haas ossabaw

What a different type of day this has been!

Rabbi Haas has started holding classes over at Asbury Memorial... in improv!!!

When I saw "Improv Fun & Games" in the church newsletter, I thought perhaps he would be performing for us.

Nope!

The nine of us there - me, Tim, Wayne, Tom L., Audrey, Marsha, Lynn, Peg, and Lenny - were asked to perform, with his guidance.

I think maybe they were prepared to participate from the get-go, but I caught up fast.

Good thing I took that improv training with Odd Lot back in 2012!

I was involved in three different bits.

That started with "gift-giving of worst gift ever" with Marsha as the recipient.

I gave her a bag of sand with dead flowers and stuff!

A little later, we did the same routine as part of "Half-Life", this time with me getting the mystery gift from her... and she re-gifted the bag of sand to me!

We did that in 30 seconds, then 15 seconds, then 5 seconds, then 2 seconds - hahahaha!

The next time, I interacted with Peg for "ABC", with us working out.

Haas let us go all the way through "J" with our sentences!

And for my last bit, I was with Wayne, with him as the teacher for adult ballet - that was fun!

Especially as he is quite old and I'm no spring chicken... and I was the student!

All told, we had fun for 75 minutes, and will be doing it again on February 4th.

I'll look forward to that!

Off to my next event of the day I went, trying to miss the 5 PM traffic southside.

That's because the "Ossabaw Night In Savannah" was at the Armstrong Center of GaSoU.

Here's what's surprising about that: the event was promoted by the Telfair Museums group!

That's how I knew about it.

Others there were regulars, like Pat and Roberta Johnson.

They've been here for these annual updates about the island for the past three years.

I met them when they came over to share the table with me at the reception.

What a lovely discussion we had about my name and the first time I saw it in Rome!!!

I'm so glad Tom Nelson had snagged this table, and doubly glad that he made sure to invite me!

In fact, he and I had a quite lovely talk, as it's been a few years since I last saw him.

We keep up with each other on fb, so when he pulled out the photo of his 3-year-old granddaughter, I was able to tell him "what a striking look" she has.

She'll go far with that unique face and her strong demeanor.

Who else did I see at that sumptuous reception sponsored by Gulfstream?

Oh, yes - Pete and Fran Zipperer!!!

They were getting their name tags at the same time I did.

I kept thinking we'd see other professors out there, but I didn't recognize anyone.

Oh, I take that back!

I'm pretty sure that's Joe Guy's friend, Robin, with that straight-edged haircut and gray shirt.

I didn't notice her until I downloaded the photo at home.

I took the shot for the red-headed man at the far left, speaking to us about "The Ossabaw Island Project, Genesis, and Of The Coast Of Paradise".

That's because he's Beryl Gilothwest, the grandson of the woman who once owned Ossabaw Island.

The island was deeded over to the State of Georgia during President Jimmy Carter's time as POTUS.

They didn't mention his recent death - at the age of 100, with flags still at half-mast - but they did mention a former council member who was one of those who died last year.

That would be Lainie Peterson, who I knew through Barbara as "her friend down at Tybee Beach".

Small world sometimes.

So what was the talk about?

Two artist projects from the past, as well as the new one that'll have its results debut in 2026.

Erin Dunn, of Telfair, is the one who spoke of that.

The highlight will be a movie, "Venus of Ossabaw", which will be screened on the exterior wall of the Jepson Center, as well as in the Neises Auditorium.

That should be awesome!!!

I'm so glad the winter has relented somewhat.

The WSAV weather song is picking up a stream of higher notes through Saturday!!!

Sure, it still features night temperatures that are ten degrees below our normal... but those are experienced mostly in the predawn hours, when I'm still toasty in bed.

Believe me, I'm grateful for the reprieve!

PULSE starts on Thursday and I love that festival of arts and technology at the Jepson.

I'm so looking forward to being able to go!

a trio and a deuce

Yeppers, my A*List dance card was a little shy of a trio for this week.

I could have seen a third movie today... but, I just didn't.

Tuesday saw me with a double header, and that was all I got.

"Conclave" was quite interesting, and rather timely, with America already neck-deep in the election process for a new POTUS.

"Conclave" centered on the election of a new Pope, after one dies unexpectedly.

Very nice to see Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rosselini again!

Here's the thing, though: it's billed as a mystery thriller, but there is far too little action to warrant that genre.

The beautifully filmed piece is actually a psychological character study, with the end result being this: the cardinals who would be Pope are just people, too, like the rest of us.

I wonder who else in that screening room walked out with that conclusion?

And what about the second half of that game card?

What a hot mess "We Live In Time" was.

Disjointed, trying to tell the story about a couple and their relationship by bouncing in and out of the present moment - yikes.

The highlight was the birth of their baby in a Texaco gas station bathroom after a jammed up highway prevents progress to a hospital.

