October 22nd, 2020
“(Boker tov) בוקר טוב”, or “Good Morning!” in Hebrew (עברית), a Semitic language that, along with Arabic, is the national language of the State of Israel and is spoken in Jewish communities around the world. It is Day 217 of the California Lock Down. Though everyone in “The Media” seems to be trying to avoid saying it, the numbers being reported seem to confirm what the scientific community warned would happen, has. A second wave or surge that has the potential of being more devastating than the pandemic has been before seems to have started. Daily infection rates are accelerating. Last week, the US tripled the number of daily cases that it was seeing in June. It’s very scary.
This weekend I attend my Poll Worker training with my site team. It seems a bit less organized than the Census gig but its early days.
This week I learned some stuff:
• We had another session of the GLCPS&L society last week. I understand that in the great scheme of things, the loss of a poker game seems like a trivial thing. But that poker game and the time spent with those friends has been important to me for a long time. I genuinely missed it and am glad we have restarted.
• Having said that, I am very concerned about the current trends of the pandemic. Darrian and I were tested this week and should find out the results in a couple of days. But I am already planning my family’s return to quarantine. This week may be the last poker game for awhile, at least for me. The accelerated rate of infected people at has reached the point, where only vital (food, medicine, etc) interactions are worthy of the risk. People who have family members with compromising health issues must see the current trends of the pandemic as a serious threat – not unlike like a hurricane warning or flooding upstream or wild fires upwind. I am also thinking carefully about my upcoming poll worker role as well. Our training is this weekend. I will be watching their precautions very carefully and deciding if I will continue or not. Please act on this growing threat accordingly. Try to eliminate as many interactions as you can from your routine and mask, distance and wash your hands when you cannot avoid interactions. This will only get better if we all make it better.
• October 22nd is the 296th day of the year (because 2020 is a leap year – but there still only 64 days till Christmas!). Today in 1876, Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas; On this day in 1979, using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (it lasts 13 1⁄2 hours before burning out); In 1884, the International Meridian Conference designates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich as the world’s prime meridian; On this day in 1934, In East Liverpool, Ohio, FBI agents shoot and kill notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd; Today in 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but turns down the honor; In 1966, The Supremes become the first all-female music group to attain a No. 1 selling album (The Supremes A’ Go-Go); Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist and composer was born today in 1811; Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author was born today in 1920; Ann Rule, American police officer and author is born today in 1931; Christopher Lloyd, American actor, comedian and producer was born today in 1941; Annette Funicello, American actress and singer was born today in 1941; Jeff Goldblum, American actor and producer was born today in 1952; Spike Jonze, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter was born today in 1969; Paul Cézanne, French painter died today in 1906; And finally, Red Barber, American sportscaster passed away today in 1992.
Website Update:
This week we made the following changes:
• Last week for our Vocabulary Quiz!!!!
• A New UJT Musical Trivia Quiz! !!
• This week I didn’t add any new recipes for you. Select one from the pile or just check back next week.
Writing, Ceramics and Painting Update:
• This week I managed avoid attending all of my classes. Again.
• Grandpa Stories is still not re-published.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• I have been improving my procrastination game. I seem to find amazingly interesting things to contemplate as opposed to tackling the huge backlog of old guy stuff to do around this house. Then, of course I am to focused on perfecting my guilt I completely missed my chance to clean the fish tanks.
• I stopped the Census stuff but it looks like I am going to be a SD County poll worker in a couple weeks. I got all excited for a bit, then I corrected the job name spelling from POLE Worker to POLL Worker.
Music Update:
Once again, your fossilized DJ takes you on another meander through the dusty cobwebs of my library. This week features a number of, perhaps more eclectic, favorites that I hope you will enjoy.
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
• Aerosmith – Walk This Way — To be brutally honest, these guys never quite did it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked their music but didn’t love it. But I know I am in the minority on this one. From their “Raising Hell” album released in 1986.
• Gary Clark – Don’t Owe You a Thang – This young man opened for the Stones when my daughter, Jessica got to see them. She was impressed and so was I when I checked him out. This one comes from his “Bright Lights – EP” released in 2011.
• Hotei — The Immigrant Song — This is a very interesting cover of the Led Zeppelin hit. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea but I thought it was creative and impressive. Its from his 2004 released, “Electric Samurai (The Noble Savage)”.
• Dire Straights — Industrial Disease — This is a deep cut from their 1982 release, “Love Over Gold” it was also released as a B side on “Private Investigations”. Again, probably not everyones cup of tea but I liked it.
• Stanley Clark — The Dancer — From the Vinyl!!!! This is a deep cut from his first solo album released in 1976. I first heard of Stanley as the bassist for Return to Forever which was THE Jazz Fusion band of the era feature such greats as Chick Corea, Al Dimeola, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty…,
• James Taylor – Mud Slide Slim – This is a secret weapon song.. subtle to a painful degree. The story goes that when he was very young. I believe that it was this song, not any of this other huge hits that made he such devout fan of JT. I was in kind of a bad spot when I first heard it. Trying to figure out how to grow up on a Destroyer in the Navy. JT and this album helped me through some dark spots in there. This the title cut from a truly great album, released in 1971.. just in time to save my butt from total self destruction!
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; And always remember … The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!