Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, October 11, 2020
through
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, October 11, 2020
through
Saturday, October 17, 2020
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It’s Saturday, October 17, 2020
Welcome to the 910th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
The highway between Porvoo and Helsinki at the Jakomäki district in Helsinki, Finland.
Migro - Own work
Porvoonväylä motorway (national road 7) eastwards at Jakomäki in Helsinki, Finland.
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2.0 Commentary
The cost of construction of the Interstate Highway System begun in 1956 was approximately $114 billion (equivalent to $530 billion in 2019).
In 2021 we are going to need a similar dedication to the rebuilding of roads and bridges all across our country at an equally enormous cost, if not twice that.
Besides a safer interstate highway system, such a project will result in the creation of an enormous number of well-paid jobs.
Just the thing our country will need starting early next year to successfully combat a recession and forestall a depression.
Meanwhile, in the last two nights I’ve watched Room and Warrior. Found both winners.
Especially as both had happy endings.
God knows we need happy endings right now.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Today finished a brief on Pisa.
Not a long visit planned for that town but the Piazza dei Miracoli a must-see.
Will drive to Padua in mid-afternoon.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first;
Be not discouraged -
keep on -
there are divine things,
well envelop'd;
I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.
~Walt Whitman
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
From Tommie T:
I love Emerson and Whitman. Thank you for sharing their wisdom and statements.
Blog-meister responds: They were thinkers. I do prefer WW’s writing.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Last night I averted disaster.
I put the half-turkey in the oven for a 7-hour slow roast.
I wasn’t home when my sweet Ana arrived to perform her weekly cleaning as she always does,
with vigor and single-mindedness, cleaning the face of the oven, turning the dials as she cleaned, turning the oven off.
Company coming.
Arriving home I calculated the time she had tackled the oven and resumed the cook at a higher temperature and a longer time than I thought necessary.
Had to make sure it was cooked.
At his point, everything guesswork.
Took turkey out: a bit overcooked; a bit dry; but acceptable; a bit.
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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
In 1954, Eisenhower appointed Lt General Lucius Clay to head the President's Advisory Committee on the National Highway System. The so-called "Clay Committee" began work to develop a national highway plan, and its outcome was a report to Congress on the National Highway Program.
The resulting "Grand Plan" obligated $50 billion of federal funds over 10 years to build a "vast system of interconnected highways."
The committee cited 36,000 traffic fatalities each year and the multibillion dollar effect on the economy.
On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation funding the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System (IHS)--something Americans had dreamed of since Detroit starting building cars.
The building of the IHS, formally known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, proceeded rapidly throughout the country, and by the early 1990s, nearly 45,000 miles of interstate highway were complete.
The cost of construction of the Interstate Highway System was approximately $114 billion (equivalent to $530 billion in 2019). The original system has been expanded numerous times through the creation of new designations and the extension of existing designations.
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It’s Friday, October 16, 2020
Welcome to the 909th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Mata Hari
Lucien Walery - http://www.bikiniscience.com/
Postcard of Mata Hari in Paris
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2.0 Commentary
Former Vice President Joe Biden is widening his lead over President Donald Trump with just 20 days before the election on November 3. New polling shows the Democrat with a substantial national advantage.
The University of Southern California Dornslife Election "Daybreak" Poll, which tracks changes in Americans' views throughout the presidential campaign, shows Biden with a lead of almost 13 points over Trump.
The USC poll is significant.
In 2016, when it was partnered with the Los Angeles Times, USC predicted that Trump would defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 3.2 percent.
Clinton won the popular vote by 2.1 percent but the Republican prevailed in the electoral college.
The USC Dornslife poll has consistently shown Trump trailing Biden.
That poll has around 6,000 respondents—a large sample size for a presidential poll.
USC Dornslife wasn't the only pollster to correctly predict a Trump victory in 2016, however.
The Investor's Business Daily/TechnoMetrica (IBD/TIPP) poll showed Trump winning by 2 points the day before the 2016 election. IBD/TIPP now shows Biden beating Trump by 8.5 percent.
So we stand within three weeks of the election.
We’ll report again in a week.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Today we finished San Gimignano.
The plan is to spend several hours in this beautiful town.
Maybe lunch.
Maybe a café.
