What are fans doing to pass the time during this Coronavirus period?
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It is such a hot summer, I'm kinda stuck by the 1 air conditioner. Tomorrow will be a scorcher...
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I've sought various distractions to get my mind off things. Reading is always paramount. At the start, I really enjoyed discovering more of the subtle, nuanced music of R.E.M. Their lyrics are intellectual; Michael Stipe said he doesn't write "love songs. Ick. They're odious." R.E.M. is a squeaky clean band, never a hint of groupies and drugs, which is rare. They did get hangovers recording in New Orleans, got tore up there, but they were in the French Quarter...after they hit big, bassist Mike Mills wore fancy, colorful Nudie cowboy costumes on stage sometimes, but the other band members stayed low key fashion-wise, yet dressed cool and hip in an understated way. R.E.M. didn't desert their birthplace as a band, Athens, Ga., even after getting huge; took a five year hiatus from touring (but not from recording) there in the midst of the mad whirl. "Rolling Stone" said the band's "Murmur" album topped "Thriller" by Michael Jackson ! And this was in the band's beginnings. Later, they earned the highest payoff in music history up to then, $80 million for their contract with Warner Bros. This, after years of roughing it playing night after night all over. "It was like Spinal Tap," they said, some of the joints they played. And R.E.M., said Mike Mills, "tried just as hard for an audience of 15 people." Then when the good times came of startling success, they must have felt, a little bit, like America's Beatles.
I got immersed to a lesser extent in B-52s feel good party music too. That band also originated in Athens. Its music isn't usually as cerebral as R.E.M. can be, but their music stimulates a different pleasure zone--more often highly danceable--makes you want to move. R.E.M. boasts some numbers like that too, but with more interesting lyrics. Fred Schneider of the B-52s said he knows his band has "limitations but we try the best we can with what we have." I thought that was refreshingly honest and humble of him. Their songs help lift one's spirits and tickle your funny bone in these dark times, can be clever and witty. I listened to some Tame Impala and was impressed by their deep emotional lyrics and sound. They used scenes from Twin Peaks in one of their videos. That song is "I'm Changing."
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Michael Stipe is on my $hit list after I read this:
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Flying out to help my sister move further from the fires hopefully.
PS Anyone who is thinking America is great again, look around you...about 142,000 lives could have been saved if we had a leader who did what Angela Merkle in Germany did. We have the technology but we have a corrupt game show golfer for a leader who wont listen to experts or real doctors and has NO PLAN. I bet those 142,000 people who died and their families wish they lived somwhere else,where the leader actually was one. Please get out and vote for an experienced man who listens to experts, does not try to cause Panic, tries to unite the people and actually cares about Americans more than himself...Joe Biden
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love2travel wrote:
Flying out to help my sister move further from the fires hopefully.
PS Anyone who is thinking America is great again, look around you...about 142,000 lives could have been saved if we had a leader who did what Angela Merkle in Germany did. We have the technology but we have a corrupt game show golfer for a leader who wont listen to experts or real doctors and has NO PLAN. I bet those 142,000 people who died and their families wish they lived somwhere else,where the leader actually was one. Please get out and vote for an experienced man who listens to experts, does not try to cause Panic, tries to unite the people and actually cares about Americans more than himself...Joe Biden
Well said!
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I listened to all R.E.M.'s albums and was well impressed and edified, and searching the lyrics Stipe was true to his word--not a romantic love subject to be found and instead a fairly fascinating vast range of topics and emotions. (Just never a romantic love emotion.) Most of my self-penned songs delve into a variety of themes, too. This was a few months back, though, and I wonder if I'll plunge into R.E.M. again, digging them a lot, again. I might listen to more Indigo Girls again, first. (They hail from Georgia, too.) They also feature a scintillating variety. When I had access to all kinds of radio stations for a short while, a few years ago, I discovered a lot of under the radar artists who sound much better, their music and singing and everything, than current top 40 fare. I wrote down their names, but lost the list. Doggone it. I remember Frank Ocean was one.
Then I got into looking at architecture online, especially barns converted into homes. (Once I went through a glass houses phase and I re-visited that, too.) I need to again get immersed in looking at art online. I noticed I fancied the more colorful paintings the most and don't expect that will change.
