SIGMUND FREUD VERSUS C.S. LEWIS: IS THERE A GOD?

Freud's Last Session, is a 2009 play by Mark St. Germain, which appeared Off Broadway, and with Martin Rayner (left) as Sigmund Freud and Mark Dold as C.S. Lewis, cost from $65-$85 for a seat at a YMCA in the West Side of New York City.  I paid $10 last night at the Christ Centered Community Church located above California Pizza Kitchen in the Kahala Mall, yet another outing of 15 Craigside.  I didn't bring a camera,  nor my iPhone, so here is the best I can show of the production:

The setting is London on the day Great Britain entered World War II, three weeks before Freud's death from oral cancer.  It's a two-man play which imagines Freud at 82 and 40-year old Lewis meeting in the former's study.  This never happened.  The photos below are used to publicize the play, but the reality is that Lewis was quite a bit younger at the time of the encounter, probably closer to what is on the left.

Clive Staples Lewis was in 1939 a rising star at Oxford, while Freud had escaped the rise of Hitler a year earlier from his home in Vienna.  To appreciate the interaction, it is useful to know that Lewis was an atheist in his youth, was traumatized by trench warfare in World War I, then was converted to Christianity by his colleagues at Oxford, and, frankly, went on to became a Christian apologist (from Wikipedia).  While he was well respected in academia, he is most famous for the seven fantasy novels he wrote for children:  The Chronicles of Narnia, which sold over 100 million copies and was translated into 41 languages.  Nearly five years ago I compared this series with The Golden Compass:

Earlier this year I used two films representing opposite ends of the religious spectrum:  The Chronicles of Narnia (pro Catholic Church--Tilda Swinton and Liam Neeson) and The Golden Compass (anti Church--Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig).  It was like a boxing match, for the first Narnia appeared in 2005, followed by the first Compass in 2007, immediately answered by the second Narnia, Prince Caspian.  

Now quoting that earlier posting:

The Golden Compass (TGC), starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, which resulted in a boycott crusade by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, claiming the film was selling atheism to children. TGC provides the other side of the story from C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, which now has a sequel, Prince Caspian, as soon, too, will TGC. Chances are, any child, and most adults, will, in their vicarious way, enjoy both series, and come away in much the same way as after seeing any Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movie. But, now that I’ve told you that the Magisterium in TGC is the Catholic Church, that might change your viewpoint.

So returning to the play, a quote about Siglsmund Schlomo Freud from Wikipedia:

The religious views of Sigmund Freud are described in several of his books and essays. Freud regarded God as an illusion, based on the infantile need for a powerful father figure; religion, necessary to help us restrain violent impulses earlier in the development of civilization, can now be set aside in favor of reason and science.^[1]

Anyway, Lewis had satirized Freud in his recent book, and was asked by Freud, in obvious pain from his agonizing ailment, to please meet him at his home.  The 75-minute, no intermission, play, through a series of repartees, crystallized the greatest questions of all time--God, sex, love--in the backdrop of war, where each attempted to persuade the other about the inanity of the other's beliefs.  Paul Mitri and Donovan Oakleaf were excellent.  My wonderment is how they could memorize 75 minutes of conversation.  I guess I could do it for this subject if I could make up responses as necessary.

While a minor part of the plot, Freud was contemplating suicide, and apparently had worked out with his doctor the mechanism, morphine overdose.  This is an issue that has been on my mind, for the thought of slogging on in hopeless despair, or approaching dementia, would not be an optimal way to terminally exit.  These states not in red allow for some form of assisted suicide.  Belgium is the most liberal, allowing even children to qualify.

While most would come away feeling that no one won the discussion, my assessment is that Lewis prevailed, for in the closing scene, Freud left on the music from his radio, an obvious first step questioning his emotions.  But, then, again, the show did occur in something close to a house of worship, and it is clear that the production had religious support.

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MEMORIES

   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

           3        1258      7654         594         201       41 

           9        1265      6819         652         104       31

         10        1247      6847         559         255       25

Summary:

• On first glance, this looks like a plateauing, not a decline.
• However, save for countries like South Korea with 327,532 new cases yesterday and Germany with 300,270 new cases, the world mostly seems to be getting better.
• The USA, for example, only had 38,038 new cases yesterday.  
• We did, however, have the most new deaths with 1247, double that of Russia with 665.
• When I show this table of new deaths next week, for sure, the U.S. number will be lower, much lower.  And probably 98% or higher will be those who are unvaccinated.
• As I've been showing for years, the actual number of COVID cases are much higher, for asymptomatic cases are mostly not reported.  Well, apparently the number of deaths has been unreported by a factor of THREE!

