Thursday was the one month anniversary of one of Donald Trump’s more memorable miscalculations.

Ignoring the warnings of scientists, health care professionals and his own national security team, Trump assured America that coronavirus would magically disappear.

In the rambling, incoherent demeanor of one performing fellatio on himself, Trump said, When you have 15 people, and a 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that is a pretty good job we’ve done.

A reasonably intelligent, honest president might have said, We have 15 cases of coronavirus here in America, so we know the virus has crossed our shores. We need to act now to limit its spread.

That’s what a reasonably intelligent, honest president might have said.  That’s what a president who puts the nation’s interests before his own might have said.

Our self-obsessed, shameless president said no such thing.  His only thoughts were of himself and his reelection prospects.

On March 6, Trump said that he liked his numbers where they were and didn’t want to inflate them by bringing ashore two Americans from the cruise ship Grand Princess for treatment.

Donald Trump did not want to bring two Americans off of a cruise ship to be treated by American doctors because he was worried about his numbers.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

Right now it would be great if we only had TWO HUNDRED coronavirus patients.  Hell, it’d be great if we only had two hundred coronavirus deaths.

As I write this, we have over 120,000 cases of the virus, more than 2,000 deaths.  Would those numbers be lower if Donald Trump had acted sooner, instead of trying to manage them?

We can only speculate, but it’s reasonable to conclude that we would be better off if Donald Trump was not in charge.

You can read more about Trump’s lies, exaggerations and downplaying a pandemic HERE.

Trump is withholding much needed medical supplies from states like Michigan and New York because he’s not feeling the love from those states’ governors (Gretchen Whitmer and Andrew Cuomo, respectively).

If it seems right to you that the President of the United States (ALL of the United States) requires governors to kiss his ring in exchange for life saving ventilators, please stop reading here and cancel your subscription to this blog.

Much of the damage Donald Trump has inflicted upon America will be calculated and chronicled for generations.  The price America is paying in human suffering and death right now will be available in the months to come.

Whether history is rewritten to blame it all on Democrats, Barack Obama and “fake news” may depend on the outcomes of the next couple of elections.

One question that may never be answered is how Trumpsters always find a way to swallow the spin.  When he tells them to wipe from their memories what they heard him say last month, they do it, just like the Neuralyzer in Men in Black.

This new, new normal may have a lasting effect beyond gutted 401k’s.  For many, life will be a heavy burden with nightmares of loss, deprivation and vulnerability.

For some, it will remain a hoax, and they will move forward in the fog of oblivion that has always defined their lives.

For the rest of us, life will go on.  Our instincts will redefine our routines and we will reestablish what relationships we can.

But we won’t forget.  Any of it.

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Reykjavík, Iceland

Iceland is one country that is doing the kind of widespread testing that is necessary to more accurately determine how many people risk dying from the coronavirus infection. And the news is hopeful.

Because of its small population of 364,000, Iceland engaged in large-scale testing, testing that would capture important facts that other nations, their scientists and policy makers can’t do: Find out what percentage of the population gets infected, how many of the infected become seriously ill and, most important, how many die. So far, most testing carried out by other nations such as the United States, haven’t captured reliable data about the effects of the virus on the widespread population.

Thorolfur Guðnason, Iceland’s chief epidemiologist reported the encouraging results:

Early results from deCode Genetics indicate that a low proportion of the general population has contracted the virus and that about half of those who tested positive are non-symptomatic. The other half displays very moderate cold-like symptoms.

To perhaps oversimplify:

Iceland’s testing provides better information about the actual prevalence of the virus in the nation. Early results estimated the disease prevalence of just over 1 percent, which is on the lower end of the estimated rates for most nations.

With two recorded deaths as of this writing, the death rate of those diagnosed with the virus, the death rate is 0.19, according to Iceland’s statistical website.  That’s way below the death rates predicted for the United States and the rest of the world.

Even more important is the death rate of all those who were sampled: 0.013. That bears 0.013.

Iceland is unique in its culture, climate and other factors, so such comparisons can be questioned. But its comprehensive testing program presents new and encouraging facts that clearly require major attention.

Which it has not received.

Correction: An earlier version had incorrect percentages.

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www.dennisbyrne.net 

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

We need more Butch Walker these days, and fortunately, we get word that he will have a new album out on May 8th, called American Love Story. His new single is “Pretty Crazy,” and it’s a lot of fun. He’s saying it’s a departure from his normal style of pop, calling this release a rock opera.

“Man overboard, let him drown!” That’s the battle cry from Sage Francis and B. Dolan who make up a supergroup, of sorts, called Epic Beard Men. Of Course, Sage steals the show, but Dolan proceeds to keep a nice balance and their voices actually work well together. I’m looking forward to tearing this one apart. There is no better lyricist in the game of rap than the SAGE!

