TGIF 4/15/22

I'm doing only good-week reports today. There'll be plenty of time for the bad-week folks another day. 

Let's start with talking mushrooms. Yep - that's what at least some scientists are saying. It seems that electrical signals sent fungi to fungi via underground filaments are similar to language. Here's a bit from the article.

The split gill fungus formed the most complex “sentence structures,” and Professor Adamatzky suggested that the most likely purpose for this electrical dialogue is to keep integrity between the parts of the mycelium. Mycelia makes up more than 90% of the total biomass of fungi, and the filaments can stretch for hundreds of feet, connecting trees, other plants, and other fungi, so keeping the mycelia integrated, Adamatzky said, could be similar to the way wolves howl to keep all members of the pack integrated.

Other scientists are not so sure; it could be a case of 'seek, and ye shall find' exactly what you're seeking. 

Here's something that's never happened before: On Tuesday, Alyssa Nakken became the first female 0n-field coach in the history of major league baseball. She got her chance when the 1st base coach for the San Francisco Giants, Antoan Richardson, was ejected in the third. Here's how she looked at the historic moment.

Everybody can just see that there are a lot of opportunities in baseball. Sometimes I think we always limit ourselves to thinking what we could do. At least that’s my experience. I never thought that I could do something like this because I never saw it. So, I think, sure, it’s certainly important for people to be able to see that this is an opportunity and they can see somebody that kind of looks like them going out there and coaching in the big leagues.

Seek, and ye shall find opportunities you never thought existed.

Sticking with baseball for just a moment longer, today is Jackie Robinson Day in the majors, where every player on every team wears Robinson's number 42 in honor of his breaking the league's color barrier 75 years ago today.

This year’s celebration marks not just the 75th anniversary of Jackie’s debut but also the 25th anniversary of then-Commissioner Bud Selig’s announcement that Robinson’s No. 42 would be retired across MLB. Ten years after that landmark 1997 decision, Griffey requested and received permission to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day, and a few other players took part. And in 2009, the practice of every player, coach and manager wearing No. 42 on April 15 became a new tradition.

Seek, and ye shall find a way to change the game.

Moving on, we've got a nine-year-old fashion designer. Kaia Aragon, a third-grader, designs and sews her own clothes, after being taught to sew by her mom when she was five. You can see her designs via a link in the article; she shares them on her mom's TikTok page. 

Now, as a person who had to finish her junior high sewing project during the summer break, in order to avoid taking an incomplete, I can't even comprehend how Kaia does what she does. My project? A denim skirt, in case you were wondering. Which I'm pretty sure I never wore, but at least I finished the darn thing. In August. Ugh.

And speaking of better late than never, 101-year-old Merrill Pittman Cooper of West Virginia was given an honorary diploma recently.

As a high school student, Cooper attended Storer Normal School, taking several college prep courses. While he planned on attending college, life got in the way and he moved to Philadelphia and never graduated. Four years ago, he visited the campus and spoke of regretting not getting a degree. Family members worked with officials to make magic, and Cooper received his degree in March. 

Good for him, and for all involved in making this happen. 

Sticking with making good things happen, there's a new social media platform - and no, I'm not talking about Truth Social, I'm taking about Supernova. 

It is billed as an ethical alternative to Facebook and Instagram, which have been jointly dogged by accusations of ramping up misinformation and damaging mental health. O’Meara wants to test his belief that a growing slice of the population is craving a life- affirming, glass-half-full outlook instead.

What's different about this site? The company puts 60% of its ad revenue in an 'action fund,' and users get to determine how the money is divvied up among several different "causal areas." The target audience for Supernova? Millennials and Gen Z.

And in the end, the likes you give and get mean money for causes you like. Many things could be worse than that.

Speaking of giving and getting likes, I hope you like this one - a doggy tale, with a very happy ending. Duke, a homeless dog, made friends with US Army troops stations in Kosovo. The dog and the troops bonded, with the dog making them feel less homesick, and them making the dog feel loved. 

A sergeant at the base wanted to get Duke off the streets, and worked with Paws of War, charity that helps soldiers bring dogs home. And then, Duke stopped coming by. The soldiers eventually found him, and it was heartbreaking - he had been shot. After emergency surgery and six months of recovery, he's expected to get here this month.

This was a familiar story to me; a coworker went to Florida to pick up a dog that was shipped here from Afghanistan at the request of her future son-in-law, and a friend of mine adopted the mama dog, who also came over. The bonds these kids we send overseas make with these dogs is really something, and so is the love that brings them back together here. 

I'm not a religious person, but today is Good Friday, after all, and so I'll close with the story of the youngest Catholic bishop in the US: Bishop Joseph Espaillat, the 45-year-old 'rapping bishop' from New York City. And why does he rap? 

There was a talent show at this parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and a couple of the young boys wanted to rap, but you know these secular songs and they had a lot of bad words in them," he told Al. "And I said, 'I bet you money, I could come up with a rap song' ... and they were like, 'Oh no, Father, you can’t rap,' and I was like, 'Watch.' I was like, challenge is on, so I took the challenge."

