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shadowkatBusy couple of work days. But, I completed revising my contract and got it off to my new manager today.
Ah, a four day weekend! Huzzah! Does a happy little dance. I'm tired of work, I want a break from it.
Juneteenth
Today, Crazy Workplace informed us that all offices would be closed tomorrow - in recognition of Juneteenth, which falls on a Saturday this year, so we're getting Friday off. [Apparently boss was wrong when he told us yesterday that the office would be open on Friday, but no one should work on that day. I'm guessing someone at the top - determined that the offices should be closed and it should be recognized as full holiday just like the 4th of July or Memorial Day or Columbus Day or Christmas. Which of course it should.] Juneteenth was declared as a State Holiday last year, and today, it became a Federal Holiday. Congress, with the exception of fourteen racist representatives who are afraid of Critical Race Theory being taught in schools (basically they are afraid their kids will call them racist bigots, which of course they are), it was passed unanimously by everyone. It would be nice if the four dissenters were voted out of office - but I'm not holding my breath.
President Biden signed legislation enshrining June 19 as the national day to commemorate the end of slavery. It goes into effect immediately, despite opposition from 14 House Republicans. Federal workers will get a paid day off, but New York City’s workers will not this year, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promises. [Source NY Times Briefing, and a Live Briefing that broke into my soap opera today.] See? It pays to be working for New York State and not New York City. The State Workers get the day off, along with my agency, but we're under the Governor, not the idiotic Mayor.
I suppose I should pause here and explain Juneteenth. No, it wasn't the day slavery ended - life isn't that simple. You can't just snap your fingers and a horrific behavior pattern ends. Humans are selfish creatures who hate change and are great at justifying actions that benefit themselves. And slavery made life easy for a lot of rich white assholes - so they worked hard to make it continue as long as possible.
Why wasn't it the Day the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln? Because they didn't have the internet back then, or really snail mail - so much as the pony express. Also the War was still going on when Abraham Lincoln signed it. Juneteenth happened two months after the War finally ended.
So what is it?
Whether you call it Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or the country's second Independence Day, Juneteenth is one of the most important anniversaries in our nation's history.
On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: the war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery. The announcement came two months after the effective conclusion of the Civil War, and even longer since Abraham Lincoln had first signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but many enslaved black people in Texas still weren't free, even after that day.
So if people were still enslaved after June 19, 1865. Why celebrate Juneteenth - which takes its name from June and the 19th.
Because, on June 19, 1865 - people knew that the war was over, the Union won, and it had the manpower to make slavery illegal. The message had arrived to all the states that practiced slavery. Texas was the last one. [Note California wasn't a slave state, nor were Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, or most of the West. They aren't considered the Deep South. They are the Southwest. Same with Kansas - also the West. The West wasn't into plantations and slavery. They didn't really have the land for it. Or the money. The Slave Statesor better yet a MAP of that time.
Every thing west of Texas was a free state, also directly Northwest. The Slave States were Missouri, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Everywhere else was either a territory (which means it wasn't really a state, or a free state.)
And back then it took a while to get word out. In this case, it took two months after CIVIL WAR to get word out to the far reaches of Texas that it was over, everyone was free.
For many, this date in history is a second "Independence Day". For some, it's even more important than the Fourth of July. Black Americans were finally free. If someone tried to enslave them - that individual would be arrested and thrown in prison, they wouldn't be arrested and imprisoned for escaping.
The fact that it has only taken our country 156 years to celebrate this - is painful. Black Americans always have to one degree or another. So has my church - the Unitarian Church has been celebrating it for years. I learned about it in 2010, and I've been attending Juneteenth celebrations at my church since that day. I even helped plan a couple, and got recognized at one. What they do is kind of cool - they sing songs in honor of the day, read poems and other readings, and then have a Church Picnic in the street next to the building. It's the first service of the "lay worship" services.
I didn't know about the holiday until I joined the social justice group at my church, and they explained it to me. It's not taught in school. Perhaps now, it will be?
***
For my little holiday tomorrow - I've decided to check out the Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn, and if time permits, maybe visit the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which is next door. I am going to make an "excursion". The first one outside of required "errands" - such as doctors appointments, work related stuff, and the vaccine. This is the first "fun" excursion.
