I stepped from Plank to Plank
A slow and cautious way
The Stars about my Head I felt
About my feet the Sea.

I knew not but the next
Would be my final inch -
This gave me that precarious Gait
Some call Experience.

Emily Dickinson, c. 1864

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Hodgepodge post

Buds are out

Yesterday I went out on a very nice five-mile walk with my friend Melanie, with lots of sunshine and a few wispy clouds, but oh how the signs of spring are everywhere! Even these fruit trees are beginning to be laden with blossoms, after a few days of sun and spring just around the corner. Today is Pi Day, March 14, with the first day of spring coming in five days: March 20 at 2:37am (here in the Pacific time zone). Oh, and then there's St. Patrick's Day next Wednesday!

What is Pi Day, you ask? Here's a fun fact about the date:

Pi denotes the relationship between a circle’s circumference and its diameter and is denoted by the fraction 22/7 which calculates approximately to 3.14. One of the most widely recognized mathematical constant, π, is an irrational number, the digits of which repeat in a random fashion and are never ending.

 Some people, those who write their dates with the day first, such as 22 July, celebrate Pi Day in the middle of summer (22/7). I guess for some people this is even more common, but I didn't know any of that when I began to look it up for this post. I've always heard that Pi Day falls in March, and it's an excuse to celebrate by eating some pie.

And I just learned that this morning, those who live in Chicago woke up to the traditional dyeing green of the Chicago River, as a surprise move for the city. Because of the pandemic, it was thought the tradition would be skipped this year, but the mayor sent out a tweet: "Although we didn’t gather, we were able to honor long-standing tradition by dyeing the Chicago River green, thanks to the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers." How we love to celebrate annual traditions! It was canceled last year because of the pandemic, so it's lovely to see another semblance of normalcy returning. If having a green river is normal, that is. Why green? Wikipedia tells me this:

The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilís, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.

 So, we have plenty of reasons to celebrate right now, it seems. That, and the passage of a huge stimulus bill in Congress, which will soon cause some extra money to show up in my bank account. I just checked: it's not there yet, but I did see on the news that some people have already received it, although the bill was just passed and signed into law on Thursday. More green that we can all appreciate.

Since there is no real focus for this post, I figure I can write about anything I want, and hope that in the end it will make for some interesting reading. Usually when Sunday morning comes around, I've got an idea of what I will say, but that's just not true today, so I decided to go with the flow. Hodgepodge (a confused mixture) gives me a bit of leeway to let the words take me where they will.

I'm in the process of trying to watch all the movies that are likely to be nominated for an Oscar, even though it's not in a movie theater with my friend Judy like usual. Yesterday I watched Da 5 Bloods, a Spike Lee creation that has gained plenty of Oscar buzz. The main reason why, I think, is the incredible performance of Delroy Lindo, who plays Paul, one of the four Vietnam vets who return to Vietnam to find the remains of their fallen leader, and to find the gold bars they discovered and buried. I couldn't quite place where I'd seen Lindo before, but then I realized he plays a character in The Good Fight, which I very much enjoyed. But he's nothing like that guy in this movie. If you can deal with the violence of war (and greed), I recommend this movie wholeheartedly. It is, so far, the most impactful one I've seen, and Spike Lee has outdone himself.

Spike Lee’s new joint is an anguished, funny, violent argument with and about American history, with an unforgettable performance from Delroy Lindo at its heart. (A.O. Scott, NYT)

There are two more I'm looking forward to seeing, but both of them require me to pay an extra $20 rental fee to watch them: Minari and The Father. I will probably be required to pony up that extra cash in order to see them, and I might decide to wait until the Oscars are announced, which should be tomorrow, March 15.

So there's plenty to feel good about right now, as we move towards a new season in our world, and in our hearts. I think finally the pandemic is beginning to recede, but it's still very much present in the world, and we have every reason to keep wearing our masks, keeping our distance, and washing our hands. I will receive my second Covid vaccine shot on the 23rd, if all goes as planned, and two weeks after that I should be as safe as anyone else can be. It seems it will be awhile before we reach herd immunity here in the US, but it's on the horizon, at least, thanks to three wonderful and effective vaccines. I'm a Pfizer recipient, but I would have taken any one of the three in order to gain immunity from this awful virus.

And with that, this hodgepodge post has finally found its inevitable end. My tea is gone, dear partner still sleeping next to me, and a new day ahead, even if I did miss an hour of sleep last night. I'll make up for it tonight, though. I do hope you will find lots of reasons to celebrate this week, and until we meet again next week, I wish you all good things. Be well until then, dear friends.

16 comments:

gigi-hawaii said...