He says he just uses his talents to speak to his community, the same way Jesus did. Which is probably good advice for many 'religious' people these days, and on  this day.

TGIF, everyone. 

TGIF 3/18/22

We've all probably had enough bad news or sad news this week, so for this week's TGIF, I'm sharing only 'good week' stories. 

This past Wednesday was National Panda Day. The Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo in Washington DC kicked off a six-month celebration of pandas and partnership with the Chinese. Brandie Smith, the zoo's director, said 

After 50 years, giant pandas remain an iconic species for our zoo. More importantly, they represent how great conservation outcomes can be achieved through great partnerships with our Chinese colleagues.

The first pandas came to the zoo in April of 1972, after President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China that February. 

Almost as groundbreaking as Nixon's trip to China? The amount of resistance being put forward by Russians who are against Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

• Hundreds of protesters were arrested across multiple Russian cities earlier this week; since the invasion started in late February, over 14,000 have been arrested. They protest, even in the face of up to 15 years in prison.
• A Russian TV station employee held up a 'No war' sign behind the anchor during a broadcast; she was interrogated for over 14 hours, and fined 30,000 rubles - around $280.
• A prima ballerina is leaving the Bolshoi ballet, and Russia, in protest of the invasion.
• A leading Russian rapper is holding "Russians against War" concerts outside Russia; proceeds from ticket sales are being donated to Ukraine.

Closer to home, a benefit concert put on by the Rochester (NY) Symphony raised $58,000 for ROC Maidan, part of the city's Ukrainian Culture Center. The concert was just one of several events planned in the greater Rochester area. 

A few significantly less critical things occurred this week, too. 

• Baseball's Spring Training is underway, after a lengthy lockout of the players by the owners, over what else? Money. It's always about money, one way or another. Playing ball is great; my Boston Red Sox starting the season 2-0 is even better.
• With temps nearing 70 degrees in my neck of the woods, my golfing friends are enjoying a little spring training of their own. One friend faced a nice long birdie opportunity, which sadly turned into a three-putt bogey, but he didn't really care all that much. It was March, and he was playing golf
• The NCAA has entered March Madness, and things are nuts in the men's basketball tourney. There were a few big upsets - bracket busters, they're called - in the first round. For fans of the losing teams, for gamblers, and for folks who did a bracket in a friendly competition, it's not a lot of fun, but it's a blast for the rest of us. 

Those last three items aren't meaningful in the overall scheme of things, and I'm sure there are people who think it's silly to pay attention to them, given what we're up against. But we need our traditions, and we need to get outside on a beautiful Marchday, and we need a sense of community - these days, more than ever.

It doesn't mean we care less about what's going on in the world; it means we're human. 

TGIF, everyone.

TGIF 2/19/21

Time to get this week into the books, starting with the bad week list.

Can we agree that Sen. Rafael Edward 'Ted' Cruz (R-TX), he of 'the vacation that spawned a hashtag industry,' belongs at the top of the list?  

You can find any number of links to articles referencing his really bad idea to run off to Cancun for a $300/night quickie vacation with his wife and kids, in the middle of a pandemic and a major weather event impacting his constituents across the Lone Star State.  Just know that having the police help make sure you get to the airport, lying that you were just dropping off your daughters in another country while they were on a school break, lying that you immediately knew it was wrong, lying about having a return flight booked, the next day, and having your wife's 'hey, come and join us in Cancun" text messages be made public is probably the new dictionary definition of a bad week. 

And those hashtags? Here are a few: #FledTed #FlyinCruz #CancunCruz and #CancunCruz -feel free to use them on social media. 

Sticking with Cruz, but taking a different tack, we have Donny Jr. He blasted the calls for Cruz to resign, saying that senators work in Washington passing laws and stuff, they're not really needed in their states and, you know, who doesn't need a vacation?  He also slammed those who attacked Cruz but gave "their Democratic governors" a pass as they violated their own executive orders and shut their states down. A bunch of people from 'left' Twitter pounced on Donny for not knowing that Texas hasn't had a Democratic governor in years - but that's not what he said or what he meant. He was talking about 

• Gavin Newsom (D-CA) who went maskless to a restaurant to celebrate a lobbyist's birthday, violating his own pandemic rules. Newsom is facing a likely recall vote in the coming weeks, in part because of that dinner. 
• He was talking about the husband of Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) trying to get his boat in the water before Memorial Day, while the Gov was asking people to stay away from the lakes to reduce COVID spread. Whitmer eventually said her husband was joking, but no one was laughing. 
• He was talking about my Sonofa Gov heading down to Georgia to be celebrated, maskless and in violation of his own 'unnecessary travel' restrictions. 

I love a little righteous indignation as much as the next person, but be sure you understand what's being said before attacking - even before attacking someone named Trump. 