I'm branching out of my little bubble. Let's see if I actually follow through and don't wimp out and become an armchair potato. (I don't own a couch.)
I'm taking a four-day weekend. Also have June 21 off.
**
COVID
NY is making me nervous - it's lifted almost all the commercial restrictions.
On Tuesday, after 472 days, New York hit a vaccination milestone—70 percent of adult New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. After reaching this goal, we lifted most of the State's remaining COVID restrictions. This means no more restrictions across commercial settings, including retail, food services, offices, gyms, entertainment, hair salons, barber shops, etc.—as well as no more social gathering limits. Existing COVID health protocols are still in place for some settings such as public transportation, health facilities, and indoor Pre-K-12 schools.
[Source: The Governor of NY's Email date 6/17/21]
I don't know. I like China and New Zealand's approach - wait until you don't have any cases or deaths or hospitalizations, then lift the restrictions. But apparently they are impatient. I've noticed that Americans are very impatient.
1. COVID hospitalizations dropped to 580. Of the 119,272 tests reported yesterday, 418, or 0.35 percent, were positive. The 7-day average percent positivity was 0.39 percent. There were 149 patients in ICU yesterday, down nine from the previous day. Of them, 86 are intubated. Sadly, we lost five New Yorkers to the virus. - at least the numbers are still going down. Five is low, we've not had just five reported since March 2020 (and I don't trust the numbers reported in March 2020).
2. As of 11am this morning, 70.4 percent of adult New Yorkers have completed at least one vaccine dose, per the CDC. Over the past 24 hours, 76,160 total doses have been administered. To date, New York administered 20,372,195 total doses with 62.3 percent of adult New Yorkers completing their vaccine series. [Vermont hit 80% - of course Vermont has a very small population - so that isn't exactly hard to do. And most of its population is over the age of 50.]
Not satisfied with just a vaccine, the US is investigating an antiviral pill similar to what is used with influenza, H.I.V. and hepatitis C.
The U.S. government announced that it would invest $3.2 billion in a neglected area of research: developing antiviral pills for Covid. Such a treatment could fight the virus early in the course of infection, keeping people out of the hospital, and potentially save many lives.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key backer of the program, said he looked forward to a time when patients could pick up antiviral pills from a pharmacy as soon as they tested positive or developed symptoms.
Dr. Fauci described the scenario in an interview: “I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel very well, my sense of smell and taste go away, I get a sore throat. I call up my doctor and I say, ‘I have Covid and I need a prescription.’” [Source - NY Times]
* California is giving away 50,000 free tickets to Six Flags theme parks for residents who get vaccinated, KTLA reports. - yet another bribe.
* The coronavirus is surging in Missouri’s tourist region. [Again? This happened last year at this time. You'd think they would learn? ]
* With the "Summer" Olympic Games just over five weeks away, Japan is relaxing emergency measures in Tokyo and other areas as the virus recedes. [I'm curious to see if this works, they had Olympic swimming trials on television last night - I didn't watch, but they had them.] Japan is "determined" to have those Olympics - Coronavirus? What Coronavirus? We're not going to let a pandemic stop us!!
* The U.S. Embassy in Kabul locked down after being hit by a virus outbreak that is surging across Afghanistan. [ Poor Afghanistan - first the Taliban, then the War, and now a Virus. I'm amazed there are people still in Afghanistan. Look at it this way - however bad you think your life currently is? You could be living in Afghanistan.]
* No, the sudden collapse of the Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen during a game at Euro 2020 was not caused by a Covid vaccine. [LOL! People are silly. The vaccine is safe. Another article - stated it was due to a heart condition.]
* “Springsteen on Broadway” is returning, but not for theatergoers who haven’t had F.D.A.-authorized vaccines. [Hmm, I should check it out. But I'm also admittedly not that into Springsteen. He mumbles and I tried watching his show on HBO and got bored. There's a select few artists I'd pay to see perform - he's not in that group. But it is admittedly tempting - I miss live theater. Maybe I can convince Wales to try Shakespeare in the Park?]
* Covid proved that the C.D.C. is broken, writes The New York Times Magazine. Can it be fixed? [One would hope. Trump and the idiotic Republicans broke it. It shouldn't be that hard to fix it.]
