Post for January 8 2023
# 1588
______________________________________
Opening Picture
Laura Bassi
The first woman in the world to earn a university chair in a scientific field of studies
Mailsapartbassimore - Own work
Commentary
Let’s permit Trump to disintegrate in
obscurity
and
a Tip of the Hat to Elaine Chao and
Encourage Democratic
Repesentatives to vote for Kevin
McCarthy.
______________________________________
Commentary
Trump’s disintegration is fodder for media to sell advertising space. A couple of headlines: “Donald Trump looks like a crazy man” and another, “Trump finally snaps; has complete MELTDOWN (their caps) over January 6 report”. You’ve seen two dozen similar in the last few days.
Some weeks ago I warned against laughing at a sick man but the drumbeats haven’t stopped. The beat goes on.
So appropriate, the lyrics from the song, “Dirty Laundry”. Here are some of them:
“We got the bubble-headed bleached-blonde
Comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash
With a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die
Give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
And all the boys in the newsroom
Got a running bet
Get the widow on the set
We need dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down”
This is the cover art for the single Dirty Laundry by the artist Don Henley. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Asylum, or the graphic artist(s).
_____________________________
Commentary II
A tip of the hat to Elaine Chau (she being one of the few to ignore Trump’s personal racist attacks).
Chao and her husband, Mitch McConnell
US Senate Photography office - https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/12d1a335-d72f-41a7-85d8-f3b0beb9badd/1278CC282C48E0CA528EC37FBD4A6A94.mmelc54-context.jpg
Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao pose for a picture
Commentary III
On January 4, after a three-vote no-Speaker vote, I am hoping that the Democratic Party votes for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Voting for Kevin without any or with minimal concessions from him. Except. None of the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party shall serve as Chair of any committee and none shall serve on any of the most important committees.
This is a great opportunity to marginalize this set of crazies.
Where are stateswomen when you need them?
Henry Clay (1811–1814, 1815–1820, 1823–1825) used his influence as speaker to ensure the passage of measures he favored.
John Sartain. - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3a51115. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.
Henry Clay. Engraving by John Sartain.
Kat’s Gen Z Corner
Along with the following collage, Kat sent this
cryptic text on NY Eve:
50 books this year.
Phew!
Happy New Year, Dad
______________________________________
Tucker’s Screen Corner
Favorite films of 2022 Part 1
The beginning of a new year typically means a quiet landscape for fresh movies to watch. So why not catch up on some terrific films from last year? For the next few weeks I’ll be sharing 5 of my favorite films from 2022 along with shorter reviews for each to hopefully inspire some interest and give everyone something great to watch!
You can find the reviews at the link here.
______________________________________
Health/Wellness
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
A new coronavirus variant dubbed XBB has swiftly become the dominant form of COVID-19 spreading in the Northeast, jumping from about 35 percent of cases during the week ending Dec. 17 to just over half of cases last week, according to CDC data.
AKA Omicron (B.1.1.529), the virus is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world.[14] Following the original BA.1 variant, several subvariants of Omicron have emerged: BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5.[15] Since October 2022, two subvariants of BA.5 named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have spread rapidly.
Three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine provide protection against severe disease and hospitalization caused by BA.1 and BA.2. The immunity effects of BA.2 are similar to those of BA.1. For three-dose vaccinated individuals, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are more infectious than previous subvariants, making it likely, as of June 2022, for a new peak in COVID-19 infections to occur.
False-color transmission electron micrograph of an Omicron variant coronavirus, shown in pink, replicating within the cytoplasm of an infected Vero cell
NIAID - Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Omicron)
Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus particles (purple) replicating within the cytoplasm of an infected CCL-81 cell. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID
______________________________________
Science
The first image, released in May, of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Image: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration via Reuters
The Event Horizon Telescope captured images of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
"Our Galileo moment is seeing inside of black holes," Milam, the NASA scientist, told us. "We're studying star formation in ways that we've never been able to see."
