--ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?

 

…It’s Monday morning and I’m sitting in a very quiet building in SoDo with “The View” on TV.  It is not my TV and no one should watch “The View” ever.  Maybe in prison, but nowhere else.

…I have an interview at Up the Staircase Quarterly:

http://www.upthestaircase.org/an-interview-with-len-kuntz.html

I’m not a fan of doing interviews because I always feel stupid answering the questions and I can’t ever think of anything clever to say, so each time I end up repeating myself.  But, of course, it’s nice to be asked.

Here are some random things I’ve learned of late that you might find interesting:

 -In 1990 Americans recycled 33.2 million tons of trash.

--In 2012 it was 86.6 million tons

Aid to poor countries (in billions) in 2013:

#1 – U.S. $31.5
#2 – Britain $17.9
#3 – Germany $14.1
#4 – Japan $11.8
#5 – France $11.4

 Top-grossing Broadway Musicals:

#1 – The Lion King (1997) $1.0 billion
#2 – The Phantom of the Opera (1988) $952 million
#3 – Wicked (2003) $824 million
#4 – Mamma Mia (2001) $572 million
#5 – Chicago (1996) $491 million

Catalogs mailed to U.S. homes in billions:

2013 – 11.9
2012 – 11.8
2011 – 12.5
2009 – 13.7
2007 – 19.6

-The death of Marilyn Monroe was followed by a 12% increase in suicides nationwide.

Top countries for life expectancy in years:

#1.  Japan – 87.0
#2.  Spain – 85.1
#3. Switzerland – 85.1
#4. Singapore – 85.1
#5. Italy – 85.
U.S. – 81

Top Summer Destinations for US Travelers:

#1. Cancun, Mexico
#2. Las Vega
#3. Orlando
#4. Seattle (!)
#5 Los Angeles
#6. San Francisco
#7. Denver
#8. New York
#9. Boston
#10. Honolulu