Coronavirus Journey, Part 12

Part twelve of my ongoing journal entries about life in the time of the 2020-2021 Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Previous posts: Part One (Jan-Mar, 2020). Part Two (April 2020). Part Three (May 2020). Part Four (June 2020). Part Five (July 2020). Part Six (August 2020). Part Seven (September 2020). Part Eight (October 2020). Part Nine (November 2020). Part Ten (December 2020). Part Eleven (January 2021).

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February 3

It’s a Wednesday and maybe things are calming down enough that I can make these Coronavirus update entries weekly rather than 2 or 3 times a week. Depends on circumstances, I suppose, but for the moment things are calmer. 

Allie and Perri are here for another 10 days or so. Everyone has settled into routines of sorts. The big adventure of each day remains figuring out what to eat that day and/or making plans for the next day. And figuring out what to watch at night. We’ve made it through The Crown. Not quite sure what’s next.

The virus is still trending down, which is good, though deaths in the U.S. are still averaging above a horrible 3,100 daily. No states are in “Severe Outbreak” for the first time in, well, months because I wasn’t tracking that criteria last year. There’s still lots of nervousness about the spread of new, more contagious variants, but so far, things are trending in the right direction. Nearly everyone around here in Maryland wears masks, I dip in and out of stores or restaurants as quickly as I can, and otherwise we mostly only stay at home and wait for our vaccine number to come up. Not much more we can do, it seems. 

Numbers:

• Global cases: 103,000,000; Daily average: 514K; Total Deaths: 2,240,000
• USA cases: 26,500,000; Daily average: 141K; Total Deaths: 447,000 
• Maryland cases: 357,000  Deaths: 7,178; “Active or Imminent Outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 1 state “On track to contain COVID” (Northern Marianas)
  • 1 state “Slow disease growth” (Hawaii)
  • 15 states “At risk of outbreak” (Nebraska, Wisconsin, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming…)
  • 36 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (Texas, South Carolina, Arizona, New York, Oklahoma…)
  • 0 states “Severe outbreak” 

Cases in Spain appear to have crested and have just started to trend down. Laurie reports that vaccinations are on hold as they try to get a steady supply. The vaccine rollout in Europe seems even more troubled than in the States, so we’ve got that going for us.

A good article in The Atlantic gives a look at the next few months. The weather plus vaccines are in our favor; there is still a window for a new surge between March through May but if we can get through that, we should be in decent shape. I’m hoping we can get through that. 

A different Atlantic article by Arthur C. Brooks spells out the merits of a balanced approach between virtue and pleasure to lead a happy life. It’s a somewhat pretentious article but I like the basic message. It points in a direction I’ve been traveling and toward conclusions I’ve been reaching. 

In politics, temperatures are likewise down to more tolerable levels. Biden has navigated his first two weeks about as well as could be hoped, as corroborated by David Ignatius in The Washington Post. Things will no doubt start heating up in coming weeks as the impeachment trial gets underway and Biden pushes forward with his $1.9 trillion Covid relief package. Still, the impression of competence and leadership by adults is refreshing, as is the absence of noise from the former occupant.

I gave a stab at playing Scattergories yesterday for the second time. I feel like I’m not really adding much to the proceedings — I think it’s more of an activity for the kids and abuelas. I may drop in from time to time but I doubt I’ll be a regular participant. Still, it’s very 21st century to see a game being played in real-time across several continents and time zones. I’m glad that it’s a normal thing for the kids.

The Revolutions podcast continues to be a hit with Laurie and now also with Maggie who is sharing the American Revolution section with Sam and Nico. Thanks to Hamilton, they have an interest in that period, including recreating the signing the Declaration of Independence. 

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February 8

We have made it to the Monday after the Super Bowl, the hangover after America’s great secular holiday. We didn’t actually watch the Super Bowl (I understand Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs won) but we taped it so we can zip through to see the commercials and halftime show tonight. That won’t take long. 

We (especially Barb but I’m a willing accomplice and enabler) continue to succumb to the terrible national habit of eating large quantities of junk food to mark the Super Bowl and the dregs of winter. Our meals yesterday consisted of a cheesy frittata featuring leftover french fries for breakfast, deviled eggs and pigs in blankets for lunch, potato chips and onion dip for an afternoon snack, and leftover stroganoff and mac and cheese for dinner. And some Christmas cookies frozen since 2019 for dessert. Every year I struggle to more or less not gain weight through Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I nearly always put on five pounds around the Super Bowl — can’t imagine why.

