Grabbing them

https://theweek.com/articles/911495/how-tara-reades-allegations-could-bring-down-joe-biden

It's good to know people are reading my blog!  Anyways... a few years ago, I read this book:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Takes-Way-White-House/dp/0679746498
and I do believe it is mentioned that Joe Biden, if you will, sowed a few wild oats after the death of his first wife... Mind you, there was nothing that implied it wasn't consensual, but...  anyways, I would recommend anyone with lots of time on their hands (say, on furlough or in quarantine) to read it.. it was good (yes, I like politics, abnormally so) and more to the point... most of the figures are around now -- there are a lot of famous and familiar names in it.

Mind you, given the recent polling, the President and his team need to be hammering this... I don't know, this could be me, but I would have thought that POTUS would have been best served by saying 1) I want us to open ASAP, but 2) I know that's not possible and 3) Each state is best served by making these decisions on their own and I will be there to help them do this.  I realize this is against the nature of the White House to get involved (poorly) in every thing possible, but... in addition to being intelligent, it would be also be -- dare I say -- Republican, as this would be promoting federalism and letting local officials do their stuff best.  It wouldn't necessarily have been brilliant, but you wouldn't have GOPers pulling their hairs out, either.

The one example I keep coming back to -- people tripping over themselves to get ventilators and PPE-- is at the beginning of the Civil War, when every governor sent purchasing agents to Europe to buy arms for their state militias, with the result that they ended upbidding against each other, driving up the price without actually getting their hands on the weapons they needed...

Linx

So, I was looking at my film list for the National Film Registry; I think I found a couple more on youtube to watch.  Anyways, I was going through the list, and at first I was like "Jesus, you can't find these 50 films, you are quite the slacker!"  This morning (in the shower, a literal fount of inspiration in this case) I decided that no, this is actually quite the achievement. Indeed, I have seven pages of films (double columns), and on some pages, there are only a couple.  Hell, once I go through and watch all the readily available recent additions, we should be down another 15 or so.  I will admit getting the last ones off the list will be a slog, but...

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/5-reasons-pundits-will-overestimate-trumps-odds-of-winning.html
I think this is largely correct, and another reason, of course, is that in 2016, Donald Trump was something completely different, whereas, the (shit)show is something we have seen before. To be sure, Joe Biden is Joe Biden, and I do believe it is correct that Trump can lay some on him -- Sleepy Joe is good, for one, though a rapist might be a bit much... but I think he has an uphill climb.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/joe-biden-sexual-assault-unnecessary-witnesses.html
I thought this was interesting -- hadn't thought about it before -- but of course the main issue here is that for all of the screeching and pink hatting about Kavanaugh... well, where is it against Biden?  This could be me, but for all the creepy photos out there... it's not quite evidence to be sure, but it is something.  You'd think some GOP operative would put together these things in a 30-second ad and run them. Or, you could run "Women of the Senate on Kavanaugh" and then silence when it came to the Biden accusation.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-trade-blows-in-a-debate-over-whether-ancient-bronze-swords-were-just-for-show
Well, that's pretty neat.

In the meantime... looks like all of the lectors, EMs, and other Catholics will have plenty of time to fall further out of practice...

Not settling in

So, I contined my trend of watching movies... finished up "The Last Emperor" today.  I liked it, but a little long... not really.  It was visually stunning, and certainly an interesting story.... I do wonder what would have happened had he not collaborated with the Japanese (I also wonder how he could have been that dumb). Today, while searching for another film, I dummied into and watched "The Power and the Glory," a 1933 pre-Code film starring Spencer Tracy that was "Citizen Kane" before, well, Citizen Kane.  I liked it -- sort of interesting, salacious plot details, though I am not sure if it is quite National Film Registry material.  Anyways, up to 721!

Yesterday at the OC some of the volunteers from one of the other parishes made the comment that -- as they were lectors -- they were concerned about falling out of practice. I can assure you that as a Eucharistic Minister, I am also concerned about falling out of practice!  I guess the schedule will resume if and when we ever have Mass again, but in the meantime... it's not like I ever conquered my berves in the first place, and this will not help.

Fooling you

I know what you are thinking, that I was going back to the bad old days of noo blogging.  Well, proved you wrong!  Ha! Nah, the past two nights I have been trying to go to bed early -- not sleeping well -- and thus trying to catch up on sleep.  Work has been busy, even at home, and I am trying to read. 

