MEMORIAL DAY 2022

Every few years I delve into the meaning of Memorial Day. I did that last year. Our Freedom was not free. We are what we are today because of those who died protecting us.

Ever wonder what the difference is between Memorial Day and Veterans Day? Read my posting of 2016.

What should you do on Memorial Day? You already missed the PBS telecast of the Concert on the Mall. But click on this for a You Tube recast. This was a different kind of show, for it was lacking in stars, but more than made up for it with stories of patriotism.

In Hawaii, I sometimes went to the Shinnyo Lantern Floating ceremony at Ala Moana Beach That has changed, and today will occur on their temple grounds. However, you need reservations, and there are none anymore. There will be a live broadcast from 6:30 to 7PM on KHON2.

I could again walk up to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific inside Punchbowl, but will not.

This the 60th anniversary of the official opening of the USS Arizona Memorial (left). There will be Taps Across America Tribute at the Battleship Missouri Memorial. This Moment of Remembrance is an annual event for Americans, wherever they, at 3 PM local time on Memorial Day, to pause for a minute to remember those who have sacrificed their lives in military service to the country. It does cost $35/person to board of ship, half price for 4-12. Every 15 minutes from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center at 1 Arizona Memorial Place, you can catch a free shuttle to get you to the Aviation Museum, where the historic Ford Island Control Tower (red and white tower above, and below) just opened.

Otherwise, can report on two events happening on Thursday this week, June 2:

The nearly century old Scripps National Spelling Bee, will not be on ESPN, but on Ion, Bounce, Laff and TrueReal.

Here is how to get the program on Ion. In Honolulu:

I looked it up for Spectrum for my zip code, and was led to Channel 27 and 1027, KPXOHD.
Semifinals at 7PM on Wednesday, with Finals at 7PM on Thursday.

Also on June 2 will be first game of the 2022 NBA Finals, with the Golden State Warriors hosting the Boston Celtics. On ABC or fubo TV at 9PM EDT. The odds are Warriors -160, Celtics +140.

A minus means the team is favored, or plus is the underdog.
Go to the right column of this blog to out what these numbers mean.

This site says that if you bet $100 on the Warriors, you will get a total of $162.50 back.
Or the implied probability is that the Warriors have a 61.54% chance of winning.
If you bet $100 on the Celtics, you win a total of $240.
Or the implied probability is that the Celtics have a 41.67% change of winning.

Tom Cruise is back.

His sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. will probably earn $156 million this 4-day weekend in the USA, and $280 million worldwide, even though the movie is not yet playing in China and Russia.

The original came out in 1986. Rotten Tomatoes reviewers did not think much of this production, giving a 57% rating. However, the audience said 83%. That was 36 years ago, with Take My Breath Away by Berlin going on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
TG2 was completed two years ago but this release was delayed because of the pandemic. Rotten Tomatoes bestowed 96/99 ratings. The song this time is Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga.

Hurricane Agnes is a Category 2 storm, and poised to strike Oaxaca, Mexico over the cities of Puerto Angel and La Crucecita. While earlier today she was up to 110 MPH, there is a weakening trend. One potential danger is that, after moving on to Tabasco, Agnes could enter the Gulf Mexico and threaten the Yucatan. Being an A means this is the first hurricane of 2022 in the East Pacific. Next will be Blas. In the Atlantic, the first will be named Alex.

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These a...

OSAKA EXPO: Day One

Well, the day finally came for us to go to the Osaka Expo. We were told ahead of time that the long walks would be fearful, giant lines will need to be tolerated just to get into the Expo, with those ocean breezes, it would really be cold, and so forth. Maybe it was pure luck, but we avoided all the above warnings We had a grand day, and are looking forward to Sunday, our second day at the Expo. So come along for an enjoyable ride. Our hotel is adjacent to the Tennoji Station, a very large one with several lines. We upgraded our Suica card and caught the Misosuji red line towards Umeda. Transferred to the Chuo green line at the Hommachi Station. This Osaka Metro train took us to the Yumeshima Station at the Expo site. It was a very large mob leaving the train and heading to the entrance. Took only a few minutes to get to the entrance. This mob was multiplied by at least a factor of ten of those already waiting to enter. However...

WHY YOU SHOULD CONVERT TO A JAPANESE HIGH TECH TOILET

Did you know that Oktoberfest in Germany is mostly in September? The very first day of Oktoberfest 2021 was supposed to be today, September 18, extending into October 3. Well, as in 2020, Oktoberfest was cancelled. So why is it called by that month when it is held mostly in September? The first celebration in 1810 was in October. Did you also know that Oktoberfest is held only in Munich? These days seven million drink more than a liter ( about three typical cans ) of beer each, costing around $11. Except for my wife and I when we followed the crowd to board the S-Bahn to the fairgrounds near Old Town. It was drizzling a bit. We bought a large pretzel outside of a typical barn where beer is served. We did not know that you needed to get this inside the hall. So no one came to serve us beer. After a while we decided to have lunch, and the restaurant we settled on only served wine. Thus, we might have been the ...

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