Time Again Plus a Wordless Comment on the Daily Events

Cool and sunny.

Our "Alarm Cat" has finally gotten adjusted to the recent time change, and now we can enjoy that extra hour of rest that old folks like us need.

Meanwhile... the hourglass of time pours swiftly and surely.    Which reminds me:

Timely Music

Helen Forrest sang:

Time waits for noone,
It passes you by.
It rolls on forever,
Like the clouds in the sky.

The Rolling Stones sang:

Time waits for noone --
And it wont wait for me.

Billie Holiday sang:

Time on my hands,
And you in my arms,
Nothing but love in view.

(Michael Schenker and Phil Mogg)

Timely Study

I love to study time.  Right now I am listening to the Great Courses course,  Mysteries of Modern Physics:  TIME  by Professor Sean Carroll.  Ah... yes.. the infamous "Arrow of Time."

In addition, I just read an article in the New Yorker for March 20, 2017 with the title: Time Out, Confessions of a Watch Geek.  The Author, Gary Shteyngart is quite well known for his writings, but hardly anyone knows about his "wrist watch obsession."

Even though, since the 1970's watches have become accurate by using a quartz movement, earlier "mechanical" watches, such as those with a Rolex or Nomos label, are not accurate, Gary insists on using the inaccurate and extremely expensive ones.  While the inaccurate mechanical watches may cost thousands of dollars, an accurate quartz one may cost less than thirty dollars.

So, why the hell does Gary keep buying expensive watches?  Well... it's because he can.

Gary says that " "The average visitor (to the world of watch collecting) has an income of three hundred thousand dollars, owns  five to seven watches, and buys two or three more a year at an average cost of seven thousand dollars each."  Of course, that lets me out, but I wonder how many watches our President owns.

El Presidente

Speaking of President Trump, he talks about "time" a lot.  Especially media with the word "time" in its title, such as "the failing New York Times."

I've heard that he was quite upset when Andrea Merkel was shown as "Person of the Year" on the cover of Time magazine instead of him.  He did make it later though.

That reminds me of a cover for a 2006 issue of  that same magazine.  I want to "end" by showing that cover as a "wordless comment on the current mess in Washington DC."

A Gamut of Emotions: Joy; Sadness; Depression; Hopefulness

A snowy day on the East Coast.  Not as much as predicted, but a bit.  Stores here were overcrowded yesterday with people stocking up on milk, bread and toilet paper. Oy!

Joy!

You remember Bernie... our neighbor who felt the need to burn pine pallets on his patio every night, wafting acrid smoke through the air directly to our outside deck.  Bernie is gone!  Where or how, we don't know, but now a new family has moved into his house, and they have some young children.

Today, these children and their parents were out frolicking in the snow; making snowmen; throwing snowballs; sliding; having a great time.  What a  joy for them... and what a joy for us to hear the happy sounds of children playing nearby... and what a joy not to have to plan our outside activity just to those times when the air is not smokey!

Sadness!

Sunday, we heard a Republican Representative from West Virginia say that most of his constituents love the Affordable Care Act, but hate Obamacare!  This is one of the great problems with propaganda.  Apparently, for the eight years that one party has been complaining about Obamacare and how bad it is, some folks thought that they were talking about some evil Government program that had no relationship to the insurance plan that now allows them to get insurance even when they have pre-existing conditions like Black Lung Disease.

When I heard this, I was so sad I wanted to sit down and have a good cry.

Depression!

The Nation magazine published a book review by Richard J. Evans, a British college President, and author of several books about Nazi Germany.  The book he was reviewing was: Hitler; Ascent 1889-1939.. by Volker Ullrich.. in English translation.

Timeline:

1923  The failed "Beer-hall Putsch."
1928  Hitler's Nazis held less than 3% of the vote in national elections.
1933  Hitler was appointed head of the German government and the Nazis were the largest political party.
1939  Hitler started his invasions and World War II.

Question..  How did a man who was considered an "upstart" and a "clown" attain the pinnacle of power in Germany?  This book gives you some idea.

I quote: "Above all else, Hitler was a media figure who gained popularity and controlled his country through speeches and publicity."

Hitler "played the system" very wisely.  His ascent to power was not done through a military coup.

I quote: "Hitler issued an endless stream of slogans to win potential supporters over.  He would make Germany great again.  He would give Germans work once more.  He would put Germany first.  He would revive the nation's rusting industries..."

