In June I kept to the same pattern with my running and walking as with April and May, running up and down the air-conditioned hallways and rooms of my house to avoid the sweltering heat outside and getting most of my walking mileage while at my physically demanding workplace...seems to be working on both fronts. I participated in no running races in June...the only locally available one is the Depot Parkrun 5K held every Saturday morning. The good thing about it is that it's free. The drawbacks are that I have to drive across town and that it takes place at 7:30...I get off from work late the previous evening. I have a gym membership that I rarely use...it involves driving across town, too, and I have trouble finding the right time to go there. Still, with the current system I'm using I seem to be keeping in shape. I've noticed that on Facebook there are informal running groups around town: one in Tioga west of Gainesville, one that goes into the Felasco Hammock park north of me, and one that uses the Hawthorne Trail. But all three take place when I'm at work, so that won't work. Besides, truth be told, I'm a bit solitary with my running. When longer races begin to return in the fall, I may sign up for them. But for now, I'm planning to continue running indoors the way I have been doing...
Thursday, June 30, 2022
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1985 Science Fiction, Part 2
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Wimbledon Tournament Begins with, You Guessed It, Controversy
The 2022 Wimbledon tennis tournament began yesterday with the first round of play. It's one of four Grand Slam tournaments in professional tennis...Rafael Nadal won the men's singles in the Australian and French Opens earlier this year while Ashleigh Barty (now retired) won the women's Australian Open and Iga Swiatek the French. Although Nadal is still in the running for a Grand Slams sweep, he has chronic foot pain and Novak Djokovic is in the Wimbledon tournament, having dominated it in recent years. Djokovic was banned from the Australian Open earlier this year because he refused to get a Covid-19 vaccine. Now the controversy at Wimbledon lies with players from Russia and Belarus, mainly Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka, banned from participation due to those countries' brutal invasion of Ukraine. As for me, I'd just like to see the best players out there playing each other in their best physical form without regard to their national origins...not gonna happen, though. Yesterday I enjoyed watching Djokovic play and defeat Kwon Swon-woo in the first round. Roger Federer is still out recovering from his knee injury, but Serena Williams is in it with a match today...hooray! ESPN and ABC are covering Wimbledon...which should be a marked improvement in television coverage after NBC relegated most of the French Open action last month to its premium Peacock channel: what a rip-off that was! I don't plan to spend my time 24/7 watching tennis, but I do tend to have my mornings open and that's when a lot of the live play is going on. Should be fun...
Monday, June 27, 2022
Podcaster Recycles Old Suggestions to Beating Laziness
Sunday, June 26, 2022
My #25 All-Time Favorite Album: The Stranger by Billy Joel
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Get Off Your Asses and Vote in Every Election
Friday, June 24, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Stephen King
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Special Events and Drama vs. Daily Routines
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1985 Science Fiction, Part 1
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Changing Voting Registration over Crucial Issue
Monday, June 20, 2022
Podcaster Talks About Things We Cannot Change
On a recent Mindset Mentor podcast, personal development coach Rob Dial explored the notion of things we have no control over, and why reacting to them as if we did is counterproductive to what we're trying to accomplish in our lives. He cited some personal examples, such as someone stealing a TV set from his office years earlier or a harrowing plane flight he was on in which one of the engines caught fire. In both situations he noted that ultimately, his control over them rested in the responses he made, giving the Victor Frankl quote about the space in time between a stimulus and response being the opportunity for personal growth, depending on the choices we make therein. For me it's important...after considering a particular situation as to its actual possibilities for change...to come to a conclusion about the elements that are beyond my powers to influence and then be at peace with it other after doing what I can do to make things better. I couldn't change the fact that significant issues were discovered about my heart back in 2012...after nine years of annual testing my physician finally, strongly recommended corrective surgery: I couldn't change the situation but decided to be at peace with it and undergo a pretty involved procedure. I see the way many people around me reacted to the recent (and still ongoing) Covid-19 pandemic as they refused to wear masks or even socially distance, some of them (including a wonderful couple I had worked with for many years) succumbing to this horrid pestilence...but other than protecting myself around them and practicing my own consideration for others by masking up, to continually browbeat others about what I perceived to be their utter callousness on the subject would not have done myself, them, or anyone else any good. I could go down a list of grievances about this issue or that and ultimately conclude that I have little to no control over them, beyond public protests (I'm skeptical about the value of that strategy) or casting my one single vote among millions. Think of the ongoing news stories about war, mass shootings, the price of gas and the upsurge of fascism...other than writing some criticisms about them and expressing my opinions to others from time to time, there is little point in me allowing them to destroy my composure and react as if everything in life is horrible. Life is wonderful and precious...let's honor it by making choices of love and encouragement in the midst of the pandemonium...