* A Canadian couple who flew to a small Indigenous community in January to get vaccinated pleaded guilty to violating local virus restrictions. [Sigh. See, there is a penalty for being a selfish asshole.]
* A New Yorker writer reflects on the joys of eavesdropping during the pandemic. [ How exactly are people eavesdropping? I did it on subways. But I'm in an apartment and don't hear anyone. Do people have thin walls? I got curious so checked it out...But, at home, via windows, air shafts, and prewar construction, eavesdropping was unavoidable. I heard noisy arguments between couples, snippets of dialogue, phone calls conducted in hallways. During the seven-o’clock-shout era, one of my favorite neighbors, a four-year-old who lives downstairs, took the conceit further, hollering out the window when he saw an opportunity to chat. One afternoon, a muscled young guy across the way burst into his building’s empty courtyard to do some aggressive shadowboxing. . What I hear, I can't understand - since it's usually in Russian, Polish or Bengali. Even Yiddish. Also, garbled. My apartment tends to be very quiet. Although I've heard conversations on the street and in Greenwood Cemetery but nothing worth noting. This is after years of eavesdropping - because you kind of do in NYC, everyone feels the need to have loud conversations on the phone or with each other on sidewalks, stairwells, bathrooms, in front of my cubicle, on trains, elevators, etc. It's why I bought noise cancelling earphones in 2019 - I got tired of it. They weren't saying anything all that interesting - well for the most part.]
***
In other news..
In case you've not already seen this via your social media friends and family members, like I have...the American West is on fire again. Surging temperatures from Missouri to California. A head-hunter asked if I wanted to move to Sacramento for a job opportunity - I said no thanks, prefer to stay here. I don't like Sacramento. The only cities in California that I like are along the coastline, which is wickedly expensive. Also you have to drive in California - this would be a problem. I mentioned this to mother the other day, and she advised that it was very hot out there. She'd gotten the news from various family members who live out there. The temperatures are far above 100 degrees. One of my college buddies on FB reported that temperatures this week in Phoenix, Arizona were 110 F, 115 F, and 118 F - that about 45 degrees C or above.
"The American West is facing a two-front assault from climate change, as a record-breaking early heat wave combines with the worst drought in two decades.
Even before summer begins, wildfires are blazing in Arizona and Montana, where temperatures soared past 115 degrees Fahrenheit and doctors are warning that people can get third-degree burns from the sizzling asphalt. Above, a broiling sunset in Phoenix. Water levels have plunged in reservoirs, with some parts of California already considering rationing. In Texas, the electric power grid is under strain as demand for air-conditioning surges.
“And as bad as it might seem today, this is about as good as it’s going to get if we don’t get global warming under control,” a climate scientist said."
[Well it's not like we didn't have plenty of warning - that this would be the result of climate change.]
* Say what you will about Biden (I kind of like him actually - he's a breath of fresh air after the last guy, but anyone would be - the bar was set so low with the last President, that Biden just has to show up, smile, and wave), he's excellent at foreign policy (which again, after the last guy, we desperately need). I'm not surprised - that's what Obama had him doing. Biden was a working VP. In matter of a couple of weeks, he's managed to renter the US in NATO, heal the US's frayed relations with its allies, and enter into a kind of detente of sorts with Russia. He basically told Russia - we'll never be friends, but if you stop misbehaving and being the bad guy, maybe we can work together.
"President Biden achieved two of the three tasks he wanted to accomplish on his Europe trip.
The president reassured European allies that America is back and rallied them to begin to counter China. But whether he succeeded in establishing red lines for President Vladimir Putin of Russia remains to be seen, our correspondents write.
In Russia, Biden rehabilitated his image. After months of ridiculing him as bumbling, confused and well past his prime, Russian state media changed its tune. Here is a man we can do business with, some in Moscow said."
* Bats may be ruining prehistoric cave art with their droppings.
The paintings can endure for tens of thousands of years, but only if bats aren’t roosting nearby. Their feces, called guano, have corrosive properties that may erase the designs and scenes our ancestors left on walls, according to new research. That theory may explain instances when researchers cannot find prehistoric markings in some places where they expect to.