COVID-19 Deaths Likely Three Times Higher Than Official Records

Exactly two years after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, a report in The Lancet showed that 18.2 million people have probably died because of it. Researchers at Washington University studied excess death data in 191 countries to arrive at what they term the “true global death figure.” Excess deaths varied drastically by country, with the study putting the global average at 120 deaths per 100,000. Figures were worse in developing countries, with Bolivia, Bulgaria and Eswatini topping the list. At the other end of the spectrum, Iceland, Australia and Singapore escaped the pandemic most lightly. (Source: BBC)

About the Russia vs Ukraine war, it is appearing that Western sanctions are taking a toll:

• The ruble has declined by 40%.  This means imports cost 40% more.  I guess China will gain, for their exports to Russia will garner 40% more.
• Russian public opinion is become such a problem that Putin is fighting two wars:  one in Ukraine and one at home.
• Elite discontent is unusual in Putin's Russia, and could become a serious problem for him.
• Putin's greatest concern is a palace coup.
• While many companies have pulled out of Russia, risking their assets to be nationalized by Putin, some prominent ones continue to operate there, like Marriott, Hyatt, Citi and Halliburton.
• Maybe most important for the USA, the $14 billion aid to Ukraine bill was attached to a $1.5 trillion spending package funding the federal government through September as a bipartisanship victory.
• Republicans got all the defense budget it wanted, a 6% increase from last year.
• Democrats got most of what it wanted, and although the $15.6 billion COVID aid package was stripped, there was some indication that this would later pass as a spend alone item.

There will be a 162-game Major League Baseball season, as agreement was reached.

• Season will start on April 7.
• The post-season will be expanded to 12 teams.
• There will be a universal designated hitter.
• More advertising patches can be worn on jerseys and decals on helmets.  Players will more and more look like NASCAR and the PGA.
• There are 200 free agents who now will need to swiftly find teams and sign contracts over the next few weeks.
• A year ago many were predicting that this season would be scuttled, so this is a big victory for players, owners, fans, the media and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

My topic of the day has to do with super memory on one end of the spectrum, and my memory, which is pretty much on the other end.  The scientific term for someone with a photographic memory is hyperthymesia, or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM).  Very rare, for only about 60 people in the world have been diagnosed with this condition.  But the question is what exactly is photographic memory.

There is a relation to autism.  Remember the 1988 movie Rain Man with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman?  Scored 89/90 on Rotten Tomatoes.  Hoffman was an autistic savant.

Remember Marilu Henner of Taxi?  She can recall her whole life.  Watch this video.

Brought back memories, so I went one step further and found my favorite episode, Elegant Iggy, where Father Jim (he's the guy in the bottom right corner) plays a piano and entertains a cultured audience.  Anyway, read about Marilu's condition.

Another term used is eidetic memory, which is different from photographic memory:

There is a definite difference between eidetic and photographic memory. Everyone has an eidetic memory. However, this memory lasts less than one second for most people, no more than a few seconds for others. Photographic memory is the ability to recall an image for a much longer period.

Science has NEVER found a single verifiable case of true photographic memory.  Well, maybe one, as you can read here.   There have been notions of people in the past with this talent, essentially a mix of hyperthymesia and eidetic memory.

• 
  Born in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath.  You already know a lot about him.
• German astronomer Johannes Kepler around 1600 explained the laws of planetary motion.   Science is now up to confirming just about exactly 5000 exoplanets, most found by the Kepler Space Observatory.
• Leonhard Euler in the 1700's was able to repeat the Aeneid of Virgil from beginning to end without hesitation.  He was a Swiss mathematician who was said to be among the greatest in all of history.
• 
  Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor who lived for 89 years, and became famous because he was the musical director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937-1954.  He played the cello.  His daughter Wanda married pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
• C.S. Lewis, said to be the best read man of his generation, remembered everything he read.  He was born in 1895, and you might have read his Chronicles of Narnia (sold 100 million copies in 41 languages), which became a movie.  Said to be the most influential Christian apologist.  Seven years ago I posted on Sigmund Freud vs C.S. Lewis:  Is there a God?

