Where does your state rank with Covid?

Covid-19 cases by state percentage as of November 19, 2020

	Location	Cases	Percent
1	North Dakota	67,230	8.82%
2	South Dakota	68,671	7.76%
3	Iowa	195,610	6.20%
4	Wisconsin	350,665	6.02%
5	Nebraska	103,805	5.37%
6	Utah	162,028	5.05%
7	Idaho	86,435	4.84%
8	Illinois	606,771	4.79%
9	Tennessee	325,201	4.76%
10	Montana	50,582	4.73%
11	Mississippi	137,396	4.62%
12	Arkansas	137,617	4.56%
13	Alabama	223,486	4.56%
14	Louisiana	209,914	4.52%
15	Kansas	130,716	4.49%
16	Wyoming	25,275	4.37%
17	Rhode Island	45,911	4.33%
18	Minnesota	242,043	4.29%
19	Missouri	258,762	4.22%
20	Florida	905,248	4.22%
21	Georgia	433,732	4.09%
22	Oklahoma	161,425	4.08%
23	Nevada	125,459	4.07%
24	Indiana	268,222	3.98%
25	Arizona	283,102	3.89%
26	South Carolina	199,447	3.87%
27	Texas	1,091,264	3.76%
28	Alaska	25,588	3.50%
29	New Mexico	70,451	3.36%
30	New Jersey	289,562	3.26%
31	Kentucky	144,753	3.24%
32	Colorado	176,694	3.07%
33	North Carolina	320,862	3.06%

34	Delaware	29,755	3.06%
35	Michigan	303,058	3.04%
36	New York	574,072	2.95%
37	Massachusetts	195,868	2.84%
38	Maryland	171,823	2.84%
39	District of Columbia	19,465	2.76%
40	Ohio	318,828	2.73%
41	Connecticut	97,028	2.72%
42	California	1,059,489	2.68%
43	Virginia	208,833	2.45%
44	Pennsylvania	287,425	2.25%
45	West Virginia	36,266	2.02%
46	Washington	135,424	1.78%
47	Oregon	59,669	1.42%
48	Puerto Rico	43,910	1.38%
49	Hawaii	16,974	1.20%
50	New Hampshire	15,319	1.13%
51	Maine	9,519	0.71%
52	Vermont	3,161	0.51%

·         Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering

 

·         Last updated: November 19, 2020 at 8:45 a.m. ET

WC 111820

 

Today's topic is: Funniest thing that happened to me. Hard to narrow it down to just one event.

High School: Sophomore year running Cross-Country. We were running eight miles across a mesa. Part of the mesa was cleared off for a new housing project. I was doing fine until I fell flat on my face. Getting up I'd hit a taught string stretched out between wooden stakes. This was where they would dig the foundation on the house. My left leg went over and the right hit the string making a little red line where it cut my calf. I got up and finished the course. My older brother, a senior, was ahead of me and when I got to the locker room saw he had a red line on his calf the same as mine. No one else on the team tripped over it.

Plainview, Tx College: Freshman year running cross-country. It was the second week and we were running on a farm road. I was the best runner on the team and about half way on the eight mile run it was going too slow. I asked the sophomore runner where to turn on the road to head back to the college. He told me to keep going to the next road and turn left.

I picked up the pace and turned at what I thought was the next road. It was an entrance to a feed lot. I wound up running in the smelliest environment on the planet until I made my way out. The rest of the team laughed their heads off at me for months.

Between marriages: There was a singles retreat in Glorieta, NM. Our church group arrived and the women were upstairs and men downstairs. First night getting into bed I was in a sleeping bag and a couple of guys came in without turning the light out. I got up and hopped to the light switch and hopped back to bed. I lept up on the bed, but in the dark I missed. The guys ribbed me a bit at breakfast. That's when I met my wife of now 42 years.

2016: Dec. 26. I needed to exchange something at a business but wasn't sure they were open. Walking up I was looking at the day and hour to make sure they were open. My left foot caught on something and I went to catch my balance by stepping forward with my right. It hit something and it was timber. I landed on my right side putting my hand out to break my fall trying not to hit my head on the concrete sidewalk. I broke my right meta tarsal phalange, just had a few cuts on my forehead. I tripped on a black rubber car barrier. Never saw it.