Sunday, June 19, 2022
My #26 All-Time Favorite Album: Violator by Depeche Mode
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Hot Weather, Congratulations to Golden State Warriors
I'm sitting here at home late at night on a Saturday after work a shift on my off day...man, what hot weather we've been having here! I remember, though, not too many years ago when the afternoon temperature would get into the low 90s, but I would out and do ten-mile-plus training runs and then clean up and go to a physically demanding job. Now when I take Daisy our new puppy out into the backyard to do her business, I feel like I'm stepping into an oven...no running needed for the effect. I'm afraid we're in for more of the same not only in the next few days but for the entire summer. On a completely different note, I'd like to congratulate the Golden State Warriors for their great comeback from injuries and winning another National Basketball Association championship, this final series over the Boston Celtics four games to two. Although I like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole on the Warriors side, the Celtics' Al Horford, who starred on the last major college basketball team to win two consecutive national championships in 2005-06 and 2006-07, has been a long-time favorite of mine and his play during the entire playoffs has been extraordinary. One thing that bugged me during the Golden State-Boston series was how the Warriors on offense often seemed too cavalier and careless with their ball handling, dribbling and passing...I wish they'd get all that together. Still, they made the shots they had to make and are the champs...hooray!
Friday, June 17, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Brian Tracy
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Constellation of the Month: Libra (the Scales)
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1984 Science Fiction, Part 7
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Just Finished Reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
I already knew science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin from her Earthsea fantasy series as well as a number of sci-fi short stories I've read in "year's best" anthologies. Her 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness, which I just finished reading, was a great critical success probably mostly due to its examination of gender roles in an "ambisexual" society and its analogous use of Eastern religious concepts in the setting of a distant planet in the far-off future. On the remote planet of Gethen exist two competing human societies, with its population simultaneously male and female...at least potentially, since sexual characteristics and behavior only arise during a short period called "kemmer". The federation of planets, a.k.a. the Ekumen, has sent Genly Ai to investigate the situation on Gethen and invite their leaders to join this organization of worlds...sounds kind of like the Federation in Star Trek. But first Ai has to not only overcome the political infighting present in both nations of that planet, but he also has to see past his own biased assumptions about sexuality and how he is inaccurately judging the people there, whose physiological makeup and social customs are vastly different. On top of this are complex ritual systems of communication and interaction that the envoy can't seem to help violating every time he opens his mouth. This seems a pretty relevant story in the context of today's discussions about gender identity and many regard it as a significant, early feminist science fiction novel. The narrative goes back and forth between Ai and the nation of Karhide's disgraced and exiled prime minister Estravan, whom Ai cannot bring himself to trust in spite of every indication to the contrary. Le Guin is very detailed with her descriptions of Gethen's geography and the dominant philosophies there. I think I may have rushed reading through it...I have a feeling that I'll be giving it a second reading before long and can understand how it received such acclaim. I became aware of this story of Ursula K. Le Guin while reading Gardner Dozois' introduction to one of her short stories in his anthology series. I'd be interested in reading any of your reactions to it should you decide to take it on...
