A Good Day

 

Today was the day scheduled to get my COVID vaccine.  My appointment was at a hospital 23 miles from at a hospital in Chicago.  I was like many others I know that were getting their vaccines wherever they could.  I have a friend in Detroit that somehow arranged to get his vaccine in Grand Rapids, clear on the other side of the state. 

My appointment was at 9:15 in the morning.  Even though it was Saturday morning, I left at 8 am as one can never predict how good or bad traffic might be in Chicago.  There was very little traffic.  It was a breeze driving and only took 40 minutes.  It was a gorgeous spring like morning to drive.  At a stop light in the city, I took the photo from the car of the impressive steeple behind a build out of the 1930s or 40s.  A simple pleasure. 

Just after I got my shot in the room with ten vaccination stations, a nurse asked for everyone’s attention.  She was standing next to a fellow and she said, “I would just like to announce that this gentleman, getting his first dose of the vaccine, is 101 years old.”  Wow.  That was awesome.  He was a veteran of WWII and looked amazingly trim and younger than 101.  I would have easily believed he was 70.  Another simple and special pleasure.

After the vaccine shot, as per the protocol, I waited with others in a room to make sure we didn’t have any adverse reactions to the vaccine.  It was no biggie, just time to peruse a section of the Wall Street Journal. 

It was time for the drive home… which, as it turned out, was kind of a nuisance.

GPS guided me to I-94 a few miles away.  Cool.  I would hop on I-94 West and head North (yeah, I know) home.  The on ramp, however, was closed for construction.  No problem, I just headed North on the next main street.  After a few miles of stop and go traffic, there was another sign to turn right onto an eastbound street to turn left onto I-94 West again to go North again.  This second on ramp was also closed for construction.  Are you kidding me?

So, I headed further east to the next main north bound drag.  I turned left and went few more stop and go miles, to the next sign that said to turn left to get on I-94 West.  I turned left and head home at something more than a crawl.  But, as you might have guessed, this third on ramp was also closed… for construction.

I repeated the go West, head North again, until the next que to turn right again drill.  Luckily, the fourth time, a full 40 minutes later, was the charm. 

My operations management sense of things was on full alert.  Who was responsible and how did they come up with the idea to close at least 3 successive I-94 West on ramps?  This seems to be a very Chicago thing to do.  It makes no sense.  Do every other one for crying out loud. 

Why do I say it is a very Chicago thing to do?  Well, there are like six exit ramps closed on eastbound I-94 in downtown Chicago.  Six exit ramps in a row are closed in the main freeway through the downtown of the third largest city in the US.  To top it off, it has been like this for like two years and they are still not done!  The words pork-barrel, graft, corruption, and ineptitude are bandied about in my head every time I drive through the city.  I hope the closures I experienced today do not last anywhere near that long.

Despite the delays and the inconvenience, getting the second dose of the vaccine, the beauty of the sunny springlike day, and the simple pleasures dominated and kept any frustration at bay.  I called my cousin and caught up with her on the way home.  I then called my friend and he invited me to his office for some tacos. 

All in all, it was a good day.

I’ve Been Reading… Some More

 

On December 14, 2020, I posted a piece:  I’ve Been Reading.  I had ambitious plans to read more during the Christmas break between semesters.  I had a book by William Saroyan, Rock Wagram, which Harry Kezelian suggested as the next Saroyan I should read.  I had bought a book that an article I read somewhere suggested as good holiday read:  Naïve. Super. by Erlend Loe, a Norwegian writer.   From having watched Ford v Ferrari several times, I became obsessed with learning more about Henry Ford II and Detroit during his time as the lead Ford Motor.  I bought two books:  Henry:  A Life of Henry Ford II by Walter Hayes.  Amazon suggested that I also buy Once in a Great City:  A Detroit Story by David Maraniss. 

I had these books queued up.  In other words, they were stacked on an end table in my study.  I read the Loe book.  It started slow and got better.  It was about a disillusioned graduate student that quit, basically everything, to find himself.  It had a refreshingly positive air about it.  I thought it was written recently and thus a commentary on the late 2010s.  I was kind of surprised to learn that it was written in 1996.  It could have been written in 1968.  In essence, it is a timeless book which why it seems to be so popular.