Then head out to Pisa and the
Piazza dei Miracoli, one of the most beautifully composed squares in the world,
the surrounding buildings, the Baptistry in the foreground, the Cathedral in the center, and the Campanile (the Leaning Tower) beside it.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
As for me, I know nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under the trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love,
Or sleep in bed at night with any one I love,
Or watch honey bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon...
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown,
Or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring...
What stranger miracles are there?
~Walt Whitmman
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
So after two years, my nephew, Stan, and I had dinner together and our conversation ran the gamut from sports to work to his children.
A perfect family reunion
Two years too long.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Hollandaise Sauce.
I made my first one in an ‘easy’ style that I got from
Nagi from RecipeTin Eats: nagim@recipetineats.com
For something that only took five minutes, it wasn’t bad.
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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
Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I.
Despite her having admitted under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy, many people still believe she was innocent because the French Army needed a scapegoat.
She was executed by firing squad in France.
In 1903, Zelle moved to Paris, where she performed as a circus horse rider using the name Lady MacLeod, much to the disapproval of the Dutch MacLeods. Struggling to earn a living, she also posed as an artist's model.
By 1904, Mata Hari began to win fame as an exotic dancer. She was a contemporary of dancers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, leaders in the early modern dance movement, which around the turn of the 20th century looked to Asia and Egypt for artistic inspiration. Critics would later write about this and other such movements within the context of Orientalism. Gabriel Astruc became her personal booking agent.
Promiscuous, flirtatious, and openly flaunting her body, Mata Hari captivated her audiences and was an overnight success from the debut of her act at the Musée Guimet on 13 March 1905.
She became the long-time mistress of the millionaire Lyon industrialist Émile Étienne Guimet, who had founded the Musée. She posed as a Javanese princess of priestly Hindu birth, pretending to have been immersed in the art of sacred Indian dance since childhood. She was photographed numerous times during this period, nude or nearly so. Some of these pictures were obtained by MacLeod and strengthened his case in keeping custody of their daughter.
Mata Hari brought a carefree provocative style to the stage in her act, which garnered wide acclaim. The most celebrated segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore just a jeweled breastplate and some ornaments upon her arms and head.
She was never seen bare-breasted as she was self-conscious about being small-breasted. She wore a bodystocking for her performances that was similar in color to her own skin, but that was later omitted.
Mata Hari's career went into decline after 1912. On 13 March 1915, she performed in what would be the last show of her career.
She had begun her career relatively late for a dancer, and had started putting on weight. However, by this time she had become a successful courtesan, known more for her sensuality and eroticism than for her beauty. She had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians, and others in influential positions in many countries.
Her relationships and liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Prior to World War I, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a wanton and promiscuous woman, and perhaps a dangerous seductress
In December 1916, the Second Bureau of the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents. Five were suspected of submitting fake material and working for the Germans, while the sixth was suspected of being a double agent for Germany and France. Two weeks after Mata Hari had left Paris for a trip to Madrid, the double agent was executed by the Germans, while the five others continued their operations. This development served as proof to the Second Bureau that the names of the six spies had been communicated by Mata Hari to the Germans.
On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace on the Champs Elysées in Paris. She was put on trial on 24 July, accused of spying for Germany, and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. Although the French and British intelligence suspected her of spying for Germany, neither could produce definite evidence against her. Supposedly, secret ink was found in her room, which was incriminating evidence in that period. She contended that it was part of her makeup.
A harlot? Yes, but a traitoress, never!
— Phrase attributed to Mata Hari during the trial.
Zelle's principal interrogator, who grilled her relentlessly, was Captain Pierre Bouchardon; he was later to prosecute her at trial.
Bouchardon was able to establish that much of the Mata Hari persona was invented, and far from being a Javanese princess, Zelle was actually Dutch, which he was to use as evidence of her dubious and dishonest character at her trial.
Zelle admitted to Bouchardon that she had accepted 20,000 francs from a German diplomat in the Netherlands to spy on France, but insisted she only passed on to the Germans trivial information as her loyalty was entirely to her adopted nation, France.
In the meantime, Ladoux had been preparing a case against his former agent by casting all of her activities in the worst possible light, going so far as to engage in evidence tampering.
Her defence counsel, veteran international lawyer Édouard Clunet, faced impossible odds; he was denied permission either to cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses or to examine his own witnesses directly.
