Fitness Update

In an earlier post, I mentioned I started a yoga program using an iPhone app called Sunsa. This app offers free programs, using real yoga instructors who take you on a routine that ranges from 10 to 26 minutes.

As of yesterday, I completed my first full program (for beginners of course). The entire journey was twenty-eight days long. I only missed one day, thanks to one of our long retail shopping days.

Here is the review of the app and my overall personal experience.

The app itself is truly wonderful. The instructors are very fluid in their movements. The narrator has a soothing voice that accompanies the gentle music that plays in the background. While some reviews indicated that they would've preferred getting to see each pose with its name individually so they would recognize them, anything I needed to learn, I found out about on Google. All in all, I give the app five stars out of five.

As far as my overall personal experience, I can truly say the last 28 days have been transformative--mentally, spiritually, and physically. While I did experience pain early on (leading me to purchase Joint Juice, a glucosamine-chondroitin drink), I am pain-free as of this writing.

My flexibility, which wasn't too bad to start with for a sixty-year-old man, has improved quite a bit. I find myself looking forward to my daily yoga sessions and feel very cleanses when I complete them. In fact, I employ some yoga poses during the day, too, just to center myself.

I now have to decide whether to go further in my studies or stay with what I've done to date. As of today, I decided to start from the beginning of my program and add a few additional poses on my own in conjunction with the push-ups, sit-ups, and planks I already do twice a day.

The only cardio workout we're getting is walking outside. Most days, we're getting three or more miles done. While it's not my preferred aerobic exercise, it works for now considering we won't be able to get into our gym until at least May 12th (Arizona's "reopening" date) and probably longer than that. As I told my wife yesterday, I would want to wait it out for another 3 weeks to see if we have a resurgence of the virus before going back.

Yours in health,

Michael

Digital Abstract Art

I'm a big fan of abstract art, particularly that of the period art historians call abstract expressionism. The movement began with the New York School, an art movement that began in the 1950s and went into the 1960s. Aside from visual art, the School encompassed music, dance, poetry, theater, and other artistic disciplines, all tied together by the theme of surrealism and avant-gardism.

Notable abstract impressionists from the School included Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Joan Mitchell, Hans Hofmann, Lee Krasner, Albert Kotin, Robert De Niro, Sr., Willem de Kooning, and Elaine de Kooning.

My love affair with abstractionism began several years ago after I had explored Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Cubism to my satisfaction. In particular, the action painting of Pollock (as he termed it) appealed to my senses. What some see as mindless splashes of paint, I see rhythm, flow, and the merger of colors. It's visceral and not meant to be interpreted for its hidden meaning (in most instances, anyway).

Sadly, I cannot draw, a fact I learned many, many years ago. I don't have a natural talent for visual art that others have. So, I had to resign myself to be a fan and not a player (as it were).

Then, I discovered the joys of digital art. With the right tools, time, and patience, I learned to become a fairly well-skilled artist. I was then free to begin making my own abstract art and did so with abandon.

One important lesson I learned in this process is the difference between mediocre abstractions and those that truly make an impression are three key elements: layers, color, and presentation. Without all three in the mix, the painting appears flat and lifeless. Proper implementation of all three and the painting comes alive.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Coyote Stairwell

Arlecchino

Wiegenlied

Velveteen Allegory

That's all I'll post for now. Perhaps, I'll add some more in the future.

The ironic part is despite the self-isolation, I have less time than ever to create artwork. Most of my free time is spent writing and I have so many projects, I seem to lose track of my days. That's a good thing, I guess, since I'm remaining creative.

Yet I still miss it. Oh well, maybe after this pandemic is over.

Yours in digital ink,

Michael

When Will It Be Normal Again?

If you've been reading all the COVID-19 coverage online or watching cable news, you must've seen a title of an article or segment that opines about when will we be normal again? As if "normal" is the same for everyone, but I get the point. Let me start with the answer, then the analysis.

When will we be normal again? Never.

Seriously, never. Or at least never in our lifetime, though a lot of people will eventually return to some variation of their previous "normal." But, unless your head is completely full of air or rocks, you must know that if a pandemic like this could happen and it's not that fatal, imagine one where it is not only virulent but kills a large number of those who become infected.

So, we have to accept the fact that there will be a new normal but even how that will look is hard to predict.

Think about dining out in a restaurant. How many do you go to that are packed cheek to jowl with tables and customers and waitstaff? Probably too many to count, right? If you were the owner, how would you reconfigure it?