• 
  Serbian Nikola Tesla, never had any formal education, but spoke eight languages,  He emigrated to the U.S. 1885 and has been credited with a whole range of technological advances in electricity and robotics.  Had more than 300 patents, including one for a death ray.  He worked for Edison and is singularly responsible for General Electric.  Never slept more than 2 hours/night, spent 48 hours in a stretch at a gaming table, was a proponent of eugenics and usually walked 8-10 miles/day.  Musk name his car after this prodigious genius.
• 
  Indonesian president from 1945 to 1967 was Sukarno, who was a civil engineer.  He knew a whole lot of languages and had perhaps marriages, one to bar hostess Naoko Memoto, who became Dewi Sukarno.  He was the father of Indonesian independence.
• You might remember German actor Klaus Kinski, who in the 1900's acted in over 130 films, from Spaghetti Westerns to Nosferatu to Jesus.  While brilliant, he also had some mental health problems.
• Akira Haraguchi of Japan was born in 1946 and holds the unofficial world record for reciting 100,000 digits of pi in 16 hours.

• 
  In many ways, American author Jill Rosenberg Price, born in 1965, is the first person to be diagnosed with hyperthymesia.  She can recite the details of every day in her life from when she was 14.  While she appears to be somewhat normal, her brain apparently resembles people with obsessive compulsive disorder

Here is an article that indicates how you can gain an eidetic-type memory:

10 Ways to Develop a Photographic Memory

1. Train for an eidetic memory test.
2. Store up on omega-3s.
3. Slow down—and repeat, repeat, repeat.
4. Pound the pavement.
5. Don't skip your morning coffee.
6. Keep your calendar packed.
7. Get your choline fix.
8. Get tipsy. (Yes, really.)

I got a couple of them covered, but I already forgot what I had for lunch.

There is something called military method to help you remember better.  You can read that article if you wish to improve your memory.  A lot of hard work is involved.

Also, apparently there are foods that can boost memory.   These include omega-3 fatty acids (from certain types of fish like salmon, tuna and sardines), coffee, green tea, deeply colored berries, eggs, turmeric, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, nuts, oranges, and celery.  

• Did you know that 60% of your brain is made of fat, and half of that fat is comprised of omega-3 fatty acids?
• Coffee contains caffeine and antioxidants, and both are helpful.
• Green tea contains L-theanine, an amino acids that helps brain function.  Also rich in polyphenols and antioxidants.
• Blueberries deliver anthocyanins providing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
• Turmeric is a deep-yellow spice found in curry powder.  The active ingredient is curcumin, which is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound.
• Broccoli is packed with antioxidents, plus vitamin K.  A daily intake of one cup is recommended.
• Pumpkin seeds contain antioxidants, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper, all useful for brain health.
• Dark chocolate (70% or greater) and cocoa powder are packed with flavonoids, caffeine and antioxidants.
• Nuts contain healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamin E, the latter which protects cells against free-radical damage to slow mental decline.  Walnuts in particular are good, for it has more omega-3 fatty acids.
• One medium orange provides all the vitamin C you need/day.  Vitamin C is an antioxidant to protect the brain.
• I just wrote about eggs, which are a good source of nutrients like B6, B12, folate and choline tied to brain health.  These are mostly in the yolk.  Eggs help retard mental decline.
• Celery contains luteolin (also found in peppers) to help maintain memory.

So much for food, have you heard about Humm, a company that has developed a bioelectric memory patch to improve working memory?  

• Resembles a large Band-Aid you stick to your forehead, and comes with a toggle switch to activate it.  
• The U.S. Air Force supposedly ordered a 1000 patches.
• Forbes reports that this device costs $60 to boost memory 20%.

I haven't quite worked in IQ, genius (where does Einstein fit into this grouping?), success and street smarts into memory.  Maybe some day I'll wrap this whole subject into a cohesive framework.  Then again, maybe that's impossible.

What about Elaine Paige's Memory, from Cats?  Maroon 5 has Memories.  Way back in 1915 was another Memories, here sung by Mario Lanza.  Finally, Barbra Streisand had an album called Memories in 1981.  Included were Memory, You Don't Bring Me Flowers (there were separate versions by Streisand and Neil Diamond, which were just spliced together, and reached #1 on Billboard), Evergreen (from the 1976 A Star if Born, written by Paul Williams and Streisand, which went on to win a Oscar for Best Original Song, making her the first woman to be so honored as a composer) and the Way We Were.  Sold 10 million copies.