I studied different Irish scenes and locales focusing on Ireland more than on England, for a change. I like to see Scotland's sights. I guess I favor going online a lot since I don't have t.v. for visual stimulation. The endless nights drag on so long, when one stays up very late.
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I've been traveling a lot lately. I try to take a big trip every summer, but Europe is having some problems lately and I doubt I will be going to the Divided States any time soon, so I took a road trip around Taiwan. I drove in a counterclockwise circle around the entire country, more or less. Overall, I prefer to vacation far away from home, to experience a different culture. But I recently moved to a new country, so I learned quite a bit about a new place.
Other than driving, this is a great time to fly places. It seems like I always used to get stuck on jam packed flights full of impatient, annoyed people. Now, flights are half empty and everyone seems happier. Maybe because the flights are half empty. The flight attendants definitely seem happier.
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love2travel wrote:
Flying out to help my sister move further from the fires hopefully.
PS Anyone who is thinking America is great again, look around you...about 142,000 lives could have been saved if we had a leader who did what Angela Merkle in Germany did. We have the technology but we have a corrupt game show golfer for a leader who wont listen to experts or real doctors and has NO PLAN. I bet those 142,000 people who died and their families wish they lived somwhere else,where the leader actually was one. Please get out and vote for an experienced man who listens to experts, does not try to cause Panic, tries to unite the people and actually cares about Americans more than himself...Joe Biden
If you want to get jealous, check out Tsai Ing Wen, the president of Taiwan. The way she handled the virus outbreak should be taught at every political science class in the world. Taiwan has 7 deaths from Covid. Not 7 per hour or 7 per day. 7 total.
And the vice president, Chen Chien Jen, is an epidemiologist who was health minister during the SARS epidemic and helped write the current response strategy. Your vice president thinks science is the Devil's work.
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HaileyMcComet wrote:
love2travel wrote:
Flying out to help my sister move further from the fires hopefully.
PS Anyone who is thinking America is great again, look around you...about 142,000 lives could have been saved if we had a leader who did what Angela Merkle in Germany did. We have the technology but we have a corrupt game show golfer for a leader who wont listen to experts or real doctors and has NO PLAN. I bet those 142,000 people who died and their families wish they lived somwhere else,where the leader actually was one. Please get out and vote for an experienced man who listens to experts, does not try to cause Panic, tries to unite the people and actually cares about Americans more than himself...Joe Biden
If you want to get jealous, check out Tsai Ing Wen, the president of Taiwan. The way she handled the virus outbreak should be taught at every political science class in the world. Taiwan has 7 deaths from Covid. Not 7 per hour or 7 per day. 7 total.
And the vice president, Chen Chien Jen, is an epidemiologist who was health minister during the SARS epidemic and helped write the current response strategy. Your vice president thinks science is the Devil's work.
And our president is an orange-faced narcissistic moron.
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Hay Hailey Mc., long time no see...although I guess it hasn't really been that long ago you last popped up here, till informing us of your new travels and showing your new car (it's gorgeous) ! So you live in a different and equally lush, green and beautiful part of Asia now. You're an American, though, aren't you? You really get around ! Lucky !
-Well, actually, I guess Hong Kong where you lived last isn't as "lush and green and beautiful" and tropical or semi-tropical as where you are now (?). I need to brush up on my geography. Last I heard, I think you worked at Disneyland China as a singer and dancer (?). What's your career presently? Still in entertainment? Have you written any new books
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SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
Hay Hailey Mc., long time no see...although I guess it hasn't really been that long ago you last popped up here, till informing us of your new travels and showing your new car (it's gorgeous) ! So you live in a different and equally lush, green and beautiful part of Asia now. You're an American, though, aren't you? You really get around ! Lucky !
-Well, actually, I guess Hong Kong where you lived last isn't as "lush and green and beautiful" and tropical or semi-tropical as where you are now (?). I need to brush up on my geography. Last I heard, I think you worked at Disneyland China as a singer and dancer (?). What's your career presently? Still in entertainment? Have you written any new books
That's a lot of questions for a Tuesday afternoon. You could even say Tuesday afternoon is never-ending. Though the album version is only 8:23.