* Okay, comedy is really subjective, isn't it? 21 Best TV Comedies of the 21st Century - going through the list made me realize that I don't like most of the comedies of the 21st Century - mainly because they are all mean-spirited embarrassment style comedies - that make me cringe and want to leave the room. Cringe-inducing comedy doesn't make me laugh - it makes me change channels.
The only one listed that I liked or managed to stick with was Crazy Ex-Girl Friend and Arrested Development - and I didn't find either that funny half the time.
Before you ask, no, The Good Place wasn't listed. Which honestly would have been at the top of my list. Nor was The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother. The list was all the mean-spirited embarrassment comedies, like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Pen15, Louie CK, Better Times, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bojack Horseman, Bob's Burgers, The Office, Parks & Recreation, Atlanta, Broad City, Girls (which I watched one season of, before giving up), Chappell's Show...
I like more story, and less cringe to my comedy. Cringe doesn't work for me. If a character is being humiliated - I'm out of the room.
* Senator Chuck Schumer (my state Senator, and the Majority Leader of the US Senate) tweeted that he'd pushed the People's Voting Rights Act on to the Senate Floor. I tweeted back - "So how you are going to get it past the fillibuster and West Viriginia?" Then I read Heather Cox Richardson (a political science prof's analysis of the news and situation tonight) - apparently West Viriginia aka Manchin has come up with a rather winning Voting Right Proposal - that Stacy Abrahms supported, but the moment she did all the nasty old as dirt whit boy Republicans threw a hissy fit and refused to support it because she did. (And they don't consider themselves racist??) Anyhow...it's still playing out. Manchin is also in favor of weakening the fillibuster and has made suggestions on how to do so, without doing away with it. My guess is the fillibuster will be stripped of its power before the end of the year, and with it theRacist Republican Party. Manchin, the Senator from West Virigina is actually fairly pragmatic. He's not an extremist, in a sea of extremists.
(Surprised by that.)
***
Enuf. Time for bed. Hope someone enjoyed reading all of that. I feel at times like I'm hosting the blog version of "Good Morning, Vietnam" except it's "Good Evening, World or Whomever Happens to be Reading..."
Here's a picture to reward your efforts...or not as the case may be.
Ah, a four day weekend! Huzzah! Does a happy little dance. I'm tired of work, I want a break from it.
Juneteenth
Today, Crazy Workplace informed us that all offices would be closed tomorrow - in recognition of Juneteenth, which falls on a Saturday this year, so we're getting Friday off. [Apparently boss was wrong when he told us yesterday that the office would be open on Friday, but no one should work on that day. I'm guessing someone at the top - determined that the offices should be closed and it should be recognized as full holiday just like the 4th of July or Memorial Day or Columbus Day or Christmas. Which of course it should.] Juneteenth was declared as a State Holiday last year, and today, it became a Federal Holiday. Congress, with the exception of fourteen racist representatives who are afraid of Critical Race Theory being taught in schools (basically they are afraid their kids will call them racist bigots, which of course they are), it was passed unanimously by everyone. It would be nice if the four dissenters were voted out of office - but I'm not holding my breath.
President Biden signed legislation enshrining June 19 as the national day to commemorate the end of slavery. It goes into effect immediately, despite opposition from 14 House Republicans. Federal workers will get a paid day off, but New York City’s workers will not this year, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promises. [Source NY Times Briefing, and a Live Briefing that broke into my soap opera today.] See? It pays to be working for New York State and not New York City. The State Workers get the day off, along with my agency, but we're under the Governor, not the idiotic Mayor.
I suppose I should pause here and explain Juneteenth. No, it wasn't the day slavery ended - life isn't that simple. You can't just snap your fingers and a horrific behavior pattern ends. Humans are selfish creatures who hate change and are great at justifying actions that benefit themselves. And slavery made life easy for a lot of rich white assholes - so they worked hard to make it continue as long as possible.
Why wasn't it the Day the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln? Because they didn't have the internet back then, or really snail mail - so much as the pony express. Also the War was still going on when Abraham Lincoln signed it. Juneteenth happened two months after the War finally ended.
So what is it?
Whether you call it Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or the country's second Independence Day, Juneteenth is one of the most important anniversaries in our nation's history.