Friday I took off to do some food pantry stuff -- got some masks, rah -- and pre-packed some bags for today... which was busy but not so much as usual this month...  I think we were all a little surprised by that, in all honestly... not that we didn't serve a lot of people, but...  the other thing was we all agreed that in some ways the new method of operation -- no clients inside, just here is your food -- is... easier?  I mean, the volunteers have to work harder packing bags and running them up front, but on the other hand... you don't deal with the clients, which can be a chore, sort of -- no one asking for extra food, pulling crap, telling tall tales (if you will), and in general being a royal pain.  It might not be physically exhausting but it does cause you to sigh. 

I went to get the mail and realized I forgot to weed-whack...oops.

https://www.city-journal.org/costs-of-revival-of-regulatory-state
Interesting....

Opening Up

This past Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday -- I completely forgot until I looked at the Missal (I like to check out the readings and such).  Anyways, one of the "nice" things about the Mass shutdown is that I was able to go to the new Divine Mercy altar and spend some time in contemplation... then I picked up one of the "Guides to the Parish" we have conveniently located about.. I didn't realize the number of relics we have, nor the themes (if you will) to the various altars... it's funny; a few years ago I was looking at one of the windows and thought "why do we have the Martyrdom of Thomas a Beckett at our parish?" I am thinking this lack of paying attention is along the same lines of theological stupidity.

So, I've been getting a kick out of the all of the protests regarding the re-opening of the country.  Mind you, I am pretty supportive of these efforts, mainly because of stuff like this:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-true-costs-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/
(I often think of the fondness of the medical community of bloodletting as a curative, one of the earliest examples of "the science is settled," come to think of it.)

I think the issue is that -- contrary to most things in this country -- it wasn't discussed or debated; rather, the nation's governors (in most cases) simply said we are going to do this, and that was that.  I guess I would compare it to, say, Obamacare -- a done deal from start to finish; even then, people got to fight about things, such as the costs, the winners, the losers, etc.; I wouldn't say that people knew what they were getting, or getting into, but you had an idea.  Not this time.

The problem now, of course, is that:
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/if-half-the-countrys-covid-deaths-were-in-montana-would-new-york-shut-down/
and
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/21/behind-protests-two-americas-one-unemployed-and-one-gets-paychecks-column/5167453002/
I think those two links, if you will, demonstrate the problem here; basically, we've put a NYC solution to the nation as a whole, and the nation doesn't quite need that, for a bunch of reasons -- lack of density, better health, etc., and now some people are beginning to realize this, and, as I noted in my last post, once you start a course it's quite difficult to change it... this is fine, of course, if the correct path is chosen,but if not... well, as I like to say, somebody has to answer for it, but it's never the right person...

https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/is-private-equity-having-its-minsky
Interesting, if unpleasant.  I do note -- again -- that for all of the talk of GOPers being greedy assholes, in this case one can argue that is all of the Democrat/union pension funds -- underfunded -- that are exacerbating the problem here.  If Republicans had any brains, of course, they'd be hammering this at every opportunity...

Newness

Bet you thought I was taking the weekend off... but no.  I crashed, sort of, Friday -- went to bed early, slept poorly, and then woke up at the buttcrack of dawn for OC duty.  We were busy, but not the screaming death type that was two weeks ago.  We pre-packed bags, which was a huge help, and the car-only visits are nice... it does move people in and out faster.  I do believe we will do it again this week -- pre-packing and an early start -- to make sure everyone is out by noon.

Watched "Ordinary People" last night.  I liked it, but I am not sure that it was, say, Best Picture material...even though it was, I guess...

After the snow of Friday, the last two days have been delightful; a bit cool but otherwise nice... I went outside today to pick up the twigs and mess in preparation for lawn mowing, then I decided to go and clean some of the house -- the kitchen floor, the countertops, anything on the stove, and then I vacuumed.  I should do the basement floor as well...maybe tomorrow?  I do get in the cleaning mood, and then it is all hell to stop me...

Streaks

So, I broke my streak of daily posts, but as the overall blog volume has been up, I am not sure you can complain.  Or, you can complain, and... well, complain away.  :)

On the one hand, I really think all of this talk of re-starting the economy is good; on the other hand, though, I really don't see it as being practical, as like it or not, I don't think the virus has flatlined yet; there are still too many nexuses (nexi?) of contagion out there. The issue isn't that so much as once you let people back out... well, they are going to NOT want to be confined to quarters again.  Mind you, I speak as one who is in total sympathy with the people protesting about these stay-in-place orders (I thought "Whitler" was pretty good, actually).

Speaking of streaks, I am up to 720 on the National Film Registry, as last night I watched "Coal Miner's Daughter," the Loretta Lynn biopic... and you know what?  I liked it!  Interesting; I've approached country as an interested outsider (come to think of it, I look at a lot of things that way, for better or worse), so while I was aware of her, I wasn't familiar. But now, after watching the movie and poking around online, I want to listen to more...