Here's what I would do:

• Reservations-only seating
• Staff must be checked daily for temperature and perhaps O2 levels
• Customers must be checked for temperature and O2 levels as well
• While in the restaurant, waitstaff must wear masks and surgical gloves (same for kitchen staff, too)
• Remove half the tables or more to allow for 6' minimum social distancing
• Tables, chairs, and other surfaces need to be wiped down thoroughly after each customer leaves

And even this isn't perfect. What if an asymptomatic person comes into the restaurant? No fever, O2 saturation levels are fine, but they're shedding viruses left and right--how do you prevent this? Sure, on-the-spot testing would help, but even if it was available, who could afford to do that every day for every person passing through the doors?

This is just one example. Think of your own and then you start to see the sheer magnitude that this challenge presents.

So "normal," as we used to know if, is history. What happens going forward is up to us as a race because just returning to our old ways will only open the doors for the same kind of pandemic or even worse--the one that will take out humanity altogether.

And what's the most asinine thing I see now are the covidiots protesting that their liberties are being assaulted. My only words to them are these: get with the program or get ready to lose you life or that of your loved one.

Yours in quarantine,

Michael

Tales from the Loop

As I've noted multiple times in this blog, we've been watching new series as we learn about them from our son or from the internet. After weeks of action movies, we've decided to change the mood a bit and began watching Tales from the Loop, an 8-episode series on Amazon Prime that falls in the realm of surrealistic sci-fi (perhaps a redundant term).


Based on the eerie paintings of 36-year-old Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, the series explores the lives of residents of Mercer, Ohio, a company town where the "industry" is a device called The Loop that is built underground. From all appearances, The Loop is a particle accelerator and the question viewers will consider is whether the strange happenings a result of the device itself or merely an adjunct of a town filled with engineers and scientists.


But that's only the backdrop. The town itself is drab, but the lives of those living there can hardly be described as such. Though we've only watched three episodes thus far, it seems like each episode, though standalone, feature characters that are interconnected linearly from one episode to the next. Certainly, it's not a movie series in the traditional sense.


On the plus side, the cinematography is beautiful, the soundtrack is tight, and the writing is beyond skilled. Figures and structures in Stålenhag's paintings are faithfully reproduced and integrated with the entire story. Whether some of it is CGI or not (I respective it is, though), it's still quite stunning.


On the minus side, it's very slow. If you're used to your series jump-cutting here and there, lots of car crashes, bullets, and bombs, then you may not really enjoy this series so much. However, if you're looking for a more cerebral viewing experience, I say it's worth a try.


The good news is, according to the showrunner, there is enough material for future seasons of Tales from the Loop, though right now, there's no word whether Amazon's interested in renewing the contract. So much in the air right now with impacts from COVID-19, we'll just have to wait and see.


Yours from the Loop,


Michael

Walk Away, Renée

Everyone has songs that become earworms for them. Some of them are common and seem to cross generational boundaries, at least in my experience. Some examples come to mind: Come On, Eileen and Chechez La Femme are two of them I know are earworms for people other than myself.

Then there's Walk Away, Renée, a 1966 hit song by the pop band The Left Banke. The tune was written by Tony Sansone, Bob Calilli, and Michael Brown, though Brown was the principal writer and keyboardist for the band. This song is one of the worst earworms for me and for years, I didn't know why. Now I have an inkling.

If you're not familiar with this tune, here's an early video of them performing it music video style:

The lyrics:

And when I see the sign that points one way
The lot we used to pass by every day

Just walk away, Renée
You won't see me follow you back home
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same
You're not to blame

From deep inside the tears that I'm forced to cry
From deep inside the pain that I chose to hide

Just walk away, Renée
You won't see me follow you back home
Now as the rain beats down upon my weary eyes
For me it cries

Just walk away, Renée
You won't see me follow you back home
Now as the rain beats down upon my weary eyes
For me it cries

Your name and mine inside a heart upon a wall
Still finds a way to haunt me, though they're so small

Just walk away, Renée
You won't see me follow you back home
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same
You're not to blame

Now a bit more about the song before I get into the history.

Walk Away, Renée is classified as one in the "baroque pop" genre, one of many that employed the use of classical music instruments such as strings and harpsichords. Other bands, such as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Procol Harem, The Zombies released music in this genre, but The Left Banke was an early progenitor of the style.

Michael Brown was only sixteen when he wrote the song, which after reading the lyrics, you wonder how someone so young could be so introspective about matters of the heart. Though unrequited love has long been a topic of pop songs over the entire history of pop music (even prior to the rock era), the lyrics capture the angst missing from many of them, at least to me.

Brown's muse was Renée Fladen, a singer in her own right and the girlfriend of Tom Finn, the band's bassist. According to Brown, he had a major, yet unrequited, crush on Fladen. So much did he love her that when it came time to record the harpsichord part in the studio and finding Fladen there to watch the session, his hands shook so much, he had to leave. Later, he returned to the studio to record the missing part.

