Sunday Stealing — Countdown from 5

1100 Wordle games

The Sunday Stealing this week is Countdown from 5.

FIVE people who mean the world to you.

My daughter is studying abroad in South Africa for a semester. On Friday, my birthday, I talked to her for about two hours on WhatsApp, during which she talked about all sorts of adventures she’s experiencing.

2. My two sisters called me on Friday.

3. One of my oldest friends, whom I have only known since kindergarten, called me on Friday.

4. The 200 odd – and they are odd! -people who either messaged me on Facebook or commented on my blog on Thursday through today to wish me a happy birthday

5. My wife took me to dinner on Friday at a nice restaurant only a block from our house. By the way, it was extraordinarily windy! As we were leaving, we saw our old buddies Ruth and David. When I reach the end of the year’s survey, it will ask, “What did you do on your birthday?” I will merely point to this post.

FOUR things you fear.

Global warming, climate change, or whatever term you wish to use, less for me and more for my daughter and my nieces

2. Many people cannot discern the difference between rumor, misinformation, disinformation, and verifiable facts; it is usually possible to do so.

3. The inequitable distribution of wealth and access to food and basic medical care allow diseases that should be eradicated to exist. Hear John Green read the first chapter of Everything Is Tuberculosis, his seventh book. Read Working-Class Americans Live Seven Fewer Years Than The Rich.

4. The disintegration of democracy in the United States and Europe

Hayes, Andrews, Williams, Bell, Richards

THREE words to describe how you feel right now.

Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

2. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

3. Happy, Happy, Happy

TWO things you’re excited about.

The project

I completed another 100 Wordle games early Saturday morning, with zero ones, 10 twos, 41 threes, 41 fours, eight fives, zero sixes, and, most importantly, zero sevens, taking an average of 3.47 turns.

ONE thing you’d like to say to someone.

I Love Everybody, especially you.

Blast off!

“Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.”

Women in music history

Kassiani

I usually post music on Saturdays. Today is also International Women’s Day, which was created in large measure to commemorate actions involving labor and suffrage. The first hits I found in a search for “Women in music history”:

THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN MUSIC, 2022.

“In the history of music, sisters have always been doing it for themselves.” This refers to the Aretha/Eurythmics song, Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves.

“The first female composer, according to the history books, was Kassiani, an 8th Century nun, who composed Byzantine chants.

“However, women have rarely been given the same accolades and recognition as their male counterparts, and have often faced greater challenges to have their voices heard.

“In this overview, we look at who is the most successful woman in music, what percentage of musicians are female, and why it’s still challenging for women to be successful in the music industry.

“Plus, we’ve profiled the most revolutionary, pioneering, influential and unique female artists, composers and producers through history.

“Load up our Kick Ass Women playlist for inspiration as you read…

Lists

Trailblazing Women in Music History You Should Know, 2023, PBS

Most Influential Female Musicians: 40 Trailblazing Women, 2023

27 of The Most Influential and Pioneering Women in Music History, 2016

The lists were rather diverse, and there was far less overlap than I had thought. Some women who showed up on more than one list:

Sister Rosetta Tharpe – This Train

Linda Ronstadt – Long Long Time

Missy Elliott – Gossip Folks

Patsy Cline – Lovesick Blues

Dusty Springfield – The Look of Love

Tina Turner – Better Be Good To Me

Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington – It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady

The blogger turns 72

eastern part of St. Lawrence County

The blogger turns 72. He likes the number 72; it’s 2 ^3 * 3 ^2. Who can’t love that, arithmetically speaking? So, of course, this means that 72 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 36.

“New York State Route 72 (NY 72) is a 15.36-mile-long (24.72 km) state highway in the North Country of New York. The road is an east–west highway located entirely within the eastern part of St. Lawrence County.”

I will remember how old I am. Probably. Remembering 71 was hard, 70 was easy, and 73 will be terrible.

As I’ve hinted at, I’m working on a project. I won’t tell you what it is yet.

One of the things that fascinated me was that when we were working on getting the daughter to go to South Africa, we had this god-awful list of things to do before she could get her visa. I realized that it took up an inordinate amount of psychic energy. It wasn’t just the time it took directly. Other tasks fell by the wayside even when I wasn’t doing anything about the visa.

Double-billed

At the beginning of February, I had two different Medicare supplement policies in effect, which I couldn’t have. When I applied through an intermediary, I thought they would tell the earlier one that I was no longer interested in using them. That was not the case, so money for both policies came from my checking account, making me feel very poor. I had to write a letter to the old company saying, “I don’t want you anymore. Give me back the two months of payments I made.”

