Daily Entries for the post of the week of
Sunday, May 31
through
Saturday, June 6
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It’s Saturday, June 6, 2020
Welcome to the 789th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Lungs diagram with internal details
Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator
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2.0 Commentary
Saturday.
The day the governor decides whether phase two may start on Monday.
Under phase two, restaurants may open.
Just a percent of the space occupied.
But open.
Only outside spaces.
Open.
My café during the pandemic, Thinking Cup, their outdoor seating on Newbury Street,
open.
Their public bathroom, open.
What the governor has to say on Saturday, very important to me.
And my son underwent a procedure on his lungs last night
to remove a mass they detected there.
And they did.
A piece of tin foil.
Huh?
Yep.
They removed a piece of foil.
He should recover nicely.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times.
“But that is not for them to decide.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
~J. R. R. Tolkien
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from my son Dom through a series of texts:
Not feeling well.
Pneumonia worsening.
Want me in the hospital to remove a mass on my lungs.
Protocol: On Wednesday I must undergo a corona virus test before the procedure.
Result of test: I’m fine.
Next day, Thursday, the procedure.
The mass in the lungs was a piece of tin foil.
Craaaaaaazy
Resting now.
Be home soon.
Blog Meister responds: That’s a relief.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Seared duck legs and served them on a bed of watercress
on which I sprinkled red wine vinegar.
The fat from the duck turned the watercress into a tasty salad.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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11.0 Thumbnail
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and many other animals including a few fish and some snails.
In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart.
Their function in the respiratory system is to extract oxygen from the atmosphere and transfer it into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere, in a process of gas exchange.
Respiration is driven by different muscular systems in different species.
Mammals, reptiles and birds use their different muscles to support and foster breathing.
In humans, the main muscle of respiration that drives breathing is the diaphragm.
The lungs also provide airflow that makes vocal sounds including human speech possible.
Humans have two lungs, a right lung, and a left lung.
They are situated within the thoracic cavity of the chest.
The right lung is bigger than the left, which shares space in the chest with the heart.
The lungs together weigh approximately 2.9 lb, and the right is heavier.
The lungs are part of the lower respiratory tract that begins at the trachea and branches into the bronchi and bronchioles, and which receive air breathed in via the conducting zone.
The conducting zone ends at the terminal bronchioles.
These divide into the respiratory bronchioles of the respiratory zone which divide into alveolar ducts that give rise to the alveolar sacs that contain the alveoli, where gas exchange takes place.
Alveoli are also sparsely present on the walls of the respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts.
Together, the lungs contain approximately 1,500 mi of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli.
Each lung is enclosed within a pleural sac that contains pleural fluid, which allows the inner and outer walls to slide over each other whilst breathing takes place, without much friction.
This sac also divides each lung into sections called lobes.
The right lung has three lobes and the left has two.
The lobes are further divided into bronchopulmonary segments and pulmonary lobules.
The lungs have a unique blood supply, receiving deoxygenated blood from the heart in the pulmonary circulation for the purposes of receiving oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, and a separate supply of oxygenated blood to the tissue of the lungs, in the bronchial circulation.
The tissue of the lungs can be affected by a number of respiratory diseases, including pneumonia and lung cancer.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and can be related to smoking or exposure to harmful substances.
A number of occupational lung diseases can be caused by substances such as coal dust, asbestos fibres, and crystalline silica dust.
Diseases such as bronchitis can also affect the respiratory tract.
Medical terms related to the lung often begin with pulmo-, from the Latin pulmonarius (of the lungs) as in pulmonology, or with pneumo- (from Greek πνεύμων "lung") as in pneumonia.
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It’s Friday, June 5, 2020
Welcome to the 788th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Roquefort cheese
Thesupermat - Own work
Du Roquefort, fromage de l'Aveyron.
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2.0 Commentary
My ill dear one’s corona test (mandatory before any procedures) came back negative.
So today they will perform the procedure which (barring complications) is expected to go well.
That will be relieving.
I’ve noticed a few more bodies floating around the Prudential Center.
We’ll hope all the positive trends continue.
And the days are indeed getting warmer.
About time although
I’m sure soon we will be complaining about the heat.
Short memoried we.
Love the class I’m taking on Female Relationships.
Great classmates; great teacher.
We discussed the first part of Toni Morrison’s Sula.
Am considering my first dinner party in twelve weeks.
Thinking five guests, two already in my quaranteam.