Bouchardon used the very fact that Zelle was a woman as evidence of her guilt, saying: "Without scruples, accustomed to making use of men, she is the type of woman who is born to be a spy."
Zelle has often been portrayed as a femme fatale, the dangerous, seductive woman who uses her sexuality to effortlessly manipulate men, but others view her differently: in the words of the American historians Norman Polmer and Thomas Allen she was "naïve and easily duped", a victim of men rather than a victimizer.
Mata Hari herself admitted under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy. It is contended by some historians that Mata Hari may have merely accepted money from the Germans without actually carrying out any spy duties.
At her trial, Zelle vehemently insisted that her sympathies were with the Allies and declared her passionate love of France, her adopted homeland. In October 2001, documents released from the archives of MI5 (British counter-intelligence) were used by a Dutch group, the Mata Hari Foundation, to ask the French government to exonerate Zelle as they argued that the MI5 files proved she was not guilty of the charges she was convicted of.
A spokesman from the Mata Hari Foundation argued that at most Zelle was a low-level spy who provided no secrets to either side, stating: "We believe that there are sufficient doubts concerning the dossier of information that was used to convict her to warrant re-opening the case. Maybe she wasn't entirely innocent, but it seems clear she wasn't the master-spy whose information sent thousands of soldiers to their deaths, as has been claimed."
Her defence counsel, veteran international lawyer Édouard Clunet, faced impossible odds; he was denied permission either to cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses or to examine his own witnesses directly.[citation needed] Bouchardon used the very fact that Zelle was a woman as evidence of her guilt, saying: "Without scruples, accustomed to making use of men, she is the type of woman who is born to be a spy."
Zelle has often been portrayed as a femme fatale, the dangerous, seductive woman who uses her sexuality to effortlessly manipulate men, but others view her differently: in the words of the American historians Norman Polmer and Thomas Allen she was "naïve and easily duped", a victim of men rather than a victimizer.
Mata Hari herself admitted under interrogation to taking money to work as a German spy. It is contended by some historians that Mata Hari may have merely accepted money from the Germans without actually carrying out any spy duties.
At her trial, Zelle vehemently insisted that her sympathies were with the Allies and declared her passionate love of France, her adopted homeland. In October 2001, documents released from the archives of MI5 (British counter-intelligence) were used by a Dutch group, the Mata Hari Foundation, to ask the French government to exonerate Zelle as they argued that the MI5 files proved she was not guilty of the charges she was convicted of.
A spokesman from the Mata Hari Foundation argued that at most Zelle was a low-level spy who provided no secrets to either side, stating: "We believe that there are sufficient doubts concerning the dossier of information that was used to convict her to warrant re-opening the case. Maybe she wasn't entirely innocent, but it seems clear she wasn't the master-spy whose information sent thousands of soldiers to their deaths, as has been claimed."
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It’s Thursday, October 15, 2020
Welcome to the 908th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Plate 1 of The Birds of America by John James Audubon,
depicting a wild turkey
John James Audubon - University of Pittsburgh
Plate 1 of Birds of America by John James Audubon depicting Wild Turkey. Notes: Engraved from painting made by John James Audubon at Beechwoods Plantation, Feliciana Parish (now West Feliciana Parish), Louisiana 1825.
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2.0 Commentary
Am I un poco loco?
You judge.
Turkey excites me.
I’ve seen wild turkeys.
I’ve seen a rafter , several rafters.
That’s what a group of turkeys is called if you didn’t know.
A rafter.
A single rafter typically has 20 turkeys in it.
The female turkeys are called hens while the males are called toms. Baby turkeys are poults.
Seeing the wild turkeys was exciting.
Of course, I’m not the only admirer of turkeys.
If you recall from grammar school, no less a figure than Ben Franklin preferred the turkey to the eagle, saying, The “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.”
In comparison, the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.”
I love history so such anecdotes interest me.
But I’m here to talk about food.
The turkey as food.
The eagle is precluded from further discussion.
Who ever heard of a Roast Eagle?
Especially not on the 4th of July.
Which today is most certainly not.
Unfortunately, turkeys with pedigree (organic, free-ranging, fresh, smaller) are hard to find.
I am not interested in learning more about turkey husbandry,
so I can’t offer an explanation of why that is so.
I had been thinking, “Time for a turkey.”
