SoINeedAName

It’s A Bittersweet Friday

Posted by SoINeedAName at 2:44 pm Politics

Jul 172020

BITTER

The post I was planning on using can fortunately wait, because today I came across a powerful COVID-19 Essay in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) just published today about the devastating impact on frontline people caring for patients that Trump’s incompetence and malignant mismanagement has had.

I’ll admit that given my background, it probably hit me harder than most. But it will have an impact on anyone who cares about other human beings.

It was written by Dr. Anna DeForest, who is a resident in the Neurology Dept. at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. DeForest also happens to have an MFA degree in writing – and this compelling essay showcases her talents.

She writes about her experience being called from a normal neurology residency to help battle COVID-19. With that in mind, and to be safe, I’ll add a potential TRIGGER WARNING.

I’ll provide the opening and closing paragraphs to help you judge:

Before I become your doctor, you have been intubated for weeks. I am a point in time, unattached to the greater narrative. I call your husband each afternoon, tell him you are stable. He asks about the medicine that props up your blood pressure. He calls it the levo, acquainted by now with the slang of intensive care. It’s true, we have pressors to assist your failing heart, a ventilator to breathe for you, venovenous hemofiltration to do the work of your kidneys. “Your wife is very sick,” I say, “but stably sick.” None of this is anything new.

…

What else is there to say? You are dead, like so many others, and the rest of us are left to live in the absence of any certainty. We can’t go on, and we go on: back to work, back to rounds, back to the next case coming crashing in. It is no use to think about the future, our training, or what happens next. We are all attending now to a historic and global suffering, and learning the limit of the grief our hearts can bear.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2016293

It’s a very short (only 12 paragraphs), but powerful piece. Feel free to save it for later if now is not a good time for you to read it.

SWEET

Staying with a medical theme, we’ve all been keeping an eye out for updates on a potential Coronavirus vaccine and additional medications that might help treat patients. Lost in this flurry of focusing on COVID, you might have missed the release of a new drug that’s a true miracle worker: Phucomol™

Friday Fun: Plenty of Perky Non-Political Puppets

Posted by SoINeedAName at 2:49 pm Politics

Jul 102020

We’ve all been plagued for too long by the impropriety, imprudence and impudence of Putin’s Puppet, *Rump – so today I’ll try to reclaim the honor of honest, hardworking puppets.

During the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus (aka, Trump Virus), Chicagoan Matt Owens was laid off from his job at the Brookfield Zoo. It was there he designed and created natural-looking toys and “enrichment devices” for the animals both at Brookfield as well as for the Disney Animal Kingdom, and the San Diego and Cincinnati Zoos.

Given Owens’ impressive and extensive resume in the arts, having been a performer and stage designer for numerous theatrical venues in the city, as well as designing numerous puppets for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Lyric Opera and movie director Tim Robbins – he was looking for an outlet to employ his skills while stuck at home.

Matt and his wife Carla (a librarian) decided creating puppets to use in staging shows would be a good way to utilize his many talents.

Thus was born the “Lockdown Puppet Theater”.

On any given Saturday afternoon Matt and Carla put on their polished production of Puppetry in their Lakeview neighborhood – free of charge!

And the cast of characters is impressive! A neighbor and audience regular, Jennifer O’Brien, asks: “Where else can you see and hear a Yodeling Toad singing about sushi?” Only in Chicago!

The Yodeling Toad is joined on a rotating basis by over 40 other puppets – mostly of a circus character – from a Sword Sallower, Gorilla, Organ Grinder with his Monkey, a Ring Master, Magician, Juggler, Trapeze Artist, Elephant, Acrobats … and so many more.

The second-floor balcony of their apartment serves as the proscenium with colorful flower boxes flanking both sides and a bright green stage curtain. The shows always include music, singing and oftentimes Matt’s own bagpipe playing. And it wouldn’t be complete without Giggles the Clown tell some corny Dad Jokes:

“My father was a clown too. All his friends came to his memorial in one car.”

“What do you call a clown who never sits down? A stand-up comedian.”

“What kind of birds always stick together? Vel-crows.”

“Why do you tell actors to ‘Break a leg’? Because they’re all in a cast.”