Just thinking, although
we could emulate the safeguards imposed on the reopening of restaurants.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.
~J. R. R. Tolkien
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Sally C (after Blogmeister suggested she might do a story on her family’s experiences with honeybees).
Oooo! This sounds like a good topic for the critique group, too! Even without talking with brother Bill, I have nine tidbits he's told me that I can work into a single story, or broken into two or three installments.
Blog Meister responds: We look forward to your essay.
Sally continues:
I love the Muse.
never know when it will come knocking.
I've never had to chase it.
Not something so many other writers are so graced with its creative presence.
Even one time, when I wrote a blog post entitled, "This is the Blog Post I Didn't Write This Week," it wasn't about having nothing to write about as the lack of time to write one because I was busy shoveling mountains of snow (winter of 2011, similar to winter of 2015, inches and feet dumped every other day).
Blog Meister responds: Often wish I knew the Muse better.
Sally continues:
A few years ago, my brother introduced a little old lady in his church to the pleasures of honeybee friendship.
At first, Aunt Dollie was afraid of bees, but when Bill showed her how to mix up sugar water for them, she came to enjoy sitting on her porch and watching them come and drink while they tended to her flower garden.
She ended up feeding about ten pounds of sugar a week to the bees; she may still be doing it.
As long as she keeps enough sugar in stock for baking, her favorite thing to do at age 97.
Her cakes are scrumptious!
Sally
Blog Meister responds: Love this story. I got interested in birdwatching in much the same way.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Wednesday night I had a second dinner off that roast La Belle Patrimoine chicken.
For some variety, I bought a plate of Chow Mein and brown rice.
I brushed the chicken pieces with Chicken Gravy from my freezer and
heated it in the mic.
Perfect.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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Roquefort is a sheep milk cheese from Southern France, and together with Gorgonzola, Bleu d'Auvergne, Danablu and Stilton is one of the world's best known blue cheeses.
Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort, as
it is a recognized geographical indication, or
has a protected designation of origin.
The cheese is white, tangy, crumbly and slightly moist, with distinctive veins of blue mold.
It has a characteristic fragrance and flavor with a notable taste of butyric acid;
the blue veins provide a sharp tang.
It has no rind; the exterior is edible and slightly salty.
A typical wheel of Roquefort weighs between 5.5 and 6.6 lb, and
is about 4 in thick.
Each kilogram of finished cheese requires about 1.2 US gal of milk to produce. Roquefort is known in France as the king of cheeses.
And a well-deserved appellation whose integrity is
protected by these AOC regulations:
All milk used must be delivered at least 20 days after lambing has taken place.
The sheep must be on pasture, whenever possible, in an area including most of Aveyron and parts of neighboring départements. At least 75% of any grain or fodder fed must come from the area.
The milk must be whole, raw (not heated above 34 °C (93 °F), and unfiltered except to remove macroscopic particles.
The addition of rennet must occur within 48 hours of milking.
The Penicillium roqueforti used in the production must be produced in France from the natural caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
The salting process must be performed using dry salt.
The whole process of maturation, cutting, packaging and refrigeration of the cheese must take place in the commune of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
And so it goes.
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It’s Thursday, June 4, 2020
Welcome to the 788th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Lateral and posterior aspects of right knee
Henry Vandyke Carter and one more author -
Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body
(See "Book" section below)
Bartleby.com: Gray's Anatomy, Plate 351
Capsule of right knee-joint (distended). Lateral aspect.
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2.0 Commentary
The interpretation of the MRI on my knee was delivered yesterday via a phone call.
The cartilage around my and the meniscus were both fine.
Strong, without defect.
The ACL and LCL, however, were both strained, but
they not torn either.
The tear came to the tendon which aids in the knee’s rotation.
Typically recovers well in 6 to 8 weeks.
Doctor offered no objection to my walking unaided by braces, cane, or crutches.
Knee continues to heal apace.
Lucky.
Please pray for the quick recovery of someone dear to me.
A lovely cloudy day is promised us.
I can dig that.
Today is the first of eight classes discussing female relationships, using Sula by Toni Morrison and My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante as subjects.
The class had been filled but since several of our bloggers got shut out Francesca (teacher) added a second class to accommodate us.
Download the site to get put on mailing list: https://www.readingcloser.com/register/adult-female-friendships
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until
we have to practice it.
