcome is highly satisfying whether one is a long time fan of A FEW GOOD MEN, or a first time visitor to Guantanamo.

If you're in the area, come out and see the show: It runs this weekend, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, matinee on Sunday at 2; and next Friday and Saturday, again at 7.

 

 

 

Jack Frost

 For the first time since, I think, March, there is frost on the car windows this morning. I guess the seasons have finally changed around here. Leaves have been falling for about two weeks, but without much visible color change--mostly they have gone straight to brown this year.

I wonder what this bodes for winter.

"Tech Hell"

 Last night, for the first time in nearly two years, I participated in the first technical rehearsal for a community theater production. For those who have never done anything like this, it means the first time the cast has rehearsed with all the lighting and sound effects. It is often chaotic, leading to the common term for this day as "tech hell".

It's a long day--we started at 1 PM and did not finish until 8 (with a 40 minute break for pizza). It begins with "cue-to-cue," as the lighting and sound operators check that they know when each effect comes in and when it's over. Then comes a run-through without the effects, to be sure the cast are full ready. Then dinner and a full dress rehearsal with lights and sounds--and more chaos, as the actors are faced with things like "No, Chuck, you can't move that far left on that line, you're moving out of your light" or "Sue, you'll have to speak a bit louder; I've got the sound as low as I can go and I can't hear you over the background noise."

Tonight, we'll do it again, hopefully with all the glitches worked out (although new ones will undoubtedly crop up; they always do). By opening Friday night, all will be well...or as well as live theater ever is.

Overplanning Halloween

On Facebook, a friend who lives in another town was describing how the various neighborhoods and towns in her area were regulating trick-or-treat. Some had declared it must be done on Friday night and within certain hours; others said Saturday and limited hours; still others Sunday within a specific time; and there were those who said anytime on Sunday was OK.

Now, growing up on Staten Island in the 1950s and '60s, we did trick-or-treating on Halloween--and only on Halloween--no matter what day of the week it fell on. In general, the younger kids went out in daytime, usually right after school, and stayed out until dinner time. Older kids (say, 10 and up) went out after dark and usually stopped between 9 and 10 PM. Some really little ones might be out at those hours, too, with an adult accompanying them (probably because the adult had to wait until they were home from work).

I really don't understand the municipal need to control this activity as if it were equivalent to businesses doing soliciting...or a parade taking over a thoroughfare. It's children in "fancy dress" entertaining the neighbors and being rewarded with a few little pieces of candy. It's a community acting in concert, without government oversight, to celebrate and have some harmless fun.

But apparently, we have some Grinches in this world who, not content in stealing Christmas, are now stealing Halloween as well.

 

Firearms on Stage 2

 I've never worked on a film set (though I have visited a few) and never been involved with a professional theater production...but I can say this: I have worked on many amateur stage productions and none of them would ever take the risks that were apparently taken on the set of Rust that resulted in the recent tragedy.

The closest thing to a "real" gun I've ever been around on stage is a starter's pistol, the gun used to signal the beginning of a race, which is designed to do nothing more than make a loud bang--no projectile, not even the wadding that is part of a standard blank round. Even then, no one would have thought to aim that weapon at anyone. The standard was always to "cheat" a bit--the gun was pointed to the left or right of the alleged target and, thanks to distance and stagecraft, the audience is none the wiser (or, if they are, they understand it is all make-believe anyway.)

Live rounds on set? Crew and actors taking "target practice" in their down time? Fingers on triggers outside of "action" being called? Somebody is responsible for some very lax standards.

Firearms on Stage

 I'm working as an assistant stage manager for a community theater production of A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin...and that has got me thinking very hard about safety, especially after the tragic events on the set of Rust this week.

Our play famously includes a suicide by gunshot. The character in question handles the gun in two different scenes. I know our firearm is a dead weapon--purely a prop without even the possibility to be loaded, let alone fire a projectile or even a blank--and we have staged the scene so that the gunshot occurs offstage, with only the sound of the shot heard.

Still, I wonder if our audiences--we open in 11 days--will have the recent tragedy on their minds when they see the gun on our stage...and be thinking of what could happen if that gun did fire? 

"Light Sleep?"