Monday, June 13, 2022
Podcaster's Tips for Increasing Confidence
Sunday, June 12, 2022
My #27 All-Time Favorite Album: A New World Record by Electric Light Orchestra
A NEW WORLD RECORD, by the British band Electric Light Orchestra, is my #27 all-time favorite album. ELO in its early years was much more popular in America than Britain. Its founders were Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne...Wood would leave in 1972 after only a couple of years and guitarist Lynne took over the band's creative direction while serving as its lead vocalist. Other regular members of this group that tended to take on (and shed) different musicians over the years were drummer Bev Bevlan and keyboardist Richard Tandy. A New World Record, their sixth studio album, came out in 1976 and is widely regarded as their best. Continuing with ELO's tradition of fusing rock and classical orchestral music with a not-so-subtle tribute to the Beatles and their producer George Martin's arrangement skills, this record is loaded with beautiful and compelling songs. The only song on it I dislike is Telephone Line, and that's most certainly because the radio mercilessly overplayed it to the point that I became sick of hearing it. My favorite song of 1976...as I lived through that year...is the track Livin' Thing, and the two sides' respective opening tracks, Tightrope and So Fine, represent my next two favorite songs from the album. Do Ya, on the second side, is the heaviest rocker on the album, while the closing track Shangri-La is very dreamy and reflective. Rounding out this album are the songs Mission: A New World Record, Above the Clouds and Rockaria...it's all less than 37 minutes in length, two of them easily fitting on a compact disc. Electric Light Orchestra's follow-up work Out of the Blue, a double album, is also loaded with good songs...but afterward they began to slide into a pop/disco act that I felt detracted from their earlier appeal. Different incarnations of ELO have sprung up over the years...Lynne is still out there performing the old hits. He's also well known as a member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys, along with his old idol George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. You can hear A New World Record off YouTube if you like. Although Jeff Lynne has expressed his affection for the old Beatles music, in my opinion much of the harmonic singing on his group's records reminds me more of the Beach Boys...and that indeed is a compliment...
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Belmont Stakes Horse Race on NBC Later Today
Friday, June 10, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Viktor Frankl
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ---Viktor Frankl
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Democrats Should Become a Big Tent Party Again
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1984 Science Fiction, Part 6
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
June Features Five Planets Aligned in East Before Sunrise
I don't watch Lawrence O'Donnell's opinion show on MSNBC, nor do I follow him on social media. However, for some reason I probably would rather not know, a posting of his appeared on my Facebook newsfeed page with a topic I wouldn't normally associate with him and his politically oriented output: astronomy. It revealed that sky-gazers in this month of June 2022 are getting a special treat...if they are early-risers, that is. The five planets visible to the naked eye...Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn...are strung out close to each other in the eastern predawn sky along the elliptic, in that order starting from the horizon in the constellation Taurus near the Pleiades (Mercury) and extending westward (up and to the right) in Aries (Venus), in Pisces (Mars and Jupiter, visually close together) and Aquarius (Saturn) on the far west end of the planetary spectacle. The most difficult planet to spot will most definitely be Mercury, for while it will have enough brightness to be visible, to observe it I'll have to catch it just after it rises but just before the sun...and it'll be just above the east horizon so there can't be any impediments like trees or buildings. I'm going to bravely try to get up early...totally against my current habits...and see whether I can't get a glimpse of our innermost planet: it will be down and to the left from very bright Venus. Of course, if it's cloudy or foggy I'll have to try another morning. But this planetary alignment phenomenon will be out there for most of the month. By June 24th the moon will even be a part of it...