~C. S. Lewis
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Sally C:
Dear Dom,
Regarding the piece on mason bees:
How astonishing that the female knows the gender of the eggs inside her so that
she lays the females first, deeper in the nest, and
the males second, closer to the exit.
What wonders God hath wrought!
Sally
Blog Meister responds: Kind of impossible to fathom the eons of constant tinkering that
could possibly take the bees down this path while elephants also are evolving,
in a somewhat different direction.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Roasted my second La Belle Patrimoine chicken yesterday.
I’ve forgotten what in comparison the world famous Bresse chickens in France taste like but
these must provide a close competition.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint).
It is the largest joint in the human body.
The knee is a modified hinge joint, which permits flexion and extension as well as slight internal and external rotation.
A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension.
Tendons are like ligaments; both are made of collagen.
Ligaments connect one bone to another, while
tendons connect muscle to bone.
In animal models, extensive studies have been conducted to
investigate the effects of mechanical strain
in the form of activity level on tendon injury and healing.
While stretching can disrupt healing during the initial inflammatory phase,
it has been shown that controlled movement of the tendons
after about one week following an acute injury
can help to promote the synthesis of collagen by the tenocytes,
leading to increased tensile strength and diameter of the healed tendons and
fewer adhesions than
tendons that are immobilized.
In chronic tendon injuries, mechanical loading has also been shown to
stimulate fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis along with collagen realignment,
all of which promote repair and remodeling.
To further support the theory that movement and activity assist in tendon healing,
it has been shown that
immobilization of the tendons after injury often has a negative effect on healing.
In rabbits, collagen fascicles that are immobilized have shown decreased tensile strength, and immobilization also results in lower amounts of water, proteoglycans, and collagen crosslinks in the tendons.
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It’s Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Welcome to the 787th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Osmia calaminthae visiting flowers of Calamintha ashei
at Lake Placid, Highlands County, Florida.
Tim Lethbridge - Rightmyer M, Deyrup M, Ascher J, Griswold T.
(2011) Osmia species (Hymenoptera,
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2.0 Commentary
Disappointed in this morning’s early news: little said of restaurant reopenings
optimistically scheduled for next week.
While it’s not cold out,
it’s not wallowing-warm, either, and
in June, that’s disappointing.
With the help of a sweater, however, it should be warm enough to walk by the river.
I know I’m ready to suffer some discomfort stemming from high temperatures.
Wednesday, they say.
Domani.
Manana.
Tomorrow.
The check’s in the mail.
Tonight my friend LouLou is visiting to watch episode 4 of Ken Burns’ Civil War.
Her brother owns Limoncello, the North End restaurant where she is a waitress/manager and
I should be able to get some up-to-date dope on the reopening process.
On Monday morning, the local TV news reportage of Sunday night’s street demonstration was as pathetic as local news gets.
Trying to show the extensive damage as a result of the protests,
the camera zooms in on a plate of glass showing a bit of a dent.
We’re supposed to be awed.
Not so much.
Not when other cities are reporting fires and shootings and death.
It wasn’t until Governor Baker and Mayor Walsh took to the airways
to separate out the vandals from the protestors
that we got a decent perspective on Sunday night’s event and
events.
The looters, vultures sensing the city’s vulnerability during the outpouring of
justified communal rage,
preying on victims for self-aggrandizement,
deserve to be sentenced according to guidelines more stringent than
those used for the same crimes committed in isolation.
Considering the pandemic conditions an added fillip.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Don't judge a man by where he is, because
you don't know how far he has come.
~C. S. Lewis
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Monday night I was introduced to ‘Flame’,
a Jamaican restaurant on Huntington Avenue in Boston’s Longwood area.
The food was terrific.
It’s been a long time since I really enjoyed Goat Curry.
It’s my new ‘go to’ place for Jamaican.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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Osmia calaminthae, commonly known as the blue calamintha bee, is
a rare species of mason bee known only to Highlands County, Florida, United States.
It is considered Critically Imperiled by NatureServe.
The common name for the bee is derived from its distinctly blue color and its favored host plant, Calamintha ashei.
Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus Osmia, of the family Megachilidae.
Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally occurring gaps such as between cracks in stones or other small dark cavities.
Unlike honey bees (Apis) or bumblebees, Osmia species are solitary; every female is fertile and makes her own nest, and no worker bees for these species exist.
When the bees emerge from their cocoons, the males exit first.
The males typically remain near the nests waiting for the females, and some are known to actively extract females from their cocoons.
