IF YOU ARE A TOP STUDENT AND WANT TO GET ADMITTED TO THE BEST SCHOOLS...

President Joe Biden on Friday had a 90-minute audience with Pope Francis, the first time in more than half a century a U.S. president did so at the Vatican.  Biden is a devoted man who on his wrist wears son Beau's rosary beads.  But there is that matter of abortion, and conservative American bishops don't want him to receive communion.  Well, Saturday night, with the Pope's blessing, he and wife Jill did so in Rome.  Read this article for the details, for a good Catholic undergoes this service, the one with the bread and wine, nearly half the time they attend mass.

I also found this photo of Biden meeting with Pope Benedict...a decade ago.  Joe certainly looked older then.

I was scanning through my email this morning and noticed this Quora entry:

Should I even apply to Stanford? I have a 3.5UW and 4.5W GPA, 1300 SAT, and will have taken 12 AP tests when I graduate. I have coded, organized, and currently publish on a web site dedicated to getting real news out there and eliminating bias.

Originally Answered: Should I even apply to Stanford?

I hate to burst your bubble, but Stanford’s swim coach probably won’t be interested in you unless you have senior national qualifying times, or are at least close. My daughter swam for Stanford, my son rowed for Stanford, and I am a college counselor, so this is pretty familiar territory. Without having your application supported enthusiastically by a coach, your odds are very, very slim. Stanford’s acceptance rate is less than 5%. I have worked with many amazing students who were rejected from Stanford with perfect grades, 8 or more perfect AP scores, and test scores in the 99th percentile. This year one of my students was accepted: 36 ACT, 4.8 GPA, 12 APs, summer math classes at Stanford, leadership out the wahzoo, etc. He got in, not because of those stats, but because he is insatiably curious and creative and enterprising and funny and absolutely delightful - and his application essays conveyed all of those traits. Stanford looks for a different type of character than a lot of the other ultra-prestigious schools. My advice is to keep on doing what you love to do and get good at it. You’ll find the right school; it might not be Stanford, but if you keep on pursuing your interests, they will take you where you need to be.

So I further investigated.  There are several organizations that keep track of college acceptance data.  For the past few years, I've noticed that Stanford was the hardest to gain admittance, with Harvard #2.  However, here is something from BEST COLLEGES that shows the following, with the percentage indicating acceptance rate:

                                                    SAT Mid Range

• #1    Columbia      3.9%   1510-1560
• #2    Stanford       3.9%   1470-1570
• #3    Harvard        4.0%   1470-1570
• #4    MIT               4.1%    1510-1580
• #5    Princeton     4.4%   1450-1560
• #6    Yale              4.6%   1450-1560
• #7 to #9:  Brown, Duke Pennsylvania
• #10  Dartmouth   6.2%   1440-1560

Columbia had 60,551 applicants and admitted 2,358.  48% female, 50% male and 2% other.  Students of color:  44%.  Stanford had 55,471 applicants and admitted 2,190. 51% female, 49% male.  If you scored 1450, you were in the 96th percentile.  Here is an interesting source for this type of info.

CBS News, summarizing NICHE.COM, once known as College Prowler, on their annual hardest colleges to get into in the U.S.  For 2022:

#1    Stanford  4%: was identified as the No. 1 school for athletics and known for its psychology program.

#2      Harvard  5%:  good in math, psychology, biology and political science.

#3      Cal Tech  6%:  best college for physics and a mecca of budding engineers.

#4      Princeton  6%:  chemistry and public policy.

#5      MIT  7%:  computer science and math.

#6      Chicago  6%:  economics and computer science.

#7      Yale  6%:  history.

#8      Columbia  5%:  economics and english.  (Why with 5% it was not tied with Harvard is not explained.)

#9      Brown  7%:  english and global studies.

#10    Duke  8%:  athletics and public policy.

#15    Vanderbilt  9%:  education.

#20    Cornell  11%:  agricultural sciences.

#25    Williams  13%:  liberal arts.

#30    Air Force Academy  11%:  business...not good for parties.

#35    Carnegie Mellon  15%:  information technology.

