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It’s Saturday, June 18, 2022
Welcome to the 1,474th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
RRR
This is a poster for RRR (film). The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the item promoted, the publisher of the item promoted or the graphic artist.
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Commentary
It’s the night before our family outing.
I’m very excited.
Fortunately the Celtics are playing Game Six and that will smoothly pass the time for me.
I had fun creating a Packing List, a Flight List, and a detailed schedule.
I reserved a 6.15am p/u from Uber.
I am prepared.
Tomorrow morning will be a rare event for me: buying coffee on the road.
It's a holiday.
I will also buy an old-fashioned plain donut to go with the coffee.
At 10.30am I will be dropping my bags at the Hotel and will stay close by until its time to get a ride to my lunch destination, a Japanese restaurant.
I’ll eat a substantial lunch since we will not be eating until 8.30pm.
It’ll be 94* in Washington on this first day so I will only walk short distances ans only when necessary.
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Today’s Word: RRR as in the movie
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
“It was an age of war. One man depending on his skill alone wandered through the land. A samurai. I love the tongue-in-cheek intro to the sweet series, Samurai Gourmet. In the intro we watch a samurai warrior in battle gear walk confidently through the land. A Samurai is what our mild-mannered host would like to be. But he is not.”
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Wellness
For the last couple of days I’ve felt terrific. I must inquire about a small growth on my thigh when I return.
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Understanding aging
Some days are pretty good. But Thursday I was very tired.
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Social Life
Friday will begin three days of nonstop, wall-to-wall socializing with loved ones.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God's gift,
that's why we call it the present.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
The fifth agent letting me down easy:
Dear Dom,
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read your query for MYSTIC WARRIOR: REMIT TO HELL. Unfortunately, it isn't the right fit for my list at this time, so I'm going to pass. Please remember that my response is incredibly subjective, and that the project might be a perfect fit for another agent. Thank you for considering me, and best of luck with future queries!
Sincerely,
Saint
Blog meister responds: Breaking it to me gently.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
For dinner Wednesday I enjoyed a tomato salad with red onios, some lettuce, and three chunks of cheese. To accompany a small dry-aged steak.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Brewer's Fountain in Boston Common
Love the outpouring of water.
The cool and the splash.
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Short Essay*
RRR is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli who wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. It is produced by D. V. V. Danayya of DVV Entertainment. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, and Olivia Morris. It is a fictional story about two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao), and their fight against the British Raj. Set in 1920, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into oblivion before they began the fight for their country.
A must see for anyone who loves or even just has a tolerance for fantasy films. The dance sequence is particularly splendid and many of the fight sequences are the equals of the dance.
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Definition of Today’s word:
RRR is an acronym for "Roudram Ranam Rudhiram, " which can be roughly translated from Telugu as "Fierce Death Blood, " or to follow the original title's alliteration, "Rise Roar Revolt." These words are key to RRR 's plot, which centers around Raju and Bheem's revolution against the British Empire and their use of wilderness to achieve it.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Friday, June 17, 2022
Welcome to the 1,473rd consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Bob Marley in concert
Bob Marley live in concert in Dalymount Park on 6 July 1980.
Eddie Mallin - https://secure.flickr.com/photos/dubpics/5619960763/
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Commentary
I get into a funk when the Celtics lose. I don’t want to talk about it, certainly not while the competition is as yet unresolved.
I’ve thought about why that is.
I think it’s as simple as this:
I’ve tried to change my persona over these last decades to become a finer person.
For me, that means moving away from people that bring negativity into my life. Like people who dwell in the past and remind me of the crazy son of a bitch that I was. That has provided me with a clean slate on which to write the persona that I want to be.
Well, the Celtics lose. What are the sports channels going to be talking about for the next days until the next game? How this one and that one sucked and cost the team the game. I don’t mean the coaches who are trying to improve the players. But the ‘fans’ who want to blame individuals for their disappointment. To these I say, let’s talk again after the next Celtics’ victory. I wat to be happy and constructive.
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Reading, Writing, and Word of the Day
Had a great conversation with my niece Lisa. She is one intelligent chick. :)
Today’s Word: rad
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
Can something so unprepossessing as the 20-minute Samurai Gourmet episodes be so enjoyable as to have you keep coming back?
A resounding yes! to a gentle man’s discovery of Japanese food.