Seriously, that was the highlight for me, the woman who had the tubal ligation for bday24.

It's almost worth seeing the movie for that one extended, cohesive, scene.

 

Last week's dance card was filled, even though AMC put the trio in the wrong order.

That one in the middle of the A*List?

That was the new Michael Keaton film, "Goodrich", about a 60-year-old man who chose his work over his family, not once, but twice.

Note to the casting department: a man in his mid-70's cannot pass for 60 anymore than Demi Moore, a woman in her 60's, can pass for a 50-year-old.

Stop trying to cheat Father Time and science.

Kudos to Mila Kunis, by the way, as she was fabulous as the adult daughter from his first family, now tasked with babysitting the two children from his second family.

I can understand why Carolyn really liked that movie and I'm glad she saw it with me.

That was on Monday, the 21st.

I didn't see "Saturday Night" again until the next day, for Tina Tuesday.

I don't know why it's in that first slot.

I had wanted to see if it was done in "live time" for all the behind the scenes, and my conclusion is: yes, it was!

Don't be dissuaded by the posted run-time of 109 minutes.

That time includes the length of credits post-film, as well as the length of the very first sketch - between Michael O'Donoghue and John Belushi - of that first show.

That means the 90-minute pre-show clock is right on time!

Quite impressive!

Also impressive was "Venom: The Last Dance", seen last Thursday.

Tom Hardy not only starred in this one, but also co-wrote the script and co-produced it.

Get this: he's 47 years old and was knighted in 2018!

I guess that means I should call this Englishman "Sir", shouldn't I?

By the way, 2018 was the year he and "Venom" became buddies.

Nice!

I do hope to see this Marvel movie again!

milton, kirk, and leslie

The physicist and I have some of the most surreal textversations.

Case in point: the one from Sunday afternoon.

 

me: Just checking on you. How are you doing?

 

him: Hey thanks. Not too bad, I am working on a paper right now. What up with you?

 

me: Checking on Milton and Kirk and Leslie, making sure I know where they're headed.

 

[As of 11AM Monday, Hurricane Kirk was heading to Great Britain and France.]

 

[As of 11AM Monday, Hurricane Leslie was heading northwest toward the Sargasso Sea.]

 

[By 11 AM Tuesday, Hurricane Leslie was showing signs of dying right there, just as Hurricanes Lee and Margot had done last year.] 

 

[Then, at 11PM tonight, a curious thing was revealed: Hurricane Leslie had strengthened to Category 2 status and had turned toward the northeast.

That did not surprise me, as my monitoring of the NHC site foreshadowed that change.]

[Very early this morning, a low pressure system in the Atlantic - that orange X - had a 60% chance of becoming yet another tropical storm.]

 

[By 11AM this morning, Hurricane Milton, at Category 4 strength, was about to make landfall prior to charging across the width of central Florida. At that same time, the probability of that low pressure system strengthening dropped to 40%.]

 

[That probability dropped down to 10% twelve hours later as that low pressure system was caught between Hurricanes Milton and Leslie as Milton continued its charge east.]

 

[Hurricane Milton, by tonight a Category 2 after landfall, continued its speedy push toward the Atlantic coast of Florida.

I surmise that it was also pushing that former low pressure system, as well as Hurricane Leslie, across the Atlantic Ocean to send surf against west Africa.

I'll keep a close eye on both Milton and Leslie, but I feel safe in restocking the fridge.]

him: Are those the names of your brother's dogs?

me: LOL! Hurricanes. 

 

him: Oh those are storms. I literally just read an email from university communication saying they were keeping an eye on Milton.

him: The only Milton I can really think of was the writer.

me: This Milton is down in the gulf. The other two are out in the Atlantic. Kirk is sending surf to England (which I know Robb Worthington is going to love).

him: That's happened before. I think that was how the Spanish armada was destroyed... may be if I recall correctly.

 

I think he is correct on that.

That's the point in our conversation when we both decided a movie break would be good.

I've already hit on that earlier today.

(smile!)

a*list and carolyn

It isn't as if she and I went to every movie together -

because we didn't.

We only did that for the last one, the science-fiction themed "Slingshot" with Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne.

That could have been superb if they had stopped it 60 seconds earlier.

Other than that gaffe, it was excellent and dealt with a very real item of concern at NASA for manned voyages to Titan or Mars or anywhere else: the fragile human psyche.

That film earlier this year from AARP MFG dealt with that in depth.

Oh, speaking of that film, it's the only one of the trio which is in its correct slot on this week's dance card.

The other two are out of sequence, though I have no idea why.

"The Crow" - already spoken in detail about - belongs in the first slot, as I saw it on Monday, September 2, not on Tuesday.

I have no inkling as to how AMC scrambled that up.

"City Of Dreams", which I did see on Tuesday/yesterday, belongs in the middle.

