Uncategorized Archives - Page 40 of 1288

ROGER GREEN INVITES is a virus

Vanillagift

ROGER GREEN INVITES is a virus. If you receive an email from me with that heading, please DO NOT open it.

Wednesday, May 28: I was working on my book review for the following Tuesday at the Albany Public Library. My wife got an email, supposedly from someone we knew from church, with a graphic, [NAME] INVITES. She couldn’t open it, which is not unusual.

So she sent it to me, which I could open, and like a distracted idiot, clicked on the .EXE attachment. It didn’t seem to have any effect.

But a couple of hours later, my computer froze. That “Windows is at 11%” didn’t change. I Googled the situation, attempted some remedies, but nothing worked. I called a good friend who was more tech-savvy than I, and he suggested some solutions that didn’t work. Ultimately, I went out to dinner with my wife. By the time we returned about four hours later, everything seemed to be working again. HA!

I didn’t buy that!

Friday, May 30: I check my messages in the morning and discover that $1,013.90 has been charged to my PayPal account. I called them. They said that, initially, they had rejected it, but then that “I” had contacted them to assure them that I had purchased it. But I was asleep at the time . They backed it out.

Then I contacted Discover because the purchase rolled over to them. “My” purchase of the same amount went to PayPal Vanillagift around 12:44 a.m. when I was asleep.

They said my card was compromised and then I’d have to cancel the card and have to get a new card. this is always a complicated issue when I lost my wallet in November 2023 I had to contact all the vendors for whom I had paid my discover my payments to vendors automatically to my Discover Card and it’s so the stuff that was automatically paid notably my cable bill phone cable bill this was OK because they were just rolled over to the next thing for anything that was irregular I can’t let them more of a hassle and I had to change the numbers anyway

I didn’t send that!

Starting at about 2 a.m. and going on for the next three days, I began receiving emails (at least 60), occasional texts, and at least two phone calls with the same message. “I can’t open this invite,” or “I’m not sure if I should open this invite.” I replied immediately that they should delete it.

The interesting thing was that at least a couple of people were very disappointed that it wasn’t the real invitation. They were looking forward to finding out what the big news was. Obviously, I need to throw more parties.

Saturday, May 31: I took my computer to the Best Buy Geek Squad. Evidently, my antivirus software worked, albeit after the fact. Still, I removed it permanently.

Sunday, June 1: I asked a techie I knew what I might do. He suggested sending an email to the folks from my Sent folder. But there is no Sent item from that time frame.

So, this has been an enormous time suck, enervating, not to mention a bit of self-loathing for being inattentive at best, and, at worst, stupid.

Albany politics: June 24 primary

Corey Ellis, Sam Fein

Here’s something that you folk who live elsewhere may not know about Albany politics. The city along the Hudson River hasn’t had a mayor who wasn’t a Democrat since 1921. There is a Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 24, with early voting from June 14 to June 22.

Here are the candidates for the nomination:

Dorcey Applyrs, the current city auditor. She was born in Washington, D.C., but has lived in the city for several years, serving on the city council. She has been winning the endorsement race. The incumbent mayor, Kathy Sheehan, who is not running for reelection, recently donated $10,000 to the political action committee supporting Dorcey, Albany Forward. One of the points Applyrs has consistently made is that she is not Sheehan 2.0.

Dan Cerruti, who was born in Albany but moved away. According to the Applyers supporters, they are “extremely concerned” about Cerutti’s campaign, since he was reportedly “formerly registered as a Republican living in Texas and only in 2023 re-registered his party affiliation as a Democrat.” And accepted MAGA money. Yet one of my reliably progressive buddies, whom I’ve known since college, vouches for him. Dan has recently been endorsed by former mayor Jerry Jennings, which honestly is not a plus.

Corey Ellis, born in Albany, is the president of the Common Council (city council), who didn’t enter the race until January.