On the good week side of the ledger? Well, President Biden told the G7 that 

I am sending a clear message to the world, America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back and we are not looking backward we are looking forward together.

His message was well-received, at least by British PM Boris Johnson, who said "As you've seen and heard earlier, America is unreservedly back as the leader of the free world, and that is a fantastic thing." I'd agree with that. 

How about the 'tip war' going on in Cincinnati? Xavier and University of Cincinnati alums have raised over $34,000 for restaurant workers by ridiculously over-tipping on their bills. It started with a $1000 tip from a Xavier alum, which was topped by the $1001 offered by a UC alum, and it just keeps going. 

You've surely heard by now that NASA's Perseverance rover made it safely to Mars, after a months-long, nearly 300,000,000-mile journey. If you're interested you can follow the giant SUV-sized rover on Twitter. 

And there was good news out of Texas, even amidst all the trouble. An Austin man helped rescue over 100 stranded drivers; World Central Kitchen, founded by chef Jose Andres, has partnered with Houston restaurants  to provide over 2000 meals for folks impacted by the power outages. And, AOC, the Queens progressive, set up a website to raise money for 12 Texas organizations; her supporters chipped in $2M within 24 hours.

A restaurant owner in Chicago has been buying up all the tamales he can get from food trucks, which are struggling during the pandemic and the brutal cold weather. He uses his dozens and dozens of tamales to stock 'Love Fridges' - community refrigerators that folks in need can tap for meals as needed. Others are donated to homeless shelters. 

There's all kinds of good news out there; we just have to condition ourselves to look for it. 

TGIF, everyone.

TGIF 1/29/21

What do you think - should we focus on some good news tonight?

First, there's news on the case involving the most recent former president's taxes. A judge in New York has ordered more data to be turned over to the NY AG, Tish James, saying that "many of the communications (Trump's attorney) marked as privileged" weren't, and so the specific documents need to be turned over. If you're that former president, and you're confident there's nothing wrong with your taxes, you probably want to clear your name as soon as possible. If you're a detractor of him, you want the most information possible to be available in hopes it will do him harm. And if you're just a person who's looking to have all the crazy tax rules exposed (and perhaps changed, in the interest of fairness), you're probably happy, too. So, I guess this is good news all around - unless, of course, you're him and your taxes are not squeaky clean.

Sticking in the Empire State and with our AG, lots of people are talking about her report on nursing homes and COVID. Most folks are all gaga over the statement that COVID-related nursing home deaths were under-reported, perhaps by as much as 50%. That's an eye-catching number, for sure, but those 'excess deaths' were reported as hospital deaths, because that's where the patients died. The bigger issue, to me, that the report found fault with a number of nursing homes for how they were handling patients, infection control, and so on. Hitting the Sonofa Gov is great fun, for sure, but is he the real issue, or is patient care the real issue? Hopefully, people will understand it's the latter - that would be good news, for sure.

Sticking with COVID-related items, there were three other stories this week related to vaccines that had happy endings. In the first, vaccines were given to motorists stranded in a snowstorm in Oregon. There were only six doses available, but rather than let them expire while stuck on the highway, the health care workers went car to car to find folks who wanted one.  Said one recipient, "It is important for people to know how dedicated health professionals are to getting every single dose into people. My community should be so proud - I am."

The second COVID story also comes from the Pacific Northwest. It took only about two hours after a freezer alarm went off in a Seattle hospital signaling that vials of the Moderna vaccine needed to be used before they got too warm to get a vaccine clinic set up and get word out that folks could come on down. When all was said and done, over 1600 doses were administered, starting at 11PM. According to some reports, folks showed up in their PJs and bathrobes, they were that interested in getting the vaccine. Kudos to all involved in putting the plan together and saving the doses, and to the folks who made the trip and stood in line to get their jab. Some folks suggested that the same sense of urgency should be on display every day, and it should - but we should at least be happy that this worked as well as it did.

What else do we have?  Well, if you don't mind rampant, aggressive cursing, this Georgia resident going off on his fellow Georgians to get them to rise up against Marjorie Taylor Greene is encouraging. I repeat, this is NSFW and NSFC (children) and NSFP (parents) and maybe NSFHP (houseplants) but he's got a point. I hope people not only feel the same way as he does, but are going to act on their anger and rage and demand they get better representation. I also hope it doesn't take until the next election to get rid of her.

Oh, that third COVID story? It's a flat-out good news story, no question about that, and it comes to us from Minneapolis. Take a look. 

When COVID arrived last March, neighbors in the 4100 block of S. Colfax Avenue in Minneapolis stepped outside to sing together as a way to boost morale. Nearly 300 nights later, they're still singing. Every night at 6 p.m., "rain, shine or meteor shower, ..." they tackle Prince and Elvis, "Baby Shark" and "Let It Snow," "God Bless, America" and "This Land is Your Land." 

They've got a repertoire of over 200 songs, now. Back in the beginning, we saw lots of stories of this kind of thing, the clapping for health care workers, the solo musicians, the opera singers, even the balcony marathoner - but it's been a while since I've seen anything that shows this kind of dedication. 

