Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, March 22
through
Saturday, March 28
It’s Saturday, March 28, 2020
Welcome to the 722nd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
____________________
1.0 Lead Picture
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States.
Portrait
Alexander Gardner - http://www.britannica.com/bps/media-view/112498/1/0/0
1.0A Lead Picture
George B. McClellan
Matthew Brady - This media is available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 528744.
____________________
2.0 Commentary
Thursday notes:
Prudential Center is a ghost town.
Went looking for Yan: nowhere to be seen.
I think the security guards, with little else to do, have scoured the center clear of undesirables.
Not that Prudential Management has donated anything to local homeless shelters.
Just as long as they’re
Not in my backyard.
I’ve got the deed.
They don’t.
Scat!
I didn’t do it: exercise.
Although all day fully and absolutely intending to do my 11-minute Royal Canadian Air Force exercises,
I didn’t.
Kept pushing it off until I forgot and
Didn’t remember until lying in bed trying to get to sleep.
What’s the matter with me?
Friday notes:
The T was more occupied that’s it’s been in a while.
Every other chair taken.
Prudential has a few more people (no Yan; no other homeless, either) walking about.
Thinking Cup had three customers; two more than my other visits.
And Whole Foods was the busiest (not busy, really) it’s been in the last ten days.
Does any of that suggest anything?
It bears watching.
I think the public would be well-served if one of the news reportages featured a regularly compiled box score of the virus.
Purpose is to give the public (us) a standard for comparison.
How many cases yesterday.
v today?
Are we trending up or down?
Effectiveness of actions taken.
How many people were tested?
The same measurements reported at the same time every day.
____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.
~Yogi Berra
____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
I was noting:
That our apartment had a built in grouping of my daughter and I, Will, Kat’s boyfriend, my sweetheart, Grace, and our dear cousin, and until recently, roommate, Lauren.
That having food and drink in the house for all with individual needs (vegan, lactose intolerant) required a kitchen coordinator.
Which prompted our dear friend, Sally C to write:
O my dear Dom!
You need a kitchen coordinator?!
Wow!
Why would you need a kitchen coordinator if you were all happy with what you had chosen to eat?
I hope that isn’t the same kind of idea as Gwynneth Paltrow, who hired someone to curate her personal library.
How do you curate one’s personal library?
Doesn’t the owner of the library know what he or she has acquired?
My husband and I have thousands of books, and only rarely do I find one, new or second-hand, in our genres of interest to which I ask myself, “Do we have this already?”
Does that mean that we’ve read our books and she hasn’t?
And if one does not read the books one has acquired, why has one acquired them?
O dear me.
These quandaries far outpace the worries of international viruses.
What am I going to do!?
(It is a marvelous distraction from the 24/7 coverage of doom and gloom.)
Sally
Blog Meister responds: In the face of rising unemployment, would you put millions of curators out of work? Create a surplus of printing labels? Leave countless householders at losses as to where to find the cereal?
Sally! How cruel!
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
We had pastrami sandwiches for dinner.
We all enjoyed them.
_________________________
11.0 Thumbnails
The 1864 United States presidential election, the 20th quadrennial presidential election, was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864.
In the midst of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easily defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George B. McClellan, by a wide margin of 212–21 in the electoral college, with 55% of the popular vote.
For the election, the Republican Party and some Democrats created the National Union Party, especially to attract War Democrats.
Despite some intra-party opposition from Salmon Chase and the Radical Republicans, Lincoln won his party's nomination at the 1864 National Union National Convention.
Rather than re-nominate Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, the convention selected Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, a War Democrat, as Lincoln's running mate.
John C. Frémont ran as the nominee of the Radical Democracy Party, which criticized Lincoln for being too moderate on the issue of racial equality, but Frémont withdrew from the race in September.
The Democrats were divided between the Copperheads, who favored immediate peace with the Confederacy, and War Democrats, who wished to continue the war.
The 1864 Democratic National Convention nominated McClellan, a War Democrat, but adopted a platform advocating peace with the Confederacy, which McClellan rejected.
Despite his early fears of defeat, Lincoln won strong majorities in the popular and electoral vote, partly as a result of the recent Union victory at the Battle of Atlanta.
As the Civil War was still raging, no electoral votes were counted from any of the eleven southern states that had joined the Confederate States of America.
Lincoln's re-election ensured that he would preside over the successful conclusion of the Civil War.
