From Worldometer:
DAY USA WORLD Brazil India South Africa
June 9 1093 4732 1185 246 82
July 22 1205 7128 1293 1120 572
Aug 12 1504 6556 1242 835 130
Sept 3 1094 5886 830 1083 174
9 1208 6222 1136 1168 82
Oct 8 957 6420 730 967 160
20 952 6169 662 714 164
21 1225 6849 571 703 85
27 1039 7023 530 519 45
Nov 4 1199 8192 276 511 74
5 1201 9067 622 704 46
6 1248 9082 256 576 72
10 1346 9191 204 511 106
11 1479 10178 564 550 60
12 1190 9659 926 521 65
Summary: The World had an all-time high new deaths figure of 10.9 million. Same for the USA with 116,541.
The COVID-19 vaccine will be coming, more than one probably, and you might need to take two shots. And it will be free. But will you take it? Will injections someday be replaced by something oral, like a pill or droplets on your tongue?
Here is a quick story of polio:
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, paralyzed by polio, was confined to a wheelchair for most of his adult life. President Roosevelt caught polio when he was in his late 30s. Only about 1 in 10 people who were paralyzed by polio recovered — most were confined to wheelchairs or iron lungs (a large machine to help breathing) for the rest of their lives.
Below, Jonas Salk to the left and Albert Sabin on the right:
Polio vaccine has been available since 1955. The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was available first, given as a shot, in 1955. A more convenient form, called oral polio vaccine (OPV), was given as liquid drops via the mouth. It was developed in 1961. OPV was recommended for use in the United States for almost 40 years, from 1963 until 2000. The results have been miraculous: Polio was eliminated from the United States in 1979 and from the Western Hemisphere in 1991.When all the votes are in, Joe Biden should get almost 6 million more popular votes than Donald Trump. While Biden beat Trump by more than 14,000 votes in Georgia, the difference in Arizona was only around 11,000. Both states have Republican governors. Will there be an Arizona re-count?
When the Georgia re-count is completed, Joe Biden should get 306 electoral votes, and Trump 232. As you know, this was the exact difference in 2016.
Trump's last hope is to get Republican-controlled state legislatures to somehow change the voting to still prevail. There should be 538 electoral votes. If you click on
Wikipedia for the 2016 election, you will see 304 for Trump and 227 for Hillary Clinton. That adds up to 531. What happened? Well, two electors just defected from Trump and five from Clinton. How can they do that? They can, and this is the fear in 2020. No matter what you think, this is just not all over.
While you stew about the above, keep in mind that the two re-runs for the Georgia senate seats will determine if President Joe Biden can do anything worthy. Winning both will make Vice President Kamala Harris the deciding vote in the U.S. Senate. Should there be at least one Republican victory, what will happen is some compromising on a few non-controversial issues, like ending the pandemic and rebuilding the infrastructure. Almost everything the White House and House will do during this upcoming two-year period will be to embarrass Republicans to continue control over the House and flip the
Senate in 2022. There will be 20 Republicans and either 12 or 13 Democrats up for re-election. Then, the more ambitious visions of Democrats can proceed, including adding D.C. and Puerto Rico to the 50 states and two more Supreme Court associate justices.
While some are speculating about Trump finally easing off to preserve his foundation for a 2024 re-run, the reality is that he probably thinks that will just not happen. While he will just be the current age of Biden in that year, he is already not a healthy person today. Plus, there will be criminal indictments. His final hope is a judicial coup.
Unlike our present president, President Ronald Reagan had a sense of humor. Here is a series of Russian jokes he told.
Funny, but, if you remember the film
Threads--the most frightening movie I've ever seen--one of his jokes essentially triggered a nuclear war that almost wiped out civilization. This was that off-the-record joke made by him about the 1984 "
bombing in five minutes" that was leaked, causing a Red Alert.
The COVID-19 vaccine will be coming, more than one probably, and you might need to take two shots. And it will be free. But will you take it? Will injections someday be replaced by something oral, like a pill or droplets on your tongue?
