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1. Just got directive from the head honchos at Crazy-Workplace, the March 15th order for all non-essential workers to work at home, is still in effect until further notice and has not been rescinded. This doesn't surprise me at all. I looked at the plan, and my workplace and my home are in the areas that have only met 4 out of 7 of the criteria and the hardest hit. I'm not kidding when I tell you that I'm reporting from epidemic central.
This has relieved my anxiety tremendously. I don't want to go back to the office until there are 0 new cases, and 0 new deaths. I'm playing the doctor appointment by ear - that's not until June 16, about a month away.
2. Bit of interesting gossip...
* Apparently Amanda Palmer informed her followers on Patreon that she had separated from Neil Gaiman and that he'd returned to the UK, leaving her and Ash in New Zealand, without telling him
* Apparently it was an open marriage and not a monogamous one - which Amanda Palmer openly talked about in various publications
* Gaiman apparently was not pleased she told everyone without informing him first - and provided a snarky reply on Twitter
Then... Neil Gaiman claims his account on Good Reads was hacked to diss Palmer - "On Saturday, Gaiman's Goodreads account indicated he was reading a book by the title Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder in what could clearly be read as a diss at Palmer. It was just last Sunday that Palmer announced on Patreon that the couple were separated. "
I believe him - it was definitely hacked. Gaiman is a very quiet and private person who rarely if ever says an unkind word to anyone. So I can't imagine him doing that, but I can imagine quite a few other people doing it.
Neil reminds me a little bit of Crowley in Good Omens. And I can't help but think sometimes, his one true love was Terry Prachett, his close friend and writing partner.
As an aside? I adore Neil, Palmer makes me twitchy.
3. What Shakespeare Actually Wrote About the Plague?
Shakespeare lived his entire life in the shadow of bubonic plague. On April 26, 1564, in the parish register of Holy Trinity Church, in Stratford-upon-Avon, the vicar, John Bretchgirdle, recorded the baptism of one “Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere.” A few months later, in the same register, the vicar noted the death of Oliver Gunne, an apprentice weaver, and in the margins next to that entry scribbled the words “hic incipit pestis” (here begins the plague). On that occasion, the epidemic took the lives of around a fifth of the town’s population. By good fortune, it spared the life of the infant William Shakespeare and his family.
Such outbreaks did not rage on forever. With the help of strict quarantines and a change in the weather, the epidemic would slowly wane, as it did in Stratford, and life would resume its normal course. But, after an interval of a few years, in cities and towns throughout the realm, the plague would return. It generally appeared on the scene with little or no warning, and it was terrifyingly contagious. Victims would awaken with fever and chills. A feeling of extreme weakness or exhaustion would give way to diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding from the mouth, nose, or rectum, and telltale buboes, or swollen lymph nodes, in the groin or armpit. Death, often in great agony, would almost inevitably follow.
Innumerable preventive measures were proposed, most of which were useless—or, in the case of the killing of dogs and cats, worse than useless, since the disease was in fact spread by rat-borne fleas. The smoke of dried rosemary, frankincense, or bay leaves burning in a chafing dish was thought to help clear the air of infection, and, if those ingredients were not readily available, physicians recommended burning old shoes. In the streets, people walked about sniffing oranges stuffed with cloves. Pressed firmly enough against the nose, perhaps these functioned as a kind of mask.
It was early recognized that the rate of infection was far higher in densely populated cities than in the country; those with the means to do so escaped to rural retreats, though they often brought infection with them. Civic officials, realizing that crowds heightened contagion, took measures to institute what we now call social distancing. Collecting data from parish registers, they carefully tracked weekly plague-related deaths. When those deaths surpassed thirty, they banned assemblies, feasts, archery contests, and other forms of mass gathering. Since it was believed that it was impossible to become infected during the act of worship, church services were not included in the ban, though the infected were not permitted to attend. But the public theatres in London, which routinely brought together two or three thousand people in an enclosed space, were ordered shut. It could take many months before the death rate came down sufficiently for the authorities to allow theatres to reopen.
I didn't know that William Shakespeare lived his entire life in the shadow of the bubonic plague - it kind of explains a lot.
Also, they kind of employed the same practices we are now - social distancing, trace gathering, and data collecting.
4. General Hospital is about to run out of episodes. It's last episode airs on May 22. After that date it will be airing old Nurses Ball episodes from 2014-2015 - the performances.
Then...who knows. Apparently taping is not slated to begin again until September. And they'll do only two to three scenes at a time, with less actors present - maybe two or three people in a scene if that. And less crowd scenes or large groups. Also the Nurse's ball will be done differently - without an audience.
I have a feeling in the post-COVID world, until a cure is found, we're not going to be seeing much sex or kissing on television and movies, or physical contact. Also, films may be smaller, as will television shows.
They are already experimenting. Roundabout Theater Company in NY is doing online plays - that are filmed and done remotely, also entertaining small video plays from students. And a lot of documentaries are being filmed - because you can do that remotely as well.
It's a brave new world we're entering into. I'm trying not to worry too much. Because I don't drive - I'm terrified that I'll get stuck. But as my mother put it - they can't ground planes and they haven't - there are other people who have to fly to get to one place or another. And still are flying. (Very true.)
This has relieved my anxiety tremendously. I don't want to go back to the office until there are 0 new cases, and 0 new deaths. I'm playing the doctor appointment by ear - that's not until June 16, about a month away.