The majority of the audience are people just running errands, walking their dogs or out for a jog who fortunately happen upon a delightful, colorful and unique entertainment – and stay for the half-hour show.

But there are some regulars, including next-door neighbor, 2-year-old Sebron Haley, who comes every Saturday and always has a great view perched on his dad’s shoulders – unless he’s down on the sidewalk dancing to the music.

I was inspired to dig a little deeper to this perfect example of turning lemons into lemonade by a story I saw on CBS. Unfortunately, the only video of it I can find is one posted on CBS’s Facebook page.

Besides have Comcast/Xfinity work on their cable relay box for several hours today – leaving me high and dry – I then decided I would try to teach myself how to embed Facebook videos. After trying for over an hour using iFrame and Javascript SKD, I learned all you have to do is just plugin the URL. Geez … what an idiot!

PUPPET THEATER: At a time when so many are searching for an escape from the coronavirus crisis, a Chicago man’s creations are captivating a city. Adriana Diaz has more on the voice breaking through the silence of social isolation.

Posted by CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell on Thursday, July 9, 2020

Friday Fun: PSA, Monuments & A Poem

Posted by SoINeedAName at 9:06 am Politics

Jul 032020

I’ll start with a PSA that some might not consider all that “Fun”. But hopefully it’s at least informative. It’s a COVID-19 Risk Calculator.

It’s only takes a minute or two to complete, and I have no idea how accurate it is. Although they do provide a VERY detailed analysis of how they made their calculations. (It is a math site, after all.) And their FAQ section seems very straightforward and informative to me.

I scored a disappointing 53 on mine. But keeping the same parameters except for shaving 15 years off my age, I dropped down to 31. So apparently age is fairly heavily weighted score.

Covid-19 Risk Calculator:

https://19andme.covid19.mathematica.org/

On a lighter note, Davram Stiefler and Jason Selvig decided that with all the Confederate statues being taken down, two prominent contemporary politicians should each actually have new ones raised in their honor. So they took it upon themselves to get the job done.

Your initial shock that the two pols are Donald Trump and Steve King will be leavened by some levity on further inspection.

Did I fail to mention that these are Confederate Monuments? Given their longstanding history of racist bigotry, I guess I just assumed you’d conclude that. Sorry.

Trump’s Confederate Monument is prominently placed near the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain in Central Park. And while the statue is not large (apparently gold is not as cheap as they had hoped), its white marble plinth is quite handsome.

And wanting to reflect the magnitude of Trump’s historical importance by the Monument’s size, I think this picture will provide us with some much-needed perspective:

[Please Note: If you look closely at the second photo, you’ll see it actually sits in the basin of a cement birdbath – so at least it’ll be useful.]

It’s always been a toss-up between Louie “Cast No Aspersions on My Asparagus” Gohmert and Steve “Cantaloupe Calves” King on who is the DUMBEST Representative in Congress. The fact that King lost his primary and will be leaving us soon gave him the boost he needed to edge out Gohmert for the Monument selection.

King’s Confederate Monument sits on its granite plinth in a prominent location: The West Capitol Terrace in front of Iowa’s state capitol in Des Moines.

King’s Monument was the first to be installed back in February. Maybe it was a dry run to see what the two pranksters could get away with. Trump’s didn’t go up until March.

Resource:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-confederate-monument-the-good-liars_n_5e624383c5b601904ea93314?guccounter=1

BONUS

Before we get too far removed from Trump’s dainty dance sprint down the West Point ramp, I want to share a fun poem by fellow Kossack Runyonr memorializing Trump’s slip-sliding away:

The Penguin Creep

The slippery ramp was long and steep.

So slowly did the Penguin creep

You could tell his health is failing,

Then he complained there was no railing

And nearly fell flat on his ass.

He needs two hands to raise a glass

Because his head cannot tilt back.

There’s clearly something out of whack.

But on one thing he can rely:

That he still has the power to lie.

At that the Penguin is a champ:

That’s what’s slippery, not the ramp.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/14/1953120/-The-Penguin-Creep?utm_campaign=recent

Friday Fun: A Pizzeria Transitions from Pepperoni to PPE to Help Battle COVID

Posted by SoINeedAName at 3:16 pm Politics

Jun 262020

For years, Chicagoans have been lining up outside Dimo’s Pizza on Clark in Wrigleyville (just two blocks south of the Cubs’ “friendly confines”) and the newer location on Damen in Wicker Park to get a slice of their great pies.