On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: the war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery. The announcement came two months after the effective conclusion of the Civil War, and even longer since Abraham Lincoln had first signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but many enslaved black people in Texas still weren't free, even after that day.
So if people were still enslaved after June 19, 1865. Why celebrate Juneteenth - which takes its name from June and the 19th.
Because, on June 19, 1865 - people knew that the war was over, the Union won, and it had the manpower to make slavery illegal. The message had arrived to all the states that practiced slavery. Texas was the last one. [Note California wasn't a slave state, nor were Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, or most of the West. They aren't considered the Deep South. They are the Southwest. Same with Kansas - also the West. The West wasn't into plantations and slavery. They didn't really have the land for it. Or the money. The Slave Statesor better yet a MAP of that time.
Every thing west of Texas was a free state, also directly Northwest. The Slave States were Missouri, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Everywhere else was either a territory (which means it wasn't really a state, or a free state.)
And back then it took a while to get word out. In this case, it took two months after CIVIL WAR to get word out to the far reaches of Texas that it was over, everyone was free.
For many, this date in history is a second "Independence Day". For some, it's even more important than the Fourth of July. Black Americans were finally free. If someone tried to enslave them - that individual would be arrested and thrown in prison, they wouldn't be arrested and imprisoned for escaping.
The fact that it has only taken our country 156 years to celebrate this - is painful. Black Americans always have to one degree or another. So has my church - the Unitarian Church has been celebrating it for years. I learned about it in 2010, and I've been attending Juneteenth celebrations at my church since that day. I even helped plan a couple, and got recognized at one. What they do is kind of cool - they sing songs in honor of the day, read poems and other readings, and then have a Church Picnic in the street next to the building. It's the first service of the "lay worship" services.
I didn't know about the holiday until I joined the social justice group at my church, and they explained it to me. It's not taught in school. Perhaps now, it will be?
***
For my little holiday tomorrow - I've decided to check out the Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn, and if time permits, maybe visit the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which is next door. I am going to make an "excursion". The first one outside of required "errands" - such as doctors appointments, work related stuff, and the vaccine. This is the first "fun" excursion.
I'm branching out of my little bubble. Let's see if I actually follow through and don't wimp out and become an armchair potato. (I don't own a couch.)
I'm taking a four-day weekend. Also have June 21 off.
**
COVID
NY is making me nervous - it's lifted almost all the commercial restrictions.
On Tuesday, after 472 days, New York hit a vaccination milestone—70 percent of adult New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. After reaching this goal, we lifted most of the State's remaining COVID restrictions. This means no more restrictions across commercial settings, including retail, food services, offices, gyms, entertainment, hair salons, barber shops, etc.—as well as no more social gathering limits. Existing COVID health protocols are still in place for some settings such as public transportation, health facilities, and indoor Pre-K-12 schools.
[Source: The Governor of NY's Email date 6/17/21]
I don't know. I like China and New Zealand's approach - wait until you don't have any cases or deaths or hospitalizations, then lift the restrictions. But apparently they are impatient. I've noticed that Americans are very impatient.
1. COVID hospitalizations dropped to 580. Of the 119,272 tests reported yesterday, 418, or 0.35 percent, were positive. The 7-day average percent positivity was 0.39 percent. There were 149 patients in ICU yesterday, down nine from the previous day. Of them, 86 are intubated. Sadly, we lost five New Yorkers to the virus. - at least the numbers are still going down. Five is low, we've not had just five reported since March 2020 (and I don't trust the numbers reported in March 2020).
2. As of 11am this morning, 70.4 percent of adult New Yorkers have completed at least one vaccine dose, per the CDC. Over the past 24 hours, 76,160 total doses have been administered. To date, New York administered 20,372,195 total doses with 62.3 percent of adult New Yorkers completing their vaccine series. [Vermont hit 80% - of course Vermont has a very small population - so that isn't exactly hard to do. And most of its population is over the age of 50.]
Not satisfied with just a vaccine, the US is investigating an antiviral pill similar to what is used with influenza, H.I.V. and hepatitis C.
