June 8th, 2023
“ Dobroho ranku”, or “Good Morning!” in Ukrainian, an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Ukraine. I have decided that the UJT will remain focused on Ukraine until we can all rejoice at the end of hostilities. It has been 462 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Our daughter returned from her trip.She had a great time with her brother and his family in Texas. She had a great time and I am sure happy to get away from “geezerland”. We missed her but she needed to get away for a bit.
This week I learned some stuff:
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- I am settled into doing Cardio Rehab this week. They challenge you to increase resistance and duration each time. I started out at a level of 1.0 for 20 minutes and 2.0 for a total of 30 minutes per session the last time I was there.
- June 8th is the 159th day of 2023. Just 206 days till Christmas. On this day in 1887, Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the ‘Art of Compiling Statistics’, which was his punched card calculator.; Today in 1906, Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value; Today in 1949, Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members; George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is published today in 1949; Today in 1966, James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. is arrested at London Heathrow Airport;Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater was born today in 1867; Robert Preston, American actor and singer was born today in 1918; Today was Barbara Bush, American wife of George H. W. Bush, 41st First Lady of the United States’s birthday in 1925; On that same day but in 1936, Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate was born; Boz Scaggs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist was born in 1944; Thomas Paine, English-American theorist and author passed away; today in 1809; Cochise, American tribal chief died today in 1974; Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic died today in 1970; Finally, we lost the great, Satchel Paige, American baseball player in 1982.
This week’s Website Update:
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- Week 2 for our Vocabulary Quiz
- Last week for our Musical Trivia Quiz
- This week I didn’t add any new recipes.
- The Home Page quote for this week is from, William Wordsworth,
“The best portion of a man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.”
Writing, Ceramics, Bonsai Trees, Stained Glass, and Painting Update:
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- Did some bonsai maintenance this week.
- I managed to complete the stained glass templates so I can start buying glass. Whoopee!
- I am continuing my streak of slacking off on the paper edits of Grandpa Stories. I just haven’t carved out any time for more chapters. This might be becoming a habit!
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
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- The UJT Radio includes a couple of songs about what happens when you fall in love with someone who is in love with someone else that you are close to. This happened to me a lot when I was a teenager. Mostly because I was falling in love all the time and was kind of shy about it. I would secretly envy some of my friends for their ability to attract just the perfect girl for me. It made for a lot of awkward and painfully guilty moments hanging around with everyone and sitting on these feelings. A few times I was actually able to get close to one or two of the girls after they had broken up with my friend. Those times were like a dream come true. But most of the time, my dreams did not come true and I was left with this hollow kind of feeling that seems to get deeper the more time I spend with them.
Music Update:
Another week of joy and music to share. Like most weeks, a song gets into my head, the memories come and then I follow that path and this is where it leads me. Enjoy.
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
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- Rick Springfield — Jessie’s Girl — I think almost everyone has discovered their perfect match only to find that they are a friend’s girl or boyfriend. Once that happens, your options are to avoid that couple or just cringe inside every time they act in ways that you would if you were with her or him. This one is from his 5th album, “Working Class Dog” released in 1981.
- John Mayer — Something Like Olivia — This is John’s version of the same thing 40 years later. Anyway, I like it. It’s from his.” Born and Raised“ album released in 2011.
- Fleetwood Mac — Fast Talking Woman Blues — This song was written by Peter Green in the original FM line up. After he left the band and they added, Christie McVie, Linsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks and became a supergroup. But when they recorded this, they were just a British blues band. This wasn’t released until 1998, when, “Men of the World: The Early Years” album came out. I like Peter Green’s guitar on this song a whole lot.
- Prince — Little Red Corvette — This was my introduction to Prince. It showcases his incredible talent. It was released on “Prince” in 1999.
- Jack Johnson — The Sharing Song — This is a great song. I love the harmonica and piano! This is from his, “Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies For The Film Curious George” album released in 2006.
- Howie Day — A Perfect Time of Day — My friends, Randy Hernandez and his wife Lori, arranged for me to go to Howie Day’s concert at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, VA when I was working in VA. I had never heard of him but fell in love with his music that night and bought his CD at the concert. This is from his album, “Stop All the World Now ” released in 2003.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; Always remember… The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!