Oops . This is going to begin in a boring manner. Back to boring covid = this from the New York Times. “Last week, this newsletter covered what seemed like a mystery at the time: Covid cases were not broadly rising across the U.S, despite the emergence of the B.A.2 sub variant of Omicron. But the Northeast’s continued increase has driven a new round of concerns, with nationwide cases up 10 percent over the past two weeks. What is less clear is whether the regional rise will amount to a much larger Covid surge. “There’s definitely something coming,” William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard, told me, “But depending on all the moving parts it might be a ripple relative to previous waves.” So far recorded cases are up slightly, standing at about 6 percent of where they were during the peak of the Omicron wave in the Northeast. (More cases are probably going undetected as more people use at-jp,e tests without reporting them to public health officials”
Two very interesting aspects to this article, which is less scientific than the one reported upon in the April ? Blog. One is that cases are going undetected because of at home tests and the other unsubstantiated statement that “might be a ripple relative to previous waves” What in the world does that mean? That Harvard epidemiologist is not sounding scientific.
I do admit to being geographically challenged and wonder where the Northeast is. It must include Florida where crowds have descended during spring break and apparently the wearing of face masks was prohibited,(according to one personal source). Do think that this is going to turn into a wave Mr. Harvard Epidemiologist. I sit here safe and happy. The restrictions are being eased but they can be reinstated in a second – there is some in home testing the results are reported to public health officials, I am sure. I do admit to having problems with life in the UAE but science is respected and rules here. The Islamic faith is most scientific, there is no conflict between faith and science as there is in other faiths, particularly the Roman Catholic faith.
Enough of serious talk and now onto something more frivolous. A phrase from long ago is echoing in my mind related to a recent encounter with a person whose nickname is Boss Man.
So of course I simply HAD to Google it. It is based on the plays of Plautus telling the story of Ancient roman slave Pseudolus, who schemes to win his freedom by helping his young master Hero win the affections of beautiful courtesan Philia. Wikipedia tells us more.
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.
Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus, and Mostellaria, the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story: “A funny thing happened on the way to the theater”.
The musical’s original 1962 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Author (Musical). A Funny Thing has enjoyed several Broadway and West End revivals and was made into a successful film starring the original lead of the stage musical, Zero Mostel.”
This is the funny thing that happened – I was sitting at the pool located on the roof of this hotel and a man (clearly with authority) arrived and spoke to the life guard. As he left I waved at him
Me: Bye Boss Man
He: I am coming to speak to you. Why did you call me Boss Man?
Me: Because you clearly are one. A polite, well-meaning boss but clearly in command.
We began chatting and laughing.
He: You made my day.
Me: One day nine people said I made their day. That was my record.
It turned out that Boss Man is a manager at this hotel, he hails from Sri Lanka.
Me: Sri Lanka is near Malaysia is it not?
He: Yes it is.
Me: Well, you are not going to believe this but there is a place under construction in Malysia named Alix Residences. It was named after me.
Later and I exchanged texts. He sent a map which shall serve as the photo attached to this blog. Alix Residences was in my past but knew that I had spoken about it in the blog. I typed Alix Residences in the search engine to find that it had been mentioned in fifty blogs (50). I was a bit startled that it had played such a huge role in my blogging career. I have no idea what is happening with it – there was a big campaign to sell units before its construction began – it was to be finished in 2023 but the Tiah fortune and family declared bankruptcy. The TA Group had been privatized, which made it possible. They certainly are clever actually it is Alicia Tiah who is the power behind the throne, which is the person who secretly controls a country, organization, etc., by controlling the actions and decisions of the official leader. The Canadian Holburn Group declared bankruptcy but so did the Malaysian parent company. The companies were heavily invested in hotels – so when covid struck they were hard hit. Also dirty money dried up during the pandemic and the Tiah’s were, shall we say, heavily invested in that as well. I do indeed lead an interesting life. Too interesting! An attempt was made on my life in August of 2019, the attempt in multibillionaire wipe out foe fashion. I did write about it on my blog in November of 2019. I was in London celebrating my recovery from right knee replacement surgery staying at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel. It was on that trip that I met the Crown Prince of Dubai at the same rather humble hotel. Then, at that same hotel a month later, met many, many members of the Royal Family of Qatar. Not had that same degree of luck here at the Premier Inn in Abu Dhabi. Hahaha. And this hotel is located in the Middle East. Explain that to me please.
Boss Man did Google Alix Residences, which was most impressive.
He: Probably you are talking about twin towers.
Me: Yes. That one.
He: Under your name? Are you owning that?
Me: Nope. Named for me by a multibillionaire. It is a fascinating tale but must be told in person.
What is extraordinary is that last week I received an email from Holburn Group announcing a Prayer Breakfast in Vancouver in June. The invitation was authored by Joo Kim Tiah. I did respond but received no response despite the fact that one was promised within 48 hours Told them that I was in the Middle East and was a Muslim – would have been a much more interesting speaker than the man that is presenting. And probably more people would come to hear me as I still have a large following of people in Canada. That according to my statistics – scientifically collected.
Decided to throw in some humor, it needed in these troubled times. The source is The New Yorker, entitled How I’ll Get Out of Chelsea’s Bachelorette Party.
“I will feign an allergy to Phallic Candy. I will explain that it is an unfortunate, definitely real
Condition that I somehow must learn to live with. If in close proximity with the phallic candy it could prove fatal.
I will fake my own death.
I will tell her I am too cheap. (She will believe that)
I will upstage the sommelier.. I will force myself to learn so much about wine that at the tasting the sommelier will rethink his life path.
The entire funny I’ll Get Out of Chelsea’s Bachelorette Party can be found here
The photograph is the map sent by Boss Man.