After finishing the Loe book, I started reading the Henry Ford II, the Maraniss book on Detroit, and Rock Wagram books at the same time.  Rock Wagram fell by the wayside quickly but still in the queue.  It was interesting to read the Henry Ford II biography and the Maraniss book on Detroit at the same time.  The Walter Hayes book is a good read but basically an homage, a tribute piece, on The Deuce.   This was not a huge surprise given that Hayes was a public relations executive at Ford Motor Company.  The Maraneiss book was not unkind to The Deuce and provided a good counterpoint to the Hayes book.

I loved the Marinass book.  He took just one year that he believed was pivotal in the history of the city and wrote about all the major events.  The year was 1963.  In actuality the book began in late 1962 and finished up in early 1964.  I was ten years old and lived in the city at the time. 

The book began with the fire that the destroyed Ford Rotunda in late 1962 and the demise of the Gotham Hotel a center of black culture and gathering in the city, the civil rights march featuring Martin Luther King, the rise of Motown, the racial tensions in the city, the Kennedy assassination, the failed bid to become the host city for the 1968 Olympics, and much more.  The city was riding high, the auto industry had a banner year, and the future looked bright.  But, 1963 was a peak year of the post-World War II history of the city.  The seeds of issues thatwould cause the 1967

While I was not born in Detroit, I lived there from the age of 2 until 37 when work took me to New York/Connecticut and then to Chicago where I currently live.  I lived in Detroit for 35 years and elsewhere for 33. 

My time in Detroit were special as they were my formative years, the years of adolescence, my entire education, my family, my friends.  I was married there.  My children were born there.  There were things I loved about Detroit and Southeastern Michigan that engrained in my memories and have contributed to who I am.  There are also aspects that I would have changed if I could.  I imagine almost everyone could make similar statements about where they live and where they grew up.  These books gave me a perspective on the era that my ten-year-old self didn’t have. 

In March of 1963, a report was issued by Wayne State University’s Institute for Regional and Urban Studies.  The study, “The Population Revolution in Detroit, was led Albert J. Mayer, sociologist.  The report, in retrospect, was ominous.  They forecast that Detroit would lose a quarter of it’s population in the next ten years.  “Present population trends clearly demonstrate that the city is, by and large, being abandoned by all except those who suffer from relatively great housing, education and general economic depravations.”  It foretold what would be called white flight from the city and the subsequent erosion of the city’s tax base that would lead to the near collapse of the city that culminated with the 2013 declaration of bankruptcy.  The report, per Maraniss, got little press coverage or credence.

Leaving Detroit was not easy.  In retrospect, it was the best thing I could have done for my career and thus arguably for my family.  I probably wouldn’t have had the corporate success I have had if I had stayed in Detroit and worked in the auto industry.  I loved working in automotive, but New York, Colgate-Palmolive, and the consumer goods industry was more suited to my personality and temperament.  Moving to Chicago, minus a couple of years in the depth of the Great Recession, was also a great move.  I fulfilled a dream of being a college professor.  It is the best retirement career or hobby, I am not sure which actually, I could ask for.

It is fascinating to be studying the history of the great city I grew up in.

Rediscovering the Moka Pot

 

Our Keurig and Moka Pot

In the midst of my recent blogging flurry in December, I posted a piece, A Lesson in a Cup of Coffee?, on December 13^th.  It was about the simple pleasures in life such as a good cup of coffee and how this pandemic has helped me appreciate the little things in life.

Recently, I found an old coffee maker that used for several years before we got our Keurig.  It is a classic stove top Italian espresso maker.  It is a simple design with a water reservoir, metallic funnel like filter that holds the coffee and nestles into the water reservoir.  A top pot with a handle screws on to the bottom, the water boils and, as it is designed on the same principle of a pressure cooker, steam is forced up through the ground coffee.  The infused steam is forced into the top part, up another spindle, and cools back to the liquid state.

I didn’t actually find the coffee maker; I knew where it was.  I rather found myself wanting to bring it out and use it.  I filled the maker with water, opened vacuum packed bag of Café Bustelo and scooped some into the funnel, screwed on the top and put it on the stove.  TheThe total time it took to prepare to pour it into a cup was not much longer than making a Keurig cup.  The taste?  Forget about it.  It was as good or better than the Starbucks Americano at even less than the k-cup cost. 