Hong Kong is indeed lush, green, and beautiful. Most people think of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, which are tall, steel, and glass. But the New Territories are mostly green and undeveloped, with several country parks, mountains, nature reserves, waterfalls, a wide variety of wildlife, and hiking trails up the wazoo.
Hong Kong has a humid subtropical climate, which means it can and will rain at absolutely any time and is always more humid than it really needs to be. Southern Taiwan, where I live now, has a tropical rainforest climate, which means it can and will rain at absolutely any time and is always more humid than it really needs to be. The only noticeable difference between the two, that I have seen, is that Hong Kong is mostly protected from typhoons by the Philippines and Taiwan. Taiwan is protected by the Philippines to the south, but is wide open on the east coast. I have lived in Taiwan for almost four months and have already seen more typhoons than the lifetime I lived in Hong Kong.
There is no Disneyland China, but there is a Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. I left Hong Kong Disneyland four years ago. I was mostly a dancer, but medical issues pretty much ended that career. So I took an enormous pay raise and became a choreographer.
When people ask if I am American, I have to think about how to answer that. Technically, I am. I was born in the Divided States. But based on everything I have read and seen about the American way of life over the last few years, I do not identify as an American. The country you live in now is not the same country where I was born. When people ask what I am, more often than not, I say Hongkonger, which has its own problems. Hong Kong is in China, but I am not Chinese. Other than legally.
My new book is currently on the fourth draft. I want to finish before the year ends, but I have let too many distractions get in the way. Whatever happens, I will definitely finish before George Railroad Martin.
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Honestly, the best thing I'm doing to pass time since corona is to listen to some music. Not for itself, like if i have to do something in my Flat, it always comes easier when i turn on some music before starting. I read recently that music can help the brain with concentration issues or just setting a focus on something. I tried it and it works for me.
If you are interested, the article about concentration enhencment with music is in the Link below (the article is in german but you can use Deepl for the translation:
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been immersed in Tim Buckley music all over again--his passionate singing with astounding range, his amazing ouvre
of
nine albums (his son's voice is beautiful, sounds like Tim's, Jeff Buckley just recorded one album though) make him a true
blue eyed soul singer. I've read Linda and Paul McCartney were fans of his. Linda had photographed him. It's very sad he
only met Jeff once
, when Jeff was 8. Tim passed of a drug o.d. at 28; Jeff drowned at 30. That makes them unusual too in that both died young.
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SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
been immersed in Tim Buckley music all over again--his passionate singing with astounding range, his amazing ouvre
of
nine albums (his son's voice is beautiful, sounds like Tim's, Jeff Buckley just recorded one album though) make him a true
blue eyed soul singer. I've read Linda and Paul McCartney were fans of his. Linda had photographed him. It's very sad he
only met Jeff once
, when Jeff was 8. Tim passed of a drug o.d. at 28; Jeff drowned at 30. That makes them unusual too in that both died young.
Linda was more than a fan of Tim's - she was "romantically" involved with him (if you catch my drift) before she ever met Paul.
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I knew that but failed to mention it. I really got into Buckley's music a few months ago, and it's so good I'm able to enjoy it
a lot again. Well, he has so many songs *nine albums. I'm also reading and writing a lot. I would, anyway, though.
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HaileyMcComet wrote:
love2travel wrote:
Flying out to help my sister move further from the fires hopefully.
PS Anyone who is thinking America is great again, look around you...about 142,000 lives could have been saved if we had a leader who did what Angela Merkle in Germany did. We have the technology but we have a corrupt game show golfer for a leader who wont listen to experts or real doctors and has NO PLAN. I bet those 142,000 people who died and their families wish they lived somwhere else,where the leader actually was one. Please get out and vote for an experienced man who listens to experts, does not try to cause Panic, tries to unite the people and actually cares about Americans more than himself...Joe Biden
If you want to get jealous, check out Tsai Ing Wen, the president of Taiwan. The way she handled the virus outbreak should be taught at every political science class in the world. Taiwan has 7 deaths from Covid. Not 7 per hour or 7 per day. 7 total.