 I did something this morning I haven't done in months--I slept late. Now, to be fair, sleeping late in this house means rolling out of bed at 7 AM, since we're usually up between 5:30 and 6. Still, it's really rare for me to do that--and rarer still for Jill to do so as well.

What kept us in bed? We're not sure, but we think light might have something to do with it. In our part of the world right now, sunrise isn't until around 7:30, so "first light" is right around 7. The blame for that is, at least in part, on Daylight Saving Time, which doesn't end in the United States until the first weekend of November. And then we'll need another month to get used to that change.

This does not mean, however, that I am in favor of year-round DST--precisely because of what it means in terms of dark early mornings. I can remember waiting at the school bus stop in deep twilight with my kids in January--and that is with Standard Time in effect! With DST, we'd have been waiting in the pitch of night. There are those who would argue that the solution to that is to start school later...but that would just turn the twilight trip from morning to afternoon. (Sunset in mid-January is 5 PM. Move school hours 90 minutes later, and that afternoon school bus is arriving home just about then.) It would also make after-school activities nearly impossible.

If anything, I would actually shorten DST. It's currently nearly two-thirds of the year! I think late April to early October is about right.

The "Spider-Man Rule"

 The recently late Colin Powell is well-known for promulgating what he called "the Pottery Barn rule" in military and diplomatic policy--"if you break it, you bought it." (Oddly enough, Pottery Barn doesn't actually have that policy.) I would like to propose a corollary--the "Spider-Man rule"--"with great power comes great responsibility."

This rule applies not only in foreign affairs but in domestic affairs and at all levels, from the tiniest municipality to the mightiest nation. It applies to the cop on the beat as much as it does to the Commander-in-Chief. If your position gives you the power to affect others, you are obligated to use that power responsibly--with justice, with equality, with mercy.

And the rule doesn't only apply to those in government or law enforcement. It applies to medicine, for example, and to business. It applies to family relations. There is scarcely any element of human life in which position implies power where it does not apply.

If the youthful readers of Spider-Man's origin story in 1962 could absorb this lesson, I fail to understand why our leaders in all fields today cannot do the same.

"Truth, Justice, and....."?

 As you have likely heard by now, DC Comics has announced a change in the time-honored phrase that defines Superman's "never-ending battle". It is no longer "truth, justice and the American way"; it now closes with "a better tomorrow".

The original version dates from the radio serial that began in the 1940s and, perhaps more significantly, the TV series starring George Reeves, that originally aired during the height of the Cold War in the 1950s. But even by the time I was watching that show in the early '60s, the phrase seemed out of place.

The Superman I knew, though raised as an American and instilled with the traditional values we associate with our nation, was a champion for more than one country. He defended the whole Earth and, while "American way" can be defined as democracy and equality under the law, too often it could be seen--even back then--as might makes right, racial prejudice, and a narrow conservatism. It's worth noting that DC regards other parts of that famed opening sequence--"Faster than a speeding bullet...." "Look up in the sky...."--as trademarks, it has never indicated the same for "truth, justice, etc." Perhaps by the late 1970s, when the company began putting little "TM" marks on those phrases, it realized "American way" was simply something that had lost a generally accepted meaning.

Of course, the usual suspects--including Fox News--have derided this change. Perhaps they think "the American way" does not include a hope for "a better tomorrow".

To Protect and Serve? Not So Much

 To protect and serve. It's the motto of many police departments in this country, emblazoned on their vehicles from coast to coast. But it seems protecting the public from COVID-19 is something many cops are unwilling to do.

Cities all over have mandated vaccinations for their employees, and most of those government workers have complied--often before the mandates were announced or went into effect. The largest contingent fighting vaccine mandates seems to be police officers--strange since they are perhaps the largest group, save for teachers, to regularly come in close contact with the public. You'd think they would want to protect themselves from the virus, if not everyone else.

And it's not just the rank-and-file who are taking this stance; they are being backed up by their unions. My first thought was that they were making it a contract issue--that such directives needed to be part of collective bargaining. But it seems that is not the case.

One of the most outspoken of the police union leaders is John Catanzara, the president of Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police, who is telling his members they do not have to comply with the city's mandate. "This vaccine has no studies for long-term side effects or consequences," he told the Chicago Sun Times. "None. To mandate anybody to get that vaccine, without that data as a baseline, amongst other issues, is a 'hell no' for us."