For foodies. Oh, yes.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
I hate housework!
You make the beds,
you do the dishes and
six months later you have to start all over again.
~Joan Rivers
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
And this happy event from Tucker: another episode in the series.
Hey Dom,
Here is the link to all the episodes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/67682128
In today’s release, Chapter Five, we talk about how the tones and images the Scott’s created were co-opted to promote and sell America’s patriotic self-image and military superiority.
Thank you again for sharing this on the blog!
- Tucker
Blog meister responds: How great! So much work goes into the planning and execution and editing of each episode that as a viewer I consider myself a happy camper. And I’m delighted to share the experience.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
On Tuesday I decided to eat Chinese. Walking about Chinatown I stepped into Ga Ga, a Chinese restaurant on Tyler St in Boston’s Chinatown. What a find. I ordered two dishes, General Gao’s chicken and Fish fillets with Vegetables. Back-to-back homeruns. The sauces are delicate and perfectly proportioned. The vegetables are well-respected, too, crips and colorful. The service was great and the prices reasonable. Can’t wait to go back.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
park outside of Peets at Harvard Square
A great place to write outdoors.
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Short Essay*
Reggae (/ˈrɛɡeɪ/) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora.[1] A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae", effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience.[2][3] While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady.[4] Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary.[5] It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.[6]
Reggae is deeply linked to Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, aiming at promoting pan-Africanism.[7][8][9] Soon after the Rastafarian movement appeared, the international popularity of reggae music became associated with and increased the visibility of Rastafari and spread its gospel throughout the world.[8] Reggae music is an important means of transporting vital messages of Rastafari. The musician becomes the messenger, and as Rastafari see it, "the soldier and the musician are tools for change."[10]
Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento (a celebratory, rural folk form that served its largely rural audience as dance music and an alternative to the hymns and adapted chanteys of local church singing),[11] calypso,[12] and also draws influence from traditional African folk rhythms. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms; staccato chords played by a guitar or piano (or both) on the offbeats of the measure. The tempo of reggae is usually slower paced than both ska and rocksteady.[13] The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music. The genre of reggae music is led by the drum and bass.[14][15] Some key players in this sound are Jackie Jackson from Toots and the Maytals,[16] Carlton Barrett from Bob Marley and the Wailers,[17] Lloyd Brevett from the Skatalites,[18] Paul Douglas from Toots and the Maytals,[19] Lloyd Knibb from the Skatalites,[20] Winston Grennan,[21] Sly Dunbar,[22] and Anthony "Benbow" Creary from the Upsetters.[23] The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The guitar in reggae usually plays on the offbeat of the rhythm. It is common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism and religion in its lyrics,[24] although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love and socializing.
Reggae has spread to many countries around the world, often incorporating local instruments and fusing with other genres. Reggae en Español spread from the Spanish-speaking Central American country of Panama to the mainland South American countries of Venezuela and Guyana then to the rest of South America. Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica and the Caribbean community in Europe. Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of income.[25]
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Definition of Today’s word, rad
radical, especially political
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Thursday, June 16, 2022
Welcome to the 1,472nd consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
AKB48
AKB48 performing at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, July 2010
kndynt2099 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/kndynt2099/5767061564/sizes/o/in/photostream/ en:Flickr
J!-ENT LIVE: AKB48
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Commentary
Score a big one for the Jan 6 Committee: the TV ratings for their hearings are gigantic.
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Writing
Is going pretty well. I love typing in an outdoor café in the warm to hot weather.
Today’s Word: FUNGIBLE
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
Here is a list of movies from or of Japan that demonstrate aspects of Japanese culture, especially helpful to a traveler.
Son’s movies re: japan
drive my car
departures
tokyo story
lost in translation
tokyo idols (you tube)
To this list add the excellent TV series, Midnight Diner, Tokyo Stories.
I loved every one of them.
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Wellness
Feeling well.
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Understanding aging
Did I ever mention that everyday older people wake up with different aches and pains?
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Social Life
Am getting excited: plane to Washington leaves Friday morning. Three days of wall-to-wall family.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
You are absolutely free to describe me as a turtle or something.
~Paul Giamatti
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from fellow experienced writer, Sally C when I got my second personal response from an agency.
Dear Dom,
It’s a very good sign when you get a personal rejection from an agent. The authors of most submissions never hear a peep.