I didn't really care for it, as I was expecting a baseball diamond, but got a soccer pitch.

Anyway, the next A*List begins on Friday, and I can hardly wait: "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" awaits me, and if I like it, I just may see it three times!

I'll just be sure to not say it thrice!

LOL!

Oh, and how does Carolyn figure in with the above trio?

On Monday, she was out there at the same time as I, but she went to a different movie.

On Tuesday, she again was out there and I joined her afterward for cake.

On Wednesday, we watched the movie together, then went our separate ways.

Still, we made contact each day!

(smile!)

a flick on the stage at tybee

"Whatever are you talking about?"

Do you remember those Naturalist 101 talks that One Hundred Miles used to have here?

"I sure do! Those were quite informative. I can't believe that local office closed after the pandemic hit. I miss those lectures."

I do, too. Brunswick is just a bit too far to drive for an hour-long talk.

"So, what brought that to mind?"

The panel discussion I attended tonight at the Tybee Post Theatre. Actually, it was a taping of a live podcast of a GPB show, "A Fork In The Road with David Zelski". I've seen the show on TV listings, but I had never tuned in. I'll be watching for it from now on!

"A podcast? Isn't that just talking heads on the radio?"

Not exactly. It's talking heads on the internet, which is why I would prefer to watch old episodes of the show instead of being leashed to my 'puter. Still, I may tune in to hear again the lively discussion for "Hope On The Water" from the stage. Seriously.

"Very good! Who did David Zelski have on this show?"

Three people I didn't know and one I did, amazingly. That's what brought to mind 100 Miles. I knew as soon as I saw his name, though that wasn't until I got home.

"Give, girlie! Don't keep teasing! Just go ahead and tell!"

Bryan Fluech.

"Holy cow! I do recall that name!!! It's pronounced like 'flick', right? And wasn't that a talk that you'd attended with the physicist?"

Yes, it was, and I'd invited the bfe for tonight, but he abstained. I think he would have enjoyed this one. Captain Judy Helmey was there and she was very entertaining! That 73-year-old has been taking folks out on the water for 59 years! Such a hoot!

"73, huh?"

Yeah. I took that as a sign of right place, right time.

"For sure. So you mentioned this was a panel discussion?"

 

Yep! So, looking at the chairs on the stage, here's the line-up, from left to right. David Zelski, Dave Snyder, Laura Solomon, Bryan Fluech (UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant), and Captain Judy. I realize the image is a bit blared out, but they're all white folks under bright lights.

"Yeah, it isn't just folks of color that are difficult to film."

Heard. So, to fill in some gaps. Dave Snyder is a Captain and a chef (Halyards Catering, Hook & Knife Charters). Laura Solomon farms marine life with her husband for their company, The Tybee Oyster Company.

"That seems like a pretty mixed bag of guests."

Actually, it was a carefully curated group designed to provide several facets of "Hope On The Water." Judy gave us the perspective of life on the water. Bryan let us know of the safety provided to the Georgia coast by legislators from the local to the state level. Laura spoke of the miroir, the local flavor imparted to the ocean-derived food here, much like the terroir of wines from the grape locales. And Chef Dave worked on that last one even more, speaking of promotion of native fish species.

"Like red snapper and flounder!"

Like grouper and trigger fish and a host of others that non-fishermen may not have ever known. Due to the ocean warming, we're now seeing fish, and bird, species that have only been down in more tropical waters until now. I like the analogy Bryan Fluech used, to the environment being like a picture drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch. One tiny jiggle and the picture changes, and the little changes add up.

"Very cool. Well, I'll look forward to hearing the podcast."

Just hit up that "Hope In The Water" link. Just that easy!

i wore this for you

"Oh, thank you! I do so love this springtime dress."

Not the dress, silly rabbit. Look closer. I'm talking about the group of chemical symbols spelling out my name. "I wore this for you" is what I said to Sherrill Milnes tonight, pointing out my name. He's been calling me "oo-sure", which seems to be the pronunciation of the word "usher" in other languages.

"Hahahaha! That's a hoot!"

That seems to be the general consensus. Penny told me that's how "usher" would be pronounced in Hebrew. Lonnie, who has a degree in microbiology, thought it very clever to use the chemical symbols. Kim, a former nurse, told me that the chemical symbols are no longer used on labels at the hospitals. The names of the chemicals, including drugs, are spelled out.

"Actually, that doesn't seem odd. Hospitals have to be concerned with malpractice suits, so spelling names in full would be the safer thing to do. How did the Maestro react to your name display?"

He seemed a bit thrown by what F-Au-S-Ti-Na meant, so I'm guessing he's not versed in chemistry. But, when I pronounced my name, he responded "That's a very old name." So, then, of course, I told him about Faustina the Elder and her husband, Antoninus Pius, and the temple in the Forum. He smiled at that, then went on to the sanctuary.