I realized that I wasn't a super hero. I didn't crack the concrete and definitely didn't bounce back up.  

TTT 111720

 

Today's topic is animals you've named after a book character.

Over the years I've had many.

Growing up these were my families dogs:

1.  A Toy Fox Terrier we named Hector after the Trojan warrior in the Iliad.

2.  A half German Shepherd and Blue Heeler named Arwin after the elf queen from LOTR.

 

3.  A German Shepherd/Collie mix named Harvey, after the title character of the play Harvey.

4.  Another Toy Fox Terrier named Circe, from the Odyssey.

5.  A Toy Fox Terrier the mate to Circe, named Charley. From the movie adapted from Flowers for Algernon.

Recently: 

6.  A black Toy Cocker Spaniel named Watson after Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes. 

And a Black Labrador named Lucy after the the cartoon character in Peanuts. 

The ones still alive:

7.  A beautiful red Beta fish named Scarlet after Scarlet O’Hara.

8.  A German Shepherd named Smokey from the movie.

9.  A Chihuahua named Bandit.

10. A sixteen year old white and orange Teddy Bear cat named Pippin from LOTR.

11. A Jack Russel terrier named Sammie. Named after Samantha Brady on Days of Our Lives. She's a really bossy lady.

More Great Sean Connery movies

 

Here are some more great Sean Connery films.

Dragon Heart. Connery is only done in CG as a dragon with of course his great voice. They researched every facial expression he did in movies and gave them to the dragon, it was amazing how real the dragon looked because of it.

Robin and Marian. Connery was in a lot of period pieces. Here he played Robin Hood come back from fighting with King Richard. He rekindles the flame with Maid Marian played by Audrey Hepburn. Great combination for romance. Robert Shaw played a realistic Sheriff of Nottingham. The fight scenes were done with brutal realism.

The Rock. Paired with Nicolas Cage in an action film. It's a roller coaster ride keeping the adrenaline pumping for the viewer.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. A great pairing of actors. Connery plays off Ford to great affect as Indiana's father. Of all the Indiana Jones films this is my favorite.

WC 111120

 

This week the topic is Movies that were better than the books.

Talk about looking at things differently! I can name untold number of movies that mucked up a good book. It took a bit to think of some that were better than the book. Some did finally come to mind.

Twilight. We listened to it on audio tape. Isabella was so full of angst and self loathing that it's a wonder anyone, werewolf or vampire would want her other than as food. Halfway through the book my daughter said, "Turn it off." She loved the movies, but never wanted to read the books.

The Fellowship of the Ring. The trilogy as a whole was great reading, but there is one part in the Fellowship that sparks great debate on what is left out of all the movies. Tom Bombadil. Purists are outraged, but when reading the book at 15 I skipped it. It was nothing but some guy spouting poetry and really slowed down the story. I've re-read the book several times and only read that part once. On subsequent reading I skip it. Every movie version of Fellowship left it out for good reason.

The Three Musketeers. The movie version I'm referring to was the one made into two movies named The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. It starred Charleton Heston as Richelieu, Michael York as d'Artagnan, and Faye Dunaway as Milady DeWinter. It stayed true to book, but added humor. The sword fights were played on various terrain, in the dark, on ice until the final one at the end. Extras mumbled funny things in the background. Constance, played by Raquel Welsh was clumsy making for pratfalls. By far the best version on the classic.

The Feast of All Saints. I read a lot of Anne Rice books. Her vamires, witches, body snatcher, mummy, Cry to Heaven about Castratos in medieval Catholic churches. I ate them up like candy. Then I hit this one. The first twenty pages describe a young man getting dressed, walking out of his house, through the front garden and down the street. Every article of clothing is described in minute detail, the house, the garden and the every house on the street get the same treatment. I couldn't go on. None of her other books were like this. I rather liked her description in Exit to Eden and her Sleeping Beauty books. This one was way too much. The book was made into a television mini-series. I enjoyed the TV mini-series. It's available on DVD and Netflix. It left out all the description.

TTT 111020

 

Todays top ten is: Book titles that would make great song titles.

I've made each title into a link for the book mentioned, if there is one. After the title and author the genre of music it would fit in.

My books:

The Fan Plan by Patrick Prescott: rap, hip hop, jazz

The Good Goddess by Javan Tenebrae: new age, religious, alternative.

Human Sacrifices by Patrick Prescott: religious, new age, pop, alternative

Fellow bloggers books:

1NG4 by Berthold Gambrel: new age, alternative, jazz.

She Who Comes Forth by Audrey Driscoll: easy listening, pop, new age.

Bound by Desire by Wendy Zadruk: heavy metal, blues, jazz.

A Prayer For My Mountain by Hank Bruce: gospel, new age, blues.

Other Titles and Authors:

The Last Dance by Martin L. Shoemaker: country, blues, jazz, easy listening.

Soul Catcher by Frank Herbert: pop, new age, alternative, gospel.

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov: easy listening, pop, country.

I Have No Mouth but I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison: rap, hip hop, heavy metal, alternative, new age, jazz 

 

Bond, James Bond.

 Part 2 of Sean Connery's movies. 

For some reason Blogger has gone buggy with my fonts. Sorry for the sloppy sizes.

Ian Flemming's 007 movies introduced the world to a formidable actor. James Bond movies have been a part of my whole life.

I never went to the theaters to watch the Connery Bonds. My parents weren't interested and didn't deem them appropriate for pre-teen sons. I watched them when they came on TV. For the time period they stretched the censorship boundaries, but are so tame by today's standards.

We now have every Bond DVD and always add the latest. Every year between Christmas and New Year we marathon Bond. One year we'll go from Dr. No to the end, or start with the latest and go backwards. It's like an archeological dig through technological time.

There's been a number of debates and polls on who was the best Bond. By and large Sir Sean wins. He's my wife's favorite. He's not mine. For me he ranks 3rd. 

NOW HERE ME OUT! 

Connery set the tone and style of Bond. He looked fabulous and his facial expressions captured his feelings. His acting was superb and he delivered great quips. But those quips were always under his breath. 

Here's my take on the movies:

Dr. No: The prototype. No distinctive opening song, no naked women in dark shadow. It does give us the famous line of, "Bond, James Bond." And of course him busting into his hotel room with gun drawn with camera angle under the long gorgeous legs of Miss Trench while putting. Later there's the rising of Ursula Andres in a modest bikini. By the time I saw this on TV it was after seeing Annette Funicello in a bikini, and Ursula wasn't that big a deal for me. We're introduced to Moneypenny and M. Then a change of gun making him use a Walther PPK.

When he gets to Jamaica he meets Felix Lighter of the FBI, and the bad guys try to kill him. They use a tarantula while he's sleeping and it's clear it's on a pane of glass and not on him. Special effects are very rudimentary. Dr. No tells him about SPECTER as the international criminal organization. The usual bad guy telling all, thinking Bond will die.

There is an interracial pairing with an Asian woman, but that's not considered to happen until Live and Let Die for some reason. They have the decontamination process down well, as well as a quick nude flash of Andres, now Mr. Skin has captured it.

There's the first nuclear accident caused by Bond and being stranded on a boat for the final reward.

From Russia With Love: Of all the movies this follows the book the closest. Why does the posters of Bond's gun always have the long barrel when it's never that way in the movie?

It has an opening title song, but flashes from the first movie for the opening credits. The usual banter with Moneypenny, the first gadget being a booby trapped brief case, and the introduction of training in weaponry, though this was with the bad guys. An old pro in the spy game as head of Turkey's secret service shows him the ropes then a gypsy girl fight and the love scene that's being filmed to blackmail MI6 and Bond.

There's the grabbing a the decoder from the Russian embassy and leaving on the Orient Express, and the flight back to Venice. Again rushed and jerky. The shooting down of a helicopter by a .22 pop gun is ridiculous. The fight with Kleb and the poison tipped shoes was interesting at the time. The quip was under his breath, about her getting her kicks.