Your story is a unique tale, so it’s good to know that it evokes some interest.
Sally
Blog meister responds: Grateful for the support of my readers and writers. Then I got a third personal response, also a rejection, but I must be in the ball park.
Here is the third rejection:
Dear Dom
Many thanks for sending me the pages from your novel MYSTIC WARRIOR: REMIT TO HELL. I read the material with interest, however I am sorry to say that I won’t be offering you representation. I’m afraid that I didn’t feel strongly enough about these pages to think that I would be the best advocate for your work.
I wish you the best of luck with your other submissions.
Best wishes,
Blog meister responds: One of these days someone will tell me they read the material and “Let’s talk.”
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
Monday for dinner I made Linguini with White Clam Sauce. Pretty perfect. I steamed the clams in a cup of white wine, garlic, EVOO, garlic, basil, red pepper, a touch. I removed the clams as they opened and when the pasta was half cooked I removed it from the water and put it in the Clam Sauce to finish cooking. Then I slipped the heap of clams and shell over the pot and brought the pot to the table. Fun!
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Couple dancing in P Garden.
They brought their own music.
It was lovely.
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Short Essay*
An idol a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements by talent agencies, while maintaining a parasocial relationship with a financially loyal consumer fan base.
Japan's idol industry first emerged in the 1960s and became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s due to television. During the 1980s, regarded as the "Golden Age of Idols", idols drew in commercial interest and began appearing in commercials and television dramas. As more niche markets began to appear in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it led to a significant growth in the industry known as the "Idol Warring Period." Today, over 10,000 teenage girls in Japan are idols, with over 3,000 groups active. Japan's idol industry has been used as a model for other pop idol industries, such as K-pop.
Sub-categories of idols include gravure idols, junior idols, net idols, idol voice actors, virtual idols, AV idols, underground idols, Akiba-kei idols, local idols, bandols, and Japanese-Korean idols.
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Definition of Today’s Word:
FUNGIBLE: the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are essentially interchangeable and each of whose parts is indistinguishable from another part
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Welcome to the 1,471st consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Lost in Translation
Bill Murray's character sits on a hotel bed with Tokyo visible in a window behind him.
CoreyHolms.com
This is a poster for the film Lost in Translation. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Focus Features, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist, Corey Holms.
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Commentary
By rights the next elections should be replete with Republican victories. But there are mitigating factors. Abortion rights, gun violence, age (Trump and Biden are almost as old as I am,) Trump, a modern-day Benedict Arnold, centrist Republicans getting bolder, politically rising Republicans hoping to replace Trump without regard to philosophy, growing union strength, and Putin-supporting splinters are all out there as serious issues. To what extent will these issues influence the results? Interesting.
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Today’s Word: neo
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
Saw the Finale of Barry after watching every past episode. It was a quintessential cop-out. Very poor.
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Understanding aging
I’ve changed my routine. I am only carrying my laptop out once a day to save wear and tear on my frailing body. When I go out without that heavy backpack, I can walk a long way and walking feels as good as it has felt these last ten years.
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Social Life
Am planning a dinner-movie night with Tucker, Scout, and the Mediano family. Details to follow.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream.
It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
~Ronald Reagan
Pres. Reagan would have loved Liz Cheney.
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Hey Dom,
Scout created a page based on your idea for all of the essays that will update as the new episodes release!
Thank you again for the smart idea
- Tucker
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fposts%2F67682128&data=05%7C01%7C%7C8d86fad3ec624e2955ed08da4ca25521%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637906557344547296%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Z8rLvfPwLvKMBOLZaYZecNABpDeYp1xagAvk3DWHj6Q%3D&reserved=0
Blog meister responds: Delighted. For any of you who have missed an episode, use this link.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
I made a pizza for dinner. I used fresh ‘Ancient Grain’ dough from W Foods and topped it with tomatoes and a bunch of herbs and spices. Then added two cheeses, peppers, onons, and anchovies.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Phillip Guston The Porch II
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Phillip Guston The Porch II
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Short Essay*
Lost in Translation is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray stars as Bob Harris, a fading American movie star who is having a midlife crisis when he travels to Tokyo to promote Suntory whisky. There, he befriends another estranged American named Charlotte, a young woman and recent college graduate played by Scarlett Johansson. Giovanni Ribisi and Anna Faris also feature. The film explores themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan. Further analysis by critics and scholars has focused on the film's defiance of mainstream narrative conventions and its atypical depiction of romance.