This wonderful little coffee maker was invented by Antonio Bialetti in 1933.  His original design was made of aluminum and essentially unchanged to this day.  It is called the Moka Pot after the city, Mocha, in Yemen where coffee is believed to come from.  The most popular size Moka Pot makes about three expressos.  As the design is relatively simple, you can buy one for around $30 and they last a long time with normal cleaning.  There are a variety of companies that make Moka Pots with some selling the two times the price using stainless steel.  Mine is black and, I believe, a generic brand.  I believe I bought for less than $20 at TJ Maxx.

In the 1930s, Bialetti’s company only sold 70,000 units.  Production was stopped during World War II due to a shortage in Aluminum and the high cost of coffee.  Afterwards, the marketing improved and people clamored for the Moka Pot that was considerably less money and took up considerably less space than traditional espresso machines.  Bialetti’s Moka Pot brought quality espresso into the homes of the common man. 

By the turn of the century, 220 million of these pots had been sold.  As of last year, 330 million had been sold.  I am on my second one and I have had it for fifteen years. 

There was an article in the New York Times published on January 26 for this year:  Why We Love the Bialetti Moka Pot.  I was unaware of the timely article until today when I was researching this piece.  How did I miss this article?  The author Sarah Witman tested the Bialetti using Café Bustelo against other Moka Pots.  She loves her Moka Pot.  As do I.  

 

How it Works

 

Poon Parigentan – Contagion Style

 

Here in the US, or particularly New Orleans, we have a last celebration before the start of the Great Lent on Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.  In Latin America, it is called Carnival and lasts for several days.  Armenians call the celebration on the Sunday before the start of Lent as Poon Parigentan. 

From St. Gregory’s Church in Philadelphia:

It is the last Sunday before Great Lent. It is composed of two words; Paree-Gentanootioun good living, rejoicing. Poon means the main. This points to the fact that the fasting period following Paregentan is longer than weekly Lents of other feasts, and it is tied to the main event of Christendom, the resurrection of our Lord.

 

The best explanation of Paregentan is from our Church father, Krigor Datevatzi. According to him, the biblical base is from the Old Testament from the life of Elijah when the Angel of the Lord tells him “Eat and drink because you will be traveling a long road (I King 19:7) In our case this long road is the 40 days of the Great Lent journey.

People would eat heriseh (a rich buttery chicken porridge), a lamb stew, or kheyma (an Armenian version of steak tartar) and drink oghi (vodka).   The church website talked about a period of festivities that began from the Feast of St. Sarkis to the Sunday before Lent.  The largest of these festivities were on the last Sunday.

When I was growing up, I do not recall hearing of Poon Parigentan nor do I recall having any feasts or parties either organized by the church or my family.  The first I heard was when I was in my thirties when it seemed that every church suddenly started having Poon Parigentan parties on the Friday or Saturday before the Poon Parigentan Sunday.

I have enjoyed performing at these Poon Parigentan parties especially at my current church, All Saints in Glenview, Illinois.  The Ladies Guild prepared foods from the various regions basically showcasing the talents of their members making their specialty foods from recipes handed down from their mothers and grandmothers.  There would be stations where you could buy and be served by the ladies that made the delicacies.  Each dish was very tasty to say the least. It was a brilliant idea that everyone really loved.  When we played music, we would do a musical tour playing folk songs and dances from the various villages and regions of the Armenian Highlands. 

We played this event for several years and it was a lot of fun.  The dance floor was full, and people enjoyed the food, drink, music, dancing, and fellowship of being with each other.  We played last year before the pandemic hit basically eliminated all such gatherings and opportunities to perform the music we love. 

I was talking with our priest, Father Ghevont, in January.  I asked about if they had any plans for Poon Parigentan.  He related how they were planning a drive through for the food portion.  I suggested that I put a group together for a FaceBook and YouTube Live performance of an hour or so people could enjoy the music and dance in their homes.  He loved the idea and we made it happen.  The drive through for the food was scheduled for 5 to 7 pm on Friday evening and we would play at 7 for an hour or so.

Jim Hardy was our clarinet player.  Father and son, John and Shant Paklaian were on guitar and dumbeg respectively.  I played oud and sharing the singing with John and Shant.  Neither of us had played with an ensemble in over a year.  We were a just a bit concerned about being a little rusty and would be playing dance music to an empty hall.  But, our fears were unfounded.  It was a real treat to be playing together and it was like we hadn’t missed a beat… pun intended.  It was fun and we helped the church raise some money.