Thinking to call Roche Bros or Savenor’s for a special order when
I popped into Savenor’s on Charles Street and found a pedigree turkey from Bob’s farm.
Just sitting in the meat case with my name on it.
They were kind enough to cut the sixteen pound bird in half for me and I walked proudly back to my apartment feeling that I, myself, had brought down that half-bird with bow and arrow.
Walking, thinking.
I missed my wonderful nephew Stan. We usually get together at least once during the Celtics playoffs.
We hadn’t.
I texted my favorite nephew and he is available on Wednesday night.
Guess what I’m making.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
No work done on Tuesday.
Had to prepare for a hearing of the Boston Arts Commission for which I had to write some ideas.
And finalize my dinner reservations in Brooklyn this weekend.
And other stuff.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
This is what you should do:
love the earth and sun and the animals,
despise riches,
give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others,
hate tyrants,
argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people,
take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men ...
re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss what insults your own soul, and
your very flesh shall be a great poem.
~Walt Whitman
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This health reminder from Howard D:
Hi Dom
I’m glad to read that your life goes on essentially uninterrupted in its usual way, and hope that you stay safe. Especially with your upcoming trip to New York.
Also, I saw another opportunity, with your comments about your “entertainment” style and the risks we all take, advertently or inadvertently, to make some observations based on my reading. I don’t imagine it’s very much different than the sorts of information that is directed at all of us, but especially that which, after vetting, we can depend on as somewhat reliable for accuracy.
As time passes of course knowledge about this “novel” disease, as it does about pretty much everything else under the sun, increases, especially for scientists and professionals in the science-based occupations.
So, it’s another one of those attempts on my part to remind you of what I understand is how things actually are.
Covid-19 is an infectious disease that is spread by humans to humans (and apparently, though not entirely clear which, certain other species). You get it through passage of virus-bearing molecules into your respiratory system. We started out knowing it was droplet borne, but we have since learned it is air-borne, especially when contact with contaminated air occurs indoors.
As you suggest, adequate ventilation in interior spaces that have high ceilings and spacious dimensions lessens the risk. But there have been spreader and super-spreader events that occur out of doors as well. The call for social distancing is simply a way of reminding people to keep their distance from others, whether it’s a crowd, or an individual. Reducing the number of people in a social engagement is not a way of reducing the risk of getting the disease from someone else — people give people the disease. It’s simply a statistical assurance that the number of potential disease exposures will be fewer. You might see one person at a time, but if that person is infected… the numbers of guests as an insurance measure go out the window.
Even so-called superspreader events have been found to have originated in the extent of contamination with a single individual. The century-old phenomenon of a “Typhoid Mary” is still operative and exacting its toll.
All the measures we have been advised to follow, ad nauseam, obtain even if you have only one guest at a time. Six feet minimal distance between you, and masks (and if you’re indoors, stay in large ventilated spaces with them).
As I’ve said before, I know you have strong opinions about things you thoughtfully meditate on regularly and revisit. I also have said before, about some things, I think you’re kidding yourself. Unless you and each of y0ur guests have tested negative within a couple of days, and otherwise have been in isolation, you are each at risk of infecting the other(s). It has nothing to do with assuaging our anxiety about these things by talking about the risks of everyday life. Familiarity as a safeguard – “how can this close close beloved friend be a danger?” – is just one of the many facets of how we delude ourselves.
I don’t kid myself about my risks, now or at any time in the past. No one is perfect, and no one is perfectly efficient in avoiding risks, getting the chances of infection (by any microorganism, from the common cold, to strep throat, to other viruses, to whatever) down to nearly zero by essentially walking around in a moon suit and having all objects and surfaces only possibly in contact with others decontaminated on a regular basis.
And I disagree with you about your list of ordinary quotidian chores that you imply are all of equal risk leaving you exposed. Walking our dog in the park next door (or sometimes, merely in our backyard, if there’s no time for a more expansive excursion) is of not much greater risk than staying in the house, into which we admit no guests, as long as someone outside the house does not force themself on me into proximity of less than the eight or nine feet I try to keep between myself and passersby (who are as entitled to enjoy the park as me and the pooch).