The author suggests that Hitler's hate inspiring speeches were not spontaneous, but were carefully crafted to get the attention of the media and to get his listeners to chant hate slogans.

Of course, he loved media attention, but made sure that he vilified and/or  destroyed all of the news outlets that spoke against him.

The Nazi regime allowed only heterosexual white men to run the country.  Nazi propaganda at first mocked disabled people; later they sterilized or exterminated them.  Feminists were mocked and their associations were closed up.  Illegal Polish immigrants were rounded up and deported.

Hitler canceled treaties with other nations; he took Germany out of International organizations.

Hitler warned the German people that he was going to do what he quickly did; (first 100 days)  Where was the opposition?  I quote:  "Civil courage was in short supply."

For a long time, there was an undercurrent of anti-Semitism in Europe.  (Now, it seems to be Islamaphobia.)  Hitler fed on this and made the destruction of Jewish people the main goal of his regime.  Besides, the sale of stolen  Jewish property supported the Nazi party.

All of this sound familiar?



Hopefulness!

I am hopeful that the safeguards built into the U. S. government will stop any try by a demagogue from trying to become a Hitler-type.  (Or am I being naive?)

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Identity

Sunny and 40 degrees.  The snow did not stick.  Today, Mr. Weatherman sez that we can expect a snowy "Nor'easter" next Tuesday.

Identity

Ten years ago, so many people were recognizing me at so many different places that I decided to form the "Joe Vaughan Fan Club."  As you may already know, this is not a fan club related to me, but instead, related to people that I am a fan of.   Over these past ten years, I have normally given each nice person who recognizes me a "Joe Vaughan Fan Club Pen."  For a few years, I gave out many of these pens... however, lately, that gift-giving has slowed to a crawl.  Why? You may ask.

Well, I've determined that people can no longer recognize me.  Why?  Because..... I've changed.  How?  Let me list the changes... and by doing so, it will be cathartic for me, and maybe even prod me to fix myself up.  (Also, for my family... this will show them what they are in for as they get older.)


Face

Macular Degeneration (MD) in my Right Eye  (Not fixable... but not really disabling... just irritating.)
Red Right Eye  (Not permanent... just for a few days after getting "eye-poked" for MD.)
Deafness in my Right Ear.  (Compensated for by a hearing aid that I hate to wear.)
White Hair. (Sorry.. I could do a "Trump" and get back the blondness of my youth. I don't want to.)
Glasses (Not really necessary after cataract surgery.. but I'm used to them, and they partially hide the bags under my eyes.)
Broken tooth in the middle of my Smile (Fixable... probably next week, I hope. But I can whistle better with it broken.)
Pimple on my Nose.  (Hope it goes away.  Makes me look like the wicked witch of the West.)
Scars from Skin Cancer. (Not too noticeable unless you look closely.)
Beard and Mustache.  (No.. I'm not giving them up. Even though some kids think that I am Santa.)
Red blotches and scabs. (Temporary.  The results of cryogenic spritzing to avoid skin cancer.)
Nose Hair. (Itches)
Ear Hair. (I can't see it so it doesn't bother me. Just Elaine.)
Allergies (Cat dander.. we have a cat; smoke; plant pollen)

Body

Arthritic left shoulder.  (Painful. Some relief with injections.)
Arthritic Fingers turning to claws. (Only one so far.  More to come.)
Height lost of 4 inches. (Spine compression... damn!  I couldn't afford to lose those inches!)
Weight gain because of height loss... (Actually stayed the same.. but now too fat for my new height.)\
Barnacles all over my arms and legs.  (My tired skin cells have stopped attacking blemishes.)
Blotches all over my arms and legs. (Pooled blood because of using Aspirin as a blood thinner.)
Scars on my arms from cut out skin cancer. (Not too noticeable.)
Arthritic lower back. (Try not to lift heavy stuff.)
Diabetes (Under good control. I can eat anything I want.)
Other stuff... you are probably sound asleep by now.. so I'll let you go.


Ah!  Now I feel better.

And here is shown .... The Ravages of Time:

Now I can get on with interesting stuff and not keep thinking about my ailments.

Words

Yesterday it was sunny and 72 degrees; today it is snowing.

Words

Today, I want to talk about words, because I love words, especially in puzzles.  I dare say that my brother, Joe, and I are among the top puzzlers in the U.S. today.  My puzzling nom-de-plume is Ahab and his is Ishmael.

