From the redoubtable, irreplaceable EFGoldman:
I’m home.
After my 90th day in various hospitals and rehabs.
Surgery in October. Some rehab, much farther to go.
No sharing, I don’t do that.
I’ve been weeping for an hour.
I think I speak for the Balloon Juice community: Welcome home!
Garden season’s pretty well over for most of us northern-hemisphere Balloon Juice jackals. So here’s a gift from senior beagle rescuer and long-time commentor Tony S — “Halloween: Celebrating American Family, Community Diversity”:
Let’s get real. Heartland America isn’t some 97% white community. Where the true pulse of America beats strongest are in its diverse, growing, vital communities.
I had a realization that night. Thanksgiving isn’t America’s only celebration of family. Halloween does that, too, with an added ingredient: Community.
Once a year, I get to stand on my porch and share with the neighbors I rarely see and the friends I don’t visit with often enough.
Halloween is my wife, Celine’s favorite holiday. Every year, she hands out not just candy, but hand-made goodie bags. This means we have a very good idea of how many people visit our home. This year the number topped 600.
It was wonderful seeing proud parents and thrilled kids grace our spooky, 115-year old home with their smiles, polite “Trick or Treats” and carefully crafted or freshly purchased costumes, from a 52-year old “Disco Grandma” to a spotted baby seemingly straight out of the crib.
Demographic analysts say true American heartland towns are a mix — the ratio is somewhere around 30/30/30 of the most prominent ethnic groups.
Liars, con-men and parasites try and make us fear the other — when they are the other, with their bleached personalities and toxic policies. Last night, in Peekskill, the real America was on view.
So that it doesn’t get lost in the Trump news, here’s the latest bulletin from greennotGreen’s sister:
I’m sorry for not blogging yesterday, but frankly there’s not much to report. gnG is now sleeping 95% of the time, although she did get up out of bed at about 2 AM before I could stop her. (She’s tethered by oxygen cannula and IV pain pump, so she couldn’t have gotten too far.) The only thing that might interest the BJ community is the discussion we had with hospice nurses over the use of oxygen to raise sats. One nurse favors it, one feels it just prolongs the very disturbing agitation phase. The family is left to make the decision. I couldn’t quite bring myself to lower her sats on purpose, although she might have preferred it. Dying at home is best for the patient, but my god, what a trial to the family.
(and a mushroom cloud hat too!)
Sunday is the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the father of North Korea and grandfather of its current president, Kim Jong Un. The North Koreans promise a big event and may have prepared some fireworks for the celebration. Reports of activity at their Punggye-ri nuclear test site suggest that the biggest firework will be underground.
Sunday is also Easter for Christians and part of Passover for Jews. North Korea likes to intrude on others’ holidays. It’s something of a tradition. And this year brings the added frisson of showing up an American president whose bluster approaches Kim Jong Un’s.
The New York Times has an extensive article on the preparations. 38 North has better overhead photos.
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and is working toward a nuclear weapon small enough to be carried on their missiles, which they also have been testing and improving.
The way in which this test could be different from the previous five is that an American carrier group is heading toward Korea. Its purpose has not been stated, but it is obviously part of the Trump administration’s desire to show off its military strength. There is nothing it could do, short of starting a war, to stop a nuclear test.
I’ve been thinking about the estimates of North Korean nuclear weapons. The common way to estimate is to take the estimate of fissile material, an estimate of what is needed for a weapon, and divide the second into the first. But there are other considerations. I’ve worked some of them out and come to the conclusion that North Korea doesn’t have as many nukes as sometimes is claimed. My best guess is a half-dozen or fewer. But even that could cause a lot of damage.
Cheryl has indicated she’ll hang around in comments for about an hour to answer whatever questions you all might have.
Welcome back, Schroedinger’s Cat!:
Moving is not fun, no matter how many times I do it. Whether it is across continents and oceans, states or to the neighboring town, it never gets easier. I am so glad that the Insufferable Movie Snob kept the blog going on, posting her detailed and funny reviews. If you haven’t already checked out her reviews you should do so now. She rocks! Here is a link to her last review.
My last movie/TV review post before my brief unplanned hiatus was on Star Trek Deep Space 9. Unlike The Next Generation, aliens of DS9 were more than just obnoxious caricatures and Star Fleet officers were not always perfect. Main and recurring characters experienced growth and change. The show had strong women characters who had more to do than just look pretty. I have be re-watching DS9 since the fall and I for one would like to revisit Terak Nor more than once. It has a wealth of episodes pertinent to this moment in history that we are all a part of.
When I asked which episode you wanted me to review, these were the episodes that came up in the comments.
His Way (6.20)
Its Only a Paper Moon (7.10)
Far Beyond the Stars (6.13)
Blood Oath (2.19)
In the hands of the prophets (1.20)
A Time To Stand (6.1)
Tears of the Prophets (5.26)
Once More Unto the Breach (6.7)
In the Pale Moonlight (6.19)Most of these episodes are in seasons 6 and 7 when DS9 reached its climax. Because of the serialized nature of the show I think it would be better to go in chronological order. So people who haven’t watched DS9 before can join in if they want to.
With that in mind, I will start at the beginning with The Emissary. I also think Duet is a must watch of the season one episodes and we can end our season one watch with In the Hands of the Prophets. If you would like me to cover any other first season DS9 episodes leave a comment.
This is a complete list of season 1 episodes. Without further ado let’s dive in and begin at the beginning.
The scene of action is Deep Space Nine, an outpost at the edge of the alpha quadrant near Bajor, a planet devastated by war and occupation by the Cardasssians . When the show begins the Cardassians have just left, or should I say wrecked the station, before leaving. Our hero, Benjamin Sisko, a commander in StarFleet is named the commanding officer of the station. Benjamin Sisko has a young son, Jake, who is none too thrilled by this transfer to the middle of nowhere, where the replicators are broken and the living quarters are missing a bed…
Click the link to read the rest!