Getting the mail entails opening a door we always keep closed, and the access hardware to which (knobs, handles, doorbells, door frames) is regularly wiped down with a disinfectant cloth. In fact, at this point the carrier (who is always the same person, or whose substitute is always the same) will not leave the mail in its usual place on the doorsill if the door to the interior of the house is open, even if the storm door is closed (that is, the mail is left on the sill between the two doors). They are instructed not to expose themselves to the chance of even by accident encountering the household members. I imagine, living in a concierge managed limited access apartment building, you have a more elaborate set of steps to go through to get the mail, with some chance of unexpected encounters with other inhabitants of your little Harbor Towers world, and so, presumably, your risk is greater. But the point remains. We’re only talking statistics, and the numbers can be controlled, if we take extra measures to control that risk.
Otherwise we could all rush headlong like our idiot President and his acolytes into a world where no measures are taken to control the risk of exposure (no masks, no social distancing – or whatever you want to call it, no unnecessary regular exposure to individuals whose degree of isolation or sequestration is unknown to us – and obviate the ability to talk even about “taking our chances”). Your chances of exposure if you take not even the minimal measures (which are truly painful to some people, who have developed lives that make them real social animals) are pretty much raised to 100%.
We, the two of us, have not had food or a meal that was cooked by someone other than me in this house ever, since the first shelter at home order was issued.
We have never had a meal or any part of it delivered from a restaurant or any other place that prepares food for commercial purposes. I feel badly about the loss of business (and the chances of economic survival) for such venues, but, as you say, we all have to make “intelligent choices.” I do donate money to the organizations that have been established to help the hospitality industry weather this disaster.
I’ve told you before, I worry about you, as I do about all of my dearest friends.
I continue to do so. And these periodic long-winded admonitions are the best I can do at being explicit about this, and to demonstrate the level of concern.
Take care my friend, and, here’s a suggestion, cut in half the number of times you permit yourself to remove your mask, because there’s “not much chance” either of my two guests (though I believe you have recounted social encounters involving a far higher number) is going to sneeze all over you. It’s simply statistics, but you if you do that, you’ll also cut in half the chances you actually are, in real terms, exposing yourself to danger in that particular way.
Take care, and stay safe.
Howard
Blog Meister responds: Great thoughts.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
I made a Hollandaise Sauce on Tuesday night.
This is a long post so I’ll write the details tomorrow.
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11.0 Thumbnail
The turkey is a large bird which is native to the Americas.
Males have a distinctive fleshy wattle or protuberance that hangs from the top of the beak (called a snood).
They are among the largest birds in their ranges.
As with many galliformes, the male is larger and much more colorful than the female.
The earliest turkeys evolved in North America over 20 million years ago, and they share a recent common ancestor with grouse, pheasants, and other fowl.
Turkeys have been known to be aggressive toward humans and pets in residential areas.
Wild turkeys have a social structure and pecking order and habituated turkeys may respond to humans and animals as they do to another turkey.
Habituated turkeys may attempt to dominate or attack people that the birds view as subordinates.
The town of Brookline, Massachusetts, recommends that citizens be aggressive toward the turkeys, take a step towards them, and not back down.
Brookline officials have also recommended "making noise (clanging pots or other objects together); popping open an umbrella; shouting and waving your arms; squirting them with a hose; allowing your leashed dog to bark at them; and forcefully fending them off with a broom.
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It’s Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Welcome to the 907th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Josephine Fodor
This lithograph depicts her in 1815.
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2.0 Commentary
The elections are three weeks away.
I am tired, tired, tired of hearing the same, the oft repeated bs.
Will these three weeks ever pass?
I zoom-attended my granddaughter’s class .
She’s terrific.
A scholar.
At the top of our country’s to do list is an enormous rebuilding of our infrastructure.
Not a time for half measures or limp ideas.
Rebuilding on a war footing.
Millions of people to work on bridges, roads, railways, and everything.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
With prep for class on Americans traveling and
the class, itself,
plus reservations for upcoming weekend in NYC needing to be made,
and
Tuesday, making a presentation to the Boston Arts Council,
the presentation still to be written,
and my trip to NYC to see my daughter beginning on Friday,
I did nothing to work on the trip to Tuscany.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
When one reaches out to help another he touches the face of God.
~Walt Whitman
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5.0 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 a dear friend:
Your social life is amazing and enviable! We are still hunkered down!