When the females emerge, they mate with one or several males.
The males soon die, and within a few days the females begin provisioning their nests.
Osmia females typically nest in narrow gaps and naturally occurring tubular cavities.
Commonly, this means in hollow twigs but can be in abandoned nests of wood-boring beetles or carpenter bees, in snail shells, under bark, or in other small protected cavities.
They do not excavate their own nests.
The material used for the cell can be clay, mud, grit, or chewed plant tissue.
The palearctic species O. avosetta is one of a few species known for lining the nest burrows with flower petals.
Within a few days of mating, the female has selected a nest site and has begun to visit flowers to gather pollen and nectar for her nests; many trips are needed to complete a pollen/nectar provision mass.
Once a provision mass is complete, the bee backs into the hole and lays an egg on top of the mass.
Then, she creates a partition of "mud", which doubles as the back of the next cell.
The process continues until she has filled the cavity.
Female eggs are laid in the back of the nest and male eggs toward the front.
Once a bee has finished with a nest, she plugs the entrance to the tube, and then may seek out another nest location.
Within weeks of hatching, the larva has probably consumed all of its provisions and begins spinning a cocoon around itself and enters the pupal stage, and the adult matures either in the fall or winter, hibernating inside its insulatory cocoon.
Most Osmia species are found in places where the temperature drops below 0 °C for long durations and they are well-adapted to cold winters; chilling seems to be a requirement for maturation.
Some species of mason bees are semi-voltine, meaning that they have a two-year maturation cycle, with a full year (plus) spent as a larva.
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It’s Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Welcome to the 786th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
French Revolution
Eugène Delacroix - Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives via artsy.net
Romantic history painting.
Commemorates the French Revolution of 1830 (July Revolution) on 28 July 1830.
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2.0 Commentary
During these quarantine weeks I ordered a lot of goods from Amazon. But
I sent back some including:
a walking cane which, by the time received, was no longer necessary for my rehabilitation from a torn meniscus;
two pairs of jeans that were the wrong size; I did buy two pairs that were properly sized;
an ice cream scoop, after discovering that I already had one tucked away;
Slippers, too tight; and finally,
some dinner napkins that were not absorbent.
Meanwhile, I continue to tweak the organization of my apartment which consists mostly of
disposing of ‘valuable’ goods that I haven’t used in years;
that I forgot I even owned.
Three faux pas in the last two days:
I read a couple of chapters of an assigned book before I learned I was reading the wrong book.
I attended a 6.00pm rally in downtown Boston only to discover the start was in a different part of the city. And, worst,
My reportage inadvertently exposed someone breaking quarantine. I ask the parties involved to be charitable and understanding; to pay forward into this situation any gratitude I may have accrued with you for past help. My apologies to all for harm that I may have caused.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
We must stop regarding unpleasant or unexpected things as interruptions of real life.
The truth is that interruptions are real life.
~C. S. Lewis
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Sunday night I had leftover Chicken Soup.
Was very good.
Planning for Monday to be a takeout day.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or course of action, typically a political one.
Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations.
Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or they may undertake direct action in an attempt to directly enact desired changes themselves.
Where protests are part of a systematic and peaceful nonviolent campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as cases of civil resistance or nonviolent resistance.
Various forms of self-expression and protest are sometimes restricted by governmental policy (such as the requirement of protest permits), economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures, or media monopoly.
One state reaction to protests is the use of riot police.
Observers have noted an increased militarization of protest policing, with police deploying armored vehicles and snipers against the protesters.
When such restrictions occur, protests may assume the form of open civil disobedience, more subtle forms of resistance against the restrictions, or may spill over into other areas such as culture and emigration.
A protest itself may at times be the subject of a counter-protest. In such a case, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest.
In some cases, these protesters can violently clash.
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It’s Monday, June 1, 2020
Welcome to the 785th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Crew Dragon launch
NASA/Joel Kowsky - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/49953046998/in/photostream/
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2.0 Commentary
The pandemic pressures us to stay indoors.
So much added time indoors suggests some improvements to our home life that
perhaps we’ve overlooked when things were as they had been.
That has meant increased online shopping.