Here are some words that I have encountered within the last couple of days:

In my German Study

HUNGERSNOT    ... what a great word..  no matter what it sounds like to English readers, its meaning is...........................FAMINE.

While solving a British Cryptic Puzzle set by a British Newspaper

These are probably words that the Brits use regularly.  I doubt that most Americans are acquainted with them all (I know I'm not).

interlocutrice ..  this is the female version of interlocutor.   You may have heard vaudeville folks use it when doing schtick:   Mr. Interlocutor!   All it means is someone engaging in a dialogue or conversation.

amorist ...  this is a name for someone who is deeply in love or who wishes they were and writes about it.

Grimaldi ... this is a word that Brits like to use for a clown.  In the 1800's there was a famous man named Grimaldi who "created" our modern version of that age-old comic figure of Harlequin.

teratogen ... any agent that disturbs the development of an embryo or fetus  (scary!)

decimalization ... in stock trading:  using decimals instead of fractions on quotes

treble ..  1.  3 times as much;  2.  high-pitched;   3. a choir boy whose voice has not yet changed

spirochaete ... spirally twisted bacterium that  sometimes causes syphilis  (also scary!)

single cream ...  this is cream that contains at least 18% butterfat and is called light cream in the U.S. but single cream in the U.K.

While doing the Word Power Puzzle in the Readers Digest for March 2017

aubade ... morning song (I confess, I had never heard of that word... I thought it meant a gold pendant.)

Also in the same Readers Digest.... Some Word Types Definitions

aptronym .. a name that is perfectly suited to its owner.  (apt and name)  They give this wonderful example:  A lawyer whose name is Sue Yoo.

mondegreen ... a famous lyric that may be misheard.  Example: From the Elton John song "Tiny Dancer":  "Hold me closer, tiny dancer."   becomes:  "Hold me closer, Tony Danza."

neologism ... a word made up from necessity.  Example: Color you turn when finding half of a worm in your bitten apple:  Caterpallor.

paraprosdoklan ... sentence or phrase that ends in an unexpected way.... like most jokes

portmanteau ... a clever/humorous blending of two other words ..  RD examples: cellfish; afterclap.
(you can make up your own definitions for these two examples)

spoonerism ... humorous reversal of sounds in two words.. RD example:  "Don't put all you begs in one ask it."  (I have hundreds of these in my files... be prepared. I once belonged to a group I think was called "Desert Island Mensans", created for Mensans without a nearby chapter to join.  In that group, we passed around lots of what we called 'Feghoots'.. they were actually spoonerisms.)

Tom Swifty ... the RD example says it best:  "I think the lobotomy went well," Tom said absentmindedly."

Now... let me say this again.   I love the Readers Digest because it works similarly to my brain... a little bit of a lot of information on a lot of subjects ..  keeping me surprised by every turn of a page.  When I was stuck in a radio operations van on top of an icy mountain in Germany for long hours every day and night, the Readers Digest kept me from going crazy when I had finished my work and was stuck with the outlook of many lonely hours with nothing to do..

This is me, pretending to be a big-shot communicator.
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Spring; Brain; DNA; Wait, Wait; Pool Problem; New Exercise Advice; New Sheriff in Town

Kind of sunny and almost 70 degrees again.  Spring is here already.  Elaine's flowers are three or four inches high.

Somebody mentioned that the stuff in my blogs is a "hodge-podge" of disconnected and half-baked information.  Of course!  That is what I want to write about.  As a member of that august body of Mensans, I try to keep up with all matters, big or small, that are taking place around us.  The world is such a remarkable place.. especially at this time of brain expansion.

My "Brain" Great Courses professor says that most people who are polled, say that they would like to live until the age of 120; she says that she would like to live to be 150.  Besides being a bonafide college professor, she is an opera singer and runs several podcasts.  I'm also sure that she belongs to Mensa.  Some people  have enough interests to keep them occupied until the age of 150, whereas, many folks are burned out and bored by age 60.  As our esteemed President tweets: SAD!

Genealogy Breakthroughs

My family is happily welcoming new relatives, thanks to DNA testing.  I won't be mentioning the details on this blog.   Call me up if you are interested.

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

WAMU is having their nine hundredth pitch for funds, so all of their radio programs are being shortened or eliminated for a week or so.  This would normally mean that I would be getting my news from television (CNN; MSNBC; and the like.)  However, now that I can get Podcasts, I can listen to a great number of news outlets as well as "feel-good" shows such as WWDTM.