Surprise

Snow?  Wind?  Cold?  It's April 14, for the Lord's sake.  I even dug out a long-sleeve T-shirt just to bundle up a bit more.  Oi.  I guess it really isn't spring yet, but now that Easter has passed, it's spring t me!

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/how-private-equity-is-winning-the-coronavirus-crisis
I don't know; isn't this a little unfair to private equity?  I mean, all of these public sector unions are as beholden to Democrats as anyone, and no one is going after them for being greedy and wanting to maximize returns because made a promise they couldn't keep 20 years ago (or less), are they? I realize the average journalist wouldn't figure that out, but it's not exactly hard for someone else to do so... if you are going to nail Steve Mnuchin to the wall, you have to do the same to Nancy Pelosi.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/10/journalists-may-be-liberal-this-doesnt-affect-which-candidates-they-choose-cover/#comments-wrapper
I sort of like these arguments, as they convenient forget that the bias towards the left -- when 80% of the press is more liberal than the average liberal (God help us), I would think that that is a problem which demands some remedy....

This could be me, but 1) I don;t like the idea of a Cactus and Grapefruit league for a regular season and 2) I am beginning to think this might be the option.  Of course, I would love Xmas Day baseball, but that's just me and Scott Boras...

Culinary adventures

In addition to all this daily blogging, I've also decided -- why not -- to start cooking stuff. Every year I cut up the Easter ham and say "Gee, I should make pea soup with this" and so this year... I kept the bone and am now letting soup stock simmer (I hope) on the stove.  I couldn't find dried peas anywhere, so I adjusted on the fly and selected a recipe with frozen peas. I didn't have enough chicken stock on hand but other than that... we should be good to go?  I hope... it's funny; no one in mu family really likes it; my Aunt Pearl used to make some every year but that was it, so I am on my own here.  But that's fine, I guess...

https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/04/12/chabot-sexual-assault-allegation-against-biden-splits-democrats/
I don't know...did anyone really doubt that the media would bury this?  I certainly didn't, and aside from the Milano hypocrisy (again, who didn't see that coming), the question that no one is asking -- and should -- is that given Joe's history of being gropey...is this that much of a leap?  I don;t think so, and I cannot wait for Doonesbury to start using a giant hand for Joe like they did for Ahnold back in the day...

https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-the-coronavirus/
I think this is...largely true? I think we can quibble about the details, if you will, but to call to mind one of my favorite old-time jokes, we've already established what you are, now we're just settling on the price...

So, today is/was Dyngus Day; I had taken the day off to join in my Polish holiday that I celebrate aside from the drinking and the polka... but alas it was not to be, so I spent the day running errands and doing stuff, to be followed by going "back" to work tomorrow and following up on all the stuff I did today...

Alleluia!

First, Happy Easter everyone!  It is my favorite holiday, and even if the usual events -- Mass in a full church, with the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows, me bitching about the people in the parking lot/pew, family brunch, eating lamb cake til I puke -- did not happen, it is still a special day all the same. It does look as if it has been trying to rain all day, and I think -- per the weather report -- it will succeed.

In the meantime, our sacristan reported that drive-by basket blessing was a success -- 160 cars or so -- and I certainly enjoyed it.  The parish was well-decorated, and in some ways, it was nice, as there was no one, or very few there, to enjoy it... to be sure, the Mass Nazi is there promptly at opening, but... it was nice to have the place to one's self, if you will.

Yesterday I decided to troll around and watch a movie on the National Film Registry list... sure enough, thanx to the wonders of Youtube I located "Leave Her to Heaven," a 2018 inductee from 1945... it was an interesting film -- let's just say I am not going on any dates soon -- and while it took a while to get going, it was certainly an interesting and psychologically complex plot.  This puts me to 719 of the NFR.  Good Friday I watched "Gandhi" and I liked that too -- I can't say with great certainly as to its veracity, but I think the film accurately portrayed the spirit of the man and the times, such as his sadness over the Partition and the violence the accompanied it...

Good Friday Musings

I guess one joy, if you will, of the current situation is that as I was working from home, I was able to spend part of Good Friday -- like every practicing Catholic should do --not only at church, but at my own parish.  And you what?  It was pretty aweseome.  I mean, the last few years I went to the parish near my work, and it was social hour -- ahem -- but at the Shrine, it was... silent.  And people-filled; lots of the Polish community were there, saying Stations, praying the rosary, doing all the things you should do.

The other funny thing is/was that while normally I have the munchies all day, today... it was about 4 PM when I realized I hadn't had them.  I was fascinated by this; I mean, for all of my complaining that it hardly feels like Lent or Easter, this was indeed the case in this particular instant.