You can hear our performance on Facebook or watch it below on YouTube.  Looking forward to the next opportunity to offer our services, perhaps, to the other Armenian Churches in Chicago.

 

 

 

February Potpourri

 

Snow bank in a plowed parking lot

Snowy and Cold:  It snowed most of yesterday and the temperatures were in the single digits.  It was so cold that the rock salt poured on the sidewalks and roadways did not really melt the ice and snow.  In this weather, the spread salt was more like the sand they use in the New England States. 

They do a great job of cleaning the roads in my town.  All our streets are cleaned in short order and kept clean.  In the City of Chicago, they clean the main streets very well.  They cannot really clear the snow off of the residential streets simply because almost every street has cars parked in every available space.  Clearing the street would bury half the cars.  As a result, the side streets are a mess.

A Better John Wayne Movie:  After a long day, I have settled in to write a bit.  In flipping through guide on the TV, I noticed a movie starring John Wayne, Big Jake, that I had never seen nor heard of before.  It was made in 1971 and co-starred Maureen O’Hara, Richard Boone, and his son, Patrick.  He was 64 when he made this movie. 

Like in McClintock! (1963), Wayne’s character, Jacob McClandles, was estranged from his wife Martha played by O’Hara.  When their grandson was kidnapped, Martha sent for Jake, an old school SOB cowboy, to deliver the ransom, save the boy, and kill all the kidnappers.  This sure beats watching Wayne miscast as Genghis Khan.  It was a much better movie very simply because in this movie, simply because, John Wayne was cast as, well, John Wayne no matter what his character’s name is.  Needless to say, John Wayne saved the day.

The 2^nd Impeachment Trial:  The unprecedented second impeachment trial started today  It seems like a done deal.  There do not seem to be enough votes to convict as witnessed by the fact that only 5 of 50 Republican Senators voting to proceed with the impeachment trial.  It is very unlikely that two-thirds of the Senate will vote to impeach.  I read today that the Democrats are looking for a quick trial, win or lose, so that they can get back to working on President Biden’s agenda. 

I heard a report where the ACLU, an organization usually vilified by conservatives, defending the former President’s right to free speech.  They actually wrote a blog about it:  Donald Trump Has Free Speech Rights, Too. Did he incite the crowd?  Kinda sorta.  He was trying take the election and this was his last resort.  But he never said for that the crowd, explicitly, to go out and take over the Capitol.  We have to be careful with the cherished and valued right of free speech, hence the stand of the ACLU. Do I think he was wrong in pushing the stolen election narrative and having that rally on January 6^th?  Yes, I do.  I am of the opinion that he was being more self-serving to himself than doing his job as President of the United States.  It is my right to have that viewpoint and state it here, as it is his right to say and tweet whatever he wants as a citizen of this county.  As the President, well, he has to have the same rights though I expect more decorum and a better example from leaders at that level.  This part about all this really bothers me. 

Brady!

 

I am watching the Super Bowl LMNOP or LSMFT or whatever year it is.  Actually, the upper right hand of the TV shows LIV.  So, it is the 54^th Super Bowl.

I am watching but it doesn’t seem the same, sitting here just the two of us.  In previous years, we have had people over and a lavish buffet.  Today, we do have a simple dinner to eat at half-time.  I am debating whether to augment the dinner by microwaving a bag of popcorn, cutting up some veggies, or peeling an orange after dinner.  I might even have a beer or something harder. 

What a difference a year makes.

I am enjoying the game.  With five minutes left in the first half, the Buccaneers are leading the Chiefs 14 – 3.  Mahomes has the Chiefs on the move.

Who am I for? 

I am for Tom Brady.  Rather, I am for the Buccaneers because Brady is their quarterback.  They would not be in this game if it weren’t for Brady.  He is a legend that is still playing.  His record of Super Bowl appearances and wins will not easily be broken.   As of today, Brady is starting in his 10^th Super Bowl.  John Elway is 2^nd with 5.  If he wins tonight, he will have 7 wins.  If he loses, he will stay at 6.  Who is in second place?  It is tie between Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw who have 4 wins each.  Brady is very special.  People often refer to him as the GOAT:  Greatest Of All Time.  It is hard to argue with that given his accomplishments.