Still, it was a nice weekend. We also saw Larry and Ashley for a brief, chilly lunch outdoors at Kelsey’s on Saturday. The ostensible reason was to exchange jigsaw puzzles but it was also because none of us had seen other humans in a while. I think we practiced reasonable social distancing and mask-wearing. If not, we’ll find out within two weeks, right?

Coronavirus case numbers continue to drift downward, dropping below 100,000 per day in the U.S. for the first time this year. New cases yesterday (Super Bowl Sunday, admittedly) were under 88,000, the lowest since early November. Maryland improved from “Active of imminent outbreak” to “At risk of outbreak” which feels like progress though I’m still not going to start playing tennis right away.

Numbers:

• Global cases: 106,000,000; Daily average: 457K; Total Deaths: 2,320,000
• USA cases: 27,000,000; Daily average: 118K; Total Deaths: 463,000 
• Maryland cases: 364,000  Deaths: 7,349; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 1 state “On track to contain COVID” (Northern Marianas)
  • 3 states “Slow disease growth” (Puerto Rico, North Dakota, Hawaii)
  • 19 states “At risk of outbreak” (Montana, Nebraska, District of Columbia, Iowa, Illinois…)
  • 30 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma…)
  • 0 states “Severe outbreak”

Vaccinations are still a bit of a mess. In Maryland, they’re doing anyone over age 65 but there’s still a shortage of vaccines and the signup process is confusing. The state has opened several  “mass vaccination” centers but they’re only doing a few hundred per day, so far. There’s no indication when the state might move to the next category which might include us. Hopefully later this month but no one knows for sure.

Trump’s impeachment trial starts in the Senate tomorrow. It’s unclear how dramatic or even newsworthy it might be. It seems a foregone conclusion that there are not enough GOP votes to convict him, but it’s also a foregone conclusion that he’s guilty as hell. It will mainly be a spectacle of GOP senators trying to find some hypocritical fig leaves large enough for them to hide their shame.

At the same time, Biden and the Democrats are pushing through their Covid relief package basically without any GOP support. Most of that action is in the House for the next couple of weeks as they work through a complicated “reconciliation” process. The GOP hardcore are crying foul and will use this move as a weapon in 2022 midterms. The proof of the pudding will be whether this package and subsequent Democratic moves will bear fruit over the next year or so. Here’s hoping.

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Shifting gears to the music front, a local DC artist named Yasmin Williams was featured in a recent Washington Post profile. I hadn’t heard of her before but have since been falling in love with her distinctive and soothing acoustic guitar music. It’s reminiscent of the best of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges, a quiet style that’s been long out of favor. I’m listening to her new album, Urban Driftwood, as we speak and will shortly go on a YouTube hunt for her videos. Very enjoyable. I’m eager to see her perform live someday reasonably soon.

February 12

It’s Friday of Impeachment II Week. I’ve spent much of the past couple of days watching the House impeachment managers make their prosecutorial case against Trump. It’s been compelling and at times riveting. I think the case is open and shut: of course Trump instigated and incited the storming of the Capitol on January 6. He may not have choreographed every move by the rioters but he surely brought them together and aimed them at the building to interfere with the certification of the electoral college results. If his conduct was not impeachable, then what is? 

The decision really rests in the hands of a dozen or so Republican senators. A total of 17 Republican votes are needed to convict Trump. So far, 6 have been willing to openly vote against Trump’s wishes in the procedural votes to date. It seems highly unlikely that 11 more will vote to convict, but there is at least a glimmer of a chance they may show some spine for the sake of their party and to be on the right side of history. A vanishingly small glimmer. 

Trump’s erstwhile defense team will make their case today and the final vote may come tomorrow. At least this trial has been brief. The House managers, led by Maryland’s Jamie Raskin, have done an excellent job using a wealth of video and social media posts from the day. No witnesses necessary partly because the senators were all witnesses and targets. 

Aside from the political theater, the virus is still moving in the right direction though today U.S. cases popped back over 100,000. Vaccinations are still hard to come by and people (including Barb) are getting increasingly aggravated. I’m trying to stay patient but would like to have a better idea of when the next category will open and whether we will qualify. Are our co-morbidities morbid enough?