"Well, that's cool! And what was going on tonight? And were you at Asbury Memorial?"

"Back To Broadway" was the event, which would be my penultimate volunteer gig for SVF12. And, yes, this was at my church, and was the final event at this venue.

"I do hope lots of familiar faces were there! After all, Asbury is the home of 'God On Broadway', so folks should have turned out in droves!"

There were some. Helen Downing was there, also Tom Lewis and some of those in the theatre-going group he's put together.

"That's good. Hey, there's something oddly familiar about this photograph..."

Right? I didn't notice the similarity when I took this shot right before the show started. But it looks a lot like that painting the ex has, doesn't it? "Sparkling Night", by Misha Lenn, is its name. I have the magnet of that painting. We'd bought the artwork on that Mediterranean cruise we took in 2002. Smitty had let us have the 8-day trip, a promo offering from Johnson Wholesale Floors, since our 10-year anniversary would fall during it. Plus, I told him I'd take the cruise instead of a raise that year. I knew he'd go for that.

"I remember that. You and Jeff went to the Isle of Capri on October 24th to celebrate the day. Then you went searching for a leather purse when the ferry landed back in Naples. What a memorable vacation that was!"

Most definitely. That's when Jeff noticed my name carved above the pillars of a temple when we were tromping around in the Forum. Wow.

"Wow. That's still such a 'wow' moment, all these years later. So, how was the show?"

The show? Oh, yes, back to the present! So, there were only six singers. Torlef Borsting, who isn't in that stage photo I took, was the only one I didn't know. The three women, from left to right, were Emily Yocum Black (checking her makeup), Kyaunnee Richardson (adjusting her hair), and Leah Huber (perched on the stool). James Wright III and Carlton Moe are the two fellows eying the women raptly. (smile!)

"Yes, very nice! Not exactly like the seriolithograph by Lenn, but definitely in the same flavor."

Exactly. As for the show, there were several songs that I loved. James did such a tender version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" that it brought me to tears. "Sing For Your Supper", done by Kyaunnee, Emily, and Leah, in three cutely choreographed numbers, was great fun! But it was "Think Of Me", the one song on tonight's program from "The Phantom Of The Opera", that was the absolute highlight! Kyaunnee sang the part of 'Christine' beautifully... but the unexpected - and surprise to all - cameo performed by Carlton truly stole the entire night!

"I'm sure! I know you have a soft spot for that tenor, don't you?"

 Most def I do! I wonder if he'll be in tomorrow night's musical? I hope so!

poppies... poppies will make them sleep

"That's from 'The Wizard Of Oz', right?"

You are correct. That line was uttered by the Wicked Witch as she lured the four travelers into taking a short cut that was off the yellow brick road. All the air breathing animals - Dorothy, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion, all fell asleep from those flowery fumes.

"So, what's the reason for that stray line to be here on your beach?"

Apparently eating poppyseeds doesn't have that same effect. 

"When did you come upon those? That isn't part of your usual intake."

It won't be again, either. I bet was up to pee at least seven times last night. Seven times!!!

"That's terrible!!! You must be exhausted."

I admit, I am tired, but I'll be okay. I have things I want to do today. But, first, I wanted to make a note about that ill effect so I don't repeat it ever again.

"I don't recall you ever having that Sweet Kale chopped kit before..."

Publix had the Taylor Farms bagged salads on sale, so I went with those instead of the Fresh Express. This one had the Poppyseed Dressing and I used all of it when I combined the greens with brown rice.

"Was it good?"

It was okay. However, the constant trips to urinate, as well as the racing heart when I laid down, just don't make it worth ever having again. Failed experiment, for sure.

"No, the experiment was good, since you learned something from it."

That's true. Not getting the desired results doesn't equate to failure.

"Correct. Now, go and enjoy this day before the rains return in the afternoon."

a day with debby

As of 11 PM last night, the swirling mass had finally attained the status of respect she wanted.

 

Debby was officially a hurricane, with sustained winds of 75 mph, the minimum requirement needed.

 

She was rocking along at 12 mph in the warm Caribbean waters and heading in to nestle within Florida's gently curving arm.

I went to bed a little later to the sound of rain, but knew the Hurricane 1 status would be a thing of the past once Debby made landfall.

I woke about 6:30 and could not go back to sleep, so I tuned in for Bill and his fish.

Ticker trails above and below the image cast forbidding warnings to all about the approaching storm.

Soon after 8 AM, I checked NHC.NOAA.ORG for a status update.

She was only then making landfall and was still Hurricane Debby.

 

Her speed had slowed down to 10mph and those 75 mph winds were lashing the Florida coast and surrounding areas down to Kissimmee with rain.

 

That rain extended all to way here, to Savannah.

 

I could still see the oak tree across the street, so that was good.

When I checked NHC at 11 AM, the monster had a name change in place: Tropical Storm Debby.

