Washington Square Park:
North of Park looking East
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
A day Before Tomorrow
The East Village, Tuesday, 4/14/2020, 11AM
Washington Square Park:
The dog run
Lafayette looking south
5th Ave. looking north
Broadway looking south
8th Street
Broadway looking south
Astor Place
Bowery looking south
St. Mark's Place
Bowery
East 5th Street
1st Ave. North
South
Washington Square Park:
Sunday, April 12, 2020
My Virtual Classroom
Turner Classic Movies
Philosophy
82 on Spectrum
'When your head says one thing and your whole life says another, your head always loses.'
'You don't like it do you Rocco, the storm? Show it your gun, why don't you? If it doesn't stop shoot it.'
Key Largo
'I've always found it very ... sanitary to be broke.'
'There's a fair face to the land, surely, but you can't hide the hunger and guilt. It's a bright, quilty world.'
'You've been traveling around the world too much to find out anything about it.'
'What's a tough guy? A guy with an edge ... a gun or a knife, a nightstick or a razor, somethin the other guy ain't got. Yeah, a little extra reach on a punch, a set of brass knuckles, a stripe on the sleeve, a badge that says cop on it, a rock in your hand, or a bankroll in your pocket. That's an edge brother. Without an edge, there ain't no tough guy.
The Lady from Shanghai
'Love is eternal. It has the strongest motivation for human actions throughout history. Love is stronger than life. It reaches beyond the dark shadow of death." From the murderer in
Laura
Philosophy
82 on Spectrum
'When your head says one thing and your whole life says another, your head always loses.'
'You don't like it do you Rocco, the storm? Show it your gun, why don't you? If it doesn't stop shoot it.'
Key Largo
'I've always found it very ... sanitary to be broke.'
'There's a fair face to the land, surely, but you can't hide the hunger and guilt. It's a bright, quilty world.'
'You've been traveling around the world too much to find out anything about it.'
'What's a tough guy? A guy with an edge ... a gun or a knife, a nightstick or a razor, somethin the other guy ain't got. Yeah, a little extra reach on a punch, a set of brass knuckles, a stripe on the sleeve, a badge that says cop on it, a rock in your hand, or a bankroll in your pocket. That's an edge brother. Without an edge, there ain't no tough guy.
The Lady from Shanghai
'Love is eternal. It has the strongest motivation for human actions throughout history. Love is stronger than life. It reaches beyond the dark shadow of death." From the murderer in
Laura
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
PAUSE
It was 20 days ago, March 20th, that Gov. Cuomo instituted PAUSE meaning Policies to Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone. It was a lockdown, a voluntary, non-enforceable one but 'the ultimate step', a lockdown. Only essential businesses would be allowed to have employees at work; all non-essential employees must work from home; all residents must remain indoors except for essential activities.
I personally did not heed the warning and I discovered the consequences when I went on the scale yesterday. If I were this President I could say 'who knew'.
Yeah, but everybody knows about stress eating.
So I'm exercising and eating right. Today I had Alexa play me some Louis Armstrong as I walked around my 600 sq. foot apartment. I got to 1300 steps, perhaps because Alexa played 'Hello Dolly' and 'Summertime' before I shut her off. I'll try again later with the BEE GEES.
In the meantime I'm chilling and planning the end of my PAUSE.
I'm going to Venice, this place, where they make a decent Martini:
I personally did not heed the warning and I discovered the consequences when I went on the scale yesterday. If I were this President I could say 'who knew'.
Yeah, but everybody knows about stress eating.
So I'm exercising and eating right. Today I had Alexa play me some Louis Armstrong as I walked around my 600 sq. foot apartment. I got to 1300 steps, perhaps because Alexa played 'Hello Dolly' and 'Summertime' before I shut her off. I'll try again later with the BEE GEES.
In the meantime I'm chilling and planning the end of my PAUSE.
I'm going to Venice, this place, where they make a decent Martini:
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Today 4/5/20
Can't ignore what happened this week.
Masks are now being recommended for everyone everywhere all the time when we are outdoors. It's nothing to wear a mask or a scarf around our mouth and nose. The CDC recommends it.
While our President reminds everyone of that he tells us it is voluntary and he won't wear one.
Bravado, machismo, toughness can get you through the desert, to the top of Mt. Everest, through a war and even through a pandemic, but only if you follow the rules. You want to take water to the desert, Oxygen to Mt. Everest and armaments and leadership to a war.
Even more disturbing than our president's grand-standing was Jared Kushner's announcement that not the States as the President said but they themselves are hoarding ventilators. He said they're not for the states but for the government. Government? The Kushners, Trumps, McConnells? Is that what he thinks is the government?
There are lot of people on Television talking about drinking, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart. Lessons in how to escape?
Our leadership is a disappointment but they're not the only ones.
