Former Socialist, Former Republican, Former Contributor to The American Spectator, Former Resident of Canada, Back in Boston Area After Stints in New York City & Atlanta, Current Mustache Wearer & Aficionado of Baseball, Bowling in All Its Forms, Cats, Music & Healthy Living
Blackman is best known for her portrayal of Pussy Galore in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Previously, she had played Cathy Gale on the The Avengers alongside Patrick MacNee. Blackman left the series to appear in Goldfinger and would be replaced by Diana Rigg would who play the iconic Emma Peel as the British TV series went across the Atlantic.
The lion's share of Blackman's career was spent on the British stage or TV although she would make occasional appearances on American TV when she and Richard Basehart playing a murderous couple on a 1972 episode of Columbo called Dagger of the Mind or in American movies like The Diary of Bridget Jones. Younger British audiences might remember Blackman in the ITV comedy The Upper Hand. Blackman, who acted until she was nearly 90, was also active supporter of Britain's Liberal Democratic Party. She also occasionally released music last doing so in 2009 with the UK single "The Star Who Fell From Grace". Blackman never did. R.I.P.
Today, I literally took social distancing to another level.
I have temporarily moved up several floors to a studio apartment which I am now subletting. The tenant who was up here is now in Long Island with her family for the duration of the Coronavirus crisis for however long that lasts be it month or two or beyond.
Dad had initially thought that this would be a good arrangement after seeing the viral video Mel Brooks did with his son Max on protecting the elderly from COVID-19.
However, Dad reconsidered his position and decided to leave things as they were. But then I developed a cough a few days ago. All of that was happening at the same time I lost my job. It was at that point I suggested we proceed with the plan.
I must say for the record that I believe my coughing owes more to acid reflux in my throat than any viral infection, COVID-19 or otherwise. Consequently, I have made a point of reducing the amount of acidic food I have consumed the past several days as well as gargling with warm salt water and the cough has largely subsided. That and I haven't felt any other symptoms associated with COVID-19.
Nevertheless moving upstairs will give Dad peace of mind. It will also give us some space. It was one thing to share an apartment when I was working full time. It is another to share a small space at a time when the authorities are strongly encouraging people to stay home. It can be difficult for anyone, be it a husband or wife, a mother or daughter or a father and son to be in tight quarters for an extended period of time under the best of circumstances.
Naturally there are some inconveniences. It's one thing to walk up and down one flight of stairs with a suitcase full of laundry. It is another to walk up and down four flights of stairs with a heavy suitcase. Then again I did spend six years living on the sixth floor of a six story walk up when I lived on Hemenway Street in the heart of Boston and carried up laundry and other heavy things over the years. So I'm not in unfamiliar territory. Then there are the neighbors below me arguing on their balcony over dinner. I don't care for noisy neighbors but they too are not unfamiliar territory however annoying it might be especially if it interferes with my sleep. But if it means I live another 50 years it is a very small price to pay.
At least for the moment, I now have enough space to do such fun things as file for unemployment insurance and prepare my federal and state income tax.
In the grand scheme of things, I am more fortunate than most. I have
choices that others do not have. Hopefully these choices will be enough
to protect my Dad and I.
Tom Dempsey, the man whose 63-yard field goal stood as a NFL record for more than 40 years, has lost his life to COVID-19. He was 73.
Dempsey kicked the field goal for the New Orleans Saints, a game winner against the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970. The 63-yard field goal shattered the 56-yard record set by Bert Rechicar of the Baltimore Colts in 1953. The most remarkable thing about Dempsey's achievement was that he set the record without any toes. Dempsey's NFL career lasted a decade. After setting the record with the Saints, he would play for the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. Dempsey's record was tied on several occasions, but not broken until 2013 when Matt Prater kicked a 64-yard field goal for the Denver Broncos against the Tennessee Titans.
Dempsey would return to New Orleans after his football career. His home would be flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 damaging a great deal of his football memorabilia. At the time, Dempsey said, "The hurricane flooded me out of a lot of memorabilia, but it can't flood out the memories."
In a cruel irony, Dempsey would be robbed of those memories after being diagnosed with dementia in 2013. Dempsey had been living in a retirement community in New Orleans and was among more than 50 members who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Fifteen of those residents have now died including Dempsey. Their deaths are no less cruel than Dempsey's or too many other people who have succumbed to the disease in retirement, nursing homes and other long term care facilities across the country. Sadly, this has turned out to be cruelest kick of all. R.I.P.