Why did I say monster?

She still packed sustained winds of 70 mph, but had slowed down to 8 mph as she traveled inward.

Debby had been lashing out at Tallahassee as it cut its swath, reaching it around 2 PM.

Concerned, I contacted my blue-sky cousin to see if she was safe.

Penny assured me they were all fine, getting only 0.5" of rain and some wind, but never losing power.

That was such good news!!!

Here, though, the tornado sirens were going off, starting about 3 PM.

That had been the first alert.

By the time of the above message on TV, the tornado sirens had sounded their alarm 4 times in my neighborhood.

When the second one had gone off around 3:30 PM, I readied a space to hunker down: an interior closet with space for me and my medicines, in the hall.

I took out the vacuum cleaner, but left the suitcase, thinking it might provide a seat or cushion, and I left the door open, so I could quickly run in.

Was that the sound of an approaching train?

 

Was that horizontal rain striking the living room window?

 

I knew those signs well.

 

After all, I'd been through a tornado when I worked for my brother Smitty, then again for Hurricane Matthew, and I am terrified of them.

Thankfully, the fifth, and final, siren went off here in Thunderbolt area about 6:30 PM.

 

Debby made it to Waycross by 8 PM, dragging her heels at 6 mph, but at least the winds had quieted - if that's the right word - to 45 mph.

This is the radar image of the monster at 10 PM, and, yes, monster she is.

Stretching all the way out to Macon, Augusta, and Myrtle Beach - all of which are at least three hours from my house - and well into the Atlantic Ocean, Debby is likely three hundred miles wide.

That reminds me of a something I saw on fb on Pat Prokop's page.

 

He had posted the image from NHC as well as his forecasts and warnings.

A woman asked him, "I see the line doesn't go through Savannah. Does that mean we'll be safe?"

He responded, "NO!!! The system is more than 200 miles wide!!! We are definitely getting hit!"

As I told my first niece, people can be so science-illiterate. 

 

At least my students would have known better than to ask that question.

 

Here, we had massive flooding all over town, including something I don't recall ever hearing happen before: the pond at Daffin Park overflowed onto Victory Drive.

That's because we had SIX INCHES of rain today.

Here's a bit of perspective: Savannah usually gets about FIVE inches of rain per summer month.

They've forecast another 4 to 7 inches of rain tomorrow.

Meanwhile, when one of my neighbors asked on Sunday if we needed to get sandbags from the city, I told them this.

"I've lived here since 2001 and even during Hurricane Matthew we did not have flooding. Allegheny backs up sometimes, as does Timberline between DeRenne and Redland, plus Timberline between Skidaway and Pine Valley. The water buildup on Timberline is due to the slopes of the road in that area, but it usually clears in a timely manner."

Let's hope that continues to hold true.

Meanwhile, Savannah is under curfew until 6 AM.

Get this: some twit asked Mayor Van Johnson if that meant all would be safe then.

"No, it means it will be daylight and we can see the hazards."

Science-illiteracy... seriously.

Now, I'm going to bed, to the sounds of strong wind and hard rain, still going as they have been for almost two hours.

Here's hoping tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day, as Jim Croce would say.

"Nobody ever had a rainbow, baby, until he had the rain."

brothers, stew, and favorites of 2023

'Bout time for an experiment, wouldn't you say?

So, for my luncheon at home, I've piled equal portions of Brunswick Stew, with sweet corn, fresh from the can, in between.

The meat dish was prepared by my brothers, with Tony's version on the left and Smitty's on the right, as they both have recently graced with their stews.

Here's the thing: both used Smitty's recipe, but Tony used a different type of Johnny Harris barbeque sauce than Smitty usually does.

The question remained: could my taste buds detect the variation?

They could, slight though it was.

My littlest little brother's was definitely a little - just a bit - spicier than the concoction of my biggest little brother's. 

And just why was I carrying on such an experiment?

It was a rainy day and I didn't feel like going out and getting wet.

I'll have plenty of future days to play in the rain, just not today. 

(smile!)

What else could I do to pass the time?

How about one last look at my favorite outings from last year?

They are still up on the dining room wall, saved from the recycling bag for now.

Soon, these will have to make room for mementos from future outings this year, so why not take a gander at what made these so special?

I do find it interesting that they deal with a phantom, a mummy, knights, a wizard, a magician, Elvis, a cave of bones, a disco, and marine life, plus Veterans Day.

What a curious assortment!

But here's the secret: I was actively involved with each of them!

Yes, I see them staying up as long as possible before they yield their spots on the wall.

(smile!)

voting questions

As a prepared citizen, trying to get my voting done before the rush on the May 21st election Tuesday, I looked up the sample ballot to see what to expect. 

What a shock to find the different ballots available!

Apparently, party selection plays a very big role in what seats I would be allowed to vote for, as well as which slate of questions, if any, I would be voting on.

