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shadowkatFinally able to take another long walk around Greenwood Cemetery - and indulge in my hobby of taking photos of stuff, then playing around with them on my phone - so I can post the pics to social media and thrill you all.
What can I say? We all need a hobby - and if it makes others happy, even if it is just one or two people? Huzzah!
Plus the walks calm me. One of my social media friends calls her walks "rage walks" (since she can't take them at the moment - she's making rage pie. Hmmm, I wish I could have a slice of her rage pies, they look amazing.)
The New York Times and my Union at Crazy Workplace tried to terrify me today. I spent two hours this morning fretting and raging at imaginary ghouls.
Me:My Union or Crazy Workplace decided to scare everyone again today. They've made it into a weekly habit..
Mother: Oh, what did they do this time?
Me: Well, they sent us an email - that said Crazy Workplace was monitoring everyone's work on their computers and phones, to determine how much work people were really doing - and who to lay off. And how they were fighting that - and making sure enough heads in the office and on and on..it just scared and confused me.
Mother: I don't know that sounds incredibly expensive and difficult to do.
How they going to monitor everyone's work from home computers - particularly with all the connection issues and variations in software. I mean it's not like they gave you computers to work off of - your working remotely off of a remote computer..
ME: I know, I realized that after two hours of quietly fretting over it. Also Office Admin obviously got concerned too - and sent us all links to the Telecommuting Agreements - which provided her with answers and the correct questions to ask.
Mother: I think they are just trying to scare you...because that sounds time consuming and expensive and kind of beyond your nutty organizations capabilities.
Me: Yeah. Also I'm already filling out a weekly work log and doing mid-afternoon checkin's each day. Can you imagine reading everyone's work from home logs?
Mother: They'll never do it. I don't think you need to worry about it.
Meanwhile...the New York Times decided to tell us that the Doofus is threatening to send Federal Troops into all of the US cities and impose martial law - so he can get re-elected. [I honestly don't know how imposing martial law is going to get him re-elected. If anything it's going to be the exact opposite. 98% of Americans tend to like their personal freedoms. He's also apparently threatening to contest the election if he doesn't win - he should watch it, that's how President's get themselves impeached and tried for treason - by fiddling with and contesting elections. You'd think he'd have learned from the last impeachment go-around, but apparently not. ]
Facebook Neighborhood Community Group: Oh no, the sociopath in the White House is going to send in Federal Troops to NYC. Stay Safe neighbors!
Me: Somehow I think our Governor will put a halt to that, and tell him that it's Unconstitutional and no, he can't just impose martial law on States. Lovely thing having a Constitutional Lawyer as Governor.
Facebook Poster: And an Attorney General of NY on our side.
Me: That too.
Our Governor has already put a halt to it way back in June when there was looting and riots in the streets, there isn't any now. Our Governor is a Pit-bull with Fangs. And he's chomping at the bit to get his grabby paws on the terrorist in the White House and throttle him.
Mother: How'd he get them into Portland?
Me: I think Portland allowed it?
Mother: Isn't Portland Democrat?
Me: No, Oregon is fairly conservative - that's where all the crazy ass survivalists live.
Mother: No...hmmm, oh, I think he got around it by sending them to protect the Federal Buildings.
ME: Well, he threatened to do it in NY in June and didn't get anywhere. If he was going to do it - that would be the time. Our Governor told him, no thanks. (I honestly think the NY Governor said a lot more than that and not that nicely, our Governor knows the Doofus very very well and - The Doofus seems to be scared of the Governor of New York.)
Team#NewYork!
Me: I want a vacation.
Mother: Don't we all.
Me: Some people appear to be taking them...but I don't know how..
Mother: Your brother has chosen not to visit the Finger Lakes. They are staying home this summer. No visits or retreats.
ME: Interesting. I think he's scared too.
Mother: Yup. Like the rest of us.