And the vice president, Chen Chien Jen, is an epidemiologist who was health minister during the SARS epidemic and helped write the current response strategy. Your vice president thinks science is the Devil's work.
Yes, I had read about Taiwan doing well with Covid, didn’t realize it was only 7 cases! It is amazing the number of women leaders who have done so well against the virus. It should be taught in Political Science classes, you’re right! Now Trump is in Walter Reed Hospital, getting the special treatments that should have saved more Americans. To think of all the adult people who threw themselves on the floor and had a tantrum worthy of a 6 year old... when told they had to wear a mask. So very sad.
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Just found some of cool recreations of famous people of the past, brought to life using new software.
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love2travel wrote:
Just found some of cool recreations of famous people of the past, brought to life using new software.
Those videos were fabulous!
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Getting away from the politics....
My wife and I saw a great movie "accidently" during this pandemic that in my opinion is one of the best "war" movies I have ever seen. It takes place during the Vietnam War and is about an American Air Force medic and the ultimate sacrifices he made for his fellow soldiers and America. The best thing is that I recently bought this movie (DVD) at Walmart who had it on sale for only $5.00.
The movie is called "The Last Full Measure". The script and acting is great and it just doesn't have "war scenes". It has a great deal of depth. The movie has a great cast that I already knew like Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel Jackson and Peter Fonda. It was unfortunately Peter Fonda's last movie and he was great. It also had as the main character an actor who I didn't know. His name is Sebastian Stan and he was phenominal playing the Pentagon staffer who investigates the "Medal of Honon" request for this hero who's brave acts was initially "denied" for a Congressional Medal of Honor because of "politics".
If anyone hasn't seen this grreat movie, I would highly recommend it. Watching "The Last Full Measure" on DVD was even better the 2nd time around. That is why I still buy DVD's or Blue Ray's of movies I love especially when they they are on sale for like $5.00 Later on, I love to dig them out from time to time. You always find things that you missed the first time.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Getting away from the politics....
My wife and I saw a great movie "accidently" during this pandemic that in my opinion is one of the best "war" movies I have ever seen. It takes place during the Vietnam War and is about an American Air Force medic and the ultimate sacrifices he made for his fellow soldiers and America. The best thing is that I recently bought this movie (DVD) at Walmart who had it on sale for only $5.00.
The movie is called "The Last Full Measure". The script and acting is great and it just doesn't have "war scenes". It has a great deal of depth. The movie has a great cast that I already knew like Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel Jackson and Peter Fonda. It was unfortunately Peter Fonda's last movie and he was great. It also had as the main character an actor who I didn't know. His name is Sebastian Stan and he was phenominal playing the Pentagon staffer who investigates the "Medal of Honon" request for this hero who's brave acts was initially "denied" for a Congressional Medal of Honor because of "politics".
If anyone hasn't seen this grreat movie, I would highly recommend it. Watching "The Last Full Measure" on DVD was even better the 2nd time around. That is why I still buy DVD's or Blue Ray's of movies I love especially when they they are on sale for like $5.00 Later on, I love to dig them out from time to time. You always find things that you missed the first time.
Just heard about Christopher Plummer passing away yesterday. Nancy put it in the RIP Post. This great actor originally from Montreaul Canada (I always thought he was from England) was 91 I believe and continued working well into his 70's and 80's. I believe "The Last Full Measure" that I described above might have just been Christopher Plummer's last movie also. I was definitely Peter Fonda's last movie as on the DVD I bought mentioned that at the end of movie credits.
Christopher Plummer in "The Last Full Measure" played the Father of the Air Force medic who died in one of Vietnam's bloodiest battles. His son never received the Congressional Medal of Honor that he so richly deserved y because of some political battle in Congress. Christopher Plummer as usual did a great job playing the medic's Father and was directly involved with making sure his son would posthumusly received his Congressional Medal of Honor.
As I said, I bought this great movie at Walmart for $5.00. The movie was fantastic but got caught in our recent Pandemic so it never got the acclaim that it deserved. I would hightly recommend it.