Amazingly enough,
Puna Geothermal Venture began generating a couple of megawatts of power last week. With the drilling of another well, they hope to re-gain 38 MW next year. That black stuff? The cooled lava from two years ago.
Today starts the weekend, but any of you heard of
The Weeknd? That shortened period is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, a Canadian entertainer with an eccentric falsetto style spanning
three octaves. Maria Callas? Only 2.5 octaves.
His parents came from Ethiopia. If you keep up with these things, that country just slid into a dangerous civil war. His father left when he was young. He smoked marijuana at 11 and went on to ecstasy, oxycodone, Xanax, cocaine, psilocybin and ketamine. Dropped out of high school.
He has been performing for a decade. Never heard of him myself, but he was just selected as the half-time act for the upcoming Super Bowl LV. Has won three Grammys and been nominated for an Oscar. He has sold 75 million records globally.
His big break was
Drake, who signed him as his opening act. Abel then began to release mixtapes, making a U.S. tour in 2012. In 2013 Drake was featured in his mixes. Entertained with Justin Timberlake in 2013. In 2014 remixed Beyonce's
Drunk in Love, and collaborated with Ariana Grande. In 2015 performed
The Hills with Alicia Keys, gaining his first #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit. That year he was the first to have releases at #1, #2 and #3, at the same time, on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. He gave away limited-edition condoms at his shows. This was six years ago.
Since then
his rise has been astonishing:
Tesfaye's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production",[148] and feature slow tempos,[149] rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes.[16] Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register,[150] exhibiting an enticing tone.
He now represents a range of products, from electronic cigs to clothing to who knows what else. Marvel released a new superhero modeled after him. Linked to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in entrepreneurial initiatives. Also into relationships with model Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez. Canceled his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! because Donald Trump was to be present. Donated $50,000 to the University of Toronto to help them start a course on Ge'ez, a classic Ethiopian language. Gave $1 million for COVID-19 relief and half a million to Black Lives Matter.
Today, I sink further back into American music for #45, featuring Stephen Foster:
Four years ago I posted on Stephen Foster, so if you want more info about him,
go to that link:
He died at the age of 37 in a Bowery hotel with 38 cents in Civil War scrips and 3 cents, plus a note in his pocket saying "Dear friends and gentle hearts." In 1949 Bob Hilliard wrote the popular Dear Hearts and Gentle People. On the University of Pittsburgh campus is the Stephen Foster Memorial.
Camptown Races was published in 1850 as a minstrel song and introduced by the
Christy Minstrels. Or maybe you grew up with
Foghorn Leghorn.
Two World Wars and One World Cup is sung to this song about British-German rivalry at the World Cup.
My Old Kentucky Home came in 1852, likely inspired by Uncle Tom's Cabin. Frederick Douglass wrote that the song awakened sympathies for the slave. But it too became a minstrel show staple. Of course you hear it at Churchill Downs for the
Kentucky Derby. It became the state song in 1928, with
darkies replacing
people in 1986.
I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair was released in 1854. Foster wrote the song when they were separated, and the lyrics say that.
Bing Crosby in 1940 probably had the most popular version. However,
Jascha Heifetz made this his signature piece.
The film, I Dream of Jeanie, the whole movie, was produced in 1952 featuring all his songs. Wonderful for the music, but Rotten Tomatoes audiences only gave it a score of 30. Probably because of the Blackface scenes.
Beautiful Dreamer was posthumously published in 1864 as the last song written by Stephen Foster, completed just before his death. This is my pick for #45 for its calmness and evocative reminiscence. Again,
Bing Crosby probably sold the most records, but
Marty Robbins' version came after his death, and so was
Bobby Darin's release.
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President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, paralyzed by polio, was confined to a wheelchair for most of his adult life. President Roosevelt caught polio when he was in his late 30s. Only about 1 in 10 people who were paralyzed by polio recovered — most were confined to wheelchairs or iron lungs (a large machine to help breathing) for the rest of their lives.
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