Me: I told my cousin that he was having people come up and visit his barn. He put them up in the barn, and hung out - outside, social distancing. Cousin isn't traveling either - she's staying home. Although she agreed that her FB wall was filled with people's vacation photos. But she can't go anywhere. (Very painful for her - she'd had a European Vacation planned this summer that she had to cancel. Also she'd contracted COVID and got really ill and it took her about forty days to recover. Actually I think this is why most if not all of my extended family is not taking any vacations this year and staying home. We're scared of the virus. Why? Because various family members have either tested positive and had it, had it and got back a false negative or were sick with something very similar and don't know if it was the virus. My brother, myself, and sis-in-law all came down with something really weird between November and February. That is long gone now, but we do NOT want to get again or anything close to it. Hacking my lungs out for three-four months is not an experience that I want to revisit, thank you very much. You can do it - but do it VERY far away from me, preferably on the moon.)
Me: I'm tired of being on this roller-coaster ride, I want to get off.
Mother: Never in a million years did I envision going through anything like this. I've never seen anything like this or imagined living through anything like this.
Me: I don't think anyone has. My boss keeps stating that at staff meetings. Then he thanks us all for being such troopers. One day at a time.
The above photo kind of fits how I've been feeling lately. Actually all the photos in this post do. They aren't randomly selected. Like I said, we all need a hobby.
New York vs. the Coronavirus
Some good news?
As infection rates increase in 41 states, our numbers remain low, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers and our cautious, data-driven reopening process. Yesterday, we suffered 2 COVID-fatalities in New York, our lowest death toll since the pandemic began — with zero fatalities in New York City.
Considering a scant two-three months ago, we were having 700-900 deaths a day, this is wonderful news. It means that New York has managed to contain the spread of the virus. What New York did - worked.
Now if only the Federal Government and the rest of the United States would get with the program. According to my mother, the Missouri Governor has decided that sending kids to school isn't an issue. They get the virus? Big whoop, they'll go home and recover. Sigh. The Governor of Missouri needs to contract a bad case of the virus...from an asymptomatic child. The Mayor of Atlanta and her husband caught it from an asymptomatic child and changed how they did things as a result. She called NY for help, because her own Governor is an idiot. Savannah and Houston and Miami did the same thing.
Facebook Church Friend (posts the Federal Government's task force for re-opening the US - not a scientist or epidemologist or anyone who knows anything on it): We're doomed.
ME: Not quite. We still have New York - which is blatantly ignoring the Federal Government as incompetent and is battling this on their own. Team#New York!
Actually, I think New York would very much like to retreat to Canada and build a wall between itself and the rest of the US.
The virus can and will cross state lines and one state can only do so much to protect itself from COVID. It takes community to stop community spread.
Ten additional states have been added to New York's travel advisory list. The newly-added states are Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington. Minnesota has been removed from the State's travel advisory. Individuals traveling to New York from the following states must quarantine for 14 days: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. More information about the travel advisory can be found here.
Hmmm...they took Delaware off the list then added them back again. Poor New York and the North East - "we're surrounded! Help! Help! Canada! Save us from our pesky neighbor states and idiotic Federal Government."
Seriously, who needs terrorists when we have one in the White House?
Oh well, at least we can fix the internal issues...
The State Liquor Authority suspended the liquor license of four bars and restaurants — three in Queens and one in Suffolk County. From the beginning, outdoor dining has not meant outdoor drinking and partying. The state will suspend the liquor licenses for businesses not in compliance. Since the start of COVID, the State Liquor Authority has brought 410 charges against establishments for violating the Executive Orders and suspended 27 licenses for violations.
And..with the help of the city, a neighborhood cafe around the corner.. now has "outdoor dining" with social distancing...
If college sports resume in the fall, no fans will be allowed. Just like with professional sports, college athletics can resume but no fans or spectators will be permitted at stadiums. - [This is from our Governor's email.]