Got some good news to share? Drop a comment. 

TGIF, everyone.

TGIF 11/13/20

Friday the 13th...  

A great day for transitioning from something to something...  A great day for having a great day by doing the right thing...  A great day for me to keep dreaming, right?  

And that's just what I'll do, after I do a good week - bad week post for you. For the most part, I'll let you decide who goes where, although as always, some of them will be pretty obvious.

There was a report that some digging was going on outside the White House briefing room today, and of course, the Interwebs had a riot with that. Many wondered if maybe it was a moat, harkening back to conversations the president had with advisors about putting such a water feature along his beloved border wall.  

Another suggestion? It's a trench for burning the evidence - but certainly not the evidence of voter fraud or election rigging. We know that, because so far they haven't shown anything that's managed to capture the eyes of the courts.

And speaking of election fraud and losing, the president needs lawyers to help him with this fool's errand, and of course, some of the law firms were taking heat for helping with his attempts to overturn or ignore our democratic principles - and the heat was coming from within the firms, as well as from outside. 

And today, it seems, it might have gotten too hot in the kitchen for one of them, as Porter Wright "reached a mutual agreement" with the Trump team, which will find other counsel - perhaps a firm less interested in protecting its reputation?

A soon to be ex-congressman from Virginia let loose in an interview about the president and his followers, the ones who are sticking by his side (does that make them his next-to-ers, I wonder?). Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Republican who had the audacity to perform a gay marriage (gasp!) and was primaried by a self-proclaimed "biblical conservative" thinks things are getting out of hand, including the conspiracy theories Trump is spreading. 

That really, is, really, I think, the Island of the Misfit Toys at that point. You have crossed the Rubicon, you jumped on the crazy train and you're headed into the cliffs that guard the flat earth at that time, brother.

Speaking of conspiracy theories and what not, Elon Musk is making some noise about "extremely bogue" COVID-19 tests. Seems he took four of the rapid tests, which have a reported accuracy rate of 34-80%, and he had two positives and two negatives, putting him within the range for the tests. He thinks the reason why we're seeing a surge in cases is because there are so many false positives. Apparently he discounts the potential that we're actually under-reporting the surge because there are so many false negatives. 

What else do we have today?  Oh -- Four Seasons Total Landscaping is selling shirts and stickers saying "Make American Rake Again" and "Lawn and Order," capitalizing on its new-found fame after hosting Rudy Giuliani's press conference the other day. Fun stuff, for sure -and good for them. No word yet on whether Rudy will make another appearance, maybe to autograph shirts to raise money for the president's legal fund. 

And now, for real, honest-to-goodness good news, not the kind you have to debate about, I offer these stories:

• Here's a 'Florida man' headline you'll love: Florida man becomes first person with Down Syndrome to finish Ironman triathlon.

• This teenager puts on a different costume each day before logging on to his remote classes, because "to try and bring happiness to people."

• In the week we celebrated Veterans Day, I found this story about a vet who's turned his farm into a healing place, so maybe other vets could feel a sense of belonging and purpose. 

And finally, one last election has been called. There's a new mayor in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, and he walked away with the race. Wilbur Beast, a French Bulldog, took 13, 143 of the 22,985 votes cast in "the most important election that happened this year." Since 1988, the town has elected an animal as mayor; each vote costs a buck, with all of the money goes to the local historical society, which runs the town. I just know we can learn something from this story, I just know it!

That's all I've got for you tonight - TGIF, everyone.

TGIF 8/7/20

How about we have an all 'good week list' post to close out the week - sound good?

First up, the devastating explosion in Beirut, which caused so much pain and heartbreak, but there was also much kindness and love at the same time.  There have been many compelling images in the aftermath, one of which was of the nurse holding three newborns.

According to the story relayed by the photographer and published on Nurse.org, the nurse had been knocked unconscious by the blast and when she came to, her first thought was of the patients. She grabbed the three babies and carried them around with her, keeping them safe.

"I noticed the nurse's calm, which contrasted the surrounding atmosphere just one meter away, he explained. “However, the nurse looked like she possessed a hidden force that gave her self-control and the ability to save those children. People stand out amidst these violent and dark and evil circumstances and this nurse was up to the task," he added. 

Also related to Beirut, I saw an image of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue overlaid with a projection of the Lebanese flag; there's also one of French president Emmanuel Macron hugging a Beirut resident.

What else was on the good news list this week? Well, did you hear about the two little girls - sisters aged 9 and 11 - who started a business after coming up with a sweet treat?

In June, using a special recipe they developed for cheesecake-filled ice cream cones, Zyaire and Char’Les launched their dessert business, Little Sistas Treats.

Their mom mentioned what the girls were doing to the owners of Sugar Sisters Bakery and asked if maybe her daughters could come in and see what their future could be like. It took a while, but the Little Sistas eventually met the Sugar Sisters. You can be sure this story has a sweet ending!