One has to wonder how the forensic scientists who work with police regularly in solving crimes react to that. "Do you have the same doubt about our findings as you do those of the CDC, NIH, and FDA," I imagine them asking these cops. If I were a police scientist, I would refuse to allow any unvaccinated cop anywhere near my lab.

The Not-So-Wonder Years

 A rccurring question on socisl media: Given the chance, would you go back to your high school years?

I am often amazed by the number of people who answer in the affirmative (although, given the way some people in their 40s and older still brag about what high school they went to, I probably shouldn't be). An awful lot of people seem to remember their high school days the way Kevin Arnold did on The Wonder Years...and I have to wonder if they are only remembering the best parts.

My answer is negative. While my time spent in high school was not uniformly horrible--it is the place where I discovered theater and performing, after all--it is also a time when I had few real friends, was ostracized for not being athletic, and had my heart broken by two different girls. I had teachers I liked and admired, but others who I found to be cold, aloof and completely unsuited to the profession they found themselves in.

I did not come out of high school morose and depressed (thank heavens), but neither did I come out of it elated.

 

Who Goes to Space Next?

 By now, we've all heard William Shatner's comments upon his return from his brief flight into space. Yes, he was emotional and awed by what he experienced and saw....but I have a feeling he was, for the most part, preaching to the choir.

Those of us who care at all about Star Trek or Shatner already shared these feelings--and without having been in space. We were awed by the images sent from the moon in July 1969, by the pictures taken with the Hubble telescope, by the pictures beamed back by our Mars explorer robots.

What we need is for someone that a much larger community cares about to make that same trip and come back with similar thoughts. How about somebody like Mary J. Blige or Jay-Z? How about one of the Kardashians? Or, for a real challenge, how about Ted Cruz or Ron deSantis--imagine if either one of them came back with an epiphany about the fragility of our planet and our need to all work together?

The Jeopardy "Conspiracy"

 No, Matt Amodio did not win 38 straight matches on Jeopardy! because the producers were deliberately feeding him really easy questions. And, no, he did not finally lose last night because they got tired of him and rigged the game so he would (or, in an even more unlikely scenario, that he agreed to throw last night's game).

I watched every single one of Amodio's appearances and here's what I saw: He is very fast on the buzzer, so fast that it often seemed that he was ringing in before he was sure he knew the correct response. Go back and notice how many times he has to wait a bit--clearly thinking his answer through--after being called on. When a Jeopardy! contestant knows the correct answer, he or she is eager to give it, in my experience, often not even waiting for the host to finish acknowledging them before speaking. They only pause when they are still trying to come up with a response.

That speed allowed Amodio to control the board and hence, usually, pick the clues he wanted to see--avoiding categories in which he wasn't as confident--and find the Daily Doubles far more often than his opponents did. But last night, confronted by two opponents more nearly on his level of knowledge and reflexes, he lost that edge. He never got even one of the Daily Doubles, and his challengers correctly answered all of them. 

In addition, I think Amodio got desperate. He began ringing in even more often when he wasn't sure of the answer, and got far more responses wrong than usual....and that resulted in a double penalty: He lost the value of that clue and his challengers had the opportunity to give the correct answer and thus win that same amount. (It can also be said, by giving an incorrect answer, Amodio made their job easier by thus eliminating one of the possible responses.)

And now,  the reason why the producers would not "rig" the game: it's illegal. After the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, Congress amended the Communications Act, in part, to make it illegal

To engage in any artifice or scheme for the purpose of prearranging or predetermining in whole or in part the outcome of a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge, intellectual skill, or chance.

And the penalty?

 Whoever violates subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/509

Not to mention undoubtedly losing their job, never to work in the entertainment industry again.

All it would take for such a scheme to come to light is for one contestant, one production assistant, one stage hand, aware of the conspiracy, to step forward and blow the whistle. Would you risk everything on the chance that no one of the scores of people involved in a production like Jeopardy! would spill the beans?  Look how quickly Mike Richards lost his job for something that was in no way against the law.

I know "conspiracy theory" is the new on-line meme, but this one makes even less sense than all the ones about our last presidential election.