I guess we'll finally get an answer to the time old question - can there be sports without on-site fans? They've managed to do Major League Baseball - although it should be noted that it's easier to social distance with Baseball. It's not exactly a high-contact sport. Football on the other hand has proven to be a problem - they've already had 17 players come down with it. I'm more concerned about the college teams - a lot of those kids have athletic scholarships. Also, I kind of like college football and would miss it. So too would my poor father - who really doesn't have very much to look forward to these days.
Hope however, does spring eternal..
The number of total hospitalizations continues to remain low. Yesterday, there were 724 total hospitalizations. The State conducted 66,169 tests, of which 855, 1.29% were positive. We lost 2 New Yorkers to the virus — the lowest number of fatalities since the first day of the pandemic.
And... Oxford University is very close to developing a vaccine - that doesn't have dangerous side effects - it does have them, though.
Finally...Several outdoor NYC venues are opening this week. The Bronx Zoo, the Central Park Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, the Empire State Building observation deck and outdoor sections of Liberty Island are among the iconic spots opening this week, with capacity limits in place.
Okay, while I understand opening most of these venues...The Empire State Building Observation Deck gives me pause. I mean, they do realize that the only way up to it is in a small cramped elevator, correct? I know my mother and I took it way back in 1992 - and afterwards, decided okay, not doing that again. We should be congratulated however since my mother is afraid of heights, and I'm not crazy about them myself.
Anyhow, I don't know about anyone else? But I'm rather proud of my adopted home state. Not only that - it gives me hope. As I told my mother - I'm putting my Faith in New York. I've decided to trust the Governor of NY and his team, I'm ignoring everyone else.
View of NY City Freedom Tower and One World Trade through Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.
It's not a great picture, but it works for the above. In other hopeful news? Netflix's The Witcher is Reportedly Resuming Production on August 17, so too is Whedon's The Never's according to Twitter. General Hospital is slated to resume production this week, assuming LA doesn't lock down again.
Baby steps. Although it feels more like touching ones toe to the water then leap-frogging back again.
Actually got some work done today. Felt productive. This was after fretting for two hours, and checking my bank accounts to see if I had enough saved to survive another lay-off. I've been doing that since I was hired by Crazy Work Place - 12 years and 9 months ago. You'd think I'd feel safe by now. But honestly? I have not felt safe or secure since 2000. The 21st Century has been a bit of roller-coaster ride, that I kind of want to get off of, because enough already. Not that the 20th was that much better.
What can I say? We all need a hobby - and if it makes others happy, even if it is just one or two people? Huzzah!
Plus the walks calm me. One of my social media friends calls her walks "rage walks" (since she can't take them at the moment - she's making rage pie. Hmmm, I wish I could have a slice of her rage pies, they look amazing.)
The New York Times and my Union at Crazy Workplace tried to terrify me today. I spent two hours this morning fretting and raging at imaginary ghouls.
Me:My Union or Crazy Workplace decided to scare everyone again today. They've made it into a weekly habit..
Mother: Oh, what did they do this time?
Me: Well, they sent us an email - that said Crazy Workplace was monitoring everyone's work on their computers and phones, to determine how much work people were really doing - and who to lay off. And how they were fighting that - and making sure enough heads in the office and on and on..it just scared and confused me.
Mother: I don't know that sounds incredibly expensive and difficult to do.
How they going to monitor everyone's work from home computers - particularly with all the connection issues and variations in software. I mean it's not like they gave you computers to work off of - your working remotely off of a remote computer..
ME: I know, I realized that after two hours of quietly fretting over it. Also Office Admin obviously got concerned too - and sent us all links to the Telecommuting Agreements - which provided her with answers and the correct questions to ask.
Mother: I think they are just trying to scare you...because that sounds time consuming and expensive and kind of beyond your nutty organizations capabilities.
Me: Yeah. Also I'm already filling out a weekly work log and doing mid-afternoon checkin's each day. Can you imagine reading everyone's work from home logs?
Mother: They'll never do it. I don't think you need to worry about it.