Lincoln's victory made him the first president to win re-election since Andrew Jackson in 1832, as well as the first Northern president to ever win re-election.
Lincoln was assassinated less than two months into his second term, and he was succeeded by Andrew Johnson, who had to work toward emancipation of all slaves.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Friday, March 27, 2020
Welcome to the 721st consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
____________________
1.0 Lead Picture
Ted Kennedy's 1980 presidential campaign logo
- http://www.4president.org/ocmi1980.htm#prettyPhoto
____________________
2.0 Commentary
I did it.
My Royal Canadian Air Force exercise routine.
At 3.00pm with
Much of day behind me.
Body slowing down but not quite wasted.
Changed into comfortable clothes.
Laid out the beginner’s RCAF page and got right into it.
In less than 11 minutes I was done, looking to jump to next level.
That just means adding a single rep to each of 5 exercises.
After four days of procrastination,
I did it.
I’m happy.
Last night I revamped our recipe for The Gravy, or Sugho, or the Classic Italo-American Red Sauce with Meat.
It’s cleaner.
Easier to read.
Look in recipes under The Gravy.
Or just hit the magnifying glass and type in The Gravy and hit ‘enter’.
Yesterday I went out three times.
Most importantly, I went to Star market in Boston and found a frozen turkey.
11lbs.
After I defrost it and pull out the bag of innards I figure it will weigh out to 10 lbs, or
Ten hours of slow roasting.
Put it in the oven on Friday morning at 6.00am and
Take it out at 4.00pm.
We’ll eat at 5.00pm.
I love turkey.
So good.
So reasonable, about $1.25 per meal for the protein part.
____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
Listen up, because I've got nothing to say and I'm only gonna to say it once.
~Yogi Berra
____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
My dear Kali writes this:
Dom,
I love your family life descriptions.
Grace sounds wonderful!
Don't judge yourself so harshly about your workouts. They are very important but maybe that particular course isn't for you.
I know a lot of people who have had great success with these free yoga programs before the pandemic and during it-
https://yogawithadriene.com/
She has great content and depending on how much time you have and what you're looking for this could be an answer to what plagues you
sending you so much love my dear friend
Kali
Blog Meister responds: Sweet.
Couldn’t resist sending Kali a picture and she writes in response:
Kali L:
stunning
her smile is absolutely beautiful
so glad you have someone that makes you happy!
Blog Meister responds: Just how you want a friend to respond.
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Made “The Gravy” and it was perfect.
Remember that you may add any meats you want.
_________________________
11.0 Thumbnails
The 1980 presidential campaign of Ted Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on November 7, 1979, as Senator Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother, announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1980 presidential election against incumbent President Jimmy Carter.
Kennedy benefited from President Carter's historically low approval ratings, reminiscing of his brothers' presidency and presidential campaigns, and support from the liberal faction of the Democratic Party.
However, disorganization and ineffective campaigning allowed Carter to bridge the 2-to-1 polling gap following a rise in his approval rating due to his initial handling of the Iran hostage crisis.
Despite losing the majority of presidential contests Kennedy rose in the polls and overcame Carter in multiple states following another drop in his approval rating due to his poor handling of the hostage crisis and receiving prominent labor union endorsements.
After failing to prevent Carter from gaining enough delegates to cause a brokered convention Kennedy attempted to release the delegates from their voting commitments which also failed.
On August 11, 1980, Kennedy ended his campaign at the national convention after failing to have the rules overturned.
Kennedy's campaign was the last attempt by any member of the Kennedy family to gain a party's presidential nomination and despite having lost the nomination after leading Carter with a two to one polling advantage Kennedy's speech, "The Dream Shall Never Die", was viewed as the highlight of his political career and one of the most influential orations of the era.
Kennedy's challenge to Carter was the last time any major candidate opposed an incumbent Democratic president in the primaries, with it being considered one of the major reasons Carter lost the 1980 election, and was the last time any incumbent president lost multiple states to an opponent.
_______________________________
14.0 “I Remember Mama”
Tick Tock story
Abettina Dell’orfano
Our apologies.
We were not able to open the file.
Will try to retrieve it for a later posting.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Thursday, March 26, 2020
Welcome to the 720th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
____________________
1.0 Lead Picture
My Brilliant Friend: two ages
All their lives battling against male domination and destruction.
HBO TV Series tightly following Elena Ferrante’s four-book study of Neapolitan life in the 1950s.