Seriously.

So, analytical scientist that I am, I pulled up each sample ballot.

 

The one for voters who chose Democrat had the following eight questions to answer.

"State Democratic Party Questions

- 1 -
Should the United States and the State of Georgia protect Georgians from gun violence by banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, and passing other common-sense gun safety reforms?

- 2 -
Should the State of Georgia incentivize clean energy production as part of a climate policy that recognizes the urgent threat that climate change poses to Georgians' health, lives and future?

- 3 -
Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by allowing same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and making secure ballot drop boxes accessible at all times through Election Day?

- 4 -
Should the State of Georgia protect reproductive freedom by repealing the current six-week abortion ban, restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade and ensuring access to contraceptives, IVF, abortion and other reproductive health care?

- 5 -
Should the State of Georgia stop using taxpayer dollars intended for public education to pay for private school vouchers?

- 6 -
Should the State of Georgia raise the minimum wage to a living wage?

- 7 -
Should the portion of the Georgia state constitution allowing for involuntary servitude of prisoners and others convicted of offenses be repealed, thus prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude statewide?

- 8 -
Should the State of Georgia improve access to safe, affordable housing by increasing the affordable housing supply, protecting tenants' rights to habitable living conditions, and cracking down on negligence or abuse by property management companies or landlords?"

--------------------

Those are interesting queries, no doubt to let politicians know what talking points to play up for the media and what topics to field in discussions.

That sounds fair.

What didn't seem fair was this: the Republican voters had different questions.

"State Republican Party Questions

- 1 -
For future elections, do you want hand marked paper ballots, scanned and verified by hand count on live stream video?

- 2 -
Should the legislature enact the FairTax replacing the state income tax and state sales tax with a consumption tax equal to current state funding and taxing no legal citizen or family up to the poverty level of spending?

- 3 -
Should the legislature ban registered lobbyists from serving on the State Elections Board?

- 4 -
Should the Georgia Republican Primary have a closed primary, meaning that only registered Republicans would be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary?

- 5 -
Should public officials who allow illegal migration to occur be held responsible for crimes committed by illegal aliens?

- 6 -
Would you support a statewide vote to allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta?

- 7 -
Currently, hundreds of thousands of hours and dollars are spent every year cleaning up voter rolls. Would you support an amendment to the National Voting Rights Act that would require registered voters to renew their registration every four years?

- 8 -
Do you believe unelected and unaccountable international bureaucrats, like the UN controlled World Health Organization (WHO), should have complete control over
management of future pandemics in the United States and authority to regulate your healthcare and personal health choices?"

 

------------

Say what?

Why are the eight questions so very different for voters of the the two parties?

Shouldn't EVERYONE have the same questions to answer?

Ah, but just wait, the most confusing part is next.

What questions were on the sample ballot for Nonpartisan voters?

 

None.

That was utterly devoid of any questions at all.

In fact, it was also missing several of the spots that were up for election.

Very odd.

 

And which fork in the road did I choose to follow?

That's truly my own business, isn't it?

It is.

Just be aware that all ballots are not created equal...

at least, not in Georgia.

Very odd.

n-o-what?

There were three homophones that popped up while I was going ape with the bfe.

The first was N-o-a-h, as in my step-nephew.

His name came up while we were at Jason's Deli for our luncheon.

I had mentioned that I will be Dane-sitting this week while Tony and Laura are in Missouri for Noah's high school graduation.

Noah will remain there rather than come here for the summer... he has a girlfriend now.

LOL! Poor Laura was so hoping he'd come for one last time!

(smile!)

The second was N-O-A-A, as in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That came up during the luncheon, too, as the Northern Lights is a hot topic now.

Him being a physicist, he knew about NOAA.

I showed him the photo taken by - the ex? Amy? a friend in Michigan? - and we both laughed about the giant smiley face!

When I told him that the light phenomenon was supposed to be more visible earlier in the night, like an hour after sunset, he'd nodded.

"It's because of the angle between the Earth and the sun," he'd said.

Good to know - I'll pass the word along!

(smile!)

The third was N-o-a, though we didn't know the spelling until the credits rolled by.

He requested that our movie be "Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes" - which truly was a surprise to me! - and we saw it in Big D, naturally.

(We were running a little late, as we didn't get our tickets for the 1:00 PM show until 1:22 PM, but we still had two previews to watch before the movie began.)

So, we're watching the ape flick, having flashbacks to the reboot movies, as well as the five in the original franchise, and trying to figure out where this one is in the saga's timeline.

The central character, a chimpanzee of the Eagle Clan, is named Noa.

He thought the name would be with an "h", I hoped it would be without.

I was right!!!

Thus, this post was created.

Ta dah!!!

Got to have a little magic!!!

(smile!)

they're alive!!! Part 2

"This is not the droid you're looking for."

