THE PANDEMIC: Look for the Silver Lining

From Worldometer,  COVID-19 new deaths:

           DAY USA   WORLD   Brazil   India   South Africa

June      9     1093    4732         1185      246         82

July       1       676    4857        1057      438         92
             2       687    5155         1277      377         95
             3       616    5170         1264      444       108
             4       254    4494         1111       610         74
             5       251    3572          535       421       173
             6       378    3573          656       474       111
             7       993    5504        1312       479       192
             8       890    5507        1187       491       100
             9       960    5411        1199       479       118
           10       849    5416        1270       521       140
           11       731    4995          968       543       111
           12       380    4118          659       500       108
           13       465    3729          770       540         93
           14       935    5414        1341       586       174
           15     1001    5760        1261       614       107
           16       963    5742        1299       680       216
           17       946    5559        1100       676       135

Summary:

• The World seems to have stabilized at a high rate of new deaths.
• The USA had its highest new cases figure ever, now at 74,987.
• From ABC News/Washington Post:
• Trump keeps telling his viewing audience that all is well and the pandemic is nearing an end.  Can't believe the majority of Americans actually thought he was a doing a good job controlling this coronavirus as recently as May.  That today 38% still approve of his handling the outbreak is beyond belief.

• But all of that has to do with politics and his die-hard followers:

• Worry also is higher among Hispanics (78%) and African-Americans (74%), compared with 61% among whites.

Oh, well, this is Saturday, so let us instead of continuing our anguish,  lean in the direction of how we all are truly blessed compared to much of the world.  I just watched Judy Garland sing Look for the Silver Lining in Till the Clouds Roll By, which inspired me to write this blog today.  

I've been wanting to see Jojo Rabbit since it opened last year.  Went to Amazon and saw that it would cost me $6.  However, the 15 Cragiside video theater just showed it, and I watched how they went to Amazon and paid $6.  Best film I've seen this year!

Rotten Tomatoes reviewers gave it an 80% rating, with audiences at 94%.  The viewers were right.

At the beginning, there were links with:

• The Beatles, whose screaming crowds looked like the programmed audience for Hitler speeches.
• Donald Trump...in a way I don't remember, but who would care anyway.

• Play it Again Sam, a Woody Allen spoof on Casablanca, where Adolf Hitler substituted for Humphrey Bogart, you know, like Hobbes in Calvin' mind.

Taika Waititi did everything.  He wrote, directed, and also played the Hitler (yes, that's also him above) role.  Scarlett Johansson was again memorable, reminiscent of Lost in Translation, where she did nothing but look good.  Sam Rockwell was a kooky hero, more than once.  He deserves some kind of award for this performance.

You'll hear more from Waititi.  Already won an Oscar.  He is a New Zealander who is Maori-Jewish.

Said one reviewer:

A pointless Hitler-spoofy YA adventure with a 12A certificate, obtusely accentuating little-kid cuteness and optimism amid the quaintly imagined non-horror.

By the way, have you seen any of those hilarious Hitler parodies?  You must!

Then too:

It's a fabulous satire on World War II that moves me when it condemns hatred and dehumanization in times of belligerence to celebrate love, friendship, and rediscovery.

And:

Surprisingly good. Especially after considering that I'd given up on Holocaust & WWII theme and decided not to watch any movie about them.

There is something about the last one that reflected my feelings.  There was sarcasm, reversals, melancholy, guilt, and a lot more that made the experience truly meaningful.

With that lengthy aside, I return to the purpose of this posting today.  Sure, the consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic are horrible, with too many killed, and many more to come.  Toss in the economic, mental and variety of other downsides, and this will go down in history for most as their worst year ever.  

But there have been upsides and even benefits:

• Donald Trump has been effectively wrecked.
• Traffic is reduced.
• Carbon dioxide emissions have dropped.

• Ban Ki Moon, former Secretary General of the UN writes that this crisis can bring the world together.  Clearly, he hasn't talked to Trump.

• The Christian Science Monitor suggests that this is an opportunity to change the world for the better.
• Families have gotten to know each other better...which certainly has downsides, too.

• The Economist reports on the prospects for more peace.
• The World will be better prepared for the next pandemic.

• We have a better appreciation for healthcare frontline workers.
• Also now see greater value in the outdoors.
• There seem to be more kind people and organizations in society.

I can actually go on with more, but let me turn to me, for my solution to the pandemic was to enjoy life.   I am now too a better person in several ways:

• While my knees are hardly perfect, morning therapy seems to have strengthened them.  Better yet, I learned to wiggle my toes in the process of one of the routines, strengthening them.  I feel a lot safer now when taking a shower, for your toes are extremely important for balance when washing your face and hair.
• As I haven't really tested a golf course, I've turned to our fitness facility and feel stronger.  I've learned that exercising for longevity is nothing like challenging yourself to build muscles or make long runs.  Did you know that people who do light exercises have a higher life expectancy than marathon runners?  More importantly, this hour or so period three times/week is not at all stressful.  18-holes are agonizing.  Plus, don't have to drive, put together my golf equipment with cart and umbrella, and regularly scratch my arm causing abrasions.

• I've shored up my apartment:

• Every so often, a mosquito somehow appeared and annoyed me for days.  I'll later have a posting on how to kill mosquitos, but I used Amazon to purchase two electronic traps.  So far, so good.
• Got a new printer, and am on the verge of replacing my 7-year old home computer.
• After a decade of wasting money, I finally learned to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Rotten Tomatoes ratings also helped me select the best.

• Continued to eat well.  

• Amazingly enough, flooded with all the food, I've been able to maintain a Body Mass Index in the high normal range.  
• I'm preparing a posting reporting on a  July Scientific American article reinforcing my contention that fat people live longer than both normal and skinny ones.

• Yesterday's paper again reported that moderate drinking is good for you.  How much is moderate?  For a male/day:
• two bottles of beer (24 ounces)
• 10 ounces of wine (that is about 40% an entire bottle)
• 3 ounces of hard liquor.
• Interestingly enough, I am now drinking less than when we were eating in our dining room.

• However, with the good news comes the counterpoint as our local paper yesterday reported a Canadian study that showed even low risk alcohol consumption is harmful.

• I continue to be in a high state of euphoria.
• Still planning on a next trip.  But the next one is at least 16 months away:  my final global journey, to include the Dubai Expo, European river cruise, tulips of the Netherlands and a lot more.
• I thought and thought, and now have an actual strategy for the future of the Blue Revolution.

Perhaps the timing was right, for the 15 Craigside IT staff helped me link a new printer to my computer.  Something I'm particularly inept at.  This victory deserve a celebration.

Plus I saw my doctor this week, using remote electronics, and he reported that my blood numbers looked fabulous.  My cholesterol is at 170 and, most important of all, the sugar level, which has been close to being diabetic for at least a decade, significantly dropped.  The first time I've been down there in a quarter century.  My quarantine diet worked, whatever I did.

So I went to one of my very favorite scotches, Lagavulin.  It had enough for three or four servings, and maybe more.  I tried to pull off the cork, and it broke.  So after a lot of rescuing,  including filtering, I really had too much to drink, but finished it off anyway while watching Jo Jo Rabbit, perhaps explaining why I felt so good about that flick.

I'll end with a simple solution from a smart donkey:

Well, one more.  Are parakeet owners supposed to give it a bath?

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