Day Wave gives us “Potions,” which is reminiscent of The Drums at times. Continuing in the same vein as “Starting Again,” both singles show great promise for a strong new album.

The everchanging Car Seat Headrest returns this week with “Martin.” Chill vibe, good song.

I got to see Surf Rock Is Dead perform at Lincoln Hall a few years back and they impressed me. A two-piece that can sound like five, this noise-rock outfit returns with the spacey “Immaculate” and I’m really digging it.

Man Man brings big, funky horns on “Future Peg,” and Albert Hammond brings us more Strokes-like rock to sink our teeth into with “Automatic Line.”

Englewood supplies us with our little slice of freeform this week, in the soulful, jazzy number, “Immaculate Taste.” Weirdly, that’s two songs in my radar this week with immaculate in the song title.

This week’s Release Radar wasn’t the strongest group of songs. I found myself hitting the “I don’t like this song” button more often than not. Hopefully, cabin fever isn’t making me too critical. Stay strong, friends.

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It’s a difficult time

March two thousand and twenty

A world wide crime

With suffering of plenty

The hurt and the shame

Brings a man to his knees

Spread out the blame

With no apologies

Turn back the clock

At least for a one peaceful day

Defeated and deflated

When Brady signed with Tampa Bay

Author Notes: Satire, focusing on football fanatics and how their passion can bypass real life and death problems. The next time you see a grown man crying over a dropped pass or their fantasy football team- remember what really matters.

What a different a month makes. It was only about month ago that we all celebrated Fat Tuesday, enjoyed the rare 29th of February, and college students began anxiously preparing for spring break. In our home, I remember preparing our newly acquired 1991 Alfa Romeo 164S for drop-off at a friend’s repair shop, so he could repair 10 years of neglect from the previous owner. Ah, the simpler times!

Here we are now with travel bans, shelter-in-place orders, and toilet paper rolls trading for more than a tank of premium gasoline. As more people are working and learning from home, internet service providers are slowing down connections to cope with the increased data throughput. Even the major streaming video platforms are requesting that people slow down their data consumption by streaming in standard definition. SD? SD… in 2020?!?! Blasphemy!

As I worked remotely for the past week plus, I personally noticed this “virtual traffic jamming” throughout the day. Since streaming media is my primary business, we have been atop of this since our supply chain from China became impacted in early February. I know to a lot of people the internet is their open road, but to my analog human-ass- I prefer the real deal.

Being a Wisconsin resident does have its perks. Considering that we have about an acre between each neighbor of ours, social distancing has always been a way of life. In all honesty, not much has really changed aside from wearing gloves while shopping, enjoying insanely cheap fuel prices, and noticing that the roads were much more empty than usual… and that had me thinking.

Although my 164S is in the shop, my Stelvio Ti Lusso is certainly no slouch and was ready for some serious “social distancing.” Driving just a few miles from our home led me to some roads that varied from hilly curves to open, straight, stretches that spanned across open farmland. This not only proved to satisfy my need for visual stimulation, but it also gave me the opportunity to meter the performance of my vehicle.

A quick search in the Google Play Store led me to a very useful app called “Drag Racer.” This useful app utilizes your phone’s GPS to monitor vehicle movement, speed, and distance. It is great for measuring 0-60mph time, 1/4 mile and top speed of a given run- all automatically.

I am not condoning the violation of posted speed limits or racing on public roads, however I am one who abides to social distancing. I was merely measuring how quickly I can distance myself from others. Yes, let’s go with that.

Finding the ideal road for conducting my testing proved fairly easy. One such open stretch ran along a large farm field where the risk of entering traffic would be next to non-existent. After several slow runs to check the road surface and assess the safety of my surroundings, it was time to get scientific.

Stopped at a point where I can clearly see my surroundings, I placed the Stelvio into Dynamic mode and patiently awaited the app to lock a GPS signal and give me the “go” command. Within a few short seconds the app turned green and beeped to confirm it was ready for automatic measuring.

Brake down, gas down, release at 3,500 RPM and hold on! 60mph whizzed by with a quick beep from the app and metering continued until I lifted off the gas. I looked at app in amazement. Not because of my surprisingly swift acceleration, but rather that the app actually worked!

Feeling like a real engineer, I needed to see how I could improve my results. You know… in the name of science. I must admit- this was getting fun. When else could you launch a 4,000lb SUV in relative safety then right now? Seriously. Although these are country roads, I have never seen them this empty, not even on a holiday.

