Roundup of May 2020 Posts

Breaking News, Roundup of May 2020 PostsIt’s hard to think of things to say right now. So much is going on in the country that it seems frivolous to be talking about anything else. But I can’t spend my entire day in Breaking News mode, with yet more violence, outrage and fear coming at me from every news source.

Some good news gets tucked in there here and there but, boy, is it hard to find. SpaceX sent two NASA astronauts up to the International Space Station in a great display of private / pubic cooperation. That means we no longer have to rely on—or pay exorbitant fees to—the Russian government to transport our astronauts. In addition, SpaceX returned the booster safely to earth, thus saving a lot of money, instead of dumping them in the ocean as NASA did with its Big Dumb Booster program.

No Science Fiction Movie Report

Cosmos, science fiction, movie, radio astronomyTherefore, I turn elsewhere. Normally, by this time I would be writing my regular bi-annual report on the science fiction movies released in the first half of 2020. The pandemic closed all movie theaters, however, and many films remain unreleased, waiting for the country to open up again.

We did see two science fiction movies on TV recently, though.

Cosmos: Four men in a car loaded with a lot of expensive radio-astronomy equipment and a strange signal. That’s it. But the script is excellent, there’s good dynamic tension and a CGI-free ending. It was a sleeper with no advance publicity but we enjoyed it a lot.

The Vast of Night: This one got all the publicity and the online recommendations, including a 91% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but we found it disappointing. The uneven pacing starts with a tedious beginning goes on far too long and ends with an abrupt, unsatisfying sort of conclusion. What RT calls “period trappings” we found intrusive and a diversion.

Roundup of May 2020 Posts

Brewer Fountain, Boston Common,

Courtesy of Massachusetts Convention and Tourism Bureau

Through it all, Susanne and I kept writing about our lives, our concerns, our experiences, and the safety valves we use to keep the stress and tension at bay. I kept up my series of posts on Boston, its architecture, history, and winding streets, even though I couldn’t get into the city to take my own photos. I had to rely on the internet.

Here’s the monthly roundup of May 2020 posts:

Boston and History

Business

Food and Cooking

Health and Safety

Lifestyle and Culture

Movies and TV

Spirituality

Travel

In Conclusion

The warm weather has returned, flowers are blooming and the country is opening up in places where demonstrations and para-military police haven’t locked it down. Will Covid-19 continue to decline or will the massive street protests spread it further? We’ll know better in two weeks.

In the meantime, stay safe and stay healthy.

Summer Floral Border, Roundup of May 2020 Posts