____________________
2.0 Commentary
RCAF
Royal Canadian Air Force, exercises.
What a great idea.
A great idea.
What’s my problem?
I did the first set once.
And for the last three days I didn’t.
Why?
I’m dressed.
Don’t want to bother to change.
I’m tired.
Don’t feel like it.
It’s a lot of work.
So ridiculous, these excuses.
They will do me so much good.
My body is going to flab out.
Disintegrate.
Here’s what I wrote a couple of days ago:
“The eleven-minute RCAF exercises were calling to me.
Good timing.
Except.
My energy level low.
My fuel tank low.
The exercises require energy that I did not possess at this time of day, beginning to look forward to a dinner reprieve.
That true, and it is, I don’t think that after dinner I’ll be able to do them either.
if I’m going to do those exercises, and I want to, I must do them in the morning before I go out.
Two days have gone by and I haven’t made any improvement.
What is the matter with me?
I fully intend to do them today.”
My weight is going great.
I’ve really discovered that fasting is easy for me and
amazingly productive.
On Monday, the 23rd, I had lost 6.2 of a desired 10 pounds.
By Wednesday, the 25th, my loss was up to 7.4 lbs, with 2.6 lbs to go.
So I should feel encouraged to get to the exercise set.
I want to.
I’m getting plenty of sleep, using increased melatonin.
I have no excuses for not doing them.
Tick tock.
____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
~Yogi Berra
____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
Been touting My Brilliant Friend to our loved movie reviewer, Tucker J, and he finally watched the first episode.
His reaction:
What a first episode!
Lila and Lenu are so likable in totally different ways.
I hope when you say it reminds you of your childhood that doesn't mean kids were having rocks thrown at them and what seems like every character's face gets smacked haha.
It was kind of an onslaught by the end.
Just hitting and screaming nonstop.
I think what got me the most though was whenever the violence or shouting began to subside any onlookers just went back to their days.
Life goes on.
Nerdy things for me to notice:
Production design: WOW. That WAS Naples. I believed every dusty inch.
They shoot a lot of scenes from the kid's points of view. Loved that.
I haven't read the book(s) but it seems like a really lovely adaptation.
Nothing feels jagged or like it would have made more sense on the page.
I'm going to keep watching for sure.
Blog Meister responds: I’m certain that Ferrante would be delighted by your response.
As to it’s verisimilitude, it is an absolutely accurate portrayal of life when I grew up in the North
End, down to the last thrown stone.
Remember that our forebears were all from Calabria, Naples, or Sicily so the society they transplanted was what Ferrante shows it to be.
Amazingly, all of my friends, all of them, including myself, we all relate more closely to the off-the-wall Lila.
We’re talking passion.
Acting on forces from the deepest depths that do not permit concern for repercussions, refer to the father throwing his daughter out the window for her asking to be allowed to go to school.
Refer to the daughter denying she was at all hurt.
It took me a lifetime of overcoming to become someone I wasn’t ashamed of.
I think of six million immigrants like us descending on America in the span of twenty years.
And I think, “What a country, America. That it could absorb that hit and continue to flourish.”
Of course, even at the beginning, we jumped into all the lowest paid jobs.
And ultimately, we did contribute throughout American society, refer to Dr. Fauci, leading the fight against Covid 19; refer to Gus Rancatore making the country’s finest ice cream at Toscanini’s.
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Tuna sandwich for dinner for me; Kat and her boyfriend, Will, had a potpourri, eating all of the dinners I had prepared for them for the next three days. Grace had a microwaveable Trader Joe’s Indian dinner.
We all liked what we ate.
I need a kitchen co-ordinator.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Welcome to the 719th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
____________________
1.0 Lead Picture
Portrait photograph of US President Ulysses S. Grant
Mathew Brady - Library of Congress
Despite the high price in human life he paid for his victories in the Western theater of the Civil War, Grant showed he was willing to engage the enemy and had several major victories to his credit.
President Lincoln, singularly unable to find a suitable head of army, jumped at Grant’s record and made him Lieutenant General of the Army. In little over a year Grant accepted Gen Lee’s surrender.
____________________
2.0 Commentary
Monday afternoon I finished a warming shower and posted the blog.
Thirty minutes remaining before time to prep dinner.
How to make them productive.
The eleven-minute RCAF exercises were calling to me.
Good timing.
Except.
My energy level low.
My fuel tank low.
The exercises require energy that I did not possess at this time of day, beginning to look forward to a dinner reprieve.
