November 30, 2024, at home
My wonderful wife made this turkey soup today.
Saturday, November 30, 2024
SAVE THE MALES !!!
November 30, 2024, at home
Today is the last day of National Men's Health Awareness Month. SAVE THE MALES !!!
End Of "Movember"
November 30, 2024, at home
Today is the last day of "Movember," which started November 1, 2024, so on that day, I was clean-shaven. Needless to say, I have started growing my moustache. ... or so I thought. Actually, as it turned out, I actually participated in "No-Shave November" due to weakness from six recent surgeries.
"Movember" is an annual, month-long event when men around the world grow moustaches throughout the month of November to raise awareness of and to raise funds to combat cancers that afflict men (prostate, testicular, penile); men's suicide prevention; and men's overall physical and mental health. I have participated every November for decades.
Millions of funds are raised worldwide every year through fundraisers and donations, with the United States, Canada, Australia, and India typically raising the most money. European countries also do well with raising funds.
Of course, the name "Movember" is a combination of "moustache" and "November." Men start clean shaven on November 1 (every year) and grow their "stashes" throughout the month, so if you notice more guys with moustaches in your travels, that's why.
For more information, here is the link to one of the many "Movember" websites:
There is also something called "No-Shave November," when men don't shave at all during that month, so you may see more beards than usual, too.
Many women also don't shave during November in support of us guys. (no joke)
Remember that November is National Men's Health Awareness Month, and November 19 (every year) is International Men's Day.
SAVE THE MALES !!!
Friday, November 29, 2024
Is That Ringo?
November 29, 2024, at home
I must have Beatles on the brain. I was playing this matching game on my phone, and I thought I saw Ringo. It's actually a quill pen in an ink bottle with some kind of background.
George Harrison, R.I.P.
November 29, 2024, at home
George Harrison, my favorite Beatle (February 25, 1943 - November 29, 2001), left his body (passed away) 23 years ago today. Hare Krishna !!!
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Happy Thanksgiving Videos
November 28, 2024, at home
I created and uploaded a short video onto my YouTube channel, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.Happy Thanksgiving (Nov. 28, 2024)
https://youtu.be/FYpfJQDGR94?si=J3NMwM1s3cn_ueFA
I also made an excerpt as a "short" titled Happy Thanksgiving (excerpt), Nov. 28, 2024.
Thanks For Thanksgiving
November 28, 2024, at home, Thanksgiving
Many heartfelt thanks go from me to my wonderful wife for cooking this beautiful Thanksgiving Day dinner. I love you.
Aileen Santos
Indulging On Thanksgiving
November 28, 2024, at home, Thanksgiving
I won't say who these two gents are, but assuredly, they were and still are close cousins and close friends. However, this deed occurred inside a parked car in front of one cousin's brother's home in the 1980s, and it was definitely AFTER Thanksgiving Day dinner.
Then, while indulging, the other cousin's dad startled them by jumping in front of the parked car and yelling "AHHH !!!" Did the dad know what these two gents were doing? Probably. The dad never mentioned it, and neither cousin asked him about it.
Thanksgiving In Lindy
November 28, 2024, at home, Thanksgiving
Here I am at the age of two-and-three-quarter years old with my mother outside of my paternal grandparents' house in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, on Thanksgiving Day (November 28) in 1963.Marie Angela Santos
No Pumpkin Pie Today
November 28, 2024, at home, Thanksgiving
My decades-long, personal tradition forbids me from eating pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day. Also included in my tradition is that I must eat pumpkin pie on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day. Actually, I allow myself to eat pumpkin pie on any date throughout the year, except on Thanksgiving Day.Why? Because pumpkin pie is mentioned in the song "Sleigh Ride," which I considered to be a Christmas song when my age was in single digits in the 1960s. As an adult, I realized, I think in the mentally foggy 1990s, that in reality, this song technically isn't a Christmas song.
"Sleigh Ride" - Mitch Miller and The Gang
https://youtu.be/TWVSS-Fy6dc?si=jkyzfy2gGVuU2Oo3
Now at age 63, I am once again following my childhood tradition today (November 28, 2024) on Thanksgiving Day, as I have done every holiday season since the late 1960s. Of course, I will continue to follow my tradition during every future holiday season.
(My mother has often made pumpkin cakes around Thanksgiving or Christmas, which is like pumpkin bread but with chocolate chips and, on top, chopped walnuts and a sugar glaze.)
