CALL ME ISHMAEL

Herman Melville wrote Moby-Dick. A great novel! Published on this day 1n 1851.

The opening line in the book is “Call me Ishmael.” A line in the recollections of most Americans today. The reason being Moby-Dick has been a popular staple of high school reading lists since the 1920’s.

All recall Captain Ahab and his quest to catch the giant whale.

One would assume Melville became wealthy because of Moby-Dick. Such was not the case. The book published in 1851 never sold till the 1920’s when it was rediscovered.

In the meantime, Melville had to go to work in a job outside of writing. He was broke. He became a New York City custom inspector in 1865 and remained so for 20 years. Melville died in 1891 never knowing he would be recognized some 35 years later as one of the world’s greatest writers.

Melville also authored Billy Budd in his later years. Billy Budd a recognized famous work today. Did not become a work of importance till after Moby-Dick gained notoriety in the 1920’s.

A shame Melville was broke, that his writings could not gain fame till long after his death. A man should be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor in a more timely fashion.

Still cold up north. Key West weather remains steady. Today the temperature will be 83 by day and 76 by night.

Strange how weather forecasters do not always agree.

Forget being accurate.

Weathermen on TV today predict heavy rain in the Keys. Yet the Key West Citizen says only a 20 percent chance of rain.

A 20 percent chance of rain generally means no rain. It is the weather forecaster covering his ass.

An annual bicycle ride to raise money for a charity is scheduled for tomorrow and saturday. Five hundred participants. The bike ride a 165 mile one. Begins in Miami, ends in Key West. Purpose is to raise money for HIV/AIDS service organizations in Florida. It is anticipated more than $1 million will be raised.

Lori who does my hair has participated in the ride on occasion. I have an appointment with her today. Looking forward to seeing if this will be another year when she pedals away.

Key West has been recognized once again. Key West has been nominated as GayCities.com’s Best “Chill Getaway.”

No question about it. Key West has the best gay guest houses and a community that encourages gays to come to Key West and have fun.

My day was full yesterday. The first day of the public phase of the Impeachment Inquiry hearings. Last night, Syracuse/Colgate in basketball.

What a day!

My impeachment hearing impressions simple.

The Democrats did well. However not good enough. The Dems cannot merely show the “bad things” done. They must also show how the President’s conduct affected lives, the Russian influence, the threat to U.S. security, etc. Then and only then will the American people understand the harm that Trump perpetrated.

The Republicans looked like ignorant bullies. I say this not because I am anti-Trump. Rather because that in reality is how they came across.

Concededly, the Republicans have little to say to show an ‘injustice” being foisted upon the President. You can’t make something out of nothing.

Syracuse beat Colgate last night 70-54. I was concerned. Syracuse was ahead by only 6 points at half time. I feared a Virginia type defeat in the making. However, Syracuse “played ball” in the second half.

The score would have been even higher for Syracuse had Boeheim not played his subs a long time in the second half.

An interesting season ahead. Boeheim has 5 freshmen on the team.

The world’s children are getting the dirty end of the stick as far as air pollution is concerned. A new report in the medical journal The Lancet suggested the threat to children is world wide.

The Lancet article claims the “child” begins having problems in the mother’s womb. It all has to do with inhalation/absorption of polluted air.

The New England Journal of Medicine said a child’s lung tissues are affected by today’s air. The negative impact greater on children rather than adults.

The article further indicated air pollution killed 7 million world wide in 2016.

Something to be concerned about.

One of the articles said forest wildfires are primarily due to hotter temperatures. The temperatures dry the vegetation making it easier to ignite.

Keep in mind Trump does not believe there is such a thing as “global warming/air pollution.”

Turkey’s President Erdogan visited the White House yesterday. An inappropriate time. I assume Trump planned it to coincide with the public impeachment hearings.

Interestingly, the media generally failed to give coverage to Erdogan’s visit as it normally does to a visiting head of state.

Good for the media! It is wising up to Trump. He manipulates the media by planning something good for him on a day when the news of something bad is going to hit.

Erdogan and Trump are birds of a feather. Nationalists, authoritarians, etc.

Recall Trump two weeks ago gave Endrogan the open door to invade  Syria.  As a result, Turkey has begun an ethnic cleansing, 180,000 Syrians have fled the country. Syria has become a zone of death and the U.S. is compliant.

Trump compliant!

He has got to go!

Enjoy your day!

 

 

13 comments on “CALL ME ISHMAEL

  1. Well drugs have air pollution beat. 72,000,000 of our US citizens OD last year–72,000,000 dead in one year from drugs. Strong boarders are more important than clean air Nancy.

    • No Sandy. The US population is currently 329 million. You are saying that 72 million (22 percent) of our citizens have died from overdoses in one year? No. Nope. No Way. Drugs are a problem in our country, but not on that scale.

      • Correct. Like Trump I like to add 0’s 3 0’s. What is billion, we give that to folks who call out ” Kill Americans”. The link is //www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html
        In any event one should think about it and China in the same breath.

        • Hey Sandy Brains, You do know that the source you are quoting to support your VASTLY (10xVastly) over stated amount of Drug overdoses for “last year” was for the year 2017.

          Can’t get anything right can you!

  2. The hight of a tide is a function of several things. The hight of a tide is mostly a function of the distance between the earth and moon. Not global warming. Yesterday,11/13/2020, was the coolest day in modern times in Portland Maine. Portland Maine was covered with 200 feet of ice 6,000 years ago. Which news account do you believe?

    • No, it IS globing warming, because you say it is not, does NOT make it so. Why is it you have been so wrong about almost everything you post on this blog? Is it because your head is in the sand?

      BTW – 200 feet of ICE on Portland, Maine 6,000 years ago (before man or man made pollutants were around), doesn’t exactly make your point, does it!

      • Ted, maybe it is global warming. Interestingly, real estate prices in key west are still going up up up. Isn’t the island going to be underwater in 12 years?

      • The point is It has been hotter (were do you think all that oil and coal came from?) and it has been colder. The important thing is when does the slope equal 0. Is it in 6 years or in 6,000,000 years. Has any one stated what is the inflection point date? And if there is a God, heshe can pick any time in TIME for the inflection point and any rate of change between points (slope=0) and I have no control over it. So why should I listen to SOCsomething and her 12 years left game. The Government tells me 6,000,000 years ago it was below freezing some were and yesterday the government tells me it was below freezing at the same lon. & Lat. Then the rate of change is 0 there is no change.
        BUT can I trust the government data? Do you?

        • Good Lord girl, you just can’t hold yourself back from opening you mouth and proving your ignorance, can you? It is not the government who is pushing for help with climate change. they are mostly the ones trying to keep any help FROM happening, particularly the regime now in charge. It’s the scientists and other experts who are sounding the alarm and trying to get something done.

          Time and time again you come on this blog with totally “off the wall rants” that just don’t make much sense, but are almost always fundamentally WRONG and hateful.

    • Duh- Cherry picking one point on the globe (Portland, Main), on one day proves nothing. The average temperatures around the globe OVER TIME, receding polar caps, and rising water levels does prove global climate change.

      I echo TED’s comment; PULL YOUR HEAD OUT!

  3. Turkey is a member of NATO, often touting it’s connections with west, Europe and America in particular. Turkey is in the process of a major weapons buy – From Russia. While slaughtering Kurds in Syria

    Why is there no outcry from the Republikan right about our crooked president entertaining him at the White House?

  4. How can we ever expect anything serious to be done about Global Warming when half the adults running around voted for someone like Donald Trump?

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