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

I couldn't resist... because resistance is futile!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

 

"Sorry to disrupt your giggling train of hilarity, as Sheldon might say, but those are not from the same science fiction franchise."

Hahahaha! I can just hear him now, saying those very words as he sadly shakes his head!

Yes, I know the difference between "Star Wars" and "Star Trek", but I missed doing anything related to lisping Jedi knights yesterday, so I had to make up for that lapse.

"Yes, dear."

So, tonight was another play by the Rambam 8th graders, and I was again with mi amiga, Barbara.

 

"Just like last night!"

 

Sure, except that was a movie and this is a play.

 

"Okay, fine. And this was being held... where? At the Savannah Children's Theatre? 

 

That is correct! And on the main stage, too!

 

"Very cool!"

 

Yes, it was! "Comic Book Artist" was all about creativity coupled with magical "Pens of Pelopones" that could make any character drawn with them come to life!

"Hahahaha!!! A person could get in trouble with those!"

 

Hence, the theme of the play!

 

"Who's the kid in the crazy hat with all the medallions?"

 

He's the villain, Doctor Shock Clock. Want to take a wild guess what his power is?

 

"He can stop time, of course! Bwah ha ha!"

 

Exactly! So he can rule the world! He was drawn to put some pizzazz into Wonder Comics, but why they drew a villain first is beyond me! Hahaha!

 

"Yeah, that was poor planning, but fun for us!"

Correctomundo! And see that kid between the villain and the green-shirt guy? That's Stanley Leonardo Sappovitz, would-be cartoonist, if only he could get the boss to move him off sweeper duty. Thanks to the villain, he gets his big chance! He's in this photo, too, blocked by the green-shirt kid.

"Are you going to show any of his creations?"

Actually, three of them are in these two photos. Standing beside him in this one are Charisma Guy and Triple Time. And the creature in the mottled fur coat in the upper one? That's Wombat Woman!

"You have got to be kidding! Those don't sound like any evil-fighting bunch to me."

 

Well they are. Including Blossom, they're the Fabulous Four, able to defeat evil by being charming, speedy, totally organic, and burrowing!!! Woohoo!!

"What about Doc Shock Clock? He had no henchmen?"

He had one, Minuto, and she's wearing the shiny pointed helmet in this photo.

"That hardly seems like a fair fight..."

It wasn't! The Fabulous Four were losing until Stanley joined their forces, aided by the Eraser of Pelopones! Hahahaha! I would have liked to see some of those magic-makers!

"What a fun night out! And what a nice pairing of two plays, with this one having comic book characters coming to life, and the other having characters living outside their books!"

Right? And this was entirely fortuitous... but what a match!

Right place, right time... but don't tell Doctor Shock Clock!

LOL!!!

teachers from the past

Andy Pena started things off on fb by posting the above meme.

"Algebra" was all he said.

 

Then came the textversation, fb style, between him and Lorrie and me.

 

Lorretta Ruggiero got me going with her answer.
"Geometry. Why I understood algebra more is beyond me. I truly believe our brains work differently when it comes to math. Algebra wasn’t my bestie, but geometry is still the worst ex of my life."

I totally agreed with her!

Faustina Smith
"Lorrie, same for me as far as geometry is concerned. It didn't help that the teacher (in eighth grade) came in drunk or stoned every morning. We all started doing better when she crashed her car and wasn't able to be there the rest of the spring."

Lorretta Ruggiero
"Faustina, I switched to a new teacher the second semester and did much better than with the first teacher. The first teacher thought my friend and I were "weird" and made us miserable while she fawned all over the football players. My second teacher went on maternity leave and I got a third teacher. I ended up getting an A on my final exam with her. The teacher definitely makes a difference."
Andy had to jump back in at that point.

 

Andy Peña
"Lorrie - Absolutely. When I was in college, it took me three tries to pass Algebra 101. The first two times, with two different teachers, were disasters. They both did that INFURIATING thing that math teachers do:
TEACHER: Now, a+b = b+a, right?
(I nod in agreement because I DO comprehend that statement.)
TEACHER: Okay, then! Since we know that, anyone with any sense could tell you that this simple formula is true as well: 3ix 3ix+4-5i=(1+ 5i=(1+2)×+21 2i (1+ 3ix+4-7i=r+i× 3ix =x+1x 4-7=次ー2.= =-2=1-2) -2i)x 4-7i 4-7i1+2i 1+2i 4+i+14 -14 5 1-2i1+2 1-2i 1+2i 18 1 r=-+-! 一 5 5"

LOL!

Too bad Barbara Nixon isn't on fb.

As a lifelong math teacher and tutor, it would have been nice to get her take on that.

Come to think of it, I wonder what my cousin, Beverly Prouty, would have to say, or my Aunt Linda Walker?

Both of them are retired math teachers...

but, come to think of it, none of that trio are really into geometry.