But when COVID-19 hit and Gov. Pritzker (D) responsibly mandated restaurants, clubs and bars shut their dining room doors, Dimo’s lost 70% of their revenue. They still did curbside pickup and added BYOP (Bake Your Own Pizza) kits, but income lagged and it would be impossible to keep their staff employed.

Additionally, they were shocked about the horror stories across America from Trump’s inept pandemic management that forced healthcare workers in the trenches to also deal with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) shortages.

The owner, Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau, started thinking about how to help protect healthcare folks AND keep his loyal staff gainfully employed. So he started calling everyone he could think of for ideas. He began by talking with his sister, who is a doctor, and then added engineering friends and digital designers.

He learned his pizza ovens in the front (the pies are baked in wood ovens in the back and then reheated either by the slice or whole up front when ordered to ensure a crispy crust) could be easily repurposed to mass produce protective face shields!

He worked with Avenue Metal, Co. to make the molds to shape the shields, and in two weeks the prototype shield was made with a blow torch, some acrylic and the stainless-steel molds. In another week they had perfected the art (and right temperature and duration) for softening sheets of acrylic in their reheating ovens. They only stay in the oven for 30-45 seconds before draping them over the mold and then pressed down with a mirror-image mold on top – so it’s very fast.

Once cooled, the shields have foam forehead strips and Velcro securing straps attached. “It really is a very quick process,” Dimitri says. “Whether it’s slinging slices or slinging acrylic, it’s similar principles.”

Unlike wood-fired ovens to bake the pizzas, the Bakers Pride Gaslight Oven used upfront to reheat the pies is temperature controlled to assure quality control for the acrylic. And Dimitri adds, “Plus there are no ashes!”

It wasn’t long before Dimitri was fielding calls from pizzerias across America as well as from London and Kuwait on how they could replicate the process.

Dimitri shared that when he checked, face shield prices on Amazon typically ranged from $15 to $30. While Dimo’s is not able to economically give them away, they charge a nominal fee of $5 a mask. They can crank out 5,000 masks a week, and have been able to keep the entire front house staff employed!

It’s definitely been a Win-Win-Win: Dimo’s – the staff – healthcare workers.

And Dimo’s Pizza concern for the community didn’t end just with making PPE face shields – they’ve also donated hundreds of pies to hospitals and homeless shelters all across Chicago during the COVID Pandemic!

But currently, Dimo’s is the only pizza shop in Chicago where you can now get a pie with a Face Shield side order.

This is the best video I found with some background and showing how the face shields are actually made:

Friday Fun: Dad “Adopts” 2.3 MILLION Kids! Happy Father’s Day!

Posted by SoINeedAName at 8:57 am Politics

Jun 192020

Robert Kenney of Washington state never set out to have a large family – but he has one now! Well, sort of.

Kenney was never close to his own Dad, even before he left the family when Rob was only 14 y/o. He shares that without a Dad, the father-figure he came to rely on was his older brother, Rick. So when Kenney married and started his own family, he decided to try to be the best Dad he could.

Rob with his wife, Annelli – Married 30 years

When he started getting a lot of “adulting” questions from daughter, Kristine, about how to solve practical issues around the house, he came up with an idea. He asked Kristine what she thought about creating some videos for her, son Kyle, and hopefully his grandkids about gaining a few life skills.

Rob with newborn daughter, Kristine

Kristine’s response: “Dad – that would be brilliant!” Thus was born, “Dad, How Do I …?”.

It began with modest issues Rob was familiar with – how to tie a tie (his first video), how to jump start a car, how to fix a squeaky door. He put the videos on YouTube believing this would be a permanent library for his kids and grandkids, and maybe a few of their friends.

But he had no idea they would become so popular.

In trying to explain his overwhelming success, Rob admits he is not reinventing the wheel: “There are 500 other channels that will tell you how to tie a tie.” But he believes what has led to his gaining 2.3 MILLION subscribers is kindness. He feels he talks to the camera like he would to his own children. Besides, the internet, “doesn’t have an algorithm for kindness.”