#40    Cooper Union  15%:  art and architecture.

#45    Pitzer  14%:  ?

#50    Carleton 19%:  no application fee.

Interesting that NICHE.com's ranking in 2020 had Caltech at #1, with a 7% acceptance rate, graduating 92% of students, who got an initial starting salary of $54,500.  Stanford was #4, also with a 7% rate,  graduated 94% of students who entered as freshmen, and these students went on to earn an average starting salary of $70,400.  In 1958 I got into both, but selected Stanford because they offered a lot more in scholarship funds.

We all grew up with Halloween, and till today, I did not know how this all started.  From History.com:

• The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival in Ireland and Scotland not long after Jesus Christ of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts the evening of October 31.
• This day marked the harvest and beginning of the cold winter, when more people died.

• 
  Druids, or Celtic priests, then made future predictions.
• In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints Day, incorporating some of those Samhain traditions, and called All Hallows Eve, which later became Halloween.
• The Irish carved demonic faces out of turnips, and when they came to America used pumpkins to create jack-o'-lanterns.

• 
  In the U.S., colonial New England was rigid Protestant, so the state of Maryland started the tradition.  Certainly a lot pumpkins there, here with Pearl, in Maryland.
• Trick or treating began in Europe, but has now become an American tradition.  TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT FOR THIS EVENT.

• 

  DID YOU KNOW THAT 25% OF ALL CANDY SOLD IN THE U.S. IS PURCHASED FOR HALLOWEEN?  #1 is Reese's Cups, followed by Skittles and M&Ms. We spend $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the second largest commercial holiday after Christmas...which is something like  more than $700 billion!!

Mexico celebrates Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, on November 1 and 2.  Appropriately enough, there is a baking tradition that serves these sweet breads sprinkled with sugar and sesame seeds.

I'm showing this again, for I just found some new data about Halloween and pet costumes.  In 2019 Americans spent $490 million for them, double the expenditure of 2010.

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55-YEAR OLD YAMAZAKI WHISKY TASTING

The past couple of months have been exhilarating for really old whiskys.  Macallan announced their 71-year old and Glenlivet an 80-year old (right).  Now comes a Yamazaki 55-year old, a bottle which was found and auctioned for $795,000.  So Suntory decided to create a new 55-year old by blending three spirits from the 1960's.

Gold today costs $1807/ounce.  That Yamazaki was worth $31,000 per ounce.  This is getting absurd, but a 5-carat diamond, which weighs one gram, costs between $36,000 and $395,000.  This calculates into a range of $1272 to $14000/ounce.  So one ounce of that Yamazaki was more than double the cost of an equal weight of that more expensive diamond.

If you have nothing to do tonight, why not taste that new composite?  Watch a Hawaii News Now video on where and how to do this in Honolulu.  Bar Maze can be found in The Collection, a Kakaako condo across the street from SALT, and will provide the ultimate converse to Guy Hagi's cheap eats.  For only $25,000 you can taste an ounce of 55 year old Yamazaki.  25 customers will thus pay $625,000 for a $60,000 bottle.  This tasting will include a $125 omakase meal and other vintages of Yamazakis.  Also, $5000/person will go to the Hawaii Community Foundation and Aloha United Way.

To begin, only 100 bottles were filled, blending three Yamazakis from 1960, 1961 and 1964.  Cost?  As I noted above, $60,000 each.  A crystal bottle in mizunara wood coated in Suruga lacquer, washi paper and a Kyo-kumihimo cord from Kyoto, where Yamazaki is based.

The very first official tasting occurred last month in New York City.  This elixir was said to burst with aromas of mango and sandalwood, giving way to wet pine.  This only one dram (one-eighth of an ounce) potion was poured into a burgundy wine glass, for you nosing is most of the fun in this sort of experience.  The initial actual taste is said to be a shock, for the rum-like sweetness, transitions to a mildly bitter nuttiness with hints of smoked wood.  The sip dances with a standing ovation, like any statement whiskey.  Note that whisky can be spelled either way, depending on the country.

