LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN DEATH

I just noticed that many of my recent blogs dealth with death.  In fact, yesterday, readership jumped by a huge number with COVID-19 DEATHS.  I like life more than death.  So let me change courses and today focus on my humdrum life.  But first, on Thursdays and Fridays I show my Worldometer table on, yes, just for this moment, COVID-19 deaths.

    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   22      2228      9326          839        279     124

Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59

Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23

Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28

Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140

Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175

Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 

Apr     1          439      4056         290          52        12

May    5          225      2404         151            ?        64 

June    2         216      1413         130          10        31 

           9          195      1526         148          24        24 

         15          305      1382         289          11        26

         16          170      1380         199          14          8

         

Summary:

• Looks promising.
• The USA was only #2 in new cases yesterday with 76,023.  #1 was Germany with 89,151.  Taiwan #3 with 63,182.
• New deaths (per million population):
• #1  Brazil  199  (0.92)
• #2  USA   170  (0.51)
• #3  Taiwan  168  (7.0)
• #4  Canada  115  (3.0)
• #10  Finland  57  (10.2)
• I will add Japan because we have trip a planned to that country in October.
• New cases:  16,555 (131)
• New deaths:  28 (0.2)
• Hawaii
• New cases, about 1000 (714)
• New deaths, about 1 (0.7)
• Hawaii has removed all travel restrictions.  You don't need a negative test to come.
• Japan only allows limited tour groups to visit.
• Hawaii has 5.5 times more new cases/capita than Japan.
• Hawaii has 3.5 times more new deaths/capita than Japan.
• I predict that Japan will remove travel restrictions this summer, and maybe in July.

A bit of good news to preserve more lives is that soon anyone over 6 months of age will be able to vaccinated with either the Pfizer or Moderna inoculations.  In the U.S. nearly 20 million are under 5-year old.  However, many children will continue to be among the unprotected because of parental fears.  One survey found that only 20% will agree to have this youthful group vaccinated.

This will make my life even better, for the House January 6 Committee hearing yesterday revealed even more nails to someday seal Trump's coffin.  He knew what he was doing was illegal, and egoistically proceeded anyway, and got caught.  Perhaps this developing revelation of what is looming as a serious coup attempt will persuade Mike Pence to personally testify.  The next two hearings will occur next Tuesday (June 21) and Thursday (June 23) at 1 PM EDT.

Okay, so what do I do with my life?  I don't go out much, spending my time Saving Humanity and Planet Earth,  exercising, eating/drinking, and watching television.  America's Got Talent began telecasting Season 17 a couple of weeks ago.  Hard to believe this all began in 2006 and is nearing 400 episodes.

This weekend featured three worthy performances:

• Nate and Gabriel Brown are brothers who are both autistic.  Turns out that if one twin has it, 90% of the time so does the other.  They are not twins, but the odds are higher in siblings than normal families.  Watch their impressions.

• 
  13-year old Sarah James of Poland got Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer singing Lovely by Billie Eilish.  Turns out Simon has Polish roots, and so has Howie Mandel.  Asked why she came so far to participate, Sarah said:   “When I was a kid, I was always watching the videos on YouTube of the show, and I was so amazed by that. And they said that in America, everything is coming true. The dreams are coming true. So I check if that’s true.”  She will be a star.
• The surprise of the night was 10-year old Harper.  She made it to the next round.

The previous week had two especially memorable performances.  Metaphysics made a presentation that will blow your mind.  Would not be surprised if they won the competition, for they can be amazingly creative, changing the world of entertainment.

Another presentation was kind of a shock.  During breaks, AGT just passes the mike around in the audience and people karaoke-sing.  Most of them are well, you can imagine.  However, one 11-year old was so good, they asked her to come to the stage and perform.  Madison Taylor Baez sang Amazing Grace...and got a Golden Buzzer.  Never happened before. You just got to click on that.  Never bothered to audition, but at the age of 9 sung the National Anthem at Dodgers Stadium.  America's Got Talent runs on Tuesday nights.

One final bit of good news, for some.  How many remember that President Joe Biden signed the legislation that made Juneteenth, the 19th of June, a national holiday?  As this year that date falls on a Sunday, this coming Monday will be a holiday.  Except only 17 states will consider this as a legal holiday.  Your legislature needs to act for Juneteenth to become a state holiday.  One reason this won't universally happen is explained by Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco of Connecticut, who indicated that the state already had 15 vacation days, 15 sick days, three personal days and 13 holidays.  An employee can get 46 paid days off/year.

Finally, 15 Craigside, where I live, is, like most seniors' communities, faced with a COVID-19 problem, generally transmitted by the staff to us residents.  Worse, we are so short of workers that those asymptomatic but needed are encouraged to work.  As such, we usually eat in our apartment, with takeout to be free from tomorrow.  My TV-watching has been accompanied by assorted beverages, one drink particularly for the Belmont Stakes, and Korean Soju for the House hearing, but only because we were having Kalbi.  Also, Chazuke, Sashimi and Tri-tip. 

Tonight, my monthly luau, so I'll need to get some poke and squid luau to improve what 15 Craigside provides.

-