That true, and it is, I don’t think that after dinner I’ll be able to do them either.
if I’m going to do those exercises, and I want to, I must do them in the morning before I go out.
Today we are asked to close down all non-essential businesses.
My haircut appointment is cancelled.
And we issued a stay-at-home advisory that contains so many exceptions as to be little different from yesterday.
Except for the haircut.
Oh! And Georgetown Cupcake is closed.
I’ve gone there the last two days and loved the Chocolate Squared cupcakes; my daughter their apple-cinnamon.
Gone today.
____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
~Yogi Berra
____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Sally C, responding to the cancellation of the existentialautotrip.com second anniversary party:
Dear Dom,
In these times, this is not at all surprising, and thank you. I was actually looking for your invitation the other day and could not find it in my email inbox. So this cancellation eases my mind.
My arm is healing well, although it will be a long process to full recovery, about a year in all. But as long as I'm making progress, the surgeon, the PT therapist, and I am happy. My biggest challenge is in stretching the tendons throughout the hand, wrist, and arm in order to break up scar tissue and to regain flexibility, wrist rotation, and strength. My exercises must be done (and held) just beyond the point of "ouch" in order to achieve this. Typing is excellent exercise, too. I've been out of the cast for two weeks and using a removable brace, which is easier for personal hygiene. I haven't graduated to shoe-tying or zipper-closure jeans yet, but it won't be long before I do.
When I asked the surgeon how close a return to original condition I can expect, given my good health and following instructions diligently, she said close to 100 percent, with one caveat: I will not be able to do push-ups using my left arm. I can't tell you how devastating that news was! O, woe is me! (Of course, I haven't attempted push-ups since high-school gym class, fifty years ago, and then, only under duress. Somehow I'll manage to adjust ...)
I am working at home entirely, one of the fortunates whose work can be done online. My team meets every day via WebEx and have little need to go into the office at all. So I am blessed to continue to pull in a full, regular paycheck.
So, all in all, I'm doing fine. It's nice to receive your blog posts, which always keep us connected with each other and which featured topics keep us distracted from the lunacy all around us. And I love all the encouragement from my writing friends to buckle down and get some writing done, in this time when the government recommends applying butt to chair for everyone, writers or not. The creative prompts are amazing!
Stay safe, keep going out for your coffee and walks, and take your Vitamin C. I think that will be what saves the world.
Sally M. Chetwynd
Brass Castle Arts
brasscastlearts@gmail.com
www.brasscastlearts.com
Blog Meister responds: A nice chatty letter appropriate to these long days looking for copy to help pass the minutes. Thanks, Sally.
Although our movie reviewer, Tucker J, has a different take.
Note #1 from him:
Oh no!
Why cancelling? Playing it safe?
Followed by note #2:
Terrible.
It’s exhausting that being safe means staying away from people you enjoy.
Blog Meister responds: We agree.
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Last night we ate leftovers.
Steak, eggplant parmigiana, broccoli rabe and potatoes.
Pretty good leftovers.
_________________________
11.0 Thumbnails
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American soldier and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877.
As president, Grant worked with the Radical Republicans in the Reconstruction of the Union while having to deal with corruption in his administration.
Before his presidency, Grant led the Union Army as Commanding General of the United States Army in winning the American Civil War.
Raised in Ohio, young Grant possessed an exceptional ability with horses, which served him well through his military career.
He was admitted to West Point and graduated from the U.S. military academy in 1843.
Grant served with distinction in the Mexican–American War. In 1848, he married Julia Dent, and together they had four children.
Grant abruptly resigned his army commission in 1854 and returned to his family, but lived in poverty for seven years.
During the Civil War, he joined the Union Army in 1861, and led the Vicksburg campaign, which gained control of the Mississippi River in 1863.
After Grant's victory at Chattanooga, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to Lieutenant General.
For thirteen months, Grant fought Robert E. Lee during the high casualty Overland Campaign and at Petersburg.
On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox.
A week later, Lincoln was assassinated, and was succeeded by President Andrew Johnson, who promoted Grant to General of the Army in 1866.
Later Grant openly broke with Johnson over Reconstruction policies; Grant used the reconstruction acts, which had been passed over Johnson's veto, to enforce civil rights for African freedmen.
A war hero but a reluctant politician, Grant was unanimously nominated by the Republican Party and was elected president in 1868.
