QUARANTINE BLOG # 186

October 2, 2020

Yesterday I reported that Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Tennessee Titans game would be postponed until Monday or Tuesday, because 4 Titans players and 5 team personnel members tested positive for COVID-19.  Two more players and one more personnel member have tested positive on the Titans, and the game will not be played during Week 4.  The postponed game could be played during Week 7, moving the Steelers-Baltimore Ravens game from Week 7 to Week 8.  Both the Steelers and Ravens have a Week 8 bye, and if that swap is made the Steelers would play 13 consecutive weeks.  Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin said, “We understand the nature of this environment we’re in in 2020 and so we’re just adjusting accordingly.”

👉  As a public service to my readers, I offer the following two pictures for dissemination among people whose political leanings are different from your own.  In order to be fair, I give you the opportunity to insult everyone.

👉   Back in August I did a 6-part look at Ian Fleming’s super spy, James Bond.  I’m going to go back to that world, and look at some secret agents which Bond inspired, and some of the other characters in James Bond’s world.  We start today with a spin-off that was more of a parody: Matt Helm.

Matt Helm is a fictional character created by Donald Hamilton.  He is a U.S. government counter-agent – a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents – not a spy or secret agent.  On the screen he came to life as played by Dean Martin, and Helm took on more of Martin’s personality than the hard realism of  Hamilton’s creation.

When Columbia pictures decided to do a 5-part spy spoof series – they bought the rights to 8 of Hamilton’s books, and did 4 movies.  The decision to do Bond parodies was influenced by the

producers belief that they could not compete head-on with the Bond franchise.  Matt Helm became a fun-loving, easygoing, wisecracking playboy with plenty of references to singing and alcohol consumption.  Although unnamed in the novels, Helm’s department was called ICE –  Intelligence and Counter-Espionage.  And there were plenty of “Helm Girls” as Martin co-starred with popular ‘60s actresses such as Ann-Margaret, Elke Sommer, Janice Rule, and Tina Louise.

In the opening film, The Silencers, Matt Helm is now a photographer and a happily retired secret agent, shooting photos of glamorous models instead of guns and enjoying a close relationship with his assistant, the lovely Lovey Kravezit.  But then his old boss, Macdonald, coaxes him back to the agency ICE to thwart a new threat from the villainous organization Big O.  The sinister Tung-Tze is masterminding a diabolical scheme to drop a missile on an underground atomic bomb test in New Mexico and possibly instigate a nuclear war in the process.  In the end, Helm prevails, as he all but singlehandedly destroys Tung-Tze’s evil enterprise and plot to rule the world.

To get a great look at the tone of the series, check out the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqLVtMsTo8A.  “Take one shot of danger, two splashes of action and a twist of comedy and add a generous portion of screen legend Dean Martin.”  It really was a fun series, and my favorite Bond spoof.

Next up “Our Man Flint.”

👉  It’s Friday!  Here are some reasons you may want to say, “TGIF.”  Or not.

In Danish and Norwegian “fri” means to propose marriage.  In Dutch, it’s “vrijen,” which means “to make love.”  The word “Friday” originates from the Norse goddess of fertility Freya.  Is this why Fridays are the biggest date nights?

Months that begin with a Sunday will always have a Friday the 13th.

According to insurance corporations, more accidents happen on Friday than any other day of the week.  Happy hours, a more relaxed attitude, and rush to begin the weekend all contribute.

For all of you cybersecurity experts out there, companies are most likely to suffer phishing and hacks on a Friday.  This could be because cybervillians know it’s more difficult to track them down and they will have more time to cover their tracks over the weekend as most IT and security are off for the weekend.

On a happy note, Friday is the best day to apply for a job.  Probably because all the other candidates are in the hospital from fender benders.

👉  And now with the cart firmly before the horse, it’s October (and in case you missed it, it was yesterday, too), which was originally the eighth month of the Roman calendar.  The name comes from the Latin word “octo” meaning eight (does anyone remember “Octo Mom”).  It became the 10th month when January and February were added to the Calendar around 700 B.C.

October 2020 has two full moons.  The first full Moon of fall – in this case, the Harvest Moon – appeared yesterday, and on Saturday, October 31 Halloween, the second full Moon appears – the Harvest Moon.

Folklore for the season:  When deer are in a gray coat in October, expect a hard winter.  Much rain in October, much wind in December.  A warm October means a cold February.  In October dung your field, and your land its wealth shall yield (if you don’t have a field, you may dung your garden or your flower pots).

👉  Today’s closing is from Paul David Tripp.

We are all searching for hope that won’t disappoint us, that won’t leave us hopeless in the end.  And we all want to convince ourselves that what we have placed our hope in will deliver.  When we place our hope in something, we are asking it to give us peace of heart.  We’re asking it to give our lives meaning, purpose, direction, and a reason to continue.  We’re asking it to help us get through difficulty and disappointment.  We’re asking it to free us from envy or anxiety.  We’re asking it to give us joy in the morning and rest at night.  Now, that’s a lot to ask of anything, and if that hope disappoints us, it’s because it’s the wrong hope.

Paul told the Romans, “We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience.  And patience produces character, and character produces hope.  And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts.  He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us (Romans 5:-5 NCV).

A hope that won’t disappoint even in times of suffering!  Sturdy hope that does not vanish with the constant changes in situations, locations, and relationships that make up all of our lives – hope that simply will never, ever disappoint us – can be found in only one place.  It is not to be found in a certain thing.  It is, in fact, a person, Jesus.  True lasting hope is never found horizontally.  It’s only ever found vertically, at the feet of the Messiah, the One who is hope.  Place your hopeful heart in his hands today.

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