The U.S. government announced that it would invest $3.2 billion in a neglected area of research: developing antiviral pills for Covid. Such a treatment could fight the virus early in the course of infection, keeping people out of the hospital, and potentially save many lives.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key backer of the program, said he looked forward to a time when patients could pick up antiviral pills from a pharmacy as soon as they tested positive or developed symptoms.
Dr. Fauci described the scenario in an interview: “I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel very well, my sense of smell and taste go away, I get a sore throat. I call up my doctor and I say, ‘I have Covid and I need a prescription.’” [Source - NY Times]
* California is giving away 50,000 free tickets to Six Flags theme parks for residents who get vaccinated, KTLA reports. - yet another bribe.
* The coronavirus is surging in Missouri’s tourist region. [Again? This happened last year at this time. You'd think they would learn? ]
* With the "Summer" Olympic Games just over five weeks away, Japan is relaxing emergency measures in Tokyo and other areas as the virus recedes. [I'm curious to see if this works, they had Olympic swimming trials on television last night - I didn't watch, but they had them.] Japan is "determined" to have those Olympics - Coronavirus? What Coronavirus? We're not going to let a pandemic stop us!!
* The U.S. Embassy in Kabul locked down after being hit by a virus outbreak that is surging across Afghanistan. [ Poor Afghanistan - first the Taliban, then the War, and now a Virus. I'm amazed there are people still in Afghanistan. Look at it this way - however bad you think your life currently is? You could be living in Afghanistan.]
* No, the sudden collapse of the Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen during a game at Euro 2020 was not caused by a Covid vaccine. [LOL! People are silly. The vaccine is safe. Another article - stated it was due to a heart condition.]
* “Springsteen on Broadway” is returning, but not for theatergoers who haven’t had F.D.A.-authorized vaccines. [Hmm, I should check it out. But I'm also admittedly not that into Springsteen. He mumbles and I tried watching his show on HBO and got bored. There's a select few artists I'd pay to see perform - he's not in that group. But it is admittedly tempting - I miss live theater. Maybe I can convince Wales to try Shakespeare in the Park?]
* Covid proved that the C.D.C. is broken, writes The New York Times Magazine. Can it be fixed? [One would hope. Trump and the idiotic Republicans broke it. It shouldn't be that hard to fix it.]
* A Canadian couple who flew to a small Indigenous community in January to get vaccinated pleaded guilty to violating local virus restrictions. [Sigh. See, there is a penalty for being a selfish asshole.]
* A New Yorker writer reflects on the joys of eavesdropping during the pandemic. [ How exactly are people eavesdropping? I did it on subways. But I'm in an apartment and don't hear anyone. Do people have thin walls? I got curious so checked it out...But, at home, via windows, air shafts, and prewar construction, eavesdropping was unavoidable. I heard noisy arguments between couples, snippets of dialogue, phone calls conducted in hallways. During the seven-o’clock-shout era, one of my favorite neighbors, a four-year-old who lives downstairs, took the conceit further, hollering out the window when he saw an opportunity to chat. One afternoon, a muscled young guy across the way burst into his building’s empty courtyard to do some aggressive shadowboxing. . What I hear, I can't understand - since it's usually in Russian, Polish or Bengali. Even Yiddish. Also, garbled. My apartment tends to be very quiet. Although I've heard conversations on the street and in Greenwood Cemetery but nothing worth noting. This is after years of eavesdropping - because you kind of do in NYC, everyone feels the need to have loud conversations on the phone or with each other on sidewalks, stairwells, bathrooms, in front of my cubicle, on trains, elevators, etc. It's why I bought noise cancelling earphones in 2019 - I got tired of it. They weren't saying anything all that interesting - well for the most part.]
***
In other news..
In case you've not already seen this via your social media friends and family members, like I have...the American West is on fire again. Surging temperatures from Missouri to California. A head-hunter asked if I wanted to move to Sacramento for a job opportunity - I said no thanks, prefer to stay here. I don't like Sacramento. The only cities in California that I like are along the coastline, which is wickedly expensive. Also you have to drive in California - this would be a problem. I mentioned this to mother the other day, and she advised that it was very hot out there. She'd gotten the news from various family members who live out there. The temperatures are far above 100 degrees. One of my college buddies on FB reported that temperatures this week in Phoenix, Arizona were 110 F, 115 F, and 118 F - that about 45 degrees C or above.