There's so much more good week list stuff out there; here's a sampling:

• Buck the dog, lost and then rescued by firefighters battling the Apple fire;
• the nearly 50-year effort to return an escaped convict to jail; 
• educators like this one, doing everything possible to make kids comfortable returning to school during a pandemic.

And finally, because I can, I leave you with this touching moment, when a groom turns to see his bride, in her gown, for the first time. It's a good one, I promise!

TGIF, everyone - hope you had a good week, and a great weekend!

TGiF 6/26/20

Well, looky here -- another Friday already!

Let's take a peek at just a slice of what's going on out there, shall we?

For starters, the Federal Reserve did some foot-putting-down this week. According to an article in the New York Times,  the country's biggest banks are barred from buying back their own stocks or increasing dividend payments in the 3rd quarter.

The decision to limit payouts is an admission by the Fed that large financial institutions, while far better off than they were in the financial crisis, remain vulnerable to an economic downturn unlike any other in modern history. With virus cases across the United States still surging and business activity subdued, it remains unclear when and how robustly the economy will recover.

There's some other stuff in there, too - more thinking and planning from the banks, some additional stress testing, and whatnot.

Are you a dead person? If so, you might want to look for your stimulus payment - it could be waiting for you!  That's right - around $1.4B was sent to 1.1M people who are no longer with us. We learned this from a GAO report, which said, in part

Treasury and IRS did not use the death records to stop payments to deceased individuals for the first three batches of payments because of the legal interpretation under which IRS was operating. 

I suspect that'll be fixed before any other direct payments go out to people again.

The European Union has gone and done it, they did: most travelers from the US will be barred from entering the bloc when they reopen next week.  The article highlights that Europe will allow outsiders to begin entering again on July 1, but the US and Russia are now among the nations considered too risky because they have not controlled the coronavirus outbreak.

By contrast, travelers from more than a dozen countries that are not overwhelmed by the coronavirus are set to be welcomed when the bloc reopens after months of lockdown on July 1. The acceptable countries include China - but only if China allows European Union travelers to visit as well, the officials said. 

It's some kind of interesting karma, don't you think, after we shut down travel from Europe back in March?

What brought Walmart and the Mississippi Baptist Convention together? The Mississippi state flag, that's what. The retailer says it will no longer display it and that not doing so is "consistent with Walmart's position not to sell merchandise with the confederate flag," while the Baptists said

While some may see the current flag as a symbol of heritage, a significant portion of our state sees it as a relic of racism and a symbol of hatred. The racial overtones of the flag's appearance make this a moral issue. 

And Vice President and vote-by-mail fraudster Mike Pence, at the first White House Coronavirus Task Force press conference in a nearly two months, said that holding rallies in the middle of a pandemic, and not wearing masks when you do that, is freedom of speech and peaceable assemblage and oh, by the way, there's an election coming up. This is one of those cases where the last should be first, I think.

On to some good news:

• A 90-year-old woman named Margaret Payne from Sutherland, Scotland, climbed 2,398 feet - the height of Suilven mountain, which she climbed as a child - by walking up her stairs 282 times. Over the 73 days it took her to complete the climb, she raised $521,000 for the National Health Service.
• Ashanti Palmer, who was the valedictorian of her class, graduated this year having had perfect attendance forever. Seriously, she never missed a day of school from pre-K through 12th grade. She figured it out in 10th grade that she hadn't missed a single day, and then worked to keep her streak alive.  Headed to RPI to study biomedical engineering and medicine, she's gotten more than $430,000 in scholarships to pay for college.
• In an amazing case of generosity and DNA, Terri Herrington donated one of her kidneys to a man who had received Herrington's husband's pancreas and kidney 16 years earlier. Their story is heartwarming, for sure. 
• Mary Trump, niece of the president, might be allowed to publish her book after all. Seems her father, Robert, tried to block it, but Judge Peter J. Kelly said he had no jurisdiction over the family feud. Her father's lawyer has said he'll shop around for a different court to file a new lawsuit. The book, if you want to put it on your to-read list in the event Ms. Trump is successful in fighting off her father, is 'Too Much and Never Enough.'

TGIF, everyone. 

Wondering on Wednesday (v206)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

What's got me wondering tonight? Here's just a sampling.

Do you wonder if Rand Paul and Tucker Carlson got together and decided to tag-team Dr. Fauci, or was it an incredible coinkydink that they both hit out within such a short period of time? Honestly, at any moment I half expected either one of them to shout "You're not the boss of me!" in Fauci's direction, Carlson in particular. 

Now, I realize that things have changed over the course of the pandemic, and what's happening on the ground now is not the same was was happening on the ground back in January; heck, I'd have to wonder about anyone who didn't realize that. The data have changed, the projections have changed, the guidance - and guidelines - have changed, and they'll likely continue to do so. But for Carlson to say that Fauci stuff was 'buffoon-level' was, well, pretty ridiculous, even for someone on Fox. Can't wait to see how the rest of this plays out, and how the other 'buffoon-level' talking heads handle it. 