Funny!

o, b a fine girl, kiss me

Believe it or not, a female astronomer - Annie Cannon - is the one who came up with that mnemonic to help people remember the Harvard Scale for stellar energy, which is based on their spectral characteristics.

We even watched as the actors used diffraction gratings to look at the images captured on the photographic plates by the telescope at the Harvard Observatory.

That's where they were working in the first twenty years of the 20th century, as a time when women were fine as computers - i.e., ones who compute values - but could never actually use the telescopes themselves.

Who were "they"?

Well, the aforementioned Annie Cannon, who was the one in charge of the computers; Willamina, the former housekeeper of the man who ran the telescope, made a computer when the men given the task failed abysmally; and Henrietta Leavitt, the one who wanted the job in astronomy so much that she convinced her father, a minister, to give her the money set aside for her dowry, as she planned to devote her life to science.

That's pretty much what happened, too.

That's according to Lauren Gunderson, author of "Silent Sky", the play I watched tonight from my seat, right beside Mama's, in Jenkins Hall at Armstrong.

 

Henrietta left home, and the one sister she had, for life at a desk, doing research.

She only returned home after the father had a stroke and her sister needed help...

but she brought her research home with her.

That was a happy coincidence, as it turned out.

While listening to the religious symphony her sister had composed, Henrietta had an insight into the puzzle she'd been trying to solve and suddenly realized the pattern between the luminosity and the period of variables related to pulsing stars (the Cepheid variables) in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds.

Right place, right time... for her then, for me tonight.

It took her sitting still for long hours, for years, to compile enough data to see that pattern.

Without her patience, humanity might never have had the proof that out Milky Way was not the only galaxy in space.

Nor would there have been a way to determine distances to those other galaxies.

Science takes much time, and much patience, to produce viable truths.

Amazing.

Here's another coincidence: Henrietta Leavitt died of cancer at the age of 53, just as Dorothy Ashby - the unseen, but still heard, star of the noon30 - had done, years later.

As I said, right place, right time, for me.

i thank You, God.

more bfe at sjcaf this week!

I was so glad to see him, too!

The earlier event ran quite long, so he had to meet me at the JEA after his Buddhist sit-in was done.

Good to see the J-Dawg's smiling face after such a serious lecture by Brendan Murphy...

but more on that later.

First, happy stuff!

Like this fun documentary - "The Catskills" - about the Jewish summer resorts up in the mountains.

At one point, there were over 500 of them in the Borscht Belt, there in the southeastern part of New York.

That would be the state, not the city.

(smile!)

Its heyday was in the 1940's and 1950's, hence the reason for the physicist's interest, as he watched old TV shows from that time.

Speaking of him, he told me that Buddhists are now taking over those old resorts.

They're nice and isolated, so they're a good place for meditation outings.

I could see that being a thing!

He and I had a nice discussion during our dinner 

at Bonefish Grill.

He even reminded me of our visit in the parking lot

during the pandemic - very sweet!

Anyway, he's apparently on a fish kick, and I always 

enjoy seafood, so it was purr-fect.

(smile!)

I shared with him this delightful short I'd seen!

No, I didn't show him the actual video, right?

My phone doesn't do those kinds of tricks.

(smile!)

But I did describe in glowing detail "Zoe's Dumpling Crisis"!

I'd stumbled upon it by accident and found a youTube channel that features a new short film every month!

Yes, train has jumped the track, hasn't it?

(smile!) 

Where was I... oh, yes... Zoe and her battling babcias.

See, Zoe is a student at an international school and was tasked with bringing a dish from "her family's home country" to share with the class.

But therein lay the dilemma.

One parent was from Turkey; the other, from Russia.

So, which type of food should she make for school?

And of course both babcias wanted to help...

with the Turkish grandma insisting that Zoe take Manti...

and the Russian grandma determined she take Pelmeni...

whatever would the girl do?

I'll tell you what she did!

When the babcias weren't looking, she mixed together the container of Manti with the container of Pelmena and threw on little American flags for color!

The babcias didn't know until Zoe's Asian-Australian friend came by to pick her up and opened the container to see inside.

"Oh, you made dimsum!", he said!

Hahahaha!

Such a delightful ending!

Apparently, every country has their version of a dumpling...

just like so many have their version of a mint-infused cocktail...

meaning we have more things in common than we give credit.

(smile!)

He had a fun topic for  me, too!

He's going to a lecture by a Nobel Laureate on "background photons"...

which are also known as Cosmic Microwave Background...

which are remnants of the real Big Bang that formed the universe.

Pretty cool, right?

But here's the coolest part of all: remember the static that would appear on the old cathode-ray tube television screens when the TV station would sign off transmitting for the day?

That static was from the background photons all around us.

Hey, ask your grandma, she'll tell you about it, okay?

it was pretty cool science stuff...

(smile!)