Recent Amazon purchases have included:
two $14.00 sunglasses to replace lost units;
twelve large white prayer candles for mood in dining and living areas;
a dozen Bormioli glasses for kitchen utensils;
paper trays used to contain the new glassware with kitchen utensils;
“How to Cook Everything” by Bitterman, my copy have been taken by my daughter;
LeCreuset extra-large double burner grill for steaks and hamburgers;
a manual coffee grinder with crank mill for speeding up my pepper grinding as well as for aesthetic reasons;
A second Microplane Grater to dedicate to fruit-zesting, the one I already own being exclusively used for cheese;
a glass cruet for olive oil, having broken mine;
a strap knee brace to remind me to move slowly;
a pack of six cans of Gillette shave gel;
a set of two large martini glasses to replace one that I broke;
two pairs of Heritage men’s cool jeans to replace a pair that wore out – the wrong size;
two pairs of Heritage men’s cool jeans to replace the pair I received to replace the pair that wore out – the right size;
Disposable latex gloves, wearing one daily to hold onto bannisters and turn door knobs;
a walking cane, not needed by the time of arrival;
an extra long shoe horn, no longer needed for the reasons I bought it, but perhaps useful in the future;
a package of Rubbermaid 5-cup storage containers to replace those sent out full to friends;
an ice cream scooper; ice cream more pertinent to me now that I’ve discovered Halo, a brand of creditably tasting ice cream with less than half the calories of standard ice cream, achieved by making the product with lots of air: a spoon of Halo being less ice cream by weight than its richer counterparts, yet satisfying the need for ice cream;
a heatdish to replace the one I’ve had for more than five years;
one jar of melatonin to refill my supply;
facemasks @ 39.99 per 50 to ensure delivery (indeed, got the masks in seven days); a prior order, placed three months ago, when priced at 9.99, is still in transit, an Amazon rip off;
a glass spray bottle for sanitizer;
refrigerator organizer bins;
a hamburger press;
a black and decker dustbuster to replace an ancient one.
That’s one person over these last eight weeks.
How many people use Amazon?
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
You can't go back and change the beginning, but
you can start where you are and change the ending.
~C. S. Lewis
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Sally C:
Hi, Dom,
I'm pleased with your physical progress - walking and such - especially with the advent of decent weather to go out in.
It is vital to maintain those social connections, even if physical distance is still required.
As much as I've become accustomed to using video-conferencing software, it still thrills me when I can speak to someone face to face, live, even though hugs, kisses, and handshakes are not yet allowed.
Last Sunday, the Civil War string band group I play with got together for a cookout and jam session, and it was a wonderful, refreshing respite from 24/7 virus mania.
We played everything from the 1820s to the 2000s, whatever struck our fancy.
(Well, maybe not everything - we were only there for four hours.)
Speaking of friends and acquaintances you meet along your regular walking routes, have you seen Yan lately?
Early this week (or late last week?), you reported that you hadn't seen her in five days.
Go well, my friend!
Enjoy your martinis! (The picture is quite attractive, and I don't even drink alcohol.)
Sally
Blog Meister responds: I’ve seen Yan for the last two days. She’s gotten so much sun she looks like a vacationer.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Friday night my friend Cindy dropped by unexpectedly with an hour’s notice.
Saturday night, unexpectedly, my cousin Lauren and her friend Caroline dropped by and
we all went for a walk.
We had a drink in my apartment while I made myself a hamburger.
Delicious.
They did not eat.
Getting to like my own hamburgers.
Love the ciabatta square rolls by Iggy’s: perfect size and texture.
Love cutting a single thick slice of an overripe heirloom tomato and
a likewise thick slice of red onion,
topped with a heap of lettuce tossed with an Italian dressing.
With a classic g and t?
Wow!
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11.0 Thumbnail
SpaceX Demo-2 (also referred to as Crew Demo-2, and Dragon Crew Demo-2) is a crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which launched on 30 May 2020 at 19:22:45 UTC.
Demo-2 is the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011, and also the first ever operated by a commercial provider.
The mission, which launched spacecraft commander Douglas Hurley and joint-operations commander Robert Behnken to the International Space Station, is also the first two-person orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since STS-4 in 1982.
The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on 31 May 2020 at 10:29 a.m. EDT.
The first attempt to launch on 27 May 2020 was aborted at T–16:53 minutes due to bad weather caused by Tropical Storm Bertha.
After STS-135, the final mission of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the United States' NASA no longer had any spacecraft system capable of sending humans to space.
Subsequently, it used Russian facilities to send its astronauts into the International Space Station (ISS), costing up to $80 million per astronaut with the Soyuz.