At half-time, the Buccaneers scored in closing seconds to lead 21-6.

I am a little guilty of how I viewed Brady when he was at the University of Michigan.  He was quarterback there 1996 – 1999.  He was back-up to Bob Griese his first two years.  He was a starter in his junior and senior year going 10-3 and the 10-2.  1998 was the year after we won the National Championship.  Brady, as the starter, lost the first two games of the 1998 season to Notre Dame and Syracuse.  Both teams were ranked.  Those two losses soured me to Brady who went on to win 10 of the remaining 11 games losing, unforgivably, to Ohio State. 

The next year, everyone wanted a highly touted Drew Henson to start.  He was supposed to be unbelievable and the quarterback to win every game he would start or something like that.  Therefore, in my mind, Henson should be starting.  Coach Carr platooned them.  I was not happy.  But it was Brady that emerged as the starter and showed the kind of “comeback kid” skills he became known for in the pros.  But I never warmed up to him.  And, to think, I pretend to know something about football.  That’s a laugh.

Brady engineered a comeback to beat Notre Dame and to beat Alabama in the Orange Bowl in overtime.  They beat Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin.  In the middle of the season, they lost back-to-back games to a ranked Michigan State team and to unranked Illinois.  I still couldn’t or didn’t see how special he was.

I was not alone.  Brady was drafted by the New England Patroits in the 6^th round.  He was the 199^th draftee.  In his second season, the starting QB Drew Bledsoe got injured in the second game of the season.  Brady came in but lost the game.  He started and one every game of the season and compiled a 10-3 record doing so.  They made the playoffs and ran the table to win his first Super Bowl.  I, along with all Michigan and New England fans, realized how good Brady was and became his fan.

At the end of the 3^rd Quarter the score is Tampa Bay 31 and Kansas City 9.

Is this his last game, win or lose?  He is 43 years old though he barely looks it and certainly doesn’t play like that.  His commitment to peak fitness, health, and incredible preparation is nonpareil, so who knows.  Certainly, not me.

With an interception in the endzone with 1:33 left in the game, the Buccaneers sealed the victory with a final score of 31-9.  The announcer just referred to the town as Tampa Brady.

He is indeed the greatest of all time.

Contagion: Where are we? Where are We Going?

Pixabay

Covid-19:  I did my first dose of the vaccine yesterday. 

As a result, I was tired enough not to want to write anything.  I am not sure if I was really tired or if was psychosomatic.  But, I went to bed early and slept very well. 

Today?  My arm is a little sore.  There are no other effects.

A graphic on the front page of the New York Times said:  U.S. Coronavirus Cases Are Down, but Eclipse Spring and Summer Peaks.  I have seen the stats and cases are coming down.  This is good.  I am wondering if this is due to us vaccinating the most vulnerable?  Or maybe we are reaching enough herd immunity to make a difference?  Maybe it is just Winter, and people are keeping to themselves more?  It could be, hopefully, that the virus is just petering out (here I might just be repeating the herd immunity theory, but not being an epidemiologist, I am free to think petering out is a real thing and different from herd immunity)?  Maybe it is a combination of all of these things.

Whatever it is, we are slowly beginning to open up.  In Illinois we are allowing inside, albeit at socially distanced capacities, in restaurants and moving to open schools.  The Chicago Public Schools have been in the news nationwide in their efforts to negotiate with the teacher’s union on exactly how to do that. 

One thing is for sure, collectively, we are just weary of all this and want a return to normalcy.  People are sure hopeful and a tad upbeat that we can get the vaccine rolled out faster and get to that herd immunity. 

After Covid-19:  I read an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about the short-term future and emergence from this pandemic.

After the Covid Pandemic, a Surge in Demand for Meals, Entertainment and Vacations was about how this pandemic recession is different than other recessions.  All recessions to date have been caused by a reduction in spending on goods (think autos, appliances, homes, etc.).  This one has resulted in a dramatic reduction in services (think entertainment, travel and restaurants).  No one knows, what the rebound might look like if and when we emerge from this pandemic recession.  No one knows, because we have no experience to fall back on to make any kind of forecast in this regard.

The article suggests the demand could be very great and airfares, hotels, and vacation packages will book-up very quickly, resulting in price increases.  It sounds like something I wrote about in early December:  Another Roaring Twenties.  Their advice was to book now.  If the pandemic subsides, I am sure this will happen.  I feel the desire to get out and about in almost everyone I speak to.