I remember having a win in Las Vegas and being invited to dinner by the manager. He had learned that I was an occupational Therapist and wanted to talk about his wife who had M.S. He confided to me that after working many years it was difficult to pay the medical bills so at 72 he was back at work. It hadn't always been like that. The casinos had been good places to work with good salaries and support but Howard Hughes had put an end to that, he said. At one time when you came to the casino many things could be comped. If you were at a table you could get drinks, cigarettes and even a sandwich. Shows were comped regularly, but Howard Hughes determined there was more money to be made if every department made a profit. Shows, cigar shop, and kitchens had to make a profit.
Pay for play.
In the early 1960's Chairman William Paley told news reporters they shouldn't be concerned about costs or being profitable. They were providing a public service. Walter Cronkite could say what he thought about the VietNam War. He said: 'I have Jack Benny to make money'.
Then in 1977 Roone Arledge became President of ABC news. He turned ABC sports into a money maker so why not the news?
Pay for play.
How do you get them to sit in front of their TVs today? Watch people drink? Teach them how to make cocktails?
& reboot the premise of 'Queen for a Day' [1956-1964].
One of the most popular TV shows ever. Where Jack Bailey would have people tell a live audience about their disadvantaged life and why they needed a refrigerator.
'Would you like to be Queen for a day?' was the promo.
Today TV anchors interview people about a horrible event in their life while we watch and feel their pain.
CBS news has a recurring ad where each anchors tells us that they care about us.
Aldous Huxley called it the feelies in 'Brave New World'.
Trump has proven there are enough maybe 25% to 40% of the population that will believe him irregardless.
And the rest are mixing cocktails?
Or exhausted!
Masks are now being recommended for everyone everywhere all the time when we are outdoors. It's nothing to wear a mask or a scarf around our mouth and nose. The CDC recommends it.
While our President reminds everyone of that he tells us it is voluntary and he won't wear one.
Bravado, machismo, toughness can get you through the desert, to the top of Mt. Everest, through a war and even through a pandemic, but only if you follow the rules. You want to take water to the desert, Oxygen to Mt. Everest and armaments and leadership to a war.
Even more disturbing than our president's grand-standing was Jared Kushner's announcement that not the States as the President said but they themselves are hoarding ventilators. He said they're not for the states but for the government. Government? The Kushners, Trumps, McConnells? Is that what he thinks is the government?
There are lot of people on Television talking about drinking, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart. Lessons in how to escape?
Our leadership is a disappointment but they're not the only ones.
I remember having a win in Las Vegas and being invited to dinner by the manager. He had learned that I was an occupational Therapist and wanted to talk about his wife who had M.S. He confided to me that after working many years it was difficult to pay the medical bills so at 72 he was back at work. It hadn't always been like that. The casinos had been good places to work with good salaries and support but Howard Hughes had put an end to that, he said. At one time when you came to the casino many things could be comped. If you were at a table you could get drinks, cigarettes and even a sandwich. Shows were comped regularly, but Howard Hughes determined there was more money to be made if every department made a profit. Shows, cigar shop, and kitchens had to make a profit.
Pay for play.
In the early 1960's Chairman William Paley told news reporters they shouldn't be concerned about costs or being profitable. They were providing a public service. Walter Cronkite could say what he thought about the VietNam War. He said: 'I have Jack Benny to make money'.
Then in 1977 Roone Arledge became President of ABC news. He turned ABC sports into a money maker so why not the news?
Pay for play.
How do you get them to sit in front of their TVs today? Watch people drink? Teach them how to make cocktails?
& reboot the premise of 'Queen for a Day' [1956-1964].
One of the most popular TV shows ever. Where Jack Bailey would have people tell a live audience about their disadvantaged life and why they needed a refrigerator.
'Would you like to be Queen for a day?' was the promo.
Today TV anchors interview people about a horrible event in their life while we watch and feel their pain.
CBS news has a recurring ad where each anchors tells us that they care about us.
Aldous Huxley called it the feelies in 'Brave New World'.
Trump has proven there are enough maybe 25% to 40% of the population that will believe him irregardless.
And the rest are mixing cocktails?
Or exhausted!
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Diorama
Jim walking around isn't happening much these days because of the shutdown in NYC due to the Coronavirus. So I have this idea taken from my friend, Jim Ferris, who used to build dioramas. He had one, I vividly remember, of a general store that you might see in a 1940s hollywood western, maybe 14" by 18", very impressive.
So I'm thinking since I'm not walking around in real time I'd experiment and build my personal diorama, similar to something you'd see in the American Museum of Natural History but imagined, something to 'walk around in'.
Dioramas originated in France in the 1920s and meant literally 'through that which is seen'. So I'll try through a photograph to build a verbal diorama of what is seen. Flesh it out.
Let's start with this one of me:
First Holy Communion, 7 years old, 1951, Eisenhower in the White House, Joe McCarthy in the Senate, War in Korea, Jim Crow in the South and myself, parents, Sister and Brother in the Bronx. I was in the 3rd grade at Holy Spirit Grammar School. A small grammar school, 16 classrooms two for each level. The church more like a chapel was downstairs.
