In her new Netflix special, Sarah Cooper and Helen Mirren recreate the famous Access Hollywood moment. 
Monthly Archives: October 2020
Blaire Erskine is one funny lady.
“Woman stranded at MAGA rally in Omaha says Trump wanted to teach them a lesson.” Blaire Erskine is one funny lady. Never heard of her before this morning but expect I’ll be seeing more of her (Netflix special?).
“Shy Trump Doubters”
“These are public Trump fans who, in private, acknowledge that his tweets are humiliating, his crowing about his victories is tasteless, his policy flip-flops are dispiriting and some of his statements are hurtful and damaging. They won’t say they’re tired of him to a pollster. It can be as embarrassing to admit you liked Mr. Trump and now fear him as it was to admit you were attracted to him in the first place.”
New York Times
Last Call
IVISII Ring Light
When I started messing around with video there were no smart phones; no YouTube or Vimeo; no social media. And while most of the gear changed over the years, my lighting was usually a couple of desk lamps that made me look like I was being interrogated.
When the pandemic hit and we started seeing lots of folks — including some professionals — streaming from their homes, I started noticing some of them using a round light that did a much better job than my little banker’s lamp. So I ordered one.
There are undoubtedly many companies making these but I went with the IVISII Ring light, based on this review:
At $150 it’s something of an indulgence but self-indulgence is what I’m all about these days. Once we get it we’ll share some video and you can decide if it was worth it.
Slow breathing
From a study on “The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human“:
“Slow breathing practices have been adopted in the modern world across the globe due to their claimed health benefits. This has piqued the interest of researchers and clinicians who have initiated investigations into the physiological (and psychological) effects of slow breathing techniques and attempted to uncover the underlying mechanisms.”
I spend a hour a day (sometimes 90 min) on the meditation cushion and it’s pretty much just follow the breath. I experience both psychological and physiological benefits. My BP can drop as many as 15 points after a 15 minute session.
“While changes in the cardiovascular system can induce changes in respiration, the influence that respiration has on the cardiovascular system is reportedly stronger. Studies in healthy humans have found that controlled slow breathing, particularly at 6 breaths per min, is associated with an increase in fluctuations of both blood pressure and heart rate, compared to breathing at a typical rate.”
I average about four breaths per minute during a typical session.
Birthday balloons
Barb created these balloon sculptures for her nieces’ and nephews’ birthday.
Are we ever “offline” now?
I used to think about what it means to “be online.” I still recall when everything was off-line. Or pre-line.
Before social media and the primacy of the latest post — and the irrelevance of all previous posts — I thought of my websites, especially my blog, like a small town library. You kept everything you thought you (or someone) might want to retrieve and read again. I didn’t care much how infrequently a “book” was checked out, just that it was there on a shelf and in the card catalog.
But now the ever-flowing river of Tweets, Toots, FB posts, etc. makes anything below the scroll worthless. The notion of “rebooting” one’s online presence made me think of moving that small town library to a new building on the other side of town.
First Kiss
Better Days