Coppola started writing the film after spending time in Tokyo and becoming fond of the city. She began forming a story about two characters experiencing a "romantic melancholy"[4] in the Park Hyatt Tokyo, where she stayed while promoting her first feature film, the 1999 drama The Virgin Suicides. Coppola envisioned Murray playing the role of Bob Harris from the beginning and tried to recruit him for up to a year, relentlessly sending him telephone messages and letters. While Murray eventually agreed to play the part, he did not sign a contract; Coppola spent a quarter of the film's $4 million budget without knowing if he would appear in Tokyo for shooting. When Murray finally arrived, Coppola described feelings of significant relief.
Principal photography began on September 29, 2002, and lasted 27 days. Coppola kept a flexible schedule during filming with a small crew and minimal equipment. The screenplay was short and Coppola often allowed a significant amount of improvisation during filming. The film's director of photography, Lance Acord, used available light as often as possible and many Japanese places of business and public areas were used as locations for shooting. After 10 weeks of editing, Coppola sold distribution rights for the United States and Canada to Focus Features, and the company promoted the film by generating positive word of mouth before its theatrical release.
The film premiered on August 29, 2003, at the Telluride Film Festival and was a major critical and commercial success. Critics praised the performances of Murray and Johansson, as well as the writing and direction of Coppola; limited criticism was given to the film's depiction of Japan. At the 76th Academy Awards, Lost in Translation won Coppola Best Original Screenplay, and the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola), and Best Actor (Murray). Other accolades won include three Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film Awards.
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Definition of Today’s word:
neo: new
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Welcome to the 1,470th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Tokyo Story (東京物語, Tōkyō Monogatari)
directed by 小津 安二郎, Ozu Yasujirō 1953 B2 theatrical poster
Neonsigh - Own work
This is such a poorly chosen poster design for the powerful movie.
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Commentary
The weather is lovely.
I’m trying unsuccessfully to understand cryptocurrency and metaverse. When is progress going to morph into an understandable technological idiom so we could have a little time to learn the new way?
Biden is not controlling the conversation. A bitter, antagonistic split between Trumpian and centrist Republicans is the Democrats’ only hope in the coming elections.
Fourteen weeks ago, when my family decided we could all meet in Washington DC for two or three nights in mid-June, the date seemed very far off. I My flight leaves this Friday morning.
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Reading, Writing, and Word of the Day
I’m not pleased with my reading or writing. But I’m getting a minimum done.
Today’s Word: cenotaph
For definition, see below, immediately after the Short Essay
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Screen time
Am watching Tokyo Story. Emotionally gripping. Not a happy ending.
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Wellness
I’m well, considering
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Understanding aging
I’m tired. All the time is more accurate than some times.
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Social Life
Saturday night I received a most welcomed visit from my two great-nieces, Tessa and Savannah. It was late and they could only stay for15-minutes but it was fun for me.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
You can't win unless you learn how to lose.
~Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from Sally C responding to my unsuccessful searches for friend Yan whom I help whenever I see her.
Dear Dom,
I’m heartened to know of your consistent compassion for Yan, keeping track of her in your travels. I am sad to learn that you have not seen her in so long. Fortunately the weather is better for spending the nights outside. But I know her safety is always in your heart. I’ll send a little prayer that she will cross your path very soon.
Sally
Blog meister responds: As the wheel turns, my friend Ann H had told me where she had seen Yan recently. I checked the spot out and made contact. Yan told me she was ‘hanging out’ in this new location. I’ll make it a point to visit there regularly. On my return home I received this above missive from Sally. I, of course, instantly responded that Sally’s prayers had been answered.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
I made a pizza for Sunday using the W Foods fresh dough they call Ancient Grains. Made my own pizza sauce, of course, and added anchovies, peppers, and onions.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Buddha, Amida, group of three
Found in the MFA
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Short Essay*
Tokyo Story (東京物語, Tōkyō Monogatari) is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon initial release, it did not immediately gain international recognition and was considered "too Japanese" to be marketable by Japanese film exporters. It was screened in 1957 in London, where it won the inaugural Sutherland Trophy the following year, and received praise from U.S. film critics after a 1972 screening in New York City.
