The Blaisdell Blog

Africa acts as Earth’s petri dish.   The equatorial area of Africa is warm, wet, thick with vegetation and dense with animal life (monkeys and apes) that, unfortunately, share over 90% of their DNA with human beings.   What nature creates in this naturally occurring biological warfare lab may start as a virus peculiar only to one biological sector, only to evolve into one peculiar to primates and at that point it is transferable to humans—we are primates.   Many nasty diseases, both viral and microbial, got their start in the upper story plants of Africa, adapted to monkeys and then were shared with humans: AIDS, Ebola, Hanta virus, Marburg…Zika.   This list literally goes from A to Z.               Zika was first identified in Uganda in 1947 (though it may have developed during the late 1800’s) at which time it was confined to monkeys.   By 1952 the first human infection was reported.   The disease then marched across the African continent from east to west along the hot zone:

I first printed this on St. Patrick's Day, but it is dedicated to St. Olaf, whose day we celebrate today. I once taught with a great woman who was Irish to the core.   She had asked me when I was going to put up my St. Patrick’s Day decorations and, was appalled when I asked her when St. Patrick’s Day was.   I knew it was coming up in March, but could never remember the date.   Everyone agreed that not being Irish didn’t make up for my blatant ignorance.               This brings to mind a much larger question.   Why does the whole country celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, as it turns out) but nobody celebrates St. Olaf’s Day (July 29)?   I am mostly Norwegian (though on St. Patrick’s Day I am allowed to be Irish through the use of large amounts of green and/or beer).   I know a little about St. Patrick, and a great deal more about St. Olaf and I can think of no reason for the lack of celebration for one and too much celebration for another except, maybe, good press

One of my 10 favorite movies is The High and the Mighty .   I have also read the book by Ernest K. Gann.   If you like books about gritty men and great airplanes, Gann is your man.   The High and the Mighty uses the microcosm of a disabled airplane on its dark, lonely flight over the Pacific to show how people and their diverse histories shape the way they face imminent disaster.               The movie came out in 1954.   In those days, a movie was a movie.   No green screen graphics, no animation, just 2 hrs. and 27 mins. of writing, acting and cinematography.   John Wayne signed on to produce the movie with the idea of putting Spencer Tracy in that spot.   Tracy refused the part so Wayne stepped in—to the movie’s credit.     It is generally considered the prototype for all disaster films to come.   [In a coincidence that is almost mystical the actual DC-4 used in the making of the movie crashed on a Honolulu to San Francisco run ten years later.   An engine fire sent the pla

On March 3, 2016, I wrote this blog and nothing in this convention has changed these cold, hard facts.  I have changed the last sentence to reflect my current thinking.     Mitt Romney has just finished eviscerating Donald Trump.   Romney couldn’t have taken Trump apart better had he used a filleting knife.   Had this invective been directed at me, my family would have to put me on suicide watch.   Instead of the name-calling bombast of the school yard bully that typifies Trump's tirades, Romney went piece by piece through Trump’s own statements and bulleted, one by one, why each would not work.   It was a dissertation.   It was scholarly.   It was correct.   It may be too late, but at least he—we, the real Republicans, not the lathered wing-nuts—are on record.               Unfortunately, the crazies who currently vote for Trump do not want reason.   They are the Ferguson, Missouri mob, furious with authority, running down the street, breaking windows and setting fires, ne