_____________________________________
Dinner/Food/Recipe
Do you like clams?
Do you like Baked Stuffed Clams on the half shell with some lemon and a glass of wine or beer?
Here is the ultimate recipe.
12 large cherrystone clams
Scrub them
Steam them open using two cups of water
Remove clams
Reserve shells and broth.
Use a scissors or knife to cut pieces into large dice
Small dice 2oz each of celery, red bell pepper, and onions and 1oz jalapeno
Puree 1oz garlic
Heat 3TB evoo in a medium fry pan.
To the hot fat add the diced vegetables
Season with a tiny bit of salt and a copious amount of freshly ground pepper
And ½t ground bay leaves and ½t oregano
Simmer for ten minutes or until soft and fragrant
Add the cut clams without the broth and cook all for 7 minutes
Add 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Add ½ cup Romano cheese
Add 1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Stir and mix well
Add 2 cups clam broth
Heat the whole until the cheese and breadcrumbs absorb most of the broth.
Stuff each clam shell with a heaping tablespoon of the mix
Bake at 450* until the top of the stuffing is browned, about 15 minutes
Serve with lemons
Our clams are colorful and FULL of clams and aromatics.
This is one meal you cannot find in any restaurant.
______________________________________
Chuckles and Thoughts
“I tried sniffing Coke once,
but the ice cubes got stuck in my nose.”
~ Dave Barry
Smell it before you pour over ice.
It’s the real thing.
Typische gekühlte Flasche Coca-Cola, 0,2 Liter
Ralf Roletschek - Own work
Permission details
This image was uploaded as part of Wiki Loves Cocktails.
______________________________________
Understanding Ageing
We can understand the broad strokes: we are getting older.
But we can’t necessarily understand the day-to-day.
For example, two years ago I felt I was slowing down quickly. I was walking more slowly. Walking shorter distances. Losing my strength on my weight-lifting routine.
I had to downsize my backpack and get a smaller laptop.
But for the last month, I seem to have reversed the trend: walking longer and faster. Lifting a tiny bit more. Packing my large backpack with my Surface rather than the less satisfying Go3, the smallest Microsoft Surface laptop.
I don’t understand these aberrations. I don’t dare call them permanent achievements. But I am enjoying them now.
A grandmother and her grandchild.
Salar Arkan - سالار ارکان - Own work
A grandma and her grandchild watching the “Nowruz” ceremony. Kurdish dress code reflects Kurdish culture and Kurdish clothing differs from men to women. This photo was taken in 2017 in one of the Kurdistan villages: Besaran Village, Kurdistan, Iran.
_____________________________________
Social Life
I’m a lucky oldster this year.
Scheduled to be alone for much of the time from Christmas through New Year’s Day, I lucked into two people from China: they, my personal deus ex machina. It started as a random conversation on Christmas Day in a busy downtown Boston café, continued into the next day with two of us meeting for lunch, and then into New Year’s Eve for a dinner at my apartment, each of the two of us cooking something to enjoy together. From being just another holiday to trudge through, this NY Eve was an exciting moment.
Fanciful sketch by journalist Marguerite Marty of a New Year's Eve celebration.
Marguerite Martyn - Original publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 4, 1914, Editorial Section, Page 1 (first slide of microfilm roll). Immediate source: https://stltoday.newspapers.com/image/139002073/?terms=Marguerite%2BMartyn
_____________________________________
Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts, including links.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from new friend and excellent company, Qimei Liu, on her seeing the post that included her and Dan:
“Haha the soup looks yummy!”
Blog meister responds: I asked Mei if she had seen her picture and then sent my part of the menu we will be enjoying:
“For NY Eve we will start dinner with clams and mussels in a garlicky broth
followed by Shrimp with onions and peppers and tomatoes.”
Qimei responded:
“Haha yes. I saw our pictures. What a memory!”
(The menu) Sounds amazing!! I hope to make some Chinese traditional soup (perhaps chicken and some kinds of seafood depending on what ingredients I will use that day) Look forward to our dinner!