He sprinkles his folksy “How To” videos with lots of corny Dad jokes (“I was going to go on an all almond diet. But then I thought, that’s just nuts!”) and common sense with a huge helping of compassion and caring. From the comments he gets on the YouTube videos, he believes that lots of younger folks are missing having connections with their parents – and he hopes he’s helping fill that void.

To enjoy a sampling, just head to his YouTube library of “Dad, How Do I?” and settle back for some fatherly know-how along with some good advice.

Practical “Dadvice” for Everyday Tasks

But be sure to watch his most popular video – “I Am Proud of You” – that didn’t teach a thing … other than how to be a mensch.

“I get emotional…. I put out a video, and I basically just said, ‘I’m proud of you, I love you, God Bless you,’ and some comments said they’ve never been told that someone is proud of them,” recalled Kenney.

Oh, to put your minds at ease … he did reconcile with his own Father shortly before he passed. So it looks like the Circle of Life was completed. So here’s the happy Kenney family:

SOURCES:

https://headtopics.com/us/how-this-handy-dad-became-the-internet-s-dad-with-his-how-to-fix-it-videos-13679867

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/879892191/dads-youtube-channel-advises-how-to-change-a-flat-other-life-skills

Friday Good News We Can All Enjoy: RNC Approves Best GOP Platform EVAH!

Posted by SoINeedAName at 3:16 pm Politics

Jun 122020

Today’s article will be different than the usual “Friday Fun” because of a major snafu on the part of the GOP. Rather than actually do the hard work of sitting down and drafting a new Platform for 2020 – they decided to just recycle the old 2016 one. And it’s the most truthful thing the Repubicans have ever published!

Because of the kerfuffle over Trump demanding to relish the adulation and genuflection of his mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging Trumpkins at a GOP coronation convention, combined with his being immune to Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D-NC) common sense efforts to try to explain to him that there IS STILL AN ON-GOING PANDEMIC, Trump demanded the convention be moved from Charlotte to Jacksonville.

In light of this fiasco and logistical nightmare, the RNC’s Executive Committee decided to cut corners and simply voted to keep the 2016 Platform.

In fact, a GOP Platform Committee spokesperson, Melody Potter, told the NY Times it’s “the best one we’ve had in 40 years, so I’m fine with renewing it and extending it to 2024. As a matter of fact, and you can quote me on this, I think it is a ray of sunshine in this whole messy storm.”

Well, Melody is obviously not up to speed on what’s actually in the 2016 Platform …

“because there are more than three dozen unflattering references to either the “current president,” “current chief executive,” “current administration,” people “currently in control” of policy, or the “current occupant” of the White House that appear in the Republican platform.

So let’s enjoy a few of these gems describing what a disastrous president Trump truly has been. In fact, in the Comments I hope you’ll select and share with us what you think the best paragraph is:

[1] “The huge increase in the national debt demanded by and incurred during the current Administration has placed a significant burden on future generations.”

[2] “The current Administration has exceeded its constitutional authority, brazenly and flagrantly violated the separation of powers, sought to divide America into groups and turn citizen against citizen.”

[3] “The next president must restore the public’s trust in law enforcement and civil order by first adhering to the rule of law himself.”

[4] “The current Administration has abandoned America’s friends and rewarded its enemies.”

[5] “The President has refused to defend or enforce laws he does not like, used executive orders to enact national policies in areas constitutionally reserved solely to Congress, made unconstitutional ‘recess’ appointments to Senate-confirmed positions, directed regulatory agencies to overstep their statutory authority, and failed to consult Congress regarding military action overseas.”

[6] “We further affirm that courts should interpret laws as written by Congress rather than allowing executive agencies to rewrite those laws to suit administration priorities.”

[7] “The survival of the internet as we know it is at risk. Its gravest peril originates in the White House, the current occupant of which has launched a campaign, both at home and internationally, to subjugate it to agents of government.”

All are taken from the 2016/2020 GOP Platform:

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/7019-republican-platform/cc2c15a0e1b432d6964b/optimized/full.pdf#page=1

While they all have our heads nodding in agreement, I think we can also agree that a mistake of this magnitude is NOT your garden variety incompetence – this is incompetence taken to a whole new level … even for Trump & Repubicans!