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THE FINAL TRANSITION: Part 15E--A Possible Physical Clue Proving There Must be an AFTERLIFE

I again quote from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

As we get older, the notion of eternal gloom more and more becomes terrifying for some of us. This is the 21^st Century. I’m an educated person. Yes, there are a lot of things I don’t understand, but something so fundamental as an afterlife surely should have been resolved by now. Why haven’t our best minds come up with some proof? Will another billion years of progress add to the information base? Chances are, the answer will be no! Thus, I have come to believe that there is no Afterlife, and, furthermore, no life controlling Supreme Being. The notion that in the beginning God was created by Man, as we also invented the family structure, agriculture and television, is sounding more and more plausible

But that was written a few years ago.  More recently, I've had a potentially transforming experience...which I'll relate at the end of this posting. 

Let me first delve into miracles, and, again from my Chapter on the Golden Evolution:

Most religions feature miracles, especially the Christian ones. In fact, C.S. Lewis has been quoted to say that without miracles there cannot be Christianity. What is a miracle? Merriam and Webster say, “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” In many, some scientific law of nature is seemingly being violated, and, therefore, if this “something” actually happened, we should be able to explain why. The incident is a lot more difficult to resolve if it happened two millennia ago.

If an individual with cancer of the liver is given three months to live, but completely recovers, is that a miracle? No doubt yes for a very religious person who knows that his family and friends prayed a lot for his recovery. However, any body, now and then, can cure itself. In my definition, this was not a miracle. Some people are luckier than or genetically superior to others.

Popes have attained sainthood for similar "miracles," as for example, Pope Paul II for curing Floribeth More (above) of a brain aneurysm.

I have three miracles to suggest, the third one possibly a hint that there might be an afterlife. 

• 
  First, six years ago, for curiosity, I initiated an experiment.  I kept re-using my Schick shaving system.  Click on it to read the details.  At one point three or four years ago I dropped it, breaking it.  So I bought another one. The two two-blade razor (one for each) are the only ones I've used at home now for six years, and I shave every day.  On the road I've also had similar plastic travel versions with no brand name, the second because I forgot the first one in one of my hotel rooms.  By all modern day conventions, this has to be a miracle, for just the corrosion of the blades should have made them useless after a few months.  This must be a miracle, for it generally meets the criteria cited above.  A hint that continued reuse is actually possible, though, is the Infinity Razor, where for $4.99 you can purchase from Amazon.com the razor to the right.  That was the price six years ago, and is still the same today.

• I can provide a second miracle that, well, is perplexing, but true:

It sounds looney, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but  a true miracle is that urban legend: a bar of soap between the bedsheets will prevent leg cramps. There is something about getting older and lying horizontal. My wife and I, now and then, no, make it frequently, used to suffer from painful cramps. That bar, and I think it was Irish Spring, was placed a few months ago, and, amazingly, no leg cramps.  Place the unwrapped soap in a cloth bag, held in place by a safety pin, under the bottom sheet at the bottom of your bed.  For some reason, Dove and Dial, apparently, don't work, and Dove is worst.  Ann Landers a long time ago mentioned this solution, and so do some doctors. What is the explanation? No one knows. There is no scientific proof. But it works. It’s a puzzlement, or miracle. Maybe there is a God. Hopefully, this crack in rationality will lead me to an afterlife

Snopes investigated and expressed general amazement, but could not refute this practice.  People's Pharmacy (PP) provides a reasonably thorough analysis.   A miracle?  Divine intervention?  Interesting, though, that the PP blog site indicated that you needed to change (or scrape the surface) of the soap every few months.  I've used the same bar untouched in the same bag for more than six years.  Which apparently means the effect must be psychosomatic.   To me, these razor (which is a physical effect, not mental) and soap bar results are a lot more compellingly convincing as noteworthy than any Pope praying for millions and having a few testify that they were cured by him.

• 

  I mention those two miracles because it is possible I just went through a "supernatural" experience last week where the circumstance was equally confounding, and, could well be that compelling piece of metaphysical evidence I have long been searching for to convince me that there could well be an afterlife after all.  Here is the story:
• About ten weeks ago, I joined Kenji's Safari where we golfed five straight days in the outskirts of Napa Valley.
• On the third day, I had an easy 130 yard shot to the green.  I had dropped of Kenji at this ball and drove to mine.  I took the cover off my 8-iron and I think placed it on top of my golf bag.  After I hit the ball, I came back to the cart and could not find my 8-iron cover.  We had time at the end of the hole so I quickly emptied the golf bag, but no cover.
• The next day, again, with no one around me, I was a hundred yards from the pin, so I took out my pitching wedge, because of the puzzlement the day before, carefully placed the cover on my seat, went to hit my ball, returned, and, again, could not find the cover.  Looked everywhere.
• After my return to Honolulu, I had now played at least ten times, and my eight-iron and pitching wedge stood out in my bag because they were the shiny non-putter ones without a cover.  I never got around to replacing the set.
  