Meanwhile...the New York Times decided to tell us that the Doofus is threatening to send Federal Troops into all of the US cities and impose martial law - so he can get re-elected. [I honestly don't know how imposing martial law is going to get him re-elected. If anything it's going to be the exact opposite. 98% of Americans tend to like their personal freedoms. He's also apparently threatening to contest the election if he doesn't win - he should watch it, that's how President's get themselves impeached and tried for treason - by fiddling with and contesting elections. You'd think he'd have learned from the last impeachment go-around, but apparently not. ]
Facebook Neighborhood Community Group: Oh no, the sociopath in the White House is going to send in Federal Troops to NYC. Stay Safe neighbors!
Me: Somehow I think our Governor will put a halt to that, and tell him that it's Unconstitutional and no, he can't just impose martial law on States. Lovely thing having a Constitutional Lawyer as Governor.
Facebook Poster: And an Attorney General of NY on our side.
Me: That too.
Our Governor has already put a halt to it way back in June when there was looting and riots in the streets, there isn't any now. Our Governor is a Pit-bull with Fangs. And he's chomping at the bit to get his grabby paws on the terrorist in the White House and throttle him.
Mother: How'd he get them into Portland?
Me: I think Portland allowed it?
Mother: Isn't Portland Democrat?
Me: No, Oregon is fairly conservative - that's where all the crazy ass survivalists live.
Mother: No...hmmm, oh, I think he got around it by sending them to protect the Federal Buildings.
ME: Well, he threatened to do it in NY in June and didn't get anywhere. If he was going to do it - that would be the time. Our Governor told him, no thanks. (I honestly think the NY Governor said a lot more than that and not that nicely, our Governor knows the Doofus very very well and - The Doofus seems to be scared of the Governor of New York.)
Team#NewYork!
Me: I want a vacation.
Mother: Don't we all.
Me: Some people appear to be taking them...but I don't know how..
Mother: Your brother has chosen not to visit the Finger Lakes. They are staying home this summer. No visits or retreats.
ME: Interesting. I think he's scared too.
Mother: Yup. Like the rest of us.
Me: I told my cousin that he was having people come up and visit his barn. He put them up in the barn, and hung out - outside, social distancing. Cousin isn't traveling either - she's staying home. Although she agreed that her FB wall was filled with people's vacation photos. But she can't go anywhere. (Very painful for her - she'd had a European Vacation planned this summer that she had to cancel. Also she'd contracted COVID and got really ill and it took her about forty days to recover. Actually I think this is why most if not all of my extended family is not taking any vacations this year and staying home. We're scared of the virus. Why? Because various family members have either tested positive and had it, had it and got back a false negative or were sick with something very similar and don't know if it was the virus. My brother, myself, and sis-in-law all came down with something really weird between November and February. That is long gone now, but we do NOT want to get again or anything close to it. Hacking my lungs out for three-four months is not an experience that I want to revisit, thank you very much. You can do it - but do it VERY far away from me, preferably on the moon.)
Me: I'm tired of being on this roller-coaster ride, I want to get off.
Mother: Never in a million years did I envision going through anything like this. I've never seen anything like this or imagined living through anything like this.
Me: I don't think anyone has. My boss keeps stating that at staff meetings. Then he thanks us all for being such troopers. One day at a time.
The above photo kind of fits how I've been feeling lately. Actually all the photos in this post do. They aren't randomly selected. Like I said, we all need a hobby.
New York vs. the Coronavirus
Some good news?
As infection rates increase in 41 states, our numbers remain low, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers and our cautious, data-driven reopening process. Yesterday, we suffered 2 COVID-fatalities in New York, our lowest death toll since the pandemic began — with zero fatalities in New York City.
Considering a scant two-three months ago, we were having 700-900 deaths a day, this is wonderful news. It means that New York has managed to contain the spread of the virus. What New York did - worked.