Carolyn McLaughlin, born in Albany, served on the common council for many years and was president for seven of them. She’s now a member of the Albany County legislature. She is a cousin of a church friend of mine.

After watching a couple of debates where they all say, more or less, the right things, I was no more enlightened.

It’s just a primary

Then Corey Ellis came to our door a couple of weeks ago. I asked him why he entered the race so late, and he explained the timing in terms of his position with the state nurses’ association. He discussed some of his less visible achievements in the city. Did he see himself as a spoiler? No.

I decided to vote for Corey. Years ago, he spoke at my daughter’s class, and she was impressed. He was a speaker at a Friends and Foundation book review a couple of years ago.

My philosophy, not one I originated, is that I vote with my heart in the primary and with my head in the general election. That’s how I have voted in Democratic Presidential primaries for decades.

The interesting twist in this contest is that Dorcey already has the Working Party’s line for the general election in November. If Corey or Carolyn were to win the primary, I suspect, although I don’t know, that she might step aside in favor of them or at least not actively campaign. If Dan wins the primary, she would have another bite at this political apple.

Count my money

In the city auditor race, there are three candidates:

David Galin is the Chief of Staff of the City of Albany. Previously, he served as an attorney at the Legal Aid Society and with the United Way.

Sam Fein serves as an Albany County Legislator and is an Analyst in Albany’s Office of Audit and Control. He has worked as Policy Director in the New York State Senate.

John Rosenzweig is a public school math and attendance teacher, and he has coached baseball and soccer. He was a member of the Albany Common Council for two terms.

I wrote about my noncommitment. Sam wrote to me asking for my support, so I’m giving it to him. I’m sure David would be fine, even though his dog “talks” in his print ads. Incidentally, Sam is nominated by the Working Families Party.

Sunday Stealing — Stolen by Christina

eight teachers in four years

Welcome to Sunday Stealing

“This week we’re stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008, she admitted she stole these questions from a blogging buddy named Liz. Here we don’t judge. We celebrate such theft.”

Questions Christina Stole from Liz

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?

The cable/Internet/telephone bill keeps going up. We’ve considered “cutting the cord,” but then I have to figure out how we’re going to get Internet and phone service. I’ve priced it out, and it seems like the savings are minimal.

2. Which restaurant would you recommend for a romantic dinner?

This past week, we went to Yono’s for our late anniversary meal.

3. Who was your first grade teacher?

At my elementary school, Daniel Dickinson in Binghamton NY, we used to have the semester starting either in September or in February. I was one of the February kids, the result of which we had eight different teachers between 1st and 4th grade. One of our first-grade teachers was Mrs. Goodrich. I think she and my other first-semester elementary teachers got pregnant, and so we had new teachers in September.

4. What should you be doing right now?

I’m doing exactly what I should be doing right now, getting this written before Sunday morning. What else would I be doing? Emptying the dishwasher? That does need to be done.

Peter Pan

5. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I think most people thought that I would become a minister. That was probably what I assumed I was gonna do from the time I was about 10 to 16. Then I thought I might be a lawyer, but after taking a pre-law course in college, I performed poorly. That’s when my plans went adrift.

6. How did you choose the shirt you’re wearing right now?

I reached into the drawer, and that’s what came out.

7. Gas prices! What’s your first thought?

They’re going down in the United States, and that means more people are driving. This means that we’ll probably have more pollution.

8. Do you have a teddy bear?

No, I have at least half a dozen teddy bears. I have Minnie and Paula, who are named after the Twin Cities, because my father-in-law loved the Minnesota Twins. I have Blanca and Gunther. The largest is Mr. Applause, whom my sister Leslie (I think) gave me for Christmas in the 1990s. That doesn’t count the bears I got for my wife when Genny (for Genesis) got lost somewhere in North Carolina, and I bought her three different replacements.