As president, Grant stabilized the post-war national economy, created the Department of Justice, and prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan.
He appointed African-Americans and Jewish-Americans to prominent federal offices.
In 1871, he created the first Civil Service Commission.
The Liberal Republicans and Democrats united behind Grant's opponent in the presidential election of 1872, but Grant was handily re-elected.
Grant's Native American policy had both successes and failures.
In foreign affairs, the Grant administration peacefully resolved the Alabama claims against Great Britain, but the Senate rejected Grant's prized Caribbean Dominican Republic annexation.
Corruption in the executive branch became notorious: several of Grant's cabinet members and other appointees were fired or had to resign.
The Panic of 1873 plunged the nation into a severe economic depression, that allowed the Democrats to win the House majority.
In the intensely disputed Presidential election of 1876, Grant facilitated the approval by Congress of a peaceful compromise.
In his retirement, Grant was the first president to circumnavigate the world on his tour meeting with many foreign leaders.
In 1880, Grant was unsuccessful in obtaining the Republican presidential nomination for a third term.
In the final year of his life, facing severe financial reversals and dying of throat cancer, he wrote his memoirs, which proved to be a major critical and financial success.
At the time of his death, he was memorialized as a symbol of national unity.
Historians have recognized Grant's military genius, and his modern strategies of warfare are featured in military history textbooks.
Historical assessments of Grant's presidency have improved over time.
Grant was ranked 38th in 1994 and 1996, but ranked 21st in 2018.
Historians have emphasized Grant's presidential accomplishments including the Alabama Claims settlement, protection of Blacks and Indians, and the first Civil Service Commission.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Welcome to the 718th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
____________________
1.0 Lead Picture
Julia Roberts attending the premiere of Jesus Henry Christ at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
David Shankbone - Own work
____________________
2.0 Commentary
Work does expand to fill time.
This blog should have been done hours ago and
it hasn’t been.
At Pru, today.
Yan was sitting in exterior lobby today.
It’s cold out there.
She was appreciative of my hello and bit of help.
Did I make a mistake?
Two other homeless people saw the transaction.
Wondering as I left, was she safe?
I stepped back and they hadn’t moved on her.
Hoping the public space of the lobby mitigates the danger.
Let’s not overly complain of the deprivations corona has visited upon us.
The times forced the cancellation of the existentialautotrip.com Second Anniversary party.
Too many guests to gather in a small space in these must-be-careful-times.
Weight control through fasting continues to please.
First weight, March 5th at 152.
Fasting starts then and by Monday, March 23, I’m down to 145.8, 6.2 pounds.
6.2 divided by 18 is a third of a pound a day.
Wonderful.
3.8 pounds to go, guess my loss slows to a fourth of a pound a day, or fifteen days.
Fifteen days.
(Hoping by then we are discussing an end date to our corona crisis.)
When I reached 142.0, my desired weight, I will celebrate with a chocolate ice cream soda at JP Licks (if they are open then, thinking.)
At 142 pounds, I will take a hard look at myself and decide where my diet goes from here.
____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.
~Yogi Berra
____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
From Joanna E:
To my dear friend,
I hope you’re having a good weekend.
Thank you for sharing about your trip to the Pru and your walk around Newbury and Charles Street.
Take out seems to be our one respite during this Coronatine.
It warms my heart to know that you are following a routine and visiting your spots.
I love you.
All my best,
Joanna
Blog Meister responds: And the love is mutual, my dear.
Take care of our dear Ana. You will get her back in shape in no time.
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Delicious cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes and knockout coffee from Thinking Cup about 1.00pm.
The caffeine surge and the oral pleasures, enough to get me gliding into suppertime, without other gastronomic temptations along the way.
_________________________
11.0 Thumbnails
Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer who made her acting debut in the 1987 direct-to-video feature Firehouse.
She made her breakthrough the following year by starring in the coming-of-age film Mystic Pizza (1988).
For her supporting role in the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias (1989), she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Roberts' next role was with Richard Gere in the highly successful romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy).
In 1991, she appeared in the psychological thriller Sleeping with the Enemy, and played Tinker Bell in the Steven Spielberg-directed fantasy adventure Hook.
Two years later, Roberts starred in the legal thriller The Pelican Brief, an adaptation of the John Grisham novel of the same name.
During the late 1990s, she played the lead in the romantic comedies My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Notting Hill (1999), and Runaway Bride (1999).