After I got the engineering bug out of my system, I decided to enjoy the road and carve up some curves. As I dove deep into the corners and felt every element that makes an Alfa an Alfa- even if it is an SUV. The main appeal of an Alfa Romeo is the prioritization of the driver experience and style above all else. The Stelvio has never been a disappointment in this regard.

Feeling the pull of the turbocharged 2.0-litre as I exited the curves kept me smiling the whole way until the next turn. Now this is social distancing at is finest! I know there are better handling, more powerful, and more feature-packed vehicles on the market, but Alfa Romeos are all about “the feels.”

Plowing onward I began to let my mind wonder about the current state of affairs in this country and globally due to the current pandemic. I know that life may never fully return to normal, but what is next? Could we possibly face a world where joy driving is severely limited or banned completely?

I am not a conspiracy theorist nor am I preaching of an oncoming restriction of our personal freedoms. However, you most certainly can’t argue that we have taken a simple joy like open-road driving for granted? Based on everything happening around us, one must wonder if that is a freedom that we might have to relinquish?

It is a sad state of affairs globally and regardless of what we might think of COVID-19 or the response of the leaders around us, one must appreciate what freedoms we still have. So while gas is cheap, traffic is light, and roads are not yet closed, take advantage! Enjoy your vehicle, whatever it might be and most importantly- enjoy the drive.

We are in a time when people are looking for a miracle treatment or something out of the ordinary to stay healthy. Please be careful and check the source before you try something new.

There are some proven things you can do to help keep yourself healthy. One thing is to take efforts to keep your immune system working properly. Your immune system helps your body fight against infections and illnesses. There are some steps you can take to give your immune system a boost.

Eat healthy foods consisting of fruits and vegetables. You want to eat foods high in antioxidants. These foods include: artichokes, beans, beets, blueberries, dark chocolate, pecans, spinach, sunflower seeds, walnuts, sweet potato, broccoli, and garlic. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and try to stay away from or reduce the consumption of drinks high in sugar.

Stay active with exercise. You do not need to run a marathon. A 30 minute walk will work wonders. The belief is that exercise increases the circulation of cells and helps our bodies fight off viruses. Your goal should be to get 150 minutes of moderate activity in a week.

Don’t skip on sleep. It is recommended that adults get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily. Sleep gives our bodies a chance to restore and rejuvenate.

Try to reduce stress. I understand that the time we are currently in it may be difficult to reduce stress. I don’t watch hours of the news because I know it will give me anxiety. I just watch enough to stay informed. I take time to relax. I pray and meditate.

We can do our best to live a healthy lifestyle. However, if are experiencing unusual health symptoms, please see a medical professional.

“The Bad and the Beautiful” movie poster

With so many of us now under shelter-in-place orders due to the coronavirus pandemic, I have a recommendation for a stay-at-home movie you can easily rent through YouTube for a mere $2 or so: “The Bad and the Beautiful,” a 1952 Vincente Minnelli drama starring Kirk Douglas as a scheming, charming movie producer hated and loved by his screenwriter, his director, and his star.

Kirk Douglas

Douglas, a veteran actor of the old Hollywood model, dominates this picture as Jonathan Sheilds, the type of handsome young go-getter we have all run into in our lives. He’s charming, good-looking, and smart, and he sees a goal in the distance in his chosen field, not caring too much about who he needs to step on in pursuit of his dream.

When Douglas died in February in Los Angeles at the age of 103, I realized it had been a long time since I had seen one of his films. “The Bad and the Beautiful” is a great showcase for Douglas. His Jonathan is quiet and playful when that’s called for, loud and bold when that’s appropriate, and generally a compelling presence in the story.

Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner

In the film, the movie producer Shields at one point gives a screen test to an aspiring actress named Georgia, played by Lana Turner. When the screen test is done, all of the top executives at the studio, including Shields, agree that Georgia’s acting misses the mark.

He signs her anyway. “When you’re on screen,” he says to her, “the audience can’t take their eyes off you. That’s what I want in a star.”

The same could could be said about Kirk Douglas. When he’s on screen, whether playing it low, medium, or over-the-top, your eyes gravitate towards him.

Vincente Minnelli

“The Bad and the Beautiful” was directed by ace Hollywood director Vincente Minnelli. There’s not a slow sequence in the film. It moves like a champion race horse trotting around its course. The film’s excellent black-and-white cinematography was by Robert Surtees, another Hollywood veteran, whose films include 1967’s “The Graduate.”

Based on a story by George Bradshaw, the screenplay for the film was written by Charles Schnee. Schnee won an Academy Award for his screenplay.

Have you seen “The Bad and the Beautiful”? Have thoughts about Kirk Douglas, Vincente Minnelli, or anything else movie-related? If so, I invite you to leave any thoughts or reactions in the Comments section.

Happy movie-watching, during these unusual times.

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