9. Do you own the last book you read, or did you get it from the library?

I buy a lot of books, a lot more than I read. It has been a long time since I went to the library to read a book. It might have been 1963; I mean the book, not the year

10. Did you more recently send a text or write a Post It?

Text for sure

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Juke Box Race Records #1s for 1945

I Wonder

The designation of black/soul/R&B music has changed over time—the Juke Box Race Records #1s for 1945 cover most of that year.

The Honeydripper, parts 1 and 2 – Joe Liggins and His Honeydrippers: “Little” Willie Jackson – Alto and Baritone, James Jackson – Tenor, Joe Liggins -Piano, Eddie Davis (Exclusive), written by Liggins – Bass (Exclusive records), 18 weeks at #1, starting on 9/18 through the end of the year. The tune was based around the traditional song “Shortnin’ Bread.” Hit cover versions were also made by Jimmie Lunceford (#2 R&B, 1945), Roosevelt Sykes (#3 R&B, 1945), and Cab Calloway (#3 R&B, 1946).

Who Through The Whiskey In The Well (DeLange-Brooks) Lucky Millinder & his Orchestra, vocal by Wynonie “Mr. Blues” Harris and Congregation (Decca), eight weeks at #1. I LOVE this song!

I Wonder – Roosevelt Sykes and his piano with electric guitar and traps (Bluebird/Victor), seven weeks at #1

Caldonia (F. Moore) Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five (Decca), seven weeks at #1

Tippin’ In (Bobby Smith) – Erskine Hawkins & his Orchestra (RCA Victor), six weeks at #1. Instrumental.

I Wonder– Pvt. Cecil Gant (Gilt-Edge Records), written by Gilt, two weeks at #1. “This was the influential 1940s blues singer/pianist’s second recorded version of what became his signature ballad (the first was done for the Bronze label earlier in ’44). Label-billed as “The G.I. Sing-Sation,” he was serving in the army at the time.” This version charted first, followed immediately by the Sykes take.

Mop! Mop! – Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five (Claude DeMetruis-J. Mayo Williams) (Decca) -one week at #1

Somebody’s Got To Go – (Haggart) – Cootie Williams & his Orchestra, vocal by Eddie Vinson, one week at #1. This was Billboard’s final Harlem Hit Parade title on February 10, 1945.

May rambling: To Secure These Rights

Charles Strouse

To Secure These Rights: The Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. HARRY S. TRUMAN, The White House, December 5, 1946.

How Civil Rights Were Made—and Remade—By Black Communities In the Jim Crow South

In HR 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by the House of Representatives, Sec. 70302: “This section limits the ability of U.S. courts to enforce a citation for contempt for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order. Specifically, if no security was given when the injection or order was issued, the citation of contempt may not be enforced using appropriated funds. This limitation applies to injunctions or orders issued before, on, or after the date of enactment.”

The AKG Museum exhibit honoring the people killed in the shootings at Tops Market in Buffalo, 5-14-2022, including the poem Mourning Until Morning by Jillian Hanesworth

The ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Uncensored Oral History of a Revolution

My Father Prosecuted History’s Crimes. Then He Died in One. He was a Nazi hunter — and was killed in the Lockerbie bombing. What does it mean to seek justice for his death?

Wendy McMahon Resigns as Head of CBS News: “Company and I Do Not Agree on the Path Forward”

This Channel Is Biased

A business owner tested whether customers would pay more for American-made products. The results were ‘sobering.’

Revisiting Biden’s Decline

The Long, Strange Trip of the Titanic Victims Whose Remains Surfaced Hundreds of Miles Away, Weeks After the Ship Sank

And…

Baby Is Healed With the World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment. The technique used on a 9½-month-old boy with a rare condition has the potential to help people with thousands of other uncommon genetic diseases.

John shares some extremely good news six years into Nerdfighteria’s effort to improve maternal and child health in Sierra Leone.