 

Anything Can Happen

I am often asked why I love live theater so much...both working in it and viewing it. The answer is summed up in the title of this post: "anything can happen."

And that does not necessarily mean errors, goofs, technical mishaps--though those happen at times. It can mean wonderful things: Suddenly an actor who has been giving an adequate if not superlative perfomance is struck by inspiration and finds new readings, new insights, new interpretations of his role and begins to shine. A dancer who had been, up until now, just another chorus member, smiles and lights up the stage and the audience, as one, is suddenly unable to see anyone else in the ccmpany.

And if there is an unfortunate incident--a player goes completely off-script, a lighting or worse a sound cue happens or doesn't happen, a piece of scenery rolls on too soon--you can watch as the cast miraculously deals with it all. No one breaks character, no one looks atound as if he hasn't a clue; no, they all simply carry on, treating the mishap as if it were always intended to be that way or making it an intentionally amusing bit--so that audience members unfamiliar with the play have no idea there was a problem.

And, even if the audience does become aware of the situation, they play right along with the cast, supporting them in their troubles, applauding their pluck, giving them congratulations for muddling through.

Monologue On Line: Camelot

 Unlike most musicals, the finale of the first act of Lerner & Loewe's Camelot is not a big song; it is, rather, a dramatic soliloquy by King Arthur, as he muses on the love triangle he finds himself in with Guinevere and Lancelot.

It's such a strong speech, I decided to record a version of it for future use.

School Memories

 My pal Mark Evanier posted on his blog about his elementary school experiences. Now, Mark and I are almost the same age (just a few months separate us) and, while his early years were spent in Los Angeles and mine on Staten Island, NY, certain of our experiences are similar.

Like Mark, in the middle of first grade, I was moved ahead one year, largely because my reading level was far in advance of my classmates'. And, again like Mark, I had a lot of trouble fitting in. (Fortunately, I never had to deal with the "sitting alone at lunch" thing; on Staten Island, those of us who lived within walking distance and had a parent at home, went home for lunch.) I was never athletic (still am not) and I was always the last one picked for any team sport (even when the sport was co-ed).

Dodge ball was a particularly rough game for me. I don't know what balls they used at Mark's school, but in my gym class it was volley balls. Ever get hit by a really hard-thrown volley ball? I can tell you it hurts like hell. Because of all the same things Mark discusses--envy of my "brain" status, being an outsider among older kids, and, in my case, being pretty small, physically--I was the favorite target in dodge ball.

Unlike Mark, being funny and witty never helped me get along. It just made me stand out as different. Even when my artistic talent blossomed, that was no help. In the late '50s and early '60s, boys weren't supposed to be "artistic"--they were supposed to be strong and athletic and physical. And moving to junior high didn't help...because most of my tormentors just came along and spread their dislike of me to the kids who came from other schools.

And while I had a few teachers who liked me, it seemed that most just saw me as a distraction. I was the kid who, first of all, didn't fit in and, second, needed special handling because of his intelligence. In a class of 35, they didn't have time for that. And certainly my principal never stepped in the way Mark's did.

Yeah, over all, my school years were pretty awful.

 

Pondering the Weather

 I was just getting used to the cooler weather and now it has turned warm and muggy around here again. I turned on the air conditioner in my office for the first time in three weeks this morning.

This is, I think, the greatest effect on human living from climate change--we no longer get to acclimate ourselves to the seasonal changes. When I was growing up, we could count on a gradual cooling from mid-September to early November, starting from a high in the 70s and declining to a high in the 50s by just after Halloween. Now, the "fall" (such as it is) bounces all over the charts--Friday night, I slept in long pajamas and a light cover; last night, I was in shorts, no shirt, and a fan going. I suspect that's what I'll wear tonight as well. But by next weekend, we'll be back in the low 50s for an overnight low.

And then November will bounce around from 60ish to 40ish, before finally settling into the low end of that scale, after Thanksgiving. I used to put away summer clothes and pull out winter stuff around Halloween...now I never know what to plan on from week to week.

Fighting Retirement Boredom

 Other than the errands we all have to do--laundry, shopping, etc.--how do you spend your weekends? I used to spend a lot of time doing theater--rehearsing, acting, directing, running tech, or attending shows that other people were in. But for the past 18 months, that was (obviously) not possible...and now I'm having trouble getting back into it.