The big “if” here is if the pandemic subsides?  We all certainly want it to.  The plan we have seems logical.  We fast-tracked the development of vaccines while in the meantime getting everyone to wearing masks and practice social distancing.  Then, we eventually vaccinate everyone who doesn’t believe that vaccines are some evil conspiracy.  We get herd immunity and life returns to normal… or something like that.

What could possibly go wrong with this plan?  We were on track to do just that albeit in fits and starts.

Perhaps a New Normal:  The fly in this ointment is that the darn virus is mutating.  It is in the news but, I am thinking not prevalent enough.  Do viruses ever mutate to be less harmful or more benign?  I am guessing not so much.  The mutations we hear about have higher infection rates.  We are not entirely sure if the infections will be more severe.  We are not sure if the vaccines are as effective against these mutations.  I have heard or read that Pfizer or Moderna are working on boosters for their vaccines to cover these mutations. 

Is this thing here with us for the long run like the flu?  Are we looking at having to get a second vaccine every year for Covid like we do for the flu?  Are we destined to be wearing masks in public for a longer than anyone has expected or wants?  From my perspective, these things are being discussed but only the periphery.

For the time being, I choose to look at the glass as half-full, I really have no other choice.

A Walk in the Frigid Cold

 

It’s 9 pm and it is 9 degrees outside.  We are in the midst of a good old fashioned winter cold spell.  For the next week, the temperature is not forecast to be over 16 degrees.  The lows will be in the low single digits.

As I suggested in my Walk in the Snow piece, I ventured out in the afternoon for a walk on this cold and sunny day.  Well, it was not the same as taking in the walk in the snow last week.  It was windy and snowy that night, but it was 30 degrees.  Today?  It was 10 degrees.  It was flipping cold. 

Being an Eagle Scout and having hiked and camped outside back in the 60s, I knew the secret for being out in such weather is to dress properly.  I only planned to be out for a half hour, but at these temperatures one had to the “dressed properly” maxim seriously.  A nice wool sweater, a heavy anorak, a balaclava, a knit hat, heavy duty gloves, and some winter boots.   I could have, and in retrospect should have, worn some long johns.  I’ll do that tomorrow when I go out.

As the paths were used by school children, they were cleared, but snow packed.  It was quite windy, and a small layer of snow had drifted onto the path.  The combination made for a cushioned and crunchy walk.

It was good to be out.  I took some photos, a few of which I have included here.  I had to take a glove off to take the photos and could nto wait to put it back on.  It took longer than I expected for that hand to warm back up/

I had two classes this morning.  I encouraged my students to take a walk on this glorious cold day.  I told them is that a walk in really cold weather clears my head a different way.  The act of bracing myself against the cold and not slipping on the ice
and snow seems to clear all the other thoughts and inner dialogue.  It is thus refreshing in a unique way to be in the cold.  I will venture out again in the next week.  There might even be a day this coming  where I can walk on a cold day in a snowstorm.  Can it get any winter better than that?

I saw photos of my sister and brother in-law on a plane heading for Florida.  I also saw photos of other friends in Florida enjoying the weather.  I remembered when I used to travel for business to Latin America.  I would spend three to four weeks in January and February in Central America or the Caribbean where the weather is always nice or further south where it is actually summer when it is winter here.  It made the winters go quickly.  I always felt a bit cheated at not getting a full winter.  More recently, this feeling of being cheated out of winter persisted as our winters have been so temperate due to global warming. 

That is not the case this year.  I am enjoying the heck of this winter.  We have had some good solid snowstorms and now, this cold spell.  Wonderful.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am also looking forward to the coming of Spring and Summer.  Every time, I open the door to go into the garage I see my new classic roadster and cannot wait to ride around with the top down. 

In the meantime, I will continue to bundle up and head out into the snow and cold.

 

Rugged Outdoorsman or
just some old dude?

 

Genghis Wayne?

 

A few nights ago, I was surfing around the cable movie channels looking for something interesting to watch.  It was one of those “nothing on TV” evenings.  I limited my search to what was already being aired.  I might have entered the world on-demand, but sometimes it is just easier to see what is on.  The on-demand mining might result in a gold nugget of a movie but, dang, it can take forever to find one.