NASA started engaging with private companies like SpaceX as an alternative, which is expected to cost 50% less than Soyuz once it becomes fully operational.
Up to the launch, NASA has awarded a total of $3.1 billion for the development of the Dragon.
The Demo-2 mission is expected to be SpaceX's last major test before it is certified by NASA for regular crewed spaceflights.
Prior to that, SpaceX had sent twenty cargo missions to the ISS, but never a crewed one.
Other than SpaceX, Boeing is also working on crewed orbital spaceflight under the same NASA effort.
If successful, the demonstration flight will allow for crewed-rated certification of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the Falcon 9 rocket, the crew transportation system, the launch pad, and SpaceX's capabilities. The mission includes astronaut testing of Crew Dragon capabilities on orbit.
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It’s Sunday, May 31
Welcome to the 784th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Toni Morrison
Morrison's parents instilled in her a sense of heritage and language through
telling traditional African-American folktales, ghost stories, and singing songs.
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2.0 Commentary
After a period of unseasonably cold temperatures followed by
several days of unseasonable hot temps, we’re in a period of
seasonably appropriate weather.
Except, the threat of a drought is looming.
Pandemic virus.
Economic troubles.
Drought.
Old Testament stuff.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.
~Lewis Carroll
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
My dear friend for the last fifty-three years, (yes, 53) Howard D,
(who, by the way, has access to the blog and upcoming posts before they are published; and
who has since the beginning of the blog saved me from a multitude of errors of every sort},
and I recently had a discussion on my use of the word deshabille,
which may mean carelessly dressed.
More frequently, the word is spelled dishabille.
Both are proper.
Howard D, objected to my more rarefied use with this email:
I meant to add, if it is anglicized, the word in English is usually spelled dishabille.
xo
h
To which I replied:
thanks my friend
i like it as is
dom
To which Howard commented:
My friend Dom, as always, taking the road less traveled by…
H
To which I replied:
🙂
And Howard wrote back:
I don’t imagine it’s a matter of vox populi. I’m hardly ever in the mainstream majority myself, and have never been.
But, yes, I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a purist and a classicist.
I also imagine the average person is a godawful speller. It’s not high on the list of values of what makes America great. I should say, Great.
Even less do they know how to use the dictionary.
And, most of all, in this instance, that you are one not to take the main chance at an opportunity to flout convention, especially if it’s adjudicated by an elite, like the advisory board and professional lexicographers who gin up dictionaries and keep them current.
And especially when you know the usually only person to call you on something so esoteric is me.
Thus goes the glory of a Platonic epistemology.
xoxo
h
And then I added another email:
never really needed majority vote
To which Howard replied:
Oh Dom.
Come on.
Do you really think anyone loses sight of the fact that, with you, one is always dealing with an autocrat?xoxo
h
Blog Meister responds: Writing the blog has brought me many benefits,, not the least of them, the revitalization of my relationship with Howard. Fun.
PS. In the last 24 hours our emails have included Howard’s correcting my spelling of ad nauseam [i had typed ad nauseum] and his own spelling of [his first typing: forensicly.} But as to his correction, ad nauseum and ad nauseam are both acceptable.
And so it goes.
Or did some old-timer already coin that?
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Early on Friday I bought a lobster for dinner.
About three o’clock a long-time friend and neighbor, Cindy, called.
She had just bought crabs and clams.
Do I want to share?
We added my lobster and ate well.
Our first visit since before the pandemic.
Nice.
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11.0 Thumbnail
Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor.
Morrison's parents instilled in her a sense of heritage and language through telling traditional African-American folktales, ghost stories, and singing songs.
Morrison also read frequently as a child; among her favorite authors were Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy.
She became a Catholic at the age of 12 and took the baptismal name Anthony (after Anthony of Padua), which led to her nickname, Toni.
Attending Lorain High School, she was on the debate team, the yearbook staff, and in the drama club.
Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970.
The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she gained worldwide recognition when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 with a B.A. in English.
In 1955, she earned a master's in American Literature from Cornell University.
In 1957 she returned to Howard University, was married, and had two children before divorcing in 1964. In the late 1960s, she became the first black female editor in fiction at Random House in New York City. In the 1970s and 1980s, she developed her own reputation as an author, and her perhaps most celebrated work, Beloved, was made into a 1998 film.
In 1996, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected her for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal
government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities.
Also that year, she was honored with the National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
On May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama presented Morrison with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2016, she received the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction.