QUARANTINE BLOG # 473

July 16, 2021

“How do you come up with these ideas?” a blog reader asked.  Good question.  Most of them, of course, come from my interests.  Many of QB’s mini-series are suggested by readers of the blog.  Some of them, like this first piece popped up while I was meditating and playing Sudoku.  My mind began to wander through a verdant forest, meandered onto a pristine sunny beach lapped by crystal blue water, drifted onto a cobblestone path, traipsed past an energetic flower garden, strayed into a dusty store selling even dustier old books, strolled, rambled, roamed – I still have synonyms, but I am out of places.  Actually, I do not know (but I was meditating while playing Sudoku).

I knew from reading about John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan (personal presidential favorites) that the Secret Service gives the President and First Lady  nicknames, which they use when communicating with each other about POTUS and FLOTUS.  The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition.  

The Secret Service does not choose these names, however.  The White House Communications Agency maintains a list that candidates choose from, often choosing ones that resonate with them personally (all family members nicknames begin with the same initial).  Often names are chosen for other prominent persons (Israel’s prime minister Menachem Begin was “Cedar,” Queen Elizabeth II is “Kittyhawk,” and Prince Charles is “Unicorn” – a better name might be “Hopeful”) and for significant locations, objects, and places (the Presidential motorcade is “Bamboo,” Camp David is “Cactus,” and the J. Edgar Hoover Building – FBI headquarters is – perhaps significantly, “Cork”).

Anyway, curious about what the others were called, and remembering when Jack Ryan, Tom Clancey’s hero became president he was called “Swordsman,” I looked up other nicknames.  Kennedy, Reagan, and Ryan were all I knew.  Reading the list, I figured some of them out.  See how well you do (to mix them up I’ve listed everything in alphabetical order – if you need to enlarge the list, just click on it).  I will publish the answers tomorrow.

👉  The 73rd Emmy Award nominations were announced on Tuesday with HBO, fueled by its new streaming service, HBO Max, leading the nominations, followed by Netflix.  Three streaming series led the way, with Netflix’s The Crown and the Disney+ Star Wars action drama The Mandalorian each notching 24 nominations. The Disney+ Marvel series WandaVision had 23 nominations.  It was the first time that the top three nominated shows were all from streaming platforms.  HBO led all networks with 130 nominations.  Winners will be announced in September.  I will be rooting for The Mandalorian.  This is the way.

👉  An 18-year-old physics student whose father heads an investment management firm is set to take the place of a person who put up $28 million in an auction to take part in the inaugural space tourism flight for billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company.  Blue Origin said yesterday Oliver Daemen will join the four-member all-civilian crew for Tuesday’s scheduled flight after the auction winner, whose name had not been made public, dropped out due to unspecified “scheduling conflicts.”  His addition means that the flight is set to include the oldest person ever to go to space – 82-year-old trail blazing female aviator Wally Funk – and the youngest, Daemen.  The company’s name, Blue Origin, refers to the blue planet, Earth, as the point of origin.

👉  Here is the next-to-last set of puns in my collection:

• He had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed. 

• When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she’d dye. 

• Acupuncture is a jab well done.  That’s the point of it. 

• I didn’t like my beard at first.  Then it grew on me. 

• Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn’t control her pupils? 

👉  We haven’t been to the jukebox in a while, so let’s drop in a quarter and play some Beatles tunes.

First up, “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”  The was the first exposure most American had to the song writing magic of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  It set off Beatlemania. 

Next on the turn table is “Come Together” which John Lennon started as a request from Timothy Leary to write a song for his campaign for governor of California against Ronald Reagan.  Leary’s campaign promptly ended when he was sent to prison for possession of marijuana.  The song, as evidenced by the video, is from the Beatles psychedelic period.

The last song for our quarter is “Yesterday.”  Paul McCartney’s vocal and acoustic guitar essentially made for the first solo performance of the band.  It remains popular today and, with more than 2,200 cover versions, is one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music.  “Yesterday” was voted the best song of the 20th century and the No. 1 pop song of all time.

👉  A couple of editorial cartoons before we close:

👉  Our close today continues our look at Psalm 119 from Praying with the Psalms, by Eugene H. Peterson.

“Your statutes have been my songs wherever I make my home” (Psalm 119:54).

The psalmist made a song book out of the commandments.  And what happy times he must have set them to!  And how many must have been glad to join him in his singing!  Have God’s commands ever been enjoyed as much as these?

Prayer: Praise your great name, O God!  You have given me such joy in obedience, such happiness in righteousness.  Your words delight my heart, while songs spring up unbidden as I walk your paths.  Amen.

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