Numbers:

• Global cases: 107,000,000; Daily average: 412K; Total Deaths: 2,360,000
• USA cases: 27,400,000; Daily average: 102K; Total Deaths: 475,000 
• Maryland cases: 368,000  Deaths: 7,467; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 1 state “On track to contain COVID” (Northern Marianas)
  • 3 states “Slow disease growth” (Puerto Rico, North Dakota, Hawaii)
  • 22 states “At risk of outbreak” (Indiana, Alaska, District of Columbia, Montana, Nevada…)
  • 27 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (South Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Rhode Island…)
  • 0 states “Severe outbreak”

It’s Chinese New Year today and we’re celebrating with a third day of hot pot. It’s getting a little tired but it’s been snowing off and on for several days so it’s been our meal of choice. This weekend is Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and Allie’s last one with us, so we’re celebrating all that plus a belated Christmas with a roast beef dinner tomorrow. Diets can start next week.

Laurie sent a note earlier this week suggesting we try to find some game or activity to electronically interact with Sam and Nico — something beyond Scattergories. She sees value in trying to build family bonds, as do I. Meanwhile, I decided to play Scattergories one more time last Tuesday and it was more fun. While on the call, the topic of escape rooms came up and I shared a quick article about various online versions. So now Allie and I are going to try and do a shark escape room game with Laurie, Maggie and the boys via Zoom on Saturday. We’ll see how that goes. The discussion has sparked other thoughts about maybe doing a play or reading with the various kids which seems to be a popular idea too. 

I’m planning to drive Allie back to Boston on Monday and, depending on Tuesday’s weather may stay there for an extra day before returning. It’s been great having her and we will all miss her and Perri.

When I get back, I’m afraid I’ll need to do something about Buster. The poor old man is getting scragglier, is drinking water voluminously and starting to pee in even more inappropriate places. It’s time for a visit to the vet. And it will be time to clean up in the basement and elsewhere. 

Once Allie’s gone, I need to tend to some other real-world matters like taxes, filing, and now some minor plumbing problems in the house. And soon will be the yard. But for one more weekend we will enjoy having Allie and celebrating all there is to celebrate. Maybe even an impeachment conviction. That would be a true belated Christmas miracle.

February 17

I drove Allie and Perri back to Boston on Monday (2/15), stayed the night and drove back home on Tuesday (yesterday). The drives were reasonably easy and getting routine. I had my sandwiches, took sips of water, had an occasional candy bar for a sugar hit and made it both ways in about 7 hours with only one pit stop. I’m even having an easier time navigating around New York City, though it’s still pretty confusing.

It was great having Allie and Perri for these nearly five weeks. It made the doldrums of this pandemic winter much more bearable and entertaining for everyone. And everyone got along very well, better than we often do. The trick now is trying to re-establish our old, quieter routines. Perri and Manny seem to be having the most withdrawal pains, though Barb is close behind.

Before Allie left, we had a fun session of playing escape room games with Laurie, Maggie and her boys. We did the National Aquarium shark game, then went ahead and did a Minecraft game and the Harry Potter game. Sam did especially well at the Harry Potter game. We had a fine time until my computer battery died, pretty much on cue. We promised to hunt for additional games to play together in the near future.

Winter is also not done with us yet. Much of the nation, especially Texas and the South, is gripped by record cold weather and power disruptions. It’s not so terrible here, but we are going to get another hit of snow and ice tonight. So far, my little electric snowblower has been up to the task of handling a few inches of snow. We’ll see if we get something bigger. After we get through the next couple of days, the weather next week looks nicer — maybe the beginning of the end of winter. Coincidentally, baseball spring training will start this week. I’m not terribly excited by a new baseball season but it’s a harbinger of a more “normal” spring if they can get going on a regular schedule.

The virus numbers continue to recede, which is excellent news. The daily average caseloads in the U.S. and worldwide are down nearly 70% from their peaks last month. Hospitalizations and deaths are down by similar percentages. 

Numbers:

• Global cases: 110,000,000; Daily average: 379K; Total Deaths: 2,420,000
• USA cases: 27,800,000; Daily average: 81K; Total Deaths: 488,000 
• Maryland cases: 372,000  Deaths: 7,612; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 1 state “On track to contain COVID” (Northern Marianas)
  • 3 states “Slow disease growth” (Washington, Puerto Rico, Hawaii)
  • 28 states “At risk of outbreak” (Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, West Virginia, Alaska…)
  • 21 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Kentucky…)
  • 0 states “Severe outbreak”

It’s old news already but Trump was acquitted of impeachment for the second time. The final vote came on Saturday after a flurry of indecision over whether to call witnesses. A GOP Congresswoman came forward Friday night with news of a phone call between Trump and Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP leader during the riot. After a few flustered hours, both sides agreed to take her account to the press as “testimony” without opening the can of worms of actually calling witnesses and delaying the process. A record total of 7 GOP senators voted to convict, but that was 10 short of the 17 needed. 

After the vote, Mitch McConnell gave a speech saying that Trump was certainly guilty and responsible for the riot but McConnell nevertheless voted to acquit based on the technicality that Trump was already out of office. It was a disingenuous profile in lack of courage, but no real surprise for McConnell. He is clearly hoping that the courts or the court of public opinion will eventually invalidate Trump as a candidate in the future, but he wasn’t willing to take the responsibility himself or give Democrats the triumph. It was another cold power calculation by a cold-blooded reptile of a senator. Trump, who has remained silent for the weeks since he left office (on the clear advice of his lawyers and against his own will), issued a release yesterday blasting McConnell. The battle for what’s left of the GOP soul is underway. We will soon have to put up with Trump being back on the airwaves. He just won’t shut up and go away.

February 24

It’s been a somewhat challenging couple of days in our little world which kept me from writing until now. 

Things started going awry last Friday or so when Barb and I decided that it was finally time to take Buster to the vet. He was clearly losing weight, getting badly scraggly, drinking voluminously from toilets no matter how many water bowls we put down, and most troublingly was peeing in all sorts of new places around the house. We made an appointment for Monday morning.

On Friday, we had a day of mixed snow and rain, adding to snow and ice that had built up from several small storms over the past week. Around 10am Barb noticed that drips were starting to run down the wall in the dining room where she was working. We’d had problems with leaks in that corner of the ceiling off and on since we moved into this house but I thought it had stopped being a problem a few years ago. I spent a couple of hours on a step-stool dabbing the drips with towels, trying to catch them before they damaged the wall or floors. Barb helped when she wasn’t on conference calls. By the early afternoon, the drips abated and I hoped the problem had gone away again.

Over the weekend I started noticing our hot water was not quite as hot as before. By the time Barb took her shower on Sunday the water was barely tepid. On Monday morning I called our plumber to come check the water heater and got the first available appointment for Tuesday. That meant a day (at minimum) without showers or dishwashing.

Buster’s vet appointment was at 11:20 so I held off feeding him until about an hour before. I knew it would be a challenge catching him so my thought was to feed him and Manny on the porch. Unfortunately, the weather on Monday was another day of mixed snow, sleet and freezing rain. It was cold and nasty enough that neither cat was interested in going out on the porch, even for food. Eventually, Buster strayed far enough from the basement door that I could close it off as well the door to our bedroom. We began a slow motion chase through the house until Barb and I were able to corner Buster in the dining room and we got him into the cat carrier. He didn’t really put up much of a fight; if anything, he seemed somewhat resigned. He didn’t complain in the carrier at all. 

Buster and I took the short drive to the vet where, under Covid guidelines, I handed him off to the vet assistant and described his condition. After a short exam, the vet came out and we discussed the possible diagnoses and treatment options. None were good. Even in the best case it seemed Buster would need some pills or ointments twice per day which didn’t seem like a practical alternative for us. The vet offered the option on euthanasia; I doublechecked with Barb and we agreed that was the best choice. I said my goodbyes. It was sad but seemed like the right time and choice. Buster was more than 15 years old and his quality of life (and ours) was deteriorating quickly.

Not long after I got back home, Barb noticed more drips on the wall and we started into the same drill again…but this time the drips were worse. Then we noticed an even bigger problem with water coming into the living room near the fireplace, basically on the other side of the same wall as the dining room. We used buckets and towels to catch the living room drips as best as we could while Barb and I stayed in the dining room doing the towel dabs for hours, waiting for the rain and thawing to stop. It finally did around 4pm.

I concluded that the problem is worst when snow and ice builds up on the roof near the chimney and then thaws. The meltwater gets in over whatever flashing is there on the roof. So I’ve made a call to a couple of roofers to get estimates on finally fixing it. We had someone look at it about 10 years ago and he did some repairs up there but I guess it’s time for another crack at it. Then we will need to find someone to fix the interior drywall damage and probably repaint the living room and dining room…and fix some older drywall damage in our bathroom, too. More projects loom.

I had an especially sleepless night on Monday, unshowered with a sink and dishwasher full of dirty dishes, worried about our house and sad about Buster.

On Tuesday (yesterday), the plumbers came around 9am and after a short while determined that we needed a new water heater. This one had lasted 10 years which is evidently about par for the course, especially for being on well water. I agreed and that set them into motion: shutting off the water, opening faucets all over the house, draining the old heater, removing it, getting a new one delivered, installing it, refitting the gas line, turning the water back on and testing it out. They were finished by around 2pm which was pretty quick, all in all, but it was a noisy, intrusive exercise that Barb did not enjoy at all. We were pretty pleased to have hot water afterward, though.

While I was down in the basement, I noticed that our water filtration system had an error so I called that in and made an appointment for that technician to come out. We’ll see what needs to be fixed. I really don’t think our water softening system has been working properly for a long time. They claim they fixed it last summer but I still don’t think it’s right. Maybe this time.

Tuesday afternoon I had a call with Jon Shinn regarding Sue and whether to continue renting (fix it up and get a new tenant) or sell her house. After talking it through with him, I can understand his leaning toward continuing to rent the house for income but I think I talked him into the better alternative of selling it and helping Sue live off the proceeds along with her pension and Social Security. Jon is understandably gun-shy about investing in stocks but the more I think about it, the better that alternative seems. I intend to write a more complete email to explain my reasoning and will copy Sue and Laurie.

The rest of Tuesday things started to get back to normal. I was able to take a treadmill walk and listen to a podcast (which I hadn’t done for several days, falling out of my habit). I got a nice hot shower and went to fetch some Thai food for dinner. I went to bed at 10:30 (unbelievably early for me) and slept more than 8 hours until about 7am. 

Today I feel like things are getting back on track. Manny seems a little lonely without Buster or Perri to play with. Barb is working in the dining room and seems to have fewer conference calls the past few days. She’s had some fire drills with the new Biden administration people coming in and wanting to undo all the nonsense Trump’s people did, but for the moment things seem to be settling down. Also the weather is finally warmer and sunny, brightening everyone’s mood…though Manny still doesn’t seem interested in being outside yet.

As all of this has been going on, for most of the past week I’ve also been plunging down various internet rabbit holes chasing our Garbutt family history. Sue sent me some documents last month that Keri had been storing. I’ve been trying to make sense of them and rooting around lots of websites as I chase various stories, angles and some dead ends. I’m about ready to make the post available to my loyal readers (mainly Laurie and Sue if they are interested). I’ve also been working on a Garbutt family tree that is getting very large. I’m not terribly happy with the family tree software module I’m using, but I’ve paid for it and invested quite a bit of time in it so far. I don’t think there’s any turning back for the time being.

And then there’s the virus. The news is still improving though we are still at levels well above what was alarming last summer and I’m afraid the decline may be leveling out. Sadly, we just passed the awful milestone of 500,000 deaths in America from the virus. I happened to see Biden give a thoughtful and moving speech about it. The man knows how to speak about loss; it may be what he’s best at. That’s not to denigrate his other governing skills (in fact, so far so good on that front), but he’s survived so much obvious pain in his own life he knows better than most how to handle it.

Numbers:

• Global cases: 112,000,000; Daily average: 363K; Total Deaths: 2,490,000
• USA cases: 28,300,000; Daily average: 68K; Total Deaths: 502,000 
• Maryland cases: 378,000  Deaths: 7,762; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 state “On track to contain COVID” ()
  • 5 states “Slow disease growth” (Maine, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Northern Marianas)
  • 38 states “At risk of outbreak” (Kentucky, Utah, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arizona…)
  • 10 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, North Carolina…)
  • 0 states “Severe outbreak”

February 28

Tonight is the Golden Globes Awards show which is not that big a deal but reminds me that I’ve fallen behind in tracking what I’ve been viewing. We’ve watched quite a lot on TV and various streaming services, particularly while Allie was here, and I’m not going to capture everything. There’s the increasingly fuzzy line of what constitutes a TV show vs. a film. There is an interesting ongoing negotiation with Barb over what we can watch together, so I’ll note the things we’ve seen as a couple. Here are programs/movies/series I recall viewing so far in 2021.