Love you,
Blog meister responds:
i do a lot of entertaining.
perhaps i delude myself that seeing one or two people at a time is not bad.
i am never in groups.
and these days, my apartment is very well ventilated with a steady cross breeze.
i hope my choices are okay.
two of my friends, they don't know each other, have been in tangential contact with someone who tested positive.
both have since been tested negative.
point being, we make decisions every day that increase our chances of getting sick.
everyone is active, even those who think they are not.
shopping, taking a walk, walking the dog, getting the mail, ordering delivery of food or other goods.
we make intelligent choices and we take our chances.
each of us,
so life goes on.
i hope.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Yesterday I made hash with leftover roast lamb.
I heated a large fry pan with duck fat, washed the potatoes, cut them into large dice, and plopped them in the low-simmering pan.
Then I returned to my computer work, setting the timer for seven minutes.
Turning the potatoes, setting the timer.
Returning to work.
Repeat the steps for the onions, bell and chili peppers.
Then the lamb.
Then dinner.
The point: this leisurely cooking was a lot of fun.
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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
Joséphine Fodor (13 October 1789 or in 1793 – 10 August 1870), also known under the name Joséphine Fodor-Mainvielle, was a
French 19th-century lyrical artist (soprano) with Hungarian and Dutch ancestors.
Her family moved to Saint Petersburg when she was an infant, probably because of the French Revolution.
After marrying in 1812, the couple moved back to France when Saint Petersburg came under attack during the French invasion of Russia.
She performed roles for the Opéra-Comique in Paris,
later being engaged by the Comédie-Italienne, and also appeared in
London, Venice, Naples and Vienna.
Experiencing problems with her voice, she gradually ended her operatic career and withdrew from the stage.
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It’s Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Welcome to the 906th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Flock of sheep
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2.0 Commentary
Still basking in the glow of a lovely Saturday dinner, part of Sunday was used to plan the next several days.
Feels like a lot of pressure.
Monday must brush up on reading for 1pm Monday class on James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room.
I must call up for reservations in the three restaurants in Brooklyn that we hope to patronize this weekend when we drive to NYC to visit daughter Kat and boyfriend.
Kat is remote studying. She’s a Swarthmore Senior and will be on campus for the second semester..
Am having family over for dinner on Monday night: three others besides myself; the largest group at the apartment since the pandemic.
Will be sure to ventilate the apartment.
Fortunately, the breezes flow perfectly through the apartment.
Tuesday the Arts Council is meeting: a forum for me to express my views on establishing a Sacco and Vanzetti bronze memorial.
Must write something.
Must contact a couple of people in relation to this.
Friday morning, first thing, we will drive to NYC.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Sunday I worked on incorporating the Michelin Green Guide notes into the notes I’m compiling for our trip to Tuscany.
It’s a lot of fun.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
This I read off a T-shirt:
Don’t piss off old people.
“Life in prison!” not a major deterrent.
~Unknown
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
The café conversation today centered on lost love.
Sometimes lost well; sometimes not as well.
Always personal.
Always with a swirl of joy and sorrow inextricably twisted around each event.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Sunday night was leftover night: fish soup (soupe de poisson) from freezer in which I simmered three large scallops, followed by a roast duck sandwich, the meat being pulled off the leftover carcass.
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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
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock.
Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep.
An adult female is referred to as a ewe, an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.
Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia; one of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. Ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones in Commonwealth countries, and lamb in the United States (including from adults). Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.
Sheep husbandry is practiced throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production.
There are a large lexicon of unique terms for sheep husbandry which vary considerably by region and dialect. Use of the word sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap; it is both the singular and plural name for the animal. A group of sheep is called a flock. Many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age.
Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, and find representation in much modern language and symbology. As livestock, sheep are most often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery. Sheep figure in many mythologies—such as the Golden Fleece—and major religions, especially the Abrahamic traditions. In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals.
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It’s Monday, October 12, 2020
Welcome to the 905th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
La Voile Newbury French bistro
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2.0 Commentary
Had dinner at La Voile with a very dear friend.
Surprised and pleased she was willing.
Some weeks ago we’d hit a bump.
Seems like we’re past that.
Very happy.
Dinner was charming, magical even.
Her laughter is contagious.
At my request, the headwaiter moved us from an isolated table to one more central.
“She deserves to be center-attention,” I explained.
On our way out, he approached me saying, “You were certainly right, Monsieur. She deserved center stage.”