Tokyo Story is widely regarded as Ozu's masterpiece and today as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2012, it was voted the greatest film of all time in a poll of film directors by Sight & Sound magazine.
I found it emotionally crushing.
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Definition of Today’s word:
cenotaph: a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Monday, June 13, 2022
Welcome to the 1,469th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Liz Cheney
Liz Cheney 116th Congress official portrait
US House Office of Photography - https://www.facebook.com/replizcheney/photos/a.1800762520249606/2293745477617972/
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Commentary
Liz Cheney is of historical stature.
She’s a G-O-A-T.
Breeding will out.
How creepy is it that so many politicians shake in their boots when the moment of truth is on them?
How extraordinary it is when a George Washington risks it all for principle.
And make no mistake.
Do not shell her short.
The lady is a giant.
Speak in reverential tones when speaking of her.
BTW: Liz is one of five recipients of 2022 Profile in Courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
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Reading, Writing, and Word of the Day
Niece Lisa and I are getting ready to swap our reactions to Killer Angels.
Today’s Word: literary agent
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Screen time
Am watching a Japanese movie, “Drive my car.” It’s sad but I’m liking very much. It’s well-regarded, having won a number of important awards.
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Wellness
Feeling well. Getting lots and lots done.
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Understanding aging
My legs hurt all the time.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that
it is not fish they are after.
~Henry David Thoreau
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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Here’s another personal response from an agent to my submission:
Dear dom,
Thank you for your query. While MYSTIC WARRIOR: REMIT TO HELL does sound interesting, I'm afraid it's not quite right for me at this time. I genuinely appreciate your willingness to share your writing with me and wish you luck finding an agent who can successfully champion your work.
All best,
Patricia
Blog meister responds: In this age of hurry, hurry, it’s heartening to know that your work is getting some resonance in the industry.
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
I had lamb stew on Saturday. Delicious. I made it in the course of Friday evening to distract me from the Celtics loss in Game Four of the Finals. It’s fun when you take all the time you need to get it done: Brown the lamb. Braise the veggies. Return the lamb. Add stock and red wine and simmer for 2 hours. So easy.
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Pictures with Captions from our community**
Vegan Appetizers
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Short Essay*
Elizabeth Lynne Cheney born July 28, 1966, is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district since 2017. She chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership, from 2019 to 2021.
Cheney is the elder daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Second Lady Lynne Cheney. She held several positions in the U.S. State Department during the George W. Bush administration, notably as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Coordinator for Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiatives. She promoted regime change in Iran while chairing the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group with Elliott Abrams. In 2009 Cheney and Bill Kristol founded Keep America Safe, a nonprofit organization concerned with national security issues, which advocated the Bush–Cheney administration's positions. She was a candidate for the 2014 election to the U.S. Senate in Wyoming, challenging three-term incumbent Mike Enzi, before withdrawing from the race. In the House of Representatives, she holds the seat her father held from 1979 to 1989.
Regarded as a leading ideological conservative in the Bush–Cheney-era tradition and a representative of the Republican establishment, Cheney is a neoconservative, known for her focus on national security, support for the U.S. military, a pro-business stance,[6] hawkish foreign policy views, and fiscal and social conservatism. She is considered one of the leaders of the Republican Party's neoconservative wing and was critical of the foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration while simultaneously voting steadfastly in support of its overall agenda.
Cheney supported the second impeachment of Donald Trump for his role in the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.Because of her stance on the Capitol riot, her impeachment vote and opposition to Trump's false stolen-election narrative, pro-Trump Freedom Caucus members of the House Republican Conference attempted to remove her from party leadership in February 2021. That effort failed, and Cheney remained conference chair until mid-May, when pro-Trump members of the House again pushed for her removal. With House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy supporting the effort, Cheney was removed from her position. After her battles with Republican leadership, Cheney received death threats, leading her to spend $58,000 on a private security detail. She has said that she intends to be "the leader, one of the leaders, in a fight to help to restore our party" and that she may be interested in a future presidential run. In July 2021, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Cheney to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. Two months later, she was made vice chair of the committee. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Cheney criticized what she called the "Putin wing" of the Republican Party.
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Definition of Today’s word:
literary agent: A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters, and non-fiction writers. They are paid a fixed percentage (usually twenty percent on foreign sales and ten to fifteen percent for domestic sales)[1] of the sales they negotiate on behalf of their clients.