Speaking of Fox News, I see they've taken Tara Reade off their banner, after she was right there, front and center, for a long time. I wonder why they've moved on?  If you're wondering who or what replaced her, have no fear - I've got you covered.  Here's the old banner, and the new.

What else is going on? 

I wonder if the folks who have been so upset about criminals being released from prison because of the coronavirus  threat are upset about Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and Michael Avenatti being released for that reason? And, if there is outrage, will those three get the same share of it? 

I listened to a little bit of the Supreme Court hearing on citizen Donald Trump's taxes. I was happy that there were no random toilet-flushing noises when I was listening - and I still wonder whether the flushing that was heard  during one of the earlier virtual sessions was Brett Kavanaugh 'breaking the seal," as it were. I did get to hear Clarence Thomas ask a question, too; I wonder if he likes the cases, or if he likes the format? Thomas, you may know, once went 10 years, three years, and one year without asking any questions from the bench. 

And now, let's close it out with some good news, shall we? Here are two wonderful stories for you.

• A while back - in March, actually - a Kansas farmer sent an N-95 mask to my Sonofa Gov, Andrew Cuomo, with a note asking the gov to make sure the mask got to a doctor or nurse working to treat COVID-19 patients. Cuomo told the story at one of his daily press briefings. As often happens with stories like this, things snowballed, the farmer got some unwanted fame, and ended up having a dream of his lifetime come true. I won't spoil it for you, but it's a good one.   

• We've seen incredible pictures of how the environment is healing as people around the world shelter in place, factories stop kicking up tons of pollution, airlines limit flights, and so on. An Australian diving tour company, normally busy with tourists, has instead been busy planting coral on the Great Barrier Reef since their country shut down tourist activity. 

And let's wonder what else people will be inspired to do, to try, to give to others, as we continue down this crazy road. 

What are you wondering about?

Wondering on Wednesday (v204)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Let's get right to the wondering, shall we, first off, on those stimulus checks.

• What, I wonder, other than megalomania, narcissism, delusions of grandeur, would compel a president to put his name on checks that are returning our own money to us as part of one of the coronavirus pandemic stimulus packages? Whether he suggested it himself, or if someone else suggested it, a reasonable president would say that it was a bunch of hooey and turn down the offer.  Now, we know that the same guy who's doing this is the one who demanded - or allowed - his name to be the same size as the name of our country on the sign on the new embassy in Jerusalem, so I'm guessing that he is likely the driver behind this effort. Either way, no need to wonder - it's ridiculous.

• Staying on the stimulus, there are multiple memes floating around wondering if #NeverTrumpers like me are going to refuse the stimulus checks because "they're from Trump" - which of course, they're not - as noted above, it's our money. Because that's where the government gets money -- from us. But now I have to wonder, will the Trumpeters keep the check, you know, frame it or something, like businesses do with their first dollar? 

• And lastly, on this topic, I wondered out loud on social media whether anyone had gotten their check yet.  After a few hours, it's almost dead even: 50.8% of respondents had gotten their checks, 49.2% had not (including my husband and me). Two people tried unsuccessfully to check the status of theirs on the new IRS website; one person got less than expected, for as yet unknown reasons; one changed banks last year and so will have to wait for the paper check - and one person said the check would be returned to the government. 

Let's see, what else...  Anyone wondering who will be the next person to endorse Papa Joe Biden, now that That Guy from Vermont and Barack and Elizabeth have come around? Are there any other endorsements still out there that will be meaningful, or any that might be unexpected? I'm not thinking of anyone off the top of my head, but let me know if you've got any ideas.

If you're wondering, I'm not going to go there on the whole question of 'authority' and 'permission' and whatever on earth we've been hearing about who can do what to whom when it comes to reopening America. I'll save that for later. 

I will wonder, though, whether you think it's true that Mitch McConnell (R-White House) has been suggesting older conservative judges consider retiring, so that more slots can be filled by, you know, all those Gen Y kids selected by the good folks at the Heritage Foundation, on the chance that either he or the president doesn't win reelection. I know that's month-old news, but I didn't catch it earlier. Thoughts?

And now, for the good news. I don't really wonder all that much about this stuff, other than to think what will happen when we're back to (ab)normal? Will the good stuff continue? Will people keep talking about it? Or will it fall by the wayside?

This story is about a wonderful kid, a friend of my nephew's, who passed away a few days ago. We know that it's not possible to have 'normal' funerals, if that's the right word, where people gather and share stories and hug and cry on each other's shoulders and what not. But all is not lost, as his school and his friends showed - all is not lost.

And this one's from a sibling's adopted hometown, where the teachers did the parade thing, driving by every student's house.  Said sibling was, for a time, stuck in the parade, which made it more entertaining. 

And finally, if you're a movie fan or a Tom Hanks fan, you'll remember the piano dance scene from the movie 'Big'. Well, here's a much more complicated example, with four players, from a couple of years ago. So no, it's not specifically from this age of social distancing, but it sure did put a smile on our faces!