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Had to prepare for a class with my granddaughter, reading an essay by James Baldwin, as background for his novel, ‘Giovanni’s Room.’
No time left for research, although later in the day, waiting for my date to show up for dinner, I got forty minutes reading the Michelin Green Guide on Tuscany. My developing calendar seems pretty well thought out.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Keep your face always toward the sunshine -
and shadows will fall behind you.
~Walt Whitman
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5.0 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 Cindy O, on reading Forbes magazine article naming Chris as one of top CMOs in the world:
OMG. How awesome is this!!! You must be so proud of Chris. What an honor to be recognized for everyone to see 💕
God bless him. Absolutely love it.
Blog meister responds: He’s pretty special. Always was.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Dinner was very good.
Mushroom Soup and a Duo of Foie Gras for appetizers.
Half chicken and Salmon for main courses.
No desserts.
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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 idea to bring La Voile to Boston came about by a Swiss-American named Pierre, a reporter-photographer.
Everything was brought over… the zinc bar, the tables and chairs, the wooden wine fridge (an old Butcher’s fridge), the marble console, the vintage chandeliers, sailing pictures, the entrance door… even the staff! you can admire on the walls the unique and private collection of Pierre work, From Dali to Steve McQueen, through Catherine Deneuve and Hubert Beuve-Méry, your eyes won’t stop hopping from one picture to another.
The Cuisine is evidently French and authentic, with some “Méridional” dishes like the “Soupe de Poisson” (Fish Soup) or the Loup de Mer (Seabass) imported fresh from the Mediterranean.
These dishes will surely conjure up memories of your last trip to the South of France or Paris.
The Chef, Raphael, prepares all les ‘incontournables’ of french regions (Rillettes du Mans, Escargots de Bourgogne, Magret de Canard…)
Be aware this might inspire you to discover our country, well known for its perfect balanced of enjoying time, food, art of any kind.
La Voile Newbury
261 Newbury Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
USA
Phone: +1 617-587-4200
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It’s Sunday, October 11, 2020
Welcome to the 904th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
FBI special agent badge
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2268/2172837721_fa50e0e4c4_b.jpg
The badge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
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2.0 Commentary
Fox News v CNN news.
Since when have two major news stations become blinded broadcasters for the right and left?
I missed that transition but after not watching national news for four years my return has been shocked by the vitriol.
Is this what we want?
Not me.
I have a point of view but I don’t want the news selected or tilted to support a position.
I want news without a political orientation.
Love editorials.
Let’s keep them contained.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting its essence
Friday worked on the countryside calendar,
measuring the time and distance between cities and towns.
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4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
Happiness, not in another place but this place...
not for another hour, but this hour.
~Walt Whitman
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5.0 Mail/Conversatons
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
People at the café commenting on the vitriol of the election.
As well as that fly on the head of VP Pence. Not elegant.
The alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor.
Smoking pot.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Friday night we enjoyed a leg of lamb.
Slow roasted the lamb for 42 minutes per pound.
Then cranked the oven and finished the roast for 15 minutes @ 450*.
We let the lamb set for 30 minutes.
The lamb was cooked to a medium.
I would prefer it a little more rare than that.
Perhaps next time, 39 minutes per pound.
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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 Thumbnails
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency.
Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence.
A leading U.S. counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes.
Although many of the FBI's functions are unique, its activities in support of national security are comparable to those of the British MI5 and the Russian FSB.
Unlike the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which has no law enforcement authority and is focused on intelligence collection abroad, the FBI is primarily a domestic agency, maintaining 56 field offices in major cities throughout the United States, and more than 400 resident agencies in smaller cities and areas across the nation.
At an FBI field office, a senior-level FBI officer concurrently serves as the representative of the Director of National Intelligence.
Despite its domestic focus, the FBI also maintains a significant international footprint, operating 60 Legal Attache (LEGAT) offices and 15 sub-offices in U.S. embassies and consulates across the globe.
These foreign offices exist primarily for the purpose of coordination with foreign security services and do not usually conduct unilateral operations in the host countries.
The FBI can and does at times carry out secret activities overseas, just as the CIA has a limited domestic function; these activities generally require coordination across government agencies.
The FBI was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation, the BOI or BI for short.
Its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935.
The FBI headquarters is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C.
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