Oh, and a heads up WRT the George Floyd demonstrations … I just want you to know that if Trump comes out of his bunker and sees his shadow, there’ll be six more weeks of protests.

Friday Fun: He HATES Being Called “Bunker Boy”

Posted by SoINeedAName at 3:30 pm Politics

Jun 052020

Hey, Ivanka – Where’s Your Pa?

Hiding in the Bunker! HA! HA! HA!

Turning off all the lights and heading down to the basement to avoid Trick-or-Treaters might work on Halloween. But when the country you’re supposed to be leading is facing a global Pandemic that has killed over 100,000 Americans, leading to near Depression level unemployment and economic catastrophe – hiding in a bunker will simply not work in trying to ignore the racial chaos that you yourself helped create.

And yet the man who thinks a mask makes him look “weak” is now cowering … errr, I mean “inspecting” the White House Bunker.

In fact VP Pence snapped a candid shot of him giving the floor a close-up examination:

It’s clear that this new “Bunker Boy” sobriquet is driving him crazy! So let’s give him a shove in that direction!

In heading down to the Bunker and turning out the lights in the White House, Trump was able to set a couple of records:

And who could imagine that the Simpsons TV show would be able to actually predict history? Other than for a president’s funeral, the lights of the White House remain lit all the time … except when Bunker Boy is cowering.

Fortunately, Melania was there to help him down those scary stairs …

And he at least did bring his Bunker Inspector hat with him …

But his only real concern was his own personal safety …

In fact, here he is peeking out to see if the coast is clear …

Looks like we’re not the only ones who got a good laugh from Bunker Boy’s cowardice …

And I think we can all imagine John McCain voicing these closing thoughts up in heaven …

BONUS

I’ve seen what’s described as a great song parody of Bunker Boy. Obviously I’ll have to take other folks’ word for it – but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it:

Saturday Smiles: An Artist Who Found the Key(s) to Success

Posted by SoINeedAName at 2:38 pm Politics

May 302020

Most of us have probably seen George Seurat’s well-known example of Pointillism: “A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte” (1884-1886).

Artist Erik Jensen has updated this process using computer keys from discarded keyboards instead of dots of paint. Employing a flathead screwdriver, he wedges it under the edge and then “peels” them off the board.

(He actually now pays his Mom to strip the keyboards.)

Jensen refers to his art technique as “Tech-Pointillism” with each key becoming a pixel, like on a computer screen. A single project can take up to 40,000 keys – that’s about 460 keyboards! But since he possess over 8,000 discarded QWERTYs, he’s pretty well set “paint-wise”.

He was inspired by a college art class assignment where students had to transform something nobody any longer wanted into something they did. Realizing that we all are familiar with a keyboard and its myriad of applications, he decided to use old and discarded keyboards to transform them into a piece of art.

Since he doesn’t cut any of the keys, each piece must adhere to a strict grid pattern. This makes recreating curves and circles the most difficult part of the creation.

To begin, after stripping the keyboards, he soaks the keys in a soapy solution for at least 24 hours to get rid of dirt, grease, grime, food and cat hairs. Then to stock his palette, he dyes the lighter colored keys in a multitude of colors and shades.

He has a secret dye recipe that the keys are soaked in for varying lengths of time. The longer they stay in the dye, the darker the shade of that color. And he stores all the varying shades of that one color in a plastic bin.

The special feature of his secret dye recipe is that it does not obscure the letters. That’s important to Jensen because if you stand back, you’ll see a masterpiece reproduction. But if you look closer, spelled out with computer keys, you’ll find quotes from the great masters. Like Van Gogh’s quote of “I dream of painting and then I paint my dreams” found in Jensen’s “Starry Night”. (There’s an example in the YouTube video)

Jensen was born deaf (he has since had a cochlear implant) and at one time taught high school art and American Sign Language (ASL). He said that because of his deafness he learned to communicate through his art. Consequently, he believes art is his first language, and English is his second.

He always turns his cochlear implant off when he’s creating: “I love silence. Silence is my music.” And clearly he gets a big kick out of his unique brand of creativity. Why, some of his creations are even edible – like this Pablo Picasso portrait:

To enjoy more of this unique artist’s work, take a look at his funky Facebook page – or his more serious website.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Erikjensenart/posts/

https://www.erikjensenart.com/computerkeyart

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