Before you actually head for Bar Maze at 604 Ala Moana Boulevard, best to call.  I'd indicate their phone number, but there is something mysterious about this bar restaurant, for I can't seem to find it.  Try RESY.

Finally, when is trick or treating in 2021?  Not tonight.  Always when night falls on October 31, which occurs on Sunday this year.  So to prepare you for tomorrow, here is a costume you can consider for your dog:

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A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TIK TOK

First, from the New York Times this morning:

With this kind of difference, you shake your head and wonder why Republicans and mothers for their 5-11 year old children are resisting vaccinations.  (Click on that graphic to read it.)  In short, regarding Republicans:

... the conservative movement for the last 50 years has been built largely around creating a “political identity emphasizing suspicion, hostility, and antipathy toward the government, particularly the social welfare state.” The right has tied its political fortunes to railing against, and eroding, collective government and civic responsibility. Forced to choose between saving lives and the paranoia that has helped their hold on their political power for decades, they have, once again, chosen paranoia.

Regarding children, sure, they are far less likely to die if they get COVID-19, but almost as much as adults, they do contract this ailment, and while their symptoms are less severe, if not asymptomatic, they still spread the disease to others.  But parents wonder why it took so long for the FDA to approve vaccinations for 5-11 year olds (they just approved it as I type this), and read about some fearsome heart muscle problem (which is rare) and things like sterility and such.  As one in three parents don't get their children vaccinated from the flu, a similar percentage seems inclined to decline COVID-19 vaccinations.

TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service started in 2017 by Chinese company ByteDance.  The video performance tends to be short, from 15 seconds to three minutes.  After you watch this supposedly top ten from TikTok, you've got to wonder like me why it is popular.  Maybe you need to be young to appreciate the attraction.

Facebook has nearly 3 billion active members.  You Tube has 2 billion monthly users.  TikTok, around 0.7 billion.  But depending on the metrics, TikTok might actually be more popular than You Tube.

Want to watch something in the top 500 on You Tube?  Click on this.  Can someone explain to me why Dictadura is #1, and by a wide margin?  But this list wildly changes depending on when you access it.   #500 exceeds a third of a billion.  I don't get it.

#1 TikTok influencer is Loren Gray with 53.6 pings.  Then going down the list of highest, at #73 is the Rock, Dwayne Johnson, with BTS at #80, Kevin Hart #87, Hailey Bieber (wife of Justin) #92 and Selena Gomez #100.  You say you never heard of Loren Gray?  Read this.  Maybe she is #1 because of an incident.

In 2020 President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the U.S.  Had to do with China stealing secrets and national security, but had mostly to do with showing how tough he was on China for his re-election.  TikTok was told to sell the platform to an American company, and Microsoft began negotiations.  A federal judge blocked this effort and President Joe Biden revoked the ban, and asked the Secretary of Commerce to determine if this app threatened national security.

Chester Wisniewski of Sophos perhaps said it right:

TikTok doesn't pose any more risk to a user than any other social media sharing application. That isn't to say that there isn't risk, but it's not really different from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Facebook of course has also recently come under fire for their policies.  Nothing to do with China and national security, but some worry about their site being a threat to democracy.

But going back to TikTok, it does collect all kinds of information like age, username, gender, e-mail address and like, which all go back to China.  Same for Facebook, which keeps this info for their use.  But somehow, because TikTok is linked to China, there is fear that they are spying on us.

TikTok allows you to advertise yourself or your product.  No question that TikTok is targeting audiences to spur interest.  Yet, as has been the case in China where the youth of the country are admonished for spending too much time on these social media searches, TikTok has a conscience by reminding viewers who spend too much time on this site to go to sleep.

But keep in mind that with a clientele approaching 700 million, with 12 million new videos to screen daily, it is impossible to keep a clean slate.  What do you do about...

... wide variety of “kinks” emerging on TikTok (usually with age-appropriate disclaimers). Their takes aren’t purely sexual: Kinksters often discuss healthy communication while exploring sexuality with partners. Some find themselves quickly in strange territory, as user @mackickinback did when her kink education videos were soon overshadowed by videos in which she wished her followers “good night” in creative and comforting ways, which quickly grew her following to over a million (literally) overnight.