* The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Pictures with Captions from our community are photos sent in by our blog followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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It’s Sunday, June 12, 2022
Welcome to the 1,469th consecutive post to the blog
existentialautotrip.com
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Lead Picture*
Bitcoin
A logo for Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency
Bitboy - This file was derived from: Bitcoin logo.svg
New bitcoin logo
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Commentary
I’ve had a couple of excellent dinners within this past week where the food, drink, and conversation reached wonderful heights. How lucky we are to have such stimulating friends and family.
With sadness I report that I have not seen my friend Yan for two weeks. I have a suspicion that the Prudential Center management took firm steps to keep her out. It’s sad. She slept sitting up on one of the benches in the mall. Warm and safe. And I always bought her a meal. Yan, where are you, my dear?
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Reading
My niece Lisa and I are each reading “Killer Angels.” We are going to talk about the first half of the book. I have a theme or two that I’d like to investigate, one being the relationship of Generals Longstreet and Lee.
and Word of the Day: gambit
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Chuckles and Thoughts
I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
~Michael Jordan
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Wellness
Since I discovered my sandals, I’ve been able to return to my walking regimen. I love walking. Wearing sneakers had robbed me of that luxury. When I take my early evening walk I have a feeling of well-being. Alternatively, without the walk, I feel poorly.
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Social Life
This upcoming week is a short one for me: I’m leaving for Washington DC on Friday morning.
I’ll return on Monday. I have no other plans.
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Community Photos**
Guston, Philip Mother and Child painting
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Community Photos**
Guston, Philip Mother and Child painting and placard
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Dinner/Food/Recipes
Friday I prepared a vegan meal for Tucker and Scout, our two resident movie cognoscenti. It was a great time. Besides a variety of fruit and vegetables, we had a plate of fried eggplant and Bucatini with a Vegan Tomato Sauce that was perfect.
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Short Essay*
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, crypto, or coin is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it.
Individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger, which is a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. Despite their name, cryptocurrencies are not considered to be currencies in the traditional sense and while varying treatments have been applied to them, including classification as commodities, securities, as well as currencies, cryptocurrencies are generally viewed as a distinct asset class in practice. Some crypto schemes use validators to maintain the cryptocurrency. In a proof-of-stake model, owners put up their tokens as collateral. In return, they get authority over the token in proportion to the amount they stake. Generally, these token stakers get additional ownership in the token over time via network fees, newly minted tokens or other such reward mechanisms.
Cryptocurrency does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority. Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to a central bank digital currency (CBDC). When a cryptocurrency is minted or created prior to issuance or issued by a single issuer, it is generally considered centralized. When implemented with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database. Traditional asset classes like currencies, commodities, and stocks, as well as macroeconomic factors, have modest exposures to cryptocurrency returns.
A cryptocurrency is a tradable digital asset or digital form of money, built on blockchain technology that only exists online. Cryptocurrencies use encryption to authenticate and protect transactions, hence their name. There are currently over a thousand different cryptocurrencies in the world.
Over the last few years, cryptocurrency prices have risen and then fallen. Crypto marketplaces do not guarantee that an investor is completing a purchase or trade at the optimal price. As a result, many investors take advantage of this by using arbitrage to find the difference in price across several markets.
The first decentralized cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which first released as open-source software in 2009. As of March 2022 there were more than 9,000 other cryptocurrencies in the marketplace, of which more than 70 had a market capitalization exceeding $1 billion.
According to Jan Lansky, a cryptocurrency is a system that meets six conditions:
The system does not require a central authority; its state is maintained through distributed consensus.
The system keeps an overview of cryptocurrency units and their ownership.
The system defines whether new cryptocurrency units can be created. If new cryptocurrency units can be created, the system defines the circumstances of their origin and how to determine the ownership of these new units.
Ownership of cryptocurrency units can be proved exclusively cryptographically.
The system allows transactions to be performed in which ownership of the cryptographic units is changed. A transaction statement can only be issued by an entity proving the current ownership of these units.
If two different instructions for changing the ownership of the same cryptographic units are simultaneously entered, the system performs at most one of them.
In March 2018, the word cryptocurrency was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
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Definition of gambit the word of the day:
a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage:
*The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Community Pictures with Captions are sent in by our followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
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