Now if only the Federal Government and the rest of the United States would get with the program. According to my mother, the Missouri Governor has decided that sending kids to school isn't an issue. They get the virus? Big whoop, they'll go home and recover. Sigh. The Governor of Missouri needs to contract a bad case of the virus...from an asymptomatic child. The Mayor of Atlanta and her husband caught it from an asymptomatic child and changed how they did things as a result. She called NY for help, because her own Governor is an idiot. Savannah and Houston and Miami did the same thing.
Facebook Church Friend (posts the Federal Government's task force for re-opening the US - not a scientist or epidemologist or anyone who knows anything on it): We're doomed.
ME: Not quite. We still have New York - which is blatantly ignoring the Federal Government as incompetent and is battling this on their own. Team#New York!
Actually, I think New York would very much like to retreat to Canada and build a wall between itself and the rest of the US.
The virus can and will cross state lines and one state can only do so much to protect itself from COVID. It takes community to stop community spread.
Ten additional states have been added to New York's travel advisory list. The newly-added states are Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington. Minnesota has been removed from the State's travel advisory. Individuals traveling to New York from the following states must quarantine for 14 days: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. More information about the travel advisory can be found here.
Hmmm...they took Delaware off the list then added them back again. Poor New York and the North East - "we're surrounded! Help! Help! Canada! Save us from our pesky neighbor states and idiotic Federal Government."
Seriously, who needs terrorists when we have one in the White House?
Oh well, at least we can fix the internal issues...
The State Liquor Authority suspended the liquor license of four bars and restaurants — three in Queens and one in Suffolk County. From the beginning, outdoor dining has not meant outdoor drinking and partying. The state will suspend the liquor licenses for businesses not in compliance. Since the start of COVID, the State Liquor Authority has brought 410 charges against establishments for violating the Executive Orders and suspended 27 licenses for violations.
And..with the help of the city, a neighborhood cafe around the corner.. now has "outdoor dining" with social distancing...
If college sports resume in the fall, no fans will be allowed. Just like with professional sports, college athletics can resume but no fans or spectators will be permitted at stadiums. - [This is from our Governor's email.]
I guess we'll finally get an answer to the time old question - can there be sports without on-site fans? They've managed to do Major League Baseball - although it should be noted that it's easier to social distance with Baseball. It's not exactly a high-contact sport. Football on the other hand has proven to be a problem - they've already had 17 players come down with it. I'm more concerned about the college teams - a lot of those kids have athletic scholarships. Also, I kind of like college football and would miss it. So too would my poor father - who really doesn't have very much to look forward to these days.
Hope however, does spring eternal..
The number of total hospitalizations continues to remain low. Yesterday, there were 724 total hospitalizations. The State conducted 66,169 tests, of which 855, 1.29% were positive. We lost 2 New Yorkers to the virus — the lowest number of fatalities since the first day of the pandemic.
And... Oxford University is very close to developing a vaccine - that doesn't have dangerous side effects - it does have them, though.
Finally...Several outdoor NYC venues are opening this week. The Bronx Zoo, the Central Park Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, the Empire State Building observation deck and outdoor sections of Liberty Island are among the iconic spots opening this week, with capacity limits in place.
Okay, while I understand opening most of these venues...The Empire State Building Observation Deck gives me pause. I mean, they do realize that the only way up to it is in a small cramped elevator, correct? I know my mother and I took it way back in 1992 - and afterwards, decided okay, not doing that again. We should be congratulated however since my mother is afraid of heights, and I'm not crazy about them myself.
Anyhow, I don't know about anyone else? But I'm rather proud of my adopted home state. Not only that - it gives me hope. As I told my mother - I'm putting my Faith in New York. I've decided to trust the Governor of NY and his team, I'm ignoring everyone else.
View of NY City Freedom Tower and One World Trade through Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.
It's not a great picture, but it works for the above. In other hopeful news? Netflix's The Witcher is Reportedly Resuming Production on August 17, so too is Whedon's The Never's according to Twitter. General Hospital is slated to resume production this week, assuming LA doesn't lock down again.
Baby steps. Although it feels more like touching ones toe to the water then leap-frogging back again.