Monday, June 6, 2022
Podcaster Distinguishes Between the Journey and the Destination
Recently I've been writing weekly posts about a personal development podcast, called The Mindset Mentor, and hosted by Rob Dial. Some shows are better than others, and while I don't always agree with Dial there is usually at least one episode that resonates with me. Such was the case this past week when he discussed how people who are trying to improve their lives find themselves stymied and discouraged because the problems they thought they were overcoming keep coming back. To this he replied that it's all a journey and that there is no destination...and that whatever bad habits you overcome you never completely rid yourself of them. So ten years ago something might have made you mad for a week...five years later the same kind of thing would only set you back a day, and now maybe five minutes...but the potential for relapse is always there. And if you screw up, then realize that the journey is what matters. I'd only add to what he said by mentioning that while life is definitely a journey...or process...it's still important to have direction to it. Just stop beating yourself up whenever you come up short...that's a necessary part of it all: I call it a "growth opportunity"...
Sunday, June 5, 2022
My #28 All-Time Favorite Album: Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? by Metric
Saturday, June 4, 2022
Tropical Disturbance Floods Out South Florida
After eastern Pacific tropical storm Agatha crossed Mexico and dissipated into stormy weather after emerging in the Gulf of Mexico, it headed quickly toward South Florida, this morning dumping 6 to 9 inches of rain in just a few hours' span. The Weather Channel thankfully suspended its usual boring late-night programming to cover the storm...but their repeated warnings didn't prevent locals from driving their vehicles through flooded areas, stranding themselves and most likely ruining their cars. When you see water on a road, all you're seeing is the surface and not how deep it goes. Even if you've gone down the same street repeatedly, you may not be aware how it dips in elevation from one place to another...and that's causing a lot of the turmoil in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. By the way, this storm has no official name because the meteorologists don't detect adequate tropical circulation in it...they simply call it "PTC 1" (Potential Tropical Cyclone 1) in spite of the fact that the Weather Channel routinely gives names to winter frontal storm systems and even heat waves. As for South Florida, I haven't been back down there since 2013 when my father died, living in the northern part of the state since 1977...even long-established sports franchises like the Miami Heat, Florida/Miami Marlins and the Florida Panthers came into existence long after I had departed the scene. The last times I was there we walked along Hollywood Beach, but it felt more exotic instead of a homecoming...the numerous Russian-speaking people there probably added to this effect. I can't think of any compelling reason for a return visit, unless they finally get around to establishing a decent theme park with real roller coasters. Even the earlier quaintness of the western fringe of the populated area with many rural pockets that I remember when growing up in the 60s and 70s (I lived two blocks from a cow pasture and went to school in a town with horses on the street and rodeos) is largely gone with the unrelenting expansion of urban and suburban sprawl...it's now all just one huge, ugly unnamed city going on for miles north, south, and west....
Friday, June 3, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Jim Carrey
Thursday, June 2, 2022
Just Finished Rereading Song of Susannah by Stephen King
Song of Susannah is the sixth of seven books in Stephen King's Dark Tower fantasy/science fiction series, published in 2004...just a year after the sixth book, Wolves of the Calla and in the same year as the very lengthy finale, The Dark Tower. The series' premise continues, with the "ka-tet" of Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers and Oy the billy-bumbler as they seek the Dark Tower, which binds all of reality together and is threatened by the evil, powerful, and most probably insane Crimson King. Here Susannah is going through her pregnancy induced when having sex with a demon while trying to save Jake from captivity in an earlier book. An alternate personality in her own body, Mia, takes control of it and steers the "two" of them to where the bad guys are preparing for what is most likely a demon child's birth. Meanwhile the rest of the heroes, along with Father Callahan from the previous book and King's early novel Salem's Lot, seek to buy a crucial empty lot in east Manhattan where a single red rose seems to hold the key to the Tower. To this end they end up in Maine, where they discover King...which starts a curious mirror effect in the series where readers are reacquainted with his earlier works as well as his personal life history and habits. Even reading through all this a second time around, I found the book to be a bit confusing to say the least...but I think its main function was to serve as a link to the series' final volume. And with this I think it succeeded, and now it's onward to that amazing ride in King's massive conclusion to the Dark Tower series...