Got a good news story to share? Drop a note in the comments! And if you're willing to share your go-to hand lotion, let me know!

Wondering on Wednesday (v203)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's going on in wonder-land today? 

Let's take a look, starting in Colorado, where it seems the governor and the state's congressional delegation has been working furiously to get much needed ventilators to help patients with COVID-19 - for weeks. But when they finally got 100 of them, it seems it had nothing to do with anyone other than the state's Republican senator.  Here's the story from Democrat Rep. Diana DeGette, who was not impressed. 

Governor Polis and our Congressional delegation have been working to get more ventilators to Colorado for weeks. In fact, Colorado was set to receive 500 ventilators until FEMA blocked the shipment. Now, President Trump says we will get 100 as a courtesy to Senator Gardner. That means, because the president is playing politics with public health, we're still 400 ventilators short from what we should have received. His mismanagement of this crisis is costing lives and livelihoods.

The governor's press secretary, Conor Cahill, had to take a more conciliatory approach, having seen from the experience of other governors.

The Governor welcomes every piece of equipment that will help save lives in Colorado. He is committed to continuing to work with the federal government, other states, and the private sector to acquire the necessary equipment needed to protect the lives of Coloradans.

So, what's the wondering here? Basically, when will everyone just get the supplies they need, without there being any involvement of the president or anyone outside the distribution wing of the task force? And when will Trump stop requiring people to kiss his ring in order to get what they need for their residents?

In a similar vein, we've got a governor telling a mayor in his state that she has to open the tourist beaches in her city, much to the mayor's dismay. Yep - while there's a state-wide shelter-in-place order for Georgia, Tybee Island is supposed to have their beaches open. Which if you think about it, makes no sense whatsoever, as we saw in Florida and Texas. And again, there's wondering about why there isn't better coordination of these things, and why local officials cannot do what they need to do to protect their residents?

That's what's happening where I live. The state has social-distancing orders in place, supposedly with fines although I'm not sure any have been handed out. But our County Executive, with the support of the mayor of our area's largest city, has added another layer, calling on people to stay at home except on designated days based on whether they were born in an odd or even year. I think it's just fine, and I don't know that I'd want my Sonofa Gov to come in and tell us that we can't do what we need to do here for our own safety. And I'm glad I don't have to wonder what would happen if he did issue a conflicting and less-safe order.

And, of course, the big non-coronavirus news today? That Guy from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has dropped out of the presidential race. There'll be a lot more about that in other posts, but for now, we have to wonder, how well can Papa Joe Biden corral the Sanders fans, and how much of TGFV's message will be adopted by the Democratic Party when they convene in August?

Now -- on to the good news, the cool stuff that's happening around the world as everyone, and everything, adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• I wonder what it must have felt like for this man, running a marathon on his balcony? It took nearly seven hours, with encouragement, water and M&Ms from his girlfriend, and "confusion" from onlookers. 

• The only thing I wonder about this couple, from Naples, is how anyone can thank them enough? Looking back into history, they put in place a century's old idea: they lower a basket from their balcony, with a note attached. I won't spoil it for you, but the reaction is heartwarming. 

• And for those who are missing baseball, and one of its most endearing traditions - the 7th inning stretch, there's this 7th Inning Stretch to keep you company. Josh Kantor, the organist for the Boston Red Sox, streams 30 minutes of requests and stories and live chat and charity every day. Fun stuff for a Sox fan like me, and fun in general if you're missing the sound of organ music. I wonder if other organists are tuning in to his show...

• And finally, even Mother Nature is getting in the swing of things. It seems that, with China's manufacturing shut down for weeks, the air has cleared to such an extent that, for the first time in decades, folks can actually see the Himalayas, even from 125 miles away. For some, it's the first time they've been able to see them - ever.  My wondering here? How long will it last, can it last, before we go back to what we were. 

And finally tonight, another one that's sort of close to my heart - we're cat owners, or I guess cat caretakers would be more appropriate. So when I saw a tweet from someone about a friend losing, and then finding his cat, I was thrilled - and then I laughed and laughed. 

I have to wonder, first of all, how he found the missing cat, and second of all,  I wonder how long it'll take for him to find the owner of the one that's not his, once he figures which one is his?

What's got you wondering tonight? 

Wondering on Wednesday (v202)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's on my mind?  Well, for starters,why do technical difficulties always hit when I'm trying to get out a day-specific post? You know, like my Wondering on Wednesday posts? 

Moving on from whining to more important wondering, let's go to Florida, where it seems Gov. Ron DeSantis has had a change of heart and instead of just requiring people from other states to quarantine for 14 days (or the duration of their trip, if shorter),he's finally issued a state-wide stay at home order. And, it seems, he might be at loggerheads with his good buddy the president about the fate of the two cruise ships currently begging to be allowed to dock in Broward County. 