In 2000, Roberts became the first actress to earn $20 million, for playing the eponymous environmental activist in the Steven Soderbergh-directed biographical film Erin Brockovich.
Her performance garnered her the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress (Drama).
The following year, she starred in the romantic comedy America's Sweethearts (2001), and reteamed with Soderbergh on the comedy heist remake Ocean's Eleven (2001). Roberts appeared in the 2003 drama, Mona Lisa Smile, which earned her a then record $25 million salary.
The following year, she starred in the romantic drama Closer (2004), and also reprised her role in the sequel, Ocean's Twelve (2004).
In 2006, she lent her voice to two animated films: The Ant Bully, and Charlotte's Web. Roberts went on to appear in the comedy-dramas Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and Eat Pray Love (2010), following which she starred in August: Osage County (2013), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[9] In 2016, Roberts played a television producer in the thriller Money Monster and the following year, she played a mother coping with her son's Treacher Collins syndrome in the comedy-drama Wonder.
Roberts made her television debut in the drama series Crime Story in 1987. She appeared in the crime drama series Miami Vice, and the television film Baja Oklahoma (both in 1988). In 1996, Roberts guest starred on the television sitcom Friends. Her guest star appearance on the police procedural/legal drama Law & Order in 1999, earned Roberts a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[15] She has, as of 2014, served as an executive producer on four films in the American Girl film series. The first three were television films while the fourth, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, had a theatrical release in 2008. In 2014, Roberts provided narration for an episode of the documentary series Makers: Women Who Make America, and appeared in the television film The Normal Heart.
Her role in the latter garnered Roberts a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Monday, March 23, 2020
Welcome to the 717th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
____________________
1.0 Lead Picture
COVID-19 symptoms
Mikael Häggström, M.D. - Own work
Symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease seen in the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak and is caused by the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
____________________
2.0 Commentary
Two last minute visitors last night.
My friend Cindy visited at dinner time and kept company with Kat and I,
She had her own dinner and husband waiting and had to forego partaking.
Later my sweetheart Grace visited.
Lovely.
On Saturday morning I took the T, all passengers six feet apart, to Prudential,
I like the walk back home, about 2.5 miles.
Stopping along the way for a chocolate cupcake at Georgetown and a
delicious cappuccino at Thinking Cup next door.
At noon son Chris called to chit chat.
Asked me what I was doing.
I told.
Asked me to ask him what he was doing.
“I’m walking the dog to our favorite coffee shop which is
next door to my favorite cookie shop.”
The apple and the tree.
Great minds.
Pick one.
My weight loss continues apace.
I think I started fasting on the 5th of March and
today is the 22nd, that’s seventeen days.
I’ve lost 6.2 pounds of my 10 pound goal.
For two years I’ve struggled unsuccessfully to shed that weight.
Have tried at least a dozen of different programs.
Fasting the only one that has worked.
Not only am I ecstatic to have regained my shape, but
I have perhaps a method to control my weight gain for the foreseeable future.
I do not miss the foods I am not eating: I break my fast, at dinner and don’t restrict myself or avoid any foods.
And I started the RCAF yesterday.
On the easiest chart.
On the first level.
And while I did all of the exercises, I could definitely see how a slow buildup makes sense.
(The RACF urge beginners to do each level for at least several days, even if you feel it’s too easy.)
____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
If you're feeling good, don't worry.
You'll get over it.
~Yogi Berra
____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
Two emails remembering fondly time spent on the RCAF exercises.
Blog Meister responds: Go back to it!
And this one from Richard Case, in my response for a free-range turkey.
Hey Dom,
I'm still working on the turkey. It was coming from Acton and I don't believe it arrived yesterday. I will keep you updated.
Rich Case
Meat Manager
Roche Bros.
Downtown Crossing
617-456-5111
rcase@rochebros.com
Blog Meister responds: It’s so nice to have a butcher shop that still responds to special orders. Whole Foods does not do that. Thank you, Richard.
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Dinner last night was a potpourri.
Lasagna, a small slice from Limoncello, from my visit there with Kat,
the last night restaurants in Boston were open.
Spare ribs that I bought on sale at Whole Foods and slow-roasted with Asian oil and spices.
Broccoli rabe, my own, oil, garlic, hot pepper.
Drinking a gin and tonic.
Very nice, all around.
_________________________
11.0 Thumbnails
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
The disease was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, Central China, and has since spread globally, resulting in the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.