Blog meister responds: Me, too.
Almejasmejillones
“Clams and Mussels” (Spanish: Almejas y mejillones) is a 2000 Argentine-Spanish[1] comedy film directed and written by Marcos Carnevale [es] based on a story by Lito Espinosa.
When May came for dinner she brought a Chinese traditional soup (perhaps chicken and some kinds of seafood) soup for me which I ate a couple of days later.
I emailed this:
The soup was wonderful!
So many treats in a rich broth.
Thank you so much, my dear.
Can you help me with a description that I can use in my blog?
I’ve attached the photo I will be using.
It needs a description.
Thank you, twice.
Your bud,
Dom
And Mei Liu emailed this:
Hi Dom，
You are welcome! Glad you like it. here are some descriptions and feel free to edit it.
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, also known as Buddha's Temptation or Fotiaoqiang, implies that even the strictly vegetarian Gautama Buddha would try to jump over a wall to sample this.
Best,
May
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
Main ingredients in this simplified version of the soup are chicken, sea cucumber, abalone, scallop, pork tendon, mushroom, yuba, and taro.
And this reminder from friend Jim P:
Hi Dom,
Happy New Year!
I have attached two images, both JPG, and blub below.
Thank you,
Love,
Jim
_____________________________________
Local Bits
Clams Casino, Clams and Mussels, and Shrimp Cacciatore.
What are the beets doing?
One, I had them handy.
Two, a reminder to always have cooked vegetables on hand for diet and health.
A facade on Newbury St.
One of the many buildings that make Newbury Street the fine street it is.
I am a big fan of Georgetown Cupcakes, their “Chocolate Squared” my favorite.
Their cupcakes not only delicious but small, so imposing a caloric ceiling to my diet.
_________________________________
Short Essay*
Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti (29 October 1711 – 20 February 1778) was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second woman in the world to earn the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Working at the University of Bologna, she was also the first salaried female teacher in a university. At one time the highest paid employee of the university, by the end of her life Bassi held two other professorships. She was also the first female member of any scientific establishment, when she was elected to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna in 1732 at 21.
Bassi had no formal education and was privately tutored from age five until she was twenty. By then she was well versed in major disciplines including sciences and mathematics. Noticing her ability, Prospero Lambertini, the Archbishop of Bologna (later Pope Benedict XIV), became her patron. With Lambertini's arrangement she publicly defended forty-nine theses before professors of the University of Bologna on 17 April 1732, for which she was awarded a doctoral degree on 12 May. A month later, she was appointed by the university as its first female teacher, albeit with the restriction that she was not allowed to teach all-male classes. Lambertini, by then the Pope, helped her to receive permissions for private classes and experiments, which were granted by the university in 1740.
Bassi became the most important populariser of Newtonian mechanics in Italy.[1] She was inducted by the Pope to the Benedettini (similar to modern Pontifical Academy of Sciences) as an additional member in 1745. She took up the Chair of Experimental Physics in 1776, the position she held until her death. She is interred at the Church of Corpus Domini, Bologna.
__________________________________
People
Anthony Riccio thumbnail
While at Yale, Anthony resumed work on one of his many life passions: documenting through one-on-one interviews the history, culture, and traditions of Italian-American citizens throughout the northeast. Between 1998 and 2021, he published six books, including a collection of essays, oral histories, and photographs documenting New Haven's rich Italian-American culture, "The Italian-American Experience in New Haven: Images and Oral Histories." He also partnered with the late chef Silvio Suppa to co-author a cookbook. At the time of his death, Anthony was putting the finishing touches on his latest release, "Stories, Streets and Saints: The North End of Boston," which has been completed by some of his friends and the editorial staff at SUNY press. You can buy a copy at IAM Books and learn more about the book at the St. Leonard event on January 28th.
*The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily or exclusively on Wikipedia to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.
**Community Pictures with Captions are sent in by our followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!