While Trump recently said he'd be talking to DeSantis about the ships, focusing as he is on the humanity of it all, DeSantis doesn't want them to come in (emphasis added).

I obviously am not in control of the port. that's run by the counties in southern Florida, in this case Broward County. I know they're in consultation with the cruise ships. Clearly we're going to be willing to accept any Floridians on board.

And that made me wonder what the Gov thinks should happen to non-Floridian Americans on those cruise ships? I mean, if you're from Missouri, or Iowa, or Minnesota or Wisconsin or Utah or Colorado or North Dakota or West Virginia or Ohio or Kansas or Arkansas or Oklahoma, how are you supposed to get home, if you can't first get off the darn boat?

Staying with Gov. DeSantis for a moment longer, his executive order identifies religious services as an 'essential activity' and therefore excepted from the stay at home requirement, even though we've seen from around the world and around the country that attending religious activities can be a very risky proposition for many people. I have to wonder about DeSantis' decision, and similar decisions in other states, and I'm hopeful that people will stay safe.

Now - let's get to the fun stuff, shall we? The things about which I can only wonder, is there no limit to our creativity, to our desire to make the best of a bad situation?

• Here's a shout-out to folks in Buffalo, NY, who've got a lot of fun quarantine activities going on. There are family porch portraits and there's Yoga Steve and there's the neighborhood dance party
• I mentioned last week that a teacher had made signs for her students, and other teachers are coming up with ways to stay connected with their students. Yesterday here in Onondaga County, teachers from a local elementary school held a parade (motorcade?) through the neighborhoods where their students live.
• This family, from Kent (UK) performed a parody of One Day More, one of the songs from Les Mis, and it's priceless!
• Chalk art! Remember that from when you were a kid?  Here's a story about the beautiful and hopeful art that folks are making out in Southern California.
• And one more dance party, because this grandfather/granddaughter thing is just so darn cute. 

I wonder, what's happening your neck of the woods? Got any suggestions on how to make the best of social distancing? Drop a note in the comments!

Wondering on Wednesday (v201)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Let's dive in and get some wonderful-filment, shall we? 

I can't help wondering what the president is really going to do if a governor "doesn't treat him well" but at the same time, comes knocking for federal help. Do you think Trump will get away with not helping? Do you think we're that partisan, or have we come together with love for each other as True Patriots and Warriors against this, horrible, SAD, invisible ENEMY? He's the guy, remember, who during that same Fox Town Hall meeting, shared a debunked conspiracy theory about my Sonofa Gov, Andrew Cuomo, and some mysterious 15,000 or 16,000 ventilators he should have bought several years ago.  I wonder, does Trump really even knows what 'nice' is?

Speaking of the Sonofa Gov, it seems his response to the COVID-19 outbreak here in the Empire State is drawing raves not just from regular folk, his peers, and many pundits. Nope - there's a whole nother thing going on: the #cuomocrush - seriously! I'm not really wondering why this is happening, just that it's covering such a broad demographic. Take a look. 

How could I not fall in love with him? He doesn’t use notes or screens, he’s smart, his voice is strong,” said (one woman)... I’m almost 85 and finally think I know about men. He’s a keeper.”

In addition to that, we've got the Brothers Cuomo comedy show, which we got a peek at earlier when the Gov appeared on his brother's CNN show for the second time in a few days.  

Throughout the roughly 20-minute interview, the brothers struck a balance between weighty and sometimes grim conversation about the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the nation, with New York particularly hard hit, and keeping each other’s egos in check with teasing, slinging mock insults in a practiced manner befitting two guys who have spent decades honing their skills.

Here's my favorite comment from the article, which made me chuckle, not wonder.

After the coronavirus thing is over, can we please make @ChrisCuomo & @NYGovCuomo a nightly TV show?” one person tweeted. “The Cuomo Comedy Hour would be like an Italian family reunion rap battle. 

Other wonder-full things?  As we wait for a vote in the Senate on the stimulus package (there'll be plenty of time to wonder about that later), here's a scattering of good things that are happening, all over the place, during this time of social distancing and non-gathering.

• The National Cowboy Museum put the head of security in charge of social media, and it's one of the nicest things you'll read this week, I kid you not. He's engaging, he's sweet, and he's learning on the fly how to "engage" with his audience. 
• Animals in shelters across the country are being placed with foster families "in droves" even as shelters are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Right here in my neck of the woods, a small business is now 3D printing face shields for health care workers - and have recruited thousands of others to do the same. 
• A Lodi, WI kindergarten teacher delivered hand-painted signs to her students, telling them she missed them, since they didn't have time to say goodbye before schools were closed due to the virus. 
• Neighborhoods are stepping up to entertain children who are getting their daily exercise; many are holding bear hunts. 

There are tons more of these good news stories -- I wonder if you can share some?

And finally, I'll leave you today with the Rotterdam Philharmonic's socially distanced version of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. If you ever wondered if there's any benefit to that 'thinking outside the box' thing, here's proof that it sometimes works.