2. Bit of interesting gossip...
* Apparently Amanda Palmer informed her followers on Patreon that she had separated from Neil Gaiman and that he'd returned to the UK, leaving her and Ash in New Zealand, without telling him
* Apparently it was an open marriage and not a monogamous one - which Amanda Palmer openly talked about in various publications
* Gaiman apparently was not pleased she told everyone without informing him first - and provided a snarky reply on Twitter
Then... Neil Gaiman claims his account on Good Reads was hacked to diss Palmer - "On Saturday, Gaiman's Goodreads account indicated he was reading a book by the title Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder in what could clearly be read as a diss at Palmer. It was just last Sunday that Palmer announced on Patreon that the couple were separated. "
I believe him - it was definitely hacked. Gaiman is a very quiet and private person who rarely if ever says an unkind word to anyone. So I can't imagine him doing that, but I can imagine quite a few other people doing it.
Neil reminds me a little bit of Crowley in Good Omens. And I can't help but think sometimes, his one true love was Terry Prachett, his close friend and writing partner.
As an aside? I adore Neil, Palmer makes me twitchy.
3. What Shakespeare Actually Wrote About the Plague?
Shakespeare lived his entire life in the shadow of bubonic plague. On April 26, 1564, in the parish register of Holy Trinity Church, in Stratford-upon-Avon, the vicar, John Bretchgirdle, recorded the baptism of one “Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere.” A few months later, in the same register, the vicar noted the death of Oliver Gunne, an apprentice weaver, and in the margins next to that entry scribbled the words “hic incipit pestis” (here begins the plague). On that occasion, the epidemic took the lives of around a fifth of the town’s population. By good fortune, it spared the life of the infant William Shakespeare and his family.
Such outbreaks did not rage on forever. With the help of strict quarantines and a change in the weather, the epidemic would slowly wane, as it did in Stratford, and life would resume its normal course. But, after an interval of a few years, in cities and towns throughout the realm, the plague would return. It generally appeared on the scene with little or no warning, and it was terrifyingly contagious. Victims would awaken with fever and chills. A feeling of extreme weakness or exhaustion would give way to diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding from the mouth, nose, or rectum, and telltale buboes, or swollen lymph nodes, in the groin or armpit. Death, often in great agony, would almost inevitably follow.
Innumerable preventive measures were proposed, most of which were useless—or, in the case of the killing of dogs and cats, worse than useless, since the disease was in fact spread by rat-borne fleas. The smoke of dried rosemary, frankincense, or bay leaves burning in a chafing dish was thought to help clear the air of infection, and, if those ingredients were not readily available, physicians recommended burning old shoes. In the streets, people walked about sniffing oranges stuffed with cloves. Pressed firmly enough against the nose, perhaps these functioned as a kind of mask.
It was early recognized that the rate of infection was far higher in densely populated cities than in the country; those with the means to do so escaped to rural retreats, though they often brought infection with them. Civic officials, realizing that crowds heightened contagion, took measures to institute what we now call social distancing. Collecting data from parish registers, they carefully tracked weekly plague-related deaths. When those deaths surpassed thirty, they banned assemblies, feasts, archery contests, and other forms of mass gathering. Since it was believed that it was impossible to become infected during the act of worship, church services were not included in the ban, though the infected were not permitted to attend. But the public theatres in London, which routinely brought together two or three thousand people in an enclosed space, were ordered shut. It could take many months before the death rate came down sufficiently for the authorities to allow theatres to reopen.
I didn't know that William Shakespeare lived his entire life in the shadow of the bubonic plague - it kind of explains a lot.
Also, they kind of employed the same practices we are now - social distancing, trace gathering, and data collecting.
4. General Hospital is about to run out of episodes. It's last episode airs on May 22. After that date it will be airing old Nurses Ball episodes from 2014-2015 - the performances.
Then...who knows. Apparently taping is not slated to begin again until September. And they'll do only two to three scenes at a time, with less actors present - maybe two or three people in a scene if that. And less crowd scenes or large groups. Also the Nurse's ball will be done differently - without an audience.
I have a feeling in the post-COVID world, until a cure is found, we're not going to be seeing much sex or kissing on television and movies, or physical contact. Also, films may be smaller, as will television shows.
They are already experimenting. Roundabout Theater Company in NY is doing online plays - that are filmed and done remotely, also entertaining small video plays from students. And a lot of documentaries are being filmed - because you can do that remotely as well.
It's a brave new world we're entering into. I'm trying not to worry too much. Because I don't drive - I'm terrified that I'll get stuck. But as my mother put it - they can't ground planes and they haven't - there are other people who have to fly to get to one place or another. And still are flying. (Very true.)
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What happened was this - they mutually decided to separate after being in isolation together in New Zealand. (He couldn't leave without telling her - that's not possible when you are in isolation with one another. You are kind of stuck together. Also he left for the UK - which is not a pleasant travel experience during a pandemic. Think about it for a minute.)
So he left for the UK, after they chose to separate.
People kept asking her on social media where Neil was.
She announced that they'd separated on social media without telling him.
Personally, if I were Gaiman, I'd be pissed too.
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Also, he's a famous writer/ and she's a famous singer and after she came out about it - he got pestered into giving a response, which was a snarky one.
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I think they were doing really well with the long-distance relationship bit. But being stuck in isolation with each other for several months...was more than they could handle.