Common symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
Muscle pain, sputum production, diarrhea, and sore throat are less common.
While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to severe pneumonia and multi-organ failure.[
As of 20 March 2020, the rate of deaths per number of diagnosed cases is 4.1%; however, it ranges from 0.2% to 15% depending on age and other health problems.
The virus is typically spread from one person to another via respiratory droplets produced during coughing.
It may also be spread from touching contaminated surfaces and then touching one's face.
Time from exposure to onset of symptoms is generally between two and 14 days, with an average of five days.
The standard method of diagnosis is by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab.
The infection can also be diagnosed from a combination of symptoms, risk factors and a chest CT scan showing features of pneumonia.
Recommended measures to prevent infection include frequent hand washing, physical distancing (maintaining distance from others), and keeping hands away from the face.
The use of masks is recommended for those who suspect they have the virus and their caregivers, but not the general public.
There is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19.
Management involves treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020[27][28] and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
Evidence of local transmission of the disease has been found in many countries across all six WHO regions.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
____________________________________________________________
It’s Sunday,
Welcome to the 716th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
________________
1.0 Lead Picture
Memories of pre-computer-era settings, such as this small office/home office containing no modern computer equipment, can inspire nostalgia.
Prof. Mohamed Shareef from Mysore - Small Office, Home Office
_____________________
2.0 Commentary
At 2.45pm I took the near-empty train to Prudential Center to scope out the activity there.
Walking in the lobbies, one person per every twenty square feet.
Santander and Barnes and Noble, open, empty or near.
Then four stores in a row, closed.
Then the large Post Office, open.
The large LOFT closed.
Sweetgreens, St. Francis Chapel, and the adjacent Dunkin’ Donuts, all open. The chapel’s 8x11 paper sign on the door: Ten people only in chapel.
Finally, to my personal center court, the Blue Bottle and the Microsoft Store: closed.
Of course.
I knew that.
But I wanted to see my spots again.
And having seen it again,
I had the “profound sense of being alone.”
BTW: Eataly’s butcher, fish, and cheese department’s each had full shelves.
I left the mall and walked down Newbury Street,
the temperature a comfortable 54*, even if windy.
Some stores open, some closed.
Few people on sidewalk.
Crucially, Georgetown Cupcakes, Thinking Cup, and Shake Shack all open for takeout.
God bless takeout.
To provide a destination to get outside into the empty streets to
make our long days in our apartments or homes bearable.
Charles Street was a replay of Newbury, some stores open.
Got to Whole Foods.
Took a toilet break.
Then called my food order into Billy Tse’s.
Another twenty minutes walking got me there and then
Home to supper.
_____________________
4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
You can observe a lot by just watching.
~Yogi Berra
_____________________
5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Ann H:
Are you able to share the exercises on line?
xo
Blog Meister responds: I went to Wikipedia and then to amazon. Lots of info but i didn't find a downloadable link. Sorry.
And from Kali L:
Dear Dom,
I'm so glad you found a way to exercise again in a form that brings you joy.
I take long walks in the woods- perfect place for a poet to be.
Every day I write a poem and every night I read a poem- it's a good balance (honing my craft and learning new poets).
stay safe and healthy
Love
Kali
Blog Meister responds: We sorely miss the woods. As for your poetry, you know where to find a receptive audience when you feel like sharing.
_____________________
6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Had a fish dinner topped with Lobster Sauce.
Not bad.
__________________________
7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy/political 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.
Today we post Chapter 23 in which Dee plays in the school’s championship game while two of Dee’s friends are murdered.
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Twitter, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
_____________________
11.0 Thumbnails
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
The word nostalgia is learned formation of a Greek compound meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, and one meaning "pain" or "ache", and was coined by a 17th-century medical student to describe the anxieties displayed by Swiss mercenaries fighting away from home.
Described as a medical condition—a form of melancholy—in the Early Modern period, it became an important trope in Romanticism.
Nostalgia is associated with a yearning for the past, its personalities, possibilities, and events, especially the "good old days" or a "warm childhood".
The scientific literature on nostalgia usually refers to nostalgia regarding the personal life and has mainly studied the effects of nostalgia induced during the studies.
Smell and touch are strong evokers of nostalgia due to the processing of these stimuli first passing through the amygdala, the emotional seat of the brain.
These recollections of one's past are usually important events, people one cares about, and places where one has spent time. Music and weather can also be strong triggers of nostalgia.