I just listened to the March 3rd, 2017 WWDTM show and have a few comments on things said on that show:

PEE in Your Pool!

NPR  reports on information in the Environmental Science and Technology Letter about the effect of urine in swimming pools.

You might be surprised to learn that the average home pool contains at least 2 quarts of urine mixed in with the water.  Most people will not admit that they pee in a pool.  Don't believe them!

According to Xing-Fang Li of the University of Alberta, urine can mix with other normal pool chemicals that contain ammonia, and create Mustard Gas... remember?  World War I?

Xing-Fang has found a way to determine the amount of urine by searching for the residue of artificial sweeteners in the urine.   While the average level of urine in pools does not usually approach toxic levels... it theoretically could.  So... people should put up that sign that is sold by Northern Sun:

We don't swim in your toilet;  Don't pee in our pool!

(Incidentally, although this information is just being put out, this problem was identified in Science Digest way back in 2014.)

New Exercise Advice

The human body contains 657 muscles and there is only one exercise that uses all of them.  That exercise is SEX, according to writers in the British newspaper: The Telegraph.  

Somebody named Bill Borrows says that playing golf uses only 137 muscles; running for a bus (what they do often in Britain) uses only 99 muscles.  But SEX... uses all 657 muscles, including the so-called "sex-hero" muscle.  This is the famous muscle in both males and females that has the wonderful name of "bulbospongiosus."

This information will of course be of vital importance to the well-being of both man- and woman-kind.

New Sheriff in Town

In line with the kind of "Wild West" atmosphere in Washington, D.C. these past couple of weeks, the new Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, rode into work on a horse, accompanied by some of DC's famous police cavalry.  It must have been as though Wild Bill Hickock's Rodeo was entering town once again.

Secretary Zinke's entrance was enhanced by the playing of a Cherokee tribal drum by a Native American.  Mr. Zinke immediately shouted to his appreciative audience:  "Let's get to work!"

AMEN!

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Hoarder's Demise; Sweetness; Stock Market; Professor Smullyan; Tweets; Oxford Words; Hygge; Testosterone

Coolish but sunny day.

Miscellanea  (an interesting word.. sounds like the name of the wife of a President. Perhaps I should use "pot pourri.")

The New York Post reports that a Japanese man was found dead in his apartment.  He was crushed to death when his massive collection of pornography fell over on him.

You Sweet Thing!

Beginning in 2018, the amount of added sugar is supposed to be listed for all package foods and beverages, in addition to total sugar.  (I don't know if I understand what that means.  Shouldn't added sugar be added into total sugar?  I guess I'm missing something.)

Stock Market Rise

President Trump is taking credit for the stock market rise that began under President Obama.  We knew he would.  The key to finances is to "buy low and sell high."  So, I need to sell some stock before the world gets wise to Trump and the market starts to fall.  One must not be greedy like everyone who got involved in the Old Court Savings and Loan fiasco.  Even when I was leaving the office with our money (to pay for college expenses) people were lined up waiting to deposit money into the already failed bank. They just could not help controlling themselves when the bank offered 11% interest on deposits, when all other banks were offering no more than 5%.

Another Puzzler "Bit the Dust"

The New York Times had a long obituary on Professor Raymond Smullyan, puzzle creating magician, musician, logician, and mathematician who died this week at the age of 97..  He's the guy who developed those damnable logic puzzles that attacked our brains when we were younger.  Just think about his 1982 book: :"The Lady or the Tiger? And Other Logic Puzzles."  How I hated those puzzles!  But my genius brother Joe (Ishmael to the cognoscenti) found such puzzles to be easy.

Professor Smullyan wrote a book in 1982 in tribute to Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). "Alice in Puzzle-Land: A Carrollian Tale for Children Under Eighty."  Of course, now that I am over eighty I probably should not read it.  Eh.. what the heck.. I think I will download it to my Kindle anyway.  It sounds intriguing.

Political Thoughts from a Noted Author

Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Refugees, was interviewed  recently by the New York Times Book Review.  I was interested in what he said about social media:  "I've been reading news and ... opinion pieces on Facebook and Twitter. They're utterly terrifying and depressing, since my social circle basically thinks that a Trump presidency spells the end of the world.  To get out of the echo chamber, I read Donald trump's Twitter feed.  It's utterly terrifying and depressing, and I run back into the echo chamber."

Amen, brother!