I settled on a movie called The Conqueror (1956) on TCM.  The info blurb on the TV said, “Genghis Khan (John Wayne) and Mongol horde abduct Tartar’s daughter (Susan Hayward).” 

What?  John Wayne playing Genghis Khan?  A million thoughts exploded in my head as I hit enter on the remote.  John Wayne as Genghis Khan?  Whose idea was casting the Duke as a 12^th century Mongol.  This had to be a disaster worth seeing.

How could I not watch John Wayne in such a role.  I was not disappointed in the miscasting.  But I was a little surprised in that the story was a smidgen more engaging than I thought it would be given how delightfully low my expectation was.  I caught the movie about two-thirds of the way through.  It was supposed to be taking place in the land of the Tartars, the steppes of the Ukraine.  The scenery looked more appropriate for a John Wayne cowboy movie in some sagebrush laden place in the Western US (actually St. George, Utah). 

This film made me think of the Charlie Chan series of detective whodunits.  The fictional Chinese detective was a popular series of movies from the 1930s to 1949.  Chan was played by Werner Oland, Swedish-American, in 16 films.  An American, Sidney Toler was cast as Chan in 22 films.  The last 8 films in the series had the American Roland Winters in six, Ross Martin (Polish) in 1, and Peter Ustinov (English) in 1.  They were all made-up, as was Wayne, to look Asian.  The actors portraying Chan at least spoke with a Chinese accent.  The same cannot be said about the Wayne or Susan Hayward.

Per Wikipedia, John Wayne lobbied hard to get the role.  Why?  Apparently, he liked the script.  Certainly, Genghis Khan would be an epic role for anyone to play.  I guess he thought he could do and the film producers Dick Powell and Howard Hughes, I don’t know, must have thought Wayne’s immense popularity would be a box office draw.  Who was going to second guess Howard Hughes or John Wayne in 1956?

Some of Wayne’s most memorable films were made with director John Ford including my favorite, The Quiet Man (1952).  I am assuming Ford and Wayne were friends.  Presumably, they might have talked about this role, which I am pretty certain Ford would have advised him against pursuing the role.

Who looks more like
Genghis Khan?

The Conqueror cost $6 million to make and earned $4.5 million at the box office.  It made the cut in a 1978 book, The Fifty Worst Films of all Time.  In a 1980 book, The Golden Turkey Awards, John Wayne’s role as Genghis Khan was given the award for Worst Casting. 

Here are some comments from critics, care of Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes:

• Howard Hughes' anachronistic saga is one of the worst films ever made with an embarrassing performance of John Wayne as Genghis Khan the Warrior. ~ Emmanuel Levy
• No one comes out of this train wreck holding their head up. ~ Dennis Schwartz
• John Wayne “"portrays the great conqueror as a sort of cross between a square-shootin' sheriff and a Mongolian idiot. The idea is good for a couple of snickers, but after that it never Waynes but it bores." ~ Time
• John Wayne as a Mongolian warlord HAS to be one of the worst casting jobs in the history of Cinema. I love The Duke as much as anyone, but Genghis Khan he ain't. ~ Randy T., Super Reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes
• Dear Lord God, what were they thinking...? Featuring easily the worst piece of casting in cinematic history, John Wayne stars as Genghis Khan (yes, you read that right) in the story of his life. It is quite funny for about 10 minutes, until you realise that it's quite mind-buggering dull. One star for the curiosity value, but otherwise a total waste of celluloid. The fact that financial backer Howard Hughes paid $12 million to recall every print in existence so no-one could see it should tell you everything you need to know! ~ xGary X, Super Reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes

I drew the same conclusion before I ever saw one scene of the film.  When I get a chance, I want to watch the whole movie if for no other reason to see how Agnes Moorehead was miscast.

You cannot make this stuff up.

A Skipped Day

 

OK… this is par for the course.  On February 1, I posted The 62^nd Day to celebrate posting on this blog 62 days in a row.  In that piece, I wondered if I could keep that pace up for a third month.  Well, I posted again on February 2^nd and thought I was on the way.

Then, I skipped yesterday.

Why?

Well, that is a bit of story and subject of today’s post.

I have been blogging before turning in each day.  Last night I began an hour and a half later than normal.  I began to type and shortly got very tired and was not really pleased with the quality of what I was writing.  I pushed forth and felt even more tired and, as I had an early get-up today, I decided to forego writing and hit the sack. 

