THIS IS A MOST SIGNIFICANT DAY

COVID-19 summary:

• With 4% the World population, the USA had 33% of COVID-19 new cases yesterday.
• While Europe is suffering, ominously, Mexico is now #2 to the U.S. in new deaths.
• But California had four times more new cases than Mexico yesterday.
• Apparently, the British virus has mutated and can infect people 1.7 times more efficiently.
• New cases are increasing in Canada, Indonesia and Japan.
• China had 23 new cases and no new deaths.
• Taiwan had 3 new cases and no new deaths.

From David Leonhardt of The New York Times:

I’ve shown you a version of this chart before. The basic idea is that if you track the number of new virus cases, you can fairly accurately predict the number of Covid-related deaths about three weeks later. Every 100 new cases in the U.S. has led to an average of roughly 1.6 deaths, with a 22-day lag. (Trevor Bedford, a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, explains why in this Twitter thread.)

From colleagues in Florida:

Why is this a significant day?

• Moderna's vaccine became public.  I learned that our assisted-living community will soon get this version, likely as soon as this year.  Then the second shot in a month.
• The latest info assures that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines should also work to protect you from that mutated coronavirus affecting the UK.
• The U.S. Congress will approve a $900 billion help package today.

• 
  Donald Trump will just go away.  Nah, that would be asking for way too much.
• Today, 15 Craigside and I get smart.  First, I will be touring our new smart apartment.  Second, Amazon has promised me that the smart speaker I ordered with Alexa should arrive.
• This is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Perhaps the most significant event will be the Christmas Star.  Just coincidental to the shortest day, the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will result in what will look like a bright planet in the southwest sky around 45 minutes after sunset.  The last time these planets were so close was in the year 1226, almost 800 years ago.

Unfortunately New York City, Paris and Tokyo will just miss it because of the residual Sun glare.  But if you're there on 15 March 2080, you might get to see this phenomenon.  But for most of you, here is a news report from last night on what to see.  Here is a half-hour program from NASA.  Remember, the Christmas Star appears after sunset this evening.  

What is COMSIC?  Maybe they mean COSMIC.  Anyway, the obvious reference of course is to the historic Star of Bethlehem, which maximized in brightness three times in 7BC, again because of Jupiter and Saturn.  Determined by Johannes Kepler (after whom the Kepler Telescope was named, and found 2662 extrasolar planets) the first conjunction occurred on May 29, when the Magi might have been inspired to begin their journey.  September 30 strengthened their resolve, and the final bright star on December 21, when they arrived in Judea or Jerusalem.  

Ever wonder how you would follow a star?  Surely you've read about navigating the seas, as Hokulea, the Polynesian Voyaging Society canoe used to travel around the world.  The general concept can also be used to follow a star towards a site.

Whole lot of varying mythology in The Bible, but one source indicates these Wise Men were the Kings of Arabia, Persia and India.  The star doesn't tell you exactly where to go, so they met with King Herod for advice.  He was too seeking the birth of the possible King of Jews--to kill him--and was told this would occur somewhere in Bethlehem.  So he provided this information, asking them to let him know if they succeeded so he could similarly consider a visit.  Apparently, they never did report back to him.  So Jesus lived until an age somewhere between 30-33, when he was crucified on 3 April 33 AD, a day now known as Good Friday, on the order of Pontius Pilate, then the governor.

My favorite song #6 is Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets.  Sociological reality what it was then, this effectively kicked-off rock and roll when it opened Blackboard Jungle in 1955.  Rotten Tomatoes only gave it 76/77 ratings, and there certainly were other earlier songs of more historical relevance.  Earlier this year I posted on the roots of Rock and Roll, and it was all Black.

Haley was a paunchy 30-year old that year, but almost earned this distinction, for at the age of 15, blind in one eye, he left home with a guitar and very little else to seek fame.  He ate once/day and gained some minor reputation as a cowboy yodeler.

In 1952 his group was renamed the Comets, inspired by Halley's Comet.  They had two hits, Crazy, Man Crazy in 1953 and Shake, Rattle and Roll in 1954.  That year Max Freedman and James Myers wrote Rock Around the Clock for Haley, with the record peaking at #23 on Billboard.  If not for the film, that would have been it, as the song returned to life and reached #1 on 9 July 1955 only because of that release.

Haley effectively ended the career of Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Eddie Fisher and Patti Page.  Bill Haley and his Comets were the first major American rock group to tour Europe.  Also the first rock act to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Then, their career was quickly subdued by Elvis.

An alcoholic who married three times, he had ten children.  But Haley/Comets continued entertaining, and gave a royal performance to Queen Elizabeth II in 1979.  A year later he was diagnosed with brain tumor.  Passed away of a heart attack in 1981.  He posthumously was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Hollywood of Fame.  There are two competing Comet groups still touring.  An asteroid, 79896 Billhaley is up there somewhere.  A story of his life was never made for film, save for a terrible film in 1956, Rock Around Clock.

Not particularly noteworthy, but Kilauea Volcano erupted last night inside Halemaumau Crater, and sent out a lot of steam, but is well-contained--it is 1640 feet deep-- with no ash plume.  However:

Kilauea erupted in 2018, destroying more than 700 homes and spewing enough lava to fill 320,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. An area more than half the size of Manhattan was buried in up to 80 feet (24 meters) of now-hardened lava. The lava flowed over the course of four months.

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