"The American West is facing a two-front assault from climate change, as a record-breaking early heat wave combines with the worst drought in two decades.
Even before summer begins, wildfires are blazing in Arizona and Montana, where temperatures soared past 115 degrees Fahrenheit and doctors are warning that people can get third-degree burns from the sizzling asphalt. Above, a broiling sunset in Phoenix. Water levels have plunged in reservoirs, with some parts of California already considering rationing. In Texas, the electric power grid is under strain as demand for air-conditioning surges.
“And as bad as it might seem today, this is about as good as it’s going to get if we don’t get global warming under control,” a climate scientist said."
[Well it's not like we didn't have plenty of warning - that this would be the result of climate change.]
* Say what you will about Biden (I kind of like him actually - he's a breath of fresh air after the last guy, but anyone would be - the bar was set so low with the last President, that Biden just has to show up, smile, and wave), he's excellent at foreign policy (which again, after the last guy, we desperately need). I'm not surprised - that's what Obama had him doing. Biden was a working VP. In matter of a couple of weeks, he's managed to renter the US in NATO, heal the US's frayed relations with its allies, and enter into a kind of detente of sorts with Russia. He basically told Russia - we'll never be friends, but if you stop misbehaving and being the bad guy, maybe we can work together.
"President Biden achieved two of the three tasks he wanted to accomplish on his Europe trip.
The president reassured European allies that America is back and rallied them to begin to counter China. But whether he succeeded in establishing red lines for President Vladimir Putin of Russia remains to be seen, our correspondents write.
In Russia, Biden rehabilitated his image. After months of ridiculing him as bumbling, confused and well past his prime, Russian state media changed its tune. Here is a man we can do business with, some in Moscow said."
* Bats may be ruining prehistoric cave art with their droppings.
The paintings can endure for tens of thousands of years, but only if bats aren’t roosting nearby. Their feces, called guano, have corrosive properties that may erase the designs and scenes our ancestors left on walls, according to new research. That theory may explain instances when researchers cannot find prehistoric markings in some places where they expect to.
* Okay, comedy is really subjective, isn't it? 21 Best TV Comedies of the 21st Century - going through the list made me realize that I don't like most of the comedies of the 21st Century - mainly because they are all mean-spirited embarrassment style comedies - that make me cringe and want to leave the room. Cringe-inducing comedy doesn't make me laugh - it makes me change channels.
The only one listed that I liked or managed to stick with was Crazy Ex-Girl Friend and Arrested Development - and I didn't find either that funny half the time.
Before you ask, no, The Good Place wasn't listed. Which honestly would have been at the top of my list. Nor was The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother. The list was all the mean-spirited embarrassment comedies, like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Pen15, Louie CK, Better Times, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bojack Horseman, Bob's Burgers, The Office, Parks & Recreation, Atlanta, Broad City, Girls (which I watched one season of, before giving up), Chappell's Show...
I like more story, and less cringe to my comedy. Cringe doesn't work for me. If a character is being humiliated - I'm out of the room.
* Senator Chuck Schumer (my state Senator, and the Majority Leader of the US Senate) tweeted that he'd pushed the People's Voting Rights Act on to the Senate Floor. I tweeted back - "So how you are going to get it past the fillibuster and West Viriginia?" Then I read Heather Cox Richardson (a political science prof's analysis of the news and situation tonight) - apparently West Viriginia aka Manchin has come up with a rather winning Voting Right Proposal - that Stacy Abrahms supported, but the moment she did all the nasty old as dirt whit boy Republicans threw a hissy fit and refused to support it because she did. (And they don't consider themselves racist??) Anyhow...it's still playing out. Manchin is also in favor of weakening the fillibuster and has made suggestions on how to do so, without doing away with it. My guess is the fillibuster will be stripped of its power before the end of the year, and with it the
(Surprised by that.)
***
Enuf. Time for bed. Hope someone enjoyed reading all of that. I feel at times like I'm hosting the blog version of "Good Morning, Vietnam" except it's "Good Evening, World or Whomever Happens to be Reading..."
Here's a picture to reward your efforts...or not as the case may be.