Both the late start and being overly tired came were because of Covid-19 vaccine.  No, not because I had my first shot and had any issues.  It was because of spending an hour and a half trying to schedule myself for that first shot.

A neighbor emailed earlier and told that she enrolled in Advocate Health’s portal and got an appoint for later the same day.  My colleague at North Park did the same thing a week ago at Jewel/Osco, a local grocery chain.  Our neighbor emailed directions on how to register.  So, I decided to do just that… on my phone. 

The first step was to register on the MyAdvocateAurora portal which was similar to MyNorthwesternMedical which is my primary care provider.  That was relatively easy to do except for using an Oh instead of a zero as the lead character on my insurance card membership number.  I just assumed that it was an O and it stood for an Older guy.

My next step was to schedule an appointment.  I could easily get to pages where I could register for flu shots.  I did the same for shingles shots.  There was a button for Covid vaccine information, so, naturally, I clicked on it.  There was certainly a lot of information to be certain on that page but nothing about scheduling an appointment for the vaccine.  I went back to my neighbor’s email and read it again and learned I was supposed to look for a “schedule an appointment” button.  It was nowhere to be found on the mobile website.  I was thinking, dang, I might have to download the app or move to a laptop. 

Of course, I did neither of those two alternatives.  I continued on my phone to maximize frustration.

I found a button for scheduling a flu vaccine that I had not seen before.  I clicked it and was given a choice of two buttons flu or Covid vaccine.  OK then.  I clicked on it and was taken to a page where it said to enter a code that was to be emailed to me.  Ah yes, this is familiar.  I went to the email that I had entered when I registered for the portal and there was no email… yet.  So, I stared at it for a while.  Nothing.  I stared a while longer.  Still nothing.  So, I went back to the portal website and tried entering a clever code:  123456.  Oddly, the website said it was wrong.   Still no email.

So, I called my neighbor and she told me that she had the same issue, and she used the code of her friend was sent.  It worked.  She had written that in her email.  I said something really clever, “I have to really learn to thoroughly read emails.”  I thought the same exact thing with the addition of expletives and adjectives related to my lack of common sense and basic intelligence.

I entered the code that was emailed to the friend of my neighbor… and it worked.

Are you kidding me? 

If one code works for everybody, why require a code in the first place.  Hey, why not make the code 123456?  Ugh.

The next step was to answer six yes/no and I understand/don’t understand questions.  It asked did I live in Illinois or Wisconsin (did I not enter my address earlier).  I got them all right.  Yay!  But, each question required I click on the answer button and then hit the continue button… poor design but OK.  I next had to select a few preferences.  Did I want locations near me, near my home, or any available location.  I picked any available location.  Cool.  Then it listed them.  I chose the one closest to home.  It was less than 6 miles away.  Then I had to choose my appointment day and time.  It took me a while to get to this point, but it was beginning to seem worth the wee bit of inconvenience. 

Wow… there were appoints available for the next few days at every time slot.  I picked a convenient one, hit continue, and was asked if my information was correct.  This information included every address, email, number, and question answer I had entered since I started.  Really?  I hit the correct button.  It asked me again.  Really squared??

Then, the webite literally responded with “Oops, something went wrong begin again.”

I dropped an f-bomb and began again but just from the Covid vaccine part.

I had to answer all the questions over again.  No problem.  I chose the appointment time again and… the exact same idiotic “Oops” start again comment.   So, I did it again, 14 times.

On the 15^th try, the site started showing there were no appointments available at any location for the entire month of February.  What should I do?  Well, I tried again another 17 times and kept getting the same results.  I was most definitely frustrated and realized I spent an hour and a half doing this. 

This morning on the way to school there was a segment about the difficulties older folks were having trying to get registered and get appointments to get the vaccine.  No sh*t Sherlock. 

There are so many ways they could have designed and manage this process better but it is what it is. 

I tried several more times today from my laptop and kept getting the same result.

My wife suggested I just keep trying.

Well, I did just that half-way through writing this piece and… I am scheduled for getting the vaccine this Saturday at one of their hospitals in the city.  It was worth the effort.

I am glad I got scheduled but, dang, I will use the design of the portal and the underlying process as an example in my next lecture in the Information Systems class I am teaching this quad.