Actually got some work done today. Felt productive. This was after fretting for two hours, and checking my bank accounts to see if I had enough saved to survive another lay-off. I've been doing that since I was hired by Crazy Work Place - 12 years and 9 months ago. You'd think I'd feel safe by now. But honestly? I have not felt safe or secure since 2000. The 21st Century has been a bit of roller-coaster ride, that I kind of want to get off of, because enough already. Not that the 20th was that much better.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 04:09 am (UTC)What can I say? We all need a hobby - and if it makes others happy, even if it is just one or two people? Huzzah!
I'm certainly liking it. That last pic in particular- whoo! Was the sculpture tinted that blue just by the blue of the sky or did you enhance it?
Flawless composition there, my friend! Bravo! Now-- please understand that this is just the word of a serious amateur, not a pro photo dude, but you were good when you started with these pics, and you're getting steadily better at it. You may have a calling here you never considered before.
Perhaps at year's end, you might think of doing a book that combined your thoughts and experiences over said time combined with selected photos, letting the selected words enhance the images and vice versa?
Methinks I'd buy it!
The shot of the flowers and the fence is nicely metaphorical, it reminds me of one you did a few weeks back with a different set of flowers and a wrought-iron kind of fence. Don't fence me in, indeed!
That cafe arrangement looks decent-- have you gotten any food there yet? You said it's close by. There are a few restaurants around here that are starting to do that kind of outdoor thing, and people are definitely utilizing it.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 04:28 am (UTC)From the 20th to the 23rd, it's members only. But even as a member, we had to call ahead for an arrival time. When the general public is allowed in on Friday, the zoo will only allow 25% to 50% of capacity.
All the indoor exhibits are closed, and will remain so for the time being. That means no monkey house, no reptile house, no petting zoo, no butterfly garden. (The insect carousel is closed, too.) But the monorail is open! All the outdoor exhibits, like the African trail, the birds of prey, and the sea lions are open. You can still ride the shuttle from one end of the zoo to the other. (The staff is VERY diligent about cleaning off the surfaces.)
Yes, you need a mask, and social distancing is in place. But the zoo was still a lot of fun. We didn't stay as long we usually do, but that was because of the heat. If it was a bit cooler, there was more than enough open to entertain us for a lot longer...
*************
Major league baseball without fans is kind of weird. My son and I watched the preseason games between the Mets and the Yankees, and it was just freaky to see the cardboard cutout "fans" behind home plate at CitiField, or home run balls landing in the upper deck and NOBODY running through the aisle to retrieve them.
Hot take:
I guess the strangest thing about the games is that when the camera focused on the game of nerves between the pitcher and the batter. it all seemed relatively normal. The lack of spectators didn't alter this fundamental dynamic of the game.
I guess the spectator-free season is kind of the ultimate evolution of baseball from community activity to televised spectacle. Fans can watch on TV, and talk about the game or participate in fantasy baseball on the web. Baseball owners earn money through TV contracts and merchandise sales. Technically, there's no need for the fans to show up at the stadium.
Is the future of the game--of all professional sports--right now?
Discuss.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 12:47 pm (UTC)That's mainly the sky on the last pic, I did enhance the color a bit though.
It did take a little maneuvering to get the angel in the pic. Also I couldn't get pics of the statues until yesterday, due to the fact that I'd often run into other people sitting or hanging out in that area.
That cafe arrangement looks decent-- have you gotten any food there yet?
Tempting, but no. Considering I didn't really eat out prior to the pandemic...I'd go if a friend was in town, but not to that restaurant. Usually we went to Courtelyou Road's eateries which are about a 20-30 minute walk in the opposite direction - an area of town, I've been avoiding since the pandemic hit. (It was hit hard, and there's a lot of foot traffic in that area.)
Also..I'm gluten intolerant - which can be dicey with most restaurants. Restaurants are very...into things with lots of flour in them for some reason.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 01:18 pm (UTC)I'd like to do the African trail/shuttle through the Bronx Zoo. I'm glad it's open now - the kids and families need places to go. And it gets them away from Greenwood Cemetery - which is not meant to be a playground for small children and families. LOL!
