“Everyone forgets Icarus also flew.” Jack Gilbert

“Creative Entitlement” simply means believing that you are allowed to be here, and that merely by being here, you are allowed to have a voice and a vision of your own. Elizabeth Gilbert

“To yell at your creativity, saying, “You must earn money for me!” Is sort of like yelling at a cat; it has no idea what you’re talking about, and all you’re doing is scaring it away, because you’re making really loud noises and your face looks weird when you do that.” Elizabeth Gilbert

“We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.” Oscar Wilde

“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.” Neil deGrasse Tyson

“If people don’t like what you’re creating, just smile at them sweetly and tell them to “go make their own f&%king art.” Elizabeth Gilbert

HEY!! I AM LOOKING AT YOU!! THAT’S WHO!! LOLOLOLOLOL

If you are reading this then you have continued to survive Covid 19 so far and so have I!! That my friends is a very, very good thing for all of us. And I am crossing my fingers that I can continue to say this each and every month for the next year.

When I started to write this blog on July 8th, the death count in the USA stood at 622 thousand. That is a difference of 9,000 deaths in the last 30 days. And while this number is still high, it is a significant drop in Covid mortality from the previous 30 days when the number was 20,000. We are making progress. The question will be can we continue this downward trend with the rise of the Delta variant. It now accounts for more than half of all new infections in the US and in some states such as Iowa, Kanas, Missouri, and Nebraska it makes up about 80% of new cases.

It looks like Pfizer is asking the FDA to authorize a booster shot to extend protection and they are supposedly working on updating their vaccine so it will address the Delta Variant. The booster shot is already being tested. So all they need now is FDA approval.

It as now been 28 weeks since I got the Pfizer Vaccine for Covid and… so far there have been no side effects for me!! Yea!! And that is a very good thing. Not that I expected any in the first place. But this being a new technology you never know. I got the vaccine with this knowledge after seeing what the disease could do to people. It is not pretty. And if you do survive it you may not be back to your “normal” baseline for a very, very long time – if ever.

In the USA we are now up to 56.5 % of the population that has gotten at least one shot and 48.9% that have gotten both doses. In the last 30 days we have added over 10 million vaccinated people. But while 10 million is a large number, our vaccination rates are dropping. If we have to go back into a lock down with all the economic and social repercussions it will be due to the unvaccinated.

If you want to check out the numbers yourself check out this link from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state and https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap

Back in June our infection rate was falling and it appeared that it would continue in a downward direction. Unfortunately this has not been the case. The much more infectious Delta Variant has become the predominate strain in this country and correspondingly we have seen a significant reversal in infections. On July 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th we saw new infections of over 30,000 each day. Fridays high on July 16th was 40 thousand plus and we topped 67,000 plus by Friday 23rd. That was a jump of over 60 percent from the previous few weeks. The top three states for new infections were Florida, California, and Texas. The death count was still down but that would be expected as there is a few weeks delay between new infections and death. My guess is that the numbers are actually much higher than this due to the fact that some states are only reporting weekly now. This in my opinion is not done out of a concern for public health but an economic one. If your state is having a surge in cases and the public knows – it is bad for business. Two examples of this are Florida and Nebraska. A good article on this is from Medical Express. You can check out the link here: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-states-scale-virus-cases-surge.html

By July 20th, CDC director Rochelle Walensky was warning that the pandemic is now a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Almost all of the people getting hospitalized and suffering the worst morbidity and mortality are those that did not get vaccinated.

At the end of the month, on Thursday, July 30th the US reported 92,000 new infections with Covid. Unreal. The total death count was 628 thousand or a difference of approximately 6000 deaths in 21 days but I am guessing that in the next 9 to 10 days we are going to add a few more thousand. The fourth wave of the infections is upon us….

Well enough about Covid. Time to move on to some pictures from the great outdoors for the month of June. I was hoping that the air quality and weather that we experienced in May would be the same for June, but I would have to say that it was a little complicated.

The first part of June was pretty good. Cool temps, wind and more importantly moisture in the form of rain for the Front Range. This made for some excellent weather and air quality conditions at the start and toward the end of June.

Unfortunately the dry conditions returned to the mountains by the middle of the month and so did the fires. The air quality took a nose dive due to the added smoke. And the temperatures shot up into the 90s along the Front Range which led to an increase in Ozone levels. The smoke, the temperatures, the ozone all led to really bad outdoor air quality for most of Colorado’s front range during the middle part of June. Little did I know that these conditions were a forerunner of what was to take place in July. But I will save that debacle for the next blog post. Lol.

Just when I thought the month of June was going to be a total wash, the last week got a lot better. The high country got some much needed moisture and the temps cooled a bit on the Front Range and this led to a subsequent increase in air quality. So the last part of June was pretty good for being in the outdoors. Like I said, it was a little complicated. Lol.