We had just moved to the Bronx to live and work as superintendents for a 10 apartment building complex.
Some observations from the photo. There were lots of parking spaces available in 1951. No graffitti, maybe a little trash or else I've got something related to the day hanging on my arm. I think trash but it's odd and odd framing for a photo but who thought about such things then in our world. The sun is in my eyes; probably a brownie camera and maybe that was the best way to get a bright picture or maybe he or she just thought it was the best way. It was probably my Mom taking the picture. She was much more interested in memories and sharing.
That boy, if he were not facing the sun would most definitely be smiling. He's very religious and this is the biggest day in his religious life. He's happy, shy, keeps to himself. He can't say why yet but he feels different or more accurately he senses from others that he's different. Soon they'll tell him why and how he's different and the diffidence will grow. But this day he's happy.
So I'm thinking since I'm not walking around in real time I'd experiment and build my personal diorama, similar to something you'd see in the American Museum of Natural History but imagined, something to 'walk around in'.
Dioramas originated in France in the 1920s and meant literally 'through that which is seen'. So I'll try through a photograph to build a verbal diorama of what is seen. Flesh it out.
Let's start with this one of me:
We had just moved to the Bronx to live and work as superintendents for a 10 apartment building complex.
Some observations from the photo. There were lots of parking spaces available in 1951. No graffitti, maybe a little trash or else I've got something related to the day hanging on my arm. I think trash but it's odd and odd framing for a photo but who thought about such things then in our world. The sun is in my eyes; probably a brownie camera and maybe that was the best way to get a bright picture or maybe he or she just thought it was the best way. It was probably my Mom taking the picture. She was much more interested in memories and sharing.
That boy, if he were not facing the sun would most definitely be smiling. He's very religious and this is the biggest day in his religious life. He's happy, shy, keeps to himself. He can't say why yet but he feels different or more accurately he senses from others that he's different. Soon they'll tell him why and how he's different and the diffidence will grow. But this day he's happy.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
brooding
Small b. It's of such little importance yet it's a big part of everyone's life. When we say we are thinking we're not working on or particularly interested in nuclear fission. We're thinking about ourselves and what happened or didn't happen; what we did or didn't do.
Erik Erikson would say that's perfectly healthy to do. To think about what happened and what was or wasn't done, perfectly healthy especially at my age but you need to come to a resolution to move on.
In his 'Stages of Development' he divided the stages into 4 parts, your age, conflict, resolution, culmination.
My age which he labeled '65 to death'.
[Yeah, he was a German scientist. He couldn't say 65 to everlasting life.]
My conflict is integrity vs. despair, the resolution is wisdom and the culmination is existential integrity; a sense of integrity strong enough to withstand physical disintegration.
In other words: Older adults need to look back on their lives and feel a sense of fulfillment. Notice he said we need to. All his stages have to be resolved before you can move on fulfilled.
In adolescence one of his more frequently referenced stages; the work or the conflict is identity vs. diffusion. You need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success is staying true to yourself. Failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self; what Erickson referred to as prolonged adolescence. The teenager tests different roles and integrates them to form an identity separate from others.
I think it was the news reports of despair, especially, among health care providers that got me on this road.
There are things in our control
What's not in our control does not define us.
I suspect we as a nation do not have strong egos We lack a strong sense of our personal worth. We take on failure as our own.
Our first responders are despairing over their inability to do their jobs.
Publicly we need to place the blame where it belongs for everyone to see.
Some of our political leaders with strong egos are beginning to do that. Thank you Governor Cuomo.
Like a good American: I want more!
Erik Erikson would say that's perfectly healthy to do. To think about what happened and what was or wasn't done, perfectly healthy especially at my age but you need to come to a resolution to move on.
In his 'Stages of Development' he divided the stages into 4 parts, your age, conflict, resolution, culmination.
My age which he labeled '65 to death'.
[Yeah, he was a German scientist. He couldn't say 65 to everlasting life.]
My conflict is integrity vs. despair, the resolution is wisdom and the culmination is existential integrity; a sense of integrity strong enough to withstand physical disintegration.
In other words: Older adults need to look back on their lives and feel a sense of fulfillment. Notice he said we need to. All his stages have to be resolved before you can move on fulfilled.
In adolescence one of his more frequently referenced stages; the work or the conflict is identity vs. diffusion. You need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success is staying true to yourself. Failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self; what Erickson referred to as prolonged adolescence. The teenager tests different roles and integrates them to form an identity separate from others.
I think it was the news reports of despair, especially, among health care providers that got me on this road.
There are things in our control
What's not in our control does not define us.
I suspect we as a nation do not have strong egos We lack a strong sense of our personal worth. We take on failure as our own.
Our first responders are despairing over their inability to do their jobs.
Publicly we need to place the blame where it belongs for everyone to see.
Some of our political leaders with strong egos are beginning to do that. Thank you Governor Cuomo.
Like a good American: I want more!
Friday, March 27, 2020
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