No One Knows When They Don’t Die

Legendary comic book writer Peter David dies at age 68

James McEachin, Star of ‘Tenafly’ and Perry Mason Telefilms, Dies at 94

George Wendt, the Beer-Loving Norm on ‘Cheers,’ Dies at 77

Discover® is now part of Capital One as of May 18, 2025

June Squibb on Her Nonagenarian Career High

Why Teacher Jamal Roberts is the New American Idol

Autocephality is a fancy word for self-governance. It’s mainly used in the context of Eastern Orthodox Churches that independently govern their spiritual affairs without a higher ecclesiastical authority.

Now I Know: It’s Not Easy Being Clean and Why Purple is the Royal Color and The Secret Code of Central Park’s Lamp Post and It’s Not Easy Driving Green

On and on…

Yes, this is Project 2025 (ft. Liz Dye)

The Greatness Paradox: His notion of national greatness is stuck in the Napoleonic Era, which is causing him to destroy everything that makes America great today.

Harvard Derangement Syndrome

Him & The Press: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

His CFPB kills the data broker rule

When He Was the One Taking Land From Farmers and How His Embrace of Afrikaner “Refugees” Became a Joke in South Africa

She Devoted Her Life to Serving the U.S. Then DOGE Targeted Her. A veteran who returned from Iraq injured and transformed, Joy Marver is now facing a crisis at home.

We’re Experts in Fascism. We’re Leaving the U.S.

Why Eliminating the NEA Would Be a Disaster For Our Country

The New DEI — Discrimination, Exclusion, and Inequity

All Hail Our Rococo President!

Strange Bedfellows and Long Knives, about the secret engine of sweeping political upheavals (like Trumpism) and their inherent fragility

“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” -Harry S. Truman, 33rd US president (8 May 1884-26 December 1972)

Heather Cox Richardson, May 23 (in part)

After S.V. Date of HuffPost noted last week that the White House had published fewer than 20% of [his] speeches, the White House has stopped publishing a database of official transcripts of [his] announcements, appearances, and speeches altogether and has taken down those it had published. Instead, it will just post videos. And yet it is publishing just a few of the videos of the president’s term: so far, fewer than 50 videos of the first 120 days of his term, according to Brian Stelter of CNN.

A presidential administration traditionally publishes the president’s words promptly to establish a record. The White House, in contrast, says removing the transcripts will enable people to get a better sense of him by watching his videos. But it’s likely closer to the truth that his appearances since he took office have been erratic, and removing the transcripts will make it harder for people to read his nonsensical rambles.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The [FOTUS] White House is the most transparent in history,” but of course, it’s objectively not. White House officials have made it impossible to tell who is making decisions at the Department of Government Efficiency, for example, or who gave the order to render migrants to El Salvador. Now the president’s words, too, will be hidden.

MUSIC

Charles Strouse, Tony-winning composer of Annie, Applause, and Bye Bye Birdie, dies at 96. He’s known for such songs as “Tomorrow,” “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Put on a Happy Face,” and the ‘All in the Family’ theme song, “Those Were the Days.” He also wrote scores for motion pictures, including The Night They Raided Minsky’s

That’s Trump Derangement! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Pamela Bondi – Marsh Family parody of The One and Only sung by Chesney Hawkes (by Nik Kershaw)

Wasted Love – JJ

New Day Will Rise – Yuval Raphael

Rick Derringer, a Zelig-like rocker, the guitarist, singer, and songwriter, dies at 77. Hang On Sloopy – The McCoys. Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo – Rick Derringer. Eat It – Weird Al Yankovic (Rick plays lead guitar; he produced six of Al’s albums)

Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)-The New Edition, featuring Kenny Rogers

Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson

On an American Spiritual by David R. Holsinger

Leucadia Uncompromised – Peter Sprague

The Firebird suite by Igor Stravinsky

Coverville 1534: Brothers in Arms Album Cover and Devo Cover Story

Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)‎ ‎- Taylor Swift ‎ ‎

Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds

Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck covering Curtis Mayfield’s People Get Ready

Crazy For You – Madonna

Harry Truman – Chicago