Corbyn's ineffectual position on Brexit led many longtime Labour voters to turn to the Tories. Many voters, Labour and non-Labour alike, were also appalled by Corbyn's anti-Semitism. Upon winning the party leadership, Starmer called anti-Semitism "a poisonous stain" upon the party and apologized to Britain's Jewish community:
We have to face the future with honesty. On behalf of the Labour Party, I am sorry… I have seen the
grief that [anti-Semitism] brought to so many Jewish communities. I will tear out this poison by its
roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who
felt that they could no longer support us.
I sincerely hope Starmer means what he says. But I have my doubts. After all, Starmer was a member of Corbyn's shadow cabinet and said precious little while he was a member of Corbyn's inner circle as anti-Semitic incidents were taking place in the Labour Party on a daily basis. Starmer has also come under criticism for downplaying his family's Jewish heritage.
But let us say for argument's sake that Starmer is sincerely committed to eliminating anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. If this is the case then Starmer has a big challenge upon him. After all, Labour Party membership accelerated during the Corbyn years bringing in a slew of anti-Semites who still control many Labour Party constituency associations. There are also many Corbyn loyalists who hold positions on Labour's National Executive Committee. This will necessitate further inner party struggle up to and including expulsions. Starmer does have time on his side as the next election won't be until 2024.
If Keir Starmer can expunge anti-Semitism from the Labour Party between now and 2024 then he will have done a wonderful thing whether or not British voters see fit to elect a Labour government under his leadership.
These already sad times became sadder with news of the passing of Bill Withers. The singer-songwriter actually died on Monday, but his family only announced his passing yesterday. Withers died of a heart ailment. He was 81.
Withers had a brief yet enduring career. Born the son of a coal miner in West Virginia, Withers enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and spent nearly a decade in the service primarily as an airplane mechanic. When his military career ended, Withers worked in a factory in Los Angeles. He might have stayed had he not seen Lou Rawls perform and teach himself to play the guitar and write songs.
Withers would soon lose his job making toilets, but instead of being down in the dumps "Ain't No Sunshine" was rising on the charts. During the 1970's, Withers would also have hits with "Grandma's Hands", "Lean On Me", "Use Me" and "Lovely Day". His final chart hit was "Just The Two of Us", a duet with saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. Although Withers stopped making music after 1985 nearly all the aforementioned songs receive regular radio play and are licensed for movies, TV shows and commercials. Withers' songs are a chapter of the Great American songbook and are familiar to people young and old.
Among those songs the only exception would be "Grandma's Hands". Yet it is well worth a listen. Although Withers could be properly described as a r&b and soul musician he can also be properly described as a folk musician in the story telling tradition of Harry Chapin or Richie Havens. As you can hear from this performance, Withers speaks and sings with a gentle authority accompanied by warmth, humor and a plain spoken manner.
The final lyric of "Grandma's Hands" are particularly resonant now. If I get to Heaven I'll look for Grandma's Hands.
Now that Bill Withers is in Heaven I hope he found what he was looking for. R.I.P.
I received a call this afternoon from my manager at Forrest Solutions informing me that I have been laid off from my job at the request of the client. I immediately went online to apply for unemployment benefits through the New York Department of Labor. After nearly two hours, I was informed I would not be able to apply until Tuesday. I will cross that bridge when it comes. I do have one more full paycheck coming my way a week from today. There is also a stimulus check of $1,200 although the IRS has stated this could take until August to complete dissemination. Lord knows what the country will look like in four months from now much less four weeks.
Needless to say I am not surprised at this development. One cannot ignore what is going around us. After all when I was sent home from work on March 18th I could not rule out the possibility that I would never return. My manager did say the door was left open to be hired back once things settled down as our layoff did not concern our performance. But this settling down process is far more likely to take months rather than days or weeks. Even when it does settle down things will never be the same. There will be a lot more workers working from home or remotely. Of course, some jobs don't lend themselves to those conditions. As such some of us might be out of work a lot longer than others. Given that I was unemployed for 8 months in 2017-2018, it would not surprise me if I am out of work for a longer period this time around. But unemployment isn't the only issue at hand.
I've had a cough for the past several days. Dad wanted me to go to CityMD and I would have gone today, but I've now lost my health insurance. Of course, even if I still had my health insurance, it is unlikely CityMD or anyone else would test me anyway. Chances are I would be considered among the "worried well".