____
I guess the spectator-free season is kind of the ultimate evolution of baseball from community activity to televised spectacle. Fans can watch on TV, and talk about the game or participate in fantasy baseball on the web. Baseball owners earn money through TV contracts and merchandise sales. Technically, there's no need for the fans to show up at the stadium.
Eh...maybe, maybe not. I think it has the same issues as well "live concerts" and "theater" - some people get energy from the fans. And the people who tend to gravitate towards these careers - get their energy from an audience. Performing with that audience absent can be difficult.
Also from what I've picked up on from various people over the years - some sporting events are enhanced by the on-site fan attendance. The cheering, and fan interaction. MLB less so than other sports. But Football kind of depends on it. So too does Hockey. Basketball? Maybe not.
But even with MLB there's an undeniable energy with fans in the stadium that you just don't get watching on television or listening on the radio.
Add to that the sheer amount of money that comes in from filling stadiums with fans. Television doesn't really bring in quite the same amount of money. And to make the television bit lucrative - you'd either need to go subscription or make the channels pay a hefty distribution fee. Which to some extent they are already doing.
I mean think of all the people and businesses that are out of work because they can't fill stadiums with fans? I remember noting all the concession stands, the hot dog and beer barkers along the aisles, the parking valets, the guards, the cheerleaders, the mascot, the half-time coordinators, the
the ushers, the ticket sellers, etc.
Those people? Out of work. That's roughly what...?
So no. I don't see it as the future of the sport, so much as a work around the current situation - so it can survive.
What COVID really gets across - and there's no way to get around it - is without accessible health care for everyone - we're doomed. No sports, no concerts, no theater, no movies, nothing. Healthcare should take precedence over law and order, military, defense, education, everything really. Or everything else falls apart.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 01:36 pm (UTC)"A baseball season like no other
Regular-season baseball returns tomorrow, with two televised night games that will start a 60-game schedule for each team.
What should you expect? The unexpected. Over a normal, 162-game season, rationality asserts itself: The best teams tend to finish at the top, and players’ statistics usually settle in a normal range. But the 2020 season will be so short that we could see things we haven’t seen in a long time.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, with a powerhouse roster, could post the best winning percentage in a century — or finish below .500. The low-budget Tampa Bay Rays could win their first title. A batter could hit .400 for the first time since 1941. “Root for chaos,” the baseball writer Joe Sheehan suggests. “We have to go into this not just accepting that, but embracing it.”
A recommendation for fans: Sheehan writes a newsletter (which requires a subscription) that consistently provides some of my favorite baseball analysis.
In The Times: My colleague Tyler Kepner looks at the upside and downside of a shortened season for each of the 30 teams."
Pennsylvanian Uncle's response:
"It's not a real season, no one will consider anything done to be more than an practice season. Just something to keep the fans entertained while they hope for a return to normal next year.
So no big honors for "winning" anything, and nothing to worry about finishing last. It doesn't really count. Personally, I think they shouldn't have bothered at all."
Eh...I think he's missing the point of watching baseball, but that's just me.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 03:33 pm (UTC)I'm in a constant state of horrified amazement at just how badly most of our leaders have fumbled in reaction to the pandemic. We could have opened schools safely on time if they'd handled it better; as it is, many areas are choosing to open digitally only for the first few weeks. (My school district is included in that.) Which makes sense when community spread is, well, so widespread.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 04:02 pm (UTC)If you ever do get a ride to the Bronx Zoo, I would wait for the indoor exhibits to reopen. The reptile house and the butterfly habitat are two of my favorites. And the a/c lets you cool down so you don't burn out quickly.
**********
I wouldn't put it past the lords of baseball to try to eliminate the fans from their product.