The End Of A Tradition
November 28, 2024, at home, Thanksgiving
More than several years ago, I decided to write a detailed story about one of our familial Thanksgiving days in the 1970s and how difficult it was to get to Grandma's house for dinner that year. It's a rather long account of our struggle that day, so I am not sure how many people will read it. I just wanted to share it with you, so enjoy."The End of a Thanksgiving Tradition"
5 a.m., Thanksgiving Day, mid-1970s, West Islip, Long Island, New York
The alarm clock cried out that it was the morning of Thanksgiving Day, even though it still seemed like nighttime. I awoke with a start, the adrenaline coursing through my teenaged arteries, much faster than on any other day, because I knew that in about an hour, I would board my dad's 30-foot fishing boat and experience yet another nautical adventure. As was our tradition, we were getting ready to embark on our annual Thanksgiving Day fishing trip. The codfish were out there just waiting to be caught.
Dad and I loaded up the boat with our fishing gear, food, soda and beer, and impatiently waited for our usual group of fishing buddies to arrive. All aboard, Dad cranked up Engine No. 1 (port side), then Engine No. 2 (starboard side), unhooked the lines from the dock a few feet from our house, and we were on our way.
Dad piloted the boat out of the short river where we lived, across the bay, out the inlet and into the ocean. Then he gave it the gun, and we sped, cutting through the waves, the sea spray blasting in our faces and the bounce of the boat agitating the recently eaten, and traditional, tuna fish sandwich on white bread within my stomach. Dad had eaten his traditional Western omelette sandwich.
Back on dry land, grandma -- I called her Nana -- was preparing the Thanksgiving feast in anticipation of our arrival around 1 p.m.
Dad slowed the boat to check the depth finder. When the ocean, at a cool 57 degrees, hit 200 feet deep, we knew that it was only a short matter of time. We would just have to continue until it rose back to around 100 feet deep, and we would be set to drop our lines into that mirrored, undulating, somewhat-sullen water and start pulling out some fish.
There it is: 200 feet deep. Now for the agonizing anticipation: 197, 184, 175, 163, 159, 144, 137 ... hurry up ... 123 ... I can't wait ... 118, 103 ... Dad clicked off the port engine, then stopped the starboard engine, relative silence, and the boat continued to rock back and forth, up and down, on yet another cold, pristine Thanksgiving morning.
We had finally arrived, about two miles from land, just like we had done on this day every year for many years. We had everything we needed: rugged camaraderie, lots of fish just waiting to be caught, and, of course, tradition.
We fished for several hours, pulling rather large codfish out of the brine. OK, they weren't all that large, but it is my fish story, right?
Then came the inevitable. It was time to head back. We had to get to Nana's by 1 p.m., just as we had done, like clockwork, in all those prior years. Oh, well. I never wanted to go back, that is until I remembered that there, waiting for us, was turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and apple pie and...OK, let's go back.
Dad cranked up the port engine. Success. Then Dad cranked up the starboard engine. Click, Click, Click. Dad tried again to crank up the starboard engine. Click, Click, Click. Dad then opened the hatch to that starboard engine and, to our horror, we all saw what we really didn't want to see or even need to see: Both inboard engines were waist-deep in three feet of water. The electric bilge pump had failed, and we were sinking in rather cold water, 100 feet deep, and two miles from land.
Needless to say, a contagious shock of panic pierced us all, well, all except for Dad. Being a Commander in the Navy, who spent many years aboard ship in the North Atlantic, and, at one time, the youngest Eagle Scout in the United States, I suppose Dad was able to keep a level head about such things. He said, "We have to call the Coast Guard. Where's the radio?" He slid open the black-tinted plastic door of the cabinet under the steering wheel where we usually kept the radio. Empty. Where was the radio?
Dad went down below, into the cabin, found the radio (phew) in a wooden cabinet, plugged it in, and spoke in calm tones for the Coast Guard to save us. The life jackets were a little easier to find than the radio.
In short order, and to their amazing credit, two brave souls clad in diver's wet suits aboard a Coast Guard cutter arrived beside our boat. One guard, rather young and with a somewhat-unsure look on his face, flew through the air, jumping several feet from his rocking boat to our rocking boat. Then, the other guard dropped a four-foot-high, rather wide, orange-and-white barrel into the drink, and we pulled it to our boat with a rope.
We all then pulled the barrel aboard and, to our surprise, it contained a gasoline-powered water pump with two four-inch-wide black hoses. With one pull of the starter cord, the pump rumbled like a lawnmower, and soon water was spewing out of our bilge and over the side.
Simultaneously, a Coast Guard helicopter was hovering overhead. My immediate thought was: "Wow, we're going to be airlifted back to land. Cool." But, it was not to be.
We were escorted a long two miles back to land, at a snail's pace, making sure that our one working engine wouldn't overheat. When we reached land, Dad just about had enough excitement for one day, rather for one boating season. He threw up his hands and said, "Just put it in dry dock," and walked away disheartened. I was not to see that boat until the following spring.
Needless to say, we were late for Thanksgiving dinner. Dad and I arrived at Nana's at 5 p.m., yes, four hours late. There were no smiles, just worry, on the faces of our family members, who had already finished dinner. I'm not sure how the other members of our crew fared with their families.