Goldfinger: The best of Connery's Bonds. The formula is coming together. Great song by Angela Bassett, what a car! They're still using it. The gadgets. A great one liner about the Beatles and earmuffs. Of course the best line ever delivered by a bond villain. 

Bond: Do you expect me to talk?

Goldfinger, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die."

A formidable henchman named Odd Job, and his flying hat that kills little girls. Pussy Galore, one of the great names for a Bond Girl, and her flying circus that 007 can convert with a single kiss. She joins him in foiling Goldfinger's plans to explode a nuke in Fort Knox, and the showdown with Odd Job and saving the day with 0.07 left on the timer.

Thunderball: His most popular movie and the formula is complete. The nude dancers in shadow for the opening credits. Tom Jones singing the theme song. The toy breathing apparatus and locator beacon for his shoe. Finding missing nukes. There's was a fixation on nukes in Bond films. A sexy damsel in distress wearing bikinis, a femme fatale to sleep with, and an underwater battle finally stopped by sharks. 

The culminating fight with Largo on a runaway yacht is a fight scene on crack. Screech screech screech. 

This is the only one where Bond doesn't have a last roll in the sack. Instead they're rescued by a skyhook.

I won't review Never Say Never Again, as it's the same story, but Kim Basinger was a much sexier Domino in this one.

You Only Live Twice: The one that made Connery walk away. It's just awful. The formula is there, the opening credits, song, flirting with Moneypenny. Blofeld is introduced. SPECTER is grabbing space ships from the U.S. and Russia to start a world war. The special effects are atrocious by even that days standards. Making Bond Japanese and giving him a wife to find the hidden space base is bad enough, but it is the the stupid count down. "Ten minutes and counting, nine minutes and counting..." Stick a fork in my ear why don't ya.

Diamonds are Forever: George Lazenby bombing as 007 in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, brought a reluctant Connery back. 

It starts with Bond hunting down Blofeld and finding the man duplicating himself in mud baths. That's just weird!

You've got gay henchmen going around killing everyone and they have the funny quips. Jill Saint John running around in bra and panties changing wigs, then in bikini showing a little too much hip for Blofeld.  There's a great car chase scene with cops going in circles around Las Vegas, riding out with a Moon Rover with cops in three wheel ATV's falling over in the dunes. Jimmy Dean as a fake Howard Hughes. Lastly a really awful countdown, ten times worse than the previous one. I want to strangle the monotone droning voice every time I see the movie.

So who do I think is the best Bond? Roger Moore. He's much funnier with a dry wit and doesn't say them under his breath. The fight scenes are better staged. His first Bonds were good to great. The Spy Who Loved Me  and Octopussy, are my favorites.  Moonraker and View to a Kill are the worst movies in the series, horrible direction, weak plots and bad acting by others. Roger did his best with what was given him.

Second Place is Pierce Brosnan. He has the wit, athletic ability and the stories are much better.

My favorite Sean Connery Films

 A truly great actor has passed away. My entire life he's been larger than life. My thoughts on Sean Connery.

To everyone dropping by for a look, leave a comment to let me know if you agree or disagree.

Not everything an actor does is great, there are always duds, but not in the man's acting. Connery was professional and worked his ass off no matter the role.

There is no way to cover sixty+ years of acting in one go. This is just favorite Connery films. I'll explore his Bond films later. I'll explain then.

In my opinion these are Connery's best:

This is by far his best. He and Michael Cain are superb. Connery has put on weight, is balding with salt and pepper mutton chops and was much different from his Bond days in a toupee. 

His voice, his impeccable timing, his presence and his low key wit are perfected. He was constrained as OO7. He let loose here and was allowed to really act and tell a great story.

He was commanding and larger than life as Captain Ramius. Baldwin and Connery were great in both parts. Except the part about the exec wanting to raise rabbits it stayed fairly close to the book. 

Entrapment, a truly fun movie, hard to imagine this was twenty-one years ago, but he gave a masterful performance and even pulled off a romantic relationship with a woman forty years younger.

 

A great story with a great cast and the master was in control with his voice and presence.

Hated to see his character die in this one, but he turned in masterful performance as an Irish cop tutoring Ness in taking down bootleggers.