Antibiotics

I was on them two weeks ago for a tooth problem.  We’ve all taken them.  Perhaps too many.  Diseases are becoming more and more resistant to treatment.  Now there is a fungus, called Candida auris, that is spreading across the globe and that is almost impossible to kill, although it is extremely effective at killing humans.

Could we at least agree that we don’t need to add antibiotics to beef, chicken, and pork feed?  Why are some of these obvious policies so hard to enact? 

You want to read something scary, read Matt Richtel and Andrew Jacobs, “Fungus Immune to Drugs Secretly Sweeps the Globe” in today’s Times.  This is a monster fungus, and one theory is that it is so hard to kill because of overuse of fungicides in agricultural production.  

Shazam!

Don’t bother seeing it.  Some of it was mildly amusing, and it had a nice message about families, but when will directors learn that 15 minutes of superheroes and villains tossing each other around really does not make an interesting movie?  I could have easily edited out 20 minutes and made a much better film.

The movie was shot in Philly.  In the course of the action the head of Billy Penn is toppled off City Hall and falls unto the Love Sculpture.  That really bothered me.  You don’t knock the head off Billy Penn.  What is wrong with these people?

Note:  You may have noticed a decline in posts about Trump.  That is deliberate.  If you continue to be a Trump supporter in the face of stupid statements, a foreign policy that weakens our country, the continuous litany of insults, incompetent and venal appointees, and a President who puts personal wealth above country, then I am not going to change your mind. 

If you are a Trump opponent, you probably don’t want to read any more about him.  Why waste your time?

Mormon Same-Sex Couples

From 2015 until yesterday, married same-sex Mormon couples were apostates, subject to excommunication.  Their children were not allowed to be baptized.  Then yesterday the Mormon president said that the kids could be baptized.  

Isn’t that amazing, how God changed his mind?  Same-sex attraction is still a sin, but give it a few years.  Maybe there will be another revelation.

Flipping the Penna. Senate

The Democrats just won a special election in western Pennsylvania for a Senate seat in a district that Trump won in 2016.  The Senate is now 24D, 26R, with two more elections scheduled before November.  All the Democrats need is one of those, because the Lt. Gov. votes in a tie, and Lt. Gov. Fetterman is a Democrat.

Go Team!

Me Too

Joe Biden is an old guy.  Cut him some slack.  Guys in his generation (and mine) grew up with different standards, different ideas of what was proper, permitted, and even expected.  That doesn’t mean I support him or even want him to be the Democratic nominee.  In fact, he’s pretty far down my list, but nothing I’ve heard would disqualify him from the presidency.

Having said that, I understand the women who felt uncomfortable when their space was invaded.  I hate being hugged.  In California it was even worse; people kissed each other.  I didn’t do that.  When I was in the Fairfax-San Anselmo Green Party, our meetings opened with a group hug.  I would stand on the porch until the hug was over and was known as “the Green Party guy who doesn’t hug.”  

Sal Mineo once starred in a film in which he stated forcefully, “Don’t touch me, man.”  That is exactly how I feel.  And if you think that is weird, so be it.  It is my space you are invading, so back off.  Please.  And yes, I am quite serious.

The Internet: Good or Bad?

A few days ago my cousin Carol asked me if I thought the internet had been a positive or a negative development.  We discussed this about 20 minutes, and I have been thinking about it ever since.  

First of all, for me to discuss the internet is like a Catholic priest giving advice on marriage.  He may give good advice, but he certainly won’t have personal experience with the topic.  There are vast areas with which I have no experience.  Never been on Facebook, never tweeted, never was in a chat room (do they still have those?), never sent a text, never heard a podcast, never Skyped (do they still Skype?).

Nonetheless, like so many topics, I may not know much, but that doesn’t stop me from having opinions.  So I would break it down.  I think those developments under the broad heading of “social media” have been a bad thing on balance.

Certainly our President’s use of Twitter is harming our country.  I believe Facebook has actually reduced community ties, although it has allowed all kinds of evil people to find each other who never would have been able to 20 years ago.  People form attachments, but in many cases the attachments are thin.  They may be your “friends,” but you can’t borrow money from them.  

On the other hand, today I looked up the homepage of a poetry review to determine if it might publish some of my poems.  I looked up Rex Parker’s solution to the New York Times crossword puzzle.  Almost every day I look something up on Wikipedia.  I’m reaching an audience with this post.  All of those are things I would not wish to lose.

So, I’m straddling the fence, always a painful place to be.

Rock and roll is here to stay

David White, 79, died on March 16.  He was one of the original organizers of the doo-wop quartet Danny and the Juniors.  They,were out of Philly (of course), got their big break on American Bandstand, and were more than a one-hit wonder; they had two.  The big one was “At the Hop,” but “Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay” also did well.

After the group broke up, White continued to write songs, including “You Don’t Own Me” for Leslie Gore and “1-2-3” for Len Barry.

If you are 60 or younger, you won’t know any of this.  Your loss.