In the video above, the blonde walking away during the song's bridge is Renée herself.

I think the reason the song gets in my head and won't leave right away is that I feel the young man's pain in the lyrics, and even though he wasn't the lead singer of the song (Steve Martin Caro was), it's haunting beauty is evident in every syllable. This resonates with me and probably why the song's been covered so many times.

Michael Brown died on March 19, 2015, after a battle with heart disease. Steve Martin Caro died on January 14, 2020, also from heart disease.

Here's another of Michael Brown joining the band for Walk Away, Renée just prior to his death (in 2013). As you can see, he's not physically well and his playing is a bit rusty. But nonetheless, it's a treasure it's been captured for posterity.

RIP, Michael Brown and Steve Martin Caro!

Yours in music,

Michael

Nextdoor.com Exposed!

As I believe I mentioned in previous posts, I belong to NextDoor.com for our local neighborhood. This is a website that allows residents in particular neighborhoods to interact online. There's the usual run of things posted, like items for sale, groups forming, questions about service providers, and the rest. Nothing earth-shattering.

Then there are discussions on other topics of supposed public interest others to participate in and enjoy. Because we live in a very red district in a red (almost purple) state, many of the posts tend toward the political, and they are pro-Trump to the max.

And woe to anyone who dares to offer a contrary opinion! In fact, the MAGA crowd infiltrates discussions started by non-Trumpers and tries to bully everyone into submission with their idiotic Fox News talking points.

This behavior has recently led to the liberal among us to start our own subgroup where we can share our frustrations and disgust with the orange-tinged maniac in the White House. This forum has been a source of relief from reading the threads in the public space.

Of course, these days, the biggest topic of discussion is the anger at the ongoing stay-at-home orders, especially when it comes to restrictions on the use of the common facilities here such as the swimming pool and sports courts.

The management here is strictly adhering to Republican Governor Doug Ducey's restrictions on the entire state, but that doesn't matter to the MAGAts around here. They complain ad nauseam about how unfair it is, it's government overreach, our liberties are being trampled, and all the rest of the BS the right is spewing right now.

The unavailability of the public pool here seems to tweak these crotchety old farts the most, though. They don't swim. They soak and chat. It's where cliques of friends gather together and gossip about other cliques. It's just like high school. Very few of them actually swim.

They're all upset because they can't meet with their tribe at the (literal) watering hole. It's beyond laughable reading the complaints tumbling forth (with misspellings and poor grammar, by the way). There are a few notables who truly love hearing themselves "talk." One woman has started two, maybe three separate threads on the pool and she doesn't even use it (by her own admission)!

I swear, I'll never live in an "active senior living community again." I may be sixty, but my mind isn't old and dusty like these folks, and God willing, will never be.

Yours in amusement,

Michael

UV Light and Disinfectant -- A Descent into the Abyss

Donald Trump is nuts.

There, I said it. For years, the man has exhibited signs of mental illness, primarily malignant narcissism. His current behavior borders on sociopathy, at least according to a number of mental health care professionals, and to my mind, he always has.

However, beginning with his birtherism BS during the Obama years, he's been demonstrating even more symptoms of mental degradation, and since he's become President, based on the words he speaks and the tweets he posts, he has further descended into the abyss with no end in sight.

Some have suggested this is due to years of illegal drug use. Others have posited that it's symptoms of late-stage syphilis. I'm not convinced either of these is true.

Instead, I believe Trump suffers from early-onset dementia, which only tends to exacerbate his already known mental illness.

My mother-in-law suffered from depression (and possibly other issues) and when her dementia began to manifest in earnest, it was not only difficult to differentiate that behavior from her behavior before she went on antidepressants, but it seemed the two worked synergistically (and not in a good way).

Yesterday, Trump seriously--not sarcastically, as he's trying to say now--mused how ingesting/injecting disinfectant and UV light into the body of those infected with COVID-19 should be looked into as a possible treatment.

THIS from a man who was strenuously promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat novel coronavirus, a practice now dismissed by the CDC as potentially fatal based on data from clinical trials. And now he's talking about using Lysol and black lights? IN the body?

There's already been at least one case of someone ingesting disinfectant to get rid of COVID-19, which, of course, landed him in the hospital. Fortunately, he survived this stupidity despite Darwin's theory.

How many more covidiots will do the same because Trump thought it was a good idea?

Serious, people, this guy is without a doubt, 100% certifiable. And yet, he remains in office. Clearly, he's a candidate for invoking the 25th amendment, but he's not going anywhere until we vote him out.

Let's hope we actually do.

Yours in amazement,

Michael