But all is not innocence.  Further, like Facebook:

Given TikTok’s ability to build communities, it’s possible that it could become a powerful platform for organizing efforts. This potential could have ramifications for political protest . . . or it could create an economic herding effect similar to the way the WallStreetBets subreddit has used its sheer strength in numbers to reshape the stock market. During the pandemic, a number of “zillennial” investors emerged on the platform, with a keen interest in finances and day trading.

Then there is WeChat, a Chinese instant messaging and mobile payment app with a billion monthly users.  India has banned it, and so did Trump.  But that is a topic for another day.

You wonder about the timing, but speaking of Facebook, they just created a holding company called Meta.  Remember at one time when Google was getting too big, thus incurring government snooping?  Six years ago they just said Alphabet was now their shepherd, which today must run more than a dozen companies, one being Google.  Well, just last week the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for using anticompetitive tactics to preserve a monopoly.  Thus, Facebook is buying time.

But about Meta, Facebook remains Facebook, as do Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.  Meta merely sits above all of them, with a goal to begin to dominate the metaverse, the next digital frontier.  A metaverse unites the online, virtual and augmented worlds to make communications seamless.

That moment of peace will help you into your weekend:

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A FEW THINGS FROM OZY

    From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

        DAY   USA  WORLD       Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9    1093     4732         1185        246       82

July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30      3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14      4142    15512        1151       189     712              

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

Mar     2        1989      9490        1726       110      194

April   6          906     11787         4211       631       37

May    4         853     13667         3025     3786       59 

June    1         287    10637        2346      3205       95

 July   7          251      8440        1595        817      411

Aug    4          656    10120        1118        532      423 

Sept   1        1480    10470          703        505      235

          8        1700      9836          250        339      253

        14        1934      9001          709        281      300

        22        2228      9326          839        279      124

        29        2190      8859          643        309      108 

Oct    6        2102       8255         543        315        59

        12        1819       7544         201        249        37

        19        2005       7528         401        160        80 

        26        1451       7535         409        584        53

        27        1594       8671         433        734        62

Summary:

• Looks like the decline of COVID-19 new deaths in the U.S is finally happening.
• Something troublesome about the world, though.
• I glanced at the world new deaths/day graph over time and I can discern a new increase.
• Where are they coming from?
• The USA still leads with 1594 new deaths, followed by Russia #2 1123, India #3 734 and Ukraine #4 692.  Romania had 508 and Bulgaria 154, so those former Soviet countries appear to mistrust their government and not getting vaccinated.
• Are there some clues from new cases?  The USA led with 78,932, UK #2 43,941, Russia #3 36,582, Turkey #4 26,896, Germany #5 26,099 and Ukraine #6 22,574.  Add Romania 14,950, Poland 8,365, Serbia 6948, Czechia 6288, Bulgaria 5643, Slovakia 4746 Croatia 4571, Georgia 4337, Lithuania 3634, Latvia 3206 and Slovenia 3181...and yes, there is a pattern forming.
• But Thailand had 8542 new cases, Malaysia 6146, Singapore 5324, Vietnam 4411 and Philippines 3166...high, but not as bad.
• California had 5666 new cases, Michigan 4893 Texas 4557, Pennsylvania 4178 and New York 4095, Ohio 3839 and Colorado 3385.  Noticed those packed college football games with 100,000 spectators and no masks every Saturday.  Hawaii finally allowed 1000 fans this past weekend and we had 184 new cases yesterday.  The U.S. Veterans Affairs had 1068 new cases with 31 new deaths yesterday.
• Japan only had 344 new cases, China 59 and Taiwan 8.

Two days ago I spoofed the matter of global warming with JOE MANCHIN AND THE BUTTERFLY.  

• President Joe Biden today proudly announced a framework for agreement on the budget bills.  What does that mean?  
• 
  Know what kicking the can down the road means?  
• A framework means nothing will get voted on anytime soon.  Not today, not tomorrow and maybe not even next week.  
• So can Biden go to Glasgow and smugly announce to the world that he is personally proclaiming his support for COP26 and the negotiations?  Of course.  