I auditioned for a show this past week but was not cast; I was not surprised, the roles were a bit of a reach for me anyway. I'm supposed to do some sort of backstage work on another show opening in November, so October may be a little busier. But I'm still finding that weekends are really no different from weekdays, now that I'm retired.

I'm searching for activity through the whole week. Any ideas?

30 Days Hath September

 Having reached the last day of the month and hence the last day of the third quarter of the business year, it occurred to me that the way we divide the business year isn't quite right. 

The first quarter, January-March, has 90 days (except in leap years, when it's 91); the second, April-June, has 91; the third, July-September, has 92; the fourth, October-December, has 92 as well. Now, those slight differences of one or two days may not matter, but why not simply divide 365 days by 4, giving a quarter of 91.25--or 91 each, with the extra four quarter days added to the last quarter to give extra time for calculating the year's numbers?

Monologue on Line

 Following up on my post of the speech from Hamlet last week, here's another theater piece I did for an on-line gathering. I actually did this one live for the occasion, but I recorded a practice session, so that's what you'll see here.

This is from Inherit the Wind, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, a dramatization of the famed "Scopes Monkey Trial". In this scene, defense attorney Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow), explains the relationship between progress and faith to the jury.

 

Marching to a Different Drummer

 Last night I did something I haven't done in about 15 years--I went to a high school marching band competition. Ridley was holding its "home comp" and I thought it would be interesting to see what's happening in the area after so long away.

Mostly what's happening is that participation is declining--not in number of schools (there were about 20 competing), but in numbers of students in each band. Even schools that once filled the field with marching players are now struggling to have 100 or so. One school had only about a dozen.

Spectators I talked to chalked it up to the pandemic--the loss of a marching band season at all last year and lingering concerns about social distancing, etc. I think it might also simply be because fewer kids are interested in this kind of instruments--they are mostly attracted to guitar and keyboards, and when drums are the focus, rock drum kits, not marching snares.

I hope it comes back...marching band was a big part and a big influence on both my sons.

We Get Letters

 If you're a comic-book fan, I'm recommending a web page to you. It's put together by Todd Klein, one of the top letterers in the business...and it covers his own work, the history of lettering in comics, and a lot of his personal thoughts on the comic books of his youth.

Todd Klein

I especially enjoy his examination and history of the cover logos of many comic-book series over the past 90 years or so.

 

Falling?

 Today is the autumnal equinox, the beginning of fall. Fall has long been my favorite time of year: the temperatures are easy to take (although today is a bit warm and humid), but it's generally not as rainy as spring. In another month or so, we will return to standard time, so that we are living in sync with nature, instead of an hour ahead of her.

I'm good with fall until about the beginning of December, when the cold sets in. I'm not someone who cannot deal with ice and snow, although my wife has problems with them, so I have to be sure to keep things clear around the property. And I much prefer dressing in layers, so I wear as much or as little as I feel comfortable in. The problem with summer (especially in a climate like the one around Philadelphia) is that there's a limit to how little you can wear--and definitely at my age.

So...let's all fall into fall....

Practical Medicine

 Based on what I see and hear from many of my friends around my age, I seem to be very lucky with my health and my healthcare.

Yes, I had prostate cancer and that required surgery. But I had no trouble scheduling with a urologist and my Medicare has paid the majority of the bills, without a quibble. (I haven't done all the math yet, but I think the whole thing didn't cost me more than about $2000 out of pocket and that includes a two-night hospital stay, anesthesia, etc.) 

I never have a long wait for an appointment with my primary physician or any of the specialists I sometimes need to see (in addition to the urologist, a cardiologist and G-I doctor for a colonoscopy every three to five years). My appointments for things like X-rays and MRIs all seem to be handled swiftly and efficiently as well.

And my doctors--even though some are not affiliated with the same system as my primary--all communicate with each other. I never have to be the one to carry info back and forth; they report to each other as a regular part of my care.

What's your experience with healthcare these days?

Useless Protest

 As most of you know, today there's a rally (again) in Washington DC, this one aimed at "Justice for January 6"...meaning the protestors want all those arrested or charged in the events of that date in the Capitol released and charges dismissed, on the grounds that they broke no laws since they were operating on "orders" from the Commander-in-Chief.