I’ve already mentioned Bridgerton and A Suitable Boy; I finished both series in January. I watched Bridgerton with Barb and we both rather enjoyed this frothy Regency romance, Barb more than me. It caused a cultural stir for its interracial casting and naked butts, and appears to have been Netflix’s most-watched series to date. It’s more fluffy entertainment than cultural landmark but I’m sure we’ll watch the next season whenever they get around to making it. 3 Stars.

I watched A Suitable Boy on my own, never able to get Barb interested even though it echoed many of the themes of Bridgerton: marriage prospects for a wealthy young woman and her peers. The series is set in newly independent 1950s India and felt somewhat more accurate and educational than Bridgerton, but it was still fundamentally a contrived romance with a less satisfactory conclusion. 3 Stars.

Allie and I enjoyed One Night in Miami about a meeting of Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown. The film, directed by Regina King and based on a play, is somewhat stagey and theatrical like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but well done. It’s a fanciful recreation of an actual event and sparked further discussion and research for Allie and me. I was pleased and a little ashamed that Allie knew more about Malcolm X than I did. The film is not especially wonderful but is effective in making you want to learn more. 3 Stars.

Allie and I watched The Sound of Metal about a heavy metal drummer encountering a loss of hearing. The film deserves its good notices for Riz Ahmed’s performance but I didn’t love the downward spiral of the story. It’s a gritty film reflecting lots of questionable decisions, one of those films where I felt manipulated by the screenplay to go down paths that could have been avoided. 2 Stars.

I tried to get Allie interested in watching My Brilliant Career, one of my favorite films from my college years, now available to stream. I watched alone and still loved the story set in rural Australia and featuring breakout performances by Judy Davis and Sam Neill. The writing and direction is great, with a number of iconic scenes and quotes, and the film still holds together very well in my opinion. A fun experience, I wish I could get others to enjoy as much as I do. 4 Stars.

Allie encouraged Barb and me to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and it has become our current joint viewing choice. We’re both enjoying its quick banter and winning performances even if the storylines sometimes get preposterous. It’s set in a revisionist late 1950’s-early 1960’s New York where everyone’s rich, witty and foul-mouthed. And who’s watching the kids? It’s a fantasy but it’s fun. We’ve finished the second season and are starting on the third. 4 Stars.

I’ve tried watching Fleabag which has won all sorts of awards in the past couple of years. I’ve made it through the first season and starting the second but it’s been a slow grind for me. I’m not enthralled by the antics or the acting of Phoebe Waller-Bridge though I admire her success at growing this character/concept from a 10-minute sketch to a one-woman play to an internationally acclaimed series. It’s another series where the cringes and questionable choices outweigh the laughs for me. 2 Stars, maybe 3.

Speaking of cringes and some laughs, I recently watched Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. It’s a heavily political anti-Trump effort which is commendable at some level but doesn’t make it a good film. Sasha Baron Cohen deserves some credit for getting the film made and distributed before the election but I don’t think he gets credit for taking down Trump. The coarseness of Cohen’s comedy is the same sewer that Trump thrives in. 2 Stars.

Barb, Allie and I watched The Prom which is another gay-friendly piece of wish-fulfillment from Ryan Murphy. The film, based on a Broadway musical, has a stellar cast but a stale story, glitzily executed. 2 Stars.

In podcasts, Laurie and I have been enjoying Revolutions. We both got through the English and American Revolutions; I’m taking a break before tackling the French. We both like host Mike Duncan’s style though we agreed his handling of the American Revolution was weaker. Too much emphasis on the Revolutionary War battles and not enough on the war of ideas that brought forth a much more representative democracy.

Musically, I’ve stumbled onto the YouTube compilations of Transatlantic Sessions, a BBC/Irish TV series of collaborative performances by the cream of Celtic, Irish, Bluegrass and Americana players from 1995-2013. It offers many hours of pleasurable music and pleasant TV. 

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