We told everyone our rather implausible story as we ate the Thanksgiving feast that Nana had kept warm for us.
We never again went fishing on Thanksgiving Day, and while a tradition ended rather abruptly, the memory of that fateful day, and of my dad, who passed away in 1997, will forever fondly linger.
Oh, I forgot to tell you why our boat was sinking. We found out the next day that the vibration of the boat had loosened a quarter-inch-wide screw on a metal plate that secured one of the propellers to the back of the boat. Sea water was slowly seeping into the bottom of the boat during our carefree hours of fishing.
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Today Is ...
November 27, 2024, at home
I loved playing the jukebox at The Pioneer dinner in West Islip, Long Island, New York, in the early 1970s, when my parents and I occasionally ate dinner there. Each table had it's individually jukebox terminal. I would always play the 45-rpm vinyl record of the Paul and Linda McCartney song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," starting from its release on 1971, when I was ten years old. Could it be that they were using those large magnetic tape cartridges like the radio stations were using?I also remember playing Side B of the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water," which was an alternate version to the radio version on Side A. That song was released in 1972.
I also remember playing the Eric Clapton song "Lay Down Sally" on many wintry Saturday mornings at a diner in nearby Bay Shore, while waiting for a bus to take my friends John and Tommy and I to go skiing in the "mountains" of New Jersey. That was when the song was released in 1977, when I was sixteen years old. Actually, we probably played it in 1978, because I was hospitalized with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in May 1977, so I likely didn't go skiing that winter.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
No Cake; Cake
November 26, 2024, at home
I don't really like cake. Just give me a tub of frozen chocolate frosting and a teaspoon, and I will be happy. Actually, I do like ice cream cake. Strawberry Shortcake is my least favorite dessert. I dislike yellow pound cake, whipped cream, and strawberries. I do like the band Cake.
Monday, November 25, 2024
Today Is ...
November 25, 2024, at home
Blasé is my natural state of mind.November 25, 2024, at home
I prefer a regular chocolate parfait.
November 25, 2024, at home
This is a vital day.
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Happy Birthday Aunt Laura
November 24, 2024, at home
Happy 103rd Birthday to my Great-Aunt Laura. All the best and all our love, Debbie and Bill !!! (She was married to my maternal grandmother's brother.)November 24, 2024, at home
Happy 103rd Birthday to my (Italian) Great-Aunt Laura. (She was married to my maternal grandmother's brother.)
1973 Stranded Release
November 24, 2024, at home
On November 24, 1973, Roxy Music's third album "Stranded" was released. My favorite song from this album is "Serenade," mainly because of the double, layered guitar solo by my favorite guitarist Phil Manzanera. The other main members of the group are Bryan Ferry (lead vocal, keyboardist, songwriter) and Andy Mackay (saxophone, oboe). My favorite keyboardist Eddie Jobson joined the group on this album, replacing Brian Eno. Jobson also plays electric violin. (I attended two Ferry solo concerts in 1988 in Philadelphia and in New York City.)https://youtu.be/v45eYZjdRcA?si=dP6DLnRAk1eKw4ki
National Sardine Day
November 24, 2022, at home
I think that I tried eating a sardine once decades ago and didn't like it. In fact, the sardines in the photo look like what I used as bait when I went fishing as a teenager in the 1970s. I prefer eating anchovies in moderation, especially on pizza or in a Caesar salad.
Verstappen 4-Time F1 Champ
November 24, 2024, at home
YEAH !!! Congratulations go to Max Verstappen on his 4th consecutive F1 championship !!! I just watched him (on TV) win the championship at the finish of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the 22nd of 24 races this season. He finished in 5th place in this race.
Las Vegas Grand Prix
November 24, 2024, at home
I am watching live coverage of the twenty-second race of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is being broadcast on ESPN from a feed from Sky Sports F1. The race started at 10 p.m. local time on November 23, 2024 (1 a.m., November 24, 2024, Eastern Time in the United States).Below is a diagram of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Almost all of the races are on actual circuits (tracks), so this street circuit is relatively rare. Each circuit around the world has a different configuration, therefore a different dynamic, regarding turns and elevation fluctuations.
This season's 24-race schedule is as follows: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, China, Miami, Italy, Monaco, Canada, Spain, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy (different circuit), Azerbaijan, Singapore, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
The first two races this season (in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia) were held on Saturdays due to the Islamic observance of Ramadan. All other races will be held on Sundays, as usual, except for the Las Vegas Grand Prix which is being held on Saturday.
Before each race, there are two days of practice/qualifying. The races run every week or every other week from March into December, with a month-long summer break.
In Formula 1 racing, there are 20 (male) drivers, with zero drivers from the United States. A driver from the United States made it more than halfway through this season, but he was replaced.
