Chill, People, Chill ....

(The '60's will never die.)

July.4.2026

Note that I avoid the temptation to put a picture of the Declaration of Independence or the Flag here, but I do wish my country a Happy Birthday and let's hope things get better as time goes by.

I am on the porch this beautiful, very hot day, watching the NYC parade of tall ships and Nathans hot dog contest (on Youtube, live). Fidgeting with a camera at the same time, making Art !?! with a computer on my lap.

To refresh my memory (Wikipedia) ....

....the delegates to the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4.

....the legal separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain's rule. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by the Committee of Five, which asked Thomas Jefferson to author its first draft.

July 4th in New York City Harbor

So, what's happening at Cooper's Pub, in Liverpool ? (where the vintage folk hang out)....

There is a continuous flow of neighborhood "singers" grabbing the microphone, doing their thing ... kind of neat.

Protein

Got curious about how much protein I need each day, based on age, weight, activity level. I believe the recomended daily intake is insane.

See the images below. Some pro's say that I need to take in between about 60gm - 70gm of protein each day.
The second image shows 3 cans of tuna ( = 60gm) and 2 cans of chicken ( = 72gm). The 16oz (fluid) measuring cup is in there for size reference. (Also for reference: 60g of protein = about 10 large eggs - every day !!!.)
So some guidelines are suggesting I eat 2 full cups of tuna or chicken or 10 eggs every day just to cover my protein "needs". That is insane - I could probably force myself to finish one can of tuna and maybe 2/3 can of chicken. Maybe.

Cannot imagine what 81 year old / 156 lb guy eats that much every day !

I want to believe the CDC protein numbers (42gm - 146gm / day).

You didn't ask, but .....

Found out yesterday that Jay Silverheels (vintage TV's "Tonto") lived in Brooklyn years before he went to Hollywood

Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith) was a First Nations (Canada) and Mohawk actor and athlete, descended from three Iroquois nations. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television series The Lone Ranger.

Silverheels was a Canadian born, Mohawk First Nation actor who at one time resided just off of Bay Parkway near East 4th Street and Ocean Parkway in the Bensonhurst/Gravesend area of Brooklyn. *
His home was famous to locals for the giant mural of a Native American chief in full head dress painted on the garage.

* This is just 2 miles from where I lived in Bensonhurst, back in the early '60s.

Iphigenia

Obsessions:
Last week, several names popped into my head: Iphigenia was one and Ophelia was the other. Both tragic ladies from two unrelated stories in (1) Greek mythology and (2) Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet.

As the week worn on, I became more obsessed with the story of Iphigenia, as told by Euripedes in his play "Iphigenia at Aulis", written in (about) 400BC, and studied in my literature class in (about) 1963.

The short version:
Ophelia's dad, Agamemnon, was a very powerful king of a very powerful Greek provence. He took his army to crush the city of Troy, because of the war someone started. His army sailed as far as the city of Aulis before the winds died and they got stranded there. Bad vibes set into his soldiers. They went around doing bad stuff, and even Agamemnon went off hunting one day and shot a deer in the local forest. Bad thing to do ... Artemis, the godess of wildilife animals was enraged. For punishment, She ordered Agamemnon to sacifice his precious daughter, Iphigenia but slitting her throat on Artemis' sacrificial altar. If he didn't, his army would loose the Trojan war.
Extremely bad stituation for everyone. After much lamenting .... Agamemnon sent for Iphigenia by telling her that Achilles wanted to marry her, and she believes her dad and travels to Aulis to marry a hero..
That, to me, is the darkest storyline ever. Think about the horror of that lie from a father to his daughter!!
Iphigenia doesn't catch on to what's happening until she arrives at the altar .... can you imagine this !!

How it ends: depends on who you ask - not a joke. The myths abound and the existing texts of Euripede's writing have suspicious credibility.

The classic modern movie on this story is :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphigenia_(film)
Language is Greek with English subtitles.

Youtube copy (is this legal?): Youtube Copy