There were bills I was late in paying. I was working on getting speakers for the Albany Public Library book reviews/author talks right up to the very last minute, and I hate doing that. Newspapers, which don’t take that long to read the newspapers, went untended.

So January was pretty much a bust in terms of what I wanted to achieve, but life is semi-normal – whatever the heck that means.

The picture I took on January 31st is a selfie, and I hate selfies. I despise them, particularly when I needed a haircut, but there was no time. I suppose I could take another one, but meh!

Rico and Becky married 20 years (tomorrow)

Rebecca Jade and Rico Curtis

Rico and Rebecca in the center, at a birthday party for Rebecca, October 2024

I’m having one of those “It can’t be that long ago” moments. Rico and Becky married 20 years ago in San Diego 2 on March 7th, 2005. It was a Monday.

Who gets married on a Monday? Why March 7th? When she played basketball for UC Berkeley, her uniform number was 5. Rico’s number when he played football in college and later professionally was 37. 3/7/05. And the service was supposed to start at 3:57 p.m., though it was about 23 minutes late.

Becky’s uncle Roger came from Albany. My wife stayed home to care for our almost-one-year-old newborn. We knew a transcontinental flight with an infant who didn’t travel well was ill-advised.

I didn’t have a blog in March 2005; I started it two months later. So, I wrote an extensive piece about the wedding around their 1st anniversary.

Wipeout

The next time I saw Rico, and the first time my wife and daughter did, was on television. In September 2010, Becky and Rico were in a competition program called Wipeout. A host dubbed them Thunder and Lightning, which was quite weird. At 2:36 in this video, Rico really excelled. If you have Hulu, you can watch the whole show: season 3, episode 16.

My daughter met Rebecca at my mother’s funeral. However, my wife and daughter finally met Rico when he and Rebecca attended my cousin Anne’s Thanksgiving dinner in 2013 in New Rochelle, New York. Now that I think of it, I have seen Rico only once since, in 2018, when sister Leslie had her bicycle accident.

Of course, Rebecca’s been singing, and we got to see her near Elmira and in New Haven in 2024. Rico is involved in real estate.

I’m happy that Rebecca and Rico traveled extensively together because of her singing. They started in Greece and the eastern Mediterranean for the Dave Koz tour, then Portugal for an event, and Indonesia for the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta.

I wish them both a happy 20th anniversary tomorrow. I always remember the date because it’s also my birthday!

Don’t forget to vote daily for Rebecca Jade in the San Diego Music Awards in the category #21, Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song, Evan Marks & Rebecca Jade – Hello It’s Me.

2025 OSCAR® NOMINATED Live Action Short Films

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent; Anuja; I’m Not a Robot; A Lien; The Last Ranger

My wife and I saw the 2025 OSCAR® NOMINATED Live Action Short Films at the Spectrum Theatre on a Tuesday in mid-February.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent CROATIA/13 MINS/2024

Director Nebojsa Slijepcevic

1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them.

Anuja INDIA, USA/22 MINS/2024

Director Adam J. Graves

ANUJA tells the story of a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide.

I’m Not a Robot

NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM/22 MINS/2023

Director Victoria Warmerdam

After repeatedly failing CAPTCHA tests, music producer Lara spirals into obsession, haunted by the disturbing question of whether she might actually be a robot.

A Lien USA/15 MINS/2023

Director David Cutler-Kreutz, Sam Cutler-Kreutz

A young couple face up to and deal with a dangerous immigration process.

The Last Ranger

SOUTH AFRICA/28 MINS/2024

Director Cindy Lee

When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers. In the ensuing battle to save the rhinos, Litha discovers a terrible secret.

Whatcha gonna do?

In some ways, all of the films are about choice. From here re: Silent: “Each of us is faced with the question posed by the film’s protagonist: should we stand up to violence even if we are not its immediate targets?” Somehow, the heroism was too muted for me.

Anuja was more fully realized, with Palak repeating a story to Anuja that their mother used to tell. Palak is resigned to working at the factory, but math wiz Anuja has another option. Will she take it?

If you have ever been frustrated by CAPTCHA – I certainly have! – Robot is LOL funny early on. If Lara is a bot, what free will does she possess? Very relatable. You can see it for free here.

“A Lien brings you into the tense, intimate moment of a green card interview that could change three people’s lives forever.” It gets very intense and entirely believable. You can see the film for free here or here. Here’s an interview with the directors.

The Last Ranger is a story about limited economic opportunities in the region and choices made. From Kindred Films: “The rhino population in South Africa has been decimated by poaching in the last decade. The Last Ranger is a narrative story about the rangers who risk their lives daily to protect these magnificent creatures.” This was a strong concluding film.