There are 10 teams (with two drivers on each team), so not only do drivers compete against their rivals, but they also compete against their teammates. There are two championships: one for the drivers and one for the constructor teams.
This season, as with last season, there are three races in the United States. In fairly recent years, there were no drivers from the United States and no races in the United States.
Formula 1 racing is the only sport that I actively follow. I have been a fan for decades. I watched my first F1 race decades ago on television at the home of one of my many Austrian cousins while on vacation in Austria.
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Today Is ...
November 23, 2024, at home
Every November 23rd, Fibonacci Day honors Leonardo Bonacci, one of the most influential mathematicians of the Middle Ages. The date corresponds to the first numbers of the Fibonacci sequence: 1 1 2 3.I remember attempting to understand the Fibonacci sequence when I was a reporter/writer/analyst of commodities trading for an international wire service in 1990 into 1991. My bureau was based in New York City. I covered futures and options trading of the coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, and orange juice markets in real time, plus the weekly money-supply meetings at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York every three weeks.
November 23, 2024, at home
I love an espresso, but my coffee of choice is a ristretto, which is a "short shot" of a more highly concentrated espresso. It is often enjoyed in Italy as a quick pick-me-up in the middle of a busy day.
November 23, 2024, at home
Cashew is one of my favorite nuts, along with filbert (hazelnut) and Maroni (roasted chestnut).
November 23, 2024, at home
I do like sweetened, dried cranberries.
Friday, November 22, 2024
Dating These Days
November 22, 2024, at home
This EXACTLY explains what has happened. The sign on the desk refers to the MGTOW Movement (Men Going Their Own Way) where men swear off women in an effort to live happier lives.
News Again
November 22, 2024, at home
Now that Trump is president-elect, I am watching the news on TV again so that I can get some good news. I watch Fox News for information, and sometimes MSNBC and CNN for implosions and hatred.
I have also downloaded news apps on my phone: Fox News, The Epoch Times, The Washington Times, Newsmax, and New York Post.
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Today Is ...
November 21, 2024, at home
Happy 82nd Birthday to Tweety !!!November 21, 2024, at home
I ate stuffing for lunch. I particularly like chestnut stuffing.
November 21, 2024, at home
Gingerbread cookies are OK, but they are mostly too plain for me.
November 21, 2024, at home
Wear red mittens today in support of Canadian athletes.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Fudge & Absurdity
November 20, 2024, at home
I prefer plain chocolate fudge.November 20, 2024, at home
I love absurdity, which is why I enjoy discussing politics with liberals and men's rights with feminists.
God Says No
November 20, 2024, at home
God has answered every one of my prayers. He said "no" to 99 percent of them.
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Dinner
November 19, 2024, at home
Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for making turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy, with white shoepeg corn.
My Men's Day Video
November 19, 2024, at home
This afternoon, I created and uploaded a video onto my YouTube channel to celebrate International Men's Day today.International Men's Day (Nov. 19, 2024)
https://youtu.be/HxcjP5jsbPU?si=0wQVrBmDCWTTvPif
Odd Story On Men's Day
November 19, 2024, at home: "An Odd Story on International Men’s Day"
Today (November 19, 2024) is one of my most favorite days of the entire year: International Men's Day !!! I have celebrated this special, celebratory day every year since the early 1990s, when I officially became a Men's Rights Activist, when I was in my early 30s. I still fight the good fight for men's rights and father's rights, although these days, in a mostly mellow manner.One particular Men's Day found me in a rather awkward, unnerving situation. Thirteen years ago today on a Saturday (November 19, 2011), I attended a strange Eggplant Parmesan-making "party" in southeastern Florida. I thought that it may have been an actual sleep-induced nightmare, but it was real because here is a photo I took outside of the house where this rather bizarre, annual event took place.
Basically, I was the ONLY man in a house filled with seventeen (17) women, and my wife was the ONLY woman there who was NOT a lesbian. (no joke) ... So, there I am, a Men's Rights Activist on International Men's Day surrounded by a whole bunch of lesbians wielding sharp knives. Uh, yeah.
Seriously, I had fun, and everyone was nice, but I will admit that my stress level was through the roof, especially during a rather uncomfortable, seemingly condescending interrogation by one particular lesbian with an icy stare who asked me in a slow, calculating voice: "So, you play the piano," as she cuddled with her girlfriend. I simply replied, "Yes," which was followed by endless silence and continued staring.
Is there a lesson here? Maybe: Step out of your comfort zone. It may be, well, uncomfortable, but ... uh ... I don't know ... something about creating empathy or not ever doing that again, which I never did. LOL
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May 2, 2024, short video: my intravenous antibiotic at home for osteomyelitis in my right ankle https://youtube.com/shorts/u4IjH_ujOKw?si=10...
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August 25, 2024, at home I am watching live coverage of the fifteenth race of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season. The Dutch Grand Prix is bein...