Training for the Leadville 100 run is coming along better than I had expected. Or that is the way I feel about it right now. As it gets closer I get a little nervous and wonder if I am doing enough or too much. I swear I was much more fit just 5 years ago? I am not sure what that is about except maybe I am 59 now and 5 years older?! Lol. My mother used to say when she was in her 80s that “Old age is not for sissies.” And I am thinking that I am starting to understand what she meant by that. Oh well it is what it is and you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and be grateful for each day you wake up. Dang how morbid is that?! Lol.

Did I say earlier that the air quality got better toward the end of the month? Why yes I did and it really did get better. The mountains got a little rain and so did the Front Range, temperatures dropped a bit and life was good again so to speak.

So the month ended on a good note! Yea! But what is the old saying that nothing last? Well that was the case and the first week of July did not disappoint! But I will save that tale for the next blog post.

A couple of book reviews and a piece of art work before wrapping things up. The first book I would like to talk about is a science fiction one called “Recursion” by Blake Crouch. You might be familiar with Mr. Crouch from another of his science fiction novels called “Dark Matter.” If you have read Dark Matter and liked it then you are going to be happy reading this one. I found the book entertaining due to the fact I did not have any idea what was going on “until further than usual” in the book. In my mind I was going thought all the possible scenarios of what the problem might be and then was surprised when I found out. There are several character arcs that are going on in the story at the same time, but with a twist. Some die out and never morph but others move wonderfully forward. It is a story about time and memory but not in a traditional sense. Mr. Blake creates a story, like in Dark Matter, out of what would be considered the frontiers of theoretical physics in my opinion. Bottom line – excellent read! I listed to the book as an audio book but I think it would work just as well in any format.

To learn more about the author please visit his web site: http://www.blakecrouch.com/

The next book I would like to talk about is called “Big Magic written by Elizabeth Gilbert. Yes it is that author from “Eat Pray Love” and no I have not read that book. Yet. If you have read Julia Cameron’s book called “The Artist’s Way” and liked it then you are going to like this one. I loved this book by Elizabeth. I have been what I call a “struggling artist” since I was old enough to talk. My mother was a dominating woman and ran the household. She was the driving force in the family and if she said you were going to do or not do something then you did it or not. There were no exceptions. She had it in her mind that anything to do with “art” was a total waste of time. Or that is how I perceived her reaction anytime I wanted to do something creative that did not fit in with her idea of creativity. The only slight deviation she might allow was if you sang or played some kind of musical instrument. Both of which I hated.

So when I listened to this light hearted take on living the creative life (It is not a step by step guide) I was immediately drawn in. It felt like I was being given a drink of water after dying of thirst, stranded in the desert.

Some would say this is an excellent book for those who are looking for inspiration to live the “creative life.” But, I think it really goes much further because being creative is in our genes no matter who or what we do in life. If you go back far enough, some one in your family tree made things by hand – we all have the ability to be more creative.

I listened to this book as an audio book (I am on the forth listen) but I think it would work well in any format.

To learn more about the author please visit her website: https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/bio/

Well last but not least one piece of art work before I go.

I have always been interested in the science of the very, very small. What do things look like at the nano and quantum scale? Recently I was listening to a few lectures on particle physics and the different particles that make up electrons, protons, and neutrons: The Quarks, Leptons, Gluons, Photons, Bosons, and the Higgs particles to name a few. Then add in the quantum field theory or the “quantum glue” that holds it all together. I tried to capture what this might look like if you could see it on that level with the naked eye.

This drawing is done in pen and ink and is protected with a traditional picture frame and glass. It measures approximately 12 inches wide by 15 inches tall.

I call the piece below “Quantum Goulash.”

This piece is for sale and can be found on my Etsy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/strugglingprotoplasm/edit?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Well that is going to be about it for me on this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Before I close I would again like to give a shout out to minimalism. The world that we live in is a very big place and it can seem overwhelming at times. Especially when trying to think about making a positive difference in the world. But minimalism is something that we can all do to fight back against our over rampant consumeristic culture. When I first heard about the idea of minimalism I thought of a monk living in a monastery, bare walls, owning nothing, eating the same gruel each and everyday, etc… But in reality this is not the case, though I guess if you wanted to do this you could. Lol. Minimalism is different for each individual. You choose how much “minimalism” you want in your life and how much you don’t want. It is about understanding what matters most in life and removing the things that do not support the “what matters most part.” Of course this usually translates to getting rid of all unnecessary material goods as a first step. But Minimalism is so much more than just this. And a good place to start is here: https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/

Becoming minimalist is just a change in mindset. Nothing to buy, nothing to purchase, just a change in how you look at your life and the world.

So take care my friends and remember to wash your hands, stay informed on current Covid 19 developments, especially on the Delta variant, and wear your mask (N95 – if you have one) when appropriate. And get vaccinated – no excuses. As the Nike slogan says – “Just do it!” Adios!!

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous…, leading to the most amazing views.” Edward Abbey