First of all, the President's role as C-in-C only applies to members of the military. He cannot give "orders" to ordinary citizens except through signed executive orders or, more usually, properly enacted legislation.

Second, even with the military, orders that require violation of the law--such as assaulting police officers, breaking-and-entering, interfering with Congress in the fulfillment of its duties--are not legal orders.

And third, what in hell makes these people think that a few hundred (or even a few thousand) people showing up in DC is going to make the Justice Department, the DC district attorney, or any other legal entity change its mind about what happened on January 6? These people have a strange overestimation of their own importance and power in the scheme of things--perhaps brought on by their deranged leader's insistence that they are merely the vanguard of the majority of Americans who agree with them.

This protest is useless, without avail, and is only likely to result in more arrests.

Shakespeare on Line

I did this video for a proposed series of Shakespeare soliloguies to be posted on line by a local community theater during rhe lockdown. Only a couple were ever posted, not including mine. So, here it is, Polonius's farewell advice to Laertes, from act I, scene 3 of Hamlet. Thsi speech is often done for comic effect, playig off Polonius's tendency to be a bit of a windbag, but I chose to play it straight.

 

Paint Ball?

 The exterior painting that I've been waiting to have begin for a month, constantly postponed by bad weather, should finally begin today!

Hurray!

The 9/11 Deluge

 Continuing my comments on 9/11 overkill from Friday.

On Friday, my local paper--the Delaware County Times--devoted its front page and lead news story to a preview of local commemorations of the 20th anniversary. Also include was an eight-page insert on the subject.

Yesterday, the front-page was again about the local events and the lead stories were all about the anniversary, including statements and remembrances by local politicians and civic leaders. The editorial was also dedicated to the anniversary.

Today--you guessed it--a front-page story and the entire local news "hole" (some five pages) recounted the same commemorations that were previewed the past two days. And the local columnist used the anniversary to excoriate President Biden...not that she ever needs a pretext for doing that.

Three whole days--an entire weekend--when the only thing the editors thought worthy of front-page coverage was this anniversary, despite ongoing local and state disputes about pandemic regulations, an election "audit," school funding and more...all of which will have far greater consequences than ceremonies honoring events of two decades past.

When is enough enough?

My 411 on 9/11

 Tomorrow is the twentieth anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001...and, to tell the truth, I have been dreading this weekend, as I have just about every year for the last ten at least.

It seems to have become a day for the United States to sink into a morass consisting of false sorrow, false piety, and false patriotism. False sorrow because we spend about 48 hours mourning the loss of the victims of 20 years past and then promptly forget about them at midnight on the 12th. False piety because we go to our places of worship and pray for them, allegedly without regard to their beliefs, ancestry, or origins--and then, upon leaving the church, synagogue, or mosque, promptly begin spouting our ingrained prejudices. False patriotism because we will wave the flag in their honor, then disrespect everything it stands for by supporting political causes that defy the Constitution.

I was nine years old on the twentieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor, old enough that I can remember that there was some mention of it on the evening news, and articles in the newspaper about the commemorations and perhaps even interviews with servicemen (by then in their 40s) who were there. But we didn't devote an entire day of broadcasting to it, nor were there special inserts in the newspapers devoted to it. Why hasn't 9/11 become that kind of day?

Yes, far more people were killed than at Pearl Harbor; yes, they were mostly civilians. But were the aftermath and consequences of 9/11 more significant than those of December 7, 1941? I would argue no...except by our own making, as we instituted a regimen of fear and distrust, marked by the ridiculous "security theater" at our airports, the armed guards at our train stations and stadiums, and the concrete barriers surrounding our national monuments and buildings.

We allowed the terrorists to terrorize us; we gave in to the very agenda they planned...to make us afraid and change the way we live because of that fear. Why do we celebrate that surrender every year?

Waiting on the Weather

 For the past month, we have been trying to get our exterior trim repainted...but every time the painter schedules a day to get started, it rains. Last week, he told me to expect him today and tomorrow--and, naturally, we have rain in the forecast. But this time, he says he will at least try to get the prep work (stripping and sanding, I presume) done before the rain comes in this evening. Tomorrow, though, looks to be a washout.

Crossing fingers.

Laboring Under a Delusion?