  
• 

  Last week, I was alone at my golf cart, went to hit my pitching wedge, and soon after that noticed a golf cover next to my feet.  It was my pitching wedge cover.  And this was my lost cover because what are the odds that I could  find another gray and old one that matched my set?  The first time I had seen it since Vacaville.  I could not explain how it got there, and no one was around me during this period, so the only explanation I could imagine is that someone from the afterlife first stole it in California, then placed it back ten weeks later in Honolulu at my feet.   Unlike a soap bar preventing cramps, which has no logical explanation, mine can only be ascribed to some divine intervention at play here.  On the other hand, Kenji and I have had numerous discussions about the afterlife, and it is not totally impossible that, somehow, he had a role to play in these incidents.
• So does this prove there is an afterlife?  Nah, I'm willing to allow for this potential miracle as something to do with a feeble mind.
• However, if over the next few weeks, that 8-iron cover mysteriously reappears, then, perhaps, I can convince myself that there must be something after I die, and I can forever banish any thoughts of my still expected eternal gloom.

After all these TRANSITIONS postings, it seems anti-climactic to end with a golf 8-iron cover as the crucial link to the Afterlife.  On the other hand, if this were to transpire, what an appropriate conclusion:  a prosaic ordinary event to confirm the ginormous answer and evidential solution to a question that has been eluding our best thinkers for millennia.  Real physical proof!  A book, maybe, followed by an epic movie.  But perhaps of greatest importance to me:  I would then be able to face the final transition in supreme peace.

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Typhoon Matmo is now at 80 MPH and strengthening.  The expectation is landfall as a Category 3 at Hualian, Taiwan, then on to China:

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JANUARY 26, 2026: Be Happy and Secure

Woke up this morning.  I felt happy to be home and secure about my short term future.  Long term?  I'm old and there is not much time left.  Unlike most of you, I don't believe there are such things as Heaven and Hell.  Purgatory, perhaps, as 15 Craigside, where I live, is perhaps one of the locations for this test period.

So I asked Google AI about the nature of Purgatory.

Purgatory is often described as a mix of intense suffering and profound hope. 

• Purification by Fire: Traditionally, this is seen as a "cleansing fire" that burns away the stains of venial sins and the temporal punishment due to forgiven sins.

• 
  The "Dentist" Analogy: Some theologians, such as C.S. Lewis, compared it to a necessary but unpleasant visit to the dentist—a painful process that results in a "clean bill of health".

• 
  The Pain of Loss: Souls in Purgatory experience the "pain of loss," which is the temporary deprivation of the Beatific Vision (seeing God face-to-face).

• 
  Absolute Certainty: Unlike hell, Purgatory is temporary and filled with the absolute knowledge that the soul is destined for Heaven. 

Google AI also updated the response to today:

While not strictly defined by the Church as a physical place, various interpretations offer different images: 

• A "Waiting Room" or "Antechamber": A place where souls are prepared for the "Wedding Feast of the Lamb".
• 
  Dante's Mountain: In The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri famously pictured Purgatory as a mountain in the Southern Hemisphere, which souls climb to reach paradise.
• A "Hallway" or "Car Wash": A modern, functional analogy where souls wait and are cleansed before entering the door to Heaven.
• A "Refining Pot": A metaphor for removing impurities from metal, similar to how sins are removed from the soul. 

Got that?  I guess I'm eventually going to Heaven if there is one.

The withdrawal of my 2-month trip left me with nothing much to share.  Not sure what to blog on today.  I checked the world-wide-web.

• Hey, this is kind of important.  The U.S. and Russia's nuclear weapons treaty is set to expire.  Yes, but that day is 4February2026, not today.
• Antonio Guterres (who runs the United Nations) warned that law of the jungle is replacing rule of law.  Yes, but that is so general as not to be particularly newsworthy.

• 
  The World Health Organization, from which President Donald Trump officially withdrew on 22January2026, reported that the Marburg virus disease epidemic is officially over in Ethiopia.  Whoopie.
• India is celebrating its 77th Republic Day.  Not worthy of your linkage.
• That U.S. Snow-pocalypse is not quite over.  But that's old news.
• 
  This is Bubble Wrap Day in the USA.
• But this is so because it is the final Monday in January.
• Created by Marc Chavannes and Alfred Fielding in 1956 when they sealed two shower curtains together  to created a smattering air bubbles in the town of Hawthorne, New Jersey.  

