Hayao Miyazaki’s first directorial work, the outstanding Future Boy Conan from 1978, is finally available in the U.S. Conan is no barbarian, but he’s one tough kid. We’re not quite all the way through the series, but I can’t imagine the conclusion being a disappointment.
An Affair to Remember
Kennedy lost California to Nixon in 1960. He was in the lead until the absentee ballots were counted. (Republicans presumably like mail-in ballots when they’re counted in their favor.) But perhaps JFK’s loss wasn’t all that surprising, considering this less than forceful commercial.
JFK won the White House even without California, of course, and once in the highest office of the land he continued his philandering ways. Political affairs of the intimate sort don’t concern me. We’d have been better off if Clinton and Monica had never come to light. Trump and Stormy Daniels was unimportant, but the bribe wasn’t. I never had more than a passing curiosity about JFK’s mistresses, until his mystery girlfriend Mimi came forward to tell her story.
Mimi was the exception to the glamorous women who are usually associated with Kennedy’s affairs, and that was what made her interesting to me. A virgin in every sense, Mimi met Kennedy shortly after starting as a White House intern. Mimi’s memoir was published ten years ago, and if WordPress is cooperating with your browser you should be able to read this embedded preview.
Some reader comments on Amazon are sympathetic, while others express outrage, and they condemn Mimi with righteous holier-than-thou moral judgment. In the same manner that Newt Gingrich denounced Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica… while carrying on his own illicit affair. Newt’s hypocrisy was what made his private life a public concern.
Kennedy’s ability to compartmentalize his life was something that Mimi picked up to rationalize what she was doing. Whether it was hollow flattery to control a girl half his age, or sincere compliments for someone he genuinely cared for, Kennedy made Mimi feel special and appreciated. Listening to records together and giving each other silly little gifts are things I can’t imagine Kennedy doing with his more worldly girlfriends.
Having read Mimi’s memoir, something I can easily imagine is how pleased JFK was to meet Dianne, the eldest Lennon sister. It’s safe to assume that Kennedy was smitten, but Dee Dee got married just a few weeks before the ’60 election.
Dystonia Dystopia
In 2008 I ran the Boston Marathon, which technically is the Boston Athletic Association Marathon. You don’t get one of these medals unless you cross the finish line. 🙂
In 2009 I was in the middle of a training run when a tendon in my right ankle decided it didn’t want to participate in the marathon. So when I was at the starting line, instead of being a participant I was merely a spectator. The elite women took their mark, and seeing Kara Goucher I suddenly didn’t mind being a spectator.
Kara finished third in the race, but that isn’t important to this post. On February 8th, Kara posted this distressing news on Facebook.
For the past year I have been quietly battling for my health. After a fall in December 2020, I had a hard time staying on my feet while out running. It felt like I was slipping and it was scary, I’d throw my arms out for balance.
She went on to say …
…a neurological movement specialist… diagnosed me with focal dystonia, for me runners dystonia. I started a Parkinsons medication and slowly improved. I could walk normally and run on gravel surfaces or my treadmill. But running on a road or a sidewalk would cause me to be pulled to the left and slip.
I had never heard of Runner’s Dystonia until reading Kara’s Facebook post. On YouTube, an M.D. specializing in M.S. commented on Kara’s condition.
Beaber didn’t pick up on what stood out immediately to me. Parkinson’s medication helped Kara. She doesn’t say which P.D. med, but the fact she was able to walk after taking it is very telling.
I’m obviously not a physician, but I have a lot of experience with someone who has Parkinson’s Disease. I know for a fact that specialists can misdiagnose Parkinson’s or a related case, especially in women. Rather than having a moment of Sherlock Holmes insight, they diagnose by process of elimination and still get it wrong.
…losing running in the way I love it, is something I’m struggling to accept. People have said I’m addicted to running and they are right. I loved running before I knew I was good at it. It made me feel alive, to push, to feel my lungs expand.
This is heartbreaking. I’ve never been more than an average running, but I know the feeling. I’ve never understood the idea that being forced to run is a form of punishment. My first memory of enjoying running just for the sake of it goes back to age six.
Since retiring, I’ve averaged 4,000 miles/year driving. In my running heyday I averaged 2,000 miles/year on foot. Having been forced by my ankle to greatly reduce my running distances, my very sympathetic thoughts are with Kara, along with the hope she that isn’t suffering from a progressive and irreversible condition.
Old German Volk Tale
There’s still plenty more here that requires my attention, both paperwork and household repairs. But I’ve gotten through enough of it that I can return to doing some light blogging. I’m hoping to be able to also indulge some light jogging this year.
My German-made Thorens turntable is now 39 years old, and so far it has required only minor maintenance that I have taken care of myself. This video is about restoring a German-made 1959 Volkswagen. Whatever happened to white sidewall tires?
When my parents ran a florist shop in Wisconsin for a few years, my father bought a ’59 Volkswagen bus for the business. There’s a brief glimpse of one that looks exactly like it at 6:00 into the video. There was no gas gauge, and when the gas started to run out you had to turn a valve on the floor to open a small auxiliary tank, then look for a gas station.
You Can Get Some Satisfaction
I have just made one of my occasional checks of YouTube to see if the complete Rolling Stones in Mono playlist is still there, and yes it is. The Rolling Stones have 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube, but I am one of only three subscribers to the mono collection. This is crazy! It isn’t a playlist that some fan threw together, it’s official. I bought the set for $110 as a collection of 96 kHz/24-bit FLAC files. In MP3 quality it will cost you a hundred bucks, and the CD set goes for over $200. But here it is, complete for free.
The attention paid to curating and mastering this set in original, true mono was unprecedented. Read all about it here: https://theaudiophileman.com/stones-mono/
Toth the Line
Been too busy to switch mental gears back to my now fully up-to-date WordPress installation, but here’s something I can post quickly, that I know will interest at least one of you. It’s a documentary about master comic book artist and designer Alex Toth. Almost as much time is spent discussing his difficult personality as his art.