• 
  Can he say that  the USA will lead the world to remediate warming?  Well, not really, for Senator Manchin managed to save his coal industry by insisting that coal is still okay.  
• Biden can mutter, but we will be increasing incentives for clean energy.  That's about all. 
• Nothing of any relevance will be settled in Glasgow.

• 
  No announcement yet about COP28.
• What about COP27?  That will occur next year in Egypt.

A few things from OZY:

Easy Sleep Remedies

Regular exercise contributes to sound sleep, and there are particular foods that can help too, like turkey, white rice and chamomile tea. Demand for prescription sleep aids ticked up early in the pandemic, but a natural sleep supplement like melatonin is worth a try. Weighted blankets that swaddle adults like babies have become popular, or consider a hops- or lavender-scented pillow or a temperature-controlled mattress. Catching up with Bridgerton or The Daily Show in bed, however, is not a great idea. Instead, tune into your favorite frequency — white, pink or brown noise — to be lulled to sleep. Need more help? You may have to wait a while to book a sleep retreat, but just dreaming of faraway locales could settle your mind enough for a good night’s rest.

(If you clicked on those noises, you would have found that brown has the lowest frequency and pink the highest.)

Real-Life Dreamscapes

Artist Salvador Dalí certainly had some unusual dreams. The surrealist called his art “hand-painted dream photographs,” and there’s no better example than his iconicPersistence of Memory. The painting depicts melting clocks and insect-infested watches in a barren landscape set against a placid sea and rocky mountainous cliff. In the center is an exaggerated caricature of a homunculus-like figure with a furrowed brow, saddled with a melting clock. Considered a commentary on the modern obsession with time — , and the anxiety that brings — , the work is proof that the dream state can take you places beyond real life.

The Danger of Desire

Cases of ‘flesh-eating’ STI increase in the UK

A flesh-eating sexually transmitted infection that causes "beefy red" ulcers is on the rise in the United Kingdom. According to the CDC, the STI donovanosis, most common in parts of India, Papua New Guinea, central Australia, the Carribean and southern Africa, has shown a slight uptick in cases in the U.K. since 2016. Though donovanosis is still very rare in the U.S., the rise in infections is drawing new attention, with STIs often going undiagnosed and underreported. Doctors urge caution — and condoms — as other STIs are also on the rise in the United States. (Source: Independent, Forbes)  That graphic above?  

I originally had a frightening photo, but took it out for fear of getting banned by Google.  Want to see them?  Click here. 

Bezos Announces ‘Space Business Park’

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin plans to launch a commercial space station

Partnering with Sierra Space and Boeing, Blue Origin is working to bring business to the final frontier. By the end of the decade, Bezos plans to create a “mixed-use business park” within the space station with a 10-person capacity. The company hopes the station, called Orbital Reef, will host endeavors like microgravity filmmaking, research or simply function as a space hotel for those who fancy a break from our little blue dot. While plans for the 32,000-square-foot station may seem ambitious, it’s unlikely Blue Origin will find itself strapped for cash, as Bezos has committed to spending $1 billion a year on Blue Origin ventures. (Source: BBC)

Real, Good News

Billionaires combine efforts to combat disinformation

Billionaires Reid Hoffman, Ken and Jen Duda, Incite Ventures and George Soros have announced they will fund a new media company, Good Information Inc., aimed at tackling disinformation.  The company will be led by former Democratic strategist, Tara McGowan, who previously ran the progressive non-profit, ACRONYM.  This follows a pattern of billionaires investing heavily in combatting disinformation. In 2017, Former Microsoft CEO, founded USAFacts, a non-profit designed to make accurate data more accessible. (Sources: Axios, Forbes)

What is OZY?  From Wikipedia:

• An American media and entertainment company founded by members of minority groups was launched in 2013, headquartered in Mountain View, California.
• Anti-conservative, or a left-wing organization, called a neoliberal nightmare by Rolling Stone.
• They suffered a scandal on October 1 of this year and announced they would cease operations.
• However, on October 4, they returned to life.
• All the above news items are recent.

WE ❤️ OZY!

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