There is a vacant apartment in our building and Dad is checking to see with the landlord if I can move in there temporarily as a precaution. We will see if this a feasible option.
Despite my job setback, I know full well that I am still in a far better situation than those who are in a hospital bed with a ventilator let alone the people who have already lost their lives. The same can be said for my Dad. I can only hope it stays that way.
Longtime Chicago White Sox radio broadcaster and former Chisox closer Ed Farmer passed away yesterday at the age of 70. Farmer died of polycystic kidney disease which he inherited from his mother who died of the condition not long after signing his first professional contract with the Cleveland Indians in 1967 at the age of 17. He would lose his father a short time later.
After two seasons with the Tribe, Farmer's career would become quite complicated for nearly the rest of the 1970's. The Indians traded Farmer to the Detroit Tigers in the middle of the 1973 season for pitcher Tom Timmerman and journeyman Kevin Collins. During spring training in 1974, the Tigers traded Farmer to the New York Yankees in a three team trade which saw the Indians land Jim Perry. Two days after the trade, the Yankees sold Farmer to the Phillies. After posting a disastrous 8.42 ERA with the Phillies in 1974 he was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers where he spent all of 1975 pitching with their Triple AAA affiliate in Sacramento and would be released prior to the 1976 season. Following a brief stint in the Mexican League found himself out of baseball.
In 1977, Farmer would earn a tryout with the Baltimore Orioles and would be hit by a car on his way to the tryout. But he made the tryout and the O's signed him to a minor league deal. After winning 11 games for the Rochester Red Wings, Farmer made one appearance for the O's in September facing only two Detroit Tigers batters. A single to Lance Parrish and a bases loaded walk to Ben Ogilive began and ended his Orioles career.
The Brewers gave Farmer a second chance in 1978 where he would spend most of the season with their new Triple AAA affiliate in Spokane. But the Brewers did make him a September call up and he posted a 0.82 ERA giving up only one run in 11 innings pitched over three appearances. Despite acquitting himself in limited duty, the Brewers traded Farmer along with Gary Holle to the Texas Rangers for veteran pitcher Reggie Cleveland. Farmer made the big league club, but only made 11 appearances with the Rangers before they traded him along with Holle to the White Sox for Eric Soderholm.
Whether it was because Farmer was now pitching in his hometown or because his manager was Tony La Russa, his fields were now ready for harvest. Farmer quickly became the club's closer saving 14 games. But greater yields were to come in 1980 when he saved a career high 30 games and earned his only All-Star Game selection. Farmer would pitch two thirds of an inning in that game. Although Dave Winfield would reach on an error by Willie Randolph scoring Phil Garner and Keith Hernandez would single, he did end the inning by getting Pete Rose to hit into a double play. While the AL would lose the game, Farmer had to be satisfied with his station in life at that time given that he was out of baseball only four years earlier.
Farmer would save 10 games for the White Sox in the strike shortened 1981 season, but would split closing duties with future AL Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt. Seeing the writing on the wall, Farmer elected free agency and would sign with the Phillies prior to the 1982 season. Although he would spend nearly two seasons in his second stint with the Phillies, he was released by the club in August 1983 and thus did not get to pitch in the World Series with the NL champion Wheeze Kids. Farmer made five appearances with the Oakland A's late in the '83 season and never again toed a big league mound. He would pitch in the minor leagues in the A's organization in 1984, independent ball in 1985 and the Pirates organization in 1986 before calling it a career after 20 years. In 370 big league games over 11 seasons, Farmer went 30-43 with a 4.30 ERA along with 75 saves. Of those 75 saves, 54 of them came with the White Sox.
After his playing career ended, Farmer joined the Baltimore Orioles as a scout in 1988 and serving in that capacity through 1990. During this period, Farmer would require a kidney transplant from his brother. Farmer would reunite with the Chisox in 1991. Initially hired as a special assistant to GM Ron Schueler, Farmer broadcast a few games on the radio that season and would become their color commentator on a full time basis in 1992. After the Chisox won the World Series in 2005, Farmer would become the White Sox's play by play man. Despite having to ingest 56 pills a day, Farmer somehow remained a fixture in the team's radio booth for nearly 30 years.
While Farmer's passing is sad and White Sox fans will miss Farmio (as he was affectionately known), his life on both the mound and in the broadcast booth was one of determination and perseverance. R.I.P.