 Labor Day--culturally, the end of summer... and what a summer it has been!

Four months ago, on Memorial Day, we thought we were on the verge of putting the pandemic behind us--the vaccines had been approved, vaccination rates were on the rise, hospitalizations were in decline. And then we hit the wall of vaccine hesitators, deniers, and flat-out liars. And now, we're back to seeing numbers like the ones we saw last March and, what's worse, the same people who put us in this position are the ones who refuse the mitigation steps that will improve the situation--egged on by politicians and media mavens who see all this as a step to power.

As if the health crisis were not enough, we have had repeated natural disasters--fires, storms, and floods, including in areas ill-prepared for them because such events rarely if ever occur in those locations. I have lived in the Northeast my entire life, and I have never before found myself under a tornado warning--let alone three in the same night. Yet, many of the same people and politicians who try to convince us that the pandemic isn't really that bad are arguing that there is no climate change going on.

There was a time when even the most right-wing conservatives accepted what science was telling them...where have those people gone?

Values Aligned

 There seem to be only two topics on the news today--the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and the aftermath of Texas' new abortion law.

For the first, it seems to me all we can do immediately is clean up, provide assistance to those who need it, and prepare for the next storm--because there will be a next storm. In the long term, we can fight for better laws to deal with climate change...because this kind of weather is increasingly tied to the changes in our atmosphere caused by human-engendered global warming.

For the second, the immediate response should be to assist those Texan women who desire abortions to get out of the state so they can exercise their constitutional choice. Long term, we should, first, strive to make sure our own states do not pass similar legislation and, second, support federal and state candidates who will defend Roe v. Wade.

Generally, the politicians who will support the fight for environmental protection are the same ones who will support the fight for reproductive choice--and the politicians on the opposite sides of those issues are generally the same ones, as well.

Because "conservative" in the modern era has come to be defined as what best supports the powerful.

Maybe We Are in Kansas, Toto

 Last night, between 5 and 7 PM, as the remnants of Ida dumped multiple inches of rain in our area, the Weather Service issued no less than four tornado warnings...and confirmed sightings in two of them.

Fortunately, even the closest one was two or three miles from us and moved rapidly (estimated at 50 MPH) away to the northeast. This was the third time this summer we've had tornado warnings or actual sightings within about a ten-mile radius of our neighborhood. As for other storm reports, we had a little water seep into our basement (but we always do in anything other than a light shower), but no major flooding in our immediate area. There are a couple of places nearby (under a railroad bridge, for instance) that I know not to go anywhere near in even a moderate thunderstorm.

Anyone still think climate change is a hoax?

The Battle of New Orleans

 The Crescent City, home to Mardi Gras and jazz, faces a double-barrelled threat now--the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida and the continuing surge in COVID cases. It is not being aided--nor is the rest of Louisiana--by the recalcitrance of the state's Republican-dominated legislature, which fights Gov. John Bel Edwards (a Democrat) on every measure he puts in place to combat the pandemic. Though they have not rescinded his mask mandate, they readily support those of their constituents who suggest nonsense such as "masks don't work" and proposals to prevent hospital over-crowding by promoting "healthier living".

Of course, now, with the power grid destroyed in New Orleans, those hospitals still operating are doing so on generators...and they can only continue as long as fuel for the generators holds out. Given the conditions of the roads, there's no new fuel being delivered, either.

While there's little any politician could do to prevent the devestation of a Cat 4 hurricane, there's much they could have done in the past year to have put the state's hospitals in a better position to deal with the aftermath of a natural disaster...and you would think anyone living Louisiana would realize the likelihood of such a disaster occurring.

What Does He Mean by "Science"?

 The following paragraph is from a letter written by a teacher to my local paper, The Delaware County Times. arguing against mask mandates in schools:

While Delco got some publicity and took some shots for its portrayal in HBO’s television series Mare of Eastown, one thing many Delco residents do have is common sense. It doesn’t take a lot of it to see that, in this case, the needs of our children should supersede the recommendations of “science”. The extremely minor health risks don’t outweigh the risks of what another abnormal year could do to our children, our families and our communities. I would need to write another letter to detail the damage done in Delco’s poorer districts, where students who needed the constant of school the most were deprived of it for more than an entire school year.