• 
  Come on, you've all gone ahead to burst those bubbles.
• They thought that their invention would make a great wallpaper.

• 
  No sales, so they they tried to sell the product as greenhouse insulation.
• Those two inventors then worked with Sealed Air Corporation to trademark Bubble Wrap in 1960.

• 
  In 1961, protected IBM's 1401 computer during shipment.
• In 2001, Jim Webster of Spirit WVNI radio in Bloomington, Indiana created National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.  He apparently is still on the air at that station.
• Now has an annual revenue of more than $3.5 billion.

• 
  Speaking of wallpaper, Play-Doh was originally created to clean wallpaper, and became, well, Play-Doh.  But not on January 26.  Around 80 billion cans have been sold since converted in the 1930s, for about, now, $1.50/can.

I further checked Wikipedia about what happened in the entirety of January 26 throughout history.  Essentially, like my mind today, not much.  

• So tried OnThisDay.com:  This is Generation Alpha.  Chinese Zodiac:  Snake.  Star sign:  Aquarius.  But nothing happening today of any true relevance.

• 
  InfoPlease provided a quick history of January 26:
• 1802, Congress created the Library of Congress.
• India gained independence in 1950.
• Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera opened in 1988 and became the longest-running show in Broadway history:  13,891 performances over 35 years at the Majestic Theater.
• Lot of birthdays:  Douglas MacArthur, Paul Newman, Ellen DeGeneres, Wayne Gretzky, etc.

• 
  Of course, Wikipedia had a bunch of old stuff, but nothing of earth-shaking consequence, as for example.
• A 1531 earthquake of Mw 6.4-7.1 (they don't really know) and, killed about 30,000 people in Lisbon.  
• Doesn't sound like much, but in that year, the population was around 60,000.  
• Today, 3 million.  
• Thus if this same earthquake struck today, the death total could be around 15 million.
• 
  On January 23, 1536, Shensi (also called Shaanxi) Province in China experienced a 7.0-7.5 Mw earthquake.  
• Killed 830,000, when the population was around 2 million.  
• This was the greatest-killing earthquake in history
• This region now has around 40 million people.
• In other words, today, an equivalent event could kill 24 million.
• 
  China has a lot of people, a lot of area. 
• So they have the two-greatest death tolls by natural calamity:  4 million in 1931 and 2 million in 1887, both caused by floods.
• #3 is the 1970 Bhola Cyclone of Bangladesh, killing half a million.

So to close, what have I reported in the past on this day, January 26?

• My first January 26 was in 2009, and the posting was titled, PEAK OIL DEBUNKED.  In that article I ended by noting that the Huffington Post just an hour ago published my contribution on Where is Wind Energy Today.
• The second, in 2010, I'M BACK IN SAIGON.
• I was staying in the new wing of the Sheraton, and the Executive Lounge was the best I'd ever experienced.
• On January 29, SCENES FROM ANGKOR WAT.

• 
  Let me skip on to 2012, A POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH IN MARINE BIOFUELS?
• Essentially, the answer was no.
• However, algae remains as a promising renewable transport fuel for development in the future.
• In any case, I did ask Google AI if marine biomass was the most efficient way to convert sunlight into biomass:

Marine biomass—specifically algae and seaweed—is considered 

one of the most, if not the most, efficient ways to grow biomass in terms of land use, water consumption, and growth rate. It is often categorized as a "third-generation" biofuel source because it overcomes many limitations of terrestrial crops. While typical terrestrial plants have a photosynthetic efficiency of about 1.8%–2.2%, marine macroalgae (seaweed) can reach 6%–8% efficiency. 

• 
  In 2016, HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY ANYTHING?
• The problem with Hawaii today is that nothing can be justified.  For any possible great idea, we have NIMBY (not in my backyard) types, ancient-thinking Hawaiians, environmentalists and more to prevent any progress.

• 
  From the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea to the Hawaii Superferry to ocean resource development, nothing ever happens.
• This same attitude prevails in 2026, a decade later.
• Go to a place like Busan, South Korea or Adelaide, Australia and you will experience what can happen if people work together to get something done.
• One more.  Five years later, 26January2021, A SIMPLE LIFE.  Nothing was happening to my lifestyle.  But I was happy and secure.  How much better can it get?  Well....

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