[2030: the pandemic is over, but stadium seats have been eliminated anyway. Giant video screens are installed around the perimeter of the ballpark. One thousand lucky establishments, paying $1000 per game, are allowed to advertise and broadcast live feed from their restaurants/sports bars.]
Ok, this is just a fantasy. But it's heading there....
ETA: The Prospect Park Zoo is real! It's nice, but compared to the Queens and Bronx Zoos, it's a dinky little thing...
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Date: 2020-07-22 04:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 07:13 pm (UTC)Probably won't ever make it...which is okay. I've seen Zoos before.;-)
I forgot about the Queens Zoo. Seriously, only NY would have a zoo in practically every portion of the City. Most places have one zoo.
***
I don't know ..about sports going purely that route. There's something to be said about the fan experience. If that is, professional spectator sports survive.
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Date: 2020-07-22 07:22 pm (UTC)I share your horror. The Federal Government frankly scares and frustrates me - I've taken to ruthlessly mocking it and all its supporters in self-defense.
Unfortunately too much has been placed on the States, with almost no support from the Federal Government. The Governor of NY is correct when he states that the Federal Government should have stepped in, closed down airports in January (the States can't do that - airlines are outside of their jurisdiction), declared a Federal Emergency and made factories produce face masks, etc free of charge - like they did during WWII. And engineered safety measures for schools across the board.
But we have no Federal leadership, and what we have is well..not helpful.
So the States have to shoulder it. We're operating as individual countries not as an united country. One state is treating the virus like its nothing, while another is following protocols. It's one thing when Sweden does that in the Netherlands - the other countries can block Sweden, they have border controls in place. But States and Territories within the same country can't do that. NY can't keep the 49 other states out of it's backyard - people are coming in and out all the time.
Also States shouldn't be competing against each other for valuable resources. Yet, they are. It's a mess.
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Date: 2020-07-22 07:24 pm (UTC)This is a flaw in the camera, I suspect.
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Date: 2020-07-22 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-23 04:25 am (UTC)It may not be so much a flaw as an engineering tradeoff in the design. The effect you're describing sounds like the one you get from having a wide-angle lens, or a zoom arrangement that favors that.
A wide-angle lens would have a benefit in that for most people, they are taking mostly close-up shots, not distance ones. Wide-angles also inherently have a substantial depth of field, the area that is in focus from near to far. (Telephotos have exactly the opposite effect, with a very narrow depth of field).
Even with an auto-focus mechanism, which I'm sure the camera has, wide-angle makes the focusing far more tolerant-- close is good enough. So-- largely a practical solution for the phone's camera designers? That's be my guess.
BTW, did you know they make add-on lens for smartphone telephoto shots? I got curious a while ago and did a search, and lo and behold, they exist. Apparently you strap them around the phone, over the camera's lens, and they extend its capabilities.
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Date: 2020-07-23 12:33 pm (UTC)Years ago, when I asked my brother - a professional photographer (okay he took a lot of courses in it in college and high school, and was a photography/film major in undergrad) - he looked me, and knowing how horrid I was at mathematical measurements (they don't make logical sense to my mind so I can never remember them or make much sense of them) - got me a digital camera that auto-focused.
I'm an intuitive artist. I can see the frame and shot, and what it should look like. But the mathematical measurements involved - tend to confuse me.
For example? I had a choice between Iphone 11 with 2 cameras, and the one with three cameras. I didn't know what the difference was, outside of the fact that one was about $300 dollars more, so I went with the customer service rep's suggestion to go with the 2 camera version that was cheaper.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-24 04:32 am (UTC)And that's the most important thing. Unless you are a professional photographer, the artistic results are what count, not knowing all the technical stuff. Decades ago, you had to have at least some understanding of them, but modern camera tech makes that largely optional.
Even then, being in the right place at the right time is often everything. Some of my favorite shots over the years have been ones where I had sometimes mere seconds to grab a shot, and just had to hope I captured what my eyes and brain did. Modern cameras with their automation make that far easier to do, but if you don't have "the eye", it matters not.
You do.