It appalls me to see a teacher put scare quotes around the word "science" while arguing against a policy recommended by the CDC, the AMA, the teachers' unions, and many other responsible and expert organizations.  What greater needs do our children have than to be kept safe from a highly contagious disease?

Follow-Ups

 On Monday, I spoke here of the former military and foreign affairs advisers who are saying that President Biden's decision to withdraw from the two-decade conflict in Aghanistan was ill-conceived at best and disastrous at worst. I described it as "asking the guy who set the fire to criticize the firefighters who are failing to put it out."

Well, it just continues in the aftermath of yesterday's tragic attack--not by the Taliban, let me remind you--at the Kabul airport. Leading the charge was H.R. McMaster,  President Trump's former National Security Advisor and a former commander in virtually all of our "anti-terrorist" campaigns in the Middle East and central Asia. He actually argued that, even with the withdrawal, the US should have maintained control of Bagram Air Force Base, in perpetuity. This strikes me as setting up the central Asia version of Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba: an island of US forces surrounded by...and under siege by...the enemy, where the only way out is by air, and the enemy have the clear capability to take down any plane taking off or landing.

That any military "expert" could support such a plan strikes me as ludicrous.

Then, on Wednesday, I explained why I have given up on any thoughts of being on a school board, because of the rancor being expressed at local meetings over COVID regulations. As an example of that rancor, I offer the following report on a school board meeting earlier this week:

Mask protests in Garnet Valley resulted in police being called to the August School Board meeting on Tuesday evening.

A group of 30-40 parents protesting the district’s mask plans for the fall appeared in person at the meeting which was held both in-person and on the meeting app Zoom.

One resident, who identified herself as Leah Hoopes of Glen Mills, took the microphone in the boardroom and read her comments to the residents in the audience.

Hoopes said what she called “scientistism” is being used when it fits the board’s narrative and she questioned the changing recommendations about masking during the pandemic. She said families had done what they were asked to do over the past 18 months but the continued masking requirements are in her opinion not about safety, just liability and compliance.

“This has become psychological warfare on developing children,” said Hoopes. “Fact. masks don’t work. My son’s civil liberties, my parental discretion, are not suspended because of a virus.”

Delaware County Daily Times, Thursday, August 26

 

A Job I No Longer Want

 There was a time, about 15 years ago, when I seriously considered running to be a member of the local school board. I had been a frequent and vocal attendee at board meetings, especially during the two-year-long battle to build a new high school, and I thought I had something to offer to a group that seemed relatively calm and reasoned, even in the face of sometimes irrational opposition.

Though I continued to think about it after my kids graduated, the events of the past 18 months have changed my mind. Our board has, thankfully, faced little of the violent confrontations over COVID regulations, critical race theory, or any of the other controversies that have come before other school boards in the area, but I fear it is only a matter of time before the crazies descend on us. An example is the Black Lives Matter gatherings in our town last summer--we were inundated by outsiders during those events, people who came from neighboring communities to use our peaceful demonstrations as a way to spark unrest.

Although only residents of our school district can speak at a board meeting, it is not unlikely that outsiders could populate the audience or form a protest outside the meeting instead. I'm waiting for the school year to start with trepidation.

Afghan Regrets

 I really wish all the news organizations would stop calling on the same military and intelligence advisors who got us into Afghanistan in the first place and kept us there for two decades to comment on the current situation. Since the vast majority of them think President Biden should not have withdrawn at all, they are naturally going to call the consequences all his fault and accept no responsibility themselves.

It is, quite frankly, like asking the guy who set the fire to criticize the firefighters who are failing to put it out.

Streaming Recommendations?

 Jill and I are rapidly reaching the end of all the things we've been streaming since the pandemic and are in need of new suggestions.

Our likes include British mysteries and crime dramas, on the order of Midsomer Mysteries, Vera, and Professor T. Also comedy panel shows such as QI or 9 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. From this side of the pond, we've enjoyed Longmire and the reboot of Leverage. Of course, SF and fantasy are always welcome, but we prefer things that don't get too dystopian, if you know what I mean.

We subscribe to Netflix, Disney+. Paramount+, Acorn, Britbox, HBOMax, IMBDtv, and Amazon Prime.

Any thoughts on what we might start watching?

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?