More on the  Oxford Dictionary New Words

The New York Post mentions that the Oxford Dictionary will be adding 300 words this year (in addition to the ten I mentioned earlier) for instance:

"yas" = expressing great pleasure or excitement

"clicktivism" = Internet activism

"jelly" = millenial-speak for "jealous"

also:  "cat lady"  "untag"  and "drunk text"

Among the 10 words being considered by Oxford for the Word of the Year, hygge made a good showing.  this is a Danish word pronounced HOO-gah, and it translates roughly to "coziness" and "well-being."   The New York Times Book Review says that there is even a new best seller called: "The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living."

This is "big-time" stuff, and other books are available now:

Scandikitchen Fika and Hygge:  Comforting Cakes and Bakes from Scandinavia With Love

Hygge Knits: Nordic and Fair Isle Sweaters, Scarves and Hats, and More to Keep You Cozy

Book of Hygge:  The Danish Art of Contentment, Comfort and Connection

More Exploded Myths

Another book that was reviewed recently in the New York Times Book Review is called: "Testosterone Rex; Myths of Sex, Science, and Society by Cordelia Fine.

This is a book about gender roles and stereotypes. Perhaps women are not from Venus and men are not from Mars!  I think I understand one of Ms Fine's insights:  "For every man on the prowl, there simply aren't a hundred women available to bear his child.   For all men not named Genghis Khan, monogamy must have started to  look like a pretty smart bet."

I also noted a scary statistic, which I think the reviewer got from the book: "In the United States, being pregnant is about 20 times more likely to result in death than is a sky dive."

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President's Speech; Post-Truth; Harmony Zhu; Brain Expansion; Ulysses; Cats

Overcast and 60 degrees.  Kind of depressing, but not Wintry.

The President's Speech to Congress

Smart speechwriter, but remember a famous song's first line:  "Never smile at a crocodile!"

His unexpected and  restrained tweet after the speech:  "THANK  YOU!"

POST-TRUTH

I was not satisfied with my definition of this Oxford selected Word of the Year for 2017, so let's try this:

The Economist defines post-truth as: "Art of the Lie."

Its usage of "post" in a sentence supposedly is similar to "post-war."

Delightful Pianist

Now 11 years old, Harmony Zhu is back in the spotlight with her piano playing.  Her little hands fly over the keyboard.  If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing or hearing her, visit YouTube.  She was also a presenter on "From the Top" last Sunday.

Brain Expansion?

I am currently listening to a Great  Courses program called Brain Myths Exploded (Lessons from Neuroscience) presented by Professor Indre Viskontas.  Indre "explodes" 18 myths that people hold about the human brain, such as:

We only use 10% of our brain's capacity

Left handed people are more creative than right handed people

Indre is a very interesting speaker.  She was one of the two investigators for the "Miracle Detective" series of programs and is part of the current "Inquiring Minds" program.  Since my son showed me how to get Podcasts, I can listen to these programs whenever I want to.

The "Miracle Detective" program took reported "miracles" and investigated them from two viewpoints:  religious and scientific, and let you decide which was the reason for the "miracle."


Ulysses

That marvelous book, Ulysses, by James Joyce has always been difficult for people to read, because of Joyce's use of his "Stream of Consciousness" style of writing, and for the many classical and linguistic references embedded in the text.  I was introduced to Joyce's work by a graduate student who was devoting his life to that author's work.  As I've mentioned before, Joyce's Ulysses is a recitation about  a typical day of a certain Mister Leopold Bloom in Dublin, Ireland.  Mr. Bloom is a sensitive, caring individual among some who do not share that characteristic.

I recently found out that a gentleman named Frank Delaney had a podcast where he was reading aloud, and with an Irish brogue, the whole of Joyce's Ulysses.  As he read, he interpreted some of the difficult (arcane) (obscure) references in the work.  A glorious "find"for me, thanks again to my son introducing me to podcasts.

Unfortunately for us "Joyceans,"  Mr. Delaney died last week at the age of 74.  Fortunately for us Joyceans, his many books, articles and podcasts remain for all of us to enjoy.


Cats!

I just heard somewhere that cats are afraid of cucumbers.

I just heard somewhere that  Australian cats eat more seafood than Australian humans.

Since I like cats and want to know more about them, I found an "Inquiring Mind" podcast on the subject of our feline friends.  A lady named Abigale Tucker was interviewed about cats.  As a "cat lady,"  Ms. Tucker has written a book about them.  I downloaded the book to my Kindle and am about to start reading it.   The book is:

The Lion in the Living Room, by Abigale Tucker

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Meow!