Day #21 of the 30 Day Book Challenge

This is Day #21 of 30 Day Book Challenge

The prompt was weird again - name a book your mom loves. I honestly don't know. Also that's her business. We talk about books all the time, and back in the day she'd thrust them on me. But..the one's I'm thinking of, I'm not certain that she still loves.

I'm changing the prompt - the previous one, I don't want to share.

Name a book written by an Asian author

Kafka on the Shore by Har Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel (Translator)

Kafka on the Shore, a tour de force of metaphysical reality, is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Their odyssey, as mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle—yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.

Still haunts me to this day. I read it in the early 00s. It's magical surrealism - kind of like Twin Peaks, but more philosophical and with a heavy post-WWII theme. Japanese culture was highly influenced by the dropping of the atomic bombs. It changed how they viewed the world. You see it in the cultural expressions post WWII.

Day #17 of the 60 Days of Gratitude Challenge

This is Day 17 of 60 Days of Gratitude Challenge

The prompt is What about your job are you most grateful for?

Well, first of all, I'm grateful I still have one. A lot folks don't.
And that there are so many things about it - that I am grateful for it is impossible to pick just one.

I guess if I were to choose - the fact I can help others through analysis, problem solving, and writing. And contribute to the city, state and society in which I live in a major way - while furthering my values.

I went to law school - because I wanted to save the world or at least make the attempt. I wanted to help people and to contribute in a meaningful way. See? I believe we're all here to help each other, and the world around us - not to have fun and escape. That by helping each other in some small way - we make the world better. But it's hard. And it's best when we do things we're good at.

I'm good at communicating - and analyzing stuff - and I wanted a job that incorporated both in a meaningful way. I'm grateful that my job does that. Through my job, I've ensured the safety of millions of commuters. I've ensured people have jobs and receive reasonable pay for them, without costing the state too much in the process. I'm proud of what I do. And as crazy as my workplace makes me at times - I feel that I've contributed in a meaningful, if small way.

Day 245 of Lockdown/Corona Virus

Who wants to take bets on when I lost track of days again or counting?

1. I'm a good mood. I found out today that the Universe may have decided to give me a couple of early Christmas Gifts.

*The Monster lost and will be out of the White House come January. (kind of already knew that, but still..it bears repeating.)
*. The new President-Elect has proclaimed that his administration will focus on climate change (and according to mother infrastructure - which is where I work. This is news.)
*. There are not one but COVID VACCINES that are 95% effective - Phfizer's and Modernas'. Also turns out I was wrong about immunity - it is a thing.

Note the only two things I wanted from the election was Trump out, and a focus on the environment. (Also it would be really nice if Kamala Harris got the VP role - but I wasn't counting on that.)

Guess what? I got all three! Yippee! Thank you, Universe. Also a big thank you for Kamala Harris - who was my pick for President. (I voted for Warren, but only because Harris wasn't an option.)

I know not everyone is happy about this turn of events - but the ones who aren't are kind of dumb, and we don't care what they think.

2. The news amused me this morning. Note we've already established that I have an off-beat sense of humor.

( amused by the idiotic Republicans and their inability to handle losing the election )

3. The US Vs. the Virus

Note, the US is losing in its battle to contain the virus because our government and citizens are insanely stupid. I mean the stupidity defies logic. It's enough to make me want to apologize to every horror novelist, writer, filmmaker who ever lived. Yes, the American people are really that stupid. We know this now. Thank you, COVID.

But, hey, at least the scientists are smart. So there's hope.

* A new study found that immunity to the coronavirus may last for many years.

* The F.D.A. approved a rapid test that can be performed at home, paving a potential path for more widespread testing outside of health care settings.
[I kind of thought we already had this?]

( just in case you don't want to see how blatantly stupid the US is in regards to fighting the virus. )

Oh updates...from the evening Corona Virus report:

* The F.D.A. authorized the first at-home coronavirus test. [We already have one - via pixlar labs. My co-worker has been taking it for several months now.]

* New York City will shutter all public schools again as virus cases increase.[Yep that happened today.]

* A mini-outbreak on the U.S. Capitol Hill is threatening to disrupt the business of Congress.

* New Orleans announced that there would be no parades during the February 2021 Mardi Gras celebrations.[I guess they learned their lesson finally from last years Mardi Gras celebrations? This is kind of like a slow motion horror film...]

*There's memes on social media - that social Darwinism may take out the idiotic Republicans in the Red States who refuse to wear masks, while all the Democrats are, and we won't have to worry about an election in 2024, since the other party will be dead. Death by stupidity. In South Dakota and Ohio - patients are refusing to do Facetime with family members to say Goodbye, because they don't believe in COVID and still think it is a hoax. (Folks on FB were wondering what they thought they were dying of?)

4. Our continuing coverage of New York vs. the Corona Virus

Per tonight's Governor's email...

( basically what NY is doing to combat it...at the moment )

5. Europe vs. the Corona Virus

Well, well...France and Sweden have shifted tactics..and it's working.

( excerpt from NY Times briefing )

6. Meanwhile...it appears we may have a vaccine on the way.
( Read more... )

7. While people were complaining about the Rockerfeller Christmas Tree - an adorable and omnious owl was discovered wrapped up in the Rockerfeller Christmas Tree.

( excerpt )