I like this post with its focus on the color green. Yup, we are waiting for green in our bank account, too. Cheers!

Far Side of Fifty said...

AND St Urho's Day is this week!! Cause for Finlanders to celebrate! Enjoy your spring like weather...we are still pre spring! I get my second vaccination this week...so in two weeks I will get a haircut and maybe visit with Jen and Andy! :)

Betsy said...

We definitely have a lot to celebrate this year. I, too, will get my second Pfizer vaccine on the 29th. I was told Pfizer is 1 week to full efficacy, while Moderna is 2 weeks. I hope "they" are right as I'm driving cross country after 7 days!
Blessings,
Betsy

ApacheDug said...

I'd completely forgotten this weekend was 'Spring ahead' and my whole morning has just felt out of whack. So I am especially grateful for this one Sunday constant, On the Edge over a second cup of coffee. Thanks DJan! As far as this being hodgepodge, I sure did learn some interesting things here today, and I'm not just saying that. (I was only vaguely aware of Pi Day, and have never bothered to learn more about it.) I'd also love to see the Oscar contenders, particularly Spike Lee's title. I never even heard of this movie until now! That's funny you mention 'The Good Fight', as I've been seriously enjoying that show the past week on Paramount+. I liken it to 'The Empire Strikes Back', where somehow a show or movie's sequel has turned out better than the original ('The Good Wife' which I loved back in the day). Here I go again, talking too much. DJan, thanks again for the enjoyable read, and I'm glad you'll be getting your second vaccine dose soon. PS. Love the photo at the top :^)

Elephant's Child said...

Yet another delightful post (hodgepodge or not). We do write out dates with the day before the month - but don't celebrate Pi day. Or not that I have noticed anyway.
Isn't seeing the trees bursting into flower and leaf WONDERFUL. Happy almost Spring.

Linda Reeder said...

I thought about baking a small pie, but we have been eating too well lately and we need to cut back. So, no pie for Pi day.
We do have our Covid relief/economic stimulus check in the bank, but it is not accessible unit March 17. We'll give some of it away to charities, and some will go to help pay our big property tax bill. Our income tax refund will be late in coming this year due to so many tax rule changes and getting the stimulus money out.
We will spend St Patrick's Day at the cabin on Whidbey Island. We're just going for the day, to do some yard clean up. Well, mostly Tom will be doing the work.
I did see us spring ahead last night. I woke up at 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched the digital clock spring from 1:59 to 3:00.

William Kendall said...

Ides of March tomorrow, too.

I am familiar with Delroy Lindo, starting back in the 90s.

Marie Smith said...

No word here of the vaccine for our age group. Eventually.

It is good to hear the news coming out of the U.S. these days. It was a difficult four years watching from afar. I can only imagine what it was like there.

John's Island said...

Excellent choice of photo to start. I learned a lot more about pie day. :-) I discovered a couple more movies to add to my watch list. Happy to hear you've had the first Pfizer shot and scheduled for the second. The hodgepodge was good! :-) Wishing you and SG a fine week ahead.

Linda Myers said...

We had to set some of our calendar appointments BACK last night! Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time, so any Zoom calls originating in Washington are now an hour earlier for us.

Anvilcloud said...

I personally gravitate to year-month-day 2021 03 14. I started many years ago when Canada first went metric, and we were told that this was the way to do it. So, the government and I use this method although most don't seem to. If I can't use this method, I write it out as in March 14 2021. Otherwise I never know if people want the month first or the day.

Red said...

Hodge podge posts come when we have lots to say. Weather is a common but important topic as you had a nice walk in the sunshine. A common ratio like pi is interesting and important to know. Nice spring post.

Arkansas Patti said...

I knew a little about Pi day but now I know more. Thanks. I know you have usually seen all the Oscar nominations and it must have been hard for you this year. I always enjoyed you reviews. This year will be a bit of a surprise for us all.

Galen Pearl said...

Enjoyed meandering through your hodgepodge post. Like you, I'm enjoying the signs of spring all around. And along with increased vaccinations, feels like a fresh new world emerging.

Rita said...

I get my second Moderna shot on Friday and feel blessed! Dagan has gotten his first Pfizer shot--soon things will begin to get back to more normal...we hope.

I am looking forward to when The Father comes out on Netflix. I love Anthony Hopkins.

Have a great week! :)

Margaret said...

I get my second Pfizer on the 25th, will wait 2 weeks and then go get my hair trimmed. It needs styling VERY badly. I'm glad that things are becoming a bit more normal, although not 100% for a long time. I'm discouraged by the number of anti-vaxxers though and hope they won't spread around the variants. (I'm still nervous about them)