It was surprising cold this morning and the rest of the day... the sun is out now, and it seems a little nicer, but today I woke up and was convinced it was March 10, not April.  Spring, much less summer, seems so very far away.

Sorrows

https://pjmedia.com/trending/chinas-agriculture-ministry-says-dogs-are-no-longer-considered-livestock/

Ha!  I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!  Anyways, I took a half-day today to do the Easter shopping aand attend to other business; I pretty much got home at 5, which surprised me, but between my stuff and Mom chores... close enough.  In the meantime, I note that this year, I don't have to finagle/feel bad about skipping the Holy Thursday service and foot washing...  this coming from the guy who constantly complains that it doesn't feel like Easter.

I, like millions of others, was saddened by Bernie's departure from the race, as I had planned to vote for him.  I do think Trump will have a very difficult time, but... how shall I say this... it says something about our democracy that we've decided that the choice for a guy who is in 70s is even more... senescent?

Links

So....this is a thing (that I missed):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7I92r9GqUw

I don't know...maybe this is true, but I will admit that I think the man is criminally underrated when it comes to coaching:
https://deadspin.com/fsus-leonard-hamilton-is-a-good-man-whose-possible-last-1842710128

So, yesterday, at church (despite the fact that there is no Mass, as the Mass Nazi, I still show up) I was reading the Mass, including the readings...as some of you  may know, it was Palm Sunday yesterday, and thus there was the Passion of Our Lord, taken from the Gospel of Matthew.  And you know what... the "good thief" isn't in there!  Rather, it talked about the revolutionaries who were crucified with him (the Romans really couldn't pass up an opportunity to kill a bunch at once, could they?) and how they mocked him.  I got a kick out of this, because the other Gospels mention the Good Thief, so... someone felt the need to add him in; it makes better copy, if you will, and it certainly provides an example of the possibilities of redemption and salvation, even in extremis. 

Speaking of...
https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-coronavirus-halts-masses-conservative-catholics-push-back-11586102383?mod=hp_listb_pos4
You know, I think they are right.... there has been too much of this, especially now, as Holy Week is now upon us and it hardly feels like Holy Week.....

To reflect

So, I took over running the food pantry today, and we were... screaming death busy, as I like to say -- 168 clients. We have a new system -- clients don;t come in, rather we provide curbside service (some walk up so we deal with them more directly) to preserve social distancing. Everyone gets more food (two bags of canned goods instead of one) and a bag of produce -- we don't let them pick, volunteers just go up and down the line.  The registration is done on the one computer with one or two at it... and those of us who are the food runners really move... actually, everyone did.  Mind you, we opened an hour early... and served the last client literally at noon.  I really believe there is a better chance of getting cancer from all these people and their cars (my faves were those who smoked, put on mask, and smoked again), but... well, I guess we did some good, but I was a little tired today....

Funny... after the food pantry and such I really didn't have anything else to do... haven't had anything like that in a while, and it was sort of nice... caught up on some emails I needed to send, listened to a podcast, web-surfed, read stuff I have been putting off... I was like, whoa... it was almost 8 when I was done with everything but I had cleaned a lot of stuff off the plate... I have this palpable sense of achievement, even if it is not all that much, it was to me...

Bemusement

It's funny; well, sort of; everyone is worried (in their own way) about whether or not we'll have enough of everything at the food pantry this weekend.  I mean, I guess I am too, but on the other hand... we;ll give out what we have and if we are short of produce/meat/milk, well... we'll survive. I mean, people will get something, more than they came with, and I would like to think that people will figure out that 1) We have we have and 2)Everyone is in the same boat, so...

In the meantime, I am super busy at work, and I decided to start cleaning my house as part of spring, not that it really feels like -- it's a new month, and Easter is upon us, but with all of the COVID-19 stuff, it seems that things, for better or worse (mainly worse), are in a holding pattern.

That said... could a song like "Stacy's Mom" get airplay nowadays?  I wonder...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/the-problem-with-a-coronavirus-rent-strike/ar-BB11YKAx?li=BBnbfcN
It's funny, sort of... one of my coworkers suggeted a national rent strike, and I told him I thought that could sort of work, the problem is that the landlords -- many of whom have mortgages and such -- couldn;t do it, because then they would be foreclosed on, and if youthink... the bank was going to pull a George Bailey (vomit that I made the reference)... well, I would take the under on that one.  Everyone got a kick out of that, but I think it holds, or, at the very least, this is something that can't be resolved at the federal level; states and localities -- this federalism thing is pretty wonderfuk -- have to enact stuff that doesn' upend their own laws.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/06/the-history-of-loneliness?utm_source=pocket-newtab
What?? This is a thing?  I guess I am a loner, but...learn to cope?